Antiquity

Chapter 3-- Three's company


Harley showed Menefer and Amonen around the antique shop, deciding that it would be best if they shared a room. Using what left-over cash he had from the trip, he took them out bed shopping and found a set of twin beds for cheap with some good mattresses. Some extra furniture from the antique shop downstairs and a couple sets of fresh bedsheets from another store, the two fell into swing of taking long naps after experience some good bashings of jet lag.

Harley sat on his couch, his head tilted back. He could use a shave and a shower but right there he just wanted to keep his ass planted firmly on the cushions.

A phone call only made him get up, having called his mother earlier to tell her he was back and to bring Sophie over when she had the time.

"How was your trip? You never did tell me where you were going."She said over the phone.

"It was just to Egypt…I was doing Grandpa a final will and testament on his behalf. He needed me to get something for the antique shop."Harley sighed. "Can you bring Sophie?"

"Well yes, she's been such a good kitty but I think she misses the antique shop and the apartment. Don't you Sophie?"She said, Harley hearing a meow over the phone. Harley rolled his eyes, moving so he was lying on the couch.

"Haarrveey…Where's the bathroom again?"Amonen called as he slumped from out of he and Menefer's room.

"Down the hall to the right."Harley said.

"Who was that?"His mother asked. "Do you have friends over?"

"Um…Yes? They needed a place to stay and I had an extra room so they're sharing that one."Harley answered as he yawned. "Listen…I'm really jet-lagged. Can you bring Sophie over tomorrow? We'll all go out to breakfast."

"Of course sweetie."Mom said before there was a click. She never did like to say good-bye. Harvy hung up the phone and forced himself up. Amonen slinked out of the bathroom, scratching his upper shoulder with a yawn before disappearing back into the room. Harley got up to check on them, finding them both out cold in their beds, stretched out as far as their limbs would allow.

"Bums…"Harley smirked, shaking his head and going to retreat to his own room. There was nothing like seeing your own bed with your own sheets and your own big pile of blankets on top of goose-down mushiness…Nothing. Stripping down to his boxer-shorts, he flopped down and removed his glasses, setting them off to the side.

Just a few minutes later, he was fast asleep. During the middle of the night however, he felt a heavy weight on the side next to him. He normally slept sprawled out, claiming all space but somehow, someone had managed to make themselves comfortable right under his arm. Opening one eye, he saw that Menefer had crawled in bed with him.

"Mene…You know this is my bed…right?"He yawned.

"Aubbey…"Menefer mumbled. "I'm cold…"

Harley's eyebrow raised. Of course Menefer would remember his grandfather more than Harley himself but…this made him slightly uncomfortable. It was like he was laying next to his grandmother after Grandpa had done his nightly rounds in her bat cave. Gross and very, very old. However, it seemed to bring the Egyptian some comfort, Harley rolling over and letting Menefer snuggle closer.


It wasn't until he felt a hard smack to his head in the morning that he knew he should have just let Menefer have the bed. Amonen stood over the bed with a pillow in hand instead of his gun. Menefer was up, standing with a surprised look off to the side of the bed.

"Did you touch him last night?"Amonen asked demandingly.

"What? No! He crawled into my bed and I let him stay! Do you automatically assume that EVERY stranger is going to molest him?"Harley argued, sitting up and grabbing his glasses. "Now get off of my bed. I need to grab a shower and you two too. My mother is coming over."

"What's she like?"Amonen said, tossing the pillow onto the bed and stepping off to the side since Harley's bed was situated in the middle of the room up against the wall.

"Nice. We're going to go get breakfast with her after she drops off Sophie."He said as he went to rummage around for some clothes. Amonen saw that he was almost completely naked, his eyes narrowing. Menefer however, put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

~*"Not everyone wears the fancy silk pajamas you know."*~ Menefer said softly in Arabic.

~*"I think he should…It would cover more."*~Amonen answered, turning and heading back to their room to scavenge for some clothes for them both. Menefer stayed, watching Harley choose his clothing with a very clean, preciseness that he hadn't seen before.

