Hermitcraft Drabbles

Stress Cleaning (Mango)

I'm going to be honest; I've had Mumbo x Tango in the back of my mind ever since wrote that drabble in their Assorted Hermitcraft book. (30 Day Quarantine Prompt Day 13 if you're curious) I may or may not have read it multiple times, and finally, finally, I wrote some myself. 

Tango normally stayed up late. With his office job and two freelance businesses, he's constantly working. The dark circles under his eyes have basically become a staple in his everyday look. So because he's almost always staying up past 3 AM, on the rare occasion he's able to go to bed early, he cherishes those extra hours.

And when someone disturbs his precious extra hours, he can get a little cranky.

The blonde begrudgingly and slowly opened his eyes, as the sound of a vacuum cleaner woke him. Squinting at the bright light from his phone, he checked the time. "Who in their right mind is cleaning at 3:30 AM?" he muttered. He rolled over so his back would be to the wall, and covered his ear. Just go back to sleep, go back to sleep, he bitterly repeated.

But alas, he couldn't drift off again. Now really ticked off, he climbed out of bed and slipped his black slippers on. Still in his Boomers tee and red and black checkered pajama pants, he trudged through his apartment. Once he was in the hall, he realized he had hardly talked to his neighbor. The only thing he remembers was his name and his mustache. He knocked on the door and stepped back, crossing his arms. The dreaded vacuum cleaner was turned off and the door was unlocked.

"Listen, Mumbo," Tango sighed. "You can't just clean at-" His stern facade immediately melted away and he closed his mouth. The black-haired male's eyes were red from crying and there were streaks down his face. He was gripping the doorknob, but the shorter blonde could tell he was shaking. He was stress cleaning. The red-eyed blonde knew the feeling all too well.

"S-Sorry, I was-" Mumbo started, forcing a smile.

"Are you okay?" he quietly asked. The tall man looked away and inhaled sharply.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm okay." He looked back to Tango, his bright smile contrasting his tired eyes.

The spiky blonde couldn't help himself. Even though Mumbo was just his neighbor, he couldn't bear to see him so down. He pulled him into a hug. Mumbo was frozen for just a moment, before breaking. He buried himself in the shorter male's shoulder and let himself continue to cry. He gripped Tango's shirt as a hand smoothed his hair. Whatever his neighbor was saying he couldn't hear, but he was able to process the soothing tone, and let it resonate within him.

When the two pulled away, Mumbo had stopped shaking. He wiped his eyes and was able to give a genuine smile. "Thanks," he muttered.

"If you don't mind me asking; why were you stress cleaning?" Tango asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." The man with a mustache gripped his arm and glanced over his shoulder, into his apartment. His neighbor reached up and gave his shoulder a little squeeze.

"Well, I'm always next door if you ever want to talk," he reminded him. "I'll get out of your hair now." Giving a little awkward wave, he turned to head back into his apartment.

"W-Wait," Mumbo blurted out. He reached over and lightly touched his hand. "Do you uh, do you think you could stay?" He asked, his voice shrinking with each word. The blonde grinned and squeezed his hand. Nodding, he followed the male into his apartment. "Thanks for comforting me," he mumbled as they sat down on his couch.

"Hey, I totally get it. I'd be more than happy to help you whenever." He couldn't help himself as he reached up and petted Mumbo's hair. He chuckled to himself- his neighbor was like a little puppy. Mumbo's head sunk into his shoulder again and managed to make himself seem small by how he curled him in Tango's embrace.

"I'm sorry for keeping you up," he mumbled, turning his head.

"Well, it was worth it," the red-eyed male murmured.

His original plan was to stay until his new friend fell asleep, and leave a note by his couch. But before he knew it, Mumbo was laying half on top of him and clinging onto him. His breaths were shaky, but he was asleep nonetheless. Tango closed his eyes and his smile refused to drop.

The next morning when he woke up, he felt strange. He had so quickly gotten used to having the extra weight on him, that he now felt so weird with Mumbo off of him. Speaking of whom, it took the blonde a minute to look around. Where did he go? What time is it? His questions were quickly answered as the mustache male came around the corner, two steaming mugs in his hands. He placed them on the small coffee table and sat back down.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I just made some black tea. And thanks again for last night, I'm sorry for the inconvenience I may have caused you," he apologized.

Tango shook his head, picking up the cup. "You don't need to apologize. If you ever want to talk, I'm always next door." He could've sworn Mumbo's cheeks were tinted pink, but the male turned away before he could double-check.

The red-eyed blonde was never a big tea drinker. He may have drunk iced tea recently, but he couldn't remember the last time he had a hot cup of tea. But suddenly, he was more than willing to have it every day. 

Oh? What's that? Foreshadow? I guess that means I need to make a part two, right? :)