The Temple
The Temple
***
Chapter 1 - Our Hystory Makes Who We Are
***
Warnings:
18+ smut, angst, and fluff, sexual themes, foul language, traumatic past memories, mentions of Randall dying, graphic depictions of a car accident, mutual pining, happy ending, mentions of death, injuries, blood, and gore, trauma, childhood trauma,
This is a one shot. I have no plans to make a sequel. I MIGHT make a follow up, but I don't know. I am a clown. 🤡
Summary:
Khonshu has been asked by his sister, Hathor, to retrieve a priceless artifact. She has specifically asked for you to accompany his Avatar(s), and not Layla, yet Hathor refuses to say why. Khonshu doesn't give two shits about why, nor does he care enough to ask. All he cares about is the fact that Hathor guaranteed him of your safety.
There's just one thing… You have been head over heels in love with Marc, Jake, and Steven for years. In fact, you were the only one who knew about all of the alters, even when they didn't, and each one had a special connection to you and fell in love with you, but they refused to say anything, fearing you would leave them.
***
You met Marc first, so long ago, when you were children. You had met him the year before his brother had died. You would see him and his brother every weekend when your parents got together to drink and play cards, while the three of you would play out in the yard, or down in your basement playing games on an old Nintendo or Sega. Things were great, and Marc was always kind to you, mostly because you were so nice to his brother, making sure he was always included, even though he was younger.
You would play video games at your house on the game systems. You were nice to Randall, letting him win all the time, but you never showed any mercy to Marc, and kicked his ass every time. When you went to their house, you would play in the woods or the creek behind their home.
Just being with them made your life so much brighter. You didn't have many friends to begin with, and you had just moved to their neighborhood. Now for the past year, you've spent nearly every day with them, the weekends being your favorite.
Even though you made new friends, you spent a lot of time with Marc and Randall. They were your favorite, because Marc was your best friend, and his sweet little tag along brother was no bother to you.
Then one day, the accident happened.
The day that Marc's brother died.
It was a regular cloudy day, during the flooding season. You were playing outside, and exploring the area like you always did with them, but today was different. Today the boys were trying to impress you, by showing you the caves in the woods. You had never seen a flood before, so you didn't know why it was so important to stay away from the creek and the caves.
But Marc knew better, and yet all he wanted to do was show you the cool caves, hoping to impress you. He figured it would be an in and out job, but alas, things didn't go according to plan. The cave had filled with water too fast, and you and Randall had gotten stuck in a deep end of the cave.
You and Randall panicked and cried. You managed to calm down enough to talk Randall down as you held him up on your shoulders to keep him out of the water. While trying to help Randall up the wall to his brother, he slipped and kicked you in the face. You were temporarily stunned and you lost your balance and slipped, falling back against the rocks.
Everything went black as your head and back filled with pain, and you inhaled dirty water. Your body didn't put up much of a fight, and you didn't move, blood trailing down your face as you faded away into unconsciousness. Randall was screaming about you being hurt and bleeding to Marc, and Marc had scrambled up that wall so fast, he had no idea how he had done it.
Unfortunately by now, Marc had a choice to make, to save you first, or his brother, then go back for the other, and it would forever haunt him. He didn't even know if you were still alive, but he leapt to you first, and scrambled up the wall again to drag you all the way out of the caves to safety. He somehow got you breathing, then raced back to get his brother.
The same thing happened to Randall in his panic to get out while being alone.
Tragedy struck, and Randall died.
Marc had chosen to rescue you first, and ever since then he had changed. You blamed yourself for it, and you believed it was your fault that Randall died. He never once said it was your fault, but he also never said it wasn't, either. He blamed himself the most, and became a broken shell of your best and most precious friend.
Marc and his family were never the same. Ever since his brother died, his mother became a mean drunk, and your parents decided they didn't want you to go there anymore, because she blamed you just as much as she blamed Marc for Randall's death. The visits suddenly stopped, and you didn't see them until the funeral, then it was once a month you would get together, but usually away from Marc's home.
Soon the visits petered out to once every two months, then three, until it was three times a year, when Marc would be shipped off to your house for the Spring, Summer, and Winter breaks away from school, and his mother. It was your father's idea to invite Marc over so often, trying to do Marc's father a favor to try and keep his son away from his abusive wife.
