This was inspired by all the times I tried to go out adventuring, and realized too late that I'd forgotten to stock up on food for my Builder. Poor girl was running around on zero hunger and I started thinking, if Malroth could react to things on his own, he'd probably be so fed up (no pun intended) with my girl not eating and not sleeping as much as she probably should.

Her description is the default blonde hair-blue eyes appearance, but feel free to substitute your own builder if you'd like!

I hope I did these two justice.

Enjoy!

Spending a good chunk of time with the Builder had clued Malroth in to a lot of her habits.

For one thing, she hated wearing her hair down; she always kept her hair in those signature pigtails. When asked about her choice of hairstyle, she'd simply stated that pigtails were an easy way to keep her hair out of her face, plus, they looked cute, and Malroth was inclined to agree that the look suited her.

Another habit was that she usually waited until late at night to shower so that if any others around them wanted to bathe, they could. She'd done this on Furrowfield and Khrumbul-Dun, and the habit carried over to the Isle of Awakening despite the fact that there were more than enough showers for everyone to use at any time. She always made sure to put others before herself, even if it meant not showering (and feeling pretty gross) until the wee hours of morning, when she was sure everyone had had the chance to get clean.

Often, when she was thinking about what to build next, she'd get this uncharacteristically serious look on her face. When she'd finally figure out whatever was stumping her, her eyes would light up, and that dopey grin would return as she'd immediately start sketching out a new blueprint in her beloved book. It was… Cute, to say the least.

Malroth didn't mind the little quirks the Builder had. If anything, he admired her selflessness and her ceaseless drive to continue creating things for all their friends. Building and being kind to others was just part of her nature, and as long as she was happy, he was happy.

But there were also a few habits the blonde had developed that drove the destructive man crazy.

One, she almost always forgot to eat something.

Whether they went off adventuring on one of the Explorer's Islands or he was watching over her as she built something new on the Isle of Awakening, he'd often find the Builder hunched over while clutching her growling stomach. At first, he figured she'd forgotten to grab something to eat; after all, she was always so focused on making something or seeing how she could help the other residents that she often forgot to tend to her own needs.

But after three straight trips to Rimey Reef and seeing his friend in constant stomach pain, even to the point where she was almost seriously injured in battle because she was having trouble fighting, he couldn't take it anymore.

When the Builder told him she wanted to make a trip to the island yet again, he promised to meet her at the docks. While she warped away, he jogged towards a familiar restaurant in Green Gardens and shouted, "Yo, Lillian! You in there?"

The brown-haired girl emerged shortly after, wiping her hands on her apron. "Hi, Malroth! What can I get for you?"

"You got any extra bread and potato jackets?"

She pursed her lips, trying to think. "I'm pretty sure we do, let me check."

After securing three loaves of bread and four potato jackets, Malroth met the Builder at the docks as he'd promised. When they arrived at Rimey Reef, they were exploring for maybe an hour before the Builder's stomach gave that tell-tale growl. She hammered a few blocks out of their way and then groaned, clutching her gut.

Malroth sighed in annoyance, retrieving the food he'd grabbed for her.

"Here."

The blonde looked at him curiously. "What's this?"

"It's food. You need to eat."

"Malroth, I'm—"

"If you try telling me you're fine, I'm gonna slug you," he growled. "Just eat something, yeah? You always do this and then wonder why you're in pain."

The Builder frowned. "No, I don't—"

"Yeah, you do. You better stop talking and start chewing; seriously, you need to eat more, and my threat to slug you still stands if you don't listen to me."

The Builder went to protest again when Malroth literally showed a potato jacket into her mouth. Whatever she'd been about to say was forgotten as she savored Lillian's cooking. Malroth watched with satisfaction as his friend finally gave into her hunger and demolished one potato jacket after another.

She really needed to start eating more, but until then, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to start bringing extra food with him when they went adventuring. If she couldn't remember, maybe he could remember for her.

Two, she worked herself ragged, rarely getting any sleep for the sake of finishing up her projects as quickly as possible.

Which meant that many times, Malroth had to stay close and keep an eye on her to ensure she didn't pass out.

...Which also meant that sometimes he had to literally pick her up and carry her to the small home they shared so she could actually get some rest.

It was heading for noon when Malroth decided to stroll through Green Gardens. The day was peaceful so far, and the Furrowfield crew were busy tending to the crops as they usually did. Two of the dogs were running and yapping excitedly around the Killing Machine that was currently watering the wheat field. Lillian would sometimes come out to offer a drink or snack to some of the workers, but she mostly stayed in the restaurant.

The destructive young man was walking through the park the Builder had just finished a few days ago when he happened to look up. At the top of the mountain, where his best friend had moved her work station, he spotted a familiar set of pigtails. He squinted against the sunlight, trying to see what she was up to.

