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Bdubs, like clockwork, woke up with the sun. Some people- Scar- liked to call him crazy for waking up so early, but Bdubs preferred to use the day to its fullest extent.
The day was only so long, after all, and Bdubs hated the dark. Cleo could tease him all she liked, but with the dark came mobs and Bdubs avoided them by sleeping, so really the joke was on everybody else.
Besides, his builds were better admired in the daytime, with the sunrays highlighting all the small details that the dark hid away.
So, yeah. Bdubs woke up a little earlier than everybody else on the server. But they were the ones missing out on the morning’s peaceful atmosphere, the crisp air, the birds chirping, the beautiful pink and orange sunrise.
But if Bdubs was like the sun, then-
“Hey, Bdubs!”
Bdubs jumped up and very much did not let out a high-pitched scream. He instinctively threw the moss block he was holding at the surprise visitor.
His perpetrator simply sidestepped the projectile, raising one amused eyebrow.
“Wow, ‘dubs. Attacking an innocent bystander? That won’t hold up in court, you know.” Etho- because of course it was- teased, playing up the faux innocence.
Bdubs rolled his eyes, though there wasn’t any real heat in the action. “Innocent my ass, Etho. You knew what you were doing.”
Etho just shrugged, but Bdubs could see the smile hiding behind the man’s mask. The slightly scrunched up eyes, the small crows feet hiding in the corner; both were clear signs that Etho was smiling. That he was happy.
After years of knowing him, Bdubs got pretty good at reading Etho. In fact, he’d go so far as to say he was the best at reading Etho-ese. He could identify the man’s emotions almost instantly, whether he was annoyed or excited or overstimulated.
It came with the territory of being Etho’s boyfriend, Bdubs supposed. (A thought that still made him giddy, even two years later. Boyfriend).
Etho walked right next to Bdubs, hands in his pockets. He lightly bumped shoulders with Bdubs, gaining the shorter man’s attention as he stared up at Bdubs’ half-finished building. There was something like awe in his eyes.
Bdubs found that Etho often looked in awe at his builds. He tried to fight the blush that wanted to spread across his cheeks everytime.
“What are you working on?” Etho asked, glancing over towards Bdubs, who was already putting his materials back in their appropriate shulker boxes.
Honestly, he could use a break, and Etho was always the perfect distraction.
“It’s just a silo. Nothing particularly fancy.” Bdubs said. He looked over to Etho, who was still staring at him, still with a smile on his face.
Bdubs was getting a little worried. Etho never smiled this much.
Narrowing his eyes, Bdubs took a step closer to his boyfriend. “What’re you so happy about?” He questioned.
Etho cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean, BdoubleO? I’m just admiring your base. It’s very pretty.”
Bdubs threw his hands up into the air. “And now he’s complimenting me! What, did you blow something up? Huh?”
It was true that Etho never tended to explicitly compliment anything. So either he wanted something, or he blew something up.
“You think so little of me. I’m hurt, really.” Etho dramatically put a hand on his forehead, closing his eyes and leaning into the action. Bdubs snorted, kicking him in the shin.
“Maybe if you weren’t damn suspicious all the time, I’d have a better opinion. As it stands..” Bdubs trailed off.
Etho dropped his head, acting for all the world like a kicked puppy. “Aw, but Bdubs.” He looked up then, eyes locking with Bdubs’ own. His white hair fell into his face just right, and Bdubs couldn’t help but think about how cute he looked.
“Maybe I just wanted to see you?”
Bdubs’ eyes widened and his jaw went slack at the genuinity of the words. A blush instantly creeped onto his face, painting his cheeks pink. He blinked a few times, trying and failing to think of a comeback.
It was hopeless. When it came to Etho, Bdubs was always so easily flustered.
Etho’s smile widened at the sight of his boyfriend, and he took a step forward. He grabbed Bdubs around the waist, pulling him in so their faces were inches apart.
“You’re always up so early, y’know? It’s like I can never see you.”
Bdubs had to remind himself to breathe. It was just so hard, when Etho was looking at him like- like that, and their lips were so close together Bdubs could almost kiss him.
Oh, Bdubs wanted to kiss him bad.
But they weren’t there quite there yet, in the game of theirs. Etho would push and push, try to get Bdubs to react and make the first move, and Bdubs would resist. He’d resist until Etho’s patience ran out.
No matter how much he wanted to give in, the reward was greater if he waited.
Bdubs bat at Etho’s chest, drawing a little space between them. “Well, try not going to bed past twelve. Then maybe you’ll see me more.” He quipped, pulling away entirely and ignoring Etho’s small noise of protest.
Even before they started dating, Etho had always been a little clingy. Not so obviously, but in the way he’d attach himself to Bdubs’ side whenever they were out together, always making sure to link their arms together. Or in the way he’d lock his ankle around Bdubs’s own under a table. Or even in the way that whenever Bdubs bounced his leg, usually due to nerves of some kind, Etho would put a hand on his thigh to help still him.
