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Grian was the trickster of the HC community. It was a role that he had made for himself, crafting an entire label that could only be used for him and him alone. That wasn’t to say there weren’t other pranksters on HC-9, but Grian knew that he was the king of mischief, and he loved that. Nothing tickled him more than executing a prank, especially if it had Scar involved. He could pull pranks on Scar that nobody else would fall for, and the results were always glorious .
Today, however, Scar was on a private world hanging out with some friends, and so was unavailable for pranking. Grian had to turn to other targets. Fortunately for him, as he was flying around thinking of who he should go torment next, he spotted a certain massive, ominous shape looming in the distance, the face of a warden leering at him from afar.
Perfect.
Tango, actually, was the best person he could possibly visit right now. All the hermits knew about the blazeborn’s overworking tendencies; what better way to break up the grind than to make Tango laugh with a prank? Grian often tried to do a flyby horn-scare when he got the chance, at least, to keep things interesting. Grinning, he realized he had his “Surprise!” horn in his inventory. This really was the perfect setup for a prank!
Angling his wings, the avian turned towards the Deep Frost Citadel. Excitement coiled in his stomach, making him flap harder. Grabbing the horn and holding it securely in one hand, he folded his wings and dropped down towards the base of the Citadel, where he knew an opening led to the complicated insides of the half-finished game.
As always, being in the mechanical portion of Decked Out absolutely blew Grian’s mind. Not only was it an enormous space that Tango cleared out, and not only were the tunnels zig-zagging beneath him completely hand-made, but it felt like there were miles upon miles of color-coded redstone lines everywhere. No piece of redstone, repeater, noteblock, or observer was left without a purpose, and even though Grian had been down here many times before and knew how to dodge the machinery with ease, it still made him nervous. Imagine working on this beautiful piece of redstone-slash-building artistry only for someone to come in and mess it all up with a stray wingbeat!
Tango had been hanging out on the second level of Decked Out most recently, working on setting up some sort of card-playing system. Grian did a few lazy circles, scanning for a familiar shock of glowing blue hair. It took a few moments, but he finally spotted Tango laying down a trail of redstone, his form nearly hidden behind one of his cave systems. Stifling a giggle, Grian dove down, planning on blowing the horn as he swooped by.
In hindsight, he probably should have noticed that something was off before he initiated a prank. Normally, Tango had music playing while he was working, something upbeat and jazzy with a fun combination of strings and brass. Normally, Tango’s movements were energetic and loose, and in his own world of Tango Tek wizardry, he practically danced around his redstone as he hummed and tweaked and crafted his masterpiece. Today, there was no music, and Tango’s movements were tense. Stiff. Grian should have picked up on the change right away; he liked to be mischievous but he wasn’t a jerk (most of the time) and he never wanted to prank somebody in a way that would actually upset them. In hindsight, maybe this wasn’t the best time.
But current Grian saw nothing but a glowing blue target, and he eagerly dove towards it, getting within maybe ten feet of his fellow hermit before blowing a loud “ SURPRISE!!!” out of his horn and winging his way upwards again. He was rewarded with a loud shriek, Tango jumping practically two feet in the air and his hair bursting into crackling blue flames as he spun around, eyes scanning frantically for the source of the noise. Grian, meanwhile, had perched a few feet above him on the rocky walls of a cave, cackling. That had been a fantastic jump.
But then he glanced down, and his eyes met Tango’s, and most of the humor melted away.
“Grian!” Tango snapped, and he sounded angry as opposed to amused, or even just irritated. “What are you doing? Don’t you know I’m busy?”
Grian smile faded a little, no longer amused by the reaction he got. “Well yeah, that’s why I’m here.” That was the wrong thing to say, he realized, as he watched Tango’s tail - actively burning, much like his hair - lash threateningly close to some of his redstone and glowing eyes narrowed up at him.
“Well, go bug somebody else.” Tango growled, turning away after an unhappy glare at the avian. “I can’t be distracted right now.”
Grian’s smile dropped away. He knew this tone of voice. He knew these expressions, too. This went beyond irritation, this was Tango being stressed out and overworked and digging himself deeper into it all. “Tango, when was the last time you ate something?”
