Like Ships Need the Sea
Twin AU where the boys fall together and get to be happy
When Jordan and Jonah left home that day when they were young they never thought it might be 10 years before they saw their Mother again. They never thought they would end up back to back fighting for their lives against a God gone mad with power who was actually their uncle. They didn’t expect to lose their memories of everything except each other to the void as they fell. Nor did they think those memories would begin to become concrete as they passed through the portal into the End and back to the home they had left behind long ago. But yet here they were, stood side by side in Ianarea while hazy fragments of memories slotted themselves back together and fireballs flew all around them. The others were yelling at each other and at Dianite, taunting and screaming in fear in equal measure.
“I’ve seen this place before.” Jonah realized, memories of watching the dome above be constructed fluttering through his mind. Even as it crumbled around him now, he remembered watching the last stone lower into place and being in awe of how it held its shape.
“Why do I remember Dianite smiling?” Jordan thought, looking at the God who’d caused such chaos, drawing an arrow back but hesitating to fire. This was Dianite, the bad guy. Why was he faltering?
The God was moving too fast to catch, flying too high to reach. “I wish I had an elytra.” Both brothers said simultaneously without a thought. They looked at one another, eyes widening as another major puzzle piece clicked into place.
~
Jonah was falling, looking up at the sky. The broken wing of his elytra making the air around him whistle and whip. He could see Jordan’s horrified face, desperation and terror in his eyes. Jordan was reaching for him and Jonah was reaching back despite the growing distance. And then, suddenly Jordan’s expression hardened to determination and he was diving, faster, faster, closer, closer. They collided and everything went dark.
Jordan was flying, further and further away. He couldn’t stop his momentum. The wind made his eyes water and sting but he could not look away. Jonah was reaching, fingers outstretched towards him, panicked and afraid. Jordan was reaching back as if he might somehow be able to grasp his brother's hand. The idea struck in an instant and before he could even take a breath to consider the consequences, he was reangling his wings and diving. Faster, faster, closer, closer, arms outstretched to grab onto him but it was too fast, too steep, too strong. The world went dark and there was nothing.
~
Jonah opened his eyes first. There was soft sand beneath his cheek and the gentle brush of water on his feet. It was bright, so much brighter than anything he’d ever experienced. So bright it made his eyes hurt and his skin warm. But there was something else, another shape beside him Jordan! He realized but that was as far as his mind went. He knew the boy’s name and knew he cared deeply for him and wanted to protect him.
Jordan stirred, his eyes fluttering open. Both were a deep crystal blue. Wrong. Something in Jonah’s head said. They’re wrong. But he didn’t know what was right. His head hurt, a deep throb building behind his eyes.
“Jonah?” Jordan asked, his voice scratchy and tired.
“Jordan.” He replied and for a moment they just looked at each other. Whatever had happened to get them to this point. At least they were alive and at least they were together.
~
“Jonah!” Jordan shouted in annoyance, glaring up through the new hole in their dirt ceiling. Jonah smirked down at him, chuckling as Jordan brushed the dirt from his hair. They’d been in this world for just a few days now and were slowly learning how to survive. They didn’t know where they were or how they’d gotten here or even who they were. The only thing they knew for certain is that they had each other.
“Jordan, pass me the glass that’s in the furnace, I’m trying to make a skylight.” Jordan had turned back to whatever project he was working on already, choosing to ignore Jonah it seemed. “Jooorrddannnn” Jonah whined, poking his head down through the hole. “Pleaseeee?” Jordan stuck his tongue out at his brother but made no move to help him otherwise. “Fine, I’ll get it myself.” Jonah started to lean further into the hole, if he could just reach the furnace he might be able to- ‘Thud!’
“Jonah!” Jordan yelled, all annoyance gone and replaced by fear. Jonah lay on the floor on his back, blinking blearily. “I’m alright, just, got the,” he took a deep breath “the wind knocked out of me.”
Jordan didn’t look convinced as he knelt next to Jonah, checking him over for injuries. Their roof wasn’t very tall but still falls of any kind made him nervous. More nervous than really anything else. He carefully poked and prodded Jonah, checking for anything that didn’t feel right.
Jonah rolled his eyes and pushed Jordan off “I’m fine Jordan really. Just needed a minute. You don’t need to worry so much.” He was supposed to be the one that worried, not Jordan. Jordan was supposed to be the troublemaker of the two of them and Jonah the one who was left to pick up the messes. “Really. I’m fine. Promise.” He smiled, sitting up. “Now hand me that glass and we’ll get this place looking good in no time.”
~
Time passed. The brothers grew and learned. The dirt hut became a wooden shack, a wooden home, a stone castle. Little by little they grew to understand this world and how to survive in it. They learned how to farm and keep animals and ride horses and fight monsters. They survived disasters and arguments and nightmares of a life forgotten. They found villages and learned to trade with the villagers, bartering their hard earned resources for rarities and even harder made items. It wasn’t an easy life. They often collapsed into their beds each night aching and exhausted but it was fulfilling.
The urge to explore began to pull at both of them, more and more time spent looking at the horizon wondering just what lay beyond. Wondering what filled the gap they shared in their minds. In their dreams, both brothers got glimpses of what they thought were memories; a palace of lavender stone, a vast empty void below a floating island, a smiling woman with two different colored eyes and flowing purple hair.
~
“Jordan.” Jonah finally said one morning. “I think I’m ready to go now. I want to see what else is out there.” They were sitting side by side, legs hanging off of the balcony as they looked out on the sea.
Jonah looked over at his brother, brown eyes meeting blue. “I agree.” Jordan said simply, mouth curving into a smile. “What do you think? Land or sea?”
~
They set sail two weeks later in a ship filled with food and essentials. They had no direction in mind, simply out beyond what they knew. They’d be leaving behind the only home they remembered and the life they’d spent so long building but really in the end it didn’t matter. They had each other and that was the only thing they truly needed.
“Ready Captain?” Jonah asked, looking back at Jordan with a smile.
“Aye aye Commander!” Jordan grinned, readjusting his grip on the rope that would lower the sails.
“Then onward into the unknown!” Jonah cheered and both brothers dropped the ropes, the sails unfurling with a satisfying ‘snap’.
They stood side by side, shoulders bumping as they watched the shore grow smaller and smaller. They had no way of knowing what lay ahead but together they could take on anything.
~
This time it’s Jordan who opens his eyes first. He sees Jonah’s prone form next to him, the soft rise and fall of his chest relaxing him instantly. He’s not sure what happened but he knows it doesn’t matter. Not if Jonah is by his side and they are both still breathing. Jordan looks up to see a shadow running down the hill, another blink and he realizes it’s a person, no, a zombie man?
The zombie slides to a stop in the sand as Jordan pushes himself up, physically putting himself between the zombie and Jonah.
“Hello good sir!” The zombie says, teeth bared in a wide grin.
Unsure of what else to say, Jordan replies “Uh, hi?”
The zombie’s grin grows impossibly bigger as he spreads his arm wide and with great enthusiasm announces “Welcome your faces to the world of Mianite!”












