#but anyway Cleo's polycule reins supreme

[atherix]

Kisses 32 for midnight mumscarian

and/or

Touching 24 for any couple in midnight

👀 oooooo-

Look I'm not gonna lie I am. Going to use a lot of these as an excuse to write Redscape-heavy scenes so 👀 BUT ya know-

Ask Prompts!

32. “stay strong” kisses

"Mumbo!"

Everything is hazy but he hears his name, loud and clear. It's the only thing that feels real as he looks up, seeking out the familiar faces of his mates. He only finds Scar running towards him. He blinks as the Elf drops to his knees in front of him, quickly moving his hands to the injury on Mumbo's chest.

Scar looks distressed.

Mumbo doesn't like it when Scar is distressed. Scar should be smiling and laughing- Scar should be dancing with the wind as he casts spells beyond Mumbo's wildest imaginings, Scar should be chasing Grian around the manor, Scar should be showing Tubbo all sorts of new and interesting things about magic-

Scar shouldn't look so afraid, so breakable.

Mumbo reaches up, brushing Scar's hair back behind his ear, and Scar's gaze snaps up to his.

"I'm fine," Mumbo says, and they both know he's lying. "Where's Grian? You should- go help Grian."

"Grian's fine," Scar says, and Mumbo pauses. "He can- he has it handled. More handled than we did. Come on, we need to get this taken care of."

Scar's hand is warm but it trembles, fear and worry making the man unsteady. Mumbo blinks and cups his face gently.

"Hey now, love, we've seen worse before," Mumbo murmurs, brushing dirt away with his thumb. "It'll be alright."

The amount of trust he finds in Scar's eyes is almost painful, because they both know that doesn't make any of this alright. The silver buried in Mumbo's shoulder burns more than anything he's ever felt before, and Grian is out there fighting in a way he's never fought before, and this moment of peace- this moment of quiet, tucked away in the shuddering shadows, out of sight of their enemy- isn't any sort of true peace.

There's no such thing as peace in war.

Mumbo presses a gentle kiss to Scar's forehead- an action that might usually elicit a playful that tickles! from the Elf. Now, Scar leans closer to him instead, all jokes and teases about his mustache left abandoned.

Grian lands now, stumbling as his feet touch down before collapsing next to them. "Mumbo," Grian breathes sharply. "You need to-"

"Silver," Mumbo murmurs, still holding onto Scar. "If I heal without getting it out-"

He doesn't even finish before Grian is rooting through his bag, pulling out a steel knife- the same one he bought Mumbo all those years ago, at the festival Mumbo broke Isolation to attend with him. Mumbo hasn't seen that thing in ages- figured it had fallen somewhere.

Now, he supposes, he knows where it went.

Scar makes a strangled sound next to them. "You're not really going to-"

"We don't really have any other choice," Grian says, looking at Mumbo with a furrowed brow- worried eyes. "My love, this is going to hurt, but-"

"Trust me, nothing hurts worse than silver," Mumbo tells him sharply, breathing in sharply as the pain flares up in his chest.

"I'm sorry," Grian says, shuffling closer. "I am- so sorry, I had no idea this would happen, I don't know how-"

"It's fine, really," Mumbo says, voice wavering. "We can- talk about it later, yeah? Let's just- just get this-"

Scar's hands, still trembling, are gentle as he takes Mumbo's face in them, turning his attention to the Elf. "Like you said, it'll be alright, yeah?" Scar says quietly, leaning closer and pressing a quick kiss to Mumbo's lips. Mumbo's attention fully on Scar now, he misses the quick look shared between the once-Avian and Elf; instead, he lets Scar kiss him again.

He forgets, for just a moment, that nothing is alright.

24. whispering in their ear, lips touching the skin

(The pairing I am choosing for this one is... drum roll please... Cleo/Ren! Well, technically Cleo/Ren/BDubs with mentions to Ren/Martyn and Cleo/Ren/Martyn, but-)

Cleo chuckles, running their fingers along the lip of the cup. BDubs leans into their side, both watching the flustered Werewolf across from them.

Ren clears his throat. "As I was saying, Lord Cleo," he starts, his attempts at formality more endearing than annoying to the Zombie Vampire's ears, "I was thinking that- maybe... if you might be so inclined, dude- ah. Well, I was thinking-"

"Allegiance to my Coven," Cleo says. "You help us and we help you, correct? Help you and your Mage run from the little Wolves chasing your tail."

Ren coughs. "Well, I mean, when you say it like that-"

Cleo sets their cup down and BDubs leans forward, bright eyes on the Werewolf. "So to get away from a bunch of Werewolves you seek help from Vampires?" BDubs asks, a hint of mirth in his voice. "Oh, that's funny. There's some kind of irony there."

The Lord stands from their seat and walks around the table, and Ren audibly swallows as they tower over him. His ears flatten and he smiles in a way that feels more like a grimace, an attempt to not bare his teeth at them. Cleo chuckles and leans over, resting their hand on the back of his seat.

"Lycanthropes tend to keep distant from us," they say, raising a brow at him. "And vice versa. Yet here you come to us, requesting our help to run away from your old pack..." They lean closer, next to the Wolf's flattened ear, and quietly say, "That's quite daring of you, is it not? To walk into the den of the Werewolves' greatest enemy..."

Ren straightens up, but he isn't quick enough to hide the shiver Cleo's words send down his spine. They chuckle.

"Well, luckily for you, I like Wolves," they add before pulling back, standing straight again. Ren's face is flushed and he fidgets in his seat, glancing between Cleo and BDubs with wide eyes.

BDubs laughs and bounds over, leaning on the arm of the chair Ren is sitting in. "That means she likes you," BDubs tells Ren, as if the Wolf hadn't parsed that together himself. "And she won't kill you for your audacity."

"Oh- that. That's good," Ren laughs, and Cleo snorts.

"Oi, BDubs! Has Etho been convincing you I'm dangerous again?" they ask, as if everyone sitting in that room doesn't already know they're dangerous. "Killing him has never even crossed my mind." They glance down at Ren, whose smile is strained for an entirely different reason now. "After all, I can respect a man who would risk his own safety to protect his mate."

Ren's eyes brighten and his tail wags instinctively. "Oh, good! Thank you. You are very appreciated, thank you."

Cleo laughs and reaches over, setting a hand on BDubs' shoulder to encourage the excitable man to give the Wolf space.

"Of course, my help doesn't come for free."