Note for this: One of these is for another series I've written. Another is a snippet from Shards of Silver that I made a spur of the moment decision in using when I wrote it.
Purple also goes between he/him and they/them throughout the chapter. It was something I realized later rather than sooner but kept. They're unrelated drabbles that I threw into a single oneshots over a year ago, so please bear with me.
1.
One thing Mango more or less didn't really worry about were his brute servants.
They got along with each other just fine, respected him, and mainly knew not to mess with Purple.
Mango had taught them to respect both him and Purple, and should they lay a hand on Purple especially, they wouldn't want to go near Mango at all.
Being grief-stricken over the dead of...him, he tried not to think about how protective he was being when it came to his younger partner in crime.
Eventually, he would dwell on it. If only for a small period.
He and Purple had gone adventuring throughout the Nether, which, in his mind, could've been seen as time to get to know each other, but he didn't care.
He had stick figures to find.
A couple brutes had already gone scouting for the 5 colorful bunch he'd been after, and had come back empty handed, so Mango decided to go out there himself.
And take Purple with, cause why not?
Suddenly, one brute(who was, in a sense, a rebel)jumped up from another ledge and in front of the duo.
Mango doesn't understand what possesses him in that moment, but he puts an arm between Purple and the brute.
God damn him and his protective instincts.
Purple takes out his diamond sword , and the brute takes his own golden sword out.
Months of studying Minecraft had taught Mango that diamond swords easily won over golden swords. So, Purple had an advantage.
Speed, probably another one.
Durability, another.
Offense? Yep.
But defense? That one they had to work on a little.
The brute is fast, but Purple and Mango are faster. They both dodge the brute with amazing speed.
The brute doesn't stop, however. Taking his shot, he moves with lighting speed past Mango amd towards Purple.
"Kid! Look out!" Mango's eyes widen and he holds his breath.
Purple puts the sword between himself and the piglin, but it doesn't help.
The brute slashes at Purple so fast neither one sees it.
Mango looks over and realizes they both lay on a patch of gravel. If he's quick enough, he can snatch Purple and let the piglin fall.
He scrambles closer to the two, and mines at a piece of gravel. Using agility to his advantage, he grabs Purple's hand and throws him back up, letting the piglin fall before he can catch himself.
Mango sighs heavily, before realizing Purple lays on his chest, shaking like a leaf.
"Hey, Purple," He speaks gently. "You alright?"
If he were to be completely honest, he was genuinely scared to lose Purple for a hot second.
"Y-yeah."
Mango sighs in relief. Purple's arm has blood dripping down it, and he panics for a moment. "Shoot, kid, your bleeding."
Purple jumps back into action, Leaping off of Mango and trying to find the source of the blood. "Oh, god..."
"Easy, buddy. It's okay. Your gonna be okay."
When did he get this good at comforting?
"What...what do we do?" Purple asks in between breaths.
Mango has no clue how he can patch up a wound like this without his staff, which he foolishly left at the castle.
"Just breathe for now, okay? We'll get you back to the castle, and we'll patch you up. Okay?"
Mango doesn't bat an eye at how gentle and comforting he's being right now. Yes, he's surprised at how much emotion he's showing right now, the most he's shown in a while, but he's got a kid to take care of.
Now it feels like he's a parent again.
"Mango?"
Mango snaps himself back into reality.
"You okay?"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Let's get back to the castle, kay?"
"Okay."
Mango helps him up, and doesn't realize that for the entire trip back to the castle, he holds Purple's hand.
And if he does, he doesn't mention it.
2.
Purple almost felt bad opening up to Mango as to where their family was.
As the two sit on the fence at the park, Mango asked where Purple's family was.
They knew it was time to come clean about why he didn't want to go back to his family.
After all, what family was there to go back to?
"Purple?"
Purple blinked.
"You okay?"
"Yeah...yeah, I'm okay."
Mango's hand subconsciously finds Purple's. "You can talk to me, you know. I'm here for you."
Purple wiped their eyes. "I know. I just...I don't know how to say that I'm scared..."
"Of what?"
They hesitate before speaking. "Scared of being left alone again.."
And they are. Really, they are. His dad had left him, his mom had died, and everyone else turned a blind eye when he needed help the most.
"Why?"
"Because..." Purple takes a breath. "My dad he...he promised he'd always be there for me. My mom, too. Then they both left and I...I've been all alone since then." His voice breaks.
"I've been all alone for years, and nobody has ever genuinely cared about me ever since my mom died...and...nobody's ever cared enough to take me in..."
Mango's heart aches at how much pain this poor kid has gone through.
