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Everything seemed normal on the Hermitcraft server, or at least that's what it looked like to any other people. But if you looked closely, you would see little to no progress everywhere. If you listened closely, you would hear the worried whispers of the Hermits and the coughing fits of one of them, one who always wore a suit, a beautiful moustache and a warm smile.
Everyone was starting to get worried about Mumbo, especially Xisuma. He’d known the kid for at least a decade, and he always answered the Hermits, even when he was burnt out. But it had been days without a single sign of life other than Grian and Scar telling them they heard the man cough late in the night. Everyone's dread came to a peak when Scott joined Hermitcraft saying he had no news of Mumbo and he was getting worried.
Xisuma showed Scott to Mumbo's bunker, only being interrupted by Grian and Scar telling them that Mumbo wasn't doing well. They entered his base to check up on him and give him some healing potion in hope to soothe his throat with all the coughing he's been doing recently. The admin told them to go back to their project, with the promise of getting more potions from Stress while Scott stayed with Mumbo.
Upon entering the bunker, Scott got hit by the smell of blood and flowers. All he could see was his lover curled up on some moss, surrounded by basils [Hate], dead amaryllis [Pride], nettles [Cruelty] and wormwoods [Bitterness].
The first thing Scott did was clean a bit around the bunker. He got rid of the blood, of all the dirt, he helped Mumbo to the bathroom so he could shower, or at least clean his face. And when the moustached man came out of the bathroom, he just slumped again on the spot of moss he was laying on before. Seeing his love who was so full of life, act and look so… empty, made Scott's heart constrict in his chest. The man sat down next to Mumbo and tried talking to him.
"Hey Love, how you doing ?" he asked while brushing Mumbo's hair back. He got no answers from him so he tried again. "Do you want or need anything ? I can make you dinner if you want." Still no answers, Scott had no idea how to make his boyfriend react.
He tried talking to him, brushing his hair with his fingers, holding his hand, playing with his fingers, kissing his cheek, nothing worked. The night was falling fast and Scott ended up playing with Mumbo's hair while humming a song and observing the half-finished bunker. He noticed a chest still open with random blocks scattered around it, like they had been thrown in the general direction in frustration. He noticed there was very little decoration inside even though it had been a while since the Hermits joined this world. He felt the coldness of a base not loved by its creator. Scott knew Mumbo's struggles with his base this season, but he never thought it would be in such a rough state. The redstoner seemed so proud of his idea and rambled about it to the teal haired man for hours on end. Now it all seemed like a burden to him. With a sigh, Scott laid down next to Mumbo, taking him into his arms and falling asleep to the sound of the other man's breathing.
He woke up to the sunlight beaming from the glass ceiling and hitting Scott right in the face. He cuddled into Mumbo's chest until he remembered his lover's state and looked at his face to see if he was sleeping or not. Blue eyes met dark brown ; guess Mumbo is awake. Looking more attentively, Scott noticed Mumbo's eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying, a lot. That was when he noticed it, the flowers, all around both men, the same as yesterday, but this time he found one singular camellia [Longing for you] between them, its petals a bit crushed after the night. But when Scott got up, he noticed the moss had spread during the night.
Scott grabbed food and prepared breakfast in hope of Mumbo joining him to eat, in vain. It seemed he was in another world, not hearing anything Scott might say. So instead he sat back down next to the man who used to be so put together and helped him eat, giving him little bites of food. When the plate was empty, he did the dishes and tried again to get any reactions from Mumbo. All day long.
And that's how the days passed, nothing ever changed, except for the moss and the flowers growing and expanding. No matter how much Scott tried to get rid of them, it seemed that by the next day more had grown. He saw vines creeping up the walls of the bunker and spreading. He noticed Belladonna [Silence] growing near the windows and the entrance of the build. He picked the Rues [Regret] that bloomed in between them with the Camellia every morning. He cried after a pretty rough day when he saw a picture of Mumbo and him together.
The picture was taken during their very first date, Scott had prepared a picnic that day. He remembered Mumbo's face so clearly when he saw all the preparation, he remembered Mumbo's blush when the tall man got a bouquet of white and red tulips [I declare my love for you] from behind him. He remembered his warm, sunny, beautiful smile when Scott told him he loved them. He remembered the warmth of his hugs and the love he could hear in his laugh.
Maybe that was why seeing the frame broken by lilacs [First love, Reminiscence] growing and the picture destroyed by asphodels and rosemaries [Remembrance] blooming made the restrained tears spill. Grian had to pry him away from the bunker for the night while Xisuma looked over Mumbo.
Then the next morning came, and Scott entered the bunker, but this time to a panicking Xisuma. That was when he saw it. Flowers, growing on Mumbo, using him to root themselves onto the ground. Scott saw the poppies [eternal sleep] on his face, the rues [Regret] on his hands, the wormwoods on his legs, the basil on his side. He saw everything, all the flowers, the dead amaryllis, the asphodels, the belladonnas, the camellias, the withering hawthorns [Hope], but he also saw a lot of new flowers, flowers he knew symbolised death. He saw chrysanthemums, hemlocks, a mix of poppies and snowdrops, cypress and even more poppies.
Panic took over him, he knelt down, trembling, shaking Mumbo's shoulder, hoping for him to get up, to get rid of the flowers. Nothing. More days passed, more flowers grew on Mumbo, the man never noticed. But Scott did. Mumbo never noticed he wasn't answering any stimulus. But Scott did. Mumbo never noticed he was slowly dying. But Scott did.
Slowly. Mumbo disappeared in front of his lover. Leaving behind a bed of sweet peas, hyacinths and forget-me-nots. The message was clear : "Thank you for such a lovely time, please forgive me". The bunker, surrounded by poppies and dahlias, became the grave of someone who was cherished. With one singular flower where Mumbo's heart would have been, an orange blossom [Eternal Love].
All Scott has left of Mumbo is memories, and the flowers he became. Memories that would get blurry with time and flowers that would one day die. Because nothing is eternal.