Why I'm here

by Haxong

What if it was Jake, instead of Marc, who woke up and interrupted Steven's normal life in London? Steven has questions and so does Jake because neither knew the other existed! The two polar opposite alters strike up an unexpected friendship. By the time Marc comes to, he finds his alters have all ganged up on him and conspired with both Khonshu and Layla behind his back.

2. Jake Lockley, meet Steven Grant

Steven's breath became more even, as if the act of speaking was helping him manage the tremors of his thoughts. "I woke up, and I was sitting at McDonald's, eating a hamburger." He let out a nervous laugh, though it was tight with discomfort. "It's such a stupid thing to get triggered over, but it really upset me at the time." His voice faltered, and for a moment, it seemed like he might pull back again. But instead, he pushed through, continuing, though his words were still tentative. "I'm vegan, you know? I hate fast food."

Samson's expression remained neutral, letting Steven go on. He doubted a slip in his diet was what had made him so nervous.

"It should've bothered me," Steven went on, his eyes focused on some distant point, not meeting Samson's, as though the memory was pulling him somewhere else. "That I didn't wake up in my bed. Or that I woke up sitting upright, not lying down. Or that I woke up and couldn't move my body—couldn't even feel it—but my hands were moving anyway."

Samson's brow furrowed slightly as he processed the shift in Steven's narrative. So it wasn't just a moment of anxiety or confusion. Steven was describing a full blowndissociative episode. The inability to connect with his own body, the strange sensation of seeing himself but not feeling himself. But Samson knew better than to rush in with assumptions. Instead, he let Steven speak, letting the words spill out, no matter how tangled they became.

"I could see my reflection in that stupid little plastic paper towel holder on the table," Steven muttered, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. His gaze seemed far away now, as though he were no longer speaking to Samson, but to the memory itself. "But that face was not my face. It was mine, but not. That… that was my first encounter with Jake of my alters. Because apparently, I have dissociative identity disorder."

XxX

Chapter 2 - Jake Lockley, meet Steven Grant

"Hola, mi amigo,"Jakesaid quietly, taking another bite of his burgerwhile gazing at the strange little moving man reflected in the paper towel holder. "What are you doing in there?"
"Me? What am I doing—what are you doing? You—are you possessing me?!"
The pressure behind Jake's forehead increased, but he ignored the sensation. Grinning wildly, heart racing, Jake grabbed the metal holder to regard it more closely.
"Is that you, Marc?" he asked, excited. In all his years, Jake had never actually met Marc. When he wasn't experiencing a total blackout or playing fly on the wall during Marc's mission, Jake was locked away in their shared mindscape. At least he believed it to be shared, but in all his years exploring it, he had never met Marc there or found a way to communicate with him.
"Marc? What—no! I'm Steven! Who are you?" Steven demanded to know.
Jake's face fell a bit, and he put the metal holder back down. He took another bite and stared at the little man in the reflection with the odd British accent.
"I'm Jake," he said at last, swallowing his bite. "Jake Lockley."
"Stop that!" Steven shouted at him, and Jake felt the pressure in his head increase once more.
"Stop what?" he asked. Who was this guy? A hallucination? An imaginary friend? Or... His heart almost stopped. Could it be another alter?
"Stop eating that! Don't you have any ideahow unhealthy that stuff is? What they put in there!? You are consuming poison!"
Jake raised a brow, amused, glancing down at his burger. Very deliberately, he stuffed the entire rest of it into his mouth, swallowing it while barely chewing. Steven made gagging sounds and glared daggers at him.
"Why are you doing that!? You're tainting my body!" he lamented.
"My body, actually," Jake returned with a grin and started on the chips. He was grinning from ear to ear. Well, this sure solved the mystery of the flat he'd woken up in. Steven Grant was what the ID read he'd found. A fridge filled with rabbit food, a messy flat with a bunch of odd knickknacks—it seemed he found the reason for it. And for Marc not calling back Layla for so long.
Marc must've been out for quite a while, or if he came back at all, he only ever did it for very short periods. Enough to stash his belongings in a safe place but not enough to continue his work for Khonshu. Instead, this new guy had taken over and built himself his own nest.

