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“Why are we doing this again?” Grian asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground at the last available spot. Etho had roped them into another game and surprisingly quite a few people joined even after the “king of the ladder” disaster.
Martyn snorted into the bottle of water he was drinking -Grian thought he was either extremely brave or extremely careless considering he was the first yellow- and replied “What, you gonna die from a kiss? Relax, Grian. It’ll be fine!”
Grian decided he was the only one who was very decidedly not relaxed. Not much time had passed since the society’s octo-kill and he still couldn’t help but feel like he was one mistake away from getting jumped by everyone who died. At least most of the blame wasn’t on him anymore, and on Scar instead. He did feel some guilt for dragging the guy into a situation he had nothing to do with, but survival ran thicker than friendship in the games.
Since Grian was the last one to arrive, Etho started explaining the rules to everyone. They would spin the bottle twice, and the two people the bottle pointed at would get in the one-by-two hole for seven minutes. It was basic enough, and just nostalgic enough to have Etho want to play. And if Etho wanted to play, he would get other people to play with him! He had a talent for that.
The first few rounds didn’t have much excitement, for him at least. Bdubs and Jimmy went in first, to Etho’s jealousy. He understood that he had hurt his teammates this session, yes, but Bdubs hanging out and pulling pranks with Jimmy had a big impact on him. Bdubs was just trying to get him jealous, and it was working. He had to make it up to everyone, not just Bdubs or else the team would definitely fall apart at the seams.
The next pair was much more interesting than the first, at least to Grian. Cleo and Tango had only been in the hole for at most two minutes when Tango was heard laughing hysterically. Not much could be heard from the blocked off space, just Tango’s giggles and occasionally Cleo’s as well. When the duo came out of the hole, Tango started to repeat the jokes Cleo had made in there. Grian wasn’t sure what exactly he expected, but Cleo making dad jokes? That did paint a hysterical image in his head for sure.
Cleo had to leave after that though, which was a bummer. After they left, the game continued on. Grian was thinking he wouldn’t even get chosen at that point, it was getting late already. The next surprise that came was when Gem and Pearl were chosen though. Martyn had already started giggling like a school girl when the bottle had pointed to Pearl, and they had intensified when Gem was the chosen partner. He insisted on being the one to block off the roof for the girls.
When they went to get them out, something shocking awaited them. Gem and Pearl had dug away from the game. There was a tunnel distinctively leading towards the Lighthouse. Grian was so proud of his allies. They were acting in such Villainous ways, he almost shed tears.
After everyone recovered from the shock of the two members bailing, they continued playing. Etho was getting impatient, it was obvious, from the way he got so excited just to get chosen. His happiness didn’t fade a single bit at his partner being Scott, they both just laughed good-naturedly and went into the hole willingly with no problems. Grian had no idea what was going on in the hole -he did not want to know- but Bdubs must have had an idea, because there was no other explanation for the scheming expression he had on his face. Grian didn’t want to touch that with a ten foot pole.
The next pair that was chosen definitely made the game a whole lot more nerve-wracking for Grian. Scar was looking at him with shocked eyes, sweat building at his temple. They were both nervous with the arrangement, it was obvious. They got in the hole together as Etho blocked the entrance above them. Which was a normal thing to do, except for what he said while doing so.
“You don’t need to come home to the cabin today, Scar!”
What did that even mean??? Was Etho expecting them to- stop. Grian scolded himself. Nothing was going to happen here, he recited. They were just going to sit and talk like a normal good pair of friends. You’re not normal friends though, are you? a treacherous voice whispered at the back of his head. Normal friends haven’t gone through what you two have. It went on.
“Well hello there!” Grian jumped when he heard Scar. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts, Scar looked like he had been trying to get Grian’s attention for a while. Once Grian got a good look at how Scar looked in the dark, it became that much harder to stop his mind from wandering where it shouldn’t.
Scar looked downright criminal like this- Grian hadn’t realised that Scar had put his hair up in a man bun of all things. Anytime the two were in the same vicinity, he just tried hard to avoid Scar. Even though they made up afterwards, their “breakup” in wildlife was still fresh in his memory.
He doesn’t seem to mind it. something whispered. It really did seem like Scar was a lot more comfortable here, pressed up against Grian in the small hole. He was still smiling, though it was hard to see in the dim light of the almost burnt out torch somewhere on the walls.
Grian swallowed hard, and he could’ve sworn Scar’s eyes traced his throat at the movement. It still might’ve been a trick of the light, he mused. Though that line of thought became increasingly more and more difficult to defend as the minutes went on.
—
Grian looked so flustered, Scar thought. His face had gotten so red- he didn’t think that shade was possible to achieve! It was really cute, but Scar didn’t want to make Grian uncomfortable. He wouldn’t say no to anything that was expected to happen when playing this game -especially with Grian- but he couldn’t just bulldoze ahead. What if Grian didn’t want to play with him? He had to make sure.
“Hey G, you alright?” He asked, giving Grian a change to back out of the game. He was trying hard to keep to his side, making sure there were as little points of contact between them as possible. Grian still hadn’t looked him in the eyes properly yet, but it was okay. Scar was a-okay with just chatting here, if that was what Grian wanted. He still couldn’t help but hope though, especially when Grian looked at him like that.