Abuse you didn't have any idea about.
You noticed over the next three years that Marc had changed drastically. He would zone out a lot, and you assumed he was daydreaming to chase away the pain, but when he would come to, it was like a switch had been flipped, and he was no longer your best friend.
Well not the one you had met anyway.
This new version of himself was timid, shy, and soft-spoken, very much like Randall. He was quiet and barely spoke, choosing to read books all day, but if you asked about what he was reading, which you always did, he would tell you all about it with such passion, energy and gratitude. He was nicer when he was like this, truly a sweetheart, and the very definition of a good boy.
He suddenly started opening doors for you, insisting for you to go first. He was pulling your chairs out for you to sit, giving up his spot if there was nowhere to sit. If there was only one treat left, you gave it to him, only for him to break it in half to share it with you. He would make sure to walk between you and the road, and he always kept your pace. He would listen patiently and not interrupt you while you spoke.
Even though he looked the same, he was entirely different. His eyes were lighter, and he smiled more. His voice changed, and he sounded British, which you didn't mind. You had always made comments to Marc that you liked the English accent, and that they always sounded friendly, even when they were mad.
It was six months after Randall had died, that this new Marc told you his name was Steven Grant. You recognized the name from one of Marc's favorite movies, some sort of archeologist treasure hunter like Indiana Jones. You didn't dare laugh, or make fun of him for it, figuring Marc was playing pretend or whatever to cope. You went along with it, and made friends with Steven, the gentle and sweet cinnamon roll.
Steven was a very good friend, always kind and considerate of your wants and needs. When Marc came back, acting like his old self, he would apologize profusely about checking out and leaving you with a broken version of himself. You assured him it was fine, and that you enjoyed Steven's company, and valued both his and Marc's friendship. He begged you not to tell Steven about him, and to just let Steven live a happy and simple life, free from his horrible mother. You agreed, and were there for them, through thick and thin.
His father, Elias, noticed the change as well, and he took notice of the fact that you knew, and you didn't make fun of his son or try to push him away. He noticed how you would always call his son by the name of whoever was in control, like it was second nature, and for that he was ever grateful.
A year after meeting Steven, during the Christmas holiday, you met Jake.
Marc was shipped off to your house, mostly because his mother demanded a vacation to Hawaii, and she was dead set on not having Marc there. Your family did Marc right, and they decorated your home with both Christmas and Hanukkah things. Anything they needed for Hanukkah, they made sure it was there for the boys. Your family celebrated both holidays, and they made sure to include them in Christmas.
Your parents got Marc practical and useful gifts both he, and Steven would enjoy. They knew about Steven, but they never really talked to you about it, but you knew that knew, by how they treated Marc when he was Steven. It was a silent understanding. Plus there was absolutely no way they could deny ever hearing you outright calling Marc, Steven.
Every traditional thing that could happen for Hanukkah, happened. Giving the daily gifts, usually small toys or candy coins and using them to play games, like Dreidel. Your dad would read scripture readings every day, and your mom would make home-cooked snacks, like latkes and jellied filled donuts.
Three stockings were hung over the fireplace, all plain and unmarked. When Steven had asked who the third one was for, your parents claimed it was for the local charity for one lucky child to receive. He accepted that answer, and because he was such a well behaved lad, he never peeked inside of any of them.
On Christmas morning, Steven was up before Marc, and when he came down, your family did a round of gifts, and let him check his stocking. Then once all of his things were gathered and stashed away in Marc's suitcase, Marc came out and you all did another round of gifts.
It was the day after, on Boxing day, a tradition of massive sales just starting to become a thing, when Jake came tumbling out.
You were in a large mall, scouting out the toy and electronics sections with Steven, when you had found the last copy of the video game you had been wanting for a while in the bottom of a bargain bin. You held it in your hands, a look of triumph on your face as you squealed and said you were going to buy it.
Some large older boys happened to overhear you, and one of them snatched it from your hands. You tried to get it back, but they laughed at you and shoved you around while calling you names. You begged Steven to help, at the very least help take you away from them, but he froze up.
