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The sun had long since dipped below the treeline, leaving only a faint orange glow lingering over the ocean as Wifies shut his notebook with a tired sigh. The day had been nothing but dead ends. Three different reports had sent them sprinting across the server, each one claiming someone had seen the Leviathan lurking beneath the waves, yet every trail had ended the same way: a frightened player pointing at an ordinary squid, a guardian peeking out of the kelp, or a patch of dark water that looked unsettling enough to convince anyone after sunset.
"I swear," Wifies muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "people see one fish and immediately assume it's a giant sea monster."
Hummer let out a quiet laugh, the speaker icon in the corner of his screen flickering as he spoke. "To be fair... if I'd never seen a squid before, I'd probably panic too."
"That is called overreacting."
"Hah, that's another way to say it."
They were standing near the docks when another player wandered over, glancing between the pair before asking, "Uh... you two aren't planning on heading back tonight, are you?"
Wifies looked toward the horizon. Their base was several thousand blocks away, the route cutting through forests, mountains, and more ocean than either of them wanted to cross in complete darkness. They could make the journey if they really tried, but by the time they arrived the sun would already be rising again.
"...Probably not."
"I've got a spare room if you need somewhere to stay," they offered. "Nothing fancy, but it's got a bed."
"Seriously?" Wifies asked.
"Sure."
The players proceed to follow the generous host, making small talk while doing so.
-
"Here it is..!" the player stopped at the doorway, before looking towards the two. The player smiled sheepishly.
"...Though, uh..."
Hummer and Wifies exchanged a glance.
"...There's only one."
Silence settled over the room. Wifies stared at the bed. He blinked once before looking around the room as if another bed might magically appear if he searched hard enough.
"...Do you have any spare wool?"
"No."
"Wood?"
"No."
"Logs?"
"...No."
"A crafting table?"
"Well, yeah."
"Perfect." Wifies perked up. "We'll just make another bed."
The player scratched the back of his neck.
"...About that."
"..."
"the herd is in town, and that's quite the journey."
Another pause.
"What about your neighbours?" Hummer suggested. "Maybe someone has three pieces lying around."
"They all live, like..." The player pointed vaguely toward the forest outside the one window. "...a thousand blocks away."
"..Right."
"And it's the middle of the night."
"...Right."
"And most of them are offline."
"....Right.."
The hopeful expression slowly slipped from Wifies' face.
"So..." Hummer said carefully, "...one bed."
Wifies let out a dramatic sigh worthy of an exhausted stage actor. The player looked between them, clearly trying not to smile.
"I can... leave you two to figure it out?"
"Please do."
"Good luck."
The door clicked shut.
Silence settled over the room once again.
The bed suddenly looked much smaller than either of them remembered.
Wifies folded his arms. "I'll sleep on the floor."
"The floor's stone."
"I've slept on worse."
"So have I."
"Then you take the floor."
Hummer shook his head. "You spent half the day running around. You almost drowned earlier, too."
"And you spent the day digging holes because you thought the sounds were coming from underground. Not a good tactic."
"...Fair point."
Neither of them moved. Instead, they continued staring at the bed as though that would fix the problem. After another long moment, Wifies pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We're grown adults."
"I would hope so."
"It's just a bed."
"..It is."
"We are perfectly capable of sharing a bed for one night without making it weird."
"I wasn't planning to make it weird."
"I wasn't implying you would."
"I know.." Hummer grimaced, "This is really gay."
"...Dude. We search for a mythical creature everyday of our lives, and you're worried about something being gay??"
A small flicker goes across his screen, "Heh, maybe."
Before he could respond, Hummer opens up his backpack, taking some clothes and walking into the bathroom, locking the door. Wifies clothing was comfortable enough to sleep in, so he didn't make the effort of changing. He groaned dramatically before pulling back the blanket and climbing onto the far left side, pressing himself right against the wall as though determined to become part of it.
