Chapter Text
Jack sat on the bed and stared at the empty space in front of him. It looked like he was staring at the wall, but his eyes were unfocused. He felt heavy, he didn’t want to move.
---
“Maaaark. Do ya really have to go?” Jack complained as he watched the blue haired man get dressed. The man chuckled and threw him a smile.
“Yeah, I have to. I don’t want to be late for the meeting, now do I?” Mark said as he pulled on the rest of his suit. Jack pouted.
“I guess…”
“Now, babe, don’t pout. I’ll be back before you know it. It’s just some discussions about the new robot. It won’t take that long.”
“Hmpf. I know that the meetings can take much longer. Don’t try to trick me, Fischbach!”
“Love you too, Jack. I really need to go now though. Call you when I’m on my way home.” Mark said and gave Jack a quick kiss on the lips. Jack smiled.
“Drive safe.”
---
Jack didn’t want to. Couldn’t they had taken another day? Why did it have to be today? He just wanted to lay in bed and stare in front of him when he wasn’t crying.
He barely noticed the knock on the door and he didn’t move when the door opened and closed. And he didn’t acknowledge the person who sat down beside him, dipping the bed in the process.
“Jack?” Felix said with concern coloring his voice.
---
The moment the phone rang, Jack threw himself at it. He smiled big when he saw who it was and answered the call.
“Hellooo, honey!” He drawled and gained a chuckle from Mark on the other side.
“Hey, hun. Missed me?” He asked and Jack sat up better in his seat.
“Well, duh! Of course! Are ya going home now?” He asked as he listened the the background sounds in the phone, trying to figure out where Mark was.
“Yup. The meeting is over now.” Mark said and Jack could hear the hidden sigh.
“Something wrong, Mark?” He asked with a slight frown.
“It’s just… Some of my colleagues are idiots. I’m not allowed to talk about what happened, but some of them came up with idiotic ideas. I just want to go home and cuddle with my husband right now.” Mark said with a hint of annoyance. Jack smiled.
“Your husband must be really lucky then to have such a hot guy like ya. Just sayin’!” He said and Mark let out a laugh.
“Jokes aside, is there anything ya would like when ya come home?” Jack continued and it became silent for a moment.
“I want to cuddle. Like, a lot. Preferably the whole night. That’s probably the only thing that will let me unwind tonight.” Mark answered and Jack let out a chuckle.
“Sure thing. I think I can give ya that. Well, we better quit this call so ya can drag your ass here. See ya later, Mark.”
“See you later, Jack. Love you.”
---
“Come on, Jack. You need to get ready.” Felix said as he put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. Jack looked to the side, looking farther away from Felix.
“I don’t want to.” He mumbled and Felix sighed.
“You need to. You can’t just ignore this.” He said and squeezed Jack’s shoulder a little.
“I can’t, Felix. N-not today.” Jack said, trying to keep his voice steady.
“It’s been a year, Jack. I know that it still hurts, but you need to pull through this. Just for today.”
“How? How am I supposed to go through this? I’m not an engineer, not like him! I won’t understand what they are speaking about! How could they be so stupid to present it today of all days?!”
“You are still a part of this, whether you want it or not. Come on, get up and get dressed. We still have an hour left.”
---
Jack frowned as his phone went off again. He picked it up and his frown grew when he didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?” He answered as he leaned back in his seat.
“Is this Sean Fischbach-McLoughlin?” An unknown man asked on the other side.
“Yes, that’s me.” Jack said, suddenly feeling uneasy.
“I’m doctor Roland. I’m very sorry, Mr. Fischbach-Mcloughlin, but your husband have been in an accident. He’s in very bad shape. They are operating on him now, but I can’t promise that he will survive. I would suggest that you come to the hospital as fast as you can.” The man on the phone said. Jack felt his heart drop. It felt like the time stopped and rushed forward at the same time.
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Fischbach-McLoughlin.” The doctor said before the call ended. This brought Jack into action. He rushed up, cursing wildly as he barely took time to take his jacket and keys and locking their house up. He ran to the car and basically speeded all the way to the hospital.
---
“Aaand there you go. That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Felix said with a grin at the now fully suited up Jack. Jack stared at himself in the mirror. He wore a blue suit he had bought a year ago to wear at the official presentation of the new robot Mark and the company he was working for had been working on.
Jack looked down at his hands and started to fiddle with the golden ring on his left hand. Felix followed his gaze and shook his head a little when he noticed the ring.
“You still wearing it?” He asked and Jack glanced at the Swedish man.
“Why wouldn’t I?” He asked before looking back at the ring. Felix’s gaze softened.
“You should wear it as a necklace instead on your finger, you know. Should help you to move on.” He said as he put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. Jack gave a weak shrug.
“It feels weird not to have it there. And I want to wear it.” Jack mumbled and Felix nodded.
“I guess you can wear it for tonight. It’s not like you are going on a date.” He said before he slapped himself over the mouth. He looked at Jack who had stiffened a little.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to-” Felix began but Jack interrupted him.
