Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mark was nervous about his mother meeting his egos. While he was sure that they wouldn’t hurt his mother, he was worried that she would find them to be unsettling or scary. Sure, some of them were innocent enough, but... well, the others could pretty much speak for themselves...

Still, he drove his mother to the safehouse that Dark was running and let them all know that she would be coming over and to at least try to clean up. Apparently Benjamin and Maidthan had whipped them all into a cleaning frenzy, which Mark was grateful for.

When they pulled up to the house, Dark was waiting outside to greet them. He stood tall with his hands clasped behind his back, looking like a broody gentleman.

“Ms. Fischbach,” he greeted. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh!” Ms. Fischbach smiled. “So handsome with the fancy suit!”

To Mark’s surprise, she reached up and straightened Dark’s tie before smoothing out his lapels.

“Mark, how come you don’t wear suits?” She asked. “Look how handsome you would look...”

Mark chuckled, but then his eyes widened when his mother wrapped her arms around Dark and hugged him.

“So nice to meet you,” she said. “You are my son’s creation, so you are family too. I brought chicken and dumplings for everyone! Cooked it all in a big pot.”

Dark was blushing softly as he slowly moved his arms to return the hug. He felt an odd warmth flow through him, one that he had not felt in a very long time.

But then... no one had ever really hugged him like this before...

Chapter Text

The next one to meet Mark’s mother was Wilford.

“Oh!” She said when she met him. “So pink! You’re like candy! Are you sweet like candy too?”

“Only for those of the fairer sex,” Wilford kissed the back of her hand. “Madame....”

“So smooth,” Ms. Fischbach gave Wilford a hug as well. One that he enthusiastically returned.

“Mark, you never mentioned how beautiful your mother is. We should really have some pictures of her in here, shouldn’t we?” Wilford said.

“I’d rather not,” said Mark. “I never know who’s going to come here next. I don’t want to risk her safety.”

“Oh, you’re such a downer,” Wilford gave a dismissive wave as Ms. Fischbach ended the hug. “Anyway, dearie... that’s such an interesting accent. Where are you from?”

“Korea,” Ms. Fischbach beamed. “You should come with us when we go. You’ll like it.”

“Korea?” Wilford repeated.

He then began to speak to her in fluent Korean, which she eagerly spoke back to him. Mark stared at Wilford in shock. He knew a good bit of Korean himself, but Wilford was speaking as if he’d lived there all his life. The words just rolled right off his tongue without any difficulty.

“Oh, I need to go meet the others,” Ms. Fischbach eventually said. “But you keep talking to Mark. We’ll take you to Korea with us.”

“I would love to accompany you,” Wilford smiled. “Ta-ta now, darling...”

Ms. Fischbach moved on, but Mark hung back.

“You speak fluent Korean?” He asked.

“Of course,” Wilford shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”

As if that explained anything.

Chapter Text

“Oh, look at you,” Ms. Fischbach smiled at Bing. “You are...”

She trailed off uncertainly, making a ‘hang ten’ sign with her hand.

“Not quite,” Bing smiled back at her. “Skateboarder.”

He nudged the skateboard at his feet with his toe.

“Oh!” Ms. Fischbach looked at the skateboard. “Oh, you do tricks? The flips and jumps?”

“I can do some pretty cool stuff with this,” Bing said, getting on his skateboard.

“Everyone seems to be getting along,” Dark said as they watched Bing do a few tricks.

“Good,” Mark sighed in relief. “I was worried someone might scare her off.”

Ms. Fischbach laughed as Bing helped her balance on the skateboard. He carefully pulled her forward a bit and then helped her down.

“Mark, I like him,” Ms. Fischbach pinched Bing’s cheek. “He’s adorable!”

Bing beamed at the praise, looking as if this was the best day of his life.

“Finally, someone small like me,” Ms. Fischbach said when she met Erik. “Everyone is so tall here.”

She pulled Erik into a hug and the ego smiled. He quickly returned the hug, pressing his face against her shoulder. This was a real hug. A mother’s hug. A hug that he hadn’t felt since his mother had died...

“It’s n-nice to meet you,” he said, finally letting go. “I’m Erik.”

“You are so cute,” Ms. Fischbach said, patting Erik’s shoulder. “Like a puppy. I just want to pet you and give you cookies.”

“I do like cookies,” Erik blushed softly.

