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Taako first finds Angus with a half-broken but still functioning wand, pickpocketing some unsuspecting fool with it, and almost immediately blew the kid’s cover. Luckily, a high roll on a bluff and Taako manages to not ruin Angus’ gambit. The kid skedaddles with a fat wallet and Taako eyes the fleeing kid with some… interest. This world is one in a long line of worlds, endless traveling across the planes into vivid worlds that disappear when the Hunger finds them, but maybe Taako can find something interesting in between searching for the Light to pass the time until their time in this world is done. The things outside the Starblaster are all dust, just temporary and when everything resets, whatever they have done or given, it is gone. Outside of the Starblaster, nothing matters. But maybe dust can provide some entertainment.
The kid’s sitting in a shady spot under a tree, obviously enjoying the spoils of his theft with a juicy fruity ice-pop, and Taako can’t blame him, this world’s summer is very warm, and so he also buys one too from the vendor. He goes to sit by the kid, who tenses like he’s gonna run.
“Hey, I’m not gonna sell you out, kid. Nice work, especially considering what a shitty wand that is.” The kid’s clothes are worn and threadbare, and dusty. Clues trickle in, and he can guess easily why this kid’s stealing money. Though it’s just to buy ice-pops; no one ever said that starving street-kids knew right off the bat how to save money. Taako chomps the top half of his ice-pop and a bone-deep shudder goes through him at the chill. Hm. He probably shouldn’t have done that. He sticks his tongue out to muffle the weird cold feeling.
The kid eyes him dubiously and frankly, Taako can’t blame him for that. Taako is very obviously not from whatever this tiny place’s name is and also somewhat helped this kid pickpocket someone (after almost messing it up, which is probably weirder). Definitely not a normal adult by anyone’s standards.
Taako has no idea how old he is, physically or chronologically anyway, so being an adult doesn’t matter. “Should get that wand fixed though. But, if you could afford that, then you wouldn’t be stealing, would you,” Taako muses. The kid stares at him and doesn’t say a word. “I found that, uh, using two focuses- foci? Uh, which is it…”
Taako’d almost let himself get distracted with the word when the kid mutters, “Foci.”
Taako lets his face morph into surprise. “He speaks!”
The kid’s head ducks, his ice-pop starting to drip.
“Hey hey, eat that before you get all sticky. Sticky wands are gross and spells are harder.” Taako takes another bite of his own ice-pop, actually not using his front teeth this time. “Anyway, using two foci, the secondary one, that one makes up for the slack of the shitty broken one. By itself, that second one wouldn’t do half the job but working with even a broken one, it helps. Takes some, uh, takes some real skill to get both working together, but motivation, that gets it all down pat pretty fast. Gotta eat, huh, the best motivation there is.”
The kid’s brow furrows and he pulls his legs closer. “Who are you?”
“Taako the flip-wizard,” he says flippantly. He has no idea what kind of fruit is in this ice-pop. Weird.
“Why are you telling me this? Why do you care?”
Taako pauses. He turns a little to actually look at the kid’s face. Sharply intelligent eyes stare back at him, suspicion and wariness rampant but they’re set in a child’s face and a child’s innocence. This kid’s young and whip-smart but the world is big and for all his hunger and adaptability and obvious cleverness, he has only a few years of experience. It’s almost- so much like his own-
Taako doesn’t mean for his next words to come out so earnestly, so honestly, so openly. “Because I had a broken wand too. And-and, kids shouldn’t- they shouldn’t- everyone- you shouldn’t have to be alone against everyone.”
Taako had had Lup right next to him, a reflection of himself, a hand to grasp in the dark and a warm body to curl into on cold nights. A counterpart, someone who was completely on his side and that was a rare thing in their type of childhood.
This kid is alone.
And something in Taako wants to change that. Even as the rest of him says that this kid will disappear into dust when the Hunger pours into the plane, that the kid will vanish into the void, Taako wants to change something. Even if it won’t last.
