Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Grian wished he could sleep.

Some people wish they didn't need sleep, wish they could stay up forever, but Grian wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep. Unfortunately, his insomnia was at it again, and sleeping felt, ironically, like a far off dream.

Of course, his anxiety was no help when it came to his insomnia. Even if he could sleep, paranoia would kick in and he'd lie awake thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong.

Grian looked over at his cats, Pearl and Maui, asleep on the edge of his bed. The urge to bug them was strong, but he could never do that to them. Boredom crept in on him since he'd stopped doom scrolling. He grabbed his phone once more from the bedside table where he had put it earlier and opened his messages. His older cousin, Pearl, not the cat, works late, so she should be awake around this time.

Moon and her Bird chat opened

3:45am

Babybird: Heyyy

Moonsicle: I'm at work rn, what's up?

Babybird: can't sleep

Babybird: …

Babybird: again

Moonsicle: I'm sorry, I've got to deal with people. I'll call you when I'm done?

Babybird: sigh, fine. Bye, I love you, Pearl <3

Moonsicle: I love you too, G <3

Moon and her Bird chat closed

Grian sighed in disappointment, sitting up on the bed after staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. It's weird, for someone that interns at a design studio, and he has no experience what's so ever, it was still strange how many nights Pearl worked well into the morning. He checked his phone for any villain attacks near him.

There had been fight a few blocks down from him between Avian and Zombie, heroes, though they were missing they're normal third, Scales, against Puppeteer, Shadow, and Reflect, a villain group named the Bamboozlers. Grian was wondering why the Gs were missing their cyan haired teammate.

If Grian could change his power to anything, he'd want it to be the ability to sleep well at night, instead of having the stupid copying ability. Sure, people with his sort of power were supposed to be strong, but he had a limited amount of time to copy and a rest period afterwards. Not to mention no one he knew actually had cool powers he could copy.

Grian flopped down on the bed, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. Sleep, annoyingly, evaded him once more, his entire being felt restless. His heart was still hammering. Were his cats okay? Had he locked the door? Possibilities of danger went haywire in his head after reading about the fight.

He needed…tea, yeah, some tea might work. Chamomile, and maybe some biscuits and that book Mumbo recommended.

He couldn't stop thinking about that fight, though. If he wasn't able to sleep even after he'd relaxed himself, he'd watch the past broadcast on the fight to pass the time until he went to work at the Café, since he was working opening shift.

He stood up from the bed, holding his phone as he scrolled through posts about the fight while he made his way towards the kitchen. A lot of people simping for everyone in said fight, including the villains, as the internet does. A certain post about Reflect being the hottest member of the Bamboozlers made him snort out a laugh. "Puppeteer's way hotter." He mumbled.

"What?" A voice called out.

Grian shot his head up to see who was there and-

Puppeteer.

Puppeteer, probably the most feared villain of all time, was sitting on Grian's kitchen counter. He was covered in either someone else's blood or his own, probably a mix of both.

His dark pink, light blue, and black suit was clearly stained with some kind of blood. He was also clearly eating something, the bottom half of his mask pushed down under his chin, leaving only his goggles to hide his identity. He had one of Grian's spoons in hand, sitting on Grian's kitchen counter, eating-

Was that Nutella?

Grian didn't even own Nutella. He never ate it, so why would he keep it?

So, Puppeteer was eating Nutella that Grian didn't own, with Grian's spoon while on his counter. Grian shook off his face of shock, calming down as he said, "I don't own Nutella." Why was he so stuck on the Nutella? What about the fact that there was a super-villain in his home?!

His words seemed to make Puppeteer hesitate. "I can explain," the villain said cautiously, looking around frantic before seemingly looking back at Grian, though the civilian couldn't tell with the tinted glasses, "…no I can't."

Why did Grian feel so calm? He should be freaking out! There is a literal villain in his kitchen. A hot one, albeit, but still a villain. But the Puppeteer's powers came to mind. The ability to control people's emotions and actions. This bastard.

Puppeteer let out a sigh of defeat before backtracking. "Hold on, you called me hot?" Grian had been so caught up in his own head at the extremely weird and wrong feeling of calm, he had completely forgotten about that.

"U-uhm, well, you're…" Grian stammered, his face heating up as he stumbled over his words. "…you're definitely hotter than Reflect." Grian felt flustered, but a strange calm shrouded it.

It was wrong, all wrong. He wasn't feeling calm, that wasn't his emotions. It was like the wrong calm was gagging his real emotions. Like it was a weighted blanket over what he was supposed to feel

He cleared his throat before continuing where he left off. "Though, neither of you live up to Shadow's utter beauty." Nice save. It was all wrong though, he wasn't supposed to feel this. He should be terrified. What the heck was happening to him?

"Huh," Puppeteer looked at Grian with that smug grin of his that was so annoying, annoyingly attractive, "well, she is certainly the most beautiful of us three, no one can beat that dazzling pink hair of hers. And I'm pleased to know I have blondie beat, at least."

"Uh huh," Grian's sleep deprived brain started to catch up, the faux calm that wasn't his fading away, "could you, I don't know, maybe leave my home?"

The villain, surprisingly, seemed embarrassed as he quickly closed up his jar of Nutella and walking towards the window. "Uhm, bye…"

"Grian." Crap. Damn powers, making him share his name unwillingly. He should fight his brain. Well, more than he already did.

"Well, goodbye Grian." That was the last thing Puppeteer said before jumping out the window. When had that window been open? Grian really needs to be more aware of his surroundings.

Well, Grian was definitely not going to sleep now. Time to make himself some tea.

Chapter Text

Grian drank the entire kettle of tea as he caught up on the fight from last night.

Apparently, Scales had been present during the beginning of the fight. He had even been covering for Avian, as the brunette had been the last to arrive. Just as Avian had arrived, Puppeteer had managed to stab Scales in the calf, the shape-shifting hero having to retreat after that.

Avian and Zombie had held their own against the villain trio, who had been trying to steal tech from the hero agency. The heroes eventually got the tech back, breaking up the villain group.

Avian had ended up soloing Puppeteer, using her wind manipulation to block out the noise of Puppeteer's commands, the villain too exhausted to use his thoughts to control her. If he had enough energy, he was able to manipulate people with his thoughts, but since he was depleted of said energy, he had to use his words.

Not only exhaustion, but Scales had messed him up pretty good by shifting into different birds and mammals to use talons and claws to scratch at him. Blood was already soaking through his suit in every possible area that wasn't covered by his extra armor. Certainly not enough to kill or even injure gravely, but enough to cause Puppeteer to be exhausted and in pain.

As that fight went on, Zombie tried to handle both Reflect and Shadow, and as strong as they were, with their ability to remove their limbs and being almost impossible to kill, it didn't help with a person that could turn invisible and a person who could manipulate shadows. Safe to say Shadow and Reflect managed to flee.

Puppeteer had managed to escape Avian, fleeing in a different direction to the other bamboozlers. Towards Grian's home, as the civilian now knew, looking back at the tape. How he had gotten the Nutella, Grian still had no idea.

Grian kept looking at his phone throughout his catching up, waiting for Pearl to call. She had said she'd call right? Grian wasn't just going insane with sleep deprivation? Those have happened before, too many times to count. Just as he'd put his phone down and began questioning his sanity for what felt like the millionth time in his life, it probably was or over that at this point, his phone went off.

He quickly scrambled to get his phone, excited at the chance of Pearl texting. She was fun, and, not that he'd ever admit it, but probably his best friend. When she left for a couple of years when they were kids, he had missed her so much.

