Archive of Our Own

Going on a date with your husband should be a simple thing, right? You’ve done it dozens of times, perfected the plans as best as you could so that nothing could go wrong, but of course, the city you live in gets in the way. At least一 that’s what Scar believes as he huddles with his husband in the corner of the restaurant they were trying to have a peaceful evening in, because of course the universe is screwing him over. 

The world was full of hybrids and individuals born with supernatural abilities, from birds to deer, zombies to angels, any animal or creature you could think of had a hybrid variant somewhere. From any element to any ability, there was someone with that power. The city of Hermitville was home to most of the world's hybrids and super-powered beings, making it a safe area for them. But it brought villains, hybrids who wanted to use their abilities to wreck havoc for their own gains. 

One in particular was sly and always managed to evade capture even in situations where the odds were completely against them. The shadowy figure known as The Puppeteer, they were shrouded in darkness, with purple accents decorating their figure. The Puppeteer was not only feared for their crimes一 but also for their ability. They could control people and use them as accomplices or as a diversion against the heroes—uncaring if their victims were injured or killed. To fight off The Puppeteer and other villains, the city created their own band of heroes to help manage the chaos. But to say they were the perfect balance between good and evil would be a lie. 

The heroes are corrupt; doing it for the money and fame. 

During battles with villains, they don’t care about their impacts on civilians一even going as far as nearly killing The Puppeteer's victims while trying to capture them, many people ended up lying in a hospital fighting for their lives.

Grian and Scar were part of the world's percentage of hybrids, with Grian being a parrot hybrid and Scar being a vex hybrid. When they first met, they had hit it off instantly, with both of them bonding over their interest in architecture. They had started as great friends, with feelings slowly beginning to simmer between them一 something that had been noticed by their group of friends, who all eventually got tired of them dancing around each other and decided to do something about them. Which led to where they are today — a married couple cowering in a corner waiting for the villain's attack to end. 

Villain attacks used to be relentless, but lately they were less frequent, making the two believe that they would finally, finally have an uninterrupted date night. But of course, nothing ever went to plan for them.

“You think it’s safe now?” Grian’s voice broke out一 low and quiet, carried through the air of their small space. He was fiddling with the loose, flowing ruffles at the cuffs of his maroon silk shirt. Scar noticed it as something his partner often did when he was stressed or anxious. He tightened his grip on his partner's shoulder and slipped his hand into Grian’s free one, hoping to comfort him as best he could.

“I'm not sure,” Scar mumbled, tapping his partner's knuckles in a repetitive motion. “The fight might have moved, I haven’t heard anything for a few minutes”

Grian took a deep breath, squeezing his hand in Scar’s hold. “I just want to go home…Tonight was supposed to finally be our chance to get a night out” His eyes dropped to their entwined hands, his disappointment seeping into his voice.

“I know… But no one could've predicted an attack tonight…” The vex shifted his head and pressed a kiss to the side of his partner's head. “But since there was an attack tonight.. Maybe there won't be one tomorrow and we might have a chance” 

“You know I can’t tomorrow..” Grian mumbled in disappointment. “Nothing ever goes to plan for us, huh?” He let out a forced chuckle, glancing at Scar through the corner of his eye.

Scar stayed silent, a frown creeping onto his face. With Grian being a professor of architecture at the city's university, free time was limited for him due to it being finals. Sometimes Scar would come home from work and find Grian slumped over his desk, asleep, with his head resting on his arms and his glasses half off his face. Papers would be scattered all over the desk and his pen would be far away from him一probably rolling away from him when he dropped it and passed out. Those nights, Scar would have to move his husband from off the desk and onto their bed which was a difficult task due to the avian's large wings.

“Finals are over soon though, right? Then it'll be break and you’ll have more free time for us to go out.” Scar’s days were always less busier than Grian’s, giving him more time and availability to spend time with his partner. Maybe when Grian gets on break they could go on vacation out of the country to a beautiful tropical country.

Grian tilted his head up, listening for the sounds of the battle between the heroes and villains. “I think that either the fights over, or they moved like you said”

Scar hummed in agreement, tilting his head to get a better view at the restaurant's front door. “Think we can make it out now?” He questioned, glancing at Grian again. Even in a moment of crisis his husband was beautiful. Scar stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and focusing on the task at hand. But against his will his cheeks had turned slightly pink, and of course, his partner had to be staring right at him.

Grian saw the light pink that dusted across Scar’s cheeks, and a small smug smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Come on, let's get out of here before we lose our chance.”

The avian stood up, stretching his wings. Having them pressed against a wall for a good 20 minutes was very uncomfortable, and he couldn’t help but wince at the slight ache in them as he extended them to their full length.

He turned around and extended a hand to Scar to help him get up, tucking his wings back behind him in the process. Scar gratefully took his hand and allowed him to pull him up, he lightly dusted his dress shirt to smooth it out a little一not like it mattered since their dinner date was already ruined.

Grian pulled him to the front door of the restaurant, taking a quick assessment of the outside to see if it was safe. He saw nothing, only the remnants of when the fight had taken place there.

There were scorch marks across the sidewalks and a small patch of grass was on fire. A bit of the road was also damaged, creating a pothole that the city would probably never get around to fixing. He frowned, recognizing most of those damages and identifying the cause to be the heroes. 

The heroes didn’t care about damaging city property, as the city claimed they would pay for all of it. They did tend to avoid residential areas as those weren’t covered by the city, and if they damaged any homes, they would have to pay for it themselves.

Scar tapped his shoulder and pointed in the distance. “They’ve taken the fight down there, I can see Phoenix’s fire from here.” Grian shifted his gaze to where Scar was pointing, and noticed it as well.

“Oh come on! That's the direction to our house!” The feathers on his aural wings puffed up in annoyance, his arms flailing in front of him. Scar placed a hand on his shoulder, speaking a soothing tone.

“It’s fine, they can’t do any damage to that area, and if they did they’d just have to pay for it.” Although the chances of their home being damaged in an attack were low一they weren’t unlikely.

Grian sighed, “Yeah you’re right..” He mumbled. “That just means we have to take the long way back…” His shoulders slumped and he pouted a little. Scar chuckled, Grian hated taking the longer way home because it caused them to have to go through the alleyways which his wings would scratch on the walls due to how small they were.

“Come on, we’ll get home faster if we go now” He slipped his hand down Grians arm and intertwined their hands. He started to turn around and gave Grians hand a light tug as a sign to follow him. His partner sighed again and turned to tail behind him 

The alleyways were long and dark, with stray animals darting in and out of them for temporary shelter or scavenging for food. This wasn’t the first time they’d travelled through them, as they found themselves needing them quite often during attacks. The area they lived was near a park一a hotspot for hero fights. 

Grian always wished they’d find some other park to fight in, as the fights often ruined the natural environment of the park that he adored. The area gave him space to stretch out his large wings and even give them a bit of a fly. Naturally, Scar had to listen to his rants about the fights, like how Phoenix often torched half the place with her fire, and the cracks in the land left from Voidwalker when he used his abilities.

Grian also hated how close he had to keep his wings to his back, it was one of the most uncomfortable things in the world for him一 but if he didn’t then he’d have to risk them scratching against the bricks walls, he shuddered at the thought, feeling a sense of ghost pain flow through his wings. Sure it was a quick route home, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

As they moved through the alleys, all they could hear was the quiet shuffle of their feet and the occasional rustle of a stray animal trying to get away from them. Grian could see the end of the alleyway that they always exited from. But there was a figure blocking it this time. The avian’s eyes narrowed, trying to identify the figure.

