May I have headcanons on space mark being jealous everytime captain y/n praises or listens to somebody else but him?(like him having a bit of a crush on the captain and wanting to be their favourite crew member)
At first, Mark gave you the benefit of the doubt.
You were just being a great captain, being inspiring and kind to your whole crew. If you didn't have those qualities, why have such a position?
But he couldn’t help but notice how anything he did or said was merely brushed aside, while you praised everyone else.
Shit, you were even praising the Computer who he swears hated him.
“Computer can you-”
“No.”
“..cOMPUTER I DIDN’T EVEN GIVE YOU A COMMAND!!!”
“Computer, can you sweep for any approaching asteroids.”
“Sweeping.....sweep complete. No asteroids detected. Our course is clear, Captain.”
“Thanks, you’re awesome.”
“No u <3”
Mark just wants to s c r e a m even the goddamn Computer was getting more attention than him.
He’d punch the walls but doesn’t wanna risk a hull breach.
Honestly the only reason he’s this upset is because of his crush on you.
Of course, who wouldn’t fall for the charismatic gray Captain with beautiful gray eyes and gray hair?
Still, he feels like you look down on him as the engineer who’s gotta do all the dirty jobs you don’t wanna do.
But when he’s about to fix a coolant issue in cryo (and get himself nearly frozen to death), you stop him and put one of the coats around him in such a tender way.
“Can’t let my trusty head engineer freeze to death, can I?”
Lord, help this man. He’s swooning already.
He just grins and fixes the issues no problem, all giddy and shit.
'Finally.' He monologues. 'I'm their favorite crew member for sure!'
summary : "y/n and Abe reunite at Wilford's roller rink disco and fate does not seem to care."
Word count : 2.9k
~*~
Part 1 - The Prying Hands Of Choice
Part 2 - A Love Never Flourished
Part 3 - Somewhere, Somehow
~*~
Pushing past the pink haired man, despite his insistence that you shouldn't, you slipped through the rainbow of streamers and out into a dance floor. Not the most unusual place you had been dropped off at so far, but definitely the most fun: the bright, strobe lights and the funky 70s themed outfits all were a welcome change.
The broad shoulders entrenched in a suave leather jacket was an even more welcome one.
"Stop stalling! You're under arrest for the deaths of way too many people to even count." Abe. You hadn't heard that voice in what felt like eons - not since the manor, and however many years you had spent falling through wormhole after wormhole.
Your eyes filtered over to the other William, or Wilford as he had referred to himself as, that stood before him - near identical to the one who stood next to you now, bar the cocktail that he sipped from occasionally- boring down the barrel of his gun.
"Well that's just ridiculous I would never kill anybody." Wilford drawled, his speaking slurred as he tried to get the straw of his drink into his mouth; struggling severely besides the simplicity of the task.
Turning to ask the Wilford that stood beside you what was going on, you found him to have disappeared - like magic. Maybe there had only been one Will after all.
Were all those wormholes making you lose your mind?
Probably. You were seeing Abe after all. Abe who you'd watched die at the hands of the Colonel, shortly followed by yourself, after he'd spent so long, and tried so hard to solve Marks murder.
Although, if this is what losing your mind allowed you'd gladly embrace every twist of your imagination and echo of your past.
"Is that right?" Abe asked the pink haired man who stood in front of him, slowly lowering his gun with a twinge of anger in his voice. How long had he been so bitter?
Gently lifting your heavy helmet from your head, you lowered it to your side, holding it loosely between your fingers. You suddenly felt underdressed in your Captains coveralls - as though you'd have ever had time to change - that the outfit was too odd, too unlike the you Abe knew.
That wasn't you anymore.
The District Attorney who had worked hard in Damien's office, who tried to help solve their friends murder, who died trying to protect the people they loved, was long gone. Yet, was your new role of Captain much different from that?
How many times had you jumped into the wormhole? Jumped out of the airlock? Let yourself be consumed by the vastness of space? - to try and save your crew? To try and save Mark? Too many to count.
Perhaps Abe would love you, and your silly, little beret, all the same. Besides, you deserved to be a little selfish for once.
"Well..." Abe pulled a small, grey taser out of his holster, slowly stepping closer and closer to Wilford: who was still entirely focused on the straw in his Martini. "Whatever you say buddy."
