Rain started to fall as Mark shouldered the door to the cabin open, careful to not bang Jack's head against the frame. The sun was just starting to set, illuminating the room with an orange glow. He kicked the door shut and brought Jack over to his makeshift bed, gently laying him down. He moved to Jack's ankle to inspect the damage. It was swollen, but not too badly. He didn’t think it was broken but he wouldn't know for sure until Jack woke. He needed to put it in a splint to be safe. He had some rope in his bag, and he went to get two sticks that were fairly straight and sturdy. After putting it together he used a stool to prop Jacks leg up. Satisfied with his work, he pulled the sheet over Jack and brushed a few strands of hair from his face as his hand trailed down to lightly cup his cheek. Mark let out a shuddering breath as he let his hand linger for a moment before retracting it and making his way over to the opposite side of the room settling down against the wall by his bag. He stared at Jack as his mind drifted to the events of today.

After Aileen had left, Mark took Jack outside and laid him down outside in some brush, noting that storm clouds were approaching. He didn’t want Jack to have to be in that cave any longer than he needed to. It had only taken him a minute to round up all the bodies in the cave and pile them in the middle of the cavern before he started the fire. When he got outside, he jumped up to the top of the opening of the cave, and he brought his fists down against the rocks, over and over again, causing the rocks to crack and crumble beneath him. He continued to do this until the mouth of the cave was sealed, picking Jack back up, and setting on his way.

He touched his nose which was still broken, hissing at the pain. It had been dulled by his earlier adrenaline and aggression, then his subsequent senselessness when he brought Jack back here. It was a fairly minor injury though, and would be bearable when it started to heal. Outside it started to pick up, the heavy drops loud against the roof of the cabin, thunder rolling.

Mark closed his eyes as he sighed, leaning his head against the wall, and was greeted by the vision of him, viciously ripping out that man’s throat in the darkness of his mind. His eyes flew open and he felt his heart pick up. What he had done in there, it had been savage and animalistic. It had been monstrous. Aileen’s last words flitted through his mind.

You’re not like ‘em, you know. You’re not a monster.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Mark hugged his knees, his chest restricted painfully as his breathing picked up. He fought the tears that pricked the back of his eyes as he tried not to panic, but the overwhelming feeling of hate he felt towards himself was suffocating. How could he have let himself go like that? To give in to such a primal instinct when he’s tried so hard to reign it in, to be as human as possible, and to show he wasn’t a beast like the others. Yet tonight he proved what he feared the most. It didn't matter if the man was a monster himself, if he deserved to be torn apart, flesh ripped from his bones and-

“STOP.”

Lightning flashed as thunder struck. Mark screeched in anguish, hands gripping his hair hard enough to pull some out. He leaned his head against his knees, squeezing his eyes tight as he felt hot tears escape, trailing down his cheeks. He thought about what his family would think of him, of what Lukas would think of him. They would be ashamed, disgusted, fearful. He could hear his parents voices, calling him a monster, rage and terror in their voices. His shoulders started to shake with barely contained sobs. The voices of his family and Lukas continued to scream inside his head in time with the raging storm outside, until he was curled up against the wall, heart wrenching sobs echoing around the small room. He laid there for what felt like hours as the sobs were ripped from his body, as they slowly subsided to whimpers, then barely breathing as he laid there unmoving, still half curled in a ball, staring ahead unfocused.

The storm had started to calm, flashes of lightning illuminating the small room, followed by quiet thunder moments after. The lightning strike made some broken glass glisten, catching the attention of Mark's half stalled brain. As lightning continued to hit, causing the glass to shine, his thoughts started to travel to the ocean, shining on a sunny day, the water sparkling under the sun. It started to morph until a set of eyes were formed, and soon Mark found himself looking across the room at the unconscious man lying there.

