Work Text
<GoodTimesWithScar was slain by Grian>
Grian stares at the message in chat out of the corner of his eye, his entire body shivering as he holds shaky, bloody hands to his chest.
“Sc-Scar-?” Grian gasps the name as if he’s being strangled.
The avian’s eyes snap over to the limp body of his partner, the sight making him gag. Clambering up to his feet, Grian nearly trips as he tries to get away from the beaten and bruised corpse that was his best friend.
“I wasn’t- can’t- I sh-shouldn’t-” Grian sobs, doing his best between sobs to move away from the corpse, letting out shaky whimpers as he’s pricked by the surrounding cacti.
Before he knew it, Grian was falling. He was falling faster than he could fly. He was falling and
he was going to die.
He squeezes his eyes shut to brace for impact.
…And then he wasn’t falling anymore.
Grian opens his eyes and looks around. He’s not in that dastardly cactus ring anymore. He’s not surrounded by sand, stained with his partner’s blood. He’s back on Monopoly Mountain. Tucked safely in the nest he had built for him and Scar.
…What?
“You’re alright li’l birdie. You’re okay.” The reassuring voice only made Grian panic.
No. No, not right now.
Letting out a shaking gasp, Grian pushes his way out of Scar’s hold, his eyes wide and wild, looking back and forth for a way to escape.
“Hey- Wait, Grian-!” His voice sounds far away. Too far away.
Grian feels like he’s floating. He can’t breathe. Everything is too painful and too light and too much.
Grian starts sobbing, pushing Scar away roughly before gasping out frantic apologies.
He wraps his wings around himself, trembling harshly with shaky breaths.
“Birdie?” Scar whispers, but Grian just tightens his wings’ hold around him, letting out a whimper.
“C’mon Grian, you can’t hide in there forever.” Scar whispers, pulling the trembling avian into his lap again.
Grian lets out a quiet, distressed chirp, peeking out from behind his wings to stare at Scar.
“I’m so sorry-” Grian whimpers, reaching up to press his palms against his eyes. “I didn’t want to- I swear I didn’t want to!”
Scar hums and lifts Grian off his lap, only to crawl around so he’s in front of him. “You’re alright, Birdie. Trust me, I’m not mad. I know you didn’t want to.”
Grian stares at Scar for a long moment before letting out a hiccuping sob and crawling into his lap, whispering relentless, muffled apologies.
Scar hums softly, gently scratching at the area where Grian’s wings meet his back, giggling quietly at the content-sounding warbling coming from the little bird on his lap.
“Why won’t you let me feel bad?” Grian mumbles into Scar’s shirt.
“
Because
I know how much of a bunch of mean jerks the Watchers are, Gri. I know you wouldn’t do something you didn’t want to unless you absolutely
had
to.”
Grian’s grip on Scar’s shirt tightens and he lets out a shaky breath, “I’m so sorry…” He whispers a final time before his grip loosens ever so slightly.
Scar hums softly, running his fingers through Grian’s hair. “I love you, Birdie. A little death game isn’t going to change that. Okay?”
Grian nods into his stomach, which makes Scar laugh. He brings his hands up to cup Grian’s face, forcing his head up. “I’m going to need a verbal confirmation here, Birdie.”
Grian huffs and narrows his eyes at him, his face growing hot. “Okay.”
Scar grins in response, leaning down to pepper Grian’s face in soft kisses, startling a laugh out of the avian.
“I’m going to keep going at it until you believe that what happened
wasn’t
your fault, got it?”
Grian squeals and giggles, “Okay! Okay fine! Stooop!” But Scar
doesn’t
stop and Grian just keeps on laughing until he’s wheezing out breaths, practically begging for Scar to stop.
When Scar finally
does
stop, Grian is a gasping, giggling mess. Seeing Grian’s face flush redder than his jumper, Scar’s heart skipped a beat.
Scar lets him go, watching quietly as the avian scoots back slightly to allow himself some breathing room.
He watches as Grian fixes his now wrinkled jumper, huffing out quiet chirps of annoyance.
Scar practically melts at the sight, resting his face in the palm of his hand as he watches Grian fondly.
Scars eyes land on Grian’s wings, noticing how ruffled and out of sorts his feathers were. He hums. “Turn around.”
Grian blinks up at Scar, tilting his head and Scar almost coos at the way his curls bounce lightly with the motion.
“Your wings are a mess, Grian. Let me preen them for you?”
Grian’s face turns red once more. He stammers out a shaky, “Huh?” before nervously burying his face in his hands.
“Why’re you so nervous, Gri? I’ve done it dozens of times before!”
“Well- Yes I know that! But it’s still embarrassing!” Grian defends, his voice high and shaky.
Scar hums and scoots closer, “But it’s still a sore topic, I get it. It’s a personal thing, right? It’s a
trust
thing?”
At Grian’s nod of confirmation, Scar continues. “And after what we just went through, you’re still nervous? About something happening to your wings?
Grian nervously nods again, peeking out to stare at Scar, who smiles warmly at him. Grian lets out a small whine and turns around, his wings lightly trembling.
Scar coos at him quietly and gets to work on Grian’s wings with the tension pouring out of Grian’s body with every touch.
With every small whine or chirp that Grian mutters, Scar is there to offer praises and reassurances. Every touch leads Grian to fall further into his birdbrain-like haze, slumping over onto a pile of pillows nearby. With the change of position, Scar never faltered, simply changing his position as well.
By the end of it, Grian was half asleep, and Scar was gently scratching at the base of his wings, feeling sleepy himself.
Letting out a quiet hum, Scar readjusts Grian to properly lay on his side before joining him, being careful as he pulls the avian into his chest, chuckling softly when he chirps in lighthearted protest.
“Goodnight, Birdie.” Scar whispers, not fully expecting a response.
“...Night, Scar.” It’s quiet, but Grian quietly adds “I love you.”
Scar squeezes Grian just a little tighter, “I love you too.”