𓈊 Icy Eyes

3; "M... T?" "Mini Tango."

Tango was cleaning when Zedaph and Impulse finally got back. Well. When Zedaph finally got back. Impulse had fallen into powdered snow and died, respawning in his bed at home. Luckily Zed was there to pick up his things and bring them back.

Tango smelled Zedaph before hearing or seeing him, his tail wagging a bit when the door opened behind him. "Hi, Ze-" He paused, then turned around. "What is that?" he asked, sniffing the air. He wasn't wearing his glasses at the moment (his vision had improved over the last few years with a special kind of therapy Zedaph had invented, so he didn't really need them unless he needed to see in specific detail) so he couldn't quite spot his partner from far away. "Is that an animal?" He reached for his glasses in his jacket pocket and put them on, squinting at whatever Zedaph had come back with. "What in the Void's name..." He stared at what looked like a littler version of himself in confusion.

"It's a mini you!" Zedaph said excitedly, holding up the little... thing to show Tango. "Impy and I found it when we were exploring. What do you think?"

Staring intently at the creature, Tango asked, "What is it?"

Zedaph shrugged. "No clue," he said, then set it down so it could run free around Tango's home. "I've never seen anything like it. Well, except for you. I thought maybe if you two are the same species, then we can study it and find out what your species is like."

Tango's eyes lit up at the idea. "Really?" he asked. "You think so?"

"Mhm!" Zed watched the little guy smack into a wall, run its hands over it, then walk away like nothing happened. "I could run some tests on it and find out how it performs under certain circumstances and conditions, and we can learn its instincts and habits. We could find out more about you. It might help boost your confidence and esteem."

Tango was speechless for a moment. "You want to do that... for me?"

"Of course!" Zedaph walked over to lean down and peck a kiss on Tango's cheek. "You know I'd do anything for you."

Tango smiled at Zedaph. "Thanks, Zed," he said softly. "I love you."

"I love you more."

• • •

"First thing we'll do," Zedaph said, pulling on a pair of latex gloves, "is test MT's diet."

Impulse blinked, briefly glancing at Tango for an explanation. "M... T?"

"Mini Tango," Tango answered, chuckling, and Impulse nodded. "Zed was insistent on calling the little guy that."

"I have an assortment of cooked and uncooked meat for him to try," Zedaph continued, gesturing to a tray with just about every kind of meat on the planet (where he got all of it so quickly, only a Watcher would know). "I know you tend to be a little carnivorous, so perhaps his palate will be the same." He walked over to the little icy enclosure he'd made for MT, who seemed to enjoy it very much, and set the tray inside for him to find on his own.

The little creature sniffed the air and waddled over to feel on the tray for the meat. He picked up some cooked salmon and brought it to his nose to get a better whiff of it, then licked it and tossed it away. Zed made a note in his notepad that MT did not like cooked salmon. Or any of the cooked meat, for that matter.

"Okay, so it seems like he only likes raw seafood," Zedaph said after taking the tray out of the enclosure, which still had a lot of meat left on it. "We'll test his herb palate as well, but I'm not sure how quickly he gets full, so I'll wait..." He glanced at his watch. "Thirty minutes." He went off to prepare the "herb palate" he was taking about.

Tango smiled a little bit at seeing how passionate Zedaph was about all of this. It made Tango really happy that his boyfriend was willing to go through so much trouble just because of a little identity issue. It was adorable.

• • •

"Completely carnivorous, prefers temperatures below zero but can stand up to eighteen degrees celsius, can't see more than light and some colours, has an incredible sense of hearing and smell, and loves pets," Zedaph murmured as he jot down more and more notes. "He's almost exactly like you, Tango."

Tango laughed. "Well, if we're the same species," he teased, then yawned. "I need a nap."

Zedaph smiled softly and glanced at MT, who was curled in a ball in the corner, snoring. Zedaph gasped and clapped his hands in excitement and awe of how absolutely adorable the sight was. He turned to Tango and started to shake his arm. "Tango, Tango, do you see that?!"

"Shh, you're going to wake him up," Tango said, though he was laughing a little bit.

"He's so cute!"

Tango kissed Zedaph's cheek. "Well, you have fun watching him sleep," he said, then snorted at his own words. "I'm going to go take a nap."

Zedaph nodded. "I'll let you know when I've made more discoveries."

Tango walked away, leaving Zed to his lab and the little guy.

"Time to really get down to business."

• • •

Tango was making himself and Impulse a cup of coffee when he got the call from Zedaph.

"Hey, wh-"

"I think I know what you are," Zedaph interrupted.

Tango's eyes widened. "You do?"

"Yes, now come quickly to the lab."