Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If you asked Scar, there was no way he’d tell you he had it rougher than Grian.

Sure, being the chief of security for a world tour had a lot of implications and difficult situations to solve, but watching Grian work on the stage made it obvious he gave it his all, to the point of injury sometimes.

It’s with that notion in mind that Scar did his best as well, adapting his strategy for each stage, each structure, each hazard.

He always had Mumbo close to him, who was the one responsible for making the installations for the concerts work with each stage. He always reported anomalies and worries to Scar, that being either people acting shady or rusting structures, risking collapse.

Scar was always the one to have to break the news to the public if a concert had to be canceled, have it deemed more appropriate as excited people tended to throw shoes and phones at the person who would break their hopes and dreams.

Mumbo was Scar’s closest friend, especially as they worked together on tour, slept in the same rooms in hotels and shared the load when it came to simpler tasks.

And it was Mumbo who mentioned to Scar that having another company hire a bodyguard for Grian without consulting Scar in any way was troubling, to say the least.
Scar had run some background checks on the company and didn’t find anything unusual, yet didn’t find people praising them for their work.

Which Scar really didn’t like, because if he had to choose, he would’ve put about half of the security budget on the bodyguard. They were a very important piece of the whole organization, and if it ever came to it, it was the bodyguard’s role to save Grian at all costs.

Scar would’ve preferred not to have to worry about the bodyguard matter, but Grian assured him that they didn’t have to spend too much on that matter, and it was someone specifically requested by the lady who worked on the overall organization.

Mumbo noticed that this particular thought went through Scar’s mind as he was eyeing the crowd and stage, from his expression alone.

“Stressful night?” He asked, like every other concert night.
“Nothing much. I don’t see trouble”

Mumbo nodded.
“That’s good. The other good news is that the lights and decor are hanging perfectly. I’m so pumped to take it all off tonight.”
Scar chuckled.
“That’s what she said.”
“Scar!”

Mumbo was right. Like most nights, everything went great. Not perfectly, but great. No frantic fan getting on the stage, no shoe throwing, no light falling off. 
And no bodyguard in sight.

There was something that did go wrong, the programmed animation was a little bit off on one of the screens and that could mean they were going to have to change that one, but that was Mumbo’s problem.

The show finished with Grian’s grand finale, with sparklers that did make Scar quite uneasy at the idea of someone getting stuck near them. 
Ariana Griande made her last bow, under the roaring cheers and whistles of the crowd.

Scar remained there, arms crossed and smiling in the corner of his mouth, until Grian walked off stage in these deadly high heels. 
He made sure everything went well, from the exit stage to the people packing their things and leaving through the designated exits.

Mumbo, after coming back from going somewhere Scar will not be informed of, pulled at Scar’s sleeve.
Sleeve that was a little tight against his arm, from the “SECURITY” shirt he was given quite some time ago.

“Come on. We don’t want to miss the buffet.”
“Buffet? They made food? I thought we were eating Italian tonight.”
Mumbo nodded. “That too, but we’re also having celebratory snacks!”
“What are we celebrating?”
“I don’t know, stuff!”

Scar laughed as Mumbo pulled him along to the back of the building, where the rest of the team was.

Scar wasn’t into those gatherings. He loved the team, but there was something so shallow in eating mini toasts and samples of salmon that didn’t quite fit the energy he liked.
He was more of an “eating sandwiches in group on the side of a highway” kind of guy.

Still, Mumbo liked those moments, and he preferred not to ruin it for him by acting like a moron.

He expected Mumbo to pull him through the open doors immediately, but instead, he stopped.

Mumbo looked distracted.

“Hey, Mumbo, what’s-“
“Isn’t that Grian and his bodyguard?”

Scar turned to where was looking Mumbo, and sure enough, Grian was there, dressed in a sleek red dress, wild long hair, and heavy makeup, leaning against the wall.
And right in front of him, almost pressed against him, was the bodyguard. 
The guy who Scar didn’t even bother to learn his name.

“W-wow, they’re really having at it, the little rascals.”

Mumbo seemed a little embarrassed, looking away, but not yet going inside.

Scar stared for a little longer.

Seeing that stranger grab Grian by the hips, push him further against the wall, grabbing his knee to pull it up.
That was no way to treat someone, even if you loved them very much.

And even so, they didn’t know each other for that long, how…

Scar sighed.
Oh well.

If Grian was into that, he was in no place to judge.
After all, romances about celebrities and bodyguards falling for each other weren’t unheard of.

Really, really rare in their field m of work, but not impossible.

He struggled a little to look away, though.
The curve created by Grian’s leg being lifted was…

Grian met Scar’s gaze.

There was just something about those eyes, rimmed with black eyeliner, topped with a smokey eyeshadow, that made Scar tick.

Maybe it was their expression, filled with dread, fear, panic, disgust and helplessness.

Who knows.

Scar took off his earpiece, putting it in his pocket.

“Mumbo, would you please get a drink for me?”
Mumbo nodded. “Yeah. Nobody coming out of the room until you’re done. Got it.”

Scar smiled.

“Thank you.”

He walked towards the two quietly, rolling his shoulders.

The closer he got, the louder Grian’s panicked breathing got. He was pushing weakly against the other, but with his weight, there was nothing he could do against a proper bodyguard.

Well, proper, that depended on the point of view.

Scar arrived behind the bodyguard who hadn’t noticed him yet.

“Come on,” he groaned. “I know you-“

Scar punched him in the head from behind, the blow making him stumble to the side and fall down.

He didn’t have the time to react that Scar punched him again while he was down, knocking him out straight.

Scar stood back up, grumbling.

“I hate cheap companies.”

He took a long breath, turning to Grian who had fallen down from his standing position into sitting against the wall, curling up on himself.

He approached him, knowing not to rush him, and kneeled down before him.

“Hey, you okay?”
Grian nodded shakily. His makeup started running down his cheeks.
“Well, you don’t look okay to me.”

Grian shrugged.

"Come on. Get up. You should at least clean your makeup off."
Scar helped Grian up, noticing how wobbly Grian's legs were.

"Do you want me to take off your shoes...? You'll probably walk better without them."

Grian didn't say anything, trembling, and Scar felt more and more worried.

"Hey, uh... I'm not good at these things, I uh... come on, I'll carry you to your dressing room."

With great delicacy, Scar picked Grian up, making sure the position didn't scrunch up the dress. He walked slowly towards the dressing room, stepping over the unconscious bodyguard.

Grian sniffled in his arms, curling up a bit on himself.

Scar carried him to his designated dressing room, unlocking the door and closing it behind them, carefully setting him down on the chair in front of the vanity.

Grian looked down, taking in a shaky breath, grabbing the micellar water and cotton rounds.

He swiped the runny makeup off, slowly, somewhat angrily, rubbing roughly over his eyelids that wouldn't stop letting tears flow.

Grian's other hand grabbed at Scar's shirt, preventing him from going.

"I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to. But I'm going to send a message to Mumbo, I have to let him know."

Grian's hand tightened but he didn't say anything.

"I won't have to mention everything, it's just a security reason."

Scar pulled out his phone, messaging Mumbo with little detail about what was the situation now and that he was going to choose the next bodyguard.

When he was done, Grian still hadn't managed to swipe off the thick line of eyeliner on his eyes.

"It's done. You won't have to see him ever again."

Grian looked down, lost in thought.

More tears formed in his eyes.

And if Scar was essentially Grian's employee and coworker, he was also his friend.
Scar kneeled down beside Grian's chair.

"Hey. It's okay. I wouldn't have let him do anything to you. What did I tell you the first year that you hired me? I said I would beat up personally anyone who gives you trouble. And I did. You don't risk anything when I'm around."

Grian nodded, frowning as he felt like crying some more.

It was the shock. That was okay.

Scar opened his arms, in which Grian threw himself, sobbing his heart out.

"Look, I'll choose the next bodyguard, okay? I'll find you someone really efficient. Someone that I trust. And if they do something to you too, we'll put their head on a pike in front of the dressing room, okay?"

Grian chuckled through his crying, bringing out a smile on Scar's face.

"My little angel. You did so good on stage tonight. Did you have fun? Was the crowd excited to see you?"

Grian nodded, pulling tighter on Scar's shirt.

"That's good, that's good... Do you want to change? I know you look extraordinary in that dress, but maybe you'd like something more comfortable? Warmer, maybe?"

Grian seemed to hesitate in Scar's arms.
Scar thought about it, having to undress after having such a... A revolting moment with someone he was supposed to trust.

There was no reason to rush Grian.

"How about I lend you my jacket? Would you prefer that, maybe?"
Grian gulped. "Yes, please."

Scar hated how little and weak Grian's voice was.

"Sure. Let me go for a moment, I think it's on the couch back there."

With reluctance, Grian let go of Scar, and Scar didn't waste any time, grabbing his "STAFF" jacket and helping Grian put in on, one arm after the other.

Scar leaned closer, adjusting the collar and pulling it forward. It looked huge on Grian, the sleeves covering Grian's hands and the whole jacket reached the middle of his thighs.

"Is that better? Do you want me to zip it up?"

Scar looked up briefly, and was pulled forward as Grian pressed his lips against him, spreading his glittery lipstick all over Scar's lips. 

Chapter Text

Scar was uncomfortable. It had been three different locations already since Grian kissed him in the dressing room and Grian hasn’t moved on yet, mortified and hiding, avoiding Scar like the plague.

Mumbo was uncomfortable as well , stuck between the two, not knowing what to say on the matter. Wisely, he didn't add his opinion on the situation.

Though he had his calculations and issues to focus on, to pass the time.

