My story... There is a short intro but I hope that's ok!!
Hey! I am Fran aka allhailgrilledcheesus! I am your secret Santa and I am so sorry that I can’t draw but I’ll give writing a go!! This is a zoethian fic that takes place in Cabertown.
It’s only 593 words but I can only write short stuff... sorry!
Enjoy uwu
*
Rythian woke up to the sound of a loud crash. Immediately the shirtless endermage reached for the katana that was kept by his side of the bed with his right hand and then reached out with his left to feel for Zoey.
He felt nothing.
In a panic, he stood up on the bed to see if the loud crash was Zoey falling off the camping bed because of the nightmares she’d been having recently. No luck there.
In a hurry to get out of the tent, Rythian trips over his sleeping bag and falls onto the floor, Adrenal glands provided enough to keep him going. Still flustered but standing up, Rythian looks around the camp only to find it empty. The sun already high in the sky and already nearing midday: Rythian had to squint to keep his eyes from burning.
Now in a panic, he had to think quickly. The next logical place to go would be Cabertown, so that’s where Rythian went.
There was no time to waste. Zoey may be in danger and Teep was in no place to be seen. Rythian ran as fast as humanly possible and totally disregarded the lily pad stepping stones and diving straight into the river to swim across. His limbs protesting profusely due to just waking up but he didn’t care, the two people in the world that actually cared about him were in anger.
When he arrived on the opposite bank, Rythian pulled himself up and looked around quickly. Still no sign of the pair. Rythian started to panic now. This is a stupid feeling that he’d only ever felt one time before and he didn’t want to relive that.
Rythian sprinted as fast as he could towards the centre of town. When he arrived, he put his mask-less face in his hands and sighed at his own stupidity.
“ZOEY! ZOEY!” Rythian called out from the top of his lungs.
Suddenly, a huge Christmas tree appeared in the middle of town, dwarfing the statue of Ravs. A red whirlwind was whipping round the tree at lightning speed and finally came to rest at the base of the tree. Rythian jogged over only to be tackled to the ground by an over excited Zoey.
“RYTHIAN! OH MY GOSH YOU’RE FINALLY AWAKE! DID YOU KNOW THAT IT’S CHRISTMAS TODAY! IT’S AMAZING1 I USED YOUR CLOAK OF INVISTIBILTY AND OADS OF OTHERS THAT I MADE TO MAKE THE CHRISTMAS TREE INVISIBLE SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T SEE IT. THE LOAD CRASH WAS TEEP COOKING AND NEARLY BLOWING UP THE VILLAGE BUT, YOU KNOW, IT’S ALL OK NOW!”
Zoey took in another deep breath as if to start again but Rythian cut her off laughing. He laughed the harder than he had done in years. He laughed because of relief and the fact that his friends, no, his family were safe.
“Zoey,” Rythian had finally managed to catch his breath, “It’s... It’s July!”
Zoey’s face suddenly looked crestfallen. Rythian laughed again and pushed her off his torso so that he could stand up. Zoey stayed slumped on the floor, tears starting to form in her eyes.
Rythian knelt back down, lifted Zoey’s chin and looked into her now dewy eyes.
“I said it was July, not that we couldn’t celebrate Christmas!”
A smile spread across her lips and the tears started to ease their flow.
Offering Zoey a hand to help her up, Rythian said, “Come on, let’s go and see what Teep is doing and try to prevent him from burning down the whole town.”
Everyone knew that Rythian wasn't a particularly big fan of Christmas, but they didn't know why. Most people figured that he disregarded the idea of Christmas itself as ridiculous since, in reality, the holiday was just circulated around the convoluted myth involving an old fat man in a red and white suit sneaking into houses and setting down gifts when the inhabitants were asleep. Some people opted for the idea that Rythian was simply bitter about how cold the Winter weather was during the holidays. While both of these were true, because he found "Santa Claus" creepy, and he hated having to bundle up ove and over again, they were only small factors in why he hated the holiday of Christmas. As hard as they tried to figure it out, no one knew why Rythian hated the beloved holiday so much.
Well, no one but Sjin.
Despite the two of them not being very close or on good terms since the last year of middle school, Sjin and Rythian had known each other for years - eight and a half, to be exact - so Sjin knew things that most people had no clue of. For example, he knew how much of a clean freak Rythian was, especially with the multitude of bookshelves set around his apartment. He knew that Rythian covered the lower part of his face in order to hide the hereditary scarring around his mouth. So, it wasn't much of a surprise that he knew the real reason why his friend was such a grinch.
