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Procedural walks were of great importance. Each time, Evbo would take the same path. He'd open the door to the room and check if everyone who was supposed to be there was there.
He prided himself on his efficiency, on his self-control.
Then, he'd be on to the next. He'd nod as his workers greeted him in the hallway with respect. If they didn't, he'd remember their face and ID. Full names were too personal to include in his reservoir.
Each Evbo was made of lines of code. He was one of them. Although rejected, forgotten. Ones and zeros made up his every movement. He was aware of this, so he acted like it. He could be dissected, grouped into commands that formed paragraphs that formed his mind and body.
His eyes did not linger on any of his subordinates. If they did, he would be wasting his energy and time. They all wore the same uniforms, the same polite smiles. If any of them stuck out like a sore thumb, they would be gone by the end of the week.
Anything to shave off miscalculations from the process. Anything to get him to his goal as soon as possible. Evbo had gotten obsessed with his purpose, with power. It was the only thing that had ever been real.
Seawatt was on the other end of the hallway. Evbo remembered his name. Evbo remembered his face. He was barely competent enough to keep around. He was merely one of the many fools that worked for him. Despite his flaws, he had not crossed enough of a line yet. It was not excusable to get rid of him.
Evbo did not feel anything. He was not real. Even if he felt something, it would be invalidated by the lack of reason for his continued existence. He did not have a role to play. He did not have an audience to watch him fumble with his emotions.
Seawatt smiled when he noticed Evbo.
He never smiled back. It was an acknowledgement of who was in charge. They all worked for him, and in exchange, they'd get their peace of mind once they were out of sight.
For how annoying Seawatt was, he imagined his sharp grin did not fall from his face as quickly as it would for others.
Seawatt was smart. He climbed up the ranks suspiciously quickly, though such success did not get rewarded. Evbo was rightfully wary of him.
Evbo took in his meticulously styled hair. He was holding his helmet in his left arm. If he asked why he had it off, he wouldn't hear a productive reason, so he refrained from it. A buzzing feeling made itself apparent within Evbo’s gut.
Seawatt opened his mouth to greet him.
Evbo had lied about having self-control.
Once he was near enough, he fisted the fabric of Seawatt’s suit within his right hand. Tightly, he tugged a confused Seawatt down the hallway. Seawatt forwent resisting the sudden force, which made Evbo’s head briefly calm.
He knew which room was empty and unlocked. He opened the door, shoved Seawatt inside, and shut it behind them. The helmet clattered to the ground. Darkness engulfed Seawatt’s features.
Evbo remembered them. His smooth brown skin, the wavy hair framing his forehead, his long eyelashes, his dark make-up, the mole under his left eye, his sharp nose, and the soft line of his mouth.
A hint of Seawatt’s eyes could be made out in the darkness. They were left wide open. Although he was visibly bewildered, Seawatt neglected to ask questions.
Unlike him, Evbo wasn't one to waste away in silence. "You are frustrating."
"...What?" Seawatt shuffled back. After two to three measly steps, his back hit the wall with a thud. The room had gotten abandoned because it had been too cramped to operate in.
Evbo moved forward, crowding him. "You take up many roles, you are particular and secretive, you work while others take breaks." His eyes adjusted to the dark as he spoke.
A defensive expression flashed across Seawatt’s face, gone soon after. It was all Evbo needed to be sure in his skepticism.
"I'm only doing my job, Boss," Seawatt responded banally.
"Right, you are. But I have reasons to distrust your character." Evbo leaned closer accusingly. The humidity of Seawatt’s breath brushed his skin. He could sense it picking up.
Evbo's gaze flickered over to the hand picking at Seawatt’s sleeve in unease. "I’m sorry, Boss. I believe I haven't done anything. Not on purpose, I apologize for any inconvenience." The color reflecting off Evbo’s headband couldn't be why Seawatt’s skin was flushing red.
Evbo hummed inquisitively. He watched Seawatt’s Adam’s apple bob with a gulp. He was so close. He wouldn't have to expend even a smidge of effort if he wanted to...
"Sure, not yet." Evbo engaged eye contact. Seawatt failed critically at reciprocating, piling onto the many signs of dishonesty. "But I am of the opinion that you need a warning before you end up sticking your fingers somewhere you shouldn't."
