OnexOne (Mark/Hannah)

As Mark walked into Sugar & Spice Cafe, he was still trying to shake off the feeling of sleepiness that had been pestering him all day.  He had been doing his best to try and get more sleep, but the busy life of a YouTuber didn't leave much time for self-care.  Still, he wouldn't have traded it for anything else in the world - except, that was, his girlfriend Hannah.  Out of everything in his life, she was the most important - she had been there with him through almost everything, and he couldn't imagine a life without her.  If she asked him to drop everything (not that she ever would), he'd drop it just for her.

Speaking of the lovely brunette, Mark saw her sitting at a booth near the window.  She seemed almost as though she was spacing out, and he hoped everything was okay.  As he walked up to the table, he decided that instead of planting a kiss on her cheek as he had intended (and possibly scaring the shit out of her), he'd tap her on the shoulder to get her attention first.

"Hannah?"

Hannah looked over her shoulder to the side and smiled gently at her boyfriend Mark. She waved to him and she played it off like nothing was wrong. Truth of the matter was, everything was wrong. She had no parents because they left her when she was 16 years old and never looked back and now the one person that loved and cared for her was gone and dead, her grandmother.

"Hey Mark. Are you okay? You look exhausted." She told him.

"Well," he replied, finally giving her the long awaited kiss on the cheek before sitting down on the opposite side of the booth "it's exhausting being this awesome all the time, but I think I'll manage."

He picked up the menu, looking over it for a couple seconds before returning his gaze to Hannah. She was definitely smiling, but the look in her eyes told a different story. The only hard part would be getting her to tell him what was going on.

"Are you okay? You see pretty tired yourself."

She smiled gently and sighed, "Yeah, just doing daily tasks and making sure everything is going well in life."

She didn't want to tell him or worry him about everything that she needed to do because her grandmother was gone now. She just wanted to have a good lunch with her wonderful man.

"I see. And is everything going well in life?" he wasn't sure he could just straight-out ask her what was wrong without her denying it, so he was trying to be as tactful as possible. Unfortunately for Mark, being tactful was definitely not a thing that he was exactly the best at.

"I guess, what I mean is, is everything okay?"

Hannah's eyes welled up with tears and she wiped them away quickly. She didn't want to tell him but she knew that he would find out and he might be angry if he found out. She then couldn't contain herself and she broke.

She put her elbows on the table and covered her eyes, finally letting the tears fall down. She simply shook her head and she just cried quietly.

Mark quickly moved to her side of the table, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him.

"Did something happen?" he asked her quietly, burying his face in her hair and giving her several small kisses on her head "You can tell me. I'm here to comfort you, okay?"

She curled into him and cried more, "She's gone."

Hannah didn't know what else to say and she didn't know what to do or say at this point. She didn't want to ruin this time they had but she didn't want him going home and worrying about her.

"Who's gone, love?" he asked softly, now stroking her hair with his other hand as he hugged her even tighter. He just wanted her to know that he was there for her, and always would be no matter what.

"My grandmother." She whimpered and she swallowed hard.

The words hit Mark like a ton of bricks.  Not her grandmother.  He knew how much the woman meant to Hannah - and that she was pretty much her only family.  Mark hugged her even tighter, just letting her cry.

"I'm so sorry." he wanted to ask what happened, but wasn't sure that now was a good time.

She hugged him and just cried for a few more minutes. She finally quieted down and she pulled away and took a napkin and wiped her eyes. She then looked at him and she tried to remain strong.

"Her funeral is Friday. And I'm not asking you to go because you have that live stream and I know you don't want to disappoint the fans." She told him.

"The fans will understand, you know they will. They're full of good wishes, so if I tell them I have to miss one live stream everything will be okay. I'm going to that funeral with you because I know you're going to need me there."

She sighed ands he knew he was right, but she knew that if he went, he was in for a bunch of insults and rude comments towards him.

"And you know how they can be. I don't want you to get hurt by what they say." She looked at him.

"I really don't care what they say about me. As long as you want me there, and are happy that I'm there, I'm going to be there for you no matter what." he chuckled lightly "I'm sorry to put this so bluntly, but the rest of your family can honestly go fuck themselves. You're all I care about." he gave her another small kiss on the head, still not letting her go.

