#solideritek

“He - oh.” At that, Tango couldn’t help but grin. “Honestly? He’s been amazing. Don’t get me wrong, Team BEST was pretty great last game, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a teammate in this game who’s been so genuinely proud and excited every time we accomplish something. Even the small stuff. You’ve gotta know this already but I swear he’s like a walking ball of sunshine. And he’s more than pulling his weight too, I mean - the cows!” He pushed away from the wall, his eyes alight and his hands moving animatedly with his words. “I think half the server knows we’ve got ‘em by now, but - last week we had next to nothing. And then a few days ago? The guy shows up with an entire herd of cows trailing behind him, like - like - I dunno, some sort of cow whisperer! It was amazing! And the smile he got on his face when I told him so…”

Tango trailed off, realizing he was chattering a bit more than he intended to, but when he glanced in Scott’s direction the man was smiling knowingly at him.

“...what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the other player. Scott simply tilted his head and tucked his hands into his pockets.

“So you’re getting along?” he asked without answering, his words carefully casual.

“Well - yeah, of course we are,” Tango nodded, puzzled. “Probably better than I would’ve with anyone else on the server, except maybe Impulse…” He squinted at Scott, suspicion mounting. “What’s this about?”

“You know, Jimmy’s got a bit of a curse hanging over his head,” Scott carried on as if he hadn’t heard him.

He cast his glance out over the ravine, where it was only now that Tango spotted Jimmy standing over the ravine on some sort of narrow bridge. He couldn’t quite tell from here but he thought he recognized Scar’s familiar brown jacket as well, and what looked like Joel along with him. Scott hummed thoughtfully, drawing Tango’s attention back to him.

“Or that’s what some people say,” he drawled, almost mocking. “That’s what Jimmy seems to think. The first to die in the last two games. It’s a bit of a pattern, isn’t it?”

Something about Scott’s tone set Tango on edge, his hair crackling and his core feeling a bit heated. He’s heard people tease Jimmy from a distance a few times by now, all playful banter and friendly mocking, but this felt different. This didn’t feel like a part of the game. This felt pointed, somehow, and he wasn’t sure what to think of it.

“What are you implying?” he asked sharply, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

“I’m implying,” Scott went on, finally pushing away from the wall to step up to Tango, getting close enough to stare him in the eye and not caring for boundaries, “that there’s a chance you’ve ended up tied to a losing horse. People might target him because they think he’s weak. There’s a chance you’ll get dragged down by that so-called curse of his. So the question is…” Scott grinned, a sharp and wicked thing that had Tango’s blood boiling. “...are you going to go down with a sinking vessel? Or are you planning on abandoning ship to save your own skin?”

Tango snarled, a sharp grip coming up to clutch at the front of Scott’s shirt, pinning the man to the wall behind him with a little more force than was strictly necessary.

“I don’t know what kind of history you’ve got with Jimmy, and frankly I don’t care,” he said hotly, his tail lashing at the air behind him in his agitation. “Just because he’s gone out first the last two games doesn’t mean he will this time. There’s a hell of a lot more to him than people seem to think, and I’m getting a bit pissed off that one of his friends seems to be laughing at his expense. And even if we do manage to get eliminated before anyone else, I won’t even care! He’s my soulmate, my partner, and I’m not about to leave him behind just because of some stupid superstition. I’ve had enough betrayal in this game to last me a lifetime.” He leaned in closer, smoke curling past his teeth. “And it may just be a game, but I won’t hesitate to knock some heads together if people go out of their way to make his life difficult after we’ve stopped playing around for the day. Understood?”

For a moment, there was silence. Scott stared Tango down without any fear, without even an inkling of trepidation, something calculating in his eyes that was almost more infuriating than the silence. But then…then whatever animosity had been in his expression melted away and he smiled, a gentle and knowing thing that took Tango aback with how different it was from the smirk he’d seen only seconds before.

“Good,” Scott said brightly, managing to get an arm up to pat Tango on the shoulder. “Happy to hear it.”

“...what?”

“Sorry, by the way,” he went on, looking rightfully apologetic. “You’ll have to forgive me - when I found out we were going to have our lives tied to someone else this season, I felt the need to make sure Jimmy’s partner wouldn’t be the type to hurt him. He deserves someone he can rely on.”

Tango stared, gobsmacked, the fire and fight in him slowly petering out. His tail drooped against the grass.

“Why…why would I hurt him?” he asked, shaking his head slowly.

“Well you wouldn’t, clearly. That’s the point.”

“So…so this–” Tango gestured between them. “–this was, what, a test?”

“Precisely,” Scott smirked and winked. “And you passed with flying colors.”

“I–”

“You can let me go now, Tango.”

What? Let him - oh. Right. Tango was quick to obey, instantly releasing Scott’s shirt and taking a step or two back, his cheeks tinged pink while he avoided Scott’s gaze. He cleared his throat.

“Uh...sorry man.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I riled you up on purpose,” Scott waved him off, straightening his clothes. He eyed Tango with a knowing sparkle in his eyes. “Though I have to say, that was a rather impressive display. You’re quite protective of him for it being so early in the game.”

At that, Tango flushed to the tips of his ears and swallowed, folding his arms over his chest and shrugging.

“Yeah, well, he’s my partner, isn’t he?” he muttered, ignoring the fact that his glowing hair was probably giving him away regardless of whatever tale he was trying to tell. “He’s got my back and I’ve got his.”

“Mhmmm…that’s all it is.”

Tango risked a glance in Scott’s direction and saw the way the other player was watching him, saw the smirk that danced across his face and the mirth in his eyes.

He knows, was all Tango could think, his pulse leaping and his jaw tensing. He has to. It wasn’t his fault he’d gained a bit of a crush on his sweetheart of a soulmate. Who wouldn’t? Jimmy was sunshine incarnate, and handsome to boot. Cute, even, when he smiled that million-glowstone smile. Could anyone blame him?

“Was there anything else?” he asked, aiming for nonchalant and missing by a mile. “Or, uh…or was it just the shovel talk from his ex-partner?”

“Ex-husband,” Scott corrected casually, as if that little revelation didn’t send Tango reeling with the implications of what exactly he was getting himself into here. “But no, that was it.” Scott cast a wayward lookout across the ravine and sighed. “...though you may want to go assist your soulmate. Scar and Joel might not be red but they seem to be pestering Jimmy a bit over on that bridge.”

“They what?” Tango’s head snapped around to the little one-block-wide path in the distance, where Jimmy was balancing precariously between a crouching Scar and Joel’s laughing form. Something hitched in his chest, something like concern, and he let out an aborted sort of sound as he started off around the ravine’s edge to reach them.

“Tango!”

Tango stopped and turned back to find Scott smiling warmly after him.

“Jimmy’s had a bit of bad luck the last two games, but I think he could do well if given the chance.” He tilted his head in Tango’s direction. “You seem like a good match. You might just be able to turn his luck around.”

Tango was quiet, still, the words rolling over him and making some of the tension in his chest soften at the implications. He smiled back.

“I’ll certainly try,” he promised, before leaving Scott behind to find his way to Jimmy. (...)

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