Elkay stared out of the window, torrents of thoughts sloshing through his mind. He had been living with Teekay for a few weeks now, and although he was comfortable and feeling better, there were many things that were bothering him.
Right now, the biggest issue Elkay had was how it was always dark outside. Elkay was aware that not all Skyan territories were in… conventional space, but this strange location was too much. The skies were permanently black and the streets were just as dark, lit not by street lamps or traditional lighting, but by a series of little LED lights embedded into the roads and pavements. There were not many roads either, as cities, towns and villages all floated on their own little platforms, floating in an endless void and held together with massive chains.
Somehow though, gravity seemed… quite normal. For a Skyan, at least. Elkay had quickly gotten used to gravity half as strong as it was back at home, but lower gravity would occasionally catch up with Elkay, making his stomach upset or making him feel overall uneasy. Trying to have a bath was particularly difficult due to how buoyant everything was.
Still, there were more pressing issues than Elkay’s inability to properly adapt to new locations.
Elkay needed to get back to work. He needed a job. He needed something to do, to keep him in touch with the rest of society. But really, what Elkay wanted was to return to Rethan society.
A knock shattered Elkay’s thoughts. Teekay had returned, carrying yet more shopping. Elkay originally wondered how Teekay could afford all this food, but after a night of drinking, Teekay admitted that he had lived as frugally as possible for most of his life and just happened to have way more money than he thought he had.
“Are you alright, Elkay?”
Elkay nodded, trying to hide his emotions. But that never actually worked. Him and Teekay, they were both capable of… picking up on one another’s emotions.
“Are you going to be honest for once?”
Again, Elkay nodded.
“Apologies, Teekay, but I am not feeling too great right now. I just… did not want to worry you.”
Teekay dumped the shopping on the table and sat down next to Elkay, glancing out the window as he did so.
“What is bothering you?”
“Everything…” Elkay finally admitted. “It is all… wrong. A powerful being brought down to nothing, living off the scraps offered by a kind being from a race that should hate my guts. And the more time I spend here, the more I feel I will not be able to integrate back into Rethan society! I feel like… like I am rotting away…”
Teekay didn’t say anything. He sat still, looking out of the window alongside Elkay. Eventually though, he gathered some words together and finally spoke.
“I understand how you feel.”
“I know you do. And I know that you are in… a similar situation as me.”
“We both lost everything. All our power, all our fame and infamy. Our homes, our belongings, our friends and families… Well, your friends and family. I never had that… But it is all gone now…” Teekay paused and looked at Elkay. “There is one thing that we have not lost though. Something new we have gained…”
“And what is that?” Elkay asked.”
“Each other.”
Elkay blinked. Teekay understood his confusion.
“I know, it sounds insane. Two strict military-bred beings from races that have never been close, ending up being…”
“Being too close!” Elkay interrupted, backing away slightly. “We are too close to each other…”
Teekay’s shoulders dropped. He turned to Elkay, sighing. “It’s funny, you know. The All-Ksa wanted to have you to himself in one of his insane little plots, then when he messed that up, sent me to apologise, hoping that… well… this would happen…”
Elkay backed away a little more. “What..?”
“I am not saying that this was all planned or anything!” Teekay shouted. “I am not saying that at all! I am just saying… I want to be with you. I want us to be together. We spent our entire lives slaving away for others and now that we are free of that… we could be together…”
Teekay took a deep breath, awaiting Elkay’s response. Elkay looked around the room, but what he was looking for, Teekay wasn’t sure.
Finally, Elkay stood up, and headed for the door.
“I apologise yet again, Teekay. Your words have… meaning. Meaning I am struggling to… comprehend. I just need to clear my head a little, just need some time to mull over all of this…”
Teekay watched as Elkay slowly walked out the door, gently closing it behind him, and leaving Teekay alone in the little house.
Whether he would return, Teekay didn’t know. And most likely, Elkay didn’t know either…