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yacinthemorning · 3 months

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A Lesson in Listening

Summary: Grian's brother is moving to town and staying with him while he house hunts. While introducing him to his friend, however, Jimmy and Tango seem to make quite a connection. Determined not to suffer through the pining, Grian and Impulse attempt to play matchmaker.

Ships: Grian & Impulse(Platonic), Jimmy/Tango (Romantic), ZITS (Platonic), Grian & Jimmy (Familial)

Warnings: mild acephobia, verbal fight, sibling bullying, misunderstandings, relationship meddling

If Grian was good at one thing, it was connecting people. Not to be a braggart, but he was a sociable sort who was good at reading people, made new friends with ease, and led the pecking order in his circles. It was his great talent, really. One of many.

“Humility not being among them, clearly.”

“Shush.” Grian hissed, whipping his head around to glare daggers into Impulse. The stout man returned it with his trademark innocent smile, as if Grian didn’t know what went on in the head behind it. “You’re distracting me.”

Impulse chuckled. “What’s there to distract from?”

“I’ll have you know mixing friend groups is a very delicate process!” Grian explained, holding his phone to show the opened notepad doc. “Inviting the wrong person could be the difference between success and disaster.”

“I think you’re overthinking things, G. Anyone who’d get along with you will probably get along with your brother.”

Therein lied the problem, though. Jimmy was nothing like Grian. Okay, well, nothing was a bit of a strong word. Jimmy was extroverted and sociable like Grian, and they both had a fondness for mischief and cats. And maybe Jimmy was the first person Grian always invited to karaoke night when he was in town, because no one else was quite as enthusiastic as they were. But other than that they were nothing alike! For one, unlike Grian, Jimmy was a massive loser.

“That’s a bit rude.”

Grian squawked. “Would you please stop reading my mind!”

“You should stop speaking your mind, then.” Impulse shrugged and returned to scrolling through his phone. Grian had assigned him the task of picking out the venue for the night out, being far more familiar with the town than Grian. He paused, “You might as well monologue, I know you want to.”

“I don’t monologue! I’m not Scar.” Another name was struck out on the list. Doc was angry at him right now, anyways. “I just want things to go well, can I not be excited that Tim is moving closer? I’ve barely got to see him more than once every other month for the past several years! By the way, we can’t-“

“Can’t eat red meat so make sure there’s other options, yeah, I know.” A large hand patted down on Grian’s head, ruffling his hair.

He pouted, falling back into the cushions of his couch. “I feel like you do not appreciate the skill needed to coordinate you people. It’s like herding cats, you know.”

“Why do you think we leave it to you?” Impulse leaned over Grian’s shoulder. “Who you got so far, anyways?”

“You, Scar, Gem, and Cleo. Mostly people he’s met before at least.”

A curious hum filled the air and Grian patiently waited for whatever idea was brewing in Impulse’s head. There were a few taps to his screen, then, “You think Tango can come?”

“Tango?” Grian’s eyebrow quirked up. “Isn’t he hauled up in his basement working on some game right now?” While most certainly a good friend, Tango was one Grian went almost just as long without seeing as his brother half a day’s drive away, despite being a street away. Once he had an idea he would dedicate himself to it until it was done.

Impulse sighed. “Yeah. Zed was able to get him outside for an hour last week, and he went on some business trip for a bit, but he also hasn’t eaten in like two days last I checked. It’d be good excuse to drag him out. He’s gonna forget what real people sound like outside his headphones if we don’t.”

“I honestly don’t know how he expects to survive if he moves out from you guys.”

“I already made him promise to give me a set of spare keys when he does.”

Grian tilted his head as he stared at his last message to the man in question. Something about a crazy idea for a remote-controlled cat toy he thought of. In all honesty it wasn’t the worst idea. Not the cat toy- Tango was a strong personality who left a big impression, but he was always polite. Certainly much more introverted than everyone else going, but not nearly as bad as Zed. At least, when he remembered to leave his basement. It couldn’t do them any harm. At the very worst he could sit in the corner and chatter with Impulse. “Yeah, sure, let’s invite him.” He said, already typing.

Impulse gave a thumbs up. “Tell him we’re gonna go to that barbeque place he loves, that’ll get him.”

“I said-”

“They have plenty of chicken and even vegetarian options, I double checked. It’s right across from the bowling alley, too. And call him, don’t text, or he’ll never see it.”

It was a small miracle Tango agreed to go. It was a small miracle he answered his phone at all. The mention of barbeque worked, though. How much of the rest of the evening they could convince him to stick around for had yet to be seen, but Grian was hopeful he’d stay a little while at least.

Impulse could deal with Tango, though. Right now, Grian had his hands full with Jimmy. They were running ten minutes behind because his poor little brother couldn’t bear going a day without a bubble bath. “C’mon, Tim, get in the car!” He shouted from the window.

Jimmy stumbled in, nearly dropping his phone between the seats in the process. “I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying, I just had to send a text. I thought this was supposed to be fun?” He whined. The second his door was closed Grian began driving, not waiting for him to get his seatbelt in. He was so tall and lanky he’d just smash his head through the glass whether he had one on or not, anyways.

“It’s called punctuality, Timmy. Something the hosts should have!”

“Alright, I get it.” He slumped back into his seat, caving as he always did. It must be hard, having an older brother who was always right. Of course, it was much harder being said brother, as Grian could attest.

The car ride was quiet, only the radio filling the space while Grian worked to remember where he needed to go. Jimmy was the first to break the silence, “So, I’ve scheduled some tours for this week.”

Grian hummed. “Anything promising?”

“Actually yeah.” He chirped, pulling out his phone. Before he could shove it in Grian’s face he put his hand up. It’d only been a month since he rear-ended a Toyota, and he’ll be damned if he hit someone else. The last thing his friends needed was to reignite the jokes about him being too short to see over the dashboard. Jimmy made a whine but didn’t try again. “There’s a place not far out of town in the farmlands. It’s small and old, but it’s an actual house with over half an acre.”