“It’s fine.”
---
Jack burst into the hospital and hurried towards the reception desk.
“I’m here for Mark Fischbach! Please, I need to know where he is!” He said as he tried to keep back the tears. The woman looked up at him before she tapped something onto the computer.
“Only the closest family are allowed to visit Mr. Fischbach when he gets out of surgery.” She said as she glanced back at Jack. Jack growled as he pulled out his ID and slapped it on the counter.
“I’m his fuckin’ husband! Please, let me through!” He pleaded and the woman checked the ID before she nodded.
“Go to room 15C. There you can wait on news about your husband, Mr. Fischbach-McLoughlin.” She said and Jack grabbed his ID before running towards the room she had told him. He didn’t even thank her.
---
Jack and Felix walked out of the hotel room Jack was staying in. Jack was very reluctant to go, but Felix kept insisting that he should.
“Why do I need to go, Felix? I don’t have anythin' to do with this.” Jack said as he followed after Felix, the other man basically dragging him along.
“Well, you are invested in the project due to Mark’s involvement. And you got the invitation. Besides, Mark was really proud of this project, I think you should at least take a look at it.”
“I… I guess that’s true…”
“I’ll treat you to a drink afterwards.”
“Okay. Fine. If ya please stop talking.”
“Deal!”
---
It felt like Jack had been sitting there for an eternity and a half before a doctor appeared in the room. Jack immediately rose up and walked towards the man.
“Is Mark okay?” He asked with a shaky voice, his face was a bit tearstained from crying during the waiting. The doctor looked at him.
“I’m taking that you are Mr. Fischbach’s husband, Sean Fischbach-McLoughlin.” The doctor said and Jack rapidly nodded.
“Yes, I am! How’s Mark? Is he okay?” He asked, silently begging the man to tell him that yes, Mark was okay. The doctor looked at him before he let out a small sigh and touched Jack’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Sean. Mark didn’t make it.”
Jack’s world shattered.
His whole face fell as the words repeated themselves in his head. He took a few steps backwards before he simply collapsed onto the floor. He let out a scream as he once again broke down in sobs, this time he didn’t try to keep quiet. He yelled out insults and how things aren’t fair between the sobs, all the while the doctor was rubbing soothing circles on his back.
Sometime during Jack’s breakdown, Mark’s brother had arrived. Jack clinged to Thomas as both of them cried over the loss of a husband and a little brother.
When Jack had calmed down enough to think rationally, he turned towards the doctor who was still there.
“Can I see him?” He asked and the doctor froze up.
“What?” The doctor said, looking like he hadn’t understood what Jack wanted.
“Can I see him? Please? I know that he probably look bad, b-but please let me see him!” Jack asked and the doctor started to look a bit nervous.
“I’m really sorry, Mr. Fischbach-McLoughlin, but you can’t do that.” The man said and Thomas raised an eyebrow.
“Why not?” He questioned and the doctor shook his head.
“Let me rephrase that. You are not allowed to see him. It have risen some problems that forbids you, or any other family member or friend of Mr. Fischbach’s, to see him. I’m going to see if I can resolve this so you can at least get the body for the funeral, but don’t be sure of that.” He said, looking a bit uncomfortable.
“Wait, are you saying that we are going to have a funeral without a body?!” Thomas suddenly exclaimed, looking angry. Jack felt empty all over again.
“I’m afraid that at the moment, it looks like it. I’m really sorry, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that it won’t come to that.” The doctor said as he looked away in shame for a moment before he turned around and walked away.
“Wait! Shit. Fucking doctors! What the hell was that?!” Thomas growled while Jack just stared in front of him. Thomas let out a sound of frustration before he looked at Jack with a sigh.
“Come on. We… We better get back home and collect ourselves. When we can think more clearer, we will come back and ask what the fuck is going on.” He said as he pulled the broken man up on his feet. Jack stared blankly at him.
“You… You can stay at my place if you want. Or you can stay with Mom. Yeah, I think it’s better that all of us are together…” Thomas continued and Jack let him. He merely followed the other man out of the hospital, not objecting to anything.
They didn’t know about it that moment for sure, but they would have a funeral without a body.
---
Jack and Felix stood in line to be let in into the presentation room.
“Are you ready?” Felix asked as they walked forward to the guards. Jack picked up his invitation and glanced at Felix.
“No. I just want this to be over.” He said as he handed the guards the invitation card. The man looked at it before looking at the pair.
“Glad you could come, Mr. Fischbach-McLoughlin. I hope you will enjoy the evening.” He said before handing the card back and let them through.
Jack and Felix walked over to their seats and sat down. They sat in silence as the room was slowly filling up. Jack was looking towards the stage in the middle of the room. Something was already in the middle of it, under a white cover. Probably the robot that they would be presenting. A microphone was standing towards the side, most likely so they would be able to present the robot without having to move out of the way. Jack sighed and sunk into his seat. An elbow right in his arm from Felix made him glare at the other man but he sat straight up either way.
