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“...Do we have company?”
Taako blinks, startled from where he had been pouring two glasses of cabernet sauvignon at the counter.
He turns to see Angus standing behind him in the kitchen, barefoot and bleary-eyed in a matching pajama set, his voice soft with sleep and his hair sticking up in every direction.
What an angel, Taako thinks.
Raandyy walks in a few feet behind Angus, having followed him out of his room. He gives Angus a sleepy chirp and rubs up against his legs. The cat must evidently take his emotional support duties pretty damn seriously, because he practically never lets Angus out of his sight- he sleeps in his bed at night, he lays outside the bathroom door when Angus showers, and when Angus leaves the house, Raandyy curls up in a sunbeam on the windowsill by the front door to wait for his return.
“We do,” Taako replies carefully, “I figured you'd be asleep by now, so I invited Kravitz over. He's in my room.”
Angus’s expression briefly flicks into a frown. It's only for a second, but Taako sees it. “Oh. Okay,” he says. “I was about to go back to bed, don't mind me. I was just thirsty, is all.”
It would be a pretty convincing lie if Taako couldn't hear the shaky note at the back of his throat. He has to give the kid props for commitment though, because he goes to the trouble of getting a glass down from the cabinet and grabbing the pitcher of water from the fridge to back it up.
“Not so fast, little man,” Taako says, turning around to face him and crossing his arms over his chest. He watches Angus pause in pouring himself a glass of water. “Why don't you hop on up here and tell Taako what's really goin’ on, yeah?”
Angus looks up at him, a look of equal parts embarrassment, confusion, and panic on his face at being caught in a lie. It strikes Taako as the sort of thing that might be amusing if he wasn't so concerned.
Well, now you know what he'll look like the first time you catch him sneaking out of the house when he's a teenager, Taako thinks to himself.
He recognizes the thought for what it is and forces it down stubbornly.
“Uh. What do you mean, sir?” Angus asks, composing himself.
Okay, so that's how we're doing this, he thinks. Playing dumb. Fair enough.
“First of all,” Taako drawls, “you just called me sir, so I know somethin’s up.”
Angus blanches. “Oh, did I?” he says, giving a nervous little laugh. “I'm just tired, I guess. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize, Ango,” Taako murmurs smoothly. “If you really don't want to talk about it, say the word and I'll drop it, 'kay? But hey, kiddo?”
Angus hums a questioning note.
“A word of advice,” Taako says, keeping his voice light. He doesn't want this next part to come across as any more of a threat than it has to be. Angus spooks easy. “Don't try to lie to a liar, mmkay? Tends to not work out too well.” He raises an eyebrow and gives Angus a look somewhere between “pointed and firm glance” and “warm wry smile.”
He tries, anyway.
Christ. What is he doing.
Angus's eyes widen a little in shock, and he's left speechless. This is the closest he and Taako have come to any sort of disagreement since Angus moved in with him.
Taako is struck, oddly, with the sudden urge to not fuck this up.
He reaches out to ruffle Angus’s hair a bit, hoping to defuse some of the tension, and it works for the most part. “I'm not mad, pumpkin, you can relax.” He lets the rest of the sentence hang unspoken, hoping Angus will pick up on it.
He blinks up at him, perplexed, and Taako sighs. So much for that.
“I just wanna make sure you're okay,” he says softly.
Honesty still gives him hives. He's working on it.
“Oh,” Angus says, and he gives Taako a shy little smile of gratitude and appreciation. Precious. “Well, to tell you the truth, I had a nightmare. I'm sorry for lying, Taako.”
“You're fine, kiddo,” Taako says, opening his arms for a hug before he can think better of it. “Thanks for bein’ honest about it the second time around. You wanna, like, talk about it, or whatever?”
Angus immediately dives in for a hug, tucking his face against Taako's ribs, wrapping his little arms tight around his waist. “Not really, no,” he mutters into the wool of Taako's sweater, eyes closed. Taako sets one hand on his back between his shoulder blades, which are a little more prominent than they maybe should be, and he buries the other in Angus’s curls. He makes a mental note to be sure that Angus is eating enough.
“You and me both, Angles. I hate talking about bad dreams. Shit feels like you're reliving them all over again, I never got the point.”
“To be fair,” Angus says jokingly, “You hate talking about most things, Taako.”
