“M” Privileges Are Back, And There Will Be A Reason Explained In My Au As To Why He Picked A More

Spirit

Title: Spirit

Chapter: Episode 2

Previous Chapters: part 1

Fandom: Invincible

Type of Fanfic: Reader, self-insert

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

　　　.   　　˚　✭　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　

Rating: Mature

Chapter Warnings: mild swearing

Chapter Summary: Being from a barren wasteland of a universe to this new one is both exciting and overwhelming and it has been proven to be a difficult obstacle to tackle.

Pairings: Mark x reader, variant!mark x reader, Rex x reader, (one-sided) Eve x reader, multi-paul x reader, Rae x reader, bulletproof x reader, to be determined…

Written By: MangoSpit

⌜Alt Universe inspired by: Fallout⌟

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Your first day in your new world, your new normal, was the best day of your life since the day you were able to learn how to lockpick! Okay, to be honest, it may have been even better than the day you learned how to lockpick, but that day you were able to steal so much useful shit.

You have a place to yourself, a place that appeared to have belonged to Angstrom before, you assume so since he gave you the keys. You were able to shower without having to worry about getting poisoned or rationing clean water! You ACTUALLY smelt good! You didn’t think a good smell was ever possible but here you were. You were able to take your time to scrub the grime from your body, to massage your scalp and untangle your hair, and to wear different clothes. Yeah, you have to admit to yourself. This is the best day ever.

You had to wear the clothes that were abandoned in the closet, none of them felt right or comfortable but it was still fresh and new. You were so used to wearing the same clothes every day, and on a rare occasion getting new clothes to wear every day. But now? Now you get to wear a different outfit every day.

Going outside was a bit overwhelming at first, but still worth it. As the sun shone down on your face- it was much brighter than it was in your world. Well, I guess it would now be called your previous world, this was your new home. Looking around, you could hear strange high pitched noises. Turns out, they’re birds. Like crows and vultures but smaller and make a more pleasant sound.

Whenever someone approached you however, it was another story. They seemed friendly, but how likely was it that most of them were actually friendly? They probably were trying to kill you for your backpack. You would freeze and stare at them, blank and soulless until they left you alone. Even if you had a bad feeling about them, it was almost thrilling? Being able to see so many people, in new places and with new appearances. It almost made you giddy enough to let a small rumble of laughter come through your mouth. Not quite there yet.

It was getting late, the first day almost officially over when you finally figured out how to work the TV. You were killing this shit, maybe you could adjust to this new society after all…

“Invincible saved 20 civilians from a collapsing building-“

You perk up at the name.

That was the name of that guy!

You listen in closer as they explain his heroic actions in a positive light, showing what looked like him on the television. Was this what a recording was like? Were you being recorded? Could they hear you??

“I agree with you, Scott. His heroic acts were well thought out, and calculated in such expertise- you would think he has been doing this for over a decade”

The woman on the television laughs, not in a humorous way but as a way to fill the silence. It makes you sneer. Do these people not know of the crimes he’s committed? Of how awful of a person he is? The people he has slaughtered? Looking at his stupid fucking get up made your blood boil. What a manipulative piece of shit. He doesn’t even look trustworthy, he zips around in the sky like an oversized fly. Oh! No, more like an oversized wasp. Ready to sting.

You trust that Angstrom knows what he’s doing, that he will help bring Justice to everyone this Invincible guy has hurt. You commit his face to memory, trying to detail his jawline, lines, nose and hair to memory. This place was filled with people so you would have to burn the image of him to your brain to be able to try and pick him out from a crowd when he’s dressed like everyone else. Like a civilian.

You pull out your small notebook and write it down, as well as trying to sketch it out a bit, then write down what you heard on TV to report back to Angstrom. Your writing is sloppy at best and you completely butchered his portrait but who gives a fuck? He killed many innocents.

“Maybe I should kill you myself, Mr.Invincible…” you hum as you close your notebook. Tomorrow, tomorrow is a new day- and perhaps you will go out and look for him.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

“Are you askin‘ for a job, kid?” The man’s gravelly voice asks you. You furrow your eyebrows at being called a kid. Could a kid lockpick a door within 5 seconds and precisely hit a target from 50 feet away?

