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“Okay, now that everyones here, I’m gonna explain the basic rules. It won't take long,” Cleo started, “I’ll start seeking, and when I find you, you get to help me seek as well. We keep going like this until everyone’s been found, and whoever gets found last wins. You can’t leave the pink square until the game is over, even if you’ve become a seeker! Any questions?”
Scar raised his hand, “How much did the prize money end up being?”
“32 diamonds!” Cleo answered. Not seeing any more hands fly up, she decided it was time to start the game, “If that’s all the questions we have, then let's begin! You have 60 seconds to hide, starting… Now! 1… 2… 3…”
Mumbo ran inside the big mansion designed specifically for hiding, looking around as he dove further into it. He came down to a hallway that seemed to be littered with hiding spots. A table with a tablecloth that a smaller hermit would find decent, what looked to be a rather large bathroom… And a coat closet. Mumbo ran straight for the closet, giving it a quick glance before slipping inside with 28 seconds left to spare. The closet wasn’t small, but it wasn’t huge either. He figured it would probably be uncomfortable if there were actually coats in there, but there weren’t, so it was nice. Kinda dark though.
~
Grian instantly bolted inside of the pretty mansion Cleo had built for the game, knowing it had to have a multitude of hiding spots in it. He also had the option to hide in the garden outside, but with his sweater standing out so much around greenery he figured it would be best to stay hidden somewhere else. He frantically looked around, trying to fit himself into a cabinet and wasting time by doing so. He was down to the last 10 seconds, and still had nowhere to hide. He watched Bdubs scramble under a table with a tablecloth, mentally ex-ing that spot out of his list. Then he saw a perfectly good closet, and with 5 seconds left to spare, he ran straight into it. He shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief as Cleo finally counted down to zero.
“What are you doing here?!” Mumbo whisper shouted from the other side of the closet, startling Grian.
“Ahh!” Grian somewhat shouted, trying to stay as quiet as possible. “I didn’t know you were here!”
“Well I was here first! Scram!” Mumbo giggled, clearly joking.
“Mumbo you know well as I do that if I go out there right now, I’ll be found in a matter of seconds and instantly come get you.”
“Yes, yes I do know that, which is why you’re welcome to stay here. I doubt we’ll make it to the end anyway.”
Grian feigned offense, “Well have a little optimism, Mumbo!”
“Grian, we are hiding in a coat closet, one of the most common hiding places during games like this, and having a conversation out loud. We will not make it to the end.”
“Hey! I saw Bdubs hide under a table, so we aren’t in the worst hiding spot… Just not a good one. And we’re whispering, so it’s not that bad…” Grian grumbled slightly, as he always did when he was exaggerating his annoyance.
“Does he really think he won't be found? You can probably see his feet from underneath!”
“Really!” Grian giggled.
Suddenly they heard footsteps in the hallway, quickly approaching the closet they were in. By the sound of them, they were made by False. She could be heard stopping and finding Bdubs, whose footsteps then could be heard walking away from the closet. As False continued to approach the duo, Grian quickly clung to Mumbo to hide better. Mumbo was further from the door and had less chance of being seen if she opened it. The two boys watched as the door slid open for a short second before closing again. False didn’t catch them. Grian waited another few moments, listening to the footsteps dissipate. He was about to leave Mumbo's side when he noticed that the taller man had his arms wrapped around Grian, almost protectively, and decided to stay put.
~
Mumbo heard footsteps getting progressively closer to him and Grian, and by the look on the red sweatered man's face, he did too. They listened closely as Bdubs got caught and ran towards the opposite end of the hall, and listened even more closely as what sounded like False’s footsteps approached their closet as well. Grian suddenly clung close to Mumbo, presumably to be found less easily. Mumbo liked it though. He wrapped his arms around Grian, holding him close, trying to play it off as hiding him more. He flinched as the door to the closet opened, fully expecting to get caught. Then the closet door closed, and they were still in. Mumbo made a shocked face to no one in particular as the realization set in. But… He didn’t want to let go of Grian yet. He liked holding the small hermit in his arms; it felt like hugging a teddy bear, but so much better. It was warmer, softer, and his brain felt like it was short circuiting with serotonin. A good short circuit though, nothing like water and redstone, and also like nothing he’d really ever felt before. Not this strongly. This only seemed to further confirm his feelings for the red-sweatered boy, which he had discovered he had a couple weeks ago thanks to Iskall.
“So, I was thinking we put these terracotta blocks like this-” The mustached man demonstrated what he was talking about, “and put them along the halls every ten-or-so blocks. I think Grian would really like it too, but I dunno, I’m not a builder.”
