I'm posting this early because I have writer's block for all of my other stories, but I won't be posting the first chapter until the date I actually have scheduled. Don't worry, though, because this is quite literally 10,000 words long lmao /lh

This is the background to Grian's and Mumbo's kids, as well as Scar's and Cub's daughter! It's mostly about Penny because she has the most background to be talked about lol

Also!! I just wanted to say to my audience that is 13 years old or younger, please don't read this. This book has content that I would consider more mature than just PG-13, and I don't like to have it on my conscience that I exposed literal baby children to that kind of stuff. So please, don't read this if you're 13 or younger. You don't need to. I have lots of other content that you can read that is a lot more PG.

And if you're one of my three readers over 45, why the hell are you reading Minecraft fanfiction lmao /lh

TWs: Heavily implied and mentioned physical/sexual abuse, gore, mentioned child/teen pregnancy, vomiting (for those with emetophobia), and nightmares. Stay safe, my loves <33

Enjoy!!

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Grian stretched his arms over his head as he and Mumbo walked down the sidewalk. "It's so nice out," he sighed happily as he leaned against his husband.

It had been about four years since their wedding, and they were happier than ever. After everything that had happened with the Octagon, Grian started going to therapy weekly as well as getting overwhelming support from his wonderful husband himself. Just being able to talk and work through things with a professional helped him a lot, and he could proudly say he was feeling the best he ever had. He had also started hormone replacement therapy not long after the wedding, (though he was currently off of if because he and Mumbo had been trying to have a baby). He unfortunately had to travel out of state once or twice every month for injections and pill refills while he was on it, since Boatem provided no gender affirming care.

But that was beginning to change. Grian became extremely popular across the country after his kidnapping, and he used his new fame to help bring equality to the transgender community. The prices of surgeries or hormone replacement hadn't gone down yet, and it was still illegal in a little over fifty percent of the country, but it was beginning to be accepted. And though there was much left to be done, for now, it was enough for Grian.

"This spring really has been nice so far," Mumbo agreed. "We haven't even had any-" He stopped when Grian pinched his side. "I-"

"Shh!" Grian huffed, his left ear tuft twitching as he came to a halt. "Do you hear that?"

Mumbo furrowed his brows in confusion. "Hear what?" He strained his ears to hear something, anything, but ultimately couldn't.

Grian paused, then his eyes widened. "Someone's screaming," he breathed before letting go of his lover and darting down the sidewalk.

Mumbo blinked, then sighed and followed after him. Man, this was supposed to be a date...

Grian rounded a corner and skidded to a stop in front of an alleyway, Mumbo nearly tripping over him. In the alley lay an small, red-headed dove hybrid dressed in a torn-up hospital gown and covered head to toe in injuries, clutching something close to her chest. Grian's wing drooped and Mumbo could've sworn he whimpered as he slowly stepped closer to them.

"Wait, Grian," Mumbo whispered, reaching to put a hand on his shoulder. Grian turned to look at him. "Be careful."

Grian's feathers fluttered before smoothing back down and he nodded. He turned around again to kneel next to the little avian. She jumped when Grian nudged her and she looked up at him, a look of pure panic in her eyes. "It's okay," Grian whispered, holding his hands up. "What's your name?"

"...Penny," she mumbled.

"That's a pretty name," he said with a soft smile, but she didn't seem to relax at all. "I'm Grian. This is my husband, Mumbo."

Penny glanced up at Mumbo and whimpered, scooting in the opposite direction of him.

Mumbo held up his hands, also backing away. "I won't hurt you," he said. "Promise."

Grian glanced at what Penny was holding, but he couldn't quite see it. "What's that?" he tried.

Penny glanced down at what she was holding, then hesitantly held it out. "Is she okay?" she asked.

Grian was absolutely horrified. In Penny's arms was a mangled, bruised, and bleeding newborn baby. The baby was still breathing, but it looked like it already was dead. "That's..." He looked back up at Penny's face. "How old are you?"

She paused. "Seventeen," she said.

"You don't look seveteen," Mumbo said, and she lowered her head.

"How old are you?" Grian asked again.

Penny's lip quivered and Grian was going to change the subject before she spoke quietly, "Nine."

Grian took a deep breath, feeling tears build in his eyes. This poor girl...

"Penny, how did you get here?" Mumbo asked carefully, kneeling down on the ground. "Who were you with?"

Tears were streaming down Penny's rosy, freckled cheeks now. "W-wanna h-home," she sobbed, then she hugged the baby to her chest again, hiding her face from the two men as she wailed.

Grian looked at Mumbo, probably just as panicked as Penny was, and started tapping Mumbo's arm repeatedly. He was starting to cry, too. "Mumbo, what do we do?" he whispered, just loud enough to be heard over Penny's crying.

Mumbo pursed his lips. Grian had become much more sensitive lately, and the avian often found himself sobbing, too, whenever he saw somebody else crying... even if the person crying was on a TV show. "I don't know, baby," Mumbo whispered back with a sigh.

"Can we take her to the hospital?" the smaller asked, wiping at his eyes. "Please, she needs help-"

"We'll take her to the hospital," Mumbo reassured his spouse as he nearly started choking on his sobs. "Alright? We'll get her help." At Grian's nod, Mumbo turned back to the dove hybrid and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you mind if we take you to the hospital?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head frantically. "No, no, no, no!" she shrieked, crying even more. "No more- no more labs- no labs-"

Mumbo bit back a groan. He really wasn't good with this stuff.

"Hey, it's okay," Grian said, his voice nasally and his nose running. "We can make sure your baby is alright."