Rythian was lonely, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Since he was so quiet and intimidating, most girls kept their distance from him - actually, most people kept their distance. Sjin was sure that, sometime in his lifetime, Rythian had developed some feelings for a few girls here and there, but he was always really distant from society. He didn't speak to many people, and the only person he was relatively close to that attended the same high school as him was Sjin - so, when Sjin started dating Sips, a guy that was in his Engineering class, Rythian was the most distant he had ever been.
"Is he alright?"
Sjin looked up from his Physics textbook just as Sips sat beside him with his lunch, the latter leaning over to peck his lover's cheek. The brunette's eyes flickered to Rythian, who was sitting a little ways away, alone, as always. Sjin sighed, shaking his head and leaning against Sips just slightly.
"I don't really know," the younger mumbled, adjusting the orange scarf wrapped around his neck. Sips turned his head to look down at the boy leaning against him, an eybrow raised. "He's always been like this around the holiday season. I'm worried..."
"Why is he always so bitter around Christmas?" Sips inquired, his eyebrows furrowing to a point above the bridge of his nose. "I mean, the son of a bitch is usually super quiet regardless of the situation, but he's worse in the middle of December."
"He's just a little lonely, that's all, Sips," Sjin responded, looking at his boyfriend and smiling just a bit. "He's a Junior in high school and he's never been in a relationship, so that's about six years without a partner. It must be hard for him around Christmas, especially with all the couples surrounding him." It was quiet for a few moments as Sips finished eating his lunch, sharing some with Sjin before the elder spoke.
"Maybe set him up with someone?" Sjin blinked, staring up at the raven with a confused expression. He opened his mouth to say something, but the other beat him to it. "Hold on, hear me out here, Sjin. I'm positive that he likes someone in school, so setting him up with that person could stop him from bringing down the mood during the holidays, and make him happy."
"I suppose you're right..." the brunette sighed to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. Sips grinned, throwing an arm around Sjin's shoulders.
"Of course I am, you son of a bitch!" He exclaimed, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's lips briefly. "Alright, is there anyone that Rythian might have some feelings for?"
There was. In all the classes Sjin had with Rythian, there was a redheaded girl in each of them, and, on more than one occasion, he had caught his friend staring at her when he thought no one was looking. He was sure they've spoken fleetingly from time to time after class. Sjin, after contemplating his answer, nodded his head slowly.
"Yeah, he...stares at this girl in the classes I have with him. I just... I can't remember her name, though..." Sjin bit his lower lip, brows furrowed and his arms crossing over his chest. His eyes flicked upwards, scanning the cafeteria quickly before he sat up abruptly and grinned, motioning to a tuft of red hair sitting a few tables away from them. "There! That's the girl." Sips turned, craning his neck in order to spot the girl that his boyfriend was bringing his attention to and, after a moment, his eyebrows raised and he looked back at the brunette.
"Zoeya?"
"Yeah, that was her name! Zoeya!" Sjin clapped his hands together in excitement, a giddy smile spreading across his lips. He tilted his head to the side, a curious gleam in his eyes. "How do you know her name, Sips?"
"We've gone to the same school since middle school. I have a few classes with her, and she was my partner for the Physics project last semester," the raven explained, chuckling at how Sjin's lips formed a small 'o' and he nodded in understanding. "She can tend to be a little ditzy, but she's actually really smart. The project was the only reason I didn't bomb Physics completely. We can invite her and Rythian over to my house to spend Christmas with us."
"Alright, it's a date!" Sjin giggled as Sips rolled his eyes playfully, the latter leaning in and nuzzling their noses together.
"It's a date."
♡
After Sips had gone up to Zoeya in order to convince her to come over ("Well, sure! I'd love to come over! It's the holidays, and I would've been sitting at home alone anyhow!"), it was Sjin's turn to talk to Rythian. Considering how the older brunette felt about Christmas, getting him to actually attend an impromptu Christmas party would prove very, very difficult.
"Heyyy, Rythian," Sjin drawled during sixth period Physics, grinning at his friend, who looked up and rose a single brow at the younger's expression. "Since I know better than anyone that you'll be sitting at home during Christmas, how about coming with Sips and I to his house to watch movies until Christmas day?"
