Love By Starlight (Markiplier x Reader)

Free Falling

~one year later

You and Mark have been going through the same routine for a year, helping him fight off Tenebris, sparingly eating food twice a week and only able to shower once a week for only ten minutes with cold water. Because the Araime had more advanced engines, the time it took to get home was cut short. And today, whenever that was, happened to be the first day we spotted Earth. At first, it looked like a minuscule blue ball in the distance, then grew larger as we neared it, more details coming into view. The only problem was that neither of you knew how to slow down as you entered the atmosphere, the hull beginning to burst into bright orange flames. You muttered curses under your breath as you scanned the sea of buttons, not wanting to make the situation by pressing the wrong one. Mark tried to help, but since there were no tools to repair the ship, he counted down the distance before we reached Earth. "(Y/N)." Mark whispered quietly while you began pressing buttons since you were only one hundred feet away from Earth. "What?!?" You snapped, not meaning to get mad at him but still stressed about the situation. "I'm close enough to teleport if I let Tenebris control me for minute." "Mark-" "I can't let you die (Y/N)!" I shouted. "Trust me...please." He sighed. With much reluctance, you gave a slight nod. He gave you one last kiss on the lips before he squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened his eyes again, they were pitch black. "We have to get out of here!" You told him as the ship began rocking violently around you, nearly making you fall to the ground. Tenebris grumbled something under his breath as he forcefully grabbed onto your arm. Seconds later, both of you were swimming in the Pacific Ocean, watching the ship fall through the atmosphere in flaming peices of rubble before they crashed into the ocean, sending water flying in tidal waves towards you. You knew how to swim, but definitely wasn't the strongest. Without you having to ask, Tenebris let you ride on his back as he swam you to safety. You wondered why he was suddenly being nicer towards you, but decided to ask him later whenever you weren't about to drown. Once the ocean settled back down, the debris sinking to the bottom, he let you go. "Mark, I'm safe now." You gently put a hand on his cheek. Tenebris flinched at your touch, his eyes gradually turning back to brown. Mark smiled at you, but his smile faded instantly into a panicked expression when he noticed that he was floating in the middle of the ocean. "Hey, I'm right here." You assured him. He seemed to relax slightly, but still wasn't thrilled. "Why are we in the middle of the Pacific ocean?" Mark asked, focusing his gaze on you. "This is just where Tenebris took us." You informed him. Mark nodded, taking slow deep breaths while he focused on you. You resisted the urge to hug him so you both wouldn't drown. "Please tell me someone will be here soon." He hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes betraying his fear. "I don't know." You sighed. "But my arms are getting tired." Wordlessly, Mark gently squeezed your hand. You squeezed back, glad that at least if you died, you wouldn't be alone. "Swim now!" Mark suddenly took your hand and swam with you forward with surprising speed. "Why?" You panted, kicking your legs as hard as you could. You dared to look behind you, then instantly regretted it. Zooming towards you was a humongous wave that seemed to reach the sky. You tore your gaze away and focused on swimming faster to keep up with Mark who was practically pulling you behind him. "Come on, come on." You faintly heard him chant under his breath as he sped up. The wave was looming over you, blocking out the sun with a giant wall like shadow. You could tell Mark was getting tired, but he refused to give up, his breathing ragged and shallow, his movements gradually growing slower. Just when you thought you were safe, something slammed down on your back with enough force to knock the breath out of you, dragging you down to the dark depths as your hand was yanked from Mark's. You blindly struggled towards the surface, desperate for air. You gasped once you breached the surface. When you finally managed to rub most of the water out of your eyes, you realized you were alone. "Mark!" You called out. You received no answer. Over and over again you screamed his name, diving below to search for him but always coming back up alone. You dove back under the water and stayed there for a long time, feeling like giving up. You thought about the time you sang Space Odyssey with him in that base, when he risked his life by giving his helmet to you when yours broke in space, that one magical night when both of you were hanging out at your house playing Grand Theft Auto, having the time of your life, and when he admitted his feeling towards you when he thought he'd never see you again. And that year you were in the ship with him, all by yourself. Despite the circumstances, that was one of the best years of your life. You were quickly running out of breath, black dots peppering your vision as your lungs ran out of air, but you didn't care. Until you realized that you couldn't give up. Mark wouldn't want you to do that, no matter what. Just as you thought you were going to past up, you managed to get back to the surface, gulping air like a fish out of water. You noticed a giant shadow hovering over you once more. When you looked up, you saw a helicopter descending towards you. Inside was your boss and a couple of doctors that hoisted you out of the water just before you blacked out. Before you lost conscious, you heard a breathy voice like a ghost whisper "We're going to have so much fun together."