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etho sits on the ground of the team BEST base, mindlessly scribbling on the wooden part of his shield. it’s now filled with little doodles, shapes, horrible little drawings of members of the server and his team, swirls, stars, and whatever else his hand decides to draw.
there is.. one drawing that’s much bigger than the rest. it’s still not great, but it’s obvious there was more effort put in. it’s a drawing of the only starborne on the server. it captures his heart shaped face, his big doe like eyes and his fluffy curls, and the freckles littered across his cheeks.
scott is radiant. he’s like the stars, and truthfully, he wouldn’t be surprised if scott’s star crown used to have hundreds and thousands more stars, and they’d scattered to cover the night sky.
something about the way the starborne was always so.. calm and calculated, how he always had a plan for every situation, and just how loyal he was to his team members and allies. it was magnetising. not to mention he was beautiful, skin dotted with tiny, star shaped freckles. sparkling blue eyes, one of which had a big white star in the centre rather than a pupil. fluffy waves of teal hair that frame his face and end at the bottom of his neck, sitting on his shoulders.
without even thinking, he starts to draw some hearts around the drawing, before catching himself and flushing. the marker he was using goes flying across the base and he shoves his shield to the side, out of the way and hoped no one would flip it over.
etho hates feeling vulnerable, and being in love is possibly the most vulnerable he thinks he could feel. he doesn’t want to admit it.
he stands up from his spot, shaking out his arms and legs, then gathering his things.
it’s not too long of a walk to scott and pearl’s cottage, but the whole time etho’s tail twitches nervously. he has the end of it in his hands, carefully picking at the fluff.
eventually he gets to the stone wall. he tries to open the latch of the gate, but his hands are too shaky, so he just huffs and hops over the fence gate instead.
the fox approaches the fancy, dark oak and moss decorated door, and knocks. a minute or so passes and he starts to worry, before he hears footsteps behind the door.
‘etho! hello,’ scott waves and smiles as he opens the door, leaning against the doorframe casually. ‘what can i help you with?’
the man’s tail flicks behind him, thin with a fluffy poof on the end that glows like lantern light. the crown of shimmering stars that surround his head dance slowly, like flower petals drifting through the air.
‘etho?’ scott’s voice sounds, startling etho out of his distraction. oh.. he was staring.
‘ah! yeah- sorry, um-‘ he starts, suddenly his mind goes blank and he can’t remember anything he wanted to say. ‘i just wanted to ask if it would be okay if i maybe stayed over for a little bit?’ he asks in one nonstop breath.
the starborne chuckles and raises an eyebrow, ‘i mean, sure. why not? as long as you’re not boogey?’
‘no! i’m not boogey, i swear. even if i was, i wouldn’t kill you,’ he winces, that was too sincere for his liking.
scott chuckles, stepping aside and gesturing for the fox to come in. he does, and he gasps. the cottage is beautiful. it’s built from nicely polished spruce wood and bordered with cobblestone. if you look up the ceiling is lit by lanterns, casting a warm glow across the cottage in the slowly darkening night. vines of ivy climb up the walls, somehow cut perfectly to stay in the corners and accent the build. there’s small flower boxes at every window, filled with various bright flowers that the base owners had found on their adventures up until now.
the layout is so well thought out too, but that was to be expected when scott had built it. it’s one big room split into three parts with dividers that are carved into intricate shapes on both sides. the left section houses a small kitchen, white counters and dark oak countertops. it’s got a quaint little sink and fridge, matching pastel blue in colour.
in the middle of the two dividers, there’s a small yellow couch on top of a sage green gingham patterned carpet. bookshelves fill most of the walls, and there’s a small trapdoor in the corner that etho decides he doesn’t want to question.
the final section at the right of the cottage houses their chests, stacked tall on shelves so they could access all of them. the staircase also sits there, leading upstairs to what he presumes is the bedroom.
‘wow!’ etho breathes after taking in the decor, ‘this is beautiful, scott!’ the foxes tail swishes.
a bright smile crosses the starborne’s face, ‘thank you! i appreciate that, i decorated a lot while pearl has been out.’ he nods.
they sit in somewhat awkward silence for a little while, etho unsure of what to say and scott watching, slightly amused. eventually the starborne speaks.
