Chapter 5
Training proved to be a difficult task. They learned things the hard way, and it was a frustrating process. They knew things would be different, sure, but they hadn’t realized this situation would come with its tailing issues.
“Wait, where did Marc go?” Steven panted. He and Jake had paused to catch their breath after hopping from building to building, Jake having insisted that Steven could use the practice since he was less agile and lacked in the skill sets that Jake and Marc excelled in. Marc, of course, had accompanied them during this nightly outing, but with the wind roaring in their ears, hearts pounding, they seemed to have lost him.
Jake looked around, appearing to be just as surprised. “Wasn’t he just beside you?” he asked while pointing at Steven.
“Hang on…” Steven pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed for Marc. After a few rings, Marc’s irritated voice could be heard on the other end of the line.
“You guys left me!” was the first thing he shouted. “The suit- it’s gone!” he sputtered. Steven blinked in surprise and reiterated the words to Jake.
“Gone?” Jake repeated. He snatched the phone from Steven’s hand. “What do you mean gone?”
“Gone as in gone! I don’t have it anymore and can’t summon it!”
Jake and Steven exchanged a dumbfounded look. How was that possible? In the past few days since they’d found out they all still shared Khonshu’s gifted abilities, they’d all been able to consistently summon their respective suits of armor. Why did Marc suddenly lose it?
“Where are you, Marc?” Steven asked. “We’ll come get you and see what’s going on.” Marc relented, his anger easing into a light annoyance, and told them where he was at, and Steven and Jake made their way back to him. He was a good distance away from them and Steven couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty that they hadn’t realized that they’d left Marc so far behind. Jake, on the other hand, was guffawing harder than both Marc and Steven had ever seen him laugh at the idea that Marc was suddenly just abandoned on a darkened rooftop of some building. Marc’s face was flushed red with annoyance and perhaps a tad of embarrassment, too, if he were to be honest. He would never admit it, though.
“Why did you stop?” Jake finally managed to get out in between dying down chuckles.
Marc turned, pointing to the city that lay below them, shining like moving stars. “Look at the view, man.” He leaned against the guardrail, eyes glinting. “I never get to just… see the city like this. I’m always on the move.” Jake’s gaze seemed to soften as Marc spoke and Steven couldn’t help but smile. “But then my armor just disappeared!” The edge to Marc’s voice returned. “It felt like it was being pulled away in the direction you guys ran off in, and then I couldn't summon it anymore.” He shrugged angrily.
Jake stepped forward, hand outstretched towards Marc. Marc didn’t question it verbally, but he did raise an inquiring brow. His hand landed on Marc’s chest where he let it rest for a moment. Steven watched in wonder, unsure of what exactly Jake was expecting to achieve in this action. They all stood still, Jake’s hand pressed against Marc for what felt like a century; finally, Jake moved away without a word.
“The hell was that for?” Marc scoffed. His tone gave away how unsettled the action had made him feel, but he wouldn’t say so aloud to them. He brushed his own hand lightly past where Jake had touched him a few times. Jake had made his way back to Steven, where he repeated the same gesture, then finally he placed his hand over his own chest. He hummed thoughtfully, leaving Steven and Marc’s questioning gazes unanswered. Marc’s question still hung in the air as Jake called over his shoulder “Wait here,” as he resummoned his full suit and took off away from them. Marc and Steven were left staring at each other in confusion.
“He’s still a bit of a mystery, isn’t he?” Steven asked with a small chuckle. He watched as Jake’s form was swallowed up by the darkness as he hopped the roofs again until he couldn’t see him anymore. Marc grunted in response, crossing his arms. “I think he’s warming up to us, though, don’t you?” Steven continued, looking expectantly at Marc. Marc turned away slightly; even with just the slight bit of moonlight shining, Steven could make out an almost imperceptible blush flushing across his face. No doubt he knew Steven was referring to the way the two comfortably held each other from time to time, and even the occasional arguments they tended to have had eased to light teasing.
“He just ditched us, so I don’t know if I’d really say s-” He stopped abruptly and brought his hand up to his chest where Jake had touched him. Beside him, Steven did the same. The two looked at each other startled.
“Did you feel that?”
“I felt it earlier, too, when you guys left me behind,” Marc replied. “I thought it was just something weird, a one-off thing.” He shook his head. “But if you felt it, too- but you didn’t feel it the first time, did you?”
Steven shook his head, but added, “Jake and I had really caught speed when we were running, though, maybe I brushed it off or something. Chalked it up to my racing heart or something?” Marc looked thoughtful for a moment. His hand was gripping the front of his shirt and he looked around.
