Smells Like Coffee ~ (Etho x Bdubs)

Chapter 37 - Christmas Crisis turned Comfort

(welp, this is it. it's a long one, so good luck out there o7)

Bdubs looked at his phone. Specifically Etho's contact. Keralis told him to take it slow, and he was going to abide by that! But....

Etho Slab (Mocha Man)

He sighed, clicking the edit button. Old habits die hard.

Set name to: Etho Slab (Mocha Man)<3

It wasn't like Etho was gonna see it or anything. It was just gonna be Bdubs' little secret and eventually, when Etho and him had gotten closer, maybe he'd confess his crush and things could go well. And he could show Etho and keep the name.

Hopefully.

Right now, he was completely satisfied with Etho being a good friend. He just happened to be a friend with a little heart by his name. A platonic heart! Of course! Of course.

That's what he would say if Etho saw it and asked at least.

Bdubs took one last look at it and smiled, before pocketing his phone and moving to get ready.

He immediately leaned towards his usual moss hoodie while going through outfits, and with no reason to wear something else (he had no ugly Christmas themed sweaters, and this was supposed to be a casual thing, not a formal one anyhow) he slipped it over his usual blue tinted tee shirt. Comfy!

He scanned over his desk a last time and something caught his eye, gold and sparkly in the corner of the mirror, and it kinda fit perfectly with his outfit.

Well, he supposed he could be a little festive, if he had to.

Clipping the star hair-clip in his hair, (<I'm a professional writer, you know. /j) he also cackled at his reflection. He looked like a goddamn Christmas tree like this. Y'know, that was fitting. Very fitting. He was keeping it. Now all he needed was some ornaments to hook onto the sweater...

Ok that would be overdoing it a bit.

Bdubs opened up his window, sticking his hand out to gauge the temperature. He winced as a cold breeze swept through his home, and decided, yeah- he better bring a jacket to wear over the hoodie in case they had something planned outside, and just for walking between the car and buildings. No use to freeze to death before he got there!

---

Stepping through the door as Ren swung it open, nothing but warmth hit his face. It was comfortable, and as lame as it could be, being one of the first people to the party had its perks. Martyn, Ren, and Mumbo were already there of course, all of them being roommates, and Scar and Stress were just as early as him. They mentioned coming early to help set up a little too, and the place looked amazing!

"Hey Bdouble-O! Welcome to the party my dude."

"Hey Ren! Thanks for inviting me!" Bdubs smiled. "The place looks great!"

"Thank Doc when he gets here. He set up the high stuff." Ren laughed.

"Oh? Where is he?"

"He went back home to get Etho," Ren explained, and Bdubs felt himself paying a little bit more attention to Ren now. "They might take awhile. Doc called Etho to check on him, and the fool hadn't even gotten ready yet!"

Bdubs laughed with the joke, and suddenly felt a little warmer. Right, he should take off his extra jacket. "Cool, cool." Bdubs said casually and normally like a normal, casual person. "Cool." He started hanging it up as Ren continued.

"Yeah." Ren chuckled. "Cool. Don't go waiting on him like a lost puppy dude."

Bdubs just stuttered as his mind processed it, and then protested, whipping around. "hEY! I am not a-"

"Sure sure." Ren raised his hands up with a smirk, cutting him off. "Not insinuating anything, my man."

Bdubs left with a grumble and dramatic roll of his eyes after that, embarrassed, and found the bathroom quickly. The lock clicked, and he was alone. Even without the jacket his cheeks were still flushed, and he had Ren to blame for that.

How DARE he accuse Bdubs of such a thing! He wasn't a lost puppy! He was a cool and strong and confident man!

"Come on, Double-O." He muttered to himself, splashing water on his face. "We gotta be cool. Gotta be normal."

With a sigh into the towel he dried off his face, moved his hair back up and out of his face, and looked at the mirror.

"We got this!"

What he "got" was up for interpretation honestly, because not even he knew what he was trying to get.

He walked back out to the party to find a few more people had arrived. Pearl was there, talking to Scar, and Cleo was already talking to Stress and Ren in the other room. Pearl waved to him, and he walked over, listening to their conversation about landscapes and the likes of textures.

"Don't they have an art class together?" Bdubs thought. Pearl had probably mentioned that in English at some point, but he wasn't sure.

Before he could get too invested in the conversation, the doorbell rang, and he offered to get it.

A really really tiny and totally insignificant part of his brain hoped he'd be opening the door to Etho- oh yeah and Doc- and yeah it probably wasn't even a passing thought though because it was so small and he really didn't care.

It was Iskall.

Oh. 

Before Bdubs could even say a friendly hello, Iskall walked in, and shut the door very quickly. Bdubs almost thought he saw a flash of moving red outside.

"Don't want to let the cold air in." They lied blatantly.

"Uh.."

"I have to talk to you about something-" They started quickly, ushering Bdubs away from the door.

"Huh?"

"It's about Et-"

The door opened again, loudly, drawing the attention of everyone near.

"Dammit I should've locked that-" Iskall muttered under their breath.

"You tried to lock me out to freeze to death!" Grian, who was holding a suspicious looking black bag, yelled at Iskall.

"You would've lasted a few minutes."

"Bdubs, don't listen to whatever they said."

"They didn't say anything-" Bdubs started, but Grian wasn't listening. He grabbed Iskall's arm and dragged them into the other room, leaving Bdubs and the others thoroughly confused.

"Ok then."

The next people to show up were Joel and Lizzie, with an annoyed Scott walking behind them. He was carrying a tray with tinfoil and a bag over his arm, while Joel was only holding a smaller, lighter bag on his wrist, and Lizzie had her arm hooked around his free one, only with her purse. Poor Scott.

"I already feel like a third wheel standing here." Pearl chuckled, looking at Joel and Lizzie. "How did you manage a whole car ride with them?"

"Headphones." Scott deadpanned. "I'm surprised I still have my hearing after that."

She laughed, and after a quick glare from Joel and a giggle from Lizzie, Scott went to put the food in the kitchen.

Bdubs was no lost puppy, but he could admit his hope each time someone opened the door was getting a little deflated. Etho hadn't been the happiest at the last party, clearly, and Bdubs really hoped that didn't mean he was going to skip this one.

After Zed showed up in a ridiculous outfit, Xisuma and Keralis arrived together, and Bdubs had to forcefully pull himself away from the room where he could see the door to keep him from staring. Sooner or later, someone was going to catch on.

He walked to the kitchen, and although most food was still closed off, probably being saved until everyone had arrived, he snagged some chips and a cookie that were up for the taking.

"So that was what was in the tinfoil tray." He figured out. They were decorated mostly as Christmas things, a few hanuka memorias, various stars and snowflakes, and the worst of them: Joel and Lizzie poorly drawn onto cookies. Some were much better than others, and he instinctively wanted to give Lizzie the credit for those ones. There was one of Scott too, with tilled eyebrows to make him look mad. He smiled, but steered clear of it.

Munching on a little wreath cookie (there was a hole in the middle so it was the "healthier option"), he went into another room to talk to people. He saw Beef and Sausage laughing at their meat-related names together- "Ah so they've shown up too, but still not Etho or Doc." -and Tango and Impulse were talking to Zed, probably about the pink outfit a little with laughing and wide smiles- "Two more arrived!" -and wasn't sure who to talk to. He didn't want to interrupt anyone, but he also didn't want to feel left out.

Luckily, Zed practically invited him into the conversation by pointing to him, exclaiming: "That man looks like a Christmas tree!"

Bdubs walked over, already getting defensive. It was clear they were arguing about something to do with outfits.

"Right, but that fits the party!" Tango argued. "Whatever that pink worm you have sewed to your cape is not screaming "Happy Holidays" to me."

"It's not for you." Zed crossed his arms. "And it's the coziest thing I own, thank you very much. I am an excellent sewer."

"Don't you have that sheep onesie that's cozier?" Tango asked. He was promptly ignored.

Impulse chuckled. "It does look warmer than my thin jacket is. I wish I brought an extra layer."

"Are you wearing a tee shirt under that?" Bdubs asked Impulse. If he went outside in just a t- shirt and a thin jacket he'd probably freeze to death. Maybe Impulse was built differently like Etho was with the cold.

"I don't have many festive outfits! You're lucky that moss fits the color scheme automatically."

"I'll have you know I spent a lot of time deciding this!" Bdubs said. "Dress to impress!"

"Uh huh." Tango smirked. That was a bad sign. "And who are you trying to impress?"

Zed and Impulse looked over to Bdubs too, slowly smiling in a way that matched Tango's smirk. The bastards.

"U-uh. No one!" Bdubs defended with a stutter. He cursed at himself in his mind, while the others looked very unconvinced.

The doorbell rang, and a number of people looked to see who it was.

Ah. Jimmy. That was the last person other than Doc or Etho that he knew of, that was going to show up, making them officially the last two.

