Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Grian didn’t know why Mumbo had been avoiding him.

It was pretty hard to avoid someone who lived next door to you and connected your mega bases together, and yet somehow Mumbo had been doing it well. And when they had been around each other, Mumbo seemed bored and uninterested in anything he tried to say or do.

To say Grian was concerned was an understatement.

Even when they had taken on projects with the members of boatem, like building the giant boat over their competitors, Mumbo had barely spoken a single word to him other than ‘pass me some wood?’

But now he had a chance to confront him. No one else was currently on the server, leaving no room for excuses that someone needed him and no one to interrupt their conversation, if they even got to have it.

Mumbo was working inside his mega base on some redstone contraption that Grian knew he would never understand. Grian glided down behind Mumbo and debated how to start the conversation. Luckily he didn’t have to.

“Geez dude, a little warning would be nice”

For a moment things seemed normal. Mumbo was being a spoon and holding his hand over his heart in fright, having that normal fond glint in his eyes as he looked at the shorter hermit. But as soon as it came the look was gone, replaced with a dull look full of boredom and uninterest.

“Did you need something?” His tone was flat and deprived of any emotion or clue as to what he had done wrong.

“Is it so wrong that I want to see how my boyfriends’ doing?” Mumbo flinched slightly at the word ‘boyfriend’. “What’s going on Mumbo? You’ve been avoiding me this past week and a half, barely acknowledging that I exist, or the fact that we're dating. Did I do something wrong”

Mumbo sighed in response and turned around. Grian felt a pang in his chest as Mumbo didn’t even want to look at him.

“When we first met, you were the kindest person I had ever met. All those times we spend doing build battles and just goofing off in creative worlds did that mean nothing to you? All those times when I was in Evo and forgot how to do basic things when we spent time in our worlds because I’d spent so long in an older version?

Even after I was taken by the watchers and couldn’t see you for years, you still waited for me and had no ill-regard when I escaped, was that nothing to you? After I joined Hermitcraft and we started dating after Sahara was started, you were always there, you were happy.

Now were in season 8 and you’re ignoring me, after the tree war, after we planned to join our bases together, after countless deaths to the boatem hole and laughing about it afterward,

Did all that mean nothing to you?

When did I become not enough for you?”

Mumbo stayed silent for a moment, perhaps considering his words. Maybe he didn’t realize what he was doing. But Mumbo didn’t even turn around as he spoke.

“I don’t think you ever were”

Silence hung in the air for what felt like hours, but it was only mere seconds, maybe a minute or two before Mumbo did turn around.

His eyes were cast down at the ground. He’s too disgusted to even look at me. Mumbo then pulled off his tie, the tie Grian had gifted him for their first anniversary, and threw it on the ground in front of Grian’s feet. He then turned back around and walked out of the room leaving Grian alone as he sank to his knees and picked up the tie.

Long agonizing minutes passed before Grian stood and took off out of his boyf- his neighbour's base.

Grian now wished he did this when someone else had been online, then he would be able to ask someone to not leave him alone. He didn’t trust himself alone, not right now.

The flight to his starter base was a short one, too short. Creeper holes littered the walls and floors but it didn’t matter, his bed was untouched and he considered just crashing down onto it and letting sleep come, but he felt uncomfortable leaving his bed on the ground floor. It was unprotected and open to any prying eyes when he wasn’t ready to see anyone.

Grian built a small platform that was as high as a normal second floor would be and set his bed up there. His base didn’t have a real second floor so if anyone came inside looking for him, they wouldn’t think to look up.

Deep down, Grian knew that he shouldn’t be ignoring his friends if they tried to seek him out, but a small part of him yearned to be selfish for just a moment and not let anyone see him in this state.

He also knew that sleep would not come easy, years staying awake at night in favor of building really messed with your sleeping schedule. Yet he still lied down and let his body relax.

Now that there was nothing to distract him from the ever growing pit in his stomach, tears streamed down his face freely. His communicator dinging, and he peeked over to look at it.

[MumboJumbo left the game]

With this message loud sobs echoed through his empty house and down into the center of Boatem. The mournful melody rang through the server for hours as it remained empty. They quieted when another ping sounded from his communicator.

[GoodTimeWithScar joined the game]

Grian knew Scar was at his base, he was there last time he logged off because they had been talking about how Scar was going to be gone for a while. For once Grian wished that Scar had stayed off longer. He didn’t want to be seen like this.

