Work Text:
It was a day just like every other.
Everything seemed fine, Mumbo woke up bright and early at 7:30 A.M. on the dot on Sunday, September 13th. Sunlight creeped through the blinds that covered his window, casting down onto him. After a few minutes of hesitation, he rolled himself out of bed, got dressed and gave Grian a call.
Three rings, and a beep. Heyo! This isss Grian! If I didn't pick up I probably just think you're a scam call- I do get a lot of those.. D’y’know what? just shoot a message, I'll answer that. Or call again. I like hearing my ringtone! Okay bye.
That was the first bump.
Grian almost always picked up when Mumbo called, at least in the morning he did. They always called in the morning, either to wish each other a good day or for Mumbo or Grian to let the other know they were coming over.
Mumbo bit his bottom lip, biting the skin off it in worry. It's fine! It's- it's just fine. Grian is fine, he doesn't pick up all the time! Even if he was supposed to come over today- Grian didn't even send a message this morning either.
Mumbo frowned. He opened up the messaging app and decided to text Grian instead. After all, Grian did say he got a lot of spam calls.
grian :(
Pick up please
are you still asleep?
He paused and waited a bit to see if Grian would reply quickly. After at least five minutes, there was no reply. His brows knitted together, it wasn’t normal for Grian to not reply like that. The blonde always woke up early, most often before Mumbo himself did- so there was no way he was still asleep, right?
Dread piled up in his stomach as he tried his hardest to calm down. He was getting paranoid, way too anxious. Sometimes Grian just takes a while to reply! He put down his phone, placed it on the bed as he decided to distract himself by making breakfast.
He got two pieces of bread, both untoasted as he knew both him and Grian hated the texture of toasted bread. He put strawberry jam on both of them, and put a layer of plastic wrap over the plate.
He quickly grabbed his phone again, still no messages from Grian. He sighed, hesitating as he bit his lip, he called Grian again, no one picked up. He hung up before the voicemail greeting could play another time.
He sighed, pocketed his phone and headed back to the kitchen to grab the breakfast he had made a few minutes ago. He slipped on his shoes, placing down the plate to be able to tie the laces of his converse before he headed out of his apartment, Grian's building was luckily only a few blocks away from his so if he rushed he could make it there in under 10 minutes.
Mumbo walked out fast, plate in hand as he avoided people and kept his mind focused on making it to Grian's and making sure his boyfriend was safe and sound.
He made it there in the time he planned, 8 minutes on the dot. He rang the buzzer for Grian to let him in, no reply.
Another bump.
He frowned, taking out his keys and using that to unlock the door. He was thankful they gave each other spares for their apartments after the incident with Grian's buzzer not working.
He entered the elevator and hit the button for the 4th floor. He tapped his foot in impatience as the elevator went up. Once he reached the floor he was almost sprinting to Grian's room.
Mumbo knocked on the door, no answer.
The third bump.
He paced back and forth in front of Grian's apartment door, debating if he should go in or wait. His anxiety got the best of him, he took out another key and unlocked the door.
Mumbo started to unlace his shoes as he looked down, back facing the inside of the apartment as he started speaking to hopefully wake up the avian if he was still asleep. "Gri? You hadn't picked up your calls and you didn't answer the buzzer, I thought I'd let myself i-" He froze.
He almost dropped his plate at the sight.
The place was messed up- to his and what he knew of Grian's standards at least- couch flipped over, papers that he could recognise as houses and assorted buildings Grian had sketched out in the past; ones he showed to Mumbo with pride, his wings puffed up as Mumbo smiled and pet his hair as he looked through the drawings.
They were torn, messed up, purple stains from what looked like either blood or ink splattered on them as well as the floor.
Tears pricked the corners of Mumbo's eyes as put down the plate, rushing around the house. "Grian? Grian!" He shouted, looking for the avian. The more he looked, the more the purple kept showing up. Stained onto his bed, in the hallway, on the walls. A metallic smell lingered, worry continued to make a home in Mumbo's stomach.
The harder he looked the more he noticed the red inside or beside the purple, it was definitely blood judging by the smell and the look of it. Mumbo was scared, to say the least. Worried, horrified, anxious, paranoid, ect. Everything bad!! That's what he was feeling!!
Mumbo was barely conscious of his actions, shock and anxiousness flooding his senses as he curled up into a ball. This wasn't a prank, right? He'd wait- And Grian would pop out and shout surprise! And they'd laugh- they'd both laugh, because this isn't happening and this isn't real and it's all just a prank!
Mumbo laughed to himself, tugging at his hair as tears made his eyes glossy. He moved his hands out of his hair, instead balling his hands into fists shaking them to avoid causing any damage. He looked at the ground, trying to ignore all the possibilities of what could've happened because nothing bad happened! And that's when he spotted it.
There was a piece of paper in the distance, it was partially torn and even from here Mumbo could see the red- probably blood- stains on and around it. He hesitated before shuffling over to it, biting on the inside of his bottom lip as he picked it up. He used his right hand to pick up the letter, putting the back of his left hand at his nose to block out the heavy metallic smell coming from the paper.
There was smudged writing on it, he could barely make out the writing but he could recognise what he could read as Grian's handwriting.
mumb im #o##y
ill b# back ####
#### #### me
time
Mumbo was confused. Anxiety tugged on his heart, wrapping it with vines and squeezing, filling his body with a sense of dread. He couldn't speak, he couldn't laugh, he couldn't cry. The abandoned apartment was silent. Mumbo held his breath, he practically felt like he was dunked under ice-cold water. Where was Grian? When would he be back? Was he okay?
With a shaking hand he put down the paper. He inhaled sharply as he tried to get his breath working again. It definitely took a bit, harder to do when he was by himself- But he managed.
What if Mumbo just waited? He could sit in here all day- He could wait for Grian to come back. Yeah. Grian would come back.
He'd come back.
...Right?