“A while ago.” Tango waved a hand at him dismissively, focusing intently at his redstone trails. Grian hopped down to ground level, not pleased with that answer. “Tango…”
“ WHAT , Grian!?” Tango spun around with a snarl, and the sudden aggression in the man’s voice made Grian flutter backwards several feet, heart pounding. Almost immediately the netherborn’s eyes widened, and he took a deep breath, regret washing over his features as his hair settled a little. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry that was…” Tango took another deep breath, briefly shutting his eyes. “Look, I’ve just got a lot of work to do and you scared me a bit, okay? I didn’t mean to shout.”
“It’s okay.” Grian said softly, properly sobered by the reaction. He knew what this was; they all knew what this was. “Just… how about you take a break, okay? We can go get lunch.”
“I can’t.” Tango shook his head. “I’m already behind just by talking to you. I have to get back to work.”
Grian frowned. “Tango-”
“Just leave it , Grian, please?” Tango said, something like desperation creeping into his voice. “I don’t bother you when you are busy on your builds! Come on, man, just let me get back to work.”
Grian met his soulflame-blue eyes and sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to break through to him today. “Fine. But I’m going to bring some food back for you, okay? And you’re going to eat it all or I’m going to plague you with my surprise horn until the sound is stuck in your brain.”
Tango gave a soft chuckle at that, which made Grian’s wings ruffle a little with satisfaction. “Fine. Just stay out of my hair, okay?”
“Will do.” Grian stored his horn away and stretched his wings, about to take off. He paused when he heard Tango say, “Grian?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.” There was genuine gratitude in the blazeborn’s voice, and despite being happy that Tango was accepting some help, Grian’s heart sank a little when he met the man’s eyes again and noticed just how tired he looked. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Tango above ground. How long had he been down here?
“Sure thing, Tango.” Grian answered softly, giving the man a tight grin before launching himself back into the air, avoiding the cave structures and redstone wiring. Plans were already being formulated. He was going to get his friend to eat a hot meal, and then he had to talk to some of the hermits. It was only mid-morning; if Grian planned this right, they could hopefully get Tango out of here by the end of the day and make sure he got a good dose of sunlight, or at least a full night’s rest in a place outside of a cave.
After all, if Tango had been working like this for as long as Grian was starting to suspect, it was about time he got a break.
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Step one of the plan: Feed the netherborn.
Grian had gone back to his base to make an actual meal for Tango as opposed to giving him something like a straight up potato or a loaf of bread, which were easy snack-foods but not particularly filling, and came back roughly twenty minutes later with a big, hearty bowl of stew. As much as Tango claimed that it didn’t matter, they all knew at this point that netherborn - or at least, blazeborn - were big meat-eaters (why else would Tango have those sharp chompers of his?) so he’d been sure to include plenty of steak and pork. He also - carefully - had heated the stew to a level unpalatable to most other players. He hoped the heat and the protein would help perk his friend up a bit.
It was incredible what solitude could do to a player. When Grian came back, Tango was so absorbed in his work that he’d hardly even noticed him arrive. Grian had to practically shout the netherborn’s name in order to get him to realize he’d brought food back, and while Tango had thanked him with a tight but genuine smile, he’d almost immediately set the steaming bowl of stew to the side and began examining his redstone again.
“Uh uh, Tango.” Grian said sternly, pushing his way between Tango and the machinery and spreading his wings. A risky thing to be doing, honestly, but the longer Grian looked at Tango the more convinced he became that he really needed a break. “Be a good blazeborn and eat your stew.”
Tango glared at him heatedly, which was always an intimidating thing, but the effect was ruined by his nostrils flaring a little and a side-eyed glance at the stew. The blazeborn turned back to him. “Move, Grian. I’ll eat later.”
“No, you’re going to eat it now. Or I’m going to sic Impulse on you.”
Tango’s eyes narrowed into blue slits. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh I would.” Grian sassed back, waving his communicator around for emphasis. “He’s just a quick message away, Tango. And you know he’ll drag you from this cave if he thinks you need some sun.”
