Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Floating gently about fifty feet up in the air, Grian tiredly rubs at his eyes. His feathered wings flap just barely behind him to keep him afloat so he can tilt his head at the build. 

He rubs his eyes vigorously. It’s a futile attempt to make the shop in front of him look… less wonky. He can’t explain why, but his shop looks off. 

His feet land against the grass with a soft “thud.” A tired yawn escapes him, causing him to pause and think just how long he’s been out here. He slips his comm out of his pocket and finds it’s been at least a day since he’s slept. 

Oops, he thinks to himself bitterly. Maybe it’ll look less wonky after I sleep… 

He yawns and flips around on his feet to start the trek home only to spot a disgruntled Scar across the pavilion. 

He starts to wave, but Scar is in a trance. Even though he is looking off in his direction, he shows no sign of seeing or even acknowledging his existence. 

“Scar!” Grian calls out, waving his hand frantically. It’s to no avail. He steps closer, cocking his head to the side. 

He’s sat on the ground with an open shulker box in front of him. There’s a mess of tools spilled out on the side. 

“Uh oh, did you fall?” Grian asks, tilting his head. 

“Huh? Oh, hey, Grian!” Scar greets, eyes lazily blinking up at him. He gives him a weak wave. 

Grian laughs lightly and squats down. He gathers some of the tools to drop it back off in the box, and Scar just watches him as he cleans up. 

“Been building for too long?” Grian guesses, knowing he’s in the exact same boat. 

“Mhm, nope! I was out playin’!” He grins, moving his hands in wild gestures as he speaks. 

Grian slowly nods, eyeing the man up and down. 

He looks over both of his shoulders to check and make sure no one was around. 

“Uh, Scar?” he asks, throat tightening. “Are you feeling okay?” 

Scar pauses, as if to think. 

Then, he chirps, “‘M a lil’ cold.” He wraps his arms around himself in a tight hug, and Grian huffs - not out of stress but from acknowledgement. He slips off the scarf around his neck and wraps it around Scar’s neck. “Thanks!” 

“Of course,” Grian chirps, smile faltering to once again pick up the hesitant expression. 

Don’t overstep. Walk away, walk away, he thinks, digging his thumb into his thigh. He knows this isn’t what he thinks it is, but… the facts are undeniable. 

Scar is tired. That much is obvious, but also… Grian has a feeling that’s not all there is to it. He speaks differently than normal, less eloquently and less put together. 

Almost like a child’s. 

…

Definitely like a child’s. 

“Hey, Scar?” he begins once more, deciding to bite off the bullet. He knows he has to be wrong. Because there’s absolutely no way he’s right. Still, he has to ask. “How old are you?” 

Scar pauses before holding up six fingers. 

Grian’s blood runs cold. 

He’s little, he thinks, panic running through him. He desperately looks around, making sure there’s no one to see him. He has to get him out of here before someone sees. 

“Oh - kay, buddy,” he says awkwardly, face pinched up. Act cool, act cool. 

He pauses. 

He has no idea what to do with a little. 

Despite Grian being a little in his own time, he has no idea what to do on the other end. Hell, he’s never even had a proper caregiver himself. 

Half of him is tempted to leave, to bolt, but he can’t leave Scar here all alone. Grian knows the anxiety of being found little - his darkest secret. He can’t let anyone find out. 

“It’s super chilly out, huh? What do you say we head back home?” Grian suggests, rocking on his feet. 

“Nah,” Scar chirps, closing up his shulker box. “I’m not tired…!” 

“But you’re cold,” Grian tries. 

Scar shakes his head frantically. His hands fiddle with the green scarf wrapped around his neck. 

“I have Grian scarf to keep me allll cozy!” 

He furrows his eyebrows together. “Scar,” he tries once more, lowering his voice, “We gotta get you out before someone sees.” 

He blinks up at him in confusion. “I’m not doin’ any trouble.” 

He hesitates, weighing his options. 

“I guess we are alone…” Grian trails off, biting his lip. 

