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Angus looked over the directions meticulously, double-checking and even triple-checking the measurements of each ingredient. He had made the recipe a few times in the past, but now more than ever he was determined to perfect it.
The sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floor caught his attention, and he looked up to see Taako was up. His golden hair was pinned back in a fishtail braid, and he was wearing an ensemble appropriate for the Candlenights season; ugly sweater and all.
“What are you up to, pumpkin?” Taako asked curiously. He didn’t look...mischievous or sinister the way he sometimes did in the past. Today he looked genuinely interested in what Angus was doing.
“G-good morning!” Angus felt nerves in his stomach. “I was...um...trying to make cinnamon rolls for us to eat on Candlenights.”
“I can see and smell that!” Taako chuckled. “Lemme get an apron and I’ll help you out. It’s easier and faster to do with more than one cook.”
Angus tried to deny the assistance but the words failed him. He let Taako don his own apron and moved over to give him some space. Taako looked around at the work Angus had already done.
“I gotta say, Ango, I’m impressed! You’re really improving with your technique! I see you got your mise en place this time around and you’re keeping the space clean. This is leaps and bounds from when you started!”
Angus smiled, feeling his face become warm and his nerves settle. “Thank you, sir...” Part of him was still anticipating a sarcastic and grazing remark, but Taako had stopped doing that a while ago.
Taako looked at Angus. “On any other day I’d let you finish this on your own, but it is Candlenights and we haven’t been able to do a whole lot together since the holiday season kicked off. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to help you prepare these rolls.”
“Oh!” Angus was surprised. It was true that both of them had been busy as of late, this year it didn’t feel like a holiday as much as it had in the past. “Absolutely! I’d...I’d love that!”
“Then let’s get to work!”
The next half-hour went by a lot faster, with the two of them laughing and just enjoying themselves. By the time the rolls were finished baking and had been frosted, they smelled fantastic and looked picturesque.
“They look almost too pretty to eat!” Angus exclaimed, his eyes wide.
“And you played a big part in that, my dude.” Taako said proudly, ruffling Angus’s fluffy hair. The act made the boy start giggling.
“You know,” Taako continued, “when I was younger I didn’t have a whole lot of reliable people to show me how to do most of anything, be it cooking or magic or any of that stuff. A lot of it were things I either had to learn on my own or from people I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with.”
Angus frowned.
“What I’m trying to say here is I want to not have you go through that.” Taako reached for a spatula to scoop up two of the cinnamon rolls. “You really are precious to me, pumpkin. I don’t know how to explain it, but you’re like family.” He placed the rolls on small plates and handed Angus one of them. “I’m sorry for being kinda...insensitive in the past, and I hope that what we’ve got now is making that up to you.”
The smile returned to Angus’s face. “It absolutely is. It’s a bit weird thinking of you as my...my dad, but I’m glad that you’re taking care of me now.”
"Me too," Taako cleared his throat suddenly. “Oh, I did not mean to get so sappy on you, my dude.”
The last comment just made Angus laugh. “It’s okay, sir. It is a holiday, and I’m happy to spend it with you. You wanna eat these before they get stale?”
“Oh, hell yeah. Nothing’s worse than a stale cinnamon roll! Don’t want to let these beauties go bad!” Taako scooped up his plate and guided Angus to the sofa. A tray had been set up since the night before, when Angus was reading a Caleb Cleaveland novel aloud. He waited for only a minute before Taako came back to sit next to him; he was probably putting the rest of the rolls away so they would at least stay fresh.
Angus snuggled up next to Taako as he started to eat his cinnamon roll. It was the most delicious roll he had ever eaten, and he felt it wasn’t just because Taako had helped him make it. Now, with the two of them enjoying a prepared breakfast in front of the decorated living space, it finally actually felt like a holiday, and it felt even better than any previous Candlenights Angus had celebrated.
“Joyous Candlenights, Angus.” Taako ruffled Angus’s hair again. Angus leaned into the touch.
“Joyous Candlenights.”