Chapter Text
Over the next days, Mark learnt a lot about Anti. First, and foremost, what exactly the creature was supposed to be. While it was a bit strange to hear that the green-haired entity came from a place humans called Hell, Anti did specify he preferred the name Underground. Of course, he thoroughly explained that it's not actually, well, underground after the kids asked their dad for a shovel because they wanted to visit the place.
"You can't get there just by digging holes," Anti laughed at their silly idea. "It's sort of another dimension. Humans can't travel there by themselves."
"Then take us there!" Sam and Tim would only whine in unison.
"I'd have to check whether I remember how to open a breach in the fabric of reality…" The monster's answer sounded pretty ominous.
Later Mark caught Anti practising some strange hand gestures and kept asking whether it was a good idea. Anti's choice of words concerned the raven-haired man, but the green-haired entity would assure his boyfriend it was nothing dangerous. Plus, he wouldn't actually take the kids there, at least not without his strict supervision.
In the meantime, Anti kept feeding the children various stories about his homeworld. Most of the creatures that supposedly populated that dimension were things Mark had heard of from myths and legends. There were devil-tailed, winged demons; flying dragon-like hunters; bloodthirsty rodents; purple-striped felines with three eyes and ten tails. Sam would listen to the stories with awe, and Tim would try to capture their looks on a piece of paper the best way he could. Their father was just a tiny bit concerned the latest drawings stuck to the fridge had a bit too much red and black on them.
The real problem started when Anti finally succeeded in visiting the Underground. He opened something like a tear floating in the air. It glowed green and red, a strange spiral of colours in the middle. Mark barely stopped Tim from running headfirst into the portal after the entity and scolded both of his children for even thinking about it.
Anti wasn't gone for too long. In fact, he emerged from the breach ten minutes later, holding something in his hands. The raven-haired man gave him a suspicious look, asking what in the world he could've brought back in. The entity grinned.
"Kids, remember how I told you about imps?"
"Those little fluffy demon thingies?" Sam's eyes lit up at that.
"Yes!" Anti giggled as he released a small creature from his hold. It was small like a bat, although it was shaped more like a ball. Its dark orange fur was as soft as a kitten's, and it was covering its big eyes with its dark violet wings.
Both kids half-squealed, half-screamed when they saw that, instantly reaching to grab it. Mark couldn't stop them from mercilessly torturing the obviously scared imp with their petting.
"Is that really okay?" The raven-haired man sighed, watching his children play with the small ball of anxiety.
"Imps are harmless, they never defend themselves. They drink the nectar of deathroots and they don't even have teeth." Anti assured his boyfriend. "I'm not going to bring anything dangerous, I promise."
"I'm holding onto your word, sweetheart." Mark smiled in return.
And so the reverse zoo trip began. Every week the green-haired entity would visit the Underground to catch an unsuspecting resident of the dimension to show it to the children later. Although nothing could beat the initial amazement upon seeing an imp, Sam and Tim were delighted to see all the otherworldly animals and whatnot.
It was when Anti brought the creature that was supposed to look like a cat that he managed to awe them once more. He told them to close their eyes as he pulled a dark velvet feline out of the portal and set it on the floor. The creature's tails stood up attentively, lightly twitching as it looked around the new surroundings.
"It's a Netsuna." the green-haired entity grinned as he told the children to look. Sam's squeak startled the feline, although it didn't manage to run away as Tim already reached for it with grabby hands.
Mark chuckled when Anti joined him on the couch. "They're so adorable, aren't they?"
"Well, it's hard to find something cute in human standards in the Underground, you know?"
"I meant my children." The raven-haired man laughed and lightly shoved his boyfriend.
The cat's tails were still indicating it was nervous, although it soon accepted the petting it was receiving as it sat still, occasionally letting out a high-pitched cry.
"Netsuna use a higher range for expressing happiness, and lower for sadness," Anti explained when
Sam began to look concerned about the sounds. "No need to worry. They hardly ever get angry so you could even pull on its tails and it'd let you."
"But don't actually," Mark cut in when he spotted a mischievous glint in Tim's eyes. He smiled as he saw his son go back to scratching behind the purple creature's ears.