Hmm… That's weird, he thought. Usually her pigtails were bouncing all over the place when she was crafting something or when she was in the process of working on a blueprint.

Anxiety gnawed at him as he watched her for a few more minutes. When she still wasn't moving, Malroth hurried up the pathway she'd carved, panic filling him at the thought that she was hurt. The Builder wasn't weak by any means—in fact, she was one of the strongest people he knew—but Malroth knew that once she was distracted by a project, that could give monsters an edge if they wanted to attack her while her guard was down.

When he made it to her work station, he was immediately at her side…

...Only to find that she was unharmed, just in a deep sleep. Her breathing was deep and even, and her expression was that of peace. She wasn't injured, but she did have dark circles under her eyes that indicated she'd been forcing herself to pull all-nighters again.

Malroth groaned, face-palming. He was glad she was okay, but the bags under her eyes indicated she'd worked herself to exhaustion.

...Again.

Wordlessly, he hefted her into his arms bridal-style and began to make his way back down the mountain. The only time she stirred was to cuddle closer to his chest, and Malroth briefly glanced down at her when she did so, blush creeping across his cheeks.

Once he'd made it down to the farm, Rosie and Perry cast curious glances his way, but Rosie had the decency to approach him.

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine," he assured. "She fell asleep while working again."

The tealette giggled knowingly. "As long as she's okay. Are you taking her to the inn?"

"No. I'm taking her home because knowing her, she probably hasn't eaten anything either, and we still have some leftover seared steaks with her name on them as soon as she wakes up."

As Malroth carried the sleeping blonde towards the house they shared, he just missed hearing Perry mutter, "Jus' like a blimmin' married couple, I swear."

Three, the Builder often ignored her body's signals of distress. Sleep was one thing, but illness and discomfort were different matters.

"Malroth!"

The destructive man had been wandering around Scarlet Sands and making sure no monsters were posing a threat. At Babs' panicked shout, he immediately turned to see her practically collapse in front of him. She was panting as if she'd been sprinting for a while, and she hunched over to catch her breath. After making sure she wasn't being followed by a monster, he offered a hand to help her up, and she gratefully accepted it.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and she pointed towards the pyramid.

"The Builder, she's—" But she wasn't even able to finish her sentence; all he heard was 'Builder' and this time, he was the one sprinting.

It didn't take him long to get to the pyramid where the blonde had been working steadily all day. Sure enough, she was lying face-up in the sand. A few dancers were around her, one holding a glass of digger's jigger to her dry, cracked lips, but the blonde wouldn't respond. Her face looked like it'd been seared by the sun. Malroth practically fell at her side, gently slapping her cheek.

"Oi! Oi, c'mon, get up!"

She stirred, wincing as she slowly came to. When she managed to open her eyes, she held a hand up to shield herself from the sun's bright onslaught. Her movements were sluggish and weak, and Malroth's stomach sank.

He hated seeing her like this.

"Wha… What's going on?" she mumbled. "Where's… my hammer?"

"You passed out," one of the dancers piped up. "It's gotta be a 'undred degrees out 'ere."

"Heat exhaustion," another said. "Have you had anything to eat or drink lately?"

"Uhh.. No…?"

Malroth groaned and face-palmed.

"Dammit, I can't let you out of my sight for five minutes."

He scooped the girl into his arms, much to her embarrassment. She weakly pummeled his chest with her fists as he began walking.

"Let me down! I have to finish working!"

"We're getting you food, you're gonna take a shower and a nap, and then we'll talk about work," he grumbled. "And no more sun for a while till we can get you some medicinal herbs. You gotta stop overworking yourself like this, especially when it's ridiculously hot out."

"But—"

"No. Buts. And I'm not letting you down till we get to the Inn, so cool your jets."

"Malroth!"

His eyes flickered down to hers. She was stubborn, he'd give her that, but he wasn't open to negotiation on this.

"No."

"Malroth, seriously," she groaned, spotting the two dancers watching them with amusement. Instead of trying to hit him, she instead covered her sunburned face with her hands. "People are staring. It's embarrassing."

"That's what you get for making me worry so much," he muttered under his breath, and he didn't realize it, but she blushed at his words.

Four, while Malroth didn't mind the Builder going off on her own without him, it drove him mad when she'd return all banged-up from taking on battles she shouldn't have fought on her own.

Malroth had been on edge when the Builder mentioned she was heading to the Defiled Isle by herself. He didn't exactly mind it when she went off on her own—hell, sometimes he needed some time for himself, too—but there were more powerful monsters on that particular island.

...Not that the Builder couldn't handle herself in a fight; she could be pretty tough when she needed to be. However, Malroth had gone there with her a few times already, and sometimes she struggled in fights. It was those moments when he was glad he was freakishly strong; being able to protect his friends, especially his best friend, was something he took pride in.

