Soft songs and moonlight glow
Steven was now outside his flat. Observing the city below from the rooftops above on surveillance, unaware Khonshu had been pulled away by Hathor, as he climbed up onto the roof of his apartment complex.
Hey um guys, where’s our skeletal bird of a guardian angel?” Steven asked as Marc and Jake appeared at the edge of his vision as he started his patrol.
“More like the devil on our shoulders”, Jake mumbled bitterly.
“I’m not sure, but I’m glad to get a break from his squawking. Marc go save that woman, Marc go into that Hydra base, Marc stop complaining, it’s only a bullet wound. He may have given us a healing factor, but it doesn’t take away the pain. You’d think the god could give us a night off now and then”, Marc bitched
“Well……he isn’t around, perhaps we should take a break mi amigos” Jake said with a sly grin as he and Marc edged Steven to play hooky.
“W-w-w-won’t he get mad? I mean I know we have a lot of leeway when talking with Khonshu compared to other mortals b-b-but…” Steven began before getting cut off by Marc as he walked in front of Steven, blocking his view of the streets below, forcing him to pause his patrol.
“But nothing. We bust our collective ass constantly for that bird, and after last night’s mission when I was fighting Hydra agents, we deserve a break. For fuck’s sake Steven I can still feel how sore our body is from yesterday and I’m not even in control of the body.” Steven hesitated and fiddled with the gloves of his suit as he paced before letting out a sigh.
“Alright, we’ll take the night off for now, but if Khonshu comes by, I’m pinning the blame on you two.” Steven said as he pointed a finger at Marc and Jake sternly. Jake raised his hands in surrender and Marc grinned in response.
“Si, we have an agreement.” Jake said with a chuckle as Marc shrugged quietly. Steven’s shoulders relax slightly as they agreed to his deal.
“Well, I’m up for some stargazing!” Steven said with a grin from under the suit’s mask, before walking over to the ledge of the building he had been patrolling on and sitting down looking up at the sky. “Blimey, I don’t think I’ve been able to look at the stars like this since we assisted Khonshu in Egypt with Layla.” Steven chuckled softly, that last comment caused Marc to frown.
“I thought weall agreed not to talk about her!” Marc snapped at Steven, causing Jake to step in and place a hand on Marc’s shoulder with a firm grip.
“What have we talked about?” Jake reminded him causing Marc to sigh,
“We can talk about Layla even though she’s not our soulmate and want’s nothing to do with us.” Marc muttered bitterly as he brushed off Jake’s shoulder, Jake gave a small nod at Marc’s words, no matter how begrudgingly they were spoken. Marc ran a hand through his hair and flopped down on the rooftop next to Steven in frustration, causing Steven to look away from the stars.
“I just don’t get it! We used to hear her voice! They always say that you can hear your soulmate, but now we’ve been hearing a different voice more clearly since we cut things off with Layla, it doesn’t make sense!” Marc exclaimed in frustration, causing both Steven and Jake to sigh. It was true, before hearing you in their shared mind, they would hear Layla’s voice, but it always sounded a bit off and farther away, yours was still a bit muddled at times but far clearer than anything they had ever heard from Layla.
“Maybe its just one of life’s mysteries?” Steven said quietly, trying to be optimistic as he looked back up at the stars.
“We came back to life to serve as a warrior for a fucking undead bird. Honestly amigo, you act like us hearing an extra person is the strangest thing we’ve encountered.” Jake muttered as he shook his head in disappointment. The three of them sat in silence for a long time, Jake and Marc joining Steven in looking up at the sky and stargazing on the clear night with only the faint sounds of the city below tying them to the present while deep in thought. After a long while Steven started to quietly hum to himself, before eventually starting to softly sing, “Lonely is a Man Without Love”, causing Marc to groan.
“Why is it always this song.” Marc groaned, causing Jake to chuckle softly.
“Let him have his fun, besides I haven’t seen him this at peace in a while.” Jake said quietly to Marc, as to not disturb Steven. Steven, while starting to become a better fighter over the last few months since becoming more in tune with his alters, was still the softest and most sensitive, and being dragged into this real-life myth has put a strain on the softest of the three personalities. Marc gave a small nod in agreement before going back to quietly listening with Jake to Steven’s singing.
Meanwhile, back at your apartment after Hathor had disappeared to go after Khnoshu without saying a word
You sat there in front of your altar quietly in disbelief as Hathor vanished before your eyes in that cloud of red and turquoise smoke as quickly as she appeared. The only thing that had tipped you off that it had all really happened and was not a dream was the fact the lotus flower you had left as an offering that Hathor had picked up was now gone. As the night stretched on, you watched as the candles on the altar slowly burnt out one by one, casting the once small golden glow of the room into darkness. As you stood up slowly from the alter you moved over to the window seat in your humble apartment that was bathed in moonlight, still trying to process the visit you had just received from Hathor. As you sat there deep in thought, you heard a voice singing at the back of your mind.
Steven was softly singing,
“Every day I wake up, then I start to break up
Knowing that it's cloudy above
Every day I start out, then I cry my heart out
Lonely is a man without love
I cannot face this world that's fallen down on me……..” Before being forced to stop,
“Hey um mates? What’s the next line I always forget?” Steven called out to Jake and Marc, before either of them could reply, they heard you at the back of their shared mindscape, it appears their soulmate’s thoughts were slipping through once more today.
In the quiet of your flat you softly started to sing the next line, you had heard Steven sing this song once or twice before……well just the chorus as he wasn’t very good with remembering music. But it had been enough for you to track down the song of one of your soulmates and learned it.
“So if you see my girl, please send her home to me
Tell her about my heart that's slowly dying
Say I can't stop myself from crying”
Steven’s face broke into a broad grin under the Moon Knight mask at hearing you, and Jake’s broke into a soft smile, while Marc was trying to suppress feeling any sort of way like that for you, his mind still on Layla after earlier.
As Steven layed there on the roof, he continued to softly sing the rest of the song with you. The two of you sharing a duet, even while being apart and having never met, all your souls still connected deeply through the bond that would only grow with time.
A gentle smile graced your lips as you finished the song with Steven before your mind grew quiet once more, losing the connection with them. Perhaps Hathor’s visit that night had been a sign of good things to come, you thought to yourself hopefully, before falling asleep in the window nook.