"You good?" A laugh pulled Grian from his thoughts.
Grian looked up to find B standing beside him. He donned his neon yellow work shirt paired with black pants.

The lights of the arcade they sat in bounced off the work shirt uglily.
B slid down the wall beside Grian, sitting on his feet in an odd squat.

"I'm ok," Grian assured.
B sighed and pulled Grian close.
"Wanna play some.... laser tag?" B offered.
"Nah."
"Oh, now I know something's wrong. You never miss the opportunity to be a nuisance to some poor soul!" B teased and Grian chuckled.

"I keep running into the Hermits is all," Grian answered with a huff.
"Oof, what they say?" B asked with a scoff.
"They keep asking if I'm ok," Grian whispered.

"Oh. Oh, that's not good," B whispered.
"Isn't it though?" G replied, strained.
B sighed.
"G, if they found out someone knew-" B replied.
"Knew what?" A voice cut in.
Both Evos jumped and looked up. Above them was Keralis Hermitcraft.

"Oh buzz off! Mind your own business will ya!" B scoffed.
"Statz! You're gonna get yourself in trouble!" Grian jokingly scolded.
"Oh whatever, it's not his conversation," B shot back.

The 29-year-old cringed and rolled his eyes.
"You guys are brats, we're just trying to help," Keralis scoffed.
"Yeah, and that'd be fine if we needed it. But we don't. So stop," B hissed back.
"Fine. Whatever," Keralis growled and walked away.

••••

Grian looked up curiously when a kid let out an irritated wail and kicked a machine angrily.
"You good?" Grian asked.
The girl looked up in surprise
She looked to be about 3 or 4.
"Uh... Yeah, I-I'm good. Just fwustrated," she murmured.

"Claw machine?" Grian asked.
"Yeah.." She whimpered.
Grian bit his lip and glanced around.
"What are you going for?" Grian asked.
The girl pointed to a cute, chonky, fluffy squirrel plush.
"Sqwuerl!" She replied.
"Ok, spot me!" Grian instructed and snuck behind the machine.
Grian had watched B work enough times to know how to get into the claw machines. He picked the lock on the back door and carefully opened it. It wasn't large, just big enough to put toys in. Or... You know... For a particularly Grian-sized person to slip through.

With his malnutrition, it was an easy feat.

The girl stared wide-eyed as he slipped in. He grabbed the squirrel and dropped it down the hatch, accidentally dropping an axolotl push with it. He cringed and climbed out the back hatch carefully.

"Shh," he whispered, relocking the back.
The girl pulled the 2 toys out of the hatch and grinned up at him.
"Everyone gets one," Grian joked and she nodded excitedly and left.
Eh, not like they lost any money from it considering she spent at least 3 bucks on the machine.

••••

Impulse watched as Grian Evolution slipped out of the claw machine. Casie grabbed her new plushies and ran to presumably find him.
Impulse walked up behind the boy and cleared his throat causing the young boy to jump.
He spun around and went rigid.

"Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Just want to thank you!" Impulse chuckled.
Grian raised an eyebrow and from across the room, Casie gasped.
"There you are, daddy! Look! Look!" Casie announced sprinting across the room to them and holding her Squirrel up.

"I won a sqwuirrl!" She announced.
"Did you?! Wow, good job Casie!" Impulse praised and hoisted her up to his hip.
Casie very obviously winked at Grian and Impulse chuckled.
"Wanna go find uncle Keralis and cousin Damian? Show them your squirrel?" Impulse asked.

"Yeah!" Casie screamed, making Impulse wince.
Impulse set her down and she ran off.
"Oh, don't run- and she's running."
Grian chuckled and Impulse sighed.
"I don't know how my parents had 23 of us. I can barely handle 1!" Impulse chuckled softly.

"Must be hard," Grian hummed softly.
"Oh, you have no idea! I wish I had the financial stability like my parents did," Impulse scoffed.
"Yeah..."
"Kinda wish they actually raised me like I'm raising Casie. Though I'm glad Tin was there, I doubt Tin's very happy about it," Impulse sighed.

Grian perked up and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Raising 22 kids like that at 16- Ah, but I can't really speak for Tin you know. Oh shoot, I'm rambling again! I'm so sorry!" Impulse hummed before smacking himself and apologizing to Grian for talking.

"Really, I need to learn how to keep my mouth shut. Hah, this is why mom's always glaring at me, I'm sure," Impulse huffed and shook his head.
"I'll see you later Grian, have fun!"
And off he walked leaving Grian contemplating his thoughts on the Hermits.

••••

You are now texting MJ

G: Mumbo....

MJ: what's up

G: do you have an older brother named Tin?

MJ: yeah why?

MJ: you meet him?

G: no.

MJ: ooook?

G: final thoughts on Impulse: he gives off the neglected child vibes

MJ: Nah

MJ: our parents are just at work a lot

MJ: can't do much about that

G: 🤨

G: that's literally what neglect is bsh

G: don't change the facts

MJ: maybe you should meet them sometime?

G: probably not

G: so about that project...

