“My 'issues' baffled Freud, so don't take on airs with me, 'Tyr,'” Gordon chuckled as a sly smirk creased his features. “Which reminds me . . . how's that god complex of yours doing these days?” he inquired with a patently false air of innocence as he took another sip of his drink.

Erik mimed taking a blow to the chest. “Oh, now that was low!” he laughed.

“What can I say?” Gordon asked in precise mimicry of Erik's earlier use of the phrase. “Sometimes the truth hurts.” For the first time in ages, Gordon managed an easy grin to match one of Erik's best. He half-expected Erik to be surprised.

Erik wasn't though, he was too busy being pensive. “Yeah . . . ain't that the truth?” he mused rhetorically.

“Yeah . . .” Gordon softly answered as he downed the last of his latest drink.

“So what happened next?” Erik asked once he'd judged the silence between them had gone on long enough.

Gordon tried - and failed - to look confused. “I don't know what you mean,” he said, averting his eyes.

“To the girl you healed,” Erik clarified. “What happened to her?”

Gordon, still avoiding Erik's gaze, waited just a little too long before asking, “What makes you think I'd know?”

“Come on, Gordon,” Erik chided him. “Healing that little girl changed your life, so much so that you, you went out of your way to make sure she'd stay nearby. Do you honestly think I'm so stupid that I'd believe that you don't know what happened to her?”

“Do you really want my answer to that?” Gordon asked with mocking tilt of his head

“Not really,” Erik admitted with a small smile. “So just answer the original question, please.”

“Suit yourself,” Gordon said with a shrug. “The meaning of life is--”

“Not that original question!” Erik interrupted with a laugh. “The one about the girl!”

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