Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Grian was a sorcerer by day, studying and practicing magic of different kinds, especially that of portals and rifts, as he had a natural talent for it. But by night, he was the sidekick of superhero HotGuy, the best archer known to…well, everyone. It was truly an accident, how he got roped up as HotGuy’s sidekick. He happened to be in the right place, at the right time, wearing the right outfit. What was him wearing a disguise so that he as Grian couldn’t be linked to Poultry Man, ended up being the first version of the CuteGuy costume. Black pants, a black face mask, pink shoes, pink sunglasses, a black t-shirt with a pink heart, and some of his usually all-white feathers spray-dyed pink on the ends.

He was jogging, planning out a route for Poultry Man’s next strike. As he passed by a building, HotGuy burst out of a window up above, falling and landing on top of him. “Oh my-I am so sorry! I didn’t mean-”

“Look out!” He cuts off HotGuy’s words, spotting as a figure leans out of the broken window, dropping something from its hand. Grian raises his own, opening a small portal right below the object, catching it, and sending it off to a spot miles away where it hopefully wouldn’t do too much damage. This distraction is just enough to get HotGuy time to get to his feet and shoot up at the figure, a net bursting out of the arrow and catching them.

“Wow, that was amazing! I’ve never seen portal magic like that without a frame before. How did you do it?” Grian blinks as HotGuy beams at him, waiting for a response.

“Erm…I uh…I don’t know how to explain it? It just…happens. It can be dangerous to do if something goes wrong, but it happens.” Not wholly true, not wholly false. It doesn’t just happen, but it is dangerous. “Shouldn’t you go and get that person? So that they can’t just, you know, escape and run away?” He motions up to the window, where he can hear grunting and shuffling. He would very much like to get HotGuy away from him as soon as possible, so he can resume his planning of his next route.

HotGuy just waves it off. “Oh, it’s fine, they can’t get out. That net is enchanted! For now, I would like to apologize to you again for falling on you. And thank you for rescuing us while I was distracted! You um…wouldn’t happen to have a name I could call you by?”

“...no. I uh…I gotta go.” He turns, but is stopped by HotGuy grabbing his hand. He turns back again, ready to say something, but HotGuy speaks first.

“Then are you perhaps looking to have one? You have a really cool power, and I’ve been looking to get a sidekick. But nobody has really stood out as a contender before. Please?”

Again, Grian just stares as he processes what was just asked of him. He already had Poultry Man, he didn’t have time for another secret identity. “I’m really, really, honored you asked me that, but-”

“Perfect! We can start your training tomorrow! Meet me here at 8?” HotGuy sports a very big grin. Grian scrunches his face.

“That’s not-”

“Not a good time? I can be flexible, whatever works for you.”

Grian facepalms. “You’re not taking no for an answer, huh?”

“Nope.”

“...fine, whatever. Tomorrow at 8.”

He’s not sure why he actually showed up, but he did. Washed the clothes, re-sprayed his feathers, and went. But over time, he never came to regret it. He still didn’t have a name for this alter ego, and HotGuy didn’t want to come up with something for him, saying it was a decision that he should make for himself.

As the pair began to be spotted together more often, other people in the city started calling him different names themselves. That’s where Grian got ‘CuteGuy’ from. He read it in an article that his best friend, Mumbo, sent to him one day.

“After all this time, I can’t believe HotGuy actually has a sidekick! He mentioned he was looking for one nearly two years ago! Lucky guy, he must have really impressed HotGuy. I think I might be a bit jealous.” Mumbo states, watching Grian read through it.

“Pffft, please. I doubt he’s all that, Mumbo. I bet if you’d actually gone and tried to be his sidekick when he first said something, he’d have had a sidekick for two years now. What could this…what’s-his-name even have on you?” He reads through the list of speculated names that people have come up with as he speaks and listens.

“Well, Grian, for one, apparently they met when he saved HotGuy from an attacker. So right off the bat he was leagues ahead of anyone else going for the role. Secondly, he wasn’t trying to be his sidekick at all! Just did it for the good of it all. And third…” Mumbo pauses.

Grian glances up. “Third…?” he pries.

Mumbo turns, staring right at Grian. “...advanced portal magic…Grian…do you have something to tell me?”

So, yes, Grian told Mumbo everything. From there, they were able to workshop some gear and a more practical outfit for CuteGuy. It keeps a silhouette somewhere between his regular outfit and HotGuy’s costume. They made him a logo that was similar to HotGuy’s, but different colors, and a bit more stylized as wings rather than arrows. Of course, Grian only tells HotGuy that he’s working on something exciting until it’s time for the reveal, refusing to give a single hint as to what he’s revealing. He hates to admit it, but he’s grown a soft spot for HotGuy. They’re starting to become actually pretty decent friends as their hero selves. When the day finally comes, Grian arrives in his new costume, wings now spray-dyed so white fades into pink, and pink fades to purple. “I’d like to formally introduce to you: CuteGuy.”

Grian was not expecting the silence from HotGuy following that. “…You don’t like it, do you.” He says, a bit dejected.

Hotguy immediately gets to his feet. “Nononononono, I love it! I just wasn’t expecting it. You didn’t have to theme your name or look off of mine, you know. Only if you didn’t really want to do that! I really love it, I’m very honored.” HotGuy puts a hand on his shoulder, in reassurance.

Grian smiles, wings puffing up a little bit. “Yeah, I wanted to. I uh, actually got the name from people speculating about what my name might be. I really liked the sound of CuteGuy, so that’s what I decided to go with. I got some help with making me an actual costume and some tech of my own so I don’t have to borrow any of yours.”

HotGuy smiles again, giving Grian a small nudge. “Hey, I didn’t mind sharing. But I get the want to have your gear match. Anyway…ready for patrol? Would be a shame to not let anyone else see your new look, CuteGuy.”

Patrol was pretty easy that night. Nothing too concerning, a couple small fights here and there. Mostly, they noticed more people capturing pictures and videos more than usual, but that wasn’t all that surprising. HotGuy’s sidekick is sporting a new, more professional, somewhat matching look, after all. It was shared around a lot the next day, news about CuteGuy being named & looking more official.

Grian wakes up late to having been sent multiple of these articles from Mumbo. As he skims through some of them, he gets ready for his day. He’s still distracted with reading them as he leaves his apartment.

As he heads down the hallway, he hears a voice call “No Jellie! Get back here!” and next Grian knows, he trips over something, landing on the floor as he doesn’t quite have space to flap his wings to stop his fall. He groans as he pushes himself up, looking back to see a grey and white cat staring at him as if he’d been the one to trip it over. “Oh my goodness, are you alright? I’m so sorry-Jellie, come here.”

Grian looks up, seeing a man in a wheelchair rounding the corner and coming towards them. He sits up, stretching a little bit. “I’m fine. I’ve had way worse tumbles before, trust me. At least I was able to stop your cat from running off any further, albeit accidentally.” He brushes himself off, fixing his sweater as the man reaches down and scoops the cat-who must be Jellie-up onto his lap. But then he reaches down again, and comes back up holding Grian’s phone out to him.

“You dropped this. I um, didn’t mean to be nosey, but I see you’re reading one of those articles about HotGuy’s new sidekick, CuteGuy. He seems pretty cool, right?”

Grian takes his phone back, nodding. “Yeah. Nice to see he’s gotten an upgrade.” He glances at the time on his phone. “Crap-sorry, I’m running really late for work. Nice meeting you-uh…”

“Scar.”

