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Fireworks | Y/N x Ahkmenrah
Masterlist British!Reader is feeling homesick without celebrating Bonfire night. After confiding in Ahkmenrah, he seeks help from the others to make sure they don't miss out on their favourite holiday (WC: 2334) AN: I wrote this in basically a day so apologies if it's not super polished.
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Y/N had been working as a night guard for the museum of natural history for a little over six months now. They’d moved to New York from the UK a year ago to attend NYU studying archeology. So when they were desperate for money and they found out the local museum had an open position, they happily took it.
The job did take some adjusting, especially when on their first night they came face to face with a moving t-rex skeleton, but thankfully, with the help of Larry and the other exhibits, they slowly became apart of their mismatched family.
It was notable that over the last six months Y/N had grown closest to Ahkmenrah. Not only due to their closeness in age but also their shared interest in history. Most nights Y/N could be found walking with Ahkmenrah, either listening to his stories or catching him up on recent history.
It was now November, Halloween had just passed, and Y/N was feeling unusually more homesick than usual. Instead of listening emotively to Ahkmenrah’s stories, they simply hummed in acknowledgement. They’re so caught up in their homesick melancholy that they fails to notice that he’s stopped speaking.
"Y/N, are you alright?” He nudged them gently as he asked. “You seem distant this evening?”
"Sorry, it’s silly, really.”
"Are you sure? You don't seem alright," he says quietly, his crystal eyes watching them. "You never ignore me."
“Oh Ahkmen, I’m so sorry!” Their face suddenly filled with emotion. “I didn’t mean to ignore you.”
He shook his head at their apologies and stepped forward to hold their hand. "No, it’s fine, Y/N, but what’s wrong?”
“I’m just missing the UK this time of year.”
Ahkmenrah's eyes soften as he takes their hand. "I understand. It is okay to miss your home." He says quietly. He looks up at them, and he can tell that the homesickness that they’re feeling is a very heavy thing.
He gently squeezes their hand. "Do you talk to your family back in England?" He gives a thoughtful glance before looking back up at them.
“It’s not that; I spoke to them just this morning, but..." Y/N pauses for a moment before continuing, “I kinda miss the fireworks.”
His brows furrow slightly in confusion. “Fireworks?”
“Every year in the UK we set off fireworks and make bonfires on the Fifth of November.” They begin to explain, “We call it Bonfire or Guy Fawkes night.”
The confusion is now replaced with wide-eyed curiosity; his eyes sparkle with interest as he speaks, “That sounds wonderful, so you celebrate with fireworks?”
Y/N nodded, happy with Akhmenrah’s genuine interest. “Um yeah, it’s a way to commemorate when Guy Fawkes failed to blow up parliament in 1605.”
Ahkmenrah raises his eyebrows. He seems more intrigued than ever at this point. "A failed attack on a government.. so you celebrate?" he says, almost in awe at the idea. "How exciting!"
“Yeah, although like most holidays we mainly use it as an excuse to get stinking drunk.” They laughed quietly at their own joke, “But my parents and I used to always go see a fireworks show every year.”
“Did you do anything else?” He asked, still curious, to which Y/N’s asked sparkled before they spoke. The two then spent the rest of the night talking about different traditions and foods that bonfire night often had. They also discussed different holidays Akhmenrah would celebrate during his life in Ancient Egypt.
Eventually, the sun began to rise and the two had to part, but not before Y/N escorted him back to his tomb. “I’ll see you tonight, Akhmen.”
“See you tonight, Y/N.” He replied, but he looked as if he wanted to keep talking, making Y/N confused, but they didn’t have time to reply as the sarcophagus closed and the tablet glowed once more.
Y/N sighed before gently tapping on the sarcophagus and whispered the one thing they could never say during the night, “I love you...” before stepping away and heading back home.
The next night, Larry greeted them with a favour: "Listen, could you just keep an eye on the minis tonight? They’ve been whispering, and I got a feeling they're planning something.”
