Work Text:
The taste of blood was heavenly on his tongue.
It didn’t matter how he got it, where or who it came from. What mattered is that it tasted like a breath of fresh air. Even if he didn’t really need to breathe anymore, and hadn’t for a good long while. It still counted!
After a moment or two of drinking happily from his source of enrichment an abrupt slap was delivered to the back of Grians skull. It caused him to drop his prey to bare his blood covered fangs at the unknown aggressor, who only looked at him with a blank and deadpan expression before giving a small grunt and starting to walk down the corridor they were both in.
“You really need to get a hold of yourself, Grian.” Doc called over his shoulder at a very lost disoriented Grian. “You’re gonna end up late. Again.”
Grian was eventually able to gather his surroundings and what’s going on, able to gather where the blood had come from. He wasn’t surprised to find the two puncture wounds on his wrist, still lazily oozing blood. Quickly glancing around to check if anyone else was around, when he didn’t see anyone else Grian licked the wounds with a generous amount of saliva before shoving his sleeve back down and scrambling to catch up with Doc. Which he did incredibly easily.
“Well if i didn’t need to stay up extremely late for these meetings maybe i would have an easier time showing up!” He protested loudly to Doc as he caught up with him. Doc didn’t seem amused by this at all, seemingly mostly focused on navigating the long and dwindling hallways.
“You’re old, Grian.” Doc reminded with an unimpressed glance over to the shorter man, “You’re a lot older than most. You should be able to hold yourself together for one night.”
Grian huffed loudly and crossed his arms like a child to show his annoyance. He had all the right to complain about staying up for these bi-weekly meetings. He didn’t have all the time in the world!
..okay maybe he did. But still!
He had things to do! And people to avoid..
“You’re old too.” He muttered underneath his breath.
“Not as old as you. You’re ancient.”
“Rude!”
The rest of the walk to the meeting room was spent in silence. None of them continuing the conversation. The classical mechanical whirring of Docs eye and arm prosthetics and their footsteps being the only sounds echoing throughout the hallways. It was almost a pleasant walk. Almost.
It would’ve been a pleasant walk if it wasn’t for the growing tension within Grian. He didn’t wanna go to this meeting at all and his body was practically buzzing with the feeling of wanting to leave right at that moment. It sounded so appealing to just turn around and not look back, to run back home and lock the door behind him to never be seen again to avoid what he knew would be a very uncomfortable situation.
Nonetheless Grian continued walking, he knew if he didn’t go to this meeting someone would come and drag him out of his hiding spot to be at the meeting. There was no escaping them, if you were physically fit to go, you went. End of story.
As the door to the meeting room grew closer so did Grians feeling of needing to turn around and run off. As Doc went inside like he owned the place Grian stood still staring at the door, debating if he could run off now, if he could run far enough to never be found. He knew he could outrun the rest of the gang, but could he avoid them forever? Cause a wild goose chase to find him and abandon his responsibilities.
No. No, he couldn’t.
So with a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, he opened the door just enough to slink in and close the door behind him quietly.
Inside the table was full already, Grian was the last one. Everyone was idly talking amongst the people they were seated next to.
Doc had already taken his seat next to Ren, both talking quietly. Ren's wolf ears tilted in such a way that his full attention was on hearing what his friend had to say. The red loop piercing in Ren's ear was extremely close to making contact with Docs prosthetics.
Jimmy was having a conversation with Joel, and Grian pointedly avoided looking over there as much as possible. He knew they’d seen him, that didn’t mean he had to look over at them.
Tango was sitting next to Impulse, who sat between both Tango and Pearl, all three of them in deep conversation about one thing or another.
Scar was sitting and chatting with Etho and Bdubs, despite the empty seat between them where Grian usually sat. As usual Bdubs did seem to have a little trouble keeping his volume down, but no one ever really minded.
And Xisuma sat quietly at the head of the table and spoke with Cleo who was on his right. Or at least, it seemed he was. It was always so hard to judge considering how X was constantly covered head to toe in fabrics.
