Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The portals sung in the silence, a thrum of life in the desolate corridor. It was a tune Scott was quickly growing familiar with as he waiting, scanning for anything that wasn’t a portal. He had been waiting for nearly half an hour now for this Player and he still hadn’t shown up yet. To be fair to him, Scott had decided to be extremely early, just in case Jimmy was one of those Players. He didn’t want to leave his new Player waiting.

Scott glanced at his communicator again. He was officially two minutes late. Scott sighed again. He had told Jimmy he’d be waiting from 2pm, not that he should be here by 2, but still! Oh well. Nothing he could do about it now. Scott was the Admin of X Life, so it was his duty to greet his new Player and ensure they joined safely.

But still- Scott was a busy man and Jimmy knew this. He had taken part in every MCC so far and he knew Scott organised them all. Scott was really hoping this wouldn’t prove to be a reoccurring character trait-

“GRIAN!” A familiar voice screeched across the void. Unfamiliar cackles surrounded by a forgotten static followed the sound, somehow clawing their way into Scott’s ears. It was getting closer, accompanied by the flap of several pairs of wings.

Scott didn’t even have chance to try and spot the pixels of colour before a pile of feathers and two bodies plummeted out of the air in front of him. He stared at the pile, an unfamiliar face lifting itself from the ground. The unfamiliar man let out a large puff of air that flicked his hair it from his face, shooting a glare over his shoulder.

“This is your fault, you know.”

“It always is with you!” Jimmy complained from the other side of the pile, letting out a groan as he untangled himself from the pile with what seemed to be an extra elbow thrown at his companion’s face. “Thanks for the great first impression, Grian.”

“You’re welcome!” Grian chirped, jumping up and stretching, giant red, yellow and blue wings flapping behind him. “My crash landing turned out great!”

Jimmy poked Grian aggressively in the chest. “Not all of us are aiming for adoption papers to be signed!”

Grian slapped the finger away and crossed his arms, glaring Jimmy down. “I didn’t ask for X-eye-suma to make and sign those papers! I don’t even know if they’re legal!”

Scott looked back and forth between the two arguing Players (something in Scott tingled, a strange sensation that he did not recognise. It almost felt like pins and needles). Jimmy and Grian just glared at each other for a couple more seconds, wings and feathers flaring out behind them. The tension was thick and Scott knew he should try to calm both sides down, but he just couldn’t move.

And then they both burst out laughing.

It was just small chuckles or schoolgirl giggles; it was a fully belly laugh sprinkled with those cackles Scott had heard earlier. Somehow, this didn’t dissipate the tension for Scott, instead rooting him even more firmly in place as he glanced between the two. Eventually, their laughter trailed off, but the two continued to grin, even as they turned to face Scott, approaching him and the portal.

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head as he ‘sneakily’ elbowed Grian. “Sorry about that. Is this the X Life portal?”

Scott hesitated, but nodded slowly, watching as Grian smacked Jimmy over the head with a wing. “Yes. Are you ready to go, Jimmy?” Aaaaand now Grian was in a headlock and screeching.

Jimmy continued to smile as if this was an everyday occurrence. Scott would believe it if someone said it was. “Yep! I can’t wait! Been a while since I was last on such a big server.”

Scott smiled. “Well then. Allow me to welcome you to X Life, Jimmy Solidarity!”

Apparently, this was the right set of words to say as Jimmy released Grian and the two stood side by side, staring into the portal. They turned with impressive synchronicity to face each other, wings drooping as their eyes locked onto each other, as if trying to memorise every detail of the other. Scott had never met Grian before and he would not be allowed to enter the server, but it wasn’t the first time a Player had been accompanied by friends or family before. He would not rush the goodbye, even if Scott was ready to go home. This was important for his Players and their loved ones and a good Admin would let them have this. Who knew when the two would next see each other?

From the way they stared at each other, they seemed to fear the chance they would not.

Scott felt like such a third wheel.

The two launched themselves at each other, wrapping each other up in limbs and wings until all Scott could see were the much larger yellow wings consume Grian and the smaller multi-coloured wings tucked under the yellow wings and around Jimmy’s waist. Jimmy pressed his face into what Scott could only assume was Grian’s shoulder, clinging to him as though the world was ending and this could be their very last goodbye. Scott had no idea what fuelled the desperation in this hug, but he knew would do everything in his power to ensure there would be no hugs were goodbye forever hugs. Jimmy was his Player now and he’d do anything to protect him and make sure he was happy. That was the job of an Admin.

Movement from the wing cocoon indicated Grian’s attempt to leave the hug and Scott watched as Jimmy’s tight grasp retreated, his wings settling comfortably back on his back. The two gave each other a smile and Scott tried to ignore the redness surrounding both of their eyes and Jimmy’s sniffling.

“See you later, Grian.”

“See you later, Timmy.” Grian smirked, a teasing lilt at the end of his sentence.

Jimmy responded with a huff and a playful scowl at Grian, but Jimmy could not keep it up, breaking out into a smile. He turned to Scott and Scott took a step away from the portal he had previously been blocking. To add to the lacking ceremony, Scott made a grand go on gesture that drew a couple of chuckles out of Grian and Jimmy. Jimmy was only two steps away from the portal, before he froze. He turned around and launched himself at Grian, flapping his wings for extra power. Somehow, Grian was not knocked over and wrapped his arms around Jimmy tightly.

“I’m going to miss you,” Jimmy murmured. If anyone else had been in the void with them, Scott wouldn’t have been able to hear. “I love you, Gri.”

Grian’s grip grew tighter. “I’ll miss you so much. I love you too Tim.”

Scott looked away as they stood like that for a couple more seconds. When they separated, their eyes were even redder and Jimmy quickly made his way to the portal.

“To X Life.” Jimmy murmured, before finally stepping through.

Scott glanced at Grian, who was just stood there watching. The moment Scott’s eyes landed on him, Grian turned his unblinking stare to Scott. Scott stared back and opened his mouth to bid Grian goodbye and head into the portal after Jimmy, but he was interrupted.

“Look after him.”

Scott blinked at Grian. “I’m sorry?”

Grian narrowed his eyes at Scott. “You will be if you don’t.”

Scott internally smiled. He was glad his new Player had a support system before joining his server. There had been a few who had come from… difficult backgrounds. It was nice to see one with someone that cared so deeply for them. Scott hoped Grian had somewhere to go. He couldn’t offer his server, but, from their argument, it did sound like he had, maybe? Scott didn’t believe Jimmy would leave him behind if he didn’t.

“I’m his Admin now. That’s part of the job description.” Scott reassured with a small smile. He’d been asked to look after Players before by loved ones. This was nothing new.

Instead of Grian relaxing, his wings flared behind him, feathers puffing out in silent threat. “He doesn’t need an Admin. He needs a friend.”

Grian didn’t give Scott a chance to respond, flapping his wings and somehow, despite the colourful plumage, disappearing into the void of the portal hall. That… Scott hadn’t expected that (and wow, turned out that stare really was unblinking- he had felt like a bug under a microscope that entire one on one conversation). A potential bad experience with an Admin before? Was that what Grian was implying? It also seemed like he was implying Jimmy didn’t have any friends, which seemed to be a silly idea. Grian was Jimmy’s friend… right?

Scott sighed, shrugging the strange encounter off as he stretched and turned to face the portal. He had a server to run and a new Player to get settled in, despite his strange companion. Scott smirked.

He had a feeling things were about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Chapter Text

When Jimmy joined the Two Heart Gang, Scott just had to call him. How was he supposed to give up the perfect opportunity to tease his Player live on stream? Having such low health really put things in perspective. One wrong move and you were a goner. You had to pay constant attention to everything around you at all times.

Fall Damage? Don’t even risk it. Mobs? A hit and you’re most likely dead. Falling blocks? Just give up.

And in Jimmy’s case: drowning? Game over.

