7 Shades of Sin

Sloth

     Sloth is lazy. He smiles at the thought. Yes, he is, and even though he doesn't have a physical body in this world, he can still enjoy the odd hammock or two. He's currently in the backyard of some human's house, procrastinating as he usually does.
     He doesn't really see the point in the whole ordeal, but since Gluttony's decided to participate, Sloth might as well join. A few times, the thought crosses his mind that perhaps he should start looking for a human.
     He has the hope that perhaps they'll just let him stay out of this. Sloth can't say that he has no interest whatsoever in this contest or that he doesn't want the title of most deadly. He does. It's just that he wishes it didn't require so much effort.
     Who has the time?
     Just the thought of doing something makes him tired and he just can't be bothered right now. Plus, the human world is so interesting that it'll be a waste if he doesn't enjoy it since he never comes here anymore.
     That in itself requires energy. Energy that he doesn't want to expend. Even this world, with its beautiful skies and funny little species running around, Sloth can't bring himself to care too much. One might argue that, perhaps, he's the most mellow of the sins.
     After all, he can't very well compare with unpredictable Anger or intoxicating Lust, with Greed's heady avarice or even his twin brother, Gluttony. Vanity outshines him with her obsession and Envy is the manipulative beast she is. Meanwhile…Sloth is…lazy, he supposes.
     Sometimes, it takes all his energy to complete a sente…
     What, exactly, is so deadly about a little procrastination? Or perhaps losing the will to continue living? After all, waking up everyday and having to function is so tiring. Sloth thinks that if he weren't immortal, he'd be long dead by now, simply because he doesn't see the joy in living.
     All these happy, living people on earth are complicated codes that are impossible to crack or scientific discoveries that have yet to be understood. They don't make sense, in other words. And honestly, Sloth doesn't want to waste precious time trying to make sense of the world.
     To put it simply, Sloth is dangerous because he causes people to stop caring. When you don't care about something, you hardly ever try, and when the thing in question is your life…well, just kiss it goodbye, why don't you?
     Sloth smiles slowly, eyelids half-lowered as he stares at the sunrise, with it's eyestabbingly bright colors spread carelessly across the horizon. In his opinion, the sun needs to calm down. He drapes himself over someone's bench on their porch and watches the sun's progress.
     It's another hour before the serenity is disturbed.
     Sloth's startled as the door suddenly bangs open and a small girl and boy run out and down the steps. A man with a mop of sandy blond hair and thick black glasses steps out after them, an amused smile painting his face.
     "Hey, Wendy! Slow down, alright? And stay close to Tyler!" The little girl turns and nods before reaching out and grabbing her brother's hand. They head down to the bus stop as the man watches them.
     Sloth feels an irritated frown tug at his face. Who gave these people authority to disturb his musings?
     "They'll be alright, Arthur." The man, Arthur, turns as his partner comes out and places a hand on his shoulder.
     "I don't know. This'll be their first day at school for awhile now. I'm so glad we found them when we did, you know?"
     "Yeah." His husband nods, bangs falling into his eyes. "They looked so happy when we said we'd adopt both of them. I can't imagine how it might've been for them to be without parents for so long. Their biological parents don't deserve them."
     "Everybody deserves another chance, Charlie."
     Charlie frowns. "Not the people who abandoned Tyler and Wendy." He sighs. "I need more coffee."
     "Yeah, you do. I say it'll be another two cups before you're a functional human being." Arthur jokes and nudges Charlie back into the house. They're cute together, Sloth supposes. Arthur's obviously the more positive of the two; he clearly loves life and all it gives him, which makes sense because it's given him Charlie.
     Sloth wonders if Arthur would still have that smile on his face if he lost his love for life. What will happen to Arthur if someone extinguishes his rays of sunshine and takes the joy out of his world? It's certainly an interesting question.
     It reminds Sloth of the science experiments in the schools he's visited. Hmm. The controls are Arthur and Charlie, Tyler and Wendy, and their little town. The independent variable is Sloth's influence and the dependent variable…well, that's the fun part, isn't it? That's the unknown.
     For the first time in forever--funny, that sounds like a song he's heard before--Sloth feels something like…curiosity. Can it be that Arthur and his little family have actually intrigued this ancient sin?
