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Scar is woken up by a ripping feeling in his stomach that makes him yelp. It's- It's awful, and Scar is crying before he can even process the pain. He sits up and instinctively puts a hand to his stomach, although that does absolutely nothing to help, because why would it?
Suddenly, the pain mixes with dread as the facts settle in.
Scar hasn't been hurt, he was just asleep.
Something's happened to Grian.
The idea that Grian is hurting this badly- God, he was probably stabbed by someone, what were they thinking, sleeping in the middle of the woods? True, their home was a long way away, and it was night, but goddamnit-
Grian is...right next to him, in his own bed. But the relief is replaced with confusion at the sudden pain, and then concern again as he registers that Grian is curled up in a ball, buried in his blankets. Scar lifts the blanket, just a little, and Grian immediately begins to shiver. He is most definitely awake, if the small whining noises are anything to go by. (how is he handling it so well? He's near silent, and there isn't a single tear. Scar is still crying, damnit!) Still, his wings are covering his body the way they do when he's sick or upset, and he is, again, curled up in a ball.
Scar barely registers, in the back of his mind, that the pain wavers in intensity. Strange.
"Grian?" his voice cracks.
Grian groans, and it sounds more like frustration than anything else. (which again- how is he handling this so damn well?)
"What?!" Grian snaps, and then he registers Scar's crying and pauses.
Scar, for one, is taken aback by Grian's attitude. Granted, Grian threw a huge fit when they were first paired, and has been emotional since. But hey, he just gets like that sometimes. It's just that right now, Grian is clearly in pain, and Scar is just trying to help.
Grian shrinks a bit, studying his face. He looks guilty.
"You- You can feel that, too?"
Scar is, to put it lightly, very confused. "Grian- wh- of COURSE I can feel this, we're soulmates, remember?! If you're in pain-" he stops speaking to hiss through his teeth, interrupted by a sudden burst of pain. "Jesus, Grian what's happening?" Grian shifts in discomfort, and chuckles humorlessly. "It's- it's nothing. I MEAN-" he says, interrupting Scar before he can get his words out- "-I'm not, actually injured."
Scar stares at him. He's managed to stop crying, but everything still sucks. Grian is still shivering.
"It's just- I never expected to have to tell you like this- I'm kinda sorta trans? FTM?"
Scar stands there, still clearly wincing from the pain, furrowing his brows and thinking. Grian can see the cogs turning in his head. He watches as Scar looks back up at him, still hopelessly confused. "Okay, but how is that relevant?" he asks. "Scar," Grian scolds, maybe a bit too cruel but fuck it, he's practically dying here, "What happens to people assigned female at birth? Like, monthly? For most of our entire lives?" Scar takes a second, then his eyes widen. "A- a period?" "Congratulations, Scar, you guessed correctly. I'd say you win a prize, but I already gave you a goat horn earlier."
Scar immediately is taken aback. "It hurts- It hurts THIS badly? all the time???? like, every time this happens, you just-" "I mean, Yeah." "HOW DO YOU LIVE LIKE THIS??"
Grian can't help it, he bursts out laughing.
"Grian, it's not funny, I'm genuinely concerned, how is this considered normal? Shouldn't you get, like, to take time off from work or something? But you all- all of you people, you just carry on like normal? God, I thought you were STABBED, I thought we were both going to die, and I was panicking, and Grian, I thought-"
"Calm down, Scar." Grian giggles.
"Calm down? Easy for you to say, I'm not used to this! You just-" Scar suddenly cuts himself off, his eyes bright with an idea.
"Scar?"
"I'm going to make you hot chocolate."
"what?"
"When people are on periods, they need to be warm, and Birds need to be warm when they're sick too, and I hear you crave chocolate right around now, so; hot chocolate!"
He looks impossibly proud of himself for the idea. Grian considers correcting him, that only your stomach really needs to be warm and there aren't any heating pads around, but decides against it. That doesn't mean he's going to let him go through with it, though. As Scar struggles to get up and leave, Grian speaks up.
"Scar, where in the world are you going to get hot chocolate in the middle of the night? Hell, you already said, you're not used to this, you can barely walk!"
Grian feels the cramps get worse and Scar visibly jolts, but he turns and glares at Grian. "Well, you can't get it for yourself, can you? You're all shivering, and you don't look like you want to get out of bed." "Well, you're right, but-" "That settles it! I'm going to go find some coco beans, maybe some milk- oh! do you prefer hot chocolate made with milk or water?" "Scar." "Right, Right, obviously milk, who likes watery hot chocolate?" "Scar, you can't do this." "Sure I can! I'm basically your boyfriend now, according to the universe, so I practically have to!"
And then Scar is gone, and Grian is stuck laying there in shock. He gives in to the warmth of his bed and cuddles back into the blankets, his mind still reeling.
