Archive of Our Own

Jimmy leaned back in his chair, relaxing his tired muscles. He had been working all day and was beginning to finally feel the effects of his efforts.

“Jimmy, come here!” Tango called out.

Jimmy craned his head to look at Tango. He had the television turned on and was excitedly gesturing at the screen.

Jimmy found it cute.

It was a well known fact amongst his friends that he had liked Tango, pretty much everyone except Tango himself knew.

That didn’t make his life any easier.

He was flustered at simply the thought of the other man, every little thing he did was enough to turn Jimmy into a bumbling mess, which was quite awkward considering the fact they lived together.

Loud crashes and yells came from the television, and Jimmy realised with dread what Tango was watching. 

The earlier fight between Canary and Scarlet Witch.

Jimmy’s chest twisted with nerves, had Tango found out his secret? Or was he simply enjoying the fight?

“Hurry up and get over here! You don’t want to miss the fight!” Tango yelled, gesturing towards Jimmy.

Begrudgingly, Jimmy stood up from his chair and approached Tango at the TV. Sure enough, a recording of Canary and Scarlet Witch’s fight from the morning was being broadcasted on the news.

“Look! Canary is completely destroying Scarlet Witch in the fight. He’s doing so well!” Tango exclaimed.

Jimmy blushed at the compliment, even though it was indirect.

“Yeah he is. Scarlet Witch might still get away though,” Jimmy replied, remembering the events of the fight.

Tango snorted, “Maybe, but have you seen Canary? He’s so strong.”

Jimmy’s chest tightened at the continued compliments, if only Tango knew who he was actually talking to.

The pair watched the rest of the fight go by, and sure enough, Scarlet Witch managed to get away, although not without her share of injuries.

“That was so cool! I wish I could see Canary fight in person,” said Tango.

Jimmy began to panic. He did not want Tango anywhere near him when he was fighting, if something ever happened to Tango, he’d never forgive himself.

“That would be dangerous,” Jimmy replied, trying to convince Tango to stay away.

Tango sighed, “Yeah… shame.”

“Come on, let's go to bed. It's getting late.” Jimmy said, nudging Tango's arm in an attempt to cheer him up.

Tango nodded and the pair quickly got ready before heading to bed. 

~

Jimmy snuck out around midnight.

Since he was technically an illegal vigilante (as much as the public loved him) he had to leave under the cover of darkness, lest the police try to detain him for questioning. 

He hid in a dark alleyway and quickly donned his Canary costume and let his wings free.

He stretched his wings out, revelling in the feeling of being able to move them after hours with them confined under his clothes.

Jimmy hated the hybrid laws the government had in place, was it really such a crime to have wings?

Jimmy, well Canary now, leapt into the sky, allowing his wings to propel him upwards. He flew towards his meeting spot, and waited for his allies to appear.

After barely a few minutes of waiting, Xelqua and Stratos appeared.

“Hey, took you long enough!” Jimmy joked, even though he hadn't been waiting long.

Xelqua grinned, “Sorry, got caught up at home,”

“Sure, you definitely weren't just making out with your boyfriend,” Stratos teased.

“He is not my boyfriend!” Xelqua spluttered.

“Who's not your boyfriend?” a new voice interrupted.

“Hotguy, nice of you to join us,” Xelqua said.

Hotguy smirked, “Of course, I just couldn't leave you alone, Cuteguy.”

“For the last time! My name is not Cuteguy, it's Xelqua!” Xelqua protested.

Hotguy just chuckled in response.

Technically, Hotguy wasn't a part of their little trio, The Bad Boys, but he was still considered an ally of theirs, even though he was a hero not a vigilante.

Hotguy hadn't always been in their alliance, originally they, especially Xelqua, despised Hotguy. They viewed him as just another government servant, who didn't actually care for the people.

They were soon proven wrong when they had to team up with Hotguy for one of their missions and discovered he cared deeply for all the people, no matter their status or wealth.

Since then, Hotguy had become another part of their group, there were even a few rumors floating around the public that he and Xelqua liked each other.

