𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄 | 𝐦. 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨

𝟎𝟏. 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄
hathor, goddess of love, protector of women !

Walking into the museum, Astrid sighed at the mess that night team had left it in. She had volunteered to do the early shift before the Museum opens so she could avoid chaos, yet it seemed she welcomed it instead. Pulling her jacket off and hanging it on the coat rack next to JB's empty desk, she fished out her headphones.

This was the kind of job that needed music.

The girl smiled softly as her wedding song began to play through her headphones, it was an odd song to have a first dance to, there was no doubt about it, but it had been her father's favourite song before he passed, and her husband though it a great idea to use it, so he could be there spiritually, if not physically.

Ironically, it was about a man without love.

Astrid dragged the bin behind her, shoving the wrappers left from the school's that had arrived yesterday in it and carefully adjusting the exhibition plaques that had been jumbled about by God knows what. Making her way down into the storage room, she almost cried at the amount of stock left down there. It would take her hours to shift it all.

And it did take her hours.

By the time she had moved it all up into the gift shop, behind the desk so it wasn't a tripping hazard for any poor souls, the museum had been open for at least an hour, meaning she had not only missed a staff meeting, but also missed the arrival of her husband. After leaving him in bed alone in the early hours of the morning, she at least wanted to be there to see him when he turned up, she knew how terribly he slept sometimes, she too was an insomniac, and she knew how heart wrenching it could be. And what with all his sleepwalking he seemed to do, she was scared to ever leave him alone.

Smoothing down her sundress that Donna had oh so gratefully allowed her to wear, Juno made her way over to the tills, waving at the school children she passed on her way.

Astrid smiled as she spotted her lover awkwardly stood by the tills, admiring some jelly, it seemed.

Reaching the tills in record time, she hitched herself up onto the desk, smiling wistfully at the man.

"Hey Stevie," she muttered, a sort of shyness coming upon her as he walked closer to her, a smile just as big as hers covering his face.

"Morning Mrs Grant," he whispered back, planting a kiss on her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her, keeping an eye out for Donna, who wasn't the biggest fan of the two.

"Gus missed you this morning you know," he spoke, blushing as the two held eye contact.

"Oh, did he now?" Astrid whispered, her arms still wrapped around Steven's waist, he was way too tall for her to reach his neck. "Well tell Gus I'm sure I can make it up to him in one way or another."

"Anyways," she spoke, hopping off the desk and leaning on the tills. "I was thinking about these memory issues you've been having, and I know you hate talking about it but it's tearing you apart!" She sighed, her husband taking her hand and holding it

"Don't worry about it love, honestly." Steven spoke, rubbing her palm gently with his thumb. "It's probably just stress, hm? Gives me more of an excuse to have you stay with me, you know I sleep better with you there!"

Astrid giggled as her husband continued to run his fingers up her arm, cupping her chin carefully.

"Now, are we still on for Friday? Movie night at mine?" He asked as he began to scan the plushies of the goddess Tawaret (Astrid's second favourite, Hathor being first) and arrange them on the desk she had just been sat on, smiling at the children that began to pass.

"Glad to know I'm your favourite." 

Astrid turned around, but no one was there. Stabilizing herself, she looked back at her lover, who hadn't noticed her act of peculiarity, to her luck. 

"Are you kidding? Of course, we are, I have the movies picked out already!" She spoke, nudging Steven as she spotted Donna approaching from a distance, his smile immediately falling.

"Stevie, you absolute rascal. I didn't know you had taken a crack." The blonde said, her hand coming up to pat Steven's shoulder.

"We've been married for years, Donna." He spoke, his voice sharp as he removed her hand. "And it's Steven."

The blonde ignored him and began to walk down the stairs to the inventory room, Steven and Astrid following suit. They weren't in the mood to get on the wrong side of Donna today.

Punching in the code, Donna immediately handed Steven more boxes of merchandise, of which Astrid took off him straight away, she knew he was tired and had already been late in this morning, she didn't want him overworking himself and making his mental state worse.

"Bring these Hippo's up here, would you?" Donna spoke in that annoying voice of hers, the Grant girl cringing severely.

"Hey, Donna that reminds me," Steven began, putting the boxes down on the side. "When I was coming in this morning, I saw the posters outside."

"And let me guess that's what made you late again is it?"

Astrid really wanted to punch her boss sometimes.

"No, sorry about that by the way, missed the bus." Her husband spoke.

"Third time this week you've shuffled in like a lazy sod." Donna retorted, Astrid glaring at her subtly.

"He knows, Donna," she said sharply, her husband looking like a kicked puppy at his boss' harshness.

"That's why you'll be on inventory this week. Well done, and Astrid, you can join him." Kicking an empty box across the floor, Donna made her way around the room, picking up any box she can find and handing it to Astrid.

"All right. Aye, aye, Captain. But no. I wanted to tell you that the banners and the posters of the Ennead..." Steven began, his hand coming up to rub his brows worryingly.

"I'm sorry, the what?" Donna spat out; annoyance clear in her tone as she began to scan the godlike plastic figures on the sideboard.

"The Ennead? You know, like, the super group of Egyptian gods? You got Horus, Osiris, Tefnut..."

"Stop, please. If this is some weird audition to tour guide here, the answer's still no."

"No. What I'm trying... That's actually crushing to hear." His face fell slightly before perking back up. "But what I'm trying to point out... I'm not trying to slag off marketing, but there's been a major blunder because they've got seven gods here, and the Ennead has nine."

Stood watching the interaction with a bored face, Astrid sighed as she caught a glance of the clock on the wall. How did she still have six hours left when it felt like she had been there a millennium.

"Just leave it. Get out. Go away from me."

Astrid was snapped out of her thoughts by her bosses loud voice and her arm being grabbed by her husband, who dragged her up the stairs and away from Donna, a charming grin on his face as he looked back at his wife. 

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he let J.B know they were both going on break and strolled her out of the museum.

"So, what do'ya say we go to that nice café for lunch, hm? My treat."