((Asexuals need more appreciation. This goes out to all my special asexual homies, love y'all. For future reference also so people don't get confused in August or something, this takes place in June - Happy Pride Month everyone!))

---

"Movie night!"

Xisuma cheers, throwing his hands in the air, popcorn bags in his grasp as a few pieces fly out from his sudden gesture. Impulse snatches a bag from his hold and takes a seat inside of one of the many plush bean bags on the ground, presumably next to Xb and Wels.

"Can we please hurry it up?" Bdubs ushers, anxiety tingling in his tone. "I don't want the movie to end during the night, and if night comes, then I'm sleeping through it." He huffs, crossing his arms across his chest, then adds a little shake to his head. The loose ends of the red bandana tied around his forehead dance with his shaking head.

"Come on, you big baby," Doc says and elbows him lightly. "Just watch the movie with us. You'll get distracted anyways." He adds with a small smile. Tango, with a can of Cola in his hand, jumps on Bdubs's lap, making the man under him yelp before Tango gets comfortable.

"Put the horror movie in, Xisuma!" Ren demands, and Bdubs gasps dramatically.

"Nope, no, no, no!" Bdubs squirms in his seat, but with Tango sprawled across his legs, he couldn't stand up or wiggle his way out. Tango wraps his arm around Bdubs's neck to make him stop, and gives a shit eaten grin towards Bdubs's direction.

"Relax. It's not that bad, if anything, the trailer was trash. Put it in, Xisuma!" Doc encourages, pulling a trembling Bdubs to a tight side hug. Xisuma glances among the miniature sea of Hermits, meeting with most of their gazes.

Iskall, Stress, and Ren sitting at the back table with blankets enveloping their bodies. Mumbo and Grian sitting on the couch to the right side, being rather close to one another, but Xisuma decided not to question. Scar, Etho, and Jevin are laying across a white stained futon to the right, and all others are spread across the ground, either sitting on bean bags or pillows.

Xisuma inserts the Blu-Ray disc into the comparator that is sticking out, then gently pushes it inside. With the small, obsidian colored remote in hand, he quickly walks to the group on the ground and wedges inside a gap that Keralis and Cub made for him to squeeze through. The screen for the movie starts up, and Xisuma easily presses the play button, letting the movie begin.

---

An hour of the movie pushes by, almost marking the halfway point of the film. Some Hermits are bored out of their minds, others commenting on how poor the quality is. Except there's one Hermit who is shuffling uncomfortably on the couch. With all horror movies it seems, there's always the unnecessary sex scene that comes to play, making some of the Hermits groan with disapproval or ignore it until the next exciting scare happens.

All but one.

As Mumbo clenches on one of the arms of the couch, a dot of sweat trickling down the side of his face, he can't seem to move from his position. He's hoping Xisuma would skip ahead, or rather anyone with the remote, but no one seems to care. And Mumbo certainly didn't want to say anything that would give away that he is troubled with the scene due to his awkward social skills and skyrocketing anxiety.

His hands are visibly trembling as they clutch on the material of the couch, and Grian seems to finally catch on. He twists his head to see Mumbo's reaction, wondering if Mumbo felt the same boredom with the scene, but the sight startled him. He wasn't sure why Mumbo was shaking, sweating, fumbling around with broken strings on his clothes, and for a moment, he thought he was imagining it.

But he wasn't, as Mumbo continues to look frightened, like a deer perfectly trapped in blinding headlights.

Before the actress on the screen can unclip her black, silky bra, Mumbo suddenly stands up and dashes out of the room. Iskall and Ren get up from their seats when noticing Mumbo running out, and Grian quickly follows with their actions. He silently ushers them to sit down and indicates to them to continue with the movie since he will be the one to check on the perturbed raven-haired Hermit.

Not wanting to bring an argument or disagreement to the evening, the two sink back to their seats and glue their eyes back to the screen. Grian stumbles around, trying his hardest to avoid tripping on a Hermit sitting on the ground, then exits out the door. A few eyebrows got raised in the act, but no one seemed to stop him when noticing the worried expression illustrated across his face.

He makes sure to shut the wooden door fully behind him, hoping no one would hear him call for Mumbo's name, and certainly hoping Mumbo couldn't hear the movie from inside. His eyes scan across the dazzling twilight nightfall, stars littering across the purple and black sculpted sky. Quickly, his attention snaps to a figure sitting on the ground by a close-by lake, torches scattering across to prevent mobs from spawning.

Grian's footsteps gave away his presence as he walked until he is beside Mumbo. He looks down at Mumbo before sitting on the grass, making sure to be quiet but letting Mumbo know he is here. Nothing comes from Grian's mouth, not a single word or peep, as he discerns Mumbo's current condition. His knees are tucked tightly as he hugs them firmly and his face is stuffed inside of his folded arms.

Crickets.

Leaves shuffling under the breeze.

Flickering flames from blazing ends of torches.