The way Abe had spat out the words - as though they had soured on his tongue - did not befall you. Had he been through so much hurt since you saw him last? More than you knew.
Abe's heart ached for you; longed for you to still be by his side, be his partner (in every sense of the word). He kept himself awake at night in anguish, thinking and thinking about what he could've done to save you. After all, he had survived a bullet to the heart hadn't he? Yet, like always, he couldn't save the one who mattered most, his partner - you.
Was it his fault? Probably. Every partner he'd ever had at his side had left, been left behind, died - and he supposed by giving you the title, he had doomed you to such a fate.
He often wished he'd told you to run far away from that goddamn manor at the first sight of danger - but he hadn't, and he would have to live with that.
As Abe stalked towards Wilford, taser in hand, you let out a ghost of a sound - something between gasp and a whine - hoping to stop Abe before he took it too far, but not knowing the words to say, where to begin.
"Abe." You mustered out, hushed words coming out barely above a whisper, though it halted the detective in his tracks all the same.
Lowering the taser, Abe looked to the floor, tears welling in his eyes at the sound. Many times he had heard you calling his name, usually a whisper in the night - a comforting presence when he struggled to sleep - but this time felt too real. As though you were actually stood mere feet behind him and not 6ft below him.
He knew he shouldn't look - knew he would just be getting his hopes up over nothing. You were long, long gone. And a voice in his head is all you would be: yet like every other time he turned his head.
Though this time you were there. Standing, living, breathing mere feet away from him. At least he thought. He'd never seen the ghost of you before, only heard the echos of his past - but if this was him finally going crazy from your haunting presence, then crazy he would be.
"Abe." You chocked out, tears beginning to well in your eyes at the sight of the man before you. A hand came up to clamp over your mouth, to keep the pathetic whimpers in, letting your helmet clatter to the floor - the sound resounding around the near-empty roller rink.
Now Abe turned to fully face you, his eyebrows creasing together as he attempted to keep up his stoic appearance - this wasn't real, and he knew it. You were but a figment of his imagination; his own little secret only he had the joy of being privy too.
"You're not meant to be here!" Wilford slurred, his straw now loosely held between his lips and his martini almost gone. "I thought I told you to stay put y/n."
Will could see you too. Fuck.
Tears begin to rapidly fill Abes waterline as his eye raked up and down your figure - clad in a beige coverall, a little red beret resting disheveled atop your head and a discarded, cracked helmet on the floor. He doubted that it was in such condition minutes ago.
"I just couldn't help myself." You whisper breathlessly, your gaze never breaking away from Abes as you spoke. Finally getting to see him again, you doubted you'd ever be able to look away - not that you'd want to in the first place.
"Well, I guess I can it allow it for the mean time." William huffed folding his arms tightly across his chest, a sulk forming on his face. With a snap of his finger his martini began to refill. "But don't take too long, we've got to get back to our regularly scheduled programming soon."
You let out a teary laugh at Wilford's outlandish wording - ever the dramatic - a trait he and the him you knew seemed to share. Taking a few, small steps closer to Abe, you didn't speak, not wanting to get too close, or say the wrong thing, and startle him into disbelief.
This whole thing felt unreal enough to you, you couldn't imagine how it felt for him. Not only to see you now: but to wake up after being shot and finding you dead, and to spend years dedicating his life to finding your killer only to have you standing before him now.
"Partner?" Abe finally asked, his taser slowly being sheafed into his pocket as he finally took a step in your direction, not moving too fast as though that would make you disappear from his vision - gone like a wisp of smoke.
"Partner." You repeated, somewhat confirming his notion and somewhat using the term of endearment on him too. Talking larger and larger steps across the roller rinks wooden floor, you met each other in the middle, neither touching the other and both heaving in air.
"Are you- are you real?" Abe chocked out, his eyes flickering over every part of you he had been blessed with seeing again - free of blood and injury, filled with life and soul.
"I hope." Not the reply he has wanted, but it suited well enough. It was true, honest at the least - after falling through a myriad of wormholes you didn't quite know yourself, though you hoped now more then ever you were.
Taking another step forward, you were now chest to chest - close enough to feel the other breathe but far enough it could still be a dream.
A twisted dream at that.
Abe raised his hand to ghost above your cheek; almost too scared to touch you, to have you melt away under his finger tips. Though you didn't give him long to worry, leaning into the heat of his palm - skin meeting skin. Abe stilled at the contact, unnerved by the warmth that pooled in his fingertips and sent shivers up his arm and down his spine. You were once again in his arms - or were you?