Mark slowly pushed himself up back to his previous position on the floor as he studied Jack. Jack was the main cause of his earlier aggression, was the reason he had lost it in the first place. When Jack had been taken and later threatened, it had caused something to snap inside of Mark, unleashing the beast that laid within him. But why? Mark didn’t understand the intense reactions he had been having because of him. He only met Jack yesterday, for God’s sake. But this Irish man was stirring all kind of emotions inside him. There were some kind of feelings he held for Jack, but he could convince himself that they were due to being alone for so long, added to the fact that Jack was a good looking man and he was indeed attracted to him, he couldn’t deny that.

Mark knew he liked both women and men, knew from a very early age, though he mostly kept it to himself. While people were free to pursue relations with the same sex for fun if they wished, they were still expected to marry and produce children at some point, and many people saw it as sinful and many were harassed, beaten and even killed for it. Years ago, before Mark had been born, it had been illegal for any kind of same sex interaction on a romantic or sexual level, punishable by death and many wish to see that re enacted. His parents never knew, due to their own beliefs, but Lukas had. He was the first and only person Mark had told after finding out Lukas had had many lovers, both male and female. He said when you lived for as long as he had, things like that stopped mattering. It was about the connection. It had been comforting to be able to express that part of himself with someone.

But the anger he felt over Jack? The protectiveness? It was at a level he hadn’t felt since his family was still alive. Mark leaned over to his bag and searched for a moment before pulling out his mother’s wedding band, one of the only things he brought with him when he left his childhood home. He slipped the ring onto his pinky finger before leaning his head back against the wall. He always felt more centered when he had the ring on, bringing him a small sliver of the peace he once had in his life. He looked back at Jack. Whatever these feelings he had for Jack were, they didn’t matter in the end. Once he was sure Jack was going to be okay, he was gone. 

Mark chased after Jack as he ran through the trees, stumbling and flailing as he went. He could hear his heavy breaths and panicked cries as he tried to get away. Mark kept up easily, human speed not being a match for Mark, but he was enjoying watching him run, letting him think he had a chance. After a few more minutes though, Mark had had enough of the chase and he leapt forwards landing on Jack's back, pinning him to the ground. Jack screamed in pain as Mark's knees dug into his back, his cheek was flush with the ground and he looked up at Mark from the corner of his eyes in fear.

“P-please! Mark, don't do this! This isn't you! You aren't a monster! Fight it, please!” Jack was crying now as he pleaded with him.

Mark let out a low chuckle, strands of hair hanging in his face and he smiled wide at the man below him, teeth bared. He grabbed a fist full of hair, yanking Jack's head back, getting a yelp of pain from the man, as he leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“I've always been a monster, and now I'm going to show you just how monstrous I can be.” he gently kissed just behind Jack's ear, feeling Jack shiver, before trailing down to his neck, and sinking his teeth in as Jack screamed and struggled beneath him, screaming his name.

“Mark! Mark please, wake up!”

“MARK!”

Mark bolted straight up, heaving deep gulps of air as he clutched at his chest. His mind was clouded, as he frantically looked around the room for the source of the voice, his eyes landing on Jack.

Jack was sitting up, leaning back on his hands. The blanket he had placed over him earlier pooling around his waist, his leg still propped up. He met Jack's eyes which held concern and confusion, his stomach doing back flips.

“Are ya alright there? Looked like one hell of a  night fear, way ya were thrashin’ around.”

Mark had gotten a handle on his breathing and was relaxing as he sat up. The room was filled with the gray light of the morning sun. He must have fallen asleep about an hour ago, as he remembers seeing the stars begin to dissipate as the day was approaching. He was a little surprised he had slept at all given he had slept the previous night, but he had been fairly spent after yesterday.

“I'm fine, don't worry about me. How are you? Are ya in any pain?” Mark was still level-headed enough to remember the Irish accent as he stood and walked over to Jack to inspect his head and leg. He gently rolled Jack's pant leg up to see if the swelling had gone down, hearing Jack let out a small hiss. Thankfully, while still a bit swollen, it was drastically less than before.

