“What are you doing here?” Gath growled as he peered through the open door. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Retvik sniffed. “I miss you. I know I said I’d give you time but…”
With a sigh, Gath silently let Retvik in and closed the door behind him. He’d been staying at Kass’s place for the last few weeks, and Kass was currently sleeping off a hang over from the night before. He didn’t want to wake Kass up though. Was never a good idea to wake up a drunk telekinetic being.
“You been here long?” Retvik asked.
“Since the fire. Kass is out mostly. I keep the house tidy. You?”
“Been staying with Elksia and Tenuk at our little base. Been really quiet.”
“Same.”
Gath led Retvik into the living room, where Gath had been sleeping. He ordered Retvik to sit down. “I’ll ask again. What are you doing here?”
After a moment of thought, Retvik shrugged. “It’s… nothing. I’ll just leave.”
Unexpectedly, Gath found himself stopping Retvik from doing so. “No, tell me. You drove across town…”
“Walked.”
“… Walked across town to see me for a reason. What is it that you want?”
Retvik sighed. “I miss you. I miss you so much. And I’m sorry for all the horrible things that have happened to us and-”
Gath put a finger on Retvik’s lips. “I’m not angry at you. I just need some time.”
“I know… But I’ve been having dreams. I keep on waking up sweating.”
“About what?” Gath sat down on the sofa bed next to Retvik. “You’ve always had nightmares. What is different now?”
“They don’t have you in them.”
Gath thought for a second. “Surely that is a good thing?”
Retvik shook his head. “No. My nightmares are normally bearable because you’re there with me, both in reality and within my dreams. But lately, I’ve been having nightmares where you’re not there at all. You’re dead. Gone. More like premonitions than anything…”
“Premonitions where I die?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Retvik sighed again, leaning against Gath. “I don’t know. I really don’t. These dreams I’ve been having, it’s like you’ve been gone for ages. Decades. Maybe more. These dreams are what my future would be like without you…”
Gath started stroking Retvik along his face. “You know one of us will die eventually. It’s unlikely we’ll both die at the same time. You’re a normal Rethan, you don’t have a heart desperately trying to pump blood up four meters of body, so you will probably outlive me. Plus, you’re a Rethianos. A family with a history of living for a really long time. These things happen. It’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“I know, but…”
“But what? You know if I outlive you, I’ll survive. I know that if you outlive me, you’ll survive. We will carry and cherish each others’ memories forever.”
Retvik took a deep breath. “That isn’t the problem. I am scared of these dreams because they show that I move on from you, I settle down with someone else, that you were gone a long time ago. These aren’t dreams a hundred years from now, these are dreams of a long, distant future. One where you are never there… I’m living nightmares with some Kayel guy I don’t even recognise, rather than fighting alongside you… These dreams, they scare me and make me feel bad…”
Gath smiled, and wrapped his arms around Retvik. “It’s fine. You are allowed to have dreams without me. You can’t control your dreams anyway.”
“T-they feel so real though.”
“They’re just dreams. You worry too much.”
Retvik smiled too. “You’re right, Gath. You’re always right…” He leaned in to Gath, hugging him tightly. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”