Comfort Tales

A Markiplier Hug

You had to get away for a bit, just to clear your head. Sitting under this tree, with your eyes closed, just happened to be the place you came to try and think. It's quiet here, no one to bother you, until...

"Uh, hey. Are you alright?"

You're almost frustrated, but that voice seems so familiar. You're sure you know it, but it just... couldn't be. Opening your eyes, you can barely believe what you're seeing. He's staring down at you with those deep brown eyes, filled with concern, with a few strands of hair falling into his face. The one and only, Markiplier. "Uhm..." You pull your lips tight, trying not to react, but a million thoughts and emotions are racing through you. You think it might be a dream, or a hallucination, or you're actually dead. You feel excited, but terrified, and there's heaps of confusion.

"Sorry." Mark offers you a small smile, though it seems a little forced, as he still seems concerned about something. "I noticed the shirt." He gestures to the merch you're wearing, your favourite shirt. "You seemed..." He takes a deep breath, forcing his smile a little more. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright." You nod quickly, but perhaps a little too ambitiously as his smile fades, replaced with a worried grimace. "Do you wanna..." He absent mindlessly scratches at his beard as he glances around, as though searching for an answer before looking back down at you. "Take a little walk with me?"

Swallowing hard, you nod. It doesn't matter if this is a dream, or even if you've fallen down a set of stairs and smashed your head at the bottom. A walk with Mark is a walk with Mark. Slowly, you get to your feet and a small smile tugs at the corner of his lips, even though he seems a little uncomfortable now. He nods his head to the side and begins to walk in that direction, and you slowly fall into line beside him. "So... what's your name?" He asks, and nods a little as you answer. "That's... that's a good name." He chuckles, shaking his head a bit and you can tell he's struggling to figure out how to make this less awkward. Suddenly he takes a deep breath, and grins widely. "You know my name, of course."

Deciding to try to lighten the mood, you smile. "Uh, Tyler Scheid, right?"

Mark huffs out a breath, trying not to laugh. He glances at you then looks ahead for a moment, as if debating on how to respond. "I wish." He finally utters. "That Scheid is a pretty great guy."

"Smile always." You say in agreement.

Mark just nods, checking his phone and you find yourself wondering what the hell he's even doing here. Your wrack your brain trying to think if he was on tour, and if there was a show near here... you hadn't been paying attention since you couldn't have gone anyway. Or maybe he was filming something, or visiting someone! "So, what's on your mind?" His deep voice draws you out of your thoughts.

"Right now?" You shrug your shoulders, staring down at the ground, a little embarrassed. "I mean... I'm taking a walk with one of my heroes, so..."

Mark stops walking, and you're a few steps ahead before you realize. Stopping yourself, you turn back to look at him, more than a little confused. He has his head tilted, his lips parted slightly. He almost seems surprised, like your comment caught him off guard. He must have heard it a thousand times a day, yet he still seems genuinely moved by it. He takes a deep breath, then suddenly grins. "What a coincidence." He purrs, his voice soft and friendly. "I've just met one of mine."

"Who?" You gasp, assuming he's talking about something that happened before he found you, sitting under that tree.

Mark chuckles. "You gonna try to mess with me for this whole walk?" You tilt your head, raising an eyebrow and stare at him until he smirks. "You!"

You frown. "Me?" You scoff and shake your head furiously. "You didn't even KNOW me until like... five minutes ago." You point out.

"You're..." Mark slowly begins to walk again and you casually begin to follow, keeping a close eye on him. He watches ahead of the two of you, his footsteps slow and deliberate. "A viewer though, right? You watch the videos?"

"Yeah." You shrug. "I'm a fan." A big one, you think, but don't dare say.

Mark smiles, nodding. "So, you're my hero." He repeats. "You guys inspire me, keep me going... you give me something to strive towards. You guys..." He looks at you, as you stare at him wide eyed. "You, give me the opportunity to live my dreams. Sounds, kind of heroic if you ask me. More heroic than making silly videos for the internet."