Poor Jimmy. Of course it was drowning which got him. Despite not using his wings, Jimmy was very aware of the height of blocks and turned out to be extremely capable of avoiding fall damage without cheating and catching himself with his wings. He had also shown a surprisingly keen awareness of mobs, hearing them approach before anyone else. It was a great skill that had served him well so far.

Still, Scott made sure to edit the world code just enough so that loud explosions would be much quieter for Jimmy. His flinching from creepers hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Scott looked out for his Players and helped them where he could, even if they didn’t always ask for it. Sometimes Players didn’t want to ask their Admin for favours and, in some worlds, there was a good reason for that. Scott didn’t want things to be like that here, but that would come with time. He intended to be considered a friend to his Players, someone they could trust completely, so he would be patient and help them where he could.

So Scott didn’t hesitate to escort Jimmy off world for a few days when he asked. Jimmy had just died for the first time on X Life; it made sense he was a little shaken and wanted to leave for a bit. Except, Jimmy was rocking back and forth on his heels, unable to stand still, instead of shaking from fried nerves. His wings stretched and flapped behind him, the same unwillingness to remain stationary present as with the rest of him.

Scott had a feeling he knew who would be meeting them on the other side of the portal.

“You ready?”

Jimmy’s wings fluttered. “Yeah! Let’s go!”

Scott chuckled quietly and turned back to where the server portal was currently closed. He pulled open a screen on his communicator and typed in a few Admin-only commands. In front of the two, the portal burst to life, swirling happily. One moment, nothing. The next, portal. Scott would never tire of that. Judging from Jimmy’s whistle, he was also impressed at the sight. Scott gave him a quick glance, watching as Jimmy tried to flatten fluffed up feathers.

He turned back to the portal. “Let’s go.”

And Scott stepped through.

The transfer between worlds differed between Players. For Scott, that momentary traipse into the void between worlds was a welcome familiarity that reminded him of what awaited him once this chapter of his life concluded. fWhip had admitted before that it felt far too open for his liking; Oli often felt dizzy after the travel whereas Joel enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness and otherworldly power. He wondered what it felt like for Jimmy.

And then he was on the other side, face to face with Grian once again.

Scott opened his mouth to greet him, when Jimmy stumbled through the portal. He lifted his arms to catch him (a familiar practice after forcing Oli to only travel between servers with company), but a rush of feathers beat him to it. Scott could only watch as Grian stabilised Jimmy, wings beginning to curl into a shield around the extremely pale looking Jimmy.

Grian’s hands moved from Jimmy’s shoulders to his face, inspecting every inch of him. “Tim?”

Jimmy cracked a tiny smile at Grian, before ducking his head down and into the smaller man’s chest. His muffled speech, however, still made its way to Scott’s ears. “I hate that so much.”

Scott winced as Grian’s arms surrounded around Jimmy in a tight hug. He wished he could make the transfer between worlds smoother and less filled with void, but unfortunately, that was outside his power as an Admin. It was only a brief second, but for those Players who did not enjoy traversing the void, it stretched into an eternity they did not want to, but regularly had to, repeat.

“I know,” Grian hummed, pressing his lips to Jimmy’s hair. “I know.”

“I hate them. So much.”

“You made it. You’re here. I’m here.”

Scott watched over the two, as Jimmy groaned and Grian whispered comfort to him, watching their surroundings so they would not be disturbed. He could have left, retreated to his server and given them privacy, but Scott did not want to leave the two vulnerable, where anyone could wander upon them.

Eventually, after several minutes, Jimmy pulled away from Grian. He still looked a bit pale, but not as unstable on his feet as before. Grian and Scott both watched him carefully as his wings settled and his shaking reduced itself to near nonexistent. Jimmy seemed to be doing better, but Scott couldn’t help but worry about his Player. He still didn’t look great.

“You good?” Grian leant back on his heels, but his wings were still spread, ready to move if needed.

Jimmy gave a shaky nod. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. He was not convincing anyone. “Are you sure?”

Jimmy gave him a short smile that disappeared as soon as it appeared. He looked back at Grian and pulled at the sleeve of his suit. “Can we please just go?”

Grian’s wings lowered as he sighed, before giving Jimmy a smile. “Alright. But! You have to hold my hand the entire way.”

Jimmy groaned and glared him down. “Why are you like this?”

Grian decided that the reasonable reaction to this protest was to pout. “Does wittle Jimmy not wanna hold my hand?” He babytalked the much older Jimmy. “It got so lonely without you.”

Jimmy snatched Grian’s hand, face as red as Grian’s sweater. “There! You happy?!”

Grian gasped. “Awwwwww! How sweet!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jimmy rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “You’re so lucky I love you.”

“Sureeeeee, softie.” Grian elbowed him with their joined arms. “You’re lucky I love you too.”

“Well!” Scott declared loudly, clapping his hands together. “As cute as this is,” he smirked internally as the two blushed. Good. Be embarrassed for making him third wheel whatever this was, “I need to get back to X Life and you two should head off and have fun. Great? Great. Thank you, Scott, for the amazing idea. You’re welcome Scott.”

He waved the two off, but they just stared at him. Again, Grian didn’t seem to visibly blink, Scott noted, an obvious detail when he was alongside Jimmy, who was rapidly blinking as if he thought he was dreaming. Unfortunately, this was reality and Scott had been third wheeling for several minutes. He was done.

Scott clapped his hands. “Gogogo! We’re not getting any younger.”

The two glanced at each other and beamed, before turning and switching the hands holding each other (impressively in sync) and running off into the portal room. Maybe they were headed to another portal or a private server that would be accessed in the temporary portal room (for portals for private or small servers that rarely opened) or maybe into the Hub to a hotel or to explore shops. Scott didn’t know and it wasn’t his place to know, but he hoped the two would be safe and not crash. Again.

“Bye Scott!” Jimmy called over his shoulder, shooting his free hand up as a wave.

“See ya!” Grian called.

Scott just smiled to himself as he watched them disappear from sight, before turning back to the X Life portal. What an interesting pair. But still, Scott had to wonder what their relationship was. Neither had ever specified. He had asked Jimmy some time after he had settled into the server, “How’s your friend?”

Jimmy had blinked at him and tilted his head, mulling over the question. “You mean Grian, right?” When Scott nodded, Jimmy had beamed, his wings flapping loudly behind him. “I’ve known him for yearsssss. He’s doing good. His server is as crazy as ever and he’s only adding to it.” Jimmy had laughed.

Had Jimmy been confused over the idea of which friend Scott was referring to? The only person from Jimmy’s pre-X Life life Scott had met was Grian and Jimmy always referred to Players from the server as his servermates, never his friends. That last fact had started to change recently, much to Scott’s relief, but it was still weird that Jimmy had been so confused. Normally, Scott would’ve waved it off, but after Grian’s statement at the end of their first meeting, it left Scott wondering what exactly their relationship was. They clearly cared about each other a lot, but Scott just wasn’t sure and he wasn’t going to be rude and ask. It wasn’t any of his business.

As long as they were both happy, Scott just didn’t care.

Chapter Text

“There were so many zombies! I just didn’t stand a chance!”

“Uh-huh.”

“They were coming from this way and that way! No time to breathe or run away!”

“And I’m sure having no armour equipped was such a big help.” Scott gestured to Jimmy’s diving suit.

“Exactly!” Jimmy pointed at him. “It has not been my greatest couple of days. First, spending an unnecessary amount of diamonds. Now, dying to a hoard of zombies.”

“So, I’m guessing Lizzie telling me to watch your most recent video doesn’t have anything to do with it?” Scott smirked.

“No!” Jimmy screamed. “Lizzie is a liar and a traitor and there is no reason to watch beyond the magic carpet bit! It’s boring and I got no footage of me dying! So you can’t prove anything!”

“Okay, okay!” Scott laughed, hands raised. “I believe you, Jimmy. After all, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

It spoke volumes about how their relationship had grown that Jimmy didn’t immediately backtrack and confess to his lies. Something warm blossomed in Scott’s chest as Jimmy laughed back, wings hanging limp on his back, completely relaxed.

