Chapter 2
The next morning when you woke up, you found yourself alone. Did the boys leave in the middle of the night for some Khonshu thing when they promised they’d stay? You weren’t sure if you were more disappointed or sad but you had been looking forward to waking up with their arms wrapped around you. When you rolled over to grab your glasses you found a post-it note stuck on the bridge of them.
" Went to get breakfast. Didn't have the heart to wake you." - Steven
A smile crossed your face as you put on your glasses to start your day because after the night you had breakfast sounded amazing. The last thing you had to eat was the night before. Even though it was just toast and a little bit of water, Jake had been very insistent about you getting something in your stomach, it came back up a short time later. Even though you hated throwing up more than anything you ended up feeling better. Of course Steven was there when you had come out of the bathroom. They had respected your privacy during the sensitive and vulnerable moment.
You didn’t want to get up but you knew you needed to start your day. A shower was definitely required and so was coffee. After forcing yourself to get up you went into your dresser to get your clothes for the day. It was going to be another lazy day, you hoped, but matching clothes were definitely required. Once that task was done you headed into the bathroom to officially start your day.
The shower you needed didn’t last as long as you wanted but since you had no idea when Steven would be back you needed to be quick.
By the time you were done with your morning routine, and had the coffee pot going, Steven had come back with breakfast. You couldn’t help but smile as he set the bag on the table and started to unpack it.
“Are you feeling any better today?” Steven asks as he places your to-go container in front of you.
“Thankfully yes. I’m sorry our night got ruined. I was looking forward to spending the night with you.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Steven told you as he handed you a fork from the bag. He could hear the American man in his head scolding him for using that specific phrase. “You’re feeling better now and that is all that matters. We have the whole day ahead of us.”
“Should we go out or stay in?” You ask him as you pop open the container to see an omelet and wheat toast waiting for you. “We could go walking around the park, see a movie or have an easy day.”
“I vote for an easy day.” Steven told you as he opened up his own to-go container. “ Relax. Watch a movie. Make that cookie dough you have hiding in the refrigerator.”
You couldn’t believe you had forgotten about the cookie dough. It was a good thing you had put it in the fridge before the migraine hit because the dough would have been ruined otherwise. The batch of dough that was in the fridge was for Marc. It wasn’t that you didn’t mind making them each their own thing, it was just time consuming so you kept a schedule. Steven had his treat the last time they had been over and now it was Marc’s turn. Unless Jake absolutely insisted on it he didn’t mind waiting. Besides if Jake wanted to he would eat on Marc’s cookies even though Marc hated it with a passion but he knew better then to argue with him.
“Cookies it is.”
Now that your day was decided you dive into your breakfast. The ham, cheese and bacon omelet was one of the best things you had ever eaten. While you were eating on your omelet Steven started on his breakfast which was some type of granola. Whatever it was, it looked pretty damn good.
When the toast, and most of the omelet was gone, you got up to start assembling what you needed to make the cookies which was just some cookie sheets, parchment paper, a spoon and the oven preheated. While you were busy with that Steven cleaned up breakfast then went into the fridge to get the dough for you. Now that his back was turned to you, you couldn’t see the quiet debate going on between him and the reflection on the fridge.
Once you had the oven on, and the cookie sheets prepped, you turned around to see Steven in the fridge, with his fingers in the cookie dough.
“What are you doing?”
“Whatever do you mean,” Marc’s Chicago accent responded. It was very hard not to laugh at the innocence he tried to pull.
“We’re supposed to be making the cookies, not eating the dough,” You tell him as you sneak in behind him to grab the bowl that holds the dough. “Besides that, you could get sick.”
“It’d be worth it.”
“You’re an idiot.”
Marc flashed you a smile as you sat down at the table with the bowl. You had set up your own little assembly line. Using two spoons you separated the dough into equal portions. You were a little surprised that you only had to slap away Marc’s hand twice. Of course each time he tried he gave you a stupid, innocent looking grin.
It didn’t take long to have the cookie sheets covered. There was a little bit of dough left but it wasn't worth dirting another sheet but instead of offering it up to Marc you ate it yourself. The look of fake horror he gave you as you ate it was priceless.
When the oven beeped Marc got up and put them in the oven. After the timer was set he took the dirty bowls then set them in the sink. They could get washed later. Instead of sitting back next to you, Marc went behind you and swiped your hair away from your neck. It had taken months for you to warm up to them doing that. It had been Steven who you had opened up to about it. When you would hang out with your now ex friends they would find new ways to tease you and new ways to trigger your anxiety. A lot of them were mostly jump scares, which you hated, but there had been a few times when they went overboard. They'd grab you by the back of your neck for no reason, they’d tell you spiders were crawling on the back of your neck and on your shoulder when it was just loose strands your hair bothering you to trigger a panic attack. When Marc felt you tense up he placed a kiss on top of your head so you knew it was just him.