     In all his countless years, there have only been a few things that have caught Sloth's attention, just because he's Sloth. When you're immortal, things cease to surprise you after awhile and just existing becomes too dull. If someone were to honestly describe what it's like to know you'll never die, they'd most likely include something about hopelessness.
     For someone like Sloth, being immortal is more a curse than blessing, because it's one thing to grow tired of living and it's another to be trapped for eternity, never being able to move on. By no means is Sloth the most honest of the sins--he's pretty sure none of them are--but he'll tell it to you straight.
     One of the reasons why his siblings wreak havoc in the human world is that they provide a meager source of entertainment that help them stay sane. Sometimes it's hard. He'll admit it. It's hard to know that the world will go on, and even the mildly interesting humans will someday disappear while he's still stuck in the very place he wants to leave.
     No, he's not suicidal. It's hard to be when you can't kill yourself. Still, at times, Sloth envies humans. He finds himself feeling the emotion far too often for a sin that's supposed to be lazy, and he suspects Envy is behind it. Either way, he thinks that mortals don't appreciate the very thing they fear.
     Death.
     The mysterious void that Sloth will never explore. It's a release from the monotonous world that holds nothing new. Even Arthur's dazzling outlook on life will not save him from the dull dragging of each day. Neither his sunny personality nor his beloved Charlie will be able to deliver him from the sin of Sloth.
     Sloth doesn't attack. He doesn't invade. He merely lounges in the back of Arthur's mind, lending him his thoughts and opinions.
     He doesn't force Arthur to do anything. He just wills him to lose interest in his life.
     It's very slow and gradual progress, and it'd be a boring job even for someone who isn't the embodiment of laziness. Arthur has his mind set on properly raising two children with his spouse, and it's almost like his resolves are set in stone.
     Sloth can't get through his determination or love. See, unlike lust or infatuation, love is a phenomenon that creates bonds stronger than steel and ties more complicated than boy scout knots. True love or not, Arthur's life is filled with every aspect of the emotion. 
     There's the most obvious type of love: romantic love. Charlie is the only man that can occupy that special space in Arthur's heart. They'd met in college and had immediately hit it off. They know each other's strengths--word searches, Harry Potter trivia, geometry--and weaknesses--singing, dieting, and biology.
     Arthur knows Charlie's special tickle spot (a small area on his left inner thigh), and Charlie knows exactly what movie will always make the waterworks come for Arthur ('Life is Beautiful' from 1997). They both remember that time they got caught making out by their teacher--something they've all agreed to keep secret.
     They've been through so much together, through heartbreak and loss and countless tears. Through it all, their relationship has strengthened and solidified into something stable. It's something you watch in movies or read in books and wish that you could have. Arthur and Charlie have that, and they intend on never letting it go.
     Not even death can separate them. Though perhaps Sloth can.
     The next type of love Arthur has is the love of a mother. His dear old mom will go to the ends of the earth for her son, even if it hurts to look at him. He looks just like his father, who'd died serving the country he loved so much. (It all comes down to love, really.)
     His mother has loved him since the moment she held him in her arms. She always has, even when he was yelling at her or saying hateful things. How can she not? He's her little boy, even if he's twenty-seven, not seven.
     She cared for him when he first came out and supported him when he got his first boyfriend. She's been there for him since the day she gave birth to him. She's endured the diapers and tantrums, puberty and voice cracks, his sexual orientation and marriage, and finally, his decision to adopt.
     A mother's love is one of the deepest and purest forms of love that exists. It comes with no conditions or exceptions. It is absolute and everlasting.
     The third type of love Arthur has experienced is the deep affection held for friends and pets. The people that surround him are dear to him. His best friend, Cassin, has known him since they were both in diapers. She's put up with his stupid jokes and moments of overwhelming emotion, and he's dealt with her unhealthy obsession with certain shows and bands.
     She's the one that taught him the noun 'fangirl' (along with the verb 'fangirling'), and he's the one that loudly criticized her unfortunate fashion choices in middle through high school. Hell, even in elementary, he'd known enough about colors to acknowledge that the absolutely atrocious blend of her throw-up-green shirt and bright orange pants was unacceptable.