“Nice meeting you, Scar. I’m Grian. See you around sometime, probably!” They wave, and Grian runs off.

Work was…incredibly slow. Either people didn’t currently need magic supplies, or they could sense the different, strange energy coming from the Entity that sat atop the shop’s building. He must admit, it has been feeling a bit off lately, but anytime he has a moment where he can check on it, something else pops up. A customer pops in, a display suddenly topples over, a friend calls, anything. He’d had enough when the current day ended and he had extremely few sales. So, after locking up, he flew up to the Entity.

“Right. Shop’s closed, you can’t do anything to stop me now.” He lands beside one of its robotic legs, reaching up and placing a hand on the cold, mossy boulder. He could feel the pounding of its ‘heartbeat’ below his palm, beating at an irregular pace.

Grian frowns, closing his eyes to focus, trying to feel around for any odd magic sources or even blockages. It takes a minute, but he senses something, an outside force jammed in and latched on to an outer layer of magical energy. He wills his own magic over, to try and pull it, but the moment his magic makes contact, the outer force springs to life, shooting Grian’s body away from the Entity as it takes control.

His side slams against a half-wall at the side of the roof area, catching a little bit of one wing and certainly bruising up his arm. He falls to his knees, holding his arm as he looks up to the side just in time to see the legs walk over, causing it to now tower above him. It raises a leg, moving right above him, and is about to come down when Grian hears footsteps land, and he looks in the direction his body is facing to see none other than HotGuy running in his direction, and next thing he knows, he’s being scooped up like he’s nothing, and HotGuy carries him away.

“Let’s get you somewhere safe, let me and CuteGuy handle this…whatever it is…for you.”

“With all due respect, this is a magic issue, not a monster one!”

“Then CuteGuy can handle it, easy! Right, here you go-stay put, I’ll be sure to be back to check in when everything is cleared up. I gotta call CuteGuy.” HotGuy had managed to get Grian into a somewhat empty building, setting him into a chair that happens to be there before leaving.

Great, CuteGuy will have to leave pretty quickly after the situation is cleared up so that HotGuy can check on Grian. “Just my damn luck, huh.” He opens a pair of portals, the one in front of him in the air having a bag fall out from it. He opens it up, changing into his gear and spraying his wings-damnit, he’ll have to really leave tightly to clean his wings-as fast as he can. For worry on anybody seeing CuteGuy leaving the same window HotGuy brought Grian into, he finds his way to a window in a back alleyway, leaving through there and flying…not the best, he did slightly injure it moments ago, to the shop.

HotGuy is there, trying to use different special arrows to detain and/or distract the Entity. Grian’s not really sure which it is he’s going for. Nonetheless, he lands on the roof, beside HotGuy. “What do we have going on?”

“Oh there you are! This uh…rock thing? Is going kinda haywire. There was a guy up here who got hurt, he said it was a magic issue. You said you know a little magic outside of portals, right?”

“Yeah, but not a ton. Hope I know enough. Try to get it still for long enough that I can land on it.” Grian flies up again, watching HotGuy try what he can to do as he’d asked. Once the right moment pops up, Grian dives in, grabbing on to a branch and some vines attached to the tree that sits atop the Entity. He uses the vines to secure himself in place, resting his hands flat against the ground with his eyes closed.

It is much easier to find the outside force this time around, part because he’d found it before, and part because its magic was now active rather than dormant. He tries his absolute hardest to focus on removing this other magic, but he can feel how the Entity is moving and somewhat thrashing about, trying to knock him off.

Bit by bit, he tears away at the outside force, careful to pull out any bits of magic it tries to root and implant into the Entity. At first, the more he pulled, the more erratic it grew. However, after a certain point, the Entity began to settle, taking control of itself back again.

As the last thread of magic roots is pulled, the Entity lowers itself to the ground gently, as if to rest. Grian untangles himself, sweat slightly pouring down from his face as he slides down off the side of the Entity.

He’s almost immediately pulled into a big hug from HotGuy.

“CuteGuy you did it! Oh and you were worried about knowing enough magic. You’re fantastic!”

Grian chuckles, gently backing up so HotGuy will let go. “Thank you. I’m sorry, I actually don’t really have time to stick around right now. I was in the middle of something when you called my communicator. See you later!” He flies off quickly without another word, not letting HotGuy have a chance to say anything about it.

He beelines back to the building, sneaking back in and changing quickly inside of a bathroom in there. He’s washing up the last bit of his second wing when he hears HotGuy calling out for him.
“I’m fine, just in the bathroom. Give me a minute!” He has never been more relieved that the spray-dye he uses doesn’t stain his feathers. He exits the bathroom, stopping in his tracks as HotGuy is standing right outside the door. “Uh…can I help you?”

“…Why are your wings all wet?” HotGuy was obviously going to ask something else, judging on the fact he had opened his mouth and paused before asking that question.

Grian raises an eyebrow. “Because I got bored while waiting, and my wing hurts? I was hoping the water could help a bit, but then it felt odd with just one wing wet. Regardless, what do you want?”

“Right, sorry. Uh, I was going to see if you’re alright with me taking you to get checked for injuries, or if you’d rather I just get you out of the building.”

“The second one, thanks.”

Grian trudges upstairs to the floor of his apartment. As he gets to his floor, the same cat from that morning-Jellie, right?-walks into view and sits at the top of the stairs. “Hello to you again. Running away from your owner, or are you just out for a stroll? Sorry I tripped on you this morning.” He holds out his hand at a distance, watching as the cat carefully approaches. Jellie takes a sniff before pressing her head into his hand, purring as she rubs against it. He smiles, sitting down and giving her some pets as she climbs into his lap. “I see you have no hard feelings about earlier, then.” He chuckles, thoroughly enjoying this quiet moment to wind himself down.

He hears the sound of the wheelchair, not really acknowledging it until it stops. He looks over, smiling softly to his neighbor. “They’re a very sweet cat that you’ve got. You said their name was Jellie, right?”

“Mhm! She’s the best cat in the whole world. I uh…I saw on a HotGuy blog that you were seen being taken to safety by HotGuy around a…rock monster attack or something? Are you okay?”

Grian nods. “Yeah. Reckon my arm might be a bit bruised in the morning, but I should be able to sleep off the wing pain.” He yawns as he finishes. “Speaking of which, I should probably go do. Thanks for letting me pet you, Jellie.” One last pet, and then she stretches, getting off Grian and hopping up onto Scar’s lap.

“Would you like to maybe hang out sometime tomorrow? If you’re not busy. I’m new to the building, I haven’t really met many of my neighbors yet, and you seem really nice! Plus Jellie likes you already.”

Grian stands, thinking it over. The shop is closed, and he doesn’t have patrol until the evening. “Yeah, sure. Just as long as we’re done before evening rolls around. Here, you can put your number in my phone.” He hands his phone to Scar, who grins excitedly as he takes it, putting in his information.

“Amazing! Yes, just send me a text, and we can work something out. Oh, of course let me know if tomorrow you’re still hurting and sore from today and don’t actually feel like hanging out so you can rest. I completely understand the feeling.” He hands the phone back, and Grian puts it away.

“I reckon I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!” They wave, and part ways, going in opposite directions from the stairs. Grian gets back to his apartment, flopping face-first into his couch. He hadn’t realized how tired he was until then, practically magically drained from saving the Entity. Whatever that outer source was, it was strong. And very concerning.

He’ll have to keep an eye out for that from now on.