Scar, on the other hand, had been combing his contact list to choose a new bodyguard for Grian, one that would do the job. One that would never dare to dirty their company's reputation.

So he had been having long, boring conversations over the phone about the importance of having one of the best bodyguards possible, that he couldn't settle for less and it was non-negotiable

Scar was ready to make budget cuts to ensure the presence of a good bodyguard.

He tried to mention it to Grian but the artist wouldn’t reply on his phone or would actually run away when Scar jogged over.

Which totally… didn’t hurt. Not a bit. Scar was completely unphased that his friend avoided him like that.

Even if Grian had his reasons to feel ashamed or guilty, Scar couldn’t do anything about it and it drove him crazy.

So there he was, brooding in his corner, waiting after the show was over, knowing he was not welcome in any place where there were other people because if Grian was at one of those places, Scar would have to witness the star running from him, again.

“You look ridiculous,” said Mumbo helpfully.

“You look stupid.”

“Hey, I was being genuine.”

“Am I not?”

Mumbo sighed. “This can’t go on. You have to talk, you need to solve this.”

“Any brilliant solution?”

“Look, I- you keep refusing to tell me what happened to make you guys both like this but this can’t go on! I’ve seen social media posts about Griande looking tired and irritated. It’s bad for the image.”

“That’s a very good observation, Mumbo.”

“If you want me to quiet down, just say it.”

Scar groaned as he ran a hand on his face.

The situation was one of the worst possibilities that weren’t even anticipated through training.

Scar got out of the room and went to the back of the building, making his way through corridors and empty stairs, to supervise the filling of the trucks for the next show.

Keeping his mind occupied was good. 

Keeping his mind occupied avoided him his usual nervous ticks, his irritated temper. 

He needed to remain calm and alert.

His observant skills made him notice someone struggling with a large box, to which he immediately rushed over.

The staff person struggled and the large box slipped under their hands, though Scar caught it with one of his as it was tipping over the ledge of the truck.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

The staff person, who revealed to be their decor designer, turned around with wide and afraid eyes.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, it’s nothing. Just try to ask for help next time.”

Scar pushed the box until it was safely sitting on the floor of the truck , then brought down his hand and looked at it. It was bleeding from a shallow cut. 

“Oh- oh no! Are you okay?”

“That? It’s fine, it’s not much. You can return to your post, don’t worry about it.”

Scar lifted his hand up to slow the bleeding, nodding and walking away, possibly in the direction of a bathroom with a first aid kit. 

He tried the first, then the second one, and not had such an installation. The only first aid kit he knew about was in Grian’s dressing room. There could be one on the other side of the building, around the spectator's bathroom, but he didn't find the issue worth the hassle.

So he let some cold water wash away most of the blood and dabbed it with some paper towels until it was mostly dry and clean, moving on pretty fast .

He tried not to use that hand as he helped some people lift the large spotlights, and he tried to hide it from Mumbo mostly as he would be one to bother Grian about it.

What Scar hadn’t taken account of, was someone else.

As he had his hand behind his back, standing up straight, he felt a delicate hand reach for his wrist and gently pull it from him.

Scar turned around and saw Grian, holding his injured hand by the wrist, his eyes showing worry.

“You haven’t taken care of this.”

Scar was surprised that of all the possibilities, it was an injury that made Grian tolerate to talk to him again.

“It’s fine, the bleeding stopped.”

“You’ll get it infected like this.”

Grian turned around and tugged at Scar’s wrist in the direction of the backdoor to the building. Grian was too weak to really pull Scar along, so they stayed like that for a few seconds, Scar surprised that Grian would take care of him like that.

Scar followed and of course, Grian pulled him to his dressing room, all the way to the bathroom to clean and disinfect the wound, applying scarring cream and wrapping it all with gauze.

“You’re stupid.”

“I know.”

“You should’ve wrapped this.”

“I know.”

Grian looks down.

“And- about the- what happened the other day…”

Scar chuckled. “ I know.”

Grian straightened suddenly, surprised.

Scar rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know. You didn’t mean to. I’m not holding it against you.”

Grian’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Scar looked away.

He couldn’t say that he was in fact a little hurt by it, that he wasn’t someone to have their feelings played with, but Grian didn’t know. Grian would never know. It was a secret for Scar and Scar alone.

As Scar had his head turned, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor of the dressing room, out of the bathroom.

Grian barely finished securing the bandage when Scar turned away and walked to the middle of the room, grabbing the paper and unfolding it, ready to throw it out.

But it was fan mail.

A certain type of fan mail.

The typical “ I love you” s and such, along with… a request to be sent some of Ariana Griande’s underwear.

Scar took no type in tearing it up and crumpling it.

Grian noticed the gesture.

“Have you been receiving a lot of mail like this lately?”

“Just… just a bit. I don’t really read the mail usually but.., I don’t know, this letter ended up here…”

“I’ll find someone to open the mail for you. So you can still enjoy nice fan mail.”

“I’m not that into it-“

“I saw you cry when you received that letter from a kid in a hospital, remember?”

Grian sighed, his shoulders slouching.

Scar looked down at the destroyed letter before tossing it into the bin.

“I’ll find someone to comb through the mail.”

“Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?”

“You’re free to ask certain addresses to be let through without question.”

Grian didn’t reply anything this time.

Even though Scar was confident that he could find someone in no time, which he did, he severely underestimated the amount of mail Grian received.

It wasn’t a lot per day, but the whole of it easily covered a desk.

Pearl, the costume designer who was offered an augmentation if she opened the letters when she had nothing better to do, had to open letter after letter of grateful people, being given the instructions of giving weird letters that could possibly be considered a threat to Scar.

And Scar didn’t mind reading those weird letters, either the cliché ones written with letters carefully cut from newspapers, or the ones written hastily in the heat of passion. Not to Scar’s surprise, most of the suspicious letters were sent from obsessed fans ready to go above and beyond to feel noticed.

From the number of weird things people felt entitled to send to their favorite celebrity, Scar was hesitant to offer the marvelous idea of no longer accepting fan mail. But that would make Grian sad.

Scar had learned his lesson. A sad Grian makes people less inclined to spend more money , apparently . It must have been true if the managers had taken that much time to yell at him and the rest of his crew on the matter.

Since the last time they talked, when Grian insisted on patching Scar's wound, Scar had hoped everything had gone back to what it was. That Grian would go back to his warmer, gentler side.

But when he would walk around backstage, the only stares Grian would give him would be disapproving, irritated stares . If he gave him any in the first place.

The night had been going on for a while, Ariana Griande had been singing her soul out for the entire show, bringing the whole audience to cry and scream, the kind of Scar had been used to now, even if he didn't like it much.

Hysterical people were the most difficult to deal with.

Scar stared at the crowd, adorned with glittery makeup and lifting up cardboard signs, feeling oddly melancholic.

He noticed someone getting over the barrier through the first security guard that was there, who preferred checking that no one else would try to do the same to avoid a swarm, yet looked back to look for someone to help.

Scar wasn't far, hiding at the side of the stage, so he stepped out, grabbing that fan by the back of the groupie shirt, pulling the person back towards the crowd, and finally chose to guide them out simply, not wanting them back in the sea of people, ready to weasel their way back in.

"Wait!"

Scar felt his stomach drop. No.

He turned around, still holding the shirt of the person who was now fighting back against his grip.

"Let him come to me," Ariana Griande said, motioning to Scar.

Scar gritted his teeth, looking back at the boy he was holding. He was young. Smelled of alcohol, covered in sweat, and perhaps a bit of alcohol as well. Smeared makeup, voice broken from screaming. Grian couldn't be serious.

Scar turned back and shot a disapproving look at Ariana.

Ariana shot him an angry stare back, one that didn't leave space for debate.

Reluctantly, Scar guided the fan onto the stage, a bitter feeling settling on his tongue.

Grian was choosing this fan over him in some way, disregarding on purpose his job, for some random who he will never see again.

Scar didn't want to, but it hurt. To feel that dismissed.

He motioned to another security staff to keep an eye on that fan, as he made his way back to the side of the stage, his heart heavy.

He somewhat kept an eye out as everyone was invited to leave the show, making sure nothing bad would happen, and as he knew very well to do, disappeared once he wasn't required for anything anymore.

Under the dark sky, he removed his "STAFF" jacket to take a walk beside the road, throwing it over his shoulder. Feeling stupid for getting upset at something so common and simple as having a fan come on stage.

But it wasn't only the fact that it was a safety hazard, because all that he could dismiss, a lot of celebrities on stage love that kind of attention and it makes a good publicity stunt.

What bothered him more about it all was how Grian looked at him, just for a brief moment.

He couldn't quite place it. As if Grian found Scar to be a bother, stepping out of line.

He didn't pick up his phone when Mumbo called, three times. He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to have to explain anything and he knew Mumbo was too observant not to notice something was off, that it wasn't just a walk to get away from people.

In his jeans pocket, Scar found a folded letter he was supposed to read but didn't get the time to.

For some reason, he opened it. Revealing a cute love letter, with poetic words and little drawings.

Scar threw it in the trash at the first bin he encountered, rolling his eyes.

He didn't even come back for dinner with the team, opting for the cheap sandwich in the only place he found still open at this late hour.

The further he went, the fewer people dressed in glittery outfits giggling and laughing loudly there were.

And when the sun came up at the horizon, Scar made his way back, his eyes struggling a bit to remain open.

For a moment he tried to remember what was the hotel they were staying at, but there was barely any point in going there now since he had no stuff set there and the sun was coming up.

So he made his way to the bus, using his spare key to unlock the door, and sat down on one of the seats, closing his eyes and leaning back, feeling his aching body relax in one go.

