Night life || Ahkmenrah

Twenty one

Ahk didn't want to tell their friends about his brother. "No", he had said when Damien asked. "He's my problem to face. Our friends shall not need to trouble themselves over my family troubles". Damien had nodded and didn't press further. It was Ahk's decision after all. His family, his trauma, his life, his decision.

Then Damien woke the next night to find wood covering his picture frame. Pale wooden planks that blocked out the light. For a panicked minute, he thought that they had already been taken to the Smithsonian. He pressed his hands against the wood but the box was bigger than his frame and he could find a corner to pry at. He shoved and huffed in frustration as the wood refused to move. Outside he could hear voices. Teddy's voice stood out and he breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't left New York yet. If they were already at the Smithsonian then Teddy wouldn't be nearby, he would have been stored somewhere else. They must have been packed up for transportation during the day. Damien huffed and smacked his palms against the wood. "Hello? A little help please?"

"Oh! Damien", Larry's voice was slightly muffled by the wood. He must have come to visit. "Hang on a second. I'm just helping Ahk first".

There was the sound of moment and various bangs as Larry struggled with the box Ahk's sarcophagus was stored in. Once the box was open, he had to get the casket open too. Damien sat on his desk chair as he listened. It seemed like the rest of the museum was up and about. Their boxes must have not been sealed fully. After about ten minutes of waiting, he was greeted by the cracking of the box lid as it was pulled open. Light spilled through and he was greeted by Ahk's smiling face. He held out his hand, still wrapped in his bandages. Damien smiled as he took it and stepped down from his picture and into the museum. It was slightly awkward as his picture had been laid flat on the floor. He struggled as the pull of gravity changed and Ahk had to practically lift him out. Which he did, with a amused chuckle.

"Good evening Darling". Damien gave a huff and smiled slightly as he was set on his feet.

"Good evening beloved", Ahk replied as he pressed a kiss to Damien's cheek. "May I borrow some of your clothes? My own have been packed for travel". Damien nodded and the pharaoh disappeared into his tent to rummage through his trunk. Damien moved the wooden lid of the crate in front of it to give him some privacy then looked around. The hall of the museum was full of wooden crates. Several human sized ones were laid across the floor. He watched as Teddy helped Sacajawea out of hers.

"Evening Larry", Damien greeted. Larry looked up from where he was talking to Jed and Octavius. The man was dressed in a sharp black suit with a grey coat thrown over his shoulders. It was still strange not to see him in his night guard uniform despite that he had quit almost two years ago.

"Damien", Larry nodded. "How are you?"

"Still coming to life every night". His tone was detached and slightly cold. As he spoke Ahk emerged from his painting. He was wearing a pair of light brown trousers and one of Damien's cream shirts. It clung more to his shoulders than it would on Damien and it was half tucked in to the trousers. Ahk smiled at them and walked over, easily slinging his arm round Damien's waist to lean on him.

"Ah the guardian of Brooklyn has returned. Come to see us off?" Ahk's tone was all friendly compared to Damien's.

Larry smiled slightly and sighed. "Yeah. So you guys are on some sort of exchange exhibit?" Damien felt Ahk tense at the mention but his expression didn't falter.

"Yes. We will be back in a week or so", Damien confirmed. "The others are not so lucky".

"What?" Larry asked in confusion.

"Ah, Damien and Ahkmenrah", Teddy interrupted as he joined them. "Good evening".

"What do you mean about the others?" Larry asked, barely glancing at Teddy. The three men exchanged looks, wondering who should brake the news to Larry.

Teddy sighed. "What Damien means Lawrence, is that once the exchange exhibition is over, ahkmenrah and all his artefacts, including Damien, will be returning to New York. The rest of us aren't going to be in the exhibition. We are being sent there to be put into storage and will not be retuning with them".

"But the tablet. When that comes back"- Larry broke off.

"Yes. This is our last night here", Teddy nodded sadly. He turned to Damien and Ahk. "The rest of us are going for a walk round the museum if you would like to join us".

"We'll catch up", Ahk promised. Teddy tipped his hat at them with a smile before walking to join Sacajawea.

Larry sighed deeply. "I'm going to join them", he murmured before leaving. The couple watched him go.

Damien sighed as he watched their friends leave the hall. He leaned on Ahk's shoulders and allowed him to take all his weight. Ahk yelped at the sudden weight and stumbled to the side. Damien laughed and straightened before they both fell over. "It's sad that they are leaving", he muttered as Ahk stepped closer. His eyes drifted to the hallway where everyone had disappeared down. "I mean. We are all already dead but I cherish this time with you, with them. I haven't felt this alive for years before I died". He ended the sentence with a hum then sighed again.

"I also cherish our time", Ahk murmured. He held out a hand and Damien took it. "But we can't do anything".

"I know". It was true. They couldn't do anything to make the museum keep the others. During the day they were nothing more than wax, ink and paper, and corpses. At night they were beings frozen in time. Stuck in the moments they were depicted. For Ahk, he was the age at which he died. For Damien, he was the age he was when the photo was taken, despite the fact that he lived for a decade afterwards. They were nothing but old memories stuck in a constantly changing modern world. They had no power here.

Damien took a breath and pushed a smile onto his face. "Shall we go and visit the Jackals?"

"Sounds good", Ahk nodded. They turned and started climbing the stairs.

"When I found you I thought it was a dream", Damien murmured. "It was class trip and I was hanging back, too busy looking around or trying to read my book, I can't remember the details. Just one minute I was talking to my professor about you, the next the ground had disappeared from under me. I landed in the anti chamber to your tomb. There had been no sign of your tomb. Some historians didn't even think you existed. But I proved them wrong. It was as if you were waiting for me to find you".

They had reached the top of the stairs as Damien finished speaking. The words were spoken half thoughtfully, half nostalgically. He didn't mean anything by his last comment but he turned and smiled. Ahk smiled fondly back but there was something in his eyes that made Damien pause. "We're you waiting for me?" Damien asked softly. Ahk grinned and pressed a kiss to Ahk's cheek.

"I would wait for you forever". Damien rolled his eyes at the cheesy words.

"That's not a answer", he chuckled. Ahk let go of his hand and was walking down the corridor. He turned and grinned widely at him. "Ahk! Hey come back". Damien jogged after him. "That's still not an answer".

Unedited