Penny looked at him, beginning to calm down. "She's okay?"

Grian nodded. "We can make her better," he said. "But you have to come with us to the hospital. There's no labs, I promise."

The little girl sniffled and handed her baby to Grian. "Don't wanna go," she murmured. "Take her."

"You need to come with us," Mumbo said gently, and Penny jumped. "You're injured and you need some serious medical attention. Not to mention that if your kid survives, it's going to need to have a mother."

Penny's lower lip trembled again. "Take her," she said again.

Grian and Mumbo looked at each other.

"Have to go back," Penny continued. "Can't take her with. Too dangerous."

Grian blinked at her strange speech pattern, suddenly coming to the realization that she hadn't referred to herself directly the entire time. Not once had she said the words 'I', 'me', or 'my.'

Mumbo sighed. "I don't care about wherever you came from," he said carefully but firmly, "you're not going back there. Especially if you know it's not safe for your baby."

"Please." She gave Grian the baby and he took it without saying a word. "Make her better."

"You need to be better, too," Grian said.

Penny shook her head and looked away, almost like she was ashamed. "Not important. Doesn't matter. Baby matters."

Mumbo didn't hesitate for a second before pulling out his phone. "I'm calling an ambulance," he grumbled. "We can't force you to into a vehicle and take you there, but you do need help and it is very important that you're okay."

Grian nodded as Mumbo put his phone to his ear and backed away. "I care if you're okay," he said, and Penny started to sob again. "I'm going to arrest whoever did this to you and I'll find somewhere safe for you. You matter to me."

"They'll be here soon," Mumbo announced. "I texted Scar as well. He'll meet us at the hospital to get her some re-gen once her body can handle it."

"That was fast," Grian said, looking up at him before glancing back at Penny. He set the baby in his lap and took his sweater off, shivering when the cool spring breeze grazed his bare arms and went up his shirt. Then he swaddled the baby in the fabric. "Here, Mumbo," he said, and he offered the baby to his husband. "Hold her while I take a look at Penny's injuries."

Penny whined and let out a nervous trill when Mumbo took the baby, but didn't otherwise complain.

"I should have a small first-aid kit in here somewhere," Grian thought aloud as he dug through his small purse- no, bag. Bag, not purse. "Aha!" He pulled out a little white box and opened it, lots of little bandages and singular packages of alcohol wipes inside. "Come a little closer," he told Penny. "I want to clean up some of those cuts on your face." Alcohol wipes weren't the best thing to use, but it was better than risking everything getting infected.

She did as she was told, moving so she was just inches away from the other avian. "Will it hurt?"

"It'll sting just a little, but it won't hurt for very long, I promise," he said, opening a wipe. "I won't do the big ones because those will hurt more, but if the little ones get infected then it'll just be annoying." He gave her a soft smile before rubbing her cheek gently. She closed her eyes and whimpered but didn't pull away at all, which made it easier for Grian. "Tell me if it hurts too much, okay?"

Penny nodded.

Grian had gone through of his five wipes by the time the ambulance arrived, and Penny was actually looking quite a bit better. She looked a lot less dirty than before.

"Good afternoon, Detective," a familiar voice said, making Grian look up.

"Etho!" Grian stood up and hugged the paramedic, who chuckled and reciprocated the gesture. "I thought you lived in the Savanna." He let go and backed away.

Etho shrugged. "The Savanna's boring, no action. Boatem sounded more fun," he said simply, then his eyes drifted down to wear Penny sat, staring wide-eyed and nervous at him. "Is this who we're here for?" he asked, squating down to Penny's eye-level. "Hey, kiddo. My name's Etho, I'm gonna take you over to the hospital so you can get the care you need, alright?" His light and almost kid-like tone was something Grian never heard before, but it was nice to know he could work with kids, especially given Penny's state. "What's your name?"

Penny glanced at Grian, who nodded, and she looked back at Etho. "Penny," she answered meekly.

"That's a pretty name," Etho said. "Are you able to walk?"

She hesitated, chewing on her lip nervously, then shook her head.

"Alright, do you mind if I pick you up and carry you, then? It'll only be for a minute, just so I can get you on the gurney," he said.

Penny looked up at Grian again and reached to tug on his pants. "Grian," she whispered.

Etho looked at Grian then at back at Penny. "You want Grian to carry you?" he asked, and she nodded. "Okay. Do you want him to come with us in the ambulance?" She nodded again and he stood up. "Is that alright with you, Detective?"

Grian smiled and nodded. "Of course," he said, automatically reaching to pick Penny up off the ground. "And, uh, what about the baby?"

Etho blinked. "There's a baby?"

Mumbo cleared his throat, drawing Etho's attention, and showed him the newborn wrapped in Grian's sweater.

Etho grimaced at the sight of the poor thing. "Well..." He looked at Mumbo, who was giving him a look as if telling him to be careful about what he said next. All three of the men knew the baby probably wouldn't make it, even if she got all the care she needed at the hospital.  "We'll take the baby with us in the ambulance," he said slowly. "Mumbo can hold-"

"No!" Penny shrieked suddenly as Grian was setting her on the gurney, then shut her mouth as soon as Etho and Mumbo looked over.

Etho looked back at Mumbo. "Then maybe Grian will take the baby," he said with a nervous laugh, "and Mumbo will meet us there."

Mumbo sighed and nodded, handing the baby over to Etho, who gave her to Grian so he could pull the gurney out of the alleyway to the ambulance.

"What if the baby doesn't survive?" Mumbo whispered to Grian, who gasped.

"Don't say that," the smaller scolded in a hushed voice. He looked down at the poor baby. "She obviously wants her to survive, so don't jinx it, buttface."

