Chapter Text
The TV buzzes around the living room, hearing the reporter talk about the weather forecast for today. It's going to be sunny tomorrow, perfect weather for him and Jellie to go out since it's his day off. He's currently wearing a baggy white shirt and some sweatpants after a shower, and currently has no plans but to be lazy all night after patrol.
Scar flips the channels as he pets Jellie on his lap, hearing her purr with satisfaction. He keeps going through the channels until he spots something that catches his attention.
“-Currently, here live at the Sunset Corporation, as we can see the CEO as well as their board of directors being arrested after the police confirmed that the company is embezzling funds from-
Suddenly, the doorbell rings, making Jellie jump from the couch and run through the door, followed by a knock. Maybe if Scar ignores it, they would just leave, maybe. Another doorbell rings and a voice calls out, “Scar? Are you home? ”Oh, it's Cub.
“Yeah! Come in,” Scar replies instantly as he hears keys jingling as the door unlocks. Scar told him that he could just go inside whenever he wants, since that's the purpose of giving him the keys, but Cub said that he feels disrespectful to just barge in. Jellie is already nuzzling her head on Cub's legs as he pets her back.
Scar takes a good look at Cub, his jet black hair being tousled, looking already tired while he is wearing his uniform with the coat on as well as his ID and carrying a folder of documents in his hand.
Oh no,
Scar frowns and gives Cub this knowing look which did nothing to ease Cub's guilt even though this is something out of his control.
Cub sighs, “I tried to make them postpone this, I really did,” he says as he raises his folder, grumbling at Scar’s expense as he. That must be one long talk with the directors which from Scar’s experience would drain your energy really fast.
“I know, I know this is not your fault but man can I guy not enjoy his day off now?” Scar whines.
Seriously though, he was just about to enjoy his quality time with Jellie! And now HQ is already debriefing him on his next mission.
“I actually suggested that I'll be the one who'll be relaying this to you because HQ is pretty desperate right now and I feel like they'll strong arm you on this case whether you like it or not,”
That got Scar's attention, HQ is rattled for something that needs urgent attention? He quickly jogs his memory for any noteworthy events that would make HQ care enough.
“Oh? Is it that serious? I'm not hearing anything on the news though, that implies something big is happening.” Cub sits on the sofa next to Scar as he hands out the documents. “That's because we are not handling a straightforward case today like usual.”
Scar flips over the documents as he skims through the contents, hearing nothing but the background noise from the television. The more he reads it, the more unusual it becomes.
“HQ wants to catch a hacker?” Scar continues to read more. There's a blank profile in the documents where a picture of the individual should be.
“Well, HQ wants Hotguy to catch this hacker,” Cub clarifies.
“Wait, there's only one hacker? One hacker did all of this and not an organization? Scar reads the achievements from this hacker, and he’s got an impressive resume here. There are big names of companies here such as Diamond enterprises, Nether agency, Butterfly institute, and now Sunset corporation. These are all in the big leagues and made it all in the news.
From what Scar gathered from skimming through the news, all of them are corrupt companies according to reporters and have a multitude of evidence ranging from embezzling company funds, workplace misconduct, abuse, underpaying their staff, and many more.
Scar clutches the folder harder. hearing all of that makes his blood boil. He’s glad these people are behind bars; they definitely deserve it.
“According to our sources, it is indeed just one person, really impressive and scary according to HQ,” Cub says.
“We interviewed police stations since our sources say that's where our dear hacker sends their information about the companies. We first asked the police station near the Diamond enterprises which was their first heist, at first the investigator ignored the cryptid email but when the hacker persisted it was when they checked it out in which they said that “the information was too detailed and organized to be fake" and so they conducted a thorough investigation on Diamond enterprises and sure enough everything the hacker sent them was true.” Cub finishes
“But why would HQ even want to catch this guy? he seems like he's on our side, and they’re practically doing our job for us.” Scar turns to look at Cub, who just raises his eyebrows in response, which makes Scar confused until he makes a horrible realization.
“No-”
“Oh, it’s exactly what you're thinking, a singular hacker capable of taking down big corporations like that? None of our staff can even do half of that. imagine how much power HQ would have if they had this person on their fingertips. They never said it, but they want this person on a leash, I mean, just think about it,” Cub said seriously.
