Work Text:
"How’s it looking?" asked Jesse, as he approached the cabin.
"Doesn’t seem to be anyone around. Nobody inside, at least. Should be safe…safe-ish," replied Petra. She always seemed to be on edge in a peaceful situation.
The door creaked as it swung open, as Jesse and Petra entered the cabin and were suddenly hit by a wave of nostalgia. "Let’s just…get that weapon and get out of here," said Petra, who was starting to succumb to the nostalgia wave.
The two looked around the cabin, as if it were the treehouse they had first built when they were younger.
The armour stand in the corner, just like in the treehouse-until one day, Petra swung too hard, cutting it cleanly in half.
The bookshelves, packed to the brim with interesting books like How to Train your Slime, A Miner’s Guide to finding Diamonds, and other assorted titles.
Back in the day, Jesse would waste his free time browsing them, but now, his responsibility as the ‘Mayor’ of Beacontown had taken away so much of his precious time, he barely read anymore.
Things change.
Change wasn’t something Petra could easily adapt to. She couldn’t adapt to every one of her friends starting to live their own life. The nostalgia made her start to tear up, and her sobs eventually became audible enough for Jesse to notice.
"Petra? Is something wrong?" inquired Jesse.
Trying to appear strong and cover up what she was upset about, Petra attempted to lie her way out of the situation. "N-nothing, really," she stuttered. "It just reminds me of…of…this…story, about, puppies. Really…sad story. You know me, can’t help crying about dumb stuff like that. Puppies, chickens, rabbits that can’t find carrots—"
But Jesse saw through this. He had known Petra for such a long time that they could practically read each other like an open book. He straight away knew she was trying to fib through the situation. Before Petra could continue, Jesse interrupted.
"Come on Petra, you’re lying. We both know it."
Not expecting to be caught out on her bluff, Petra lashed out: "No! Puppies just make me really sad, okay?"
However, she then gave in, unable to hold back what she was feeling. "Fine, it’s not the puppies."
She motioned around the cabin. "Doesn’t this remind you of anything? Our friends? We used to hang out in that treehouse all the time. Now we hardly talk. Why? Why does this always happen? Everyone leaves, and I end up by myself again. I don’t even know what I’m doing wrong. I see them one by one, just…leaving."
Jesse was surprised from her monologue. He had often soliloquised to himself about the Order, but yet was able to justify it with "the people of Beacontown need me." What he hadn’t considered was the emotional cost it would bring. It had hurt him to watch his friends leave, and from when they last left Beacontown, they hadn’t been too happy about having to disband either. But they had their towns. Petra didn’t have anything.
It seemed to be because of her self-sufficiency. At least physically.
"I thought it was something you were fine with," said Jesse. "You have this vibe of 'I don’t need anyone' going about you. I won’t really judge you for it, but you tend to push people away when things get hard."
"I guess so," replied Petra. "I’ve been trying to tell myself I don’t need anyone, but maybe I’ve missed something."
"And just for the record Petra, not everyone will leave you. At least not me," Jesse clarified.
"Yeah, but what if I want to go somewhere that isn’t Beacontown?" Petra countered. "I’ll just be by myself again."
'And we’re back to square one,’ Jesse thought, as Petra leaned on a bookshelf, letting her sentiment get the better of her.
"Axel and Olivia are barely around. We lost Jack, and who knows how much longer your sister and Lukas will stick with us. Didn’t take long for the New Order of the Stone to fall apart, did it? I think it’s my fault for thinking it would be different. That we would hold together longer than most."
"A fire that burns as bright as ours won’t last very long," replied Jesse. "Change isn’t bad. People change, and grow apart. It happened with the Old Order, and now it happened with us. It isn’t necessarily bad."
"Easier for you to say than to do, right?" Petra countered. "I’m the one that ends up alone."
As much as Jesse didn’t want to give ground on this, Petra was right. Moving on was easier said than done for these two super close friends.
"What about if I can find a way to fix this? I can do more. I know it," Jesse offered.
"I want to believe you. I really do. But you may not be able to," replied Petra.
"Then be assured, we still care for each other. We don’t just move on just because we are apart," said Jesse.
