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Soft snow crunched under heavy combat boots as Tango made his way through the college campus. He pulled his fur lined hood closer to his face, trying to avoid the blistering cold wind as the light snowfall quickly turned into a full blown blizzard. The metal of his lip and eyebrow piercing felt like icicles against his skin.
Winter sucks, was the only thought looping around his mind as he kept his focus on not slipping. It's not like it hasn't happened before, more than a few times. On this very journey to the library. Tango was known as being clumsy, his powers of observation definitely lacking, though not because he wasn't using his brain. He was just using his brain too much, one could argue. And he did. Every time it was mentioned.
Tango swung his cheap, canvas tote bag back over his shoulder. His arm was starting to cramp with the cold and the weight of the textbooks as he rushed to, yet again, return them just before they were technically late. He really couldn't afford any more late fees. Which was why he was braving the stupid cold and the stupid snow to hand in his stupid books.
The old, gothic architecture of the library came into view as he rounded the final corner. It was definitely the oldest building on campus, surrounded by sleek, modern lecture halls and student accommodation. The details and intricacies were wasted on Tango. He supposed Bdubs or Scar could spend hours studying the finicky carvings and mouldings surrounding the lead lined windows and archways that lead to the large imposing wooden doors, but those things didn't interest Tango all that much. He preferred to focus on gadgets, gizmos and skadoodlers. Stuff that has a purpose, no matter how small or silly, or huge and impactful. He liked efficiency, but he also loved when his inventions were wacky and weird.
He hopped up the stone steps and reached for the iron handle on the heavy wooden door. The cold from the metal instantly seeped into his bones, even through his warmest winter gloves. Gods, I hate this weather he thought as he pulled open one side of the tall double doors. He had to use more strength than usual due to the snow piling on the floor of the entryway but managed to squeeze his lithe frame through the small cracks he'd created. The door shut behind him with a loud thunk as he walked towards the clerks desk.
He instantly felt the heat warming his bones whilst he pulled off his gloves and shoved them in his winter coat. The snow on his beanie started to melt. He could feel water trickling into his hair and down his neck, making him shiver. Looking out into the large hall of the library he spotted just one table full of what looked like a study group, leaving all the other tables unusually empty. He walked up and dropped the canvas bag on the clerks desk, cringing at the loud noise, and murmuring an apology to the startled young man behind the desk.
He'd seen this clerk before. He'd always found it unusual that a guy, who looked about the same age as Tango, would want to spend his limited free time in such a boring place as this.
“I've uh, got a few books to return.” Tango stated as he started to shuffle out of his oversized winter coat. He gave an apologetic smile as the blonde clerk cautiously lifted the soggy bag open to reach the first textbook.
“What name is it?” he sighs, turning to the computer to look up his account.
“Tek. Uh, Tango Tek. Sorry about the condition, couldn't really help it with the weather as it is, you know?” He laughed, trying to keep the interaction light hearted and quick so he could get on with his next bout of course work. Whilst certainly interesting, the writing portion of his Redstone Engineering course was definitely his least favourite. It was just a means to an end, the end being getting back to the lab and experimenting with doohickeys and contraptions till his fingers fell off.
“Uh-huh,” the blonde looked up at him from inspecting the book open in front of him. “Did the weather also fold the corners over loads of pages on your way here?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice as he glared at Tango.
“Ha! Well that certainly would be some pretty impressive windification right there! But no, I-er… lost my bookmark, sorry.”
The clerk looked back at the book in his hands and sighed. He put it in the cart behind him and typed something on the computer. “Wow, you're lucky you made it in today. You're cutting it pretty fine with the deadline for these books. Looks like you've made a habit of it.”
Who does this guy think he is? The King Of Books or something?
Tango awkwardly looked around, starting to feel uncomfortable with this stranger scolding him like a toddler. The man took out a few more textbooks from the tote bag, looking them over and cataloguing them into the system. He pulls out the last one, a paperback fantasy novel about dark monsters that live way underground and destroy any adventurer who dared to go exploring. Tango cringed as he saw the state of the book. He just knows that the book snob in front of him is going to comment on the creased spine. Look, sometimes he reads one handed whilst doing less important things like eating or cleaning his shared apartment.
He looks at it, glances up at tango, then back to the damaged spine. “Hmmm, how petty am I feeling today?” The man mutters the question to himself. He looks back to Tango, speaking more clearly “Technically, this book is now damaged. It's legible, but if everyone who took out this book treated it like you did then it would probably fall apart. Which would make it … not so legible.”
“Okay, look, I'm really sorry. Just, you know, gotta lot going on right now. Finals are coming up, I've still got a bunch of papers to write and course work to catch up on. The ol’ brains’ not been firing on all pistons if you know what I mean. I'll make more of an effort to look after them in the future though, I promise.” Tango then gave him one of his award winning smiles and leaned over the desk “I just can't afford any more fees right now man, help me out would ya?”