“Sure, no worries.” They ended up spending their whole night with Jedediah and Octavius. Y/N took them to the projection room and let them pick any movies to watch; they ended up picking The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
By the time Sunrise was close, they had only just finished the second film, and with a promise to watch the third movie, the two let Y/N carry them back to their exhibits. Once they had finished closing their assigned exhibits, Y/N made their way to the museum lobby.
As they walked down the stairs, Y/N paused as they spotted Ahkmenrah and Larry talking in hushed tones and looked at something on Larry’s laptop. The two hadn’t noticed Y/N as they slowly walked closer to the two.
“What are you boys whispering about?” They asked, causing the two men to jump slightly at the sudden voice. Larry quickly shut the laptop, looking incredibly awkward at being caught.
“Ah, Y/N. We were just... discussing some work stuff. Nothing important.” The older nightguard spoke rapidly, not sounding convincing at all. He glanced at the young pharaoh to back him up, who proceeded to nod while smiling a bit too widely.
“Uh Huh…” Y/N spoke with their arms crossed, clearly not believing them. “You guys are keeping something from me, and I’m gonna find out, but it’s close to sunrise, so it can wait.”
Ahkmenrah squirms a little under thier scrutinising gaze. Larry, still looking sheepish, scratches the back of his neck. "Right. Yes. Sunrise." He agrees quickly. "Everything can wait." After a moment, he nudges Ahkmenrah, who hasn't spoken yet.
The Egyptian Pharaoh coughs and composes himself quickly. "Yes, yes. Sunrise," he said as his face went back to the usual cool and calm look.
Y/N smiled at the Ahkmenrah fondly before gently grabbing his arm and saying, “Come on, I’ll get you settled back in your room.”
Ahkmenrah doesn't look so tense anymore after seeing their smile. Once they grab his arm, he lets out a quiet breath and relaxes a little. "Thank you," he mumbles under his breath and lets Y/N lead him back to his exhibit.
As they led him, Y/N started to talk. There's no specific topic to their rambling, but it helps distract Akhmenrah from the inevitability that soon he’ll be in the sarcophagus once again. When they arrive in front of his exhibit, Y/N feels him tense next to them and gently guides him towards the sarcophagus.
“It’s okay, we’ll be right here for you when you wake up,” they try to comfort him as he lowers himself into his tomb.
He lays down in his sarcophagus and gives them a small nod, a silent thank you. "I trust that you will," he murmurs as his chest rises and falls with calm breaths.
As Y/N looks at him, their mind runs on autopilot and, without thinking, reaches down and places a soft kiss on his forehead. Realising what they’ve done, Y/N pulls away wide-eyed, "Sorry, I don’t know why I did that.”
Ahkmenrah is still stunned for a moment, his face red. "I-" he stutters slightly, trying to organise his thoughts. "No, it's alright," he manages, his voice trembling a little from the unexpected gesture.
Before they could reply, they spotted the tablet begin to slowly glow. With a sigh, they turned back to Ahkmenrah and said, "Sorry, it’s sunrise; I need to close this.”
Ahkmenrah reluctantly nods, his face still a little flustered from the kiss. The tablet's glow grows brighter as the sun rises. "Yes, of course," he mumbles, his voice slightly hushed.
He takes a deep breath before speaking again, trying to hide the hint of disappointment in his voice. "I'll see you tonight then."
“See you tonight.” With that, Y/N pushed the sarcophagus closed and waited until the glowing ended before heading home. As they walked down New York Street, Y/N couldn’t help but wonder exactly what Larry and Ahkmenrah were whispering about; they made a mental note to ask on their next shift.
Yet when they arrived the next evening, Y/N was confused to find the main lobby entirely empty, even despite the fact they’d arrived over thirty minutes late.
“Hello?” They called out as their voice echoed around the museum, “Where is everyone?”
Still no response, causing Y/N to sigh slightly. Suddenly the sounds of footsteps approaching caused them to tense as possibility spread through their head, What if there thrives in the museum? What if they’d stolen the tablet?
As the footsteps grew closer, Y/N hid behind the desk while clutching their torch like a weapon, ready to strike. They heard the person stop in front of the desk, causing Y/N to jump up and swing. Only to be stopped by an outstretched hand and a loud voice yelling their name.
