A/N: The final part. Slight angst in this chapter, but hopefully the mushiness will make up for it. Hope you enjoy and thank you for reading!
Four days had passed since Kyle's first kiss with Eric and little had changed between them. It wasn't followed by revelation or bewilderment. It was followed by relief and giddiness and plenty more kisses. Their routine had altered slightly due to this new development in their relationship, a change Kyle would have never seen coming a matter of weeks ago, but seemed so natural the more time they spent together, and blissful after he realised just how much he wanted Eric, and how deep his affections ran.
In fact, some arrangements were made easier now their feelings were no more barely kept secrets. Instead of having to fold out the couch into a bed every night, Eric shared Kyle's now. And while Kyle still encouraged Eric to speak as much as English as he could, their language barrier was now being slowly bridged with affectionate gestures and kisses as well as Eric's progress.
Their day-to-day was still the same. Eric accompanied Kyle to work, revising his English while Kyle still investigated the mysterious circumstances which allowed Eric to come into his life the way he had. But perhaps they were more susceptible to distraction now, for while Kyle tried to type up notes on his tablet, he could see Eric staring at him out of the corner of his eye, gaze preoccupied and smile lax and slightly wicked.
"You okay?" Kyle asked, finally addressing the subject.
"I'm fine…" Eric replied, smiling dreamily, neglecting the laptop in front of him.
"Aren't you supposed to be busy?" Kyle arched an eyebrow and placed a playful hand on his hip.
Eric chuckled bashfully. "Yes, but I am distracted by you."
Kyle blinked, genuinely surprised. His hand slid from his hip.
"Me?" He asked, trying to keep the incredulity concealed in his voice.
Eric nodded, unabashedly raking his gaze over Kyle.
"You are looking, um, cute today," he said with a smile.
Kyle's smile creased with fondness, his face suddenly felt warmer. And he could've sworn Eric had flushed too.
"Cute?" He decided to tease. "Not hot?"
"You are hot too," Eric quickly added, as if concerned Kyle was actually offended. "You can be both, can't you?"
Kyle nodded. "Yes, you can."
"Then you are both of those things and more," Eric replied, without a trace of doubt or embarrassment.
His conviction always stunned Kyle, for it always reminded him of how highly Eric regarded him and how he saw no problem in expressing it, even if Kyle didn't think he was worthy of such praise, admiration.
He shook his head disbelievingly and snickered, "You know, for a guy who still can't speak a whole lot of English yet you are one smooth talker."
Eric grinned and ran a hand through his hair, ducking his head. Admittedly, Kyle found his coyness extremely arousing.
He added, "But you're cute today too… and hot."
Eric lifted his head; brow raised and eyes wide. Kyle pursed his lips to stifle his chuckle.
"Hot?" Eric asked, glancing at the cat t-shirt he was wearing. "You said this shirt was funny?"
"You can be cute and funny," Kyle smiled.
"Really?"
"You can be anything you want..."
Kyle stepped closer, his fingers sliding across the lab table. Eric had watched with lips parted, and his eyes trailed to Kyle, his gaze so hungry that it could have devoured him.
"I want you closer to me…" Eric revealed, voice threadbare as if his ravenous eyes had stripped it of anything else. All was left was its soft, pleading skeleton.
"How close?" Kyle asked, before edging forward a little more.
"Closer…" Eric demanded, moving the laptop aside.
Kyle moved forward and their hands met. Their skin was hot and Eric's fingers twitched when Kyle touched him, no bluff, certainly no coolness; Eric wanted him, needed him closer, and acted accordingly. Kyle wanted to smile victoriously, smugly, but he knew how it felt to ache like Eric was.
"Like this?" He instead asked, still admiring the sight of his hand on top of Eric's.
"More," Eric replied, barely above a whisper.
Stepping closer, Kyle trailed his fingers up Eric's arm, effortlessly, carelessly, almost phantasmal as Eric's skin prickled and shivered with goosebumps. The fine hairs on his arm stood up, frozen and haunted by Kyle's touch.
"How about now?" Kyle asked, though he knew they were nowhere near close enough.
But Eric was now able to wrap his arm around Kyle's waist and pull him forward. Kyle yelped softly and quickly, Eric snatching control from him was unexpected but he didn't protest. A cunning smirk glinted in the corner of Eric's mouth and left Kyle breathless.
"This is better," Eric grinned, his arm hooked securely around Kyle's waist and his boyfriend's exhilarated reflection was in Eric's dark topaz eyes.
Kyle's hands had flown to Eric's upper arms, trying to find purchase on those well-covered biceps as well as trying to retrieve his breath. It was coming in terse, glistening bursts almost as sweet as Eric's tempting lips. And Kyle had sampled them enough in a short amount of time to know just how lovely they were.
His smile wobbled and shook under the weight of his desire, and Kyle quickly dove for Eric's lips. Tender and full when pressed against his own, Kyle wondered why they wasted their time with teasing. He slid his hands up Eric's arms, fingers crawling into Eric's hair while his other arm coiled around Eric's shoulder and rested his hand just below the nape of his neck. Eric, meanwhile, clutched at Kyle's waist through his lab coat with one hand, and dug his fingers in between his shoulder blades with the other.