Mumbo had to stop himself from snickering at the name. "I was just saying what if," he said. "And how is Penny supposed to mother a baby when she's nine?"

Grian sighed. "I was forced to parent when I was sixteen," he muttered. Mumbo's eyes widened as he thought, That's why he was crying when Penny said she was nine. "It's really difficult," Grian continued, "but not impossible, probably even for a nine-year-old. Besides, I want to make sure she ends up somewhere safe so I'll stay with her in the hospital."

Mumbo didn't say anything, just nodding. "I'll meet you there as soon as I can," he said finally when they got to the ambulance. "Scar said he was already on his way there as well."

Grian nodded and kissed his husband a temporary goodbye.

"All set?" Etho asked, then closed the doors at Grian's and Penny's nods. He grabbed a large first-aid box and some other things packaged in plastic before sitting down next to Grian on the bench. "Alright, Penny, I'm going to give you an IV, okay?" he said as the ambulance started moving.

Penny looked at Grian. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's this little needle," Etho explained, holding the catheter up for her to see, "that goes into your arm and feeds water into your body so you don't dehydrate."

"You can do that in an ambulance?" Grian asked.

Etho shrugged. "Under certain circumstances," he said, "and this young lady is looking very dehydrated. See how her eyes are sunken in?"

Grian blinked. "I didn't even notice."

"Most people usually don't," Etho said lightly as he pulled the plastic bag off of the catheter. "This will pinch a little, but it shouldn't hurt for too long." He set it down on a little tray that Grian hadn't noticed before, then took an alcohol wipe and examined Penny's arm as he opened it. "I might have to put it in your thumb," he said. "Your veins will be too thin up toward your elbow. It'll take way too long to poke one."

Penny's eyes started to water. "Don't want it," she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks as quickly as they formed. "Don't want to hurt."

"It's okay, Penny," Grian said softly as Etho cleaned the side of her hand. "It'll make you feel better. Just look at me, alright? It will hurt more if you look at it."

Penny started to sob harder. "No labs," she wailed. "No more, said no labs-"

"It's not a lab," Grian said calmly. "I promise. It's for you to feel better, okay? If your baby survives, then you'll have to be okay to take care of her, right?" Penny was still crying, but not as obnoxiously as a moment ago. "Good, good, just relax, sweetheart. It'll be okay, I promise."

Etho figured Penny wouldn't want a coutndown, so he quickly inserted the catheter and taped it down to the bottom of her thumb, the little girl screaming.

Grian was immediately trying to calm her. "Shhh, it's alright, it's alright," he whispered to her. "It won't hurt anymore. It's over, I promise." He ran a hand through her hair. "If you want, I'll preen you." She sniffled and nodded. "Alright."

"I'm going to flush the catheter real quickly here," Etho said as Penny was quieting down again. "You probably will feel a little cold in your hand, and you might taste it, too. Ready?" He lined up a syringe with clear fluid inside to the end of the catheter, then emptied the syringe into the catheter, flushing the blood out of it.

Penny coughed and shook her head. "Tastes bad," she said, which made Etho chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of it, either," he said. He reached over for some tubing and connected one end to a one-litre bag of saline water. "Again, it might be a little cold when you feel the water start to go through into your hand, okay? It's totally normal." He twisted the other end of the tube to the catheter in Penny's hand. "I can only give you one litre in the ambulance, but you'll probably get more at the hospital." He reached over to check the water and make sure it was going through. "They won't poke you again, though, so you won't have to worry about that. They'll just keep this one in until they're sure you're hydrated enough."

Penny looked at Grian again, her eyes wide and watery.

"I'll be here the whole time," he reassured her. She'd quickly taken a strong liking to him, and he didn't really know why, but he wasn't planning on leaving her for a second. He saw a lot of himself in her and he felt an instinctual urge to protect her and make sure she was safe. Her and her baby. He didn't doubt it was the avian part of him.

But it also made him uncomfortable, her condition. All of the injuries on her body reminded him of his childhood and early adulthood when he was abused and struggled with self-harm. Not to mention the fact that she was just had a baby and she was nine. It brought back painful memories, even though he was already sixteen when he was forced to have a baby. His ended up dying after a month from the abuse of his "boyfriend" at the time. Grian hoped that Penny's would survive. It was devastating to him back then, and he imagined it would be to her now.

They got to the hospital soon after Penny's IV had finished (traffic was awful that day), and Mumbo and Scar, along with Cub, had already been there, waiting for them. Penny and her baby were taken away and Grian, Scar, Mumbo, and Cub were told to just wait in the lobby for a while.

"Is that your kid?" Cub asked.

Grian shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself. "No, we found her in an alley down the street from the library," he answered. "The poor girl had to have been experimented on like I was in OctaTown."

Scar looked away, but didn't say anything.

"Does she have parents?" Cub asked. "Maybe she was kidnapped."

Mumbo sighed. "We haven't gotten any missing child reports at the agency recently, so I doubt it."

"What if it wasn't recent?"

"And what are the odds her parents are the ones doing this to her?" Mumbo retorted.

"Then I'll fucking kill the both of them," Grian practically growled, his feathers bristling.

Mumbo sighed again. "Love, you need to relax," he said calmly, leading him to sit down.

Grian looked at him with angry tears in his eyes. "Anyone that forces a nine-year-old girl that probably hasn't even gotten her first period yet to have a baby by herself in an alleyway deserves to die," he said, though he struggled to speak loud enough through his tears.

Cub and Scar both froze. "What?" they both said in unison.

