Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Canary! Canary!” the young souls shout. “Tell us a story while we’re on our way!”

A cloaked figure with a large pair of golden wings looks at them. “A story?”

“A story!” they exclaim. “Any story as we make our way to the afterlife!”

The Canary hums before sitting down on the boat heading to the after. “Any story?” He folds his wings behind his back. “I may have a tale.”

“Tell us! Tell us!”

“Alright,” he says, flashing a smile that shone like the sun. A strange thing to notice for the omen of death. “You know of the Hub World?”

Everyone knew what the Hub World was. It was that place that anyone in the world of Minecraft knew. Even if one didn’t live in the Hub World, the chance of one not stepping foot in the Hub World was very slim.

“Of course of course!” they shout.

“Right, most people live in the Hub World. Though, there are some that live on servers and don’t have a home in the Hub World. Others have homes in both servers and the Hub World–like traveling. The Hub World is that place that one can always go home to.”

The Canary pauses and stands. He grabs the oar and places it into the water below, spinning it round and round. “Today, my young souls, we follow an old story of one of those people. Or...two of those people.”

. . .

The Middle of the Hub World was especially busy today. Jimmy wasn’t sure as to why though. Being honest, he wasn’t sure about a lot of things, but this seemed a little extreme. People busseled around the road of shops and homes. They seemed busy, and at the same time angry.

Jimmy shifted the weight of the box in his arms as he glanced at a group of three storm past him in a rage. Words such as “this is stupid”, “how can they”, and “but” floated through the air.

Needless to say, Jimmy was confused.

Box in hand, he continued to walk down the street, simply trying to reach his destination. He had soon found it easy to ignore the noises around him in the hectic road. Just a simple hum and the noise around him grew quiet.

“They got you too, huh Tim?”

Jimmy turned his head at the familiar voice uttering that nickname. A shorter blonde with brown at the roots and a giant red sweater stood before him.

“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked as he turned his body to look at Grian.

Grian gave Jimmy a confused look. “The box. The box in your arms that’s labeled ‘My stuff’. Are you just happening to be carrying your stuff around in a box?”

Jimmy looked at the shulker in his arms. “Oh! This?” he said. “These are just a few things. I’m moving in with Scott!” Jimmy gave a smile at the end of his sentence.

Grian rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That’s what I mean. Are you moving because of the whole getting kicked out of your home thing that’s going on?” He gestured to the surrounding area.

“Oh,” Jimmy said, “is that what all this is?” He said the last part while looking around the street. Even as they were further down, people were still roaming the streets in confusion and anger.

“Yes. That’s what this is,” Grian said, “so you're telling me that you’re not moving in with Scott because of getting kicked out of your house?”

“...No..”

“...Then why are you moving in with him…?”

“Dude.” Jimmy placed the shulker box on the ground with a huff before holding his left hand up. On his ring finger, was a golden wedding band.

Grian’s black eyes widened. “OH! I forgot that happened!” He placed his head in his hands. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Eh, don’t worry too much about it,” Jimmy said with a shrug, “it literally only happened some time ago.” He looked around the area, looking at the crowds of people walking around that have typically never been there before. “You said something about people getting kicked out of their homes?” Jimmy asked.

Grian looked up at him and nodded. “Yep. Some companies have decided to kick out the people who typically have a home here in the Hub World, but spend most of their time on a server. They say it’s because of how they're crowding the space and someone else should have it if they're not there. But all they’re doing is kicking people out of their homes.”

Jimmy hummed. So that explained why so many people were on the streets with other people. That also explained why nobody was alone.

“Of course,” Grian continued, “not all companies are kicking people out of their homes. They don’t see the point in it.” He placed his hands on his hips as he looked at the street before them. “Understandable, as this has happened.”

Jimmy nodded as he bent down and picked back up his box. “Well, I haven’t looked at the news in a while. So this is a surprise for me.” Jimmy gave a little laugh. “Ironic that I’m moving willingly while this is going on.”

Grian just nodded.

The air around them became quiet for a bit. Jimmy moved a bit as another group walked past them, muttering an apology. Grian looked at the group for a bit. His eyes softened a little. It was clear that this situation definitely affected him in some way. “So...you’re moving in with Scott, huh?” Grian asked as he turned to look at Jimmy.

A faint pink spread across Jimmy’s face. “Yeah…” He smiled a bit before tapping the shulker. “We decided that since we are married, we should at least share a home in the Hub World. His place just happened to be bigger.” Jimmy paused. “...It’s also closer to The Open so Scott didn’t want to leave.”

The Open. It was away from the typical urban Hub World. It was the island's countryside, one could say. The Hub World still hadn’t been fully discovered. The Open is just closer to the undiscovered. It was decided that half of the island would be left open and more rural as the other half of the island was urban enough.

Grian laughed. “I heard he was wanting to live there in the future right?”

“Yep.”

“That is adorable. So you guys are going to be cottage core husbands or something?”

A bright red painted Jimmy’s face. “I mean…” He wasn’t going to deny it. He loved listening to Scott’s dreams of living in The Open away from everyone. The fact that he knew exactly what he wanted in his dream home. The look on Scott’s face and the sound of his voice: pure happiness.

Jimmy loved just watching the love of his life just rant about the idea. The look of happiness and the idea that he would someday have that dream. So it wasn’t absurd that Jimmy wanted to be there with him.

Grian smiled. “Yeah. I don’t personally want to go there. But I know Scar mentioned to me before that he hopes to live there someday as well.” Grian paused before staring off into space. “I actually think he and Bdubs are saving up the money for it…”

“Huh…?”

“Yeah, apparently they’ve been a thing for sometime or something.”

“...Huh.”

Jimmy just shrugged it off. He looked at the sky before sucking some air in. “I enjoyed the chat, G. But I have to get going before it gets too late.”

Grian looked at the sky. The sun was hidden behind the buildings, but it was clear that the light blue of the above was slowly fading into a warmer color. “Okay!” Grian said before stretching; the big pair of purple wings expanded before folding up on his back. “I should probably get going too. Got a meeting tomorrow with the other Hermits.”

Jimmy nodded. He turned his body toward his destination, keeping his head toward Grian before saying, “Talk to you later Grian!”

“Bye Timmy!”

So, Jimmy continued on his way. The streets grew less empty as time went on. Buildings became less and less. The sky was painted in the warmth of the color spectrum. A splash of red there, a hint of orange across, a dot of yellow here. A streak of purple to keep it cool.

The path was longer than Jimmy remembered. Still, he persisted, thinking nothing of it. His footsteps didn’t falter–he only occasionally stumbled. His arms didn’t grow heavy. Why would they? One shulker box wasn’t a whole lot. His hands were a little sweaty however, but that was probably because he was wearing gloves. Even if they were fingerless.

The streets became peaceful at last.

It was here that Jimmy realized he took a wrong turn.

He had to go ask for directions toward Scott’s street.

He had to go back.

It was dark when he finally got there.

Resting on the land was a small house in a suburban but rural-like area. It was made of the same urban building toward The Middle and The Edge. The other building materials were more seen toward The Open.

Jimmy stepped up on the porch. A slight creek rang through the more open air from each step. Jimmy exhaled. Guess this was home now. Jimmy went to knock on the door only for the door to open from a slight nudge of his foot. Okay then.

Jimmy stepped into the house and looked around; it was dark, almost like nobody was home. “Hello…?” Jimmy stepped into the room and looked around. The kitchen and living room was visible thanks to the open door and some windows that were halfway closed for whatever reason.

“...Huh.” Jimmy clutched his box in one arm as he turned around to close the dark oak door behind him. With a click of the wooden object, the house was almost full of darkness. Almost. Jimmy turned his head back toward the open room before having a sharp object whiz past his head.

A knife.

“You’re late.”

Jimmy gulped. “H- hi Scott.”

The lights flicked on and there stood the blue (almost cyan)-haired man, leaning against a wall that separated the kitchen from a hallway that led to the bathroom. Scott held another knife in hand.

“Hi Jimmy~”

Scott walked over to his husband and pulled the knife out of the wall. “Food’s almost ready,” he said like nothing happened.

Jimmy exhaled. He thought he was about to get murdered. He watched as Scott walked back to the kitchen before it finally dawned on him. “Wait a minute,” Jimmy mumbled, “how is the food almost ready if I’m late?”

“I knew you would be late, so I started cooking late.”

“...Oh.”

Jimmy shuffled around awkwardly. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now that he was here. Scott looked over at him before saying, “Just put your shulker in the living room. We’ll look through it in the morning since it’s late enough as it is.”

“Um, sorry…”

Scott just hummed in response.

Jimmy did as he was told. He walked over to the living room, which was right next to the kitchen, and placed his box on the table in front of the sofa. Jimmy sighed.

“Take your shoes off.”

Oh. Jimmy forgot he had those on. He walked back to the front door and slipped his shoes off without question. He also took the time to slip his jacket off and hang it on the coat hanger. Jimmy decided to stretch before looking over at Scott in the kitchen. He smiled slightly before walking over to him, taking his gloves off and placing them on the counter

“Do you need help with anything?” Jimmy asked as he wrapped his arms around Scott. He rested his head on Scott’s shoulder and glanced at him.

Scott glared at him. “If you touch anything, I will murder you.”

Jimmy gulped. “Love you too.”

A hum escaped Scott's lips. He leaned into Jimmy’s touch as he mixed whatever he was cooking. “You got lost, didn’t you?” Scott said as if the statement happened everyday.

And knowing Jimmy, it probably did.

Jimmy let out an embarrassed laugh. “...Yeah I did.” He buried his face in Scott’s shoulder before letting his arms unhook from their embrace and run down Scott’s sides.

“There there,” Scott said, “everyone makes mistakes. Just not ones that require forgetting where you now live.”

“Give me a break,” Jimmy pleaded as he stepped back. “I’m still getting used to the idea of living with you under the same roof, and I literally ran into Grian on my way here. So technically, it’s his fault that I’m late!”

Scott turned around and rolled his eyes. He gave Jimmy a small smile as the man gave him a pleading look. Scott leaned in and placed a kiss on the side of his face. “Food’s done. Get the plates for me will you?” Scott said as he turned the furnace off.

“...Where are the plates?”

“...The cabinet above that vase.”

Dinner was nice and quiet–for a time being of course. All of this was still pretty new to them, so they were getting used to the idea of being married and living under the same roof.

Leave them be. Most of their time as a married couple was during 3rd Life, which will be explained later.

“So,” Scott started, “how was the walk here?”

Jimmy looked at Scott from across the small table nestled in the kitchen. “Quite peaceful actually. You know, aside from the large number of people in the streets.”

Scott gave Jimmy a puzzled look before finally realizing what he was referring to. “Oh! Yeah, I heard about that.”

“Yeah, we aren’t gonna be affected by that…right?”

“Nah, that only affects the urban urban area.” Scott stuffed a piece of food in his mouth. “We’ll be fine.”

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief, letting his shoulders relax. “Okay. Thank goodness.” He looked up at Scott with a slight smile before asking, “So, how has your day been?”

Scott hummed. “Not much really. I did some cleaning because I was bored. I then made the next MCC teams because I was really bored.”

Jimmy laughed. “That bored?”

“That bored,” Scott agreed as Jimmy shoved some food in his mouth.

“Now that is productive,” Jimmy mumbled before eating some more food.

Scott shook his head at the emptiness of his plate. “It’s productive how you’re done eating. Did you even eat lunch?”

Jimmy looked to the side. “...It was pretty small. I was trying to be early for once but it obviously failed.”

“Indeed it did,” Scott said as Jimmy took his plate and placed it in the sink. He gave him a half amused and half endearing smile before he quickly finished his food.

“Do you want me to clean the dishes?” Jimmy asked as Scott took the last bite.

“No,” Scott said, “it’s late. We’ll just deal with it in the morning when it isn’t pitch black outside.”

“Okay,” Jimmy said as he took Scott’s plate and placed it in the sink, “I was just making sure…or something.”

Scott hummed as he stood up. “Right. I’m going to go take a shower real quick, which will definitely hog all the hot water if you did try and clean the dishes just to get on my good side.”

Jimmy let out an exaggerated gasp. “How did you figure it out?!”

Scott rolled his eyes as he walked over to his–their bedroom. It was their bedroom. The realization finally seemed to hit Jimmy like a train. “I have my ways~” Scott teased before slipping into the room.

This was it, Jimmy thought. This was his–their home. They would be living here together and doing whatever married couples do. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. Should he call someone and tell them that he was panicking about this? No, they would just make fun of him for it.

But, Jimmy looked around the house and deeply inhaled. This felt completely different from when they were just dating and he would spend the day with Scott just because. This felt more…real…if that was the right word. More permanent.

“Hey Jimmy~”

…And he knew exactly what that tone meant.

Jimmy looked toward the bedroom and noticed Scott poking his head out from behind the door. “Want to come help me take my clothes off?” he said as a smirk spread across his face.

The thoughts that ran through his mind at that moment surprised even Jimmy. But, he vigorously nodded and headed toward the door, feeling the warmth spread through his face.

Scott grinned and grabbed him by the shirt collar as he pulled him into the room. Slamming the door closed, their eyes closed and their lips met. Soft words of consent were mumbled as they pulled each other closer.

As the night fell darker, they fell to the bed. Soft kisses were pressed in any place he could reach. His hands traveled his husband’s body, and they didn’t want the feeling to end. Soft praises and whispers were heard, but everything was felt.

Every touch. Every kiss. Every feeling. Every word. Every breath. Every emotion. Every smile.

They fell asleep in each others arms, knowing they were fine just where they were.

.

.

.

Jimmy woke up with the sunlight shining through the window. He squinted his eyes before letting out a groan. He turned his head to the side only to see Scott laying next to him; he was sleeping peacefully curled up to his side.

Jimmy smiled. The sudden memory of the previous night came and made him feel warm. He leaned in and placed a kiss on top of Scotts head.

He let out a sigh. He was gonna have to get up. After letting out a groan of annoyance, Jimmy carefully removed an arm from around his sleeping husband and got out of bed. He trudged over to his and Scott’s shared closest and looked at his side.

Without putting much thought into it, Jimmy just grabbed a plain T-shirt and boxers. He was naked. He needed to have something on.

Jimmy slugged his way away from the closet and looked over at Scott, who looked to still be sleeping peacefully. A smile tugged at his lips. Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a yawn, before walking out of the bedroom and into the open room.

After going to the bathroom, Jimmy walked back into the living room area. He looked over at the kitchen. Maybe it would be nice if he made breakfast? Yeah, that would be nice.

Jimmy walked into the kitchen before standing in front of the furnace. It was here that it dawned on Jimmy that he didn’t know how to make anything outside of what servers gave you.

A groan escaped his lips. He hung his head in shame. Besides, he thought, he doesn’t even know what Scott would want to eat as he’s in the middle of sleeping right now.

Jimmy buried his face in his palms before he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

“Morning Sunflower,” the familiar, but sleepy voice said.

A smile came across Jimmy’s face as he felt Scott bury his face on his shoulder. If it wasn’t for last night, Jimmy would've believed that the speed of his heartbeat wasn’t normal. “Morning Petal,” he whispered.

“What were you thinking of?” Scott asked, not letting go anytime soon.

Jimmy chuckled. “I was thinking of how I can’t cook.”

Scott smiled as a light pink flushed across his cheeks. He nuzzled his face on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Never leave…”

“What makes you say that?”

“...A bad dream. Where your death in 3rd Life was permanent.”

Jimmy hummed. He held Scott’s hands and looked down at the golden band placed on his left hand. “Hey Scott?”

“Yeah?”

“...I’m never leaving you.”

“...Thanks.”

And that was all they needed.

Chapter Text

“Hey Jimmy?” Scott asked from the living room.

“Yeah?” Jimmy asked from the kitchen as he did the dishes.

Scott gestured to the shulker box that Jimmy left in the living room from yesterday. “I noticed that you don’t have a lot of stuff that you brought with you.”

“Ah,” Jimmy said as he dried his hands, “I didn’t bring much because I know you already have a bunch of stuff here. Besides, I didn’t have much anyway.”

Scott gave Jimmy a sad look before turning back to the box of mainly pictures. He never realized how many pictures Jimmy had. He had been to his apartment a few times when they were dating, of course, but he just never noticed.

A smile tugged at Scott’s lips as he looked at a picture that Jimmy had of them. He remembered that picture of course. He remembered that their friend, Joel, kept making a bunch of jokes when he took it for them. Scott just wasn’t aware that Jimmy had a copy when he didn’t even have one himself.

“I remember that one,” Jimmy said as he sat down next to Scott. He smiled a little. “Not gonna lie, you still look like I’m trying to kidnap you or something.”

Jimmy wasn’t wrong. The picture was taken back when they were just dating. They were hanging out with Joel at the time and had come across a few scenic buildings. The two had asked Joel to take a picture just to remember the area.

What had happened was that Jimmy decided to hug Scott at the last minute, surprising him. So with the way he was bent over and had his face against Jimmy’s chest, and the look that he had, it just looked like he was being held hostage.

Scott scoffed. “Well maybe you were trying to kidnap me.”

Jimmy laughed a little. “Yeah right. I won your heart fair and square, right Petal?”

“Eh. I didn’t have any other option.”

“Oh.”

Jimmy gave Scott puppy eyes as he leaned on him. Scott gave him an amused look before he rubbed the back of his head.

“You already know I have a weakness for you, Sunflower,” Scott mumbled as he placed the picture next to him. 

Jimmy sat up. “Are you still referring to 3rd Life? You mentioned that you had a nightmare about it again.”

Scott stayed quiet. His gaze became lost. He just stared at the shulker box with his hand resting on Jimmy’s shoulder.

It wasn’t a secret that 3rd Life mentally affected everyone that participated in it. Especially since during the “war”, it was brought up that respawn may have broken. This meant that perma-death would happen once someone died for a third time instead of becoming a spectator.

Needless to say, that caused some trauma once people started dying. It didn’t help that Jimmy was the first to lose his third life.

Thankfully, respawn was perfectly fine, but that didn’t cause people to start asking if their friends were really gonna come back. So the entire time, Scott believed that he had lost Jimmy for good until he lost his last life and they were reunited.

“Scott?”

Scott blinked back to reality. He looked over at Jimmy. Pure worry was in his eyes. “Sorry,” he mumbled, “I got lost in thought.”

Jimmy sighed. “You scared me there.”

“...Sorry.”

Jimmy gave Scott a sad look. He placed a hand on his shoulder before saying, “Hey…everything is going to be okay. I’m here and alive. I’m right next to you and I’m breathing. I don’t know how you felt when I died, but I’m here if you need to tell me.

"And...if it makes you feel any better, I would be devastated if I felt like you were gone forever. I would probably mope around and not do anything, you know?”

Scott smiled at Jimmy’s attempt to cheer him up. It was pretty crappy, but at least he was trying. “Thanks…” he mumbled, placing a hand on Jimmy’s knee. Scott brought his hand up, bringing it up to Jimmy’s shoulder.

Jimmy smiled. “That was a pretty weak attempt at cheering you up, wasn’t it?”

A snort came from Scott as he looked down. He leaned on Jimmy, wrapping his arm around his husband. “I don’t know. At least you were trying.”

“Well I succeeded in that at least,” Jimmy said. He looked at Scott with a smile before whispering, “Even if you forget me, I’ll be here, okay?”

Scott’s smile grew. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Jimmy’s lips, letting his hand glide down Jimmy’s back.

A slight smile tugged at Jimmy’s lips. He brought both hands up and cupped Scott’s face in them. He tilted his body more toward him as he felt their lips separate. Jimmy brought Scott into a hug, burying his face in his shoulder.

Both smiles grew as Scott hugged back–tighter than usual.

Jimmy let out a sigh. He placed a kiss on Scott’s neck before noticing a dark, purple mark poking out from under Scott’s shirt. Right away a bright red covered Jimmy’s face. “Umm–”

“I already noticed it this morning. I’ll get you back for it.”

“Oh.”

Scott gave Jimmy a pat on the head before saying, “Thanks for cheering me up though. That doesn’t change the fact that I told you in a place where no one can see it.”

Jimmy leaned back. “I mean…the rest are hidden?” He wasn’t going to complain too much. If someone happened to notice, they would know that Scott was taken. Simple logic to Jimmy.

Scott just rolled his eyes before ruffling Jimmy’s hair. “Don’t worry. Next time I’ll make sure to litter your neck in them.”

“Wait, what–”

The conversation was interrupted by the washing machine beeping.

 Scott got up and walked over to the laundry room. This left Jimmy flustered and confused about the direction of their conversation.

He glanced behind him in the direction that Scott went. “By the way,” Scott shouted from the other room, “I was wondering if after I put the clothes in the dryer, I show you around the market area. You know, just so you know where everything is.”

Jimmy used to live closer to The Edge of the Hub World, so his marketplace was completely different from Scott’s marketplace. Well, guess it was also his marketplace now too.

“Uh sure. Yeah! Great!”

Freaking nailed it.

Jimmy staggered up and off the couch. He looked down at the open shulker box; the objects in it were still untouched. A small frown tugged at Jimmy’s lips. He had left a little gift in the bottom of the box for Scott to discover.

Oh well. Guess it would have to wait till later.

“Hey! You do realize you have to change right? You can’t go out in public looking like you’re ready to go to bed!”

Oh. Right. Jimmy still needed to change for the day.

So, Jimmy walked over to their room and over to their closet. He looked at his side, pondering what to wear before deciding that he didn’t want to waste Scott’s time as he tried to pick an outfit out.

Besides, he usually zipped his jacket up over whatever he wore. It probably didn't matter what he had under it. He decided that blue jeans and a red long-sleeve was the outfit to wear.

“Are you ready?” Scott shouted from the living room.

Jimmy walked out and gave him a thumbs up. “All ready!” 

Scott threw his denim jacket on for aesthetic reasons before saying, “Alrighty, now let's head out before I make you reconsider your outfit choices.”

The two headed out the door and walked a while down the street. It was definitely more peaceful than yesterday. Either the chaos had died down or this area just wasn’t affected by it.

Jimmy decided to go with the latter option.

The market was a lot further than Jimmy anticipated. At one point he asked Scott if he made a wrong turn only for him to tell him that he actually knew where he was going. So it turned out Jimmy would have to exercise if he wanted to go anywhere.

At one point Scott grabbed Jimmy’s hand and apologized for the walk. Jimmy wasn’t sure why he had to hold his hand to tell him that, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Here we are,” Scott finally said as they came to a stop.

Like most market areas in the Hub World, this one was a circle surrounding something. Sometimes a statue, sometimes a water fountain, this time a tree. Surrounding the tree were shops. The circle was, of course, a four way intersection. On those roads, there were more shops and some homes.

Jimmy definitely envied the people who lived next to markets. Not having to walk forever to get somewhere. How privileged.

All the buildings were made out of different materials to signify what it was. Like, grocery stores are made out of blue colors, clothing places were made of orange colors, health facilities were red, and homes were types of bricks. Other things, like having to do with other servers and post, were in little wooden stalls in the circle and along the roads.

“I assume this is like most markets?” Jimmy asked even though he’s only been to two.

Scott raised an eyebrow.

Jimmy didn’t ask any further. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked around. He tried to pull his hand away only to find that Scott wouldn’t let it go. “Umm…I’m not a child.”

Scott blinked. He looked down at their hands before pulling away. “Sorry,” he said, “I wasn’t aware I was doing that…”

Jimmy frowned at the look on Scott’s face. Did the trauma from 3rd Life really affect him that much?

He didn’t want to pester him any further, so Jimmy changed the topic. “You know, this market is a lot bigger than my old market.”

Scott, knowing what Jimmy was doing, just shrugged. “What? Did you think all markets were small?”

A person walking past them paused, gave them a dead stare, and left while muttering, “I swear, the metaphors these days...”

“I assume you don’t need to know where everything is right?” Scott asked. “I mean…it’s all the same color wherever you go. Except for The Open, of course.”

The two sat down on a bench next to the tree. Jimmy looked over at Scott before asking, “Do you still want to go to The Open?”

Scott quickly nodded. “Of course! Come on, we’ve known each other for how long and I still can’t get it through your head that I want to go to The Open?”

Jimmy shook his head with a slight chuckle. “No no! I’m just making sure that you haven’t changed your mind! You know, so that I know if I should still save up some money so we can move there!”

A blank stare came across Scott’s face. “You…want to go with me? I thought you were against it? You know…living in The Open.”

Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair; a smile crept upon his face. “What made you think that? Come on Scott, I put a ring on it. I wouldn’t have proposed to you if I didn’t actually want to be with you through it all–”

He was tackled into a hug before he could say anything else. An oof sound escaped Jimmy as Scott hugged him tighter than ever before. A big smile came across his face. Scott buried his face into Jimmy’s shoulder before whispering, “Thank you.”

Jimmy hugged back. Not as tight as Scott hugged him though–he had no idea where he got the strength. “No problem,” Jimmy whispered back. The PDA was a little awkward, but it was sweet.

Scott leaned back from the embrace. He sighed before saying, “You know what, just because you’ve been so nice to me today, I’m gonna go get you something.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened, “Really? All I did was be nice to you.”

“Yes really. And trust me, you being nice today has really helped a lot with still trying to process that 3rd Life wasn’t permanent.”

Jimmy pursed his lips as Scott stood up. He wasn’t gonna say no to a gift, heck, gifts was his love language. But it just felt like a weird way to get one. Then again, he did leave Scott a surprise in the shulker box.

“Alright,” he reluctantly agreed.

Scott smiled. “Alrighty, stay here, I want it to be a surprise!”

Jimmy whined in disappointment.

Scott rolled his eyes before placing a kiss on top of his head. “You can look around if you want. You aren’t tied to this bench.”

Jimmy gave Scott puppy dog eyes. It was almost effective.

Scott bit his lip before patting Jimmy on the head. “You almost got me that time. But you can’t come with me. You can stay here or look around if you want. But, don’t come with me.”

He gave him one last head pat before walking off, looking back to make sure that he wasn’t following him.

Jimmy groaned before flopping on the bench. He looked up at the azalea leaves above him. The leaves were definitely beautiful. After years of seeing the plain leaves of all the other trees, the flowering buds of the full branches were such a sight.

Jimmy sat up and crossed his legs. He leaned back on the bench before looking around. He really had no idea where Scott ran off. Now he couldn’t follow him. But he couldn’t look around as he may end up in the same place as Scott, which would end in Scott accusing him of following him.

So, the solution was to sit there.

It was very boring.

Jimmy looked up at the sky and squinted. The day was definitely a lot hotter and brighter than he anticipated. Jimmy was starting to regret wearing a long-sleeve and pants. He rolled his sleeves up before looking around. He saw a small ice cream stand.

Perfect. Even though it was before lunch.

Jimmy got up and walked over to the stand. A small cone wouldn’t hurt anybody. Scott would never know.

“One scoop of vanilla please,” Jimmy asked as he dug in his pockets for money.

The older-looking women behind the stand nodded.

She grabbed a cone before opening the freezer door. While scooping the ice cream, the woman asked, “So, are you the boyfriend that Smajor talks about when he comes into town?”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting much communication with the outside world today. “Uh…no.” Jimmy held up his left hand. “The answer would be yes if we were still just dating.”

The woman just nodded.

She looked at the ring, placing the ice cream on the cone before saying, “So I assume it just happened, am I right?”

“Yep!” Jimmy said.

He handed the woman the money as she handed him the cone. Jimmy nodded before stepping back a little. He turned and walked away a little before stopping in the middle of the road. There was something he still wanted to know. 

“So...um.” Jimmy turned around. “Scott talks about me…?”

The woman nodded. “He spent his teen years around these parts. Most of us have known him forever. Of course, he’s moved around and even now he’s pretty far. But he’s always just liked to lie in the middle of the market and rant about his love life. Needless to say, he’s been single for too long. So, when he finally got a boyfriend, he would lie there and rant about him. So congratulations kid, you’ve won our boy’s heart.”

Jimmy gave her a half smile. He looked to the side before noticing that his ice cream was already halfway gone from the heat of the sun causing it to run down his hand and onto the smooth walkway.

“Oh!” Jimmy stated as he realized the mess now in the middle of town. He ran over and grabbed a bunch of napkins before asking, “Do you have anything I can clean that up with?”

The woman shook her head. “Nope. Don’t worry though. They’ll clean it up before lunch. The worst that’ll happen is that someone could slip and fall.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of!” Jimmy said. He cleaned his hand off with a huff before licking some of the remaining liquid.

The woman patted his back. “Don’t worry. It’s daylight and in the middle of traffic. People are gonna avoid it.”

Jimmy huffed and bit his cone.

The ice cream was good at least. Too bad he lost half of it.

Jimmy walked over to the bench he was previously sitting at and stood. He looked at the liquid in the middle of the street with a hint of guilt. But, like the woman said, people were simply avoiding the spot now.

It had been a good bit after that. The ice cream in the cone was gone, and the puddle on the floor was still there, even more liquidy now.

Jimmy made a discomforting noise. Scott had been gone for a while. Lunch hadn’t passed by yet, so it was still in the morning. 10:30 at least.

Jimmy stayed still as he stood. At some point, someone took a seat on the bench. They said that Jimmy could sit there, but he insisted that he was waiting for someone. That didn’t change the fact that his legs were getting tired.

Finally, a familiar face walked out of a store with a bag in his hand. Scott looked over at Jimmy before waving. Jimmy waved back, a smile painted his face as Scott walked over to him.

“Sorry it took so long!” Scott shouted. “I had to actually think of what to get you!”

“It’s alright!” Jimmy shouted back as he walked to the road. “I was burning up out here though!”

Scott shook his head. Before he could say anything, someone coming from the opposite direction rammed into Scott by accident.

Scott stumbled sideways a little bit. His foot caught the ice cream still on the floor, and down he fell.

Head first.

“Scott!!” Jimmy shouted. He ran over to Scott as the person that bumped into him scooted away as if they did nothing. A few people ran over to see what was going on.

Jimmy fell to his knees and grabbed Scott’s face. His eyes were closed; there was blood on his head. 

Jimmy’s breathing quickened. Panic filled his eyes. “Scott...you're okay right? S- Scott! W- wake up! Please wake up!!”

Chapter Text

Perma-death was something that everyone feared. It wasn’t typically talked about on servers. Respawn is set in place and even if the world is on hardcord mode, it would only put people into spectator mode.

This doesn’t mean that perma-death on servers is unheard of though. There are a few cases.

These rules are different in the Hub World though. Once you die in the Hub World, you’re dead for good. Thus, perma-death.

“Perma-death isn’t going to happen perma-death isn’t going to happen perma-death–”

Of course it wasn’t going to happen. The fall was too small for it to occur. Jimmy looked at Scott from the hospital bed. Just watching his chest slowly rising and falling was almost therapeutic. It was a sign that (hopefully) things were going to be okay.

Jimmy glanced at the bandage on Scott’s head. “This is my fault. It’s all my fault. If I had cleaned up that mess we would probably be home at this moment. I knew something bad was going to happen and I didn’t do anything about it. I’m such an idiot…”

Jimmy clinged to Scott’s hand as if his life depended on it. He looked at the ring placed on his finger and exhaled. He placed a kiss on Scott’s hand just to claim himself down.

“Mr. Gaming?”

Jimmy turned around to see a man in a white doctor's coat standing there. “Y- yes?”

The doctor nodded. “I’m here with news regarding your husband’s consciousness.”

Jimmy stood up right away. “Is he alright?!”

The doctor hesitated a little. He held his clipboard closer to his body. “Well, it depends on what you mean by ‘alright’.”

“He’s dying!?”

“No no no! There wasn’t enough damage to cause death! He’ll live, don’t worry about that!”

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. He fell down to his chair. “Of course. I knew that.” 

The doctor looked off to the side. The brunette walked over to Jimmy. He stood next to him before looking at his clipboard. “That being said,” he started, “a brain injury is still a brain injury.”

Jimmy looked over as panic slowly started to rise again. It wasn’t as fast as the previous wave of worry; it was like someone put his panic levels on slow burn. “What does that mean?” Jimmy asked as he looked up at the doctor.

The man shrugged. “Well, he fell directly on his head and it knocked him clean out. A normal human doesn’t walk away from that scot-free–no pun intended. There will definitely be some sort of damage in what appears to be the frontal lobe, though we’ll only be able to find out once he wakes up.”

Jimmy just nodded. He only understood about half of it, but it was enough for him to know that it was bad. Jimmy rubbed Scott’s hand. “So I guess the only thing to do is wait and see…”

The doctor nodded. “You should probably get home. It’s late and visiting hours are almost over. I know you’re worried about your husband, but don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere.”

Jimmy nodded. He leaned in and placed a kiss on top of Scott’s head before standing up and walking toward the door.

“Excuse me, you forgot your bag.”

Jimmy turned around in confusion only to see the doctor holding up a bag. “If I’m correct, this belongs to you as he was holding this when he fell.”

The gift. That’s right. Jimmy had forgotten that Scott had got him a gift. 

Jimmy walked over and took the bag. He nodded at the doctor before walking out the door and out of the hospital.

The funny part? Jimmy actually remembered the way home. The sad part? Walking home to an empty house that he ever had the chance to become familiar with.

Standing in the middle of the house, unsure of what to do, Jimmy scratched the back of his head with a sigh. It was way too quiet for him.

Kicking off his shoes, Jimmy slumped over to the couch. The open shulker was still there and open. Jimmy placed the bag next to the shulker before picking up the pictures sitting on the couch with no purpose.

Another exhale. Jimmy placed the pictures in the shulker; he wasn’t able to look at them. Jimmy looked at the box before letting out another sigh. He dug through the shulker and grabbed the book at its very bottom.

Jimmy smiled at its leather cover. He ran his fingers over the rough texture. “Maybe your last use will be looked at someday.”

Another sigh. Jimmy trudged over to his bedroom. He sat down on his side of the bed and stared at the book. His brown eyes seemed glossy and lost. He looked over to Scott’s side of the bed. “I hope you’re okay.”

The silence was broken by Jimmy’s phone ringing. Strange. That usually didn’t happen, even in the Hub World where phone calls were allowed. Jimmy unhooked his phone from his hip before looking down at the name calling him.

FWhip.

Jimmy answered the call. “Hey.”

“Hey Jimmy, I heard what happened.” The tone in FWhip’s voice was almost saddened.

Jimmy rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had called a number of people to tell them that Scott was unconscious when he got to the hospital, so he assumed that their friends had spread the word when he wasn’t able to call more people in that time span.

“Yeah…” Jimmy’s voice faltered.

“Do you need someone to talk to?”

“No no…it’s just...” Jimmy paused and let out a shaky breath. “I’m such an idiot.”

FWhip didn’t respond to his remark. And he was surprised that FWhip wasn’t saying anything about Jimmy forgetting to call him, but he wasn’t going to bring it up. Yet.

Jimmy placed the book in the nightstand beside his bed before FWhip finally asked, “Is Scott going to be okay?”

“Yeah. He’ll wake up. The doctor said that there may be some problems though when he wakes up of course. He said that it’s unlikely that there’ll be no damage because he fell on his head.”

A mutter was heard on the other side, though Jimmy couldn’t hear what FWhip was saying. “Are…you gonna be okay?”

Jimmy couldn’t answer that. He felt like he should say that he was fine, just to try and make the situation better. But he wasn’t fine. His husband was knocked out because of his stupid mistake and the only thing he could do was wait and see what happens.

The silence said everything.

“Hey,” FWhip said, “things are going to be okay. And I’m sure Scott wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up over this.”

Jimmy nodded, somewhat forgetting that FWhip couldn’t see him.

He stood up and walked out of his room and into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, he looked at the shulker before him. It had to go.

Jimmy picked up the box with his one free hand and carried it over to the closest cabinet. He shoved the shulker in the cabinet in the kitchen before slumping back to the couch.

The silence over the phone was almost deafening. “Sorry that I didn’t call you about this earlier,” Jimmy mumbled, “it’s just that I had called too many people at once and my phone wouldn’t let me call anybody else. And I just got home so I haven’t had much rest.”

“Don’t worry about it,” FWhip said. “Seriously Jim, I don’t want you worrying about not calling me. It’s fine.”

Jimmy plopped onto the couch and looked at the bag. On it, a sticky note that said:

“Don’t open until Empires :)”

A sniffle was ordered and delivered. Jimmy kept his gaze on the note as he sighed.

“Hey FWhip,” Jimmy mumbled. “If Scott doesn’t wake up before Empires starts…”

“You’re free to start late if you’d like. Again, don’t worry about it.”

Jimmy nodded.“Thanks.”

He grabbed the bag before looking inside of it. A box. “Hey…thanks for calling FWhip. But…I…can I have some time to myself?”

“...Of course. Talk to you later Jimmy.”

A hum came from Jimmy before he hung up. Jimmy grabbed the black box before he noticed something at the bottom of the bag.

A flower. Specifically, a red poppy.