Tango gave a short hiss, making Grian’s ear-feathers twitch nervously, but then groaned and stomped over to where Grian had set the stew, sitting cross-legged next to it. His tail twitched agitatedly against the stone beneath him as he took a quick bite, looking almost hilariously grumpy, but then Tango’s eyes went wide and a shock of light pulsed through them, hair sparking, and he began shoveling the stew into his mouth. Grian laughed, relieved he’d gotten his friend to sit, although he was slightly concerned about how hungry his friend was.
“Seriously, when was the last time you ate something?” Grian asked incredulously, coming over to sit next to him. Tango hastily took a few more bites before stopping to breathe, satisfaction written all over his face. He mumbled a quick, “Dunno, ‘round when we had our last meeting” before diving back in. Grian sighed, pressing his face into his hands. “Tango, that was two days ago .”
Tango paused at that, then had the decency to at least look a little embarrassed. “...really?”
“Yes.” Grian said flatly. “Two whole days, Tango Tek. Have you even slept since then, either?”
Tango stared at him, face slowly gaining a purple tinge under the frosty glamour, and Grian groaned aloud. “ Tango .”
“What!? I was busy!” Tango defended, shoveling down the last bits of stew before standing, dusting off his dark pants and shaking bits of rubble from his long coat. “Thanks for the stew, G. I’ll clean up the bowl and return it to you later.”
“Wha- hold on a second, Tango.” Grian got to his feet as well. “I really think you need a break.”
“And I’m telling you, Grian, that I don’t.” Tango said firmly, spinning to look at him. “Thanks for the food, I do appreciate it, but I have a schedule I need to keep here and that requires me to keep at this until it’s done, okay? Do you want Decked Out 2 to be done before we inevitably end up going to HC-10 or not?”
Grian sighed, “Of course I do, but-”
“No buts! Progress requires work! So, again, thanks for the stew. I really do appreciate it, but I have to get back to work now.” And with that, Tango grabbed rockets from his inventory, unfurled his elytra from his back, and took off to presumably go work somewhere else, leaving Grian behind. The avian groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. It wasn’t the first time Tango had gotten like this - not even close, actually - but every time Grian foolishly hoped that Tango would learn to take breaks. One day off every once in a while is all it took! It didn’t have to be an everyday thing!
Well, eating did need to be an everyday thing. Preferably sleeping as well, but it wasn’t uncommon for most hermits - with the exception of Bdubs - to pull all-nighters now and again so Grian couldn’t really harp on Tango for that. Two days was pushing it though, and Grian honestly didn’t think that it was just two days. He’d seen the bags under Tango’s eyes - it took more than two days of missed sleep to cause that.
At least the food had helped a little. With Tango now actively avoiding him, Grian had to move to step two of the plan.
Step two: Recruit Bdubs.
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“Bdubs!”
Bdubs startled, nearly dropping the flowerpot he was holding. Scar, situated comfortably in a chair on the other side of his small living room and playing with Jellie, paused in his movements to look at him with wide eyes. After a moment the vex whispered, “Are you in trouble?”
“I don’t know.” Bdubs hissed back, putting the pot down before hurrying to go stick his head out the window. “Yeah? Hello!?”
“Bdubs!” Grian suddenly appeared out of nowhere in a blur of primary colors and both hermits yelled in surprise as the avian zipped through the window, bowling Bdubs over in the process. The glare hybrid scowled at Grian as he pulled himself to his feet, back aching from where it had been slammed into the ground.
“ G , you coulda used the freaking front door! What’s going on?” Bdubs demanded. Grian looked slightly sheepish, dark eyes round behind his glasses and cheeks a little flushed. “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t think you’d be in the window and I sort of just flew in.” The avian caught sight of Scar and grinned, “Hi Scar. Hi Jellie, baby girl!” Grian cooed, walking over to stroke the cat’s head as Scar laughed.
Bdubs rolled his eyes at the scene, affection driving away any sort of lingering irritation. “Is everything okay? Why’re you in such a hurry?”
“Tango’s overworking again.” Grian sighed, turning to look at him. “I need you to go get him to sleep. I don’t think he’s gone to bed since before our last meeting.”