"Yeah, they're cute," Anti said after a moment of silence. "That's why I love bringing them those things. Their smiles make me feel all warm inside."
The raven-haired man kissed his boyfriend's cheek. "I hope it does, too." The other giggled in response and gave him a proper kiss on the lips.
"You always make me the happiest, darling."
Anti knew he shouldn't step into the territory of the most vicious predators of the Underground. He was testing his luck as he spotted a lone creature. They would always gather in packs, so the green-haired entity was hoping he wouldn't get attacked.
He just wanted to find a small one. He didn't need to bring an adult, that may be risky. With each step, he noticed the resting creature tense up. Its ears were standing, listening for any sounds. Anti prayed it didn't pay attention to him, although he was the only living being in the area.
Anti kept walking forward until the creature got up, a low growl emitting from its throat. Once it bared its fangs, the green-haired entity knew he'd overstepped the line. He turned around the moment the creature moved and opened the portal back home as he started running. Those things were fast as hell and he almost got bitten.
He didn't even look back as he jumped into the breach. Anti landed on the hardwood floor of the living room and let out a heavy breath of relief, feeling the cool air of Mark's house. That didn't last long, however, as he heard a second thud right afterwards.
He hadn't closed the portal.
Anti stared in horror as he saw that the apex predator of Hell, the most feared creature followed him back to the world of humans.
"Anti? Are you back?"
The kids' voices made him stand up as fast as he could, panicking over the situation. The good thing was that the sudden change of environment confused the creature and it couldn't get up just yet, its senses attacked by unfamiliar smells and sounds. The horrifying thing was, however, the fact that the children were coming there, and he'd promised not to let them anywhere near anything dangerous. The creature growled and hissed once it got the hang of standing on the wooden floor and turned around to face Anti.
… Just to be startled by the loudest, most high-pitched scream it had most likely ever heard. Sam was standing in the doorway with the widest grin her face count contain.
"What is that?!" She didn't even wait for the answer, running towards the creature. "It looks like a dog!"
Tim followed his sister and Anti couldn't even protest before the kids started touching the creature. It got only more confused and let out a whine, feeling two sets of hands on its short gray fur.
"It's…" The green-haired entity ran a hand through his hair, racking his brain on how to solve the problem at hand. "It's a hellhound."
Mark tended to ignore various screams and squeals while he was working. Not all of his children's loud noises required his attention. He would usually intervene only when one of them would cry or scream words like "stupid" or "idiot". Worst case scenarios were the sounds of something crashing against the floor.
So the happy screams didn't particularly bother the raven-haired man; he was too busy typing some data into the spreadsheets he'd earlier received. His eyes were slowly getting tired from staring at the screen for hours - even his glasses couldn't save him from the radiation. Mark was so focused even a strange sound of paws and clicking of claws on the floor didn't get his attention.
But a sudden loud thud on the door did.
"Kids?" The raven-haired man turned his head away from the screen. That sounded like someone running into the door but no pained cries followed. "What are you doing?"
When he received no verbal response, he'd left his chair. That was too suspicious to ignore. Once he opened the door, something ran into the room, pushing him out of the way and dashed straight for his desk to hide under it.
"Doggy, where did you go?" Sam appeared in the room right after that strange blur of gray barged in. The girl wore a joyful smile.
"' Doggy '?" Mark frowned and looked at the thing hiding under his desk. He gasped in horror as he took in the creature's appearance.
It was as huge as a human, maybe even bigger. While it looked similar to a dog in its physique, its paws had almost bearlike claws and its loud snout hid rows of sharp teeth inside, some of them sticking out. It didn't have a tail and its body looked actually thin, reminding Mark of a Great Dane. Even its ears were pointy, although the Borzoi-like muzzle clearly showed it belonged to no actual dog breed.
While it wasn't moving, just laying there curled up and panting heavily, the raven-haired man knew it couldn't be trusted. Every single thing about that beast screamed of danger.
"Anti brought a hellhound!" Tim's comment made Mark snap out of his thoughts.
"Kids, no." The raven-haired man stopped his children from approaching the creature. "Don't touch it."
"But it likes petting! It just got scared when Tim shouted into its ear!" Sam complained, pointing at her brother with her free arm. She tugged on the other one, trying to release it from her dad's hold.
