Stephan

Chapter Two - Bargains

Steve woke up to the sizzling of food in a pan and the air filled with the smell of something cooking.

Opening his eyes halfway gave him a good view of the kitchen side of the house, where he could see Herobrine facing the smokers. The windows were open, and he could hear the commotion of the chickens in their coop. Further inspection revealed that the sun was out of sight, it was late morning. How had he managed to sleep in? His head was throbbing, but that was to be expected.

The miner grimaced, stretching a bit, feeling out his aching joints from yesterday's labor. He pressed the side of his face into his pillow, intending to feign sleep for a bit longer, but little escaped Herobrine's sight and he turned to greet him.

"Good morning."

"Morning," Steve murmured, not looking up yet. Light footsteps crossed the room towards him, and the smell of cooked pork followed. There was a clink as the plate was set beside his bed, followed by a slight thump.

"For your headache." Herobrine walked away, and Steve lifted his chin to spy a bottle of pink-tinted water. He knew, then.

"Thank you." He mumbled gratefully as he reached out, uncorking the bottle and taking a sip. He could taste the melon flavor from the instant health potion, and his aching head began to calm. Herobrine simply returned to the furnaces, continuing to cook.

With his headache subsiding, Steve managed to focus on his surroundings instead. He could hear insects chirping and birds singing, a warm breeze floating through the windows towards him. Past the barn, he could spy several of the trees in his farm that had grown overnight, he should replant those before the day ended. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which was shining blue above his home.

Here, comfortable, in the light of day and the company of his brother, Steve found it hard to rationalize the terror that had been delivered to him last night.

Movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention, and he turned to find Herobrine approaching him with a second plate. The elder sat down on the edge of his bed with it, cutting a piece of pork with the edge of his fork and placing it in his mouth. Steve took that as his own cue to eat, and struggled up, leaning back against the headboard.

Herobrine watched him out of the corner of his eye as he retrieved his own plate, heaped with eggs and pork, and started to eat his breakfast. Steve pretended not to notice the white eyes on him, but his nervousness about being caught was beginning to return. Brine didn't seem that bothered, but he knew better than to assume his feelings on any given subject.

Finally, after drawing out the silence for what Steve thought was an unreasonable amount of time, Herobrine cleared his throat and spoke.

"The potions." Steve winced. He certainly didn't hesitate to get straight to the point.

"I've tried to get to sleep without them, but it's- I haven't had much luck. Last night was, ah, bad."

"You are playing a dangerous game." Brine warned.

"I know." Steve gave him a pleading look. "Forgive me?"

"I would hardly say it's your fault." Herobrine turned a bit more to face him, and Steve ducked his head. "Indeed, I would say that I am to blame for so frequently leaving you alone." Steve's heart leapt in his chest.

"Oh, no, not at all." He denied quickly. "I'm alright on my own."

"Not if you have to take those potions." Brine pointed out.

"But that isn't your fault. It's just-" He hesitated, shrugged. "It's... a... poor result of our recovery."

"If recovery is reliant on outside forces, is it really recovery at all?" Herobrine responded without missing a beat. It caught poor Steve off guard, and he had yet to answer the question when Brine continued. "I have an offer for you."

"Oh?" The miner lifted his eyes from his half-eaten eggs.

"Would you like to come with me when I work with Notch?" Steve blinked twice.

"Can... could I?"

"Of course." Herobrine watched him carefully. "If you don't want to you don't have to, of course- and I may have to leave you be for periods of time while we work on more sensitive issues. But I would like to be able to keep a closer eye on you." Steve's mouth twisted in a grimace.

"Am I grounded?"

"No, not at all." Brine backtracked. "I just don't wish to leave you alone anymore." Steve's whipped expression turned into something more resembling gratefulness.

"Thank you." His gaze fell back to his plate as he considered this. "I suppose- well, my only worry is that the farm will suffer while I am away." Herobrine nodded.

"I understand that. Perhaps Notch and I can limit our sessions to allow us to come back each day and perform necessary chores?"

"That would be good." Steve let an easy smile pass over his face. "Thank you."

"Of course." Herobrine looked down, and there was silence between them for a few moments.

"I didn't expect you back for another day or so." Steve spoke up. "Is there any particular reason you returned early?" Brine didn't meet his eyes.

"I suppose for much the same reason you slept poorly last night, lillebror." The miner had to process this for a moment. He still did not understand when Herobrine spoke to him in Swedish, and could only assume that that 'leel-eh-bror' was a nickname. Hopefully not an offensive one. He had questioned it on a couple occasions, but Herobrine had only changed the subject.

The rest of his sentence, though, was easier to decipher. Herobrine had been plagued by nightmares as well.

"Oh." Steve took a bite, then rested his fork on his plate, reaching over to give Brine a gentle pat on the shoulder. After the incident at the lab, Herobrine had become far less averse to his touch, but he still tried to respect the elder's boundaries whenever possible. Brine responded in kind by patting the back of his hand.

"Do you wish to take me up on my offer, then?" Steve nodded.

"Please." Being alone quickly became overwhelming.

"Then we will leave tonight." Herobrine finished his breakfast and set his plate aside. "Do you have any tasks that need doing before we go?"

"A couple repairs for the cow and pig pens." Steve crammed the rest of his eggs in his mouth, placing the plate on the block beside his bed and kicking the blankets off. "Mind giving me a hand?" Herobrine gave him a little smile.

"Not at all."