Chapter Text
London was quite lovely this time of year. A comfortable sixty eight degrees, the perfect overcast and a light breeze to greet you as you step outside. Peter breathed deeply, closing the small apartment door behind him.
He began his short walk to the comfortable bakery on the corner he had discovered two days ago, hoping they’d not run out of their blueberry muffins just yet. They were the perfect balance of soft but not crumbly, doughy but not gooey.
He’d been lucky enough to be sent over to London by the Daily Bugle following a small journalism team for a couple stories they were writing. He was the most available, lacking any social events, vacations, or your general friend or family related activities outside of work.
Peter ignored the lump in his throat.
He was in London, for free. He was going to enjoy it.
Today was an off day, so he had no locations to attend, or photos to take. He’d made plans to visit a couple places, buy a souvenir or two.
He’d already glimpsed a couple places following the journalists and their stories, but he wanted to see more. He stepped inside the bakery.
“Welcome to Kitty Cafe, what can I get for you?”
“Oh uh, yes,” Peter stutters, “sorry. I’d like a blueberry muffin please. And could I get a small white mocha? Thank you.”
The barista giggles, rings up his order, and asks him to wait for his name to be called. He rubs Lettuce’s belly as he waits. He is the most social cat here and he is a glutton for belly rubs, truly.
Peter glances at the rack full of brochures for tourists tucked by the entrance, skimming for something worthy of a day trip.
Oh a trip to an Egyptian Museum sounds fun, albeit being in London of all places.
Peter gathers his breakfast, mumbling a quick ‘thank you’ before patting Lettuce and leaving the cafe.
…
Peter kept his camera on him everywhere he went, just in case a great photo op came up, or if he felt like taking some personal photos. He snapped a couple shots of the entrance to the museum and passerby as he made his way up the large steps and into the grand building.
Peter couldn’t help the small gasp as he took in the beautiful artifacts before him. He continued deeper into the exhibit, soaking up every detail he could get from the small plaques on the displays.
He wanders aimlessly for a moment, before coming upon a wonderful statue, the plaque calling it King Ramesses II.
“Wow…”
Peter was so engrossed he almost missed the slight twinge in his senses signaling someone was behind him.
“Quite impressive, innit?”
Peter glances over at the man, before nodding in agreement, “Yea, it’s really cool.”
The man before him looked rather excited to find someone in agreement, before continuing, “It used to be part of this massive statue that stood outside of the Ramesseum, which was the king’s mortuary temple. If you look real closely, you might spot traces of pigment. They used to paint these back in the day.”
The man’s eyes lit up more and more with each word, and Peter only grew more and more interested with every detail.
The man bounces a bit on his heels before giving a small wave, “Oh! I’m Steven by the way. With a V. Cheers.”
Steven stuck his hand out towards Peter after a few seconds, a nervous laugh passing his lips. Peter shakes it, noting the calloused hands and tired, but excited, eyes.
He caught a glance at the man’s name tag, realizing he was an employee.
“I’m Peter! Are you a tour guide? I didn’t really check the schedule for tours, but I’d love to hop on one, if that’s okay.”
Peter didn’t think it was possible for Steven’s eyes to light up more.
…
Steven leads Peter throughout most of the Egyptian exhibit, giving every little detail about the artifacts, beyond what the tiny plaque describes. With each display, Peter becomes more and more engrossed in the history and stories Steven relays to him. The man grows more animated as they go, his eyes igniting with delight every time Peter asks a question or remembers details he had learned in highschool about Egypt, as small as they may be.
Steven and Peter continue to a small vase, previously shattered but delicately restored.
“And this right here is the-“
“Stevie! What the hell are ya doing?”
Steven jumps as he turns, knocking the vase off the stand.
Peters reacts quickly, restoring the vase to its previous position only half a second before Steven dives for it as well.
“Nice catch kid, wouldn’t want a million dollar vase broken because this prat was messing about,” she turns towards Steven, “you were supposed to be runnin’ the shop over an hour ago and I find you here, not doin your job. Now get to the shop before I fire your lazy arse.”
Peter is taken aback by the way this woman, clearly his boss, spoke to Steven. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but he was just giving me a tour of the place, I asked him to.”
“Sorry kid, but he’s not a bloody tour guide. I can set you up with a real one in a moment.”
Steven gives an apologetic nod to Peter, before heading towards the entrance of the building.
Frustration bubbles in Peter's stomach. “Well maybe he should be. He’d make an excellent guide. He clearly loves doing it, and he knows a lot about everything here.”
Steven stops in his tracks a few feet away, shocked at Peter's words.
The woman, Donna based on her nametag, just stares blankly at Peter, chewing her gum aggressively before turning and leaving.
Steven risks a glance at Donna as she walks past him, ignoring his existence entirely, before glancing back at Peter.
“Uh, thank you.”
Peter smiles, “She’s a real piece of work.”
Steven huffs a laugh, “A bit, yea.”
Peter jogs to catch up to Steven as he heads towards the gift shop, hoping to continue their ‘not tour’.
Steven’s mood lifts marginally during their short walk towards the entrance, sharing quick snippets as they pass more artifacts. They reach the gift shop, where Peter buys a keychain and small toy hippo, who’s actually a goddess named Taweret, according to Steven.
Peter’s heart feels lighter than it’s felt in months, and he can’t help but smile.
He shifts from one foot to the other, before asking, “Hey, this might sound a bit weird, but would you like to take a picture with me?”
Steven looks a little surprised at being asked to be in the photo rather behind the camera, before smiling, “Sure, yes, that’d be lovely.”
They both pose together, holding up peace signs while Peter snaps a few photos of them.
“Thanks man. It’s been really fun, seriously. I appreciate the tour, and I mean it, you’d be a great guide, you made this trip, like, ten times better. Don’t let that boss of yours get you down.”
Steven is at a loss for words for a moment.
“T-thank you. I’ll try not to.”
Peter smiles as he turns to leave, “See you, Steven!”
Steven gives a wave, “Laters Gators!”