Hotguy always laughed it off during interviews, but Jimmy could tell they genuinely cared for each other, though whether it was romantic or simply platonic, Jimmy was yet to find out.

“Come on guys, let's start patrol,” Stratos said, pulling Jimmy from his thoughts.

The four of them started their patrol, following the path they always took.

At first, it was pretty uneventful. A few mobs to deal with here and there, but not much else.

An explosion to the south quickly changed that.

Immediately focused, Jimmy and the others headed straight towards the noise.

When they arrived, they found the entirety of The G's standing in the centre of the road, fire surrounding them.

A jolt of fear went through Jimmy when he realised his apartment was nearby. 

Tango was nearby.

Pushing his thoughts to the side, Jimmy focused on the fight at hand. Alone, The G's were terrifying individuals, able to cause mass destruction, but together they were worse. They were easily the most powerful villain group there was.

Ghoul summoned a trio of zombies to help them fight.

The first zombie headed straight towards Hotguy and Xelqua, the second towards Stratos and the third towards Jimmy.

Jimmy fought off the zombie with ease, they weren't that strong and Jimmy had the advantage of flight.

However, unbeknownst to Jimmy, a fourth zombie had been summoned to deal with a civilian that had approached the fight.

As soon as Jimmy saw the zombie, he swooped down and started attacking it.

It was killed quickly like the previous zombies.

“Thank you for saving me,” the civilian said.

Jimmy whipped his head around, recognising the voice.

Fear coursed through his veins when he saw Tango standing there.

“You need to get home now, it's too dangerous here,” Jimmy replied, desperate to get Tango out of harm's way.

“Where do you live?” Jimmy asked, even though he knew the answer already.

“Uh, just that apartment over there,” Tango replied, confused.

Without a second though, Jimmy picked Tango up and flew him towards their apartment, dropping him by the balcony.

“Stay safe please, I don't want you getting hurt, okay?”

Tango nodded.

“Good,”

Jimmy flew off to re-join the flight, shoving down the thoughts of joy he felt when flying with Tango.

“Got a civilian friend, do you?” Starfire asked, a dangerous tone to his voice.

Jimmy held up his fists defensively, “I'm just protecting innocent people from villains like you.”

Starfire smirked, “So you would react the same no matter which civilian was in danger, escorting them home when you should be fighting me?”

Jimmy tried to control his expression, to not let Starfire in on any of his weaknesses.

“Yeah I would.”

“So you wouldn't react more if I were to say, kidnap that civilian?”

Jimmy's vision turned red.

“Don't you dare kidnap that civilian,” he spat.

“Huh, interesting…” Starfire said before shifting into a moth and flying off to join his teammates.

Jimmy flew after him, trying to capture him while he was weak, but Starfire was too fast.

He led Jimmy towards the road where Stratos, Xelqua and Hotguy were still fighting Scarlet Witch and Ghoul, before Jimmy lost him in the chaos.

Jimmy was about to try and find him, when Scarlet Witch appeared and started attacking him.

Having no choice but to defend himself, Jimmy engaged in the fight, letting Starfire go.

The fight went on for a while, before The G's retreated.

Jimmy found this odd, they never retreated unless they were heavily injured.

Maybe they had been hurt more than Jimmy realised?

Choosing to take the win for what it was, Jimmy headed back to his apartment after getting changed out of his Canary costume.

When he got back, he expected to find Tango awake, it hadn't been long since Jimmy had dropped him home, but instead the apartment was quiet.

Too quiet.

Goosebumps rising on his arms, Jimmy headed into Tango's room to check on him.

It was empty.

“Tango? Where are you?” Jimmy called out.

When he received no answer, he started to worry. Something was very wrong.

Getting an idea, Jimmy called Grian.

“Jimmy? Is everything okay?” Grian asked

“No, Tango's gone. I think The G's might have taken him,” Jimmy replied.

A pause.

“Let's call Joel and meet up. Put your Canary disguise on. I'll figure out how to contact Hotguy.”

