Arkadin had planned to sneak out while everyone else was asleep, but it turned out he wasn’t as sneaky as he’d expected. Just as he was about to open the door out of the small Skyan apartment, he heard a little voice behind him.
“You are leaving?” Elkay wearily asked, getting up from the pillow bed where everyone else was sleeping and awkwardly climbing onto one of the dining table stools. “Already? You do know there is one more day of Macromera, yes?”
With a sigh, Arkadin turned back to Elkay and joined him at the dining table.
“I was planning on leaving, yes.”
“Why? You can stay here as long as you wish, you know. We enjoyed your company yesterday.”
“Yeah, I know, I know…” Arkadin sighed some more. “I have… other places to be. Other people I need to go and visit and spend time with. Things I need to do.”
Elkay dozed off briefly, then suddenly jolted upright, knocking himself awake. “Like what?”
“Both Kenon and Kinisis requested I visit them today. And I have stuff I need to do with Kairos, and later on Epani and Yisini as well.”
“A packed day?”
Arkadin grunted. “Very packed. I thought… I thought I’d head off early, get it all done so I can hopefully go home before midnight… I doubt I will though…”
“Why does that all have to happen in one day though?”
“That’s just how it turned out…” Arkadin continued to sigh. He was ever so slightly tipsy, but nowhere near as drunk as Elkay was.
“Can you… not just tell them, as Tenuk would say, to fuck off and suck on your tail? At the very least in a far less… flamboyant way?”
The Thantophor shook his head. “I can’t. It’s all already arranged. I have to just get it all over with. If I tell them all to fuck off, I just end up with bigger troubles.”
Elkay tutted, then leaned across the table, placing his hands in Arkadin’s hands.
“I worry about you. We all worry about you. There is something wrong.”
“There’s always something wrong. I don’t want to talk about that though. Just want to get today out of the way.”
“Do you… want to come back afterwards? Come back here and drink some more?” Elkay suddenly asked. “You can come by here and have some more drinks with us. None of us are going anywhere.”
Arkadin hesitated, then tutted. “I… I don’t know. Not yet.”
“It is always an option. Teekay and I both enjoy your company.”
“Being here isn’t easy though…”
Elkay shrugged, still holding Arkadin’s hands. “Do you feel guilty about us?”
“Yes. I ruined your lives.”
“You did not ruin our lives and you should not feel guilty. Both of us are happier now. The Allbirther ruined our lives but you were the first step to us finding each other. Without you, we would not have stepped onto the path we are on now. Teekay and I… we love each other. We are changed beings. Happier beings. Finally living our lives rather than slaving away for others…” Elkay glanced up at Arkadin, smiling. “One day, you will be like that too. Living your life.”
The Thantophor grunted, then got up from the table. “I… I appreciate that. But I have to go now.”
Elkay sighed. He understood and knew how Arkadin felt. This wasn’t the time to try and get him to stand up for himself. “Alright. Look after yourself. But please do consider coming back when you are done with your errands. We all really enjoy your company.”
Arkadin smiled, albeit briefly. “Thank you, Elkay.”
“Have a good day, Arkay…” Elkay waved, before falling asleep at the table.