~ Soul Bound ~ { A Scarian/Double Life Fanfic}

Chapter 7

The rooms were coming along well. Grian had made a hallway that led from the living space toward a small open area, branching into three halfway complete rooms. It wasn't the best, but it was pretty good with the small amount of time the Avian had. He continued his building, spacing out as he sometimes did when he got to work.
      Since he wasn't paying attention, he didn't hear as Scar snuck up behind him, watching quietly as the blonde did what seemed like an intriguing pattern. He stood, deeply interested, as the smaller placed logs and planks in a surprisingly good-looking symphony of blocks and colors. The blonde was surprisingly quick, and finished the rooms in no time at all. The taller, impressed, complimented his work. "It looks great, Grian!"
      Startled, the Avian whipped around, sighing when he saw it was just the elf. "You scared me!" He gasped, still holding his hand to his chest. After a second, his shock turns to embarrassment. "You we're watching me build?" They asked sheepishly. Of course, others had seen hun build before, but the thought of Scar himself looking on as he did his work  made his stomach to flips over itself.
      Scar, blissfully oblivious to all this, nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I liked how the color palettes just blended together to form this entire piece! And it fits so well into the design the treehouse already was!" He gushed, The smaller rubbing the back of his head, still embarrassed.
      Luckily, the hermits came along to save him from Scar's praise. "So these are the rooms?" Etho asked, a hint of disbelief that such a thing could be built in a few short hours. The blonde, still not accustomed to the new people, inched behind his elven friend and nodded. Frowning, Mumbo looked up. "One problem; there's only 5 rooms."
      Grian hadn't really thought of that when he was building, busily invested in his work. He looked at his shoes, upset that he had made a mistake. The small male liked to have everything perfect, and hated when anything wasn't in place, specifically if he was the cause.
       Pearl waved her hand dismissively. No one could bear when the little parrot hybrid was sad. "It's fine!" She announced cheerfully. "There are ten of us, so two to a room! I'm sure no one has a problem with sharing, right?" The female glanced around the room for objections, and when no one did, she clapped her hands together. "Right, so, let's start with teaming everyone up with their new roommate!" She hummed gleefully.
      "So, me and Cleo, obviously. And, let's see, Tango and Impulse get along well. Ooh!" The girl pointed at Etho and Bdubs. "You two will be good aswell. Now, Mumbo and Xisuma, cus you guys are all serious and stuff. That leaves Scar and our little birdy friend last!" She sang, smiling. Grian and Scar both turned noticeably red, and the taller coughed. "Uhh, me and Grian?" was all he could stutter out, clearly flustered.
      "Yep!" Pearl answered. "No problem with that, right?" She gave Scar a sweet smile that said if he mentioned otherwise, she'd chop him to bits. "N-no problem at all!" The other confirmed, rubbing his arm as he looked everywhere around the room but the Avian. Satisfied, Pearl instructed everyone to take a room and prepare for the night.
      The duo took Grian's original room, since the blonde had taken a fond appreciation of the painting that still hung in his room. As they entered, he contemplated ways to make sleeping arrangements without it seeming weird. Heck, the feathered man would sleep in the rafters if he had to, anything not to embarrass himself in front of his friend.
      The blonde was drawn from his thoughts as another frighteningly common blast ricocheted off the outside of the building. Grian was left shaking, the vibration so strong that he was sure his teeth would rattle out of his mouth. The taller wrapped a hand around the shorter instinctively, blushing and taking it back when he realized what he'd done. Muttering a quick 'sorry' and excusing himself to the bathroom, Scar scuttled away to leave the smaller to himself.
      Deciding to be wise with his time, Grian looked around the room for any nooks and crannies that would be comfortable enough to sleep in. He bumped into the wall, surprised when the painting swung open. He peered inside to see a small crawl space, no bigger than a trapdoor, leading into darkness. With nothing better to do, the blonde slipped into whatever secrets the piglin painting had been hiding.
      He crawled for a bit, maybe a few minutes, before emerging in a closet-sized room. It was snug, with a plush bean-bag chair and a green carpet, complimented by a little nightstand-sized table and a shelf with a few books on it. The place was coated in dust and cobweb, so Grian assumed that the Avians back home didn't know about the place. It was perfect, a place he knew he'd be hiding in when it was too loud and crowded or simply some space to breathe. He fell in love instantly, sending a mental thanks to the painting for revealing such a treasure. His Sanctuary, he called it, would be his new go-to panic room.
      The blonde started to head back. He didn't know how long he'd been in the Sanctuary, admiring the beauty of it all. Maybe 20 - 30 minutes, tops. So one can imagine how surprised he was to exit the tunnel and find everyone panicking in the living space.
      The next thing he knew, he was in a bone crushing hug, a worried Scar standing in front of him. "Where were you?!" He practically shouted, not to be mean, but really just scared he'd lost his friend. Even so, the smaller flinched, startled by the loud noise and feeling anxious with all the eyes in the room on him.
      "I-" The smaller stuttered, tearing up a bit, not accustomed to such loud and forceful accusations. He sniffled, rubbing his nose with his sleeve jacket, wincing as the tallers fingers pricked his skin in a death grip.
      Scar released his hold, though, when he saw his friend stare up at him with wide, blurry eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I was just exploring." The brunette's heart broke when he saw how sad the other looked, and he scooped him up in another tight hug, burying his face in the sweatered male's shoulder. "I thought you were gone," he murmured, hugging his friend tighter. "You scared me so bad!" He exclaimed, releasing his friend. "Don't do that to me again." The brunette announced. Grian just nodded, and Scar grabbed him by the hand and gently lead him away from the prying eyes and curious stares.
      The taller sat on the bed of their room, inviting Grian to sit with him. The male was still teary, and Scar could see how tired the other was. Without a word, he scooped up the Avian and rocked him in his lap, humming some lullaby while stroking the smaller's hair. The poor bird- hybrid was so tired he was out in minutes, snug in Scar's lap, snoring softly. The elf laid him down before covering himself up, weariness pricking the edges of his vision. And there he fell asleep, snuggling with his friend, too tired to think of anything but how happy he was that he was safe with Grian in his arms.

hello. make chapter. very good chapter yes. goodbye.