Archive of Our Own ^beta

The one thing that very few people know about Admins, is the fact that there is rarely a day when they do not interact with another Admin. Running a Server is a difficult process, and there are many things that could happen that Admin School does not prepare one for. In that case, all that Admin has to do is open up the Admin Help Panel on their communicator and call an Admin who may be able to help; if they are unable to help, then there is a high chance that they will be able to direct the caller to an Admin who will be able to help. Many Admins rely on a singular Admin for help, or that was what Grian did when he needed help.

***
It started three days after Evo officially began. Grian had been working on his base when he noticed that there was a lighting glitch affecting the areas of land that he had just cleared up. At first he chalked it up to the poor quality of the torches this far in the past, but he got a few complaints from his Players later that day that convinced him that it was a glitch or bug instead of the torches. He had sighed and pulled up his comm, switching it over to his Admin Panel to see if he could find what was causing the problem. 

He searched for hours, late into the night when everyone else was asleep, but he was unable to find anything in the code that looked amiss, so, in a moment of desperation, not wanting to be dealing with a hidden bug or glitch this early on in the Server, Grian pulled up his Admin Help Panel and gave it a cursory look over. He knew this screen like the back of his hand; he had just completed Admin School, and the Admin Help Panel was the final course that he had taken, so his knowledge on how it worked was fresh in his mind. After a few minutes of looking, he settled on a profile that looked like they would be able to help him out and pressed it. Now he just had to wait for them to pick up.

***

Xisuma had just started the second to last serverwide meeting for Season Three of Hermitcraft. He had just managed to get everyone to quiet down, and was ready to start speaking, ready to let the Hermits know who would be joining them next season and give them a basic layout of what the world would be like when his comm rang which confused him; he always had his comm off when a meeting was ongoing, as did all of the other Hermits. 

Before anyone could say anything, a look of realisation crossed Xisuma’s face; his comm was on silent, but if an Admin was calling for assistance it would ring as it was possible that the reason that an Admin was calling was time sensitive and couldn't be ignored. He stood up, holding out a hand before anyone could say anything about it.

“Talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes, I have to take this.” Xisuma told them, making his way over to one of the rooms to the side of the main area. Once he was there he picked up the call.

“Hermitcraft’s Admin speaking, how can I help?” He asked, voice kind and inquisitive.

There was a slight intake of air on the other side of the call, one that X was well accustomed to when he introduced himself. Thankfully, it only took a few seconds for the person on the other end to answer him.

“Ah! Yes! I’m the Admin of Evolution, Evo for short, and I have a hidden lighting glitch. Something you should probably know is my Server is in the beta updates, the first one that supports additional Players on it. Beta 1.4.2 I think.”

Xisuma was stunned. This Admin sounded young, very young and this was probably their first Server. “I see. Alright, what were you able to see in the code?”

The Evo Admin went into a thorough explanation of the code, explaining what he had seen, what he hadn’t seen, and what the glitch looked like. From there it was easy enough for Xisuma to walk the other through what he should do to fix it. In the end it took two hours to complete, and Xisuma had sent the Hermits back to their bases, informing them that the meeting was postponed for the time being and he would let them know when the meeting would actually take place.

Once it was fixed X heard the other let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much for the help. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. This is only my third day with a Server.”

“It was no problem. Is this your very first Server?”

“Yeah! I graduated three months ago.”

“Well, I wish you luck with your Server. Call anytime you need a hand.”
“Will do. Thanks again!” With that the call ended, both Grian and Xisuma letting out a sigh. 

‘That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would have been,’ Grian thought, a small smile playing on his lips as he settled down in his nest for a few hours of sleep.

‘Ambitious for a new Admin and a first Server. Hope it works out for them,’ X thought, opening up Hermitcraft’s code to check on it and the new season’s code.

