#mark: ask

“Why did you do that, Helena?!” Mark’s scowl was a force of habit, as if he were training a child to understand that he wasn’t always going to laugh when she did stupid things. With Henrik’s death immediately coming to mind, he assumed she had set it on purpose. Maybe it was just an accident but knowing her, it felt unlikely.

“Where is it? I’ll show you how to put it out.” A sigh escaped his lips and his expression relaxed a little. At the very least, he could turn it into a life lesson and prevent a future recurrence. You’re going to turn me into an alcoholic, Helena, for God’s sake!

“CHRIST," Mark yelped, his hands flying up to his chest with one slightly outstretched, ready to shove his supposed attacker away. It took a second for his thoughts to click into place. It was just Helena. There were no guns, no soldiers, no one at the ready with handcuffs. Just silly Helena.

“Helena, don’t do that. Someone might get hurt.” His arms relaxed back down to his side but quickly switched to a more playful tactic. It felt as if he had been too serious with her lately, giving her mini-lectures on why certain things were acceptable in society and other things weren’t. Putting his limited world experience to use gave him a sense of pride but he knew he probably came off sterner than he intended.

This time, he reached out and poked her side, trying to tickle her. “How would you get a date with a big broken nose? More importantly, how would explain that you scared your brother so much that he accidentally punched you?”

@beeutifulmuses

“You’re not a hero to everyone but you’re a hero to those who matter.” Mark’s voice was unusually soft as he shifted into big brother mode even though, in this case, he certainly wasn’t the older or wiser one. He shifted in his armchair across from Sarah, the scar tissue ached at the memory of how she had saved him. You’re a hero to me. It was something he wouldn’t voice but he hoped that the softness in his face was enough to tell her what he was thinking.

“I don’t- I don’t think Neolution considers you a hero but I bet Kira and your little sister think you are.” Lifting the stained mug to his lips, he took a sip of hot chocolate, avoiding her gaze for a moment.

Legacies sentence prompts

“Not really.” Mark murmured as he peeled back the bandage covering the gunshot wound. It was healing well but still wasn’t easy to look at. He placed the bloodied bandage on a surgical sheet for easy disposal and then picked up some gauze and a bottle of saline solution.

“It’s the women who are scared.” After wetting the gauze, he started to carefully dab at the wound, cleaning it as best he could without hurting her too much. No doubt she’d try to retaliate anyway. That was to be expected. “They question why we’ve let such a dangerous killer into our midst but they’ve never once questioned what the men have hidden in their pasts… They don’t question what Henrik and I do to get the job done.”

Iconic Vine Starters

It had been months since the last big showdown with Neolution but the paranoia and anxiety was still rife within the group. Helena was somehow the most relaxed, maybe it was because she was distracted by her little boys. Admittedly, Mark was a bit jealous of both the relaxed attitude and the children, not that anyone cared much about his thoughts.

He and Gracie were still outsiders slowly trying to penetrate the tight-knit group and it was harder than he ever imagined. He was always looking for ways to get them to trust them and invite them over more often… Sometimes the ideas backfired.

“Alison, it’s me!” He hissed, raising his hands to show that he was unarmed. A paper bag dangled from his hand and a bit of icing from a sweet cinnamon bun fell onto the wood floor. For a moment he wondered if his face would ever be a friendly sight to them. “Helena let me in the back. I-I’m just bringing breakfast. Cinnamon buns and things- so please put the gun down.”

Platonic Fluff Meme

Today was one of those rare days where Mark just wanted to lie on the couch, curled up in a blanket, and not move for the entire day. He couldn’t understand where this feeling was coming from but the depression was there and it was strong.

“Thank you.” He gave her a halfhearted smile and sat up on the couch, the grey blanket still wrapped around his slumping shoulders. The silence stretched between them for some time before he finally decided to reveal what was troubling him. “Gracie was supposed to have our baby at the same time, you know. Our baby is supposed to be celebrating turning six months old, alongside Helena’s babies. Gracie has been distracted by having fun with all the kids but I- I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s my fault that we will never have a family… I-I’m sorry Sarah, I did not mean to burden you with all that.”

Picnic at Hanging Rock starters

"Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to sneeze so loud. I think I’m getting a cold.” A small laugh erupted from his side of the bed along with a little snuffle. Mark rolled onto his back, frowning at the ceiling of their little motel room. The paint was staring to peel in a few places and he figure it was lead paint or something equally disgusting. Maybe once they came into some money, he’d get them a nicer room at a Marriott or Hilton hotel. Somewhere nice with a little kitchen to keep Gracie occupied while they stayed in hiding.

“Did I wake you- oh, do you have a tissue over there?” He lifted his head and strained to look over at her nightstand as he snuffled to keep the snot from streaming out of his nose.

I’m too lazy to find the meme.

Mark briefly stopped stretching out his legs when he heard her remark and he let out a small laugh. Being accused of cheating at a game made him feel like he was ten again, fighting with his brothers over monopoly money. At least she wasn’t as rabid as them, there was little risk of being bitten in this exchange.

“I’m not lying, I don’t have any threes.” Mark shook his head in disbelief, glancing between his cards and the girl’s round face.  “Go fish!”