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It was Candlenights, which meant a family get-together. It was at Magnus’ house this year; he’d just fully finished its construction and wanted to show it off. Taako and Lup were busy cooking, while Kravitz and Barry were sending floating candles into the air to decorate. Merle was wrestling Mookie by the Candlenights tree as Mavis looked on, amused, and Magnus was playing with his dog while chatting with Carey and Killian. Lucretia and Davenport were helping to sort gifts, and Angus watched this scene unfold from a chair in the corner of the room.
Normally, this was a time when Angus would feel most relaxed. He was with his family, the people he loved most in the world. However, there was something he’d been keeping from that family, something that would come out tonight, and it made him very, very nervous. His leg was bouncing up and down vigorously, and Magnus noticed, glancing over at him.
"What’s up with you, Angus? You look a little skittish,” he remarked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, Ango, you’ve been acting weird all day,” Taako agreed as he and Lup carried out the food and began to place it on the long table. “What’s the story?”
This was probably the moment that Angus should have announced to the room what was happening, why he was so nervous. After all, they were his family, and he had no real reason to be so hesitant.
He wanted to tell Magnus, wanted to tell everyone, but instead, he said, “Nothing, sir. Just… excited for Candlenights.” Magnus gave him a strange look, but before he could question the boy further, there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it!” Angus announced quickly, jumping up and dashing for the door. He heard Lucretia say, “I didn’t know we were expecting anyone else,” and he swallowed before reaching for the door handle.
On the other side of the door was his boyfriend, smiling nervously and holding a bouquet of beautiful red flowers. His hair was tousling this way and that as if he was caught under a riptide, which was an even surer sign of his nervousness. Normally it ebbed and flowed like the steady motion of the sea. Even in Angus’ own nervousness, he felt himself grin at the sight of Kit, who was always enough to lift even his worst mood.
“Hi,” Kit greeted quietly, and in his voice, Angus heard subvocals resembling the rushing of waves. The sound relaxed him immediately.
“Hi,” he replied, stepping out into the cold and closing the door behind him. Kit frowned, and Angus felt his heart rate pick up again.
“You didn’t tell them,” Kit said, almost immediately, because, though he wasn’t as naturally perceptive as Angus, he did know Angus like the back of his hand. It was unnerving sometimes, and it made Angus realize how people must feel around him.
“No,” he replied miserably, watching Kit’s face soften minutely at his obvious distress (Angus wasn’t sure he deserved it). “I’m just… nervous. It’s been a long time since anyone new has sort of… been introduced to the family, and we’re a little… strange, I guess, and it’s just a lot, and I don’t want you to be scared off and I want them to like you and you to like them and I just…”
“Hey,” Kit said, cutting him off and taking his hand. Kit’s was a little wet, like always, but it didn’t startle Angus anymore. In the last few months, he’d grown used to it. “It’s okay. I get it, this is a big deal to you. I’m sure if I had anyone to introduce you to, it would be just as nerve-wracking.” Angus was immediately struck with sadness, the way he always was whenever Kit mentioned that he had no family, but Kit went on, not giving him time for pity. “Maybe I should just go. We can try again another day.”
“No! No, no, I want you to be with me on Candlenights, I only—”
Before Angus could finish his sentence, the door was flung open, and his entire family was on the other side of it, crammed together so they could peer out at Angus and Kit. They looked at Angus, then at Kit, then at their joined hands. Then Lucretia, who was standing toward the front of the hoard, said, very kindly, “Angus, would you like to bring your… friend in for dinner?”
Angus was blushing scarlet, and he could see out of the corner of his eye that Kit’s hair was swaying a little more violently, but he had his chin up. It was his strength that made Angus confident enough to say, “Yes, yes, of course. Come in, please, we’re just about to eat.”
Kit looked at him and smiled in a way that made all of Angus’ anxiety worth it. “I’d love to,” he said, and everyone stood aside as Kit and Angus, still holding hands, made their way back into the house.
Once they were all in, everyone stared at Angus expectantly. He swallowed and glanced over at Kit, who still had his chin up. “Um, everyone, this is my… my boyfriend. Kit. Uh, Kit Lyhar.”
Lucretia was the first to step forward, and Angus was glad for it, frankly. It’d do well to ease Kit in. “It’s lovely to meet you, Kit. I’m Lucretia. Happy Candlenights,” she said, extending her hand. Kit shifted the flowers to his other arm and let go of Angus’ hand so he could shake Lucretia’s. “Nice to meet you, too. Happy Candlenights.” He handed the flowers over, which made Lucretia smile as she went to go put them in water.