“The fact that they already informed the Police Department that they would be taking over this case further supports that theory that they want this person all to themselves, HQ already sent out a bounty on this person in the net, right now they’re considered as a vigilante, same with our feathered friend, which should give you an idea how badly they want to catch them. “Cub further clarifies.
Scar looks at the report again as he contemplates it further. Whoever this person is, they're not really doing anything wrong here, apart from making sure that people get the justice they deserve, and HQ wants him to catch this person?
He glances back at the television, seeing the reporter interviewing the co-workers as the mug shots of the director flashes by the screen.
“ I don't know how it happened but I am forever thankful for whoever is out there that did it, I tried raising my concerns after I found out that of one our directors is embezzling funds but our CEO just threatened me to keep my mouth shut,” A woman with brown hair says as she tears up from the camera with her friends comforting her by her side.
Granted, he doesn't know this person, not even what they look like, but the fact that it saves people counts for something, right? It has to at least mean something.
“Can I refuse this mission?” Scar sighs, rubbing his brown hair, even though he already knows the answer.
“I think we both know the answer to that one sadly, unless of course you want to be in a screaming match with our directors,” Cub replies. Ugh, HQ would just chew him out and now no one will be happy, he can’t tell what's worse than that.
Scar groans, “Why does it have to be me exactly? Doesn't HQ have any other person qualified for this? Hotguy isn't exactly known for his covert operations.”
“I already asked them if they can find somebody else, but HQ is desperate to catch them. Also, we don't know if this person has special abilities besides their hacking prowess, so they're sending you in case a brawl happens,” Cub replies.
Scar scratches his head, already getting annoyed, but what else can he do? Might as well play along for now. “Alright, how does this operation start?”
“I know I said that they're going to send Hotguy, but you will be wearing civilian clothes for the majority of this operation. We'll modify it so that you can wear your suit underneath in case you run into trouble.”
“From their last operation, our intelligence network intercepted a rogue signal coming from this apartment. The hacker must've accidentally let it slip,” Cub flipped through the document, where there is the picture of said apartment.
It's a pretty average apartment with a cheap rent, judging from the information indicated, which would be a perfect hiding place. “How are we sure that this is not a trap?” Scar questions.
“I'm positive it's not. Our sources indicated that this is the first time they intercepted their signal. If they wanted to throw us off, they would've been doing this consistently rather than doing it right now. So I believe this was a genuine mistake on their part.”
“Besides, I think HQ already thought of that, which is why they are sending you, in case things go south and civilians get caught in the possible crossfire,” Cub continues. Great, not only does he have to find the hacker, but he also has to make sure the tenants vacating the apartment stay safe in case this hacker tries something.
“We're going to buy you a vacant room there, and we'll help you move your stuff. This operation could take some time, though, since there is no real gauge on how long this mission will take,” continues.
“Eh, not like I have any choice there, do I?” Scar replies as Cub just nods in understanding. The room was silent for a moment as Scar contemplated his thoughts. “Cub, do you think this hacker is a good person?”
Cub stares at Scar for a bit as he ponders the question. “Yes, I think they are. No matter the methods they use, the end result is that they helped people. Though to play devil's advocate here, we don't know who this is, we don't know their motives are and their ambiguity could potentially lead to them doing something villainous in the future.”
“Again, I'm only saying that to play devil's advocate because you seem really conflicted. I do support their endeavors, but sadly, if you try to force justice with your own hands, the government would immediately hunt you down because that is not considered ‘lawful’,” Cub says as he air quotes.
Scar just nods back as Jellie jumps up the couch to nuzzle on his hand. It just feels kind of wrong to be catching a person who puts criminals behind bars. it reminds him of Cuteguy in a way, both of them being labelled as vigilantes, yet they help people, they help in making this city a better place, but not everyone sees their actions as a good thing.
Though it must be nice that they can do that freely without any forces weighing them down, it must feel really liberating.
“So, any special requests you'd like to ask to HQ?” Cub asks as Jellie meows back from Scar petting her.
“I'm taking Jellie with me,” Scar replies.
Cub nods in response. “And who knows, maybe this person is the most heinous human being you'll ever meet,” Cub shrugs.
“Ow!” Okay, maybe touching the hot pot with his bare hands wasn't the brightest idea Mumbo came up with today, but he's been really busy these past few weeks, so cut him some slack.
He opens the faucet, letting the water run down into the sink as he dips his hand, letting it cool off for a bit. He blinks a few times, feeling the sting from his eyes likely because he hasn’t had a good night's sleep yet.
