Let the Moonlight In

The Return Home

As light began to drift in softly from the window, Marc started to flutter his eyes open. He quickly lifted his head and looked around at his environment. or more accurately, Steven's environment. As his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, his ears adjusted to the noise, which came in the form of Engelbert Humperdinck's 1968 classic A Man Without Love. "my god, i hate this song." he thought to himself as he sat up straight and cleared his throat.

"Steven, you there?" he asked out loud to the seemingly empty loft. He let steven take control of the body, and was answered with a simple "mhmm".

Classic Steven.

"can't believe it worked" he commented as he stood up and slowly started walking away from the bed, remembering the toll his body took in the battle against arthur. "i can't believe you live in this fricking mess." complained mark just as he was pulled backwards by the restraint around his ankle and face planted on the floor rather violently.

he groaned and coughed, his body recovering from the air literally leaving his lungs. he glanced up around the loft and then gently slammed his head on the floor in frustration.

"oh my gosh, are you okay?" came a voice from somewhere in the apartment, accompanied by the sound of footsteps moving closer to him. when they finally stopped, he slowly tilted his head up, until he was met with a pair of dark chocolate eyes looking down at him, somewhat covered by some strand pieces of curly dark hair.

Layla.

"I'm fine love, it's okay" Steven answered back, as Layla set her mug of coffee on a nearby table, knelt down beside him and helped him undo the ankle restraint. "Do you think you still have to sleep with this thing on every night?" layla asked, examining the red mark around his ankle that came as a result of wearing it every night for years. "No, I suppose I don't since i know now that i wasn't sleepwalking, it was just marc taking control over the body."

As he said this, Steven/Marc actually took the time to get a good look at her. She was wearing a simple pair of gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt with National Art Gallery printed on it.

"hey she's wearing my jumper" thought steven cheerfully. "ok buddy just because she's wearing your sweatshirt doesn't mean she's in love with you" marc quipped, annoyed at steven's slowly evolving romantic feelings for layla. Anyone with half a brain cell could see it. The way Steven looked at her. The way he hesitated slightly when Layla's fingers gently grazed the irritated skin on his ankle. Marc still hadn't completely decided how he felt about this. On one hand, he loved layla, loved her so much that he wanted to divorce her to keep her safe from khonshu. but on the other hand, steven deserved her too. he would always be a part of their system, so maybe sharing her with steven wasn't a terrible idea after all.

"All right, you're finally free" Layla joked. Steven/Marc looked down and saw that the restraint was finally removed. Suddenly, she reached out and held his face in her hands, examining for any bruises. Her face was inches away from his, her hair almost creating a sort of halo around the two of them.

"Well good news: no bruises. Hope the floor's okay", Layla half joked as she leaned back to look at Marc/Steven from further away. As she did so, his attention shifted to her hand, where her entire pinky finger was dark red and covered in dried blood. "Oh my god, Layla! what happened?" Marc expressed with panic in his voice as he suddenly leaned forward and took her hand into his own, assessing the damage. "I'm fine Marc, It probably got stuck in a doorway or something, that's all", she replied calmly, amused that the one thing her husband cared about the most in this moment was her finger . "Layla, you need to bandage that up quickly, or it will get infected. Come on, let's get you washed up befo—"

Steven's sentence was interrupted with Layla's lips on his, her dark curls gently brushing against his face and he allowed himself to let go a little bit, placing both of his hands on the sides of her face. Internally, Marc was surprised to say the least. He knew Steven had terrible experience with romance, given the fact that he had had his first kiss only a few days ago, before he and layla had descended into the cave. "Already buddy, step aside, she was mine first" Marc thought as he took control of the body, just as Layla's lips left his. "I missed you too, guys" she said with a smile that was so warm that Marc/Steven could tell she genuinely meant it.

"Alright come on, let's get me fixed up", she said as she took his hand and helped him up on his feet, making her way over the bathroom with Marc in tow. "So help me gods, if i have to remove that ankle restraint from the bedpost with my bare hands, i will do it" Marc said frustratingly to Steven in his brain. "In case you've forgotten, bruv, this is my apartment, not yours." "In case you've forgotten, this is my body, not yours." "Oh, piss off" replied Steven, as he felt the coolness of the bathroom tiles beneath his feet.