𝒑𝒊𝒙𝒍/𝒛𝒍𝒐𝒚 

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕: 𝟐,𝟓𝟑𝟐

Another evening in the server, while Zloy came back from all the Bedrock dimension, it seemed as if Pixl was already feeling off.

The hermits had guess it was because of Zloy's absence as they too have noticed the lack of messages from Zloy, who happen to update them with the recap series. 

So Pixl did his best to try to welcome back Zloy as much as possible. However, strolling around he sees Zloy, who was talking to Cleo. Oddly enough, his other friends were there, the ones that weren't even certified hermits. Pixl couldn't remember their names - except for a girl that Zloy talked about with him called Daphne and a fox hybrid named well, Foxy.

"Zloy, look it's your crush!" Foxy said in a teasing tone noticing that Pixl was staring at them from a distance, as the rest of the Truly Bedrock members began to make cooing noises. Zloy felt uneasy, laughing it off as a joke. Cleo knew that it wasn't a good idea not to let Zloy's friends visit the Hermitcraft server.

Cleo then tugged Foxy's hoodie in a warning manner. "Don't make him upset, you made him-" It was too late. Zloy was gone, just like that. He must have been fast enough for his friends not to notice. His eyes would've often glowed white if he was feeling a sense of disconnection towards others, so it gave Pixl more of a red flag knowing that it happened.

When he came back to his apartment, who Xisuma thoughtfully built for him and Zloy to stay in, he found that all of Zloy's stuff happened to be brought back in. He assumed that both Cleo and Stress were dealing with him, so he takes off his jacket feeling reckless. As his mind began to drift off into making another blogpost about how Zloy was back and that he promised to make more recaps, he saw a message on the screen.

ZombieCleo to PixlRiffs: hey, so your best friend isn't feeling too good. i reckon you want to meet us at the pirate ship? night time is preferable :)

Pixl raised an eyebrow but eventually decided to go, it was the only option of meeting up with Zloy again. Once he had made it there, he had spotted no one waiting for him. Tilting his head, the bearded man looked around, still no one. Frustrated, he decided to wait. All of a sudden, there was a loud crash into the ocean.

Zloy, panting from all the ocean saltwater he had to swallow. His eyes were glowing white, as his clothes were wet and damp. He noticed Pixl and ran towards him, giving him a hug. Pixl was caught off guard but quickly opened his arms out of comfort for him.

"Man, I missed you so much." Zloy said quietly, he was more quieter than his usual self.

The two wanted to take a walk instead, seeing that the server had drastically improved when it come to being visually pleasing. Zloy didn't make eye contact with Pixl, but tries to keep a typical conversation going. However, what the two didn't know was that there was something else coming...

"Do I really have to sing, X?"

Evil X rolled his eyes, wearing a much more casual attire than to his counterpart. He was with Xisuma, Cleo, Iskall and Stress. Even though Evil X himself secretly enjoyed watching Disney movies, he wasn't happy that Xisuma was making him sing.

Xisuma on the other hand, knew that this was the way of making them go together. Ever since Zloy had been messaging him lately privately, it both came to both his and Cleo's attention to make sure his heart doesn't get broken by Pixl again.

"Come on, I know you guys love The Little Mermaid!" Stress chimed, she was excited as ever, finally some intense fun in the server apart from the mess that Grian and Mumbo always make. She was also wearing a blue dress, a similar one worn by Elsa from Frozen (See what I did there ;))).

"Not all of us are good singers but, it's fun especially from Zloy and Pixl!" Iskall exclaimed, brushing Cleo's bushy hair from looking like an absolute mess of itself. "Xisuma, are you sure this is going to work?"

Unlike any of the hermits, Xisuma and Cleo were confident about this, especially since they knew that Zloy would often come to their advice, as the two were older than him.

Xisuma smiled, "It'll sure make our zombie friend happy, Iskallian." Even himself believes that this could also give Evil X a change of heart, his "evil" counterpart was something he couldn't control but someone that he can impact his change of heart.

He sees Evil X, he knows that Xisuma also wanted his guitar back (Long story, Evil X was having another episode and stole X's guitar on purpose). While everyone was getting ready, Evil X gave the guitar, ready to be played.

