Archive of Our Own

The river water is not much on its own, but it does help wash away some of the grubby feeling of ash that’s been coating Tango’s skin for the past twelve or so hours. He scrubs at his skin, slow and methodical, trying to clean away the ash that he knows isn’t there but can feel like a phantom pain. There’s dirt under his fingernails he doesn’t know if he’ll ever quite get out, and no matter how long he stands in the shallow water of the river he’ll never quite get rid of the sticky and dirty feeling that’s hung over him since the fire. He can still smell it, the smoke in the air and the ash clinging to his clothes. He still sees a burning bonfire when he blinks, feels the screams that have been etched into his throat and have made it go dry.

But Jimmy insisted that a dip in the river would make him feel better. And Tango has to admit that it has helped a little bit, even if the water is just a smidge too cold for his comfort level or he feels like people are watching him.

Regardless of his worries, he washes off, scrubs at his skin until it feels raw and rakes his hands through his hair until his fingers have gone pruney. He stays in the river until he feels a little bit cleaner than before, and steps onto the river bank to dry himself off. Luckily with his above average body temperature, it doesn’t take long before he’s almost completely dry. He shrugs on a pair of clean clothes that fit a bit awkwardly in some places and most definitely are not his style, and begins the trek back up the steep slope towards where their ranch once stood.

As he approaches the leveled plot of land they’d claimed for their homestead, he does his best not to clench his jaw and ball his hands into fists. The air still feels heavy around the burnt and crisped remains of the ranch, some of the earth still scorched from the blaze. At least the cows have been contained, now, and their crops have gone untouched by the fire. Small mercies, he thinks distantly.

Jimmy is standing amidst the rubble of their once beautiful ranch house, wearing Tango’s thick leather gloves as he moves wood and debris alike out of the way to make room for a new stronger foundation. Tango stops from a distance and watches him work. The sight of Jimmy wearing his work gloves makes Tango feel a little fuzzy. He thinks it’s the smoke inhalation.

Jimmy catches sight of Tango before he can say anything, and a smile makes its way onto the blonde’s face.

(Tango doesn’t miss the way Jimmy’s eyes graze over Tango a little longer than maybe he meant to. Tango’s not exactly wearing his own clothes right now, after all.)

“You’re back!” He wipes the sweat from his brow, putting his hands on his hips as he surveys Tango. He feels very bare under Jimmy’s gaze. “How was your wash?”

“Great,” Tango says, “just what I needed. You were right, as per usual.”

Jimmy barks out a laugh. It sounds like sunshine. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” He slips off the gloves and sidles over to stand beside Tango. His shoulder brushes Tango’s for a singular moment but he brings no attention to it. “What do you think so far? Got any ideas for Ranch 2.0?”

Tango looks over the emptiness that is where the ranch once stood. It’s… admittedly better than looking at the hollow husk of his blood, sweat and tears. It’s just a clean slate now, save for the stray piles of planks and shiplap here and there.

Tango hums noncommittally. “I think that it’s your turn to build the ranch. Unless you just want another ugly foot-tower.”

Jimmy frowns at him. “I liked the foot-tower, Tango.”

Tango can’t help but smile at that. “I know, it had character. But I think we need a change of pace.”

Jimmy nods. “You’re right.” He claps his hands together. “Okay! I’ll start seeing what I can come up with!”

“But first,” Tango snags the gloves from Jimmy’s hands, smiling up at him. “It’s your turn for a bath.”

Jimmy sighs. “I guess you’re right.” He walks over and rummages through the scattered chests around their property until he finds a fresh pair of clothes that aren’t covered in ash, dirt or sawdust. They’re all mismatched and Tango’s pretty sure those are a pair of his pants that Jimmy’s got, but neither of them say anything.

“I’ll be right back,” Jimmy says, backing up towards the path that leads down to the riverbank. “You gonna be okay on your own up here?”

Tango nods and smiles at his soulmate.

(Soulmate.)

“You don’t gotta worry about me, Jim,” he assures, waving Jimmy off. “Go take a bath. You desperately need it.”

Jimmy rolls his eyes playfully. “Alright, I’m off then!” He turns on his heel and begins heading down the trail, and Tango gets a brief glimpse at the red marks on Jimmy’s forearms left over from the previous night. It sets a frown on Tango’s face, remembering the hot pain searing through both his and Jimmy’s nerve endings as Tango’s anger became a fire of its own.

(He’s already apologized a thousand times. Jimmy has already told him that it’s okay a thousand times. Tango knows that it isn’t, really, but Jimmy doesn’t seem that upset about it. It baffles Tango.)

He turns back to the corpse of the ranch as Jimmy toddles off to the riverbank. His anger has long since dissipated and all that’s left is the embers of a blazing hot fire in his chest. He’s just sad now, upset at the loss of the beautiful farmhouse he had put so much time and effort into. It was ugly, but it was his work, and it was his home. His and Jimmy’s home.

He tries not to let it bother him too much. Jimmy has already assured him they can rebuild it, make it better and more stable and more resistant to a raging fire. Jimmy’s good at that, reassuring someone. Or maybe it’s just the soulbond. Who knows. Tango tries not to think about it for too long, it makes his head hurt.

He pulls on his gloves and begins clearing away some of the rubble, deciding he might as well make himself useful while Jimmy’s relaxing.

He tries not to let the loss of their home bother him. He tries not to think about what it means to have a soulmate. He tries not to focus on the familiar stinging from a phantom pain as his other half cleans his wounds down at the river as he works on making room for their new house. He tries not to think about the endless possibilities of what the future has in store for the two of them.

He finishes setting the table and steps back to admire the set-up he’s managed. He decided that lighting a candle wasn’t worth the risk, especially with the wind blowing angrily outside the thin walls. He settled instead for a single wildflower he couldn’t name if he tried. It’s nothing pretty, but it feels homey. If he looks at the slightly charred table and his meager set-up, he can forget about the shoddy walls they’ve set up and the temporary slab of a roof that’s been set up to keep the cold out. They’ll resume their work on the ranch in the morning, but for now, all that matters is that they’re shielded from the elements.

Jimmy’s still working at the stove on their dinner. He’s designated himself the cook in their partnership because Tango has a tendency to burn food even when he’s not trying to. Tango’s not bothered in the slightest, because Jimmy is a terrific cook but never admits it.

“Smells good,” Tango says, standing beside Jimmy as he stands over the pot of soup on the stove.

Jimmy smiles, but doesn’t take his eyes off the pot of soup. “It’s almost done. Is the table set?”

“Mhm,” Tango says, turning around to lean against the countertop. He watches Jimmy work in silence, his place standing beside Jimmy feeling more and more like it’s been carved into their very existence.