Though, he could see a strong resemblance to Auburn…It was probably why he sent Harley out of anyone in his family. Menefer admitted that it was a comfort to have some form of person there that had a much stronger…and much kinder look. Amonen was good to have around…but in a way, Aubbey was his first love.

It pained him so deeply to know that he had passed away. "Harley…can we…go see Aubbey's…I mean your Grandfather's grave before we come home from breakfast?"He asked sheepishly.

"Sure. I haven't seen him since the funeral anyway…"Harley said, folding his clothes into a pile in the order he would get dressed in. "Have your pick of my clothes…"

"Huh? What's the matter with my own?"Menefer said, tilting his head a little.

"Well…"Harley said, thinking back to when he saw Menefer take off his cloak in security. He was wearing some nearly see-thru white pants, a wrap over his shoulders and some uncomfortable looking shoes. "It's not appropriate here. You can take your pick of my clothing and when we go out today to pick you up a few things."He added, slipping past him to the bathroom across the hall.

"Okay…"Menefer said, a little shot down. When Harley left, he took advantage of his drawers, rummaging around them and pulling out some things he liked. Amonen came into the room holding his white clothes but when he saw him rummaging through the chest of drawers, he frowned.

"What's wrong?"Amonen asked.

"Harley says my clothes are inappropriate so I'm borrowing some of his."Menefer said, holding up a pair of shorts. Amonen raised an eyebrow, shaking his head and stopping him.

"Let me give you a hand."Amonen said, taking a shirt out of his hands.


Harley stood under the shower head, tilting his head back with his eyes closed. He didn't hear the door open but he did hear someone pull back the curtain. Looking round, he saw Amonen and Menefer standing in the shower with him.

"W-What the hell?!"Harley said, turning back around. "Couldn't you just wait?!"

"It's more efficient this way. Doesn't everyone take showers together?"Amonen asked, standing there with his arms crossed.

"Only in friggin' movies and college porno flicks!"Harley said, finally noticing that Menefer was staring at him in the southern region. Reddening, he covered himself with a wash cloth. "What?"

"Are all of Aubbey's grandchildren that well endowed? It certainly does carry down the generations."Menefer said with such an innocent smile, it could crack tile. Amonen and Harley stared at him, both of them giving a size comparison then narrowing their eyes a bit.

"Surrender that washcloth." Amonen said, pointing to his crotch.

"My wash cloth. You go wait your turns for the shower."Harley said, turning back around.

Amonen sneered a little, reaching around and grabbing the washcloth, making Harley spin. They both fell out of the shower, slipping on the slick porcelain tub and hitting the floor. Menefer jumped a little, watching them wrestle on the bathroom floor before slowly closing the curtain, humming to himself as he washed up. Amonen retrieved the washcloth by making a hard grab for Harley's dangly bits, leaving him on the tiled floor in a ball as he joined Menefer in the shower.

"Amonen, I can wash myself."Menefer whined.

"You need someone to wash your back for you."His guard said cockily.

"That is not my back, that is my butt."Menefer squeaked, the sound of a smack across skin being heard. Harley saw Amonen come out of the shower, defeated and with a hard red mark on his arm. Sitting up, he managed to get up and slide back into the shower.

"You didn't have to hit him so hard. He was trying to give you a hand."Harley said.

"I can do things by myself…"Menefer sourly pouted. "Speaking of which, why are you in here?"

"Making sure you can read english as much as you can speak it. You know you're holding the wrong bottle right?"Harley smirked, pulling the bottle of body wash from his hands and replacing it with the shampoo. "This is the right one."

Menefer stared at him, then looked down at the bottle. For some reason, he felt the urge to just…hand it back. Hand it back so Harley could wash his hair for him and just touch him. Perhaps he just wanted to see if there was some lingering supernatural force within Harley that reminded him of Auburn.

Handing the bottle back, he smiled shyly. "Will you..wash my hair for me? I can't reach all of it by myself."He said, Harley raising an eyebrows. Sighing, he squirted a big blob of it onto Menefer's hair and began massaging his scalp, downwards with shampoo. Menefer closed his eyes, sighing delightfully at the feeling though not the cold breeze when the water turned off for some reason, the spray turning towards his back. Harley had removed the extendable shower head from the holder and was using it to rinse his hair better.