Tango raised an eyebrow when he looked back.

"No one." He repeated, and walked off to the kitchen. He wanted another cookie.

----

"Hurry up dude!"

"I'm trying!"

"You wear the same damn thing every day." Doc said. "Why is today the only day you can't seem to find an outfit?"

"It's freezing, Doc. I might like the cold more than you, but I don't wanna turn into an Etho-cicle either."

"The party is indoors." Doc said. "I would know, because I helped set it up. That was hours ago, by the way. Also, Etho-cicle? Come on, you can do better than that."

"You took a while to drive." Etho mentioned, throwing another jacket onto the bed and ignoring Doc's remark. It was the trench coat Stress gave to him (forced him to take), and he almost considered it until he realized the comments would probably be too much attention on him. He wanted something comfortable that he could snuggle up in on the way home if things went south, which was a very high likelihood.

"It did not take me that long to drive." Doc huffed. "Put on any sweater and it'll be fine."

"I don't have anything festive or whatever." Etho protested.

"When have you ever wanted to wear something festive?" Doc asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He was clearly a little annoyed at how long Etho was taking, but Etho couldn't help it; he wanted to look cool! He wanted Bdubs to see him as cool.

"It's a party. You're even wearing something." Etho defended. He vaguely gestured to Doc, who was wearing the ugliest sweater he'd ever seen with a goat wearing a Christmas hat and "GOAT" written in bold letters on the front. Whether it was custom or not, Etho couldn't remember. It was still more festive than his whole wardrobe.

"An ugly Christmas sweater Beef got me as a gag gift. It's not even very Christmas-y." Doc sighed. "It doesn't matter. Your vest is green and that's good enough. We still have to pick up something from the store."

"Ok, ok fine." Etho frowned, shrugging it on over his long sleeved shirt. He'd probably take the vest off inside anyways though, so Doc's argument was dumb. "You just wanna meet up with your boyfriend sooner."

Ren. The host of the night, who had assured Etho a million times that there was no alcohol and tried to make sure he would come and be comfortable. In all honesty, it was very kind of him, but maybe a little bit hopeless. Not because of anything he did! It was just that Bdubs was going to be there, and now that he knew about dumb feels and crap, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to be comfortable.

But at the same time, something glowed in his chest at just the thought of the barista who he had fallen for.

"So do you." Doc shot back calmly with a smirk.

"He's not-" Etho started, but it was futile. Doc knew, Etho knew, and there was no denying he wanted to look nice because of him. Ugh.

"Ok, I'm ready." Etho said, adjusting his vest in the mirror a little more, and moving his hair out of the way of his eye.

"Confidence, Etho." He told himself, nodding slightly.

"Finally." Doc scoffed, creaking the door open and leaving it ajar.

As Etho locked the door behind him, Doc was already down the hallway.

The drive was nothing special and then the store was nothing special either. Doc found some chips or whatever quickly enough, and people took too long in checkout, and everything was kinda crazy and loud and annoying because it was a few days before Christmas and the last-minute-present buyers were willing to murder each other to get that last princess doll for their niece.

Calling it exciting was a stretch.

Finally, they got back onto the road, and it was quiet. They could talk, Doc didn't really need to pay close attention to where he was going, but there wasn't much else to say.

Etho used the time to think.

He liked Bdubs.

Bdubs was going to be at this party.

Doc said he had to just go for it.

"I don't think I've ever "gone for it" in my life." He thought. A quick glance to Doc reassured him he didn't say that out loud, and he kept going with his mental conversation. He couldn't tell if it was riling up or settling his nerves, but thinking gave him something to do.

"But... What if he meets like a really cool guy or girl over break, and I lose my chance?" He considered. "At least I'll have all break to feel like shit and get over it if it's a rejection and I won't have to see him for 2 weeks."

That was comforting.

Unfortunately, with his basic knowledge of algebra, it was clear the odds were stacking in one decision's favor. Confessing.

"But there will be so many people. I can't do it in front of a crowd."

Etho sighed. He saw a tiny trace of it on the glass.

The car slowed and Etho finally noticed they had arrived.

"Crap. That was quick."

Well, Etho was going to have to figure it out as he went it seemed, because he was doing this.

The steps to the door felt painful, and every step forwards, his feet wanted to push him two backwards. If it took him this much mental capacity just to walk up the steps, then how was he going to even say hi to Bdubs?

Doc opened the door, holding it out for Etho to take as he slid in quickly, trying not to let too much cold air slip in. The cold wasn't really the most of his worries, but it gave him something to grasp onto and focus on instead of immediately panicking and running away. He was just closing the door.

He spotted Bdubs almost instantly across the room talking with Ren and Pearl animatedly, laughing about something with his eyes closed and a wide grin on his face. A gold clip sparkled in his hair and he was absolutely engulfed in the moss hoodie he chose and Etho was doing a pretty poor job at avoiding staring. The door was closed. No air was coming through. But within the second, a sharp prickling feeling zipped up his spine like he'd just been dunked in ice water, making his heart skip a beat a little painfully and his breath stop short.

"Nope."

He sucked in a breath and firmly decided he was not ready, spinning on his heel and walking into the other room hopefully before Bdubs saw him.

Oh this was already going wonderfully!

----

"Hey Martyn?"

"Hmm?" Marytn turned his body towards the voice, spotting Scar waving him over. He had Jellie in his lap with her little harness on, sleeping peacefully.

"You didn't tell me you had a cat!" Scar exclaimed happily. "Jellie could've had playdates!"

She peeked her eye open at her name, looked at Martyn, and closed her eyes again. Clearly he wasn't interesting enough to hold her attention.

"Oh that's not our cat." Martyn said, looking at where Scar was pointing. There was a little black cat stretched out on a shelf, where there used to be rocks. They were safely moved to a different room for the time being, because after one to many had been knocked around, pushed off, or shattered, it was just clear the cat owned that spot now.

"What? Who's is it then?"

"No ones." Martyn answered with a shrug. "That we know of, at least. She- we're assuming it's a she-, just walked into our house and made herself comfortable."

"What did you name her?" Scar asked.

"Uh- Cat?"

"You just call the cat, Cat?"

"Yes?" Martyn smiled awkwardly. "It's not the craziest cat name you know. Attack Helicopter the 2nd was an old friend's cat."

"Hmm, ok. Well, are you keeping her?" Scar asked.

"Probably not, since once it's warmer I assume she'll leave if she wants to. She's free to go whenever." Martyn shrugged. Cat started to wake up, stretching out her paws to show sharp white pricks sticking out from her fur. She jumped down and took her time cleaning her ears and staring at the two watching her.

"Huh." Scar nodded. "She's very cute. Has she gotten into any fights with Ren?"

"No, they actually get along surprisingly well." Martyn chuckled. "I'm surprised she hasn't left yet with the party going on. So far she's hated crowds. Even all three of us in the room has her running away."

"Interesting."

"Oh you want to see some photos? Speaking of Ren, I have this really cute one with him and Cat."

Scar lit up, "Do I ever!"

----

Wait-

Wait, when did Etho show up?

Bdubs blinked rapidly, trying to make sure he wasn't hallucinating the white hair through the crowd, and tried not to gape.

One: He was almost squealing inside- "Etho is here Etho is here Etho is h-" - being so excited to see the man he's been waiting on the whole night, standing right here in the crowd within reach.

Two: Etho was wearing a pretty normal outfit, but damn it showed off his form way more than Bdubs had ever seen. He had ditched the vest he normally wore and was just in a sleek black long sleeve shirt and wow. He was pretty. Bdubs was trying not to stare much, but with his feelings figured out, it was hard to keep his eyes away for more than a second or two at a time.

Bdubs smiled, and tried to hide it a little- wanting to be casual in the way he walked over to say hi.

He was not desperate. For the record.

"Hey Etho!" He beamed, not doing the best job at chilling out.

Etho almost seemed to freeze.

"He's probably overwhelmed." Bdubs thought to himself, cringing slightly on himself. "How long has he been here? Am I too much?"

"Hey Bdubs," Etho said quietly. "Uhm.. how has the party been?"

"Better with you here," Bdubs said, and then kinda realized how that must sound. "But uh! Haha it's been pretty good so far! Lizzy and Joel brought these cookies to die for- you have to try one!"

"Oh uh, maybe later." Etho brushed off, not meeting Bdubs eyes fully.

"Right, the mask." Bdubs frowned internally, scolding himself. "Why are you so stupid Bdubs?"

He looked nervous, and despite only having been here for what Bdubs assumed was just a little while, he was already sweating a little bit. "It's not that hot yet? I mean the room is warmer than before with so many people but why is he-"

Oh wait- he was analyzing Etho, which was probably just making him more uncomfortable.

Bdubs quickly looked away, scolding himself again, and trying something different.

"What took ya so long to get here? Was the traffic over there really that bad?" He tried to make it as lighthearted as he could- He really didn't want to screw up small talk and push Etho away even more- but there was practically nothing to talk about. He hoped it didn't sound stalker-y.

