Abolish Herobrine

Breakfast

Steve stood in the doorway of his kitchen and blinked with disbelief. His twin cast him a glance over his shoulder and hid a smirk at the human's astonished reaction before returning to his current task.

Steve, too hesitant to interrupt, sat down at the table and just watched the other's back. He had almost never seen Herobrine this close. At least not in full daylight. And the man looked... surprisingly ordinary? At least from his back.

Herobrine was still not well. Steve noticed that in his movements, the strained effort of slightly shaking muscle and the way he stood, favoring one side. Plus his missing arm. It was still missing.

Herobrine did not seem deterred by his injuries and continued to prepare the meal with efficiency of someone who had obviously done this before. It struck Steve as strange to think his powerful twin might have done such ordinary things as getting up from his bed and cooking himself breakfast. If anything, didn't his servant mobs cook it for him?

"Are you joking? Trusting them to cook?... Unnecessary. I have excellent skills in making a proper meal." Steve blinked, wondering once again if his twin could read minds. Or, did he blurt his last thought out loud?

A plate of perfectly seasoned steak slid over to him, cutting off his further embarrassed thoughts, as his twin limped to the other side of the table and sat down with a noticeable wince.

"You did." Herobrine confirmed with unexpected amiability and smirked at the expression that appeared in the miner's face.

The human searched his guest's face but Herobrine continues to smirk, hiding the discomfort he felt that anyone other than his voiceless dumb mobs should see him in such a setting. It was doubtlessly decimating the powerful, untouchable image that dwelled in Steve's mind and which Herobrine always took care to maintain out of caution for self-preservation. Given his past, that was the role he had to play, unless he wanted even more "heroes" and even locals seeking to challenge him everywhere he went.

This human had already seen him at his most defenseless and didn't take advantage of it. Steve was not like the other humans. Although still not certain, Herobrine felt fairly confident that Steve would not betray him unless he were given a reason. That meant that he could trust him a little and meant that he could drop playing a role. Though the last was proving strangely hard, probably because it had become a habit.

"... It's really good." Steve admired, agreeing with his twin's self-assessment. Herobrine really could cook and he did it well, maybe even better than Steve could. Herobrine smirked again, his usual superior expression briefly lighting his face, only to give way to weary contentment as he took another bite, appearing relaxed and at ease. Steve had never seen him like that.

Unwillingly, Steve's eyes held on his twin, following the piece of steak as it disappeared in the other's mouth. Somehow, the idea that Herobrine even needed to eat had never occurred to him. And he certainly never imagined that they would be sitting at the same table together, eating a meal that the legend of many terrifying tales had prepared.

Herobrine seemed to be enjoying the result of his own effort and Steve quickly dropped his eyes to his own plate before the other noticed him staring. It still all felt... unreal somehow.

With no scalding remarks or threats following, Steve dared to look up again, stealing a peek at his twin's face while he wasn't watching. Herobrine's face did resemble his own, only older and with an unshaven stubble of a beard instead of mostly fuzz that Steve had attempted to grow to imitate him. He now also looked thinner and sported shadows under his white eyes, their glow not nearly as scary as it seemed in the dark. In the bright sunlight streaming through the windows and falling across the table, Herobrine's eyes appeared a very light gray and covered by a white film, which obscured his pupils. Sometimes, Steve even wondered if he was blind, but so far Herobrine's reactions belied that thought. Still, in daylight, he seemed almost... normal.