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Bdubs had a strict sleep schedule, he went to bed at 8:30 and woke up at 6:30 every single night. Except tonight, you see, when you have a boyfriend as nocturnal as Etho, you have to be willing to stay up a little later then normal. However, what Bdubs didn't expect was to be up at 1:45 am on a Sunday night (now Monday morning). He had been helping Etho with a Redstone project that he need all hands on deck for, this meant that Bdubs wasn't the only one helping. Impuse, Doc, and Ren were helping out too. If you asked Bdubs he would not be able to tell you how all of these men stayed wide awake when he was two Redstone repeaters from collapsing. If you asked the others their answer was simple, coffee, like, a butt-load of coffee. Oh! That and Bdubs was pretty sure Etho and Doc were vampires!
Bdubs was setting the ticks on the Redstone Repeater on the ground in front him, it was getting harder and harder to keep himself awake. Bdubs had been out here since noon and he honestly didn't mind it, sure the Glare hybrid got panic attacks when he was in the dark and he enjoyed sleeping but he also enjoyed spending time with Etho. Since he was a bat.
"Hey dude, you alright?" Ren asked, as he walked over to get more materials.
Bdubs blinked slowly at him, "Yeah, just kinda tired," He offered up a smile, but all Ren did was look worried.
"You know... You can go tell Etho you're tired, right? He'll be fine with you leaving, you should take care of yourself dude," Bdubs just continued to smile.
"I'm fine Ren! Don't worry about me!" Then he went back to setting ticks.
Ren opened his mouth to say something but he clearly decided against it. Opting to instead just walk away.
It was around 3:00 am that they finally finished the giant fireworks display thingy, to be honest Bdubs didn't really know what it was or what it did but he really didn't care because seeing the look on Etho's face was all that mattered. The man all but beamed at the contraption in front of the 5 of them, Bdubs walked over to Etho and placed his head on his shoulder. Etho absent-mindedly placed hid arm around Bdubs' waist pulling him closer and pressing a quick kiss to the top of the brunettes head through his mask. Which surprised Bdubs enough to flinch.
"Thank you guys for helping me," He said turning back to his friends, arm remaining around Bdubs's waist.
"No problem man, this was super fun," Doc said, Ren nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! If you need anything else I'm sure we'd all be glad to help!" Impulse responded, as bright and energetic as ever.
To Bdubs; Impulse reminded him of a kangaroo, always full of energy and jumping around all happily.
They all said their goodbyes and the three Redstoners went back to their bases. Bdubs rested his head on Etho's shoulder again and yawned.
Etho just laughed and smiled at his boyfriend, "We should probably get you to bed 'Dubs," Etho said, Bdubs only nodded his brain was mush at this point.
Etho began to walk in the direction of the Monolith when Bdubs grabbed his wrist stopping him in his tracks.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Um the Monolith?" Etho said, as if it was obvious.
"Why? I thought you started your base?" Bdubs knew about Etho living in his basement, though, he moved out a while ago, and by a while ago he means 5 months ago.
Etho didn't respond to this however, he just laughed and twisted his wrist so his hand was now intertwined with Bdubs's own. Then he began to walk backwards, still facing Bdubs. Bdubs thought this was a terrible idea because if Etho tripped he would go down with him.
"I did start my base," Etho said after a few minutes, spinning Bdubs like they were doing a dance to then be facing forward and beside the Glare Hybrid, "But," Etho smiled under his mask, "Wouldn't it be so much nicer if I came home with you?"
Bdubs laughed and leaned into Etho's side, "Yeah, that would be nice,"
The two talked until they got back to Bdubs' base, once they were there Etho led Bdubs up to his room, shutting the door behind them, taking his mask off so it hung around his neck, and instantly pulling Bdubs into a kiss. Bdubs was surprised by this, Etho almost never initiated any sort of physical contact with anybody. Of course because Bdubs' loved physical touch more then anything else in the world he opted to only lean on Etho or hold his hand since he didn't want to make Etho uncomfortable. If he wanted a kiss he asked for one, but as often as Etho initiated hugs or cuddling (which was almost never), he initiated things like kisses, even less (literally never in the 5 years the two had been dating).
So of course Etho kissing Bdubs surprised him and of course Bdubs froze up and didn't know what to do, and of course, in turn, this worried Etho enough to pull away.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, eyebrows knit together in worry and his lips turned downward into a frown.
"Yeah, just... I didn't expect that," Bdubs said.
"Why not? I'm your boyfriend," Etho said, he looked confused but he smiled anyway.
"You're not really one for physical contact," Bdubs said, "It was a pleasant surprise, don't get me wrong!" He added quickly, "I just wanted to make sure you're not doing this just for me," Etho's expression dropped.
"Well...I just-..." He sighed, "Last week after Tango's opening party for Decked Out do you remember what you told me?" Etho asked.
