Work Text:
Grian wasn't one to get attached.
He didn't push people away, he simply avoided getting too close to anyone. At this point he wasn't sure if he was trying to keep himself from pain or trying to shield others from pain. His life had seemed to follow a pattern of him getting hurt and then hurting others. It was better if he just avoided getting too close to anyone.
However, Grian also didn't let debts go unpaid. When he accidentally killed Scar within a game of life and death, in a world where they only had three lives apiece, he knew he had to do something to pay him back. He swore to serve Scar until he lost his first life. It only seemed fair. A life for a life.
The thing that Grian hadn't thought about was for how long his first life would last, and that in that time, he would build a home with Scar. A home built on sand might not be one that lasts, but Grian found himself getting attached to Scar.
The moment he realized what Scar meant to him was when he nearly lost him. They had been chatting and singing to each other, walking along without a care in the world. That's when Scar skipped right over the edge of a ravine and fell in.
Grian's stomach dropped. He called out desperately for Scar, but he couldn't hear him anymore. A look into the ravine showed nothing but Scar's scattered items on the ground. So he had died again. Scar was on red, he only had a single life left.
Regret swirled in Grian's stomach. If only he hadn't been here, Scar wouldn't have died. Both times could be considered his fault, especially the first time when he blew Scar up with a creeper. Then he didn't warn Scar of the ravine. If he wasn't here, Scar would probably still be on green. If he wasn't here…
A worse feeling bubbled up in Grian's stomach. Because he wouldn't trade this life with Scar for anything. He didn't care that he might be making Scar's life worse, he wanted to stay.
Even if it meant bringing them both pain.
He was truly a fool.
After gathering up all of Scar's belongings, Grian sat at the edge of the ravine, trying to figure out what to do with these feelings. He should run away, Scar was going to die soon anyway, he should close himself off before he got hurt.
(He couldn't run away now that he was attached.)
Then he saw Scar coming up over the hill, a smile on his face that looked strained. His skin was much more gray than before, the only color popping out was a bit of red leaking from his mouth. Red? Blood? How had he injured himself in the few minutes he had been alive since respawning? In any case, Scar was also holding some flowers in his hands, red and purple.
“Grian!” Scar waved with one hand. He ran the rest of the way over as Grian stood up, dusting off his pants. Scar held out the flowers, “Can we still be friends?”
Grian laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Of course we can still be friends. Why wouldn't we be?”
“Well I died and-”
“Our deal is until I lose my first life.” Grian reminded him. “I'm not going to leave you.”
“Thank you!” Scar broke into a wide grin. Now that Scar was closer, Grian could see that he actually had a bloody lip. Did he accidentally bite his lip or something when he respawned? Another pang of guilt hit Grian's stomach. Scar was hurt when Grian was supposed to be protecting him. “Here, take these flowers.”
“Oh?” Grian took the poppies and lilacs from Scar's hands. He was a bit distracted though, it seemed that Scar was still bleeding, “Thank you. I appreciate it. But uh, did you bite your lip? You're bleeding.”
“Am I?” Scar looked bewildered. Did he not feel it? He might not, being red did change things, including dulling your pain. That made it easier to kill the others. Scar touched his face, completely missing where the blood was. “Did I get it?”
“No.” Grian sighed. “Come here, let me help you.” Grian placed the flowers away in his inventory. He'd probably put them in a vase in their home later, but for the moment he wanted to keep them close.
Scar leaned down towards Grian. Grian licked his own thumb, wiping away most of the blood on Scar's chin. There was still a bit smudged despite his best efforts.
Grian really couldn't explain what happened next. He went over it in his head for ages after it happened, but he never figured out why he had done it. It was like something possessed him. But really, for a moment, Grian let his guard down and let himself get attached.
Grian leaned in close to Scar's face. Before he knew it, their lips were touching. It was so gentle, hardly a kiss at all, but Grian could still taste the blood upon Scar's lips. He stayed like that for a moment before pulling back.
Scar's face, which had been so gray, was now shining with red, “Uh, Grian?”
Grian came to his senses rather quickly. He didn't know why he had done that, but he had to do damage control. “I was wiping away the blood.”
“Oh?” Confusion spread across Scar's face.
Grian took a hasty step back, looking away from Scar. “Let's get back to base. It's going to be dark soon.”
“S-sure.”
Grian didn't look back as he marched back to their shared home, but he felt an entirely new sensation in his stomach now. Something he had never let himself feel before.
He wanted to be closer to Scar.