"They would be here if they cared," said Petra.
Jesse sighed; he was really getting nowhere with this.
"I know this isn’t important right now. Let’s just find that weapon and get out of here," said Petra, with a purpose.
"But Petra, I know you want to talk about this," replied Jesse. "I think we should, actually."
"I already told you, it’s not important," Petra stated. "We have bigger things to worry about."
"Come on, if it’s important to you, then it’s important to me too," insisted Jesse. "I’m upset too. This hasn't been easy for me either, okay? I understand you."
"I—I’m sorry if I made such a big fuss about it," said Petra. "We have to take down the Admin. After that, we’ll figure out what happens next."
With that, they returned to the puzzle that was the beds in the cabin.
Right to left, the beds were red for Romeo, blue for Fred, and purple for Xara. The observer blocks triggered, and a shelf on the far left receded, revealing a book in a small space. After retrieving Xara’s bed (so that he could give it to her later), Jesse took the book and opened it up.
"Another one of Fred’s journals," observed Jesse, as Petra walked over to peer over. Jesse began reading through the journal.
Dear Xara,
If you’re reading this, then I’m already gone. I hid this in the one place I knew you would look for it. Fitting the key to ending all this would be here, where it all started.
This is the key to defeating Romeo:
#POTATO451
"It says...Hash tag potato four five one," Jesse said, confused.
They suddenly realised its ridiculousness. "'Potato'? That’s the weapon?" mocked Petra. "What are—what are we supposed to do with potato? That’s not a weapon, it’s a root vegetable, and not a very good one. I just—I hate potatoes."
"As long as it works, I guess," said Jesse. "Though I really don’t understand…it just seems so dumb."
"Right? Ugh, hash tag potato four five one," muttered Petra, crossing her arms.
Jesse rolled his eyes and sat on the bed, reading on.
Take this word of passage and use it at the primary terminal. You can take away his power and end this.
"Word of passage…huh, I guess that’s what he means by potato," Jesse realised out loud.
Petra then continued to read.
I still have hope for Romeo. He just wanted us to stay together, more than anything. I’m sure that’s why he’s doing this. Maybe I’m being an idiot, but I need to know for sure before taking this step.
Though, if you’re here…I guess I have my answer.
Hopefully, someday we can be together again.
Your friend, always,
Fred
Now Jesse and Petra both couldn’t help but feel bad for the Admins. Their journey had been so similar, one would have to be blind to not see the similarities. The two could empathise with them.
"Honestly, I really do feel bad for them," said Jesse. "This wasn’t easy for any of the Admins."
"Yeah…they really cared about each other," observed Petra, as Jesse got off the bed. "Everyone talks about Romeo like he was this controlling monster, but Fred wrote that Romeo just wanted to keep them together, more than anything."
Here Petra lost her control and she spilled out everything—the journal had given her the words she needed. "Isn’t that what I’ve been doing? Especially to you, Jesse? And I guess, to Jessica as well?"
Jesse had, before this, never considered how Petra was feeling from the angle that she was now giving. Petra was scared that she was going to be another Romeo—she didn’t want to force her friends to do something that they didn’t want to.
"I don’t want to be your Romeo. I don’t want to be that type of person. Or make you scared to tell me the truth."
As she was saying this, she turned away from Jesse. She didn’t want to show her weakness, or sorrow.
Jesse was saddened and in disbelief. How could Petra compare herself to the horrible monster that Romeo had been?
He realised he had to act now, or Petra would never get this off her chest, and she would be weighed down by it for life.
"Petra, no, you can’t say that! You’re nothing like Romeo, nothing. Don’t compare yourself to him," protested Jesse.
"But even Romeo didn’t start out that way. He cared for his friends, but ended up murdering one of them. That’s a line I don’t ever want to cross," responded Petra, who walked to the window at the front as she continued. "I’ve been thinking about what you said when we were heading to the ice palace, about how I needed to figure things out for myself."
"Oh?" asked Jesse. "And you figured something out?"
"Um, yeah…I think that my place might be out there, Jesse. Not in Beacontown."
