𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐓 ; ahkmenrah

six.

Ahkmenrah watches her, in awe. "You have a beautiful voice."

"I definitely don't." Luna laughs, shaking her head. "Have you ever heard that song? Wait, of course you haven't, I'm being ridiculous. So that's what we're doing tonight!" She pulls out her phone and her earbuds. "We're going to educate you on musical theater."

Ahkmenrah eyes her earbuds a little nervously. "What is 'musical theater'?"

"Have you ever seen a play? Like a story with actors?"

He nods slowly, thoughtfully. (The Ancient Egyptians were actually the first to pioneer theatre as we know it, reader; they performed plays on the streets for the general public, instead of building venues, and dramas were performed in temples as well, along with religious rituals and sacrifices to the gods.)

"Well, it's a play, but set to music and told with songs." Luna pulls up Les Misérables first, clicking on "On My Own" and holding out an earbud to Ahkmenrah. "Here. You put this in your ear."

Ahkmenrah steps closer, resting his arms on the railing beside her, and lets her fit the earbud into his ear. The butterflies in Luna's stomach erupt into song as Randy Graff hits a majestic high note. The relatively short cord attached to her earbuds means Ahkmenrah's just inches from her; he still smells of almond and cinnamon. Luna feels goosebumps appear on her arms--and it isn't cold in the museum. 

When the song ends, his eyes meet hers and he breathes, "Wow. That was beautiful."

"Stars" comes next (Luna's and my personal favorite, reader), and Luna watches Ahkmenrah during the entire song. He stares down into the lobby, his eyes unfocused, and Luna can't believe she's sharing Les Mis with a 4,000-year-old super hot Egyptian guy. She can't imagine what her parents would say. (They think she's just spending the night at Nicky's, reader; and yes, it's completely platonic.)

"You must come every night and share more with me," Ahkmenrah whispers, his eyes wide, as the final chord rings out and then dies.

"So you really like it?" Luna feels suddenly self-conscious; to share her favorite musicals with someone is like baring her soul. It's unnerving.

He nods vigorously. "It's one of the most divine things I've ever heard. I didn't realize how much I missed music, stuck in that sarcophagus."

And then there's silence, except for the soft beginnings of "A Heart Full of Love". Just the two of them, standing in that corridor, the earbuds still between them. Ahkmenrah's green-gray eyes, deep, beautiful, sea-like stillness, boring into Luna's, rolling, earthy, dark chaos. 

Luna has a strange urge both to kiss him and to run as far away as possible. Finally, her throat unimaginably dry, she whispers, "Should we go and see how Teddy and Sac are doing?"

In answer, Ahkmenrah slips the earbud from his ear and holds out his hand to her, grinning shyly. Luna (melting inside, of course, because wouldn't we all) pockets her phone and earbuds and takes his hand. It's warm and soft, which always surprises her; she expects his hands to be cold, what with being dead and all.

(And it's at this point, reader, where Luna begins to wonder if being attracted to an undead pharaoh means she's a necrophiliac.)

(We can all assure her she's not.)

Ahkmenrah leads her quietly down the stairs and toward the Hall of Gems. On the way, Jed and Octavius stop them for a moment to settle an argument--what would win in a fight, a Roman ballista or a 19th-century cannon, and Luna doesn't even have to think about this one--Attila invites them to yet another game of soccer in half an hour; and Nicky hurries over to let Luna know that he and Larry will be polishing Rexy for the next millennia, if they want to come join the "fun".

"Here we are," Ahkmenrah murmurs, pausing at the entrance to the Hall of Gems. "Is it...right to spy on them? I feel we might be intruding."

"I have a right to spy on them," Luna counters, biting back a grin. "I set them up. Come on." And she pulls him inside. 

Teddy and Sac are nowhere to be seen in the first room, which displays a stunning number of diamonds, but there's a faint whispering coming from around the corner. Luna puts a finger to her lips and creeps toward the doorway, anticipation building inside her. She and Ahkmenrah peer simultaneously around the corner.

Teddy and Sacagawea are sitting on a bench facing one of the biggest geodes Luna's ever seen. Inside, it's studded with brilliant amethysts, glittering like violet stars beneath the lights. As they watch, Teddy turns his attention to Sacagawea, blushing sweetly, and says, "'She walks in beauty, like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies...'"

"Lord Byron," Luna whispers, a small smile growing on her face. Teddy's a sweet romantic, and he definitely knows the way to a woman's heart, judging by the bashful smile on Sacagawea's face. 

Sacagawea touches Teddy's cheek with her fingertips and says softly, "'No thought could match that ecstasy/No song encompass it, no other worlds/If I should think of love/I'd think of you.'"

"Shakespeare," Luna breathes, her heart skipping a happy little beat. They're perfect for each other. 

"Are they reciting poetry?" asks Ahkmenrah quietly, leaning back against the wall.

Luna turns to him and nods, still grinning. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Ahkmenrah, an impish look in his eyes, takes her hands (the butterflies stir in her abdomen) and pulls her to face him fully. "'The earth trembled as you passed by/Turning everything sacred as you walked...'"

"Is--is that an Egyptian poem?" Luna asks quietly, her mouth suddenly very, very dry.

"It is." Ahkmenrah grins. "Would you like to hear another?"

Luna can do nothing but nod, her eyes focused on his.

"'Your hand in my hand,'" Ahkmenrah starts, more shyly this time, looking up at her through his long, dark lashes, "'My soul inspired/My heart in bliss/Because we go together...'"

It's just one night, one sunset to dreaded sunrise. But this night is special, because four hearts are changed.

Stolen glances, smiling whispers, fleeting touches, and four poems, written across thousands of years, just for this moment. Tonight, four souls realize that love, unreasonable at best, tumultuous at worst, doesn't give a shit about normal. And it knows no bounds.

✦✧✦

this took me way too long. i'm so sorry. but it was worth it hehehehe

also i'm divided: i'm very ready for summer, but at the same time, my skin is not ready to be bared to the world. i am but a pale bean plagued by a rainy winter. luckily, i tan easy, so hopefully that'll happen before i hurt anyone's eyes with the blinding literally-the-color-of-milk of my legs. yikes.

q: do you like musicals?

a: is alexander hamilton a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a scotsman? (yes and yes)