The Redstoner and The Builder (GriPulse Shipfic)

Chapter 4 - Backstories

The hippie gang were around the campfire once again for dinner. Grian watched Ren cook some food on the campfire. The two were waiting for Impulse who was in his RV, arranging his stuff. It's been a sort of long day for the three, so they finally get to relax for the night. Grian's wings were wrapped around him, because tonight decided to be a cold one, making Grian sigh as a little cloud of his breath started flying away from his mouth. He glanced behind him, and spotted Impulse walking towards the two, his horns and tail still showing. The imp sat down beside Grian, and observed the state Grian's in.

"Are you cold, Gri?" Impulse asked, watching Grian nod to answer his question, humming. Impulse smiled softly, wrapped his arms around Grian, and pulled him close into a hug to make his now partner feel at least warm. Grian's face was buried into the imp's chest, turning a bit red as he looked up at him. Ren chuckled at the two, finishing up the food he was cooking.

"Alright you two lovebirds, dinner's ready," Ren said, handing them two plates of steak and baked potato Ren got from the farm he built nearby. Impulse gave Grian one more squeeze and a kiss on the forehead before letting him go so they could eat. After dinner, Impulse got up to go rest up in his RV, but Grian followed his partner, making the imp notice.

"Can I sleep in for the night with you, Impulse?" Grian asked when the imp turned around after finding out he's been followed by this beige hair male. Impulse lends out a hand for Grian, his way of saying yes to that question. He smiled, taking his partner's hand as the two went inside the RV. Grian looked around the place, taking a quick peek at Impulse's redstone blueprints. Impulse himself sat on the table, watching Grian look at his soon-to-be redstone contraptions.

"Could you maybe teach me some redstone, Impulse?" Grian asked, looking up at the imp on the table. A moment of silence occured between the both of them, Impulse's light amber eyes meeting Grian's purple-indigo ones. Impulse blinked, and finally nodded at Grian's question.

"Of course, I would do anything with you, sunshine," Grian was surprised by the nickname Impulse gave him, but he smiled nonetheless. Impulse yawned and got off the table. Grian held the imp's hand, leading him to the bedroom part of the RV. A bit claustrophobic, but Grian doesn't mind. Impulse lazily flopped to the bed, his "sunshine" following afterwards. Grian was still smiling about the nickname Impulse gave him.

"Sunshine?" Grian was curious on why Impulse would call him that.

"Because your name roughly translates to sun, for some reason," Impulse answered, his tone sounding like he's tired, because he was. Grian pulled the yellow blanket in for the both of them, wrapping an arm around Impulse afterwards to cuddle him for the night. Sunshine. That word made Grian smile, his cheeks turning a bit pink. Impulse wrapped his arms around his partner, cuddling the half-human back as his eyelids fluttered until they were closed. Grian softly hummed at the sight of a sleeping Impulse. He slowly fell asleep soon after.

Morning came, and Grian was the first to wake up. He realized his chin was above Impulse's head, since he found out the imp's face was buried in Grian's red shirt, still asleep and snoring softly. Grian chuckled as he stroked his partner's brown hair. A minute later, Impulse slowly woke up to Grian stroking his hair, getting it all a bit messy. He looked up to adore Grian's face, their eyes locked with each other again.

"Good morning, Impy," he greeted the imp as a smile formed on the half-human's lips. Impulse softly laughed at the name he was called.

"Impy? Now, where did you get that from?" Impulse asked, even though he probably knows where Grian got that nickname; good ol' Tango.

"A certain blonde with red eyes, of course. Hope you don't mind me calling you that as well."

Impulse shook his head, implying that he doesn't mind Grian calling him that. That's what he probably gets after calling him "sunshine", to which Grian doesn't mind as well. The two slowly got out of bed. Grian gave Impulse a quick peck on the cheek before he walked out of the supposed bedroom Impulse has in his RV. The imp paused after the kiss, but softly chuckled a second later. Impulse fixed the bed, and walked out of the RV as he watched Grian stretch his arms and wings again. He admired his partner's purple wings, some loose feathers starting to fall off from the patch. Grian noticed this, and picked up a feather that landed on the grass.