***

From there it became somewhat common for Xisuma to get a call for assistance from the Admin of Evo, and, after all of the time spent helping with bugs and glitches, a friendship was formed. Despite the fact that neither of them knew the other’s name, every interaction, whether it was Grian calling for assistance, or the rare occasion that it was Xisuma calling, was always a bright and happy start. So far, there had yet to be a bug or glitch that had to be solved by someone else, but it appeared that today might be that day.

Season 4 was in full swing when Xisuma’s comm rang, the tone he had set specifically for calls coming in from Admins needing help. He picked it up, a smile already on his face as he knew exactly who it was.

“Evo! How have you been?” He asked, but felt fear build up when he didn’t get a bright greeting in response like he always did. “Evo?”

“HC? Sorry, I-I’ve been better. Um… sorry, I- well…”

“Hey, take your time, Evo. I’m here for as long as you need.”

“I-I need some advice, or help, or uh, knowledge?” Evo said, fear and desperation lacing their voice.

“Alright, what’s going on, bud?”

“What do you know about the Watchers?”

That question was all it took for Xisuma’s blood to run cold. He was a Voidwalker, and had been raised in a Deep End village, one that was run by the Watchers. From what little he remembered, and it wasn’t a lot, Watchers were cruel, egotistical, easy to anger, and not something one wanted to see. Xander, his older brother, told him that their parents had been murdered by the Watchers when they were trying to escape, and it was only Xander’s quick thinking that got them out of there, however neither made it out without scars covering their bodies.

“I know a bit, why?” The fear was audible in Xisuma’s voice, causing him to cringe.

“They-they’re on my Server, have been since day one. I-I don’t know what to do, HC! I’m scared.” Evo admitted, and it was at that moment that Xisuma remembered just how young Evo was. All Admins graduated when they were 18, and Evo hadn’t been around for a year quite yet, so Evo was probably still only 18, 19 at the oldest; Xisuma felt his heart break for his young friend.

“Can you tell me what they have done?” X asked, doing his best to mask his fear to hopefully calm Evo down.

“Well, it started off as riddles and puzzles that lead us to an update portal. I was originally going to be the one to initiate the update, but the code I created for that no longer works. It then turned into tasks and challenges that needed to be completed, and then there were punishments if we did something wrong. There was obsidian over all of my chests for taking more than I should have, and I didn’t have an iron or diamond pickaxe on me so I was using a stone one for hours and completely tore up my hands. Then there was the chest filled with materials that showed how much they liked us, and-and.” Evo cut off, breath catching in their throat.

“Breathe, Evo. I need you to take a deep breath for me. Come on, I know you can do it.” Xisuma coaxed, letting out soft praises when he could hear Evo try to take a breath as he had been asked to do.

Eventually their breathing evened out, and they continued. “I had coal in mine, but there was a single diamond sitting in the centre. The Watchers hate me, and the Player I was with suggested that they might see me as a diamond in the rough, or they may want something from me, and I guess I just panicked and called you to know what you knew about them.”

X sighed. “What I know isn’t good, Evo. Do you know if there is any way off of your server?”

“That bad?” The small voice of Evo was the final straw in shattering his heart.

“Yeah, yeah it is that bad, buddy. Watchers are… well, they are cruel, egotistical, easy to anger, and not something you want to deal with. I’ve dealt with them in the past and it wasn’t something that I like to think back on.”

“Oh. Let me-let me check.”

A few seconds of silence as Evo checked the code before the silence was broken by a shocked gasp. “The-the code isn’t responding to me! I-I can’t access the code anymore! HC, what do I do?”

“I-I don’t know. I think you’ll have to take this up with the Admin Council. They-they’ll know what to do.” Xisuma said, but it was clear by the shake in his voice that he didn’t believe what he was saying.

“Alright. I-I’ll contact them. I-I love you HC. You’re my best friend. I’m glad I got to meet you.” Evo said, voice shaking and their barely concealed cries were audible to X.