"There," he announced. "Maximum distance achieved!"
After seconds of shuffling heard from the locked room, Hummer emerged from the bathroom in a loose shirt and trousers. Wifies had never saw him in anything but a suit. He climbed in on the opposite side just as cautiously, leaving what little space remained between them untouched.
"...Comfortable?" Wifies asked, still staring his up and down. If Hummer noticed it, then he didn't question it.
"No. You?"
"Absolutely not."
"...Good."
The lantern hanging from the ceiling cast a warm glow across the tiny room before Hummer reached over and extinguished it. he dimmed his screen, darkness settled in. The room gradually fell quiet, until wifies mumbled a, you awake? starting a half-understandable conversation.
The occasional creak of the house blended with the steady rhythm of waves lapping against the shore, while somewhere outside, leaves rustled softly in the night breeze. Their conversation dwindled into comfortable silence, broken only by the odd sleepy hum or a mumbled response whenever one of them thought of something else to add.
"...Hey?" Wifies murmured after a while.
"Hm?"
"If we actually find Levi..."
"Yeah?"
"...I hope it's worth all this."
Hummer smiled faintly in the darkness.
"I think it will be."
That was the last thing either of them remembered saying.
A pale strip of morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, stretching slowly across the wooden floor before climbing the side of the bed. Wifies stirred first. Not fully awake, just enough to scrunch his face at the warmth shining directly into his eyes.
"...Mm..."
He buried his face deeper into... something soft. Warm. Comfortable.
For a few blissful seconds, he didn't question it. The previous day's hike across half the server had left every muscle aching, and whatever he'd found himself leaning against made for a surprisingly decent pillow. He let out a quiet sigh.
Another minute couldn't hurt.
The room was peaceful, filled only with the distant sound of water outside and the faint chirping of birds beginning their morning chorus. Then, slowly, his brain began catching up....The pillow was breathing. Wifies frowned. His eyes cracked open just enough to register the dark fabric inches from his face.
Not a pillow. A shirt.
...
His thoughts came to a complete stop. Very, very carefully, he lifted his head. Hummer was still asleep.
One arm rested loosely around Wifies' back, relaxed enough that it was obvious he hadn't done it consciously. His head had tipped slightly to one side during the night, and although the television screen that served as his face remained blank, the rest of his posture looked completely at ease.
Wifies blinked. Once, twice.
...How?
He distinctly remembered spending a solid five minutes making sure they were as far apart as physically possible before falling asleep. There had been a whole strategy.
So how? His eyes drifted downward.
Somewhere during the night, the blanket had become hopelessly tangled around both of them. Wifies had apparently rolled right across the mattress in his sleep, dragging most of the blanket with him, while Hummer, either to stop him from falling off the bed or simply acting on instinct, had shifted closer without ever waking up. The gap they'd so carefully maintained had disappeared entirely.
"..."
Wifies stared for another long moment. Then, despite himself, a tiny, amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Then suddenly, Hummer shifted. Not much. Just enough for his arm to tighten ever so slightly around his back before relaxing again. Wifies froze.
"...Seriously?"
No response. Still asleep.
He let out the breath he'd unknowingly been holding, carefully attempting to wiggle free without disturbing him. But something stopped him, Hummer's cord tail. One end had somehow wrapped itself around one of his legs, trapping them together.
"...You've got to be kidding."
He tugged once. Nothing. Again. Still nothing.
The end merely tightened around his leg more, as if offended by the attempt. Wifies looked toward the bedroom door. Then back at the tail. Then at Hummer. He reached down to try untangling it by hand, but the second he did, Hummer let out a quiet, sleepy groan.
"...Five more minutes..."
Wifies immediately went statue-still.
"...Hummer?"
No answer. Still asleep.
He sighed through his nose, resigning himself to staying exactly where he was for the moment. The room settled into silence again, but not for long. A faint flicker crossed Hummer's screen before he stirred, stretching ever so slightly. His arm instinctively tightened for half a second before he froze completely.
