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Peter is standing on the bow of Tundra, his beloved ship. His gaze is aimed downwards to the surface of the ocean. Dark water below looks familiar but not friendly. (Never friendly, that’s the point.) Bottom is so far away yet it might still be the closest land. Yet no human has ever touched it. Neither has any human made object. Probably.
If someone is careless enough to let anything slip from their hands there would be no way to obtain said item back. The dark water is ready to devour anything that falls down. Swallow any object as hungrily as Forsaken swallows any victim left alone on the ship. Claim any careless slip of hand. There's a special flavour of loneliness in lost objects not being destroyed yet still completely separated from the owner and forever unreachable.
However, passing ideas of the ocean and merciless gravity are not the main reason he is there. He isn’t here even to simply enjoy the solitude of the empty ship at night. As rare as it is when he is so much surrounded by his domain he wants to spend a few moments thinking about his husband. No, wait, that’s wrong. Ex-husband. They are divorced for now. As they do from time to time.
He knows Elias was the one who’s asked for their separation this time although Peter has no idea why. It doesn't matter. The man is incredibly petty. He divorced him at least once just because Peter dared to make a coffee into his favourite mug. Stated reasons rarely matter or are of any real seriousness. The only indicator thanks to which Peter is even able to tell that his least hated servant of the Beholding was the one who requested for their separation this time is the string around Peter's neck and the two rings on it.
It is their tradition of sorts. They use the same wedding rings every time. When they are between marriages the one who doesn't ask for the divorce has them for safekeeping. It's great, really, because it allows Elias to angrily throw a ring at him melodramatic as he is and it also allows Peter to just leave the ring on the bedside table without needing to say a single word.
However none of this is important right now. No, the only thing important right now is how painfully aware of them he is. How much they interrupted his peaceful loneliness. They were weighing him down as an anchor he never asked for. Sure very light unstable anchor but anchor nonetheless. Connection he never asked for.
He takes the string with the two golden rings. They clink together. Their edges are gently touching as if they are mocking him. Daring him to do something about them since he is so annoyed by their sheer existence. And so he does.
He puts his hand over the railing. The rings clink together again unaware of the threatening depth below since they are nothing but mere objects unable to think or have any concept of existence. It still feels satisfying for the captain seeing them like this. Not so brave to mock him, no, huh? When he closes his eyes he can imagine it so vividly. Just losing his fingers up a bit that's all it would take. Letting the string slip and the rings would get swallowed by the deep sea right below.
It is important to understand he is not doing it for a show. Elias isn’t watching him right now. He made his sacrifice yesterday so the fog of the Forsaken is stronger than usual. It would be too hard even for the Eye's most loyal servant to penetrate its walls. Besides, Elias is probably still mad at him about… whatever the reason for the divorce was.
No, he is really considering doing it. He can almost feel the Forsaken pushing the finger away and loosening his grip on the string. It wouldn’t be hard to let go. He just has to open his pal and let the string fall down. Letting go sounds so much easier than holding one. So of course it’s inevitable.
One of their divorces will be the final one. Not that Elias will know. Not that Peter will know till he will be standing like this holding his hand with two rings over the railing of his ship. One day this silly relationship with his annoying voyeur will be too much. He will cut off their connection. It won't matter what will cause their separation that time. He'll do it just for the sake of it and Elias will be no wiser.
He smiles at the thought of the Beholder trying to puzzle out why isn’t their little game played by the regular rules. Why doesn’t Peter show up uninvited to his apartment? Why doesn’t he invite him to dinner? Why doesn’t he finally indulge him and answer one of his letters? Just the thought of leaving his dear ex-husband forever clueless makes him pull his hand back. His hand is slightly trembling. He puts the string back around his neck a bit too fast. He tucks the rings safely under his jumper.
Yes it is all just a matter of time till they part their ways. Oh how he will miss him, his Elias.
So better wait and make their connection a bit stronger. Let it last a bit longer. Just so the separation is a bit more painful. It is worthy Peter is sure.