"No." Sjin's grin fell immediately at Rythian's monotone answer, the boy sitting across from him staring with a blank look. He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Sjin, I'm not going to sit there while you and Sips get all lovey-dovey in front of a fireplace. I'd rather spend Christmas alone rather than third wheeling with you two."
"It's not just gonna be the three of us, Rythian!" Sjin whined, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned closer to the elder, who had returned to working on the assignment they were given. "One of Sips' friends is coming along!"
"And what makes you think that that is going to convince me to go?" Rythian inquired boredly, his pen scribbling an answer into his notebook. "Me being a third wheel is at about the same level of awkward as me being stuck with someone I don't even know while one of my friends is making out with his boyfriend. Yeah, I'll pass on your little Christmas party, Sjin."
"B-But..." Sjin faltered, his brows furrowing. What else could he say in order to get Rythian to come? If he didn't come with him, then Zoeya would sit there awkwardly with them and his matchmaking plan would fail horribly. "Rythian, come on... You've spent Christmas alone since Nilesy and Ravs transferred, I just don't want you to be alone this year." A little glimmer of hope shined in Sjin's brown eyes when he noticed Rythian's attention back on him rather than his textbook. "Besides, maybe you and Sips' friend can bond and form some kind of friendship. I know how lonely you are, and I know that's why you hate Christmas so much. I just want you to be happy."
Rythian paused, staring at the younger brunette silently until the bell rang. Sjin watched as he tucked his notebook into his bag and stood up. It seemed as though he wouldn't be going, before he stopped right beside Sjin and sighed. "Just text me Sips' address..."
Sjin beamed, watching his friend leave the classroom completely before he did a little celebratory dance. He pulled his phone out to text Rythian where Sips' own house was located before pressing a button in order to call his boyfriend himself. The tone rang twice before he picked up, and Sjin couldn't hide how excited he was when he stepped out of the class as well.
"Sips! Plan Zoethian is a go!"
♡
Rythian had arrived much earlier than Sips expected - he and Sjin had just finished assembling the Christmas tree, and they were opening up a bin full of ornaments when the doorbell rang, signaling Rythian's arrival. As much as he really didn't want to partake in the normal celebrations for the holidays, Rythian still had to be polite, so he assisted in helping the duo put up ornaments near the very top of the tree, an area which they couldn't exactly reach ("Why on Earth did you two get such a tall tree if you couldn't reach some areas?" "It's my mom's!"). He had to admit, despite not really seeing the point of decorating, Sips' small house looked very... festive. There were lights hung around the outside, red and green and silver, and the tree itself was adorned with silver garland and a multitude of gold and red ornamanents, each shaped a different way. The lights were dimmed to a point where it was actually rather pleasant and homey, the home surrouded by the aroma of peppermint, cinnamon and vanilla. The couple had worn obnoxious Santa hats on their heads, though they were customized for the two as Sjin's was orange and Sips' was blue - they even made Rythian wear his own, which was purple and fit snugly on his head. The brunette couldn't help but let his eyes wander to the ordinary red Santa hat that was placed on the coffee table in front of the couch - he assumed that it was to be worn by the "friend" Sjin had told him about, but he wondered briefly why it wasn't customized like the other ones. He shrugged, nodding his head in appreciation as Sips handed him a piping hot mug that smelled faintly of cinnamon and chocolate, though he set it down in order to open the door when the doorbell chimed through the halls. His hand grasped the doorknob, and he opened the door only to freeze up at the sight.
Zoeya.
The redheaded girl who he fancied far too much than he should have, the girl who could go on and on about mushrooms and formulas in class. She stood there with a fuzzy red sweater, decorated with white snowflakes and a goofy grin that stretched from ear to ear, and it seemed as though that grin grew when she noticed that Rythian was the one who stood in the doorway.
"Zoeya!" Sjin chirped from behind his currently frozen friend, waving at the girl outside. "Come on in! You must be freezing!" Zoeya nodded her head, and Rythian stiffly moved out of the way so she could walk in farther. Before Sjin could walk off cheerfully, Rythian shut the door and pulled him back by the arm.
"What the hell is Zoeya doing here, Sjin?" He hissed, gritting his teeth and cheeks flushed in both anger and at the presence of the girl he liked.
