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The sun was barely beginning its descent when Tango finally clawed his way from the depths of the underground. He was covered from head to toe in the glittery, faintly glowing red dust he had spent god knows how long harvesting. His fiery hair and tail tip had gone red from the amount he had on him. All of it was for his latest project. The Blaze hybrid took a moment to try and dust some of the Redstone off before he began the trek back to his base. Getting home before the sun set seemed like a good plan. Especially since he had heard that respawn was on the fritz.
For several weeks now, it had not been behaving how it should. People wouldn't show up where they last set their spawn. Instead, it seemed to be on randomize. Tango wound up in Bdubs place while Ren once suddenly appeared in his. Other times, people wouldn’t come back whole or the way they had been before death, which was the case for poor Iskall. He had a backward head for several days before they finally got him back to normal. But some… just didn’t come back. They were still holding their breath for Scars' grand reappearance. At least Xisuma had assured them that the man in question was okay. Just a little lost. Their Admin had been focusing on figuring out the issue and getting it fixed.
Until then, people were being quite careful. Much more than they usually were.
The journey back to his base was calm save for a zombie that had survived the scorching sun. He was so close to home when he spotted a familiar red sweater and dirty blond hair passing by. He was likely off to gather materials of his own or play a prank or see what everyone else has been up to. There were countless possibilities.
“Hey!” Tango greeted, then raised his hand to their resident Avian and chaos starter. Maybe they could chat for a while before returning to their respective tasks.
Grian had turned at the shout. But he didn’t get a chance to respond as his wings faltered, falling into a plummet towards the Earth. A cry of alarm escaped Tango as he charged forward to catch the pesky bird before he hit the unforgiving ground. There was no way this was a rapid descent to come chat. There had to be something wrong. Since respawn was acting off, the Blaze hybrid couldn’t allow Grian to smash into the ground. He might end up like Scar or Iskall.
With the momentum that had built up, it hurt to catch the avian. But the pain was quick to fade. “Grian?” He asked, worrying further when he didn’t get an answer. Nothing to suggest that this was just a test or a prank like he had done before. Not even an assurance that he was okay. Tango could feel the man shaking, his skin burning even with the redstoners natural resistance to heat. Was he sick..? He couldn’t remember a time when Grian was ill.
Then he caught the scent of blood and realized it was soaking through the side of Grians sweater. The avian was hurt.
With that realization in mind, Tango made sure he had a good hold on Grian and that he wouldn’t hurt him further. Then he hurried the rest of the way to his base in the growing darkness. The avian in his arms got an apology for getting jostled around so much. He just wanted to get there with both of them in one piece as monsters began to take shape in the gloom.
He slammed the door open to his base, then quickly slammed it closed behind him. He almost closed his tail in it. “You’re not invited!” Tango told the zombie he had slammed the door shut on. He didn’t take a moment to breathe as he went to his bed and set Grian down. Then he made sure his hands, up to the elbows, were cleaned of the Redstone dust that covered him, and all his supplies were present so he could take care of the injury he knew Grian had.
Another apology was issued to the unconscious avian then he was peeling off his sweater to gauge the injuries he had. It was a little tricky with the limp wings, but Tango managed. The soft red sweater was set aside to be washed of the blood and returned later.
There were three seemingly deep gashes on Grians' side, just beneath his ribs. The skin around them was an angry red, close in color to his signature sweater. He could feel the heat that radiated off the injuries and saw a yellowish substance within the wounds. Infection was setting in. Grian had these for a while.
They needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.
With his supplies already gathered, Tango set to work. He thoroughly cleaned the wound as well as the skin around it. He waited for everything to dry, then carefully bandaged Grian up. The man did not wake up through the whole process, which was fine. Judging by the bags under his eyes and the general unkempt state of his wings and hair, Tango figured that the man desperately needed it. He had not noticed until they were finally in the safety of his base. Who knows how long Grian had been going at whatever he had been doing beforehand.
Tango cleaned up what he had used to patch up Grian, then sent out a message to the rest of the Hermits to let them know where their pesky bird was, what had happened and that he was taking care of him. He set aside his communicator when a teasing message from Impulse came through once the man was assured that Grian was okay.
He would have cared for him without the silly feelings that made his heart flutter like a caged bird. His eyes wandered over to where Grian was fast asleep, appreciating just how at peace he seemed to be. He was… cute. However, the Blaze hybrid thought that even when he was causing chaos or planning something. The sparkle in his eye, the almost manic grin, and how his feathers fluffed… Tango quickly shook his head, shoving the thoughts aside. He had more important things to think about! Like the Redstone that still dusted him and the exhaustion creeping into his body.
