Chapter 4
The smell of eggs being cooked on the stove woke Marc and Jake up. Jake woke up first, his stomach grumbling hungrily at the scent, but he quickly realized he couldn’t quite move. He shifted slightly and found Marc wrapped around him, snoring heavily. This wasn’t the first time they’d woken up like this since their scuffle a few weeks ago, but Jake still wasn’t used to it. The three of them had agreed to share the bed with one another whenever they felt comfortable; Steven had made quick work to show that he didn’t mind at all with either one. It was Jake and Marc who weren’t too keen on sharing the bed with one another aside from Steven. Steven was able to keep to his side in his sleep. Marc, however, was a hugger, the other two discovered, and Jake tended to drift towards warmth and would stick close to whichever of the two was sharing the bed with him that night.
Although on some level it worked out for the two of them, Marc and Jake were undoubtedly embarrassed to say the least, but had agreed to not speak a word of it to each other so help them God.
Jake unraveled himself from the blanket and Marc’s arms and headed into the kitchenette area, where Steven was humming softly to himself as he scrambled eggs in a pan. He caught sight of Jake and beamed brightly.
“Good morning!” he said chipperly. Jake grunted in response, rubbing his eyes at the bright sunlight that streamed into the apartment. If he weren’t hungry, he would have stayed in bed longer. As though on cue, Steven added, “Breakfast is ready!,” and served a portion onto a plate, placing it in front of Jake with a fork. Jake let out a hasty “Thanks,” and dug into the food as though he hadn’t eaten in years. As he scarfed down the food, he was dubiously aware of Steven watching him.
“What?” he questioned, his mouth half full.
Steven smiled. “Nothing. It’s still just… rather odd, I suppose, knowing that you and Marc are here with me. In the world.”
Jake stared at him for a moment, then kept eating, not responding. Steven wasn’t the only one who thought it was weird; Jake still had his jolting moments when reality set in. All his life, he’d been a piece of them that hid in the shadows, and now? Now he was sitting at the apartment dining table, eating breakfast with Steven while Marc snored loudly in the other room, very much in their presence, kind of wishing he could go back to being “the other guy.”
“I was thinking!” Steven spoke again, pulling Jake away from his self-groveling. “I know you and Marc are always-” he mimed a few small punches in the air “-the ones fighting and whatnot, but…” He gave a sheepish smile. “I could really use some help paying rent and bills and maybe groceries…” His voice trailed off, his optimism faltering. “I mean, you both really don’t have to, I know it’s probably a straining request considering what you’re going through and all-”
“You’re going through all of this, too, though,” Jake interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone. “You’re right, it’s not fair that the two of us have been lounging around all day while you work. We’ll figure some sort of job out, don’t worry. Okay?” Steven stared at him with round eyes before his mood picked up again and he nodded.
“Thank you, Jake! I’ll make sure to have a word with Marc, too, as soon as he wakes up!” Marc wasn’t one to typically sleep in, but today seemed to be an exception for whatever reason. Steven checked in on him by the time 12:30pm came around, out of concern for the other. Marc groaned, rolling over when Steven gently prodded him in the side.
“Whaddaya want…?” he mumbled, pulling the blankets over his head.
“Are you alright, Marc?” Steven tried to pull the blankets away from him to wake him up, but Marc’s grip was no joke. “You’re usually up and about by now.” Marc slowly lowered the blankets, his eyes visibly still sleep-ridden. His curls were a mess and his expression would have been intimidating if he didn’t look so… cuddly. Steven cracked a small smile at him. “I thought maybe we could see what was going on with Khonshu and the suit,” he continued as Marc pulled himself up into a sitting position. “I think we ought to find out sooner than later before a situation that calls for saving occurs.”
Marc, still looking dazed from sleep, nodded. “Sure, Steven. Whatever you want.” He flopped backwards back into the pillows, eyes closing. “Jus’ one more minute, okay?” Steven wanted to cave in and let Marc rest - he knew it was rare for Marc to ever get much rest in the first place - but he instead reached and gently took Marc’s hand in his own. Marc’s eyes fluttered open at the touch, evidently startled by the gesture.
“I know you’re tired, Marc,” Steven murmured understandingly. “But if we could do this for just a quick 30 minutes at most.” He glanced in the direction of where the kitchenette and living area space were. “I think it would help soothe Jake a bit. He’s… antsy. I think he’s… freaking out a little bit.” He turned his gaze back to Marc pleadingly. “Just a moment, Marc.” Marc would never admit it aloud, but he was weak for Steven, especially when he pleaded so kindly like he was right now. Although his muscles screamed for him to stay laying in bed, Marc sat up once more with a heavy groan.
