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Jimmy softly groaned as he stirred. He didn’t have to open his eyes to know sunlight was streaming through the windows and onto his bed. But the encompassing warmth he felt wasn’t from the early morning sun. It was from the person whose arms were tightly wrapped around him.
Tango had him trapped against his chest, but he was the one with his face buried in the crook of Jimmy’s neck. Their legs were forever intertwined, lost between the sheets.
Waking up beside his husband was arguably his favorite part of his new routine.
After four years of dating and having the occasional conversation about marriage, Jimmy had mustered the courage to propose, so into their fifth year of being together, they were married. They had already been living together in Tango’s apartment - the key and offer were the second-anniversary gift from Tango - but shortly after their engagement, Jimmy’s parents asked if he would want to finally take over the family ranch. So they said goodbye to Windemere’s Divine Dining and moved in. They even had their wedding on the property too.
There were days when Jimmy feared he had made a mistake like he was the one who had forcibly dragged Tango away from where he truly wanted to be.
But then he would wake up in the morning, with Tango refusing to let him go and reminding Jimmy again and again how much he genuinely enjoyed working on the ranch.
He could tell the blaze was waking up as he pressed his face further into Jimmy’s skin.
“Good morning, rancher,” Jimmy softly teased, combing his fingers through his blond hair.
Lips pressed against his neck. “Mornin’, rancher,” Tango sighed. “You look so handsome.” His voice was raspy, his speech somewhat slurring.
Jimmy giggled, nuzzling his face into soft hair. “How can you say that when you can't even see me?”
“I don’t need to see ya to know it’s true, babe.” Despite what he claimed, Tango pulled his head back. Jimmy found himself staring at a sleepy grin and eyes that were screaming devout praise. “See? I knew it.” He laughed some more and leaned in to kiss his smile.
Their lips moved slowly, carefree. It felt as though they had all eternity to embrace each other. He relished the way Tango’s hands slowly explored the shape of his body beneath the shirt he wore. Warmth emitted from his husband's palms as if hoping to melt and remold his shape. Yet even still, Jimmy craved more, like a greedy king whose lust for gold could never be satiated.
Jimmy wanted to melt into his skin and get lost in his veins like a comforting but tangled web.
He pushed further against Tango as his hands slid down from his hair to his shoulders until he landed his husband on his back.
Tango softly chuckled as Jimmy climbed on top, his long blond hair billowing over his shoulders and framing them like a pair of curtains shrouding them in privacy.
He had finally gotten that drastic haircut. Chopped it so short he couldn't tie it up, but not too short to keep his curtain bangs. Although the maintenance was easier, he ended up growing it back out for the wedding.
Tango’s hands traversed the planes of his torso, feeling his way up underneath his shirt until he found Jimmy’s collar bones. It amused the cod fish, who giggled to himself as he leaned in to steal more kisses.
“Let's make pancakes,” he suggested, letting his lips trace the words over Tango's, who pressed another kiss to him.
“Whatever you want, rancher,” he happily sighed.
Slowly, Jimmy sat up, letting his husband’s hands drag back down his body until they pulled out from under his shirt. Tango held onto his hips, helping him stay steady as he too sat up. “Could I braid your hair for you today?” The blaze quietly asked, the morning spell of comforting silence still lingering between them.
He nodded. “I’d love that, actually.”
Tango leaned in, gently stealing another kiss. Jimmy sighed against him, tenderly holding his jaw as he nearly melted into him as if it was the first time they had ever kissed. When they parted, he punctuated with a final kiss to Tango’s forehead before climbing off his lap and the bed.
Their morning routine was a familiar and comforting dance of weaving around each other to find clothes in the dresser and toothbrushes in the bathroom. They would take any excuse as they passed by each other to let fingers brush against a back or hold onto a shoulder.
Jimmy watched through the mirror as Tango stood behind him and began carefully brushing out his hair. It was a hypnotic feeling that soothed an already calm cod fish.
Tango separated sections of his hair and began crossing over pieces to create a loose, french braid. After Jimmy handed him the hair tie, he moved the braid to rest over his shoulder so he could admire his rancher’s handiwork.
He finally looked behind him and smiled. “Thanks, babe!” Tango’s bright red cheeks and wide smile were something he could never grow tired of.
-
Downstairs in the kitchen, adorned with matching aprons - a past Christmas gift from Pix and Grian - the couple grabbed various ingredients to make homemade, buttermilk pancakes. Jimmy was proud of himself for becoming so efficient in the kitchen. He was forever grateful to not just Tango, but Skizz as well for teaching him.
Cooking and baking had become one of his favorite pastimes. Even on days when they would be so busy taking care of the ranch, the couple would find time to make dinner together and talk about anything and everything they could think of.
“Do you think I should cut my hair again?” Jimmy quipped as he mixed the dry ingredients.
Tango hummed as he added milk to his bowl. “How short were you thinking this time?”
He shrugged. “Maybe not as short as last time, but like, around my shoulders? It’s almost summer so maybe I should?” He handed off his mixture to Tango to combine them as he pulled out a pan and a pot to throw together a simple strawberry sauce.
“It’s really up to you, babe! Just let me know whenever you want me to cut it!” Tango assured him.
As he sliced strawberries, his smile grew. “I will, I will. Oh! I should start on that pot of coffee!” He put down the knife and crossed over to a cabinet above the coffee maker, pulling out a bag of grounds.
“Do we want anything else with the pancakes? Like eggs or something?”
Jimmy added water and finally got the coffee brewing. Turning around, he braced himself on the counter as he watched Tango finish mixing the batter and covered it with a lid. He waited for his husband to approach the fridge near him so he could touch his hip and kiss his cheek.
“We could do some scrambled eggs or if you wanted something else!” he agreed. The pancakes would come out better if they let the batter chill for longer, but realistically they were going to start putting pancakes on the pan the moment they got impatient and hungry enough.
Tango laughed. “I was trying to get you to decide!” He teased. “So scrambled it is!” He returned the favor, kissing Jimmy’s cheek. Who then moved back over to his strawberries to continue slicing them.
The blaze followed, standing beside him and snatching a fresh strawberry. When Jimmy tried to lightly scold him, his husband put one in his mouth.
Huffing, he rolled his eyes despite his smile. And of course, ate the strawberries.
“I’m excited to see Skizz and BigB tomorrow!” Tango commented, taking the green leafy head of Jimmy’s strawberry from his mouth to throw it out for him. “I can’t wait to hear how their restaurant is doing!”
Jimmy’s smile grew. “Me too! I’m especially happy you’ll get to see your partner. He and B have been too busy recently. I want to make a reservation soon so we can see them ourselves.” Ever since BigB became a co-owner with Skizz, Windemere had begun to flourish more than ever.
“Ooh, we definitely should!” Tango eagerly agreed.
The strawberries were ready, but before he could do anything else, a sweet kiss met his lips. Jimmy giggled and took his hand. With half-lidded eyes, he brought Tango’s palm to his face so he could kiss his wedding band.
He was drowning from the waves of a second honeymoon phase. Though he wasn’t sure he ever climbed out of the first one from when they initially started dating. It was often hard to believe that the life he had was his reality for the indefinite future.
What started as a small crisis, of trying to find out who he wanted to be, led him straight into the arms of a blaze who wanted nothing more than to be stuck to his side. He felt like the luckiest person alive, but funny enough, he had a strong feeling Tango would argue over that title if he ever brought it up. Though that was an argument he certainly wouldn’t mind having.