[Amon/Alex's POV]
That's how Amon's life as a parent began. To say he'd underestimated the challenge was an understatement. The boys were self-sufficient to a certain degree, but there were also things they simply didn't like to do.
For example, going to bed was a problem. They refused to go to bed. He'd tried tucking them in, telling a bedtime story, threatening to punish them, but none of it worked.
The first night he had completely lost his cool. He'd pushed them down onto the bed roughly and shouted that they weren't allowed to leave their rooms until morning. Once it looked like he'd frightened them enough to stay put for more than three seconds, he left and ordered a servant to stand guard, only to find that they had snuck into his bed again the next morning.
When he saw them sleeping soundly beside him, he felt rather conflicted. Honestly, he felt relieved to see that Intef and Amenemhat weren't holding his hot temper against him and trusted him enough to sleep by his side. But he also felt frustrated because he had zero authority over the boys.
It was at this moment that Amon, as well as Alex, realized how little he actually knew about children. He would have liked to mirror their behaviour to that of an average child to find anomalies, but couldn't because he was so clueless.
So he did what he felt was best, and that was to approach them with kindness. In this particular case it meant that he turned around and hugged them to sleep a little longer instead of forcefully dragging them back to their own room.
But kindness or no kindness, it was already too late. Because around bed time, the boys had vanished once again.
Amon and a bunch of servants had searched for hours, without as much as hearing a peep or a rustle to give away the boys' hiding place. By the time they'd turned the house upside-down three times, Amon had been convinced that the boys had ran away.
Only when he was standing in the front door, ready to search the streets, he felt a little bundle attach itself to his leg; Intef.
Intef had gotten attached to him more quickly than Amenemhat had. Always taking his hand when they walked together, always asking for affection first and sometimes even toning down his brother's practical jokes.
"Oh! Thank the gods!" Amon sighed once his worry-tortured brain had processed what the sudden weight at his leg was and hugged the boy tightly, conveying as much of his worries as he possibly could with the simple gesture.
"I thought I had lost you! Where is your brother?" Amon mumbled close to Intef's ear and then spotted Amenemhat, standing a few meters away. It looked like he wanted to come close for a hug too, but didn't do so. Instead, his face was scrunched up in a worried expression.
"Come here," Amon said as he reached out a hand to Amenemhat. He clearly sounded annoyed, even to his own ears. And honestly, he felt annoyed too, but it wasn't directed at the little boy. He felt annoyed at himself.
Why did Amenemhat hesitate to come closer? Was he really that scared of Amon's reaction? Was he afraid that Amon would retaliate one way or the other? That was not ok. And neither was running away.
The moment between Amon's demand and Amenemhat's reaction was nerve-wracking. He didn't want to force the boy to do anything, so all he could do was wait patiently until Amenemhat himself finally did come over out of his own volition.
"There you are!" Amon sighed in relief once the boy was finally close enough to hug tightly. "I thought I had lost the both of you! You scared the living daylight out of me! Please don't do that anymore."
Amon vaguely saw the bottom lip of the boys start to quiver and felt them hold on to him a little tighter. However, they refused to cry. They were strong after all.
"Come on, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep," Amon said as he picked both of the boys up. He instantly felt his body scream in protest. He still felt sore from the time he'd carried them home.
Both boys looked startled at his announcement. Amon knew they'd kick up a fuss if he'd try to bring them to their beds, so he took them straight with him to his own bed. It worked. They calmed down and fell asleep almost instantly.
From then on, bedtime turned into a cat and mouse game. Amon knew they hid somewhere inside the house, but no-one was able to find them. He didn't worry too much though since he knew they'd sneak into his bed once he'd go to sleep himself.
The rest of the day, the boys were an absolute joy to have around. Even though the servants took care of them most of the time, Amon took every opportunity he had to spend time with them. He'd made a point of playing hide and seek with them to get some intel on the places they liked to hide. He hoped it would help him to find them at bedtime, but alas.
It turned out they were simply really good at hiding. Sometimes Amon would peak to see where they were going or hiding, but even that plan failed. It was horribly humiliating, each and every time. Well, at least the boys were having fun. So that's really all that mattered.
The twins would really toy with him during hide and seek. One time, he'd found a huge camp made from baskets, cushions, blankets and spears. When the boys had managed to make it was a mystery to him.
Amon had approached the structure with caution, since he suspected that they would be waiting in ambush for him. And as predicted, the boys tackled him with matching war cries the very second Amon had stuck his head through the opening.
