reader unconsciously scared of mark after invincible war and variants👀
Summary: You know it wasn't really Mark, so why do you keep reacting like it was? GN reader. Attempts at hurt/comfort
A/N: Bit more of reader being consciously scared of Mark but I tried, promise. I haven't attempted anything all that angsty in a hot minute so cut me some slack if it's mid.
WC:1k
You love Mark, you swear, but it’s gotten harder to be around him. You’re trying, sucking it up and forcing yourself to hang around him anyway, you’re friends, you’re supposed to spend time together. Mark can tell, though, and you can tell he can tell, every interaction between the two of you has been stiff and uncomfortable lately but neither of you had the bravery to actually say anything about it.
You’ll get over it, you’ve been together for years you can get over a weird rough patch.
“There you are,” Mark grinned down at you from your window, his smile sharper than you had ever seen it, “I was wondering where you were hiding,” he added, climbing down and slinking towards you.
“Hey!” Mark smiled, same way he always did, climbing through your window and clapping a hand on your shoulder. You hoped he didn’t notice the way you flinched.
“You’re early,” You answered casually, shifting stiffly to give him more room to sit on the bed.
“Wanted to make sure we had time to hang, I’ve been busy,” Mark explained, knocking his head against your shoulder.
You hummed in response, grabbing the remote and turning on whatever action movie you had agreed to watch. It was corny and probably exactly the kind of turn your brain off movie you needed, but the weight resting on your shoulder was distracting and not in a good way.
Mark’s hand wrapped around your throat with just enough force to allow you to barely breathe, you doubted it would last long before he squeezed tight enough to pop your head off.
“You were always so annoying,” Mark started, pressing you against the wall, “Nothing to say now? Not gonna tell me I can do better than this?” He gritted out, his grip finally tightening enough to fully cut off your airflow.
Mark laughed, the same way he always did, glancing down at the way your hands scratched uselessly at his arm.
“You’re way too weak to beat me, but it is funny to watch you try” he snickered
You sat up quickly, internally wincing and the way you left Mark to flop down without you to lean on. He’s fine, he can steal one of your pillows if he really wants.
“Bathroom,” You mumbled before he had the chance to ask where you were going so suddenly.
You slammed the door shut, maybe just a bit too hard and leaned against it, letting yourself lean against it and slide down to the floor. How hard is it to just be normal!?
It’s not Mark’s fault, you shouldn’t be upset at him but you’ll still catch that faded purple along your neck in the mirror (keeping hoodies on helps, at least), and it’s not exactly easy to avoid that familiar voice between voice messages, phone calls, and just general hanging out. Things just keep coming back to you and aside from being an overall detriment to your mental health it’s really obnoxious.
You were sure you were going to die, you can’t overpower him, your vision is fading. The last thing you’re going to see is that stupid grin.
Your wall exploded inwards, an impact hitting the variant grabbing you, tossing you both wildly to the side. Luckily, you were knocked out of his grip, less luckily you ended up slamming into your stairs. Ow.
You managed to force yourself up, just a bit, catching two Marks locked against each other. One of them was shouting angrily, the other had a calm smirk on his face.
After spending a probably concerning amount of time in the bathroom you heard Mark calling your name, paired with knocking on the door.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” You answered, your voice cracking. Had you been crying? You quickly scrambled to wipe your eyes before opening the door and once again coming face to face with Mark.
Mark faltered once he saw you, staring at your probably red eyes, maybe you should’ve rinsed your face first.
“…Can we talk?” He asked after a pause.
“We’re talking right now,” You mumbled.
“You know what I mean.” Mark sighed, stepping back and sitting on the edge of your bed.
You hesitated but figured standing awkwardly in the doorway is the weird option so you sat next to him, leaving about half a foot of space between the two of you. You fidgeted with your hands and avoided eye contact with Mark for a few uncomfortable moments until he spoke up.
“I’m sorry,” Mark sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Wha– you didn’t do anything!” You sputtered, turning to face him.
“I should’ve been faster, should've gotten you somewhere safer, I shouldn’t have left Angstrom alive in the first place,” Mark rambled, his head in his hands.
You stiffly reached out and wrapped your arm around his shoulders, and Mark melted against you easily, resting his head on your chest. You pat his head and he wrapped his arms around your torso.
“Sorry, this isn’t supposed to be about me,” He mumbled against you, “You don’t have to be around me if I scare you,”
“I like you Mark, and I know that wasn’t really you,” You answered, it was technically true, you knew it wasn't Mark. Makes it all the more annoying that you keep reacting like it was. “I’d like to keep being friends,”
“You sure? I won’t be mad if you never want to see me again,” Mark asked, tilting his head up so his words were more clear.
“Would you be sad?” You asked after a beat.
“Little bit…” he relented
“Good, I’d be sad if I never saw you again,” You decided.
“Cecil has some people you can talk to… if you want,” Mark squeaked, “Help you be less scared of me if you want,” he trailed off.
“That sounds smart,” you nodded, it is an absurd enough situation to require professional help.
“Good,” Mark nodded, “Can I stay like this? Just for a bit,” He added quietly, like he was embarrassed.
“Sure man,” You agreed, running a hand through his hair, Mark is a lot less scary when he’s all squishy like this.
