Big Book Of Sjips One Shots

The Sunset's Last Rays

TW: Angst

Sips awoke to a blinding light. Stumbling blindly out of bed, he closed the curtain with an irritable grumble. He had obviously forgotten to close them after last night's... activities. Turning back, he regarded his sleeping partner with a loving smile. Sjin whined quietly, his dexterous hands searching the sheets for a handsome lumberjack to snuggle into. Sips relented, climbing back into their bed. He pulled the unconscious architect close, revelling in his sleepy sigh of happiness. Sjin opened his eyes, immediately grinning at the sight of Sips. ' Morning Sipsy.'

'Morning Sjin.' Sips smirked at him, pressing his lips to his forehead. Sjin stretched luxuriously, the sheets falling away to reveal his hairless chest. 'That was fun.' They both knew what he was referring to. 'Yeah, it was.' Sips was smiling on the outside, but his insides were in turmoil. Despite the love he felt for Sjin, for all his friends, he was going to leave them. He wanted to get out and experience the universe for himself, instead of listening to the stories Xephos told them after a few beers. He felt trapped here, almost bored in a way. Being the CEO of a dirt company was all well and good, especially with such a useful partner. But there were other places out there, beyond Minecraftia, where he could be someone else who wasn't a big dumb baby.

'Hey.' Sjin reclaimed his attention. During his musings, the architect had dressed and was tapping his foot impatiently. 'Let's get to work, Boss. The dirt won't shift itself.'

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It was midday. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun beat mercilessly down upon them. After a seriously mediocre morning of moving dirt to and from delivery trucks, the two of them decided to have a well earned dip in the company pool. Sips chilled in his deck chair while Sjin showed off his spectacular swimming skills. The lumberjack sighed. He'd have to tell him. 'Hey Sjin. Can we talk a sec?' His voice shook only a little, but Sjin picked up on it instantly. He clambered out of the pool, and seated himself beside Sips. He took Sips' hand in both of his, and whispered. 'What's up, Sipsy?' Sips could see in his beautiful blue eyes that he was scared, and that only made what he had to say harder. 'I, err... I'm leaving.'

'What do you mean leaving? Like on a business trip?'

'Not really. I'm... leaving Minecraftia.' Sips cringed inwardly at the look on Sjin's face. The architect was silent for a moment, processing. 'Why?' Was all he asked.

'Because I want to.' Because I don't want to be just Sips. Because I want to see what's out there. Because I want to see what I've been missing. Sips couldn't think of a way to explain it to Sjin. When he'd left to start his farm all those months ago, he said he'd left to get some space. This wasn't the same. Sips wasn't going to discover who he was. He was going to discover what else he could be.

'When are you going?' Sjin murmured, squeezing Sips' hand slightly. 'Sunset.' Sips had to leave today, or he'd never go through with it. 'Well, you'd better pack.' And with that, Sjin let go of his hand and walked away. Sips stared after him in confusion. There was no way he would take it that well. When Sjin left, it had destroyed Sips for the longest time, and he'd been unable to forgive him. But Sjin was right. He needed to get his stuff together.

He headed into the sorting facility, fished a rucksack out of one of the chests, and began to pack. He got logs, pork chops, apples, a sword, a pick, an axe, and all the gubbins he would need to start afresh in a new world. He was so engrossed in what he was doing, he didn't notice Sjin watching him from the doorway. 'Sips, you can't leave.' His soft voice brought Sips out of his trance. 'You're important here. What about Sipsco?'

'I've hired some people. They'll take care of it while I'm away.'

'What about our friends?'

'They don't need me to hold their hands. Even the cookie corp can look after itself.'

'...What about me?' That stopped Sips in his tracks. He whirled around to face Sjin. A tear worked its way into his glorious facial hair, followed by several more. In two steps Sips crossed the room and caught Sjin in an embrace. 'Sjin...'

'What about me, Sips?' He sobbed into his shoulder. 'You're leaving me behind. I love you Sips, and you're just going to go?'

'I love you too, Sjin. More than anything. But I need to do this.' Sips curled himself tighter around his lover. 'I wanna find a place where I can be a hero. Maybe there's a place that's being attacked by dragons and they need someone to ice some jokers.' Sjin giggled despite the tears. Sips kept going. 'Maybe there's a city or country that needs a leader to make all the tough decisions, like whether to build a massive oil refinery or a dirt factory.'

'I'd choose the dirt factory any day, Sips.'

'Hell yeah you would.' Sjin chuckled again, hugging Sips closer. He grinned and swept on. 'But that's the thing Sjin. I know who I am, I'm good old Sips, CEO of Sipsco.'

'The most handsome and brave man I've ever met.'

'You know it. But I don't know who else I could be. Like you're an architect, and a farmer. What else is out there for old Sipsy?' He grimaced determinedly. 'And since it's not here, it's gotta be somewhere else. And I wanna find it.'

Sjin wiped his eyes. 'If you're sure Sips.'

'I am. And I'm sorry. But I wanna do this alone.'

'That's fine. I'll leave you to pack. I'll be upstairs when you're done. Can we spend one more day together? Before you go?' He gave his biggest puppy dog eyes, and Sips didn't have the heart to say no. 'Mothertrucking dragons wouldn't keep me away.'

Sjin giggled again and left. Sips quickly finished his packing, and crafted a boat. He placed it in the water outside the compound and tethered his pack to it, ready for the journey. He ran back to his skyscraper, taking the stairs two at a time to spend one last half day with his favourite architect.

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The sun was low in the sky. Sips absently stroked Sjin's hair, relishing in the small noises of satisfaction he made. Sighing, he sat up, pulling Sjin up with him. He held him close, savouring the last moment. 'It's time.' He murmured, kissing Sjin's cheek softly. He heard him sniff once, then received a kiss in return. 'Better get dressed then. We can't have you travelling like that.' The architect sniggered, throwing his blue spacesuit at him. They took their time dressing, trying to prolong the inevitable. With the sun half dipped below the horizon, they found themselves at Sips' little boat. Sips pulled Sjin into his arms for one last kiss. All too soon it was over, and Sips was in his boat, getting ready to cast off. Sjin untied the pack, and threw it to him. The boat caught the current, and slowly, began to float towards the setting sun. 'I love you Sjin!' Sips called out to his lover, who was racing along the coast to get a better view from the hill. 'I love you too Sips! Promise you'll come back some day!' The wind carried his pitiful shout to him. 'I promise!' He stood up and waved.

As he stared back at Sjin, he saw other figures join him in waving. His friends had come to see him off. A sudden gust of wind signalled the arrival of two mischievous demi-gods, who sped him surely towards the fast setting sun. 'See ya later suckers! I'll be back to kick your asses later!' He laughed, waving one last time before he faded into stardust.

To the onlookers on the hill, it seemed that the sunset's last rays made him glow with beautiful energy, before the light of the world disappeared into adventure.

Credit to CyanLyan on Ao3