He cups a handful of water on his palms as he splashes it onto his face, feeling the cold water wake his senses. His eyes still feel droopy but somewhat refreshed. He grabs a potholder and a bowl and pours himself some chicken soup, courtesy of his Ma’s recipe. It’s the one recipe that he knows by heart and the simplest one since he is genuinely tired and not really feeling like experimenting with cooking today.
He goes to the couch and takes a sip, feeling the spices blend all together as he hums in satisfaction. The burner phone on his pants starts to vibrate as he fishes it out.
Grian: Hey, I don’t know if you saw the news, but congratulations! You’re crazy, by the way.
Mumbo stood up from his couch. They already caught them? He places the bowl on the desk in front as he opens the TV and flips the channel to the news, and sure enough, it shows the faces of a couple of the board of directors from the Sunset Corporation as they are escorted to the police department. Mumbo lets out a sigh of relief. He’s been working overtime to make sure he gathered enough evidence to send to the police because this case puts him on a timer.
Upon snooping around in the files of the company, he found a memo stating that the CEO is planning to step down and promote one of the directors, as well as another log on his account where the CEO bought a ticket to a plane going to Australia, probably to spend all that money they shamelessly stole from the company.
This put Mumbo on a deadline, which doesn’t happen normally, meaning this guy needs to be arrested before he takes that flight because Mumbo does not want any loose ends here. After countless nights, his blood being 90% caffeine now and a whole lot of aggressive keyboard typing on his laptop, he just barely managed to submit the report to the police.
His eyes feel like eyes are going to slide out of his sockets, and his wrist and fingers are aching so bad, but it’s worth it, Mumbo knew what he was getting into; this kind of job is never easy to begin with.
He glances back at the television, seeing the camera pan to the co-workers, all of them looking relieved; some are crying and cheering. Seeing their faces makes it all the more worth it. These types of cases never come to light because those in power want to keep them in check, to make sure everybody doesn’t say anything, and Mumbo knows it all too well. A shame to these companies that he always sees things they try to hide.
He looks at the phone again as another message pops up from Grian.
Grian: Are you eating right now?
Mumbo: Yeah, I made chicken soup
Grian: I WANT SOME
Mumbo: That’s cannibalism, Grian
Grian: Oh, you think you’re funny, huh
Mumbo giggles as he types further.
Mumbo: Should I leave you a bowl?
Grian: Nah, I’m going to catch some robbers right now. I can see the van you described. your intel was right on the money.
Grian: By the way, did you sleep?
Mumbo pauses, humming to himself on how he should respond to this as another message pops up
Grian: Yeah, that’s what I thought. GO TO SLEEP, okay byee!
Grian stopped replying after that, likely doing his vigilante duties as Cuteguy. Mumbo flips the channel to a nature documentary as he finishes his chicken soup. Now that everything is settled, he should probably clean his room. he got pending dishes that desperately need washing and two bags of garbage that need throwing out. Mumbo watches TV for a bit as he finishes his bowl of soup.
Next is cleaning up, he walks over and grabs the two garbage bags as he opens the door and throws it out on the garbage bin on the ground floor.
“Mr. Winston?” Mumbo calls out to Mr. Winston, who just came out of the door to room 804, which is where Mr. Mitchel used to live.
“Ah, Mumbo, my boy! How are you? Thank you again for helping with getting rid of those stupid viruses on my computer the other day,” he says, laughing as he locks the door.
“I’m just taking out the trash, and it’s okay, Mr. Winston. It was just a virus, just please don’t click on any suspicious links, and everything will be okay, though I installed anti-virus software there if you don’t mind.” He says, still smiling. Mr. Winston is probably the nicest landlord Mumbo has ever met. This old man is so jolly that it also affects everyone he talks to.
Mumbo owes his landlord a lot. he rent was long overdue on many occasions, but Mr. Winston just let it slide, gives you the good o’l thumbs up, and just tells you that as long as he pays, everything is okay.
Mumbo gives him chicken soup every Sunday. he always says that Mumbo doesn’t have to, but he knows this is Mr. Winston’s favorite dish of his so he makes an effort to make extra servings for Sundays.
“Did Mr. Mitchel leave something behind? Mumbo asks because Mr. Mitchel was the previous tenant of room 804 but recently left when he got a job promotion that made him move countries.