The line disconnected and Jimmy got back into his Canary disguise before sending a message to Joel, explaining the situation.

Jimmy raced towards their meet up location, and saw Grian and Joel already there and in their Xelqua and Stratos clothes.

Soon, Hotguy appeared.

“Okay, as you know, Tango's not home and I think The G's took him,” Jimmy explained.

“Why do you think The G's took him?” Hotguy asked.

“Starfire saw me dropping Tango home after I saved him from the zombie. I think he realised that I care about him on a personal level and is using him to get to me,” Jimmy replied.

“This is probably a trap, right?” Xelqua said

“Most likely, but I have to get Tango back.”

Stratos nodded. “So, what's the plan?”

~ 

Their plan was complete, now they were only missing one crucial detail.

“Where do you think they're keeping Tango?” Stratos asked.

Hotguy shrugged. “Beats me,”

“Probably in their base,” Xelqua said

Jimmy nodded. “But where is their base?”

“Actually, I think I might know,” Hotguy replied.

“Really?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah, I trailed them after one of their fights and saw them entering an old warehouse. That's probably where Tango is being kept.”

Jimmy smiled at him gratefully. He was glad that Hotguy was on their side, they had grown to trust him.

Hotguy didn't know their identities yet, though. Jimmy, Grian and Joel knew each other's identities, and Lizzie also knew, but Hotguy hadn't been told yet.

Though Jimmy wouldn't be surprised if Hotguy was able to figure out his identity.

He knew that the missing person was Tango, and expressed recognition when his name was mentioned, meaning he must know Tango. 

Jimmy also mentioned how he lived with Tango, so Hotguy could probably connect the dots and find out who Canary really was 

Jimmy didn't mind. He trusted Hotguy, and if he knew Tango then he probably knew Jimmy too.

That meant Jimmy probably knew Hotguy as well. Actually, they all might know each other as civilians.

Wasn't that funny?

Hotguy filled them in on the location of the warehouse, and the group began to adjust their plan to suit the new information. 

Soon enough, they were ready to go. 

Jimmy got everyone's attention, “Alright everyone, let's get Tango back”

The group cheered in response and they started moving towards the warehouse.

~

Jimmy stood in the warehouse, looking straight at Tango.

He was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, with Ghoul and Scarlet Witch guarding over him

Starfire was nowhere to be found, but Jimmy was sure he would be here somewhere.

Jimmy slowly moved closer to Tango, using his invisibility to remain hidden.

Xelqua, Hotguy and Stratos were also hidden throughout the building, though their job was to fight off The G's if need be, which they probably would, a fight was inevitable.

Jimmy's job was to retrieve Tango.

Any second now, Stratos would be causing a distraction, allowing for Jimmy to grab Tango undetected.

Jimmy clutched the dagger in his hands, they had come armed this time, not wanting to leave any chance that The G's may win the fight.

There was a loud explosion at the front of the warehouse, Stratos had started his distraction.

Ghoul ran off to investigate the sound, but Scarlet Witch stayed behind to guard Tango.

Seems like Tango would be getting his wish to see Canary and Scarlet Witch fight in person.

Jimmy snuck towards Scarlet Witch, careful to remain as silent as possible.

“Whatever you do, act like I'm not here,” Jimmy whispered to Tango.

He felt Tango jolt, but thankfully he didn't react beyond that.

Jimmy started cutting away at ropes that bound Tango's wrists, being careful to not cut Tango.

He had almost cut the last of the rope away, when he was interrupted by a voice.

“What do you think you're doing?” Starfire asked.

Jimmy turned around, dagger ready to attack.

“I'm saving this civilian, obviously,” Jimmy replied.

“I thought you said that this was just an ordinary civilian, nothing special. Though clearly your actions say otherwise. So tell me Canary, how much does this civilian mean to you? How much will you hurt when I make him bleed?”

“Don't you fucking dare,” Jimmy snarled, suddenly protective.

