Chapter Text
The first time Ivan ever saw him was all the way back when he was four, a mere fledgling and already experiencing the cruelty and terrors of the world he existed in.
But he felt that all the pain was worth it when he first laid eyes on the alien— no, he couldn't be an alien. He was too beautiful to be.
When he first laid his eyes on him, his hair was the one that stood out the most, one that reminded him of the stars that shine the brightest and his eyes reminded him of the color that were reflected deep from the sky, the clothes he was wearing were thin and loose-fitted for him, but at the same time exposing the best of his features.
He was the living embodiment of his definition of god.
(And while he looks human, Ivan knows that he is anything but . No human he has met has those unnatural white markings on his face, not to mention the pointed ears with faded tips. But Ivan could care less.)
While he didn't remember what his god and the employees of ANAKT garden were speaking of, he was sure that his god looked at him once, showing something in Ivan that apparently required him to look at Ivan.
He remembered the feeling he felt when he returned to his pod, all gleeful and bubbly inside. It was as if his heart was about to explode with all the strong thumping his heart was creating.
It was an experience he wished he would never forget.
He wanted his god to return, even just for a split moment, he just wanted to lay his eyes on him, or be blessed by his reason of life with the gaze of his eyes.
But soon, Ivan realizes that meeting him would not be so easy. So he works hard. Works hard in hopes to see his god again some day.
For years, Ivan had worked hard and endured every challenge he faced. He became obedient, followed every rule, succumbed to every order, and became the top of his peers in every department.
Then, the dreaded day of the auction began.
He was placed on a bid of a high price. Many aliens tried to bid a price higher than the last, hoping to buy Ivan who was standing there idly looking around.
While the auction was going on, Ivan's eyes stirred around the crowd of the ugly and deformed aliens, hoping to find his god. He flickers from area to area, but his search ends up inconclusive. Only then, does he spot him on top of a platform floating up above the sky along with a woman with similar features as him.
When his god landed his gaze on him, he was already being taken away because he was bought by an ugly-looking alien. It was torturous for him and he felt the urge to stab the alien who bought him just as he received the gaze of his god. Of course, he didn't say those things out loud.
He felt that all the suffering that he and to endure were worth it, having felt the eyes of his god on him. So Ivan willingly let the aliens guide him to a room where he was to be brought back to that ugly alien's penthouse.
Turns out the alien that bought him was a higher up in the alien hierarchy and wouldn't face consequences for almost anything. Which includes letting him rampant around its penthouse knowing that Ivan will stay without being ordered.
So Ivan uses this opportunity to research for more information. One night, Ivan gathers enough courage and sneaks into the alien's office at midnight while the alien is dead asleep.
Through this, he found that, even though the alien that owned him was an important figure in this society of aliens, he wasn't the highest and in the pretense that he died, he would be replaced.
Good.
Ivan smiled at this fact.
That means he can wring his owner dry subtly.
And he’ll finally be able to meet his god.
The next morning, his owner made him join Alien Stage, seeing his immense talent in singing. “Win this thing and bring back the cash, you hear me?” it said. Ivan was planning to anyway.
Because even if he has the slightest chance of being noticed by his god, he could earn his favor and maybe have a chance of being his pet instead.
(He wants to burn his current owner to ashes, but that can wait. He’s going to exploit him for the best materials first before he does.)
So he sang, practicing every day and every night to achieve the best results. He defeated his opponents and crushed them, giving them no chance of winning this competition— they didn’t have a chance against Ivan anyways.
Ivan barely put any effort into his practices, opting to go for a near silent hum or whisper-singing his lyrics, not wanting to waste any energy on this when he could be admiring his god instead.
He admits, his drawing skills were not the best, but this could be his best artwork yet. The sketch of his god was mirrored into the paper he was gifted with. The sketch itself wasn’t bad but it could be better.
He stuck it onto the wall with push pins he stole from the office and admired his first ever artwork.
If only…
Ivan shakes his head. All he has to do is work hard and climb the ranks, then maybe… It was all wishful thinking but maybe he’ll be able to meet his god. He awaits the day for it to happen too.
Ivan has faced off many competitors and every time, he survived the Alien Stage. It was getting tiring trying to compose songs then singing it only once. Sometimes Ivan will be able to finish it in a day but sometimes he will drag it out for a week or so.
But this time, he was near the finale of this season’s Alien Stage. He just has to beat two more contestants and he’s free until his owner puts him into another season.
He was lucky enough to survive this long in his opinion.
With all the money he was draining out of his owner, he could see the rage burning in his eyes. He knew his owner was pissed off but he also knew that he couldn’t throw away Ivan since he was a representative of its public image. If it throws away Ivan now, his owner’s reputation will be dirtied and stained. And if it didn’t give Ivan appropriate clothes as well, it would also stain his image.
A win-win opportunity for Ivan.
All he hopes is that his god is watching him.
Ivan’s owner finally had enough of him.
He knows because right now, he is being brought into the black market. But not any black market. A place where many humans were kept to be sold to aliens at an auction. And Ivan knew that if he got unlucky, he was going to get sold to a horrible alien who would beat him up and do experiments on him.
He didn’t want to push his luck, but he also doesn’t want to get sold to those kinds of aliens, so he stays silent in his pod.
The aliens started to flood into the auction house, where many of the humans were kept on display.
But then he saw it. He saw his god, looking at an artifact he couldn’t name. Besides him was a woman with brown hair and a darker skin than his god, but she could rival his god, but he knew that his god would beat her no matter what.
They were saying something he couldn’t hear, then they started making their way over to the humans. The woman and his god separated, moving to different areas of the auction house and viewing different things.
Then, his god finally made his way over to Ivan, staring at him. Ivan placed his hand on the pod screen, the wall separating him and his god.
His god placed his hand on top of his and turned around. For a second, Ivan thought he was going to leave him, but his god called the auction house owner and talked to him. Soon, the screen separating him and the outside disappeared causing him to tumble down.
His god caught him at the last second and gazed at him with worry. It was as if everything stopped for him, silence filled Ivan's ears as his focus was on his god.
Words couldn’t explain how beautiful he was right in front of him, like a meteorite shining across the sky and creating an unexplainable scene. When Ivan lifted his head, his god tilted his own head down. Teal met Onyx and clashed together.
“Are you okay, human?” his god asks in the smoothest voice he has ever heard in his entire life. Not even the top spot of the entire Alien Stage, Luka, could compete with his god’s voice.
He felt his god’s hand run through his hair, and with that touch, Ivan promptly fainted in joy.
He may have had to endure years of suffering, but it was all worth it in the end.
Whatever his god wanted to do with him, he’s happy with it.