‘well, you’re already here, why don’t you help me polish my stars?’ scott hums, tail flicking leisurely behind him. the white haired fox raises his eyebrows (he was never able to raise just one, so he raises both,) and tilts his head.
‘do.. what?’
scott giggles, ‘polish my stars! yknow, like clean em off. it’s like preening an avians wings, or brushing a foxes tail,’ he winks playfully and gestures at etho’s wagging tail.
‘i-‘ he starts, processing what scott had said halfway through the sentence and stumbling over broken syllables, ‘o- okay, uh- okay. well- i didn’t even know that was a thing, i didn’t even think- know you could touch them,’ he stutters awkwardly.
scott laughs, walking over to where the fox stood awkwardly in the middle of the cottage. a soft, delicate hand finds place on etho’s shoulder and he notices green, yellow and red nail polish on his fingers.
‘you certainly can. these-‘ he gestures at the slowly dancing crown of stars around his head with his eyes, ‘need to be maintained just as much as other hybrid features, or they go dull.’
heterochromatic eyes glance up, for the first time really taking in the crown. it’s comprised of what etho thinks is eight four pointed stars, it’s a little hard to keep count when it keeps spinning so hypnotisingly. each star is a slight varying shade of green, one that matches one of the hearts in the tattoos that every player has somewhere on their bodies. ethos own is on the back of his neck where it can be covered easily, which he’ll be ever grateful for.
‘you sure do stare a lot, don’t you?’ the blue haired man teases, once again breaking etho out of his trance. another bright giggle sounds as etho startles, something he’s quickly growing to enjoy the sound of.
‘sorry! it’s just really cool is all- i’ve never met a starborne before you,’ he squeaks, forcing his eyes back to scott’s face, before panicking further and just looking at his own feet.
‘don’t be. i think it’s charming. now are you gonna help me clean these or what?’
and that’s how etho found himself sat cross legged on scott’s bed, chunky boots and fur lined jacket discarded on the floor. left in only his black, long sleeved turtleneck undershirt, forest green cargo pants, and whatever miscellaneous accessories he’d thrown on that he’d gathered from who knows where, he does feel a little vulnerable. etho had never liked being ‘exposed’ around anyone, not even his team. in reality, he’s not that exposed, infact he’s still almost completely covered, but he feels exposed, and that’s what makes him anxious.
‘comfortable?’ scott asks as he settles in, clutching a floral print pillow in his arms.
etho nods, ‘yeah’ it’s not very convincing though with the shake in his tone, and scott catches it.
‘you can always back out if you wanna leave, or just be by yourself etho.’ scott softens and reassures, reaching a hand out and resting it just infront of him.
admittedly, etho’s first reaction was to leave, run away and not confront any feelings at all. but when he takes a second to think past that, past the default thought that he had every time he got remotely close to someone, he doesn’t want to.
something about being with scott, or just about scott as a whole, made him feel safe. made him feel like he could relax, be comfortable in his presence. so he took a leap, and listened to that deeper feeling.
‘no, no i’m okay. just getting used to- this- is all. how do i clean these?’ he asks, looking up at the floating stars.
the fox watches in awe as scott reaches up and simply plucks one of the glowing stars from its rotation around his head, holding it carefully in his pointer finger and thumb.
‘you can just- take them off!?’
‘yep! they’re essentially magnetised in the little ring. so they can be knocked off if i get hit hard enough.’ he shrugs, plucking a small cloth from his inventory.
he starts to gently wipe down the star, taking extra care in areas that had small scuffs or marks. etho couldn’t help but stare. the star casts a soft, green glow that lights up scott’s face from underneath, and somehow makes his eyes sparkle even more, he looks further like a starry night sky.
a minute or two passes and scott smiles, turning the star in his hand and nodding in satisfaction. he pops it back into the crown, and it simply returns to its rotation, glowing brighter than the others.
