Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In Starblaster Acadamy, there wasn’t a dress code. 

Which, given the fact that the school wasn’t exactly the most prestigious of private schools, was too be expected, but even dressing down Kravitz stuck out like a store thumb amongst the slow-moving throng of students and teachers through the hallways. He was pretty sure he had seen one of the teachers in crocs, socks, and a Hawaiian themed shirt. Was that kid wearing...was he skateboarding? Down the hallway? In an entirely 80s themed jumpsuit? He rolled by him with finger guns and a huffed “chuh, teech, nice digs” before bumping down the stairs. Still, Somehow. On the skateboard.  

Oh gods, where was Barry? 

He fumbled with his decorative cufflinks in a vain effort to still his hands and pretend like he wasn’t anxious, leaning against the wall outside of the class Barry was supposed to have been teaching before the bell went. When he had arrived five minutes ago, though, when the halls had still been empty and Kravitz wasn’t being manhandled by a teenager passing by him to get to their lockers every two seconds, the classroom had been empty and Barry was nowhere to be seen. Did he get the classroom number right?  

He glanced down at the number scribbled on his hand and back up to the door. No, classroom 110, it was right. Barry just wasn’t there. Barry just wasn’t there and Kravitz was and Kravitz had no idea what he was supposed to do because Barry wasn’t there. 

The second bell rang, warning tardy students to get to class and the crowds thinned out, kids filing into their respective rooms or upstairs or bathrooms. Kravitz tapped out a tuneless beat with his dress shoes against the tiled floor, reminded how his attire seemed to make him more suited to a morgue or, at the very least, a semi-formal evening dinner, rather than a school tour. Black dress pants that were just too thin to keep out the autumn chill, grey sweater vest that cut off at his shoulders and the white cuffed shirt fitting to his arms. Was the tie too much? Maybe. But he thought it had a bit of a flair to it, enough to dress down the whole fit. He almost hadn’t gone through with it. Black threaded with ribbons of red and blue? He wasn’t going to a party. 

Of course, he was constantly reminded of his constant curse to overdress at the relieving sight of Barry; hopping towards him with a bit of a shameful wave, bright blue denim jeans and untucked polo shirt absolutely covered in soot and burn marks. As he approached him Barry took off the thick-rimmed glasses that framed his face, Kravitz choking down a snort as two large white patches appeared in the thick layer of black that covered his face. He cleaning them on his equally dirty shirt with no avail. Barry's hair and shirt were still smoldering - Nope. Barrys shirt was, in fact, still partially on fire. 

“Kravitz! Listen, sorry man, my class got a bit caught up in an experiment and -” 

“Barry.” His denim-clad friend hadn't noticed anything and came to a stop, fixing his glasses back onto his face. 

“You should have seen it! Sure, it didn’t go exactly like we planned, but-” the smell of singed hair and cotton was bitter and he could still see his brown, receding hair glowing at the edges. 

“Barry.” 

“Yeah?” He finally paused to let him talk and Kravitz raised his eyebrows wordlessly, reaching out and patting a small, flickering flame on his shoulder out.  

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” 

Barry snorted and searched the rest of his shirt for any more remaining fires, happy to see his short-lived experience as a human torch had come to an end. “Cool. Needed new jeans anyway, Lups gonna freak.” 

Lup, Barrys wife and continued enigma to Kravitz’s understanding of his friend's life, was definitely going to freak. He’d never met her – the orchestras practices had always been during her Hockey matches and after concerts he was always too swept up to introduce himself – but from everything that Barry had gushed about to him, and from the oddly-specific roses sent after every big event ( that were always wrapped in a denim-esque paper ) it seemed that, at the most, denim was a weird fetish, and at the least, she was a very supporting wife. 

Kravitz caught Barry, still rambling about pants, considering buying jorts.  

A very supportive wife. 

He had met Barry through university; they’d shared the same musical theory class, even though Barry's major was chemistry and life sciences. It was a weird friendship – doing projects together, sometimes going to dorm parties or student-run events together, complaining about their equally bad roommates. Their relationship stuttered when Kravitz disappeared senior year – not only dropping out of school, but practically off of the map as he spent the entire time in hospital. Barry never visited because Kravitz never told him. It was a family thing, mostly, and he was busy graduating and getting his final projects handed in – the guy didn’t need any extra stress over his only friend dealing with death on a regular basis.  

He resisted the urge to scratch the deep scar on his chest. The invisible ache was still there, sometimes. Mostly when he thought about it like this. Placebo? Whatever.  

They’d reconnected through luck, mostly; Kravitz was still struggling to make ends meet with an uncompleted degree and had joined a local orchestra, lured by the offered payouts for any gigs they scored. Barry was their lead violinist. Honestly, he didn’t think he would have gotten into the group if it hadn't been for Barry – they already had a pianist, and a conductor, (obviously) but inexplicably the pianist decided to take up cello and they had an empty spot in their team. 