His communicator binged from beside his bed, displaying the chat.

[GoodTimeWithScar] Hey Grian! I’m back!
Whatcha doin on the server all alone?

Grian couldn’t find it in himself to answer, the mere thought of moving his arms sounded absolutely terrible. He opted to just ignore the message and pretend he hadn’t seen it. He didn’t want to be rude but he just hoped Scar wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

GoodTimeWithScar] You there bud?
GoodTimeWithScar] You’re not AFK so I know you’re here
GoodTimeWithScar] You probably just haven’t seen this but I’m getting worried

Guilt pooled in his chest as Grian willed his arm to move and grab the communicator. His hand reached the communicator but only managed to knock it off of the small ledge he had built.

Scar was just about to give up and put his communicator away when he heard a thud coming from Grian’s starter base. Scar made his way over to the house, grateful for adjustments made to his wheelchair that allowed the use of elytra, and the generally flat ground that made up Boatem’s center.

Scar made his way into the house, noting all of the unfixed creeper holes. He doesn't really spend much time here anymore. I wonder why he’s here?

Narrowly avoiding the holes in the glass floor, Scar looked around the room. It looked pretty empty. No Grian in sight.

Just as he was about to leave, Scar noticed a communicator lying on the ground. He picked it up off the floor and inspected it for cracks. They were almost indestructible, yet some hermits still managed to crack the screen.

Scar looked up, wondering where it could have fallen from and why it wasn’t with Grian. As he looked up he noticed the small platform that had not been there the last time he was here.

Turning on his audio channel, Scar hoped Grian wasn’t on defean.

“Hey Grian, you up there? Or anywhere around here” He wasn’t expecting an answer since he hadn’t responded previously to the messages, but a hand waved over the edge of the platform.

Scar lit a firework and shot up to the platform, hoping it wasn’t so small that he would squish his fellow hermit with the wheels or any part of his wheelchair.

Luckily the hermit already lying up there was plenty short enough to give him enough space.

Scar couldn’t see his head as it was covered by his wings, acting as a sort of blanket or shield.

“Hey buddy, you doing okay?”

Grian opened his mouth to respond but all that came out was a choked sob that wracked his small frame.

“Hey hey, it’s okay, can I touch you”

Grian only nodded in response, not trusting his voice. Scar nodded in response, forgetting that he could not see him through his wings. Scar supported himself against the wall and pulled himself off of the chair and onto the ground.

Grian moved his wing to make room for his friend, still not showing his face but still making room for Scar to lay comfortably.

Scar settled onto the platform, nervous about pulling one of the feathers of Grian’s wing as he laid on it. His nerves were settled as the blond beside him wrapped his wing around him and turned to face him.

It broke Scar’s heart to see the rambunctious gremlin so heart broken. It wasn’t until hours later that he finally got an answer for his question.

“Mumbo never loved me”

Chapter Text

Mumbo didn’t know why he was feeling like this.

One second he was happy and enjoyed Hermitcraft with his friends and boyfriend, and the next he felt bored and uninterested all the time.

He blamed it on a lack of sleep, or maybe some bug going around the main hub. He had been spending more time hanging out with people outside of Hermitcraft trying to work up his social skills.

He had even met some new people in a group called Sailbure SMP who were super nice and fun. He spent many hours after Hermitcraft hanging out with them on various creative worlds. They were amazing at redstone and Mumbo really felt like he fit in with them.

Mumbo felt so content with them that his time in Hermitcraft began to dull with boredom and lack of inspiration for the survival world.

It was about a month or two back when one asked if he had anyone special in his life. Mumbo answered with complete infatuation as he told them of Grian and their relationship, while still remaining discreet enough to keep their private lives private. He hadn’t noticed at the time, but his ‘friends’ had scowled at the mention of his lover’s name.

Flash forward a week or two, one of them made an offhand comment about Grian being a bit clingy, claiming that he had known him years ago and guessed that he still was based on Mumbo’s stories.

Mumbo hadn’t thought much of it, people were allowed their opinions, and Grian could be a bit clingy at times but it was endearing, and understandable from his past time in near isolation with the watchers.

But the offhand comments about Grian were becoming more frequent and judgemental. Claims that Grian had emotionally manipulated one of them, stories of a ‘friend’ who used them for gain.

