Requested by: daygobyinheryeyes
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(Mark’s POV)
I laughed with my friends as we finished up a collaboration video of Prop Hunt. “I can’t believe you didn’t see me!” Seán playfully yelled at Wade as he groaned in frustration. The Irishman had been disguised as a coaster and had hidden himself behind a door, making him virtually invisible even with the automated taunts the game provided. Bob was howling with laughter as he too had failed to spot him even when he was in the same room.
I cut my video off and logged off the game, staying in the discord video call as I did so. “Ahhh guys, that was so much fun.” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. The others began chatting amongst themselves about the different rounds and I looked back as there was a knock at the door and it began to open, revealing a teenage girl, carrying a plate of food. The moment she realized I was on a video call, she slightly closed the door and waited for a signal.
“It’s okay, I’m not recording.” I told her and in a small, shaky voice she replied. “I made s-some lunch and you didn’t come down a-and then it got late so I made some more for you. S-sorry for interrupting your conversation.”
“Oh, thank you! I didn’t even realize the time.” I said, walking over and taking the delivery as she presented it. She never entered my room when I was on call as she was rather camera shy, but that didn’t really bother me. I gave her a partial hug and then, telling her I’d be downstairs soon, I walked back over to my desk and once again put on my headphones. “Who was that?” Asked Wade, who had apparently witnessed the interaction.
“Oh, that was (Y/n).” I said, looking up at the screen from where I was about to take a bite of food. “Who?” asked Bob and Seán, and then it was my turn to be confused. “I swear I told you guys about her. Did I seriously forget?”
“Yes! Who is she?” The three said and I placed a hand over my face, feeling stupid. “I really thought I told you guys. So.. um.. She’s kind of my adopted daughter.”
“No way!” Exclaimed Seán in shock. “You’re seriously a dad now?” I laughed softly, rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah. I didn’t post about it on social media because I wasn’t even sure at first if I was going to find the right kid. I guess I just forgot about it after I adopted her.”
“You could’ve at least texted us about it.” Commented Bob who crossed his arms as I took a bite of food. “This is a pretty big deal, Mark. Does Amy know?”
“I was going to!” I said after swallowing. “I just forgot, and yes, Amy does know. I asked her how she felt about the idea before I went through with it.” Just then, someone new entered the chat. “Hey guys!” I recognized that higher pitched voice as I ate some more of my meal. “Hi Ethan!” Said Wade with a smile. “Did you know that Mark has a kid?”
“WHAT??” The younger male exclaimed which nearly burst my eardrums. “Mark, you never told me this! I thought we were friends!” He cried and I rolled my eyes dramatically. “Oh my gosh, you guys! I made one mistake and now my butt is being handed to me on a silver platter. What’s next, Tyler is gonna hop on and give me crap too?” And just like that, as if he had heard me, Tyler joined the group chat.
“Wow, is there a party going on here?” he said with a chuckle and before I could say anything, Ethan blurted out a loud, “MARK IS A DAD!” I watched Tyler’s face, which had just appeared in video form, contort into one of absolute shock. “I’m sorry, WHAT?!” I took another bite of food, letting out an exhale of frustration at how much the situation climaxed. “Why wasn’t I informed of this?” He demanded and Seán yelled out, “That’s what we’ve been saying!”
“You know, instead of giving me all this backlash about an honest mistake, I could just tell you what happened.” I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin and putting my dishes to the side. “I’ve got time.” Said Bob, checking his watch. “I’ve got nothing planned for the rest of the day.” Joined Seán, leaning forward in his chair and staring at the camera expectantly, like a little child waiting impatiently for a cookie. Wade, Tyler, and Ethan also agreed and I sighed again, getting more comfortable in my chair.
“Fine. You want to hear the story, then I’ll tell the story.”
(Flashback: Mark’s POV)
I had been thinking about adopting a child for quite a while. For what reason, I don’t really know. All I knew is that I wanted to have a kid. I already ran the idea by Amy and she also thought it was a good idea. I decided to look for either a boy or a girl, but not one too young that I’d have to take care of them 24/7. I didn’t feel ready for that kind of job, and honestly, I still don’t feel that way now.
I started looking around the area for orphanages that had open houses soon. I came across a few and did end up going to some of them. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed by a lot of people I met. Don’t get me wrong, they were somewhat nice kids, but for one reason or another they weren’t what I was looking for.
I got to this one place, the “Los Angeles Sunnyside Orphanage”, and when I entered I could tell it might produce good results. Yes, there were some parts that could use some fixing up, but it seemed a lot friendlier than some of the other orphanages I had visited. So, naturally, I felt pretty good about my chances there.
When I walked around, there were a lot of kids running around and playing. I wasn’t sure who exactly to try and meet so I went to the orphanage director and started some interviews with the older kids. I think the age range I covered was twelve to sixteen, but I still wasn’t sure about any of them. At that point, my mind was starting to tell me I was being picky and that any of the kids would do just fine, but then I saw this girl on the other side of the room.
She was drawing, seeming to be focused on the picture rather than the other children. I knew I hadn’t spoken with her yet, because I didn’t recognize her, so I turned to the orphanage director curiously and pointed at the girl in question. “Who is she? Why isn’t she playing with the others?” “Her?” The director responded, adjusting his glasses and peering at the girl. “Ah, that’s (Y/n). She doesn’t really get along with the other children.” I frowned, “Is she a bad kid?”
“No, she’s just incredibly shy and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has social anxiety. Not that I’m trying to give her a diagnosis, it’s just my uneducated opinion.”
“How old is she?” I asked and the director hummed softly, scratching his head as he thought. “I believe she’s 14 years old.” She was within my age range so I decided to at least give her a chance. “Would I be able to get an interview with her?”
The director nodded and signaled for me to stay where I was while he got her. I watched as he got (Y/n)’s attention and gently told her that I wanted to meet her. She looked over at me and her eyes seemed to widen. As the two of them walked over to me, I noticed that she was shaking, looking down at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with me. The two of us were escorted into a much quieter room to talk and I smiled kindly at her when she sat down across from me.
“Hi there, (Y/n). How are you today?” She looked so nervous as she quietly murmured, “I’m alright. How are you?” This was progress. “I’m doing well, thanks for asking.” She nodded, looking up at me for a second before once again lowering her gaze. “I don’t bite, I promise.” I joked and a ghost of a smile formed on her lips.
Looking down, there were some papers on the table between us that were filled with questions. (Y/n)’s hand twitched a bit, looking like she was going to reach for them but was also hesitating. “Do you need to ask me anything?” I queried and she nodded, finally taking the papers. “S-sorry. I promise that I’ve done this before, but.. I’m just nervous.” she said softly and I nodded in understanding. “Hey, take your time. It’s okay to be nervous. You don’t know me and we’re stuck in a room together. I’d be nervous too if I were in your position.” She let out a small chuckle which made me smile.
“What’s your name?” She read, and I answered. “Mark Fischbach.” She paused for a second, seemingly thinking about something before continuing. “W-what do you do for a living and do you enjoy your job?”
“As silly as it sounds, I make videos on YouTube for people to watch. It’s my dream job and I love it a lot.” (Y/n) looked over at me, her eyes shining with an excitement I hadn’t seen before. “I don’t think that’s silly at all.” She said, “Honestly, it sounds like fun.” I smiled at her, “It is, for the most part.” She shifted in her seat before continuing the interview. The longer the two of us spent time together, even just lightly chatting, the more comfortable she seemed to be. We got along, and while she did pause sometimes to take a breath and calm down her nerves, I wasn’t bothered by her at all. When all the questions were finished, I waved goodbye and met with the director again. I told him that I was going to keep looking, but that I might come back.
I knew that (Y/n) and I got along well, once she got to know me a bit more, but I wasn’t quite sure if she was what I was looking for. I never really stopped thinking about her though, and after a few more days I decided that I was going to adopt her. I came back, told the director my plan, and he set me up for a house inspection the next day. After I was cleared, I brought the paperwork in, made the payment, and waited for her to come down with her stuff.
I saw that she was nervous when she brought down her bag, but she calmed down a little bit when she saw me. “Ready to go home?” She nodded and when the two of us left, I honestly felt pretty good about my decision. The drive back to my house was kinda awkward, but I guess that was to be expected.
When we arrived, I introduced her to Chica and got her settled into her new room. We spent that night learning a bit more about each other, and the next few days had similar themes. It was difficult, getting used to someone new in my house, but it was okay.
I taught her how to play some different video games and was really surprised at how quickly she was able to pick some of them up. She was still a tad bit nervous when it came to getting really close to me, but by the end of the first month, she was smiling almost all the time and had little to no issues with physical contact.
After I introduced her to Amy, and found out that the two of them had actually begun to bond rather quickly, everything seemed like it was falling perfectly into place until something happened.
I was laughing with (Y/n) about my newest playthrough of a really hard game. I had lost my mind over it and when I said, “It’s the ragiest game I’ve ever played and I’m never going back to it!” She responded with “I thought ‘I Am Bread’ was the ragiest game you’ve ever played.” I froze and the room went silent. Looking over at (Y/n)’s face, she had turned pale white.
