Chapter Text
Despite the exposure to the open air, sleeping on the roof of the half-burned woodland mansion was more pleasant than Jimmy had anticipated. The mass of torches ensured that no mobs would spawn nearby, and none could reach them up here from the ground with the way the lower portion of the building had been reduced to nothing but a shell. The sky above was strewn with stars, and even now - late into the night when he should’ve been sleeping - he traced patterns with his eyes, weaving invisible connections between the glimmering dots and trying to remember what few constellations he knew…and what few Tango had taught him on late nights on the roof of the ranch. The only downside, Jimmy supposed, was the chill, which was only slightly alleviated by a few lit furnaces nearby, and he supposed his wings helped a decent amount. But even so, a part of him longed for a warm bed and worn wood walls and a smoky scent on the pillow and familiar arms wound comfortably around him and a warm presence tucked close beside him.
Jimmy sighed softly, adjusting his wings to take some pressure off an aching point near his spine.
He missed Tango, was the truth of it. He knew his soulmate was on the same server as him, not even that far away with how small the map felt this season, but it still felt too far. Especially after the lone, brief exchange they’d had earlier in the rush of the game–
Teasing and bickering across a small stretch of water, Joel killing the cow, Etho spinning the boat around to face him, Tango leaping across the water to get a better view. Then Jimmy had rushed forward, had elbowed Tango aside, had only realized his mistake when he caught Tango’s stumbled, half-wincing landing out of the corner of his eye. He had cast a sheepish smile back over his shoulder, tossed back an apology - “Sorry, rancher!” - and their eyes, however briefly, had met. Tango had grinned, had laughed, had looked almost proud, and then threatened his life with a smile and wink. Then Jimmy and Joel had fled, and Etho had watched them go, and then…
Jimmy withheld another sigh and sat up, rolling his shoulders and his head to dispel the crick in his neck. There was no way he could sleep like this. He eased himself to his feet and crept away from Grian and Joel’s sleeping forms, careful to avoid weak patches of the roof so he wouldn’t make a creak and wake them up. Not that he was doing anything he wasn’t allowed to do. He just - didn’t want to try and explain. It felt private, personal.
When he reached the edge of the roof, he looked down. He could’ve tried to find a hole in the ceiling and land on the staircase he supposed, but he had attempted that earlier and gotten a sore ankle for his troubles. No, landing in grass seemed like a softer alternative if he somehow managed to bungle this. But he wouldn’t. He could do this. He was a bad boy, wasn’t he? He’d done a few water bucket clutches today already. He could do another. He was getting better at it, in truth, so surely he could do it again?
Jimmy dug a bucket of water from his inventory and took a break, stepping back before leaping from the edge. Gravity took hold quickly and he spread his wings. He couldn’t fly, but he could catch air, and it slowed him enough that timing the water would be easier - and - splash.
He stumbled, staggered, but it was a clean landing. (Despite it being such a small victory, Jimmy grinned. Nailed it.) With a quick cursory glance around to avoid any nearby hostile mobs, Jimmy stowed his water, summoned his sword, and ducked through the trees in search of the coastline that had been stolen from him and Joel earlier that day.
It was empty and quiet when Jimmy arrived. The water was still, Scott’s little cluster of manmade islands aglow in the distance, and the place was easily recognizable from the multiple times Jimmy had come by in the past day. But…it was empty and quiet . The little sandy strip of land that Tango and Etho and the rest of their team had been inhabiting early that afternoon was completely abandoned, the top few layers scraped away with no signs of life as far as Jimmy could see. He leapt across the little river separating it from the land, missing his step and sucking in a sharp gasp when his foot splashed into the water on the other side. He grimaced, shaking out his shoe.
Ugh . That was gonna be a pain to deal with later…
Slowly, quietly, Jimmy circled the little area a few times, his ear feathers flared to catch any stray sounds…but he heard nothing. Nothing but the sea and the wind and the occasional distant zombie or spider lingering off in the trees. Had they left? Had they moved on? Had they deemed the area not worthy and abandoned it even after their showdown against Jimmy and Joel? Jimmy sighed, a quiet and warbled chirp meeting the air and his wings drooping against his back. Oh. Maybe he should have messaged ahead. Of course, he had avoided doing that in the first place in case Tango was asleep and Jimmy’s message woke him up (and his teammates along with him), but it may have been a smarter move than simply sneaking over with no notice in the middle of the night. He cast a glance back the way he had come, the feathers around his ears pinning back against his head. Maybe he ought to go back. Maybe he should just give up and–
“...Jimmy?”
A hand brushed his shoulder, a whispered voice breaking the silence of the night, and Jimmy about leapt out of his skin. The sound that left him was one he was most certainly not proud of, but any embarrassment he may have felt vanished as soon as he whipped around on shocked, unsteady feet.
“Tango!”
And there Tango was, his clothes and hair just a little bit wet but his grin absolutely blinding. He had a hand half-raised and he was chuckling sheepishly, the corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement.
“Sorry, sorry!” He held back his laughter, his words low. “I didn’t mean to spook ya!”
Jimmy gaped at him and blinked away his surprise.
“Where did you even come from?!”