“I-I love you too, Evo. Don’t-don’t say goodbye as if we’ll never speak again though, please.” Xisuma begged. “I’m glad I got to meet you as well, though.”

The call ended, and Xisuma couldn’t stop the tears that he could feel slowly making their way down his face. He had already lost his parents to the Watchers, he couldn’t lose Evo as well. He could only hope that the Admin Council could do something to save Evo.

***

It was the end of Season Four when the news was sent out to every single Admin, a warning to up the protections that were set up on every Server. The Evolution SMP server had fallen by the Watcher’s hand. Every Player but the Admin was accounted for and had been rescued from the corrupted and dying server by the Listeners, and according to the Players testament, the Admin had been taken by the Watchers in exchange for the Server’s continued safety. 

Xisuma got the news right as Season Four was becoming Season Five. Xander was already waiting on the Season Five world to start some chaos and announce his presence, his identity as X’s older brother having been revealed back in Season Three when he had come to bother his younger brother about something that had happened and then stuck around to cause some chaos, so the moment that Xisuma entered the world, he walked over to where Xander was being all over dramatic and saying that he was going to be so evil this season, and just pulled him into a hug, hiding his face in his brother’s chest so no one could be able to see his tears.

Xander froze, but slowly wrapped his arms around his brother, eyes filling with concern as he felt Xisuma’s body shake with his cries. 

“‘Suma? What’s happened, bud?”

“They’re gone.” Xisuma whispered, so quiet that Xander almost missed it.

“Who’s gone?”

“Evo.”

“Evo? Oh! Isn’t that the Admin you helped out?” Xander had heard quite a bit about Evo as it was rare for Xisuma to click with someone who wasn’t on Hermitcraft.

“Watchers took them, just like Mum and Dad.” X choked out, trying to get his breathing under control.

Xander was silent as he processed this, before he looked up from Xisuma to the gathered Hermits who were waiting to know what they were supposed to do.
“Go ahead and get started guys. I’ll handle this.” Xander said, and while it took a few moments, the Hermits all eventually started to fan out and start the season.

Gently picking his younger brother up, Xander moved to sit against a tree, gently soothing his distraught brother who eventually fell asleep an hour later, allowing Xander to make a makeshift hut for the night. It would be a long season.

***

Season Five passed in a haze for Xisuma. He got all his Admin work done, and increased the protections, making it practically impossible for the Watchers to see the Server; Xisuma wasn’t about to take any chances when it came to the corrupt beings. He didn’t really take part in anything that was happening unless he was dragged into it by Xander or Keralis, both of whom were doing their best to make sure that X was taking care of himself. 

Eventually the season had to come to an end when the next world update was set to come out and the Hermits were beginning to become restless with the lack of projects that they were able to do, so Xisuma, Xander by his side to lend a helping hand, went out in search of the new world for Season Six. He eventually found something that looked promising, and Xander agreed that, with the idea for district and all of the water that this world had, since the next world update focused on the ocean, the area that they had just found, after three days of searching, would be the best area for the next season of Hermitcraft. The only thing that was left to do was end some of the story arcs that were lingering, and then move to the next season.

Eventually it was time to move, Xander having gone back home to the Void; after the siblings had escaped the Deep End, Xander had found them a safe space to live in the Void where the Watchers wouldn’t be able to find them, and when Xander wasn’t causing chaos on Hermitcraft, he was living in the Void and taking care of the house that he had built all those years ago.

***
Starting a new season was always fun, but finding someone who wasn’t supposed to be on the Server was not something that happened often, nor was it something that Xisuma liked to see, especially with all of the work that had been put in to protect Hermitcraft. Considering that the newcomer was unconscious though, X doubted that they would be a threat, but he still made an area where they could stay and he would watch over them until they woke up and he could find out how they managed to break into a whitelisted and heavily protected server.

