Chapter Text
Taako liked people.
Well, at least he tried to anyway.
People are nosy. They like to pry and learn stuff about you and get into your business and that wasn’t up Taako’s alley. Always too many questions, too many feelings, too many ways to get fucked over. It wasn’t that he thought all people were bad or annoying or that he didn’t want to have stable relationships with others but. Well it was exactly that.
It didn’t help that Taako never seemed to go out much anymore, isolating himself from others that much more. Sure Lup still invited him out to be a good sister and never took it too hard when he was just not in the mood, even though he’s never in the mood. In fact, the only people he really talked to anymore were the 10-year-old he babysits during the week, coworkers and guests, and the baristas at the coffee shop he frequented to load his shitty body up with caffeine and sugar. His close circle of friends consisted of well, his sister, but she had a life of her own and he didn’t blame her. At least he got any interaction at all.
During the week, Taako worked breakfast shifts at a small restaurant just a short walk from his house. Some days he was in the kitchen, others he was serving up the biggest smiles up front, but most days he took tables. Truthfully he preferred being in the kitchen, but some days, it just didn’t feel right. Cooking and him have a complicated relationship and he rather not have a weird almost meltdown because he accidentally over salted someone’s omelet. Either way its decent money. He didn’t want to completely tear his hair out because of his job either. It suited him. The guests seem to adore him too so that just feeds his ego. That in addition to babysitting for this rich couple, a gig he picked up before he started working at the restaurant, kept him afloat. He usually took care of the kid Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, sometimes picking the kid, Angus, up from school because his parents can’t be bothered. It was nice to spend time with Angus anyways, and his parents paid Taako pretty well. He even threw in basic magic lessons for Angus, unbeknownst to his parents, at the request of the kid himself. His other typical activity was stopping at his regular café, sometimes with Ango in tow, sometimes without, depending on the day and whether he needed to pick the kid up from school. But it was always the same café, the Voidfish, just a few blocks down from his restaurant.
His routine was pretty much the same every week and he always interacted with the same people. The guests at work who love him because he played up his charm at work, his coworkers who tolerated him because they had to, the baristas who acted like they liked him because it was their own job, and a kid that loved him because he probably didn’t know any better.
Even knowing this, Taako soaked it all up.
Taako liked it when people liked him, but he didn’t really enjoy returning the sentiment because social interaction and meaningful connections fucking suck. Getting invested with other people is a thing he didn’t really allow himself to do.
The great thing about the people he does interact with was that they didn’t ask too many questions. Well Angus did, but he’s 10 and the kind of questions he asked were innocuous. And Taako obviously had a soft spot for him in particular, even though he hated most children. But other than that, everyone else was at a good safe distance, giving him the attention he craved without getting too close and without Taako having to put in effort.
It was easy to get guests at work to like him, since Taako always put up an act. He played up his charm to really sell himself and the menu, so it was really in the best interest of his job and the money he could pull in. He’s a natural performer, making small talk and pretending to care when guests tell him about their day. It came at ease. His coworkers liked him well enough too, just enough to not have them purposely mess up his flow or orders.
He really couldn’t tell if maybe Angus only liked him that much because his actual parents were garbage, but he loved the way the kid’s face lit up when he saw Taako, like he was the best person in the world. Especially during a magic lesson. He took the job initially because he was desperate for cash but he stuck around because… well he really couldn’t think about leaving Angus alone in the care of people who didn’t care about him. Maybe as Angus got older, he’ll realize how shitty Taako. Even before that, he'll become too old to need a babysitter. But for now, Taako just relished in the positive attention from this very good kid.
The baristas at his favorite café seemed to like him well enough too, always giving him big grins and perky hellos. He didn’t understand why though, since he was a pretty shitty customer. Always taking too long to order and always ordering the most ridiculous drinks with a shit ton of modifications and substitutions. But he guessed with familiarity, there had to be friendliness. They had to see him all the goddamn time anyways so at least they put up an act, the same way Taako smiled when his least favorite regulars sat in his section at work. Taako wasn’t a complete asshole at least. Sure, his orders were fucking ridiculous, but he’s always patient, says his please and thank yous, and leaves something more than just a few quarters in the tip jar. Maybe they liked him because when he had a bit of extra pocket cash, he’ll drop in a twenty. Who fucking knows.