“My dear friend, Scott? Never!” Jimmy pressed a hand to his chest, flicking nonexistent long hair over his shoulder. “Why would I do that to you? After all, you’ve done for me with the magic carpet and the 2 Heart Gang complimentary gift package.”

“Exactly. I’ve been nothing but nice to you all series.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Yelling at me while checking out the bakery was ever so nice.”

Scott prodded his chest. “I was trying to finish up my video. You were taking forever.”

“I had already finished! Why did you think I was looking at the bakery?”

Scott raised an eyebrow.

Jimmy deflated. “Okay. Fair.”

“Cheer up.” Jimmy looked up at Scott. Scott gestured ahead of them.

Jimmy’s wings flapped as he flew a couple of blocks towards the server portal. Technically, that was against the X Life server’s rules, but Scott wasn’t going to tell.

“Come on, Scott! Let’s go!”

Scott purposely slowed his pace.

“SCOTT!” Scott couldn’t help but think Grian might be proud of him. He slowed down even more. “Come onnnnnn!”

Jimmy jumped towards Scott and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the portal. Scott was well aware that if Jimmy did not fear the repercussions, he would’ve already left through the portal, but Jimmy had been banned from leaving the server alone after his wobbly landing last time. He had pouted about it, even after Grian had put his foot down about it. The only reason Jimmy had gone along with it willingly was the fact that Oli was in the same situation. No one wanted him to accidentally get hurt (and Scott had coded the portal to alert him if he tried to leave without company).

So, like any mature adult, Scott ground his heels in, forcing Jimmy to drag his entire weight.

“SCOTT!” Jimmy decided to change his approach and start shoving Scott forward. “Move! You! Jerk!”

“Ohhh noooo.” Scott pressed the back of his palm to his head. “I am sooooo tired. I don’t know if I can go any further.”

“SCOTT!”

“My legs are failingggg meee,” Scott dramatically stumbled to the ground.

“JERK!”

“I’m so sorry, Jimmy.”

“I WILL TAKE ONE OF YOUR LIVES!”

Scott laughed, but decided that was enough torturing Jimmy for the day. He stood up and took his time dusting himself off (he was done torturing the poor guy, not messing with him, after all).

“Ready to go?”

Jimmy blinked at him, brain buffering for a few precious seconds that left Scott debating turning around and leaving. “YES!” Jimmy yelled, grabbing Scott’s wrist and dragging him into the portal.

Scott only laughed as they left the X Life server behind once more.

———

You wouldn’t think there was much of a change between the Portal Room Void and the Travel Void, but there was. The transition always left Scott’s chest tight as he readjusted to being a Player once again in the synthetic Portal Room Void, but he didn’t let that stop him from raising his arm and catching Jimmy’s weight as he stumbled forward.

Scott glanced at him. “You okay?”

Jimmy nodded, hand pressed to his mouth. “Thanks.” He murmured quietly.

“Tim!”

Jimmy pulled away from Scott, grinning. “Grian!” But the grin left his face just as quickly as it arrived, eyes narrowing at the familiar blond accompanying Grian. “You.”

Martyn smirked. “Heyyyy Timothy.”

“What are you doing here?!”

“Grian invited me.” He pointed at Grian with his thumb. “Don’t tell me you didn’t like the surprise.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Of course I didn’t.” He slapped Martyn’s hand, grabbing his wrist and pulling him into a hug. “I loved it.”

Martyn chortled. “Glad to hear it.” He squeezed Jimmy tighter. “I missed you too, my fellow officer of the law.”

Jimmy laughed, but apparently Grian had enough of being ignored and shoved his way in between the two taller men and into the hug, muttering about how dare they ignore him and how they’ll rue the day. Scott just watched as Jimmy crouched so he could hook his arms around Grian’s waist and lift him up to their level. Grian decided to start punching Jimmy’s neck until he put him down, which gave Grian prime access to Jimmy’s shin.

“OW!” Jimmy rubbed his left shin. “How dare you!”

“There’s more where that came from, Tim!” Grian slowly approached Jimmy, each step purposeful, like a predator stalking its prey.

“No!” Jimmy squawked and made the fatal error of shoving Grian away. Grian, of course, tackled Jimmy, who was still hopping around on one leg, and dragged him to the ground.

Scott stood there, baffled, as he watched two grown men wrestle on the ground in front of him.

“Well,” Martyn clapped his hands, “they lasted longer than I expected.”

Scott raised an eyebrow at him. “Does this really happen that often?”

“All the time. They can’t go two minutes without bickering or full out fighting the moment they are in the same space, I swear.” Martyn sighed, but it held nothing but fondness and a slight bit of exhaustion, something Scott knew most Admins mirrored when watching over their Players and servers. “I come here to get away from being a dad.”

Scott hummed. “You’ve teamed with Jimmy every time you’ve played MCC so far, right?” Martyn nodded. “Are you applying for next month’s MCC?”

“We’ll see.”

Martyn clapped his hands. “Alright! Grian! Timmy! That’s enough!” The two continued their wrestling match on the floor. “Don’t make me come over there!” Their fighting only seemed to get louder as Jimmy screamed. Had Grian just bit him? No- no he licked his arm. Martyn pushed his extremely short sleeves up and stomped over to the two, making an impressive amount of noise in a room with no actual floor. With practised ease, Martyn reached into the pile and scooped Grian out by the waist with his left arm and held him against his side as his right arm dragged Jimmy away by the collar.

“Martyn! Let! Me! Go!”

Martyn ignored Grian and his squirming, glaring at Jimmy until he stopped fighting Martyn’s grip on his collar. He was then released and dusted himself off, walking a couple of steps away before sticking his tongue out at Grian. Martyn sighed as Grian’s struggling and yelling only increased.

“Every time.” Scott could swear he could feel Martyn’s exhaustion from his tone alone. “Every single time.”

“You didn’t have to come, you know,” Grian grumbled and crossed his arms. Martyn clearly took that as an admittance of no more murder attempts and placed him back on the ground. “I could pick Timmy up just fine on my own.”

Martyn rolled his eyes and gestured at where the two had just been wrestling.

Grian’s feathers flared behind him. “Shut up!”

Martyn smirked. “But I didn’t say anything.”

He leant over and ruffled the smaller’s hair, messing it up even more than it’s usual style, much to Grian’s disdain. Grian hissed at him, a static-filled, distorted mimic of a creeper hiss, batting the hand away. Martyn let him, but retaliated with his own hiss that eerily sounded like an actual creeper was in the room, making Scott jump.

“Don’t do that!” Jimmy hissed, his own somehow an even more unsettling mimicry of a creeper hiss. “Gods!”

Scott raised his hand. “I’m in agreement with Jimmy. No more realistic creeper hisses.”

“Boooo!” Grian cupped the side of his mouth with one hand as he waved his other hand”s thumbs down around. “Boooooooo!”

Jimmy looked ready to tackle him again. Martyn, on the other hand, opted away from a full out brawl and elbowed Grian. Grian shoved the elbow away, cackling the entire time as it turned into a game between the two. Scott watched as the two started to do film worthy stunts and decided that this would probably go on forever if he did not step in.

“Soooo- Grian. Martyn.” The two stopped their fight to look at Scott. He smirked. “Did you hear about Jimmy’s death?”

Grian rolled his eyes and pointed at Jimmy with a thumb. “He’s been telling me all about it. Something about a zombie hoard at a disco dance party?”

Scott broke down laughing with Martyn as Jimmy screamed. “IT WAS A DEMON DANCE PARTY! SUPER DANGEROUS!”

“Y-you didn’t- heh- tell me that de-snrk-tail.” Scott managed between his laughter. “Why wasn’t I invited?”

Jimmy crossed his arms. “ Maybe because you scammed me out of 64 diamonds!”

Scott rolled his eyes. “I won those diamonds fair and square.”