"What happened to letting Amonen help you?"Harley asked, rising back up to rinse the top of his head.

"Amonen…is…nice but I still feel as if he's a stranger to me in some way. I've known him since he was eighteen and he's twenty-nine now…he's protected me for so long but I think of him more as a friend than a babysitter. That's how all the guards were at that place. Friendly, willing to help do anything…but I just wanted to do things on my own. "Menefer admitted, shaking his head and slicking it back away from his face. "Now that I'm here…I want to try new things without someone leading me by the hand."

"And that's good, but make sure you don't hurt his feelings."Harley said as he gave Menefer's shoulders a pat. "Now that you've mentioned that, I want you to wash the rest of yourself by yourself. That blue bottle is what you need to use next on your hair, then the black and red one on your body."

"You're not going to help me with the rest?"Menefer pouted.

"I've got to go get dressed and let my mother in. You can take care of yourself at the moment. "Harley said with a smile. He slipped out of the shower, leaving the bathroom with the towel around his waist and clothes in his arms. The pale-skinned, never tanned American man almost grinned to himself as he dried off and got dressed in his neat manner. Amonen came in not to long after straightening his tie.

"Why are you wearing a suit? It's not a business meeting."Harley bluntly pointed out as he buttoned up his shirt.

"I have no other clothes. You're too short for me to fit in them and too tall for Menefer."Amonen pointed out as he finished his tie, folding his shirt collar over.

"Great…Well…I guess I can let my mother have her way with you and she can dust off some of her skills."Harley said as he pulled a sweater vest over his head. Amonen gave him a questioning look.

"WITH SHOPPING! No way you're banging my mom…"He corrected.

"I don't know, from the pictures you've got on the walls she looks 'bang-able'…"Amonen said with a smirk.

"I need mind bleach…stat."Harley gagged, slipping his glasses back on. He felt a wet hand on his back, turning to see Menefer standing there shivering. "Oh, hey sorry. Clothes. Did you pick something out?"

"Y-yes, b-bu-but I don't know h-how t-to pu-put them o-on."Menefer chattered. Amonen brought a second towel from the bathroom to move the cold wet trail of hair from Menefer's back.

"Right, Right…"Harley sighed, looking at the pile that had been picked out. He tossed the boxers to Menefer who caught them. "Put those on first."

Menefer listened, sliding them on so the hole was in the front. Item after item, he learned to put them on though the shirt and shorts were too big and the hoodie looked like it was going to eat him a live. Amonen brushed his hair back and put it in a braid so it was out of the way and could dry since Harley didn't own a hair dryer. Downstairs, Harley let his mother in, Sophie mewling and lurching out to sink her claws into his sweater. He managed to grab her before she could.

"Thanks Mom, I owe you. Amon, Menefer, come downstairs!"Harley called back, letting Sophie down so she could take her claim of the Antique shop once again. Menefer hopped down the stairs, standing there with a smile when he reached the bottom, Amonen following behind him at a leisurely pace.

"My, they're both so handsome. Where are they from?"His mother said, smiling sweetly. Amonen winked and Harley threw a glare so fierce, it could melt steel.

"Egypt. Menefer is the…grandson of an old friend and Amonen is his older brother. Gramps asked if I could take care of them…seeing as he adopted them both and Egypt really wasn't a place for them."Harley lied.

"It's nice to meet you. Are you Aubbey's daughter?"Menefer said, coming forward and shaking her hand.

"Aubbey? No, I'm his daughter-in-law. Auburn had two sons, Harley's dad and his uncle."His mother said quite calmly. "Strange that he's never mentioned them…"

"We were a little surprised as well when Harley showed up. It's nice to meet you."Amonen said, leaning down to kiss her hand too charmingly to be healthy. Harley had a bright urge just to shove his food up the Egyptian man's ass and let his loafer settle there to fester.