“Wasn’t that meeting two days ago?” Scar asked, eyes wide. Grian nodded, eyes full of annoyance and concern. “Yep. He hadn’t eaten since then, too. I just got him to eat some stew but he’d clearly exhausted.”
Bdubs let out a sigh, tugging at the collar of his mossy hoodie. “Well, that settles it. Sleep-Master Bdubs is gonna have to save the day. Scar, you wanna help me out?”
“Sure!” Scar said brightly, scooping Jellie up to his chest as he stood. “Are we going to bring him back here or bring stuff to his base?”
“Ideally, here.” Bdubs was already planning. At this point, Bdubs was called the sleep master for a reason, and it only partially had to do with his strict sleep schedule. Mostly, it was because Bdubs had an uncanny ability to tell when somebody was sleep deprived, as well as figure out everything they needed in order to get the most restful sleep possible. It was mostly instinct, but Bdubs was nothing if not passionate about players getting enough rest, and so he’d turned it into a hobby. He had spreadsheets in his room that told him what every hermit needed, from how Xisuma liked cold temperatures and minimal blankets to how Ren didn’t like to sleep with pillows.
As a result of knowing all of these things, Bdubs had made a bit of a habit of dragging sleep-deprived hermits to his base so they could get the sleep they need. It was a habit that started up on HC-8, mostly because he’d been inspired by the moon-shape of his base (and wasn’t that ironic, considering how the moon had led to an entire cult that pledged to never sleep?) It had carried over to HC-9, where he’d dedicated a few rooms in his monolith specifically for guest sleepers.
Looks like Tango was about to be the next one in line, and honestly that didn’t really surprise him. Tango was quite possibly the worst sleeper Bdubs had ever had the pleasure of meeting, mostly because the netherborn himself was open about finding sleep a waste of time. At one point, Bdubs tried to reason with Tango and convince him that productivity was linked with sleep (and it was! Scientifically proven!) but the blazeborn fully wasn’t convinced. As such, Bdubs was now resigned to routinely finding himself in a position like this, where he had to drag Tango away from a project to get some rest.
And Bdubs would always be there to do so, because for all the whining and moaning he did about having to take care of his friends, he would always continue to do so because he loved them. If love meant kidnapping a friend for his own self-care, then so be it.
“Okay, Scar, here’s what we’re going to do…”
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Scar found Tango in a different part of his base from where Grian had mentioned him being before. At first, he’d thought maybe Tango had decided to leave, but he was disappointed when he swooped underneath the first two levels of caves in Decked Out and found the netherborn literally flattened to the underside of one of the cave systems. Feet secured via divots in the rock and tail extended for balance, Tango’s chest was hooked up to a harness that allowed him to cling to the surface of the rock like a spider as he attached more redstone wiring to mechanisms hidden in the cave walls. Scar shook his head slowly as he flew closer, utterly amazed. As usual, Tango’s dedication to his work never failed to inspire him.
But today, he wasn’t here to ogle. Swooping in close to land on top of the cave system, Scar put Jellie down next to him so his familiar could wander the roof of the cave system, sniffing around curiously. Then, Scar knelt down on his knees so he could peek over the edge of the cave system, catching sight of Tango’s icy blue hair. “Tango?”
He winced when there was a muffled clang and a high pitched yelp, and he winced again when Tango moved to glare up at him, looking decidedly irritated. “What are you doing here, Scar?”
Ah, so that’s how this was gonna go. Evidently, any sort of relief from Grian’s visit had worn off. Tango seemed just as stressed and exhausted as Scar had ever seen him, evidenced by the shadows under his eyes and the perpetual flickering of his hair. If anything, Tango seemed even more stressed out now than he had sounded like from Grian’s words.
“Tango, my dear friend.” Scar turned on the charm, knowing from Tango’s own admission that the netherborn got “sucked in”, so to speak. “What’s so wrong about me wanting to visit my favorite icy dungeon master?”
Tango narrowed his eyes, not impressed. “What’s wrong is that I’m busy, Scar. Come back later.”