Jimmy covered his mouth as a smile formed. Tears fell down his cheeks as he picked up the small plant.

“I’m confessing my love!”

“We’re married now.”

“For poppies…I mean.”

“No. For me.”

The conversation seemed so silly then. But of course, it inspired Jimmy’s actual proposal to Scott.

It felt like such a long time ago. But no. That moment was only a little over two months ago. Their actual wedding a little bit after that. Well, if you could call what they had a wedding. A small little thing with barely a reception. 

It was nice though. Nice and comfortable.

Jimmy gently placed the poppy on the table before placing the bag to his right. Jimmy exhaled before wiping some tears from his face. He looked at the black box. Slowly but surely, he opened it.

A folded up note.

Jimmy picked the note up before noticing the object below the note. A jade green necklace. Mixed within the stone was a blue color that was faintly visible. The rock hung from a black string. 

A finger ran across the necklace. Jimmy carefully picked it up and looked at the object. It was beautiful, that was for certain. Jimmy laid the necklace back in the box before looking at the folded dead tree.

He opened the note and read:

If you look at this before Empires, I will know. So don’t try it.

Anyway, I hope you like your last minute gift. And I hope the wait was worth it. Seriously, it better be. I’m having to come up with words on the spot for you, okay?

I apologize for getting off topic. You’re probably wondering what the necklace is about. You see, Jimmy, it isn’t just pretty. After I heard that you were going to live in the swamp (and knowing your history with water), I had to stop you from getting yourself stuck in water again. So, I got you a necklace that has water breathing laced in it. Again, I just came up with this at the last minute.

Consider it a peace gift or something for the new server. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you come visit. I already know I’m going to come and bother you.

Love you~

-Scott

The tears that fell down Jimmy’s face just happened. His stare fell to the ceiling as silence engulfed the house.

That night, his bed was colder then it had ever been.

.

.

.

The next few days were the same routine. Jimmy would come and visit Scott when he could, and meet with some of their friends just to personally let them know what was going on.

This was also a way that Jimmy used just to vent to someone. He really needed to tell someone his worries. Sometimes Jimmy would sit next to Scott and talk to him. Even though Scott couldn’t respond, it was almost therapeutic to Jimmy.

It was simple things really. Usually it was what was happening around them. Like news or random updates of how their friends were doing. Jimmy could just sit there with his sleeping husband all day. Either ramble or just watch. It was peaceful.

Jimmy did chores around the house. He was learning how to cook to impress Scott when he woke up. He gave the poppy a nice vase. A little home.

It had been four days.

“Just don’t pick on me too much if I end up starting late,” Jimmy said to their friend Katherine as she walked next to him.

Katherine had shown up to make sure that Jimmy wasn't too lonely. “Nah. We’ll have to ask some of the others to not pick on you. I think you already know who I’m talking about.”

Jimmy’s eyes grew grim. “...Yep.”

The conversation was interrupted with Jimmy’s phone beeping. Someone was calling him. It seems to be doing that a lot nowadays.

“Can I take this?” Jimmy asked. 

Katherine nodded with a thumbs up.

Jimmy answered the phone. “Hello?”

Katherine watched the expression on Jimmy’s face. Confusion to shock. Jimmy halted to a stop and gave Katherine a look. A look that said everything as a smile plastered across Jimmy’s face.

The two dashed to the hospital. Down hallways and up stairs.

Jimmy and Katherine ran to Scott’s room. The door was open. There they could see Scott sitting there with a doctor right next to him. Scott turned to see Jimmy and Katherine at the doorway.

The biggest smile came across Jimmy’s face. “You’re awake!” Jimmy ran up and brought Scott into a hug, surprising him with a flinch.

Scott awkwardly sat there before Jimmy pulled away and smiled at him. Tears seemed to be forming in his eyes. “Please never sleep for that long again…I missed you so so much…” Scott gave him a confused look.

“Um…who are you?

Chapter Text

The color drained from Jimmy’s face. His smile turned into a scared/confused frown as his eyes strained in a type of sorrow.

“W- what…?” Jimmy’s hands ran down Scott’s arms. “Y- you’re joking, r- right?!”

Scott gave him a concerned look. He shifted away from Jimmy’s touch before saying, “Um…no. Are you okay?”

Jimmy froze. He stared at the man before him with such horror written on his face. He slowly backed into Katherine. Jimmy covered his mouth with his hands as the tears began to fall. They weren’t stopping anytime soon.

“How? How could this happen? This has to be a dream…yeah…that’s right...a dream. I- I’ll just wake up and everything will be okay. I’ll just wake up to see that the past few days never happened. I’ll just wake up in bed with Scott laying next to me. I’ll just wake up and everything will be okay. I’ll just wake up and everything will be okay. I’ll just–”

Katherine placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. Her face was stunned as well. “Scott...you’re joking right?”

Scott leaned back as his eyes squinted. His eyes trailed over her face before looking over at Jimmy. He seemed to be studying them. “No, I don’t know who either of you are,” Scott said.

The tone in his voice didn’t suggest trickery either.

The doctor in the room gave Scott a concerned look before walking over to Jimmy and Katherine. “Can I speak to you?” he said mainly to Jimmy.

Jimmy nodded. He followed the doctor outside of the room, leaving Katherine to stand there awkwardly with Scott.

The minute they were in the hall with the door closed, Jimmy whisper-shouted, “He’s lost his memory?!”

The doctor looked at the door. The look in his dark eyes seemed lost. “It appears so.”

“What do you mean ‘it appears so’?! I thought you said that the situation wasn’t as bad as you thought?”

“All I said was that he was going live. I didn’t say anything about memory loss. But that was because I wasn’t aware it was on the table. We didn’t even suspect it could happen.” The doctor looked at his clipboard with even more confusion on his face. “It wasn’t that bad of a concussion…it was just a fall…how did he lose his memory?”

Jimmy looked like he was going to faint. The pale color on his tear-stained face grew. “W- what am I supposed to do with this information..?”

A sigh came from the doctor. “Well, we’ll have the specialists look at this. We should probably tell him that your his spouse just to clear the air and make sure–”

“No,” Jimmy said, “no. I- I feel like he would freak out if some random stranger came up and claimed that he was his husband.”

The doctor raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

“...Yeah…I- I want them to come back naturally without him expecting me to fit a certain role in his head…”

“...Alright. I’ll respect your decision to remain anonymous.”

Jimmy’s gaze became more dazy. He looked inside the hospital room with a sigh. Sitting on the bed, was Scott as Katherine spoke to him.

He seemed invested in what she was saying. For a moment he rubbed his head before his blue eyes lit up. He seemed to shout something to Katherine who responded by clapping and jumping up and down. Her happiness was even visible from outside the room.

Jimmy looked at the floor with a gaze. He wanted to wake up and see that all this was a dream.

.

.

.

Scott sat in his room in awkward silence. This was definitely boring.

It had been a few days since he’d awoken and he still wasn’t sure what was going on. In fact, Scott couldn’t remember much at all.

He could remember trivial things, like who he was, where he grew up, basic human functions, the fact that he was definitely gay, when a building looked absolutely horrendous, etc. But Scott couldn’t seem to remember major events in his life or people.

The first nod to that was when a blonde guy with brown eyes waltzed into his room and hugged him with a black-haired woman following close behind.

The blonde later introduced himself as Jimmy and said that they were close when Scott still had his memories. In all honesty, Scott wasn’t sure what to think of Jimmy. First impressions are important, and his first impression on him wasn’t all that great.

Guess when a stranger runs up and hugs you out of nowhere, you kind of get that notion.

The impression wasn’t bad, it was just awkward. But it made Scott scared that he actually couldn’t remember who Jimmy was. The way that Jimmy was talking, they were seemingly close friends. But there wasn’t even a faint hint that he even knew Jimmy at all. This was completely different from Katherine.

Katherine. Now she was a different hunch altogether.

Scott liked talking to Katherine whenever she would come visit. He could tell that they were definitely friends at one point. And to top it all off, Scott actually remembered a conversation that they once had.

It wasn’t much of a conversation. They were just commenting on each other's builds. But it was enough to make Scott happy.

He wasn’t sure about other people that he supposedly knew. Jimmy and Katherine would mention them sometimes and he couldn’t remember them. They would mention servers and things they did and he couldn’t remember.

Scott figured that maybe it was because he hadn’t seen them yet or spoken to them. He asked Jimmy why none of them came to visit. Jimmy responded by saying that they had no idea which hospital he was at. This brought up the question of how he knew where it was and Jimmy replied saying that Scott went unconscious right in front of him.

His head hurt from just thinking about it. Scott ran his fingers through his hair. It was here that he remembered someone who hadn't come to visit him.

Scott looked at his left hand with a strange stare. Placed on his finger was a golden wedding band. But he wasn’t sure who placed the ring on his finger. Scott tried thinking about it and couldn’t even remember if he had a husband.

He brought his hand closer to his body and just stared at it. Scott tried thinking about even having a romantic partner and just couldn’t remember anything. Any relationship, romantic or platonic, seemed nonexistent.

Scott hated the feeling that brought. Despair. He felt like something was missing within him. Scott focused on the feeling that the ring may bring. Some sort of sorrow. He huffed and leaned his head back. He was going to have even more of a migraine at this point.

The door opened and in stepped the blonde that Scott was just thinking about earlier: Jimmy.

“Hey!” Jimmy said with a bright smile on his face.

He did that a lot. Whenever they spoke, it was like Jimmy had this smile that seemed to be indoor sunlight. Scott couldn’t help but strike a smile back. It was little things like Jimmy just smiling at him that just made the day a whole lot better.

“Hi,” Scott replied as he shifted in his seat.

Jimmy walked over to Scott before asking, “So, how have you been?”

Scott shrugged as he leaned back. There wasn’t much to say really. “Still alive.” That was all that he could really think about.

A nod came from the man before him. “Ah. Well I spoke to the doctor and the results of what may have caused your memory loss may come in tomorrow. I don’t know if you knew that.”

An exhale came from Scott. He looked at Jimmy, noticing a hint of something else hidden behind that smile. A saddened look, which Scott found odd. He really wasn’t sure why though. He just knew he didn’t like the look on his face.

“Is that bad news?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No no! Sorry I gave that impression. It’s just…” Jimmy paused. His almost dazed stare seemed to pierce Scott’s soul. “I just have a lot going on right now.”

“Oh,” Scott said. He looked away from Jimmy briefly as he felt like he couldn’t deal with the distressed look anymore. They must have been close. “Do you…um…feel like talking about it?”

A small smile came across Jimmy’s face. “Thanks, but I don’t want you to have to deal with my problems on top of yours.” He ran his fingers through his hair before looking off to the side.

“Oh.”

Jimmy looked back at Scott with a slight smile across his face. Scott just decided that staring back would be appropriate. He wasn’t going to lie to himself, the man before was definitely handsome–no no…interesting. Yes. He looked interesting.

His eyes trailed down to a green rock that hung from a necklace around Jimmy’s neck. It didn’t look like something Jimmy would typically wear. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t even remember Jimmy.

Still, Scott couldn’t help but reach out and touch the necklace. It was smooth–and as he was staring at it, he noticed a hint of blue mixed within the rock. A soft hum escaped his lips before he looked up at Jimmy.

Poor Jimmy’s face was so red that he looked like he was going to pass out. Scott pulled his hand back. “He must not like contact,” he thought.

“Sorry,” Scott said, “I was just wondering where you got that.”

Jimmy covered his face with his hands. “N- no no! It’s fine! I- I just wasn’t expecting that!”

Now Scott felt bad. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down. He really needed to relearn his boundaries with people. 

Jimmy clearly noticed the look on Scott’s face. He brought his hands down before asking, “Mind if I sit next to you?”

Scott’s head whipped over to look at Jimmy. “Uh…no I don’t mind.” This should be fine.

A smile came across Jimmy’s face as Scott scooted over to give him room. Jimmy sat down next to Scott, adjusting so both could maybe be more comfortable.

It was still awkward. But a good awkward.

“Umm…you asked about the necklace?”

“Yeah.”

Jimmy nodded. He looked down at it before unlooping the jewelry from around his neck. Jimmy held it toward Scott so he could look at it. “You were actually the one who got this for me.”

Scott’s eyes widened. He looked down at the rock before reaching over and taking it from Jimmy. A slight shiver tingled his fingers as they glazed Jimmy’s own.

“Really?” he asked.

Jimmy nodded. “It’s supposed to help with breathing underwater. We were going to be in a server together with some of our friends and I have a history with drowning. I think you were just trying to poke fun at me.”

For some reason, that sounded right. Scott just got a feeling that it was.

“A server with our friends?”

“Yeah. It’s supposed to start next week, but...you know.”

Scott looked down at the stone in his hands. It felt like a shame. The main thing that stood out to him was that their friends would be there. Friends. People that he used to know. People that he had memories of. He just knew it.

“Who’s all in it?”

Jimmy looked to the side. He looked like he was debating what to say in his head. “I don’t think you remember any of them. Who do you remember besides Katherine? She’s gonna be a part of it.”

Scott really couldn’t think of anyone. The only names he knew were his own, Katherine, Jimmy, and the doctor and nurses that waltzed into his room from time to time.

He shook his head with a sigh. Scott stared at the green rock before handing it back to Jimmy. He took the necklace with a nod. It was here that Scott’s eye caught the golden band on his own ring finger.

Wait…Jimmy gave the impression that they were close…maybe he knew who he was…

“Hey Jimmy, we were close…right?” Scott asked, looking up at Jimmy with a face that said he wanted information.

Jimmy nodded, “Yeah. We…we were close! I…like to think we were!” He looked a little embarrassed by the fact that they were apparently friends. That was the conclusion that Scott came up with.

“Right.” Scott held up his hand, showing Jimmy the ring. “Then, do you know who gave me this?”

Jimmy gulped. The saddened look returned to his face and he looked like he was about to cry. The guilt swept Scott’s emotions up.

“Sorry! I’m sorry for asking!” Scott said as he placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. The fear of having touched a sensitive subject seemed to swallow his emotions whole. “It’s just…I have this ring on my finger and I’m not sure who gave it to me.”

Jimmy just nodded.

He stared at the ring before exhaling with a shake. “No no…it’s fine. I- I’m just overreacting…” Jimmy stared off into space. He didn’t know what to say. He really didn’t.

Scott stared at the wall. His breathing became more shallow. “Is he...dead?”

Jimmy’s voice cracked. “NO NO! He’s not dead! I mean everyone thought he had perma-died bUT everything is fine now! He’s alive! He’s well! He’s probably thinking about you…” His voice died down into a whisper that Scott couldn’t make out.

A nod came from Scott. “Where is he now?”

“I’m ri–not sure…”

Scott was about to ask another question before the door opened. There stood the doctor. “Good. Both of you are here. Can you follow me please?”

The two gave each other a confused look. Jimmy hopped off the bed before asking, “What is this about?”

“Someone now knows why Scott lost his memory.”

“That was sooner than what I was told,” Jimmy said as Scott stood up.

Scott had to agree with that.

The doctor led them out of the room before saying, “Well, it’s a surprise for us too. But, results come when they come.”

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re an incompatent doctor.”

“...I just started this year; leave me alone.”

They walked down the hall in some silence. The doctor turned a corner, which they followed. That turn led to a cracked door.

“In here,” the doctor said, opening the door so they could walk in. “Oh, by the way, you’re being released in two days. Thought I should tell you.”

Scott shrugged. He felt like it was about time.

Him and Jimmy walked into the room to see an older-looking man sitting down in a chair. In front of him were two more chairs.

“It’s like they were expecting someone to be with me,” Scott thought. He brought his hands together and ran his fingers over his ring. He let out an exhale before looking at Jimmy.

He seemed fine actually. A little nervous no doubt, but fine.

“Greetings,” the older man said with a nod as they sat down. The doctor left, muttering about how he would be right outside the door.

“Hello,” Scott said, “so…you know about my memory loss?”

The man nodded. He pulled out a clipboard and flipped through papers. With a scrunched up nose, he nodded before saying, “Yes yes, I have your files right here Mr. Major.”

He tilted his head a little at the file. His dark eyes seemed confused at whatever was scribbled down before he shook his head, muttering about how he read something wrong.

“Alright,” he said, “your concussion caused damage to your hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that stores memory.”

“Thank you for saying that, I had no idea what that meant.”

“...Anyway. The problem is that even though the fall would’ve caused damage, one this small wouldn’t have caused amnesia. Especially amnesia that rids of important memories only. After some further research, I’ve concluded…”

He paused and looked over at Jimmy. “Mr...Gaming, you two are fairly close if I’m correct.”

Jimmy nodded. He looked to the side where Scott couldn’t see his face. This caused Scott to huff a little. “He’s probably embarrassed again.”

“Wait a minute.” Scott shouted as he realized something. “Your last name is Gaming ?!”

“Yeah yeah…laugh about it all you want.” Jimmy tilted his head up. He looked like he was thinking of a comeback but just couldn’t say it for fear of embarrassing himself.

Ignoring their conversation, the older man coughed before asking, “Then do you know if Scott experienced any kind of trauma before his fall?”

Jimmy’s face darkened. Scott looked up at him in confusion. It was like when a kid stares at their mom when she gets fired.

“...Sometime before…both of us were in a hardcore world with a few of our friends. Around the ending, it was mentioned that respawn may have been broken and perma-death would happen instead of spectator mode. Thankfully, everything was fine, but it didn’t stop the trauma that our friends were actually dead and that we may have caused their perma-death.”

“Why didn’t you all just leave once it was brought up?”

“We tried, but couldn't. The server wouldn't let us until we all died. Besides, Scott's husband was already gone when everyone finally realized.”

“Oh.” Scott thought. He felt numb.

The doctor nodded. “Alright. I believe I have an idea for the reason Mr. Major lost his memory.”

“Trauma caused it?” Scott asked. The question came out more forced than what he wanted it to sound like.

The older man nodded. “You see, sometimes when someone has a traumatic event that they want to forget, their brain will sometimes make them forget. It seems your fall has caused exactly that. Unfortunately, the acceleration took out all of your memories in the process.”

“Do you know why that is?” Jimmy asked.

A hum came from the man. “This is just an idea, but I believe it’s just the weight of the trauma was so heavy.”

Scott exhaled before hugging himself. It was here that he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see Jimmy give him a small smile. That was enough to make him feel better.

He wasn’t even sure how to deal with this information. Scott wanted to curl into a ball and hide away, hoping that he would wake up in the world with memories that he was in before.

“Do…you know how I can get my memories back…?” Scott asked, looking back at the doctor.

He nodded. “It says here in your files that you regained some of your memories of your friend Katherine Elizabeth after speaking with her. Exposure to important people in your life seems to work. The best thing I can recommend is to slowly reintroduce yourself to these people.”

Scott pursed his lips. His mind wandered as his eyes darted through the room. How was he supposed to do that? The hand on his shoulder tightened, which made him remember the blonde in the room. That was when an idea struck.

“Jimmy,” Scott said, turning to the man next to him.

“Yeah…?”

“I’m going on that server with our friends that you mentioned.”

Chapter Text

“So…this is home.”

Scott nodded at Jimmy’s words as he looked around what he supposed was his house. The place was more open than what he was expecting. But it gave a sort of comforting vibe.

It just…felt right.

“It’s nice,” Scott said. “But it’s also pretty far from the market.”

“That’s what I said,” Jimmy said as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Scott looked up at Jimmy and gave a soft smile. Jimmy looked over at Scott as well before giving him a smile of his own. Literal indoor sunshine. Scott shook the feeling off as Jimmy took his bag off and placed it on the coat hanger. He made a mental note of the chains hanging from the bag: a canary and a tan cat.

Looking away, Scott stepped a little into the room, trying to take it all in. He let out an exhale before shuffling to the couch to his left. He reached a hand out and simply touched the fabric of the furniture. Soft and familiar.

“Trying to process it all?”

Scott looked over at Jimmy. He looked nervous. Almost uncomfortable. Despite that, Jimmy still had a reassuring smile plastered on his face.

Yet Scott could see his discomfort in his brown eyes. He wasn’t sure why though. He just could.

“Yeah…” Scott responded. He placed both hands on the sofa, hesitating a little. Scott sighed before turning over to look at Jimmy.

“Hey…thank you. I- I know I haven’t said anything, and I feel really bad having not. I don’t even remember who you are and you’re still here helping me. You...you have no reason to...and yet you did it. So…um…thank you.”

Scott smiled a little to try and let Jimmy know that he meant it. Jimmy simply shook his head and looked to the floor. The sadness was still there, but so was the smile. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t feel like you have to thank me. We’re...we’re friends.”

Jimmy’s smile seemed so warm. Scott felt himself stare. He could see it. He could see that something was definitely troubling him. Despite that, he was smiling at him. Despite that, he felt warm.

Despite that, he was there.

Scott looked down a little before he felt Jimmy remove his hand. “I- I overstep my boundaries…sorry.”

“I feel like I overstepped those a long time ago…”

Jimmy looked at his phone before asking Scott, “Do you still want to do Empires?”

Scott nodded. A server with friends on it. People that he knew. He wasn’t going to miss out on it. He was going to try and get his memories back one way or another.

Besides, he felt like building was something that he needed to do.

Jimmy nodded. “I’m going to give FWhip a call then. You can look around; I’ll just be outside.”

Scott swallowed as he watched Jimmy walk outside. He exhaled as the door closed before rubbing the side of his face.

Scott looked over at the kitchen. He sighed before walking over to the corner of the room.

He ran his fingers over the dark wood of the table. “Spruce,” he made note of. Scott also took note of the singular poppy in the middle of the table. It was all alone in its own vase. No other flowers were with it.

For some reason, that felt right. The poppy just felt right.

Scott reached a hand out and touched the petals of the flower. It just felt right. He just felt a connection with it.

He looked at the golden band next to the flower and smiled. That–that felt right.

“I…I know I don’t have much. I- I couldn’t even afford a ring…”

“Wait, are you…?”

“I love you. A- and I want to be with you. I- I know a flower isn’t much, in fact it’s probably nothing at all…but I want it to be important for us. W- will you…if you’ll even consider it...will you marry me?”

A warmth flushed across Scott’s face. That conversation. He remembered that conversation–though it was only the conversation he heard. No face belonging to the man that asked for his hand. But the voice felt warm. It felt familiar.

It felt like velvet that wrapped around him and protected him. To an extent though. It was just the feeling of comfort. Scott felt like he would be hearing the voice in his dreams.

Scott brought his hand back and held it close to his heart. A smile beamed across his face.

One conversation. One conversation was enough.

Scott looked up at the cupboards. He shifted over to the storage unit and felt his hand drift over the handle. “Cups.” It was the cup cabinet.

A heavy breath escaped Scott as he looked inside the cupboard. He shut the door as his heartbeat seemed to increase.

Scott proceeded to guess what was in other cupboards and cabinets. He would open the door and grin as what he assumed was correct. Everytime.

“Well, FWhip said that you can show up at the meeting tomorrow. If that’s alright with you of course.”

Scott turned his head to look at Jimmy as he closed the door. Jimmy looked over at Scott before his eyes widened. “...Why do you look so happy?”

Scott covered his mouth with his hands as his grin grew. “I remembered what was in the cupboards!”

Jimmy almost dropped his phone. “Really?” he asked. “All of the cupboards?!” Jimmy quickly shoved his phone into the phone pocket of his belt before running over to where Scott was.

“Every. Single. One.” Scott said. “Well…not the ones I guessed empty. I didn’t open those.” He walked to the other side of the table and pointed at the poppy. “And if I’m correct, this is special.”

Jimmy looked like he was about to cry. Scott immediately felt the guilt start to rise. He promptly ran over to Jimmy’s side and reached a hand up to his face. He paused. “This is disrespecting boundaries.”

Scott pulled his hand away.

“I’m…sorry for hitting a sensitive nerve,” Scott said. He brought his hands to his stomach and looked over at the plant.

Jimmy didn’t respond. His dazed eyes found their way toward the poppy before he sighed. “...What do you remember about the flower?”

Scott paused. He was changing the topic. Scott wanted to turn the conversation back to what was so wrong with the flower, but it seemed a little personal to Jimmy as well. Maybe he would find out as his memories came back.

Scott looked back toward Jimmy. He pulled his ring off his finger and held it up for Jimmy to see. “He proposed to me with a poppy.”

For a split second, hope seemed to gleam in Jimmy’s eyes. It was strange. “Do you remember who he is?”

Scott shook his head. “No…it was only voices.”

Jimmy hummed.

He turned toward the vased plant before leaning in, placing both hands on the table. Jimmy seemed lost in thought. Scott felt his eyes linger on his face; his own face now felt warmer than before.

“Did you know the poppy can symbolize many things? It can mean peace, death, if it’s for graves: eternal sleep. It also represents remembrance during war times.”

He’s heard that before. Where had he heard that before?

Scott hummed. “That feels familiar.”

“As it should. You were the one to tell me that.”

“Really?” Scott shifted in his stance.

Jimmy nodded. “It was after you got engaged.”

“Oh.”

Scott looked over at the flower. His brain felt like it was splitting apart at the minute. He rubbed the side of his head before groaning. It was too much information at one time. He knew he was going to have to deal with more in the future, but he wanted to rest for the rest of the day.

Though that day was becoming a bit of a night.

Jimmy turned toward the kitchen window before giving the glass a sad smile. He looked back toward Scott, letting his left hand rest on the table. “I think I better get going.”

“Oh,” Scott said, “well…um...where do you live? You know, for when I want to visit you.”

A sharp inhale was ordered and delivered. Jimmy’s eyes darted around the room before he finally stumbled out, “I don’t have a house…?”

“WHAT?!”

Scott staggered forward and grabbed Jimmy’s shoulders. “What the hell do you mean ‘you don’t have a house’!?”

“Umm…well…you see...there’s this thing that’s happening. People that spend time on servers more than the Hub World are being kicked out because they aren’t there. And uh…guess who was kicked out of his house…?”

For some reason that made Scott’s blood boil. He wanted to go over and murder some people for Jimmy. How dare they.

“Um…I appreciate your concern, but I'm a hundred percent sure you’re cutting off the circulation to my arms.”

Scott blinked before pulling his hands away. Guess he didn’t realize how hard he was actually gripping his arms.

He huffed before bringing his hands closer to his chest. “Do you at least have somewhere to stay?”

“Um…you said I could sleep on the couch but…you know. Don’t worry, I’ll just go find somewhere else to stay–”

“No no no! I’m sticking to whatever I apparently said! You’re staying here whether you like it or not. I’m not throwing my friend out on the streets for the rats. Deal with it.”

“Thanks…”

There was an awkward pause. 

“Um…do you want a sandwich?”

“...Sure.”

.

.

.

Jimmy’s sleep was not pleasant whatsoever.

He stretched before letting out a groan. Guess the couch wasn’t as comfortable as it looked.

Jimmy huffed before shifting up. His vision was so groggy that he could barely see. He rubbed his eyes before he realized the smell in the air.

Food.

Jimmy turned his head toward the kitchen to see Scott cooking. Huh. So he remembered how to do that.

Scott looked over at him and smiled. “Morning Jimmy. Since you were fast asleep when I woke up, I decided to make both of us some breakfast. Now I would be asleep at this moment if I didn’t get a message from this guy with the username ‘fWhip’ telling me about the details of the Empires meeting today. Now, at first I was confused. But then I remembered how you mentioned someone named FWhip and Empires today. So it’s all good.”

Jimmy just nodded. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it before he looked over at Scott. He felt a smile come across his face as he looked at him. But that smile faded as he remembered why he was sleeping on the couch.

Jimmy looked down at the couch with a saddened gaze. He really wanted to wake up right now. Blink. Unblink. Nothing.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy looked up at Scott. He had a soft smile painted on his face.

Jimmy had to remind himself to breathe. He felt like he underappreciated that smile. The way it just rested against Scott’s face and the way it made him feel a hundred times better. When Jimmy realized the warmth of his face he looked away.

It sucked, he realized. Having Scott right there but he can’t have him in the way they were in the past. He couldn’t even remember him.

Jimmy looked up as Scott removed his hand with an almost sad look on his face. He hated that look. Jimmy hated it. But he couldn’t tell him. No matter how much he wanted to tell him.

He wanted his memories to come back naturally and over time. He didn’t want to force anything. Besides, Scott would probably think he was insane if he told him that he was his husband.

Scott walked back over to the kitchen without saying a word.

“I screwed up,” Jimmy thought. He bit his finger before looking down at the floor. He sighed. “So…what are you making?”

“...I don’t know what you like, so I’m making eggs. If you don’t like eggs, deal with it.”

Eggs were delicious.

Jimmy stood up, his hand continuously brushing through his hair, before walking over to the kitchen. “Sounds good to me Pe–Scott.”

He almost called him Petal there. That would have been a mistake. Thankfully, Scott didn’t seem to notice.

“Remember…you can’t call him that anymore.”

“I remembered something last night in a dream.”

This caught Jimmy’s interest. Anytime Scott told him that he remembered something, he was all ears like a puppy. He looked over at Scott, asking, “What was it?”

Scott turned the stove off. “It was a server. I remember there being a cult...or religious group...of some kind.”

That sounded familiar. “Was it Jeremyism?”

“...Yep.”

“Yeah, that’s X-Life.”

Scott paused as he put an egg on a plate. “That sounds familiar.”

“It should,” Jimmy said, “it was a server that both of us and some of our friends were a part of.”

Scott gave Jimmy his plate and fork before sitting down in front of his own food. “We did a lot of stuff together, huh?”

“Ehhh...most of our friendship was you making fun of me.”

Scott bit his food. “...Oh.”

Jimmy took a bit of the food. He was now going to change the subject. He didn’t like the one they were on at the moment.

“How did you sleep last night?”

Scott shrugged. “Normally? I think? I don’t know. It definitely felt pretty lonely.” His gaze found its way toward the door of his bedroom. “I wonder if anyone knows where he is…”

“He’s right in front of you…”

Scott looked over at Jimmy. “You know, when I remembered his voice, I felt all warm inside. It was like a feeling of comfort. Like...like a blanket wrapped around me. It was so nice and familiar.”

Jimmy felt his face flush. It was nice and weird hearing Scott say that about his voice. But it didn’t have a comforting feeling to it. Scott didn’t know that Jimmy was the voice he heard. He shouldn’t feel flustered over his words.

Jimmy shoved a chunk of egg in his mouth as he covered his right cheek with his hand. The least he could do was conceal the blush of half his face.

“Did you bite the inside of your mouth?” Scott asked. “Seriously, eat slowly. It’s like you’re inhaling the poor egg.”

Jimmy gave Scott a dazed stare. Of course he would think that he bit the inside of his mouth. 

He actually did but that's besides the point.

Scott shook his head before standing up, pushing his now empty plate toward the middle of the room. “I’m going to go take a shower and change. We’ve got that meeting thing pretty early today for some reason. Like, it’s right before lunch. So we’re definitely getting food afterward, alright?”

Jimmy nodded.

Scott smiled before walking over to his room to get clothes. Soon after, he walked out and went into the bathroom.

This left Jimmy all alone in the kitchen. He let out a sigh. Somehow the sound of the running shower water was worse than the silence.

.

.

.

It wasn’t a peaceful shower like Scott was hoping for. As he was drying off his hair, he looked at the steam covered mirror.

He sighed before wiping the steam off the glass. He looked at himself.

Wow. He looked more tired than what he was expecting.

Guess he really didn’t get much sleep last night. He kept waking up after what felt like five minutes of just drifting off. And when Scott was finally allowed to sleep, he was flooded with a memory that just made him sad that he couldn’t remember everything.

Scott leaned in and stared at his own eyes. Dark blue like always. His hair: a sky blue that was almost cyan. Scott looked at the freckles that dotted his face and his body. They were mainly condensed to his nose and cheeks. He also noticed that they were clustered around his shoulders as well. There also appeared to be some dotted in random places.

There were also scars, which would make sense. When you get an injury in a server, a scar will typically appear there and stay forever. This doesn’t always happen however. But there was something else he noticed.

They were extremely faint–almost like they were there anymore. Clustered mainly on his right shoulder were what looked like extremely faint bruises. No no, they weren’t bruises. They looked more like...bite marks?

Needless to say, Scott knew where they were from.

Huh. So his husband was with him not too long ago. He must’ve left to go do something right before he lost his memory, or after and he just wasn’t aware that his husband was in peril.

Yeah that must have been it.

Maybe that’s why Jimmy said he didn’t know where he was. Maybe the rest of their friends knew. Maybe Scott could ask them at the meeting today.

Speaking of which…

Scott exhaled and looked away from the mirror. He ruffled his hair some more before deciding that his hair was probably dry enough. He threw the towel over the towel rack before grabbing his clothes.

He didn’t know what time it was, but he felt like he didn’t have time. Besides, Scott had no idea where they were going. He hoped maybe Jimmy knew where he was heading.

Scott looked into the mirror. Jeans with a white shirt that had a sunset over an ocean on it. It just felt…comforting almost. Kind of like that was an outfit that he wore a lot.

He took the comb on the sink and brushed his hair in a way that he liked. It was here that he noticed the gold earrings that he wore. He liked them. He pushed his hair in a way that you would be able to see his ears peeping through his hair.

Scott gave himself a slight smile before deciding that he was ready and walked out of the door. He saw that Jimmy was already dressed and was sitting on the couch.

“Hope I didn’t make you wait long,” Scott said as he walked behind Jimmy.

Jimmy turned his head with a smile. “No, it’s alright. I haven’t been sitting here long. I did the dishes before I changed.”

Scott looked over at the kitchen and sure enough, the dishes were cleaned.

“You were hogging all the hot water though.”

Scott rolled his eyes. He smiled before asking, “Are you ready to go?”

The way that Jimmy smiled back made Scott’s stomach twist. It was strange. “Yep!”

Chapter Text

You know, Scott felt like he should have been surprised that they got lost. But he wasn’t. Jimmy getting lost felt like such a Jimmy thing to do.

Eventually Scott decided to message FWhip, asking him for the coordinates. They got there five minutes late but at least they got there.

Jimmy apologized to Scott over and over again. Scott just gave him a strange look as they approached the building. For some reason he wanted to make fun of him, but at the same time, bring him into a hug.

He shook his head. This feeling was bad. He didn’t like it one bit.

Scott shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Hopefully when he got his memory back, the feelings would go away. He felt the ring around his finger and exhaled.

It will all go away. He was only feeling this way because Jimmy is the one that’s there. He was actually helping him out with everything and...just being there.

Yep. That’s it. It has to be it.

Scott looked in front of him to see a man standing in front of the door. He had red hair and blue eyes with a full beard on his face. He smiled at them.

“You’re late!” he said, leaning against the wooden support poll.

Jimmy scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry about that, FWhip! May or may not have taken a wrong turn or two.”

“He took several,” Scott blatantly said.

The man, who Scott now knew was FWhip, looked over at him with a sad smile. It was like he knew and he felt pity, but he didn’t want to show it.

“Hi again Scott,” he said, “though I guess it would be the first time for you.”

Scott squinted his eyes. He felt like he knew FWhip. There was definitely a hint of remembrance there. “You’re familiar. Though nothing is coming up. Do you build? I’m connecting that to you.”

FWhip nodded. “Yep! It’s slowly coming back to you! Katherine already mentioned how you remembered some stuff about her!” He looked over at Jimmy, his excited expression changed to one of hesitation. “Do you remember Jimmy?”

At that moment, Jimmy looked away. Scott felt the guilt rise. He looked over at him. He felt bad. He really did. He wanted to remember Jimmy. But he just couldn’t place his finger on anything about him. Not even a ‘hello’ or anything. No glance and no appearance.

It sucked.

“No. No…I unfortunately don’t remember him.”

FWhip nodded. He shifted his weight on the other foot and straightened his back. “...Do you remember…” he paused and pointed at the ring finger of his left hand. Right away, Scott knew what he was asking.

“Uh…a bit. It was just voices. There wasn’t a face to it but I remember his proposal to me. Not the entire thing, but just the part where he actually asked me.” Scott looked over at Jimmy as his sentence trailed off.

Jimmy seemed to be hugging himself for whatever reason. This was probably awkward for him. Now Scott felt bad.

Scott looked back at FWhip before asking, “Um…I was hoping that you, or somebody here, knows where he might be.”

FWhip quickly glanced at Jimmy before rubbing the side of his head. “Uhhh no. I can’t say that I do know. Sorry Scott.”

He just nodded. He understood. To an extent.

FWhip shifted before smiling and saying, “Hey, maybe someone else knows! The rest are inside! Why don’t you come inside and meangle for a bit?”

Yeah. That sounded like a good idea. Scott nodded before looking at Jimmy, who looked a bit better. That was good. Scott didn’t want to have to go home early because Jimmy vomited or something.

They followed FWhip inside to be greeted with an open room. The decor of the room was very casual. A few chairs for people to occupy and some plants to make the place feel more alive. There was also a dark oak staircase that led somewhere upstairs.

