Chapter Text
For some days, a certain jock hasn’t stopped bugging him for not hangout with him.
Texts. DMs. Half-shouted suggestions across the cafeteria.
Sticky notes on Till’s locker that read things like “Minecraft. Tonight. Or I cry.”( with a sad smiley on the side)and “Don’t make me build our love story in creative mode without you.”
Till had ignored most of them. Not because he didn’t want to hang out, he did, in a way that maybe made his stomach twist if he thought about it too long but because Ivan was exhausting.
The good kind of exhausting. The kind that made you roll your eyes while secretly enjoying the attention. And he didn’t like that.
Ivan, of course, didn’t give up. The guy had the energy of a golden retriever always wagging his nonexistent tail in front of Till.
So, eventually, Till gave in.
Not because he was guilted into it. (ㅍ _ㅍ u sure ‘bout that?)
Not because Ivan had cornered him in the hallway and whispered, “Play with me, Till, or I’m going to start building statues of you out of cobblestone.”
Now they were here.
In the same Minecraft world. Till in his quiet, efficient starter house, and Ivan already punching trees and building a wildly lopsided dirt hut suspiciously close to his.
The moment Till logged on, Ivan’s voice came through the call, excited, boyish, and way too eager.
“Till!” Ivan practically shouted through his mic. “I thought you were ghosting me. Again.”
Till didn’t respond right away. He just watched Ivan’s avatar spin in circle around him.
But it wouldn’t be long until Till stated to regret joining him.
< Tilll > If you don’t want me to whoop your ass like your mama, you better get your ass here.
< Tillshusband >Plssss whoop my ass ^^
< Tillshusband >…
< Tillshusband > I’m lost in the birch biome again
< Till > I swear to God, Ivan
< Till > how do you keep getting lost?
< Till > you had TWO compasses
< Till > you even named one "Twink Detector."
< Tillshusband > It didn’t point to you like I hoped,
< Tillshusband > so I threw it in a lava pit.
< Tillshusband > ^^
< Till > I'm going to craft a sword specifically for hitting you.
< Tillshusband > Iron or diamond? <3
< Till > One day, Ivan.
< Till > One day you're gonna log in and find yourself buried and surrounded by obsidian and lava.
< Tillshusband > As long as it’s next to you <3
< Till > I hate you.
< Till > So much.
< Tillshusband > I love you
< Tillshusband > <3
——
Till groaned and leaned back in his chair, glaring at the screen as he typed, his fingers a little too fast for comfort.
What happened to the sick, loving Ivan from earlier?
——
< Tillshusband > Where you the one who brought the creeper??
< Tillshusband > :(
< Till > no
——
Till glanced away from the screen.
Yet somehow, a soft smile curled on his lips anyway.
——
Tillshusband was shoot by a skeleton
Till staring at the glowing death message on screen.
< Till >…
< Tillshusband > oops
——
< Till > can u not die like for once
< Tillshusband > I’m like a plant.
< Tillshusband > I need a lot of attention.
< Tillshusband > And it needs to be from you :>
——
The sun was setting in their Minecraft world, casting a soft glow over their respective builds.
Ivan was bouncing around Till.
Till wasn’t paying attention to the screen anymore.
His fingers hovered above the keys, caught between annoyance and the faintest flicker of something warm he hadn’t fully acknowledged yet.
Then, Ivan’s voice came through the headset.
“Alright, alright. Ready for our little Minecraft bed arrangement?”
Till rolled his eyes, he knew where this was going.
He placed the bed on the floor next to the window, and the second it was down, Ivan slid his own bed right next to Till’s.
“…”
“I’m not dealing with this shit” Till muttered quietly.
They both lay down in their beds.
A brief silence.
Then, a little pop-up in the chat.
< Tillshusband > I’m staying in this bed next to you.
< Tillshusband > No take-backs.
Till snorted, and the sound of a faint groan escaped his lips before he tapped out another message.
< Till > You’re lucky this is a game.
He stared at the pixelated screen of the Minecraft room, the quiet ambiance of the game making everything feel oddly peaceful.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting there, probably a good fifteen minutes, just enjoying the company in the virtual world.
Then, without warning, a knock came at his real-world door.
Till frowned and glanced toward the door, his stomach knotting in that weird, "this is too real" kind of way.
He muted the game, closed his laptop, and swung the door open to find Ivan, grinning mischievously with that same golden retriever energy, holding a blanket and pillow in his arms.
“I know you’ve got that comfy bed over there. And since Minecraft Till is letting me sleep next to him, real life Till is obligated to follow through, right?” Ivan said with a cheeky smile.
“You’re insufferable.”
But his voice was softer now.
Ivan waltzed into the room, while holding Till, plopping down on Till’s bed, dumping the blanket over the two of them.
They lay there for a moment, the soft warmth of the blanket cocooning them both in silence.
Ivan’s head came to rest on Till’s shoulder, a slight weight against him, but somehow comforting.
And for once, Till didn’t roll his eyes.
Instead, he just let out a breath. Relaxed into the warmth.
Till’s fingers absentmindedly brushed against Ivan’s hair.
‘He really does have soft hair’
The silence stretched between them, warm and thick like the blanket they were tangled in.
Ivan’s soft breathing against Till’s shoulder was oddly calming. The steady rhythm of it, the faint scent of his cologne, and the steady press of Ivan’s weight against him made everything feel right.
Till’s eyelids grew heavy, the low hum of the evening creeping in around him.
His fingers, still brushing through Ivan's hair, slowed, almost automatically, as his body relaxed further into the bed.
“Till?” Ivan’s voice was soft, a whisper against his neck.
Till didn’t answer right away. He could barely summon the energy to look down, and Ivan’s presence beside him felt too comforting to let go of just yet.
The gentle sound of Ivan’s breath, his warmth seeping through the blanket, were all the things that slowly pulled Till deeper into the comfort of sleep.
“Good night, Till.” Ivan murmured, a slight smile in his voice.
Till barely managed a grunt in response, his voice muffled by the quiet, the weight of his exhaustion finally winning over.
His fingers stopped moving in Ivan’s hair as the world slipped away. His body went limp, sinking further into a sweet dream.