Grumbo Oneshots

May The Stars Align (Fluff)

((News bomb: this is over 4,000 words. On a plus note, I know how to write a decent kissing scene now!
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Enjoy!))

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Staring, ogling, watching in complete awe, Mumbo observes with a limp jaw as the captain signals her crew to reel in the catch. 

Captain Cleo, with a daring smirk and strong determination, places her hands on her hip as the net lifts above the surface of the water. The hazy rain showering from above makes her waves of hair stick to her face, but that didn't stop her from grabbing her trident.

"Hurry it up, boys! Lieutenant Joe," Cleo twists her head to glance at the second in command of the deck. She pulls something small out of her ears, presumably earplugs, and hands them to the brunet male beside her. "Make sure everyone is snapped out of the siren's song. We caught a nice one." She grins, triumph shining through her eyes.

Joe grabs the earplugs and rushes off, almost slipping on the slick deck while doing so. As Mumbo and a few of his friends watch from the sidelines of the boat, the entire net plants down on the planks. What was inside startles Mumbo, his eyes growing wide as he takes an unknowing step forward to get a better glance.

Writhing under the weight of the rope is a male siren. His eyes are large and round, pupils dilated with terror as he relentlessly flaps his tail to break free. The siren's attempts are worthless as Doc, Xb, Keralis, and TFC hold him down. They all pull out spears that were tied to the sail post, all glittering with the rainfall, and point directly at his skin.

"I'm sorry! It was my father who took one of your crew members, not me!" The siren suddenly pleads loudly. The light chocolate scales etched along with his tail shimmer under the limited streaks of light passing through the grim clouds. The pastel brown color reminds Mumbo of a codfish lazily strolling inside a river on an afternoon day.

Cleo presses the three-pointed ends of her trident into his chest, letting the spear tips sink into his scarred olive flesh like a knife cutting through butter at room temperature. Tiny spheres of blood collect on his chest and trickle down the siren's body. They leave a fresh blood trail before rolling onto the wooden planks of the deck.

"Your kind still took one of us," Cleo hisses. "Your filthy kind has stolen many humans, feasting on us like it's Thanksgiving. Xisuma was perfectly fine before your ugly species lured him into a trap! His innocent nature never had a chance at seas." She presses harder, making him cry out with a choke cluttered at the base of his throat. He tries to take Cleo's trident off of him, but the female captain didn't even budge.

Mumbo wasn't sure why this felt wrong. He wasn't sure if it was the blood that had streamed down the sides of the siren's torso or the labored choking cries resonating the misty air, but his heart wrenches painfully, not finding any second of this scene pleasant. He thinks a mile per second, and for a tiny glimpse, he could've sworn the siren's begging eyes flickered over to his.

"Stop!"

It was unnoticed at first that the word passed his lips until most of the pairs of eyes on the deck hunted his body. He was certain that it wasn't him that said that but when Cleo gave him a sharp glare, he suddenly realized that it was indeed himself that mistakenly yelled the word.

"What do you mean 'stop'? His generation of disgusting sirens has killed far more pirates, it's only fair that we have fair trade," Cloe sneers. While Mumbo knows Cleo has a naturally good heart, he has never seen her look more fierce before. Her eyes bubble with rage, angrier than her brilliant orange hair when it's not tamed.

"What I mean is," Mumbo's eyes dance across the member's outside before looking back into Cleo's ferocious green ones. "If you kill him now, his tail will rot. Selling his tail will surely provide a lot of money since it is incredibly rare catching a siren or mermaid. So, we keep him. Then, when we get back to the harbor, you slice his tail off for millions."