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“…So I’m gonna get three tickets, because if I’ve gotta listen about beer science, then so do you…”
“Yeah, yeah…” Taako continued to flick through his magazine, sipping at his coffee.
“And you can do next Saturday, right?”
“Yep.” Flick, sip.
“Okay, sweet, so that’s three of us, next Saturday, at Thirsty Bear…”
Taako snorted coffee out of his nose. “Excuse me? At what?"
Lup rounded on him. “Hah! I knew you weren’t listening!”
“What the fuck are you-”
“I’m on the phone, babe!” Lup grinned at him, gesturing to her cellphone, tucked between her ear and shoulder.
“Lup!”
"Sorry!” She mouthed at him, exaggerating the word, “Busy!”
He rolled his eyes and tossed the magazine at her. She dodged out of the way with a little squeak just as the other line picked up.
“Ah! Hello? Yes! Hi! Yeah, I was calling to book three tickets for the tour…next Saturday, yeah.”
Taako watched as she started to pace the room.
“Yep, three… under the name Lup? Yeah, that’s L, U -” She frowned. “Yeah, that’s right. Barry? Yeah, he’s my boyfriend… Yeah, it’s his birthday next week!” She laughed. “Oh, dunk, seriously? Thanks so much! Right so that’s… next Saturday, 4pm? Got it. Thanks!”
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or not?” Asked Taako as she hung up the call.
“You know how it’s Barry’s birthday next week?”
“I absolutely did know that, yes.”
Lup rolled her eyes. “Well, he’s always going on about that brewery he found a few months ago so I figured I’d book him a tour for his birthday.” She picked up the magazine, rolled it into a tube and booped Taako on the head with it. “You’re coming, by the way.”
He swatted her away. “I figured. So what’s all this about bears? You can consider my interest piqued.”
“That’s the name of the brewery,” Lup said with a sigh, shaking her head, “It’s called Thirsty Bear.”
“You’re telling me,” Taako stood up, hands on hips, “That Barry’s found a brewery called Thirsty Bear?”
“Yep.”
“And we’re sure it’s a brewery?”
She boops him again. “Positive. If you paid more attention, you’d see that the recycling is always full of their bottles.”
“Bold of you to assume I pay attention to the recycling at all. So I get why you’re going, because you chose to stick with the nerd, but why do I have to go?”
“Because,” she said, folding her arms across her chest, “I said so.”
“That’s hardly fair, Lulu.”
“Oh, you’ll love it. It’s not like you’ve got anything else on.”
“I resent that!”
“Do you have something planned?”
“I… I could do! I could have a hot date!”
“Mm-hmm, sure. Maybe you’ll meet someone on the tour.”
Taako laughed. “ Psh, what, find myself another Barry? One is enough, I think.” He pulled the magazine from Lup’s hand and tucked it under his arm. “What does one wear to a brewery, anyway?”
She shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
***
They waited in the crowded little front room with the rest of the guests on the tour. There were a few groups - another birthday - and several little gangs of middle aged men. Taako flicked listlessly at the fake hops that had been artfully stapled to the wall. The guy behind the till - the owner of the brewery, according to Barry - started to walk around the room, handing out branded glasses. The glasses were pretty simple and engraved with the brewery’s logo - a bear standing on its hind legs. He passed a small stack of tokens to Barry - clearly designating him the sensible one of their little party.
Barry noticed the disinterested look on Taako’s face.
“Seriously, Taako, I think you’re gonna find it kinda interesting.”
“Really, Barold?”
“Yeah! I think you’ll, uh…” Barry took his glasses off, gave them a wipe on his shirt, placed them back on his nose, “You’ll really enjoy it, actually.”
Taako looked sideways at Lup. “Lup, babe, do you have any idea what your weird boyfriend is talking about?”
“Actually… no.”
“Huh. Gonna enlighten us, Barry?”
