Work Text:
Seawatt,
Wake up, for a new tomorrow;
Live your life as you see fit;
… I'm sorry.
NARRATOR
That is what echoed in Seawatt’s head when he rose from the dead.
Those simple lines of what felt like a scripted dialogue, that would constantly replay in his brain whenever he went to sleep. He had every word and intonation memorized by now.
Seawatt, He whispered, it seemed difficult to say.
Wake up, for a new tomorrow; The way he said it, he must have not planned this line.
Live your life as you see fit; The only part that felt confident in that speech.
… I'm sorry. Seawatt wondered, was it remorse or guilt?
It felt almost silly for him to be so hung up on that. From what he knew, every citizen that was revived had some sort of message given to them. So, surely, he wasn't the only one.
That's the logical conclusion. However, a part of him, a selfish and delusional part, was the one responsible for the repetition in his head.
Surely, a part of it, any part of it, must have been unique. He must have been special in some way.
Why else would he, of all people, have been given another chance in life?
Seawatt’s day-to-day life was uneventful. There's not much you can do when a God is constantly spying on you, waiting for you to eventually mess up and show your true colors.
It certainly doesn't help that said god is Evbo, and in Seawatt’s eyes, he does a terrible job at monitoring.
They spent most of their day together, 7 feet apart, spent 7 hours in silence, 7 hours working, 7 hours lazing around and 7 hours sleeping(All under Evbo’s specific requests. He seemed to have a thing for that number. So much so, he put his brain into adding 3 extra hours to each day out of pure anxiety).
It was an okay routine, all things considered.
They could have easily hated each other and called it a day, hell, Seawatt could have been put in the same prison as the parkour villain for all he cared. In his eyes, he fully deserved it. And part of him knows that Evbo believes so too.
SEAWATT
The clock suddenly rang, meaning it was… Roughly 6 ish? And it meant break time for me.
Or, at least, for Evbo. To me, ‘work time’ and ‘break time’ were the exact same, since I basically lost all my previous jobs. It's such a stupid thing— Couldn't I be given a better task rather than just standing near Evbo like his new shadow?
Devil almighty, I miss my job.
“You're spacing out again,” His voice cut through my thoughts. I hate his voice. “Are you still mad at me? Be honest.”
“As always, I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Well, as always, stare at me like I'm a disease.”
I miss my job.
“That's unrelated. I look at everyone that way.”
“Can you not look at me that way, though?” He sighed, fidgeting with his hands. He tapped 7 times. “I'm trying to make this work for you, it's not easy being a god.”
I miss my job.
I chuckled, “Hm, seems that way.” He gave me a glare when I rolled my eyes. “Sadly, it's not something I'll ever relate to.”
“Seawatt,” Shut up. “I just mean… I don't even need to do anything anymore, yet here I am putting effort into you.” Please, change this topic. “I know you liked your old purpose, but I need you to find a new one.”
I looked at Evbo, staring as deeply as I could onto his eyes. Shallow water. I couldn't reach far.
I miss my job.
“... Listen, I got some ideas for new buildings I want you to give to the champion.”
“The who?” I paused. “Ah, right, your little boyfriend.”
I saw Evbo grimace at that. It was funny.
“Not boyfriend. He's my… Friend, I guess.”
I let out a chuckle, he's so easy. “Hurt to say that, didn't it?”
“Shut up, just go.”
I felt him press some papers onto my chest, it was a bad habit of his. He'd rather throw things onto me than hand them like a person.
… Sometimes, I don't think he even sees me as one. But that's fine, I question if I am a real person myself sometimes.
Real people have something guiding them through life, a will to survive and live until they die. But… I did that already. I already died. So what's left for me? What do I do when I completed my life purpose as a human?
I turn away from Evbo, holding the stack of paper. Gods, his handwriting sucks. I hope that little ‘friend’ of his can read it, because I absolutely refuse to put effort and translate this mess for him.
He's not my problem to deal with.
I miss my job.
I can barely remember my conversation with that champion guy, mostly because I could tell he didn't want to be around me. He kept avoiding staring at my face(At least I think so, he has no pupils.) and would always fidget around and try cutting our conversation short.
I kept trying to talk to him mostly to understand… What did Evbo see in him? What made him stare down at that guy with such strong adoration?
