#mod etern

~~~~~

Impulse hooked one of the window slats on his claw and peeked down into the streets. The city was completely quiet at night. Bdubs was nowhere to be found and few seldom visited this late.

A bright white flash streaked through the sky and landed gingerly on the sidewalk. The figure was lightly luminescent, looking around the streets and then down at a piece of paper they held in their hands.

It took a while for them to find the place indicated on the paper. They slipped into the door at the bottom of the building Impulse watched from.

Impulse's pointed tail flicked back and forth in excitement as ce waited. A few minutes later, the door to the small apartment opened a crack and a soft white light streamed through.

"Imp? Ya in here bud?" Skizz asked from behind the door.

Impulse couldn't help but let out a deep purr at the sound of aers voice. He pulled the door fully open and swung his arms around Skizz.

Skizz laughed as ey stumbled back against the weight of eir partner, "Woah there, I haven't even stepped in the door!" Ey fluttered their glowing wings.

Impulse hung with tys arms around Skizz's neck, "I missed you," te said with a faux-pout. "We haven't gotten to be together in so long."

Skizz ran his hands through Impulse's hair, settling his fingers around cir horn. A contented rumble escaped cir throat as Skizz nuzzled into cir hair. Skizz's ordinarily silent aura shimmered faintly into view and emanated a happy thrum.

"Finally alone, though. No one around to find us out," Skizz said.

Impulse grabbed Skizz's hands and pulled aer across the room. Impulse flopped over the side arm of the couch, dragging Skizz over the edge with him.

Skizz yelled as ey went tumbling on top of Impulse, landing with a thud. Impulse grunted with a smile on cir face, laughing with Skizz.

Skizz's wings came to rest over both of them. They stared into each other's eyes, blanketed in Skizz's soft angelic light. The world outside the window wasn't important. Not when they had each other's eyes.

Vibrant azure. Shimmering gold.

Impulse raised his hand to Skizz's face, tracing a line down from aers temple to aers cheek. Pressing his claw against aers skin with just enough force to make Skizz melt.

Skizz sank into Impulse and met his lips to tyrs. Impulse was warm, hot even, in a way Skizz never felt except when he was with tyr.

Impulse threaded cirs hand through Skizz's hair and pulled em deeper into the kiss. Eir lips were cool, freezing even, in a way Impulse never felt except when ce was with em.

They eased into each other's touch. Every time, it was a slight shock to feel just how opposite they were. Every time, it got easier to give in. It got easier for Skizz to submit to Impulse's warmth, it got easier for Impulse to embrace Skizz's chill.

The kiss felt like it lasted for hours. The only light in the room was emanating from Skizz's wings, which had wrapped around Impulse. Impulse responded in kind, tangling cirs tail around Skizz's leg.

The only sound in the room was Impulse's demonic purrs and the faint pleased hum of Skizz's angelic aura.

That is until there was a knock at the door. Impulse and Skizz instantly separated, staring at each other with wide-open panicked eyes.

"Where do I go???" Skizz whispered urgently, jumping to eir feet.

"Uhh.. Uhm," Impulse looked around as ce stood up off of the couch.

"I thought no one would know about this place!" Skizz said.

The knock came again. Impulse's heart started beating out of tyrs chest.

"Just stay behind the door!" Impulse said.

Skizz stood flat against the wall, aers aura going silent but aer wings growing in brightness.

Impulse swung open the door, "Gem! Heyy.. What's up?"

Gem's ears flapped, "Was just going by on my nighttime flight... And thought I'd ask you if you could help me with a redstone thingy in the morning," Fae said.

"Oh! Yeah, uh- Sure thing!" Impulse replied with an awkward chuckle.

"Were you talking to someone?" Gem raised faer eyebrow while fae looked around in the apartment.

"Nope! Just me haha! I come up here when I need some peace and quiet," Impulse said, a bit louder than te intended.

Gem's eyes fell on the gap between the door and the carpet, where Skizz's light was peeking through. Her expression dropped into a smug look, "Alright, Impulse. You have fun being alone with your peace and quiet," She chuckled and left.

Impulse closed the door, revealing Skizz staring at him.

"So fae..."

"Yup."

"And fae's going to..."

"Probably."

"We are never going to live this down, Dippledop."

"Just shut up and kiss me again."

~~~~~

The knock at the door set the trio almost silent. Skizz's laughter petering out and Zedaph's ears perking up as they all turned to face the sound. Tango set down his teacup on the plate with a gentle, satisfying clink.

"Who could be knocking at this hour?" Zedaph said. It was incredibly late. Tango, Skizz, and Zedaph all met for midnight drinks at least once a week. Impulse typically joined, but Skizz had forced him to sleep off a long redstoning cram session.

"Pardon me, shouldn't be long," Tango said with a soft grin, flicking pheir tail as phey stood.

Zedaph and Skizz returned to their conversation. Tango left the kitchen, leaving the door open. Ne flicked on the porch lights and glanced through the peephole.

Grian.

What could that pesky bird want now? Tango thought, niers expression turning sour and anger ticking through niers mind.

With one deft motion, Tango flicked open the locks and clasps and swung open the door.

~

I shouldn't have come. Why would phey forgive me? Phey're not going to answer. Phey're probably asleep. I should just go. Grian thought to aivself.

Grian tapped its talons on the copper plated porch of Tango's house. It stared at the ground, scratching up a bit of the greenish oxidization.

Grian looked backwards at the crescent moon. He was just going to leave before the door opened.

Tango stood in the doorway, hanging pheir weight onto one leg. Pheir warm skin almost made Grian feel toasty, even with the distance between them. Tango standing just behind the threshold and Grian tapping aivs talons on the copper.

One or two feet felt like a yawning chasm.

Tango's head cocked to the side, niers flame licked the air and hissed discontentedly. Tango glared at Grian. Niers tail swished back and forth, smoke burning into the air through niers anger.

"What do you want, Grian?" Tango said flatly.

Grian stared at the floor again. It was awkward but felt better than matching Tango's furious gaze. It struggled to get the words out, as if a lump of coal was lodged in its throat.

Grian's heart started to beat faster, and he stepped backwards. Fight-or-flight was starting to kick in and all Grian wanted to do was fly away.

Tango recognized the anxious look on Grian's face and grabbed aivs arm, "Don't run away again..." Tango said, frustrated, "Tell me what you want to say."

Grian looked into Tango's eyes. For a moment that old compassion glimmered behind red curtains. That old flame burned behind pheir eyes like embers so-long-lost, and for a moment Grian almost believed that Tango might take him back.

"I miss you, blazer..." Grian said, sneaking in niers pet-name. "I don't like the way we ended things."

Tango dropped Grian's arm, leaving a reddish mark where the heat was. Phey glanced to the side, "I have guests over. You should go, Grian. We'll talk in the morning."

Tango moved to shut the door, not caring to give a parting look to Grian. Grian lunged forward and kissed Tango.

Tango stumbled back in shock of the brazen gesture. Grian swung its arms around Tango's neck and pulled phem deeper into the kiss. Tango's warmth seeped into Grian's lips as phey started to sink into the kiss.

Tango pulled away almost as fast as the kiss started. He whispered softly, with the faintest hint of a smile in his voice and the faintest twitch of happiness in his tail, "You should go, birdie."

And shut the door.

~~~~~