Soon enough the guilty party showed up. Anti fidgeted once Mark's glare caught his eyes.
"What in the world is that thing?" The raven-haired man tried to keep his voice calm, though he could feel anger bubbling up.
"It's a hellhound. I… I know I shouldn't have--"
"Kids, get out. I need to talk to Anti." Mark's serious face showed there was no room for arguing. Sam and Tim left the room with disappointed expressions, though their father didn't really care, slamming the door shut behind them.
"I'm sorry, it was an accident!" The green-haired entity put his hands up in a defensive gesture.
"An accident ?! You tell me right now, how that thing got into my house!"
"I didn't close the breach in time, it jumped in right behind me," Anti knew he wasn't getting out of this one.
"I asked you for one thing, Anti. One!" Mark was pacing around, having a hard time controlling the volume of his voice. "You let the kids near that thing when I asked you not to!"
"That's why I'm so sorry, Mark!" Anti, on the other hand, could barely stop his voice from breaking. "I'll take it back, I swear…"
"You do it this instant!" The raven-haired man gestured to his desk, where the hound was still hiding.
The green-haired entity nodded and walked towards the creature but the second he stepped closer than 2 meters, the hound bared its teeth and let out a warning hiss. Anti gulped and extended his arm, hoping that thing didn't actually want to attack. But it opened its mouth and its growls became louder.
"I… I can't, it just…"
"What?" Mark didn't sound any more pleasant than the hound. "What do you mean, you can't ?!"
"It doesn't like me!" Anti had to jump back when the creature snapped at him.
The raven-haired man groaned and approached the desk himself. "Then I guess I have to do it myself!" He pointed at the door, glaring at the hound. When it didn't budge, he tried to do it again more aggressively. It was still not working.
"Mark…" The green-haired entity spoke quietly. "They have no eyes. It can't see you."
Mark had no idea how he'd missed that fact but when he was looking at the hound now, he noticed the lack of any sort of eyes on its head.
"Oh great," he grumbled.
"They're very intelligent, though. And they have a perfect hearing..."
"No one cares about your stupid hell trivia," Mark cut him off, not noticing Anti wince. "Get out of here, you dumb mutt!" He stomped loudly.
That seemed to finally get the creature's attention as it got up and trotted out of the room, its ears pressed close to the sides of its head.
"S-see? It listene-"
"You too! Out of my office!" The raven-haired man grabbed his chair that was kicked to the side and pulled it back to the desk in one motion. "I've got work to do. And if the kids touch even a hair on that thing, you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."
"Kids, please, leave it alone…" Anti didn't know how to handle the situation he'd found himself in. Sam and Tim were rubbing the hound's belly with wide smiles, they were enjoying it a lot.
"But, Anti, look! It's happy!" The girl said and pressed her face into the creature's fur, wrapping her arms around its huge frame.
The green-haired entity sighed deeply. The hound was either playing dead or it had given up and accepted its fate. Occasionally it would let out a whine whenever one of the kids showered it with too much affection.
"It's smiling!" Tim was standing right next to the creature's muzzle, pulling on the corners of its mouth. It didn't bother with defending its dignity, holding its mouth open even when the boy wanted to inspect its fangs.
Anti scratched his head. It was almost unbelievable to see something so dangerous let children have their way with it. Hellhounds were famous for having no mercy, for hunting anything and anyone down. So the only explanation for what was currently going on was that the hound didn't feel endangered at all. Though it was still hard for Anti to imagine that the creature would enjoy petting.
He approached the children, hoping that he would be able to take advantage of the hellhound's relaxed state. The green-haired entity seemed to be out of luck that day, however.
The creature turned its snout his way, smelling the air. Once it caught his scent, it rolled back on its feet and another growl warned Anti not to approach the hound.
Anti felt defeated by fate. He could only watch as Tim tried climbing the hound's back and Sam kept nuzzling into its fur. The creature laid back down to let the children continue whatever they wanted to do.
"Kids, please. Your dad won't be happy if he finds out you're playing with it."
"But it's so nice!" The children whined, and the hellhound joined them as Sam tickled its neck.
