Archive of Our Own ^beta

Somewhere in the lands of Hermitcraft, nearby a very very large hole, there stood 3 men. They overlooked the Perimeter with various expressions, squinting against the sun. one of them looked neutral, lips slightly pressed together. The other had a glint in his eyes and a hardly supressed grin. The last of them looked quite worried.

“You want us to… cover up… the entire…Perimeter…”

“Yup!” Grian said, popping the p. A sideways glance. “And we’re agreeing with this?” Both heads turned. “I think it’s an absolutely great idea,” Scar said, smile beaming bright. “…oh for the love of plant-“

“Let’s do this!”

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After one of the weirdest math lessons Mumbo has ever been part of, they had decided how many blocks of dirt were needed to ‘return the land back to it’s former glory’. At least, that’s what Grian claimed they were about to do. Mumbo had his doubts, but here he was anyway.

Sadly for him, that meant many hours of hard labour to gather all said blocks. On the bright side, he was in good company. He didn’t really mind the view either. Who would complain when both men had either abandoned their sweaters or shirts entirely? Sun bouncing off of glistening skin, muscles flexing and lips parted in exhausted huffs. Such a shame he was covered in sweat and grime himself.

At one point Scar had started to hum, to fill in the silence. Grian shot him a questioning look, but Mumbo could only shrug. They continued gathering dirt, as if they weren’t about to ruin another Hermit’s entire day- or week! Before Mumbo could think to much about that, he was reminded of the sole reason why he was participating.

One man, one reason.

Well, maybe two men, but he was pretty sure Scar was only participating for Grian as well. They really were mad for following him along, but oh boy when he smiled. That special smile when he knew his plan was working out or when he was scheming. That alone could motivate Mumbo to no end. If it meant that smile would be aimed at him, he’d practically do anything.

Right now, that smile was firmly plastered on Grian’s face as they sat down to take a break. Scar handed out buttercup cookies, all ignoring the poisoned effect they got from eating it. A mad giggle. “Can you imagine the look on his face when he discovers his hole is gone?” he cackled. Scar snickered, but Mumbo looked exhausted. “Can we not think about all the work that still needs to be done to get to that point, please?” The pout on Grian’s face made him backtrack immediately. “Never mind, continue.”

And so he did.

All Mumbo could do was stare at the pesky bird with a small smile, as he continued rambling, waving his hands around. At one point, his eyes moved over to Scar, to find him looking at Grian with affection written all over his face. They really were down bad for the red sweatered part of their trio, weren’t they? Scar’s eyes met his and he winked, followed by a chuckle as Mumbo went red.

He was down bad alright.

So they spend the rest of their day planning out how to go to work, while Mumbo kept admiring Grian’s smile and Scar’s wicked grin. And when the day came where an angry roar sounded from beneath layers of dirt and grass, maniacal laughter slipped from Grian’s lips. And if that laugh kickstarted a mad thumping in Mumbo’s chest, he wouldn’t mention it. A shared look between him and Scar proved they felt the same. And if they both decided to act on that, nobody but the three of them would know. Maybe some day they’d share the story of their first kiss.

For now, it was Buttercups only.