“For the last time Felix, it is not a date.”

Mark was in the process of getting ready to meet Sean at the pub, and Felix was making it very difficult with his constant nagging and commentary about the evening. He threw his hands up in defence at Mark's affronted gaze. “Alright, whatever you say Romeo. Just two guys, going to a pub for a jolly ole pint together.”

“Exactly.” Mark affirmed, straightening out the blazer he was wearing and looking into the mirror that hung in the front hall by the door, fiddling with his hair.

“On a Saturday night.”

“Yup.” Mark ran his hand through his hair trying to push it back, groaning when it flopped back into his face.

“By yourselves, two guys who technically, have just met.”

Mark glanced over at him, hands pausing in his hair. “Yes?” Mark drug out the word, waiting for Felix to get to the point.

Felix crossed his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow as he threw Mark a pointed look. “Two men who have literally been destined to fall in love with each other, and who have countless times over. But you're right, it’s not a date.” Felix ducked as a shoe came flying at his head. “Hey!”

“Whatever his or my feelings may be, this is still just two friends meeting up for a drink.” Mark went back to the mirror and his hair. “Well, I won’t be drinking, but same idea.” He moved to the bathroom to grab some hair spray to try and make his hair a floof and not a flop with Felix following, holding the shoe.

“Come on man, even if you want him to see it as just that, you can admit to me what it really is.” He leaned against the door frame while Mark layered the hair spray into his hair, trying to get it to do what he wanted. “I mean, look at you. You’re dressed for a fancy dinner, not a night out with “the guys”, Felix accentuated the phrase with air quotes. “And this is like the fifth time you’ve messed with your hair since you started getting ready. Since when do you use that much product anyways?”

Mark placed the can on the counter. He couldn’t deny that. Usually his choice of clothing was muscle tanks and t-shirts, with sweats or jeans. Tonight he had elected to wear a white V-neck and slim, black pants, accentuating it with a navy blue blazer. Mark sent a side glance at Felix, ducking a little as he flushed, knowing he was right about his hair. He hadn't even really realized he had been working at it all night. “Fine, so it’s more than just friends meeting up, for both of us. But it’s still not a date. Nothing romantic is going to happen or come out of this. I’m going ‘cause he asked, and to see some more of his artwork.” Mark grabbed the hair dryer, setting it on low and quickly dried the spray in his hair while it was where he wanted it. Checking himself in the mirror, he nodded, happy with what he saw, putting the dryer down again. “And there's nothing wrong with wanting to look nice.” He wouldn't admit to Felix that he still wanted to impress Sean, even if it was obvious. No need to confirm his thoughts.

“When does anything you do ever go to plan?” Felix stood back up and moved as Mark made his way out of the bathroom to the front hall to put on his shoes.

“I’m going to ignore that.”

Felix rolled his eyes as Mark sat on the bench by the door to put on his shoes. “Have you been taking your pills?”

Mark paused, looking sharply up at Felix. “Yes.”

Felix flinched a little at the force behind the word, once again bringing his arms up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just asking. You know what happened last time-”

“Yes, I do and we don't ever need to bring that up. I take my pills everyday like I'm supposed to.” Mark finished tying his shoe and stood to face Felix. “Are we done now? I'm going to be late.”

Felix didn’t back down from the hard look, holding his ground and meeting the gaze head on. Felix had never really been intimidated by Mark, and it was something he was grateful for, though he would never admit it out loud. Felix was the first to break the eye contact with a sigh and slump of his shoulders. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up, that was a dick move. But you know I'm just trying to look out for you. As much as I may joke and push you, I just want you to be happy Mark.”

Mark didn't respond to Felix right away, just continued to stare at him before also deflating and giving the Swede a small smile. “I know. Still amazes me how you still put up with me.”

Mark turned to leave, but he paused, his hand on the door knob as Felix spoke again.

“You deserve to be happy Mark.”