“See, I can’t really do that.” Scar grabbed some scaffolding from his inventory and scaled himself down to stand at Tango’s level. “I’m not just a visitor, I’m actually a messenger as well. And I come bringing a very important message!”
Tango looked incredibly suspicious, and it made Scar feel sad. This wasn’t the first time Tango had worked himself into this deep of a hole (literally, in this case) and every time it reminded Scar just how important it was that they take care of each other. It was partially a failure of the hermits that Tango ended like this - tired and withdrawn and so unlike himself - and they need to do better.
“Bdubs has sent me to let you know that he needs to talk to you.” Scar said. “It’s a very important matter.”
Tango sighed, ears lowered in stress and fatigue. “Why didn’t he just message me?”
“Because he knows that if he just messaged you, you wouldn’t come.” Scar said simply. That was the wrong thing to say, because Tango’s ears fully flattened themselves to his head and the blazeborn let out a growl as he turned to face him. “So what, you’re the muscle? You’re here to strongarm me into getting out of my work, is that it?”
This was not the direction Scar wanted this to go, but he supposed he should have expected it. He raised his hands in a placating manner, “Nooo, no of course not!” That’s exactly what this is . “Bdubs was just busy and so he wanted me to-”
“You can go tell Bdubs that I’m also busy.” Tango turned back to his work. “Leave me alone, Scar. I’ll talk to you guys another time.” There was such finality and tension in his tone that all thoughts of simply bundling the netherborn up and carrying him off faded away.
Scar stared at him as Tango firmly started getting back to work, unsure what to do. The longer he watched, the more worried he got. Evidently Tango realized he was watching because the blazeborn turned around a few minutes late with a warning growl rumbling in his throat. “Scar…”
“Fine! Fine, I’ll leave.” Scar took a step back, not wanting to upset him any further. “I’m only going to say this, then I’ll go. Tango, you’re worrying everyone. We know you get like this occasionally-”
“Get like what ?” Tango said aggressively, but Scar kept going.
“-and we know that in the moment, you feel like everything is fine and you’re just busy. But everybody can see you’re exhausted. Everybody can see you’re not yourself. We just want to help, okay? Bdubs set up his room so you can come take a nap if you want - that’s all you have to do! Just get yourself out of this build, alright?” He waited, hopeful, as Tango hesitated.
But his hope faded when Tango sighed and shook his head. “Scar, I don’t want to worry you guys, but I’m fine, okay? Once I finish my work, I’ll take a break, but until then I just need to keep going.”
Scar nodded, unhappy with the results but unsure of what else he could do. Sighing, he climbed the scaffolding until he was back at the top of the cave system, Jellie coming over to rub against his ankles. “Take care of yourself, Tango.” He was given a distracted, “uh-huh,” before Tango fully zoned back into his work. Chest feeling heavy, Scar gathered Jellie back up and took off, headed back to Bdubs monolith.
When he got there, the monolith gleamed in the afternoon sun, and he could see the fuzzy green form of Bdubs waiting at the bottom. The glare hybrid looked surprised when Scar came back without Tango. “Where is he?”
“He didn’t want to come.” Scar sighed.
“Well yeah , I know, that’s why-”
“No, no he really didn’t want to come. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him like this, Bdubs.” Scar said sadly. “He’s so obsessed with the build that it’s like he doesn’t even realize how out of sorts he is. I’m worried that if he keeps up with it, he’s going to collapse or something. But he’s really against taking any kind of help,” Scar added, when Bdubs opened his mouth. “He was actively growling at me whenever I mentioned it. I don’t think we can just yank him away.”
“Stupid, stubborn netherborn.” Bdubs snapped, but there was nothing but worry in his eyes. “Why can’t he see he’s gonna hurt himself?”
“Can I try?” Both Bdubs and Scar shouted out in absolute shock as the voice came from nowhere, the two of them jumping. Jellie hissed and scrambled out of Scar’s arms. Spinning around, the two of them saw Etho standing casually in the path behind them, eyes sparkling at their reaction. Bdubs, hand over his heart, gave one of the most exaggerated glares Scar had ever seen. “ Etho!”
