The boat has a hole in it. Like, he seriously took something to create a hole in the damn boat. Nadir rubs his face and tries not to pull the hair from his beard.

He and Erik may have had a heated discussion, but the response to it should be a mature conversation.

"What are your intentions with the Daae girl?"

Nadir isn't even jealous, they parted ways years ago, and their past is just that. It is a reasonable question. Erik is clearly not in a fit mental state, the young girl does not need that. It's not fair to either of them.

"Not your business."

"It becomes my business when you threaten and murder others, Erik. What are you planning for her? Is she even reciprocating your romantic feelings? Does she want to be with you?"

"Erik doesn't owe you anything or have to answer the daroga's questions!"

"I'm concerned now that Erik is speaking in third person, are you separating yourself? That is not good, my old friend."

Instead of a verbal response this causes the young man to spiral in a fit of mad laughter, so much so, it overtakes him, he ends up losing control of his body, he writhes on the floor, unaware of the world that surrounds him.

Nadir waited for it to subside, he tried to coax Erik back to lucidity, but no avail. Nadir left him a glass of water, a pillow under his head, and a note apologizing for his departure.

And so here we are. Nadir is at the lake, with a boat that is useless. Nadir can swim, and he also knows how to repair a boat.

This will buy Erik time, for sure, whatever he wants or is planning, this will certainly buy him time.

He is clever.

Annoying.

Beyond vexing.

Nadir used to be in love this man.

He shakes his head. He rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, puts down his tool kit and sits down by the boat.

"He knows this wouldn't stop me," Nadir sighs, as he turns the boat over to the angle and position, he needs.

"Move, my friend." Darius, sits down and takes over.

"I can do this, you know."

"Your hands are dainty, I got this."

Nadir glares and hits him with his shoulder, failing at getting Darius to budge over.

"My hands are calloused and rough!"

"You've been in the court too long for your hands to see real work, and then you come here and stalk a ghost."

"My hands were used when we were in prison!"

"Then you used that fancy oil concoction Erik told you about, made your hands all dainty again."

"My hands are man hands!"

"I never said they weren't man hands, I said they were dainty, delicate. Let the rough hands do the work, they know how."

Nadir glares at his man servant/best friend.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

They argued the entire boat ride, and even when they reached the house on the lake, they continue to argue when they walked through Erik's domestic.

"I was not sick! I just needed to catch my breath, I was doing all the work," Nadir argues.

"You were delirious!"

"What's this? Daroga brought his man servant." Erik is annoyed, and he throws random objects at the two, who duck, dodge, and avoid.

"Erik, you look terrible. Did you lose weight? How is that even possible. I'm going to make you dinner." Darius does not wait for a response.

"Erik is not hungry! You will leave my home!"

"Erik will remember the rules of hospitality and etiquette, after all he is French, and they take pride in such things," Darius says with a smile and twinkle in his eye.

Erik has no clever witticism. He shakes with quiet fury. Darius takes that as a win and rummages through cabinets, until he finds something resembling food products.

"You do look terrible, Erik." Nadir takes a seat on an old armchair. Erik takes a seat opposite of him, and crosses his arms, he does not look at the other man.

"You knew I would come back. I am not letting this go, or letting you fall to ruin. This is ridiculous. Where is the Erik that loved to go to the market dressed for a Venetian Carnival? The Erik who loved to entertain people? My son? We got you out of Persia, so you keep that."

"I know." He still does not look at the other man in the eyes.

"What happened to you? Why do you live like you are already dead? I followed you for years, what happened? You were doing well with your architecture; you've had a lot of success."

"I know."

"Could it be that your brain is having an extremely negative reaction to the morphine and laudanum? I mean, you do consume copious amounts of both,"

Erik's head snaps up, Nadir winces and feels pain for him.

"How?"

"I told you, I've been keeping an eye on you. You need to stop with that, Erik. It's breaking your already fragile mind."

"Erik—I need it. It calms the—it calms the storm."

"At the expense of your sanity?"

"What sanity?"

"You were once, a bit sane. You need to stop with the drugs, Erik. It will be better for you."

"I know what I'm doing,"

"I don't agree."

"I'm not asking you to! You do not get a say in what I do! You lost that right years ago! You let me go!"

Erik turns his head.

Ah. Subtext rapidly becoming text.

"I'm old, you're young. I had to let you go, it would have been unfair to keep you."

"You were the only one who cared about age difference. I was happy."

Erik gets up and walks to the piano, he keeps his back turned to Nadir.

"So, this is because of that? How we parted ways?"

"You broke up with me and not only that, but I had to literally leave the country! You made it clear, we were never to see each other again, and then you show up? Act like nothing happened. That we were nothing? Hello, my friend?"

Nadir winces, that is true, he does address Erik as, "friend," but what is he supposed to say, ex-lover, Ex-boyfriend, ex romantic lead?

"You're right, we were more than friends. You were so much more than that."

"Well, how am I supposed to know that?" Erik turns his head, before he spreads his arms wide. He sits down on the piano bench and begins playing a very angry, melancholy composition.

"I love you, but I honestly believed letting you go, and letting you go alone, was for the best."

Erik ignores him and continues to play. Nadir sighs, he gets up and walks over to him. He presses some keys, to break Erik's concentration, it works, he grabs Nadir's hand.

"I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to stay, or have you come with me."

"You didn't say anything." Nadir says.

"I was being cool!" He stands up again, shaking his arms in exasperation and walks around in circles.

"What does that even mean!?" Nadir becoming equally exasperated.

"I didn't want to look desperate, like I wanted you,"

"But you did want me?"

Erik nods.

"So, what was the point of, "being cool," then?"

Erik shakes his head and turns away from his again.

"Erik." Nadir's head is spinning, getting lost in the conversation.

"If you asked me to stay, or asked to come with me,"

"I wanted you to stay, but I thought it was better for you to go."

"You didn't give me a choice! You made it for me,"

"They wanted to kill you, you needed to leave before that lie of Persia killed you."

"I died anyway."

"You are so dramatic! You look very much alive to me!" Nadir strides up to him, grabs Erik's arm, checks for a pulse.

"There it is!" He shouts as he drops his wrist.

"Did you think of me at all?"

"Yes."

Erik had not expected such a rapid response.

"You did?"

"Yes,"

"He wouldn't shut up about you, my friend," Darius pokes his head from around the corner.

"What is Erik doing, do you think Erik found someone, do you think Erik is taking care of himself," Darius makes a motion with his hand, the, blah, blah, blah variety.

"Thank you, Darius," Nadir says through his teeth.

"We both love you Erik, in different ways, of course." Darius goes back to the kitchen.

"Can we start over, then?"

"Start over, what? You want to be my friend?" Erik snaps.

"No. I don't want to be your friend."

"Ah."

They say nothing, do nothing. Nadir waits for Erik to make the first move.

"I can't promise complete exclusivity," Erik says slowly.

"Christine?"

Erik nods.

"I shared you with little Sultana," Nadir reminds him.

"Yes, but I hated her, this isn't hate fucking."

"It didn't matter then," Nadir says.

"So?"

Nadir nods.

Erik nods, and nods, and then looks at his hands, and the Nadir. He makes a strange squeak sound with his throat. He walks towards Nadir, and then Darius pokes his head around the corner.

"Dinner for two at the ready. Remember, to use condoms, don't forget about the lubricant, I left a new one by the bed, yes, I was able to go shopping while you two were twoing, you're welcome, don't be too rough with Nadir, he's old, and his bones squeak," Darius says all of this while gathering his things and bidding them adieu at the door.