Chapter Text
Jake, if it’s not too much trouble, when you’re all done with, this, would you mind if I stuck around to talk with Khonshu?
Slowly, Jake lowered his binoculars, brow furrowing in a mix of confusion and even more confusion. After rewriting the deal with Khonshu, Steven had been doing pretty much everything in his power to ignore the moon god, and frankly Khonshu was more than happy to do the same, still vehemently holding a grudge against “Mr. Knight” for screwing everything up. So to say things were sour between them was a major understatement.
For Steven to suddenly want to talk with him after almost two months of shunning and denial, well that was reason for concern.
Jake glanced across the rooftop, to where Khonshu was perched, peering down at the people passing below, not unlike a carrion bird. He frowned a bit deeper. Hermanito are you picking a fight or is this actually something tu necesitas hacer?
It’s, something I’ve been meaning to do, Steven eventually admitted. Kind of an olive branch, but mostly something selfish that I think he can help with.
Do we need to be concerned about this? Jake wondered, lifting the binoculars again. By ‘we’ he meant him and Marc, of course, even if Marc was completely checked out tonight after closing out some other mission the night previous. Apparently it had gone a bit bad and he wanted a break.
He could almost see Steven shaking his head and waving his hands, No no no it’s nothing dangerous! Probably, maybe? Hopefully. But that’s why I have to ask the pigeon because I’m not about to try this without supervision and-or someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
Jake exhaled quietly, adjusting the focus on his lenses. There was the bastard, the one Jake had been following during his missions for a month now. Serial killer, subtle enough and smart enough to escape the police, but not immune to the powers of a moon god with anger issues and a strong moral compass.
So can I?
I’ll think about it if you shut up, silencio, sí? Esto es muy importante.
Well just make up your mind before you’re done slashing this bloke to ribbons yeah? The sooner I figure this out the better, it’s been driving me bonkers! A beat of silence, and when he spoke again, Jake could picture him waving. Alright well! I’ll leave you to it! Don’t have too much fun.
He just hummed in response, feeling Steven vanish, leaving him, Khonshu, and the night alone.
Below, the killer stepped out of the bar, flicking open his lighter and sparking up a cigarette, completely unaware the sights were leveled on him. After the things he’d done to those women? There would be no mercy for him.
The police would find his body in the morning, though it was probably going to take DNA to identify him. No doubt they’d find evidence of what he was in whatever little hole he’d crawled out of and soon it’d be the story all over the news. Of course, moonlit vigilantes were even harder to trace than serial killers, especially when the murder weapon vanishes at sunrise.
The clocks struck two in the morning when Jake finally made it back to his cab, all but collapsing into the back seat for a quick rest, pulling the door shut with his foot and smacking the lock button with his heel. It was a cold enough night that the cab would heat up pleasantly with him inside, and for just a bit, Jake Lockley could be alone with himself in his space.
That lasted for all of five minutes, but they were a very nice five minutes.
Did you think about it?
Jake peeked open an eye, shifting so he could see Steven from where he’d manifested in the rear view mirror. “I did. And I’m concerned about what's so important you want to ask el pajaro and not me.”
You, don’t really know magic, Steven chuckled, giving a crooked grin and a little smile.
“Magic.”
Yeah unless you do an’ that’s another secret, which is fine by the way, I just-
“Steven you want to do magic? ¿Para qué?” Jake sat up, leaning on the divider and giving Steven an incredulous look.
He had the decency to grow sheepish. It’s not, it’s not that I want to become a wizard or anythin’, just, I keep reading myths about magic dreams and…
“And? And what?” Steven drew up his shoulders and played with his hands and mumbled the answer, making Jake roll his eyes. “Steven. What are you going to do with magic dreams?”
Honestly he expected something groundbreaking, like, traveling through the astral plane to apologize to the spirit of Mr. Alexander the Great in the Field of Reeds for deep-throating him to steal the ushabti of his goddess. He could see Steven using it to try and help with missions, scrying or whatever it was called to gain insight on an enemy or an ally. Or, maybe, Steven wanted to try and find their mother, hey Jake wouldn’t be opposed to that, he’d gladly take a chance to slap the bitch finally and make her pay for what she did.
The real answer was surprisingly lackluster, modest, and so so very Steven.
Hug you? He finally managed to say, looking like he was bracing for a hit.
But, Jake just stared, brow furrowing. Then, he laughed, and laughed a second time. “Dios mio, are you serious? You want to go playing with fucking magic to give me a hug? Hijo we can go home and curl up under that fancy heavy blanket you’ve got. And-”
No, Jake, it’s not the same. He watched Steven gesture one hand in the air, wiggling it as if that would put his thoughts together. When, when we were in the Duat, the first thing Marc did when he saw me was, give me a hug. It was the best part of the whole nightmare, getting to hold him.