“Uh–” Tango jerked a thumb back over his shoulder toward the water then made a vague gesture toward his feet. “Our base? It’s underground. We dug out a bit of a sneaky-sneaky entrance underwater, but it’s a bit of a pain if I’m being honest. Except, after Martyn came through and dumped a pile of explosives on our heads it seemed like a good idea to get rid of topside entry, so–”
Oh. Oh . Oh, they were just–
“I thought you’d left or something,” Jimmy blurted, his feathers puffing up at the admission. “I didn’t see a base, and I haven’t heard from you since earlier, so I assumed…” He shrugged.
It sounded silly, really, when he said it like that. He sounded clingy almost, but he knew that Tango knew that wasn’t what he meant. In fact, Tango let out another stifled laugh and shook his head fondly, finally closing the gap to wrap a warm hand around Jimmy’s wrist and tug him closer.
“What, you missed me that much?” he murmured, teasing, cheeky, and Jimmy went a bit pink.
“Of course not,” he grumbled, trying to sound nonchalant, but from the way Tango’s grin widened he was doing an awful job.
It wasn’t as if Jimmy tried to hide that fact either. The moment Tango was close enough he all but melted into his soulmate’s space, cuddling close and tucking his face into the crook of Tango’s neck as though he belonged there. He slipped an arm around the blazeborn’s flame-warmed waist and let out a small sigh, the tension in his posture going slack almost instantly.
“Of course,” he amended, whispered, like a secret in the dark, and he reveled in the warm and affectionate little laugh he could feel vibrate through Tango’s chest from how closely they were standing.
“Wanna know the truth?” Tango asked. The fingers still wound around Jimmy’s wrist traced little circles against the skin where he held him. “I miiiight’ve been sneakin’ out to try and find you too.”
Jimmy pulled back just far enough to meet his eyes, his expression alight with curiosity and a flutter of affection warming his chest.
“Were you really?”
Tango grinned at him.
“What, you think I just happened to be outside when you came by?” he drawled. He cocked his head to the side with a sharp little smirk. “Nah, I ditched the guys to try and track down that mansion spot you and your team have claimed. It’s near spawn somewhere, and it’s kinda hard to miss. I figured I’d spot it soon enough. But it seems like you did some sneakificating of your own instead.” He lowered his voice playfully. “I guess you really are a bad boy , huh?” he teased, waggling his eyebrows, and Jimmy went a brilliant shade of red.
“Oh, stop, c’mon,” he whined, shrinking beneath the laughter in Tango’s eyes. “It’s just a team name, innit?”
“No no, I think I like it!” It was obvious Tango was withholding laughter as he carried on. “My soulmate’s a rebel. I think I can dig it. I’m sure I’ve got a leather jacket somewhere you can borrow if you wanna look the part–”
“Tangooo!”
Jimmy’s wings curled forward and he pressed his face back into Tango’s shoulder, if only to avoid the laughter he could see in every inch of his partner’s expression. And Tango did laugh then, bright and barking and echoing just slightly across the water. Jimmy grumbled and buried his face into the fabric of Tango’s hoodie, clearly something he had thrown on for the sake of his late-night escapade. His soulmate was the worst. W-O-R-S-T worst.
When Tango’s laughter finally faded, a calm sort of quiet settled over the pair. The water was calming and the breeze was light and the comfort of being back in Tango’s arms was enough for Jimmy to be so very tempted to drift off right where he stood…but that would be foolish, he knew. Except Tango’s touch along his wrist was soothing and at some point his other hand had come up to rest against the back of Jimmy’s neck, his fingers scratching lightly through Jimmy’s hair, and he was so warm.
“...don’t go fallin’ asleep on me, Feathers,” Tango teased softly. “C’mon, Grian won’t start the timers again until everyone is awake tomorrow. You can bunk up with me for the night, I’m sure none of the guys would mind.”
“Hm…?” Jimmy straightened slowly and it took him a long moment to register what Tango was offering. He frowned and glanced in the general direction of the mansion. “...they’ll wonder where I’ve gone,” he murmured. “Grain and Joel. I can’t - with the game–”
“Jim, c’mon.” Jimmy was pulled gently along toward the edge of the island and he didn’t really have much willpower to turn Tango down. “It’ll be fine. Etho is a super early riser. I’m sure he’ll wake one of us up before the rest of the server is up.”
Jimmy cast one last look back over his shoulder, but when he turned back to Tango, the blazeborn had a sweet, pleading look on his face, his eyes half-aglow and standing out in the darkness of the night.
“Please? I’ve missed you. I know we said it wouldn’t be fair to team together again but it’s driving me nuts being on the same server as you and not being near you.” He leaned in to better catch Jimmy’s eye. “You can’t sleep either, I can tell. One night. Clock’s not tickin’ right now. We’ve got time.”
They had time.
Jimmy sighed and let out warbled chirp, letting himself be tugged close to his soulmate again. Their foreheads bumped gently together, their noses brushing, and when they met in the middle in a soft and long-awaited kiss, Jimmy was the one to initiate it.
“...one night,” he returned once they had separated. “Just the one. Alright?”
Tango beamed.
“That’s all the time I need.”