Grian quietly got into his seat between Scar and Etho as their conversation continued, trying to appear as normal as possible, though also leaning onto the table heavily. Scar didn’t really acknowledge him other than a quick greeting, Etho gave a quick nod and Bdubs seemed to be too deep in conversation with Scar to even bother. Grian didn’t mind, it gave him a little more time to try to get some rest in, he quite needed it.
The conversation that was happening over his head as Grian laid his head on his folded arms on the table wasn’t one he was tuned into, it was simple white noise. Easy ignorable words he did not care for in the slightest.
But that easy and simple lull of white noise to get some rest to was broken not too long after, the clearing of a throat shutting up all conversations in the room. Everyone in the room looking up to the head of the table towards who’s called to start the meeting. Xisuma.
“Right, uh, welcome to yet another meeting.” X started as he stood up, his eyes glowing purple from under his hood. “Everyone who is supposed to be here is here for once. Which is nice.” The glowing eyes travelled quickly over everyone at the table, pausing briefly at Grian but moving on just as quickly.
“I will not bore you with any more formalities, so,” X clapped his hands together, “Ren, why don’t you update us on how the last full moon went and then maybe if something worth mentioning has happened?” He requested as he looked over to said man expectantly.
As Ren stood up to speak, X sat down in his seat and Ren got the attention of the meeting's participants. And even though he could easily cover it up the best he could, the quick glance over to Doc and the slight twitching of Ren's ears of nerves were extremely obvious to Grian. But he didn’t comment on it.
Ren could speak in crowds just fine, and he was confident in that. Some slight nerves would probably be normal.
“The last moon was.. something.. to say the least.” Ren started, his ear flicking which made the red loop in his ear gatch some light making it shine. “From what I’ve gathered, Joel was the only one needing to take extended time to rest due to injuries.”
Joel snickered a little at that, and so did Etho. Joel got a stern look from Ren and Etho got an elbow to his ribs from Bdubs at the reaction. Obviously something had happened there. Ren sucked in a breath before breathing out, continuing his report with a clearing of his throat.
“As I was saying, from what I gathered Joel was the only one needing to rest from a pretty severely sprained ankle. Which Etho has confessed to possibly be his fault for riling up Joels wolf around the transformation process.”
Ah. So Etho had been messing around with the wolves again. Not good.
Etho held up his hands in a passive manner, his red eyes glinting. “Look, I'm sorry! I got curious! He’s fine now though, so there was no real harm done.” He didn’t sound sorry at all, and that much was obvious to everyone at the table.
“Look,” Ren sighed, his ears drooping a little bit, “That can cost us a lot. Dude, you can not intervene on the full moon. If you do, something can spiral out of control and we will have to chain ourselves up again.” The way his ears drooped all the way said just how Ren felt about that and Doc laid a comforting hand on his arm.
Honestly? Grian didn’t see why being chained up was all so bad for the wolves. Sure, he might be stuck in his old ways and beings with shorter lifespans confused him but being chained was the safest option, no? It would keep the lycanthrope themself safe, as well as any person that might end up coming across them in their active state. But Grian didn’t voice this, it would probably be seen as insensitive. But it did seem to him it was the safest option.
The rest of the werewolves at the table seemed just as uncomfortable as Ren. Folding in on themselves or tensing at the mere mention of having to be chained up during their moons. Even Pearl looked uncomfortable!
Maybe it was a history thing Grian didn’t get or had missed during his earlier years. But whatever that discomfort came from was not his to question. It wasn’t any of his business.
Whatever the discussion of the consequences of messing with a werewolf during the full moon was happening over his head was not one Grian was listening to. It didn’t concern him in the slightest. He wasn’t going to be messing with any werewolves nor did they have any good use to him, so he wasn’t going to be seeking them out.
It didn’t concern him, so he wasn’t listening. What was his concern though was making sure he didn’t fall asleep on the table in front of him and to keep his teeth out of his arm. It was easier to keep his own fangs out of his arm the closer to sleep he got but he couldn’t afford to give into it. These meetings were quite important and he’d definitively get a stern talking to after the meeting was over if he fell asleep.
