I wrote this about 3 years ago now. It's on Ao3 but I wanted to share it on here as well. It's basically Marmike fluff. I really miss these characters and this film. Hope you enjoy!
Mike was sat at his desk in the apartment he shared with Mark. He was sorting a variety of coins and bank notes into piles so he could count it all. It was long and tiring work but Mike didn't mind. It just meant that the fundraising was a success. The longer it took him to sort and count, the longer their friends in Dulais could afford to strike. He sighed to himself. What I wouldn't give for a cup of tea… He thought. He threw the last few pennies into their container and went downstairs to put the kettle on. Mark was busy sketching up a design for their banner for this year's march. Mike looked lovingly at his mad boyfriend. There was an array of different coloured crayons and scraps of paper scattered all over the carpet.
'What do you think?' Mark held up the design and grinned at his partner. Mike chuckled to himself. Mark was like a child asking for his parent's approval. The design was based on their group name. 'Lesbians & Gays' was at the top in a dark red ink and beneath it was 'Support the Miners'. That was written in black; bigger than the red writing. It was typical of Mark; highlighting others problems before their own. Mark had drawn boxes around the outside of the design, outlined in red, black and yellow; the miners colours. 'It's not quite finished yet though. I need to fill in the boxes.' Mark's eyes were lit up in excitement.
'It's perfect' Mike leaned down to kiss his lover. 'My very talented boyfriend.' Mike started to pull away so he could quickly put the kettle on but Mark refused to let him go. Mike felt Mark's tongue brush against his lower lip as the kiss deepened. Mike sighed into the kiss and parted his lips. He felt his cheeks flush warm as his tongue danced with Mark's in a perfect synchronisation. He felt Mark's hands go up the back of his shirt and he shuddered at the unexpected contact.
'Mark' he whispered hoarsely and reluctantly pulled back to catch his breath. He looked down at his lover in awe. Mark's hair was now a complete mess and Mike loved it. 'You're so handsome'
'And you're so sexy' Mark said with a wink. 'Let's take a break from the work eh?' Mike inhaled deeply as Mark kissed his neck seductively. It was hard to resist his boyfriend's advances but he knew they had too much to do before they could relax.
'Later. I promise' He kissed Mark deeply once more before finally making it to the kitchen. As the kettle was boiling he closed his eyes and attempted to regulate his breathing. God I'm in too deep with this one. He thought to himself with a sigh. The crazy Irishman would honestly be the death of him. 'Do you want tea love?' He called into the living room.
'Er I think we're out of milk? I finished the last of it this morning with breakfast' Mark called back sheepishly. Mike felt his heart drop slightly. Damn it! He cursed internally.
'Why didn't you say something about it then?' He snapped. He knew he was being unreasonable but he had really been looking forward to that tea. Mark looked up at him with his deep brown eyes.
'I'm sorry love' Mark pouted up at him. Mike sighed and embraced his lover; kissing him on the forehead. He couldn't resist Mark's puppy eyes and his boyfriend knew it.
'Just run out and get some yeah?' Mike replied softly as he ran his fingers through his lover's dark locks.
'Of course love. I'll be back as soon as I can.' Mark reached up and kissed him quickly on the lips before running out the house, coat in hand. Mike traced his lips with his fingers and smiled to himself before returning upstairs to finish counting the money from the LGSM collections.
Mark had a million thoughts running through his head as he made his way to the shop. This wasn't unusual for him; he often had at least ten ideas in his head about LGSM. He felt guilty for not letting Mike know about the milk. Mark knew how grouchy Mike could get if he was denied a good cup of tea especially after a long day's work. He slipped inside the shop and began looking for the milk aisle. He passed the bread, the eggs, the fresh veg and fruit. God Damn it where's the bloody milk? He thought in exasperation. He looked around at the shelves; flour, baking powder, tubes of different coloured icing. He picked up a pack of the icing. The colours were organised in the order of a rainbow. Gay Pride icing. He chuckled to himself.
'Hefina would love these' He murmured to no one in particular. The idea struck him like a bolt of lightning. LGSM were going to hold a cake sale! He ran back to the front of the shop to get a trolley. Once he was back at the bakery section he proceeded to throw items into the cart; flour, eggs, baking powder, sugar, icing, food colouring, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, mint extract, lemon juice, chocolate chips, cooking chocolate. He raced through the shop trying to find the remaining ingredients; butter and finally the damn milk. He handed over wad of cash, a weeks' worth of tips gone in one go, and sprinted back home to Mike. He fumbled with the keys in the lock in his excitement. Finally the lock gave way and he practically fell into the house.
'Mike!' he shouted upstairs to the lover. He dumped the shopping bags on the kitchen table and scrambled up the stairs; narrowly avoiding trampling on his banner design. 'Mike! I've got a brilliant idea!' He burst into their bedroom to find his boyfriend asleep at the desk. He stopped for a moment and smiled softly at his dozing lover. He crept quietly up to him and started to rub his shoulders. He grimaced as he felt how tight Mike's muscles were. He began to massage Mike's shoulders, circling his fingers around the knots trying to relieve the tension. Slowly he felt his boyfriend begin to stir as he applied slightly more pressure.
'Hmm… Mark?' He heard a voice murmur groggily. 'That you?' Mark smiled. He loved how adorable Mike was when he was just waking up.