Abe wasn't going to allow the prying hands of choice to drag you away from him again - in his arms, you would be safe this time. So, his hand swiftly moved to the back of your neck, pulling you against him and tucking your head into the crook of his neck; his free hand snaking around your waist and keeping you tight against him. Twisting his fingers into the fabric of your coveralls, he pressed you as tight against himself as he could.
You couldn't feel the beating of Abe's heart, but you hoped he could feel yours, assure himself you were real. He couldn't. Whatever resemblance of a heartbeat either of you had, had left you as you hit the floor of the manor many moons ago.
"Oh God, I missed you Partner." Abe's voice cracked as he spoke, the flood of emotion overtaking each of his senses. He pulled away slightly from you, enough that he could now clearly see your face - meet your eyes. Slowly, his hand moved from the back of your neck, coming to caress the side of your face. "But what's with the outfit?"
The two of you let out bittersweet, teary laughs, neither surprised by the capability to find such humour in the moment of upset and turmoil. It felt right to laugh in the others arms after all you'd been through.
You gently rested your forehead against Abe's, relishing in the moment and committing every detail of his face to memory - not knowing when you'd get to see it next. Though you hoped you'd see it today and tomorrow, and every day for the rest of your life - you couldn't exactly trust that would be the case.
Not when the crystal in your palm could start burning against you and whisk you away down another wormhole at any moment.
"I have so much I want to say." You spluttered, leaning into Abe's hand as you hiccuped out a sob. Abe's thumb brushed gently across your cheek, wiping away the escaped tears, hushing you soothingly. "I don't even know where to begin."
"Take your time gorgeous, we've got worlds of time." You didn't. Abe didn't know, you couldn't blame him for the way his words made you sob harder then before. Dropping your head into the crook of his neck, you grabbed fistfuls of his leather jacket, hoping a tight hold on him would keep him there with you.
"A captain doesn't leave their ship when it's sinking; now do they?" Wilford asked, his Martini once again empty and the straw still evading his tongue. "I believe our little y/n's time here is up. No?"
The warm-burning sensation in your palm only confirmed Williams words. Fate was not on your side; though when had it ever been?
"No." You commanded, though Will was right: you couldn't leave your crew to die by your lack of attention, because you were selfish enough to let the wormhole fester for your own peace of mind. "It's not fair."
"When is life ever fair?" William near spat - anger of a life he had once lived consuming him and leaving him just as quick. "When has life ever been fair to any of us? You're not special! You need to do what's right."
"Don't listen to him partner." Abe pleaded, his hands holding onto the fabric of the our coveralls tighter then he had previously; as though you'd slip through his fingers at the mention of going anywhere but with him. "I just got you back, I- I can't lose you again."
It was selfish of you, to want to heed to his words. To stay in his arms now you'd found them. And in all your lifetimes you'd never put yourself first, at least that you could remember. You'd given up your life, your body, your soul for the sake of your friends, for the sake of making things right - why couldn't you be selfish for once?
You had a job to do.
"He's right." You sombrely answered, removing yourself from Abe's hold with little struggle. His arms didn't chase after you, hold you close to him so you couldn't go - be taken away by things out of your control. He didn't fight this, didn't fight for you. "I have no choice in the matter."
"Life is ours to choose." Abe spat, the words bitter on his tongue. How many time a had you heard that phrase? In how many bodies? Tears welled in your eyes once more at the wave of grief that washed over you; grieving the life you'd never get to live with Abe, a life long taken from you. "Choose to stay."
Choose me.
"I would, if I could. I would over and over again." Your voice trembled as you spoke, leaning down to pick up your discarded helmet, not breaking eye contact as you did.
"Don't make them leave." Abe begged, turning towards Wilford - William, the colonel - pleading with the man he had spent the last decade, decades, chasing after. As though he had any control over the matter. "It's the least you could do."
Wilford didn't answer the man, instead he fiddled with the straw inside of his drink, idly sipping the liquid.
"Abe, it's okay." You soothed, taking a step closer to your lover, in some lifetime or other, though not daring to touch him. You'd already let go of him twice, and to do so again might kill you. "I'll find you. Somehow, somewhere."
