Chapter Text
Jimmy flew high above the city, scanning for any remaining fires. His fight with Firebug had ended like it usually did, with him escaping into the streets after leaving Jimmy in a cloud of smoke that left him coughing and temporarily blind. Jimmy had dealt with all civilians caught in the fires before taking to the skies in the hopes of catching any hint of fire or anything that could lead him back to the villain. Like always though, the villain had escaped thoroughly, and he seemed done for the night. Jimmy sighed before dive bombing back towards his home. He hovered high above his home, taking out a spyglass to check if anyone might see him returning home, before quickly flying through the window he’d left open before starting work. He shut the window and closed the curtains before changing out of his costume. He threw it on the ground to take a shower. I’ll deal with the costume later. It’s not like anyone can come in without me opening the door for them. He towelled off and changed into clean clothes and put away his costume. He tended to just keep it in a shoebox hidden behind a bookcase. Not one of those fancy redstone bookcases that moved when you took out the right book. No, he had just pushed his bookcase away from the wall a bit to “Keep it flush with the other bookcase and his closet”. While it did look better like that, it also left a nice spot to hide things. It wasn’t too difficult to get at his costume, as he’d tied a string to the shoebox and he left a little bit of the tail poking out, tied to the foot of his bed. When he needed to get at the box, he just stood on his bed, untied the rope and pulled up. While the bookshelf was quite full, Jimmy didn’t actually read the books often. It was mostly decorative, with a few very well loved books on the shelf that he actually read.
Jimmy sat at the dinner table, writing out the report on his fight with Firebug, sighing as he wrote the very familiar words out again.
Firebug not apprehended. Old warehouse on Akaster street set on fire. Fire department arrived on scene at 5:42, 8 minutes after fire was reported. No casualties.
Jimmy sighed, before putting the report in the folder with the rest of this week’s and heading to throw himself at his sofa to relax.
Just as jimmy laid down on his sofa, his phone buzzed and he was forced to get up to get his phone and read the message.
🕶️ Bad boys 🕶️
Joel: Hey! How do you feel about game night next Friday at my place?
Jimmy: That sounds great!
Grian: I’ll be there.
Joel: Cool! See you guys then!
Jimmy sighed, throwing his phone at the sofa before laying back down. It took a while to settle in, fidgeting and shifting pillows and cushions to support his head. Just as he settled in again, he got another notification, and had to reach down to get his phone.
Tango: Hey! It’s been a while since we last talked
Tango: like, a year since we last talked.
Tango: Wanna get lunch together tomorrow?
Jimmy: Sure! Meet at Bread Bridge Bakery at 12:00?
Tango: Can we do 12:30?
Jimmy: That works! See you then?
Tango: See you then! :)
Jimmy stared at the last message Tango sent, laying on his back, holding his phone above his face. He was so engrossed in rereading the text conversation, rehearsing conversations in his head that he didn’t notice when his phone slipped out of his hands, falling on his face.
Jimmy: fhgjjhgkkdjd
Tango: ???
Jimmy: sorry, didn’t mean to send that
Jimmy: don’t ask how it happened
Jimmy put his phone down properly and buried his face in his hands. He was blushing profusely, horribly embarrassed by the nonsensical message he’d sent last. After wallowing in his embarrassment for a couple more minutes, he decided to just head to bed.
Jimmy woke up to his alarm ringing loudly. He reached out, patting his hand along the edge of a nightstand, hoping to turn it off and maybe get some more shut-eye. As he patted along the edge, he felt the edge of his phone and swung his hand to the side to feel his screen. Instead of the alarm turning off, he heard a loud thunk as his phone hit the ground. Jimmy groaned and reached his hand up to rub his eyes, stretching to the side. Unfortunately, he’d drifted to the right side of his bed in his sleep, and he had stretched just a bit farther than there was bed, and rolled off landing on the floor with a dull thud. Now on the same level as his phone, jimmy easily turned his alarm off and checked if his screen was cracked. Thankfully his phone screen was intact, but he could feel a bruise forming on his forehead where he’d hit the bedroom floor. Jimmy lay there for a few minutes preparing to get up and get ready for the day.
He threw on an old t-shirt and faded jeans, brushed his teeth and shaved before heading to the Bread Bridge Bakery for work. He walked in the door and was greeted by a very nervous Joel.