Etho chuckled, but then said, “Let me help. I’ll get Tango out of there. Let me guess, you have a room set up for him, right?”
“Well, yeah. Got a little fireplace going and his seven blankets and everything.”
Etho nodded. “Good. Give me about an hour.”
Bdubs snorted, “Look at this guy. Give me an hour , how full of yourself can you get.” The words were just words, though, because Bdubs then came over and gave the taller man a fond, gentle punch in the shoulder. “Go talk some sense into him, ‘kay?”
Etho gave a mock salute, ruffling his friend’s hair (and getting a loud HEY in the process) before unfurling his elytra and grabbing some rockets. He shouted, “I’ll be back with Tango!” as he shot into the air, leaving the two other hermits behind. Scar hoped he was right.
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Tango was having a bad day.
No, scratch that, he’d been having a hard week . He was too far behind on Decked Out - even if he’d wanted to try and relax, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Any time he’d been spending doing anything else was plagued with thoughts about the work he needed to do, the projects he still had to plan. Eventually, Tango had given up on trying to do anything else except get work done.
And for a time, it felt like he’d been making decently good progress. Time flies when you’re busy. Was he tired? Yeah, he was. He was hungry, too. But if he could just get a few more sections of cave built… just a few more redstone wiring connections made…
Grian showed up and scared the absolute blazes out of him. Tango definitely wasn’t expecting the amount of anger it had made him feel, since usually the sudden pranks were met with amusement or lighthearted irritation. He didn’t mean to yell at Grian, and the realization that he was stressed enough that he’d missed days of sleep and eating didn’t do anything to make him feel better. Despite the stew (which was heavenly , full of meat and absolutely boiling and filling his insides with warmth) he found himself sinking into a worse and worse mood when the avian finally left.
Suddenly, the work he was doing felt even more important. He was missing out because he was taking so long. He had to finish so he could stop making his friends worry.
Then Scar had shown up, and the tone of voice when he’d mentioned Bdubs wanting to talk to him had been so obvious . They were trying to get him to take a break, but Tango couldn’t . He didn’t have time . More aggression started coiling hotly under his skin as he’d talked with Scar, making him act in ways he’d probably hate himself for later. At least it got Scar to leave.
It wasn’t helping that with every conversation Tango was having with his friends, the more exhausted he was starting to feel. The food Grian had brought him had snapped him out of his workaholic haze enough that he’d started to feel tired, and the fatigue had yet to leave him, only growing stronger with each moment.
And that, of course, only made him more and more desperate to finish. He didn’t want this to drag out any longer.
Tango was momentarily snapped out of his thoughts by his communicator going off. He ignored it, but as it started to buzz more regularly he finally sighed and glanced down at it.
Ethoslab: Tango, you available?
Ethoslab: I need your help
Ethoslab: It’s kind of important
Ethoslab: Please?
Ethoslab: By the nether portal at the shopping district
Tango raised an eyebrow, worry starting to rise in his chest. Etho needed help? And he’d reached out to him? Was something seriously wrong? He hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the redstone wiring inside of him. His vision blurred for a moment as he turned his head too quickly and he sucked in a deep breath, briefly shutting his eyes against the dizziness.
Well, now he was going to feel like an absolute jerk if he stayed here.
“Come on , Etho.” Tango groaned, unhooking himself from his harness and opening his elytra. He yelped as he let off a rocket and smashed himself straight into a wall, his sense of coordination - already not very good - made worse by how long he’d been staring at rock and ice and redstone. Aching, he managed to finally make his way out of the bowels of Decked Out and into the open sky.
It was late afternoon outside, with the sun starting to sink on the horizon. Tango shivered as the wind tugged at his hair and tail, cool against his skin. The heat from the stew had worn away and as Tango breathed in the crisp, evening overworld air, he felt his core temperature drop slightly despite his fluffy cloak and insulated clothing. It only made him more tired.
He spotted Etho by the nether portal like he’d said he was and angled himself down. He nearly tripped and fell flat on his face when he landed, his legs stiff and feeling oddly disconnected from the rest of him. Tango breathed in deep to dispel another onset of dizzy weariness, then turned to face Etho, who was looking at him with an unreadable look in his eyes. The mask certainly didn’t help, either.