He was exhausted now, by his own doing. He probably shouldn't have done that but there was no way he would've slept either if he had gone to bed.

As he felt somewhat irresponsible for hindering his attention capacities and even though half the night didn't find a way to solve his feelings, Scar wondered if he was still relevant. If all this wasn't a sign that the Ariana Griande Tour wasn't looking for a new Chief of Security now.

It would make sense. Grian was now uncomfortable around Scar and the new top-notch bodyguard who Scar chose was to arrive on the next show. A new chief would freshen things up, and bring some new competence into frame.

Scar was seemingly deeply asleep when he heard a voice.

"Wake up."

His mind was clouded as he tried to make out who the voice belonged to.

"Wake up, Scar."

This cold tone, the way the voice dropped when his name was pronounced... It had to be...

Scar opened his eyes.

"Ah, Grian."

Grian was standing in the middle corridor of the bus, arms crossed, wearing a pink ensemble of a sweatshirt and sweatpants, face clean of makeup, and wearing his glasses. He was frowning.

"What the hell are you doing, Scar?"

Scar tried to navigate through the fog of his waking.

"I'm sorry...?"

Grian sighed sharply.

"I sent you messages. You didn't read them. I asked Mumbo to find you. You didn't respond to him either. No one knew where you went. The next thing I know, the hotel didn't see your face, and Mumbo immediately knew to find you here?"

"Huh."

Grian lifted his arms in the air in frustration.

"This isn't a game, you idiot! Everyone was worried for you! A bloody message would've been nice!"

Scar chuckled. "Hey you shouldn't yell, your vocal coach said it was bad for you."

" You -!"

Grian pulled at his own hair, stretching his curls. Scar had always preferred his natural hair instead of that wig he wore on stage.

"You don't get to tell me to do anything! You just- You walked out! You literally- Is it because I didn't agree with you?! Is all of this a big tantrum because I told you I wanted the people who care about me to be able to come close, and your little ego didn't like that?!"

Scar knew one thing. The Grian he met years ago would've never dared to say that.

"If you're upset about that, I'm sorry, I was just doing my stupid job."

"Your job?! It was a harmless teen! You were overreacting!"

Scar sighed, rubbing his face. He clearly didn't get his hours of sleep in.

"Right. Maybe someone else would've done a better job than me."

"Easily! Anyone would've seen that boy and know he wasn't going to do anything dangerous!"

"Right."

Scar pulled himself up, standing up in front of Grian, being at least ten inches taller than him. Grian took a step back, his eyes widening.

Like Scar was threatening.

Scar grabbed the jacket that he was using as a headrest, staring for a second at the white "STAFF" print on the back. He shoved it into Grian's arms.

"If you're sure of that then you won't take long finding someone to replace me with. I'm gone."

He turned away and made his way to the door of the bus that was left open, going to take his stuff, then probably was going to plan his trip back home.

There was no point in staying, anymore.

Chapter Text

It’s certainly not every day that Scar feels completely, utterly irremediably lost.
Like he was stripped of purpose and didn’t have anywhere to go left.

He had been going along with his plan, which felt all too rushed, and had ended up in his small apartment somewhere in America, away from most activities. It was the cheapest he could find around an airport.

He had been spending most of his time lounging on the couch, eating cheap junk food and letting his brain shut off as the TV played in the background.

Mumbo had called about three times since he arrived home, and he answered only once. He kept things short even then, not wanting to answer Mumbo's million of questions.
Mumbo did mention how horrible he was feeling due to the new situation, that he wanted to quit too if Scar wasn’t on the team anymore because he couldn’t handle all the safety hazards, and Scar only replied that it was Mumbo’s dream to bring sets to life. It would be a shame to throw it all away like that.

And the tour needed its engineer.

Mumbo did confirm that the bodyguard arrived.
It reassured Scar to know that if all else failed, that person would be there. It helped calm his worries. Not that he was worried anyway, he didn't care if Grian got himself in danger now, it wasn't his job anymore.

And so he was pretty much relaxed on the matter as he waited his time away, considering searching for another artist or place to give his talents to, starting over.
He didn’t want to move on too fast, as his departure was already quite rushed.

Yet, there was nothing safe about being in charge of the whole security of a tour and leaving in a day. Something was bound to happen.
Around five am, Scar heard his phone vibrate on the coffee table, next to the couch he had fallen asleep on. The TV was still on, on the other side of the table, displaying the regular info channel.
Groaning, he grabbed the phone, feeling his back ache from sleeping on the cheap couch.

Mumbo's name was displayed brightly on the screen. At five am. That set something off in Scar's mind because Mumbo always made sure to call when the other party was awake, as he was used to contacting people abroad for engineering reasons. 
Even worse, Mumbo wasn't supposed to be in a very different time zone. It was very likely that it was around 3 or 4 am on his side.

Which couldn't mean anything good. His first guess was that Mumbo was second-guessing himself again now that Scar wasn’t with him. Or that Mumbo felt another one of those moments where he felt that Scar was missing. Maybe Mumbo just forgot that Scar wasn't supposed to be there, and called for help.

Sighing, he looked at the TV, his buzzing phone in hand. Debating for a moment. He shouldn't endulge, it wasn't his reponsibility.

Yet this was his personal phone too. He picked up the call just before it would go to voicemail.

“Mumbo?”
“Oh, Scar! You answered! Oh my goodness…”
“Mumbo, what's going on?”
“Uh- Well… I... I-I don't know how- I just-”
“Clear and straightforward. If it's urgent, which I hope it is since you're calling this late, be precise,” Scar pressed.
“I… It all happened very fast, we were packing up, and Grian just went out to get a drink or something, and- And he came back alone, crying, and, and-”
“Something happened with Grian?”
"Y-yes, he's... I mean..."
"Mumbo, clear your mind. Is Grian hurt, yes or no?"
"N-no..."
"Is he in danger, yes or no?"
"No, I don't think anymore..."
"So why are you calling?"
"Scar, we- I really need you here..."
"No Mumbo. Talk. Use your words. I'm not doing anything until I don't know what's going on."
"You- ugh, why does this have to be- Look, okay, so, I uh- Grian came back crying. I don't know what's going on. Nobody could get him to talk and he's- Jesus he's locked inside his room right now, Pearl is knocking but he isn't answering, and-"
Scar sighed in frustration. None of this helped him understand.
"And the bodyguard's missing."

Scar blinked.
"What?"
"He's missing! He- he went with Grian, I know that, he wouldn't leave Grian for a second since he got here. So they both went to go get Grian something and- And only Grian came back."

Scar groaned, trying to map out the possibilities. But that wasn't his job, supposedly. He was supposed to be jobless, and free.
"Okay... Okay. So, you're going to ask someone in the security staff to go check, right? and have a couple around Grian until they find the bodyguard-"
“You don’t understand, Scar. There’s barely any security now.”

Scar frowned.
“Come again?”
“Since you left, half of the security staff is sitting around doing nothing, because there’s no one to give them direction. The other half is frantically trying to make decisions that you were supposed to make, fighting over insignificant stuff. And Grian wasn't being cautious either. I think what saved him these last weeks was the bodyguard. Look I- I know you said you wouldn't ever come back, but- But we really, really need you. We can't go on like this. I mean tomorrow evening we're supposed to be somewhere else and having a show and there's all this and we can't-”

Scar rubbed a hand over his face. Knowing he should probably show up from how things sounded from Mumbo's perspective. But he was supposed to have made his choice. “I’m not going back. There’s no point. Look, you… I’ll send you the number of the bodyguard’s company, you make a call, you ask for help, protocols, anything like that and they’ll redirect you to someone who’ll help.”
“What? But that’s not my department!”
“I don’t care, get someone to do it. I’m telling you because you’re the one who called for help.”

“Scar, please.” Mumbo pleaded.
“I’m not working with Grian anymore, I’m done. I’ve had plenty of reasons, and-“
“Grian isn't leaving his room. Something must have happened. Something is very wrong and we need you here. Everyone needs you.”

Scar scratched at the unshaven beard he had neglected.

“Grian’s more resistant than that. He just should avoid crowded spaces and he'll be good to go in no time.”
“Are you- okay, uh, let's back up a bit. Scar. I’m going to need you to wake up right now because I am not having this. Grian was probably in danger, and you're just... unbothered?”
"If you're all so worried just cancel the tour for a bit."
"You- What?! Seriously?!"
"If anything happened Grian he would need time to rest anyway. Just pause things, gather up, and move on."
"Are you being- There's just no way you're hearing about Grian being in danger and just acting like it doesn't reach you. Grian? Your friend. Our friend. The person you decided to protect with your life for a few years now? That Grian?"

Scar stared at his apartment. It had been a couple of weeks since he was here and he had barely unpacked.
He denied it with conviction but he had hoped to be back on the tour. He had given a lot of himself to create good conditions to work in. And he also kind of wished he would have found a way to fix things with Grian.

Scar pressed his lips together.
"I'll just check on everyone. Make sure things go right. I'll stay for a week at maximum."
"How- What do we do about that missing bodyguard?"
"Wait for him to show up, or the company to give a call. If he went with Grian and did not come back there's little chance he just decided to go frolic about. You may end up finding him at the hospital."

When Scar arrived at the address he was given, he casually circled around the huge building where the stage was and caught the gaze of Pearl, who was casually checking on the background dancers’ costumes before they were sent to the dressing room.

“Scar! You’re back! I have a ton of letters and I don’t know what to do!”
Pearl jumped into Scar’s arms, wrapping her long arms around his neck and pulling him close.
Scar pushed her away gently.
“I told you to give them to Impulse if needed. But let’s discuss that later, is Grian here? Can I check on him?”