Another thing Kravitz owed to his incessant kindness. Barry insisted that it was all just payback for all Kravitz helped him with in college, the 1am drunken calls, his constant gushing about his now-wife, the time he blew up their microwave: but he still felt fidgety about it. More so, now, that he stood in the hallway of a school that he somehow landed a job at. 

Picking up Barry drunk a few times was one thing. Getting Kravitz two jobs that he wasn’t qualified for? That was another.  

“Anyway, yeah, so that’s sorted. Have you met anyone yet? Aside from Capn’port obviously.” Barry drew him from his reminiscing and he frowned, shaking his head.  

“Capn’port? Do...do you mean Mr Davenport? The principal.” 

Barry barked out a short laugh and gestured for them to start walking. “Oh, yeah. Guys a navy vet, used to be a Captain of some big rig somewhere.” 

Kravitz blanched. “So, I should have called him Captain?” Oh great. Way to go, great first impression, Kravitz, not even referring to his new boss by his proper title. Now he was going to be labelled as having a problem with authority, or something, and that was just one step towards being fired, and then he’d have to move back in with his mother, and Barry's work would have all been for nothing -  

As if sensing his impending anxiety attack Barry clapped him on the shoulder, grounding him back down to earth. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Guy probably would have freaked at you knowing it somehow anyway. C’mon, lemme show you around.” 

They wove their way through the seemingly endless hallways, Barry pointing out classrooms that would be important or hallways that he’d need to memorize. They were in the science department right now but moved quickly away from the labs, circling around the school. It was shaped like four triangles with their points pressed together, the diamond shape left in the middle a massive quad where most of the sports or recess seemed to be located. The triangle they were currently in seemed to be deemed the math, science and computer departments, or as Barry called it fondly, the ‘Techie triangle’. It didn’t seem to be a nickname that was popular. ‘Dork Depo’ would have probably be more appropriate. 

It's what was scribbled on the walls in marker, anyway. 

They moved onto the next triangle section, which Barry explained to be the Phys ed and trades department. It was filled with a lot more offices than classrooms, a bit cushier, but the classrooms that were spread here and there were large, open, and full of tools. It seemed the gym took up the space between the Dork Depo and the Phys ed department. Barry came to a brief stop outside of an open door that had ‘woodworking’ inlaid in a golden plate just below the window and motioned for Kravitz to peek in. 

The class was busy but small, a few select students seemingly working on small squares of wood. The teacher, who was milling about between them giving advice and pointers, was an absolute tree of a man; he looked like he had stepped straight from the Canadian woods, dressed in Plaid and with great big ginger sideburns that burst from the sides of his face like a split pillow. The small wooden object he held was dwarfed in his large, calloused hands, hidden in the folds of his knuckles as he eagerly explained something about resin and wood grain to a student. Barry knocked briefly on the door and the teacher turned, bright smile somehow widening at the sight of the two. 

“Barry! Look! We’re makin’ ducks!” He held up the object for them to see and it was, indeed, a very small and delicate duck. The student looked at his own lopsided block of wood and muttered something inexplicable.  

“Again? Every semester? How many do you got back there by now, Magnus? Thirty?” Barry chided, but Kravitz could see it was easily good-natured.  

“Forty two! We’re gunna do dogs next.” The class groaned. “Or maybe dog bowls. Something easy. Who’s the new guy?” The teacher of the class – Magnus, he now presumed – left the student and came over, palming Kravitz’s hand in a strong handshake that felt like it was going to break his fingers. “Hail and well met! Magnus Burnsides.” 

“Nice to meet you, Mr Burnsides,” Kravitz started, a correcting tut of ‘just Magnus’ cutting him off for a second, before he continued, “I'm the new musical theory teacher, Kravitz. Uh, McAllister. Kravitz. Kravitz McAllister.” He inwardly cringed at the bond-eqsue moment, but Magnus only beamed wider, shaking his hand harder and threatening to shatter his wrist. How was this man so strong? 

“Oh, you’re the one replacing Taakos philosophy class? Thank God. Guy was getting real high and mighty up on that horse about how well it was going.” Barry stifled a snort and Kravitz drew a long, confused blink. 

“...Taco? I replaced a class run by somebody called Taco?”  

“No, Taako.” Magnus corrected. “T-A-A-K-O. He does run the culinary classes though, so I guess I can understand your confusion.” 

How did his culinary class come into - “Oh, Tayko?” 

“No, Taako. Pronounced like Taco, but spelt taco - Fuck! Taako. Fuck dude, now you got me doing it.” He side-eyed barry. “Dont tell him I fucked up.” 

Kravitz wasn’t...still wasn’t quite sure how the mans name worked, or still how it was spelt, but Magnus seemed happy with how he said it, so he kept his questions to himself. 

Barry made a zipping motion on his lips and gestured out the door. “See you later, Mags. Gotta introduce the rest of the gang.”  

Magnus waved goodbye to them as they left, turning back to the students as Barry closed the door behind him. Kravitz nursed his hand. Magnus had left indents. In his hand. “So... woodworking?” 

“Yup.” Barry was eyeing him with curious amusement, and Kravitz fumbled under his gaze. “So. Since when were you British?” 

