Work Text:
For Taako, it had been a long day. He watched Magnus train with Carey for a while, and when that got exhausting he sought the comfort of the kitchens on the Bureau’s base, shooing other chefs out so that he could have some time alone. And when baking didn’t relieve his exhaustion and feelings, he went back to his room to retrieve his beauty kit, finally going to rest in one of the common areas.
His nails were atrocious, as he hadn’t taken care of them in a long time. Several had broken during his various adventures, and almost all the paint had chipped off. Taako sighed, and began the laborious process of cleaning his nails and removing the old paint and broken tips. He gently cleaned his cuticles and soothed the irritated skin. When his nails were simple and clean, he looked at them in full, wondering if he should just leave them like this for once, before chuckling and deciding that he deserved to treat himself to some self-care and the beautiful fingers to which he was accustomed before he became an adventurer.
When he was short on time, Taako would simply magic himself some dramatic nails, but he needed some time to relax, and painting always soothed him. He set about buffing his bare nails, then carefully and slowly attaching deliciously long fake tips. He perfected their shape with an emory board, and marveled at their gentle points. The time came to decide on a paint color. A wide range lay before him, in all sorts of shades and colors, glittery, shimmery, and plain, matte and shiny.
Deciding on a deep purple, Taako began the slow process of painting his nails. It required a steady hand and excessive patience. After a few coats he was satisfied with the color, and moved to decorations. On all of his nails he carefully placed small golden stars and tiny rhinestones. On his ring fingers he had punched small holes, and threaded tiny golden chains through with a dangling star and moon on each hand. On his thumbs he carefully painted small shooting stars. Finally, he finished everything off with a shiny protective top coat.
As he finished and sat admiring his work, feeling relaxed for the first time in weeks, Angus walked in, eyes wide and starry.
“Sir…… Are you painting your nails?” he asked, voice gently wavering.
“Yeah, Ango, I just finished. Wanna see? I think they’re truly a work of art if I do say so myself.” Taako held out a hand, displaying the deep purple and the shimmering gold.
Angus’ eyes lit up as he drank in his mentor’s handiwork. Immediately he stood up straight, an excited yet serious look on his face. “Do mine! Please, please, please!! Sir, please paint my nails!”
Taako couldn’t help but laugh to himself a little bit. The kid was cute. But why not paint his nails? It was soothing and a fun activity, and making Angus happy was a nice perk, even if he pretended to be indifferent to his mentee. “Sure, Angie, why not. Have a seat.”
Clearing off some space in front of Taako, Angus sat down excitedly, eyes wide and drinking in all of Taako’s nail polish colors and additions. There were so many options, so many things he could choose from. Taako sat back and smiled as Angus picked through his selection, happy that he was enjoying himself and all the options Taako had accumulated over the years. Eventually, Angus settled on a color, gingerly picking it up and presenting it to Taako.
It was bright pink, something he usually reserved for when he was feeling particularly bright and over the top. To describe it as hot pink would be too dark, but to say it was bubblegum was too light. It was in between the two, and so bright it was almost neon. Taako loved his choice. The brightness fit Angus’ personality, and the pink just felt right for the little detective.
Taako grinned. “Great choice, my dude. I love this color.” Angus beamed.
Taako set about cleaning Angus’ nails, making sure that he was overly gentle and making it a pleasant experience. Taako trimmed, filed, and buffed his nails, moisturized his fingers, everything he knew how to do when it came to nails. Not wanting to bother with tips, he carefully cared for Angus’ real nails. Then he laid Angus’ fingers on the towel between them, and gently shook the bottle of pink polish. He took one of Angus’ hands in his own and began to paint, all with a fascinated Angus watching as he did so.
He put two coats down and made sure they dried fully before fixing his gaze on Angus with a knowing smile.
Angus looked worried. “What is it, sir? Is something wrong?”
“Not at all, Ango McDango. I’ve got just the thing to really jazz these up.” Taako then pulled out 2 small, star shaped rhinestones. “It’s like we’re giving you a gold star Angus! A gold star in being the best boy wizard detective I know! Plus now we match,” he added with a wink.
Angus’ smile was so bright it could have powered the moon base for days. He beamed with excitement and bounced up and down. “Yes, please!”
Taako gingerly glued the rhinestones onto Angus’ ring fingers, finishing everything off with a top coat. He smiled, and let Angus admire his fingers. “What do you think?’
He was thrown off balance by the tackle-hug Angus gave him. “I love them so much, sir! I’m gunna go show everyone!”
Taako just laughed and began to clean up as Angus ran off. This turned out to be a really good day, overall.
Angus couldn’t help himself from showing everyone on the moon base his nails. He showed Carey and Killian, who laughed and told him they were incredible with big grins. He showed Magnus, whose eyes went starry and immediately went to find Taako because he only knew how to do simple paint. He showed Merle, who laughed and cracked a few jokes, asking if it was something he should do with Mavis and Mookie. He showed Avi and Johann, who gave him a big thumbs up. He even showed the director, who clearly struggled to contain her happiness for him.
It really was a great day.