Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Skeppy was halfway through a SkyWars solo match when the ping popped up in Discord.

[You’ve been invited to join a server: “Builders’ Bash – Charity Edition”]

He blinked at the notification. He definitely hadn't joined anything called “Builders’ Bash.” Sounded like some kind of Redstone nerd convention.

He alt-tabbed out of Minecraft with a huff and clicked into Discord. A DM from a name he didn’t recognize was already waiting for him.

TheSaintOfGames:

Hey! You’re Skeppy, right? Just wanted to say hi – we’re on the same team for the tournament :-)

There was a smiley face at the end. One with a nose. Who did that?

Skeppy stared at the screen for a beat, then clicked over to the user’s profile.

Mutual servers: None.
Mutual friends: A few, actually — Antfrost, Hannahxxrose, Captain Puffy, even Dream.

Huh. So the guy wasn’t just some rando.

Skeppy replied, leaning back in his chair and cracking his knuckles.

Skeppy:

who are you and why do you have a nose in your emoji

A few seconds later:

BadBoyHalo:

LOL sorry! I always type it that way. It’s a habit :-)
I’m BadBoyHalo, most people just call me Bad. I think we’re on the same Minecraft team for the Builders’ Bash tournament. I figured I’d say hi!

Skeppy:

oh
right
i forgot i signed up for that

BadBoyHalo:

Haha, yeah. It’s for charity, but also for fun. Nothing super competitive.
Want to hop on the server and check out the spawn? It’s actually kinda cool.

Skeppy hesitated.

Normally, he wouldn’t bother. He had videos to record, a Twitch stream queued up for later, and he didn’t usually make a habit of teaming up with strangers. But something about the guy’s messages… they were annoyingly polite. Disarming, even.

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

Skeppy:

fine. gimme the IP

Ten Minutes Later

The server spawn was obnoxiously cheerful.

Balloon animals floated in the sky. There were decorative bees made out of wool hovering above candy-striped houses. Skeppy spawned in wearing some kind of dorky leather armor with hearts floating above his head.

He groaned.

“Okay, whoever made this has never seen the inside of a PvP arena.”

“That would be me,” said a voice behind him.

Skeppy spun around.

The guy standing there wore a red and black skin, with a soft, rounded hoodie design and… a halo. Of course.

“BadBoyHalo?” Skeppy asked.

“Yup!” Bad grinned. “You’re Skeppy, right? Or do you prefer something else?”

Skeppy tilted his head. “Skeppy’s fine. So you're the one responsible for the happy unicorn spawn?”

Bad laughed. It was a warm, short laugh that somehow didn’t feel forced.

“Guilty. I wanted it to feel fun and cozy, you know? Not everything has to be fire and death and bed traps.”

Skeppy raised an eyebrow. “Speak for yourself.”

Bad just smiled again, unfazed.

“Well, c’mon,” he said, motioning for Skeppy to follow. “I’ll show you around. And maybe I can convince you unicorns aren’t that bad.”

Skeppy crossed his arms, but found himself walking after him anyway.

Maybe this wouldn’t be a total waste of time.

Chapter Text

Skeppy wasn't used to being the quieter one.

He trailed behind BadBoyHalo through the colorful server hub, trying not to scowl at the giant smiling sun in the sky. Every building looked like it had been dipped in frosting and childhood joy.

“I feel like I’m in a birthday card,” he muttered.

Bad turned around, walking backwards with an easy smile. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is a bad thing,” Skeppy said. “I could get diabetes just looking at this.”

Bad laughed again. God, he was way too comfortable. Skeppy wasn’t sure if it was annoying or impressive.

“You know,” Bad said, hopping onto a jellybean-colored platform, “you’re a lot more chill than I expected.”

Skeppy raised an eyebrow. “Chill?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen your streams before. I was expecting more chaos. Maybe even shouting.”

Skeppy smirked. “Give it time.”

Bad chuckled and opened the door to a small dome-shaped building labeled TEAM HUB. Inside were twelve colorful platforms arranged in a circle — one for each team.

Ours was Team 5 – Diamond Hearts.

“Oh my god,” Skeppy said. “Please tell me we can change that name.”

“Nope,” Bad said brightly. “Pre-assigned. Blame the server mods.”

Skeppy walked over to the Diamond Hearts platform and stood on it. It glowed blue under his feet.