He couldn’t see anything, they seemed like they were wearing a hood of some kind, but other than that they just looked like they were covered in darkness. That made Grian freeze in place…What if it一

“G?” Scars voice cut through his thoughts, his head whipped around to look at his partner一 who was currently was currently looking at him with concern in his expression. “..you okay?” He felt Scar squeeze his hand, and he suddenly became very aware of his racing heartbeat in his ears and his heavy breathing.

“Ye-yeah I’m fine I just..” He glanced back at the end of the alley, hoping he was just seeing things. The figure was still there.

“Scar…” He took a step back, tugging Scar's hand to follow him. 

“Gri, what's going on…?” Scar looked confused, Grian couldn’t understand why, hadn’t Scar seen the figure as well?

Grians eyes darted back to the figure at the end of the alleyway, he squeezed Scar's hand again, bringing his frazzled gaze back to his husband's eyes. “You..You don’t see it?”

“See what?” Scar turned to the end of the alleyway to try and see what his partner was seeing, but he saw nothing. He turned back to Grian and grabbed both his hands. “Songbird, you're scaring me…what’s going on?”

He’s一He’s joking, he has to be. Grians thoughts were running at a mile a minute, how? How has Scar not seen what he’s seeing, what was going on? He wasn’t crazy…right? He couldn’t take his eyes off the figure, surely it wasn’t them…right?

But then the figure began to turn, and that’s when Grian felt his entire body go rigid, his muscles tensed, his eyes refusing to look away. He was right. He was next.

The figure was fully facing him, purple accents adoring their face and clothes, the rest covered in shadows. His heart pounded in his ears, a ringing sound following it. He could hear Scar calling out to him, he could hear the concern in his voice. But all his attention was focused on the figure, on the fact that The Puppeteer stood right before him.

He knew what this meant. He knew that he was next. He’d read all about The Puppeteer and how their victims described being under their control. The victims often stated that before it happened, The Puppeteer would appear only to them, no one else could see them. It was the beginning of their controlling power, and the next would be a complete loss of control over his own body. That’s why I froze. He thought.

The Puppeteer was staring directly into his eyes, and no matter what, he couldn’t look away. He felt a chill creeping through his bones, moving up and up towards the top of his body. His vision clouded, everything was blurry, the ringing in his ears was louder. He couldn’t hear Scar anymore. He couldn’t hear Scar anymore一

Everything stopped for him. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t control himself. He couldn’t stop his own fist from closing and punching Scar right in the chest. He couldn’t stop himself from following The Puppeteer.

His chest hurt and his head pounded like a drum. He was slumped against the wall as he clutched his head, the pain was more than likely coming from hitting his head when Grian punched h一

Grian.

Scar shot up from his slumped position. What the hell had just happened? One moment they were peacefully walking through the alleyway, and the next his husband had punched him into a wall.

Something had obviously been wrong, that he could tell. Grian had frozen in place once they’d reached the end of the alleyway, he’d stopped answering Scar, his eyes had gone unfocused and hazy and Scar could have sworn he saw black seeping through his partners eyes一

Witnesses of the process had noticed a strange black liquid covering the victims eyes.

Scar froze. The Puppeteer, The Puppeteer had taken control over Grian.

He ignored the ache in his chest where Grian had punched him一Which would definitely leave a bruise later—and the buzz in his head and stood up. He leaned against the wall for a moment to catch his breath, then pushed off it and set off. He was determined to find Grian, he was determined to break The Puppeteers control over him.

As he stumbled out of the alleyway, he thought about all the common things The Puppeteer did with their victims. He recalled a report he read about how they often used them for heists or distractions for the heroes. He really hoped it was just for some petty crime and that Grian wasn’t being used as a distraction. Victims used for distraction either got hospitalized for weeks, or on the rare occasion一 died.

He pulled out his phone and opened up one of his hero tracker apps, looking for the latest reports. He groaned in frustration when there wasn’t anything new, the heroes were still fighting The Puppeteers teammates, and there was still no sign of The Puppeteer. He couldn’t rely on the app to figure out where Grian was, so he decided to go to the source. The fight itself.

Dropping his phone back into his pocket, he began to walk forward. Due to the ache in his chest he was slower than he would’ve wanted, his lungs hurt from doing barely anything, but it was where he was punched. Scar lifted his hand to the back of his head and confirmed his suspicion that he had hit his head due to the warm red blood that covered his fingers.

He sighed, bringing his hand down to clutch his torso as he moved towards the fight. From what he could see, the fight that had originally moved to the park had once again moved, but this time it was right on the street of their home. Aside from seeing the abilities of the heroes, he couldn’t make out other aspects of the fight. All he hoped was that Grian wasn’t there.

He walked as quickly as he could for five blocks before finally getting a close enough distance to the fight to see what was going on, but it was still dangerous for him given his state. He knew this street like the back of his hand so it was very easy to duck into a small hiding spot for safety. From his hiding spot he watched, taking in account of everyone that was there. First, he spotted Phoenix, her hair was up and ablaze一a case that was natural for Blaze hybrids一she seemed like she was recovering from a blow she had taken as she was clutching the side of her stomach, but Scar saw no blood so he assumed that her attacker was utilizing hand to hand combat.

Next he spotted Voidwalker, he couldn’t see much damage done to him aside from his cracked visor and a piece of his sleeve torn off at the shoulder, red seeping into the blue accents of his suit from a scratch-like gash. Other than that he seemed fine in Scars eyes, there was no effect on his ability to fight nor on his powers. But he did noticed that Voidwalker was starting to become agitated一probably with whoever they were fighting一 That was what Scar still couldn’t figure out, Who were they fighting? He still hadn’t spotted them.

He glanced around the scene again, and spotted Psystrike. He was slouched against a wall, and looked like he was clutching his head. Scar could see his shoulders moving up and down heavily due to his breathing. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, a sudden shriek cutting through the air. His hands had tightened around his head as he started hitting it repeatedly against the concrete. A power The Puppeteer grants their victims, the vex had read about that too一It granted the puppets the ability to send high-pitched soundwaves to their target, immobilizing them and causing immense pain. The pain only ended if the puppet lost focus on their target. Scar flinched at the sight, his face scrunching up due to the screaming. He tore his eyes away from the sight and glanced around the fight again. He spotted no one else, were they fighting someone invisible? Was that why they were losing? Then he heard noises above him, and whipped his head up to the sky. That's when he noticed the set of vibrant red wings.

That's why he didn’t spot the fight, it was in the air. And the person the heroes were fighting…was Grian.

Grian was mid-fight with Volare in the air, and Scar could barely make out his void covered eyes. Scar felt like he couldn’t breathe, everything he hoped wasn’t true was happening right in front of his eyes. The Puppeteer was using Grian as a distraction to get away, they were risking Grians life and he couldn’t do anything about it, all he could do was be a witness.

The fight was short-lived from when Scar had begun to watch it, with the ending being Volare kicking Grian hard enough that he sent him crashing down onto the ground, hitting it with a thunk that made Scar sick to his stomach.

Grian scrambled to get back up on his feet, but he was wobbly and unstable. Volare landed a few metres away from him, assessing his state before determining that he was more than likely too weak to keep fighting. The heroes noticed his weakness as well and followed Volare's lead in approaching him. Once Grian realized that they had been approaching him, he became frantic一Flaring his wings and snapping at them like a wild animal. 

