(This is an AU of my story "I looked up to you, why did you look down on me" where Jimmy gets taken to Hermitcraft instead of forced to live in the palace with his crumbling family. Grian just turned 20 in this, Jimmy is 8. Also, this is Hermitcraft season 6 but you dont need to know all the lore to read this)
Grian felt his wings twinged a bit.
He hadn't seen his brother in ages but there was still a soft spot for the younger cod hybrid.
He turned at the sound of a portal, seeing his siblings and Joel walking through.
The young cod hybrid clung to Lizzie's hand and was grasping Joel's arm like his life depended on it. It didn't help when he saw Grian.
The older smiled sadly, walking over and giving a comforting posture.
"Hey, Tim. Long time no see, yeah?" The boy looked up and instantly hugged Grian, the avian was surprised but hugged him back immediately. Jimmy was shaking against him, he was crying.
Lizzie and Joel looked in pain at the sound of the sobs echoing against the pavement of the hub.
Eventually, Jimmy had tired himself out, leaning against Grian as his eyes started to close. The older brother picked him up gently, the other two following him as they walked across the hub. They were getting weird looks from vendors and players but none of them cared.
---
Grian brushed Jimmy's hair out of his face as he sat on the bed next to the sleeping eight year old. They had just arrived at his base in the season six server, the bed that Grian usually slept in was now under Jimmy.
His eyes looked away from the scars that were painted on the cod hybrid's skin.
They had only just found out what was happening in the palace. It was revealed by a guard that had suspected something for a long time but was trying to gather evidence.
If Grian could see his mother, he would have her pay for touching even a hair on Jimmy's head.
Regardless, Grian had a role in Jimmy's life again.
Guardian.
Since he was twenty, he gained the ability to take guardianship of both of his siblings. However, he knew that Lizzie had a way out and she wasn't the one in danger. Jimmy was and that was the reason he brought Jimmy to the server.
He had been to countless meetings, spending nights filling out paperwork and messaging friends to get to this moment where he knew his little brother was safe. Everyone on the server supported his decision and even offered to help out. Xisuma was more than willing to let the young cod onto the server.
He sighed as his communicator buzzed.
Looking down at it, he picked it up after seeing it was a message from Lizzie.
Lizzie- how is he holding up?
She had been contacting almost every moment she could, she was understandably worried about the younger sibling.
Grian- He is doing good
Grian- How are your travels with Joel?
He waited for a second before a ping noise and a picture of the smiling duo appeared on his screen. They appeared to be in a strange world, probably touring mods.
He sent a heart and a goodnight, Lizzie sending the same before she left the chat.
Grian sighed, dropping his phone onto the floor. He laid back, pulling part of the blanket over him and smiled as Jimmy curled up to him in his sleep.
He then frowned, knowing that the reason he was curling up was from being touch starved for years.
Regardless, he closed his eyes, resting an arm over Jimmy protectively as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
---
Jimmy was terrified.
He didn't know this world as much as he knew the palace. He couldn't run off, sliding down the halls in his socks like he used to. All he could do was patiently be by Grian's side as he walked around his base on another phone call.
"Hello there, love." The medic said, a warm smile on her face. Grian had said that Jimmy needed to have appointments with the two medics routinely.
Jimmy didn't know if he could trust them.
The medic, Stress as she called herself, was gentle, rubbing ointment and healing potions over his scars in an attempt to heal them. It wasn't meant to get rid of them, nothing could do that now, but it would sooth the phantom pains that came around every so often. She hummed softly to herself, every so often she would say something over her shoulder to the other medic; a creeper hybrid that was almost like a giant to Jimmy.
Sure, Lizzie was just as tall with her axolotl genes but the medic's traits and muscles were terrifying in comparison. He seemed to also have a cold attitude, often just 'harumph'-ing in response to Stress as he jotted notes down. Stress had called him Doc, Jimmy thought it was a suiting name for the scientist looking medic.
"Sorry guys, I've gotta take this," Grian apologized, his comm ringing and echoing around the base. "Mind if I leave you guys alone for a second?"
