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"Jimmy!" Tango screamed as he turned to his soulmate just moments before an axe flew in from behind and crushed Tango's skull. The pain was unimaginable, but only for a few seconds until he respawned and was left with only the unpleasantness of a headache. The world was spinning, but that wasn't exactly unusual when you travelled between servers.
He let himself fall to the ground, his breathing was still quick from the adrenaline rush that came with the combat. For a minute he just kneeled there on the rocks. He needed to calm down and regain his bearings.
He looked around, "Where did I..." He felt his heart rate quicken. He was back in Hermitcraft. He'd died on their red life. "NO!" He stood up, his hands in tight fists as tears welled up in his eyes, "It's not- that's not the end! No!"
Smoke filled the air around him, his own anguish feeding the flames that had begun to ignite in his hair. He hated how little he could control his blaze side when he was upset, which frankly made him lose control even more.
At least no one else was here, he just needed to get to his house. Yeah, once he was home he could calm down. He'd just have to ignore how they ended up being the first pair eliminated. And he wouldn't think about how much he had let Jimmy down by allowing that to happen. And he definitely wouldn't cry over it in the middle of spawn instead of walking home.
He heard footsteps approach him, followed by a quiet, cautious voice. "Um... Tango?"
Tango quickly looked up to see Xisuma standing a few feet away from him. Despite the admin's mask, Tango could still see the worry etched on his face.
"I noticed that you were back, so I thought I'd come and welcome you."
Tango quickly glanced at his own starter base, "Oh! Hi!" He took a few steps backwards, donning a pathetically fake smile, "Well I, uh, I've got to go, so uh, bye!" He turned towards his base, quickly walking in that direction.
X started to follow him, "Are you alright? Do you need anything, Tango?"
"Nope!" His pace quickened, "Bye now!"
X just sighed and watched Tango scamper away. It didn't look like talking to him was an option right now, not that Xisuma was even sure he'd be able to help. It's not like he actually understood what went on in Grian's little games, he just knew that every season there were always hermits who returned absolutely shattered. And every season Grian insisted everything was fine.
Tango decided to go to bed, but that wasn't a very easy task given his newly discovered loneliness. He could tell something was missing, and his body ached from the sense of nervousness this caused him. It didn't take very long for him to realize that the "something" that he was missing was Jimmy. Fortunately, he was tired enough that he managed to get some rest.
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He woke up painfully early the next morning, his exhaustion already rejuvenated by the stress his dreams had brought.
Really, there was nothing to motivate him to actually get up. Nothing in his base needed tending to- he'd made sure of that, since Double Life meant that he would be away for a while- and nobody on the server needed anything from him.
And so, he stayed in bed enduring the tense stillness of his bedroom for hours.
Every time he heard a bird singing outside, it reminded him of Jimmy.
It made him feel sick.
By the evening, he couldn't handle being trapped in his room anymore. As he tiptoed into the nether, he was so careful to remain hidden that he felt like some sort of weird criminal.
He liked his nether hub, it really was a nice place. Especially now, with all of the nooks and crannies to take refuge in. Maybe he'd even read a book. That's a healthy distraction, right?
Truthfully, he didn't know how to handle this. Sure, he'd been stressed before plenty of times, but never like this. He'd never craved another person so much that his mind was flooded by a storm of thoughts and all he could focus on was Jimmy.
Trying to read just made him frustrated, and after a while he ended up with a book and quill. Each page was haphazardly filled with sketchy doodles. Most of them were comically awful, but nonetheless, it made him feel a little better to get his emotions out with something. He lost himself in pages and pages of goats and ranches and feathers and gushy love hearts for a while.
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For the next few days, he just tried to relax in any way he could think of that wasn't laying in bed. Usually that meant long walks around the server or some calm, simple building. He kept having the odd aches and pains, but he honestly wasn't taking the best care of himself so that didn't exactly surprise him.
During one of his mid-morning sulking sessions in the nether hub, his communicator buzzed. Normally, that wouldn't be unusual- plenty of hermits chat back and fourth throughout the day, but as guilty as it made him feel, he'd turned off the notifications. He pulled the device out of his pocket to take a peek at it.
