Work Text:
“Bad luck.”
Magnus is gone. Taako’s mind races to catch up with what has just occurred. The Animus Bell is still ringing in his head, confusion reverberating through him. Magnus is gone. This… this person in front of him, this fucking imposter is not Magnus. He could tell from the first millisecond after he stood up, before he said even one word. He searches his brain, fuzzy with total and utter exhaustion, his body barely keeping itself together after their trials (he still can’t believe a fucking washing machine fell on him), as he tries to think about what the Director told them about the Bell….and he remembers that she knew absolutely nothing. A lot of fucking good that does any of them. His hands start to tremble as he continues to process the sheer fact that Magnus is gone.
No.
Taako does the most un-Taako thing he’s ever done in his life: he rushes in. He doesn’t take one minute to think about it, to even tell Merle what he’s doing, to get the ten steps ahead of everyone that he usually likes to be. He doesn’t even know if this will work; he doesn’t care. He pauses to throw a witty quip at these asshats, these monsters- “I’ve got a fuckin’ idea for ya”- (his face burns with shame as he remembers how delighted he was by them when they met) and then he reaches down, Magnus Magnus Magnus flowing through his veins, lighting him up as he digs deep and finds the raw, unbridled, rarely-touched furious magic he needs to cast himself into the Ethereal Plane. As he feels himself ascend to the plane, Magnus Magnus Magnus propels him forward and he hopes and prays to Istus that he isn’t too late.
The world around Taako goes grey as he arrives on the Ethereal Plane. He quickly looks around and immediately finds Magnus and raises a quick grateful prayer to his goddess that he was right. Magnus’s back is to him as he floats, almost serenely, towards what looks to be a… rift? What the fuck? He realizes fairly quickly that it’s a rift to the Astral Plane, and as he looks more closely, he can tell immediately that something is decidedly very, very wrong ( Add it to the fucking list ). His hairs stand on end as he notices a roiling, black sea of…disgusting, visceral oil where the calm waters of the Astral Plane used to be. Fuck fuck fuck. Taako shakes his head and focuses on his single goal. Magnus finally turns around and sees Taako, his eyes lighting up in surprise as he continues to struggle against the pull, his efforts increasing now that he’s seen Taako. Taako tries to give him a reassuring smile, but he knows it’s shaky at best- he knows they’re nowhere near being in the clear yet.
Taako tries to move more quickly, but nothing happens quickly on the Ethereal Plane. It’s usually a slow languidness that he enjoys, that he escapes to when things get too heated, too difficult. The weightlessness and calm that usually accompanies this plane are his worst enemy now, as he scrambles to find purchase on anything to push himself more quickly to Magnus. As he floats towards Magnus’s outstretched arm, he’s still not sure he’ll get to him in time and he’s already thinking of his Plan B, of ways that he can convince, swindle, seduce, outright force Kravitz to give Magnus back to him if this doesn’t work.
He’s so close now. Taako reaches out farther, the movement achingly slow, an uncomfortable dissonance against the frantic beating of his heart, the electricity crackling in his veins. As his fingers stretch to meet Magnus’s, he feels a magnetic force pull his hand the rest of the way. The moment their hands connect, Taako begins to pull as hard as he can, fighting against this unseen force pulling Magnus. He feels the slightest bit of movement in his favor, a mere millimeter, but it’s enough to spur him to find even more strength, even more purchase in this unpurchasable plane.
As he stares determinedly at their hands, his brow furrowed, he sees a dull white light forming around their grasp. The light quickly grows brighter and brighter, their hands growing warmer and warmer until he can see the detail of it- it’s not one bright light, but a hundred strands of white light, encircling their clasped hands, frantically circling around them. Taako blinks rapidly as he witnesses more and more strands form around their hands, these....bonds…. holding their hands together. He looks up into Magnus’s wide eyes and knows he sees them too, can see the lights reflecting in his eyes. Taako keeps pulling, feeling each agonizing centimeter he gains in getting them out of here, his grasp like a vice grip.
All of a sudden, the light surrounding their hands explodes into a bright flash and suddenly Taako isn’t on the Ethereal Plane, his hand no longer in Magnus’s. He almost falls over from the sudden lack of resistance, the pull that he felt dragging Magnus immediately disappearing, and instead feels sand underneath his feet. He blinks twice and looks around, realizing he’s on… a beach? Taako opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Where the fuck is he? He keeps frantically searching for clues and straight ahead of him, he sees both himself and Magnus, both slightly younger, in the same position they were just in- arms outstretched and hands clasped together, although the rest of the scene is completely different. This Taako is lying on a red towel, or maybe a robe? Magnus is standing above him, playfully pulling him up from his lounging position, laughing as Taako digs his feet into the sand, unwilling to follow. He reaches out and tries to speak again, but no words come out. He walks towards them as he watches Magnus eventually overpower this other version of him and drag him into the water, kicking and screaming, although he can tell that it’s all for show- there’s no real heat behind the half-hearted protests. His heart clenches and he feels a slight, now familiar static buzzing in his brain. He’s never been here, he has no memory of this. Is this a dream? He would remember this, wouldn’t he? Did he end up on a different plane accidentally? Where is his Magnus? How does he get back to the Ethereal Plane?