Starfire laughed, “Ooh, getting all protective are we? Scarlet Witch, you know what to do.”

Scarlet Witch stepped towards Tango, a wicked gleam in her eyes. She pulled out a dagger and Jimmy went mad.

Jimmy wasn't too sure what happened next, blinded by rage as he was, but he remembered the fear that he felt as Scarlet Witch brought that dagger closer to Tango.

And he remembered stepping in front of it.

Agony pierced through Jimmy's arm as he stopped the dagger from hitting Tango. 

He winced, but pushed through the pain, determined to fight the villains away and save Tango.

Starfire simply laughed, “Aw you really do care for your little civilian here, don't you?”

Jimmy didn't respond, instead he pulled the dagger from his arm and threw it straight at Starfire.

To Jimmy's dismay, it didn't kill him, but he managed to hit Starfire's shoulder.

Starfire let out a shout, clearly not expecting Jimmy to actually hit him.

Stratos, Hotguy and Xelqua raced into the warehouse, Ghoul hot on their tails.

They quickly took in the situation and raced to help.

Xelqua cut away the last of Tango's bonds, and helped him to his feet. Stratos continued fighting off Ghoul, and Hotguy started with Scarlet Witch.

That left Jimmy and Starfire.

On the plus side, they were both equally as injured.

On the downside, he had to fight while he was wounded.

Jimmy readied his dagger and prepared to fight Starfire. His arm burned in pain, but he pushed through, determined to save Tango, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

He lunged forward, aiming to hit Starfire straight in the chest. Starfire dodged, getting only a small scratch on his arm.

Starfire lunged forward as well, but Jimmy was also able to dodge the attack.

The pair continued fighting, lunging and dodging, barely getting much more than a few scratches on the other.

Luckily for Jimmy, as soon as Xelqua got Tango to the side, he was able to assist in the fight.

He snuck up on Starfire from behind and threw a punch at his back.

Starfire leaned over, winded, and Jimmy used that opportunity to run over and hold his dagger to Starfire's throat.

“Call off your teammates. Now.” Jimmy demanded.

“No,” Starfire replied.

Jimmy dug the dagger deeper into Starfire's throat.

“Ah fine, fine! Ghoul, Scarlet Witch, step back.”

Ghoul and Scarlet Witch obliged, and stepped to the side of the fight.

“Give me one reason why I should spare you.” Jimmy said.

Starfire smirked, “You're not strong enough to kill me, it goes against being a hero, doesn't it?”

“Yeah well you're missing one key point.” Jimmy replied.

Starfire laughed, “And what would that be?”

“I'm not a hero.”

With one clean swipe, Jimmy slit Starfire's throat. 

“No!” Scarlet Witch cried out, “How could you do that?”

“You do the same thing to innocent people, at least Starfire isn't innocent,” Jimmy said flatly.

Scarlet Witch lunged forward, but Stratos immediately stepped in to hold her back. 

“Should I kill her?” Stratos asked.

“Up to you.” Jimmy replied.

Stratos grinned wickedly and brandished his weapons. 

Jimmy looked away, his teammates could deal with the remaining G’s, all Jimmy wanted to do was find Tango.

There, he was standing by the wall of the warehouse, staring directly at Jimmy. 

“Are you okay?” Jimmy asked as he approached Tango.

“You… you killed Starfire.” Tango replied.

“He hurt you, besides his reign of terror had gone on for far too long. You don't mind, do you?”

Tango shook his head. “Just a bit shocked.”

Good, Jimmy would hate for Tango to dislike him because he killed Starfire. It was hardly his first kill, but it was the first that Tango had been there to witness. 

“Let's get you home.” Jimmy said. 

Jimmy picked Tango up, his arm on fire from the earlier stab wound, and flew Tango towards their apartment.

Jimmy flew through the window he had left open, and dropped Tango on the couch.

“Are you injured at all?” Jimmy asked.

“I’m fine, but are you okay? I saw you get stabbed,” Tango replied.

Jimmy felt his chest warm from the concern.