It took Cleo practically yelling at him that Etho didn’t do that to anyone else, only him, for Bdubs to realize that maybe Etho liked Bdubs as much as Bdubs likes Etho.
No one really believed that Etho was the clingy one between the two, but that was fine. Bdubs knew, and that was all that really mattered.
Bdubs picked up a shulker box, turning away from Etho. “Why are you here anyway?” He asked, a genuine question this time. “The sun's not even fully up. If you wanted to see me, you could’ve come over later.”
It wasn’t that Bdubs was complaining. He loved to see Etho anytime of the day. Etho just.. tended to sleep in later.
There was noise behind Bdubs as Etho dragged his feet across the grass. Before Bdubs could ask what he was doing, Etho draped himself across Bdubs’ back, hands wrapping around his chest and chin placed on his shoulder.
Bdubs stumbled at the sudden weight, cursing as he stumbled and almost dropped the heavy shulker.
“Etho!” He shouted, “I almost dropped my shulker box!” Bdubs scolded, trying to throw Etho’s body weight off of him.
Etho laughed, the sound music to Bdubs’ ears, and dutifully extracted himself from the shorter. “Sorry, sorry.” He said, not sounding very sorry at all. “What’s in there? Rocks?”
“Diorite.”
Etho quirked an eyebrow. Bdubs scowled. “What? It’s a perfectly good block!” He defended. Etho raised his hands in surrender.
“Hey, I didn’t even say anything!” Etho was quick to protest.
Even turned away, Bdubs could sense the smugness radiating off of Etho in waves.
“I can feel you smirking, you jerk.” He grumbled, beginning to walk towards the cabin-like house he’d built as his main home. Something cozy, with much less stairs than his monolith from last season. He readjusted his grip on the shulker a few times, finding a grip that felt comfortable.
He didn’t turn to look where Etho was. Bdubs knew he’d follow him.
Only a minute or so later, Bdubs made it to his cabin. He dropped the shulker right outside, near the entrance, glad to be rid of it. He dusted his hands off, finally turning to look at Etho.
Etho, who was staring off to the side, towards the rising sun. He ran a hand through his white hair, three black fingerless gloves a stark contrast against it. The scar across his eye flashed for a moment, something usually covered by his hair.
He was pretty. Etho was so pretty, and that was the thought playing over and over in Bdubs’ head as he subconsciously took a few steps closer to his boyfriend.
The sun illuminated all the right parts of Etho, similarly to how it accentuated his builds. Etho’s hair almost glowed, reminding Bdubs of an angel, maybe. The bright sun made him seem less pale than he actually was. Etho in the sun was a good look. Etho was always a good look.
Bdubs had been in love with Etho for a long time. Something he’d bemoaned about to Scar and Cleo and Tango and anybody else who’d listen for years.
The response had always been the same, from the others- you’re not already together? And every time, it took Bdubs through a loop, because was he really that obvious?
Sure, he had a habit of looking at Etho like he hung the stars. It wasn’t his fault his eyes constantly searched for Etho in a room full of people. The man just.. stood out.
Unfortunately, he had been too oblivious to realize that Etho did the exact same thing. Probably, a lot of awkwardness could've been avoided if they’d talked to each other sooner, but Bdubs was always a hopeless romantic and Etho couldn't talk about feelings to save his life.
And then they did start dating, and Bdubs had never been happier. He didn’t think he’d ever smiled so hard as when Etho sent him a message, or told him he was coming over, or just said his name. And Bdubs already smiled a lot.
And although it wasn’t quite as apparent to anyone else on the server, Bdubs knew Etho hadn’t ever been happier either. Whenever he thought that Bdubs wasn’t looking, he’d just look at him, like Bdubs was a present ready to unwrap.
Bdubs loved Etho so, so much.
“You were right. The sunrise is really pretty.” Etho said, voice almost like a whisper. Bdubs snapped out of his thoughts, finding himself only a step behind Etho.
Etho had a meaningful look on his face as he stared at the sky, past Bdubs’ hand-crafted trees and families of bunnies jumping around.
Bdubs couldn't help but softly laugh. “Sure is, Etho. It’s why I always get up so early.” There was an undeniable fondness in his voice, a tone only Etho could ever bring out of him.
Etho looked back at Bdubs. Without thinking, the taller intertwined their fingers together, pulling Bdubs closer and bringing their joined hands up between their chests.
Bdubs let out an involuntary gasp at the action. Etho chuckled, knocking his forehead lightly against Bdubs’.
“Hi.” Bdubs said dumbly.
