Chapter Text
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Lucretia is the first of the crew to notice that something has changed between Magnus and Taako.
Lucretia is nothing if not quiet and discrete. She prides herself on practically floating through the halls of the Starblaster without disturbing anyone. On a warm evening in the fourteenth cycle, Lucretia makes her way down to the tiny kitchen in the Starblaster’s rear. Filtered light dances through the small window as she makes herself a cup of tea, wiping up after herself and heading toward the living room directly connected to the kitchen. Lucretia notes that it’s oddly quiet for the time of the day, usually someone will have set up a card game or have music playing in the lounge. It’s been a tough couple of weeks though, and she doesn’t mind the quiet herself.
When she steps into the doorway, she pauses. She is definitely not alone. Magnus is sprawled on the couch closest to her, lying on his back with one leg hanging off the side and his mouth slightly open, breathing gently. This is not a surprising sight at all. Magnus seems to be able to nap wherever and whenever, and he often does. What is a surprise is the man snuggled in beside him. Taako, aloof detached Taako, is spread out over top of Magnus, his head resting on Magnus’s chest, his arm around Magnus’s torso, their legs intertwined.
Lucretia itches to write it down, to catalogue the change in her crewmates’ connection. But she stops herself. Somehow the moment feels extremely personal even if they are taking up the most comfortable couch in the public living room.
They had been friends right from the beginning, and Lucretia had noticed. Noticed the way Taako would lean in conspiratorially to say something to Magnus who would laugh jovially. The way Magnus was the person Taako would hang out with most besides Lup. And while Lucretia had noted these things, she had set them aside because Magnus was friends with literally everyone – person, animal, inanimate object – nothing could escape the astonishing persistence of Magnus’s friendliness: not even Taako.
She watches them now for a few moments, noticing the way their breathing has synchronized and the way Taako’s head is tucked under Magnus’s. Her heart aches in the best way, admiring their nearness to each other. She feels so happy for them, for all of them really. The way they’ve slotted into each other’s lives so perfectly, filling rolls none of them knew they needed filled. She blinks away a few tears, inwardly admonishing herself for her sentimentality.
She’s startled out of her reverie by Taako’s voice. It’s soft and lilting.
“Take a pic, Luce. It will last you longer.” Lucretia shakes her head slightly, smiling as she leaves the room.
+
Years later, when all the crew members relay their stories of walking in on Magnus and Taako, Lup puts on a big show of being pissed off that she wasn’t the first to know that Taako and Magnus had anything more than friendship going on. But, privately, she’s pleased with the way their relationship had been revealed to her.
Lup knows Taako better than anyone in the world, no scratch that, in the galaxy. He’s whip-smart even though he often pretends not to be, funny in the best way, and stubborn to a fault. He’s not much of a tactile person, except with her. He’s usually standoffish, not in an unpleasant way, but sometimes he overcompensates for it with exaggerated mocking or flirty touching which is always wrought with a sense of irony that undercuts any sincerity.
That’s why, as she makes her way up the steps to the roof of the Starblaster and takes in the view before her, she stops dead in her tracks. In the middle of the roof, Taako is swaying in Magnus’ arms. Her confusion dissipates into amusement as Magnus twirls Taako around and Taako’s pointy features scrunch up as he laughs. Then, Magnus pulls Taako back in, placing his hands gently on his waist, and they sway some more to an imaginary tune only the two of them can hear. Lup feels herself smile and her heart swells with so much love and happiness for her brother. Mostly, she cannot wait to be able to make fun of him for this. Taako, her self-proclaimed cold-hearted brother, with his arms wrapped tightly around teddy bear of a man Magnus Burnsides, she has to laugh. Who could have predicted such a thing?
Then, she sees Magnus’s foot falter and the two of them trip, ending up sprawling on the ground. She watches with joy as the two start to laugh. Magnus recovers by readjusting them so that he’s lying on his back with Taako tucked in by his side. Even in the dim light with only stars for illumination, she can see Taako smile as he drapes his arm over Magnus’s stomach.