Scott assumed that the meeting table was up there.

There were already people there. And again, everyone there felt familiar, but Scott couldn’t place his finger on them. The only one he recognized was Katherine, who was sitting on the stairs, talking to a freckled redhead with green eyes and deer antlers.

Katherine looked over and waved with a smile on her face. This caused the deer-girl to look over and wave as well. Scott just waved back.

He looked over at Jimmy and FWhip only to see that FWhip had already abandoned them to go and speak with a brunette man with gray-blue eyes and a beard. The brunette looked over at them and waved with a big grin on his face. Scott waved back.

“I see you two are late.”

Scott almost jumped out of his skin as he felt someone rest their arm on his shoulder. He quickly turned his head to see a shorter man with brown eyes and brown hair leaning on him. He had a green streak in his hair and it looked like he was wearing a Shrek cosplay of some kind.

Scott scooted away and into Jimmy before a woman with pink hair, blue eyes and three blue dots underneath each of her eyes seemed to pop up from out of nowhere and slapped the stranger before him.

“What did we tell you, Joel?!” she shouted before huffing.

Wait. Joel? Scott felt like he recognized that name from somewhere. Like he heard it–the cult!

Apparently his expression expressed either fear or concern because the pink-haired lady sighed before saying, “I’m sorry Scott. He knows that you lost your memory but it seems he still felt the need to do that.”

“So if he’s Joel then…she’s Lizzie! Yes yes, that seems right! She’s Lizzie. And she’s married to Joel…and they’re both really good at building…”

“It’s alright,” Jimmy said. He leaned down and whispered, “This is my sister Lizzie and her husband Joel.” 

Huh. So Jimmy had a sister. He could kind of see it. Where Lizzie had blue dots, Jimmy had bronze ones. They had the same eye shape and nose. 

“Guess we’re the last ones, huh?” Jimmy asked.

Joel, still rubbing his arm from the fact that Lizzie just slapped him, nodded. “Yep. Well…Joey and Shubble aren’t going to be here. They said that they're going to start late for different reasons.”

Scott looked at the four other people in the room. So…eight people. Wasn’t the crowd he was expecting. Lizzie answered his question without him needing to ask. “Pearl is upstairs. Pixl had to step outside and call Zloy to discuss scheduling I’m pretty sure.”

Scott was going to act like he knew what she was talking about.

He bumped the number of people present there up to ten, and adding who Joel said would make it twelve people in this server. Huh.

Joel walked over to Jimmy before deciding that he should lean on him. “So, you’ll be on this server with no memory whatsoever?”

Scott exhaled before turning to look at the room of builders. He–wait…room of builders….That’s right! Everyone here was a builder!

Wait…he needed to get back on track.

Scott rubbed his left temple before shrugging. “It’s slowly coming back to me. And that’s why I want to do this. If only being around you guys right now is slowly making the dots come back together, then being on a server should make everything come back together. Besides, I didn’t want to miss out on this. I want to know if I’m remembering things correctly, but I also just want to experience the fun that I’m sure I once had with you guys. Hopefully I’ll know what those experiences are.”

Lizzie smiled. “Yeah, Katherine was mentioning how you remembered bits and pieces about her from simply talking to her.”

Joel grinned before leaning in a little to close for comfort. But for some reason, that felt like a Joel thing to do. “Ooh! Ooh! What do you remember about me?!”

Jimmy let out a snicker. Scott noticed that he was more silent than usual. He assumed it was so he could have this conversation with Joel and Lizzie. He appreciated that.

Scott looked into Joel’s brown eyes before humming. “I’m associating you with…building…dogs are also popping into my mind. I think it’s something recent. There’s also chaos, being a troll, and a cult.”

At that point Jimmy had to cover his mouth to avoid the snickers that wanted to escape. Lizzie snorted a little, and Joel didn’t seem that offended.

He pumped his fist into the air and shouted, “Yes! My legacy will now forever be known as…whatever you just said there. I’m going to act like I remember.”

At least he wasn’t mad for being associated with what Scott called a cult.

Scott looked around the room before adding on, “I’m getting builder vibes from everyone here. Am I correct?”

Both Jimmy and Lizzie nodded while Joel was in the background being...well…Joel. He was busy standing in the middle of the room being a hindrance to society by shouting about being known for chaos, what more information is needed?

At that moment the door behind them opened. They turned to see a man with shabby brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a beard against his tanner face walk in. 

“Oh,” he said, “hey. I see you two finally decided to show up.”

Jimmy simply smiled and waved. “Hey Pixl!”

So this was the Pixl that Lizzie mentioned. Scott shoved his hands in his jacket pockets before saying, “Hi.”

Pixl nodded at Scott and Jimmy. “How are you two doing? I figure it’s only polite to ask as you just got here.”

Jimmy shrugged. “Oh you know. The usual.” There was a type of strain at the end of Jimmy’s words.

Scott took a mental note of how Jimmy’s voice faulted before saying, “I seem to be having a headache everyday. Though I feel like that’s normal.”

Pixl nodded. He crossed his arms before everyone heard the door upstairs slam open.

They all looked up to see a woman with short brown hair and blonde highlights, light blue eyes, and a pale face waltz out of the room and leaned over the railing. That must be Pearl, Scott made note of.

She adjusted the black beanie on her head before saying, “Alrighty everyone! I’m extremely lonely up here so either you can come and join me, or we can start this meeting. I don’t feel like going downstairs at the moment.”

The meeting needed to start someday, so they decided to start it then. Right after the red-headed deer-girl, who Scott learned was Gem, comforted Pearl for being lonely.

Scott also learned who the man FWhip was talking to was. He was questioning why someone would name their son Sausage, but he was sure there were worse names out there.

The meeting went pretty well actually. Scott got a headache from trying to piece together where he knew everyone from, but it was at least productive.

He learned that in a few days, they would be going on the server. He also learned where everyone was going to be living. Apparently he thought it would be a good idea to live in the snowy mountains, but at least it gave him a few ideas of what he could do. Scott guessed he was just going to have to get used to the cold and constant snow.

Basically the entire meeting was just them confirming things with one another. Scott just went along with it. Thankfully, FWhip gave him a notebook to write everything down. Jimmy would look over his shoulder occasionally before he finally asked him if he could look over it later.

Scott just playfully rolled his eyes and agreed.

After the meeting, they all said their goodbyes and left. And just as they thought, it was lunch, so Scott and Jimmy decided to go get something small from a nearby cafe as Scott’s house was pretty far as they were currently closer to The Middle.

“How’s your headache doing?” Jimmy asked.

Scott took a sip of his coffee before grumbling. “Still a pain. Hopefully I have something that can help with it.”

Jimmy fidgeted with his fingers. They were still waiting for their food as apparently people in The Middle like eating at cafes for lunch for some reason. “If you don’t have anything, I can go out and get something for you. You know, just so you don’t have to deal with loud noises and people.”

Scott rubbed the side of his head. That meeting drained him more than he thought it would. He was exhausted. From the meeting and the lack of sleep. “Thanks Jimmy.”

Jimmy gave him a soft smile. Scott couldn’t help but smile back. It felt like the literal sun was beaming at him and only him. It was nice.

“Don’t worry about it. You should just rest when we get ho…to your house. I’ll take care of the minor chores.”

Again, he was like a literal angel. Scott gripped his cup of coffee before looking away. He couldn’t deal with this right now. He glanced at the ring on his finger before sighing.

“Where are you?”

“Oh my gosh.”

Scott gave Jimmy a confused look. He was looking behind Scott with this deer in the headlights look. Scott turned around to see what he was staring at.

He saw these two men that seemed to just be talking. The taller one was a brunette with his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had sunglasses resting on top of his head, which weren’t supported by anything as he had visible werewolf ears atop his head. He had blue eyes and some fuzz on his face.

The shorter had blonde hair and a lighter shade of blue eyes. He also had freckles that clearly dotted his face and elbows. He didn’t appear to be anything supernatural like his friend.

Well…no not friend. Scott scratched the idea as the brunette gave his companion a quick kiss and they were on their way.

Scott looked back at Jimmy who was still agasp. “Who are they…?” Scott asked, leaning in and whispering in case they could hear them.

Jimmy quickly shook his head before saying, “Ren and Martyn. They were on the last server we did. I may or may not have burned their banner, but that’s besides the point. I had no idea they were together. They…they gave no hints! I–well, I guess some…oh my gosh there were hints! I–oh my gosh how dare Martyn not tell me he and Ren are a thing! How–oh my gosh does anyone else know? I- I need to breathe…”

“Calm down,” Scott said, really confused about what was going on. He reached out and patted Jimmy’s back before saying, “Umm…so we know them?”

“They may or may not have created an entire army and from what I’m told they killed you twice...three times if you count the fact that Etho also killed you right before I–your husband got killed.”

Well that was a lot to process.

Scott decided that he was too tired for this. He chugged the rest of his coffee before declaring, “Give me my bagel and then I’m going home and going to sleep.”

Jimmy raised his eyebrows before taking a sip of what he was drinking. He looked away slightly, which allowed Scott to see that a faint pink flushed across his face.

He blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes. He decided he was too tired for this.

~

Scott opened his eyes to a completely different world. The air seemed warm, more peaceful and calm. There was a gentle breeze to this air; one that caused the flowers beneath him to slightly sway.

That was something else Scott noticed. The soft grass and colorful flowers beneath him that he sat on. Scott leaned back and felt the grass. Yeah, this was peaceful.

Scott sighed as he looked at the sunset before him. Yeah, this was a dream. This world felt peaceful. It felt familiar. Like he had been here before in the past. A past server maybe.

He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn’t turn to see who it was. For some reason, Scott felt like he knew who it was.

The person sat down next to Scott before shifting a little. “Hey Petal.”

A nickname. Scott felt as if his heart just skipped a beat as a warm feeling flushed his cheeks. He turned to look at the man next to him. If he could frown he would. He couldn’t see his face.

It was as if his mind prevented him from seeing who he was. Scott knew who this was though. He was his husband. He could tell right away.

The man was a dirty blonde who wore blue jeans and a red shirt with a blue jacket zipped up over it. The jacket had white patches, and from the angle Scott was sitting, he could tell that on his jacket displayed an “S” in the very middle. He wondered what it stood for. Maybe his name?

He smiled at Scott. Gods, that smile was beautiful. It was like the sun was beaming at him and only him. It was radiating. Gorgeous. Stunning. Magnificent. Heavenly. Words that Scott couldn’t even think of. It was a smile like that that made the world a better place.

Scott only knew one other person who had a smile like that.

He felt himself smile back. “Hey Sunflower.”

The nickname seemed to fit.

The blonde before him looked at the sunset before them. Scott almost lost his breath. Maybe it was because he didn’t remember his husband, or maybe he felt like that at the time–he didn’t know. But the sun shining on his face made him look absolutely radiant .

“This is very peaceful,” his husband whispered, “you can almost forget the world we’re in…”

Scott hummed. He looked back at the colorful sky. This time, he looked at his surroundings. It was clear he was in a flower forest, which continued on for what looked like forever. To his left however, he saw that it did end. There seemed to be a dark oak forest in the corner of his eye, but the main thing he looked at was the desert.

It was such a contrast to the forest that he was in. But Scott didn’t even seem to question it. His mind was questioning it, but his body didn’t respond. He was just visiting a memory. He couldn’t alter it.

Scott decided to lay down. The grass definitely felt softer than what he was expecting. His husband looked down at him before smiling. “Well aren’t you getting comfortable?”

A smile also spread across Scott’s face. He held his hand out. “Care to join me?” The main thing that Scott noticed was that he wasn’t wearing his ring.

Huh. So they must have only been dating at this time.

The blonde turned his head with a laugh. Even though Scott could barely see his face, he could tell that he was flustered. Still, he took his hand with a smile. “It would be my pleasure.”

He placed a kiss in the palm of Scott’s hand. As if his heart wasn’t beating fast enough as it already was.

Scott sucked in a breath as he brought his hand up and touched his husband's face. Gods, was his skin soft.

The blonde held his hand to his face, his smile growing at the flush became more apparent on his face. He slowly laid down on his side, Scott’s hand not leaving his cheek. So his hand didn’t leave Scott’s.

He faced Scott. Scott turned to face him as well and started questioning how his heart was still beating. He felt like he was going to die. Scott exhaled. Well, it would be a lovely way to die at least.

The man before him seemed to nuzzle his face into Scott’s hand. “This is quite comforting…”

Scott wondered if all their moments were like this. Or if there were some really fluffy ones where he felt like he could just lay there and watch his husband.

“.. .⋮╎ᒲᒲ||... ” 

Wait…why did his name come out like that? It sounded like a jumble of nothing. A glitch almost. That’s when Scott finally realized it. He wanted to cry. He couldn’t remember his husband’s name.

No name. No face. And yet he still made his heart flutter and made him feel like a pile of mush.

Still…without a face…he was somehow beautiful. Scott couldn’t disagree with what his heart felt. He knew he was just going to have to deal with it.

“Hm?” the blonde responded, scooting a little bit closer to Scott.

Scott pulled his hand away, though the man before him still held on to it. He looked at his husband’s hand and noticed his red, fingerless gloves.

Scott scooted closer as well, 'til they were only probably a few inches apart. He opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, before closing it. Whatever he was going to originally say just decided to stay in instead of escaping and allowing itself to be heard.

He tilted his head to the side, toward the cool grass. It felt cold at least. Though that may have been because his face felt like it was on fire.

“Can we lay here for the night…?”

The question seemed to come out of nowhere. The blonde tilted his head before asking, “But what if someone comes over here in the middle of the night?”

“I just want to sleep next to you is all I’m saying…”

He became even more flustered. Scott felt himself smile as he watched the man before him seemingly bamble incoherent nonsense. Scott reached over and brushed some hair out of his face.

“I- I…well...why don’t we sleep in a bed…?”

Gods, watching him stutter and try to word his sentences was much more of a tug on Scott’s heart then he realized.

“I don’t want to move…”

Scott brushed his hand down his face, letting his fingers linger on the faceless man’s cheek. He brought his other hand over and rested it against his husband's chest. It was so comforting, feeling and knowing that his heart was beating as fast as Scott’s was.

It was all so comforting. Scott felt as if he could slip from the world he was in and into this one. Relive whatever past he had. The question he had been asking this whole time seemed to slip from his mind. He could just close his eyes and rest. That would be enough.

“I- I don’t want to move either…”

The air felt a hundred times warmer. The blonde reached over and placed his hand against Scott’s chest. He almost let out a gasp before reaching over with his other hand and placing his thumb on Scott’s chin.

He scooted closer. “Can I…?”

Scott was already one step ahead of him. He felt himself bring his body closer to his husband and press his lips against his.

Gods, it was breathtaking.

It wasn’t fully passionate, but it was soft. It was beautiful. It just worked.

Scott felt his eyes flutter close as he pulled him closer to his body. His thumb circled his cheek and his other hand gripped his shirt tight. He felt the blonde wrap his arms around him, keeping him in an embrace.

But Scott couldn’t even focus on that. They were kissing for crying out loud! Scott knew that they would do that, of course, but he wasn’t expecting it to feel like this.

Gods, if he only remembered how soft his lips were. If only he remembered how they seemingly fit together like puzzle pieces. If only he remembered how sweet he tasted. It was as sweet as honey. Everything about it was.

Scott felt like he could melt. And maybe he did and he was just barely together. Yeah, this was a place he could seep into. If every memory was like this, he wouldn’t mind it. He could just close his eyes and rest here forever.

~

Scott woke up.

He opened his eyes and looked around his room. It somehow felt lonely even though he knew that Jimmy was sleeping in the other room.

Scott looked over to his right, sighing at the emptiness of the space next to him. He looked back at the ceiling, smiling a little at the dream he just had. Though at the same time, a sad feeling came over him.

“Where are you…?”

Scott rubbed his eyes before groaning. He knew what today was. It had been a few days since the meeting, and today was the day they would live on the server.

It definitely felt weird. Scott knew this day was coming. He had it on his calendar and he kept reminding Jimmy about it everyday because he got a feeling he would forget. But it still felt weird: leaving the comfort of where he was to go out into an unknown world.

He wondered if anyone else felt like this? Probably not. They’re used to it.

Well, it was better to get started. The sooner he stepped out of his comfort bubble, the sooner things would go back to normal.

Scott sat up and grumbled a little. He slipped out of his bed and got ready for the day. The usual. Like using the bathroom, changing, and casually grabbing a bag of clothes that he packed beforehand. 

Scott looked down at Jimmy, sprawled out on the couch with quiet purrs escaping his lips at each breath.

“Cute…”

The first question Scott asked himself was how the hell was Jimmy comfortable sleeping like that? Seriously, he looked like he was about to fall off.

He shook his head before shaking Jimmy’s shoulder. “Hey Jimmy, wake up.” 

No response.

A huff came from Scott. He shook Jimmy again. “Ay! Wake up! We’ve actually got things to do today!”

Again, no response.

Scott was resisting the urge to flip the couch out of spite. He shook Jimmy harder this time. “What part of ‘wake up’ don’t you understand?!”

This time, he gave a response. Jimmy just pulled himself back on the couch and curled up against the cushions. “Tomorrow Scott…” he mumbled so quietly that Scott almost missed it.

“Alright then. Have it your way.”

Scott grabbed his inventory bag and a granola bar that was just in the kitchen. He walked out of the door without another word. If Jimmy was going to be late, then it wasn’t his fault. He did his best.

The minute he walked outside, Scott looked down at his phone. FWhip had sent him the world that they were going to be in. This was the first time he would be experiencing world travel. Well, not true,  but he doesn’t remember the rest. The only thing he was told was that it would feel weird.

He clicked the world.

Oh. It did feel weird.

It was like Scott was being pulled from all directions. Like mini hands were grabbing him and pulling him toward the sky.

Scott looked at his hand and had to hold back a scream. It was like they were glitching away. Like he was being Thanos snapped almost.

Instinct said to close his eyes. He squeezed them close as he felt the rest of his body be pulled away at different times in the same direction. He only opened them when the feeling stopped.

He was in a jungle. Already, there were chairs surrounding a campfire. FWhip sat in one of the chairs just waiting.

He almost jumped out of his chair. “Oh geez Scott! You’re early!”

Scott nodded. He just found a chair and sat in it. “Well, I’ve really got nothing else to do.”

FWhip nodded. “Was going to expect you to arrive later because of Jimmy…where is he anyway?”

“He refused to get up so I left him.”

“Ah. Understandable. I’ll go get a Drowned and we’ll just pretend that that’s him. It’ll make no sense but it will be hilarious to explain to him later.”

Like he said, FWhip got a Drowned and shoved it in a chair. Somehow it stayed and Scott decided not to question it. Between that and afterward, people started joining and picking different chairs to sit in.

It was funnier seeing that Jimmy didn’t show up.

“Alright,” FWhip said, “let’s begin.”

Chapter Text

Well Jimmy definitely rested extremely well.

He woke up to a still house, a bit surprised at how quiet it was. Was Scott still asleep?

Jimmy sat up, shocked by the fact that he wasn’t tired after getting up, before getting off the couch. Before doing anything else, Jimmy shuffled over to his–no. Scott’s room. Yes. It was Scott’s room.

He peeped inside. “Scott?”

There was no Scott. The sheets were neat and clean, and he wasn’t even in the room.

Still confused, Jimmy decided to check the bathroom. He walked over to said room only to see that the door was slightly cracked open. Jimmy opened the door and looked inside.

Again, there was no Scott. Jimmy decided that he needed to pee anyway and did so.

Scott must’ve left already. Jimmy looked at the time in the kitchen clock. Well, he must have left extremely early. Or maybe he had something to do before he needed to leave for the server. For some reason, the latter option made more sense to Jimmy.

Well, since it was early, Jimmy decided he could just leave early as well! Nobody would expect that of him!

Jimmy ate his breakfast before changing for the day. He grabbed his bag of stuff that Scott insisted he would make for him and headed out the door. But before he closed the door, Jimmy looked back inside the house.

It was strange. He felt somewhat attached to the house. He never even got the chance to become comfortable with it and here he was: attached.

Jimmy never really was attached to his apartment. He knew he would be in it for only a bit before having to go on a server. It was his job after all.

It was a lot of people’s jobs. Anybody could live on a server, but some had it as their actual jobs. They got paid to live on servers and take notes on how it functioned. Servers are weird like that. It’s like they have a mind of their own. It’s like they’re their own world.

Servers can also alter people to fit the environment that they are in. That change disappears the minute they leave the server of course, but that alteration will be there once they join that server again.

And some servers are different from others. And really, the only ones in control of servers are the ones that create them or the admins; even then, they don't have all the power over it.

So some people make it their job to experience what the servers will bring, and report their findings to those in charge. It just helps them understand the world they live in a little bit more. And in exchange, they of course pay the people who take on this task.

Jimmy was just one of the people that kept forgetting to write everything important down. But at least he’s trying.

He exhaled before closing the door.

Jimmy took his phone out and clicked the world that FWhip sent him. He only shifted a little and closed his eyes as he felt himself being pulled into this new world.

He was used to the feeling by now. It felt like just a tickle at this point.

Jimmy opened his eyes to see that he was in a jungle. In this jungle, there were ten chairs surrounding a campfire. But for some reason, there was a Drowned in one of the chairs.

He decided not to question it and sat down a few chairs away from the Drowned. But he wasn’t rude, he nodded to the mob, which nodded back.

Jimmy felt his eyebrows scrunch together. The poor thing probably just wanted to be in water. How was it still alive? Jeez, he just joined and he already needed to write something down.

Well, Jimmy felt like he was going to be there a while. He pulled his book out of his bag before writing.

The jungle was actually quite peaceful. Jimmy put his book up before looking around. There was nobody in sight, not even FWhip, who should be here. But Jimmy felt like maybe he had his reason. He was just extremely early. That was all.

Jimmy sat there for a bit, not wanting to start until everyone else got there.

...He waited a long time.

Eventually, Jimmy looked at his phone. Did he have the right date? Oh. He was one day late.

Jimmy almost screamed. He thought he was doing so well. Nope. He wasn’t. He was doing how he normally does.

Jimmy huffed before standing up. “Looks like nobody thought to tell me,” Jimmy said to the Drowned with another huff. The Drowned just tilted its head.

Jimmy pursed his lips at the Drowned. It was going to die out here. He couldn’t let that happen. Jimmy looked around before reaching up and grabbing a big leaf. He held it up and above the Drowned. “C’mon buddy. Let's get you home.”

The dead creature gave him a confused look. Jimmy knew that this was risky, but he just couldn’t leave it there to die. That would be cruel.

“C’mon.”

Finally, the Drowned got out of the chair and stood under the leaf. Jimmy exhaled. So far so good. Now he just needed to find the nearest ocean. “Lets try and find your home. M’kay?”

The Drowned seemed to understand what he was saying. It followed Jimmy under the leaf as they wandered in a direction. Jimmy was more surprised at how it wasn’t attacking him. But the dead creature made no moves to do so. It just followed Jimmy through the jungle without even making a gargle.

Finally, Jimmy saw an opening. He smiled as he saw that that opening was an ocean. “Looks like we're here buddy.”

A happy-sounding noise came from the mob before Jimmy held out the leaf for it to access the open waters. The Drowned promptly jumped into the water, allowing Jimmy to finally allow his arm to rest.

“Glad I could help,” Jimmy said with a smile. He turned to look at the trees behind him. Now if he was corrected, he needed to cross those waters to get to the swamp. So he would have to get a boat. And some tools–just because he needed them.

Thankfully, trees were there. He chose a smaller tree and tore it down. After he had the wood, he made a crafting table and some wooden tools just to get started. He used the leftover wood to make a boat too.

Jimmy exhaled before placing his boat in the water. The Drowned peeped its head up and looked at Jimmy with an almost curious look. Jimmy didn’t even notice until he got into the boat and the Drowned decided to look over the boat and at him.

Jimmy almost jumped out of the boat. “Jeez you scared me!”

The mob lowered its head and sank a little back into the waters.

Jimmy now felt bad. He sighed. “Hey. Don’t worry about it. I’m a big chicken.” He smiled a little as the Drowned’s interests seemed to peak.

“Hey,” Jimmy continued, “do you know where the swamp is? I’m kinda hoping to live there.”

He had no idea what he was doing. Jimmy wasn’t even sure if the Drowned understood what he meant.

He was proven wrong as he felt the boat being pushed. Jimmy almost fell off again. He looked behind him to see the Drowned pushing the boat.

Jimmy smiled. “You are definitely the most interesting Drowned I have ever met.”

The rest of the boat trip was just Jimmy looking around as the mob took him to his destination. He was sure the Drowned had no idea where it was going, as at one point he passed what he assumed to be Lizzie’s place and he had to stop himself from asking if he could just pop in for a visit.

He could do that after he got his house set up. He could just look and see where everyone lived. That would be nice.

Eventually, Jimmy saw the swamp ahead. “Wow. Thanks for the lift!”

The Drowned just made a gargle of approval as it brought the boat to a stop.

Jimmy got out of the boat and looked over at the Drowned. “Hey. Thanks for the help! I appreciate it!”

The mob nodded and ducked into the water without another sound.

This left Jimmy all alone while it was getting dark. He looked at the sky and bit his lip. Guess he had to get a shelter of some kind.

Jimmy walked over to an open spot and decided that it would make a nice first night home. Well…more of a few nights…but that's besides the point.

So, Jimmy made a dirt tent.

Not very professional but it worked.

Jimmy placed his crafting bench down and looked outside. It was dark and he didn’t even have a bed. With a huff, Jimmy sat on the floor and curled up in the corner of his dirt tent. His face scrunched at the feeling. The ground was muddy and wet. Ew.

Well, he was going to have to get used to it. Jimmy hugged his knees and rocked himself back and forth. He wasn’t feeling tired one bit. It probably had to do with the fact that he slept for a whole day, but he wasn’t going to pay attention to that.

Maybe he could go mining? He did need torches in order to build at night. But it was dark, and Jimmy didn’t know where the caves were. This didn’t mean that Jimmy didn’t try.

He stood up and peeped his head out of the tent and looked around. There didn’t seem to be anything. Jimmy walked out of the tent and stumbled forward. He didn’t have a bed. He couldn’t set his spawn.

Plus, after 3rd Life, Jimmy wasn’t a fan of dying. Not like he was before, it’s just that 3rd Life upped his fear of death even if respawn was there to back him up.

“So far so good…” Jimmy whispered to himself as he shuffled out into the open and away from his unsafe tent.

This statement was, of course, proven wrong as a few mobs eyed him from the trees. Jimmy didn’t notice. He continued walking forward, looking around in the dark, murky swamp.

He decided to look up at the stars in the sky. For a moment he felt like his fear could slip away and he could just stare at the above. It was peaceful. It alway was. Jimmy could almost feel the soft grass beneath him as he remembered those nights.

Despite the war around him at the time, those were some of the best nights.

Jimmy could just forget where he was. He quite literally did.

A scream came from Jimmy as a baby slime started attacking his leg. Instinct kicked in and told Jimmy to actually kick. He did, sending the slime straight up and slapping him in the face.

Jimmy freaked out more and quickly grabbed the mob, throwing it off somewhere in the swamp. Jimmy let out a disgusted noise as there was now leftover slime on his head. He couldn’t even open his eyes.

Well, at least he now had a higher chance of dying. He could just imagine it. The chat popping up with the message: 

[SolidarityGaming was slain by a {insert mob here} due to blindness by Slime]

Gosh, that would be an embarrassment.

The fear worsened as he felt a cold, wet hand on his shoulder. Jimmy screamed again and flailed his arm in that direction, whacking whatever touched him in the face.

An almost gargled groan came from the mob. It was a Drowned. “Oh great. Here’s where I die.”

But that never came. Instead, Jimmy felt the Drowned drag him somewhere. He felt the mob shove him as a splash of water overcame him. Water. He was now in water. He wasn’t surprised one bit. It wouldn’t be the first time he drowned.

But that didn’t happen. Why didn’t–oh!

Jimmy grabbed the necklace around his neck. He almost forgot about it. How dare he. An instant guilt overcame Jimmy as he forgot the gift that Scott gave him. Well, he was happy he had it now. And he wouldn’t ever forget again.

Jimmy used this opportunity to wash the slime off his face. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a familiar-looking Drowned curled up and staring right at him.

“Oh!” Jimmy said. His voice was muffled by the water, but it was still audible. “You were the one who threw me in the water?”

The Drowned nodded, causing Jimmy to smile. 

“Well, aren't you extremely helpful? I probably would’ve died there if you didn’t do anything. Thanks again!”

The dead mob nodded. Its eyes looked around before it looked back at him and pointed at Jimmy. A gargled sound escaped his mouth as it gave Jimmy a confused look.

“Oh! Are you wondering how I haven’t drowned yet?”

Jimmy wasn’t sure how he had figured out that’s what it was asking, but he was right. The Drowned nodded at his words and tilted its head.

“Well, uh…this necklace actually! It’s got water breathing in it.”

The Drowned tilted its head to the other side.

A soft smile grew across Jimmy’s face. “It uh…it was given to me by someone special to me…someone I love…”

Jimmy’s voice faltered. He stared off into space as he thought of Scott. He wondered what he was doing, he wondered if he was thinking about him, he wondered if he remembered him. But mostly, Jimmy was hoping that he was okay.

The Drowned tapped Jimmy’s shoulder before gesturing for him to continue.

“You want to hear me out…?” Jimmy asked in surprise and confusion. This really was the strangest mob he has ever met. Were there other mobs like it? This was until he remembered that hybrids exist. He just pushed the thought away.

The Drowned nodded, causing Jimmy to smile.

“Gosh…I- I don’t know where to start,” Jimmy said. He looked out at the water. Nothing was coming. “It’s just…he means so much to me. Like…most of the time, he was poking fun at me…but...but there were soft moments. Mainly it was recently. But…they were moments that I want to last forever. I- I often wish I was still in those moments where it was just us and we could ignore the world around us. I love those moments. I love every moment. Even when he made fun of me because I knew it was just for fun.”

A gargled noise came from the Drowned.

Jimmy sighed. He looked down and brought his knees to his chest. “Yeah…it’s past tense. He doesn’t remember me and it’s my fault. He doesn’t remember me and it’s my fault, a- and I can’t do anything about it because…”

His voice faulted again. Jimmy buried his head in his knees. He couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but he felt like he was.

The Drowned just nodded. It didn’t poke any more information out of Jimmy.

“...Have you ever been in love?” Jimmy asked.

No answer.

The dead mob swam off.

Jimmy looked at it in confusion before he noticed the orange and yellow hues at the surface of the murky water. He swam up and popped his head out of the water, finally breathing in the air again.

The sun was coming up, that meant that the mobs were going away. Jimmy smiled at the thought as he brought himself back on land.

He plopped down on the wet grass and laid down. He didn’t notice it though–only the mud. Ew. That was going to get in his hair.

This realization made Jimmy sit up and dunk his head back in the water. He brought it back up and ran his fingers through it until he felt something…sticky. Jimmy pulled his hand back and watched as the slime stretched between his head and fingers, finally breaking after what felt like forever. The slime was still in his hair. Of course water didn’t get rid of it.

Jimmy groaned, slumping his head and his shoulders. Well, this sucked more than it should. How was he going to deal with this?

He could ask somebody. But he hadn’t had the chance to look around and see who he was neighbors with.

That’s right! He remembered he was neighbors with somebody! He just couldn’t remember whose name it was on the map during the meeting.

That’s when Jimmy remembered passing Lizzie’s base on the way here. She seemed like the best bet at the moment.

And so, Jimmy got into his boat, and rowed his way into the ocean. Because of course Lizzie decided to live in the middle of the ocean.

It was going to be a while. Thankfully, Jimmy was able to view the sunrise. Not as beautiful as a sunset, as a sunset would slowly fade into the starry night sky. But it was still beautiful.

Finally, Jimmy saw the small platform that Lizzie was living on.

“Lizzie!!” Jimmy shouted as he saw his sister standing on said platform. She looked like she was planning stuff out. Just standing there and waving her hands in the air.

Lizzie jumped as a yelp escaped her throat. She quickly turned her head and looked down as she noticed Jimmy in the boat.

“Jeez Jimmy! You scared me!” Lizzie shouted. She huffed, noticing his appearance. “And why do you look like you spent the entire night underwater?! Oh my gods–get up here!”

Lizzie grabbed Jimmy’s arm and pulled him out of the boat and onto her giant lilypad. “You’re soaking wet!” she added as she drug him over to a chest.

Jimmy shrugged as she set him down on one of her chests. “You know, I actually did spend my night underwater after getting attacked by a slime.”

A gasp was ordered and delivered. Lizzie grabbed Jimmy’s shoulders before shaking him forward and back. “What do you mean!? I get the slime attack, but how did you–” Jimmy interrupted her by pointing to his necklace.

“This has water breathing in it. Scott gave it to me before…you know…” Jimmy’s voice faltered like it did when he was talking to the Drowned. He looked down, not even paying attention to the words Lizzie was telling him.

“–did you survive?” was all that Jimmy actually heard. He wasn’t sure what she was asking, besides the fact that it had to do with him surviving.

Lizzie noticed and sighed. She pressed her lips together before saying, “I assume you need help with the slime in your hair?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah, it won’t come out. I don’t know what to do.”

A hum came from Lizzie. She leaned in, inspecting the green substance. “Well, the best option is to cut it out.”

Jimmy groaned. He wanted to avoid that option.

“Ay! Don’t give me that tone mister!” Lizzie said. She was already digging through her chests. She pulled out some clippers and a razor. “And besides, it won’t be too bad! Just a trim! Your hair will grow right back!” 

Jimmy grumbled as he crossed his arms and looked away. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this one bit.

That’s when a familiar gargle caused him, and Lizzie, to jump.

Lizzie zipped around at the Drowned and promptly pulled out her sword. “Drowned!”

“No no!” Jimmy jumped up and grabbed Lizzie’s arm. She whipped her head over at him, an anger in her eyes that gave Jimmy flashbacks to when they were kids, and made him question how Joel wasn’t terrified of this woman. Then again, knowing Joel, he was probably into that.

“What do you mean ‘no’?!” Lizzie asked, pulling her arm away with ease.

Jimmy walked over to the Drowned. “It’s nice! It’s the entire reason I survived last night and the reason I found the swamp!” He kneeled down closer to the mob who was staring at Lizzie. “I saved it from Spawn. It was just kinda sitting there and I couldn’t let it die.”

“That’s the Drowned we used to replace you!?”

“Wait what…?”

Lizzie put her sword down. “Yeah yeah! Because you never showed up, FWhip went and got a Drowned to use as your ‘replacement’. You should’ve seen the laughter he and Scott were trying to hold back as they explained it to us!”

Now Jimmy felt insulted. “I was asleep, okay?!” He looked back at the Drowned who just looked confused.

“Oh we all know! Scott told us how you wouldn’t wake up!”

Okay, now she was just poking fun at him.

Jimmy groaned and went to run his fingers through his hair, only to get them covered in slime again. That caused a louder groan of annoyance.

He dipped his fingers in the ocean and rubbed the slime off. “Funny. But can we get back to trying to find a solution to my slime problem?!”

Lizzie crossed her arms. “I already told you! We need to cut your hair!”

“But–”

The Drowned butted in, holding up an object for them to look at. It was a cod head.

Jimmy grabbed it, looking at the head. “Where did you get this?”

A gargle.

“They’re…giving this to me? Well, that’s nice of them.”

Lizzie gave Jimmy a look before looking at the Drowned. “So you can just wear the head until your hair grows back! Simple solution.”

Jimmy had to give in. No one would know. Besides, it’s not like the original reason he wanted his hair a tad bit longer could still remember.

He smiled at the Drowned before letting Lizzie cut his hair.

It was here that he decided that once he got his house built he was going to make everyone a cake. But not just any cake, a cake specific to their tastes.

Jimmy was learning how to cook and bake; this would be a great chance to see if he was any good now. And while Jimmy was looking out at the open ocean water, he smiled and decided something.

He was going to get a pufferfish. But not just any pufferfish. A Pufferish.

Chapter Text

Scott wished that he would get to see the full length of some of his dreams. Though as he knew, they were more memories than dreams.

Sometimes he didn’t have them, and he had a mostly quiet night. But other times, he was goofing off with a purple-haired woman, or messing with everyone around him, or blowing people up with falling stars, or simply building. It all varied.

And it all happened in clips. Sometimes he got most of what was happening, and sometimes just looking at someone brought back something. It was very random.

Scott opened his eyes to a familiar and warm flower forest. Oh. He remembered this place. The first dream he got.

He hadn’t been back in a while. He wasn’t sure why, but maybe it had to do with the clenched feeling in his chest. Like his heart was anticipating something bad to happen.

Scott looked around. He hadn’t seen the valley-area last time. He just knew it was behind him. It looked cute, and right away, Scott could point out some things that he wanted to add to the area.