Doc gave a nod along with a huff, Jimmy didn't know what to think of it.
"Of course! If it's Iskall, tell them they owes me that drink!" Stress shouted as Grian replied with a thumbs up and flew out of the base.
Jimmy tensed almost immediately.
Sure, he was terrified around his older brother, he hadn't been around Grian in years and frankly, his family wasn't the best but he especially didn't trust strangers.
"Alright, love, stand up for me and reach your toes." Stress said kindly but Jimmy froze.
"Stand up and kneel on the ground, head down to the floor."
He instantly went to do as Stress said. Maybe if he complied, he wouldn't get too hurt.
It was quiet for a second, Stress and Doc were whispering to each other. Jimmy pressed his eyes closed, trying to ignore how his vision blurred at his racing breathing. He felt so vulnerable with not even a shirt on and a pair of shorts that belonged to Grian, hands dangling down and touching his bare toes that were cold against the concrete.
"Alright, bud, I think that's enough of physical today." The deeper voice spoke up. Jimmy opened his eyes to see Doc's feet standing closer than they were but he wasn't standing in a posture to attack.
He slinked back to his straightened form, looking at the two medics that kepts glancing at each other while giving him worried smiles.
He carefully sat back on the bed, hands gripping the soft red blanket that layed over top of it. It reminded him of Grian's jumper, making him feel a bit calmer already.
Stress and Doc were discussing something but they appeared to be speaking in a different language. Jimmy knew it was possible, many servers had their own languages and he was bilingual, the language of the fish being his first and english being his second but he had never heard anything like what the medics were saying.
Eventually, they both nodded to each other in determination, Doc kneeling just a few paces away from the bed while Stress packed up the medical supplies.
"Alright, we are going to deal with some management, okay?" Doc said in his heavy accent, Jimmy tilting his head slightly at that. He didn't have any clue what that meant.
Doc sent a look to Stress, the other medic giving a warm smile before explaining. "He means that we are gonna talk about stuff that had happened, try to resolve some of those feelings and traumas in a healthy manner."
Jimmy fidgeted a bit. He remembers his talks with the doctor in the palace late at night, making broken promises of getting rid of the knife or talking to someone about his feelings. He never did listen.
"We heard some things, like how you have had self harmed and had suicidal thoughts, yes?" Doc asked bluntly but his voice was kind, reassuring and calm.
Jimmy nodded his head. It was true, the medics could clearly see the neatly lined scars across his skin and the rope scar that went across his neck, damaging his gills. They were working hard to try and reconstruct his gills to make breathing easier.
"Have you have any of those thoughts while you were here?" Jimmy thought about it. He almost always had the thoughts echoing in his mind. It was prominent in his day to day life. He nodded his head shyly but the medics didn't look at him any different; Stress continuing to pack up her bag while Doc nodded his head to show he was listening. "Have you talked about this with Grian?"
Jimmy looked down. He was always stopped with the thought that Grian was always there watching him, there was no privacy in the base and Jimmy had no where to go. He was even sleeping in the same bed as his older brother, the turned avian taken to hum lullabies to put Jimmy to sleep at night. The only privacy Jimmy could get was the bathroom but it was completely unfinished besides a single sink, toilet and shower. Shulkers were littered inside with cow hide and frames, unorganized like the rest of the base.
"No, Lizzie and Grian don't like talking about it." He also hated the subject but his seablings seemed to hate it more. They would get a glossy look in their eyes and shush Jimmy, pulling him close.
Doc pursed his lips in thought. "Well then, along with your weekly physical, I perscribe you to have therapy sessions as well."
Jimmy felt himself pale at the idea but was stopped by Stress handing him a lollipop.
"I found it!" She said triumphantly, hand on her hips.
Jimmy looked at the candy wearily, Doc chuckling slightly.
"If you think it is poisoned or something, Stress makes them herself by hand. Each patient gets a lollipop after their checkup, it's her perscription."
Stress laughed at that as well. "Of course! I can't have anyone leave without a sweet!"
Jimmy slightly smiled, opening the lollipop and sticking it in his mouth. He watched as they bickered silently.