Mark stood there staring at the knob without really seeing it, memories running through his head at high speed and definition. Of thing he wanted to forget. Things he would never forget. “I wish I did.” he whispered, not sure if Felix heard him but leaving before he had a chance to argue back.

Dark clouds started to roll in as Mark pulled up to the pub, looking foreboding as ever. He turned off his vehicle and sat in the seat, hands gripping the steering wheel. He was parked two rows from the front, and from his spot he could see in through the front window into the pub. He spotted Sean, sitting in a booth sipping on a beer and scrolling through his phone. His arm was blocking most of his body and he was turned more away from the window but the neon green hair could stand out in a meadow of spring flowers. It was just before eight and Mark had half a mind to turn his car back on and get the hell out of here. What was he even doing? This was going against everything he promised himself and going in there was only going to make things worse. He was reaching for his phone, prepared to text Sean saying he couldn’t make it, that Chica was sick, but he found his hand changing direction to the door handle when Sean looked out the window, his face nervous and his eyes shining brighter than his hair. He was walking to the pub door, and before he knew it, was approaching Sean’s table. Sean looked up as he slipped into the booth, startled.

“Oh, hey! Man I didn’t even hear ya coming up.” He smiled at Mark, which chipped away even more at the voices that were telling him to get the hell out.

“I’m pretty light on my feet.” Mark forced a smile, two sides warring within him and tried to relax himself. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long?”

Sean pocketed his phone as Mark settled into his seat, placing his clasped hand on the table in front of him, leaning forwards a bit. “Nah, I only got here maybe five, ten minutes ago.” Sean handed him a menu to look over, and then waved at what he assumed was their waitress when he put it back down. A young woman in an apron walked over.

“All ready now doll?” She smiled, bright eyes and dimples, giving Mark an appreciative once over, then pulled out a pad of paper and pen from her hair, which was done up in a tight bun.

“Yup! I’ll get ‘nother beer, and an order of hot wings.” Sean watched her as she jotted the order down, looking over at Mark at the same time she did.

“A ginger ale, and an order of wings as well.” She eyed him up as she wrote his order down.

“Not too often I get a full grown man not ordering some kind of alcohol on a Saturday night. What, the missus not allowin’ it?” She laughed in Sean’s direction, waiting for him to join in on the fun, but she quieted down a bit when he merely gave a smile her way.

“Ah, I’m allergic to alcohol, believe it or not. So ginger ale it will be.” He smiled politely, very used to the comments by now.

“Ah hell, that’s got to suck. Well, at least there’s always a designated driver.” She laughed at her comment again, before turning to Sean one more time. “Well, I’m sure you’re quite the life of the party, those Irish genes and all.” She leaned down towards him, far too close for Mark's comfort as she whispered into Sean’s ear, to quite for any other person to hear.

Luckily, Mark wasn't any other person.

“Feel free to give me a ring if you ever want to go out and have a good time.” She slipped something into his lap before twirling on her feet, and bouncing her way to the kitchen. Once she was out of sight, Sean gave a small body shudder and pulled up a slip of paper to the table form his lap.

“I know I should be flattered when a pretty lady hits on me, but sometimes I wish I had a sign that reads “Gay As Hell” just floatin’ over my head twenty-four seven. Would make these situations a lot less awkward.” Sean put the slip of paper in his pocket.

Mark already new Sean’s preferences, The last Saturday when everyone was over he had already said, so Mark managed to keep himself fairly calm after that little scene with the waitress.

Mostly.

“You probably have some embarrassing stories with that.”

Sean laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “Oh boy, do I ‘ave stories.”

Mark smiled wickedly, leaning in a bit and propping his chin up with his hand. “Care to share?”