Was it past him or present him, he wouldn’t know.

Scott looked down at the wheat in his hands before letting out a calm breath. He looked back up and scanned the area. Two houses across from each other; both were buried in the side of the mountains and right away, Scott knew that he built both. He just had that feeling.

He looked to his other side and saw the world border. It brought on a strange feeling. A part of Scott saw it as a wall to protect him, and the other part wanted to know what layed beyond the layer of blue static.

Scott shoved the wheat in his bag before walking over to the hobbit hole to his right. That one was his. He knew that. But before he could enter, a familiar and warm voice shouted his name from behind him. “Scott!!”

The soft feeling from before lingered in Scott’s chest as he turned his head toward his husband.

Still no name, and still no face.

But that didn’t stop the warmth that Scott felt when he saw him run up to him from the dip between the hills.

“What is it, ⋮╎ᒲᒲ|| ?” Gods, Scott hated the way that sounded. He internally cringed and questioned how his body wasn’t reacting to that almost glitched sound.

The blonde stopped before him, huffing a little, seemingly out of breath. “Gimme a sec…” He must’ve been running for sometime.

Scott pressed his lips together and looked around. He really wasn’t sure why. He really wished that he got his previous thoughts from these moments. Hopefully they would appear later.

The faceless man was finally able to control his breathing. “Alright,” he said, “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Well what is it?” Scott asked. His tone came off harsher than he believed he meant it, but his husband didn’t seem to mind. Though judging from his left hand, they were still just dating at this time.

Right away, the blonde started fidgeting with his fingers. “Well, I was hoping…if you weren’t going to do anything later today…I wanted to show you this one place I found…”

Scott had to admit, the look on his face as he said that was really adorable. Even though he couldn’t see all of it, he could just tell. He smiled, giving the flustered man before him a soft look. “Sure. Just let me put this wheat up first.”

“Uh…right! Sure! Go ahead! I’ll wait right here!”

Scott turned around and shook his head with a smile. A date sounded nice. It was completely different from the recent memories that Scott was dreaming about. But a memory was still a memory. He shoved his bag in one of his chests. His place still needed some work, but a date sounded absolutely lovely.

Scott walked back outside and smiled at the way the blonde seemed to be talking to the fish in the water. “Pep talk?” he asked, causing the man to jump.

“Ah…how could you tell…?”

“I’ve known you long enough.”

A blush spread across his husband's face. He ran his fingers through his hair and grumbled without a response.

Scott couldn’t contain his smile.

“Alrighty Sunflower, you gonna sweep me off my feet or what?” Scott asked, extending his hand for the blonde to take it.

He smiled at Scott, the blush growing across his face before he said, “Right right, follow me!” He took his hand and lend him between the two hills (the middle one and the one that had what he assumed was his husband's house) and through the forest.

Scott had to take in the scenery. What kind of world was this? Everything looked and felt like it would be peaceful, but there was an ache in his chest as if something bad could happen at that very moment.

Still, Scott focused on the surrounding forest; it was just trees. He then focused on the warm feeling that held his hand.

Scott looked down at the hand that held his own. The blonde’s gloves were off for some reason, so Scott could feel the warmth of the other. He could also feel the sweat. Right away he could tell that he was nervous.

He didn’t say anything about it.

“This is it.”

The two came to a stop and Scott almost let out a gasp. It was simply a pretty spot in the world–a small pond surrounded by trees and foliage. It was beautiful. At that moment, that was all that seemed to matter.

Scott looked up at the faceless man. “How did you find this…?”

“I was exploring the world and stumbled upon it. I thought you would like it, so I saved the coordinates.”

Scott placed his hand on his chest. It was simple. It was adorable. “It’s beautiful.”

There was a softened look to his husband’s face. From what Scott could tell anyway. “I...you’re beautiful.”

And there went Scott’s heartbeat.

His eyes widened at the remark. His face felt warmer. Scott looked at the pond before looking back at the man before him. “...Thank you…” He wasn’t sure what to say. Scott hugged himself and looked back at the pond and around the forest.

“Do you want to dance?”

The sentence came out so quick that it took Scott a minute to process what he was just asked. He looked back at the blonde. “To what…?” He had the feeling that he wanted to laugh, but didn’t.

His husband shrugged. “I don’t know.” He extended his hand. “Besides…might as well enjoy a quiet moment without having to worry about the death around us.”

Death. Scott didn’t like the use of that word. It brought a shiver through his spine.

But his body didn’t seem to react to it. He took his hand and felt himself be pulled into a spin.

It was awkward. Scott felt his feet get stepped on and he was a hundred percent sure that he was stepping on his husband’s foot. But, they were slowly finding some kind of rhythm to it.

Scott smiled. “This is nice.”

He smiled back. That beautiful smile that had no right being so fucking gorgous.

“It is.”

He spun him and Scott chuckled a little.

It was nice. Scott felt like he could just dance to nothing and everything would be alright. Though he stared at the faceless man before him and knew that things weren’t right.

“Where are you?”

His thoughts were interrupted by the blonde asking him, “How are you feeling?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“...I don’t know…just trying to start a conversation.”

Scott shook his head with a smile.

The feeling was so peaceful. They just spun around, unsure of where to put their feet and yet at the same time, knowing exactly what to do.

Scott could get used to the feeling of one hand on his waist, with the other on his shoulder. He could get used to the feeling of simply staring at the other's face. Even if he couldn’t see it, the peace was enough.

The peace was everything. And for some reason, it felt comforting.

“Of course peace is comforting,” Scott thought. But this was a different peace. It was like peace after war. None of it made sense.

“Dip me.”

Scott wasn’t sure why he asked that, but his husband did. He booped their noses together.

A laugh escaped both their throats. Scott tightly wrapped his arms around the other.

“That was so random!” Scott said with a smile. Even though he couldn’t see it, he could feel the other smile as well.

The blonde hugged him back and pulled both of them up to where they weren’t on the verge of falling. “It just felt natural!”

Scott felt like he could melt. The warmth and the safety that the hug brought was everything. It felt like nothing mattered. Like everything he had ever done led up to this moment. Just him and his husband hugging in the middle of the forest.

And they weren’t even married at this point! Scott wondered if the hug felt even better when they eventually got married?

Scott pulled back and looked at the man before him.

There was that smile. That radiant smile.

The warmth in his cheeks felt like it naturally belonged there simply from seeing it. He felt like a smile like that could solve all his problems. And yet it just brought more questions.

The smile faded, leaving a nervous look. Scott raised an eyebrow. “ ⋮╎ᒲᒲ|| ?”

“I- I actually brought you here for a different reason…”

Both eyebrows were now raised. “Oh?”

The blonde nodded. “Um…” He stepped back and out of their embrace. He looked down at the floor and started fidgeting with his fingers. “I…I know I don’t have much. I- I couldn’t even afford a ring…”

Wait.

Those words sounded familiar. Scott recognized those words.

“Wait, are you…?”

He pulled out a flower. A red poppy to be exact.

“I love you. A- and I want to be with you. I- I know a flower isn’t much, in fact it’s probably nothing at all…but I want it to be important for us.” The blonde took Scott’s hands and knelt down on one knee. “W- will you…if you’ll even consider it...will you marry me?”

He knew it. He freaking knew it.

Scott’s breathing became more erratic. He placed a hand on his chest. “W- wait…are…are you serious this time? Y- you aren’t joking…?”

Joking? What did that mean?

And as if to answer his own question, he remembered the two talking in a cave. The blonde handed him a red poppy and stated that he was confessing his love. Scott joked, saying that they were married. The man before him quickly tried to take back his words, saying that it was for poppies instead.

That somehow made his breathing more calm. Scott knelt down to the blonde’s level. He slowly slipped his other hand out of his grasp and placed it on his shoulder. “You aren’t joking…?” he asked again.

The other shook his head. “No…no. I’ve been thinking about this since we joked about it…and I actually liked the idea of us being married. I had everyone else help me try and figure out how to do this…of course…and I kept thinking about it…and about us. I love you…and I love the idea of being your husband and you being mine and–”

“Oh shut up, you’re making me feel like mush.”

Scott didn’t mean for the statement to come out as desperate as it sounded, but it somehow worked.

He brought both hands to the blonde’s and surrounded his closed grasp on the poppy with his own hands. Scott met his eyes, well...where his eyes should be, and smiled.

“Yes. Yes…I–” Gods, he couldn’t even form words properly. He frantically nodded, causing a smile to grow on the other’s face.

He pulled his hands out of Scott’s and wrapped his arms around him, bringing him into a hug. No words were said. He just let out a shaky exhale and buried his face on Scott’s shoulder.

Scott felt like he was melting all over again. He felt his arms snake their way around his husband (or is it fiance? No. I’ve been referring to him as his husband this entire time. I’m not changing that) and he relaxed.

He brought a hand up and tangled his fingers in the blonde’s hair. Soft. That was the only way he could describe it: soft.

Scott closed his eyes. “I love you.”

The word felt so natural. Like no matter what, those words would never falter in their meaning.

“That’s quite sad, isn’t it?”

“I love you too.”

Scott felt his husband lean back and out of the embrace. He opened his eyes only to see him smiling at him.

“Here…” He reached over and placed the flower in Scott’s hair. A warmth brushed against his skin, sending a shiver through Scott’s spine as he watched the other’s hand pull away.

Scott reached up and gently touched a petal of the red flower. He smiled.

“A petal for you, Petal.”

“...That was so cheesy…”

The blonde groaned before leaning his head back on Scott’s shoulder. “I’m trying my best…!”

Scott rolled his eyes. “Clearly. Do you even know what red poppies symbolize? It can mean peace, death, and if it’s for graves: eternal sleep. It also represents remembrance during war times.”

The faceless man leaned back and hummed. “Huh…I guess we’ve got the perfect flower for this world, huh?”

Scott hummed back. “Guess we do…”

His husband gave him a small smile, causing Scott’s heart rate to skyrocket. That was adorable and now his face felt like it was on fire.

A small kiss was planted on his lips. “Do you…um..want to go home since it’s getting late?” the blonde asked.

Scott looked up at the sky. He wasn’t aware of how late it was. “Yeah…yeah.”

“M’kay.” His husband took his hand, his smile growing. “Let’s get going.”

~

Scott hated waking up. Some would say that the feeling is refreshing. Others would say that the feeling is pure exhaustion and they would immediately want to pull the covers back over themselves and go back to sleep.

Scott was definitely on the latter.

It didn’t help that every morning, he would wake up with a splitting headache. He guessed it had to do with his memories, which didn’t help the feeling.

Scott turned to his side and grumbled. He hugged one of his extra pillows and buried his face in the cushion.

Don’t ask why he had extra pillows.

A groan escaped his mouth as the sun shined through his window. He was regretting his building decisions and everything else in his life.

Scott sat up, quickly feeling the cool air that surrounded him. It wasn’t as cold as it was outside, but it still brought some sort of shiver. It was tolerable though. It wasn’t much of a hindrance.

Scott exhaled. He got out of bed, promptly missing his warm blankets, before walking down stairs to his temporary kitchen. He was going to make his house bigger of course, Scott just needed a place for now.

Bread was always good for the soul. Scott grabbed some bread and leaned on his table while chewing on the cooked wheat.

The day was going well. After breakfast he would change and continue working on what he supposed would be his empire. It was lonely, he admitted, but it kept him busy for the day.

Scott walked back upstairs and over to his temporary closet and looked inside. Once he was finally done with the Sheep Shack he would make himself some new clothes. Clothes that would fit someone that rules an empire.

Yeah. That could work.

He hummed before putting on something that would keep him warm. Scott walked downstairs before walking out his door. He tilted his head up to the sky.

It was clear. There were no clouds in sight. The wind nipped at his skin, causing a shiver to go down his spine and a sharp pain on his cheeks. Scott turned his head away and looked at the ground, only to see a chest right in front of him.

Scott knelt down and read the sign next to the wooden box.

“A gift from the swamp empire! BEST FRIENDS?!? From Solidarity.”

The name confused Scott. This was until he remembered that usernames exist. If he remembered correctly, Solidarity was Jimmy’s username. Or…something that had to do with the word. He couldn’t remember.

An amused smile found its way onto Scott’s lips. So, Jimmy got him something? And judging from the sign, he still hadn’t picked out a name for his empire.

Scott still hadn’t picked one either, but it was a matter of picking on Jimmy.

That felt right.

Scott clutched a hand over his heart and stared at the box. Out of everything to remember Jimmy by, picking on him is the first thing. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

He just wished it was an actual memory and not a feeling.

Scott shook his head. He opened the chest and peered inside. A cake in a box. Jimmy gave him a cake, but something else as well.

Confused, Scott picked up the object…er…creature. It was a pufferfish. But it was named “The Pufferish of Peace”.

That was clearly a spelling mistake. Scott cringed a little at the misspelling of “pufferfish”. Disappointing.

But...he felt like he had seen the same name from somewhere. The same name. The same typo.

Scott put it up above his door.

He also put the cake in the kitchen. Scott took it out of the box and looked at it. He hated to admit it, but it looked tasty. That bread did nothing to fill him up either. So, Scott took a fork and took a bite of the cake.

Oh. Oh.

It was a whole lot better than he had thought it would be.

Scott hummed in satisfaction. He took another bite. The breading was soft, the icing wasn’t too sweet, and the mix between cream and strawberry jam in the middle was, dare he say it, exquisite. It was delicious.

Another bite. Did Jimmy actually make this? Scott felt like he shouldn’t believe it. 

He chewed on the fork before deciding he would save some for later. He put it back in its box and went back outside to start working.

It actually didn’t take as long as he was expecting. He just had to finish the roof and move the sheep inside. He also had to fix a hole a Creeper made when he was bringing one of the sheep in, but he wasn’t going to mention that.

Scott decided to sit down and make his outfit. It was actually quite peaceful. Just threading the needle in and out of the soft fabric seemed therapeutic almost. This was until Scott realized he didn’t have enough light blue wool.

He groaned and slammed his head on the table. Scott looked out of his window and grumbled. It was getting late; that meant that it was too dark to go and get some flowers. He had enough white wool (obviously) and he had enough of the cyan wool and yellow. Plus, he had leather from his cows.

But he needed orchids, which, of course, was only found in swamps.

Scott huffed before remembering that phones were a thing. He pulled it out and went to the public chat.

Huh. Joel sure seemed to like to murder himself.

Anyway…

[Smajor1995: if anyone has any light blue dye, can they bring it by in the morning pls?]

Scott sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at the cake box on the table before smiling. He still needed to finish that. How could he forget?

But before he decided to finish it, he decided to at least go look at the Sheep Shack to see if it was complete.

Scott got up and went out the door. He walked up the side of the snowy mountain and looked at the building. A slight smile curved itself on his lips. It looked pretty. And in Scott’s head, he could envision other builds with a similar build pallet.

This place was going to look beautiful. He already knew it.

Scott turned back around and walked toward his house. This was when a masked figure curled up next to his house caught his eye. It was Jimmy. Something just told him that it was Jimmy.

He was covered in snow.

The green fabric he was wearing probably wasn’t for the cold.

He was shivering.

Yep. It was Jimmy.

“What are you doing here?!” Scott shouted as he ran over to him.

Jimmy looked up at him. It was here that Scott saw what he was wearing. It was a cod head.

“Oh. I was wandering around and got lost…” Jimmy responded

“How typical.”

Scott huffed. He stood in front of Jimmy before placing his hands on his hips. “Well, why are you just sitting out here in the freezing cold? Come on! Get inside!”

Scott pulled Jimmy up and dragged him inside. Jimmy didn’t even protest–well, Scott didn’t think he did. He couldn’t really tell now thanks to the cod head’s beady eyes.

“How the hell did you get covered in snow?” Scott asked as he began dusting off said snow from Jimmy.

Jimmy grumbled. “I fell…”

Scott sighed. He took Jimmy’s gloved hand and pulled him toward a fireplace with an ongoing fire. “Here,” Scott said, “stay here. I’m going to go bring some blankets.”

Jimmy did as he was told. When Scott came back, he saw that Jimmy was sitting on the floor in front of the fire. He was just staring at it. Everything about him was unreadable because of that stupid cod mask.

Scott sat down next to Jimmy and wrapped a blanket around the latter.

“Thanks,” Jimmy whispered. He looked over at him and Scott had to resist the urge to laugh.

“Why do you have a cod head on?” he asked, wrapping another blanket around Jimmy.

Jimmy curled up and pulled the blankets tighter around himself. “I…got slime in my hair and Lizzie had to cut it for me…”

“Oh. That’s it?” Scott crossed his arms. “What? So you don’t like your haircut? I’m sure it’s fine.”

“I- it’s not about that!” Jimmy said. “I- its…” His voice trailed off. He looked back at the fire and decided that gazing into its flames were better than anything.

Scott huffed before crossing his legs. Might as well get comfortable. “Just take it off. It’s just us two. Nobody’s gonna see.”

That sounded better in his head.

Jimmy looked back at him and grumbled. He leaned in a little bit, almost like he was going to lean on Scott, before he quickly changed his mind and pulled back.

That hurt. For some reason, that hurt.

“...Alright…” Jimmy finally said.

He reached up and pulled the mask up and over his head.

Scott hummed. Nothing changed much, other than the fact that his hair was a tad bit more trimmed now. It was the same pretty–no. Same face. Yes. It was the same face.

“Quit thinking about that.”

“It isn’t so bad,” Scott said.

Jimmy looked to the side. There was some kind of guilt in his eyes that Scott couldn’t read. He turned his head to the fire. His gaze seemed lost.

Scott pursed his lips. This was just awkward now.

He looked in the other direction and noticed the cake in the kitchen. A smile curved on his face.

Scott stood up and walked over to said kitchen. He grabbed the box and two forks before bringing it back to Jimmy.

He gave him a confused look. Scott slumped down and opened the box. “You might as well enjoy your own baking,” he said before handing Jimmy a fork.

Jimmy stared at his fork as Scott took a bite of the cake. Scott hummed. “It’s really good. You should try it.”

Jimmy’s face flushed a little. “O- oh. Thanks.”

Scott placed the box in between them as Jimmy shifted so he would be facing Scott and the box. Jimmy reached over and sliced a bit of cake before shoving it into his mouth.

He smiled.

It was a beautiful smile. Scott couldn’t argue with himself on that.

He only knew one other person with a smile like that.

Scott quickly shook his head. He was staring. He couldn’t be doing that. So, he took another bite of the cake.

Jimmy looked at him with a deer in the headlights look. The description only made more sense to Scott as Jimmy’s eyes just so happened to be brown.

“What is it?” Scott asked.

Without hesitation, Jimmy reached over and wiped some frosting on the corner of Scott’s mouth off with his gloved thumb. He blinked, finally realizing what he did, before pulling his hand away and backing up.

Scott felt his stomach twist. His face felt warm and he knew it wasn’t from the fire.

“Um…there was frosting on your face…” Jimmy mumbled as he stared at the fire.

Scott hummed. “I was saving that for later.” He might as well try and salvage the situation.

Jimmy smiled. He scratched the back of his neck before looking back at Scott. “That was extremely awkward.”

“It was.”

Scott looked over at the flames. The crackle seemed comforting and familiar. It felt home-like. It felt like all he needed was a fire, a cake, and someone there with him.

Though, he guessed Jimmy would have to do for now.

He silently laughed to himself as a small smile crept onto his face.

“...You know why I don’t want my hair being this short…?”

Scott looked up at Jimmy with confusion. He continued with, “Um…it was just what someone important to me said. They told me that they liked my hair slightly longer so it’s easier for them to run their fingers through it.”

Huh. That seemed sweet.

Scott hummed in response. He stared at his fork. “That’s nice.”

Jimmy gave him a half smile before looking back at the fire. He seemed really invested in that fire if Scott was being honest.

“...I’ve had a few dreams…” Scott said.

Jimmy’s head shot up. He scooted closer to Scott, quickly shoving another piece of cake in his mouth. “Were they memories or just normal dreams?”

“Memories,” Scott said, “sometimes it’s me building. Sometimes I’m hanging around somebody that I haven’t seen yet since waking up.” He hesitated and hugged his knees. “...I…I’ve had two dreams about him.”

At an instant, Jimmy seemed more interested. He almost jumped out of his spot before finally deciding that he preferred sitting there. Scott found it a little amusing.

“Um…who–I–what…what do you remember?” Jimmy quickly stumbled out.

Scott rocked back and forth in his spot. He gave the cake in front of them a sad look before saying, “Well…I don’t remember his face.”

The look that formed on Jimmy’s face from those six words hurt. It was a look that scattered somebody’s world. It was a look that someone gave once they realized how cruel the world really was.

World breaking. That was the look. World breaking.

Jimmy leaned back. His gaze became lost in the flames again. This time, pain was all that Scott could see in his dark eyes.

Scott swallowed the build up of spit in his throat. He looked out the window only to see how dark it was.

“How were your memories…?”

Scott gave Jimmy a surprised look. He wasn’t expecting that. Especially after how Jimmy seemed hurt for no reason.

“They were nice and warm,” he said, “I remember a field of flowers and a feeling of peace. It felt like it was just us two. The first one was just us lying on a hill of flowers. We just looked around and spoke. I felt so...warm…it was so nice. The second one was when he had proposed. I…got the context this time. It was so peaceful. Just us dancing, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I felt like I could just stare into his eyes all night. When we hugged I felt like I could melt. When we kissed I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. When he smiled it felt like everything was right in the world. Gods, his smile is gorgeous. I feel weak looking at it. I feel like I don’t deserve his smile.”

Scott blinked back into reality. “Sorry…I was ranting, wasn’t I?”

Jimmy seemed happy watching him. He was hugging his knees and watching Scott with a smile. “I now see what that lady meant when she said that you rant about your love life…” Jimmy whispered. He gave Scott a small smile.

Scott smiled back. He felt like he was compelled to.

Jimmy looked out the window before slightly jumping. “Oh shoot! I didn’t realize how late it was!” He quickly jumped up, letting the blankets fall to the floor. “I- I better get going…”

Scott pressed his lips together. “Are you sure? I mean, it’s dark out there and the swamp is pretty far away. Plus, there are mobs out there.” He slowly stood up as he finished speaking.

Jimmy stretched a little. “Don’t worry, a recent event taught me how to travel through forests and not get killed.” Jimmy picked up the cod head. “Seriously, sorry for overstaying my visit.”

A voice in the back of Scott’s mind told him to make sure that Jimmy stayed. It told him to let Jimmy stay the night.

“W- wait…”

That sounded more pathetic than Scott intended for it to sound. He could feel the heat rush to his cheeks as Jimmy gave him a confused look.

“I...I just–I don’t want to be worrying about you. If you had an elytra, I- I wouldn’t be worried, but you’re you…and I don’t want you to die. Just…just stay here for the night.”

Gods, that sounded needy and pathetic. Scott mentally slapped himself in the face as he noticed the way Jimmy’s face flushed.

Jimmy looked to his side before mumbling, “Um…I- I guess one night wouldn’t hurt.”

Mental note: being needy worked on Jimmy.

Scott smiled. He bent down and picked up the cake box. “Um…you can go upstairs. You can have the bed if you want. Think of it as me saying sorry for having you sleep on a couch for days.”

Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair before mumbling to himself. He smiled at Scott, creeping over to the stairs before saying, “Thanks…”

Scott walked over to the kitchen and watched Jimmy walk up the stairs as he placed the box on the table.

“...I’m going to chop his head off someday.”

The idea came out of nowhere and Scott just went with it.

He walked back over to the fireplace and picked up the blankets that Jimmy dropped when he stood up. Scott walked upstairs only to see Jimmy sitting on the floor.

His eyebrows furrowed. “I said you could have the bed.”

“Yeah. But it’s your bed. Plus, the floor is good for my back!”

Scott didn’t understand Jimmy’s logic. He huffed and shook his head before throwing the blankets toward Jimmy. Jimmy toppled over from the covers, letting out a yelp.

“Suit yourself.”

Scott sighed as he stumbled over to his bed. Jimmy peeped his head up from the other side. “Um…do you have an extra pillow?”

“I always have extra pillows,” said Scott. He picked one up and tossed it over to Jimmy.

Jimmy smiled in return before nodding and laying back down.

Heartbeat. A heartbeat was all Scott could hear. He fiddled with the ring on his finger, mentally hating himself. Scott swallowed a build up of emotions before taking the ring off and placing it on the nightstand next to his bed.

Scott climbed on the mattress and pulled the covers over himself. He stared at the ceiling. Blinking. Breathing.

Finally, he sighed. Scott leaned over and looked down at Jimmy. Jimmy looked up at him. There was a look in his eyes. It seemed sad and almost curious. Scott bit his lip. “Jimmy?”

Jimmy leaned up a little. “Yeah..?”

Scott wanted to reach out and touch his face. He couldn’t hear his own thoughts anymore. Only the sound of his heartbeat rang through his ears. Scott reached a hand out.

“...Goodnight Jimmy…”

He pulled his hand back and leaned back in bed.

“...Goodnight Scott.”

Scott let his eyes close. Never more had he ever wanted rest in his life.

~

Scott opened his eyes to rain.

He stood under a cover and watched the rain fall. He could tell that he was in the Hub World. It looked and felt like the Hub World.

Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. Not many people were on the streets. Of course they wouldn’t be. It was raining.

He hummed as he watched the precipitation fall. It was nice.

His peace was interrupted by the sound of someone shuffling under the cover with him. Scott looked over. If he could gasp he would.

It was the same faceless man he had been seeing. The only difference here was that he was clearly younger than what he was in the previous memories.

He looked over at Scott. His interest seemed to peak a little as he fidgeted with his fingers. Scott just looked back at the rain. He didn’t react to this one bit.

“Um…hi…”

Scott looked back at the blonde with a confused look. He just gave a little wave to Scott before saying, “I–uh…just wanted to say hi.”

Well it was obvious he was flustered. Past Scott must’ve noticed this too. He gave the faceless man a condescending look. “Hi.”

He looked back at the rain.

Scott could hear the blonde shuffling closer to him. He could see him occasionally peeping over at him from the corner of his eye.

Oh he was really flustered. It was so obvious.

“I- it…um…it’s really pouring down...huh?”

Scott hummed a bit at his attempt at conversating. “Guess you learned that first hand, huh?”

He looked over to see the blonde grumble a little. Scott knew that if he could see his eyes, they would probably be filled with shame and embarrassment. It was true though. He was soaking wet and all Scott had to do was stand there.

Scott felt himself stare at the man before him. Dang. He really was soaked. It must have been pouring more than Scott realized. Either that, or he was just running in the rain for too long.

Scott shook his head before stepping out into the rain himself. He stood there and looked up, feeling the drops fall onto his face and soak his clothes and hair. Scott stepped back and looked over at the blonde who looked confused.

“There. Now you aren’t lonely.”

The blonde gave a confused and flustered look. “I–” He continued making incoherent noises as Scott rolled his eyes.

He shivered a little. “Okay…that might have been a mistake.” He looked over at the faceless man before smirking a little. “But, you’ve got a pretty face. Gods know what I do when I see a pretty face.”

A bright red covered the blonde’s face. He quickly tried covering it, but Scott had already noticed a long time ago. Scott shook his head with a smile.

He looked back at the rain. It wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, was it? Scott sighed before hugging himself. The rain really was a lot colder than he expected. He shouldn’t have done that.

Scott tightened his jacket around him before he felt another jacket being placed over him. He looked over at the blonde, who was now jacketless and closer than where he was before.

“Um…I hope that helps…” he said, fidgeting with his fingers.

Now Scott was the flustered one. He felt his face warm up to a point where he was wondering how he wasn’t on fire. His legs felt like mush and he didn’t want to move his eyes. Even though Scott couldn’t see his face, he knew the expression the man was making must have been adorable.

Scott stuck his hand out. “I’m Scott.”

Oh.

This was when they first met.

That would explain the way that they were acting toward one another.

The blonde seemed surprised. Still, he smiled and took Scott’s hand. “I’m ⋮╎ᒲᒲ||.”

His name sounded so weird coming from his own mouth.

Scott smiled. He wasn’t going to tell him that his wet jacket wouldn't do anything. He seemed too happy.

Nope. Scott smiled at him instead. It seemed to be the start of a beautiful relationship.

~

Jimmy looked down at Scott. He sighed as he gripped the cod head in his arms.

Scott looked so at peace when he slept. He looked to be in his own little world. A world that no one could wake him from.

“I’m glad that you think of me,” Jimmy whispered, “even if you don’t know that you’re thinking of me…”

Jimmy sighed before looking out the window. The sun was coming up. It should be safe for him to travel home now. Except for spiders and creepers and the occasional enderman, but it should be safer.

Jimmy looked back at Scott and smiled. He was beautiful. He wished that he could go back and tell Scott that he was beautiful so many times that it embedded in his brain from the amount of times Jimmy repeated it.

There were so many things Jimmy wished he said more of. But, he couldn’t say them now. He wasn’t sure of when he would be allowed to say them again.

But when he gained the chance again, he knew he would repeat every single word until his voice hurt and then some. He placed a few blue orchids on the nightstand next to Scott’s bed. 

Jimmy leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on top of Scott’s head. “I love you,” he whispered.

He felt like it had to be said. Over and over again.

Jimmy walked down the stairs and stared at the Pufferish of Peace above the door. He smiled. He headed out of the house and went home.

Chapter Text

Living in the swamp wasn’t as bad as Jimmy thought.

It had been some time since everyone arrived on the server, and Jimmy believed he was doing well. He had a house, a tower, a gazebo, and a few stalls. It was great.

Until he looked over at what other people were doing. There went his self esteem: down the drain. It didn’t help that one of those people, Sausage, just so happened to live right next door.

Other than the fact that Sausage stole his very important music disc, but that's besides the point.

Jimmy took out a shovel and looked down at the dirt. Paths would look nice. He looked out to the ocean. A dock would also look nice. Jimmy began shoveling small parts of the dirt to make a path, half regretting his outfit choices.

Don’t get him wrong, he did change his outfit to get in the spirit of his empire. He wore a baggy, light green long-sleeve with loose, dark green pants, and brown boots. He also wore black gloves because why not. Needed something that wasn't green besides his shoes.

Jimmy started fanning himself. Jeez, it was never THIS hot before. Wait a minute…

Jimmy turned around to see Joel standing right behind him with fire. Yep. Fire. He was holding a bunch of sticks that were on fire. Jimmy concluded that Joel definitely had a third degree burn from that.

“Hello Jim,” Joel said, his face as blank as ever. He didn’t even make a move toward Jimmy. He just stood there.

“W- were you just going to stand there until I noticed you?”

“Maybe.”

Jimmy laughed a little before turning his body so he was facing Joel. “How are you not on fire?”

Joel dropped the sticks and stomped out the fire. “Oh you know me. I’m fireproof now. Thought you would know?” Joel wiped his white-gloved hands on his back trousers before adjusting the golden crown atop his head. “I learned a lot about burning stuff from the last server we did together. You should know that.”

Jimmy grimaced a little at the thought. 3rd Life was still fresh in his brain. “Yeah…maybe next time don’t burn down our walls.”

“Well, I was bored.”

The perfect explanation for anything really.

Jimmy leaned a little on his shovel. “Well, I wouldn’t understand your boredom.”

Joel crossed his arms as his eyebrows furrowed. “Come on! You sure you didn’t have a little bit of bloodlust at least? You were one of the first Reds and yet you didn’t act out like the rest.”

That was true. Jimmy just didn’t feel all murder-like like everyone else. When Scar mentioned the feeling to him he was confused and a little concerned that ALL of the Reds were feeling like that all the time. It sounded painful.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Jimmy was completely out of the equation. There were moments when he would black out and wake up only to be standing behind Scott with an axe, ready to swing.

He would quickly pull the axe away and act like nothing happened the minute he would realize what was going on. Jimmy freaked out about it to himself and would act like everything was fine when Scott started questioning him about it.

Except for that one time Jimmy opened his eyes only to see that he was in the middle of strangling Scott to death. He had to explain everything then. He cried. A lot. Especially when Scott hugged him and told him that everything was alright, and that next time he should ask him for consent to choke him.

Jimmy smiled at the thought. He wondered how Scott was doing. The last time he saw him, they had run into each other while resource gathering and Scott had promptly decided to decapitate Jimmy. Twice.

Twice.

Afterward Scott ran off like nothing happened, leaving a very confused and slightly flustered Jimmy.

“I had my moments…” Jimmy whispered as he looked over at his house. It was for no particular reason. It just happened to be in the direction he was staring.

Joel shrugged. “How have you been by the way? Last I saw you, you kinda drowned me.”

Jimmy shrugged as well. “Not much. I don’t like salmon.”

“I don’t like horses. I murder them on spot and decorate my walls with their heads. Do you decorate your walls with salmon heads?”

“Uh…no. I burn them. They are the natural enemy of cod.”

“I see.” Joel shifted his weight before scratching the back of his head. “How’s that going for you? You and Lizzie have just decided to become fish for some reason.”

Jimmy shrugged. “It’s head’s stuffy sometimes. But, I’m getting used to it. But I’m thinking of asking Katherine to make me a fish hat to wear instead.”

If he was being honest, he hardly noticed the head. It had become a part of him at this point and he didn’t mind that much. He was a cod now.

Yep. He was a fish.

“A...fish hat?”

“...You know...a hat...that looks like a fish.”

Joel simply rolled his eyes in return. Jimmy couldn’t tell if he actually meant it or not–it was very confusing.

“So, I heard there was a war brewing that you’re a part of?” Joel said as he crossed his arms.

“Oh!” Jimmy said. “Yeah! You see, Sausage stole my music disc, you know, the Greatest Song in the World, for no reason! He says that I stole from him but he said that I could take some stuff!”

Joel looked like he was half paying attention. He placed his hands on his hips and grumbled/hummed. Of course he would be confused, he’s just been building for days on end. Jimmy bet that if a major event happened that involved everyone on the server, Joel STILL wouldn’t be a part of it.

“So…who’s helping him? Cause FWhip was the one to mention a war against you which is why I’m asking,” Joel said.

Jimmy was practically laying on his shovel at this point. “Mainly FWhip and Gem have been helping him...though Gem confuses me.”

Immediately Joel was interested. “FWhip is actually a part of this? Aight, let’s go on a murder spree.” Joel pulled out his sword. “He called me poor and I need to get my revenge.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. “I...don’t have anything planned yet...”

Joel cursed to himself. “Dang it Jim! I was about to have fun!”

“Hi.”

The two quickly turned to look more inland as they saw Sausage, standing in his long red robe with white fuzz on the edges. The rest of his outfit was just a teal long sleeve with black pants and shoes, and a golden crown on his head.

Jimmy started questioning why he was the only one without a crown at this point.

Joel sneered before holding his sword up and stepping closer to Sausage. “Well hello there breakfast boi! You weren’t my target but you’ll do!”

Jimmy started to ask himself where Joel’s bloodlust was when they did 3rd Life, but then he remembered: Joel burnt down his wall, and Jimmy had died before he got to see him do anything else.

Though from what he was told, Joel had an army of dogs. Even though that’s terrifying as heck, they didn’t really do anything as Joel died like…immediately after.

Sausage held up his hands in the air. “No no! I come in peace Joel! I’ve simply come to relay a message to Jimmy!”

A little skeptical, Jimmy hesitantly crossed his arms. “Well…what is it?”

Sausage hummed. He looked like he was pondering his words before he said, “Hmm…well, let’s see…I listened to your music disc. Yes yes…it was quite lovely–just kidding! It was the worst song ever! Okay, bye!!”

The man quickly turned the other direction and legged it.

“Oi!” Joel shouted, not even giving Jimmy a chance to say anything. “Get back here!!” Joel quickly ran off, leaving Jimmy confused about what just transpired until he dropped his shovel and decided to follow them.

“Take back what you said!!” Jimmy shouted. He was really confused about what was going on, but he had the spirit.

“Never!!” Sausage shouted before running faster. He turned to his right and briefly stopped before mumbling something that Jimmy couldn’t hear from where he was. Sausage quickly looked behind himself and booked it.

“Get back here!!” Joel repeated. He also stopped and looked to his right. “Hi Scott. I’m hoping that he’ll take me to FWhip. Okay, bye!” And...he continued his chase.

Jimmy noticed that Scott was actually standing there. He also looked very confused.

“Hi Scott,” Jimmy said as he slowed to a stop. He was huffing a little to try and catch his breath. “What are you doing here?”

Scott looked way too dressed up to just be wandering around. He wore this detailed white cloak with lances of gold and a fancy blue shirt underneath with black pants. He also happened to be wearing a crown. Though, this one was silver with a hit of gold. All of his outfit appeared to be lanced with gold.

He looked down at Jimmy from the small lump on the ground he was standing on. The way the sun shined on him, the way his hair was made, and the way his blue eyes seemed to stare into Jimmy’s soul–it was breathtaking. Jimmy felt his face heat up at the sight.

“Oh my gosh step on me–no no. Don’t think that.”

