When It Rains, It Pours (Moon Knight, Steven)

[Wolfwings22]

Here I am back with another Moon Knight fic since I can’t get enough of him these days. This’ll mostly be dealing with Steven coming down sick while he has control of the body and Marc offers help while Steven is adamant not to give up the body. It’s a fluff piece between them just to satisfy the desire that I have for Marc and Steven to care for each other since they deserve the world in my opinion. I hope you all enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prompt—someone with a slight fever having no choice but to walk through the rain to get home, no umbrella nor rain jacket, and when they get back, their oversensitive skin stings as they change out of their freezing wet clothes, and they revel in the comfort of their bedsheets, chills remaining long after having come in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Gray clouds swirled in the air, bringing with them fierce gusts of wind that threatened to knock even the steadiest of people off their feet. Pieces of leaves and twigs from trees were strewn about while many of the boutique owns began to close their doors and lock up before the true storm hit and people began searching for cover.

 

    ‘I told you that we should have left earlier,’ Marc hissed in Steven’s head as the gift shop worker spend down the sidewalk. He held his briefcase in one hand and his coffee in the other, attempting to reach the bus stop before the rain began. ‘And you didn’t even bring an umbrella.’

    

    “First off, the forecast didn’t predict rain. Second, would you bring an umbrella even if you knew it was going to rain,” Steven flashed, stepping over a massive pothole.

 

    Steven could practically see Marc rolling his eyes. He always talked a big game when he wasn’t in the body, but the second he was, he would’ve been as nonchalant about things as Steven was. It was only slightly easier to take care of ones self when there were others that depended on it. Steven was only slightly better at taking care of the body than Marc, though Marc did try to understand where Steven was coming from, sometimes.

 

    Steven continued forward and was almost to the bus stop when the skies opened up and rain began to pour from the clouds. Steven lifted his satchel over his head in an attempt to keep himself dry. It didn’t take long for him to realize that it was having the opposite effect and he forced to wrap his arms around himself, feeling the rain douse his skin. It drenched his hair and he could feel his curls sticking to his scalp and back of his neck. It was extremely uncomfortable if Steven was being honest. He didn’t want to voice his discomfort to Marc, but it was hard to hide.

 

    ‘You alright,’ Marc questioned despite himself.

 

    Steven forced a smile, teeth chattering. “N-Never better,” he replied only for his face to slightly contort as he lifted his elbow to face, breath hitching wildly. “IthcShew! ItchShew! ItchShew! Ugh, bugger!” He sniffled wetly, rubbing the back of his hand against his nose. “I dond’t take id we have any tissues on us?”

    

    ‘Not unless you put them there.’

 

    Steven had been afraid of that answer. He sighed as he stood firm, head bowed forward as rain continued to fall onto his back. He was seriously regretting his decision not to check the weather, and not bringing a small umbrella just in case of a storm.

    

    Marc huffed to himself, realizing that it wasn’t like Steven not to be chatty. He was always either talking in their mind, or speaking out loud when he knew that Marc may or may not be listening. It was rare for him not to be talking, especially when they were alone or when Steven was feeling particularly lonely or disconnected from reality.

 

    ‘Hey, you good?’ Marc managed to find a semi translucent sign that gave him enough access to look Steven over. It was difficult to do so in the rain, and if he didn’t know any better, he would say that Steven looked ragged beyond just what the rain seemed to be doing to him.

 

    Steven nodded, beads of rain running down his face in steady streams. “Forgot how awful the storms can be this time of year. Should’ve worn a thicker jumper perhaps.”

 

    Marc didn’t even want to ask what a jumper was. He was more curious about why his alter looked so sullen. The rain couldn’t have been the entire cause of this, surely.

 

    Marc wasn’t about to ask anymore questions as the bus finally rolled up. It had been going faster than Steven had anticipated and sprayed a generous amount of a nearby puddle on his trousers. Steven couldn’t stop a whimper from sounding as the doors opened and he bustled forward, legs locked in discomfort as the soiled clothing rubbed against his skin.

 

    Once inside Steven picked a seat towards the middle where the heater was located. He shuddered as he squeezed as much rain water from his long sleeves as possible. No matter how hard he squeezed, the clothing was still damp and he was left longing to get back to his flat and take a nice warm shower. Listening to the rain was nice enough when one was inside, but definitely not when one had to travel in it.

 

    When the bus finally began to move forward onto its next stop, Steven couldn’t stop his body from slumping down against the window. He watched the world go past through water coated lenses only to close his eyes when it made him dizzy. He wasn’t one to usually grow carsick, but something was making him oddly woozy.