Pearl straightened.
“Oh uh sure, if you manage to get him to open the door. He asked for his room to be prepared first and locked himself in early in the morning, while we were just getting started.”

Scar nodded.
“I’ll go try then. See you in either an hour or a couple minutes.”

Scar waved at Pearl, going inside the building through the unmarked door, staring at the emergency plan of the building to find where the dressing room was. 
He made his way through cold and empty corridors covered with white soulless paint, his shoes squeaking against the smooth flooring.

He found a room with an old printed paper claiming “VIP” on the door, barely hanging on.
Scar paused for a moment. He had received a text when he landed with his plane. The bodyguard was found unconscious lying in some dark hallway and was transported to the nearest hospital where he was being treated at the moment. The hospital confirmed it looked like he was hit several times with both sharp and blunt objects.
Grian was obviously targeted, and the bodyguard paid the full price. Grian apparently escaped mostly unscathed. Which, in Scar's book, made that bodyguard worthy of all the merits.

Scar leaned closer to the door and knocked three times, no answer.
He waited.

Then he had an idea, hoping Grian wasn’t just asleep inside.
Three small knocks. Three long knocks. Three small knocks again. The Morse code for SOS that he taught Grian in case of emergency. It was far from a code between them, but he was most certain no one else would do it. So he was announcing who he was, in some way.

He waited.

Just as he was turning around to leave, the door unlocked.

Scar turned to see Grian, his hair ruffled and sticking out in different places, eyebags under his reddened eyes, wearing a jacket, which he rarely did.

Grian’s eyes and mouth widened.

In an instant he threw himself at Scar, hugging his waist and burying his face into Scar’s chest.

Scar chuckled.
“Heh, looks like you missed me.”

Grian, unlike his usual self, didn’t reply. 
In fact, he was acting very different from usual, pulling Scar inside the dressing room, letting him go for a second just to lock the door then going back to hug Scar again.

“Whoa buddy, you’re really shaken up, aren’t you?”

Grian didn’t react.

“It’s fine. No one will get you in here. You’re safe.”

At that, Grian’s grip tightened.
Scar noticed a bruise on the side of Grian’s face. Likely some remains from the attack.
“I think we should order you some brunch, and then we’ll talk more.”

Scar needed Grian to relax and good food was a way.
He pulled out his phone, texting Pearl to order something nice and if possible to find ice cream.

Grian was slightly trembling, which indicated Scar that he hadn’t been sleeping well if at all, and that he might have struggled to eat complete meals. Scar did get here as fast as he could but there’s no doubt that he had been gone for a while, and lost sight of the state of the group.

“Hey, let’s sit on the couch, okay? Your legs must be tired.”

Grian groaned into Scar’s chest, not moving.
Scar scoffed and picked up Grian, carrying him over to the couch.
As he set him down, he noticed Grian wouldn’t let go of him, hanging in for dear life.

Scar sat down next to him, letting Grian adjust his sitting position.

“Want to talk?” Scar asked hopefully, chasing his memories of awkward moments away.
Grian hugged Scar’s arm, making himself smaller than he actually was.
“Don’t leave me again.”

Right. Cool cool cool.
Totally fine.

Scar totally didn’t feel his heart crumble at this instant.

“I’m… not… I’m not here for very long. I’m just here to make sure you find someone else before I… so, what I was supposed to do before… quitting.”
“I’ll pay you twice as much!” said Grian without even looking at Scar.
“It’s not about the money, and you know that…”
”Then what?”

Scar gulped.
“We are not negotiating this while you’re still somewhat in shock. Take some rest, because for some reason no one postponed the dates, and you have a show... supposedly tonight.”
“Will you stay?”
“I have to plan things up again with everyone, but I’m not far-“
“Please don’t go.”

Scar felt Grian’s hands tighten around his clothes. 
“But I have to talk to them, I can’t just sit here and do nothing, that’s not why I came back…”
“Please. Can’t you just call them on the phone?”
“It… doesn’t work like that. I have to be with them, to see and understand the issues…”
“Just today?”

Grian was used to order people around from his fame and needs, but this was on another level. And Scar was nothing but weak to Grian’s demands. Like when they barely knew each other and Grian begged him to let him go to this cat Cafe place, finally going with Scar under the condition that they would be back before 8 pm.
It ended up being Scar’s favorite place in the world for a long time.
Until Grian asked him to go to the planetarium, because that one was one of the biggest in the world.

That was when he looked at Grian expression while staring in awe at the universe that he-

“Fine, today. You get today. But tomorrow I’ll be way busier than I should be.”
“Stay.”

Scar sighed, slouching into the couch.
“Do you want to tell me what happened…?”

Grian stopped moving.
Scar went on. “I sent you a really good bodyguard, I’m surprised that happened at all…”

Grian’s voice became very low, Scar strained his ear trying to hear.
“I just wanted some snacks for the night…”
“Yeah, I know. You do that a lot, that’s why I had snacks and stuff stashed somewhere.”

Grian sighed sadly.
“I uh… we were in a crowded street, the… the bodyguard you sent insisted not to be in secluded areas.”
“Okay.”
“And… I didn’t get it, at first, but the bodyguard must have seen something because he became more rushed and tried to hide me from view.”

Scar noted that in the back of his mind.

“And then… there was a lot of yelling at first, and they were right at each other’s throats, and… and then they started fighting…”
Grian’s body was trembling, as if he had refused to think of it until now.
“The bodyguard pushed me away as he fought them off, yelling at me to run… that’s how I bruised my eye and shoulder, because I was thrown against a wall in the rush…”

Scar let Grian take his time.

“And… I twisted my ankle running… I didn’t do anything… I ran back to the group, and just a couple of hours later, I learned that it was all filmed and there were videos of it shared everywhere…”
“Do you remember the things they shouted?”
“I didn’t. The videos did.”
"Is... What I'm about to say is going to sound insensitive but I'd like to see those videos, I... Need to know if I can recognize or analyze the people that did this, okay?"

Grian gripped onto him even tighter.
"Please don't-"
"I'm not going to do it now. But I need to. If they come back they'll be twice as easy to notice."

Grian looked up to stare at Scar, perhaps to determine if he was serious or being optimistic.
Scar got a good look of Grian’s face then.
The tiredness. 
The red eyes, that have seen too much crying. The swollen bruise over his left eye, which had a bandaid covering a part of it, hinting at a previous bleeding.

Something itched Scar at the sight of this wound.
The way it was somewhat linked to Scar’s irresponsibility when he left without any preparation, overwhelmed by his own feelings.
If he wasn’t such a coward at the first signs of difficulty,  and if instead he had been strong enough to face the discomfort, the itching, the…
The…
Jealousy? Why was “jealousy” the only word Scar could put on what he was feeling?

There was no point, there was no one he could be jealous of, that-
Scar shook his head before any stupid thoughts could settle in.

“What?” asked Grian.
“Uhm- uh nothing. Just thinking about stuff. I’m sorry you got hurt.”

Grian looks down.

“Hey.” Scar wrapped an arm around Grian. “It won't happen again. I promise. I'll get everyone ready for any kind of situation and when I'll go it'll be the safest you ever were.”
"You can't promise something like that."
"Of course I can! I know what I'm doing. You have great employees they just need some directions."

Grian pulls on Scar's clothes to lean closer, pressing his forehead into Scar's chest.
"I wish you would just stay."

Scar felt all the pain of the world in those words.

“…Grian?”

Grian pressed his face further into Scar’s shoulder, making himself seem so fragile and delicate next to Scar's frame.

There was a long, very long pause. Like time itself slowed to listen, waiting for the answer.

Grian didn't say anything more. Didn't want to explain. Just cried quietly into Scar's clothes. Trembling. Scratching Scar's skin through the fabric, the more his fingers dug into him.

Scar wrapped his arms around him, shielding him from the outside world.

"I won't leave until I'm certain that you are safe. I promise."

And thus, even if Scar had some work to catch up on and some directions to give, he made sure he had some kind of visual on Grian’s whereabouts.
Checking every ten minutes on him from afar, letting him come close and stay beside him as long as Grian wanted to.

He started eating with Grian, following him to the dressing room and waiting at the door, or sitting down on the stage with Grian during the lighting tests.

The first moment Scar felt something off was when he was waiting in front of the dressing room.
He heard yelling through the door.
He opened the door, sneaking his head through the gap.

“Is everything alright?”
Grian was standing there in underwear, pointing at Pearl.
“Scar! She’s trying to force me into a corset!”

Scar raised an eyebrow.
“Say what now?”
Pearl rolled her eyes.
“It’s the scheduled outfit for today! Just put it on!”
“Scheduled?” Asked Scar.
“Yeah, scheduled. Ariana Grande is so popular, we had to arrange a whole calendar with the different outfits and clothes, so now it’s this one, sponsored by a very chic fashion designer, so he’ll put it on at the show, there’s no negotiating.”
“Do you want me to suffocate out there?!”
“You will not suffocate, you drama queen.”

Scar rubbed his face, at least relieved it wasn’t something too important. Grian seemed more lively. That or he was putting on a mask like he was so used to.

“Knock it off, you two. It’s Grian who goes on the stage, Grian has the last say on what he won’t wear. That’s just logical.”
“Scar, don’t be making decisions now, the schedule was made, and he will wear whatever the schedule tells him to wear. You know nothing about the fashion world, I don’t expect you to understand but at least just stay out of it.”

Grian turns away, irritated.

“Why are you-“
“Get out, Scar. This is between me and Grian.”

