Work Text:
Steven looks out of the window, noticing how much light is left outside.
“Hey mate, I think it’s time we close up shop, yeah? Go home, get some rest, hm?” He looks back towards the newly-befriended teenager standing next to him, nudging their shoulder.
A few seconds pass by before the Brit speaks up again. “Wander? Mate.” He nudges their shoulder again, concerned.
The teenager snaps out of it, zoning back in. “Huh? Oh yeah, I can close up.” They say monotonously.
Steven flashes them a look of worry before Wander brushes it off. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be out by nightfall.” They assure him, smiling unconvincingly.
The older brushes it off, letting out an “alright” before handing something to the younger. “Here’s the spare key. Don’t forget to lock up once you leave.”
He starts packing up his things, making sure everything else is secure before leaving.
Before he walks out the door, he glances one last time at Wander. They give him a small smile before attending to something in the break room. Steven sighs and walks out of the door.
The boys are back home, already finished with any work that was unfinished before, and have done their nightly routine. Now they are laying in bed, looking blankly at the ceiling.
I have to say, I’m a bit skeptical of the kid.
Steven flinches at the sound of Marc’s voice, clearly caught off guard. He rolls his eyes before shifting to lay on his side, looking at the window reflection.
“Yeah, well I didn’t ask, did I? Jake and I trust them-” Steven hears Jake cough. “-more so I trust them. Don’t worry Marc, I’m sure they had it under control after we left.” Steven assures his fellow alter, waiting for his response.
Marc drags out a sigh. Whatever you say, Steven. Night. The American retires into the inner world, ending the conversation. Steven mumbles a “good night”, then falls asleep.
The alarm clock beeps loudly, Marc almost shattering it. Wait, Marc? He isn’t supposed to be out right now. The American drags a hand down his face.
“Goddamn it, Steven.”
After struggling with what to wear and trying to remember what he’s supposed to bring with him, Marc is out the door and on his way to the sweet shop. He grumbles words out, not directed to anyone in particular.
He finally sees the shop in the distance, picking up his pace. Once he makes it to the entrance, he takes out his keys and unlocks the door.
Marc walks inside, turning on the lights and dropping his bag next to the cash register.
He walks into the break room with the intention of checking around and making sure everything is okay. That intention is thrown out the window once his brain clocks in on what he’s looking at.
Maybe they accidentally fell asleep?
“Steven, how the hell does a teenager accidentally fall asleep on the table with a bag of candy as a pillow? The lights were off and the door was locked when we got in!”
There lays Wander, sound asleep on top of the break room table with nothing but a bag of candy as any sort of comfort on the harsh wood. Marc hears a sharp intake of breath from Jake, the New Yorker wincing at the sight of the teen.
The American quietly tells his alters, “I’ll deal with this. You two take a break for now.”
He listens for any response, but is only met with silence, indicating that the two have backed off from co-fronting. Straightening up, Marc approaches the teenager cautiously.
Once he’s within reach, he shakes their shoulder gently. “Hey kid, wake up.” He gives them a few more shoves until he hears the younger grumble.
Sighing, he tells the teen, “I’m betting 20 bucks that the bag of candy is not comfortable. Get up, kid.” Marc taps them a few more times before they begrudgingly sit up, bones cracking.
Wander wipes away the sleep from their eyes, sitting up. “Whas goin’ on? Wha happen?” They mumble drowsily.
The teenager takes a good look at the man before them, asking, “Jake? No, Steven?” They squint their eyes, trying to figure out who is fronting.
Marc smiles, amused. He sees why the others decided to keep the kid around.
“No and no. Try again.” He tells the younger American, crossing his arms.
Wander zones out, confused. It takes them a few minutes before they look back up at the older, eyes widening. “Oh my god, I am so sorry this is how you meet me, Marc. You must think I’m some kind of- of-”
The moment the teenager starts stumbling over their words, the older shushes them. The younger looks down in shame. “Hey, I’m not mad. I just want to know why you slept here and not at home.” He reassures them.
