Work Text:
POV: 3rd
Jimmy flops onto the couch, sighing. The day was far too long and he just wants to relax, but that can be hard in a death game. Slowly, his brain gets filled with fog and a bright smile forms on his face. "I want Daddy," He giggles, running out of his house. During the games Scott was his caretaker. On Empires Lizzie is his caretaker, but she's not here right now.
He runs up the house, about to knock, when he hears a shout. "PEARL, I DON'T NEED A CRAZY EX! GET OUT!" The yelling is loud, and scary. What if Pearl tries to take advantage of him being little (She'd never do that but lil Jim doesn't know that)? With tears building up in his eyes he sprints back to his house. Tango is there. Tango is safe, right? No further thoughts enter his brain as he clings to his soulmate.
"Woah, Jimmy?" He jumps, hesitantly wrapping his arms around the man. "What's wrong, Rancher?" The canary doesn't answer, just lets out a few sad babbles. "Hey, bud? I have a question, and I won't be mad if the answer is yes, but are you little?"
"I- I'm sowy," He cries.
"Hey, hey, it's alright, bud," Tango soothes, wiping away his soulmate's tears. "I'm not upset. I know a lot of littles, this isn't anything new to me."
"Weally?" Jimmy looks up at Tango, big, watery eyes threatening to spill over again.
"Yeah, really! Do you know how old you are?" Jimmy pauses, thinking for a moment, before holding up five fingers. "Wow, you're a big boy! Almost 6, huh?" The little giggles, nodding happily. "Who's your caretaker?"
"Daddy's yelling at Pearl," He whines, pointing towards Scott's house. As he says it a certain red-cloaked woman runs out of the house, towards her tower and is followed by a parade of dogs. Tango decides that Scott would be better at this than him now that he isn't busy, and Jimmy seems to think that, as well. "Is Daddy done?"
He looks at the little with a soft expression, smiling at his hopeful eyes. "I think so, why don't we go check, huh?" As they get closer the sound of crying can be heard from inside the house. Why is Scott cryi... Oh. "Jimmy, could you go across the bridge and get Cleo, please?"
"Do I tell Auntie Cleo Daddy's crying?"
"Yes, can you also tell her Daddy is a little, like you?" The canary nods before running across the bridge, yelling something too far to hear. With a sharp inhale Tango heads inside, heart crumbling at the sight of Scott, mascara running down his cheeks and huddled in a corner. "Scott?" He whispers softly, gaining the attention of the little. He crouches in front of the cyan-haired boy. "Hey, buddy, are you okay?"
"I- I yewed at pwearl... Is she gon' be angy?" Scott sniffles, anxiety and tears on his face, the worry lines feeling too deep for someone so mentally young. What did Scott go through as a kid?
"No, she won't be angry," Tango whispers. "Pearl loves you very much, she wouldn't want you to cry, right?"
"N-no..."
"Do you want a hug, bud?"
"B- but I suppo't to be big... Tears are lil'," Scott sniffs. Tango has to try hard not to seem angry as to not upset the little. How dare someone tell him he has to be big!? And not letting him cry!? God, once he finds out who broke someone as sweet and confident as Scott there is going to be bloodshed, mark his words. Well, mark his thoughts, that is.
"No, you don't have to be big. Tears are a normal part of all of us, even when we're big. C'mere, bud, you can be small with me." The little crawls over to Tango, sobbing into his shoulder. A certain zombie rushes into the house, holding the hand of Jimmy. She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees that Scott is okay, but her face is still worried.
She walks closer, still holding Jimmy's hand, before crouching down. "Hey Scottie, are you okay? What happened?"
"Mama?" He says in-between sobs. "Will Pwearl be mad at me? Tangs say she won'."
"Tango's right, bud," Cleo smiles, masking her worry to help the two littles. "Pearl couldn't be mad at you if she tried, she loves you too much. Even if she gets a little upset she'll forgive you, no matter what, okay?"
"Otay, Mama..." He whispers, slowly dozing off. Jimmy lets go of Cleo, instead wrapping his arms around Tango and Scott and also falling asleep.
"Cleo," Tango whispers, earning a stifled giggle from the zombie. "Help. I'm stuck." It was true, with Jimmy's wings covering all three and Scott's death grip on the two men there was no way he was getting out of there with or without help.
"I can't help, man," She smirks, heading towards the door. "Good luck!"
"Cleo!"
~~~
Tango wakes up first. The night before he (somehow, we don't ask questions) got them all to the bed(s), which fit three people nicely, likely due to the fact that Cleo and Scott sometimes have sleepovers and Cleo likes to hog room so there are three put down. He holds the two men on each side a bit closer, mentally vowing that he won't let them get hurt- mentally or physically- while they're little ever again. He still needs to figure out who hurt Scott and hunt them down, but that's a problem for later.
The second to wake up was Jimmy. "Hm? Tango? What happened? Why's Scott here?"
"You regressed at the same time as Scott and you two ended up falling asleep on me," He chuckles, trying not to wake the cyan-haired man next to them when Jimmy's face turns bright red.
