under my wing (septiplier fluff)

[6] Results Day (Ribbons)

The day had finally come. Results day. It'd been about two, almost three weeks since Mark had come here to stay with the injured boy he'd found in the alley. Hadn't they said it would only take a few days for the results? He couldn't quite remember. He'd gotten pretty used to the usual daily routine at this point. Waking up in his warm, home bed seemed like a distant memory now. He got the same feeling whenever he went on a really long holiday.. Except this wasn't a holiday. This was just a waiting period until the day he was done at this forsaken hospital and was free to go home while Jack was reunited with his loved ones.

He hoped that was the direction Jack was headed, at least. It was the direction that everyone was hoping for in this whole mess.

With a satisfying yawn, Mark rose from his bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes. He brushed his hair to the side to get it out of his face and quickly glanced over at the analogue clock at the wall - 7:00 AM. It was the usual time that he woke up. Time to go have breakfa- Wait a minute, no. He was missing something.. but what was it? Mark pondered for a long moment and began to look around his room for clues.

That was when a green ribbon caught his eye. It was tied around one of the drawer's knobs on the bedside table within his line of vision. Mark had found this ribbon a few days earlier when he'd passed by a nurse cutting and tying some ribbons into bows nearby the reception. Since he'd become pretty comfortable speaking with the staff at the hospital, he asked the nurse about the bows and what they were for. The nurse had told him that they were small gifts for the patients. She said that each colour ribbon had its own special meaning.

The blue ribbons signified strength and peace. The red ribbons signified love and courage. There were other coloured ribbons too, such as purple and yellow, but there was one colour ribbon that'd caught his attention - The green one. Supposedly, the green ribbon signified hope and unity. Mark wasn't usually the type of person to go along with the whole 'this object has special meaning' idea, but for some odd reason, Mark had decided to sneakily take one of the scrap pieces of green ribbon that was lying on the floor. He guessed he'd make some sort of use out of it later.

In the end, he did make use out of it. Mark had used this green ribbon to remind him about the day. The day both he and Jack had been fearing for ages. For obvious reasons, the ribbon also reminded him of Jack, since both the ribbon and Jack's hair held a very close resemblance in colour. Mark stared at this ribbon for a long moment. The bright, metallic greenery shone under the rays of the morning sunrise that was peering through the window.

Then the realisation came. It hit him like a wave, crushing the tranquility of his mind and eventually letting him come up for breath to realise what a disaster he was in. His mind immediately went to Jack and whether he was thinking the same thing as him right now. He would be nervous too, wouldn't he? Wait, of course he would - He was about to have his whole future determined for him in just a few hours. Mark could feel himself breaking into a bit of a panicked sweat.

He knew that Jack normally woke up about half an hour before he did every morning, so without a second thought Mark jumped up from his bed. He didn't bother to get dressed out of his pyjamas but he did untie the ribbon from the knob to bring with him before he left. He wasn't hungry for breakfast. He only had one thing on his mind.

Mark sped down the hallway to Jack's room. He flew past doctors and nurses that each offered him confused and slightly concerned looks. He was getting flashbacks to the night of Jack's first nightmare as he hurried through the hall. Yes, Jack had experienced a few more nightmares following after the first, but the good thing was Mark had been prepared for the other ones. The memory of the panic that night was now adding onto his current panic.. Wow, he sure panicked a lot, didn't he? He'd become way too tense and on-alert from staying here.

It only took him about a minute or two to arrive at his doorway. Quietly, he peered inside, and to his relief, Jack was fine. He was calmly watching the TV while fiddling with the buttons of the remote in his hand. Mark turned the doorknob and stepped inside, offering the Irish boy a curt smile in greeting.

"G'morning, Mark!" Jack chirped to him.
"Oh, hey, you actually called me by my name this time," Mark laughed, sitting himself down in the chair he usually sat on.
"Yeah, I got a bit bored of the other names. But don't worry, I've already begun planning some new ones for you!"
Mark rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, joy, I can't wait to hear them."
Jack snickered. "Trust me, you'll love them, Markimoo!"
"I'm guessing that's one of them?"
"Sure is!"

There was a bit of a pause. It was clear that Jack hadn't remembered what day it was, but Mark didn't want to ruin things for him just yet. He looked up at Jack for a moment and realised that he had caught a glimpse of the green ribbon that was hanging out of Mark's clenched fist and was now staring at it curiously.

"Watcha got there?" Jack asked him, icy gaze twinkling with interest.
Mark hesitated, but then he opened his hand up to reveal the ribbon.
Jack gasped. "Oh, you got a bow too? That's cool! ..Why is it undone though?"
"It was undone when I first got it."
"Ah, right," Jack's gaze drifted over to his bedside table. He pulled out the top drawer and took out a ribbon, showing it proudly to Mark. "Here's mine! It's red, my favourite colour. The nurse said it represents courage n' love.. or something like that. It's just like yer hair!"

Mark admired Jack's bow for a little while before looking down at his own. "Green's my favourite colour, actually." He mumbled with a shrug. "Just like your hair, too."
Perhaps he should tie the ribbon into a bow himself. If the hospital people saw him walking around with the undone ribbon they might think he undid it himself and give him some questionable looks. The kind nurse who had tied all those bows together had worked hard on them, after all. He didn't want to seem disrespectful.

"You're my favourite colour, Mark!" Jack then laughed, breaking him out of his little train of thought.
Hearing that surprised Mark. There was an odd warmth that filled an empty place in his heart and caused him to smile. That was an oddly nice thing of Jack to say, even if it was a bit rhetorical. Jack was full of compliments he'd never heard of before.
"And you know what? You're my favourite colour too, Jack."

/ ..but wait, there's more! :D

the chapter is not quite done yet because, well, obviously, the results haven't been revealed yet. but those are to come in the next chapter.. whenever that may be.. i know i'm slack with these, i'm sorry! ;c

until next time, ciaorinoo ~