Anti couldn't do anything. As long as Sam and Tim were near that thing, he could neither drag them away from it nor send the creature back to the Underground.
So, of course, it was only a matter of time before Mark left his office and saw the kids sitting right next to the huge hound, watching cartoons. Anti was sitting on the couch, head in his hands.
"Sam, Tim," the raven-haired man called his children without sparing the other entity a glance. "Go wash your hands. Dinner time."
The kids got up, complaining about their dad interrupting the show. When the girl lightly kissed the hellhound, Mark repeated her name in a harsh voice.
The hound approached the parent once the children were gone but the raven-haired man pushed it away with his foot. "No, you stay here. And if I see you near my children again I'll kick you out myself, seeing that others aren't capable of doing it."
Anti only curled up on the couch tighter, feeling another shiver coming. Mark's indifferent treatment was causing him to be cold. The raven-haired man didn't want to talk to him and that was official.
The hound sat down in a respectable distance from the green-haired entity, loudly panting again. Anti guessed it had problems with breathing in a different environment but then again hellhounds were known for being able to adapt in even the worst of scenarios. Its ears were standing up, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen.
Both Anti and the creature could only listen to the humans carry on with their lives. After the dinner Mark made the kids go take a bath and brush their teeth. It was about eight P.M. so the raven-haired man didn't care for their complaints, hurrying them to their room.
Before Mark turned the lights off, he only muttered a quiet "Good night." As Anti turned around to look at him, the raven-haired man was already gone from the sight, a sound of the door closing telling the green-haired entity that he was in the bedroom already.
Just when Anti thought he was finally happy, he was crushed by his biggest enemy once again - the silence in the house. He wrapped a blanket around himself and laid down on the sofa, a few tears running down his face.
Something caught Anti's attention at night. He was hidden under the blanket, trying to stop the shivers as he heard the floorboards creak. His mind was elsewhere, so he couldn't focus well enough to figure out what the source of the noise was.
His thoughts had been revolving around his failure for hours now. He was terrified of potentially ruining his entire relationship with Mark and the man wasn't even aware of how dangerous hellhounds truly were. That was the only reason Anti could still stay in the house.
Tears had been leaking out of his eyes constantly and his skin turned ashen, the colour fading into shadows. His fear made him lose his integrity and there was no stopping it. Through the glazed eyes, he didn't notice a figure standing over him in the dark.
"… Anti?" The voice the green-haired entity heard was scarcely above a whisper. "Are you…"
The man did not finish his question, only lifted the blanket. It revealed a half-transparent body that lacked defined features a living being should have.
"Oh god…" The raven-haired man gasped as he let go of the blanket, letting it fall back to its place.
"Mark?" Anti's voice was feeble and barely audible. "I'm so sorry…"
The other didn't say anything as he immediately kneeled next to the couch and embraced the green-haired entity. "No, don't apologise. I should be the one doing it right now."
"But I-" Anti felt so confused, he'd thought Mark would despise him.
"Shh, I'm terribly sorry for lashing out at you…" The raven-haired man tightened his hug, pulling the other close to his chest. "I get so overprotective over the children that I forget there are other important things for me…"
"Aren't you mad at me?"
"How could I be?" Mark looked Anti in the eyes. It could've been a problem if the entity was human, but his shining irises were easy to spot in the dark. "I love you and I'm not angry over what you've done. I understand it was a mistake…"
The green-haired entity finally returned the embrace and they stayed like that for a while, holding each other dearly.
"I can't get rid of it…" Anti whispered back after a moment of silence.
A low bark interrupted them and Mark yelped a bit, clutching his lover's arms in surprise.
At the slightest mention of itself, the hellhound reminded them of its existence.
"How long has it been here?" The raven-haired man turned around, trying to make out the creature's shape in the darkness.
"I think it sat up when you came in…"
Mark held Anti's hand as he rose to his feet, and the green-haired entity got up with him.
"Come on, let's… Let's get you back to bed. You're freezing…"
They heard a couple of heavy steps behind them when they headed towards the bedroom. Mark had to stop and turned around again.
"No." He pointed in the direction of the hound. "You stay here. And don't you dare go to any other room."
The creature whined, but they didn't hear it move anymore afterwards.