Steven groaned, his reflection moving a bit more independently now. It looked like he was trying to reach out towards him and stop Jake from putting any more chips in his mouth.
It was freaking adorable.
Jake chuckled, not caring one bit at the heads he turned for talking to a metal paper towel holder in a public fast food restaurant.
At last, Jake took pity on his new alter, left the rest of the chips, and got up. Steven followed him, his slightly bedraggled form visible in every reflective surface Jake passed as he made his way back to the apartment he'd woken up in that morning. At least he didn't have to look for a motel now. All the while, Steven kept complaining:
"Give me—back—my body! How do you do that!? What are you doing? You—are you the reason I'm sleepwalking all the time!? Are you a ghost? A demon?"
"¿Un demonio?" Jake laughed. "I'm your salvation, amigo. Not sure what you are, though. I've seen your flat. French poetry? Really?"

Steven sputtered. "What were you doing in my flat?!"
Jake shrugged. "That's where I woke up this morning. Honestly, I don't know all that much more about what's going on right now than you do. I've never heard of you before. Are you new?"
"New? What do you mean, new? And how can you wake up in my body?" Steven asked.
Jake stood in front of the apartment building.
"Ah, mierda. I didn't know this was our flat when I left this morning. I didn't grab any keys. Do you have any spares?"
"Well, if you give me back my body, I can go and grab them!" Steven replied.
Jake considered that for a moment. Steven didn't seem to know who Jake was. He hadn't even recognized Marc's name. Did he truly have no idea what was going on? In that case, maybe it would be better to give him back the body. If Marc was unwell and Steven had been taking care of him since whatever happened had knocked him out, then he was probably better equipped to deal with all this than Jake was.
"Fine, I'll give it back, but only if you wake me up in time for my date tomorrow at twelve," he offered.
"Date? What date?!" Steven asked.
"I'm supposed to meet Layla at the London Eye," he revealed, watching Steven's reaction in the reflection of the doorknob. The name did not seem to ring any bells.
"Who is Layla?" he asked, frustrated.
"Oh, so you don't know either?" Jake shrugged. "I found her number in one of our phones. Was hoping she could explain some of what was going on. You can meet her yourself if you want to, but I want to be awake for it, like you are now. If you promise to wake me, I'll give you back the body."
Steven looked down at himself, then back at Jake. "How... how would I even wake you?"
Jake tilted his head, thinking. If Steven was new, he probably didn't know about Khonshu either, and he didn't want to put too much on his plate at once. On the other hand, he didn't think it would go over well if he told Steven to hurt himself or step off a roof or something to trigger Jake.
"You could try calling my name," he offered, though he wasn't at all sure that would work. "Or maybe... think about something that makes you angry."
"Angry?" Steven echoed. "Like, for example, some guy stealing my body?!"
"No," Jake replied, rolling his eyes, "something that makes you really angry. Angry enough to want to do something about it. An injustice, like... I don't know, pet owners drowning kittens, whatever. Something like that."
Steven regarded him warily. "Are you sure you're not a demon?"
"I'm sure," he replied, the corners of his mouth twitching in a smile.
"And you won't try to take over again when I wake you up?" he asked next.
"Not unless you want me to or your life is in danger," he promised. "I can't really leave your body, so I die when you die. But unless it's that kind of situation, you can drive the car, amigo."
Steven still regarded him, but in the end, he nodded. "Alright. I promise."
Jake didn't waste time. He almost sighed in relief when he slipped back, finally giving in to the pressure against his forehead. He was careful not to slip too deep into the darkness and keep his focus on what was going on, though.

