Season eight of hermitcraft had finally begun, and Mumbo was more than excited to start. He was doing everything he could to try and spend more time with Grian, as they began to drift apart after the mayoral election last season.

So far, it was going incredible. He and Grian were spending almost all their time together, which made Mumbo's stomach feel like it was full of butterflies. He couldn't figure out why though, the Redstoner just missed hanging out with his best friend.

Mumbo uncorked a water bottle, beginning the early morning by taking care of his plants. Not many other hermits were up yet, but the Redstoner liked getting the simple tasks over with early.

"Mornin' Mumbo!" Grian called with a wave, running over to the taller Brit's miniature house. The Redstoner smiled as he set down the bottle, he was able to easily see the glint of excitement shining in Grian's eyes. Plus, the builder was never up this early, so something had to be going on.

"You look like you didn't sleep." Mumbo joked at the sight of Grian's messy hair, while the builder laughed sheepishly.

"Not really. I'm way too excited for my first day of practice with the pink parrots! I finally have a really good chance of winning, and I could even win an MCC crown!" He said, though Mumbo raised an eyebrow.

"Practice?" The Redstoner asked, he had never seen Grian practice for MCC. Sure, maybe once or twice the day before the event, but not this early.

"Yeah! Wilbur said he's gonna help me with PVP and dodgebolt practice." Grian explained with a smile of excitement, though that only further confused Mumbo.

"Wilbur? Who's that?"

"He's this really cool guy that I met! We're on the same team, he and I have been talking ever since we were told the teams!"

Mumbo's stomach twisted into knots, the fluttering feeling that he normally felt around Grian disappearing, as if the butterflies in his stomach had melted to sludge.

"Oh- erm- t-that's great, Grian." Mumbo said hesitantly, turning back to his plants while grabbing the water bottle, continuing to water his flowers. The builder frowned, placing a hand on the taller Brit's shoulder.

"Are you alright, Mumbo?" He asked, the mustached hermit quickly nodding his head without making eye contact.

"Y-yep! Never better! J-just tired!" He said hastily, giving a nervous laugh. Grian frowned.

"Really? Because it looks like you really aren't. You're overwatering your flowers." The builder pointed out, Mumbo noticing that the water he was pouring in the pot was overflowing.

"Right. S-sorry."

"We're gonna talk about whatever's wrong when I get back, okay? You look like your sick or something." Grian said softly, Mumbo giving a small smile as he nodded his head.

"Alright. I can't wait to see you." Mumbo said softly, his cheeks slightly flushing with color.

Grian looked at his communicator, then back at Mumbo. "Sorry, I gotta go, Techno doesn't want us to be late." He called while running off, the Redstoner waving goodbye as he watched Grian jump through a portal that would take him to the MCC practice server.

Mumbo's smile faded as Grian disappeared, the gross feeling of sludge returning to his stomach. He suddenly didn't feel as motivated to work, now that Grian wouldn't be around to make things more interesting.

He let out a quiet sigh, heading into the camper van that he had build. Mumbo opened the chest on a shelf above his bed, pulling out a few red poppies that he had planned on planting around his base.

The Redstoner wasn't good at making flower crowns, but he wanted to give one to Grian when he came back from practice. The builder had always wanted to win an MCC, but he had never gotten the chance.

Mumbo thought it was a good idea, he had watched Stress make flower crowns countless times, so it wouldn't be that hard.

Mumbo ran back outside, taking a seat on the grass. He was sitting in front of where the portal had been, right before Grian had left to go practice. The Redstoner didn't mind waiting, that gave him enough time to get everything right.

—

Grian stepped out of the portal, a backpack slung over his shoulder as he glanced around hermitcraft. Practice had only lasted a few hours, but time worked differently in other worlds and servers. One MCC could be a couple days on hermitcraft.

It was around midnight, the area was well lit with torches, so mobs weren't spawning. Grian looked around for any hermits that may have still been awake, the builder spotting Mumbo leaned up against a chest.

He was fast asleep, the Redstoner having a sloppily-made flower crown on his head. Grian peeked in at the chest that Mumbo was sleeping against, which was filled to the brim with colorful flowers and beautiful flower crowns. It looked like Mumbo had been making the crowns for a day or two.

"Oh you spoon, have you been waiting for me?" Grian whispered while taking a seat next to the Redstoner. He would have to go to another practice in the morning, which wouldn't be very long, but Grian still felt bad that he couldn't be spending much time with his best friend.

Grian leaned his head against Mumbo's shoulder, his eyelids slowly beginning to fall heavy, before he drifted off to sleep.

—

The next morning, Mumbo opened his eyes with a yawn, Grian standing in front of the portal to the MCC practice server.

"...you're going to another practice..?" Mumbo asked drowsily while rubbing his eyes, Grian nodding sadly.

"Sorry, I know I said we would talk and hang out, but Wilbur and the others really wanna win, and so do I."

Mumbo thought for a moment. "What if I come with you? For, you know, moral support?" He suggested, Grian smiling at the idea.

"I'd love that! Then we can hang out while I practice!"

Grian took the Redstoner's hand, Mumbo's face heating up as he was pulled through the portal, the two reappearing in the practice server. The builder waved at his teammates, pulling Mumbo along as the two ran over to the group of two.

"Hey guys!" Grian waved, Wilbur smiling as he spotted the builder.

"Hey Grian, I'm glad you made it. I thought we could do some one-on-one PVP practice today." Wilbur suggested to the builder, who nodded at the idea.

"That sounds good!" He smiled, letting go of Mumbo's hand as he followed Wilbur to the PVP arena.

Mumbo followed further behind the two, next to a crown-wearing pig, which he was really confused about. The Redstoner pulled out a flower crown that he had made, looking from the flowers in his hand to Grian.

"You like him?" The pig asked Mumbo as he noticed that the mustached hermit had been staring at the builder for quite some time. Mumbo's face turned bright red.

"I- w-what?! I don't—"

"You're terrible at this." The pig said in a monotone voice, Mumbo quickly looking to the ground as he slowly nodded.

"I-I know.." he admitted, Mumbo's head filled with all sorts of emotions and feelings that were all mixed together. He was nervous, jealous, scared, excited? Mumbo really couldn't tell how he felt.

"Listen, I don't know Grian very well, but he seems like a straightforward guy. Just talk to him, Mumbo."

The Brit looked up at the pig, shocked. "W-what? How do you know my name..?" Mumbo asked, the pig chuckling.

"Grian talks a lot about you, if he's in love with anyone, it's you."

Mumbo glanced towards the builder, who was laughing with Wilbur. The two locked eyes for a very brief moment, before they both looked away out of nervousness.

"S-so you think—?" He whispered to the pig, who nodded his head. The sludge and worry in Mumbo's stomach returned to butterflies, although he was ultimately terrified of speaking to Grian. What if he messed up? What if he said something stupid? What if—?

"Hey Wilbur, I think Solidarity is coming soon. We should probably go and wait for him."

"Alright Techno," Wilbur said with a grin, as if he knew exactly what Techno was planning. "You two should head to the PVP arena and wait for us."

Before the hermits could respond, Techno and Wilbur ran off without another word. Mumbo gripped tighter to the flower crown in his hands, turning to Grian.

"I-I- erm, made this for you." Mumbo said softly, placing the crown on Grian's head. The builder's face began to heat up.

"I saw that you made a ton of these crowns. Were you trying to make one for every hermit?"

Mumbo slowly shook his head. "N-no..I just..I wanted to make something special for you.."

"It's perfect." Grian said softly. "It's even better than an MCC crown. I love it."