“I dunno why you care so much about land. A condo downtown is way better.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it? I could have a garden.”

“I guess.” The obnoxiously large sign for the barbeque glared high above the trees and buildings around it just up ahead. “Oh, we’re already here. Should be mostly people you met before, by the way.”

“That’s fine.”

Pulling into the parking lot, Grian could already see Impulse’s minivan and Cleo’s beat up old car. He clicked his tongue as he pulled up next to them. “See! I told you we were late, everyone’s already here.”

“Oh, come off it, they probably just got here, it’s fine.”

It was not fine, the host should always be first, but he wouldn’t expect Jimmy to understand. The two squabbled all the way inside, only stopping to tell the waiter their booking. A nice large table on the patio already had most of Grian’s friends sitting around, still having yet to be served even drinks. Everyone but Tango despite his phone, unmistakable with its Guy Fieri case, on the table. Bathroom, maybe? He was always terrible about going before he left. Scar was the first to spot them. “G! Timmy! You’re here!”

“That we are.” Grian mumbled and turned to Impulse. “Where’s-”

“Hey, Grian, just in time!” The scratchy voice of Tango shouted too-loudly behind them. He saw Jimmy jump, and both brothers swivelled on their heels. Tango jolted back a bit, friendly wave shrinking to his side at the reaction. His eyes grew wide, locking with Jimmy’s which mirrored him like two deer caught in headlights. “Oh!” He squeaked unintentionally.

It jogged Jimmy out of his fright enough to look away, though Grian took suspicious note of the redness of his ears. He gave his baby brother a raised eyebrow, but he didn’t seem to see it.

“Right, well, Tango, Cleo, this is my brother, Ti-”

“It’s Jimmy.” Jimmy jumped in at lightning speed, holding his hand out for Tango to shake with a wide smile. “The name’s Jimmy.” Tango hesitated for a second, before tentatively shaking back with an equally tentative smile.

“Tango, of the Tek variety. Nice to finally meet you.”

“I thought you said your brother was Tim?” Cleo asked.

Impulse scratched at his bread. “Honestly, I thought it was.”

“It’s not, my name’s Jimmy. Don’t trust anything this man says, he’s a menace.” Jimmy huffed, which got far too enthusiastic an agreement from nearly the whole table for Grian’s liking. Behind him, Tango snuck around back to the table. In a baffling move, as far as Grian was concerned, he paused at the empty chair across from his own and pulled it out. He nodded towards Jimmy, who muttered a sheepish thanks. Grian narrowed his eyes at the engineer, but he seemed to be pointedly not looking at him. A shared look from Impulse, though, let him know he wasn’t the only one who took notice.

“Well, then, Jimmy, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cleo reached over the table, offering their hand.

Chatter very quickly picked itself up once they were all sat down. Most was directed towards Jimmy, asking what he did and the places he was looking at and how on earth did he get his hair that perfect. It was a bit awkward with him sitting at the end. Given the middle seat where Grian now sat was also empty, he suspected Tango’s little gentleman’s stunt had messed up the seating arrangement Impulse intentionally left.

It wasn’t the last. When their drinks came Tango had ordered some crazy bright red fruity slushy monstrosity like he was on vacation or something. For him it might as well be. Something that brightly coloured, with a fruit skewer at that, was basically tempting the gods as far as Jimmy was concerned, who looked more dazzled by it than the already bright blue drink he ordered. Only a sip had been taken before Tango was nudging it towards him, asking, “Wanna try?” Which he wholeheartedly accepted.

Honestly, between that and the conversation somehow always managing to close into a back and forth between the pair, Grian wanted to gag. Did his brother have absolutely no shame? Or maybe Grian was just bitter he had to order something lighter as their driver. It was at least funny to watch Scar also ask for a sip and be completely ignored.

A large platter was ordered over individual meals. It was just easier, when everyone wanted to try this and that. Astonishingly, it was probably the first time Grian had witnessed Tango eat a vegetable, when he tried one of the skewers the brothers ordered on the side. That was the power of good barbeque, he supposed.

They finally called it after Gem won the third round of bowling in a row. Grian tapped against the open door of his car, glaring holes in the back of his brother’s head, who was too busy saying goodbye to Tango to notice. “Come ooon Tim!” He finally shouted after the third obnoxious little giggle they shared. When he turned, Grian narrowed his eyes. You ain’t subtle. The pair finally said goodbye for real, and Jimmy ran to get in the car before Grian decided to drive off without him. He’d barely gotten his seatbelt on before he was furiously typing something on his phone. Really?

“So, how was it?” Grian asked.

“It was fun, your friends seem cool.” Was the distracted response.

“Mhm…” He leaned closer over his shoulder. “And how was Tango?”

If it was possible to jump out of one’s skin then Jimmy had jumped out of his skin, muscles, and bones. “Huh?” He squeaked, face red and eyes bugged. Grian only returned it with an unimpressed eye roll.

“Oh please. You nearly dropped a bowling ball on your foot while swooning.”

“Well… He’s a cool guy, isn’t he?”

And that shut Grian up. More efficiently than he would like to admit. He expected Jimmy to deny it, or be too flustered to say much of anything. When Grian failed to reply Jimmy went back to his phone, tapping away with a smile. There was that obnoxious giggle again.

This was not one of the issues Grian anticipated having when his brother told him he was moving.

“So, how do we set them up?”

Impulse Hummed, spending far too long reading the contents of a can of cream of mushroom like it wasn’t the same can he always bought. “Who?”

“ Who? ” Grian mocked back. “Tim and Tango!”

“Do we need to?” Three more cans joined the first, before they moved on to the broths. Grian threw the bouillon in the cart before his companion could grab a carton that would languish in the back of his fridge. “They seem to be doing fine on their own.”

“No, trust me. I know Tim. He was literally living with his last boyfriend before he realized they were dating and that he liked him. He’s an idiot.”

“And Tango hasn’t exactly been leaving the basement much lately.” Impulse conceded, grabbing a carton of pho broth anyways. Acceptable, Grian supposed.