Chapter Text

Grian does not get to sleep in. He’s woken up by Mumbo calling him frantically over and over again. After the 5th time since he initially woke up (and kept hanging up because he thought it was an alarm) he finally sits up to look at his screen. He’s greeted by the picture of a robotic face with a mustache and the name ‘Mumbo’ at the top of it. He slides the button over to answer. “Mumbo, it is 6am on a day off. What is going on.”

“I know, I know. I’m really sorry. But it’s kinda important. I got to the lab, and it’s been ransacked and robbed!”

“Then call the police…? I’m not a cop.”

“No, but you are a hero.”

“A sidekick, Mumbo. Even then, police investigate that kind of thing first unless it’s blatantly obvious that some sort of villain did it. So if you don’t mind-”

“The police aren’t needed. There’s a very blatant calling card left behind.”

Grian groans. “Fine. I’ll be there quick as I can. But no complaining from you if I show up grouchy and hungry.” “I’ll take you for breakfast or brunch afterwards and pay for it.”

“Deal.” They hang up, and Grian sighs as he climbs out of bed, rubbing his eyes. Since debuting his official appearance a couple weeks back, he’s been getting more involved in other kinds of hero work. Which includes investigations. As he pulls on his outfit, he gets out his communication device-a specialized earbud from HotGuy’s tech designer-and calls in to HQ to report he’s en route to Mumbot Laboratory, where supposedly a villain has robbed it. Once Grian is fully equipped, he heads out.

He lands outside near Mumbo, who is practically shaking with anxiety. “Right, Mumbo. You are absolutely sure you want me in your lab? Last call, because you’re aware how things can break if I even look at stuff wrong in there.”

“Mate, there’s nothing to break. It’s either already broken or it’s gone.” Mumbo leads Grian inside, in which Grian freezes in the doorway.

It…is somewhat horrifying. As if a tornado had been set loose within the lab, there were chairs overturned, papers strewn about, tech pieces scattered, computers smashed. If Grian knew nothing about the existence of redstone, he’d have been much more incredibly concerned at how much red is splattered and flung about. It doesn’t make his stomach any less unsettled, though, seeing it everywhere. It’s gruesome, and Grian is suddenly very thankful that Mumbo got him out here before he had anything to eat.

“You okay, G-CuteGuy?” He feels Mumbo set a hand on his shoulder. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, using the pressure as an anchor to recenter himself after that sight so suddenly this early.

“Yeah, I’m good…” he opens his eyes back up, turning to look up at Mumbo. “I signaled HotGuy’s HQ that I was headed this way, I got an acknowledgement that my message was received, but I haven’t heard anything else from them. So right now I don’t know if HotGuy is coming or not. Can you show me where the calling card is?”

“Certainly. This way.”

They round the corner into Mumbo’s office. On the back wall, where it seems Mumbo had previously been scribbling plans and calculations on a whiteboard, almost all of that had been erased away to make room for the logo of the villain Soulflare.

Made of a bright blue frost (and some more splattered redstone), the logo’s design is a flame surrounding an eye with a colored sclera and a slitted pupil. Soulflare, in his several months now of villainry, is known for combining elemental magics with redstone, creating powerful machines and weapons. It has inspired people to use magic and redstone together for good purposes and everyday use items, but no one company has it down and handled quite as well as Soulflare has.

“Why would Soulflare be so concerned about your studies that he’d wreck your lab like this? What kinds of things have you been getting up to?”

“I honestly have no clue. I don’t go anywhere near magic, seeing as I don’t have any, and even then multiple other companies are doing magic redstone stuff, and nothing happened to them.”

Grian takes some photos of the logo, as well as some of the other damages in the office, sending it to HotGuy HQ. They pause hearing a knock on the front door to the lab. Grian heads over first, being the one with powers and all, relieved to find it’s only one of Mumbo’s techs, Impulse. Mumbo lets him in and explains the situation while Grian gathers more photos.

He gets a message through the communicator that HotGuy is en route. “Hey guys, just a heads up that HotGuy is on his way over. I don’t know when he’s expected to arrive, HQ only said he’s en route. I’m gonna step outside to wait, alright?” They give him a thumbs up, and he heads out.

He takes a deep breath of the fresh air. It’s still early morning, the cool breeze left over from the nighttime combined with the current humidity making for a pleasant, refreshing feeling. He closes his eyes, letting the gentle wind blow through his feathers.

Within a few minutes, he hears footsteps coming close, sounding like they’re trying to be sneaky and quiet, especially as they move closer to behind him. Once they stop, he lets them pause, aaaaand- he flaps his wings, causing HotGuy to yelp and jump back!

He laughs as he turns around, watching HotGuy brush a white feather out of his hair. “That’s another win for me. What is it now? 15 to 4?” Grian smirks (not that HotGuy can see that), putting his hands on his hips, looking up at HotGuy.

HotGuy playfully rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. So what if you’re sneakier than I am. It’s a good trait for you to have, in case I’m cornered or something.” There’s a pout to his tone, but Grian knows it’s also a genuine sentiment. “Regardless, before I go in for a look, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yeah?”

“…you told HQ you were headed to Mumbot Labratory on suspicion of a villain robbery. But there’s no police or hero reports for you to know about it. So how’d you know to go here?”

“Mumbo made my tech that didn’t come from HQ. He called me directly.”

“Oh! That actually makes a lot of sense. I didn’t know if there was like…any sort of cool semi-prophetic powers you had, too. Okay!-oh, wait…so if this is where you get your tech-”

“Then my tech guy is in a spot of trouble, yes.”

In they go, and HotGuy does his own investigating while Grian continues to look around and ask questions. “So Mumbo, what sorts of things have you been making recently? Maybe that could help give us an insight into things. Assuming this is a targeted attack rather than a generic tech company attack.” Grian asks, honestly not fully knowing himself. So sue him if he doesn’t know all the intricacies of redstone and tech, but to his credit, he’s basically barred from entering the lab with how often things go wrong in his presence.

“Well, other than some upgrades I was planning to do on your stuff, we were designing a helper bot that assists with small daily tasks. I had a prototype made, but I can’t see any of it anywhere. So it's quite likely that it was stolen rather than destroyed.”

Impulse looks over from the remains of his workbench. “Aw, really? Damn, that’s harsh. It was so cute, too! At least the programming wasn’t installed yet, but still.”

“Do you possibly know if any other tech companies were planning to make anything similar? I don’t want to blame any of your competitors outright of being villains, but there’s always a chance one could be Soulflare.” HotGuy suggests, coming up to join the conversation. “We’ve been starting to eye up some of them as possibilities for him recently anyways, but we haven’t had any good reason to try to make an investigation. This could give us an in to look around.” He adds on, moving his elbow up to rest on Grian’s shoulder, semi-leaning against him.

Mumbo considers for a moment, but before he can say anything, Impulse comes back over. “Oh, I’m pretty sure a couple others were getting something similar in the works. Let’s see…have to go off memory here, I had some information on that on my computer. Over at Slab, they started progress on one a while ago, but as the owner insists on doing all the designing and programming himself, it has been very slow moving, and may take a long time still. Teknologies announced about a month ago they’ve been working on one for almost a year now. I think the model they showed off was called ‘Torchy’? And GOAT launched one a couple weeks back called ‘The Optimizers’. And…that’s all I can think of.”

“Guess we have a list of companies to check out, huh, CuteGuy?”

