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Ethan cursed under his breath as he lifted himself off the carpet, socked feet quickly padding out of the room as his phone chimed to life with the facetime tune. He pulled the door almost closed behind him as he swiped his thumb across his phone screen, Marks sleep deprived face appearing in front of him.
Despite his baggy eyes, Mark smiled brightly once the line connected, "hey proud papa!"
Ethan scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully, "Hey proud papa," He chuckled back to him, "What's up?"
"Nothing much dude, just wanted to check in, hadn't heard from you in a couple weeks, where's little man?"
Ethan rubbed his palm into his right eye as he yawned, walking into the kitchen to check on the tea kettle he'd placed on the stove before he put Caleb down for a nap, "I just got him to sleep, he has a very busy schedule you know, but I can try to pencil you in for this evening."
Mark laughed sarcastically, "I don't know how you do that dude, I can barely get Levi to sleep through the night, let alone take a damn nap, what's your secret?"
Ethan grinned as he poured the steaming water into his favorite mug, the fresh scent of the mint tea wafting up into his face, "Well, I guess we just found the one thing I'm better at than the all mighty Markiplier." His heart twinged a bit, despite the smile on his face.
The truth is, what choice did he have but to be the best? He was all his son had.
~~~
Ethan's entire world halted the day Jess told him she was pregnant, and his entire world shattered when she explained that she didn't want to keep it. They stayed up all night talking it over, she said she was too young, it was too soon in their relationship, they hadn't even said 'I love you' yet. His career on Youtube was at it's peak after Unus Annus ended and she wanted so much more than to just be a mother. As sick as he felt, Ethan assured her that he would support whatever she chose, it was her body and he wasn't going to guilt her into something as life changing as this, but he begged her to take a few days to think about it. It would be just his fucking luck that Mark called him the very next day, ecstatically announcing through the phone that he and Amy were expecting. Ethan felt like he was going to vomit, obviously it made sense, they had just passed their five year anniversary and Mark had proposed on the final day of Unus Annus. It wasn't planned of course, but they were excited non the less. Mark drove to his place within minutes when Ethan broke down sobbing over the phone as soon as the words left his mouth. Mark let himself into Ethan's apartment with his spare key and wrapped his arms around his best friend, regardless of his hiccupped apologies of ruining Marks news.
In the end, Ethan and Jess agreed she would see the pregnancy through and go the route of adoption. Ethan had never felt more relieved in his life, though something still tugged at his insides with each passing day, he could just never place a finger on it. The months seemed to race by, and it was the opposite of anything he ever imaged it would be, Jess was completely detached the entire time. There was no baby shower, no shopping for cute clothes, she didn't even want to find out the gender. She eventually ended up leaving him, confessing that the reality of carrying his child but growing no stronger feelings towards him regardless was a sign they weren't meant to be, but that she would keep in contact and keep him updated, and she promised he could be there when she delivered. Ethan was a wreck, he was confused and angry. This should be perfect, the best possible outcome, right? He dodged a bullet, he got what every guy his age and in his position could only dream of, he should be relieved, but every day he woke up feeling like someone was punching him in the stomach. He busied himself in work and keeping Mark from getting himself murdered by a very agitated Amy. She was handling her pregnancy like a dream. calm and happy and stress free, at least until she hit her third trimester and Mark helicoptered her every move.
The last thing Ethan was expecting was the train wreck of emotions that slammed into him the night that Mark and Amy's son was born. His phone lit up his room at exactly 1:30am, he unburied himself from the covers, squinting at the screen with a picture of an exhausted looking Amy, her tear streaked face smiling wearily up at the camera, a small, pink face bundled up in a yellow blanket in her arms. Typed out below the picture were the words "Levi Clifford Fischbach, 8lbs 9oz, entered our adventure at 12:59am." Ethan couldn't even find it within himself to respond. He knew he was being a horrible friend, but he honestly couldn't see the screen through the sudden tears in his eyes and the gut wrenching jealousy that wracked his insides. He slept in until 4pm the next day, and found himself in his own delivery room two days later. Jess refused when the they tried to hand her the baby, and Ethan didn't even realize the nurse was standing in front of him with the blue bundle until the third time she called his name. He blinked back into reality, looking up to the smiling elderly woman as she leaned over him, carefully lowering her arms, "Mr. Nestor, would you like to hold your son?" He opened his mouth to politely decline, but his hands reached out as if they had minds of their own. The nurse spoke sweetly to him as she showed him how to support the infants head, and how to fit him into the crook of his arm. Ethan hadn't even realized he was shaking until he saw the edges of the blanket quivering, but everything slowed to a stop once his eyes locked onto his sons face. An hour and a short conversation with Jess later, and Ethan was signing the 'Sole custody' paperwork with trembling hands. He felt as if he was running on auto pilot, because there's no way in hell he could have consciously made this decision. The support from his friends, family, and fanbase was overwhelming. His mother flew out to stay with him the first few weeks, and he stayed up every night watching endless Youtube videos on how the hell not to fail at being a parent.