 

    Steven wasn’t able to ponder it much further as he let out a half pant, half cough. “ItchsSHew! ItchSHew!” The sneezes were upon him before he had a chance to cover. Luckily, he was alone on the bus save one person in the very back, who Steven would venture was sleeping from the snores that could be heard from that direction.

 

    Sighing, Steven’s eyes began to close.

 

    ‘Steven,’ Marc began. ‘Steven?’

 

    Steven let out a low mumble before drifting back out, not quite asleep but definitely not awake either.

 

    Marc frowned once he appeared in the window of the bus, watching Steven’s shallow breathing and realizing that his nose was wet and running. Steven made no move to rub at his nose, nor even seemed to be aware what their body was doing. It was highly unusual for Steven even after a long day’s work or a restless night.

 

    Marc took control of their hand and brought it up to gingerly rub at their nose with as gentle of a touch as possible so that Steven didn’t wake. He squirmed away from the touch until he realized that it was his own hand and he relaxed against it.

 

    “Thanks,” Steven mumbled.

 

    Marc nodded in response, keeping his place in the bus window. He gazed at the buildings as they passed by them. London may not be a place that he was overly familiar with, though he did know when their stop was and how long it took to get there.

 

    ‘You can give up the body to me. I can tell you’re tired.’

 

    Steven waved him off weakly. “I’ll be fine after a kip.”

 

    It wasn’t quite what Marc had been hoping for Steven to decide, but he had made a promise to him that he wouldn’t forcibly take over unless Steven consented. It was part of their new stance of a united front. It was far from perfect, and it was a dramatic learning curve for both of them. Marc was trying to do better at listening, and this was one of those times.

 

    ‘I’ll wake you up when we get there.’

 

    Steven smiled blissfully and allowed himself to drift off.

 

    It felt like only a few moments later when Marc was rousing them awake. Steven let out a gasp and a snort, wincing at how his skin seemed to prickle thanks to his damp clothing. It rubbed at him all the wrong ways and he desperately wanted to change so that he could be into something dry and never even have to think about going out in the rain for at least another day.

 

    When the bus slowed at their stop and Marc gave Steven a few mental nudges to get moving.

 

    It took him a few seconds to grip onto the metal poles surrounding him so he could haul himself to his feet. He shuffled forward, waved to the bus driver before struggling down the steps and bracing the rain once again.

 

    The wind whipped in his direction, bringing with it wave after wave of harsh rain that stung at his face with each step. His eyes screwed shut as he struggled forward, coughing and sputtering as water dripped into his nose and eyes. He kept his mouth firmly closed just in case the wind brought rain in that direction. Never before did he feel so attacked by a storm, yet here he was, wanting to get to his flat as soon as possible while each step was that much more of a struggle than the one prior.

 

    Marc could feel Steven slipping, toying at the edge of consciousness. His movements were stiff and almost robotic in nature as though he was relying on muscle memory alone to take them home. Marc couldn’t quite blame him for that even as he wondered if this was the start of Steven disassociating or if it was pure exhaustion on his part. Either way was fine in it’s own right but knowing which one it was would’ve made Marc feel that much better.

 

    When Steven finally got them to their building and pushed the door open, a rush of cool air had him stopping dead in his tracks in the middle of the hallway. He lifted his arms out at his sides as a bird might, letting the rain water drip and pool at his feet. He lifted each foot in turn, a small whimper leaving his lips when he realized that not only were his shoes wet, but his sock as well. They squelched with each step that he took and if he wasn’t already so uncomfortable, he may have just stopped right then and taken them off. There wasn’t time for that and a surefire urge had him making sure that he kept moving forward. Steven would say it was his conscious, though Marc knew otherwise.

 

    The trip in the elevator felt like an eternity with Steven still dripping. His hair allowed a small stream of water to run down his back and cause him to shiver even more than he was before. He forced his jaw to clench just so that his teeth wouldn’t chatter, fearing that would only exacerbate the slight discomfort that he felt growing in his skull. It wasn’t a headache quite yet even though it seemed to be heading in that direction.

    

    Steven struggled down the hallway to their apartment and once he opened the door and stepped inside, he let out a volley of itchy sneezes that left him trying to lock the deadbolt and other locks with his eyes shut in between rounds of sneezing. He hadn’t even bothered covering as it was just him in the apartment. After the fit passed, Steven couldn’t even tell if his nose was running or if his entire face was still cold and wet from the storm.

