home.”
“It’ll be so fast that it will make your head spin.” Kirk slid in next to Lance and wrapped his arm around his waist. He could feel Lance tense up, but he refused to let go. The man was locked up tighter than Fort Knox right now.
Silence for the entire walk. At least from Lance. Kirk chose to use the moment to try and create a little levity out of the situation. He acted as if Lance were in a good mood and responding to all the questions he asked with enthusiasm. “Oh, I know right,” Kirk spoke aloud to himself. “The waiter that first night was so rude – I can’t believe the tip you left him!” he laughed and laughed. “And what about that British woman that thought she had a chance of sleeping with you! Silly cow.”
By the time they reached the museum, Kirk could feel Lance relaxing. By now, it was more his stubbornness that was keeping him from being his old self. Another day or two and Lance was sure to be back to himself. Only, Kirk wasn’t willing to wait that long. And more to that point, he wanted Lance to learn from what had happened, and not to just bury it away.
“Here we are.” Kirk led Lance into the exact same section of the museum where they had first made love all those weeks ago. “Alexander the Great in all his glory... sort of.”
The display was to remain for one more week before being packed up and shipped off to Sydney University, where it would be put on display for two more months before then traveling across the Atlantic to America. So far it had been a big hit too, with Kirk having several students approach him to tell him just how much they liked it.
Right now, the wing was empty. Right now, it was just Kirk and Lance alone and together, exactly how Kirk had wanted it.
Kirk didn’t make to do anything when they walked into the wing. Rather, he took his arm from around Lance and stood back a little, watching as Lance’s eyes ran over the display. Indeed, for a moment the man was lost in the scene; he didn’t even notice Kirk not moving or speaking. He was stuck on a piece called the Vase of Pangaion that sat in the bottom right corner of the ‘Court of Macedon’ display. It was a vase used by Alexander himself to wash his hands before eating. A priceless artefact.
Only after about one minute, did Lance finally blink, as if only just now realizing where he was and how long he had been there for. “Huh...” he half said to himself. He then turned on Kirk, “Well?” he asked. “What are we doing here – you said you had something you needed to get?”
“No, I didn’t,” Kirk said simply.
“What? Yes, you did.”
“No, I said I had to stop by here really quick. I didn’t say why.”
Lance rubbed at his eyes. “What’s going on? Why are we here – can you just take me home?”
“Do you want to hear something really fascinating about Alexander?” Kirk walked toward the back wall, a brightly painted mosaic of Alexander in battle. “His men only ever once revolted against him. Over twelve years of non-stop marching, battles, killing and little rest. And only once did they—”
“I’ll be in the taxi.” Lance turned to walk from the wing.
Kirk darted in front of Lance and cut him off. He held his arms wide so as to stop him from passing. “Alexander was possibly the greatest commander of all time. Period. But even he was capable of fucking up. And his men let him know it too – why do you think they revolted? But do you know what happened when they—”
“Why am I here?” Lance crossed his arms. “You didn’t bring me here to give me a lesson on Alexander the Great.”
Kirk dropped his arms. “I know about the bank—”
“How—”
“Don’t ask me how,” Kirk sighed. “If you honestly think that I can’t tell when you’re in a bad mood – and then guess why! You clearly have a very different opinion of our relationship than I do.”
That did it. Kirk could see the guilt wash over Lance as the great man bowed his head and stared at his toes. “That’s not... I’m not mad at you...”
“I know you’re not.” Kirk was quick to take Lance’s hand. “And this isn’t about that. It’s about... look. It sucks that the bank