Barry shrugged, but there was a cheeky grin on his face that neither of them missed. “What? I just think you’ll find it kinda interesting. You don’t have to get all suspicious on me, jeez.”
Taako squinted at him, trying to figure out the trick. “…Right.”
He began to examine the various bottles that were stacked on the shelves on the wall closest to him when the owner, clipboard in hand, called out to the group.
“Right, I think that’s everyone. So, guys, you’re gonna be taken around the brewery by one of our lads, and he’s gonna show you how it works, what we do here, all that. There’ll be time for questions at the end, but if you’ve got anything to ask just stick your hand up. Or just yell at him, either works for me.” He grinned out across his audience. “You can cash in those little tokens for thirds and halves as you go, and if you’ve got any left at the end you can spend them here in our taproom or use them for money off bottles, growlers, whatever.”
Taako tapped his fingernails on the edge of his glass, a little impatiently. He didn’t even like beer. Sure, he would drink it, but if he could choose between beer and a cocktail? Or wine? It didn’t even stand a chance.
“Hey, Barold, you can have half my tokens. Call it a birthday present.”
“You sure?”
Taako waved a hand at him. “I’m not, you know, a huge beer fan. Don’t spend it all at once, okay?” He nudged him with his elbow. “I don’t want you throwing up on me in the Uber on the way home.”
“Thanks, T.” Said Barry, shoving the tokens in his pocket. “Thanks for coming, too. Seriously, though, keep an open mind, yeah?”
“Mm-hmm, sure.”
“You never know what you mi-”
“Right!” The brewer clapped his hands together and the room fell into silence. “I’ll get the man of the hour.”
He pulled open the door at the back of the room, leant through the doorway and hollered into the room beyond.
“Hey, Magnus? Magnus! We’re ready to go in here!”
Barry snickered. Taako and Lup both turned to look at him, and the laugh transformed into a cough. “What?”
“What are you up to, Bluejeans?”
“Nothing!”
Taako was about to contest that claim when the back door swung open.
He suddenly realised what, exactly, Barry had been talking about when he told him to keep an open mind.
Magnus was tall and broad, with wide shoulders. He wore a red plaid flannel shirt over a tight, black T-Shirt cut into a v-neck, revealing a tanned, freckled chest and the hint of a tattoo peeking out from beneath the fabric. His dark brown hair was tied into a messy top-knot, little strands falling haphazardly around his face. The hair at the nape of his neck and the base of his head was shaved into a neat undercut - one that sorely needed re-shaving, the hair growing out at messy angles. His beard was trimmed, far neater than his hair, into a pair of matching copper-coloured mutton chops.
Around his waist was a kind of apron-slash-utility belt, tied at the hip and covered in bulging pockets. His jeans were skinny - indecently skinny, Taako thought - and tucked into a pair of oxblood red boots, scuffed on the toes and heels.
His wide, freckled face broke into a smile as he entered the room. He had a slightly lopsided grin, a fine white scar gently twisting the upper corner of his top lip. His nose had obviously been broken at some point, and one of his eyebrows matched his lip - a scar splitting it in two. He was drying off his hands on an old towel, which he tossed over one shoulder as he turned to face the crowd.
Taako felt someone nudge him in the ribs. “Hey, Ko.” Lup whispered in his ear, “If you don’t close your mouth, something will fly into it.”
He spun around and shot her a dirty look. Then he had a thought and turned on Barry.
“You…” he began, keeping his voice low, but before he had a chance to finish the brewer - Magnus - was calling out across the room.
He faltered into silence. Barry gave him a huge, shit-eating grin. “Have fun, Ko.”
“Right, everyone,” Magnus began, still grinning, “I’m Magnus, as, uh… some of you already know…” He spotted Barry standing amongst the crowd and gave him a little wave, Barry waving back with enthusiasm, “… So, I work here at Thirsty Bear, and I’ll be taking you around today and showing you how we make the beer and all the work that goes into getting you drunk every Saturday evening.”