Phoenix scoffed at his attempts of defense, “Look at him, reduced to the filth that he is.” She gestured to his wild state, glancing at her hero friends who grinned in agreement. Phoenix wasn’t a hybrid, she was born with her abilities and has made her stance of hybrids very clear that she hated them— The only hybrids she seemed to like were her fellow heroes.

“Watch your tone, Phoenix.” Volare snapped at her, his dark, scaly wings folded behind him as he stalked towards the avian. Volare was an ender dragon hybrid, with dark scales decorating his features, most notably underneath his glowing purple eyes. His outfit was dark and leathery, with sharp points on his shoulders. He was the head of the hero group, known to strike fear in criminals during the dark hours of the night.

Phoenix rolled her eyes and clenched her fist, and in the blink of an eye it was covered in flames, her eyes glowing unnaturally. “At least this puppet was fun to deal with. He actually managed to put up a good fight!” She cheered, her mouth forming a sinister grin.

“Still annoying to fight,” Voidwalker grumbled, rubbing his forehead, he must’ve just recovered from the effects of the puppets ability. “We lost too much time fighting him, The Puppeteer has probably gotten away already.”

Grian stopped moving, his expression was still wild and his movements were still frantic, but something had stopped him. Volare took that chance and approached him like a hunter stalking its prey. “Oh well, at least the fight was fun”. Scar heard the shing of a blade being unsheathed, and he panicked. Volare had taken his blade from off his back and had it poised to strike the avian. Scar had never felt more useless in his life, he felt like he couldn’t breathe and his feet were stuck to the ground. His partner was going to die. His husband was going to die. Grian was going to die.

The avian recognized Volare's stance, and he realized what would happen. He attempted one final move一a final act of defence out of pure fighting instinct 一and tried to lunge towards Volare with his talons outstretched to attack.

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang through the air as blood splattered on the grey concrete. Scar couldn’t breathe. His vision tunneled as he saw Grian stop mid-lunge and stumble backwards. The blood from the wound leaked into his shirt, intermingling with the deep red colour which made it invisible to the eye. The avian stumbled again, his knees going weak as he tried to stay upright. The heroes stood there grinning like maniacs. Volare sheathed his sword once again, an emotionless expression painted on his face, but it was clear that he regretted nothing.

Pain, that was all Grian could feel as the grasp of control The Puppeteer had on his body weakened. He felt warm liquid seeping down his chest as his head spun and his ears rang loudly. He tried to speak but the words refused to come out as he choked on air, desperately trying to breathe again. His vision cleared just enough to finally lay eyes on the heroes. Anger simmered inside him一he never trusted them, not even when they were first introduced to the public. He had always had an off feeling about them, sensing the corruption from the agency without any kind of proof to back up it. But now, like so many others, he’d fallen victim to the exact corruption he’d sensed.

He felt dizzy, the world felt like it was spinning faster than it should be, and he couldn’t stop his body from slumping forward and dropping to the ground hard. His eyes felt heavy as darkness tugged at his consciousness, his body begging for rest. He refused to close his eyes, fearing that if he did一he’d never wake up. 

As he battled with his mind to stay conscious, he faintly heard someone calling his name, but it felt distance一like he was underwater, but it sounded familiar.

Scar watched him drop to the ground, and his legs began moving before he’d even realized it. The heroes were still there, but who cares? His husband needed him more, and he would never abandon him, no matter what.

“Grian!” He heard himself scream as he sprinted towards his partner, falling to his knees beside him. He noticed the shaky rise and fall of Grians chest. He’s still breathing, he’s still alive. That’s all Scar needed, he needed him alive.

 He gently touched Grians shoulder and rolled him onto his back as gently as he could. His breath caught in his throat upon seeing the damages up close.

 There were small cuts and scraps littered across his husband's body, and bruises beginning to form on his left eye and chest. But the most notable damage was the deep slash that ran diagonally down from his collarbone to his abdomen. Blood was oozing out quickly, and if Scar did nothing, Grian would be dead in a matter of minutes. His eyes darted around, looking for something for him to use to slowly down the bleeding. He found nothing, so he yanked off his jacket and did his best to wrap it around the wound, tightening it to place enough pressure to slow the stream of blood. He frantically pulled out his phone and called for help—and with any luck, an ambulance would show up within the next five minutes. He relayed all the information to the operator on the phone and hung up at the first chance he got, focusing all his attention on Grian.

He gently lifted the avian into his lap, grasping his hand with his free one, trying to get a sign of consciousness from his partner. “G, wake up. Wake up, please” He begged, tears were forming in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. The avian's eyes remained closed, but Scar felt his hand twitch in his grasp.

“Songbird?” He choked out, a sob trying to force its way out of his throat. Grians eyes fluttered, a pained whine escaping his throat as he twitched in Scars embrace.

“...Scar?” Grian mumbled, pain covering his expression.

“Hey..” Tears began falling down his cheeks as he spoke, he desperately wanted to keep it together in front of his husband, but it was so damn hard when he was bleeding out right in front of his eyes.

The avian made a choked sound of pain, something in between a sob and a gasp. “It hurts- Scar it hurts, please-” He sobbed, his hand weakly moving up to grasp Scar's shirt.

“Hey, hey. It's okay, it's gonna be okay, I'm right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere, pretty bird” He tilted his head down to rest on his partners, his lips resting on the crown of his head as he tightened his embrace around the avian. His words were more to reassure himself as he silently prayed to whatever god would listen that his husband would make it out of this alive.

Grian whimpered in pain again, and Scar felt a stabbing pain in his heart hearing it. That ambulance better show up soon.

“Am一am I going to d-die?” Grian whispered, his eyes darting towards Scars, they were wide and full of fear, and Scar's heart shattered in an instant.

“No. No. You are not going to die, I promise. An ambulance is going to be here soon.” He felt the avian’s breathing become shallower and his eyes were starting to droop. They were running out of time.

This wasn't supposed to be happening, they were supposed to be enjoying a peaceful evening together. His husband shouldn’t be dying in his arms.  The sirens got closer, help got closer. He’ll live, he’ll be fine. Scar kept repeating those words in his head over and over again, thinking that if he thought hard enough, it would become reality.

Grians grasp on his shirt grew weaker, and his head started to drop. His mouth opened in an attempt to speak, but his chest stuttered and his breathing became fainter. His hand momentarily tightened around Scars shirt and he attempted to speak again, but he stopped moving, his hand falling into his lap.

Scar froze. He’s not moving. HE’S NOT MOVING. His mind was screaming at him to check on his partner, but his hands felt as if they were weighed down by stone. He stared at Grians face, it was still and his eyes were closed. His chest wasn’t moving, he wasn’t breathing. He finally snapped out of it and his hand shot up to his partners neck, pressing two fingers against his pulse point and waited一and waited. Nothing. Where there should be the steady beat from the heart of the man who captured his, a void had taken its place.

Now he couldn’t breathe, his chest was tight and suffocating him. This wasn’t real, surely this was just a horrific nightmare and he’d wake up and Grian would be right next to him, comforting him after he frantically wakes up, right? But reality was all around him, the blood, the pain in his own body. The lifeless corpse of his own husband in his arms. His arms tightened around the avian, his face dropping down to Grians chest, and he let the grief consume him. He sobbed into the avian's still chest, letting the world around him fade into nothing as he grappled with his situation.