Oh, fuck. 

Kravitz groaned, palming his face. “Ah, damned - did I slip into it again?”  

Barry chuckled in response and nodded. “I totally fucking forgot that you turn Cockney when you're nervous. You know you’re gonna have to keep it up for everyone else, now, right? I’m not going to explain that stupid bet.” 

Kravitz’s groan reached a new tone of frustration, and Barry just laughed. They ambled along a bit further, passing by offices, Barry sometimes peering in to see if anybody was inside that he was looking for. Nobody was, so they started making their way to the third triangle. The silence between them was thick and awkward, and though Kravitz was grateful to drop the fake accent situation, it just made him more antsy. He kept fiddling with his cuffs, trying to pull the words off of his tongue and out of his throat. Barry, glorious, oblivious, innocent Barry, kept rambling on about the people who worked here, a walking-talking white noise machine for Kravitz to collect his thoughts to.  

Magnus and Barry obviously got along well. Magnus and Barry were friends. Actual, normal, goes-for-drinks-after-work kind of friends. Kravitz liked to consider himself as Barrys friend, too, but after actually seeing how he acted with Magnus, and how he was reminded of the sheer amount of debt Kravitz owed him for everything, the guilt that had been gnawing at his stomach for a while now attacked him with a renewed fervor. He didn’t... belong here. He was here on favors and the kindness of Barry alone – a man who was barely even his friend, who barely even knew him. A man who he’d left alone and without any explanation when he knew just how badly Barry struggled sometimes. 

Fuck. 

Before they had a chance for Kravitz to wallow any deeper Barry stopped again, pushing open a set of ornate wooden doors that he only noticed as he refocused on his surroundings. They had entered an absolutely massive library, wooden bookshelves lining the walls and in the spaces between creating a maze-like appearance of shelves. A few coffee tables and couches were spread around the remaining empty space, sporting only a smattering of students, and Kravitz followed Barry to what seemed to be a small help desk in the corner. The woman manning the desk looked up and smiled when she saw the two, white and closely-cropped hair curling around her temples to framing her warm and welcoming eyes.  

“Lucy! Just making the rounds. You met Kravitz?” 

Lucy – or, Lucretia, as her name-tag read – shook her head, offering Kravitz the same warm smile and reaching out a hand to shake his. “Not until now. I take it you're the new musical theory teacher we’ve heard all about?” 

Heard all about? “Uh, yes. Good things, I hope?” He held onto her hand for a little too long to be normal but she didn’t seem to mind, and when he took his hand back it wasn’t shaking quite so badly from nerves anymore.  

“Of course. Barry couldn’t say anything otherwise. I run the arts department so, you'll be in my area – we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming months. I look forward to working with you.” She had a kind tone to her voice but beneath it Kravitz could sense the steel, the barely eligible warning. Warm eyes still friendly glinted with authority. She ran this department and it was very, very easy to see that she wasn’t going to just let him fool around. 

The stern yet welcoming gaze reminded him of the common courtesy to respond during conversations, and he nodded, mumbling a "Of course, Ma'am.", and she thankfully turned her attention away from him.

Barry and Lucretia ambled about for a bit more, talking about classes and names he would learn to recognize, gripes around timetables and the bus schedules, before Barry pushed himself away from his lean and said goodbye. The pair of them headed back through the doors, back into the hallways, and down towards what he could guess would be his classroom. There were a lot more lockers here than the other blocks - presumably to store things like instruments or books or art supplies, and he ran his hands lightly along all of them as they walked. Barry was uncharacteristically silent, enough so for even Kravitz to notice the sudden lull in conversation. He looked over questioningly. The man was worrying his lip, still silent until his pace slowed, came to a stop. They stood there for a hot moment before Barry suddenly gripped Kravitz's arms tightly, staring him dead in the eye, face as serious as stone. 

“Kravitz.” 

“Yes?” He squeaked, confused, what the fuck was Barry doing, this wasn’t like him at all -  

“Are we friends?” 

Barry must have seen the look of utter shock break on his face and pressed forward. “I know we haven't kept in great touch over the years, and I know you had some personal things to deal with, which I don’t blame you for or anything – and I'm really looking forward to see you more often, dude, we had a great time back in uni and all but I need to know, right now – are. We. Friends?” 

Oh Gods. Oh Gods was he really asking this question? Can Barry read minds? Could he somehow tell between Kravitz's awkward unwillingness to chat, his bumbling around his friends, his detachment to his job – did he know he was worrying about the very thing he was asking? 

Were they friends?  

“...yes?” 

Barry's face softened a bit but his grip was kept stone-tight on his arms, one only loosening to fumble behind him for the handle of the door they had stopped outside of. He swung the door open. “Good. Sorry ‘bout this, then.” 

Unceremoniously, he swung Kravitz into the room, slamming the door shut behind him and leaving Kravitz stumbling into a countertop. The granite edge slammed into his stomach and he doubled over with a loud ‘oof’, hearing snickers from around him and feeling the tips of his ears burn red. Oh jeez, that was going to bruise.  