Boy did he ever. You saw him twitch and his brows furrowed. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he calmly asked for the boys to stop. The second he spoke, the boys started making fun of him for his accent, calling him weak and stupid, among other hurtful names.
Again Steven twitched, and you thought for a split second that Marc was coming out to deal with the situation, but boy were you wrong.
Your friend growled as he took a few steps forward with a mean look in his eyes, and his teeth bared in a threatening sneer.
"Give her back the game. She found it first, gilipollas." The boys laughed in his face, with one of them shoving him and knocking him on his ass. He snarled as he got up, and shoved the guy back, then kicked him in the balls in a swift movement. He turned and punched another in the face, breaking his nose in the process. The last boy standing handed the game right over and he ran off.
You ended up getting the game, and neither of you got in trouble, thanks to the clerk who had arrived just in time to see the whole thing start because of those unruly boys. The whole car ride home, your friend was quietly watching how happy you were to read the box and the little booklet that came with the game. He decided that your smile was precious, and he would do anything to make sure people like those delinquents never harmed you again.
He was quiet when you unboxed the game completely, and stuck it into your console. You did a happy little dance when the title screen came on, without having to fuck around with it like most of the games for that system. You asked him to play with you, and he did. It wasn't a game where you beat each other up, it was a cooperative puzzle game, and he seemed like he loved it. He barely spoke at all, but he smiled when he saw how much fun you were having.
You spent the whole day with him, noticing how he was again so different. This boy sounded much different from Marc or Steven, and he spoke fluent Spanish sometimes. Especially when he lost a game of beat 'em up with you. You didn't understand the words he would say, but he was just as nice to you as the other two were. Before bed, he told you his name was Jake Lockley, and that he wished to remain a secret to both Marc and Steven, so you kept his secret.
***
Over the years you maintained the routine of Marc coming by during breaks, and it became increasingly clear that he was much safer in your home, than his. Everytime he would come back to your family, he would be covered in cuts and bruises, or other worse injuries, like a broken nose, or busted up hand on multiple occasions. Your parents never noticed Jake, but he was always the one to greet you when Marc arrived at your house. He would stay just long enough to say hi and have a shower, then he would switch out, allowing Steven or Marc out to live their lives with you and your family.
High school was rough for Marc, and he always let Steven take control while at school, then take control when he got home. He started to spend less and less time there, and came to your house more frequently. You grew closer and closer to each of them, until high school was done, when Marc mysteriously vanished off to the military.
You barely heard from him, but when you did, you always picked up where you left off, like nothing could break your friendship.
What you didn't know, was that Marc had been seeing a therapist. He had been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and he had told his therapist he was scared he could never be happy for the rest of his life. He would be blazingly happy when he talked about you, which was a very popular topic of choice when he saw his therapist.
Then one day… One day his therapist suggested that Marc might be deeply in love with you, and he was really actually scared that you wouldn't return his feelings. That if he told you, you would run from him, a broken man with multiple people in one body. His therapist tried to reason with him, that you never had run from him before, and that you had been his friend for so long, even when he would disappear for months at a time.
His therapist would ask him questions about you all the time. What you were like, how your life was going. He knew everything about you from his talks with Marc, and because of the enthusiasm of which he would speak about you, told the therapist everything he needed to know.
***
It was right after yours and Marc's twenty-fifth birthdays, that you had gotten hurt. You were in a terrible accident that involved a taxi cab that you were in. You had almost died in that accident, and Marc had witnessed it.
The cab you were in was almost at your workplace, where Marc was waiting to surprise you. He had managed to get a text from you, saying you were handing in your notice that day, because you got your dream job in England. A job at a famous museum, the very same one that Steven dreamed of working in. You told him you might be able to get him a job some day, if you stayed long enough.
Marc had brought flowers, your favorite candy, and a necklace. The necklace was just like his, and you had said on multiple visits that you loved the way the Star of David looked on him, and though you weren't Jewish, you wanted one. Marc's father had heard about it, and he gave him Randall's necklace to give to you, knowing that if anyone deserved to wear it, it was you.
His plan was to say hi, then allow Steven to come out right after to discuss your future in London, while he stayed in the background watching the two of you interact. He would briefly take over after Steven gave you the flowers, which were your favorite. The flowers were Steven's idea. Then Marc would give you the necklace, and switch out again.