Scott crossed his arms and looked off in the direction that Sausage and Joel had run. “Well, Gem told me that FWhip had dared Sausage to insult your music disc, so I had to come and see the outcome. I wasn’t expecting…this…”

Jimmy looked at the trail of dust the two left behind. “So…he doesn't think my music disc sucks?”

“Eh. That depends. What song is it?”

“Why it’s the Greatest Song in the World!”

“...What song is it Jimmy?”

“...Disc 13.”

“...Jimmy, that song sucks.”

Now Jimmy felt offended. He furrowed its eyebrows and put his hand on his chest to be overdramatic. “How rude of you!”

“I’m just being honest,” said Scott as he stepped down from the lump he was standing on.

“Wait...when did Scott become taller than me?”

Jimmy stepped back and looked Scott up and down. A confused look painted his face as he stared with his mouth agasp. He pointed and looked down at Scott’s feet. Was he wearing heels?

“Wow. If you’re going to check me out, don’t make it so obvious.”

A bright red painted Jimmy’s face as he stared at Scott straight in the eyes. Well…as straight as he could be when looking into them (which wasn’t a lot). Jimmy was just glad that he was wearing a cod head. The smirk on Scott’s face made Jimmy feel so vulnerable.

“I–no no! I was just…when did you become taller than me?”

Scott looked down at his shoes and kicked his right foot out for Jimmy to look. “It’s my boots. See? They have heels.”

And so they did. Jimmy nodded. “Nice. They look nice.”

Scott smiled. Gosh it looked beautiful. “Aw! Why thank you.”

Jimmy scratched the back of his neck as he continued looking Scott up and down. He couldn’t help it. “I–the rest…you…you look great by the way.”

“Aw…what do you want? You never do this.”

“Oh darn! I’ve been fumbled!” Jimmy said with a laugh. Scott laughed as well. Oh how he underappreciated that sound. It felt so nice to hear.

Jimmy fiddled with his fingers and shifted his weight on his foot. “No…but um…last time we saw each other you kinda murdered me twice...so…” He quickly shook his head as he felt his heart skip a beat at the thought.

Scott blinked before crossing his arms. “Oh, I just wanted your head. One is hanging up on my wall with Gem’s. I gave the other one to someone else though I can’t remember who…”

“Ah. That’s nice to know.” Jimmy looked off in the direction of his swamp. “Well, I’m glad there are no ill intentions at least.”

“Course not. You haven't done anything, as far as I’m aware, to get on my bad side,” said Scott with a half smile.

“I’ll make sure to try and stay on your good side then,” Jimmy said. He smiled, completely forgetting that Scott couldn’t see it. “Ima be heading back to my empire now. See you later–”

“Wait–! Can…can I come see. I haven’t been over and I just want to see what your place looks like…”

Jimmy could notice the faint blush on Scott’s face. He bit his lip. He hated this. He wanted to hold Scott and kiss him senseless. He wanted to be able to press his head in the crook of his neck and smile while they cuddled just like in the past.

Scott turned his face away and grumbled a little. “That came out more petty than I wanted it to be…”

Jimmy blinked back into reality. He quickly shook his head. “No no! It’s fine! I was just thinking. You can come visit. I- I’ll lead the way! C’mon!”

Jimmy gestured for Scott to follow him before walking in the direction that he came. The only reason he knew this was because the swamp colors were that way. He was grateful that the swamp was a darker shade of green than regular forests otherwise he would be really confused.

Scott raised an eyebrow before shrugging. He followed Jimmy, grimacing a little at the mud getting his shoes dirty.

Jimmy looked down and smiled. “Maybe you shouldn’t white shoes next time you come to visit me.”

Scott looked over at Jimmy before looking at his outfit. He furrowed his eyes. “You’re telling me. You’ve got mud all over your clothes! When was the last time you cleaned them?”

Before Jimmy could answer, Scott continued with: “With CLEAN water.”

Jimmy shut his mouth and looked away. He lived in a swamp. It was muddy. Plus, he was lazy and didn’t want to travel to find a cleaner river.

Scott sighed. “I leave you for how long and you can’t even take care of yourself…”

Jimmy grumbled to himself before looking up and seeing the spruce structures up ahead. “Ah, we’re here. Sorry it isn’t much. I- I just have my house, that tower, and a few small structures.”

Scott looked around as they walked closer. He seemed to be examining it. They stopped in the middle of the stall area and Scott said, “It gives me a small village vibe.”

Jimmy scratched the back of his neck. “Well…I don’t want anything grand. Plus…I- I’m not the best builder. This is nothing compared to what everyone else can do–” He stopped as Scott placed a hand on his shoulder.

He rubbed Jimmy’s shoulder as he gave him a soft look. “It’s simple. I think it suits you quite well.”

Was that a compliment or an insult? Jimmy wouldn’t know.

He just shrugged at the comment. Scott was being nice for once. It was very weird and Jimmy wasn’t used to it.

Jimmy shook his head before pointing to his house. “That’s where I’m living and storing my stuff for now. I’m planning on maybe making an area for my storage in the future.” Scott hummed as he walked over to the house. Jimmy followed. “Only time will tell though.”

As they walked down the path, Jimmy noticed his shovel on the ground. “Ah. Let me get this real quick.” He picked it up as Scott gave it a strange look.

“...What are you compensating for with that shovel?”

Jimmy almost choked at the question. “W- what…?”

Scott gestured to the shovel. “Why is it so…big? It’s a shovel. A shovel should not be that size. What are you compensating for?” He raised his eyebrows before crossing his arms.

Jimmy wished that the red on his face was an exaggeration. He quickly shook his head. “N- nothing! It’s just a shovel.”

Clearly, Scott wasn’t buying it.

He gave Jimmy a condescending look before rolling his eyes. “I highly doubt that.” Scott turned his head away and rubbed his face. He mumbled something to himself before looking back over at Jimmy and asking, “So, are you gonna show me your house or not?”

Jimmy was confused at the sudden change of conversation. Guess Scott wanted to get off the topic of Jimmy’s shovel. He nodded before putting the shovel in his inventory bag, hoping to never cross that conversation ever again. 

Though knowing Scott, it would be brought up again as blackmail.

“It’s over here.” Jimmy walked down the tiny bit of path before stepping onto the porch of his house. It was a lake house. It was in the water and had a little deck area for boats. He liked it. It wasn’t the first time he made a lake house and that was what made it better.

Scott stepped up onto the porch before humming. He creaked the wooden deck with his muddy, white shoes. Jimmy hoped that Scott would be able to get the dirt off; he really didn’t want Scott murdering him again because of his dirty shoes.

“So you made a lake house again? It looks better than the last one you made.”

Jimmy stared at Scott with his mouth agasp.

Scott stood at the railing, looking out at the ocean before it finally dawned on him what just happened. He quickly looked over at Jimmy, pointing at him and staring with his mouth partially open. Scott pointed his other hand at the house and looked at it and back at Jimmy.

A smile spread across his face. Scott practically leapt into Jimmy’s arms. “A lake house!” he shouted. “You had a lake house in X-Life!”

“I did!” Jimmy shouted back. He hugged Scott tightly as he seemed to cling to him for dear life. “I had a lake house!”

Scott looked at Jimmy. His eyes looked watery, but there was a bit of hope in them. “I- I remember...you drowned in the lake and I made fun of you for it because it was two blocks tall!”

Jimmy tried not to cry inside as that was what Scott remembered him for. “...Not the best thing to be remembered for…what else do you remember?”

Scott opened his mouth before slowly closing it. The hope in his eyes seemed to fade as he gave a saddened expression. He gripped the fabric of Jimmy’s green sleeves and lowered his head. “...That’s it.”

That’s it. And that was enough.

Jimmy smiled up at Scott before saying, “It’s a start. It isn’t much, but at least it’s a start. I’m sure more will come along.”

Scott’s eyes stayed neutral. Jimmy could tell that he was probably fighting the urge to cry. He was just very good at hiding it. “I’m sorry it’s taking so long for me to remember you,” Scott whispered, his grip getting tighter.

Jimmy hesitated a little before wrapping his arms around Scott. He could feel Scott tense up at the feeling, yet Jimmy didn’t move. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “just…this is enough.”

He could feel Scott swallow the build up in his throat. Scott slowly wrapped his arms around Jimmy and squeezed him tightly. He rested his head on Jimmy’s shoulder before whispering, “Thanks…”

The word met everything to both of them. 

The hug was awkward, but it worked. Jimmy hummed a little before resting his head on Scott’s shoulder. He wished the sound of his heart would quiet down, and that the warmth in his face would fade within time.

Jimmy exhaled and hugged Scott tighter. Not here. Not now. Maybe later.

Scott pulled himself away from the embrace. He gave Jimmy a small smile before pushing some hair out of his eyes. “The- uh...the cod head tickled a little. Just thought I would tell you.”

Jimmy snorted a little. “Really? That’s what you say to break the air?”

“It’s the first thing that came to my mind! It’s stupid anyway. I can’t take you seriously with that thing covering your whole head.”

Jimmy huffed and crossed his arms. “Well for your information, I’m gonna ask Katherine to make me a cod hat instead so I don’t have to wear a dead fish on my head.”

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t need it in the first place. You look perfectly fine without it. You’re just insecure about your hair being shorter than what you like it being. Get up and deal with it. Your hair will grow back.”

Before Jimmy could reply, Joel came over, fuming to himself. “So he DIDN’T take me to FWhip like I wanted him to. He just ran around in circles until Gem showed up and dragged him off with an apology.”

He paused and stared at the two on the porch of the lake house. “...Am I interrupting something?” Joel asked as he crossed his arms.

Scott shook his head. “No. I just remembered that Jimmy had a lake house in X-Life.”

Joel shrugged. “Course he did.”

Scott smiled a little before shifting a little. “Well, I’m going to get going. I…wouldn’t want to interrupt whatever conversation you guys were having before.” He turned to Jimmy and smiled before scratching the back of his neck. “Thanks for showing me your place.”

As he turned to head off, Jimmy quickly shouted, “Wait!”

Scott turned and gave Jimmy a confused look.

Jimmy looked to the side a bit, pondering what to say before deciding on: “Just…if you ever want to come and visit…you know…just to have a chat or you want some company, you can. Just stop by. I won’t mind.”

The blush on Scott’s face was so obvious. He turned his head to the side before pressing his lips together. “Ah...thanks.” Scott looked over at Jimmy and smiled at the ridiculousness of the cod head. “Feel free to stop by at my place as well.”

With that, he turned and walked off, muttering a bye to Joel as he walked past him.

For some reason, in Jimmy’s eyes, the view looked a little majestic. It probably had to do with Scott’s long, flowy, white and gold cloak.

Joel looked over at Scott before running over to Jimmy. “What just happened?” He asked, pointing to the figure walking off in the distance.

Jimmy just smiled.

No words. Just smiled.

Chapter Text

“You watch, I’m going to win these!”

Scott opened his eyes to another dream. He saw his faceless husband standing in front of a giant stone brick box. In that box was lava–lava that would occasionally pour from one set of dispensers, turn off, and then the other set would pour lava. But that wasn’t all, at the end of the box was a chest. A prize, he assumed.

From just staring at it for a bit, Scott could tell that there was a pattern. He almost laughed a little. “I highly doubt that.”

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” said a voice next to Scott. He turned to the raspy sound to see a pale blonde male with fluffy-looking hair and freckles that scattered his face. The strange part about him was his eyes. They were dark red.

The only part about them that wasn’t that maroon color were his pupils: they were instead pink. From what Scott could also tell, they looked to be…glossed…if that was the right word…with a bright green.

“C’mon Tango,” Scott said, “didn’t you say that this was where Joel died?”

Joel? That was a name that Scott recognized.

Tango shrugged. “That doesn’t guarantee ⋮╎ᒲᒲ||'ᓭ death.”

Said faceless man looked into the lava box. He leaned back and turned around, giving Scott a hesitant look. “Umm...do you want to go first?”

Scott laughed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Nope. Good luck Sunflower~”

His husband just nodded. He looked in between Scott and Tango before cautiously asking, “Do you want to go BigB?”

Scott turned around to see that another person was there to watch what he assumed would be utter failure. This man was darker, with black hair and a beard to go with it. He wore all blue; a blue zipped-up jacket with blue pants.

He too had strange eyes. They were an unnatural bright green. Something told Scott that that wasn’t his actual eye color.

“The server’s doing.”

BigB backed up. “Um. No. I’m just here to watch.”

Smart decision.

Scott looked back at his husband, who now had fear written all over his face. The faceless man looked back at the lava before gulping.

“You got this!” Tango said with a smile. He patted the other blonde’s back, which just caused the latter to tense up even more. “Just think,” Tango continued, “feather falling boots!”

That seemed to intrigue the faceless man. He turned back around. “Alright! I’m about to win!” Without a second thought, he jumped into the box.

“I believe in you!!” Scott shouted. “MCC’s trained you for this!”

“He’s going for it!” Tango shouted with glee. Guess he was excited to see death before his eyes. Scott could understand.

He turned his attention back to his husband, who dove straight in and caught fire almost immediately. He yelped a little bit, but that was it. He turned left and stood underneath a dispenser that just started to pour lava down it.

“Above you!! Jump on the chest” Scott shouted. There was a growing feeling of panic in his chest, but he didn’t react to it.

Just as Scott said it, the blonde looked up and ran straight for the chest that was in front of him. But he didn’t make it. His body dissolved and Scott heard the collective ding of three phone’s at once. He just died.

Scott felt a tight sting in his chest. There was a twist in his stomach and he wasn’t sure why. He would respawn–he knew that. So then why did he feel like he just heard the news of his perma-death?

“Ahh!” Tango said. “He didn’t make it! That’s unfortunate.”

Scott gripped the fabric of his pockets. He stood there breathing in and out. “Just control your breath…” he told himself.

Tango shifted his weight and looked over at Scott. He scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry for the loss of your husband, dude.”

Oh? Scott shifted the fingers on his left hand. Sure enough, there was a ring. He just hadn’t noticed. Scott smiled on the inside at the thought. Something told him they had a small wedding; there were only a few people, and a promise of a bigger celebration once they left the server.

“If he just waited long enough, he would’ve seen the pattern,” said Scott with more venom in his voice than he believed he meant. Something told him that he was just salty from the fact that his husband just died in front of him.

Tango nodded. He stepped closer to the inside of the box and looked inside. “Yeah, you really just have to look.” A smirk crept upon his face as he turned around to look at the person who was standing behind them the entire time. “Do you want a turn, BigB?”

BigB backed up; concern painted his face at whatever he just witnessed. “Uh, no thanks.”

Smart decision.

Scott sighed before stepping off the platform stone box of death and walked over to the chest against the wall. He opened it and took out the contaminants of the chest. “I’m going to go home. Got to give ⋮╎ᒲᒲ|| his stuff back.”

He nodded at Tango, who nodded back. “Alright,” Tango said, “I’m going to wait here for a bit. If nobody comes by in a few minutes, I’m just going to go mining or something. Eh. I’ll figure it out.”

“I’m just going to head off,” BigB said before turning around and leaving.

“See you later,” Scott said to Tango before walking off the stone path and onto the ground.

First thing he noticed was his surroundings. He was in a swamp. That totally didn’t make him think of a certain someone. In the distance were mountains. Scott walked on the moist land for a bit before standing still and looking around. Where was he? North. Something told him he was north of the map. He lived in the south.

Scott huffed before pulling a boat out of nowhere and placing it in the water. He got in and rowed for a bit. It was quite peaceful actually. The dark swamp colors turned into a forest, signaling him that he should get out. Scott pulled to land and stepped off, stumbling a little at the shift in the floor below him.

Scott sighed. He trudged up the hill before continuing his journey. The oak trees became birch, and the birch became flowers. He noticed a desert out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t react to it. Something told him that he should, as he could see a wall of cactus and lava surrounding it.

Still, he continued until he saw a stone line stretching from the border to who knows where, circling an area. Scott stepped over it and smiled at the flower valley that he lived in. The feeling of comfort and safety fell upon him at last. Warmth and protection. 

The wall was new. Stumps of logs stood on top of the stone, offering some kind of future enclosure from the rest of the world. Something told Scott that it had to be that way.

“⋮╎ᒲᒲ||!!” Scott shouted, the glitchy sound echoing throughout the valley.

Nothing.

Scott grumbled and walked over to the wooden house in the hill that was closest to the ground. He opened the door and walked in only to be met with stairs that led downward.

“⋮╎ᒲᒲ||!” Scott shouted as he walked downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs was an opening to his right. He looked in and saw a small wooden room. It had a bed, a few chests scattered, and a fireplace with a piece of paper hanging above it.

Judging from the state of it, he was here. A few chests were left open and the sheets of the bed were on the floor. He must’ve left in a hurry.

Scott groaned and trudged up the staircase. He had to go hunt him down. That would be fun.

He jumped over his wall before heading off. This time, he went a different direction.

This direction was the continuation of the flower forest, with a few more hills that reached for the sky. Scott noticed a small house atop a hill. He saw two figures talking, but he couldn’t tell who they were.

He continued walking. The flower forest turned into oak, and the oak became more spread out. An opening was ahead with a mountain to the side. A cobble house sat on the mountain, but Scott paid no attention to that.

In front of him was a giant cobble wall. A cobble wall with a giant, wooden door. Well, at least it appeared that way. The door was actually pretty small, it just had a wooden surrounding.

Scott opened the door and stepped inside. The area was pretty large. There was a stall to his right, a few spruce trees in the corner, some farms in the distance, and a house of sorts in the middle. Most importantly: there was his husband, standing there, watching whatever was occurring near the house.

Scott huffed and started running toward the blonde. “⋮╎ᒲᒲ||!!!!” He shouted as he got closer.

The faceless man turned and looked over at him. “Scott?” He ran over to Scott. “There you are! I was–”

“Where have you been?!” Scott asked, poison leaking through his words.

The blonde winced a little. “Um…”

Scott huffed before placing his hands on his hips. “Where. Were. You.”

His husband looked behind him at whatever was happening before turning back to look at Scott. “I went back to Dare to Flare, but you weren’t there. So, I started wandering around, looking for you, and ended up here to witness the aftermath of…whatever this is.”

Scott paid no attention to the chaos behind the man before him. He crossed his arms and stepped closer to him. “I took your stuff, and went back home to give it back to you. I thought you would be there!”

“You didn’t tell me to wait there!”

“You don’t need me to tell you to wait at home! Next time, assume that I’m coming back with your stuff!”

“How am I supposed to know that?!”

“How do you not–” Scott stopped himself and exhaled. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, groaning a little at the thumping in his head. “You know what. I’m not dealing with this today. I had to deal with your bullshit this morning, and I just walked across the entire server and back looking for your ass. I’m tired. Let’s get home. We’ll figure things out there.”

The blonde looked behind him before looking back and slowly nodding. “Alright…looks like things are still tense here. I don’t want to be a part of it.”

Scott rolled his eyes and turned around, heading back toward the door. He heard footsteps following, but he didn’t turn around. There was a thumping in his head, and now he just wanted some rest.

He opened the door and froze. There was an enchanting table in front of the door. Was that there before?

“Scott?”

“Was that table here before?” Scott asked, stepping forward before stepping to its side. He kept his distance, giving his husband a concerned look as he also stepped closer.

“I…no. It wasn’t. Who put this here?” he asked as well, shifting to the side of the table opposite of Scott.

At that moment, another person stepped outside with them. Scott’s eyes widened. He was the blonde that he and Jimmy saw at the cafe in The Middle. Except here, his eyes were an unnatural bright green. It matched his shirt a little too much.

“What’s going on?” He asked. He seemed tense. Now Scott was curious about what was going on.

“Martyn,” his husband said, “who put this here?”

Martyn stepped closer. “I don’t know…” He gestured for them to get back. “This could be trapped. A lot’s going on right now. I’m pretty sure we were just invaded by Grian, Scar, and I assume Etho as he was also sneaking around.”

Those names sounded familiar. For some reason they brought some kind of panic in Scott’s head. But again, he didn’t react to it.

Martyn inched closer, and without a second thought, broke the enchanting table.

All of them jumped back, the air became ten times more tense. Nothing happened. There was just an observer. The trap had failed.

Three more people walked out of the walled area. BigB, the person that Martyn was with at the cafe (who Scott now knew was Ren), and another man who he didn’t recognize.

This unfamiliar face was tanned, with messy black hair. He also wore a suit, with the sleeves torn off for whatever reason. Like everyone else, he had an unnatural eye color. This time, it was yellow. And like the mention of Grian, Etho, and Scar, he also brought on a sense of panic.

Though this time, his panic was centered toward his husband’s safety.

“What’s going on?” Ren asked, stepping closer and next to Martyn. Martyn placed his arm in front of Ren and shook his head.

He stepped closer, gesturing for everyone to back up. “Something could still happen.” Martyn dug around the observer before finally breaking the contraption. TNT minecarts were there. They didn’t go off, but they were there.

“They failed,” Scott breathed out. He looked over at his husband, who leaned in for a closer look with everyone else while they mumbled amongst themselves. Scott stepped closer and put his arms out, pushing everyone back. “That doesn’t mean it can’t blow up!”

“Yeah,” Martyn said as he poured water on it. “We need to figure out how to disarm it.”

“We need to shoot it with a bow from far,” suggested Scott.

The faceless man looked up and looked over at the mountain that was close to where they were. He laughed out loud and pointed. “Look at those fools up there! Their trap failed! Haha!”

Everyone looked up and sure enough, there stood two figures on top of the hill. Scott squinted his eyes to look at them. He couldn’t see who they were, he could just see that one was extremely short compared to his companion.

They all laughed a little at the defeated duo. The man with black hair gave a contagious laugh. “Look at those idiots!” He paused a little and squinted his eyes. “Wait, are they taking BigB’s cookie?”

Ren squinted his eyes as well. “Wait…they are! BigB, they’re taking your cookie!”

“What!!” BigB shouted. He sprinted off in the direction of the mountain, toward his house on the top. The group could hear his shouting fade off in the distance.

“What do they need his cookie for?”

“...I have no idea.”

Scott tilted his head as he looked at the mountain. He looked back at the trap, then back at the mountain. “I’m going to go see what they’re up to,” he finally said. Scott looked back at the group. He took his husband’s hand before saying, “Don’t touch anything.”

He nodded at Scott, though the feeling in Scott’s chest that told him to get all of them out of there didn’t falter.

Scott let go of his hand despite everything yelling at him to not do it. He turned around and ran off in the direction of the mountain.

Despite everything yelling at him not to do it.

Scott ran up the mountain, noticing the slightly cooler climate than what was below it. Pretty soon, he was at the top. He noticed BigB and the two figures from before watching what everyone at the cobble wall was doing.

One of the figures was a gray man with his shirt off. Thankfully, he had shorts on. He had short brown hair and scars on his face and along his body. The one thing that screamed danger to Scott was his eyes. They were a bright, unnatural red.

His friend was a lot shorter than he was. He had dirty blonde hair with dark roots. He had a pale face with freckles that dotted it, and he wore an oversized red sweater with gray pants. He, like many Scott has seen today, had bright green eyes. But the most impressive thing about him was what was behind him. Wings. They were obviously being bound, but they were still there.

This man–this extremely short man–gave off the most dangerous vibes.

The dirty blonde ran up to Scott. “What went wrong? It was supposed to explode.”

Scott stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I don’t know. We broke the enchanting table and nothing happened. They’re trying to figure out how to disarm it right now.” He looked down at the small figures that huddled around the hole. Though, there were only three figures now. Martyn was nowhere in sight.

“Yeah, I know that. It was supposed to explode the minute you touched the table. That means it didn’t work,” the winged-man said. He turned to his gray friend and shouted, “Scar! Stop playing with whatever you have and pay attention!”

Scar looked over with a confused look before shoving whatever he had in his pockets. “Huh? What? Sorry Grian…I was uh…coming up with murder plans! Yes…murder plans!!”

Grian groaned in annoyance. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked over at Scott. “You see what I have to deal with?”

Scott laughed. “I have ⋮╎ᒲᒲ|| to deal with.”

“Ooh…yeah. And you just got married to him. You're stuck with him, buddy.”

“Eh. Divorce is always an option.”

“Pfft-”

Scott looked behind him to see Martyn coming up the mountain. Well, that explained where he went.

He looked over at BigB, who looked at his house with a frown. BigB looked over at Scar. “Why did you steal my cookie?”

Oh right. That was why Scott was up there.

He looked over at Scar, who was snickering. “Yeah, why’d you steal his cookie?”

“I don’t know what your talking about~”

“What do you mean? We literally just watched you steal his–”

A loud explosion was heard from below. Everyone turned their head in the direction of the cobble wall. A large smoke cloud accumulated around the door. Where the TNT was. Where they left three people.

Where Scott left his husband.

Mixed shouting was heard around. The most prominent was Grian’s laughter. A loud, maniacal, villain laugh. A laugh that said it all. A laugh of pure destruction and enjoyment. A laugh that was devilish. It was the sound of pure manic and hysteria. 

Scott felt himself scream, but he couldn’t even process what sound was escaping his mouth. The mixer of all the shouting of shock, Grian’s laughter, and the lingering explosion from below was nightmarish. The pounding feeling in his head only grew worse.

“You did not just do that!!” Scott finally heard himself say as the smoke cleared. They could finally see the ruins below. A giant whole in the ground. And the door? What door? It was just a giant opening now.

Martyn quickly zipped past everyone, racing down the mountain. Faint calls for Ren were heard as he fell down the sides of the cliff.

Grian’s laugh died down, but it was still there. The sound of chaotic excitement rang through the open air.

“You did not just kill two–three of them?!” Scott shouted at Grian.

Grian looked at him with a devilish grin. “But I just did!~”

Scott looked at him in disbelief. “⋮╎ᒲᒲ|| just died!!” The world around him became fuzzy as he tried to process everything at once.

Ren and Martyn came up the mountain. Ren complained about how he lost everything in the explosion while Grian just laughed and claimed that the kill was Scar’s for the taking. Scar almost made it a reality as he shoved Ren off the mountain, which prompted Martyn to start attacking him. Thankfully, Ren was fine, though his pride was tainted.

For some reason, as Scott headed home, Scar and Grian decided to follow him. Something about how they had to apologize and plan. Scott wasn’t paying much attention. He just focused on getting home.

He stepped over the mini wall and ran over to his husband’s house in the hill side. “⋮╎ᒲᒲ||!!” he shouted as he opened the door and ran down the stairs–Scar and Grian following close behind.

Scott looked into the open room and saw his husband sitting on his bed. He looked saddened. He was curled up and leaning against the wall.

He glanced over at Scott. The look on his face became more depressed. If Scott could see his eyes, he knew he would see the tears that were forming.

“⋮╎ᒲᒲ||…” Scott whispered before running up to the blonde. He threw his arms around the faceless man, disregarding the fact that they had company.

His husband let out a shaky breath and wrapped his arms around Scott as he nuzzled his face into the crook of Scott’s neck. He pulled Scott closer to him and onto the bed. Scott just hugged back and placed a few kisses on top of the blonde’s head.

“Scott…”

“Shh…it’s okay…you…you–”

“...Scott…”

“You’ll be okay…I- I’ll protect you…I promise…”

“...Scott…I…I stayed behind. Scott…I stayed home and waited for you like you told me to…”

That tugged something on Scott's heartstrings. He gripped his husband’s hair and placed another kiss on top of his head. “You idiot…don’t talk about that in this situation…”

The blonde just tightened his hold on Scott. “...I listened to what you said. Scott…are you proud of me…?”

Scott just placed another kiss on his head. He didn’t say anything in response. He just held his husband and wished for the world to end with them together.

“Um…we’re still here.”

The two jumped up and looked over at the duo that was, in fact, still there.

“Uh…” The faceless man gave a nervous laugh as he shifted in his seat. A bright red colored his face in embarrassment as he leaned a little on Scott. “What are you guys doing here…?”

Grian crossed his arms with a smirk. “Well, we were going to say welcome to your Red Life. We were also going to ask about what happened.”

Scott looked over at his husband, who grumbled and leaned on him. Scott took this as a sign to wrap his arms around the man before him. This helped. He felt the tenseness of the blonde relax a little at the feeling.

“It’s all my fault…” he mumbled. “I know Scott told me not to touch anything…but I saw some TNT that I could pick up. I thought I could grab it without any repercussions but…well…you saw what happened.”

“Guess you haven’t had any experience with TNT minecarts, huh?”

He shook his head. “I- I don’t even know what to do now. I have no plans of killing anybody!”

Grian gave the most offended look ever. “What.” The word came out like more of a statement than a question. “That’s not how you play this game.”

The faceless man looked up at Scott. Without another thought, Scott stated, “You can’t kill me. I’m your husband.”

He just grumbled before leaning more on Scott. Scott shifted in his seat to make himself and his husband more comfortable.

“I didn’t even get to apologize…” the blonde mumbled, nuzzling his face into Scott’s shoulder. 

“Don’t worry,” Scott said, “Ren was pretty pissed at Grian and Scar.” 

“Yeah! Now you only have to worry about Skizz!” added Grian with a peppy jump.

A groan was heard from the other blonde in the room.

Scar jumped up as well. “Ooh! Yes! Let’s go visit Skizz!”

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to see me right now!”

“Yeah…you three are the last people he probably wants to see…” Scott said with caution. 

Scar laughed. “Oh we won’t know until we try! C’mon! Let’s go pay Skizz a visit!”

They ended up actually doing it.

The main thing Scott noticed about the whole thing was the way his husband held him the entire time. As they walked through the forest, he clung to Scott’s arm and wouldn’t let go even when Scott told him that he was going to be okay.

He jumped at every small sound and squeezed Scott’s arm tighter every time he got startled. When they got to Skizz’s house, (who Scott found out was the person whose name he didn’t know and got that certain feeling from) the faceless man just hid behind Scott the entire time.

He occasionally peeped his head out and apologized to Skizz repeatedly for causing his second demise. However, Skizz didn’t seem to be too mad at the faceless individual. He was, however, furious at Grian and Scar for laying the bait.

At some point, Scott and his husband snuck away and headed back home. The minute they returned to the safety of their paradise, they went inside the blonde’s house and sat down. On the bed. Because he didn’t have a couch for some reason.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked as he looked over at the man before him.

He didn’t say anything. He grumbled and leaned against the wall. Another grumbled noise was heard before he opened his arms, asking for a hug.

Scott’s eyes didn’t leave him. “I thought you didn’t like to cuddle on the weekdays?”

His husband pouted a little. Scott laughed a little at the look. In his eyes, he looked like a sad puppy. Gods, if only he could see all of his face.

Giving in, Scott scooted over and climbed onto the man’s lap. He wrapped his arms and legs around him and planted a small kiss on top of his head. “Don’t worry Sunflower,” he whispered, “you know I have a soft spot for your face.”

The blonde practically melted into Scott’s touch. He buried his face on Scott’s shoulder and hummed a little. Scott felt himself smile a little. He brought a hand up and ran it through his soft hair.

“...Petal…”

“Hm?”

“...I feel different…”

“...What do you mean you feel different?”

“I don’t know…I just do…”

Silence.

“Petal?”

“Yeah?”

“I feel cold.”

Scott leaned back and looked at his husband’s face. He reached a hand up and touched his cheek. He almost stopped breathing.

Cold. Freezing cold. Like an ice pack. Like standing outside in a winter storm. Like a dead body. The idea sent a shiver down Scott’s spine.

The blonde didn’t say anything. He just buried his face back into Scott and grumbled his sorrows away.

Scott’s widened eyes didn’t go back to normal. He just silently rubbed the man’s back as he stared at the wall. There was no way he could be that cold and still be alive. There was no freaking way.

A small whine escaped the blonde’s mouth as Scott stopped rubbing his back. “Can you continue doing that?”

Scott swallowed a gob of spit and forced a smile. “...You’re pretty needy, huh?”

“...I just want some kind of warmth…”

Scott leaned back and forced his husband to look at him. Gods, the look on his face made him weak. Scott bit his lip as he felt tears forming.

“I’m so sorry…”

“...Scott…?”

Scott placed a kiss on his face. “I’m so sorry.”

“Scott…”

Another. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you…”

“...Scott…”

Several. “I- I shouldn’t have left you alone…I–”

The blonde placed a small kiss on Scott’s lips. Cold. It wasn’t the previous feeling. It was cold. It was obviously the same pair of lips that Scott knew he kissed before, but it was cold.

“It’s not your fault…” the blonde whispered, “I’m the one who set off the trap. I chose to participate in Tango’s game. You warned me. I didn’t listen. I’m sorry.”

Scott sniffed back the tears that threatened to fall. He placed a kiss on his husband’s mouth. Then another. Then several.

He held his face and kissed him senselessly. He kissed him over and over again. Every little word choked up in his throat came with them. Every little fear of loss. Every little fear of being alone at night. Every little fear of separation.

“Ironic. Isn’t it?”

“I’ll protect you…” Scott mumbled with his eyes closed. He rubbed circles into the cold skin that he held.

“...And I’ll protect you…”

Scott gave a little laugh. “...You’re such an idiot…”

He kissed him again. And this time, he stayed. This time, he didn’t pull away. He just kept his eyes closed and held his lover close to him.

~

To say he had a headache would be an understatement. Scott had a full on migraine.

He rubbed his head with a groan. He kept thinking about his newest dream. It appeared a few nights ago and since then, has shown up at least once in his REM sleep.

It was the same story. A world with what he believed to be limited lives, and his husband lost two. Though Scott wasn’t sure what that meant, his gut feeling told him that it was bad.

Scott scrunched his nose. Didn’t Jimmy mention a server with limited lives where they believed that perma-death was a possibility? Was that the same server? Scott wouldn’t know.

“Are you okay?” a voice said, which caused Scott to jump. Katherine. It was just Katherine.

Scott sighed as he fiddled with the petal of a flower in his hand. He had promised to help Katherine decorate her empire with flowers. Right now, he probably wasn’t doing a good job keeping that promise.

“Sorry Katherine,” he said, “I’ve got a migraine at the moment. Can’t get a memory out of my head.”

Katherine crossed her arms and gave Scott an angry face. “Well why didn’t you say anything earlier? C’mon. Let’s go inside for a break. I’ll get you something for that headache.”

The two went inside of Katherine’s house. Scott sat down in a chair at a table as Katherine went into another room. He looked around at the white walls with hints of purple. It was very pretty and crystally.

Scott placed the bunches of flowers he was carrying on the table and stared at them. Each of them so small and delicate. Each of them with their own meaning. Each of them with a uniqueness that was their own.

Katherine certainly had a variety of flowers.

Slowly, Scott picked a few up and began weaving them together. At first, it was a few different color tulips. Then, he added other flowers. Primrose, stock, violet, myrtle, poppies, a few petals from a sunflower, and a few forget-me-nots.

A smile curved itself onto Scott’s face. It was all so intricate, especially since some of the flowers had short stems. But he made it work. Somehow, he made it work. It was relaxing. It was therapeutic.

“...Where did you learn to do that…?”

Scott looked over at Katherine, who looked back at him with a shocked look on her face. He shrugged and turned back to his work. “Dunno. I just know how to do it. Like second nature.”

He heard Katherine give a little laugh behind him. Scott didn’t pay attention. He smiled as he wove the last forget-me-not into the crown before placing it down on the table.

“Ta-da! What do you think?” Scott asked as he looked over at Katherine.

The poor woman was confused. 

Katherine sat a glass of water and two pills down on the table for Scott before carefully picking up the flower crown, careful not to mess up his hard work. Just because flowers couldn’t die in this world, didn’t mean that they couldn’t be damaged.

“...It’s beautiful…” Katherine said in awe. She turned the crown around and looked at it from a different angle. “...You gotta teach me how to do this…”

Scott smiled at her. “Of course. Just tell me when you're free and we can just make flower crowns.” He turned back around and took the pills and the water. Scott shoved the pills in his mouth before taking a sip of the water.

Katherine sat down and placed the crown back on the table. “The flowers...you okay?”

Scott knew what she was referring to. He placed the glass back on the table and stared at the crown. “No…”

“...Do you want to talk about it…?”

Scott huffed and leaned back in his chair. He stared at the ceiling for a bit before finally saying, “...You know how I’ve had a few dreams about my husband?”

“Mhm.”

“Well…there’s this one that I keep having. Like, it keeps recurring. It first appeared a few nights ago and everytime I wake up, I have this splitting headache.”

Katherine scooted closer in her chair. “Well, what’s it about?”

Scott shifted nervously. He looked at the flower crown. There was no reason to be nervous. Why was he nervous?

“Well…it starts off with this…stone box with lava pouring into it. Apparently there’s a prize at the end. My husband jumps in and dies...naturally. I later find him at this walled off area that isn’t our home and I try to drag him off; but, that fails as we get distracted by an enchanting table at the front door of the walled area. We find out it’s a trap and we and some other people try to disarm it. I go up this mountain and join up with the people that made the trap. They’re trying to figure out why it didn’t work while constantly getting off topic and, eventually, the trap does go off. We watch this giant explosion and the only thing I can think about is how my husband was down there. He dies in the explosion…that causes so much panic.

