AN: So, I know what I said about posting on Monday's but this is ready, so here it is. Next chapter will be Monday at the latest. Enjoy :)
What it was that they all proposed was that Ahkmenrah, because he had discovered Larry's plight, and because he had at least convinced him to come say 'hi', was to approach Larry again. The plan was that he would leave the museum, go to Larry's apartment and talk to him. It was quite simple as far as plans went, there was only one problem he could see.
"Where does Larry live?"
"Manhattan!" Jed supplied.
"I think we're already in Manhattan," Ahkmenrah pointed out.
"Bring the apparatus!" Octavius called.
Into the computer he had his soldiers type M-A-N-H-A-T-T-A-N.
"Manhattan is the most densely populated of New York City's 5 boroughs..." Ahkmenrah read out loud, feeling more dismay with every word.
"Look here," Teddy said, pointing to the screen. "Population 1.665 million."
Jed whistled appreciatively. The number was indeed a very large one.
"We're going to need more precise information regarding his place of residence," Octavius observed.
Sacagawea had remained silent, speaking now to put forth a clever idea.
"Could we check the employee files?"
"An excellent suggestion, my dear!" Teddy beamed, pressing a kiss to her hand. "To the security office!"
Downstairs, they rifled through the filing cabinets, until they came across the folder marked: Daley, Lawrence.
"Here it is!" Ahkmenrah called.
"What does it say?" Teddy asked, leaning in for a closer look.
"Date of birth: November 30 1965..." Ahkmenrah read out loud, running his eyes over the file. "Here's the address... And a phone number." He looked up at Teddy. "Should we perhaps call him?"
"Granted, it's a quicker and safer solution, but it would also make it easier for Lawrence to avoid talking."
"We could try," Sacagawea suggested. "And if he won't talk, then we could track down his apartment."
"A fair and logical solution," Teddy agreed.
"Well what are ya waiting for, boy?!" Jedediah questioned Ahkmenrah. "There's the phone. Pick it up!"
Looking down at the innocuous communication device on the desk, Ahkmenrah suddenly felt very nervous. Would Larry answer? Would he speak when he learned who was calling? If he was willing to listen, what should Ahkmenrah say?
"Some time tonight would be good," Jed pushed.
Ahkmenrah shared an uncertain look with Teddy.
"It's alright," the former president assured. "We're all anxious to have our Lawrence sorted out."
Ahkmenrah nodded, telling himself that's all the feeling was, and picked up the receiver.
He dialled the number and waited with a belly full of butterflies for Larry to answer the call. Equally anxious faces surrounded him.
"Dr McPhee?" It was Larry's voice.
"No actually. It's Ahkmenrah."
The tension in the room, and through the line, was palpable.
"Oh hey..." Larry trailed off. Ahkmenrah waited for a moment before realising it was up to him to keep this conversation going.
"I wanted to see how are?" He hoped that wouldn't offend Larry, it wasn't meant to imply that he couldn't take care of himself. Perhaps he was overthinking it, and the others gathered tensely around him made him even more nervous.
"I'm okay. Busy with study, I should probably-"
Larry had left last night claiming he needed time to study, was still claiming it now. Ahkmenrah assumed that meant he'd be at home, but he could hear the sound of hooves clopping in the background.
"Where are you, Larry?"
"At home," Larry replied after a moment of hesitation.
"Not Central Park?" Ahkmenrah tested. Why would Larry lie? And why would he be in Central Park unless he wanted to be close to them? It was a difficult and confusing situation. Ahkmenrah didn't want to call Larry a liar, despite evidence to the contrary. Silence stretched between them.
"Hand it over, Pharaoh," Teddy insisted, plucking the receiver from his hand. "Lawrence!"
For a moment anger flared up in Ahkmenrah, but then Sacagawea was urging him to go, and he understood what they were doing. Teddy was going to distract Larry, keep him in place, until Ahkmenrah could get to him. He shared a grin with Attila, Jed and Octavius, hopeful of success, before taking off up the stairs. Together, they could do this.
He was out of breath by the time he finally laid eyes on their old friend, standing on top of the terrace.
"Larry!"
The man turned to him, a mixture of surprise and frustration on his face.
"Okay, Teddy. I gotta go... Yeah. Yeah, Ahk's here..." Larry was silent, whilst presumably Teddy departed with one last piece of wisdom. "Sure, Teddy. Okay. Bye."
Larry stowed the phone in his pocket.
Throughout the whole thing, their gazes never left each other, Larry didn't look too pleased to see him. He didn't exactly look upset either.
"What are you doing here, Ahk?" Larry sighed.
"I could ask you the same thing."
Larry remained silent. It was an unwelcome change from the man he'd once known.
"Don't be angry with us," Ahkmenrah pleaded.
"I'm not angry," Larry said, but the tightness of his voice hinted otherwise.
"You left in such a rush last night. I think you must be. Why else would you choose to avoid us?"
"I'm not. I just... I don't know. It's too hard, I guess. I can't deal with being there. You know?"
No, Ahkmenrah did not know, but pushing Larry to visit the museum last time hadn't worked.
"Then I shall come to you. I could meet you here in the evenings."