“What the fuck?”  

Of course. Of course, Barry would make him interrupt a class. Kravitz straightened, hands still clenching that wretched counter-top that probably gave him internal bleeding, apologies threatening to spill over before they died on his lips. Because, of course, Barry would help him make a fool of himself in front of the most beautiful elf Kravitz had ever seen. 

Platinum gold hair that threatened to flood down his shoulders was tied up in an intricate, high bun, strands loose around his face. His face that – his face, that despite being scrunched up in confused and pissed off disbelief, still somehow made Kravitz lose whatever breath hadn't been knocked out of him by his arrival. His face, with sharp-winged eyeliner cusping bright eyes with long lashes that studied him, his own flushed cheeks. Lipstick soft against his mouth that was open from the protest before, slightly pursed. Freckles smattered like spilt paint. Long, elven ears that jangled with uncountable earrings that, before, had been pressed flat against his head in surprise, suddenly relaxed. The elf, still studying him but now with less scrutiny, leant against the counter-top and raised whatever he was holding in his hands to eye-level. Kravitz wouldn’t have been able to tear his eyes away from the beautiful elf if it hadn't been for what he said next. 

“Hey, handsome, wanna stop checking out the goods and tell me your name before I tentacle your dick? Make tentacle porn with you? All Hentai up in this biz?” 

The most beautiful elf in the world was holding up a half cut-open squid and was threatening to make porn with him.  

Oh, Gods help him. 

The elf was still looking at him expectantly and he realized he still hadn't said anything, making him blink away and choke on his words before answering. “Uh, I – Kravitz. Kravitz McAllister – I'm the new, uh, Music theory teacher?” He stuck out his hand before thinking, realizing too late that he probably didn’t want to shake the hand of a man preparing squid, and manners too strictly ingrained in his head to pull it away. The teacher's eyes narrowed into something that was almost a blasé hostility, and he grabbed Kravitz’s hand, shaking it in a wet, uncomfortable handshake that he was stuck to even after it had finished. “Music Theory? So you’re the fucker who replaced my philosophy class?” 

Oh.  

Oh no. It was this teacher. 

Kravitz moved his lips to speak, to apologize, to say anything, but before he could Taakos grip on his hand tightened and pulled him forwards. Their foreheads bumped together and Kravitz was suddenly very, very aware of how close they were, their noses pressed together and Taakos eyes boring straight into his heart and soul. If his face wasn’t already dark enough from embarrassing himself, he was surely radiating heat by now, enough to cook whatever was prepared just by standing close to it. 

After what seemed like an absolute eternity, Taako seemed satisfied, and mumbled a hushed “you're lucky you're pretty, homie.” Before letting him go and standing back up straight to face the class.  

Pretty? Kravitz’s mind fumbled on the word, trying to catch it, trying to understand it. Taako seemed to notice his distress with a smirk, and he wiped his hands on his apron before reaching over and grapping his lapels, dragging him closer until they stood side by side. Now facing the class he could see half of them were badly hiding snickers, and the others weren't even bothering to try. Great. That’s great. He could only hope none of them took his class. 

“Alright, Kemosabe, since you’ve already decided to involve yourself in my life – a great choice, mind you, because who wouldn’t want a piece of this -” Taako flicked strands of loose hair over his shoulder dramatically, stage winking to Kravitz, who's stomach flipped, “you're gonna put those pretty hands of yours to some kind of PG-13 appropriate work. We can work on the 18 plus stuff later,” another wink, and just like that, Kravitz wanted to die, “but for now, c’mere and choppity chop up some of my earlier offer.” He offered him the knife, gesturing to the laid-out squid on the board in front of him. He took the knife from him, obviously, like an idiot, and looked down at what he’d been asked to...choppity chop up. 

Now listen. 

Kravitz enjoyed seafood as much as the next person. He enjoyed seafood very much. He enjoyed food. He was, in fact, a person. 

What he didn’t enjoy, though, was preparing it, especially without any help, and especially when he knows he’s about to fuck up in front of a very attractive guy who had just called him handsome. So instead, he decided that standing there dumbly holding the knife skywards like an amateur was the best thing to do in this kind of situation. He didn’t do anything? He didn’t fuck up. Simple. Embarrassing, but simple. 

Or, it would have been, if warm hands hadn't suddenly slipped over his own, moving them down and pressing lightly to slice through the skin in a professional manner that Kravitz could have never encompassed. Taakos hands kept on his, slicing for him, and he snarked his way through the entire time, because of course he did. 

“Hatchi-Matchi, boner boy, you always this cold?” A soft thwup as his knife cut through, hit wood. 

“I- I have bad circulation – boner boy??” He spluttered in return, earning giggles from a few of the girls who sat in the front row and were watching this show with very critical eyes. Taako smirked and tapped the skull-shaped cuff-links that rested just below his wrist. 