“Okay, okay, lemme just get dressed,” he sighed. Steven broke out into yet another warm smile. He gave Marc’s hand a thanking squeeze and hurried out of the room to let Marc have a bit of privacy to get ready. In the other half of the apartment, Jake was pacing back and forth, his thumb at his mouth as he chewed at the nail. When Steven approached, he froze and his eyes snapped to him, intense with frustration. He was beginning to feel like an animal in captivity in this apartment. Khonshu had shown no sign of still being around to any of the three men, and Jake, who had been so used to going out on missions from the god after Marc and Steven believed they had cut ties with him, could not find a way to spend his time in a productive way that didn’t cause harm to innocent people, something he’d - begrudgingly - promised the other two men he’d do his best to commit to. When Steven came back from talking to Marc, he didn’t have to ask anything for Steven to immediately reassure him.
“Marc is getting dressed. Then we can go out and see what’s going on with Khonshu.”
***
The wind blew harshly around the three men; they stood on the rooftop of an old building, away from prying eyes. Now that they were there, however, they weren’t quite sure where to begin with this. Marc was the first to voice his concerns.
“What if we try to summon the suit and it just… doesn’t?”
“Isn’t that what you two wanted?” Jake pointed out. Despite his slightly sharp gaze, his tone was more unsteady than usual; he clearly shared the same apprehensions.
“I suppose there’s only one way to find out.” Steven tried to sound chipper, but he also had to admit that he was worried as well. Not about not being able to summon the suit, but about being able to. What if he got stuck with Khonshu and the other two didn’t? He knew he wouldn’t be able to accomplish missions by himself or even deal with Khonshu’s tantrums by himself either. If one of the other two got stuck with Khonshu, Steven was sure they could handle it, they had before, but he also didn’t like the idea of them really being by themselves without the other two as some sort of protection or comfort if things went awry. Truthfully, he knew it was likely just his own heart that held these concerns and the other two just wanted peace from Khonshu or wanted the god back, respectively, so he didn’t say so out loud.
The other two nodded in agreement. Steven shut his eyes, not wanting to be disappointed in the results. Or maybe it was the fear that nagged at him. Regardless, Marc and Jake followed suit, shutting their eyes as well, willing their Moon Knight suits.
Steven’s heart sank when he felt the energy surge through him and immediately opened his eyes, looking down desperately at himself. The familiar white gloves were on his hands and the white suit he had conjured up several times before looked back at him, bright in the sunlight.
“No, no, no…,” he whispered. “This can’t be right- I can’t be the one-” He looked up at Marc and Jake, and immediately his breath caught in his throat.
Marc, too, bore the familiar ceremonial Moon Knight suit of armor that Steven had grown acquainted with.
Jake, however…
It was obvious he could still summon Khonshu’s power as well, but Steven had never seen what his armor looked like until now, and from the way Marc was staring at Jake, it was obvious he hadn’t either.
Jake dawned a long white cape similar to Marc’s, but instead of any kind of wrap-like covering, he had a solid black mask, hidden in the shadows casted by the hood of the cape he wore, leaving only white glowing eyes visible. A solid armor plate with three crescent moons covered his chest, and the rest of his outfit was a rather snug and fitted-looking black bodycon suit, solid white boots completing the look.
“What the hell.” It wasn’t a question that came from Marc, it was more of a statement, although the meaning of it wasn’t very clear. The three of them stared at each other in wonder, masks retreating.
“We can all summon the suit. At the same time.” Steven stated the obvious. “Wh- how?”
“I wanted to keep all three of you.”
The three jumped into a huddle in alarm, turning to face none other than Khonshu himself. The moon god stood towering in front of them, his staff gripped in one hand, his ancient drapes flowing precariously as they always did. His head was tilted to one side ever so slightly as his eyes - eye sockets? - looked at them. There was no way to read his emotions.
“You said you’d leave us alone!” Marc spat.
“Jake let me stay.”
“And now we’re separate. Why did you stay attached to us, too?!” He gestured to Steven. He froze and then growled, “We’re separate because of you, aren’t we?” He took a menacing step towards Khonshu. Khonshu didn’t seem fazed at all.
