Of course you were worried. First, it was finding out Amber broke up with him, then his headset going offline, and now he won’t answer your calls. You tried not to panic, but shit hit the fan when you learned not even Cecil could reach him.

Being an intern at the GDA was nothing short of tedious. Mark was your boss’ number one priority all the time, and often times, reaching out to Mark was impossible with Cecil breathing down your backs. You offered to go look for Mark yourself—to calm your own nerves—but Cecil was quick to have a team out and looking.

You left Mark a message, a quick reminder that you’ll always be there for him and an apology for Cecil clearly not seeing that you wanted to see Mark for more than just a mission debrief, as more than just the GDA intern checking in on their favorite superhero.

Only a few seconds after pressing send, you had a knock at your bedroom window. You pulled open your window, barely holding yourself back from wrapping your arms around your friend. Mark slinked into your room quietly, shutting the window behind him silently, before letting out a sigh and relaxing his shoulders. Your eyes were drawn to his black eye, he noticed, but he lowered his own, almost shamefully.

“…Sorry. I know it’s late, and I know Cecil usually schedules you early tomorrow, but…” Mark struggled to find his words, unsure how the hell he could tell you what just happened with Angstrong Levy.

He was quiet, trying to shake away those anxious thoughts that you’d turn your back on him if he told you what he had done.

He killed Angstrong. He broke the promise he made to himself to never go that far, to never get close to acting like his own father, and yet. He could practically see the worry simmering in your expression, like he was the one to feel sorry for. Oh, he wished that were true. He didn’t deserve it, no, but the way you looked now, he wanted to lie so badly.

Mark stepped forward and his arms were around you, one hand on your back and the other on your head, face in your neck.