"Oh my! So polite. Well, let's go to the diner shall we? Sophie's already had something to eat so she'll be okay."His mother said with a blush, fanning herself a little. Amonen cockily smiled back at Harley, leading his mother, Anna was her name, out of the Antique store. Menefer followed, taking Harley's hand and pulling him along.

The diner was right up the street. They were seated in a round booth, Menefer sitting closer to Harley with Amonen fairly close to his mother. The death glares ensuing from the two of them could have ignited the building around them into flames. "So, tell me about Egypt. Do you see the pyramids often?"Anna asked, sipping her coffee.

"Every morning and evening. It gets harder to see them during the day because of the sun. they're very pretty but they are just stone buildings."Amonen said, sipping his own coffee though not liking just how…unflattering the taste was. It was watered down and far more bitter than the coffee back home. Menefer sipped on his cup of hot tea, not much of a coffee drinker…that and Harley was having the same.

"I guess the point of view varies from person to person."Anna said with a smile. "What do you think of them, Menefer?"

"I've never seen them. I didn't get out much."Menefer said, sipping his tea and then adding more sugar to it. "My…'father', didn't let me go out much. He always told me that the outside world mixed with common people was far too ugly and dangerous. That, and he said something about not being able to handle the heat very well."

"Here must be such a cool place for you and far better for your health."She noted. "How have you liked America so far?"

"It's wonderful! The best is that it's so colorful. It's all sand, sand, sand in the desert but here, you actually have trees. I love it. Harley's shop is nice too, I like old things."Menefer said with a sweet smile. "Oooh, what's this white grainy stuff called? I feel like I'm about to leap out of my seat."

"It's sugar, Menefer…Which you've had too much of. I'm cutting you off for now."Harley said as he moved the container of sugar away out of Menefer's reach. The Egyptian man gave a heavy pout and sat back with his arms crossed, though finding it much more comfortably to stick his hands in the front pocket.

"That does not go well with me."Menefer mumbled, running his fingers along the rim of his cup. However, he seemed to cheer up when his 'chocolate chip pancakes' came along with everyone's order. They even gave him some whipped cream.

"Your little son there is so cute!"The waitress exclaimed, setting some syrup on the table.

"Oh, he's not my son."Anna said with a smile.

"I'm over three thousand years old…but I'm really only supposed to appear twenty six."Menefer said with a smile as he sipped his tea.

"You have to be joking. You have to be at least fourteen, sixteen top."The waitress commented.

Menefer didn't appreciate the comment, sitting up and pointing his fork at her after had taken his first bite of his pancakes. Which he found delicious. "Woman, don't make me incur the wrath of Ra on you! Feeear it! Fear me!"He said as he waved his fork around. "But, I will only incur such wrath AFTER I finish these delicious things…"Menefer added as he took another bite of pancakes.

"O…kay…Lady, but your kid on some retalin or something…"The waitress mumbled, leaving only after pouring Amonen and Anna more coffee.

"Amon…remind me to hide the sugar at home. Menefer isn't cut out for it…"Harley said lowly.

"You should have seen him with a box of chocolates from Belgium…The boss wouldn't let him come out of his room until three days later."Amonen said lowly back, looking to Menefer then to Anna. "I have to say Anna, this American coffee is fantastic."

Lies.

"Mom, do you think you can help Amonen and Menefer pick out some clothes? They didn't take much with them when they left Egypt. Just some backpacks with little things in them."Harley added, addressing to his mother who had the brightest smile.

"Of course!"Anna smiled clasping her hands together. "You know I have been wanting to get my fingers on some new clothes for them. Your clothes are too big for little Menefer there."

"I'm not little! I'm in my twenties dammit!"Menefer shouted, Amonen kicking him in the shin to quiet him down. Mene hissed and rubbed the spot painfully. "Ooowww, Pain is not good…"

"Well, we should get going then. I know this new store that would be perfect for them. Oh, but can they handle the city after that long flight? I know you two must still be tired from coming overseas so soon."She said, patting Amonen's hand. The man showed some interest, but smiled just the same.

