WELCOME to Hungry Hermits! Hungry Hermits is a multiplayer minigame, where the players receive customers to their restaurant with random requests of food.
Today, you help Zedaph and Tango beat day one. Don't screw it up!
You have 14 turns in total. During these turns, you must decide on your actions to satisfy all the customers. Each customer has limited patience: 4 turns. Be careful, some actions take 2 turns! Choose wisely so serve all the customers in time!
[NEW GAME]
Made by @itstaisstuff
Please let me know what you think after playing this<3
(Writing under the cut!) (@zedangoweek-2025) (it has been such a pleasure to participate in this event! Enjoy the final day.)
Tango's dark antennae twitch in his sleep, the tips brushing against Zedaph's cheek. Tickling the skin. Zed's nose scrunches in sleepy reaction and he shifts around, taking the bee with him as he rolls onto his back.
They are entangled together, laid down on a soft bed in Zedaph's ravine of this season. Tango's wings contentedly buzz ever so often, just a little bit, and he's constantly shifting around within Zed's embrace. Still fidgety with his eyes closed. Sometimes burying further into the sheep hybrid, sometimes curling around himself a bit more.
Zedaph's arms are wrapped around the other, holding him in a semi-tight, protective hold, his wooly legs tangled with Tango's thin, bee-ified ones. His breathing is soft and he takes in the almost-surprisingly-flowery scent of Tango's hair with every inhale he takes. It soothes him, both what he feels and what he smells.
The world goes on around them.
Maybe Pearl is awake, because being up at later hours has always been her thing. Or Mumbo, or Xisuma. Tango's factory is full of Teknicians, far away from them, the small robots happy to travel inside the large building and work in Tango's absence. The moon—a normal sized one—slowly travels across the sky, stars twinkling around it. Joel's and Impulse's cities shine so bright with their lights in the night, Doc's hourglass towers in the shopping district, sand falling, BDubs' glass waterfalls glisten and lure nighttime animals with their reflection.
The world turns, because it always is.
Tango is fast asleep, fluffy, dangerous stinger dormant and draped over them, his furs calm and safe with no gloves or boots, in Zed's presence. He isn't too cold in the stone walls and caves of Zedaph's ravine. Zedaph is enough to keep him warm, him and his wool and thick blankets.
Zedaph has no plan to wake any time soon either. His slightly curling horns press into the pillow his head lays on, and his ears flick every now and then, like the other's antennae, reacting with even small sounds. Tango is a weight against him, on top of him, beside him. It's comfortable, for them both. He knows.
They sleep, because the not-big moon is full and bright and safe. Because the world is allowing a gentle night to take place tonight. Because even all the games and redstone machines in Zed's ravine are quiet, all the hostile mobs far. Because the stars are looking over them, admiring their love and telling whoever looks up to see their sparkle of their compliments to the two. Because they can feel each other, the familiar skin and clothes and breaths and hybridities.
They rest, with each other, because it's right.
It is always right with these two. In all of their worlds, they are drawn to each other. They laugh together, they smile at each other, their hearts connect, their eyes meet. Even if they are different.
Even when Tango is a flaming thing. Even when Zed is a dark, brooding character. Even when Tango can fly and fiercely protect. Even when Zed is afraid for the other, or it's the other way around. Even when things are different than what is theirs.
So they sleep, on Hermitcraft Season 10—and maybe in many other places too. Minds not running for ideas, hearts and breaths in a slow, synchronized beat.
And when their eyes open the coming morning, at whatever time, and Zedaph's bright, violet-purple eyes meet Tango's warm, rose-red ones, they'll smile.
Because they know.
They know there isn't anything better than the comfort they have with each other. Nothing better than what they share.
And their days will continue, on and on and on and on. And maybe they'll meet again at night, each night, each and every night.
And maybe this very feeling, this kind of night, will repeat.
But for now, this Zedaph and Tango sleep. Warm in each other's presence, in this world, on this amazing server.
Today's prompt! Zedvancements! I'm sorta also kinda covering First Kiss (which I missed) here, but like. Eh. Isn't necessarily first.
There are all sorts of Zedvancement, from collecting animals to feats of courage or death defiance. Some require the uttermost stealth, some deep knowledge of the world and its laws, and all of them a deep capacity for spiralic thinking.
And, in a world of squares, thinking in spirals is extremely difficult.
Zedaph often falls into doing so, however, and today is no different. His list of Zedvancements left to complete is long, and yet it is a specific one that his randomiser dropped into his hand.