But as Marc stood there at your place of work, he could see the taxi driving towards him. You had just texted him to say you were excited to see him again. You could see him, and that you were waving. He looked up after he read the text, hoping to spot you inside, when a large delivery truck came out of nowhere and collided with the cab.
The cab was hit full force, flipping the car three times, before it slammed into a vacant bus stop. He had heard the sickening sounds of the crash…
The exceptionally loud bang, the screeching sounds of metal crunching and crumpling…
The scraping of metal on concrete and the smashing of glass…
He heard the cab driver scream as it happened, then when the car finally stopped, the driver was silent…
But he couldn't hear you at all. He didn't even hear you scream, nor did he get to see your face. All he saw was that your body was violently projected out of the open window where you were sitting, and now you were sprawled out in the middle of the road. He saw the way the car was totaled, and his heart dropped in his chest.
He started running, forgetting his duffle bag and the flowers next to the security guard where he was standing next to. His legs carried him as fast as they could, making it to you in just under a minute. He knelt by your side, and tried to see how badly hurt you were. You had a broken arm, cuts and scrapes everywhere. Your nose was bleeding, and you were barely breathing.
He could still, to this day, remember the gurgling sound of the air trying to escape you…
How you struggled to breathe, and how you didn't move…
How your eyes looked into his, pleading with him to help you without words.
He held your hand, telling you that help was on the way, that at least five people were dialing the emergency line to call an ambulance. He was terrified you would pass away in his arms, his only friend, and the only person he loved more than anything else in the world.
Before you passed into unconsciousness, you uttered the words he had only ever dreamed of hearing from you.
"I love you. All of you."
All three of them had heard you say it.
***
Marc had let Steven out after you became stable in the hospital, but not before putting his brother's necklace on you in the hopes that you would see it when you woke up. When Steven came out, he was confused for a brief moment. Steven was shocked to be in the building, and when he turned his head, hearing beeping and the whirring of machinery, he saw your weak form on the bed, attached to all the machines.
His heart dropped.
All he remembered was waking up that morning, excited to see you and spend a week with you to help you pack. Now he was in a hospital, standing over you, wondering what had happened.
He grabbed the patient clipboard to read what had happened, and his heart nearly broke. He canceled all his plans, as did Marc in order to stay by your side until you were better. They both would do anything and everything to aid you, and it would take months for you to get better.
Steven would read to you in the mornings as you ate your breakfast. He would end up bringing you snacks and drinks frequently, and he made sure to keep your apartment nice and clean.
Marc took the initiative to call your landlord, telling him that you had an accident and were in need of staying until you healed up. He told his father about it, and the man had shown up with a basket of things for when you went home. He even helped Marc with making it livable there for the first week, and Marc had slept in your bed.
Unfortunately after the first week, when Elias left, Marc zoned out and Jake came to the front. Jake had told you Marc couldn't bear to see you like that, but Jake could, and he did. He made sure you were okay, and he did everything in his power to make you smile. Jake would buy you flowers and make you food, while Steven would clean up and help with the chores.
They never mentioned the fact you told all of them that you loved them, and you never spoke of it again. It was a silent understanding that you both knew, but didn't want to bring it up again and possibly ruin your friendship.
***
More years passed, and again Marc slipped into the habit of vanishing for days, weeks, or months. The next time you saw him, he showed up looking tired, and told you he almost died in the desert. That he had seen some shit he didn't wish to talk about. Whatever it was must have been bad, because he refused to tell you about it, no matter how much you asked.
Ever since then, you would see a tall shadowy figure lingering close by to Marc, usually on rooftops or hiding in dark corners. It was as if some mysterious force, a ghost or spirit was haunting him. You'd even catch Marc outright talking to the being, but you would always pretend like you didn't know. That you couldn't see the spirit.
But that figure knew you could see and hear him, yet he didn't inform Marc that you could. He didn't even acknowledge your presence, even when he was talking about you, in front of you.
Then not too long after that, Marc showed back up again. He was with some woman you had never met before, and the way she looked at him made your heart break. You had lost him, and there was nothing you could do about it, but be supportive. You just kept telling yourself that his happiness was more important than your own.
