Child's Play - A Hermitcraft 8 AU

I need a hero to save me now (pt. 6)

Summary: Oh how the turns have tabled! Now we've got Mumbo, the hero! 

A/N: IT IS NOW COMPLETE! IT IS NOW COMPLETE! 

(Also... sorry for the short chap. Couldn't figure out how to make it longer. At least you get this!) 

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Quick breaths, loud ones at that, woke Mumbo up. He rubbed at his eyes, slowly trying to figure out what in the world was going on, because he knew he wasn't losing his breath. He knew when he was spiraling. And right now he felt decent and he hadn't had nightmares (and he wasn't known for them).

But if not Mumbo—

He looked around, having difficulty focusing on anything in the room. Everything was blurry and whoever it was that was freaking out at the moment, he couldn't help.

"Wait... Gri—he came over last night." It dawned on Mumbo slowly. Squinting, he barely made out a lump on the bed a few blocks away from his. Grian was still asleep, but every muscle was tense and goodness, that looked an awful lot like a panic attack.

Without thinking it through, Mumbo went over to the other bed, but stopped when he realized, "Am I supposed to wake him up? Do you just sleep through it? What if he's not okay—what do I do—should I call Pearl?"

He took in a deep breath, realizing it would be far from helpful if he lost his marbles now.

"Just... just wake him up slowly, yeah," he said to himself. Mumbo shook Grian lightly with one hand, while with the other rubbing his back. Though he wasn't sure what his comfort levels were, as one person might need a hug when stressed and someone else needed to be alone.

"I can ask him when he's awake," he reasoned before trying to wake him again, this time a bit harder. "Hey, hey. G, wake up. You're safe. You're in Treesa. It's okay."

All that changed was now some added incoherent mumbling alongside what sounded like light cries. "Hey, hey. Shhhhh," he tried soothing, though it was probably the weakest attempt tried by mankind. "I'm here. Whatever you're dreaming isn't real. It's safe." Though Grian went a bit quieter, he still wasn't awake, which was still quite a bit concerning.

"Can you wake up please?" Instead of shaking, Mumbo got ahold of his shoulders and tried nudging him harder awake, still trying to not be invasive. "I don't know how to help you. I'm sorry."

Mumbo noticed the small change of Grian's eyes starting to open up and him shifting slightly. "You awake?" Mumbo asked though he didn't expect an answer. "Can you breathe with me for a minute?" Mumbo tried instructing Grian in a slower breathing. Dreams could be explained in a minute.

It took a few minutes before he felt Grian was actually following along and awake. "You with me?" All he got in response was a halfhearted mumble and a hitch of breath. He sounded on the brink of crying again, and Mumbo didn't know how he'd handle it if that were the case.

"You okay?" Again just incoherent words and a nod. "Hug?" Grian accepted the offer, still half asleep.

"We're safe, buddy. We're not back there. We're back home." As Mumbo stopped talking, he could feel Grian trembling, only lightly pressing against Mumbo. Mumbo held him tighter, as if he might fall over and slip away.

"It's okay. Whatever you're thinking about... your mind is making it seem worse. You're safe... everything better now." Better being relative, because Mumbo knew at any moment there could be an earthquake and it was only getting more frequent. But hey, at least they weren't in that murdery world still, which given Grian's (and a few other members) past with nightmares, that's probably what this was about.

"Don't worry. You're loved here. You're safe." Mumbo took one hand and released his tight grip, changing to rubbing his back slowly. He couldn't be sure if he was doing it right. "I know it's hard to believe that, I do, but it's true. And I'm here and you can sleep again if you'd like."

Really, Mumbo didn't give his friend much option as he pulled Grian down with him. After adjusting a bit, he was able to pull the blanket over them, even while having another body latched to him. "We're safe... that world and this one have nothing on us."

Grian nodded, though it was little movement that Mumbo barely caught. But it was relief for Mumbo all the same because even if he couldn't kill the phantoms or stop the earthquakes or be there for people all the time, right now he did something right, or semi-right, and the both of them felt safe.

"'Night, G."

"G'night..."