How You Play the Game

Bleeding

'It looks like a snow cone.' Jack thought hysterically, gazing blankly at Mark as he stumbled forwards and fell into the snow. Jack could hear the faint sounds of Chara's laughter on the wind as their soul faded away. But that didn't matter now. Mark was dying, if he wasn't already dead. There was nothing he could do for him now. Unless Jack did one thing.
'That's right. I have...I have to reset it. The timeline...I have to reset it, and I can...fix this.' He thought absently, crawling over to Mark's prostrate form.
Mark had yet to completely die. He was being held up barely by only DETERMINATION. He glanced at Jack, and tentatively raised his hand to pay Jack's arm.
"Don't...reset. You can...find a happy ending now, if you want. I've...taken the route of the genocidal maniac for you, haha... So you can look for a happy ending now. I-I promise." Mark said weakly, coughing up blood.
"No, I can't. You can't just...don't just...you can't just ditch me!" Jack whined pathetically, sniffling.
"Come on Jack." Mark scolded gently.
"I did everything for you, don't just throw it away because I won't be there. What a silly reason." Mark chuckled, trying to be casual as his blood dyed the snow below him.
"But..." Jack whimpered. Mark had always done everything for him. He was constantly a step in front of Jack so he could take enemy attacks. He picked Jack up earlier and tried to help carry him through the ruins. He even went so far as to rewrite the world just so he could try to help Jack.
"That's not fair... You've done so much, you've worked so hard, you can't just accept that this is the end!" Jack wailed, scooping Mark up and hugging him. His clothes were turning a dark crimson, but he didn't notice.
"Hey..." Mark pushed Jack away gently.
"Don't get your sweater messy." He mumbled, eyes out of focus.
"W-what..." Jack looked down at a splotch of blood staining his shirt. He looked back up at Mark, tears in his eyes.
"You're dying right now and all you care about is my sweater being clean. Priorities, Mark. Priorities." Jack scolded lightly, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Oh, sorry. But...yknow...all I ever wanted to do was see you smile. Really smile. Like you did when we first came down here. I haven't seen it in a long time... I was just trying to find that smile. The one that meant...that meant you were happy." Mark explained.
Jack smiled sadly.
"See, that's what I'm talking about! I don't want any of that sad crap. Come on, man, grant me a dying wish and smile!" Mark teased, laughing. He coughed up blood, and his voice got watery.
"That's impossible Mark, I can't possibly smile when you're dying in front of me." Jack whimpered, grabbing Mark's hand gently.
"Oh. Good point." Mark nodded, before it became too much effort to talk. He lied there for a few minutes, hacking up more blood and drowning in himself. His vision grew dark and he shut his eyes, feeling himself drift off somewhere, like he was falling asleep. He patiently waited for his soul to shatter and vanish.
But it refused.
----------------Mark's mind-----------------------
'What am I doing here? Last time I checked, I was busy dying. Why was I dying? Oh, right, right, protecting Jack. Sometimes he's a real pain. I love him, though. He's worth it. Oh, he didn't smile before I died. Oh, no, I really wanted to see it. I love the way his eyes seem to light up when he smiles. It's infectious. It's a shame I'm going to die before I see it.
...well, that's just poppycock. That's bull pooty. That's just CRAP. You know what? No. I am not going to die just because someone decided to slit my throat. I didn't even see it coming! Screw that! No, hell no. I'm going back. I'm GOING BACK AND NOBODY SHALL STOP ME.'
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A moment later, Mark's bleeding stopped. He took a hesitant breath, and found that oxygen could enter his lungs again. He made a confused little moan, as he touched a shaky hand to his neck. He traced a thin scar of a line there, but no fresh blood flowing. Then he felt Jack tackle him and envelop him in a tight hug. Jack was sobbing, whispering gibberish as he grasped Mark firmly.
"Ohmygodyourealivethankgodohmygodyourealiveyoureawakeyourehereohgodholyshitohmygod..." Jack muttered into Mark's shoulder as he kept him as close as possible.
"Mmfh. C-can't...breathe...buddy..." Mark tapped Jack's shoulder, and he reluctantly let go. Mark inhaled deeply, the cold air biting at his lungs. Nothing made him feel more alive right now.
"How..." Jack asked quietly, reaching out and grabbing Mark's arm. Mark glanced at him and smiled.
"I can't let one itty-bitty throat slashing keep me down." He said cheerfully, before he was enveloped in another hug.
"Goddamnit Mark, goddamnit...you are so close to being dead right now, I swear." Jack laughed, tears still dripping down his face. Mark reached up and brushed them away.
"C'mon. I TOLD you I wanted to see you smile. Why do you think I came back?" He teased, chuckling.
"Wait until you're not on the edge of death, and then we'll talk about me smiling." Jack snorted, handing Mark a Monster Candy. Mark checked his HP.
"HOLY HELL." He exclaimed, jaw dropping open. 0.00000000000000000000000000000001 HP.
"See? I fucking told you. EAT SOMETHING." Jack ordered. Mark hurriedly ate the candy, in shock over his HP number.
"Oh my god." He sighed in relief as it went back up to 10 HP.
"Yeah, it was really close."
"Well, I'm fine now." Mark said confidently, before he saw more tears brimming in Jack's eyes.
"Buddy? It's okay now..." Mark said quietly.
"No, I know. I know everything's fine now. I just...ugh, I-i need to stop crying, haha." Jack faked cheer, rubbing his eyes. This time Mark wrapped his arms around Jack, rubbing his back gently.
"Sorry I put you through all that." He said worriedly. Jack made a strange noise between surprise, sarcasm, and sadness.
"Don't you ever say that. You didn't put me through anything. I owe you a thousand times over. You've done so much for me, just to try and save me...even now, you're apologizing to me. Why? Why...why would you do so much?" He cried. "It's not like I can ever make it up to you, or anything like that...!" Mark put a finger over Jack's lips gently.
"Hey. I've done all this of my own volition. I wanted to sacrifice everything to save you. I wanted to do everything I could for you. I'm not looking for repayment of any kind. Honestly? I just wanted to see you smile again. I wanted to be with you again, and have fun like we used to, telling jokes and making friends and... I just wanted to save you because I love you." He's said it many times by now, but now it really struck Jack in the heart.
"What do you mean? You...actually...y-you can't be serious...?"
"Oh. Heh. And here I was thinking I was way too obvious."
"Oh, shut up! I-I'm trying to ask a question here." Jack said nervously, flushing bright red despite the cold weather.
"Yeah, I mean it. I'm as serious as...um...something really serious. But, yknow, it's okay if you don't feel the same. I get ya. If you want, it's probably best we forget this ever happened." Mark grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"F-f-forget?" Jack stuttered.
"Yeah, I mean if you want t-" Mark was cut off by Jack smashing their lips together. Perhaps a bit harder than he originally intended, but he was new to this kind of thing, give him a break. When they broke the kiss after a few moments, both of their faces were as red as fire hydrants.
"U-uhhh..." Mark drew a blank on what he was just talking about. Currently, the only thing on his mind was the feeling of Jack's lips.
"I definitely don't want to forget that." Jack smirked, laughing lightly. Mark joined in, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, so can I assume you feel the same way?" He asked, tilting his head. Jack rolled his eyes.
"Come on, don't be an idiot. How could I not love the man who saved my life time and time again?" He teased.
"Aw, now I don't want to brag, but-"
"Good, then don't."
"Dang it."
Jack smiled, for real, and Mark's life felt complete.
And so they sat in the snow for a little while longer, their problems far away, and their laughter rang out through the underground.

A/N: hey guys, thanks for sticking with me so far. We're almost done!