“Yeah, you goth or something? Not gonna lie, I'm kinda digging the whole ‘nerd with a dark side’ vibe you're giving off.” He quipped, moving onto the second slice of squid. His side was pressed firmly against Kravitz's and he was sure he would have been able to feel his heart pumping wilder with every glance and grin. “The very least Cap’nport could have done was made my replacement hot, y’know, sooth the burn and all, live up to the high standards I set down for this school, and I gotta say, you’re ticking all of my boxes.” He finished slicing, but his hands lingered, warm, pausing for a second before he dropped his voice to a low murmur. Eyes met before his own danced away. “Hope those hands are useful for things other than piano.” 

And with that, he slipped away, leaving Kravitz feeling colder than humanely possible and inexplicably, confoundingly, naked. The absence of Taakos presence, however brief it had been, was achingly prevalent - and now his hands felt too bare, his ear too empty. He still held the knife tightly and he let his grip loosen, setting it against the board with a cold thunk. Taako swept the board away from him and showed it to the class, who seemed to snap out of their daze and began examining closely.  

“It's a beginners work, but better than you amateurs. All of you get up here and get your own, chop chop, I gotta grade the hot mess that was just plated beside me here.” He bent below the counter-top and pulled out a tray that held six more squid, much more whole than the one Kravitz had walked in on, and he was grateful that he’d walked in so late. While the students moved upwards, grabbing one between two and having little bickers between partners at which one they wanted, Taako leant against the bench and turned to Kravtiz. “So wassup, homie, you came in here just to see me or you came in here to get me for something? Just warning you straight up, I'm not into feet, that’s a no-go zone for ole Taako here.” 

Kravitz, unsure of even where to begin with all of this, choked out a nervous laugh at the joke, and Taako shot him a winner's grin before pretending to think for a second. 

“You know what? I think I'm okay with feet – just as long as it’s strictly you sweeping me off them, and not anything else. Capiche?” Another infuriating, chest-achingly adorable wink, and he swept his tongue over his teeth in a move that made Kravitzs second laugh catch in his throat. Oh Gods. 

“No, I didn’t - I wasn’t actually -” 

“Kravitz!” Barry, both his savior and the one who doomed him to this fate, stuck his head through the door. “I was wondering where you went. C’mon, man, we still have a ton of the school left to go through.” He leant against the frame and Kravitz reluctantly pulled himself away from Taakos thrall, unimpressed at Barry’s chastising. “Taako, I hope you haven't broken my friend yet. It's his first day. Cut him a little slack.” 

Taako gasped and leant back in mock shock, pressing a palm to his chest. “I would never do such a thing, Barry. If Kravitz finds himself pining after me the second he leaves this room, well, that’s simply an unintended benefit of leaving Casa del Taako.” he splayed his hands exuberant fireworks and splendor, making Barry roll his eyes and Kravitz stumble on his way out the door. He turned, to wave goodbye, only to see Taako leaning against the counter-top resting his chin in his hand and unsurprisingly looking stunningly devilish. Lidded eyes watched his every move in a gaze that burnt him inside and out. “Come back soon, Bone Daddy.” 

Bone Daddy??  

After Barry's explanation - apparently, “Lup had bet you wouldn’t last ten seconds in there with him without one of you getting punched”, and that deemed the whole scenario justified to him - the pair made their way through the rest of the school with relative ease, Barry only making him meet one more teacher – Merle, the short and portly man in crocs with a beautiful prosthetic arm who ran the botany classes as well as doubling as the schools therapist – before leading him back to the arts department. He pointed out the three classes that he would be in control of and eventually lead him to his office. It was small, and still read philosophy: Taako Taaco on a small sign stuck to the frosted glass of the window, but Kravitz was just happy to have his own private place amongst the chaos of the school. Barry apologized as he gave him the keys and let him inside - it hadn't been emptied since Taako had used it, so some of his stuff would still be lying around – before giving him a friendly pat on the back and saying goodbye.  

Now standing in his office – his office, he thought to himself with a bit of a grin, rolling the words around his tongue like a sweet he wanted to savour.  

His office. Not their office, not our office, his office. 

He nearly tripped on a cardboard box that lay right beside his feet, seemingly filled with something large, billowy, and covered in sequins.  

Well, soon-to-be his office, anyway. Taakos unique touch was still evident in the room, and that would have to be cleared. 

He tried not to think about the small spark of excitement that flickered at the thought of meeting up with Taako again. Tried to mark it down as excitement to get his room cleared.  

Now standing in his office Kravitz rested his hands on his hips, drinking in the view and, most importantly, the silence. It had a direct view out onto the quad but even from here he couldn’t hear any of the commotion, none of the regular cheers and shouts from the football game, nothing from the active classes next door. It was small, quiet, cluttered, perfect, and his. 