The kid looks at Taako like he’s an alien. Technically speaking, he probably is. “... well,” the kid says, blinking, his clever mind almost visibly absorbing what Taako’s spilled. “How do two foci work then, if you’re offering?”
Sensing safer ground, Taako leans right into an explanation of magics far too complicated for however old the kid is, sees him half-absorb it and adjusts it into a more simplicated version and understand almost completely.
Their ice-pops stain their hands when it melts with sticky pink fruit juice and the kid lets Taako buy them both another, and they end up having those half-melted too, finding magical discussions flowing easily between them.
At some point, Taako learns his name is Angus (given by the kid when Taako calls him ‘boychik’ (Taako switches to Ango and Agnes, much to Angus’ annoyance)). He’s eleven years old (given by the kid when Taako says he looks eight years old). Someone did something to make him jumpy (inferred when Taako made a sweeping gesture and Angus flinches bodily). That someone is no longer here (inferred by how Angus never says it’s time for him to go home when the sun dips down to the horizon and the shadows lengthen, nor does he look over his shoulder for parents coming to find him).
This is their first meeting.
~~~~~
Their next few meetings consist of either Taako finding Angus in the middle of petty theft and giving him advice (and a snack), or Angus trotting up to Taako with pleading eyes for a snack or a curious question (and a question for snacks) about that last bit of magic they were talking about that he’s been wondering about.
Taako would wonder if Angus was just following him for food but Angus demonstrates his magical ability several times, wasting precious spell slots, enough for Taako to catch on that the kid’s trying to impress him and Taako stutters out some semblance of praise on form or something, and Angus beams.
The kid’s too cute for his own good, Taako thinks, and then ruffles Agnes’ hair, making him squawk hilariously.
Angus starts to tag along after Taako. Technically since Taako’s still searching for the light, Taako does have stuff to do and he can’t just sit around talking. Obviously, the solution is to walk around talking, from Angus’ perspective. Taako can’t be bothered enough to tell the kid not to, so Angus starts to be his little partner in his search.
Angus sometimes asks what he’s searching for and why he can’t use Locate Object. Taako, not knowing the exact protocol for that question, says he’s looking for a fallen star and stars are harder to put spells on. Angus thinks he’s making it up and keeps asking.
Taako honestly doesn’t know how else to tell Angus that he’s looking for something that could stop a plane-eater.
But Angus follows him on his search and as a consequence, he meets Lup. It’s a very exciting meeting.
Taako and Angus are arguing about the newest plot of Angus’ favorite book, the Caleb Cleveland series. Well, Angus is arguing technically; Angus is the only one of them with all the facts, Taako was just arguing with him to see the kid get all heated up and passionate about a fictional character. It was good to see the kid actually act like a kid; the library was an area of safety and refuge for any kid.
Angus had just thrown up his arms in exasperation at Taako’s newest criticism of Caleb Cleveland when Lup came upon them. Her red cloak billowed out like rolling clouds and her arm was around Taako’s neck and his shoulders before Taako took another step. “Hey, baby bro.”
Taako slipped his arm around her waist, watched her notice the little shadow attached to him. “Lulu, my tiniest baby sister.” He looked to see if Angus was looking.
Angus, face still half in a pout, was looking. His eyes flickered from Lup’s face to Taako’s face, his clever mind so obviously whirling to figure out what was going on. “You have a twin, sir?”
That little ‘sir’ thing had shown up once Angus said more than four-word sentences to him. “I’m the older twin, just so you know,” he says as a way of saying yeah. He hadn’t bothered to tell Angus to not to on this issue either.
“I’m obviously taller,” says Lup, who is also obviously wearing higher heels than Taako’s heels.
“Of course,” Angus says, nodding like he agrees with her.
Taako makes a sound of offense. “Ango, you traitor, I’m taller and older.” He shoves at Lup, tickling her sides.