"Babe, you can't make death threats in a hospital," Mumbo said lightly with a gentle smile. He tucked some of Grian's hair behind his ear and kissed his cheek.

"You don't get it," Grian sobbed, then rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. "She needs to be safe and she's not, and if the hospital calls her parents and it turns out that they're the ones hurting her, it will only get worse for her and it can't get worse. I need to protect her."

Scar's eyes widened and his mouth formed an 'o' shape. "Mumbo," he whispered, just loud enough to get the other man's attention and just quiet enough for Grian not to hear. He waved Mumbo over and the latter rolled his eyes before standing up and moving closer. "Is the girl you found avian  by any chance?" the warlock asked quietly while Cub took Mumbo's place in comforting Grian.

Mumbo blinked, flabbergasted. "How did you know that?"

"Because I think Grian's, uh... female, for lack of a better word, avian instincts are kicking in," Scar said. "I don't want to say female, but technically..." He shook his head. "Biologically male avians don't get these feelings, but I think Grian's gotten overly attached to the girl already. And, probably because he sees himself and his own past in her, he feels the need to protect her and provide for her so she's safe and happy. Parental instincts."

Mumbo looked over ar Grian, who was still sobbing. "That's... you know, that makes a lot more sense now," he said. "Does it work the other way? Like, does an immature avian get attached to adults if they're deprived of parental care?"

"Basically," Scar said. "Especially if they were never given the chance to imprint. But it's dangerous because it can cause separation anxiety in both of them if she imprints on him. And knowing Grian, it'll be devastating to his mental health."

Mumbo sighed. "Well, that's fantastic," he grumbled sarcastically. "He's been hypersensitive emotionally and physically, he's been having more trouble socially, we just had a pregnancy scare, and now this..."

Scar grimaced. "Wow, a lot has happened since I took my vacation," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, your thirteen-week vacation that ended up in a ten-week medical leave, which turned into the last two weeks of you deciding to not show up," Mumbo said. "You still have to come back to work, you know, or I might have to fire you."

Scar rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't worry about that," he said, waving a dismissive hand at him. "I'll be back in a few days." He ignored the way Mumbo murmured to himself. "I can give Grian a weak sedative to let him calm down some so he won't feel as awful," the brunette offered. "It'll help with his instincts, too. I don't doubt it's physically tolling to feel like that."

"Go ahead," Mumbo said. "Whatever will help him feel better. I hate to see him so miserable."

"You and me both," Scar agreed. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small vial with a smokey, grey liquid inside.

Mumbo watched as the warlock paused to examine it for a moment then put it back in his bag to dig around some more. "Hey, Scar," he said.

"Yeah?"

"How do you know all this stuff about avians?"

Scar looked up for a second before going back to looking through his bag. "I've known Grian since he moved to Central from Midnight Alley," he answered. "Granted, I probably looked like a creep back then because I'm, like, nine years older than him, y'know?" He laughed, and Mumbo smiled fondly. "But I figured I'd do some research to help him out since his home life sucked Ender ass, and now I know practically everything about the average avian." He stopped talking for a moment and pulled out another flask. "But it's still hard to tell about certain things because avians are a very diverse race. They can be one extreme or the other. They can be absolutely massive, like hawks, with the most muscles you'll ever see on a wing and terrifying, or tiny, like Grian, with colourful feathers and terrified of all kinds of predators."

Mumbo nodded. "Grian is quite a bit of a handful to deal with," he said, then smiled lovingly at his spouse, who was much calmer now talking to Cub, "but, Void, do I love that adorable little handful." He watched as Grian giggled and wiped at one of his wet, puffy eyes with the palm of his hand.

Scar elbowed him with a sneaky grin on his face. "I saw that, Mumbo Jumbo," he drawled out, snickering childishly.

It wasn't long before they were allowed to see Penny again. She had a damaged hip, several fractures on her skull that the doctor said should've killed her at this age, and contusions all over her body.

"What about the baby?" Grian asked the doctor from just outside of the room, watching cautiously as Scar showed Penny some of his cheesy magic tricks.

The doctor sighed, and Grian automatically didn't like where this was going. "It'll be a miracle if the baby survives," he said. "She's in... probably the worst condition a newborn could be."

"What if Scar heals her?"

"As long as it's not a potion, he can try."

Grian nodded, his shoulders relaxing in relief. "Okay, thank you." He walked into Penny's room after the doctor left, and the little girl's face lit up like fireworks when she saw him. "Hey, Penny."

Scar looked up, then at Mumbo, and returned his attention to Grian. "How's the baby?" he asked.

Grian tensed when Penny's ear tuft twitched, knowing she was listening close. "Uh, the doctor said she's in, um..." He paused, staring at Penny. "She's in pretty bad condition right now- But!" He was quick to continue, too afraid of upsetting the girl. "The doctor said you can try to heal her as much as possible."

"She's okay?"

Grian looked at her again after stealing another glance at Scar, who looked just as worried as he felt. "Yeah, she'll be just fine," the parrot hybrid said. "Scar's going to make her all better, alright?"

Penny nodded, smiling brightly.

Scar sighed and stood up. "Guess I have a job to do now," he said with a chuckle before waving and leaving the room.

Grian waved back. "So, Penny," he said, "how are you feeling?"

Penny tilted her head in confusion. "How are you feeling?" she echoed, like Grian had spoken in another language. "Feel..." She trailed off and her gaze fell to the floor, but her eyes didn't look sad or anything. She just looked confused.

"Does... Did nobody ever ask you that?" She didn't answer, so Grian reached for her hand to get her attention. "Penny?"

"Feel," she whispered again, looking Grian dead in the eyes. "Feel... what?"