There were couple more polite introductions – from Kravitz, Barry, Davenport, Carey, Killian, and Mavis – before they got to the people that Angus was actually worried about. Magnus actually was nice and polite, sensing, in a warm moment of intuition, that Angus really needed him to be. That came as a minute relief. Merle was boisterous in his hello, already half-drunk on wine. Mookie took the opportunity to take the lead in their wrestling match, tackling Merle to the floor before he could shake Kit’s hand. Kit grinned a little at the behavior, which made Angus smile.
However, when Taako and Lup made their way over, Kit immediately tensed; though he knew who everyone he’d met was, thanks to Junior’s broadcast, he specifically remembered Taako from all the things that Angus had said about him, about how Taako had changed his life. It must have felt like a significant amount of pressure. Angus wished that he was still holding Kit’s hand so that he could squeeze it reassuringly.
Taako proceeded to look Kit up and down with an appraising eye. “You’re blue,” he said, after a moment. “Like, literally.”
“Uh,” Kit began, tossing a sideways glance toward Angus. “Yes.”
“A keen observation, doofus,” Lup said with a roll of her eyes. She was about to introduce herself when Taako cut her off, still looking at Kit appraisingly.
“But you look kind of elfy. What’s that about?”
“I’m a water genasi,” he replied, quirking an eyebrow. “My… uh, father, they were a genie. My mother was an elf.”
“Mm, I see.”
"Would you like a full genealogy report?” Kit asked, sarcasm coloring the edges of his tone. Angus wasn’t particularly surprised by this; his boyfriend had trouble holding it back even on the best of days. Plus, he was a little defensive when it came to his heritage; his kind was rare, and people loved to gawk at him like he was an animal in a zoo.
Taako looked at him for a moment longer before chuckling. “You’re not too bad, kid. I’m Taako,” he said, extending his hand. When he shook it, Taako raised his eyebrows. “Oh, boy, that’s a moist one. Combine powers with my hubby over there and we’d have a great solution to a hot summer day.”
Angus colored and glanced at Kravitz, who rolled his eyes. Thankfully, Lup shoved him out of the way to shake Kit’s hand. “Ignore my brother. We’re all really happy that Angus invited you.”
“Now that introductions are out of the way, should we eat?” Kravitz asked, wrapping an arm around Taako’s waist and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
Taako leaned into him, almost unconsciously. It made Angus smile. “Hell yeah. Lup and I slaved over this all damn day, so you fucking clowns better appreciate it.”
As everyone moved to go take their places at the table – Lucretia had quietly set another place, which Angus was grateful for – both Kit and Angus let out deep breaths at the same time. Glancing over at each other, they smiled.
“Good?” Kit asked, tilting his head a little.
Angus nodded, taking Kit’s hand again. He really wanted to lean in for a kiss, but he knew that, as polite as his family was being at the moment, he would never hear the end of it. “Good.”
“Me too.” With that reassurance established, the two went to sit beside each other at the table. On Angus’ other side was Taako and on Kit’s other side was Magnus. Normally, that would have made Angus nervous, but Magnus seemed to be on his best behavior, which was as confusing as it was relieving. Things shifted away from the general awkwardness of introducing someone new to the group as everyone grew more accustomed to Kit’s presence. Everyone began to eat, chatting casually among themselves. Plenty of questions were thrown Kit’s way, but it didn’t feel too much like an interrogation, so Angus wasn’t in a permanent state of embarrassment. Towards the end of the meal, Kit and Magnus were even talking a little about Kit’s specializations, which also caught the attention of Carey and Killian.
"I don’t think I’ve ever met a monk before,” Magnus commented, tilting his head.
“We usually don’t leave the cloister, but I wanted to get an education outside of the monastery. That’s how I met Angus, actually; I heard about the Academy and went to enroll, and I had a very sweet, very excitable tour guide on my first day.”
He shot a side-glance toward Angus, a fond look on his face, and Angus flushed and grinned. Lup looked pretty goddamn close to cooing.
“So what exactly do monks do?” Magnus asked, still stuck on learning about a fighting style with which he was unfamiliar.
“We fight,” Kit replied with a shrug, smirking. “In a very zen way.”
“Yeah, but what does that mean?”
“It’s about harnessing your inner energy, your Ki, and mastering it. We’re quick, light on our feet. We have command of our bodies in a way that separates us from your everyday fighter.”