“Mitchel? Oh no, I was just examining the room for any repairs or renovation because someone is going to use this room in two days, though they didn’t leave a name. Anyway, I’ll have someone clean this tomorrow.”
Ah, he’s going to get a new neighbor? Well, Mumbo hopes whoever they are that they are at least nice because Mr. Mitchel was nice to Mumbo, and that’s cool on Mumbo’s books.
“Well, I’ll just throw these out. It was nice talking to you, Mr. Winston!” Mumbo says.
“Likewise, my boy! I’ll be over here on the rooftop inspecting if you need me,” Mr. Winston waves off as he heads up to the rooftops. Mumbo heads to the elevator and presses the button for lobby.
The elevator stops at the 4th floor as Joel and Lizzie walk in, with their arms locked in each other as they wear each other’s green and pink hoodies.
“Oh, hey Mumbo! You look terrible. What happened? Leave it to Lizzie to never beat around the bush. Mumbo just forgot he looks like a mess. Mr. Winston was probably too nice to point that out to him.
The way he met these two was pretty bizarre. It started when Mumbo was using his laptop in the lobby as he waited for Grian to come so they could hang out until suddenly, a figure with bright pink hair walked up to him and asked,
“Hey, you’re good with technology, right?” Mumbo reluctantly nods his head. “Okay, so, there is this guy that I’m texting, right? She starts as she casually sits next to Mumbo, “And then suddenly I feel like I’m having feelings for him? Which is weird because I never saw what he looks like. I mean, this could just be anyone for all I know.”
Hang on, this is not a question related to technology; this is more of a love advice, which Mumbo is not qualified to answer. His only frame of reference is his parents, and they did not have a love story via online dating, so how is he supposed to answer this?
“Well, why don’t you just ask to meet him in person? Mumbo asks. That seems like a good enough point to start.
“Well, what if he doesn’t want to, though? Lizzie asks back as Mumbo thinks of a response. “Does the topic of meeting in person ever come up in your conversations?”
“No, well, at least I didn’t because it just feels awkward?”
“Well, think about it this way: you don’t actually see him, nor how he will react to your messages, so you can have the freedom to ask him anything you know? Think of it as like a confidence boost, just be reasonable and slowly ease him into it."
That’s the one thing he learned early in his internet days: people are so confident to say anything online because they have this really wonderful barrier called a screen, which is why you get a lot of trolls on the internet.
Grian is like a magnet for trolls. He’ll encounter a really stupid comment on something, and most of the time it’s a troll and Mumbo emphasizes that fact to him, but no, Grian somehow keeps falling for them.
“Mumbo, please, can you hack their account or something?” Grain says whining as he tugs on Mumbo’s sleeves.
“Grian, I am not hacking an account of a troll. Why do you keep engaging with them anyway? Mumbo says as Grian just grumbles as he types away on his phone. Oh, he’s a lost cause at this point. Mumbo just continued to watch as Grian mutters profanities under his breath. The great Cuteguy, everybody, hero of many, but beaten by a troll. Mumbo just shakes his head in disbelief.
“Okay, if he does want to meet up, what should I say?” Lizzie asks, and wow, she’s really overthinking this. That’s how you know her feelings are genuine. “Just, you know, be natural. If you want, you could pick the place just pick somewhere public for safety reasons, and never give your actual address unless you’re really confident,” Mumbo finishes.
“Okay, okay, I get, thanks, um-“
“Mumbo, Mumbo Jumbo,” he says as he offers his hand. “Thanks, Mumbo! I’m Lizzie, by the way,” Lizzie says as she uses both hands to shake his as he feels his whole body wobble from how hard she was shaking it. “Thanks again, Mumbo!” she says as she rushes towards the elevator.
That was… something. Well, she seemed like a nice person. Mumbo hopes everything works out for Lizzie
Mumbo saw Lizzie again in a few days with a guy with brown hair that is partially dyed green in the middle, both of them holding hands as they entered the lobby.
“Oh! Mumbo, look, this is the guy I was telling you about,” Lizzie says as he pulls the guy closer, his cheeks blushing from the contact. “His name is Joel, and boy, do I have a story for you,” Lizzie says as she starts to laugh.”
“Oh gosh, Lizzie, please,” Joel says as he covers his face, his cheeks and ears flushing harder.