She actually smiled and laughed once, wiping her tears again. She nodded at him and she then kissed him on the cheek and thanked him. She was still heart broken but she was feeling a little better about the whole thing.

"Now, c'mon. Let's get some food - you know the last thing your grandmother would want is for you to go hungry." he didn't leave her side of the table, though, opting to sit next to her with his arm around her for the whole meal. He knew that going to the funeral - hearing her family's comments about him - was going to be difficult. It always was, being insulted behind your back (or sometimes to your face) and not being able to do anything about it out of fear of what it would mean for the person that you love.

Sure, Hannah was far removed from them (and Mark was intent on making sure it stayed that way), but there was no saying that they wouldn't make things hell for her at any and all family gatherings. As long as their hate was focused on him, he would be fine.
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The following Friday, Mark stood in the mirror adjusting his tie. He had spent the previous night at Hannah and her grandmother's place, not wanting to leave her alone in the hours leading up to what would be a very difficult day for her. Mark had been to a handful of funerals in his lifetime, and knew they never got any easier - but this was going to be one of the hardest ones he had ever been to. He hadn't known Hannah's grandmother particularly well, but in the times they had met she had definitely been one of the sweetest people he had ever known.

Not to mention, watching Hannah suffer was difficult. Watching her hurt like this made Mark hurt for her. He wished he could just make this all better.

Hannah was in her room, doing the final touches to her outfit. She had a little bit of makeup on just to make it look like she wasn't crying. She took a deep breath and she began to walk out of her room when everything was ready.

She went to the living room and she looked at the pictures hanging on the wall and around the room itself. She had been packing up some things that her grandmother told her she could have once she was gone and Hannah had three boxes already.

Mark came out of the room he was in and saw Hannah standing in the living room. She looked so beautiful, and yet so sad. He wished there was something he could do for her.

"You look...nice." he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her shoulder gently "Are you ready to go?"

She looked behind her at him and smiled gently, "Thanks...and yeah. I am ready. And you look really...handsome."

She wasn't sure if that was the best choice of words at this moment, but she had to act somewhat okay at this point.

So, the two of them got in the car and headed off to the funeral. They drove in a somber silence, not really saying much the whole drive. Before long they pulled up in front of the church and saw many people dressed in black milling about waiting for things to get under way. Mark recognized some of them, and he felt a pang of anxiety just looking at them.

He swallowed hard, getting out of the car and going over to Hannah's side to open the door. He could do this. He had to do this.

She got out and she was super close to Mark, really worried about doing this. She gripped his hand and his arm gently and whispered in his ear.

"You know it's not too late for you to turn back?" She asked.

Hannah then saw the aunt walking up to them and she was terrified. She knew that she would have to fight this woman off.

Mark nodded his head "I know," he told her quietly "but I'm not going anywhere. I already promised you I was going to be here for you, and that's what I'm going to do."

He turned to face her aunt as she walked up, trying to put on a brave face for Hannah. He wasn't going to let either of them be intimidated by this woman.

She nodded once and the aunt came up and slapped Hannah in the face, causing a scene and she was fuming with hatred.

"You little bitch! You could have saved her! But you were with this piece of worthless shit on a date! She is DEAD because of you!" The aunt yelled.

Hannah backed up in pain as her cheek was red and stinging. She felt her eyes well up with tears and she was shocked.

Mark had promised himself he wasn't going to say anything, but there was nothing stopping the torrent that came pouring out of him.

"How fucking dare you lay a hand on her like that! She had nothing to do with that woman's death and you know it! You only want to blame her because you feel guilty that you weren't there when your mother needed you most, like the absolute scum you are. This is why you've been divorced three times - your heart is as frozen as your face after all the injections you've tried to get to keep yourself looking young in a desperate attempt to get your husbands to not leave you for their thinner, younger, far more attractive mistresses. But guess what? We all know you're actually sixty-three years old and everyone is just waiting for you to die. The devil's got a special spot reserved for you in the deepest pits of hell, so I suggest you don't keep him waiting, bitch."