Grian heard a knock on the door and was quick to open it, Ren's kind face staring down at him.

"Ren! It's been months!" Grian whisper cried, giving him a long hug. "Come in! Be quiet though. Cecily is having a nap"

"How is the little bird?"

"She looks exactly like me, and acts exactly like Mumbo, so absolutely perfect"

Ren chuckled quietly as Grian led him to the back porch where they could talk normally. They sat on a beautifully carved mahogany bench overlooking the sparkling summer lake.

"What brought you over?" Grian asked, pouring some tea.

"I have a break between projects" Ren explained, accepting the teacup with a nod. "And I wanted to see you before I leave for the next one"

Grian nodded in understanding. Ren's work with rehabilitation of captured hybrids had him traveling far and wide for long periods of time. After Cub had died, the corporation was quickly infiltrated and dismantled, meaning hundreds of captured hybrids and allies were freed. The image warmed Grian's heart every time he thought about it.

"Have you heard from Stress and Iskall? How are they doing?"

"Same as ever" Ren said with a barking laugh. "Iskall says that Stress is the best head of surgery the hospital has had in decades, although he may be a bit biased"

Grian laughed, putting down his cup in fear of spilling.

"Are he and False still working as teachers?"

Ren hummed in conformation.

"They're as good a team as ever, although apparently Iskall is a push over with the smaller ones"

"That's no surprise" Grian replied with an eye roll. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! I spoke to Doc recently, and he said they have finally taken down all of the old hybrid compounds. They're turning them into schools and orphanages"

"That's amazing!"

They were quiet for a moment, just listening to the soft bird calls in the distance.

"It's pretty crazy how fast everything changed in six years, isn't it" Grian said softly, everting his eyes to look out across the water.

"Do you wish for something different?"

"No of course not!" Grian said, snapping his head back in surprise. "If you had told me six years ago that I would be out of the compound, married with a child, I would have slapped you!"

"Yeah, like you ever needed an excuse to do that" Ren muttered with a smirk, earning him a slap on the shoulder.

"I just never thought I would be this lucky" Grian continued. "I guess... sometimes I worry that it's not real and I'll wake up in..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, but he didn't have to. Ren pulled him close, slightly crushing Grian's upper body in his arms.

"It's real" he murmured. "You know that. And Mumbo knows that. Have you talked to him about this?"

"Of course" Grian said, pulling out of his grasp slightly. "He's always supportive. He's perfect. I could never ask for anyone better, but he certainly could"

"Grian, I know that's not true"

"How?"

"Because he used to say the exact same things about you when we were younger"

Grian was stunned into silence as Ren rose, downing the last of his tea.

"I've gotta get going. Gotta pack for the new trip, but we'll talk soon, ok?"

Grian nodded, and smiled as he watched his friend, his brother, leave.

Oh Mumbo Jumbo. What did I ever do to deserve you?

"Appa*?"

*Appa = Dad in Korean

Grian turned to see Cecily walking out of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes with a tiny fist.

"I'm sorry angel, did I wake you up"

"No appa I jus could sleep" she said quietly.

"Couldn't" Grian corrected gently, taking the toddler into his arms and brushing her long golden curls from her face. "Since you're up, how about I clean your feathers instead, hm?"

She nodded timidly, and Grian carried her over to the couch, situating them so that she was sitting on the edge of his knees, soft lavender wings spread behind her.

Grian hummed tonelessly as he carefully unfurled and straightened every feather, picking out the pine needles that had gotten stuck in between them, and rubbing her back soothingly whenever he pulled a bit too hard.

"There we go" he said, running his hands down her wings to check for any discomfort. "You were perfect, my angel"

Cecily turned and crawled so that her arms were around his neck, head buried under his chin.

"Where abba*?"

*Abba = Dad in Hebrew

"I think he's in the workshop" Grian replied. "Do you want to go see what he's working on?"

The little bird nodded into his chest, and he gave her a quick squeeze before standing up.
___________________________________________________
Mumbo wiped sweat from his brow as he stepped back to try and figure out what he had missed. His sorting system in the workshop had stopped working yesterday and he had already spend nearly an hour trying to figure out why.

"Incoming!" He heard a jovial voice yell as the door flew open.

Mumbo smiled happily at the sight of Cecily flapping her wings, giggling as Grian made plane sounds and held her by the hands to keep her afloat.

He grabbed her by the middle and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Hello angel"

"G'morning abba" she said, twisting around so she could see behind his back. "What you doing?"

"Well I'm trying to fix the sorter" he said, putting her down so she could see properly. "But I'm having trouble figuring out what's wrong. Can you help me?"

Cecily nodded enthusiastically, toddling over to the machine to get a closer look, her wings flapping to help keep her from slipping on the redstone dust that permanently coated the floor.

Mumbo turned to look at Grian who was eyeing the sorter with a guilty expression.

"Grian..."

The avian's eyes snapped back to his husband and he pasted a smile on his face.

"What?"

"Do you know why happened to my sorter?"

"I... may have a theory..."

Grian scampered over to the back of the machine and stuck his arm in one of the hoppers. He fished something out and quickly hid it behind his back.

"Grian... I swear to god-"

"Whaaaaat? It's nothing" he said, making a beeline for the door before being caught around the waist.

"Grian let me see!"

"No!"

Mumbo held him tightly and dug his fingers into Grian's ribs, making the small avian squeal and cling to Mumbo to try and stop the tickling.

A potato dropped to the ground from behind his back.

"A potato?! Again?!" Mumbo cried, doing his best to sound annoyed, fully aware that a smile was creeping across his face.

"I swear it was an accident this time!" Grian giggled as Mumbo rolled his eyes.

"You're going to be the death of me" he murmured, resting his forehead against Grian's.

Grian's eyes melted from mischief to adoration, leaning into the touch.

"Well then, aren't you lucky" he said, cupping Mumbo's face and pulling him into a kiss that made Mumbo's ears burn red.

After all this time, Grian still gave him butterflies with every slight touch.

The avian pulled away, and turned slightly so he could keep Cecily in sight, and still wrap his arms around his husband.

"Ren visited earlier you know"

"Oh really? I would've liked to see him"

"Yeah I know, he said he's sorry, but he could only make a short stop" Grian replied. "He did tell me something interesting though"

"Mn?"

"He said that when we were younger you used to talk about me. You would say I was perfect and beautiful and you didn't deserve me"

"I-uh..." Mumbo ducked his head, a deep scarlet blush creeping up his neck and into his face. "I-I mean... all those things are-are true, so-"

"I love you so much"

Mumbo bit his lip as though he might cry and squeezed Grian tightly.

"So much. Love you so much"

"Appa!"

The two fathers looked down at their child, clothes now coated in red dust, and watching them with big eyes.

"Yes angel?" Grian answered, squatting down next to her.

"How you meet abba?"

The question took Grian by surprise, and he turned to see Mumbo's equally startled expression.

"That's a very long story Cecily" Grian said, brushing a thumb across her cheek to get some concrete powder.

"Story?"

Grian looked at Mumbo and shrugged.

"Do you want to start?"

Mumbo smiled, and knelt down to sit next to Grian, pulling Cecily onto his lap.

"It all started when your aunt Stress made me a daisy crown"

There it is! The final chapter! I cannot thank you guys enough for reading, liking, and commenting on this story. It was so much fun to write, and I had not expected anyone to actually enjoy it, so your support is absolutely amazing.
Please check out my other work if you liked this one (I pretty much only write Grumbo fics) and let me know if there is something else you want me to write.
Thank you so much for going on this journey with me.
Much love - SKblind ❤️