He taps his fingers against the countertop behind him, without rhythm or rhyme. His eyes drift upwards from Jimmy’s hands to his face, but he doesn’t let his gaze linger for long in favor of avoiding confronting whatever unspoken thing lies between them.

“This oughta warm us up,” Jimmy says with a contented smile. Tango doesn’t say anything about him not needing to be warmed up so as not to damper Jimmy’s peppy mood. “Will you grab some bowls, Tango?”

“You got it!” Tango rummages around in their cupboards until he finds two mostly intact bowls and hands them to Jimmy. He spoons out two portions of the steaming soup into the bowls and hands one to Tango who accepts it with grateful hands. They make their way to the table, treading carefully to not spill their dinners.

Tango sets down his bowl and darts behind Jimmy, pulling the chair out for him. “Allow me.” Jimmy laughs as he sits down and allows Tango to scoot him in. He then walks over to his own chair and seats himself. Once they’re both situated, they begin to eat almost in tandem, just as their hearts beat as one.

“Thanks for making dinner,” Tango says after the first few bites of the warm meal. The flavors and warmth of the soup are almost welcoming and inviting, and he wouldn’t be lying if he’d said it tastes like home.

Jimmy nods. “You’re welcome.” Then, almost hesitantly, “d’you like it?”

“Very much.” Tango nods feverishly.

Jimmy smiles, pleased with himself. “That’s— I’m glad.”

“You’re a good cook, Jim. A great cook, even!”

“Thanks, Tango.”

“It’s true.”

He chuckles, avoiding Tango’s gaze. His ears have tinged a shade of pink. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Tango echoes, going back to his soup, but not before taking one last look at that smile, a smile that he’s beginning to think is meant for him and only him to see.

Later that night before they lay down to sleep, they both sit across from each other on the bed as Tango rubs a salve on the burns on Jimmy’s forearms. They sit in silence as Tango works, the only noises being the wind blowing outside or the bed frame creaking every now and again if one of them shifts. Tango works slowly and methodically, deep in concentration on his task. It’s his fault that Jimmy got burned, after all, he should be the one to make it better.

There are apologies stuck in his throat and dying on his tongue as he applies the ointment to the burns. He refuses to meet Jimmy’s gaze, but he can feel his soulmate’s eyes on him. Tango so badly wants to whisper out strings of apologies, flushing in hot guilt and shame everytime he sees the burns. But Jimmy refuses to let him apologize, assuring Tango every time that it’s not his fault. Which, it totally is, Jimmy is just too sweet to let Tango blame himself.

“Stop that,” Jimmy says abruptly, and it makes Tango pause his task. His palms gently hold Jimmy’s forearm in place, thumbs stilling against his skin.

“Stop what?” Tango asks, confusion seeping into his tone at Jimmy’s words. He finally meets Jimmy’s gaze, and sees his soulmate’s expression turned stern, lips pursed.

“Stop looking like you’re about to apologize,” he urges, and his words strike Tango to his very core. “I’ve already told you, you don’t need to keep saying sorry. So stop acting like you’re going to.”

Tango pokes Jimmy in the shoulder. “How about you stop acting like you can read my mind.”

“I don’t need to read your mind, I can see it on your face.”

“No you can’t!”

“I can, and besides,” Jimmy leans forward, raising his hand to gently place it against Tango’s chest, just over his heart. Tango’s eyes go wide and a squeak unwillingly slips past his lips. “I can feel it in your heartbeat. Perks of sharing one, I guess.”

Tango’s face flushes almost instantaneously. He hopes desperately that the dim lighting obscures it. His fingers gently close around Jimmy’s wrist, but he does not pull Jimmy’s hand away. He’d be able to feel Tango’s thrumming heartbeat even without his hand on Tango’s heart. Tango’s own fingers press into Jimmy’s pulse point on his wrist, and sure enough, his heartbeat is thrumming unwillingly.

“I wasn’t going to say it,” Tango says lowly, ears going red in shame.

Jimmy’s expression softens. He takes Tango’s hands in his, giving them a firm squeeze.

“It’s okay,” he says, just barely above a whisper.

Tango frowns, shoulders going slack as his eyes trace Jimmy’s forearms, his angry and welted skin a testament to Tango’s inability to stop his anger from getting the best of him. “It’s not.”

“Tango, you couldn’t help it.” He gives Tango’s hands another reassuring squeeze. “I don’t blame you, so please, don’t blame yourself.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“I know. But I’m giving you permission to not blame yourself!”

Tango can’t help but smile at that, warm and fond as his rancher holds his hands ever so gently. There’s something so endearing about the man, and it boggles Tango’s mind that he never would have come to realize this if the two hadn’t been paired together by the very universe itself.

Tango squeezes Jimmy’s hands back, a shared warmth spreading through them. “Thanks, Rancher. I’ll— I’ll work on it.”

He assumes it's not exactly the response Jimmy was hoping for, but Jimmy seems to accept it anyway.

“That works for me,” Jimmy says softly, the sweetest of smiles on his lips. Tango has to fight back the urge to reach his hand up and cradle his soulmate’s face.

They don’t talk about the fact that there’s only one bed now. He thinks they both knew distantly that they’d lost one of them in the fire, but neither of them had made any effort to obtain another one. They had more important things to focus on than maintaining their sleeping arrangements.

That’s how they end up smushed together on the singular bed, shoulders pressed into each other and knees that knock into the other’s legs every time they shift. They’re definitely at risk of someone falling off the bed in the middle of the night, but it’s too dark to go look for another sheep and if one of them slept on the floor they’d both wake up with aching joints.

So, it’s just the best alternative for now to share the bed. There’s absolutely no other reason why they’re sharing the bed that may or may not involve feelings. None at all.

They don’t talk about it in the morning, either, when they wake up all tangled together.

(Jimmy in the morning is truly a sight to behold. The morning glow shining through the window at just the right angle to give him a golden glow, hair all mussed up and beautiful brown eyes slacked with sleep. Maybe Tango will put off finding some more sheep for just one more day.)

It’s Tango’s job to take care of the crops while Jimmy works on the roof. Which is fine, Tango can handle some gardening just fine.

Except he can’t. Not really, at least. Tango’s definition of gardening has always been shoddily planting already grown flowers wherever he thinks they’d look the best. He’s not really accustomed to growing a garden from scratch and maintaining it even when his neighbors come through and trample the crops whenever they feel like it.

So that’s how the construction on the roof gets delayed by another full day because Jimmy is too busy trying to teach Tango how to take care of the wheat field.

“Like this,” Jimmy says as he runs his hoe through the soft ground. It forms neat little lines in the soil, and he delicately sprinkles down seeds into the brown earth. “See? Not so hard.”

