I was wondering if you are willing to write a Tango x Etho x gn!reader (or just Tango x gn!reader if you don't want to write poly atm)?
Pairing: Tango x GN! Professor! Reader x Etho (kinda Pearl & Etho [Platonic] too ngl)
Includes: (small i think, but be aware they are there) SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST CHAPTER (16) OF DOUBLE-HEARTED, mentions of a secret relationship but also not really? (they haven’t told anyone, but its not technically a secret), speculated cheating (doesn’t happen), three uses of Y/N
Words: 2.0k
A/N: I always want to write poly 😈 I wanted to write something for DDVAU anyway to celebrate the new Double-Hearted chapter that came out ((if you haven’t [you probably have, but on the off-chance that you haven’t] go check it out on Webtoon, or here on Tumblr! It’s a great comic about the DDVAU {Desert-Duo Vigilante AU} written by @//kitsuneisi and @//xmaruu11))
((p.s. if you don't like it/it's not what you had in mind, lmk and I'll write a new one!))
When Etho offered to set Pearl up with an interview with his boyfriend, this was not what she had in mind.
She did not expect to be walking into the university he worked at, glancing around awkwardly as she tried to find her way around. As much as she felt like she was back in college herself, she couldn’t find it in her to care very much. Insider information with someone who was in the school during the attack?! It couldn’t be much better for a reporter like her(who was also very interested in discovering the various mysteries Hot Guy has to hide from the general public).
Pearl brushed her hair back as she glanced at the paper in her hand, telling her exactly where she was meant to meet Tango. She looked at the building in front of her, confirming that it was the correct building and grinned excitedly, hurrying into the room. She quickly found the office she was looking for and peered into the window. Her brows furrowed when she saw two people talking softly in the room.
Tango, who was obvious because of his fiery hair, sat in his office chair, facing his desk. On his desk sat another professor. They were talking, only just loud enough for her to hear their words.
“C’mon, Etho asked me to do the interview for her.” Tango was saying. He reached over and grabbed the other professor’s hand. “I’m fine.”
The other sighed, “Tango, I don’t want you to relive that moment so soon after it happened. It had to have been traumatic!”
“I’m fine.” He insisted with a grin. “I promise, if I wasn’t ready to talk about it, I wouldn’t have the interview. I don’t mind, really. It wasn’t that bad, really.”
The professor did not seem impressed. They leaned their head back on their shoulders, “You were dragged into a school that was taken over by some kind of spore creature and were attacked, I think-”
“Well, I wasn’t really attacked per se-” He was quickly silenced by a glare. He chuckled awkwardly, pulling their hands towards him for a moment, “Sweetheart,” Pearl’s eyes widened as she heard the pet name. Her brows furrowed. Sweetheart? Isn’t Tango, Etho’s boyfriend? Who is this other person? “It’s fine. I promise. If I wasn’t up for it, I wouldn’t do it. Come on, you have class soon and Pearl should be here soon. I’ll be fine.”
Pearl watched closely as they huffed and nodded. “Fine. Tell me if something happens, promise?” They leaned in, pressing a kiss against his forehead. Pearl gasped, moving away from the window in shock. Her eyes were wide. After a few seconds, she could hear footsteps coming closer to the door. She took a quick deep breath and walked down the corridor for a moment before turning around right as the door opened. She plastered a smile on her face (after all, reporters have to be professional at their first official interview) and walked towards the door again.
“I’ll see you after school, who’s place are we meeting at, again?” Tango asked as he leaned against the door.
The other professor hummed before shrugging, “I guess yours. If that works for you?” He nodded. His eyes glanced to the side and he grinned as he noticed Pearl. The professor’s eyes followed his and they smiled. “Oh, hi. You must be Pearl, yeah? I’m Y/N.”
She nodded, holding back her true emotions. So Tango is cheating on Etho?! That doesn’t sound like the Tango he talks about, but I guess even the ‘best’ people can be shallow. “Yeah, that’s me.” Her voice was professional, offering a miniscule smile.
Tango nodded, “Perfect, you’re right on time. I’m Tango.” He nodded towards his office. “We have about an hour and a half until my next class, so we have plenty of time.” She gave him a smile and a nod, no longer as excited about this interview (though… she was still excited, admittedly).
After Pearl and Tango finished their interview, she was thankful for the insider information she now had. In fact, she almost forgot about the situation before the interview until she got a text from Etho as she was leaving the school.
Etho
how was the interview?
Pearl
uhhh it was good
I do have some bad news for you tho
Etho
yeah?
what’s up?
Pearl
I’d rather tell you in person, are you free today???
Etho
uh sure yeah, when do you wanna meet up
Pearl quickly gave him a place to meet and a time. She met him there with time to spare. She looked over her notes from the interview and the recorded copy she had. Her mind was fighting over being a good reporter and remaining completely unopinionated, and being a good friend and being very upset that her friend was cheated on. She sighed, covering her face with her hands. It’s not like the cheating would be included in the interview, she reasoned. But, would it be okay to publish your best friend’s cheating boyfriend’s interview? What are the morals of this type of situation? Are there any?
A hand came in contact with her shoulder and she jumped, eyes darting to the side as her hands fell from her face. Her eyes narrowed, “Oh, haha.” She deadpanned as Etho laughed softly. He sat across from her and raised an eyebrow.
“You seemed distracted for someone who really wanted to tell me something.” He mused.
She hesitated, “Well, I was going over a kind-of moral dilemma.”
His head tilted slightly as he peered at her over the edge of his mask, “What morals? You went in for an interview and you came out with questions about morals?” He chuckled, “What did that man say to you?”
“He’s cheating on you?”
Etho paused, brows furrowing, “What?”