'/Receive a kiss from another hermit/'
There are so many possibilities. All he would have to do is ask xB or Keralis, and they would giggle and blow him one. Pearl would most likely kiss his cheek if he wanted, and Scar would easily trade one away for help pranking Doc.
Doc would be a funny option, though Zedaph would surely have to present him with a truly amazing prize.
But, no, if Zedaph is getting a kiss, he wants a proper one. Not a reward or blown or a cheek. It needs to be to his lips, and it needs to be with intent. Still, he refuses to trick anyone, which means...
The terms of the Zedvancement would accept any of the above. But Zedaph... Sometimes, just sometimes, he likes to add his own rules.
Which means, of course, that there is only one option.
------
Three days of plotting and three hours of preparation finds Zedaph in the foyer of the Deepfrost Citadel. He has cleaned the neglected place up, and finished off the floor on Tango's behalf. He is dressed in the shortest of his maid dresses, lounging on two squares of carpet - one pink, one yellow - with a rose (dethorned after the first attempt at this) between his teeth. It is freezing here, and yet he persists, quickly typing a message for Tango on his communicator.
It does not matter where, exactly, Zedaph summons him - from Decked Out to anywhere will involve passing Zedaph, laid out and dolled up like a very moreish dessert in the middle of his foyer.
Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass. This is not unexpected, and Zedaph has a goal in mind.
Another five, another ten...
His communicator pips, and he ignores it.
Two minutes later there is the swish of rockets, and a clatter as Tango bursts onto the scene.
Then stops.
Freezes.
"What?!" Tango's voice goes delightfully squeaky and shrill as laughter creeps into it. "Zed?! What are you doing!?"
"Zedvancement things," Zedaph tries to talk around the rose, only to end up spitting it onto the floor. Hm. Terrible thing. "Also known as, seducing you."
"What are you even wearing?!" Tango continues on, seemingly not having processed that yet. "Zed, you must be freezing your nipples off!"
"Eh, a worthy sacrifice," it isn't /that/ cold. Maybe if he was a strider, as Tango had first mistaken him for, but no, he's just a very fluffy reddish-pink sheep. "So? Is it working?"
"Is what working?!" Tango's voice has yet to come down. "I feel cold just looking at you!"
Zedaph waits, staring at him.
"Wait, you said-" finally it clicks, and Tango's eyes go wide, "oh. Oh! I get it now!"
Zedaph waggles his eyebrows, and Tango erupts into another round of baffled giggling.
Tango drops to his knees and, still giggling, leans forward and pecks Zedaph on the lips.
"Congratulations!" Zedaph calls, as soon as Tango pulls away. "Your prize, good sir!"
He sits up, shakes out numb limbs, and pulls a trophy from a shulker hidden beneath the carpets. It is labelled '/Kiss Zedaph/', the match to his own '/kiss a hermit/'.
"Aww," Tango says, voice leveling but still full of giggles as he takes it. "And here I thought all this was for little old me."
"Well," Zedaph blinks as he also pulls out his A.S.S. issue jacket, pulling it over slightly shivery limbs. "I /did/ ask Beef if I could redeem a favour he owes me. Dinner for two in, ooo, about half an hour?"
"For real?!" The squeak is back. "And, not a Zedvancememt this time?!"
"Nope!" Zedaph grins. "Just you, me, actually cooked food, and maybe somewhere in this box I can find a candle. Just for you."
"Alright, um, let me get dressed, are we both wearing dresses, or...?"
"I have the rest of my uniform, if you want to match?"
That causes another burst of giggles, and Tango runs off to change.
Its that time of the year when they go around the server with invis scaring everyone for Halloween, except im practicing at writing
fic under the cut!
The plan was simple: scare as many hermits as possible in the most classic, never-aging way.
Inventory was not required much: old battered sheets, a few fresh potions of invisibility, Halloween mood, faithful partner, innocent victims…
There was more than enough time: one evening. One whole hour just to scare the hell out of them all, if each takes four invisibility potions, Zedaph insists. You will break them along the way anyway, Tango replied. Stop writing on my list, Zedaph continued, scratching over Tango's notes in his plan.
Step one: find those old sheets. Once upon a time, they seem to have been white… One of them flew away when drying and caught on prickly branches, remaining perforated; the second was bitten by some mouse back in the fifth season (no one warned Zed that there were rats in the Hermitcraft caves! How does he know?! And it doesn't matter that the rats were his own lab subjects).
