Chapter Text
“They’ve been like this for almost two days straight.”
Taako and Lup are curled up on the couch, a plate of dino nuggs sitting half-eaten and abandoned on the coffee table while they color. Lup has made getting Taako to eat so much easier, and while his appetite isn’t where it should be, it is better than where it was.
Lup looks like she’s in pain with each new Barbie movie, but as the oldest, she isn’t allowed to complain. At least that’s what she keeps saying. To Magnus, that technically sounds like complaining but with more steps, but he’d never call her on it.
Needless to say, it was a welcome reprieve when Taako tugged on her hair—a habit that Lup doesn’t seem to mind for whatever reason—and asked to color instead. Usually they both have their hands wound in one another’s hair, but thankfully drawing keeps their hands busy enough to prevent that kind of mutually assured destruction.
“Are you sure it’s alright for me to see him?” Lucretia asks for the fifth time.
Magnus’s heart aches for her. Poor Lulu. It’s hard to know which hit her worse—when Taako didn’t forgive her or when Lup forgave her right away. From what Davenport has said, she’s stuck in this weird middle ground, desperately wanting to be punished for her actions but too emotionally fragile to handle it.
“Believe me, I asked Taako multiple times.” Magnus replies. “He said yes.”
Lucretia still frowns, looking rather unconvinced. Magnus wonders just how much bartering Davenport had to do to get her to come here with him.
“Why don’t you two just come in?” Magnus offers. “If anything, they can get used to your presence.”
The house is mostly empty right now, so it’s shockingly quiet. Barry and Kravitz left a while ago to get groceries, leaving Magnus and Merle to look after the twins.
The Raven Queen has been in and out, mainly to see the twins and Merle. She even talked the three of them into a picnic, which is amazing considering how reluctant Taako still is to go outside.
Lucretia peers into the living room, trying to get a good look at the twins. But still she stays rooted in place.
Davenport gives her a gentle nudge. “G-go on. It’s—it’s okay.” He slips his hand into hers, giving her a kind smile. “I can g—I’ll go with you.”
“He said you could be here.” Magnus adds. The image of the confident Director and the terrified journal keeper are at odds in her expression, a juxtaposition Magnus never wants to see again. “Remember that.”
Lucretia nods, drawing in a deep breath through her nose. It takes all her courage to approach the twins, crouch to their level, and greet them in turn. “Hello, Lup. Taako.”
“Hi, Lulu—well, new Lulu!” Lup chirps, beaming. She’s still the little chatterbox that Magnus remembers, so the thought of guests, no matter who they were, excited her to no end. “Taako calls me Sissy now! Hi, Davenport!”
“H-hello, children.” Davenport greets. “What are you drawing?”
“A dragon with four wings instead of two!” Lup says. “Her name is Carol and she’s mad that no one liked the fruit salad she brought to the neighborhood potluck!”
Taako doesn’t answer, nor does he take the pacifier out of his mouth. Instead, he watches Lucretia carefully. He isn’t suspicious, nor is he hostile, but he’s making it clear that he refuses to make the first move. That’s up to Lucretia.
Magnus is about to step in, or at least break off Merle’s Farspeech call with the Raven Queen early so he can have backup, but Lucretia doesn’t falter yet.
She smiles and opens her satchel. “That’s very nice! I have something for you, Lup.”
Lup gasps, dropping her sketchbook entirely. “My hedgie!”
Lucretia holds out the stuffie in question, allowing Lup to scoop it up. “I thought you might miss her.”
“I did, I did, I did!” Lup giggles, snuggling the stuffed hedgehog to her cheek. “Thank you for keeping her safe!”
“Of course.” Lucretia then turns to Taako. Magnus doesn’t think he’s ever seen the two of them look so uniquely uncomfortable at the same time. “I’m sorry I don’t have something old for you as well, but I do have something new.”
She reaches into her bag and removes a neatly wrapped package.
“Go on, Koko.” Lup urges after a beat of silence. She gives him a little nudge with her elbow, but he doesn’t acknowledge it. “If you don’t take it, I will, and then you’ll be the dork with no new toys.”
That gets him moving, but not too quickly. In fact, he moves like he’s removing the package from the jaws of a predator. He carefully peels back the packaging to find a Genasi swashbuckler Barbie smiling up at him.
“Davenport helped.” Lucretia adds after a moment. “We couldn’t quite decide on which you’d like best.”
There’s a long moment of silence, and Magnus can practically see the gears turning in Taako’s head. It feels like an eternity before he finally takes out his pacifier, sets it on the nearby table, and smiles.
“Thanks, Lulu. Wanna see what I’ve been drawing?”
The tension snaps out of her body all at once, and her relief is palpable. “Absolutely.”
Her eyes nearly bug out of her skull when Taako clambers into her lap so she can have a better view of his sketchbook.
In a way, they look like they always have, with Lucretia coming out of her shell little by little. She compliments different aspects of Taako’s art, which in turn helps him come out of his shell.
Magnus breathes a silent sigh of relief, collapsing beside Davenport and striking up a conversation about sailing.
He thinks Taako can forgive her too.
It’s only a matter of time.