She goes down with a yelp of laughter and Taako triumphs in his momentary victory. Then Lup tackles him at his waist and they both go down, rolling in the soft grass of the ground, tickling each other’s sensitive spots until they’re breathless.
Taako flops into a more comfortable position, flat on his back, then glances over. Angus is still there, slightly surprisingly. “Hey, come sit down with us.”
Angus has a tiny little smile on his face but he shakes his head. “I don’t wanna get tickled too, sir.”
Taako hears Lup snort at the ‘sir.’ “We’re all tickled out here, bubbeleh.” Lup is loose and lax next to him, head turned to look curiously at Taako talking to this kid. “Promise, just some sitting.”
Angus stares a moment longer but sits next to Taako, then leans back until his head is cushioned by Taako’s belly.
Theatrically, Taako huffs and puffs. “What did I feed you!” he groans, to the sound of Angus giggling. Taako’s hand reaches down and, carefully, starts to pet at Angus’ soft little-kid hair. “You better not fall asleep, I couldn’t carry you and I’d be stuck under you forever.”
“I’m not that heavy,” Angus protests. “I won’t fall asleep.”
He does.
Lup taps at Taako’s arm three minutes after the kid’s breathing goes deep and even. “What the hell,” she whispers. “Who’s this kid?”
“His name’s Angus,” Taako says like that explains anything.
Lup doesn’t even bother saying so, only raises an eyebrow at him.
Taako lets one of Angus’ soft little curls tangle in his fingers as he stalls. The kid’s face is unfairly cute in sleep, mouth open a little bit as he breathes. “... I dunno, Lulu, he just started following me around and- he made me think of us. He hasn’t got a me or a you with him like we did.” Well, that could have come out better. Better phrased or worded, but it could’ve come out better.
Lup stares at him, then her face becomes brighter, a bit sunnier, and Taako blinks. “Then he can have us for however long we’ll be here,” Lup says, lifting a fist for Taako to tap with his own.
He bumps her fist, nodding. “Might not be for very long,” he replies and finds a startling amount of resentment against the thought of leaving the plane to die.
Lup makes a noise of agreement. “We can find the Light, Koko.”
“Yeah. Yeah, we will,” Taako says in a hum.
~~~
Angus meets the rest of the Starblaster crew eventually.
Taako teaches Angus Minor Illusion to trick Magnus into thinking they’ve eaten the last of the sweet buns that Taako deemed acceptable from a little bakery. He falls for it easily, Angus’ illusion coming out wonderfully, even with some little details of crumbs being all that’s left. Taako and Angus enjoy their spoils and stuff themselves with dessert. Lup steals the last sweet bun. All in all, that first meeting goes pretty good. Angus did seem a little jumpy when Magnus rushed in but by the time he and Taako’d made their escape with the sweet buns, he’d relaxed into quiet giggles.
Angus takes a special liking to Lucretia, quite excited to show her the library. He leads her around the bookshelves, pointing out and pulling out books of interest. Lucretia listened to Angus’ ramblings with a patient ear and made piles of the books he gave her. She showed him her journals, the pages full of handwritten logs, and Angus bounced over to show her the gift shop’s selection of pretty journals, to which Lucretia responded to by buying five right away. The only thing that stopped her from getting more was the money. Taako would play at being upset at Lucretia for stealing his little shadow but Angus always came back to him, a tiny hand finding a place on his cloak to hold on to.
~~~~
“It’d be easier if I could read about the spell,” Angus mumbles to himself.
One of Taako’s long ears twitch. “What, I haven’t explained how it works good enough?”
Angus nearly drops his wand in his rush to correct him. “No no! Just that I wish I could read about the theory of it. You explain it differently enough, sir, that I don’t think the books in the library fit how you cast spells. I also have two foci so I think that changes a lot of it.”
Taako hums. “So you want a book that uses two foci in spell descriptions and sounds like what I’m saying?”
Angus nods. “You cast magic differently than how the books say and I want to learn your way.”