After asking her multiple times if she was sure she wanted to go alone, and her equal amount of patient reassurances, he wished her good luck and even saw her off when she left the isle.

Malroth tried to fill his time with other things. He tried seeing if the other residents needed his help for anything, tried playing with the cute little animals in the petting zoo, even attempted to spar with Digby and Dougie. But anxiety sat in his gut like a rock, and not even winning a few matches against Digby could distract him from worrying over his best friend's well-being.

(Had she gotten enough sleep before the trip? Did she bring enough food with her, just in case? Did she even remember to bring food?!)

A full three days passed before anyone heard news of the Builder, which didn't exactly help a certain master of destruction's nerves. When she finally returned, however, whispers of her misadventure spread like wildfire.

Apparently, she'd been perusing the Defiled Isle, trying to mark off everything on her checklist, when a super strong monster appeared. She'd fought valiantly, even managing to get the monster to half-health, but it had proved too strong in the end. She'd sustained some pretty hefty injuries, having run out of medicinal herbs halfway through the battle, and if the Builder hadn't warped back to the docks, she would've been killed.

She wouldn't have returned to the Isle of Awakening.

Malroth never would have seen her again.

The thought made him want to vomit.

After returning to the Isle of Awakening and using the last of her strength to warp to Cerulean Steppe, Anessa and Zara had helped her into the castle, the general giving her the few spare medicinal herbs she'd been carrying. After healing a little bit, the Builder had been escorted to the royal bedchamber, also known as Lulu's room, where she'd conked out for the rest of the day. She still looked worse for wear, blood caking her nose with some lingering bruises around her cheeks and arms, but she'd live. At one point, Lulu even came in with a washtub and a towel, helping the Builder clean the blood and gunk off her face. Esther brought her a fresh loaf of bread from the castle kitchen, and then everything faded to black.

The next time the Builder cracked open her eyes, she was barely conscious when the door slammed open and someone stormed into the room. She jumped and her eyes flew open in alarm, but she relaxed slightly when she realized her visitor was a familiar tan young man.

She didn't notice his angry expression or that his hands were clenched into fists until his gruff voice shattered the silence.

"You idiot!"

The Builder's eyes widened again, this time in shock at the ferocity of Malroth's tone, his red eyes burning with fury.

"What the hell were you thinking, picking a fight with a monster that powerful?! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"But I—"

"No!" he barked. "You should've let me come with you!"

Indignation filled her at his words and she narrowed her eyes. "I know you just want to help, but I can take care of myself!"

"Apparently you can't! You almost died out there, and if you hadn't warped out of there at the last minute, you would've gotten slaughtered!"

"But I did warp out of there! I knew it was dangerous and I knew when to get out of dodge!"

He stomped his foot. "That's not the point! Dammit, you always do this! You always…"

Memories of seeing her hunched over from hunger pains, her cries of pain when she'd gotten struck on the battlefield, all the times she looked exhausted but still ran herself into the ground for the sake of others' happiness...

His eyes remained on the floor momentarily as he angrily shook his head, and when he looked back up at the blonde again, his vision was watery. Something warm and wet slid down his cheek and he realized, for the first time in his life, that he was crying.

Before the Builder could say or do anything, she suddenly found herself wrapped in his tight embrace, his face buried in her shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again." His rough voice was muffled by her scarf, but she could hear vulnerability in his tone. "You hear me? Next time you want to go somewhere dangerous, let me come with you."

She sighed. "Malroth—"

"I know you're strong, okay? I'm not trying to tell you that you can't fight or anything, but… I worry, damn it. I worry about you."

The blonde blinked. "But… Why?"

He pulled back as if she'd struck him, his expression hurt. "What do you mean, 'why'?"

"Why do you worry so much about me?" she asked. "I'm not saying you shouldn't, and I'm not trying to sound ungrateful; I'm just trying to understand. I'm not fragile, Malroth, I can hold my own in a fight. We've fought a lot of monsters together so you know I'm not weak."

He let out a frustrated sigh, pulling back to glare at her. There was no malice in his eyes, however; all she could see was genuine concern. "It's not just about fighting! You don't eat, you don't sleep, you don't listen to your body when it's telling you its had enough… You don't take care of yourself, and it pisses me off! I worry about you because you don't worry enough about yourself!"

She opened her mouth to protest, but realized he was right. How many times did she get so into her work that she ignored the growling of her stomach? How many times had she told herself working through the night was okay, and then one night turned into three, and she'd be walking around feeling like a zombie? How many times had Malroth caught her sleeping at her work station, carrying her back to their house where he could help her into bed, where she could get proper rest?

Malroth had always been beside her every single time; not that the other residents didn't care about her, but he was always the first one at her side, always making sure she stopped and ate, or took a nap, or even carried her off the battlefield when she couldn't fight anymore.