“Oh, I’ll come over and bake some,” Ms. Fischbach smiled. “I can bake all kinds. What kind do you like?"

“I’d like that,” Erik said. “I really would. Um... I like those M&M cookies."

It would be nice to have a mother in the house, Erik decided.

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“Oh hello!”

Blank flinched when he saw Ms. Fischbach smile at him. He had come into the house to grab a snack, hoping he could get in and out without anyone seeing him.

“I like your hair,” Ms. Fischback said. “So stylish. What’s your name?”

“Um... I’m Blank,” Blank leaned away slightly as she got closer...

But then he paused.

There was something about her. Some kind of magic... It radiated with calm and warm vibes, which soothed Blank’s anxiety enough that he didn’t mind being in her presence. Still, she must have noticed his hesitation because she didn’t try to reach out and touch him. He was very thankful for that.

“Blank,” she repeated. “I’m Mark’s mother. You look like Ethan! Ethan with the sexy legs.”

Blank blushed at the indirect compliment.

“He’s my creator,” he said. “I’m one of his egos, so it makes sense that I look like him.”

“Well then you have sexy legs too,” Ms. Fischbach beamed. “And you are adorable. You make sure to eat well, huh? Ethan is always so skinny, I worry he’s not eating well...”

“I will,” Blank gave a genuine smile. “Um... thanks, Ms. Fischbach.”

He didn’t hug her, but he did place a hand on her shoulder.

“Oh! Another handsome man with a fancy suit!”

Phantom’s brow furrowed in confusion as he turned around and saw Ms. Fischbach smiling at him.

“Um... hello?” He said slowly. “Who might you be?”

“Phantom, this is my mother,” Mark said in a tone that clearly told him to not try anything with her. “Mom, this is Phantom.”

“Phantom,” Ms. Fischbach repeated. “You have on makeup! It’s very nice. Makes your eyes stand out. Like a tiger.”

“Well, thank you,” Phantom clearly picked up on Mark’s tone, so he wouldn’t be offering her any deals. He could still be polite, though. “You look very lovely too.”

“Ah, sweet talker,” Ms. Fischbach chuckled. “Maybe you can convince Mark to wear more suits. He would be so handsome in them.”

“I can certainly try,” Phantom laughed.

She was certainly a very interesting woman...

Chapter Text

“Who’s this?” MerEthan asked, perching on the edge of the the water.

“This is my mother,” said Mark. “Mom, this is MerEthan, MerMark, and MerChica.”

“Oh, doggy fish!” Ms. Fischbach pet Chica’s wet ears. “So cute!”

“She’s my little bub,” said MerMark.

“So no sexy legs for you?” Ms. Fischbach looked down at MerEthan. “Sexy tail instead! Do you like fish?”

“Oh, we love fish,” MerMark said while MerEthan blushed.

“I know a good recipe for Maeuntang,” said Ms. Fischbach. “I can cook it for you. It’s like spicy fish stew.”

“Ooh,” MerEthan’s eyes widened and he looked like he might start drooling. “That sounds amazing, we’d love some!”

“Are you trying to feed the whole house, Mom?” Mark chuckled.

“Yes,” said Ms. Fischbach. “They don’t have their own mothers to cook for them, so I will cook for them instead.”

“Mark, you mom is awesome,” MerEthan said. “You should bring her by more often.”

“I would like to come around more,” Ms. Fischbach agreed. “Keep an eye on everyone.”

“We’ll see,” Mark said. “Maybe...”

“Another one that’s so tall,” Ms. Fischbach looked up at Madpat. “Why so tall?”

“Fans like tall egos,” Madpat shrugged. “Mark, who’s this?”

“My mom,” said Mark.

“I am everyone’s mom,” said Ms. Fischbach. “I adopted all of you so that I can feed you and give you hugs.”

“Hugs?” Madpat repeated.

Ms. Fischbach gave Madpat a hug, and the ego tensed slightly. He then melted into her embrace and returned the hug. After a few minutes of them standing like that, Mark awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Um... is he ok?” Mark asked.

“Give him some time,” Ms. Fischbach gently pet Madpat’s hair. “He needs a long hug.”

She quietly spoke comforting words in Korean while she listened to him softly cry into her shoulder.

Chapter Text

“The Host... greets Ms. Fischbach,” Host said nervously. “And he apologizes for how he looks.”