Grian’s wings fluffed up. “Are you willing to share?”

“Well considering you asked so nicely…”

“He didn’t even ask nicely! He just asked!”

“You get enough diamonds from lag on your server, Grian.” Martyn butted in. “Meanwhile, I have a wonderful wife and a lovely daughter-“

“Oh come off it!”

“Don’t you dare!”

“-besides, there was no party, was there, Timothy?” Martyn smirked at Jimmy, like a cat that had caught the canary.

Jimmy immediately flushed red and folded his arms, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Get this- get this-“ Martyn beckoned Scott closer and wrapped an arm around Grian’s shoulder to drag him even closer. Scott could see Jimmy jumping as he tried to invade their circle. “Go away, Timmy- you aren’t apart of this-“ He leant further in. “So, get this- a little fish lady told us: ‘Jimmy died to a CRAB!’” The end of the sentence pitched up into a perfect mimicry of Lizzie’s voice, startling Scott. Did Martyn know Lizzie?

“LIZZIE!” Jimmy screamed to the void. This broke the trio, setting off a round of laughter from the circle. “Ohhhhh- she is such a traitor! She’ll regret this! I swear she’ll regret this!” Grian couldn’t keep standing under the force of his laughter. “STOP LAUGHING! IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY!”

Scott wiped a tear away, allowing him to look at Jimmy’s completely red face. “It really is. I can’t believe Mr.Krabs got you.”

Jimmy jabbed a finger in Scott’s direction. “You just had to get me a pet that hurt me! I’ll bet you planned that from the start!”

“I would never.” Scott pressed his hand to his chest at the accusation. “Not to my dear friend, Jimmy Solidarity.”

Grian gasped and appeared at Scott’s side, somehow not out of breath despite his laughing fit a moment ago. “Timmy! How dare you accuse your friend like that? How cruel can you be?”

“I- no don’t you-“ Jimmy’s feathers fluffed up. “Oh-youuuuu! Urghhhh!” He stomped away and head butted Martyn’s chest. “Why are you all so mean to meeee?”

Martyn patted his back. “You make it too easy, mate.”

Grian turned away from the sight to face Scott, but Grian refused to look up at him and meet his eyes. “Thanks for coming through the portal with Jimmy. We appreciate it.”

Scott smiled. “You don’t need to thank me. That’s what friends do, right?”

Grian grinned. “You’re a good friend, Scott.”

“I try to be. Get Jimmy to message me when he’s ready to come back to the server, alright?”

Grian nodded. “Seriously though, thank you.”

Scott just held his hand out. “Until his next death.”

Grian laughed, but shook his hand. “Until his next death.”

Scott waved as Grian went to join a Jimmy, who was still complaining, and Martyn, who was halfheartedly comforting him. The three waved back as they left, all smiles and elbows thrown at each other.

“You looked less pale this time, Tim.” Scott heard Grian say.

“Yeah. I’ll have to thank Taurtis next time I see him. He was right about the earplugs. You should try them Martyn!”

Scott could practically hear Martyn roll his eyes as the three faded from earshot. “I prefer my ear canals unobstructed, thank you very much.”

Chapter Text

MCC was one of the highlights of Scott’s career. A giant competitive game with a variety of Streamers and YouTubers? It was chaotic and, overall, a great time. Everyone had their preferred game, whether it was PvP, movement or team based, but that didn’t stop them all practicing away in preparation for the big day.

It did mean, however, that Scott had virtual paperwork to go through, before he could even consider getting back to his own practicing. Invititations for MCC 6 had been sent out and the deadline for responses had just passed. There were limited spaces and, with the invites Scott had sent out, multiple new people wanting to join in. Plus, this time, Noxcrew would be donating 10 cents to NAACP for every coin earned in-game. Scott was extremely excited about this MCC (fWhip kept complaining to everyone that his stars were sparkling and distracting him. Scott didn’t tell him that he had started doing it on purpose after he overheard him once. Goblins and their obsession with sparkly things, right?).

He had already gone through most of the responses now. Everyone who joined MCC were invited by Scott, but he still had to go through and determine who didn’t get to play this time. Sometimes there just wasn’t enough room for past Players, but he also had to balance the audiences. Having a PG streamer like Jimmy with someone who swore like a sailor on his team would not be a good combination. He also didn’t want to have anyone feeling out of place on their teams, so Scott wanted to stick some of the newbies together. It could be intimidating to join the team of established Players, after all.

There were a couple he put to the side to consider later, to try and fit them into teams after everyone else. Those ones would fit well with any team, but Scott wanted to try and find the most entertaining combinations for their audience. The same teams and the same Players would bore them, but watching new blood and new teams? That kept MCC fresh and made it worthwhile running.

Eventually, Scott reached the end of the pile and he smirked. Staring up at him from his communicator was the most recent message, only minutes before the deadline. A message expressing Grian’s desire to join the competition this time. Scott had gotten Grian’s communicator code after Jimmy’s first X Life death, in case of emergencies. If Jimmy did have any long term repercussions, Grian wanted to know, claiming to be Jimmy’s emergency contact (Scott had Jimmy’s paperwork- his emergency contacts were Martyn and Netty). Jimmy had just rolled his eyes, which had lead to Grian grilling him about taking care of his own health and letting others take care of him (which Jimmy claimed was extremely hypocritical), but Jimmy had been smiling the entire time.

When they had gotten to X Life, Scott had asked Jimmy about that, would he be okay with Scott alerting Grian. Jimmy had told him only in emergencies, not wanting to worry Grian, before walking off and muttering something about finding the time to change his emergency contacts.

Scott hadn’t needed to use the contact yet, but, after seeing how Grian interacted with Martyn and Jimmy, he had been chatting with Jimmy about MCC and asked him if he thought Grian would like to join. Despite groaning and pulling his face at the idea of Grian being able to annoy him there, Jimmy had been extremely enthusiastic at the idea, somehow, dragging his feet with a pep in his step the entire time.

Scott hadn’t wanted to tell him about the lack of reply.

But it seemed Scott’s worries were misplaced. Of course, Grian was almost late. They’d basically met with him making Jimmy late. Scott was glad. He’d only briefly encountered Grian so far, not really getting a chance to know anything about him other than the fact he both loved tormenting Jimmy and could be extremely protective of him, despite making it clear he didn’t consider Jimmy a friend. Grian seemed like a good guy and Jimmy spoke his praises all the time, complaining about the countless pranks that Grian used to pull on him.

Scott glanced at his final roster of the Players for MCC 6. 5 new Players this round and the new modified version of Lockout Bingo, Bingo But Fast. This was going to be one hell of a show and Scott was here for it.

Now, all he had to do was sort out the teams. Scott glanced at Grian’s name. Well, he was the one that organised it, so what if it was an excuse to get to know Grian? Scott smirked as he finished the lineup. Martyn was teamed up with Jimmy and Grian was with Scott. This would be one interesting MCC. Scott couldn’t wait to see if Grian had any PvP skills beyond play fighting with Jimmy on the floor of the Portal Room.

And maybe he couldn’t wait to help Grian wind Jimmy up- but that was between Scott and himself.

———

“Grian!” Scott waved, catching the attention of both the man in question and his companion Scott recognised as their other teammate, the substitute and a first time competitor herself, PearlescentMoon (preferred name: Pearl). “Good to see you again.“ He nodded at Pearl. “I see you brought a friend.”

Grian smiled back. “Hey, Scott.” He pointed at Pearl. “Pearl. This is Scott, Jimmy’s current Admin.” Grian pointed at Scott. “Scott. This is my friend, Pearl.” He gestured back at Pearl.

Scott opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted.

“Sister.” Pearl folded her arms and held her head up, glaring at Grian as if to dare him to challenge her statement. “I’m his sister.”

Grian rolled his eyes.

Scott laughed and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Pearl.”

Pearl stared at him for a second, before she nodded and shook his hand. “And it’s lovely to meet you, Scott. Thanks for letting me play.”