Grian nods to HotGuy. “Yeah. I’d say I’m up for it right away, but I kinda skipped breakfast in favor of coming here and I need to run a couple of important errands. Should we meet up at HQ after lunch?”

“Oh absolutely, I am in the same boat.” HotGuy sighs, seemingly relieved. “How does 3 sound?”

“Perfect. Meet up with you then.”

“See you then, birdie!” HotGuy heads off, waving.

Once Grian had finally gotten out of costume, sat down with Mumbo at a local diner for breakfast, and ordered his food, he looks up to see Mumbo smirking, an eyebrow raised. “What’s that face for?”

“Birdie? Last I checked, that wasn’t your name, sir. Is there something going on I should know about?”

Grian feels a little heat rise into his cheeks. “No, there’s not. It’s just a friendly nickname he calls me sometimes.”

“That isn’t what your face is saying~” Mumbo teases, pointing.

Grian facepalms. “Mumbo, please…we’re just friends, alright? And in a way, he’s like my coworker, or teammate, my boss, even. Strictly friendly or professional.” He peeks out, spotting Mumbo silently snickering. “What’s so funny?”

“Don’t think I didn’t catch you taking a look at him.”

“Mumbo!”

“Hey, I don’t blame you! I was looking too, honestly.”

“Can we talk about something else?”

Mumbo hesitates, clearly holding on to another thing to bring up, but decides to let it go and oblige to Grian’s request. “Yeah, fine. Did you have an idea of something in mind, or should I ask what you’re getting up to between now and when you’re meeting up later?”

“Well, for one I have some images to go through. But then I don’t really have anything until lunch with Scar, and after that I have my meeting.”

“You keep mentioning this Scar fellow, I know you said he’s your new neighbor, but you’ve never actually told me about what he’s like other than having a cat, being in a wheelchair, and that you guys have lunch sometimes when you’ve got a day off.”

“Oh, I haven’t? Sorry, I didn’t realize. Well…”

As he’s telling Mumbo about Scar, the waitress comes by with their drinks. Again, as she leaves, Grian looks back to see Mumbo making the same face as before. “Mumbo, for gods’ sake, if you’re implying what I think you are-”

“I said nothing! You’re the one talking about his wonderful personality and so on. These lunches are practically sounding like early-relationship dates at this point.”

Grian just rolls his eyes. “Mumbo, he’s new to my building, and he’s really nice. I enjoy chatting with him, but it doesn’t mean I’m interested in that way. Can a guy not just make a new friend from time to time?” It was true, he didn’t get flustered at the thought, as there was nothing to hide. Embarrassing or otherwise.

Mumbo once again relents. “Fine, yeah. I just…I don’t know, you don’t really make a lot of friends all the time, so I didn’t know if maybe there was something else going on there, too.”

“Too?”

“Like with HotGuy-” and Grian is pink in the cheeks again.

“There’s nothing happening there! And keep that down, okay?”

“If you insist, but I must point out again, mate, that your face isn’t matching your words. I’ll leave it there.”

Breakfast goes by, and Grian and Mumbo part ways, and Grian sets about running a couple errands. Plenty of time for him to think about Mumbo’s words from earlier. He didn’t actually like HotGuy, did he? Yeah, sure, he certainly enjoys the view, like he always has. He’s not called HotGuy for nothing.

But..since being CuteGuy, has something actually changed? He tries to imagine it. What would a date with HotGuy even look like? They’d have to either stay in costume or dress in a way that still hides their identities, right? Or would dating HotGuy mean they have to reveal their true selves to one another? He can’t do that, no way, not after he’s already had to separate himself from CuteGuy so much directly to HotGuy.

He’s getting sidetracked!

Okay, just go with costumes. So…where would they go? Wherever they do go, there will be people there that recognize them, and be interrupting their date. Don’t even get him started on the blogs, and paparazzi, and so on that will make a date super public like that. No, they’d have to go somewhere they can actually be alone. Maybe on a rooftop? With a bit of decoration, it could make a pretty decent date location. Maybe at sunset, they’d have a decent view, and they could have dinner. Either takeout or they bring some homemade dishes and share. That…actually does sound pretty nice…and they could lay down and stargaze, side by side, and maybe-

“...crap, I think I might actually have a crush on HotGuy…”

After that dilemma and some time, he’s now sat at a cafe, waiting for Scar. He waves him over as soon as he spots him, having already moved a chair out of the way.

“Hey Grian! Sorry I’m a few minutes late, Jellie decided to take a nap on me while I was getting ready, and was still asleep for a bit when I had to leave.”

“It’s not a big deal. Rule of common sense that you can’t move a sleeping animal off of yourself and all.”

“Right! Anyways, how’s your day going so far?” Scar gets himself properly positioned up against the table.

“Pretty good. Woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I went for a run. Met up with my friend Mumbo for breakfast-oh! You wouldn’t believe it. I’ve told you he runs Mumbot, yeah? He was telling me this morning he found the place wrecked by Soulflare.”

“Woah, what? What was he doing that got Soulflare so mad? Do you know?”

“If I was allowed in the lab, maybe I would. Fancy, incomplete tech and I do not get along, though. But regardless, he told me HotGuy and CuteGuy came in to investigate, and they’re going to look into some potential suspects. But that’s all he could tell me for now.”

“I mean, sucks how it happened, but it’s kinda cool he got to meet them. I’ve been following so many blogs about them, it’d be nice to at least say hi and get a picture sometime.”

“Yeah. That time I ‘met’ HotGuy probably would have gone a bit differently had it not been a rescue at the end of a long day. And if it’d been now instead of then…”

“Oh yeah? How so?” Scar props an elbow on the table, head leaning into his hand, a curious expression and tone.

Grian tries his absolute hardest to not let any heat creep into his cheeks at the thought of HotGuy. “Well…I don’t exactly know, but…I’d be a lot more friendly. And probably a little fussy about my appearance…” he practically mumbles the last part.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Lunch was fun. It always is! And sometimes they both head right back to their apartments afterwards, so they just go back together and continue talking until they split on their floor. But unfortunately today is not one of those times. They both have other places to go before heading home. So Scar waves to Grian as he flies off. He sighs, watching him fly further away.

Right then, thankfully this cafe isn’t too far from HQ. He wheels his way over, giving a smile and polite nod to people he passes by. He comes into the front door, passing by the lobby where people can purchase HotGuy merchandise or send in information they might come across that could be useful. Behind the counter he goes, into the back room, punching in the code that lets him back into the lab. Back he goes past Cub’s office, right towards his own. Thus begins the process of getting into costume, during which Cub knocks at the door.

“Still getting dressed, what’s up, Cub?”

“I reviewed some of the photos you and CuteGuy sent in. And I’m going to be honest, it doesn’t feel like this was a solo act.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that some of the destruction being done doesn’t match with past damage patterns done by Soulflare. Don’t get me wrong, his tech can do some crazy things, but he’s usually quite exact and calculated, there’s a pattern. But some of it feels more sporadic. While I could see a possibility of a rushed job or that Soulflare may have just not felt like being as tidy as usual, I feel that they likely had help. So while you’re running investigations with CuteGuy, keep an eye out in case anyone is suddenly in some sort of pairing with each other.”

“Will do!”

Scar walks out after securing his costume and leg braces, surprised to see Cub still standing there right outside the door. “Er-can I help you, Cub?”

“How was your date?”

He feels his face get a little warm. “It’s not a date, Cub. It’s just…lunch. With a friend. A really nice one.”