'Mhmm.' He leaned down and kissed Mike's neck. 'I love you.'
'Love you too. You crazy Irishman…' Mark chuckled at the nickname and kissed the back of Mike's head. He still couldn't believe that he had found someone who loved him and that he loved back in return. He had never thought for one second that he would be the type to settle down. Yet here he was and with an Englishman of all people! He draped his arms round his boyfriend's neck and rested his head on Mike's. He paused for a moment to enjoy the moment.
'Now… wakey wakey sleepy head. I've got a brilliant idea for LGSM and I need your help!' Mark suddenly remembered his plan and his excitement was renewed. Mike turned round to look at his lover. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, his beany hat was half covering one eye and his glasses were crooked. Mark almost wanted to grab a camera so he could take a picture of how damned adorable his boyfriend was. Where's Bromley when you need him?
'Just give me ten minutes and I'll be downstairs. Yeah?' Mike mumbled sleepily. Mark leant down to place a chaste kiss on Mike's irresistible lips then gently straightened his glasses and hat.
'Of course love.' The pair smiled tenderly at each other for a few moments before Mark ran back downstairs.
He pulled a cookery book from the shelf in the lounge and had a quick flip through. At least I managed to remember the right ingredients. He grinned to himself. He turned the oven on to preheat like the recipe suggested and began to gather the ingredients.
Mike rubbed his eyes and looked in the mirror. How long was I asleep? He thought to himself. His eyes looked puffy and he had the imprint of his notebook on the side of his face. He splashed some water on his face to wake himself up and repositioned his glasses. He wondered whether Mark had actually gotten the milk in the end or whether he had just gotten distracted by this new idea of his. Mike shook his head in despair at his boyfriend. That boy's mind was too amazing for its own good. Mark couldn't focus on anything for more than ten minutes before his mind ran off on some brilliant and inspiring tangent. Mike did his best to keep up with the whirlwind of Mark Ashton but he could never predict what they would be doing next. One minute they were venting their frustration at Thatcher and the next they were in South Wales. Whilst he was pondering over the rollercoaster of his life since Mark had entered it, he heard a loud crash from downstairs.
'Oh for Fuck's sake!' A shout swiftly followed. Mike ran downstairs; taking the steps two at a time before leaping to the ground.
'Mark!' He shouted into the kitchen. 'Are you alright?' He span round the corner and was confronted by what seemed to be a flour bomb with a very floury Mark sat in the middle.
'One of the eggs fell on the floor when I was trying to crack it into the bowl and I slipped on it and dropped the sieve with the flour!' Mark spluttered out. After seeing that his boyfriend was unharmed Mike couldn't help but burst into hysterical laughter.
'I think you got a bit down you love.' Mike managed to get out in between fits of giggles.
'Oh fuck off!' Mark snapped and pouted up at him.
'It's in your hair and everything!' Mike chortled.
'Oh that is it! You'll regret messing with the hair Mister I'm-so-perfect!' Mark grabbed the mixing bowl and threw the contents all over Mike. Mike coughed and spluttered as he was engulfed in a floury cloud.
'You'll pay for that Ashton!' Mike charged at his boyfriend; grabbing the eggs off the counter. He managed to pin the Irishman down on the floor before cracking an egg right on top of his head. He could feel Mark squirming underneath him and he laughed. He began to rub the egg into his boyfriend's precious dark locks.
'Get off you bastard!' Mark snapped and finally managed to push Mike away. Mike laughed as he watched Mark desperately try and get the egg out of his hair. He scooped up some flour from the floor and chucked it over Mark to finish the effect. The flour of course stuck instantly to the egg and Mark was fuming. He grabbed a bottle of blue food colouring from and cracked the lid open.
'Mark…' Mike said cautiously 'Don't do that.' The tables had suddenly turned and Mike felt very worried. He knew how long the dye could take to wash out.
'Not laughing any more are we Accrington?' Mark let out an deep evil laugh and Mike leapt to his feet in an attempt to escape his mad boyfriend. He ran round to the other side of the kitchen table.
'Seriously Mark. That stuff takes weeks to wash off!' He pleaded and hoped that even if Mark threw the bottle that it wouldn't reached him over the table.
'I warned you not to mess with my hair.' Mark gave him a sinister smile and winked at his lover. The began a dangerous dance around the table; taunting each other with colouring and egg bombs.
'You covered me in cake batter! I'll be brushing sugar out my hair for days!' Mike cried. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins as he span around the table; his eyes never leaving Mark's dark ones.
'You laughed at me!' Mark retorted. Suddenly Mark vaulted over the table and landed on top of him. Mike felt the blue colouring drip down off his hair as Mark emptied the navy blue contents over his head.
'You're a bastard. You know that right?' Mike laughed in spite of himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much.
'Yeah. But I'm your bastard.' Mark replied softly and kissed him tenderly on the lips. 'You got something in your hair by the way.' Mark said with a wink.
'Fuck off' Mike responded with grin and pulled his lover down into a deep kiss.
And that's a wrap. Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always lovely. I'm on tumblr avengersbarnes it's mostly marvel but I do love many things, Pride (2014) is one of them and I have lots of writing tucked away from my time in the Pride fandom. RIP.
- AvengersBarnes