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Title: The Gift of Isis – Writer's Month 2022
Fandom: Marvel; Moon Knight
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Marvel Comics for the creation of some of the most awesome heroes ever. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: polyamory (m/m/m/f), magic, hurt/comfort
Main Pairing: Marc/Layla/Jake/Steven
Marvel Characters: Steven Grant, Marc Spector, Jake Lockley, Layla El-Faouly, Taweret
DC Character: Zari Adrianna Tomaz
Summary: Writer's Month Prompts: kiss + crossover. The boys meet the new avatar of Isis, a visitor from another Earth who holds a magical amulet that allows her to interact with her other self.
The Gift of Isis
Writer's Month 2022
When Layla had gotten married to Marc, she quite honestly had no idea what she signed up for. Then again, there was no way to predict any of the things they'd gone through together, particularly in the past year now. Sometimes, when she was all alone, she wondered how she'd never noticed her husband's DID. How had she not seen that there was a whole different life.
Then again, there had been a third personality that not even Marc had known about, so there was that. Jake Lockley. Potentially the most hurt among her three boys. And that that was even possible, all things Marc considered. He didn't talk much and he was touch starved. All he wanted was to belong and so he had followed Khonshu's orders, even after Marc and Steve got out.
For a bit, anyway. Until they learned about Jake's existence. Both Marc and Steven let themselves be roped into Khonshu's business again. Damn that irritating pidgeon, Steven was right with that.
And now here she was, married to three men, one more traumatized than the other. And yes, sure, she had gotten married to Marc and only him. But how could she not love Steven and Jake too?
"Layla," Taweret had such a cute, happy voice.
Honestly, far as gods went, Layla had scored far better than her boys had. Taweret was sweet and kind and concerned. She was also adorable. That big, sweet hippo, so much cuter than the creepy skeleton bird her boys had to deal with. With a smile did she turn toward Taweret.
"Yes, Taweret? What is it?"
The hippo goddess looked excited. Which wasn't entirely a rarity. She was very excitable, it was one of the things that made her so very charming. The smile on Layla's lips grew as she waited.
"I talked to Isis. And she has a new avatar and we were talking about your husbands and she told me that she has a wonderful idea!" Taweret seemed to be falling over her own words in her excitement. "You have to convince them to go with us and meet her!"
"A wonderful idea?" Layla repeated the words, a wary expression on her face.
"They'll like it, I'm sure they'll like it," assured Taweret quickly.
Mh. That sounded good and she trusted Taweret, to a certain extend (as far as one could trust an ancient god). Still, if she was being quite honest, she'd had enough surprises in the past months to last her a whole lifetime or two. Her eyes wandered over to Steven, who was glaring at the shiny fridge and clearly arguing with Marc. Those two. They loved each other, deeply and fiercely, but they argued so much. Sometimes, Layla suspected that it had something to do with the fact that they were sharing a body. It was much easier to have a fight with someone when you could just go to the next room and cool down. There was always a loss of autonomy to not being in charge of their body and Layla knew how much that frustrated Steven in particular. Having been made aware of the fact that he was sharing his body with someone else came with him, more often than not, being aware when Marc was in charge. That hadn't been the case before, before he had just been asleep.
Often, when it was just Layla and Steven laying curled together on the bed, Steven would talk about how helpless it made him feel to just watch, unable to do anything. Especially when Marc got hurt. And Marc got hurt a lot, since he had assigned himself Steven's protector. Part of Marc still saw Steven as his innocence, to be protected. Even though Steven was now learning to protect himself too, he was Mr. Knight, he did heroics too (his words, not Layla's. Layla's words would focus on the chosen name there. Since Marc was the Moon Knight and Layla liked to tease Steven about how Mr. Knight sounded more like the husband of Moon Knight, like Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Steven would fluster in the most delightful and adorable manner and mumble something incoherent).
"Steven," Layla called out and approached her boyfriend.