His vision did briefly go black, though he could still hear what was going on, could hear Steven muttering to himself in slight panic and hear him fiddling with some keys. As Jake focused, he became more aware and started to see shapes and colors again. Then there was a slight tapping, and he heard Steven's frightened voice again.
"Jake? A-Are you... Are you in there?"
His surroundings became much clearer. Jake blinked, still feeling like a trussed-up Christmas goose, unable to move more than a slight wiggle. But he could see now. He could see the messy apartment from this morning, and he could see Steven. From his general position and point of view, Jake could guess that he was probably looking out of the mirror he'd seen earlier hanging on Steven's entrance door.
"Yeah, I'm here," he replied and tried to raise his hand to give a wave. Nope, it wasn't responding.
Steven jumped, clutching his heart. "Oh my days! It's real! You're real!"
Jake chuckled. "As real as you, amigo," he said and wished he could spread his arms and turn on the spot.
"This is bonkers," Steven said, getting really close, his nose almost brushing the mirror glass as he examined his reflection. Jake found himself jerked forward. He grinned a bit at Steven's fascination; it was much preferable to his initial panic.
"How does this work? Where did you come from?" Steven asked.
Jake shrugged. "The mirror thing is new for me too. I was never able to talk to anyone unless I was actually controlling the body before."
"Before?" Steven echoed indignantly, as if Jake had confessed to pissing on his carpet. "When have you controlled my body before?"
"No idea; I don't keep track of time very well," Jake replied. "But essentially, I've been living in that body since forever, amigo. What about you? When did you come around?"
Steven shook his head and took a step back, now a bit fearful again.
"No... No, that can't be true! It's my body, my head, my life! I would've noticed someone like you just taking over; I would've known!"
Jake leaned forward a bit, which he found to be easier now that Steven was panicking. "Are you telling me youdidn'tnotice?" he asked incredulously. "Didn't notice any mornings waking up feeling like you got barely any sleep at all? Didn't find yourself in other places, other cities, othercountries,with no memory of how you got there? Didn't notice missing time, or a bruise or scar that wasn't there before, or one that was there before and suddenly healed up?"
Steven got paler with every word Jake spoke, and Jake leaned back again, smiling grimly. "That's how it is for me all the damn time. And I sure as helldidnotice. I just couldn't make contact until now. I couldn't even watch most of the time; I'd just black out completely."
"B-But... why?" Steven stammered. "That doesn't make any sense. Why am I... we... Why is it like this?"
"Oh, I'mreally not the right person to explainthat one," Jake said with a laugh. "Go ask a shrink or something. I didn't even know you existed; I thought it was just Marc and me! I only know that whenever shit hits the fan, I have to clean up the mess. When either of you are angry or in danger, you become me."
"Wha—Are you telling me there'smoreof your sort in there?" Steven exclaimed.
Jake rolled his eyes. Steven really must be new.
"Look into your pocket."

Steven did, retrieving his own wallet. Jake urged him on, and he opened that too, pulling out Marc's ID card that Jake had gotten from the storage unit.
"W-What is that?" Steven asked with a shaking voice and trembling hands.
"That's Marc's ID. When I first woke up and didn't recognize the place, I looked for clues. I found a key and a mobile phone hidden in the ceiling. The key belonged to a storage unit, which held all of Marc's stuff." Jake smiled at Steven with pity. "Maybe you didn't know about Marc, but I think Marc knew about you."
Steven hurriedly stuffed the ID back into the wallet and the wallet into the drawer of his coffee table, as if it would vanish if it were just out of sight.
"So... so that's just it?" he asked, sitting down stiffly on his couch. "I'm crazy. I have... I have hallucinations and hear voices and... and other people living in my head."
"Not other people," Jake said, trying to sound gentle. "We're all the same person—just different aspects of another. And this," he spread his arms, which he could actually do now, "the voices, seeing me? This isfantastic! I can finally talk to you! Even if we black out, we can now just tell each other what we missed. You and me,hermanito, we can work together to figure this out!"
"Work together...?" Steven jumped to his feet. "Oh my days! What time is it!? I should've been to work hours ago!"
"Wha—Steven!" Jake called after him, but Steven was frantically looking for his phone.
"This is a bit more important than—are you listening to me?"
Steven was very clearly not. He found his phone, stared at the three missed calls from Donna, and then suddenly Jake found himself in control again.
"Steven?" he called out, glancing at the mirror. He waved, but his reflection only mirrored the movement.
Jake sighed. He could feel no presence watching him and decided to simply call it a day for now. He got into the shower—when was the last time he had showered?—and went to bed.