“Well, we needed a substitute for Iskall.” Scott shrugged. “Jimmy recommended you.” He turned his attention back to Grian. “I’ve never seen you here before. I wasn’t expecting you to say yes to my invite.”

Grian shrugged. “I’ve always been a Wat-“ He gave a full body shudder. Pearl carefully took his hand, a motion so slight that it would have gone unnoticed by Scott, had he not been looking for some sort of reaction from her. It took a moment before Grian tried to speak again. “I enjoy… seeing MCC. I’m always part of the audience.”

Scott chose not to confront Grian on his change in wording. He wasn’t an idiot. Scott had been around for some time, even before he settled into the Player lifestyle, and he knew exactly where Grian had been going with that sentence. There were implications behind that reaction and Scott did not like it. But Grian was his friend (or at least Scott considered him a friend, even if he had never said it to Grian before) and Scott didn’t want to scare him off. He wanted to be someone Grian felt he could come to for help with whatever had happened. If something was happening, Scott knew he wouldn’t be here today; he would already be gone from everyone’s reach.

“What changed?” Scott tilted his head, his stars buzzing against his hair.

Grian’s feathers settled and his entire body slumped, back into something close to the relaxed state he was in during his conversation with Pearl. “My friends encouraged me. We always play with and against each other back home, so why should it be any different here?”

“Good answer.” Scott smirked. “So whose butts do we have to kick? I know Jimmy’s definitely on the list…”

Grian barked out a laugh, devolving into full belly laughs as Pearl snickered away beside him.

“Martyn too.” Grian snickered.

“And all your other friends competing, Mister Popular.” Pearl elbowed his side. Grian squawked and whacked her over the head with his wing.

Scott gaped and just pointed at Grian.

Grian squinted at him. “What?”

“You,” Scott shook his head, disbelief coating every word, “have friends?”

Grian lifted his wing and Scott prepared for the incoming whack, but he was saved at the last minute.

“Grian!” Ren launched himself at Grian, squeezing him. “My dude!”

“Ren!” Grian yelled, shoving at him. “Get off!”

“Nope!” Ren’s tail was wagging so fast it was a blur. “You’re not on our team so you gets hugs now!”

“Ren!”

“No point fighting him on this, Grian.” False wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “You should know this by now.”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” Grian mumbled, accepting his fate to be squeezed to death by Ren.

“Denying the obvious will only prolong the inevitable.” Cub shrugged as he stood with their final teammate Ryan.

“It’s prolonged the moment it’s Ren.”

Huh. So Grian did have friends. Good for him.

Scott glanced at Pearl, watching her gentle smile as she watched Grian interact with his friends. He was grumbling and complaining, but there was no tension in his feathers. This was friends teasing friends, nothing malicious here. Avian wings were extremely expressive and dead giveaways to their actual feelings, as Scott had learnt from Jimmy as time had passed.

It settled something inside Scott, to know that Grian had people like this, just like how Jimmy had the X Life Players, Martyn, Grian and probably Pearl and a bunch of other Players Scott didn’t know. They both had people they felt safe and happy around and Scott was glad he could see that for himself.

———

So… they didn’t win, but they didn’t lose and they had a blast. That was a win in Scott’s book! Another MCC was done and dusted and the next one was a month away. He’d have to fish out his invitation list and decide who to invite this time. No rest for the wicked, after all!

“Bye, Scott!” Grian waved with Pearl.

Scott smiled and waved back. Stubble had already left, but Grian had needed some help with a couple of out of place feathers from Pearl, so they had both stuck around a little longer. Scott had a few more rounds to make before he could leave the server and return home to X Life for a nice long sleep. Apparently, Mini, Jimmy and Martyn were waiting for them. Grian had complained about having to congratulate Jimmy and Martyn for being so close to winning, despite his grin, but Pearl had reassured him that they could tease Mini for doing worse than both of them, the newbies.

“What do you think of Scott?” Grian asked Pearl. Normally, Scott wouldn’t have heard him, but as the darkness that came with the end of MCC grew, more stars dotted the server that was Scott’s.

Plus, Scott was just inside the changing area and voices carried when no one was around.

Pearl hummed. “He seems like a good guy.”

There was silence for a moment. Long enough that Scott thought their conversation was over.

“Jimmy calls him a friend.”

Huh. They hadn’t moved. Were they admiring his stars?

“I’m glad.”

Scott could hear the approval in Pearl’s voice. His stars were probably extremely sparkly right now. Eventually, footsteps grew quieter and Scott allowed himself to smile, letting the warmth soak into his soul. This had been a very good MCC.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t long before Scott saw Grian again. Jimmy, being Jimmy, had been a silly fool. He had bet one of his X Life lives on MCC. His team had come first in points overall, yes, but Dodgebolt always decided the victors. Unfortunately for Jimmy, the Blue Bats won round 2 and round 3, so of course, the life had to be lost. Jimmy had thought he’d gotten away with it- but one member of his chat had remembered and made sure everyone knew, especially the server members.

Now, Scott couldn’t let this injustice go unanswered and fWhip had been all for it. Why Jimmy had believed it would be some sort of scare and trusted them, Scott had no idea. He made a promise and Scott wasn’t going to let him get away without paying it, especially since it was made during his game about his server. What sort of Admin would he be if he didn’t encourage Jimmy to keep his promise and be his best self?

Which led him to right now, where Grian was stood, arms crossed and shaking his head at Jimmy.

“Oh, Timmy.”

“Don’t say it.”

“Timmy.”

“Shut up!”

Grian raised an eyebrow at Jimmy.

“No! Shush!”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You don’t have to!”

“But he really should.” Scott smiled at Jimmy.

Jimmy’s wings flared behind him. “Don’t you start!”

Scott blinked innocently at him. “But he might have some good advice.”

“That’s right!” Grian’s wings fluttered as he smirked.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, wings flapping. “Like the time you punched me off a cliff?”

“That’s how avians learn to fly!”

“I almost died!”

“But you didn’t!”

“Did you learn to fly that way?” Scott tilted his head at Grian.

Grian flushed, wings stilling behind him.

Jimmy snickered. “He tried to. Several times.”

“Shut uppppp!”

Jimmy rested his arm on Grian’s head and poked his cheek. “Kept jumping off things, even before his flight feathers grew in fully.” Grian bat Jimmy off him, leading to the two having a mini slap fight right in front of Scott.

Eventually, Grian retreated, crossing his arms and pouting at Jimmy. Jimmy just stuck his tongue out in retaliation.

“You should’ve seen Pearl’s face when she found out!” Jimmy snickered and Grian launched himself at him. Clearly, this happened often as Jimmy managed to keep him at arms’ reach with his superior height. “She threatened to remove his wings herself!”

Scott thought back to MCC 6 and the care Pearl took with her brothers, the way she secretly fussed over him. Yeah Scott wouldn’t put removing Grian’s wings for his own safety past Pearl, even though they all knew she wouldn’t go through with the threat. That woman took her brothers’ safety extremely seriously. Scott shuddered. He did not want to be on her enemies list, ever. Pearl could be terrifying. And he had been on her team.

“If you were my brother,” Scott smirked, “I wouldn’t have just threatened you.”

Jimmy’s hand fell as he curled into himself, cackling, leaving Grian to stumble forward.

“How dare you!” Grian scowled, wings flaring behind him. “You’d be lucky to be my brother!”

“No, you wouldn’t. Trust me. I’m speaking from experience.”

Well, that answered one of Scott’s question about this… interesting duo.

“Shut up, Tim!”

“Make me!”

“You asked for it!”

Scott laughed as feathers flew everywhere. There was going to be so much clean up.

———

“I CLEARLY DIDN’T REALISE IN THE MOMENT!”

“WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN!” Scott yelled back at Jimmy. “IT’S A CURSE FOR A REASON!”

“I THOUGHT I HADN’T PUT IT ON!” Jimmy tugged on his hair.