Grian blinked and stared back at her. "Penny, how do you feel?" he asked.

"How do you feel?" she echoed back.

"No, you."

"Penny feels?" The feathers on her wings ruffled. "How do Penny feel?"

Grian shook his head. "No," he said. "Say I."

"Eyeball?" She pointed to her eye.

"You... You don't even know what I means?"

Penny lowered her hand and her eyes started to water. "Sorry," she said, looking down at her lap.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Grian assured her. "It's not your fault. Want to change the subject?"

Penny hesitated before nodding.

"Okay. Do you know who did all of this to you?" Penny froze, then started fidgeting. "Penny, are you-"

"Daddy," she said finally.

Grian had to keep himself from fluffing up his feathers, anger bubbling in his chest. "He hit you, didn't he?" She nodded, and he paused for a moment for speaking again. "Did he touch you in places you didn't like?" he asked cautiously, chewing on the inside of his cheek when she nodded. "Where?"

"Here." She pointed to her crotch, then to her chest. "And here." She looked up at Grian through her bangs then looked away again. "...It hurt."

"I bet it did," Grian sighed. He reached over to tuck a loose strand of hair out of her face. "You didn't deserve that, Penny. Any of it. He didn't have the right to lay a single finger on you, and I promise that I will make sure he's punished for doing that to you." He felt his eyes stinging with tears, his vision half blurred. She was starting to cry again, too. "And it is not your fault, okay? Nothing you've ever done is deserving of being hurt like that. Nobody should ever touch you like that again unless if you say it's okay. And if someone does, you tell the police. Got it?"

Penny was sobbing for the umpteenth time that afternoon, though this time she was hugging Grian tightly. She was babbling incoherently and practically screaming out every cry, like she wasn't able to cry about this since it happened. Like Grian had broken a hole at the bottom of a dam and now a hundred thousand tons of weight from probably years of abuse was crashing down onto this poor, nine-year-old, little girl who didn't even know what the word I meant.

And Grian hated it. He hated how it reminded him of everything he had to go through in his childhood, and he hated even more the fact that he had to face the reality of knowing that it happened to other little kids, too.

"Um, excuse me?" Grian looked over at the door to see a nervous doctor standing nervously just outside. "Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt," he apologized, "but are you the one who brought, uh... Penny here?"

Grian nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Is there a problem?" He glanced back at Penny before mouthing, "Is it the baby?"

The young looking doctor shook his head. "No, no, it's just that, uh..." He looked down at the clipboard in his hands. "'Penny's name isn't actually Penny," he said. "Her name is Jane Alvarez."

"But why not call her Penny?" Grian asked. "If she wants to be called Penny, then-"

"But it's not her government name," the doctor said slowly, grimacing at his own words. "We need to refer to her by her government name for legal reasons, so we can't really call her Penny."

Grian sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever," he grumbled. "Is there anything else or was that it?"

"Ah, no- Actually," he said, "we called her father to ask him to come check on her, but he terminated rights over her as soon as he found out about her baby. We have to put her and her baby into foster care, but I was wondering if you were interested in adopting them instead. The foster care system isn't a great place for a little girl with trauma and her newborn baby."

Grian's eyes widened and he looked down at Penny, who was breathing heavily with her head in his lap. "I'll have to talk it over with my husband," he said, "so if you can wait until we've made a decision..."

"Of course." The doctor nodded. "I'll leave you two alone now. You should be getting an update on the baby shortly."

"Thank you."

The doctor gave a thumbs up before walking away.

Grian looked down at Penny, who was lying calmly in his lap as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I think Penny suits you much better," he said, smiling when she started to purr. "Is there a reason why you like the name Penny?"

"Pretty name," she said sleepily. "Mama's name."

"Ohhh, you like it because it's your mother's name?" He chuckled when she nodded. "That's cute. I like that name for you."

"Nobody yells at Penny," she murmured, and Grian's smile dropped. "Everybody always yells at Jane. 'Jane, why can't you do anything right?' 'Jane is such a disappointment.' 'You're so annoying, Jane.'" She sniffled. "Everybody hates Jane."

"But if you're Penny," Grian said, "then nobody hates you..."

Penny looked up at him. "Do people hate you?"

Grian sighed. "Probably," he said with a small laugh. "A good friend of mine hated me for four years. His boyfriend hated me, too."

"Does the human hate you?"

Grian tilted his head. "The... human?"

"Called the ambulance."

Grian laughed, shaking his head as his fingers continued to comb through her hair. "No, no," he said. "Mumbo loves me very much. But he's not human as far as I know. I'm not sure what he is, but he isn't human."

Penny sat upright and shifted so she was facing him directly. "You don't have to lie," she said, her serious tone a stark contrast to how timid she sounded before. "He hates you."

"Mumbo doesn't hate me," Grian repeated, frustrated now. He was honestly offended that Penny would think that, not even knowing them that well. "He loves me. He wouldn't have married me otherwise." ...Right? Grian thought about it for a moment. Then again, I guess he really does enjoy the sex, he recalled. But he wouldn't marry me just for that, would he?

"But he beats you, doesn't he?" Penny sounded unsure now.

Grian shook his head frantically. "No! He would never!" he shouted.

Penny winced. "But... but he looks like a human..."

"What does being a human have anything to do with-" Grian stopped. "Oh. Oh..." He frowned and reached for Penny's hand. "Humans abused you, didn't they?" She looked away and nodded. "I promise that Mumbo isn't like that. He's the best guy I've ever met. Well, second best. Nobody's above my best friend, Scar. But he's a wonderful man and he would never dream of laying a hand on me." Outside of bed, that is... Kinky motherfucker. "It's why he's my husband."

