Hello!!
I didn't lie when I posted that a new chapter was coming soon lol
I honestly don't know why this took me so long to write, though- It's pretty short compared to other chapters, but sometimes that's just how it goes.
I hope you enjoy!
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Grian, Mumbo, and Scar spent the rest of the night in peace, turning on the live action of Aladdin until Grian eventually fell asleep. Once he was out, Scar and Mumbo turned the volume down on the TV and went into the kitchen to talk. There a beat of silence before they both spoke at the same time.
"I'm sor- Oh, you can go- No, it's fine- Okay, I'll go-"
They stared at each other for a moment before laughing.
"You go first, Scar," Mumbo said, leaning against the sink counter.
Scar nodded and took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I'm sorry, Mumbo," he said finally. He began to fidget with his hands. "I... I shouldn't have said those things."
"Honestly," Mumbo interjected with a soft smile, "we're both in the wrong." He held his arms open, signaling for a hug. "I'm sorry, too, Scar."
Scar stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Mumbo's middle, pillowing his head on the other's chest. It was funny how much taller Mumbo was than Scar, even though Scar was still pretty tall for their age.
"You smell nice," Scar murmured, his words half muffled by the way he pressed his cheek against Mumbo's shoulder. "Like coconut."
Mumbo snickered. "Not sure where you got the coconut from, my soap is vanilla scented," he said. "And I'd hope I smell nice, I did just shower an hour ago."
Scar giggled before finally letting go. He stared at Mumbo, admiring his facial features.
"What?" Mumbo asked, smiling slightly with an eyebrow raised.
Scar blinked. "Nothing." He turned and leaned at an awkward angle to see if Grian was still sleeping then turned back to Mumbo. "So, uh... what are we going to do?"
Mumbo hummed to himself for a moment, looking at the clock on the wall. "I mean, we could finish Aladdin and then-"
"No, not-" Scar shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I meant" - he reached for Mumbo's hands - "what are we going to do about us?"
"Oh." Mumbo's face went a little red. "Um... I don't know." He glanced away. "I mean, we should probably talk about this tomorrow. When Grian's awake."
Scar threw his head back in a dramatic whine, letting go of Mumbo's hands. "I don't want to talk tomorrow," he groaned. "I want to figure this out now! You know I hate waiting."
Mumbo gave him another soft smile. "I think we'd be more productive in a conversation where Grian is feeling better," he said with a light laugh. "Besides, I think we all need to be a part of the conversation anyway."
Scar puffed out his cheeks. "...Fine," he sighed.
"So, do you want to finish the movie?" Mumbo asked.
"Can we make popcorn?"
Mumbo chuckled. "Sure, why not?"
* * *
Scar jolted awake, not having time to process whether he had a nightmare or not before he heard whining. Grian was laid on top of him and was more than likely upset about the way Scar shook.
"Sorry, Gri," Scar whispered, running his hand through the younger's hair. Scar sniffled, finding it difficult to breathe through his nose. And then he noticed how sore his throat was. He sighed and tried to get up without waking Grian, but he was unsuccessful as soon as he started to move again.
Grian opened his eyes slightly, squinting up at Scar. "Wha' are..." He didn't finish slurring out his sentence before his eyes slipped closed again, and a soft snore indicated he was asleep.
Scar shuffled to the kitchen for some water after blowing his nose - which didn't help much at all, though the amount of stuff that came from his nose was ungodly - and hoped that at least his throat was only just dry.
He was wrong.
"Mumbo," the brunette tried to whisper, though it was a pretty loud whisper, as he shook his friend's arm to wake him. "Mumbo, wake up."
Mumbo scrunched his nose and yawned before opening his eyes. "What?" he asked groggily. He lifted sat up in the reclining chair he was sleeping in, rubbing his eyes. "Is everything okay? What time is it?"
"Uh, it's, like, almost five, I think," Scar whipsered before shaking his head. "I think I'm sick."
"Sick?" Mumbo looked up at Scar now. "How are you sick?"
Scar glanced over at Grian, who was clinging onto one of the throw pillows on the sofa. "I think Grian might have something and then gave it to me," he said. "I mean, he was acting kind of loopy last night and coughing-"
Mumbo's eyes widened. "Oh, my God, he was sick," he breathed. He groaned and leaned back in the chair. "I'm an idiot."
"It's okay, I am, too," Scar responded quickly. Mumbo gave him a strange look but couldn't say anything before Scar sniffled again. "It's uncomfy."
The blackette gave Scar a fond smile. "I bet," he said. "I think I have some cold medicine. That might help." He tossed the thin blanket off of himself and got up, padding over to the kitchen. In one of the cupboards was several pill bottles, which Mumbo took a second to find what he was looking for. "Aha." He picked one and handed it to Scar. "This should help. We might want to wake Grian up and give him some, as well."
Scar quirked a brow. "But he'll just go back to sleep."
"And when he wakes up - well, if he wakes up soon after he falls back asleep," Mumbo amended, "he won't feel so terrible." He paused. "At least, I hope that's how it works..."
Scar shrugged. "Well, it's worth a shot." He set the bottle of pills on the counter and grabbed a couple glasses from another cupboard. "You get to go wake up Grian, by the way."