All my hard work has finally paid off! Jake, look! He’s nice! To a child, no less!
You’re softening up, Spector.
Marc rolls his eyes before focusing on the teenager once more.
Wander picks at a loose string on their shirt. “Well, I told Steven yesterday. Y’know, before I met Jake.” They mutter, looking back up.
The older American pauses before asking, “Is it alright if I leave to talk to Steven real quick?” The younger tells him he can stay in the room, they once again zone out.
Marc nods before stepping back and taking out the pocket mirror. Steven pops up, just as confused as his alter. “Steven, I need you to tell me what the hell they’re talking about.”
Steven sputters before forming actual words. Mate, they never told me anything. I don’t- The Brit pauses before letting out an “oh.”
“What? What, Steven?” Marc asks incessantly.
Steven looks at the American.
They did tell me. They also told Jake.
“Hi, sorry, I don’t know exactly how I got here. I, uh, just showed up. Can I stay here?”
“From the looks of it, I am nowhere near home. I’ll work for you for free if you let me stay here while I figure things out.”
Steven and Marc, hell, even Jake, all feel the guilt forming in them. How did that detail slip from their minds?
Marc puts the pocket mirror away, looking back towards the teenager. He lets out a small “hey”, catching their attention. “Why didn’t you correct us when Steven told you to go home?” He questions them.
Wander makes eye contact with Marc, then looks away. They mumbled, but the older couldn’t make out what they said. He lets out a confused hum.
The younger American sighs. Fidgeting with their fingers, they speak louder. “I said that I didn’t want to bother you guys.”
Marc’s eyes widened. This (probably) scared teenager who they barely know, but hasn’t been annoying, thinks they’re a bother? The older American sits on the table next to the younger.
“Hey, you aren’t a bother. Not right now, at least.” Marc hears Steven scold him, but he keeps going. “Since you have nowhere to go, you can stay with us. How does that sound?” He turns his head to look at the teen.
Wander is staring blankly at the ground, thinking over the offer. It takes a while before they turn their head towards Marc’s, giving a small smile back. They give a short nod, agreeing with the plan.
Marc gives back a smile.
We never agreed to bring this kid back to our flat, idiota.
The American turns his head away to respond to his alter. “Yeah, well I didn’t hear any sounds of protest from you when I offered, did I?”
All that he is met with is dead silence. It’s settled then.
Checking his watch, Marc goes to stand up. “Come on, kid. We have a whole day ahead of us, better get started.” He walks out of the break room.
The teenager nods, following along.
Nighttime rolls around faster than expected. The day was filled with the system taking turns fronting every now again, and Wander was helping to the best of their ability. Turns out, it’s really helpful when a teenager can talk to children instead of doing it yourself.
As Marc is packing up his things, he looks over to Wander. “Hey kid, you gonna pack up?” He asks them, quirking an eyebrow. All he gets back is a blank stare.
He waves his hand around. “Hellooo. Earth to Wander? You gonna pack up or-”
Oh.
The older American face palms, dragging his hand down his face. The kid has nothing to pack up.
Marc glares at them, hearing a laugh. “I’m sorry, that was just kind of funny. That look of realization is priceless.” They say between laughs, covering their face with their hand.
Rolling his eyes, he turns off the lights and walks over to where the teenager is standing by the door. He pats them on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go home. I’m sure your back could use something comfortable after sleeping on that table.”
He pats them on the shoulder again, and then they walk out of the door. Marc locks the door behind him, now leading the teenager to the shared flat between him and his alters.
Taking his keys back out, Marc unlocks the door to the flat. It opens and he gestures for the teenager to walk in.
After they are both inside, he locks the door, turning back to the younger. Wander is looking around the flat, inspecting.
The fish tank catches the eyes of the curious. They walk over to the tank, staring at the goldfish that resides inside. “Cool fish. Does it have a name?” They ask, looking back at the older American.
