It’s Okay
A/N: my mom’s pulling some shit and i feel ?? not good so. i make my sweet son suffer, i guess. i live for taako and angus parent/child bonds. listen. i have no excuse.
takes place in some soft au where everything is 100% a-okay after the grand relics everyone is alive and well.
tags?: vent fic?, implied child abuse, and anxiety
Some time after the Bureau of Balance, after everything had fallen into a soft peace, things looked okay, for Angus.
He was living with people who loved him, who cared for him.
With Magnus, who read to him at night, who undoubtedly gave the best bear hugs, who taught him to carve and crafted him new little trinkets each year, each one of them wonderful and made with love.
With Merle, who, despite their rocky start, could get along and crack jokes, who gave vague, mostly misguided advice.
Even Kravitz was there on the occasion, to sneak him sweets before dinner and talk about mystery novels.
And Taako, of course. Taako, who’s taught him so much, and continues to do so. Who makes him breakfast, lunch, and dinner, who praises him full-heartedly, who guides him and makes him feel safe during anxiety attacks and pangs of paranoia that occasionally threaten to overthrow him. Taako, who’s turned out to be one of the most caring people Angus has ever met.
They’re out shopping now, Angus and Taako, in the next town over, looking for supplies and miscellaneous items.
And all in all, today’s been pretty good, if you asked Angus. They left early in the morning, walking the seven or eight miles on foot. The air was nice, not too warm, not too cold, and the road was sturdy, no mud ate their shoes as they went, no loose gravel went everywhere as they marched. They were in town by early noon, and stopped at a nice bistro for lunch. Taako found something to complain about, but, unsurprisingly to Angus, at this point, charmed the waitress and gave her some advice to give back to the chef.
It was still a little remarkable, for someone so... self-proclaimed ‘selfish.’ Taako was incredibly helpful. It made Angus smile.
They were almost done with their shopping now, late afternoon, early evening. In one of the last shops for the day, a handful of bags on both of their arms (This would of course immediately stop being the case as soon as they left town, levitate would undoubtedly be cast on them. But for now, pushing floating bags of groceries around a crowded village was just a bit of an inconvenience.)
“We should probably start headin’ home soon,” Taako hums as they leave the store with plants hanging from the ceiling, “we’ve got one more stop, but then we can go.”
“Alright!” Angus nods happily, taking a step in front of Taako. It was nice, leading the way but still following someone’s lead.
The last shop was something almost like a convenience store. A few shelves of junk food lined the walls, a few books near the small dwarfish lady at the register. Angus watches as Taako scans over the junk, carefully selecting a few bags of... something.
“What do we need those for, if you don’t mind me asking?” Angus asks, tilting his head. Everything else they had gotten were components for spells or ingredients for dinner. This was... certainly neither of those?
Taako glances back at him, a little grin on his face. “Gotta have some snacks for the road, my dude.” He says, and places them down on the counter. The dwarf behind the counter chuckles a little, and Angus smiles.
Well. That made sense.
As they pack the last of the food into their bags, Angus wishes the lady fair well and the two step out into the street- where Angus immediately bumps into something- someone, and stumbles backwards, into Taako.
“I’m sorry-” Angus squeaks to the man in front of him, finding his feet and standing up a bit straighter. He fixes his glasses and looks up to the man, and his chest feels tight. “I-I’m sorry, sir.” He says on an exhale, like its been punched out of him. He takes a step back, bumping against Taako, who puts his hand on his shoulder.
The man before him stares at him with hard eyes. He grits his teeth as his eyes go from Angus, to Taako, and back to Angus. Angus feels like his lungs are being squeezed by a snake.
“You should look where you’re going.” The man says, his eyes lingering on the boy a bit longer. Angus feels Taako step out in front of him, a scowl plastered on his face.
“Hey pal, I don’t know who-” Taako starts, but he cuts himself off when two hands wrap around his, pulling him back. Angus has his eyes set on the man’s feet.