His attention was immediately on her. There was something so soft and gentle to Steven that Layla cherished a lot. Not to say that Marc wasn't soft and gentle – he was, especially with her. But there were always walls up around Marc, even when he pulled Layla close enough to be inside those walls, he would shy away from the world. Steven, on the other hand, was more open. More openly seeking affection from Layla. She smiled and cupped his cheek before kissing him gently.
"Taweret asked us to meet the new avatar of Isis."
Silence, for a beat, a frown from Steven. "Why do you always have to be so negative, Marc? This might be a good idea, that could be a potential ally. We fight better with allies. Evidence one is standing right in front of us, if I have to remind you."
The smile on Layla's lips turned more amused at that. "Wonderful. I'll let Taweret know to arrange something for us. We could maybe invite them to dinner or something?"
Steven's face brightened. "Yes, Jake could cook."
Steven had a weakness for Jake's cooking. Even though for Jake, the cooking was more about the comfort of routine that he could rely on. It was a good distraction for him. But yes, Layla and the rest of the system got to enjoy the benefits of this distraction.
/break\
Steven was laying awake at night, Layla asleep next to him. She liked being the big spoon. He should sleep. He was pretty sure Marc and Jake were asleep. It was rare to get a night's peace. But lately, he'd been growing... more and more frustrated. When he'd first learned about Marc's existence, he had been annoyed by it – by it all, everything, the loss of control, the existence of someone else in his body, the fact that this rude bastard had such a beautiful and kind wife and somehow managed to screw that up too! But the more time passed, and the more Steven had learned about his own situation, the more his own thoughts had... changed. Shifted.
He was still very annoyed by Marc, most of the time. But it was a different kind of annoyance. Because his feelings for Marc had... changed. The handsome, annoying bastard had gotten to him. The way Marc wanted to protect him. Not that it didn't feel patronizing at times and that Steven wasn't capable of protecting himself, and Marc, when push came to shove. Still, after the boat. After he'd seen the extend of Marc's protection (not counting the existential crisis of feeling like he wasn't real, at first)? Now, he looked at it all with different eyes.
Marc, the whole system, his past, his own life, Layla. Everything.
He'd developed a quick crush on Layla and he thought things would be awkward. They were when Marc first punched him. After the dust settled down, they finally got to talk to each other. Calmly. And in the end, they came to the conclusion that Layla had two hands and that if Layla wanted to be with Steven too, then Marc could live with that. Begrudgingly at first.
Though that too changed in the end. Because there was something between Marc and Steven. Something that was absolutely impossible to name or explain to anyone who didn't know what their situation felt like. After all, how many people shared trauma this closely with each other, how many people shared their body with another? They didn't just live together and share a girlfriend/wife, they shared their life, their body. Their heart, he supposed, too. The pull was different from anything Steven had ever experienced in his entire life and truly he had no words to describe it.
He just knew that he loathed not being able to kiss Marc. To hold Marc when the other cried, to be held by Marc. Having been dead had made it so much harder, if he was being honest. Because on Taweret's ship, they had both been physically present – if that counted as physically present, he wasn't entirely sure about that whole plane of existence, if he was honest, it confused him a little. But he had known what it felt like to stand opposite Marc as equals, they could hold onto each other, talk to each other face to face and not through reflecting surfaces.
The stronger his feelings for Marc grew, the more Steven longed for that. And it was frustrating.
And now there was Jake too. Jake, who was shy, in his own way. Jake, who'd been hidden away from both Steven and Marc, and who had taken the brunt force of too much physical, and thus also emotional, trauma. Steven wasn't entirely sure where his feelings for Jake stood, as opposed to Layla and Marc where he had a clearer grasp on his emotions, but he knew that he cared deeply for the other and would like to physically give Jake a hug too. And a kiss. Maybe.
"Steven?" Layla sounded sleepy, her lips warm and soft as they pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "Go to sleep. We're having guests tomorrow, you shouldn't be cranky then."
"Cranky?" Steven huffed offended. "I'm not cranky! Marc is going to be cranky. Not me."