"You promise?" You couldn't promise, that would be cruel. To have him lead his life in hope, in wait. You loved the detective far too much to subject him to such heartbreak.
"No. But I'll try my hardest." A bitter laugh left your sore and scratched throat, tired of the crying. "It's the best I can give you."
A hot white burn flooded your senses, the crystal that was buried deep into your palm glowing brightly.
"Ive seen so much more than you know, and it's means I know things. Like somewhere out there I've already found you; I can do it again. I will do it again." You reassured, wincing as the pain in your palm became unbearable, fighting against leaving becoming harder and harder. It was futile to resist.
"I hope you know I don't like this, not one bit." Abe seethed through his teeth, his eyes red and raw from both the tears he'd let flow and the ones he was trying to keep within.
Taking a step back from you, Abe stood closer to Wilford, giving you one last look over - relishing in the sight of you alive and breathing for what well could be the last time.
"Be safe, partner."
"I will, partner." A swirl of blue and white began to form behind you, the wind picking up inside the roller rink despite all the windows being closed. This was goodbye. Turning to face it, you had just about accepted your fate: but you knew you needed to be selfish for once. To have some peace of mind to get you through whatever mayhem was to come.
"Wait, Abe, I-" With a flash of bright light you were gone. Gone from Abe's grasp once again, slipped through his fingers like grains of sand.
"I know," Abe whispered, his glazed-over expression fixed on the spot where you had just stood. "I know."
"Well, better get back to our 'regularly scheduled programming.'" Abe sardonically spat, turning to Wilford and slipping the taser out of his pocket. "I have a job to do after all."
Abe would return to the roller rink before he knew, before he was ready to really. Though this time he wouldn't feel the heartbreak, dazed by the flashing lights and groovy music, he'd become entranced by the disco-loving Warfstache's antics and join in.
He'd dance to the upbeat music, moving in slow circles with Wilford and his mask-covered friends; deluded by the knowledge that you couldn't survive a bullet to the heart.
And he'd constantly find himself looking over his shoulder, a whisper in the wind calling his name, and a strange feeling that one day, he'd turn around and a person would be waiting at the other end of the call.
a/n : There's not enough Abe content so I decided to make my own.
If one single person wants a part 2 I'll make one because I already have ideas lol.
You had been captain of the Altiar ship since, well,forever! Your farther used to be the Captin but after he passed, you were in charge. Your job was to kill all the sea monsters before they got the chance to eat people.
As your ship came to shore you felt the wind hit your face. Today was the day tases lovely people got the chance to be recruited to be on your ship!
Tommy <3
"Everyone! Hello!"
Everyone turned to stare at you and your ship. This was the moment he saw you. He was carrying some fish to his fathers shop when he heard your announcement. He was a big fan of your work but he had never expected to see you here!
"Yes hello! It's nice to see you all! Yes um, we have a problem. Someone in my crew kind of umm.. I fired them! Yeah.."
There was a pause
"So, I've decided to allow one of you join my crew! I will be doing interviews so just know on my ship if you want to join!"
The crowd cheered and they all started to run around
"AND REMEMBER ONLY ONE PERSON CAN JOIN!"
You sighed looking around. Turning your attention to one boy in particular. Tommy. You had liked Tommy since you were just a little child. But, you had to leave with your father because of the ship. So you never got the chance to tell him. But now that your are older, and back at your home town, you could tell him.
Then, he left, just walked away!
"Next!" you said writing some things down.
"Hey uh.. YN?"
"Fuck! Yeah hi-"
It was him! he had came!
Of course he had. You were his role model! Though, when he asked his dad to go he said
"Mate, you're 18! You can't be out killing sea monsters!"
As he stood in front of you he started to feel his heart start to beat faster at how excited he was.
"Tommy hi!"
"You know my name?"
"Pft yeah! You were in my class!"
...
"Anyway what are you doing here?! Are you trying to join my crew?!"
"No I'm here to take this ship and make it my own!"
"Your joking right?"
"Yeah, I'm just trying to join.."
"Good, 'cause I'm the captain of this ship."
"So, what are you good at?"
...
"What?"
"Like, what are your strengths? What can you do to help my crew and make my ship better?"
"Well, I'm good at cleaning, and I can use my fists pretty well. But yeah, that's it."
...
"OH YEAH! AND I CAN USE A SPEAR REALLY WELL!"
"Cool! I'll uh, let you know if you can join!"