"I love those silly videos." You utter, more reflex than anything else.

"I'm glad." Mark laughs. "I love making them." He checks his phone again and sighs as he stops walking. He looks from the screen up to you, then back down at it. "I... have to go... soon." He mumbles, his voice low and troubled.

You nod. "I get it." You promise. "You're probably so busy. You have so much more important things to be-"

"No." Mark shakes his head. "Not more important." He corrects, tucking his phone away. "But I'm still expected to be in certain places at certain times. Are you going to be okay though?"

You nod again, forcing a big smile for him. "Me? Yeah. Of course. I'm great."

Mark seems unconvinced. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"It's nothing." You shake your head. Mark watches you closely a moment, and those caring eyes you've come to know so well seem to burning through your soul. "It's just..." Something flickers across his face and he gives a slight nod to encourage you. Taking a deep breath, you fall into a rant about it all. It all flows out of you much easier than you expected it to, and Mark, surprisingly takes it in stride, nodding along.

"Wow." Mark mumbles when he's sure you've finished. "That's rough. I get it..." He bites his lip and shakes head. "Well, I mean, I don't... I don't know exactly how you feel about it all, but I understand why it would bother you so much." You swallow hard, feeling the tears well up in your eyes and you internally curse yourself for letting it get to this point. Mark simply offers you a smile though, opening his arms. You hesitate, and he waves his hands, ushering you over. Sighing you step forward and lean against him, feeling his strong arms wrap around and pull you close. He takes a deep breath and let's it out slowly, and you find yourself doing the same as he rubs a soothing circle into your back. A small sob escapes you, despite your best efforts and you bury your face into his shoulder as you wrap your arms around his back. Mark simply nods, his breathing slow and steady as he tries his best to comfort you. He doesn't say a word.

As your sobbing finally subsides, you hear his deep voice once more. "It's alright." He offers. "Doesn't it feel better to let it out?" Sniffling, you nod.

"Sorry." You find yourself mumbling into his shirt.

Mark shakes his head as he releases you and steps back, placing his hands on your shoulders. "Don't be. I'm glad I could be here." He tilts his head, watching a moment as he lets his hands fall back to his sides. "I know, I can't always be here... in person like this, but I would be if I could, alright?" He grins and you find yourself smiling in return. "How about... I keep making videos? Is that a good compromise?" You chuckle and nod your head and to your delight, his smile grows. "If you ever need someone, reach out, alright? You guys are all so nice to each other, and I'm sure there's someone out there who would love to listen. Take care of yourself, okay? For me?" You nod your head and Mark slowly pulls his phone out of his pocket and stares at it, before offering you one final, sad smile. "It was great meeting you. I'm sorry it couldn't have been longer. I'll..." He grins a bit wider, his eyes sparkling a little. "I'll see you in the next video?"

"Yeah. Thanks Mark... for everything." You mumble.

"Nah." Mark waves a hand in the air. "Thank you!" He sighs, stepping back, and turns, heading off in another direction. He glances back over his shoulder, then sighs and looks back in the direction he's headed. You can't help but sit down right where you are and attempt to process what just happened. Your mind absolutely races, but one thing is for certain... you'll never forget this moment, and you'll always take care of yourself. You promised Mark.

(( Author's Note:  So... this is a thing. I've been in a really weird head space lately. Like... weirder than usual, and it's not a great place. Then... this story happened? Yeah. Second person. Weird, right? Anyway. This exists now. So... have that?

Alright, actual notes, I guess. I was watching... or rather listening to Mark's most recent live stream, the one where he was playing Slay the Spire... and I can't help but believe that he really, actually cares. It'd be damn hard for anyone to convince me otherwise. And I was feeling... vulnerable... tonight, and I wanted to write a comfort story. But I'm sick of writing them in first person. So... this... happened. Sorry if it's TOO weird. :P ))