While they gladly took any opportunity to kiss and be in each other's embrace, and despite kissing each other senseless since the first time their lips met, Kyle had initially been reluctant. He knew their relationship was unorthodox (and that was why he tried to resist entering romantic territory), and he also knew that it was easy for he and Eric to get lost in translation. He hated to think that perhaps he was taking advantage of Eric, that he was unwittingly leading their relationship in a direction Eric wasn't entirely sure about.
But Kyle needn't have doubted Eric, or sold him short, for when he invited Eric to spend his first (sexless) night in his bed, Eric folded his arms around Kyle and nuzzled his curls without being prompted at all, and Kyle slept soundly that night. Language is so easily deceptive, and words can be the greatest make-up of all. Actions are sincere even when we don't mean them to be; they ooze and leak with truth.
Kyle was jolted out of his hazy reminisces when Eric urged him closer, the hand at his waist roaming further down his back. If they were at his apartment, Kyle would've let Eric's hands wander anywhere (for there was still so much they had yet to discover), he would've let Eric brace him and hitch him up, indulge him in his strength, and let Eric carry him to their bed but, unfortunately, they were in the lab and Kyle was still a professional. He usually prided himself on that, now it felt like a great inconvenience.
"This is as close as we can get for now," Kyle breathed out, away from Eric's lips.
"Alright," Eric acquiesced, loosening his hold.
Kyle frowned to himself. Things couldn't escalate between them just yet, but he didn't want to completely extinguish the moment. Instead, he decided to just let it simmer.
"But when we get home, I'll be all over you," he promised, their noses brushing together.
Eric bit his lip, the corners of his mouth piqued upwards coyly, satisfied.
"I would like that, Kyle," he murmured, pressing his forehead to his boyfriend's.
Kyle snickered, fingers still threaded through Eric's hair, suspended in each other's embrace. One more kiss wouldn't hurt, would it? With hooded eyes, Kyle reconnected their lips and Eric readily resumed their kiss. He pawed at Kyle, pushed his tongue into Kyle's mouth, leaving Kyle to wander exactly what would transpire between them when they returned home. The door locked, their whole evening free, who knew how things could develop? How far would they get carried away? In the present moment, with his heart pumping molten blood and a semi in his pants, Kyle hoped very far…
The click of the lab door opening and conversation drifting into the room was what finally made Kyle push himself off Eric, flustered and pinked. With startled eyes, Eric reached for the laptop and tried to remain inconspicuous, while Kyle tried to compose himself. As he smoothed down his clothes he noticed Wendy and Token staring at him with expressions of puzzlement and amusement.
Kyle coughed into his fist before looking directly at the pair.
"Oh, hey, you guys been to lunch yet?" He asked, thankful his voice didn't waver.
"No, but we were just about to go if you want to come," Wendy replied, arching an eyebrow and not hiding her smile.
Kyle nodded wordlessly for a couple of minutes, his throat tight before he found his voice.
"Yeah, sounds great," he said, before turning to his boyfriend who was hiding himself behind his laptop. "Are you hungry, Eric?"
His head popped up from behind the screen timidly and even Kyle was finding it difficult to contain his laughter. Hair mussed and cheeks tinged with the slightest blush, Eric nodded and got up from the stool with his signature smirk.
Whenever their conversations veered towards the topic of future plans, Eric always expressed an interest in taking up photography. And so Kyle was spending his Saturday afternoon researching various community college courses dotted around the city, his laptop on his chest and his legs on his boyfriend's lap as Eric immersed himself in a Spaghetti Western marathon playing on the TV.
As the credits for A Fistful of Dollars rolled, Kyle sat up, after an hour he thought he may have found the ideal class.
"Hey, Eric, look at this," he said, nudging Eric in the chest with his foot.
Eric diverted his attention away from the screen, leaning over and peering at the laptop with Kyle.
"It's close to the apartment, you need very little experience, and it's quite an intensive course too…" Kyle added, and saying it out loud only fuelled his excitement. It was everything they had been looking for. "Sounds perfect, right?"
Eric nodded, absorbed in what was on the screen. He silently took the laptop from Kyle and started to read further, his brow furrowed and his mouth opening and closing as he focused on the words.
Kyle watched him all the while, fiddling with the cushion beneath him as he waited for Eric's approval.
"I-I-it's great!" Eric finally said. His eyes were wide and a smile spilled onto his face.
Kyle bit back a relieved sigh. "You really like it?"
"Yeah, I do!" Eric grinned, before turning to Kyle and asking enthusiastically, "When can I go?"
Kyle deflated somewhat then, he was so glad of Eric's eagerness and he would've had him enrolled tomorrow if he could, but it unfortunately didn't work that way. Especially for Eric, who was so different and his circumstances so extraordinary.
