The Imagination Latibule: Moon Knight - The Rise of the Moon

Chapter 23

You'd just woken up when you saw him. Peeking through the window of your flat as subtly as a God could, balanced like a bird on the gutter, and whilst your first instinct was to scowl, you couldn't help but smile. As you threw on one of Marc's long shirts, you flung the window open, calling him out before he could disappear. 

"Khonshu?" you whispered, not wanting to wake Steven or Marc as they slept peacefully. 

The God sheepishly appeared from his poor hiding place. "Worm," he greeted casually, as if you should expect him to be there. 

"Are you spying on us?" 

"...No." 

"Then what are you doing here?" you asked. "Marc isn't your avatar anymore, and you promised you'd leave them alone."

"I'm simply checking in," Khonshu said. "I'm not the only God with an interest in Marc's skills, despite his... ailment."

"You watch your mouth about Steven," you warned. "The Gods can't do anything to us without having an avatar, and last I checked, they were all dead. Harrow made sure of that."

"True. But Gods aren't the only ones who pose a threat."

"What d'you mean?" 

"Marc made enemies," Khonshu said. "His work will not be without repercussions. Just because he has left that life behind, doesn't mean it's forgotten him." 

"You're speaking like you know something."

"Not at all." 

"Morning love," Steven called, and you all but pushed Khonshu off of the ledge as you heard the bed creak.

"Get the hell outta here Pigeon," you said, shooing him like getting rid of a bird.

"Worm, I'm warning you," he said. "There are threats worse than Ammit yet to be dealt with."

"Well, you have fun with that," you told him. "Find someone else to protect the travellers of the night."  

"Who you talking to?" Steven asked as you yanked the window shut.

"Just mumbling to myself," you lied, wandering back to the bed. "First sign of madness."

"We're all mad here love," Steven said, nuzzling into your side as you climbed back under the covers. "Morning." He traced his fingers up and down your arm, letting out a yawn as he shut his eyes. 

"Where did you get to last night?" you asked casually, reaching out for a glass of water.

He hummed, unaware of what you were on about. "What d'you mean, love?"

"Must've been Marc," you said. "Don't worry." You lay with him a little while longer until you felt nature call, and draped the sheets around you as you wandered to the bathroom. When you came back out, Marc had fronted and was sitting up in the coverless bed, staring at you.

"You alright baby?" you asked, crawling back on the bed and onto his lap. You ran your hands through his hair, but he stared off into the middle distance. "Don't go all quiet on me."

"Baby girl," he said, leaning his face into your chest and hugging you tightly. Then he pulled away and you slid off his lap. "We weren't out last night."

"You... You were," you said quietly.

"What time?"

"I don't know... about midnight-ish?"

"As specific as you can baby, please," he said, seeming overly agitated as he stood up. His hand never left yours.

"I woke up at... 10 past midnight. Yeah, I remember. I heard the door shut and you were gone and I checked the time because I thought it was weird you were going out so late."

"And what time did we come back?"

"I woke up again briefly at 3 and you were here," you said. "I don't know how long you'd been back for. few minutes or few hours. Figured you two were just out taking a walk."

"No baby, that's the problem," Marc said. "Neither of us went out last night."

"What're you saying?"

He looked at you with a fear in his eyes you'd only seen when you were in danger. "Maybe there's another one of us."

You shook your head, cupping his face in your hands as he began to shake slightly. "I'm sure there's a simpler explanation than that," you said reassuringly. He pulled away, pacing about the room. You stood, still holding the blanket to your chest as you hugged him from behind. His fingers intertwined with yours as you rested them against his chest. You leaned your cheek against his back; you could hear his heartbeat thumping loudly, and saw Steven's scared eyes in the mirror. "Y'know... Sometimes, before I knew you, and I stayed over at Steven's place, I watched over him whilst he slept. And, there were times when he sleepwalked. Neither you nor him were in control, it was just your subconscious." You turned him round to face you and the blanket dropped slightly, and he wrapped it around your body and his to keep you warm. "I'm sure, that throughout the years of Steven believing he was a sleepwalker, your body subconsciously decided to do so," you said optimistically, "and now, you guys actually do sleep walk."

"You think so?" he said quietly and you nodded.

"Right Steven?" you asked, and through the mirror he nodded. "I don't like seeing you all scared," you said, pecking his lips. He rested his forehead against yours, and you stared him into reassurance until he nodded. 

"I'm sorry baby girl," he whispered, "I just wanna make certain."

"You don't have to," you said, "because I am." You brushed his hair from your face. "Tell you what, I've gotta get back to the museum, see if they're gonna give me an interview, but when I'm done I'll bring home a nice dinner, and then we can do something to keep your mind off all of this."

"Something?" he asked, a smirk on his face, and you chuckled.

"Something," you repeated.

***

You opened the door to your apartment... Your apartment. You couldn't get over calling Marc/ Steven's place yours. It was home – and when you opened the door, you could hear the shower running. 

"Hey Steven, Marc, I'm back," you called, "and I've got Chinese." You dropped the plastic bag on the table and shimmied your coat from your shoulders. Neither of them replied but it didn't worry you. You busied yourself laying the table and setting out the food - beef for Marc and a vegetable alternative for Steven, who, despite sharing a body with a carnivore, still stuck to veganism. When you heard the shower stop you grinned, placing down the cutlery and reaching for the plates. They were on the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard; Steven was a lot taller than you and hadn't yet moved them, so you stood on tiptoes, reaching out. 

"Think you could give me a hand Steven," you asked as you heard him walking towards you. When he replied only with a slight grunt you frowned, but quickly realised the problem. "Oh, I'm sorry baby, normally I can tell which one of you I'm talking to immediately." You turned around under the impression you were greeting Marc, arms wide and ready to wrap them around his waist, but it wasn't Marc, and it wasn't Steven.