Step two: try to find two holes previously specially cut forthe eyes. Unfortunately, this is always the most difficult process. Sometimes there are more than four corners in these sheets, sometimes more than two holes, and sometimes they seem endless at all. Perhaps they need to get and check them more often than once a year.
Step three: listen to Tango's complains. Why should they even dress in this stupid outfit if they will be invisible? Zed can usually skip this step if the previous step takes less than ten minutes. Otherwise, he has to wait until Tango himself remembers that it was his own idea.
Step four: finally put on the sheets and fit under them not only yourself, but also everything you need.
Step five: get out under the sheets because Tango forgot the milk. YOU are getting the milk, insists Tango, whose words were crossed out again as unimportant.
Step six: find the first victim. Usually it is one of the neighbors who are busy with their construction. Too concentrated to notice the quiet chuckles and oddly moving shadows.
Step seven: drink a potion. Find out that one of the bubbles cracked during an unsuccessful hit, leaving a stain on the sheet, listen to this proud "as I said," take a new glass bubble, endure a sour taste that one cannot taste so often, and carefully remove the glass from the incident with the previously broken vessel, so as not to leave behind absolutely no traces.
Step eight: improvisation. Find any ways to interfere with the hermit, using everything that they picked up from their bases. This point was never any problems.
Step nine: When the hermit notices the mess, act naturally. There is no one here. Make them believe that they have lost their minds and are seeing hallucinations.
Step ten: when everything looks bad, it's time to get ready to scare the hermits by getting closer to them, drink milk and -
Milk.
Zedaph scours his pockets. Right. Milk. Tango asked him to take the milk. Oh no. He forgot to take the milk. Oh, they are so screwed.
Zed looks around, as if expecting to see Tango, who probably stood somewhere in radius of two steps - but from which side? There wasn't much time to think. There was Ren standing right there, trying to find his unwanted guests, yelling something about about them regretting it after. With his hands unsteady, Zed tries to grope Tango, hoping he will find a friend faster than Ren.
Ren hears a rustle against the wall, and in the blink of an eye is there, waving his sharp sword, screaming threats, trying not to look scared at all! But brown ears pressed to his head betray his complete faith in the ghosts that came hunting for his soul…
Zed can barely contain his scream when his hand gets caught on something. Of course, as he turns around there is only emptiness ahead. And the voice, very close, is so quiet and barely restraining laughter:
«Where's the stupid milk?»
Zed opens his mouth uncertainly, but immediately shuts it when Ren once again draws attention in their direction. Okay. He will just make excuses. «Yeah, i wanted to ask the same, where is it, Tango?» Zed mutters, grabbing Tango by what appears to be his wrist, and runs with him farther from Ren, from his unfinished base, from the sword blade glistening beneath the moon. And Tango runs, barely catching up and giggling quietly every time they accidentally collide, stumble, bump into each other. And Zed does not giggle, no, he almost dies trying not to make much noise, his cheeks hurt from an irrepressible smile, and his heart accelerates from adrenaline.
«Oh goodness me!» «shh, shuh- shut up, he's- he's gonna-» Tango tries to shut him up when they stop for some trees, taking a break and hoping to catch their breath after a short catch-up.
«So? Got something you wanna say, sir milk forgetter?» Tango asks, breaking off a small piece of bark on the sidelines from where Zed's breath last came - misses. «Where even are you??»
Zed freezes in place, awkwardly hiding his hands in his pockets, kicking a piece of his sheet. «Actually, YOU were supposed to get milk! Not my fault you can't read the list!»
«Oh, i can read alright-!» Tango reaches for Zed to slap on his head, but misses again. He moves faster than Tango can hear it, and it's very disorienting. Stupid invisibility.
Tango lets out a very grown-up scream, when something, no, someone touches, pinching his shoulder . And he still laughs, so sincerely and loudly. «I dunno, can you?» While Zed deftly tries to avoid any touch, Tango stands still, making himself an easy target. What a classic. Zed takes this opportunity, grabbing the sheet. The grip is strong, he did not miss. With one quick "Voila!" Zed removes the sheet from Tango. Not that anything has changed, really.
«HEY! GIVE THAT BACK, YOU UNGHOSTIFICATOR!» Tango screams as he tries to move away, catch Zed, but misses. Again.
And it feels so easy, so tickly by every stupid awkward touch. The air seemed to be saturated with their laughter, as if warming up, preventing them from freezing on a cool autumn night.
