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Scar was good at many things. He was good at landscaping, the best at Creeper wrangling, and an excellent salesman. The list of things he wasn’t quite so good at… Well, if you asked Scar, that was an awful lot longer. He wrung his hands as he paced Boatem - trying to get rid of his nervous energy - his footsteps over the past ten minutes having firmly made their mark: the grass beneath his feet had been trodden over so many times that it would no longer rebound and stand tall.
He had expected to be alone longer, so when he heard a voice calling out his name he startled.
“Scar!”
“Argh!” He jumped, turning around, his hat falling off his head and tailcoats flaring behind him. It was Impulse, who appeared to be grimacing at just how much of a fright he had caused Scar, and he held his hands up in apology.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. What are you doing out here?”
“Oh, you know.” He laughed, brushing off how fearful he’d been like it was nothing. “Tycoon things, very important.” He leaned down to pick up his hat, but he could still see the look that Impulse was giving him. Disbelief.
“I dunno Scar, you looked…”
“Fine?” Scar provided. “Good? Chuffed, as Mumbo might say?”
“Worried.” Impulse finished, and Scar sighed: he wasn’t going to escape it as easily as he thought, was he?
“You don’t have to talk about it, though.” The candyman himself said. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine, but you know I’ve always got an ear for you right?”
“I know.” Scar said, his shoulders sagging as he placed his hat atop his head. “But it’s one of those things that I’m not quite sure how to talk about.” He admitted, his feet shifting beneath him and his gaze lowering. Insecurities weren’t something he often showed to his peers, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for the judgement or the pity that would be given to him.
“Well then, we won’t talk about it. If you want you can come with me, though? I’m heading to Gem’s, we’re baking some cookies for everyone, and I don’t know how I’d feel about leaving my buddy when he’s clearly not feeling great.”
That had Scar looking back up. Cookies, cookies solved everything, and maybe they’d make this a little bit easier too. Part of him wondered if Gem and Impulse would rather he wasn’t there but if he’d been invited then he supposed he wouldn’t be third wheeling too badly. Right?
“I mean, I’d love to.” Scar nodded, smiling, and Impulse tossed him some rockets. The two took to the skies, flying high over the forests of the continent until Gem’s Woodland Palace poked above the trees. The clearing of her home was just a little further away and they landed safely - Gem waving brightly on her porch.
“Scar! What a wonderful surprise!”
“I figured we could use an extra pair of hands, we’ll get the cookies done fast that way.” Impulse said, and as Scar looked to him he saw a brief glance in Gem’s direction that simply said I’ll explain later. He didn’t mind, he knew he was an unexpected addition to their afternoon, and he resolved to stay as out of the way as possible.
That didn’t last long, though. As if Impulse had managed to silently communicate everything that needed to be said to Gem (or as if Gem had picked up that he clearly wasn’t his usual self), Scar was thrown thoroughly into all baking activities.
Gem had Impulse measuring out the dry ingredients while Scar mixed the wet. He had a half dozen bowls in front of him, some with vanilla, some with rose, and some just as regular batter. Gem busied herself chopping up nuts and chocolate to be added later, and the three had fallen into easy conversation. Impulse had spoken at length about how beautiful Gem’s candy trees were, and Gem had explained her process. Scar made a mental note to ask about working together on a Christmas tree for their friends when the time came, and it helped to distract him from what had been on his mind earlier.
Not entirely, though. The thought returned to him whenever he saw Impulse’s loving gaze, or the way Gem’s hand rested on his waist. He wondered if he was intruding on what they had planned as a romantic afternoon, but more than that his mind wandered to Grian. He had, for the longest time, tried to deny that he held any kind of affection for the man, but it was becoming more difficult to convince himself of it. He looked at the way that Impulse pressed gentle kisses to Gem’s head, and the way that Gem let him lick melted chocolate off the tip of her fingers until they fell apart laughing, and his heart ached.
He wanted that. He wanted that kind of love more than anything. And he wanted it with Grian.
As Impulse helped pour the right amount of his dry mixture into a bowl with vanilla and Scar started to mix, he figured there was no harm in asking.
“When did you know you were in love with each other?”
It was abrupt, sure - they’d been talking about the rumoured caves and their inhabitants in the lands surrounding their continent - but Scar wasn’t exactly a man of elegance. To their credit, neither Gem nor Impulse shut him down, the two seemingly in thought for a long moment before replying.
“I think the first time I really realised it was after one of your meetings.” Gem said, bring a chopping board full of dark chocolate chunks over to add to the bowl. “Impulse was going around calling himself the Head of Happiness and leaving signs of affirmation at people’s bases. I mean, I liked him before, but when I saw that I just knew. I knew he was the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I thought he was so kind to go out of his way to do that and leave nothing to indicate that it was him, to expect nothing in return, and I’d always wanted to find someone kind.”
