Preview

He pulled her close, arms around her slim waist. She ran her hands up his arms, her fingers nimble and slightly tickling him on their path. She brushed her palms over his broad shoulders and brought them up to the sides of his jaw. She pulled him down, on her toes, and pressed an ever so gentle kiss to his lips. Not like the many kisses she'd had with him before, this was just a simple promise of something to come. No fire or vigor to it, no inner meaning, just the simple 'I love you' it wrote across his lips. She moved her hands back down his neck over his shoulders, pulling the collar of his shirt slightly with her left hand. She frowned, and worry clouded his face, there on his collar bone was a red mark. "Did I do this to you?" She whispered, looking at the red mark left from a rough bite. "I... Uh, I guess you got a little carried away. It's fine. Just another reminder... that I'm yours, and yours only." He responded quietly, raising a hand to the back of her neck.

He tried valiantly not to shift away uncomfortably when she brushed a thumb over the bite, sending a stinging tingle over his left shoulder and neck. "Mmm." She hummed, she could have sworn when he said that, she saw a gleam of red in the dark behind him. She brushed it off as one of his computers telling them it was still in sleep mode. She was too busy trying not to melt from that last statement, and becoming putty at his feet. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against the bite in a kiss, only for him to flinch and cringe. "I'm sorry!" She said, looking up at him. He tried his best to cover the pained expression he'd taken on with a smile, but it was more of a pained smile, and he decided it was probably not helping to try and reassure her through a sad grin. She sighed, putting her hands behind his neck and pulling him down, resting her forehead on his. He ran his hands up from her hips up under her shirt along her sides, creating a distraction that made her quickly inhale.

They continued from there with soft kisses, sweet words, and nothing but love between them. She had fallen asleep hours ago, her unclothed body curled into his side, whilst he pretended to sleep until her breath evened out where it drifted over his shoulder and neck. He turned his head down to look at her peacefully blank face, and instead his attention focused on what was slightly ahead from where her chin rested on his shoulder. A small indent in his skin, a bite, not caused by her teeth. Of course not, she was always gentle, always sweet, even back when he wasn't quite... himself. No that bite was his own causing in a way... He suddenly felt nausea bubble up and looked away from the bite in disgust, slowly moving her off him and settling her gently on his pillow, and standing off the bed.

He walked around the bed to his dresser mirror, to grab his tablet, only to be sucked into his reflection. He traced a hand ever so gingerly over his chest, feeling every muscle that lay beneath, and looked up into his own eyes as the memory of a much rougher, but similar, hand had done the same before came into his mind. He flinched in disgust, no longer wanting to see himself in the reflection the mirror gave. When he turned, he was not met with his beloved drowsy expression, or even seeing her still drifting in sleep on his bed. Instead, only inches away, was himself. "Mark." The other him seemed to insist, but he didn't feel like it was really his name. Dark, warm eyes met bright crimson eyes, the difference was almost impossible to notice. He blinked, and as suddenly as he had appeared, he was gone. It was so real, he could feel the other him breathing, hear his voice quiet as not to wake the sleeping girl, he must have been there. Or... was it a memory?

He let out a quiet hiss in pain as fire seemed to erupt across his collar bone, and he put a hand over the bite on it. He remembered a gleam of red, the excitement, the rush, and then an ivory white and sudden sharp pain. Oddly, remembering these thoughts, the pain hadn't bothered him. It had made him more... determined? Passionate? He didn't know. But at the thought of such pain causing either of those emotions or the suggestion of such made him feel dizzy and sick. He didn't want to think anymore... He swung open the bedroom door, catching it before it could hit the wall and wake up his sleeping beauty, and left it open as he jogged down the hall and down a set of stairs. What he noticed wasn't his gaming gear on and set up with a camera pointed to where he would be, and his microphone in place as if he had been getting ready to, or just been recording... It was the sound of very soft eerie footsteps from the downstairs hall. He turned and met the same gaze he'd been having flashbacks of so recently, a deep red that was only a diluted version of his own. As he recalled the most recent memory, the heat, the sweat, the eyes... the teeth. He felt like vomiting and he knew his horror, disgust and sickness must show on his face, and his other's cocky grin soon fell.

"Mark?" The other said suspiciously, questioning him. The voice was also dilute of his own, deeper, huskier... darker. But yet, it was mellow, and calming, and as much as he fought to keep it away, relief smothered every other emotion he felt right then at the sound of that voice. He felt like he hadn't heard it in ages, he... he missed hearing that voice. Something else bubbled in the pit of his stomach at the demented, longing look the other gave him. He didn't dare think about it, afraid of what it might be. Afraid of what he knew it was.

The cause of the bite.

"Darkiplier." Mark stated flatly, his voice weaker than usual, breaking at the edges, almost as if it were a whine. Dark seemed to know that was exactly what it was, a whine, begging for him. What's wrong with me? This isn't me! He isn't me... He thought in a panic, backing away as the demon strode towards him, intent on giving him exactly what he'd begged for. Something he didn't really want, but clearly his body, and another part of his mind, told him otherwise.

"Mark and Darkiplier together again~" The darker him sang proudly, as Mark noticed someone over his shoulder and was relieved to see his beautiful beloved awake, and gladly, not paying attention. Darkiplier hissed, backing away again quickly, before turning and running into another room. Out of sight. "Jennet." Mark smiled, running over and hugging her tightly before she could gather herself into full consciousness. "Mark, Mark sweetie, can't breathe!" She coughed, and he let her go, his carefree grin at how she'd saved him not leaving his face as he kissed her cheek in apology.

When he leaned in to kiss her cheek, she could have sworn she saw the same flash of red from that night, but before she could get a good grasp on what she'd seen, Mark's silly grinning face was in the way. No wonder he likes horror games so much to the point of playing them whenever he can for his fans... She chuckled, taking the hand he held out to her. His damn house is haunted.

"Only by me and my memory, my dear, only by me." Came Darkiplier's whisper, but neither of the two heard, as they headed towards the kitchen to eat.