Taako found himself laughing, despite the poor quality of the joke. Ah, shit.
“We’re gonna head into the yard, now, because back there,” he gestured over his shoulder, “is just the back of the taproom, and that’s not super interesting unless you really wanna know how we install the beer lines. So if you’ll follow me…”
He started to weave his way through the crowd, greeting familiar patrons as he went, then headed through the lobby door. The group followed after him, shuffling awkwardly through the door and out into the yard.
“Well.” Lup shoved Taako with her shoulder as they slowly filed out.
“Well what?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what.”
“I can’t say I do.”
Lup threw an arm around Barry. “I cannot believe you managed to keep him a secret, babe.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t even sure he’d be working today.”
Taako walked a little ahead of them, trying to block out their giggles. Shit, shit shit. Hot guys were not supposed to work at micro-breweries. Right?
They followed the rest of the group into the first stop on the tour - a large warehouse-like building to one side of the shop and taproom with a huge sliding door. Magnus pulled the door up, and Taako was hit with a strong hoppy smell. The space beyond was piled high with sacks, a make-shift office built from plywood built into the corner of the room.
“So, this is the first stage of any brewing process,” Magnus began, “grains and hops. We’re lucky to have our resident botanical expert on site today…” He led them into the warehouse space, cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. “Oi, Merle! Tour’s here!”
There was a distant crash, and another man appeared from the little office. He was older than Magnus, with greying hair and a long beard. He was wearing a vibrant green Hawaiian shirt.
“Botany enthusiast.” He corrected, with a knowing look, “Not expert.”
“Right, right, sure. So we get the grains from a supplier, but Merle here grows his own hops locally and supplies ‘em to us for a reduced fee.”
“And as much beer as I can fit in the truck.”
“…and that. Tell ‘em about your hops, Merle.”
Merle launched into a well-rehearsed spiel about the different kinds of hops they used in the brewery. Taako was barely listening, still vaguely distracted, when Lup elbowed him again.
“What now?”
“Hey, Barry!” He turned at the unfamiliar voice. Magnus had made his way over to them and had clapped a giant hand on Barry’s shoulder. “You finally made it to the tour, then?”
Barry grinned. “I thought it was about time, you know? It was Lup who booked it though…” He pulled Lup towards him, wrapping an arm around her.
“Yeah! You phoned, right?”
“That was me!”
“It’s nice to finally meet you! He’s always talking about you.”
Lup grinned at Barry as he blushed, looking down at his feet. “Is that right? Aw, babe.”
Barry made a non-committal noise of assent and blushed even more. Lup laughed, then grabbed Taako’s arm, pulling him forward.
“This is-”
“Taako, right?”
The twins froze.
“I… yeah. How…?”
Magnus’ smile faltered, for just a second. “Well, I mean… Barry’s talked about you a bunch of times too.”
“Yeah?” Taako shot a look at Barry, who was very deliberately looking the other way. “All good things, I hope?”
“Oh, sure! All great. I didn’t expect you to be…ah…” He falters again, and starts fiddling with the patch of poorly-shaved hair at the back of his head, “…to be here, you know?” There were the beginnings of a flush on his cheekbones. Taako found himself mindlessly biting on the inside of his lip.
“Well, it’s not my usual scene.”
“No?”
He shrugged, dismissively. “The craft beer? Nah. I don’t really like beer, you know?”
Magnus laughed, his apparent anxiety fading. “I do not know, dude. You really don’t like any beer?”
Taako shook his head, lips pursed.
“So not like…IPAs? Stouts? Or…” He looks up, sticking his tongue out slightly as he thinks, “Sours, milds, bitters? Ales? Pilsers, porters? Or a saison?”
“Uh…” Taako blinked at him. “I recognised, like, one of those words. Which one do they sell at bars?”
