daily duties [rancher duo]

[waveridden]

Title: daily duties
Fandom: Life Series SMP
Prompt: early morning
Rating: G
Summary: Ranching is hard work. Tango's not sure what to expect. (Rancher Duo, 365 words)

Tango expects, with next to no judgment at all, that Jimmy won’t be prepared for the ranch.

Sure, the idea of a ranch is fun. Enticing. Aesthetically fun, even. Jimmy doesn’t seem to have problems with the idea of raising livestock. But Tango knows a thing or two about working long days, and Jimmy— it’s Jimmy. They’re not close, but come on.

He wakes up with the sun already up; not quite as early as he was hoping, but early enough that it feels early. Tango’s a creature of the night and the dark and all that, so he grumbles to himself, keeping it quiet so he doesn’t wake Jimmy.

Jimmy, who doesn’t appear to be in bed with him.

Tango blinks once, twice, at the space where there should be another person in bed with him, and slowly sits up. There’s no way.

But by the time he’s gotten his boots on and made it to the cows, he can see that Jimmy has already taken care of things. The cows are happily eating away in a clean pen. The horses, too, look comfortable and content.

Jimmy’s sitting on a fencepost, in a position that looks like it can’t possibly be comfortable, but he seems perfectly content with that. Tango takes a couple steps towards him, boots crunching in the grass, and Jimmy turns, brightening. “You’re up!”

“You’re up,” Tango answers, trying not to sound curious.

“I like mornings,” Jimmy says, and turns back. Tango leans on the fence next to him, looking off across the cliffs. “And cleaning. I wasn’t sure about you.”

“I like walks on the beach,” Tango says. Jimmy snorts. The heel of one of his boots thuds solidly against the fence. There’s a jingle with it, because the boots have spurs. Somehow. “I tend to work day and night, when I’m not here. I’m not a morning person or a night person.”

Jimmy nods, taking this in stride. “Well,” he says, “then you won’t mind if I take charge of the morning routine. I’ve kind of already done that, so it’s easier for me to keep doing it.”

Tango’s been wrong before. He doesn’t mind being wrong about this.

“No problem,” he says, and he can’t quite see Jimmy’s smile, but he can feel the light from it all the same.