As much as I despise feeding my own ego, I had to admit, for a champion he was uninspired. Even Evbo was decent at his job, and he absolutely crushed the economy. At the very least he had ambition, creativity. What does this guy have?
It wasn't until my final words with him that I got it.
Before I hopped back home, he spoke;
‘Thanks, by the way. I don't understand why Evbo put in so much work for me.’
And I replied;
‘What are you talking about? He put stars in the sky for you.’
I could tell he smiled at that.
Ah… So that's your type. That makes sense.
I kept walking back home after that, my head stuck in an endless spiral, like always. That seems to happen when you lose all purpose in life.
He seems happier. Happier than Evbo and I. And, in a way, I envy that. I envy the fact he got lucky and chose the right person to follow. What would my life have been if I had stayed with Evbo instead?
I miss my job.
Why do things have to be so complicated?
I miss my job.
Why couldn't I have had a decent life like everyone else? Why did I have to survive out of everyone else? Why couldn't I have just stayed dead? Why does he keep me around? Why did he revive me?
I miss my job. I miss my job. I miss my job.
… It would have made things easier. I would have had a simpler life, I think. I would have been able to control this situation.
If I had kept my job, I could have easily written an entire love story in his head. I could have convinced him that we had something before this.
Maybe that way we wouldn't spend 7 feet apart, we could have held hands and trusted each other.
Would I have been a good lover? I like to think so. I like to think I'd be able to love.
Then it occurs to me, maybe that's what my whole issue is. Maybe I'm so hung up on that message because I want to know what it feels like to be loved again.
I feel my feet hanging in the air on my next step, and someone pulling my cape back.
I look behind me, and see the cruelest irony of my life.
“You're gonna get yourself killed, again.” Evbo replies, he has no smile. I yearn for death now.
“Ah… Sorry about that.” I correct my feet, staring at his face. Never his eyes. They're too shallow. “Force of habit, you know how it is.”
He sighed, pulling on my cape to get me farther from the edge. “You could at least do this in the last level, y'know. Less likely for you to fall to your death.”
“Again.”
“Again.” He agrees.
We stand in silence for a while, just staring at each other's faces, never the eyes. I don't know how to continue this conversation.
“... The sunset is starting.” He says. It's his usual hint that he wants me to take the lead in this situation.
I watch his hand, and wait for him to tap his fingers 7 times before grabbing them. Ice cold.
“Okay, lead the way.” I pause, “... Just, no more teleporting or jumping this time. I hate being motion sick.”
He lets air out of his nose, a noiseless chuckle, and gently guides me to the edge again, stepping forward.
NARRATOR
Seawatt's eyes widen when he feels nothing beneath his feet, and he clings to Evbo for dear life, only to be met with a loud laughter from the other.
“It's fine, it's fine! Just hold onto me!” Evbo exclaims in-between. “Move your legs as if you were climbing stairs! Here, like this.”
He holds both of his hands, motioning for him to pay attention, as he moves his legs up. Seawatt, slowly but surely, repeats the pattern, and they begin moving upward, onto the upper levels.
It takes a few minutes for Seawatt to get the hang of it, but he eventually finds the situation to be magical.
“Just like that,” He giggles. “It's easy.”
“... Yeah. It's easy.” Seawatt agrees, feeling his chest fill with air that he had no clue he needed. His eyes sparkle.
Evbo does his best to avoid looking at his face covered in that beautiful orange hue, he doesn't want to scare Seawatt, but he does need a lot of concentration to do this.
When they finally reach the upper level, above all of parkour civilization, Seawatt feels a little disappointed. He had fun flying. Maybe a form of fun he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
When he finally let go of Evbo's hands, the other almost instinctively tried reaching out for it again, unlike most people’s hands, Seawatt’s was always warmer than average. He liked that.
EVBO
The sunset looked like a rose blooming in-between the clouds, that was probably my favorite part of being up here.
My second favorite was—
“There are extra stars in the sky this evening.” Seawatt notes.
“Huh, I'm surprised you noticed that.”
“It'd be hard not to.” He chuckled, it felt dry. “You seem to be especially fond of stars.”
I don't like it when he mentions that. I don't know why, but it always seems like he's just trying to make us be apart even further.
Seawatt, why do you do this? I just want to be your friend.
