Craig of the Creek Oneshots

Mark x David - Safety in Arms

It was 3 in the morning when Mark heard the knocking on his front door. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he (begrudgingly) sat up, and put on his glasses. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy about this rude awakening.

Padding down the stairs, all he could think about was returning to the sanctuary of his bed. That, and what item he was going to use to beat his nighttime encroacher. Hell, he was so pissed off and tired, the thought of the mystery person at his door being a burglar didn't even cross his mind.

All Mark's thoughts of the different swears he was about to spew came to a crashing halt when he saw who was on his porch.

It wasn't necessarily who was on his porch that sent him into shock (and made him almost collapse from worry, though he'd never admit that part). It was the state they were in.

David, in all his baggy jogging pants and t-shirt (for once) glory, was in Mark's doorway. That part wasn't too unusual. David had been over to Mark's house several times. What was unusual, was the blood dripping from his head, seeping into his dungeons and dragons T-shirt.

The more Mark thought about it though, the more he realized how devastatingly normal this scenario actually was. He was actually surprised something like this hadn't happened sooner.

Throughout all the years Mark had know him, David had always had a bruise or cut on his body. Always showing up to the creek with a black eye or something just as worse.

It was no secret, at least to Mark, that David didn't have the best parents. He'd even go as far as saying David probably had the worst parents.

David didn't like talking about family. Everytime Mark tried to bring it up, David would go quiet, get teary eyed, and Mark would quickly change the subject. God knows how much Mark hated seeing David sad.

However, over time, Mark managed to piece together that David's mom got trapped in a marriage with his sorry excuse for a father. Right when she was planning on finally leaving his abusive ass, she found out she was pregnant. Knowing she wasn't financially stable enough to raise a kid on her own, she resentfully stayed. Over time, however, she reached her breaking point.

One day, a 7 year old David awoke to a missing car in the driveway, and a note on his nightstand. That note was the last thing his mother gave him, and the last time he ever heard from her.

Mark knew that sometimes David would pull it out of the shoebox he kept it in, just to stare at it. He'd seen him do it. He never asked what it said.

With David's mom out of the picture, his dad needed another source to vent his frustrations out on, and who better than the defenseless 7 year old living in his home?

"Uhh... are you gonna invite me in?" David asked, effectively snapping Mark back to the current situation. "Because I can go somewhere else if this is too much trouble."

"No! It's fine, David," Mark said a little too quickly. "Just, get in here already." The thought of David seeing anyone other than him at 3 in the morning hurt his heart for reasons he didn't want to look into.

Leading David into the bathroom, Mark noticed that he didn't have his signature helmet on his head. Looking at the blood leaking from David's head, for the first time in his life, Mark wished he didn't take that stupid helmet off.

"Just sit on the counter," Mark said, rummaging around inside his first aid kit. "I'll patch you up."

"Thank you," David replied, uncharacteristically quiet. After a long portion of silence, David continued, "Aren't you gonna ask me how I got hurt?"