#but i'm not sorry AJDKSJD

[happy-hermit]

Mumscarian oneshot in honor of that beautiful reunion!! Scarland tour anyone? :)

( dedicated to @stiffyck )

Ao3 Link

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The sun was shining high in the sky above them following their hard-earned cinematic reunion, all of them talking over each other in excited babbles as they broke apart from their hug. Mumbo shifted restlessly in place, grinning so hard that it hurt, his heart fluttering in his chest and warming him from the inside out, like he’d captured the stars behind his ribcage. He wasn’t usually one for such mushy metaphors, but there wasn’t anything he could think of that would better describe it. There weren’t enough words in existence to correctly capture the feeling that came from being around them — from watching Scar’s green eyes sparkle in mischief and glee, from feeling Grian’s wings brush gently against his back as they finally settled down. It was too much to contain within the boundaries of language. He was fool enough to try. 

“You were gone for so long!” Scar said, voice almost a whine as he shook him by the shoulders. He was wearing his best puppy eyes, to which Mumbo had always been extremely susceptible. “Never leave again, please. Grian gets weird when you’re gone.”

Mumbo laughed a bit, removing Scar’s hands from his shoulder and capturing them in his own. He glanced at where Grian was standing to his left, trying and failing to appear nonchalant, and Mumbo raised a teasing eyebrow. 

“Yeah, I’ve heard a bit about that,” Mumbo said conversationally, cracking a lopsided grin. “Something about a summoning circle? Maybe?”

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Grian said, scoffing and looking away, though his mouth was tugging upwards. Mumbo chuckled, dropping one of Scar’s hands in order to grab Grian by his sweater and pull him in closer to them. 

“You can admit you missed me,” Mumbo teased, as Grian squawked in surprise. “We just had a whole cinematic reunion, you— you can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Of course I missed you,” Grian grumbled, even as his wings curled around them subconsciously. Mumbo shared a fond look with Scar, which was cut off by Grian gesturing aggressively at Scar’s face and shooting a playfully accusing look at Mumbo. “You left me alone with him.”

“Oh, shush,” Mumbo said, still smiling. “You love him.”

“Well, yeah,” Grian said, easy as anything, and Scar beamed. “It’s just… not the same without you.”

Mumbo softened, slipping his hand into Grian’s and squeezing it a little, looking between him and Scar. They gazed back at him with loving eyes and happy little smiles, and Mumbo could stay in this moment forever and never get bored of it. 

“Yeah, I missed you, too,” he said eventually, trying to pretend that he wasn’t tearing up. “I missed a lot.”

“We’ll catch you up to speed,” Grian said, sounding for all the world like there was nothing he’d rather spend time on, even as he dryly gestured behind him. “You’ve seen my progress already. No need to view it from another angle, by the way.”

“No, of course not,” Mumbo said, nodding in faux seriousness. “This is— the only angle, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I appreciate it.”

“My base has lots of angles,” Scar said, bouncing a little on his toes. “Angles for days!”

“I actually haven’t seen your base, yet,” Mumbo said, the thought suddenly crossing his mind. It seemed rather urgent. “It’s— Your theme park, yeah?”

Scar made an excited noise and tugged rapidly on his hand. “I’ve been wanting to build it for forever.”

“The owner wouldn’t happen to be available to give a tour, would he?” Mumbo asked, cracking a sly grin.

“I’ll let him know it’s a special circumstance,” Scar said, eyes sparkling in delight as he answered. “I’m sure he can clear his busy schedule for such an esteemed guest.”

“Now you’ve gone and done it,” Grian said, his tone light and teasing. “There goes the rest of our day.”

“To a noble cause, Grian!” Scar exclaimed, already starting to pull Mumbo to the edge of the bridge. “Come on, Mumbo, we don’t need his negativity.”

“We kind of do,” Mumbo joked. “He’s got to keep us balanced.”

“If that’s your way of inviting me along, I think it needs some work.”