Tango waves his arms, finally finding Zed, and is not going to let go, only not until he sees him face to face. Intuitively finding something resembling the shape of a head, Tango begins trying to understand which way he is looking.
«Hey now! Not so close! OW THAT'S MY EYE! ouchie!» Zed dramatizes, of course, and both are well aware of it. «owowow… OW! AND THAT WAS MY EYE GET YOUR STUPID FINGERS OUT OF MY FACE!» And this time Tango really did pitch him in the eye.
«Oops! Sorry!» Tango chuckles innocently. He grabs the sheet from Zed's shoulders, and with one movement swipes it away.
Zedaph stumbles, squealing, grabbing Tango again. And there are only two thoughts in his smart brain: when will this stupidly annoying invisibility end without milk, and when will he see this stupid smile playing in those dreamy red eyes, directed somewhere towards the new victim.
Tango helps Zed get up, holding his shoulders with two hands. Immediately stretches to correct his hair, probably disheveled after the cover.
Zed tilts his head with a squeak in the direction where Tango's hand rises along the neck, tickling, unexpected, and very, very exciting.
«How much is left anyway? this invis feels like eternity!»
«Significantly less, actually!» Zed replies, still struggling to try to evade his hand, so determined to disarray his hair, jokingly pushing Tango away.
And then, Zed feels these persistent fingers accidentally catch on his lips, on his cheek, behind his ear, and finally in his hair. With a quiet sigh ofdefeat, Zed finally stops fighting and leans forward. Of course, he does not miss againg, but falls right on Tango's shoulder.
«Do you think Ren knows it was us?» Zed finally asks with a grin, allowing Tango to play with his fluffy golden hair, feeling the touches closer and closer to his face, this time on purpose.
«Oh, absolutely. Who else would be doing that? I just hope he's not gonna go around telling everyone about it. I wanna sneak on Cub later!» Tango immediately responds, impatiently returning to their plan. «How did you even forget the milk?»
Tango does not negotiate simply wanting to see this happy face of Zed, feeling him relax as Tango holds his rounded face in his palms.
«I dunno! I told YOU to get it! And then-»
«And then i told YOU to get it because i don't have any cows!»
«I know, i know, I'm sorry! We're gonna go back anyway, right? We'll get some! I»
Tango wants to see this exhausted, sincerely guilty face, purely out of his own pride, to see that he is right. Yep, just for that.
All the wining disappears when Zed's lip contour is gently circled by careful fingers. And then even the cool autumn wind is not so noticeable when Zed, quietly sighing, leans closer, removing Tango's palm from his face and intertwined their fingers. Of course, Tango takes the opportunity.
This kiss was short enough for Zed to want to try more, but long enough for the invisibility effect to finally end. When Zedaph opens his eyes, and finally, after 15 minutes(which stretched like 15 hours) he sees Tango, he feels this funny buzzing sensation in his chest.
Zed's sheet on the grass, Tango's sheet on his shoulders, and Ren, still wandering through the forest in search of two hermites who decided to prank him. What a good scenario for the first kiss. Its a good thing they didn't stick to the original plan.
«Hmm. That's funny.»
«What's funny?»
«It tastes even more spicy now, from your lips. Interesting.»
«What, the potion?» Tango smirks, careful not to show how cringed he is to say his next words. But the need to joke is always quicker than thinking about the consequences: «Maybe that's just how I taste?»
«Hmm, maybe! Hold on, i need to taste you again.»
«Hey, you already did, what could possibly change?» Tango quickly asks with a laugh, and Zed gives him a disappointed look, as if praying to somehow react to his pathetic attempts at flirting in the moment. Tango can't help rolling his eyes. «…okay. Sure. Taste as much as you want. Go on.»
And Zed tried. More, more, and more.
Perhaps this was the most disastrous plan to scare anyone. Perhaps, it needs some new steps for the next year.
"Okay," Tango says when they're done with arranging the burners into the neat stashes, ready to be carried over to the each one's project landmarks. "What was that about?"
"What was what about?" Zedaph looks over to him, not quite turning around.
He's somewhat of a mess, his face sweaty and hair all wild from both the heat and the hard work. Tango can't say if it makes the absolute innocence in his voice ring better or worse. He stalls for maybe half a second longer, and in that time a rush of wind comes through, the angle of sunlight shifts just a little - and highlights his skin in the way that makes Zed's half-smirk pop off more.
