Pix closed the chest, letting out a noise that was a mix between a sigh and a yawn and then glancing around.

Although the Hermits crossing over through the Rift- and the Emperors following them through afterwards- had certainly been a fun experience, it was still rather chaotic (and, in turn, exhausting) and Pix was honestly rather glad that things could return to normal (especially now that the Rift was closed).

He bit back a laugh at a shout from behind him.

"Pix! PIX! PIIIIX! Pixl of the Riffs variety!" The brunette glanced over his shoulder to see Oli rushing over to him, stumbling slightly.

"Oli! What've you come to steal from me this time?" Pix added jokingly, grinning as the shorter man protested loudly.

"I am not- I wasn't going to steal- the fact that you'd dare accuse me of- PIX!" The blonde finished loudly, pulling his tongue at Pix. "I was actually coming to invite you to another festival thing to celebrate the Rift being closed because oh boy, I never wanna deal with that again- I'm thinking of calling it the Anti-Rift Festival!" Oli declared, grinning and doing jazz hands.

"Interesting name." Pix said, laughing.

"Indeed. So, my sweet king, are you coming or not?" Oli added brightly.

The brunette nodded. "Uhh- sure, why not?" Truthfully, he knew that it was incredibly difficult for him to say no to anything Oli asked him to do. "It's not like I have any plans. When and where is it?"

"By the Rift again- or at least where it used to be, and same place as last time- I don't have to set more stuff up that way. And as to 'when'...Tomorrow, at like- midday? Ish?" The bard made an odd hand gesture, shrugging.

"Ahhhh, I see, midday-ish. Very specific and helpful." Pix's joke earned him a light-hearted shove from the shorter man.

"Shut uppp. Just- be there, okay?" Oli added with a huff.

"Got it. I will... do that." Pix said, smiling.

"Okay! Great! See you there!" The brunette watched quietly as Oli flew away, actively trying to ignore the fact that his heart was beating incredibly- one might say unnaturally- fast.

——

Pix landed at the festival neatly, laughing as Scott landed next to him with stumbling steps and an irritated yelp. "How do you make it look so easy-" The cyan haired man broke off with an irritated huff.

"I don't make it look easy, it is easy." Pix said, grinning as Scott protested loudly.

"Yeah, it's a skill issue." Sausage stated brightly as he landed next to them. "Also, hello."

"Oh- hey. See? Even Sausage can do it." The brunette added to the ruler of Chromia.

"I'm not sure how I feel about 'even Sausage can do it', but I'll take it as a compliment." Sausage said with a smile, looking around. "Have you seen your boyfriend anywhere? I want to talk to him."

Pix sighed. "We've been over this. He's not my boyfriend. We're just friends. And also, I don't know- I literally just got here." The man added with a shrug, trying to change the subject.

"Maybe try asking someone who's been here for a while?" Scott said wryly. "I'm gonna go find Gem, I've been meaning to talk to her about a potential trade route... thing between Chromia and Dawn. I need a lot of honeycomb for when I'm building with copper." The cyan haired man added wryly, rolling his eyes. "See you around~" The man walked away with a wave, tripping over his own feet. He got back up immediately, attempting to walk away in a dignified fashion as Scott disappeared out of sight.

"Okay, well I'm gonna go look for Oli-" Oh, so he was talking about Oli, I was right, as usual. "You can come with me if you want, Pix." Sausage added, grinning knowingly.

"I know exactly what you're thinking and I hate you." Pix said with a half hearted glare, his face going slightly red as he let out an irritated huff. "I'm gonna go look around. Tell Oli I said hi."

"Oh, I will~" Pix smacked Sausage over the head lightly with his hand before walking away as the protector of Sanctuary complained loudly.

——

Pix was watching with a bored expression as Joel and Jimmy debated loudly over something or other, debating whether or not to step in, when he felt someone hug him from behind, the person in question wrapping their arms around his waist.

He let out a startled yelp at the sudden contact, attempting to turn around. His face went slightly red as he heard mischievous laughter that could only belong to Oli. "Oh- hey Oli."

"Hey, Pixxxx- enjoying the Anti Rift Festival?" Oli asked, resting his chin on Pix's shoulder.

"It's... certainly interesting. I mean, it's all the same stuff as last time as well as a sign that says 'BOO, THE RIFT SUCKS'." Pix said wryly, nodding at the crudely drawn sign that Oli had created and trying to think about everything but the fact that Oli was hugging him.

"Well it's the truth, my sweet king." The bard declared brightly. "The only good thing that came of the Rift was all those farms, and then you encased them in glass." The blonde added accusingly.

"Well- they're a part of the server's history! How could I not?" The brunette defended himself. "It's my job-"

"'To preserve the server's history to the best of my ability'." Oli said in a mocking tone. "I know, I know. But that was like- free stuff! Stuff I could have taken, because I'm in crippling debt and have nothing." The other man added dramatically.

"I mean, we all know you'll break in and steal stuff anyway, so it doesn't matter." Oli paused thoughtfully at Pix's words.

"That is true- not true!" He amended hastily as Pix turned his head to shoot the blonde a skeptical look. "No theft here, nope, haha-" The brunette rolled his eyes, listening quietly as Oli continued to talk enthusiastically.

He almost wished he could stay like this forever- Oli hugging him and talking to him excitedly, like nothing else in the world mattered.

But obviously, nothing lasts forever.

First chapter of a new au~ :)

(Yes this book is Oli x Pix, I know it's a rare ship and I don't care :>)

This book has a lot of angst to throw at you, so enjoy the fluff while it lasts :)

Also yes, Pix isn't oblivious. He's fully aware he's ✨gay as hell✨ for Oli, but he doesn't want anyone else to know that (although literally everyone but Oli himself knows)