“Okay, here goes. So, I asked if he wanted to meet, and he said yes, so I told him to meet at the park. So here I was. I got up, dressed, put on some makeup, and headed down to the lobby. Then there was a guy I ran into as I left the apartment. We were both going to the bus stop, and I didn’t think much of it, until he got off on the same stop that I did, which now I’m getting suspicious, so I speed-walked over to the park immediately because if Joel was already there, then he could punch this guy for me but I could punch him harder if he tries anything.” Mumbo snorts as Joel just groans beside her.
“So after some minutes, I sent him a message that I was on the bench near the fountain, and he told me the same location. Then I noticed the guy from the apartment, and we just locked eyes with each other, and then pulled out his phone and pointed to it, which showed our chat logs! Oh my gosh, Mumbo. I was so embarrassed. The guy I was into is literally in the same apartment as me,” Lizzie finishes as Joel is just bright red next to him.
“Anyways, thanks again, Mumbo! I mean, we wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for you.” Lizzie says.
“Yeah, thanks, Mumbo,” Joel replied as well. “I hope we see each other more often. Bye!” Lizzie says as they both wave off and head to the elevator. And that’s how room 602 became vacant and room 404 now has two tenants in it.
“Seriously, though, Mumbo, you look like you need a nap or something,” Joel says as Mumbo yawns. He definitely wants to sleep after taking out this trash. “What are you two up to anyways?” Mumbo asks.
“Oh, Joel and I are just going to the convenience store to buy some food and other stuff. Do you want anything?” Lizzie asks.
“That’s really thoughtful, but no, I just want to go to bed after I take out this trash,” Mumbo replied as the elevator dinged and the doors opened to the lobby. “We’ll be off Mumbo, and please go to bed,” Lizzie says as she and Joel wave off.
Mumbo heads off outside to the side of the building and into the alleyway where the garbage bin is as he throws the trash out. Mumbo relishes into the cold air for a bit as nighttime is fast approaching. Mumbo turns around as a poster is plastered on the pole of the streetlight.
Mumbo goes closer, reading out what it says, and suddenly the cold air is suddenly freezing on his skin as he inspects the poster. It's- it's him, well, not exactly, but it’s a wanted poster about the hacker, there’s a large grey box with a large question mark and some details written.
WANTED: INFAMOUS “HACKER”
WANTED FOR ACTS OF VIGILANTISM, PROMOTING PUBLIC DISTURBANCE AND A THREAT TO THE PEACE OF THE CITY.
REWARD: $900,000
IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION THAT MAY HELP US, PLEASE CONTACT THIS NO: XXX-XXX-XXX
THE HEADQUARTERS IS GRATEFUL FOR YOUR COOPERATION IN KEEPING THIS CITY SAFE
MAY YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY
Mumbo keeps reading the poster, and again, and again. That big number with a lot of zeroes is creating a huge pit on his stomach. He wants to tear this poster off the pole, but that would make him suspicious. Him? Disturbing peace? That’s not even close to what he’s doing!
He’s targeting corporations that are literally doing what this poster is claiming. Is HQ even watching the news? Because they would see that all of this is just misinformation in fact they can go right now to the nearest Police Station to see the big file of evidence he graciously handed on a silver platter to confirm his actions. Mumbo decides to head back inside, not wanting to stare at the poster any more than he needs to.
Is being labelled a “vigilante” really that bad in this city? Is this what Grian felt? Grian never told him about how he felt on being viewed by the government as an “enemy,” but then again, this is Grian we’re talking about. He is the type of person who doesn’t really care about how people see him. He is the embodiment of freedom in the truest sense, like those wings of his aren’t just for show but also a representation of who he is. A free person who you can never cage.
That’s what Mumbo loves the most about him, and then there’s him, the complete opposite of Grian. Mumbo wishes that he had a thick skin like him. If Mumbo can’t even handle taking a compliment, what more if it’s actual slander to his reputation? Though this is the first time he saw an actual poster of him with a bounty. HQ must be really itching to catch him now after the incident with Sunset Corporation.
Mumbo walks into the elevator and presses the 8th floor. He stifles a yawn. It’s been a really long it’s day, weeks rather, but everything worked out, and the workers of Sunset Corporation got their justice. He can’t let that poster get to him. He just needs to remember that he’s actually making change here. Besides, the government never came close to finding him, so there’s nothing to worry about. He just needs to do what he keeps doing.
The elevator opens as Mumbo basically drags his feet to his room. He wants to sleep, but he needs to take a bath first. As soon as he enters, he locks the door to his room. He grabs a baggy white t-shirt and black shorts from his closet and sets them on his bed as he grabs a towel and heads inside the bathroom. Mumbo takes off his polo shirt and jeans and puts them into the hamper as he opens the shower, letting the cold water embrace his skin.
After a quick shower, Mumbo dries his hair and changes to a fresh set of clothes, closes the lights as he plops haphazardly on his bed. Mumbo remembers that he has a shift tomorrow at work and internally groans. He’ll just sleep early and handle it tomorrow.
The next two days were rather uneventful for Mumbo, which sounds like vacation to his ears. All that fiasco with the Sunset Corporation really tired him out, so it was nice having just a chill day for once, just sipping coffee and mindlessly watching TV. He barely touched the laptop in those two days. He figured that he should take a break from all this internet talk.
Mumbo was just watching television until he heard a bunch of footsteps coming from outside. He stayed on his couch as he lowered the volume of the TV to hear what was going on. There are a lot of couple of voices he’s not familiar with, but he hears Mr. Winston. That’s probably the new tenant then. He hears the door open as a couple of footsteps enter. That should be the movers helping the new tenant with their stuff.
Mumbo wonders what kind of neighbor they would be. He would miss Mr. Mitchel, though. He kind of reminds him of his dad with the way Mr. Mitchel always prefers the analog lifestyle and is not really into the whole internet thing, which is exactly like his dad back at the farm. Mumbo always appreciates meeting people who have a different perspective because they’re always interesting to talk to.
“-By the way, I’ll introduce you to your other neighbor, Mumbo! Are you there? Mr Winston knocks as he shouts for Mumbo. “Yeah, Mr. Winston, I’ll be there,” Mumbo says as he turns off the TV and makes his way outside.
“There you are, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Scar Goodtimes. He’s the new tenant of 804,”
Mumbo’s brain just froze for a minute as he took in the sight of his new neighbor. This will be his new neighbor? He looks like he belongs in a movie or a model runway. Mr. Goodtimes is wearing a brown jacket matching with his brown hair, with a white shirt underneath, cargo pants, and sunglasses on top of his head, yup, definitely belongs to Hollywood. Mumbo suddenly feels self-conscious to be sharing a floor with him cause it’s really unfair how handsome he looks.
Mr.Goodtimes coughs as Mumbo awakes from his daydreaming, seeing that he pulls his hand out for a handshake which where Mumbo notices the scars on his hand as he shakes it, Mumbo looks up from their hand to meet his eyes, his gorgeous green eyes. Mumbo notices a couple of scars on his face. Mr.Goodtimes flashes him a warm smile as he holds his cane, and Mumbo offers a shaky one in return as he is currently trying not to combust right now. He needs to pull it together; otherwise, he might think he’s a weirdo.
“It's- uh, it’s really nice to meet you Mr.Goodtimes, I’m Mumbo Jumbo, please call me Mumbo.”
“Oh, then please call me Scar, Mr.Goodtimes sounds way too formal, but it’s nice to meet you as well, Mumbo,” Scar replies.
“Mr. Winston just gave me the tour of the apartment; you got a lot of lovely people here by the way,” he winks at Mumbo, which takes him aback because who just casually does that to someone you just met? It’s like he wants him to have a heart attack here.
“Sadly, I have to unpack a lot of stuff, so I’ll catch up with you both later,” Scar says as Mr. Winston hands him the keys to his room. “If you need anything, I’ll be at the lobby. Have a lovely day, you two!”. Mr. Winston says as he waves off and heads to the elevator.
“I’ll see you later, okay?” Scar says to Mumbo.
“Y-yeah, I’ll uh- I’ll see you when I see you.” Mumbo should just shut up now. Maybe HQ should just arrest him right now, just to save him from this conversation.
Scar chuckles as he heads back inside. The sound of his cane filling the silence as Mumbo decides to go back in his room and just wallow away from sheer embarrassment. So he finds him attractive, that’s okay! People sometimes find other people attractive; it’s a natural emotion that people sometimes experience. The problem is that Mumbo is doing a terrible job at hiding it; he’s practically an open book.
Mumbo lies down on his couch as he texts Grian from the burner phone.
Mumbo: Do you need help? I have free time to be a navigator.
Grian: Nah, I’m fine. Thanks for the offer.
Mumbo: Wow, you replied fast
Grian: I’m bored, Mumbo, there’s no crimes rn, which is a good thing btw, but still boring.
Mumbo: Well, if you’re bored, then let’s talk about that weird wanted poster of me that is basically just lies </3
Grian: Oh yeah, how much is your bounty? I didn’t get to see it.
Mumbo: Around $900,000. Why?
Grian: HA! MINE IS MORE THAN DOUBLE OF YOURS
Mumbo: I didn’t know this was a competition
Grian: Neither did I, but I’ll take anything to one-up you.
Mumbo: I’m going back to bed
Grian: GOOD, GO TO SLEEP, YOU MALNOURISHED VAMPIRE
Mumbo closes the phone and lies down on the couch as he slowly dozes off for a nap. He tries not to think about Scar as he sleeps.
Mumbo is awoken by a couple of knocks to his door as his eyes readjusts to his surroundings. He slowly closes them again, muttering just five more minutes under his breath.
“Mumbo? Are you there?” Scar calls out, and Mumbo’s eyes shoot up as he gets up and combs his hair with his hands as he tries to make it look presentable. “Yeah! I’m coming.” Mumbo says as he rushes through the door.
“Hi!” Scar greets him at the door, flashing with that award-winning smile. He took off his jacket now, and that t-shirt of his did nothing to hide how much his arms were almost clinging to it.
Don’t be weird, don’t be weird, don’t be weird, Mumbo repeats to his mind. He really doesn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of his new neighbor.
“I just wanted to give you this, as a welcome gift as your new neighbor,” Scar says as he holds out a box of what Mumbo assumes to be cake, as it is wrapped in a red box with red ribbons tied around it. It has the same design as the bakery down the street.
“Oh, you really didn’t have to.” Mumbo takes out the box and offers Scar to come inside as he places the box of cake in his fridge for later.
“Would you like coffee or tea? Mumbo offers as Scar enters and closes the door.
“Coffee, please.” Mumbo nods as he heads to the small kitchen of his to make two cups of coffee, one for himself. “Oh, and please make yourself comfortable,” Mumbo says as he grabs the 2 mugs, powder of coffee, and sugar from the closet. He grabs the thermos and begins preparing the coffees as he looks up to see what Scar is doing.
Scar is just standing there, his back is turned to Mumbo, clutching his cane with his right hand as he glances at the surroundings of Mumbo’s room. Which is a bit weird to Mumbo, because both of them have the same room. He went to Mr. Mitchel’s room a few times before, and it's completely identical to his apart from the personal decorations. Usually, when he has visitors, they just sit down on his couch and turn on the TV or something, but somehow Scar’s acting unusual to Mumbo
It’s almost as if he’s looking for something.
Mumbo keeps his eyes on the coffee, focusing his peripheral vision on the Scar. He clanks the teaspoon hard on the mug to give the impression that he’s still making coffee, but Mumbo is slightly freaking out right now.
Maybe he’s just being too judgmental. Different people with different attitudes exist, that’s just how it is. Maybe Scar is just curious if Mumbo even decorates his room, which he doesn’t because he does not have any money to be doing that.
Mumbo lets the thought go, until a horrifying possibility crossed his mind as he fumbles in pouring water for the thermos. He mixes the coffee immediately as he sets it down on the table at the couch.” I’ll just go to the bathroom quick,” Mumbo says, trying not to fumble his words.
“Yeah, sure, go ahead, thanks for the coffee,” Scar says as he sits down, settling his cane to the side as he grabs a mug and blows the heat away. “Yeah, no problem,” Mumbo says, as he briskly walks into the bathroom and locks the door.
His breathing is quickening by the second as he tries to rationally gather his thoughts. The incident with Sunset Corporation just happened. The posters that followed were just a bonus. HQ was probably planning to release those wanted posters despite the downfall of the corporation, so Mumbo could chalk off those two as a coincidence.
But a new neighbor, moving into his apartment, who literally looks like he has the money to go somewhere more luxurious? Mumbo doesn’t buy that for a second, not to mention that he was subtly snooping around his room, which now he’s convinced that he's definitely looking for something that counts as evidence.
Mumbo wipes the sweat that’s slowly building up from his face as he tries not to stress at his situation. Now that this train of thought enters his mind, he can’t ignore it now.
There is a slight possibility that this neighbor was sent by HQ to catch him.