Cub crosses his arms and lifts an eyebrow.

“…okay, yes, I like him, but I don’t think he feels the same way! We’ve only known each other for maybe a couple months now? But I just…Cub, he’s so thoughtful, and even Jellie really likes being around him! You know how particular she is about company.”

“Indeed I do. I’m really glad you’re genuinely finding someone in your real self identity, but I need you to keep something in mind if you really care about him.”

“And what’s that?”

“That Scar likes him. Not HotGuy. Scar is an everyday guy, he has a job where he can work from home, he can go on cute little dates with his building neighbor. HotGuy is prominently in the public eye, people watching his every move. And not all of them have good intentions. Some are looking for flaws in a design, a weakness to exploit. HotGuy can be a flirt, but never seriously, and not clearly to any one person repetitively. Because that right there is a weakness, a target on a civilian’s back. It's easy to overpower, meaningless to the big picture, and can be tossed aside with no remorse. A way to break HotGuy, to get him to do what they want, to get rid of him entirely. Understand?”

Cub looks up towards his face, somehow more serious than usual. Scar takes a moment to process it all, before nodding. “Yes, I do. No special treatment from HotGuy.”

“Good. Now go out there, CuteGuy has been waiting outside for nearly 8 minutes.”

“Cub, you gotta tell me these things sooner!” Scar runs past Cub, heading to the door.

Chapter Text

Grian hears him before he sees him. He spins around, watching HotGuy exiting HQ and coming to him. “Sorry I made you wait, my head tech needed a word before I left. Nothing to be worried about, I promise, otherwise I’d call you in.”

“It’s alright. I wasn’t here that long. Have a good lunch?”

“Yeah, I did! It was great. What about you?”

“Mhm. I met up with someone, we had a really nice time.” He watches a mischievous grin spread across HotGuy’s face. Oh boy, as if Mumbo’s teasing wasn’t enough, he has to endure it from HotGuy now.

“Ooooh, does Birdie have a little lovebird~?”

“Nope. Been single since college. Even if I did have someone, it's not something I could tell you out in the open.”

“Ah, fair. So, shall we head off?”

“Where to first?”

“Well, according to a report from my techs, Teknologies was closed for building maintenance today, so we’ll save that for later. Slab is the furthest away, but the lab closes at 5. GOAT is running at all hours to maximize productivity and proficiency, so we have no time limit to check in on them. Especially as the owner literally lives at the lab.”

“Slab it is.” And off they go.

If you asked CuteGuy to point out which building around the pair of them was Slab, he’d pick the modern-looking office building on the corner. And he’d be very, very, wrong. No, Slab is actually set inside of what appears to be a run-down, in-need-of-exterior-repair apartment building. But, most people get that wrong if they haven’t done research, to be entirely fair.

As they approach, they start to take note of the subtle hints that this was indeed a technology lab. Like the newer-looking metal pipes that run outside, some solar panels peeking out from atop the building roof, the reinforcements on some windows, and, of course, the code-locked front door with a guard standing outside. Slab may not be the fastest at putting out new products, but they certainly make quite a lot of money. Whether through brand loyalty or the fact that people found the owner particularly attractive and/or charming, those were the biggest drives for people to purchase their products.

The guard stares as they come close, having to look up to look at HotGuy’s face. “And what brings you two out this way? We didn’t call for help.”

HotGuy shakes his head. “No, you didn’t. We’re here to perform an investigation.”

“On what grounds and with what warrant?” The guard crosses his arms, to try and appear more intimidating.

“With this warrant, and on the grounds of potential suspicion regarding a recent attack on another tech lab.” HotGuy holds up a piece of paper from his bag.

The guard looks it over, reading it with a sour expression. He groans and rolls his eyes. “For goodness sake, you’re accusing Etho of being Soulflare? Are you mad?”

Grian steps out, “Not accusing. We’re far too many steps away from an accusation. Just investigating an initial suspect pool.”

“Sounds enough like a-”

“Joel, what’s going on out there?”

The guard, who must be named Joel, is cut off by a voice coming through a speaker by the door. He turns around and looks into the camera just above it, pressing on a red button with a microphone symbol on it. “Etho, HotGuy is here with his sidekick to perform an investigation on you and the lab. Soulflare attacked Mumbot Laboratory, and have you on a suspect list.”

“Oh what? What happened to Mumbo’s lab?”

HotGuy waves at the camera, leaning a bit closer towards Joel to give him a better chance of being caught by the microphone. “We can give more details if you let us in for a chat.”

There’s a pause, and the door beeps and clicks. “Come on in. Joel, lead them up to my office, will you?”

Joel sighs, slightly groaning. “Yeah, alright. Be up soon.” Without even looking back at them, Joel goes to the door, opening it and heading in. HotGuy and CuteGuy are quick to follow, to make sure they’re not locked out.

The inside is such a huge difference from the outside. Honestly, unless you’d seen the outside, you wouldn’t be able to tell it used to be an apartment building. It was renovated into a lab extremely well.

“Follow me, and neither of you touch anything technical unless Etho gives you clearance.” Joel says, standing at the base of some stairs before turning and heading up. They both follow him all the way up a few flights of stairs, then all the way down a hallway to a door simply labeled as ‘Etho’. Joel knocks before opening the door and motions the duo inside, following them in.

The office absolutely does not look like it’s a lab or a regular apartment unit. Honestly, it makes them feel as if they’ve been transported into a cabin up in the mountains. The walls were lined with wooden planks, one containing a whiteboard with some notes, another with a few cork boards with several things pinned to them, another covered by shelves containing miscellaneous supplies.

Most importantly, sitting behind the desk, was Etho. White hair kept in a messy bun, save for a couple pieces up front that hang loose. His eyes are mismatched, with horizontal pupils and a scar over his red eye, a mask over his lower face. “Welcome in! Please, take a seat or look around the room if you’d like.”

HotGuy opts to sit and ask questions while CuteGuy looks around, listening in and feeling Joel’s eyes on him as he makes his way throughout the room.

“So what happened with Mumbo’s lab?”

“It was raided by Soulflare. Everything smashed or stolen, and in particular, the prototype for his helper robot is missing. We have word you’re in development of one, and have been for some time now. We are not making an accusation by coming to investigate, but it does put you in a point of intrigue. You’re not the only one we plan to investigate, but the others are classified information until we can get a chance to see everyone. But I now have a question for you. Why are you so concerned with what happened to Mumbot Lab? Isn’t it one of your competitors?” HotGuy leans forward slightly, watching what he can see of Etho’s face.

Etho shakes his head, responding “Not really. I mean, in business terms, I suppose we are in some instances, but for the most part? I feel like we have different enough products that we don’t really compete. And I may not be super close friends with the guy, but Mumbo and I have always gotten along with each other as long as I’ve known him. He’s a really creative guy, I respect it.”

“So you have no concern about the fact you both are making personal robots?”

“Not at all. We likely have different visions of what we plan to do with them, functionally and aesthetically. And if he’s got a stolen prototype, he was already further along than I’ve gotten. I don’t think I’ve made much progress with that project in months, I’ve been working on a couple other things recently.”

“Such as…?”

“I can show you. Come with me.”

Etho gives a tour of the lab, even allowing the pair to peer in on rooms that others usually can’t if they’re being taken on a tour. After all, it is truly seeming like he has got nothing to hide. Grian does his best to not touch anything. He’s already causing a big risk to Slab by just being inside the building, so he cannot risk touching anything unfinished. So he mainly takes down notes and pictures where allowed, sending them off to Cub at HQ.

