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As the autumn slowly crept to its end, Wing and Grillby fell into a morning habit, a ritual of sorts. They both agreed that being up as soon as they were had to be harmful to one’s health, but Grillby had to prep the kitchen. And Wing had a job of his own at the university, to pay for wherever he was staying.
(He always dodged questions pertaining to exactly where it was, but considering how often he’d see Wing hanging out outside, it probably wasn’t the most glamorous place. But a student has to sleep somewhere.)
So they met up at the edge of the city and complained about it on the way to their destinations. It was nice, and Grillby quickly grew to like these short, calmer walks, before he got thrown into Firebreak’s excitement. And the season was especially fitting for them - especially in the hours before the city properly woke up. They passed quiet buildings, the only real hint at life in them being half-opened curtains and ‘closed’ signs. Then the maple grove, filled with especially gorgeous shades of oranges and purples, the leaves rustling in the cold breeze, falling and pooling underneath the trees.
Wing seemed calmer around them, and Grillby… Well, he was more fascinated by the piles than the trees themselves.
They were always kind of tempting. It was silly, for sure. Definitely not worth acting on.
Thought he couldn’t help but to think about it every time they walked through.
“Are you feeling alright?” Wing stopped in front of him and Grillby realized he was standing as well. “You seem out of it today.”
“Yeah, I’m just… Thinking.” He should get going again, but he didn’t.
The skeleton was light enough, wasn’t he? And didn’t pose a possible fire hazard, should he get startled too bad. Maybe… Just maybe…
“Would you… elaborate on what about?” He wasn’t sure if the expression on the skeleton’s face was curiosity or concern.
He crackled out a sigh. “You know what we talked about a few days ago? With the snails.” Wing turned embarrassed in a snap. “Could you… Promise me you won’t laugh at me, either.”
“O-okay. Sure, I won’t laugh at you,” he smiled in response, seemingly relieved it wasn’t anything serious. “What is it?”
Grillby gestured for him to get closer, and the skeleton obliged. He put his hands on his shoulders. “I wanted to do this. Sort of. Since… Since I was like three.”
“Okay?” This time it was Wing completely stumped about what to anticipate.
“I promise I have no intention of hurting you.”
The furrowed brows told him worrying about such a possibility didn’t even cross Wing’s mind. Foolish of him to put so much trust in a monster as fickle as a fire elemental. He gripped his arms tightly.
“Why would I think that you’d—”
Grillby threw him through the air, straight into the nearest pile.
The stirred up leaves were probably more elegant than the maneuver itself, but that wasn’t hard.
They stared at each other in silence for a while. Wing blinking, half-buried in the pile, too confused to move. Grillby heaving.
And then Wing unceremoniously sneezed out a twig and neither of them could help breaking down into laughter.
This was so stupid.
Before Grillby could recover, something grabbed the collar of his coat and he was laying face-first in the pile as well, swallowing some of it on his own. Though he managed to resurface pretty quickly. “What was that fo—”
A fistful of leaves, again landing in his face, shut him up. Alright, he was fighting back. Even without seeing anything, he found a ribcage with his feet, and simply—
Wing was still laughing as he tumbled out, bits and pieces of debris sticking out of absolutely every place they could. Patiently, snickering, he waited for Grillby to get his bearings back together, bravely persevering even through another wave shoved at him. “How does a face full of leaves taste, tell me.” He was grinning much wider than Grillby thought was possible.
He defiantly put another bundle of leaves into his face, before blowing black smoke straight into Wing’s, cutting off the snickering for startled coughing. “About as pleasantly as it smells.”
“Point taken,” he wheezed as he waved away the last black wisps, skull significantly darkened, but still bright and… Of course he was glowing purple. “Was that it? Did you just want to…
“…Yeah.”
He shuffled closer and leaned on Grillby’s shoulder, watching him closely with a mischievous smirk. “Well, how did you like it?”
“It wasn’t… bad.” Kind of fun, actually.
“Even with the whole ‘eating plant matter against your will’ thing?”
“Even with the whole ‘eating plan matter against my will’ thing,” he crackled and barely managed to contain another sneaking laugh.
“Well then,” Wing pulled away, now smug, “You’re gonna have to up your throwing game for next time. What even was that?“
“Excuse you.” He sent a gentle fire bullet his way, dissipating into sparks as it touched his forehead. “I’m not exactly known for my physical strength or athleticism, you know. No muscles to speak of and magic does most of my work for me.”
“You mean you’re a wimp.”
“Exactly.”
Wing let out an amused huff. “Well I guess that makes two of us. We should make a club.”
Grillby tapped his chin, “Sounds fancy. A little bit too fancy. Actually, I think we should be going to work now instead.”
At that, the scientist perked up. “Work!”
“Yes. Work. Correct.”
And Wing was on his feet, dusting himself off, picking leaves from between his vertebrae and shaking dirt out of his… eyes…
“Can you see?”
“What? I— Yes, yes. It’s kinda fuzzy and will stay fuzzy until I. Uh. Clean it out,” he trailed off. Grillby shuddered at the thought of him shoving something into his own skull. Couldn’t have been a pleasant experience. Wing noticed. “Ah, don’t worry! I’ve had worse things in my sockets before. As long as it’s not sharp or has a lot of force behind it, it’s fine. Sight can just get temporarily weird until it’s out.”
“Hmm.” Still didn’t sound great.
“Don’t give me that tone, it’s fine. Eating damp leaves probably also wasn’t the nicest either, hm?”
“…Fair.”
“See?” Wing grinned as he picked out the last leaf out of his neck with a shiver. “All’s good then. And I should get going so I can eat tonight.”
Grillby crackled in agreement as he stood up as well, fanning himself warmer. Wing was watching him intently, hesitating just the tiniest bit on actually going on his way.
Well that was suspicious. “What.”
“Nothing.”
He squinted. “Really.”
“Oh, just,” Wing waved, mischief sparking in his eyes, “Thinking about how you better stay on your toes, because next time I’ll be showing you how to properly shove someone into a leaf pile instead.”
Grillby wondered if he should consider that a threat as he watched the skeleton walk away with a giddy spring in his step.
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