Anything to preserve the connection between them for now.
"I wish you wouldn't."
Ahkmenrah was getting frustrated. He wasn't used to having people defy him, he was a king after all. He had always been kind and fair, and he expected the same in return.
"And I wish you wouldn't be so difficult. We're your friends. We're trying to help you!"
"It's a bit late for that!"
Larry turned to leave, but Ahkmenrah could not risk losing him for good. What if he disappeared into the night, spent the day when they lay helpless changing his phone number, relocating to a new apartment, and they never saw him again? It was a terrifying prospect, and a risk the Egyptian could not take. In pure desperation, he reached out and seized Larry's wrist.
"Larry, please. Don't leave me. Don't go."
Even to himself, his voice sounded desperate and pathetic. Larry's eyes moved up to meet his, hard at first but softening the longer they maintained the contact.
"Why do you care?" Larry's question was something between a plea and an accusation, and Ahkmenrah realised he was bitter about being abandoned, but that had never been Ahkmenrah's, or anyone else's, intention.
"We never meant to leave you."
"But you did," Larry said, pulling his hand away. "In London, I tried to tell you all that I wasn't ready, and you went ahead with it anyway. No one listened."
Ahkmenrah could not deny it.
"I'm sorry," he offered instead. "Hurting you was the last thing on our minds."
"I know," Larry bit out. "Guess that's why it was so easy for you to leave us."
It wasn't until this moment that Ahkmenrah understood the full extent of what he'd done. At the time he had been so happy to see his parents, and as well as that he could not have denied them the chance to spend time with him. After all, they had been without the son they cheated death to not be separated from, for a very long time. He'd been certain he meant more to them than anyone else. But now that he could see what the separation had done to Larry, he couldn't be so sure. He knew what it was to be separated from those you cared about, and to have no control over your life. Years locked in his sarcophagus had taught him that. He wanted Larry to know that he understood the pain and the loneliness.
"I was alone for a long time too."
Larry's eyes snapped up to meet his, and in them he saw the realisation that they had, at least in part, suffered the same thing. It was a miserable common ground to share, but a connection nonetheless.
"Don't let your fear keep you in that dark place."
And suddenly Ahkmenrah knew he would do whatever it took to help Larry escape that loneliness, and to keep him from ever going back there.
xxx
How could he trust it? He had walked away once too, but it was different. He had still visited, and they all still had each other. When Ahkmenrah has chosen to stay in London, he'd ripped Larry's whole world out from under him, taken away the first thing Larry had ever been good at, the only thing he'd ever felt satisfied with.
And now, here he was, trying to convince Larry to put his heart on the line again, let them in once more, only to have it all taken away again when the exhibition went back to England.
"I can't..."
"I know what it is to suffer..." Ahk offered. Larry didn't doubt that, he had heard the screams of Ahkmenrah, trapped inside his sarcophagus, night after night. He'd been afraid to let him out, but in the end, it had been his only choice. He hadn't expected to find someone so beautiful and gentle beneath the bandages, but like the rest of them Ahkmenrah had come to mean a lot to him. He had even thought they shared a special bond because of what Larry had done for him.
The young pharaoh was watching him carefully, waiting to see how he would react. Larry still felt so betrayed by this person he had thought cared about him.
"Remember the good times."
Ahk was asking too much. Expecting too much. Larry had never been good at relationships, though he should have been used to dealing with rejection. But this time, it had hurt so much more.
"You took it all away from me!"
The pharaoh blinked slowly, taken aback by the outburst. Larry was a little surprised himself that he still had that much passion left.
"Larry. I never meant..."
"What?" What hadn't he meant? Larry was suffering and had been suffering.
"To hurt you. That was never my intention."
"But you did," Larry stated, covering his face with his hands so Ahk couldn't see the wreck he'd become. He wasn't proud of his inability to deal with this loss and move on. And he couldn't risk it again. He had finally reached some kind of acceptance at least, had a new direction even if it wasn't as good as the last one. The loss didn't ache quite as much as it once had. Hanging out with everyone again was only going to open old wounds. Ahkmenrah was still watching him, waiting for him to give in. But he couldn't. "And you'll do it again. It's a temporary exhibition!"
"We can work something out..."
"How? I lost my job for touching the tablet last time. God, I ruined everything. I've been so, so lonely..." Why couldn't Ahkmenrah understand that and just leave him alone? He was used to it now.
A pained look passed over the Egyptian's face and then he was holding Larry, arms wrapped firmly around him.
"You are not alone now," Ahkmenrah said into his ear.
At first Larry was stiff in the embrace, but slowly his will to resist began to drain away, and he was holding on too. He had missed his friends so much. He could fight it all he wanted, but he needed them. Life could never go back to the way it was before the museum.
"Don't leave me alone again," he whispered against Ahkmenrah's shoulder.
"I won't. I promise," Ahk assured, tightening his grip. Larry wanted to believe it, and he let himself, for now at least. He wanted a break from the solitude, from the gnawing ache in his chest, and the constant stream of negative thoughts. So he let Ahkmenrah hold him, let himself believe his friends still cared. Tomorrow, the sun would rise, and he would have plenty of time to worry about the consequences then.