Chapter Text
Steven awoke to a soft kiss, his eyes fluttering open to see Marc's eyes gazing back. Steven hummed, yawning as he sat up.
"B-Blimey, what time is it love?" Steven asked, glancing to Marc's clock on his desk.
"Its about eight now babe, been sleeping pretty good, huh?" Marc murmured, leaning forward to grab Steven's waist.
Steven let out a laugh as Marc pulled him back down onto the bed, holding him close. Steven smiled, gazing at Marc's sleepy face.
"Bloody amazing, can't say I remember sleeping so well. I'm assuming the body's still asleep though." Steven added.
Marc nodded, yawning, pressing his face against Steven's chest. He kissed it lightly, causing Steven to blush. Steven brushed his fingers against Marc's neck, before trailing his hand to cradle Marc's face. Marc adjusted his head, looking back up at Steven. Steven started to hum a random song as they laid there for a moment, before Steven turned toward the door.
He looked back at Marc and leaned to kiss him, before he sat up again. He moved to grab his pants as Marc sighed, following suit.
"Wouldn't mind to stay here with you all day, babe." Marc muttered.
Steven chuckled, "I know, love. Me too, but we both know today is special." Steven winked, moving toward the bedroom door.
He opened it wide, turning back to look at Marc. Marc did his best to smile, as he followed after Steven.
Steven held out his hand affectionately, as Marc took it with no hesitation. Steven lead Marc down the hallway to Jake's room, before he raised his hand and wrapped on the door.
Hearing the bed creak from within, Steven heard soft footsteps pad against the floor. Jake opened the door a crack, eyes softening to see Steven. Steven grinned, as he brought Marc closer.
Marc forced a smile, clearly uncomfortable. Jake looked between the two, before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.
"Marc." Jake said, his face neutral.
"Jake." Marc muttered, looking down at his feet.
An uncomfortable silence sprouted from the three, before Steven reached forward to take Jake's hand. Jake's eyes shot up to Steven's face, before glancing over to Marc. Steven held both of their hands, looking between the two with adoration.
Relief washed over Steven as Jake's neutral expression turned to a small smile.
Marc let his shoulders relax, as Steven tugged them down to his room.
-
They sat at Steven's small table, books opened messily on it. Steven took a moment to put them back on his shelf, as Jake and Marc sat beside each other hesitantly. They stole awkward glances at each other, as Steven turned to look back at them.
"Well, lads. This...this is happening." Steven said, gesturing between the two.
Marc nodded, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. Jake looked to his left, avoiding Marc's eyes at all cost.
Steven sighed, taking the seat in front of them quietly.
"I guess I can start off by saying that..what me and Marc went through back with Harrow, clearly we developed feelings with each other. And, to no surprise, I feel the same about Jake..." Steven began, his hands becoming sweaty as he clasped them together.
Jake and Marc watched Steven with great interest, as Steven did his best to control his breathing.
"I just...I realized..I'm too bloody silly to lose you, I can't imagine not being with either of you, but...I want to know you both could feel the same way, and maybe we could work out something that could work best for us? Like, if you both suggest splitting up days for me, or..I don't know." Steven sighed, slumping back into his seat.
Jake frowned slightly, shifting in his seat. He placed his hands against the table automatically.
"Steven, mi amor, of course I feel the same. I have always felt that, especially for you. I would not..feel comfortable splitting days like that.. I do not know what else to say, unfortunately." Jake mumbled.
Marc leaned back in his seat, turning to look at Jake. Marc shook his head.
"Yeah..look, Jake. For Steven's sake, we should come to an agreement. Something, anything. We should..I'm not sure. Talk about this? Maybe just you and me?" Marc asked wearily.
Jake glanced over to Marc, his expression unreadable. Steven watched them worriedly, before Jake nodded.
"Si, that would be...the best option." Jake mumbled back.
Steven relaxed slightly, before standing.
"Alright, loves. If that's ideal for both of you, I'll...I'll front for awhile, okay? I'll get the body up and moving. I'll do my best to keep out of this. Just..if anything happens, don't hurt each other, or worry too much. You both mean a lot to me, and I can't..I really can't lose either of you." Steven murmured, moving to stand.
Jake reached out for Steven's hand, the same time Marc did.
All three men sat there, hands interlocked. Steven smiled, as Marc and Jake looked over to each other.
Marc pulled away first, looking away in embarrassment.
Jake pulled his hand back slowly, before looking up to Steven.
"You will not need to worry, cariño mio. We will be just fine." Jake replied.
Steven looked between the two once more, taking a deep breath before he closed his eyes. He opened them to the brightness of the outside world, leaving Jake and Marc back in the headspace.
-
Jake sat there beside Marc, arms tucked to his sides. He looked at the table in silence as Marc anxiously tapped his foot.
After about two minutes of quiet tension, Marc broke it.
"So..you agree with me on Steven, huh?" Marc muttered.
Jake took a breath, before turning his face to meet Marc's slightly annoyed gaze.