“Don't worry about me, I'll get it checked out.”

“But you can't go to a hospital, they'll ask too many questions.” Tango pointed out. 

Right. That was a slight problem. 

“Let me clean it up, I have some first aid training. It's not much, but it'll stop it from getting infected.”

Tango stood up from the couch and grabbed his first aid kit from the bathroom. 

When he returned, he got out alcohol wipes and bandages.

“This might sting a bit.” Tango said as he brought one of the alcohol wipes down to the wound. 

Jimmy winced slightly at the sting, but didn't show any other reaction, he was used to far worse pains.

Tango finished treating his wounds in silence, and Jimmy simply enjoyed the feeling of having someone look after him. 

Especially if it was a cute boy.

Jimmy blushed at the thought, and Tango looked up. 

“Are you okay? You look a little red.” Tango said. 

“I'm fine. Don't worry about it.” Jimmy replied, trying to calm the blush on his face. 

Tango went back to treating the wound and before long, he was finished. 

“Now, this will keep the wound stable, but it's not a substitute for proper medical attention. Get it looked at as soon as possible.”

Jimmy nodded. “Yes sir!”

Tango laughed. “Come on, let's get you out of here before you wake up my roommate. Honestly surprised you haven't done so already.”

Jimmy froze. “Ah yeah, I'll be on my way.”

Tango followed Jimmy towards the window, and let out a yell of excitement as Jimmy jumped off and flew into the night.

Jimmy planned to make his way back to his apartment, but first he had to check up with the rest of his team. 

When he returned to the warehouse, he found Scarlet Witch dead alongside Starfire, but Ghoul was nowhere to be found.

“Canary! There you are, we were worried.” Xelqua said as soon as he spotted Jimmy.

“Sorry I had to drop Tango home.” Jimmy replied.

“Seems like you got some medical attention too.” Stratos said, gesturing to his newly bandaged arm. “Did Tango do that?”

Jimmy nodded, “Yeah I wanted to come back here, but he insisted that he helped me.”

Stratos smirked. “Interesting.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes and turned to Xelqua and Hotguy. 

“Where's Ghoul?” he asked.

“They got away. We managed to take down Scarlet Witch though.” Hotguy answered.

Xelqua placed a hand on Jimmy's arm. “We'll worry about them later, now you can go home.”

Jimmy nodded and flew straight back home. 

~

Jimmy made sure to stop by the alleyway to get changed back into his civilian clothes before sneaking into his room.

Luckily, Tango was not there, so Jimmy laid down on his bed and tried to go to sleep. 

~

Sunlight was steadily shining through Jimmy's windows by the time he woke up. 

He stretched his arms out, but winced at the pain that shot through.

All the memories of last night came rushing back to him, and he shot up.

He had to check on Tango.

He got changed and raced out of his room, hoping to find Tango in the main room.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Tango sitting at the counter, drinking a cup of coffee.

“Hey Tango,” Jimmy said.

Tango glanced up, and his face broke out into a grin. “Jimmy, you're awake! You slept like the dead last night.”

Jimmy forced out a laugh. “Hah, yeah. I was really tired.”

“Do you feel better now?” Tango asked.

Not really, his arm was in immense pain and he barely got two hours of sleep last night.

“Yeah,” Jimmy lied.

“That's good. Come over here, I made some coffee for you.”

Jimmy walked over to the counter and smiled gratefully as Tango passed him a warm coffee.

A jolt of pain went through his arm as he picked the cup up.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Tango asked, concern lacing his voice.

“Yeah, my arm’s just a bit sore. Must have slept on it wrong.”

“Here, let me take a look at it.”

Jimmy pulled his arm back, “No, uh, don't worry about it.” he said tightly.

If Tango saw his arm, he would immediately figure out that he was Canary.

Although, maybe it was time to tell Tango.

Tango admired Canary, that much was obvious. He had expressed on numerous occasions how Canary was his favourite hero, even if he was technically a vigilante. 