Fuck. What’s Taako supposed to with that?
“Lucretia,” Taako says, giving the poor girl a heart attack, “do you have my magic books? My mini beginner ones?”
“Uh,” Lucretia says eloquently, clutching her book to her chest. “Why do you need them?”
“No reason,” Taako lies.
“Is it for Angus?”
“...No.”
“They’re in my room, I think, in one of my piles. I can grab it for you,” Lucretia says, pretty obviously not believing him.
“How many piles do you have?”
She hums noncommittally as she leaves the room.
“Seriously. Creesh, how many?”
“Here,” Taako says to Angus, handing over the old book. “This should work for your nerdy book needs.”
“My what?” Angus takes the book on autopilot, blinking up at Taako. Then he seems to realize what the elf is talking about. “Is this?”
“Yeah yeah, I dug out my baby magic books. No big deal, now you can read about magic like a nerd. I wrote it when I was about your height, I think. Most of it should work for double foci casting but I know a few of them don’t so just-”
Taako pauses. Angus has the book pressed over the bottom half of his face, hiding whatever his mouth is doing but it’s unmistakable that his eyes are crinkling up. “You wrote it? And you- Are you giving this to me?” Angus asks, his voice oddly shakily.
Taako hesitates. “Yeah?”
Angus pulls the book away and traces an awed hand on the crackling leather. “I’ll- I’ll take good care of it, sir, I promise!”
“Yeah, alright,” Taako says, instead of telling Angus he could do anything to the book because it wasn’t like Taako needed it anymore. The emotion filling his chest was unfamiliar and weird.
~~~
Merle, Taako attempted to keep away from Angus. Who knows what the dwarf would do to Angus’ innocent mind. It happened eventually but luckily, Taako scooted the both of them out of there before Merle could say something too weird.
Barry and Angus’ meeting go about the same as Lucretia’s, though less… book-ish. Barry, the absolute nerd, was figuring out whatever magic things he was focused on for this plane, and Angus zipped around him like a little helper bug, finding books and pens from Barry’s distracted mutterings. Angus peeks at the books that Barry reads and makes weirdly insightful remarks. Taako scoffs but Lup makes a cooing sound, and Barry seems to forget that Angus is like, eight, and tells him weird necromantic tidbits and Taako tells Angus that if he learns necromancy, he’s disowned. Angus says he’s just curious and then asks to learn Mage Hand.
While Taako personally considered Barry to be the worst, the actual worst meeting of Angus and the crew was Davenport. The captain had barely acknowledged the kid before ordering Taako to pick up the pace of the search. Angus had winced at the volume coming from the small captain and Taako had snippily responded that he was exactly on schedule, he just hadn’t found time to update him; there was something else that had been distracting him. Davenport had raised an eyebrow at him, as it wasn’t like Taako ever had more than a passing interest after so long traveling through the planes. “Pull the other one,” he’d said.
Taako had bristled. “Like I can’t do anything else other than search and hide in the ship?”
Davenport finally noted the kid half-hiding behind Taako’s legs. He’d sighed and rubbed at his temples with a weary hand. “We’ll have to leave soon, Taako, and searching for the Light should be your top priority, not playing games with kids.”
Taako spluttered. “Games?” He’d wanted to stay and argue more, deeply offended by Davenport thinking he was just playing around. Angus meant more than that.
Angus had tugged at Taako’s cloak, looking cornered. “Can we-” he half-asked, inclining his head towards the exit.
Taako had said, “Of course, pumpkin,” before he realized it and swept the two of them from the room, full of signature elf aloofness.
It was only a few steps later that Angus asked quietly, “You’re going to leave?” His head was ducked and his little curls hid his face.
Taako bit his lip. There weren’t any good ways to say it. He crouches down in front of Angus, hands on his shoulders. “Yeah. Eventually. Not today, not tomorrow. We never really know when, just that we do.”