“BUT WHY DID YOU KEEP MOVING?! YOU SAW IT HAPPEN BEFORE?!”

“I PANICKED! GOSH! USUALLY GETTING HURT MEANS RUN AWAY! THIS WAS THE ONE TIME IT DIDN’T!”

“Are… we interrupting something?”

Scott twisted on his heel, ready to request Martyn’s help with berating his brother to be more careful (look, maybe Scott felt a little guilty about helping take Jimmy’s previous life -even if it was deserved- and maybe Scott didn’t want him out of the series just yet-), only to freeze at the sight that greeted him. Grian was there, as expected. He was always the one that came to pick Jimmy up, Scott knew that.

Scott did not expect to have to look up at the shorter avian currently stood on Martyn’s shoulder and outstretched arm, waving at him. For some reason, Scott hadn’t expected to see the avian perching. Why? Scott had no idea. Jimmy loved to perch; you could rarely find him on the ground. Maybe it was the fact Grian was happily perched on Martyn? Jimmy much preferred inanimate objects as perches.

“Hi!” Grian chirped, his stupid smirk showcasing to everyone that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Scott opened his mouth to respond, most likely channeling his super sass, but was interrupted by the flap of wings from next to him. Jimmy launched himself at Martyn and Grian, flapping his wings to hover above them. He turned in midair so he was facing Scott and expertly lowered himself to stand on Grian’s shoulder and outstretched arm, just like the smaller avian was doing to Martyn. Jimmy grinned, feathers puffed up and chest puffed out in satisfaction and pride at being the tallest around. Not that there was anyone else in the vicinity.

“Scott,” Grian giggled as Jimmy squealed at his wiggling under Jimmy’s legs, “you should get up here and join us!”

Jimmy’s grin grew as he wiggled in place, seemingly fighting the urge to jump up and down. “Yeah! You totally should! It’s so much fun!”

“For you, maybe,” Scott replied, eyeing the unstable tower. “One of us can’t fly.”

Martyn barked out a laugh. “You hear that, boys? Starry night is scared of a little fall.”

Scott glared playfully at the mimic. “Says the bottom.”

“SCOTT!” Jimmy yelled scandalised. “PEEGEE!”

“Oh no,” Grian murmured into his free hand. “He’s like Ren.”

Martyn stared at Scott, before bursting out laughing. It would’ve sent the two avians toppling to the floor, if they hadn’t both caught themselves with their wings, landing gently and gracefully as they glared disapprovingly at Scott.

Scott shivered. “You both really look like brothers right now.”

The two startled and turned to each other completely in sync. They turned back to Scott and protested. This just sent Martyn to his knees from his laughter.

“Y-you really do,” Martyn cackled. “If I-I didn’t know better, you could fo-ol me.” He wiped the tears from his eyes. “There’s a reason you were both able to pass as twins on our old server.”

“Mini still doesn’t believe that we aren’t twins.” Jimmy threw his arms up in the air. “Can you believe that?”

“Unfortunately,” Grian drawled. He smirked and posed, one hand under his chin and the other on his hip. “Does that mean I look young for my age?”

“With those creaking joints?” Jimmy stared at his brother unimpressed. “Not a chance.”

Grian shrugged, smirk growing, a warning of Jimmy’s mistake. “Guess that means you look old then, Tim.”

“You jerk!” Jimmy whacked Grian with his wing. “How dare you! Look at these cheeks!“ He pinched his own cheeks. “Still got some of that baby fat.”

“And forehead wrinkles.”

Martyn wrapped an arm around Jimmy’s waist, hoisting him up and onto his shoulder, away from Grian. Grian laughed, sticking his tongue out at Jimmy as he danced away happily. The smile faded as soon as he noticed Martyn placing Jimmy on his shoulder.

“Hey!” Grian stomped his foot. “That’s my perch!”

“Don’t antagonise Timmy so much then if you want to keep it,” Martyn scolded.

“Finders keepers,” Jimmy crooned. “Losers weepers.”

Grian scowled, twisting on his heel and stomping over to Scott. He looked Scott up and down and tilted his head at him. “Can I perch on you?”

Scott’s eyes widened and he glanced at Jimmy and Martyn. The two were exchanging wide eyed glances at each other.

Scott smiled, looking at Grian and giving him a small bow. “I would be honoured.”

Grian grinned and landed on Scott’s arm and shoulder as soon as Scott hadn’t straightened up (the one time he managed straight), puffing his chest out at Jimmy. “Finders keepers,” he chirped. “Losers weepers.”

Jimmy gasped, hand pressed against his chest as he scowled at Grian. “How dare you!”

“You started it!”

“Did not!”

“You stole Martyn!”

“You called me old!”

“Children, please,” Martyn thankfully interrupted. “You can share. After all,” he smirked, “there is one thing better than perching.”

The two avians smirked and Grian launched himself once more, settling on Jimmy’s outstretched arm as if they hadn’t been feuding mere moments before. Scott stumbled slightly at the change of weight. Grian really liked going full power; Jimmy was a lot more relaxed, not that he was all that relaxed. Two pairs of wings flapped happily as the two avians grinned, relaxing into whatever this tower was.

“You should stack with us, Scott!” Grian beckoned, shuffling on Jimmy’s shoulder.

Jimmy adjusted his balance with practiced ease, not a single wobble. “Yeah! Stack with us!”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “Stacking? Is that what this is called?”

“Yep!“ Jimmy stuck his free hand on his hip. Scott knew the other hand would be doing the same, if it wasn’t currently supporting Grian. “Because, look at us! We’re a stack.”

“I think the saying is ‘we’re a snack’.” Scott pointed out.

“But we’re stacking. So we’re a stack.”

Grian leant down and patted Jimmy’s head. “Yes we are, Tim.” He turned to Scott, practically jumping up and down on Jimmy’s arm. “Are you going to stack with us, Scott? Stack with us! Come on!”

“Yeah! Join the stack!” Jimmy cheered.

Scott hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to- I just…”

Martyn smiled at Scott, gentle and understanding. “If you don’t feel comfortable stacking, you don’t have to, but,” he pointed at himself with his thumb, “I can carry you on my shoulders. I promise I won’t drop you.”

“I can perch on you?” Jimmy suggested. “If you’d like…” he looked away, face turning as red as Grian’s sweater.

Like back on X Life. Jimmy much preferred to perch on inanimate objects, but he still liked perching on his friends, which was something Scott was proud to call himself.

“Grian’s so light you won’t feel much of a difference.” Martyn shrugged.

“Hey!” Grian jumped down from Jimmy’s shoulders just so he could be face to face with Martyn and jab him in the chest. “Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you have to say it.”

“Stop pouting.” Martyn rolled his eyes. “You get to be on top. We all know you like being tall.”

Grian gestured to himself. “For good reason! Genetics were never my friend!”

Jimmy laughed, jumping down from Martyn’s shoulders to rest his arm on Grian’s shoulder. “No wonder you like hanging around with Mumbo so much. He’s like a literal skyscraper.”

Grian gasped, hand to his chest in his dramatic. “And he has a magnificent moustache! Don’t forget that.”

“He’s got you there, Tim.” Martyn nodded in agreement. “It is a very magnificent moustache.”

“Let’s do it.” Scott interrupted, grinning at the trio in front of him. “Let’s give this stacking thing a try.”

Jimmy’s eyes literally twinkled (the stars in his eyes would’ve convinced Scott that he was a Starborne too, if he didn’t know any better) as he clapped. “Yes! Ohmigosh!” He spin round and ran over to Scott, grabbing Scott’s wrist and dragging him towards Martyn. “Let’s do this! Come on come on!”

Scott laughed, even as he awkwardly clambered onto Martyn’s shoulders. Thank Void Martyn had practice lifting people onto his shoulders otherwise Scott’s squirming would’ve had them both on the ground several times. It was awkward and stupid, but Scott was laughing along with Martyn and the avian brothers, so Scott considered it a win in his books.

