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impulse was gliding through the town, about to head to bed. He zipped past the ufo. False’s ufo. He was about to be above his roof when he saw a flash of blurry colour on the ufo. It was different. It was still faint but it didn't mix into the steadily darkening sky. Curiously, impulse went to land on the ufo.
His feet thumped hard against the concrete. He fluttered his eagle wings behind his back and froze. It was tango, sitting on the edge of the ufo. Impulse was in the centre now. He didn’t want to believe the thoughts pouring over him in the form of a wet cold shiver. He needed to be the positivity here. The one who saw the best in everything. Tango couldn't be here for..that. Except well…
Tango was always the one who saw the best intentions in everyone. And he..He was the one sitting above the town,legs slinking down. Impulse's heart thundered with a sudden shocking clap as tango started to ease his body off the platform.
“Tango.”
Tango stopped and pushed himself back up a bit.
“Hey. getting ready for a night time flight too?”
“You're not up here for that.”impulse deadpanned.
“You say that like you care why I'm up here.”
Impulse's heart, if it hadn’t been already, was snapping a little further. He looked at his shoes. Stained purple vans. Impulse loved purple. He looked around. Trying to come up with something-- anything besides “don't jump’ to say to his friend.
“I’m not here to tell you not to jump.”
“Good. let me get on with it then?”
“Nope…. When you were a kid, did you ever do that? Who was where and when how thing?”
“Huh?” tango inquired.
Impulse sighed through his nose. At least he wasn't falling right now. Taking a shaking step forwards impulse kept talking,remembering what little he’d been told about this type of thing.
“Who, what, where, when, how? It's something I used to do to help my summarise. I need you to do that first. Answer those questions before your jump.”
Impulse edged forwards, looking for anyone he could get as back up from anyone who was passing by.
Tango gave a hum.
“Who is me. What is suicide. Where is hermilton. How is by falling- or hitting the ground.”
Tango turned his face away from impulse.
“Why?”
“What?”
“It's the question I forgot. Why?”
As tango fell into thought, impulse nabbed his comm of his belt. He quickly typed an error filled help message before taking another step.
“Quit getting closer.”
‘Answer the question.”
“How? How do you move on?”
“?”
“I want to ask a question. How do you move on?”
“You learn and you grow. And suddenly you're not where you were.”
“Impulse, if you're taught to speak german like doc.. Is it difficult to learn english?”
Impulse stopped walking and tried to save the panicking breaths welling in his throat.
“Yeah. I guess it would be.”
Tango turned to face impulse again. Looked him dead in the eyes. His face, full of neat details, as intriguing as a renaissance painting, was filled with pure shatteredness.
“That's your why.”
“It's difficult to re-teach yourself and go against what you thought was true. Doc still speaks some words only in german. He gave up to a certain point. I'm weaker than doc. So,..I gave up faster than him.”
“What did you give up on?” impulse said,loudly, trying to smother the sound of fireworks.
“Feeling anything else but hurt.”
Tango was gripping the side of the ufo. He let go after a moment.
“Aren't you tired?”
“Yes. I'm so tired of this. Thats why-”
“I mean like sleepy. Don’t you wanna go to bed? We could watch a movie together ya know.”
Tango stopped and for a second it looked like he was actually considering it.
“I’ve gone longer without sleep than this. Plus, I'm trying to sleep right now. Your being more of a pester than scar is to bdubs though.”
Another pair of feet landed on the smooth ufo’s top.
“Impulse!? Are you okay?” grian panted.
“Tango. Tango- tell grian what's going on.”
“I'm going for a fly.”
“What? Impulse what's-?”
Impulse let tears pour down. They had already been in his sockets but the shock was gone now.
“T-tango! Please- d d on’t jump!”
“Jump?”
“Don't worry bout it grian. Impulse is tired- he’s not thinking straight.”.
The three sat there. Grian looked crazed with how wide eyed he was.
“There are o-others down there tango. Xb,gem, and iskall. They’re cheering for you to get off this ledge.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“You don't have to disappoint anyone.” impulse lept.
“I already have. I disappointed my parents.”
“They don't matter! They- they don't have a lick of sense!”
“I want to die impulse. Grian. Let me have this.”
Grian let his parrot wings sprawl and dived for tango. In a panic their blond friend shoved himself off.
Everything was slow.
Grian caught his arm.
“Argh!” tango grunted as his wrist pulled. He furiously tried to get out of grians hold.
“Impulse! Do something!!”
Impulse grabbed tango's other arm. He helped Grian pull him up into the centre. Tango was breathing hard. There were light tears on his face.
“Breath breath please.”impulse coached,squeezing his hand.
Tango shoved his face into the crook of impulse’s neck and started letting bubbling hyperventilating sobs out. Impulse patted his back and slowly rubbed his probably sore wrist with dainty fingers.
“I-m getting xb,gem, and iskall and getting one of them to call x.” grian purposed,already descending from the platform.
“T-tango? We’re going to get you down. We’re going to get you a blanket and a nice safe spot with lots of friends around.”
‘Why? It's so much harder.. You shouldn’t have saved me-”
“No. I wanted to.”
Tango sighed hard. Gem and grian were up there.
“He-y tango. Buddy? It’s time to climb down alright? How do you want to do this?” gem choked, forcing a smile in between tears.
“I-i don't know. Can’t I just stay here forever?”
“Well you'd jump dear. We can't have that.”
“Why?”
“Because we love you.”
“Oh..”
Impulse helped tango rise onto his feet. He was shaking.
“Xb and iskall are getting blankets and hot drinks for you okay?”
“Okay.”
Impulse tried to cheer up his friend.
“We can still do movies if you want. Or we could watch uh- what was that show called? The one with the beaver you like called-piercy?”
“Its perry!” tango sniffled, a possible chuckle emitting carefully from him.
Together the three of them managed to make a later for tango to climb down, not wanting him to fly in this condition.
When they got down iskall and xb did their part perfectly. Offering warm easy smiles and not talking of the incident.
“Hallo! There's my favourite red eyed guy!”
“Hey tango.Could I interest you in a blanket?”
Somehow,they got tango to smile a small partially forced smile at that.
“S-sure. Yeah.”
Xb pulled a quilt with fun patterns on it and pulled it over tango's shoulders, laughing his usua;,although a bit forceful staggered laugh.
“Man, it's getting kinda cold. And dark. Do you guys want to crash at mine?”impulse offered. Everyone nodded and smiled and dragged tango into it. They tried to talk normally,perend it was okay although it was challenging but it became easier when everyone realised tango was too out of it to properly realise what just happened. For now at least.