“So, then, any ideas?”

They paused before entering the next aisle. The larger man’s face twisted in thought. “Well, we could invite him to D&D, run a oneshot, and have their characters drink a love potion until they get the hint.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea, absolutely not.” He wrote it down in his phone for a future session.

“Another dinner?”

“What are the odds of getting Tango out of the house twice?”

“Probably a lot higher than you’d think with how they were acting.”

“What if I gave Timmy a tour of your house and just locked the basement door behind him?”

“You know I’m starting to think we might be bad at this and should leave it to someone else.”

“Nonsense!” Grian grabbed the first bottle of soya sauce he spotted, much to Impulse’s protests. He wasn’t going to sit and wait for him to match the prices to the ounces. “Look, I know Timmy best, and you know Tango best. Logically, there’s no better pair of heads to crack together for this. They’ll thank us at the wedding.”

A jar of pickled bamboo shoots found its way into the cart beside the biggest bag of basmati rice Impulse could pick up. He had to catch his breath before he continued. “Listen, Grian, do you need to… talk, or something?”

“What?” Grian’s head whipped around from the wall of spices he was mulling over. “About what?”

Impulse hunched his shoulders up, cringing slightly. “I dunno, y’know… You’re planning your brother’s wedding to your friend while picking out my groceries for me. I’m not even sure how you found out I was grocery shopping or found me in the store. I don’t think that’s normal, healthy person behaviour.”

“I am so completely normal and healthy!” He said just a bit too loud.

“You know you can talk to me if you need to.”

This was getting nowhere real fast. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Impulse sighed. “I’ll help.”

“Good. Then, what’s the plan?”

In the end, the plan was little more than ‘wait and see’ with a side sprinkling of putting the pair in as much direct contact as possible. This turned out to be much more work than they anticipated, however. Jimmy had always been a socialite, but he seemed to be gone every other day viewing houses or visiting locations. Meanwhile, Tango did as he does and made himself busy constantly. Every group activity Grian planned was lucky to get even one of them, and he was about to lose his damn mind.

Their big break finally showed itself one evening, when Jimmy dropped in with Grian. Well, it was more like Grian promised to drive him to do some errands and made a left turn away from the mall and directly to the ZITS house instead. A decision Jimmy was not familiar enough with the town yet to notice until it was too late. Just the sound of Jimmy’s voice managed to draw Tango upstairs to see what was going on in his kitchen, where the rest of them were chatting.

Immediately the annoying little giggles started up again. If there was one thing in this world that could make Grian try to keep them apart, it was that giggle.

“By the way, Jimmy,” Skizz piped up from where he leaned against the sink. “You still need a lift tomorrow?”

When had Jimmy found time to befriend Skizz? Who knows. Knowing the two of them they probably bumped into each other on the street and kept talking till the sun went down. Extroverts were so exhausting. (He ignored the little Impulse-ish voice nagging that Grian was also something of an extrovert.)

“Yeah, sorry, I appreciate it.”

“Where you going?” Impulse asked.

“Got another house tour.” Tango of all people replied. Maybe that wasn’t all that surprising, though, given the amount Grian has spotted Jimmy texting the past few days.

“Is that so? Will you be going with them?” Grian teased, but instead got a toothy grin back.

“Yessiree!”

Really? Inviting your crush house hunting? Was that forward or just weird? Either way, it was an opportunity. “You know, Tim, you haven’t invited me to go with you.” He whined, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

Unfortunately, while Jimmy’s talents were sparse, this was one area where he outranked Grian by a factor of magnitudes and had unlocked absolute immunity, or something. “Yeah. That was on purpose.” He said bluntly, not even looking away from Tango, who laughed. In fact, everyone laughed. Even Impulse, the traitor.

Grian wouldn’t give up so easily, however. “Well I think you should. So where is it?”

“What? You’ll just embarrass me, I’m not telling you!” He squeaked, finally looking at his kind, sweet, dear older brother.

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

And that was how Jimmy ended up in a headlock on ZITS’s kitchen floor, Impulse reluctantly using Jimmy’s phone to text Grian the address on his calendar. Tango, simp that he was, managed to distract Grian by jokingly calling Jimmy honey, forcing Grian to let go in order to pretend to hurl, during which time Jimmy made his escape back to the car.

He won though, and the next day when Jimmy pulled up with Skizz and Tango to the house tour, Grian and Impulse were already waiting there with the realtor.

“I can’t believe you.” Jimmy dragged his hands down his face. “Don’t you have to, I don’t know, work?”

“Jokes on you, I’m my own boss.” Grian puffed up his chest.

Tango patted Jimmy on the back and turned the both of them towards the poor, confused realtor. “Let’s just get this over with.” He soothed, to which Jimmy gave him a saccharine smile.

The property was ridiculously nice. It wasn’t especially big, but it was lined by woodlands and already had a garden, albeit in need of some severe TLC. There was even an old chicken coop to the side of the house that only needed new fencing and cleaning. The house itself was a one-story cutesy cottage-like thing. It was older, but whomever had lived in it last had the wiring redone and appliances replaced. The bedroom was big, too, as they tended to be in these older houses, and the bathroom had a proper large tub. There was a spare office room with a nice big window to the garden. The garage was separate, and large enough to be a workshop. All that while being well within the range of good internet and still close enough one could walk to town if they really wanted to.

It was, essentially, Jimmy’s dream home. The only issue Jimmy seemed to have was the fact that the wall between the living room and kitchen had been knocked out for a more modern open concept design with the largest windows in the house.

“It’d probably be a pain to heat in winter, right?” He asked no one in particular.

Grian knew jack all about houses, and only shrugged. It still wasn’t that big, so he imagined not. Impulse and Skizz seemed to mull the idea over a little longer. Tango, though, saw an opportunity, and Grian had to give him credit because the man took it without hesitation. His arm was around Jimmy’s shoulder, toothy grin leaned in a bit too close. “Well, that sounds like a good excuse to cuddle up in bed all winter, hm?”