"Hey does Tommy work here?"
"Yeah uh? Who are you?"
"An old friend and the captain of Altiar"
"Holy cow! Um ok, I'm Wilbur his older brother!"
He said holding out his hand for you to shake
"Lovely.."
"TOMMYYYYY"
"YEAHHHH??"
"GET DOWN HERE THERE IS A GIRL WAITING FOR YOU!"
"COMING"
"Thank you Wilbur."
"MHM"
"Hey Tommy."
"Hey!"
"Welcome to the crew!"
extra: Years later you and Tommy are best friends and you still haven't told him.
"Hey Tommy!"
"Yeah?"
"I love you!"
"Love you too YN"
Tubbo <3
"Hello Everyone!" You said shouting to the crowd.
"Anyone who wants to can officially join my crew! But only one person! I'll be doing interviews!"
Everybody started to cheer for you and you jumped down from you ship. People started to crowd you, asking to join. Some people started grabbing you, others pushing you from side to side. It felt as if you couldn't breath. So, you started to run. You ran all the way to a store.
"Hello! What can I help you with today?"
"Toby?"
"YN?!"
You to ran towards each other and hugged. It had been years since you've seen Toby! His farther used to be part of your fathers crew until he,well,died.
"I haven't seen you in so long!"
"Ik! It's been a while since I've seen you! How's the ship?"
"It's good."
...
"Wanna be part of my crew?!"
"Holy shit! Really?!"
"Pft, yeah! What are your strengths?!"
"Ooo! I'm really good at fighting! And I'm a good swimmer! And, im good with bombs!"
"Oh hell yea! Your in!"
"Really?! Just like that?!"
" Of course mate! Come on! I heard some reports that Big Ran is out there!"
"Hey boss! I QUIT!"
Extra:
3 years later and you had deeply fallen in love with Toby. The way he spoke, the way he helped around when the crew was hurt, or even the way he looked when his hair was wet! It was lovely.
So, you got up the courage to tell him.
"Hey Toby!" You said, fighting the sound of the waves
"Yeah YN?!"
"I love you!"
"Really?!"
"MHM!"
"I love you too Yn."
Sorry That Tommy's was bad I had low inspo, then I got inspo on tubes but yeah sorry again! Hope you enjoyed! and thanks for the original idea / request @z0vamp!
So, you know the scene in Avengers: Endgame with Tony’s arm mangled from the Infinity Stones? I thought it’d be cool if the Captain had a thing similar to that, but less lethal, if that makes sense.
I was wondering if you could do something with the reader with serious ptsd from everything that happened, overworking themselves to the bone, realizing that the spot Mark yanked the crystal out had become infected or something. The reader has a horrible long and pulsing wound that goes up to their shoulder from having the crystal so long, and they knew it would scar, but this is so much worse, but they convince themselves they are fine, but then eventually Mark and the crew realize the reader is seriously hurt when the reader almost passes out in the hallway. Mark argues with the reader, telling them to just let him see, and they panic, knowing how he’ll react, but Mark finally pulls their sleeve up and finds the wound.
And stares. And stares, hearing CC scold the Captain and saying how they could have lost their arm to infection if they had left it like that much longer. He then shakily patches it up, not letting anyone else near it, because it was his responsibility. He did this to them.
Reader passes out sometime during all this, and when they wake up, Mark is at their bedside and won’t meet their eyes, bringing them water and shakily asking them what else they need, before the reader says his name and he just absolutely breaks down, sobbing, apologizing and crying.
Angst and comfort and pining and confessions please? 🥺❤️
'God, it’s worse than I imagined-’
“Ouch.”
Wincing as your fingers barely grazed against the pulsating wound, you stared at it in the bathroom mirror, wondering how you let it get this bad.
It all started when that damn crystal was ripped out of your flesh. You still remember how it was so painful you couldn’t even speak or cry out...you were just in total shock the whole time. And you obviously knew it was gonna scar, though it never gave you much trouble.
At least not until now, as it transformed into this horrid thing that trailed all the way up to your shoulder. The flesh looked like burnt muscle, with bluish blisters embedded in its mass.
Feeling your stomach lurch, you sucked in a breath and rolled your sleeve back down and put your gloves on.
You’ll deal with this later. You had other matters to attend to as captain. The duties didn’t stop just because the colony was getting set up.