Scar scoffed.
“You do not get to speak to me like that over clothes, Pearl.”
“Clothes are my job! I think I’m owed some kind of acknowledgment on that!”

Scar groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Let’s start over. You got this schedule, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because- because it’s easier!”
“Who made the schedule?”
“I did! With the other designers!”
“Is there possibly no chance that none of you fashion gurus forgot about the practicality of the outfits?”

Pearl paused.

“Again, Grian is the one dancing and singing in it. I can’t have him faint on stage.”
“It’s not THAT bad…”
“Still, it’s Grian who gets to make the call. Save the outfit, keep it, he can wear it at some official meeting or interview, so your precious sponsors won’t ask for the money back.”

Pearl hesitated some more but was somewhat satisfied with that solution.
It was very clear that all of this weighed on her mind in difficult ways, and Scar would invite her to take some rest, if he didn’t feel like she would take it as an attack on her productivity.

Tiredly, she helped Grian slip into the next outfit on the list, a pink gala dress.

Don’t ask Scar how that dress could be more comfortable than a corset, he didn’t understand anything about these fancy clothes.

When Pearl left the room, Grian was sitting in front of the mirror to put on makeup.
Scar stepped closer, curious as to how he did it.

He was leaning over him when Grian sighed.

“Are you going to hire another bodyguard?”
“Uhm, technically no, the company where I hired the last one I was supposed to provide someone else.”

Grian brushed the long hair of his wig.

“I’m… not sure if I want another bodyguard.”
“I might understand where you’re coming from but let me tell you that this reasoning is stupid. They knew what they got into. That’s the whole job. They knew they had to sacrifice themselves to make sure those guys wouldn’t hurt anyone else.”
“I’d just rather not…”
“I assure you that every bodyguard knows the stakes of getting into that kind of job. It’s the same for us, all the security team. We might end up in the hospital someday. It’s part of it.“

Grian didn’t seem very happy about that. And it would be logical since Grian was the type to get worried for his employees’ wellbeing, that these subjects could make him nervous and uneasy.

And Scar remembered the first accident with the bodyguard he hadn’t checked properly, and how that would of course play into Grian’s refusal for another bodyguard. Feeling helpless around the one person who is supposed to protect you is one of the worst feelings.

“I… I understand your reluctance…” Scar cleared his throat. “But I must insist that I will never let an accident like the one with the other bodyguard happen again. That is exactly part of my job and responsibility.”

Grian’s expression changed as he looked away from Scar.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Scar frowned. “The… the accident. The one with… the first bodyguard.”

“You must be mistaken. There was no accident.” 
Grian grabbed another brush and went back to his makeup.

Scar’s eyes went wide. Wait what? What was he on about?

Chapter Text

Scar watches the crew members walking left and right, each having their tasks, knowing the security crew was outside drinking sodas, and his mind was lost in thought.
Grian kept saying that nothing happened with the first bodyguard, that he was just laid off for poor behavior and that was the end of it. Scar couldn’t help but worry if that was a poor coping mechanism to protect himself, but it wasn’t his place to judge. 

He sighed, stretched and went to the distributor to buy himself a cold drink too.

“Scar?”
Scar turned around, opening his can of not-sponsored soda.
“What?”
Grian seemed giddy. Which was good, though last time he was acting like this, Scar was asked to go buy him a tub of ice cream and it took him so much time of the day, when he was supposed to pack everything up and check on everyone.

“Could you come with me for a second? I have to show you something.”
Scar shrugged and followed Grian to the dressing room.

And Scar should’ve paid attention, because if he did, he wouldn’t have ended up there.
With Grian smiling a little too much and Pearl trying to hide something.

“Scar, could you sit right here, please?”
Scar crossed his arms.
“Okay… What’s going on? Why am I being punished?”
“Punished? No no, not… just sit down, it’ll be fun.”

Scar sighed. 
“Can I at least know what we’re doing?”

Grian pressed his lips together. 
“Right. Um… I… I’m not sure how to say it, but… Okay. So I’m going to a gala event, right? Tonight?”
Scar nodded, not quite following.
“Yeah, I know. I was planning to prepare a bunch of things in your absence, mind you.”
“Riiiight… But that’s not happening.”
“What? You decided not to go, why? I thought you were excited about it.”
“I still am! I’ll be going.”
“So what am I missing?”

Pearl leaned closer.
“You’re going with him, Scar.”

Scar’s heart dropped.
“What?”
“It’ll be fun, I promise! It’s just- it’s said on the invite that it would be better to go with someone, and- and what better option but to go with my most trusted security chief!”
Scar frowned.
“Can’t it be someone else? I have stuff to do, things I planned.”

Grian grabbed Scar’s arm as if he was going to run away.
“Please? I’d feel much better if you came along… I know I should trust the security there, but…”

Scar looked at Grian who was avoiding his gaze. Of course Grian would struggle to have faith in other security if the one he once trusted also failed him. And after having trouble with people in the middle of the street it was logical to seek safety.

Scar groaned at what it meant.
“Fine… I’ll come along…”

Grian beamed brightly suddenly and Scar couldn’t help but know that this was exactly what Grian had been planning.

“Thank you! Thank you thank you!”
“Hold on now, I have to send a bunch of texts now…”
“That’s fine! Just wait a minute, we have something…”

Pearl dug through the racks of clothes.
“It wasn’t easy to find something your size, but I’m the best, so…”

She handed him a black suit with a white button-up shirt. 
“Put that on. Let me see if it fits properly.”

Scar looked at the suit, which looked way out of his price range.
“Like… now?”
“Yeah, now. Here. Come on, take that off.”

Scar hesitated, nervous at the thought of undressing in front of Grian. Pearl was fine, she saw a lot of half-naked people and knew not to say anything, but Grian…
He cursed himself for agreeing to all of it without checking what was coming for him, then put the suit down and took off his shirt.

He shivered with the slightly cooled air of the air conditioning in the room, grabbing the white shirt. He stopped and tensed up when he felt a hand brush along his back.

“You’re… You’re uhm… you’re covered in scars.”
“Y-yeah, I… I uh… Working in security does that sometimes…”
Scar shivered some more as Grian let his hand travel on his back, and he put on the shirt to make it stop. He buttoned it up before getting into the dress pants.

Pearl pulled something out of the heap of clothes. 
“Before you finish putting it on, I have something I want to try…”

Pearl pulls out something that really looks like it’s not going to fit Scar, but it’s white with hot pink details. Griande colors. So of course Pearl was going to try.

She snaked behind Scar’s back and slipped on what seemed to be a sleeveless vest that would close from the front with weird hooks. It took him too much to understand what was going on and she was already pulling at the strings coming from the back, squeezing at Scar’s waist.

“Pearl!” he coughed out.
She giggled, pulling the vest even tighter.
“I’m sorry but you’d never let me do this otherwise!”
She seemed to stop pretty quickly, tying the strings in the back, and Scar carefully breathed, still under the shock.

He looked down and ran his hands along the vest, which looked, again, very pricey, and it didn’t look as flashy as he once thought. The vest was mainly white with decorative details on the fabric like flowers, and most of the hot pink was at the seams and on his back. 

The unwanted surprise was in fact a corset sewn into the design of the vest, squeezing his waist, shaping his body as if he had a dynamic build. Which he was pretty sure he didn’t have.

Pearl hadn’t been that excited since she was given the job as Grian’s costume designer. At least that was a small consolation prize for the humiliation he was feeling.
She adjusted the shirt underneath, making the collar sit on top of the neckline of the vest, and pulled at the fabric at the sleeves and the hem.

“What do you think, Grian?”

Scar felt his heart flutter as he turned around, wanting to see Grian’s reaction.

Grian was blushing, his eyes laser-focused on the corset vest. His dark eyes seemed to be drinking in every detail, slightly twitching from side to side. 
Scar stared back, wanting to commit this moment to memory. He didn’t mind wearing ridiculous outfits if Grian reacted that way. Like Scar was a yearned prize.

Pearl handed Scar the black vest to put on top, and he somehow managed to put it on by himself despite the pressure of the vest.
“I think it’s best if you leave it open. It really looks good like that, and we wouldn’t want to hide the vest.”
Scar pressed his lips together.
“Am I… Am I really supposed to attend an event with a vest like that? It’s… not very usual…”
“It’s not like you’re going to be on actual duty anyway, and you’re expected to dress your best to these events. But you can try it out for yourself and you’ll see that it doesn’t really hinder your movement, unless it’s a very specific bend.”

Scar frowned.
“I’m not even supposed to be on duty, I’m not getting paid for any of this.”
“I can pay you. You know I don’t mind,” Grian specified.
“I meant I’m not supposed to do this. That’s not my job.”

Grian looked away.
“Then could you do this favor for me as a friend?”
Scar shrugged.
“I mean I already said yes, so…”

Pearl rolled her eyes.
“Why don’t you accept a job then? Problem easily solved.”

Scar looked down at his hand. There’s a scar going from below his thumb to the other side of the hand.
“Because I’m not planning to. I said I would go as soon as I knew it was safe.”

Which… now that Scar was thinking about it, could be Grian’s reason for refusing to get another bodyguard. 
Scar had to tell the company to send in a new one, it was not reasonable to wait. Grian was going to find some way to put himself in danger anyway.

Pearl made Scar sit down in front of the mirror.
“So, this event is a masked event, actually. I think that’s really cool. And… Just for this occasion I can pull these out.”

Pearl pulls out of god-knows-where two sparkly white bunny masks. Scar rolls his eyes and smiles at her excitement.
“But before I put this one on you,” she puts one down in front of Scar and hands the other to Grian who was undressing, “I have to put some makeup on your eyes.”
“What? Why?”
“Because… The shape of the eyes of the mask really needs some nice dark lines, and I’m going to do just that.”