It didn’t matter because it all came back to people only really caring for Taako in a shallow sense and for now, he was pretty ok with it. It kind of sucked sometimes, but you take what you get you know? It wasn’t like Taako was going to get up in their faces over their fakeness when he’s just as guilty.
But sometimes the monotony of his life and the loneliness kind of fucked him up.
Work. Take care of Ango. Get a salted caramel frappuccino or something as equally sickly sweet. Reassure Lup that he wasn’t lonely. Sit on the couch watching whatever garbage show on Netflix. Go to bed. Wake up. Repeat.
It fucking sucked.
Familiarity is safe. Routine is constant and reassuring. Keeping a distance protects you from being hurt. Life is okay like that.
But sometimes as much as Taako wanted to believe that, it was hard not to want something different for once.
It was a weird day for Taako. First, he got a call from work telling him not to come in because for whatever reason, the power was out and they couldn’t open. And since its Tuesday, he didn’t have Angus. Hell, Angus was actually not even in town for the week. It was a surprise day off, which should’ve excited Taako. He very rarely gets anytime for himself. Instead, Taako finds himself lazing around in bed with no clue on what to do. He very rarely leaves time for himself because he never knows what to do with himself.
Eventually, the anxiety of just having none of the usual to do and actually being cooped up and alone got to him. So he decides he needed to at least leave his depression pit of an apartment. After rummaging through a pile of clean clothes, Taako pulls on a mauve sweater and black leggings with boots. He even bothers to fix his hair up into a big bun on top of his head.
Leaving the apartment, his legs follow the usual route to the fucking café.
The café was very homey, with lots of plants and earthy décor, despite the eerie oceanic name. And of course, Taako walked in to see the usual faces, which comforted him briefly.
But there’s one face he didn’t recognize.
It was a new guy behind the counter. Very tall and muscular, almost bulking with dark hair and sideburns that were definitely out of style but kind of somehow working for him. He had a handsome face, a crooked smile (which just made him all that more handsome), a scar across his eye (which is both worrying and incredibly hot) and Taako almost stared for way too long until he heard the familiar greeting of the other baristas.
“Hey Taako!” Carey comes up behind Magnus when Taako approached the counter. She was a slight dragonborn lady and probably the friendliest of the crew, just for the fact that she always referred to Taako by name rather than with a “Hey” or “How’s it going.” Maybe she’s like that with everyone, but Taako could appreciate the extra effort. Or maybe it was that she knew Lup and felt obligated to be extra nice. It didn’t really matter.
“We have a new one here today, so don’t get too wild on him ok!” Carey grinned and patted the new guy on the shoulder before walking away.
“Hey my man, don’t listen to her, I’m not that bad.” Taako smiled as he got a better look at his face. When the guy smiled back, Taako noticed he had dimples too. His eyes dart to his nametag. Magnus. A good name. Fitting.
“I’m not too worried about it, and if I fuck it up, I can just blame it on Carey anyways since she trained me. Names Magnus Burnsides.” The way he said it, Taako half expected the guy to stick out his hand for a firm handshake.
“Well, I’m sure to your surprise, I actually know how to read nametags but I appreciate the introduction. As Carey’s probably told you, I’m Taako.”
“Yeah I just started today, but Carey and Avi have kind of filled me in on most of the regulars and what to expect. You’re quite infamous.”
“Infamous?” Taako quirked an eyebrow.
“Mostly because you have terrible taste in coffee but you’re not a douche. It’s kind of a shocking combination to everyone here.”
Taako laughed at that. “Well, I guess I can take that as a compliment. I’m really not that bad I swear.”
“Mhm, I’ll be the judge of that. What unholy concoction can I get for you today Taako?”
Taako’s a liar and his orders were that bad.
Once he’s through ordering whatever hell concoction he felt like creating that day, he could see the “Oh god” on Magnus’s face as he moved to start making his drink.
He didn’t get it right, but Taako couldn’t complain. He took a seat at a table in perfect view of Magnus and almost choked on his wrong coffee when Magnus fucking stretched, his shirt lifting the tiniest bit.
It was a very good view.