...Definitely worse.
"Don't give me that!" Tango plays up the indignation, setting his hands to his sides. He hopes his face reflects the emotion he's trying to show, and not the - the whatever it usually reflects. "You totally tried to put me in that burner. Didn't you think I'd notice?"
The first one they'd got out, back during their Nether trip. Zed was tasked with carrying it, held it out in his hands - and played it off like dropping it, just as Tango was listing the containment properties. Wouldn't be a biggie if he did drop one, it's not like any of them got proper reflexes or dignity about it. Except for the fact that Tango could clearly hear the catching mechanism trying to work its job.
"Nope. Still no idea what you're talking about," Zedaph insists, laughter in his eyes.
Tango puffs up a little, getting himself more alight on purpose. "Hey, don't try to talk your way out of this! I saw it. You - you were trying to blazificate me! With the burner thing! Like a blaze!"
(Very eloquent, Tango. Good job.)
Zed does turn his body around, leaning on the stash of burners - for extra leisure effect, probably. The blazes inside grumble something that Tango can't decipher, but don't make their opinion more known. "Okay, so maybe I did," he says.
"Maybe? You totally just did that!"
"Okay, so maybe I totally did that," Zedaph laughs. It's a soft and blunt sound, one that makes Tango's temp ramp up even on the worst days.
But he's not getting off this easily.
"Well, you're a jerkface!" Tango crosses his arms on his chest instead and puts on his best offended face. "Do you think it's funny or what?"
Zed shrugs, completely not bothered by his facade. "Well you were talking about how to swing this thing at the blazes. And you're a blaze, and you were right there!" He gestures like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
He's only half of a blaze by the best estimation, but Tango decides to skip this detail. "So what, you think that's a good reason to put me in that cage?"
"It's a good cage!" Zed's voice jumps up with laughter. "You said yourself it's comfy!"
"Still a cage! I bet you were going to try and heatificate with me, too?"
Zed's eyes crinkle and - yeah, he totally would. "And what if I did? Maybe I think you're hot enough for the burner!"
Ah - gotcha!
Tango uncrosses his arms, leaning forward a little bit. "Hey, what was the last thing there? Can you repeat it?"
He can see Zed stagger a little, roll back his words in his head. "I said, I think you can make enough heat for -"
"That is not what you said, Zed," Tango leans forward a bit more, letting himself smirk.
It's a known fact Zedaph is rarely flustered. Makes it even more adorable when he tries to pretend he's not.
"So you think I'm hot enough," Tango continues, filling the pause, not giving Zed time to come up with the retort. "And that's the reason to put me in the burner. Is that a sex thing?" He loves the way Zed's mouth twitches almost like he's holding back a smile but not quite, the way his eyes start wandering around, intentionally missing Tango. He could even point out something like the blush spreading, but that one's probably just the heat residual. "Do you have a dream of stuffing me in a cage and making out with me? Or something else I should know about?"
He moves closer as he speaks, each sentence following another step. Zed pulls his hands away, trying to sneakily fidget with the hem of his vest. Tango holds out a pointed pause, almost not minding how his own fire sputters and then roars hot from the closeness.
At least this time he's not the only one getting the spotlight about it.
He makes another step forward, and Zedaph finally stops fidgeting, looks him in the eye. His pupils are blown wide. Tango can see every drop of sweat glistening on his cheeks and forehead. "The thing you should know about," Zed says, his voice gone breathy, "is how unfairly pretty you are when you're confident like this."
Tango isn't sure who starts the kiss.
The only thing he knows is that the next moment his lips is on Zed's, and Zed's hands are on him, one in his hair and the other clutching his good shoulder, and Tango's own hand is cradling Zed's face in the way that makes kissing him easier, and his lips are salty and his mouth is warm and wet and Tango could totally heat the entire steam engine with the fire in his body. They both breathe into the kiss, stealing each other's overheated air; hair sticks to their faces like after a shower, but Tango doesn't have the ability to mind. For a brief moment, there's an indignant grumble behind them, and Tango gives the burner blazes a finger with his free hand, lighting up some flickers on it for an extra effect.
It takes ages before they break the kiss, and even then neither of them pulls away, foreheads bumped together, still breathing into the same space. Tango watches Zed's eyes, feels Zed's pulse under his hand, and feels both sated and hungry at the same time.
It's a feeling he'd forgotten for a while, pushed away behind the excitement of new ideas and big projects, but void help him if that's not something he wants everyday, all the time, without a break.