“Nuh-uh! Cub’s with me!” Scar proudly exclaims. Grian flinches, looking around frantically. 

He looks for any invisibility potion particles or any sign of the man, but he can’t find any. 

“Uh, I don’t see him…” 

Scar pauses. “He’s right here!” He laughs, waving his hand. “You’re so silly, Grian. Cub, isn’t he…” He looks over his shoulder and his eyes pop out of his head. “Cub?!” 

Grian clasps a hand over his mouth as he tries to stifle his laughter. It proves easy as his laughter cuts short as soon as Scar lets out a hoarse cry. 

“Oh, no, bubs, no cry,” he says awkwardly. “Oh, come on, we’ll get you back to your base. Come on.” He urges Scar to slip the box into his inventory before guiding him to jump on his back. “Let’s go for a ride, huh?” 

“Want Cub!” Scar demands with a shrill cry. 

Grian frowns. He doesn’t even know where to start in this situation. Does he call Cub? But Scar’s little. Does… does he even know? Surely not. 

Grian can’t even imagine if anyone found out. 

He flinches out of his skin, panicking in place over what he’s supposed to do until he hears a firework go off. 

“Scar!” a new voice booms, and Cub is landing roughly on the ground. He runs towards Scar, who eagerly picks up his arms. “Oh, I’ve been looking for you all over, you little rascal!” 

“Cub!” he cries, allowing Cub to scoop him off the ground into a bear hug. Grian watches awkwardly as Cub twirls him around and hugs him tight. He debates flying off, but before he even gets the chance, Cub catches his eye. 

“Oh, thank you for watching over him,” he says. “Was he out in the cold long?” 

“I don’t think he really noticed you were separated until I pointed it out,” Grian says, holding up a finger. He chooses his words carefully, still confused on their actual dynamic. But from the way he’s holding him and petting his head, he has a feeling his suspicion was right. 

It feels dirty to throw him under the bus, but in a dash attempt to save his deepest secret, Grian asks, “Is he sick? He’s been acting kinda funny.” 

Cub eyes him cautiously before guiding Scar to stand at his side. 

“I hope my little one didn’t catch a cold in this breeze,” Cub says, bumping his forehead against Scar’s. The younger cackles in response. 

“Heh, nope! I have Grian’s scarf!” He plays with the ends of the scarf to show it off to the other two. 

“That you do,” Cub chirps. “Come on, hop on up. It’s time to go home and have some hot cocoa, hm?” Scar eagerly jumps on his back, and Cub holds him tight. “Thanks again for watching him. I’ll see you around.” 

That’s the only explanation, or lack of one, Cub offers him before vanishing off into the night. 

Grian is too distracted by the weirdness of the situation to think to ask for his scarf back. 

-

Grian doesn’t forget about his encounter with the little Scar. He does, however, become hyperaware of his own little side. 

See, in Grian’s experience, servers never take kindly to littles. He’s only met some on a rarity - some with caregivers and some without. He had never even considered telling someone - not after how Sam had reacted-- 

He shakes his head frantically. What’s in the past is the past and can’t hurt him anymore. No one has to know his secret. No one has to hurt him again. 

He knows he’s safe here, his secret is guarded, but the presence of Scar brings out a whole new set of worries within him. 

Worries, yes, and also a wide-spread curiosity. 

A week after his encounter with Little Scar, he runs into Cub in the shopping district. 

Literally. 

Grian had been quickly flying through the district when Cub decides to pop out of nowhere. The two had collided before he could slow down, and they both had been sent flying back into the ground. 

“Owwww,” Grian whines slowly, lazily sitting up in the grass. Ahead of him, Cub is kneeling down, and all of his belongings are spilled to the side. “Oops, sorry!” He jumps up to his feet to try and help him. He scoops up a bag and then reaches out for the contents only to stop short. 

A small elephant toy rests on the ground. He freezes in place. 

“Are you alright?” Cub murmurs in a daze. Grian blinks up at him. He raises an eyebrow and plucks up the elephant from where Grian is glaring daggers at him. “Grian? You’re - you’re bleeding.” 