"Is she such a bad person that you don't want her here during Christmas?" Sjin inquired, eyes shining and indicating that he had gotten Rythian right where he wanted him. "Or was I right and you actually like her~?" Rythian blushed further, eyes widening before he scoffed and he walked away. Sjin grinned, eyes flickering over to Sips and giving him a nod from across the room in order to tell him that their suspicions were correct before he walked back into the living room.
"Well, now that everyone's all here, how about we watch a Christmas movie?" Sips suggested, his voice laced with an awkward tone due to the increased tension in the air. Zoeya, who had just put her own Santa hat onto her head, looked up and nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! Like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Charlie Brown Christmas!" She agreed, and Sips looked towards Sjin with a smile.
"How about the Grinch? I think it's a pretty...fitting movie." Sjin hummed, simply averting his gaze when Rythian sent a death glare towards him. Sips chuckled, nodding his head and heading towards the DVD case by the stairs, pulling out the movie and walking towards the T.V. After they had turned the lights off completely, Sips plopped down beside Sjin, wrapping his arms around the brunette and nuzzling him underneath the warm blanket they had. Usually, Sips would've pulled his boyfriend much closer to him, but they needed to squish Rythian and Zoeya together as much as possible.
"Ah!" Rythian yelped as he was nudged to the left by Sjin's elbow 'accidentally', pushing him to lean against Zoeya's frame just briefly. He froze, sitting up straight and laughing nervously. "S-Sorry..."
"It's fine!" Zoeya beamed, taking a moment sip from her cinnamon hot chocolate. Rythian looked over to Sjin, who smirked and nudged him again, though the former held his ground this time around.
This would be a long night.
♡
"Whew, midnight already?" Zoeya yawned, tucking her phone away into her pocket and grinning at the three boys she sat with. "Merry Christmas, guys!"
"Merry Christmas!" Sips and Sjin chirped back, the duo cuddling up under their blanket. Rythian swallowed thickly, going shifty-eyed and murmuring the greeting back to her under his breath. Zoeya moved to retrieve the three presents she had brought along with her, handing each to their respective recipient.
"W-Whoa! The three latest issues of eVolo and a mahogany door panel catalog? Thanks so much, Zoeya!" Sjin babbled, eyes shining brightly as he beamed at the redhead. Sips gave a small humming noise due to being so enthralled in his own gifts; a handmade scarf with the Sipsco logo and a cute drawing of him and Sjin in blue and orange space suits respectively.
Rythian on the other hand was simply staring at his own present, eyes wide and cheeks flushing a scarlet red that contrasted with his tanned skin. In his hands was a black and purple sweater that was littered with the same snowflakes as Zoeya's, and his eyes flickered upwards to meet the redhead's own. She had made him a gift, and they hadn't even had a true, casual conversation that lasted more than five minutes. He cleared his throat, taking a moment to slide the sweater over his head, sending a smile to the girl in front of him.
"Thank you, Zoeya. It's very comfortable..." Rythian mumbled shyly, fighting back the blush he knew was continuing to spread across his cheeks. Zoeya nodded her head, grinning at him.
"We match!" Sjin and Sips exchanged knowing glances, smiles on their lips before the latter stood to get his and Sjin's presents to everyone else. Zoeya's face lit up as she opened up the multitude of art supplies the couple had given her, a squeal of a thank you escaping her lips. Rythian had rolled his eyes but said a quick thanks since they did give him an authentic leather journal and a fountain pen with royal purple ink. Sjin couldn't stop giggling at the flower crown Sips had given him and at the mahogany panels Rythian had given him, while Sips grinned at the two gifts he received; a necklace with a blue "S" from Rythian and his own flower crown from Sjin.
"Ah..." Rythian bit his lower lip, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he turned to Zoeya. He didn't know who it was that was coming, and he had no idea what to get her if he did bring a present for her, so he bowed his head in apology. "S-Sorry, Zoeya. I didn't know you were coming tonight, so I couldn't exactly...get you a present..."
"Oh, you definitely have a present for her, Rythian~" Said brunette turned, brows furrowed in confusion as he looked to Sjin. The younger simply smiled and pointed upwards, to which Rythian's attention followed and his face turned scarlet.
A mistletoe.
