Chapter Text
Impulse looks at the letter in his hand. Return Address is noted as the Hermitcraft server. Overjoyed, he runs to his husband. “Skizz, I just got a letter from the Hermitcraft server!” Impulse yells at Skizz. “Dude, That’s amazing! Open it.” They both sit on the couch while Impulse reads the letter. “I’ve been accepted to be one of the Hermits. This is so awesome!” “You should accept, I will look after Prim and Kevin.” He looks his husband in the eyes, tears of happiness prickling in them. “I will, thank you so much.”
They didn’t understand how this would affect both of them.
-
Skizz is helping his husband with packing his bags. He will be leaving for the season 9 Hermitcraft server in a few hours. The air in the room feels somber. The colors grayed out. The only things being heard are the clothes that are folding and a couple of sighs when one of the married pair forgets to breathe for a second. When almost the whole closet is empty, Skizz sits up on their bed. "You know that I'm going to miss you." Impulse looks up from the floor where he is seated. "I'm going to miss you too. We will call every day okay?" A single teardrop falls from his eyes, a salty taste lingering on his lips. Skizz nods and walks off to their bathroom. "You better not forget to charge your communicator then!" He fidgets with his communicator on his wrist before grabbing Impulse's toothbrush, toothpaste and hairbrush. "I won't Skizz. Tango also has your contact information, so if needed, he can call you too." Skizz brings in the toiletries and proceeds to place them in the sizable suitcase. "Can I have his contact information too? Just in case of an emergency here?" Impulse nods and clicks on some buttons on his communicator before Skizz's comm starts beeping. "Thank you."
"I love you Impulse." "I love you too Skizz. Don't forget to take care of yourself, please." Skizz stands in the doorway feeling uneasy. "I will take care. Don't worry about me." His pristine white wings are currently drooping on the floor. "Please text me when you get there. I want to make sure you get there safely." Impulse nods before answering. "My comm is fully charged, I should have reception where we are going, so texting you will be priority number one!" He steps forward to hug his husband. When Impulse is fully in the hug, he wraps his wings around his husband. They could only be together for two and a half months before another season starts again. Maybe someday Skizz will be able to join. Tears are falling down his cheeks. "When you get the dates for vacation, will you tell me? That way, I can plan my vacation days with my job." Skizz asks whilst wiping away some of the fallen tears. Impulse turns around and walks towards the server portal. He looks back once more before stepping in the portal. An "I love you Skizz." can be heard before Impulse disappears.
Life is difficult when your partner lives on another server for years before returning for only a few months. Skizz lays on the couch waiting on the text to make sure his husband travels between the servers safely when he hears something fall in the kitchen. He groans when he stands up and sees the damage. Kevin and Prim were chasing each other before throwing the two plates he had yet to wash to the floor. A dreadful feeling washes over him as he picks up all the shards of the plates.
Because Skizz was busy picking up shards and cleaning a small wound that one of the shards left, he didn't hear his communicator buzz. When done, he looks at his wrist, expecting nothing. A smile plastered on his face when he read the text.
Impulse > I've arrived safely. Please keep an eye on Prim and Kevin for me. I will call you when I've settled and get to a safe place.
Skizz > I will look after them for you. I love you!
Impulse > I love you too!
Skizz sits down on the couch to relax. This is going to be two long years.
-
Impulse steps off the server portal and into the Hermitcraft server. His anxiety means that he is at least a few hours early. With nobody except him and Xisuma on the server, Impulse sits down near the portal with his stuff. Putting his earbuds in, he texts Skizz that he has arrived safely. The sun feels warm on his skin so Impulse stretches his wings fully out. Him being a Demon hybrid, means he thrives in the hot weather. Whilst basking in the sun, the first other Hermits join. "Heey Impy!" Tango waves while Zedaph tries to haul both their belongings to where Impulse is sitting. "Hi guys, how was the long vacation?" Impulse asks the two married men. "It was so much fun. We basically spent those days on our other server together. We also went to see both our parents. What did you do?" Zedaph answers while putting their stuff on the ground and using his suitcase as a seat. "I spent it with my husband, we haven't seen our parents, that's what the next vacation is for." Both Tango and Zedaph look at each other. "And when are we meeting this so-called husband of yours? We might start to believe he isn't real." Impulse scoffs at this reaction, a reaction he has been getting for six seasons.
Nobody seems to believe his husband is real, but they married ten years ago. They eloped, because marriages between angels and demons are heavily frowned upon. This is also why they don't visit their parents anymore. Skizz was cast out of the canopy, never to return, and Impulse just ran. Impulse would have been captured and murdered if he ever went back to the pit. He shivers at only the thought of it.