Magnus, the loudmouth, is already talking, looking up at the sky, pointing the constellations out. Lup knows Taako knows more about space and stars than Magnus does. He was top of his class in astronomy at the IPRE academy. But, she watches Taako watch Magnus’s face with an enrapt expression. Magnus leans in and says something quietly to him and Taako’s face lights up and then settles into a lazy smile. At that point, Lup knows for certain Taako’s a goner.
Returning to her quarters, for the first time in her life, Lup wonders how she is going to broach this subject with her brother. In the end, she doesn’t have to worry about it because two hours later Taako enters her room without knocking and dramatically flings himself onto her bed with a sigh. She quirks her eyebrow at him, and he pauses for a second before saying,
“I think I have a crush on Magnus.” Lup is at once grateful she doesn’t have to bring the subject up and surprised by Taako’s frankness. He’s always truthful with her, she knows that, but he’s usually still somewhat evasive about his feelings, letting her needle him until he gives in and spills everything.
All she can do is say, “Yeah?”
“Yeah!” Now Taako’s talking at lightning-fast speed, detailing his night to her.
“… and then we were looking at the stars and Magnus was making up stupid stories about them and cuddling… cuddling! Lup, can you believe that?”
Lup just smiles waiting for him to continue. “And then Magnus says” - Taako deepens his voice - “‘You’re smarter than me about this stuff. Are you sure you want to listen to me ramble.’ And do you know what I replied Lup? I said, ‘I like hearing you talk.’” Taako pauses for dramatic effect, covering his face with his arm. “Like a fucking idiot.”
Lup can’t help but laugh at him. Taako makes a face at her, but she does try to console him.
“That’s sweet, Taako. He probably found it endearing.”
Taako rolls his eyes but scootches himself up the bed, tucking himself under the blankets, so they’re lying side by side. There is a long pause, and Lup thinks Taako might have fallen asleep.
But then he whispers very quietly, “Do you know what he said next?” The room is quiet and dark and Lup turns to look at her brother.
“That I was brighter than all the stars in the sky combined.”
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Barry is the first to admit that he's not the best at reading social cues. Scientific data? Display charts? Mathematical equations? No problem. Body language? Not so much. But even he knows something has changed when he enters the kitchen to grab a snack, and Magnus and Taako are standing at the sink hip to hip washing and drying dishes.
There’s an electricity between them that Barry hadn’t noticed before. If he were the kind of person to wax lyrical, he would say it seemed to spread through the room, making the tension palpable. He watches with an almost scientific curiosity as every time their hands brush, they smile shyly at each other before whipping their faces back to their own tasks. Magnus says something and nudges Taako’s shoulder with his own and Taako smirks. They’re in sync, comfortable in the little world they’ve created. Barry is pretty sure it’s the most relaxed he’s seen Taako in a long time, probably since the beach cycle.
Then it hits him. He watches as Magnus puts away a dry plate and turns to watch Taako as he violently scrubs at a copper pot. The look on Magnus’s face is one of soft adoration and Barry recognizes it instantly: it is the same look he gets whenever he looks at Lup.
Barry smiles and silently backs through the door and down the hall.
+
Magnus collapses fighting the hunger at the end of a cycle, and his crew members pull him onto the deck of the ship as Davenport steers them away from the planet being consumed behind them. Merle is briefed on Magnus’s less than stellar state as soon as his body has spun back into living consciousness after a particularly early and bad parlay with John.
In the first moment he had awoken, he had been happy to reunite with them, eager to hear their tales from the previous cycle. However, the look on Lucretia’s face sobers him quickly and she tells him the news. He walks briskly, an unusual speed for him, to the hospital station, passing Barry and Lup who are focused on patching up the damaged walls of the ship.