"Ah, fuck off," muttered Marc from somewhere.
/break\
Marc didn't like this. At all. He didn't like new people, in general. Steven, Layla, Jake, Frenchie, that's it, that was enough, he did not need any more people in his life. More people made things more complicated. And this new avatar of Isis? He felt like this was just going to drag them all into that person's drama and villain fights too. That they'd become back-up of sorts for a stranger. Like they didn't have enough problems and villains of their own, thanks to Khonshu. That bastard.
"Please stop glaring, babe," requested Layla as she placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
"I don't like this but I have no way out thanks to you and Steven deciding this over my head."
"Over your head," Steven repeated mockingly. "We decided on a democratic approach in this relationship. And we had two votes for yes and one for no."
Marc glowered. If Jake had joined him instead of shrugging his shoulders then it'd at least have been a draw. But then Steven and Layla had teamed up on Jake and talked about how excited they were that he'd cook for them. Flattery got to Jake. Not because he was vain, but because he wasn't used to positive reinforcement – and both Layla and Steven knew how to make someone feel valued and cherished. That, Marc knew from his own experience.
The doorbell rang and Layla was up and rushed ahead so their guest would not see Marc's grumpy face first thing. Marc grumbled and put the delicious food that Jake had prepared for them onto the table. From the corner of his eyes, he could see both Jake and Steven in the reflection of the fridge, watching him. They too were curious to see what kind of 'play date' Taweret had arranged for them.
"Yo—ou must be Layla! So nice meeting you, Isis says Taweret speaks of you so highly. Like, never missing an opportunity to brag about her talented and amazing avatar."
Laughter from both women, before Layla led their guest in. "Yes, I'm Layla. It's nice to meet you."
They entered the kitchen space together. She pretty, that new avatar of Isis. She immediately zoomed in on Marc, her face brightening before she approached them.
"You must be... well, no, I don't know which one of you I'm talking to, but you must be the avatar of Khonshu, huh?" she thrust a hand out. "Zari Tomaz. It's so nice to meet you."
"Marc Spector," Marc replied, shaking her hand. "Pleasure."
"I do mean it, you know. That it's nice to meet you. I've never met someone else in a... similar... situation as mine," Zari smiled and took a seat after Layla indicated it.
"Wait, what does she mean?" asked Steven confused, looking from Marc to Jake.
Jake shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest, hat drawn deeply. He didn't talk too much, but he was highly observant. So he probably didn't like that he didn't know what was going on.
Marc frowned at Zari, even as he sat down with Layla. "What does that mean?"
"Well, there's three of me too," replied Zari, motioning at herself. "Third one's recent."
Marc, Steven and Jake all reacted similar at that. They'd never met anyone who was like them.
"You... have DID too?" Layla spoke tentatively, eyes wandering from Marc to Zari.
"Well, no, that's why I said 'similar'," Zari smiled politely. "Mine's more... complicated."
Layla filled their wine-glasses. "Not to pry, but would you like to elaborate?"
"So before I became the avatar of Isis, I've been part of a superhero team on another Earth," Zari started, then paused. "There are multiple Earths that may only differ in small or big ways-"
Marc interrupted her with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, the multiverse, we all know about it."
"Okay," Zari nodded briefly, eyebrows raised. "So I'm from another Earth and from a superhero team that specialized in time-travel. Only at one point... we had a little oopsie-daisy that changed the future, which was my past. The timeline changed, my entire life changed and with the changed circumstances, my entire personality changed. Only that... my personality wasn't just overwritten by the changes, since I have this handy-dandy piece of magical jewelry right here."
She held up the chain of her necklace, dangling the amulet on it. "The person I used to be in that other timeline... stayed, intact, in here. Meanwhile me, I'm the outcome of that changed timeline."
"She said three," Jake spoke up, voice soft. "Three."
"Right," Marc nodded before he turned toward Zari. "You said three."