“Do you have plans for this season?” Impulse is curious to know what they will be up to. “I’m going to build a game I think. A full season project.” “Everything we expect from you. You’re a hard worker Tango!” “thanks.” Impulse leans back a bit, folding his wings back to his back. “What are you going to do Zed?” Zedaph instantly has a wide smile on his face. “I’m going to make some advancements for myself. Will be fun!” “It sounds fun.” Their conversation is cut short by the sound of the portal.
More and more Hermits are joining the server and when everyone arrives, Xisuma starts talking to them. Impulse tunes most of it out, only texting Skizz the dates he can come home for vacation. Xisuma takes everyones suitcases to a secret location, only to be retrieved when their starterbases are done. He stares at how the waves are hitting the stone island he’s sitting on, before making a move towards the forest.
Impulse is soon joined by Gem and Pearl in the forest. “What are we going to do foodwise?” “We could kill salmon?” “We could make mushroom soup!” Confused, he looks at them. “Do we have mushrooms then?” “There is a dark oak forest. There is an abundance of mushrooms there!” As they make their way over to the dark oak forest, Impulse unfolds his wings again to try and soak up as much of the sun as possible. This weather gives him energy and makes him calm. Getting ready to miss your life partner is not easy. It takes a toll on one. “There is a mansion here, we should raid it!” “Sounds good, I’m going to get beds.” Impulse replies, wandering off in another direction. Impulse takes his time getting the beds ready for respawn, not really wanting to have too many interactions on his first day away. When he gets back to the group, Cleo is waiting next to Gem and Pearl. “We found somebody who wants to raid with us!” gem snickers a bit when Impulse places the beds next to the mansion. “We could go in from the side! Bridge over to the window!”
Raiding the mansion doesn’t take long with them being with each other. All four are good at fighting. Impulse dies twice to vex before grabbing the emeralds that have been dropped by the enemies. “Shall we call it quits now? We fast forwarded a little.” Pearl asks. “Yes, I need to go mining and build some sort of starter base to get through the night.” Impulse's tail whips nervously behind him when he remembers that he still has to call Skizz tonight. Gem notices and leads everybody outside. “Let’s go mining then!” After mining, Impulse, Gem and Pearl head towards spawn, where they try to find a place to live. He decides to stay near water, and he places some chests and his bed. He has no walls yet, so his call with Skizz needs to happen somewhere else. Impulse grabs his pickaxe and digs a small hole beneath his bed. Some wool is placed on the floor, the yellow light of a nearby torch reflecting off it. He fidgets with his communicator on his wrist before pressing the call button for Skizz.
“Heey, Dipple Dop! How was your first day?” Skizz asks happily. “It was all right. I went and raided a mansion with Gem, Pearl and Cleo. After which we mined for a bit. It was exhausting, but eventually I could make a little place for myself.” Impulse happily hums. “I already miss you dude, it sounds like you had a good time today.” “It was indeed very fun. The sun was shining so I have been basking in the sun. The feeling of the sun is always so good on my wings.” Skizz giggles a bit at that answer. “I knew you were going to love the sun.” They keep talking like this for about an hour before Skizz takes the initiative to hang up the call.
Impulse keeps staring at his comm. Dread filling him. He felt depressed before because he couldn’t stay with Skizz, this just feels worse. He has to hide to call his husband, because nobody believes him and the other Hermits will taunt him. Some tears fall on his cheeks, making his face shine in the light of the torches. Impulse didn’t realise that he started crying. He wipes away his tears before lying down. Maybe someday Skizz would be able to join him.
-
Some weeks have passed and Skizz sits up in his bed. He looks around the room, seeing the messy state it’s in. A lot of clothes have found a place on the floor, the curtains hang crooked from pulling too hard, the papers on the desk have fallen on the floor beside it, and Impulse's favorite hoodie is sitting proudly on the desk chair. He doesn’t hesitate to pick up Impulse's hoodie and a pair of pants off the floor. He puts the clothing on before going to the bathroom to start the day. The fabric of his pants feels itchy, the hoodie smells sweaty. Skizz hasn’t done the laundry in a few weeks and everything he owns is nasty.
He is tired, so damn tired everyday. He wakes up, takes the dogs for a walk, goes to his job, makes dinner and goes to bed. I sleep enough, atleast, I think I do. I eat enough protein, almost always chicken and rice. I sleep at least 8 hours a day. I walk the dogs multiple times a day. Why do I still feel like this? I’m not sad? Maybe a little? Skizz shifts on the couch, his head leaning on his hands and elbows on his knees. Am I depressed? Do I miss Impulse this much? He feels tears prick in his eyes and he sighs. “Maybe I do.”