Then Zed mutters, still barely half a breath in his voice. "But I like your plan about stuffing you into the cage and making out. We gotta test if that's anything."
"Hey come on, you jerk!" Tango swats him away, and Zed ducks away from the next mock-swing and starts laughing, and Tango starts laughing too, and it's the easiest thing in the world to be in this moment.
Tango grunts as he drops a box down in the centre of their ("their". Because it's not just his new place, he's sharing, with a boyfriend! Oh god he sounds ridiculous. He's in his what, thirty-somethings? Acting like he wasn't sharing an apartment with the other for years before anyway. The only difference is the label on their relationship, really) new kitchen. Something rattles in it and he hopes it isn't anything breakable.
He doesn't think Zedaph is too fond of broken plates or bent spoons. Unless something has changed recently that he should know about. And they'd be kind of useless like that, huh? Unless one of them spontaneously decides to take up glass art or magic. Wow, those would be hobbies.
Tango should look up a glass related class, because honestly, how cool would that be?
While Tango stands there contemplating on whether he should open the cardboard box now and check its contents among packing peanuts, as well as whether money would be well spent on artsy glass classes, footsteps approach. He turns his head and is met with his boyfriend taking exaggerated steps towards him. Tango meets the other's eyes and snorts.
"Hey Zed. Whatcha doing there?" he says, fully turning and leaning against the stack of boxes behind him. They give a bit, but ultimately hold his weight.
"Oh," Zedaph scoffs. He stops in front of Tango and straightens up, putting on an innocent face. "Just thought I could come help you unpack the kitchen! Look at this place! It's so empty in here. Where are my magnets? The refrigerator looks so sad."
Tango watches his boyfriend (boyfriend! Okay, he needs to stop) quickly stop by the small table they brought over two days prior, along with the rest of their major furniture (that was a pain to set up) over the course of yesterday and the day before, and set down a bottle of water—ah, so that's what he was planning—before he opens up a smaller box and rummages through it.
Zed shouts—jeez, this guy, he just loves to be loud for no reason, huh?—out, "Tango! Where are my magnets?!"
"I don't know Zed, you packed them!"
"No I didn't! After Gem helped us get a refrigerator and bought magnets with me, you put them in a box," Zed huffs.
Tango steps up beside his boyfriend and rolls his eyes as hard as he can to ensure the other understands the message. He grabs a handful of pale, lavender packing peanuts and throws them in Zedaph's face, making the other sputter. "I didn't!" Tango hums, "No memory up here!"
Zedaph pouts and shoves at Tango's shoulder, pulling a giggle from the man. He takes the box Zedaph was sifting through and brings it to the counter by the stove. Tango carefully over turns it, letting the purple peanuts fall across the table. He pushes the soft things aside until he finds a little pink squiggle that feels metal. Tango asks, "Is this one?"
Zed's footsteps quickly pad toward him, ending with the man resting a hand on Tango's waist casually and leaning over his shoulder to see. Tango's shoulders ease at the gentle touch. Zedaph gasps and exclaims, "Yes! That's Willy. The others must be in there too. Help me find them, Tango!"
"Willy?" Tango echoes, mirth crinkling his eyes.
"Willy," Zed agrees, "now, look for Frank next."
"There's a Frank too?"
"No, silly. Why would a magnet be named Frank, Tango, come on."
Tango grumbles and pushes his boyfriend off of him, walking to another box in the stack. He figures they'll knock out the entire kitchen since they're already here.
He finds a bunch of spoons kept together by a fraying, green rubber band in the mass amount of packing peanuts. Seriously, why did they shove so many in each box? Tango isn't that worried about things moving around. He supposes that Zed and him can have fun with them later.
"Hey!" Speaking of, Zed shouts, "You're supposed to be helping find my magnets, sir."
"I'm not looking for your stupid, named magnets! They'll all be in there—probably—you can do it by yourself. Like a big boy, Zed," Tango scoffs, crossing the kitchen to open cabinet drawers. They put a utensil mat in somewhere already right?
"What if I'm a small boy? A very, very small boy who needs Tango's help to find his precious magnets?"
Tango hums—ah, there's the mat he was looking for. He carefully unties the spoons and lets them clatter into one of the separated sections, he adjusts them to stand up i the space. Then, reluctantly, Tango turns around again to find Zed staring at him with big eyes and, hilariously enough, crouching, with what must be an awkward bend to his legs, to make him a head shorter than Tango.
