Lance had been right when he mentioned the streets becoming busy. Whatever method of time they had used to keep track wasn't easy, and sure enough people began to trickle into the streets like the start of a rain. Endermen of different sizes stalked around the stalls of colours, their sheer black outfits replaced with colourful fabrics that rolled off their tall frames, flowing behind them as they walked.
Occasionally purple eyes would catch onto yours, sending a cool chill down your spine. The Endermen had a certain aura around them that screamed elegant, their tall statures looming over you with a silent threat of authority you didn't dare wish to oppose. You kept your eyes away from theirs as much as possible, however there had been some moments where your curiosity would get the best of you.
Your hand was clutching the cuff of Ranboo's jacket while you wandered the streets, taking note of the beautiful colours and joyful noises of happy traders. The scent of baked goods reminded you of the sheep and fox hybrids that you travelled with only days ago, already missing the constant singing from the two beautiful people. Hopefully they had made it to the holy lands- to fulfill their dreams of starting anew.
"(Y/n), look." Ranboo tugged you along to a rather hidden stall, jewelry of different kinds hung along the silver racks that sparkled in the lantern light. Gems and jewels glittered and sparkled much like that of Malek's coat, but instead of gold, the metal seemed much more pleasant and held a different presence around it.
The jewels and rings wasn't what Ranboo brought you to, his hand instead pointing to a rather gorgeous creation of forged silver, the shiny metal holding onto a flat stone set in the centre of the circlet. The gem had been one that reflected the colourful sky of the End, and upon closer inspection, it had seemed the stars were hidden within the endless sparkling colours.
"I see you have quite an eye for gems, young man." The owner of the stall, one who you didn't quite recognize as an Endermen, but instead you had been met with a man wearing a kings robe, his golden crown shimmering with the light.
"The name is Eret, a part-time jeweller who just so happens to stop by this time of year for the festival."
Holding out his hand, Ranboo was hesitant to meet his, reluctantly shaking the rather tall mans calloused hand. The jewels crested into his crown would shimmer and bring your eyes up to his face, however his sunglasses covered whatever secret laid behind them, leaving you to stare at his white smile.
"Ranboo, and this is (y/n)." Gesturing to you, Ranboo smiled as you gave a small awkward wave, his heart swelling when he saw your cheeks heat with an embarrassed flush.
"Well Ranboo, what can I get for you and your lover here?" Eret leaned over the ledge of his stall, the edges of his glasses just barley hiding what his behind them.
The hybrid stuttered, his hands going stiff to his sides while his face heated up, eyes darting anywhere they could. Aa for you, Eret's comment made you laugh, albeit a bit embarrassed yourself. "Sorry Eret, but we don't have any money to give you in exchange for such precious items in your collection. We were merely browsing."
The man dressed up as a king scoffed, pressing his glasses closer to his face- as if they could get any closer. His hands gestured over the many displays of glittering jewelry, his hands pausing over the silver circlet that had caught Ranboo's eye earlier. Gently, he plucked it off the stand and examined it, a sly grin growing on his face as he leaned over the counter to place the delicate creation atop your head.
"I have plenty of gems to share with those experiencing young love. Consider it as a gift from the End Realm- a treat after a long journey." The circlet sat perfectly along the crest of your head, the silver glittering along with your eyes whenever you moved. Ranboo's mouth slightly parted when he saw just how amazing you looked- even without the circlet he could feel his heart beating when you smiled.
"Thank you Eret-" You began, but said man cut you off with another small crown he had pulled from who knows where.
"Every queen needs his king, my friend." Avoiding his horns, Eret hesitated on placing the crown while eyeing the copper caps placed along Ranboo's horns. You could see a frown form on his face, displeased when he saw the branding of pirates. "I see you've have some scuffles in the Overworld with some pirates."
Despite the discomfort Eret showed, he shrugged his shoulders and placed the crown atop of Ranboo's head, the red and green gems shimmering along with the hybrids eyes. Proud with his work, a whistle sounded from the mans lips as he took a step back, staring at both of you with new and shiny head pieces that glimmered with the light of the starry sky.