"..."
"..."
His processor - or, whatever passed for one, seemed to buffer. Very, very slowly, he looked down. Wifies looked up, their eyes met. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them moved. It was the sort of silence that lasted only a few seconds but somehow felt like an entire minute.
"...Morning," Wifies offered weakly.
"...Morning."
Another pause. Hummer glanced down at the arm still draped around Wifies.
"...This..."
"...Yeah."
Hummer carefully lifted his arm away as though afraid any sudden movement would somehow make the situation more embarrassing. He didn't notice the cord still wrapped around the other man's calf. Wifies, meanwhile, busied himself trying very hard to look anywhere except directly at Hummer. The ceiling suddenly became fascinating.
"So..." Wifies muttered.
"So."
"We don't tell anyone."
"Agreed."
"We take this to the grave."
"Absolutely."
"...Good."
"...Good."
Another silence.
"..."
For a brief, blissful moment, it seemed they'd escaped the awkwardness with what little dignity they had left. Then Wifies decided it was time to get out of bed. He threw the blanket aside with far more confidence than was warranted. Unfortunately, there was still Hummer's tail wrapped around his leg. He seems to notice that, unwrapping it right when Wifies attempted to get off the bed.
"Oh-"
He made one heroic attempt to regain his balance. It almost worked.
Instead, he stumbled sideways off the mattress with all the grace of a baby cow discovering gravity for the first time.
THUD.
Hummer blinked.
"..."
From somewhere below the edge of the bed came a very quiet,
"...I'm okay."
"...Are you?"
"..."
Hummer couldn't help it. A laugh crackled through his speaker, quiet at first before growing into genuine laughter. Wifies groaned dramatically from the floor.
"Don't."
"I'm trying not to."
"You're failing."
Another laugh escaped Hummer as he leaned over the edge of the mattress. Wifies was sprawled face-down across the wooden floor, one leg trapped beneath the blanket.
"...Need a hand?"
"No."
"...You sure?"
He attempted to stand. but unfortunately, The blanket wrapped around his leg wouldn't move.
Thump.
"..."
"..."
"I have changed my mind."
Hummer was laughing openly now, one hand pressed against the side of his television screen as if that somehow helped. Wifies pointed at Hummer accusingly from the floor.
"I hope you know..."
"Hm?"
"...this is entirely your fault."
"My fault?"
"You were the one who was snuggling again me like a cli-..." Wifies paused, realising exactly what he was about to imply.
"..."
"...Never mind."
Hummer tilted his head.
"No, go on."
"I'm choosing life."
"I think that's wise."
With a defeated sigh, Wifies finally accepted the offered hand. Hummer pulled him upright, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, and Wifies lurched forward, catching himself with both hands against Hummer's shoulders before either of them could react.
"..."
"..."
Wifies slowly looked up.
"...I'm going back to bed."
Hummer hummed.
"I thought you wanted to investigate Levi."
"..I do....After my dignity respawns."
He smiled.
"I don't think that's happening anytime soon."
Wifies let out the most exaggerated sigh imaginable.
"...I liked you better when you were asleep."
"Oh?"
"You were much quieter."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Despite the teasing, the awkwardness from a few minutes ago had melted away, replaced by the familiar rhythm they always seemed to fall back into. By the time they stepped out of the room, still quietly bickering over whose fault the bed incident had actually been, it almost felt as though the morning had been perfectly ordinary. Neither of them noticed the player leaning against the kitchen doorway with a mug in hand, watching them emerge one after the other.
"...Sleep well?" they asked, doing an impressively good job of hiding a grin.
Wifies answered far too quickly.
"Yes."
Hummer answered at exactly the same time.
"...It was eventful."
Wifies slowly turned to look at him.
"Hummer."
"Sorry." He grinned unapologetically.