Marc Spector X Platonic OC & Steven Grant X Platonic OC
Chapter Summary: Olive tries to explain a little bit to Steven, meanwhile another Stephen enters the picture.
A/N: This story probably won’t be updated until after the finale. I have Olive’s story all outlined but I want to make sure that I don’t need to change anything first!! Thank you so much for the support for this story!
“Oh- good to see you again, your Steven’s uh…”
Olive glanced up to see the old lady from the elevator. In her hands were a couple bags of groceries and Olive quickly leapt up to take them off her hands. If there was one thing she was taught at the Sanctum it was to be respectful.
“Uh- his cousin, kind of. Taking these up to your apartment Ma’am?” Olive asked. “I’ll catch a ride in the elevator with you.”
Marc in his anger last night had refused to give her a key into the apartment building which meant that she’d been left outside all night until she could find someone to let her in. She’d jogged off to get a warm cup of coffee and had managed to see the lady returning back to the building.
“Your such a kind girl, thank you!” The lady replied buzzing into the building.
No, thank you. Olive thought. Khonshu’s orders were still stuck on a loop, to stay by Marc and Steven’s side. However Marc was making this increasingly difficult. Thankfully she was stubborn. She’d find her way back to his side once more.
“Have you noticed anything odd about Steven.” The old lady asked. “Last night- I got into the elevator…he said he was looking for a contact, but…he looked terrified.”
Olive frowned. Had this been before or after the museum incident?
“No- he has a habit of losing them, they just slip right out of his eyes I guess.” Olive answered giving a small smile.
The lady seemed content with this answer and they fell into a comfortable silence as they got off the elevator and headed towards her apartment. Olive glanced at Steven’s apartment as they passed by, but she didn’t hear anything unusual. After dropping off the groceries at the lady’s flat Olive made her way back around the corner only to catch Steven…or Marc enter the elevator. Before she had a chance to call out, the door’s shut. Taking the stair’s she tried to catch up to the man, but by the time she’d made it back to the lobby the elevator was empty and the lobby was still empty.
…
To say this was the worst day of Steven Grant’s life would probably be an understatement. Sure he didn’t have the best handle on his sleeping disorder, he missed a date, his goldfish had been replaced…
But to lose his job. He didn’t choose to be a gift shopist, he’d much rather been a tour guide, but he was proud of his job. It was something he was in control of…if he didn’t have control of anything else he always had his job. Silly little fake Egyptian knick knack’s and angry Donna- all of it now, down the drain.
The camera’s hadn’t caught any of the jackals, or the strange costume…just Steven- or not really Steven. Whoever was in his body, or maybe he had a look alike? All of it was so confusing.
The only good part of his day so far, had been that the museum had decided not to press charges. However, the little pamphlet tucked away in his pocket lurked in the back of his mind.
He wasn’t crazy. He was a good person. The girl from the museum stood in front of him-
He blinked.
She was still there.
“Oh no- no, no, no!” Steven muttered.
Swiftly rising from the bench he’d chosen to sulk upon he put some distance between himself and the girl. He weaved throughout the busy London crowds. He’d been searching all morning to find the Storage Unit that the key in his flat belonged too…maybe he should have taken a break sooner. Was he dehydrated? He’d skipped lunch…
“Wait! Please-“ She called out. Oh god’s- that meant she was real.
“Leave. Me. Alone!” Steven shouted suddenly.
Whirling back around to look down at the girl he took notice of his surroundings. The crowds around them were beginning to look at them. He wanted people to stop looking at him like that. The girl in front of him rose her hands up.
“I’ll explain! I promise!” The girl begged. “Just give me a chance- I’ve been looking for you all morning!”
He paused. He didn’t know if he could trust this girl, but maybe she could explain things. Better yet- he could drag her down to the museum and have her admit that she was the one to destroy the bathrooms. Of course that plan wouldn’t work because she hadn’t shown up on the security footage either.
“Everything?” Steven asked.
“As much as I possibly can…” She replied.
That was good enough for him.
…
“I found this storage locker key in my apartment- along with this cell phone. Someone- it said Layla on it- they called me and they kept calling me Marc.” Steven explained.
Olive had finally introduced herself officially to the man and they’d found a quieter place outside to go over some things. Unfortunately for Olive- she didn’t know anything about the cell phone, or who Layla was.