Tango had also helped Jimmy last night as Canary, and wasn't disgusted when he killed Starfire.

Maybe Tango deserved to know.

Not yet though, Jimmy would tell Tango at a better time, a time when he was able to easily get away if he were to hate Jimmy.

Tango frowned at Jimmy's reluctance to let him examine his arm, but let it drop, much to Jimmy's relief.

“How did you sleep last night?” Jimmy asked Tango, trying to see if he would tell him anything about him getting kidnapped.

To Jimmy's surprise, he didn't ramble on about what happened like he usually would.

He was probably quite scarred from what happened.

Jimmy would give him time, he would never force Tango to do anything against his will.

“I slept fine. I woke up once, but I'm not too tired.” Tango replied.

Jimmy smiled. “That's good.”

Luckily, it was a Saturday, and Jimmy didn't work his legal job on the weekends, but Tango did, so he had to get ready to leave.

Jimmy gave him a hug before he left, and if he held on slightly longer than usual, that was his business.

~

Jimmy was bored. He hadn't left his apartment all day.

He had a phone call with Grian and Scar earlier, but he couldn't say anything about last night because Scar was there.

He was able to tease the two of them though.

Jimmy knew that Grian liked Scar, and he was almost certain Scar liked him back, but the two just wouldn't get together.

Grian claimed it was because he didn't want Scar getting caught up in the vigilante business, but Jimmy knew he was just scared.

Grian cared for Scar a lot, so he didn't want to ruin their friendship. 

If only he could see that Scar liked him just as much.

Jimmy understood the fear though, he was planning on telling Tango that he was Canary, which wasn't the same, but could have similar consequences.

During their call, Grian had teased Jimmy about him liking Tango, and Scar had given him a strange look, like he knew something Jimmy didn't.

He didn't say anything about it though, so Jimmy didn't ask.

It had now been hours since that call, and Jimmy had nothing to do.

He had tried rehearsing the incoming conversation in his head, but had given up swiftly when he couldn't think of anything to say.

He had also turned on the news at one point.

On every station, the news that Starfire and Scarlet Witch had been found dead was being broadcasted.

But there was no news on Ghoul’s location.

Jimmy turned the news off, it was only making him more anxious.

Now, he was sitting on the couch, staring at the wall while he waited for Tango to come home.

The sound of keys jangled by the door.

Jimmy looked at the front door, and saw it being opened.

Tango walked through.

Jimmy let out a sigh he didn't realise he'd been holding. He had been worried for Tango. The knowledge that Ghoul was still out there was enough to terrify him, he didn't know how Tango was holding himself together.

“Oh, hey Jimmy,” Tango said when he saw Jimmy sitting on the couch.

“Hey Tango,” Jimmy replied.

Jimmy took a deep breath, now was the time to tell Tango.

“Can I tell you something?” Jimmy asked. “It's important.”

Tango nodded, a confused expression on his face. “Of course, you can tell me anything.”

Jimmy took another deep breath, mentally readying himself, before getting straight to the point.

“I'm Canary,”

A beat of silence.

“Really?” Tango whispered.

Jimmy dipped his head, “Yeah, after everything that happened last night, I thought you deserved to know.”

Another pause.

“That… explains a lot,” he said.

“So, you don't hate me?” Jimmy asked nervously.

Tango looked shocked. “Why would I hate you? You saved my life Jimmy!”

“Yeah, but I'm the reason you got kidnapped,”

Tango scoffed. “Oh you can't be serious. I could never hate you.”

Jimmy blushed. “You really mean that?”

“Always,”

Jimmy smiled, the first genuine smile all day.

“So…” Tango started, grinning slyly. “Do you think I could see you in your Canary outfit?”

Jimmy nodded, still smiling. “Let me go get changed.”

~

“Wow, I can't believe I have the Canary in my house right now,” Tango said.

“I was in your house last night,” Jimmy pointed out.

“Yeah, but I was too shocked to really process what was happening.”

Jimmy laughed, before getting an idea.

“Do you want to fly with me?” he asked.