Not only that, but you couldn’t tell Mark about this. Even after getting out of that messy timeloop, you never told him that he accidentally scarred your palm...and you definitely didn’t plan to show him what became of that scar.
He would be devastated.
And what about the rest of the crew if they found out and panicked?
That would be messy, and you hated messes. So you figured you’ll carry on as usual and see if your assistance was needed anywhere. Surely everyone was wondering where their trusty captain had run off to. It’s surprising that nobody’s spamming your messages yet..not even Mark.
But as you left the room and trekked down the corridor, your uniform suddenly felt unusually heavy. And you could feel your arm throbbing and your breaths becoming labored.
‘Maybe I just need to get this off..’ You figured, removing your helmet. However in doing so, the pain sharply swelled up and you hissed in agony, dropping the gear to the floor and startling a few nearby crewmembers--Celci included.
“Captain? You dropped this.” She frowned as she picked up the helmet and gave it back to you, though she noticed how exhausted you looked. “Cap? Is..everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m..I’m all good, CC. I just got butter fingers today.” With a tired smile, you tried taking it, though you nearly dropped it a second time and quietly cursed at yourself.
Now your sleeve was irritating the wound, and you itched it furiously.
“CC! Are you messing with the captain’s helmet?!”
You froze. ‘Oh shit..why now?’
He’s here, too.
“No, Mark.” The cryo lead huffed as she put the helmet down. “They have trouble carrying it, and..they don’t look so good either. Like they’re running a fever.”
Immediately, Mark’s glare vanished into a look of concern as he saw you sitting against the wall, and he knelt down. “Cap? Are you sick? Do you need anything?”
“N-No, no..I just..need a minute to rest my legs.” You tried staying calm, but it was failing with the anxiety welling up inside your chest. His staring didn’t help matters, either.
“Captain, don’t think I haven’t noticed. You’ve been working your tail off all day. And you’re sweating bullets. Maybe you should take off the jumpsuit-”
“No!”
He flinched at your shout, and even you seemed surprised as you shrunk back and clutched your arm. So much for trying to stay calm and not worrying anybody. “I mean..I..I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.”
"What’s wrong with your arm?” Mark asked.
“Nothing.”
“...then why are you holding it like it’s broken?”
“Nothing is wrong with it, Mark.” The panic was starting to settle in as you scowled at him, wishing he would just drop the subject. “I-If you don’t stop asking, I’ll...I’ll...”
“You’ll what? Demerit me for being concerned about my captain’s well-being?!” Now he was growing irritated, too. “If nothing’s wrong, then can I see it?”
“.......”
“Captain-”
“You’re not gonna like what you find..” You finally muttered, realizing that you can’t stop him. He was too stubborn and concerned for his own good...and you knew it was only going to hurt him in the most painful way possible.
But you just sighed and looked away, closing your eyes as you felt Mark gently take your arm and roll up the sleeve a little bit.
That was more than enough to horrify him.
You expected him to react with disgust, though when you bravely opened your eyes, he was just staring at it. Even as he took off your glove and found the crystal-shaped scar in your hand, he didn’t show much of a reaction to that either.
His eyes only stared and stared...
“My god..what happened?!” Celci was shocked, but you were barely able to focus on her words.
Your blurring gaze remained on Mark as, with trembling hands, he dug up a roll of bandages from his pocket and wrapped them around your arm. He did it as gently as he could, ignoring the concerns of anybody who walked by and asked what happened to you.
They didn’t understand.
None of them would understand.
Because only he knew what caused this.
Because he did this to you.
His guilt only grew when you eventually lost consciousness right as he finished, and he was oddly stoic as he quietly ordered the medical team to get a stretcher, operators, and medications ready.
It was all he could do to keep himself from breaking down in front of them.
..............
Hours later you came to and woke up in a bed. You sat up a little, recognizing your surroundings as the medical bay built within the colony. It was definitely more spacious than the infirmary back on the Invincible II, with your own individual room.
As you took in the scents of clean chemicals, you realized you were just in your uniform pants and sleeveless white undershirt. You looked at the bandage on your arm, covering your wound from fingers to shoulder. It wasn’t hurting anymore, thank goodness.
Though..it left you thinking about Mark and wondering if he was doing alright.