Penny nodded again.

"And, listen," Grian continued, cupping a hand around her cheek to tilt her head toward him. "Real Boatem doesn't discriminate. Hybrid or human or whatever ethnicity or even your sexuality, it doesn't matter. You won't be treated like that outside of where you've been living. I... can't really say much about the trans community, but..." He sighed. "It's a work in progress. Name changes are at least legal and reasonably priced now. But that probably doesn't mean all that much to you since you won't be the one paying for your name change." He smiled at her and she smiled slightly back.

"Change your name?" She tilted her head, pointing to herself as if she really meant 'my' instead of 'your.'

Grian frowned again. "Say 'my,'" he said, and she froze for a second.

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Not allowed."

Grian's frown turned into a scowl, which probably scared Penny but he was too angry not to make a face. "You don't have to listen to those rules anymore," he said. "You won't be going back there. You can say 'my.'"

Penny shifted in her spot on the bed. "Change... my name?"

Grian couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. "Yeah. And I'll talk to Mumbo about adopting you, too," he said. He was probably getting loud now, excitement taking over. He had to keep himself from shaking his hands about so he wouldn't make Penny nervous again. "I'm sure he'll agree. He's so sw-" He cut himself off with a quiet tweet. "-sweet, and you'll warm up to him, I promise."

"Why did you tweet?" Penny asked.

"Oh, that, uh, was probably a tic," he answered with a laugh. "I get those sometimes, mostly when I'm excited or nervous. It's a new thing for me."

"What does that mean?"

Grian hummed. "Um... It's like... I feel really jittery inside my bones and then I do something random and the feeling goes away?" He shrugged. "I'm not great at explaining it. I can't really control it. Whenever I try to suppress them, they always end up happening anyway."

Penny gasped. "You do that, too?!" She smiled the brightest Grian had seen since he found her, and she practically squealed. "Do that- Wait, uh... My do that all the time!"

"'My'...?" Grian's eyes widened as he realized what she meant. "Oh!" Awww!! "Actually, you'd say 'I' instead of 'my,' but good job, Penny! I'm proud of you."

"Proud of... I?"

Grian snickered. "We'll work on it."

"Hey, love." Grian turned to see Mumbo standing in the doorway again. "Sorry I left without saying anything, I had to use the restroom."

"That's fine," Grian said with a bright smile. "Guess what? Penny gets tics, too."

Mumbo smiled softly at her. "Really, now?" He sat down on the bed next to Grian, and Penny shifted slightly away from him, but not so much that it was too noticable. "I saw Scar on the way back here," he said, changing the subject, "and he said the baby's going to be just fine."

Grian and Penny both sighed out of relief, then giggled at each other.

"Mumbo," Grian said, leaning into his husband and batting his eyelashes innocently up at him. "Can we adopt Penny and her baby?"

Mumbo blinked. "Come again?"

"The hospital wants to send them into foster care," Grian explained, "but it's really awful there, so-"

"No."

Grian moved back a little bit, honestly surprised by Mumbo's answer. "What?"

Mumbo sighed. "Can we talk in the hall?"

"Yeah...?"

Mumbo stood up without saying anything and took Grian by the hand, pulling him out of the room.

"Why can't we adopt them?" Grian demanded angrily. Well, he wasn't really angry. He was just disappointed and surprised that Mumbo said no. He was so sure he would agree.

"Grian, listen," Mumbo began softly, rubbing Grian's arms gently as he spoke. "I would love to adopt Penny and give her a healthy and safe home to live in, but it won't exactly be healthy if she imprints on you."

Grian blinked. "What the hell is that?"

"You don't know what imprinting is?"

"No?"

Mumbo tilted his head. "You know, like when animal hybrids emotionally attach to their parents and associate with their species for the rest of their lives?" he said, to which Grian shook his head. "You're kidding." Grian shook his head again. "Dude, I've learned about imprinting and actually imprinted, and I'm not even an animal hybrid!"

Grian frowned. "Now you're just making me feel bad," he pouted, and Mumbo sighed again.

"That's not my intention," he promised. "I just... If Penny imprints on you now after possibly never being able to imprint on her actual birth parents, then it'll cause some serious problems for both of you."

"Like what?"

"Like separation anxiety." Mumbo felt a pang in his chest when Grian's frown turned from frustrated to sad. "And you've been doing so well lately. I don't want you feeling shitty after working so hard just to feel decently okay, and now being the happiest you've ever been in your life."

Grian looked down. He knew what separation anxiety felt like, and it was horrible. "What about her? She could end up in a worse place-"

"What about you, Grian?" Mumbo tucked his hair behind his ear. "You've been so healthy lately and it makes me so happy to see you feeling like yourself again... I just don't want to risk an entire relapse if we do decide to adopt her. You are so much more important to me than a little girl we found in an alleyway."

A warm tear fell down Grian's cheek. "But she needs me," he whispered.

Mumbo could've sworn he felt his heart break hearing those words come out of Grian's mouth. "I'm sure there will be someone out there that will take good care of her," he said.

"What if there's not? What if she ends up somewhere worse because of you?"

"Because of me?" Mubi practically shouted suddenly. "How would that be my fault?!"

Grian huffed. "Because you won't let me protect her," he shouted back. "You're preventing me from being there for her and providing for her. You're dangerous!"

They both froze for a moment, both of them feeling awkward and upset by Grian's exclamation.

"I'm sorry," Grian said quietly. "I- I don't know why I said that... I didn't mean it, I promise-"

"It's fine," Mumbo murmured, turning away. "It was just your instincts talking."