Mumbo frowned, crossing his arms, clearly upset by that. "Why me?"
"Because."
Sighing, Mumbo started for the living room again. "Can't argue with 'because'," he joked, causing Scar to laugh.
"Exactly."
* * *
Jimmy woke up early in the morning, rushing to the bathroom with the need to vomit. He felt awful; his head was pounding, his stomach ached, and he was sweating like it was the middle of summer. Not that summer in Rivendell ever got very warm, but you get the point.
He stayed in the bathroom for a while, crying because of how ill he felt after losing everything in his stomach to the toilet. Daniel must've heard him, because he came knocking on the door not long after.
"Kiddo, you okay?" the bearded man asked quietly as he opened the door. His gaze softened and he frowned when he saw his son in the corner with his knees brought to his chest. "Still thinking about Scott?"
Jimmy shook his head. "'Feel yucky," he murmured, grimacing as he sniffled.
"You feel yucky?"
"I threw up."
Daniel sighed and stepped into the bathroom, kneeling in front of Jimmy. "Damn, you're warm," he said after placing the back of his palm against Jimmy's forehead. "How about you brush your teeth real quick while I go get the thermometre, okay?"
Jimmy nodded and let Daniel help him to his feet.
It didn't take long for Daniel to get the thermometre from the bathroom downstairs, and when he checked Jimmy's temperature, he wasn't surprised to see he had a fever.
"Right, you're staying home," Daniel said, grabbing rag and running it under cold water before wringing it out. "I'll grab an ice pack if this doesn't help, but put this on your forehead when you go back to bed. It should bring your temperature down a bit." He ruffled Jimmy's hair gently, leaning over to pressed a kiss to his head. "Rest. I'll ask Lizzie to stay home and make sure you stay in bed while I'm at work. Now, go lay down. I don't want to hear about you being up and about, you hear me?"
Jimmy nodded. "Okay, Dad," he slurred out.
Daniel smiled. "Do you need me to tuck you in?"
"I'm good. Thanks anyway."
"Alright." Daniel kissed Jimmy's forehead once more. "I love you."
Jimmy smiled sleepily. "Love you, too." He reached for his father and Daniel wrapped his arms around him. The hug was over too soon in Jimmy's opinion, and Daniel was leaving Jimmy to go back to sleep.
As far as Jimmy could tell, having the cool rag on his forehead helped his temperature go down and it made him sleep a lot more comfortably. Though, he wasn't sleeping all that long before he was woken up by the sound of Lizzie throwing up and Daniel rushing in, mumbling, "Not you, too..."
Since the both of them were unwell, Daniel called off of work to take care of them. Which was a good job he did, because they were both bedridden the whole day.
* * *
Fwhip planned on trying to sit with his old friend group to apologize to Grian, Scott, and Jimmy.
Key word: Planned.
When he got to the table they usually sat at, not a single one of them was there. Not Mumbo, not Scar, not Lizzie, nor the three mentioned before. He was going to leave and go sit by himself again when he noticed Joel trudging toward the table.
"Oh- Hey, Jo-" Fwhip paused, frowning at Joel's state. He looked exhausted and sad. "What's wrong?"
Joel sighed and sat down, without any food. "A lot of things," he murmured. His hair was a mess and his clothes looked like they'd been slept in. "I haven't been getting any sleep, I've been getting fucking flashbacks, Lizzie broke up with me, Grian ran away through his window, I-" He cut himself off with a tired sob and dropped his head onto the table. "I can't do this."
Fwhip blinked. "That was... a lot," he noted before sitting down next to the brunette. "Um... I'm not good at cheering people up, but... it's gonna get better. I think..."
Joel lifted his head to stare blankly at the younger. "You think?" he echoed. "What the hell kind of comfort is that?"
"Hey, I said I'm not good at this stuff," Fwhip defended himself, lifting his hands up. "People don't usually come to me for things like this, so..." He shrugged.
"It's... fine," Joel sighed. "It's all my fault anyway so it's not like I really deserve any comfort in the first place." He stared at the table. "If I wasn't such an idiot, I wouldn't be in this situation." His eyes began to water, his bottom lip quivering slightly. "I'm such a fucking idiot-" He covered his face with his hands and let himself cry, leaving Fwhip with no clue what to do. "Grian could be dead on the side of a street somewhere right now because of me and my stupid lack of self-control, and I've probably ruined my relationships with everybody... God, I'm so-" He cut himself off with another sob that made Fwhip want to cry, too.
The ginger began to rub Joel's back in hopes that it would make him feel a bit better. "I don't think Grian could be dead," he said softly. He wasn't sure Joel could him over his crying, but it didn't hurt to try and make him feel better. "And I have no idea what happened between you two, but whatever did happen, I'm sure Grian will come back. He loves you a lot, and I think, wherever he is, he probably misses you a lot."
Joel looked up at Fwhip for a moment before hugging him tightly. The younger boy was a bit confused at first, then wrapped his arms around Joel, who had started crying again.
Fwhip knew his words probably weren't helping very much, but if a hug would help, he would be happy to hug Joel. Even if he did smell slightly like stale potato crisps and car oil.
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Lot's of things are happeninggg!! But you'll have to wait until the next chapter to see what other things happen, muahahaha >:DD /lh
Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter!