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"What do you mean 'Jake hasn't seen The Mummy'?"
You look at the man in front of you in disbelief and frankly even a bit offended.
"Well, he didn’t front much before Marc and I knew of him, yeah? Usually just to protect us in a fight. So there wasn't really much opportunity for him I guess?" Steven answers sheepishly. Meanwhile, Layla is watching the exchange from the sidelines, holding back laughter at your comically exaggerated outrage. You jump up from your seat next to Steven and scramble to the bag you had left near the entrance when you arrived at Steven's apartment earlier.
"We'll watch The Mummy right now and I don't care if Jake protests. Because given what you guys do? This should be mandatory for new Avatars to watch!"
By that point Layla has given up on holding back her amusement. Shaking with laughter she is half draped over Steven, her giggling muffled by his shoulder. Steven too is giggling excitedly as both of them watch you return with your laptop in hand. Steven's electronics are well on their way to being called retro (if they aren't already) so your laptop would have to do. You aren't even sure if any of the men paid for a streaming service.
"I'll get us some snacks then, yeah?" Steven offers with a soft smile on his face. Layla watches him walk into the kitchen, looks back at you for a moment - a whirlwind of motion as you set everything up - and follows her husband/boyfriend.
You don't notice them leaving your presence, too focused on finding the right streaming service that actually has the movie you'd like to watch (and not the horrible mess that is the 2017 remake). Just thinking about the way both Layla and Steven will complain about and correct the Ancient Egyptian, how Marc will defend the aged special effects with his life (this man has a soft spot for action-adventure movies and it shows) and how Jake will critique the fight scenes between bites of popcorn, makes you grin.
The three (or five?) of you hadn't been friends for too long and yet it feels like you had known them for ages. A chance meeting in London had pulled you into their orbit. When you stumbled into them something just clicked. You got to experience Layla and Marc together first - their relationship so full of trust and love (though it had been rocky for a bit as they had told you later) was and still is a beautiful thing to behold.
You'd learned about Marc's DID much later. Meeting Steven and Jake for the first time made you so nervous you thought about bolting before you had even set up a time and place to actually meet. What if Marc liked you but his alters didn't? What if you didn't make a good first impression? Instead of giving into your anxieties, you spoke about your worries to Layla. She held your hand and reassured you that both Steven and Jake would like you. Maybe they wouldn’t like you the same way Marc did but there was no way they could hate you. “I doubt they’d offer to meet you if they didn’t already like you at least a little bit” Layla reasoned. Talking to her had calmed you down. Meeting Steven and Jake respectively still had you nervous but all worries were forgotten after just a few minutes with each man. They had been so kind and happy to meet you in person themselves, it was hard to remember your fears.
Since then you had become fast friends and spent as much time together as their chaotic lives as Avatars and your own schedule would allow. Between billionaire philanthropists with high-tech armor, aliens and literal Norse gods walking around, finding out your new friends worked for Ancient Egyptian deities was not that hard to come to terms with. Weirder things have happened after all.
"All done?"
You look up from your setup to find Layla looking at you, a soft smile on her lips. It's funny the way your heart feels lighter every time she does that. There were still moments in which you wondered how such a gorgeous woman can even be real and also friends with you. You return her smile and nod your head towards the couch, "Take a seat. Once we got the snacks ready we can start".
"Already on it!" Carrying a big bowl of popcorn in one arm and a few bags of chips in the other, Marc returns from the kitchen. He places the snacks next to your laptop. Sitting down in the middle of the couch, he pats the spaces next to him. Layla cuddles close to her husband as you stand there for a moment just admiring their intimate moment. They were such a beautiful couple. Catching yourself staring, you turn back around to start the movie.
Just before your finger can hit play, you hear Layla wonder out loud: "You never told us that this was your favorite movie".
You tilt your head towards her. "It never came up I guess? To be honest, the main reason I like it so much is that I had a huge crush on the main characters when the movie first came out"
Marc's reaction catches your attention from the corner of your eye, his eyebrow raised and his lips curling into a sly grin. He leans forward and you notice how the way he holds himself changes.
"Is that so, corazón?"
You clear your throat, feeling like you have a lump stuck in it from Jake's teasing.
"Well yeah? I mean what's not to find attractive? Evy is a beautiful woman who knows so much about her specific field of study. She has such a passion for Ancient Egypt, the stories and the language. Yes, she is a bit of a klutz, but it's endearing! And the way she is not just a bookworm but can also kick ass and is adventurous and kind?"
You stand up straighter, not looking at the other two out of embarrassment as you try to defend yourself.
"And Rick? Not only is he good looking with a body that could absolutely be sculpted by some gods. He is kind and he cares so much more than he lets on in the beginning of the movie. He is funny and yes, he is also a bit of a dork but again, it's charming. He is adventurous and knows the risks of the jobs he is taking and still does the dangerous thing because he wants to know more about the ancient mysteries and he wants to help Evy. The way he openly shows how smitten he is with her! The way they work together, fight together, a librarian and a mercenary turned adventurer that maybe shouldn't work together as a team or a couple but they do! And it's beautiful to watch and how could you not have a crush on th-"
You stop yourself mid sentence as your brain catches up on what just spilled out of your mouth. Head slowly turning, your gaze meets your friends sitting on the couch before you, their expecting, knowing eyes watching your every move.
Oh.
Oh.
How did you not notice?
"...them. Have a crush on them," you finish under your breath.
You have a crush on them. On both. All. All of them. Oh God.
"I- I think I need to. Leave. Go. Go to the uhm somewhere. Yes."
Your legs move faster than you can think as you try to extract yourself from the situation. This situation where you in real time figured out out loud that you had a crush on your friends right in front of them . The embarrassment curling in your gut is making it harder and harder to breathe. Your hands start to shake and your face is heating up. How could you not have noticed you were falling in love?
"Hey, no, wait a second, yeah? You don't need to be embarrassed, love." Steven gently touches your shoulder, not forcing you to stop walking but asking you to, both with his words and his gestures. His voice cuts through your spiraling thoughts as your body freezes for a second. The warmth of his hand on your shoulder grounds you until you can finally breathe again.
"No, but this is embarrassing, Steven. I don't even know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. You've pretty much said everything already." Layla’s face fills your vision as she steps in front of you. "And to be honest I am relieved you did. We planned on telling you how we feel about you for weeks and just couldn’t find the right time." Her hands find yours, her warm fingers caressing them gently.
It takes a second for you to catch up on her words. You look up at Layla, her smile radiant and eyes shining with joy. Steven's thumb is drawing lazy circles along your shoulder blades as he continues.
"We were a bit nervous. Well, me and Marc were. Jake and Layla were pretty confident about the…uh. Whole confessing bit. Seems like you were a bit faster though, eh?" His nervous chuckle makes your cheeks heat up even more.
"So you. All of you? You like me too?"
You see Layla nod and hear an affirmative grunt from behind you from who you assume is Marc fronting. The blind panic you were feeling slowly recedes and your limbs start to feel heavy from the loss of adrenalin.
"We'll start things slow, OK? See how we all fit together. We don't have to decide right away," Layla reassures you and pulls you into a gentle hug.
You let yourself sink into it, your arms finding their way around her waist. Another set of arms wraps around you from behind. Surrounded and enveloped by the people closest to your heart, Layla’s warmth in front and the solid weight of Marc's chest at your back, makes you feel safer and calmer than you ever felt. Staying like this forever sounds like the best idea ever until you remember what brought all of this on.
"Starting slow sounds good. But there is one thing we have to do right away."
You reluctantly wiggle out of their embrace and make your way back to the couch, pulling your soon-to-be-lovers with you. The three of you settle down together, Layla and Marc flanking you on each side, staying so close as if they never want to let you go again.
"We still have to make Jake watch The Mummy," you offer with a sly grin. Jake's answering groan is muffled by Layla's laughter and the beginning sounds of the movie starting.