"Yeah uh- we went to the store for chips and everything was crazy. Took forever." Etho said, kinda mumbling.

Thankfully, Bdubs was not the only one who had noticed Etho's arrival, and Martyn jumped into the conversation, half-saving the mess of a conversation that was already starting to crumble.

"Etho! I'm so gl-aha-d you aha-rrived!"

Bdubs squinted, trying to figure out what was wrong with Martyn's dialect.

"Yeah, shopping was hard." Etho repeated the excuse. It sounded faker the second time.

"Well the real p-aha-rty can st-aha-t now!" Martyn grinned.

"What are you-" Bdubs looked at Martyn weird. "What are you doing with your voice?"

"I'm gl-aha-d you aha-sked!" He grinned, and took a deep breath in like he was about to explain in a painful-to-listen-to way. Bdubs braced himself, for his and Etho's sake.

Mumbo walked into the conversation at that point and frowned. "Aaaand he's already started." He grumbled.

"What? Started what?" Bdubs asked.

"We have this-" Martyn tried, but was cut off.

"Don't you dare." Mumbo threatened, no bite to it, but with a scowl on his face already.

"J-AHA-r!" Martyn emphasized even more. Mumbo sighed. "That I have to put a coin in every time I say "aha" in a word."

"At all." Mumbo corrected.

"In a word." Martyn repeated.

"No, it's when you say "aha" at all. In a word or on its own."

"What if I said it in exclamation?" Martyn asked.

"Then you put a coin in. We've discussed this!" Mumbo said, raising his hands slightly like he was having this conversation for the 4th time tonight and getting sick of it. There was humor to it though.

Martyn dropped it. "BUT!~" He singsonged dramatically. Mumbo somehow frowned more.

"For tonight I don't h-aha-ve to!" Martyn finished.

"And I'm st-aha-rting to regret that," Mumbo said, slipping in his own aha for fun. Hey, he didn't have to put a coin in either tonight!

Martyn grinned and slung his arm over Mumbo. "And you get to say "It's really quite simple" as much as you want to."

"I feel like there's less room for that at a party." Mumbo grumbled. "Even Ren's free innuendos are better for a party than redstone explanations."

That got a laugh out of the rest of them, and it felt slightly more like a group conversation than just Bdubs and Etho listening to the other two talk.

"So Ren gets to make as many innuendos as he wants?" Bdubs chuckled. "That's going to go well."

"He has to get it out so he doesn't bug us for another year with them." Mumbo said. "Rather everyone is subject to the jokes than just me and Martyn."

The conversation had slipped away from Etho pretty quickly and he went quiet, but he didn't seem to mind too much. Actually, he seemed calmer about it.

"Right, Etho doesn't love the spotlight." It felt like Bdubs was keeping a mental list of everything Etho liked and didn't, trying to make sure he could keep him comfortable. Was that obsessive? He hoped not.

"More comfortable than the last party, at least." His mind supplied, to his annoyance. He already knew he was a clingy drunk, and Etho had said it was all fine, but Bdubs hoped that wasn't a lie to cover for Bdubs dignity. He really hoped that didn't push Etho away without him knowing, and that he didn't already fuck up any chance he had long ago.

"This one has to be better." Bdubs decided. "He likes quiet and less people and coding and headphones.... And none of this fits that." Bdubs listed. "But I'm going to try. It's a chill party after all." It was difficult to find something that Etho could enjoy here, and so he only hoped he could learn something new about him to save and bring up later for conversation. He wanted another perfect conversation, just like the first one they shared.

Oh crap- he was spacing out again. As he snapped back to the present, he noticed different people were around them, and the conversation had changed to the topic of cats.

"I'm just saying, the exposure to more kitties would be great for Jellie!" Scar said, motioning to a peacefully sleeping Jellie in his lap. A few people nodded.

"I don't think Flick is old enough for playdates yet." Jimmy said. "Buuut... Norman might be willing to give it a go?"

Scar beamed, scratching Jellie's chin as he nodded enthusiastically.

"I can try to bring Maui or Pearl over sometime, but maybe just one cat at a time with her at first, Scar." Grian added. "More than 3 cats in a room could be hard to control if they aren't friends."

"Yeah that's a good plan. Maybe towards the end of break we can plan a few days to see how they all get along?" Jimmy offered.

Bdubs, a person who did not own a cat, and therefore had nothing to contribute, stepped back a little, removing himself from the conversation. He looked over their heads (well, tried too. Jimmy and Mumbo were too tall for their own goods.) and quickly noticed that Etho had disappeared entirely. He didn't even say anything to step away. It was just one moment- Etho was there, they were in their own little bubble, and then other people popped it and Etho had floated away.

"Am I on the like or dislike list?" Bdubs thought absentmindedly, frowning slightly. He cringed in on himself and decided to wait a few minutes before finding Etho again and making him uncomfortable. He didn't want to push him away with his overeagerness.

----

The doorbell rang, much to the confusion of everyone nearby, and Xisuma, the closest to the door, went to open it. Gem had said she was busy (something about stray kittens needing her attention? Gem was great like that. Gem was great in general. Gem is great.) so it was her, and Cub, Joe, and False that were known to be out on holiday. Hypno, Jevin, and xB weren't fans of the crowds, so they had their own mini party... So who did that leave left to show up?

Xisuma blinked rapidly when he saw them, unsure if he was hallucinating. It was hot and crowded, he was possibly a little dehydrated- it was possible!

"Exy?" Xisuma said, stepping to the side to let them in after a second. "I didn't think you were coming."

"Yeah well Zed convinced me." They stepped through, holding a small tray.

"What's that?"

"I made brownies and uh. Thought I'd bring them." They looked to the side nervously, avoiding eye contact. "I haven't tried them yet, you wanna be the first?"

Xisuma smiled fondly. "I'd love to try one."

Ex wouldn't meet Xisuma's eyes, but when he looked down to grab one, X could see Exy smiling and staring at him trying it in the corner of his eye.

The easiest way to describe the brownies was that they tasted like dirt.

Xisuma liked to think he was an expert on dirt. He was a gardener at heart, even if his little apartment couldn't hold too many plants, but he had played in the dirt as a child, and grew up with flowers. So when he thought that these tasted like dirt, he quickly apologized to the dirts he'd grown up with in his head, because this was far worse.

"Oh they're-" He swallowed, hoping he could get the taste off his tongue easily in a second. "Oh they're great." He choked out.

"Really?"

"Have you uh- have you had a brownie making lesson with Stress yet?" Xisuma asked instead, avoiding the confirmation.

"Nope. Wanted to try something on my own." Ex smiled proudly.

Ah, so that explained it. Xisuma was going to ask Stress to teach Ex how to make brownies that were edible and non-toxic. Soon, preferably, to avoid a medical emergency.

"So where should I put-?" Ex started, but Xisuma quickly cut them off.

"Oh! I'll take those to the kitchen. You just go say hello to everyone!"

"Ok." Ex said, and handed it over and walked off.

And if Xisuma "forgot" to take off the lid to indirectly say they were for the taking, and threw away more than half of them to seem like people were eating them, then no, he totally didn't. You saw nothing.

Ex saw Stress, and waved, and she ran up to them, embracing them happily.

"Allo luv! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Hey Stress," Ex smiled, looking behind Stress's shoulder. They saw Iskall, who was crossing their arms and frowning, so they did the only logical thing. Sticking their tongue about with an evil smile. Iskall flicked two fingers between their eyes, the universal sign for "I'm watching you."

Maybe Ex wasn't planning to show up, nor was fully in it, but a part of them was still happy with the decision. Maybe Zed was right.

----

The party was getting a little more-....comfortable is a way to put it. And a certain few people were starting to notice decorations more in depth. Of course, there were the normal ones that caught your attention immediately. Red ribbons, Gold ornaments, shiny streamers, a Menorah on the mantle, and a Christmas tree in the corner. But there were also ones where you had to look a little more carefully, and when Keralis walked through a door frame, he was at least the first to point it out.

"You see that little leaf above us, Wood Daddy?" Keralis wiggled his eyebrows playfully at the man in front of him, who was a little caught off guard at the interruption of the conversation, but looked up anyway.

Sausage, the engineering major who was given the name after one too many jokes in Woodshop class, was not one to back down with a little bit of flirting, and went back just as much.

"Sprig of mistletoe?" He smirked, raising his eyebrows like he was curious. "I have to say I'm out of practice."

"It's tradition." Keralis added slyly.

"The only way to get better is to go for it, I guess." Sausage muttered like he was thinking it over. He wasn't.

"That's true." Keralis agreed sweetly as he stepped forwards. They had a few more onlookers now as they flirted loudly and proudly, and Keralis couldn't say he was shy under the spotlight.

"You think those muscles could hold my weight?" He whispered, walking his fingers across Sausage's bicep.