This time, you didn't get to see Steven at all, and that saddened you. You knew Marc was dating this girl, and he was keeping it from Steven. That broke your heart even more, knowing sweet and loving Steven was being buried away so Marc could have some sort of physical connection with someone.
It broke your heart even more when you found out Jake knew about Layla, and that he didn't want to be with her at all. You found out when Marc convinced you to come out with him and Layla to a bar. He told you that Layla had no idea he had Dissociative Identity Disorder, and he didn't want her to find out. You promised, even though it made your heart ache that he was willing to lie to someone her supposedly cared about.
What you didn't know, was that Marc was planning on proposing to this woman, and Jake was purposely trying to screw things up for Marc.
At the bar, Jake took over and started ignoring Layla, in favor of talking to you. He made a point of buying all your drinks, and not offering to pay for Layla's. He took you dancing on the dance floor, and he was very suggestive in the way that he moved with you.
You knew who was fronting, but you kept your promise not to say anything. Instead, you played dumb, like you were innocent to his special treatment. You pretended to be drunker than you already were, so he wouldn't take it too far and hurt that poor girl's feelings more than he already had. This only infuriated Layla, and she started to dislike you more.
But Marc bubbled up after a few drinks, and he still ended up proposing, right in front of you. And for some fucking reason, Layla accepted the proposal. You figured she did it as a slap in the face move.
And it sure was a slap in the face. It was a slap to your very heart.
As Marc was down on one knee, he waited expectantly as Layla inspected the gorgeous looking ring. A ring you had saved a photo of and shown to Jake and Steven. The one you had always wanted if you were to ever get married…
Marc thought he had made the correct choice, that is until he saw your face, and the tears that were forming. Your eyes were focused on the ring, seeing every little detail you wanted, right fucking there on Layla's hand.
He knew he had made a terrible mistake.
He watched as you immediately muttered out a small congratulation to him, then excused yourself and left right after. He didn't see or hear from you for a week, and even then, your texts were short, and only sent after he sent you one. You never reached out to him, and he knew damn well why. You attended his wedding as his best woman, but you remained distant from him, choosing to stay near his father as you stayed perfectly quiet.
When you stepped out to go for a joint in the courtyard to calm down, Elias approached you. His father made a comment that you should have been standing where Layla was, but you brushed it off, saying you just wanted to see Marc happy. If he loved her and was happy, then you would be happy for him.
Elias didn't believe you one bit, and he went to find Marc to tell him he was making a big mistake.
***
The months sped by, and you moved away to England to take that job you always wanted. Sometimes Jake would purposely pull them towards you. He would start verbal fights with Layla, leave Marc to escalate them, leading to Marc getting so angry, he would drink himself silly. Jake would come out, then ditch her to show up at your door, all the way in England. He would say hi, and hug you tightly, then promptly let Steven out to spend as much time as he could with you, going as far as to make sure that Marc's phone was hidden from you and Steven.
It was during these visits that Steven would grow closer to you. He would cuddle with you on the couch, make you tea and he would do housework. It felt almost domestic, and you enjoyed every moment of it, even if you were just dancing around the subject of attraction. It was on one of these visits, that Jake begged you to get Steven a job at the museum you worked at. You were hesitant, because if Marc ever were to come out, he'd most definitely fuck things up for Steven by trying to run from you again. Jake assured you Marc wouldn't dare, because he missed you dearly.
You did get Steven a job, not the one he wanted, but Steven was happy just the same. He was mostly happy that he got to work with you, even if Donna was a major cunt towards him. He would frequently try walk you home and hang out in your flat. At night, he would talk about his day at work, telling you just how much of a bitch Donna was, and how she didn't know jack shit about the museum or the things in it at all. He would complain about JB never getting his damn name right, and you took mental notes to talk to those individuals about it later.
But, Marc would eventually come back, be baffled as to why he was with you, and not with his wife. You could see it in his eyes the moment he was fronting, and then you could see the shame on his face when he sputtered excuses to leave you and go back to her.
To keep shutting out Steven, locking him in a prison of dark nothingness.
You had to lie to Donna frequently, telling her any excuse to keep Steven on as a staff member. Donna would always be pissed about it, but you held more seniority over her, so she couldn't fire him, even if she wanted to.