Tango huffs indignantly. “Maybe for you.” He tries to copy Jimmy’s work, but his lines don’t turn out as even and the seed placement is more sporadic and clumpy than Jimmy’s was. He groans outwardly, hands falling down to his sides. “Gah! I suck at this!”

“Hey, it’s okay!” Jimmy says, deftly coming over to Tango’s side and avoiding the newly planted seeds all the while. He places a gloved hand on Tango’s shoulder comfortingly. “You’re not going to get it right away. It took me a while before I got okay at this kind of stuff.”

Tango huffs again, crossing his arms across his chest. “I find that hard to believe. You’re good at everything.”

Jimmy laughs, but it sounds more shocked than amused. “You’d be surprised,” he mutters. His tone makes Tango’s frustration give way to worry. But then Jimmy’s all smiles once more and it’s like that melancholy moment never happened. “Don’t beat yourself up, Tango. It just takes some trial and error.” He picks up Tango’s discarded hoe and puts the handle back in Tango’s own gloved palms.

Tango just frowns, looking up at Jimmy. “What if I’m not cut out for this whole ranching business?”

Jimmy’s expression drops. “Oh, Tango, don’t say that!” He puts his hands on Tango’s shoulders, forcing the netherborn to look at him. “Your farm skills and capabilities don’t really matter. But what does matter is your attitude. The best ranchers are the ones that persevere even when things get tough. And I’d hate to see you give up like this.”

Tango blinks a couple times at the kind words. He can’t tell if it’s the hot midday sun that brings color to his cheeks or something else entirely. Regardless, Jimmy’s smile is so wide and infectious and the sun’s glow against him is like the halo of an angel. But before he can say or do something stupid, Tango tears his eyes away and looks back to the farming tool in his grip.

“You’re right. Again.” Jimmy chuckles at Tango’s words, a real amused laugh paired with a cheeky grin. “So since you’re the expert at this wheat-ification business—”

“Not an expert.”

“—What tips you got for me? What can I do to improve my wheat skadoodling skills?”

Jimmy purses his lips as he surveys Tango’s work. It makes the hair on the back of Tango’s neck stand on edge just simply watching the other man examine his work. He knows it’s shoddy at best, but he still feels mortified that Jimmy has to look at such a meager attempt. He wishes he could do better for the two of them, but for now, this might be the best Jimmy’s gonna get from his soulmate. If they ever need redstone in the future, though, that’s where Tango can surely impress Jimmy.

(Not that he wants to impress Jimmy. Nope. Not at all.)

“I think that your main issue is that you’re not approaching it the right way.” Jimmy turns back to Tango, removing his straw hat to wipe away the sweat on his brow. Tango does his best to focus on Jimmy’s words and not the muscles that peek through on Jimmy’s arms through the fabric of his flannel.

“How so?” Tango asks, sweat beginning to trail down his neck. Strange. He doesn’t usually sweat.

“My best guess is that you’re not approaching it like a field of crops. I think you’re approaching it like, er, a redstone machine. You’re trying to be too mechanical and rigid and that’s not really compatible for something like this.”

Tango blinks, dumbfounded. “Oh,” is all he says. Was it really that easy for Jimmy to read him and his work? They’ve only been paired for less than three weeks. They don’t know each other that well.

(Do they?)

“Oh,” Jimmy echoes with a small laugh. “With gardening you have to be gentle and accommodating. Plants don’t behave the same way that redstone does. You almost have to treat a field of crops like a baby, or a pet, even.”

“I do treat my redstone machines like my babies, I will have you know.”

That gets another resounding laugh out of Jimmy. It brings an easy smile to Tango’s face. “My point still stands. I know you’re used to redstone and rudimentary things behaving the exact same way every time. But farming is different. You need to treat it with more care and gentleness.” Tango raises an eyebrow. “Not that you don’t already with your machines, that’s not what I’m insinuating! All I’m saying is that you got to treat your crops like a living breathing thing.” Jimmy huffs, hands on his hips and a nervous smile on his face. “Does that make sense?”

Tango looks at Jimmy, basking in the glory that resonates from him. It comes not only from his kind, helpful words, but also from just Jimmy in general. He truly believes that Jimmy was meant to be like this, like he really is in his true element when he’s ranching.

Maybe, with Jimmy’s help, Tango can make it his element, too.

He readjusts his grip on the hoe, mirroring Jimmy’s hypnotic smile. “Yeah, I think it does.”

Eventually Tango’s farming work begins to improve, and Jimmy returns to working on installing the roof. His line of crops still isn’t as up to par as Jimmy’s, but his work is better than it was before thanks to his soulmate’s words of encouragement. Tango only wishes they had bone meal at their disposal to speed up the growing process of their wheat, but he knows that no matter what they’ll still be able to reap the benefits of their flourishing crops.

Just as Tango’s beginning to water the newly planted seeds, the sound of someone else approaching catches his attention. Before he can turn to see who is coming from behind him, he sees Jimmy stand up on the roof to spot the newcomer.

“Howdy, Scar!” Jimmy greets with a big wave. A frown immediately sets itself on Tango’s face even before turning around to greet the arsonist, himself. Why did it have to be him?

“Well hello there, jolly ranchers!” Scar greets with his usual cheery smile, easily hopping the stone wall and strolling onto their property. “I see renovations are coming along quite nicely, wonderful work, Tim!” The brunette turns to face Tango and his smile turns into something of a smirk. “Hello, Tango.”

Tango’s grip on the watering can tightens. “Scar,” he greets back curtly, fighting the urge to grit the words out like venom on his tongue.

Jimmy slips down the ladder set up against the side of the house with ease, walking over to meet Scar. “What brings you ‘round, Scar?”

Scar shrugs nonchalantly. “Oh, you know! I was just stopping by to see how my favorite jolly ranchers were doing! And also to advertise for my brand new couple’s retreat, the Jellie panda reserve!”

Tango rolls his eyes. “We’ve already been there.”

Scar ignores him. “You should definitely stop by when you get a chance! It’s coming together quite nicely, I think you’ll find!”

“Good to know,” Jimmy says, pulling off his work gloves. In the blink of an eye, Jimmy’s brown eyes are glinting with mischief. “Say, Scar, where’s that beautiful horse of yours at?”

Scar stiffens, sniffing indignantly. “Oreo is back home and very safe, I’ll have you know! She’s very content at the panda reserve with me, so there’s no need for you two to come looking for her!”

“Well there’s no need for you to be here either,” Tango says, walking out of their soon-to-be wheat field and placing his hands on Scar’s back, shoving him along. “The Ranch is now a Scar-free zone.”

Scar makes an affronted noise. “And why’s that? I just came here to compliment your guys’ work and do a bit of advertising! Since when was it illegal to promote one’s own work?”

“Did you not forget what you did to our beautiful ranch?” Jimmy asks, hands on his hips, following along as Tango pushes Scar towards the exit.