“I’ve heard of the Ki,” Killian remarked, leaning forward. “It’s in everyone, right? But the difference with monks is that they’re specifically trained to use it.”
“Exactly,” Kit said with a nod. “And once you learn how to use it, it enhances every part of you. It even allows for some pretty cool abilities. There are multiple traditions, but I follow the Way of Shadow.”
Magnus let out a soft, thoughtful noise. “I wonder how it would stand up to the traditional fighter.”
“Nope,” Carey cut in quickly, shaking her head. “No way, Magnus, you’re not beating up Angus’ boyfriend the first day we meet him.”
Angus was grateful for the interjection, but before he could agree, Kit said, “Well, he’s more than welcome to try.”
Angus very nearly groaned; he should have known this would happen, getting Magnus and Kit together. Kit was always ready to show off his fighting prowess (which was, admittedly, pretty impressive).
Magnus’ mouth dropped open a little and he looked around the table as if looking for someone to give him permission, to agree that this was a good idea. He was pretty sure that he would find no one until he saw Taako shrug. “Wouldn’t be the first Candlenights that Magnus fucked someone up.”
It was then that Merle let out a whoop of agreement, and Magnus grinned, turning to Kit.
“I’m up for sparring if you are,” Kit replied, suddenly looking delighted, and Angus stared helplessly between them.
“Um, please don’t?” he said, expression mildly horrified.
Kit looked over at him. “It’s just a friendly match. We do it all the time,” he reminded him, which surprised pretty much everyone at the table.
“You two spar?” Lup asked, quirking an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you fought with anything but magic, Angus.”
“Kit has been, uh, teaching me. But that’s beside the point,” Angus replied, a little exasperated. “Please don’t spar on Candlenights. Please.”
Kit and Magnus kind of looked at each other for a moment, seeming to communicate something silently. Finally, Magnus sighed.
“We’ll table it. For now. I’m stuffed anyway,” he said, patting his stomach.
Angus looked relieved, though when Kit turned to him, he shot him a mildly stern look. However, he couldn’t be too upset about it. Not when it was so nice to see Kit connecting with some of the people he loved. Kit looked appropriately chastised in return, but he was smiling.
Things slowed down after dinner, and they moved on to the gift-giving portion of the evening. Angus was a little worried that Kit would feel left out, considering the whole family was giving each other gifts, but he just looked happy to be there. The two of them were nestled on the couch, pressed close due to Magnus' hulking frame taking up so much space. Kit's arm was around Angus and Angus leaned into him, a little more open with the physical affection now that everyone was paying attention to other things.
Angus' pile of presents was large, and he opened them excitedly, glancing over at Kit every once in a while just to make sure that he didn't look sad or out of place. He never did; he only just smiled, watching Angus with such an overtly affectionate gaze that it had Angus blushing. Kit was always awful at hiding whatever he was feeling, but, perhaps more importantly, he never really seemed inclined to.
It took about an hour for all the presents to be opened and reacted to, as well as thank yous to be given. Everyone settled after that, chatting idly, until Mavis said, "Wait, I think there's still a present under the tree."
Sure enough, there was a very small package, wrapped in light blue paper, still nestled under the tree.
"Oh," Angus said, flushing. "That's... that's for Kit. Someone must have put it under the tree by mistake."
Mavis picked it up and kindly handed it over to Kit, who took it into his hands with a surprising gingerness, looking over at Angus inquisitively.
"Well? Tear that bad boy open," Taako said, gesturing for him to hurry.
Kit kept his eyes on Angus, trying to guage if the other boy wanted to wait until they were in private. Angus, though shy, gave him an encouraging smile, so Kit began to undo the wrapping. When he opened it fully, he saw that it was a bracelet made of leather cords affixed to a piece of pale blue sea glass. Kit reached down to touch it, surprised by the way it filled his senses; he could smell the sea air, feel wet sand give under his feet, taste the salt of the ocean. It was so startling that he knew Angus must have enchanted it somehow.
"I found the bracelet for sale just outside the Academy, and the... the enchantment was easy enough," he explained, giving a little, awkward chuckle. "I... I know how hard for you it is, to be away from the monastery, away from the ocean. So I thought I would give you, um, a little piece of it. So you wouldn't have to miss it so much."
Kit was silent for a minute, but in that minute of silence, he put the bracelet on himself, so Angus wasn't too worried that he didn't like it. Finally, Kit began, "Thank you-" His voice broke a little, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "Thank you, Angus. This... this means a lot to me."
Angus smiled, bright and happy. His hand went to clasp Kit's. "I'm just glad you like it."
