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Something just... clicked when Oli was around him.
He had noticed it the minute he left Eddie's blacksmith shop while heading towards the tavern. Something inside of him shifted back into place when he saw the man, Oli, he'd learn later, laying there.
'Oh,' he almost said. 'It's you.'
But he didn't because that was simply ridiculous. He shoved the fondness away like an old baby blanket as he helped him towards the tavern, but the nostolgia still wrapped around his shoulders as they playfully poked at each other.
It was weird. But it felt right.
So when Eddie caught him staring at the room he had just taken the man in, he offered to keep a watch on him. Sauasge greatly agreed.
The man woke up later in the day, causing quite the rucus. Laughing while apologizing to a drowsy Eddie. The man did not quiet when he and Sauasge ran into each other outside the door. In fact, Sausage would bet he got even louder.
"Oh-" its you!" The man's hazel eyes finished the sentence for him. "Sausage!" He exclaimed. "You're alive! Hallauah!"
He didn't even process that this man knew his name because it felt normal. Like he had heard the name from his mouth many times before.
The man took his arms and shook them while rambling about miracles and such, but Sausage was already swiftly swept away into another vision to hear any more.
Even when he returned panicked because of his vision, a part of him felt at home.
The feeling of belonging only remained as the two began to hang out more and more. Bantering with Oli felt like rambling with an old friend he hadn't seen in a while. His smile was infectious, and even his dumb jokes left Sausage crying for air.
They were busy people (see here; Sausage had Sanctuary to run. Oli had... Oli things to do), but they'd always manage to catch a sunet every once in a while. Sitting beside Oli after a hard day of work was nice. Oli would lean back and close his eyes as the sun took its time to set. Letting the last remains of warmth cover his body before opening his eyes to a dark sky.
Sausage liked watching the process the whole way. Seeing the sun paint everything orange before fading to a dark purple. It was quite a beautiful sight to see.
And then Sausage remembered.
He remembered everything.
Its as if he relived his previous lives in snap shots of it.
Living as an emperor who was too in deep over his head. Life as a grieving friend. Then he was a reunited angel. And an angel with all his past friends, and then something new after each death. Then he rose to be an angel again, leaving his life after life.
He remembered,
and when he came back to the present, there was no time to reveal this new-found knowledge as he was rushed to the closing rift portal. Peral gave him a knowingly look, 'I know' her eyes told him. 'Go, I know.' He sunk into the light that blinded him and awoke in a blank space.
Once he got help out of the blank space, he immediately rushed to his own Bubbles. Partly to make sure she had been okay while he was gone, but more importantly to talk about what he had just remembered. He couldn't just NOT talk about it.
Well, it's not like he was going to go around saying, "Oh, everyone, by the way, we've all been reincarnating, and I remember all of it!" People would think hes crazy! Crazyier than normal!!
But there was one name that was bubbling in his throat as he talked with Bubbles. A familiar one. An exception to the rules.
It blurted out of his mouth before he could really stop himself, "What about Oli? Can I tell Oli?"
Bubbles barked a resounding no. They could not risk it. Not so soon after all the rift had done to the peace of the world.
"No," Sausage breathed out. "Okay, I wont. Okay, that's fine! Keep to myself and live life normally like I have been."
So Sauasge will just keep it his little secret! Oli knows as well, but he doesn't know that Sausage knows, so it's not like it'll come up in conversation any time soon!
"Alright," he reassures himself. "I've got this."
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Knowledge of his past lives came up almost daily.
Because while he got to remember his past, it was a lot to remember! So some things just seemed to slip through the cracks of his hands until he saw something that reminded him of it.
Whether it was seeing a sunflower and remembering something about Pearl, or thinking of a building idea and stealing one of his old ideas.
It was weird talking to his friends sometimes. Sausage would go to make a joke only to realize that it hung off the context of a previous life and trying to abort a mission before it left his mouth.
Sometimes Sausage just wanted to tell them. To mention it offhandedly and explain the past to them. But he wouldn't. For the better good after all.
He could keep it to himself.
Other than ending their days with a sunset once in a while, they always planned a day where they could just act unresponsibly and get mighty drunk.
Oli was a funny drunk. Sure, he would sometimes ramble on about stories of people that had limited lives and changed every time they came back, but most of the time was spent laughing their butts off at some new relavations they had.
After their time at the travern, Sausage would usually help Oli back to his tent. Sometimes Oli shared a bed with Eddie afterwards, but usually they partied on the weekends, which meant going back to work the following day. So Sausage would stumble with him and tuck him in—an important part of being a good friend—and fly his way home.
That's usually how their party days went.
And that's how their day started out. Normal.
But when Sausage was handed Oli's treasured bracelet—he had never seen the bard without it. And it was familiar. Sausage knew what it felt like before it even touched him—Sausage knew something was wrong.
All Sausage had done was bring up how old and tethered the bracelte was when Oli was practically sprouting that the past shouldn't matter to him anymore.
'It's from a long gone past!" Oli stared at him in a moment of silence and then shrugged. "But who needs the past anyway?" Oli laughed, and Sausage giggled along with his infectious laughter.
Sooner than later, Oli was handing him the old, red bracelet. It looked like he had every intention of never letting it go while also throwing it as far away as he could, so Sausage guessed he settled on dropping it in his palm.
It felt familiar. The same feeling he got when he first found Oli making him shiver.