     As for pets, Arthur has never been one for dogs. Cats just seem so much more…sophisticated. They make you try and don't slobber around for attention like those blobs of energy. They fit with Arthur's personality more.
     Tyler was his sidekick when he was about twelve. The cat had been a grey tabby with intelligent blue eyes and the softest tail in existence that he would trail under Arthur's chin. He'd curl up with the boy and sometimes, it seemed like he knew whenever his owner needed cheering up. They'd been nearly inseparable and Cassin had joked that he'd replaced her.
     At age 21, Arthur learned the lesson of loss firsthand. He'd been to funerals before, of course. Great-grandparents, when he was younger, then a grandmother he hadn't really known and a few old relatives. He'd been lucky to never know anyone who committed suicide, nor had he ever attended a funeral for a classmate.
     He understood the concept of grief, but he hadn't really, truly feel it until the night his beloved cat stumbled into the corner of his room, painfully lied down, and drifted off into a deep sleep he'd never wake up from.
     Arthur knew that he lived a privileged life, and that it was actually a good thing that the first death he'd gotten shaken up about is his cat's, but that thought wasn't enough to be comforting. It may have sounded stupid to other people, but the loss of Tyler prevented him from being able to focus in life anymore.
     He mourned the death of his longtime faithful companion, his cat that was better than any dog. He pulled away from his family and friends, choosing to immerse himself into studies he no longer cared about.
     And that was when he met Charlie, the one man who turned his life around and gave it new meaning. And now, six years later, they're happily married and still having amazing, mind-blowing s…inging. Contests.
     Now, they've brought the circle of life around and have adopted two children. That brings the fourth type of love into Arthur's life. The love of a child.
     The day he and Charlie go to an orphanage, a young boy named Tyler immediately catches his eye. Even without the name, the child resembles his old friend so much it brings tears to his eyes. This Tyler has the same childish curiosity reflected in his soft blue eyes and the shy smile that reveals a dimple. They adopt him and his younger sister, Wendy, who has reddish hair instead of light blond.
     Before they leave, Arthur looks back and sees a boy with ruffled black hair and the most curious green eyes he's ever seen. The boy spares him a glance that's filled with countless emotions before turning away. That boy still makes his way into Arthur's thoughts now and then.
     Arthur devotes himself to being the best father a kid can ask for. It's not hard to love Tyler and Wendy. They both carry a spark inside them that make them see the bright side of everything. Arthur and Charlie ignite each others fires and keep each other going.
     Arthur has more than enough reasons to never give up and to make it through life. His life is a fairytale, written by a kind author and read by people who need something to take them away from their own shitty lives.
     There are people who depend on him and people he needs to live. Charlie, his mother, Cassin, Tyler, and Wendy. People who are everything. Only a monster would take him away from them.
     Then it's lucky--or really, unlucky--that Sloth is a monster.
     Arthur finds himself lapsing back into his way of thinking during the dark times of his life after Tyler left him. He starts caring less and less, and puts off shaving and combing his hair. Charlie immediately takes notice, because the Arthur he knows would never let his personal hygiene suffer even a little. His husband hates greasy hair.
     He's always been a passive person, but lately, he's been more withdrawn. He chooses to avoid discussions and conflicts. Perhaps he's just not feeling well?
     It's apparently a bigger issue than that, because when he asks, "Are you tired?," Arthur replies, "tired of your bullshit." What's even more puzzling is that he says it in a completely neutral tone with no poisonous venom in his voice.
     "What?"
     "I need you to take it down a couple notches. I just…I don't understand how you can be so incredibly oppressive. Always nagging at me to get up when that stupid alarm goes off and I just…I need a break."
     "Oh. Er, we're in the middle of the year, so I don't really think a vacation--"
     "Forget it." Arthur snaps irritably before settling back onto the couch, evidently tired of talking. He stays there and refuses to move until it's time to sleep. Even then, it takes a certain amount of coaxing from Charlie to get him to bed.
     Tyler and Wendy are told that their dad is not feeling well and to head to school the next morning. Charlie feels as if he's overreacting a little, and maybe Arthur's change in personality is really just due to the stress he's been feeling.