'I'm basically your boyfriend now, according to the universe'.
He is, isn't he? He's- he's his boyfriend. They're soulmates. Verified perfect for each other, designated by whatever gods or spirits are up there. He hadn't even realized that yet. Can he...oh my god, can he kiss him now? That's a normal thing for soulmates to do, right?
'I'm basically your boyfriend now, according to the universe'.
The cramps still suck ass. But Grian still finds himself a little bit giddy at the idea.
'I'm basically your boyfriend now'.
Grian has a boyfriend. And it's Scar ! It's wonderful, wonderful Scar! He should thank the universe really.
Now he just needs that same universe to get rid of his uterus, and then they'll be on great terms.
Fuck.
Scar actually, honest to god, as embarrassing as it is, fell over from the cramps. TWICE.
But goddamnit, he's coming through for Grian. He's coming through for his boyfriend. (He's honestly a little surprised that he said that whole thing about being Grian's assigned boyfriend. He only realized he'd said it a minute or so after he left, and once his brain caught up to it he was a little embarrassed. But mostly just impressed with how smooth that was. I mean, seriously, that's got to be the best flirting he's ever done.)
He kills a few mobs, albeit with some difficulty, and manages to snag what he hopes is enough coco beans to make a chocolate powder. He's never made one himself before, but how hard can it be to crush some coco up and mix it into hot milk? Store bought stuff is usually overrated anyway. He feels like something is wrong with his thinking process, but his brain is fogged from the pain, so he gives up on trying to figure out what it is.
He manages to both find and milk a cow (it was clearly someone else's, but hey! what they don't know won't hurt) and then he sets up a campfire, warms the milk up, and puts his homemade coco powder inside. He takes a sip for a taste test and....
.....immediately spits it out. Because It tastes like shit.
After sitting there thinking about it, the fog clears for a second and he suddenly remembers the thing that was so off earlier.
Chocolate, and chocolate powder, aren't made from just coco beans. In fact, coco beans are actually pretty bitter. You need SUGAR. And lots of it.
One trip to search for sugarcane later (and a lot of cursing because god, having a period is something Scar is 100% sure he never wants to experience again, even without the blood) he mixes sugar into the drink and it actually tastes decent. Maybe even mildly pleasant.
He puts a lid on the drink so it won't spill, and tucks it into his inventory. He also snags a few nuts and seeds on the way back, because he remembers reading somewhere that parrots like those, and Grian is a parrot avian, so hopefully he'll like them, too.
When he returns, Grian is still tossing and turning in bed.
"I um- I got the hot chocolate."
Grian pokes his head out of the blankets and sits up. "Really? Oh my god, you took a million years." He smiles, grabs the cup and takes a big gulp, then pauses, and looks at him.
"You've never done this before, have you?"
"Admittedly, no. But I tried!"
Grian laughs a little, and to Scar's surprise and delight, continues to drink his hot chocolate.
SCORE!
"I also have watermelon seeds and some cashews-" "-Oh my god, you shouldn't have!" Grian says happily, almost dropping his drink. he saves it, and sets it down, putting his hands out expectantly. Scar gives him the food, and Grian devours it all in one bite. "Thank you!" He goes back to his drink, but is still smiling. He then sighs, apparently finished.
"You drank that surprisingly fast." "Yeah. You know I was, actually, craving chocolate like you said. So."
Grian makes a small whining noise- Scar feels the pain too, and nearly doubles over- but he seems to shrug it off easily.
"So, you said you're my boyfriend now." Grian says, wiggling his eyebrows a little. Scar is thankful it's so dark out because his face immediately flushes.
Right. He did say that.
"Well, I am, aren't I?" "I mean-" Grian's voice gets a little quiet. "I mean, I would like that, but...I'm just scared. Aren't you worried? After what happened?"
Grian doesn't need to say another word; Scar's mind is immediately flooded with memories from the desert, with blazing heat and the feeling of dying in Grian's arms, at Grian's hand.
He takes a shaky breath. The pain grounds him, a little.
"No." He admits. "Lots of people would think I should be. But no. It wasn't your fault."
"It was! It was! I killed you! I-"
"Grian."
Scar holds Grian's face in his hands, looking him in the eyes. Grian goes silent.
"It wasn't your fault. We both know the effect that- place, had on us. I'm not scared of you. I'm not angry at you. I just want you to feel better."
Grian visibly calms. He buries his face in Scar's shoulder.
They both wince at a sudden pain. Scar laughs a little. "God, I still can't believe you go through this every month."
"The pain gets a little bit better after the first day."
"Thank god."
Grian chuckles and unexpectedly pulls Scar onto the bed, aggressively cuddling him.
"need snuggles." He explains. Scar just nods and gives him a kiss on the forehead. "okay."
They eventually do, in fact, manage to fall asleep.