The sound of sirens pierced through his ears once more, closer than they had ever been. He slightly lifted his head up, blinking past his teary vision to see that the ambulance had finally arrived, but was there even a chance to bring Grian back? Paramedics exited the ambulance and a couple went towards him, his head shot up as he frantically tried to explain.

“He-He’s not breathing an-and doesn’t have a pulse. Please you have to help him, Please” Scar’s eyes were frantic, and his grip on his partner was strong, A few more paramedics rushed over with supplies and Grian was taken away from him. He was reluctant to let him go but ultimately knew he had to if he wanted even the smallest chance of getting him back.

He stepped back from Grian and one of the paramedics began speaking to him一but he couldn't hear them, all his attention was focused on Grian, watching as they did everything they could to bring him back. He felt hands on his arms and he was pulled away from the scene. 

From there, everything was a blur. And now he was sitting in the passenger seat of Cub’s car, his leg bouncing up and down repeatedly. During his little blur of awareness, the paramedics had attempted resuscitation but nothing was happening, Grians heart refused to beat, so they loaded him into the ambulance to get him to the hospital as fast as they could in a final attempt to save him. But he couldn’t remember getting into Cubs car一or calling Cub at all, but he was there now.

“So what actually happened back there? You were frantic on the phone and made absolutely zero sense.” Cub questioned, keeping his eyes locked on the road in front of him. Scar hesitated, he didn’t even know what he had said to his brother at all, but Cub did deserve to know. His pointed ears drooped as he recalled the events, taking a deep breath and began to recall the events to Cub.

“An attack started in the middle of our dinner…The restaurant was evacuated but we couldn’t get out so we stayed behind till it was safe. When it was, we decided to take the alleyways home, but..” His fist curled around the fabric of his pants, his grip turning his knuckles white. Cub took a quick glance at him and noticed he was trembling. He lifted one of his hands that was resting on the wheel and placed it on Scars shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Scar took a shaky breath and continued, “Grian had stopped walking, and it was like he was just…frozen. I tried to get him to respond to me but then he punched me and I lost consciousness for a bit.

When I came to, he was nowhere to be found, so I went to look for him. When I did find him he was fighting the heroes, and I realized that The Puppeteer had taken over him.” As he recalled the events, his voice was becoming shakier and tears stung his eyes.

“I..I couldn’t help him. I just stood there frozen, watching as the heroes beat him up and hurt him. I just watched as they sliced a blade across his chest..!” He was sobbing now and his voice had increased in volume. He slouched forward and put his head in his hands.

 Why couldn’t he have done something? Why had he just stood there like an idiot? If he’d done something Grian might have been okay. He might have been there with him. He might not have to be fighting for his life.

The hand on his shoulder had tightened and the owner of said hand was trying to calm him down. “Scar! None of that was your fault, do you hear me?” Cubs voice was kind but stern, a comforting anchor in Scars panic. “Listen, we’ll be at the hospital in about five minutes, we’ll find out how he’s doing. And trust me, if we talk to him, he’ll agree with me that none of this is on you” They were at a red light now, and Cub was looking directly at him, hand still on his shoulder.

 Scar tilted his gaze to look at his brother, seeing the worry and kindness in his expression. His hands were still clenched around his pants, but they started to loosen. He met Cubs gaze and nodded slightly, slouching against the seat.

A comfortable silence fell between them once again as Cub started to drive again. Scar brought his gaze forward and spotted the hospital, his heart beginning to hammer in his chest. What if they arrived and the news was bad? What if he was dead? If he lost the one person who meant the world to him, his sun一He didn’t know what he’d do next or how to move on.

They pulled into the parking lot and Scar wasted no time to get out of the car and head towards the front entrance of the hospital. Cub was shouting at him to slow down and wait for him, but Scar needed news, he needed to know how Grian was doing. Once he had reached the entrance Cub had caught up to him, a little breathless. They made their way to the receptionists desk and Scar wasted absolutely no time.

“Hello, uhm…Im Scar Goodtimes, my husband Grian Goodtimes was brought here a little while ago in an ambulance. I-is there any news on how he’s doing?” His nerves returned, his hands were shaking and an aching feeling had grasped his heart. The receptionist began typing something on her computer, probably information on Grian was Scars assumption.

“Yes…” The receptionist hummed, “He was brought here about ten minutes ago, multiple injuries and a blade wound across his chest, correct?” Scar nodded. “He’s been placed in the ICU, and they did manage to resuscitate him. If you’d like to visit him he's in room 235” She explained, slipping Scar a piece of paper with all the information he needs.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” He gave her a quick smile and began to walk in the direction of the ICU, Cub following just a step behind him. He already felt a little bit lighter knowing Grian was still alive, but besides that and that he was in the ICU, that was all the information he had on the situation.

They made their way to room 235, and Scar paused outside the door. “You okay?” Cub asked behind him, his hand resting on his shoulder.

Scar hesitated for a moment, his mouth opening and closing. “I..I'm just afraid..of what we’ll see.” His voice was quiet and the tone of fear lingered.

“It’ll be okay, the good news is, he’s alive. I’m sure if there's any other information we need, they’ll tell us.” Cub patted his shoulder and nodded his head towards the door. Scar took a deep breath and placed his hand on the door handle, pushing it open.

Upon stepping inside, the smell of antiseptics invaded his senses, but what made him stop was the sight of the person in the bed.

Grian was laying as still as a statue, various machines hooked up to him and a ventilator attached to his mouth. Tears stung in Scar's eyes as he choked back his tears. He moved towards his partner, taking his hand squeezing it. Grians outfit that he took so much time picking to make sure it was absolutely perfect had been replaced by a hospital gown, with bandages peaking out from underneath it. 

The steady beat of the heart rate monitor and the whirr of the machines keeping him alive filled the room, creating a somber feeling in the air. Scar plumped down into the chair next to the bed, keeping his gaze locked on his husband's face as Cub moved to stand next him.

Some time soon a doctor should come in and update him on how Grian was doing, but for now, all he could do was sit and wait. He hoped for any sign of consciousness from Grian, but all the machines connected to him dwindled that hope, would he ever wake up?

Soon enough, a doctor entered the room, a clipboard in hand. “You’re…Scar Goodtimes correct? Mr. Goodtimes’ husband?” Scar moved his gaze away from Grians face to the doctors and nodded.

The doctor moved further into the room, “Mr. Goodtimes, your husband has sustained serious injuries as I'm sure you’re aware of,” He asked Scar, to which he nodded again. “Well, I’m also sure you’re aware that rescuers  attempted resuscitation on the scene but failed?” Scar nodded again.

“When Mr. Goodtimes was brought here, they did manage to resuscitate him, but due to the amount of time, he was in a state of clinical death, and there was a severe lack of oxygen to his brain.” The doctor explained, his gaze locked onto his clipboard as he recalled all the information to Scar.

Scars hand tightened around Grians, his brows furrowing in confusion. “So…What does that mean for him?” He asked with a shake in his voice. Was this it? Was he never going to awake?

“Your husband is in a deep coma,” The doctor raised his head from the clipboard to look at Scar, “hence why he needs all these machines” He gestured to all the machines around the bed.

Scars heart felt tight and Cubs hand had returned to his shoulder. “So…Will he wake up or..?” Please just let him live, the tiny voice in his head begged for it, begged for this to not be the end.