She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Malroth blushed, confusion replacing his concern.

"What was that for?"

"I'm sorry," she said, finally. "I'm sorry that I worry you so much. The next time I go out to an island with strong monsters, I promise, I'll come get you."

"Good." He huffed. "And you promise you'll start taking better care of yourself?"

She smiled weakly. "I'll try my best."

"You better." Malroth kissed her forehead, and it was the Builder's turn to blush.

"But you didn't answer my question before," she pointed out. "Why do you worry so much about me? I know we're best friends and you care about me, but… I guess I'm just curious."

"Because it's my job as your friend to make sure you're okay." He tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "And… I meant it when I told you in Furrowfield that it sets me on edge when I see you in a fight. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"But what about the eating and sleeping stuff?" Her cobalt eyes searched his curiously. "We're best friends, but if you were really upset, you could've talked to me. You didn't have to shoulder the burden of taking care of me."

"I… I don't know!" he huffed, wiping at his damp eyes. "Just… Take better care of yourself, okay?!"

He stood up to leave, and when the Builder asked where he was going, he claimed he needed some fresh air. Just as he left the room, Lulu entered to ensure the Builder had everything she needed.

When he had a moment to himself, he sighed in frustration and rubbed his hands over his face. She'd definitely given him something to think about.

And her carelessness on the Defiled Isle irritated him, but at least she was okay, at least she was home, safe and sound. That was what mattered most.

The Builder definitely had some habits that irked Malroth.

As he sat on the edge of a cliff while she worked behind him, setting down railroad tracks to complete a huge railroad for their two favorite miners to enjoy a ride around the isle, he heard that tell-tale growl of her stomach. She groaned softly as she clutched her belly, and he was instantly on his feet, rifling through the small pack Rosie had made specially for him to carry food around. He handed the blonde a carefully-wrapped plate of saucy spaghetti.

"Let me guess, you forgot to grab something to eat again?"

The Builder grinned sheepishly as she accepted the food. "Sorry. Thanks for bringing this."

He hummed in response.

"And…" She blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry again for always making you worry. Thanks for looking out for me."

"Of course."

He was about to resume sitting on the cliff's edge when it occurred to him.

Why had he worried so much over her? Why did it matter so much to him that she ate and slept and treated herself well?

He felt at peace when she was at his side, and he constantly thought about her whenever she wasn't. Her smile and those bright blue eyes always made him feel warm and fuzzy inside; alternatively, when she was hurting or upset, he felt sick, and he wanted to right whatever had gone wrong for her.

He'd also noticed over the course of their friendship just how pretty she truly was. Babs was a beautiful woman—anyone with eyes could see that—but the Builder was beautiful as well. Her long blonde hair was always silky-smooth and she had a heart of gold, always trying to do everything for others at the expense of herself. She was beautiful inside and out, and while Malroth could appreciate Babs' beauty, the Builder was just as lovely in his eyes... If not more.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized: Wasn't this… Wasn't this what love was?

Wasn't this what the Builder had described to him when he'd asked her about the concept? Wasn't this why all those miners worked themselves ragged for Babs' sake? For love, because they loved Babs?

Then... Did that mean he...?

He was drawn from his thoughts when he realized the Builder was waving a hand in front of his face.

"You okay?"

Malroth nodded absentmindedly. She tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Are you sure? It looks like something serious is on your mind."

Butterflies filled his belly.

It was pretty serious, but it was also exciting and nerve-wracking.

He'd never felt this way before.

"Do you remember when you asked me why I worry so much about you?" he asked, and she blinked.

"Yeah…?"

"I think I have an answer for you."

"Oh! What is it then?"

Malroth cupped her face and leaned in, kissing her softly. The Builder's eyes grew wide with shock, and when she tensed slightly, the destructive man pulled back as if she'd burned him.

"S-sorry, I—"

But his words were cut off by the Builder wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face back down to hers, leaning on her tip-toes to initiate another kiss. Malroth stiffened for a second before melting against her, winding his arms around her waist to hold her close.

He didn't know when he'd started falling in love with the blonde, but somehow, he realized the signs had been there all along; he just hadn't recognized them. He'd always been protective over her because, well, she was his best friend, and she was a girl, and while he knew she could definitely take care of herself, he felt naturally protective over her.

Yet at some point, she became much more than a best friend to him. She became someone he cared for deeply, someone he wanted to spend lots of time with, someone who he could talk to for hours without getting bored or annoyed. The Builder had his respect, his loyalty...

...And somehow, she'd won his heart, too.

When they were forced to part for air, the Builder wore the biggest, dopiest smile he'd ever seen, and he was sure his smile matched hers.

Just as the sun began to set, Malroth kissed her again, and decided that while she had a few habits that worried him and got under his skin, she was definitely worth worrying about.