He deflated slightly at the sight of Skizz's, his friend and coworker, username instead of his cousin's. He was a good guy and friend, but not Pearl.

Skizzleman chat opened

5:56am

Skizzleman: Hey, G man! Boss switched our shifts, he just told me I'll be covering opening. Have a nice sleep in!

Skizzleman chat closed

Seriously?! Ugh, Grian actually liked opening. It meant he could actually do something productive at a time he'd already be awake.

Grian gave into doom scrolling, specifically the Bamboozlers fan page. And if he stared at Puppeteer thirstraps and fanart a little long? Well, no one was there to call him out.

Atleast, that's what he'd usually be doing, but every time he stared for more than a second now, he'd be struck with paranoia. What if Puppeteer was here again? What if he was watching Grian thirst over him?

Soon, instead of looking at fanart of Puppeteer longer than others, he was quickly skimming past them. He finally let himself stop on a drawing of Puppeteer looking at the viewer with a smug face, his muscles drawn so perfectly. God, Grian thought, he's so hot-

Ding!

His phone went off once more with a notification from Pearl. He quickly pressed on it.

Moon and her bird chat opened

6:12am

Moonsicle: Hey

Moonsicle: sorry I couldn't call

Moonsicle: Scott dropped a needle on his calf at the studio, it went pretty deep, and me and Cleo took him to the ER

Moonsicle: When do you get off work? I know you've got the opening shift, so maybe we can hang out after?

Babybird: actually, boss switched me and Skizz's shifts, so I start at 11:15am

Babybird: you could maybe come over beforehand?

Moonicle: oof, I know how much opening is easier for you on nights like this

Moonsicle: sure! As long as your cool with Scott and Cleo joining us?

Babybird: Of course, as long as I get to see you

Moonsicle: Awwwww, babybird!!!

Moonsicle: I will drag them over to see you

Moonsicle: we'll come over at 8 30?

Babybird: sounds good!

Babybird: see you soon Pearlie, I love you

Moonsicle: G, you're gonna make me cry! I love you too!! See you in a bit

Moon and her bird chat closed

Grian thought over their messages. Scott had gon to the ER? He hoped he was okay. Scott and Scales both having cyan hair and getting something stabbed into their calf on the same night. Huh. This city has always been crazy with injuries and coincidences.

Grian got up from where he was sat on the couch, and went to get the cats their food. He got the wet and dry food and put it in the cats' respective bowls. He'd read somewhere that it was good for the cats to mix dry and wet food, but it was also what Grian was used to doing for them, it was familiar.

Once the cats had started eating, he'd turned to the sink and noticed a chocolate covered spoon inside. A Nutella covered spoon. He quickly got to rinsing the spoon, scrubbing it intensly to get rid of the evedence.

He sighed a breath of relief he hadn't even known he was holding in just until the spoon had seemed clean. Sure, it had been clean a lot of scrubbing ago, he was meticulous after all. But how could he be sure it was actually clean? Maybe there had been spots he missed earlier?

He was started to feel hungry though, and the cats were already eating their food, so he didn't have to worry about them. He opened the fridge and grabbed the Nutella-

Wait.

He didn't own Nutella. Had Pupeteer seriously left it here? What the heck? Was the guy stupid? Did he not want to keep it? Did he not consider if Grian wanted it or not?

Well, of course the villain hadn't considered Grian's feeling, but still! It was not cool, not cool at all.

Grian just put it back in the fridge. If Pupeteer came back, which Grian hoped he didn't despite his admiration, he was still a super-villain, Grian didn't want him to get angry that Grian through out his Nutella while he was gone.

Grian decided to just grab an apple, maybe something more later, but right now, he wasn't that hungry. He perched himself on the counter, eating the apple as he finally felt ready to think deeply about last night.

So, Puppeteer, one of the major and most feared super-villains and part of the Bamboozlers, had broken into his home to eat Nutella. Grian had already checked the rest of the apartment, and nothing was stolen. Why? It was all so strange.

Maybe Grian had been hallucinating? He did that when he hadn't slept for a few days. But no, the Nutella was here, along with a dirty spoon, and his memory of Puppeteer's state matched how hed seemed on TV. Plus, there was the blood droplets on his window. Hold up, there were blood droplets on his window?

Grian had thought back to the incident, remembering the blood on Puppeteer's suit. After watching back through the fight, Grain now knew that he had been fighting with Scales, who had been using claws and talons to scratch the villain. Scales was precise, but hadn't been deadly with the villain, who seemed fine enough whe Grian saw him.

Grian finished his apple and threw the core into the bin. Puppeteer had also heard Grian call him hot. The civilian immediately felt his face flush at the memory. Oh god, that was so embarrassing.

Grian needed to take his mind of of things, things being Puppeteer and his stupidly hot smile and body and laugh and-

Grian, he thought to himself, stop thirsting over a super-villain right before Pearl gets here, you know how she feels about the villains. She'd kill you if she could read your thoughts.

Pearl knew of his attraction to Scar, she was basically his sister, of course she knew, but she was always against it. Atleast, when she finally got back in contact with him after all those years. She'd learn of his crush and was immediately against the idea of him liking villains, boasting about how much better the heroes were.

Thinking about her prompted him to check the time to see when she'd get here. 7:08am. Seriously? Why did time have to pass so slowly? The world and it's time hated Grian.

Alright, so he had around an hour and a half to kill. He has nothing to do. He could clean. Deep clean. Yeah, he's going to deep clean his apartment. He should clean up the blood on his windows, floors, and counters. What else could he do?

By the time Grian had just about finished cleaning the last specs of blood in the apartment, he heard a knock on the door. His cats were already scratching and screaming at the entrance, clearly knowing their favorite aunt was finally home to see them.

He opened the door to walk into a brick wall of a person. "Hi, Cleo." Grian said, looking up at them with a smile, which was reflected back at him. "How are you?"

Grian stepped back into his home, allowing Cleo to walk into the apartment, ducking under the doorway as they did, followed by Scott and finally Pearl, who was holding the cats and cooing at them. She set them back down as Scott held onto her shoulder and limped along into the living room. Grian noticed that they all had small scrapes and blisters, and being a fashion intern must be painful.

"I'm good, G." Cleo said as they followed the others into the living room, Grian closing the door behind them. "Scott, not so much."

Pearl dropped Scott on the couch, going back to cooing at the cats. "Oh, hi, my babies. How are you? Is Grian treating you well? Has he brought over any scary strangers? Oh, you're just the cutest babies ever!"

Grian froze. His paranoia went crazy at the idea that his cats might talk and tell Pearl that Puppeteer was here last night. It was crazy, he knew, but nothing was impossible with powers in the world.

"I feel offended," Scott said from where he took up most of the couch space with his sprawled out form, "that one of my best friends insulted me on my ability to be fine, and the other abandons me, wounded, for her cousins cats."

"They're are my cats at this point." Pearl argued, holding up Pearl the cat and shoving her in Scott's face, "See? This beautiful baby girl is my literal namesake." Pearl placed Pearl the cat back down gently as she continued to speak, "By the way, G, did you have someone over? You don't clean the whole place unless someone's been over or is coming over, and you never clean the place for us."

Grian tensed, he cleaned the apartment because of the blood, as he tried to appear cool. "Uhm, y-yeah!" Grian's voice cracked as he winced at himself. "Yeah, Mumbo and Skizz came by to hang out. You know, my friends from work?"

The three looked at him, all with what seemed like the eyes of a professional inspector, which he guessed makes since for a bunch of fashion interns. Cleo kicked aside Scott's legs, causing the man to hiss in pain so they could sit down.