It was all a big safety and protection protocol, these meetings. To make sure no one was dangerously hurt or hunted or under any sort of threat. Everyone was healthy and their territories okay. Any threat to any of them would be swiftly dealt with, and if it wasn’t too urgent, helped with.
It was also a space for the celestial vampires to give the lunars their blood supply for the next two weeks. As seemingly the old traditional blood banks were too good for vampires nowadays. Their opinions on that when Grian had suggested it in an old meeting had been made very clear.
Whatever, Grians methods weren’t appreciated, everyone has made that pretty much clear. But he wasn’t going to stop with whatever he was doing. He was never really keen on the traditional blood banks anyways. Too much of a hassle to keep around and didn’t provide the very lovely thrill of chasing and catching prey. They were good to keep around while it was acceptable but now it wasn’t worth it.
Hunting however, was exactly what it was. Hunting. And it didn’t always go to plan, you lost your prey, they managed to escape, yada yada, all that good stuff. So usually Grians first and most frequented hunting ground were bars, everyone was wasted and the blood tasted faintly of alcohol but it was an easy catc-
“Grian!” He startled, whirling around to unsheathe his fangs to bare them at an offender for the second time that night. Only to calm down the moment he registered where he was and who was up in his face. It was Scar. Of course it was Scar.
Of course it was Scar. Scar who didn’t even seem slightly offended at the display of aggression being pointed at him. He actually gave Grian his own grin, his jagged teeth and fangs on full display. “There you are, G! Had a nice trip to wonderland?”
Grian sighed, seething his fangs back as he put his head onto his folded arms again. If he could, Grian would’ve probably melted there on the spot. “Yeah, i guess i did,” He replied. “Scar, i am so tired. I should be in bed by now.”
Scar snickered, placing a hand on Grians head and ruffling his hair. “Oh you sunnies and your sleep. Y’know vampires are supposed to be nocturnal!”
The comment made Grian roll his eyes, he knew Scar knew his species of vampire had evolved out of the nocturnal thing. Just because Scar himself wasn’t the solar vampire kind didn’t mean it was the only way to live as a vampire.
There was a quick moment of silence before Scar spoke again. “Are you alright Grian?” He asked, his eyes full of concern now. “You’ve only been getting more and more tired each time i see you.”
Was he? He would say so.
“Yeah, i’m fine. Just tired, don’t worry about it, mate.” Grian answered, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again. Like a long blink you take while fighting sleep, where your eyelids feel way too heavy to keep open but you’ve got to keep them open. For this is no place to rest.
And to give Scar credit, he did seem hesitant to accept that answer, his eyes narrowing slightly. The conflict of his own emotions being so clear in his eyes, if he was to accept that answer and if it was the truth. Though before he managed to voice his opinions X had called for everyone's attention again.
X’s eyes were locked directly on Grian a second later.
Shit.
Grian knew what was coming, and he didn’t like it.
“Grian.” The pure purple of X’s eyes felt like they were boring into him. Like they saw every single sin Grian has ever committed without thinking about the outcome. They saw everything he has ever done and right through him at the same time.
Grian wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but the only thing he managed was to sit up slowly, keeping eye contact. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this one bit. The eyes of everyone was on him. Everyone was watching and staring. The others' eyes almost felt as intrusive as X’s. But X’s was the worst. Always the worst.
“Where is Mumbo?”
There it is.
“I notice he’s not on call with us like usual, is he alright?” Xisuma continued, keeping that damned eye contact that weighed like a thousand stones. The urge to jump across the table to gouge his eyes out was growing as he panicked about what to answer.
Mumbo was fine! Nothing but fine! Sure, he was feeling a little worse right now than usual. But he was fine! The constant sleep and seemingly chronic lack of energy wasn’t anything to worry about. Mumbo was fine! Why wouldn’t he be?
“He’s fine.” Grian replied, clenching his jaw.
Mumbo was fine.
Always fine.
__
“Y’know, i find that hard to believe.” Joel remarked with a false sweet tone. Why did he have to comment? Just leave the subject so this could be over with. Just shut up.