You didn't know it, but you covering for Steven only made your three boys more fond of you.
***
It wouldn't be until a year later, a whole year of Marc and You not talking to each other. A whole year of only Steven and Jake calling and texting you from different numbers to give you small updates, or to see how you were doing. A whole year of working closely with Steven, having him come over every day…
A whole year of secretly loving him from afar.
Then one day, Jake showed up at your door to inform you that Marc had left Layla. You were both glad and upset to hear that. Glad, because he was single again, but upset that Marc married someone to purposely distance himself from you. Upset, because he had ignored you for so long, but you were still so damned happy to see Jake.
When you asked why Marc left Layla, Jake told you that Marc didn't love her. He was never home, and never did anything nice for her. Jake said Marc only married her, because he felt he was responsible for her father's death, and even then, he felt so guilty that Steven was entirely unaware of it all.
He told you that Marc was living a dangerous life, unbeknownst to Steven, and they were all still hiding or ignorance from each other. Jake sat you down, and finally told you all about the spirit that was following them. It was the God, Khonshu, and they were his Avatars, well Jake and Marc were. Steven still had no idea what the fuck was going on, and was blissfully unaware. You took the news quite well, which surprised Jake. Khonshu introduced himself to you, well officially anyways. Jake seemed flabbergasted that you already knew him, and his master wasn't upset by him telling you about him.
***
A month passed, before you would see any of them again, and when you did, it was a complete surprise.
You were just minding your own business at the museum, trying to get the paperwork done to get rid of Donna and the useless security guard at the front that always got Steven's name wrong. You wanted them gone, either fired or transferred, since you had been promoted. A promotion that happened while the boys had been gone, doing only a certain God knows what.
A very timid and nervous Steven came walking into your office, holding a silly little 'Congratulations' card, a small cactus, and a hopeful expression. He asked if you were mad at him for being gone for so long, and you smiled sweetly at him, assuring him you weren't. He blamed it on his sleeping disorder, which you knew damned well he didn't have, but you just humored him and told him he was still welcome to work at the museum. That you had made special exceptions for people with disorders to be more inclusive.
He was so ecstatic, he hugged you with tears, thanking you for your understanding. That you were truly his best friend, and he didn't deserve you. You told him that was nonsense, as you'd do anything for him, knowing he'd do the same.
Steven had decided he was in love with you from that point on.
***
A week later, one of the women in another department started to show interest in Steven. You paid her or her advances no mind, mostly because she wasn't Steven's type at all, and he wasn't very keen on her brash attitude. She would approach him, and talk to him, and he would be nervous and scared, because only you had ever shown him any sort of interest.
But Steven wasn't interested, and this bitch wouldn't let it go. She mistook Steven's scared hesitation as nervous arousal. She took his stuttering and excuses to get back to work, as being flustered over her. It started to bother you, and Steven would catch you staring, only for you to look away and leave the room shortly after. You left, because you didn't want him to see you cry. To you, it looked like he enjoyed the attention.
Well, Jake was getting angry that this woman wouldn't leave Steven alone. He was sick of seeing your hurt expression. He devised a plan to get her to fuck off, without turning her down outright. Unfortunately, the day he put his plan into motion, you were at work when you shouldn't have been. You were supposed to have the day off, and be at a music festival the next city over.
Steven was scanning a bunch of Egyptian plush toys into the system when that woman approached him again. She flirted with Steven, and he backed away a bit, feigning like his cell phone had gone off. He managed to grab his phone, when the lady outright complimented him on his ass, and how juicy it looked.
In an instant his eyes rolled back as he twitched and stood straighter. He came back over and leaned on the counter with one arm as he stared her in the eye with a shit eating grin on his face. He asked her out on a date to an expensive steakhouse, and she said yes.
When she walked away, he noticed you and Donna were standing there with shocked faces. You turned away and left, and he knew you had seen the whole thing. He saw how your shoulders slumped, how you frowned, and the look of disappointment in your eyes.
Jake had fucked up.
***
So I had to break it up into separate chapters, mostly because Google docs was getting glitchy at 20k words. I still consider this a one shot.
Beta reading thanks to: Little Bean
Proofreading thanks to: I got trigger happy while high. I was supposed to get someone to proof read this for errors. Whoops.
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