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Jude hadn’t seen Sharpness in days, sure it was usual for him to disappear every once in a while, but when that happened it was usually for a few hours and he usually said that he was going somewhere. But not this time, he hadn’t seen the swordmaster for days, it had already been almost a week and there were no signs of him.
Jude wasn’t worried about Sharpness, no he wasn’t. He only inquired about his whereabouts because he might be planning revenge against him. Jude had trapped the swordmaster more times than necessary, and even if they were teamed, well temporarily allied, Sharpness would still want revenge against the trapper. That he understood, but this particular absence felt different. Which is why he decided to go find the swordmaster, not because he cared, but just in case he was planning something against him. That is what Judelow told himself, but deep down he knew it wasn’t true. There was absolutely no other reason why the trapper was looking for Sharpness, and definitely not because he cared about him.
The trapper’s hands were starting to get cold, sure his body temperature naturally ran hot, but it had been hours since he entered the colder biome and about an hour since it started snowing. Jude didn’t care about Sharpness, yet here he was, almost freezing to death to look for the swordmaster. He didn’t care.
The sun was beginning to set down, significantly making the temperature drop lower. However Jude knew that Sharpness had to be somewhere around here. He’d overheard Boomie and Tai talking, apparently Boomie had seen Sharpness a couple days ago, heading to the snowy mountains.
The rabbit-hybrid wanted to keep looking, but the wind had picked up and snow had also intensified. He’d be stuck in a blizzard at this rate, for now he retreated to a nearby cave, he would have to look for Sharpness tomorrow.
As Jude stepped into the cave the temperature became more manageable, since he was naturally warmer it was comfortable, regardless of the raging snow outside and the cold cave. Jude was about to light up a fire, when something caught his attention, footsteps. They were light, barely there, his ears perked up. The movement was coming from somewhere deeper in the cave, something being dragged against the floor, then a soft click. A fire illuminated the cave’s walls, it was dim from where Jude was standing, but he knew there was only one person it could be.
The trapper made his way down the cave, careful as to not alert the other player. The fire grew brighter and with it the scene in front of him. Sharpness was curled up against a corner, away from the fire. The fire illuminated him, casting soft shadows against his pale skin, which somehow appeared paler than usual. He had no armour, only his sword resting beside him, if Jude wanted to, he could easily kill him. Just as Jude was going to make himself known, Sharpness spoke.
“I know you’re there.” The swordmaster’s voice was quiet, but thanks to his rabbit ears, Jude was able to hear it.
With a sigh he stepped forward, they stared at each other for several seconds, neither of them moving or saying anything, the swordmaster was the first to break the silence. “If you’re here to kill me, go ahead.” If possible his voice was somehow even lower, his body trembling with each word. Combined with the palness of his skin and how much lighter the swordmaster seemed, Jude knew that he had to be sick.
Jude rolled his eyes, approaching the swordmaster. “You really think I came all the way here to kill you? Sure, I’ve killed you plenty of times before.” The trapper sat down next to Sharpness, watching the fire as it crackled. “But that was before we became teammates.”
Sharpness let out a shaky breath, “That’s the first time you call me your teammate.”
Jude hummed in response, he knew they were teammates, but he hadn’t admitted it out loud. Maybe because of his pride or because he was used to being alone. Regardless, it felt good to have a teammate who’d look after you and help trap your victims. Besides it helped when said teammate was one of the best fighters in all of the server.
“So? What are you doing all the way here?” Jude asked after a couple minutes of silence.
Sharpness took a deep inhale, “I’m sick.”
“Yeah no shit Sherlock.” Jude replied, leaning against the wall and facing the swordmaster.
“Bitch.” Sharpness mumbled.
“I heard that,” Jude singsong, then his voice turned serious. “But if you’re sick, why are you out here? You know in the middle of a blizzard in a remote cave, instead of resting back home?”
“It’s dumb, but I have a fever and the cold helps with it.”
Jude was dumbfounded by this, “In what world does that make sense?”
“Ugh, shut up. I don’t know why but it helps. I’ve always been naturally cold, and for some reason when I have a fever it almost feels like I’m dying. The cold just helps.” The swordmaster shrugged, hugging his legs tighter.