“Oh, dude. If you’ve only ever drank that shit they sell in pubs it’s no wonder you don’t like beer. Look - right - they say there’s a beer for everyone, yeah?”
“Why do I doubt that?”
“There is! I’m gonna find you your beer. By the end of the day, you’ll be out there with the rest of them talking about hops and mouthfeel and aroma and stuff.”
“Really? Mouthfeel?”
“Okay, maybe not, but you’ll be in the taproom with something you really like on your lips.”
Taako tried not to think too much about lips. “You’re very confident.”
“That’s ‘cause I’m right.”
“Why don’t we make it interesting?”
Magnus laughed. He took a quick look towards the front of the room where Merle was still taking about hops, now handing around a bag of dried plants for people to sniff. He still had a little time.
“How interesting?”
“If you can find me this magical beer which you claim I’ll love so much, I’ll-”
“He’ll buy you a drink!” Lup pushed her way into their conversation. “In fact, that works both ways. The winner has to buy the looser a drink.”
“That sounds fair.” Agreed Barry, grinning.
Taako looked back up at Magnus. He was blushing again. “How’s that work for you?”
He seemed to be considering it. “Well… I finish when the tour does, so… yeah. Yes!” He extended a hand. “Deal?”
Taako took his hand with a grin which, he hoped, was hiding the sudden feeling of butterflies in his stomach. “You’re on.”
“Hey, Magnus!” They turned simultaneously. Merle was shouting at Magnus from across the room. “Quit flirting and get on with the tour, dude!”
“Uh…”
They turned back to each other, eyes wide. Magnus was definitely blushing now, and Taako could feel heat spreading up his own chest, too. With an awkward laugh, he pulled his hand back.
“I… should…” Magnus was starting to look downright panicked. “Yes.” And then he was off, pushing his way back through the crowd. Merle gave him a pointed look and said something Taako didn’t quite catch, which Magnus returned with a playful shove.
“Right, so…”
As Magnus continued, quickly slipping back into the swing of the tour, Lup leant towards Taako.
“Oohh, babe. Barry was right, this is fun.”
“I swear to god,” He responded, muttering under his breath, “one more word…”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll kill me or feed me to the cats or whatever. Just promise me you do it after you make out with him, mmkay?”
“What’s to say we’re even gonna-”
“Oh, shut up.”
Soon, the tour moved through into the next room. Taako was still only paying half-attention, more interested in the way Magnus excitedly moved his arms around when he was describing what mashing was than the actual craft behind brewing. His enthusiasm was sweet - and infectious - and he found himself laughing along with his shitty puns. Every time he did, he could feel Lup watching him, laughing at him more than the jokes.
At one point, midway through a long explanation of the exact temperature to store an IPA at, Taako caught Magnus’ eye. He raised his eyebrows at him and then - as if he had lost total control of his faculties - stuck his tongue out at him. He realised how ridiculous the gesture was as he did it, but it appeared to have the desired effect: Magnus spluttered, laughed, blushed, and then completely lost his place in the talk.
Ten minutes later, the brewery owner reappeared, ready to help Magnus hand out the first round of samples. Tokens were exchanged for drinks - halves or thirds, depending on the beer they were trying. Taako was leaning against one of the cool, concrete walls waiting for Barry and Lup to return with their drinks when there was a tap on his shoulder.
“Hey.”
Magnus had three tiny glasses held a little haphazardly in his hands, each with an inch or so of beer in them. Taako grabbed the one nearest to him before they all dropped to the floor with a scoff.
“You call this a sample?”
“What? No!” Magnus grinned. “Right, so, you said you don’t like any beer, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“So instead of just wasting a whole half on you, you can try a little bit from each, okay? Plus this way you won’t get massively drunk.”
“What’s to say I didn’t want to get massively drunk?”
“You can do that after we find your dream beer.”
“The dream beer you’re going to be buying me? Because it doesn’t exist? And is, in fact, vodka?”