“Do you know who Marc is?” Steven asked. Ah- a question she did know the answer to, and an answer she couldn’t really give.
Her whole ‘explain everything’ plan was swiftly backfiring. She wanted to tell Steven, she really did. But most of it wasn’t her story to tell, and Marc would only make things worse for her if she butted in to much. At the very least being by Steven’s side fulfilled Khonshu’s request. Worse came to worse she could just put a tracking spell on Steven and follow him around.
Did she really want to resort to stalking someone though? It would be so much easier if Steven could just trust her.
She felt like she was just confusing Steven more.
“I do. We’ve only met a few times.” She answered. “We were working together…but now I’m not so sure.”
“You called me Marc too- a few times now. Back at the museum, and then up in the mountains…was that whole mess real?” Steven continued to question.
“You look alike-“ Olive admitted vaguely , “And yes- it was, but…”
“The museum, the bathrooms! You walked into the bathroom from behind me…not through the door! I should have you walk right back into the museum and tell them the truth! I lost my job because of this!” Steven’s voice rose.
“Yes- your right…” Olive said.
She hadn’t realized that Steven had lost his job because of the bathroom incident. Olive had been so mad at Marc she hadn’t even realized she could have fixed the bathroom before they left. She could have deleted the Security Footage too, but when Marc had walked off she’d simply portaled after him. After he’d entered his apartment though- she hadn’t wanted to risk Steven finding out more about the Mystic arts…now however, she may not have a choice.
Steven finally let out a frustrated groan. He swiped his hand through his hair a few times, only making the curls messier. Olive knew that she wasn’t making anything easier.
“You’re not explaining anything you know.” He finally said.
“I know- but, some of it isn’t mine to tell. The mountains, Marc, the cell phone…I can’t tell you what I don’t know.” Olive said.
Steven wasn’t going to trust her if she didn’t give him something, she could see he was getting frustrated.
“The bathroom- how I got there. I can show you.” Olive said. “How I just walked in-“
Standing up and making sure there were no on lookers she took a couple steps back from Steven. He looked unsure, but this may be her only chance to prove that she was willing to explain something.
“Tell me somewheres you want to go-“ She asked.
“What are you talking about?” Steven groaned.
“Don’t think too much- just tell me the first place that comes to mind.” Olive asked.
Steven thought for a moment before he finally pulled something out of his pocket. He took a second to stare at it before he stood up.
“This key goes to a storage locker-“ Steven said holding his hand open.
Oh no- this wasn’t going in the direction she intended.
“Take me there. Right now, or I’ll walk away.” Steven stuttered. Clearly he wasn’t used to making demands.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of a choice. She had to make this work.
“Fine. But you have to promise your not going to run off screaming- what I’m about to show you, people like me try to keep it quiet.”
Raising her hands up, she circled them waiting for the firmilar fizzle in her fingertips before she saw the sparks begin to fly. No less then five seconds later, the alley next to the storage unit came into view. A brilliant portal from their location to a brand new place. Steven didn’t look nervous though.
He was interested. He walked around it, standing by her side.
”Are you some sort of Wizard?” He asked.
Olive rolled her eyes. “I keep getting that but the answer never changes. I’m a Sorcerer of the Mystic Arts. We deal with strange happenings and protect people- like last night with the Jackals. I’m trying to help Marc, the man your mentioning, out with this problem. I’m not having very much luck.”
Steven’s brow furrowed in thought.
“Go on- you first.” Olive said. “Maybe the storage unit can answer more questions.”
Steven walked through before Olive and they made their way out of the alley. He held the key up to see the matching Logo and glanced over to Olive in surprise.
“I’ve spent all morning looking for this building.” Steven muttered. “And now we’re finally going to find out the truth.”
Olive hoped this would be for the right reason and that Marc wouldn’t be to mad at her.
…
Wong had advised against this.
From the minute she’d dissapeared Wong had warned him from following. Olive had never had her rebellious streak he’d said. This was just her adjusting to his return. But to Stephen Strange it seemed like she was taking a long time to adjust to his return. Sure, things weren’t as simple as they had been. So much had changed in the time he was gone, Wong was the Sorcerer Supreme and Olive had learned from him in his own absence. She was stronger then she’d been, smarter, she’d graduated.
He’d missed her High School and her first Collage Graduation.