“Stop it.” Impulse laughed. “You’re making it out like I was some kind of superhero. I just wrote a couple of nice messages.”
“I know, but you never know when people need something like that!” She replied.
“And I’m supposed to follow that up.” He chuckled, shaking his head as he leaned against the countertops with one hand. A look between the pair would show a smirk on Gem’s face and that same loving gaze as before on Impulses. “It might be cliche, but the first time I laid eyes on her I knew there was something special about her. She’s beautiful, of course, but it was something else. I was too nervous to really talk to her so I only visited a handful of times when I had something she needed, and every time I came back she’d accomplished more. I was in awe of everything she was capable of, I still am. I think I fall more in love with Gem every day, and I think that’s the best thing I could have ever wished for in my life.”
Scar smiled. Impulse’s words left him feeling warm inside - the memories of getting to know Grian over the last few years were already ones he cherished, and the idea of doing it for the rest of his days… It seemed ridiculous that he’d been denying himself the feelings that his friends were currently basking in, but there was one very crucial difference between them and him and Grian.
Grian had absolutely no idea how Scar felt, and Scar had no idea if he’d return his feelings.
If he did then he knew Grian: he would be let down easily and kindly and they would still remain close friends; but the risk of being rejected had always felt like enough of an excuse to not say anything. Seeing the two of them so happy made it harder to justify that fact to himself. He thought, after getting his answers, that he’d be able to quietly weigh up whether it was worth telling him and - if it was - how. He hadn’t expected Gem and Impulse to be looking at him from either side, leaving no room to escape, with knowing expressions on their faces.
“So?” Impulse asked.
“Who is it?” Gem pestered.
“A gentleman never tells.” Scar insisted, focusing on mixing up the ingredients, but Gem and Impulse weren’t going to relent that easily.
“I bet it’s Bdubs.” Gem said, and Impulse scoffed - victory written all over his face.
“Not a chance. It’s Grian. I see how those two look at each other in meetings.
“I thought False told me he and Bdubs spent half of last year together dealing with Mayoral Duties.”
“She probably did, but it wasn’t a euphemism. We really did vote for Scar.” Impulse told her. “It’s Grian.”
He thought he’d done a good job of not reacting, but the moment Grian’s name was uttered for a second time he felt his cheeks hotting up and watched as Impulse’s arms shot into the air.
“I knew it! Dude, G adores you. You’ve got this.”
“And if you need a hand figuring out how to tell him, I’m sure Impulse and I can help.”
# # #
One very long conversation later - all done over cookie decorating and sorting - night was falling over Boatem. The tasks for the day were ending, people were trading in long hours working on their megabases in favour of curling up in their starter homes and resting, and Scar was standing outside Grian’s home with a box in his hands. He swallowed, nervous even after all the reassurance that Gem and Impulse had given him, and the step forward he took the knock on the door of his neighbour’s home felt like he was straddling some kind of abyss.
Gem and Impulse seemed sure that it would go well, but nerves were still getting the best of him.
“Hi Scar!” Grian said cheerfully as he opened his door. Warmth leaked out of his home, a fire newly lit and crackling a few feet away. There were blankets strewn everywhere, a dirty sweater that looked to have been recently changed out of hanging off the back of a chair and a much cleaner, fresher one currently covering the chest of the shorter man before him. “What brings you here? I haven’t seen you all day.”
“Oh, I was with Impulse and Gem. They were making cookies for everyone, I figured I could lend a hand.” Not quite the truth, sure, but close enough to the truth. “I’ve got some for you, if you’d like? I picked out the best and the biggest, and made sure Gem didn’t sneak any raisin cookies in.”
He held the box out for Grian, who licked his lips excitedly and took it from him without hesitation. If there was one easy way to Grian’s heart, it was sugar.
“Come on in, if you worked so hard to make these I think you should be allowed to have a couple too.”
“Oh, no. No no no. I’m afraid I can’t come in, but thank you very much for the offer. The cookies are all yours.”
Scar spotted the slight dip of Grian’s expression, his lips curling a little less and his eyebrows falling down his face. He seemed disappointed, but how could he stay? He was about to say something very stupid, and all he wanted to do once the words left his lips was run. It wouldn’t be romantic, but it would be authentic.
“Are you sure?” Grian asked, Scar nodding even as he did. “Well, why not?”
Perfect, a question! An in! Now was his chance, and if he didn’t do it now he might never do it. His hands wrapped tightly around a rocket and he stretched his elytra wings behind him, swallowing nervously before executing his plan flawlessly.
“Because I love you! Goodbye!” He yelled, turning on his heel before his farewell had even left his lips and jumping, his rocket propelling him high into the sky and taking him far far away from the consequences of what he’d just said.
It took Grian a moment to register Scar’s words and when he did, he smiled.
He’d tell Scar he loved him later. For now, he had a box of cookies to eat.