Marc shoves his hands into his pockets. “Technically the fish is Steven’s, but yes, the fish’s name is Gus,” he answers.
Wander tests the name out, and nods. They divert their attention over to the hundreds of books that lay across the shelves and tables. They walk over to Steven’s desk, picking up a random book.
“Dude, how many books do you fuckin’ have? Might as well make this place half of a library, damn. What’s with all the… Egyptology stuff?” They don’t say it in a mean manner, more surprised and slightly confused.
Again, Marc rolls his eyes. “Still Steven’s. I don’t know where he got these, or the money to buy them. Remains a mystery to both me and Jake…” His words trail off once he notices the teenager is not in his field of vision.
Almost panicking, he looks around, only to realize the younger American is staring at the system’s bed. Wander looks back at him, quirking an eyebrow. “No bed frame? Well, that’s one way to live.” They shrug their shoulders.
Marc squeezes his eyes shut, thinking. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Jake also decided to say something at the same time.
Listen here you little shit-
When did the kid get sassy?
The sassy teenager plucks something off a shelf near the bed. They inspect it, noticing little features. “This is a cute hippo. Where did you get it?” Wander looks back up at the older American.
Marc absentmindedly gestures his hand in some direction. “Steven used to work at a gift shop, it was one of the things they sold there.”
Wander looks at the tag still attached. “Taweret.” They test out the name, humming.
They place the stuffed hippo goddess back into place and leave to check the bathroom. They let out a noise of acknowledgement. Looking back at the older, they speak up.
“Alright, so I was thinking that you could just lend me some blankets and a pillow-”
“Absolutely not.”
The younger quickly shakes their head in confusion before making eye contact with Marc. “What do you mean ‘absolutely not’? You said I will need some sort of comfort-”
Marc cuts them off again. “And you do need some sort of comfort. You’ll get that comfort by taking the bed.” He crosses his arms, looking sternly at the teenager.
Wander stares blankly at Marc, then blinks multiple times. Before they could start protesting, the older American adds on. “Even Steven and Jake want you to take the bed. The couch we have is not that comfortable, and I’ve had my fair share of sleeping on the floor.”
The teenager squints their eyes before replying, “Yeah, but I’m already asking too much of you. I mean,” They roll their eyes and throw their hands up.
“Letting me work for you is one thing. Bringing a random teenager inside your home is a completely separate thing on its own. It’s best if I sleep on the floor-”
They get cut off by Marc clamping his hand over their mouth. Looking sternly into their soul, “You will sleep on the bed and that’s final.” He says lowly, bringing his hand back down to his side.
Glaring at the older American, Wander begrudgingly agrees. Walking off to the kitchen, they mumble, “Estúpido hombre y estúpidas reglas-” They hear the man cough. “¡Inteligente hombre y buenas reglas!” The younger exclaims.
After they both decided eating take-out was the better option (when was the last time they went to the store??), they decided to chill for a bit.
Steven fronted to finish annotating a new book, with Wander doing their own thing. Thirty minutes passed before the Brit felt eyes bore into the back of his head. He turns around to see the young American staring at him.
He closes his book and caps the top of his highlighter. Steven takes his glasses off before turning his body towards the teenager.
“Did you need something?” He asks, secretly nervous. He gets nothing but a blank stare back.
Thirty awkward seconds pass by before Wander holds up a phone. Where did they get it? “Do you have a charger? Didn’t realize I had a phone with me until a while ago. It’s dead though.” They say, shrugging their shoulders.
Steven points towards the charger plugged in by his bed. After Wander plugs in the phone, the Brit asks them a question. “You gonna call your parents?”
The teenager looks at him, almost offended. They shake their head before replying, “I don’t want to talk about family.” There’s a deafening silence that encompasses the room.
The silence is broken when the older speaks. “Same here. Family, am I right?” He smiles sadly at the younger.
Wander’s eyes trail back to his face, a sad smile forming. “Yeah. Let’s just say that I’m glad I’m here and not back home. Hi Marc.”