"Oh, yeah, third one I kind of picked up along the way here," Zari made a vague motion with her hand. "Time-travel ship also capable of traveling the multiverse. Met another me named Adrianna who was married to this... mh, supervillain. Didn't end too well for her. But she was also an avatar of Isis. So through magical mumbo jumbo – John would be so much better at explaining this – she ended up in the amulet with Zari 1 and me."
Marc leaned back some in his chair, digesting. "That... is an interesting tale."
"So that's why Taweret and Isis wanted for us to meet?" asked Layla. "Because of your similar situation to Marc, Steven and Jake? That's... nice."
"Mh? Well, yes, but no," Zari furrowed her brows. "Did Taweret not tell you?"
At that, Layla turned away, most likely toward wherever Taweret was standing to inquire. She ended up heaving an exasperated sigh before returning her attention to Zari and Marc.
"She did not," supplied Layla. "So, care to bring us up to speed?"
"Right," Zari blinked a couple of times. "Taweret and Isis were talking about your situation and Isis noticed the similarities to mine. I admit, I don't know how... communication between you guys works. But for me, I wasn't even... really aware of her until I noticed that she's inside the amulet."
"How does that work?" Steven grew more interested. "Ask her how it works, Marc."
"Yes," Marc glared at him side-ways. "How does that work for you?"
"It's... a space. Bit like a mind space, but it's not... inside my mind? It's real but it's also... not. The plane of our ancestors, every former bearer of the amulet can access this space."
"Taweret's ship," Marc and Steven spoke nearly at the same time.
"I don't know what that means," stated Zari. "But it's a place where whichever of us isn't in charge of our shared body resides. And when we're both in it, we can communicate with each other."
"Touch... each other?" asked Marc reluctantly.
"Well, it's completely physical, the space, we have hugged in the past," confirmed Zari.
There was a cute little noise coming from Steven at that. And though Jake didn't make a noise, Marc could see the way he straightened up too. They couldn't touch. Not even Jake and Steven right now, while Marc had the body. It would be nice, to have a space for themselves, a real space.
"I'm not going to stay here for good. I have a life to get back to, at one point. But while I'm waiting for my crew to pick me up, I'll fill in for Isis," Zari leaned back, watching them. "She's the goddess of magic. There's a few magic tricks we're up to. If you... are interested, I'm sure we could work something out for you. That's why I'm here. To offer my help. I know... I know I was shocked at first, when I first met the other Zari. Then I got angry and annoyed, that there was someone else living my life, but... I've gotten to know her and I'm glad I have her in my life. I gather it must be the same for you and yours so I thought you may... appreciate this."
"Thank you," whispered Marc. "That's... kind of you."
Marc wasn't used to kindness too much. Not outside those who were his.
/break\
"Oh, this is bloody brilliant," Steven's voice was brimming with excitement.
He twirled around, head tilted back to stare up. Jake stood aside, against the wall. Not liking to be out in the open of unfamiliar territory like this. Marc, he was walking a round, staring in awe. Gorgeous, the whole room was gorgeous. Large, high ceilings with stained glass windows that they couldn't see out of – since there was no outside. Not technically. It was a different plane of existence, a magical one, closely linked to Taweret's realm but not identical. This one, it was all theirs. There was a large c-shaped couch with masses of pillows piled on it. A book shelf filled with books, all the kinds that Steven liked to read and many of Jake's favorites, Marc noted.
"And we can touch things," Steven pulled a book out, flipping through the pages.
"Things, yes..." Marc exchanged a look with Jake.
There was something guarded to Jake's expression even as he unfolded from his hunched over stance. Before Marc had a chance to approach him slowly, Steven beat him to the punch by jumping them both in utter excitement, hugging both Jake and Marc close. And oh. This was nice.
Marc remembered what it felt like to cling onto Steven, to hold Steven, back on the ship. He'd grown resentful with his past self for not relishing that opportunity more, but then a lot had happened back then and it hadn't exactly been a vacation. No time to enjoy each other's company.