"U-uh-"

"For a dip kiss." Keralis elaborated smoothly.

"We have an audience." Sausage glanced behind Keralis, where a small crowd was starting to form. Half of them were giggling awkwardly, others silent in a sort of daring anticipation, and the rest were egging them on. Scott was holding up a phone.

"Let's give them a show, sweetface."

Sausage rolled his eyes, smile never faltering, and scooped an arm under Keralis, grabbing his hand and lifting it up high with the other. There was barely a second between the dip and Sausage bending down, with Keralis straining his neck to meet the last inch, before lips met under the mistletoe.

It was-... almost graphic- The way they smashed their mouths together and kissed like they were putting on a show under it(which they were, technically)- and Bdubs had the decency to blush for the men.

"So much for "taking it slow", hypocrite." Bdubs thought with an eye roll

Even still, the crowd cheered, and despite how dizzy Keralis looked when he was lifted back up and could breathe, he still looked cocky as hell.

"Are you sure nothing was spiked in their drinks specifically?" Pearl asked, leaning towards Bdubs. It was still pretty loud, someone clapping Sausage on the back and Scott showing the video to embarrass him (because damn was it graphic, and Scott had zoomed at the worst part with a shaky screen as he laughed) so she had to move closer so he could hear her.

"Unfortunately," Bdubs sighed. There was a little bit of a smile to the tease. "Keralis is just like that."

Mistletoe seemed to be the next hit of the night, because Joel and Lizzy were giggling under it soon after. Not as showy as the opening performance of Keralis and Sausage, but it was still cute and got a few cheers. Jimmy and Scott were next, with a slightly awkward closed mouth kiss before Jimmy wanted out of the spotlight. Joel wolf whistling was clearly not helping his new wave of stage fright- the poor guy.

Bdubs was a little jealous, and maybe on another night he'd be drunk enough to kiss another person who would be cool with it in the morning (Cleo and Keralis had both been fine with it before), but unfortunately he had a dumb crush stopping him from acting.

"Etho probably wouldn't want to do that either. Ever." Bdubs thought, trying to hide the little bit of disappointment in his face. "Not with me, at least."

He stopped, and changed the wording. "Not-not with me ever, just....not in public? Maybe? There's a chance." And smiled a little bit. He just had to take things slow and hope for the best.

----

They didn't really have a formal gift giving ceremony set up, really, but the Cafe Crew (The employees at Cleo's Cafe. It was a cool name. Shuddup.) figured this was the best place to give their gift to Cleo. They didn't know if there'd be a time where they were all there together again to give it to her, and it was a holiday party after all!

They gathered at least Cleo, all of the Cafe Crew, and a few others that knew them or the cafe really well. Etho was near the back, trying to both avoid the spotlight, and, well, also maybe a certain barista who was practically bouncing on his heels in the middle of the crowd.

Etho swore wasn't trying to, but each time Bdubs so much as looked at him, across the room or mere inches away, his throat closed up and heart started racing and his hands didn't know what to do with themselves, and if he couldn't have a simple non-embarrassing conversation for a minute with the man, then how was he supposed to confess his undying love!?

It was impossible really, but at least from the back, Etho could watch everything (Bdubs) comfortably without the fear of making a fool of himself poking himself in the side at every word.

"Come'on, hurry up!" Bdubs called out to someone Etho couldn't see, and Etho smiled under his mask fondly.

"So, Cleo, here's your Christmas present!" Keralis piped up, flailing his arms in the direction of Xisuma, who was holding a medium sized box with pretty wrapping paper. It had cats on it. Of course it had cats on it. Scar clearly picked it.

"If this is a prank, I will murder all of you." She threatened with a strained smile.

"Not just fire us?" Grian inquired.

"I'm not that kind, Grian." Cleo said calmly.

"Oh shush, it's not a prank." Bdubs said. "Hurry up. We don't have all night!"

"Alright alright!"

She was a little more careful with the wrapping paper, peeling only the edges and the tape off to half-preserve it. Maybe she'd cut out a few cats later and save them on a pin board. The box was luckily already opened with just a piece of scotch holding the tops together, so it was easy to open and look inside. All there was inside was a folded piece of paper, and a card.

"If this is a gift card to my own shop..." She warned, glancing back at the group suspiciously.

"Just read it!" Grian insisted with an eye roll.

She picked up the card first, and opened it, reading through it silently. Everyone was watching her, waiting for her to repeat it out loud, but she didn't, just closing it and putting it to the side. Cleo was skilled at hiding her emotions, but a few people near her could see the tiny quirk of a smile on one side of her face. Awh.

Next was the folded piece of paper.

"We bought you a new caffeine machine!" was written in sharpie with a little heart and a little coffee cup drawn next to it. There was at least effort to make the handwriting nice, but at the same time, it was clear a few letters were wrong and then not so slyly changed into the correct ones. It was messy, but it was sweet.

"Wait what?" She muttered, rereading it a few times.

"Told you, Scar." Grian mumbled.

"Well I thought it was clear enough!" Scar protested.

"Did you guys really?" She asked sincerely, meeting all of their faces slowly. None of them looked like they were holding back a mocking laugh, it was sincere smiles all around.

"Yeah," Keralis answered with a grin. "Figured we need a new one that Mumbo doesn't have to fix every other day."

"Trust me, it's a good one." Mumbo nodded. "I figured that when it does need repairs, it should be one I can actually fix up easily enough. It's a good model."

"How did you even afford-?"

"The same way you paid for the ambulance bill." Scar answered before she could finish.

"You guys..." She smiled with watery eyes. Her eyes couldn't meet theirs, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.

"Yeah, yeah bring it in." Bdubs said, moving towards Cleo before she could protest, with the others following suit. Surprisingly, she didn't push him away, nor any of the others, and even if it was a little bit of an awkward position with having to bend down to reach Scar as well, it was well worth the effort for the comfort of being together.

Hugging was nice.

Etho started at the group fondly. They were so close, and he could only hope he could be that close to Bdubs someday. With a final glance, he slipped away from the crowd in the eruption of cheers, unnoticed.

----

The commotion had settled down, and with activities slowing and becoming sparser, Etho had less things to distract himself with.

Hahahaha....

Bdubs had caught his eye quickly in the mess of everyone moving again, and he could only awkwardly smile back-

"Wait, could Bdubs even see that?" He thought, mentally, hitting his palm to his forehead. "My mask is on. Could he tell?"

-and pretend it wasn't actually melting both his heart and the stability of his limbs as he quickly looked away and ducked into a random room to get away.

It turned out to be the kitchen.

Etho wasn't trying to avoid him (seriously!!), but apparently the fact he accidently was had become increasingly clear to others as well. After Etho snagged a candy cane, and tucked it in his pocket for later (if it was crushed, that was fine), someone grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. He was about to fight back, but saw the striking orange hair quickly enough to recognize Cleo.

She pulled him to the side of an empty hallway, and he felt like he was about to be scolded or put in timeout, or maybe both.

"Cleo?"

Cleo took a breath before facing him, already looking at him with a subtle frown.

"Etho, it's painfully obvious you're avoiding him." Cleo said, crossing her arms. "Just talk to him."

Oh.

Oh that's what this was about.

"I am..." He couldn't think of anything better to say. ".. not. I am not avoiding him."

"You are ridiculously bad at lying." Cleo scoffed. "You were so good at it before."

"Well you know, the nicer your hair looks, the worse your lying skills become." He joked, slightly moving part of his out of the way of his eye.

"And I would be an outlier in that." She nodded like it was a fact. It was. Her hair looked perfect.

"Sure." He said.

"Stop distracting me, and stop avoiding the man that has been waiting to talk to you the whole night. Don't do that to him."

"I-" Etho started. Cleo cut him off.

"Do not say "I am not."" She said firmly.

Etho clamped his mouth shut.

"What is going on with you two?" Cleo asked sincerely, "Did you fight again?"

"No it's not-.... that."

"Then for the love of those incredible cupcakes that Scar brought, please talk to him."

"I.... can't." Etho deflated.

"Why?"

Words caught in his throat, he moved to just hand motions. He didn't know much sign language, but pointing to himself, and then making a heart with his hands with just a: "him" spoken seemed to get the message across.

"Oh. Right." Cleo said.

"Yeah."

"Well, are you going to tell him tonight?" She asked cautiously. "Is that why you're... like this?"

"I don't know."

"You should." The encouragement was light, unusual for Cleo, so Etho should've savored it, but his mind was half panicking and he barely heard the underlying tone of "and hey if you fuck up, I'll be there for you."

"I don't know if I can." Etho breathed. He looked behind her, making sure Bdubs wasn't about to pop out of nowhere and hear their conversation. That would probably stab the air from his chest more violently than the presentation in the lecture hall that day- the one Bdubs had to calm him down unknowingly from afterwards just so Etho could think straight. Fuck he was down bad, and as he thought it over, he might've been like this for longer than he realized.

