Word Count : 974

Requested By : KeichiAkechi24 (it took me so long to figure out how to spell your username- ;-;)

Warnings : My headcanons, war talk, flashbacks, drunkardness,

Hermits (Major) : Joe Hills, xBCrafted,

Hermits (Minor) : No other hermits show up =|

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Joe and xB reflect with each other over drinks and un-fond memories.

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"Joe?" xB questioned, breaking the semi-comfortable silence that had spanned between them. "What's your biggest regret?" 

Joe hesitated. The sun was just setting and xB and him had been sitting together in the front of his base just enjoying each other's company. 

Catching up with the help of some beers and other chosen alcoholic drinks. 

Frowning, Joe stopped and looked at the shorter hermit. His wings drooped down and touched the ground at his confusion. "My biggest regret?" He mimicked back. 

xB did not return Joe's look. Instead he stared blankly down at the ground. "Your biggest regret." He confirmed. 

Joe swallowed. "What's this coming from?" 

xB drew in a breath of air before shaking his head. "It was- it was just a thought. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." 

Joe bit the inside of his mouth. 

Regret was a very natural thing for people to have, some had more of it than others which made it difficult to pick the 'biggest' one. If xB was asking about regret, it was either the alcohol talking or something was on his mind. 

Joe shifted so that he was facing the younger hermit. His near fatherly instincts took control in an instant. 

"xBCrafted?" Joe interrogated. "Have you been doing alright? Mentally? Physically? Emotionally? Spiritually?" 

The younger of the two flinched and looked up at Joe with widened eyes. "What? Yeah! I've been fine on all those levels." 

Scanning over the other, Joe could tell that his friend was lying. It was terribly obvious as not many of the Hermits were very good liars when it came to what was bothering them. 

Something clearly was up. 

"xB," Joe trumped sternly. "Don't you dare lie to me." 

If dirty looks could kill, Joe would have one of the highest kill counts on the server. 

The younger froze momentarily before deflating under the threatening dad glare. "Zedaph and I were talking yesterday, and we were kind of- I don't know- info dumping? Ranting? To each other? And- we both kind of left on the unsettling open ended question of what we regretted the most." 

"So it's not the alcohol talking." Joe concluded. 

Turning his gaze away from the slightly younger hermit, Joe opted to place his gaze elsewhere before answering xB's question. 

"My biggest regret was… probably the near end of the Light vs. Dark Forces War, and at the beginning of The Depression. Before I came to Hermitcraft." 

xB hummed in acknowledgement. Another pause floated between the two Hermits before the younger spoke up. 

"Care to elaborate further?" 

Joe hesitated. 

He was already talking, and the alcohol in his system wasn't going to let him stop; he knew that for sure. He could also see more upsides to allowing himself to be vulnerable for just a moment to help his friend find the answer to his question. 

"Oh what the hell." Joe thought. 

"Well… Before hermitcraft…" 

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=== Flashback === 
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"I was a young Aether medic on the front lines during The War. I was put as an attack healer like most Angelic folk after the Aether Fell to the Dark Forces." 

Joe covered his ear, the screams and snarls of Dark Force Attackers were horrid and disgusting. He hated it. Hated being in the gross mud and grime. It wreaked of death and misfortune. 

"Medic!" 

"Light Soldiers would call out for front line healers all the time. There wasn't any rest. It got so bad that at some points that healers created a sick game out of it." 

Coughing harshly, Joe did his best to stop his trembling before making the dangerous advancement towards the ally that needed help. 

Blasts of corrupt energy flew over his head as he crawled. His midsection scraping the ground and collecting more mud and blood at his front. 

His no longer strong and vibrant white wings dragged behind him as he continued to move, continued to breathe. 

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=== End Of Flashback === 
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It was now that Joe realized that he had begun to shake and tremble. His light grey wings had gone from just sitting behind him to fluttered out and folded around him in a more comforting manner. 

xB was also now fully turned towards him. "Are you okay?" 

Joe swallowed roughly before nodding his head. "I-I-" he choked for a second and his voice cracked. 

The southerner took a second to recollect himself. He cleared his throat and swallowed again before attempting to speak again. "It's just- just the- the alcohol talking, sorry. I've probably had too much to drink this evening." 

"Alcohol probably didn't help either of us. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you." xB admitted. 

Joe didn't dare turn to look at xB, for fear of seeing overly concerned eyes. All he did was offer a weak laugh and a bow of his head. "Not too far of a stretch." 

xB let out a heavy sigh before standing up from his seat and turning towards the Southern and offering his hand. "Well, it's late. We should both probably head to bed before phantoms come and eat us alive." 

Joe couldn't help but to laugh as he took xBCrafted's hand and stood up as well. "Oh please, the phantoms are probably chasing all those other redstoners who don't have a good sleep schedule." 

xB laughed at that. "Guess you'll just have to scold them in the morning." 

Joe nodded his head. "Shoot, you're right about that." 

The two Hermits laughed together before they staggered inside of Joe's base for the night. 

Fin 

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*Headcanon lore intensifies*