"Usually classes start in September, so you've got almost a year to wait," Kyle replied. "Although some classes run in January, I think this one does. But maybe we should wait for a year, there's still so much we need to do…"
"Like what?" Eric asked, shrinking back from his initial excitement.
"Well, we need to arrange for you to sit a GED," Kyle explained. "Even though you don't need any prior experience for this course, you still need a high school diploma or the equivalent. But I can help you prepare and study for that, no problem," he smiled then, trying to ward off any discouragement. "Of course there's the legal stuff, like your name. You still don't have any discernible identification, like a driver's license or a passport," Kyle noticed that Eric was visibly reeling from the knowledge that he needed to have all these things. He probably felt so lost and helpless… before he had been a powerful prince, destined to forge his own laws, and now he had to follow rules he didn't understand. Kyle wanted Eric to reclaim some independence, even if it was minor. "Do you want to drive? You could take driving lessons? We could get you a learner's permit and drive around a parking lot or something?"
There was a crease in Eric's brow and he chuckled. Kyle fidgeted in embarrassment at his rambling, the strange trajectory of his thoughts.
At least I made him laugh, that's something to make him feel better.
"I think I'll drive later," Eric assured with a smile.
"Okay, it's not as if it's an urgent matter," Kyle replied, his shy gaze found it difficult to remain on Eric. "Hell, it's not even an issue since I can drive and take you anywhere you need to go. But maybe it could be a good independence thing? I don't want you to feel like everything is on my terms, like I'm in charge of you because I'm not. You're your own person. I just want to help-"
"I know, Kyle," Eric chuckled, shushing him by finding Kyle's hand and threading their fingers. "I know you want to help me."
Although Kyle was still flushed, and although his gaze was still too flustered and coy to properly meet Eric's eyes, their linked hands emboldened him somewhat.
"Phew, okay, good. Glad that's cleared up," Kyle said with a small chuckle and a weak smile, Eric was slowly teasing the discomfort out of him. "But, um, I really need to talk to Doctor Victoria before we go ahead with any of this. I don't think she would like us making anything official until her and the damn PR team come up with a plan…" Kyle sighed, he hated to sound petulant and bitter (especially about his boss who he respected a great deal), but their progress was at a snail's pace compared to Eric's ability and willingness to adapt to his new surroundings. They were dealing with a human life, and yet they appeared to be so dismissive… or just inept at the weight of such a responsibility. "I mean, I know it's difficult, and I know they must be busy with other things but I really don't think it's fair to make you wait this long. It's been weeks and we've heard virtually nothing. You've come so far and they're just… static, you know? Do you feel that way?"
He faced Eric directly then, a concerned hand placed on his knee.
"I suppose," Eric shrugged, glancing around the apartment as if it could help him elaborate. "I don't think about them a lot. I just focus on what I am doing."
"And you should," Kyle said, squeezing Eric's hand in his own. He softened his voice when he said, "I'm so proud of you, Eric."
Eric's wandering stare bounced back to Kyle, and a smile spread across his face as if the answers he was looking for were with Kyle all along.
Didn't he say in the lab that he thought he was meant to be with you?
"Thank you," Eric said quietly.
"No problem," Kyle replied just as soft, as if their voices were being drowned out by their gentle, whirring thoughts, and all the things that weren't visible but that they saw when they looked at each other. And Kyle saw that Eric was what mattered, and he appeared to be happy and content even if Kyle was concerned and irritated by those they were still waiting on. He rolled his eyes.
"Ugh, maybe it's just me," he groaned, throwing his head back so that it hit a cushion, "worrying about nothing, getting too involved…"
"I don't mind," Eric shook his head and snickered. "You are involved because you… care about me…"
Even the tiniest wobble of uncertainty made Kyle sit up and look at Eric with imploring eyes.
"Don't you?" Eric asked, gaze fixed on Kyle and he brushed Kyle's hand with his thumb.
"Yes," Kyle smiled, voice strong but wavering. He leaned forward and lifted his hand from Eric's knee, bringing it to his face to stroke his cheek. "Yes of course I do."
Eric's cheek swelled in his damp palm and he regarded Kyle with glistening, hooded eyes.
"Then that is all I need," Eric whispered, vowed. "I'll wait."
Kyle brushed Eric's cheek with his thumb, trying to contain his smile because he feared it would encompass his whole face. It was difficult trying to contain his ecstasy, a marvellous by-product of his fondness for the prince. But he still had his damn pride extinguishing any embarrassing outbursts of emotion (even if it had failed him on previous occasions), otherwise he wouldn't care how wide he smiled, or if he welled up.
There was still a way to express his affection however. He leaned over – the set-up was perfect, for his hand was already at Eric's cheek – and kissed his remarkable, astounding boyfriend.
"… And I have a younger brother called Ike- what?" Kyle interrupted himself when he heard Eric chuckle across the table.
"I have never heard that name before…" Eric commented before taking a sip of his drink. His topaz eyes matched the shade of the fashionably muted bulbs in the restaurant.
"Oh, well, it's short for Isaac," Kyle explained. "He's adopted, his parents were Canadian. He graduated college last year, and is in California now, Silicon Valley looking for internships."