“... I like sunsets too,” I reply. “A whole lot.”
“And why is that?”
I stare at his face, the light makes his skin glow, and there's a special sparkle in his eyes.
“I don't know,” I lied. “It's just prettier.”
The wind blew on our faces, it wasn't strong, but I could still feel it.
That's one of the few little things I dislike about godhood. I barely feel anything unless I physically force myself to.
So staring at things is my new favorite hobby. If I see, I feel. Simple math.
The clouds formed wonderful shapes as they slowly moved through the sky. They made me think of hands. And with that sunset, it seemed as though the cloud hands were presenting the rose-shaped sun to me.
How silly, I almost wanted to pick it.
I pause my daydreaming when I see Seawatt walking forward and sitting down at the edge, his feet tangling onto the orange and magenta colored void, and do the same.
My fingers tap onto the sides. 7 times, with a few seconds of pause in-between.I like calling this place the edge of the universe, but Seawatt thinks it's corny. Maybe it is?
I notice him glancing down, but not towards the civilization below. Just towards the void.
He stares down and I feel dread.
“I don't see the point in any of this,” he interlocks his fingers together, his left leg bounces a bit. “... Staying alive again, I mean.”
I sigh, at least this topic won't be that depressing like usual. “Well, I mean, it's all about living everyday to the fullest, right? It's how it always is.”
“But what do you do when your life purpose is done? What do you do when you walk past the end?”
I glance at his face, he looks desperate, for some reason. “You make a new purpose, Sea. You always make a new purpose.”
“I… I want to, but—” He stops himself, shaking his head. “... The purpose I want can't happen. Not anymore.”
I hum in response, I know he won't tell me, so no point in arguing.
I glance at the civilization, I can see the champion jumping around, struggling to create brand new towers.
And I feel Seawatt’s eyes on me.
“... You should confess to him, y'know.”
I glance at him, expecting him to be pouting, but instead, he looks serious. Not a hint of teasing.
“He doesn't like me like that,” I shrugged.
“And yet you changed the whole universe for him.” He begins, I can tell he's gonna rant. “You paint the sky with brand new stars all the time, Evbo.”
Before he can continue, I interrupt. “I changed the sun as well.”
“What difference does that make?” He rolled his eyes. “You may as well have changed it for him too.”
“That's what you think…” I look at the sky again. “... But that's not the case.”
“... Then? What is it?”
I breathe in the air, there's a nice scent coming from my left.
I like Seawatt’s appearance. He looks so delicate, almost like a…
“Some flowers bloom during sunrises.”
He stays quiet, and looks back to the sky, now staring at the lowering sun.
“... You do all this work for flowers?”
I chuckled, “Just one. Sunrises and sunsets symbolize new beginnings, after all.”
“All this work for a mere flower…” He mutters. I pause and think of how to reply.
Hey, Sea?
You're not a burden to me.
I think you're wonderful.
You're wonderful because you're flawed.
Because I know you just wanted control in your life.
Because I know you just wanted to be happy.
So, I want us to get to know each other better from now on, okay?
I'll be your sunset if you'll be my sunrise.
I promise.
I breathe in,
“... It's my apology,” I began. “My apology for letting it die before.”
There was silence, I didn't look at Seawatt’s face, and just kept tapping my fingers 7 times.
The sound of the wind was nice, it helped fill the air. Maybe without it this situation would be more awkward.
Then, Seawatt speaks, his voice softer than usual. “... And… I'm sure… The flower regrets everything it did before.”
“Then I suggest,” I tilted my head to the side. “That the flower begins learning to love itself, it's a good start to show change.”
Seawatt chuckled, that may be the first time I ever heard that sound. It's… So innocent. So genuine. So perfect.
I wonder if that is how he sounded before all of this mess.
I hope to get to hear him laugh one day.
“It’ll do its best.”
I nod in response, my left hand slowly nudging farther, until I feel something warm next to my pinky.
Seawatt’s finger interlocks with mine, it's so warm, just like the sun. My sun.
“Hey, Eve?” I hum, and he continues “Thank you.”
I smile, and when I finally look at him, he isn't smiling with his lips, but with his eyes. They look like perfect half-moons.
“You're welcome, Sea.” The sky is getting darker, and now the stars reflect on his pupils. “Anytime.”
The end.