XxX

When Jake became aware the next time, he was back in the trunk. Immobile, blind and with only muffled voices audible in the distance. He focused and listened and was very, very quiet. It was a woman's voice he heard, loud and obnoxious sounding and he really,reallyhoped that wasn't Marc's wife.

Struggling, Jake fought himself upwards. It was a bit like trying to swim when completely submerged and having your feet and hands tied together. He only managed the slightest of wriggling movement and slowly, things became clearer.

It appeared they were in a shop of some kind, colorful toys and plushies lining the shelves and there was an aging woman with straight, dirty brown hair shouting at them.

"You think you can just skip work without a word? You missed the whole day yesterday! Do you have any idea how much extra work you've put on me?" the woman exclaimed, her voice dripping with contempt. "This is absolutely unacceptable! You're still on probation! Do you want to get fired? Because I can make that happen, you know!"

"I, I know, Donna, I'm really sorry-"

That was Steven's voice and from the words and what little he'd caught yesterday, Jake quickly grasped the situation. Since Jake had controlled the body yesterday, hunting for Marc's stuff, Steven had obviously not gone to whatever work he had in this place. Jake had had no idea that Steven was due anywhere, hadn't even known Steven existed. It was a bit comical to him actually. Marc – any version of him, even a strangely British one - working in… a gift shop? Ridiculous.

But Steven sounded so miserable, so subdued as he stammered his apologies. Jake felt a surge of anger boil inside him. Nobody was allowed to make Steven miserable!

"'I'm sorry' isn't going to cut it, Stevie!" Donna cut him off. "Do you even realize how stupid you're being? You're playing with your future here!"

Jake was aghast and infuriated. How could she treat his adorablehermanitolike this!? The more Donna ranted, the more his blood boiled. Steven's voice trembled with remorse, barely making it out amidst the barrage of insults, and Jake couldn't stand it anymore.

With a rush of energy, Jake surged forward, forcing his way through the haze of Steven's anxiety until he broke the surface.

Jake straightened from Steven's slouch, downcast eyes suddenly aflame and piercing Donna with a hateful glare. Hands fidgeting in front of him stilled, then formed themselves into fists that trembled with fury.

"Cabrona! You want to talk about unacceptable?" he spat, his voice low and dangerous. Donna's eyes widened in shock, and Jake savored the sight. "What gives you the right to shout at me like this!? For your information, I was sick in bed all day yesterday! You should be thankful I didn't go to the doctor and get a note to take the whole week off! Do you have any idea what empathy is, or are you just too busy being a tyrant?"

Donna stepped back, her expression a mix of disbelief and confusion. Jake stepped forward, letting his anger fuel him. "What the hell kind of leader are you? Newsflash: I don't fucking need this job! I'm here because I happen tolikethis work, any momentyou'renot here that is, not because I want to be your punching bag!"

The air crackled with tension, and Jake felt invigorated, each word slicing through the air like a knife. "Check you language, Donna. You want to stand there and lecture me? You think I owe you something? You're lucky to have me here at all! If you talk to me like that one more time,one more time,I'll quit this stupid job with a hefty complain to HR and you can get yourself some pooracne-ridden student here to drive away whatever unfortunate customer gets lost in this place!"

"Wha—" Donna stammered, taken aback, her authority crumbling under the weight of Jake's fury.

"Don't you dare try to come back with some pathetic excuse," Jake continued, his tone threatening. "You need to get your act together. Otherwise, I'm sureyoursuperiorscan find someone else to take your place who doesn't think yelling is an effective management strategy!"