Sean jumped into the many stories he had in which he had to turn down various female companions, one in which, ended with a woman spending the night at a club, determined to hook him up with a “hot ass boo” before she left. Mark laughed more that night than he had in a long time. Sean had him practically keeling over the table, clutching his side as he gasped for breath, all previous hesitancy gone from his mind. Sitting there, with him, shooting the shit and telling stories made Mark feel lighter than he had in forever. At some point another waiter had brought them their drinks but Mark barely took notice. He moved onto stories of his family and siblings. Youngest of five, just like Jack, and had spent his life growing up in the countryside, and later in a cabin in the woods. Mark was thankful when the waitress came sauntering back, as he need a moment to collect himself as his laughter had started to get a little more on the manic side at all the similarities that Sean had with Jack, those damn voices starting to gain volume again. She came with their food and a second round of drinks, along with yet another move made on Sean which he decided was time to end.

“Hey, I was actually thinking, maybe ya can come to a party I might be going to next week.”

Marissa, they had learned her name, perked up immediately at that but tried to play it cool. “Oh, maybe. I’ll have to check my schedule first.” Sean glanced at Mark, who was a little confused where Sean was going with this, which he replied to his confusion with a subtle wink.

“Oh, that’s cool. You’ll have ta let me know. I’d love for you ta meet my boyfriend. You would love him.” Sean replied, with an innocent and sweet smile.

Mark almost choked on his drink, which he had been taking a sip of when Sean said that, trying very hard not to laugh at the look of absolute befuddlement on Marissa’s face.

“Boy… friend?” She squeaked.

“Yup! Three years now.” Sean leaned his elbows on the table, cupping his face and looking off behind her. “I think he’s the one. I think he might even propose soon! I’m not sure, but Mark seems ta think so, don’tchya Mark?” Sean and Marissa both directed their attention to him, and his brain stuttered as he completely blanked on what to say.

“Uh, sure. I mean, yea maybe. Saw him with Diamond Factory pamphlets a few weeks ago.” Mark tried his very best to stay as stoic as possible, but he was sure his face was as red as a tomato, trying his very best not to burst out laughing at the situation. Sean put his hand over his mouth and giggled, and Mark was red for a different reason now, as he turned back to Marissa.

“So, what do ya say girl?” He put his chin to his shoulder and held his hand flexed in the air.

Marissa’s face was also now flushed, and she sputtered a bit with her words, managing to choke out a ‘“maybe” and some excuse how she had to get back to the kitchen and practically ran from there table. Once she was out of sight Sean and Mark looked at each for a moment before they both lost it. Mark's eyes were squeezed shut as he laughed, his mouth actually sore from how wide it was stretched as he clutched his side. He could hear Sean’s laughter through his, filling his heart with warmth and joy at the sound. He wouldn’t ever tire of hearing that.

Mark took deep breaths after a minute, rubbing his hands on his face with little bursts of giggles here and there as he tried to calm down. Sean was smiling at him, a grin that lit up his entire face, his eyes bright and shining with joy, and Mark felt his breath catch in his throat. You’re so beautiful. He wanted to say it to him. He wanted to say more than that to Sean, and he could feel the words right on his tongue, but he bit them back, latching his teeth onto the side of his cheek.

“And there ya have it. A live show from the Jack McLoughlin. I’m not usually that “flamboyant” as it were, but it’s fun ta play it up a bit every now and again when I need to for situations like that.” Sean took a sip of his beer before continuing. “Also, remind me never ta count on you for that shit. I mean, Jesus man. You almost blew my cover!”

Mark's mouth flopped a bit, words sputtering out as he went to defend himself. “Excuse you, I wasn’t exactly prepared for that. You obviously have done this before and knew what you were doing.” Mark grumbled a bit, crossing his arms, but smiled to show he was joking. If he were honest, he had to admit that hearing Sean talk about being with another man, fake or not, had stirred some jealously in his stomach which he knew was ridiculous for various reasons. He seriously needed some help. The non-swedish kind. He uncrossed his arms and grabbed his own drink. “Hey, weren’t you going to show me your art work? I mean, it was kind of the whole reason for tonight.” Mark immediately regretted the way he had worded that at the small wince he picked up from Sean. He didn’t correct himself though, still needing Sean to see this as nothing more than friends hanging out.