Seawatt frowned. In retrospect, exacerbated by how they were positioned, it had sounded like an innuendo. It was uncharacteristically challenging for Evbo to restrict his thoughts from running wild with it.
"Noted," Seawatt muttered. His eyes ran over Evbo’s dry face with sudden interest. A worried line in his brow perpetuated the blatancy of how much he was failing to hide his anxiety. It made Evbo’s goals feel far less endangered. "I’ll remember that... Boss."
Evbo did not give back the space he had taken away. Seawatt was effectively trapped against the wall. Unless he shoved him aside, which would result in a horrible fate, he had to stay there. Seawatt waited for his conclusion, fiddling with his fingers absently.
Seawatt was an interesting subject to study. Of course, Evbo only ever studied the other Evbos. Their strengths, their weaknesses. What made them boring or entertaining, what encapsulated the viewer or what made them look away. But before Evbo could stop it, Seawatt had taken up a chunk of his mental storage.
It frustrated him, the fact that an innocuous ant amidst the inferior players on his server captivated him enough. If he was being honest with himself, he'd admit that suspicion wasn't the only reason he dragged Seawatt behind a closed door.
He wanted to collect more details about him. Perhaps with a hands-on approach. For example, how it would feel to run his fingers through the roots of his hair. How it would feel to have those eyelashes flutter against his skin. How it would feel to slide his fingers down the nape of his neck.
Seawatt had no right invading his calculated thoughts like that. When he passed Seawatt in the hallway, it made him yearn to break his routine. It was distracting. So Evbo gave in, just to see what it would bring.
Seawatt was... carefully pliant under him. Evbo had been standing there in silence this entire time, and not a complaint reached his ears yet. He wondered how long Seawatt would stand it.
Slowly and wordlessly, Evbo reached up with his right hand, placing it on the wall behind Seawatt, beside his head. Seawatt inched away, undecided on whether he should be keeping track of Evbo or the hand unsafely near. "Boss?" He asked, before Evbo gripped his shoulder with his left hand and pinned him down.
He ignored Seawatt’s inquiry. "Do you mind being so close to me?" He asked impassively. His thumb brushed the rough cloth of Seawatt’s uniform.
Seawatt shook his head. "N-No. Of course not."
"Tell me the truth." Evbo’s eyes narrowed.
Seawatt reared his head back. He pushed it against the concrete. "I... don't know," he admitted, pensive.
Interesting. Evbo wasn't pleased with the answer, it was too vague. But it invited more questions. "What if I got closer?"
"I couldn't stop you," Seawatt responded, his voice quieting, as if sharing a secret.
"Couldn't, or wouldn't?" Evbo fought the urge to lean towards Seawatt’s warmth.
"..." Seawatt, begrudgingly, did not respond. He pursed his lips. Evbo considered them. They were unmarked, well-cared for.
"Answer."
"Wouldn’t," Seawatt blurted out. It seemed Evbo’s composure was making him nervous. In all fairness, it was spinning his head as well, but he was much better at stuffing it down.
"Good," he assessed.
Seawatt was an anomaly in Evbo’s system, he realized. Seawatt made him feel things. Seawatt made him remember menial information. Seawatt made him want more than to become the best version of himself. But it was far too late for Evbo to scrap him.
Evbo, for all his superior qualities, owned many that could have driven his creator away. He had gotten attached.
Evbo's left hand let go of Seawatt. Now, he could free himself if he desired. Evbo knew he wouldn't. It traveled up to his chin, it grabbed his face. Evbo dug his fingers into Seawatt’s cheeks. He couldn't look away anymore.
"What if I kissed you?"
Seawatt's eyes widened a fraction. In them swam a thousand different reactions. Seawatt was torn, but if he was consistent, he would indulge just as Evbo had.
Evbo softened his hold to allow him to speak. It didn't take him long to take the hint.
"Do it."
In the heat of everything, Evbo let out a low noise. The feeling was blinding like no other sensation he'd experienced. He drank up the contact, gladly trading spit with the most likely traitor amongst his sheep. Evbo would claw at Seawatt’s eagerness until there would be nothing left. He pulled away.