“Are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Grian blurts suddenly, raising his finger. 

“Are you… concussed?” he asks hesitantly. “You have a - Grian.” 

“Why do you have a baby toy?” Grian blurts, unable to help himself. He knows it’s rude, but he’s burning from the inside out. He has to know. 

Cub sighs, shoulders dropping. “You know, Xisuma makes sure to keep this a safe place for him. I can’t have you giving him any shit for a toy.” 

“...Pardon?” 

“You don’t have any idea what Age Regression is, do you?” 

Play dumb. 

“Uh, like how old you are?” he guesses, pretending to have no idea. He hopes Cub believes him. He’s never been a great liar. 

“No, not exactly. It’s… to explain it as best as I can, it’s when you revert to a younger state of mind. That’s all I’m really willing to say.” He takes a deep sigh before continuing. “When you ran into Scar the other day… he wasn’t as old as he normally is. You get it?” 

Grian nods hesitantly. “So…” How does he put this - to sound like he doesn’t know anything? He pauses for a moment. “Are you like… his..care--taker?” He stops himself from saying caregiver. 

His eyebrows unfurrow. “Yeah,” he says, the defensiveness slowly leaving his voice. “As I said, X works hard for this to be a safe place. Scar’s allowed to be himself whenever he needs to be.” He hardens his glare once more. “Do you understand?” 

“Yeah. I, uh, I don’t really get this whole thing, but… Just treat him like how old he feels, right?” 

Cub softens his gaze once more. “Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, thanks. I promise he doesn’t get loose like that often.” 

Grian laughs then, and Cub is awkwardly waving a goodbye. He equips his elytra before flying off. 

He had hoped after running into him and answering his questions, he would’ve been able to rest easy. 

However, Cub’s promise on Scar not getting loose too often turned out to be a straight up lie. 

Two weeks later Scar and Grian are hanging out in the Mini-Game district when Scar suddenly starts acting…off. 

They’re outside the mini game that Grian had built when Scar starts to taper off. Their banter falls slightly, and it isn’t until Scar begins to babble about what he’s gonna spend his diamonds on, does Grian realize what’s happening. 

He opens a private message with Cub.

<Grian> hey 

<Cub> u ok ? 

Grian laughs, knowing how notorious he is for only messaging when he needs something. It’s a bad habit he’s trying to break. 

<Grian> i don’t know how to take care of children. halp. 

<Cub> i’m off server rn. can u watch him until i’m back? It’d be like… tops an hour. 

Grian blinks at Scar, who is waltzing around the Dig Straight Down mini-game. As Scar dons his pickaxe and gets ready to mine down to his death, Grian realizes they might need a change in scenery. 

<Cub> hello ?

<Grian> sorry, we’re playing dsd .

<Cub> the game where you fall into lava?

<Grian> …

<Cub> i’ll be back in half an hour. don’t kill him when he’s small pls. 

Grian watches him bitterly. His own fault for leaving him in charge, that’s for sure. 

<Grian> i’ll try. Please hurry . 

“Scar, I think we’ve had enough of DSD for the day. How about we play something else?” 

Grian doesn’t know exactly where to start with taking care of a child, despite being a little himself, but he knows getting him away from a possibility of death via lava is high on the priority list. 

“Like what?” Scar asks, dragging his heels against the floor. 

“Hm…” He holds his chin, deep in thought. 

As a little who’s never had a caregiver, his base is stocked with a few supplies he allows himself. He always avoids being little, but there’s always days when it can’t be helped. On those days when he can’t help but slip in the safety of his own bedroom, he has a box full of games. 

He’s careful not to indulge himself in bad habits. He is painfully aware the more he gets comfortable, the more he’s at risk to being sought out. 

But… that brings up the mystery that comes with Scar. From how Cub talked about it, Scar is open about his little side with everyone on the server. 

“How about coloring?” Grian suggests randomly. 

Scar blows a raspberry at him. 

“Hey, don’t knock coloring,” Grian hisses back, hands on his hips. 