“Dude, you’ve been talking about Grian all day… Is there something you wanna tell me??” Iskall smirked at Mumbo, likely teasing.
“What do you mean?” Mumbo looked innocently at Iskall, either actually being oblivious or faking it very well.
“I mean, you’ve brought him up in every other sentence the whole time we’ve been together today. I get it, you’re friends, but it’s just a bit suspicious.”
“Well, I mean, he’s just been on my mind a lot lately, you know? And what do you mean by ‘suspicious?’”
“Okay, Mumbo, I’m gonna ask you a question and you need to be honest about the answer, okay?”
“Um… Sure?”
“How do you feel about Grian?”
It seemed like a simple question, one that could be answered in a few kind words. Mumbo, however, had a lot more than just a few.
“I mean, he’s really kind, and talented. You’ve seen his builds, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that was objectively bad. He’s also really funny, and charismatic… I once watched him convince a villager to give him a discount on gunpowder just by being him. It’s fascinating, really!” Mumbo looked to be spacing out, and also like he would go on for even longer if Iskall didn’t step in now.
“Dude, I didn’t need an entire novel.” He chuckled, showing he wasn’t actually mad. “However, this did just prove my point… I think you’re in love with Grian.”
“... Wait, what?”
“Okay, okay, how about this. If Grian were to come up to you right now and ask you on a date, what would you do?”
“Well- I… I’ve never actually thought about that before…” Mumbo sat on the ground, thinking. “I… I think I’d say yes…”
“Aha! I knew it! Congratulations man, you’ve got a crush. Good luck!” Iskall laughed and slapped Mumbo’s back in a playful way, “I’ll help be a wingman for you if you need it, but I think you’ve got this.”
“Um- Thanks Iskall, I guess… I dunno, I just haven’t had a crush in so long, I don’t know how to feel.” The mustached man chuckled.
“That’s alright, you’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“Yeah… I guess I will.”
He felt Grian snuggle closer to him. The chemicals in his head went crazy again, sending out more signals to hug the man closer. He followed the instructions, cuddling Grian into his chest. He could feel his face heating more and more with every action he took. The shorter man nuzzled his head into Mumbo’s chest a bit, getting a bit more comfortable. Mumbo concluded that Grian was also happy with the situation they were in, which only continued to feed Mumbo’s serotonin.
They stayed like that for a few minutes before suddenly Grian spoke up, “Mumbo… What does your soulmate mark look like?”
What does he mean by that? Mumbo wondered, “U-uh… It’s a cute little dinosaur…”
“... Can I see it?”
“Um- Sure… here.” Mumbo rolled up his left coat sleeve, revealing a small dinosaur about the size of a quarter, with one spike atop its head.
Grain lifted up his own sleeve to reveal the same exact mark in the same exact place, “Mumbo… I think we’re soulmates.” He looked the taller man in the eyes, smiling as he grabbed ahold of his hand and held it gently. This meant a lot to Mumbo, because Grian doesn’t ever talk about soulmates, let alone his own mark.
“I… I think so too, Grian.” Mumbo smiled a vibrant smile, ecstatic to be soulmates with the man he loved already.
~
Maybe I could make a move… Grian wondered briefly before cuddling up closer to Mumbo, squeezing the man just a bit tighter. He felt Mumbo return the gentle squeeze, and, not wanting to end their cuddle war, Grian dug his head into Mumbo’s chest. His head ran with sweet thoughts of the other man, making him blush a deeper red than he already was. He knew he liked Mumbo, and had known for a while… But he never had the guts to say anything to him about it. Even Iskall didn’t know. The only other person who did was Scar, and the only reason he knew was because of a slip up.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Grian?” Scar snuck up behind said hermit, who seemed to be deep in thought.
“Mumb- UH… Building… things… I can’t figure out what this corner needs.” Grian tried to play it off like he hadn’t said anything weird, but Scar knew otherwise.
“No, no… You were about to say Mumbo! What’s gotcha thinkin’ about Mumbo?? Hmm???” Scar was teasing, it was obvious. He didn’t expect a genuine answer back, but Grian actually sort of wanted to tell someone about his secret feelings for his best friend.
“Ugh… Okay, fine. I’ve kind of wanted to get it off my chest for a while now, but…” He looked around to make sure nobody else was around, “I kind of have a crush on Mumbo… And by kind of I mean definitely…”
“Wait- really?! Oh my goodness, I wasn’t actually expecting a response! Holy moly… Okay, well, it sounds like you’ve got yourself a handful. You see him almost every day.”