Tango laughs at him.
He stretches the rubber band in his hands and walks back to the stack of boxes, around the counter and closer to the other. Tango keeps a small distance, peering into the mess of peanuts and Willy the magnet and another circular one that Zedaph must have found.
He says, "Come on, you just have to wave your hand in the peanuts until you hit something hard."
Zedaph chuckles and his face forms into a delighted grin. He doesn't say anything else, leaving Tango to figure out just what the other has on his mind.
Which... never means his boyfriend is thinking of something family friendly.
Tango sighs heavily and leans against the counter. Zedaph's laughs get louder behind him and he mutters, "Zed-aph..."
"Oh, yes, Tango?" His boyfriend hums. He comes up behind Tango and wraps his arms around the other's waist.
"You bring out the worst in me!"
"I don't think you need my help to be bad, Tango. You're pretty good at it by yourself—"
"Shut up!"
Tango laughs, turning around in Zed's arms. He looks into the other's happy gaze and sighs again, this time more fond than anything else. Tango reaches up to cup Zedaph's cheek and give him a quick peck on the lips. "Come on, we have so much to unpack."
They dig through the packing peanuts together and find the rest of Zed's magnets, along with a picture with their friends. It had Gem, Impulse, Skizz, BDubs, Etho and themselves—the picture taken in the latter two's house by Pearl a couple years ago. It goes on the fridge, framed by magnets.
Tango drags Zedaph into unpacking the rest of the kitchen after the fridge has reached its best look. The spoons, forks and butter knives all go in the utensil mat that Zedaph has clung to since college. New pans and pots gifted from Skizz in a cabinet together, old big spoons and spatulas near their utensils.
Tango's frog shaped salt and pepper shakers that he stole from Etho years ago get put in a cabinet with Zedaph's array of mugs. The kettle gets placed right on the stove (much to Tango's disagreement, but really, how can he say no to his boyfriend?) and Tango plugs in a coffee maker beside it.
Zedaph hangs pink and yellow, fluffy hand towels on the oven handle.
Tango hangs a calendar with pictures of dogs near the kitchen door frame.
Soap is put by the sink, along with sponges. Plates and bowls and drinking cups above the sink. They put away the measuring bowl that has seen many mornings and nights and noons of pancake making with them. They place a table centrepiece in the shape of a small, coppery robot that Pearl's brother made with Tango.
Tango finds that there are so many connections among the little objects—even if they're secret, only known by Zed and him as to why they mean something. Gifts, memories, ideas. He looks to the calendar he hung and stares at the date.
It's only May. There's a lot of the year remaining ahead of them in this new house.
More days they can spend coming home to each other and kisses. Hours to be spent in this very kitchen trying (and failing, let's be honest, none of them are exceptional cooks) to make dinner together.
Early morning minutes in the bedroom they're yet to unpack, the one with a mattress big enough for the both of them to use.
Sick days and movie nights to spend curled up with each other on their couch, in front of a new TV, surrounded by Zed's fluffy blankets.
Bad nights handled together in the bathroom, because it's always so, so much worse alone.
A spare room that they can do whatever they want with. An extra space for when Gem or Skizz barges in. A workshop for both of their technological and mechanical hobbies. An office, or a computer set up.
A full house that's theirs, all Tango's and Zedaph's. A full future together.
Tango checks the time as he sits at the small table with Zed, in the kitchen that is now home to only empty and folded up cardboard boxes, and a huge collection of lavender packing peanuts. His phone tells him it's now noon.
His stomach tells him it agrees with the clock.
"Hey Zed, you feeling hungry?" Tango asks his boyfriend, turning off his phone's screen.
"Hungry? I've been hungry since we unpacked the crepe maker," Zedaph sighs, raising his head to look up and chuckle at the other.
Tango glances around the room, his eye catching on a bowl that was placed carefully on a shelf next to a whisk (very unconventionally, but come on, he can't separate them!). He looks back to Zed and grins.
Create Day! I could have written another game. I considered one of their many co-op games like the time travel one where they got their souls stolen, or the detectives, or something. But, Create Series I love you, and in this case! What is listed on Zedaph's channel as Create Season 2! The one with not just Zedaph and Tango, but also Bdubs and Keralis and Scar! I have far too much worldbuilding about this series in my head, especially for something I never wrote before. I've shoved some of it in the front end before the guys meet up, but ask me sometime if you want the chart I guess.