“Yeah, I'm fine. You, Is your leg comfortable? You’re looking quite cramped.” Grian answered. He was right. Scar’s leg was not comfortable in the slightest, he was keeping it strung tight to avoid it touching Grian. But, if he was okay, he could let it rest a little. He really didn’t want to get cramps during the next session. He chuckled somewhat and let his leg loosen, increasing the points of contact between them. Grian must have just realised that, as he jolted at the sudden pressure Scar was putting against his leg now. He proceeded to get redder, if that was even possible.
The torch was almost completely out by now. It was getting harder to see each other by the minute. After a second, this time it was Scar that jolted at the sensation of Grian’s touch. He was hugging Scar, by the neck! Scar shuddered and struggled with where to place his hands now that the position had changed. Eventually, he settled them around Grian’s waist.
They were properly hugging now, touching everywhere. The cramped space in the hole was so much more comfortable, now that they weren’t trying to melt into the walls. Scar couldn’t hold himself back anymore, he swore it had been longer than seven minutes already. He slightly turned his head and whispered to Grian.
“Are you okay with this?”
He couldn't see Grian’s face anymore. The torch had fully gone out sometime during their hugging. Though he was sure he wasn’t imagining Grian smiling at the question.
—
Mhm he mumbled. To be honest, he wouldn’t object to just hugging Scar the entire time. Scar gave the best hugs in the entire server. He understood what Scar wanted, though, and he wouldn’t say no to that either. Scar seemed to still be hesitant after Grian’s answer, so he decided to just cement his opinion in a way Scar wouldn’t be able to doubt.
He drew away from the hug, Scar’s hands tightening around his waist in a way that made his mouth dry up before he noticed and loosened his hands. Grian didn’t want him to let go, he wanted the opposite actually, so he got up on his tiptoes to kiss Scar on the corner of his lips.
Scar jolted hard at the sensation and pulled Grian against him harshly before getting a hold of himself. Grian was sure Scar still wouldn't get the hint to just kiss him properly but before he could do anything else Scar grasped the back of his head with a hand, the other still on his waist, and kissed him dead center.
Grian gasped, the taste of Scar’s lips a sudden influx of sensation on his brain. It was intoxicating, that was the only way he could describe Scar’s kisses. Nothing had changed from the times they would steal kisses in the desert. Well, one thing had changed. Scar seemed to have a lot more experience, this time. He would’ve dwelled on that thought, if Scar wasn’t doing incredible things to him.
What had started with a chaste press of lips had slowly but surely evolved into a heated dance. Scar wasn’t giving him a chance to breathe, and it made him swoon. He pressed himself further into Scar, though it was futile. His partner was already holding him as close as possible with a hand on his waist, caressing his back. Every pass of that hand made him dizzy with anticipation. It was so close to the binding tattoos hiding his wings, he just wanted to feel the callouses on the neglected limbs.
He must’ve lost control even more than he thought, because his wings had unfurled with just a passing thought. The surprise gave them a much needed break to breathe. Grian was absolutely wrecked already, he could tell. He was panting and feeling how bruised his lips were. Scar was no better, if not worse. His eyes were lidded and Grian half-thought he was going to jump back on him any second.
His wings felt stuffy in the tiny hole. They weren’t as big as normal, another repercussion of the games, but that felt like a blessing now. He could somewhat fit in the hole, even if he had to press himself completely against Scar as a result. Grian didn’t see him complaining though, he was drinking in the sight of the feathery appendages like a starved man.
Grian wanted to cut Scar’s suffering short, so he leaned in even further, fanning his ear wings out. “You can touch them, he whispered. No matter what had happened between them, Grian had always trusted Scar with his wings, allied or not. Scar made a noise Grian couldn’t fully describe, but one he definitely liked.
Both of Scar’s hands immediately went to Grian's wings. One started stroking the base of his right ear wing, and he keened. It had been so long since he trusted anyone other than himself to preen and the callouses on Scar’s hand felt heavenly. He gave up on controlling the sounds he made entirely when Scar started to massage his main wings as well.
Any breath he took or released came out whiny and stuttering. Grian couldn’t hold himself back anymore, he decided the break was over. He threw himself on Scar again with the goal of kissing him to the edge of his life. Scar gasped against his mouth when Grian’s teeth caught on his lower lip, so he repeated the action. He knew he was driving Scar insane, but he felt it was justified. Scar was doing the same to him with the way he stroked Grian’s primary feathers, the way he massaged the area where feathers met skin. Grian was merely returning the favor when he shimmied his hand up Scar’s shirt, caressing the scars he never forgot the location of.
They got so caught up that the only thing that managed to break them apart became Grian’s communicator beeping. He leaned back, staring hungrily at the string of saliva that connected them, before it broke and Grian was forced to check his notifications.
Gem had texted him, asking if he was coming back to base tonight. He flushed at the expectation that he would stay the night with Scar, even though he knew it was a completely understandable assumption to make. Even he wasn’t sure if he was going back to base.
He focused his attention back to Scar at his quizzical look. “Gem is asking if I’ll be home tonight.” He answered the silent question.
Scar hummed, “Will you?” with such a hopeful look in his eyes that any doubt Grian had vanished instantly. “No.” Grian answered, sending Gem an answer before redoubling his efforts on killing Scar with suffocation due to kissing.
—
By the time they left the hole, everyone had left already. There was a sign waiting for them above ground:
“Its been 30 mins. were leaving. have fun.”
Scar burst out laughing, leading Grian towards the Hot tub house, holding hands. He joined his laughs with a breathless giggle of his own.