“Yea, one sec.” Sean leaned down, head ducking under the table for a moment as he came back up with a bag that he placed on the seat beside him. “Most of my hard copies have been transferred to digital files, and I do most of my digital work on a tablet.” He pulled out a case form the bag, unzipping it to reveal said tablet. It was a pretty simple design, black casing, but the back had a sticker of some sort.

“What’s on the back?”

Sean flipped it over, laughing a little before showing Mark. “It’s a little logo that was designed fer me. When I was younger I got a gash above my eye after knocking heads with a classmate who had glasses on, and a few weeks later it got infected, and one of my friends, who called me Jack, long story, started calling me Jacksepticeye. It was a nickname that kind of stuck and I use it as a tag name on social media a lot. Anyway, this little guy is Septic Sam, which was inspired by the name. One of my followers on Tumblr, where I first started posting my art online, designed it for me, and I started using it as my logo. With his permission, I made it into stickers and prints for purchase.” Mark could hear some of the pride in his voice as he spoke. Smiling softly, he took the tablet and studied the design.

The logo consisted of a floating eye ball, which was entirely green save the iris, blue to match Sean’s eyes he assumed, and the black pupil. The eye had what was to be the nerves trailing in behind, and was on a green background. The sclera had slightly darker green veins running through it, the nerve an even darker green. It was a pretty neat design. Mark said as much as he handed the tablet back to Sean who opened it up and tapped away at it.

“I made a folder on here that ya can go through, with no worries of swiping too far and seeing anything that I wouldn’t want you seein’.” He flipped the tablet and passed it back to Mark, who accepted it again, smirking at him.

“Like a secret porn stash? Don’t worry, we’ve all had them at one point or another.”

“More like my stash of meme’s.” Sean huffed a laugh, then started chewing a bit on his lip. “More like, personal art work. While some people may write in journals or diaries, I use art as a way to express feelings and emotions. Some, I’ll post, but others are for my eyes and mine only.” His eyes alternated between looking at Mark and looking at the table. Mark didn’t understand why he seemed so nervous, from what he had seen so far, he had nothing to be worried about, especially since Mark couldn’t manage anything more artistic than a stick figure.

Mark started to flick through images, pausing and studying each one. Mark had thought the earlier ones, traditional mediums as Sean had said, were amazing, but these were breathtaking. His eyes were filled varying images, from portraits, to tattoo designs, to landscapes. They were in order from oldest to latest based on the dates, and Mark couldn’t help but feel like there was a story being told, from the way the imagery and colours would change, how some would bring thoughts of joy and laughter, bright with colour and shapes, while others would bring upon more sombre feelings. There were a few that were space scenes, with galaxies and nebulas, stars strewn about. He spent more time on these ones, starstruck by the beauty.

“Sean, God. These are,” He paused. “I don’t have words. They’re breathtaking.”

Sean turned red at the praise, thanking Mark and trying to keep a smile off his face, but failing. “Do you have a favourite?”

“It’s hard to choose, but I love the space scenes you did. I’ve always been fascinated with the beauty and mystery that is the universe. I used to sit with my brother on the roof of our house, staring at the stars, making stories out of the patterns.” Mark realized what he was saying and trailed off, hoping Sean wouldn’t ask him questions about his family. He had been very good at keeping the conversation earlier very one sided on family, evading and deflecting questions about his own, keeping them vague as possible before firing them back at him.

“Oh, that’s really cute. I used to stargaze a bit with one of my sisters. I was the closest to her out of all my siblings. How far apart are the two of ya in age?” Sean seemed very eager to hear some more of Mark's back story, not that Mark could blame him.

“Uh, he was a year older.” Mark mumbled, grabbing his drink and sipping on it. Sean opened his mouth to say something, hesitating for a moment, eyebrows furrowing a bit.