"So," Pearl said in a sing-song voice, "who's the lucky man?" She wiggled her eyebrows as she leaned forward. "I mean, must've been a date, since you don't do one night stands."

Grian froze once more. Pearl thought…he was with someone? He thought about being with Puppeteer, and damn, he liked that idea.

"Uhm," he started, "no one. Just me, Mumbo and Skizz hanging out." As much as he liked the idea of being with Puppeteer, he didn't want to bring Pearl's hopes up at him finally finding a partner.

The doubling down didn't seem to do much with the trio, all looking at him with suspicion. Finally, Pearl turned away and walked towards the fridge. She froze once she opened it. "You don't own Nutella," she whispered, "you haven't liked it since before we broke off."

"I…" Grian trailed off, trying to find an excuse, "I decided to try it out. Skizz kept hyping it up." Which wasn't a lie, Skizz had been shocked to learn he didn't like Nutella.

"Uh huh," Pearl nodded, skeptically, before grabbing an apple from the fridge and closing it, "anyway, should we re-watch K-Pop Demon Hunters for the tenth time?"

"Yes!" Scott and Grian awnsered at the same time, Grian running to take the better chair in the living room. Pearl walked over, chewing her apple as she went to the stiff chair.

They watched the whole movie, all of them belting out the song lyrics. By the time it was done, Grian had to get ready for work and the others left.

Grian put on a clean shirt under his red sweater, grabbed his apron and stuffed it in his backpack, and he went off to the café.

Chapter Text

Pearl remembered her childhood always had Grian, until he has gone from her life for 8 whole years.

She remembered feeling neglected by her own father and aunt, who moved in together since they didn't have money, being ignored as Grian was favoured over her. She hated her younger cousin for being the favorite, for taking up all the attention, but she couldn't not love him.

He was such a sweet kid, always putting people others before himself, offering not to eat so Pearl could when they couldn't afford it. Their parents would never let him, of course, making Pearl skip so he could eat instead.

Pearl remembered Grian being her best friend, loving her babybird so much. She remembered her aunt telling her never to tell Grian what his powers truly were, to protect him.

Pearl remembered having petty arguments with Grian over whether villains or heroes were better. Grian always loved to talking about how cool villains were, and Pearl preferred the heroes.

He always wanted his big sister, cousin, but they were close like siblings, to be as happy as she could. Wanting her to be able to love freely, to not hate him.

She remembered the night she turned thirteen, Grian still the ten year old babybird, having to say goodbye to her babybird because their parents wanted more money to support Grian's life. She remembered the agency, taking her from the one person she loved so that they could trained her to be a hero.

She met Cleo and Scott, the two people she'd consider her best friends, other than Grian, in training. They decided that they'd be a trio long before they graduated their training, Impulse joining them in their third year and BigB being their honorary member in their second year, since he was decided to be a solo hero a long while ago, before he met the Gs.

They got to sleep in the same section of the sleeping quarters, being able to spend every moment training with each other because they were a team. But still, Pearl spent every waking moment thinking of Grian, her babybird. Was he okay? Was he safe?

When they graduated at 18, and got to pick their hero names, the others went with ones that were only related to their power, Cleo as Zombie, since they were extremely difficult to kill and could remove their limbs on command, Scott as Scales, since he was able to shape shift into any creature, Impulse as Zip, due to his ability to teleport, and BigB as Stare, because he could someone creakings, ancient mobs that had long been extinct.

But Pearl? She had a different idea in mind. Sure, her name corresponded to the thought of flying, but it didn't really touch on her ability to manipulate wind. She remembered Grian, of his obsession over the fantasy creatures avians, the reason she named him babybird in the first place

"So…" Scott said, handing over Tilli, their shared stuffed wolf, "What's your name going to be?"

Pearl hesitated, smiling at her best friend.

"I think I'm going to be called Avian."

Chapter Text

Pearl had spent the first 2 years of her contract working. Non-stop working. She and the other Gs - and honorary, we love you B - were immediately given top heroes to deal with villains, given their powers and how useful they were.

Pearl wanted to go looking for Grian, she really did, but the agency sent her on mission after mission for her first two years. She had been detaining low level villains left and right before she was even done her first year.

She was so tired, she barely slept with worry, she constantly tried to look for her babyb- Grian, but it was interrupted with mission after mission. Not to keep her from Grian - of course not, the agency wouldn't do that - but to train her for the bigger villains that were to come.

It was only half way through her third year that she had gotten time to herself. She spent every spare moment researching, looking for Grian everywhere, any detail that he was safe and okay. Or atleast alive.

She found out her father and aunt had been killed in a villain attack. She felt pleased that those monsters were gone, but she also felt an unbelievable amount of sadness.

Why? Why would she care for the people that ignored her and barely treated her as their child?

But…but that was still her dad. That was still her auntie. And she couldn't even say goodbye before they died. And Grian must've been desvasted-

Shit, what happened with Grian?

Pearl continued her researching, trying to find her cousin. She learned that Grian was put in the forster care system for two years before he emancipated himself at sixteen and ended up renting a tiny apartment he shared with someone named Mumbo and Skizz.

But after that, she got nothing. There was nothing obvious. Well, atleast that meant Grian was safe and staying out of trouble.

She still couldn't get over her family's death. Her dad…gone. And she…she wasn't even there for him, for auntie, for Grian.

She pushed her chair away from the servaillance computers, feeling numb as she walked back towards the wing of the building dedicated to her team. She walked along aimlessly, mindlessly making her way towards the living quarters in the wing.

Pearl stumbled through the door, tears blurimg her eyes. Her dad gone, forever. A strong body caught her. Her mind was fuzzy. Was her dad here? Had he come back for her? "Dad?"

She slumped in disappointment to see Impulse was the one who caught her. Sure, dad friend of the group, but not her dad. "Pearl? Are you okay? You've been in the servaillance room all day."

Impulse's voice was soft and filled with concern, a warm blanket engulfing her. He cares, he wanted her to be alright. And she simply found herself breaking into a sob as reality crashed down on her.

She cried and sobbed and screamed, unaware of her surroundings as she felt a much stronger and bigger body than Impulse hug her and guide her towards one of the large, L shaped couches in the living area. The large person, who she's now identified as Cleo, cradled her as she cried.

Another person, one much leaner than the other's, probably Scott, came to cuddle her along with Cleo. Pearl was crying until she couldn't anymore, until her throat ached, until she was suffocating from lack of breathing.

When she finally came down a bit, tears still rolling down her cheeks but less intense, Impulse and BigB walked in. Impulse was carrying a tray of baked goods, still wearing an apron. How much time had gone by? And BigB-

BigB, her oldest friend from before she even joined the training, had her favorite ice cream, comfort movies, and hot cocoa. Exactly what he always had when she came over to his apartment when they were kids after a fight with her dad and auntie.

He had the same smile as back then, though with new scars, but it was still her oldest friend there. He placed the ice cream and hot cocoa down on a coffee table in front of the couch, going to sit down on a beanbag chair away from the group.

BigB wasn't great with emotions, and he wasn't as close with the group as he was with Pearl. But she could tell that he cared, behind the lying to cope and the distance he put between the group, that was still her friend, who remembered what she needed when she was upset.

Impulse placed the tray of baked goods on the coffee table as well, taking one of the movies BigB handed him and putting them in the DVD player, because, at this moment, Pearl needed familiarity that couldn't come from streaming. Impulse went to sit next to Scott as the movie began.