 

    He shot a longing look at the bed only to hear Marc’s voice sternly in his head. ‘Shower first.’

 

    Steven grumbled to himself. “Fine, fine. Shower first.” He set down his satchel and coffee cup on the counter before heading over to the bathroom, shuffling his feet forward in an attempt not to bend his legs so he wouldn’t have to feel the cold material of his trousers rubbing against the bend of his knee.

 

    Once inside the bathroom, Steven closed the door and began to strip. It was a tedious process as wet clothing was notoriously difficult to peel from his skin. There was no escape for the feeling as well. His teeth gritted together as he forced his trousers off and tossed the offending clothing in the corner followed by his socks. Taking off his shirt was just as uncomfortable as his trousers, and he only got halfway in doing so when a powerful sneeze shook his shoulders and left him nearly stumbling into the sink with the shirt pressed against his face.

 

    It was the most uncomfortable and wet excuse for a tissue Steven had ever experienced. He reasoned it was never meant for that, but he used it reluctantly anyway and cleaned up the mess before throwing the shirt into the pile of soaked clothes. His boxers were next, which were wet as well and left his skin prickling uncomfortably. Despite the offending clothing being off, Steven didn’t feel any less uncomfortable as he was still damp and dripped, body shaking with shivers and teeth chattering even with his jaw clenched.

 

    Marc had watched the entire display from the mirror as steam began to collect on the edges. Not being in the body didn’t stop him from realizing that goosebumps were appearing on Steven’s arms and neck as his alter fought to keep his head raised so that more water didn’t run from his hair down his exposed back.

 

    “Dond’t even say adythig,” Steven snapped before Marc could speak.

 

    Marc dipped his head. ‘I wasn’t about to, but now that you’ve started.’ He trailed off as Steven began to cough openly toward the sink, fighting to swallow and regain his breath. ‘Steven.’

 

    Steven looked up, eyes overbright. He managed to get control over his breathing and he swallowed thickly. His nose may not have been running at the moment, but it was clogged enough that it was effecting his consonants when he spoke. “Cad we have this talk lader, yeah?”

 

    ‘Whatever you say.’

 

    Steven took that as a sign the conversation was over. He nodded to the mirror before stepping into the shower and closing the curtain tightly once he was settled.

 

    Immediately the warm water struck his skin and left him shivering and signing in relief. The warmth that this water brought was so much more enjoyable than the freezing shards of rain that he had walked through that evening. He stepped under the spray and brushed his hands back against his hair, allowing the warm water to overtake the chilled rainwater that he could still feel. Wet clothes sticking to him was one thing, but the aftermath of it was difficult for him to overcome.

 

    Marc gave Steven his privacy while he was in the shower, letting him enjoy that time as he tried to get warmed up. He was certain that Steven may need some gentle coaxing later when it came to taking care of himself after the shower, but right now he had things pretty well covered.

 

    Steven stayed in the shower for twice as long as he usually did, allowing the steady flow of water coat him like a warm blanket. It wasn’t until he felt the water begin to turn cold on his own did he resign himself to the fact that it was time to get out. Sighing, he turned off the faucet and forced the shower curtain open before stepping out of the tub, the change in warm to cooler air causing him to cause and sniffle, arms pressed against his chest as he shuddered.

 

    He reached for the sink and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself, still shivering. He tried to warm himself up to the best of his ability while his nose began to run. Once he had dried the ends of his unruly hair, he wiped the underside of his nose. It wasn’t until he lifted a shy glance that he saw Marc’s worried expression staring back at him. He was almost certain Marc would deny it if questioned, but it was definitely there as far as Steven was concerned.

 

    It was times like this that Steven was thankful to Marc’s mercenary training that always had him preparing and thinking ahead. That was the only explanation that Steven could think of when he saw a change of clothes on the end of the sink that he couldn’t remember putting there.

 

    ‘Thanks,’ Steven thought as he swiped the boxers and shorts first before throwing on the shirt. He didn’t even bother to brush his teeth as he shuffled from the bathroom, turning off the light as he left.

 

    His gaze locked on the bed and he started in that direction, relieved that he finally could get some much needed sleep. He was exhausted and still chilled despite changing out of his wet clothes and taking a hot shower. It was as though the fierce coldness was a thick blanket that he couldn’t shake no matter what he tried. Perhaps once he got under the bedsheets he would feel a lot better. At least, that’s what Steven was hoping for.