Eric nodded, impressed, and there was a small, encouraging smile on his face prompting Kyle to divulge more. Admittedly, that was the purpose of this evening. It was their first real date night and Kyle hoped that with Eric's English getting better and better they could finally learn more about each other. Spending as much time together as they did and with a barrier in communication, Kyle felt he had been self-taught in Eric's personality. Quite an accomplishment, and Eric's history was his reward. So Kyle told Eric that he had booked a table for them at one of the most romantic restaurants he knew (intimate and cosy, perfect for sharing), explained to him what a date entailed, and was both amused and delighted when Eric decided to wear that burgundy shirt.
"So do you have any brothers or sisters?" Kyle asked.
"No…" Eric shook his head, speaking matter-of-factly. "No, my mother died when I was a baby and my father did not marry again."
The information and the tone it was given in surprised and sobered Kyle.
"Oh…" he whispered, reaching across the table and taking Eric's cool hand. He spoke louder, "Oh, Eric, I'm sorry…"
"Thank you, but it was not your fault, Kyle," Eric assured, so calm and profound. Kyle wondered whether Eric had compartmentalised his former life into a distant, dream world that leaked lucidity. "I know that a lot of mothers die giving birth to their children, it is fine. My father had his son and he loved me very much, he did…"
Eric's voice wandered off, tethered to the present but the alluring breeze of that far-off world and life had picked up and was attempting to carry Eric with it. Only when Eric mentioned his father…
"I want to hear more about you," Eric said softly, returning to Kyle.
"Okay," Kyle replied, the change in topic was a little abrupt but he went along with it nonetheless. "I grew up in Colorado and I got my degree in Egyptology from Yale. I love history as you can tell, archaeology and ancient Egypt specifically-"
"Why?"
"I think all ancient civilisations are incredible, what they achieved was remarkable and we wouldn't be where we are today without them," Kyle answered. "Mankind has progressed so much and we owe it all to them. At least, in my opinion. But I think it was the pyramids that intrigued me about Egypt, made me want to learn more about their culture and beliefs, especially concerning the afterlife. I've read extensively, and had the opportunity to really study artefacts, visit Egypt…" Kyle kept his smile to himself, but stroked Eric's hand with his thumb. "I met you…" Eric lifted his gaze to Kyle, who was trying to coax him back fully to the present. "And I'm still blown away. But I also love basketball and video games, elephants are my favourite animal. Let's see, what else…"
It was then Kyle was reminded of a facet of himself that he had deliberately kept from Eric, for so long now that he had forgotten it was a secret at all.
"Um…" Kyle studied the tablecloth as he tried to think of a way into his confession. "Maybe I should've told you this sooner but I didn't know how you would react…"
"What?"
Kyle took a deep breath.
"I'm Jewish," he said. "Did you know that?"
Eric's face was surprisingly impassive and he shrugged, leaning forward in his chair.
"I guessed," he admitted. "When we were in bed and we, uh…" Eric stopped himself, suddenly self-conscious. He scratched behind his ear but Kyle caught a glimpse of a coquettish half-smile and fond, hazy eyes. "Wh-when I saw you for the first time."
"Oh," Kyle blinked, not really knowing how to respond. He fiddled with the cutlery, only one question on his mind. "It's not a problem, is it?"
"No, no everything is new now, and different," Eric reassured, his voice swelled with sincerity. "I want to be different to who I was. This is my new home."
"Good, th-that's great, Eric," Kyle smiled; awed by the implication that Eric's home was with him, that he was a part of that. "Although I think I would've liked the person you were before just as much."
"Maybe…" Eric considered, quiet and distant. Kyle could feel him pulling towards his former life again, one so secret and possibly unhappy, fractured. Definitely tragic, for Eric was found so young.
Kyle wanted to learn more - inquisitive and protective as he was – but perhaps sombrely coaxing Eric wouldn't yield results, so instead he concealed his concern with an inviting smile.
"But I've been talking about myself all evening," he said, "so let's talk about you."
Eric arched a sceptical eyebrow, wary. "You want to talk about me?"
"Yes! I think you're fascinating," Kyle replied earnestly with a gentle smile. "I want to know everything about you."
Eric's wariness persisted and he pressed his lips tightly together, eyes roaming the table as he contemplated. The last thing Kyle wanted was to scare him off.
"Years before I found you, I had been intrigued by where you came from," Kyle added, hoping to encourage. "It's a dynasty so rarely written about or discussed. It's so mysterious and it was only by chance when I was in college and doing research did I stumble across a scrap of information, about a pharaoh who was probably your father."
Eric winced and shook his head.
"It was a short-lived dynasty," he replied. "We were doomed by the gods."
"How?"
"Our queen was dead, and I failed my father."
"But how? Eric, I don't understand," Kyle said, reaching across the table again and holding Eric's hand, he squeezed it softly this time. "Please tell me."
Eric slid his gaze to their joined hands, contemplating further before he nodded.