Jimmy’s cheeks turned pink. He muttered something under his breath that made Tango chuckle. Grian rolled his eyes towards Impulse, who seemed almost too shocked by his friend’s forwardness to notice.

More questions were asked, things Grian was glad he never had to worry about as a condo guy. Owning a home seemed like so much work, but Jimmy had lists upon lists. Of course, it was Jimmy, and even with lists he forgot certain things. But Tango seemed ready to pick up the slack with his own barrage of inquiries.

“I think,” Jimmy said, looking at the kitchen with a bit of awe. “I think this might be it, guys.”

“Yeah?” Tango’s eyes practically sparkled with excitement. Jimmy nodded.

The realtor stepped up. “There aren’t any other serious inquiries at the moment, I think you have a good chance if you put in the asking price.” Jimmy nodded, and the realtor went off to his car to make a call.

Grian pursed his lips at his brother, though. “Are you sure you can afford that? I know you’ve saved up and all, but it’s still a lot.”

Jimmy beamed though, clearly overwhelmed with excitement. “Of course, you think we would look at houses we can’t afford?”

“I mean if I’m honest kind of, but- wait. We?”

“I’ll have you know, despite the beliefs of certain individuals, my credit score’s top notch.” Tango patted his chest proudly. “And between the two of us we have more than enough savings for the down payment.”

Grian felt the wires in his brain short circuit and reboot. An unholy screech came from his throat. “What!”

Jimmy and Tango both side-eyed each other, their awkward smiles caught between guilty and like they were ready to burst out laughing. “You… Thought I could buy a home on my own?” Jimmy asked, hiccupping in the middle.

Impulse looked just as dumbfounded. “When did you work this out?” His voice came out hoarse.

It was Tango’s turn to be confused, raising an eyebrow. “Um, months ago? I told you, Impy.”

“You said you were thinking about moving out, not buying a house with a stranger!”

“Wait-” Skizz burst out laughing, pointing at Grian and Impulse. “You guys really didn’t know?”

“No, why do you know!”

“Cause I listen to my roommates?”

“Hold on. Months ago?” Grian pushed them out of the way, getting into his brother’s face.

It seemed Tango was no longer able to hold in his laughter, leaning on Jimmy for support while Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck. “I honestly couldn’t tell if you’d actually forgotten or if this was some bit.” He admitted.

“We’ve been together for almost three years.” Tango wheezed out between cackles.

“Excuse me?” Balked Grian. “Since when? You’ve never met!” His head whipped between the two. How on earth-

A finger twirled absently in the air as Jimmy tried to explain. “Do you remember your Halloween party? The one me and Joel attended, where Tango was dressed up as an imposter?”

“Yeah?” It was the biggest party he’d ever held, how could he forget? His brow creased. “But that doesn’t make any sense, I never got to introduce you two cause you both went… home… early.” Grian’s eyes went wide as the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Tango leaned against Jimmy’s shoulder with a smirk. “There it is.”

“Oh. My god.”

“I told you he doesn’t ever listen to me.” Jimmy groaned.

“You two-”

“Yeah.”

Grian gasp cracked. “Jimmy you slut !”

“ Excuse me? ” Jimmy shouted back in equal amounts of disbelief and anger.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the realtor pause in the entryway, then slowly back out of view once more.

“You heard me!”

“What do you think we did!”

“Well you weren’t enjoying my party, that’s for sure!”

“Okay, okay, everybody calm down.” Skizz stepped in, pushing Grian towards Impulse, who seemed to hold Grian back on instinct more than anything as he was still lost in shock.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Impulse asked, giving his housemate a look of betrayal. It was returned with concern.

“I did? I swear I did.”

“Dipple Dop, he told us he was busy in call with his partner all the time. He extended his work trips several times.”

“That was Timmy?” He stumbled back, leaning on the counter. “I thought he meant, like, an MMO buddy.”

“Yeah, and you certainly never told me!” Grian huffed, which Jimmy returned.

“I did tell you, but you didn’t listen! Or did you just do that thing like with Scott where you thought I wasn’t aware I was dating the guy I lived with for two months just because I told you we hadn’t-”

“You know what?” Skizz clapped his hands together. “I think we all need to just take a deep breath, okay? Everybody just breathe. In,” He took a deep breath, of which his housemates joined in while the brothers continued to glare at each other. “And out.” They all let out a long sigh.

A brief silence fell over the group, only interrupted by a nervous knock at the door. The realtor stuck his head in, eyes darting between the group. “Um, Mister Solidarity, Mister Tek, could I speak to you now?”

“Yes, one second.” Jimmy said, voice tight. The pair left to talk outside.

Grian and Impulse went home after that, waiting for the other three to return. They said little, Grian fuming while Impulse stared at his lap like his dog just died. Zed popped in to say he was going out, at which point he was let in on the day’s events and gave them both odd looks. Had they really been the only ones who didn’t know?

By the time everyone else arrived back at the house they’d pulled themselves together somewhat. Not entirely, but enough to ask questions without shouting.

“So, you’re really leaving?” Impulse asked, voice almost watery. Tango’s posture softened with his smile, and pulled the larger man into a big hug.

“Oh, buddy, I told you I was gonna. I’m a big boy now!”

“Yeah, but… I dunno. We’ve lived together since college. I didn’t think this would actually happen…”

Skizz rubbed his back. “Hey, he ain’t movin’ cross country, he’s just down the road. We’ll see him all the time.”

“Yeah! I promise, Impy, I ain’t going nowhere.”

The three continued to talk among each other, comforting their friend, so Grian left them be. Instead, he turned his attention onto Jimmy, who still looked huffy, with his arms crossed and a glare squarely on Grian.

“I told you.”

“Well, maybe you should have told me better.” Grian turned his nose up as an almost automatic response. Jimmy threw his arms in the air and stomped off to the doorway, and immediately Grian felt the regret. He chased after his little brother. “Wait, Tim. I’m…” A warbled wheeze escaped his throat, straining to get the dreaded word out. “Ssso-…rry... That I didn’t listen.”

