Mark wakes up in a tangle of limbs, his eyes struggling to adjust to the room around him. Jack is wrapped around him, his head tucked beneath the hero's chin as his steady breaths tickle Mark's skin. The American blinks a few times before reaching for his side table, fumbling for his glasses. He barely wears them, most of the time opting for contacts or nothing at all, but his eyes are simply too tired today. The world slips into clarity as he pushes them on, and a moment later he wraps Jack in his arms again.
The villain mumbles incoherently and brushes his nose against the hero's collarbone. Mark nuzzles at his hair, his eyes threatening to slip shut again.
"Hi," Mark murmurs.
"Hi," Jack replies just as softly.
The hero traces his thumb back and forth over the villain's spine, pressing gentle kisses to his hair and face. Jack leans into his touch, reciprocating the kisses with his own pressed to Mark's throat.
Despite the calm mood of the morning, Mark can't help but remember the disaster that was yesterday. They failed in their attempts to take back the institute. Anti is back. Mr. Vincent is more ruthless than he was before. Jack panicked worse than he has in a long time and it broke Mark's heart. The hero exhales and turns his head so his cheek is resting on top of Jack's hair, wanting to forget but just can't.
Jack runs his hand down Mark's side, biting his lip. After a moment of silence, he sighs. "You're being awfully quiet, Mark. I'm pretty sure I know why, but I want you to know that you can talk to me."
The hero says nothing for a few seconds, just breathes. "I know. I just... have a lot of thoughts."
Jack tucks his face against Mark's neck, a shuddering breath escaping him. "I get it. I heard everything that happened yesterday, but saw nothing."
Mark becomes quiet again, his hold on Jack tightening ever so slightly. "I don't... want you to run away. I'm terrified that after something like that fight, you'll leave because you don't want to be a burden but you're not a burden."
"I know that. You convinced me of that last night and you've been convincing me of that since we started dating."
The faintest of smiles pulls at Mark's lips and he turns his head, pressing a kiss to Jack's hair. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Jack kisses his cheek and Mark smiles. "Hey, on a separate note, Phil thinks he can fix your eye permanently, but I want to talk about that over coffee."
"Okay," Jack replies, hesitancy showing on his face for a moment. "Are you going to shower?"
Mark pulls himself up and ruffles his already messy hair. "Nah, you can have the shower. I'll make the coffee."
Jack sits up as well and turns Mark's head slightly in order to press a kiss to his lips. The hero smiles into the kiss and runs his thumb across Jack's jaw.
"Stop being distracting," he murmurs. "Or we'll never leave this bed."
"Mm, sorry, couldn't help myself," Jack replies with a grin. Mark chuckles and stands, pulling on a t-shirt and pyjama pants while Jack flops back against the pillows. "I'll be out in a bit. Give me, like, ten minutes."
"You got it," Mark replies.
With that, the hero heads down the hallway towards the living area. Felix sits curled up in a chair, watching the TV with a blank expression and a cup of something hot wrapped up in his fingers. Phil is at the table, pen in hand and paper in front of him, while a mug of tea steams beside him. Matthias is nowhere to be seen, but Mark figures he's probably in his office. It's only the four heroes and Jack in this entire base, and the emptiness seems to descend on Mark in a way that it hasn't done in a very long time.
The American enters the kitchen and pulls the coffee pot from its stand, the remnants of a previous serving swirling at the bottom.
"Felix, did you drink an entire pot of coffee by yourself?" he asks.
"I didn't sleep last night," the Swede replies from the living room. "And hey, Matthias helped me by drinking one mug..."
Mark chuckles and rinses the pot before starting up the coffee maker again. He pulls two mugs down from the cabinet just as Jack walks in, combing his wet hair out of his eyes with his fingers. His eyepatch is dry, however, and Mark tilts his head to the side.
"I've never asked, but how on Earth do you shower and not get your eyepatch wet?"
Jack laughs. "I don't. I shower with an eyepatch on, it gets wet, I tie a dry one on over it, and then pull off the wet one. It's not rocket science." He pats Mark's cheek gently. "You're silly."
"I think my mind has been blown," the hero replies with a grin.
"I'll say it again. You're silly."
The villain moves to the fridge and inspects its contents for a moment before pulling out the milk. Mark can't help but watch him, his heart bursting at just how domestic it is. When this is all over, they could move into his house together and have their own place away from the heroes and make this their life. Mark could work for Curatrix again and Jack could maybe get a job there too. They could take Chica on walks together that consisted of more than her current life of sleeping and sometimes venturing outside when it's not too dangerous to do so. He feels bad for the dog a lot of the time. He paid a lot more attention to her before this whole mess started, and he intends to be a better owner once San Francisco is freed. She'll be happier once they're back in his house. He'll be happier too once he's back in his house and living with only Jack.
"Earth to Mark, the coffee's done," Jack says in that loveable Irish lilt, bringing him back from his daydream. He blinks a few times and turns, pouring coffee into their respective mugs and adding milk and sugar accordingly. They each take their mugs and move to the dining room, Mark sitting at the head of the table and Jack sitting to his side. "So, what was this plan to fix my eye?" Jack asks, meeting the hero's gaze.
"Phil said he can inject antiseptic into the muscle around your optic nerve and then use water to close it off and heal it, but it's going to be really painful and it's dangerous if Anti gets out during the surgery," Mark explains, wrapping his hands around his mug.