"I told you it's listening." Anti murmured when they were in the bedroom.
"Doesn't seem to be listening to you."
"Maybe it's because I'm not the alpha male here," the green-haired entity giggled. Mark returned the smile and soon fell asleep, holding his boyfriend in his arms.
"Can we keep it?
"Daddy, please!"
"Pretty pretty please!"
"We'll take care of it!"
Mark would not hear the end of it the next day. Sam and Tim were ready to tie themselves to their father's legs if it meant they'd get their point across. And the point had been taken a long time ago, even before the breakfast.
So when it became the afternoon, and the raven-haired man was sitting on the couch trying to enjoy some TV, the sheer sight of his children in the corner of his eye made his fingers twitch.
It was true that they'd wanted a pet for a long time. And it didn't help that Mark had always wanted to have a dog since his mother was a canine lover.
"Do you really have the choice here?" Anti said as he appeared behind the couch. "Surely you can't resist that pretty begging for long?"
"I can't just give in, Anti," Mark dragged a hand over his face when the hellhound walked into the living room and decided to stand in front of the TV. "I can't even be sure it won't harm the kids."
The green-haired entity sighed. "You are right, but it hasn't misbehaved in any way yet."
"' Yet' being the key word here." The raven-haired man groaned. "Get out of the way!" He motioned at the hellhound.
The creature's ears twitched and it obediently left his line of sight. Anti smirked at that.
"It's seriously listening to you. Think about it."
"I just have a hard time believing that a dog from Hell would perfectly understand English."
"It's not about the language, darling." The green-haired entity finally sat down to look Mark properly in the eyes. "Do you think I had to learn the human language? That would be tedious and pointless. We, the creatures of the Underground, possess the ability to understand the intention of a sentence."
"Then how come you can speak it?" The raven-haired man tilted his head, taking his eyes off the screen.
"Because I am a creature of many talents. Please do keep in mind that I used to be worshipped as a god by humans." Anti winked. "My kind is one of very few that can actually communicate. Most of the creatures don't need speaking, their sounds are enough to talk with one another."
"Okay, fine. Let's say I believe it can understand me, but why the hell would listen to me?"
"This is the part I'm having more troubles with getting, I'll admit." Anti scratched his head. One of his mouths was open in confusion, the other was still smiling. "The only thing I can think of is you establishing your dominance the second it met you. Everyone in the house obeyed you, so it figured it had no choice."
"I hope you're right…" Mark sighed. "I don't want anything bad to happen…"
"So…?" Anti's sly smirk almost made the raven-haired man smile as well. "Are we keeping it?"
"I can't believe you are convincing me, this thing doesn't even like you!"
"I'm sure it'll work out." The green-haired entity waved his hand.
Mark shook his head and got up from the couch. The hellhound was sitting by the dining table, sniffing the floor. Sam had spilt her drink there earlier and it was probably picking up the scent of the juice. It straightened its back when it sensed someone approaching it. The raven-haired crouched to get on the eye-level with it. Or would-be-eye-level if it had eyes.
"Now listen here, you weird dog," Mark started and heard a faint snort from behind. So Anti was going to enjoy this, it seemed. "I'm going to let you stay since my kids like you. I won't lie, I wouldn't mind having a pet either, but I don't fully trust you yet."
The hound opened its mouth and something like a bark emitted from its throat. It was much lower and quieter than a normal dog's, though.
"I have no idea if you're agreeing with me there or if that was supposed to be some sort of a protest…" The corners of Mark's mouth lifted for a second, although he tried to maintain a serious face. "So just know this: if you ever dare to hurt my children in any way, I won't forgive you. If I see even a small scratch on either Sam or Tim, nothing will save you."
The hellhound licked its nose and lowered its head. At first the raven-haired thought it was showing submission, but then he realised it was simply laying down.
"Is that thing even listening to me right now?" Mark scoffed, though he scratched behind its ears to pet it a bit.
"It feels safe around you." Anti shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure it got your message."
"I hope so."
"Can I tell the kids now?" The green-haired entity grinned with both of his mouths.
"No, they're doing homework now. They'll find out later."
"I'm sure they'll be excited," Anti giggled.