He checked on Grian one last time before flopping into the guest bed he saved just in case. Tango was out the moment his head hit the pillow.
<>
Tango woke with a start when he heard a thump and what sounded like a distressed pigeon. When did he get a pigeon? He found his still half asleep brain asking. Then he was shooting up as his brain finally clicked two pieces together. That was Grian! He had forgotten he was staying with him to recover from his infected wounds. He had somehow forgotten that the pesky bird was in his base. In his bed. Any remnants of sleep had cleared from his body as he focused on going to check on the other man.
“Grian?” Tango asked as he entered the room, realizing that all the blankets were now on the floor. Along with a wild-eyed Grian tangled up in the blankets with his wings half spread. Tango thought he saw a hint of purple in those deep brown eyes. But the pesky bird blinked, and it was gone. “Everything okay?” He asked as he slowly approached, hoping he wouldn't startle him further. Maybe waking up somewhere he didn't recognize caused it. Or perhaps some bad dream.
Grian took a breath, his wings and body slowly relaxing. It took him a little longer to answer as he pressed a hand to his injured side. Likely just now registering the pain of the injuries. “I'm okay.” He answered. “When did I get here?” The pesky bird asked, just now getting a good look around the room he was in. He was working on getting himself untangled.
“Last night.” Tango answered, coming to help even though Grian likely didn't need it. He has gotten himself in and out of numerous sticky situations before, after all. He could take a blanket. But that did not stop Tango from helping untangle the avian. “You kinda fell out of the sky, dude. Don't you remember?”
“I remember seeing you.” Grian answered truthfully, stretching his wings and limbs once he was free of his fabric prison. He winced, then looked at the bandages on his side. “Where… Oh! I guess that Enderman did get me…”
“Wha— How do you miss an Enderman getting you?! How did you piss it off in the first place?!” Tango asked, staring at Grian with worry bubbling up in his stomach. It was painfully obvious that he must have thrown himself into some project and stopped caring about himself. He saw how Grian seemed ashamed of himself, drawing his limbs close despite his obvious pain. “Grian?” His voice softened.
“I… wasn’t paying that much attention.” The pesky bird would admit at last. He wasn’t looking at Tango. If he had his sweater, the Blaze hybrid was sure that he would be buried in it. “Just enough to know that I made the mistake of looking at it but not enough to realize it actually hurt me. I was just…”
“Just what?” Tango prompted.
“Trying not to think.” Grian answered. If he wasn’t mistaken, it looked like the pesky bird was about to cry. “About the whole mess of respawn. Especially Scar… He’s lost in some unknown place, and it’s all my fault. What if someone else ends up like him? What if—“
Tango already knew what Grian was about to say. “It’s going to be fine! No one else is going to get lost, and Scar is going to come back just fine! X is working on it. If anyone can fix it, he can. It’ll all be fine!” He glanced to Grians side. “You focus on healing up, okay? We don’t need you going to respawn cause of something stupid like an infection.”
“I’ve gone to respawn for stupider things.” Grian pointed out.
“True… I’m pretty sure I have too” Tango's tail lashed, then he continued. “Stay put. I’m going to change your bandages.” The blaze hybrid quickly got to his feet and then gathered the materials from where he left them. As soon as he was back, he set right to work. Grian seemed tense under his hands, so he tried to be quick. Just in case he was making the avian uncomfortable. Silence stretched on between them.
It would be Tango who broke it once he was finished with Grians bandages. It already seemed that the slashes were improving, but he was still worried. The builder had been neglecting himself in his attempts to keep his thoughts from straying to their missing friend. If he could, he wanted to keep an eye on Grian. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want, by the way.” He offered as he cleaned up the supplies he had used. “If there’s anything you need, lemme know.”
“Thank you.” Grian said, some hesitation clear in his words and his body language. Eventually, it seemed that he had made up his mind. “Can you..?”
“Can I what? I’m not a mind reader, G.” Tango teased, appreciating how it seemed to fluster the pesky bird. Though it made him curious about what Grian wanted to ask that was flustering him so much. Usually, he wasn't so afraid to ask for whatever it was that he wanted. Sometimes he didn't even ask. He just did whatever it was that was on his mind.
“Can you… help me with my wings?” Grian finally asked, stretching out one of his wings to remind Tango of their sad state from neglect. He could see all sorts of crooked, broken, and loose feathers. Along with the remnants of whatever his friend had been building with. Concrete maybe? The stuff did tend to get everywhere. It was as bad as sand. Maybe Grian wasn’t uncomfortable with him touching him then. So… why had he been so tense?