Maybe this wasn't so bad.
---
Grian struggled with taking care of himself, how could he take care of his little brother?
It was no secret that Grian was healing as well, his own scars and traumas hung from his shoulders but he picked them up in order to care for his baby brother.
Grian chewed on his pork chop, slightly grimacing at how burnt it was. He wasn't the best chef but his usual food would be a bunch of golden carrots he would buy, not something appropriate for Jimmy to eat all the time.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Jimmy kept poking at the meat and baked potato on his plate. He was still struggling with eating, something that Lizzie had told Grian about when Jimmy came back into his life.
"Just try to eat at least half of the plate, yeah?" Grian asked, Jimmy looking up and nodding a bit.
Jimmy took a tentative bite of the porkchop, face twisting into disgust. He looked around desprately, finding a napkin on the ground and spitting out the piece of meat.
Grian sighed. "I didn't know my cooking was that bad."
Jimmy's eyes widened, turning and waving his hands around. "No, that's not it at all! I just struggle with eating meats a lot of the time because of the texture and all. It doesn't help that I have..." unspoken were the words 'an eating disorder.'
Suddenly, Jimmy flinched at the sound of rockets, covering his ears with his hands. His plate still sat on his lap.
"Hallo!" The two brothers turned, seeing two people walking over. Stress, as Jimmy recognized, and another cyborg looking person.
Stress laughed before punching the person's shoulder, holding out a basket after composing herself. "We heard that Grian's cooking is terrible so we decided to bring some food over!" She said, a big smile on her face.
"It's not that bad!" Grian argued, a pout at his lips.
The other person laughed, it was very unique but contagious. "It was definitely bad! Mumbo got food poisoning last time you brought food to a Sahara meeting!"
Grian shook his head, standing up from off the ground. His back ached, he vaguely recognized that he needed to make a table to eat instead of sitting on the floor all the time.
"Tim, this is my business associate, not friend in the slightest, Iskall. They go by they/them pronouns."
Jimmy nodded his head vaguely. "So you are the one that owes Stress a drink."
The three adults paused before bursting into laughter. "Yeah they do!" Stress snorted, clapping Iskall on their back.
"I thought I went over this, no more drinks for you, Ms. Stressmonster." Iskall teased with a sly smile.
"Yeah, it's not a good image for one of the medics on the server to be an alcoholic." Grian agreed with a twin smile.
Jimmy watched as they bickered back and forth (something about a prank war?) and took the basket Stress offered to him in the middle of the argument.
He opened it up to see a less burnt looking, baked potato and a bowl of soup. On the side, there was a fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookie.
Jimmy looked up at the adults, seeing as they all continued to argue with big smiles on their faces and joking punches to the shoulders.
He ate some of the soup. It definitely sat right with his stomach in comparison to the pork chop.
If Grian got food poisoning that night, nobody would say anything especially with how much he bribed them.
---
Jimmy held Grian's hand tight as they walked through the shopping district.
He was finally able to go after a month of arriving. Jimmy could only see the wonders from the top of the Blender and he really wanted to go.
His older brother poked around shops, waving to other Hermits that Jimmy was clueless about, but did it all in stride with Jimmy by his side. They entered a large white box, Jimmy looking around.
"Is this Sahara?" He asked, tilting his head up at his brother.
Grian gave him a wide grin. "Yup! I have a meeting to attend to but there is something I want to show you."
Jimmy didn't want to be alone, that was what he was implying. It scared him but he trusted Grian a little bit. Maybe this would be alright?
He was led to a water elevator, basking in the temporary water before resurfacing. He missed swimming in the pond back at the palace.
Grian popped out as well, feathers shaking the water out but looking refreshed, gills twitching a bit.
Holding hands again, they walked up to the warehouse. It was extravagant and large, reminded Jimmy of how big the castle was. Obviously, it was much smaller but it was still comforting.
"Hallo!" Jimmy perked up at the swedish voice, seeing Iskall standing next to a tall man with a mustache.