"Are you really sure we can keep these?" Ranboo's fingertips gently pressed against the metal, feeling how cool the metal was against his skin. Eret only let out a laugh, his hand reaching out and ruffling a bit of Ranboo's hair.
"Just keep them and enjoy your stay, it's not everyday I get to see a young couple out and about in the End." His comment made the both of you stutter, however you didn't have a chance to retort before he spun you around and pressed a hand to your shoulder, urging you to walk away. "Now go have some fun! Why not climb one of the obsidian pillars?"
Even as you walked away, you could still hear his deep voice through the air, causing you to glance back and watch as he lowered his sun glasses and give you a wink with his pure white eyes.
How strange.
»»——⍟——««
You had taken Eret's advice and wandered close to a lit up obsidian pillar, a ladder stretching all the way to the top with a promise of something of worth at the end. Ranboo kept commenting on how well the crown looked atop your head, saying that 'the gems go well with your eyes.'
Your arms had had felt like jelly by the time you made it atop the obsidian tower, your back pressed to the floor as deep breaths escaped your mouth. You had been thankful for the chill of the End to cool you off after such a stretch, the little tickles of wind caressing your skin with its gentle touch.
So when you finally decided to rise from the floor, your eyes widened at the sight. Sitting dead centre of the floor, was a Crystal hovering above a platform, the gem spinning around as it bobbed up and down. Inside the Crystal had been a rather bright pink colour with strange markings depicting something you couldn't quite place, but the shimmer and glow of the crystal sent shivers down your spine. But that wasn't all, down below, had you looked across the floating island called the End, you could make out distant cities in the islands apart from the main island, homes of twists and turns glowing in the distance, separated by a large void of space.
But the thing that caught your eye the most, was the red and green eye staring at you, rather than anything else that held beauty.
"Ranboo?" Your voice was quiet, but he heard, he always listened to you. He answered with a tilt of his head, his little ears twitching at the sound of your soothing voice.
"You're really pretty, you know?" He mumbled, not quite focused on what he was saying. His eyes were seemingly in a trance, sparkling with an emotion you couldn't quite pin down. "Not just on the outside, but on the inside too."
You were curious, what was causing this sudden confession from him?
"Ranboo, what are you saying?"
"When I first saw you in the trade market, I was worried. Worried that we would never get along, and that I'd be stuck down in the ship forever. But you gave me hope that we could escape the ocean and the grasp of pirates, and instead have a life of our own-" he paused, warm hands grasping yours and intertwining your fingers together, holding you as if you had been the most precious thing. And you might as well have been to him. "I still want that, I still want to be with you even after we reach the end of what was to be our journey together."
His words overpowered the thumping in your chest, each sound escaping his lips settling deep within your heart. You hadn't even noticed just how fond you had been for this boy after mere weeks of being together, journeying through thick and thin and seeing each other through the best and worst parts of each other.
Words wouldn't dare leave your mouth, so you let your body guide you. Ranboo seemed to understand, for his tail curled around both your bodies before leaning closer to you, like he was protecting you.
The warm fan on his breath hit your face, lulling your eyes closed as you waited for him to make the final move. Your heart was pounding so fast you were afraid it would leap out of your throat, leaving you without the warming feeling Ranboo brought you.
Perhaps things would have been different had you never met him, you would be off the boat- but in the hands of another that preferred to keep iron shackles along your wrist. Now, you had traded those shackles for a crown, one that shimmered with the light coming along with freedom. But something always had to ruin any happy moment for you.
You could feel Ranboo pull away before you opened your eyes, an unexpected growl coming from his throat while you felt his tail wrap tighter around your back. The noise brought you out of your trance, opening your eyes to see Ranboo snarling at someone on the other side of the pillar.
Turning your head, the first thing you saw was the lack of gold that you had grown so used to seeing. A diamond cutlass dangled by their hand as they took a step closer, stopping only when Ranboo's eyes shone brighter, and growl growing stronger in a attempt to warn him.
"Malek." Ranboo cursed, taking a step closer to put you behind him. Your eyes darted around the area in hopes to find something to defend against the pirate, but to no avail, only the crystal stood atop here with you.
