AU: Warden!xB (S9)

WC: ~1.7k

Late-night post for Halloween! Teased this fic a bit ago and figured it was spooky enough!

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Evil Xisuma held their torch up as they carefully descended further into the cave. They were careful to crouch the moment their foot touched the sculk. The single torch alone wasn't nearly enough to help them find a safe path through the area, but it wasn't like they had any potions on them.

It wasn't long into their trek of the new biome until they stumbled upon an ancient city. Maybe I'll find some here, they hoped.

The first shrieker they spotted spiked their anxiety, reminding them they had no wool and were completely underprepared.

What had started as an escape from being spotted by hermits had been pushed by their curiosity into seeking out if it was possible to obtain a Warden army.

They didn't want to summon one immediately, especially since summoning them made Wardens angry, and trying to calm one down sounded like an impossible task.

Rumors had reached Xavion's ears of a Warden smaller than the average who would pop up all on his own. They figured he would be the key to the army.

They climbed up the ladder and turned right, safely walking over the wool path laid out. It wasn't long until a blindness effect kicked in, leaving Evil Xisuma in a flickering pitch-black.

Quickly crouching down, they hid behind a deep slate pillar only to squint their eyes and attempt to adjust the red visor on their helmet to allow them to see better.

"Who's there?" A quiet yet threatening voice called out.

There he was.

Still fiddling with their helmet, Xavion wasn't sure how to respond.

"I know you're there. Are you here to rob my home? To summon my family and take them away?" The Warden continued, the hostility in his words quickly building up.

With a deep inhale, they stood up and faced the direction of his voice. They had given up trying to fight against the effect. "No," Xavion firmly answered. "I'm not here to take from you. I'm here to talk to you."

The Warden's heartbeat echoed so loudly in their ears that they were close to confusing it with their own.

"Why?" The Warden scoffed, his footsteps carrying him closer to where Xavion was.

Placing the torch on the wool, Xavion sat down, their legs hanging over the side. "Because when I heard about you, I was intrigued. We're not so different y'know," he softly admitted.

There was a soft noise of the Warden sitting down. "How? Are you a hybrid too?"

"No, that's not where our similarities lie. It's the fact that we don't... perfectly belong. You're not like the other Wardens; from what I've heard you're no weaker but you're smaller, not to mention part human. Yet, you don't fit in with the human crowd either. Meanwhile, I don't fit in with them either, especially the hermits. I'm not immortal like them. I have my one life and no more. However, there's no one else like me. At least, not anymore," they explained. It had been a long while since they saw Hels, let alone heard from him. They feared the worst but hoped to run into him one day. However, until then, Xavion was alone.

The Warden was silent, yet his heartbeat remained just as booming. "So then what do you want to talk about exactly?" He inquired.

Opening their mouth, they hesitated. Yet after a deep breath, they dared to quietly ask; "May I see you?"

"There's not much to see," he countered. "From what I've heard, I'm not exactly easy on the eyes." Despite the attempt to make a joke, the sadness in his voice rang clear to Xavion, much like his heartbeat.

Standing up, they picked up the torch and made their way down the ladder, hearing his heartbeat nervously increase. Yet they stayed on the wool path, finding their way next to a pillar. "Could you let me be the judge of that?"

There was shuffling; the Warden was standing.

The blindness effect was sucked away, revealing the hybrid in front of them.

He looked as though he'd be a bit taller than the creeper hybrid Doc, his proportions resembling that of a human. However, his features were of a warden; the colors, exposed rib cage, antlers, and sharp teeth. He had hair but it was out of his face, revealing beautiful white eyes. He wore a black sweater left unzipped and was wearing loose jeans.

Cracking a smile, Xavion pulled off their helmet, leaving it next to their feet. "You look incredible to me," they whispered. Their smile grew at the increased heartbeat and the widening of the Warden's eyes. "My name is Xavion, by the way."

"They call me xB," he quietly responded with a dip of his head.

"Well, it is an honor to meet you." It felt nice to see xB crack a smile of his own. "May I come closer?" They dared to ask.

Sitting back down, xB patted the small sculk hill next to him. "Be my guest," he invited.