"Guess another feather's gonna replace this," Grian let go of the feather he was holding like it was nothing. The simple breeze became a little stronger as the feathers that fell off flew away like leaves around the Hippie Commune. Impulse managed to grab one of the feathers from the ground and observed it.

"Were your feathers always this shade of purple?" Impulse asked, twisting the calamus around to better observe the feather. Grian looked back at Impulse, his beige hair following the direction the wind was heading.

"I wasn't always a person with purple wings and purple-indigo eyes, I used to be human," Grian answered, approaching the imp to maybe tell him something. "Are you fine with me telling you how I got into this situation?"

Impulse leaned a bit closer when Grian started to approach him, pocketing the purple feather he had into his inventory. "I'm fine if you're fine with it," he replied and went to sit down on the log bench next to the unlit campfire with Grian following him.

Grian took a deep breath, and started telling Impulse about the Watchers, how he knew them back in the old world he once called "home", but he had to leave it behind when the Watchers wanted him to join them. The way the Watchers' magic fused into him and how it hurt him physically, and the way the Green Watcher, Primus Virid, treated him back at the Headquarters. He told the imp about the only Watcher he trusted, Secundra Caerulia a.k.a. the Blue Watcher. They were one of the Watchers who helped new ones get used to the guidelines and schedules back in the Headquarters. Grian paused for a moment when he remembered the day he left when he got invited to join Hermitcraft. The way Secundra took off their blindfold to show how serious they were when they found out that Grian wanted to leave the Headquarters, their purple-indigo eyes locking with Grian's own. Grian let out a forced exhale while remembering, making Impulse cup one of his partner's two cheeks.

"You don't need to continue, sunshine. I can tell it's hurting you," Impulse saw how Grian's face shifted to an uncomfortable expression. Grian was just about to tear up until Impulse cupped his cheek. The man hugged Impulse tightly to comfort himself for a while.

"I just wished that I could go back and save them," Grian's voice cracked as he said his sentence, and buried his face into the imp's shoulder. After a while, they pulled away as Impulse kissed Grian's forehead, and it took them another while for them to depart and continue the things that were on their to-do lists.

Days passed by, and a lot has happened within those few days. How the hippies managed to get into Area 77 to get Grian's time machine back, only for them to time travel back in Alpha Minecraft. The three took about two to three days to get back to the present day. In those two to three days, Grian and Impulse managed to get to know more about each other. Impulse told Grian about what his parents were like, how they're always there for him, and how he was different from all the other imps back at his old home. Being an imp with horns that are yellow with black stripes was hard for him when he was in school, but he's moved on from that.

~

After the whole Area 77 vs. Hippies event, Grian finally has time to think of a place for his first date with Impulse. He was in his village base, pacing back and forth to try and think of a place. The shopping district would be nice, but it would be a bit distracting. He could also need a break from the Hippie Commune for a while, and he wanted the minigames district to be the last choice he had. Grian sighed, but didn't want to give up just yet. He could feel the vibration of his communicator in his pockets, signaling a little call. He hastily went to grab the device, and smiled when the name "Impulse" popped up on the screen.

"Hey, I'm still trying to plan a perfect place for our first date," Grian greeted when he clicked the "answer" button. He could hear the soft chuckles of the imp on the other side, which made him smile even more.

"You don't need to, cuz I was ahead of you," Impulse answered, taking a bite out of a golden carrot afterwards. He could hear the whines of his beloved, which made him chuckle again. Grian told Impulse that it wasn't fair of him to already have planned out a place for their first date since he [Grian] was the one who confessed first. "I know you're the one who confessed first, but it's time for me to have my first contribution to our relationship, sunshine."

Impulse could hear Grian sigh from the other side, and finally agreed with his beloved. The imp hung up after saying his lovely goodbye to Grian, and ran to the bedroom part of his base to prepare himself for his first date with the new light of his life.