This was different. This was... This was theirs. They had their own space now, where they could retreat to be together, all three of them. A space too where the others not in control of the body could go. Their minds were the limit here. They had created this couch, these books, everything.
"No more standing frozen and helpless, having to watch," Steven sounded so relieved even as he buried his face in Jake's chest. "I really do hate that. And I'm glad to be able to be here."
"Nd not alone," added Jake softly.
"Yeah," Steven smiled thinly as he looked up. "Yeah, no longer alone, neither of us."
"There's something I wanted to do," Marc cupped Steven's face. "Can I...?"
Steven looked cute when he was flustered. Marc had seen it, when watching Steven and Layla. This was different. He got to be the one to fluster Steven like that. It was... mh, delightful. At least he now understood why Layla took so much joy in it. They leaned in, both of them, until their lips touched ever so gently. Steven made a little noise at that, sounding pleased.
"Okay," Steven nodded to himself. "Okay, that's... that's a nice thing to do."
Really truly adorable when he was flustered. And Marc understood it, he was feeling slightly flustered himself if he was being honest. They both turned toward Jake at the same time.
"One at a time," Jake rested a hand on each of their chest's.
"Me first," Steven grinned, beating Marc to the punch.
Rolling his eyes, Marc stepped back, indicating for Steven to go first. So he watched the two of them kiss and that looked very good too. Once their kiss broke, it was Marc's turn to get to kiss Jake. He clung onto Marc tightly. He always did. Even before they could kiss or touch, there was always something about Jake that felt like he was holding onto them, if that made sense. It made to Marc, in a way. After that kiss broke, the three of them collapsed onto the couch.
"Okay. This is nice. I could get used to this," Steven wiggled around a little on the couch.
"You boys got space for one more?"
All three turned toward Layla in surprise. There she stood, grinning. Before the three could get up, Layla approached them and took her seat at the end of the couch. She watched them curiously.
"Mh... So this is how you see each other?" asked Layla curiously. "That's... interesting."
"What are you doing here?" Steven leaned into her, receiving a gentle hug and kiss.
"It's a magical space that you can access through being avatars. So am I," Layla grinned. "If you'll have me, that is. I understand if you guys want this place to yourselves too."
"No," Jake frowned at her and made his way around to sit on her other side, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You belong with us. We're only complete with you."
"He's right," agreed Steven, turning around to face her fully. "This is perfect."
Marc just smiled at his wife, over Steven's shoulder.
/break\
Now, individual date-nights turned different. Because while Jake got to cook for Layla and wine and dine her, Marc and Steven were able to curl together in their room here and enjoy each other's company. Marc liked when Steven read to him, because he liked Steven's accent and the way Steven was incapable of not going on a tengine. He would interrupt himself to tell Marc whatever random background knowledge he had about whatever bit of literature he was reading right now. Most of the time, it was related to the Egyptian gods, to learn more.
Which, Marc appreciated a lot. He'd never exactly cared too much about that. So it was nice, to have someone who was truly passionate about soaking up knowledge. Gentle fingers ran through Steven's hair while he went on and on about Ra. He looked so cute.
"-I was in the middle of a sentence. You can't just kiss me in the middle of a sentence."
Steven glared, though it was half-hearted at best. So Marc leaned in for another kiss, unapologetic and greedy for more. Because he got to be greedy now. This was new for him. All his life, he thought... For too long, he thought he didn't deserve good things. He'd even ruined things with Layla because he didn't think he deserved her. He was so glad he had been able to repair things with her again, he was also glad that he had Steven and Jake in his life too.
And the manner in which he got to have them in his life now! For so long, Steven was someone he wanted to protect from afar, not to get to know. Not to interact. But here he was, holding Steven, his fingers entangled in Steven's hair, getting lost in Steven's eyes.
"You can't keep talking with that mouth of yours and not expect me to want to kiss you."
"Ri—ight," Steven rolled his eyes. "You're such a Casanova."
"Am not," Marc pouted a little, resting his chin on Steven's shoulder.