It took a few hours, hours that were spent checking the code to see if he could find any errors or bugs and glitches, before a soft groan broke him out of his work. Xisuma was quick to stand and make his way over to the newcomer who’s eyes were now cracked open.

“Easy there, you’re okay.” X said, not wanting to come across as hostile.

“Wh-” The person started, before breaking off with a cough as it felt like their throat was sandpaper.

“Ah, hang on a second.” Xisuma said, quickly grabbing a bottle of water that he helped the other take small sips of.

“Where am I?” They asked, now that they could actually speak.

“You are in Hermitcraft. Do you know how you got here?”

“N-No. I was running and I found a portal. I think it closed behind me, but I don’t know.”

Xisuma hummed, “do you mind if I take a look at your code?”

The person hesitated, eyes darting around the room they were in before they nodded. X was quick to pull up his Admin Panel and open up the Player code section and started to go through it to find their code. It was easy to find as there was only one name that he didn’t recognise- ‘Grian’.

“Your name is Grian?” Xisuma asked, not wanting to get it wrong just in case they didn’t actually go by Grian.

“Yeah, I’m Grian.” Grian responded.

“My name is Xisuma. I’m the Admin here.” X said, eyes scanning over Grian’s code. He furrowed his brow when he got to the memory section, only to see that it was partially corrupted.

“Your memory code is partially corrupted. Do you know how that happened?”

“I-I was taken from my previous server by the Watchers. They tried to make me one of them, but they didn’t succeed. Well, they did, but not completely. Apparently I was supposed to have no memories and look like them , but my wings still look like a parrot’s wings, and I still have some of my memories. The powers are unusual, but I can’t use them without injuring myself.” Grian said, looking anywhere except Xisuma.

“Well, I can promise that you are safe here. You are welcome to stay unless you have somewhere else to go, but I will have to talk with the rest of my Players to see what they have to stay.”

“Alright.” Grian said, shifting so he could lay back down on his side.

With that Xisuma left the room, and called for a meeting with the Hermits who all decided to give Grian a chance, so he was free to stay unless something happened.

***

Grian thrived in Hermitcraft, and even if he didn’t have all of his memories, he was still an incredible builder, a sneaky prankster, and overall a great friend and addition to Hermitcraft. Having Grian there, and the year that had passed, made Evo’s disappearance hurt slightly less for Xisuma, and while he would love to know what had happened to his best friend, he knew that he would probably never get to find out. 

The anniversary of the destruction of the Evo SMP was hard for Xisuma, when it eventually rolled around shortly after Season Six started, and he spent it in his base, just staring at his comm, hoping that it would ring and he would hear Evo’s voice. That never happened, and he wound up passing out at two in the morning, having stayed in the same spot for the entire day, being found by Grian later that morning. X was thankful that Grian didn’t ask any questions and just helped him to his room and got him something to eat, leaving a few hours later so X could actually get some sleep rather than just run on the energy he had gained from passing out.

***
Eventually Season Six ended. Season Seven happened, and it was just as fun and chaotic as the last. While there had never been a dull moment on the Hermitcraft server before Grian joined, everything seemed more lively now that he was here. It made the days that were harder for Xisuma slightly easier, the days when all he wanted to do was talk with Evo and find out what they had been up to, and help fix yet another glitch. It pained him that their final call was the call where Evo asked about the Watchers and it was spent mostly in a panic, but there was nothing that Xisuma could do about it now. At least the other knew that he loved them.

When several of the Hermits disappeared, Xisuma panicked; the entire server did, but no matter how hard anyone looked there was no sign of them. Unfortunately, the server had to be left behind and the new season started before the eight missing Hermits returned; all eight were whitelisted for the new season, so X could only hope that the missing Hermits returned and they didn’t disappear forever just like Evo had.