The trapper knew that the swordmaster ran colder from the time they spent together, touches when digging through chests, fighting side by side. All those times Jude noticed how cold the swordmaster tended to be, and whenever they came into contact Sharpness shivered or sometimes he leaned into his warmer hands. The difference in temperature comforted both of them and Jude thought it was nice how they complement each other. There definitely weren’t any other things Jude thought about the swordmaster or how his heartbeat tended to spike when this happened. There definitely wasn’t anything else behind those mundane touches.
“And does that actually work?” Jude asked. Sharpness might be a swordmaster, but sometimes Jude questioned how he even was able to become one with the way he acts.
“Yes, yes it does. A couple days ago I was burning up, now I only have a light fever.”
“Mhm. And have you even eaten? Or gone outside?” Jude tilted his head, noting how much skinnier the swordmaster looked and just how much paler he seemed than usual.
Sharpness shook his head, “I didn’t really prepare, so my food ran out a while ago and I tried going outside but it just keeps blizzarding.”
Jude sighed, standing up. “You are such a baby.” Jude said, taking some things from his inventory.
“What are you doing?” Sharpness asked.
“Making you a stew, because you can’t feed yourself.” He said, moving to the makeshift kitchen that Sharpness had made. There weren’t many things, but Jude could work with it.
“Oh.” Was all that came out of Sharpness, if he were feeling better he would reply back, but for now that was all he could muster. He could deal with the fever, but he hadn’t realized just how hungry he was. He tried to ration the food that he had, but he ran out of it two days ago. He'd hope that his fever wouldn’t last that long, but here he was. His teammate, who had somehow found him, was making a stew for him.
The soft sound of vegetables being cut echoed through the cave like a lullaby putting him to sleep. Sharpness hadn’t realized it, not until he was lightly shaken, his eyes adjusting to the light and the bowl being presented to him.
He yawned, accepting the bowl that was given to him. “Thank you.” He gave the trapper a small smile.
“Somebody has to make sure you don’t die.” Jude said, sitting beside him, closer than before.
Sharpness rolled his eyes, but nonetheless began eating his meal. He had to admit it was good, somehow better than any food that the swordmaster had tried in years. Of course he wouldn’t admit it to the trapper, he didn’t need to brush his ego even more.
They ate in silence, the wind still roaring outside, but at least here in the cave they were safe. Safe from the other people and safe from the weather, it was nice to have someone else here with him. Usually, whenever he got sick, Sharpness practically quartained himself, not once had someone taken care of him. It felt nice.
Sharpness yawned again, “Thanks for the meal.” He placed the bowl to the side, opting to extend his legs. They grazed with Jude’s and subconsciously Sharpness leaned against the touch, neither of them commented on how their legs were touching.
“The least I can do for my dumb teammate.”
“Whatever, you fucking bitch.” Sharpness yawned again, he might’ve just taken a nap, but the warmth for the meal and the warmth that Jude brought him made him sleepy.
“Yeah. Yeah. Just sleep.” Jude placed his hand around his head and leaned Sharpness against his shoulder. “I’ll stand guard.”
Sharpness didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent. Jude smelled like redstone, dirt, and freshly cut vegetables. It was an odd combination, but the scent brought him peace. He tried to ignore just how close they were, but he also felt oddly safe. Sharpness wasn’t one to have teammates or the ones that he had wouldn’t have done this for him. Jude was the only one who cared this much. As he fell asleep he considered the possibility of this being a trap, but as his eyes grew heavy the only thing he could think about was how warm the rabbit-hybrid was.
===
This was both the best and worst sleep Jude had experienced in his life. On one hand the floor and wall were rock hard, literally, and the fire had died out somewhere in the night, making the cold even more apparent. However on the other hand he had woken to the sight of a sleepy Sharpness on his lap, just that fact made everything a thousand times better. It didn’t matter how shitty the weather was outside or how traitorous the journey back home would be. All that wasn’t important because he could be with Sharpness right this second.
