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He was at it again.
xB had been busy restocking the more popular items of his redstone shop, the Red Zone, when he heard a cheerful voice shouting “Good morning, sweet face!” outside. He didn’t even need to check to know who it was but xB decided to peek out the doorway to see who Keralis was greeting anyway.
xB spotted him talking to Xisuma by the bulletin board. Keralis wasn’t one for using his inside-voice so xB managed to catch a few snippets of what they were talking about. He heard the word ‘fireworks’ mentioned a few times and wondered if Keralis was trying to get Xisuma to make him some sort of automated redstone machine.
“Thank you, Shashwammy! I knew I could count on you,” Keralis exclaimed happily as he pulled the other man into a tight hug. xB couldn’t help but frown at this sight and with a huff, stalked back into his shop to continue his task.
There was no doubt Keralis was affectionate. Some days, he would just go around the Shopping District, giving everyone he met along the way hugs and compliments. Etho had asked him once why he did it and Keralis had simply said with the biggest smile ever “Hugs always make people happy and when the Hermits are happy, I’m happy!”
xB adored this about Keralis immensely but he sometimes wished Keralis was a bit more...exclusive with his affections. Not that xB wanted it all to himself, oh no.
Just as he was about to put the last hopper into its designated barrel, a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist and xB was pulled into someone’s chest. He quickly looked up to see who it was and found himself staring right into the face of the man who had been muddling his thoughts all morning. “Hello, xB!,” Keralis smiled.
“Uh, hi there!,” xB managed to sputter out once what was happening managed to register in his mind. Keralis released him from the hug and casually began perusing the items that xB had been put up for sale. He silently watched as Keralis opened and closed barrels, staring at a barrel’s contents for a moment before he moved on to another. After about ten minutes, xB decided to ask “Is there something specific you’re looking for?”
Keralis closed the final barrel and turned to xB with a sheepish smile on his face. He confessed “To be honest, I don’t really know! Xisuma’s helping me out with a super secret project and told me to go get some redstone stuff but didn’t say what. Could you help, xB?”
xB smiled and playfully rolled his eyes. He dipped into his own supply of shulker boxes and began filling three boxes full of essential redstone components. Keralis hovered over his shoulder for a moment before his phone suddenly rang, blaring the familiar ‘Friday’ by Rebecca Black song,
Keralis checked the caller ID and in a not so subtle manner, threw a furtive glance in xB’s direction before leaving the store to answer the call. This odd behaviour had certainly piqued xB’s interest but he decided to not partake in any more ‘accidental’ eavesdropping today.
However by the time he’d finished packing the last of the observers into an already stuffed to the max shulker box, Keralis still had not finished with his call. xB placed the boxes next to the door and proceeded to sit on one, checking his phone to pass the time. The Hermits’ group chat had been oddly quiet today - normally there’d be a lot of back and forth banter but today, there’d just been one or two texts asking where someone was.
xB had managed to watch one of Scar’s MineTube videos vlogging his gardening progress before Keralis finally came back into the store, slipping his phone into his back pocket. He glanced at the boxes briefly before smiling warmly at xB, saying “Shpank you, xB! You’re the best.”
Keralis glanced at his watch and with a surprised gasp, said “I gotta get going! See ya, xB!” He picked up the boxes and was halfway out of the door when he suddenly paused and turned around, saying hurriedly “Oh, I almost forgot! xB, can you come up to the Nether Hub at maybe 7pm? I don’t have time to explain so just come, okay?”
With that, Keralis bolted out of the door and took off to the skies with the help of his Elytra. xB blinked in confusion, wondering what was happening up at the Nether Hub that evening. He didn’t recall the Hermits having planned any events for today. As far as he knew, today wasn’t anyone’s birthday either. Maybe it was a last minute meeting?
xB went about his day, trying his best to keep himself busy. His thoughts strayed once or twice - wondering what Keralis was up to with Xisuma. The two of them were especially close (their bases were literally right next to each other!) and they spent a lot of time together. Sometimes, xB regretted setting up his base so far from the others. Maybe Keralis would visit him more often if he wasn’t so hard to get to.
He totally wasn’t jealous of Xisuma though. Of course not. That would just be silly.
When the clock struck 6:55pm, xB began making his way to his Nether portal. He’d freshened up in the bathroom briefly and put on a clean top, the shirt he’d been wearing previously having been stained from working with podzol and dirt all day. It was 7pm on the dot when he passed through the portal and walked into the Nether Hub - the area above bedrock that connected everyone’s bases.
To his surprise, the area directly outside his portal had been decorated with balloons and streamers. Two tables laden with a variety of heart-shaped treats were arranged opposite one another underneath a large banner hung up between bamboo poles over a small elevated platform, the words “HAPPY VALENTINES DAY” written on it. xB also couldn’t help but notice the oddly shaped object that was covered with a large white cloth behind the platform.
Just then, xB had the sudden recollection of the weekly Hermits meeting that was held four days ago on Wednesday. Stress had mentioned excitedly that Valentine’s Day was coming up and they’d all briefly agreed that they should organise something to celebrate. xB hadn’t known they were actually going through with it though.
Most of the Hermits were already present, chatting amongst themselves by the tables. Keralis was filling a cup with pink liquid from the large punch bowl at the centre of the table to the right. xB hesitated for just a moment before deciding to go and thank him for reminding him about this party.