“Hey, BdoubleO. Maybe I should start waking up earlier, huh? You’re so much more easily flustered this time of day, it seems.” Etho teased, but he was rubbing his thumb on the back of Bdubs’ hand and Bdubs couldn’t find it in himself to pull away in offense.
“Not true! It takes much more to get me flustered. In fact, I’d say it’s you who gets flustered easily. Just one compliment gets you!” Bdubs shot back, a total lie and they both knew it. But his last sentence wasn’t actually false either, and they both knew that, too. Etho just had a mask to hide his blush.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, ‘dubs.”
“At least I do sleep at night!”
It was harder to tell from so close up, but Bdubs was sure Etho was grinning from ear to ear. If he pulled down the mask, the man would probably look almost giddy.
Bdubs was about to say something else, probably an insult of some kind, when Etho suddenly unlinked their fingers and relocated his hands to Bdubs’ shoulders.
He leaned in close, the edges of the mask grazing Bdubs’ ear. “Wouldnt expect any less from the sleep master.” He breathed.
And then Etho was pushing Bdubs backwards, a small shove that instantly sent him off balance and flailing into a giant, unseen pile of leaves.
Bdubs landed on his back with an oof in the middle of the leaves, sending some flying away from the pile. He looked up at Etho, big brown eyes narrowed at the betrayal.
“Etho! You- you got leaves all in my hair-” Before he could finish his complaints, Etho was pouncing down, pushing Bdubs all the way back into the pile of leaves as he landed on top of the shorter.
Etho’s forearms were bracing the sides of Bdubs’ head, leaving their faces inches apart as their legs tangled up behind them.
Bdubs was scowling, but Etho looked like the cat who got the cream.
“Whoops.” Etho breathed as his eyes searched every inch of Bdubs’ face. Not for anything in particular, though. Just to look at it. “I slipped.”
Bdubs huffed out an incredulous laugh, bringing on of his hands up to cup the side of his boyfriend’s face. “You slipped, huh? Cause from my perspective, it looked like you pushed me. And enjoyed it.”
Etho snickered. “Guess you saw it all wrong. That’s okay, I can be right enough for the both of us.”
Barking out a laugh, Bdubs hooked his finger over the top of Etho’s mask. “Some audacity you have, tellin’ me I’m wrong. I should leave right now.”
He wasn’t going to, though, and they both knew that. Instead, Bdubs began to drag Etho’s mask down tantalizingly slow, pretending not to notice the way Etho was eyeing his lips.
“I’ve got work to do. No time to roll around in piles of leaves.” He continued as he finished pulling Etho’s mask all the way down.
Behind it, just as Bdubs suspected, was a bright and cheesy smile, the kind only Bdubs ever got to see.
“Actually, I think Scar messages me earlier.” Bdubs began to say, absolutely lying purely to fish a reaction out of his boyfriend.
“Bdubs.”
“Something about helping build one of his zoo enclosures. I should probably go check in on that, y’know?”
“Bdubs.” Etho was getting desperate now, and Bdubs had to fight down the smirk as he tangled a hand in the back of Etho's hair.
“Need something, sweetheart?” Bdubs purred.
This was the game. Etho had pushed, and Bdubs hadn’t given in, and now Etho was getting impatient. It was the exact same every time. Etho would always give in first.
Etho was silent for a moment.
“You talk too much.” He eventually settled on, before surging forward and locking his lips with Bdubs’.
Kissing Etho was always a shock to Bdubs’ heart. It didn’t matter that his lips were always chapped or that sometimes he wouldn't close his eyes while they kissed, because Etho kissed with his whole heart.
He kissed Bdubs with more love and passion than he’d ever felt before. It was exhilarating, it was passionate, it was- it was-
It was perfect. Everything about Etho, Bdubs had found very early on into their friendship, was perfect.
Eventually, they split for air, soft pants between them as they caught their breaths. Etho collapsed sideways, his forearms sore from the position he’d been in.
Bdubs was still seeing stars. He looked at Etho, who looked just as satisfied as Bdubs felt.
“Did we.. really have to do that in.. a pile of leaves?” Bdubs asked between pants. He wasn’t upset, not really. Not when kissing Etho was the outcome.
Etho plucked a leaf out of Bdubs’ hair, crunching it in his palm. He was still smiling.
“I’d kiss you anywhere.” Etho said, sounding so genuine it made Bdubs’ heart clench.
He huffed, throwing a hand over his face to hide the fast growing smile on his face. “Alright, alright. Maybe pick a bed next time, would you?”
Etho chuckled, leaning over to plant another kiss on Bdubs’ nose.
“Sure, Bdubs. Anything for you.”
If Bdubs was the sun, then Etho was his moon. Etho would only wake up early for Bdubs, and Bdubs would only ever stay up late for Etho.
It was one of the small ways they showed their love.
“..I hate you. You’re mocking me.”
“Love you too, ‘dubs.”