Xisuma was thankful when all eight Hermits returned just a few weeks into the new season, but that warm feeling changed to one of concern when it became apparent that none of them, bar Grian who refused to speak about it, knew what had happened. A quick code check revealed that the six Hermits who had no memories had their memory code partially corrupted, just like Grian’s memory code was. The corruption looked practically identical, so the only conclusions that Xisuma could draw from it was the fact that the Watchers had somehow found a way to access Hermitcraft, even if they had no way to actually enter it. 

Once this knowledge had been obtained, Xisuma spent all of his time working on the code, trying to figure out how the Watchers had found access to his server, but found nothing; he even reached out to the Admin Council to report what had happened, now that he had all of the facts, but there was nothing that they could find either, leaving X to fend for himself. When that happened, there were only three people who could get Xisuma to take care of himself in his obsession on protecting the Hermits and making sure that none of them were taken again- Keralis as he was X’s oldest friend, Xander as he was his older brother and had raised him when their parents had been murdered, and Grian whose personality reminded Xisuma so much of Evo that it was hard to say no to whatever it was that Grian was planning. All three did their best to make sure that X was taking care of himself, but that would end up falling apart when the Watchers struck once again and the moon started steadily approaching the server, threatening the lives of everyone there. It didn’t help that 10 Hermits went missing during the time that the moon was approaching, and, once again, Grian was the only one to remember what had happened.

Eventually, the moon was about to hit the server, and Xisuma knew that he wouldn’t be able to get a new season up and running before the moon crashed in just a few days; he was thankful that each and every Hermit had a way out and would be safe, so now he could only hope that when the next season rolled about, everyone would be there and they would all be safe.

***

With a new season came new experiences, chaos, and events. Ren became King of the Server, something that Xisuma was trying his best to stay out of, there was the Soup Group Resistance, Grian’s Not a Resistance, then the Rift opened up and Grumbot from Season Seven, but not their Season Seven, came through, nine Hermits disappeared once more with Pearl and Grian remembering what had happened during the time they were missing, Scar became the superhero(?) Hotguy who just shot people with a bow and arrow as far as X could tell, and by the time the compasses appeared in everyone’s bases directing them to the Rift, Xisuma was ready for a nice long nap to forget that any of this had happened.

Unfortunately, X wasn’t able to just ignore the summons so he followed the instructions that had been carved into the back of said compass and, when the time finally arrived, gathered in front of the Rift, along with everyone else who had found a compass, and entered the Rift, finally being able to find out what was on the other side of the mysterious portal that had no code attached to it that Xisuma could find; when it had first appeared, X had sat in front of it with Grian trying to figure out what it was and if they could get rid of it. Keralis had to drag them out of the cave that the Rift was located in to get them to stop obsessing over the Rift and get them to eat and sleep, but it was finally time to see what it really was.

***

Finding a completely new world on the other side of the Rift had not been what anyone was expecting, but the idea of a new adventure was too tempting for any of the Hermits, so they all scattered to go explore rather than take the safe option and return to Hermitcraft. Xisuma and Cleo wound up going together and finding a pirate ship and one of the Players who resided on the server as well. Grian had found some of his friends while he was out exploring, and was currently causing chaos in Tumble Town with Jimmy. Tango had found his way into the swamp and then found Tumble Town as well where he got to see Jimmy once again after Double Life; even if they didn’t remember Double Life, they knew that there was some kind of connection between them. Eventually fWhip, the Admin of Empires, called a meeting to find out what was going on and figure out how the Hermits had managed to enter Empires, so every person on the server was making their way to the plaza outside of the Meeting Hall as there was no way that the Meeting Hall would be able to hold everyone comfortably.

Eventually, everyone is either sitting on the chairs that have been set out, or they are just sitting on the ground. Grian had snagged one of the chairs so he didn’t have to get his wings dirty, while Xisuma had taken a spot on the ground, despite the fact that fWhip had offered him a chair. It takes a bit for everyone to settle down, the excitement at the Hermits being on Empires and all of the chaos that could be caused was running through just about everyone. Finally, both fWhip and X managed to get everyone calm enough that the meeting could actually begin.

