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Mark slowly opens his eyes and is greeted by darkness. He can feel the grimy, dirty cloth covering his eyes and can smell the blood from his head wound on it. His body starts to tingle a bit as he becomes hyper-aware of every ache and throb in his body. He can feel welts and bruises already forming all over his body. He bites back a groan as his head begins to pound, sure sign he was drugged before he got here. Well, perhaps he was knocked out since he can feel blood dripping down his head. But he also feels too sluggish for just that. Maybe it was both.
That would be just his luck.
He tries to shift, only to find he's tied to a... bed? Panic pumps through him as he then begins to struggle, praying to whatever God exists he doesn't get his kidney stolen. He keeps struggling and then suddenly the ropes are gone and he's blinking as a bright light hits his eyes. Suddenly he's standing above a man with mismatched eyes, who's smirking up at him. He pulls the man's bandages and cleans his wounds before adding new bandages. The man gives him a blood-chilling grin. saying something that Mark couldn't quite make out. He furrows his brows, about to ask him to repeat himself when he feels something hit the back of his head.
He wakes up later to loud sirens and panic floods through him. He gets up from his bed and stumbles to the door. He opens it and comes face to face with the same man as before but he's covered in blood. The man lunges at him-
Mark wakes up to the sound of his alarm going off and groans as he slams his hand onto the clock. He pushes back his covers and sits up, rubbing sleep and the dreams from his eyes. He normally has dreams of that place but... he hasn't dreamed like that in a long ass time. They're normally consecutive and concise but this time, they were just fragments. He's about to get out of bed when he smells something; bacon and eggs.
He reaches over and grabs the bat that he keeps next to the bed before slowly getting out of bed. He creeps down the stairs, making sure not make any noise as he heads towards the kitchen. As he gets closers he can hear a strange humming and once he actually gets into the kitchen, he freezes.
In his kitchen is Anti. The same creature who he had watched destroy the entire place they were both held captive at. The same creature who... he'd seen last night. He had thought that was a dream, he hadn't realized it had actually happened.
The creature pauses his humming but doesn't turn to face him. He continues to focus on... cleaning? Why the hell is he cleaning in Mark's house? Mark doesn't get to dwell on it long before Anti turns his head towards Mark. "Mornin' sunshine."
Mark blinks in surprise at the creatures casual greeting. "M-morning?"
The creature turns around a smirk on his face. "I do believe that's what you say to someone when you see them in the morning." He nods his head towards the counter, which has a plate of bacon and eggs on it. "Eat up, Mark."
Mark blinks at Anti before saying, "There's no way in hell I'm making anything you made for me."
Anti raises his eyebrow, "Hey, I'm a good cook!" He replies, indignant. Mark would have been more worried about offending him, but for all he knows Anti could have poisoned his food.
Mark eyes the food, setting down his bat before muttering, "Maybe you are, but you could have poisoned me for all I know."
Anti scoffs, "Mark, why would I do that?"
Mark crosses his arms, "I don't know. Maybe you wanna eat me."
Anti purses his lips, "Some of my kind likes to eat humans. Personally, I prefer not to. Human's are disgusting."
"...and you want me to trust you when you have that opinion about me," Mark mutters, slightly offended. Sure, humans are gross but still. That was just rude to say.
Anti grins at him, "I never said you are gross, Mo grá. I just said humans are."
Mark narrows his eyes before walking over and cautiously picking up a piece of toast. He takes a bite out of it and... it's actually pretty good toast. "Okay, maybe you're not trying to poison my food."
Anti rolls his eyes, "Gee, what gave that away?"
Mark should feel more threatened by this creature. He had witnessed Anti murder an entire building full of people but honestly, he was very relaxed around Anti. Anti had made it clear that he didn't want Mark dead but that still left Mark wondering why Anti is here. Why would he track Mark down after letting him live?
Mark takes another bite of toast before voicing his thoughts. "Okay, so if you're not here to kill me, why are you here? Surely you have better things to do."
Anti grins at him and shrugs. "Well, I wanted to see my favorite doctor again."
Mark eyes him suspiciously, unsure if he should believe Anti. "That's all?"
Anti steps away from the stove counter and places his hands on the isle Mark was standing by. He grins at Mark and leans in close to him. "What can I say, Mark? It's rare to meet such a caring and good soul like you. It tends to attract monsters like me to it." He pauses for a second, his smirk falling a bit. "Besides, I am curious about you. I have questions I was hoping you could answer."
Mark sets his toast down and frowns. "Well, I don't think I'll be much use for you, then. I don't know much about that place but I can try and help you out."
Anti laughs, the sound oddly warming Mark's heart. It's different than the one he used to hear when he'd go to Anti's cell. The one he was used to was high pitched and distorted. It had hurt his ears. But this one was soft and rather nice. "Not about that place, I know everything I need to about there. No, I have questions about you." Anti points a clawed finger at Mark.
Nerves pile up in Mark's stomach as Anti does so. He'd rather not talk about his past. What little he can remember, he'd rather forget. He gives Anti a sad smile, hoping he wouldn't upset the being. "Ah, um. Well, there's not much I can tell you about my past if that's what you're looking for. I don't remember much."
Anti shrugs, "That's okay, we can take turns. You do your best to answer my questions and in exchange, I'll tell you whatever you want to know about me."
Mark nods his head, a small grin on his face. “Alright. You first.”
.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other better. Mark found out that Anti is a mirror demon. He comes from a world he calls the mirror world where everything isn’t quite what it seems. Mark tried to get him to elaborate but Anti smirked and said it was his turn to ask a question. Mark couldn’t get much more out of him than that but honestly, that was fair. It’s not like Anti was able to get much out of Mark.