“And why is that, Beans?” Grian hissed out.
“Mumbo is obviously not doing any better!” Joel protested loudly, making Tim jump next to him due to the suddenness of the noise. “You can’t care for him, Grian!”
“But i have! I have for years!”
“Well it’s obviously not enough!” Joel continued. “He’s only been getting worse!”
Grian was only able to open his mouth before someone butted in.
“Grian, it’ll just be easier on all of us if you hand him over to us,” Doc urged, “Especially for Mumbo.”
The ‘us’ Doc referred to was him, all the werewolves and Tim.
Grian was not handing Mumbo over.
Never.
Ever.
“I’m not giving him to you!” Grian yelled, abruptly standing up and slamming his hands on the table.
“Grian-” Scar begins with a pleading tone but Grian turns to him and doesn’t let him speak, does not want to hear him speak.
“You can’t possibly be serious, Scar! Don’t tell me you’re on their side!” Grian’s eyes stung and his throat hurt from the yelling, but he doesn’t show it. Doesn’t back down. “You can’t tell me you want me to just hand him over!”
Scar was hurt by that, his eyes say so. “Grian, that’s not-”
“No, Scar!” Grian protested. “He’s staying with me! I’m not just going to hand him over just because the wolves asked me to!”
“You have to understand it’s for his own good,” Ren spoke, his ears twitching with all the yelling going on around them. Doc’s arm back on his bicep again. “He’ll wither away in that house of yours, dude.”
If it wasn’t for all the other people in the room Grian would’ve lunged at Ren.
Where were they when Mumbo first started showing signs of illness? Where were they when Mumbos condition worsened to the point he had trouble moving around? Where were they when Mumbo had to be bedridden? Where are they every time Mumbo needs to feed, huh?
Nowhere.
But Grian was there.
He was there through it all. Always by Mumbos side, taking care of his every need. Taking care of his best friend.
“He needs me.” Grian hissed, teeth fully bared. “I’m not letting you take him.”
And with that Grian moved out of his spot at the table before beginning to walk out of the meeting room.
“Grian! You can’t just leave!” Tim yelled after him as he had his hand on the door handle. Grian paused, taking a breath to compose himself before twisting the handle and leaving.
He probably shouldn’t have done that, now when he thinks about it but it wasn’t like it mattered. He had been present so he hadn’t broken any rules.
But the sounds of his own footsteps along the pavement were quite sad to listen to, even as he was still frustrated and angry. Pissed off, if you may. What a dumb request. Handing Mumbo over? What a fucking joke.
Couldn’t they understand that he could care for Mumbo fine on his own? That he didn’t need any help taking care of his friend? He’s been taking care of him for years and they didn’t try to step in then. It’s a very recent thing that they’d been asking for Grian to hand him over.
He’s said no every damned time.
He hadn’t even bothered to put his fangs away from the argument, it wasn’t like it was needed. Mumbo needed to eat tonight and so he’d find prey, even if a bar was the least appealing thing to him due to his nerves feeling like they were high-strung and someone was playing them like a guitar. People were bound to wander the streets right?
The night was dark and gloomy, the city cold and quiet. The occasional sound coming from animals scavenging for food in the alleyways.
Some drunk idiot was bound to be stumbling around, looking for either a way home or hookers. They always did this late into the night. Too bad they’d probably wake up in a dark alleyway with no memory of the night before. Worthless dumbasses.
After about half an hour of wandering the streets Grian did end up finding someone.
Their blood against his chapped lips was like heaven, feeling their blood filling up his veins, warming him up from the inside out. Too bad it’s a temporary thing, the warmth was going to Mumbo and not Grian. He was just holding onto it until he could give it to him.
The man under him thought nothing of this interaction, too intoxicated to figure out this was anything other than him getting a quickie in. So when he started to get handsy with him he just dug his teeth into him further, making him stop. This was not anything like that.
And it would never be.
When Grian felt satisfied with the amount of blood he had collected from him he forced his teeth out of his neck. He looked even worse for wear than before.
Too bad.