"Oh," Jesse let out dejectedly, as Petra turned around. Tears were rolling down her face, and this did not help either of them.
"But Jesse, we’ve known each other for a long time…and…and…and the last thing I want…would be to…lose you," Petra stuttered, as her emotions took her voice, and she was really starting to cry, and Jesse, concerned, approached her.
"You mean a lot to me Jesse…you’re my best friend, and you’ve been there for me…more than anyone else," she stuttered. "And if leaving means I lose all of that…well…I can’t imagine having a life without you…"
That was when the last of Petra’s emotional strength left her, and she broke down, sobbing, unable to hold back her tears any longer.
Jesse felt unable to do anything. For him, there were two choices.
Stay in Beacontown, his town, serve his people, and wait for Petra to come back to him while she found her place, potentially inflicting a huge emotional wound on himself and Petra, or:
Stay with Petra, giving up his town and responsibilities, but assuring Petra that she would never be alone again, and helping her find her happy place, definitively making their bond way more than ‘super close friends’—potentially even lovers.
Taking care of Beacontown had been great fun, and had given him a purpose, but it hadn’t helped Jesse with the emotional hole in his heart, even though the one person who could fill it motivated him every day. Jesse had only come to realise this recently—what was the point of running a town if you didn’t have a friend—and not a colleague, a friend—to help you?
He realised that he wanted to be with her. She was his real place.
It was time to leave Beacontown behind.
Jesse steadied his voice, approached Petra, and placed a hand on her shoulder. In the steadiest voice he could muster, he said:
"Petra, no matter where you go, I’ll be right there with you. If you think your place is out there, then my place is out there too, because…because…my place…"
Jesse trailed off. He almost didn’t realise what he was doing. He was admitting something big to his super close friend.
"Huh? Y-your place is…is where?" Petra asked shakily.
"M…My…place…is…is with…with you," Jesse finished.
"With…with me?" asked Petra.
"Yes…with you," Jesse affirmed.
All the hope seemed to return to Petra’s eyes. She was still crying, but the tears were no longer tears of sadness.
They were tears of joy.
"Jesse…that means so much to me…it really does…" Petra tearily admitted, still trying to wipe tears away. "Thank you…"
Petra leaned toward Jesse, stretching out both of her arms, and wrapped Jesse in a tight, warm hug, holding him like she didn’t want to let go. Jesse hugged Petra in response, holding her in a soft, cosy embrace. The two quickly melted into the heartfelt display of affection they were giving each other, as if there was nothing else.
Just Jesse and Petra in their little world.
"Heh…you’re so warm Jesse…" said Petra. "I really like it."
"Aww…I always knew you were a big softie," teased Jesse.
"I don’t think you’ll be able to prove it," Petra joked.
"Oh, I’m gonna prove you wrong right now," dared Jesse.
As the couple were still in their embrace, Jesse moved his head back to look Petra in the eyes. Petra did the same.
Then, to follow through on his promise to prove her wrong, Jesse slowly moved his head towards Petra’s. Petra immediately figured out what he was doing, and admitted to herself that she really was a softie before beating him to what he was about to do.
And the two…well, to put it this way, if Radar had looked into the cabin from the little pond where he was nursing his feet, he would have seen them…basically…
Making out.
The two kissed for a straight twenty seconds, completing recognising that they were more than super close friends, as Jesse had said back at Endercon.
They were lovers, destined to stay together, and for right now, save the world together.
Upon breaking apart, their dorkiness got the better of them, and they burst into giggles, so happy that they were on top of the world.
When they managed to calm down, they took a deep breath. They were about to admit their feelings, they needed clarity of mind.
"I love you Jesse."
"I love you too Petra."
Thus the two super close friends—now lovers—began a relationship that would endure until the end of time.
For now, they needed to go and defeat Romeo.
"We'd better get that book back to the portal," mentioned Petra.
"Yeah. Let's go stop Romeo together. His days of being 'Jesse' are numbered."
So the couple exited the cabin, with a bond between them that no one would be able to break.
The cabin may have been an unusual place for a relationship to begin, but it was the best place for these two super close friends to start one.
THE END.