After what felt like an hour, the room darkened while the lamps on the stage lit up. A man walked up the stage, Jack immediately identifying him as Mark’s project leader. Brian, if he remembered correctly. The man soon started to talk about the project and Jack tried to follow him, but ultimately he failed on that task. He almost fell asleep. Felix woke him up.
“-and that concludes the schematic of Google IRL! Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us show you our proud creation!” Brian said and caught Jack’s attention. Finally something he and Felix would understand better. The man walked over to the cover and grabbed the cloth.
“Say hello to Google IRL!” He basically shouted as he pulled it away. Several astonished gasps was heard around the room.
“Holy fuck.” Jack heard Felix say under his breath. Jack felt his blood run cold as he stared at the supposed robot. His mouth felt dry and his hands began to shake.
“Mark?” He whispered. On the stage stood something that apparently was supposed to be a robot. But it looked just like a human, specifically like Mark. At first look, it looked just like his late husband. It even had the blue hair. But at a closer look, Jack could see some wires sticking out of it’s head. But they weren’t many so it could easily pass as a human.
“They, uh, they must have design it’s looks after Mark in a weird way to honor his memory… I mean, he was a very big part of this project after all.” Felix said and glanced Jack.
“Yeah. That must be it.” Felix continued and Jack slowly nodded before trying to swallow the lump in his throat.
“As you can see, our engineers have made an excellent design in this! Now, what do you say about an demonstration?” Brian said, Jack easily seeing his grin.
“Google! Wake up!” The man said and the robot twitched as it’s systems powered up. Jack couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment when Google opened it’s eyes. Instead of the soft brown Jack was somehow expecting, it showed glowing blue eyes. Probably screens so it could access internet better. This made Jack relax a little, it wasn’t a complete rip-off of Mark.
“Google, what is the speed of light?” Brian asked and the robot looked at the man. And then it opened it’s mouth.
“It exists about 105000000 results relating to the search but the relevant and the first search says that the speed of light is 299792458 m/s.” It said in a smooth, deep voice that usually sent shivers down Jack’s spine. This time it only brought tears to Jack’s eyes and he brought a hand to his mouth to hide a sob. But Jack couldn’t look away. There was nothing mechanic in that voice, nothing that he could convince himself that it wasn’t Mark on the stage.
Brian continued to question Google and make him do some simple stuff. All the time while Jack watched.
Jack had enough.
Jack pushed himself up from his seat and started to move towards the stage, leaving Felix curse and scramble up behind him. Jack was up on the stage before anyone could really blink and walking towards Google. Brian spluttered in surprise and yelled for guards, but Jack didn’t care about them. He had his eyes on Google.
Google seemed to notice him as it- he- turned towards Jack and looked at him with those blue glowing eyes.
“Mark?” Jack asked as he slowly closed in on the robot- man- with a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes. He stopped in front of Google as he drank in it’s- his- whole appearance. So uncannily like. And Jack searched for the thin scar that was on Mark’s jaw after a minor accident. He had fallen down a rocky hill when they were out on a road trip when they were younger. They wouldn’t replicate that on a robot, right?
Google looked at Jack, but Jack wasn’t sure if it- he- was actually looking or if the eyes had just locked themselves in his direction without seeing anything besides what was on the screens.
Jack’s heart stopped as he saw the small, but oh so familiar scar.
“Mark?” He asked once again, this time reaching out a trembling hand to carefully touch Google’s jaw and trace the scar.
He didn’t get to touch the skin as someone suddenly grabbed him and began to pull him away from the supposed machine. Something just clicked in Jack’s mind and he began to scream and thrash against the guards’ hold on him.
“Let me go, ya bastards! What did ya do to him?! What the did ya do to Mark?! WHAT THE FUCK DID YA DO TO MY HUSBAND?!” He screamed, anger boiling inside of him. But the two guards holding him simply dragged him towards the edge of the stage, probably planning to throw him out of the building. They might have called the cops too, but Jack didn’t care. He just wanted to go back to Mark.
“Ya bastards! How dare ya? How dare ya?! Ya just fuckin’ take his body and turn him into a machine?! And leave his family, leaving me, to mourn him as dead without having a body?! While ya bastards experimented on him as ya pleased?! YA FUCKIN’ BASTARDS! Give me back my husband!” Jack screeched, all the time while he tried to go back but failing miserably at that. Felix was pale and in a slight panic as he was forced to watch his best friend get dragged down from the stage and out of the room. He hurried after, hoping he would be able to calm the Irishman down slightly.
“Ah, I-I’m really sorry for this disturbance, ladies and gentlemen! It appears that our design was too alike someone that poor man knew! I assure you, everything will be taken care of and you do not need to worry!” Felix could hear Brian say. He couldn’t help but to feel sick from that man. He was sure Brian knew exactly why this happened and he didn’t even acknowledge it. That bastard.
Amidst this chaos, no one noticed that Google stared after the yelling green haired man. And no one noticed the single tear rolling down it’s cheek.