“Yes. A job.”

“What are your qualifications?”

“Uhh…. I am good at tracking people”

….

“This is a Wendy’s”

You were having the shittiest of luck finding a job. No one was looking for a tracker? A looter? A temporary guard? How do people keep a stable life without these jobs??

“Hey, you’re standing-“

You quickly glare at the man talking to you, your eyes burning holes into his face. He seems only slightly taken aback.

“No seriously, get out of the road. You’re going to get hit!”

The fuck is he talking bout?

Suddenly the big machines that were unmoving (which you had heard or read somewhere once that they were called vehicles) started moving and making a loud noise at you. You were about to yell at the people inside the machines- vehicles- when the man pulled you out of the road.

“The hell is wrong with you?” He says in a more confused and light tone.

“I don’t need help” your voice comes out rougher than your appearance as you don’t talk much when you hardly have people to talk to. Angstrom was probably the longest you’ve ever talked to someone, other than yourself.

“Uh, excuse me? Do you need, like, mental help?”

You glare at him, your eyes wide and unmoving.

“That won’t work on me twice. Cmon, let’s get you to the hospital. Maybe you suffered a brain injury or possibly are high” he motions for you to follow but you smack his hand away.

“Okay, now let’s not-“

You push him up against the street pole, and he groans and looks like he wants to retaliate but he collects himself first.

“Don’t make me have to call backup and have the cops hall you off to be drug tested instead”

“Are you threatening me??” Is he seriously threatening to call a gang on you?? How dangerous is this gang anyways?? Cops is a dumb name for a gang anyways, maybe they’re small and insignificant.

“No, I’m not threatening you, I'm trying to get you help.”

“Help is not free.” You hiss.

“Look, I can’t control the healthcare system, don’t take it out on me!”

“Rex, what’s going on?”

A woman approaches, causing you to go rigid. Shit, when did you have time to motion for his gang?

“I was just helping- HEY!”

You run. You run down the street, diving through bodies, colliding with them if they don’t move out the way fast enough. It was enough to earn angry shouting at you but you just had to get out of there. No way you were going to die on your second day in this new world. You try to run in the direction of your home but… you can’t remember where it was. Shit.

Just your luck.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

End notes: I like to think I’m hilarious sometimes

@weponxwrites @friedcreationgalaxy @rayaaa4444

While I am working on the requests I got (yes I didn’t forget and I will be posting them soon as in the next few days) I had an idea. How would y’all like a creative exploration into the Invincible Variants being kept alive to try and be used as weapons against viltrumites? This would completely change how the comic goes but 🤷🏽‍♀️ idk food for thought or however the fuck the saying goes. Anyways au idea, yay or nay?

Okay, I have something cooking….

Out of the Mark variants, which one do you think would like Amber the most? (If there’s not one in the poll, just comment which one you think)

Spirit

Title: Spirit

Chapter: Episode 1

Next chapters: part 2

Fandom: Invincible

Type of Fanfic: Reader, self-insert

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

　　.   　　˚　✭　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　 ˚　.˚　

Rating: Mature

Chapter Warnings: death, descriptions of violence and death

Chapter Summary: You come from a universe that’s left as a wasteland, the human population constantly dwindling, as morals have gone and died, thrown aside to just survive. While you’re out to pickpocket the deceased, you find Angstrom Levy looking for Invincible- much to your confusion- as Invincible doesn’t exist here. Seeing the state of your universe, he offers you a more peaceful world- only if you do something for him in return. (set shortly before the invincible war)

Pairings: Mark x reader, variant!mark x reader, Rex x reader, (one-sided) Eve x reader, multi-paul x reader, Rae x reader, bulletproof x reader, to be determined…

Written By: MangoSpit

⌜Alt Universe inspired by: Fallout⌟

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Invincible doesn’t exist in your universe. And if viltrumites do exist, they have seemed to have left Earth alone. Maybe they would assume nothing was alive on it anymore. They didn’t even need to conquer Earth when humans had destroyed it themselves…

You walk down the broken pavement, what used to be a road years and years ago. That was before you were even born though. This is all you’ve ever known. Sure, you’ve heard stories about what clear skies looked like, what fruit tastes like, what clear lakes and oceans looked like, but you’ll never see it for yourself. Is it possible to miss something that you have never had? If so, that’s something you would feel more than you would like to admit.