Bad stepped up beside him, their avatars close now — not touching, but just close enough to notice.

“Okay,” Bad said. “So it’s you, me, and two others. Sapnap and TinaKitten.”

Skeppy blinked. “Huh. That’s actually… not bad.”

“Right? I think we’ll make a good team.”

Skeppy glanced over at him.

There was no sarcasm in Bad’s voice. No bravado. Just that same calm confidence, like he meant it. Skeppy wasn’t used to that, either.

He shrugged. “Guess we’ll see.”

Later That Night

Skeppy couldn’t sleep.

He blamed the energy drink, obviously. Not the Discord call with Bad that had lasted three hours longer than it was supposed to. Not the way Bad had laughed when Skeppy made fun of the rainbow sheep. Not the way his voice had gotten soft when he talked about the charity they were raising money for — a shelter for kids who needed help.

No. It was definitely the caffeine.

His phone buzzed.

[BadBoyHalo]

Hey, just finished adjusting our base layout for round one. Want me to show you later?

Skeppy stared at the message.

His fingers hovered over the screen, thinking.

Skeppy

sure
Tomorrow night?
don’t make it too unicorny

BadBoyHalo

:-) no promises

Chapter Text

The next evening came faster than Skeppy expected.

He’d spent most of the day editing clips, half-listening to random background noise, and trying not to check Discord every thirty minutes like some weirdo waiting for a message. When 9 PM rolled around, he was already logged on, pretending he hadn’t been sitting there for fifteen minutes.

Bad joined the server a few minutes later.

“Hey!” his voice came through the VC, warm and familiar. “Sorry I’m late. I had to wrestle my dog away from a sock.”

Skeppy smirked, his hand still hovering near the keyboard. “That’s… a weird sentence to open with.”

“Trust me, it could’ve been worse.”

Skeppy snorted. “Do I want to know?”

“Nope,” Bad said cheerfully. “Anyway, come see the base!”

The Team 5 base was built on a floating island. It was a softly lit fortress of stone brick and sea lanterns, suspended above a forest biome. The spawn area had a working elevator, an enchanting tower, and a storage room labeled in neat item frames. It was efficient, symmetrical, and… honestly, kinda pretty.

Skeppy blinked. “Okay. I’ll admit it. This doesn’t suck.”

Bad chuckled through the mic. “High praise coming from you.”

“It’s not full of rainbow sheep. I’m shocked.”

“I restrained myself,” Bad said. “But don’t go downstairs yet.”

“Why?”       

“Just… wait. It’s a surprise.”

Skeppy narrowed his eyes but followed anyway.

They headed into the lower level, where a tunnel opened up into a cozy underground room. There were carpets, flower pots, a brewing setup, and—

A giant wool unicorn statue in the corner.

“I knew it,” Skeppy said, deadpan.

Bad broke into laughter. “Okay, okay, but listen — if you right-click the button on its nose—”

A disco ball dropped from the ceiling. Music started playing. Fireworks burst from hidden dispensers in the wall.

Skeppy just stood there in stunned silence as pixelated confetti rained down around them.

Then, slowly, he started to laugh. Not forced. Not sarcastic. Just genuinely amused.

“You’re actually insane,” he said.

“Maybe a little.”

There was a pause.

The music kept playing — light and happy and dumb — and Skeppy found himself watching Bad’s avatar just… standing there. No chaotic jumping. No combat stance. Just still.

“I like building at night,” Bad said quietly, like it wasn’t even meant to be out loud. “Feels like the world goes quiet. No chat, no pressure. Just blocks and space to think.”

Skeppy glanced toward his own monitor.

He didn’t say it, but he knew exactly what Bad meant.

Later That Night

They didn’t log off until almost 2 AM.

Most of the time had been spent tweaking redstone traps and arguing over whether or not glowstone was “tacky.” (Skeppy insisted it was. Bad said it was “tacky in a charming way.”)

After Bad finally said he had to sleep — “actual sleep, not keyboard-nap sleep” — Skeppy sat alone in the server, staring at the spot where Bad’s avatar had been.

For the first time in a long while, the quiet didn’t feel annoying.

It felt… okay.

He opened Discord. Hovered over the DM. Then, without overthinking it, typed:

Skeppy

ok maybe the unicorn was kind of funny

Bad replied two minutes later.

