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     VERA WAS STOOD across the street, a hat covering her head and a large hoodie drowning her body. She was sitting outside at a small coffee shop, a book in hand. Her eyes darted back and forth between the pages, then across the street.

Vera could see Steven standing in a crowd, talking to another person. She tried to listen closely, the small device in her ear helping pick up the voices.

He looked around before speaking. Her eyebrows raised in surprise and confusion when the voice left Steven's lips. It was deeper and no longer accented. He spoke with authority and a bit of anger at the person across from him.

She was completely confused as to what was happening right now. Was he pretending to be someone else? She crossed her legs and adjusted herself as she continued to listen. The stranger argued back, hissing out a familiar name, Marc.

Marc Spector.

Was he playing as his alias? Odd, she thought.

Steven - or Marc ended the conversation with a dismissive wave of his hand and began walking away. Vera got to her feet and began walking parallel to the man, dipping into the sea of people occasionally if she felt he might catch a glimpse of her.

He turned down a side alley, and she halted. There was no way he wouldn't hear or see her if she followed him any further. She looked around at the buildings nearby, trying to find a way to keep tailing him. The brunette noticed a long fire escape on the side of a run-down building. She hurriedly climbed the beaten-up ladder and landed on the rooftop with ease. She kept herself crouched as she followed him, jumping the small gaps between the roofs.

He finally stopped at the edge of town, approaching a dilapidated building. A man was outside it, unloading things from a large truck. Marc approached the man and grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around.

The stranger jumped back at the sight of Marc, a hint of fear washing over his face before a scowl replaced it. The two immediately started bickering, Marc pushing the man slightly.

Vera was shocked at his movements. It was as if he was a whole different person. It went far beyond acting. She'd say it was someone else if it weren't for his face being the same. The two began to fight, throwing punches back and forth. A group of men exited the building and ran at Marc, who looked at them in annoyance. He stepped forward and paused, closing his eyes just for a split second.

A beautiful white fabric appeared around his body, a mask shielding his face. His eyes were glowing, and a cape cascaded down his back. She let out a small gasp at the sight.

This was Moon Knight.

He elegantly pulled crescent-shaped knives from his chest and took out each man with ease. They tried to fight back, but he was no match. Their limp bodies fell to the floor, and Marc walked over to the boxes the stranger had been unloading.

He dug around before pulling out an object that Vera couldn't decipher. His suit fell away, and his normal clothes covered his body again. He started talking aloud, but no one was around. She edged closer, trying to see who he was conversing with.

She noticed him staring at his reflection on the truck, continuing to talk. She pursed her lips as she watched him. Startling her, she noticed his reflection was not in sync with his body.

It was definitely moving independently from him. Vera could tell he was arguing with himself, growing frustrated at the responses he was getting.

"Steven, just leave it!" He growled in frustration, running his hands over his face.

She gasped slightly, hearing his name, and moved slightly out of instinct. Her leg knocked into a glass bottle that had been left on the roof, causing the noise to echo throughout the alleyway. She quickly ducked and crawled away, listening to the approaching footsteps. She glanced back to see Marc land on the roof with ease, looking her way. Vera threw her hood overtop her head and hat, taking off running.

He yelled out to her to stop running, but she continued, refusing to look back. She could not let him see her face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, grasping it tightly. As she leaped across the next gap, she threw it back, hitting him right in the chest.

The object sent electricity rippling through his body, causing him to crumble to the rooftop, groaning in slight agony. Vera frowned at his moan of pain but kept going, disappearing from his view.

Steven Grant was much more complex than you ever could have thought.

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Vera was sitting on her living room couch, her legs crossed and her laptop in front of her. Her research continued on Steven Grant, trying to figure out what his play was.

It seemed as though Marc Spector was tied to the moon knight persona. But Steven? Steven seemed like a normal guy. He had another personality, perhaps? Vera didn't have much knowledge of alternate personalities, but she knew what it was called,

Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Something that stemmed from severe traumatic experiences in childhood. The thought made her frown. What did poor Steven go through?

She quickly typed away at her computer, googling anything she could find on the disorder. She thought to herself about the aliases - that wasn't what they were, they were personalities.

Her phone buzzing brought her out of her thoughts, startling her slightly. She grabbed the phone and looked at the screen.

'Steven with a V is calling'

Vera hated that her heart fluttered at the name. This wasn't supposed to get emotional, but here she was with freaking butterflies. She gave a huff before clicking answer.

"Hey!" She immediately smiled at the tone of his voice.

"Hey, you." She gave him the usual greeting she used for him.

"I'm on my way over. I should be there in 5!" He happily told her.

She listened closely to his voice. It was completely void of Marc's anger and authority - it was incredibly wild to experience.

"Awesome, I'll be waiting." She grinned before ending the call.

Vera leaned back on the couch and took a breath, thinking about everything she discovered today.
Then she thought to herself,

Would she like Marc as much as she did Steven?

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Steven's angelic laughter filled Vera's ears, and she loved it. He was intensely trying to solve a Rubik's cube as he was being timed. He had a huge grin on his face, and his hands were moving wildly.

"You have 15 seconds, Steven!" She told him in between her laughter.

"Ahh!" He groaned as he continued to move the object around desperately.

The brunette reached down and hit the stop button right as the alarm went off. Steven gave a defeated smile and showed her the nearly complete cube.

"Ohhh, so so close, Bud." She teased him, earning an eye roll.

"I'd love to see you try it." He huffed playfully, holding it out to her.

"That's okay; I already admit my failure." She pointed out with a shrug.

"Touché." He gave her a look, his lips still up in a smile.

"So what's next, dear?" Vera crossed her legs and adjusted herself, watching Steven.

"Hmm. . I don't know."

"Wanna watch something? Take a break from your failures." She teased him again, making him scowl at her.

"Bollocks, I don't finish a Rubik's cube one time, and suddenly I'm a failure?" He laughed as he sat back on the couch.

"Obviously." She stated in a 'duh' tone.

She peeked over to the man, who was incredibly close to her. Their knees were almost touching, and she held back from curling into his arms.

"What do you wanna watch, love?" His accented voice broke her from her thoughts.

"You pick."

"Are you sure about that? Cause we're about to watch the best movie in cinematic history." His eyes were wide with excitement, an adorable look on his face.

She studied his face, taking in his toothy grin and the furrow in his brows. His eyes were reflecting his excitement.

"Well, what is it? Turn it on!"

"The Mummy."

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Steven was intensely watching the movie as if he'd never seen it before. Vera was engaged, but sleep was starting to hum in her head. She found herself slowly sliding towards the man. She was nervous to engage in any physical contact, worrying that she was going down a path she certainly wouldn't return from.

But Steven accepted her with open arms, gently wrapping them around her. He let her lay her head on his chest, tucked just under his neck. His chin gently rested on the top of her head, a stray piece of hair tickling at his skin every so often.

His heart was beating wildly, and he prayed Vera wouldn't notice. If she did, he was thankful she wasn't talking about it. She let out a soft sigh of contentment, her eyes growing heavy.

She could no longer fight the feeling and let her eyes shut. Just before she slipped into unconsciousness, she mumbled softly to him.

"Stay, Steven."

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