The shift was near-instant, disdain laxing into smugness. “There, was that so hard?”

“Immensely.”

“Oh, come off it, you big baby.”

“I just don’t get it.” Grian grabbed his hair. “How did I miss that you two were dating? Why didn’t Tango say something when we invited him to dinner?”

“Well, it probably started with the fact that you introduce me to everyone as Tim and his boyfriend’s name is Jimmy.” He sneered, eyebrow raised.

Well, he had him there. Not that he would ever admit that to his brother’s face. “I still can’t believe you ditched my party to hook up with my friend.”

“Oh my god, we didn’t hook up!” Jimmy threw his head back. “We just went to get Mcdonald’s and watch movies because Tango almost had a panic attack at the number of people you invited and couldn’t breathe.”

“In my defence, I didn’t expect that many people to actually show up.”

“Either way, stop projecting.”

“Wh- excuse me?”

“Tango’s the same as me. I can assure you nothing like that would ever happen.”

Grian pouted. Well, at least they were happy and close by. “Fine, I’ll forgive you if you can get Tango to come to roller derby night.”

“Uh, I don’t have anything I need to be forgiven for, and I’m not going to make Tango do something he doesn’t want to do.”

“But Tim, consider: Tango falling on his butt in the most hideous disco suit.”

That gave Jimmy pause, thinking for a solid moment before a smile stretched behind his hand. “Alright, fine.”

“Yes!” Grian pumped his fist into the air, nearly smacking Impulse in the face as the group joined them.

“What’s going on out here?”

“Nothing.” Both brothers replied, matching smiles immediately getting them suspicious looks. Jimmy pushed past them to grab Tango’s hand and drag him towards the basement. “C’mon, we have to finish planning.”

“Yessir.” Tango saluted with a chuckle.

As they retreated, Grian shouted after them. “Oh, Tango!”

“Yeah?” Bless his soul, he was too busy giving his partner a doofy look that was wiped away the second he turned to see Grian. He did his best to bore a hole through the man’s skull.

“You better watch your back. I know where you sleep.”

“Well, I’d hope so.” Grian didn’t like that grin. “Be weird if you didn’t know where your brother was.”

And that was how Grian began to plan the death of Tango Tek.

#jimmy solidarity #tangotek #grian #impulsesv #trafficshipping #solidaritek #team rancher #rancher duo #fanfiction #fanfic #hermitpires #traffic series #alternate universe #modern au #sharing a cupcake

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yacinthemorning · 10 months

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A Nestcommunication

Summary: Tango wants to make his new soulmate comfortable in their new home. the problem is, Tango knows nothing about avians.

Ships: Jimmy/Tango (romantic)

Warnings: Miscommunications

Despite knowing several, Tango didn’t know much about avians. Sure he knew the general things one might know, they have wings – duh – and they need to preen those wings. There was something about being protective of their feathers, which affected preening, at least he thinks so. They could sing like birds, or was it a language? Tango rarely heard it and the few times he had Grian seemed notably embarrassed as though it were involuntary.

He knew the vagueries, was the point. About as much as anyone else knew about netherborn.

What he did know was that his new soulmate - his rancher – was an avian, and that there was nothing else in the world he wanted more right now than to make sure he was comfortable and taken care off.

Tango had cost them their first life, had generally made a fool of himself really, and their neighbours were not making their lives any easier. Yet Jimmy still turned to him with trust and a smile. And what a smile. Like being hit with concentrated sunshine. Physically impossible to say no to- which he didn’t. Not when Jimmy asked him to build them a house and not when he pleaded to get a horn before they’d even sorted out their basic necessities.

He certainly didn’t think twice about handing over his boots (Just iron, not gold. Not that his insistence stopped Impulse’s teasing and pointing out he was a weirdo anyways) when he found Jimmy with nothing. Nor when Jimmy – nervously plucking at the scales on his ankles - vaguely mentioned a tower would be nice and Tango immediately started collecting the resources.

Okay, so maybe Tango was already in a bit deep.

It was fine, probably. Maybe. He just wanted to make his rancher happy and comfortable, that’s completely normal. What would make him happy?

It hadn’t escaped Tango’s notice, the hesitance in Jimmy, whenever he did something avian. Like it was embarrassing, like he wanted to apologize. Not always was it very noticeable, but it was something he was beginning to pick up on after spending so much time together. It was strange. On hermitcraft they had so many hybrids and odd creatures, the attitude was quite simply that everyone else could deal with it. That was evidently not the environment Jimmy had been in. Or maybe it was because of his curse. All Tango knew was that his chirp was quite possibly the cutest thing ever to exist in all the realms, and it was heartbreaking to see Jimmy curl up in shame like he’d just reveal some deep dark secret any time one escaped. (Even if that, too, was one of the cutest sights Tango’d ever seen.)

So, Tango decided he must make the ranch – their home – somewhere warm and safe, where Jimmy can be comfortable being himself.

Except Tango didn’t know much about avian.

What did he know?

Nests. Avians built nests. Not that he’d seen one. He knew Grian had one, because Scar and Mumbo mentioned it. Jimmy never built one, though. Not in the ranch. He’d thought that was what the tower was for, but despite all the time he spent up there it remained empty. It was probably what he was used to sleeping in, right? Certainly they had enough supplies now that their sleeping arrangements could use a bit of an upgrade anyways.

Armed with the loosest of knowledge, Tango got to work.

They had plenty of feathers for the cushions, just enough wool for the curtains and mats. He tried his best, and he thought he did a pretty good job all things considered.

“I have something for you.” Tango told Jimmy when he returned home. Nervous excitement vibrated through his tail.

Just the mention of a gift seemed to make him perk up. “Really?”

“Yeah, just inside. C’mon.”

Tango expected a lot of things. He expected that maybe Jimmy would look at it and not even recognize it was supposed to be a nest. He imagined Jimmy tearing it apart and rebuilding it. Or maybe he would politely thank Tango, because he was too nice to tell him it was all wrong.