"When my mother died, all my father had was me and the dynasty," he began to explain. "But they were the same things, he always told me. I was Egypt and the future and our legacy. He was proud of me, and he loved me. We loved each other so much. I tried very hard to be what he wanted me to be. But I wanted to be a pharaoh, to rule like him. I wanted to make him and our advisors and our subjects - even my mother – proud."
Eric pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose.
"There was a Hebrew family," he continued. "They lived at the border of the slum. When I was a child I had nobody to play with, there were no other children in the palace and I had no brothers or sisters. One day, I saw a boy who I knew was Hebrew. He did not wear the same clothes as me. I remember his clothes were red, yellow and green…" he stopped to smile, to chuckle shortly. "And his hair was big and curly, even curlier than your hair."
Kyle snickered, and it released some of the tension.
"He had a green band around his forehead, and his curls they, uh, fell over the top it," Eric continued to smile fondly. "I do not know how he was able to get so close to the palace. I was not allowed to leave without an escort or an advisor or my father. I told him to come over to me but he was not scared. When my father used to take me through the slums, the Hebrews would look up at us and be frightened. But he was not. He told me that he had wanted to see the palace. I told him he should play with me. I was a prince and he had to listen to me.
"I did not like him," Eric considered, there was a small crease in his brow. "He talked too much. He would not play games the right way and we would argue. But I did not want to be on my own, and maybe he did not either because when I told him to come back he would. We played like that for a while, even when we were too old to play he would come to me and we would talk. He would come in the night, I told him how to meet me so the guards would not catch him and punish him. He would be tired. He was working with his father and mother now. When he left I would think all night. I would think of what my father and his advisors would say about the Hebrews, and if it was true. I did not want to, uh, disagree with my father but I did not understand.
"One night somebody in the palace must have seen us talking. The next day I had to see my father and his advisors and they told me I was not to go outside the palace at night, even the grounds. Guards would stand outside my chamber every night. My father's advisors were afraid we were plotting something, and they made my father believe it. My friend must have tried to visit me, but I was not there to meet him. One day I was going through the slums with my father and I saw my friend, I smiled because I had missed him. But he was arguing, shouting with someone I knew from the palace. He was not afraid of them either. He grabbed my friend and he looked frightened, and so was I. He saw me and shouted, asked me to do something. But I could not. Not in front of my father, and everybody else. I looked away…"
Eric's voice had grown thicker and he ducked his head in an attempt to hide the sound of his sniffles. Kyle's heart stung, he didn't want to push Eric. He supposed like everything else this process of extracting – and in Eric's case, reliving – took time.
"It's alright, Eric," Kyle soothed, rubbing his thumb across Eric's hand. "You don't have to say anymore-"
"But it happened again," Eric continued, lifting his head to reveal sore, wet eyes. "I was with my father and my friend was arguing again with another member of the palace… I wished I was as brave as my friend, I wished I was as stubborn. It made me angry to see him getting hurt, for the same thing to happen to him. But I was glad because I had a chance to make everything right. I ran away from my father and from the escorts protecting us. I put myself in front of my friend and fought the man who was trying to hurt him. Everybody was screaming, my friend pulled me back and I was shaking but he still held me. I whispered to him that I was sorry and he did not say anything. I looked at father and he turned away from me. I knew he was ashamed of me.
"I do not know what happened to my friend. I did not live long after that to see him again. I was told to stay in my chamber for days. The guards would taunt me. They told me that my father was discussing with his advisors what to do with me. I did not believe them but it was true. I became angry and when I told them I would have them killed for speaking to me like that, they told me I was stupid and a traitor and I could not make such promises. When I met my father and his advisors they called me a disgrace and the end of the dynasty. They told me that my friend had tricked me and we wanted to, uh, overthrow the dynasty with the rest of the Hebrews. They called me weak and unfit to rule.
"My father disowned me. But he loved me. I know he did. His advisors…" Eric gritted his teeth, Kyle could see it in the tensing of his jaw, and he could feel the pressure travel to his hand and strain his knuckles. "They were the ones who threw me out of my home. I did not want to live anymore. I had no life to live. I had nobody who wanted me, I could not go back. I found an old woman who had, um… poison; I had nothing to give her except one of my rings. It meant nothing to me, I did not deserve them, but she thought it was worth something. I sat on the palace steps and drank what she had given me. It was horrible. I remember feeling cold, and I could not breathe or speak. I thought of my childhood and my friend and my father, and I thought of my mother too even though I did not remember her. She was smiling and crying in my mind."
Kyle was pulled out of his enthralled daze when a tear slid from his cheek and landed on the table, staining the tablecloth a temporary grey. As he picked up a spare napkin, his heart creaked and ached and had never been so sore. He reminded himself of Eric's hand in his own, vowing that when they returned home he would wrap his boyfriend up in his arms and comfort him in any way he could; rock him and dry his tears and kiss his beautiful, heartbroken face that had failed to perish and cheated death. Eric would never feel so hopeless, dejected or unwanted again. Kyle would make sure of it.
