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

In which I Fall in Love with a Jackal Headed God

Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes.

For a moment there was silence. Then he looked away.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. I didn't know what he was apologizing for. "I realize that you don't know me. But I know you." Suddenly, his expression became painful. "You remind me of... someone."

"Who?" I asked.

"She..." Anubis stood. Guilt filled his eyes as he looked at me. He backed away. "No matter. I'm sorry, Emily. I should never have..."

The door burst open and Ahk stumbled in, followed close behind by Nathaniel. Ahk glared at Anubis, eyes flashing with blue fire. "I knew there was something wrong about all of this. You vile, disgusting-" He slipped into Egyptian, obviously cursing Anubis.

But contrary to what I would have expected, Anubis bowed his head and accepted the verbal abuse meekly. He flinched with every word Ahk said.

When Ahk was finished, Anubis looked up. "I realize it was wrong. There is no need for anger. I've done nothing to your... iiqae albi, Ahkmenrah. And can you really blame me for wanting to know her better? Such a soul is so rare... so intriguing."

Ahk stalked over, stopping directly in front of Anubis. "And because of her soul, you put a spell on her? Because of her innocence, you take advantage?"

He winced. "It was a mistake. But I haven't..." He turned to me. "Emily. What have I done since we entered this room?"

I answered, puzzled with this whole situation. "Talk to me. That's all."

Anubis turned back to Ahk calmly. "See?"

Ahk huffed out a long breath. He looked like he was calming down. "Have you at least taken off the spell?"

Anubis flinched. "Er... I was just about to do that."

Nathaniel snorted. He looked almost as angry as Ahk.

Anubis closed his eyes for a moment, whispering something under his breath. An orb of light seemed to bleed from my hand and float away from me, and with it went all the weird fluttery feelings I'd been having towards Anubis. He caught the ball, looking a bit regretful.

I blinked, suddenly feeling much more alert. "What just happened? Why... what... Ahk, why were you angry?"

Instead of answering, he engulfed me in a tight embrace.

Nathaniel looked disgruntled, and Anubis let out a sigh.

"As much as it pains me to say this, Bast was right. This was a terrible idea."

"Aha!" Came a triumphant voice from outside the door. "I heard that! I heard that! And just for the record, cats are still better warriors than dogs are. They just don't cheat."

"I did not cheat!" Anubis called back with a slight grin. "You just didn't understand the rules correctly."

I stared at him. "Um, Anubis?"

He glanced back at me, and his smile faded. "Yes?"

"What... exactly just happened?"

Ahk sat next to me, smirking. "Go on, Anubis. Tell her everything."

Anubis sighed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I am enjoying this, because now she's going to be mad and you deserve it." Ahk replied triumphantly.