"Just slightly. After shopping, I'll probably take a nap…isn't that right Menefer?"Amonen said, giving Menefer another kick under the table. Menefer nodded, wincing.

"Good. I've got the tab, don't worry about it boys."She said with a grin, setting money on the table before sliding out and taking them to her car since Harley's truck didn't have enough seats. Menefer sat up front so he could see everything and play with the buttons on the dashboard while Harley and Amonen sat apart brooding.

"What does this button do? Oh, and this one? This is interesting music! Oh but now the car's really hot."Menefer said before Anna finally grabbed his hand and set it on his lap.

"Yes, the car is very interesting. We're almost there so why don't you think about what kind of clothes you want to look for while we're out?"She said with a twitch under her eye…a characteristic that Harley probably picked up from her.

"Okay…"Menefer said, sitting still in his seat now. Menefer closed his eyes a moment, sitting back in his seat. He never had dreams or daydreams, just visions. He, however, saw memories from Harley's mother. One in which was her staring down at a little baby boy with dark hair that she watched grow into a young man. In her head, the boy looked a lot like her husband but so much like the grandfather as well. When he opened them, Amonen was staring him in the face, putting a cool hand to his forehead.

"Are you feeling alright?"Amonen asked, Menefer blinking slowly.

"I'm fine…just daydreaming I guess."Menefer said as he sat up more and pulled himself out of the car. He was startled a little when he saw the big buildings, the one they were parked in front of looking to be hundreds of stories tall.

"Don't be afraid, it's just a big shopping building. We're going to go inside and pick out some clothes for you and Amonen."Harley said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't want to go in, we can go somewhere else."

"No…It's just I haven't been in a building so big before. Harley, will you stay with me?"Menefer pouted, holding onto his arm.

"What about Amonen?"Harley asked with a smirk.

"Well…."Menefer said, looking over and pointing. Harley's mother had taken to holding onto Amonen's arm like glue, smiling and pulling him towards the building. Amonen put on his faux smile, eyes lower eye twitching.

Inside, Menefer found that it wasn't as scary as the outside but still stuck close while Anna lead all of them from store to store. It was like watching Anna play dress up with a couple of Harley's cousins: except these were fully grown men with varying tastes in clothes. From what Harley observed, Menefer preferred clothes that flowed from his body but his mother insisted in some clothing that framed him a little better. Amonen preferred collared shirts but didn't like the fact that there was a sweater over them now that resembled Harley's.

Anna paid for a load of clothing that would make even a shoppaholic jealous, even throwing in some nice pajamas and robes for them. Piled into the car and heading back to the Antique shop was fairly cramped. Hell, he wasn't even sure that all these clothes could fit in the single closet in the room!

"Mom, I think you went overboard."Harley said as he moved some bags around to make some room for his legs.

"Nonsense, a good man needs an outfit for every day of the week and then some. Just like a woman needs a closet that overtakes her traveling ex-husband's."His mother said dryly. Every man in the vehicle with her cringed.

Back at the shop, they unpacked everything, kissing Anna on the cheek and sending her off before there could be some form of damage down. Menefer changed clothes into something comfy that he picked out, putting on some dark tan cargo pants and a shirt that flowed around like a medieval tunic. Amonen had changed into some sweatpants and an undershirt.

"Now that looks much better. You guys go lay down for a while, I'll make us something to eat when you're finished with your naps."Harley said as he pointed back to the bedroom.

"What are you going to do?"Mennefer asked, sitting down with him on the couch.

"I don't know…maybe get some sleep myself…Hanging out with my mother can get…extreme. Wears me out a lot."Harley said. Menefer smiled, tilting his head a little.

"She was very nice though…and I think she has a good heart in mind when she says things."Menefer yawned. "I am going to take a nap though…"

The Egyptian rose from the couch, yawning again and rubbing his right eye. His hair swayed behind him as he slinked off to his bedroom, stretching. Amonen followed after him, casting Harley a glance before heading into the same room. Harley himself headed back to his own room, removing his glasses, sweater and shirt, sliding into bed with a sigh.