Pearl felt…safe. She could look for her cousin later. Right now, she needed to sit with her closest friends and relax into the cuddle pile that was her, Scott, and Cleo.

She was okay. She'd be okay. As long as she had her people here, she'd be okay.

Chapter Text

Pearl woke up, her neck hurting from the position she slept in but was not going to move from her Cleo and Scott cuddle pile. Her best friends were comfortable and safe. Why would she move?

As the sun came through the ginormous window overlooking the city, she groaned into Tilly. When had the stuffed animal gotten here? One of her friends must've brought it to her after she'd gone to sleep.

Pearl smiled to herself. She loved her friends.

Once everyone had gotten up and started to move arround their wing, their day started. Impulse was the first to get up, changing into a simple black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, as he had training that morning.

He had started working on breakfast for the group when Pearl joined him in the kitchen. "So," Impulse said, keeping his attention on the food, "Will you continue your research?"

"I think I should take a break." Pearl said, looking down at his food, "I don't think I can handle anything more right now. I mean, what if I found out Grian was secretly dead?"

"You searched for his records, right?" Impulse said, putting a plate of eggs along with Nutella toast as well as coffee in front of Pearl, "No date of decease?"

"None," Pearl sighed, taking a bite of the eggs, "But there's always possibilities of the worst outcome. Actually, the worst would be that he hates me."

"Who? Grian?" A voice, BigB's, called out from the hallway, still in his pajamas, "That kid loved you when we were kids. Weren't you the first one who he told he was trans to? What did you call him? Babybird?" BigB thanked Impulse as the dad of the group slid over eggs, bacon, toast, and a coffee, classic American breakfast.

Pearl froze. She hadn't thought of Grian as her babybird in so long. When was the last time she'd called him that? Thought of him like that? It was such a shock, she couldn't hear BigB calling her.

"-earl, Pearl!" BigB called, and Pearl came out of her head. "You okay, Birdie?"

"Yeah," Pearl muttered, the nickname from her and BigB's childhood calming her, "Yeah, I'm fine. I did call him that, didn't I? Come on, we were stupid kids. It didn't mean anything."

"Still," BigB continued, "He cared for you and loved you and looked up to you more than anyone else. I lie a lot, but this is one thing that's true."

"Thanks," Pearl said, looking at the boy who'd been there for her her whole life, "That means a lot, B."

"Anyway," Impulse started, changing the subject, "Pearl and I have got training today. What have you got, B? And remember to actually eat. You can't survive on only coffee."

"Wow, way to ruining the moment, dad." BigB teased, rolling his eyes as he took a sip of coffee, "I've got patrol during late afternoon. Until then, I'm shadowing one of the retired heroes. Don't know they're name. Void something."

Pearl smacked him over the head, stealing one of his pieces of bacon in the process. "Respect your elders!" She yelled around a mouth full of Nutella toast and bacon.

"Hey!" BigB complained, reaching for the piece of bacon Pearl stole before she'd stuffed it in her mouth, "It's not my fault I only listened to the fighting part of training. Who needs to know history anyway?"

"We should live up to the legends we were taught, as we are the next legends in the making." Pearl and Impulse said in unison, imitating the voice of their mentor.

"I haven't heard that in years." Scott said, walking over to the kitchen with Cleo next to him, "It still makes me shiver. I hated that mentor."

This had been an ongoing argument for years about their mentors and how much they actually cared for them. Cleo, Scott, and BigB were on the side that the ones who taught them were wrong and evil in their teachings, so they strived to be better than them. Impulse and Pearl were on the side that wanted to live up to the legacy the mentors left for them to fill.

"Scott and I have our day off today." Cleo said as they took BigB's chair beside Pearl, as he'd stood up to give space for the others, "Pearl was supposed to, as well. But she's too much of a workaholic."

"Hey!" Pearl defended herself, "I'm not working today either, I'm training with Impulse."

"Which is part of our work schedule, though." Impulse countered, finishing with cleaning up the dishes as he gave Pearl and Scott some food, "Okay, day is starting, go. I want to finish my training early and B has got to rest before his patrol and shadowing."

They all dispersed. Pearl went back to her room to change into her training gear. During training, since she didn't have it scheduled, she mostly focused on working out in the gym provided for training.

She punched and punched and punched, thinking of everything her father had done. She was over her mourning, now angry at her father and aunt for leaving Grian alone, for sending her away, for everything.

Days past and her thoughts were filled with Grian, she kept worrying for him. She needed to check up on him, or atleast find out where he lived.

Eventually, she was back in the servaillance room.

Some people would've thought it'd be hard to find someone with no records since they emancipated.

But Pearl wasn't some people.

And Pearl knew her cousin.

Watch out, Grian, Pearl will find you again.

Chapter Text

Grian put down his bag and sat down in the stock rooms before started work.

He had fifteen minutes before he had to be out there and switching off with another coworker. Skizz was also in the back, just getting off his shift and describing what had happened during the morning.

"And so this Karen asked for a cappuccino with no froth. So I asked 'a latte?' And she told me I was stupid and that she hated lattes. So guess what I made her. A latte. And she said that it was exactly what she wanted!" Skizz ranted about another incompetent customer.

"That sucks, buddy. I hate customers like that because we can't say anything back." Grian sympathized with Skizz, some of their customers were a bit ignorant.

"And she wouldn't sit down! I told her 'we are a table service café, sit down and we'll come get your order' and she kept standing there! It was so frustrating. Finally, she sat down, but was horrible to serve." Skizz complained, flopping down on the ground next to Grian.

"Well," Grian started, changing the subject, "You should head home to your cat and dog. And I need to get my free drink pre-shift."

"Your right," Skizz sighed, standing back up as he got his free post-shift drink, "I miss my babies. Have a nice shift, G!"

"Thanks, Skizz!" Grian called out as Skizz left the building. He quickly finished his drink, going to the change rooms as his shift started soon.

Grian put on his uniform and walked out into the main café, smiling at Mumbo who was whipping up a drink. There were a couple other workers there that Grian never bothered to talk to because talking to people were scary.

He looked towards his section, it was pretty empty, nice. He cleaned up some tables, brought some food out for the other customers.

Grian just finished serving his last table for the moment, a young platonically married couple Theo and Alice, and Alice's girlfriend, Sasha, who just also happened to be Grian's neighbors who liked to check up on him at work from time to time . Theo and Alice had apparently gotten married when they turned 18 for tax benefits, agreeing to be purely platonic and non monogamous.

Grian had gotten Theo his croissant and english breakfast tea, Alice their sweet tea, and Sasha her London fog with a side of biscuits. After they were all settled down with their drinks and treats, a new customer sat in Grian section. Grian made his way towards the man and-

Oh god.

He was hot.

No, Grian thought, He's drop dead gorgeous. Hotter than Puppeteer.

Grian retreated to the back, placing his face in his hands as he caught his breath. It was fine. He'd be fine. He's served attractive customers before, it came with being a popular café.

But this one was different. He felt familiar. Maybe he was a customer Grian had served before. Okay, he could do this.

Grian walked back out to the main area, grabbing his notepad as he made his way towards the man at the table. As he arrived, he felt a sudden feeling of comfortability and attraction, similar to the feeling of calm he'd had during his time with Puppeteer.

"H-hi!" Grian winced as he heard the crack in his voice, "Uhm, what would you like today?"

The man simply smirked at him, a smirk that felt all too familiar. "Hello, Grian. My name's Scar, and I'd like one of your Nutella croissants with a 'chocolaté?'"