Jude placed his hand on Sharpness’ forehead, it seemed that the fever had died down since he now felt cold to the touch. He allowed Sharpness to rest for a while more, before he decided to wake him up since the wind had stopped blowing and who knows when it’ll pick up again, it was better they left now than be stuck in a storm together.
“Sharp, Sharp wake up. We need to go.” He started to softly shake him. “Sharpness, come onnnn.” He poked his cheek, “Wake up Sharpppp.” However the swordmaster showed no signs of waking up, if anything he just made himself more comfortable on Jude’s lap. He’d turn so that his face was facing the other way, leaving his ear to the side, which gave Jude an idea.
Jude leaned into Sharpness’ ear, blowing into it, “Sharp.”
“Ah!” Sharpness startled awake, sitting up. Then he yelled at him in Serbian, probably cursing him off given how he said it and the look of his eyes. His eyes, Jude had never noticed how mesmerizing they were, they were a dull yellow and yet Jude could get lost in them for ages. His eyes were like infinity, the yellow brought out a warmth to how cold the swordmaster usually was.
In that moment Judelow had a terrifying realization, if before he wouldn’t admit that he cares about Sharpness, this realization? He would take it to his grave, because there was no way that Sharpness felt the same way, no. No he could not say anything, it didn’t matter that he would pain him, eat him alive as it was right now. He could never admit that he had fallen in love with Sharpness.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Sharpness asked even though he had just cursed Jude in a language he did not understand.
“It’s nothing.” Jude cleared his throat. “We should get going, the wind has stopped so this is our best shot at getting back home.” The trapper stood up, offering his hand to help the other stand up.
Together Sharpness and Jude tidied up the place, they decided that it was best to leave the makeshift kitchen here as nobody would come here and in case Sharpness decided to run away again. Jude had joked at that, but he promised that next time he would fully take care of the swordmaster. Sharpness hid a smile, because the trapper was practically admitting that he did actually care for him, which gave Sharpness some confidence as to what he was about to do.
The swordmaster and the trapper stood at the entrance of the cave, it had stopped snowing and there was a gentle breeze. The spruce trees were covered with snow and the ground had light snow on it. The sun shone gently on the snow, like a famous painting that would be hung in a museum. If there was a time for what Sharpness was going to do, it was now.
“If we hurry we can make it out of the snow in about an hour, and from there it's just walking home.” Jude explained, adjusting his hood over his ears.
“Home, not base.” Sharpness simply said, smiling at Jude.
“I mean, yeah. You’ve been living there for so long that it just feels like home.” Jude scratched the back of his neck, looking at anywhere but at the blond.
Sharpness took Jude’s chin, making him look at him. “So, I feel like home?”
Jude’s face immediately reddened, “I-I, I mean, I-” Sharpness was incredibly close to him, he could barely breathe, his brain was short-circuiting. Then he felt soft lips on his, and heavens it was the most delicate kiss Jude had ever received. Sharpness kissed him like if he was something precious, something that was worth admiring.
Sharpness then pulled apart, resting his forehead against his. “I love you, Jude.” Jude’s heart skipped a beat, fuck it did a whole cartweel in his chest. Jude searched for any trace of a lie, that this was really happening, but all he found in Sharpness’ eyes was love, infinite love for him.
He might’ve had just realized his feelings for Sharpness, but fuck was he grateful that he felt the same. “I love you too, Sharpness.” He gave a quick perk to Sharpness’ lips, because he wasn’t sure if he would survive another full blown kiss.
Sharpness chuckled, separating from the trapper and holding his hand. “Now come on, we have a lot of walking to do.” Sharpness pulled Jude out of the cave, beginning their journey back home.
“Really? You kiss me and confess your love and you just hold my hand?” Jude laughed, but walked alongside the swordmaster.
“Yet you still love me, boyfriend.” Sharpness shrugged, a smile on his face.
“Unfortunately I do, my dearest boyfriend.” Jude rolled his eyes, but he squeezed his hand tighter. Their hands were hot and cold, yet they evened each other perfectly, like if they were meant to find each other, because maybe, just maybe, they were made for each other.