United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Forty-Six - Guilt

When Mark reaches the base, he settles Jack onto the couch and kneels beside him, watching as Phil gets a bowl of water from the kitchen and hurries to the living room. His blue eyes are haunted as he places the bowl on the floor beside him and pulls a sphere of water into his hand.

"What hurts that I can fix?" the Brit asks.

Jack gestures vaguely to his head and Phil lowers the water onto his forehead, the ache in his skull fading away as the liquid soaks into his skin. Jack maintains a firm grip on Mark's hand, his eyes threatening to slip shut from the exhaustion that comes with overexertion. He gestures to his legs and Phil helps them feel a bit less like jelly.

"Do you want to talk now or do you want to sleep?" Mark asks softly, pressing a kiss to the villain's knuckles.

Jack shrugs lightly, his eyes slipping shut. Mark exhales and grabs a nearby blanket, tucking him in before taking his hand again. Chica, the ever-faithful dog, jumps onto the couch and curls up by Jack's feet.

"Sleep, then talk," Mark says with a small smile.

"What happened?" Hudson asks, glancing from Jack to the other frazzled heroes and rebels as he enters the room. 

"Anti-heroes," Felix grumbles.

Phil sits Hudson down in one of the chairs and gently unwraps his bandages in order to look at his shoulder. As the other heroes and rebels start to disperse, Jack clutches Mark's hand a little tighter. In the background, Phil and Hudson slip out of the room.

"M'rk?" Jack mumbles, his visible eye cracking open.

The hero squeezes his hand in return. "Yeah?"

"'m scared. And I feel bad."

"I know. Just sleep and we can talk about this when you aren't exhausted."

"Is my eyepatch on?"

Mark frowns a little and runs his finger along the strap. "Of course it is. Do you want it off?"

Jack shakes his head. "No. I want it on. I don't want to know what'll happen if it's off."

"Nothing will happen." Mark sighs heavily. "Sleep, okay?"

"Don't leave."

"I wasn't going to."

Jack watches him, fighting it every time his eyes slip shut. Mark rubs circles into the back of his hand, and when the villain keeps trying to stay awake, he finally slips onto the couch beside him. Mark wraps an arm around Jack and frowns when he feels him shaking.

"You don't have to be scared," Mark whispers. "I'll protect you."

"I-I can't h-help it," Jack replies just as softly. "I keep s-seeing Dan and Anti in my h-head and they w-won't go away. I f-feel so guilty and h-his voice is g-getting louder in my h-head..."

Mark exhales heavily, rubbing circles into the villain's hip. He buries his worried expression in Jack's hair and holds him just a little tighter. "Just try to sleep, okay? I know you're scared and I know you feel guilty. We can talk through that later because right now, your exhaustion isn't helping anything."

Jack says nothing, choosing instead to turn and tuck himself into Mark's chest with a wince. He slips his hand under the hem of the hero's shirt and covers his bullet scar with his palm before exhaling and finally letting himself fall asleep. The hero bites his lip, worry welling in his heart and making him feel like he's going to burst into tears. He shifts so Jack is sleeping on his chest and stares up at the ceiling, running his fingers through the villain's hair and fighting the emotions that rage in his mind and heart.