The Turf War Twisted

Real Scary Things... Like Love

"Are you doing okay?" Scar asked in a soft voice, pressing his forehead against Grian's gently.

Grian sighed. "As okay as I can be after nearly drowning."

Scar smiled slightly. "Makes sense. I'm just glad you're safe." He started subconsciously stroking his hands through Grian's hair. It was so soft, even when it was soaked, even with the occasional mushroom popping up out of it.

"What was it that you had messaged me for anyways?"

"The Resistance had put together some crazy sneak attack on us at the MooPop Factory. They demanded we give you back to them, so I kinda just gave up. I wanted you to go back with them anyways."

Grian let out a small chuckle. "What? Were you getting sick of hanging out with me?"

"Hmph." Scar playfully pushed him. "Yeah, you're the worst," he responded sarcastically. "But seriously," he continued. "I really didn't want to leave you. I know the Resistance is so good to you, but I was worried."

Grian's heart nearly skipped a beat. Scar was worried. He was worried for Grian's well-being. "I was worried about you too," he replied, his words slow and hesitant. "I felt like I couldn't breathe on the way over to the factory. Must've been why I fell."

Scar's face dropped with concern, but it also began to work up a blush. "No need to worry about me so much. With everything happening to you, I'd worry about keeping you alive."

Grian nodded. He loved how peaceful it all was, how nice it was to just sit there with Scar. His worries all seemed to wash away with the seawater and as he melted into Scar's warm hugs. He knew it couldn't possibly last long, peace never seemed to for him, but he wanted to cherish it for as long as possible. He wished he could just stay, talking to Scar and being carefree forever.

A cool breeze ran across the shore, making the two of them shiver. "Do you think we could go inside somewhere?" Scar asked, pulling Grian a little closer to keep warmth.

"We should," he said, slowly standing up. Scar followed and Grian put out a hand, letting Scar grab it as an aide to stand up.

Scar looked behind him. "I'm not sure if our elytras are dry enough to be going anywhere," he said with a frown.

"We're in the jungle, aren't we?" Grian inquired. "We can go to my starter base so we don't have to worry about flying anywhere."

Scar nodded, his face now turning up to mirror Grian's smile. It took a bit of walking for Scar to notice that he was still holding Grian's hand. Had he not let it go after Grian helped him up? He wanted to let go for Grian's sake, but he didn't want Grian to notice. Or maybe he already had. Scar couldn't say, but it wasn't like he was opposed to it. It kept the two of them side by side, making sure they didn't lose each other in the thick foliage of the forest floor. He decided he'd just keep holding on, just go with it until they reached his base.

The two of them navigated past the bushes, trees, and towering bamboo, reaching Grian's base. Besides the chase from Tag 2: Electric Boogaloo, Grian really hadn't been at his base in ages. It had been forever since he got to review everything he did in the beginning.

His face seemed to light up when they pulled the doors open. Grian grabbed Scar's other hand, pulling him along. "Scar! Oh my god, look! There's still so much stuff in my old storage system." He presented the labelled chests to Scar, reading them off. "The gravel, the SAAAAAAAND, bird poop, Grianite. Oh man, this was ages ago." Scar's smile only grew the more happy he saw Grian, going along with his ranting. "C'mon," Grian continued. "We can go to the kinda secret garden out here."

Scar had never known that Grian's base had a hidden garden, disguised by the terrain and the tall canopy of the jungle trees. Despite being his neighbour, Scar didn't know a lot about Grian's bases. The foliage that just seemed to spill out from the mountainsides, vines climbing about the trees, and plants of all kinds and colours sprouting out of the ground, it was so much to take in. "Wow" was all he could seem to say as he looked around at the garden. "This is amazing, Grian," he said, gazing down at him.