"I—uh…" Donna's bravado crumbled, her previous confidence dissipating as she stepped back, clearly intimidated. "Just… don't let it happen again," she muttered, looking flustered as she gathered herself, then turned and slinked away, leaving Jake standing firm.

Her retreating figure disappeared out of the door, and Jake crossed his arms in front of him, satisfied.

"Holy shit," he could hear Steven's voice suddenly and spotted his shocked expression in the reflection of a nearby window. "What just happened?"

"Just having a little word with your boss," Jake replied, a grin spreading across his face. "Let's hope she thinks twice before trying to bully you again. Oh, and sorry for getting you in trouble yesterday."

Jake slipped back under without being prompted, leaving Steven to sway slightly as he regained control over his limps.

"That wasamazing, mate", Steven whispered, giving Jake an impressed stare.

Jake practically glowed under the praise. "You're welcome,hermanito."

"I was so sure she'd fire me", he muttered as he went over to the cash register, presumably preparing for his day at work. "But, uh, you know, I actuallydoneed this job. Very much so."

Jake scowled. "No you don't. You don't need to let anyone treat you like that, Steven!"

"Well, that's a nice thought and all but I do need to pay rent", he protested.

"Maybe but you don't have to work such a shitty job for that", Jake shot back. "I've got about a hundred grand stashed away for rainy days. And London isalwaysrainy, so feel free to help yourself. At least till you found something youactuallylike doing."

Steven's hand froze over the register, in the middle of emptying a fresh package of coins into it.

"Excuse me, you havewhat?"he all but squeaked.

"What, did I stutter?" Jake asked amused.

Steven went red in the face. "W-Where would – how did – do you mean100.000 pounds!?"

"Huh? Oh, no of course not."

Steven sacked in relief.

"I meant dollars. That would be, like 75.000 pounds or something. Still a decent amount if you ask me", Jake made with a shrug.

Steven dropped the package full of coins into the register and slammed it shut. He looked around wildly, making sure nobody was nearby, then grabbed his phone and started hissing at Jake's reflection in the display.

"Where –howdid you get that much money?! You – you live in my head and you must have the same problems I have keeping a job!"

"You know what?" Jake laughed out loud. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but my jefe is actually way more understanding than yours. And he's also kinda big onimage.Why, I have to wear asuitat work." He chortled with laughter. "Didn't have to pay a penny for it either. Why, sometimes I play chauffeur when we're on a way to a meeting – I'm driving a limousine. Not to mention all those business trips all around the world. Plane tickets areexpensive.But, get this, el jefe actually has no concept of money, like,at I can just tell him how much I need for all the assistant work I do and he'll sent me on a job that I can take ahugeprovision on. I can make a hundred grandeasyon agoodweekend." By robbing the mafia or busting a drug deal or even delivering a bounty to legal or illegal authorities. Granted, he'd made some pretty powerful enemies that way but Jake did not leave any witnesses on those guys tended to berich.And if it weren't for the problem of laundering all that money, Jake was sure Khonshu would insist Marc live in a penthouse and run around wearing Rolex and designer shoes.

"Are you for real!?" Steven made. "Who do you work for? And as what?"
"Eh, it's a bit of a mix between personal assistant and security. It's off the books though, so don't go around telling anyone about it, comprendre?" Jake replied.

Steven looked worried. "Y-You're not doing anything criminal, are you?"

"Weeeeeell…" Jake hedged. He didn't want to outright lie to Steven but it was hard to explain the whole Moon Knight thing if Steven had never even met the god.

"Jake", Steven made warningly. "Oh mygod, please don't tell me you're involved in any – anddrugbusiness!"

Jake sighed. "Look, I can't tell you everything rightnow.I will, if it becomes relevant, which granted, it probably will soon if Marc doesn't come back. But I swear on my honor thatI'm not selling drugs. Neither me nor my work brings harm to any innocent person. If anything, Iprotectthose that are in need, alright? Trust me on this."