Keeping down your path, you stop as you spot something at the corner of your eye. You lower your head in a fast jerking motion to see if it was a threat. No. Just a dead body. Kneeling down, you can see that the deceased woman isn’t decomposing yet. Meaning, the people who did this could be near. You look over her features, wondering what she was like.

She had a kind face, her clothing made it seem like she was guarded- but not in the way many are. She was probably one of those empaths, one that would try and teach children what morality is- even when there is slim to none left. She was probably in her 30s, and she was shot a few times in the chest. Usually you would search dead bodies for anything of use- bandages, medicine, food, clean water, weapons- but she didn’t have a bag on her. You didn’t specifically feel like checking her clothes as she didn’t have many pockets or padding on her. You hope her original soul is resting easy as you begin the sharp inhale, causing a small vacuum for her duplicated soul. Her soul was a soft peach color and it came out as a small wisp, grouping up into a ball. You quickly grab it in your hand before her duplicated soul would zip away or try to possess you. It lets out a small squeak, sounding like a mouse. The beauty of your powers.

𓉘 “047241, do you know why your veins look like that? Why your hands emit a soft yellow glow?” 

You shake your head in response, curious as to what this could mean.

“You, 047241, were chosen to become one of the divine. A weapon. Your veins are filled with divinity, you have been chosen for greatness.”𓉝 

So much for greatness. Being blessed to become divine just means they fill your veins with radiation and liquid medication as a baby so you can become a weapon for the high court. Turning you into a humanoid mutant. However, you missed the mark. Out of 34 subjects, you placed 11th place, and they picked the top 10. You were left to fend for yourself after that. 

Your divine power is complicated. You are quite literally a vacuum for souls and energy. You can vacuum up to 5 hours worth of energy out of a living creature, and can vacuum a duplicated soul out of a deceased human. Their souls usually have some sort of helpful ability to you: like living soul protection, picking up objects, dazing others, sensing others, healing, etc,. However, as soon as they are brought out of their body, they panic and try to run away or they get angry and try to possess you. And their possessions can go from 30 minutes to 12 hours if you’re not careful. They can’t talk, they're like a small animal that needs to be trained. You look at the peach colored soul as it tries to wiggle free from your grip.

“Sorry, no hard feelings.” You pull out a bottle from your bag and squeeze the soul into it as it bangs on the bottle from side to side to try and get out. You would deal with them later. Right now, you should get out of here, in case whoever killed this woman is still nearby. After adjusting your heavy backpack onto your back again, you see a figure. This figure has their back turned to you, clearly not worried about any possibility of danger behind them. You carefully scan them over, as you grab for your weapon. 

From behind, it looks like it could be a mutant, its skin is puffed up and wrinkly from the back, but when they turn around, they look normal from the front. It’s a man wearing something that doesn’t look protective or plausible for the wastelands. He seems like an anomaly almost, he feels too out of place. He looks around slightly before spotting you. You wait to see what he does, but he gives a polite smile- though you feel as though it might not be fully genuine. You tsk to yourself, looking him over before raising your voice so he can hear you.

“Are you armed?

He casually holds up his hands to show that he has nothing in them, that he’s unarmed. You can’t tell if he has something hiding in his clothes but you keep your weapon close as you approach.

“You part of a group?”

“Me? Oh, no. I’m just looking for someone.”

You hum, “Oh? Bounty hunter?”

“Not exactly.”

You furrow your eyebrows at his vague answers. The way he talks makes it obvious that he is not from the deep wastelands. Maybe he’s part of the high court or some other group of people that are protected but then again, he’s out here alone. Plus, he has a scar and looks like he may be mutated. He would be kicked out in a second if he was part of a higher group. So maybe he’s been ex-communicated?

“Who you lookin’ for?”

“I’m looking for Invincible.”

You pause, giving him an odd look.

“Who?”

“So you don’t know of him?”