Scar looks at the work in progress Ranch 2.0 and purses his lips. “I merely made room for your new renovations! This ireteration is much better than the first! Aren’t you happy that I burnt down the Ranch?”

“And, goodbye!” Tango says, giving Scar one final shove as Jimmy opens the gate. Scar catches himself with a grunt as he’s pushed to the ground. Tango and Jimmy shut the gate in unison, waving him off.

“Bye, Scar!” Jimmy says. Scar scrunches up his face in frustration but does not dispute them. Tango watches over his shoulder as Scar picks himself up and stalks off, surely to go advertise to someone else.

Once he’s out of earshot, Jimmy and Tango devolve into a puddle of giggles.

“That was awesome!” Jimmy praises, grinning wildly. “The way you just shoved him out— oh, Tango! You’re amazing!”

Tango laughs proudly, face twinging crimson at Jimmy’s compliments. “He had it coming, am I right? If he thinks he can just get away with burning down our house then he’s got another thing coming.”

Jimmy raises an eyebrow. “How do you mean? Are you thinking… that we get our revenge?”

Tango breaks into a crazed grin. “I think you’re the one saying that, buddy.” He smacks Jimmy playfully in the arm, resulting in a laugh from his soulmate. “But you’re right, we definitely need to find a way to make him regret what he’s done.”

Jimmy hums inquisitively. “What do you have in mind?”

A million possible plots of revenge flare to life in Tango’s mind, but it’s not until he looks at his pocket communicator and spots the message from Scott frantically asking if Pearl’s gone into the Deep Dark that his idea for their revenge is born.

“You don’t have to come with me,” Tango says as he trudges down the steep staircase towards the deep dark. His lithe footsteps reverberate off the cramped ceiling, echoing alongside Jimmy’s own from just behind him.

“I want to,” Jimmy says defiantly.

Tango raises an eyebrow despite the fact that Jimmy can’t see it. “Do you not trust me?” He says it playfully, but it is a question that’s been playing at the back of his mind lately.

“Of course I do!” Jimmy says, and the earnestness in his tone almost gives Tango pause on the long staircase. “I just know how unpredictable the warden can be. And if something happens I wanna be there to help out.”

Everytime Jimmy speaks like this, voice soft and almost fond, he’s actively tugging at Tango’s heartstrings. But Tango can’t focus on that right now, he’s got to be focused on exacting their Rancher’s Revenge, or else it could all go horribly wrong and they might end up on their red life.

(It’s not like he’s going to be focusing on that right now, anyway. He’s gone this far avoiding it, what’s a little longer?)

Tango huffs, a flush making its way onto his face. “I appreciate it, Jim, you know I do. I just think that it’s a bad idea for us—”

As they make it to the first flat landing and are on level ground, Jimmy puts a hand on Tango’s shoulder and gives him a look. It shuts Tango up instantly, from the presence of Jimmy’s hand on his shoulder to the seriousness of his soulmate’s expression.

“Do you not trust me?” Jimmy asks, big brown eyes all serious and lips set into a firm line. Tango’s not looking at his lips, though. He’s not.

Tango licks his own lips, palms sweating underneath his gloves. “I do. I trust you.”

(Why is that, exactly? Because they share a health bar, so it’s in both of their best interest to look out for each other? Or is it because of something else, entirely? Tango doesn’t know Jimmy all that well, who is he to say he trusts this man who was nothing more than a face and a name three weeks ago?)

If Jimmy thinks it’s a lie, he doesn’t show it. He gives a small smile, clapping Tango enthusiastically on the shoulder.

“See? We both trust each other! Double trust! Teamwork makes the dream work, ey?” He holds his hand out for a fist bump, goofily wiggling his eyebrows at the netherborn. Tango can’t help but laugh, returning the gesture with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

“Fine. But we both need to promise to be extremely careful.”

“Careful is my middle name.” Jimmy slings his pickaxe over his shoulder, descending the staircase once more. He hums a tune as he goes, and the melody echoes off the walls almost ethereal-like as they descend further into the earth.

“You don’t even know the first thing about Wardens, do you?” Tango asks, a smirk on his face as he follows his soulmate down the steps. They’re getting close, now, he can feel it.

“Yes, actually. I know that they’re unpredictable.”

“You already said that. Doesn’t count.”

“Okay, fine, maybe I don’t know a lot about the warden.” He whips around on the staircase abruptly, almost leading to Tango knocking him over. He smiles widely at Tango, making his chest flutter for the umpteenth time today. “But you can teach me!”

Tango swallows his nerves, trying to calm his heartbeat before Jimmy catches on. “Uh-huh, no problem at all.” That’s good enough for Jimmy, who continues on down the staircase.

They make it into the Deep Dark before much longer, and that’s when the severity of the situation at hand really begins to settle in. Tango can feel it in his bones, the eeriness of this place making his hair stand on edge, sending chills down his spine. He doesn’t have to look over his shoulder to know the sensations shakes Jimmy, as well. The sculk pulses dimly around them as they carefully skirt around the edge of the city, the place feeling so claustrophobic despite the enormous expanse of the cave. The city sprawls across the cave floor, drowning in sculk and already littered with paths of wool and carpet. Tango’s eyes scan his surroundings immediately, brain getting to work on devising his plan.

“Should we have a quick look-around?” Jimmy whispers, leaning in close so his voice doesn’t travel very far. The sculk nearest to them only pulses slightly at the sound waves, but the closest sensor is still too far away to pick up on their hushed voices.

Tango considers it, chewing his cheek as his eyes dart around the place. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.” He turns to look at Jimmy, steeling his expression and giving his rancher a very serious look. “But we have to be very careful. No goof-ificating that could end up summoning a Warden too early, got it?”

Jimmy smiles, saluting Tango with two fingers. Tango rolls his eyes fondly at the gesture. It sends a warmth blossoming through his chest, trickling down to his extremities and clutching his heart. What has he gotten himself into?

Carefully the two begin picking their way towards the city. There’s stray trails of wool here and there that they use to traverse the treacherous landscape, curving and spreading throughout the city and the cave itself like a giant nervous system. Tango does his best to focus on the task at hand and not get too lost in his own thoughts. Just being around the sculk makes him think of Wardens, which makes him think of Decked Out, and then he starts thinking about Hermitcraft and all his projects he has to get back to and all the ideas he’s got for the game and redstone mechanics that he can—

“Tango,” Jimmy hisses, just barely a whisper in the dark expanse of the cave. Tango snaps out of his trance, meeting Jimmy’s brown eyes in the darkness. His soulmate gestures at him to keep up, continuing to carefully trek through the city. Tango does so, following after Jimmy like a spotlight in the dark.

