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It was already three in the morning. The group began to disintegrate and head back home, back to its weekly life of working hours and necessary integration into the society.
Sonja and Taarna were the last to leave, since they lived directly across the hall from the boys. Sonja admittedly had to be dragged away by Taarna since she and Conan always had something to talk (and bicker) about at any time. Taarna waved at Conan goodbye and he locked the door, relieved that the flat was quiet again, though he still smelled cigarettes, alcohol, and someone's vomit. He went out onto the terrace to clear his lungs. The streets were deserted, and the city was sleeping.
Conan then noticed Elric sitting on the tiles with his legs through the bars of the fence and a cigarette in his mouth. He didn't seem tired. He had a small radio with space rock songs playing at a low volume.
"How long have you been hiding out here?" Conan leaned against the cold railing. The lights on the neighboring buildings were mostly off except for a few lonely windows.
"What time is it?" Elric shook the ash from his cigarette and threw his head back to keep the hair out of his eyes.
"It's already three. Did you skip the whole party?"
"I was there when Taarna and Sonja came. When Larn and the others started arriving, it was too much for me." Elric coughed.
Conan spat from the fence and narrowly missed someone's illegally parked car "When are you going to stop smoking? Your lungs are going to hell."
Elric shrugged and tossed his cigarette through the fence. Conan calculated in his head how long the albino would live if he continued to take his health for granted. In the last couple of weeks he's started taking and mixing some drugs he's gotten off the dark web. Elric claimed they helped his chronic pain, though Conan knew he was lying.
"Have you been avoiding anyone?" Conan raised a bushy eyebrow and flashed a teasing smile as Elric stretched out his legs and leaned against the rough texture of the wall. "Was it that bratty rich kid Nekron?" Conan inquired. In truth, Nekron was kicked out 10 minutes into the party due to his inappropriate behavior. But not before Taarna broke his nose.
Elric shook his head "I wasn't avoiding anyone. I just wasn't in the mood."
Conan's expression softened slighltly when he noticed Elric was genuinely in a bad mood. His eyes were slighltly reddish, masked only by the city's cloudless night.
"Something bad happened?" Conan inquired, a bit more tenderly, or as much as he could. Elric glanced at him for the first time since the conversation started. He was quiet for a while, then spoke.
"Cymoril passed away." he sniffed, but Conan wasn't sure if it was from smoking or were his tears coming back. "The hospital said that she succumbed to her injuries. Yyrkoon is currently in custody but he'll pull some strings and be out sooner or later." his voice was shaking slighltly. His cousin always had a knack for avoiding the law.
Conan was aware of the situation. And he watched Elric spiral from the stress of it. Even if he and the albino weren't particularly close, he couldn't stand watching him sink into despair and self blame.
"Elric-" he began
"Don't, barbarian. I don't want to talk about it." Elric looked at him sternly
"Why not? Someone ought to make you face the truth." Conan retorted
"I'm warning you, don't go there!"
"It wasn't your fault."
Elric stared into the streets, dirty and deserted "Wasn't it? I told her she wouldn't get hurt..."
Conan put a strong arm onto the albino's boney shoulder "You did the best you could."
Elric's head dropped down into his lap "But it wasn't enough... She got shot and I couldn't protect her."
Conan was getting agitated. Elric was always prone to self blaming for things that were out of his control "That bastard tricked you, don't put the blame solely on yourself!"
Elric snapped back at him "I shot her with my weapon! What else is there to say? And now she's dead... I won't see her again..." he sobbed into his knees. "I should have died with her."
Conan sighed "You have to keep on living. You won't pay off any debts if you die. You won't fulfil your dreams if you're dead."
Elric scoffed slighltly "My dreams died when she did. I'm one foot in the grave anyway now. It's only a matter of time with how my health is. Maybe I should do everyone a favor and just k-"
Conan grabbed Elric's shoulders and shook him, harder than he intended "Don't you dare say things like that! Don't ever say anything like that!"Elric's eyes widened, staring into the barbarian's blue ones intensely. The radio went silent, it's batteries dying out.
Conan then released him and stepped back into the room. Elric hugged his knees, staring into the heavy night sky. If his blood wasn't so thin, he was sure he would have been blushing now.