Pearl let out a deep breath that she didn’t realize she was holding. The words started flooding out, “I walked into the office, expecting him to be alone. But I stopped outside the window of his door and looked in and I saw this person sitting on his desk. You know how nosy I am, so I was listening! He called them ‘sweetheart’?? And they kissed his forehead! They were clearly close and clearly dating or something! Then- then! They decided on staying over at Tango’s house. Tonight!”
Etho was quiet for a moment, staring at her before he laughed. It was a louder laugh than she usually heard from him. “Why are you laughing? Are you crazy? He’s seeing someone else!”
“Come with me.” Is all he replied. He stood up, gesturing for her to follow him. Confused beyond belief (and questioning his own mental status), she followed him.
“Where are we going? Are you not going to say anything?”
“You’ll see. Be patient, Pearl.” He mused. Pearl sighed, realizing she wasn’t getting anything out of him anytime soon. The walk wasn’t very long. They arrived at an apartment complex. He pulled out his phone, sending a quick text. As he did, he nodded to the call box. “Press Apartment 304.” Pearl hesitated. She knew this was not Etho’s apartment. In fact, she didn’t think she knew anyone in this part of the city at all. When he noticed she didn’t move, he chuckled again, reaching over and hitting the button. Within a few moments, the buzzer made a different noise and the door unlocked. “C’mon.”
“Etho, where are we going?”
He glanced back at her as they climbed the stairs, “You haven’t put it together? And I thought you were a reporter.” He tsked. “We’re going to Tango’s place.”
Her eyes widened, “We’re confronting them?!”
“You could say that.”
Her heart beat with anxiety as the two climbed the final set of stairs. They approached the door with the number 304 on it. She kept glancing over at Etho. He didn’t seem nervous at all. She paused. He glanced back.
“Problem?”
“Yeah, what are you planning? What are you up to?” She accused, pointing at him. “You’re being awfully calm about this whole situation.”
He laughed, leaning over and knocking on the door. She blinked as the door opened, revealing Tango. “Hey, babe.” He said, leaning over with a grin, his eyes darted to the right and he laughed, “Hey, Pearl. Guess we got some explaining to do, yeah?”
Her brows furrowed, glancing between the two. She went to speak when a voice interrupted. “Etho! You’re here! Finally.” Her eyes blinked in confusion as the professor from the school came over, leaning over and wrapping Etho in a hug. He laughed as he hugged them awkwardly. “We’ve been waiting for hourssss.”
“It’s been twenty minutes.” He said, rolling his eyes and laughing. He gently pulled them back and gestured to the right where Pearl stood. “Sweetheart, this is Pearl. You remember her from earlier, right?”
They pulled back from Etho and glanced over, grinning, “Yeah! Of course! You look so pretty by the way, I totally forgot to mention it because I was running late.”
Pearl couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening. Her eyes darted from Tango to Y/N to Etho. “Okay, what is happening right now?”
Etho chuckled as his partner glanced at him, “I dunno, what is happening, Etho?” They questioned with a small, confused smile.
“Well, to answer both of your questions at the same time. I was invited to dinner with Pearl here because she had something important to tell me.” He nodded, almost gravely before laughing again. “She told me our dear Tango here was cheating on me.”
Tango fully burst out laughing, using the side of the door to support his weight as he practically heaved laughter. Their partner looked taken aback for a moment before they gasped, “Oh! Because of this morning! Oh, I’m so sorry!” They laughed. “No, no, no. We’re all dating. We’re in a poly relationship!” They clarified.
Pearl’s face relaxed slightly as she let out a breath, “Ohhh.” She murmured. “That’s why he wasn’t freaking out when I told him.”
“I thought you knew.” Etho said with a shrug. “Then you came telling me that and I was just so shocked. I mean, you’ve walked up on me and them on a date before.”
Pearl thought about before shaking her head, “I don’t think so, only you and Tango.”
His brows furrowed, “I’m pretty sure- Oh, right! They were in the changing room when you ran into us.” He explained with another chuckle. Pearl glanced over as said partner wrapped an arm around Tango’s waist. His grin seemed to brighten as he glanced over at them before refocusing. “I really did think you knew, though.”
“You never talk about them? Only ever Tango!”
“I rarely talk about Tango to begin with, Pearl. We’ve been dating for a year and a half and you learned I was dating him, what, a few months ago?” He scoffed, “I just don’t like talking all that much about my private life.”
Pearl nodded slowly, her brain piecing together the missing parts of the puzzle. “So, you three are all in a relationship together?” The trio nodded in unison.
“I would have said something when we met if I had known you didn’t know.” Y/N said, offering an awkward smile. “I would hate for you to think Tango would even be capable of thinking of cheating. Especially since you were interviewing him for something so serious.”
Tango groaned playfully, “Sweetheart, I’m tellin’ you! It was fine! Not a big deal.” They narrowed their eyes at him and he paused as they pulled out of his grip.
“I need to check the food, make sure it’s not overcooking!” They announced as they walked away. Tango had no hesitation to follow, talking about how it ‘wasn’t a big deal’ as they walked.
Etho glanced over at Pearl, “So?”
She hummed slowly, “So what?”
“What do you think? Y’know about me being poly?”
Her eyes moved to meet his and she looked slightly annoyed, “You don’t think I would think anything different than what I already do, do you? Cause this isn’t a change at all. All it tells me is that you have more people who care about you.” While he didn’t make a noise, she could tell his shoulders relaxed slightly. “Etho, I care about you. This wouldn’t really change much of anything. Promise. I’ll see you tomorrow. Go spend time with your… partners?”
He chuckled softly, nodding, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I’ll see ya.”