Work Text:
At this point, Tango has spent months inside the small cave he dug out underneath the gaming district. Well, it started out small and divulged into something way larger than he anticipated when he began his work on Hungry Hermits, his factory not quite forgotten but nearly.
He sighs, sitting in the kitchen he built a few weeks ago, lazily leaning against one of the counters, his tail idly swishing behind him as he tries to focus again on planning out another feature, but he can't help but grumble as he stares down at his little notepad that only had a single word scribbled on it so far in his messy handwriting - Rats. That’s how far he got before Scar must have sensed his presence, immediately rushing over to rope Tango into a conversation that somehow, despite Tango's vehement refusal to encourage the man, ended up on the topic of Star Wars.
Stupid Scar and his stupid distractions, couldn't the man let him get some work done for once, Tango thought but he couldn't help the smile on his lips. Despite the frequent interruptions he causes, Tango can't help but be glad to get pulled out of his work every now and then. And they did test out the game a bit, which is useful but only serves as a reminder of how much still wasn’t working correctly.
But now it's difficult to get back into it again. With a furrowed brow he tries to concentrate but it's not happening. He had a great idea earlier for how to actually make the rats work after his plans with the powdered snow fell through. Or didn't fall through actually.
In an attempt to make the word ‘rat’ not look as lonely on the page, Tango writes down the word powdered snow, only to cross it out immediately. Yeah, that didn't help him feel better at all.
With another half-hearted attempt to fill the page, he tries to doodle a small rat next to the words but Tango is by no means an artist.
He lets out another deep sigh as he puts the notepad into the front pocket of his jacket and stretches himself for a moment, arms above his head. He's still wearing the chef uniform from his earlier playtest with Scar, and now he's too lazy to go change before he gets to work on something else - just anything to get his mind working, and maybe whatever he thought of earlier will return to him.
About half an hour passes as Tango tries to fix some interference between a pressure plate and the crafter next to it.
He can feel a smudge of redstone on his cheek, the fine dust tickling his skin just slightly, but not enough to make him try to get rid of it - he'd just end up smearing more onto his face like that anyway.
Above him he hears noises and just as he pokes his head up from where he was bent over some of the finicky redstone, Etho swoops in and lands on a line of redstone just above Tango. This makes the already tall man look even taller and Tango curses slightly at how much he has to look up at him.
"Don't stand there and smudge my redstone" Tango threatens playfully as he stands up from where he is crouching. Etho jumps down, landing on the small temporary platform that Tango built to access the noodles more easily.
Now the Canadian was only about a head taller than Tango. Maybe a bit more.
"Coming in here too to distract me? Bit late for that. Scar already did a well enough job of that earlier." Tango chuckles while Etho makes himself comfortable enough on an observer behind Tango.
"You like the company." Etho just hums in reply. Another sigh leaves Tango's lips, as he turns back to the redstone in front of him, crouching down again, so Etho doesn't see the fond smile he has.
Tango can't deny how much he needs those interruptions, often getting a little too caught up in his work. And he can't deny that Etho is one of his favorite interruptions. It's nice to occasionally just talk through some issues with someone who gets it. And now that Etho was done with his own game, the interruptions and visits were becoming quite frequent.
The two often end up spending a few hours together, mostly in comfortable silence, as Tango works on his redstone and Etho simply does his own thing. Sometimes he brings a book, sometimes a notepad, writing down his own ideas. Other times he just leans back and relaxes a bit, watching Tango work, occasionally teasing or taunting him playfully. Tango never minds, the banter between them feeling just right.
Tango tries not to let the eyes that are most definitely staring at his back distract him but his tail gives him away, its movement just a bit more calculated.
After a few minutes, Etho breaks the silence "What are you working on right now?"
Tango places his arms behind him and leans backward, his head tilting back till he sees his friend upside down, eyes crinkling in a soft smile. "You know, just squashing one of the million bugs I still have to fix. Who thought it would be smart to put a pressure plate so close to the whole rest of this?" he says while dramatically pointing at the redstone beside him, earning a soft chuckle from Etho.
"But I think I got this one done quick enough. Just a few hundred more to go" Tango says with an exhausted laugh as he scoots backward, resting his back against the dispenser that's right next to the observer Etho sits on. He’s shorter anyway.
"And you're still basking in the success of Ravager Rush? Or are you just avoiding building the roof to your base? I gotta say - the purpur is quite... You know, something." Tango teases and he can see Etho roll his eyes.