Admittedly that whole event left a sour taste in Jake’s mouth. His hermanitos got this wonderful chance to bond, to talk and hold each other and see the past as it was. The whole while he was struggling to breathe in a god damn shoe box, remembering every fucking time he’d been locked in the closet when mother dearest couldn’t bother to deal with them. For him it had been a nightmare, especially when he felt both of his hermanos… vanish.
They’d told him what happened, after, when all of them were on the same page, but still he felt… jealous. Bitter, jealous, and guilty for feeling any of it at all, when it was his fault they were dead in the first place.
I don’t want to wait till we’re dead to, to do it again, to share that with you, Steven continued, leaning against the driver’s seat in the reflection. If it’s possible, maybe, a bit of magic could… I don’t know, simulate that again. But, I’d need to ask Khonshu.
For a long time, Jake couldn’t bring himself to speak, and Steven flinched a bit, beginning to mumble about how it was a stupid idea and he’d probably muck the whole thing up and he was really quite sorry for bringing it up at all.
“You, think he might know how to make it happen?”
Steven perked up, nodding. He’s a god of the moon, if he doesn’t know how, he might know who would, being a night deity and all.
“Give me a minute, I’ll see if he’s going to play nice.”
With the worm? Jake startled and immediately reached for the pistol still at his side, turning sharply as Khonshu appeared in the driver’s seat. The god chuckled darkly, folding his hands together. Pray tell, what exactly does he want to nag me about this time? It better be good.
Jake grumbled a curse under his breath before sitting back, folding his arms. “Nothing, actually, he wants to ask your help with… a little project.”
Khonshu tilted his skull, as if raising an eyebrow. Does he now? Well I’m not interested in helping. He has made it abundantly clear I am not welcome, and frankly the feeling is mutual.
“Oh but you might like this!” Jake blinked, making a strangled sound as he found himself pushed from the front, Steven sitting forward with a little smile, resting his elbows on his knees. “Cos if it works, we might have a space where you can talk to all three of us. None of this, back and forth and such.”
So you can bicker with me about your duties? I’m not interested.
“You haven’t even heard what I was going to ask!”
Like I said, I don’t care.
“I just want to see Marc again, is that such a crime?”
Maybe it was the way Steven’s voice wavered slightly, the desperation and frustration in his tone, or something else entirely that seemed to finally catch Khonshu’s attention. He shifted, finally looking Steven in the eye. You know that was only because you were dead, right? I’m not about to kill you so you can-
“No no no, I wouldn’t want you to!” He sat forward again, leaning on the divider between driver and passenger. “I want to, create a dream. I know it’s possible, I’ve read about dreams being used as messages and traps and prophecies- figured it wasn’t too out-there that we might be able to make something for, for the three of us.”
Precisely what do I get if I help you create this little dream, hm?
Steven pursed his lips, scrunching up his face as he thought. “Well, um, I suppose the dream would be something you could use as well? Not sure why you’d do that but…”
And you are certain you wish to do this?
He looked up at Khonshu, frowning. Was the old bird, smiling? Was he amused by this whole thing? Or worse, was he scheming?
Or was it all three?
“You’re plotting something now aren’t you?” Steven mumbled. “That’s your plotting voice, you’re plotting.”
I may have, had an idea. Khonshu chuckled slightly, You know, Marc was never very good at the more… spiritual side of this work. Not that you must sacrifice your faith, I know what it means to you, but between you and me, worm, I think you have quite the potential to be a true priest of Khonshu.
“A priest!?” Steven repeated, pulling a face and flinching as Jake burst into a string of creative Spanish expletives. “That’s not what I-”
Frankly it is an empty title, it describes your power and little else. Do you want this dream or not? Because once you step into the realm of magic, there is no turning back. Khonshu leaned forward sharply, forcing Steven to move back or risk a beak to the eye. Tell me you are not the least bit interested in learning true magic?
Steven no hagas esto, ¿¡estás loco!?
“Do you think it could help on missions?” Steven asked, forcing himself to sit a bit straighter and stop cowering. “I mean, I know I’m not a fighter, and I’m better at handling victims an’ all but, could it help?”
Oh it would be very helpful at times.
No te atrev-
“Yeah, yeah let’s do it.”
Tomorrow night then. Be ready.
And he was gone.
Things were quiet for a long moment before Jake forced his way into the front so he could grab his head and scream in anger.
What the fuck just happened?