𓈊 Lovely Reminders | CCEP/DD Oneshot

Lovely Reminders

This takes place when Mickie is 4 and Penny is 13

* * *

"And, done," Grian sighed, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He had spent the entire day building Penny and her friends from school a little clubhouse to hang out in in the backyard. "All that's left is the painting."

"Woah... Hey, sexy," Grian heard Mumbo say behind him. The avian giggled when he turned around. "When did you start working out?"

Grian glanced down at his arms for a moment before looking back up at Mumbo. He was wearing a tanktop since it was pretty hot out. I guess he likes my very little amount of muscle? he thought, the idea almost making him laugh. "I've been working out since before I met you, Mumbo," he said.

Mumbo rolled his eyes. "What'cha doing?"

"Oh, I was just putting together a clubhouse for Penny," Grian answered. "I just need to paint-"

"Hold on- You built that by yourself?!"

Grian blinked. "Yeah?"

Mumbo huffed a laugh before kissing Grian's sweaty forehead. "No wonder I married you," he said, scratching under Grian's chin and smiling when Grian started purr loudly. "You're so cute when you purr like that."

Grian opened his mouth to say something, but jumped when he heard lightning. "Oh, dammit," he grumbled as rain began to fall from the sky. He sighed. "I guess painting will have to wait." He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Dear Void, it's already after five?"

"How about I make dinner tonight?" Mumbo offered. "You deserve a break."

"No, that's okay, I can do-"

"Grian."

The smaller man groaned. "Whatever," he grumbled. "I call cleaning up Mickie's room."

"Oh, no, you don't," Mumbo said before chasing Grian to the sofa and tickling him until he was cackling and out of breath. "Sit down and relax. You've been working all day."

"Yeah, yeah." Grian playfully shoved Mumbo, who chuckled as he walked away to the kitchen. The dirty blonde stretched his arms over his head, a soft purr rumbling in his chest as he watched Mumbo look in the fridge for something to cook, admiring the view.

The front door opened, making Grian's head turn, and his two beautiful children came running inside, both shouting happily at seeing him.

He giggled and hugged them when they crawled on top of him on the sofa. "Hey, kiddos," he said, giving them each a kiss on the forehead. He looked up at Cub who was chuckling in the doorway. "They were good?"

Cub nodded. "They were great," he said. "Mickie practically slept all day, and Penny was playing Just Dance with Olive most of the time."

"Aww," Grian cooed. "Thank you for watching them."

"Anytime, G-Man." Cub waved to him before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

"Alright, loves," Grian said, shuffling so he was between the two kids. "What do we want to wa-"

"Steven Universe!" Penny shouted.

Grian snickered at her quick response and ruffled her hair. "Steven Universe it is, then."

They ended up finishing the show, then restarted it because Penny liked it so much. She fell asleep soon after having some vegan frozen yogurt.

Grian sighed contently down at his son. He had to carry him to bed when he also fell asleep. Though, Grian was set on him not being old enough to have sweets yet. "How did you get so cute?" he whispered.

"Because he's your son," Mumbo said quietly from the doorway. "He got all the cute genes from you."

Grian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he said, waving a hand at his husband, then looked back at Mickie. "He almost makes me want to have another."

Mumbo walked into the room. "Do you not want to?" he asked, wrapping an arm around the avian.

"I just..." Grian shrugged and leaned into Mumbo. "I don't know. I'm happy right now. Maybe when Mickie's older and not as demanding." He stopped. "Well, not that I don't like taking care of-"

"I know what you mean, love," Mumbo said with a chuckle, leaning down to kiss Grian's temple, then paused. "Are you wearing makeup?"

Grian shrugged. "A little bit," he said tiredly. "I just don't like that scar. Especially since Doc..." He trailed off.

Mumbo didn't say anything at first. He knew Grian didn't like to talk about what happened at the Octagon. He didn't even know Grian had a scar from it, so he must've been hiding it from the get-go. "You don't have to be ashamed of it," Mumbo said finally, and Grian let out a quiet sob. "You're so much stronger now, you know that? You're comfortable with me again, and you have been for years now. And you've been clean from self-harm for years, too. You're an advocate for trans rights, you're an incredible detective- hell, even continuing your job is ourstanding. I figured that you'd be too paranoid to want to stay with the agency."

Grian covered his face with his hands. "I just hate Doc," he grumbled, sniffling.

"I understand," Mumbo whispered. "You don'f have to uncover it if you don't want to. I just want to remind you how far you've come since then."

"...Thank you."

"Of course, my love."