Work Text:
Everyone in Lifesteal had their person. A person which they could team up with or just chill with for an entire season. Even off of it they had someone who they could just be with, without yelling or fighting at each other. The M.O.B were Clown's people but Mid wasn't really there for the end fight and if she was he couldn't find her.
Zam and Leo mostly hung out more with each other rather than him too so that was always fun. In the end when they disbanded nothing much happened. Then season 3 and they had more new members. Mr. Cube, Reddoons although he was technically already in he just never logged on, Baconwaffles, and Branzycraft. Any other members he couldn't really think of at the time. He had a team although they just kinda faded out in the end.
Once again he was alone with people already on teams and shouting at each other with no complaints. It was all lighthearted. He also heard their conversations too 'the deadliest player', 'whos he teaming with again?' 'he's an assassin, he doesn't need to team with anybody,'. After a while he just stopped caring too much about it though.
He noticed that people talked a lot more than they ever did things. That was fun. Most of the short alliances that he had were short lived and tense. Although when he got pushed down a well and some people were on Zam for it yes but no one really came to check up on him. People making excuses to murder people on lifesteal were common. Yes, soon though one of the other members got trapped down, sure it was before him but he just noticed it.
Out of curiosity and vengeance he reach out to Branzy. He heard Rek talk about him before, mostly about pranking people on Echocraft and trapping people. He knew a few things about redstone or well enough for him to be considered on of the best. Also according to Rek his love language was constantly blowing things up.
That he might need to fix. So he messaged him. Branzy had a way of typing, it was quick and kinda formal but not really, there was correct punctuation and everything yes but in the end it was more sarcastic and playful. Also first impressions on the SMP weren't too good was the only thing going through Clown's head when he actually met up with the man. He was covered in gunpowder and was typing on the communicator. He had an urge to back away and flee the scene thinking that Branzy trapped it but instead of doing so Branzy looked up at him and smiled.
"Hi!" He chirped. "Sorry, apparently causing accidental explosions and not warning your teammates is a bad thing, I just got distracted is all," he laughed. It was an explanation that if it came from anyone else Clown wouldn't have believed it, although Branzy spoke of it like it was nothing. Like an everyday thing that happens to everyone. Clown shrugged it off and they began planning.
There was another thing he noticed about Branzy when they were planning too. He either fully applied himself to things or not at all. It was like were other people could control their interests on things Branzy couldn't. He found Branzy constantly absorbed in other things in practice worlds like how a goat looks or the shade of a turtle shell or even blocks and how they looked next to each other.
Branzy found all sorts of things and soon Clown hadn't gotten anything done in the past hour. Then Branzy was working and in a few minutes he got a message from him telling him to come over to where he was. Clown walked over and found the fully working prototype and it was done quickly. Sure it was a practice world but still. A few minute and Branzy had already figured it out. When Clown told him that he did a good job Branzy smiled and began thanking him.
He stayed humble about it though and when it was time to do it they played it out perfectly and in the end once it all was done Clown expected them to go their desperate ways although Branzy just kinda stayed around Clown .At first he assumed that it was for protection but some days when there was no one on the server but them Branzy would go to Clown and talk. Even when Branzy's teammates were on he'd go to Clown and just hang out. He found Branzy's rambling calming. It disarmed him because Branzy mostly spoke his mind about things. His rambling let Clown's guard down because he couldn't be planning anything while he was talking right next to him.
He sometimes even found himself talking back to Branzy and rambling himself. Branzy would agree with it and when they'd go mining together he noticed how Branzy turned his back to him without any problems. He didn't twist or fidget. He didn't hesitate he just did it. At first Clown thought he was a fool for trusting him and then he realized that Branzy didn't have a reason not to trust him. So wasting his energy on such small things wouldn't do him any good so he just trusted Clown.
When the cleansing came around he found himself caring for Branzy more than he should’ve probably because their partner ship lasted longer than he thought it would. Branzy was different that way. He was different in the way that once you were partners with him he hardly left your side, Clown would describe it as a lost puppy but it wouldn’t be true. Branzy wasn’t lost and he certainly wasn’t a defenseless puppy. He knew where he was going. So maybe he was more like a... friends. Maybe he was loyal, there wasn’t really a way to describe Branzy to him. Branzy was just Branzy. He called Clown when he needed help which was a lot to say the least, Branzy was one of the worst pvpers if not the worst. Most people asked Clown what he got out of the partnership and he’d never answer them only ignoring the question because he himself was partly afraid of the answer.
He got a friend, he had someone who would stick by him. He didn’t really think that one day it might actually happen, like when fame strikes an I expecting actor or when you actually catch a fish when fishing. But that’s all it comes down to isn’t it? Not giving up. Then when it did happen he didn’t know what to do although Branzy always knew what to do. He knew what to say to make Clown feel better, he knew what to do to make him feel better.
Branzy was always excited, there was never one moment that Clown could recall that Branzy was truly dull. Even when he was on 2 hearts he kept trying to help his teammates. That was scary for Clown, it was scary because Branzy could’ve died he could’ve been banned from following Clown. He could’ve died from being loyal. After it too he stuck with Clown made the casino and everything. Once again Clown didn’t know how to react so he never really did. Then he got an offer to betray Clown. When he told him that he got it Clown was expecting to get jumped but instead he went behind his former teammates back twice just to help Clown. He would’ve had a more likely of a chance of surviving with them. But instead the servers local traitor stayed with him.
Again and again Branzy stayed with him and when the server ended and they were all chilling out Clown could smile. He could say that, that one day came. He found a friend. One who he would talk with off of the server mess around with in other servers. One that could make him smile whenever he saw him.
Now Clown is no longer waiting for that one day to come.
It already came, it came during the start of the server when they got to meet everyone before lining up.
He met Branzy.