Chapter Text
Only one thought preoccupied his mind as he came rushing in.
Please, be safe. Please.
He couldn’t even think as he held tightly onto both of his sisters’ hands, Pearl leading from the front and dragging them along. At some point he let go. Because as they made their way through the hospital, he saw his family. He saw his mother standing beside his step-dad, wrapped up in his arms with worry all over his face. He saw Jimmy and Scott sitting down in the waiting area, Jimmy’s head in his hands with Scott beside him, rubbing circles on his back.
Grian paused. He thinks he can hear Pearl say something, but it all fades. Lizzie might’ve walked over to Jimmy, but he can’t recall from his blurred vision. He steps slowly, his mind buzzing yet empty all the same. And then his feet pick up. They ran straight over to his mother. She turns to see him, and opens her arms wide. He buries his face into her warmth for only a moment, before pulling away and frantically searching around with his eyes. He hasn’t realised that he’s forgotten quite how to breathe.
She soothes him and calms him down, before he struggles to get the words out of his mouth.
“S-Scar? Where is he?” He looks up into his mother’s eyes, his own wide with tears.
“Sweetie, he’s in the operating theatre.” She speaks quietly and calmly, placing her hands gently on his shoulders. “All we can do for now is wait.”
Grian doesn’t want to wait. He wants to see his husband now. He wants him to be safe in his arms.
His mother notices how stressed he’s getting, and goes to sit him down beside his brother and sisters. Peal instantly leans over to hold her twin in her arms, and Grian crumbles. He begins to sob and sob, staining her dusty blue hoodie as tears roll down his cheeks. He feels Jimmy hug him too, and hears a hushed apology escape him.
“I’m sorry, Grian. It’s- It’s my fault, I thought everything was alright, so we went outside for a bit- and then I- he just-”
Now he’s crying too, and Grian can only stroke the back of his head to make him feel better. It was like he’d done before when they were kids, always looking out for his little brother.
Between his sobs he manages to get out, “It’s not your fault.”
After that, they simply stay put there. For what feels like hours, they sit there waiting. At some point, Lizzie and Jimmy’s dad offers to take the two of them home, as well as Scott and Pearl, opting for Grian’s mother to stay with him. But the siblings and Scott refuse to leave. They stay with Grian until a doctor comes along to address them.
She stands a few steps away from the sitting area with a clipboard in hand, still dressed in her operating uniform with a blue mask over her mouth. Flipping a page, she asks for the next of kin written down in her documents.
“Scar GoodTimes?”
Grian immediately rises, Pearl standing with him too, keeping an arm around him and a hand on his shoulder. The doctor looks over at them all, politely smiling before she asks.
“Are you all his family?”
They all nod their head, Grian stepping forward to speak up. “I-I’m his husband. Grian Watcher.”
She nods and smiles again, looking over her clipboard. “Well, I have good news for you. Your husband’s doing just fine, the operation went smoothly. He’s resting in a separate room right now, he may not wake up so soon but he will eventually.”
Everyone seems to breathe a sigh of relief at that. Everyone except Grian, who goes on to ask more.
“Can I see him now? How long will he have to stay here for? Was it a serious-”
“Don’t worry too much, Mr. Watcher. Your husband will be okay.” She smiles gently, then looks over the rest of the family. “But I’m afraid not all of you can stay overnight. And we’re not sure how many days we need to keep him just yet.”
Grian looks down, then nods. “That’s alright. Thank you so much.”
He goes over to shake her hand, which she reciprocates. “Of course, sir, it’s what we do. I suggest either you stay alone or another relative stay, that way someone can go back to get anything you may need from home.”
He nods and thanks her again, turning to look at his mother who’s come up to hug him.
“I can stay, sweetie. I don’t want you pushing yourself.” She says as she pulls away.
But he shakes his head, “It’s okay mum, I can stay. I won’t overdo it.”
“Are you sure?” Lizzie jumps in, offering a hand on his shoulder. She knows what a rough day he’s had, and doesn’t want to make it any worse than it already is.
Grian nods, attempting to smile. “I’m sure. I’ll be okay, if you could pick up a few of my things from home that would be great.”
“Of course, anything.” Lizzie replies, smiling back sympathetically just as her phone rings. “Ah, it must be Joel. I’ll take this quickly, then head back with you all.”
Pearl asks if she and Lizzie can ride together, so she can check if Gem’s doing okay. Jimmy and Scott come over to hug Grian, and Jimmy tells him he’ll do anything to make up for his mess, despite the fact that Grian’s already emphasised it wasn’t his fault. Scott gives him a quick hug and reassures Grian that the blonde will be just fine, and that he’ll take good care of him back at home. They all start to slowly leave, just as his step-dad and mother come over to say goodbye. She holds him tight, his step-dad watching with a sympathetic smile.