Grian shifted uncomfortably. "You're not dangerous, Mumbo."

The taller man sighed. "I'm just going to go get some fresh air," he said. "I need a break."

Grian nodded. "Right." He wrung his hands as Mumbo walked away from him. He didn't know why, but suddenly he was questioning their entire relationship. He really didn't have a reason to; they were happy and they made each other happy. That was obvious. But Mumbo didn't just need a break.

He needed a break from Grian.

"Oh, Void," he mumbled to himself, feeling his hands shaking. "Please don't have a panic attack-"

"G!"

Grian jumped when he heard Scar's voice, but he couldn't place where it came from. The way he was looking around, he probably looked like an idiot.

"Hey, look at me."

Grian felt hands on his shoulders and looked up to see Scar's worried face staring down at him. He tried saying Scar's name, but it came out incoherently as did everything he tried to say after.

"Shh, don't talk," Scar whispered, pulling Grian into a hug. "Did you and Mumbo just fight?"

Grian's eyes widened. We fought... That means he hates me. Tears sprung to his eyes and he felt like melting into the floor and evaporating, never to be seen again. Penny was right, he hates me.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." The brunette's voice was probably the only thing keeping Grian from having a meltdown. "Relax. You don't have to speak if you can't."

Was he trying to speak? He couldn't even hear himself.

After a few minutes, Grian finally calmed down enough to actually be able to form words. But he still stuck to mostly using sign language.

"I wanted to adopt Penny," he signed. "Mumbo said no."

Scar blinked. "That's what caused this?" He frowned when Grian hesitated to nod. "What else happened?"

Grian sighed. "Penny said M-Mumbo hates me because she thought he was a human," he struggled to say, then decided just to use sign. "I panicked."

"Oh." Scar reached over to hug Grian again. "Mumbo doesn't hate you, I promise. You two just need a break from each other. There's nothin' wrong with that."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

Grian ended up falling asleep with Penny, having decided to stay with her until they were sure the baby would survive. He wanted to be there to comfort her if need be, but he also wanted to try and convince Mumbo to let him adopt them.

"Cub and I can take her if you can't," Scar offered to Mumbo out in the waiting room, Cub nodding beside him. "Then you can adopt the baby, and Penny will still see her regularly."

Mumbo sighed. "I just feel like having Penny near Grian is a bad idea," he said. "I know how bad Grian gets when he develops separation anxiety. It escalates way too quickly to be worked on reasonably. When we first started dating, he would claw at the door while I was using the bathroom because he couldn't stand not seeing me."

"It's not guaranteed that will happen," Scar said lightly. "Penny may have imprinted already-"

"But what about Grian?" Mumbo interrupted. "He hasn't imprinted-"

"He'll be fine, Mumbo. There's no way he couldn't have imprinted on someone in his entire twenty-nine years being alive."

"But he doesn't know anything about it."

Scar smiled softly. "He can't imprint on a nine-year-old anyway," he said.

Mumbo sighed. "But Penny can imprint on him," he said.

Cub pursed his lips and looked away, confusing Mumbo.

"Cub?"

The vex in question jumped. "Oh- Yeah?"

"Why'd you-" Mumbo paused, studying Cub's awkward facial expression. "She already did, didn't she?"

Cub glanced away for a second. "Well... it looks like she's in the middle of doing so right now." He pointed in the room, where Penny was nuzzling against a sleeping Grian.

Mumbo stared for a moment before groaning. "I give up."

"Maybe," Cub said, "you two can adopt Penny, and we can take care of the baby. I know you and Grian are trying to have one of your own, so it'll probably be hard to juggle a newborn baby and a pregnancy." He shrugged. "But you guys do whatever you want."

"I don't know what I want."

Scar hummed. "I feel like separating Penny and Grian now will do more harm than good," he said.

"I hate that you're right," Mumbo grumbled, Scar beaming at him.

Cub frowned and sat upright. "Uh, guys-"

"So you admit I'm right?" Scar teased Mumbo, clearing not hearing his fiance.

Mumbo rolled his eyes. "I admit nothing."

"Guys," Cub tried again.

"You totally just did, though," Scar continued.

Mumbo opened his mouth but Cub shouted at them before he had a chance to speak.

"Grian is throwing up, you idiots!"

Mumbo immediately stood up and rushed into the room. Penny had started crying as soon as Mumbo came in, but he wasn't really worried about her at the moment when Grian was huddled over a trash bin, panting.

"Hey, babe," Mumbo said softly, rubbing Grian's back.

Grian groaned and leaned into his husband. "Stomach hurts," he mumbled, just before throwing up again.

Mumbo turned to look over his shoulder and ask for either Cub or Scar to get a doctor, but they already had.

"Oh, dear, what's happened over here?" a familiar voice said. Grian glanced over to see it was Zedaph. He looked a little different. His hair was brown instead of blonde and his horns were a little bigger.

"I have no idea," Mumbo said. "He's been fine all day. He was just sleeping and now he's throwing up."

Zed hummed. "Is there a chance he's pregnant?" he asked.

Mumbo and Grian looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Is it?" Grian asked.

"There's certainly a chance," Mumbo answered, then turned to Zed again. "He's been off of his birth control and testosterone for almost a year now, and we have been trying for a baby."

Zedaph smiled. "Then we'll go ahead and get you tested," he said.

Grian was, in fact, pregnant, and he had been for at least three months.