He watches as Magnus pulls Taako flush against his body as a wave crashes over the both of them. As the water recedes, he sees his arms wrapped around Magnus’ neck, his smile brighter than the sun beating down on them, as he pulls Magnus in for a kiss...
<flash>
He’s in a hallway, a metal hallway. It feels like maybe a dorm, or some other sort of living space? Home... something whispers to him. He shakes his head. This isn’t a home he’s ever been in. He remembers all of the dreadful places he was shuttled to as a kid by himself, every last awful one, and this was certainly never one of them. He sees the younger Magnus again, this time wearing a red jacket, nervously approaching a door. He brings his hand up to knock and the door quickly opens before his hand connects with it. Taako sees himself on the other side of the door, hair wildly disheveled, eyes red-rimmed and teary, but the look on his face is a forced indifference.
“Hey Maggie,” he hears himself say, this Taako’s voice rough and cracking. He clears his throat. “What’s up, kemosabe?”
Magnus rubs the back of his neck with his hand, looking down on the ground as if he’ll find the words he wants to say down there. “I just wanted to check in on you. See how you’re doing, ya know?”
Taako sees himself scoff and roll his eyes. “Don’t you worry about me, Mags. I’m cool as a cucumber as always. Ain’t no thang.” Taako notices, barely perceptible to anyone else but himself, a slight tremble of this Taako’s lower lip, sees just the slightest struggle to keep his demeanor cool, stoic. His heart aches. He knows this move that he’s witnessing; he’s done it a hundred thousand times. The push away. His stomach sours as he witnesses this classic Taako act from afar.
Magnus nervously clears his throat, breaking Taako out of his reverie. “You know...” he starts, then stops. “You know you don’t have to be ok. It’s ok to be upset...it’s ok if-”
Taako interrupts, his voice immediately a sharp razor’s edge. “What, you think little ol’ Taako can’t handle a rough day?” His eyes narrow as he zooms in on his target. Taako’s stomach drops, knowing what comes next, could write the script himself. He watches Magnus shift uncomfortably under the precise attention this Taako is giving him. “You wanna make me feel better, Burnsides?” He purrs, his voice dripping with venom. “Save the poor damsel? That’s what gets you off, isn’t it? What gets you hard?”
Magnus chokes and stammers, his face beet red. “You… you know that’s not it! I’m…I’m just...” He stops himself, takes a breath and then takes Taako’s hand in his. “I know what you’re doing, Taako. You don’t have to do it. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got you. I...If you need to fall apart, it’s ok.”
Taako pulls against Magnus’s grip, trying to disengage, but Magnus holds on, their arms stretched and straining. “Yeah, I get it, homey. No need to get all schmoopy about it. I had a bad day. Big whoop. I lost… I lost…” His chin begins to quiver and Taako can see himself unraveling, sees the quiver spread to his hands as he desperately tries to disengage from Magnus. “It’s not...She isn’t…” This Taako stares at their clasped hands, his chest heaving, frantically trying to look anywhere but at Magnus. Tears slowly stream down his face as his struggles grow weaker and weaker, all of the energy draining from him. He finally stops struggling and let’s Magnus pull him into a hug. His quiet crying quickly morphs into deep sobs muffled by Magnus’s chest, his hands now desperately clinging to the back of Magnus’s shirt. Magnus strokes his head, smoothing out his hair while he whispers roughly, “I know it hurts. She’ll be back…we’re already halfway through the cycle. She’ll be back so soon. It’s gonna be ok. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.” The static buzzing in his brain grows deafening as he sees Magnus gently move Taako into the room and shut the door behind him.
<flash>
He’s in a dark bedroom and the early light of dawn is just starting to show itself through a nearby window. With his dark vision, he can easily see two familiar figures sleeping in a bed nearby. He steps closer and sees Magnus’s head poking out from under a blanket, his arms wrapped tightly around Taako, who is curled with his back against him. The static buzzing quietly returns as he watches this version of himself try to slowly and gently disentangle from Magnus’s tight grasp, can tell he’s trying to do so without waking the sleeping human. He stretches one leg out from under the blanket, gets one foot onto the floor, then the other. He tries to slowly pull his arm out from under Magnus’s when Magnus stirs and clumsily grabs Taako’s hand, mere centimeters from being free.