"Hey!" Grian greeted, using his free hand to wave. The other man waved ackwardly as Jimmy ducked behind Grian. It was unsuccessful, Jimmy was growing quite fast and was almost as tall as his twenty year old brother. "Tim, this is a good friend of Iskall and I, Mumbo Jumbo. Mumbo, this is my little brother I was talking to you about, Jimmy." Grian introduced briefly, the two sharing a small acknowledgment before being led back into the warehouse.
"So, we have to get right back to work, Mumbo and I filled out all of the necessary paperwork and hopefully it is decent." Iskall said, eyes twinkling with mischievous energy.
"Alright, sounds good to me." Grian squeezed Jimmy's hand comfortingly, giving him a smile. "Time to show you my favorite room in the entirety of Sahara." The three Architechs walked to a hole in the wall room, cut out with glass covering one of the walls. It appeared to be close to the meeting room as well.
Jimmy gasped. "Birds!" He let go of Grian's hand ans ran up to the glass, pressing his face against it in wonder. The birds barely noticed him there, they continued to... dance?
Grian laughed, walking next to Jimmy and nodding his head. "Yup, I've got a whole collection of them!"
Jimmy turned, puzzled. "Why are they dancing?"
Grian gave him a wide smile. "Because they like the music of course!" Grian opened the door, letting Jimmy walk into the enclosure.
He gasped as the birds flew around him, some nuzzling his face in curiosity, others 'saying' hello. Jimmy laughed as one of the birds on his shoulder nipped at his ear gently, another ruffled his blond hair.
"Wow, they really like you," Mumbo said, leaning against the doorway in surprise. "They hate most people they meet, especially Iskall and I." For emphasis, one of the blue macaws flew at Mumbo, squawking angrily. The mustached man squeaked, leaving the room and getting behind the glass.
Grian turned to Jimmy with a calm smile. "Do you think you can stay here for a bit while I go and have meeting? I'll be right back here, promise."
Jimmy nodded his head. He felt safe around the birds. Their feathers were soft and he loved watching them dance. He would be fine.
Grian left with a bright smile, Jimmy sitting on the floor with the dancing birds.
---
Grian stretched his wings out. He didn't expect the meeting to go on for three hours but here he was. It had just ended and the three Architechs stood to leave.
"I wonder how Jimmy is doing there." Mumbo mused, packing up his bag.
Iskall chuckled, "Probably still watching the birds. There is definitive proof that Jimmy and Grian are brothers with how amused they get about dancing birds."
Grian furrowed his eyesbrows. "Now hold on-"
They all paused when they saw the glass enclosure.
Iimmy was curled on the floor, head resting against one of the lower perches for the birds and the parrots were around him, no longer dancing. The music was still playing but they looked comfortable there.
Grian noticed the sleeping look on his brother's face instantly.
He remembered seeing it when Jimmy had missed a naptime one time when he was three after a long day of splashing in the pond.
"Did he fall asleep?" Mumbo asked, walking closer. The birds instantly looked up at him, seeming to glare as he stepped back.
Grian smiled. "Appears so."
---
"Alright, little dude." Ren said, canines flashing as he gave the timid kid a fist bump. He was the only hermit that was attempting to gain a relationship with Jimmy without Grian's bubble.
"Won't he be mad?" Jimmy asked, tilting his head slightly.
Ren laughed, "Of course not, all of us are besties here! Doc is a sweetie when you get to know him. Lovely guy, dude has almost broke down when I broke my arm one time. Stress had to mend it herself because he was gagging on the other side of the room."
"Seriously?" Jimmy perked up at the story. He couldn't imagine the creeper hybrid breaking his strong facade for a broken arm.
"Yup!" Ren nodded, leading Jimmy down the path in the commercial district. The duo were walking around with a shulker box filled with fun little pranks. Nothing serious, at least that is what Ren claimed.
They stopped in front of a shop, Jimmy peering up at it.
"I-Is that a pickle with glasses?" He asked, Ren snickering.
"Yeah, your big bro, G made this as one of his first shops. Many people have been murdered here because he couldn't figure out how to get people out safely." Ren rolled his eyes, skipping over to the entrance of the jar. He helped Jimmy down carefully into the shop.
