TW: Light Fluff

"Sjin?"

"Xephos?"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you that."

"Well, I've been mining this cave for the past week, so fuck off."

"Well- well I got here before you today, so ha."

"Ha nothing, go back to your shit factory."

"How about -"

A loud rumble echoed around them as the earth churned beneath their feet. Xephos fell against the wall, sword dropping to his side. Sjin fell to the ground, ores spilling from his bag. The torches fell from the walls and they could hear rocks crashing down around them. Once the rumbling ceased, Xephos grabbed a torch from his bag and held it up. Sjin was sprawled on the floor, eyes wide with fear. When he saw Xephos, he quickly tried to regain his composure and stood up, dusting himself off.

"What happened?" Xephos looked around. "Was that an earthquake?"

Sjin shook his head, gathering up his scattered possessions. "No, it was the shock from an explosion," he looked up at the cracked ceiling of the cave. "And a big one, at that."

"An explosion?" Xephos watched as Sjin started off towards the entrance with a torch of his own.

"From where?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Sjin continued on as Xephos jogged forward to meet up with him. They walked together in silence towards the entrance. When they hit a dead end, they stood there dumbly for a moment.

"I don't get it," Sjin mumbled, looking at his sketched out map.

"You dumbass," Xephos shoved him lightly. "It's a cave-in."

"O-oh. Right, of course," he mumbled, cheeks turning red.

Xephos rubbed the back of his neck. "We could dig up?"

"There's a lake above us, dipshit."

"No need for name calling now, Sjin, we're both kind of trapped here so we sort of have to get along," he glanced up. "For now."

"Fine," he mumbled, grabbing his pickaxe. "Maybe we can dig out."

Just as he was about to mine away the fallen stone, Xephos hauled him back. "Look where you're mining," he pointed to just above the rocks, where gravel quietly spilled over in small amounts. Any rock removed would cause the gravel to fall down upon the two.

"Dig around?" He asked, becoming flustered.

"I think, Sjin, the best course of action would be to just wait for Honeydew to notice I haven't returned," He sat down against one of the cave walls. "He'll come get us out, and maybe Sips will figure it out as well."

Sjin sighed and sat down on the wall opposite. The torches flickered on the walls, and the thick silence settled between them. Xephos shifted uncomfortably, wondering if maybe he should try and get some sleep. He couldn't help but notice that Sjin seemed to share that same feeling. With a heavy sigh, he tried to conjure up some sort of peace-making speech.

"Sjin - look, I apologize for how I greeted you earlier," he looked at the floor, feeling awkward trying to meet his eyes. "I know we're from rival companies and all, but I feel like that shouldn't destroy an opportunity for friendship."

Sjin stared at him questioningly. "Friends?"

Xephos shrugged. "If you'd like."

Sjin laughed. "Why not?" He laughed a bit more at Xephos' startled expression. "I mean, we both have really shit bosses, right?"

Xephos started laughing with him, remembering the time Honeydew had gone around hitting him and Lalna with a stick to make them work faster. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Why should we be enemies?" He scoffed. "Just because they are?"

"Yeah, really." He shook his head. "You know, Sjin, you're pretty cool."

"Thanks," A blush once more creeping onto his face. "Y-You're not too bad yourself."

"I appreciate that."

A chill ran up his spine and he shivered slightly. How were they supposed to get any sleep in this cold cave? Not to mention the unfriendly and uneven surface. He sighed, thinking how long a night it would be. At least he had Sjin to talk to now. He was startled from his thinking by a warmth next to him, and found that Sjin had sat down beside him.

"You looked cold," he whispered. His cheeks were fully red now. Xephos could feel heat rushing to his face, as well.

"Thanks, Sjin." He leaned his head back against the wall, already feeling better now that Sjin was beside him. Soon, he fell asleep.

In the morning, a dwarf and a man in a blue space suit set out towards a nearby cave system. "You think they got stuck or something?"

Honeydew shrugged, his pickaxe slung over one shoulder. "I don't know why else they wouldn't come back."

Sips followed the dwarf towards a large mountainside. Large rocks covered the entrance Honeydew had remembered.

"Must've been an earthquake or something," he mumbled, thinking how it would be best to go about getting into the cave.

"No," he turned to Sips, who was staring at the side of the mountain. "Intentional," he pointed to where there was a large dent farther up the mountain. "An explosion, I think."

"Strange," Honeydew scratched his beard. "Well, Sjin and Xeph' are still trapped in there, so let's handle that first."

The two began to dig around the cave entrance to where Honeydew's map showed it would link again. Soon they found themselves in a section not to far from the original entrance, and began heading there. They walked with purpose, some tension still residing between them. They rounded a corner and were met with an odd sight, stopping them in their tracks.

Xephos' head rested on Sjin's shoulder as he slept, and Sjin's head rested on his. They both seemed peaceful, the torches they had originally put up dimly burning their last. It would have almost been romantic despite the fact they were in a cave.

Honeydew and Sips stared at them in disbelief for a moment before crying out nearly simultaneously: "What the fuck?"

Credit to tberg99 on tumblr