“That’s boooooring,” Scar drags out, earning a harsh gasp from Grian in response. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll save my super cool coloring books for myself, then!” It’s meant to be mocking, but it’s true. He’s just thankful Scar is small enough so as not to question why he would have coloring books back at his base. 

“How about we go for a little fly?” Grian suggests, eyes twinkling with amusement. 

“Cub says no flyin’ when ‘m small,” Scar pipes up. 

“Oh no, no flyin’ for you.” Grian spreads out his wings behind him and takes a superhero pose. “First class Grian Airlines, at your service.” 

“Oh, me! Take me!” Scar says, excitedly raising his arms. Grian laughs along with him before crouching down so he can climb on his back. He carefully adjusts to hold him to not get in the way of his wings. He holds him tightly to make sure he’s secure on his back before flapping his wings and taking off into the air. 

The flight back to the base is short and sweet, and Grian drops them both off in his secret quarters. It isn’t unusual for every megabase on the server to have a secret room that’s off-limits for all hermits around. With all of the antics the hermits tend to get up to, it’s important to have areas where the others can’t access. 

His bedroom is far off in the corridor, and he proudly marches himself and the little behind him. 

“Let’s see what I have here…” Grian pulls out his box into his lap as Scar wanders around his room. Grian watches him out of the corner of his eye as he pulls himself up on top of his bed before focusing back on finding something for them to play with. “How about some bubbles, Scar?” 

He gets an unamused hum, and he keeps looking. His box is really sad, but he’s always kept it that way on purpose. At the very bottom of the box, Professor Beak sits. He bites his lip before pushing it to the side. He doesn’t mean to be greedy - especially with a Little around, but PB is something he isn’t willing to share. He fishes out a small pack of stickers. 

“This is real pathetic,” he mumbles under his breath. “Wanna play with some stickers, Scar--oh.” 

On top of his bed, Scar is sprawled out over the blanket. 

“Oh, you’re tired, huh?” he muses quietly. He closes up the box, safely tucking it away (but not before dragging the stickers and coloring books out), and climbs on top of the bed to sit next to Scar. “Wanna watch something?” 

Scar nods eagerly. He reaches over Grian to snatch the remote off of his nightstand before finding his way to the Disney Plus Kids channel. 

“I should’ve known you’d pick a Disney film,” Grian hums, resting his chin in his hands. He wasn’t aware of how tired he was until Scar started yawning. 

“Love Disney,” Scar sings, kicking his feet behind him. He hovers over the film “Up” before selecting it. 

“I know you do,” Grian lazily hums, mirroring Scar’s position as he slumps over in the bedsheets. 

Scar is quiet as the film starts, occasionally blabbering about parts in the film, and Grian hums in acknowledgement. His eyelids start to droop not even halfway through, and Grian finds he’s fighting to stay awake. 

At least watching Scar was easier than he had thought it to be. Who knew Care giving wasn’t even that hard? 

“I wish I had Up stickers,” Grian quietly complains, opening up the sticker pack of My Little Pony stickers. He forgot how he ended up with them. He thinks it was a joke or something he accidentally came into possession of, but he couldn’t stand to throw them out. 

“I want some too,” Scar pipes up, reaching his hand over. 

“Hm… You can have Pinkie Pie.” He unsticks the small sticker from the paper wad and sticks it to Scar’s forehead. 

“I wanna be Rainbow Dash,” Scar whines, furrowing his eyebrows together. 

“Oh! Okay.” He unsticks another sticker and places it on the back of his hand. “I think I’ll pick… Twilight.” He peels one off, then other. Then another. 

…

A couple minutes pass, and before they know it, both of them are covered with stickers. 

“G, ‘m hungry,” Scar murmurs, rolling over in the bed. 

He blinks in rapid fire to try and wake himself up. He yawns, wings stretching out behind him, and he rolls out of the bed. With one hand rubbing at his eye, he holds the other out for Scar to grab. 

He doesn’t have to look behind him to check that Scar’s following behind him because he grabs his hand. 