“I go home to see him. The people that made the trap follow me home. We meet up with him and he tells us what happened. We go and apologize to one of the other people who died in the explosion and head back home. The dream ends with me comforting him, telling him that I’ll protect him, covering his face with kisses, holding him even when my arms get tired…and all that stuff. I wake up with a splitting headache.”

Katherine just stared at him. She looked to be processing everything. “Wow,” She said before leaning back in her chair. Katherine looked at the ceiling before asking, “Is there anything that stands out to you in the memory?”

Scott stared at the flower crown. “A few people make me panic. Even the mention of a few names makes me tense up. Like...this one guy with wings. He gives me a dangerous vibe. Something tells me he blew up the world or something similar.”

“Scott, you blew up an entire church before, killing everyone in it. I’m sure you can handle someone who blew up the world.”

“I’m sorry, I did what?”

“It’s X-Life, don’t worry about it.”

Pushing that aside, Scott rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking at Katherine. “I feel like lives were important in this world...like they were in X-Life. Like...we had limited lives. Something tells me that the final deaths caused a lot of mental pain.”

Katherine almost jumped up. “Limited lives? Oh my goodness…you’re talking about 3rd Life! Of course! You did that recently!” She face palmed herself with a laugh.

Scott gave her a concerned look. But at least he now knew what she was talking about. “3rd Life…I know Jimmy mentioned that once. I tried asking him about it before but he didn’t want to talk about it. Can you tell me about it?”

Katherine rubbed the side of her head before shaking it. “No. I wasn’t a part of it. The only people on this server that did it was you, Jimmy, and Joel. If Jimmy won’t tell you anything, then your next best bet is Joel.”

Scott nodded. “Yeah…maybe finding out what the server was about will make me realize why this memory keeps popping up.”

“Maybe,” said Katherine with a smile.

Scott smiled back. He stood up before gently picking up the flower crown. “I’m gonna go ask him about it. Hopefully he’ll–”

“Hey Katherine, I’m here about–”

The two turned to the doorway to see Jimmy walk in. He paused as he stared at the two of them. The first thing Scott noticed about him was that, for once, he wasn’t wearing his cod head. Oh sorry, Cod head.

Yeah, apparently cod is now an important part of his empire or something. Scott didn’t quite understand it.

“Oh…hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Jimmy said as he tapped on the frame of the door.

Before Katherine could say anything, Scott smiled at Jimmy and said, “Actually, I was just about to leave. You’ve come at the perfect time.”

Scott walked over to the doorway, he glanced over at Jimmy before looking back at Katherine. “Thanks for the talk Katherine. I’ll see you later.” He looked back at Jimmy, who stared at the flower crown in Scott’s hands.

A smile curved itself onto Scott’s lips. He reached up and placed the crown on Jimmy’s head. Strange. It fit perfectly. Almost like he made it specifically for him. “You look great today,” Scott said, “thought you should know.”

He turned away and walked out of Katherine’s house.

The blush on Jimmy’s face and the jaw-dropping expression that Katherine had were everything.

.

.

.

Mezalea was bright. Like, really bright. Scott felt like he was looking at a saturated rainbow.

Good for Joel honestly. He learned how to make the mesa not look dull and drab.

However, Scott felt a little out of place. Which was strange considering the colorful environment.

For one: there were Joel clones everywhere. Yep. Somehow Joel figured out how to clone himself and now they were wandering around the empire doing his bidding. If a clone rebellion broke out, Scott wouldn’t be surprised.

Second: Scott and Joel hadn’t spoken much. Maybe that was in the past, but this is now. And Scott didn’t talk to Joel now. And yet here he was–ready to ask him about a server that they were supposedly a part of.

Scott looked around at the clones. How was he supposed to tell which one was the real one?

He walked down the path and looked at his colorful surroundings. Which building would Joel even be in? Guess this is what happened when Scott didn’t pop in and visit occasionally.

Would Joel be in his house? That seemed to be the most logical answer.

Spoiler alert: he wasn’t.

Now Scott was confused. He stood in the middle of the street, questioning where in the world Joel would be and how the heck he had the energy to build so much in so little time.

“Scott!!”

He turned his head in relief as he heard the sound of Joel coming up the street. There was the man himself, walking over to Scott with a bag over his shoulder most likely filled with supplies.

“How’s it going pal? What are you doing here?” Joel asked as he came to a stop. He dropped the bag to the floor and snapped his fingers. A few clones ran over and picked the bag up, carrying it into Joel’s house.

Scott stared in confusion and amazement. That looked really cool, but it was probably clone abuse.

He shook his head and snapped back into reality. “Right,” Scott said, “I came here to talk to you about something.”

“Well alrighty then!” Joel said with a smile. “Why don’t we go inside and sit down? Ooh! Do you want tea or coffee? I’ve been trying different tea recipes but Lizzie said that it’s going to poison me. I tried getting Jimmy to try it but Lizzie told him–”

Scott just kind of let Joel ramble about tea as they walked inside. The main thing he got from it was to not let Joel ever serve him tea. So when Scott sat down and Joel offered him tea, he declined.

Joel grumbled and gave him water as a punishment.

He sat down at the table and took a sip of tea. “Delicious. I’m going to vomit it up later tonight, but it was delicious.” Joel sat the cup down and leaned back. “Now, you said you wanted to talk?”

Scott nodded. He pushed the cup of water away and sighed. “So, I heard you were the person I should come to for this. Can you tell me about 3rd Life?”

“...Why?”

“...Cause I don’t remember it. Joel, I lost my memory, remember?”

“...Wait, really?”

Now Scott was confused. And irritated. Mostly irritated. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yes, really! You should know this! You literally mentioned it during the meeting before we came onto the server! You literally asked me to tell you what I remember about you!”

“I thought you were doing it for attention! I was just playing along! I didn’t think you actually meant it!” Joel paused as his eyes widened. Realization seemed to have come to him as he covered his mouth. “Ohh. That means that you don’t remember that–ooh…that explains so much. Oh my goodness…that explains…” He lowered his head and started muttering words to himself that Scott couldn’t quite hear.

Scott shook his head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Everything is slowly coming back to me and I just need some answers.”

Joel looked up at him. He leaned back a little before taking a sip of his tea. He made a face of slight disgust before placing the cup back down. “I was lying before. That wasn’t delicious.”

He sighed before sitting up straighter in his seat. “Alright, I’ve been informed to not tell you who your husband is and that’s it. But, if I’m being honest, you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Joel cleared his throat. “So, what do you want to know?”

Oh shit. Scott hadn’t thought this far ahead. He ducked his head down and grumbled. Point made: always make a plan before proceeding with action.

“...How about the basics? I’m assuming you don’t know the basics? You don’t know the basics, right?”

“...Um…all I know is that there were limited lives.”

Joel nodded. “Yep. Three. Green, yellow, and red. Like a traffic light! The world showed our lives by our eye color. It was really weird at first. Imagine me with yellow eyes! Ha! It was so strange. Along with that, some of the Red Lifes’ appearance altered. Like Scar became gray for some reason, and Skizz as well! And Ren, and me, and Jimmy...a lot of us actually. Wait…no…I think that’s it.”

He pointed to Scott. “You, for some reason, developed yellow crystal-things around your head when you went to Yellow.”

That sounded pretty. Scott scooted forward a little. “Do you know why?”

“I don’t know. Something about grief I think.” Joel looked out the window for a bit before shrugging. “Anyway, why do you want to know about 3rd Life in the first place?”

Scott stared at his glass of water before fiddling with his fingers. “...My memories have been coming back in dreams. I keep having the same one over and over again. It involves…a lava death game…and an explosion at a cobble wall.”

Joel laughed. “Oh! I remember that! Yeah! Etho was building a missile on my hill to fire at Bdubs’ and Cleo’s Crastle. That explosion that Grian and Scar caused was massive. Jeez, the entire server heard it and saw the deaths. Ha! Dogwarts certainly changed after that.”

All the information hurt Scott’s head. He grumbled and rubbed his temples. “I’m going to pretend to know what any of that means.”

“Oh…um…Grian, Scar, Etho, Bdubs, and Cleo are people. Well, Cleo’s a zombie, but you get what I mean. The Crastle is where Bdubs and Cleo lived. And Dogwarts is what you called a cobble wall.”

“...Thanks for clarifying.”

“Anytime. Anyway, yeah. That explosion. And the lava death game is Dare to Flare. I was the first one to try it. I was also the first to die from it. It sucked. My next death was in a fire from Cleo burning my roof, and my last one was in a desert. That was the place that Grian and Scar lived. I can’t remember if I got stabbed or shot. Doesn’t really matter. I died. Boo hoo. You died right after that one. Twice actually. Both by Ren. I bet that was fun.”

“I think you’re getting off topic.”

“What do you expect? It's me.”

Scott rolled his eyes. This seemed like such a Joel thing to do. And he barely even remembered Joel! “I just want to know one thing, “Scott said, “do you have any idea why I keep having that memory come back to me in my dreams?”

Joel shrugged. “I mean...your husband died twice. He means a lot to you. I know that. Everything you two did in that world was for each other. Kind of adorable really. Made me miss Lizzie. Hmmm…maybe if we do another 3rd Life, I’ll ask Grian to invite her. All of us were dudes except for Cleo. It was really awkward once she died. We were all like ‘oh shoot, no more ladies’. I didn’t even realize that she was the only one there who wasn’t a guy. Seems really weird to think about–”

“I get it,” Scott interrupted. He stood up and brushed his clothes. This meeting didn’t do anything. Well, it explained some things for Scott. But, Scott still didn’t understand why he kept having the same dream over and over again. The only thing he gained was some information. Hopefully he would find it useful.

Scott sighed. “I should get going. Um…thanks for explaining some things for me.”

Joel nodded. “Eh. This was an excuse for me to push back building. I’m procrastinating at the moment if you couldn’t tell.”

“...How though?”

Scott shook his head. “It’s fine.” He turned away from Joel and began walking toward the door. Before he left, he paused. He just remembered something. Scott turned back around. “Hey Joel? You mentioned my husband…and uh…I was wondering if you happened to know where he is?”

Joel’s breath hitched. He stared at his teacup and ran his fingers through his hair. “...That’s what all of us are trying to figure out. Ha. The stupid idiot. I’m gonna slap him in the face the next time I see him.”

Scott frowned. He sighed before turning around and walking out the door. Today was one big headache.

Chapter Text

Staring out at the ocean was peaceful.

Jimmy just sat at his dock, his feet dangling off the ledge into the salt water. His shoes sat next to him and his Cod head and gloves sat inside his house. Jimmy rubbed his neck as he stared out into the open water.

He wondered how his sister was doing. It had been a while since he had spoken to her. It was strange to be thinking about. But, he was looking out at the ocean, and Lizzie was the Ocean Queen.

Then he thought of their brother. He hadn’t spoken to Mumbo in a while. Gosh, he didn’t even get to tell him that he got married. But, Mumbo spent most of his time on Hermitcraft. Maybe he would be able to talk to him some other day.

Jimmy looked down at his hands. There was some form of webbing in between his fingers. He brought his foot out of the water and looked at it. There was also webbing between his toes.

He sighed at the thought. Guess it was fish time.

Jimmy stuck his feet back in the water and grumbled. About time the server took its effects on him. He wondered if it affected anyone else. Was Lizzie also a fish? He was the Codfather and he’s a fish. She's the Ocean Queen. It would make sense for her to also be a fish.

Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair. Gosh, it felt weird doing that with webbed hands. 

Maybe he could ask her? Like, send her a message. Now, Jimmy could just text her, but he didn’t. He got up, walked inside, and wrote on a piece of paper: 

Dear Lizzie,

Seems the server is starting to take its effects. I think I’m part fish now. How about you? Or do you know if someone else is starting to feel effects as well? I’m kinda curious.

From, Jimmy

It was short. But, it seemed to be enough.

Again, he could’ve texted her. But, knowing Jimmy, he would accidentally message the entire server that he had webbed feet. It was very easy to do that actually. Many people have messaged a whole server before when they just wanted to message something to one person.

Jimmy walked outside and stood at the docks. The breeze actually felt pretty good. He closed his eyes and inhaled. Salty.

Jimmy sat back down and continued staring out into the ocean. This was when he felt a familiar hand graze his leg. He looked down at the Drowned in the water.

Yep. That Drowned. It showed up occasionally just to give Jimmy some company. He smiled at the time it showed up when Joel was around. Joel nearly jumped out of his skin and started swinging his sword around as if that was going to do something. The poor thing just sat there confused as Jimmy and Lizzie had to hold Joel down and explain to him that the creature was nice.

It really brought them to think about mobs as a whole. Were all of them like this Drowned if you gave them a chance?

Jimmy looked over at the villagers in the middle of the market. villagers were different all together. They weren’t mobs, but they weren’t players either. They had the same qualities of players, but they didn’t have the same power as them per se. Villagers are shown to be exactly like players, heck, if they figure out how to access the Hub World, they become players. But they’re like a different species. It was odd. Nobody understood it. Not players. Not villagers.

“Hey buddy,” said Jimmy to the Drowned. He smiled at the creature, who gargled at him. “Can you give this to Lizzie for me?” Jimmy asked, handing the letter to the mob.

It looked at him and nodded. It took the note and swam off into the open ocean. Jimmy just smiled as it left.

“...Did you just interact with a Drowned…?”

Jimmy turned around to see Sausage standing there with a confused look. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Yes I did. It’s my friend.”

Sausage walked closer to Jimmy and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Jimmy, I don’t think anyone can just randomly become friends with a Drowned. It can kill you at any minute!” 

Jimmy scoffed and turned his head to look back at the ocean. “I’ve known that Drowned since the beginning of this server and it has not killed me once.” He looked back at Sausage. “In fact, it’s saved me before. And it helps me.”

“It’s a Drowned, Jimmy,” said Sausage. He knelt down next to Jimmy and leaned in closer, staring at him in the eyes.

Well this was uncomfortable.

Jimmy scooted away from Sausage’s extraness. Not to be rude, of course, Jimmy just wanted his personal space at the moment. Anything to go back to staring at the ocean while doing nothing.

“You know I’m looking out for you! Mobs are scary! I feel like you should know.” Sausage smiled at his words. He sat down next to Jimmy and looked out at the ocean before looking back at Jimmy. Still smiling.

Jimmy shifted in his seat. “I know. But–”

“Well then you already know! I don’t need to explain anything to you then!” Sausage shouted with such eagerness that it ran throughout the land. He placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and continued, “Now, I wanted to discuss something with you a little earlier than we planned. It involves all this fighting we’ve been doing.”

Now that made Jimmy perk up. “Are you going to give me my disc back?”

“Of course of course! I just need you to apologize for stealing from me! And maybe also…” Sausage turned his head and muttered something to himself.

Jimmy tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”

Sausage quickly turned his head back and shouted, “Nothing nothing! It was silly anyway! Yep! I just need you to apologize to me!”

Jimmy glanced at the ocean before looking back at Sausage. “But…you said I could steal from you…”

“...Jimmy Jimmy, there’s a difference between taking some food and taking enchanting books.”

Jimmy grumbled to himself. He looked back at the open waters. Before he could open his mouth to respond, he heard the sound of rockets above their heads. The two looked over to see Scott gracefully land behind them.

He brushed some dirt off himself before looking over at them. This time, Scott wore a less extravagant outfit from the first time he came to visit. A longish, long-sleeved, light blue shirt with black pants. And this time, he made sure to wear brown boots.

Jimmy smiled at him. Scott would sometimes come over and visit him for no reason in particular. Sometimes he would just follow Jimmy around and chit-chat or they would sit on the docks and have a random conversation.

This was, of course, reversed sometimes. Jimmy would randomly show up at Rivendell and do the same thing. Sometimes they would sit outside and stare at the stars. He wasn’t sure why they did this, but he was happy they did.

The feeling brought Jimmy back to when Scott remembered him. It was nice to just sit and watch the love of his life ramble about the most random of subjects. It was nice. It was comforting. It was everything.

“Hey Scott!” Jimmy beamed, jumping up and walking over to him. His smile grew at the sight of him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today!”

Scott smiled back at Jimmy. He looked over at Sausage, who just glared at him. His smile faded a little. “Am I interrupting something? I can always come back later–”

“Oh no! It’s fine!” Jimmy quickly said. He looked over at Sausage, who seemed to keep a glare on Scott. “Can we push this conversation to our meeting with Katherine?” Jimmy asked, his voice straining more than he meant it to.

Sausage stood up. He turned his glare away from Scott and smiled at Jimmy. “Of course of course! I have something to discuss with Gem and FWhip anyway!” He walked toward the two and right in between them, blatantly shoving Scott away with his shoulder.

The two just stared in confusion as Sausage flew off toward his own empire.

“Did I do something to him?” Scott asked Jimmy as they walked over to the edge of the dock.

“I don’t know,” Jimmy said, “he insulted me for not killing a mob, and then flipped the switch and wanted to discuss our empires not fighting anymore, cause you know, we started off on the wrong foot.”

“...Jimmy, that sounds important. Why did you send him away? For me of all people?!”

Jimmy grumbled a little as he sat down. “Yeah…but we’re discussing that in a more official manner later today with Katherine. I just wanted to relax for a bit and not worry about political matters.”

Scott sighed as he sat down next to Jimmy, letting his feet dangle in the water. “You confuse me.”

Jimmy tilted his head as he looked at Scott. He looked down at his shoes in the water. “...Don’t you want to take your boots off? They’re gonna get soggy.”

Scott looked down at them and grumbled. “I didn’t realize.” He brought his feet up and slipped his boots off, grimacing at his socks which were now soaking wet. Jimmy laughed a little as Scott continued to grumble.

He placed his shoes and wet socks next to him and sighed. Scott looked tired. Jimmy had noticed it several times before. Scott was always tired in some way, heck, he always had bags under his eyes. But this was one of the times it was very obvious.

Jimmy knew that Scott never liked it when he pointed it out, so he stayed silent.

Instead, he stared at Scott’s ears. Were they pointer than before?

Jimmy reached a hand out and pushed some hair out of the way to get a closer look. This, naturally, caused Scott to jump back and cover his ear. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jimmy blinked before jumping back, finally realizing what he did. “Oh! Sorry sorry! I- I just noticed your ears are pointy and wanted to make sure I wasn’t seeing things!” That sounded more pathetic than Jimmy wanted it to be, but he just went with it.

Scott gave him a confused look. “They’re pointy?”

“Yeah, like elf ears.”

Scott reached up and touched his ear, his eyes widening at the feeling. “Oh,” he said, “they are pointy.” He looked into the water below them and stared at his reflection. Scott turned his head to the side and pulled his hair away from ear to get a better look. “Huh.”

Jimmy swung his feet in the water, rippling the muddy reflection. Scott huffed a little at the disturbance and leaned back with a sigh. “Looks like I’m an elf now. Neat.”

Jimmy couldn’t tell if Scott was saying that with sarcasm or if he actually found it neat. He ran his fingers through his hair. “It is pretty neat! Better than what I’m stuck with.”

Scott gave him a confused look. “You’re feeling the servers' effects?”

Jimmy nodded. He looked out at the ocean before looking back at Scott. “Promise you won’t tell anyone. I don’t want to tell the others yet because I know they’ll make fun of me for it.”

“And you assume I won’t make fun of you for it?”

“...Yeah, not the best decision I’m making. But, it's too late to back out now.”

Jimmy reached his hand over for Scott to look at. He spread his fingers, wiggling them to show off the webbing between his digits.

Scott’s eyes widened at the sight. He grabbed his hand and held it closer to his face to examine. “...Are you part fish now or something…?”

Jimmy shrugged. “I think? My feet are also webbed. I don’t have fins though and I’m too afraid to see if I have gills. I’ll let you know about the fins one though!”

Scott tilted his head as he stared at Jimmy’s hand. “Gods, you would look beautiful with fins,” he mumbled.

Jimmy blinked. “What?”

“What?”

The two just stared at each other for a bit. Clear blush rose to their cheeks before Scott let go of Jimmy’s hand and looked away. “It’s uh…it’s interesting to see what the server does to us, huh?” Scott said before pushing some hair out of his face.

Jimmy found himself staring at Scott. “It definitely is.” His eyes fixated on Scott as he fiddled with his fingers and stared off into the ocean. It was a beautiful sight. Something straight out of a painting. Jimmy had to remind himself to breathe.

He bit his lip and joined Scott in looking at the ocean. This was peaceful. Jimmy scooted closer to Scott and sighed in content. Well, mostly content. If only he could place his hand on top of the others. If only he could lean on his shoulder and rest his head. If only he could smile and place a kiss on top of Scott’s head.

But this worked. For now.

“I’ve had another dream about him.” Scott said.

Oh? Jimmy liked hearing about what Scott remembered about him. Even if Scott doesn’t know that it was him in those moments. It still made Jimmy smile inside and out.

“What happened in it?”

Scott smiled. “It was just us dancing in our flower field. It was nice and peaceful. We just forgot the world around us. It was such a great feeling. Just…him holding me close to his body as he smiled at me. In the end he placed a kiss on my forehead and told me that he loved him.”

Jimmy smiled at Scott’s words. He remembered how they would sometimes just dance to forget the world and pretend they were the only ones in existence. How could he forget? Those were lovely moments.

The smile on Scott’s face faded. “...It’s funny. I feel like I should wake up and feel happy about what we’ve been through together, but I don’t. I wake up, and I feel…sad. Hurt. Confused. All three at once. I feel like I should miss him, Jimmy…and sometimes I do. But other times I feel like I shouldn’t care. I mean, where has he been this entire time? I- I’m at a moment in my life where I feel like I need him here with me and where is he? Nobody knows! He isn’t here! I don’t know where he is! I- it sucks...cause our moments together seem so nice and lovely and he isn’t here with me. No matter what, every time I open my eyes, he isn’t there. I wake up, and I know he won’t be there. I wake up, and I know that he’s somewhere where...I- I don’t know where…”

Scott turned his head away. “I- I’m sorry…I- I just–”

Jimmy interrupted him by wrapping his arms around him. This was all he could do at the moment. Gosh, Jimmy never hated himself more than in this moment.

Scott practically melted into the embrace. He clung to Jimmy’s shirt and buried his face on Jimmy’s shoulder. He didn’t even tense up at the feeling. Scott just let out a shaky breath and tried to relax his shoulders.

Jimmy pulled Scott closer to his body as he gently rubbed circles into his back. Gosh, if only he could tell Scott the truth at this moment. If only he could look him in the eyes and reveal everything.

But not here. Not now. Maybe later.

“...Where is he…?”

“...He’s right here…”

Scott leaned back and pushed some hair out of his face, exhaling a little before finally smiling at Jimmy. “Thanks for that.” It was strange. Jimmy thought that there would at least be a few tears in his eyes, but there weren’t. Scott just looked sad.

“Anytime,” said Jimmy with a nod. He pulled away from the embrace and ran his fingers through his hair before flashing a smile. Scott just sighed at the gesture.

Jimmy looked back at the ocean. It seemed to be the go to when he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hey Jimmy–”

Scott was interrupted by the feeling of a hand touching his leg. Immediately he jumped back and onto the dock before pulling out a knife that he just so happened to have in his pocket. The two looked in the water to see the Drowned staring back at them, giving Scott a confused look.

Noticing the creature, Scott promptly put an arm in front of Jimmy to keep him back and pointed the knife at the Drowned. “Stay back,” Scott said to both of them. Jimmy assumed that he meant that differently for both of them.

Jimmy (finally realizing the situation he was in) quickly jumped up and put his arms in front of Scott, pushing him back from the Drowned. “No no! Don’t hurt it!”

Scott turned around and pointed the knife at Jimmy’s throat. “What the hell do you mean ‘don’t hurt it’?! It’s a mob! It can kill us!” He growled at him, digging the weapon deeper into the skin on Jimmy’s throat.

Jimmy let out an airy laugh. He put his arms in a surrendering motion as his eyes darted between the knife and the glare Scott was shooting him. A red flushed Jimmy’s cheeks at the circumstance. 

On one hand, he was terrified of Scott actually murdering him and then murdering his Drowned friend. On the other hand, Jimmy was slightly having a fantasy of Scott hovering over him with the same look in his eyes. The same knife in his hand, a somewhat sinister smile, while the other hand wrapped around Jimmy’s throat–

“Oh my gods, quite thinking that Jim!”

He totally wouldn’t be thinking about that later that night.

Jimmy quickly metally slapped himself in the face before reaching over and grabbing Scott’s arm. “It’s nice,” he said, lowering Scott’s arm, “it won’t hurt you or me.”

Scott looked down at the Drowned, who just tilted its head in confusion. It looked over at Jimmy before making a gargled sound that caused Scott to flinch a little.

Jimmy smiled. He looked at Scott before looking back at the Drowned. Jimmy leaned down to the mob, despite Scott trying to pull him back, and whispered, “Yeah. He’s the one I told you about.”

The mob’s eyes seemed to widen as it looked over at Scott. Scott scooted back a little as the Drowned swam up and laid its head on the dock, giving him a sort of puppy-dog eyes.

“I- is it okay?” Scott asked as he backed up into Jimmy.

Jimmy smiled before placing both his hands on Scott’s shoulders. “It’s just interested in you. Don’t worry. It means no harm.”

The Drowned looked between the two before making another gargled sound.

In response, Jimmy shook his head–a sad look painted his face. “No. He doesn’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“...Don’t worry about it.”

Scott gave the Drowned a somewhat hesitant look before gripping Jimmy’s arm with one hand and giving a slight wave with the other. “...Hey.”

The Drowned waved back. It reached both arms up and rested them on top of the dock before laying its head in its crossed arms. A small gargle was made as it looked between Scott and Jimmy.

A sad smile spread across Jimmy’s face. He noticed Scott turn and look back at him with a surprised/confused face. “How the hell did you find out it was nice?”

Jimmy blinked back into reality. He looked at Scott’s hand that was clutching his arm before saying, “Oh, I just saved it. It was that Drowned you guys left at spawn. You know, the one that you guys used to represent me because somebody didn’t wake me up.”

Scott snorted. “In my defense, I tried to wake you up.” He let go of Jimmy and scooted closer to the Drowned. “Huh. So this is what happened to you. I thought you had died or they finally found a way to eat you.”

Jimmy choked on his own spit. He forgot Lizzie told him that they wanted to eat the Drowned.

The Drowned made a small gargle to Scott before shrugging. Scott blinked before looking over at Jimmy for translation.

“Uh, it said that it survived being eaten.”

Scott hummed before looking back at the Drowned. “So, what are you here for now? Does Jimmy make you do his chores or something?”

The mob looked over at Jimmy and made another gargled sound. It pulled out a waterproof piece of parchment and handed it to him with a gargle.

“Oh!” Jimmy exclaimed before taking the piece of paper. “Lizzie replied to what I said!”

“Why didn’t you just text her…?”

“...I was afraid it would be sent to the entire server…”

Scott shook his head as Jimmy looked down at the message. Okay. Yeah. Mhm. Jimmy couldn’t understand a single word.

He tilted his head and turned the paper in another direction. Maybe he was reading it upside down? Nope. Now the writing looked even more disorientated. Fear started to bubble as Jimmy turned the paper back around and stared at the paper. What was going on? Was it Lizzie’s handwriting? But she’s had such beautiful handwriting before.

Jimmy handed the note to Scott. “Can you understand that?”

Scott looked down at it before nodding. “Yeah. It’s Lizzie’s handwriting. Of course I can understand it. Why do you ask?”

Now the fear in Jimmy’s chest was present. His breath quickened as he looked back at the paper. All he saw was unknown scribbles and meshes of symbols. Jimmy lowered the parchment. “I…I think I’ve lost the ability to read…”

“Wait, what!?” Scott shouted, causing half of the villagers to look over in confusion. “How can you just lose the ability to read?!”

“I- I don’t know,” Jimmy said, gesturing to the villagers that everything was okay, “I- I’m looking at the paper and all I see is meshes of ink and symbols..”

Scott looked confused and concerned. Mostly concerned. He looked at the parchment before saying, “Wait here.” Scott stood up and ran to Jimmy’s house. After a few minutes, he ran out with a piece of paper and a pen. He sat back down and scribbled something on the paper. “Can you read this?”

Jimmy stared at the newly written message. Nothing. It was just more scribbles. Whatever it was, Jimmy just couldn’t comprehend it. “...No.”

Scott shoved the pen and paper into Jimmy’s hands. “Here! Try writing something!”

Jimmy placed Lizzie’s message down and stared at objects in his hands. He looked over at the Drowned, who was just watching them intently, before looking over at Scott. “What do I write?”

An annoyed look reflected Scott’s eyes. Despite that, he still looked desperate. Like he wasn’t ready to accept the fact that Jimmy couldn’t read. “Well, what do you wish you were doing right now?”

“You–”

Get your mind out of the gutters, Jim.

Jimmy shook his head and stared at the paper. “I wish I was asleep in bed.” His mind thought of Scott laying next to him, curled up to his side. He quickly pushed the thought away. Not here. Not now. Maybe later.

He placed the paper against the hard surface of the dock and pressed the pen against the dead sugar cane. Jimmy furrowed his eyes as he tried to remember how certain letters looked.

Was that what that letter looked like? Jimmy couldn’t remember. He brushed the ink across the paper. Should that swirl be there? Probably. Jimmy swallowed a build up of spit and added a dot. He looked at the paper and tilted his head. Again, it just looked like swirls and meshes. Scott clearly thought so too.

Scott picked up the paper and stared at it for a scary long time. He lowered it and gave Jimmy a horrified look. “...It’s just scribbles.”

Jimmy gripped his hair. “Oh my gosh, I’ve become illiterate!!”

Scott placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “D- don’t worry! It’s just on this server. The minute you leave, you’ll be able to read and write again!”

“Yeah, but why am I illiterate!?”

“...I mean your grammar was pretty crappy before.”

Jimmy grumbled and leaned on Scott. He obviously tensed up at the action before he awkwardly patted Jimmy’s back. “Um…there there,” Scott said, looking over at the Drowned for help. The Drowned just gave him a thumbs up.

“Scott…I can’t write anything to anyone now. I’m not able to read any announcements or texts or letters…I- I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“I- I can help you. Plus, you’ve got the villagers to help you as well. I’m sure one of them can help you with that. You’ve got an adviser, right?”

Jimmy sat up and stared at Scott’s shoulder. “Yeah, you’re right…”

Scott smiled. “Yeah. And I’m sure the other’s will understand–”

“You can’t tell anyone else about this!!”

Scott jumped back in surprise. “What? Why?”

Jimmy looked over at the Drowned, who was watching them as if it was watching its favorite TV show. He looked back at Scott. “You know how they keep finding ways to pick on me. If they find out I can’t read or write anymore, they'll torture me with it.” Jimmy placed a hand on Scott’s knee. “Just…can we please keep this between us?”

Something in Scott’s eyes seemed to break as he gave Jimmy a soft look. He bit his lip and placed his hand on top of Jimmy’s. “...Of course.” Scott rubbed Jimmy’s hand for a bit before giving it a strange look. He shook his head and pulled his hand away.

“Thanks,” said Jimmy. He pulled his hand away and picked up Lizzie’s note. “What did this say by the way?”

Scott seemed hesitant for some reason. He kept glancing at Jimmy's hand suspiciously before he finally looked back at the paper. “It says: ‘Dear Jimmy, We can speak now if you are able. I’m home now. Come over so we can discuss further. From, Lizzie’.”

Jimmy blinked a few times. “Oh. She wants to speak now?”

“...No. She wants to speak next week–yes of course she wants to speak now.”

Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair before standing up. “Um…are you okay with me just leaving?”

Scott shrugged. “I have to head back anyway. Go and see what Lizzie wants. Something tells me she’s scary when she’s mad.”

Jimmy couldn’t argue with that for one bit. He looked down at the Drowned, who looked ready to go. “Alright then.” Jimmy looked back at Scott. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone I’m illiterate.”

Scott struck a smile. “Who do you take me for? I promise I won’t spread rumors about you.”

Jimmy smiled back, and for a second, he swore he could’ve seen a light blush paint Scott’s face. “Thanks.” He turned around and equipped his elytra before taking off.

“...He does realize he forgot his shoes, right?”

.

.

.

Jimmy stumbled to the floor of Lizzie’s main tower as he tried his best to gracefully land. This, naturally, resulted in him falling face first.

He grumbled a little as footsteps drew closer to him before finally stopping. Jimmy looked up at Lizzie, who was sporting a long, flowy, dark blue dress. “Hi Lizzie.”

Lizzie sighed before reaching a hand out for Jimmy. “I don’t know how you failed that.”

“Well, I’m not you. I can’t gracefully land like a goddess or whatever you do,” said Jimmy as he took Lizzie’s hand and stumbled upward and on his feet. He brushed the dirt off his legs. “Now, I’m assuming you also have fish parts?”

Lizzie stared at his feet, not even paying attention to what he said. She huffed. “For goodness sake Jimmy–wait here.” She turned on her heel and stormed off to somewhere in the room. She dug through a chest before pulling out a towel. Lizzie turned back and ran over to Jimmy before handing him the towel. “Here,” she said, “I don’t mind you being barefoot. But please don’t track mud all over my prismarine floor.”

Jimmy blinked before looking down at his feet. “Oh! I had no idea I left without my shoes. Huh.” He took the towel before walking over to the edge of the tower. Jimmy sat down and let his feet dangle off the edge.

“How did you not know? It took you a while to show up. I thought you were physically or mentally preparing,” Lizzie said as she glared at the small trail of mud that Jimmy left behind. She ignored it, walking over and sitting next to Jimmy.

They looked out at the Ocean Empire below them. The view really was something.

A small laugh escaped Jimmy. “Ah–no. I was talking to Scott when Drowned brought the message. Had to explain everything to him. And it didn’t help that we found out that I had become illiterate at that moment.” Jimmy spoke the last bit in a small whisper. He could trust Lizzie. She was his sister.

Lizzie looked like she was trying to process everything at once. She sat there for a good five minutes before shouting, “Wait…you’re illiterate ?!”

Jimmy covered his ears at the increase in volume before nodding. “Yeah…I think it just happened because I was able to send you a message before. But Scott had to read your letter for me. You and him are the only ones I’m going to tell about this. I don’t think I can trust anybody else.”

Lizzie placed a hand on Jimmy’s knee. “Don’t worry. Your secret's safe with me. We’re seablings. Us fish people got to stick together.”

Jimmy smiled at her. Lizzie smiled back, a mouth of pointy teeth smiling with it. Jimmy stared at it a little. “Your teeth look sharper.”

“So do yours.”

He reached up and touched them. “Huh. They are. What else is fishy about you?”

Lizzie reached a hand out and spread her fingers, revealing blue webbing in between her fingers. Jimmy reached a hand out as well and showed her his brown webbing. “There in between my toes as well.”

“Ew. I have small fins on my arms.” She showed him and sure enough, baby fins were poking out of her skin. “I get the feeling they’re going to grow bigger for some reason.”

Jimmy cringed. “I don’t have that. I don’t think I want that.”

Lizzie hummed in response. “Guess we’ll have to see if the server affects anyone else.”

“I know it affected Scott. He has pointy ears now.” Jimmy paused and mumbled, “It looked kind of cute…”

Lizzie looked over at Jimmy with a smile. “How is he doing by the way? I know you mentioned to Joel and I before about how you two occasionally just visit each other.”

Jimmy stared off into space. “He broke down about his dreams about me. Not gonna lie…it sucks not being able to tell him the truth. I hope he won’t hate me too much when he finally learns the truth.”

A small hum escaped Lizzie’s lips. She swung her legs as the tune rang through the empty, salty air. “We’ll just have to tie him down and explain it to him. Simple.”

A small laugh came from Jimmy before he actually thought about Scott being tied up. Oh. Oh. He liked that image more than he realized. A light blush flushed Jimmy’s cheeks at the thought. Though it quickly went away as he knew Scott would be rightfully pissed off at them bounding him up.

“I feel like Scott would press a knife to my throat if we did that,” Jimmy said as he leaned back.

…Then again…pissed off Scott was also kind of hot…

Jimmy quickly shook his head as the blush returned. Lizzie gave him a concerned look. “Are you okay…?”

“...Don’t worry about it.

Lizzie didn’t seem to question it though. She just gave Jimmy a condescending blink before looking back at her Empire. Jimmy decided to join her in doing so. Everything and everyone looked so small from on top of Lizzie’s tower. Just buildings on lily pads with villagers walking through the towns and in and out of buildings.

Quite peaceful really.

“How’s Joel doing?” Jimmy asked just to start a conversation. “Last I saw him, he kind of slapped me across the face without an explanation.”