The blonde stares for a while longer. Enough to make the already awkward interaction agonising. Just as Tango's smile starts to waver, the man huffs a laugh at the wet, bent book in his hands. He turns back to the computer and types something, then places the book into the cart. “That's all gone through, I expect you to take better care of the books you borrow from now on.” A forced smile appears on his face as he looks back at Tango. “Have a nice day Mr. Tek”
“Right, oh, yeah, thanks man. I'm just gonna… skadaddle. Bye.” Grabbing his now empty bag, he headed for the STEM section of the library.
Jeez, that is one pretentious asshole. Tango thought as he pulled out his phone, checking his reading list for the papers he still had to do. At least he'd gotten away with it, his charisma and charm coming in clutch once again. He grabbed the books he needed, piling them in his arm as he wandered from shelf to shelf.
Heading back to the large hall to find a table, his heart dropped as he almost tripped over a pulled up corner of the carpet tile. He righted himself quickly but ended up dropping several books in the process. The study group turned to look at him and so did the clerk. Tango looked at him, mouthing a “sorry” as he scrambled to pick up the oh so precious books. He, gently, placed them on a table and set out to gather what he needed from his backpack; his laptop, his old, scruffy notebook and a singular pen, and got to work.
An hour had gone by by the time he first broke his focus. Not the longest time but definitely longer than usual, which meant his new ADHD medication must be doing the trick. He'd always struggled when it came to focusing on one thing for any amount of time. “Lacks Concentration” and “Easily Distracted” were commonplace on his report cards all the way from kindergarten to high school. What drew his eyes away from his flurry of notes was the study group hurriedly gathering their things and heading for the door.
“Martyn!” The blue haired one called. Tango has seen the guy around campus, hanging out with the other architecture majors. He winced at the sudden loud volume in the otherwise silent hall. He peered over his laptop and watched the group walking over to the clerk, Martyn, he assumes, who didn't look at all impressed. “Oi, don't look at me like that! You know you love me, and we're like, the only people here so who cares?”
Martyn glanced over to where Tango was sitting and then back to the blue haired man with a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah but Scott, if I let you off, I'll have to let Timmy off too and we both know how that will go.”
“Oh! Yeah, I guess that's true. Anyway, have you seen the email alert from the college?”
Martyn furrows his brow, “What email?”. Tango pulled out his phone to see if he had gotten anything. Damn, no cell service, weird. “Phone signal has been weird all day, even the internet here has been down.” Tango overheard.
“Right, well basically it's just a warning about this blizzard. Apparently it's only going to get worse so students should head back to their accommodation. Classes might even be cancelled tomorrow!”
“I doubt X will be happy if I just left work in the middle of the day. I'll see if I can get through to him and I'll let you know when I'm heading home.”
“No worries, but try not to stay too long, I'm sure Xisuma will understand. Besides, it's my turn tonight and I know you can't resist my famous lasagna.”
Tango's stomach grumbled at the sound of food. How long had it been since he had a proper meal that wasn't instant noodles, sugary cereal or Impulses leftovers? He didn't know, and thinking about it hurt his empty stomach.
“Just save me a portion, and please keep it away from Tim this time. I don't care what he says or… does to try and convince you. Your boyfriend is not more important than my nutrition, I'll have you know.”
“I'm not his keeper!” Scott laughs and then sighs, “Look, I'll do what I can, but you know I can't resist his puppy dog eyes. Oh, and what if he promises to finally do that really hot thing where he—” his excitement was cut off by a flustered sounding Martyn.
“Hey, hey hey! I hear enough of that at the flat, I don't need you to bring that to my work! My place of sanctuary! This building is sacred!”
Scott just laughs and Tango heard footsteps heading for the large doors “Okay hun, see you later!” then grunting as a few from the study group shoulder the door to pry it open.
An icy breeze hit Tango's bare arms. He rubbed them quickly and got back to work. He only had a few pages left for this paper and it shouldn't take long. Then he'll head back to his apartment, ask Skizz to draw him one of his special bubble baths, and then snuggle on the sofa with him and Impulse, with some kind of trash TV running in the background.
That is actually not what happened. One of Tango's rare bouts of hyperfixation hit him whilst reading about how a newly discovered entity could finally make wireless redstone possible. His mind was filling with contraptions and schematics for things like security systems, wireless light switches and even a heating system that's only active while you're in the house! And so it came as quite a shock when he looked at his phone and saw it was already 6pm. He'd need to get going now if he wanted to be able to use the last bit of hot water for his student housing that always seemed to run out just as he was getting a shower.
He started putting his things away and collecting his books together to check them out when suddenly, everything went black.