“That’s the one.” Magnus leant on the wall next to him, “Right, so… that one you’ve got there is an IPA, it’s just our standard session ale. Then this one…” he raised one hand, “is the speciality tropical IPA, and then lastly this one,” he nods at the final glass, “is a ruby beer, which… you might like. Okay?”
Taako raised his eyebrows at him. “It’s like you’re speaking another language.”
“Just try one. Let me know what you think, and don’t-” Taako knocked back the drink in his hand, swallowing it in one, “… drink it all at once. Oh.”
“Was that wrong?”
“You’re supposed to savour it, dude!”
“Ah. Woops.”
“Did you at least taste it?”
Taako thought for a moment, moving his tongue around his mouth. “It was…fine. I mean it didn’t make me wanna throw up but it wasn’t good either. It was kinda… herby?”
“Right, good, we’re on the right path. Try the next one - and savour it, okay?”
They made their way through the next two beers, Taako taking them more slowly, letting the liquid sit in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. Magus was talking about hoppiness and texture and carbonation. All of it went over his head.
“All I know,” he said, finally, “is that the tropical one had a kinda nice…fruity thing going on, and that that one,” he pointed at the empty glass, “was genuinely disgusting.”
“Progress!”
“If you say so, darling.”
Magnus stacked the three empty glasses on top of each other. He looked like he was about to leave, but turned at the last moment, looking guilty.
“There is, ah… one thing.”
Ah, shit. “…Yeah?”
He had a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Or he wasn’t interested, or this was all a dare, or, or, or…
“We’re not, like, a big brewery…”
He wondered where this was going. “Okay?”
“It’s just, look. I said I could find your beer but we really only do IPAs and then a handful of specialities, maybe a couple of stouts when it’s the right season…”
“…and?”
Magnus looked sheepish. “Basically… It looks like you might hate IPAs, and there’s a good chance you won’t like stouts, so that means I might not be able to actually find, you know. The One.”
“Okay?”
“So, what I was gonna suggest is… we sell all kindsa stuff in the taproom. So, after this, I was thinking…”
“You’re asking if I wanna stay when the tour’s over? With you?”
He laughed, nervously. “Something like that, yeah.”
“That’ll really expedite the process when you have to buy me a drink after I win the bet.”
“So that’s a yes?”
Taako looked him up and down with a small smile. “Sure. It’s a date.” Magnus’ eyes went wide, and now he really was blushing, but he took it in his stride.
“I’ll come find you after-”
“Taako!”
Lup and Barry were heading back over, their now-filled glasses in their hands. Magnus took the cue to leave.
“I’ll see you later, then?”
“Yeah.”
As Magnus walked away, Lup sidled up to him. “What was that about?”
“Homeboy’s just bagged himself a date, Lulu."
Lup squealed at him and pulled Barry over, hurriedly whispering in his ear. They were both looking self-satisfied, now, wearing matching, mischievous grins. He was glad they were finding it funny – glad that he could let himself get carried away in their mirth – because beneath his stoic, smug expression his heart was racing.
The rest of the afternoon went in the same way, and despite his reservations Taako found himself actually enjoying the tour. Admittedly, he wasn’t really learning anything, wasn’t really paying attention to anything about mash or fermentation or filtering, but enjoyed watching Magnus talk, waiting for the little pauses in the tour where everyone else rushed to top up their glasses while sat away from the group, talking through another three samples.
Magnus wasn’t having much luck proving his point, much to Taako’s delight.
"I swear you’re pretending to dislike these just so you can win.” He said, exasperated, after their third rendezvous. They were sat on the floor, legs crossed, facing each other.
“Not true! That one, I said I liked that one!”
“You said it tasted like dirt water.”
“Okay, yes, but lots of things taste like dirt water! Coffee tastes like dirt water, and I love that!"
"So you love that one?”
“Psh, no!”
“You’re impossible.”