Steven stared at Jake for a few more moments. Finally, he nodded reluctantly.

"Alright…. I'll trust you."

Jake grinned. "Wonderful! Now that we're on the subject, have you thought of a way to get off from work so we can go meet Layla at twelve?"

"Oh my days, I completely forgot about that", Steven made, rubbing his face. "I… I guess I can claim to have a doctor's appointment? Since you already told Donna I was sick?"

He hurriedly continued setting up the cash register and opening the shop.

"Oh, that's a good idea. Let's call in sick for the rest of the week, all official like", Jakeagreed. "I kinda need to do a business trip to Germany soon and I doubt jefe will be pleased if I have to wait till the weekend."

"Germany!? What the – no! I can't go toGermany!"

"Why not, it's a beautiful country. You could read someGermanpoetry for a change." Jake chuckled a bit.

"Oh please, have youheardthat language?" Steven scoffed. "I can't – this is too much! I can't be working two jobs. And you said there was athirdone. This Marc person, who is gone right now? How can he even be gone if he's living in my head?! Does he have a job too?"

"Marc and I usually work together on the same job", Jake replied. "And I don't know how or why he's gone. It's worrying me a lot actually. I was hoping we could find out today. I got Layla's contact from Marc's phone. Never met that woman before in my life but she was worried enough to have called him a dozen times already."

"This is bonkers", Steven muttered.

Their conversation was interrupted by a customer coming in and Jake fell silent, merely watching Steven as he did his job. Over the next few hours, he learned that Steven was working in the gift shop of a museum. He had a great love for history and mythology and told everyone who listened to him all kinds of details about whatever animal, deity or landmark the articles he sold related to. Around lunchtime, he very, very nervously went to Donna to tell her he was still feeling rather sick and would go to a doctor now. She gave him a wary glare but told him to get lost and to send in a certificate if he wanted to keep his job.

"Don't worry about Donna", Jake reassured him. "I know how to forge a certificate. All you really need is a copy shop and bad handwriting."

"Ireallydidn't want to know that", Steven muttered.

On his way out, one of his colleagues waved at him from what looked like a security booth.

"Hey Scotty, you alright? Your shift isn't over, is it?"

"It's Steven", Steven muttered frustrated but too silent to hear. Aloud he said as he walked over to the man: "Err, no J.B. but I'm not feeling too well. Bad, uh, stomach ache. Really bad. Donna let me off early."

"Oh, well you have to make sure to eat something light then. Like chicken soup, that's the best", J.B. said casually.

Steven just stared at him. "I'm vegan, J.B. I told you that, like three times already."

"Right, right. Well maybe that's your problem, not getting enough vitamins and stuff." J.B. said dismissively. "Well, get better soon, Scott."

Jake grabbed J.B.'s necktie, nearly slamming the man's head on the counter as he pulled him forward abruptly. Noses almost touching, Jake snarled: "It'sSTEVEN,you fucking moron! Get that into your empty skull!"

J.B. stared at Jake wide-eyed, hands raised in surrender.

"A-Alright, mate. Steven, sure. Sorry about that."

Jake let go of him abruptly, switching back with Steven, who stumbled back, stammering: "I-I am really sorry about that. I'm… not feeling well. Sorry!"

"Yeah…. Sure. Go get some, uh, rest."

Steven almost fled the museum, head ducked, hands buried in his pockets.

"Too much?" Jake asked concerned.

"I…Yes,god, Jake…" Steven laughed a little hysterically. "It's like you saidexactlywhat I've been thinking ever since I started working there. I just never would've actuallysaidit."

"I just can't stand to hear them treat you like dirt! Or like you're fucking invisible! Does nobody have any fucking human decency anymore!?"

Steven laughed again, drawing a hand through his hair. "Oh, this is mental. I'm mental."

"You alright?" Jake asked worried.

Steven shook his head and scurried down the stairs to the subway. "I can't decide if I should be terrified or… or glad. I mean… I'm crazy and that that should bother me but… It's like having a superpower and a… a friend all in one." The last part was only whispered and Steven wiped away something wet from his eyes as he slipped into a train. "I never…. I don't think I ever had someone stand up for me like that."