Mumbo did not want to believe the claims, but the more he heard the more he convinced himself they were true. He began to distance himself from the short gremlin he once called his boyfriend.

Now Mumbo stood in his base, working on fixing his item sorter and thinking about hanging with his friends after he did so.

Mumbo turned and shrieked as he saw Grian standing before him, seeming to be finding the right words to speak.

“Geez dude, a little warning would be nice” Mumbo couldn’t help but laugh as he held his hand over his heart in shock.

He’s a bad person

I don’t wanna be near him.

Mumbo regained his composure as the thoughts came to mind. Grian’s expression turned to one filled with sadness and disappointment. That small voice in Mumbo’s head still felt bad for the hermit, but he didn’t let it show.

Mumbo knew what he needed to do, but still felt the hurt that would follow.

“Do you need something?” Mumbo shocked himself with the flat tone and his voice, unaware he could speak with so little emotion.

Grian’s face contorted to anger for a moment before letting his eyes fill with desperation and drip with pleading tears.

“Is it so wrong that I want to see how my boyfriends’ doing?” Mumbo flinched slightly at the word ‘boyfriend’. “What’s going on Mumbo? You’ve been avoiding me this past week and a half, barely acknowledging that I exist, or the fact that we're dating. Did I do something wrong”

Mumbo sighed in response and turned around. He couldn’t bear to see his lover like this, but it would be better for both of them in the end.

“When we first met, you were the kindest person I had ever met. All those times we spend doing build battles and just goofing off in creative worlds did that mean nothing to you? All those times when I was in Evo and forgot how to do basic things when we spent time in our worlds because I’d spent so long in an older version?”

Mumbo felt a tear run down his cheek at the memory. It was one of his favorite times in his life, meeting him and building together.

“Even after I was taken by the watchers and couldn’t see you for years, you still waited for me and had no ill-regard when I escaped, was that nothing to you? After I joined Hermitcraft and we started dating after Sahara was started, you were always there, you were happy”

Mumbo tried not to wince, he knew it was a sensitive subject and Grian hated bringing it up. He always said that it was in the past and he had said everything that needed to be said about it.

“Now were in season 8 and you’re ignoring me, after the tree war, after we planned to join our bases together, after countless deaths to the boatem hole and laughing about it afterward,

Did all that mean nothing to you?

When did I become not enough for you?”

Mumbo almost choked at the question. He had previously thought he knew the answer to this question and would answer without hesitation. But now with his new knowledge he hesitated.

Wiping the tear from his face Mumbo answered the question that hung in the air.

“I don’t think you ever were”

There was a beat of silence when Mumbo had a revelation and turned around. He couldn’t meet his eyes as he took off the tie the other had gifted him. Mumbo was sad to part from it, it was his favorite tie, but now it’s meaning had ruined it.

Mumbo quickly turned and left, not trusting his emotions to stay level while being in his presence.

Eventually he decided to log off and talk to his friends about what he had done.

The journey was quick and the friends were already in a world, they usually were. Mumbo entered and was greeted by a chorus of greetings and smiles.

“Hey what's up Mumbo, you look a bit glum?

“I just broke up with Grian, I feel bad he did so many bad things that he never told me about”

This time as he watched the group he noticed the looks they tried to hide. Snickers and smirks at his loss.

“Why do you all look so smug about this? I just went through a rough heartbreak and you don’t care”

The same friend was about to speak up when one of the quieter guys in the group spoke up.

“It’s because they wanted you to break up”

Mumbo gasped as the other friends told him to shut his mouth. Mumbo shook his head and walked up to the guy, they hadn’t spoken as much as the others but he had been nice enough.

“What do you mean?” Mumbo asked in a serious tone as he ignored the reassurances from the people around him.

“None of the things they said were true about Grian. They all just have grudges against him and was jealous of your relationship”

Mumbo felt his world shatter as reality dawned on him.

He just broke his boyfriend’s heart and left him there alone”

Chapter Text

Scar felt torn.

For one he loved all of his friends and didn’t want to pick sides

But the way Mumbo had acted and hurt Grian, he couldn’t help but be angry at Mumbo for how insensitive he was about it. He could at least have been nicer about it.

It took almost an hour of quiet reassurances as they lied there for Grian to tell Scar what happened. It had been interrupted many times by shaky breaths and lone tears but he got the full story before passing out from exhaustion.