“Sorry about that.” He spoke quietly as his thumbs found a knot in your neck. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Would you like me to continue?”
“Please,” When you felt his thumbs start to feel around you knew exactly what he was planning. You tilted your head forward so he would have better access to your neck.
Marc smiled as his thumbs started to move around at the base of your neck. He could feel how tense you were and it wasn’t just due to him standing behind you. That migraine you had last night must have had some lingering effects. As his thumbs started to press in you couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan. Each of them was so good with their hands. Marc continued to rub his thumbs into the back of your neck until the timer went off. It was time to swap around the cookies. It had only taken him a minute to swap everything around and to set a new timer. Marc moved back and started to dig his thumbs back into the base of your neck again. From the noises you were making he could tell you were enjoying it. While his thumbs worked out a knot he was curious if you would allow him to give you a full back massage. Marc knew he hit a bad spot when you groaned at him. He was going to stop, as he didn’t want to hurt you, but the oven timer dinged a second time. The batch of cookies was finally done. Marc stepped away from you to pull them out of the oven while you moved up from the chair. The cookies needed to be placed on the cooling racks before you went and did other things. The last thing you needed was overbaked cookies because you left them on the baking sheet.
Marc watched you as you carefully started moving each cookie and gave a fake little pout when you got them all off in one piece. He was hoping for a broken cookie.
“Let them cool for about 15 minutes then you can dive into them.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
While you had been finishing up the baking you didn’t know Marc was having a conversation with himself. The last time they had seen you Steven had gifted you a new plush version of the Goddess Taweret and it had made him a little bit jealous. Although he knew that was a thing between you and Steven he felt like he needed to give you something too. He had called in a favor to Layla for it. She was confused about the idea at first but when Marc explained that he had to one up Steven she couldn’t help but break out in laughter. Of course they were competing and she was a little surprised Jake wasn’t involved in this process. She told Marc it would take a couple of weeks at least to get this done and she would let him know when she could drop it off. He was thankful that she had come through for him and was able to drop it off a couple of nights before.
“Come into the bedroom with me. I have something for you.”
You couldn’t help but raise your eyebrow at him as he took your hand and led you back into the bedroom. Now you were intrigued and scared. You know there was no way he would break up with you. Maybe he just wanted to talk but if he wanted to do that then he could have just done that in the kitchen.
Once you were in the bedroom Marc turned around and ran his thumb across your cheek. He must have known your mind had automatically gone to something bad. He placed a kiss on your forehead with a smile.
“It’s nothing bad. I promise..”
You couldn’t help but raise your eyebrow at Marc as he went into the bag he had brought with him yesterday. It took him a minute to find what he needed, Steven had moved it to a side pocket without telling him which frustrated him, but finally found it.
“I want you to close your eyes.” Marc told you as he moved behind you. He wanted to surprise you with this. He hoped that you enjoyed this gift. “And put your hair up for me.”
Although you had so many questions for Marc you didn’t ask them, not yet anyways. You knew for a fact he wouldn’t do anything to screw with you and if he had even thought about it Jake would kick his ass.
Besides, none of them would do anything to hurt you. You did as Marc asked. Your eyes closed as you twisted your hair and held it in place. Curiosity was getting the best of you but there was absolutely no way you were ruining this surprise for Marc. After a bit of fumbling, Marc wasn’t sure why he suddenly found himself nervous, he got the item apart. He told you that he was moving behind you so you wouldn’t get scared, the last time that had happened he had been elbowed in the gut, then once it was clasped back together Marc told you that you can relax.
“You can go look at what it is now.”
Instantly you bolted into the bathroom to check it out. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing. It was gorgeous. On your neck, on a ball chain, was a small replica of the Crescent moon dagger Marc wore on the chest of the Moon Knight armor. It was a metal one with small ruins on it and the tips were a dark red. Obviously it was meant to be blood but Marc had been smart and had one made without it as well. He watches for your reaction and he couldn’t help but smile as you ran your fingers over it. There was no way you didn’t like it.
When you were finally done examining it you turned your head towards Marc. It only took you 3 steps to walk over to him and wrap your arms around his neck.
“I love it. “ You couldn’t help but smile as Marc. This was the first piece of jewelry you had ever owned and you never wanted to take it off.
“When you’re feeling down, or just need us, I want you to remember we will always be here for you. We will always be with you and we will always protect you. We will protect you with every part of us.”
You couldn’t help it as your cheeks started to turn pink. Marc knew exactly what to do to make you feel wanted and loved. Marc didn’t stop you as you leaned in for a kiss. It was a slow one. Marc’s hands went to rest at your hips as you pulled away from the kiss. He couldn’t help but stare into your eyes. He loved seeing you so happy.
“I love you, Marc Spector.”