-“Hey Jim! Guess what?”
-“what Joel?”
-“I’m meeting Lizzie’s parents today!”
-“Wait, only now? You’ve been together for a year!”
-“well, they’ve been out of town for half a year, so it couldn’t be until now.”
-“I hope everything goes well for you then!”
They continued setting things up and baking for the morning together. Joel was constantly moving, preparing things for the day and checking everything over and over. Grian came in just as they were opening.
-“Hey! You’re almost an hour late! What do you have to say for yourself?”
-“rough night yesterday. Slept through my alarm.”
Jimmy could see it. Grian had heavy eye bags and his hair and wings were messy. He had a few nasty bruises on his face, one on his arm and Jimmy caught a hint of a bandage under the sleeve of his red jumper. His usually neat wings were dirty and messy, feathers sticking out in various directions. His cousin looked like he’d been beat up in an alleyway last night.
-“it’s alright” Joel replied with a sigh, handing Grian an apron “just get ready for work”
The day was mostly uneventful, with a couple people coming in throughout the day. The highlight of Joel’s day was definitely when Lizzie came in to see him, ordering baskets of bread and pastries for her family. Her ears twitched and her tail waved when she was given the fresh pastries, and Joel had to remind her to save them for dinner. Jimmy watched the clock, excitedly counting down the hours until both his shift ended and until Tango would get there.
Finally, 12:00 arrived. He sat at a corner table watching the street through the window, jumping at every blonde man passing by. Finally, Tango walked in the door. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a burgundy leather vest. His blond hair was sticking back like it always did, and he had a pair of orange sunglasses perched on his head. He looked amazing, and it made Jimmy feel underdressed. He was very aware that he was wearing just about his worst clothes. Jimmy could feel a blush rising in his cheeks, and he heard Grian and Joel whispering from behind him. Jim waved to Tango from the corner table, inviting him over.
-“So, why’d you want to meet here anyways?” Tango asked, shrugging off his jacket and draping it on the back of his chair
-“I work here before lunch, so it’s convenient. It’s also got the best baked goods in town, and I’m not just saying that cause my friends own it.”
-“Well, I’ll defer to your expertise”
-“so, wanna order now?”
-“Sounds good”
They went up to order, and Joel took their orders, raising his eyebrows at Jimmy.
-“Getting tangled up with Tango again? Hope that you still remember to come to work this time” he whispered
-“shut up. That was one time, and I was just really late.”
-“yeah, you got to school after lunch. I don’t think that just counts as ‘really late’ anymore”
-“just, give me the bread”
-“yeah, yeah, fine. Just because I know he’s wondering what the hold up is” Tango was still waiting, watching them argue in whispers, holding in his laughter.
When Jimmy and Tango got back to the table, Tango was laughing uncontrollably, and Jimmy was very red in the face. Half from embarrassment, and half from anger at Joel for making fun of him in front of Tango!
-“you ok by the way?”
-“what do you mean?”
-“your forehead? The huge bruise?”
Jimmy patted his forehead, immediately wincing when he hit the bruise
-“It’s super embarrassing”
-“well, now I need to hear the story even more!”
Jimmy waffled between embarrassing himself in front of Tango, and the (attempted) puppy dog eyes Tango was sending his way (they weren’t actually very good, so it was mostly out of pity). Eventually, he decided to just tell the truth.
-“I fell out of bed this morning.”
-“oof. Been there. Hope the bruise goes away soon though.”
-“yeah, it’s not pretty.”
They talked and ate for a while longer, and Jimmy found himself drawn back into Tango’s orbit, the way he’d been during high school. He could still see the passion burning in his eyes that had drawn him in when they first met. When they had finished lunch and Tango left, Jimmy saw Joel and Grian snickering from behind the counter. He sighed and made his way towards them, aware of how red he probably was.
-“OOOH! HE’S DOWN BAD, BOYS!” Joel laughed, wiggling his eyebrows.
-“It’s going to be just like high school aaaall over again isn’t it” Grian chuckled and elbowed Jimmy
Jimmy just rolled his eyes as his friends continued teasing him.
He glanced at his watch, and realized he was supposed to be on patrol 7 minutes ago.
-“I gotta head out now. Bye!”
-“good luck! Stay safe!”
With that farewell from his friends, Jimmy flew home to change before setting out to do patrol.