Grian froze slightly, before remembering his apron had a name tag with his name and pronouns. "Of course, I'll get that for you right away, Scar."

Grian scurried away, stopping by the other table on his way towards the kitchen. "Simp." Theo muttered, leaning back in his chair as he looked towards Alice and Sasha.

Grian squawked in offense, looking towards the couple for back up. "Well," Sasha said, looking towards her partner before back at Grian, "He's not exactly wrong there, sweetie."

Looking towards Alice and seeing them nod, Grian groaned in defeat, walking towards to coffee bar. He grabbed the rich chocolate from a cupboard and began steaming the milk.

Once that was done, he broke up the chocolate and put it in a mug, pouring over it with the milk. He stirred around the continents of the mug as he got back into the work mindset.

It's a repetitive motion that made his work so much easier, why he stuck with this job even after Pearl started to give him enough allowance to live comfortably for fifty years. This job was simple and made sense, plus the bonus of working with his two close friends, Mumbo and Skizz.

Grian then went to the kitchen in the back to grab one of their fresh croissants stuffed with Nutella in the center. He grabbed the mug and carried it along with the croissant to the main area, seeing that his neighbors were done with their drinks.

"I see we're done with our drinks and pastries, here." Grian said nodding towards the empty mugs and plates, "Would you like anything else?"

"I think we're good, G." Alice said, glaring at Theo as he placed some bills, including a generous tip, "I swear, if you call yourself a sugar daddy, I'm crashing out."

"Grian," Theo said, looking towards Grian with a smile, "Can you belive I'm being treated like a sugar daddy? I mean, when was the last time you saw my wife pay?"

"That's it," Alice said, pushing their chair back as they stood up, "I'm done. T’est qu’une salle merde, Théo." They continued as they stormed out of the café.

"Thanks for the drinks and treats, Grian." Sasha said, Theo repeating the same thing as they exited the café.

Grian smiled at his friends, putting down the mug and pastry in his hand as he went to clean up the table at hand. After a few trips to and from the kitchen, he wiped down the table before grabbing the mug and croissant once more, walking towards Scar's table.

"Here is your croissant and chocolate." Grian said, placing down the croissant and chocolaté onto the table in front of Scar, who was typing away on a laptop, facing away from Grian, "Would you like anything else?"

Scar simply looked at Grian's face with a smile he couldn't decipher. "I'm good with what I've got here. Thank you there, dove."

Grian felt his brain stutter at the nickname, his face growing hot. A name so close to the one Pearl calls him, but so different at the same time. "R-Right, have a nice meal, Scar." Grian practically whispers as he walks away.

Grian walked to the back, starting to prepare his free post-shift drink as his shift was ending soon. After a few minutes, he walked back out to Scar's table.

"Is there anything more you'd like?" Grian ask, feeling emotions of being flustered, attracted, and comfortable washing over him in an all too familiar way.

"Actually, yes," Scar started, closing his laptop as he looked between Grian and the table, "There's something missing here."

"Oh!" Grian exclaimed, panic and anxiety trying to break through the blanket of emotions he had at the moment, "What did I miss?"

"Well," Scar continued, his grin growing sharper, "I don't see your number here, dove."

"Uh-" Grian's brain froze as he stuttered, quickly scrambling for a response, "Oh! Y-yes! Let me just…" He quickly wrote down his phone number onto one of the pieces of paper attached to his notepad, ripping it of and placing it on the table. "H-here…"

"Thanks, dove." Scar stood, placing a couple hundred dollar bills, much more than he should to tip, making Grian freeze once more, "I'll make sure to call."

Scar walked out without another word, leaving Grian standing in shock.

"What the fuck just happened?…" He muttered.

He went back to the coffee bar, grabbing his free drink and his bag, clocking out for the day.

Well, that was certainly a strange shift. Wait, he just gave a dude he met a few hours ago his number? God, Grian felt so stupid.

Chapter Text

Pearl spent days, tracking down anything Grian could be related to.

She looked over foster system records, trans support groups, queeer support groups, anyhing to find him, but she got nothing. Grian was never one to look for support, thinking that he didn't deserve it.

Some people would've given up looking after that, but she still had a sneaking suspicion on where to start her search and given how there was a new trio of villains, the Bamboozlers - stupid name for stupid people - she knew to look at their fanpage. And looking a little deeper, she found a fan account for not only the Bamboozlers, but the Puppeteer specifically.

The fan account seemed to act a whole lot like Grian. Liking every spicy art or thirst-trap, writing comments on how good the art was. She looked into it and traced it to the phone in the poorer district, he never escaped where they're parents kept them they're whole lives.

Grian was still stuck where their parents kept them their whole lives together. Pearl missed him so much. But how could she now he missed her? He probably wanted nothing to do with her, probably wanted her dead.

Grian looked…happy without her.

He had apparently made two good friends, Mumbo and Skizz, he saved enough for a 2 bedroom apartment - from a sketchy landlord with questionable qualifications and even more questionable appartment, but still - and he had gotten two cats. He never shared the cats names, always calling them his babies.

Well, she was always more of dog person. Another thing her and Grian were on opposite sides of.

She set up a date on when to confront him in a few days, going to the park that he'd always go to and post about. It wasn't a particularly nice park, probably due to it being in the poorer district.

When the date finally came around, Pearl made her way on rooftops, as it was faster, letting her wings appear on her back to help her fly. She was there in a matter of minutes, as it was quite fast flying.

She dropped down on a rooftop, her wings disappearing as she climbed down the side of the building. With her amount of training, her stamina was very good, letting her run the rest of the way as to not be spotted.

Arriving at the park, seeing the time was around 2am, Pearl knew Grian would walk by soon. He worked at a 24 hour convenience store, as it kept him busy with his insomnia, which she learned about through her research.

She looked around the seemingly abandoned park with how little it was maintained, seeing a few people smoking on a bench and a couple making out in an alleyway. She quickly looked away from the scene, spotting a red sweater.

Looking closer, she saw the face of Grian, all grown up. He was almost an adult, he seemed to have gotten top surgery and a small addam's apple started to form. He carried a plastic bag filled with groceries, including Nutella.

Weird. He never liked Nutella.

And he was alone.

"Grian!" Pearl shouted, running towards the man who turned towards her.

"I'm sorry," Grian asked, looking confused, "Do I know you?" Pearl noticed deep eyebags on his face.

Pearl's smile dropped as she felt devastation washed over her. What? Grian didn't…recognize her?

"What…?" She said, her voice breaking as she felt herself tear up, "Grian, it's me. Pearl."

"Listen," Grian started already backing away from the conversation, "The last of my family left when I was 14. Whatever kind of stalker you are, I don't have time for it. My cousin left us when I was 10, I saw her emancipation files. Just leave me alone, it's late and I want to get home."

"What?" Pearl started once more, starting to get angry, "I never emancipated, I never wanted to leave! Babybird, it's me!"

"How do know that name?" He yelled, eyes wide with shock, "Pearl? Is it really you…?"

"It's me," Pearl started to feel tears well up in her eyes as she opened her arms, "It's me-"

Smack.

Grian…slapped her. She looked back to see eyes full of anger and tears.

"You left me!" He screamed, glaring as much as he could. "You left me for years! I hate you!"

Grian…hated her?

No.

Chapter Text

"Leave you?" Pearl asked, feeling anger boiling deep in her chest, "Leave you?! They took me!"

"That's not what mom said," Grian countered, still glaring as hard as he could, "Mom said that you left and emancipated yourself without even saying goodbye!"

"I didn't leave!" Pearl teared up, not knowing how to process her despair and anger, "They sold me to raise you! They always loved you more. I was the second thought."

"You think it was easy?" Grian continued, tears willing up in his eyes as his bottom lip quivered, "I watched you sacrifice everything for me, and then you left without even saying goodbye… And then mom and uncle died, and then B left too…"

Pearl watched, frozen in place as she watched Grian - no, her babybird - begin to tear up. She wanted to hug him, to explain everything, but she recognized the danger that would put him in if he knew her job.

"I was alone for years…" Grian whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks, "The foster homes in this district were horrible, the only person I had left, BigB, left for YOU. YOU'RE the reason I was alone. It was all because of YOU."

"I never wanted to leave you…" Pearl stepped forward, trying to get closer, "I wanted to stay, to see you, my babybird, grow up. I'm so, so sorry I left, but I just want you back."

Grian's body began to shake as he broke down, falling into Pearl's arms and squeezing her tight. Pearl began to cry as well, burying her face in his fluffy hair.

"I missed you!" Grian sobbed, hanging onto Pearl as tight as he could, "I missed you so much."

"Me too," Pearl whispered, rubbing Grian's back in a circular motion, "I missed you too. Every day, I thought of getting to hold you like this one more time. I'll never leave you again."

And Pearl meant it. She would NEVER leave HER babybird again. He was HER'S, and she'd keep him safe, forever and ever.

She thought about quitting being a hero, just to stay by Grian's side and protect him for the rest of time. She probably would've too, until she was called into the Watcher's office.

The Watcher, the top of the hero agency, who'd named themselves after the ancient, mythological gods who bestothed the powers onto humanity, and there were stories of them taking powers away as well. The Watcher wasn't one of them just an egotistical little bitch who manipulated and wanted people to fear them with their name.

Walking into their office was definitely intimidating. It was cold, large, and empty, giving off the ambiance of a dungeon. Pearl walked up to the large dark wood desk, the Watcher beckoning her.

"Avian, where did you go last night?" The Watcher said in their cold voice, making Pearl freeze as she realized they knew of Grian, "The camera's around the city show you in a park in the poor distract, embracing a man who had slapped you minutes before."

"It was an old friend," Pearl said, her blood running cold. She was taught to lie, to cover up, and she was damn good at it.

"Don't lie to me, Pearl."

But some people could always see through her lies.

"I know of your little "babybird" and of what his powers truly are," The Watcher continued, eyes cold and expression unmoving, "we both know that he's much stronger than he is led to believe."

"What…what do you want?" Pearl stuttered, knowing how powerful The Watcher could be.

"As you are a new hero," The Watcher started up once more, "your starter contract runs out by the end of the year. Unless you want us to…talk to Grian about his powers, I'd suggest you sign for a ten year long one."

"Fine," Pearl whispered, willing to do anything to protect her babybird, "I'll come back when it's ready." She started walking out of the office.

"No need," The Watcher stopped her making her turn her head around once more towards them, who already had a contract on the table, "we have one here."

Motherfucker.

Her phone pinged with a notification.

Pearl & Grian chat opened

9:32am

G: Heyy

G: I have someone I'd like you to meet

G: meet at my place whenever you can?

Pearl & Grian chat closed

Her babybird wanted to see her.

Suddenly, there was an overwhelming urge to go see him, pushing towards her top priority. She signed the contract, barely reading it over. "Is that all?"

"Yea, thank you, Avian," The Watcher told her

Pearl began making her way out the door, stopping when The Watcher called her.

"Oh, and, Pearl?" They said, "if you ever think of leaving or telling Grian, we will fins your babybird."

With that, the door slammed behind her.

She needed to see him.

Pearl took off of the roof, flying over the city as fast as she could. Dropping down on the same building as before, she ran towards the address Grian gave her.

Sprinting up the stairs, she opened the door only to run face first with a man covered in scars. He was eating out of a Nutella jar with a spoon. Well, that explains why Grian bought it even though he's never liked it.

"Oh!" He yelped, stumbling backwards, "I am so sorry ma'am, I was just heading to work. Is there something you need?"

"Who are you?" Pearl asked, trying to look past him, "I'm here for Grian.

"You must be Pearl," the man said, stepping a side to let her into the shitty appartment, "G talks a lot about you. I'm Skizz, G's roommate, along with Mumbo, who's already at the café."

"Nice to meet you, Skizz," Pearl said absent-mindedly, spotting Grian in the living room, playing with 3 cats, "Grian!"

Grian's head shot up, quickly picking up one of the cats. "Pearl!"

They hugged each other, the cat squished between them. Once they pulled away, Grian held up the cat to Pearl.

"Pearl," Grian started, "meet Pearl. I named her after you when I found her and her brother in a box in an alleyway earlier this year. I named her after you. And the other one is Penut, she's Skizz's."

Pearl began to tear up as she took the baby kitty in her hands. Pearl the cat mowed at her, needing dough into her collarbone. She was adorable. Pearl the human loved her.

She hugged Grian tightly, holding Pearl the cat out of the way as she squished her little souring. She was so happy to have her back.

After her first contract ended, and her ten year long one started up, her and Scott ended up losing Tilly the stuffy. So when they moved into a house together as platonic husband and wife, they ended up getting a mix of German Shepard and Husky and naming it Tilly.

Everything went well over the next 12 years, her and Grian's relationship was improving and began to thrive, The Gs and BigB were moved to top heroes, Grian was able to get his own place with Pearl's help, and they promised to NEVER hide anything from each other again.

She decided to visit Grian while he worked at the café, only to see him busy with a man calling him "Dove."

…

Maybe murder was okay.

Chapter Text

After meeting Scar and heading home from work, Grian decided to go spend some time with Pearl.

Saying goodbye to his cats, he walked down the stairs of the appartment building, waving goodbye to Theo and Alice, who were just walking back into the building with their German shepherd. He walked off towards the bus, just catching it and sitting next to a blonde that looked awfully familiar.

"Oh my gods," Grian started, looking at the man with a shocked expression, jaw hanging open, "Timmy?"

"It's Jimmy," Jimmy corrected automatically, looking up to see Grian, his eyes widening, "Holy shit, Grian?"

Jimmy was the only other person than Mumbo and Skizz that Grian had kept in contact with after emancipation himself from the foster care system. Jimmy was that kid who'd become a sort of brother to him after they were constantly out in the same homes together and kept in contact for a few years after he emancipated.

He could still remember the first time they met, accidentally calling him Timmy, and then they stuck together for the next 4 years, 2 of those years were after they emancipated. If Grian was right, Jimmy had actually gotten a house with a brown haired man, a pink haired girl, and black and green haired man, and a red haired girl.

Maybe they were still living together. Probably not, Grian wasn't still living with Mumbo and Skizz, after all.

Grian probably still had Jimmy's number, his old one atleast, in his contacts under the name of Timmy, as that was Grian's nickname for the man. When they had met, Grian misheard how Jimmy introduced himself and thought he'd said "Timmy," and it just stuck.

Looking closer, Jimmy had changed quite a bit. The man's hair was much shorter, not a single strand could cover his eyes, he had new scars over his face and visible body, and he seemed to have deeper eye bags.

It made sense, with age came change. Grian could remember Jimmy saying something about going until building, which would explain everything.

"Well," Grian started once more, "It certainly has been a while, Tim. How's it going with the housemates?"

"Oh," Jimmy stated, clearly not having expected any of this, "Well, we all moved out, except for Joel and Lizzie, who got married, the rest of us are living separately. And I've got myself a roommate with Tango, the guy I was talking to the last time we saw each other."

Jimmy shifted over to give Grian more room as he placed his bag on his lap. Grian looked up to see he had three more stops before he was on Pearl, Scott, and Celo's street.

"What about you?" Jimmy continued, seeing that Grian was looking away, but probably paying attention, "Are you still living with…uh, Mumbo and Skizz? Last time we talked was right around when you got back in contact with your…cousin?"

"I actually moved out," Grian said, "I got back in contact with Pearl, my cousin that you mentioned, about 12 years ago. She helped me get back on my feet and get my own place. It's a bit crappy, over on the southern west end, but it's home. Pearl, the cat, and Maui are doing good, still as chaotic as ever."

"That's nice," Jimmy said, letting the two fall into a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Grian felt relief when his stop was announced, standing up and putting his backpack back on his back.

"Goodbye, Tim." Grian waved goodbye to Jimmy.

"Goodbye, G." Jimmy waved back, putting his bag on the seat where Grian was sitting.

Getting of the bus, Grian made his way towards the larger houses. Stopping in front of one that must've cost millions, Grian walked up to the door and knocked.

Immediately, the sound of sirens, in reality, it was just husky, blared from inside the house. Opening the door, Grian was jumped onto by the best doggo in the world, Tilly, a German Shepherd and Husky mix.

Grian let out an loud giggle as Tilly licked his face, pushing him down on his back and barking in his face. The few things that didn't overstimulated Grian were the Pearl, both, Maui, and Tilli.

"Sorry about her, G," Cleo said, calling the dog over with some treats, "She's excited to see her other dad."

"No worries," Grian walked inside the house, petting Tilly behind the ear after closing the door behind him, "She's too cute to deny her of the love she wants. Anyways, is here Pearl?"

"Yep," Cleo said, pointing inside the house, towards the kitchen, "I think she just finished up a call with Impulse, who's finally getting her to learn how to cook."

"Thanks, Cleo." Grian stood up, walking towards the kitchen with Tilly following right behind him, tail wagging furiously.

Walking into the kitchen to find Pearl flopped over the counter in defeat, covered in flower, with the end call screen on her phone. Somehow, there was flower on the top of the fridge, and in the closed oven.

Okay…

"We are not going on a walk until this place is clean," Grian stated, already wetting a clean cloth with some water from the sink.

"Impulse kept yelling… I don't know what I'm doing…" Pearl cried, sliding off the counter onto the floor in a heap of defeat.

"Don't worry," Grian comforted, throwing a wet towel onto Pearl's face, "You'll learn eventually, now help me clean or I'm going home."

"No! Don't leave me, babybird," Pearl pleaded, grabbing the wet towel from her face and wiping down the countertop, "I can't handle all of this on my own."

They got to cleaning, wiping down every surface and inside the oven. Tilly helped by licking up some spilled Nutella from the floor and shorter counters. Eventually, they were finished and started getting ready for their walk.

"Bye, Cleo! Bye, Scott!" Pearl yelled through the house, leashing up Tilly and grabbing her coat.

"Goodbye!" Grian followed Pearl in yelling through the house, grabbing his coat, and walking out of the house.

This was a nice way to end the day.

So coming home to a super-villain in his kitchen once more wasn't the best feeling in the world.

"Hello, Grian," Puppeteer purred, grabbing Grian's chin and pulling him close, "We need to talk."

Chapter Text

Grian froze in…fear?

He couldn't tell, the feeling of forced calm struggling to cover it up. His anxiety was skyrocketing so high that he could see Puppeteer visibly struggle to manipulate him.

Realizing that trying to force Grian into calm wasn't going to work, Puppeteer let go of his chin while sighing in defeat. He walked back over to the kitchen, hoping up onto the counter to sit comfortable. He sort of reminded Grian of a cat.

Speaking of cats, Maui jumped onto the counter after Puppeteer, seemingly recognizing his smell as he nuzzled into the villain's side. Weird.

"Is my Nutella still here?" That was not what Grian was expecting.

"U-uhm, yeah," Grian stuttered, walking towards the fridge and putting it on the counter, "Here you go."

"Thanks." Puppeteer grabbed the small jar, slipping it into his pocket.

They entered an awkward silence. Grian stood and figited with his fingers before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, trying to slow his racing heart.

"I'm sorry," Puppeteer started, looking down at Maui as he petted the cat, "For breaking in. Both times. And being rude and rough with you."

Those were not the words Grian was expecting, and now his heart was pounding for an entirely different reason. A villain who was nice to him? Apologizing for, what, being a villain?

He felt his face flush as he looked at the villains covered eyes. He stood and walked towards the villain, feeling oddly brave.

He placed his hand on the villain's cheek, cupping his face, forcing Puppeteer to look him in the eyes. He gently stroked his thumb over the skin of the man's face, his fabric mask placed on the counter some time earlier.

"I forgive you," Grian said, looking deep in the villain's tinted goggles, hoping the man was looking at him, "Honestly, I didn't expect you to even apologize. You don't seem like the type."

"Usually, I'm not," Puppeteer stated, leaning into the hand slightly as he pulled Grian in closer a few paces, "But I am for you."

Grian could feel Puppeteer's breath ever so slightly, Maui and the Nutella forgotten. His face grew even warmer, and not due to the other man's breathing.

"Hmm," Puppeteer hummed, one hand on the civilian's lower back and the other on the nape of the other's neck, "You're cute when you're flustered."

Grian felt himself stutter before feeling warm lips on his.

What.

Grian's felt his brain go blank before leaning into the kiss. The hand on Puppeteer's face slid up to tangle in his hair, his other hand did the same.

He was pulled in between the villain's legs, trying to get closer. He couldn't believe this was happening, his celebrity crush, the man he had been obsessing over for years was kissing him, in his kitchen.

His dream come true, Puppeteer's lips on his, hands over his body, the best moment of his life-

Ding!

Fucking, come on! Grian thought, ignoring the text as he continued to live his dream before it started to ring.

He saw that Pearl was calling. Shit, he'd forgotten to tell her he'd gotten home.

"Sorry," Grian said, pulling away only slightly, enough to stay in Puppeteer's arms, "I'll handle this in a second."

Opening the call, he heard Pearl scream.

"What did you do to my babybird!" She yelled through the phone, assuming someone took or hurt Grian since he didn't tell her he'd gotten home safe.

"Pearl, it's me, I got home safe. I had just," Grian tried, stiffling a squeak as Puppeteer kissed his cheek softly, "I h-had a nap. And then Mumbo called and talked about the latest vigilante news. You know how much he likes them."

"Uh huh," Pearl said hesitantly, moving around in the background, "Well, I hope you have a good sleep, babybird. I'm just heading out to the studio."

"Goodnight, Pearl. Have a good shift," Grian said, hanging up on the phone. Turning back to Puppeteer who was playing with Maui.

"Well," Puppeteer said, hopping off the counter and placing the cat on the ground, "I've got to go do a heist. I'll see you again some time. Not tonight, so sleep well."

"Right," Grian said, grabbing a bell pepper from the fridge to eat it as am apple, "Have a good heist? I don't know whether I should be supporting this or not."

Puppeteer nodded towards Grian, putting his face mask back on as he jumped out the window.

What the actual fuck just happened.

As reality set in, Grian sank to the floor as he stared in shock at the ground. His crush, his obsession, had just kissed him, on the lips, on the neck.

He…he needed to sleep. Having stayed up all night the day earlier made sleeping now a lot easier than it would've been if he hadn't.