Mark smiled in return, coming back to his boyfriend to wrap his arms around his shoulder and give him a kiss on the cheek. "I think I'll be a bit excited too."
Mark was in the middle of chopping vegetables when he heard the now so familiar clicking of the claws against the floor. He didn't have to shift his gaze to know that the hellhound was now in the kitchen. Its arrival was announced by its loud breathing anyway.
"Maggie, come back!" Sam shouted from the living room.
The raven-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Maggie?"
"No, I told you, it's Lucy!" Tim cut in, walking barefoot towards the hound. Mark glared at him and the boy turned around to fetch his slippers. His father didn't like his kids getting their feet dirty.
"And I told you to leave my mom's dogs alone," the raven-haired man murmured. "Lucy, Maggie, Bell and Bubble are out of question. It doesn't look interested in those names anyway..."
The hellhound was facing the stove and if it had eyes, it'd probably have been staring intently at the contents of the pan. The smell of fried chicken and spices was filling the air and the creature was taking it in with each breath.
Mark finished cutting the vegetables and walked to the stove to throw them into the pan soon. The hound sensed his presence and stood on back legs, so it could stick its snout into the pan. The raven-haired man made an annoyed sound and pushed it off.
"This isn't for you."
The creature whined as it fell back on all fours, lightly bumping Mark's leg with its nose.
"Begging won't help here," Mark smirked. He flipped the pieces of chicken over so they wouldn't get burnt and opened a drawer to put some of the spices away.
As soon as he left the pan out of his sight, the hellhound hopped back up, setting its front paws on the counter. It eagerly sniffed the fried meat and the raven-haired man swatted at it once more.
"No, I told you! Stay down!"
Another low whine was the only response. The raven-haired man wondered just why the hound seemed to be so interested in the dinner. It didn't eat the food this world had to offer, anyway. Anti claimed he'd have to take it back to the Underground from time to time so it could hunt there.
Mark figured he had to keep an eye on the chicken, so he added the vegetables soon, occasionally glancing down at the hellhound. It was sitting down, its ears standing up.
It wasn't too patient, it seemed. Mark didn't even have to turn around because once the water from the vegetables started evaporating with a loud sizzle, the creature jumped up and stuck its muzzle into the pan, just to throw it onto the ground. The contents spilt out and the hound swallowed them one by one.
The raven-haired man shouted it was all so sudden he took a step back. Although once he saw the hellhound eating the food, he yelled in frustration.
"No, no, no! Stupid dog, leave it alone!"
The kids were drawn in by the noise and so they appeared in the entrance soon enough.
"What's going on Daddy?" Sam asked.
"It's eating our dinner, that's what!" Mark grumbled, gesturing at the hound.
The children looked at each other and smiled. Their parent felt uneasy, knowing they were up to something. And sure enough, the shouted in unison.
"Chica!"
Within the next second the hellhound was assaulted by two pairs of tiny hands and it started barking and flailing around playfully, some pieces that were stuck to its mouth now flying left and right.
"Both of you, stop right now!" Mark still felt annoyed by the fact that their meal was ruined and the kids were happy about it.
"Daddy, but look! It likes it! Chica!" Tim laughed as the hound responded with a bark.
"Chica! Chica! Chica!" Sam joined and for every repeat of the name, the creature would respond the best way it could.
Not a minute later Anti peeked into the kitchen, both of his mouths curled up in amusement, although the one on the neck was breaking into a grin.
"What are you all up to?"
"The doggy's got a new name!" Sam announced, wrapping her arms around the hellhound's neck.
"It's Chica now!" Tim giggled.
The green-haired entity nodded and snorted when he noticed Mark's unamused face.
"I assume the chicken had something to do with that?"
"Bring me my phone, Anti," the raven-haired man sighed. "Let's order pizza for dinner."
Anti laughed and went to Mark's office, leaving him exasperated in the kitchen. The children were louder now, squealing about pizza and 'Chica' was running in circles with joy.
The raven-haired man couldn't stay angry forever, though. He crouched to pick the pan up and as he got on the hellhound's level, he smiled lightly.
"So… Chica, huh?"
The hound barked and licked his hand. Mark chuckled and pet its head.
"It fits you."