“It has to do with what you’re looking for. The fallen star,” Angus says, his clever mind pulling clues together. “And you’ve done this before, the searching and leaving. A lot of times, I’d guess. Your ship isn’t made here, the design is way too streamlined for anything I’ve been looking at in my books, it’s… alien, almost. Where are you from?”
“Far away from here, bubbeleh,” Taako says with a sigh.
Angus frowned, looking up at him. “That doesn’t explain anything, sir, and I know I’m just a kid but please, can’t you tell me anything at all?”
Taako bites his lip. Angus was so much more than just transient dust and Taako had honestly been avoiding thinking about when they don’t find the light and the Hunger devours the plane, Angus left alone to disappear into the void of eyes and teeth-
He grimaces. “It’s a very long story, boychik. Let me finish teaching you Mage Hand first, alright? Then… then I’ll-” he waves his hand dismissively “-I’ll say what I can.”
Angus stares at him and for a moment Taako thinks he might just say no and run off like any normal sensible kid would when presented with a weird adult person elf. But Angus is also not exactly a normal kid, though he’s certainly very sensible. “I- I keep messing up the grabbing part of it,” he says, gripping his half-broken wand. “I can’t get that part.”
Taako heaves himself back up to his full height. “That’s the most important part,” he declares, brandishing his wand. “Watch.”
It’s only later when Angus lifts their practice object (an oddly shaped rock that Taako swore looked like Merle complete with a moss beard) that Taako finally says, “We’re probably aliens.”
Angus drops the Merle-rock. “Probably? Sir?” he repeats.
Taako waves his hand again. “By legal definitions, yeah. I certainly didn’t file any paperwork to live here for the past few months. But also by… spaceship definitions, we aren’t from your world.” It’s possibly the shittiest explanation of interplanar travel ever to compare yourself to aliens but no one had ever said Taako was a wordsmith. “Try again, you almost had it.”
To his credit, Angus looks doubtful. “Your ship’s a spaceship?” He ignores the last part and the rock remains solidly on the ground.
“Well!” Taako tries to rethink his alien approach but comes up blank. It’s stuck now. “It flies, so I think so? We’re not from your plane of existence, is better to say.” He tilts his head. “The ship is powered by our bonds, which is how we’ve been able to travel for so long without going-” home “- back for so long. We need to find the Light before we can do that.”
Despite visibly having a million questions, and also having his whole world-view expanded in the space of only a few minutes, Angus asks only, “Why? Sir, what is the Light? It can’t be a star like you said it was.”
Taako picks at his fingernails, murmuring, “No, no, it’s not a star… The Light of Creation. If we don’t find it, then- we’ve been calling it this, then the Hunger comes and devours the plane. We need to find it or we have to flee. We’ve tried to fight it off but it’s a plane-eater, a void. It’s hard to punch that, and we’ve tried. Spells only hold it off for so long, Lup’s tried, and there’s never enough time to save the plane.” Taako looks up and it’s only then that he sees that Angus is shaking. He shoots to his feet to be in front of the kid, leaning down to be on his level. “Angus?!”
The poor kid sniffles. “If you can’t find it then- then-” he wipes his nose. “What’s going to happen to me? If everything gets eaten, I will too, right?”
Taako really really wishes someone more emotionally sensitive was doing this. Why did he think he could tell Angus about this? “I-” he flounders but seizes on an idea, a really bad one but he’s gonna try. “I’ll bring you on the ship with me, pumpkin. You won’t get eaten when you’re on the ship with me. I’m not gonna leave you alone.”
Angus looks shell-shocked. “You can do that, sir?”
“I don’t care about if I can or can’t, I won’t leave you behind. I promise.” Taako hates making promises but for Angus, Taako promises.
Some bit of tension in Angus disappears and Taako wonders if Angus thought Taako would abandon him when his time was up.
Taako could never do that.
They don’t find the Light.