Tango’s not quite sure why he agreed to venture through the city, when their goal is to summon a Warden and somehow bring it up to the surface. But Jimmy had seemed so excited to explore the city despite the inherent danger that comes along with it, and how could Tango say no to him when his big brown eyes were so filled with curiosity and excitement and he was smiling that gorgeous smile of his?

Jimmy pokes around the city curiously, Tango hanging back to keep an eye out for any possible danger. As he watches his soulmate quietly peer through chests and glance around corners, a part of him distantly wonders if Jimmy has ever even been in an Ancient City before.

Eventually Tango decides to split off from Jimmy and head off to start digging their escape tunnel. He figures the blonde can handle himself in the Ancient City if they hadn’t seen off a single shrieker yet, so he winds his way back and equips his pickaxe to start digging.

He begins with a tunnel in the general direction of Scar’s panda sanctuary, and digs a smaller tunnel just adjacent to that one for him and Jimmy to hide in. He’s dug out a couple slits in the stone so he can hook a name tag on the beast to avoid any despawning, and now all that’s left to do is dig the upwards tunnel and then put in the water. And, well, summon a Warden, of course, but that’s the easy part!

Suddenly a burst of adrenaline starts coursing through his veins. It takes him a moment of confusion before realizing it’s not his own adrenaline, but that of Jimmy’s. Just as he’s wondering what’s got him so worked up, luminescent blue lights off in the distance catches his eye. He swivels around, standing in the mouth of the escape tunnel, and squints. His breath catches and his heart rate skyrockets.

All the sensors in the city are lighting up one after another. Distantly, he can hear the shrill echo of shriekers reverberating off the cavern walls.

His entire body goes cold as panic swells in his chest. A frenzied yell tries to force its way out of his throat, but he’s able to stop it at the last second to prevent any more shriekers going off.

He starts off towards the city, desperately hoping that Jimmy only set off one or two shriekers and the cave just carried the noise well enough that it sounded like three shriekers. What could Jimmy have even done? He was being so careful! What happened?

“Tango!”

His heart drops.

If Jimmy hadn’t set off that third shrieker yet, his shout most definitely did.

“Jimmy!” He echoes back, against his better judgment. He’s running now towards the edge of the city, eyes desperately scanning the layout for his soulmate. He hasn’t taken any damage yet, but that does little to ease his mind. Where is Jimmy? He needs to find him, and now.

Miraculously, as if on cue, Jimmy comes barreling around the corner. His eyes light up when he sees Tango and he sprints towards him. Tango wants to cry out in relief, knowing for sure that his soulmate is okay, but then he sees the Warden rounding the corner, chasing after the both of them, now.

Tango’s fight or flight kicks in right as Jimmy reaches him. “Run!” Jimmy screeches, and he doesn’t have to tell Tango twice. Tango and Jimmy sprint through the expanse of the Ancient City, through the field of sculk and eventually to the edge of the cave.

“There!” Tango shouts, directing Jimmy towards the hovel he’s carved for them. Jimmy’s faster than Tango and skids into their safety tunnel with ease, motioning for Tango to hurry. Tango scrambles into the tunnel, almost knocking Jimmy over. “Go, go!” he urges, spinning around as he blocks off the entrance to their tunnel with as many blocks as he can spare. Then he too runs off down the length of the tunnel, joining Jimmy where he stands, braced up against the wall of the tunnel and catching his breath.

Tango runs his hands through his hair sporadically, a soundless laugh falling out of his mouth now that he’s certain they’re both safe. He leans up against the wall of stone behind him, slowly sliding down until he’s sitting on the ground, legs trembling.

Jimmy mirrors him on the opposite side of the wall so they’re facing each other. “Tango, I’m so sor—”

Tango throws a finger up to his mouth, silently shushing Jimmy. Their heartbeat is in his throat. His eyes are wide as he scans the slit in the wall just down the corridor, desperately looking to see if the Warden has sniffed them out. He can’t see the Warden, which is both a good sign and a bad sign. It means it hasn’t followed them, but it also means they won’t be able to know when it’s burrowed back into the sculk.

Jimmy’s knees knock into Tango’s as they’re crammed in the small space, but he’s too freaked out by the Warden to have a crisis over that. He feels a tentative hand place itself on his knee, almost fondly, and Tango can blame his thundering heartbeat on the terror of the situation instead of their proximity.

He lets his eyes flick forward to meet Jimmy’s, and he’s met with a remorseful and apologetic gaze. If Tango didn’t know better, he might say that Jimmy looked ashamed. It tugs on his heartstrings, but although he has no knowledge of what happened while Jimmy was alone in the city, Tango doesn’t blame him for it in the slightest. Like Jimmy said himself, the Warden can be unpredictable.

Tango only smiles in response, leaning forward ever so slightly to place his own hand on one of Jimmy’s knees, mirroring his touch. His silent action speaks all that it needs to, as Jimmy breathes out what must be a sigh of relief and gives Tango an appreciative smile. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but promptly shuts it. Tango raises an eyebrow at him, to which Jimmy gives a shrug, and then it dawns on Tango. How are they meant to talk to one another if they can’t actually speak?

An idea dawns on Tango, and he whips out his communicator with a triumphant grin. Jimmy takes the hint, taking out his own device.

SolidarityGaming whispers to you: that was terrifying!!

You whisper to SolidarityGaming: That was exhilarating!

SolidarityGaming whispers to you: :(

You whisper to SolidarityGaming: >:)

Jimmy pouts when Tango looks back up, flashing Tango with his puppy-dog eyes. Tango breaks out into a wild grin, a soundless laugh spilling forth, and soon enough Jimmy is smiling too.

Tango can’t help it— he lets his eyes flick to Jimmy’s lip for a second longer than maybe he should. He does it to entertain some fantasy that he’ll never actually indulge in until the Nether freezes over. Tango distantly wonders how it would feel to trace the outline of his lips, to feel them against his own skin, what it would be like to kiss Jimmy—

Jimmy’s hand closes around Tango’s wrists and he begins to panic. Did Jimmy catch him looking? Has he just ruined everything?

But Jimmy just pulls Tango up, guiding him down the rest of the hallway until they’re safely out of distance from the Warden and the sculk. He lets go of Tango’s wrist and Tango’s arm falls back to his side, now feeling strange without Jimmy’s hold on him.

“What do we do now?” Jimmy asks, voice still a whisper.

“Continue with the plan,” Tango says hushedly, “I’ve got the tunnels mostly finished. Just a little longer until we got our revenge!”

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Jimmy asks, eyebrows drawn up in worry. Tango’s eagerness falters. “I mean— that felt like a pretty close call to me. Only one more death until we’re on red, and then it’s crunch time. Are we willing to risk it?”