“I prefer difficult. What’s next?"
"Okay, this one is a bit weird…”
“Ohh, do tell?” Taako took the shot-sized drink from him, sniffing it. “It smells like… burning?”
“This is the smoked porter. It’s new – so new that we aren’t actually selling it yet. I got this one out of the tank, so it’ll be a bit punchier than if it had been kegged or bottled. What do you think?”
Taako cautiously raised the glass to his lips, aware of Magnus watching – whether he was watching him, or just waiting for his response, he didn’t know. The dark, slightly foamy beer was cool and robust and – yes – tasted like burning. It had a smoked, ashy taste to it that put him in mind of bonfires and fireworks.
“Well?”
“It’s actually…not bad.”
Magnus looked surprised. “I’m impressed,” he said, “Dark beers don’t usually go down well with newbies.”
“It’s interesting. It’s not great, not awful. Not bad. The smokiness is…” he trailed off, trying to find the right words.
“It’s like firework displays and bonfires, right? Like…” Magnus gets a wistful look on his face, “Like huddling around a fire in the winter."
"You’re really into this, aren’t you?”
Magnus grinned, rolling one of the empty glasses in his hands. “It’s my job.” He sighed. “I think we’re getting there. Slowly.”
“I feel bad,” Said Taako, mindlessly stacking his glasses, pulling the empty one away from Magnus, “I’ve taken up all your attention when you could be off talking about, I dunno, mouthfeel with those guys.” He gestured at the crowd of beer aficionados.
“Ah, they already know everything I’ve got to say.” He said, shrugging, “and… this has been fun.”
Taako lowered his gaze, hoping Magnus wouldn’t spot his cheeks turning pink.
“This is the last stop on the tour, too.”
Taako frowned and pulled out his phone, looking at the time. “Shit, so it is. That went faster than I expected.”
Magnus grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Are you… ah… still interested in meeting? After? So we can continue the quest for beer?"
Taako gave him a playful shove with his shoulder. "Yeah, dude! I still need to prove you wrong…"
“Good. Great!” He stood up, taking the empty glasses from Taako. “Right, I’ve gotta get going. See you in a bit?”
“Later, dude.”
The tour ended in the taproom – the guests who still had tokens left exchanging them at the bar for drinks. Lup and Barry grabbed a table near the back of the room. Taako sat with them, nervously bouncing one of his legs.
"So where’s your friend, then?”
“He said he’d be out in a sec…”
Lup gave him a look – a kind look, which he hated. “Cool your jets, babe, he’ll be back.”
He didn’t respond, just made a sarcastic snorting noise. Barry and Lup giggled – unlike him, they had been taking advantage of the free drinks along the tour. Barry stood up.
“What do you fancy?”
Lup shrugged. “Something pale and nerdy.” Barry blushed. “Anything! I trust you.” She winked, and Barry wandered over to the bar with a fistful of unspent tokens.
Taako was still eyeing the door behind the bar nervously.
“Seriously, dude. Chill. I’ve not seen you this jumpy about a guy since… god, since college. It’s fine."
"I am not not chill. I am chill. I am ice cold.”
She watched the table top vibrate with the rhythmic bouncing of his leg. “Uh-huh, sure."
"Hey, you’re still here!”
Taako’s leg immediately went still. He turned.
Magnus was still wearing the red plaid, but he’d abandoned the utility belt and now had a thick, green scarf slung around his neck. His hair had been released from the top-knot, falling around his face in little kinks and waves, twisting where it had been tied up.
Taako successfully avoiding swallowing his own tongue. “Where else would I be?”
Magnus shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I dunno, I was worried you might have gotten bored of me going on about beer…”
“If I’d gotten bored of you going on about beer, I’d have left hours ago."
"Hah, right, so did you, ah…” He looked down at the seat next to Taako, shot a quick glance at Lup, “Do you wanna…”
Taako rose, fluidly. “Let’s go sit at the bar. Leave the two love birds to their gross courtship displays.”