~~~
Turns out, Ethan was a damn natural. It was three months in and Caleb was amazing. Ethan thought his Youtube career fulfilled him, but it was nothing compared to waking up every morning and seeing his sons goofy smiling face across the room. Silky brown hair and bright blue eyes blinking happily at him. Ethan physically shook any negative thoughts out of his mind, clicking back into Marks chatter;
"You know, sometimes I wonder if Caleb is just a figment of our imaginations, there's no way in hell your crackhead ass could produce a kid who never makes a sound."
As if on cue, Ethan's ears perked to the sound of wailing coming through Marks end of the call, he smirked when he saw mark drop his chin to his chest, blowing out a sigh, "Duty calls, y'know, one of these days it would be a little reassuring to know your kid gives you some trouble too."
Ethan puffed out a short laugh, picking up his tea and shuffling over to the recliner in the living room, peeking at the cracked door to the bedroom as he walked by, "I'll be sure that you're the first one I call papa bear, now go get your siren before he blows Chica's eardrums."
Mark grinned and flipped him off before ending the call, Ethan chuckled to himself, slipping his phone into his pocket and sinking into the recliner just in time for Spencer to trot over to him. The pup sat at his feet and perked his ears, cocking his head to one side and puffing out a small bark. Ethan smiled and leaned forward, patting his shoulder, "Cub is just napping bud, he'll be up soon, don't worry."
~~~
It was 2am and Ethan was sure he had worn a path into his carpet from his pacing. This is the first night since he was born that Caleb just would not settle. No matter what the he did, Ethan could not calm him. He'd tried everything, warm bottle, diaper change, a bath, calm music, holding him in every single position his mom had showed him, playing the ukulele and singing, nothing was working. The only thing keeping him from a full blown panic attack was that Caleb didn't have a high temperature. He turned the corner into the living room for what seemed like the thousandth time, patting his sons back and talking to him calmly. His keys on the coffee table caught his eye, and he didn't think twice before he was clipping Caleb into his car seat and putting Spencer in his crate. He slipped on the first pair of sweats he could find and a soft boi hoodie, grabbing the car seat handle and balancing it on his arm while he slipped on his shoes. He had read about this before, how driving could calm a baby, something about the white noise and vibrations. He hoped Caleb's screaming wouldn't wake up the neighbors as he buckled him into the back middle seat.
"I know cub, I know, we're just gonna go drive around for a bit, see if that helps settle us down some, yeah?"
He pressed his palms into his eyes after he buckled himself in and turned the car on, inhaling a shaky breath before pulling out of the drive way. They drove for about an hour, Ethan was sure he would never be able to hear normally again, driving a baby around to clam them, what whack job came up with that bullshit idea. He was just about to find the nearest Starbucks and park in the parking lot to accept his fate till morning when the exit for Mark's neighborhood came into view. He chewed his lip, he knew that mark took the night shifts with Levi, and that his son was almost never asleep for more than 45 minutes at a time, maybe he would just drive through the town and then head home. He pulled off the freeway, taking all the turns that he knew like the back of his hand. As he turned on to Marks street, he physically released the tension in his white knuckles around the steering wheel when he saw the light through the window of the basement of Marks house. Mark and Amy had turned it into a soundproofed designated baby room once they realized heir son was not fond of sleeping, it stayed cool down there in the LA heat and it kept Amy far enough from any crying in their bedroom on the third floor so she could sleep. Ethan Pulled up to the curb, not wanting to alarm anyone with a random car in their driveway at three in the morning. He opted out of lugging Caleb's entire car seat up to Mark's house and instead bundled his still screaming child into his arms and half jogged up the driveway and around the side of the house where the basement window peaked out between two bushes. He kneeled in the grass and didn't even have a chance to tap the window before he heard Levi's crying approaching the window. Exhausted brown eyes and disheveled black hair was squinting up at him through the glass, he and Mark silently blinked at each other for a moment before Mark wordlessly turned around and headed for the staircase up to the main floor. Ethan released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and turned to kiss Caleb on the head,
"Alright Caleb, okay, Uncle Mark's coming to get us just hang on." Ethan pushed himself to his feet and padded around to the front of the house just in time for Mark to open the door and rush him inside.