“Shit,” he heard from where he thinks is the clerks desk. “What the hell?”
“Uh, I think it's a power cut dude,” Tango helpfully supplied.
“Uh, no shit Sherlock. We've got a backup power generator though so the emergency lights should be on.”
“Hmm, well, want me to take a look at it? Electricity and redstonification is kinda my shtick,” he says whilst turning on the flashlight on his phone.
“Yeah, fine.” Martyn said whilst sighing. “Follow me and I'll show you where it is”
They walk down a long corridor, Tango's phone being the only light source, until they find a door labelled “Maintenance”. Martyn unlocked the door and gestured for Tango to go in.
Inside the small room, Tango saw old copper pipes mounted to the walls, a boiler and various other types of machinery. He quickly found the generator in the corner and knelt beside it. “Do you mind holding this for me?” He held out his phone for Martyn to take.
“Sure, there's a toolbox around here..somewhere.. there!” Martyn shoved it over.
I can do this, this is what I'm best at after all. Tango said to himself whilst getting accustomed with the machinery and tools in front of him.
“Ah, looks like someone didn't connect the skadoodler back to the circuit, probably during the last maintenance check. I just need to screw it back in then reset the system. Shouldn't take long.”
“I don't need a running commentary mate, just fix it.”
He sounded nervous, maybe he didn't like the dark, still not an excuse to be rude. Tango rolled his eyes and got to work. This Martyn guy obviously has friends so he must have some redeeming qualities, but right now all Tango can think is that he needs to lighten up. It's not like he turned the power off, there's no need to be snappy.
A lever was pulled and a button was pushed and the machine hummed to life. The dim emergency lights fluttered on revealing the rest of the room and a very relieved looking Martyn. “Oh, thank god”
Tango stood up and brushed the dust off his knees, his face now featuring a smug grin. “Your welcome, by the way. Wouldn’t have put you down as a scary cat, I gotta be honest.”
“Fuck off pal, I don't know what you're talking about” Martyn shoved the phone into Tango’s chest. Tango caught it before it could drop to the floor.
“You looked like you were gonna piss your pants! What is it, book boy? Scared of the dark?” It was a low blow, Tango can admit that, but he was losing his patience with this snob. Suddenly his back slammed into the wall behind him, with Martyns hand pushing on his shoulder.
“Shut it,” Martyn sneered, using his height to tower over Tango.
Now, Tango wasn't much of a fighter, but he could definitely hold his own if it came to it. However, he was exhausted and getting colder by the minute. And this hot headed stranger definitely isn't worth it.
“You're right. I apologise. Mind backing up a little there buddy?” Tango put his hands up, palms facing outwards, in a sign of surrender.
Martyn scoffed, an almost wicked looking grin on his face that sent a shiver down Tango's spine. Yeah, maybe a fight would have been a very bad idea.
“Let's get out of here,” Martyn muttered as he pushed off his shoulder, putting that much needed distance between the two.
Tango followed Martyn back through the corridor into the large hall. He grabbed his coat and his backpack, leaving the books on the table. He'll just get them when the storm lets up enough for him to come back. He headed for the door and saw Martyn leaving what he assumed was the staff room, wearing a green parka, zipped up past his chin, and a white backpack over his shoulder. Tango stopped to pull on his warm gloves and put his, thankfully dried, beanie over his head. Meanwhile Martyn was opening the huge door, or really, attempting to, if the frustrated noises and the distinctly not open door are anything to go by.
“What's the hold up?” Tango tentatively asked, not wanting him to blow up again.
“This fucking door won't budge,” Martyn grunts, still trying to push his way through. “You just gonna stand there or are you gonna help?”
So much for not making him blow up.
“Sure thing, buddy!” The mock sweetness coming from Tango's mouth wasn't entirely necessary, but he just couldn't help it. He stood close to the door and planted his feet on the stone floor. He tried pushing the door normally at first, slowly adding more and more force. Seeing this not working, he quickly turned his upper body and shoved his whole weight from his shoulder into the door. Nothing. No movement at all from the tall, imposing door. “Are you sure it's not locked?” Tango said without thinking about who he's talking to.
“Oh, yeah, silly me, I locked the fucking door for absolutely no fucking reason. Are you serious right now?”
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
“Sorry dude, stupid question. We need to work out what's blocking the door.” Tango walked to the nearest window, pulling back the thick curtain. “Ah, think I've found the issue.”
Martyn rushed over and knitted his brow. “What do you mean? I can't see anything.”
“Exactly,” Tango said, leaning his elbow down on the windowsill. “That right there, is pure snow. All the way up the window, it's probably been blown up from all the mega strong wind and made a thick wall. No wonder we couldn't get the door open. Unfortunately, that means we'll have to wait until someone comes over and does some diggy diggy. Brute force ain't gonna do a lick of good.”
