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English
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Published:
2025-07-22
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356
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1/1
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Somewhere in the Embers There is You

Summary:

Tango was acting weird. He was extremely fidgety and uncomfortable. It was weird, but familiar.
Familiar in a way that made Martyn’s skin crawl.

Or; Martyn misses his boyfriend
He also misses his husband
And also his wife

Or or; Mumbo tries to roleplay as an extrovert and fails miserably

Notes:

I’m bored so here have some ahasban- cough I mean tangowood content

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Tango was acting weird. That was not debatable. The thing is, he was acting weird in the same way he had in SecretLife. The same kind of weird Cleo and Pearl had been acting in LimitedLife. And even worse, it felt familiar. Like something Martyn knows he knew, like someone not even present in this season of the games. Something- someone- so familiar, ever present, someone he wishes he could see again in this life.

For starters, he was extremely fidgety. Like- could not stop moving for a moments rest kind of fidgety. Which is weird. From what he heard when Jimmy spoke about the guy, Tango was the farthest thing from it. Energetic? Yeah. But Fidgety? It was just strange. But it was familiar. Familiar in a way that made Martyn’s skin crawl thinking about it. 

He also seemed vaguely uncomfortable when too many people came into his space at once. Weird for Tango. Tango always seemed to love being around people. Which- it’s not that he didn’t love everyone there, don’t have him mistaken, but he didn’t exactly seem to enjoy the cramped space.

It was strange for Tango. And Martyn found himself having vague thoughts that it wasn’t strange for Mumbo. But Tango.. Tango isn’t Mumbo. Just because he misses that starforsaken mustached man doesn’t mean he has to project his emotions on Tango, who.. might’ve just been having a rough day- or week- or maybe he was just.. feeling anxious. Who’s he to judge. 

It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. Back in SecretLife, when Tango had been acting strange then and Martyn speculated how he was acting exactly like his beloved king. The same dog that was now stood next to the blaze.

Maybe Martyn just has a habit of missing past lovers. Maybe Tango was just someone he saw was easy to deflect on. Hell, maybe it was the Watchers, even. He wouldn’t put it past Them to mess with his head like that. It was in character for Them. 

He doesn’t really care anyways (he does, but he’d never admit it). 
So long as they stay away from Netty. 

Notes:

This inspired by the fact that Joel knew about his lover, so what’s to say Martyn wouldn’t recognize his?