Grian joined the game
GoodTimeWithScar joined the game
There was no way he could resist taunting these guys for dying only a few days after himself. It was practically a natural instinct.
<Tango> HAHAHA L
He slumped back against his chair, nearly tumbling backwards. He would never admit it, but he was properly pissed that Grian and Scar didn't get separated like he had been from Jimmy, not to mention that Grian and Scar were the reason they got separated in the first place.
<Mumbo> Is that really the first thing he's messaged since he got back?
Tango put his communicator away as the all-too-familiar smoke clouded his vision. He put his head down on the desk and shut his eyes so tightly that he saw colors swirl through the darkness. Of course, when he finally felt a little better Grian and Scar would come back and he'd spiral again. He let himself continue to sit there and sob like that. He felt pathetic.
"Hey Tango... What's up?"
The fire that doused him burned a smidge brighter, "Grian, you are one of the last people I want to be speaking to right now," his words were tense, but it took all he had to keep himself from snapping.
"Well I heard you aren't speaking to anybody, so I don't think I'm that special."
He abruptly sat up to face the mischievous winged man who'd decided to kneel beside the table, "Well you're the reason I'm not with my soulmate anymore, aren't you?"
"Well, that was more Scar than me," he shrugged subtly, resting his chin on the table.
"Leave me alone Grian. Please."
Grian sits up, "You could probably just go visit him, y'know," he stretches his wings, "A few hermits literally have second homes on the server he stays in, there's definitely a portal that goes there, or something like that."
"Actually?"
"Yeah," Grian stands up, "didn't you think to ask X about that?"
Tango just stares down at himself feeling like the stupidest man alive.
"Oh, by the way," he begins to stroll up the nearby stairs, "I actually came to let you know that we couldn't actually unbind you guys like I said would happen. Turns out it's a lot harder to reverse a soulbinding when the two people actually fall in love." He chuckles, "Romantic, isn't it?"
Tango, who is much less amused, just watches Grian silently, waiting to see what else he has to say.
"So you guys are probably stuck with that. I don't think it's as strong as it was during the series anymore, if that's any consolation?"
"So you're saying we still feel each other's pain?"
"To a degree, Mhm!"
A wave of guilt washed over Tango.
Drowned him.
Every careless tumble he'd taken the last few days- Jimmy had felt that? Fuck. In hindsight, it... Definitely made sense. Some of his "random aches" were probably from whatever Jimmy is up to, not just his own clumsiness.
By the time Tango came back to reality, that pesky bird was long gone.
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He knocked so hard on the door that his fist hurt, "Xisuma! Are you in there?" Tango was desperate.
"Oh, I'll-" a distant yell responded, "I'll be right there!" Shortly after, quick footsteps approached the front door which swung open to reveal Xisuma who had definitely been in the middle of something considering how he was covered in redstone dust and looked awfully frazzled.
"...If you were busy I could've waited."
"No, no, don't worry about it," he stepped aside to allow Tango in, "What is it you need?"
"Well, I was wondering if I'd be able to visit the server Jimmy's living in?" He asked as entered the building.
"Empires SMP?" He paused for a moment to think, "Yeah, probably. I'd have to get permission first but I can't see why you wouldn't be able to."
Tango grinned, bouncing a bit from his excitement, "Oh my gosh, really? How soon do you think?"
"Um, you probably wouldn't be able to go until tomorrow, maybe later than that," he spoke with a bit of hesitation, not wanting to disappoint Tango. Thankfully, Tango seemed satisfied with the answer.
"Well, just let me know as soon as you can, okay?"
"I'll be sure to," X said with a kind smile.
Tango waved goodbye as he left the building with a new spring in his step. He was actually going to be able to see Jimmy again.
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Tango and Xisuma stood in front of a doorway that emitted a gentle glow. Tango was far too nervous to stand still, leaning back and fourth and glancing around the room.
"I don't know... What if he's mad at me?"
Xisuma shook his head, "Based on everything you've told me? I'm sure it'll be fine Tango."
Tango nodded, staring into the portal, "So I just walk in? And I'll be there?"
"Yeah, but," he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper, "Take this first."
"What is it?" He asked as he carefully unfolded it.
