Love Tunnel - A Grumbo Fanfic [Grian x Mumbo]

Love Tunnel

"There"

     He dropped the heavy shulker box with a loud thud. Wiping sweat from his brow he got to his feet and surveyed the rest of the brightly colored boxes that littered the lawn. "This is gonna be a proper chest monster by the time I'm done." Grian half bemoaned half joked. It had taken him hours to grind out all the wool, sand and prismarine, and it would probably take several more just to finish a small portion of the mansion. It's bittersweet. As overwhelming the mansion project is, he's moving onto bigger and better things. Quite literally, as he trades in his hobbit hole for a jungle adjacent estate.

     He's still gonna miss the simple life of being a hobbit. It seemed like just yesterday he was staking his claim in the jungle in his humble hobbit hole. The memories came flooding back to him now: his first prank on scar; his induction into hermit challenges; the construction of the Mumbo message system. He can't help himself but smile at the memory of his past antics. His reverie was interrupted by the sound of rolling wheels. Grian didn't have much time to wonder what it was before a cacophony of bells began to ring. Giran covered his ears wincing; however, his annoyance quickly morphs into joy when he recognizes the sound. He hops through the window he never patched up and sure enough there's a minecart waiting for him. 'Finally!' he thought and then paused 'I really am starting to sound like a needy girlfriend'. He shrugged it off and hurriedly threw open the chest lid, expecting to see the book and quill with their game of naughts and crosses; instead there's a single piece of paper inside. 'Don't get your hopes up Grian' he tried to tell himself, face flushing 'It's probably not what you're hoping it is.'

   Grian,

I have something I want to tell you in person. Meet me in the tunnel.

   Yours, Mumbo

    'What's all this about' Grian thinks to himself; leave it to Mumbo to make a simple invitation to chat nearly give him a heart attack. 'I wonder what he has to say.' he ponders and his traitorous heart beats a little quicker. 'I better not keep him waiting'.

     The tunnel is longer than he remembered; he wished he had put a little more thought into the wall's design as the repeating pattern made it seem like it stretched even farther, but it was impractical and had taken him several hours to build it anyway. After turning the corner he could see Mumbo, albeit he couldn't make out much of him as he was still a good distance away. Grian picked up the pace a little, was it because he wanted to get the long trek over with or was it because he was excited to see Mumbo? His heart knew the answer; but he didn't want to admit it out loud, or even to himself.

     As he got closer he could see that Mumbo looked nervous, his stance was uneven and he had one arm crossed across his body, sheepishly rubbing the other. It seems he hadn't noticed Grian at first, staring down at his shoes, but Grian must've stepped on a particularly squeaky section of the track as it creaked underneath him, drawing Mumbo's attention to him. His expression was unreadable for a second, before he began to smile and approach Grian himself. Grian found himself the nervous one now as he felt his throat become dry.

     "Grian!" Mumbo greeted; up close Grian could appreciate how the corner of Mumbo's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Mumbo!" Grian said trying to match his enthusiasm, still confused as to the nature of their meeting. "Sorry for the cryptic message" Mumbo said, scratching the back of his neck, "But I felt this was something better said than typed... I wanted to tell you that.." Grian finds himself holding his breath. "I'm moving out of my hobbit hole ". Grian doesn't know what he was expecting him to say. "It's sad innit" Mumbo said, looking around the tunnel now wistfully "I'm gonna miss it; being a hobbit I mean". "Mumbo I've stopped being a hobbit a long time ago" Grian pipes up, drawing Mumbo's attention back to him. "Is that all you had to say?" Grian continued, chuckling halfheartedly. Grian thinks he sees Mumbo's eyes widen slightly before he turns back to the wall, and he almost thinks he sees a slight blush too.

     "Actually that's only part of what I wanted to talk to you about.." Mumbo says slowly, still refusing to meet Grian's gaze. Grian heartbeat begins to quicken its pace once more. "You're one of my closest friends" Mumbo begins, so softly Grian almost doesn't hear it at first. "And despite all your antics and the pranks you pull", Mumbo chuckles lightly, "I can't help but find them endearing.". Grian feels his cheeks warm, but thankfully Mumbo doesn't seem to notice, still staring at the wall.

     "That's not the only thing I can't stop doing though". Mumbo says, turning to face him now. His gaze is soft, eyes half lidded and a small smile. "I can't stop thinking about you," Mumbo admits. Grian tries to quiet his beating heart, afraid that it's so loud that Mumbo can hear it too.

     "And since we're here in the tunnel you made for me.."

     Grian's too caught up in his whirling emotions to notice that Mumbo is leaning closer; not until Mumbo's lips brush against his, ghostly. "I thought I'd just-" but Grian doesn't get the end of his sentence because Mumbo cuts himself off, pressing his lips to Grian's. Grian freezes, his head the best type of white noise: no thoughts, just the buzz of Mumbo's lips against his.

     Mumbo pulls away and there's that soft gaze again; as if Grain is his favorite view and he can't get enough; Grian feels like his breath has been stolen. Mumbo's expression becomes strained suddenly. "Sorry, I should've asked first" But Mumbo is unable to finish as Grian cuts him off this time, pulling him back down for a kiss. Mumbo makes a surprised noise before relaxing into the kiss.

     "Don't you have to work on your base?" Mumbo asks when they pull apart again and Grian groans, letting his head fall squarely on Mumbo's chest.

     "I don't want to think about it," Grian says, exasperated at the very thought of the ginormous project awaiting him. Mumbo laughs and Grian can feel it through his chest, hearty and warm. "Kiss me again?" Grian asks and Mumbo laughs once more before obliging. They stay like that for a moment, no projects, no monumental bases that needed to be worked on; just two former hobbits trying to hold on to this last bit of their lives.