Chapter Text

Scott watched Jimmy carefully. Although he was skipping ahead of Scott, down the streets of the Hub, Jimmy wasn’t stumbling or tripping over the feet. Jimmy wasn’t clumsy, exactly, but he also wasn’t all that graceful on his feet. Travelling down these busy streets without bumping into anyone, especially with his wings, was an impressive feat for anyone, especially Jimmy.

It was suspicious.

Jimmy had been stuck in his own head ever since his last death, a death he didn’t remember, confused by who David was. He insisted he hadn’t been there, that he never lost that life, but the death message was damning evidence. How could he not be aware in his own body?

Well… there were ways, but Scott really didn’t want to think about the possibility that one had happened to his Player, his friend.

So Scott tried to make Jimmy smile with their adoption agency, tried to get his friend out of his own head with Katherine’s build, tried to get him to laugh with the names of these sweet animals and Jimmy did smile, but it wasn’t a real smile. It wasn’t full of joy and accompanied by fluttering wings like Scott had grown accustomed to, but empty eyes and tired sighs. Whatever had happened, no matter how much Jimmy refused to talk about it, it had left Jimmy a shadow of himself. Scott had even had to remind Jimmy that they were meeting Grian and Pearl for lunch today!

As much as Jimmy usually complained and groaned at having to deal with Grian, he was always ready early, practically dancing his way over to the meet-up.

Not today.

Scott tried to swallow down the worry as he watched Jimmy come to a stop, staring at the two they were here to meet. There was no excited yelling, no sneaky surprise attack, no laughter paired with an affectionate tackle.

Jimmy just stood there, wings terrifyingly still.

“Timmy?” Scott heard Grian call, despite looking in the opposite direction of Jimmy.

Pearl glanced at her brother, before turning on her heel and waving with the hand not holding Grian’s wrist. “Jimmy! Scott!”

Scott huffed out a laugh and waved back, but froze.

Jimmy’s feathers were rustling; he was trembling. His entire body was shaking, almost as though all the emotions Jimmy had forcefully been detaching himself from had hit him all at once.

A tear made its way down Jimmy’s cheek.

“Jimmy-“ Scott reached out, only to receive a face full of feathers.

Grian had his free arm and wings wrapped around Jimmy, practically consuming the younger man in feathers. Pearl’s free arm was wrapped around Jimmy’s neck, pulling his head to rest on her shoulder, the only part of Jimmy Scott could still see from this angle. Twitters and chirps and coos came from the parrot avian, comfort freely given to his clearly distressed brother. The humming was clearly a Pearl sound, the only non-avian sound coming from the trio, but the non-avian sound clearly wasn’t upsetting to the man finding comfort in his instincts, clearly marking her as part of his flock. It was warm, yet it was daunting, as though there were more layers to peel back, but somehow it left Scott feeling exposed, as though he was baring his entire soul to her, even if the melody was not aimed his way.

The trio remained like that for several minutes, Scott awkwardly watching them nearby and glaring at anyone giving the trio negative looks. He wasn’t going to let anyone ruin this moment of peace for his friend, not when Jimmy so clearly needed it.

Eventually the coos and chirps and hums faded away, replaced with soft whispers that Scott clearly was not supposed to be privy too. If Jimmy wanted Scott to know, he would tell him.

He ignored what little he had heard about creatures that were not Players and souls temporarily kicked.

Scott did note to check his server’s code once more and add a few more lines of code.

Instead, he waited for the trio to pull apart, although Pearl’s hand still remained firmly around Grian’s wrist. This time, Jimmy was smiling, even if it wasn’t as bright as it once was. Scott swore to himself that he’d do everything in his power to prevent it dimming anymore and if it brightened? Well, Scott really hoped he could help his friend.

“So!” Grian clapped his hands together, completely ignoring the hand remaining securely around his wrist. “Lunch? Yes? Yes? Yes?” He pointed at each of them in turn, not even waiting for an acknowledgment. “Great! Let’s go!” Grian did not get far, Pearl acting as an anchor and refusing to release him. “Pearlllllll.”

And wow. She had a fierce glare. How Grian didn’t immediately wilt and bend to her will, Scott did not know. He was a stronger man than him. And Jimmy. Scott saw that sympathetic wince. Jimmy was more than happy to leave Grian to his fate in the vulture’s talons- or in this case, their sister’s hands.

Scott did not blame him. Pearl was terrifying and Scott knew she was proud of that.

“You. Are not leading the way, Mister.” Pearl pointed at the doors to the restaurant. They were glass doors that needed to be pulled open. Even the walls to this small entrance were glass. “Do you see those? No. You don’t.”

“Pearllllllll.”

“No way.” Jimmy gasped. And wow- his eyes were bright, lit up like it was his birthday. “You didn’t-“

“It was Impulse’s fault! He didn’t tell me-“

“Ohmigosh! You did!” Jimmy squawked out a laugh, pointing at Grian. “You! Walked into glass!”

“Flew is more like it,” Pearl muttered, glaring at the avian she still hadn’t released.

“Pearl!”

“Ohmigosh!”

Scott had to swallow back a laugh, but he almost lost the fight at Grian’s pointed glare his way. He just shrugged, shooting him a completely innocent smirk.

“Ohhhh,” Jimmy wiped his eyes. “Oh that’s too good. Come on!” He waved them over, taking the lead. “Let’s go ea-“

Slam.

Silence. Jimmy’s face remained against the glass door. Everything was still as they just stared.

Grian’s shrieks of laughter easily broke the momentary peace of the moment, finally finding freedom from Pearl as she covered her ears, fondly rolling her eyes at him. She was also obviously sniggering, not even bothering to risk ear damage by trying to hide behind her hand.

Jimmy pulled his face from the door and glared at his two siblings, but honestly? It looked more like a pout to Scott.

And Scott couldn’t help himself, clutching his sides as he fought to remain standing; Jimmy’s offended look did not help either.

But, despite his narrowed eyes swearing revenge, Jimmy was smiling- a real, honest Jimmy™ smile, no longer weighed down with an invisible burden Scott could not help reduce. It was bright and it was blinding and it was everything that made Jimmy Jimmy. Scott knew he had missed it, but he hadn’t realised just how much until it was directed his way once more. He really needed to invest in sunglasses or something; this was ridiculous! Wasn’t Grian the one whose name meant Sun?

So maybe the inevitable glitter bomb in Scott’s bed would be worth it. Maybe. At least it’d look cute! Even if it was itchy.

“Oh silly, silly Timmy,” Grian mocked, walking past. Scott did not say anything as he walked around the doors.

Slam.

———

Scott frowned at the unknown caller ID on his communicator. He glanced at the paperwork scattered across his desk and then back at his phone. It was either one of his Players borrowing someone’s communicator or a scam caller. Scott debated his options: deal with one of his Players during his free time or mess with a scam caller trying to sell him some insurance. Either sounded better than this mess of paperwork (that was definitely his Players’ fault, but Scott really shouldn’t have put it off so late).

Scott answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Heyyyyyy, Scott…” Jimmy answered.

Scott squinted at his wall, immediately suspicious. Why was Jimmy calling him at one in the morning? It wasn’t like Scott ever really slept, not when his stars provided him more than enough energy, and he had told Jimmy he would always answer, but Jimmy was still off server visiting his family. He had never called Scott whilst off server with them, only ever shooting him a check-in text every night.

“Soooo, how are you?” Scott opened his mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by a muffled voice. “Shut up! I’m getting to it!” Jimmy whispered to the voice. He had turned away from the receiver, forcing Scott to hold his breath to even hear him. “That’s great. That’s great!” Jimmy was speaking into the receiver again, voice now louder than when the call started.

Scott couldn’t decide whether he should be worried or amused. What was making his friend so nervous?