 

    Steven stepped over the ring of sand and crawled into his bed. The sheet and comforter were pulled up over his head as Steven curled into a fetal position with his legs almost touching his chest. Body aching, Steven grasped his legs under his thighs and attempted to keep himself from shaking. He was out of the rain, why was did he still feel like he was in the thick of it?

 

    ‘Steven?’

 

    Steven winced at the worry in Marc tone. That was what he had wanted to avoid and now it seemed that his alter already knew what Steven himself was trying to disguise. “Marc,” he croaked, surprised at the roughness of his own voice.

 

    Marc remained quiet, allowing himself to hang in their headspace until Steven spoke again. He was working on giving Steven space when he needed it, which extended to letting Steven come to him with concerns about the body when he was in it. Marc didn’t have the luxury of feeling exactly what was wrong with the body when he wasn’t in control of it, so he needed Steven to communicate that as he saw fit.

 

    He didn’t have to wait long as Steven sucked in a trembling breath and pitched forward into the pillow. “ItchSHew! IthcSHew! Hih...ItchSHew!” The final sneeze had him whimpering at now it had hurt his throat and left him unable to take a full breath in through his nose. “Marc, I dond’t feel good.”

 

    ‘Turn over so that I can see you.’

 

    Steven reluctantly did as Marc asked and rolled onto his other side to face the nightstand where a mirror was propped up just for this purpose. His head lifted so he could make eye contact with the mirror, a tentative swallow taking up all the time that Marc needed to appear in the reflective surface.

 

    Steven looked nearly the same to Marc as he had before taking a shower. He was slightly more pale than usual with swollen sinuses and fever bright eyes. There was a flush on his cheeks that was another indicator of a fever. It wasn’t something that Marc would’ve ordinarily picked up on if he had been looking at his own face, but looking at Steven was as easy to read as a book.

 

     ‘How long have you been feeling like this,’ Marc questioned.

 

    Steven closed his eyes as he thought deeply, sniffing hard to chase part of the congestion away. “Didn’t feeling poorly until lunch. Hoped it was just the weather making me feel dodgy.”

 

    ‘I’d say there’s much more to it than the weather. You should’ve said something, Steven.’

 

    “I didn’t want to worry you. You’ve got your own shite to deal with. You don’t need me adding to it.” Another harsh shiver trailed down his spine and had him clenching his jaw to stop his teeth from chattering.

 

    Steven could be too stubborn for his own good if Marc was being honest. Then again, he supposed that Layla may say the same thing about him; best not to read into it too much.

 

    ‘Did you take anything?’

 

    “Had a cuppa earlier.”

 

    ‘A cup what?’

 

    Steven rolled his eyes. “A cuppa, Marc.”

 

    ‘Yeah, okay, any medicine? Tylenol, anything?’

 

    “Is Tylenol vegan?”

 

    ‘Is Tylenol....’ Marc trailed off as he racked his brain for the best answer to that question. Yes, he knew what being a vegan meant on paper, though he wasn’t nearly as fully aquatinted with it as he was sure Steven wished him to be. It was something he had been meaning to read up on per Layla’s suggestion. It wasn’t always all that feasible considering that Steven always tended to be there explaining it more until Marc became frustrated and gave up. ‘I don’t know.’

 

    “Best not risk it then,” Steven decided as he lifted a hand to rub at his tickling nose. “Maybe some rest will do the trick, yeah?”

 

    Marc didn’t have the heart to tell Steven that he doubted it. Sickness always tended to hit them hard, and although Marc couldn’t remember generally suffering through a major illness without Steven present at some point, he wasn’t certain. Fever were one of the worst triggers for dissociating only behind more direct triggers from their childhoods. Marc would have the opportunity to feel exactly what Steven was going through probably sooner rather than later.

 

    ‘Maybe.’

 

    Steven waved Marc off and yawned, snuggling deeper into the mattress and tucking the bedsheets as tightly around himself as possible. His eyes started to close and he longed for sleep to claim him so that he wouldn’t have to go through the discomfort any later than he had been.

 

    Marc understood exactly what Steven was trying to do and used as much influence as he could to smooth over Steven’s thoughts. It wasn’t something he had completely mastered, in fact he had barely even become proficient at it, but that didn’t mean it was going to stop him from trying.

 

    Whether or not it was Marc’s influence or Steven’s exhaustion, Steve finally drifted off and began to snore. There was a distinct possibility he would wake up soon feeling all the worse, but for right now Marc could rest easy knowing that his alter would be taken care of no matter what.

 

    The End