“Atilla?” Y/N’s eyes were wide as they realised who they’d nearly attacked. “I’m sorry, I thought you were an intruder.”
He replied in Hun and a small pat on their left shoulder to indicate no harm was done before holding his hand out. Y/N took his hand and allowed him to take them to the new planetarium that had been built a month ago. They stood outside for a moment before the doors swung open.
Y/N gasped as they saw how the room was decorated with various streamers and balloons and spotted the rest of the museum happily partying with each other. Everyone is having a great time, and the room is filled with music and laughter. Larry, among the others, is near the centre holding up a drink. He sees you and waves.
"Ah, Y/N!" Larry calls out. "There you are! Was starting to worry you weren't coming." He gestures to the surroundings. "What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?”
They approach him slowly, still taking in the surroundings. “Larry? What on earth is going on?”
“We’re celebrating bonfire night!” He exclaimed excitedly while handing them a drink, “I think we got most of it right but added our own American twist, you know?”
“How did you even know about this?” Y/N asked, to which Larry simply pointed to a corner where they could see Ahkmenrah talking to Sacagawea and Teddy.
They left Larry at the bar with a polite wave and made their way over to the trio. Ahkmenrah’s eyes instantly locked onto them when he saw them approaching. “Y/N! You finally made it!”
“Did you do all this for me?” They asked while smiling brightly.
"Yes! Yes, I did," he replies enthusiastically. "Larry and the others helped, of course. But I wanted tonight to be special for you."
His eyes sparkle as he looks at you, happy to see your reaction to his efforts. "Do you like it?"
“Like it?” Y/N began while looking around again in wonder, "Ahkmen, I love it!”
“You do?” He asked, to which Y/N nodded, "Well, there’s more to come still; in fact, it should be starting in just a minute.”
“What’s starting?”
Instead, he grabbed their hand and led them to a specific spot. “It’s a surprise, but follow me; I know the perfect spot to watch.”
Before Y/N could ask another question, the main lights dimmed, leaving them in darkness. They looked up as the constellations began to move, gently dancing for a moment before one of them exploded into a dazzling display of colours.
Y/N’s eyes widened in recognition before they looked at Ahkmenrah and whispered, “Fireworks...”
“Larry said we couldn’t get real ones, but I thought this would be a good alternative.” He explained, watching as they smiled brightly, their face illuminated by the beautiful light show.
Feeling incredibly proud, he takes Y/N’s hand and stands beside them, watching the animated sky with them. "I'm glad you're enjoying it." He mumbled quietly and squeezed their hand.
Y/N continued to watch the fireworks, but as the display neared its end, they turned toward the young pharaoh. “Could I do something a little crazy?”
Ahkmenrah tilts his head a little and smiles, intrigued and curious about their question. "Of course, Y/N, what is it?"
Instead of answering, Y/N slowly reached a hand out to caress his cheek. They looked into his eyes for a moment before reaching forward and gently placing their lips on his. Ahkmenrah freezes for a moment, stunned by their action, but then he slowly blinks and closes his eyes.
In the dim light of the planetarium, he gently returns the kiss, his lips moving gently against theirs. After a moment, he hesitantly wraps his arms around them to pull them closer, his fingers lightly tracing along their back.
The two only pull away once a cacophony of cheers and clapping surrounds them. Y/N quickly hides their blushing face in Ahkmenrah's chest when they turn and see all their friends congratulating them for finally taking the next step.
Y/N feels his chest move as he chuckles softly before pulling them closer. “Thank you, my friends, but I think we should get back to the party.”
With his kind but commanding words, the rest of them quickly began to party once more, but not without a suggestive whistle from a certain cowboy.
They pull away from his chest slightly before speaking, “Thank you, Ahkmen, for all of this.”
"I wanted to make this special for you, and it was worth the wait," he says softly and gives their forehead a light kiss. “Shall we get back to the party?”
“Lead the way.” Y/N replied, allowing him to lead them by the waist to join their friends on the dance floor.
In that moment, finally being with the person they cared about most as their friends danced around them, Y/N realised they hadn’t thought of home once. Even if for a moment, Akhmenrah had healed their homesickness, and they couldn’t be happioer.