“I’m here.” Tango said, clearing his throat when it came out more as a rasp. “What’s going on? What can I help with.”
The corner’s of Etho’s eyes crinkled, but his voice was smooth and impassive when he said, “Walk with me.”
Irritation made Tango’s hair spark and tail swing from side to side behind him, brushing the cobblestone street, but he swallowed it down. Etho needed his help, and he wasn’t going to rush it. This wasn’t about his needs right now, even though as he fell in step beside the taller man, his mind was still screaming at him.
You’re behind!
You need to work harder .
Everyone is waiting for you to finish, why are you taking so long?
Shut up! Tango tried to order himself. Stay focused on Etho!
And he did. Despite how he’d lost any semblance of control over his tail as it flicked about, despite the sparks flying from his hair, despite how he stumbled and occasionally saw doubles, Tango was going to be here and focus on Etho.
Etho, who looked surprisingly calm considering how urgent his messages had been. He led Tango at a leisurely pace down a lesser used path through the shopping district. Tango followed, trying to patiently wait for Etho to speak. The sun was still setting, and birds were beginning to sing lullabies in the surrounding trees. The music was surprisingly soothing, and Tango felt his limbs grow heavy as they walked, weights beginning to stack along his shoulders and eyelids.
“I have a problem.” Etho said several minutes later, snapping Tango out of his tired haze. He tried to perk himself up, turning to face Etho. “Yeah? What’s wrong?”
Etho found a bench bit further away from the nearest shop, sitting down and patting the seat next to him. Tango sat down and tried to listen attentively.
“I know somebody who’s currently going through a hard time of it,” Etho started, and Tango’s eyes widened because was Etho talking to him about people problems ? “He’s a nice guy. A hard worker, always trying to impress others, always trying to make something big and significant. He’s been working really, really hard lately, and I want to support him, but he’s starting to draw away.”
“Etho, hold on.” Tango waves his hands, unable to fully process Etho’s words. Void, I’m so tired . “Are you asking me to help you handle a player? Because that’s not really my area of specialty, man.”
“Keep listening, I think you can help.” Etho insisted, and Tango reluctantly fell silent.
“I’ve known this guy for a good while. We’ve been through a lot together, and I like to think I know him fairly well. I’m pretty sure that this guy feels like he has something to prove by getting this project done as quickly as possible. I saw him recently - he looks like death. His eyes are all shadowed and he’s thinner than he should be. I’m not sure when was the last time he rested. Worst of all, he’s not reaching out to anybody to help. Even when people try to get close, he shoves them away.”
Something was resonating in Tango’s brain, and he blamed his current fatigue on how long it was taking for things to make sense. “Etho…”
“It’s hurting everybody around him,” Etho went on quietly, eyes locked on Tango’s face. “This guy… he’s good friends with a lot of people. He’s loved by a lot of people, but because of his pride he’s not letting them help him out. He’s scaring me and his other friends.”
Tango stared back, heart beginning to speed up in his chest. Against his will, maybe because he was tired, stress and sadness started bubbling under his skin. “Maybe this guy just really, really wants to finish his project. Maybe he’s upset because he’d promised something to you all and he hasn’t been able to deliver yet.”
Etho hummed, resting his chin on one hand and continuing to study Tango’s face in a way that was both sweet and yet nerve wracking. “Maybe his friends don’t care about the project as much as they care about him and his health. Maybe all they want is for him to eat a good meal and get some decent sleep, and that’s enough for them.”
Tango sighed, slumping forward to bury his head in his hands. He felt so, so heavy, like the world was starting to press down on his shoulders. His head was starting to throb, an ache starting up at the base of his neck. “God damn it, Etho.”
Etho chuckled slightly at the rare curse, and put a gentle hand on Tango’s back, rubbing lightly. “What do you think, can you help me with my problem, Tango?”
“It’s too hard for me to slow down, Etho.” Tango croaked, feeling exhausted, feeling numb. “Everytime I try to slow down, my brain starts screaming at me about all the stuff I have to do. Everybody’s waiting for me to get Decked Out up and running but it’s just so much work . And I just… I can’t stop. If I stop, I don’t know if I can pick it up again.”