"Oh, kid..."
Purple wipes some of their tears away. "And then I...I met you."
Mango blinks back shock. "What?"
"You were the first person to genuinely care about me after years of being abandoned...after everything you did for me..I thought someone actually cared."
"I did.." Mango stopped himself. "Scratch that. I do. I do care about you..so much."
Purple's eyes shimmered with tears.
Mango realizes he's had his hand on top of Purple's this whole time, and smiles softly. "I love you, kid."
Purple's eyes widened slightly. No one's said that to him in years.
"You...you really mean that?"
"Of course I do. I've always meant it, and I always will."
Purple throws his arms around Mango, tears streaming down his cheeks as he buries his face in Mango's shoulder.
"I...I love you, too."
Someone had finally taken him in.
3.
The calamity of mob voices filled the area as Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow were launched out of the blinding light.
"We're alive!"
"Hooray!"
"But how?"
"Second...where's Second?!"
Green spoke with a panicked lace to his tone as he frantically glanced around.
Mango was thrown out of the blinding light before it dissipated entirely.
"Mango?"
Mango jumped up suddenly.
"Where's Purple?"
The four remained silent.
"Where's Purple?!"
"We don't know."
"I don't think he made it.." Yellow says solemnly.
Mango's heart drops.
"No...no, he had to have made it. He can't be..."
"I'm sorry, Mango, but I don't think he did."
The reality of Purple's fate fully sinks into Mango.
"Purple's...gone?"
"Afraid so."
Mango blinks back tears. "No, no...Purple..."
Green takes a few steps forward and hesitantly places a hand on Mango's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay."
No, it wasn't. Mango went through all of that for Purple...and Purple was gone.
Everyone he cared about was gone.
Mango sinks to the ground, sobbing into his hands.
"Purple..."
Nobody is really sure what to do for a while.
Mango just sits on the ground and sobs for a while, before realizing someone has crashed through the the Nether portal.
Everyone glances up at the exact same time, and finds Second has crashed through the portal, an unconscious Purple beside him.
Mango, who was already heartbroken and confused, was certainly even more destroyed now.
"Purple.."
"Holy Alan, are you two alright?!" Green asked, slowly capming down from his earlier panic as he hugs Second.
"Partially. The blocks are separated, at least. But, Purple...I don't know."
Mango runs over to Purple, shaking him and begging for him to wake up.
"Purple, please! Wake up! I still...I still need you! Please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, just...wake up..."
Nothing.
Mango's entire world came crashing down.
"Purple...please, don't do this...I...I love you..."
Instead of stopping himself, he lets the words slip before he can do anything.
But the words were true. He loved Purple more than be realized, and only now did he have a chance to prove it.
Only, he might have been too late.
"Please, Purple..."
"Mango..."
Mango snaps his head up at the sound of his name, looking around frantically to find the source.
Only then he realizes Purple has started moving again.
"Purple! Purple, say something!"
"Mango..?"
Mango tries wiping tears away, but gives up entirely.
He's okay.
He's alive.
"Purple...your...your okay..."
"Yeah.."
If Mango wasn't sobbing before, he was now.
Strangling back a sob, he hugs Purple.
"I'm so sorry, Purple..I didn't mean-"
"Hey, hey. It's okay. I know."
"I'm so sorry for hurting you..I just...I lost myself and didn't realize it was you who was getting the worst of it. I'm so sorry."
"I know. It's okay. I'm here now..."
Mango bites back more tears. "I love you, kid." He takes one of Purple's hands and holds it close.
"I love you, too."
4.
When Purple started walking home it was nearing sunset, not too long after he had left but still a while.
It sky was turning a beautiful scarlet color as the sun dipped behind the mountain horizon, and people were beginning to wind down and head home.
However, as Purple neared the edge of the city, people didn't start calmly walking home.
People start running for their lives.
"What the-" Purple doesn't have the chance to finish his sentence before a fire hydrant explodes beside him, drenching him in water.
"-and that's my cue to get outta here." Without a moments hesitation, he takes off, hoping to beat the mayhem home.
Mango is only worried when people start running from the direction of the city into his neighborhood.
He hasn't texted Purple, but he probably should.
Actually, screw that. He's gonna go find Purple and make sure he's alright.
Whatever is happening is big and bad, and he's not letting his kid be stuck in danger.
He's not losing another kid. Not today.
Purple sees everything suddenly go up in flames as a black stick figure blast through the city, laser eyes not even being bothered to be covered up.
He continues running for his life, as it all that depends on him is escaping the city.