He had been hit long before the stargazing night. His computer screen light had just been blinding him too much to see through the rose colored glasses clearly, and the break cleared his mind.

"Etho, it's been awhile since that sleepover, and while I can't guarantee anything, I can tell you have a shot. It's more likely than you think."

"I'm trying."

"You're avoiding him." Cleo reminded him. Equal parts helpfully and unhelpfully.

"I didn't say I was succeeding." Etho muttered. He crossed his arms defensively, and also a little bit to ground himself. Close himself off from the world and remind himself it wasn't all out to get him. He could hang out in the corner longer if he needed.

"This is your internal battle." Cleo shook her head, dropping her arms. "There's nothing I can help you with other than shoving you together under the mistletoe, which I doubt you'd appreciate in the moment of it."

"Correct." He answered stiffly. She wouldn't dare.

It looked like Cleo was about to say something. Maybe encouraging, maybe with a tease to cover it up, but before they could, another person popped into the hallway unannounced. Etho almost lept back further than he was capable of, until he realized the green on the person was much too light and they had too much brown on them to match Bdubs' attire for the night.

"Hey whatcha guys talking about?" Iskall asked with a bright smile, clearly happy about interrupting their deep conversation.

"Nothing."

"Bdubs."

They said at the same time. Etho glared at Cleo, but she just shrugged. "They already know dude."

Iskall's eyes widened in realization. "Wait-" they grinned. "Wait are you going to te-"

Etho shot a very pointed look. "Do not finish that sentence."

Iskall shut up, but they looked all too smug and happy for it.

"But...."Etho paused and breathed silently. "...yes. I was trying."

"He was failing." Cleo added, very helpfully.

"Ok dude." Iskall started, and Etho was confused as to why they were so invested. "You can do this; I believe in you."

"Ok?"

"First things first, you have to get him alone. If going into a room is weird, go outside."

Oh.

Oh that was actually pretty helpful.

Outside. That was a step Etho could do and accomplish to get the ball rolling!

"Ok. And then?" Etho asked, trying to hide the hope in his voice.

"And then tell him!" Iskall said.

He sighed. "I feel there should be more steps in between." Etho muttered.

"Maybe, but it's what you got." Cleo shrugged. "Now go get 'em tiger. And if jealousy is what you thrive on," She lowered her voice, and it was clearly an act, but the tone made a shiver roll down Etho's spine. "Then if you don't get him, I will."

She had a look that said "I'm kidding", "Not really", and "As if!" all mixed into one, but she was right about the jealousy kicking in. Etho really did not want anyone else to ask Bdubs out or confess before he could.

A plan (a very minor, 1-step, barely helpful plan) and a new sense of urgency was bubbling in his veins, and with that, he took a breath, uncrossed his arms and walked out of the hallway.

"Ok." He said instead of goodbye, and the others merely nodded, with silent "goodluck"'s hanging in the air.

"I'd make a bet with you on whether or not he'll do it." Cleo muttered to Iskall when Etho was out of earshot. They looked at her. "But I don't want to put you into debt if Grian ends up winning this one."

----

"So, Grian, Mumbo," Scar nodded towards each of them. "I've brought you here to discuss some news that has come to my attention."

Grian and Mumbo looked at each other, thoroughly confused, and then back at Scar. They were sorta out of the way of the party, but there were enough people in the room to not let the serious tone overwhelm the vibe. Grian was a little busy- he barely had the chance to talk to Ren or Doc the whole night and the clock was ticking,- and so whatever Scar was planning, he hoped it was quick.

"Which is....?" Grian asked, titling his head.

"Which is the fact that you two kissed!" Scar pouted.

Mumbo immediately flushed red and started waving his hands in front of him. While Grian sputtered out a question in shock.

"W-where did you hear that?!"

"From Cleo of course!" Scar said, "She told me all about how she walked in from the backroom and Bdubs said you two were making out. Before I even put up the mistletoe no less!"

"Scar we-"

"That's not how-"

"Oh hush hush," Scar interrupted them, ignoring their protests. "I just want a little kiss too, is that so much to ask?"

Scar was making puppy eyes at the two of them. He stopped for a second and scooped up Jellie, much to her annoyance, and had both her and him making cute faces at Grian and Mumbo.

"There's not even any mistletoe here dude." Mumbo weakly protested. He was more embarrassed than actually uncomfortable, but it was true that no mistletoe had been hung up in this room.

"Who do you think brought the stash here?" Scar smiled. Out of a bag on the side of his wheelchair, he pulled out a little sprig of mistletoe. Oh Mumbo was cherry red now.

"Well uh- I mean I guess- if you really want.."

"Yes." Scar simply said, before acting very confidently as he wheeled closer to the mustachioed man.

Scar pulled Mumno's tie down (it really was his fault for wearing a tie to an event like this!) and kissed the side of his cheek happily.

Mumbo stood up, dazed, with a little confused smile.

"Come on G, I meant both of you!" The way Scar said it, it allowed for a "no" answer, but Grian couldn't push himself to say it. With a fond roll of his eyes, he bent down to Scar's level, and Scar kissed him on the forehead.

"Now go on, you two too." He ushered. It wasn't fair if just Scar got to kiss them both after all!

There really was no use arguing with Scar. Really. That's why Grian had no quick remark to say when Mumbo offered his hand, shyly looking away, and he took it silently, kissing it like a prince would.

Maybe finding Ren or Doc could wait a little longer.

----

Bdubs was weaving through crowds, trying to get a glimpse of the white haired hottie (He could use that name confidently and on purpose now! In his head, of course) so they could talk again. The first conversation was short and half interrupted- half ruined by Bdubs spacing out, and fully awkward. Maybe now that Etho had gotten used to the party they could have a more normal conversation. It was worth a shot!

"Allo Bdubs!" Stress said as she noticed him. "How's the party been? I haven't seen you much tonight."

"Oh it's going great!" Bdubs said, indulging to be polite. Well, no, Stress was his friend, and he liked talking to her! It was just that someone else was a little more on his mind currently.

"I have to say everyone's cooking skills have greatly improved." She nodded approvingly. "And the ones who haven't... Well store bought can be wonderful too. Say Bdubs, do you want a cooking lesson?"

Bdubs was about to say something to make the conversation go quicker, but he stopped and actually thought it over.

"Hmm, is it just one on one? Or like a group thing?"

"Either-or, luv!" Stress explained. "I've been teaching Iskall about some savory stuff my mum made for me when I was little. False has taken a lesson for lemon cake, and Ex is over their head about sweets. They want to invite a friend or two next time, and all I need is a heads up if you 'ave someone in mind that you'd like to bring."

He wasn't even sure if he could consider him and Ex friends, but then a spark lit in his mind. Etho. Cooking or baking lessons with him would give Bdubs a chance to show off about how well he could crack an egg with one hand!- Well so what if he only did that once- he probably could do it again!

Realizing he had been silent for a few moments too long, he cleared his head of his cooking with Etho fantasies to respond to Stress. Who was definitely looking at him weirdly now.

"Yeah actually- I have someone in mind, but I'd have to ask him. Could I text you later?"

"Of course hun, I just need a week's notice. Essays have not been kind to me." Stress chuckled.

"Oh! I heard Gem was good at those, if you need help. I'd offer, but I'm in the same sinking ship as you."

"Yes, Gem 'as helped me on a few. She is great."

"You're right, Gem is great." Bdubs nodded with a chuckle. It was becoming an inside joke now, and everyone was trying to say "Gem is great." as much as they could for next to no reason, but it was fun!

"I'll let you go back to whateva' you were doing before, luv."

"Oh I was just looking for Etho."

There was a slight pause. Bdubs hoped Stress hadn't caught on.

"Etho?"

"Yeah, I haven't gotten to talk to him much yet and I wanted to check up on him and, y'know, say hi." Bdubs paused with an awkward half-grin. "Again."

"Aw that's sweet of ya." She had a knowing smile- and Bdubs knew Keralis wouldn't tell without permission, but had she already caught on?

"Yeah- anyways, uh, thanks for the offer by the way!"

"Of course luv! And ask him what he wants to make so I can prepare the ingredients."

Bdubs was about to agree, before he realized he never said who was planning to bring.

"How did she-?" But before he could turn back to ask her, the bright pink color had disappeared in the crowds.

"She definitely knows." Bdubs muttered to himself in defeat.

"Huh."

He resumed his search, and thankfully there were only a few crowded rooms to look through. In the 3rd one, Etho was there, front and center and glowing.

"Take it slow, Bdubs." He told himself, shuffling into the room casually like he just-so-happened to end up here.

He walked up to the conversation that Etho was in. Something about electronics- which Bdubs didn't understand, but it was cool to listen to. Doc noticed him and nodded, and then Etho started explaining the theory of adding AI to a videogame to make it more realistic.