Scar grumbled as Pearl leaned over him and grabbed his face and grabbed a brush.
“Oh shush, just be glad I’m not giving you a full makeover.”

Scar huffed, his eyes focusing on Grian in the reflection of the mirror. Somehow Grian was fighting with his life to slide into a cocktail dress. Hot pink with white floral patterns. A long slit in the front to reveal just about his whole leg.

He was so distracted by seeing Grian slide on stockings that he was caught off-guard when Pearl suddenly moved.
“And… Done! What do you think?”

Pearl had applied a thick graphic line following the shape of Scar’s eyes, highlighting their color. He looked…

Absolutely ridiculous. He wanted to wipe it off.
Grian rushed closer, leaning beside him, and Scar looked at him to let Grian observe Pearl’s work.
Grian gulped, probably because he wanted Pearl to do it over.

“It looks really good…”
“Doesn’t it?! It’s crazy how it suits him well!”

Grian no. That’s not what you were supposed to say.

Grian brushed a finger over Scar’s cheekbone. His sight lowers below Scar’s eyes. He looked lost in thought.
Scar pulled away from his touch, looking away. Away from him, away from the mirror. 

Pearl placed the mask in his hands.
“Come on. Up. Grian has to do his makeup.”

Scar nodded and got up, and let Grian grab his hand to help him sit down.

Scar leaned on the wall and observed Grian apply various creams and powders to his face in mindful order, the colors appearing on his face, smudge after smudge.
His hand was guided by the strength of habit, making the most precise brush stroke look simple.

Scar did note the amount of glitter that was in almost every product. No wonder Ariana shined so brightly on stage, pun intended.

Scar did note that Grian didn’t put on his usual hot pink lipstick but a more muted one.

It was the fake lashes that threw off Scar the most. 

After minutes of careful makeup applying, and after Pearl discovered that Scar had his ears pierced and she kept adding fake ear piercings and changing earrings.
“Maybe that’s a lot…” tried Scar, wanting to calm her antics.

Pearl shrugged.
“At this point I’m not sure what I’m doing and I’m just doing it based on Grian’s reactions.”

Scar looked at Grian who immediately turned away, the mirror showing the bright flush of his face.

After Pearl kept adjusting and fixing and moving details around Scar’s appearance, on a whim deciding to style Scar’s hair, because apparently his hair hid some of the jewelry on his ears, Ariana told them it was time to go.

He’s pretty sure his brain went on vacancy for a while because there’s no way he would put up with this otherwise.

He let Ariana wrap around his arm, pulling him along, wondering how so much of his friend could vanish when he played a character.

Scar ordered a taxi and they waited a bit outside, having a few of their crew members cheering for the outfits. And Scar really didn’t need that attention from people he had to order around.

Ariana was giggling a lot, so childlike and happy.

Scar sighed in relief when the taxi arrived and they could hide away from the crew, sitting in the backseat, giving the taxi the address.

Ariana grabbed Scar’s hand with both of hers, her hands soft and her nails manicured holding his hand that looked like he fought with a bear.

“Thanks for… doing this for me.”
“It’s alright. I’ve always been curious about these secret events anyway.”

The car drove off, and Ariana kept fiddling with Scar’s hands, either out of nervousness or boredom. Ariana’s voice was always different than Grian’s. More airy, lighter, higher in pitch.

“You’re completely covered in scars, actually.”
“Am I? I could. I tend to mark easily.”

Ariana hummed.
“What happened?”
Scar chuckled.
“You asked about those already,” he said, looking at his hands.
“But I hadn’t yet seen the ones on your back…” Ariana whispered not to let the driver hear.

Scar shrugged.
“Well, mostly stuff before I got this job, anyway.”
“For how long have you been a chief of security?”
“A little less than five years, if I’m being optimistic. One year just waiting for a gig. The other year with three different clients. The rest… with you.”

Ariana hummed.
“Huh. you look like you have more experience than that.”
“I have experience. Just not that particular job.”

Ariana placed Scar’s hand on her thigh, over the synthetic fabric of the dress, the material feeling a bit rough under Scar’s skin. 
Scar felt awkward at the difference of behavior between Grian and Ariana. It was like he behaved like a whole new person once the outfit was dawned.

Scar pulled his hand away and paid more attention to the road, checking that they were going in the right direction.

“Were you a bodyguard before becoming a chief of security?” asked Ariana behind him, sounding slightly annoyed.
“No I wasn’t. Never was.” Scar eyes were still on the road, the GPS and the dashboard.
“Then what? Some kind of building worker, is that what gave you all these scars?”

Scar frowned and turned to Ariana.
“I was working for the police.”

Ariana seemed shocked from the coldness of his voice. 

She turned away and looked out the window, keeping quiet.

Scar sighed and kept watching the road.

They reached some expensive building with a massive garden and fountains, the car stopping in front of the huge alley that lead to an open door far away, that emitted light.

Scar got out of the car and Ariana got out before he could walk around the car, dusting herself off and adjusting the fabric of her dress.

She slipped on her mask which reminded Scar to do the same.

They walked side by side all the way to the front door, through the garden, Scar counting the amount of hiding places and dangerous spots.

Obviously there were a couple of security staff members waiting at the front door to check on the invitations, themselves dressed up with wolf masks.

Ariana showed her invitation with the ”plus one” indication, and the security let them through, with a couple of suspicious stares.

The inside was way too chic for Scar’s tastes. Red and gold colors, too much detail, and loads and loads of people walking around.
He was never one for crowds but the fact that he was inside of it made him feel uneasy. There was barely anything anticipated to handle panic movements, Grian might end up getting slammed against a wall or walked on by brainless celebrities if the emergency arose.

Scar decided to simply follow Ariana to wherever she wanted to go, who she wanted to greet.

She greeted a few groups of people, not staying long since they were already in some deep conversation, going from one group to the other pretty easily.
The more it went on the more confident was Scar in his idea that being a bodyguard is not his job and shouldn’t be his job.

But all too fast, Ariana went beside the food display and stood there, watching the others gossip and discuss and munching on some expensive toast. 
Which was unusual because Ariana loved being the life of the party, even if there was no party.

Even her dress showed that she really wanted to go to that party, from the detailed dress to the feather scarf, to the complicated styling of the wig… 
She had put effort into her appearance, more than usual.

And she was now eating alone beside the buffet, losing her smile. It was still somewhat there but there was unmistakably a sad undertone hidden in it.

Scar opened his mouth to say something, even just ask what was going on, but the words died out on his tongue. He wasn’t sure it was his place to ask. 

His hands itched and his back felt cold, as he wanted to console his friend, but… he rarely interacted with Grian’s alter ego. He wasn’t sure how Ariana would react, if she would just brush it aside, or bite back.
He bit his lip, concern etching into his bones, not liking that she was here, alone, with him, when she should be giggling and making new friends with people she hadn’t met.

He was shifting his balance on his feet when a group of people walked by, two girls in extravagant dresses holding each other by the arm, and another was walking behind.
“Do you see that? We even let boys wear dresses now,” one giggled, and the other hid her smile behind her hand as they kept walking.

Scar’s eyes drifted to Ariana who had her shoulders hunched up.
If his first wish was to chase those girls and give them a piece of his mind, he didn’t want to make a scene. That would probably ruin the party, and Scar had to fix Ariana’s mood before they went back, for her sake. 

So he held onto his dignity and his self-control, while his anger pulsated through his body.

He leaned closer to Ariana’s shoulder.

“Ariana?” he called.

She didn’t react.

“Griande?” he insisted.
At that name, she turned around, very obviously trying to hide her emotions.
“What?” her voice sounded frail.
“How about we take a walk to the garden? You’re looking a bit pale.”

She hesitated, looking at Scar’s face, and after some intensive cheek biting, she nodded and wrapped her gloved hands around Scar’s arm.
With a smile, he led her outside, nodding to the security, and walked closer to the fountain,

As he stood there, her still clinging onto his arm, he stared at the water falling down, making barely any noise.

“I don’t think I want to stay anymore…” she stated.
“Really? But we have been here for barely an hour…”

She gripped his sleeve tighter.
“I know.”
“How about you tell me about what makes you so eager to leave? You usually love parties.”

Ariana shrugs, pressing her forehead to Scar’s shoulder, the mask getting a bit in the way.

“Were people mean to you?”
Ariana shrugged again.
“That’s rude of them. You don’t deserve poor treatment. Why are they being like that? That’s not right…”

Ariana sighed shakily. 
Scar pulled away a little when she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder.
“Hey, let’s not ruin that pretty makeup now, huh? It didn’t last long enough yet.”
“For what? I just want to go back to the hotel…”

Scar grabbed both her hands, recognizing Grian’s hands, soft and delicate, hydrated and taken good care of, with the same acrylic nails that Grian loves in hot pink.
“There’s plenty of food to eat and you can drink yourself to oblivion if you want, I can always carry you to the taxi. Let’s just try to have a nice evening, yeah? I wouldn’t want you to regret coming here…”
“But I already do.”

The mask couldn’t hide Ariana’s expression, looking down, barely seconds away from crying, her posture slumped. Scar hated seeing Grian’s feelings seeping through, heavy and painful to bear.

Scar let her hands go and pulled her into a hug.
“I’d prefer if we found something to cheer you up before going back, but if you’re too uncomfortable and really need to go, we can go.”

Ariana hugged him back, her hands traveling across the material of his vest, tight against his body. Scar couldn’t help but feel like this was somehow more intimate than anything they had ever done before.