Currently, they are sitting on Mark’s couch as he plays Overwatch. He had asked Anti what he wanted to do and the creature shrugged, saying anything works. So Mark had offered to play a video game with Anti and he didn’t know what they were. So now Mark was showing him the wonders that are that game.
“Is this what you do? Just play these games all day?” Anti asks, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Mark smiles, “Sometimes. Although, that’s only on days where I don’t work.”
Anti hums, “You work? What do you do?”
“I’m still a doctor. I just treat human patients now.” Mark chuckles a bit. In the few hours Anti’s been here, Mark’s gotten oddly comfortable around him. Anti just seems really curious about Mark.
Anti snorts. “There’s no way you could know they’re all human. Mirror dwellers can blend in very easily with humans. Although, I can’t imagine one going to the hospital. We tend to avoid humans.”
Mark pauses his game and looks curiously at Anti. “Really? Forgive me but it doesn’t feel like it.”
Anti sticks his tongue out at him before giggling a bit. “Well, I like you. When my kind gets attached to something, we stick around it. You make me happy and are pretty nice.”
Mark feels his heart melt a bit at Anti’s little confession. He nudges Anti’s shoulder and smiles at him. “You’ve grown on me too, Anti.”
Anti makes a chirping noise, a noise that Mark realizes means he’s happy. “Really? You’re not scared of me anymore?”
Mark hesitates for a second. He’s a little scared of Anti but that’s mainly because he still doesn't really know Anti but he is starting like him. "Yeah, I do. You're nicer than I thought you would be."
Anti's eyes light up and he tackles Mark, who let out a small yelp. He buries his face in Mark’s shoulder and giggles a bit. Mark was not expecting that to happen but he won't complain.
* * * * * * * * * * *
They spent the rest of the evening talking and joking around. Mark was continuously surprised by how easy it is to talk to Anti. Anti’s not this monster that the facility made him out to be. Matter of fact, after being trapped there for so long, Mark understands why Anti wanted them all dead. Mark did too.
When Mark went to work the next day, he figured Anti would leave and maybe come back at a later time. However, Anti was sitting in a chair, reading a book. As soon as Mark walked through the door, he bombarded Mark with questions about said book. Mark just smiled and told him to read to the end.
The rest of the week goes smoothly and they quickly fall into a pattern, already used to each other. Mark would go to work and Anti would either stay at Mark’s or go out and do things. Mark never asked what it was Anti did, considering half the time he came back with blood splattered on his clothes. Mark would just offer Anti new clothes and ask if he was okay; Anti would always smile and say he’s fine.
It's going on the second week there, Mark and Anti are sitting on a couch, playing a video game. Anti’s gotten pretty good at Mario Kart and Mark is currently trying to not have his ass handed to him. He’s currently in first, with Anti close behind him. He can see the finish line and is sure he’s going to win this time. Unfortunately for him, Anti’s a cheating shit who nudges him and makes him go flying off the track.
“You cheating jackass!” Mark laughs as he nudges Anti back who, yet again, nudges him.
Anti giggles, his eyes bright with joy as he says, “Hey, I may be a cheater but I still won!” He does a little cheer as it flashes that he got first place.
Mark crosses his arms and pouts a bit, which makes Anti giggle again. “Jerk,” Mark mumbles, crossing his arms and pouting. He isn’t actually upset. Okay, he is a little upset but he’s mostly just exaggerating it.
“Ah Mark, don’t be mad!” Anti gently prods his side, making Mark have to hold back a giggle. Nope. He was not going to just forgive Anti. However Anti seems to be hell-bent on making Mark laugh as he keeps prodding his side and Mark’s finding it harder to control his laughter. After a minute, he breaks and lets out a giggle, which makes Anti’s eyes light up.
“See! I knew I could get you to laugh.” Anti exclaims, joy radiating from him. His mismatched eyes are lit up, amusement and mischief prevalent in them.
Mark rolls his eyes, a smile on his face. “Yeah, yeah. You did. You’ve won again.”
Anti studies him for a second, a serious look on his face. “Are you actually angry at me for cheating? I was just having fun; I’m sorry if I actually upset you.”
Mark smiles at Anti and nudges him. “Nah you didn’t upset me, not really. We were both just having fun.” He chuckles a bit as Anti makes a chirping noise and buries his head into Mark’s neck. Anti wraps his arms around Mark’s waist and Mark wraps his arms around him. Over time, he’s found that Anti’s rather affectionate. Mark didn’t really mind it, it’s just weird since this feels like a totally different person than who he met in the facility. He really likes this Anti.
Anti pulls back a bit, one of his hands comes up and cups Mark's cheek. Anti turns his face towards him and Mark’s about to ask what he’s doing when he feels a pair of warm lips on his. He feels himself freeze for a second before relaxing into the kiss. After a moment, Anti pulls back, a small smile on his face. “Well, you’re not screaming so that must be a good sign.” Anti bits his lip, an unsure look on his face.
Mark lets out a laugh, smiling back at Anti. He cups Antis cheek before replying, “Well, I did like this kiss. It would be awfully rude of me to scream when I liked it.”
Anti smirks, his eyes lit up again with mischief. “I’m more than willing to-” he’s cut off by a knocking on the door.
Mark furrows his eyebrows, confused. Ever since Anti’s been pretty much living here, he hasn’t had anyone over. If someone wanted to meet up, he’d meet them somewhere and no one he knows would show up out of the blue. He frowns as he stands up, “Maybe the mailman or I have to sign for something? I’ll go check it out.”
Anti whines a bit as he goes to leave but Mark ignores him. He’ll be more than happy to smother him with kisses later but he really needs to see who is here. He quickly unlocks the door and swings it open, his friendly smile and warming greeting frozen on his lips.
The same man that was at the hospital now stands before him. “Good evening, Mr. Fischbach. May I come in?”