"I thought of it, Seawatt. I thought of stringing you above a lava pit and letting you fall as I exposed you." He felt, intimately, a shiver of terror making its way down Seawatt’s spine. He relished in the effect his words had.
"But I couldn't do it." He glared. Fury filled up his lungs, causing every fiery breath to burn in his throat. "I couldn't rid myself of you. I just had to get a taste. I had to see you exactly like this." Evbo’s hand tugged at the end of Seawatt’s hair.
Seawatt was panting pathetically. Despite looming over him in height, he was looking at him through his bottom lashes and fear brimmed on his bright, naive face. It made Evbo satisfied, disgusted, and empowered all the same.
"Please don't kill me," Seawatt whispered, squeezing his eyes shut.
"I couldn't."
Evbo tugged him into another rough kiss, taking Seawatt and sliding him to the right until he was literally cornered, shoulders digging into each wall.
"You’re the worst thing that's ever worked for me." Evbo mumbled into his mouth. Seawatt whimpered. There was no guarantee he was even listening. "You disarm me. You didn't even mean to, but you already had me playing into your hands."
One of his palms snaked up Seawatt’s uniform, feeling the heated skin. The other had been wrapping around his neck delicately, unthreateningly, until it squeezed. Seawatt's eyes widened before he began scratching at Evbo’s hand, trying to free himself in vain.
"I should make you pay for that," Evbo said. "I should flick you off of me like the bug you are."
"B-But- You-" Evbo tightened his grip around his throat. The argument died in Seawatt’s mouth.
"I don't care what I did." Evbo squinted in repulsion. "What are you planning? You think of yourself as some God, huh? You get to decide what happens with the simulations, don't you, Seawatt?"
Evbo, misplaced in his loathing, lost his strength for a crucial moment, which Seawatt used to suck in a desperate breath. "Tell me," Evbo leaned closer. "What fate have you in store for me?"
Seawatt, using his regained clarity to his advantage, shoved Evbo off of him. "Get off me!" He shouted. Pained, scared, and cathartic. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not planning anything, especially for you." He brushed his bruised neck with shaking fingertips.
Evbo laughed, which was new. "You’re an awful liar."
Seawatt wormed around Evbo, going for the door. Evbo latched onto him before he could run off like the coward he was. He slammed him back against the wall.
"Don’t bail on me." He caged him, keeping him in place by his biceps.
"Fuck you," Seawatt grunted, scowling at him with evident hatred.
Seawatt's sudden confidence washed over Evbo. It filled him, strangely, with excitement.
He let a small smile fight its way onto his face as he moved near. He had to rid himself of the inexplicable need to kiss Seawatt silly in the most efficient way. By doing it.
Seawatt groaned, hands fighting around Evbo’s restraints to reach for him. Despite his attempt at escaping, he accepted Evbo’s advances like they were anything but unordinary.
Evbo pressed up against him. He lapped at Seawatt’s mouth. He let Seawatt wrap his arms around his waist. He messed with his hair until it was unrecognizable.
After a depraved amount of overindulgence, he pulled away.
Seawatt's tense gaze made his heart jump in his chest. He heard the alarm in his head blaring.
"I... I'm sorry." Seawatt muttered. It came out worn. The worst element of it was Evbo’s uncertainty about what it meant.
All of his satisfaction faded. Their game turned old disappointingly quickly. Seawatt's guilt, all on display, awoke him with a slap across his face. Seawatt had let himself get vulnerable. If Evbo didn't put an end to it, he would soon follow, and then it would break apart.
Evbo bit the inside of his mouth. "This was a mistake."
He stepped backwards. Seawatt's hand twitched to follow him, but it didn't.
After he watched the movement, he looked up, staring at Seawatt. Seawatt stared back.
Evbo swiveled around. He turned the door handle. There were no hands tugging at his clothes desperately. There were no attempts at stopping him.
"Forget this happened," he spoke to the door. "Or I’ll make sure someone kills you."
Seawatt didn't respond. Though Evbo could hear his clothes rustle behind him. He took his silence as an agreement.
Evbo slammed the door shut and didn't look back, only letting himself frown once he was far enough. He decided to forget his routine. He made his way to his private office instead of the next simulation room.
No one would have to find out.