Chapter Text
To say Tango was both nervous and excited was an understatement. He couldn't sit still as he had sent his last text to Jimmy and he was furiously cleaning up any mess he could find so that he could keep his mind occupied with something else. It was close to midnight and, usually, he would be asleep by now but having Jimmy say he was coming over was like a shot of caffeine. He was wide awake and nervous as hell.
Tango clutched his hand over chest, just above his heart. It was beating rapidly and he had felt like this only a handful of times before but never this intense. He liked Jimmy, he knew that already but just the overwhelming amount of feelings he had for the avian was crazy. He had known the man for a day, for goodness sake. What was wrong with him?
A tentative knock on his door brought him out of his musing and made him jump in fright. He quickly ran to the door and opened it to Jimmy's beaming face. Tango felt his own face burn as he smiled back at Jimmy. Finally getting a good look at the avian, without him being covered in blood, meant that Tango noticed just how attractive Jimmy actually was. If he wasn't screwed before he was now.
"Hey." Tango gave an awkward wave and chuckled as he stepped back to let Jimmy pass. Why he waved he had no idea, he was just nervous, okay?!
"Hey to you too." The avian smiled as he made his way to the loungeroom.
Jimmy's face was warm with colour and by the ruffled look of his hair and feathers of his wings Tango figured that he had flown all the way here. Tango hoped it wasn't too long of a flight. The door shut behind him automatically, which caused Jimmy to jump slightly, though Tango's focus was caught on the avians wings. Something about them just didn't seem right, they were a much duller colour than he remembered.
Jimmy caught him looking and let out a little chuckle. As he fluffed up his feathers and shook his wings out. From one moment to the next they were the same golden colour that Tango remembered from last night.
"What? How?" Tango held out his hand about to touch the avians wing before getting second thoughts. He was about to drop his hand when the wing extended the small stretch between his hand and he felt the soft feathers.
"It's a bit of magic to help hide in plain sight," Jimmy chuckled as he took a step closer to Tango, not moving his wing away from Tango's hand, "part glamour, part potion to help keep the effects in place when we need."
Tango noticed the slip up as Jimmy used the word 'we' but didn't say anything as he examined the golden feathers before him, they seemed to shine and Tango could only imagine what they looked like in the sunlight.
"They're beautiful," Tango said and finally lowered his hand, giving Jimmy a genuine smile, "I'm really glad they're looking better than yesterday. You don't have any lasting effects from what happened then, do you?"
"No," Jimmy beamed and it seemed odd for someone to look so happy after a question like that but Tango didn't mind it one bit. Especially as it sent his heart racing when graced with such a beautiful smile, "You did an amazing job yesterday, thank you."
"Just glad I could help," Tango replied automatically, and let out a nervous chuckle afterwards he didn't know what go do with his hands, or any of himself really, so he shoved them in his pockets and shifted from foot to foot.
Jimmy seemed oblivious to Tango's nervous movements as he placed down a bag that the blaze hadn't even seen the avian bring inside. He had an excuse, okay?, Jimmy was a distractingly attractive man. Tango pulled his eyes away from Jimmy's face and focused on what he was pulling out of his bag. Yellow fabric of some sort left the bag in a lump as Jimmy straightened it out and shook it.
"Hold on a sec," the avian turned the fabric around and Tango thought he could make out a sleeve, or a leg, or something. "Ah ha!"
When Jimmy held it out next Tango could clearly see what it was. The hero's suit was bright yellow with faint lines of silver where the seams were. There were a few loops of brown leather on the hips and legs, probably to hold something, and a stylised bird on the chest, inside of a box shape. It wasn't quite a square as it tapered smaller as it got to the waist but Tango couldn't think of what it was called in that moment. Too shocked at what he was being shown.
His mind was caught on the fact that the avian had actually shown him this part of himself so freely. It felt like too much. As he glanced at Jimmy's face he saw a quick flash of uncertainty cross his face before vanishing behind a smile.
"I-" Tango started, then stopped. What could he say, he had seen the photo Jimmy had sent of his work only a couple of hours before but this was a complete suit. Surely he hadn't finished it so quickly. "It, uh, how... What?"
"Um..." Jimmy crumpled the suit in his hands slightly, his wings surrounding him in a nervous manner. Tango might not know many avians but Jimmy felt easy to read and he was obviously feeling insecure.
"It's incredible," Tango blurted out as he grabbed ahold of the fabric to examine it further. He had no clue about sewing and what that entailed but this amount of detail in not a lot of time seemed crazy, "How did you make it so fast?"
"I, uh, have to fix my own suits when I break them," Jimmy scratched nervously at the back of his head, "so I've done this a lot."
"It's amazing, well done." Tango beamed at Jimmy, letting the fabric fall through his fingers. He watched as the avian lit up with the praise and Tango wanted to coo at how cute he was, but he refrained from that for now.
"Thank you, thank you," Jimmy gave a little bow and the blaze hybrid let out a startled laugh that drew a bigger smile from Jimmy. He was doing it on purpose but Tango didn't mind. It was nice to laugh at nothing at all.
They both sat down on the couch after that. They talked about seemingly everything yet nothing at all. Tango talked about his desire to leave the noise of the city behind and become a farmer of sorts. Jimmy talked about how he never wanted to be a hero, he only wanted to help people, but in the end that's what people labelled him as.
The time seemed to get away from the both of them and before long Jimmy was nodding off leaning against the back of the couch. He felt something drape across him but didn't stir as the day finally caught up with him.
When Jimmy woke up it was to a faint humming coming from behind him and he turned around to look over the back of the couch.