The explosion hadn't dared spare him, hot red wounds scattered alongside half his body, his jacket covering up most of the damage dealt. His face hadn't gone unscathed either, red flesh stretching over his cheek and nose, leaving his skin pink and mangled beyond healing.
The pirate took another step forward, causing you to grasp onto Ranboo's shoulder to keep him back. But to no avail, said hybrids eyes glossed over with the same trance-like haze he had been in only days ago, his jaw unhinging as he approached the pirate with otherworldly speed.
Malek was quick- almost as quick as Ranboo, and quickly jerked his arm away from what possibly could have been a painful bite. The hybrids jaws snapped shut for only a moment before readjusting and darting for him again, leaving no time for the pirate to consider his actions. In Ranboo's actions, you both had forgotten about the cutlass in Malek's hand, the blade glinting in the light as you could only watch it dig into the flesh of Ranboo's thigh, a scream erupting from his mouth while he collapsed from the pain.
Malek stood over the hybrids slumped form, pointing his blade awfully close to his neck in warning- if Ranboo so much as moved, he would be skewered.
"I took you from those trades and let you stay on my ship. I gave you shelter, food, a use in this world- and you go and betray me by choosing this rat over my loyalty." The pirate gestured over to you when he mentioned a rat, the malice in his voice only growing stronger when he saw you shift in your stance. You didn't dare move in fear that he would end the one you loved with nothing more than a needle for a sword.
The weight of the Eye of Ender grew heavier as you thought up of a plan, waiting for the pirate to mess with his actions just once. He didn't hesitate to laugh, a smirk growing on his stupid face. "And you- my ship, my men, all of them are gone because of your troublesome ways. I should have just thrown you over the ship once I had my fun with you."
"Don't speak to them like that!" Ranboo shouted, only for the blade to press just a tad bit more along the skin of his neck. It was hard, but you could see the dark liquid of blood trickle down his neck, sending a rage of emotions to flow through you.
"Why don't you say goodbye to this disgusting hybrid, (y/n)?" Your name in his mouth, the awful sound of it threw you over the edge. Within seconds you had the Eye of Ender in your hands, running to where Malek's sword could reach you. Just when you saw his blade move from Ranboo's neck to meet your approaching form, you turned and threw the Eye as hard as you could, letting the glass orb collide along with the crystal atop of the obsidian tower.
Much like the TNT, the explosion was one of great destruction, the mere force sending all three of you off the pillar. The wind whipped around you while the ringing in your ears prevented you from hearing anything, back burning from the heat of the explosion.
Aimlessly you flailed in the wind, feeling a pair of hands grasp your shoulders and turn you from watching your incoming demise. Instead you looked at Ranboo, who's copper caps had come loose and now shakily clung to his horns. The mere thought of his freedom now finally settling in made you smile, hands reaching to either side of his face.
There weren't any words shared, for you wouldn't be able to hear him anyways. Instead, you pulled his face closer to your own, leaving your lips to linger on his as you shared what could very much be your first, and last kiss.
You had expected the floor to hit you mere moments after that, however, the wind had stopped flying around you moments ago. Your feet had firmly been planted along solid ground, not a trace of your fall mere seconds ago showing. Parting from Ranboo, you noticed the purple particles licking yours, and Ranboo's skin- leaving you with only one conclusion.
He had teleported.
And just in the nick of time, for you could hear a dull thumb sound behind you, proving that Malek at too, fallen with you. However he wasn't spared with the ability to teleport, leaving him a pile of broken bones along the pale stone of the End.
"Ranboo-" You breathed, looking to see how his horns no longer held any confinement, leaving the sharp tips now exposed. His eyes had been glimmering as his eyes scanned over you, an excited smile growing as his hands found your waist. "You did it! You teleported?"
"That's what you're excited about?" He chuckled, leaning his head closer to you. "I'm more excited about the fact that I kissed you."
His words sent your cheeks ablaze, but that didn't stop you from smiling when you felt his hand behind your head, pulling you in for another kiss. This time, without the rush of death or adrenaline, just you, and him.
»»——⍟——««