What he didn’t expect was for Jimmy to set his eyes on it, and his face immediately bloom bright red as his wings puffed up behind him. “That…”

“Sip-surprise…” Tango made jazz hands. “I, uh, I made- well, tried – I tried to make-”

“A nest?” Jimmy’s voice was a squeak. His eyes darted between the nest and Tango so fast the blazeborn could hardly keep up.

“Yeah! Yeah, uh, I did my best. I know it’s not great but…”

Jimmy gulped, pointing towards it. “This is… our nest?” Tango was starting to feel his own face heat up in embarrassment. Did he mess up?

“I mean… If you want it to be. I mean it doesn’t have to be if you don’t-”

“No! No, that’s… It’s lovely. This is just really… No one’s ever… I- I didn’t even know if you… Our nest, Gosh.” His hands clasped together as he took a deep breath in. A long trill came back out instead. “U-um. Uh, I’m sorry, could you give me a minute. I just- I-” With another trill he suddenly fled back out the door.

Tango stood in the ranch, listening to Jimmy run right into the barn. His tail jerked across the floor as he worried his lip. Was that a good reaction? He did say it was nice. Glancing between the nest and the door, he wasn’t sure what to do now.

In the end he busied himself and waited for Jimmy to get back. Hoping Jimmy would come back, really, because he still wasn’t sure he’d somehow screwed something up. More than once he considered taking it apart and perhaps just giving the supplies to Jimmy so he could build it himself.

He was along for another several hours, smelting copper, tending to the animals, eventually working on the wall. Anything to keep his mind preoccupied. The only interruption he received was a most curious whisper from Pearl of all people.

‘Look at you, mister speedy over there ;)’

Tango raised an eyebrow. He looked around until he spotted the avian woman waving at him from Cleo’s bridge. He gave an unsure wave back, for which he was rewarded with a thumbs up. Then Jimmy came barrelling out from Scott’s house and dragged her inside, holding his sister on his left like she was a shield. Tango turned attention back to the wall. Was he really working that quickly? Or was she teasing him for scaring off his soulmate already? It’s not like she had room to judge. Then again, at least she was at her soulmate’s house, while his was… well, also there. He glanced back up at the hideous little box and foot tower. Maybe he should try to spruce it up?

In the end he found himself doing his best to place down a few flowers out front.

That was where he still was when Jimmy finally returned. Tango almost didn’t notice, with how quiet he was being as he poked his head through the gate, then shuffled up the path. He had his hand clutched to his chest, refusing to look at Tango even as he approached.

“Well howdy there.” Tango tried to alleviate some of the tension. It didn’t seem to work.

“Hi…” Jimmy’s wings folded tight over his shoulders. “Could we. Sorry, could we go inside?”

Tango was already pushing the door open. “Of course.”

Jimmy seemed to tense as he went through the entryway, eyes immediately landing back on the nest. His face turned red once again, but with an oddly determined glint in his eyes he marched over to it. Sitting down seemed much harder for him, taking several seconds just to breath, but eventually he was propped up on the edge. One hand ran along the pillows and sheets. Tango joined him a moment later.

“Sorry- sorry about earlier. I was just.” Jimmy sighed. “No one’s ever done that- built a nest for me.”

“Really? That’s hard to believe.” Admitted Tango, rubbing one of the thinner sheets between his fingers.

The avian’s ears couldn’t possibly turn darker as he curled in on himself. “I mean, I guess I thought I might make one with Scott, but that never really… happened… Anyways. So, I, um, I’m sorry for running off. It was just… sudden. Unexpected.”

“It’s fine! I probably should have asked first.”

Jimmy shook his head, tightening his fist. It was then that Tango realized there was something poking out of it, hidden within his grip. Slowly his hand unravelled. “Um, I was- I wanted to give you… this…”

In his hand was a feather. Not too long, but bright - almost glowing – and clearly groomed to perfection. At the end was a small piece of metal clutching the quill, with a second loop pointed out. Tango let it be placed in his palms, where he carefully cradled it in awe. “This is…”

Jimmy let out a chirp as his wings flexed, still not quite looking at Tango.

“Are you- Really? I can have this?” More so than even Grian Jimmy seemed terribly protective of his feathers, keeping all the ones that fell out or broke somewhere not even Tango was completely sure of. Though, last time he preened he seemed hesitantly okay with Tango watching.

“Yeah… yeah. If that’s okay. If you want it.” His eyes finally flicked to Tango, hopeful despite the way his shoulders and wings had both tensed.

Tango swallowed, giving the avian a slow nod as he brought the feather close to his own chest. He hid it safely in his vest. “Thank you.”

When he looked back up Jimmy was close. Closer that Tango expected. The look in his eyes was almost too intense for Tango to bear as it ran across his face. They stared at one another, the silence dragging out while Tango’s heartbeat quickened. Finally, when he almost couldn’t take it any more, Jimmy let out a distressed chirp. His face dropped, burying into Tango’s shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m sorry! It’s just… A lot.” Jimmy said with a voice that was several octaves too high.

Unsure what to do, Tango recovered enough to give him a nervous chuckle and pat the avian on the back. “It’s okay. Today was… long. You wanna go to sleep for tonight?”

“Yes please.” Was muffled by Tango’s vest. His wings fluttered, fluffier than Tango even knew was possible.

Smiling down at the top of his rancher’s head, Tango moved to make room. “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

That night Jimmy clung to Tango. It wasn’t that odd, they’d always made a habit of cuddling in their tiny single bed, but he seemed particularly gleeful about it. In the morning he also seemed different. Peppier, openly singing a tune while he laid out breakfast. His wings fluttered happily behind him when he saw Tango get up, and again several times while they ate and talked. Tango mentally high fived himself. His birdy seemed far more comfortable, the hard work and nest were working.