Bdubs thought back to Tango's party and to be honest, no, no he didn't. He was drunk, he remembered the first hour of the party and nothing more other than Etho bringing him home and cuddling in Bdubs' bed.
"No...? Did I do something wrong?" He asked, Etho jumped to correct him.
"No! No! It wasn't you! It was... Well... Me," The redstoner looked guilty, he stared at the ground.
"What do you mean?" Bdubs asked, "What did I say?"
"You said that it was like some sort of reward when I told you I loved you or when I gave you a hug because then you know you did something right, and I-" Etho sighed, "I don't want you to feel like you need to do something to earn my love because you already have it 'Dubs."
Bdubs stood there shocked, he did vaguely remember saying that and he also remembered that he did feel like that sometimes but that was his own fault not Etho's.
"That isn't your fault Etho," Bdubs said, putting his hand on Etho's cheek, "I get all in my own head sometimes, I know you love me. You don't have to prove it by doing something you don't want to," Etho leaned into Bdubs' touch and smiled at him.
"But I'm not doing anything I don't want to do Bdubs," Bdubs gave him a confused look, and Etho laughed. "Why do you think I've been letting you kiss me more often or come home with you to just cuddle with you?"
"Because those are things I want and you're a people pleaser?" Bdubs said, Etho bursted out laughing.
"Ok! Yes I am a people pleaser," He rolled his eyes with a smile on his face, "But I do those things because I want too. And yeah, I don't like being touched and affection is weird for me but not when its you," Etho said, Bdubs began to tear up.
"Really?" The Glare Hybrid asked.
"I started getting more touchy with you because I realized that sometimes you didn't know if I loved you, but I also started doing it because I feel comfortable around you, like a can bring down my mask and you won't judge me. Figuratively and literally," Bdubs laughed tearfully, "I know that it's just anxiety, I know you get in your head but I want it to be easier to get out of it. I don't like hurting you whether its intentional or not," Tears spilled down Bdubs' cheeks as he smiled up at the redstoner.
"Can I kiss you?" He asked.
Etho smiled, "You don't need to ask anymore," He said softly.
Bdubs' smile grew bigger and he leaned up to kiss Etho, he kissed back instantly, which was new. Normally Etho would sit there for a second or two before kissing back but this time he didn't. Bdubs was happy that Etho felt safe with him, he was happy that Etho felt like he didn't have to shy away and hide. Bdubs has known the man for 10 years, a decade, and the fact that he felt comfortable enough to kiss him and hold him was the thing Bdubs had hoped for since their relationship started. They broke the kiss and Etho pulled Bdubs into his chest, wrapping his arms around the smaller in a tight hug.
"I love you so much Dubs," Etho said.
"I love you too," Bdubs responded, punctuating the words with a yawn.
"Oh right, it's past your bedtime," Etho teased.
"Shut up!" Bdubs said defensively, though he couldn't fight Etho's statement and even if could, he was too tired to do so.
"Come on," Etho said as he pulled Bdubs to his bed.
It really didn't take that much effort to get Bdubs into the bed, he laid down and Etho laid down beside him pulling the covers up over the two. Bdubs cuddled into Etho's chest and Etho laughed softly, placing a kiss atop Bdubs' head.
"Comfortable?" Etho asked, wrapping his arms around Bdubs' waist.
"Very," He murmured, nodding slowly.
"You're so cute," Etho said softly.
Bdubs shushed him and said, "No talk'n, sleep now," He sounded halfway there and Etho just laughed again and nodded.
"I love you Bdubs," He whispered into the brunettes hair.
"I know... I love you too..." And with that he slipped off into a deep sleep.
Etho smiled at his boyfriend, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths. He slept peacefully uninterrupted and all Etho could think was: how did he get this lucky? How was he aloud to do these sorts of things with his best friend? His boyfriend. A man he adored with his whole heart. Bdubs was such a bright and happy person, someone that Etho loved so much, so so much. It almost hurt how much he loved the builder in his arms, his heart swelled whenever he looked at him.
Bdubs meant so much to Etho, so much he couldn't explain. The moment he met him Etho knew that he would love this man for the rest of his life, this moment only confirmed it. He knew that he would love and protect the man in his arms forever. There was nothing that could change Etho's mind about how he felt with Bdubs, nothing in the world, the universe, that could ever make him stop loving the brunette. That was something he was sure of, that was something he would always be sure of.
What Etho didn't know was that Bdubs felt the same way, of course he knew Bdubs loved him. But he didn't realize just how much, he didn't know that all of things that he thought about Bdubs and never said were things that Bdubs thought of him. Bdubs would always love Etho because of course he would, Etho was his person. The two were meant for each other, in every universe, against every challenge, they would preserver and find each other. Every. Single. Time. And that's just how it was meant to be. The two would love one another forever.
The redstoner and the builder.
The calm and the chaos.
The green and the red.
The tall and the short.
That was something they were both sure of, something that didn't need to be said. They both knew it. They always would.
Fin