Hermitcraft Ships

Clueless Kerdubs

Keralis and Bdubs has always gotten on well. They had joined the server around the same time, and hadn't left each other's sides since. Some hermits drew attention to it with a smirk and a nudge, but Bdubs happily quelled their thoughts, glad to proclaim that he and Keralis were the best friends ever, and nothing could ever pull them apart.

Except when he passed by Keralis and Xisuma talking in Idea the other day. Xisuma had grinned suspiciously, but Keralis refused to meet his eyes. Bdubs had been busy stocking Idea that day, so he greeted them happily and continued on his way, but the exchange had been swirling around his mind for the last couple days. Keralis seemed really nervous to see him, which was super weird, so he could only assume they were talking about him when he walked in. Was it good or bad though? Xisuma had smiled, but Keralis' reaction worried him. There was no way he could get answers without asking the other two,  and he certainly wasn't doing that, so he shoved it down and moved on.

A week later, Bdubs had forgotten all about the incident, spending his days happily building displays in Idea and working on his castle. He and Keralis spent their evenings together as usual, and he hung out with Xisuma when they went shopping together on the weekend. Everything was going exactly how it normally did. That is, until Keralis started acting weird again.

They were sat down for dinner at Bdubs' house, ladling themselves bowls of steaming potato soup. The temperature had been starting to drop recently with the onset of winter, so they sat on the same side of the bench, rubbing shoulders as they chattered away. Slowly the room fell quiet as they began to slurp up their soup, and Bdubs happily thought about things that had happened during the day that he wanted to tell Keralis about. He finished his soup quickly, dropping his spoon into his wooden bowl with a clatter as he excitedly turned to Keralis, ready to pick up their conversation where they left off, but quickly he realized something was wrong. Keralis had silently scooted over a smidge on the bench, just enough that they weren't touching anymore. He also noticed that Keralis had stopped eating, stirring the now-cold stew with furrowed brows.

"Hey Ker, wassup with the frown?" He kept his tone light with a slight smile. They'd had serious talks before, and they both agreed that it's easier to talk about hard things if they treat them like everyday topics, rather than avoid them altogether.

"Nothing, don't worry your pretty face," Keralis mumbled, his expression not changing.

Now Bdubs was worried, and he dropped the smile. "You know we can always talk, what's wrong?"

Keralis dropped his spoon, shooting Bdubs a side long glance. "Bubbles, why can't things just be the same?"

"But it was the same! At least, until you got all mopey."

Keralis shook his head slowly. "No Bubbles. I talked to Shishwamy and figured it out, but I don't want to lose you." He bit his lip, his eyes shimmering with large tears.

"Lose me? I promise I'm not going anywhere!" Bdubs wrapped Keralis in a tight hug, but Keralis pulled away. Bdubs was worried to say the least; Keralis would never pull away from a hug.

"No, it's different. I love you Bubbles, and I don't want to mess us up."

"Whatever it is, I promise we'll get through it. We're best friends after all!"

The color drained from Keralis' face. "That's what I'm worried about. Bubbles, I think I like you more than you like me."

This made Bdubs freeze. Did Keralis really think that Bdubs didn't care about him? But what about all the days that Bdubs made cider to keep them warm in the fall? Or the times he lent his coat to Keralis while he was building in the snow? Or the times they held hands, just cause they felt like it. Or all the evenings they spent cuddled up next to each other, talking long past midnight? Did Keralis think Bdubs really didn't like him?

"Keralis, I..."

"It's okay Bubbles, it's Shishwamy's fault for making me realize. I..." Keralis' face flushed, and he glanced away. "Woof, this is hard. Bubbles, I like you a lot. Like, a lot lot." He refused to make eye contact now, fiddling with his fingers in his lap.

Bdubs felt heat rising to his own cheeks, and realized something rather profound. All that time that they spent together, Bdubs thought they were just pals hanging out, holding hands and building a home together. Bdubs realized though, he never did that with other people; only Keralis. Keralis was the person that meant the entire world to Bdubs. "Keralis, there's no one I'd rather spend time with than you. Sometimes, when we're hanging out like this, I think about kissing your perfect lips, and I don't do that with anyone else. Keralis, I think that means I'm in love with you."

After a long pause, Keralis finally met Bdubs' eyes with a shaky smile. "You're better at talking than I am."

"Well, I do tend to talk a lot, sorry 'bout that," Bdubs chuckled.

"So what now? Do we do a lil smoochy smoochy?" Keralis giggled, easing the tension in the air.

"Yeah, I guess so, huh?"

They kissed quickly, both giggling quietly. They spent the rest of the evening snuggled up in each other's arms, pecking each other's cheeks whenever they thought about how happy they were. And they were really happy.

Love you, my little stars!
-RaeTheStar