He hums under his breath as the two stumble into the kitchen. He swings open the fridge door before stopping. 

Grian stares at the fully stocked fridge in front of him. His stomach yearns for a sandwich. He sees the drawer, stock full of everything he needs, and yet he’s suddenly shell-shocked. 

In a blood-curdling panic, Grian realizes he has forgotten how to make a sandwich. 

No, not - not forgotten. He shakes his head frantically. 

“G?” Scar whispers, gently shaking his friend’s shoulder. 

“Hm,” he hums back, smiling gently up at Scar. Right, Scar, his friend he was supposed to be taking care of. He yanks open the drawer and finally pulls out the lunch meat. “I can’t find it…” 

“Cheese?” Scar nosily asks, leaning over his shoulder. 

“Noooo, I want slime!” He drags his foot against the ground, but he can’t find the candy squeeze bottle. He rummages around in the drawer. 

“Ew…!” Scar spits, sticking his tongue out. 

Grian rolls his eyes but passes over the ingredients for Scar’s sandwich. 

He opens the pantry door and pulls out a bag of candy. “Here, this’ll do!” he announces, dropping it on the table so he and Scar can sit down. 

“Cub never lets me have candy this late!” Scar booms, excited. Grian hums, kicking his feet. 

“That’s what’s great about not havin’ a caregiver,” Grian chirps, setting the ham and cheese inside of a fruit roll up. “I get to eat however I want!” 

“Oh… You’re… alone?” Scar asks, cocking his head to the side. “But you’re big.” 

It isn’t until the words drop from Scar’s mouth that Grian does a double take. He jumps out of his skin, blinking rapidly in a panic as he looks around. His mind is filled with a familiar fog, the one he gets when-- 

Oh no. 

He slaps his hands against his cheeks to try and wake himself up. Oh no, oh no, he hadn’t even realized he’d been slipping! He can’t afford to be small, not ever, not around anyone, and much less around Scar! 

“Is Cub gonna be mad?” Grian whispers, looking down at the food he made for the two of them. 

“He won’t know!” Scar says, giddy, and Grian sinks with dread. 

I’m so terrible, he thinks, covering his face with his hands. 

“G?” Scar asks, climbing around the table to shake his friend’s shoulder vigorously. “G, what’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” he forces, reaching out to hold Scar back. He can’t worry him, not when he’s in this state. “C’mon, Scar, wan’ go lay down?” At least in the room he can make sure he’s safe. He wraps his hand tightly around his and walks him towards the room. He holds the plate of sandwiches with his other free hand. 

Once they get back to the room, Scar easily plops down on the bed. Grian sits up next to him, not laying back down on the blankets like last time. 

“Cuddle?” Scar asks, stretching out on the bed. Grian shakes his head, straightening his posture. He needs to stay alert. He can’t afford to slip any further. 

Oh god, Caregiving was harder than he thought. 

--

Cub arrives back on Hermitcraft with a sudden crash. He spawns in the middle of the district where Mumbo and Iskall are deep in conversation. Their laughter stops at spotting Cub, and they wave him over. 

Xisuma turns around and shakes his hands, as if trying to warn him off. It’s too late before he steps on a pressure plate, and before he knows it a big explosion goes off right in front of him. 

“Oh, Cub!” Iskall cries out but he’s laughing all the while. “You set off my Grian trap, dude!” 

Cub sheepishly smiles, observing the blown off area. “Real cruddy trap,” he comments, scoffing. “Speaking of which, have you seen him? I left him in charge of watching Scar.” 

“You left Grian on babysitting duty?” Mumbo asks, raising an incredulous eyebrow. 

“I didn’t even know he knew,” X comments off-handedly. 

“Yeah, but I wonder if he took him back to-- Oh, that’s probably him now.” His communicator beeps, and he pulls it out of his pocket only for his face to fall. 

“Cub? Is everything okay?” 

<Scar> grains being weird

His heart stops at the message. His hands go clammy at the open ended message. 

<Cub> are you okay? Where are you ??