“How did you know that I’ve played that game? I never gave you the name of my channel so you shouldn’t know that.. unless you started watching or already knew.” She began to fidget and she looked down in what looked like shame. “I-I’m sorry. I should’ve told you by now, but I was scared about how you’d react.”
“Tell me what? I’m not upset that you’ve seen my videos, but why would you hide it?”
“Because I already knew who you were before we met. I.. I didn’t want to tell you during the interview because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or scare you off. You were so nice and I didn’t think you’d want a kid who was a fan.”
I stayed silent as she continued. “I promise that I’m not one of those over-the-top and crazy fangirls. Yes, I was happy and shocked to see you, but that’s because I never expected this to happen. I mean, you’re Markiplier. I don’t think anyone would be expecting you to suddenly adopt a kid, least of all an anxious and socially awkward girl like me. Honestly, it sounds like something out of a fanfiction rather than something that would happen in real life, but that’s exactly what happened. I’m really, really sorry, Mark.”
I smiled softly and walked over to her, giving her a gentle hug. “I know that you aren’t like those fangirls. You’ve definitely shown that during your time here. And while I’m a little hurt you didn’t tell me about this, I can understand why you hid it. I probably would’ve done the same if I was in your position. You don’t have to worry about it anymore. If anything, this means I can joke about a lot more stuff because you might understand them. Just promise me that you won’t hide stuff like this from me anymore, alright kiddo?”
Her eyes welled with tears and she hugged me back. “I promise.” When we both let go, I laughed softly, wiping away some tears that had started falling down my cheeks. “Whoo! Alright, that’s enough sentimental stuff for one day. Do you want to order pizza and have a movie night?”
“That sounds like fun!” She said, giggling as she also wiped away some tears on her own face. “Thanks for not hating me after I told you the truth. I love you, Dad.” My eyes widened in shock as the name she gave me finally registered. “Gosh dang it, (Y/n)! You’re gonna make me cry again!” She laughed and gave me another hug before running off to the living room.
That was the first time she ever called me Dad.
(End of flashback)
“She kept her promise too. She and I have gotten so close that you’d swear she’s a mini female version of me.” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Wow..” said Wade after the others remained in silence. “She sounds like so much fun to be around!” added Seán with a smile and Ethan nodded. “Could we meet her?”
I hummed softly and thought about it. “As much as I’d like that, she’s really shy around new people. I’m not sure how she’ll be with you guys. Then again, she knows who you all are and she got comfortable around Amy soon after they met, so maybe it won’t be too bad. I’ll run the idea by her.”
I looked toward the clock and my eyes widened. “Oh shoot! It’s almost been half an hour since we finished the video!” The others looked at their own clocks in surprise. “Oh dang. Time flies during story time, huh?” Laughed Wade and we all agreed in amusement. “I’d better get going. I’ll text you guys about her answer, I promise.”
“You’d better remember this time!” Joked Seán as he waved at the camera. I logged off of discord, stretched, and walked downstairs with my dishes. “Sorry I took so long. The guys wanted to talk.” (Y/n) was on her phone in the dining room and she looked up and smiled at me. “It’s okay! You sounded like you had fun.” I nodded, sitting down in a chair next to her. “So, uhm. I have a question for you.”
She watched me expectantly and I took a deep breath before continuing. “So, the others want to meet you.” As I said that, her eyes widened and she visibly tensed. “I know that meeting people isn’t your forte, but I really think you’ll like them.” After a few seconds of silence, she responded. “W-who all are you talking about?”
“Bob, Wade, Tyler, Ethan, and Seán. They want to meet you. I mean, you are part of the family now, so I’m not really surprised.” (Y/n) looked away, seeming to be in thought. “I’m a little shocked that you’re only telling me this now.” It was my turn to look away as my cheeks heated up in embarrassment. “I.. may or may not have forgotten to tell them back when we finalized the adoption.”
(Y/n) began to laugh. “Of course you did.” I feigned feeling hurt, gasping at her dramatically. “You say that like I forget stuff all the time! Are you insinuating that I, THE Markiplier, am getting too old and thus forgetting things often?”
“I mean, you said it, not me. So..” I rolled my eyes and joined in her laughter. After the amusement died down, there was a moment of silence before (Y/n) said softly, “I know how much you want to see them. If they’re somewhat as nice in person as they are online, then I don’t think it would be much of a problem to meet them. I’d just need to hype myself up a bit, I guess.”
I smiled happily and walked over, giving her a hug. “I promise, they’re not bad people. You’ll love them. You don’t have to agree to this if you don’t want to. Please understand that.”
