To Breathe or Not to Breathe (Night at the Museum fanfiction)

Is it just me or is this competition?

Nathaniel and I took care of all the exhibits that needed any special attention tonight, then went to play with Rexy. Nathaniel didn't seem at all afraid of the huge dinosaur skeleton, which kind of embarrassed me when I remembered the way I had freaked out. But when ten minutes had passed and Ahk still hadn't joined us, I stood up from the bench I'd been sitting at, watching Nathaniel throw Rexy's bone.

"I'm just gonna go check on Ahk real fast." I said, yawning. The busy nights at the museum and the sleepless days trying to find a college that would accept me before the school semester started in the fall was finally starting to take its toll on me, and I was thoroughly exhausted.

Nathaniel nodded, barely looking away from Rexy. He seemed boyishly excited about the fact of a real, live dinosaur skeleton or whatever.

Men. They never really grew up, did they?

I found Ahk sitting on a bench in the Egyptian room, staring into space and looking lost. I hesitantly stepped into the room and went over to sit down next to him.

"Hey." I touched his shoulder tentatively. "You okay?"

He looked up and into my eyes, then glanced away. "I'm fine." he replied, a little too quickly. "Just.... surprised, I suppose."

"Why?"

He refused to meet my eyes. "I guess I just assumed... I thought you were, er, well, single."

"What?" I stared at him. "I am. I met Nathaniel tonight, for heaven's sake!"

He shifted in his seat, turning to stare at me. "What?"

I stared back, still not sure why my not being single would have affected him in any way. "Why would you care, anyway? What does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't." He blushed. "As I said before, I was only... surprised."

"I see." Still confused, I watched him for a long moment, trying to figure out what it was he wasn't telling me. 

After a moment, he met my gaze, seeming far more at ease. "So... how are you?"

I sighed. "Do you want the expected reply or the honest response?"

"Let's go with the honest response." Ahk said quietly.

"Okay, well, to be completely honest... I'm exhausted, my brain isn't working right, and I'm pretty much confused in basically all areas of life right now."

"Oh." Ahk examined me thoughtfully, looking surprised. "I'm very sorry. I hope my company isn't wearing you out... or boring you, either."

"No, no!!" I hastened to say. "I love your company. Ahk, if I didn't want to be around you, why would I have come up to check on you?"

He shrugged, looking slightly pleased. "So you're saying you enjoy my company more than you do Nathaniel's?"

"I only just met him!" I protested. "Why would I like him better than you?"

"I saw how you were looking at him." Ahk reproved. "You think he's attractive, don't you?"

I was blushing slightly. "Well, think about it. If I think he's attractive, and you two look almost exactly alike...." I didn't finish and let the fragment sentence hang in the air.

A slow grin started on his face and lit his eyes with a spark, a twinkle. "What are you insinuating?"

"I'm saying nothing. I'm just trying to get you to think about it."

He nodded, but his face was alight. He leaned closer, making me catch my breath. "So, just let me make certain I understood you. You were saying that, if, perchance, you did find Nathaniel attractive, you would also find me so as well. Is my reasoning correct?"