(August 31, 2020)

i still have to write that Hels/Ex one shot i said i would do

Okay yall know that school started for most of us (admit it, if you write fanfiction youre probably still in school], and mine started today. I wont have much time to wrtie but ill make it work because i wanna write.

Or maybe ill write during class. Hm....

Amyways here some paceless fluff

Summary: Hels finds Ex playing with butterflies.
Word Count: 1559
Category: f l u f f
Warnings: i realize butterflies arent part of vanilla minecraft but this is fanfiction and i can do what i want

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Hels has never seen Ex outside voluntarily. Either he or Xisuma had to drag him out, and even then he would put up a fight.

Today was obviously different. When the Netherborn knight couldn't find Ex in his usual cave 'base', his confusion jumped and fear increased.

Being the knight he was (but rather begrudgingly), Hels instantly searched for the Voidwalker. He hoped Ex hadn't been kidnapped, that would be a hassle to deal with (though, he doubts it, no Hermits knew he existed in this server, and even then, they would report him to Xisuma). If he was with Xisuma, he would have told Hels, and the clone wouldn't have wasted his time going to an empty base.

After searching for many minutes, he finally found the red clad player. Whatever the knight was expecting, it wasn't the sight he was met with. He stood there, dumbfounded, his red eyes locked on Ex's back. Said Voidwalker was sitting cross-legged in a field of flowers (leaning away from them but still relatively close), his helmet off and set to the side with his gloves lying on top. His long white hair was braided and pulled over his shoulder. Ex's attention was focused on something in his hands, which were raised slightly in front of him. Butterflies and bees surrounded him, some landing on his shoulders, in his hair, and sometimes on his lap. Ex didn't swat them away, impressively enough.

Though, despite all this odd behavior from his friend (he uses the term loosely), what surprised Hels the most was the relaxed and lackadaisical posture Ex was sitting with. Usually, he was almost always tense and on the edge, as if someone were about to attack him.

This was a new sight for Hels, and he wasn't sure how to take it. Normally Ex was snappy and not in the mood to talk. The annoyance radiated off him in waves, which was enough to keep most people away. Never in his life has Hels seen a calm and relaxed Ex, like the one sitting in front of him. He wasn't sure if he liked it, since the irate player that the Voidwalker was who Hels was used to.

"Come here, Hels," Ex said without looking, still sitting. As said knight approached, he noticed a weird looking thing on his hand. It was crawling around like the Voidwalker's hands were a gym to play on, it's orange and black wings opening and closing in rhythmic beats.

"How'd you know it was me?" the knight grumbled, heavily sitting near Ex. The butterfly in his hands twitched and stilled, almost as if it were debating whether to take off or not.

Ex shushed him and comforted the butterfly, staying as still as he could. "If you were a Hermit, you would have said something. If you were Xisuma, you would have left me be unless he needed something."

Hels only grunted in response.

After a few silent minutes of watching Ex and his little butterfly friend, swatting away the butterflies that came dangerously close to him, and earning disproving looks from Ex, he muttered, "Never thought you'd be soft for butterflies and what not." He decided to not pull Ex away from his moment; Hels was curious of this new side of him.

Ex chuckled quietly. "My brother tainted me for sure." He paused for a moment. "I still don't like flowers, though."

"Hm." What was Wels supposed to say? He wasn't known as the 'socially talented counterpart' for a reason.

"Here, watch this." Ex said, saving either of them from unnecessary awkward silence. His hand closed around the knight's wrist and held firm, bringing his hand with the butterfly closer. When Hels tried to pull away with wide eyes, the Voidwalker chuckled, not letting him. "The butterfly will not hurt you. Promise." And with a weird twist of his wrist, the butterfly was forced to crawl onto Hels' skin before he could protest any further.

It was... weird, to say the least. The butterfly's little grip things (toes? Claws?) on the end of it's leg scratched lightly him, but it was not uncomfortable in the slightest and he could barely feel it. There was an obvious weight when the little insect wandered around, but it was still as light, maybe even lighter than a feather. It's thin antennas dipped close to Hels' hand but never touched. Was this normal behavior for a butterfly?

With its tiny leg, it patted Hels' hand, as if testing land to see if it were dangerous.

It stopped moving on the Netherborn's knuckles after making multiple rounds around his entire hand. Hels refused the urge to squirm, his eyes never leaving the small insect. He would not let this tiny, pathetic creature unnerve him-

The butterfly opened its wings and left them like that, sunbathing on Hels' fingers. Ex cooed and gently ran a finger over the butterfly's back. It twitched slightly before settling again, the delicate material of the wings lightly brushing his hand's skin. The knight stared at Ex like he had grown a second head.

He couldn't and probably would never wrap his mind around the fact that Ex had petted a butterfly.

"He likes you, you know," the red clad player said absently, patting the butterfly's head with a tender finger.

Hels scoffed, eyeing the weird actions the Voidwalker was doing. "How do you know it's a he?" Ex only smiled in response. With a gesture to the butterfly, he directed his attention to the open wings.

"See the spot on the bottom of the wings?" Ex pointed at a dark dot that sat on a black line. His finger moved up to the veins on the top half of the wing. "See how the veins are quite thin? It's a male. A male Monarch butterfly."

The Netherborn hummed, bringing his hand closer to his face. "And you said it likes me?"

"Yeah." Ex glanced into his friend's eyes. "It would have flown away if it felt threatened."

"... Don't know if I should feel insulted or honored." Hels looked back down at the sunbathing butterfly on his hand as Ex snickered. The Voidwalker then turned away, picking up another butterfly with surprising ease. Hels would have thought these butterflies were feisty and wouldn't like being bothered.

He couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at his lips when he examined the butterfly on his hands for more details.

No no no, Hels is supposed to be the champion of his hellish dimension, what would the others say if they saw him melting over a butterfly of all things?

But he couldn't find himself to care, this small butterfly brought quite a lot of happiness to Hels despite him not wanting anything to do with it at first. It was peaceful, calm, beautiful, a thing of nature... all things Hels was not, and everything he was incapable of feeling.

It was like magic.

The time came too soon when the butterfly decided to take off. He couldn't help but frown when it lifted off his knuckles with a powerful flap of its delicate wings. The butterfly circled around him. Once, twice, three times. Each circle was as graceful as the last, each bounce of the butterfly incredibly smooth. It finally pulled away, ascending into the sky and getting caught in the gentle breeze. The butterfly flew high, higher than what the Netherborn would have guessed they could.

Hels watched it as far as he could see before it became an invisible dot in the sky. A hand clamped on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned to meet Ex's eyes, a soft smile in them.

"Wondrous, aren't they?" he asked. Hels vaguely took note of Ex's lack of taunts. He could be embarrassed even without the verbal jeers, but nothing in him would allow such a thing. Realizing Ex was waiting for an answer, Hels nodded mutely. Ex smiled, his teeth flashing. Turning away, he bent down near a little milkweed plant, pulling Hels with.

"This is the plant Monarchs like. There's a chrysalis that's about to- oh! Perfect timing!" Ex sounded like a giddy eight year old as the chrysalis cracked open.

Hels didn't care that he spent the rest of his day butterfly watching, it was worth every second.

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is it clear that i like butterflies?

wanted to share this too:

:3

my hand is so pale-

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day! Or, if you're like me and you're up at night because you're nocturnal (we all are don't lie), have an amazing night! <3