They picked up their helmet, carefully walked across, and pulled themself up to sit. Their torch and helmet sat beside them. "From what I can tell, you look incredible as well," xB murmured, leaning his arms on the hill. He rested his chin on his arms and stared up at them. If their heartbeat was just as loud, it would expose Xavion by racing far faster than his.

"You can see me?"

He shrugged. "Just enough. I am blind, but not... sightless if that makes sense. I may not be able to see you clearly, but from what I can..." his voice trailed off, leaving Xavion a wide-eyed, flushed mess. xB seemed to begin to mindlessly reach for them, but before his fingers could even graze them, he snapped to his senses and sat up a little, and retracted his hand. "Right, what did you want to talk about?"

Clearing their throat, Xavion composed themself. "I'm just going to be blunt; you hate the hermits, don't you?" They asked.

xB frowned. "Of course I do. They barge in here, taking my things and causing loud noises. And if not, they lure my family out from below and take them hostage, and I never see them again."

"How does revenge sound to you?" Xavion suggested, their grin growing.

The Warden tilted his head. "Elaborate?"

"I hate the hermits as much as you do," they explained. "They've wronged me multiple times and I thrive on causing death and fire amongst their homes. I only know where a few of your brethren are and if I help you save them, will you help me destroy their world? Would you be able to help me pull together an army of Wardens?" They did their best to keep their voice quiet to not overwhelm him, but it was growing steadily harder as their excitement increased.

xB sat back, pondering for a moment. "That does sound like fun and I would like to help but... do you have a more thought-out plan?"

Xavion eagerly nodded. "I do, no worries! The only issue is I'm not sure how to prevent you and the others from being overwhelmed with noises and keeping focus." Their eyes widened as xB reached a hand over, placing it over theirs.

"We can figure that out together, how does that sound?"

"I'd- yeah I'd like that," they murmured, staring at his hand. "Would you- would you be able to talk to the other Wardens in the area? See if they are willing to join?" Much to their dismay, xB pulled away.

"That's something I can't do. Go where the others are, that is. Wardens live just beneath the sculk, in a place where others can't reach. I'm unable to go there for some reason. But if I try to summon them up here, they get mad. Most of them don't like me anyways," he reluctantly explained, scratching the back of his neck.

Scorching a bit closer, they placed a hand on his shoulder. "I bet they'd appreciate you a lot more when you return with missing family," they pointed out.

xB gave a slight smile. "That'd be nice. Although that may not prevent them from seeing me as a freak still."

They began to frown, raising their hand to brush through his hair. "I'm serious; you look incredible. No offense but how do they even know what they're talking about? They literally don't see you like I do," they protested.

The warden hybrid looked away, covering the back of his mouth with his hand. His heartbeat picked up, the change in tempo causing Xavion's heart to involuntarily skip a beat. "They- they get a rough sense of my shape and because it's unfamiliar they don't- not to mention I have the scent of human on me so it's... unpleasant."

"Hey," Xavion whispered, sliding their hand down to his cheek, guiding his head so he'd face them. "They don't know what they're talking about." Their chest tightened as he leaned into their hand. "I've never seen anything like you and I mean that in the best way possible. You are incomparable." They swallowed, heart thumping as they dared to utter one more word. "Beautiful." xB's heartbeat began racing just as fast, causing him to cover his face.

"It's so embarrassing you can hear that," he complained. "Is it as deafening as I think it is?"

Gently, Xavion pulled his hands away from his face. "It's like music," they teased.

Thanks to them sitting on the small hill and xB sitting on the ground, it gave EX the illusion of having at least two inches over him. So without even thinking, they cupped his face, drawing him up to meet theirs.

Their rapid heartbeats fell in sync as they kissed. xB was bracing himself on the small sculk hill as he pressed against their lips. "I like that," he murmured when they parted.

"I like that too," Xavion lightly laughed, still holding his face so they could press their foreheads together.

They had ventured down for an escape. Then ventured further for an army. And it turns out, they were going to return to the surface with so much more. 

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Love spreading my rare-pair borderline crack ship agendas. Also still sick. But getting better!