“Then don’t.” Etho said simply. “Nobody is putting more pressure on you than you yourself, Tango. Decked Out is your baby - we want you to do it because you want to do it, not because you’re trying to impress us. Trust me, we’d all be a lot happier if you just de-stressed for a few days. Just until you’re feeling motivated.”
Tango just sighed again, staying with his head pressed into his palms. The fatigue had wiped out his internal fire, snuffing out the flames on his head. He could feel the blaze rods in his chest cooling slightly, lying heavy against his heart like lead.
Tango had never, ever wanted to sleep more than he did right now.
“How’re you feeling, Tango?” Etho said gently, hand softly moving up to lightly massage the back of his neck, thumb caressing the short, soft hair. The touch sent a thick, heavy wave of warmth and lethargy through him, pulling a soft purr out of him almost on command. Tango drew his legs up to bury his head in his knees, tail curling around his feet. The soft, settling birdsong was lilting and lovely in his ears. “Tired.”
“Want me to help you get to Bdubs’ place?” Etho asked, and Tango was grateful that he wasn’t offering to carry him. Slowly and with great effort, he unfolded himself on the bench with a groan, blinking sleepily before nodding. Etho got up from the bench and pulled him to his feet, giving Tango a second to get his bearings and shake out his limbs before clumsily launching into the air.
Etho led him, giving Tango something to focus on as they flew, as well as letting him ride in his slipstream. It seemed like Tango had just blinked and then they were heading down towards the balcony on Bdubs’ monolith.
Bdubs himself was there, waiting for them. The glare hybrid hurried over to help steady Tango when they landed, with Etho gripping one arm and Bdubs the other. Tango blinked, the world spinning, and wished he didn’t have to rely so heavily on their support. When he looked down at Bdubs he saw the shorter hermit’s face filled with irritation - no doubt the man wanted to scold him for overworking - but when Bdubs met Tango’s tired eyes his expression changed to one of sympathy, relief, and love.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Bdubs said, and Tango felt something inside of him relax, subconsciously relieved that he was getting gentleness instead of anger. “Let’s get you inside, ‘kay?” Tango just nodded, stumbling along after the glare hybrid. Bdubs led him inside and down a set of stairs before showing him one of his rooms. Tango couldn’t help but stop in the doorway of the room, overwhelmed by the intense yearning he suddenly felt to bury himself in the bed. Bdubs had fully decked out the room to make it the most comfortable and sleep-worthy room Tango had ever seen. A new fireplace had been installed, the crackling flames filling the room with warmth and lovely background noise. Warped vines, red and graceful, were draped across the ceiling and walls. The floor had been covered with a red carpet to mirror crimson grass, and the bed itself was big and covered in what looked like at least seven blankets and two pillows. Aside from the fireplace there were no lights, giving the room a dim, cavernous appearance. It looked safe.
“Get some rest, Tango.” Bdubs nudged him forward and the instinctive, sleep-deprived part of his brain jumped into action. Hardly realizing what he was doing, Tango shrugged off his cloak and hopped out of his boots before crawling into the bed, wasting now time before burrowing under the sheets and blankets and gathering them on top of himself, creating a cave of softness and warmth. He curled up inside, tail wrapped around himself until the tip lay tucked under his chin, a purr of absolute joy bubbling up in his throat. He thought he heard someone chuckle from outside his little fort, but he was so tired it barely registered.
“Sleep tight, Tango.” A voice said, brimming with affection. Then footsteps retreated, leaving Tango alone with the soft crackle of flames and a heavy, wonderful warmth pressed all around him.
The knowledge that he could be working was still there, but for every complaint his mind threw at him, the voice of Etho was there to combat it. The warmth he’d seen in Bdubs gaze, the relief that he was taking a break, fought back the anxiety at every turn. It fought back the stress and worry until he was only left with the knowledge that he was loved.
Surrounded by comfort on the outside and feeling it nestle within him, it didn’t take long before sleep came to claim him.