Chapter 19- That Dragon...

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"Mark..."

Jack and Mark were sitting at their new favorite place, celebrating the Fourth of July together in comfortable silence. There was this huge tree in the woods behind Mark's house where he built his first treehouse. The treehouse was still there... sort of. After about seven or so years, it was in shambles, to the point where going up there at all was a safety hazard. They decided that this tree would be 'their spot'. The place where they would go when they wanted to relax together as a couple.

Honestly, it was kind of strange. Mark had never shown anybody his old tree house. He had always been a little ashamed of it. It reminded him of his childhood, back when life was simple. The only people who knew about it were Bob, Wade, and Tyler, and that was because it was their clubhouse. They built it together and would spend hours inside talking about superheroes and playing with action figures when they were young, even playing video games on their Game Boys and DS's later in life. It was Mark's sanctuary, the place where he would go whenever he felt distressed or unsafe.

He wanted it to always be a safe place. That's why he never brought anybody there. 'People are fickle, they can change anything and everything in a heartbeat if they so choose. They could care about you one day and want to destroy everything you care about the next.'

This made it even stranger that he brought Jack here. Especially since they were dating. If they ever broke up, he'd have more motivation than anybody else to come here and burn the place to the ground. 'I shouldn't think like that! Never plan for failure, or that's what you're gonna get!'

"Mark!" Jack said much louder, trying to get his lover's attention. He kept spacing out today. Jack could tell something was wrong. "Are you okay Markimoo?"

Mark finally came to his senses. "Huh? O-oh, uh yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" He knew he'd been acting strange, but he wasn't sure if he was willing to talk about it.

Sadly, he might not have a choice.

"Maerk..." Jack said, his disapproval shining through his voice. You could tell if he was serious about something by the way his accent thickened. When he was stern or serious, his A's would change shape, making him sound more 'manly' and even a bit fatherly.

Speaking of fathers...

"Well..." Mark couldn't bring himself to this conversation. He didn't want to. He didn't think his heart could take it. "It... It's nothing. Don't worry about-"

"MAERK!" Jack sat up from his comfortable position on his boyfriend's shoulder at the base of the tree. He knew when Mark was lying and he knew that if this self-proclaimed 'manly-man' didn't talk about what was bothering him it'd eat him alive. This wasn't the first time in their three-month long relationship that something like this happened.

He stood from the spot, balling his fists and putting them at his waist, like the good not-wife-but-practically-emotional-housewife he was. "Mark Edward Fischbach, you will tell me what's wrong and you will tell me NOW." Jack declared.

Mark sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to hide it. Jack had been able to see right through him from day one. "Okay, okay." He said, his tone defeated and even a bit tired.

"Today is the anniversary of my dad's death.."

.
.
.

Jack fucked up.

Holy shit Jack fucked up.

Jack looked like he was about to cry. "OhmyGodMarkI'msosorryIcan'tevenaahhh!!!" he cried just before he showered his unsuspecting boyfriend in hugs and kisses.

Mark practically had to pry the short Irish boy off of himself, knowing this would be his reaction. "Calm down Jack! I'm fiiine! It's been two years already."

Jack stopped trying to shower him in love long enough for Mark to notice that his foreign friend was crying. "Woah. Hey now, it's okay Jacky! Why're you crying?" It was Mark's turn to be comforting.

"It's just sad, is all.." he wiped away his tears on his blue hoodie, trying to control himself. "I may not've met him, but he raised you didn't he?"

Mark was a bit caught off-guard by this question, which was obviously rhetoric. "Then he must've been great! I wish I could'a met him.."

The pair sat in silence. Whether it was awkward, comfortable, mournful, or a mixture of the three; it was silent for a good few minutes, though it felt like much longer.

"Mark.." Jack started unsurely, "How did your dad die anyways, i-if you don't mind me asking of course!"

It hadn't occurred to him that he'd never told Jack about how his dad died. He had to have mentioned it before, right?

Right?!

'... Holy shit I never told him... Oh no..'

Fuck. "He died of cancer.." 'Don't ask any more questions.'

Jack could see the guilt on Mark's face with ease, causing him to become suspicious. "Maerk." he dragged out, demanding an explanation.

Mark could feel the sweat on his neck now. "Why do you look so guilty?"

'Dammit! He asked.'

"It's not that big a deal!"

Jack's glare was enough for Mark to give up this time. "Okay Jack, don't freak out but..." he knew he had to just say it. 'Just tear it off. Like a Band-Aid!' "I may have had a tumor a few years ago."

Mark looked up from the blade of grass he was fiddling just in time to see Jack go pale as snow. He looked like he was going to faint. "...Jack?"

He didn't respond. "Jack?!"

He didn't move. Not even an inch. "Jack!"

It felt like his heart had stopped. The pain was so intense. "Say something!"

He didn't know what to do. "... Please?"


And so, Jack fainted before Mark could attempt to explain to him that the tumor was benign and not even in the same area as his father's lung cancer.



~~~~~~~~

997 Words.

So... This story is getting revived! Woohoo?

Was that a good new chapter? I like the ending, but I don't know..

Tell me if you guys liked it though! I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

I enjoyed writing it, oddly enough. I'm glad to come back to this story, even if I have no idea where it's going from here.

I love you guys <3 ~Z

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