People push past him, running away from the disaster that is just seemingly after them.
A street light crashes from next to him, and Purple is barely able to react before it crashes directly in front of him.
He sighs. Thank god that didn't crush him.
He grabs his phone, suddenly seeing the collage of texts from Mango, all asking about where he is.
Purple glances around, seeing nobody in sight but dull sticks running around frantically.
"MANGO!" He screams. God forbid Mango loses him too.
He keeps running, rounding a corner and ending up at the park. He leans against the fence , sighing in relief that he's mostly out of the woods.
But Mango's still missing.
He texts Mango.
Purp: at the park.
MT: Oh my god thank goodness your okay! Hang on, stay there and I'll come to you.
Purple doesn't think he's seen Mango more panicked than now.
He sighs, thankful he escape that natural disaster of an evening.
Someone screams, and the entire area suddenly comes crashing down.
Purple also screams out of fear, and braces for an impact.
Nothing ever comes.
From where he is, all that he gets is a good amount of rubble as the fence stopped most of it.
And in the process was destroyed.
Amen to the fence for saving his life.
Purple lays on the ground, his entire body aching from running.
"Please hurry, Mango." He says weakly.
"Purple!"
Purple suddenly sits up, glancing around at the sound of his name. A familiar stick figure rounds the corner and towards the park.
"Mango...Mango!"
Mango hops the fence and runs to Purple. "Are you okay?! I saw that building collapse and got so scared that you'd gotten hurt!"
He checks Purple's body for any injuries as Purple reassures him that he's okay.
"I'm okay, Mango. Don't worry, I'm okay."
Mango hugs him tightly. "Thank goodness. I've never been so scared for you."
Purple's adrenaline rush dies down as he hugs Mango back, a feeling of warmth, safety, and comfort blooming around him.
"Your safe now."
5.
Mango watched Purple carefully as they and the brutes returned from hopefully was some type of successful trip. Ever since the rebellious brute tried to kill them, he'd really tried to make sure Purple was alright.
The joys of protecting a child.
Mango had barely realized it up until then, but he was beginning to love Purple more than he realized.
He wasn't sure if he could let himself love another child, after he lost his own son, but he would try.
After all, he was beginning to truly care for the young stick he had let into his home some time ago.
Mango looked back at his staff, sitting untouched by his throne. He knows how much power it holds, having studied it extensively, and he dreads letting it, or his anger, getting out of control.
For all he knows, one of those two could lead to Purple getting severely injured.
Needless to say, the piglins were having a very bad day.
Most of them were know to be wild and reckless in some case, but one of them, a younger brute then most of the guards serving under Mango, maybe a bit older or around Purple's age, was a bit more rambunctious.
He would run through the halls of the fortress Mango and Purple had taken over, and in this particular noteworthy instance, almost killed Purple and a few other piglin guards.
As the brute ran though the hallway into the throne room, he unintentionally smashed into another guard, who attempted to steady themself, but instead grabbed the staff.
Which quickly began to spiral out of control.
Instantly, the staff launched numerous TNT blocks at the walls.
One of those walls being the Purple was near.
"Purple, look out!"
Purple heard the explosion, and was almost able to escape the rubble, but didn't.
Mango froze for a moment as the rubble came down on them.
Shit.
"Purple!" Mango found movement again and quickly started moving rubble away.
Purple was slowly, but surely, moving it too, but his movement was getting slower and slower until it suddenly stopped, which worried Mango to the point where he just started throwing pieces of quartz away from the small child and dragged the limp body out of what remained of the pile.
"Purple! Are you okay?" Mango asked, trying not to sound more concerned then he actually was.
Purple didn't look okay in the slightest. From the years Mango had taken care of a child, he knew what a concussion looked like.
Mango noticed that Purple wasn't moving, and he quickly checked for a pulse. Completely out of his knowledge, but he didn't know what else to do.
Thankfully, there was one.
Quickly, he ran for the staff, still where it was earlier, and spawned a healing potion in his hand before running back to the small child.
"Come on, Purple. Open your eyes, please!"
God, he sounded more desperate than he needed to.
"Purple! Come on, kid, please! Open your eyes!"
As if responding to Mango, Purple started stirring again.
"M-Mango?"
Oh, thank God they were alive.
"Yes, it's me."
Purple opened their eyes a little bit. "What...what happened?"
"Here, drink this."
Mango held the potion up to Purple.
"It'll help with the pain, I promise. Please, just drink it."
Suddenly, Purple began slipping back into unconsciousness.
"Purple! No, stay awake! Please, can you stay awake for a little longer?!"
