#timmgo

And by the gods, did Jimmy finally believe that ignorance was bliss.

When he'd crumpled to the ground and found himself dead -- when he'd respawned and met those burning eyes, he knew it to be true.

Jimmy knew that pity laid behind those features, but it was different -- he knew it was different. Tango didn't look at him like some pathetic, wet cat outside the back of the pub, waiting to be fed the discarded scraps from the night's evening rush. He wouldn't offer him something he wouldn't offer himself. There was more to the way his eyebrows tilted up -- the way his voice rose and fell with his apology.

And oh, did it make his heart flutter.

Jimmy didn't know the last time someone didn't poke fun at him for not having enough -- not being enough. He couldn't recall the last time someone ever looked at him the same. And, while he knew it was all just jokes, sometimes it hurt. Hell, a lot of the times it hurt. Who could he even call his real friends at this point?

But the way Tango put his arm around his shoulders, pulled him close, and promised to do this together. The way they both joked and laughed, the way nothing was at the expense of the other without a jab at oneself. The way the warmth from Tango radiated onto Jimmy, fueling him not like the coal from the mine but rather a warm, cosy campfire evening, coddled in the company of someone who was truly meant to hold him.

The way they were equal.

Jimmy knew things would be different this time. If someone were to pick a fight, they'd fight it together. There was no more doing this alone, there was no more "Get Jimmy first, he's the weakest!" -- for even if they went down, they would do it together.

And he was sure -- absolutely sure -- that he would be content with that. Even if their house wasn't pretty, or they never had the best armour. Without each other, they were each doomed to their own -- the first death, life without meaning.

Jimmy "Watcher Who Stares at Things He Likes" Solidarity vs. Tango "Wow Look at How Pretty That Threat Is" Tek

Rip to my pens & sharpie though

No matter our fate, I will keep you safe.