“Call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll be here in a jiffy.”
Grian smiles into her shoulder. “I know mum, love you.”
“Love you too.”
And with the wave of his hand, watching from the waiting area as the hospital doors slid shut, they were gone.
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When Grian next awakes, he’s sitting in an uncomfortable chair beside a hospital bed. There’s a blanket that’s been thrown over him, he assumes it was Lizzie. He’d been laying half on the bed, his head and arms resting on the pale dull hospital bed sheets just a few inches away from Scar’s left arm. What caused Grian to get up and rub his eyes tiredly, was the slight sensation he felt coming from the bed. Something shifted, and it alerted him immediately.
He’d already changed into a set of pyjamas, since Pearl insisted it wasn’t good for him to sleep like that in the same clothes. They’d given him extra just in case he was there for two nights. The first thing he noticed was how dark it still was outside, and how the clock hands hung up on the wall hadn’t moved. So instead, he moved to check his phone, but paused when he heard a small grunt from in front of him.
There Scar lay, he’d been fast asleep on the bed. Grian hated seeing him like this. With tubes stuck up his nose, gadgets attached to his fingers, and even more wires beside the bed. He hated it because he wished there was something more he could do. But even now, Scar still looked so beautiful. His dark strands of hair fell over his face, and just about touched his neck. Grian flinched, tempted to braid his husband’s hair back. But he seemed so peaceful as he slept. Until Grian realised he wasn’t asleep at all, and that he’d finally woken up.
Scar opened his emerald eyes tiredly and smiled, tilting his head a little to look at the other. He reached his hand over to cup his husband’s face, Grian instantly leaned into the touch.
He sighed, “Hi handsome.”
“Hey light of my life.” Scar replied back, smiling even more.
If anyone could end up in hospital and still look stunning in the early morning moonlight it was Scar. He loved that about his husband. How he still looked so flawless, even at his worst moments. And Grian would always be there for it.
“Can’t sleep again?”
Scar shook his head. “I wanted to see you. Knew you’d be worrying your ass off.”
Grian giggled, reaching up to clasp the hand that cupped his cheek. “For the record, I’m not worrying my butt off,”
He blushes a little, “But it’s sweet that you wanted to see me.”
Scar tries to sit up a little more in his bed, about to reply when Grian stops him. His voice is stern and commanding, “Now go back to sleep, mister.”
His husband gasps playfully, “But-”
“No buts. It’s past your bedtime.” He shakes his head, and Scar unwillingly complies.
“Alright, alright, I’m sleepin’.”
He shuffles back into his bed as comfortably as he can. Grian settles his head back onto the blanket right by Scar’s left arm. He’s about to close his eyes, when he feels a hand reach over and to pull the blanket further over him. And after that, it reaches to grab his own hand where his arms rest as a pillow for himself. He can’t help but smile when their fingers intertwine, watching as Scar’s eyes droop shut at the same time as his own.
“Goodnight, sweet prince.”
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It’s Christmas Day. Christmas Day and Grian’s eyes burn from a mixture of sleep-deprivation and stained tears. They spent the entire day on Christmas Eve in the hospital room. Well, apart from the short walk they convinced the doctors they could go on in the small garden area outside. Grian wheeled Scar through it, and kept strolling along his IV drip carefully. They got back, and it was already time to sleep. When the doctors had left, Grian double, triple-checked the coast was clear before cautiously climbing into Scar’s bed.
It wasn’t something he hadn’t done before. But it definitely wasn’t allowed. In Grian’s eyes, rules were worth breaking if it meant he could hold his husband in his arms and tell him how much he loves him. It was worth it to be huddled up next to his husband, one arm wrapped around him as they slept. As soon as morning had come, he’d stealthily gotten out and back into his chair, trying his best not to wake Scar.
The doctors stopped by to wish them merry christmas, Grian feeling a little flushed and embarrassed to still be in his pale red mushroom pyjamas (they were practically pink). They let him know that Scar could be discharged the next day, since it was the holidays they didn’t want to keep him there too long but were aware of the checkups they still needed to get done. Grian nodded along from his seat, thanking them the whole time and waving as they left.
A nurse stopped by, with a few small gifts in hand. She knocked first, Grian almost didn’t hear it from how distracted he was watching Scar’s chest rise and fall as he slept soundly. Despite all the tubes, he’d managed to turn over to his side without damaging them, his arms resting near his head. It was cute, how he was practically curled into a ball. Facing the side where Grian had been laying, causing the brown-haired man to laugh quietly.