BadBoyHalo

I knew you’d come around :)
goodnight s-geppy

Skeppy

night

He didn’t correct the lowercase or the sleep-induced spelling. Didn’t add a snarky comeback.

Didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t smiling a little when he finally went to bed.          

Chapter Text

The morning of the first tournament round came earlier than expected — or maybe Skeppy had just stayed up too late again.

He blinked against the daylight creeping through his blinds and rolled over to check his phone. Three Discord pings from the team group chat.

[Team Diamond Hearts GC 💎❤️]

TinaKitten:

helloooOOOooO GAMERS
Are we still doing a pre-game strat call?

Sapnap:

i’m in
skeppy better not be late
or asleep

BadBoyHalo:

1 PM EST, right? I’ll be on early to get things ready :)

Skeppy groaned and rubbed a hand down his face.

Right. Team Diamond Hearts.

Still a dumb name. Still… kind of growing on him.

12:56 PM – Four Minutes Early

Skeppy logged in with his usual hotbar loadout and spawn-point smirk. “Look at that,” he said into the mic, “I’m not late. Sapnap owes me five bucks.”

“Damn it,” Sapnap said, already online and punching a tree like his life depended on it.

Tina laughed. “You guys are chaotic. I love it.”

Bad joined the VC a moment later, his voice warm and cheerful. “Hello everyone! I set up a basic map layout in the team chest. Check your ender chests when you’re ready.”

Skeppy glanced over. “You made a map?”

“I made three maps,” Bad said, unbothered. “Contingency plans. Just in case.”

Sapnap groaned. “Bro. We’re not going to war.”

Bad laughed. “Just want us to be prepared.”

Tina’s voice piped in again. “Wait, did you actually color-code roles? This is so organized. I feel like I’m playing a heist mission.”

Bad laughed again. “Heist of the Heart.”

Skeppy muttered, “I’m gonna barf.” But he wasn’t mad about it.

Game Time – Round 1: Build, Defend, Survive

The event started with a resource collection phase — 20 minutes to gather materials, build defenses, and prepare for a final PvP wave.

Skeppy and Sapnap immediately split off to scout diamonds while Tina and Bad reinforced the walls around their base. The call was full of noise — Sapnap yelling about creepers, Tina singing off-key, Bad calmly directing everyone like he’d been born to lead three chaotic kids and himself into war.

Skeppy, for once, didn’t feel like pushing back.

By the time the final phase started, their base was a fortress.

TNT traps. Iron golem guards. Sniper towers.

The enemy team — a mix of creators Skeppy vaguely recognized — rushed the hill with half-baked swords and half-baked plans.

And Team Diamond Hearts?

They wiped the floor with that team.

“Let’s GOOOO!” Sapnap screamed, doing a victory lap.

Tina tossed confetti from a dispenser Bad had rigged mid-game. “Iconic behavior!”

Skeppy didn’t cheer, but he smiled. Just a little. The kind of smile you didn’t try to stop.

“Good work, Skeppy,” Bad said in that same warm tone — like it wasn’t just a compliment, but something that meant more.

Skeppy glanced at his screen. “You too,” he said, quietly.

Post-Game Call

Tina and Sapnap peeled off quickly — something about post-match interviews and food delivery — and suddenly it was just Skeppy and Bad in the VC again.

The silence was… different this time. Not awkward. Just quieter. Quieter in a way Skeppy didn’t hate.

“So,” Bad said eventually, “you were kind of amazing today.”

Skeppy rolled his eyes, but he was smiling again. “You say that like you’re surprised.”

“I’m not surprised. Just impressed.”

That made Skeppy pause.

He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a second before replying. “Not a lot of people say that. I mean — outside of like, ‘nice clutch bro’ or ‘cool TNT kill.’”

Bad’s voice softened. “Well. Maybe they should.”

Skeppy didn’t answer right away.

He didn’t know how to say thank you without making it weird. He didn’t know how to tell Bad that it meant something. That he meant something — even if it was still too early to define what.

So instead, he changed the subject.

“You always like this with your teammates?”

Bad laughed softly. “Only when they’re secretly good people pretending to be jerks.”

“Rude,” Skeppy muttered.

“True, though.”

Skeppy leaned forward again, his voice quieter now. “You’re weird, Bad.”

“I know,” Bad said. “You keep coming back anyway.”

Skeppy blinked, then laughed. And logged off before he had to figure out why that sentence made his chest feel warm and his cheeks grow red.