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It was dark.
It was one of the first nights on the Double Life server. He and Impulse had figured out that they were soulbound early that morning and had gotten started on a temporary place to stay, going with a hole dug into the side of a hill.
The nights before this, he’d been sleeping near the spawn, a location littered with torches. Tonight, though, he and Impulse were staying together in their new temporary home, and here, there weren’t torches.
It’s dark, mobs will spawn. That one, instinct-driven thought kept repeating in his mind, demanding that he find light, that he leave the unsafe area, but the area was safe, and there was no light to go find.
They’d spawn-proofed the place with slabs, but there was no light, and that’s what his instincts cared about.
Find light. It’s dark. It’s too dark, mobs will spawn.
He could hear zombies grumbling outside and jumped at the sound of a skeleton shooting at something. He tightened his grip on the blanket he was under and pulled it up further, trying to hide underneath it without covering his eyes.
He’d tried closing his eyes earlier and pretending that there was light, that he just couldn’t see it because his eyes were closed, but the noises of the mobs outside kept making him jump and his eyes would open to look for the danger, and then his panic would amplify.
Mobs will spawn, it’s too dark.
“Bdubs? Hey, what’s wrong, buddy?”
Bdubs jumped at the noise, barely managing to suppress a scream. It was just Impulse.
“Nothing, nothing,” he said, a little too fast. It didn’t matter, there wasn’t anything either of them could do about it, they didn’t have coal for torches yet.
“You’re shaking,” Impulse said softly, and Bdubs felt the bed shift and when he looked over at Impulse, he could just barely see where he was.
Hands found his and gently pulled them from their death grip on the blanket. He squeezed Impulse’s hands tightly, unable to turn down the comfort.
“C’mon, talk to me,” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, there’s nothing you can do.”
“Please?”
Bdubs sighed,
“It’s too dark, Impulse,” he whispered. “It’s dark, mobs will spawn.”
“But they won’t, there’s slab-” Impulse cut himself off and Bdubs could hear the regret in his voice when he said, “Oh my god I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
There was the loud sound of a creeper explosion and Bdubs couldn’t suppress the whine he let out at the noise. He nearly jumped out of his skin and he knew Impulse would have seen it. Glares have nearly no dark vision, but demons on the other hand could see clearly.
“Can I hug you?”
Bdubs nodded, and he felt Impulse give his hands a tight squeeze before he let go and wrapped an arm around Bdubs, pulling him close. He immediately buried his face in the other’s shirt, letting out a shuddering breath.
“I can’t light it up right now but I promise that tomorrow, the first thing we’re gonna do is find some stuff to make torches or lanterns. I’m so sorry I forgot,” he said.
Bdubs nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. He knew Impulse wouldn’t have done something like that on purpose, but still, it hurt, because now he had to deal with this.
“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked.
All Bdubs wanted was light so he could sleep. He needed his sleep. He felt much more relaxed now though, pressed up against Impulse. The ever-present too dark, mobs will spawn was still running through his mind, but it was quieter now. Maybe he could help
“Talk? Can you just talk? Tell me about one of your redstone projects or something?” he asked hesitantly. Sleep was important, and by asking Impulse to talk he knew he was asking him to give up his sleep, and he hated that.
“Yeah, of course,” Impulse said immediately.
Bdubs felt Impulse pull him close and adjust the blankets so that they covered both of them, and he started explaining some sorter or something that he was working on. He focused on Impulse’s voice, trying to tune out the noises of mobs just outside, trying to tune out the voice in his head telling him it was too dark, and it actually worked.
Bdubs didn’t know how he managed it, but he did actually fall asleep that night, curled up tightly against Impulse as the other talked, and he knew that after this, Impulse wouldn’t forget again.