He turned his head when the door knocked, and got up to quietly allow the nurse inside.
“Hi, sorry, he’s still sleeping.” He gestured back toward the hospital bed after closing the door.
“Ah, that’s alright. I just have a few things to give from all the staff. We felt bad that you two had to be here on Christmas.” She smiled kindly, and left the gifts on a desk nearby.
“Oh, thank you, you didn’t have to.” Grian smiles back, “You’ve all done so much for us already.”
The nurse waves her hand in dismissal, “It’s no problem, really. Some of the staff said they’ve known you since you were small, so they were more than happy to help.”
They exchange holiday greetings and goodbyes, as the nurse goes over to the door to leave. Before she does, she turns back just as Grian is sitting back down and speaks up.
“Oh, one more thing.”
She opens the door wide, and to his pleasant surprise there’s a bunch of familiar faces there to see them.
“Merry Christmas!!!”
They all shout together at once joyfully, and Grian’s eyes go wide in a mixture of shock and pure joy. He thinks he’s getting teary-eyed, when he feels a tug at his hand and looks back to see that Scar’s awake.
“What’s going on-?” He sleepily manages to mumble out.
Grian just laughs, and beckons everyone over. He sees his mother and step-dad come over first, his siblings and their partners are right behind. Joel and Gem’s parents had even come to wish them a merry christmas and deliver their presents. A few of their friends came in too, first Mumbo and Cleo, until Scar’s face lit up when he saw a few more faces making their way in.
“Etho?? Bdubs?? When did you get here??” He half-chuckles out.
“I arrived the same day as Gem, buuuuut it was meant to be a surprise…” Etho says first, earning him an elbow to the arm from the ginger-haired girl next to him.
“And I just got here! I came with Tango, Impulse, and Skizz, but they’re busy getting Zed and heading over to the surprise area.”
Everyone looks at Bdubs and pauses. Including Grian and Scar, who look between each other in confusion, then look back at their friend.
Grian’s the first to ask, “Uhm, what ‘surprise area’?”
“BDUBS!” Gem shouts out, “You ruined the surprise!”
They all burst into laughter, Bdubs shying away from them all. He apologises for hours on end after that, and they have fun teasing him for it. It’s wonderful to have everyone there with them, especially when they hadn’t expected it at all. Grian’s siblings come and give him the biggest hug he thinks he’s ever gotten from them, before they all leave their gifts with Grian and Scar and back away to find their own loved ones. Mumbo chats to Scar for a bit with Bdubs giving a rather animated explanation to them both, which makes them laugh so hard they swear they might cry.
Grian glances over at Scar, watching as he laughs from his place on the bed. He sighs contently, then walks over just as their friends leave to go talk to someone else. He places a hand on Scar’s, sitting down on the bed beside him. Scar instinctively looks over and carefully wraps an arm around him. Grian huddles into his warmth, leaning his head on his shoulder and smiles.
“It’s not quite the Christmas I imagined us having, but it’s by far the best.”
Scar brings him in closer, and kisses him gently on the forehead. “It’s perfect. Just like you.”
Grian almost scoffs, “Scar, I’m far from perfect.”
His husband smiles, “And isn’t that what makes you amazing?”
The brown-haired man goes quiet, blush creeping onto his cheeks. He gently shoves his husband with one hand, then falls back into his warmth.
“Shut up.” He mumbles loud enough for only Scar to hear. They both chuckle lightly, Scar pressing even more kisses onto his husband’s forehead and cheeks.
Their small celebration is about to come to a close, when Grian’s mother comes over and hands him a package. It’s light and not huge, fitting for a letter or sheet of paper. He looks at it curiously, then back up at his mother. She smiles, and gestures for him to give it to Scar to open it. It’s wrapped in cheap gift wrap paper, with patterns of christmas trees and candy canes. He realises what he thinks it might be, widening his eyes and looking up at his mother with tears in his eyes. Silently handing it over to Scar, who seems just as confused. He looks at Grian, who smiles and nods.
“It’s my Christmas gift for you. What are you waiting for? Open it!”
He grins, Scar lighting up when he sees the smile on his face. As fast as he can, he rips it open a little too carelessly. The paper goes all over his hospital bed sheets, but he doesn’t care. He’s too busy staring down at the piece of laminated paper before him. He turns to look at Grian, who’s already got tears flowing down his cheeks as he smiles.
“Merry Christmas, Scar. I love you.”
There are cheers from the rest of the room, as the two cry into each other’s arms and seal it all with a messy kiss.
“I love you too, more than anything in the entire universe.”
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