Archive of Our Own

When Oli decided to pay Joel a visit on the Empires server, he hadn’t expected it to be so damn difficult! Scott really put his whole pussy into those security measures, didn’t he?

Oh well, he was finally stood in front of the gigantic Mezalean Palace. Unfinished as it was, Oli still marveled at the sight of it. Somehow Joel still managed to exceed his expectations with every build he made, it was wizardry, he swore it! He only knew so much about the world, as Joel hadn’t left it much, but he did know all his friends had become royalty. Plus a couple people he didn’t know, but mostly his friends. Either way, Joel was a king, he was pretty sure. And he might as well have been too, with the attire he’d spawned in with, he felt like a pretty princess! Or moreso a prince, with the masculinity of the clothing, but a man could dream.

He entered through the front door of the palace - obviously - and began looking for Joel. There were two little holes in the walls with buildings that did not match everything else, and frankly one looked like something he’d make. And by that he meant bad. He tried to step on the creaky wood flooring of it, but the floorboards had way too much give for him, so he quickly moved on. He then spotted the throne, - don’t ask how he missed it before - where there was….no one. Yet again, no Joel.

Oli began to think he might have to search other kingdoms for the short man, which sounded like a nightmare of sneaking around other players he did not sign up for! He huffed, trying to think of a solution, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by-

“What the fuck are you doing here.” Oli practically squealed in surprise as he whipped around, nearly stumbling over. Joel, who was now in front of him, quickly grabbed his arms and helped keep him steady. “Woah- calm down there fella.” he snickered.
“Don’t sneak up on meee!” Oli whined, pouting.
“I literally just walked up to you normally.”
“...well- you’re mean! You’re a mean man!”
“Pff- sure i am.” Joel chuckled, still holding his hands.

Oli puffed his cheeks, offended at Joel’s meanness. And no, he doesn’t care if that’s a real word! It’s a word now. He went through all the effort to get into the server only to be spooked and belittled! He went to speak his grievances aloud, only to be interrupted by a short kiss to his mouth. “Is that a good enough apology?” Joel joked.
“....it- it’ll suffice.”

Oli was then led throughout Mezalea, listening intently as Joel rambled about his builds and his kingdom. Only his own creations could get Joel so excited. It was almost adorable, the way he’d bounce on his heels and flap his arms around in exaggerated gestures. This also gave Oli time to observe the shorters new look, now a moth hybrid.

Now, Oli didn’t know moth species very well, sue him, but yeah he had no clue what Joel was. It was green with purple edges and long, uh. Tails? Dangly bits off the bottom of the wings? Look, he said he didn’t know moths, okay? Either way, it fit perfectly with the purple, black and gold outfit Joel wore, his yellow antennae fitting perfectly against his crown. It wasn’t something he talked about often, but Joel was quite the fashionista! Oli loved to dress up, but never nearly as much as Joel. Though it made sense, the shorter always loved being pretty, which wasn’t hard, he was naturally very pretty.

Speaking of being a moth, Joel’s wings would flutter happily whenever Oli complimented something. Personally, he loved it.

Eventually, Joel brought him up to the Mezalean Palace garden, featuring a cod sanctuary. “And here’s the garden. I need to add more trees, but I quite like it. Figured we could hang out here, if uh- if you wanted.”
“That sounds good but um- why is there a cod sanctuary?”
“Jims orders.” he shrugged.
“...I see?”

The two quickly settled beside the pond, Joel having taken off his crown so Oli could sift through his hair like a monkey. “You know, it was very difficult to get here.” he complained as he scratched at Joel's scalp, causing the moth hybrid to melt back into him.
“Yeah- that’s why I haven't left much. Jimmy insisted on Watcher protection, so it’s a nightmare getting in and out for me.”
“Ohhh, did he? That explains it. I was getting worried you’d finally started to forget things.” Oli chuckled.
“Ugh, I wish . ” Joel huffed.

They quieted down again, Oli peacefully messing with the hair of the moth hybrid in his lap. Eventually, however, he got curious, and poked Joel’s antennae, causing him to make a strange squeak-like noise, making both of them jump.

“Woah! What was that??” Oli chuckled a bit.
“Don’t do that!”
“Touch your antennae?”
“Yes! It feels weird.” Joel huffed, falling back into Oli with a fwump.
“What kind of weird?”
“Like- i-i dunno, it’s…unique.”
“Huh.” There was a long pause as Oli slowly got back to playing with his hair.

“...I didn't know you could make that noise.” he finally asked.
“What noise?”
“The squeak thing. It was cute in like, a frog kinda way.”
“Wh- i’m not cute! I’m cool, and handsome, and pretty.”
“And cute.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“Oli!” Joel huffed, the fuzz around his neck poofing up to help him hide his flushing face.

“Me.” Oli chuckled, the moth grumbling incoherently as he continued to scritch his head. Flustering Joel was surprisingly easy despite the short man's confidence, and Oli found it very fun. Sure, Joel was smarter than him, cooler, better at things in general, but he was also a little cutie Oli could turn to mush in his arms with a couple compliments. So they were even in his mind. Besides, being worse at things then Joel meant he could be his knight in shining armor, ready to save him from his own silly mistakes! Ooh, silly Oli, he was! Ready to fall into the arms of the strong and stoic Joel! Or Callum, Callum works too! Callum wasn’t his boyfriend though, or way shorter than him, so it was cooler when Joel did it.

The two stayed like that for a few hours, snuggled up in the Mezalean garden. Eventually Oli had stopped playing with Joel’s hair, instead resting his chin on the shorters head whilst holding his hands. He wished he could stay, but alas, he had other places he needed to be. For now though, he could stay like this, with Joel.