Jack bites his bottom lip, looking down at the table as he thinks. He takes a long, slow sip of his coffee before replying. "I'm willing to do it. Anything to get rid of Anti. Keeping him away is going to be challenging, but if I'm under enough anaesthetic then he'll be aware, but he won't be able to control me because my body will be unresponsive."
"When would you want to go through with it?"
"Whenever Phil is ready."
The Brit at the other end of the table glances over. "I can do it this evening. Then you'll have an entire night to sleep off the anaesthetic."
Jack nods and reaches over, taking Mark's hand and squeezing. Fear is obvious in his visible blue eye, leading Mark to squeeze back.
"Can you be there when I wake up?" Jack pleads. "And when I go in? Because I'm gonna panic if I'm alone."
"Of course," Mark replies.
"Thank you."
Matthias enters the room and settles at the table, urging Felix to get up from his chair and join the other heroes and villain. Matthias looks disheveled, dark bags under his eyes and skin that's paler than usual.
"So, our mission failed the other day." He exhales heavily. "It's back to the drawing board."
Mark frowns, glancing at Jack momentarily before looking back to Matthias. "Why don't we just attack again tomorrow? Everyone would expect us to take time to recuperate and plan, but that gives Mr. Vincent an opportunity to do the same. If we attack again in quick succession, nobody will see it coming."
Matthias watches him for a moment. "You're a reckless blockhead, Fischbach."
"But it would work!"
"Yes, yes it would. You may be a reckless blockhead, but your plan would work and frankly, I'm so done with fighting and failing that I'm willing to do something drastic, like attacking a powerful institute a day after a failure with no time to collect ourselves. Everyone in favour of that plan?" All of the heroes and Jack raise their hands. Matthias flashes them a thumbs up and pushes his chair back as he stands. "Excellent. I'll go call Gunner."
Felix gets up as well and returns to his chair. Phil returns to his paper and Jack looks over at Mark.
"That was easy. Have you been cooking that up in your mind for a while already?" Jack asks.
"Yup," Mark replies.
——
That evening, Phil prepares the spare room as his own surgical ward while Jack sits in his and Mark's room, trembling and fighting off a panic attack. Mark holds him close, running his fingers through his hair and mumbling softly to him.
"You're gonna be okay. Breathe. I'll be right beside you. Phil won't hurt you."
Jack nods, burying his face against Mark's chest and clutching his shirt in tense fingers.
How dare you. You can't kill me, Jack. You can't.
Jack shivers, Anti's voice invading his mind. He gasps, his breathing ragged, and tries to focus on the scent of Mark's skin and how he's safe in the hero's arms. This isn't like the surgery that put Anti in his head all those years ago. This isn't the same as scientists putting his body through experiments for their own benefit. This is Phil, and he likes Phil, and Phil won't hurt him.
I feel betrayed. How could you do this to me?
Phil knocks on the door and Mark helps Jack to his feet, leading him to the bed where the Brit will perform the operation. Jack tries not to resist, but he finds himself pushing back against Mark's hand as his shaking increases. Mark leans close to his ear, murmuring encouragements so softly that only the villain can hear them.
Jack, please. Stop. What ever happened to the love we shared? I mean, you don't love me, but I love you!
Jack squeezes his eyes shut, Anti's voice ringing in his head. It's your time to go, he replies, silent to everyone else but crystal clear to the monster he shares his body with. You'll be better off if you're not trapped in my body anymore.
Jack, I've been a bit mean. Maybe a bit cruel. Definitely a bit psychotic. But this isn't funny anymore. I'm going to die!
This is better for you, Jack replies. I don't want you in my head anymore.
Sixteen, almost seventeen years, Jackaboy! So many years of partnership!
We were never partners, Anti. You controlled my body and people have died because of it. Your time is up.
Jack, please!
Then, the villain bursts into tears. Mark sits him down on the makeshift hospital bed and grips his shoulders, letting Jack cry.
"It's okay, my little prince, it's okay," he insists.
Jack can't even respond. How does he explain to Mark that the reason he's crying is because the monster inside him is begging him for life? How does he explain the sudden surge of empathy he feels towards his own murderous demon? Maybe he'll be able to tell Mark afterwards. Maybe this will be his own piece of baggage that he'll carry for the rest of this life. He doesn't regret his words to Anti, however. It really is better if he's freed forever from his cage. Nobody should be forced to live like he has, no matter what they've done.
Jack wipes his eyes and lies down on the bed, holding Mark's hand as Phil secures a mask over his face. Anaesthetic is administered and he feels himself slipping into darkness.
Please, Jack, I'm scared. I know I'm a horrible thing and I know about all the bad things I've done, but I never thought I'd die like this. What if I just shrivel but never die? What if I'm just a fragment that can never again see the light of day?
You'll be okay, Anti.
Jack... I never asked to be created.
Jack's eyes grow heavy, his last thought mumbled in his head. I know.
Despite being completely unconscious, Anti's voice is clear. He can't explain how he can hear the demon's voice, but he can until the very last moment.
It marks the first and last time he will ever hear Anti cry.
As the antiseptic seeps into the muscle around the villain's optic nerve, followed by Phil's healing water, a sense of peace falls over Anti that Jack can feel deep within his soul.
Thank you for letting me go, the monster whispers.
With that, the piece of Jack's soul that had been broken off and manipulated by Anti since he was ten years old heals. The demon himself fades away, and somehow Jack knows that he's gone for good and much, much better off.
With Anti gone, the anaesthetic hits him with full force and he falls into the deepest sleep of his life.