Grumbo Oneshots

2: Palmam Oscula

 After a successful day of collecting sand and gravel for his small barge, Grian zipped through the orange and pink sky. Twirling and flipping in the air to feel the wind tousle his hair and light up his lungs.  With a faint smile on his face, Grian looked around the surrounding area, trying to gain his bearings and know which direction to fly in toward his base. 

 Doing a quick 360 spin, he spotted Scar's base tower and knew exactly where he was. Content, he let himself go, free-falling until he was close to the ground before letting off a rocket and shooting upward. There was a cheer from Scar's base, gaining his attention for a moment. 

 As he glanced over, he could see his wizard friend jumping up and down, a large grin plastered on his face. The attention made Grian smile. Shooting off a rocket into the sky, he did a double loopty-loop before plummeting to the ground again. This time, he made sure to do a flip, or two, while falling. Simply showing off at that point. 

 His eyes, previously closed, shot open at the sound of a yell. The noise startled Grian, making him shoot off a rocket earlier than he wanted to. Though he didn't loose control, Scar still cheered from behind him, waving, then going inside. His door still missing from earlier in the day. 

 Sighing, Grian went back to soaring to his base. Looking around more for the shout from earlier. It sounded close, not as close as Scar was, but not as far away as his base either. The only place he had on his mind at the moment, was Mumbo. 

'I wonder how he's doing. Haven't seen the spoon all day.' He thought to himself, debating in his mind whether or not he should bother the mustache man. As he passed Mumbo's, giant, base, he heard that same yell from before.  "Let's check on him." Grian mumbled to himself, slightly worried.

Upon flying to the edge of the mustached-mans base, Grian heard sniffles coming from one of the messier rooms. Standing around the corner, Grain listened as Mumbo began to mutter to himself. 

"-Never enough. I'm never gonna be good enough. My word, I'm horrible. Why can't I do this right?! This was supposed to be the one thing i was good at. " He sobbed, wiping the tears from his pale cheeks. "Kerlais has his creativity, B-Dubs and Scar have their building detailing, Doc is so patient, Jevin has his beautiful colour pallet, Xisuma has his friendly, inspiring talks. I think i could use one of those. Tango has his comedy and his out-side-the-box thinking. Why is it all i'm good at is red-stone, and i cAN'T EVEN DO IT!" He screamed, throwing something and startling Grian, still hiding. 

'I've gotta stop him before he hurts himself.' Grian thought to himself, ready to come out before freezing.

"And Grian." He spoke fondly, caressing a feather from his thrown ink canister. "That, pesky bird boy. That wonderful, beautiful, bird boy. His buildings leave me speechless, his voice takes my breath away, his presence i can never get out of my head. Grian. Grian. Grian. I could never compete with someone as amazing, wonderful, beautiful, as him." Mumbo spoke bitter-sweetly, his smile sad and his eyes glazed. 

"He-" Grian was speechless. He felt selfish, embarrassed, for listening in on Mumbo. Hearing something so private made him wonder how he'd look Mumbo in the eyes honestly.

Walking back to the edge of Mumbo's base, he shot off a rocket to give Mumbo a heads-up he'd arrived. Trotting down the hall to the messy room, Grian poked his head around the corner. 

"Hey Mumbo! I heard you yell and hadn't seen you all day today. You doing alright?" Grian smiled softly, sitting cross-legged in-front of the other man.

Mumbo quickly tried to wipe the tears from his face, desperate to get ride of any evidence of him crying. He cleared his throat, "Yeah- I'm- I'm alright. Aggravated by the red-stone is all." He smiled, said smile not reaching his eyes concerned Grian. 

'Does- Does he not trust me?' Grian thought to himself, setting his mouth in a flat line. He squeezed his shaking hands into fists for a moment before moving on instinct. Moving from sitting, he rested on his knees instead, closer to Mumbo than he was before. 

Grian tried not to look directly at Mumbo's face, internally terrified of the other mans reaction. While Grian had an internal extensional crisis, Mumbo was freaking out too. The mustached mans eyes widen in fear of what Grian was going to do. He'd never been afraid of Grian before, knowing he'd never hurt him, but the thought of him knowing of what he'd said moments before worried Mumbo. 

Grian took into account of Mumbo's tense stature, but continue out stretching his opened hands anyway. Resting his palms on his flushed cheeks, Grian finally met Mumbo's eyes. 

"Mumbo. Mumbo, Jumbo. You..." Grian paused, a small smile graced his lips as words failed him.

Mumbo grew confused at Grian's stillness, not uncomfortable with his staring as he'd done it before. Staying still, Mumbo watched his eyes skim over his face, studying and memorizing every aspect. 

"G-Grian?" He spoke finally, the noise made Grian's eyes snap to his.

A shy smile made it's way onto his face," S-Sorry, Mumbo. You- You're so amazing. I want you to know that you inspire me every day. Your dedication and attention to detail with your work, your builds, everything about you. You are always so helpful, so kind, so... wonderful." Grian's eyes began to travel over Mumbo's face once again. 

His words made the emotional man tear up, it was different. The way Grian spoke made a shiver run up his spine. He smiled, chuckling wetly, and squeezing his eyes closed.

Taking a deep breath, he met Grian's eyes again. "Thank you, Grian. Your company always makes me feel better." He commented, turning his head slightly, and lightly kissed the man palm, still resting on his cheeks. 

At the action, Grian's face lit up a bright shade of red. Now unable to meet Mumbo's eyes, he slowly removed his hands from the others face. Balling his fists, embarrassed, on the tops of his thighs. "Y-You're- You're wel-welcome." He stuttered, smiling at his lap. 

After they both recuperated, they both stood, Grian helping Mumbo as much as he could.