“So,” fWhip started, eyes finding Xisuma, “do you know how this happened?”

“Nope. The Rift just appeared one day. There was no code attached to it, and we couldn’t find a way to close it.” Xisuma said, gesturing to Grian while he spoke.

“No code?” fWhip clarified, confusion lacing his voice. 

“Absolutely none at all. I don’t know how long we sat there to see what we could find, but there was no proof that the Rift actually existed other than the fact that it was there.” Xisuma confirmed.

Grian snicker a bit, “for a few hours, before Keralis came and dragged us away, I was convinced that we were imagining it.”

There was laughter at that, and the meeting was only able to begin again, 10 minutes later, once the laughter had died down.

“So, what’s the plan then? Do you have any idea how long the Rift will stay open and leave our worlds connected?” fWhip asked, but before Xisuma could say anything, a shattering sound could be heard coming from the direction where the Rift was located.

“Please tell me that wasn’t the Rift,” Xisuma said, desperation lacing his voice, causing Grian to dart off, flying quickly through the air to check up on the Rift.

A few minutes later, he returned with a grim look on his face. “That was the Rift. It’s closed.”

fWhip stared at him while X buried his face in his hands, a very muffled curse could be heard from the Hermitcraft Admin as he tried to figure out what to do next.

“I guess you are all stuck here for the time being?” Pix said, his words coming out as a question rather than a statement like he had intended.

“Seems like it,” Doc said, watching as Keralis tried to soothe their distressed Admin.

“Well, if you are going to be stuck here, we may as well give a proper introduction of who we all are and what we do in our empires.” Jimmy said, but before he could continue, he was cut off by Joel.

“Yeah, you’re a toy sheriff that no one respects.” He called out, only to pause when he could hear laughter from Grian and Pearl.

“Really Timmy? No one respects you, again ?” Grian called out, eyes dancing with mirth.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up you two.” Jimmy muttered, but his own eyes were fighting back amusement.

“It’s the Property Police all over again.” Pearl laughed, causing Grian to double over, and Jimmy to start giggling himself.

“Property Police?” Scar asked, curiosity filling his eyes as he watched the three laugh.

It was Jimmy who started to explain since Grian and Pearl were still laughing and trying to catch their breaths.

“Okay, so back on our old server, Martyn and I had a police station and we called ourselves the Property Police. We were supposed to be the authority on the Server, but no one cared!” Jimmy cried, voice raising an octave and sending Grian and Pearl back into hysterics. When Pearl got her breath back and calmed down, she added onto what Jimmy was saying.

“By the time I joined, something had happened, a mayoral race I believe, and then there was also them, but they don’t matter, but by that time no one really cared that they were supposed to have any sort of authority. I remember hearing stories about how Gri blew up the station and then rebuilt it.” She got out, giggles interrupting her story.

“Okay, it only blew up because Netty and I were pulling a prank and the TnT back then was touch activated instead of needing a flint and steel to light it up!” Grian defended, eyes filled with mischief and mirth.

“And here you were supposed to be the Admin.” Jimmy admonishes. “Pulling pranks and blowing things up.”

“Hey! I kept the server running until I was locked out of the code!” Grian said, affection in his eyes at the teasing, but a sorrowful tone tinting his words.

“Locked out of the code?” Xisuma asked, thinking back to Evo and the panic they felt on that last call when they had been unable to access the code.

“Yeah.” Grian whispered, eyes now filled with sorrow. “It wasn’t a fun time in those last few weeks.”

It was in that moment, before anyone could even think to ask the name of the Server that Grian was the Admin of that Xisuma finally, finally, connected the dots on why Grian seemed so painfully similar to Evo. In the softest voice that any had heard the Hermitcraft Admin, X spoke, eyes now locked on Grian. “You’re Evo, aren’t you.”