Then as if a higher being from above heard you, the door opened and you saw your head engineer stumble in with a glass of water. His gaze was downcast, refusing to meet your eyes; not even as he shakily set the cup down on the small table (which also held flowers native to the planet and get-well-soon notes). A few water droplets spilled, but that was the least of your worries.
Instead you watched Mark as he sat in the chair by your bedside, his head still bowed. “M-Morning cap, can I...get you anything else?”
He was very much not alright.
His voice sounded so monotone, yet so broken at the same time.
This was exactly what you dreaded. So you tried to be gentle with your wording so he didn’t think you were upset with him.
“I’m okay, thank you Mar-”
But before you could finish saying his name..he broke down into tears, hands rubbing at his face as he sobbed quietly. “Wh-Why...Why didn’t you tell me...I..I did this to you?!”
“I didn’t want you to worry.” You frowned with guilt. “It’s my own fault for letting it get this bad. You have every right to be mad at me.”
“..h-how could I ever be mad at you when I’m the reason you got infected i-in the first place?” With a tearful voice he finally looked up at you, face tinted red and eyes puffy. “You didn’t give yourself that s-scar...i-it was my fault..”
Your heart broke further as he choked out those words. Those exact same words he said about the warp core..
Indeed, it was a traumatic experience for both of you. Especially for him, knowing he’s hurt you several times and tried blaming you for all the problems he caused..thinking you were betraying him and the universe and...
But he just sniffled and looked at you directly. “The doctors..brought down the swelling and removed those blisters. Th-They said your arm would still be functional. Might take a few days, though..”
“That’s still good news.” You nodded softly.
“Yeah. Celci was going on and on about how lucky you were..not to need an amputation. God, I..I-I can’t even imagine if that had to happen because of me.” He laughed tearfully, voice breaking into sobs again. “I-Imagine me screwing up that badly, huh? Wouldn’t that be funny?”
Shaking your head, you sat up more to hug him, unable to bear seeing him this upset. And you let him cry into your non-infected shoulder as you held him as tight as you could.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, [y/n].” He didn’t mean to say your actual name, but he was so crushed by the “what ifs” and felt this gut-wrenching heartache inside of him--the fear of losing you or being the reason you lost a limb eating him alive. In this moment, saying your name felt natural.
“It’s alright, Mark. I forgive you.” You patted his back. Even if you only had one good arm left, you’d still give the best hugs that you possibly could to this man.
“Y-You’d still forgive me if-?”
“Of course. Neither of us could’ve known it could infect me like this. And if I needed that procedure to save my life, then..that’s fine. I’ll learn to live with it. Besides, I could get myself a cool robot arm.”
You heard him laugh a little bit through his tears, his stubble tickling your skin. ‘At least he’s feeling better now.’ You sighed softly in relief as you stroked his hair absentmindedly.
He gazed at you tiredly, a smile on his lips; though he did something unexpected as he pulled you closer and rested his forehead against yours, eyes closed. You were flustered, but shut your eyes, too, holding onto each other for a few moments.
After some time Mark pulled away, taking your hands. “[Y/n], there’s something I’ve..been meaning to tell you.” He cleared his throat. ”I was so terrified to lose you, both today and in that wormhole-warp core fiasco. I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to say this, so I’m going to right now: I...may or may not have...f-feelings for you that you may or may not reciprocate...?” He murmured quietly, averting his gaze.
Even he sounded unsure of himself, thinking this was too unprofessional.
Maybe it wasn’t the right time, but he was so afraid that there wouldn’t be a “next time”. Anything could happen to him or you or the crew tomorrow or tonight...with all you’ve been through there’s been missed opportunities and no second chances for some things.
And this was a huge risk he was taking--a risk that could end with him being heartbroken and you never looking at him as anything but a head engineer.
Yet when he nervously looked up at you, all he could see was your warm smile, feeling your hands tighten around his.
And in that moment he found no reason to fear or doubt you anymore.
what if Captain was like know for not really liking/celebrating Valentine's day or it was just a rumor or something (totally not my aro-ass projecting * cough cough* i have no idea what you're talking about) so Mark is really touched when at the end of the day there's a very beautiful valentine from them in his cryo machine (or whatever the thing was, ya know sleep box) - List Anon
You were known for not being the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day.
Nobody knew why, but you didn’t seem particularly eager to tell them if you had a date with anyone this year. You just carried on like it was any ordinary day, debriefing with crewmembers and making sure things were running smoothly.