Being honest, Sausage didn't think much about it after that. They talked and joked for another hour before Sausage was dragging a dozing Oli home.
The bracelet remained in his pocket as he made his way into his own bed. Sleep dragging him into a dream.
And dream he did.
The scene was familiar. Standing in some open field next to heaven's reach.
The birds chirping was Sausages first sign that this was an old memory.
The second was an enderman, Oli, running up to him, smiling wildly.
'I heard you had something for me? Angel boy?"
The dream. old vision, Sausage smiled back and held out a simple box. 'I do in fact have something for you, Ender boy!"
Oli giggled, and the dream Sausages smile grew wider.
"Well," Sausage spoke. "I was thinking of some way to celebrate our newly found relationship. And what better way than a handmade bracelet?"
It was a nice bracelet. Soft red cotton that braided into one another. Sausage may have spent the best couple of days making sure it would last for a long while.
Oli let out a gasp and was soon grasping Sausages arms. Sausage let himself be spun as Oli jumped for joy for the bracelet.
"Sausage! You're the best!" He smiled at him, "I guess this means i need to make you a matching bracelet now, sweet boy."
"Hm," Sausage pretended to ponder, "Well, i suppose so! Better get to work, partner!"
Oli let out some giggles as he rushed to teleport home.
The memory skipped ahead to later in the day. Dream Sausage was dumping random stuff into one chest—what he likes to call organizing—when Oli rushes into the room.
He plucks a very purple, leather bracelet into his hands.
"Ta-Da! Fits perfectly, right?"
It does. Not too tight but loose enough to where it can hang comfortably without falling off.
"It's percent."
Oli raises his wrist with the bracelet on it to Sausages wrist, "Cheers! To our great big man relationship!"
Sausage laughs and pushes Oli fondly.
"You're such an idiot."
The memory fades out.
He was such an idiot.
Sausage wanted to slap himself. Forgetting about his and Olis queer platonic relationship?? Really??
Sausage would say that's pretty important to remember brain!!
He sighs. Once he had awoken from the memory, he shot up in bed to dig through his bedside table for the bracelet.
It was the same as it was in the memory. Though now some of the braids had sprayed and it looked as if it had been re-braided at the ends. Time had certainly played a part in it.
For a while, he just sat there holding the bracelet. Wondering if Oli would even want it back.
But the part of him that knew Oli well, with all his familiarities and nostalgia, knew Oli would appreciate the thought either way.
And no matter how badly he wanted to talk about their old relationship, or just their past in general, he couldn't. So this was the least he could do.
'I lost my bracelet,' Oli rushes. “And I normally never take it off, so the fact I lost it is concerning.”
“I- I can't explain why it’s important because it's just confusing, honestly. But it’s so important, and I don't know how. I don't know what to do if it's gone.” He looks down at his feet, and it's as if all the fight has drained out of him. “I don’t know what to do.”
And Sausage wants to tell him everything right then and there. Seeing Oli like this—his friend and partner—made his heart hurt. He wondered how Oli dealt with not telling anyone anything about the past anymore. How he felt holding onto a relic of the past he so clearly held dear to his heart.
The words bubble on his lips, ready to be spoken.
“I think I need to tell you something.”
He does not tell Oli then. He almost does. It's the closest the words have gone from leaving his mouth, but one last hesitancy stops him from admitting he knows he made the bracelet Oli holds dear.
He almost speaks in riddles. Telling Oli that the past is important to them, so they have to keep it bright and clean.
As Sausage holds onto Oli's hand, he makes a promise to himself.
To not let the present be muddled either.
After some teary eyes and Oli explaining his goose chase looking for it, Oli stays.
They find Eddie-Olis fiance now. He would say he couldn't believe it, but he very much could-and even Maria showed back up, saying she was glad Oli was feeling better now. The four did some gossiping— must run in the family—and just hung out in each other's presence for a while.
Sausage telling everyone he had an important project to do kept his schedule pretty much barren for the day, so Oli and Sausage just went around the empires messing around.
Having some fun with the sheriff, prancing around Joel's builds, and pranking the cat—he means, mayor takes up the rest of their day. By the time they return to Sanctuary, the sun is getting ready to set.
"Sunset time?"
"Sunset time!" Oli agrees cheerfully
They find their way to the windmill and let their lags dangle off the edge.
Oli leans back on his hands, but he doesn't close his eyes this time. Neither does Sausage.
The sun casts a warm glow on them, and the words hes been meaning to say all day finally bubble out.
“I remember. I remember everything.”
”You—why didn't you tell me sooner?!”
”I wanted to, really wanted to tell you, but Bubbles said it could mess up the world!”
“We shouldn’t throw away the past,” Sausage whispers. “I cared for you back then, and i still care now. But i want to live for the present us, not the past us.”
“…I thought you would never remember us. I was afraid of losing the only thing i had left of you from the past when you were standing right in front of me.”
With teary eyes, the two let silence fall between them.
"It must've been destiny." Sausage whispers, “Finding you on my shore."
Oli lets out a puff of laughter, "You found me. I was looking for you, and you found me."
The sun half hides under the horizon, it'll be gone in a couple minutes.
Sausage tearily smiles, "I think you owe me another bracelet."
Oli just smiles, "I'd happily make another one."
They sit there as the sun sets. Hands held together with nothing separating them.
The past is important. They would not be where they are today without it. But, as Sausage has found, he wants to keep the present just as close to his heart as the past is. To not be lost in the past when the present is just in arms reach.