Chapter Text
If you asked Jed how he ended up in this situation, he wouldn't be able to tell you.
Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. He technically knew how he ended up here. Larry had shown up as the new night guard, they had made his life hell for two nights, then spent the third working together to help him get Ahkmenrah's tablet back. So you could say that was how he ended up here.
And somehow, through all of that, he ended up as friends with Octavius.
He used to be his rival, they fought for nearly 50 years after all. But then he was his closest friend, and Jedediah couldn't imagine a life without him. They became inseparable, you could almost never see one without the other.
Then the museum tried to send them away, and Jed ended up in that godforsaken hourglass, sand pouring down on him, thinking he was gonna die. Seeing Octavius, so worried for him, it tugged on his heartstrings in a way he didn't understand.
Then they got home, only to be brought to the British Museum on a quest to save the tablet, and the two of them ended up being thrown around in ventilation shafts, almost burning alive in a Pompeii display, and chasing that stupid knight to the rooftop.
And there, together, feeling Octavius' hand in his, thinking they were going to die, Jed felt something. He finally realised that nagging feeling in him. He understood that weird, fluttering feeling in his chest when he watched Octavius fight for him, that sickness in his heart listening to him talk about Lancelot.
Oh.
Oh.
He was in love.
He was in love with Octavius.
Laying there, next to him, Jedediah felt a mix of emotions. Relieved, happy he got to spend his last few moments with him. Regret that he never realised it soon enough to tell him. The realisation he would never be alive again to see his face, to hear his voice.
And as he closed his eyes, Octavius' hand in his, his presence warming the cold air between them, Jedediah, for a moment, felt comfort. He didn't know if that was Octavius' intention, but he was content. His mere presence soothed him; even at death's door, Octavius being there was enough for him. Octavius comforted him, quelled so many of those burning, clawing feelings.
For a moment, Jed thought he was content to die like this.