It was just that he was happy. Happy in a manner he never thought he would be. He never thought he'd deserve to have. He blinked repeatedly before hiding his face in Steven's neck.
/break\
Layla was asleep on the couch in their amulet-room, hugging an adorable Taweret plushie – identical to the one she had in their apartment in the physical world. A plushie that Steven had gotten her, from the museum he used to work at. He had found it appropriate and hilarious seeing as she had become the avatar of Taweret. There were no skeleton pigeon plushies though.
"You're broody," Steven whispered softly as he approached Jake. "What about?"
Reluctantly did Jake turn away from his observations of the sleeping Layla and toward the sleepy Steven. He was wearing an oversized Batman shirt that looked rather sweet on him. Jake leaned back against the couch's backrest, inviting Steven to join them.
"Just thinking about things," replied Jake, voice a little hoarse.
"Mh," Steven leaned forward, resting his forehead against Jake's chest. "Stop it. Enough thinking. Marc's going to join us once he's checked into the motel for us."
They were on another job. And oh, was it nice to be here, instead of hiding in the shadows. To be with them. He'd never been allowed to be with them. Slowly, him and Steven laid down, right next to Layla. The couch was so deep in seating space, there was a lot of room to lay comfortably.
"You're still thinking," accused Steven, even as he pressed a kiss to Jake's temple.
It was hard to stop. Especially in moments like these. The soft ones. The moments when Jake truly became aware of what he now had. He'd always protected them both, from afar. Farther so than Marc. Marc, he'd been aware of Steven, but he'd never even known about Jake. Jake, who took over when things became too unbearable even for Marc. When the call was too close. Then Jake would jump in and save him, do the dirtiest part of the work so Marc wouldn't have to.
That was what he existed for. That was his only purpose. That was why Khonshu saw him as the perfect avatar, the perfect weapon to wield. For a weapon was all he was.
Only that that... no longer seemed to be true. No. Because they – they saw more in him than a weapon. Marc, Steven and Layla, they looked at him, they saw him now, truly saw him. Not just being aware of his existence, but they saw what he had done for them, to protect them, and they were grateful for it. They showed him their appreciation. They gave him comfort, in a way that he would have never thought to receive from anyone.
"You're still awake," noted Marc as he materialized in the middle of the room.
"Mh. Hard time sleeping without knowing what you're doing exactly," admitted Jake.
He had a problem with that. He'd always watched. Unlike Steven, he had no problem with being immobile, because he knew how to trigger the switch, how to take over if push came to shove. But this room, as nice as it was to get to spend time with Steven while Marc had the body, or with Marc while Steven had the body, it was mildly unsettling for Jake not to watch. What if something happened? What if he was needed? Yes, they could call to each other, thanks to this magic place, so if he needed them, then Marc could contact Steven and Jake in the amulet. Still. He had spent too many years now living his life the way he had. This was still an adjustment for him.
"I'm here now," Marc's voice was reassuring.
"Wonderful. Can you perhaps talk less then?" Layla sounded annoyed and tired. "I was out all night as the Scarlet Scarab, I would love to actually get some rest, can I?"
"We're sorry, love," chorused Jake and Marc immediately.
"You better be," Layla opened one eye to glare at them. "Lay down. Both of you. Wife's order."
And all three of them knew not to disobey their wife. Most of the time, she did know best. Jake was in... so much awe. He'd watched Marc and Layla for so long from afar, yearning for that too. Falling for Layla too. He never thought he'd be allowed to meet her, much less love her. Yet here he was, finding his place between Layla, Steven and Marc, settling in for the night. Feeling loved.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: Ngl, I felt PRETTY galaxy brain about this plot. Because Zari is based on the DC character Isis, but she has this magic nifty lil amulet. So what if she becomes the avatar of Isis. But on Moon Knight. And Marc, Steven and Jake get to enjoy the amulet magic to physically interact with each other. ALL of this was brought to you for: MY CUPCAKE. Happy birthday, Kimmy! I DO hope you like it and that I did well on the foursome!