Grumbo Oneshots

Paper Boy (Fluff)

((Ngl, I wanna make a book on this, like the spin off gay version of Wonder 🥺 I'm having flashbacks to that one scientist character from Villainous but I can't remember his name. Enjoy y'all, requests are hopefully gonna start publishing out more))

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There once was a sweet boy who wore a paper bag over his head, shutting his identity from the world, drawing a fake smile on the brown material with a Sharpie to cover his face. He was young, vital, and had so much potential in his body, greeting everyone with a delightful voice every single day on college campus.

As some cliché stories like to be, he was bullied from time to time, but on the other half, those who didn't care about the paper bag over his head were his true friends. A young man by the name of Scar, stuck inside a wheelchair, was one of the kid's best friends. Lots of students tend to call them misfits, but it wasn't necessarily a horrible thing since some students encourage their nice behavior and appreciate both of the characters.

"Grian, what is the answer to the equation about proportional logarithm to the base 10?" The professor asks solemnly, taking a glance down at the study guide packet laying out in front of him. Some of the students in that calculus class have no idea what the female professor is asking, some don't even know what the mathematical terms are.

The boy looks up at her towering body. He doesn't generally speak often, typically does a few greetings to fellow friends or acquaintances, but he keeps his words short and sweet unless he is forced to speak so he doesn't seem rude. The bottom edges of the bag crinkles as he looks down at his perfect work.

Grian doesn't want to answer out loud, so he makes a first attempt at pointing down at his answer in hopes that she will understand. But alas, the professor wasn't budging on the idea so he released a tiny sigh since he didn't want to agitate her.

His words spoke fluently, girls and boys in the surrounding room leaning in their seats to listen closely, some of the people in the room even swooning under his silk driven words. Under the paper mask, his cheeks scorch with heat at all the eyeballs staring at him. From across the polished wooden table, Scar gives a bright thumbs-up, beaming to give reassurance that he did fantastic.

"Outstanding answer, Grian. Jevin!" The young adult in a white hoodie flinched from across the room "What is the answer to question three about numerical values and their purpose?" The professor strolls away from Grian, giving his tense body some time to relax. Scar leans forward to catch Grian's attention.

"You did great, Grian!" Scar whispers, giving yet another thumbs-up and a little wink. Grian could've sworn he saw a miniature cartoon star next to Scar's small wink.

"Thanks, Scar," Grian sighs again, tugging his attention back down to his work so he can listen to the correct answers.

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"Mumbo, we've been friends for almost three years, right?" Grian questions, looking down at the ground while holding useless college textbooks close to his chest. Beside him, a tall attractive man with a strong jawline and cute raven stubble is walking at his exact pace. Mumbo smiles down at Grian, intertwining his hand with Grian's free one.

Just strong platonic friends, Grian would always have to remind himself.

"Now that I think about it, yeah, that sounds about right," Mumbo swings their arms loosely, a little flutter tugging on Grian's heart. No matter all the countless times girls have asked Grian out with a giggle, he would always have his heart settled on Mumbo, whether Mumbo sees them as friends or not. Why would a handsome young man such as Mumbo want to date a freak like Grian?

They walk in comfortable silence, well, comfortable for Mumbo at least as Grian can feel his inward emotions dying, or as he likes to describe it, 'Mental health gradually decaying under the sweet smile of this man'.