“I’d give him about two to four weeks before the decision goes to you on keeping him alive and waiting for him to awake or putting him to rest.”

Cubs grip on his shoulder tightened and his gaze fell downwards to the bed, his ears drooping. “Thank you..for updating us” Cub replied, nodding to the doctor, silently asking for privacy. The doctor nodded his head back in acknowledgement and stepped out of the room. Once they were alone once more, Cub sighed and glanced at his brother, taking in his broken expression and his tight grip on his partner's hand.

“Scar,” He muttered, noting the acknowledgement of his words by the slight perk of his brother's ears “He’ll be alright, don’t worry. He’ll make it through this.” The vex didn’t even take a glance at him, his gaze fixated on Grians face once more一 but he did nod. But Cub doubted he actually believed his words.

He patted Scars shoulder and spoke up again, “I’ve gotta go, I’ve got an early shift tomorrow so I need to get to sleep earlier, call me if you need anything or anything happens, okay?” Scar still refused to speak, but he nodded in acknowledgement. Cub moved to leave the room, taking one more glance at his brother, noting his slumped form, drooped ears, and red rimmed eyes. He didn’t want to leave, but ultimately knew he had to. He took one final sigh and left the room, leaving Scar alone with his unconscious husband.

The silence from the lack of Cubs presence was deafening for Scar, making him distinctively aware of everything else around him一Every beep from the heart monitor, every hiss from the ventilator, every rise and fall of Grians chest, the feeling of his hand around Scars. All of it was driving him crazy, a constant ringing present in his ears, every rustle of his clothes making his skin crawl.

Reality came crashing down on him in the silence一 this could be the end, Grian might never wake up, the last conversation they would have had was Scar begging for him to stay. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, he’d always imagined they’d have their entire lives together, that one would never spend their lives without the other.

Panic washed over him like a tidal wave, his chest feeling tight, the ringing in his ears becoming louder and louder as he struggled to breathe. His heart was pounding, the rhythmic thumb becoming frantic and audible in his ears. His hands felt clammy, and he subconsciously tightened his grip around Grians hand in an attempt to calm himself, ground himself to something. 

Everything was too real now, reality was looming over his head, he couldn’t hide in hopes and fiction, not when everything was right in front of his eyes. The thought only served to make his panic worse. He slumped forward, his head resting against Grians forearm. A familiar warm, wet feeling slid down his cheeks as he let out choked sobs, making his struggle to breathe even worse. There was no one there to help him, Cub had left, and Grian was teetering between life and death. He was completely and utterly alone.

He didn’t know how long he had been like that, but the ringing had gotten quieter, and he had regained some ability to breathe normally, but the tears hadn’t stopped. He felt so tired, everything was so heavy and he didn’t want to move. 

Maybe he’d fall asleep like that, he wouldn’t mind, he would be able to deal with the crick in his neck and the pain in his back from his position. Maybe he could find a better sleeping position, but he just couldn’t move. 

All the events of that evening had finally caught up to him, an ache settling in his legs from running quicker than he should have to find Grian after he had woken up from that punch. His eyes were teary and heavy, and he finally let the void of unconsciousness take him, letting the sounds of the machines fade into the background, lulling him into a dreamless sleep.

When Scar awoke, he had received a message from Cub, telling him that he had excused him from work for the rest of the week and that all his coworkers were wishing them both the best. He pocketed his phone and rested his head on his forearms on the bed.

He was still exhausted. Sure he had managed to get maybe a couple hours of good sleep, but it didn’t help. And just as he had suspected, his neck hurt like hell, as well as his back. That’s what he gets for sleeping in such a horrendous position.

He was still in his clothes from the previous evening, Grians blood staining the earthy brown fabric of his dress shirt. He vaguely remembered in the message that Cub had sent that he promised to stop by later and drop off some fresh clothes for him, which he looked forward to, because the sooner Cub got there, the sooner the clothes stained with his beloved’s blood would be off him.

He stared at Grians still face, tracing the contours of his face with his eyes. He looked so peaceful, like he wasn’t on the verge of death, but Scar knew that if those machines weren’t attached to him, he would be gone in the blink of an eye. The thought made his heart squeeze, and he shoved those thoughts down as far as he could. Everything would be fine, they had to be. No matter how much his brain screamed at him to be realistic, he couldn’t, it was how he was.

Throughout the day, nurses and doctors filtered in and out of the room, checking on Grian, changing his IVs and bandages, and sometimes checking on him. And before Scar knew it, it was the late-afternoon, and Cub was walking through the door.

“Hey,” Cub said as he entered, a bag in his hand. Probably the clothes he said he’d bring. “how are you doing?” Scar didn’t move for a moment, pondering his answer before lifting himself off his forearms and leaned back in the chair. His back thanked him for that, the pain making itself a little less known.

“Could be worse,” He muttered, his eyes trained downwards “how was your day?” Maybe idle conversation would help him, maybe it would actually get his mind to go to other places and stay far away from the negatives.

Cub hummed, grabbing the chair in the corner of the room and pulling it near where his brother sat. “Could have been better,” He started, sitting down in the chair and handing the bag to Scar. “Tango was in my ear all day about the parts I designed”

Scar glanced in the bag, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he saw his favourite hoodie in it. The dark purple one with poppies and lilacs embroidered on the sleeves. “For the usual things, I as-asune”

“Assume?” Cub corrected, watching as Scar nodded. Cub nodded in confirmation “Kept bugging me about all the tiny little details I could make better for the devices to be more effective.” He grumbled, “If he wanted his wind-charged thingamajig to be exactly like he wanted he should just design the parts himself.”

The idle conversation was in fact helping, as his mind focused on the conversation and not the potential impending doom of his partner. But it wouldn’t last long, it never did.

Cub had glanced past him, “How’s Grian doing?” He asked, his arms folding over his chest and one leg moving up to fold over the other. Scar took a quick glance at his husband.

“He’s…doing fine, I think. They haven’t told me any bad news or that he’s gotten worse, but they also haven’t told me if he’s doing better.” He mumbled, his hands tightening against the bag.

“He’ll be okay, Scar. It’s not his first near-death experience.” His brother was attempting to be reassuring, but Scar didn’t know if it was working. He remembered hearing about that, Grians first near-death experience. He’d been a kid who had just lost his parents when these weird, shadow creatures came and took him from his siblings, torturing him and more. He never talked about it very much and Scar never pushed him to. But if he’d been through it once and made it through it then surely, he could do it again.

Cub stood up with a sigh, “Well, I only came here to check on you and bring you those,” He gestured to the bag in Scars hands, “if you need something, call me”

“Thanks Cub..” A smile tugged at the corner of Scars lips, waving as Cub left the room. He glanced down at the bag in his hands and sighed, standing up to go to the restrooms to get changed. He slipped on the clothes and put the old ones in the bag, grimacing as he saw how much blood was actually on them. The new clothes were the comfort he needed, remembering when Grian had helped him embroider the flowers on the sleeves and laughing at him when he poked himself with the needle multiple times.

That was before they had even started dating, and once Scar had seen him smile at him, he was head over heels for him. He stared at himself in the mirror, finally taking in his disheveled appearance. His hair was a mess, his eyes were red and tired, and his posture was weighted down. He wondered why Cub hadn’t said anything about how he actually looked, but his gaze left the mirror and he walked back to the room, placing the bag down on the ground next to the chair and resting his arms on the bed, resuming his position from the night before.