“What about Jake? Did he mention feeling anything? Like, while you guys were off?”
Steven shook his head. Marc’s bottom lip caught between his teeth slightly, chewing at it in deliberation. Steven watched him with wide, curious eyes.
“If it was just a weird thing that happened once to only me, I wouldn’t think too hard about it, but… it happened a second time and you felt it, too, this time.” He shook his head. “Where the hell did Jake go?” he muttered, letting go of his shirt to run that hand through his curls in frustration. The sudden lurch, a type of tear at their souls, has ripped through them, and he was sure it had to be something magical due to Khonshu’s powers no doubt, and Jake had up and left them. He had impeccable timing as always.
Steven opened his mouth to reply when the feeling occurred again.
And again.
And again.
Steven and Marc looked at each other in horrified confusion. It didn’t necessarily hurt them, but it caused a feeling of physical discomfort as well as making them feel as though a part of them was being ripped away from them mentally. It happened one more time before it seemed to have eased. The two had pressed shoulders with one another, an unspoken apprehension having risen in both of them. They didn’t exchange any more words, silently agreeing to stay alert for any signs of danger and Jake’s return. There was no way all of this was just a random coincidence. After what felt like an eternity, the aforementioned missing part of the trio was seen making his way back towards them. Both Marc and Steven physically relaxed now that they were all reunited. Jake came to a skidding stop in front of them, his hood falling back, mask magically whisked away and he looked from Marc to Steven, then back to Marc.
“You two look like you’ve seen the Hulk rampaging around here,” he said with cool amusement, though his eyes glimmered with a hint of sympathy for them. He didn’t wait for them to reply as he asked, “Did you two feel… that?” He pointed towards his chest.
“What was it?” Steven blurted out. Jake reached out and grabbed one of Steven’s hands and one of Marc’s, bringing it to his own chest, resting their hands upon him. “Jake, please!” Steven was getting exasperated with Jake’s nuanced, no-word responses. A scowl had settled itself on Marc’s features as a silent sign that he was on the same boat as Steven.
“Shhh.” Jake’s voice was surprisingly gentle as he hushed Steven. “Just feel.” His voice was barely above a murmur now, mitigating Steven’s growing impatience. Marc, astonishingly, had yet to make any sort of remark. The three were silent for several heartbeats.
“I don’t get it,” Marc said, brows furrowed. “It’s just your heartbeat.” Jake shook his head.
“You’re not feeling for a heartbeat, menso. Look. Just feel.” He moved their hands away, then brought them back again to touch him. This time, they felt it. A type of energy seemed to pulse strongly as their hands met with Jake’s chest, the same type of vigor and vitality that they felt whenever they were summoning their suits. When he saw that they realized what he was talking about, Jake’s expression lit up with a smirk.
“What is that?” Marc breathed out as Steven reached towards him. He had one hand on Jake’s chest and one on Marc’s simultaneously, slowly moving them away then back, patting them slowly in amazement.
“When we got separated and Khonshu gave us his powers, he said it was split into all three of us. I don’t know how all this-” he waved his hands dismissively - “magical godly shit works, but if it still thinks we’re all one person in a single body, it doesn’t know what to do when we’re separated physically. Distance-wise. So when we get a certain distance away from one another, it doesn’t know what’s going on.” He pointed in the direction he had gone. “I got several buildings away when I started to feel this-” he gestured down at his chest, where Steven was still patting him, eyes round in disbelief - “fading as I got further. At some point, I felt that- that-” He seemed to struggle to find the word.
“That splitting feeling,” Marc chimed in, nodding along.
“Exactly. That splitting feeling. You two felt it, too. I was too far away and couldn’t summon the suit anymore.” He nodded at Marc. “Just like you couldn’t. But when I stepped back closer, I could summon it again. Stepped away- I couldn’t. Stepped back- I could. And so forth. Marc, you can still summon the suit, you just haven’t tried yet, have you? Try it now.”
Marc eyed him, unsure, but took a step away from Steven, who was still patting him, murmuring to himself, words neither Marc nor Jake could quite catch. Jake grabbed Steven’s hand in both of his own hands and held it still, telling him to watch and Marc took in a breath and summoned his suit. It wrapped around him in its familiar way and Marc looked at the other two at the revelation. Jake was practically beaming. Whether it was because he was proven right or because he was simply pleased that Marc could still summon the suit, they weren’t too sure, but his smile caused Marc and Steven to crack a smile, too.