“I just got back!” Mumbo exclaimed, pulling out his best pleading eyes. “You wouldn’t want to break up the group again already.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” Grian said, whacking him over the head with his wing. “Someone’s got to be the voice of reason.”

“We’re in trouble,” Scar stage-whispered, and Mumbo burst out laughing. It was really good to be back. 

Scar shoved an elytra at him and then immediately took it back to help him put it on, manhandling him into the thing with increasing excitement as Mumbo chuckled and Grian sighed fondly from the sidelines. At last, the wings were fastened to his back, and Scar grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the edge of the bridge. 

“It’s not a long flight,” Scar assured him, hastily shoving some rockets into his hand and reaching back to make sure Grian was following them. “And the castle’s not done yet, so don’t judge!”

“Castle?” Mumbo repeated faintly, and then had the pleasure of hearing Grian cackle as Scar yanked him unceremoniously into the sky. 

Mumbo flailed for a moment, yelping as the ground disappeared from under him and wind rushed past his face. But Scar was still holding tight to his wrist, and before long, he righted himself and was gliding gently. Scar let go of him with a bright laugh, and Mumbo looked over to see the man grinning back at him, eyes sparkling and hair blowing wildly in the wind as they flew. And maybe his heart skipped a beat, but Mumbo still shot him a playful glare and fired off a rocket, pulling ahead. 

Grian’s wild laugh signaled his approach from behind, and Mumbo looked up just in time for the avian to do a slow corkscrew above him, head tossed back to meet Mumbo’s eyes with a wide grin as he cut effortlessly through the air, bright-colored wings framed against the bright blue of the sky. He dropped down below Mumbo with a shout of glee, then dipped back upwards and spun, carefree and beautiful. Grian made flying look like an art. Mumbo could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. Love was a funny thing.

“Show off!” Scar shouted from behind, light and happy, and Grian just shot him a mischievous smile as he shot even higher into the sky. 

Mumbo shook his head in helpless amusement before turning his focus back to flying, eyes widening when he caught sight of the large silhouette of a structure in the distance. That definitely looked like a castle, or at least the start of one. The start of a very cool castle. The closer they got, the more details he could see, the landscaping beginning to form around it artfully. 

They landed in front of it, Scar tugging him into freefall with a giddy laugh, and they hit the ground a little roughly but nonetheless exciting. Grian was already there waiting on them, watching them with a grin and messy hair from the flight. The stone structure rose high behind him, and Mumbo craned his neck to look up at it.

“Oh,” Mumbo breathed, reaching out to touch the beautifully textured surface.

“It’s— Remember, it’s still a work in progress!” Scar said, and Mumbo turned to look at him, finding him flashing him a nervous little smile.

Warmth flooded Mumbo’s chest, as if the sun had made a home there. Except the sun was still in the sky, and what had really made a home was standing right in front of him, waiting on a harsh judgment that would never even cross his mind to give. 

“It’s amazing, Scar,” Mumbo said, stepping back from the wall and grabbing Scar’s hand with urgency. “I mean it. I don’t know how you do it.”

A faint dusting of pink spread on Scar’s face as his grin turned a bit more pleased, and Mumbo shared a fond look with Grian before turning and gently placing a kiss on Scar’s head. 

“Thank you,” Scar said, something beautifully vulnerable in his voice before he bounced back into excitement once more. “I can’t wait for you to see it when it’s finished! It’ll be even better, and— and the landscaping will be done, and—“ Scar shot him a mischievous smile. “And the back will be done.”

A wing came out of nowhere to smack Scar on the shoulder, and Scar wheeze-laughed at Grian’s grumpy expression. 

“Well that was unnecessary,” Grian noted, unable to hide the amusement in his tone, and Mumbo chuckled as they began to bicker back and forth, taking the moment to look around a bit more. 