"Hey, you're not one to talk with your factory. When's that gonna get built, huh, Tango?" Etho immediately retorts.
Tango couldn’t help but laugh. They sit in silence for another few moments as Tango takes a short break. He knows he should get back to brainstorming alternative ideas for implementing rats, knowing it’s a good mechanic for the game.
Maybe he could ask Etho for- "You're still dressed up" Etho points out, interrupting his thoughts.
"Well, this is a restaurant, you know?" Tango replies sarcastically and he can see Etho smile behind the mask, the way it reaches his eyes.
"But, you know, getting redstone on your cheek and all. Wouldn't want to get it on your clothes." Tango grins as he replies "But those are my noodles. What kind of chef would I be if I wasn't dressed for the part?" which makes both of them laugh.
Etho reaches out, nearly startling Tango, as he reaches for his chest and pulls out the little notepad that Tango used earlier, studying it intently, as if there weren't just three words on there.
"Didn't know you were such an artist, Tango." Etho chuckles. Tango looks at him for a moment, confused, before Etho turns the note so that Tango can see and be reminded of his rat doodle that he already forgot about.
"Well, you know, we can't all be this talented" he chuckles at his own joke, sarcastically patting his own shoulder. "It's cute though. Tiny little chinchilla." Etho says with utter delight in his voice.
"Maybe you're the one who needs glasses next, bud. It even says rats next to it" Tango laughs but Etho just points at the doodle again "With those ears? Come on, Tango, they're huge." Both men laugh, Tango is now looking up at Etho and not at the doodle anymore.
"I thought you were just writing down a list of rodents." he keeps teasing Tango, whose tail swipes playfully behind him.
"Yeah, uh huh, totally something that would be useful for this game" Tango laughs again. "No, but, I wanted to punish players for leaving things on the ground by airdropping in some silverfish - rats, you know? Only to find out they splatificate on powdered snow." Another dramatic sigh. He should record those, maybe they'd be better audio for the customers than his current ones. But he still hopes to find something better.
"You got any ideas of how to get some rats into the restaurant?" Tango asks, still looking up at Etho.
Instead of replying, he reaches out for Tango again, this time startling him just a little bit less.
"You got redstone on your cheek" Etho points out, entirely avoiding Tango's question, as he gently cups Tango's cheek with his hand, thumb brushing over the part of his cheek where the faint trail of red dust was. Or still is, as Etho is only smudging it further instead of getting rid of it.
They stay in this position, Tango still straining his neck to keep looking up at Etho.
"And you're just making it worse" Tango replies, his voice suddenly just a bit quieter from how this is getting to him.
Etho only responds with a soft "heh" as he keeps smudging the redstone on Tango's warm skin, while the blazeborn just endures it. Or at least he does until Etho moves his fingers slightly and accidentally brushes over Tango's glasses.
"Stop, you'll put your dirty fingerprints on them" Tango complains. He already doesn't like his glasses and thinks they make him look stupid.
Sometimes in life, Tango has to admit defeat, and if that means wearing glasses while working on his redstone, then so be it. But Etho coming in here and smearing his grubby hands over them? That's where Tango draws the line.
Despite his complaints, Etho hasn't stopped, still cupping Tango's cheek, his fingertips surprisingly soft on his skin, especially in contrast with the leather of his fingerless gloves.
"Stop it, you're the worst" Tango laughs, gently trying to swat his hand away but he can hear the amused chuckle, and see Etho smile behind the mask. "You're enjoying this way too much"
Tango gives up with a playful huff, leaning just the slightest bit further into Etho's palm. Behind him, Tango's tail betrays how much he actually does enjoy it, despite how annoying dirty glasses are. But maybe it's worth it. Not that he'd tell Etho that.
"You can make me stop," Etho says lightly, and Tango can hear the smirk in his voice.
Fine, two can play at that game.
Tango places a palm on the observer, right next to Etho's thigh, brushing lightly against the rough material of his cargo pants, and lifts himself up.
Meanwhile, his other hand reaches up for Etho's mask, slowly tugging the fabric down, giving enough time for Etho to react, to stop him, but he doesn't.
Tango has seen Etho without a mask before, they’ve known each other for years and he does have to eat sometimes, but only glimpses and Tango made a point of not staring, it always seemed too impolite.
But now he shamelessly takes in every detail, the soft curve of Etho's amused smile, his lips, the bow of his nose, the way his Scar travels just slightly lower on his cheek than Tango expected.
It takes just a moment, Etho slightly tilting Tango's chin up further, before their lips meet.