“Can ya move it?” Jack slowly rolled his ankle, grimacing in pain, but he had full mobility. Mark let out a sigh.

“Well, it's not broken. It'll be sore for a few days though. Be careful on it. How's yer head?” Mark shifted over to kneel by Jack's side.

“Feels like someone drove a nail right through it. What the ‘ell happened? Last thing I remember was those bastards draggin’ me towards a cave when they knocked me right across the head after I managed ta sink my teeth inta one of ‘em. Then I woke up ‘ere, with you in the middle of some kind of fit. What happened to those men who attacked you, and the ones who grabbed me? I assume they were the kidnappers-” Jack was cut off by Mark placing a hand over his mouth, which rewarded Mark with a steely glare.

“Would ya stop and breathe for a second and let me answer ya?” Mark asked with a smile tugging at his lips. The man could probably go on forever if he let him. Mark retracted his hand, still on the receiving end of the Irish man's glare though the heat was gone from it. He started checking on his head wound as he spoke. “After you were taken, I took out the ones that attacked me and I followed the others to there hideout. There were only a couple men inside along with you and another woman. I took care of them as well and got the both of you to safety.” It was a very vague retelling of the events. Now that he knew Jack was fine, he was glad the man had been knocked out. Made the aftermath much easier.

Jack had flinched when Mark first touched his head, whether from pain or the same feeling that shot through Mark at the direct touch, he didn't know. Mark was more prepared for it though. Jack looked at him in shock as he pulled back from his head.  The wound was closing and it didn't seem to be infected.

“What?”

“Ya took them all on by yourself? When those men grab me, I saw at least three on ya, and they had ya pinned.” Jack's voice was full of disbelief.

“They were weak, arrogant and untrained. It was easy enough ta gain the upper hand, and when I got to the cave, the few men left were reeling ripe, barely able to walk let alone fight me. Nothing to awe about.”

Jack seemed to believe the story, he didn't have any reason not to, and Mark had perfected the art of lying under the teaching of Lukas. Jack switched gears again.

“The other woman, was she okay? You made sure she got back safely?” Mark was a little taken aback by the genuine concern in Jack's voice. Most people wouldn't have given something like that another thought. In Mark's experience, people were generally rude, selfish and out for themselves. It was refreshing and endearing, and brought a smile to Mark's face. “She was fine. She was taken from another town, the one the men had previously visited. I made sure she was okay before she left.” Small lie, but she seemed strong enough to make it back to the town. Mark had been too focused on Jack at the time to worry about her, which was causing him some guilt. She had been the main reason they had gotten out of there after all.

Jack simply nodded at Mark's confirmation, before looking around at his surroundings.

“So, this is where ya’ve been shacked up while following those bastards. I used ta come to this cabin when I was a lad, would hide out here when I wanted ta be alone, to get away from all the people and me family. Youngest of five me, two older sister and two older brothers. I'm sure ya can imagine what that would be like.” Jack stopped and looked a bit sheepish as he realized he was rambling once again. He looked over at Mark before continuing. “Do ya have any siblings?”

Mark had been smiling before at his ramblings but the question quickly wiped it from his face as he frowned, thinking of his own brother, along with his previous thoughts of his family. Jack noticed the abrupt change in mood and his own smile dropped. “Mark? What's wrong?”

Mark looked back up at Jack, and just like before he had the sudden urge to tell this man everything. He wanted to open the gates and release everything to him, tell him every detail, every memory, every emotion. He wanted to be able to just talk to someone about how he felt and Jack, with his sincere blue eyes and touching smile made it so easy to want to open up to. Mark bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself quiet.