“What, did Grian and Scar burn Hermitville down?” Mumbo jokes, only for the audience to fall silent. 

Cub’s pinched expression kills the aura. 

<Scar> trying to be big

“I…I think something’s wrong,” Cub announces, frustrated. “X, can you show me where Grian is?” 

He snaps out of his confused trance instantly. “Yeah, of course. Is…?” Cub shows him the communicator messages, and X instantly pulls up his tablet to locate them. 

While Xisuma works on locating the others, Mumbo and Iskall peer over the tablet to try and decipher the messages. 

<Cub> you dont have to be big kiddo. Im coming okay? 

Scar doesn’t reply, and Cub’s anxiety triples. 

“Here, follow me,” X says quickly, equipping his elytra. 

Cub quickly follows suit, and to his surprise the two restoners follow suit. He doesn’t know what’s happening, and he’s beginning to think Grian wasn’t as kind to age regressors as he had thought. He had been weird about it at first, but he had accepted it so easily he thought it would’ve been fine. 

But clearly Grian must’ve hurt his feelings if he’s forcing himself to be big. Scar never gets upset at being small anymore. They had spent so long working past that and for him to be comfortable that he’d be damned if Grian was gonna ruin this for them. 

Cub lands, ready to go guns blazing, and he doesn’t even think to stop the army behind him. 

“I’m sure Grian wouldn’t hurt his feelings on purpose,” Mumbo pipes up gingerly. “He’s standoffish at times, but he means well. Especially to Scar.” 

“I don’t care if it was on purpose or not,” Cub grumbles, stomping down the corridor. He recognizes the signs and the way the area was blocked off that they were now entering Grian’s private quarters. 

Xisuma follows close behind quietly, wanting to interfere but keeping his mouth shut out of fear it isn’t his place to talk. He keeps quiet until they reach the end and he says, “I think they’re in here.” 

Where Xisuma goes to knock, Cub kicks down the door. 

Immediately, Scar picks his head up from the bed. He’s beaming ear to ear - no indication he’s upset. 

However, next to him Grian sits with his arms crossed over his chest with the most pissed off expression any of them have ever seen on him. His wings are out and cramped up to his back in the same way they get after he’s been struggling for a build hours on end. 

“Scar, I’m back!” Cub announces. 

Scar cheers, climbing out of the bed to run up and hug Cub. He grabs him close before eyeing Grian, who hasn’t moved much at all. 

“Has Grian been taking care of you?” he asks, venom lacing his tone even as he tries to playfully phrase it. 

“Great care!” Grian announces, finally moving from his spot. His face is still contorted in a tight grimace as he moves in the bed. He still doesn’t get up to stand. 

Cub exchanges a confused glance with the men behind him, who only look as perplexed as he does. 

“Did watching over the little tyke take it out of you?” Mumbo asks, stepping in further into the room. He nears the bed, and Grian knee crawls to the edge. His pained expression falters for  a moment before being smoothed back over. 

“Nope! I had it all handled!” Grian proudly exclaims. 

Cub pauses, crouching down to the ground to meet Scar’s eye level. 

“Hey, buddy? You okay?” he asks, caressing a strand of his messy hair. 

“Mhm, we had fun! I think… I think Grian’s upset,” he whispers. 

All of a sudden, the text makes much more sense. 

“Trying to be big,” he repeats, blinking down at Scar, who is very much still small. 

He trails his eyes back to Grian, who is tightly wound up in a stiff position. 

“Oh my god,” Cub gasps, clasping a hand over his mouth. Iskall and Xisuma tilt their heads at his reaction before he’s coughing it off. “Come on, Scar, it’s time to go home, don’t you think?” 

He tries to cover up his laughter with a cough, but he’s more than obvious as he slips out into the hall. Grian calls a goodbye and an annoyed, “You’re welcome!” before he’s out of earshot. 

“Cub, what’s wrong?” Xisuma asks, looking behind him to make sure they weren’t being followed. He keeps his voice low and hushed. “What happened?” 

Cub is giddy with the news when he replies, “X… I think Grian’s a little. ”