"I apologise for what I've done, maybe you aren't so bad." Evil X chuckled, giving the guitar to Xisuma. They both exchanged handshakes afterwards, lifting up the spirit more. "Looks like I gotta practice my vocals."

"Well not anymore..." Cleo replied, peeking out from behind Scar's massively tall building. Zloy and Pixl were already there, still a distance between them. "Everyone get into your places, we got a date to start off."

Both Evil X and Xisuma gave each other a smile, before heading off to their respective areas. Meanwhile, here was Pixl trying to figure out if Zloy was not feeling it today. Maybe it was Foxy's comment about Zloy's supposed crush that made him feel awful.

"I'm not too sure if I'm making you uncomfortable..." Pixl worryingly said, Zloy shook his head in response. "Oh, so something had happened today?"

Zloy nods this time around.

"Ah, I see."

A comfortable silence filled up the atmosphere, both eyes of the man and the zombie mutant still looking away. This was, just a walk to their apartment. Zloy looked up quickly, he sees Stress and Iskall, it looks to be another date in the Hermitcraft server.

Stress and Iskall both noticed the two, as they greeted them.

"Zloy and Pixl! Glad to see you guys!" Iskall exclaimed, holding Stress' hand like a gentlemen would do. "It's so lovely that you two are back."

"Thank goodness, I thought you all were offline!" Pixl replied.

As Iskall was distracting both Zloy and Pixl with his appreciation for their videos, Stress signalled Xisuma. Cleo and Xisuma looked at each other with joy, the plan was going to work!

(this is where the song starts in case you want to play it hehe)

"There you see him, sitting there across the way.
He's don't a lot to say, but there's something about him." 

Stress sang out of nowhere, Iskall was even surprised of how good she was at singing. Despite the tension, Zloy and Pixl was confused as ever, were the hermits usually like this at another Sunday night?

"And you don't know why, but you're dying to try, you wanna kiss the boy." Grian continued along, his eyes glittered - he was wearing the same red suit as when he opened Sahara. He walked around Pixl and Zloy before smirking.

"Where's this music coming from?" Pixl suddenly blurred out, as Xisuma's and Ren's guitars played the melody of the song. However there was no answer, it seemed like Zloy was already bopping his head to the beat.

"Yes, you want him. Look at him, you know you do."  In another direction, False blurts out loud, Xisuma was impressed at how much she improved in singing especially when the hermits do karaoke night together at weekends.

"It's possible he wants you too, there's one way to ask him." Tango pulls a smile, dancing with Pixl in a friendly way.  He twirls away from Pixl's hand, making Pixl feel as awkward but still thought about how this could just be a regular thing the hermits would do.

Zloy at this point was already in love with how this was all set up, despite him being unaware ironically that this was going to be a night that the Hermits would remember.

"It don't take a word, not a single word, go on and kiss the boy."  Iskall beamed, winking at Pixl. Zloy looks at Pixl, having second hand thoughts about going for a simple walk. As if Zloy's life could get more complicated.

"Sha, la la la la la, my oh my! Looks like the boy's too shy, ain't gonna kiss the boy."  Xisuma, Ren and Evil X followed along, blocking the path before Zloy could run away.

Grian, Mumbo and Iskall jumped onto each other, blocking the pathway for the two future lovebirds. "Sha la la la la la, ain't that sad! It's such a shame, too bad..."

Pixl recognised that this wasn't a normal occurrence, this was something that was planned for the two of them, especially to Zloy.

"You're gonna miss the boy..." Mumbo added, his voice calmer then the rest, hearing his soft voice was satisfying enough to Pixl. "Go on and kiss the boy."

This day couldn't get any weirder, Zloy thought to himself as him and Pixl are pushed into the boat together. Turns out that they were heading towards the lagoon like lake that surrounded Scar's base, except it was partly decorated and that there were sea lanterns and dolphins that made the lagoon feel more alive.

Pixl sat there, seeing how touchy Zloy was. The boat immediately went into the direction they were headed to, as Pixl watches Zloy's eyes suddenly turn back into its normal colour.

"The hermits come up with some of the craziest stuff..." Pixl sighed, placing his hand onto the paddles, almost touching Zloy's hand. "But you know, I kinda like it, nice breath of air."

Zloy could only hope but smile, as he watched his best friend stargazed by the view and scenery that surrounds the ocean. "Yeah, it's a nice breath of air." He said with his undoubtably adorable accent.

