Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You’ve been avoiding me, Jake Lockley.”

–

Steven slammed the door to his flat shut, adrenaline rushing through his veins. This was bad– this was very, very bad. His breath came in quick bursts as he quickly did all three locks and felt around for the roll of blue tape he kept by the door. His fingers found nothing as it had long been put away.

It had been a year since Cairo and Steven was doing better than he ever had before. All three of them were; their newly discovered headmate Jake had been a surprise but Steven had to say he was rather fond of him now. Steven had gotten a new job at a library, which was much better than the Museum, Jake had made a few friends, and Marc had made serious headway on repairing his relationship with Layla. The three of them had fallen into a new routine where the only problems they had to worry about was who was cooking dinner and what time to catch the bus. It was gloriously uncomplicated.

So when Khonshu showed up outside their building one night, insisting that Jake was late for keeping watch over the city, nearly scaring Marc shitless as he stumbled home from a pub, Steven knew he had to do something.

“Tape? Where’s the tape?” He fumbled around their flat, knocking over piles of books, trying to remember where he had put it.

“What are you doing, estúpido, I need to go back down there!” Jake pulled, trying to take control of the body, but he was met with a wall.

“Aha!” Steven ignored him, pulled the tape roll from a desk drawer and ran to the door, putting tape all along the top, side, and bottom.

“Uh, Steven, you do know that tape isn’t going to keep Khonshu out, right? He could appear right in our kitchen if he wanted to.” Marc spoke as levelly as always but Steven could feel the fear coming off him. Logically, he knew Marc was right but it was a familiar gesture of security and he could really use some of that right now.

“Well, hopefully he knows better than to try and follow us after that stupid stunt he tried to pull back on the street there. Saying that Jake’s not a man of his word, pitting the two of you against each other, and all that crap.” Steven closed the blinds blocking out Jake’s worried face in the window.

“There’s still time, let me fix this,” Jake begged. He creeped in at the edge of Steven’s mind but was pushed back.

“Fix it?” Steven huffed, finally turning his attention to him. “There’s nothing for you to fix. What you mean is you want to go back down and apologize to that bloody pigeon even though he’s the one still stalking us!”

Jake seethed. Steven felt his rage boil up inside of them but refused to give an inch.

“‘Nothing to fix?’” Jake hissed. “I have to fix everything. Cleaning up your mess all by myself just like always. Thanks to your little outburst back there I'm screwed.”

Marc chuckled nervously. “I can’t believe you called him an ‘ancient old bird desperately clinging onto any hope of being relevant.’ That was… I didn’t think you had it in you. Normally, you would argue all the Egyptian gods are still relevant.”

Steven bristled. “Well, yes but Khonshu’s different. We told him to leave us alone and he ignored us. Serves him right.”

“He was leaving you alone,” Jake growled. “I don’t know why you had to stick your nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Oh my god…” A horrible realization crept over Steven. “You really are still working for him, aren’t you? He wasn’t just saying that.”

“Of course I am! I wasn’t included in your little deal. But unlike you cobardes, I’m good at my job. And you heard what he said. If I don’t go apologize I lose the suit and I need it, I need it, I need to-”

“You don’t need the suit to protect us!” Steven caught himself off guard with his volume. Internally, Marc flinched and Jake retreated just the slightest bit. Deep breaths; everyone was scared and fighting wasn’t going to solve anything.

“You don’t need the suit to protect us,” he repeated, voice carefully controlled. “We can talk to Khonshu and get you out too. It's not worth it, especially if you’re only doing it for the suit. Our lives are normal now– well, as normal as they’re ever going to get– and the suit is a bit unnecessary. I work in a library for god’s sake, we’re not always in mortal danger anymore.”

The flat was filled with an anxious silence. Steven could tell there were a million thoughts running through Jake’s head even if he was hesitant to say them out loud.

“You don’t know that,” Jake finally said. “What if something happens and I can’t… What if you’re taking a stack of books down the stairs and trip and break your neck, huh? Without the suit, we’re dead.”

“You’re really going to put the suit on in the middle of the library?” Marc scoffed.

Jake ignored him and pressed on. “What if I fall asleep at the wheel and we get in a crash? What if a ghost from our past comes back with a taste for revenge? What if Marc… struggles again? What if–”

Steven sat down in a kitchen chair and ran a hand over his face. “You’re spiraling, mate. We’re fine, nothing is going to happen to us.”

“But you can’t ensure that! You can’t ensure that!! But I can. If you just let me go back down there-”

“No!” Steven slammed his fist on the table. “You say you’re so worried about our well-being but you care about us so bloody much that you’re killing yourself, Jake! Don’t you see it? You want to keep us safe but insist on putting us back in a bad situation.”