“Oh, wow!” Steven breathed out. His eyes shone. He turned to Jake excitedly. “You may act on your own, but you really do come back with results, aye?” Jake brought Steven’s hand up to his lips and gave it a quick peck.
“What have I been telling you, you just have to trust me, mi corazón,” he said, grinning. Steven was bordering on literally glowing from happiness. He turned to Marc. Marc was examining his suit as though he were making sure it was real and wasn’t going to just poof off of him again. Steven caught his eye, causing Marc to look up at them both, a small grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He gave a small nod of agreement and approval at Jake.
***
The night had been draining, none of them having felt it until they were in the elevator up to their shared flat. It was a comfortable silence as the elevator moved up to their floor. The three were leaned against the wall and railing, exhaustion quickly seeping into their bones. They had been absolutely excited to try out new theories that they discussed on their way back, but agreed it would have to be saved for another day. They were definitely glad they agreed on that conclusion because they could feel the wear as soon as the thoughts of laying down settled itself in their minds. The elevator dinged and the three dutifully marched - more like dragged their feet - to the flat door. Steven quietly fumbled with the keys, stifling a yawn as he got the right one to unlock it. They trailed in one by one, Steven waiting until the other two passed by him into the flat, then shut it and made sure the door was locked.
They moved in silence, weaving around as they got ready for bed. If Steven was being totally honest with himself, he couldn’t remember whose turn it was on the bed, so he hung back a bit, trying his best to blink the sleepiness from his eyes, watching, waiting to see who would go to the bed. Jake opened the fridge, pulling out a half-drunk water bottle, chugging the rest down in two quick gulps. Marc had gone into the room to change and was coming around the corner from behind the bookshelves that gave the bed area a bit of separation from the rest of the flat, pillow and blankets in tow, indicating that it was Steven or Jake’s turn on the bed. Steven headed towards where Marc had just been to change into something more comfortable as well, Jake following after him. The two quietly got changed, backs towards one another to give some sense of privacy. A shiver tingled down Steven’s spine when he felt cold hands against the small of his back before he could pull his shirt over his head. He turned around to look at Jake.
“Can we share the bed tonight?” Jake asked, his voice soft despite himself. Steven nodded with a small, tired smile. Jake returned the smile, his hand lingering on Steven’s back for a few moments longer before he moved away from him, sitting down on the edge of the bed. His usually slicked back curls were unkempt now, falling beautifully onto his face, and Steven found himself having to tear his eyes off of Jake in order to slip his shirt on over his head. His back ached and he groaned weakly as he lowered himself on the other side of the bed. He shifted himself under the covers, sliding down until he was laying down. Immediately his eyes fluttered shut. He could feel the faint movement and hear the bed creaking ever so slightly as Jake adjusted himself beside him, but it wasn’t a bother at all. In fact, Steven found that it soothed him. He was quickly drifting off into sleep when he felt the weight on the bed shift once more. His eyes peered open and it took a moment for them to readjust to the darkness in the room before he could make out the faint shape of Marc. He had dropped himself onto the bed halfway on top, his legs hanging off the end, his arms splayed out across the covers that lay on top of Jake’s and Steven’s legs. Jake leaned up on his elbows, rubbing his eyes.
“¿Qué carajos haces?” he grumbled. Marc groaned, his face planted directly into the blankets. Jake reached over and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his head upwards. “Use your words, mi alma, que no te entendí nada.”
“Sorry, but ‘s too lumpy on the couch,” Marc mumbled with a small sigh. Jake let go of his hair and Marc scooted his way up in between Steven and Jake. The bed was most definitely not made for three people, let alone three grown men. Steven and Jake were nearly pushed off the side, but neither one could really blame Marc. After the night they had, they wouldn’t really want to sleep on the couch either. Jake scooched closer to Marc - to not fall off the bed, he was telling himself, but really, it was to feel the warmth that Marc was radiating. Steven moved closer as well, unashamedly cuddling up to Marc.
“It’s okay,” Steven cooed. “We can make this work for tonight.” His eyes were already closing once again, and Marc’s head lolled towards him, burying his face into Steven’s hair. It took Jake a moment to relax again; the three of them had never shared the bed all at once before, and despite the tight fit, he found that he didn’t really hate it. It was nice to be this close with them again, a sentiment that the other two clearly shared. Marc’s arm wrapped around Jake’s shoulders, pulling him closer; Jake didn’t complain, instead letting sleep engulf him.
It truly was the most comfortable and fitful sleep the three of them had experienced since they had separated.