Those elements being the only noise occupying the silence, but the one that stood out to Grian the most, the one that sounds like a scream in a dead room, is the moderate sniveling and barely audible sobbing. The honey-haired Hermit's heart wrenches in pain, finding it almost unbearable to hear Mumbo trying to hush his crying.

"Mumbo, are you okay?" Grian swiftly asks. As if it wasn't already obvious enough, Grian found the vowels tumbling from his tongue's grasp anyways. He found it very difficult to not feel guilty when Mumbo lifts his head to stare at him. Under the limited light from the torches, Grian can make out the shimmering glint from tear marks, and the excessive amount of crimson spread out across Mumbo's cheek and nose.

"Go away, I don't want to make you worried or ruin your night with the others," Mumbo answers with a small voice quiver. As another tear falls loose, more only seem to break free in unbreakable streams, obligating Grian to reach forward. The back of his fingers press on Mumbo's warm cheeks and he caresses them, erasing some of the tears and their wet marks.

"I'm worried about you," Grian begins. "I'm going to be worried during the rest of the night. You don't have to tell me what's wrong, I just want you to be alright. So-" Grian draws away. Pulling a small grin on his cheeks, he gets into a pleasant seating position. "I won't move from this spot until you are feeling better."

"B-But Grian-" Mumbo attempts to protest, but Grian immediately presses his fingers to Mumbo's quivering lips.

"No buts. It's my choice and you will not change it. I cannot see my friend like this, no way." The word 'friend' left a sharp reminder of their platonic relationship. Grian desperately wishes they were closer, so he can hold Mumbo's hand, pepper his face with sweet kisses, and constantly inform how perfect Mumbo is. Not to mention, brag about how stunning he is to the other Hermits.

And so the two sat for a while as the night continued to push forward. Grian kept sending Mumbo reassuring smiles as if to keep prompting that he is not going to leave. The heartening acts were enough to wash some of Mumbo's doubts. The smaller even made a risky move to interlace their fingers together when Mumbo set his hand on the green blades of grass.

"Grian..." Mumbo sighs. His eyes glimpse down at their fingers, and for a brief minute, Grian feared Mumbo would reject the affectionate gesture. "How wide is your, er- I'm not sure how to put it in words. How much knowledge do you have about the LGBT community, terms, and such?"

More surprised than what he originally thought, Grian tilts his head to the side in puzzlement. "I know quite a bit, at least, I think I know. I feel like I have about average or so knowledge, why?" questions Grian. One of Mumbo's index fingers twitches as if he wanted to twiddle his hand with something to ease his trepidation, and Grian felt it on his hand when Mumbo's fingers slightly moved.

"Would you be disgusted if I said I'm an asexual? That anything sexual makes me feel invalid and," his fingers tighten around Grian's. "Sometimes I hate myself for it. So many people want sexual intercourse nowadays, it's hard finding someone that would prefer my personality rather than my body." Grian listens as words seem to clutter and choke in Mumbo's throat.

With a small pause in the atmosphere and their conversation, letting the area around them get consumed in silence again, Grian takes a second to collect his thoughts. "Why would I be disgusted?" He asks back. "You're amazing either way. I understand why that sort of thing isn't an ordeal. Not everyone has to like it, some find it gross even."

"I know, but," Mumbo releases a ponderous sigh. "Some people would try to pressure me, some find it weird since they claim 'It's human nature'. Creepy people want to try and convince me that it's good, but I can't see myself doing anything like that. It's unappealing for me."

Grian lifts his hand and kindly turns Mumbo's head so he can face him. "And there's nothing wrong with that." The smaller's reassuring smile flourishes, the corners of his lips slightly hoisting up to crease his cheeks. "You're perfect just the way you are. Not everyone has to like that sort of thing, so many people are... you know, kind of gross but I appreciate every second you are here."

Suddenly, he pulls Mumbo into a big, solid embrace, and nuzzles his nose to the curve of Mumbo's neck. His eyelids flutter shut, his smile still fixed on his face, the jungle forest mixed with Mumbo's scent flooding his nostrils. It supplied him with serenity.

"We can go back in whenever you want, it doesn't matter to me," Grian mutters loud enough for Mumbo to hear, but his voice holds idling repose. Everything is still except for the torches and bugs that drift around the winking flames. All the rest of nature seems to take a break from the intensity of the weather. The endless stars. The steady leaves. The swaying tall grass. And the leisurely tides in the water, they all seem to deliberately move in slow motion.

"I'm more comfortable being here with you rather than going back inside. We don't... have calm moments like these because we're always caught up in plans. Can we stay like this for a while?" Mumbo asks, and Grian notices the pinch of eager anxiety in his words. With the same tender smile on his face, Grian slightly nods his head, and his nose nudges against Mumbo's shoulder, making him giggle quietly.

"We can stay like this as long as you want. I don't mind. Happy Pride Month, Mumbo," Grian says, adding the last part in a whisper. Mumbo sighs again, but with more content than the previous one.

"Happy Pride Month," Mumbo replies calmly. And for the first time that night, he quirked a small smile on his lips.