“Nah. Doesn’t ring a bell. Is he supposed to be a big name, cause I know a lot of big names but that ain’t one of em.”

He chuckles to himself, “I would say you are lucky to not know him, but it seems your world is already facing its own challenges.”

Own World?

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“I am Angstrom Levy, I can travel dimensions.”

Before you can even ask questions, he opens up a portal with ease, emanating a bright green hue. You stare in awe, never thinking you would see something like this before. You quickly tear your eyes away and look back at Angstrom.

“And you came to this- uh, here- for this Invincible person? Why? Did he get lost in a dimension?” You doubt that theory a little as he does not seem panicked. Instead, his lip ever so slightly twitches downwards.

“Invincible is a murderer, he killed my son- he ruined the lives of millions across many of dimensions.”

You stare dumbfounded. Well, that would explain why he was looking for him. You have always heard that if you have a bond with blood relatives, you will feel a new intense feeling of adoration for them, wanting them to never be hurt. Having someone take away his son would probably trigger intense rage. You try to grasp at the concept of that intense of an emotion, but you can’t feel it.

“That must be why you’re here. You want to get revenge?”

He stares for a moment, before humming in agreement. He takes in your appearance. You do look odd, but not out of place for the wastelands. You wear a large color with a short chain on it, under it your number written: 047241. Your eyes are heavy, with prominent bags under them as you never feel relaxed and barely sleep. A big backpack stuffed to the brim with supplies you need, causing it to weigh over 100 pounds. Your shirt is a dirty forest green, paired with baggy camo pants. Underneath both your shirt and pants, you have padding underneath to act as a vest to prevent easy targets. Then, the oddest part, you have long, leather gloves on- reaching up to your elbow. He stares at your gloves, and you know what he is wondering. He’s wondering what you are hiding, because it’s even odd to wear this long of gloves in the wasteland.

“What is your name?”

“047241.”

He just stares at you, before huffing out a short laugh. Is your name one that causes humor?

“Are you happy here?”

You stay silent.

“Do you have a home here?”

You stay silent.

“Do you have loved ones here?”

Again, you stay silent.

“What if I can offer you a dimension that will give you the chance to experience all of that?”

You perk up, trying not to show off your excitement too much. However, it’s hard not to when you think of the idea of clean bodies of water, clean air, animals, fruit, sunshine, alive plants and trees, and the possibility of actually meeting and keeping in contact with new people. You have to remind yourself to not show your excitement because you don’t know what this Angstrom could be asking of you.

“What do you need in return?” Your voice comes out rough but you know that he knows he already got your attention.

“Simple, all I need in return is for you to give me updates whenever you hear about Invincible. I need to keep track of him for my… plans.” 

“Done.” You say without a moment of hesitation. You can do that no problem, and you get to potentially experience living in a world similar to yours before it became the dreaded wasteland it is today. 

“One last thing before we go. Once you get there, about a week and a half from now there may be a catastrophe, I would recommend going into hiding.”

“Can you see into the future too?”

“Something like that.”

“One more question.”

“And what is it?”

“How many days is a week and a half?”

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

End Note: Hope you enjoyed this story. This is chapter 1 but it kind of serves as a setup for your character, background, motivation, and powers. This will probably just be shorter compared to my future chapters. I am open to any suggestions you may have for the story!

Lioness cait. Spotted hyena vi. Do you see my vision

I talk about this all the time, but the alternate versions of him be so different sometimes I forget that it’s HIM. I’m like Naaaah no wayyyy

Sinister Mark is so fucked up in particular that I sometimes forget he's Mark Grayson. I look at him and I don't even see Mark, he's just built different. No way that's an alternate universe version of this guy

“And so dear audience, perhaps it’s time to give Amber and Mark some privacy and turn our attention to—” NOOOOOOOO

Hello! Could you pls write something where the reader is struggling with addiction and is depressed about the situation. He goes to Mark when he’s sad about it and Mark doesn’t know and he ends up telling Mark what’s going on cause he feels like shit making him (mark) worry about him(reader). He and Mark have a heart to heart about it and Mark does something to cheer him up (they do something cute, like go on a walk and get food or smt fluffy idk). Thx sm

As someone who has severe depression and watched people struggle with different types of addiction, I feel like I was qualified enough to do this. Apologizes for how long this took I wanted to wait until I was done with my semester of college before answering asks.