At some point during the night the culprit himself of all of Grian’s troubles logged onto the server. He had sent Grian a private message asking to meet up and talk, Scar froze as the communicator pinged, he did not want the man beside him to wake up when he so desperately needed sleep.

Luckily he only stirred and continued to sleep peacefully. He looked so much happier when he was asleep, nothing burdening his face or mood.

Scar shook the thoughts from his mind as if it were an etch n, sketch. He picked up the communicator and looked at the private message.

[MumboJumbo whispers to you: hey can we talk]

Scar chose to set down the device and pull out his own to answer the man’s question.

[You whisper to MumboJumbo: if you want to talk to Grian you need to talk to me first]

He felt a bit bad for snooping into their business but Mumbo made it his business when he hurt his best friend.

[MumboJumbo whispers to you: why do you have Grian’s communicator?]

[MumboJumbo whispers to you: nevermind it doesn’t matter. Can you meet me at Treesa?]

[You whisper to MumboJumbo: give me a minute]

Scar sighed as he pulled himself up and onto his wheelchair. He didn’t want to leave Grian alone but he hoped that the conversation would be short enough that he wouldn't have to worry about him waking.

Once he was sure he didn’t wake from the movement, Scar glided down from the platform and rolled out into the cold night air.

As promised Mumbo was standing outside Treesa, anxiously fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He looked up as Scar approached and looked almost as tired as Grian did.

Almost.

Mambo muttered a short greeting before the awkward silence fell over them again as Mumbo tried to find his words.

“So I’m guessing Grian told you what happened”

Scar nodded, choosing his words carefully as he wasn't prepared to lose a friend over this. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, but he didn’t want to lose Mumbo if he didn’t deserve it. A mans gotta have hope, right?

“Yeah, I logged back onto the server after my break and found him alone in his start base after not answering any of my messages. He’s just gotten to sleep just about an hour or two ago, hours of crying really took it out of him”

Mambo winced at the last comment and Scar felt bad. He hadn’t meant for the last bit to come out so judgmentally.

“Look, I- I know I've messed up big time. I said so many things I wish I could just take back. I know this is no excuse for what I said but I’ve been hanging out with some terrible people who claimed they knew him and told me so many bad things that he didn’t even do. I only just now learned everything they told me was wrong”

“I just wish I could start over. I messed up so bad. Grian has trusted me with so many things that were difficult to talk to me about with his past, and I couldn’t even tell fiction from reality.

Scar sighed and rolled up to his friend. Mumbo looked scared for a moment, as if he thought that Scar would lash out at him. Instead he extended his arms out for a hug. Mumbo’s eyes stung with tears as he leaned down into the hug.

“I just want to apologize, I was so cruel”

Scar shushed him and rubbed his back. Who would have thought that once he got back he would have had to comfort two of his closest friends in the span of five hours.

“It’s late, you should get some sleep. I’ll ask G-man if he’s up to talking in the morning”

Mumbo only nodded and walked into Treesa. Scar took that as an invitation to head back and wait for Grian to wake up.

Dawn came before Scar knew it (probably because he fell asleep) and soon the gremlin woke as well. Of course the man would never be able to sleep in when there was work to do on possible builds!

Grian flew down from the platform and kept his gaze on the floor as he approached Scar. He knew it was stupid but he felt a bit embarrased about what he had done that night.

“Hey Scar, how was your night? Well after everything else…”

Grian trailed off and risked a glance up. Scar only laughed and smiled at him reassuringly. Of course Scar would never be bothered by something like that.

“I slept well, thank you! Looks like you did as well. Although I did meet up with someone last night”

Grian gulped, he knew where this was headed.

“Mumbo logged back onto the server pretty late and he wanted to talk to you but you were asleep so I did instead. I know you’re still hurt but if you’re up to it you should hear what he has to say”

Grian sighed, “I may as well get it done with. He probably just wants his stuff back” Grian paused for a moment before continuing, “thanks for last night, I really needed that”

With that he took off out of his house, ready for whatever was coming his way. Grian knew Mumbo would be in Treesa, so he headed inside and knocked on the wall, announcing his presence.

A loud thumb and shuffling came from the bedroom, followed by random grumblings about a ‘stupid wall’ that had seemingly been in his way. Grian couldn’t help but giggle. Despite everything he still loved his spoon of a boyfriend ex-boyfriend.