He tiptoed his way around boxes and piles of papers, trying not to topple anything or trip. The place was small, mostly taken up by the elf's things, but there was a desk and a bookshelf and what could probably be a fairly expensive few chairs. Not much, in decorations, aside from a few framed photos littered around. He picked up one as he got to the desk and sunk into the chair behind it. It featured two staggeringly beautiful elves, one he recognized as Taako, and the other not at all, but who was very obviously a near-identical twin. She had the same hair, only with dyed red and orange streaks and a slight longer, coming down to the middle of her ribs rather than Taakos, who's lightly brushed his shoulders supposedly untouched by any dye other than their shared blonde. It was stark against their brown, both freckled skin, and drew attention to their faces. They wore matching, pastel pink blouses, and matching thigh-high heeled boots, her with a white plaited skirt and him a pair of tight (don’t) white jeans. They were arm in arm and seemed very, very happy. 

So Taako had a twin.  

Oh. Oh, Gods, there were two of them.  

With the now deafening silence came the crashing, crushing realization of what he had just done – of everything that had just happened over the past two hours. Barry, on fire. A kid skating down stairs. Magnus Burnsides with his bone-crushing handshake. The sickening and building feeling of being out of place – of being a cog in the gears, of not quite fitting in, of not belonging. Not deserving. Taako, just...existing. Flirting. Within seconds of meeting him and within seconds of finding out Kravitz had literally cut his paycheck in half, still giving him those heart eyes, still making his heart skip something. Somehow.  

Taako, and his inexplicable fucking nature that had Kravitzs head running in circles around at just how a man like that existed. 

And, Gods, the potential of a twin. 

Kravitz audibly groaned, resting his elbows against the desk with a thump and clutching his head in his hands. 

What did he do to get himself into this? 

Chapter Text

Magnus had been in the bathroom for a suspiciously long time. 

Suspicious enough that, the second the first notes of ‘Whats new pussycat’ began to filter through the general chatter of The Davy Lamp, every single person at their table screamed his name in such an absolute, time-worn fury that all conversation at The Davy Lamp stopped for a solid five seconds. Heads whipped around, all eyes trained on the man himself, who was frozen in pink panther-esque sneaking pose still clutching loose change in his hand. 

Ren shook her head and kept wiping down the bar. “That's the fourth fuckin’ time this week.” 

He slunk his way back to the table avoiding looks of absolute disgust, not missing the cuff around his ears from Merle. The dwarf had purposely used his prosthetic arm and slipped it back into place on his shoulder, muttering something about ‘respect for his elders’ and that the joke was old and worn by now. Not that Magnus seemed to mind. Bastard was definitely hiding a building snort beneath his stone-faced, guilt-ridden façade he was struggling to keep up. Julia, too, the traitor. Taako made note to remove both of their jukebox privileges in the future. 

It was Friday night, and their weekly group gathering had hit its max. The original three – the classic Tres Horny Boys, a nickname born from Magnus’s and Taakos failed band attempt that Merle had ever so gleefully helped fund – had expanded their forte over the past few years; Magnus’s wife Julia usually joined them a week or two whenever she could get away from work, and of course Taakos sister, Lup, and her husband Barry always sidled in whenever they could. Lucretia manages to sneak in sometimes, sitting in the corner with some kind of cocktail sipping through a straw and laughing at the jokes. Even Davenport, occasionally. His visits are few and far between though, often ending the night in all of their pockets emptied as he ruins them through cards. Tonight, the table was full, glasses empty and drinks spilt, dirtying the table and laughter adding to the already headache-inducing ruckus of the bar. Cards were strewn, forgotten to Julias woven tale - describing the time Magnus had attached arms to their Roomba only to rip them off when he was drunk and thought it challenged him to a duel. The group collectively mourned Rodney the Roomba while Magnus spluttered.  

“It - they were just cardboard! And it's not like it felt pain – it’s a robot!” Julia patted his arm comfortingly. “Why are you all shitting on me tonight? What’d I do?” 

“Nothing, babe.” She soothed. “You're just really easy to make fun of.” 

Ren interrupted Magnus’s self-indulgent whining with a tray full of drinks. “On the house for Magnus, on the condition that he stops fuckin playing that shit on my Jukebox.” She said, replacing the empty glasses with the full ones and shooting him a deep-seated glare. “You're drivin’ away my good customers.”  

“Only ones with bad taste.” He mumbled back, and she rolled her eyes as she dipped back behind the bar. Julia followed her with her gaze for a few seconds before turning to Taako. “Isn't it weird? Having a student serve you drinks?” 

Taako just shrugged and raised his glass. “So long as she doesn’t make shitty ones it's alright.  It's not like, any different from having my boss here too - Nothing personal, Dav.” He winked at the Gnome who rolled his eyes from behind his glass. “Besides,” he continued, leaning his elbows against the table now that his gauzy white sleeves weren’t in danger of being stained, “bartending's a good skill in the kitchen too. Extra credit n all that.” 

Davenport frowned. “You can't give her extra credit for this.” 

He grinned slyly. “Not that she knows that.” 

Lup slapped his arm and he recoiled with a fake gasp of pain. “Blatant favoritism. She's just lucky to be your favorite, else you’d find all kinds of ways to blackmail her into doin’ shit.” 

