Night life || Ahkmenrah

Twenty three

Damien gripped Ahkmenrah's hand tightly in his as they ran through the corridors. They had made so many twists and turns, past halls of statues and paintings. Between the crowds of newly reaminated exhibits, shoving their way through and ignoring any grabbing hands. People, statues, animals all wandering around in confusion and surprise. A few statues called out to them as they fled passed but Damien ignored them. He let out a narrow gasp as he almost ran into the leg of a massive ballon dog. He stumbled back and Ahk caught him but the shoulders. The creature, art exhibit(?), bounced over them. It was taller than a lorry and it passed merrily by, ignoring them.

Ahk and Damien watched as it turned down the corridor. The two of them panting heavily from their run. They had wandered away from the chamber they had woken in. The decor of the halls had changed from old wood and marble to white painted walls. He assumed that they had crossed over into one of the art exhibits which were hopefully far enough away from Kahmenrah. Damien sighed deeply, still catching his breath. The tablet glittering under the white lights from where it was still tucked under an arm. Next to him, Ahkmenrah was breathing deeply. "Are you okay?" Damien asked gently. Ahk's expression was hard to read. Green eyes taking a second to focus on him.

Ahk's face blossomed with a wide eyed grin and a breath laugh escaped his lips. He giggled then began shaking. Hands coming up to clamp over his mouth and muffle the snorts as his eyes widened in surprise at his own reaction. Damien frowned in confusion. He stepped closer to tug the hands gently down. "Ahk? Love?"

"I love you", were the first words from his lips. Ahk's grin softened from the slight mania to a fond and greatly pleased expression. "You are so amazing". He caught Damien's face in his hands and leaned over to press a hard peck to his lips. "The way you commanded him. You were like royalty. Never have I ever seen someone other than my parents put my brother down like that. It was marvellous". Another enthusiastic kiss to his lips that left Damien reeling. Ahk's eyes were bright and he beamed. "You are truly a person fit to rule the lands of Egypt. A character of true nobility. I love you". He exhaled and rubbed his thumbs over Damien's cheekbones. So gentle, holding him like he was precious.

Damien melted int the touch. He had been afraid that Ahk would be angry, upset at seeing his brother, his murderer. So this reaction had surprised him. He relaxed into the touch and smiled slightly back as the praise brought a flush to his cheeks. "Your brother does not deserve anything. I was not going to let him talk to you like that. You are far better than him. I love you too". He tilted his head and pressed a kiss to Ahk's lip. Gentle and reassuring. When he pulled away it was with a soft smile. "Come on darling, let's find the others and figure out how to keep your tablet away from Kahmenrah's filthy hands". Ahk let out a chuckle and dropped his hands to interlink one with Damien's.

"We shall have our vengeance and when the time comes we will squash him like the pathetic insect he is for daring to murder a pharaoh. He does not have the honour of even looking at you", Ahk swore with bitter passion as they walked. Damien grinned at the familiar tone and form of speech that he always slipped into when particularly passionate about something. The pharaoh, the king with a weight of a kingdom and absolute command weighing down the words. He snorted and Ahk winced as he caught his expression. "Too dark?"

"No", Damien shook his head as they rounded a corner. "Not in this case". Kahmenrah deserved every bit. Ahk smiled and they kept walking,

——

It took most of the night wandering carefully around the museum before they managed to find a way down to the lower storage levels below. The door was blocked by a high metal fence which Damien and Ahk both scaled easily. Ahk used to more vigorous sports from life and Damien well used to the exercise of climbing and running. The door itself could be only opened by some sort scan device but that problem was solved by using a heavy metal torch they had found to smash the lock in. It was probably a night guard's torch but there were no night guards to be seen other than the abandoned torch on the floor. The door finally opened with a cracking sound and they slipped through. Damien still holding the tablet and Ahk leading with the torch.