One week had gone by, and nothing had changed. Grian was still unconscious and still required all the various machines hooked up to him, and Scar felt like he was losing hope. Throughout the week, friends came and went, offering support and just visiting. The ones who frequented though were Mumbo一 Grians best friend, Gem一 Grians non-blood related sister, and Jimmy and Pearl, Grians siblings. Pearl and Jimmy looked just as bad as he did, maybe worse. They’d already lost him once, and they didn’t want it to happen again.

Mumbo had brought by meals for Scar once he realized the vex had barely left Grians side, ignoring his own needs一which caused Mumbo to also give him a lesson on personal care, which Scar found not only amusing but also thoughtful. 

There was a vase full of a bouquet composed of sunflowers, daisies, yellow roses, and lavender from Gem on the table beside Grian, with a note tied to it that she made Scar swear that he wouldn’t open since it was for Grian when he woke up. He agreed, naturally一but also because she threatened him, and she scared him. A lot.

Pearl and Jimmy were mostly silent when visiting, offering their well wishes to Scar but mainly focused on their older brother. Pearl had made a bracelet containing one feather from each of their wings and had tied it on Grians wrist, believing it could help him. Jimmy had brought gifts and cards from his partners一 Tango and Scott, and placed them next to the vase of flowers.

All those visits were short but left an impact, the room had more things in it and it felt less like a prison Scar was trapped in. But all those things done by their friends and family couldn’t wake his husband up, so he was still stuck there, waiting.

Three weeks, that’s how long it took for something to change. Scar had been in his usual resting position of his head resting against his forearms on the bed with one hand wrapped around Grians, and he had sworn he felt his partners hand tighten around his, even if it was only slightly一he knew it had happened. It was very little, but it was progress. That little bit of hope had burned in his chest, but his optimism dwindled when he remembered that the doctors had said they’d only give Grian two to four weeks before the call was made to put him to rest, and time was running out. 

The room had become filled with little things brought by their friends. A photo of when they had all gone skiing now sat with the vase of dying flowers on the bedside table, he had been forgetting to water them, and sometimes felt like he was dying with them. Of course Gem has talked his ear off about forgetting, but started doing it less as the flowers wouldn’t have lasted that much longer anyways. The gifts had also begun to pile up, various bags, boxes and cards on the floor next to the table. Their friends were wonderful, and Scar wouldn’t trade them for anything, he just hoped Grian would appreciate this as much as he did when he awoke.

Three and a half weeks. Twenty four days. Five-hundred and seventy-six hours. Thirty-four thousand five hundred and sixty minutes. That was how long Grian had been in a coma for. But he had finally woken up.

It was early morning and Scar had been barely conscious after getting little sleep that night. He’d once again been in his horribly uncomfortable position, and he wasn’t moving, he could just feel the pain lingering in his back. But that wasn’t what made him frozen. What made him frozen was the weight he felt in his hair, a hand. After weeks of hoping and disappointment he didn’t want to get his hopes up, but what if it was his hand, what if he was awake.

With cautious optimism, Scar tilted his head up just a bit, allowing his eyes to peak over his forearms, and was met with the most beautiful sight ever. Grian was looking at him. His eyes were open and staring right at him with a look of fondness he hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. He shot up, surprising Grian as his hand had fallen out of Scars hair and onto the bed. 

Scars eyes were wide and happy, but there was a lingering doubt in them. “Grian..?” He whispered, his voice was hoarse and rough from crying and lack of use from having no one to talk to for a couple days. Grian was propped up on a couple of pillows, he was looking right at him and was smiling, but he wasn’t speaking, which was sending off alarm bells in Scars head. Was this a dream? Another cruel trick by his mind? “Am I dreaming? I一 I have to be” Scar slumped down, and looked at the floor.

Grian huffed, the hairs on his forehead flying up before falling back down. He slowly lifted his hand一 which he was clearly struggling to do so一 and pinched Scar, to which the vex yelped at and retracted his hand faster than Grian had ever seen.

Scar looked down at his hand in shock, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Im一im not dreaming” His gaze snapped up to Grians face, watching as the avian's smile returned once again and shook his head. Scars eyes brimmed with tears as he lunged forward, carefully  wrapping his arms around his husband to not disturb his injuries and burying his head in his neck, letting out choked sobs. Grians arms slowly came up to rest on his back. “Hi..” Grians voice was raspy and weak due to not being used in weeks. Scar felt like he could cry for hours just from hearing it. Weeks. The time frame felt unreal to him, that's how long he went without hearing his husband's voice, feeling his touch, and just having any form of interaction with him. 

After a few minutes, Scar pulled back and cupped Grians face with his hands. Tears were running down his face and his eyes were red and puffy. Despite his ugly crying, Grian was still looking at him like he was the most beautiful thing in the entire galaxy.

“I was so scared…” Scar choked out, more tears falling out of his eyes. “I一 I thought you were never going to wake up and I一” He stopped himself, he shouldn’t be talking about this, not now, not when everything was supposed to be happy. 

He noticed Grian had stopped looking at him and was instead looking at the various things that sat on and beside the table next to him.

“They’re..gifts from everyone,” Scar explained, the avian’s head turning back to look at him. “You had a lot, and I mean a lot, of visitors.” Grian glanced down at his wrist, finding the bracelet from Pearl resting there.

“Pearl made that when she found out…” The vex brought his hand to rest on Grians hand, his thumb lightly grazing the bracelet.

Grian opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to get words out. “How一How long一” He managed to ask, his eyes darting up to meet Scars.

“About three and a half weeks” Scar muttered, it still felt unreal to him. He watched as dread overtook Grians expression, realizing how much time he had truly lost.

“But the good thing,” He tightened his grip on his husband's hand, “is that you’re alive.” His other hand had moved to Grians cheek, his thumb moving across it in a repetitive motion. Grian grabbed his hand and weakly tugged it forward. Scar acknowledged that as him wanting a hug, so he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the avian once again, whispering reassurances to him.

Later in the day, a doctor had come back into the room to access Grians condition. Apparently one had been in here when he had woken up but they didn’t wake Scar up, which explained the propped up position his husband had been in when Scar first saw him.

“Mr. Goodtimes, good to see you awake,” The doctor nodded at Grian, to which he gave a small nod back, “Now that you are awake, we can move on to your recovery. I assume you’ve noticed your ability to speak has been affected.” Grian nodded again, a flash of annoyance in his eyes as he recalled his inability to speak much. “That isn’t the only thing that has been affected. You’ve lost quite a bit of muscle in your body and will require lots of physical training when you are well enough to do so. It will be a long road to complete recovery”

Both Scar and Grian nodded in acknowledgement before Scar spoke up, “How long until that?”

“Could be several months, maybe a year or two” The doctor explained with a small shrug.

Grians hand had tightened around Scars, and Scar began running his thumb over his partner's knuckles to comfort him. “Thank you” He nodded to the doctor as they left the room.

Scar looked back at Grian, noting his disappointed face. He lightly nudged him to get his attention, “Hey, it’ll be okay. We got through the worst of it” He said with a smile. The avian mirrored that smile, finding a bit of amusement in Scar's words. The vex brought his arms around him, “We’ll be okay”

“Yeah…” Grian muttered, leaning further into Scar’s embrace. 