“And I suppose it's just a coincidence that Carey and Killian got spots on the dodgeball team?” Taako shot back, Lup seemingly indifferent to his accusation. “Despite the fact they missed try-outs?” 

“Queer solidarity.” She sniffed. “Gotta watch out for my sisters in arms.” 

“Bold of you to assume Rens straight.” 

“Oh, word?” She reached up and Taako met her for the high five. “Forgiven.” 

Barry raised his eyebrows and glanced at Taako. “Oh, break Angus’s heart, why don’t you.” 

“I don't-” He spluttered in return, his sister bursting into laughter. “I don’t give two shits about that dumbass kid! The fuck you on, Barold?” 

Before Barry dumbass Bluejeans could respond Lucretia butted in with a knowing smirk. “Oh, Taako, do you want me to un-reserve the study room in the library for you this Monday, then? I can tell Angus when he returns the books he signed out after your last session.” 

Taakos glare threatened to boil the drinks between them. “You're fucking dead to me, Luce.” 

“Noted.” She hid her shit-eating grin behind an innocent sip of her drink. 

“No, I'm serious. It's just Julia left now, all you fuckers are on my shit list, fuck yall, none of you are getting candlelight's shit.” Julia pressed her hands to her heart and cooed while the others voiced their immediate protests. Taako was hearing none of it. “Nuh uh, Taakos been recording everything all year and none of you are innocent. Mr Robot-arms here,” he pointed accusingly to Magnus, “Threw me across the room during dodgeball-” 

“We won! You knocked out Roswell but we still won!” 

“Lup broke my fucking favorite umbrella -” 

She rolled her eyes and accepted her fate. “It was ugly as hell, Koko, you ought to thank me for that one.” He continued on, ignoring the fact that she was right. It had been an ugly umbrella. 

“Bitchface Barold is consistently on that list for his jean-related eyesores,” Barry pouted and picked at the hems of his jeans, Lup comfortingly patting his arm. 

“I caught Merle during one of his fucking plant orgy sessions and he didn’t even apologize,” Merle shrugged, evidently not sorry, and Taako finally reached Davenport, “and you cut my philosophy class. So, there. All of you wallow in your past sins and know that none of you are getting cha’boys ballin’ macarons this year.” 

All except Barry and Davenport grumbled about being called out, the latter of whom simply raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t even teach anything in that class. All you did was spout ridiculous mantra and give everyone A’s.” 

“And they loved it.” He slammed his fist on the table. “I had gained a following. We were one semester out from forming a cult! Or whatever kind of groups follow around philosophers, that kinda shit. I had the highest-grade results throughout the school.” 

“Because you gave a kid who turned in the speech from Highlanders an A+.” Davenport wasn’t impressed nor moved. Before Taako could launch back into his spiel, though, Barry had reached around Lups back and tapped him on the shoulder. 

“I didn’t think you'd be complaining about your replacement, Taako.” He grinned. “I heard you got up close and personal to uh...inspect his qualifications.”  

Lup cut off the smug look on Barrys face as she leant in, resting her chin on her well-manicured hands and wiggling her eyebrows at her brother. “Ooh, is this about Kravitz? I didn’t think you went for the Goths, Koko.” 

Oh, great. This was happening. Because there was something to discuss after like, five seconds of maybe minor flirting between them. Yes, Kravitz was insatiably hot, and yes, Taako had liked flustering him, because it was obvious that he was into him (and frankly, who wouldn’t be?) but that didn’t mean that there was anything there. He barely fucking knew the guy – and yeah, that guy had replaced his philosophy class! He should be his fucking, arch nemesis, or whatever.  

He had to admit though - two arch nemesis's –nemisi?– discovering their hatred for each other was just poorly hidden sexual tension, boning it up, maybe saving the world in the process, would make a killer movie. And it was fun to imagine weirdly-buff nerd bone boy as his Arch Nemesis with benefits. More so fun because it rhymed. See? Fate. Lady Istus works in mysterious ways. 

Instead of indulging his sister with his daydreams he rolled his eyes, drawing a long sip from his straw before responding. “I don’t. I have some degree of class, you know.”  

If anyone knew that he didn’t, it would be Lup, but she kept her trap shut on that one, choosing carefully instead where to target next within his poorly made armor of excuses. “Really? Because a little birdy told me that you'd pounced on the guy the second he locked eyes with you.” She turned and shouted over to the bar before he could say anything. “Hey, Ren?” 

The bartender looked up from polishing the glasses. “Yeah?” 

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad was Taako’s heart eyes towards the new guy?” Ren seemed to chew her lip in thought for a second, before splitting into an evil grin. 

“Barry, when you wore those denim thigh-high boots to prom last year.” She shouted back, and Taakos grip around his glass tightened. 

“You're fucking failed, Ren! Minus F! Suspended! Expelled! Out of my class!” He felt the tips of his ears grow a slight shade of red as Lup clutched her sides, collapsed with laughter. The rest of the table seemed rapt with attention towards the growing gossip. Magnus, in particular, seemed itching to learn more, the damned fucking romantic. 