Lup stuck her tongue out at him, but as soon as Magnus’ back was turned she winked and gave him a thumbs up. He swore at her.
Magnus spoke as they weaved their way through tables and patrons. “So, I was thinking we should try you on a couple of sours first, because we’ve got a couple on tap and they’re super controversial, so we can get ‘em out of the way…” He found them two seats at the end of the bar. “Wait here…”
Taako watched as he manoeuvred his way behind the bar, greeting the bar staff with a friendly smile, a pat on the shoulder. A couple of them peered over his shoulder to look at Taako – he quickly dropped his gaze, looking down at his phone instead of meeting their eyes. It was cold in the taproom, and he started to wish he’d brought a coat – or had the luxury of a beer blanket like his sister.
Magnus was back quickly, two more of the taster-sized drinks pinched together in one hand and two-thirds of something dark in a curvy craft beer glass in the other.
“Okay, these are sours. I’ve got one that’s kinda mild, and one that is… not. Loads of people really hate sours, so I figured we’d see what you think.”
“Why the vitriol?”
“Just try one. That one, the milder one.”
He did as he was told. The beer had a fruity smell, which seemed promising, and he took a cautious sip.
“Urgh! It tastes like sour candy…”
“Yep.”
“People drink this? Willingly?"
"Mm-hmm. Wanna try the other one?"
"How can this be any-” he took a sip, “-Oh, Pan. No. Do not want that. Nope!”
Magnus laughed and pulled the glasses towards him, downing the remnants with a grin.
“You like that shit?”
“Yeah, dude! That fruity flavour? I love it!” Taako shook his head at him. “Okay, new plan: tell me what you like. What flavours are you into? What food do you like?”
“Well I did like fruit flavours, until you betrayed me, so… I dunno! I like sweet things, I guess?”
“Right, got it.”
He jumped up, his own drink still untouched, and returned with another taster. “What about this?”
“What is it?”
“Nuh-uh, you have to guess this one.”
Taako rolled his eyes and took a sip from the drink. Then another. It was a familiar taste, but he couldn’t quite place it. Magnus was watching him like he was waiting for him to do a trick.
“It's… man, what is that?”
“You want me to tell you?”
“Yeah!”
“It’s a jam donut IPA, dude!”
Now he knew what it was, he could taste it – a sweet strawberry flavour on the tongue, then a kind of yeasty, bready aftertaste. “Holy shit, that’s clever.”
Magnus’ eyes were sparkling. “Have we found it?”
Taako thought about it for a moment, finishing the rest of the drink. “I mean, it’s good, sure. But could I drink a whole pint? Probably not."
"Oh, come on, that counts!”
“Hmm, I’m not sure…”
“You were right, you are difficult.” Magnus grabbed his own drink, giving it a sniff before sipping on it.
“Some say difficult, others would say that I’m a perfectionist.”
“You literally called yourself difficult like, half an hour ago.”
“Only I am allowed to say it. The rest of you just have to…” he wriggled his fingers at him, “…accept it."
"Hah.” Magnus took another drink, then looked sidelong at him. “You cold?”
Taako realised he was shivering. “…No.”
“It’s always super fucking cold in here, I swear. Here…”
He started to pull the plaid overshirt off. Taako started to tell him to stop, but he was too quick – tugging the sleeves from his arms and wrapping it around Taako’s shoulders. Taako slid his arms into the sleeves gratefully – it was warm, the fabric thick and soft with wear.
Now Magnus’ arms were bare, Taako could see that they were dotted with tattoos. He had matching black bands around both wrists and a wood-carving style bear on his right forearm. On the opposite arm, just below the ditch of his elbow, was the silhouette of a duck. Spilling from beneath the tight, short sleeve of his t-shirt were a mass of what appeared to be tendrils and tentacles, stretching towards his elbow. Magnus spotted him looking, and grinned, pulling the sleeve of the shirt up to reveal the full design – an intricate, blackwork jellyfish.
