"I'll see ya later!" Tango said before slamming the door of Impulse's truck. 

It'd been a long but fun evening, with the game and the silliness that occurred at Impy's place. Still, all good things must come to an end, and he was just about ready to hit the hay. 

He didn't have a car of his own, sadly. No, that would require his mother to actually put in effort when it came to him. Although, Impulse did mention he had a fixer-upper Jeep that he was working on in his spare time. Perhaps once that was done he could borrow that for the time being. 

He was only a junior, after all. It wasn't as if he had release or college or a job to worry about. 

Tango sighed as he made his way to his front door. He lived more set back, on the outskirts of town down a winding dirt road with a gravel driveway to match. His breath turned to mist in the nighttime air. It was a perfect autumn night. The moon was high and bright, the stars peeking out in the clear skies... that was the good thing about living further from the town's center. The night sky was always there as a friend even when his real ones were further away. 

He heard the sound of Impulse's truck driving off. He never left until he saw Tango disappear around the curve in his driveway, which he appreciated. There wasn't a big enough turnaround spot at the top to allow him to drive up it at night, since his truck didn't have a back up camera to show him the way. 

Tango's face naturally fell with every step towards his slightly shabby front door. The paint was chipped in places and fixed with what had to have been kids' tempera paint on numerous occasions. However, when he put the key in the doorknob, he shook himself into a fake smile, pushing his hair out of the way.

Of course, when he opened the door, he was greeted by his little sister. 

"Hey, what're you doing up this late?" he asked, picking her up and giving her a big hug. 

"It's not a school night, Mama said I could stay up to wait for you!" she said with a giggle. 

"Well, I'm home now, so go on upstairs! I'll be there in a second."

At the end of the hallway, his tired mother glared at him, her arms crossed furiously. 

"Who brought you home?" she asked as Tango's sister disappeared up the stairs. 

"Impulse, I told y-"

"And I told you I don't like him. He allows... this," she said, waving her arms at Tango, "to happen."

"You don't like any of my friends!" Tango said, his voice raising. 

"You're right, I don't, they take pity on you and call you Tango, I've heard what they say, how they call you, don't act like I'm stupid. They've even got Liliana doing it too. Think about her, for God's sake! Someday you'll snap out of this and regret every moment you deluded yourself into thinking you're not my beautiful daughter."

Hot tears welled in Tango's eyes. He said no more, just turning his back and running up the stairs, trying not to let his mother see the tears which now fell down his face. 

I'm a man, he thought desperately, just ignore her.

Tango closed his door slowly, making sure he didn't make any noise, or his mother would be on his ass for "slamming it" after an argument. That would be worse than any "daughter" or "girl" comment his mother could possibly make. 

He felt a tugging at his sleeve. 

"Lily!" he whispered, grinning. 

"Why doesn't Mama love you?" 

Her face was full of tears as well. 

Tango's face fell. 

"Oh, she does, I promise," he said, forcing a smile, "she thinks she's helping me, I suppose."

"I don't like when you both yell," she said with a little whimper. 

"I know."

"And I don't care what she says, you're my big brother! I know that makes you happy when I say it."

"It does," Tango said quietly, "it really does."

---

That night, Tango stayed up far after Liliana had fallen asleep, just talking with his friends on his group chat. The light of his phone illuminated his face in the dark, acting as Liliana's night light. 

TangoTek: yo

-ImpulseSV has entered the chat-

ImpulseSV: its 11 at night, why are you still awake?

TangoTek: shrug

ImpulseSV: you guys fought again didnt you

TangoTek: maybe

ImpulseSV: should zed drop you off instead?

TangoTek: doesnt like him either. its cuz you guys use my name and stuff

ImpulseSV: thats stupid

TangoTek: ikr

-Zedaph has entered the chat-

Zedaph: Why are y'all blowing up my phone in the middle of the night?

ImpulseSV: read up

TangoTek: my mother is being fucking stupid again

Zedaph: Oh jeez...

TangoTek: lily almost made me cry too

ImpulseSV: /pos or /neg?

TangoTek: /pos

TangoTek: she called me her big brother

Zedaph: We stan a queen!

ImpulseSV: thats good!

TangoTek: ya

TangoTek: anyways

TangoTek: im boutta fall on my ass asleep if i stay up much longer so gn 

ImpulseSV: ok

ImpulseSV: one more thing tho

TangoTek: ya?

ImpulseSV: dont listen to your mother. being a man is more than how you were born, okay? its who you are. youll always be one of us, were always here.

Zedaph: Hugs on Monday? I'll bring Sheepy!

TangoTek: lol sure, and thank you. really

-TangoTek has left the chat-

-Zedaph has left the chat-

-ImpulseSV has left the chat-