"One of the guards must have found me-"
"Of course," Kyle cut in, the sudden revelation too urgent to wait. "That's why you were put in the amber and not mummified in a tomb."
"They did not think I deserved a tomb, I guess," Eric replied, and Kyle realised that his boyfriend was in need of comforting now and the amber was secondary, along with everything else.
"Eric, thank you," Kyle said, looking deep into Eric's shimmering eyes. "It must've been so hard for you to tell that story but-"
"I am glad I told you, Kyle," Eric interjected, nodding. "Now you know everything."
But he didn't, not really. There was one piece of information that eluded him, so crucial and now he could finally discover it.
"What's your name?" Kyle asked.
Eric furrowed his eyebrows.
"My name is Eric," he replied.
"But that's the name I gave you when I didn't know," Kyle explained, trying to mask his confusion. "Don't you want me to know the name you were given when you were born?"
Eric didn't answer; he only fidgeted in his seat and returned his gaze to their hands.
"Do you remember it?" Kyle pressed.
Eric sighed. "Yes, but I had that name in an old life where I made mistakes," he explained. "Everything is different now, better, and I am happy, I can be whoever I want to be."
Kyle sat back, astonished, but still kept Eric's hand in his.
"And I want to be Eric," he smiled.
Kyle nodded, a lump in his throat and a smile on his face.
"Fair enough," he said a little weakly, but his smile was still bright. "It suits you."
Kyle thought teaching Eric how to work the TV or how to use his iPhone was amusing and intriguing, but teaching him advances that had been made in the bedroom over the last four thousand years was so much better. He had never considered himself adventurous in bed, in fact, compared to some, Kyle's sexual encounters were limited and rarely varied, and before Eric came along his last tryst was a faint, lukewarm memory. But with Eric, wide-eyed and deliciously sensitive, Kyle felt like a smouldering sex god who, with a well-placed touch and a gasp, could unlock Eric's centuries old abstinence (honestly, Kyle felt like he had been chaste for just as long), and introduce him to gateways to pleasure that he never knew existed..
But Eric was by no means a novice. He was simply awed and keen to try anything Kyle suggested, only encouraging Kyle to be at his best and give Eric everything he had so he could marvel at and reap the sumptuous rewards; Eric groaning and crying out Kyle's name until he was hoarse, his face contorting rapturously and the ecstasy exuding in vigorous trembles as he held Kyle's own shaking, shimmering body close. Because Kyle was as equally in Eric's thrall. It was Eric's very worshipping of his icon of lust that made Kyle devote himself to the prince. He was more passionate than any man Kyle had ever been with and had proven himself to be a quick learner in, well, everything. Familiarising and adapting himself to Kyle's body just as swiftly as the English language and modern household appliances.
The morning following their date was a typical post-coital scene. They had subdued their pleasured shivers with lulling, sultry kisses; hands still roaming their cooling, slick flesh, their bodies flush together as they lay side by side. Kyle's leg was hooked around Eric's lower thigh, while Eric had him willingly ensnared in his arms. They had kicked the sheets away when the bed became too humid.
"My desert flower…" Eric murmured into the kiss. His lips migrated to Kyle's salt-soaked neck and lapped at him gladly like he had found an oasis there. "My beautiful desert flower…"
He was just a drenched, aureate heatwave in Kyle's hooded eyes, but his words, ferocious in their affection, constricted Kyle's melting heart.
"Wait, what did you just call me?" Kyle asked, sinking his fingers shallowly into Eric's shoulder so he'd look up. Kyle blinked, Eric becoming clearer in his vision and when he pieced Eric's term of endearment with his contented face, his heart glowed instead of melted helplessly; a different, more invigorating sensation of flattery. "I-I-I'm your desert flower?"
Eric nodded, and Kyle's kiss-bruised lips tugged into a smile. He eliminated the tiny space between them with a grateful, joyous kiss that Kyle could feel Eric smiling into.
"But wh-why?" Kyle asked, his inquisitive nature prompting the question.
Eric shrunk back slightly in the embrace. "Should I not call you that?"
"I'm just curious," Kyle explained, drawing a circle on Eric's shoulder with his index finger. "Why would you call me that?"
Eric's doubt was wiped from his face by a cocky grin and he bit his lip that probably tasted of Kyle and sweat.
"You know a lot about my culture," he teased. "Why don't you tell me?"
Kyle smirked and rolled his eyes, embarrassed and suddenly nervous because he never thought he would have to explain Ancient Egyptian culture to an Ancient Egyptian. But he found Eric's hand at his thigh and weaved their fingers together for courage.
"Well, flowers were a symbol of life to the Ancient Egyptians," Kyle began to explain, unable to help the smile on his face. "Flowers were offered to the gods, and the fragrance of flowers was believed to be divine. In palaces the walls were often decorated with flower motifs. Lovers gave flowers to each other, just like lovers do now…" he looked to Eric who had been listening quietly and shrugged apologetically. "That's all I've got."
Eric snickered and raked his gaze over Kyle, but his eyes quickly returned to Kyle's patience face.