“Well,” Scar pressed a light kiss to his temple and pulled back slightly “I might as well tell everyone you’re awake. Which means this place might get busy quickly.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick message to all their friends. 

“Everyones going to be at work so it’ll be a while before anyone shows up”

Grian hummed and his head fell down to rest on Scar's shoulders as his own slouched downwards. Scar smiled against his hair, “You tired?” He murmured, pocketing his phone and lifting his hand to Grians hair. Grian nodded faintly into his shoulder, his arms reaching out to hold Scar.

Scars smile grew wider and his other arm moved around the avian's waist, “You should get some rest before anyone shows up.” He gently repositioned himself to be resting against the pillows of the bed. Grian realized what he was doing and repositioned himself into a comfortable position that wouldn’t irritate his wound or his wings, and that position happened to be snuggled right against Scars chest.

It didn’t take long before the avians breath to even out and completely relaxed in Scar’s arms. Scar gazed down at his face, relief flooding his chest as he felt him breath against him. He was here, he was alive. The nightmares that plagued his mind for the weeks that Grian was unconscious had finally gone away.

Grian had remained asleep for a few hours, and Scar had stayed with him for every minute. He was lazily running his hands through Grians hair and tracing circles on arms when the door to the room suddenly swung open, two figures barging their way in.

Scar would be lying if he said he didn’t jump at the noise, but his brief panic was eased once he noticed the faces of Jimmy and Pearl. They quickly made their way over to the bed and hovered over Grian. “He’s just resting for now.” Scar explained, seeing the hesitance in their faces.

“But he’s no longer in a coma…right?” Pearl asked, her voice shaking.

Scar smiled and shook his head, and relief flooded through Pearl, the tension from her shoulders releasing as tears brimmed in her eyes.

Grian stirred against his chest, awaking from the noise of the voices around him. His eyes cracked open and he blinked a few times before turning his head to see his siblings. A smile broke out on his lips and he attempted to sit up, but quickly realized his muscles weren’t ready for that and fell back against Scar. Scar's brows furrowed and he assisted Grian in sitting up, letting his back rest against his chest. “You alright, songbird?” Scar asked, his voice tingling in Grians ear.

Grian nodded and focused his attention back on his siblings, who were looking at him with the most relief he had ever seen in a person. They seemed hesitant, as though they didn’t know how much pain he was in, but he quickly ceased their concern when he opened his arms and offered an embrace.

Pearl surged forward and engulfed him in a hug, but was careful of the wound on his. Jimmy joined in as well, one arm going around Pearls shoulder and one on Grians as well.

Pearl was sobbing against Grians shoulder as he rubbed his hand down her back in an attempt to comfort her. Jimmy wasn’t in the same state but he was crying in relief, his face pressed against Grians hair.

After a while, they both settled down and released their hold on Grian and instead pulled up chairs to sit next to the bed.

“I will warn you,” Scar called out, “He can’t speak very much.” Grian nodded beside him, a look of hurt flashing on his face from being reminded of his lack of speech before quickly disappearing一 not quick enough for Scar to not notice though, and he gently squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“How come?” Jimmy asked, worry present on his face.

“Because of how long he was in a coma for…” Scar explained, his thumb rubbing against the back of Grians hand. “And it's not the only thing that was affected…”

“What else?” Pearl asked, leaning forward in her chair slightly.

“He’s going to need physiotherapy to be able to walk. The doctor explained to me that due to the length of the coma, his muscles have weakened.”

Pearl looked back at Grian and studied his expression, noting the disappointment in his eyes. “Oh Griba…” She muttered, her hand reaching out to hold his. He smiled reassuringly at her, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“The doctors just need to check a few more things and then he’ll be discharged. We’ll probably be out of here by the evening.” Scar said, his gaze falling back to Pearl and Jimmy.

Jimmy nodded, “I’ll stop by later, I have some meals and gifts to give you.” He said softly.

“Thank you.” Scar muttered, relief present in his voice. Since he had basically spent the last three weeks of his life in a hospital, he didn’t have plans for meals nor did he have any groceries.

“Anytime,” Jimmy replied with a smile. He stood up and gave Grian a pat on the shoulder, “I need to get going, I only managed to get here since it’s my break, but I’m kind of running out of time…” His voice got quieter but higher in pitch as he glanced at the time on his watch.

Scar chuckled and looked back with a grin, “Wouldn’t this be the…twelfth time you’ve been late?” He teased, knowing Jimmy had a tendency to be late for work.

“Hey! Those were out of my control!” He exclaimed, pointing a finger at Scar as his face turned red in embarrassment. Beside Scar, Grian started laughing at his brother's antics, and Scar knew that if he could speak, he would be teasing his younger brother relentlessly.

“He is right, Jim.” Pearl said with a smile, standing up from her spot as well, “But I’ve also got to head out. And unlike Jimmy, I asked my boss if I could have an extended break to come here.” She said smugly, a smirk on her face as she looked at Jimmy.

Jimmy’s expression became more frazzled as he realized everyone was ganging up on him, but it quickly deflated and realized that he was defeated, his shoulders slumped and a pout appeared on his face. “I’ll see you guys later..” He muttered.

“Bye Jimmy!!” Scar exclaimed, a large grin on his face as he waved goodbye. Grian had a similar expression and was also waving goodbye.

Pearl moved and stood beside Jimmy, giving the couple one final wave before taking Jimmy out the door with him mumbling in tow.

With the two siblings now gone, Grian shifted against the bed and laid his head against Scar’s chest. Scars hand made its way to his cheek and gently ran his thumb up and down against it. “You excited to go home?”

Grian hummed and nodded against his chest, his eyes closing as he leaned into Scars touch. The doctors would come by soon and they would do their final checks, then they’d finally be able to go home, which Scar was ever so grateful for.

Scar must have fallen asleep with Grian at some point, and now he was being awoken by one of the doctors so they could do their final check.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up, gently laying Grian back down and getting out of the large hospital bed. He sat down in the chair he had spent hours of his life in and watched as the doctor awoke Grian and grabbed their clipboard. 

They did some final checks on Grians vitals, responses, and his general condition before writing up a care plan and handing it to Scar. “This has everything he’ll need in terms of bandages and medication.”

Scar flipped through the plan, noting what medication and when Grian needed it. It provided him with a detailed list of what his husband could and could not do, how often he would need to attend physiotherapy, and small amounts of speech therapy. Although Scar wasn’t as concerned about that one since Grian could still say basic things, so it wouldn’t be super intensive.

“Thank you,” He said with a smile, flipping the plan closed and slipping it into his bag beside the chair.

The doctor nodded and shifted his attention back to Grian, “You’re all clear to go home, but you will require a wheelchair for some time.” A frown appeared on Grians face, knowing that the lack of strength in his leg muscles would in turn, impact his ability to fly.

“It’s not great, especially for an avian, but it is a better reality than being paralyzed.” The doctor said with a reassuring smile, grabbing the wheelchair that sat in the corner of the room and bringing it over to the side of the bed. “This will be here until you’re all ready to go home.” They said, patting the back rest of the chair and giving the couple a nod before heading out of the room.

Scar watched the doctor leave then turned back to Grian, an ache settling in his chest as he watched his partner stare at the chair. “Do you want to get changed before we head out?” Scar asked, pulling Grian out of his thoughts. The avian turned back to him and nodded, his right hand slightly gripping the sides of his hospital gown.

