Hardened (A Yogscast Fanfiction)

22

I fiddled with the gold watch in my hand as I paced back and forth in the small mining base. The obsidian under my bare feet was warm and smooth to the touch, and if you kept quiet enough you could hear the bubbling of the lava lake just outside our cobblestone walls. Across the room was a bed and the sleeping form of Ross under a thin sheet; another perk of building our base over lava was the comfortable temperature it kept the room at.

I had already organized all the chests, smelted all the ores, and even snuck out to do a little mining since he had fallen asleep a couple hours ago. To say I was nervous was an understatement, and even my obsessive organizing didn't require enough concentration to pull me away from the impending dawn that would begin the longest day of my life.

Ross had stationed me at the secret launch site well away from Hat Corp, and I would only launch the rejuvenating missiles if something happens to the launch site in the base. For once, Smith and Trott had agreed to that plan, so there wasn't much arguing I could do. If we were lucky, I would have a pretty boring day of waiting; however, premonition told me that it wasn't going to be that easy.

I was looking down at my clock, watching the tiny moon cross the viewfinder and a sliver of pink appear when I heard a rustling of sheets and a small "Kirby?" come from behind me.

I turned to see Ross swinging his legs to the side of the bed and then stand up, his head tilted in question as he made his way over to me. "Did I wake you?" I asked, the sight of him with his hair even more disheveled than normal and his white shirt flapping open as he walked made my knees weak. I had to remind myself that we might never see each other again after today, but then again I had let myself get even closer to him this past week instead of preparing myself for that very real possibility.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, running his hands down my shoulders and arms to clasp our hands together, "You should be getting some rest."

"Sorry," I mumble, looking down at our feet, "I guess I'm just a bit anxious."

He took a shaky breath and then let out a long, low sigh. "Me too," he muttered, pushing his hair back out of his face. I realized that his calm, composed self was just another one of his acts; Ross was as nervous as I was. When he pulled me into his chest I could feel his heart pound in my ear and his breathing was irregular.

"You should get back to sleep," I said, nodding towards the bed as I pulled away from the hug. I didn't want to see him so upset, and the aura of distress that seemed to surround him only made me feel worse.

"You should take your own advice," he muttered quietly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear and giving me a sad smile.

I was actually starting to feel tired for the first time in a couple of days, but that was only making me more irritable. "Ross," I sighed, taking another step away from him and hoping he would get the hint, "What do you expect from today?"

"Kirby-" he started in a low tone, and I knew he wasn't going to give me a straight answer easily.

"Tell me honestly," I pleaded, cutting him off, "No skirting around the subject."

He seemed somewhat surprised as I continued to reject his advances, but the hurt was quickly replaced with a thoughtful, pensive look. "Honestly, I have no idea. Trott and Smith seem eager to throw their lives away to prove a point, and it wasn't until recently that I had a different mentality," he said, looking as if he might come towards me again but then thought better of it, "All I know is that you're going to be alive and safe and..." He paused to look down at the ground, and then back up at me with such an intense look that I flinched as he looked me in the eye. "Nothing really matters after that."