"You are right. Flowers are a symbol of life, and to me so are you, Kyle," he replied. "You have made it possible for me to start over, to live a life that is happy. You have taught me, and looked after me, and cared for me. You have been my friend and also my lover," Kyle smiled gratefully while Eric paused. The prince snickered and with his free hand ran his hand through Kyle's curls. "But you are also as beautiful as a desert flower, and your hair just as red."
Kyle chuckled, flushing under Eric's touch. But when Kyle looked at Eric, his expression wasn't light or playful, it was thoughtful and clouded with an intensity that had previously perturbed Kyle but now fascinated him.
"Kyle, I love you."
Kyle's stomach lurched at the confession and prompted his heart to bounce into his throat. He stiffened from the shock, and Eric's wide-eyed stare showed he was just as startled though the words came from his mouth. His eyes twitched and studied Kyle's face and Kyle was so stunned he was slow to register the nervous hand slide from his hair. He had to grab the opportunity before it vanished for good, so he threw himself on top of Eric and smashed their stinging lips together. Kyle took advantage of Eric's surprise and pushed his tongue into his mouth, kissing him hard and enthusiastically, giving him the reaction he deserved.
When Kyle pulled away Eric's smile was wobbly and his lashes were damp, they exchanged laboured breaths and Kyle bobbed up and down gently above Eric's heaving chest.
"I love you too," Kyle said, breathless, before smiling wetly and stroking Eric's face. "You're the best discovery I ever made."
If there was one thing Kyle knew about Doctor Kenny McCormick it was that he didn't sugar-coat things and he rarely exaggerated (unless it was how fun a night out would be, and Kyle knew that Kenny's expectations were more luring than realistic). So when Kyle received an email from him entitled 'Breakthrough', his excitement and restlessness until he and Eric would meet Kenny in his lab were perfectly justified.
It was Wednesday and Kyle and Eric had arrived at Kenny's lab promptly at 10 AM, where a beaming Doctor McCormick was waiting to greet them.
"Okay, so as you know, we've been running countless tests on this stuff, trying to figure out where it came from," Kenny began to explain after his offer of coffee was rejected. Kyle guessed Eric didn't trust his own throat either, so tight with anticipation that nothing could slide down it. "Was it some kind of nectar or sap… so we started to research the natural history of the region where you guys went on your excavation, profiled the vegetation and wildlife that is present today and traced everything back to their ancestors, we're talking over a millennia ago. And we came across…"
Kenny left the sentence hanging to turn to his open laptop. He brought up an image of palm trees dotted along the massive Nile.
"A palm tree," Kenny smiled. "They line the Nile for miles. Does this look familiar to you Eric?"
Kyle and Kenny both looked to Eric for his answer, but Eric was still concentrated on the picture in front of him, brow furrowed. Ever since Eric had revealed his past to him over dinner, Kyle felt he had a keener awareness of what being reminded of his old home elicited in Eric.
"Y-y-yes, of course they do," Eric replied, finally addressing Kenny.
"Not all the trees, but a significant number of them, bore a very rare fruit that is specific to that species of palm tree," Kenny continued, zooming in on the image. It blurred for a minute but soon revealed bulbous amber fruit, so large that the tree sagged with the exhaustion of carrying it. "See it?"
"They're huge," Kyle commented a crease in his brow too. "They look like cantaloupes. But cantaloupes don't grow on trees, do they?"
Kenny snickered smugly. "No, they don't, doctor. And I'm not exaggerating here when I say there is no other fruit like it. Luckily, these fruits still grow today though their numbers have declined over the years. We managed to get our hands on one and had it flown over here, so we could see for sure whether it was the answer we've all been searching for."
With that Kenny walked away from his perplexed and eager audience, and just like those who watch a narrative unfold on stage, they expressed their curiosity during the brief intermission. Albeit silently, exchanging dumbfounded looks, a subtle comfort.
Kenny returned from the lab's storage room with two petri dishes, both held identical samples of an amber jelly that resembled Eric's makeshift tomb. His fair eyebrow was arched; in fact his whole face seemed to be operated by an arrogant string.
"Guess which one is the sample from the slab and which one was taken from the fruit?" He asked.
Kyle and Eric peered closely at the petri dishes, glancing back and forth but the more they looked the more the similarities grew.
"I, I can't," Kyle replied. "They're identical."
"Exactly, when we opened the fruit the insides weren't congealed like they are now, it was a lot thinner. Kind of like apple juice," Kenny mused. "But we left it for four days and it quickly congealed and looked totally like the amber. Finally we had a breakthrough, but before we could get too excited, we had to see whether the fruit was capable of performing the same miracles as the amber slab that had preserved you, Eric."
The prince blinked and shifted in his chair, his curiosity had transcended into hope and despite the remarkable evidence Kyle was cautious. But his scepticism was bred out of concern. The last thing he wanted was for Eric to be disappointed.