Marc nods and lets out a “hi” before checking the time. How did it get so late? He places his hands on his knees before standing up. “Alright kid, you should probably take a shower before going to bed.”
He starts to walk over to do something else before he pauses, not hearing any footsteps. He turns back behind him with Wander still in the same position, as if they never heard him.
“Kid? Hello? Go shower.” He urges them.
The teenager just slowly blinks at him before Marc hears Jake speak up.
No tiene ropa, cabrón.
The older American is confused, repeating the sentence back to the teenager. All he gets back is a snort and a laugh. “‘Doesn’t have clothes, dumbass.’ is what he said.”
Jake claps for the teenager while Marc pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Right, I forgot you don’t have anything.” Except for sass.
They can take my sweaters and trousers.
Marc listens to the Brit, going over to Steven’s drawer and picking out a random outfit. He throws the clothes toward the general direction of Wander. Walking over to his desk to get some work done, he calls out, “Now are you going to shower?”
He receives a muffled “yep!” The younger American picks off the clothes that landed on their face and heads for the bathroom.
Thirty minutes pass by before Marc hears the door to the bathroom open, out comes a teenager rubbing a towel vigorously at their hair. He smirks, fighting back a laugh.
The teenager walks to check the charging phone. They unplug it and say, “Yeah, I don’t think they’ll be trying to find me any time soon.”
They look back down at the glowing screen. “Good thing I don’t want them to,” they add on, mumbling. Wander shuts off the phone, setting down the device and walks over to Marc. They look over his shoulder.
“Whatcha doin’?”
The sudden sound startles the older American, throwing off his concentration. He turns his head to glare at the younger, only receiving a smug grin. “Paperwork.” He pushes the papers away before staring blankly into the distance.
Wander gives a look of confusion before asking, “Hello? Marc?” They wave their hand in front of the man’s face before realization hits them. He’s dissociating.
The younger takes a seat on the floor to give the system their time to switch.
It takes about a minute before the older rapidly blinks, grounding himself. He looks around before his eyes settle onto the teenager sitting criss-crossed. “Hi, sorry ‘bout that.”
Waving, “No, it’s okay. Hi Steven.” They both smile at each other before Steven stands up, walking over to the bathroom. Clattering can be heard before he pops his head back out, holding an unopened packaged toothbrush.
The teenager takes the hint and walks over, taking the toothbrush and opening the packaging.
For the next 40 minutes, Wander finishes up brushing their teeth, then afterwards Steven does the same night routine.
Once they’re all done with everything, it’s time to go to bed. Turning off the lights, the teenager tries one more time to convince the older to let them sleep on the floor. They failed.
Fluffing up the pillow, Wander rests their head and lets their body relax. Steven just finished placing the blankets and his pillow on the ground. He, too, lays down and tries to get comfortable.
The younger stares blankly at the wall. It feels like they’re waiting for something, but for what?
They hear the last sounds of rustling. There’s a comfortable silence that encompasses the room.
“Buenas noches, chico. Ir a dormir.”
Wander smiles before replying back. “Buenas noches, J- Sr. Lockley.”
As the clock ticks, signaling 1 AM, they finally go to sleep. Tomorrow awaits.
And if the Taweret plush was purposefully placed in Wander’s arms while they slept, that’s for Jake to know.
Bonus:
Holding the shopping cart’s handle, Marc picks off the box in front of him. He inspects the big box before placing it into the cart.
“That’s all we need, right? Just the air mattress?” He asks, brushing off his hands.
He hears Jake let out a hum of approval, Steven lets out a “wait.”
Marc’s brow raises before the Brit speaks up. Could we get one more thing? Please?
As they walk out of Wilko’s, Marc is grumbling and Steven proudly looks at the items in the cart. One air mattress? Check. One plush lamb? Check.
Time to walk back to the shared flat between him, his alters, and the sleeping teenager.