A rare diamond that never leaves

It was a day like any other for steve. He was brought into his world, close to a tundra village. He always was a village man, and decided to make a house to blend in with them. So, at the end of the village, he build his house. Weirdly, it wasn’t a day like another. He was barely done at sundown and out of the trees another guy ran to him.

‘Get inside!’ he yelled. ‘The monsters, they’re coming!’

Steve looked up shocked as the man ran towards him, away from vile looking creatures on their way to attack him. He went inside, but saw the man in reach and decided to do something unusual. He waited for the other man, give him a place to stay perhaps.

With the normal speed of a human the other man barely made it out alive. Steve closed the door behind the man, keeping the monsters out. He could hear the moaning of the weird creatures through the door.

Steve’s house was modest. It was sufficient to keep the monsters out; it had an oven, a crafting table, a chest with his supplies and a small bed.

‘It’s not big,’ Steve said, ‘but its enough for tonight. Are you alright?’

The other man looked up at him and nodded. The man spoke with a deep voice, catching his breath between every worth.

‘Yeah, yeah I’m alright. Just tired. It’s been a long day running from monsters.’

Steve could see the light shimmer from the man’s armor in the dark, and immediately knew the man was more experienced in this world. A world full monsters.

‘Do you want some food? I don’t have much, but it’s something.’

‘You don’t have light in here?’

The man’s breathing was returning to it’s probably normal state, and Steve heard a slight accent from the desert villages.

Steve shook his head, only later realizing that the man couldn’t see him, so he said: ‘No, unfortunately not. I build myself this hideout the whole day, didn’t have time for anything else.’

‘I might have something in my backpack, let me have a look.’

‘I’ll make you some food.’

Steve walked towards the furnace and put in some cow meat, enough to make it through the night alone, but perhaps not enough for two. He needs it more, Steve told himself.

‘What’s your name, stranger?’ Steve chuckled to the other man. He heard the traveler light something, and before he knew it, a light illuminated the one room house.

‘Steve Diamond, how about you?’

It made Steve laugh. How common was the name Steve these days?

‘My name’s also Steve! Steve Emerald though. Not as rare as Diamond.’

Steve turned around to the stranger and took his illuminated shape in. The man was around the same height as him, maybe an inch taller, but had clearly a more muscular frame from all the traveling he had done. His armor was a bit broken; it was iron though, pretty strong. His face was even more handsome than Steve could imagine. Dark ocean blue eyes, illuminated in the yellow light of his torch. And his raven black hair was quite short, as if he had a buzzcut before it grew out. Steve felt almost overwhelmed by the sheer power of just the man’s features.

Steve decided that turning around was best for now, the traveling Steve could not know he was taken aback by the overwhelming features of the other man.

‘So,’ Steve started, still working on the dinner for them two, ‘you’re not from around here, are you? I hear a slight desert accent.’

The bed creaked underneath the traveler as he sat down. Clicks let Steve know that the other Steve was taking his armor off.

‘Yeah, but it’s been a while since i’ve been there. Been trying to figure out where i belong, y’know. But I never really found it, especially with the monsters.’

Steve nodded, even though he couldn’t really relate. He’d been with his forest village his whole life.

‘Thank you,’ Steve Diamond spoke softly, his voice almost a whisper due to exhaustion, ‘for saving me from the monsters Steve. I was almost burned toast there.’

Steve turned towards the man and smiled as lovingly as possible.

‘Anytime Steve. We have to stick together these times. It’s almost hell to be out there at night. Not unless you wanna fight for your life that is.’

He turned off the stove and put the meat on a plate each, handing a bigger piece to the traveler on his bed.

‘Here, you need to eat.’

Diamond shook his head.

‘No, Steve, I couldn’t. I already barged into your house. I couldn’t possibly take your food too!’

Steve just placed the plate in his lap and sat next to him.

‘I don’t wanna hear it. And when you’re done, you’re always allowed to use any of my stuff to fix your armour and weapons.’

The traveler, who without the armour felt more vulnerable and acted that way too, thanked Steve softly and started at dinner.

It was a silent dinner, one filled with a comfortable silence if not for the zombies outside.

‘I’ve only been in this life for so long, what is it like being in this situation for much longer?’

The traveler looked up.

‘Lonely.’

It was a single word, but it held all the emotions Steve Diamond had at that moment.

‘You’re the first person I spoke to in years. Seeing a normal instead of an undead is way more comforting that I expected.’

Steve nodded, suddenly feeling unhappy with the pain the other man went through. He tried to change the conversation.

‘Shall we fix your armour?’

Fixing armour took quite some time, which came as a great delight to both men. It took time to find the right supplies, to build the right tools and before Steve knew it Diamond stayed over for a month. A month of working side by side. A month of the boys getting to know each other more personally, where both boys found out how funny and caring the other was. A month where they spend every minute of it together, neither of the guys leaving each other’s side, even for sleeping (Diamond had a bed in his backpack) Diamond placed his bed close to Steve's, the beds almost touching. Steve and Diamond -‘one of us has to be revered to by maybe our last name or something, and I think your last name is pretty,’ Steve Emerald laughed, already decided that he would never change that.- enjoyed each other’s company intensely, almost sad that their time was ending. They recalled their first sparring time with wooden swords every day and try to make time in their busy schedule -with pleasure, so they can stay together for a longer time- to train with each other. Diamond’s armour was days away from being fixed, when Steve barely could handle it anymore and had to address the cat in the bag.

‘Are you planning on leaving after we fix your armour?’

Diamond, who was loudly chatting with Steve before, got uncharacteristically quiet, almost stopping with grilling their steak.

‘I- I don’t know, Steve.’

Diamond didn’t have a good answer why he suddenly doubted Steve’s hospitality. Was Steve just doing it because he felt bad or because he genuinely cared about him?

Steve didn’t want Diamond to leave. The week together made him realize things. That perhaps he was smitten for this man and that he’s not interested and probably won’t ever be interested in a relationship with one of the villagers, but with this goofy man who went through a lot of trauma by leaving his home pretty early, with a man who always manages to put a smile on his face. He would fight for him, fight for his love the same way Diamond fought for him when the monsters came out.

Steve was about to speak up, when his housemate with the same name suddenly did.

‘I want to. I want to stay,’ he smiled softly, ‘if you’ll let me.’

Steve smiled from ear to ear. And perhaps it was the warmth from the torch, or maybe it was just Diamond’s warm smile, but with all the butterflies usually in his stomach around Diamond suddenly clouding his head, Steve found himself blurting out as he stood up: ‘can I kiss you?’ which Diamond answered, ignoring his almost burned steak, with an almost breathless ‘yes’.

Steve crashed his lips on his counterpart’s, messily and inexperienced, but neither cared. Steve’s hands wrapped up in Diamond’s dark hair, the muscular guy his hands around his hips.

Both Steve’s broke the kiss when it became to much, both men overwhelmed with the new experience they shared.

‘Stay forever,’ Steve whispered as his forehead rested against Diamond’s, ‘please.’

‘Only if we get a dog. Or two.’

‘And if you place your bed next to mine.’