Still, there was something… off. His face had seemingly taken on a permanent pink tinge. Tango thought he might be sick until he saw it fade as he went to chat with their neighbours. He almost seemed to dance around Tango after that, fumbling over his words more. Jimmy also seemed oddly determined to keep touching him, hugging him for the smallest reasons and bumping their shoulders together. It wasn’t bad, but it made Tango nervous anyways. Was what he did really worth this much attention? It felt like he was still barely making up for all the trouble he’d caused.

By the mid-afternoon Jimmy’d been forced to go off and find iron – one of them had to - and Tango ran off to try and trade Grian and Scar for their sugar cane. Instead he found himself sat down for tea, listening to Grian complain about Scar’s pandas for thirty minutes while Scar made excuses.

“So, how are you and Tim doing? He finally asked instead, clearly done with Scar’s backtalk.

“Good? I think?” Admitted the netherborn, placing a hand over the pocket where Jimmy’s feather was safely hidden in.

Grian raised an eyebrow. “You think? Everything okay?”

“He’s just been a bit off ever since I built the nest-”

“You built WHAT!” Grian’s head suddenly snapped, eyes wide. Behind him Scar whistled.

“Tango, you dog. Congratulations!”

Tango pinned back his ears, nervously glancing between the two. “Uh, thanks?”

The shock on Grian’s face morphed into a glare. “You built a nest for Tim? Already? And you just go around telling everyone? Tango I thought you were better than that!”

“What?” Tango sputtered. “What’s wrong with that!”

Scar chuckled. “Not everyone’s as private as you, Grian.”

But Grian’s glare had given way to confusion, and then horror. “Wait, you built it? How do you know how to build a nest?”

“I-I mean I don’t really. I just sort of… winged it .” Tango whispered the last bit. “I just thought it’d be nice, you know? He’s my soulmate, I wanted the ranch to be comfortable for him.”

Silence fell over the table, even Scar’s face falling slightly while his besweatered companion dropped his face into his palms.

“ Oh gosh. he doesn’t know.”

Tango’s hair was beginning to flicker. “What? Is it- am I not allowed to? Is that an avian thing only?” Jimmy seemed more than fine with it, did it matter if it was?

“Tango.” Grian groaned. He leaned over the table, nearly knocking over his tea, so he could look the blazeborn straight in the eye. “Tango, think. Why do you think avians and birds build nests to begin with?”

“To… sleep?” He shrugged, hunching down into his chair like a scolded child.

Grian exploded. “To nest , Tango! To court a mate ! So that they can-“

“Wh- wait, hold up!” Tango squeaked as he fell back, shoving the hysterical avian out of his face. Scar stepped in, picking Grian up and pushing him back down into his seat against Grian’s own protest. Silence once again fell, this time a glare and apologetic smile baring down on Tango as the cogs in his brain began to turn. With each passing second his face darkened, until he had to bury his face into his hands. “Wait. So. When I-“

“ Yes .” Grian hissed.

“And so he thought-“

“So it seems.” Wisely nodded Scar.

A squeal like a cross between a steaming kettle and a balloon escaped Tango as it all clicked into place. “Oh no… Wait, so, then what-” He fumbled with himself for a second, eventually managing to open up the pocket of his vest and pull out the little feather.

Grian let out an unholy noise only a dying parrot could hope to make. “ WHAT!”

“Um, he gave it to me last night when he came home. I-is it- That’s probably another, um, important thing, isn’t it, then?” He tried to smile, but cringed further back as Grian let out another screech.

“I swear to the void Tango if you don’t go find Jimmy right this second and clear this up with him before he gets any more wrong ideas I’m going to shove a golden apple down your throat and end your game right here myself-”

“ What Grian means to say ,” Scar shouted over top of his soulmate. “Is that you should probably go find Tim sooner rather than later and have a bit of a talk.”

“Y-yeah…” Tango scrambled to his feet, still clutching the feather close to his chest. Grian didn’t seem to like that much either, but Tango was too much in a state of shock to worry about him anymore. He muttered a goodbye and started the dazed walk home, mind both running a mile a minute and also completely unable to retain a single thought. What on earth was he supposed to say in a situation like this?

He got home and sent Jimmy a message to come back before he could chicken out. Sooner rather than later.

With his newfound enlightenment he couldn’t bring himself to linger on the nest he made for them. Instead he kept his attention on Jimmy’s feather, carefully twirling it between his fingers, examining it far closer than he’d gotten the chance to last night.

It really was a beautiful feather, though Tango would argue all Jimmy’s feathers were gorgeous. It was clear though, that it had been carefully selected, lovingly preened, and the metalwork on the end was delicately shaped. Jimmy had let him know that morning that it was so he could choose how to wear it himself. How long of his time out yesterday was spent preparing the little gift?

Tango didn’t know he was smiling until the door creaked open and interrupted his thoughts. “Tango?” Called Jimmy, eyes darting around the room until they landed on the blazeborn sat at their dinner table. One of those blinding smiles stretched across his face, joined by a glow to his cheeks that Tango was starting to think he enjoyed just as much.

Then enjoy it while it lasts. You’re probably about to wipe it all away.

Void, he really couldn’t stop messing things up for his soulmate, could he?

“Hey, sunshine.” Tango croaked out as he stood up to meet his rancher. He got a whole armful as Jimmy wrapped him up in a big hug, as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. With a bit of hesitance Tango returned it, melting a bit at the soft chirp Jimmy made when he ran a hand along his back. Reluctantly they parted, and the hard part began. “Could we, um, sit down?” He tilted his head towards the nest he still couldn’t quite bring himself to look at.

Jimmy’s smile faltered, seemingly finally picking up on how tense Tango was. “Sure. Is… Everything okay?”

Tango nodded as he guided them to sit down. “Uh, I mean it’s not bad but... There’s just some things I wanted to talk about. About yesterday and… This.” He waved noncommittally towards the nest.

All at once his wings tensed in towards his body while he pulled his hands away from Tango. He resisted the urge to reach out for them. “Oh…”

“Yeah… Yeah, um-“

“I’m really sorry.” Jimmy stammered out, no wringing his hands. “I, um, I know I probably messed up the moment.”