"Does this make you feel better now, Zloy?" Pixl asked, praying that Zloy wasn't feeling too uncomfortable.

The zombie muttered, but almost enough for Pixl to hear. "When it's events like these with you, then yes."

"Now's your moment, floating in a blue lagoon." Scar sat by the rocks of the lagoon, humming the tune and petting his huggable cat, Jellie.

Cleo swam forwards to the boat. "Boy, you better do it soon, the time will be better."  It was Zloy's feelings and love for his crush and best friend that made Cleo and Xisuma plan this all out. Love have been off Zloy's mind, but not until he saw how much he loved his best friend.

"He don't say a word, and he won't say a word..." Biffa said with a curious tone, rowing his boat next to theirs.

"Until you kiss the boy." TFC smiled gently, he didn't need much lines but it was worth it as it probably made his whole month.

Zloy watches as he sees Zedaph and Impluse, flying across the lagoon, their elytras spread like wings of angels. "Sha la la la la la, my oh my! Looks like the boy's too shy..."

"Ain't gonna kiss the boy." Cub follows along, as he wore his Vex mask and sings in his monotone tone, which was a surprise from both Zloy and Pixl themselves.

They were on main shore land, on the beachside where the sea lanterns bright shining. Even Zloy's clothes were already dried up once they got there.

And there was Python, eating the golden carrot as blubbered out,"Sha la la la la la, ain't that sad!"

"It's such a shame, too bad..." Jevin quoted, he proceeded to put a flower crown on top of Zloy's head. Pixl almost cursed at Jevin, as dumb as it was that was one of his weaknesses: Seeing Zloy in anything cute in general.

"You're gonna miss the boy!"  Wels frowned at Pixl, the hermits were really insane over this.

"Sha la la la la la, don't be scared!" Impulse sang loudly, hitting Zedaph by accident (In which, Zedaph almost tries to hit him back).

"You better be prepared, go on and kiss the boy!" Zedaph swayed to the tone, that distance between Zloy and Pixl was getting smaller as they both smiled at each other.

"Sha la la la la la, don't stop now..." Joe bursted into tune, none of the hermits had ever seen him energetic. It was mainly because of the fact that he loved Disney movies and that his children's favourite movie to watch with him was The Little Mermaid.

"Don't try to hide it, how you wanna kiss the boy?" Doc's heart was fluttering while singing, seeing the two honorary hermits look surprised yet it was like another fairytale of its own? He was amazed about how much respect has grown between the two."Go on and kiss the boy..."

Eventually, Pixl and Zloy had made it. All the hermits had successfully been able to make this plan work with ease, but will it affect the two's feelings? They all gathered up behind the cliff of where Pixl and Zloy were standing, although Evil X wanted a better view and the reason why he's up on a Jungle tree.

Oh, kiss the boy, kiss the boy.

It was also a moment where Zloy could finally tell how he feels about Pixl. He turned around - for a person that wasn't attracted to men, Pixl really made him question Zloy's sexuality even more. Pixl would never admit it, of how attractive he was from his best friend's point of view.

La la la la, la la la la,

Their bodies moved closer, as Pixl also began to recollect his feelings all over again. 

Go on and kiss the boy,

"I'm sorry, I don't know if you'll ever love me the same..." Zloy stuttered, as Pixl gripped his hands on Zloy's hips.

La la la la, la la la la,

"Zloy, I already feel the same way as you."

Go on and kiss the boy!

Zloy's body felt something, a tingly feeling had came back to him again. He closed his eyes, a habit he would often do. Pixl's lips were connected to his, as the butterflies bounce up and down inside Zloy's tummy. It was short, but too sweet to even describe. They couldn't care less that this was Cleo's and Xisuma's (And even Evil X's) plan on getting them together, Zloy was practically melting inside.

The two opened their eyes, their hands are holding each other and how Zloy had to go up his tippy toes just to kiss his soulmate more. So soft, like a fairytale had come true.

"So, are we going to date or what?" Zloy snickered, hearing the giggles of Evil X and Grian from behind.

Pixl looks back as well and only this time, it was Evil X that winked at him. He looks back at Zloy, before smiling back.

"Yeah, I think we're all set for one already."