“Surely if we get enough leverage behind us we can crank it open? Aren't you supposed to be the engineer here?” Martyn leant his shoulder on the wall next to the window so he's facing tango.
“That's the thing about snow, buddy, the more you push, the more compact it gets. Therefore making it harder to do said pushing. I've got a Canadian buddy who tried to teach us all these winter survival tips when he was drunk one day. He was actually trying to convince us, a bunch of tech nerds, to go camping in the Canadian wilderness.” Tango laughed at the memory. Etho was a quiet man, until you got approximately 3 fingers of whiskey in him, then he wouldn't shut up.
“Well what the fuck are we going to do? I'm not just gonna sit on my arse and do nothing for god knows how long!”
“Isn't that what you do anyway?” Tango smirks, his exhaustion making him slip into his teasing nature again. “Sit behind that desk all day, clickety-clacking on the computer? Bitching at people for folding a bit of paper?” He looked up at Martyn, he shouldn't poke the bear, but who can blame him? It sure is fun watching his face crumble like that.
“Listen here punk, if you don't wanna look after the books then buy them. Don't borrow them, fuck them up and then just bring them back.” He had a point, but Tango wasn't going to let him know that.
“Is that supposed to be an insult? You calling me a punk? What, do you think I shaved the side of my head, got tattoos and piercings to be a prep?” To put an emphasis on his point, he rolled his tongue piercing over his teeth, brushing it gently on his bottom lip. His position leaning on the windowsill put him around two heads shorter than the other man, meaning Tango had to peer up at him through his eyelashes.
And…Oh, is Martyn blushing right now?
He smirked again. Martyn blinked and tore his eyes away from Tango's lips, shaking his head slightly. Tango pushed off from his elbow, spinning to face Martyn and walked away backwards with his arms out.
“So! Any working fireplaces in the old ass building?” He stopped after a few paces and turned to face the empty, large hall. It was a fair assessment in Tango's mind. This building was probably built before central heating was common, when they would have fireplaces in practically every room to keep the occupants warm in the colder months. He heard a shuffle behind him, then looked to his left to see Martyn with a hand on his chin, clearly thinking.
“Well, I know for sure that all the ones in the public rooms were sealed off years ago. But I do remember seeing one in the boss’s office. It may just be ornamental though. Why?”
“Because I'm turning into a snowman here, buddy! I can see my freaking breath! We'll risk hypothermia if we have to deal with this all night. And I don't know about you, but I didn't foresee my final moments spent shivering in a corner in an old ass library.” Tango tried to keep his tone lighthearted with a smile on his face, but in reality, Tango was starting to worry. He hated the cold. He hated the way his muscles tightened and restricted his movement. The way it made his lungs scream and each breath taken was agony. It made him feel trapped. Claustrophobic in his own skin, no matter how big of a space he was in. “Now lead the way, oh custodian of books and knowledge, before my butt actually freezes off.”
Martyn huffed a laugh and headed through one of the archways that lined the hall. They arrived at a large wooden door that Tango guessed may have been original to the building. He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and quickly unlocked it.
From the doorway of the decently sized office Tango saw a large wooden desk, cluttered with papers and files, positioned in the centre of the room with a large, ornate window behind it. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined the wall to his right with a cosy looking armchair in the corner. Walking in fully, he looked to his left where a few standard filing cabinets stood against the wall which also housed a large stone fireplace.
Bingo.
Walking straight up to it, Tango reached his hand up the throat of the chimney.
“What are you doing?” Martyn asked from behind him, bewilderment in his voice.
He felt a gentle force of air like a vacuum sucking his hand up the flue. He smiled as he pulled his hand out, and he wiped the soot off on his jeans and stepped away.
“Just making sure the chimney ain't blocked. Wouldn't wanna suffocate on smoke and gases.”
“God, aren't you just a ray of sunshine! First we’re freezing to death and now we're dying of carbon monoxide poisoning?” Martyn scoffed.
“Hey now, normally I'm as cheerful as a lark! But this is about survival my friend,” Tango walked over the bookshelves, skating his fingers across the spines. “So who are we throwing on first? Dickens or Dostoevsky?”
“Wait, what?” Martyn spun on his heels to face him. “Tango…You can't be serious. You can't seriously be suggesting we burn books, right?”
“Of course I am! This place is filled with them. They're just paper, string and ink. Plus I'm sure your boss won't mind replacing a few old drabbles here and there. It is for survival, remember?” He could see the consideration filter through Martyns face at the reminder of their serious situation, but it quickly fell into a determined glare.
“No. Not happening. We'll find something else to burn. I just can't do it mate,” he said, shaking his head. A few blonde strands of hair fell from his headband, framing his face.