‘woah.. that’s so cool! so you want.. me? to do that?’ etho asks slowly, pointing at himself as he asks.
scott giggles, glancing down at the foxes hand pointing at himself. it really was charming how expressive he was.
‘mhm. i trust you, just do what i did on the rest of them.’ he smiles. etho takes a deep breath and nods, shuffling a little closer.
oh they’re so close. etho’s eyes flick down and scott is already looking. he flushes and looks back up, carefully taking one of the stars in his hand and plucking it out of its rotation.
the star is warm in his hand, he can even feel it through the leather of his fingerless glove. it’s about the size of his palm, and it almost fits perfectly in his hand. like it was meant to be there.
etho takes the small cloth and starts to very, very gently, wipe down the star in his hand, rubbing circles with the cloth.
scott closes his eyes and hums, tilting his head. the fox wonders if maybe he can feel it, like if it were wings or a tail like his own.
they fall into a quiet rhythm, neither speaking as etho focuses on gently cleaning the stars and scott enjoying the domesticity of it all.
by the time etho zones back in, he’s finished the rest of the stars. scott is smiling oh so soft at him, and it makes his heart flutter.
‘thank you etho, you did great!’
‘you’re.. welcome. thank you for trusting me,’ the fox smiles slightly in return.
for the next two weeks, etho had been coming by scott and pearl’s cottage almost every night. pearl would scoff and fondly roll her eyes every single time he stood in their doorway.
the first few nights he’d insist on sleeping on the couch, not wanting to be a bother. eventually, scott would convince him that he was perfectly okay with sharing a bed, and etho wouldn’t complain.
on this night in particular, etho couldn’t sleep. he rolls over, facing scott’s back which was turned to him. he takes a silent breath, carefully poking the starborne’s back to see if he stirs. he doesn’t.
before etho can consider it, he starts to murmur breathily.
‘scott.. you’re.. pretty cool.’ he cringes, but doesn’t stop for whatever reason. ‘you’re so good at this game, smart and kind but somehow so terrifying too when you have to be. it’s so… enchanting.’
etho never quite… got love. it was a concept explained countless times to him that still felt foreign. even after asking scar to explain over and over, all he ever talked about was how he felt about grian, which didn’t really help etho much. it made him happy to see his friends happy though.
he didn’t think he’d ever feel it.
now, though? he thinks he understands what scar was talking about. thoughts swirling when you look at them, heart beating faster, even just thinking about them more than anyone else. it makes sense.
etho feels that way about scott. and he continues to voice that to the sleeping starborne.
‘i sound stupid, i- never thought i’d feel this way. even consider it at all, but… yeah. this is dumb, you’re not even awake. i guess.. maybe that’s a good thing. i don’t know if i could tolerate you hating me after this.’ the fox sighs, pulling his legs a bit closer up to his chest.
not too much longer passes before etho finally falls asleep, tiredness weighing too much at him to stay awake any longer.
scott supposes he should sleep now too.
it’s been a week and a bit since that night, etho hadn’t brought it up again. now he’s sat on the concrete wall surrounding scott and pearl’s cottage, watching quietly as scott continues to decorate the outside of their home. it’s always funny how much he prioritises decorating in these games.
‘have you ever been in love, scott?’ etho asks out of nowhere and without thinking, eyes widening as the words leave his own mouth. his ears go back and he bites his cheeks.
the cyan haired man pauses, slightly adjusting a flower pot to be just the right direction, before leaning against one of the pillars.
‘i would say so. why do you ask?’ the starborne responds, smiling.
etho’s tail swishes in his nervousness, obvious in the speed it’s moving. his silence lingers on for a while, his brain trying to figure out the best response for this.
‘um, i was just wondering, really. i’ve heard it described a lot and- i just never really understood it, i guess.’
the starborne nods, looking up at the clouds as he talks, ‘yeah, i mean, feelings are hard to describe, especially when they’re so different from person to person. you never really understand it until you experience it yourself.’
etho knows that, he does. he tells himself he does. even when the thoughts of you’ll never find love or you’re not enough start to creep in. he’s learnt to live with them. at least, until he thinks about if scott ever said that. that’s what hurts.
