This story originated in my OS book, it is mainly a Griskall ship and there's major fluff with some bits of smut thrown in. Also includes some nice Grumbo shipping at no additional cost ;-)
Set in season 6 around the time of war.
If you are a teenag...
"Time to get up!" The sound of a curtain and turquoise light hit his face with force, and he pulled the blanket over his head. Surely it wasn't time to get up just yet... Just five more minutes. He shifted to get more comfortable in this new position, and jolt ran through his body. Something – or rather someone – had tickled his foot.
"Come on, the day has started, get up you little Swedish potato. I made fresh bread for breakfast," Grian's voice said.
He pulled the blanket from his face and Iskall yawned. Slowly the world came into focus. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. On the end of the bed sat Grian, fully dressed, smirking at him expectantly. That guy was mental, period. They had been working on the G-team base for days and even through some nights in the past week. Moreover, they had been up late last night as well. He had needed sleep. it was insane that the other was so alive.
"How long have you," yawn, "been up?"
"Quite a while, since sometime around sunrise. I got bored of watching you sleep, so I made breakfast." Watching him sleep. Watching him sleep! Oh, my slime! He hoped he hadn't talked in his sleep or anything. He tried to recall the dream he had, but it was like trying to catch water with his bare hands. Well, not as wet, he thought, but still. He looked up at the other. Grian probably wouldn't let him go back to sleep now and he felt more awake already anyway, so he got up.
POV Grian
He watched as Iskall ate the last slice of bread, leaving yet another few crumbs in his beard and some more on the bottom of his tank top, where they joined the few small holes on the rim. He got up to do the dishes and Iskall motioned to help him. Wasn't he cute. "Go get dressed, I'll take care of this. You can make dinner tonight." He smirked at the dark-haired man. Obediently Iskall turned towards the bedroom to grab his clothes.
Grian's gaze followed him, admiring the muscles on his shoulders and resting on several paint stains on his sweatpants-clad butt till he vanished from view. He imagined being in the other room, seeing these sweatpants fall down. Iskall was probably naked right now, just blocks away. Blood moved away from his head towards his lower regions. If only he had the guts, he was so curious! One of these days, he assured himself. One of these days he was going to try. He'd prove that he wasn't a chicken. Well, most of the time, that is. Sometimes being a chicken was quite nice and fun.
*Tiiiimeskip*
(you can watch how they spend the day in Iskall's episode 61, at 11:25 – 14:16. It's so cute and awesome, just watch it. I'll provide a link in the comments as well.
POV Iskall
Block by block. Block by block he placed on the floor of G-Team base. Grian had just left, so Iskall finished this part on his own.
He'd suspected that Grian liked Mumbo way before they had got together. There were rumours and, if he wasn't completely wrong, even bets about the two. At least he noticed Stress being weirdly disappointed when he told her about their new relationship.
But it hadn't bothered him the slightest. He'd thought it might get harder after they started dating, but it hadn't. On the contrary, the more he learnt about the up-to-now friendship, the more he appreciated Mumbo. Not to mention, he got along with Mumbo so well himself. Just a few days ago the spoon had left him a gift of Diorite to blow up. How nice of Mumbo. And Grian fancied him... Iskall didn't really see that. Mumbo was just... so Mumbo. Kissing him seemed like a very weird thing. Grian seemed to have a different idea of that, but hey, he was Grian. Block by block, he got closer to finishing the floor.
When Grian had spent time with Mumbo he was cheerful, retelling their jokes and giggling to no end. It gave Iskall a funny feeling. Kind of warm, kind of excited and a bit of envy. He loved seeing his boyfriend so happy.
It hit him like a brick. Iskall realized there and then, that what Mumbo, even now as a friend, gave to Grian, he could never give himself. Just as he couldn't understand Grian's attraction, he understood that he was no Mumbo, he just wasn't. No moustache would ever fool anyone. He was glad he had removed that decoration from his face, even though its meaning had been quite a different one. He was no Mumbo.
He was Iskall. He would never be Mumbo. He felt very weird.
But also glad it wouldn't seem as if he tried to be Mumbo anymore. It would be weird resembling the one his partner was after.
He finished the floor and sat down on the stairs he had placed. I am not Mumbo.
Grian fancies Mumbo.
But Grian also came back to him every day. Even if he was not his first choice or anything. Even if he wasn't Mumbo, Grian baked him fresh bread for breakfast and called him a little potato. He smiled at the thought.
He didn't have to be Mumbo, it dawned on him. He could be himself and Grian would be happy.
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A/N: Iskall lost in thought. (Made with Krita)
What was even bigger, he realized, Grian would get all the awesomeness in life he deserved, no matter if Iskall was even able to be the one giving it. In some sense he was still giving it, was he?
Grian wouldn't be starved of Mumbo, just because he and Iskall were an item. He would get more. He even had the hunch, that Mumbo might return Grian's flirting. The redstoner wasn't the most open or expressive with his feelings, so he couldn't be sure. But it seemed at least plausible.
And deep inside, he felt envy. Grian was very lucky to feel all these exciting feelings now even doubled. He fantasized about having a Mumbo himself. Well, not Mumbo, but someone else. Someone to flirt with or something. Grian flashed to his mind. Silly me! He thought to himself. He had someone to be madly in love with. Though this one was very confused – and confusing - at the moment, he was also very cute and definitely had a lot of flirting potential. They'd only been together for a few weeks! He got up and left the building and his own, strange thoughts behind.
A/N:
Love triangles/triads are very cliché structures for poly people, especially when the people involved are gay or bi. They are not as common as they are portrayed though. Firstly, statistically, most people are straight, so there's not even a feasible triangle there.
Moreover, you don't just easily fall in love with or are even attracted to your metamour (= your partner's partner). Different partners of one person might be very different and often are. I think this is like it is with friends. No two of your friends are the same and the friends of your friends might be people you don't share much with, because you are friends with the same people for different reasons. Does this make sense? Person A might be friends with person B, because they like playing Minecraft together, while person C might be friends with person B, because they enjoy philosophic discussions. But A and C don't have to like each other, maybe they have nothing in common. If you like math speak, being friends (or lovers) is not transitive.
So polycules ( = relationship structures of multiple people, a play on words with "molecules") can take very complex structures and from my experience rarely are as small or tight knit as a triad. Question of the day: Do you have friends that you get along well, but that don't get along with each other? What differences do they have?