“I.. I know. I’m choosing to say yes, Dad. It’ll be fine.” With that final confirmation, I nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell them that they can visit. Maybe in a week or so?” (Y/n) nodded and I stood up, walking to the living room. “Don’t forget to text them, old man Mark!” She called after me and I spun around dramatically, almost falling over in the process.
(Time Skip: No one’s POV)
Mark and (Y/n) walked into a store together, (Y/n) staying relatively close to her dad and the shopping cart. They walked around, picking out items that they needed, and some that they decided to try for fun or put away for when the others came to visit. Some parents that came to the store couldn’t help but smile when they saw how close the two seemed to be and how they would laugh with each other at the weirdest things.
(Y/n) noticed something on the shelf that they needed and went ahead to grab it, but when she turned around, Mark was nowhere to be seen. She looked around in confusion and then felt her breathing quicken and her hands begin to shake. She went back the way that she came from but she still couldn’t see him. Looking into the next aisle produced the same results.
Thoughts began to swim through her mind, overwhelming her senses. “Where did he go? Did he leave me behind? Did he not want me anymore? Why did he suddenly disappear? Did something happen to him?” She put the item on the shelf behind her before she could drop it and tears began to fill her eyes.
Feeling sick, (Y/n) sat down on the floor, her foot tapping against the ground as she curled in on herself, trying to control her breathing. She was scared, not knowing what to do. She tried to make herself stop thinking about the ‘what ifs’, but to no avail. She heard a soft voice, but didn’t look up at who it was until a familiar hand with a gentle touch was placed on her shoulder. With that, (Y/n) finally looked up.
“M-Mark?”
“Are you okay? You’re shaking like a leaf.”
She quickly embraced him, feeling herself calm down as his arms wrapped around her. He was here. He was real. His deep voice soothed her fears as he murmured words of comfort. “It’s okay. I’m here. Sorry I left you behind. I thought you were right behind me when I forgot to grab something from the other aisle and went back for it. Guess I should pay more attention huh?” (Y/n) couldn’t bring herself to talk but just clung to him.
Mark didn’t question her as he continued to hug her. He knew she was crying, but she made no noise and he hoped she didn’t get hurt, feeling awful that she was upset in the first place. But in all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure why she was so distressed over him not being there all of a sudden. “It’s okay.” He murmured softly, rocking her back and forth. “I’m not leaving you behind. I love you too much to do that.”
After a few minutes she calmed down enough to where they moved on to the checkout and left the store. Nobody had seen (Y/n)’s breakdown, and that was fine with the two of them. It had been a private moment. The car was filled with silence on the way home and Mark constantly looked in the rearview mirror to check if his daughter was okay. The poor girl looked exhausted.
After coming home and quickly putting away the groceries, Mark sat down with (Y/n), making sure that she wasn’t still in any part of her panic attack. He wrapped her up in a blanket, once again and gave her a big hug. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better.. I’m sorry for what happened, Dad.” Mark shook his head. “There’s no reason to be sorry. You were frightened. I do have to ask though, why were you afraid? I was only gone for less than a minute and I was pretty sure you could’ve seen me in the previous aisle.” (Y/n) went silent before softly murmuring, “I.. don’t think I’m ready to talk about it. Also, I did look in both the last and next aisles. I couldn’t see you. I think you were hidden by something.”
“Okay then. Take your time. I’ll be here when you’re ready to tell me, and, come to think of it, there was a large pile of boxes over there so maybe that’s why you couldn’t see me. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry. You did nothing wrong. You were just grabbing groceries.”
Mark hugged her again, the two of them laughing as she returned the gesture, sighing with contentment in his arms.
(Time skip)
The day for the guests’ arrival finally came and (Y/n) had basically locked herself up in her room. Chica was in there with her, laying still beside the girl and receiving distracted pets. “I don’t know what to do.” The teenager said, looking at the loyal dog. “I know they’re nice people. Mark told me so, and they act relatively nice in their videos. I just.. I don’t know if I’ll feel comfortable around them. I don’t want to let dad down, or make the others sad by not being around them. What do I do, Chica Beeka?”
The golden retriever in question just looked up at her and wagged her tail. (Y/n) couldn’t help but smile, giving her a head scratch. “Not much help there, buddy, but thanks for listening.” Just then, there was a knock at the door. Chica jumped up and pawed at the bedroom door. (Y/n) took a deep breath and let her out, following the dog down the stairs.
They were here.