“I’m good too… just you know, HEY! GET OFF! THIS IS MY PHONE CALL GRIAN!” Of course, Grian was there too. He hadn’t picked Jimmy up this time, but he had been waiting by the exit to the Portal Room. Did Jimmy ever go off server without him? Scott was beginning to think not. “You know, hanging around, frequenting a few places in town, like, well maybe, you know…” Scott frowned as he heard Jimmy lick his lips, hesitating, “jail?”

Scott blinked and pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at the unknown caller ID. That was Jimmy. Jimmy was in jail. Jimmy was in jail. Stars help him. All of his Players had been in jail at least once since joining his server now. Damnit. Scott pressed his ear back to the receiver.

“-gone. Maybe I should’ve called-“

“Jimmy.”

“Scott! You didn’t leave!”

“Jimmy.” Scott repeated, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why are you in jail?”

He could hear whispering through the phone and Jimmy’s shushing. “I don’t think I can tell you that.”

Scott was going to pretend that it was just because he was being smart and not admitting to any crimes whilst in custody without a lawyer. “Alright. So why are you calling me?”

Shuffling came over the phone line. “…I only have the one phone call.”

“And you chose me?”

“Grian chose you.” Jimmy corrected. Scott ignored the way his stars danced around his head. “I was fine with having Martyn and Pearl kill us.”

“You were freaking out-“ Grian called, loud enough for Scott to make up.

“Grian,” Jimmy raised his voice, “voted for breaking out. We decided calling you was better than a crime being recorded on our brand new adult files!”

“Wow.” Scott drawled. “I feel so loved.”

“Yeah- so- GRIAN!”

“Can you come pick us up, Scott?” Grian spoke into the phone. In the background, Scott could hear the muted outraged screams of Jimmy. “Pleaseeeeee.”

“Awwww.” Scott teasingly cooed. “For you, Grian. Anything.”

Grian laughed as Jimmy shouted in the background, offended. “Why thank you, Smajor.”

———

“FREEDOMMMMMM!”

Scott rolled his eyes at Jimmy. If he got arrested for being a public nuisance, he could get himself out this time. Grian stretched where he was stood next to Scott, forcing the starborne to dodge the outstretched wings. He snickered at Scott’s misfortune. Scott shoved Grian’s shoulder playfully, speeding up to catch up with Jimmy. Grian wasn’t far behind.

“Can’t believe that went on our records.” Grian grumbled as Jimmy swung an arm around his shoulders. “We’d managed to keep them squeaky clean until now.”

“They have only existed for a year now, Gri.” Jimmy pointed out. Scott chose to ignore that. His own records only went back a few years. There was a reason he was not privy to and he would not pry.

“We should’ve broken out.” Grian decided, staring up at the sky. “They already put this on our files, so what difference would breaking out make?”

“They’d have to put it on your file.” Scott pointed out. “But sometimes they don’t. Breaking out is less paperwork for them, funnily enough.”

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at him. “And you know this how?”

Scott shrugged. “I know a lot of things.”

“Welp,” Grian clapped his hands together, smiling wide, “that isn’t ominous at all.”

Scott ignored the feeling of eyes that could See beyond his skin that wasn’t skin. He did not push up walls of defences and the eyes did not Look behind the skin that wasn’t skin.

“I miss breaking out of jail.” Grian spoke up.

“How often have you done that?” Scott stared at him.

Grian shrugged and glanced up at Jimmy.

“Only a couple dozen times.” Jimmy admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck.

And there was no record of any of those times? Huh. Jimmy’s very thin file was starting to make sense.

“Do you remember the first time we did it together?” Grian laughed to himself, wings flapping on his back. “You were so scared!”

“Hey!” Jimmy scowled, shoving a finger in Grian’s face. “It was my first time in jail! I was eight!”

Grian waved him away. “And I was seven my first time. Your point?”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Scott pushed his way through the middle of the two of them. “You were how old?”

The two avians looked at each other. After a few seconds, they both turned back to face Scott.

“You were never arrested as a kid?” Grian asked, looking genuinely confused.

Technically, no, but Scott had never exactly been a ‘kid’ in the Player sense, so he wasn’t a good baseline. However, Scott had been around a while and even he knew that being arrested as a kid was not supposed to be normal.

“No?!”

Jimmy facepalmed. “That’s why Martyn freaked out when we first told him,” he grumbled into his palm.

“Ohhhhhhh.” Grian looked as if all the mysteries of the universe had been solved.

Scott decided he did not want to know why these two had such a ‘strange’ definition of normal. Instead, he grabbed the two by their arms and started to drag them to a restaurant. He would feed the two of them and call Martyn to come pick them up so he could deal with them. Then, they would no longer be Scott’s problem.

Yes. This was definitely a good plan.

———

“Thank you.”

Scott frowned, staring at Jimmy. The man was staring at the portal to X-Life, a server he would never be able to live on ever again. It was a bittersweet thought. X-Life was full of incredible memories, but it had run its course and now… they had their entire lives ahead of them.

But that didn’t mean Scott would ever stop being Jimmy’s Admin or his friend.

Scott could be very persistent when he wanted to be and, unfortunately for Jimmy, he was Scott’s friend, whether he wanted to be or not. He was stuck with Scott now.

“What for?”

Jimmy smiled at the portal. “Everything. You’re an amazing Admin and…” his wings fluttered, “an amazing friend.”

Scott ignored the way his stars spun around his head. Jimmy did not comment on it. Instead, they both remained in the void of the portal hall, staring at the entrance and exit to the server they had both been calling home for a long time.

“So,” Scott put words to his thoughts, “what now?”

Jimmy shrugged. “A little bit of this. A little bit of that. I’ve got a lot of games I want to play with a lot of people, you know?”

Scott hummed. He couldn’t imagine drifting like that: he much preferred to remain grounded. There was always something for him to do, whether it was a new server or MCC, something to keep him rooted to being a Player and an Admin- maybe that was why he wasn’t ready to leave X Life in the past just yet. Scott still had lives to live on that server, but he wasn’t quite sure how he wanted to live them. But he had time. After all, time was the one resource he never truly lacked.

“Timmy!”

Jimmy was already running by the time Scott looked, launching himself at the group of people approaching. Martyn caught the speeding bullet, swinging him around, before collapsing back into- was that Mini? Some of the group were familiar, like Pearl, Grian and the other MCC participants, but several of them were complete strangers to Scott. Still, they all greeted Jimmy with cheers and hugs, laughing away, the picture of joy. Scott didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that this was Jimmy’s family.

“It’s cute, isn’t it?”

Grian would claim Scott screamed, that he almost fell back through the X Life portal without a proper goodbye. That would be a lie. At most, Scott squeaked and Grian deserved Scott’s instinctual slap to the avian’s face.

“What was that for!” Scott hissed as Grian cackled.

“Sorry, sorry!” He smirked, clearly not sorry in the slightest.

Scott just rolled his eyes at the other, biting back a small smile at the other’s antics. As crazy as it sounded, Scott was going to miss dealing with Grian every time Jimmy left the server (and even bailing him out of jail that one time). Sure, Scott was definitely continuing to invite him to MCC, but it was going to be strange not seeing him every few weeks.

No longer having Jimmy on X Life was going to be strange.

“You know…” Scott glanced at Grian. The avian was staring at Scott, a giant smirk on his face that screamed trouble, wings fluttering as though he was waiting to jump off the side of a cliff and take flight. Grian was excited and that only spelled more trouble. “I’m thinking of starting up a small server.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah… it’s been a while since I ran a big server and I haven’t gotten the details or bugs ironed out just yet- but…” Grian’s smirk turned into something softer. “I want to try and invite different people- not just my servermates,” he glanced at Jimmy, “past and present.”

“Oh.” That made sense. Scott liked playing with different people sometimes. It was why MCC was so fun. “Is Jimmy joining?”

Grian nodded. “He was one of the first people I asked, when I was floating the idea around. So? What do you think? Are you in?”

Scott laughed. “First, I’d like to hear about this server of yours.”

“Okayokay! So it’s sort of hardcore, but we all have three lives-“