Tango’s heart hammers in his chest as he meets Jimmy’s sincere gaze. Jimmy’s got a point. They came very close to losing their yellow life just then, and who’s to say their plan doesn’t backfire on them so horrendously they end up out of the game for good? That’s when Tango realizes it’s not the thought of coming in last place that scares him, but the idea of losing Jimmy.

Tango swallows, running the numbers in his head. “We can be careful. It will all work out, I promise.”

“You’re sure?”

Tango nods. “I’m sure.”

Jimmy lets out a breath, his shoulders loosening. “Okay. If you’re sure, then I’m sure.” That makes Tango’s heart speed up a bit. “What’s your plan now?”

He squints his eyes, staring off into the middle distance as he runs the calculations in his head, considers the possibilities and decides on his final conclusion. “My plan is I finish setting up the trap and you go back up to the surface.”

Jimmy’s eyes widen. “What?” There’s a hint of betrayal in his tone that just about snaps Tango’s already taught heartstrings.

Tango steps the slightest bit forward, gently taking Jimmy’s hand in his, the touch unfamiliar yet feeling so right . “You’re right, our number one priority should be our safety. And the best way to ensure that is if only one of us is down here doing all the wire-pulling and configuring. Our best shot at getting this right is if you go back up to the surface and keep an eye on our health while I finish up down here.” He rubs the back of Jimmy’s hand with his thumb, slowly, fondly. “I’m not trying to get rid of you, I just want to make sure you’re safe. Can you do that for me?”

(There’s a small part of him that is worried that he’ll get distracted just by Jimmy’s mere presence and it will result in their death. It’s a very real possibility, and it worries Tango in a do-or-die situation such as this one.)

Jimmy’s eyes soften, and he squeezes Tango’s hand back. The tension in Tango’s shoulders loosens.

“Okay. You’re right, Tango.” He clasps Tango’s hand in both of his and gives him a reassuring smile. “As much as I hate to leave you down here alone, I will do as you say.”

Tango feels the inexplicable urge to reach forward and cup Jimmy’s cheek with his hand, but fights it with all his might. “Don’t worry about me. Get back up to the surface and watch our health, keep us fed.” His eyes soften and his chest warms at what comes next. “I trust you, Jimmy.”

In the low, warm glow of the torchlight, he swears he can see a faint blush spread across his soulmate’s cheeks. Hesitantly, he nods. Jimmy lets go of Tango’s hand and rummages through his pockets, checking for his things, but remains just in front of Tango.

“Be safe, Tango,” he whispers.

Tango flashes a grin. “I will.”

Jimmy reaches forward, clasping one of Tango’s hands in his own in the span of a second. A breath hitches in Tango’s throat at the suddenness of the gesture, the overwhelming feeling that accompanies it, scarred and stressed skin pressing purposefully against Tango’s rough and calloused palm.

“Promise?” Jimmy says, eyes shimmering with something foreign and unfamiliar. The question is more than just asking for assurance that they won’t end up on their red life because of Tango’s innate need for revenge. It’s Jimmy asking Tango to come back to the Ranch safely in one piece, so their time won’t be cut even shorter than it already is. He doesn’t need to spend time pondering this late at night, because he knows it for a fact, just as he knows that his own heartbeat echoes in Jimmy’s chest.

Tango’s grin melts away into something softer. He squeezes Jimmy’s hand tight, holding it against his chest. “I promise.”

When all is said and done, their revenge doesn’t play out exactly like the Ranchers had expected. Sure, the Warden definitely caused some chaos and freaked some people out, but no one actually died or suffered any severe damage from it. Is Tango a bad person if he was hoping the Warden would actually do some real damage to people?

The sun is setting slowly over the horizon as the Ranchers lazily make their way back to the Ranch. Tango’s joints are aching from working in the Deep Dark all day, but some of those aches could also be from Jimmy getting up to who knows what while Tango was orchestrating their revenge. It took Tango a little longer than he expected to dig up upwards from the Deep Dark without being seen and getting the positioning just right, so now the entire day has passed him by and he’s due for a good meal and a long rest.

Jimmy opens the gate for him as they enter their property, and Tango stops dead in his tracks as he looks up at the Ranch, the breath being knocked out of him.

The building that stands before him is everything Tango had ever wanted from a modest little farmhouse. A sturdy and eye-catching roof, hand-carved and hand-painted shutters on the windows, colorful wildflowers in the flowerbeds, and a homey front door inviting him in.

It’s finished. It’s beautiful.

It’s home.

He turns to Jimmy, sputtering, at a loss for words. “You finished it?”

Jimmy grins bashfully, pocketing his hands. “I figured I might as well while you were down in the Deep Dark, keep my hands busy.” His gaze falls to the ground as he shuffles awkwardly between his feet. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?” Tango gawks. “Like it? Jimmy, I love it!”

Jimmy absolutely beams, and Tango swears that there might be a little bit of sunshine inside his soulmate because he’s positively glowing in the fading sunlight, cheeks tinged pink as the light catches on the golden strands of his hair.

“I’m glad!” He begins walking down the path, up towards the front door. “You wanna see the inside?”

Tango nods fervently, chasing after Jimmy.

He swings open the front door and is once more rendered speechless. It’s been restored to its previous glory, cabinets freshly painted and refixed on their hinges, paintings hung up on the wall, the bed made with fresh sheets, flowers in quaint clay pots on the kitchen counters, the kitchen table and even on the nightstand.

He dashes about once inside, examining every little detail and enjoying all of Jimmy’s hard work.

He stands in the middle of their one-room ranch house, grinning like a fool at Jimmy. “I don’t know what to say.”

Jimmy chuckles, hesitantly approaching. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Oh, it’s definitely a compliment.” His eyes scan the room one last time, and when he looks back at Jimmy, his soulmate is doing the same. And suddenly Tango isn’t transfixed by the decorations or the feng shui anymore, no, he’s transfixed by Jimmy himself. The pale freckles that litter his cheeks, his sandy blonde hair that falls into his face, his big brown doe-eyes that Tango finds himself getting lost in so easily. His breath stutters in his lungs and his fingers twitch. He’s swept up in his thoughts before he can stop himself, and is suddenly overcome by the overwhelming urge to do something he might regret.

He really, really wants to kiss Jimmy.

Before he can act on any irrational impulses, Jimmy’s eyes light up and he dances just out of reach towards the chests. “I almost forgot! There’s one last thing I have that will bring the whole place together.”

Tango raises an eyebrow, following Jimmy over to their storage area. “Oh yeah? And what might that be?”

Jimmy spins around to face him, a sizable, maroon box in hand. It takes a moment for Tango to recognize it as a jukebox.

Jimmy beams as he holds it out to Tango. “I found it while we were down in the Ancient City. Could definitely get more use out of it up here then down there, don’t you think?”