Tango’s eyes widened, “Wh- no-“

“It was just a lot, you know? All at once. Gosh, yesterday morning I didn’t even know that you- I… I never thought there was any way you would feel the same way as me. It was overwhelming.”

“No- no, I get it. That’s not-” Tango let out a frustrated growl as e tried to calm his panicked heart. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, I should have asked you first before I made something like this. I wasn’t even…”

Jimmy quirked a smile. “I know you probably weren’t expecting to go very far right then and there. But I was too fried to even kiss you.”

“That’s not it, Jimmy. I didn’t know what I was doing when I built it, I didn’t mean it that way.”

The avian’s smile fell away, head shooting up to look at Tango. He could see Jimmy working through his words, could see as those thoughts began to go dark, and rushed to explain.

“I just- No, no, I do! I do like you! Maybe even- but I wanted to make you feel safe and happy, and I thought- well, I didn’t think, I guess. I don’t know much of anything about avians, but I wanted to make the ranch more of a home and I just made it cause I thought that’s what would help. Not that… I mean not to say I mind. Man, do I not mind . I just… I wouldn’t have wanted to just drop that on you without asking first and… You know, make you think I wanted to go from zero to a hundred out of nowhere.”

Tango ran his claws through his burning hair and sighed. “So, yeah, I’m just an idiot. I don’t know if that’s better or worse than what you must have thought of me. Probably worse, I’m sorry.”

Jimmy had gone quiet, staring into his own lap. At some point his wings had sagged out across the nest. Tango waited, trying desperately to calm his sparks while the silence dragged on. A hand rose up, holding itself out towards the blazeborn. It took him a moment before he realized it was intended for the feather he was still clutching in his one hand. Tango throat tightened up. He willed himself not to make a further fool of either of them, giving the feather one last press to his chest before relinquishing it to its rightful owner.

Jimmy brought it back down to his own lap, examining it for a second before his talons got to work smoothing out the barbs frayed by Tango’s rough grip. Once it was again pristine he finally raised his head up with a shaky breath. “Okay then.”

His whole body turned in towards Tango as much as it could, and pulled forward Tango’s far limb to turn him in as well. Jimmy’s gaze was fragile - eyes a bit too glossy and trying to keep the quiver out of his lip – but he kept it locked. “Tango.”

“Y-yeah?” His voice cracked.

Jimmy took another deep breath, speaking a bit too fast. “I know we haven’t been soulmates for very long, and there’s still a lot we don’t know about each other, but I want to. You’re so sweet and kind to me. You don’t make jokes about me, you’re so encouraging, even when neither of us know what we’re doing, and you never let me feel alone in my stupidity. You’re so smart and even though we have barely anything you make it feel like we have everything in the world. I really like you.”

Tango swallowed the lump in his throat.

“I- I think I might love you.” Jimmy barely managed to squeak out. “Or… Or, at least, I could.No, I do. I think I do.”

He nodded, “I think- I think I love you, too, Jimmy.”

His rancher’s face lit up. “Okay… Well, Okay. Okay. Then, um…”

He held up the feather. The poor plume was shaking in his grasp. “Well, Mister Tango of the non-avian variety-”

“Hey!”

“- In avian culture we have this tradition.” Jimmy’s voice gave way to a laugh, instantly easing the tension. Tango dares to quirk a grin. The rest of his words seemed to come a bit easier. “Where if you care for someone and would like to court them, you give them the first feather.”

“The first?” Tango asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yes, the first feather. Avian’s wings are, um, I think Grian would call them sacred, but that seems like a rather scary term for it. They’re important, is the point. And so, so are the feathers. The only ones who can touch them are flock, and mates treat each other’s feathers like their own. So, this is the first shared feather, the first of hopefully many.”

Jimmy licked his lips, wings flitting for emphasis as he held the feather out. “So, uh… Would you- Could I please give you this feather? As part of that.”

Sucking in his breath, Tango hesitantly laid his hand over Jimmy’s. He grasped the feather, but did not take it right away. “Are you sure? That you want to give this to me, even after… All of everything?”

For the first time in what was likely only minutes but felt like centuries, that sunshine smile returned to Jimmy’s face as he nodded a bit too vigorously. “If you’ll still have it, you’re the only one I would want to give it to.”

And Tango took the feather. This time he didn’t wait, searching his inventory until he found string and tied the precious yellow plume around his neck. He stared at it for another second more before fully turning all his attention on the preening birdy in front of him.

Asking permission with an outreached hand which was eagerly accepted, Tango pulled Jimmy in close. This time Jimmy happily- and eagerly – closed the last gap. It was a short kiss, hardly more than a peck, but one Tango didn’t know how much he’d been craving until he had it. It was punctuated b a small chirp that made Tango respond with a similar little noise before going in for another kiss.

For a while they sat there holding each other, not saying much of anything, enjoying the relief while the adrenaline of two days of too much washed out of them. Only when their eyes began to droop did Tango interrupt. “Uh, I should… I guess maybe I should clean this up?” He said, nodding towards the nest.

Jimmy gave it a once over, then shrugged and pulled Tango closer before flopping both down onto the sheets. He smiled. “It’s fine, it’s better than that tiny little thing we had before, and you worked so hard on it.” His smile turned a bit cheeky, a bit shy. “Besides, um, Well, one day it might be more fitting, I hope.”

Tango smirked back. “Grian is going to have a fit if he comes over and sees it.”

“Sounds like more than a good enough reason to keep it, then.”

“You’re not the one he’s going to clobber!”

“I don’t think he has much choice given his own game mechanic.”

Soft chuckles quickly faded as both men began to doze away. Tango pulled Jimmy closer, burying his nose in his rancher’s shoulder. Tomorrow, he decided, he would ask more about avians, and maybe explain some nether things as well. He could already feel the itch in his hand to make. For now, he just let himself dream about all the things they would share.

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