Unfortunately, this also included ensuring no couples were too distracted from their duties. But you didn’t demerit them for smooching or cooing at each other every second.
Nah, you’re not that cruel.
Throughout the day you’ve gotten cute valentine E-cards from your crew. While mostly platonic, you could tell some of them had a die-hard crush on you and aimed to make it as obvious as possible.
You just chuckled and switched off the tablet, focusing on the project before you with a proud smile. It was finally finished. And just in the nick of time, too.
The ship was currently on-course for a sector populated by a friendly alien colony who said they can provide fuel and food (actual food besides sandwiches).
The downside? It was a 3-week journey.
You overheard Mark whining about it and thus permitted half the crew to go into hypersleep if they desired to at the end of today.
Knowing he’d be the first to jump into his cryopod, you quickly went to the bridge to check it, discreetly carrying your “project” the whole way. After making sure all the systems were properly running, you placed it on the floor, leaving a note on the front and shutting the door tight.
You hoped he’ll like it.
........
With a yawn, Mark shuffled towards his cryopod, looking forward to a nice long nap on the way to the alien colony.
He deserved it, because he loved himself.
Lately his engineering team was being a pain in his ass as they, once again, questioned his blueprints and complained about everything he suggested. He definitely didn’t wanna spend the next three weeks dealing with them.
It didn’t help that most of them were dating somebody, leaving him as the only single engineer on the Invincible II.
Sad.
This put him in a slightly sour mood as he opened his pod door and stepped inside-
Only for his boot to kick something over.
“What the..” Blinking in confusion, he looked down and realized it was a piece of a meteorite you were studying. But there was something unique about this, as it was carved into the shape of a heart.
Was it for him? Did he actually have a secret admirer aboard this ship??
The only person he could think of was-
Wait..hold the damn phone.
You? The captain who didn’t fancy Valentine’s Day?? Gave him a valentine???
Mark’s heart was skipping beats as he picked up the rock, holding it in front of his face with a radiant smile. It was beautiful, and just for him and him alone, which the note stuck to it confirmed.
‘Looks like today didn’t suck after all.’ He couldn’t stop grinning as he held it to his chest, shutting the pod door and leaning back against the wall.
As much as he wanted to sprint back to your cabin and thank you personally, he was far too exhausted and just wanted to sleep.
Oh well.
At least he had something nice to dream about along the way.
Heyyyyy so I was wondering if you could do head cannons about space mark and the captain when they continuously throw themselves out of the airlock?
"I see the problem here.” You bring up one of the ship’s guns on the bridge console, finding something had floated by and got itself jammed. “With this thing stuck it won’t pivot, and that could give us trouble if we need to aim it at something.”
“Yeah, that’s very bad. So we’re gonna get the guy who’s best-equipped to deal with guns, right?” Mark nervously smiles. “And you’re totally not going to throw yourself out of the airlock again, riiiiight?” His smile widens.
Even though that’s been your impulse decision every time there’s a problem, you decide to wake up Gunther instead..
Only for the Computer to say he’s unavailable.
“Alright, so how do we fix this ourselves?”
“Maintenance is required outside the ship. Please exit through the airlock.”
You just look at Mark and he stares back at you in utter horror.
“No...don’t. You. DARE.”
“Would you rather go out?”
“..no.”
“Then I’ll fix it. I have a better idea this time.”
After a quick salute, you dash off and he chases after you. “This time?! THIS TIME?!! Captain please don’t do this to me again!! I actually wanna go out! I volunteer! I’ll take a spacewalk for you-!”
But he stops as you don’t immediately rush to the airlock. Instead, you find the astronaut suits and put one on so you can survive out there.
"...there were suits?"
"Yeah uh....I forgot." You put on your helmet and tether. “When you panic you sometimes forget things, y’know?”
He just nods, relieved that you’re not planning to yeet yourself out of the airlock for the fourth time.
Even so, he’s nervous as he watches you exit the ship, checking every window possible to make sure you don’t float away.
But you remain tethered and fix the problem yourself, pulling out the space debris that’s wedged between the gun and the ship. It was easier than you thought.
When you return and step out of the airlock Mark immediately hugs you. "Welcome back, Captain! I missed you!”
“..I was only gone for a minute. But thanks.” You chuckle. “Spacewalking is pretty fun. Maybe next time I’ll try it without a suit.”