"How?" He quickly asked. "Eric was in that slab for thousands of years it would be impossible to do a similar experiment…"
Kenny didn't take offence, instead he replied with a smile, "You're very rarely wrong Kyle, but in this instance you are. We had a lab mouse that had died of natural causes and we placed its body in the jelly the fruit juice had turned into. We left it for a week and it still hadn't decomposed. The following week we came into the lab and it was alive and trying to gnaw through the jelly. So, there you have it, magic fruit."
"Oh…" Kyle whispered, his shoulders slouching and his doubt leaving him. His face was rather warm as, admittedly, he felt embarrassed of his reservations. But when he turned to Eric, reeling with sparkling eyes, he wasn't able to feel emotions so selfish and petty - only relief and the calm rumblings of euphoria. "Oh my god…"
"I know," Kenny grinned, his arrogance now laced with excitement.
Kyle shook his head, unable to catch his breath he was so flabbergasted. "This is unbelievable and incredible and- what do we do now?"
"Well, we still have a lot to study, but can you imagine the impact this would have on science?" Kenny replied, eyes glinting and his gaze was far from the lab, or the present. "On medicine?"
"It could change the world!" Kyle agreed.
"But we need to give credit where credit is due," Kenny added. "Eric, your people obviously knew about the capabilities of this fruit way before we did. Maybe they didn't anticipate it reviving people, but they knew it could be used in embalming."
Eric had been so silent and when Kyle looked at him he could tell he was stewing in the blissful aftermath of finally knowing.
"Thank you, Kenny," he smiled, as noble and regal as he was born to be. Even if that was a destiny he had left in the sand.
It wasn't a coincidence that on the same day Kyle had been asked to visit Kenny's lab, he had also received an email from Doctor Victoria requesting a meeting in her office. In light of what Kyle knew from the biology department, it made sense that Doctor Victoria and the PR team had taken their time in revealing anything to him and Eric, as well as to the public. It wouldn't have fared well for the museum if they couldn't answer any of the questions posed by the media concerning Eric; humiliating Kyle's esteemed colleagues and unnerving everybody else that they had no feasible explanation for why such a terrific anomaly had occurred.
As much as it frustrated Kyle that the PR team were at a standstill, he supposed it had made his job of teaching and befriending Eric a little easier. If they had been hounded by the press and put under such intense speculation and scrutiny right off the bat, then Eric would have only been more bewildered. But Kyle wasn't naive, he knew these quiet, enlightening months spent with Eric was the proverbial calm. However, his fierce, intimate bond with Eric made them both believe they could brace the storm together.
So when he had entered Doctor Victoria's office with Eric, he only felt adrenaline at the challenges ahead, rather than the apprehension he had felt when this all seemed like a bizarre, lucid dream.
"Eric, Doctor Broflovski, I must say I am very impressed by the progress here," Doctor Victoria beamed. "It's amazing!"
"Thank you," Eric replied, with a slight, humble nod.
"Yes, thank you, ma'am," Kyle added a tad more exuberantly. "It's been astounding."
Doctor Victoria's small smile hinted at a pride Kyle knew she didn't hand out generously to her colleagues.
"So I've heard you had a meeting with Doctor McCormick this morning on their findings at the biology department," she said.
"Yes, ma'am it was very enlightening and I'm so pleased."
"Well, needless to say the press already wants to conduct interviews with Doctor McCormick and his team, and hold a conference with us here at the museum," Doctor Victoria continued. "We believe this event would be appropriate for, well, introducing Eric."
Kyle nodded, before turning to Eric and asking, "Is that alright?"
Eric smiled reassuringly when he noticed Kyle's eyes on him.
"Yes, that is fine," he replied, before asking Kyle, "will you be there?"
Kyle glanced at Doctor Victoria before he answered Eric's question. "Yes, I will."
Eric didn't reply, instead he reached for Kyle's hand and held it. Although that was a well-established gesture between them, Eric's boldness surprised Kyle and made his skin prickle hotly. But despite his embarrassment, he didn't let go. He would never want to brush Eric off so easily. Doctor Victoria's smug smile erased Kyle's own dreamy smirk, she had obviously noticed.
Turning her attention away from the blushing Egyptologist, she asked, "So what's next, Eric?"
"I want to be a, uh, photographer," he replied.
Doctor Victoria nodded, eyebrows raised. "Oh, really? How interesting."
"Yes, he's already shown great promise, ma'am," Kyle said, seizing any opportunity to praise Eric to his boss. "Our next task is filling out an application for a community college course as well as some other necessary paperwork."
"And do you feel you have settled in, Eric?" She asked. "Are you happy here?"
Kyle felt the weight of Eric's gaze on him, but the gold didn't drag him down. When he glanced at his prince, it was the adoring, peaceful expression on his face that made him plummet. It overwhelmed him and humbled him and finally decimated any lingering expectations Kyle had had of his find when they first laid eyes on each other in the desert; an amber, transcendent Fall ago. When everything simultaneously changed and clicked for Kyle, for them both.
"Yes," Eric replied, giving Kyle's damp hand a tender squeeze. "I'm very happy."
Kyle nodded in agreement, as speechless as he was during that night of beginnings in the lab.