Tango was moving around the kitchen without a care in the world. His hair was bright in the morning light that shone through the windows and he seemed to glow in a, maybe, not so natural way. Jimmy was sure it was supernatural, no one should look that good with what was probably only 3 hours sleep.
The blaze seemed oblivious to the avians blatant staring and continued to move back and forth in the kitchen. Soon the smell of pancakes made Jimmy's stomach rumble, alerting his host to the fact he was awake.
"I hope you slept alright." Tango beamed as he walked over with a plate stacked high with pancakes and handed them over. "They're just plain, but I have some things set on the bench other here if you want anything."
Jimmy looked down at the plate with awe. How long had they actually managed to sleep last night? And why was Tango always so caring. It made his heart squeeze painfully as he started up at the blaze, he was way too nice.
"I don't deserve this."
"What are you talking about?" Tango chuckled as he set down his own plate of pancakes and sat on the couch next to Jimmy. "Of course you deserve breakfast. Don't you need to be strong to fight the bad guys."
It was obviously meant as a joke but Jimmy couldn't help but flinch at those words. Tango may have said them in a joking and kind manner but every other time he had heard them they had been anything but that.
"Sorry, I-" Tango tried to speak but Jimmy talked over him.
"Do you know what my hero name is?" He asked. It wasn't something that he had planned on telling Tango anytime soon. He looked away from the blaze and stared at the floor instead. He didn't bother to wait for an answer. "They call me Canary because I'm always the first one to get hurt, or be out of a battle. The Canary Curse, they call it. I guess it doesn't help that my wings are yellow either."
"I'd say gold." Tango said quietly as he didn't look up from his plate of pancakes sitting abandoned on the coffee table.
"What?" Jimmy heard him but it just wasn't clicking in his mind just what Tango had meant by that statement.
"Your wings, to me at least they look more gold than yellow." The blaze shoved some pancake in his mouth quickly as a blush over took his face.
It was possibly one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about him and he couldn't help but blush alongside Tango. A smile crept over his face as he picked up his fork and began eating. They both stayed silent for a while as they ate their food, the soft hum of music flowed through the kitchen from a jukebox the only other sound.
When the food was gone Jimmy helped clean up as much as he could, though he really only got in the way as Tango laughed every time they bumped into each other. It was a bright and warm atmosphere and Jimmy was loving it.
When Tango went upstairs to get ready for the day, Jimmy really didn't know what to do with himself as he waited for Tango. He stood up from the couch and began looking at all the photos that Tango had hanging up. Tango's smile was wide in every single one, his face radiating warmth on a level Jimmy had never seen or felt before. He couldn't help but smile back at the captured beauty in the photos.
Tango came back down stairs, dressed for the day, and Jimmy watched as a smile grew as the blaze caught sight of him. He had never really been the cause of a smile like that and he felt something in himself crack.
"Thank you." He blurted out as tears ran down his face without permission but he couldn't stop them. A wet chuckle left his mouth and he tried to wipe away the tears as they fell. He was extremely glad that he had gotten hurt the other day, or he wouldn't have met Tango.
"Why are you crying?" The blaze asked, clearly distressed at seeing tears run down Jimmy's face, and he came over to where Jimmy was stand. Tango held his hands up as if he wanted to touch the avian but was unsure if he was allowed.
Jimmy used the sleeve of his shirt to feebly wipe the tears away again, though they didn't stop coming, and gave Tango a watery smile. "I'm just really glad I met you, is all."
Tango let out a weird strangled noise and put one hand to his heart, the other gripping the avian by the bicep for stability. "Way to give a man a heart attack!"
For once Jimmy could hear the teasing and light tone. The bright smile that Tango gave freely. Tango had yet to let go of Jimmy's arm, the warmth from the blaze hybrid seeped though his shirt and left a pleasant feeling that Jimmy felt himself lacking in his daily life. It was such a nice feeling and Jimmy never wanted to loose this. Ever.
"Sorry." He laughed as Tango took a moment to get his breathing in control. Jimmy did the same, trying to stop the tears from running down his face but laughing all the same when they wouldn't stop.
Jimmy wanted to ask Tango out right then and there but he was going to wait. They had a date planned for tomorrow and Jimmy was hoping to make it one to remember.
"Fwhoo," Tango sighed and smiled up at Jimmy, it was the first time the avian realised that Tango was shorter than him, "Well, I'm really glad I met you too."
Jimmy couldn't help the blush that overtook his face, or the beaming smile for that matter, and in that moment he wasn't bothered about being so vulnerable. He would happily stay in that moment forever if he could, just him and Tango, hearts beating together.
"You're too nice," Jimmy laughed as Tango shoved him lightly.
"Well, unfortunately I have to get to work so I'm kicking you out," Tango chuckled, "so I can't be that nice."
"Nope, you are." The avian shook his feathers, letting them fall back into their dull brown colour before grabbing his bag. He made his way to the front door and opened it up before turning back to Tango. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
Tango blushed and it warmed Jimmy's heart to see. He had to stop himself from pulling Tango into a hug, or worse. The blaze hybrid was just too cute. "Yeah, I can't wait."
"Me either," Jimmy wanted to stay and chat and just constantly be around Tango but he knew he couldn't. The blaze had a job to get to and if Jimmy wasn't home soon he was sure Grian would be having words with him. "Enjoy work, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you then." Tango waved and Jimmy took to the sky, flying off towards his house. He felt so light in that moment that it didn't even feel like he was flying at all, more like floating. His smile didn't leave him for the majority of the day and any text he got from Tango seemed to only reignite it.
Nothing could make this day better and he couldn't wait for tomorrow.