It made Stephen sick with worry now that she was missing. Olive was somewhere out in the world and he didn’t know where she was. She’d left a simple note and no goodbye, a cloaking spell stopping him from finding her.
I’ll prove it to you. Five little words-
The argument was still fresh in his mind- they’d gotten so angry at each other, screaming and shouting. Wong had finally stepped in telling them both to go cool off. She’d portaled back to her room and Stephen had stepped out of the Sanctum. When he’d returned, Wong had asked him if he knew where Olive had gone. She’d disappeared right under their noses.
She didn’t understand he was just trying to protect her. She was still just a little girl. Except- she wasn’t. She was an adult now, he’d missed 5 years of her life. He didn’t have the heart to even look at the pictures Wong had left him. He’d taken pictures in his absence, but it hurt too much to look at them. But he vowed once he found Olive again that he’d go through the pictures with her, have her tell him about the days he’d missed.
The apartment building was quiet when he stepped through the portal.
She was good- clever even, using that cloaking spell to stop Stephen and Wong from finding her. She probably assumed Wong wouldn’t be bothered very much, the man was worried but she’d spent so long learning from him that Wong was more concerned about others safety then Olive’s.
But Stephen was still stronger in the mystic arts. The slightest slip of her spell and he’d managed to trace her. Of course, she’d advanced while he was gone. Her cloaking spell was strong enough he couldn’t break through or slip a tracing spell while her spell slipped. Instead he just had to latch onto the little blips of magic.
She’d been up in the mountains during the first. He’d assumed she had to use a healing spell, they were stronger and never her strong point either so it explained a little lapse in the cloaked spell. He had to wait until another slip to find a storage unit, but there was interference with this, someone else was messing around London with magic, and he’d lost her once more. This apartment building had been the last slip he’d caught. This blip was stronger- her spell was slipping and she didn’t even realize it.
The elevator down the hall opened with a ding and an old lady exited out of the elevator along with a younger women. The two were in a deep discussion but they noticed him when they entered the lobby.
“Excuse me- if you have a minute!” Stephen said.. “I’m looking for someone. I’m fairly sure they stopped in here and I was wondering if you’ve seen them around within the last day or so?”
Out of his wallet he pulled the most recent picture of Olive. Wong had snapped it shortly after Tony’s funeral. Everyone had started to settle back in and Stephen was back at the Sanctum with Wong. Olive had come to Steven with a question, the first time she’d done so since his return. The two of them had studied over the book she’d brought with her and Wong had called their names before he snapped the photo.
Olive was smiling and Stephen looked mildly annoyed, but when Wong had gave him the picture he’d swapped it out with the previous picture, a picture from nearly 6 year’s ago that Stephen himself had took. An outdated photo wouldn’t help him find his student.
“Oh- your looking for Steven’s cousin?” The old lady questioned. “She’s a nice girl, helped me with my groceries this morning.”
Stephen let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, he’d finally found his first lead.
Summary: You decide to unofficially adopt the kid across the hall by luring him in with good home cooked meals. What is a family if not a woman in her mid-twenties and her incredibly emotionally damaged teenage neighbor?
Word Count: 3k
~THIS FIC HAS SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME!! Do not read if you haven’t seen it. I don’t talk about anything specific, but it probably won’t make sense if you haven’t watched it. Subtext spoilers, if that’s even a thing.
Also this is so fuckin bittersweet but I have no real regrets. Cross posted to AO3.~
You came home from a long shift at work to see boxes in the apartment across from you. A battle began in your head. Of course, you wanted to greet your new neighbor. It would be nice to acquaint yourself with them. But you were tired and didn’t want to deal with people anymore.
Your part-time work at social services didn’t pay enough, so you had to take up a service industry job. Fast food, specifically. It was as bad as everyone on the internet had described. Your efforts were all a means to an end. Working with children was your dream.
The universe decided for you when your new neighbor stepped out of his apartment. You’d just been standing in the hallway, dreaming about the future. A pair of brown eyes met yours. Jesus, he looked like a high schooler. He looked up at you and startled a second too late, almost like he knew you were there.
“Hi, uh, new neighbor,” you said woodenly. Sometimes it took a second for your
You stuck your hand out for a shake. Your neighbor reciprocated, a guarded look on his face.
“I live right across the hall. 10B,” you said, jerking your other thumb behind you. You gave him your name.