Tango takes the jukebox with a matching smile, testing the weight in his hands before looking around the room for the perfect place to put it. He ends up setting it on the floor next to the trap door down to the cellar. He dusts off his hands and stands back, admiring the placement. Miraculously, it does seem to tie the whole place together.

“The perfect finishing touch!” Tango says. He then purses his lips, remembering they can’t really get any use out of the item without a piece of music for it to play. “Now if only we actually had a music disc to play, wouldn’t that be something?”

When he turns to look at Jimmy there’s a nervous smile tugging at his lips. “Well, funny you should say that…” He meets Tango’s gaze for a split second, before wandering back over to the chests.

Tango watches him with mild curiosity. “Oh?”

Jimmy finds what he’s looking for and when he approaches, sure enough, he’s got a music disc in hand. He smiles sheepishly, holding it out for Tango to see. “I may or may not have nicked this from Grian and Scar’s when we were over there earlier.”

That warmth that’s been growing in Tango’s chest over the past couple of days seems to come to a crescendo inside of Tango, but he still does his best to keep it at bay.
“What a guy! You’re amazing! Quick, put it in, let’s hear it!”

Jimmy nods excitedly, walking over to the jukebox and carefully inserting the disc. He steps backwards until he’s in line with Tango again, and they both wait with baited breath for the music to start playing. Jimmy’s shoulder brushes Tango’s for a curt moment, compelling Tango to look at Jimmy. He does so and Jimmy does the same, the both of them smiling in anticipation. Tango wonders if the both of them aren’t this excited just because of their musical discovery, or something else altogether.

The music that flows out of the jukebox is, to put it plainly, not what Tango had anticipated. Honestly he didn’t know what he expected, but it was definitely not a slow song. Tango would imagine this song being played at a big dance or a masquerade ball or even a wedding, not here and now in their newly rebuilt ranch house. Tango goes rigid as the slow music fills the house, and when he looks at Jimmy, there’s a similar sort of shock mirrored on his soulmate’s face.

“That is…” Jimmy says, wringing his hands, “not what I was expecting.”

Tango nods, yet finds himself getting caught up in the slow melody. “Hey, it’s pretty catchy, though.” He taps his foot slowly in tune, and when Jimmy gives him a quizzical look, Tango only grins in response.

Jimmy’s eyes trail Tango’s movements in time to the music, and in the near-silence of the Ranch, Tango can just barely make out the sound of Jimmy’s breath catching.

“Do you…” Jimmy starts, but quickly cuts himself off.

Tango stills, turning to Jimmy. “Do I what?”

Jimmy waves him off dismissively, yet the pink in his cheeks gives him away. “Nevermind, it’s stupid.”

“No Jimmy, I’m sure it’s not. I want to know!”

Jimmy purses his lips and takes a moment to think. The music continues playing faintly, but all Tango can focus on is Jimmy. His skin prickles and he almost feels antsy in anticipation for whatever Jimmy’s about to say.

Eventually, he bucks up the courage, taking a deep breath before he puts it out there. “I was just thinking that since we finished the Ranch 2.0 and we’ve got the jukebox and our music disc that maybe we should celebrate!”

“Uh-huh.”

“And we could… Well, maybe...”

“Maybe..?”

Jimmy lets out a huff. He avoids Tango’s gaze like the plague. “I was thinking we could dance?”

Tango stills, eyes going wide as his heart skips a beat. “Oh,” he says, his voice an octave higher than he means it to be. That’s what Jimmy was getting so worked up about?

Jimmy bristles, gauging Tango’s reaction from the corner of his vision. Tango blanks, unsure how to process this request. Jimmy wants to dance? With him? Why?

Tango fumbles for an adequate response, but this revelation has set his mind into overdrive and now he feels like he’s overheating, like error messages should be popping up in his vision any moment now. “I don’t know how to dance,” he says, a bit stupidly, because he can’t really formulate any other words at the moment. It’s ironic, mostly, given Tango’s namesake that he doesn’t actually know how to dance. But he’s not ashamed to admit that, no, his feeling of stupidity comes from Jimmy’s reaction to his statement.

“That’s okay, it was a stupid question anyway!” Jimmy says rapidly, scrambling over to the jukebox to eject the music disc. Their heart rate spikes through the roof, leaving Tango with little breath in his lungs and an intense feeling of having just made a terrible mistake.

Here Jimmy is, a man who finally worked up the courage to lay his heart out on the line, to offer it to Tango, his own soulmate, and facing the terrifying thought of being rejected. And here Jimmy is now, scrambling to cover up his failure, heart having been shattered after Tango’s mistaken omission. Oh, Tango needs to fix this before it’s too late and everything they’ve been working towards crumbles down around him.

“Just forget that I asked—” Jimmy says, but is cut off when Tango surges forward and grabs Jimmy’s hand, stopping him from ejecting the music disc. Jimmy is forced to look at Tango, who is currently trying to fix what he’s just broken.

“Hold on, Jim. Just because I don’t know how to dance doesn’t mean that I don’t want to,” he says, cheeks flushing as he forces himself to keep eye contact with Jimmy.

He watches in anticipation as his soulmate takes a shaky breath, lashes fluttering almost disbelievingly against his flushed cheeks. “Do you want to dance?” He asks hesitantly, voice barely a whisper.

“Yes,” Tango nearly croaks out in desperation, “I do.”

Jimmy just stares at him and blinks a couple times. Tango’s not quite sure where they go from here.

But then Jimmy gives a placating smile. “I, um, don’t actually know how to dance either.”

Tango snorts, fighting back a bout of laughter. “Oh, geez, what a pair we make, huh?”

“That’s okay, we can figure it out together, right?” Jimmy says, restarting the music disc in the jukebox. With Tango’s help they push the table and chairs over to make more room for themselves, and then end up back in their stalemate position, standing opposite one another, unsure of what to do with their hands.

“So,” Jimmy starts.

Tango clears his throat, trying not to let his eyes wander. “So,” he echoes.

“Okay,” Jimmy says with a huff, inching closer. Tango inhales sharply. “Lemme just try—” he hesitantly reaches out and almost puts his hands on Tango’s hands but withdraws them before even making contact. “Nope, that doesn’t— that doesn’t feel right.”

“Um,” Tango says, glancing from Jimmy’s shoulders to his upper arms to his hips, calculating what the best point of contact will be, but ultimately giving up when he swears he can hear the machinery in his head coming to a screeching halt after overheating too much. “What do I do— where do I put my—”

“Hands?” Jimmy finishes. Tango nods. “I don’t know. How is this supposed to work?”

Tango’s nerves are on fire and he can’t think clearly, but he does know that he wants to do this and that he wants to do it with Jimmy. So he just needs to get over his panic and his uncertainty, because Jimmy is here and he wants to do this too, so that should be enough for Tango.

(It is. It is. It is.)