Well except that one specific time… Scar should really ask Grian about the first bodyguard.

Ariana sighed in his arms.
“Scar… Do I feel like a woman to you?”

The question did surprise Scar, but he barely acknowledged it to answer faster.
“Well, I don’t really pay attention, since you’re always you. You’re different. That was always a given.”
She wasn’t satisfied with the answer.
“But do I feel like a woman, to you?”
Scar, this time, took a bit of time to think.
“Right now? I guess so, I mean anyone seeing you right now would call you a beautiful lady…”
Ariana hit him in the chest, not hard enough for him to care.
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not. You look wonderful, your dress suits you perfectly. You shine through the whole crowd of people in there and you keep making heads turn everywhere you go. You have a feminine energy I have yet to see in someone else, yet it doesn’t define you. What is most obvious is that you’re unapologetically yourself, and that’s what makes you attractive.”

Uh oh. Scar feels his cheeks getting really hot.

Ariana sighs in his arms.
“You really do have a way with words, huh?”
Scar licked his lips, feeling his throat dry.

“But if that was true, why… why doesn’t anyone invite me to dance? Why do some people allow themselves to call me a boy in a dress?”

Having Ariana play with the strings of the vest was slightly distracting while Scar was trying to put words together.
“If I had to guess… I think my presence could be the reason why you’re not getting bothered a lot. I just… tend to do that. For the other thing… Everyone knows you. Everyone knows where you come from, your story, the details about you that you shared in interviews. People who allow themselves to say that to you, are just people acknowledging your influence. Don’t pay attention.”

Ariana pulled away, pouting a little. Scar didn’t want to think about the feeling in his gut at the sight.

“So?”
Scar frowned.
“So what?”
“Well… you have a pretty girl in your arms complaining that no one asked her to dance, and you’re going to stand there?”

Scar pressed his lips together. There’s no way Grian would ever say something like that.
“For… a good reason. You don’t want me as a partner.”
“Mmh? Why not?”
Scar’s heart was hammering in his chest.
“I’m a terrible dancer anyway.”

Ariana pulled him towards the front door.

“Come on! Please? Just one dance?”

Scar gulped as he let himself be pulled back inside of the building.
He never had his hands become moist so fast, his heart squeezing inside his chest with nervousness.
And barely seconds after Ariana had pulled him to the dancefloor, the other song ended, and was replaced by a slow song. 
With growing anxiousness, he felt Ariana’s hands place themselves on his waist, seemingly interested in the vest he was wearing. Scar grabbed her hands quickly to place them around his neck, and he wrapped his around Ariana’s waist, pulling her closer.

“Eager, aren’t we?”
She teased him with a smirk on her face and Scar had to look away, concentrating on swaying somewhat on beat.

She eyed him a little too much for his comfort, before leaning closer and whispering in his ear.

“Thanks for doing this for me.”

Usually, Scar would respond his common “anytime” that he liked throwing back at Grian or pretty much anyone in the tour crew to play it off. But not this time. He couldn’t. He was too surprised, and moved, by the fact that Grian had used his normal voice to say it.
In a moment where he’d want to stay in character, he wanted to break his own rules to thank Scar.

Scar pulled Ariana a little closer, leaning his head to the crook of her neck to hide his face.

It was far into the night when the taxi reached the hotel. Scar’s back and legs hurt more than he was used to, yet he insisted on getting the door for Ariana.

If they had prepared better they would’ve retrieved their clothes from the dressing room but at this hour most likely everyone was asleep at the hotel and couldn’t open the backdoor for them.

So, there they were, walking together Ariana clinging onto Scar’s arm as they walked through the desert hallway of the hotel, all the way to the elevator where Ariana held Scar’s hand to trace patterns over his faint scars.

When they got into the elevator, Scar pressed the button, and Ariana pressed herself closer to him to drag her hands along the lines of the corset vest.

“You’re really obsessed with that thing, huh? You’re going to tear a hole in the fabric if you keep doing that.”
“It’s just… it’s really nice, okay? It looks good, and… and you look good in it.”

Scar didn’t dare say another thing.

They walked together towards their rooms that were next to each other, something Scar would’ve attributed to a bodyguard, if they had any.

Ariana grabbed his arm before he could reach his room.

“Are you going to go to sleep like that?”

Scar frowned.

“What?”
“Do you know how to take off a corset correctly?”
“Uh, I assume I just have to undo the attachments at the front?“

Ariana huffed.
“Come on. Let’s go to my room.”

She unlocked the door with the keycard and motioned for him to get inside.
Scar regretted not having a mask that could hide his blush.

He got inside, noticing the room was pretty much the same as his, except for the noticeable smell of Grian lingering.

“Take off your jacket,” Ariana said, putting down her things, and Scar obeyed, barely any mind to retort something funny, because somehow this didn’t feel funny to him.

And he felt as he was to be eaten alive when her eyes landed on his outfit, the vest now full on display.

She walked closer, slowly, eyeing him up and down, seemingly savoring the moment a bit too much like a drunk person would. Which made Scar think of how much alcohol was taken throughout the night.

“You can’t just pop open a corset, you might injure yourself, because your body was squeezed so tightly for so long.”
“Now I’m starting to get why you didn’t want to go on stage with something like that.”

Ariana nodded, circling around Scar.

“To do it safely you have to loosen the corset from the strings, let your body take back its original shape slowly.”
With expert fingers, she tugged on the lace and made it a little looser, and yet it made a huge difference to Scar who took a big breath.

“I feel like… like you’re enjoying this a bit too much…”
Ariana tugged at the lace again, creating a rhythm of freeing his lungs bit by bit.
“How can I not? This may be the only moment in my life where I can see you wearing something else than sweatpants and staff jackets.”
“They’re practical!”
“I didn’t say otherwise. I know. I just… You look good when you make the extra effort. Just wanted to enjoy that.”

Scar said nothing as Ariana walked around Scar again and this time, undid the hooks at the front, freeing Scar’d ribcage for good.

“Oh that feels much better…”
Ariana nodded, motioning for him to come along in the bathroom.

Scar noticed immediately the mountain of products there. There was much less than at the dressing room but it still was a lot.
Ariana grabbed something and poured it on a cotton pad.

“Here. Rub the black around your eyes off.”

He was a bit anxious, not certain on how to do it, but Ariana showed him as she rubbed the glitters and colors off of her face.
The black wouldn’t go away easily but with a bit of advice from Ariana he managed to get it all out. As Ariana took off her makeup, Scar could see the slow transition back to Grian take place.
"I liked the black around your eyes."
"I looked emo."
"You looked... hypnotizing. Not sure how to put it. Your eyes look much brighter when you wear dark makeup."

Scar was distracted for a second when he noticed lipstick smears on his neck. The color of Ariana’s lipstick.
He hadn’t noticed a moment where that could have happened so he thinks it was probably during one of the dances they shared.

Grian told him to get the jewelry into a tiny pink cup and so he did, taking one after the other the fake piercings out.

“Scar?”
Scar hummed, strechting.
“Could you stay in my room tonight?”
Scar looked at Grian’s reflection in the mirror.

“I could, but why?”
“I just… don’t want to be alone.”

And if Scar knew all too well the feeling of loneliness, Grian’s posture and avoidant glare expressed a threat.
“Is there someone I should know about, Grian?”

Grian shook his head.
“Probably nothing but… I’d rather have you here than… discovering I was right but being alone.”

It wasn’t Scar’s job, but he wanted to take care of that himself. If there was a threat, a danger, a worry, he proffered to be the first informed.

“Okay, I’ll just go change and I’ll be right back.”
“Oh uh, okay, don’t be too long…”

Scar nodded, grabbing his keycard and rushing to his room, changing from the tight-fitting button-up to his usual clothes, before returning to Grian’s door in record time.

Grian opened the door for him and pulled him by the wrist into the room, closing the door behind him.
Scar was already thinking about how he was going to spend the night, checking the window and the peephole and the dark corners of the room, but Grian pulled him to the bed, forcing him to climb onto it, and Grian manoeuvered him to have Scar laying under the covers on his back, and Grian curled at his side, wrapping a leg around on of his thighs, and letting a hand roam where there was once a corset vest. But now the vest was gone, and Grian caressed Scar’s skin directly by slipping his hand under Scar’s shirt. 
“Goodnight Scar…” Grian mumbled.

And Scar would’ve replied if he had any air left in his lungs, his muscles trembling under Grian’s tickling touch.

Chapter Text

Scar was tapping angrily on his own shoulder, staring at the wall of his hotel room.
They had a bit of free time until the next show date and Scar wanted nothing but to sleep until dawn. 

Scar had asked Grian about everything the morning that they woke up in the same room. Why he was dismissive of the first bodyguard, why he refused to hire another bodyguard, and why he was acting like this with Scar.
Scar didn’t end up getting the answers he wanted and was told to leave the room.

So since then he’s been mulling over his thoughts, trying to figure something out, and he had made a choice, here, alone in his new hotel room miles away from his apartment.
That, from now, he was going to do things like he intended them to happen and he’ll leave once he’s done, so he can stop having to sort through this amount of puzzle pieces that won’t fit together.

He knew Grian was going to freak out, but at least this time he’ll leave without letting it all fall into pieces. 
He had a long call with the company of the last bodyguard, and ordered some staff.
People to replace him.

They are supposed to arrive today, and that’s why he’s staring at the wall, debating whether or not he should be packing up his things and be ready to leave or if he’ll stay a bit more, to make sure everything is going smoothly and accordingly to plan, even though that would entail having to face Grian’s frustration and anger.