“Like what? The furniture?” Tango squeaked out. “The boss man might have a few things to say about that. Haven't you got, like, an author you hate? Or just a shitty book that you're surprised ever got published? This might be your only opportunity to scorchifocate it with a valid reason!”
Martyn ran his hands down the sides of his face, clearly stressing over the idea of setting fire to literature. He ripped his headband off and pulled his hair tie out, stuffing them in his coat pocket. His golden locks fell to his shoulders. Tango thought he looked a bit like a blonde Tarzan like this, he certainly has the figure for it, or so he guessed. He hadn't exactly had the chance to see through his baggy, electric green t-shirt. Tango was snapped out of his thoughts by Martyn speaking suddenly.
“Actually! Wait, here. I'll be bright back.” Martyn sped out the door and his quick footsteps could be heard heading down the hallway.
Tango stared at the door for a second before perching on the edge of the desk. The quick turnaround of emotions gave him whiplash.
Was that really all it took for this book snob to destroy what he clearly cares about?
He jumped down off the desk to find something to use as kindling. Looking beside the desk he found an electric paper shredder. He opened the lid, happy to find it almost full to the brim. Luckily, he actually remembered most of the survival tips Etho tried to teach them on that boys weekend. How to make a fire was apparently the most important, he even drew diagrams on the whiteboard they were using for Pictionary. So Tango got started by placing a layer of shredded paper on the bottom of the open fireplace. Peering over the wire trash bin he found some cardboard packaging. He ripped it into chunks and scattered the pieces on top.
At that moment, Martyn returned with a cart filled with books and a sheepish look on his face. “If we're gonna burn books, might as well be this bullshit,” he muttered whilst pushing the cart over to Tango. He picked up the first book on the pile and read the title out loud.
“Healing Homosexuality, huh,” he looked down at the next book that read “Don't Say Gay”. Now normally, Tango had a pretty good gaydar, and maybe it's just the cold or the exhaustion, but he wasn't picking up gay vibes from Martyn. That wasn't important right now though, he has all night or however long they are stuck here to work out what he puts on his pancakes.
Wait, why do I care?
Ignoring that thought, he raised a singular eyebrow whilst looking up at Martyn from where he sat on his haunches next to the fireplace. He looks nervous, Tango noted. “Why are these even here? Like, in this library? Surely no-one has ever checked these out.”
“Not while I've been working here which, admittedly, is only 2 years. I asked Xisuma if we could get rid of them but he said that the college has a policy on choices, even if those choices are dogshit.”
“If anything, burning them is just us doing our civil duty right? Wanna do the honours?” Tango grinned up at him as he pulled a Zippo lighter from his back pocket and threw it to Martyn. He looked back down with a smile, clutching the lighter in his fist.
A few books were unceremoniously chucked on the pile. Martyn leant down next to Tango and set alight a scrap paper underneath. It took some trial and error, but soon they had a roaring fire to warm their hands on. There was a nice sort of silence between them for a while as they stared into the flames, watching the cruel words of bigotry turn to ash. Tango had luckily never had any run-ins with homophobia in the past. The city he grew up and still lived in was known as being the most forward thinking place in the country. It's why his dad's had moved here, long before he was born.
The fire hadn't done much to warm the freezing room yet. Tango pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs in an effort to conserve heat. His eyes were just starting to drop, but quickly opened again when he heard Martyn clear throat.
“Sorry by the way, you know, about earlier.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I was a bit snippy with you when you first came in. And, uh, I did kind of push you in the maintenance closet,” Martyn muttered as he looked over at Tango. His golden hair actually glowed in the light of the fire. The yellow and red hues brought out the most vibrant emerald green Tango had ever seen in someone's eyes. He had to tear his focus away, before he started to look creepy.
“Don't worry about it, dude,” Tango said with a smile. He wanted to bring the mood back up. That smile quickly turned into a smirk. “You just saw some scruffy looking punk stroll up and chuck a load’a soggy, damaged books on your lap. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't kick me out! Then later I was just being a prick, tryin’ to push your buttons, which was not cool of me. So, sorry for that.”
“Ha, well, you're not the scruffiest looking person we've had wander in here.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, we had a few homeless people a couple of months back,” he stated with a smug look on his face. Tango smacked his hand to his chest where his heart is, and gasped in mocked dismay. “Although, thinking back, those fellas did have considerably less rips in their jeans.”
“Hey!” He nudged Matryns's shoulder with a closed fist. “That's mean!” He laughed.
They sat like that, on the floor, watching the warming flames and chatting for a while. Just about normal things like their friends, what they're studying, what they hope to do once they finish. They talk for long enough for Tango to lose some feeling in his legs. They had lapsed into a comfortable silence when he remembered just how nervous Martyn looked when he’d brought the homophobic books in to use as fuel. Tango stretched out his numb legs, earning a pop from his knees, and turned his head to face Martyn.