"So, what are we doing here?"
"I'm glad you asked, my little dude!" He chuckled to himself again, plopping the shulker down and opening it. His tail swished as he dug into the contents. "G has a whole bunch of pickle and dill puns up in the glass but that just isn't right, they are very," he paused, pulling out something from the box dramatically, "CORNy!" Ren shouted, holding up the fake piece of corn.
Jimmy paused for a second before he burst into laugher. Ren joined in, proud of himself for making the kid laugh for the first time.
"Corny!" He repeated, snorting even more. Ren ended up laughing so hard he was wheezing, struggling to breathe.
After they calmed down, they still had bright smiles on their faces.
"So what is the plan exactly?" Jimmy asked, a sly smile on his face.
Ren was really starting to like this kid.
---
When they had left the Pickle shop, they left sign-mania in their wake, every pun replaced with some sort of fruit or vegetable pun, none of them were pickle related. Ren had helped Jimmy exit safely but they weren't done there.
Carefully, Ren led Jimmy to the top, staking one of his spare ropes into the side of the pickle with Jimmy all harnessed up to it. The fall wasn't large for Ren, just a small fall but he knew that any hermit that caught the two on the roof without some safety precautions would kill him.
Ren gave Jimmy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and began working, making the pickle into a large piece of corn.
Jimmy snacked on his food, watching as Ren built up. He was entranced by the building, he wanted to create something just as good but he didn't know how.
When they finished, Ren was extra careful getting down and returned Jimmy home at the end of the day, face smeared with grape jelly and charcoal on his hands from writing on signs.
---
"Why is my Pickle now a piece of corn!?!?!"
---
Jimmy watched anxiously as the two medics of the server took notes, especially when he stood on the scale. He was incredibly nervous, the last time he stood on it, they didn't look extremely thrilled and Grian had gotten a lecture.
However, as soon as he stepped on, Stress peered down at the numbers.
She stood up, a bright smile on her face. "Good news! You are on track now!" Jimmy didn't exactly know what she meant but they had spent awhile talking about his eating habits.
Or lack thereof.
He knew that the medics were looking for him to gain some weight, they kept muttering about how his ribs were able to be seen through his skin.
The two medics gave each other a nod, simultaneously being able to communicate with each other.
He was led to the bathroom, confused as he was stood in front of the sink.
"Alright, we had Grian cover the mirror up but we are going to reveal yourself now. We want you to talk about what you feel." Doc explained, slightly lifting up the cover.
Jimmy had known about the mirror ever since he arrived. He had even seen his reflection for the first few days before Grian had caught him staring for a bit too long. It was then a rule that Jimmy wasn't allowed to use a mirror at all.
He sucked in his breath as the cloth came down.
Staring back at him... was someone different.
When he had first arrived, his bones were visible. Now, you could barely tell. His skin was darker than before, compared to his paleness that he had gained from malnutrition. He was already a bit taller than he was when he had arrived and his eyes were darker with color. The gold hair had returned, it was a bit shaggy for his liking but it made him smile.
He could see a shadow of the boy he once was in his reflection.
"How do you feel?"
"I feel like me."
---
Grian watched as Jimmy had grown overnight.
Everyday was a new achievement. The scared boy that he had taken in had grown, almost to his height and now more confident about himself.
Sure, there were times when he struggled to eat his food. There were times he was terrified when anyone raised their hand to him or even semblance of doing something wrong. There were times that he was depressed, laying in bed until late in the day, the only times getting up to eat or drink.
But Grian was there.
He was there to wait patiently until Jimmy ate a bit of his food and then storing it for later when he inevitably became hungry. He was there to comfort Jimmy and assure him that he did no wrong and didn't deserve abuse. He was there to hug Jimmy until late in the day, abandoning all plans for the day to comfort his little brother and ensure he still ate and drank water.
It was a hard process but Grian knows it was worth it.
(If anyone has any Hermitcraft moments but with Jimmy added into them, let me know which moments or just any suggestions)