Actions

Work Header

Scarian Courtship

Summary:

Eldritch fallen angel Grian, human Scar. Grian is courting Scar according to old-timey traditions, but being a bit eldritch about it (he doesn't fully understand humans). Scar is extremely fond of Grian's clumsy attempts, and is completely head-over-heels in love with this weirdo. Possible love at first sight? Super fluffy and sappy. Much mutual pining.

Notes:

This fic is for the second boss battle!

Matching tags: AU-Eldritch, Devotion, Domestic Fluff, Fallen Angel, Getting Together

Work Text:

The first time Scar ever saw Grian, Grian was in full eldritch-fallen-angel mode. Wings beyond comprehension, too many eyes in all the wrong places, and a purple light engulfing any suggestion of a main body.

Scar was immediately in love.

He's not quite sure how it happened, but Scar--tiny, human, bound-in-a-wheelchair Scar--managed to capture the attention of this eldritch being. His palms were sweaty when he approached Grian, making it difficult to maneuver his wheelchair, and when all those wonderful eyes focused on him, he completely lost his breath. The eyes were in all shapes and sizes, colors impossible for any normal human to naturally have. When he finally managed to stutter out a greeting, the impossibility in front of him seemed to collapse in on itself; revealing a surprisingly short humanoid being with bright purple wings and pure-black eyes.

"Hello! I hope I didn't scare you; I lost control of my form for a second there! The name's Grian." he stuck a blackened hand out to shake.

Scar didn't hesitate to shake his hand, noticing the black seemed to disappear under his sleeve, "No worries! It was actually quite amazing to see! My name's Scar, it's lovely to meet you!"

---

When Grian was first cast down to Earth, he never once imagined he would be welcomed warmly by the humans. In fact, he was proven correct for several millennium. His natural form was considered nightmare-fuel by the humans, and even once he managed to condense down into something humanoid, he was never able to hide the wings, eyes, and blackened arms.

Eventually however, as more and more beings once associated with various mythologies started revealing themselves to the humans, Grian himself was slowly accepted into normal society. Of course, his natural form continued to scare all who saw it, but maintaining a human form was exhausting and his focus slipped from time to time.

It was during one of these times, when he just could not contain his real form any longer and had to let loose, that he met Scar for the first time.

The human was fearless, approaching him in a wheelchair and barely stuttering even as all of Grian's eye turned as one to focus on him. He was radiating pure awe, an emotion Grian hadn't tasted in far too long. It gave him a rush of energy; just enough to be able to condense his form down once again.

As the two exchanged their greetings, Grian decided on one thing. He would not scare off the first person to call him "amazing" without fear.

---

It started small; precious gems and shiny rocks presented to Scar with the energy of a young child showing off the cool thing they found. Scar treasured each and every one of them. A friend! He had managed to befriend a being beyond comprehension; how could he not treasure such lovely gifts? Everything went in a silk bag attached to his person so as to never risk loosing them.

Grian seemed preen every time he saw another gift be slipped into the silk bag; a wide smile split his face, showing off sharp teeth. His wings would fluff and quiver as though aching to show off. The gifts were always presented in private after the first time someone else showed interest in the gem Grian was handing Scar, and Grian nearly bit their head off. Literally.

Scar was probably a bit too into that.

Figuring out what to give Grian in exchange ended up being much easier than he anticipated. A simple red sweater handmade from a soft yarn with custom slits in the back for wings earned Scar the honor of seeing Grian blush purple and his wings puff up bigger than ever. Grian was down-right revenant as he accepted the gift, and it quickly became a staple of his wardrobe. After that, Scar made it a point to knit or crochet soft things for Grian.

---

Several months passed before Grian decided to initiate the next step of his courtship plan. Gift-giving was something humans understood, and unfortunately killing any who looked at Scar the wrong way was highly frowned upon. Scar had no wings to preen, so Grian settled on grooming his hair.

Grian had gotten into the habit of standing behind Scar when in public so no-one could grab his wheelchair and move it without permission--another thing Grian had nearly literally bitten someone's head off for. The temptation to start messing with Scar's hair was strong, but he limited himself to only fixing his hair when in public. Wing preening was done in private, so grooming one's hair must also be done in private.

When the two finally made it home, Scar practically collapsed on the couch after carefully maneuvering out of his wheelchair. Seeing his chance, Grian practically skipped over to grab a stool and set it behind where Scar was sitting.

At the first touch of slightly too-sharp fingers scratching at his scalp, Scar melted. "Ooh, that feels absolutely lovely! Never stop."

"Didn't plan on it."

---

Scar knew he was being courted. Grian might not have said it out-loud, but he always looked a tad too pleased every time Scar accepted a gift from him. There were unfortunately no books on angelic courting, but he did manage to get his hands on one written by an avian talking about avian courting. The gift-giving was something avians also did, so Scar figured it was close enough.

Learning that gifting clothes was generally a late-stage courting gift was a tad bit embarrassing, especially since handmade stuff was particularly intimate. Scar hoped it was a bit different for angelic beings, but he didn't regret it at all.

After the gift-giving, the next step tended to be cooking food for the other. However, Grian didn't really need to eat. Sure, he enjoyed the cookies Scar baked, but food probably wasn't a big part of his culture.

Wing preening was the final step before the more... extreme steps. It took a moment, but Scar figured Grian messing with his hair was close enough since Scar didn't have wings. Scar felt a soft smile boom on his face at the thought, and decided it was time to repay the favor.

His opportunity came a couple days later; Grian was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, sketching something Scar couldn't see. Getting out of his chair was never an easy task, so Scar transferred himself to the couch before sliding to the floor to sit behind Grian.

"Can I touch your wings?" the soft spoken question caused Grian to freeze in place as he processed.

A simple "please" was all Scar needed to settle his hands in the soft feathers. He had done some research into how avians preened their wings, but he was still hesitant to really dig his fingers in. Even just the light touch seemed to be enough for Grian though, as he nearly collapsed forwards onto the table, spreading his wings and pushing them insistently into Scars hands. A small chuckle escaped Scar and he fully relaxed and started brushing his fingers through his love's feathers.

---

Grian never could have imagined successfully courting a human, but here he is; relaxing in bed with Scar enveloped in his arms and wings. They had gotten married in Spring, and now it was Winter and they were curled up, having a lazy morning in bed. Scar was taking full advantage of his lover's massive wings and was fully covered by feathers. The fallen angel couldn't stop the fond smile settling on his face even if he wanted to.

This wonderful, confident, and trusting human was cuddling him with no fear what-so-ever. Him, an angel that fell from grace, who couldn't always keep a human form, and who had been considered a monster by mankind for millennium. Him, with his hands and arms blackened by holy fire, with teeth and fingers too sharp, and wings a bright purple he still sometimes hated.

He had found someone who loved him unconditionally; eldritch traits and everything. He would fall from grace a thousand more times if it meant he could keep Scar in his life.