Something Better

Chapter 23

"Can we just go home now?" Sheph asked in a distant yet still irritated tone. Mark continued to look at him in hopes Sheph would do the same but to no avail. Sheph continued to look at the ground while they walked. Luckily Kyle had decided to take a stop in the neighboring town so they could easily convene. Mark didn't say it aloud but he was having extreme difficulty calling on his powers right now.
"I didn't mean to put you in this much distress Sheph-" Sheph glared at the sky for a moment before centering his gaze on Mark with the same expression. His breath caught in his throat at the sudden reaction and he quickly started to explain himself. "It was a rare lapse in judgement and I'm honestly sorry about it Sheph." He finished while trying his hardest not to sound defensive. 
Sheph held his gaze for another moment before looking forwards again. It had began to get dark and Mark could finally see the neighboring town. A silence fell over them and Mark winced as he thought over everything he'd managed to fuck up in the past couple days. He repressed the urge to hiss at the thoughts that poured into his head and closed his eyes for a moment. Not having realized Sheph had sensed his inner battle even if he had tried to hide it. 
"Where are we going to meet up with the others." Sheph asked, and tried to smile a bit when Mark looked at him in surprise. He grinned widely at this.
"Apparently a place we can rest if we want to. I think you'll definitely be surprised when you see it though." He replied vaguely, peeking Sheph's interests immediately. 
"Oh come one you can tell me more than that." Sheph pouted, Mark scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.
"That's all he sent me, along with the location that is." He replied making Sheph groan.
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"You're kidding." Sheph said skeptically. Mark was looking up at the building with a slight grin, but the same hint of surprise Sheph was feeling.
"I guess not." He said with a chuckle. They looked at each other for a moment before opening the door. 
Mark looked at the large crowd before him. He questioned if Kyle had gave him the wrong address but was quickly assured when he saw Kyle sitting with the large puma that had introduced himself as Phin. Sheph seemed a bit more overwhelmed as his eyes whizzed around the room, from the huge crowd to the loud band in the back. 
Mark put his arm around Sheph's waist, and led him to Phin and Kyle, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. However Kyle stopped the minute he saw them.
"Oh thank god it's you two." He said quickly. Phin looked a bit dejected as if Kyle had just cut him off, but Kyle seemed relieved. Mark grinned at the pair and took off the leather jacket he was wearing. Phin immediately noticed and took the jacket kindly from him. Slipping it on he looked back at Kyle. 
"Now you can show off in front in front of all your friends come on." He pleaded with a half smile. Kyle sighed and looked away from him at the stage and seemed to get lost in thought. 
"Show off?" Sheph inquired. Kyle laughed quickly and shook his head. 
"If you don't want to sleep in the ship with Autzen, Phin and I will be in here, and I'm sure Nik will fall asleep somewhere." Kyle commented with a disdainful look pointed at Nik from across the little bar. "But for now we're just gonna stay up a bit and calm down." He finished nonchalantly. Mark nodded and looked at Sheph for his opinion but he seemed to be doing the same.
"So um, what do you wanna do?" Sheph asked awkwardly. Mark thought for a moment before looking out at the crowd. Then back at the bar. He looked back at Sheph with a glint in his eye.