Lizzie shrugged. “The usual. You know, typical Joel things. What really is there? The man figured out how to clone himself and is building himself to death. Sounds pretty Joel to me.”

Jimmy couldn’t argue with that. “I think the worst part is that the clones have their own personalities and a mind of their own. Like…they aren’t like Joel at all.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Me and Pixl were talking to one of them the other day. She seemed so different from Joel. She was quite lovely to talk to, really–very sweet,” Jimmy said as he swung his legs back and forth.

“Huh,” Lizzie mumbled before they both heard a beeping sound coming from Jimmy’s phone. 

He pulled his phone out and stared at it. “Um…I have no idea what this says…”

Lizzie rolled her eyes before looking over his shoulder. “It’s from Kathrine. She says it’s almost time to meet up with Sausage regarding your disc.”

Jimmy jumped up, almost dropping his phone and Lizzie’s towel in the process. “Oh shoot! I forgot I had that later today! And I was just discussing this with Sausage earlier!” Jimmy shoved his phone in his pocket. “Sorry Liz, I have to go. Maybe we can talk later this week. Depends on what I’m doing though.”

Lizzie smiled and shook her head, waving her hand in a shoeing motion. “Oh don’t worry about it. Just…one thing before you leave…”

“Yeah?”

“Clean the mud off the floor.”

.

.

.

The lecture Jimmy received from Katherine the minute he arrived wasn’t nice. Basically, Katherine punched his arm and told him that he needed to come over when she told him to do so.

“Sorry sorry!” Jimmy shouted. “I would’ve been here sooner but Lizzie made me clean her floor! I’m a good boy! I swear!”

“Why did you listen?! You could’ve just flown off and told her to deal with it!”

“...Are we thinking about the same person? Did you forget we’re talking about Lizzie?”

Katherine grumbled and rubbed her temples. “Ugh. Nevermind. Just be glad that Sausage is late. He said something about how he was in the middle of discussing something with FWhip and Gem.”

Jimmy looked out at Katherine's garden, grateful that she had finally given up. The pathways and gardens were definitely beautiful. Jimmy just smiled at the flowers as he shifted on his seat on top of a random shulker in the middle of Katherine’s empire. Flowers gave him a nice feeling.

“...Why are you barefooted?” Katherine asked, giving Jimmy a concerned stare.

“I forgot my shoes when I left home.”

“...Of course you did.”

The two gave a small chuckle to lighten the air before the sound of rockets were heard above. Down came Sausage, who landed with a small fumble, but straightened up as if nothing happened.

“Greetings greetings!” he said with a smile. Sausage turned to Katherine and gave her a small bow before laughing. “It’s so lovely to see you Katherine!” He turned to Jimmy and hesitated. Sausage cleared his throat and placed his arms behind himself. “Hello Jimmy. I see you’ve decided to be in the same general area as me.”

He looked like he was trying to either stop himself from laughing or crying. Frankly, Jimmy was just confused by it.

Jimmy crossed his arms with a huff. “Of course. This involves me getting my disc back. I’m going to be here.”

Sausage raised his eyebrows. “And yet when I was trying to discuss a solution with you earlier, you disregarded it because Scott showed up.”

Katherine turned her head over at Jimmy. “ Really Jimmy?? You’re telling me this whole conversation could’ve been avoided if you weren’t a simp for your own husband?”

Jimmy choked on his own spit at Katherine’s words while Sausage let out a contagious laugh. “You didn’t have to word it like that!” he shouted to Katherine.

She raised an eyebrow at his words before Sausage said, “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway! With, you know, all the back and forth pranking! How’s the water by the way? I didn’t see any death messages from it in the chat?”

Jimmy grimaced a little. A while ago Sausage had flooded his house in retaliation for him and Pixl putting ravagers in his wheat fields. “Yeah, well the jokes on you. I was given an object that makes me breathe underwater from said husband I simp for.”

That sounded worse than Jimmy meant it, but oh well. “How is Bulldozer by the way?” Jimmy asked, crossing his arms. “Have they ruined everything yet?”

Sausage smirked. “No actually. Thank you for the new guards by the way! They’re quite lovely!”

Well that wasn’t supposed to happen. Jimmy tried his best to snarl. Did it actually sound like one? He wouldn’t know. “No. They were supposed to make things worse.”

“Well if you were actually taking things seriously, maybe things would’ve been bad! You and Pix died more times than the damage that occured~”

“I am taking things seriously. I–hold on. Let me step down to your level real quick.”

Katherine snorted. Sausage looked over at her before looking back at Jimmy and furrowing his eyebrows. “Oh please, you aren’t taking this seriously! You don’t even have shoes on!”

“Alright alright!” Katherine shouted. She stepped in between the two and huffed. “Before things escalate any further, why don’t we go inside and have a seat around the fireplace? Lovely and peaceful, right?”

“I completely agree, Katherine!” Jimmy said, scooting closer to her and giving Sausage a smirk. “You come up with the best ideas.”

Sausage crossed his arms and sneered at Jimmy. Katherine sighed before quite literally grabbing the two by the arm and dragging them off into a nice room in her house. She threw them in there and said, “Alright then. Is there anything you boys would like to say?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yes actually. Sausage, I want my disc back.”

“And I want an apology for you stealing from me!”

“I didn’t steal, alright? Katherine, c’mon. You gotta stand with me through this. We’re an alliance 'til the end, right?”

Sausage smirked at the blonde. “Oh? You don’t know? Katherine’s sided with me.”

Jimmy looked over at Katherine as Sausage whispered something to Katherine before handing her a little mini version of his banner. “...What…?” Jimmy mumbled as he stared at Katherine.

She looked over at him with a smile. “I told you Jimmy! I’m allying myself with everyone! Everyone is my friend! Why are you acting like it's a surprise?”

“Because I didn’t think you meant Sausage as well!”

“Jimmy, when I say everyone, I mean everyone! No one is excluded!”

Well there went all trust that Jimmy had in Katherine. And he let her decapitate him! Willingly!

“A- are you betraying me…?” Jimmy asked.

Katherine huffed before shaking her head. “I already told you! I’m allied with everyone! How many times do I need to repeat that?”

Sausage gave a laugh in the background, which caused Jimmy to look over at him with a glare. “Oh, sorry sorry!” Sausage said with a laugh. “It’s just so funny how you forgot something important that she told you!”

Jimmy huffed. He would have to deal with Katherine another time. Right now, he was here for his disc. “You,” he pointed at Sausage, “I still want my disc back. Don’t forget that’s what I’m here for. And you,” he pointed at Katherine and walked to the front of the room, “I’ll deal with you later.”

Katherine puffed up her cheeks in annoyance before looking over at Sausage. “He is right. You need to give him his disc back. This has lasted for too long.”

Sausage grumbled before waltzing over to Jimmy. “Alrighty Codfather,” he said, “I’ll give you your disc back. Just apologize and pay me five diamond blocks.”

“What?!”

“You heard me! That’s for stealing from me! Books are expensive, okay?!”

“You said I could–”

“Alright alright!” Katherine shouted, stepping in between the two. “Jimmy, apologize to Sausage and kindly ask for your disc back. Otherwise we’ll be here forever and none of us want that. I need to collect heads, Sausage needs to continue building, and you’ll probably go back to doing something.

Jimmy huffed before looking over at Sausage. Ask kindly–he could do that. Even if he would hate that. “Sausage,” Jimmy said, giving him his best pleading look, “can I have my disc back, please?” More venom in his words then he meant, but it seemed to work.

The glare that Sausage was giving him broke for a second. He just stared at Jimmy with this dumbfounded look before promptly slapping himself in the face, causing Jimmy and Katherine to flinch at his actions.

“Yes yes…that is something I can do…” Sausage faltered. He looked over at Katherine, who’s eyes widened. 

The look she gave Sausage basically said “how could you” in seven different languages. Katherine swallowed a build up of spit before gesturing toward Jimmy. “And Sausage, you give Jimmy his disc back. Not because I’m forcing you to, but because you want to.”

Sausage nodded. “Yes yes. But first, I feel like you need to hear what song this is.”

“You really don’t need to–”

“Oh, but you must hear it!”

“Sausage, can I please just have my disc back?”

“No no! Let Katherine hear this!”

Ignoring their protests, Sausage placed a jukebox down and took the disc out. “Listen to what Jimmy calls ‘The Greatest Song in the World’.” He placed the disc in and began the start of cave noises.

Rings and eerie cave sounds echoed through the house, leaving Jimmy just wanting to take the disc and run, and Katherine confused. “T- that’s the disc that is causing all this...”

“Yeah…”

Katherine hummed. “Well, I wasn’t expecting disc 13. With the way you were acting, I thought Sausage stole your copy of Pigstep or…something.”

Sausage shrugged before taking the disc out. “You know, I really don’t understand what’s so special about this disc.” He tossed it over to Jimmy who caught it, fumbling with it in a panic, not wanting it to drop.

“I got it!” Jimmy shouted with glee. And he wasn’t going to let go. Not now. Not again. “Later losers!!” He shouted before taking off. Jimmy ran down the hall and out of Katherine’s house.

He opened up his elytra and fired some rockets, shooting up into the open air. Jimmy let out a laugh into the open air. He looked down to see Katherine and Sausage looking up at him. But he didn’t care. He had his disc back. That was all that mattered.

Jimmy fired some more rockets and took off in the direction of the swamp. He looked down at the disc with a smile before realizing something. Sausage had renamed it to “The WORST Song in the World”. How dare he. Jimmy grimaced at the writing. He would have to fix that when he got home. Speaking of which…

The swamp slowly came into view, causing Jimmy to smile and fly down, landing on his deck with a thud. He fell over and on his face before grumbling. Elytras had been around for how many years and he still couldn’t get the hang of it?

Jimmy huffed before standing up, dusting the dirt off his pants before looking down at the disc in his hands. A smile spread across his face. It was back. He finally got it back. He would have to listen to it just to remember what was at the end.

“Jimmy!!”

He looked toward the sky behind him. “Katherine?”

Katherine stumbled a little as she landed before looking over at Jimmy. A sort of panic and sorrow was in her eyes. “Jimmy. That isn’t your disc.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. “What!”

“That isn’t your disc. W- when you flew off, Sausage had laughed, saying something along the lines about how that isn’t your disc. He flew off after that and I- I just needed to come tell you and apologize for not knowing what he was doing.”

Jimmy looked down at the disc. His mind seemed more blank than anything. Without thinking, Jimmy walked over to the edge of his deck and dropped the disc into the water.

Did he have a reason to trust Katherine? Not really. But he did trust her here. He felt like he could.

“...Are you sure that was the right thing to do…?” Katherine asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jimmy shrugged. “It isn’t the right one. It has to be that one disc.”

“Why though?”

A smile came across Jimmy’s face. “Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

Katherine looked off into the distance of Jimmy’s empire. She squeezed his shoulder. “Look over at the border between yours and Sausage’s empires.”

Jimmy looked over and stared in confusion. There, on top of the trees, were Sausage, FWhip, and Gem. They appeared to just be watching. “Well if that isn’t creepy…”

“They can’t know I’m the one who told you about the disc,” Katherine said as she scooted behind Jimmy. “Just…don’t mention me.”

“...Alright.”

Why did Jimmy agree? He didn’t know himself. But now he felt as if he had to keep that promise. Katherine did tell him about the disc. This could just be a way to repay that favor.

“Great! And uh…give this to Gem.” Katherine dug through the pocket of her dress before pulling out a piece of paper. “This paper is asking for help. Gem wants peace more than anyone on the server. I’m sure she’ll help you if Sausage and FWhip become too…extra.”

Jimmy took the piece of paper and stared at it. Mushed symbols and ink. None of it made any sense. He nodded and shoved it in his pocket before looking over at the tree line close to Mythland. Katherine can’t know. Jimmy felt like it was a secret only Lizzie and Scott should know.

“I better go see what they want. I need my disc back,” Jimmy said, messing with the rocket on his belt.

Katherine nodded. “Be careful.”

Jimmy nodded back before taking off in the direction of the Wither-Rose alliance, who moved further into the trees when they saw that Jimmy was approaching. He huffed and sped up, watching as they jumped off the trees and flew somewhere in the forest.

Jimmy watched as Sausage ran ahead, off in a different direction than FWhip and Gem. He seemed to be going to the same place however. Just a different path. Jimmy followed FWhip and Gem, whose trail ended in a small opening.

Jimmy landed on top of a tree and looked at the two red-heads. “What are you–”

His voice trailed off as he saw what they were standing in front of. TNT. A long line of TNT that stretched from the ocean to who knows where.

Oh.

Oh .

He didn't like TNT.

He didn't like TNT one bit.

“...What the hell is going on?” Jimmy asked as he jumped off of the tree and stumbled in front of FWhip and Gem.

FWhip smiled, clapping his hands together. “Jimmy! So great you’re here for the occasion! We’re here to bring peace!”

“...Peace?” Jimmy wasn’t buying that one bit.

“Yes!” Gem exclaimed, jumping a little. “Peace!”

Jimmy looked over at Gem. “...Gem…I–”

He was interrupted by Sausage flying down, crashing into a tree. “I’m alright!” He shouted as Gem was about to run over and help him. Sausage fell out of the tree and stumbled up, brushing the dirt off his clothes. “Alright! We are here for peace!”

“We just said that–”

“Yeah they just mentioned it–”

“C’mon Sausage.”

Sausage huffed before crossing his arms. “Well anyway! We have been discussing–yes discussing–and we have concluded a way to end this war! Well…FWhip has!”

Jimmy placed his hands on his hips. “And you didn’t tell me? This is our war! We’re supposed to–”

Gem stepped in and placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “This is a good thing Jimmy! This will bring peace!”

“...Here.” Jimmy mumbled, handing the note to Gem. He might have not remembered what Katherine told him to do. But at least he knew that he had to give Gem the note.

Gem looked down at the piece of paper. She stared at it for a bit before looking up at Jimmy. A concerned look seemed to grow in her green eyes, but she seemed to understand.

“What does the note say?” asked FWhip as he tried to look at the note.

Gem pulled the note away and shoved it in the pocket of her green dress. She glared up at FWhip before looking over at Jimmy. She gave a sad smile before placing both hands on his shoulders. “This will bring peace. For all of us. Trust me.”

Jimmy looked over at Sausage and FWhip behind her.

“...Do you trust me?”

“...Not really.”

But Jimmy couldn’t say that. He partially trusted Katherine, and she seemed to trust Gem. Besides, Gem hadn’t done anything to mess with him. It’s just her alliance members who act like her annoying little brothers. Which was weird considering the fact that they were older than her and FWhip was the only one she was actually related to.

“...Yeah, I trust you.” Jimmy said with a nod.

Gem beamed at him. She looked over at FWhip before giving a thumbs up.

A laugh escaped FWhip. “Let’s go!!” He ran over to a lever on a block and pulled it, causing the TNT next to it to light.

Jimmy froze. “Wait…”

Gem grabbed Jimmy and pulled him up as they flew on top of the trees. Jimmy only watched and stared as Gem pulled him along. The TNT went off, causing a chain of explosions.

One blow after the other, the TNT went off, igniting the TNT next to it and below it. A loud boom rang through the air as a massive ravine formed in the ground thanks to the explosions. Jimmy felt Gem let go of him. He fell to his knees and watched.

He watched the explosions cause an unnatural crack to form with the land, splitting a line in between the Cod Empire and Mythland. He felt the ringing in his ears at the sound. That booming sound. Jimmy swore his ears were bleeding.

Tears formed in his eyes as his breathing quickened. Every inhale and exhale felt heavy. Jimmy felt like he was shaking uncontrollably. Was he? He couldn’t tell. He dug his fingers into his arms.

The ringing in his ears. The feeling of waking up and fearing that the next time he does, he wouldn’t be in this plane of existence anymore.

The booming sound. The trembling of the earth. The feeling of fearing that no one will be there to hold him anymore.

The echo after. The loud noises that continue. Just like now. Just like before. All Jimmy wanted to do was curl up and cling to Scott for dear life. Just like before.

The ringing in his ears. The booming sound. The echo after.

He didn't like TNT.

He didn't like TNT one bit.

Jimmy couldn’t even tell that the Wither-Rose alliance was knelt in front of him. This was until he felt a pair of hands place themselves upon his shoulders. Jimmy tried looking at the figure before him. His vision was blurry, but he could make out a pale face with bright red hair and green eyes.

Gem. It was just Gem.

The only thing Jimmy could do was lean in and cling to Gem. The ringing wouldn’t go away. His harsh breathing didn’t want to cease. He could hear voices, but he couldn’t tell what they were saying. Jimmy squeezed his eyes shut and gripped Gem’s arms tighter as he leaned his head against her left shoulder.

He felt her rub his back, muttering words that he couldn’t make out. Jimmy felt two other hands find their place on his back. FWhip and Sausage, he assumed.

“Focus. Just focus on your breathing…” Jimmy told himself.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Simple as that.

Each breath seemed to be exerting so much force.

Jimmy looked up at Gem. He could make out a faint smile as she wiped a tear away from his face. “You okay?” The ringing was slowly going away. The blast was over. He was okay. Nobody was hurt.

Was that a rhetorical question she just asked? Jimmy didn’t know.

He slowly sat up and looked to his sides. Just as he thought, FWhip and Sausage were by his sides. Jimmy looked back at Gem. “Never,” he mumbled, “never use TNT again…”

Jimmy tried to make it sound as threatening as possible, but he knew his body was too tired to even attempt to sound threatening. It probably sounded weak. And tired. Mostly tired.

Gem nodded, shooting a glare over at FWhip before returning her focus to Jimmy. “...If it helps, the crater will help with the peace. You know…so you and Sausage are separated and can’t fight.”

Jimmy wondered if she forgot that they could just fly over the ravine. Then again, he hadn’t properly looked at it. Jimmy held onto Gem’s arms and slowly tried to stand up. It worked, even if he stumbled a bit.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Simple as that.

He slowly let go of Gem, giving her a smile, before looking at the ravine. It was bigger than he thought. A long line that stretched from the ocean to somewhere inland that went deep. It was massive.

“You do realize we can just fly over it, right?” Jimmy said.

Gem just blinked. FWhip laughed, leaning on Gem for support as Sausage took the chance to also remind them that elytras exist. He jumped into the ravine and took off, he flew through it, shouting in delight as he flew from one end to the other.

“Look Jimmy!!” he shouted. “This is fun!! Weeee!”

Jimmy rubbed the side of his head, groaning in annoyance at the forming headache. Next time he saw TNT, he was just going to run. Didn’t matter what was going on or what anyone thought.

“Look,” FWhip said, holding back a laugh, “it’s about the metaphor. This ravine is the metaphor that separates you two. No more fighting. Got it–” FWhip busted out laughing, falling to the floor just so he didn’t have to stand.

“Yes! For peace!” Gem exclaimed, tightening her purple cloak as she tried to salvage this. “This is all for peace!”

Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows as Sausage landed. “If this is for peace, then I need my disc back.”

Sausage gasped. “Wait! Who told you that the disc I gave you was fake?!”

“...I have my sources.”

“Hmph. No matter!” Sausage crossed his arms before smirking. “Just because you know, doesn’t mean I’m going to give it back–”

“Sausage, give it back to him.”

“Yeah, this has gone on for long enough.”

Sausage looked over at the red-heads before huffing. “Fine.” He took out the disc and tossed it over to Jimmy.

Jimmy grabbed it and stared at it. “The Greatest Song in the World” was written on it. “I got it…” Jimmy mumbled. He smiled brightly. “I got it!” Before anything could be said, Jimmy took off and flew off toward his house. He ran inside and slammed the door closed with a sigh of relief.

“...Well I wasn’t expecting this.”

Jimmy jumped at the voice before he looked to see Pixl sitting at his desk.

“Pix…” Jimmy mumbled before sighing.

“Hey. I came over to see how your meeting with Sausage and Katherine went and I saw that you weren’t home so I–”

“No no. It’s fine,” Jimmy said as he slugged his way over to his bed. He plopped down on it and sighed. “I’ll show you what happened later. I’m tired, and I’m traumatized. The important thing is, I got my disc back.” Jimmy held up the disc with a smile.

Pixl looked at the disc before furrowing his eyebrows. “I don’t get it. It’s disc 13. What’s so special about it?”

Jimmy stared at the disc. He trusted Pixl. Pixl was a person he could trust. “...Let me show you.”

He leaned over to the jukebox against the wall and pushed the disc inside. Just like the previous disc 13, this one started off with cave noises. Ringing bells and the sound of minecarts.

They sat there for a few minutes before Pixl said, “I don’t–”

“It’s not the song. It’s what I put at the end.”

Right on time, the track abruptly stopped, entering a silence.

“...What…”

“Just listen.”

The sound of a guitar being strummed replaced the silence. A soft tune filled the room. Chords being plucked with a simple hum following along.

Pixl’s eyes widened. “...What–”

“It’s a tune that Scott and I came up with when we did 3rd Life,” Jimmy said as he brought his knees to his chest and hugged them. “We liked to just dance in our flower forest. After a while it got boring without any music and since we didn’t have any, we just came up with our own. We would hum a tune, and whatever happened…happened. 

“I wanted to put that tune onto an instrument and put it on a disc to surprise Scott. I’ve been saving it for when he gets his memory back. Naturally…you can imagine how much I panicked when it got stolen.”

Pixl stood up and sat down next to Jimmy so he could get a better listen. “So…you learned how to play guitar just for this?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah. I learned how to cook as well. Might as well try to impress Scott.”

Pixl laughed. “Well, isn’t he lucky then.” 

He closed his eyes and listened to the simple tune before asking, “But why did you put it on disc 13? Why not create your own disc to put it on?”

Jimmy shrugged. “I didn’t want anyone else to hear it. Who listens to the very end of disc 13?”

A smile spread across Pixl’s face as he shook his head. “Wow.”

Wow indeed.

The two sat in silence, letting the sound of the guitar feel the empty air.

Chapter Text

Flowers. Opening up his eyes to flowers was always lovely.

Scott opened his eyes to reveal the flower valley that he often associated with his husband. He looked around, seeing the same image he always saw. Two hobbit homes across from each other, a pond in the middle with a rock path to a Nether portal and farms. But most importantly: flowers.

Scott looked down and felt the grass beneath him; he was sitting down. He sighed and hugged his knees. Any minute now, he would see his husband walking up to him. He knew it. It was how these dreams always happened.

Sometimes Scott wondered what their relationship was like before 3rd Life, considering how he’d only seen what their relationship was on this server and not in any others. It confused him.

“Well, the bees are dead or they flew away.”

Right on time.

Scott turned his head to his husband and almost stopped breathing. A wave of guilt washed over him as he saw his appearance. His skin was gray, his clothes were torn, and his dirty blonde hair seemed to have ashes within it.

“...I could have prevented that…” Scott told himself.

He shook it off as his body didn’t seem to react to it. The blonde sat next to him with a bundle of flowers in his arms. He laid the flowers on the ground before smiling at Scott. “Well, at least the flowers are pollinated!”

Scott smiled back at him, crossing his legs and turning his body to face him. “What’s with all the flowers?”

“Well, I thought we could just relax,” the faceless man said. “You know, a lot has been going on and I thought we could just have some down time together.” The blonde picked a daisy up and held it out for Scott, his smile growing. “When was the last time we had the chance to make flower crowns?”

Well, there went Scott’s heart rate. A small laugh escaped him before he turned his head away from what felt like the sun smiling at him. “Oh my goodness…”

“So what do you think?” his husband asked, holding the daisy closer to his face.

Scott rolled his eyes. He took the daisy and scooted closer to the blonde, placing a kiss on his cheek. “I think you’re adorable,” Scott said as he pulled back with a smirk.

The red on his husband's face made Scott feel accomplished. The blonde laughed and covered his face with one hand and looked away. “You had no right to do that!” He laughed, leaning back to the point it looked like he was about to topple over.

“Oh, I had every right to do that!” Scott teased, plucking another daisy from the flower pile and tucking it behind the blonde’s ear.

“Not when it makes me feel like I’m going to melt!”

“Well, technically it’s your fault for making my heart feel like it’s going to beat out of my chest!”

They both stared at each other for a bit. Uh oh. Something told Scott he shouldn’t have said that.

A smile grew on his husband’s face. “Awww!~”

Well crap.

“I make you flustered~” He leaned on Scott, causing Scott to grumble and shove him away.

“Yes yes. You make me feel weak,” Scott said. He felt like he dug himself deeper into a hole with that one.

A smirk curved its way on his husband’s face. He took some flowers and turned around, laying his head down on Scott’s lap. “How else do I make you feel?” he asked all innocently while weaving some flowers together.

Scott huffed and took some flowers. He began weaving them together, trying to act like the blonde wasn’t there giving him puppy-dog eyes.

“Scott.”

“...”

“Scooott.”

“...”

“Petal.”

“...”

“Petalll.”

“...Yes, Sunflower?”

“I love you!”

“...I love you too.”

“You hesitated! That means you second guess yourself!”

“No. It means you’re getting on my nerves.”

“No I’m not. You love me too much for me to annoy you~”

“You’re really pushing your boundaries there Sunflower.”

“I love you too Petal~”

Scott shook his head before leaning down and placing a kiss on top of the blonde’s head. “There. That’s all you get.” He turned his attention back to weaving flower stems.

“You missed!” his husband exclaimed with a whine.

Scott glared at him before shaking his head with a smile. He reached over and took a sunflower. He plucked the petals and began adding them to the flower crown. “I wasn’t aiming.”

“Well, I want you to aim then!” the blonde said as he also weaved his crown. He was somehow doing it without letting his eyes leave Scott. Quite impressive, actually.

Scott smirked. He leaned down and placed a kiss on his nose. “Oops! Missed!” A kiss on his cheek. “Missed again!” A kiss on his other cheek. “Again!” A kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Man, I just can’t get this shot!”

Finally, the blonde huffed. He sat up and turned around to where he was facing Scott. The faceless man sat the flower crown in his lap and reached his hands out, grabbing Scott’s face and pulling him into a kiss.

A slight laugh found its way past Scott’s lips. He found himself kissing back, tilting his head slightly as he gently laid his crown down.

His husband pulled back, his face a bright red. “There. Wasn’t that hard of a shot.”

Scott smirked. He scooted closer and placed a soft kiss against the blonde’s lips. “Wow,” said Scott with a small smirk as he didn’t pull back, “guess you were right.”

The faceless man stared at him wordlessly before he brought his hands down to grip Scott’s arms. He gave him a quick kiss. “Surprised that you missed it then.”

Scott gave him another kiss. “Well I’m getting it now.” He gently placed both flower crowns to the side before wrapping his legs around his husband and his arms around his neck.

The blonde pulled Scott up onto his lap. He brought their lips together again, this one lasting longer as he cupped Scott’s face with one hand and gripped his hair with the other. “You sure are…” he said breathlessly as he stared up at Scott.

Scott smirked before he tugged his husband into another kiss. He felt the other hum in satisfaction as Scott brought his hands over and gripped his shoulders. Scott felt his eyes flutter close as he trailed his hands down his husband’s chest.

Gods, the feeling was beautiful. Scott didn’t want to move. The way their lips moved together as if they fit perfectly. The way that each time they pulled back for air, they were back for more. The chill to his husband’s lips. The way the blonde’s fingers gripped his hair. Gods , Scott loved the feeling of his fingers in his hair. He liked that more than he expected.

Everything seems alright at this moment. It didn’t matter that Scott didn’t remember who this man was. It didn’t matter that this was all in the past. It didn’t matter that this was all in a dream. It didn’t matter that Scott knew he'd wake up alone in the morning.

“Yep…doesn’t matter.”

If Scott could cry at this moment, he knew he would.

He felt the blonde pull away, not bringing the kiss back. Scott felt himself grumbled as he leaned in and placed a kiss on his husband’s cheek.

“Scott.”

He placed another kiss somewhere on his face.

“Scott.”

Several.

“Petal…”

More.

Finally, Scott felt him grab his face to stop him from covering him in kisses. Scott took this opportunity to finally open his eyes. He stared at the faceless man, who had a frown curved across his lips.

“You’re crying,”

Scott blinked. He reached a hand up and wiped a tear away from his own cheek. Huh. So he was crying. What a coincidence.

“Oh.”

The blonde reached up and touched his cheek. Scott leaned into his palm a little with a sigh. “...Was the kiss that bad?”

A small chuckle escaped Scott at his husband’s attempt at a joke. At least he thought it was a joke.

Scott shook his head. “No no…it’s…it’s just…” He reached up and placed a hand on the side of his husband’s face. Scott slowly rubbed circles into his cheek before he sighed. “...I keep blaming myself for your death a- and I keep thinking I’m going to lose you any minute…and–”

He felt the blonde pull him into a hug. Gods, Scott felt like melting. He buried his face into his husband’s shoulder and exhaled. Scott let his arms hang to his side as he felt the faceless man rub circles into his back with one hand while running his fingers through Scott’s hair using the other.

“I already told you, you aren’t to blame for my decisions,” he said, pulling Scott closer. “And even when I die, I’ll still be here. Sure, I’ll be in spectator, but I’ll still be with you.”

A knot twisted in Scott’s stomach at the blonde’s words. Something told him that that wasn’t what he meant by “losing him”. He lifted his head up and stared at his husband’s eyes. Well, where his eyes should be. Scott imagined them as a bright red. Not blood red like the other Red Lifes, but red like poppies.

Like their flower.

“But what if respawn’s broken? What if when you die, you don’t come back? What if you’re dead for good?”

The idea seemed to hit the blonde like a truck. He gave Scott a dumbfounded look as he froze. “Oh.”

Scott sighed before slipping off of his lap and sitting in front of him. “It keeps me up at night. I keep thinking about the what-ifs and it makes me sick.”

“...Is that why you keep tossing and turning at night?”

“...Yeah.”

The faceless man placed a hand on top of Scott’s. “Then I’ll haunt you. I won’t be going anywhere. I’ll be by your side until you die. Then we’ll be together forever.” He took both of Scott’s hands. “You won’t be getting rid of me that easily. And even when you move on and fall in love with someone else, I’ll be by your side. I- in fact, they’re gonna need my approval to be with you! You deserve the best and only the best! I don’t want you ending up with some…some…trash bag when I’m gone! Okay?”

Scott gave him a blank stare. He blinked. Then he laughed. He laughed and curled his fingers around his husband’s before laying his head on his shoulder. “That was so ridiculous!” Scott wheezed as he nuzzled his face into his shoulder.

“I…was it? I- I was being serious…”

 Scott smiled and shook his head. He leaned back and placed a kiss on top of his husband’s forehead. “Whatever it was, it was adorable.”

The blonde huffed a little before smiling over at Scott. He looked down at their intertwined fingers before looking over at the flower crowns. He seemed content. And that was all that he seemed to need to be.

Scott hummed and tilted his head. “So, if you’re saying that I deserve the best, then you’re saying that I don’t deserve you?”

His husband choked on his own spit before whipping his head over to look at Scott. “WAIT! T- that’s not–I…I–”

Scott laughed before placing a kiss on his nose. “Love you, Sunflower~”

“Clearly you don’t if you’re giving me a heart attack like that!”

“Well, you kind of set yourself up for it! I wasn’t going to lose my chance to poke fun at you!”

The blonde huffed before leaning in and touching his forehead with Scott’s. “We were having a nice moment and you had to ruin it. I have a feeling you like making fun of me more than you actually like me.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “I was the one in distress, ⋮╎ᒲᒲ||. You were the one to ruin that moment by making me laugh.” He smirked a little before saying, “And besides, you’re wrong. I like making fun of you, but you know damn well that I love you.”

A bright red flushed his husband’s cheeks. He pulled back and pulled his hands away, using them to cover up his face. “Oh my goodness, Scott! That was so cheesy!”

“I know. I think you’re rubbing off on me,” Scott said with a shrug.

The blonde smiled at him before shifting in his seat. “I love you, Petal.”

“Love you too, Sunflower.”

The faceless man gave a small laugh before he looked over at the flower crowns. The smile on his face grew. “Aww! You added sunflower petals to yours!! That’s so cute~”

Scott rolled his eyes before picking up the crown. “Yeah, I’m not done with it obviously, but…” He placed the flower crown on his husband’s head before smiling. “Here. It’s for you, Sunflower.”

The faceless man promptly stopped functioning. Scott laughed a little before leaning in with a few small flowers. He turned his husband’s head to the side and carefully lifted the crown up before weaving the flowers onto the main stem he created. “There,” He said before leaning back. “Besides wanting to add a few more flowers, I think it looks good.”

The blonde smiled as he reached a hand up and gingerly ran his fingers along the petals. “It’s beautiful, Petal,” he said, glancing over at Scott with a bright smile.

Scott swore he was trying to murder him with his smile. Gods, it was beautiful. He wanted to take it and hide it from the rest of the world so only he could view it–and at the same time, he felt like he didn’t deserve it. The feeling was very confusing.

His husband reached over and picked up the crown that he made before placing it down on Scott’s head. He reached over and carefully tucked the poppy that was already behind Scott’s ear (Scott assumed it was the poppy that his husband proposed to him with) into a little spot where it seemed to be a part of the crown.

Scott delicately reached up and felt the flowers that now rested upon his head. He smiled before nodding. “Does it look good?”

“Yeah yeah! Obviously! You…I think you look good with anything!!” he stumbled out.

Scott smiled at his mix up of words. “Aw! That’s sweet.”

The blonde tilted his head a little before a bright smile spread across his face. “Oh! I just thought of a flower that would look good with yours!” He stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants. “Ima go get it! Be right back!”

Scott watched as his husband ran off to somewhere in the flower forest. He shook his head with a smile before laying down with a sigh. This was nice and peaceful. Scott felt as if he could slip into the moment and not come back from it. There were many dreams where he felt like that. Like the one where it was just him and his husband dancing in their flower field, humming their own tune that he was sure they were coming up with on the spot. It was nice though.

It was quite peaceful.

The peace was interrupted by the sound of the wooden wall being broken. Because of course it has to be broken at this moment.

Scott shot his head up in surprise and annoyance. Mostly annoyance. He had just finished that wall. He noticed Ren and Martyn step over the stump of the now hole in the wall.

“Excuse me!” Scott shouted as he stood up. “We have a door! You don’t need to break in!”

“Apologies!” Ren shouted back as he motioned for Martyn to fix the wall. “But we have come with a proposition!”

The only thing that ran through Scott’s mind was wondering if they weren’t dating (?) would Martyn have listened to Ren. Then again, no one knew that they were together at this moment in time.

Scott huffed before standing up. He looked over at Ren, noticing a clear difference in his appearance. For one: he was gray with the same blood thirsty red eyes that the other Red Name’s had. Scott was glad he didn’t see that with his husband. And second: his outfit was different. He wore the same red shirt and blue jeans, but he had a torn up gray cloak over it with a golden crown atop his head.

Scott walked closer as Martyn ran over to them, stepping on top of the stepping stones that were placed in the pond. “What do you want? You’re scary now that you’re Red–”

“What’s going on here?”

They looked over to see the faceless man walk over to them, a number of flowers in his arms as he gave them a concerned look. “Ren? Martyn?” He asked, placing the flowers down before walking over. Without much thought, Scott grabbed his husband’s arm, pulling him over. “Well, I have a Red of my own!” That sounded pathetic.

“Well, my Red can beat up your Red anyday!” Martyn said, crossing his arms as he spoke in a mocking tone.

“Well, my Red–yeah no. Your Red can beat mine–” That sounded more pathetic.

“Scott, you got to have some faith in me–”

“Silence filthy hobbits!” Ren said in a very strange and fake accent. “We have come for tribute!”

“Excuse you, I am very clean–”

“What do you mean ‘tribute’?”

Martyn stepped in. “The king demand’s tribute!” he said, also in a strange accent.

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s with the accents?”

Martyn shrugged. “I dunno man. It changes every five minutes;  it’s very confusing.”

Taking their comment with a grain of salt, Scott crossed his arms. “Well, what do you mean by tribute?”

Ren sighed. “Well, why don’t you look at the tab list. People are losing their lives quickly, and pretty soon there will be more Reds than there are Greens or Yellows.” He placed down a banner. It was blood red with white spikes at the very bottom. “This is the banner of Dogwarts,” Ren continued, “all we ask is for an allegiance. Hang this banner in your land, and you will have our loyalty. Think about it. We’re the only kingdoms with walls, and we’re on opposite ends of the map. Together, we can pinch the center.”

“Except for Joel and Skizz,” Martyn jumped in. “We’re allied with them.”

“...Anyway, what do you think?”

Well that didn’t sound so bad. He just didn’t like the word “allegiance”. Before Scott could say anything, his husband stepped in front of him, putting his arm out in front of Scott. “What’s the catch? Surely there’s a price.”

“Ah,” Ren said, “all I require is the rabbit's foot I gave you on our first day.”

An image of them chasing Ren in a cave popped into Scott’s head. After they had caught up with him, they gave him some iron, and he gave them a foot. The item was pretty useless. Scott could get rid of it and not miss it.