At the end, it becomes very apparent from Grian’s perspective that there is no way Etho could be Soulflare. The man is open to sharing his work, and holds a level of respect for not only Mumbo, but other companies as well. He’s extremely laid back, and, very very importantly, he does not possess any elemental magic. He does have some power in his red eye that allows him to focus in on small details, much like a microscope, but that is about the extent of what he is able to do.

So they leave the lab with one less suspect for Soulflare, and begin to make their way over to GOAT. It’s a ways away outside of the main city, considering it is built up inside of a very large crater.

They approach with caution, peering down into the area. The place certainly looks like it would be a villain lair, what with all the visual mechanisms on the outside, as well as the angular style on the buildings. The massive tower that doubles as a flagpole does nothing to alleviate their worries about the situation. “HotGuy, I feel like I can make the call now that if this guy isn’t Soulflare, we should definitely still keep an eye out on him…just a guess, you know?”

“Agreed…but how um…how do we even go in there…?”

“I’d say I can fly and you use your glider, buuut something tells me they probably have a very secured airspace.” HotGuy nods in agreement, and they take some time to look around.

“So…the person you had lunch with earlier, they were a friend, then?” The question takes Grian by surprise, and he looks back to HotGuy, who is looking right at him instead of surveying the area.

“Yeah…why? We’re on a mission, you know.”

“Yes, I do, but we can talk while we’re trying to find an entrance, right?” HotGuy smiles, and Grian sighs.

“I guess…as long as it is nothing that reveals our identities.”

“Oh of course! Wouldn’t want to do that in public, would we?”

“Definitely wouldn’t want to.” Publicly or privately, though he leaves that part to his head.

“Regardless, can I ask what this person is like? No names, no physical description. But like…what kind of person does it take to be friends with CuteGuy?”

Grian thinks for a moment. “Well…for one, they’re incredibly nice. Bit of a jokester, but all in good fun. They’re passionate about their work and interests, and they are always excited to hear what I have to say. I don’t…have many friends, so the ones I do have are all great in my eyes. What about you?”

“I mean, take a look at yourself. I certainly consider you a really close friend.” HotGuy smiles, unaware of the small pang that hits Grian hearing that. “But outside of that, out of the costume, I really appreciate how considerate all of my friends are, keeping me in mind even when I’m not present. It’s such a good feeling, knowing that people are thinking about me even if I’m not around.”

“When aren’t people thinking about HotGuy?”

“Not HotGuy, me.”

Before Grian can say anything in response, they are alarmed by the sound of several loud speakers in the pit blaring out a message as the sun sets, both having to cover their ears at the sheer volume of noise.

As soon as it’s over, and they’re sure they haven’t gone deaf, they spot as a couple groups of people in lab coats in the distance walk up towards the tower/flagpole. They can’t see the side the group is facing, but they do see other groups walking away from it as the first ones disappear from view.

That was it.

That was the way in and out.

In hindsight, that should have been very obvious, but to their credit, the tower does not exactly look like it’d be anything more than decorative. They talk about a game plan for how to approach the owner of GOAT, what sorts of questions to ask and how to ask them. Etho was one thing, he’s got a somewhat relaxed personality. But based on the visuals of the lab along with what little they do know about Doc, something tells them they will not be so lucky out this way.

That is, assuming they can even get in.

Chapter Text

CuteGuy and HotGuy approach the entrance at the tower, a little surprised at the lack of guards outside the door. Especially given how secured everything else was. They fumble around looking for a button or switch for a few minutes, then suddenly a spot on the wall opens and a screen emerges, the company's logo on display. "State your business." The voice commands, clearly already annoyed.

HotGuy clears his throat. "Hello, I'm-"

"Yeah, yeah, HotGuy and his little pink assistant, I know. That's not what I was asking." The voice sounds more agitated, and they hardly have said anything. Grian squints and crosses his arms at being called an assistant, but says nothing.

"Right. So, we are here to ask a few questions to Doc. Mumbot Labratory was attacked recently, and due to the nature of the attack, we're investigating several companies under the possibility one of them may be harboring Soulflare." Grian catches how HotGuy is speaking a little slower than usual. Doing good at really thinking before he speaks for the moment.

"You're not accusing me of being Soulflare, are you? It would be…rather unwise to say such a thing here."

The pair widen their eyes. "Wait, you're Doc? You answer your own door?" HotGuy asks.

"I live here, too. This lab is my home, and this entrance is my front door. Of course I answer it on my own. That and having a middle man can be too complicated, leaves room for error of them allowing in people that have no business here, even if they are heroes making a claim."

Grian speaks up next. "We are not accusing you. We are trying to narrow our roster and rule people out. It would be comforting to know that someone such as yourself isn't someone that we have to face off with. Maybe you could know some information that pushes us in the right direction! We'd be incredibly grateful for the opportunity."

There is no response at first. Doc is likely considering his options here. Or at least Grian hopes so. He stands a little bit closer to HotGuy, slightly nervous. After a minute or so, the screen changes to reveal Doc. A green humanoid goat/cyborg, red eye glowing brightly. “What are your questions? I will answer from here but I am afraid I cannot allow you on the premises at this time. You must submit an application in order for a chance to be approved for a tour of my lab. No exceptions.”

Right, so he’s definitely hiding something. Grian does not like that by any means whatsoever. But they’ll have to play by Doc’s rules here if they want any information out of him. HotGuy again takes the lead of asking various questions to Doc while Grian studies Doc’s behavior and their surroundings. Partially listening in, trying to hear for any interesting information or things that feel out of place. HotGuy mentions Mumbo’s helper bot, and Doc laughs, insisting his Optimizers are not even in the same type of market that Mumbo’s bots would be used for. Doc’s are for more industrial purposes, taking on tasks that people cannot, streamlining efficiency and replacing other machines. They’re not meant for the purpose of being, what Doc calls, “house bots”. “If you’re looking for someone with actual competition against Mumbo, investigate Tango at Teknologies. That ‘Torchy’ model they showed off not too long ago is certainly meant to be a…lower-stakes assistant, like Mumbo’s.”

“That’s who we’re going to check out tomorrow.” Grian says, a bit harshly. He’s not taking it too kindly that this guy is talking down about his friend, even if it is true their bots are for different purposes.

Doc squints at the camera. “HotGuy, I don’t mean to overstep, but if I were you, I wouldn’t let my assistant take that kind of a tone with someone you’re getting information from. Watch his mouth, would you?”

Grian grumbles, and HotGuy stands in front of him so the two can’t see each other. “He’s my sidekick, not an assistant. I’m not his boss. I can’t control what he says, but I can give suggestions. I’m sorry on his sake for that.” Grian rolls his eyes and walks off. He’s getting real pissed now, and doesn’t want to spoil this for HotGuy. So he sits and waits on a rock where he can see things happening, but not hear them. He gets a buzz in his pocket and checks on it, seeing a text from Mumbo. ‘How are things going? It’s getting late and you haven’t messaged about heading home yet.’

‘Fine. There’s no way it’s Etho, and it’s probably not Doc, but I don’t like him very much.’

‘I’ve not met him personally, but I’ve got to say he is a pretty intimidating guy.’

‘He was kinda rude about how you two have different target audiences. Just…rubbed me the wrong way, I guess.’

‘So it just leaves Tango to check out, yeah?’

‘Yep. Doc seems to think it could be, saying you guys have more direct competition. What do you know about Tango?’