“I know! And it definitely hurts a little that I can’t be with him the way that I want to, but it’s also really nice being around him so much… I couldn’t just stop that.”
“Aw, that’s sweet. But I do think you should try to talk to him about this! Even if he doesn’t like you back, I know you two. It’ll be a little awkward for a moment, but you’ll be back to normal in an instant. You’re just inseparable like that. And it’ll sure be a big weight off your shoulders, that's for sure!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know… But that doesn't change the fact that it’s scary. I don't want for the one in a million chance that he hates me and tells me I'm disgusting to happen. I’m sure you understand.”
“I do, I certainly do. But, if for whatever reason that does happen, I’ll be right there by your side. And so will so many other hermits! I know we all tease and taunt each other almost non-stop, but deep down we care a lot about even the hermits we don’t talk to often. It’s almost like a right of passage…”
Grian chuckled, “What, you become a hermit and suddenly you've got twenty-odd people to guard with your life?”
“Exactly!” Both men broke out into a fit of laughter before returning back to whatever it is they were originally planning to do.
“Mumbo… What does your soulmate mark look like?”
He felt Mumbo flinch ever so slightly, “U-uh… It’s a cute little dinosaur…”
He hesitated, “... Can I see it?”
“Um- Sure… here.” Mumbo rolled up his left sleeve, showing a little dinosaur identical to the one on his own arm.
Grain felt his eyes get watery, “Mumbo… I think we’re soulmates.” He looked the other man in the eyes, conveying pure joy. He lifted his sleeve up to show the same little dinosaur on his own arm, proceeding to grab Mumbos hand and hold it gently.
“I… I think so too, Grian.” Mumbo smiled back, conveying the same level of joy as Grian.
~
“Ugh! I can’t believe we got caught even after False missed us!” Grian complained, throwing his arms in the air. They had finished the game, coming in 4th and 5th place. Quite surprising that they made it that far, really, but they did wind up getting caught by Doc and having to help finish the game up. However, winning or losing has been the last thing on their minds since their conversation in the closet.
Grian walks over to Scar, leaning in to whisper, “Hey Scar, I need to talk to you.”
“Oh? Okay, let’s wait until Cleo finishes talking and handing out the prizes, then we can talk at my shop.”
Cleo didn’t have a ton more to say, really just giving out the prize money, so it didn’t take long for Grian and Scar to be ready. “Okay, ready to go?” Grian looked over at the wizard.
“Yeah. Bet I can beat you there!” Scar shot off with his rockets before Grian could accept or decline. He quickly shot off after him anyway, beating him to the shop even though he shot off late.
“Hah! How did you manage to land after I did even though you got a head start?” Grian laughed.
“I may or may not have flown into a tree… But that’s not what’s important! Come inside, let's talk!” Scar led the way in.
They both took seats in the corner of the small shop, “So… Remember when I told you I liked Mumbo?”
“Of course, of course.” Scar already had a look on his face that said he knew where this conversation was going.
“Well, some stuff kind of went down in the mansion… And we found out that we’re soulmates.”
“Oh my god, no way! I thought you were just gonna say you asked him out, but you’re actually soulmates?!” Scar was ecstatic.
“Yup! And look, aren’t they such cute marks?” Grian rolled up his sleeve to show Scar the same mark he’d shown Mumbo not an hour before. He felt a bit more comfortable talking about his mark now that he knew his soulmate.
“Aww! That is so cute! You got lucky, mine’s just a cowboy hat.” Scar pulled his shirt collar slightly away from his neck to reveal a simple line art cowboy hat. It was about the size of a small lime.
“You’re right that that isn’t cute, but it is hilarious.” Grian giggled.
~
As Cleo finished announcing the winner, which somehow wound up being Ren, Mumbo made his way over to Iskall to tell him the news, “Hey Iskall, I wanna talk to you about something.”
“Oh? Sure dude, what’s up?” Iskall turned to face him as everyone else filed out.
Mumbo waited a moment for most of the people to be gone before leaning closer to Iskall, “I found out that me and Grian are soulmates.”
“Woah, dude, no way!” Iskall chuckled a bit, excited for his friend to have finally gotten with the guy he liked.
“Yes way! I’m not as pathetic as you think I am, Iskall.” Mumbo looked very proud of himself.
“I never said you were pathetic,” Iskall nudged Mumbo in the shoulder, “I just thought it…” He mumbled.
“That’s what I said!”
“Oh, shut up!” They both laughed at their own antics before wandering onto a different topic.