“I’m sorry, sir.” He says quietly, squeezing Taako’s hand. “I’ll watch where I’m going next time. I’m sorry.”
The man hesitates, before looking somewhat pleased, and nods his head. He leaves them without another word, walking down the street, into the town.
Angus’s hands are shaking.
Taako stares at the man with burning eyes. He looks down at his boy.
“Ango?” He questions, his voice soft. Angus stays quiet. Taako casts levitate on the bags on his arms and frees himself, leaning down to be eye to eye with the younger boy. “Angus? It’s okay, dear, you didn’t do anything wrong. He just-”
Tears were welling up in Angus’s eyes. Taako frowned. Oh boy. Oh no.
“I’m sorry.” Angus says, setting his own groceries on the ground and pushing his glasses up to rub at his eyes. “I’m sorry, sir, I just- h-he’s...” He hiccups and cuts himself off, not entirely sure where to start.
And like that, something clicks. Taako cups the boy’s cheeks and wipes away the falling tears. “Angus, did you know that man?” He asks, straight out. Angus hesitates, but nods, just slightly.
“That was- th-that... he was my father...” Angus mumbles, eyes downcast, refusing to meet Taako’s. A sort of fire lit in Taako’s chest.
“Oh.” Taako says, dumbly. He frowns, glancing once more in the direction of the man. He moves a hand to Angus’s forearm, giving him a squeeze. He hesitates before speaking, chewing on his cheek. “It’s okay, Angus.” He whispers, and a fresh set of tears wash over the boy.
“I’m sorry.” Angus chokes, sniffling over his words. “I don’t- I-I didn’t expect to see him here? Why would he be here?”
With little thought, Taako spells the rest of the bags into the air, and scoops Angus up into his arms. Without hesitation, Angus has his arms around him, burying his face against Taako’s neck. “It’s alright, little man, let’s get goin’.” He whispers, and Angus merely nods his head, sniffling weakly.
The two begin the walk home in silence, Taako guiding the bags effortlessly as he comforted the boy who was akin to a son to him, rubbing gentle circles on his back, humming quietly.
After the first mile or so, Angus let out a long sigh.
“I’d like to get down now, please.” He says quietly, and Taako stops, allowing the boy to the ground. Angus sighs, shakes himself out. He grabs a careful handful of Taako’s jacket, and sets the pace as they begin to walk.
“Ango.” Taako says, catching his attention.
“Yes?” He responds, glancing up at the other, a nervous look in his eyes.
“I don’t-... hm...” Taako starts, clasping his hands together. “I don’t know much about your past. I can’t fault you on that, nor would I ever consider it, I don’t know much of your past and you don’t know much of mine.” He drums his fingers against one hand. Chews over his words. Angus cocks his head. “And that being said... I don’t. really think either of our pasts matter too much? You know?”
Angus gives him a little smile, although it’s just a bit confused. “I suppose so?”
“No, like,” Taako waves his hands around. “I think, what really matters, is. like, right now, yeah?” He says, and it sounds like a question. “The goofs and fuckups of our past are... in the past. The people who hurt us are behind us. They don’t remember us and who we are. We’re gone to them, and we don’t exist.” He takes a breath to steady himself, he’s talking with his hands. He wraps an arm around Angus’s shoulder, pulling him tight. “We’re here now, and, like, no matter what bullshit we have behind us, we’ve got our people, yeah? We’ve got our place to go home to.”
Angus smiles, more genuine now. “Right.” He nods, gratefully. “Yeah, I get it.”
“Good, good.” Taako nods, rubbing at his arm. “Hey, want some chips and junk?” He asks, now clearly trying to direct the conversation away from emotions. Those were never really his strong suit.
“Yeah, that’d be nice!” Angus chirps, playing along. They could talk about the ins and outs of the past later. For now, all they needed to focus on was the road ahead, to the people who love them.