Remembering
“It’s still not balanced!” Steven shouted, running his hand through his hair, stressed out that their scales hadn’t balanced. Marc just stared at the still wobbling scales, mouth firmly shut.
“C’mon Marc what is it you’re not telling me!?” Steven turned his attention to his other self, watching as the man only sent him a confused look.
“I don’t know I don’t-“
“Steven!”
Both of them stop in their tracks, Steven turning towards the voice in curiosity whilst Marc gained a horrified look, as if his worst nightmare had now become reality. Steven glanced over at Marc, seeing how the man was almost frozen in the shock.
“Who was tha’?” Steven pointed towards the voice, one of the doors ahead was slightly opened, projecting which door the voice was coming from.
“Nobody Steven- look maybe we should go talk to that Hippo-“
“Steven! Hello in there!”
It sounded like a young women, calling out his name as if he was ignoring her, like he was waiting for him to reply to her. Steven could feel, at the back of his mind, that the voice was familiar, that he’d heard his name on those lips before but just could place it.
He took a step forward but was quickly taken by the shoulder by Marc, holding him back. This was it, this is what Marc wasn’t telling him.
“Steven you don’t need to see this it won’t change anything, it’s nothing for you to worry about-“
“Steven Grant? Knock knock? Having a good daydream sweetheart?” Sweetheart? He vaguely remembers being called that before, but any attempt at remember just comes up blank, like somethings blocking him.
Steven hadn’t turned to look at Marc again, still fixated on the opened door and Marc, as if sensing what Steven was thinking, gripped him tighter. But Steven knew.
He knew he had to see.
Pushing past Marc he sprinted for the door, getting in and locking it before Marc was non the wiser, seeing his blurry form behind the window. He wasn’t screaming like that time but he was trying so hard to get the door open.
“Steven, finally back with me I see?” Steven turned, wanting to see who this stranger was calling his name, causing Marc so much trouble.
“Sorry love, had a little moment there. What were you saying?” Steven saw himself, talking to a women sat across from him. They were at a restaurant, a glass of wine sat before the mysterious women. And when all attention turned to her he could help but gasp out loud.
“Y/N..? Of course. How could I forget? Why did I forget you?” Everything was suddenly back now. Y/N, his girlfriend, the women whom he wanted to get married too. Why did he forget everything about her up until now?
“Well, I was saying.. we’ve been known each other for a couple months now and I was wondering.. well… um.. I was wondering if you thought of us as.. like a couple?” The silence that followed was thick, Steven in the memory didn’t seem to understand what was being asked of him, instead let his face turn red and his words not being able to work correctly.
“Me? You? Together? As in.. like a relationship? Boyfriend girlfriend?” Steven stuttered, stringing together nonsense in order to make sense of what she said. Every second of this interaction felt like a movie Steven had watched but forgot the plot, remembering it as it went along.
You glanced down at the table, embarrassed by yourself, not finding the confidence to look at him in fear of rejection.
“Well, yeah.. I just thought- y’know I- y’know what don’t worry, stupid question let’s continue with the meal yeah? Just forget about-“
“Nono!.. I mean yes- as in yeah I would want to be a couple- with you- in a couple together- if that’s what you’re asking..” Steven also found himself looking at anything other than you, finding the heat in his checks too much to bear, like they would explode.
Steven felt guilt. Why did he feel guilt about you getting together? This seemed like a good memory? Why would Marc hide you from him?
Y/N then reached over in a burst of confidence and took Stevens hand, gripping his comfortingly, smiling as Steven turned to acknowledge her.
“That was all I needed to hear sweetheart.”
“STEVEN!” Marc suddenly appeared, attacking the gift-shopist and throwing him to the ground, sending the both of them to a whole new scene. A wet alleyway that soaked with the pouring rain, both of them more dripping.
“What the heck Marc?! Why- Why can’t I- why would you-?! What happened to Y/N??” Steven shouted, getting up from the ground and away from Marc’s grasp. Marc stumbled but quickly rose to his feet, giving Steven an intimidating look.
“Look Steven this is for your protection, you shouldn’t see her, you’re not supposed to remember her-“
“So-So what you’re just going to erase my girlfriend from my memory and act like it’s for my betterment?? You can’t just do that- you have no right-“
“You don’t understand Steven I am doing this for you! You don’t need to remember! This isn’t going to solve anything!”
“Don’t need to remember? Why Marc? Why shouldn’t I remember her? What did you do..?” Steven felt something inside him hurt, as if he already knew the answer and he didn’t know if he could hear Marc say it.
“It was an accident I swear-“
“Steven..?” Marc stuttered out a breath at your voice, how broken and hoarse it sounded. Steven quickly turned to find you, seeing a crumpled form up against the alleyway wall.
Steven went to go help her but saw himself step in front of her, but it wasn’t him.
“Steven.. what are you.. you’re here?” You looked so broken, the blood between your fingers told him all her needed to know. You were injured, you were injured and dying. He could see from the amount of blood that surrounded you that you only had a small amount of time left.
Steven watched as past Marc knelt down in front of her, taking her free hand in his, muttering fast under his breath, eyes screwed shut.
“Khonshu please heal her, you don’t understand, he needs her, please heal her, Khonshu please, he needs her-“ the same sentences over and over again, her hand held right in his.
“Steven..? I-I dont.. I think.. I’m..” Steven watched in horror as her eyes slipped shut, past Marc not stopping his begging, not having noticed. Her hand that once covered her injury now slowly slipping to the concrete.
When her hand seemed to slip from past Marc’s grasp he finally looked up at her, seeing how her eyes were no longer open and her body limp. His eyes widened as he let out rapid breaths.
“Wait wait nononono Y/N? Y/N!? Nononono you can’t leave him, he can’t without you, Y/N? You need to wake up- Steven needs you- I need you Y/N c’mon please don’t do this, don’t do this to us, please don’t-“ Marc rambled, tears slipping down his eyes. Steven stood frozen in shock at what he was seeing. The love of his life, dying in Marc’s arms. It felt like a piece of him broke, a piece that had been glued back together ripping under the pressure.
“I tried to save her. I begged to all the Gods to bring her back. For you. But nothing could be done. After a while the Gods stopped responding, even Khonshu couldn’t do anything.” Marc admitted, looking down at your deceased body, seeing himself crying over her.
“How did it.. happen? What happened Marc?” Steven couldn’t comprehend it, how he could forget a whole person that meant so much to him and when he finally remembers it’s seeing you die.
“A mugger pulled her off the street. She didn’t have anything, I saw her, came over to help. The fucking mugger saw me and stabbed her, he ran off as soon as he saw what he did. It punctured her liver, doctors said they were surprised she was able to still talk through the pain.” Steven felt every word cut into his soul, into his being. He couldn’t accept it, he couldn’t believe it. Why is it everything he has something in life, it’s quickly snatched away from him as if he were a character in some story that was just thrown into a plot filled with anguish and sorrow.
Tears slid down the Brits eyes, mixing in with the rain as he turned back to you, seeing Marc breaking down beside you as he struggled to call an ambulance.
“But I never.. I was going to..”
“I know Steven. I know…”