E;TR. Ch 35.

Instructions

Trigger Warnings: sh!pp!ng First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1154371538/ Previous: Next: soon Etho: Chapter 35. Joel stood in front of our full length mirror, brushing his hair. “Stop staring.” He mumbles, a grin on his face as he messes with his bangs. “You don’t mind.” I assure him. He sighs and steps back, pulling his gaze from the mirror and looking at me. “Whatever. You know, you seem kind of obsessed with me? Maybe you could tone it down a bit, babe.” I roll my eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” He pulls a clean white button up on, and sighs. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He groans. “You don’t have to…” “No but I do, this is my wife.” His eyes soften as they meet mine. “Sorry.” I wave my hand. “No, no, I understand. Do what you must.” “Don’t be so jealous.” He says absently, pulling on his jacket. “It’s been seven years, the feelings are gone-“ he rushes out the door, mumbling to himself. I sigh, watching him leave. I get up and shut the door behind him. My comm goes off, a message displayed on the digital screen. <Mumbo> Hey, are you free? <Etho> Yeah, what’s up? <Mumbo> Had a design idea, wanna see if we can make it work. <Etho> I can be there in ten? <Mumbo> Great, Tango’s on his way too. <Etho> Okay, see you then. I slip my mask up over my face and grab my redstone shoulder before heading out. Yes, Mumbo is my boss, but he’s also my friend, like how Tango is my friend and co-worker. Mumbo’s redstone company was a tight-knit group. There are other workers who are friendly but I… I tend to keep to myself during the day. My mind wanders to Joel’s current situation. His wife- whom he thought was dead- showed up at his shop, along with her brother whom he also thought was dead. After 7 years of radio silence. And with Jimmy being friends with Tango, I’m surprised Joel didn’t find out sooner. I mean, I knew Jimmy before because I’ve gone to Tangos house a lot, but I didn’t realize his connection with Joel. I almost crash my bike into the side of the building as I get there and clumsily get off. “Etho? You good, man?” Tango laughs behind me. I groan. “Forget you saw anything.” “Nah, I’m telling Bdubs you crashed your bike.” He nudges me as I pull the door open. “Don’t you dare.” “Don’t dare what?” Ah, speak of the devil. I look down at his voice. Look, it’s not that he’s terribly short, but the combination of his just below average height and my vastly over average height… he’s so small. ”Hey, buddy.” I fistbump him. ”Etho cr-“ I smack Tango. “-oww. Nothing. Fine. Nothing happened. Etho beat me here.” He rubs the back of his head where I hit him. ”…Right. Anyways, Mumbo tell you guys what he wanted to make?” At that moment, Grian bursts through the door. “…Hi.” He says, seeing us. Now, I’m not sure why Grian’s here; Xey seem to break more redstone than he can actually put together. He seems to sense my hesitation because he’s quick to continue. “I’m emotional support for Mumbo.” ”Right, because Mumbo is very emotional.” Tango muses, watching the avian. ”Exactly.” Grian nods and heads into Mumbo’s office. There’s a muffled yell and a crash, as if xey startled Mumbo. Bdubs shakes his head. “Right, so, I’m also here for emotional support, but Mumbo’s idea is that; you know our item sorter design?” Tango and I nod. “Right, so he wants to take that and downsize it, make it more compact.” “Ah… seeing how hard it is to make at a regular scale… how long are we going to be here?” Tango looks nervous. “Are you in a rush to get home?” I tease. “Well… I do have something to tell you guys-“ Mumbo and Grian step out of his office, Grian basically clinging to Mumbo. Tango’s flames turn pinkish red. “I have a boyfriend.” He confesses. Mumbo looks up. “What?” “Congratulations!” I laugh and pat his back. “Wait, Jim?” He nods, blushing harder. “I knew it! Good job, man.”