Chapter 30

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The sun was setting by the time Steve finally snuck out of Notch's castle without being followed. They had finished a hearty dinner about ten minutes ago and Steve was beginning to feel overwhelmed with how protective everyone was of him, as if he would shatter at one wrong move. Granted, Notch didn't act with quite the same amount of precaution but it was still too much for the human right now.

It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate that they cared, quite the opposite in fact, but Steve couldn't help but feel like a smothered child. He could do things himself. He didn't need someone hovering around him all the time. Just because he had gotten badly hurt didn't mean all those years of fighting monsters and hunting for food had just disappeared. He still knew how to defend himself. He wasn't helpless.

Steve just needed to be alone for a while to think, so he had headed for the cliffs beside Notch's castle. When he sat on the lush, green grass, the human found himself tracing the blades with a hand. It was soft.

Steve gazed absentmindedly over the edge of the cliff. The vast ocean swayed all the way past the horizon, reflecting the wondrous colours created from the setting sun. The drop of the cliff was terribly steep, enough to kill someone by just having them hit the freezing waters below. Their body would then just drift away with the current, or sink to the ocean floor.

The human felt a rising feeling that something was...off..? Or just strange? It was like...he was being watched? Steve mentally begged that it wasn't another person who wanted him dead (then again, he might be able to see a certain god again if that was to happen).

Trying to keep subtle as to not alert the person that may or may not be watching him, Steve pretended to stretch his back one way, catching a glimpse of the forest behind him. Nothing. When a satisfying pop reached Steve's ears, he stretched his back the other way.

Herobrine! Steve felt his heart jump in his chest. It was Herobrine! The human fought his urge to run up to the god and continued to pretend that he hadn't see him. Herobrine was right there! The god was hiding amongst the trees, but Steve would know that pair of glowing eyes from anywhere now.

How could he get Herobrine to talk to him again? Steve felt himself long to be in the god's arms, or even listen to him play that piano. Anything. Just as long as he was able to be with Herobrine once more. And maybe he shouldn't want that - taking into account everything that the god had put him though - but Steve didn't care. He knew Herobrine wasn't just cruel and heartless. Herobrine was kind. Herobrine was lonely. Steve wanted nothing more than to help him.

The past month flickered to the focus of Steve's thoughts. Waking up after...that; not seeing Herobrine for the longest time; spotting the god from the balcony and running towards him, finding nothing once he got there; his nightmares being changed into dreams; being attacked by that woman and Herobrine saving him...

Wait a minute.

Herobrine would always show up to save Steve, no matter if the danger was reality or not. Maybe, just maybe, if Steve could purposely put himself in some kind of danger, he could see Herobrine! Sure, the god would likely teleport away, but if Steve did it enough times then he might be able to wear him down. It was worth a shot.

So the human scanned the area for any possible dangers but the only one which really stood out was the cliff right in front of him. Perfect. Steve got to his feet, making it look to Herobrine as if he was about to leave and return to the castle. In truth, Steve was standing too close to the edge, back facing the deep fall behind him.

The human made no move towards the castle, staying right where he was. if he just glanced a little to the right, he could see Herobrine. So, he raised his arms outwards and took a deep breath. Despite knowing for certain that Herobrine was going to catch him, his instincts screamed at him not to do it. But he had to.

The mortal purposely made eye contact with the immortal for a split second - catching him off-guard and causing him to stumble backwards slightly - before falling backwards off the cliff. In that one moment, everything was quiet, except for the constant thudding within Steve's ears.

Falling...

Falling...

Falling...

Warm arms surrounded Steve tightly (their sudden presence slightly shocking), holding him from underneath. Steve momentarily thought back to when Herobrine had carried him around he castle. Herobrine had caught him, just as the human knew he would. A wave of nausea hit Steve and he opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) to find that they were both by the edge of the cliff.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" A familiar voice yelled as Herobrine carefully lowered the very breakable human and letting go of him. Herobrine knew he should just teleport away, but what Steve had done was stupid and the human had to know that it wasn't okay to...scare him like that!

Steve couldn't help but allow a tiny smile to creep onto his face. His heart was racing within his chest, falling from the cliff not being the only reason as to why. There stood the god who had stolen his heart.

"Why in the world would you just- I can't believe you!" The eyebrows above Herobrine's eyes - which glowed with a brilliant light - were furrowed and every single muscle in the god's body seemed to have tensed up.

"I-" Steve tried to begin, but was swiftly interrupted.

"No! Don't you dare try to justify this! What would have happened if I wasn't here?! Huh, Steve?!" Herobrine, who was caught up in his anger and fear swirling together, grabbed Steve by both of the human's arms and pulled him ever so slightly closer.

Steve almost choked when that happened, unsure if it was from shock or relief.

"You could have-" The god couldn't say the word. He couldn't say what he had done to Steve just a month ago. "I could have lost you again! What the hell made you think that falling off of a damn cliff was a good idea?!"

"I-I wanted to-" The human tried again, voice still shaky from having nearly fell to his death, only to get interrupted once more. They were so close; close enough for Steve to be able to feel the thud of Herobrine's heart. Steve found himself not able to focus on Herobrine's words, just the fact that the god was talking and the rumble in his voice was...amazing.

"Don't you ever do that again! I can't believe you right now!" Herobrine continued to rant, emotions dancing about far too much to stop.

He should just teleport away. He was dangerous. He could hurt Steve. He didn't want to do that. Again. But he just couldn't stop yelling. He had been so scared when Steve had toppled over that cliff. Too scared.

"That was so dangerous! What if you had-!"

Steve couldn't control himself anymore and yanked the god down so he could cut him off with the deepest kiss he could manage, wanting to be ever closer to Herobrine (their noses ended up slightly squished together in the mortal's desperation). Despite having dragged him down, Steve still had to stand on his tiptoes and tilt his head upwards. The human gripped onto Herobrine's shirt tightly, afraid (for good reason) that he might just disappear. Herobrine froze the moment their lips touched.

Steve put as much as he could into that kiss. He had missed Herobrine so much. He had longed to be with Herobrine for so long. Steve pressing into the kiss even further, needing Herobrine to know how much he loves him in hopes that the god would stay.

Even though it was rushed and desperate, the kiss was perfect. Not because they fit together like two puzzle pieces, because they didn't (Herobrine was really tall in comparison to Steve and ). The kiss was perfect because they were finally together, after forever apart.

Herobrine could feel his heart pound at a pace which was too rapid. He had to get out of there. He would hurt Steve. Hot tears slipped from his white eyes, finally releasing after all the emotion. Steve continued to kiss him. Why wouldn't Steve just run? Why did his (No, not his, he's too dangerous) mortal insist on being so...stubborn?!

Steve continued to kiss Herobrine.

And Herobrine couldn't stop himself from kissing back.

Cruel but Gentle - Herobrine X SteveWhere stories live. Discover now