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“Steven… Steven!”
He hears Marc’s voice but the words barely penetrate his mind. He feels his chest tighten and he can’t breathe. His head starts spinning and he stumbles. His legs feel weak and he wavers worse.
“Steven! Hey! Sweetheart!” Marc tries again but Steven still won’t respond to him. “I… I’m just… I know you don’t like when I fight for control but… I’m just gonna get us to the couch, okay?” He doesn’t wait for an answer as he shifts to the forefront and pulls Steven’s consciousness back. He takes over and turns. He moves across the room quickly and sits on the couch. Then he pulls back and gives Steven control again.
Steven feels his body sink into the couch and he’s actually relieved. He’s usually angry when Marc takes over without his consent but this time, he doesn’t mind. He still can’t concentrate and he still can’t breathe but at least he won’t collapse on the ground embarrassingly.
“Hun, don’t worry about that!” Marc says, shaking his head in the nearest mirror. “You just need to calm down and breathe, okay?” He says, trying to get Steven’s attention. “Just take a breath for me. Please , Steven!”
Steven leans forward, over his knees. He tries to focus on Marc’s voice but he can’t and his chest only seems to tighten more.
Marc blinks and closes his eyes. He can feel the strain that Steven’s panic attack, if that’s what this is, is putting on their body. He thinks they might be close to passing out and he can’t let that happen. Marc shakes himself and leans against the mirror’s surface. “Steven! Baby, please! Just…” He shakes his head again, feeling the fuzziness threatening him. “Look. I just… Steven!” He breathes out. “I need you to smile!”
Steven looks at him, panting as he tries to get control of himself. He frowns and blinks and he can’t seem to focus. “What?” He manages to finally form a word in his mind and force it past his lips.
“Smile, baby.” Marc repeats. “If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me!” He begs. “Because I’m selfish enough to demand that from you. Because I need you to! Because no matter what’s going on, no matter what beak face has done or said to me or how bad the mission has gone or how much pain I’m in… none of that matters when I come back to you and see you smile.”
Steven’s breathing starts to slow and even. His chest starts to loosen but he hardly notices. All his attention is on his - Marc’s - reflection in the mirror. His mind finally clears and he can see the worry and panic on his other half’s face. He swallows and licks his lips slowly. “My… smile…” He repeats skeptically.
“I just… everything gets…” Marc sighs and shakes his head. “It just gets better, sweetheart. When…” He clears his throat and swallows. “When I see you smile…” He sings softly. “I can face the world. Oh, oh, you know I can do anything. When I see you smile, I see a ray of light, oh oh, I see it shining right through the rain. When I see you smile, oh yeah, baby when I see you smile… at me…”
Steven’s rendered speechless for a different reason. His chest tightens again and he almost can’t handle it. “Marc…” There are tears in his eyes suddenly and he has to look away. Steven blinks and wipes at his eyes, trying to stop. He sucks in a sharp breath and leans back against the couch. “You can’t bloody well do that to me.” He says softly, his voice cracking.
Marc smiles and tilts his head coyly. “Do what?”
Steven bites his lip. “Be so… charming.”
Marc lets out a soft laugh. “I’m just being me, sweetheart. And telling you the truth. You just… bring it out of me.” Marc breathes out and Steven can’t stop himself. A smile spreads across his face and he looks at Marc. “There you go!” Marc says, sounding pleased. “Beautiful.”
Steven’s smile only seems to brighten and he blushes and looks away. He breathes in deeply and exhales it slowly and he can’t even remember what his panic attack was about. He can’t remember what had caused it and he guesses it doesn’t matter anyways. All that matters in that moment is the way Marc is looking at him.
“Better?” Marc asks softly.
Steven nods. “Yes. I love you.”
“I love you, too.