“So, you wanna talk about it?”
Martyn took a breath and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“The books,” he said quietly. Martyn’s eyes widened before looking back at the fire. “There's clearly more to it, those things make us in the community pissed off or sad. But you… You looked scared.” It was true, the more Tango thought about it, the more Martyns' expression was that similar to terror. Or maybe more the anticipation of something scary about to happen, like when you're just waiting to be punished for doing something bad.
“Uh, it's… I guess it's just a long story, I dunno.”
Tango placed his gloved hand on Martyns shoulder. “Well, luckily we've got all the time in the world. Or at least until someone comes and saves us, but like, at least 10 hours or so.” Tango gave him a kind smile. “And I'm all ears, dude. I don't judge nobody.”
Martyn rubbed the length of his arms in what Tango assumed was an attempt at self soothing. He didn't take his eyes off the fire and he let out a long, controlled breath.
“Fuck it, there's nothing better to do I guess.” He glanced at Tango quickly, who gave him a reassuring nod and smile, then looked back to the burning books. “So I didn't grow up around here,” he started.
“Yeah I guessed that, you know, with the accent and everything.”
“Right, yeah, the place I grew up in was… weird, I guess. It was a small village where everyone knew everyone. They all had such strong views on the world, and anything that didn't align with them got destroyed. Us kids, we were… punished if we didn't follow their rules.”
“So, a cult?” Martyn scoffed, shaking his head.
“Nah, not a cult! We had this pastor, he was kind of in charge of everything, he watched everything. Had us walking on eggshells even in our own homes.”
“Sounds like a cult, buddy,” Tango chuckled.
“Well, whatever, basically, if we did something against their set of rules we would get put in this black box thing. There was no light at all, it was just a dark, seemingly endless void. And you had know idea how long you'd be put in there for. Could be 10 minutes, could be 5 hours!” His voice started to raise in volume. “And there was no rhyme or reason to it! It just didn't make any sense.”
Tango shifted his hand from Martyns shoulder to his knee. “So, earlier, in the maintenance room?”
“Yeah,” he breathed out. “I guess it was just taking me back to that place. I mean, how pathetic is that? 21 years old and I still sleep with a fucking night light. Anyway, as I hit puberty, I realised that a rather big thing about myself was definitely against one of their major rules. I debated just suppressing it, it would be hard and hurtful, but I could do it. Then my best friend came to me. Confided in me that he felt the same. I couldn't stand the thought of my cheerful, energetic, kind best friend having to suppress who he loved. And if he didn't, fuck know what would happen to him…” His voice drifted off. Like the mental image he'd conjured in his head had rendered him speechless.
Tango stood up and walked over to the desk, open drawers and rifling through that clutter inside. This seemed to snap Martyn out of his thoughts.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for something to drink– Ah ha! Bingo!” He held a bottle of amber liquid, with a red and green bow still tied on the neck. He looked at Martyn with a wide grin and was met with a narrow-eyed glare. “Oh, come on dude! You're telling me your tragic backstory! Clearly this requires intoxification. And if it makes you feel better, I'll buy your boss a new bottle. If we make it out of here alive, that is.” He punctuated his last comment with a smirk and a wink. He wandered back over, still shivering even with the fire so close.
“Are you still cold?”
“Ha, yeah. I thrive in the heat of summer, winter makes me wanna die a little bit, not gonna lie,” he laughed.
“Take off your coat,” Martyn ordered as he started unzipping his own.
“What? You want me to freeze my tits off? I just said I don't do well in the cold!”
“Did your Canadian friend not tell you about body heat? You'll warm up faster if you've got skin to skin contact with a warm body.” His eyes widened as he realised what he'd just said “N–not that I'm telling you to get naked or anything! Just, it'll be easier to transfer my body heat to you if you've not got that huge coat in the way.”
Tango gave him a flirtatious smirk. “Darlin’, we've not even had a drink yet and you're already getting me out of my clothes!” Martyn stuttered, trying to find the words to say. “I'm messing with you, pumpkin, that's actually a smart idea. How did you wanna do this?” Tango asked as he reached for his zipper.
“Well, you could sit in front of me and lean on my chest? Then you could use your coat, kind of like a blanket?” Martyn suggested shyly whilst he moved his legs apart enough for Tango to step in between, with his large, puffy coat in one hand and the whisky bottle in the other. He sat down on the floor, leaning his back against Martyns warm chest. He instantly felt his temperature rise and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Like this?” Tango asked in a hushed voice, tilting his head and looking back at Martyn. Red eyes met green.