"Coordinates. I didn't want to send you in blind, so I asked around and figured out where his base is."
Tango smiled, "You're the best, X," and glanced up at the admin before leaping through the portal.
He tripped, scraping his knee on some rocks when he fell through. The unpleasant dizziness that accompanies traveling between servers didn't exactly help him catch himself. He looked around; there was a campfire nearby, but he didn't see anyone. He looked closer at the numbers on the note Xisuma had given him, trying to figure out which direction he was supposed to be going. Hopefully he'd be able to make it there before nightfall- he didn't want to deal with monsters.
He stood up off the ground, walking on what he figured would be the most direct path. Most of the area he walked through seemed pretty untouched. He'd see the occasional little house in the distance, but he didn't bother going over to any of them. He wasn't going to get distracted from him goal.
Unfortunately for Tango, he'd gotten turned around a few too many times and the sun was setting. He was very close to where Jimmy supposedly was, but there were mobs showing up everywhere, and he didn't have any gear seeing as it was considered bad etiquette to bring things like that between servers.
He was actually quite proud of himself, managing to avoid the mobs for long enough that he reached the red sand of a mesa.
And that's about as long as he avoided them for, crying out as a creeper blew up, the blast throwing him to the ground. He took a moment to bask in his shame as he laid on the cold sand.
Only a minute later, he heard a familiar voice yelling out, "Hello! Who was that??"
"Jimmy?" Was all Tango could say as he sat up just in time to see his soulmate wander into view. He looked very different from the last time they'd seen eachother, dressed up like... Some dude from the Wild West? Honestly, it was fitting considering the biome they were in.
"Oh my god- TANGO!" He rushed over, an infectious grin plastered across his face as he kneeled in the sand, "How are you even here??"
Tango was more than relieved to see a decidedly not angry Jimmy, "I have my ways."
"Well, come back to my place!" He grabbed Tango's hand, yanking him up off the ground, "It's not safe out here at night and you're clearly hurt."
Tango just followed close behind him, the embarrassment on his face thankfully masked by the darkness.
"This is my wagon! It might be, err, a bit tight for two people? But we can make it work, I think."
"It looks cozy," Tango said with a tender smile.
Jimmy gasped, overjoyed by Tango's satisfaction as they headed inside, hands still glued together.
They finally separate when Jimmy sits Tango down on the bed and begins to rummage through a chest. "I should have some bandages in here or something."
Tango watched from the edge of the bed. "You're covered in sand." He didn't sound judgemental, moreso just stating an observation.
Jimmy turned red, pausing his search just for a moment, "Well I do live in, y'know, quite a sandy place."
"Well it's everywhere!" He laughed as he rose from his spot and kneeled beside Jimmy, "Here, I'll get it."
Jimmy turned even redder, continuing to look through the chest in an attempt to look nonchalant as Tango ran his fingers through Jimmy's hair and feathers in an attempt to remove the sand (a task which Tango quickly realized was much more difficult than he anticipated).
He'd never admit it, but once he found the bandages he pretended to search for a bit longer before he finally sat up, interrupting Tango's sand removal, "Found them."
"Alright, cool," Tango said, watching as Jimmy grabbed him and started to patch up the couple of injuries that Tango had maintained from the creeper explosion. They stayed seated in a comfortable silence on the wooden floor until Jimmy was finished.
"By the way, you're also covered in sand."
Tango feigned offense, "Not as much as you are!"
"Oh- shut up Tango," he stood up, talking a step towards the bed before the changed his mind and backed away, "You can have the bed, I'll just, uh..."
Tango stood as well, returning to his seat on the bed with a chuckle, "I don't mind sharing."
"The bed's pretty small though- I didn't exactly expect you to visit- I mean, I barely fit in it-"
Tango laid down. "I think we can make it work," he said as he motioned for Jimmy to join him.
Jimmy quickly took the invitation, laying directly on top of a giggling Tango. Tango's excessive body heat was actually very nice- the mesa gets a bit chilly once the sun goes down- and from a combination of that and the fact that Jimmy was exhausted from the work he'd done earlier that day, he fell asleep really quickly.
Even though the whole arrangement wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing ever, that night brought the best sleep Tango's had since Double Life ended.