Waking up the next day with a cat on his face, he groaned, lifting the cat off his face. Walking out to the kitchen, he saw a note.

I'll see you tomorrow night, pretty bird.

— Your obsession

What was it with people giving him bird nicknames? Checking his phone, he also saw a message from Scar.

Scar & Grian chat opened

6:03am

Scar: when r u wokring today?

Grian: Yeah, I'm handling opening, section A & B

Scar: whore

Scar: ?

Scar: *whore

Scar: *WHOR

Scar: *WORE

Scar: *WHERE

Scar: I AM SO SORRY

Grian: pfft-

Grian: it's the left and middle of the café, see you then?

Scar: see u then, Dove

Scar & Grian chat closed

Grian smiled to himself, feeding the cats as he got ready for work.

Time to get to work.

Chapter Text

Grian had been staring between the knee-length skirt and the mid-thigh length skort for 20 minutes now.

He had the opening shift at the café and only 40 minutes until he had to be at work. He wasn't dressing up for Scar, of course not. He was sort of with Puppeteer now. That wouldn't be right.

In all honesty, he liked wearing "girly" clothes, despite being a trans man. It didn't make him feel dysphoric at all. In fact, it made him feel extremely validated, being so comfortable in his identity that it wasn't uncomfortable for him to dress this way.

He picked up the skort, quickly changing and packing his bag. He put his red sweater on, grabbing a piece of toast before running out of the apartment, towards the café.

Getting there fifteen minutes before opening, Grian quickly snatched a croissant from a fresh tray, yelping at how hot it was while also relishing in the amazing taste. He made his way towards the drink station, making himself a London fog before heading into the back to put on his apron.

He heard a noise of the door opening behind him, expecting to see Mumbo run in at the last minute before their shift started, as always. Instead, he didn't see Mumbo, or anything there for that matter at first. For a brief moment, he thought he saw something pink in the shadowy corner.

Walking over to look, all he saw was some pink custard on the floor. Huh, he must've dropped it while moving around earlier.

"Uh, what are you doing, Grian," Mumbo asked from behind him. Grian jumped, not having expected anyone there but himself.

"Ah! You can't do that," Grian yelled playfully, shoving an apron in Mumbo's arms, "Go get ready, we open soon."

Hearing Mumbo groan behind him, Grian ran to the main area, quickly taking the chairs down from the table in his two sections and switching the closed sign to open.

A few regulars made their way into the café throughout the next ten or so minutes. Seeing Theo walk in alone and sitting at Grian's section, Grian made his way over.

It was normal for Theo to be alone while Grian worked opening, maybe joined by Sasha sometimes, if the woman was awake. Theo was the one that actually woke up, Alice typically slept in until noon if they had the day off or a late shift.

Theo was a good friend to talk to to pass the time, and Grian definitely was trying to pass the time with constantly looking at the clock for if his shift would be over before Scar even showed up.

Maybe he was too pushy. Maybe Scar wanted nothing to do with him and was just lying over text to make Grian feel better.

"Where'd you get the skort, G?" Theo asked, pointing at Grian's skort, "Alice's and I's anniversary is coming up and they love stuff like that."

"Oh, this?" Grian replied, looking down at his skort, "You know the thrift shop from the right of the apartment building? I got it there. I'm not sure there's any left, it being thrift shop and all, but it's very well organized and there's a section for skirts and skorts."

"Thanks," Theo said, taking a sip from his tea before looking up at Grian, "So, who'd you have over last night? Alice said they saw someone come through your window. Look, if you're going to hire a sex worker, no one cares. Don't be a jerk and make them come through to the window. Just bring them through the lobby."

"What?" Grian was shell-shocked. They thought Puppeteer was a sex worker? He almost wanted to laugh.

Well, at least they didn't know he was a super-villain. That might've been worse. Might've. Thinking he was hiring a sex worker was a bit uncomfortable, but that was fine.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind for next time," Grian said, taking away Theo's empty plate.

The man raised an eyebrow at Grian saying "next time" but kept quiet as he went back to writing on his laptop.

After all of his regulars had their orders or had already left, Grian took a step back. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was just past 8. This would be a long shift.

The door rang and in walked Scar. Looking around, it took a bit before he found which side he should sit at to see Grian.

Grian felt his heart stutter at the sight of the man, his mouth going dry. He quickly collected himself, grabbing his notepad and heading towards the new customer.

"Hello there, Scar," Grian greeted, with a smile, feeling that blanket of calm and familiarity that followed Scar, "What could I get for you today?"

"Do you remember what I had yesterday?" Scar looked at the menu, trying to find the items, "The Nutella croissant and chocolaté?"

"I'll get that right away," Grian exclaimed with a smile, writing down the two items.

"Thanks, dove," Scar replied, staring at Grian with a certain look in his eyes.

"Right," Grian felt his face flush before walking towards the drink station.

His body moved on it's own, years of training and practice allowing him to make the drink quickly and efficiently. Watching the milk melt the chocolate was quite satisfying, if he did say so himself.

While the chocolate finished melting, Grian went to the kitchen to grab one of the croissants that were ready. He then made his way back to the drink station, grabbing the now melted chocolate in a mug and putting the croissant on a plate.

Once everything was ready, Grian walked back over to Scar's table, placing the items on the surface. "Anything else I could grab you?" Grian asked, the ringing that meant the door opened went death on Grian's ears.

"Everything's good, nothing else you need to put your cute self through," Scar replied, smirking as Grian's face flushed, "You look good in that skort, Dove."

"What the fuck?" Grian turned to see Pearl glaring at Scar from behind the seated man as if she could burn him with her stare.

"Pearl," Grian exclaimed, jumping into the taller women's arms and giving her a hug. Pearl immediately softened, hugging him back tightly.

"Hey, babybird," Pearl greeted, letting Grian go slightly, "How's your work so far?"

"Pretty good," Grian said, nodding towards Theo and Scar, "Theo and Scar have been keeping me company."

"I didn't know you had a sister, dove," Scar said with the classic smirk on his face.

"I'm going to murder you," Pearl muttered, barely audible but enough to have Grian give her a glare.

"Hey, be nice." Grian nudged her, moving to guide her towards a table and grabbed Scar's menu. "She's my cousin, we were just raises together for a bit so we're pretty close."

"Hmm," Scar hummed, finishing up his croissant and chocolaté, "Well, I should head out, I've got a text from a friend that we've gotta talk at her place. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Grian called, collecting the cash Scar had put on the table.

Now, he should probably go talk to other people that he doesn't want to kiss, even out the terrain of his socializing. He made his way towards Pearl, already guessing what she'd order.

Chapter Text

To put it plainly, the author(3lysium) isn't doing too good right now. He asked me(Pyrite) to upload an update chapter to explain some things and let you guys know what to expect. 

So, let's go over what may be changing. 

• Chapters may take longer to update
• They might be shorter, depends on how xer feeling. 
• A co creator has been added. Introducing; me! I'm Pyrite :)
• You may get some more updates from me down that line.

Ey just aren't in a good mental state at the moment. Please be patient while waiting for updates. Thank you for your time and understanding. 

Also, I apologize if you got excited because you thought a new chapter had dropped. I would personally throw my phone across the room be very upset if I thought this had gotten a new chapter just to find out it was an update chapter. Lol.

ALSO ALSO!!!! 3lys has a new fic! It's a Siren!Grian x Pirate!Scar fic, and it's very good. Check it out here!

Have a good timezone! <3

Edit from 3lys: I'm also opening up a Tumblr blog(3lysium4ngel) that's open to questions for either Nutella or Siren