The Hunger comes pouring in from cracks in the world, a dull roar filling the ears of the plane’s residents as the void magic spills out to absorb everything. There is only one heartbeat between Taako recognizing it and Angus being in his arms as he books it for the ship, cloak flying out behind him like a streak of blood.
The kid is shocked and clings to Taako’s shoulders, legs wrapped around the elf’s waist, and Taako can feel and hear him gasp when he sees the Hunger over Taako’s shoulders. “Don’t look!” he pants, reaching the ship’s area in record time. “Don’t look, Angus!”
Angus makes a scared little sound and moves, hiding his face in Taako’s cloak’s hood. Taako holds onto him tighter, something in his heart clenching.
Lup joins him, Barry a short stride behind her, the twins starting to run side by side. She sees Angus right away and her gaze goes confused before understanding slides in. “Taako,” she starts to say around gasps for breath.
He interrupts her though with a quick shake of his head. He’s not going to leave Angus, even if taking him on the ship doesn’t work, and he’s almost sure it won’t. He just has to try.
They run up the plank to the dock of the Starblaster, Barry pulling it up behind them. Magnus is already on the dock, Merle and Lucretia behind him visible inside the ship itself. And of course, Davenport is as always behind the wheel.
Taako’s pace slows from a dead run to a more lofty trot, the other three crewmembers behind him, entering the inside of the starblaster, his head held high. Lup taps Barry’s arm warningly when he tries to say something, his hand pointed towards Taako’s companion. “You can look now,” Taako whispers to Angus, once they’re safe inside the Starblaster.
The kid picks his head up, blinking in the light, turning to look around the insides of the Starblaster, and some part of Angus relaxes, though his fingers are still digging into Taako’s cloak with a fear that makes Taako’s voice go soft.
“We’re fine,” Taako murmurs, rubbing the kid’s back, glaring at the pitiful looks that Magnus and Lucretia are giving him. “We’re fine, bubbeleh. It’s gonna be fine.”
“Taako, he can’t stay,” Davenport says from the wheel, his eyes full of that same pity that Taako hates. “When we leave the plane, he’ll disappear, he won’t be able to stay here-”
Angus starts to shake when Davenport talks and that’s it. Taako pulls Angus close and leans forward to hiss at the captain, fire in his eyes. “You think I don’t know that!? I know, okay, but at least this way he doesn’t have to be alone!” He grits his teeth. “I won’t leave him to get eaten by that fucking thing all alone and this way, he’ll just- he’ll be here with me.” He can’t say ‘die’ or the more graphic ways he’s thought of to describe what the Hunger does, Angus doesn’t need Taako to scare him too.
Davenport just gives a shake of his head, like Taako’s missing the point. But he doesn’t try again and starts to fly the ship out of the plane in smooth movements, the ship humming under their feet.
“Sir,” Angus whispers, his voice tiny.
“Yeah, hon?” Taako says in his best calm voice, though he can’t completely hide the shudder underneath. He folds his legs and slips down to sit on the ground, Angus still in his lap.
“Thanks for teaching me magic.”
“You- it’s gonna be fine, don’t say goodbyes,” Taako chokes out. He can feel Lup behind him, silent support. “It’ll be okay.”
“And-and for feeding me. Thinking about it now, I don’t know how you got the money,” Angus continues, his voice getting more and more watery despite his almost casual words.
Taako croaks out a laugh. “Stole it, bubbeleh, what do you think? You eat like a starving puppy.”
Davenport calls out that they’re about to leave the plane, his voice heavy. Another plane gone.
Angus whimpers, his grip on Taako almost constricting. The kid’s shaking is rattling his tiny frame.
Taako tightens his arms around Angus in response, heart too full and tears prickling. Time trickles away from them, second dwindling. “It’s gonna be okay, Angus. Don’t- don’t- it’s gonna be okay.” Angus is warm in his arms and he’s almost sure that his shirt is wet with tears. He wishes that his terrible idea was viable, that Angus wasn’t-
Then the world resets.