He was very hesitant to meet Mark’s mother since he knew he looked pretty gruesome. He didn’t want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. Mark had assured him that it wouldn’t be as bad as he thought, but Host was already having blood drip down his face because of his anxiety.

“The Host understands if Ms. Fischbach would prefer to move on to a... different... ego...?”

Host trailed off as he felt something on his face. Ms. Fischbach had taken some tissues and was wiping the blood off his cheeks.

“You need to be careful when you are injured,” she said. “You could get an infection. Do you have bandages? I can help you change them. I’ve done it many times before...”

Mark smiled as Host opened and closed his mouth a few times before he held his hand out and muttered under his breath. A fresh roll of bandages appeared in his palm, and Ms. Fischbach picked them up and helped Host sit down.

“Sit, sit! I’ll change these out...” She said, already working on removing the bloody bandages from Host’s face.

Host sat a bit stiffly as he felt the bandages finally fall away. He expected to hear some noise of shock or disgust, but... Ms. Fischbach didn’t say a word. She instead hummed softly to herself while she went about cleaning Host’s face and then wrapping new bandages around his eye sockets.

“There,” she smiled as she secured the bandages. “New bandages make everyone feel better. No more sticky blood. Only your handsome face.”

Host cleared his throat while he tilted his face away. Mark stifled a laugh, seeing that Host was blushing.

“Ms. Fischbach is very kind,” Host said.

“You have a doctor here?” Ms. Fischbach asked. “I’ll yell at him for not changing your bandages.”

“No!” Host looked up. “No, Ms. Fischbach doesn’t need to. It’s not Dr. Iplier’s fault, The Host just... he gets busy and forgets...”

“Well, please try to take better care of yourself,” Ms. Fischbach said as she pat Host’s shoulder. “Promise me you will.”

“The... The Hosts promises Ms. Fischbach that he will take better care of himself,” Host said slowly.

“Good!” Ms. Fischbach smiled. “You keep your promise, I’ll ask Mark if you are. If you don’t, I’ll have to drive back over here to change your bandages again...”

Host chuckled, hearing the humor in her tone. This had gone better than he’d ever hoped it could.

Chapter Text

“Another handsome boy!” Ms. Fischbach smiled. “This house is full of so many handsome boys. And with a fancy suit too!”

Jameson smiled and gave a little bow.

“And so nice!” Ms. Fischbach swept Jameson into a hug. “Like a little gentleman.”

Jameson returned the hug. True, he wasn’t exactly following social etiquette, but this hug was far too good to just ignore. It reminded him of the warmth of his own mother. Her hugs had been amazing too before she’d passed.

My name is Jameson, his text box popped up when they separated.

“Oh!” Ms. Fischbach looked at the text box. “You speak like a video game. That’s neat! Do you only speak like this?”

Jameson nodded.

“He’s mute, Mom,” Mark helped him out.

“You’re mute?” Ms. Fischbach held a finger to her lips. “That’s ok. It’s the ones who cannot speak who often say the most important things. You remember that.”

Well... Jameson had never heard that before, but he really liked it.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Ms. Fischbach asked.

Jameson slowly shook his head, looking confused.

“I know a very nice girl,” said Ms. Fischbach. “Very sweet. She can sign and she knows how to bake the most delicious pies.”

“Mom, stop trying to play matchmaker with the egos,” Mark shook his head.

“He is a handsome gentleman who deserves a good girl,” said Ms. Fischbach. “Unless he likes other gentlemen. You know, her brother can sign too. He makes very good pasta...”

Jameson gave a silent chuckle. This woman was something else, but he could tell she had a good heart.

“You have food on your face,” Ms. Fischbach said. “Do you need help cleaning it?”

“No, it’s fine,” said King of the Squirrels. “It’s for my squirrels, they love it.”

“You have squirrels?” Ms. Fischbach asked. “Like pets?”

“No, they’re my subjects,” said King. “I am their king.”

“Well be careful,” said Ms. Fischbach. “Some squirrels got into my garden last week. They tore up some of my flowers. I think they are building nests...”

“It is nesting season,” said King. “but you don’t have to worry about that here. My squirrels are very well behaved.”

“I can see,” Ms. Fischbach scratched under a squirrel’s chin. “So soft! You take good care of them. Like... a Squirrel Daddy.”

Mark burst into laughter while King’s eyes widened at those words.

Squirrel Daddy?