All i can think about is Tango falling asleep at the most random moment because of his habit of overworking and staying up late and Jimmy trying to stay as quiet as he can to not wake him up so Tango can finally get some sleep T-T
And If the creator ever sees this please never stop posting about this au I truly adore it with all my heart 🙏
for request: a wing preening fic perhaps?? can be with literally anyone, i just want/need more wing preening fics
This is kinda a wing preening fic, featuring Jimmy and Tango from @hybbart 's RAau!
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Sometimes it felt like Jimmy was drowning.
Even though he was on dry land, his lungs just couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. How frustrating it was to be unable to breathe, even with the nasal cannula in. Jimmy hated days like this, when even getting out of bed put him out of breath. He felt so useless. There were so many things he should be doing, someone had to take care of the animals! He couldn't lie in bed all day!
Jimmy shook his head, trying not to let the bad thoughts overwhelm him. He so easily started to spiral into negatively when he didn't feel well. It was just so difficult to be positive. Especially when even worse thoughts started to creep in. Like what if something happened to Tango…
"Jimmy!" Speaking of Tango, the man entered their bedroom. "Feeling any better?"
"I'm okay." Jimmy smiled at him, gathering all his strength to sit up. He knew he shouldn't push himself, that would only lead to more bad days, but he also didn't want to worry Tango, either.
"Good." Tango smiled at him. What a wonderful smile he had. Somehow, it always reassured Jimmy. "I was thinking, it's been awhile since I last checked your feathers for any sculk. I know you aren't feeling your best, but you'll be doing a lot worse if you get infected."
"Right you are." Jimmy's feathers still hadn't fully recovered from when Tango had to cut the sculk out. Not being able to fly, even a little, made Jimmy feel even worse.
Jimmy sat up as well as he could, facing his back towards Tango. There weren't many people he would trust near his wings, Tango just happened to be one of those few. For an avian, their wings are everything. It was a huge show of trust to have anyone touch them.
"Okay. I'll just look real quick. If I see anything, we'll go outside to deal with it." Tango patted Jimmy on the shoulder as he sat down behind him.
Jimmy nodded, hoping it wouldn't come to that. Tango slid his fingers between his much shorter than usual feathers, examining them. His hands were dexterous, even the mechanical one. He was always working with his hands, so that was probably to be expected. His fingers moved through his feathers, working not only to check for sculk, but to straighten them out as well. He could even feel Tango pulling out a few loose feathers. Jimmy hadn't really been able to preen lately, maybe Tango had wanted to help him?
Tango was always helping him. Jimmy owed him so much. If Tango hadn't found him down in those mines all that time ago, would Jimmy even still be alive? He doubted it. Tango was the best, always thinking of Jimmy and doing everything for him. And what did Jimmy do in return? Lay in bed all day because he couldn't even breathe? How useless could one person be?
Jimmy felt tears stinging his eyes, but he tried to do his best not to cry. He felt so stupid, he wished his body was stronger and he could just breathe like a normal person.
"Are you okay Jimmy?" Tango stopped his hands. "Did I hurt you?"
"Er. I'm fine." Jimmy turned back to him, giving his best impression of a smile. "Sorry, I guess I'm not feeling that great."
"Well, I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Why don't you get some rest." Tango put his hands into his lap.
"Yeah." Jimmy turned back towards Tango. Tango had an almost sad look in his eyes. Jimmy had ended up worrying him, hadn't he?
As much as Jimmy didn't want to worry Tango, he was grateful he had someone that worried about him. He had been letting the negative thoughts take hold again. He should be happy he had someone who cared this much about him. And it wasn't like Tango didn't have bad days either. They took care of each other. They worried about each other. They had each other. It might not be forever, there were no forevers in a world like this, but Jimmy was going to be happy with each day he got to spend with Tango.
Jimmy leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Tango's, looking into his eyes. "Thank you. I'll rest up so I'm ready to go tomorrow."
Tango chuckled, pressing a hand to Jimmy's cheek. "Good. I'll check in on you later."
Tango left the room as Jimmy settled back into bed, now with a smile on his face.