Tango squealed like a small child. “Yes, yes yes!”

Jimmy smiled, “Hold on tight.”

~

Tango let out cheers of excitement as they flew. 

Jimmy had never been happier.

Tango knew he was Canary, and wasn't mad at him, in fact he was excited.

They flew until the sun went down, before they had to go back home.

Jimmy tried to go on patrol that night, but Xelqua had stopped him, telling him to ‘Enjoy the night with Tango’.

They weren't even together.

Xelqua had given Jimmy the look when he pointed that out, and still hadn't let him go on patrol.

Now, Jimmy found himself on the couch, Tango was leaning on his chest, and Jimmy had a wing wrapped around him.

He wanted to stay here forever.

“Jimmy,” Tango said.

“Yeah?” Jimmy replied.

“I have something to tell you as well,”

“Of course, you can tell me anything,” Jimmy said, repeating Tango's earlier words.

Tango paused, his nerves almost tangible.

“I like you,” he finally said, “Like, romantically,”

Jimmy's heart skipped a beat.

“You do?” he asked.

Tango nodded, “Sorry to force that on you, but I wanted you to know.”

“I like you too,”

It was a relief to finally say those words, after years of pining and wanting what he couldn't have.

Tango let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness. I was worried.”

Jimmy wrapped his wing around Tango tighter, and Tango relaxed into the embrace.

“So, what are we?” Jimmy asked, voicing the question he was sure was on both of their minds.

“Can we be boyfriends?” Tango replied, eagerness visible in his tone.

“Of course, I would love to be your boyfriend,” Jimmy said, revelling in the feeling of the words on his tongue.

Tango flipped himself over, so that he was now laying on his stomach, and staring straight at Jimmy's face.

Jimmy took in every little detail, from the tips of his ears to the corners of his mouth.

Jimmy could feel Tango's eyes doing the same, exploring every inch of Jimmy in a way neither had dared to do before.

Finally, the two locked eyes, and Jimmy could feel every emotion going through Tango's mind.

Jimmy pressed a kiss to Tango's forehead.

Tango's face heated up, causing Jimmy to laugh.

“Hey,” he said.

Tango's mouth twitched. “Hey to you too,”

Unable to help himself, Jimmy burst out laughing.

“What's so funny?” Tango asked, though he was laughing too.

“It's just, all of this,” Jimmy waved his hands around, “Never in a million years could I imagine that I would be in this situation. I just can't believe that a person as wonderful and amazing as you actually likes me back.”

Tango's face heated up again. "Don't say that, you're an incredible person. If anything I'm lucky to have you.”

Jimmy smiled, his face softening, “I guess we're both lucky,”

Tango nodded. “The luckiest.”

Jimmy felt himself leaning closer to Tango.

“May I?” he asked, his voice soft.

Tango smiled, “Always,”

Jimmy closed the gap, and pressed their lips together.

It was soft, but incredible. Jimmy had waited so long to be able to do this, to have Tango by his side.

After a few moments, they pulled apart.

Tango grinned, joy written all over his face, “You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that.”

“I think I have some idea,” Jimmy replied.

Tango pressed a soft kiss to Jimmy's cheek, “Yeah maybe you do.”

~

Jimmy spent the next few days healing.

Tango had forced him off patrol until his arm was better, which was endearing but annoying.

Jimmy desperately wanted to get back on the field, every day spent in his apartment was another day that a villain could terrorise the city.

He trusted Xelqua, Stratos and Hotguy though. They were all extremely powerful and capable of defending the city.

But Jimmy couldn't help but feel useless.

He enjoyed the feeling of being able to defend the defenceless, to help the helpless.

Though currently he was the helpless.

Tango helped him push through, having someone who cared for him was enough to tell him that it wasn't permanent, that the end was in sight.

So he would wait, and he would heal.

He needed to get to full strength so he could defend the city.

So he could defend Tango.

Because if Ghoul ever came back, Jimmy would make sure that they regretted hurting Tango.

It was his duty.