Rythian opened his mouth, then closed, and then repeated the motion a few times, spluttering and his eyes wide as he turned back to Zoeya. He swallowed thickly, about to apologize for their host's plan, but he was cut off by the redheaded girl flinging herself to him and crashing their lips together.
The distant sound of explosions echoed faintly against the makeshift wooden barrier. Pressed against it there were two figures barely visible in the dark hole, however their heavy breathing suggested exhaustion. After what seemed like ages a torch was lit and the figures in the crudely dug hole were visible. The one holding the torch was a tall lanky man with neatly trimmed facial hair and fancy clothes, the other was much shorter with a long ginger beard in well worn boots and trousers; he was most certainly a dwarf. The two looked at one another and the man holding the torch sighed, sticking the end of it in the wall near him.
“We can’t stay here for long, friend.” he said giving the dwarf a sad look, “The air won’t last long, especially with the torch lit.”
“Bah, we will be fine Xephos,” the dwarf said giving Xephos a pat on the shoulder, “I didn’t plan on staying down here long anyways. There’s a battle to fight.”
Xephos nodded and grasped the hilt of his sword, he looked even more worried, “Do you remember Honeydew, the day we first met?”
“Aye, you were a bumbling fool who couldn’t tell a creeper from a sheep.” Honeydew nudged his friend and Xephos cracked a small smile.
“Hah, yeah. But do you remember, how simple it was back then? There was no sand war, no great battles, no people to save, no fate of the world at stake. It was just you and me, trying to survive.”
“There was always the sand war, friend,” Honeydew poked Xephos on his head, “and I’m pretty sure you did a bit of world saving before you lost your memories, space man.”
Xephos smiled again and placed a hand inside his coat pocket pulling out the arrow shaped badge he once wore. He turned it around in his hand for a bit before placing it back inside his coat and turning towards the dwarf.
“That may be true, but I miss it. The simpleness of it all. Building a small fortress and hunting for pork. Hell I even miss building staircases!” Xephos laughed and Honeydew joined in.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your staircases are shit.” Honeydew chuckled. Once the laughter had died down, there was another muffled explosion and dirt crumbled onto their heads. “I miss it too.” He said, brushing the dirt from his helmet, “But hey, when this is all over we should go off and find someplace new. Someplace far away and you can build your fortress. Hell, make a building with just staircases! But me, I want to make a jaffa factory.”
“A jaffa factory?” Xephos replied, baffled. “Why in the world would you want to do that?”
“So I can have all the bloody cakes I want!” Honeydew said in an angry voice, “Oh, and to provide delicious jaffas to the world of course.”
Xephos laughed again and Honeydew’s cheeks burned red, “Why the hell is that so funny?!” he huffed, jabbing Xephos in the arm.
“I--I’m just picturing you in a little apron with chocolate on the tip of your nose and just-” Xephos burst into another fit of laughter.
Honeydew sat for a moment with his arms crossed as his friend laughed at his dream, but soon enough, he too began to laugh. The thought of himself in a frilly apron covered in flour and chocolate was very funny considering he was normally at home in a hole rather than a kitchen.
After the laughter once again died down the thumps and booms of explosions were once again audible. “Let’s do it.” Xephos said, a determined look on his face.
“What?” Honeydew looked confused.
“Let’s make a factory, just the two of us.” he said “Let’s win this damned war and kill that vile creature. Let’s save Daisy and the world so afterwards we can run away, and make cakes to get fat on.”
Honeydew looked surprised, he stared at the space man that had become his best friend and slowly, he grinned ear to ear, “You mean it?”
“Yeah. Fuck being heroes and lets make some damned cakes.” Xephos held his hand out to his friend, “But we have to promise not to die, can you promise me that?”
Honeydew stopped smiling and looked down at his friend’s outstretched hand, “You want me to fight hordes of Zombies, Creepers, Skeletons and Notch knows what else and have me promise not to die, just so we can make cakes?” He looked Xephos dead in the eye and grabbed his forearm, “Hell yes, I promise.”
“Good, now lets get this over with, I have ideas for how I want this place to look.” Xephos said drawing his diamond sword.
“Hey now,” said Honeydew, drawing his diamond axe, “I am the one in charge here, all documents have to be approved by me.”
They grinned one last time before they broke down the oak planks in front of them and returned to the battle raging above.
FIN
Merry Christmas ytoti and I hope you enjoyed my fic. It wasn’t fan art but it was the best I could do.
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