Little alternate ending fic I wrote for Double Life! Beware the angst :D
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When it ended, the Ranch was gone. Burnt to ash in the heat of the red wars, the animals slaughtered and windows shattered. All that remained were the memories.
Memories, and two lonely reds with blood on their hands and guilt in their hearts. The crying wind lamented the lost lives in a mournful song as it wove through the trees, brushing strands of hair into Jimmy's face. It had been so long since he last cut his hair.
God. Out of everything, why was that what he thought of?
“So,” he started, letting the word be taken by the wind.
“So,” Tango repeated, red eyes that Jimmy had spent so long gazing into flicking away, glancing at the ground. “We won.”
Jimmy let his shoulders sag, the tension he had been holding in his entire body gone. “We won. We won.” He let out a soft, breathy laugh. “We won!”
Tango chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “I didn't think we'd actually…”
“Me neither!” Jimmy exclaimed, smiling. “Oh, my gosh. Oh my gosh. Does that mean...?” He looked around. “Is there a way out? We won, right? Is there supposed to be some sort of announcement- gosh, I can't believe we broke the curse, I…” He noticed that Tango was being... unusually quiet. Turning back to his rancher, Jimmy felt his smile drop at the sorrowful expression on Tango's face. “...Tango? What's wrong, buddy? Speak to me.”
Tango's eyes met Jimmy's, eyes the colour of poppies gazing at eyes like the sky. “Jimmy…” His voice, which had always been so bright and cheery, sounded like it was weighed down by lead.
Jimmy felt his heart sink, and he took a few steps forward. “No. No, Tango, don't.” Desperation pushed him forward, and soon he was right in front of his soulmate. “You can't do this to me, Tango. Don't tell me that-”
“There can only be one winner,” Tango finished, his voice a quiet whisper. “I'm so sorry, Jimmy.” Reaching up, he began to unbuckle his chestplate.
“No, no- Tango-” Jimmy put his hands over Tango's, holding tight. “We- there has to be another way. We'll figure something out! You're good with redstone, right?” He laughed, but there was nothing happy about the sound. “You're good with redstone! I'm sure there's some contraption you can make that can get us out of here!”
“Jimmy.” Tango's voice broke, tears already shining in his eyes. “Jimmy, there's no way out of here. No way out alive.” He stepped away, finishing with unbuckling his chestplate. He discarded the heavy armor to the side with a soft sigh, before quickly doing the same with his boots and pants. “We have to die.”
Jimmy felt hot tears of anger and sorrow welling up in his eyes, and he angrily sniffled. “Tango…” Never had he felt so helpless. Never.
Tango unsheathed his sword and flipped it around, holding on carefully to the blade as he held the hilt out to Jimmy. “I want you to kill me.”
The words were a punch to the gut, and Jimmy felt as though all the air had left his lungs. He could only stare at those desperate, pleading eyes as the first few tears began to fall down his face. “...no. No, no, no, absolutely not, I can't- I couldn't-!”
Tango smiled sadly, bowing his head slightly. “Think of it as payback for me losing our first life.” Despite how he was trying so hard to stay brave, his voice shook.
Jimmy began to cry as well, his eyes blurring with tears that he tried to blink away frustratedly. “No! Tango, you can't- it's unfair! This whole thing! It's so unfair! I won't- I can't-!”
“Jimmy!”
Jimmy went silent.
“Take it.” Tango thrust the sword toward Jimmy, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. “Take the sword, Jimmy. Take it and kill me.” He finally looked up, tears streaming down his face as he met those sky-coloured eyes. “Kill me, Jimmy. Kill me and win.”
“We'll both die anyway,” Jimmy got out, as he took the sword nonetheless.
“I know.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“I know.”
Jimmy took a deep, shaking breath, sword at his side, and closed the distance between them. He rested his forehead against Tango's, wrapping his wings- clipped, broken, unable to carry him to the stars- around them both. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Tango gave him an encouraging smile. “Go on. Break that curse. For good.” He brought his hands up to gently wipe away the tears staining Jimmy's face. “My rancher.”
TangoTek was slain by SolidarityGaming.
SolidarityGaming died.
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