“You sure? I’ve never done it before so–” Tango started. That seemed like such an intimate act. Yet, Grian was asking him to do it. Surely that had to mean something.
“I’ll teach you.” The avian was already turning around, presenting his wings to the blaze hybrid. Tango set to work as Grian walked him through how to do it. Tension melted from those wings as he straightened out the feathers and plucked out the ones that were broken or falling out. By the time he moved on to Grians' other wing, he didn't need instruction. The pesky bird was putty in his hands, eyes half closed and wings limp. It was pretty adorable. If he listened close enough, he was sure that he was making a content cooing noise.
“There you go. All done.” Tango said as he took a look at his handiwork. The deep red and brown wings looked a lot better. He could see the white speckles that decorated Grians' wings. “Feel better?” He asked, making a noise of surprise when the avian suddenly flopped against him rather than letting him move away, squirming until he was quite comfortable against him. Somehow not hurting himself in the process. The blaze hybrid felt himself freezing, letting the avian do what he wanted. Grian was so close now, choosing to cuddle up to him.
“Much. Thank you.” He looked up at Tango with those big eyes of his. Ones that screamed ‘I'm innocent!’ even though he knew that Grian wasn't. “You’re warm.”
It felt like his brain was short-circuiting like faulty Redstone circuitry. Eventually, he managed to get some words out of his mouth. “Yeah. No problem. But uh… That comes with the whole… The warmth, I mean.” He made a gesture with his hands, unsure of what he was doing with them. Words were suddenly hard. His heart was going to get out of his chest at some point. Grian was lying on him, looking at him with those big eyes of his and looking so content. It looked like he was starting to fall asleep.
“It's nice.” Grian commented, settling further against him. Wings limp and face content. “Thank you. For catching me.” His eyes started to slip closed. “And for taking care of me.” He mumbled. “You sure it's okay if I stay here for a little while?”
“Of course. That's what friends do, you know? Catch each other and care for each other when they need it.” Tango ran a hand through Grians hair, watching as the pesky bird closed his eyes. “And yeah. I'm sure. You’re allowed to crash here anytime, Gri.” He wasn't sure if he had heard him. It seemed that he had fallen asleep on him. This was fine. Everything was fine. He would just not think about the fact that he had a snoozing bird on him. One that he had feelings for. Tango would think about his upcoming project instead! Or what they could eat when Grian was awake. He ran his hands idly through the mess of Grians hair, tail swaying lazily.
It was not a very long nap. It made him wonder when exactly they had gotten up. He really didn’t look at the time when he had rushed to check on Grian. Tango looked down when he felt the pesky bird stirring. “Hey. Good nap?” He asked, pretending that his legs had not fallen asleep in the time it took for the builder to wake up.
The avian offered him a nod as he started to get up, turning so he could face Tango. He looked like he was still half asleep as he stared at him. Almost like he was contemplating some crime he was about to commit. “Not even awake for five minutes or healed up, and you’re already going to—?” Lips shut him up by pressing against his. Soft and hesitant but still there.
His brain short-circuited almost immediately. It felt like he had just combusted. It felt too real to be a dream. It felt… amazing. Like something he had wanted for a while.
His brain didn’t start functioning again until Grian was pulling away; an apology stopped in its tracks as Tango chased him to return the kiss. There was less hesitation in this one, hands reaching up to cup Grians cheeks. The avian is melting against him, wings settling after puffing out in surprise. They held it for as long as possible, soon breaking apart for air. No one wanted to be sent to respawn for suffocation while kissing. A death message like that would be talked about for years. Grian presses his forehead to Tangos, words not yet found but clear in the action.
“Oh, I can’t wait to tell everyone about this.” A voice suddenly said, breaking them out of the moment. The two quickly broke apart, staring wide-eyed at their suddenly appearing guest.
Looking back at them and grinning is none other than Scar. Their dear missing friend. They process for a moment then Grian is scrambling up. “SCAR!” He yells, joy clear in his tone. Thinking it’s something bad, the man in question bolts with Grian following him despite his injury.
Tango hears them leave the base but doesn’t get up to follow after them, still processing what happened. He glanced at his communicator when it pings, letting him know that Scar had just fallen from a high place.
Confusion and shock from the other Hermits came through rather quickly. There were at least three different people, including Xisuma, asking if Scar was okay. There was celebration when he confirmed that he was okay. Respawn was fixed.
But the thought was shoved out of his head as Grian returned. Tango had a pesky bird to attend to and talk to. They had a lot to sort out after those kisses.