"That sounds cool." Bdubs smiled a little. Etho looked so cool when he talked about something passionately.

"Right, but what if it soft locks the player into a death loop? Not to mention we couldn't do much on stilts because the AI could just die." Doc countered. Beef was next to him nodding, and had a notepad in his hand clearly writing down whatever seemed cool. Bdubs felt like he just stepped into a very important meeting.

"Then we make sure all creatures that soft-lock can be killed and discarded of." Etho said, and at that moment, he caught Bdubs eye, who was shamelessly staring. He almost froze on the spot. It was very subtle, but the way Etho stopped swaying and his arm went stiff by his side had Bdubs confused.

"Is it because of me?"

"You know that will be a pain to code." Doc huffed. "It's a whole new feature per creature."

"I'm telling you, it will look cooler overall." Etho said.

"I think I have to side with Etho here." Beef said, barely tearing his gaze away from the book for a second. "I could end up being less to code if we keep the AI simple, and judging by the world building we have down, a few accidental soft-locks won't ruin it."

"I have some experience with AI." Sausage offered. "Beef was telling me about your game and I think I could at least help with the moving world aspect."

"That sounds incredible." Bdubs said without thinking.

"Huh?" Etho and Doc turned towards him. And the rest of the group was also glancing at him now. Way to put on the pressure!

"Oh uh sorry for interrupting." Bdubs backtracked, "It's just that sounds so cool, making AI for a videogame. I have no idea how that works- but you guys are just going for it! It's cool."

"Thanks B." Doc nodded. "You can be a tester if you have a weekend free. That is, if we ever get it working."

"Oh really?" Bdubs grinned. An excuse to hang out with Etho (and Doc, his friend.) more! "That would be inc- cool! That would be cool."

Etho seemed to freeze up more, and Bdubs gulped, pulling away a little.

"Hey, with all of us working on it, it'll be done in no time." Beef said confidently. "Mumbo said he's done AI too, before. He actually mentioned it being an accident? However that happened. But he now has an AI digital robot son that's only mildly sentient and corrupt, so he could probably help us with a few mobs at least."

Bdubs was just staring at all of them now in awe, mostly at Etho, listening to them talk about mechanics and goals for the player. It was so cool to hear ideas get bounced around in real time, and a part of him felt like he was watching history unfold.

Bdubs glanced at Etho again, and they made eye contact. Etho looked away very quickly and instantly looked more uncomfortable, and Bdubs felt guilty for a reason he didn't understand.

"Uh, I gotta go-" Etho excused himself after a while. They were halfway through talking about something- it had only been a few minutes since Bdubs showed up- and they were very clearly not done with the conversation.

"Do what?" Doc raised an eyebrow and looked Etho up and down like he knew something Bdubs didn't.

"Something important." Etho gritted out, sending a quick glare to Doc. He waved politely, but distantly, at Bdubs and slipped out of the conversation just like that.

Bdubs tried to reach forwards, call out to Etho something- anything -to make him stay, but his hand fell half way through, frown twisting onto his face. "Oh, ok."

He tried not to look too disappointed- people were probably staring- so he lifted his shoulders back up and smiled a little more, avoiding eye contact as he shuffled away. Muttering some half-assed excuse of going to the bathroom or something just to leave.

----

"You're avoiding him, man." Doc stated.

He had caught up with the coward after telling Beef and Sausage he wanted to grab more food and a break could be good for them all, and was now staring Etho down in the corner they were secluded in. The party was still pretty loud around them, a little more mellow than before, but Doc could still hear Etho's poor excuse as well as he could read his pathetic body language all folded in and nervous.

"Am not." Etho protested weakly, folding his arms. It was probably to look a little more confident and grounded, but with his frame hunched over he just looked even more like a scared away animal.

"Oh?" Doc raised an eyebrow, and slowly started to raise his hand. Etho's eyes went wide. "Well let me just call him over for a cha-"

Etho grabbed Doc's arm and smacked his hand down. "Don't you dare-"

"So you admit it then. You're avoiding him."

"I just have nothing to say."

"You have everything to say."

"I don't know how to say it."

"Then it's either improvise or rehearse it." Doc said. "Take your pick or flip a coin," Doc leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "But stop avoiding him, because he's going to take it the wrong way and you will lose your shot and mope about it for all of eternity. We share an apartment, Etho. Don't put me through that."

Etho just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Listen, if shit goes south, I'll be there for you. You'd do the same for me. But avoiding him is just going to make you both miserable, and me by extension. Do the math and don't be an idiot."

"Fine, I'll-... I'll say hi or something." Etho muttered, half to get Doc off his back, and half to make the rest of himself have to do it now. He would talk to Bdubs. He could-.. No. He would do this.

All he had to do was offer to go outside.

---

It wasn't hard to find Bdubs. The moss hoodie made him stand out, and he was loud and happy in a group of people. The music of his laughter was enough to guide Etho in the right direction. The hard part was forcing his feet to move forwards, making his heart beat at a normal and steady pace, and breathing through his mouth to make sure he'd actually be able to get words out when he got close to Bdubs. It was easier for his throat to close up in a panic when he was breathing through his nose.

"Just breathe. Through my mouth."

He pushed himself forwards, right as Bdubs was stepping away from a group. An opening.

He could do this.

----

Bdubs sighed, and stepped away from the entrance of the door that led to the room where Etho was in.

It was clear Etho had been avoiding him the whole night. It stung a little, but maybe he was just having an off day and needed some breathing room?

But.... he had seen Etho talking with Doc and Cleo and Iskall and some others plenty, so why was it just him he was avoiding?

Was Bdubs that clingy?

"No. No that's not why." He told himself.

His heart wasn't in the statement, though.

Bdubs tried to brush it off, but the thoughts kept creeping back, until he just accepted that he should just stop trying. He had a ton of friends here, he should just relax and enjoy the party- which is what the point of the party was! Not to stress about some unattainable guy standing across the room, right out of reach.

He let loose a little more, laughing loudly in a group of friends at some joke he barely understood and getting more touchy with friends and probably eating one too many cookies instead of actual meal-like foods.

Joel and Grian had ganged up on teasing Jimmy while Scott stood to the side chuckling, and Lizzy and Stress were exchanging cookie recipes in the corner. He was laughing with Scar who had somehow gotten Jellie into a Christmas theme headband and they were taking photos, and it was fun! Bdubs was having fun, without or without Etho!

He stepped away from the group, needing a bit of a breather after all of the laughing and talking, and eyed the counter with the hot chocolate, apple cider, and water machines.

Then, within barely a moment choosing between the warm drinks across the room, he felt a presence near him and he turned around. Etho had walked up to him.

"Hey Bdubs."

He was so close, and Bdubs felt his heart skip a beat as he looked up at the man who was looking just over his head.

"Oh hey Etho!" He stopped and grinned, and something just felt right. "How are ya enjoying the party?"

"It's pretty good- uh, the cookies and cupcakes are good." Etho said sheepishly, a hand behind his neck.

"Have you even had any?" Bdubs asked doubtfully with a playful grin.

Etho chuckled. "No, but Beef keeps telling me to try a cupcake. I might snag one of each for later before they're gone."

"Good thing Scar made so many cupcakes, I don't think they'll ever run out." Bdubs chuckled. "You can tell which cookies Lizzy decorated. They're prettier."

"Don't let Joel hear you say that." Etho smiled. He glanced at the corner Joel was in, but he was preoccupied with messing up Jimmy's hair to hear anything.

Without really thinking about it, they moved towards the corner of a room a little more so they could hear each other talking over all of the noise. Bdubs was trying to keep his distance and not scare Etho off, but it was a little hard with so many people moving and talking around them. There was some music in the distance, and the room was much hotter than it was before. He had barely noticed how sweaty he was getting in his hoodie until now.

Etho practically read his mind, leaning a little closer to him to speak.

"It's kinda stuffy in here, wanna talk outside for a second?" Etho asked, heart near his throat, all but making him choke the words out.

"Yeah it's way hotter in here than before. Probably with how many people there are." Bdubs processed the request fully and tried to swallow his smile. Oh right! He had to answer the question. "Uh sure, yeah outside. Lemme just grab some hot chocolate first. Looks freezing out there." Bdubs said, not even realizing that he had made up his mind about the drinks. Hot chocolate just sounded perfect at the moment.

"Grab me one too?" Etho asked, and Bdubs had to stop himself from making a mess of himself as Etho gave him such a look.

He nodded with a quick and casual "Yeah, course," and set off to the drinks table, while out of the corner of his eye, Etho was moving towards the door and grabbing his coat. It had a faux fur collar that was so fluffy and Bdubs had half thought about being tiny and sleeping in it. That would be the life.

"Ok, just a casual talk with a friend outside. This is normal. This is fine." Bdubs told himself, taking a slow deep breath in and out. He was at the table now, grabbing two cups for the both of them.