He should be used to the taste of alcohol in blood by now but he wasn’t, which only served to feed the thoughts that he deserved this for drinking.
After a few moments of watching so he didn’t die right then and there Grian gathered a decent amount of saliva in his mouth before reaching out and licking the puncture wounds, letting the healing factor do its job with closing up the wound. He then dropped him to the ground, leaving him to rot in that alleyway.
If he got shanked it wasn’t his fault. He did what was required of him with healing the wounds.
The house Grian shared with Mumbo was just that, a house. Not a mansion. Not a castle. He’d never gotten the appeal of living with that much space. Sure, in his younger years he had built a mansion or two but he’d never stayed around long enough to use them or see them get used. Always moving on right after the project was finished.
The house was quiet and dim. The curtains closed every time of day leaving the space in permanent darkness. There was clutter of random objects everywhere, redstone dust and cables lying on different surfaces as well as metal. Clothes were everywhere on the floor and so was a thin layer of dust.
Grian hadn’t found the energy to clean in a long while. He probably should. But it wasn’t like someone was going to come over and bear witness to the mess. So nothing would happen until he had a random spurt of motivation.
“Hey Mumbo!” He called when he got inside and locked the door behind him. He didn’t expect an answer at all but the low mumbled greeting from Mumbo a few rooms down made his chest swell with pride and tighten with worry at the same time.
Usually Mumbo had the energy to at least shout out.
Not right now.
With a quiet sigh to himself Grian stepped around all the clutter to grab a cup from the cupboard, as well as a sharp knife. He hated doing this.
With a quick inhale he ran the knife swiftly across the skin of his wrist. The blood he just collected was already pooling and starting to spill the second Grian withdrew the knife from his skin.
Carefully he angled his wrist so the cup he grabbed gathered all the blood that was spilling out of him.
Maybe a poet would make this a beautiful moment, writing with their flowing words that romanticised everything they touched. Talking about how he was sacrificing his own well being for his best friends health. A noble sacrifice.
It was one of those moments, if someone saw they’d probably want to capture it in some way if they had some screws loose. Enough of them loose that they didn’t run at the sight.
To Grian, this was not that kind of moment. He was just spilling the blood he had in his veins for his best friend who wasn’t able to feed for himself at the moment. There was nothing beautiful about this moment.
Poetry usually made things seem so much better than they actually were. Nothing is beautiful about pain or heartbreak. Nothing at all.
When the cup was basically full Grian brought the wound to his mouth and licked it. Taking a moment to watch as the blood stopped dripping from his wrist, making sure the healing factor still worked. He was going to need it in the next couple of days.
The wound was pretty much scabbed over when Grian pulled his sweater sleeve down over it before grabbing the cup and making his way to Mumbos bedroom.
It used to be his room but when Mumbo started showing signs of needing to be bedridden in the near future Grian had insisted they switch rooms. Mumbo got the bigger one, with more space so he wouldn’t feel so cramped in the room he would spend every day in.
He hadn’t really complained about it, aside from the comments that he was bored a lot of the time, so it seemed to work out! To some extent.
Grian didn’t bother stopping to knock on the slightly ajar door, just nudging it open with his hip. The air in the room was stuffy and thick with sickness, more so than usual. Walking into the room felt like walking straight into a wall.
“Hello Mumbo.” Grian spoke softly to the pile of blankets and pillows on the bed.
The pile shifted a little before the occupant rolled over to face him. Mumbos extremely pale face was almost a shock, almost, it would’ve been if Grian wasn’t already used to it. The sight made him smile softly. It felt nice to know Mumbo had some sort of strength left in him.
Mumbo didn’t greet Grian however, which was okay. It would be okay.
Grian carefully stepped over all the metal chunks and machines on the floor to sit next to Mumbo on the bed.
The sight of Mumbo right now felt wrong. The deep, dark circles under his eyes, the pale clammy skin, the exhausted look in his eyes. It wasn’t who Mumbo was. Mumbo was supposed to be full of energy, healthy and up for figuring out dumb problems he’d created for himself with complicated machinery.
“I’ve got you food.”