“Uh, um, yeah. Hey, pass that bottle over?” Tango handed it back, not taking his eyes off Martyn as he took several gulps of the alcohol. He scrunched his nose and shuddered, passing the open bottle back.
Tango looked back to the flames and leant his head back against Martyns shoulder. “Did you want to continue? With your origin story?” He felt, rather than heard, a huffed laugh.
“Yeah sure, why not? So after Timmy confid–”
“Your best friend?” Tango interrupted.
“Er, yes.”
“ Who's here at the college? I overheard you talking to Scott earlier.”
“Yeah, that's him. How about we save questions for the end of class okay?” Martyn sniggered.
“Okay, okay, you carry on!” Tango feigned annoyance as he tipped the bottle back taking a swig. It warmed his throat and stomach, taking over the butterflies that he had chosen to ignore. They passed the bottle back and forth as they spoke.
“So, after that, I realised we couldn't stay there. Tim wouldn't have been able to escape on his own. I knew I had to go with him. He was, and still is, just so naive. He was fully convinced he could turn their opinions around. Went on a big rant about how “love is love” and “they'll think differently when it's one of their own!”. But I knew that was useless. I didn't fancy sticking around and watching my whole world crumble. So we ran. In the middle of the night with backpacks, a small amount of money and our bikes.”
“How– sorry, I know you said to ask questions later, but, how old were you?” Tango looked back at Martyn. His eyes were glassy and red. He looked like he was on the verge of crying. Martyn must have noticed Tango staring at him as he quickly blinked back the tears.
“Uhh, I was 15 when we left.”
“So young,” Tango whispered, reaching his hand up to Martyn's cheek and swiping away an escaping tear with his thumb. “Carry on, when you're ready.”
Martyn grunted a cough, shaking out his arms and hands. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just haven't thought about this in such a long time. I don't even think I've told anyone. I know Timmy told Scott before they got together, but I think you're the first person I spoke to about this.” He looked down at Tango, who still had his hand on his cheek. He leant into it slightly, a small smile curling up on his lips. “To be honest, we didn't know what we were doing at first. I'd read about this city in an old newspaper behind a supermarket. It sounded like a dream. Hermitopia; Where Love Trumps All”
Tango laughed at the well known slogan of his city. Of course it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, they had issues just like every other city in the country. But it was his home, his beautiful, accepting, accommodating home.
“So we hitchhiked, all the way across the country. When we got here we realised that we weren't alone. So many young kids had fled here for various reasons over the years, so a foundation was set up to help with housing and schools and advice. I think that was the first time I ever truly felt safe or understood.”
Tango felt a small shaking at his back, he looked up to see tears falling down Martyn’s face. He quickly put the now empty bottle down, pushed off his coat blanket and turned fully so he was on his knees. He held Martyns head in his hands.
“Hey, what's wrong? He asked, brushing the tears away. Martyn shook his head, burying it in Tango's shoulder.
“I–I'm sorry. I don't usually cry like this. I shouldn't be trauma dumping on a stranger. This is stupid. I'm being stupid.” Martyn pulled his head back and roughly wiped his face with his parka sleeve. He managed to compose himself enough to speak again, but in a much quieter, shaky voice. “I'm sorry.”
Tango didn't know how to feel at that moment. He was kneeling in front of a man he'd never spoken to before that day whilst he unpacked years of childhood trauma. It was definitely a weird situation. But in the back of his head, he couldn't imagine a place he would rather be right now than comforting this gorgeous stranger. Seeing this man, who clearly held his emotions and feelings deep inside, allowing himself to feel vulnerable,possibly for the first time. Tango wasn't going to ruin this moment.
“Can you look at me, Martyn?” Tango asked while tilting his jaw with his gloved fingertips. Martyn looked up willingly, his eyes still red and puffy, his mouth pulled into a slight frown. “There you are. You know, we have emotional responses for a reason, yeah? One, to show the people around us that we need help. And two, to show ourselves that we need help. Bottling your feelings up for 6 years, especially after going through something that crazy and intense, is only going to make things worse. You should have someone to talk to about this stuff. And if you don't wanna trouble your buddies about it, cos I get that, it's scary, then I don't mind being that someone.” He gave Martyn a sly smirk. “Plus, you know, kinda awesome knowing someone who escaped a cult.”
Martyn huffed a scoff that quickly turned into a wheezing laugh. “It was not a cult!”
Tango inched his face closer to Martyns, cupping his hands around his own mouth. “That's what a cult member would say,” he whispered.
They were both laughing now. Tango placed his hands on Martyns shoulders for support as he laughed, high pitched and crackley. Martyns hands found their way to his waist, holding him upright. Once they had calmed down slightly, Martyn’s eyes met Tango's.
“You're ridiculous, did you know that?” Martyn said, a wide smile showing off pearly white teeth on his face.