Taako shrugs. “You know what? That's fair. I'll take that.”
Angus laughs, pulling away after a moment to lean down and scoop Raandyy up in his arms. “I'll be okay to go back to bed now, I think. Sorry for interrupting your date with Mister Kravitz.”
“Nah, don’t sweat it, boyo,” Taako replies. “There's no rush. He's a guest here out of my courtesy alone, and I'm his boyfriend, so he can't complain about my shitty hosting. That's how it works.”
Angus wrinkles his nose and cocks his head to the side a little. “I don't think that's how that works at all, but okay.”
Taako reaches out to tap the end of his nose gently. “Smartass. Do you want to try a little sip of my wine?”
“Um, sure, I guess?” Angus says.
Taako fishes a teaspoon out of the drawer, measuring just a few drops out of his glass before passing the spoon to Angus, who immediately pulls a face upon tasting it.
“Gross,” he says, reaching for his glass of water to rinse the taste out of his mouth. “No offense.”
“Right answer, sweet pea,” Taako hums, humored. “No more for you until next Candlenights at least.”
Angus laughs. “You're really nailing this whole parenting thing,” he jokes.
“What can I say, I'm a natural,” Taako replies breezily.
They're quiet for a moment before Angus pipes up again. “Shouldn't you get back to Mister Kravitz? I'm sure he misses you, you've been out here with me for quite a while.”
Taako waves a hand dismissively, giving Raandyy a scratch behind his ears. “Eh, he'll be fine, he's a big boy.” That gets a laugh out of Angus. “Besides,” Taako continues, “He's not the priority here, yeah? You are.”
Angus leans up against Taako, and something about the gesture makes him absolutely melt. “I'm gonna level with you here, Ango,” Taako says. “Real talk for a sec, bear with me. You live here too, and that means you get a say in whether or not we have people over, you hear me? I probably should have asked you before I invited him over tonight, but that's on me, so my bad. Point is, if you're ever uncomfortable or if you want someone to leave, you just tell me and they're gone, capiche? Don't worry about being polite, I'll make up an excuse or some shit. Lup and I had a ‘no creeps’ rule growing up, and that still stands. And if you'd rather we not have company on a particular night or somethin’, you can lemme know. That goes double for Kravitz- sure, he's like, important to me, or what the fuck ever, but if you start to feel like I'm ignoring you over him, feel free to yell at me about it and I'll fix my shit. Got all that?”
“Yeah,” Angus says. “Thanks, Taako. Those are really good rules, I think. I appreciate you treating me like an adult and stuff. Most people wouldn't give me that much of a say in things.”
“Yeah, well, most people are dumb. You fuckin’ live here. It's only fair,” Taako replies, and Angus laughs.
“That's a good point, Taako! And for what it's worth, I don't mind Mister Kravitz coming over, just so you know. He could even come over more often, if you want. I like him. He's cool.”
“Yeah?” Taako asks, looking down at him and chuckling. “You think so?”
Angus nods, smiling. “Mhm. It's ‘cause he’s nice and he makes you happy.”
“Gross,” Taako says, and they both laugh. “But thanks, angel. I'll tell him you said so.”
It's then that a voice calls out softly from down the hall. “Taako? Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, babe. Be there in a sec,” Taako calls back. “Ango needed me.”
“Oh, okay. In that case, take your time,” Kravitz replies, and Angus smiles.
“Duty calls?” he asks, looking up at Taako.
“‘Fraid so, my man,” Taako responds. “You gonna be okay by yourself?”
“Yeah, I'll be fine,” Angus says, nodding. “I feel way better now. You should go check on him before he starts to worry.”
Taako laughs, leaning in to give Angus one last hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Good idea. Night, kiddo. I'll see you tomorrow.”
Angus muffles a soft goodnight against his sweater before heading back to his room, Raandyy quick on his heels.
Taako watches him go, and once his bedroom door is closed, he grabs the wine glasses and heads back towards his own room.
“Well, bones,” he says as he nudges the door open. “Kid thinks you're cool, apparently.”
“Would it surprise you at all to hear that that's maybe only the fifth time I've ever been called cool in my life?”
“Nope. Not on your life, baby. Or should I say...afterlife?”
“That was low hanging fruit and you know it, Taako.”
“Yeah. You're welcome.”