‘mmmhm. i don’t think i’ll ever really experience it anyway. even if i did, i dunno if i’d ever admit it.’ he says softly, words barely there, feeling thick in his throat.
‘how come?’ the starborne asks, eyes still up to the clouds.
‘i guess i’d be too scared of getting rejected.’ the fox admits quietly. etho doesn’t think he’s ever voiced that to anybody, not even himself.
scott hums, looking back to etho with the softest look in his shimmering eyes, ‘well, im not rejecting you.’
such a simple statement, it could mean nothing— no it doesn’t. but why would he-
that night. scott heard that night. he wasn’t asleep.
etho’s head whips up to meet scott’s eyes, his own wide.
‘that night- did you-’
‘i did. i hadn’t fallen asleep yet. you started talking and… it was so sweet, i just kept listening and didn’t interrupt. you’re really adorable, y'know that etho?’ scott giggles, eyes crinkling with his bright laughter.
etho is stunned. wide eyes, red cheeks, and fluffy ears pointed up. he must really look like an idiot. an idiot in love.
‘really? you didn’t think it was weird or stupid or… i dunno…’
scott pulls himself off his spot against the pillar, walking over to etho and perching next to him on the cobble wall.
‘no, i thought it was charming and adorable. it meant a lot to me.’
his gaze was so sincere, any usual doubt etho may convince himself into couldn’t even find its way in. he trusted scott.
‘i’m really glad,’ the fox says in just above a whisper.
his eyes follow scott’s as he leans closer, heart soaring but he doesn’t jolt away, doesn’t run. he stays. he isn’t nervous, or scared. he doesn’t feel like a skittish animal. he stays.
etho let’s scott scoot close enough where their legs touch, he lets him rest a soft and cool hand over his cheek, he lets him hook his thumb over his mask.
scott opens his mouth to ask permission, but before he can, etho speaks.
‘yeah, you can. please.’
scott just smiles, slipping the black face covering off and letting it fall to the grass.
etho is beautiful. a slightly crooked nose that scott immediately finds beautiful. his lips are much rosier than he’d expected, and on the right side a scar splits through them, carrying down from his eye. it pulls his upper lip up with it slightly, and scott thinks if he smiled or laughed you’d be able to see his gums.
pale skin steadily grows redder the longer scott stares, curling and uncurling his fingers repetitively as a nervous stim.
‘you’re beautiful,’
the words leave scott’s mouth and etho is sure he didn’t hear them correctly. him? beautiful? with a scar though his lips and eye, a crooked nose- handsome, sure, but he’s gotten that a lot. it never felt truthful, just a surface compliment just to say something.
beautiful? that’s different. it feels meaningful, truthful. maybe it’s just the way he said it, voice soft with an awe that he’s never heard from him before. or maybe it’s because it’s from scott.
‘you think?’
‘i know.’
and then scott is pressing his lips to etho’s, and etho’s brain turns to an utterly in love pile of mush. he reciprocates after a few seconds pass, awkward as every action he does is, but god he puts as much care as he could into the action.
cool hands slide up to rest in white hair, gently twirling strands around his fingers. etho’s own rest on scott’s waist.
a minute, maybe two, ethos not sure, pass before the starborne pulls back, bright smile and panting softly. etho’s face mimics that, somehow even redder.
‘oh snappers,’ is all he can muster.
scott only giggles, leaning back in to kiss him again. and again, and again, and again. their kisses are long and sweet, every passing second they get closer to eachother.
etho likes this. he loves this. he loves scott.
quickly his kisses turn shorter and hotter, pushing closer to the starborne. scott doesn’t protest, quite the opposite actually, matching his pace and planting one hand on the back of etho’s neck, pulling his face down closer.
when etho tilts his head, scott hums into the kiss, and etho wants to hear that sound forever.
far longer passes before they finally pull apart for good. both are giggling and smiling, cheeks a matching ruby red.
‘stars, all that outside without your mask? scandalous,’ scott chuckles, out of breath.
etho laughs in return, hopping off the wall, picking up the fabric from the grass, grabbing scott’s hand, and the two scurry back into the cottage.