“Alright,” he said with a shrug, “I’ll go get it.”

Scott turned around and started walking toward his house before he felt a tug at his arm. He looked over at his husband, who gave him a pleading look. “Wait a minute! These two come in through our walls and they win you over with a foot? Are you that easily persuaded?”

“It’s just been laying around, ⋮╎ᒲᒲ||. We don’t need it, and they simply want it back. Besides,” Scott leaned in and whispered, “it appears we’re getting more out of this deal anyway.”

He pulled his arm out of his husband’s grasp before he turned and ran over to his hobbit hole. Scott climbed up into it and ran over to one of his chest. He pulled out the rabbit foot before hesitating for a bit. Something wasn’t right. Why did they want just a rabbit foot? Scott looked over at his armor stand, before looking over at his sword. He grabbed the sword before putting it in a belt loop.

“I got the foot!” Scott shouted as he walked out of his house. He jumped down the hill before running over to the three standing on the other side of the valley. "So if I make a banner, you'll hang it up?" Scott asked as he fiddled with the foot.

A laugh escaped Ren’s lungs. The accent returned. “That shall be decided at the Black Altar!!”

Martyn leaned in and whispered, “Trust me, the Black Altar is scary. I was there, I didn’t like it.”

“What–”

“No,” the faceless man said, “no. We do not accept.”

“⋮╎ᒲᒲ||, it’s just some weird roleplay metaphor they’re using. I’m sure it means nothing–”

“No no!” The blonde placed both hands on Scott’s shoulders as he turned him to face him. “They said the word ‘altar’! You know what that means? It means there’s going to be a sacrifice. It means one of us is going to be sacrificed.” He reached a hand up and brushed a piece of hair out of Scott’s face. “You’re Green. I’m Red. They’re going to sacrifice you a- and I don’t want that! I’m not going to stand for that! So you know what–”

He walked over to the Dogwarts banner and pulled out a flint and steel. “I’m going to take this banner,” he flicked the tool close to the banner; they all watched as it went up in flames, “and I'm going to burn it.”

The flames managed to catch on to his pants, but he quickly patted it out as he ran over and stood next to Scott. Scott was too busy watching the red banner burn. So was Ren and Martyn. They all watched as it went up in flames.

“You’ve made your choice,” Ren said, his voice deepening.

Welp. They were screwed.

Martyn furrowed his eyebrows. “Why you little–” He pulled out his sword and swung for Scott, who didn’t even notice what was happening.

By the time he noticed what was going on, his husband had grabbed Scott’s sword from his belt and used it to block Martyn’s attack. “Don’t. Touch. Him,” he said, a hint of anger in his voice as he pushed Scott behind himself.

Well, there went Scott’s heartbeat and body temperature. Through the roof. Was this happening? Was this a fever dream? Was his husband actually doing this?

Martyn scoffed. “C’mon ℸ ̣╎ᒲ,” he said, “we both know you’re absolute shit when it comes to combat.”

“You’d be right,” the faceless man said, “but I’m pretty damn scary the minute someone tries to hurt my husband.”

“Martyn!” Ren shouted as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “They’ve made their choice! Besides, you can’t attack unless he attacks first.”

Martyn pulled the sword away as he turned to Ren and shouted, “But he provoked us by burning the banner!”

“Martyn. They’ve made their decision,” Ren repeated.

Before Martyn could say anything else, all four of their phones beeped.

[SmallishBeans went up in flames]

Oh. Joel had just died. Scott thought back to when he spoke to Joel about 3rd Life. So this was his second death.

The faceless man brought his sword down and laughed. “Look! Joel’s your ally and you aren’t there to protect him!”

“Of course not you idiot!” Martyn shouted. “You can’t expect us to be in two places at once, can you?”

Ren huffed before grabbing Martyn by the arm, pulling him away. He gave Scott and the faceless man a stern look. “You’re both in the book.”

Oh woah. A book. How threatening. And yet somehow it was? The feeling was very confusing. It was a mix of what current Scott was feeling and what past Scott was feeling.

“Here,” Scott said. He tossed Ren the rabbit’s foot. “You can take it. For what it was worth, this was a nice friendship while it lasted.”

Ren nodded. “We’ll see each other on the battlefield.” He turned and walked off.

Martyn turned to follow him. For a moment he stopped and gave the other blonde a sad look. It only lasted a moment before he turned back around and followed Ren through a newly made hole in the wall. They made sure to fix it.

Scott huffed before he glared at his husband. “Why did you do that? I was going to try and negotiate something with them!”

The blonde turned to face him. “I was trying to protect us! I was trying to protect you!”

“I’m fine on my own,” Scott said as he grabbed his sword and pried it from his husband’s hands. “You don’t need to protect me! I have good weapons and gear! I don’t need you going off and doing something like that!”

“Scott,” the blonde said as he placed both hands on Scott’s shoulders, “they were talking about altars. Altars lead to sacrifices. You know what that means? It means you would be up on that altar, and I would be looking you in the eyes, and then they’re gonna sacrifice you. A- and I don’t want that!” He reached a hand up and cupped Scott’s face. “I- I can’t lose you.”

Scott shoved his husband’s hand away before he pulled back. “I can handle them! I’ve got good gear now! And I’m on my Green Life, so don’t worry about me!”

He turned and walked over to his house. He heard his husband follow him. “But you can’t handle four or five of them! And just because you have three lives doesn’t mean that you can’t be reckless with them! Scott, you keep on talking about losing me, but what if I lose you because ‘Oh it’s alright! I’ve got three lives! Oh, two lives is basically three! I’ve got a back-up! Oh, Red means it’s time to cause some chaos–’”

“Okay! You’re being unreasonable here!”

“Clearly I’m not! Scott, what will you do when you finally lose your Green Life? Will you even be a little bit nervous or will you be ready to jump onto Red just so you can murder people?”

There was the headache. A little late to the party.

Scott opened the door to his hobbit hole before looking back at the blonde. “Well maybe I’ll do just that! You clearly seem to have no trust in me.” He glared at him. “And how hypocritical of you to judge my actions. Who was the one who played Tango’s death game? Who was the one that touched the TNT minecarts despite being told not to touch them? Who was the one who burned Dogwarts’ banner because he refused to negotiate? Who, ⋮╎ᒲᒲ||? Who?”

The blonde crossed his arms. “Wow. So you’re suddenly not blaming yourself for my actions? That’s convenient. Are you sure you actually blamed yourself, or were you doing it for attention?!”

A knot twisted in Scott’s stomach. He furrowed his eyebrows. “C’mon! You can’t assume things you know nothing about!”

“Okay, now that’s hypocritical!” 

Without saying anything else, Scott flipped him off and slammed his door closed. He let out an exhale before falling down onto his knees. Scott placed a hand on the door and let out a huff.

“Well shit…”

~

Waking up with a headache was always a good sign.

Scott grumbled as he fluttered his eyelids open. He squeezed them tight and turned his head as the rays of sun beamed down on his face. Scott huffed as he turned his body away from the window.

Today wasn’t going to be a good day. Waking up from a past argument was never good.

Scott stretched his arms before grabbing an extra pillow. He hugged the pillow with a huff as he stared at the railing of the second floor. He turned his head in the other direction before quickly turning it back after being blasted from the rays of the sun. Just because the house was bigger, didn’t mean that he placed his windows correctly.

He set up and yawned. The day wasn’t going to wait for him. Scott stood up and walked over to his closet. He did his usual morning routine like he was on auto-pilot. He probably was. Scott did the same thing every morning so much he could hardly remember doing it in the first place.

Scott looked in the mirror as he put his earrings in. His eyes drifted to the wedding ring that he placed on the vanity the previous night. Right away, he hesitated before picking it up. Scott stared at it for a minute before he sighed.

Pitiful. It really was.

He slid the ring on his left ring finger before heading downstairs. Back to the usual routine. Back to auto-pilot. Back to breakfast.

Until his door opened and in walked one of the villagers. His advisor to be specific. All of them had picked one of the villagers to be their advisors. Treating it like a real empire, he supposed. And the villagers were okay with it. They just wanted to live their life. This was just a part of it.

“Good morning sir!” she said, plopping down at the table with Scott.

Scott grumbled. “Hi Natalia. What did I say about barging in when it’s the morning?”

“..Apologies Sir,” Natalia said. “But, I’ve come to remind you of the meeting between the empires.”

Ah. Right. That was today. Scott was too sleep deprived to remember.

He hummed. “The usual server reports and stuff I assume.”

“And the problem with the demon.”

“...I’m sorry what?”

Natalia leaned back as they pushed a piece of her lilac hair out of their face. “Yeah. Some of the empires have made reports of a demon on the server. It’s apparently the cause of the corruption that’s everywhere, and it’s been terrorizing everyone. Especially the Codfather.” She paused before letting out a sigh. “The poor guy. And he just got his Cod head stolen by Count FWhip as well.”

Scott glanced to the side as he sipped his coffee. So there was a demon. That’s always fun.

“Speaking of the Codfather,” Natalia said. They reached into her pocket and pulled out a letter. “He sent this letter. Don’t know why he didn’t just message you. But hey, I don’t know server mechanics.”

“It’s because he can’t…”

Scott took the letter and opened it. He pulled out a weird article of sorts. He stared at it before realizing that it was an astronomy article. Scott read it. The article was about how there was going to be a meteor shower throughout all the world’s servers; this was something that only happened once in a blue moon.

At the very bottom of the page were the words: ‘WANNA WATCH?’

Scott felt himself smile at it. Something told him Jimmy told his advisor to write it in specifically all caps.

“...So is there something happening between you and the Codfather?” Natalia asked.

Scott almost choked on his coffee. “H- huh?” he asked. “What makes you say that?”

Natalia raised her eyebrows before pursing their lips. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the way you smile at him and his letters. Maybe it's the way he stares at you as if you’re the only person in the whole world. And don’t think the entire empire doesn’t know about how you two just abandon all plans to follow one another around for the day.”

Scott sighed and placed down his coffee. “He’s a really good friend, Natalia. He was there from the minute I woke up and couldn’t remember anything. Besides,” Scott held up his left hand, “he knows I’m married.”

Natalia wasn’t buying it. “But you don’t know where he is.”

Scott hestitanted. He couldn’t argue with that, no matter how much he wanted to. Scott sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “...And I can’t help the way I feel about Jimmy…or my husband.” He fidgeted with his ring at the thought.

Natalia gave him a sad look. “I know.” She gave Scott’s hand a small pat before standing up. “I better get going,” They said as she looked down at their watch. “The council is going to kick my ass if I’m late for work.”

“Don’t worry,” Scott said, “just tell them that I was holding you up.”

Natalia laughed. “Didn’t work last time.”

Scott smiled. “Worth a try.”

“Alright, Scott. I’ll see you later.”

“See you too.”

.

.

.

Meetings were boring.

Meetings, typically, were ways for everyone to get together, put aside the war, and chit-chat. Usually, this was the way that some people were able to ask for items to trade and such.

This time, it was something else.

“So…I’m sure we all know that something is happening around the server…” FWhip said as they all sat around Katherine’s table.

Most people gave a nod.

FWhip glanced over at Shelby. “Shrub, will you please enlighten us on this demon that you believe you brought into our world.”

For some reason, Scott could swear up and down that she was smaller than what he remembered her being. And that’s coming from one conversation he remembered having with her. He was sure he was seeing things.

Shelby nodded. “You see, I believe there was a glitch of sorts when I tried entering the server. Instead of ending up here, I ended up in some…fantasy gnome land. As you can see,” she stood up and climbed on the table. Yep. Scott wasn’t seeing things. Shelby was now the size of a gnome. “I’ve changed because of that.”

She sat back down before continuing, “You see, I made my home there. It was pretty peaceful and I liked it. However, a black figure with horns showed up one day. I’m not sure where he came from, but he corrupted my land. I was finally able to find my way here, and I’m certain that he followed me into this server. I’m not sure how, but I do know that others have been seeing him…if I’m correct.”

Gem nodded while Jimmy groaned and slammed his head on the table, causing everyone to flinch.

FWhip looked over at the two. “Would you guys like to share your experiences…? Jimmy, I know this demon seems to like tormenting you the most.”

That caused something to twist in Scott’s stomach. He didn’t like the idea of the demon (or whatever it was) tormenting Jimmy. He clutched his hand as he kept his eyes on Jimmy.

“I’m not sure what I’ve even done to him!” Jimmy exclaimed, jumping up and slamming his fists on the table. “He keeps on harassing me, trapping me, and stealing my stuff! Heck, he locked me in the Nether for pete’s sake! And he stole my bed! My bed! Of all things to steal, why was it my bed!?”

Gem gave him a look. “I think he’s flirting with you, Jimmy.”

Okay, now that didn’t sit well with Scott. He was ready to murder a demon that he hadn’t even met yet.

He glanced down at the ring on his finger and sighed.

Jimmy scrunched his face. “What kind of flirting is that? Whatever it is, I reject his advances.”

That made the feeling in Scott’s stomach settle a little bit.

Gem cleared her throat. She stood up before motioning for Sausage to join her. “We’ve also experienced some problems with the demon,” Gem said. “Like some of you, he’s been harassing me at my empire. We've noticed that for some reason, anytime he seems to be causing trouble, Sausage blacks out and is found chanting unknown words at his Blood Sheep Altar.”

Altar.

Altar.

Scott shivered at the thought. He didn’t like that word one bit. Not after that dream he just woke up from.

“However,” Gem continued, “Sausage and I have been able to figure some things out about him.” She pulled out a book. “We asked him what his name was, and he answered that it was ‘Xornoth’. He doesn’t seem to like it when we use it though. We asked him what his weaknesses were and he didn’t reply–obviously. However, my gem crystals seem to work as a small protective bubble. He also seems to want power. If I find anything else out, I’ll make sure to tell everyone.”

Typical information really.

“I don’t know,” Joey said. “that sounds kind of hot…”

Everyone promptly (and rightfully so) gave Joey a disgusted look.

“What?” he exclaimed. “I’m just saying, his additions to my empire can stay. He could torture me anyday~”

“...Joey…calm your horny…”

“Yeah,” Joel said, “I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’m a hundred percent sure that you guys are hallucinating.”

Jimmy gave Joel a confused look. “The corruption is everywhere, Joel. How do you not know what we’re talking about?

Joel shrugged. “It sounds like someone is just messing with all of us as a prank. Who hasn’t seen the demon as well?”

Not surprisingly, no one raised their hand. So Scott felt a little left out when it turned out he was the only other one who hadn't seen the de–Xornoth yet.

“Yeah,” Scott mumbled, “but I’ve seen some of the damage he’s caused. I just haven’t seen him…”

“Keep it that way,” Jimmy said, “it’s nightmarish.”

Despite the fact that he said it in a joking manner, Scott could tell that the sentence made Jimmy want to break down. He stayed silent about it. He could ask later.

FWhip glanced around the table. “Is there anything anyone needs to say on the matter?”

No one responded.

“Alright then,” FWhip said, “meeting dismissed.”

Of course, that didn’t mean it actually was. They all stood up and walked to Katherine's living room. They all knew they were gonna stick around for a bit just to chit-chat and chill. It was when everyone put the wars and alliances behind them to just be friends. It was quite nice actually.

“Scott!” a small voice said that caused Scott to turn around before being jumped on by a small gnome.

“Hey Shubble!” Scott shouted as he lifted Shelby up to hug her. It was very weird. He felt like he was hugging a child. But, it was still Shelby, no matter how short she had become.

He placed her down as she gave him a bright smile that seemed to match her yellow eyes. “I feel like I haven’t gotten to talk to you in forever! How have you been?”

Scott shrugged before scratching the back of his head. “Eh. Confused? I feel like confused is the best way to put it.”

Shelby nodded. “Yeah. I heard. How are you doing with that by the way?”

“...I know enough for the time being…” Scott faltered. He knew that was a lie. From the looks of it, Shelby knew that was a lie too. “...Let’s not mention it. How have you been by the way?”

Shelby let out a laugh as she placed her hands on her hips. “Oh you know. The usual. Just released a demon onto a server with all my friends. Just a normal Saturday night.”

“Sounds like a fun night.”

“It was. You should join me next time.”

Before Scott could say anything else, Katherine walked up behind Shelby before placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey Shubble!” She said, causing Shelby to jump.

She looked up and beamed before jumping into Katherine’s arms. “Katherine!!” She shouted as Katherine lifted her up and spun in circles with her in her arms. The two laughed before Katherine placed Shelby down with a giggle.

Now that was adorable. Scott smiled at the two before he felt a tug at his heart. He fiddled with the ring on his finger before letting out an inaudible sigh.

“How have you been?” Shelby asked. She looked like she was about to burst with energy.

Katherine smiled. She seemed to share the same enthusiasm. “I’ve been great actually! I’m actually here to discuss something with you...” She looked over at Scott. “Is it okay if I steal Shubble for a bit?”

Scott nodded and waved his hand in a shooing motion. “Of course! I’ll just go talk to someone else.”

Easier said than done. The minute Katherine and Shelby walked out of the room, Scott realized how out of place he felt.

He looked around the room at the other rulers. The Wither-Rose alliance was discussing something, so he couldn’t bother Gem or Pearl. Then there was Lizzie, Joel, and Pixl talking to Jimmy, so he couldn’t bother Jimmy either. Joey was nowhere to be found, and quite frankly, Scott wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to him after what he said about Xornoth.

So, he did the next best thing. He sat down on the couch and stared at the floor.

What? He was lonely.

Staring at the floor was alright though. It gave him time to think. Which is something that Scott shouldn’t be doing right now. Especially with his mental state at the moment.

The floor was interesting at least. Scott stared at the swirly patterns in the wood along with the shapes in the purple, blue, and white carpet. It was fascinating. 

It wasn’t though. Scott was just trying to stop himself from having a mental breakdown.

This was until he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. “Calm down. It’s just me.”

Scott let out a sigh of relief as he looked over at Jimmy. “...Hey.”

“You looked lonely. Thought I’d come over and give you company.” Jimmy smiled at Scott. He could finally see his face thanks to FWhip stealing his Cod head and gods he was beautiful. Scott was too tired to try to deny it.

He glanced over at his hand before he swallowed the build up in his throat. Was he at a loss for words? He couldn’t tell. “What? Did you just decide to leave poor Pix alone to be the third wheel to your sister and her husband?”

Jimmy gave him a guilty look. “He’ll survive.”

“Sure.”

Jimmy leaned back and crossed his arms. “So…how are you doing?”

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?”

“You know, just trying to start a conversation.”

Scott hummed. “Ah. Well, not much. I’ve just been working on my empire and that’s about it. You?”

“Getting harassed by a demon,” Jimmy said with an awkward laugh.

Scott’s lips curved into a frown. Again, it just wasn’t a nice feeling knowing that some demon was messing with Jimmy. And the entire server, of course. But mostly Jimmy. Only he could mess with Jimmy.

That thought seemed to come out of nowhere and yet it felt right. Scott fidgeted with the ring on his finger before he looked around the room.

“...Do you want to watch the meteor shower at my place or yours?”

Jimmy blinked. “Huh?”

Scott leaned back and looked over at Jimmy. “You know, you sent me that letter regarding the meteor shower. I was thinking that my place would be better because, you know, it’s more open and there are less trees. You still want to watch it together, right?”

A light pink tainted Jimmy’s cheeks before a smile grew. Scott wanted that look to stay. “Y- yeah!” Jimmy exclaimed, jumping up a little, “your place should work fine!” Out of nowhere, he grabbed Scott’s hands, causing a faint blush to appear on Scott’s face. “I won’t miss it! I- I’ll make sure to be there!”

Scott gave him a slight smile. “Yeah. I can tell.”

He gestured to their hands, causing Jimmy to jump back, letting go of them. “Oh! Sorry! I- I kinda got carried away…”

Scott rolled his eyes before he caught something out of the corner of them. He glanced over to Sausage, who was glaring at them. Sausage huffed before looking back over at the rest of the Wither-Rose alliance. He looked to be apologizing to them before he walked out of the room.

Scott furrowed his eyes. He knew what that was about. “Can you excuse me for a bit?” he asked Jimmy before pointing at the door.

Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Oh,” he said, “of course. Go ahead.”

Scott smiled before he stood up and walked in the direction that Sausage went. Sure enough, the man was standing outside of Katherine’s base, leaning against the door frame while staring at the sky.

“Hey.”

Sausage jumped before he quickly turned around. “Oh! Scott!” He put on a smile that Scott could tell was fake. “Pleasure seeing you here! Don’t mind me! I’m just enjoying the fresh air! Yes yes! The fresh air!”

Scott frowned. “Are you sure about that? Don’t think I didn’t see the way you were glaring at me when Jimmy grabbed my hands.”

“Oh,” Sausage said, “well that was just–”

“Or the way you shoved past me when I came over to Jimmy’s base to talk to him.”

“I–”

“Or the way you look at him.”

Sausage went silent.

Scott crossed his arms. “I know you have a crush on Jimmy.”

Sausage looked to the ground. He sighed and slumped against the frame of the doorway. “...Is it obvious?”

Scott shrugged. “I just happen to be observant. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed yet.”

“...Do you think Jimmy knows?”

“Probably not,” said Scott as he shifted his weight onto his right foot. “we all know he’s as oblivious as it can get.”

Sausage let out a sigh of…relief? Scott didn’t understand why.

He clutched the fabric of his sleeve. “This is for the best.” 

“You know,” Scott said, “you are allowed to pursue him if you want.”

Sausage gave him a confused look before realization seemed to dawn on him. Whatever realization it was, Scott didn’t know. Sausage hugged himself. He looked like he was pondering on what to say. “But…I can’t.”

“This is for the best.”

“Why not?”

Sausage looked guilty. He looked like he was holding something back. “Because…because he likes someone else. No no…he’s in love with someone else. Gosh, it’s so obvious that he loves h…them. And they love him too. I- I can’t take that away…I- I just can’t.”

Scott let in a shaky inhale. Jimmy was in love with someone? That was news to him. Who was it?

Maybe it was better if he didn’t know.

“Oh…” It felt so stupid and so small to say. But it was for the best.

Sausage sighed and buried his face in his hands. “I know…it’s stupid of me to crush on someone who can’t like me back.” He looked up and drug his hands down his face, mumbling, “It’s why I’ve been so…I don’t know. Antagonistic toward him lately? I don’t know how to word it.”

Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. He found himself staring at the grass on the ground next to Sausage. It seemed easier. Scott let in a deep breath before saying, “I’m…sorry. I didn’t know.” 

What else could he say?

Sausage gave him a small laugh. “Don’t worry about it. In the future, it’ll feel like nothing happened!” He gave him a smile. An obvious, fake, smile.

“...If you say so…” He fidgeted with the ring on his finger. 

“Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.”

He felt like someone had said that to him before. Something that they were told when they were young.

Continuing his smile, Sausage patted his arm before saying, “C’mon! Let’s go inside! I’m sure we have some conversations that we can’t leave on hold forever!”

Scott bit his lip. “Actually…I’m gonna head off. Can you tell Jimmy that I’ll see him later tonight?”

Sausage gave him a confused look. “...Alright.”

And with that, they went opposite directions. Sausage went inside, and Scott took to the skys.

The wind blowing in his face that he usually found calming were not, in fact, calming. They brought on more thoughts. Scott knew he shouldn’t be left alone to think. Thinking only led to bad things.

He wondered about his emotions. He was confused most of the time. He was pissed off. But mostly, he was tired. Tired felt like such an understatement. He was exhausted . If everything came crashing down, he wouldn’t notice.

(He wondered why the hell he felt a certain way about Jimmy when he knew he shouldn’t feel that way.)

He wondered what certain situations meant. Why the hell was there a demon on the server? Why did he keep remembering the past but not the people that were a part of it?

(He wondered how he could remember that stupid, calming, flower forest but he couldn’t remember one of the people who had been helping him the most.)

He thought about everything happening around him. What was happening anymore? One minute, he was sure he was just living his life, and the next he woke up not knowing anything except who he was. Now, he was just trying to figure out his entire life story, and his mind just won’t give it to him.

(He wondered where his damn husband was during all this.)

Scott huffed before rubbing his eyes. He shouldn’t cry. Not while flying. 

He exhaled before he looked to the ground. It was here that he noticed he flew right past Rivendell. What luck.

Scott cursed to himself before turning around, firing a bunch of rockets as he turned on his heel. Or…elytra, as he was flying.

This was why he shouldn’t be left to think. He missed where he was supposed to land. This thought was put further into recognition when he heard a snap.

“Crap,” Scott mumbled to himself before he felt his body tumble downward. His elytra broke. What a fun way to die.

Scott felt like he was so used to death at this point, he didn’t even scream. Nope. Instead, he reached up and clung to the air as panic rose inside him. But, grabbing air did nothing. He looked down to the ever growing closer mountain before shutting his eyes, preparing for the impact.

The impact came. Scott fell inside the powdery snow with a “fhmp” causing him to curse to himself. However, a death message didn’t show up.

Scott slowly opened his eyes, straining them as he stared at the bright blue sky above him. Guess the ground was soft enough for him to not die on impact. Or he just had really good armor.

Didn’t matter though, it still hurt like hell. Scott groaned in annoyance and pain before he staggered upward, resting his body on his hands as he sat up before his arms gave in. He fell face first into the snow, huffing at the hindrance he was in.

“Well this is going great,” Scott grumbled to himself. He slowly sat back up, giving a small grunt at the pain that shot throughout his body. This was fine. In a little bit, the pain would go away. It always did.

Scott dusted snow out of his hair before he looked back up at the sky. He strained his eyes as he tried to find wherever the heck the sun was. He finally found it. The sun was heading down already; Scott guessed that it was about 3 or 4ish.

Well that was great.

Scott groaned before he slowly staggered up. He wobbled a little on his legs before he let in an inhale. “Okay…” Scott whispered to himself as he wiped some snow off his clothes. This was totally fine.

Scott looked in the sun’s direction again. He pointed to it before pointing a little to the left of it. Rivendell was in that direction. Don’t ask him how he knew that. He crash landed in the mountains more times then he liked to admit.

He sighed before he started walking in that direction. There was really nothing else to do. Scott guessed that he would make it back to Rivendell in about two hours. Maybe three. He wasn’t really that worried.

Scott was glad that he wasn’t wearing his boots today. That would’ve made this more difficult. He huffed a little as he stepped up a few rocks before carefully sliding down the small dip in the mountain. Why did terrain have to be so difficult?

A shaky breath escaped Scott as he questioned how he didn’t fall over. He placed a hand on the rocky side of part of the mountain that existed right next to him. Scott sighed a little before he walked forward, running his hand alongside the mountain side.

This was when he paused. 

Scott looked at the rocky surface and stared at it in confusion. Mountains don’t feel like that. Stone doesn’t feel like that, neither does any other stone that was in these kinds of mountains.

He placed both hands on the surface and felt around. What the heck was that that he was feeling? Stone bricks? Scott ran a hand over a bump before he paused. He felt the bump again. It was a button. Scott pushed the button. A door opened in the mountain.

Scott jumped back as the door revealed a staircase that went down. He bit his lip. He should get going and avoid it, but curiosity got the best of him. Scott sighed as he walked down the stairs.

He had to admit, the cave was very beautiful at least. It looked like ruins. Scott walked into an open room. He stood at a balcony that overlooked everything. It was all very confusing.

Scott noticed an opening, and inside the opening, seemed to be some sort of corruption. He guessed it was the same corruption that was mentioned at the meeting. Scott also noticed that surrounding the opening was deer antlers. Something told him that was also important.

Scott looked at a trail of water on the balcony that led to a pool of water. He jumped down and into that puddle. Scott grumbled at his now wet clothes before moving on. They could wait. 

He walked over to the corrupted doorway, which led to another open room. This room however, had a lectern with a book on it. How convenient.

Scott walked over to the lectern and stared at the book. The cover was leather, with gold edges and gold letters that read: The Clash of the Great Stags . More deer related stuff. How fun.

So naturally, Scott opened up the book, and read it.

Basic premises: something with two deer gods (Aeor and Exor) that are brothers. Good and evil with Aeor being good and Exor being evil. They fight. They have champions that fight. Those champions are also brothers. The champion brothers will reincarnate and continue the fight someday. Something something, eternal winter.

As Scott was reading, he had the sudden urge to laugh. Was he supposed to find this? What was this supposed to be referring to? This was until he looked around the room and noticed the corruption. Corruption equals Xornoth. Corruption also equals this book and evil. So evil in the book equals Xornoth.

Scott laughed to himself. So Xornoth was obviously Exor’s champion. But who was Aeor’s…?

This was until Scott remembered the deer antlers outside the doorway. Deer antlers were associated with Rivendell…Rivendell was his empire…no way.

“Oh fuck no,” Scott shouted aloud as he stepped back. He gave a hysterical laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair. “No! No! You’ve got the wrong guy, deer god!” 

A part of the wall opened up, revealing a pair of golden antlers.

Well shoot.

Scott’s laughter continued. “Nope!” he shouted into the air. “T- this isn’t happening! I’m not the champion to some deer god on this server…or any other server! I’m not the brother to some demon that’s bothering my friends!”

Gosh, he barely remembered his brother. It was faint, but something told him he didn’t last long. He didn’t even get to properly know him. That just made Scott exhale as he stared at the antlers.

He walked over to the golden antlers. He reached out and touched them. Scott had no idea what possessed him to do so, but he took the antlers, and laid them on his head.

Scott looked down at the puddle below him and stared at his reflection. Crap. He looked good in them. That was never a good sign. Scott sighed before he went to take them off. But that was a problem with that.

They wouldn’t come off.

A slight panic started to rise in Scott. He tugged at the antlers, trying desperately to take them off. But the more he tugged, the more he realized it was actually starting to hurt. Like, really hurt. Like someone was pulling at a limb.

That slight panic grew into a bigger panic as Scott’s breathing quickened. He wrapped his hands around the base of the antlers as tears pricked his eyes. He could feel the antlers weighing down his head. This was what he had to deal with now. He had deer antlers now. This was fine. This was totally fine.

“Shit,” Scott cussed to himself as he fell to his knees. He stared at his reflection in the puddle. Disgusting.

Scott brought his hands down as he hugged himself. He bit his lip before he looked up and shouted, “Why me!?”

No answer.

“W- why me?! I already have enough going on! Why me!?”

The entrance closed as another opening appeared across the room. The air blew quiet.

Scott got up and walked over to it. He rubbed his eyes with a huff as he walked up the staircase the new opening led to. His eyes widened as he noticed the night sky that appeared at the end. It was already nighttime? How long was he in there?

He poked his head out of the cave and exhaled. It led him right to Rivendell. There was the back of his house. There was the crop field. Scott stepped out of the cave as it closed behind him.

Paying no attention to it, Scott walked past the crop field. Don’t ask him how crops were able to grow in a snowy mountain. At this point, he blamed everything on an all-knowing deer god.

Scott walked up the stars that led to his house with a sigh. He didn’t want to have to deal with this. Nobody was going to believe him. He now had freaking deer antlers on top of his head that won’t come off.

…He could just hack them off with a saw…

Scott shuddered at the thought. Something told him that would hurt more than what it already seemed. Besides, if these are like normal deer antlers, they would just grow back. He groaned at the thought. He also groaned at how much pain they were seeming to cause. He already had a splitting headache! This was just putting weight to it!

Scott ran his hand over the side of his house, trying to recap in his head what just happened. None of it made sense, and he wasn’t sure why he wasn't questioning it anymore. But, he was sure he would think of something when he woke up. Right now, his brain was fried. Scott looked up at the night sky and sighed.

He walked to the front of his house, only to want to quickly turn around and go back to lurking in the crop field. Jimmy was sitting down in front of his house, looking up at the night sky.

“Shit.” Scott forgot that Jimmy was coming over. This was not good. “Why couldn’t this have been another day?”

This was fine. All Scott had to do was sneak away and Jimmy wouldn’t know. Then again, he’d have to deal with a sad Jimmy asking him about his whereabouts afterward. Scott felt his stomach twist at the idea of a sad Jimmy.

He shook his head before sighing. Scott went to take a step back, only to hear the crunch of the snow beneath his feet echo throughout the empty mountain air. 

Ah. Scott forgot about that.

Right away, Jimmy turned his head in his direction and smiled. “Scott! I was wondering–” He stopped talking as that smile turned into a confused frown. Jimmy stood up and walked up to Scott. “...What’s wrong?”

Well crap.

Scott gave Jimmy an awkward smile. “Um. Well. You see…?”

“What are you doing coming from the side of your house?” Jimmy looked up at the top of his head. His eyes widened. “...Why do you have golden deer antlers?”

Scott forgot he had those. He suddenly felt very self-conscious about his new appendages.

Trying to cover them the best he can, Scott mumbled, “Well…that’s a weird story…”

Without hesitation, Jimmy grabbed Scott’s hands and pulled them away from his head. A slight flush reached him as Jimmy stared intently at the antlers. Jimmy rubbed his knuckles before gesturing to a snowless patch of grass that he made. “Want to come sit down and talk about it?”

Sitting down sounded wonderful. Scott nodded, even if it meant he had to talk about whatever the hell happened in that cave.

Jimmy smiled before he led him over to the patch of grass. He let go of Scott’s hands and sat down, patting the spot next to him for Scott to sit. Scott could only smile back and sit right down. He just felt so compelled to.

However, this did nothing. They sat there in silent awkwardness as neither knew what to say. Scott didn’t want to process anything at the moment, and Jimmy looked like he was waiting for Scott to say something. They were clearly very horrible about communicating this.

“So…” Jimmy mumbled, “I have fins behind my ears now.”

Interesting start to a conversation.

“Do you?” Scott asked. He was now curious.

Jimmy took off the fish hat that Katherine made him that covered part of his ears. Huh. So he did have fins. Scott looked behind his ear and hummed. A bronze, almost sea monster-like fin was there. It was almost…beautiful.

“Do you have any more fins?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No. Lizzie does though. She’s also gotten a little bit taller.”

Scott’s eyes widened at this. “Really?”

Lizzie was already pretty tall. Hell, her own husband was shorter than her. Scott’s pretty sure she had to bend down to kiss him at their wedding. So the idea of Lizzie being even taller made Scott more amused than he realized.

“Have you also reached your growth spurt?” Scott asked as he leaned back, resting on one of his hands that held his body up behind him.

Jimmy laughed. “Ah. No.” He crossed his legs as he looked up at the sky.

Scott hummed as he also looked up at the sky. Stars were dotted everywhere.

His stare lingered a bit before he looked over at Jimmy. The way the stars reflected in his brown eyes, the way his face glowed under the moonlight, the way his hair just looked so soft under said light, the way he just smiled–it was all beautiful. Scott looked to the grass as he bit his lip. He hated himself. He hated himself so much.

Scott sighed. “...After I left, I was flying home and got lost in thought. Ended up missing my own Empire. Tried turning around, ended up falling as my elytra broke.”

Jimmy looked over at him. He seemed curious.

“So, I started walking back in the direction of Rivendell,” Scott continued, “I found a hidden door within the mountain and walked inside. Inside, there was this cave covered in corruption. In the cave was a book. It said something about…deer god’s and two champions that are brothers. Found out the demon is the champion of the evil deer god, and I’m the champion of the good deer god. As a reward, I got deer antlers stapled to my head and now they won’t come off.”

Scott felt like he was missing something important. He couldn’t remember though.

“Deer gods…Aeor and Exor…” Jimmy mumbled. He blinked. “And you’re brother?”

Scott hestitanted. “...I had one. Once. He didn’t last long.” A faint memory came back to Scott. “...I spent most of my childhood on a server. We could die and nothing would happen. When we were about…five, we were out in a forest and we found a cave. We went inside and got attacked by mobs. A glitch occurred. I came out alive but traumatized. He came out a dead body. He wasn’t respawning anytime soon. And he didn’t.”

Jimmy’s stare seemed lost. But he seemed to have understood something that he didn’t before.“...I’m sorry.”

“...It’s okay. It’s in the past. I don’t think about it.”

Jimmy looked up at the night sky before looking back at Scott. “...I forgot you told me about your brother before.”

Scott hummed as he stared down the mountain. “Guess it just never really comes up in a conversation.” He really couldn’t speak for his past self’s actions. Scott turned his head toward Jimmy. “Do you have any other siblings besides Lizzie?”

Jimmy nodded. “We have a brother. His name is Mumbo.”

That name sounded familiar.

“He’s uh…kinda made a name for himself in the redstone community.”

Ah. That’s why.

Jimmy gave Scott a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I’m the youngest. Fun, right? You’ve got Lizzie, who’s the only girl. And Mumbo, who’s great at redstone.” His voice trailed off. “I uh…wasn’t that important in our parents’ eyes…especially since I haven’t had as much success on the job as Lizzie and Mumbo.”

Scott’s eyes softened. “...Don’t worry about them. You’re important to other people.”