He glanced up to see that most of his family was very pointedly not looking at them, trying to give them an illusion of privacy. The exemption from that, though, was Taako, who was staring at the two boys' clasped hands with an indecipherable expression on his face. When he caught Angus looking, though, it shifted into a small smile.
Things wound down after that, and a couple of hours later, it was time for Kit to leave. He made his way around the room to say his goodbyes and, much to Angus' delight, pretty much everyone seemed sad to see him go. Once he was done with his goodbyes (and after promising Magnus to come back around to make good on that sparring match, much to Angus' chagrin), he turned to Angus and smiled. "Care to walk me out?"
Angus returned the smile and did exactly that, leading Kit out the front door and onto the porch. After closing the door behind him, he turned to Kit, smiling sheepishly. "I may have been worried over nothing."
Kit chuckled, stepping closer to Angus so he could wrap his arms around his waist. "Not nothing. I understand why you were worried. Still, it went well, I think."
"It did. They really seemed to like you. And vise versa?"
Kit smiled. "Yeah. They're good people. But I knew they would be if you loved them," he said, reaching up to press a hand to Angus' face. He brushed his thumb over Angus' cheek, his smile softening before he leaned up and gave him a soft kiss. Angus returned it, delighted to kiss him after spending about ninety-percent of the evening wanting to do exactly that.
When they pulled apart, Angus was grinning unabashedly. "It's been... a really good Candlenights."
Kit chuckled. "Well, it's not over yet." Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a gift, which was wrapped poorly but had a neat bow around it. "I'm, uh, not the best at wrapping."
"I don't mind," Angus replied, happily taking the package. It was larger than his had been and felt a little heavy. He immediately deduced that it was clothing of some sort from the way that it gave underneath his touch.
"You don't have to try to solve the mystery," Kit teased lightly, squeezing Angus' hip. Once again, it was startling how well the boy could read him. "It's yours to open."
Blushing a little, Angus let out a soft laugh as he tore off the paper. He saw rather quickly that it was a navy cloak, made of fine wool. Running his hands over it, Angus smiled. "It's beautiful."
"Look at the top of the hood," Kit said, sounding a little nervous. Angus glanced up at him, a little surprised, before doing as he instructed. On the top of the hood, in silver stitching, was an image of two eyes surrounded by seven stars. Angus recognized the symbol immediately.
"This is Selûne's symbol. This is the symbol of your goddess," he said, glancing up at Kit, who still looked uneasy. It took him a moment, but he was able to put the pieces together. He recalled the night that they first kissed, the night that Kit had told him what had happened to his mother. How, after she died, all he had left of her was a cloak. "Kit, is this... is this your mother's cloak?"
Kit smiled nervously. "I added the stitching. Shines under the moonlight, on the hood where Selûne can see. It's always brought me luck."
Angus gaped at him before quickly shaking his head. "No, no, Kit, I can't. This is too much. I can't accept this," he insisted, pushing the cloak back toward Kit. In response, Kit wrapped his hands around Angus' to still him.
"If anything happened to you, Angus, I –" He stopped abruptly, taking in a deep breath. "I hope that this doesn't seem... weird. I know we've only been dating for a few months, but we've been friends for two years, and it just felt... I don't know. Look, I know you don't really believe in good luck charms, and I know you aren't religious. Maybe it seems silly to you that I believe in those things." Angus opened his mouth to protest, but Kit quieted him with a gentle look. "But it would... it would give me a lot of comfort if you would wear this for me. Selûne, she's protected me, loved me, comforted me, and this... this is my way of asking her to do the same for you. To show her that I need her to do the same for you. Just..." He trailed off and sighed, giving a little shake of his head. "Just please accept it? Please?"
He looked more earnest and raw than Angus had ever seen him, and Angus knew he could never deny this boy anything. Especially not something like this. So he clutched the cloak in his hands protectively. "Of course I'll wear it. Of course."
Kit looked relieved as he smiled, sucking in a shaking breath. "Okay. Thank you," he said, leaning in to give Angus another kiss. It lasted longer this time, as they both tried to convey within it the things they didn't know how to say. Eventually, though, Kit pulled away, still smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow, Angus."
"Yeah," Angus replied, smiling. "See you tomorrow."
When Angus reentered the house, cloak still clutched in his hands, everyone seemed to have called it a night. Everyone, of course, except Taako, who was perched up in a chair by the fireplace. He was staring at Angus with arched brows.
"Alright, you secret Casa-fucking-nova, it's time to fucking spill."