“Noooooo,” Magnus mumbles sleepily.
Taako hears himself chuckle. “Someone’s gotta make breakfast for all you ravenous doofuses,” he whispers to Magnus.
“Let someone else take care of it,” Magnus says, his voice rough with sleep. Taako watches as Magnus easily pulls this Taako back into bed, now facing him, and kisses him deeply. He pulls back just a bit and touches his forehead to Taako’s. “I’ll make it worth your while…” he says, tauntingly.
Taako laughs and leans his head back, granting Magnus access to his neck. “My dude, you’ve got yourself a deal.” He takes a sharp breath as Magnus playfully nips at his pulse point. “But you’re the one who has to explain to everyone why breakfast is an hour late.”
Magnus trails kisses down Taako’s neck, stops at his collarbone and says, “Try two hours late.” His head disappears underneath the blanket as he continues his decent. Taako watches this Taako’s head fall back onto the pillow, his eyes slowly closing, his jaw slack.
<flash>
Taako is in a forest somewhere and is immediately bombarded with total and utter chaos. There are blood-curdling screams and desperate shouts coming from every direction. He looks up at the dark, much-too-dark grey sky and sees black tendrils, no- pillars, plummeting into the ground. In front of him, he sees himself and Magnus, running through the forest hand-in-hand, seemingly with a destination in mind. The screams grow more frantic as they continue their path through the forest, this Taako blasting magic missiles in every direction with an accuracy that Taako’s never seen himself exhibit before.
He sees Magnus pull on his other hand, watches as Taako is jerked to a halt in his tracks. His eyes dart around.
“Mags, what the hell are you doing??” he hears himself shout frantically, pulling at Magnus’s hand. “We gotta go! Now!”
Magnus shakes his head. “Taako...I…I gotta try and help some of the others. I gotta go back.”
Taako shakes his head frantically and tries to pull Magnus in the direction they were going, to no avail. His arm strains as he puts all of his body weight into pulling on Magnus’s hand, but Magnus doesn’t move an inch. “No! Absolutely not! You know how this goes. We’re out of time. We gotta go!”
Magnus shoves what looks to be a brightly lit ball into Taako’s robe pocket. “Take the light!” Magnus shouts. “Get it back to the ship and do not wait for me.”
Taako keeps pulling on Magnus, tears beginning to form in his eyes. “Like hell I will!” He shouts, his voice cracking. “I’m not leaving you here, Magnus! Enough fucking around. Let’s go! ”
Magnus shakes his head. “Taako, please. I have to help. You know this. You know I have to do this. Just...just get back to the ship and make sure you get out of here. The sooner you leave, the sooner I’ll be back.”
Taako yells in frustration and stomps his foot, pulling Magnus down for a quick kiss before pushing him away. “Gods dammit, Burnsides. When I see you again, I’m going to slap you right in your dumb, brave, unselfish, beautiful face.” He lets go of Magnus’s hand.
Magnus laughs and turns around. “Love you too!” He shouts over his shoulder, running back into the fray.
<flash>
Taako is back in the Ethereal Plane, looking into Magnus’s eyes that are now brimming with tears, streaming down his face. “Did... did you just see that??” Taako whispers in disbelief. Magnus can only nod, a choked sob making its way out. “What the fuck was that?” Taako asks, both to himself and to Magnus.
And suddenly it all makes sense in a way that it absolutely shouldn't. The glances that lasted just a beat too long, the lingering touches… That one time they were camping in the forest on a mission and fell asleep on separate bedrolls only to wake up to find themselves completely entangled in each other... The move he just fucking made to save Magnus… The invisible steel wire that has connected the two of them from the moment they met. It’s like the gears in his heart have suddenly clicked into place, leaving Taako thrilled, terrified, relieved, breathless.
Magnus shakes his head in disbelief. “I...I have no idea. Taako, I don’t remember any of that. Was that us?? How could that have been us??”
Taako shakes his head. “I have no fucking clue.” His mind races with a million more things to say, warring emotions bottlenecking in his throat- These memories feel realer than anything else in my life…. I don’t trust anyone or anything, but I know to trust this… I think I’m in love with you - when suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he sees Merle’s arm extend into the Ethereal Plane and usher them back. As Taako feels the brief disorientation of descending from the Ethereal Plane, he sadly realizes they’re out of time to figure anything else out- the immediate threat of Wonderland pulling them back to this reality in more ways than one. He tries to set the thousands of questions he has aside and focus on the task at hand- survive this, then figure out what in the hell just happened. He hears Magnus’s, real Magnus’s voice behind him and almost cries with relief:
“I’ll be having my body back, you undead fuck.”