MJ: of course

••••

Grian plopped down in the seat beside Mumbo.
"Uh... Grian?" Tuartis stammered.
"What? I have a group project that I'm going to flunk without him," Grian scoffed.
"Where am I supposed to sit then?" Taurtis asked.
"You can sit with us? Or with Sam?" Grian responded.

"But-" Taurtis stammered.
"Taurtis you're 15, you don't have to go everywhere I go," Grian reasoned.
Taurtis whimpered and desperately looked around.
"Or, you could go everywhere he goes like I do," another voice cut in.
Taurtis snapped his attention up to XBC Hermitcraft.

"Hi XBC," Mumbo huffed.
XB flicked MJ's ear causing the younger to flinch away. He took a seat beside MJ, dropping his tray of food on the table in front of him, he motioned for Taurtis to sit beside him, an offering.

Mumbo glanced at the tray and then at his own food.
"They forget again?" Mumbo asked simply as Taurtis cautiously sat down.
"Eh, what can I say? The only one who remembers me is Xisuma! Pft, Tin even forgets half of the time!" XB laughed.

Mumbo looked down at his lap, shame written across his face.
"If you wanted, I could make your lunch-" Mumbo offered.
"Oh, don't bother. We both know you'll forget. Just like how you'd forget to feed yourself if Tin or Beef didn't make anything for you," XB scoffed and Mumbo shrunk a little more.

"Ahem-" Grian cleared his throat and the conversation shifted.
And true to word, Mumbo and Grian easily forgot the black-haired boy was there. Though XB was pulled out of his self-deprecating thoughts every time Taurtis offered his food to them.

"B makes the best cookies, try one."
"But Tom is also a very good baker. Look at this!"
"Oh no, mom never cooks. She usually forces it onto Salem."
"Salem doesn't know how to cook anything but spaghetti either so..."
.....
"That's a lie! She can cook raaamen!"

When they left lunch XB smiled and thanked the dark-skinned ravenette.

••••

"I dunno, I think Taurtis is cool," XB cut in, startling his siblings who had been slandering the Evos once more.
Gemini cocked her head curiously.
"Really?" Impulse asked, Casie asleep against his chest.
"Yeah, he's the first person who has gone out of their way to make sure they didn't forget my existence," XB shrugged.

"Grian is ok too, I guess," XB huffed, "a troublemaker for sure, and he gets very defensive, but he seems sweet."
"Grian~" Mumbo cooed and everyone snickered.
"We all know your feelings on Grian, Mumbo," Zedaph teased.
A heavy blush coated the youngest boy's cheeks.

"Oh, well I think it's adorable! Star-crossed lovers!" Cleo cooed.
"Aka, that relationship is likely never gonna work," Beef huffed, fiddling with one of his quadruplet's hair, Hypno.
Mumbo shrunk and Cleo jabbed her quadruplet.
"Ow."
"Like you're one to talk Mr.I'mInLoveWithMyBestFriend!" Impulse teased.
"I am not!" Beef retorted.
"You so are," Xisuma hummed pleasantly from his spot propping up a very asleep Wels and a half-asleep Jevin.

Beef pouted and a round of chuckling went about the group.
"Ok, ok, returning to that topic though. I think Grian has a bit of a right to be a d*ck sometimes," Iskall brought up.
"Language," Tin quietly scolded from the doorway.
"Why?" Tango asked his foot bouncing from its spot propped up on the coffee table.

"I mean, with a boyfriend as abusive as his, I'd be agitated too," Iskall scoffed.
Mumbo immediately perked up his eyes darting to Iskall.
"Boyfriend?" False asked for Mumbo.
Everyone's eyes darted to Mumbo for a moment before returning to a seemingly unconcerned Iskall.

"Yeah. I asked why he had a black eye and a slap mark and his response was 'oh you know how boyfriends can get' with a nervous laugh," Iskall sighed.
"I noticed the bruise too.." Doc hummed softly.
"You saw Grian?" Iskall asked.
"In passing, yeah. I didn't want to make him too uncomfortable so I just asked him if he'd been sleeping alright," Doc huffed.

"He give you an answer?" BDubs asked.
"Pft, no!" Doc scoffed.
"Of course," BDubs followed up.
"He's too prideful in that sense. They all are," Keralis sighed.
"I don't think the word 'help' is anywhere in their dictionary," Cleo scoffed.
"I can't be the only one who thinks that's more concerning than bratty," Mumbo shot out.

"Well sure," X agreed, "I certainly agree their parents aren't the best at raising their children. Though none of that is our fault."
"But if we could help-" Mumbo tried.
"We can't do anything if they don't want help, Mumbo."
There was a moment of silence.

"Pearl's fun," Gemini whispered.
"That's right! You have 3 Evos in your grade, don't you? How's that going for you?" Cub changed the subject.
"Solidarity is a little eccentric but I guess they're all ok. I don't talk to them much. But Pearl's locker is next to mine in Gym and she always shares her scrunchies with me because she says my hair is 'too long for gym class'. I'm not sure what that means tho-" Gemini explained.

The siblings laughed at their youngest's confused misery.
"Speaking of which, how's school going?"
And just like that, the conversation shifted.