In one instant, Taako’s arms are empty. Cold air instead of warm human boy and Taako’s heart stops. His shirt is dry. He’s not sitting down, he’s back in his starting, standing, position. Angus is gone. Gone, gone, gone, and he nearly screams. It wasn’t fair, nothing was fair. Angus is gone. Taako curls in on himself, tears breaking forth, when suddenly a weight crashes into him just as the ship jolts back and forth like they got hit with a wave.
“Sir!” Angus. Angus grabbing at his shirt, Angus with a shocked but exuberant expression, face still wet with tears. Angus, who’s still here.
“Angus!” Taako grabs Angus up, frantically assuring himself of the kid’s warmth, getting his arms around him again to hug him. “You’re- you’re-” he can’t even string anything together.
Angus clings back, but his fear is gone and Taako can feel his smile pressed in between them. “I’m here!” he says. “I- it went dark for a second but I felt you there! And it- I wanted to stay with you and I came back!”
“You, you’re-” Taako finds himself sniffling, a horrifying prospect, he’s an ugly crier. “Here,” he says instead. “You’re here.”
Angus nods against Taako’s shoulder.
“How?” He’s not sure who said this, lost in his own thoughts.
“Bonds,” says someone else behind the two of them, which reminds Taako that he’s got an audience. He turns to look and it’s Lucretia, staring at the two of them, gaze full of wonder. “Taako, your bond with Angus kept him here. You love him so much you tethered him to the ship when we passed out of the plane.”
Taako, in any other situation, would deny feeling any degree of love, even though he adores Angus. But he’s still got tears on his face, Angus is here, they’ve escaped the hunger once more and he finds only a smile on his face when he turns back to Angus, hoisting him higher on his hip. “Makes sense. I can’t leave my boy behind.”
It might be the first actual time that Taako has ‘claimed’ Angus for his own. He hopes that the kid understands what he means.
Judging by the way Angus beams, he thinks he does.
“It knocked the ship off course,” Davenport grumbles from the wheel. “Nothing I can’t fix. But he’s fitted into the system now. Your bond with him is extremely strong.”
Merle starts to say something about making a gift for Angus as the new member of the crew, though thankfully Lup pushes past him to crowd around Angus and Taako with Magnus and Barry, Lucretia behind them.
“Welcome to the Starblaster, Angus,” Barry says like a formal nerd.
“Taako has a son now?” Magnus, of course, interrupts with a terrible observation.
Taako is- he splutters and Angus laughs at him.
“Just so we’re all on the same page, right, Taako has a son, that is a thing that just happened? Okay, awesome. Taako, you’re a dad!”
“Shut up, Magnus!” Taako blurted, his face bright red.
“I love my nephew,” Lup says, patting Angus’ head and planting a kiss on his forehead. Angus looks a little shocked, but a quiet expression of delight spreads across his face.
“He’s gonna need a cloak now too,” Barry says with a grin.
“A little mini-cloak,” Lup coos.
“I’ll add him to my records,” Lucretia mumbles.
“We can sort out the rooms for him,” Magnus says, “so that he can stay with you.”
Angus stares at them all, eyes round but mouth curled in a smile. “I want to stay with Taako,” he agrees. Then he turns a little to look at Taako a little worriedly. “Can I?”
Taako stares back at him. He’d been bracing for losing Angus for months now. He’d lost him for bare instant and nearly broke down before Angus had tumbled back into his arms. Now a whole future of having him right next to him always is right in front of him, something he hadn’t dared to think might be possible. He can’t imagine not wanting to keep Angus close by now. “Yeah, of course, bubbeleh. You’re my kid, my wonderful magic boy.”
Angus’ tiny smile blooms into a dimpled grin. “Really?”
“Really,” Taako repeats, ruffling the kid’s hair.
Angus throws his arms around Taako’s neck, whispering softly into his ear, “Thanks, Dad.”
And-
Oh.
Taako forgets why he wasn’t supposed to cry as he hugs Angus again.