“It’s not that bad!” Jake insisted. “It’s just a few empty threats, I can handle it; I’ve been through worse.”

“But just because you can doesn’t mean you should!”

The flat was quiet.

The clock ticked.

The fishtank bubbled.

“I just…” Steven sighed. “I care about you too, both of you, and I don’t want you putting yourself back in an abusive situation on the slim chance it might help us down the road.”

Jake scoffed. “‘Abusive’? Khonshu might not be the best boss in the world but he’s not… like that. He’s never beat us with a belt until we lost consciousness. He’s never starved us until we were shaking so bad we couldn’t move. He’s never chased us around the house with a kitchen knife until we locked ourselves in a closet for the whole day. You might think you know what’s going on but you don’t. I need that suit.”

Steven felt Marc shift and memories of pain flash across their body. He swallowed, once again painfully aware of the memories he was lacking. Often he tossed and turned at night, kept up by the guilt of not being aware how much his headmates were suffering. Logically, he knew there was nothing he could have done but… what if he could? What if he could have spared them a little and actually pulled his weight? What if he was the one who could stand up to their mum? What if he– No. There was no point dwelling on that. He couldn’t help then but he could help now.

“You’re right, I don’t know. I don’t know what you’ve been through or what it felt like… but I think that’s why I’m the only one who sees Khonshu for what he is. I know he threatened to make Layla his avatar for years to keep Marc in line and, believe it or not, that’s abuse. Threatening someone’s loved one to get them to do what you want is not normal.”

Marc hesitantly piped up. “He, uh, before we met Layla, he used to say that if I left his service he would put me back in the temple to die in the desert.”

“See? Exactly my point!” Steven exclaimed. “That’s not good!”

“He didn’t mean it though,” Jake said. “He was just saying that.”

“Does it really matter though? As far as Marc knew it was true. He may not have been physically violent like our mum but he was still using fear to control us.”

“Ok, maybe he was a manipulative asshole to Marc –and he probably still is– but he’s got nothing on me; I don’t have any relationships important enough to threaten and the only thing I own is my car. I know his tricks, Steven, please let me go down there.”

“Mmmmm, do you though? Do you know his tricks? Because it seems to me like you’re falling for one right now, mate.”

“Wha– wha– I– I am not! He’s not– How? How am I falling for it?”

While Jake started and sputtered, Steven stood from the chair. He walked to their bed and got down on his belly, feeling around underneath it. Where did he put- aha! There it was! He pulled out his old ankle restraint, fastening one end to the wooden support pole.

“Well,” Steven explained, putting his pajamas on, “he might not be directly saying it but he knows you care about us and want to keep us safe.”

Jake radiated embarrassment but Steven pressed on. “He’s using the threat of not having the suit to protect us to keep you in line. You’re scared that something will happen to us –which it won’t– and he’s using that to manipulate you into trying to crawl back and apologize when really he’s the one at fault.”

Steven secured the other end of the restraint to his ankle and laid down. “You’re marvelous at your job, Jake, but you have to let me do my job too. Just because a situation isn’t as bad or as obvious as before doesn't mean you should go through it if you can get out. Please, can we not go back down?”

The flat was silent.

The minutes ticked on.

Steven wondered if Jake was ignoring him.

“You know that restraint’s not going to stop him, right?” Marc finally asked.

Steven sighed. “Yeah, I know. It was more about sending the message that we’re not moving. Do you think he got it?”

“I know I did. This is… this situation is so complicated. We’re all trying our best but I think you’re right about this one. We’ll sort it out tomorrow. Call Layla, talk to Khonshu, get ourselves out of this mess.”

“Yeah,” Steven sighed. “Well, good night, Marc.”

“Night.”

–

Every day I wake up, then I start to break up…

Steven opened his eyes as the swell of strings floated around his flat. He sat up and cautiously pulled on the restraint, anxiety running through him. It was still tight. Everything was exactly how he left it last night, tape on the door, blinds down. With a sigh, he heaved himself up and undid the ankle restraint.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said.

“Mhm,” mumbled Marc. Steven waited for a response from Jake but none came. He sighed. Typical.

He walked to the kitchen to make some morning tea; getting out the kettle, turning on the stove. He reached to open the cupboard where he kept tea bags but stopped when he saw the blue post it on the door. He took it and fetched his reading glasses from the table, squinting down at it.

‘You were right. Sorry,’ was scribbled across it. The handwriting was more blocky than his but just as hard to read.

Steven smiled.

Chapter Text

Every day I wake up, then I start to break up…

Steven opened his eyes as the swell of strings floated around his flat. He pulled the covers back and walked to the kitchen, a smile creeping onto his face.