"It's perfectly normal to feel nauseous like this," Zed explained. "It could be for a number of reasons, like abrupt changes in your hormone levels and your body adjusting to the changes, but there's nothing for you to worry about concerning that." He took a deep breath. "However, you do have a higher chance of a miscarriage because you were taking regular injections of testosterone. Not to mention the large amount of it."

Grian nodded, squeezing Mumbo's hand. He looked over at Mumbo and smiled, tears in his eyes. He didn't have to say anything before Mumbo was kissing him.

They had been trying over a year to have a baby, but Grian had lost each one after just a few weeks. The longest he had one was a little over two months. But now it's been three months and the baby was still alive and well.

His rainbow baby.

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"We can adopt Penny," Mumbo said as he and Grian were in the back of a taxi on their way to hospital. It had been a few days since they found Penny, and Mumbo spent them thinking hard about possibly adopting her. "If you still want to."

Grian stared up at him and sobbed hard. "Oh, Mumbo-" He wrapped his arms around his husband, squeezing him tightly as he wailed into his chest.

Mumbo huffed a light chuckle, rubbing the base of Grian's wing. "Babe, why are you crying?" he asked, to which Grian murmured nonsense into his torso. "Oh, honey."

"What- What made yiu change your mind?" Grian asked, lifting his head after a few straight minutes of crying.

Mumbo shrugged. "I've taken a liking to her, I suppose," he said. "But Scar and Cub are going to adopt the baby. We all agreed that it'll be too much for you if you have to take care of Penny, her baby, and then our own."

Grian nodded. "But they'll visit a lot, right? So Penny doesn't have to be without her too much?"

"Of course."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, Grian enjoying how Mumbo rubbed his wing. "I think I know what I want to name the baby," he said suddenly.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah... If it's a girl, I want to name her Willow," Grian said thoughtfully. "But if it's a boy, I want to name him Michael or Wilbur. I really like both of them, but if we name him Michael, then we can call him Mickie as a nickname."

Mumbo nodded. "I do like Michael," he said, moving his hand to scratch under Grian's chin.

Grian hummed at the gesture. "Is it because it starts with an M?"

"Yeah."

"I figured as much."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"What abouttttt... Cara!"

Cub quirked a brow in Scar's direction. "Does she look like a Cara to you?" he asked.

Scar pouted. "Well, you're not contributing much, Mr. Frowny Pants," he grumbled. He looked down at the baby sleeping soundly in her little NICU incubator. "She's so cute."

Cub smiled down at the baby. "She really is, isn't she?" He paused for a moment, then gasped. "What about Olive?"

Scar's face lit up. "That's so cute!" He clapped his hands together.

"And she's a dove hybrid, right? Which is, like, a symbol of peace," Cub said, "and so is an olive branch! So it's perfect!"

"I'm engaged to the smartest man alive," Scar sighed contently, to which Cub rolled his eyes, smiling.

"And I'm egnaged to the sweetest idiot alive."

"Hey!"

Cub cackled as Scar pouted.

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

One Year Later . . .

Grian groaned when Mickie begin to cry again, pulling his pillow over his face. "Mumbo-"

"I've got it, love," Mumbo said, and Grian felt him shift around in the bed beside him. "Just try to sleep, okay?"

Grian sighed and snuggled back into his weight blanket. "'Kay."

Mumbo got up and walked quietly out of their bedroom and slowly down the hall to Mickie's room. He was still getting used to their new house, and being half asleep didn't help.

"Penny?"

The little girl was standing over Mickie's crib when Mumbo walked in. She looked up at her father. "He won't shut up," she whispered.

Mumbo snorted. "Did you try singing to him?" he asked, then reached to pick up his crying son. "He loves it when you do."

Penny scoffed. "Mick loves it when Papa sings to him," she said, making Mumbo laugh as he craddled the baby. "Besides, my- er, no... uh- I sound like a pa- pa-teero- ...dac- dac-ital."

"You do not," Mumbo said, trying not to laugh at her struggle to pronounce pterodactyl. "And thank you for saying I."

Penny looked away to hide the shy smile growing on her lips.

"I'm very proud of you for remembering," Mumbo continued, his own smile forming when hers grew even more. He sighed contently and sat down in a rocking chair, suddenly realising that Mickie had quieted down finally. "Why are you up, anyway? Is just because of Mickie?"

Penny paused, then shook her head. "Had a night- I had a nightmare," she corrected herself. She'd gotten a lot better at that recently, especially because Grian had been on her a lot about it. He said it was because he didn't want her growing up without a proper sense of who she was and how important she was.

"What was it about?" Mumbo asked, then hushed Michael again when he started to cry.

She started to fidget with the hem of her tanktop. "You," she whispered.

Mumbo felt his stomach churn. She had frequent nightmares of Mumbo doing awful things to her, even though he still had yet to even hug her after an entire year. "Do I want to know?" he tried to joke as she wiped at her eye. "Listen, honey, I would never hurt you. I will never lay a hand on you."

"...Can I go to bed?"

"Of course. I wish you sweet dreams," Mumbo said in hopes it would make her smile. It didn't, but there wasn't much Mumbo could really do about that other than sigh and hope she'd be okay. He looked down at Mickie, who was sound asleep in his arms. "Now, why can't you sleep so peacefully when we want you to?"

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

WOOOO CCEP BOOK 2 YEAHHHHHH I'M SO HAPPY AAAAAA

Also, Scar learned sign just for Grian :)

I really hope you guys like this. For me, it feels a little bit all over the place, but whatever lol

I can't wait to share the actual book with you guys, though!! I'm super excited for it, and I hope you guys are too! :DD /gen/pos

Anyway, thank you for reading! Have a wonderful rest of your day or evening wherever you are, love y'all <333 /gen/p