Grian stared at his Admin, mouth parted ever so slightly before, “you have to be kidding me! You… HC stood for Hermitcraft?!”

Xisuma giggled, the sound a touch manic. “You’ve been-you’ve been here the whole time?!”

Grian giggled as well, sounding both manic and pained. “How long has it been? Four and a half years?!”

“Something like that, yeah.” Xisuma buried his face in his hands as he spoke. Voice becoming muffled as disbelief and elation ran through him. His best friend was alive and was on his server, had been for close to half a decade and he hadn’t known, neither of them had!

The pair was now being stared at in confusion as they had their mental breakdown, until realisation lit up in Jimmy’s eyes. “Ohhhhh. HC was the Admin who you called to help with the code!” He exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention away from Grian and Xisuma and onto himself.

“Gri? How did you forget?” Scar asked, curiosity once again filling his eyes.

“When Evo was destroyed, I was taken and my memories were corrupted. I remember most of what happened during Evo, but I didn’t remember exactly who HC was. I knew that they were my best friend, and I loved them, but I didn’t remember who they were.”

“X? What about you?” Keralis couldn’t help but ask.

“We only ever spoke over comms and… the beings that took him-” here Xisuma hesitated a tick before continuing on once more, voice shaking slightly- “are not known for keeping people that they take alive.”

There was silence for a moment, before Pearl giggled once more. “Four and a half years though?”

Xisuma groaned once more, face now reburied in his hands. “I even thought that he acted like Evo did, too!” He whines, causing Grian to start giggling once more.

“I’m not as explosive anymore.” He comments, only to be immediately shot down by Pearl who had known him both then and now.

“You are just as explosive. Don’t lie to yourself.”

Grian grumbled but didn’t fight back, and the meeting was finally able to be finished. It was decided that the Hermits would make their own empire for the time being until a solution to the now closed Rift was found. Once that had been figured out, the meeting was dismissed and everyone was free to go on their way; the Empires members went back to their empires, a few of the Hermits following to get a better look at them, while the rest of the Hermits went to find a place near the Rift where they would be able to make their own empire. After a few minutes, the only two people left were Grian and Xisuma.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Grian took a hesitant step forward, and seconds later they were in each other’s arms, tears flowing freely down their faces.

“I thought you were dead!” Xisuma cried, burying his face in Grian’s hair.

“I thought I was going to die.” Grian confessed through his tears.

“I’m glad you’re still here, Evo.” X whispers, so soft that his voice is almost lost to the wind.

“I’m glad I’m still here, too, HC. You’re my best friend and I love you.” Grian replies, voice equally as soft.

“I love you, too, Evo.”

***
If, when back on Hermitcraft, Grian and Xisuma can be found hanging out more frequently, typically checking the code, then no one questions it; most of them had heard about ‘Evo’ from Xisuma if they had been able to catch him while on the tail end of a call with the other Admin, or if they just asked. If the names ‘Evo’ and ‘HC’ started being tossed around more between the pair, then no one casted it a second glance, understanding that, after being introduced to each other by the server name that they were the Admin of, it was fun to use it again, even if Grian was not an Active Admin at the moment, and Evo had been gone for a long time now.

Xisuma had his best friend back, had his code buddy back, and ‘Evo’ was everything that X had thought that he would have been if they had ever been able to meet up and not just talk about code when there was an issue.

“Love you, Evo. You’re my best friend,” he whispered into Grian’s hair late one night when they had collapsed in Grian’s nest after spending the day fixing the code after eight Hermits, the one who typically went missing, had just returned 24 hours after they disappeared, Grian once more being the only one to remember what had transpired in those 24 hours. 

When the admission, one that Grian knew, one that Grian had shared first, had been lost to the wind, Xisuma allowed himself to follow Grian’s lead and let sleep claim him as well, his best friend and fellow Admin by his side. While he had originally never thought that anything permanent could come from an Admin calling for assistance, Xisuma was glad that it had.