“Holy shit, dude, that’s incredible.”
“Thanks!"
He had a hand halfway extended out when he realised that it was probably not a great idea to start stroking the arm of a man he’d known for only a few hours. He retreated, the sleeves of Magnus’ shirt riding down, hiding his hands.
"You’re not gonna be cold?” He said instead, glancing at Magnus’ arms, trying not to concentrate on how tight the sleeves were stretched over his muscles.
“Nah, I’m okay. I always run a bit hot.”
Taako raised his eyebrows. “… you can say that again."
They both blushed at that – Taako surprising himself with his sudden boldness - but Magnus looked pleased, smiling to himself as he sipped his drink. In Taako’s pocket, his phone buzzed. He fumbled to reach it, but the sleeves of Magnus’ shirt were too long, getting in his way.
"Here, let me.” Magnus reached over, grabbed the sleeve closest to him, and started to roll it up. His hands – a little dry, a little calloused – rubbed against Taako’s, brushed against the insides of his wrist as he rolled the fabric and secured it in place midway up his forearm. He moved to the other arm, Taako watching, entranced.
“There.” He went to move away, but Taako was quicker – one of his hands snapping around his wrist, around the black, inked band.
Magnus looked up at him. He looked nervous, but he didn’t pull away. Taako let his fingers slide down Magnus’ wrist to his hand, pressing his thumb into his palm.
“You know,” he said, watching their hands play together, “You totally lost that bet. So you owe me a drink. A proper one.”
“I think I’m big enough to admit when I’m defeated.” He smiled.
“Good for you. You’re a better man than me.” He paused. “Was it worth it? Losing, I mean”
“Well… I’ll have to find out.” He licked his lips. Taako watched, his eyes darting from his lips, to his eyes, to their hands. He leant in.
Magnus had seemed to have the same idea, but where Taako moved slowly, carefully, he was more fervent – and suddenly their lips were pressed together. Taako made a shocked, muffled sound and Magnus immediately retreated.
“Sorry, was tha-”
Taako kissed him into silence. He rose from his seat to get better purchase on him, and suddenly Magnus’ arms were wrapped around his waist, keeping him balanced. He was sure – almost certainly sure – that somewhere he heard a loud whoop, and made a mental note to kill Lup when he got home. But for now, he was caught up in the feeling of kissing Magnus, of the way their lips danced together, of how his long hair played beneath his fingers.
And then…
He pulled away.
“Not to sound, you know, like an utter creep, but you taste amazing, my dude."
"Uh… Thank you?”
“No, I mean… you taste like chocolate! What the hell?”
“Oh, shit!” Magnus grabbed his drink. “It’s this!”
Taako eyed it suspiciously, then moved away from Magnus with reluctance, taking it from him. He sniffed it. He lifted it to his lips. Magnus raised his eyebrows at him, waiting.
He tried it.
It was like drinking liquidised chocolate cake. “Holy shit.”
Magnus’ eyes widened. “Did we find it? You gotta tell me if we found it.”
“It’s like… it’s like a milkshake. It feels like drinking a milkshake!”
“That’s what mouthfeel is!”
Taako put the glass back down. “I thought mouthfeel was what we were doing thirty seconds ago.”
Magnus licked his lips again - as if he was nervous, as if he was remembering.
“So… does this mean I win?” He asked, voice low.
“Hmm, well… I’m not sure. I’ll need to taste it again before I decide.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Just to be, you know…” He leant in, so their faces were just inches apart, so he could feel Magnus’ breath mingling with his own, “… sure.”
“Oh, yeah,” Magnus whispered, “You gotta be sure.”
Taako allowed himself one last, lingering look at him - at his broken nose, at the scar on his lip - before leaning in.
He tasted like chocolate.