"Si, I do. Is he not hard to love? He is very beautiful, amigo." Jake murmured.
Marc sighed, placing his hand against his chin. He leaned back in deep thought before he continued to speak.
"Yeah, can't disagree on that. Look, about the other day, I didn't...if I had known then you held these feelings for Steven, I wouldn't have snapped at you. I probably...well, I probably would've liked to talk to you about it." Marc shrugged.
Jake nodded slowly, "Si, and I would have liked to listen."
Marc looked over at Jake, and gave him a short smile.
"I would've probably asked when you started feeling that for him.." Marc murmured.
Jake hummed a moment, sighing.
"I will be honest Marc, it was during the worst times in our life, when we decided to defeat Harrow completely. It..was not intentional, clearly. I told Steven it was due to his incredible way of being himself, but..I did not tell him everything." Jake said, crossing his arms.
Marc frowned, tilting his head in confusion as he studied Jake.
"What do you mean?" Marc asked.
Jake shrugged uncomfortably, before moving back his chair and standing abruptly. Marc almost assumed he would leave, but Jake started pacing carefully around the room.
Marc watched Jake, slightly amused.
He reminded him of Steven for a moment, and it surprised him when he felt his heart beat a bit faster watching Jake act so endearing.
Marc did his best to ignore the feeling of sudden adoration as he patiently waited for Jake to speak.
Jake absentmindedly shifted his hat slightly, before readjusting it back into place. Jake stood still, taking a deep breath.
"This will be very difficult to say, amigo. I am..really not great with these types of subjects." Jake muttered, slightly annoyed with himself.
Marc stood then, pushing back the chair and taking a step around the table. He gave Jake a real smile in reassurance.
"Hey, Jake? It's fine. I'm the exact same way. We can take it one step at a time." Marc offered.
Jake nodded slowly, before taking another deep breath.
"It was a night a long time ago now, not unlike any other. It..I was standing back as I usually did, and simply observed you both. I knew at the time Steven had no idea about you, and I understood to keep that between you both. I did not want to scare you with my presence, and I told Steven I would have been fine with never coming forward, only absolutely necessary. Only if you or Steven ever dealt with too much at a time, and I would come and keep you from that pain." Jake began, straightening his jacket.
Marc nodded slowly, listening.
"So, late one night after a particular awful day that Harrow so terribly provided, I watched you from the mirror in Steven's apartment. I am assuming Steven had gone to bed at that point, as I noticed you carefully hid your tracks as you began the process of becoming the Moon Knight. I simply observed your movements, and noticed you..uh.." Jake continued, before slightly trailing off.
Marc listened patiently, moving slightly forward to Jake's direction.
"You were..crying. I did not know what about, but it was then that I realized you were writing a postcard to Steven. I knew it was supposed to be from your mother, and I know you had a difficult time dealing with that until Steven came along. As I watched you write, I saw the upmost care and precise you had for Steven. I saw you let yourself put love into each letter. You had let yourself love someone else again, and..it moved me in a way I cannot explain." Jake mumbled, his face slightly tinting pink.
Marc eyes widened in astonishment.
"Jake..." Marc whispered.
"I took notice of Steven because of that, I started realizing the feelings of what you had for him bled into my own life. I..had realized you were completely right about Steven. He was worth protecting, he was worth loving, and he was worth all of it because you created that version of yourself like that." Jake exhaled.
Marc felt his heart burst against his chest as he approached Jake, his hands shaking.
"We are in the same body, yes. But we are completely different people at the same time. The qualities of Steven are incredible, because he makes them so. He is not afraid to love others, he is not afraid to follow his heart. I fell in love with him because he is like that, and I want to give him the best of me, always."
"But I also I know you, Marc. I have always known you as the good person you are. You needed Steven then, and you'll always need him now. Through your eyes, I fell in love with Steven. And through your eyes I knew I could love more then I ever thought I could..I could love more then just Steven..I could love.." Jake tried, his words caught in his throat.
Marc shakily reached his hand out for Jake to take. Their fingers interlocked as Jake watched enchanted at Marc's expression.
"Jake." Marc said, sniffling.
Jake hesitantly moved his other hand against Marc's face, Jake eyes gentle.
"Si?" Jake asked.
Marc silently wrapped his arms around Jake quietly, placing his head against Jake's chest. He closed his eyes and listened to his heartbeat.
"You are worth so much, Marc. You must know this, entiende querido?" Jake mumbled against Marc's hair.
Marc pulled away to meet Jake's gaze, Marc's face hooded with tears.
Jake moved his hand from Marc's hair to his cheek, as Marc shivered. Marc closed his eyes before Jake hesitantly leaned to press a small kiss against Marc's lips. Marc leaned forward to slightly deepen the kiss, blinking back a few tears as Jake pulled away.
He kept Marc in his arms as Marc let his world fall beneath them, feeling himself become whole.
"Are we...are we going to keep the door open?" Marc asked, hesitantly.
"Si. It will never close again." Jake replied, honestly.