His Crimson Eyes (Tangtho AU)

Chapter 5

If Etho was going to stay, he didn't want to be useless.

After a bit of arguing, Impulse agreed that he could help with things around the house if he was just careful. Tango was happy to drag Etho away as soon as the debate was over, and they ended up back in Tango's room.

"Does he do that a lot?" Etho asked.

Tango shrugged. "Yeah, but me and Zed have kinda gotten used to it. Since none of us really have parents near, he's adapted to be the motherly figure, I guess. Keeps me and Zed from doing anything stupid... usually."

"I think mostly you, though," Etho said with a slight grin.

"You'd be surprised what me and Zedaph can do, if I can convince him to do something," Tango snickered. "He's good until he falls under my influence. Often Impulse gets dragged into it too."

"Why am I a little scared of my decision to stay now?" Etho murmured.

Tango smirked and narrowed his eyes, his tongue flicking out slowly. "You should be scared," he rumbled.

"Please stop doing that," Etho sighed.

"Why? Creepy?" Tango giggled. "It's supposed to be."

Etho decided his heart skipping beats was just from being startled by the demonic voice. Nothing else.

"So... what are we going to do?" Etho asked.

"Well," Tango muttered, "Impy says I have to clean my room if you're going to be staying here. I don't know what he's talking about—it's not even that bad!"

Etho disagreed with that statement, though he didn't say so. Now that he was fully awake and alert, he realized the room was pretty messy. Clothes were all over the floor and furniture (and on top of the door...?), a disorganized and dusty bookshelf that looked like it hadn't been touched in a while sat in the corner, and there was a wardrobe that looked to be full of more plushies and miscellaneous items than it was clothes. The only neat thing in the room was a little pet bed, which Tango had finally set the egg down in and wrapped a soft blanket around.

If this "wasn't even that bad," Etho would hate to see what really bad looked like.

"So you need to clean your room... and you're getting me to help you?" Etho guessed.

Tango grinned. "You said you wanted to help."

"Yep," Etho sighed. "I did. Let's get started."

They each picked a task, with Etho choosing to organize the bookshelf a bit while Tango picked up his clothes, and got to work. As Etho picked up books, he couldn't help but inspect them. There were a couple of different weapons and fighting techniques, one about keeping mythical pets, and a few other informational books, but surprisingly a lot of them seemed to be romance novels. At first glance, he didn't take Tango to be much of a reader, and even if he did, he would've assumed the demon would be reading more action, adventure, or even horror novels, which were there in smaller amounts. But romance?

"Sometimes people read about what they want, but don't or can't have."

Etho tried to shake the thought away. It was something his adopted mother had told him many years ago before he'd developed his own love of reading. The memory pressed into his mind.

"Mommy? Why does Xisuma read about the history of the castle so much? It's boring!" he recalled saying.

His adopted mother, Teresa, smiled and gave a small laugh. "Well, dear, he just finds it interesting. People read for a lot of things. Entertainment, interest, learning... and sometimes people read about what they want, but don't or can't have."