The landscaping was as phenomenal as the castle, maybe even more so. Scar had always had a talent for scenery, for bending nature into something even more beautiful. The trees here were square and abstract, a stream running merrily along the side of the castle wall, and it altogether felt like stepping into another world, a better one. There was a natural bridge made of rock and grass stretching over a beautifully textured cove, and Mumbo could sit here all day and never get tired of it. Especially if Grian and Scar were there. 

“I love the trees,” Mumbo said, interrupting the bickering with practiced ease. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”

Scar’s entire face lit up as he rushed away from Grian, coming up to Mumbo’s side and grabbing his arm in glee, not seeming to realize he was doing it. “Well thank you! They’re actually based on…”

Scar started rambling about his inspirations as they walked across the landbridge, pointing out little details and secrets as they went. He stumbled over his words and his feet a few times in his excitement, but barreled on anyway, looking back to grin at Mumbo and Grian every now and then as they followed him. Sometimes he would forget a word altogether, lapsing into frustrated silence for a few seconds before Grian volunteered the answer. 

The conversation about the trees slowly transitioned into conversation about the flowers and the statue of Scar and Jellie, Scar praising Cleo’s work for a good few minutes before they finally moved on. Main Street was just as stunning as everything else, unique and yet complementary buildings rising high on either side of them as they walked. A trolley lazily meandered back and forth along a railway, pleasantly chiming bells ringing periodically. And—

And the sun was setting. Scar was pointing at a particular storefront and explaining the block palette, his eyes alight with joy and passion and happiness, bathed in golden light and standing next to Mumbo of all people, like there was nowhere else he wanted to be.

[ And why does the universe touch your skin, and throw light on you? To see you, player. To know you. And to be known. ]

Mumbo distantly recognized that he had not been listening to a word Scar had said for quite a few minutes, instead just… staring. Watching with rapt attention as Scar put such love and light into everything he said, everything he built, everything he ever did. His chest burned with emotion, with overwhelming joy and happiness, and somewhere over Scar’s shoulder he could see Grian giving him a knowing little grin.

Something small and quiet and larger than life settled into his heart.

“Scar,” Mumbo said.

Scar turned to him, head tilted a little in anticipation for a question, and Mumbo pulled him in by the front of his shirt to kiss him squarely on the lips. Scar made a surprised noise in his throat, hands flailing before he realized what was happening and settled into it. Off to the side, Grian chuckled and sighed. 

They broke off the kiss when they were both smiling too hard to continue, and Mumbo got the distinct pleasure of seeing Scar’s face and ears turn red in pleased embarrassment. Mumbo just stood there and grinned like a loon.

“What was that for?” Scar asked, voice a bit higher than normal, hands still resting on Mumbo’s hips.

“For being you,” Mumbo said simply, softly. “For being someone I missed.”

Scar blinked, face softening into something warm and loving and maybe just a bit in awe. “Well I hope you don’t go around kissing everyone you missed like that.”

“Well. Only the pretty ones,” Mumbo said playfully, and Scar squawked in outrage as Grian burst out laughing, wings rustling behind him.

He’d spent a long time imagining what it would be like to be back. Countless hours planning the perfect reunion, the perfect scenario, the perfect angle and lighting and framing. And it would never come close to this: standing on the street laughing and bickering as the sun set behind them and time stretched as a blank canvas in front of them. Perfect.

[kabira]

(oops I'm the anon who sent the message saying i was proud of "the other author" that was a mistake I thought it was a collab with someone else like an idiot I'm so sorry if that came off as discrediting your work in any way. i really adored the fic and you truly underestimate how talented you are because it was so so so good!! i loved it so freaking much, and it still blows me away every time i reread it dbdjdbjdd sorry again)

anon please don't feel bad !! i understand that the collab word was very open and didn't exactly mean the same thing as it's definition, and i don't blame you for misinterpreting it 🥺 a lot of people helped me edit and tbh it would've turned out much better if it had been an actual proper writing collab ajdksjd thank you for your sweetness anon <333