The both of them quietly grabbed a few supplies from the kitchen before quickly shuffling back downstairs before Amy had the chance to hear anything and wake up. As soon as Mark closed the door behind them, Ethan spun around and let loose every apology and explanation his sleep deprived brain could put together, "I'm sorry, God I'm so sorry Mark but he wouldn't calm down and I haven't slept and he hasn't slept a-and Spencer hasn't slept and I tried everything and n-nothings working and we've been driving around for an hour and, and- Oh God I think you cursed us earlier when you-"
"Hey hey, Ethan, dude, Eth- Ethan!" Mark snapped his fingers in front of Ethan's face, before firmly gripping the brunettes jaw in his hand, "Ethan, breathe dude, it's fine, you're fine."
Ethan blinked, finally taking in the reality of where he was, his ears ringing at now not only his son's wailing, but Levi's as well. He tilted his head away from Mark's grip and ran his free hand through his hair, "I don't understand what's wrong, he's never like this, I don't-I don't know what I'm doing wrong." He internally cursed himself at the sudden tightness in his throat and the prickling in his eyes, He switched Caleb to his left arm to try and bring back the feeling and blood flow in his right, dabbing at his eyes with his sleeve.
Mark smiled and patted him on the shoulder as he made his way across the room, lightly bouncing Levi with each step. "It happens dude, if a fussy baby meant we were doing something wrong, then child protective services would have come for Levi by the second week." he chuckled as he plopped down onto the couch, adjusting his son so that he was resting against his chest, facing away from him so he could have a view of the room.
The boy had settled some, now distracted by the new presence in the room and the different voices. Ethan toed off his shoes before shuffling over to sit next to Mark, Turning Caleb so he could see Levi and his dad. Mark Glanced over and smiled at him, softly shaking his head at how much of a clone of Ethan Caleb was. Levi got Mark's black hair, but his facial features mirrored Amy the most, down to her quirky smile. Caleb and Levi stared at each other for a few more minutes, just long enough for Mark and Ethan to start feeling heavy eyelids, before they simultaneously decided they'd had enough of their fathers keeping them still and began fussing again. Ethan jumped at a particularly high pitched cry that he'd never heard come from his son, huffing at Mark groaning next to him.
Ethan yawned loudly before nudging mark with an elbow, "Memento Mori, eh Mark?" He joked sarcastically.
He expected Mark to laugh, or elbow him back, but he was only met with silence. He glanced over to make sure his friend hadn't fallen asleep with his infant son squirming in his arms, and furrowed his brows at Mark staring directly back at him, eyes wide and the gears turning in his head.
Amy stretched as the sunlight warmed her face through the curtains, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, relishing in the comfort of the covers before willing herself out of bed. She pulled on her robe and tied her hair up into a messy bun as she slipped her feet into her favorite slippers decorated with pink moustaches. She padded down stairs and towards the bright smell of coffee coming from the machine, timed to go off at exactly 8am. Amy opened the sliding door for Chica and Henry to go outside before filling a mug for herself and one for Mark, and making her way down to the playroom. Her yawn was cut short as she tuned her ears to a familiar chanting coming from behind the door. She paused, making sure she was hearing correctly and hadn't gone insane, before going down the last few steps. Tucking one cup of coffee in the crook of her arm she turned the knob and gently pushed open the door. Her heart damn near burst when she peered across the darkened room to the couch, where Mark and Ethan both sat. Marks head lolled backwards against the back of the couch snoring softly, Ethan's head was resting on Mark's shoulder, also breathing deeply as he slept. Levi was sprawled out across Mark's chest while Caleb was bundled up in his fathers arms. On the tv across from them was a fan made video of the Unus Annus clock, ticking as it counted from 365 days all the way down, along with the famous black and white spiral and Mark and Ethan's voices chanting on a loop. Amy leaned on the door frame for a few minutes just taking in the scene, shaking her head and laughing quietly. She set one cup on the shelf before pulling out her phone and snapping a few pictures and a short video for good measure, before quietly closing the door and making her way back up stairs to pour a third cup of coffee.