“I'm sorry if I’ve brought up a bad subject for ya. Ya don't have to answer me.” Jack told him gently, placing a hand on Mark's knee. Mark could hardly believe this was the same man who had the temper of a bull and the mouth of a drunk, now sitting here, so soft spoken and kind. Mark decided it wouldn't hurt to reveal a little about himself to Jack. Found himself wanting to desperately.

“I had an older brother, Johan. He passed when I was eleven.” Mark spoke softly. Jack opened his mouth, to apologize but Mark cut him off. “It's fine. It happened a long time ago.” Mark smiled at him, albeit a little sadly.

“Doesn't make it any easier. Even if it was what, ten or so years ago, based on how old ya look? Losing someone ya love is never easy.” Jack squeezed Mark's knee before retracting his hand, the area quickly cooling from the loss of warmth. Mark was about to correct Jack, as it had been about twenty years since he lost his brother, but remembered that he didn't look any older than twenty five to Jack. There was a bit of an awkward silence for a moment before Jack started up again, a bit hesitantly and not meeting Mark's eyes.

“So, are you going ta be heading on yer way then? Now that the kidnappers have been taken care of?” Jack flicked his eyes back up to Mark's, and he swore he could see some hope in Jack's ocean eyes. Mark hesitated once again. He needed to leave, not only to keep hunting but because whatever these feelings for Jack were, they were dangerous. He could see Jack felt something too, this connection they seemed to have going both ways, and the last thing he needed was someone getting close to him. He would just end up dead.

But the other side of him wanted to stay. He wanted to get to know Jack, learn more about him, see him smile, hear him laugh. He was so sure about leaving the night before but now with Jack here, sitting in front of him with those eyes, he found he didn't want to say no.

“I should continue on my way,” he started and he watched as Jack deflated, his eyes dropping to the ground as he fidgeted with his hands. “But I should probably stay for at least a few more days, make sure that all the people involved are gone and no one else is part of this group.” Mark finished. It's something he should do, and he tried to tell himself it was the main reason he was going to stick around and tried to shut up the voice in his head saying otherwise.

Jack's eyes leapt back up to Mark's and he smiled before schooling his face into a more neutral expression. “Uh, that's great. I mean, yeah that's a good idea. Wouldn't want ta leave and just have ta come all the way back if more of those bastards show up.” Jack flushed a little as he spluttered and Mark was again torn between the sense of his decision, but found he couldn't complain about being able to see Jack all flustered. He let out a huff of laughter as he agreed with Jack. They continued to talk for a little while longer, mainly about Jack's life and his family, before they realized that Jack should probably get home as he was late to his morning duties. He lived on a small plot of land owned by his father which neighboured his family's farm, as he worked for his father. His other siblings had all married and began their own families but Jack hadn't been interested in starting a family even with his parents pushing for it. When he was twenty two and still single he made a deal with his father to have his own place, as to get away from the constant nagging, but would continue working on the farm, and he would look for a wife. That was three years ago and while Jack had courted a few dames, it rarely lasted long. Jack hadn't said it expressly, but Mark thought he knew why Jack had yet to settle with a nice woman and start a family. After making sure Jack was able to walk on his own, Mark stood with him at the door.

“So, if I'm still alive after my father is done with me for bein’ late, I could show you around the town if ya’d like. Could show ya potato’s as far as the eye can see, and then some.” Jack said with a small wink

Mark laughed at the comment which made Jack beam. “Sure. If you're still alive I’ll meet ya near the forest line we were at before.” Jack nodded, shuffled in place for a moment before nodding and setting on his way. Mark watched him go, leaning against the door frame, a smile gracing his face. As he stood there watching Jack walk away, his smile slipped as his dream from the night came back to him. He took a deep breath, telling himself that it was simply his mind playing on his fears. It wasn't him, he would never do that to an innocent, and not to Jack.

As he shook his thoughts away and turned back into the cabin, he couldn't help but be a little confused about one of the details in his dream. Jack's hair was brown and cropped, but the Jack in his dream had longer hair atop of his head.

And it was green.