Amon instantly turned the struggle to his advantage by tickling the boys until they were cackling with laughter. Amon found himself smiling from ear to ear. He had to admit "his pride" was a small price to pay for the joy he felt from playing with them.
They played, laughed and cried, but the boys never said a single word. Amon knew they weren't stupid. In fact, he suspected they were rather intelligent. Smart enough to hide things from him. Things that shouldn't be said.
That's what Amon thought when he'd found the boys sitting on a bench in the inner garden, the servants nowhere to be found and the goddess Ma'at sitting next to them. It looked like they were talking. Telling each-other secrets. The feeling that he was intruding overwhelmed him.
For a moment, he contemplated leaving them to their business but didn't. Weren't they his boys? Didn't he have the right to know what they were up to? It wasn't until the goddess turned her jet black eyes towards him, and her eyes widened in surprise, that the strange feeling disappeared.
"Amon!" she gasped in surprise as Amon staggered a step forward in response to the sudden lack of pressure. "I'm so sorry! I cast that magic to keep away intruders, I didn't think it would affect you too. Are you ok?"
"I think I'm going to throw up," Amon grumbled as he hunched over and concentrated on overcoming the now present nausea. A touch at his hand made him look up. It was Intef, looking at him with big worried eyes. Then his glance shifted to Ma'at and back again.
"Yes, you're right. I'm very sorry," Ma'at said, a sense of guilt shining through. "Please allow me to heal you."
"Please do?" Amon asked, rather than said. Honestly, he didn't know what to expect at all. Everything had happened so fast, and he couldn't think straight at all. In the back of his head, a little voice nagged; "What the hell did you agree to? What will you do if she takes a syringe and squirts some unknown drug into your body?"
But the little voice in the back of his head was already quickly silenced. It should be common knowledge that gods don't use syringes. They are powerful beings linked to natural phenomenons. Magic beings.
"Close your eyes," Ma'at said as she gently placed her hand on his temples and started rubbing her thumbs in slow circular motions. Her touch was warm and soothing and the effect was instantaneous; the pressure lifted immediately, and his stomach unclenched.
"Thank you," he said, smiling in relief. To his surprise, he saw Ma'at blush.
"It is an honour," she said, smiling a delighted smile.
"That again?" Amon thought. It was quite the strange feeling for a god to act so humble towards him. And this wasn't the first time it had happened either. He had heard Haruw mention something like that too.
He decided to ignore it.
"You know," Ma'at giggled. "It's the first time I've seen anyone resist the spell like you have. It's designed to sidetrack intruders into going somewhere else. Most people just go along with it, they don't even notice they've been influenced by magic."
"Really now?" Amon asked, unsure how to react. Ma'at didn't seem to notice.
"I came to talk to them," she continued happily. "They seem to be happy here."
"Hmm," Amon hummed in thought. "You know... I would have taken them home even if you hadn't asked."
"I know," she said, smiling fondly as the boys started playing around the pond. "But you wouldn't have encountered them if I hadn't asked you to."
"I see," Amon said as he remembered that he was talking to the keeper of balance. "Why me though?"
Ma'at sighed, her dark eyes dazed as she thought of how to answer him. For an instant, Amon thought she wasn't going to answer him at all. Or maybe she'd give an answer like; "If I tell you, the balance will be thrown off."
But instead she said: "Because you will die without an heir and your death will cause a power struggle. They are the ones who pick up the pieces and restore order. I thought I'd spare them and Egypt a lot of chaos."
"Damn," Amon thought as a heaviness wrapped itself around his heart. Maybe he rather hadn't know.
"No kids, huh?" he ask dazedly. Ma'at shook her head by way of confirmation.
"Not even a small chance?" he asked again. She shook her head again. Then he frowned and heaved a heavy sigh.
"Damn," he said out loud this time. "Didn't you take a huge risk by telling me that?"
"I checked beforehand," she said. It sounded a little strained. As if it pained her to bring him this news. As if she was afraid he'd hate her for the rest of his semi-immortal life.
"I see," he laughed, thoroughly impressed by these gods. She checked? As in, possible futures and multiple timelines? Ma'at made it look so easy. Haruw had looked into the future the first time they met too.
Yet, Ma'at still seemed out of it somehow. Was she still scared of his reaction perhaps? How could he show her that he didn't blame her for anything? Ah yes! Amon walked over to the pond, reached inside and plucked a lily from the water.
"Here," he said as he offered it to Ma'at with a reassuring smile. She accepted it but looked surprised. "I promised you one, didn't I?"
"So you did," she laughed. And just like that, the peaceful atmosphere had returned.