‘Well, not much. He’s got fire magic for sure, and has welded parts together on his own. He indulges in massive, complicated projects to bring others entertainment, and’

‘And?’

‘Meant to delete that, accidentally pressed send. Ignore that.’

‘Nonono, Mumbo, you had another thought. What is it?’

‘Not important or relevant.’

‘...Mumbo, I swear to the gods if it's what I think it is, I will judge you considering the fact this guy is possibly a villain who demolished your lab.’

‘No comment.’

Grian facepalms. “Fuck’s sake, Mumbo…” he looks up an image of Tango, looking him over. Doesn’t look too much taller than himself, maybe a couple inches. Significantly shorter than Mumbo, then. Pointed ears and claw-like hands, fiery hair and a tail. He also has red eyes, slitted pupils, and a normal white sclera.

Eventually, HotGuy makes his way over to Grian, who is still scrolling through images of Tango. “Whatcha doing there?”

“I was updating Mumbo on our investigation, and our conversation seemed to imply that he thinks Tango is attractive. So I needed to look him up, and I’m judging him.” He closes the phone and puts it away. “So, anything more out of Doc?”

“Not really anything to push us towards someone. Just away from himself.” HotGuy stretches, and Grian stares a moment before having to look away. “Let’s go back to HQ and go over everything. Then we can plan for tomorrow.”

“Yeah. The sooner we can walk away from this place, the better. The atmosphere feels a bit…hostile.” Grian stands, and the two of them head off.

At HQ, they review what they’ve learned with Cub. Grian is, very clearly, getting super tired. Yawning and trying to stay awake, refusing to leave when the other two tell him to get home. His eyes shut at one point, and when they open he’s leaned over against HotGuy. He sits upright immediately, even standing up out of his seat.

HotGuy jumps a bit, looking over. “Geez-you wake up fast! Well, I mean, you’ve been asleep for like forty minutes, but there was no warning you were about to be waking up!”

“Hold on-I was sleeping? Why didn’t you wake me up?” Grian pats down his wings, some feathers still standing on end.

“Because you definitely needed it. Cub and I decided to continue talking in the morning so you wouldn’t miss anything, since you were so adamant on being here. So he’s gone home already.”

“What about you? Shouldn’t you go home too?”

“You were sleeping on me. And someone had to be here when you woke up anyways, so you wouldn’t panic where we were.” He smiles, standing up as well now. “I could help make sure you get home alright if you want. Don’t want you dozing off mid-flight.”

“Uh, HotGuy?”

“What?”

“Secret identities, remember?”

“I know. But nobody knows it’s us.”

“We don’t know who each other are.”

“We could learn. It could be useful information to know in case we see the other person in danger as our everyday selves! So we know why the other isn’t coming.”

“HotGuy, I…I can’t.”

“Why?”

“It’s just a bad idea. We could end up getting mind-controlled or having our thoughts read or something, and someone could find out who we are. Then we’ve put the other person in danger as well as ourselves. That and…I don’t think…I could handle you knowing me. I…I’ve been…not the nicest to you.”

“I…I guess…I just thought…” HotGuy pauses, thinking of the right words. “...nevermind, you…you’ve got a point.”

Grian frowns. “Wait no-hold on, what were you going to say?” A selfish part wants to convince himself that maybe HotGuy does share his feelings. That the friend comment, while genuine, still holds up for people he likes. A more serious part tells him that can’t be right.

“I thought…maybe…we could get to hang out without drawing attention to ourselves. Like what most friends do. Get lunch or something. Or even go undercover together for missions.”

Grian turns away. “...I’d love to do that, but I can’t. Not…not without things being complicated for me. I’m sorry, I…I need to go home.” He leaves quickly.

Scar tries to follow at first, but pauses and lets him go. Great. Now he’s just probably made things awkward with CuteGuy. He’ll have to apologize tomorrow. For now, he works on closing up HQ and getting home. He wheels out of the building, legs aching from the long day in his braces. He gets a ride home on a late-night bus, getting dropped off at his apartment building.

Scar wheels out of the elevator once it reaches his floor, and he has a moment of curiosity as to whether Grian is still awake. He knows that he is up at this hour sometimes, they’ve seen or messaged each other before during this time of night. He heads over in the direction of his apartment, listening for any sign Grian might be awake. He stops just a bit before the door, hearing Grian talking to someone, presumably on the phone. He sounds…really upset.

“I just…I don’t know what to do. I really like him, like you called I did, but I don’t want to do that. How have I gotten myself into this situation?” There’s a pause where whoever he’s calling gives a response. “I know, I know, but…if he already doesn’t like that part of me, why would he like the other? The…the not so good part?” Pause. “I don’t mean it that way, you know what I mean-look. I’ll call you in the morning, I gotta check on something. Night.”

Scar didn’t mean to hang around so long and hear all of that, but…it did make him curious, hearing about Grian liking somebody. And he’s confused about what there wouldn’t be to like about Grian. He’s a really great guy. It’s the other guy’s loss that they don’t see that. What he means by not so good doesn’t evade his attention, though. Scar doesn’t know for sure what it means, but he’ll have to keep that in mind. He feels a vibration in his pocket, then pulls out his phone, getting a text from Grian.

‘Hey, you awake?’

‘Yeah, what’s up?’

‘Would it be weird if I asked to come over and pet Jellie for a bit? Things got really rough for me after lunch.’

Oh boy. He’s gotta wheel back home real quick. ‘Sure, maybe give me a few minutes? Gotta clean up a little bit.’

‘No worries, just let me know. I apologize if I’m intruding, you can tell me no to coming by.’

He wheels quick as he can back to his apartment, apologizing to Jellie as he zooms past her, startling her. ‘Who am I to deny Jellie pets from someone she likes? Plus you’re my friend. I’m happy to help.’

‘Thanks’

Scar changes into cozy clothes as fast as he can, which of course his legs give him some issues. But once everything was good to go, he gives Grian the all clear, waiting by the door for him to knock. Which doesn’t take very long, and Scar gives Grian a smile as his friend comes in, plopping down onto the couch. “Thank you…”

“It’s no problem at all! Oh Jellie, Grian’s here to give you a visit!” Scar calls, wheeling around and looking for where she’s gone off to. He spots her as she gets up off his pillow, trodding along to the living room. He follows behind, grinning as they enter. “Behold, her majesty graces you with her presence at your request for an audience with her.”

Grian snickers, sitting up better as Jellie hops onto the couch. “Why thank you, your majesty. Such a benevolent ruler.” She curls up in Grian’s lap, and he begins petting her.

“You wanna talk about what happened? Or just need to decom...de…deco-”
“Decompress?”
“Yeah, that.”

Grian pauses, thinking. “I’m…a bit too worn out to even think any more about it right now. Sorry.”

“I never said you had to. We can just sit here and talk about other things or watch something. Or even just sit in silence together. Your call.”

“I’ll let you pick a movie or show or whatever. Just some background noise I can distract myself with.” Scar nods, turning on the TV and selecting a random Star Wars movie. He resists every urge he gets to share fun facts about different details, not wanting to bombard Grian at the moment. Towards the middle of the movie, he looks over and sees Grian fell asleep petting Jellie. He moves very carefully to help Grian into a more comfortable position, putting a blanket on him after Jellie moves away. The TV goes off, and he goes to his room, carefully transitioning into his bed, falling asleep very quickly.