Less but still excessive rambling today, no content warnings I can think of, have fun!
It is not a long flight to The Cube, but Tango still opts to take the train. While neither he nor Zedaph are technically responsible for them - that remains firmly within Keralis' responsibilities - it is always good to check that they are up to speed.
As the primary investor in this place, anything that breaks is, ultimately, Tango's responsibility.
And, perhaps more importantly, today's trip is about pleasure, not business! Zedaph's inventions are fast, useful, beautiful, and amazing. Tango had just also crash landed one too many times, and in a river at that. As much fun as snuggling in bed might be, Tango does actually want to spend time with his favourite first.
So, the train! The train, driven by a sheep, that Tango hops off just before it enters the station. Zedaph's station is... pretty, but Tango would rather not have to deal with his interpretation of an elevator again. It is a shame that deciding to clamber up the mountain means missing any progress on the flat-tory, but then if any has been made Zedaph will definitely want to show it off anyway.
Or maybe he'll be showing off the vats of infinite liquids. Tango has not quite understood what he means by that just yet, but that's fine; some rich families sponsor the arts, and others sponsor brilliant and eccentric scientists to break the walls of reality. If the scientist, as eccentric as he is brilliant, also happens to be Tango's lover, well, that is merely a bonus.
"Hey Zed!" He calls, as he finally makes it up the hill. "What're we doing today?"
He cannot see his favourite just yet, but knows he will soon; he is answered by the bang of a skadoodler, and graceful movement of Zedaph's ornithopter wings folding away in the same movement that he lands.
"Tango!" Zedaph leaps at Tango, who does not hesitate to catch him in his arms and spin. "I didn't know you were visiting today!"
"It's Thursday!" Tango laughs. "I always visit on Thursdays!"
"Is it?!" Zedaph pulls back, scrambling in his bag and pockets until he finds his diary. He skims over the pages, and then "I only have until Monday ticked off here."
"Well," Tango shrugs, hiding any concern in laughter. "It's definitely Thursday. Some of us have to maintain a schedule, you know!"
"Because the factory, right, how is the honey apple device doing?"
"Well enough I have some with the picnic."
"Picnic?"
"Of course! I wasn't going to leave you hungry. But..." Tango glances up, where smog meets rain clouds. "We might want to eat inside. It looks like it might rain soon."
"That's fine, I have things to show anyway! You know how you were showing off your blaze boilers? Well I thought, you know, given I was experimenting with infinite fluid tech anyway, I might as well give them a try. If I've already got infinite lava - piping hot, and no I can't swim in it, but there's only glass between it and the infinite water if you really want both a dip and to see me in a bathing suit - so! I can feed the blazes just fine. I did try cakes, but i really don't need that much power, and the little guys looked so sad, and-" Zedaph pauses, entwines his fingers with the brass ones of Tango's left hand, and drags him towards The Cube. "I'll just show you. Leave the picnic in the cube, and I'll show you. Finally moved the grinder to the flat-tory, so we reeeally don't want to eat down there now."
Tango hums in agreement, happily following his excited friend around. The two tend to take it in turns, listening to whatever the other is thinking about. Today he is visiting Zedaph, and so listening to him. On whichever day Zedaph mistakes for Sunday he will visit instead, and then Tango will show off everything that he has been working on.
"I would have thought you'd like the blaze cakes," Tango replies. "You always say you like my cooking."
"Caught!" Zedaph laughs, as he helps Tango up the jumpificator and inside. "I went to all the effort of making eight boilers just so I could eat the cakes myself."
Tango... does not doubt that Zedaph ate one or two, but there is no way his stomach allowed for an entire production line's worth.
"And you didn't save any for me?" He teases instead.
Zedaph waves a hand, "there's one leftover somewhere. Really, though, the lava was more than enough, and I didn't fancy trying to automate them. Automated baking just doesn't work right, and I've better things to do."
"Like...?" Tango suggests.
"This!"
Zedaph bounces up on his toes, kissing Tango's cheek. He has pulled away before Tango can grab him closer, still holding his hand, now pulling him down the rickety walkway and to the flat-tory beneath the Cube.
"So, what's new?" Tango asks, glancing at the contraptions and trying to remember what has changed.
Zedaph claps his hands. "I'm so glad you asked! If you see here-"
And soon enough they are both crawling around behind the panels, tool boxes and each other in hand.
Zedango Week 2025 @zedangoweek-2025 - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