“xB! You came, good girl!,” Keralis greeted with a warm smile when he spotted xB walking up to him. Keralis offered the cup in his hands and xB took it, noting the sweet scent of strawberries and gin that wafted up from the cup. Keralis glanced around as if he were searching for someone and said apologetically “I’m sorry, xB. I’ll be right back!”
xB took a small sip of the punch as his eyes followed Keralis around the party area. Keralis stopped to greet a few Hermits but he finally stopped when he came to Xisuma who had gotten dressed up for the occasion in a well-fitted suit.
Of course he’d left me to go talk to Xisuma.
xB downed his drink and filled it up with more punch before deciding he’d spend the rest of the party with Cleo and Joe who had clearly had a bit too much punch already and were having a deep conversation about whether the universe was actually made of cake. “If the universe is cake, would aliens come down and try to eat it?” and “What if we’re made of cake?” were among the questions they brought up.
Two hours into the party, xB had eaten enough cookies and drunk enough punch to last him a lifetime. He was just beginning to wonder if he should head off soon when Xisuma suddenly walked up to the platform, a microphone in his dominant hand. “Hello, Hermits! Thank you all for coming, I hope you’re all having a great time,” Xisuma said, flashing a warm smile at those present.
“It’s now time for a very special activity that I’ve been working with Keralis on but to execute it properly, I’m going to need someone to help me! Does anyone want to volunteer?,” Xisuma continued. Hands immediately shot up into the air, but he looked over them all only briefly before his gaze landed on...“xB! Why don’t you come on up?”
xB’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t raised his hand so why had Xisuma picked him? xB made his way through the crowd up to the platform and Xisuma smiled at him, a certain glint sparkling in his eyes. “Thank you, xB! Now let’s get started, shall we?,” Xisuma said as he walked towards the veiled object behind.
With a single movement, Xisuma pulled off the cloth and revealed the magnificent machine underneath. A large screen sat atop a panel with a set of buttons, the glass surrounding it revealing its complex redstone circuitry. Xisuma pressed a button on the panel and the screen came to life with an image of Cupid pointing his arrow at the viewer, little cherubs holding hearts in the background.
“So, Keralis had an important question to ask xB today but he didn’t know how! That’s what this machine is for,” Xisuma patted the machine gently as if it were his child. xB was growing even more confused by the second - what could Keralis want to ask him that needed this much pizzazz? Xisuma continued, indicating the panel in front of them “xB, if you could please press that red button over there?”
xB hesitantly pressed the button and took a step back to look up at the screen. Cupid and the cherubs disappeared only to be replaced with a pixel art of Keralis with his characteristic wide-mouthed smile. He was holding a bouquet of red roses in his arms and a speech bubble appeared above his head that said…
'Will you go out on a date with me, xB?'
xB suddenly felt breathless. He didn’t know whether he was going to cry from joy or pass out from the shock. There was a chorus of excited murmuring coming from the Hermits which grew louder when Keralis made his appearance, walking up the platform with a large bouquet of roses similar to the ones in the pixel art on the screen.
With a sheepish smile much like the one xB had seen earlier in the day, Keralis said “I’m not really good with redstone but I wanted to do something special for you! Even if you say no, it’s fine but I didn’t want to keep on living without knowing.” He held out the bouquet to xB who stared at it in bewilderment and said “I really like you, xB. No, I more than like you. I love you! Will you go out with me?”
Am I dreaming? What is happening?
xB discreetly pinched himself in the arm. He could feel pain. So this must not be a dream. This was really happening. Keralis, the man he’d had a crush on for months - he’d just said he loved him! xB tried to answer but his words came out in indecipherable stammers before he finally managed to let out a strangled “Y-Yes?!”
Keralis’s eyes lit up in delight and he immediately engulfed xB into the tightest hug he’d ever had. “xB! xB! xB!,” Keralis shouted his name repeatedly with glee as he spun xB around in circles, otherwise lost for words. After giving him one more squeeze, Keralis set him back down on the ground gently and pulled xB with him towards the machine. “Press that green button there, xB!”
The green button Keralis was indicating had the words ‘YES’ engraved above it on the metal panel. xB raised a quizzical eyebrow at him but pressed it anyway, anticipating another change on the screen. Perhaps now there’d be some more pixel art - only this time of Keralis and him.
Instead, there was the sound of whirring redstone as the machine began releasing fireworks into the Nether’s dark sky. At first, they seemed like regular fireworks - firing at random but the more xB looked at it, he came to the realisation that the fireworks had been made to spell out “I LOVE YOU, XB”.
Keralis slipped his hand into xB’s and gave it a squeeze as he gazed at xB’s face adoringly. xB felt a slight shame at the jealousy he’d been harbouring for Keralis’s close friendship with Xisuma - he vowed to never let such emotions cloud his rationale in the future. He gave Keralis’s hand a squeeze back and said teasingly “I’m not letting go of this hand for the rest of the night, I hope you know that.”
“I’ll never let go, xB. I promise,” Keralis said with a wink. xB faintly recognised that line from somewhere but decided not to dwell on it. There was much to celebrate and they’d wasted enough time already. But xB had to admit, there couldn’t be a more perfect day to mark the start of their new life together than Valentine’s Day.