Chapter Text

Grian wakes up laying on Scar’s couch, and he’s immediately concerned about invading Scar’s space by having fallen asleep there. He sits up and looks around, and is greeted by Jellie looking up at him from down by his feet. “Oh, good morning, Jellie.” He reaches out, scratching behind her ear. He smiles as she purrs, leaning into the touch.

“Morning, G!” He hears Scar call out. He looks up as Scar wheels in from the kitchen. “I was about to start on making breakfast, how many pancakes do you want?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Scar. I’ve already overstayed my falling asleep here-”

“Nonsense, we just had a sleepover! An impromptu one, sure, but! You’re my friend and we already live in the same building anyways. So, I ask again. How many pancakes?”

“How big are they?” Grian watches Scar position his hands in a circle to demonstrate before deciding on three. Scar gives a thumbs up before retreating back into the kitchen. Grian checks his phone, looking for any messages or interesting notifications. He scrolls for a few minutes before getting up and heading into the kitchen. He smiles listening to Scar humming to himself as he stirs the batter. “Do you have any cof-”

Grian is cut off as Scar jumps and yelps, nearly dropping the bowl of batter from his lap. A bit of it spills onto his legs and footplates as it tipped forwards, but he catches it in time before too much can fall out. “Holy geez-you scared the heck outta me, I didn’t hear you walking in!”

Grian snickers, going towards the paper towels. “Sorry, I have a bit of a knack for that, even when I don’t mean to.” He tears some off, then sits on the ground in front of Scar. “Here, I’ve got you. You can keep mixing, it was my fault you spilled.”

“Oh! You don’t have to, I can handle myself-”

“I know you can.” Grian glances up. “It was my fault, though, like I said. So I’m cleaning my mess.”

Scar blinks and nods. “Okay, if you insist.” He gets back to his mixing, trying not to think too hard about that. He stares into the batter as he feels Grian wipe up the spill, lifting his feet for him when needed. He thanks him when Grian is all done and gets up, deciding the batter is mixed enough now. Well, it was already mixed pretty good but now definitely it was good.

“Anyways, as I was going to ask- do you have any coffee? I don’t know where your stuff is at.”

“Oh, yeah. It’s right over there, and mugs are in the cupboard right below it. Use any one that you want, doesn’t matter.” Scar points, setting the bowl onto the counter. He starts pouring the pancakes onto the pan, watching Grian start on prepping the coffee pot while he waits for them to be ready to flip. Grian crouches down to look through the mugs, chuckling to himself. “What’s so funny in here?”

“Nothing, I just keep forgetting you’re a HotGuy fanboy.” Grian pulls out one of Scar’s HotGuy mugs. “And CuteGuy a little bit.” As well as his singular CuteGuy mug.

“What’s so wrong with that? They’re both super cool! Also I only have one CuteGuy mug because they’ve only ever sold one design. Doesn’t make me any less supportive of CuteGuy that HotGuy has just been around longer and sold more merch. And is there anything wrong with liking heroes?”

“Not at all.” Grian smiles. “I can’t really blame you though, honestly. HotGuy lives up to his name, and CuteGuy is pretty good at magic.”

“Oooo does someone like HotGuy?” Scar doesn’t know if he wants to hear yes or no. Both would be great and absolutely terrible to hear, but it’s very much in character for Scar to ask that about anyone a friend may like.”

“Well, uh-” Grian gets slightly flustered. “I did say he’s hot like the name implies, yeah? So-do what you will with that.” Grian fusses about with looking for sugar, hoping Scar isn’t looking at him, or that if he is, it’s not for very long. Once the pot is full, he pours some for himself in the HotGuy mug. “Want me to get a cup started for you?”

“Yeah, sure! The first few pancakes are gonna be ready in just a minute here, too.”

They chat a bit more as coffees are prepped and pancakes get made, when in mid-conversation Grian gets a call. He looks at his phone to see it’s from Mumbo. He tells Scar and then answers. “Hello? What are you calling in the morning for?”

“Grian, you wouldn’t believe what’s happened earlier!”

Grian’s eyes go wide and he stands up a bit more, having been slightly leaned towards the counter. “What, what is it? Did something happen at the lab again? Or to you? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m better than okay! This happened a couple hours ago, I was waiting for you to wake up, but I’m still positively chuffed!”

Grian’s brows furrow in confusion. “Huh? How? You were telling me how your lab got destroyed just yesterday. Did HotGuy and CuteGuy manage to catch Soulflare already or something?” He very well can’t let on to Scar about being CuteGuy, and mentioning that would let Mumbo know that Grian wasn’t alone.

“No, not yet-but! I got a message from Tango last night after we got off the phone-he wanted to meet up for breakfast and talk, so-”

“Hold up-Tango messaged you? That late?”

“As if the two of us weren’t up calling one another.”

“Yeah but we’re friends. Why would you message someone you’re not close with so late?”

“Let me finish then! Anyways, I agreed to meet up. We talked a bit, getting to know one another and talking about our work. He’d heard about what happened at my lab and was interested in helping me out! We agreed to talk through some of the details a bit later at his place. But that’s only one thing that happened!”

“Mumbo, when did you even have time for this? It’s only like 8 am.”

“We’re both used to waking up super early to get to the lab, so that’s what we did. Anyway,-“ Grian rolls his eyes as he listens more “-he was saying how he really likes some of my work, and I was saying how I like some of his work, and we just started complimenting each other a lot which you know usually gets me all flustered and-“

“Mumbo, you’re talking very quickly.”

“Right, sorry. So um-we ended up rambling up into complimenting each other outside of our work, and he said something about how he gets excited when he spots me attending tech conventions. Even if we usually only briefly acknowledge each other in passing. And I said I get excited too, I’ve wanted to be able to actually talk like we were just then with him for so long. And he said him too, he’s tried to ask several times before, but one or both of us got swept away by a crowd and he couldn’t find me. Said it was surprising, since I’m so tall it’s usually easy to find my handsome face! Handsome, me! Tango said I was handsome!”

Grian just stares into space, really unsure of what to do here. He wants to tell Mumbo off. But Scar is like four feet away working on pancakes. “Uh huh…”

“You…don’t sound too happy for me.”

“Mumbo, I…” deep breath. “I…am still a little sleepy, I’ve not been awake long. Congrats, man. I gotta go, I’m at Scar’s and he’s just made pancakes. Can we talk more later after I’ve got coffee in my system?”

“Yeah, of course. I had my breakfast date, you go have yours.”

The call ends right after that.

“Mumbo-!” He groans, seeing the call ended.

“Everything okay? I couldn’t hear everything your friend said, just bits and pieces.” Scar asks, stacking up the finished pancakes.

“Yeah, just…Mumbo was saying he met with one of his competitors for breakfast, and it spiraled into them complimenting and flirting with each other.”

“I’d say good for him, but you don’t look excited.”

“Yeah, because who invites anyone to meet for breakfast so early? Mumbo said this happened a couple hours ago, so he had to have been up to go out ages ago. Absolute insanity, if you ask me. I wouldn’t trust anyone asking me to meet up earlier than 7 at the soonest.”

“Is that all?”

“No, but-oh Jellie!” Grian starts, but is interrupted as he spots Jellie nab a pancake off the pile, jumping down and running off.

“Jellie no, you get back here, young lady! Pancakes aren’t for kitties!” He wheels after her out of the kitchen.

Grian stays behind for just a moment, texting a quick message to Mumbo before joining Scar.

‘Remember Tango is our last suspect on the list…be careful.’