“Was? Did… Did something happen to him?” And there was one of the question he had been trying to avoid all night. Mark looked at his drink, an awkward silence hanging in the air between them. He could sense Sean about to say something, probably change the subject and he decided to speak.

“He passed away when we were kids, in an accident.” Mark spoke quietly, wasn’t totally sure if Sean heard him over the crowd and music. He looked up to meet his eyes, sadness swimming in baby blues.

“I’m so sorry Mark. I’m sorry I even asked, that was stupid of me.” As he spoke he reached to grab Mark's hand. Mark flinched, jerking his hand back before he could take it and putting it on the back of his neck.

“It’s fine, it was a long time ago.” He offered a small smile to Sean, who had brought his hand back to his side, his ears tinged pink and for the millionth time, Mark wished he could hold the other man, and give into his desires, and stop hurting him. Instead he focused back onto the tablet, to finish going through the work, awkward silence filling the air between them.

He neared the end and his breathing hitched. The last piece was different than the others. It featured two people, male, faces both indistinguishable, on the floor of a wooden cabin. One male, with black hair was seated on the ground cradling the other man, hand pressed to his chest which was covered in blood. The other man, brunet, had his hand cradling the other's face. The surrounding area was dim, with what seemed like light emanating from the figures on the ground. The piece as a whole was not overly detailed, done with thicker strokes and dull colours, but that didn’t matter, Mark would recognize this scene even after a thousand years, or in this case, four hundred years. He touched the tablet gently, captured by the scene, one that was seared into his mind like a brand, and he could feel his eyes burning at seeing the scene actually laid out in front of him. He looked sharply at Sean, who was scrolling through his phone, as he choked on his words.

“What, what is this… what made you draw this piece?” Mark turned the tablet to Sean, so he could see the image. Sean looked up at him, then down at the tablet as he rested his phone on the table.

“Oh, yea. It’s a little different than what I usually do. It was actually a dream I had, about a month or so ago. It was weird. I woke up with a lot of pain in my chest and I was crying, and I couldn’t remember what I had been dreamin’ about, but I had the urge to grab my tablet and I started sketching. It’s kind of blurry to be honest. I think I was half asleep still, but I had sketched out this scene and it seemed really familiar so I’m pretty sure that’s what my dream was.” Sean paused, grabbing the tablet from Mark, unaware of the other man's distress. “I don’t know why, but this piece feels… important. This scene. I haven’t got a goddamn clue why, it was just a dream after all, but there's something about it that just...” He trailed off looking back up at Mark, expression thoughtful, which immediately turned to worry when he met his gaze. “Mark? Mark are ya okay? What’s wrong?”

Mark was about ten seconds away from hyperventilating. This was a bad idea. He shouldn’t have come here. He needed to get away, away from Sean, away from his memories. He had no idea what this meant, but it couldn’t be good. “I’m… I-I’m fine, I just need.” He swallowed hard, putting his phone in his pocket and grabbing his wallet. “I’m sorry, but I-I need to g-go.” His hands were starting to shake and we willed himself to just relax for a goddamn minute. Sean looked confused and worried, kept asking Mark what was wrong. He couldn’t answer. How would he explain anyhow? Mark was going for the cash in his wallet when he stopped, eyes snapping up as his body froze. In the midst of the noise, the voices and music, he heard the jingle of the door opening, as two men walked in, faces grim. There was nothing out of the ordinary there, two guys going to a pub, except that the heart rates, they were wrong. Too slow. Mark's eyes snapped over to the door, watching the two men stand by the door, scanning their surroundings, as they locked onto Mark's. They stared at each other for a moment, he watched a flicker of confusion in the man's face, followed by recognition and surprise. Everything around Mark drowned out by his own heart beating at a rapid rate, filling his ears. He could vaguely hear Sean asking what was wrong when the man smirked, sharp teeth peeking through his upper lip.

Vampires.