He paused, setting them down on the table, and saw candy canes. Throwing one in the bottom of his drink, and grabbing an extra in case Etho wanted one, all he had to now was flick the switch and fill them up, stick some lids on, and walk to what he felt like was the love of his life, waiting for him to hurry the hell up, probably.

He smiled to himself, and right as he was about to pour Etho's, something caught his eye.

A red sharpie.

He inhaled, trying to curb the smile that caught a ride with the stupidly sentimental idea coming to mind.

Old habits die hard, especially for Hopeless-Fucking-Romantics.

----

Etho was not pacing. No! He was just uh- testing the ground a little, making sure it wasn't dangerously icy or anything! And it wasn't. Which was good. Because if it was icy, then Bdubs might fall again! And he might not be able to catch Bdubs! And that would be bad! Slippery ice was no joke.

Yeah. That was the only reason.

"Who am I even lying to?" He wistfully thought, sighing. He could almost see his breath through the mask, it was so cold.

Ok. So maybe Etho was a little nervous. He could(n't) admit that. Doc had told him to take his shot, and tonight, he planned to do that. It might not work out, and Etho was completely ready to give up at the slightest mistake or hint of rejection.

It wasn't long before he heard the handle click and the door swung open. Someone had clearly opened it for Bdubs, seeing as it shut behind him after he stepped out of the doorway, and he was carrying cups in both hands. There were muffled conversational sounds from the doorway, but it faded off as the door was closed, and Etho was realizing Bdubs was staring right at him.

It wasn't so cold anymore, but he'd still blame the red tips of his ears on the biting frost in the air before anything else.

"Hey," Bdubs started, and Etho then realized he'd been staring in silence for a little while now.

"Hey." It came out a little forced, a little raspy, and Etho seriously wished he mentally and physically prepared more than his quick space out with the time he had alone. Including clearing his throat beforehand to avoid that.

Thank void Bdubs was kind enough to not mention it.

Ha. Bdubs and kind in the same sentence.

It was true though, Etho knew. Even if Bdubs didn't try to be, he was kind at heart, and it had Etho digging himself deeper into the abyss of love. He refused to drop the shovel just yet.

"Spilled a little on the sides of the cups." Bdubs mentioned. "Sorry it took a sec to clean up and get out here. Didn't mean to leave you waiting."

Etho couldn't tell if that was a lie or not- couldn't tell if Bdubs was just as nervous and wanted to take the extra second to breathe too- But he kinda hoped it wasn't because Bdubs was mad at him for practically avoiding him for the whole party.

He should apologize for that.

He didn't.

"'S fine." Etho answered. "I told you I'm practically resistant right? A minute out here has nothing on me. It's colder than I expected though."

"Hope this cures whatever frostbite you got then." Bdubs smiled.

Etho smiled under his mask and his breath felt heavy as he exhaled and it warmed up his face even more.

"Here," He handed it over, and they brushed fingertips as Etho tried to pick it up without trapping Bdubs's hand there as well. Not that he would really mind, all alone as there were here, but he didn't want to make Bdubs uncomfortable.

"Thanks." Etho turned it over in his hand, and noticed a splash of color on the otherwise blank white cup. With eyebrows furrowed, he turned it around, feeling Bdubs eyes on him. A little embarrassingly, he really liked the feeling of Bdubs's attention on him.

There was writing on it- a phone number to be specific -and a little red heart at the end of it that was clearly scribbled out quickly.

"It's uh.." Bdubs chuckled softly. "It's how I wanted to give you my number the first time."

Etho's words were stuck in his throat, (crap he forgot to breathe) and no sound came out as Bdubs started talking again.

"It's dumb, I know, but I wanted to be your friend so badly before, and this was the only thing I came up with to give you my number." Bdubs looked to the side. "Guess I didn't need that though. Iskall just handed it to me after your presentation."

Etho wanted to blurt out that it wasn't dumb- that it was actually sweet, and he was actively digging deeper now. There was no going back, -but the words weren't flowing, and something completely different came out instead.

"Before we went stargazing."

"Yeah." Bdubs whispered. "Before stargazing."

The stars were out tonight. Not as bright, but Etho wanted to pretend he could still recognize the constellations Bdubs had shown him that night.

That night that he-

That he fell in-

"...."

That stargazing night.

That one.

It was a comfortable silence for a while, and Etho pulled down his mask to take a sip of the hot chocolate, hoping it had cooled enough.

The frostbitten air had done him justice, at least, and the drink was cooled enough to warm his chest without burning his tongue. Not that his chest needed much warming, because just being in the proximity of Bdubs had him sighing in content with a fluttering glow near his heart.

So this was what being in love was like.

"Told you I could admit it." He told his brain, winning the argument before it started. He had the most talkative person he knew next to him, and he was still talking to himself instead! Ugh.

Etho was ready to feel sore, he guessed, but just the idea had the butterflies stirring again, so he settled for a little more stalling. Maybe if he forced himself to have to say it all before he went in, then he would get so cold he would be desperate to go inside, so his brain would go into "self preservation mode" and allow him to say the thing to unlock the ability to go inside!

He needed to get off his computer a little more, it seemed.

"Thanks." He muttered, lifting up the cup slightly for a second sip. "This is good,"

"I didn't make it." Bdubs stated, a chuckle lining his voice but not quite there.

"You gave it to me."

"Yeah. I did."

Etho exhaled. He could see it in front of him. He could see Bdubs also breathing. They were just breathing together, maybe a foot or two apart. Etho never wanted this blissful moment to end, but it was clear Bdubs was getting a little antsy with all of the silence. Or maybe Bdubs was getting colder faster than him.

When Bdubs started to speak, right on schedule, Etho just smiled.

"Y'know," Bdubs started with a breath in. Etho looked over to him with his full attention, and Bdubs eyes flicked downwards- right. Etho wasn't wearing his mask-.

He paused. "... actually, I have no idea what I was about to say." Bdubs admitted with a laugh.

Etho laughed too. "Really?"

"I guess my words were ahead of my brain."

"That's nothing new for you, but being speechless afterwards has got to be."

"Hey!"

"Bdubs," He said the name so fondly, like he was talking to someone else about the man in front of him. "Who knew he could be at a loss for words." Etho mused. "Wonder what caused it."

The mock of a chuckle from Bdubs clearly said the answer: "You", but Etho ignored the signs. He couldn't get his hopes up just yet.

He took another sip of the hot chocolate. It was a little more lukewarm now, but still tasted good. The power of mass amounts of sugar!

"What did they put in this?" Etho murmured. "It's really good."

"I think Mumbo added redstone dust and Ren added dog hair." Bdubs answered calmly.

"Bleh don't put that image in my mind!"

"You asked! Maybe redstone tastes really good or something!"

"It is absolutely toxic, Bdubs."

"But if it tastes good, would the toxici-sis-ity be worth it?" Bdubs titled his head to the side. Etho looked to the side to avoid the blush fighting to creep up his cheeks. He blamed it on the cold.

"No! And- wait how did you just pronounce toxicity?"

"Ignore that." Bdubs said, waving his hand quickly.

"Toxic-sis-isis-icy-is?" Etho mocked with a smile.

"It was not that bad!" Bdubs defended. "It's a hard word!"

"Toxicity, toxicity, toxic-kitty-ity." Etho tried to say it 3 times fast, but screwed up, only proving Bdubs point further. Bdubs was staring at Etho's lips moving a little too much, but Etho didn't notice as he tripped over his own tongue and Bdubs had the chance to say something instead of getting caught.

"See! It's hard."

"I said it right 2 times." Etho said. "You couldn't even get it once!"

"Whatever. Words are dumb." Bdubs crossed his arms and huffed.

"What were we even talking about?" Etho wondered.

"Uh..." Bdubs paused, and saw Etho's cup, the red writing sitting there. "Right! Redstone in hot chocolate."

"That still sounds bad to me."

"Don't knock it till you try it!"

"Trying it would get you in the hospital."

"Would you visit me everyday with flowers if I got toxcis-is-icisic-ity-kitty poisoning from redstone hot chocolate?"

Etho laughed, and Bdubs wanted him to continue laughing forever. Especially without his mask on. His face was so pretty.

"Yes I would. And I'd also bring you normal hot chocolate to show you how stupid you were." Etho was chucking still, but he meant every word. Maybe if he got rejected though he'd ditch the flowers. They could still be friends though right? OH WAIT CRAP- that's what he came out here to tell Bdubs in the first place.

The atmosphere died down a little bit as they both breathed more quietly, Etho deep in thought.

A harsh breeze blew past them, almost as if ghosts were trying to push them together. It worked- damn ghosts -because Bdubs shuffled closer to Etho a little for the warmth of someone else near him. There was a lamp post near them, with a little concrete platform to hold it up. Perfect for standing on and feeling taller, for looking ahead, for setting his cup down so he would have free hands or wouldn't spill it....