Mumbo came stumbling out of the room and stopped as he saw Grian. He could have sworn he saw a look of fondness in Mumo’s eyes, but he knew it was just him being hopeful.

“If you want your stuff back I can get it for you, then you can officially be done, with me…”

“I-uh. No, I don't want that. I know I have no right to say this but I'm so sorry. I messed up. I still love you,so much”

Grian froze at his statement. He still loves me?

“Look I know I messed up and there is no excuse for me treating you so terribly. I made some new friends a while back, or at least I thought they were friends. Anyways they seemed nice and claimed to have known you a while back. Over time they started saying bad things that you allegedly did and I was so stupid and believed them. I felt hurt that you never told me and a little disgusted because of the lies they made me believe.”

“I’ve just been so stressed lately and their words got to me. I thought it would be best to end it before I got hurt. But then I learned they were dirty liars and just wanted to see us breakup.”

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but there's still a selfish part of me that hopes we can at least still be friends.I’ll always love you but I want to respect your boundaries”

Grian wasn’t sure when he started crying but all he wanted to do was embrace his lover and put the past behind him. But it still hurt what he did, and he needed time to heal.

“I still love you too, you spoon, but I need a bit of time. You hurt me, but I understand. I don’t blame you, not fully. How about we just stay friends for a while, then maybe in a month, you can take me on a date”

Grian opened his arms, telling Mumbo that he could and wanted a hug from him. Mumbo smiled and walked up to the smaller hermit.

“I would want nothing more”

A month seemed to drag by as Mumbo eventually devised the perfect date that would allow for Grian to leave at any point if he wanted to, but also allowed for their relationship to breathe once more.

There was a small untouched island about a thousand blocks from the main island that Mumbo chose for their date. It was beautiful and secluded. Perfect place for a little picpick and a small cottage for it things went well and they wanted to stay the night

Their friendship had been a little rocky and tentative. But soon they fell back into the normal pattern of pantering and jokes that Mumbo truly missed.

He caught himself staring at the beautiful hermit often when he missed the times of their relationship. But Mumbo felt confident that things would be okay.

He sent Grian the cords and the time as he prepared for the night. Real food that wasn’t golden carrots was prepared along with a jukebox with Grian’s favorite disk.

The time arrived just as Mumbo realized he hadn’t worn a tie. He slapped his hand over his face just as the golden hermit landed a few blocks from him. His boisterous laughter rang through the air and Mumbo melted at the sound.

“What did you do this time you spoon?”

Mumbo laughed and pointed at his neck as he spoke, “I forgot to wear a tie! Now my signature look is ruined!”

Grian a little before pulling a small shulker box out of his inventory.

“Well, looks like now's a good time for this...”

He handed over the box and cast his eyes off to the side, too nervous to make eye contact. Mumbo opened the box and peered inside. It was the tie that Grian had given him for their anniversary. Only now it had their initials stitched to the inside in golden thread. It accented the red fabric beautifully and brought a tear to Mumbo’s eye.

“It’s beautiful, I know I’ve seen it before but the stitching is lovely and-”

Grian cut him off by pacing a small kiss on his cheek. The mere peck was enough to send Mumbo’s cheeks into a deep red. Grian snickered slightly before grabbing Mumbo’s hand and gesturing him for him to start off their date,

Despite being an absolute spoon, Mumbo understood the que and led them to the picnic blanket he had set up. Mushroom soup, bread, and pumpkin pie lay on the blacket next to two pillows for seats and a few parrots sitting on the jukebox.

Mumbo started the disk as they ate and talked, letting any negative past feelings melt away. After the food had been cleared away, a comfortable silence hung over the island as the disk finished it’s song and the birds rested from their dances.

“This was an amazing night Mumby”

“Really? I'm glad you think so.”

Mumbo smiled down into his lap as he thought of the right way to ask the burning question. Luckily he didn’t have much time to think before Grian asked it for him.

“If you’ll have me, will you be my boyfriend again?”

Instead of answering, Mumbo opted to lean forward for a kiss, stopping for a moment to make sure it was okay. Grian gave his own answer by closing the gap and engaging them in a gentle kiss.

When they pulled apart Grian noted how it had begun to get dark. In turn Mumbo led them to the small cottage. Small kisses were shared that night as they cuddled in the bed Mumbo had made for them.

Just as Grian felt sleep pulling him down, a single thought passed through his mind, letting him cuddle closer to the warm form next to him.

He really does love me