"But youdid",Jake said forcefully. He scrambled for a memory, something, anything he could share with Steven. It was hard because he didn't know how much Steven remembered. When Jake first came to be he'd already had some shared memories with Marc but he hadn't rememberedeverything.

"Hey, do you… Do you remember Roger Thompson?" he asked. "5thgrade captain of the basketball team in Secondary school?"

"I… yeah. He was a terrible bully", Steven said slowly. "He put a dead rat in my locker once and spread nasty rumors..."

"I beat up that guythree timesfor you", Jake told him. "The last time was in the middle of the school yard, in front of everyone.Nobodystepped in, not even the teachers, not until it was over.Everybodyhated him. And did he ever bother you again the year after?"

"N-No…" Steven made, a hint of wonder in his voice.

"See? I'm on your side.I might not have known you personally but I was still there when you needed me. I'll always be there", Jake told him determined.

"I thought…. I thought I was alone…" Steven made weakly.

"You'renot.You're never alone,hermanito." Ugh, Jake hated to see Steven cry. People were starting to look at the bedraggled man with tears in his eyes, talking to himself in the subway train and that made Steven only more miserable.

"What…. What does that mean, that word you always call me?" he asked, trying to distract himself.

"That…. Oh nothing, that's just Spanish for 'little brother'", Jake said. "I can call you something else if you don't-"
Jake suddenly found himself in the front, blinking confused.

"Steven?" he asked, looking around for a reflective surface to pin his alter down in. He found him in one of the metal bars, crying his eyes out.

"I-I'm sorry, I… I don't know what came over me, I… I'm sorry I called you a demon yesterday! A-And I was mean to you. I… I didn't…. I was just surprised."

"Shh, hey, that's alright", Jake made, patting the bar as if it was a pet, smiling a bit helplessly. "We'll figure it out together, hm? I'm going to need your help to find out what happened to our third brother. We'll all be looking out for each other from now on,¿de acuerdo?"

"Okay", Steven made, sniffling a bit. "O-Okay. Yeah, let's, let's do that."

Jake gave the bar one more pat before he got up, leaving the train on the next stop. He still had a ways to go to the meeting point but he walked down the station a bit, re-entering the train in another wagon, where people were not staring at him like he was crazy. On his way he stole another cap for himself from a passerby, drawing it down.

"Jake…?" he heard Steven whisper in his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, ", Jake whispered back.

XxX

AN: And just like that, Steven and Jake are friends!

While watching the TV series, I thought wow, Steven is so fucking alone, I just wanna hug him. I mean, Jake's not perfect but he cares and he's helluva protective, why wouldn't Steven latch onto that? Even if it means he's insane. Steven always had trouble keeping up an ordinary life because of the blackouts, which leads to social isolation and financial trouble. Jake basically him he needs to have neither if he just embraces his mental illness. Acceptance of the status quo is the first step you have to make to make things better. I mean sure, the killing people bit will be hard to swallow once we get around to that but right now, Steven only sees the ups. And the whole hidden past and Layla thing, well, that is not quite as daunting when he has a bro at his side that is just as clueless as he is. It's actually right up Steven's alley, who does have a good dose of 'curious explorer and solving riddles' in him after all.

Next week, we meet Layla!

OMAKE

Steven: *comes home depressed after yet another day as a loser*

Jake: Hey Steven, I'm just a voice in your head but let's be bros and unionize against Marc! I'll give you 100.000 dollars, feel free to hire me to shot your boss!

Steven: WTF, who is Marc, who are you and how do you make so much money!?

Jake: It pays really well to drive pimpin' white limousines lol

Marc: STAY AWAY FROM MY LITTLE BROTHER YOU PSYHO!

Jake: Na-ah, this isn't your chapter, go wait in the corner!

Steven: I think I need therapy... Can someone please lock me up?