“Still happy about not needing the sand anymore?” Marc asked from the microwave window. “It’s been a year.”

Steven got out a box of tea bags and turned the kettle on. “I know, but I’m still proud of us. Can finally live a normal life, y’know?”

Marc snorted. “Yeah, I guess. As normal as we can get.”

Steven read the news while Marc complained about his breakfast choices. It was a bit annoying but it was their new routine and Steven wouldn’t change it for anything.

Lonely is a man without love…

“Ugh, why do you have to get up so early?” Jake yawned in the bathroom mirror, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

“I’ve got to go to work, mate.” Steven drug the washcloth across his face, cold water sending a shock down his spine. “Someone has to pay the bills.”

“Why can’t you take the night shift, let us sleep in a little bit?”

Steven scoffed. “The night shift at the library? Don’t think that’s a thing.”

“Hmm,” Jake hummed, eyes still threatening to close. “Well, you can make it a thing. Tell them you have a sleeping disorder and can’t work until the late afternoon.”

“Yeah, but that’s lying though so… not going to do that.”

“Steven,” Marc called from the living room window, “The bus!”

“Oh, bollocks!”

Every day I start out, then I cry my heart out…

He grabbed his bag and raced down the stairs, pushing through the crowd, leaving a string of apologies behind him.

“Wait! Wait!” He waved his hands above his head.

Lonely is a man with…out… love.

The rest of their day was pretty uneventful. Steven helped people check out their reading materials and rambled on to a little girl about the wonders of space. She hung on to his every word, eyes wide, and he helped her find a few books. He waved her off with a smile. Seven pm came quickly and his stomach grumbled.

“Oh, must have forgotten lunch today. Didn’t even notice,” he wondered to himself as he grabbed his bag. “See you, Susan.”

Susan, his new boss, looked up from her computer and smiled. “Good work today, Steven. See you tomorrow.”

Steven gave a little wave over his shoulder as the lights turned off.

“Can we go to the diner for dinner?” Jake asked. “I’ve been meaning to catch up with Gina.”

“I want to go to that new place that opened down the street,” Marc said, “I think it’s called McMulligans’ Pub?”

Steven sighed. “I don’t care, you figure it out.”

He loosened his hold on the front, not fully switching out but enough to feel hazy, and it was quickly snatched up by Jake.

“We’re going to the diner, amigos!” he whooped. Marc groaned but didn’t try to fight him on it. Steven settled into the back with another sigh. He loved his new job but making small talk with strangers all day was very taxing. He was just going to… let them drive for a little bit while he… closed his eyes…

He was woken up by a sharp coil of fear in the body’s stomach. Blearily he moved around, getting closer to the front. Jake was quiet, but that was normal for him, and Marc was quickly walking down the street. It was dark and he had his hands stuffed in his pockets, head whipping around at the slightest noise. Steven could feel the alcohol in their system; Marc had gotten to go to the pub after all.

“Marc?” he asked, voice still thick with sleep. “What’s happening?”

“I… I think I’m being followed.”

Steven frowned. “By whom?”

“You’ll think I’m crazy but… Khonshu,” he whispered.

Steven was awake now. “Khonshu? No, that’s not right.”

“I know, but I keep seeing him out of the corner of my eye. And then I look and there’s nothing there.”

Steven didn’t know what to do. “Uh… just get back to the flat.” He knew that Khonshu could easily follow them there if he wanted but it seemed like the closest safe place they could go.

Marc took off running. He was so close, so close. Just a few more blocks. One more street. The door was right there!

“You’ve been avoiding me, Jake Lockley.”

Marc skidded to a halt, heart jumping into his throat. A couple buildings down, Khonshu stood on the sidewalk, linen wrappings blowing around in an invisible wind. Marc was closer to the door than Khonshu was but his feet refused to take another step forward.

“Huh… J-Jake? I’m not-'' he eloquently stammered out. Before he knew what was happening, his control on the body was violently seized and he was thrown next to Steven.

Jake nervously pulled on the buttons on Steven’s patterned shirt. “Khonshu- lo siento, lo siento, I lost track of time. Marc wanted to go to the new pub but I wanted to go to the diner and we compromised and I didn’t realize how late he stayed out and-”

“I don’t need your rambling excuses. I was just seen by someone who was not supposed to be here, I take it.”

Jake swallowed and nodded. “Yes; Marc.”

Khonshu sighed and shook his head. “I expected better of you, Lockley. You promised they wouldn’t interfere. Here I was thinking you were a man of your word.”

“I-” Jake started, but Khonshu cut him off with a tut.

“You know, Marc made the same promise when he fully grasped how troubled he was. He was unable to deliver on that promise but I really thought you were different. Better.”

The inside of Jake’s head was buzzing.