Mark was at the door, happily greeting his friends as Chica ran around, barking in excitement. (Y/n) stood back in the entrance to the living room, not daring to get close to the group, but instead just watched them interact with her father. She knew who these men were. Seán, Bob, Wade, Tyler, and Ethan were some of Mark’s closest friends who she had seen on videos before, as well as heard Mark talking to them over video call or the phone. This fact, however, didn’t excuse the fact that she was nervous. Seán was the first to notice her and smiled, coming closer to her as she took a few steps back. “Aww hello there!” He said with a wide grin. “You must be (Y/n). Mark’s told us a lot about you.” She could barely form words as the others also looked in her direction. “I.. umm.. Hi..?” She backed up once more as Ethan approached her. “Don’t be shy, we’re not gonna hurt you.” Mark noticed her distress and asked that they back off a bit. He watched her visibly relax when her personal space was restored. Bob and Wade looked at each other, deciding to speak to her gently while staying where they were. “It’s nice to finally meet you, (Y/n).” spoke the larger of the two, waving at her kindly. The gesture was returned.
Mark got closer to her and the others watched as she stood her ground and he put an arm around her. “Sorry, I did tell you guys she might not be too comfortable at first.” Tyler nodded in understanding. “I get that. Better safe than sorry, am I right?” (Y/n) nodded and hid a little bit behind Mark.
Ethan smiled at her, seeming to have an understanding of the situation. “You don’t need to worry about us.” He said gently. “I know we’re all big and loud and scary, but I promise we aren’t bad people.” Chica made her way over to the girl who gave her some head pats. “I.. I know you guys aren’t bad. If you were, then dad probably wouldn’t be friends with you. I’m.. just not used to you yet.” Mark gave her a side hug with a smile. “It’ll take some time, but we’ll get there. It’s just like we always do. We’ll take things slowly.”
Over the next few days, (Y/n) gained exposure to the others. They were respectful of her personal space and they were all pleasantly surprised at how similar she was to them. Sure, they had heard of some stuff from Mark, but actually witnessing it was something different.
Tyler was the first one to really bond with her. His calm and gentle nature made her comfortable so it wasn’t entirely surprising that he would be the one to start them off. He and (Y/n) found a shared interest in some sports and they held some nice conversations about them.
Next came Bob, followed closely by Wade. They started playing some video games together and while at first she didn’t say much, when she got a bit more comfortable and started talking, the two men were rather pleased to hear her use Mark’s sense of humor. It made the games much less tense and a lot more enjoyable.
Ethan was second to last. He was very energetic and seemed to have the mind of an 8th grader, so he and (Y/n) bonded over memes. He showed her some of his favorites when the two of them were bored in the living room and she shared some of hers. Their somewhat immature humor made it a very fun event, especially when it came to meme videos and clips they could find on random discord servers.
Seán, much to his disappointment, was the last one. Maybe it was because he was so outgoing, or perhaps it was because she was busy with the others. Either way, he didn’t really know how to connect with her. Yes, they both liked video games and other such things, but he didn’t really know how to approach her.
That changed when he was out on the porch, petting Chica. He heard the sliding glass door open and a pair of hesitant footsteps come near. “M-may I.. sit with you?” He looked over to discover that it was (Y/n). He nodded and she sat on the opposite side of Chica, giving her a head scratch.
There was a peaceful silence between the two of them for quite some time before Seán spoke up. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea how to talk to you.” The girl laughed softly, “You and me both.” Chica let out a yawn, stretching slightly before (Y/n) continued. “I.. I haven’t really given you a chance before now. I’ve been so.. Nervous.”
“Why?” The teen shrugged. “I guess I’m just getting used to having so many people here that I don’t really know and you’re, like, my second favorite YouTuber so.. yeah, anxiety overload.” Seán looked at her in surprise. “You watch my videos?” She nodded. “Yup. I’ve watched at least one video from all of you, but I mainly see or hear you during collabs with dad.”
The Irishman smiled. “I’m pretty sure that’s how most people find our channels at this point.” (Y/n) laughed softly. “Pretty much, but give yourself some credit. You guys make great videos by yourself, no Markiplier included.” Seán blushed slightly from the praise. “Well, thank you. That’s high praise coming from his daughter.”
She rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Oh please. I was a fan of you guys before I was his daughter.” With the awkward barrier finally broken, they were finally able to talk to each other, all while petting a very happy Chica.
Things would take time to get used to, and no, having those five at the house wasn’t permanent, but slowly, (Y/n) was finally able to get somewhat comfortable with them before they had to leave. Mark was very happy. This had turned out better than expected, and he knew it would be a lot more fun when it came to any future visits.
No, (Y/n) didn’t engage in much if any physical touch with them, but that was to be expected, and that was alright. It would take time to achieve that kind of bond with her, as it had for Mark and Amy. But there was no issue with taking it slow.
No issues at all..