Mango had to think of something. Fast. Was it too bright? Concussions came with a sensitivity to bright areas, and the throne room was pretty bright.
The Nether was dark, but too hot. He couldn't f. have Purple overheating, and he already felt too warm.
"Come on, Mango! Think of something!"
He had to think. Water? Healing potions? What could he do?
Suddenly, he realized Purple had little recollection of the recent explosion. Amnesia.
He had to think fast before Purple lost any more memories.
Sleeping and hydration should work.
Mango was suddenly woken up by Purple stirring after setting up a dimly lit area for them.
"Purple?"
"Ow..what...happened?"
"You got a concussion after a part of the palace wall exploded. How are you feeling?"
Purple was barely able to make out Mango sitting next to their bed. "Terrible."
Mango realized he was holding their hand, and squeezed it a little. "Thank goodness your okay."
"My head hurts. And why is it so...dark?
Mango felt really bad for them. "It's dark because concussions usually have a sensitivity to bright places, so I'm refraining from making it worse." He explained.
"Oh.."
"Are you alright?"
"I...think so?"
Mango sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you weren't too badly injured. I was really worried after you passed out earlier."
"I can tell."
Mango gripped their hand tighter. They did seem to be looking a little better. "Just rest a little more, okay? We'll make sure your fully healed before I send you out looking for those kids."
Purple didn't seem to like the thought of wasting time they could be spending completing their plan, but Mango did seemed pretty worried about them.
It was best not to have something ten times more serious happen and leave Mango at a complete loss. "Alright."
6.
Purple wasn't sure whether to be worried about Mango, or comprehend that his behavior after the Nether battle was either a form of grief or just normal.
Because it certainly didn't seem normal.
In the few days following the Nether battle and their subsequent reconciliation, Mango had gone from a mostly underprotective king, to an overprotective, constantly worried, parent.
Having no real parental figure, Purple just played along with it, hoping it was just a form of grief, knowing his biological son was dead.
But they still needed to make sure.
Mango seemed more like he was slipping back into the days where his son was still alive, accidentally calling them "Gold" more than once only being one of them.
The longing stares were another thing(and were also starting to creep Purple out).
They were hoping Mango wouldn't be like this for long, as much as they wanted to help.
And help they would.
Helping out was quickly a two way thing.
Most nights, one of the two would wake up on the middle of the night screaming, and the other would comfort them.
Most of the time, it was Mango comforting Purple, but this night was different.
Purple woke up was a voided, dreamless sleep and noticed something about the house.
It was eerily quiet.
Feeling an unsettling feeling in their gut, they decided to check on Mango.
By the time they had reached Mango's room, however, Mango had shot out of bed screaming, something Purple had grown used to.
Purple quickly jumps into action.
"Mango! Mango, it's just a dream! Your okay!"
Mango doesn't get the message, and accidentally backhands Purple in the face.
That snaps him back into reality.
"Shit-Purple! I'm so sorry, I-"
"Mango, it's okay."
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there. Are you..." Mango can't seem to think of anything to say. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm worried about you."
"Kid, the only one that should be worried about me is me!" Mango proclaimed with fake authority.
Purple stared at him. "Well, when you wake up screaming and practically smack someone in the face, doubled either you've been acting weird the entire time I've been here, it calls for being worried."
Mango looks at them, slowly crawling back into reality.
"Besides, I'm normally the one having nightmares and ending up awake in the middle of the night screaming."
"Sorry, I just...relieved a bad memory...with you in it."
Purple blinked at him. "What?"
"I was stuck at the fair, where he died, but instead of him...it was you."
"Why me?"
"It's probably just a new fear...a fear of losing you." As much as Mango probably hated to admit it.
"Why..?"
"I don't know, kid. I just...the minute I saw you, I knew I had to protect you. It didn't matter how, or why, I just got that feeling. And then...I saw him in you, and I just...I realized how much I really care about you."
Purple knew that by now. They could tell, but...why say it now?"
"Look, Purple, I'm really sorry for everything. You don't have to forgive me, I won't blame you, but I'm so sorry for even trying to hurt you."
"Mango.."
"You don't have to forgive me, I'll never blame you. I wouldn't forgive me either. Not after I did all of that to someone like you who's already seen so much."
Purple hugs him.
"I forgive you."
Mango is caught off guard for a moment, but tearfully hugs him back.
"Thank you...for being here."
"Your there for me," Purple says. "It's only fair I help you in return."
"I love you, kid."
Purple's eyes widen, then fill with tears.
They hadn't heard that in years.
Purple smiles tearfully. "I love you, too."