Chapter Text
Lying on the grass, sun shining behind, a slight breeze nudging them... Jesse should have felt the same content, warm feeling they used to have before- before everything. The current feeling was a cheap replacement, a fraud. The warmth came with a pulling to their heart.
“Hey Jesse, uh, the marketplace sellers...” Radar came without notice, the same nervous tone in his voice. Jesse’s shoulders tensed up slightly, relaxing when they saw Radar standing. “...the marketplace sellers want more storage area. They’ve been complaining for days.” He looked at Jesse expectantly, as if they would solve everything with any word they say.
“Won’t the builders protest when we take building space from them?” Jesse grumbled, heaving themselves up. Radar hunched down. “Well, yes, but...” he avoided their gaze “the marketplace people are refusing sales until they have more storage.” Jesse sighed and closed their face with their hands. “Let me speak to them.”
After almost two hours of bargaining, Jesse gave the marketplace 2/3 of the area they had requested and the builders had accepted, although not pleased. Jesse turned to leave the crowd, but just at that moment two farmers approached Jesse. Jesse screamed internally. They should have left with Petra.
When all the complaints and requests had been taken care of, Jesse found themselves in the Order Hall despite their heavy eyelids and complaining legs. They walked, stilled in front of every treasure, gently moving their hands on them. Reminiscing. They remembered how excited them, Olivia and Axel had been. Joining building competetions and their dumb rivalry with The Ocelots. Reuben walking next to Jesse everywhere they went. Then there was the Witherstorm. They remembered how frustrated they had been with The Order of the Stone, angry had how they had all given up and left them and their friends to take care of it. With time, Jesse had realized; they hadn’t simply given up out of inconsiderateness. They had lost hope, frustrated and tired of everyone looking up to them yet still criticizing their every move. They didn’t know then, but now...
They remembered how Petra had looked dead, struggling to keep up. How the portals and the people there never had mercy. How The Admin showed up, took everything Jesse had worked for; took Jack to be his puppet, imprisoned them and their friends as a bargaining chip. They were lucky, lucky to have it all; but then why were they not happy? ‘That’s because you’re selfish, Jesse’ Guilt was crushing them like the Witherstorm, the portals and The Admin. They didn’t deserve to be sad sfter so many victories.
Jesse paused, hands going to their shoulder blades from the sudden ache. Trying to stand straight all the time when they would rather lie down was getting to them, they thought. They stretched out and walked to the middle of the Order Hall. They took one last look around before they left.
Jesse was still staying in their “temporary” house, and they were fine with that. They had a base under the Order Hall, with a redstone system Olivia helped make which made the base unaccesible if you didn’t know where it was. Jesse placed a lever and entered their....”cozy” home. They threw themselves onto the bed, but got up with a hiss of pain as their back hurt at the contact. They slowly lied down, but on their chest this time and fell into a sleep with too many hazy dreams.