“Hmmm, not heard that one. I've commonly been described as chaotic, disruptive, stubborn, energetic and a genius, don't forget that last one,” Tango said whilst counting on his fingers. He placed his hand back down on Martyns shoulder, then slowly slid it down his strong chest. He'd just realised how close they had gotten during their laughing fit. His eyes flicked down to Martyn’s lips. He wondered if they were soft and smooth or chapped like his own. He realised, in that moment, he really wanted to know what they tasted like.
Then, Martyn’s hands were moving off of his waist. One found the small of his back, pulling him closer. The other cupped his cheek. “You missed one.”
Tango's brain took a few seconds to catch up. “Oh yeah? Which one?” he whispered, eyes flicking from Martyn’s own to his definitely soft looking lips.
“Fucking beautiful. Beautiful mind, beautiful body, beautiful face.”
Tango's heart beat sky rocketed. He felt like time had just stopped all around him. There was nothing but him, Martyn and the gentle crackling sound of burning books at his back. He brought a hand up to Martyns cheek as he moved closer, enough to feel his breath ghost his lips. His own breath hitched as Martyn closed the gap, smooth, warm lips meeting his cold chapped ones.
Tango closed his eyes as their lips moved together, a divine shiver travelling down his spine. They moved gently and slowly, before he felt teeth nip at his bottom lip. He responded with a quiet moan, shifting his other hand the card through his golden, shoulder length locks. Martyn used this opportunity to deepen the kiss, sliding in his tongue and allowing passion to take over. Now, Tango has kissed people before. Plenty of times. But he'd never really kissed someone, not like this. Not like Martyn was kissing him at that moment.
Tango was quickly running out of oxygen so, reluctantly, had to pull away. They both stayed close, panting breaths mingling as they tried to calm their beating hearts.
“Wow,” was the only word his genius brain could come up with. Martyn sat there with a grin beaming on his face. He leant in for another small peck on Tango's lips.
“Well, I think it's time we got some sleep. I'll be your big spoon so you can face the fire and stay warm,” Martyn said, far too casually for Tango's liking.
How is he speaking so calmly when I can't even think straight?
Tango just nodded as he turned to lie down, using his arm as a pillow and pulling his coat over his body. He heard Martyn add some more books to the fire before laying beside him, wrapping an arm tight around his waist. His eyelids, heavy with exhaustion, started to fall shut. He felt lips graze the back of his neck.
“Goodnight Tango.”
“N'night Martyn.”
Sleep took him swiftly with the sound of crackling flames and the feel of a warm body at his back.
—
“TANGO!”
He opened his eyes to the sudden sound in the silent, peaceful building. Bright light filtered in through the large window. The fireplace in front of him was filled with ash, long ago gone cold.
“Top! Homie buddy! You in here?”
He felt movement at his back. His eyes widened as he remembered the previous night. He rolled over to see scruffy, yellow hair and deep emerald eyes looking back at him. Martyn placed a warm hand on his cold cheek and Tango involuntarily leant into it.
“Mornin’ gorgeous.”
Martyns' voice was low and husky in the mornings, Tango noted.
The door to the office burst open and a panicked looking Impulse walked in. At first he looked relieved, then shocked, the confusion filled his face as he raised one eyebrow. “SKIZZ! Get your butt in here, you have to see this!” Impulse shouted into the hallway without taking his eyes off the peculiar scene in front of him. A smirk began to rise from him, making Tango's face flush as he realised that Martyn hadn't removed his hand.
Loud footsteps could be heard getting closer, then Skizz popped his head around the open doorway. “Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Blondie found himself a blondie!” Skizz exclaimed full of mirth.
Tango quickly moved to sit up, dislodging Martyns warm palm. He instantly hated the loss of contact. “Erm, hey guys. Ha, this, uh… This is Martyn.” Martyn gave a small wave. “We kinda got snowed in last night. Did you guys dig through it to get in? Oh my god, is anyone else here?” He stood up quickly, offering a hand to help up a sleepy Martyn.
“We didn't dig through no snow, Top!”
“Then how did you get in? I couldn't get the door open at all, it couldn't have skadoodled away so fast!”
Impulse and Skizz shared a pointed look, then Impulse stepped forward. “We got in via the perfectly usable fire exit round the back. Did you… not think of that?”
Tango stared at Martyn, who's eyes were as wide as an owls. “Shit. I must have been too panicked in that moment. I'm so sorry Tango, I didn't even think about it.”
Tango huffed a bewildered laugh as he dipped his head. “Don't worry about it, sweet cheeks. It was an interesting night, to say the least.” He looked back up at Martyn, giving him a sly wink. Martyn gave him a warm smile back.
“Alright, well!” Skizz started, making both Tango and Martyn jump. “This certainly is one heck of a story to tell the grandkids.”