With a long sigh he got up from his bed, prepared for the day and went to the concert arena.
He felt quite tired when he arrived, for some unknown reason. Everything was happening like it should, everyone was already working, and Scar grabbed a cup of coffee while stepping out onto the stage, analyzing the room.
One of the security staff handed him a layout of the whole place, and he sipped on his paper cup while looking at it and making different scenarios in his head.

He was planning ahead where he would place the several members of the staff when he was suddenly grabbed.
Surprised he looked down to see Grian’s familiar hair close to his chest, and noticed his arm pointing away. Scar turned in a flash to find someone standing ominously in a doorway, frozen for a second. 

Scar called out to them. “Hey! Who are you?!”
The shadow suddenly moved, as if surprised, and ran away.
Scar cursed under his breath, grabbing his phone.

“That damn- Grian, are you alright? Did they touch you?”
Grian didn’t reply, only wrapping his arms around Scar’s waist, pulling him close.
“Don’t you worry, I’ll have that person thrown away in a few minutes. Just stay close for now.”

Scar messaged the security group chat about the silhouette he saw, telling them to grab anyone suspicious.

“I’m sorry about that, usually people are stopped before they can reach the team. Are you okay? Can I do anything?”
Grian didn’t say anything again, just held Scar, and Scar sighed as he hugged him back, looking at the layout again.

“We’ll go to the dressing room, okay? That way you’ll at least be safer behind a locked door.”

Grian nodded, letting Scar lead the way. 
They walked through corridors, went up stairs, and finally reached the dressing room where some of Grian’s usual stuff was dropped off.
Scar locked the door once they were inside, and Grian sat nervously on the couch in the middle, tapping his fingers on his thighs. 

Scar stared at him for a minute, hesitating on what to do, not knowing how to comfort Grian after he had probably been chased for some time. Even if it was short, it evidently wasn’t fun.

“Is there anything I can do for you? I could get you something to eat…”

Grian’s mouth opened. Then closed, slowly, as he seemed to be thinking. Scar was eager to help Grian before he heard him say anything.

“Could I… Could I put makeup on you?”

Ah.

Scar shrugged. “Would that help you feel better?”
Grian nodded.
“Well okay then. I’ll be finishing tonight’s plan while you do.”

Grian jumped from the couch and motioned for Scar to sit in front of the mirror while he grabbed the makeup bag.
Scar sat down, looking at his reflection in the mirror and noticed how dark his eyebags had gotten. 

“Could you order something too? I’m a bit hungry…” Grian mumbled.
Scar nodded and pulled out his phone to order something from a restaurant nearby. Something that had desserts.

Scar chuckled when Grian placed the various makeup products on the table in front of him, like some old school villain spreading out torture devices.

“You can take it off after, I just… I-”
“It’s okay,” Scar assured. “You don’t have to justify anything to me. You told me it would help you calm down and soothe you, so we’re doing it. It’s not like this was going to have lasting repercussions. So have at it.”

Grian nodded, pulling Scar away from the mirror.
“You have to draw the chair back a bit so I can be in front of you…”

Scar obliged and pulled the chair back.
Grian grabbed a brush.
“You… You don’t mind if I draw black around your eyes again?”
“It’s fine. I’m not going to feel threatened because of some color around my eyes. Have at it.”

Grian pressed his lips together, and leaned over to delicately press the brush he was holding against the corner of Scar’s eye.
Grian looked very focused, his eyes narrowed and his lower lip curled back to dart out just the tip of his tongue. He was wearing a baggy shirt that hiked up a little as he was bending over, revealing just a sliver of skin over his hips, which really didn’t help Scar stay still and calm in this situation.
Maybe if Grian didn’t have the idea of wearing low-rise pants Scar wouldn’t have had such a difficult time aligning his thoughts.
Raising up the building layout and planning anything was near impossible, as he took in how close to his face Grian really was.

“Spread your knees.”
Scar blinked.
“H-huh?” his voice came out higher than he wanted to.
“Spread your knees, I need to be more stable. You’re leaning back.”

And instead of thinking it over, taking his time, understanding that he only needed to lean forward again since he had moved back to try and limit the overwhelming feeling of Grian, he obliged.
Moving his knees apart so that Grian could put one of his on the chair, leaning even closer, being so careful not to poke Scar in the eye

Scar felt his hands creep onto Grian’s waist, not certain if it helped Grian be stable or if it helped him not succumb to the amount of feelings surging from inside of him.

His heart was beating so hard it felt like it could come out of his body.

He desperately tried to take back control, reminding himself that the person who had been chasing Grian about ten minutes ago was still unfound, that Grian wasn’t actually safe to perform, that he had much work to account for, but his brain turned to mush each time Grian put his finger under Scar’s chin to tilt his head one direction or another.

His thoughts were so confused, he had to watch Grian say something and not understand any of it.
“Uh- what?”
“Can I- can I put lipstick on you or is that off limits?”

Scar let out a slowly breath.

“I- don’t mind, it’s okay.”
Grian seemed unsure.
“I won’t leave it for long, I just… well.”

Grian grabbed a lipstick with his AG initials written on it with marker. Griande’s signature lipstick.

Sweat stuck to Scar’s back as Grian pressed his thumb under Scar’s lower lip to apply cautiously the greasy lipstick, using his pinky finger to spread it evenly.

Something started to itch inside of Scar, at the same place he had been feeling butterflies for some time now, and his hands were gripping the arms of the chair so hard he could have ripped part of it off.

Grian put back the lipstick and stayed there for a moment, admiring his work.

“Hey Scar-“

Scar leaned forward, his hands still on the chair, getting closer to Grian.
Grian backed away a little, his eyes wide.
Scar leaned forward a bit more, unable to contain his now burning need. He didn’t know what he needed, though he knew from whom it had to come.

Grian whispered, “Scar, what are you doing?”
Scar kept silent, his gaze focused on Grian’s lips.

And after a little sigh, Grian leaned in and kissed Scar chastely, which didn’t sit right with Scar who pulled him into his lap and kissed him hard, pressing his lips while holding Grian against him, like he needed Grian's lips imprinted on his skin.
But the feeling was too weak, he barely felt satiated so he grabbed Grian by the waist and hoisted him onto the table, standing up to chase after his lips, pressing him against the mirror behind as whatever was on the table was pushed away, pulling his hips closer, chasing, chasing the feeling that went straight to his heart each time he felt the texture of Grian's lips, each time Grian would make a little noise, muffled by their making out.
Grian's hands gripped at his back and his legs circled Scar's hips as Scar leaned lower and attacked Grian's neck, grunting, both nipping and licking the perfect skin, eager to draw more reactions out of Grian, his whole body burning...

"Scar, wait..."

Scar stopped, panting against Grian's shoulder, unable to pull away but refusing to continue, listening to Grian's rapid breathing, feeling Grian retract. 
With effort, his whole body feeling electric from the adrenaline, he leaned back, enough to look at Grian.

Grian had a hand in front of his mouth and nose, barely hiding the smuged mark of lipstick on his chin.
His cheeks and nose were tinted red, up to his ears, as he stared at Scar with dark eyes.

Scar slowly set his hands on the table, on each side of Grian's legs, taking calming breaths.

"I uh... I'm sorry Grian, I didn't mean to..."

A soft hand laid on his, sliding up to his wrist.

"It's... It's fine..."
"Don't say that," replied Scar. "You don't have to say that it's fine."
Scar heard Grian gulp, and his hands closed into fists from this simple sound.

"I... Don't mind, Scar. It's... it's ok, just... Just not the right moment..."

Scar thought of the stalker of before.

"Ah. Shoot. Yeah. I should take care of that."

Scar straightened up, fixing his clothes. He caught a glimpse of his reflection, the makeup ruined, smeared, and he found out that he didn't mind wearing makeup in certain contexts.

He helped Grian stand up, wiping away the traces of lipstick off his face.

For a moment they stood there, in the aftermath of Scar's impulsiveness. Scar wondered if he had broken something. If the damage was too great to be fixed.

He opened his mouth to ask a question, but the one he ended up speaking hadn't crossed his mind until now.

"Did I scare you because I reminded you of him?"
He turned his head away, cursing himself for being so brutal and careless, when Grian obviously looked shaken.

"You didn't scare me, no. And I don't want to talk about him."
Still, the image of that bodyguard pressing himself against Griande was still very clear in his mind.
"Why... Why not?"
Grian bit his lip, crossing his arms and looking down.
"Because I don't want you to see me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like I... Have one-night stands, or whatever."

Scar sighed, pulling Grian to sit on the couch.
"I don't care if you do, you know."
"But I don't..."
"Why would I think that anyway?" he asked, sitting down next to him, and Grian leaned against him. "He forced himself on you."
"It wasn't his fault."
Scar chuckled. "What? You're going to say he just fell on top of you?"

Grian grabbed the hem of Scar's shirt, playing with it. "I flirted with him..."
"So what?"
"It's... Just logical that he reacted that way..."

Scar sighed, pulling Grian into a hug, laying them both down on the couch.
"You flirt with everyone, Grian. You like having that confidence and that personality. Everyone finds it endearing. If that guy doesn't get it, his fault."
"But he just got there..."
"And if he was smart he wouldn't do that on his first days of work. That's, one, highly unprofessional, and two, it's just plain aggressive."

Grian grumbled a bit more and Scar let him do so while he was laying on top of him, combing his fingers through perfect hair.

The room quieted down, as Scar let himself get lost in thought, and Grian calmed down.

Until Grian perked up, rising onto his elbows to look into Scar's eyes.

"About what happened earlier... Would you want to come to my room tonight?"