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Joel still remembers the very first time he felt this odd pang of pain, the pain was just a small flash but the implication was much stronger than that, it meant that he is now soulbound to god knows who. At first he didn’t mind, he had work to do, to get resources and geared up and survive the horror that is the first night of this new life. Plus, it’s not like he knew who his soulmate is anyway.
But when his soulmate was in trouble, as indicated by the pain that they share with Joel, he couldn’t help but felt worried for them, even if Joel knew he was perfectly safe on his own end. “Careful, jeez...” He hushed even if he knew no one was there to hear it, let alone his soulmate. He grimaced when he realized how much pain his soulmate had gave him. My soulmate is just trying to get me killed aren’t they? He chuckled at the thought.
He had thought about jumping off ledges and taking fall damage just to spook his soulmate, and he did, just a bit of damage won’t hurt. And after a few moments, he felt another pang of pain, he chuckled at the fact that his soulmate is also taking damage on purpose just to mess with him. Well, at least now he knows that his soulmate is on the same wavelength with him. And Joel is looking forward to finally finding them.
It took the both of them a while to realize that they’re soulmates. Joel wasn’t paying much attention to the person who just dropped down from above, people are trickling into the mineshaft, he couldn’t keep track of everyone. But his attention was caught by the man when they both grunt in pain at the same time.
Joel stood and stared at the person, Etho, as the man dusted off the dirt on his jacket. Etho looked back up at him, almost as if he felt Joel’s staring, Etho quirked his eyebrows, mirroring the confusion on Joel’s face. They both stared at each other for quite a while before Joel finally asked. “Etho, did you just take fall damage?” And Joel saw how quickly the confusion turned into mortification. “Nooo... Don’t tell me...”
“Nooo!! Why!!”
“Guys! We found true love!” “Some sort of love anyway.”
Well, that's one way to start this off...
"Joel, what does this mean for us now? Are we together forever?" Joel certainly didn't expect Etho to be asking about this so soon, considering how their realizations went. Did Joel even know what it means for them? He wasn't given much time to figure out something that will be a huge ordeal for them, both plan-wise and emotionally, before Etho hit him with this question. "Forever and always, amen."
He figured that it’ll be smart to be with Etho, he knows how chaotic that man can and will be, and combining it with his own, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with, they will certainly win this way. Joel thought, as if his thought process affected his answer to Etho’s question in any way. He definitely answered logically, yeah of course he did, why wouldn’t he?
He handed an iron helmet to Etho, it’ll be the best to get the both of them geared up and he didn’t mind helping Etho out. “Wait, no helmets.” Etho reminded, the both of them had forgotten about the rules. Oh well, there went 10 iron ingots...
Joel didn’t register the fact that Etho was pulling him along initially, he was still hung up on the wasted iron. “Hey Scar, we got you a gift!” And that was enough for Joel to catch on with Etho’s plan. They both shoved the helmets to Scar before running away, giggling and ready to tattle on Scar. “There’s no helmets allowed, Scar!”
Joel still couldn’t stop giggling, it was such a small silly prank, but he couldn’t help but add to Etho’s own giggling. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way Etho always grab him by the wrist, every time he wants to rope Joel into yet another mischievous plan, every time he tries to save the both of them from danger, every time he is leading the way as they both wander around the surface. It’s such a small thing but it adds to this odd charm.
The way he and Etho trying so hard to stifle their giggles as they went around pillaging crops and stealing things that will no doubt tick someone off before making their getaway in their boats. It’s the type of chaos they both love to partake in and it’s even better now that they’re looking out for each other.
Yeah, maybe they make a good pair.
“ETHO!! CAREFUL!!” Joel practically shrieked when he felt the pain from the explosion, he was convinced that Etho’s recklessness will get the both of them killed. He had abandoned the conversation he was having to check on Etho, for logical reasons of course, totally not because he was worried about Etho’s wellbeing.
“Joel, I need a little help. I got distracted.” Etho sighed as Joel droned on about his negligence, there’s no real bite to Joel’s words, it’s just worries, uneasiness and an odd hint of protectiveness. Etho felt strange, knowing that there’s someone who care about his wellbeing so much.
Joel’s droning quickly died off to a tired huff when the both of them are safe, and he noticed an enderman in a boat, oh so that’s what Etho was doing. Joel tried to kill the enderman but accidentally broke the boat constraining it. Colour drained from his face and the panic set in, oh no they’re gonna die like this aren’t they...
“I BROKE THE BOAT!” Joel can only wail in both fear and pain, what was he supposed to do in this situation? His brain certainly wasn’t helping by shutting down completely. Etho couldn’t help but panic as he heard Joel screamed his name -for help or purely on instinct, they still have no idea- and he felt the unbearable pain from Joel.
And all he heard was Joel’s scream before everything cut to black. He didn’t remember death hurting him this much, especially considering that it wasn’t direct. Maybe it’s one of those quirk from being soulmates, maybe.
The respawn wasn’t necessarily pleasant, Joel can still feel the aftermath of his death. The first thing he noticed when he finally opened his eyes was Etho sitting beside him, and the next thing he noticed is the black and purple spots dusting his forearms.
One thing Joel found odd was the fact he actually felt fine, well as fine as it can be for someone who just died, after respawning. Usually there is a plethora of emotions that he never get the time to process flooding his mind, but right now? There’s just the tiredness and annoyance that naturally comes with losing a life.
“I think we need to have a little talk.”
“I’m so sorry.” Joel was expecting Etho to be mad to some degree, after all Joel was the one who got the both of them killed in one of the most embarrassing ways. He fully expected his soulmate to be yelling at him, blaming him for everything, but all he got from Etho was a chuckle.
“Uh so I messed up first, but I think you messed up way worse here." Etho shooked his head with yet another chuckle as he stood from the ground, slightly wincing at the pain but otherwise fine. He dusted off the dirt on his jacket and offered his hand to Joel.
Joel noticed the light dusting of the same black and purple dots that are also on his arms — almost identical but Etho’s are just light enough to be barely noticed in the dark —, but he didn’t comment on it, mumbling out a “thank you” as he regained his footing.
“C’mon let’s go find our stuff. Which way was it? Was it this way?” Joel squeaked, still embarrassed by the incident, stumbling through the darkness. “I got no idea.” Etho admitted, great, the both of them are terrible at directions.
It took Etho a while to catch up to Joel, who was too embarrassed to stay by for long. His hand naturally searched for Joel’s, but instead of grabbing Joel by the wrist like he usually does, Etho’s hand drifted down and let his fingers intertwine with Joel’s.
Joel’s thumb naturally moved to caress Etho’s finger, and Etho squeezed their hands gently, subconsciously reassuring Joel as they tried their best navigating through the forest.