-
Impulse has started creating his mega base, and he is currently mining a hole. He has been working himself tirelessly. His whole body is aching because of the abuse he puts himself through. He thinks about his husband sitting at home, enjoying life with Prim and Kevin. He misses them all.
Impulse looks up when he hears wings flap behind him. Feeling the wind when the person is approaching closer to him. The sun shines blindingly through the gaps that enter the cave, making it difficult to see who is approaching. “Pearl! I thought you were busy with the landscape on your side of the mountain?” Pearl lands in front of impulse, folding her moth wings to her back. “Yeah, I was. I’m taking a break so I’m forcing everyone in the soup group to take a break too. It’s time for lunch anyway.” Impulse drops his pickaxe in his inventory before unfolding his leathery wings. “Let’s get Gem then!” The sound of rockets going off is echoing in the gaps of the mountain as they give the two Hermits some extra speed.
The feeling of the wind in his hair is refreshing, waking him up a bit more. It is too soon when they land on the piece of land Gem is working on. “Gem! We’re taking a break for lunch! You’re going to join us!” Pearl yells at Gem. She tilts her head to look at both Impulse and Pearl with a questioning look on her face. “And why is that?” Pearl snickers a bit before answering. “Come on! You both seem to always overwork yourselves. Somebody needs to keep you two healthy.” And with that she sets a black blanket with a moth on it in the grass. Pearl takes a basket with food out of her inventory and puts it on the blanket, slowly putting all the dishes out. Impulse finds it a cute sight. His two friends from the soup group and him having a picnic because everybody overworks themselves. There isn’t a better friend group you could ask for.
“So Gem, how is your love life?” Pearl asks, face crimson red. They have been sitting here for an hour, just talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Gem hums before answering the question. “You know, single for life.” “You don’t even have a crush on somebody?” Pearl looks shocked at the answer. Impulse tries to zone out on the conversation, he’s not really interested in girl talk at the moment. “I do have a crush! You just won’t get to know who. You’re going to be a pain in the ass about it.” Gem almost yells back.
Impulse unfolds his wings and lays on his back in the sun. Shifting his tail so he won’t lay on top of it. The pointed bit can actually hurt a lot, it’s sharp. “So Impulse, what about your love life? You have a crush?” He fidgets with his ring for a bit. “I am married, I told you already.” Gem scoffs at impulse. “Yeah sure, we’ve never seen your so-called husband. Only have a name.” He could have expected an answer like this, but still he didn’t. Gem and Pearl are always so trusting, why wouldn’t they believe him? He takes his wedding ring off and gives it to Gem. “Here is proof.” You have to strain your ears to hear the whisper. Gem takes the ring. He sees her inspecting it, looking at the engraving on the inside. The simplistic gold ring shines as she turns the ring around in her hands. “The ring is pretty. I might just believe you.” Pearl looks questioning at the ring. “Can I hold it too? I’ve never seen one.” “Yes, but be careful.” Gem passes the ring to Pearl so she can look at it. “It’s beautiful, So shiny. You must take good care of it.” She gasps as she reads the date inside it. “You’ve been married for at least ten years? How come we never knew?” Impulse shakes his head with tears setting in his eyes. “Nobody believes me, so I just stopped trying to explain. My husband supports me having a different home server, especially a prestigious one like Hermitcraft.” Both Gem and Pearl look at him with care in their eyes. “He sounds like a catch, can we join you someday on his home server?” He just nods, tears now streaming on his face before wiping them away. “We should just not go back to working today, Let’s take a break and watch movies together!” Impulse perks up at Gems statement, ready to think about something else then being away from Skizz.
When Impulse, Gem and Pearl arrive at his starter base, he immediately pulls out the pull out couch and puts a lot of pillows and blankets on it. Gem and Pearl are bickering about what movie to watch while they’re making popcorn. Maybe I can finish this season without having to take extra vacations to Skizz, maybe I can actually get through this. His thoughts are interrupted by Pearl taking place on the couch next to him. “Impulse?” Pearl looks at him with sympathy. “Please let go of your leg, you’re bleeding.” He unwraps his tail from his lag instantly. He didn’t notice he was hurting himself. Gem comes out of the bathroom with a wet washcloth ready in her hand. “I had a hunch you were going to do this again.” She says while cleaning the cut on his leg. There are scars from previous incidents like this. “Please don’t do this again.” Gems whispers can barely be heard. “I’ll try.”
Pearl sets up the movie, clearly having won the argument with Gem, while Gem gets the popcorn from the kitchen. The popcorn has some extra butter on it, just like he likes. Impulse happily snacks on it. Halfway through the movie, he feels his eyelids get heavy. The sun is starting to set over the server so he turns to a more comfortable position to snuggle both Gem and Pearl in. The last thing he feels before dozing off, is a blanket being pulled over him.