Pairings: Mark Grayson x Male Reader

Fandom: Invincible

You don’t know when it started, time warped around in your memories to where it all became a big blur. Youll question the passage of time, how long has it truly been? The only thing that’ll stick out in memories is important events, like Mark’s Birthday.

That day stood out because while you were still struggling, it felt nice to have a time to just forget you even were. A nice distraction as you watched your boyfriend excitedly talk to you and his friends about how he loved the presents, and then how you all went out to do whatever he wanted to do. That’s when he pulled you all to the amusement park. You all warned Mark not to eat before getting on the ride but he said he went flying like that as Invincible all the time. Afterwards he was doubled over in a trashcan, not expecting all the loops and turns specifically, but also because he just ate too much. However, he still had a fun day and bounced back to normal after sitting down for just 15 minutes.

You smile tiredly at the memory before turning to your desk that had wrappers all over it- and you look at the keychain of Seance Dog that had the initials MG on the back, you and Mark getting matching ones with each other’s initials on it. Even if you weren’t entirely into the series, it made Mark happy- therefore made you happy. Then there’s the Photo Booth picture with you, Mark, Amber, William, Rick and Eve. Then the Photo Booth picture of just you and him.

You groan when you realize your phone is dead, and you scavenge among your room for the cord. There it is, right next to an empty pill bottle you never threw away. You let out a shaky sigh before plugging the cord into the wall and then into your phone. You wait for about a minute before the screen lights up and you see missed messages and calls. Shit.

[3 missed calls from Mark 💛🩵]

Mark 💛🩵: Hun? Did I do something wrong? You haven’t been answering me

Mark 💛🩵: Babe?

Mark 💛🩵: Can I come over tn? I had a rough day

Mark 💛🩵: ?

Mark 💛🩵: I’m sorry for whatever I did, I miss you. Is something going on? Please don’t shut me out

The messages make your gut coil and churn with guilt, it doesn’t feel good at all. He’s worried about you and yet you’re being a terrible boyfriend by not telling him, by being self-centered-

Then it hits you. He was like this with Amber before they broke up the first time. You were going to text but he deserves a call instead. You take a deep breath, rub your forming headache, and hit the call button.

It rings a few times before he answers, he voice sounding frantic, excited, worried, and relieved all at the same time.

“Babe- oh thank god. Oh my god I was so scared that something happened to you- or- or I did something wrong”

“No, no, you did nothing wrong. Sorry I didn’t answer, my phone was dead”

“It was dead? You used to never let it die, you were so concerned about its battery life at all times of the day” He lets out a sad chuckle.

“Yeah, I know. It’s so weird. Anyways- uh, are you okay? I saw your messages from last night”

“Uhm, I would say I’m okay but I could be better. Got a little beat up yesterday. It’s healed but it’s… not fun”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“Can I come over?”

You hesitate. You look around your room and it’s a disaster. Laundry everywhere, trash everywhere, things out of place. It looks like someone threw everything into your room and called it a day. He hears the hesitation and sighs.

“Is that a no? Usually when you hesitate it’s a no”

Nonono, you don’t want him to get the wrong idea- to think you don’t love him or have time for him anymore. Before you can think you say, “No, it’s a yes. You can come over”

“Okay, okay, oh man, I can’t wait to see you. I’ll be dressed quick and be there in 5”

“Okay great, can’t wait to see you. Love you”

“Love you too, bye”

“Bye”

As soon as he hangs up you shovel the clothes from the floor into your hands and throw it into the bottom of the closet. When he says he will be there in five, he means it. Curse him and his speedy flying- but not really because you love that man whole heartedly. You grab a trash bag and just throw shit into it, hoping nothing important gets thrown in there. You’re making progress, but because it’s scattered all across your room you also feel like you’re making no progress at all. You just freeze and stare at the floor- almost as if you want it to just disappear. You can’t get yourself to continue to move- the sight alone makes you wanna start hyperventilating. It needs to be cleaned. You need to be clean. Oh god, what does the rest of the house look like? Before you know it you’re crumpling to the ground and sobbing into your arms. It feels life shattering, but you know with a little bit of drugs- it’ll just be a silly little problem that could be melted away. You sniffle, thinking about if you took the last pill or if you still have some more left.