Scar smiled bittersweetly and reached down into his bag. “Cub brought these in a little while ago, for when you woke up一” He pulled out a pair of Grians clothes, an oversized red hoodie and baggy navy blue jeans. “Probably would have been better if he grabbed sweatpants but we’ll make it work.” Scar said with a small shrug, warmth filling his chest as he noted the smile that tugged at Grians lips as he watched Scar.

“You want some help?” He asked as he placed the clothes on the bed. Grian nodded, itching to get out of his hospital gown. Scar stood up and asked Grian to lean forward, once he did he undid the strings of the gown and took it off Grians shoulders. He grabbed the white collared shirt that had been specifically altered for Grians wings with two holes on the back一the same thing on his sweater. He lifted the shirt over his partners head and helped him maneuver his wings comfortably through the holes. They did the same thing with the sweater and made quick work of getting the pants on, and soon enough, they were done.

Scar helped Grian get comfortable in the wheelchair, positioning his wings at a comfortable angle and making sure nothing else could bother him. And then, they were off.

They finished up some final paperwork at the front desk then Scar wheeled them out to their car. He brought Grian right up to the door and helped lift him into the passengers seat before folding up the chair and slipping it into the trunk一He was really glad his own legs were in good condition that day.

Scar made his way around the car again and slipped into the driver's seat, punching in their address to the GPS to find the fastest way home and drove off.

Soft music filled the space of the car一a playlist Grian had created some time after they married一 as the sun peeked out of the gloomy clouds, bringing a little bit of sunshine to the day.

When they approached a red light, Scar took a peak over at Grian, watching as his husband stared out at the environment outside. A smile tugged at the vex’s lips, “Are you excited to get home?”

Grian tilted his head away from the window and met Scars gaze, a similar smile appeared on his face as he nodded, and Scar had a feeling that one reason was that he’d get to see his little friends again一who Scar has (regrettably) not spent much time with since Grian first entered the hospital. With not many more words to share, Scar turned his eyes back to the road as the light went green and Grian went back to looking outside.

The remainder of the drive was peaceful as light drops of rain landed on the glass of the windshield. Scar just hoped it wouldn’t turn into a full on downpour一but his luck with that kind of thing was atrocious.

They finally arrived home and Scar quickly got out of the car and grabbed Grians wheelchair, reassembling it and wheeling it over to his door. He once again helped him in and wheeled them both inside一luckily for Grian, their home was already wheelchair accessible for the days when Scars legs just couldn’t keep him up, even with the support from his cane.

“Anything in particular that you want to do?” Scar asked, leaning over Grians shoulder a little, watching as Grian looked around the house before pointing to their bedroom. “Rest?” Grian nodded, cranning his neck back to look at Scar. Scar smiled and obliged, wheeling them into the bedroom and helping Grian slip into the bed.

Once under the covers he snuggled further into the soft mattress, he turned his body so that he was facing Scar who had moved to sit on the other side of the bed, his back against the headrest. The vex watched as Grians eyes fluttered shut and sleep begin to overtake his consciousness.

Scar was back in the position he had been in for weeks一watching Grian sleep. But this time, he knew he was alive, that he was okay. It was a little easier on his mind, but the reminder of how his husband had even gotten into this state sat heavy behind it.

He ran his fingers through Grians hair, smiling as he pressed further into Scars touch and shifted closer to him. The heroes couldn’t take him from Scar, and they never would. Scar vowed to make the push that many civilians feared一he would make the agency pay for their actions, not just to Grian, but to the dozens of citizens who had been hurt by their recklessness and corruption.

He had already discussed this with Cub during one of his many visits to check on Scar and Grian, and Cub had assured him that he had access to the best lawyer in the city. It was practically an open and closed case, there were hundreds of clips of footage displaying the unruly nature of the heroes and the victims of The Puppeteer that they had either severely injured or killed.

They would get their bad karma, and Scar would get to spend the rest of his years with his husband alive.

A blonde avian with beautiful tri-coloured wings and a brunette vex with piercing eyes made their way into a restaurant, the same restaurant they had hidden in just over a year ago from a fight. Grian had gotten his maroon ruffled shirt repaired and Scar was sporting a nicer version of the brown dress shirt he had been wearing一he was disappointed that he couldn’t wear the original one, but it was stained beyond repair.

After months and months of physiotherapy, Grian now had enough strength to walk long distances with the assistance of a cane, and his doctor assured that in a few more months, he would be the same man he was before.

To celebrate his progress and Scars success in his legal battle against the agency(open and closed, just as he suspected), they had gone back to that fateful restaurant to get the evening that had been stolen from them back.

The hostess brought them to their table, it was next to the grand window so they could see the setting sun peeking through the buildings downtown. A candle sat in the middle, giving their faces a soft glow that Scar swore he would need someone to rip him away to stop him from looking at Grian. The scars that marred his face seemed to have vanished in the light, it gave him a soft look一like nothing ever plagued his thoughts. That wasn’t true, they both knew that. No one would know the nights that Grian would awaken screaming from a nightmare, they wouldn’t know his hesitance of going back to that street, the racing of his heart every time one of the heroes whizzed past them.

“Scar?” A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and his eyes blinked back to awareness. “You spaced out, darling” Grian teased, a smile on his face.

Scar smiled back and huffed out a laugh “Well, it’s not that difficult when there’s such a sight in front of me” He responds, a cheeky grin replacing his smile.

Grians teasing expression was ripped off his face, replaced with a stuttering red one. His hand darted out and grabbed his water, chugging it down to hide his face一which caused Scar to fall into a fit of laughter.

“Its true,” Scar wheezed, placing a hand on his chest as he took a deep breath and recovered from laughing, “You are beautiful”

Grian placed his glass back down as the red continued to burn on his face, “So are you, pretty boy” He said, his eyes shooting back up to Scars face, watching as the tips of his pointed ears turned red at the nickname.

“I believe we came here to celebrate.” Scar pointed out, his hand moving up to rest on top of Grians.

Grian hummed and draped his pinky over Scars, “We did, but I think celebration would be better if we had some wine…” The avian added, his eyebrows quirking upward. 

“Oh” Scar sat up straight and looked around for their waiter, noticing them just a couple tables over. He signaled for them and got their wine ordered quickly, and soon enough, two glasses sat at each end of the table.

Scar raised his glass with intention for a toast, Grian followed his movement and raised his as well. “To us, and the downfall of a corrupt generation of heroes”

Grian smiled, “To us, and that I get to live another day by your side” 

Their glasses clinked together and they both took a sip. The sun sat just on the edge of the horizon, an orange glow filling the room. The evening played out exactly how it should have on that night, they laughed, teased each other about ridiculous moments from their jobs, ate delicious food, and made it home to the cats safe and sound.

While the scars of that night lingered, they were able to move on to a better future for themselves. Grian would attend bi-weekly meetups with other victims of the heroes and The Puppeteer, and he watched as the attendance got smaller and smaller. The members got better, and since Scar and his lawyer had practically dug the agency into the ground, less people were affected so less new members showed up.

He was proud of his husband, proud of himself as well for pulling through when he was on the brink of death. His road to recovery was bumpy, yes, but he was doing much better. And he was forever grateful that Scar stayed by him no matter what.

The future was bright. Crime rates were down, new management had been placed at the agency, and new promising heroes were being trained. Grian wasn’t worried about further corruption due to all the background checks and security measures the new leaders had enforced. The corruption had died off, and now Grian and Scar could finally live in the peace they deserved.