Etho set it down, turning a little to keep his face just out of Bdubs's view, and tried not to audibly take a final breath. He could do this.

"So uh, Bdubs."

"Yeah?"

"I kinda wanted to tell you- ask you? I guess? Something. Real quick." Etho said. It felt like he was punched in the lung with the way he had to force the words out. He could barely hear himself. He hoped whatever he just said came out as coherent.

Bdubs just looked at him, waiting for him to continue with his undivided attention. Hah wow. Etho really was nervous now.

He took another breath, one that was visible in the freezing air.

His nerves were on fire, and the blush was ready to creep up his neck after his next words. He couldn't really tell if his heart was beating faster, harder, or had completely stopped, because everything in his body was freezing up as he focused on tripping over his next words too horribly. 

This was it, now or fucking never.

"I think I uh- like-like you."

That was the dumbest fucking way to put it. Oh my god he sounded like a middle schooler talking like that! Welp, that was it. Etho just admitted he liked Bdubs, in the dumbest fucking way, and was about to be rejected (fairly so), and now he just had to wait for the stab of his heart. Hopefully the freezing weather would numb it a little. The cold was kind; it could do that for him.

"Oh." Bdubs breathed out, dumbstruck.

Etho's heart dropped. The air was ice cold, and froze his lips as they started to frown. He wanted to turn and run away. His feet refused to move.

"Wait wait-!" Bdubs stopped him before he could say anything. Not like Etho was planning to- his heart felt stuck in his throat.

"Oh woah- wow!" Bdubs let out a strangled noise between both a cry and a laugh and something else, which only had Etho confused.

"Ok. Ok woah. Haha yeah." Bdubs said, then hummed.

"Ok. Ok." He whispered again. "You got this B." It was almost silent, but Etho heard it.

"Did you just give yourself a pep talk?" Etho said, dumbfounded. With emotions basically bluescreened for the time being, he didn't think twice about blurting it out.

"Hey! You try hearin' a love confession in the middle of the damn ice age and see how it goes!" Bdubs argued. "I'm tryna- I'm tryna figure out words here to be sincere here so shuddup."

That broke Etho. He hardly registered what those words implied, but just started giggling to himself.

"Agh! Didn't I just say-!!" Bdubs started

"Sorry sorry!" Etho put his hand over his mouth. "As you were trying to say?"

"You ruined the moment." Bdubs stated, rolling his eyes playfully. He didn't mean it.

"No no, I interrupted, what were you going to tell me?" Etho asked again, those piercing eyes going straight through Bdubs soul. Bdubs almost choked as he nervously chuckled, not sure if he should break eye contact or not. Etho's hair was out of his face for once.

"Oh jeez it's cold, we should go back in." Bdubs protested, and weakly tried to move past Etho towards the house, but Etho just slid to the side, blocking him. Bdubs gave up immediately, but now they were closer together than before.

"Nah, the cold weather isn't bothering me." Etho said.

"You're Canadian."

"So?"

"So? SO?! So you're like a freaking penguin out here!" Bdubs said. "Course you're not cold."

"Do you want my jacket?"

"No." Bdubs answered simply.

It was quiet. It was calm. Etho was a little bit of a happy-terrified-nervous wreck. Cause like- Bdubs hadn't said anything yet, but it also wasn't a no yet, and-

Etho took a breath in. "Bdubs. I just like uh-... just uh- kinda confessed."

"Yeah?"

You could uh, reject or not reject me now?"

Bdubs mouth creased into a line, eyes wide and nervous. "Oh. Yeah." He remembered.

"As you were saying?" Etho offered, gentler. It was weird how his tone was smooth, with how fast his heart was racing it was a miracle his words weren't doing the same.

"As I was saying..I mmerugh. Mm." Bdubs mumbled, crossing arms and looking off to the side.

"Yes?"

"I murr-ert mm mm too." Bdubs repeated, still most slurred and mumbled.

"What?" Etho smirked. The hope was taking over. At the very least, Bdubs wouldn't be cutting off the friendship with how much of a reaction he'd gotten so far.

"I might like-like you too!" Bdubs exclaimed, red as a strawberry. It was the cold of course. That's why the tips of his ears were red.

Etho let himself grin, proudly and freely.

"Wow. Cool." He whispered, almost breathless.

"Did you just say cool!?" Bdubs asked in shock. "Here I thought I was actin' like a fool, messin' up words."

"You don't need an awkward situation to act like a fool." Etho teased.

"hEY!"

They were laughing a little, until it died down, and the whistle of the wind took its place.

The calm atmosphere was back, but it was a little more hopeful and less than nervous before. They were both grinning- or trying not too, and staring at each other with little awkward glances to the side.

They both just confessed. They both like-liked each other. It was starting to settle in for the both of them.

"Uh..heh." Bdubs started, breaking the silence.

Etho merely hummed, looking towards Bdubs. He had never pulled his mask back up after the sip of coca, and that fact was becoming more clear each second.

Bdubs's eyes flicked down and saw his pale lips, illuminated by the streetlight and the moonlight mixing together and he was mesmerized. He stared in awe and his lips parted without permission as he took in the beauty of the man in front of him.

"Can I kiss you?" Bdubs whispered softly, the loudest sound in the world to Etho.

Etho's breath visibly hitched, but he didn't back up as their bodies were inches apart, close enough to share the warmth and block out the night air.

"Yeah..." Etho breathed out.

Puffs of water vapor mixed together in the streetlight at night as they leaned forwards, trying to maneuver comfortably to try this.

It was so informal, and there was a little bit of that silly awkwardness that neither could push away- something to laugh at later-, and Bdubs slowly cupped Etho's face and stared into his eyes. He brushed Etho's shimmering white hair from his face and memorized what he saw, refusing to let the image go for all of time. Etho closed his eyes, and he followed suit, leaning in halfway.

Etho took a deep breath and Bdubs could feel the calm exhale on his parted mouth. It was a rush of warmth, and as a breeze of the night air washed back over them and took the warmth away, he was almost disappointed. Their mouths were barely an inch apart.

Now don't get this wrong, alright? Etho was overall, a less than social guy. An introvert. Awkward a bit, but also cool and mysterious, and also a nerd. An interesting guy. What he was not, was confident, forward, confrontational- the list goes on.

But, despite his many, many issues, Etho was the one to leap forward, closing the gap with what could only be described as a loving and hopeful smile pressed to Bdubs's. Bdubs reciprocated just as much, pulling Etho down more gently and going on his toes to meet higher.

It was freezing outside. The tiny flakes of snow starting to fall and even a glance at a thermometer could tell you that. But these fools couldn't feel a thing besides each other in that moment.

Yeah, yeah. They were in love or somethin'.

---

They laughed afterwards. Awkwardly looked away, and then at each other, and laughed some more, and hugged, and yeah. They tried holding hands for a second- a little weird with the fingerless gloves and Etho's freezing fingertips-, and Etho finished the last of his cold-chocolate (which Bdubs stole a sip of) and then the night air was really getting to them, and they decided to head back inside.

Etho pulled his mask back up, before grabbing the handle, and they both let go of their interlocked hands (silently agreeing to keep it a secret from everyone for at least the night.) and walked back inside, curtain in the window swaying. It almost felt like a dream, afterwards. Neither was sure that if they shifted too much, they would feel a blanket they could pull back onto themselves and let the dream continue for 5 more minutes before being forced to wake up. They hoped not. They really didn't want this to be a dream.

The party seemed normal for the most part, but Bdubs was having a hard time suppressing his smile and looking away from Etho, and Etho was hoping his mask hid enough of his face so it wasn't too obvious he was smiling more than normal too.

And then, someone in the crowd yelled something about movies, and Ren's place had a really big movie-theater-esk area with almost enough seating for everyone. (the floor and other people's laps counted as seating, right?) Bdubs, loud and happy and not afraid to push people out of the way for a good seat, grabbed the couch off to the side instantly, and Etho slipped in after just-so-coincidentally, and sat next to Bdubs. Hmm what a coincidence!

It was casual. Just 2 friends, sitting on a couch together. Maybe leaning on one another a bit- because the couch was small! Of course!

But as the movie progressed, and Etho found himself leaning a little closer to a drowsy Bdubs each minute, he couldn't help but rest his face into Bdubs's hair just a little, breathing in deeply through the thin mask.

Etho sighed contently and closed his eyes with his arm around Bdubs, completely apathetic to the world or people around him in the moment.

Bdubs smelled like coffee.

---------

(14125 words, by far, the longest chapter in this book. had to go out with a bang guys.) 

Gonna say this quick so people don't leave just yet THERE WILL BE AN EXTRA EPILOGUE THING!! Don't leave please! I have more written! And also a formal au revoir in the next chapter that will be posted later today, because i don't want to fill up this chapter with too much nonsense. Have a wonderful day or night readers!

Oh plus a book 2  is coming so haha don't leave. yeah. follow me so you don't miss it!