Knock knock knock. At your window. You can hear it behind yourself- and you feel yourself start to cry again. God, now Mark- you’re perfect superhero boyfriend- knows you’re a fucking slob with an addiction.

Knock knock knock. Sounds a little more frantic this time. Time to face the music, face your greatest fear- and it was one you knew you couldn’t escape because you couldn’t get your life together. You slowly stand up, and open the window. You expected him to recoil in disgust at your appearance and the state of your room. But no- his soft brown eyes look concerned.

“Are you okay? I thought I heard you cryin-“

The question alone brought you to tears again. He looks a little startled but fully comes into the room from your window and pulls you into a hug. You wanna pull back- telling him to get away because you’re disgusting. But you just sob into his shoulder.

“Oh hun, what’s wrong?” He asks delicately with warmth underlying. You sniffle, trying not to hiccup over every word that stumbles out of your chapped lips.

“I’m sorry” Is the first thing you say, as it is the first thing that comes to mind. You feel like you need to apologize for everything, for even existing.

“Sorry for what?” He pulls back to try and look at your face, when you look down, he doesn’t try to force you to look at him. But he just wants to gauge your facial expressions from what he can see.

“I’m- I’m a mess. Me, my room, and- and” You can’t think of a way to explain your addiction to him, or your severe depression that just kept getting worse these past few months. He doesn’t cut you off, he waits patiently for you to finish.

“I’m… I’ve been taking pills.”

You expected him to gasp, to flinch even, anything that showed horror, disgust, maybe even him being upset. But no. He lightly rubbed your arms and nodded.

“For how long?”

“2 months.”

“Okay, I’m here. Do you wanna talk about it?”

His calm response almost made you cry again. It felt so normal- not like he was brushing the problem under the rug, but like he was humanizing what you went through. Your lip quivers and you don’t know how to respond. Yes, you wanna talk about it. But also no, because you don’t trust your own voice.

“We don’t have to talk about it right now. We can just lay together, sit together, watch Tv. Whatever you want, whatever you need, I will try to make possible”

You take a few deep breaths to steady yourself, “I think I wanna shower first, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. Do you want me to order food or make food in the meantime?”

You didn’t feel hungry but it wasn’t good to not eat so you end up agreeing. You grab some fresh clothes from your closet, which isn’t much, and then head into the shower.

✮⋆˙🔮˗ˏ🖇⋆⭒˚｡⋆🎧..✮⋆˙🔮˗ˏ🖇⋆⭒˚｡⋆🎧..✮⋆˙🔮˗

After the shower, you eat the food Mark cooked for you and explain to him what has been going on. How you fell into a deep depression again and then you started using. Then you explain, with your eyes watering and your voice threatening to break, that you were ashamed. That you didn’t want to tell him because you feel gross when you get to this point, and it feels like you can’t come back. Then you hiccup and sob that you’re sorry for being distant and making him worry.

He sits there and lets you finish, before pulling you into a hug. He kisses your temple softly and explains that he understands. He doesn’t understand on a personal level but he understands your thought process and thanks you for opening up to him now.

He makes you feel sane. It isn’t like he fixed you, but you feel less insecure as he helps you clean your room and make a plan for how to navigate this moving forward. He helps with resources, if you’re willing to accept that just yet, and then helps shop for new groceries as well.

He understands it takes time too, you don’t just magically get better. He’s there for you every step of the way. He’s been understanding to you the way you were for him. When he’s in the hospital because of a fight or is bruised up, you drop whatever you're doing and rush to be there. In a way, you two understand the other's struggles without being in the same position. Perhaps you understand each other in only the way a boyfriend would. He celebrates every day you go without using, every day you’re clean instead of focusing on the fact you’ve used at all. And you patch him up (really it’s just putting kids bandaids on his bruises while the two of you laugh at how silly it is) and tell him what he did was brave and that he’s saving lives. And maybe he even saved yours.