“I’m gonna try something, okay? Just follow my lead.” Jimmy nods, licking his lips. Tango nods too, mostly to himself, before hesitantly reaching for Jimmy’s hand. Their fingers intertwine almost naturally, and Jimmy gives his hand a little squeeze. It sets a smile on Tango’s face.

“Okay. Good start,” Jimmy says, a nervous chuckle in his voice.

“Thanks,” Tango says. He meets Jimmy’s gaze, attempting desperately not to get lost in his eyes for the umpteenth time in the past week. “Now I’m gonna— well, I guess just tell me to stop if it doesn’t feel right, okay?”

“I don’t think it will,” Jimmy says, almost breathlessly. Tango nods, inhaling sharply. His heartbeat drowns out his thoughts and the sounds of the jukebox. With his other hand he slowly reaches upward and places it gingerly on Jimmy’s upper arm. Almost as if on cue, Jimmy’s free hand rises slowly until it rests softly against Tango’s back.

“Is this right?” Jimmy asks, voice wavering uncertainly. His fingers on Tango’s back set little fires raging across his skin, and Tango resists the urge to squirm.

“I think so,” he breathes out, voice only slightly squeaking, “it feels right.”

Jimmy nods. “Good.” A small bout of silence. “Well, what now?”

Tango laughs pathetically, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Jimmy’s shoulder. Jimmy goes rigid against him. “I didn’t think we’d get this far. I have no clue.”

Jimmy’s hand lowers ever so slightly, until it rests more comfortably against the small of Tango’s back, holding him ever so slightly closer. “We could just— well, we could just stay like this.”

Tango smirks, even though Jimmy can’t see it. “This isn’t dancing, though.”

“It can be if we say it is.”

Tango barks out a laugh. Jimmy squeezes his hand fondly. Tango’s chest blossoms with warmth and he decides that here, right now in this moment, he feels more at peace than he ever has in his life. Maybe if Jimmy just continues holding him like this he can block out all that is wrong with the world and they can just exist here in this perfect moment, and that will be enough for them.

He sobers up and leans back, but not far enough that they’re not still holding each other close. “Okay, I’m ready now.” He flashes a toothy grin, hoping it disguises his nerves. “Let’s dance.”

If it’s anything it’s awkward, but eventually they get the hang of it. Well, mostly. The swaying and the stepping most definitely results in stepped-on feet and Tango bumps into the table a couple times and they don’t really know what they’re doing, but they’re doing it together so what’s the harm? Their laughter and constant apologies drowns out the music more than not, but never once do their grips on the other falter, and not once does the feeling of bliss dissipate from Tango’s mind. Sure, he still feels like he’s overheating and the machine inside of him has malfunctioned, but none of that matters when Jimmy is holding him so close and so fondly and oh, Tango might just be in love.

When they finally get the hang of it(no, more like when they give up on actually trying) they resign to just swaying in place. Tango’s got his head on Jimmy’s shoulder again and Jimmy clutches him tightly. No words are spoken because no words need to be spoken. Tango has decided that the world could be ending outside and he wouldn’t really care because nothing matters outside of the little bubble they’ve created. Outside of the Ranch nothing else really matters to Tango as much as this little space does and as much as the man in front of him means to him.

They sway back and forth and Tango can’t deny that he feels safe in Jimmy’s arms. He takes a deep breath as he’s tucked just below Jimmy’s head, closing his eyes contentedly and squeezing Jimmy’s hand in his. There’s nowhere else he’d rather be right now. He couldn’t feel more at peace than here and now, with Jimmy holding him like something precious. He can deny it no longer — with each passing day, it feels much more like home. He realizes that it’s not the gardens outside or the creaks in the floors or the four walls that surround them that make the ranch his home. It’s Jimmy that does it, ultimately, because he’s the reason this shared experience has been so cathartic and has meant so much to Tango. It’s Jimmy that has become Tango’s home. He's the reason that the Ranch feels like home because it’s the place that they built together.

But then Jimmy stops swaying and he pulls away. Tango’s eyes fly open and he pulls back, maybe to ask what’s wrong or to protest the abrupt ending of their not-really-a-dance. But before he can do any of that Jimmy’s hand slips from his and away from his back and then his hands are on his face and—

Oh.

Jimmy’s kissing him.

It’s mostly shock that holds Tango back from returning the gesture. But after he’s regained some semblance of his composure he lets his eyes flick shut and he kisses Jimmy, too.

There is no room for hesitance or second guessing in the kiss. There is only Tango and Jimmy and their lips on one another’s. Butterflies kick up whirlwinds in Tango’s stomach and his heart is doing backflips in his chest, and the soulbound only increases the feeling of bliss. Jimmy sighs against Tango and it feels, inexplicably, like the start of something exciting, new and very much welcome.

When they pull away Tango gets to revel in the euphoric sight of Jimmy’s big brown eyes opening, eyelashes fluttering against his bright pink cheeks. For a moment panic floods his soulmate’s face and his cheeks twinge an even darker color, and if it was at all possible their pulse speeds up even more.

But then a laugh rumbles in Tango’s chest. He links his hands together behind Jimmy’s neck and smiles at Jimmy, throwing his inhibitions out the window and embracing his lovefool state.

“Howdy, Rancher,” he greets with a giggle. That’s all the communication Jimmy needs, apparently, because that gorgeous smile returns and his eyes soften. Tango imagines his own expression mirrors that of his soulmate’s.

Jimmy laughs too, and Tango feels it reverberate through his own with their bodies pressed close. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Tango quirks an eyebrow playfully. “Like what?”

“Like you want to kiss me again.”

“But I do!”

“Well, then I suppose you better follow through with that.”

Tango doesn’t have to be told twice. He surges forward and kisses Jimmy like he’s been dying to ever since he brought those cows home all those weeks ago. He kisses him like there’s no tomorrow, like they’re the only ones in the world, like they’re soulmates because they are. He kisses Jimmy, more sure of this than anything else in his life.

And the best part of it all?

Jimmy kisses him back with just as much intensity, if not more.

For a precious moment everything else in the world melts away and it’s just them and their ranch and their music disc in the jukebox being drowned out by the blissful state they’ve slipped into.

It’s a new chapter for the both of them, and it’s one that’s been a long time coming.

Tango’s head swims as he gets swept away in the kiss. He can’t quite quiet the thoughts running rampant in his mind, the endless possibilities awaiting them and all the ifs and buts that threaten to tear down the hesitant relationship they’re building together. But none of that matters to Tango, he’s ready to face all the qualms and worries head-on.

Maybe it’s a product of the soulbound and maybe it’s not going to last and maybe they don’t really know each other and thousands of other maybes.

But maybe it feels like love, and maybe it feels like coming home.

And maybe that’s enough.