Pix glanced around as he landed next to the circle around the campfire that marked spawn, his face falling slightly. Oh. He didn't show up. Pix himself was quite late, so if Oli still wasn't here...

It was at this moment that (with incredibly convenient timing) Pix heard a shout from behind him. "I AM- SO VERY LATE, IM SORRY-" He turned around to see Oli trip over his own feet and fall. Oli lay on the ground for a moment with an annoyed expression before getting back to his feet. "Elytras are so difficult to use, man." The blonde added with an irritated huff.

"Ehhh, I mean... not really." Pix said, looking the bard up and down with an amused expression as Oli walked over to him. "Did you make sure nobody-"

"Yes, I made sure nobody followed me. I think." Well, that's reassuring. "And not everybody is as good at flying as you are, so shush." Oli added with a huff, although he was grinning, so there seemed to be no negativity behind his words.

"Hey, they're fairly easy to use." Pix said with a shrug. "You just need more practice, that's all." He smiled as the shorter man let out an irritated mutter before pulling Pix into a hug, burying his face in the brunette's chest.

"Shut up, you jerk." Oli mumbled as Pix hugged him back, laughing. The blonde glanced back up at him, smiling. "I missed you."

"The feeling's mutual." Pix whispered, kissing him quickly before glancing around. "So... what now?" He asked curiously.

"We can just talk, I guess. Sit near the campfire, you know? We have a lot to catch up on." Oli added with a laugh, leaning against his boyfriend and resting his head on the brunette's shoulder ('Boyfriend'? Was that the right word? Boyfriend. It certainly sounded right to Pix. Boyfriend. He couldn't stop himself from smiling just at the thought).

The two made their way over to the campfire in the center of spawn, sitting down. Pix didn't say much- he just kind of listened, quietly watching the man next to him with a small smile on his face. It hadn't been that long, but he had still missed Oli so much in the time they'd been apart.

Pix pulled the amethyst necklace out of his pocket, glancing at it nervously before taking the opportunity to speak. "Uh... I- have something. For you." Oli paused, staring in surprise as Pix passed him the necklace.

"But I... broke it." Oli said quietly, more than a little confused (he also appeared to feel a tiny bit guilty). "I broke it. It was- very broken, how did you-"

"I fixed it." Pix said with a small smile. "Took a while- and a lot of help from Sausage and Shelby's old spellbook- but uh..." He trailed off as Oli put the necklace back on, grinning. "It's fixed."

Oli practically tackled him, pulling him into a hug before kissing him. The kiss lasted for quite a while (about fifteen or twenty seconds, if Pix had to guess) before Oli pulled away, still smiling.

Pix and Oli both froze at the sound of slow, sarcastic clapping from behind them. "How cute."

"I thought you said-"

"I didn't think anyone followed me!" Oli protested, and the two turned around. False.

The blonde haired woman was watching them with a bored expression, hand resting on the hilt of her sword and a mildly irritated smile on her face. "Honestly, you really didn't check that well. You looked around once and basically went 'yeah, it's fine'." False said skeptically, her eyes narrowing. "How are you... not..."

"Infected? I'm smarter than you. I mean- uh-" Oli broke off, smiling awkwardly. "I don't- know what you mean-" The blonde amended hastily as False shot him a skeptical look.

"Really?" She said slowly, her eyes glowing a tiny bit brighter as she smirked knowingly.

Oli paused, staring at her with a mildly startled expression and shaking his head violently. "No, no, no, nope, go- away-" He mumbled, staring at the ground.

Pix shot the shorter man a concerned look. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

Oli shook his head, blinking rapidly. "No, no- I- you need to- leave." His boyfriend muttered, looking somewhat distressed.

"What? Why-" It was at this moment that Pix noticed Oli's eye colour rapidly switching between his normal hazel eyes and the cold harsh blue linked with the sculk and the sculk infection. Oh, come on. I just got him back. It... hasn't even been two days.

"You need to leave." Oli repeated quietly.

"I will. Don't worry." Pix paused, reaching for some rockets. "Stay safe." He added in a whisper. He then flew away, determined not to look back.

——

Pix landed outside his house, stumbling slightly as he landed. Not even two days. And he's gone.

Again.

He let out an irritated sigh, walking into his house. Do the gods have a personal vendetta against me or something? Pix leant against the doorframe, staring into his house for a moment and running his fingers gently over the emerald shard hanging around his neck. I hate it here. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it-

He barely managed to hold back a choked sob, walking into the house and closing the door behind him slowly. Maybe the infection would vanish if the sculk was destroyed? Pix paused thoughtfully, before reaching for his communicator.

-.-.-

You whispered to katherineeliz: hey Katherine, I have an idea. Want to help me out?

-.-.-

Oof there he goes again :(

More angst to come >:) (including some near death experiences yay)

Sorry for the short-ish chapter

Also you got fluff at the start so like-

Anyways if I wasn't busy I'd probably update this again today but I'm going out with my friends so byeeee