He passes the observation window to the hospital room and catches a glimpse of Magnus. He looks rough. There is no other word to describe it. There is blood everywhere, matted in his hair, dried to the side of his face, his knuckles, his arms. Merle can’t see his legs, but he predicts that it will be more of the same. Taako is there, gingerly tending to the worst of his wounds, placing a square bandage over a sizable hole in Magnus’ abdomen. Taako seems to have done an alright job of cleric-ing, probably raiding the cupboard for potions, because Magnus is at least conscious and sitting up although Merle notes Magnus’s exhausted lean.
‘This never would have happened if you had been here, if you had been better at parlay,’ a nasty part of his mind berates him. ‘He’s so young. How could you let this happen?’ But Merle shakes off the thoughts, moving towards the door to help his friends.
He makes it to the doorway when he hears Taako speak and he hesitates.
“Do not do that to me again. I was fucking terrified. ” Taako’s voice is sharp and his words come out in a staccato.
In contrast, Magnus’s voice is gruff and slightly gargled but soft and calm.
“It’s okay. I’m right here.” Merle can see Taako’s hands shake as he dabs at the blood smeared on Magnus’s stomach. Merle can see the frustration on Taako’s face as he absentmindedly starts to scrub more furiously at Magnus’s blood and recognizes it for what it is: fear. Magnus stops Taako by wrapping his hands around Taako’s trembling one’s and tapping on them lightly until Taako looks up at him.
“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.”
Merle watches Taako’s head lower, knowing he should enter and help heal Magnus but not wanting to interrupt whatever is going on here.
“You could have died.” Taako’s voice is soft but there is a shrill panicked tone to it that betrays any sort of calmness he might have been trying to cultivate. Taako starts to speak but Magnus interrupts him.
“I will never leave you alone if I can help it, you know that right? But I can’t stop trying to protect you guys. It’s my job and I don’t want any of you to suffer if I can help it, you know? But I don’t want to leave you either and I’ll be more careful in the future.” Merle has always found that what Magnus lacks in eloquence he makes up for in sincerity and today is no exception.
He continues, “If I do end up dying, and that might sometimes happen, you need to know that I’m thinking about how much I’m going to miss you.” Taako is looking up at Magnus again, and there are tears in his eyes, a sight that Merle has never been privy to before. “And I’m thinking about how stupid I am for leaving you, and how much I’m looking forward to –“
“I love you.”
Merle watches as Magnus’s face lights up with delight and surprise. “I love you too.”
This declaration of love is a revelation for Merle. He's surprised about how little he saw it coming but how much sense their connection makes in retrospect. For once in his life, he doesn’t want to embarrass either of them. So, he steps back a few feet and gives them a few moments, and then loudly announces his entrance before stepping into the room.
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Captain Davenport is dedicated to his work. Sure, he loves playing card games with Merle, his research sessions with Barry and Lucretia, the food Lup and Taako place in front of him, the way they call him Cap’nport and chide him for working too hard. He even comes to love Magnus’s pranks. But the Starblaster comes first and their mission comes first, and he prides himself on not getting distracted with the interpersonal drama that comes with being stuck on a ship with the same people for so long. He also prides himself on not digging into his crewmates’ personal lives, for bestowing them with the gift of a semblance of privacy in such tight knit quarters. It makes sense he is the last to realize anything relationship-wise has changed.
His illusion is shattered when he walks in on Magnus and Taako making out in the laundry room. Taako is perched on the dryer with Magnus’s hands gripping his waist and Magnus’s tongue down his throat. Davenport knows he is probably the most professional of the crew and he should chastise them for being unprofessional, but another part of Davenport wants to play with them just a little, so he moves toward the washing machine, letting out a nonchalant,
“Huh, didn’t see that coming.”
They’re startled out of their task and pause as if waiting for Davenport to look aghast or say something more. But he continues to load up the machine with his laundry as if nothing has happened, whistling as he does. Immediately, they both start to laugh, scampering off hand in hand.
Davenport smiles to himself once they are gone. He absently wonders when he became the dad of the group, purposely making jokes, trying to shirk expectations. Maybe, Lucretia was right when she had told him that they had become more like a family than a crew by this point. But he shrugs the thought away and wonders if he has to draw up some sort of paperwork for the two of them to sign.