The lower storage levels were crammed with crates. Mazes formed out of the different sizes, all with the same light wood that made them hard to tell apart. It took another hour before they found the ones in the centre with the logos of the New York museum. Damien pried one of the smaller boxes open and was immediately rewarded with small grumbling as tiny figure began crawling out of the packing peanuts. "Damien!" Jedediah greeted. "Where the hell have you been? We've been stuck in here for hours". The tiny cowboy heaved himself up before reaching back to offer a hand to Octavius.

The Roman fixed his helmet. "It was mightily stuffy".

"My apologies gentlemen", Damien grinned. "We were waylaid by a rather rude man who wants Ahk's tablet to rule the world. Now I've got to get everybody else out". There was a crack behind him as Ahk broke a crate open and Sacajawea stepped out. She smiled at the two of them.

It took a little while later for them to get everybody free. Damien gave the tablet to Dexter while they worked but by the some they had finished it was only two hours till dawn. They didn't have much time. "Right", he muttered as he serviced their friends. "There is a man in this museum who is after Ahk's tablet", he announced.

"And he will do anything to get it", Ahk added grimly. "We must be careful".

"I agree", Teddy nodded. "This museum has never come alive before so the people here might not be friendly. We shall have to keep up our guard". There were various nods and shouts from those of them who were warriors. Attila and his men looked positively excited at the idea of going and starting fights but one frown from Ahk had then quieting down.

"You should all stay here for the remainder of this night", Damien voiced. "We don't have much time left and I doubt this storage space is checked very often". There were immediate protests at the idea of being cooped up again but they quietened as Damien kept talking. "You should also keep the tablet with you. It's probably safer down here".

"I agree", Ahk nodded.

"Excuse me but who is this bastard after the tablet?" Jed called up.

Ahk scowled. "He is called Kahmenrah and he is my half brother. The one who murdered me for the throne". There was a brief silence.

"I'm sure we can look after the tablet", Teddy smiled at them. Dexter chittered and gripped the tablet tighter. The monkey flicking his tail as he listened. "But what are your plans?" Teddy asked.

Damien took a breath. "Ahk should stay down here with you. But I need to go back".

"If you're going back then so am I", Ahk immediately stated.

Damien shook his head. "You have a physical body here. Something that comes alive. I doubt anyone is going to open your sarcophagus. Not while our exhibit is still being prepared. You can hide down here somewhere. It will be safer for you to stay with the tablet. But I need to go back. I don't know what will happen if dawn blooms and I am not in my painting".

"Damien is unfortunately right", Teddy sighed. "We all knows what happens when dawn rises and we are outside. We do not know the rules when it comes to paintings. It would be unwise to risk it".

"It would be unwise to risk him being out in danger with Kahmenrah", Ahk snapped back, jaw clenched. Damien put a hand on his shoulder and the man visibly forced himself to relax. He turned back to Damien. "Dami, if he so much as lays a finger on you, I will burn the very ground under his feet". His eyes were angry and the words were a promise.

"I will be careful", Damien smiled. "But we need to keep him away from you tablet and it's magic". He turned to address their friends. "I saw a phone on the wall that way", he gestured in the direction they had come. "Just in case you need to call Larry. He might be of some help".

Teddy nodded and brushed down his moustache thoughtfully. "You should go, we don't have much time left. Be careful out there dr Jean". The others nodded. Sacajawea sparing him a reassuring smile and Attila adding what he guessed was a threat. The hand gestures were particularly violent.

Damien took a deep breath and turned to Ank. The pharaoh sighed in defeat as he pressed their foreheads together. The anxiety practically radiating from him. "May the great god Horus guide your journey and grant you protection". Then he was pressing a gently parting kiss to his lips. Damien savoured the moment, the warmth before stepping away. He waved back at them as he walked away. Until he was turning a corner and they had disappeared from sight.

Unedited

Who has missed the Damien/Ahkmenrah cuteness? I have.