"OhmygodimsosorryyouhadtodealwiththatimsupposedtogotoScottIdontknowwhyIdidntpleasedonttellanyoneespeciallyCleo-"
"Calm down, Rancher, I don't mind," Tango smiles. "Also, Cleo needed to help calm down Scott because he forcefully regressed so she already knows."
"I hate that Scott only regresses when something bad happens. He really needs to start taking care of himself better," Jimmy grumbles. "What even happened?"
"He yelled at Pearl and got worried that she would be angry," Tango explains, looking at Scott with a worried expression. "I'm gonna kill whoever hurt Scott, though. He was so scared I would be mad. That person better pray to whatever God they believe in I swear-" He rants, hair flickering with fire and getting so hot the tips turn blue.
"Darling, calm down, he's already dead," Jimmy giggles. "Me, Cleo, and Pearl, all hunted him down after Last Life."
"Good."
Their little conversation changes subjects multiple times before Scott opens his eyes. Surprisingly to Tango, his eyes aren't the icy blue they were before, now, they're an entire galaxy. No joke, his eyes each contain different stars and planets of their own.
"Scott, your eyes are doing the thing," Jimmy sighs, earning a blink that changes the cyan-haired man's galaxies back to glaciers. Still beautiful, of course.
"What was that?" Tango asks. It wasn't shocked or condescending, none of the things Scott expects when people see his real eyes, just plain curiosity and maybe a bit of admiration.
"Uh- well, y'know how I'm a Starborne?" A nod from Tango. "Those are my real eyes." Red and brown eyes meet blue, and it feels like the universe holds its breath with the amount of longing in each of the three.
"They're gorgeous, Scott. Were those real planets? What if you have whole civilizations in your irises?" Tango rambles, but there was only one word Scott caught. Gorgeous. How can Tango just say that and not even think about it? God, he wishes Jimmy and Tango were poly so he could have both of them.
Pushing that thought out of his mind before he spirals, he answers Tangos questions. "Yeah, they're real planets and I can actually visit the different places in my eyes when I close them. Unless my eyes are blue, of course."
"Yeah, of course," Tango rolls his eyes with a small, teasing smirk. "Such common knowledge." Jimmy starts laughing at them, causing the other two to eventually break and start laughing along with him. What can they say? His laugh is contagious. After a few minutes their giggles die down, and they all just sit in comfortable silence. Scott cuddles closer to Tango, grabbing Jimmy's hand as he starts to doze off again.
"Scott, we have to get up," Jimmy whines. The Starborne doesn't budge, just clicks his tongue in annoyance. "Scooott."
"I like my name coming out of your mouth," He teases, flustering Jimmy into a red, stuttering mess. "Maybe baby or love would sound better, though."
"Oh my Notch. Love, you're killing him," Tango laughs, letting the title slip without a second thought. Scott doesn't mind, though, just continues teasing the men.
"See? Sounds good from Tango, now I gotta know if you sound as good, Petal," Scott purrs, earning even more flustered noises from both Tango and Jimmy now. "Wow, two hot men blushing for me? It's my lucky day. I get to tell Pearl that happened before her, now." A few more unintelligible noises leave their mouths before they resort to shutting up and pouting. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'll stop teasing you." Scott chuckles.
Jimmy uses his wing to pull Scott closer to him. Tango, taking the hint, wraps his arms around Scott and flips over so the man is laying in between them. "Eep-" He squeaks, tail stiffening in surprise. Jimmy wraps his arms around Scott while Tango, despite being a few inches shorter, manages to curl fully around Scott. "Guys, why?" The Starborne whines.
Neither of them answer, just squeezing him tighter. Jimmy reaches up, petting his head and smiling when he purrs. "I missed that sound..." He mumbles. It obviously wasn't meant to be heard so Tango changes the subject.
"He purrs?" Jimmy smiles wider, crows feet in the corners of his eyes.
"Yeah, Starbornes don't often have physical contact with each other so any amount of touch can make them purr. Scott's less sensitive to touch since he's been in the overworld for a long time but pets still make him purr," Jimmy rants, Tango absorbing every word. When Jimmy stops petting him (his hand started to cramp) Scott just stares at Tango.
He blinks quickly, then slowly and- Tango being a cat person- blinks slowly back. "He's like a cat. Blinking slowly shows mammals that they're safe."
"Cool," Jimmy whispers, his wings fluffing with excitement. Blaze hybrids are naturally curious breeds but they also enjoy talking about the things they learn, so Tango's hair shines a bit brighter.
"Ya'll know I can hear you, right?" Scott deadpans.
"Oh- sorry, thought you were out of it," Jimmy chuckles. The Starborne shakes his head fondly before nuzzling his head into Tango's chest, making said Blazebornes breath hitch. Jimmy gives him a knowing look which leads him to point at the poppy in said man's hair.
They fall into comfortable silence for a bit, Scott slowly dozing off. "I love you guys..." He mumbles, before fully falling asleep once again. Seems like he won. Tango looks at Jimmy. Jimmy looks at Tango. If anybody walked by they would hear awkward laughter as what he said really sinks in.
"Love you, too," Tango whispers back. Jimmy pauses, fear and hope in his eyes, as he stutters over his words.
"I- I love you, too," He chokes out. How Scott loves them after Jimmy left him for Tango, they have no idea, but they will welcome that love with open arms.