     That still doesn't fully explain why he's stopped taking care of himself and taking sick days from work, even when he's clearly not sick. As days turn into weeks, Charlie comes to suspect that perhaps this matter isn't just a stage of going through stress.
     It's like Arthur is reverting back into his old way of viewing things in the period of depression in his life. It feels like he's stopped trying.
     Charlie's at a loss, because Arthur hasn't been depressed for so many years now that it's a thing of the past. He can't think of anything that might trigger such behavior. Of course, Sloth knows exactly why he's acting this way, but he may be the only one.
     Arthur is aware of his own lack of interest in life but it doesn't scare him as much as it should. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he's had some dark times in his life, but he just feels resigned.
     He participates less and less in activities, much to Charlie's concern. A few months into Sloth's stay with him, he doesn't go to Tyler's soccer game. It's the first game he's missed since his son started. Wendy's parent conference is pushed onto Charlie's shoulders.
     Not much can rouse Arthur to do anything anymore. His husband's words fall on deaf ears and his own children have to beg him to spend time with them. It's disorienting and incredibly painful for Charlie to see his drop of sunlight fall from the sky and leave his world in darkness.
     Soon, Arthur runs out of excuses to avoid work or leaving his room. They've ranged from headaches to colds to stomachaches, but Charlie's starting to see through them. His husband isn't sick, at least not physically.
     It's hard for all of them, even the children. They can tell something is wrong when their father barely touches his meals and wanders around the house in his crumpled pajamas with a blank look on his face. As time passes, they see him less and less.
     Charlie takes over as a single parent, even though he's supposed to have a partner in this battle. Therapists and doctor appointments that he has to drag Arthur to don't help at all. After a particularly useless visit with Linda the 'therapist', Arthur flat out refuses to go to any more.
     Life to him is a blur that goes at a snail's pace. The worst oxymoron he's ever experienced.
     He stops getting out of bed altogether. His personal hygiene would've already gone to hell if it isn't for Charlie, who forces him into the shower and makes him dress himself. His husband almost can't recognize this sluggish man with the one person he loves for all eternity.
     How has so much changed in the past few months, and where has the real Arthur gone?
     He's half convinced that Arthur has been kidnapped by aliens and that he's actually talking to a clone every night. Unfortunately, he doubts that theory is true, because Arthur still lights up occasionally when Harry Potter is mentioned and there are undeniable tears in his eyes when the topic of his late cat is brought up.
     Even Arthur's mother can't jolt some sense into him. Cassin, who comes to visit for the holidays, mistakes her childhood friend for a haggard community project. It's no secret that their family takes in strays all the time, but it's still a slap to Charlie's face, because it shows just how much he's changed.
     Despite it all, Charlie can't bring himself to admit that perhaps Arthur isn't the best thing for their family right now. His husband is supposed to be the closest person to him in the entire world, even if it feels like he's a million miles away.
     Arthur's mom has suggested that he come live with her for awhile, 'just until he can find his place in the world again.' But Charlie can't just abandon him. Not when Arthur needs him the most. After all, they've always been there for each other.
     However, their children are a different matter. It's not good for them to grow up in the same house with a father who doesn't care.
     It's the ultimate test as both a lover and a father. The choice between love and responsibility and loyalty.
     Sloth is sure that Charlie will make the right choice because these humans are all so decent it makes him gag. He was right, however. It's no more fun to inflict pain and misery on this species than it is to just sit on the side and watch them suffer.
     Their feelings just prove to confuse him even more and make his head hurt. If Gluttony were here, he'd say that it was just his own brain trying to comprehend his own stupidity. Even though all the insults and barbs of the world pass right over his head harmlessly, Gluttony loves to tease him.
     Oh, his brother and his jokes. He even told him once that he was adopted. Sloth, a deadly sin. Adopted.
     Whatever. Sloth just wants it to be over. There's no doubt that some of his siblings won't stop until their humans are either dead or wish they are. For Sloth, enough is enough, so when Arthur moves in with his mother for the first time in years, he takes the memories he needs and leaves.
     The months that he spent in the mortal world are enough to keep him away for…oh, say…another half a century.