“The separation is not my doing,” he boomed dismissively. “And I knew you and the vermin-” he nodded towards Steven “- would still need my protection just as I still want your services as my fists.” His head swung mightily. “When the separation occurred, I could feel the powers I granted your formerly singular being begin to rip apart as well. It tried to cling to him-” he pointed at Jake “- but I split it evenly between you three. It seemed to be no trouble or hail any confusion since you all originated from the one original organic essence. I knew you would not want to be without me for too long.” He sounded rather smug as though he expected some kind of thanks. Marc’s face contorted into a foul scowl.
“You’re just so full of shit!” he shouted angrily. “You really do just whatever the hell you want, don’t you?!”
If Khonshu had eyes to roll, Steven was sure he would have.
“I will return when you feel like being more appreciative,” he said. “Being my fist of justice is good for you and good for the world.” He spread his arms out and raised his voice several volumes. The winds around them picked up. “And now I have three of you.” Was that a smirk in his tone? The bird-like moon god disappeared.
Marc shouted angrily, sending a sharp crescent dart at where the moon god stood seconds ago. “Stupid bird,” he spit, gripping another dart as though he were going to thrust another one. Steven gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. He wasn’t all too pleased to have Khonshu still hovering over him either; he had felt a genuine peace to not have to worry about going on life-threatening missions anymore. As it turned out, he hadn’t been relieved of such duties in the first place thanks to Jake. However, when he turned to look at Jake, expecting to feel some sort of indignation towards him, he could only feel a surge of sadness and sympathy towards him. Jake, who’s expressions were typically unreadable or just annoyance/anger, now looked mortified. He was still staring at where Khonshu had been, eyes wide, as though he were waiting for him to reappear and say it was all a sick joke. Steven startled a bit when Jake turned to look at him.
“I didn’t know he would do something like this,” he said. “Taking advantage of a situation that none of us even know how it happened in the first place..” His hands curled into fists and Steven saw his usual anger flare back up in his eyes, this time more intense than he’d ever seen it. “He should have left you two out of it. He could have and chose not to!”
Marc had redirected his attention back to the two of them, his eyes blazing with an outrage and resentment that matched that of Jake’s. Steven felt the hair on his neck prick, his stress rising at the realization that Marc was likely blaming Jake for this; he was, after all, the one who kept Khonshu with them in the first place, after Steven and Marc had believed to have been rid of him.
Instead, Marc shook his head.
“That dickhead always does what he wants,” he grunted. “I don’t think he’s ever once considered anyone else if it means he loses what he wants most.” He looked at Steven, then back to Jake. His brows were knit tightly into a look of stress. “I’m sure it won’t be long before trouble finds us, and thanks to Big Bird, we need to know if there’s been any changes to the way things have worked before when we would use our abilities in combat.” Gesturing to Steven, he explained to Jake. “Steven and I would… switch a lot while fighting. It’s what we got used to.”
“I suppose this means I have to learn to stand on my own,” Steven sighed. “And not rely on switching to you, Marc, when I need to catch my breath.”
“We can still watch each other’s backs.” Jake’s words surprised both Marc and Steven. Of the three of them, neither one had expected to hear support from Jake. Maybe he really was warming up to them, Steven figured with a small smile.
“Yes, we can,” he agreed. “I promise I’ll learn to fight as good as you two,” he added earnestly.
“We’ll help you,” Marc reassured. “But can we do this tomorrow? I’m exhausted.” As though on cue, a yawn ripped out of him. He shrugged sheepishly. “I kept waking up last night.”
“Of course.”
“Sure.”
Steven willed the white suit away and before he could begin to ask the other two how they figured they should go about training and testing the waters as separate fists of Khonshu, Jake spoke again.
“And I’m… I’m sorry. This whole Khonshu thing- it’s my fault. If I’d known we were going to be separated, I wouldn’t have let Khonshu attach himself to you two.”
Steven exchanged a look with Marc.
“Like I said,” Marc said, stepping towards Jake, “Toucan Sam does what he wants without considering anyone else. It’s only 25% your fault.” He ruffled Jake’s curly hair, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Jake half-heartedly swatted him away, but a small flash of ease crossed his features, giving away the solace that Marc’s words really brought him.
“Marc’s right, Jake,” Steven chimed in. “I don’t think any of us could’ve guessed what Khonshu would do.” He smiled brightly. “But at least we still have one another to lean on. I’m sure we’re going to figure this out together!”