Beauty and the Pharaoh

Chapter 26 - [Beauty and the Disastrous Dinner]

This was the fourth time this week that Atem woke up looking absolutely horrid.

He was almost always awake before me. Actually... always, until very recently. And now, despite getting more sleep, he looked like he was dying.

He walked out of his room, hair a mess and shoulders slouched forward. Of course, he also looked angry. I was just coming out of the washroom when I saw him and he didn't bother to greet me.

"Good morning?"

He ignored me and walked into the washroom, shutting the door behind him.

I was making the two of us breakfast when he got out of the washroom and I watched him carefully as he joined me in my small kitchen.

The thing about Atem was that he was always so radiant. I don't know what it was but he was always glowing from the inside out, despite his rather dark and negative personality. He also always walked around with perfect posture, shoulders back and head held high, adding to this strange magnificent persona he seemed to portray.

And his skin... god was I envious of his skin. It was practically flawless. Like a perfectly sculpted sculpture. No acne, no pores, no dark circles... no nothing. He was so lucky and didn't even realize it.

Even his eyebrows were perfect, god-damn-it. And here I was having to painfully pluck mine every other day.

But for the past couple days... he was just going downhill.

His hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes and he looked angrier than usual. He walked around all slouched and tired looking and there was clearly something wrong.

And–

Oh dear lord.

My eyes widened as I took a sip of my coffee and watched him pour some into his own cup.

He had a pimple.

A pimple.

Right on his forehead.

"What's wrong, Atem." I asked, eyes glued onto that pimple on his head. I've known him for a year now. We've lived together for a year now. And this was the first time I saw a pimple on his face.

Of course, it didn't make me think he was any less handsome.

But I had to admit, the lack of perfection suddenly made him look a lot more... human.

Maybe in a way... it made me like him even more?

"Nothing," Atem said as he grabbed his cereal that I sweetened with extra honey, sat on the chair at the island and started munching away.

I sat down too, "doesn't look like it."

"Silence, woman," he said, rather harshly. "I have a headache."

My eyebrows rose.

A headache?

Wow, it hadn't even been a month yet since we started dating and he was already loosing it.

I opened up a drawer, pulled out some Advil and handed him two tablets, "here."

He glanced over at the tablets, "what is that?"

"Medication, it'll help with the headache. Just swallow them with some water to help you wash it down."

He let out a breath and then took the Advil.