“Wait, Kravitz? The new music teacher guy? You're dating him?” He asked, and Taakos eyes burned holes in the back of Barrys skull who had looked away to hide his snorts. 

“No! Fuck! I flirt with a guy for like, twenty seconds, and you all think I'm fucking married!” since when had his romantic life been anybody's fucking business? Since when had he had a romantic life, anyway? 

His chest reminded him with a dull pain that he pushed away. A while, anyway. And there was a reason for that, not that any of these chucklefucks seemed to remember.  

“So, you were flirting!” He smacked Lups arm, but it only served to make her laugh harder. Davenport clucked in mock disapproval from across the table, not that Taako gave a shit about his opinion. 

“Very unprofessional, Taako. Im sure you're aware of HR regulations around inter-coworker relationships.” The elf rolled his eyes and finished his glass, cos yeah, like fucking Irene from HR was gonna step in.

“Yeah, I'm real concerned about her coming after me when it comes to inter-coworker relationships, Capn’port. I’m not gonna sit here and be judged by the guy who fucks someone who has a Kenny Chesney Tattoo on his ass.” 

Lups shrieking reached a critical level as Merle joined her with a guffaw, and Davenport simply avoided his eyes and downed his drink very, very fast. Magnus ignored all of this and reached out to pat Taakos hand, who snatched it away the second he grazed it. He felt like keeping his fingers tonight. 

“I’m just – I'm just happy for you, man! He seems like a nice dude. Bit stiff, I guess. I mean I guess that's the kind of thing you want, though, like in bed-” 

“Aaaand I'm stopping you right there.” Taako cut him off from the rest of his rambling with a horrified look. “Julia, please take Magnus home before he says anything even more stupid.” Nodding in assent, she stood, Magnus a few seconds later with a grumble but clinging to her arm like a weepy toddler. Not that he was crying, just tucking his face into the crook of her neck as he leant against her for support and leaving soft, languid smooches as she pulled him away.  

It was disgustingly affectionate.  

They stumbled away, and then it was only the six of them, drinking in a rare moment of silence as the most rumbustious of them left. Lup, wiping tears away from her eyes, cheeks flushed and red, turned back to Taako with a wicked look in her eye. 

“So, Kravitz...” 

“Nope. Absolutely not.” He pushed his empty glass away from him and stood, tossing down a few silver pieces that most definitely did not cover all of his bill and pulled his jacket onto his shoulders. “It was nice seeing – you know what, nope, it was absolutely terrible hanging out with you all, fuck off, I'll see you Monday.” 

He was out the door before anybody could protest and the cold wind hit him like a bus, making him draw his jacket closer over his shoulders. Sure, a cropped jacket wasn’t going to provide him much warmth, but considering the only other things he was wearing was an even shorter cropped shirt with high waisted shorts and ankle boots, he was going to take whatever he could get. At least his apartment was close by. 

The night air bit his bare legs and raised his exposed flesh in bumps as he walked home, heels clicking on the cobblestoned sidewalk and echoing through the empty streets. Phandalin wasn’t exactly known for its nightlife, and even on a Friday night by midnight places were usually pretty empty or closing up. The only few places left were the Davy Lamp, Wave Echo Lounge, and of course the fantasy Costco, its fluorescent fake light seeping into the street as he passed. Wave Echo was just a few doors up; a jazz place that he’d never really visited, never wanted to – Jazz wasn’t exactly his, uh, niche – but he paused by it tonight just for a second as the doors opened and a rush of warmth escaped into the night. 

He couldn’t see much into the bar as he stood there, ignoring the bickering between the bouncer and some short, obviously drunk guy, but from the angle he could see softly candle-lit tables rimming a small round stage. A woman was performing and the music, faint but lovely, warmed his ears, and he didn’t find himself moving even after the drunk guy was shoved away and the door was closed behind him. The music was...nice. And it wasn’t exactly like he was tired – only of dealing with his sister and her husband, not of the night. He knew the place had a bar, and it seemed pretty empty.

The wind picked up a bit more, tossing his loose braid over his shoulder and that was enough to override his Taakos good out here instinct on strange bars and he pushed the doors open. Immediately, he was basked in that warmth again, and that music was strong and welcoming. He quickly shut the door behind him, nodding to the bouncer as he made his way past him and through the narrow hallway. The place was a lot larger than he had expected – his narrow visage through the door hadn't been near enough to envision what this place was actually like. Rich, dark green velvet curtains swallowed the walls, shadows flickering in the soft light of the candles that he could now see were encased in glass bulbs of blue, green, and white. The bar, a grey and sleek thing, was underlit by green and blue fairy lights, and the bottles on the shelves too, giving the bar the appearance of being lit by luminescent bunches of moss: like a cave, almost, abandoned to time and nature. It had a much more comforting, slightly wacky feel than he expected, and he was lowkey digging the vibe of the place. He settled into his seat just as the woman performing moved onto her second piece. The drink was warm and he sunk into her voice, the soft tones, the lilting notes. Chick had style, too, and he could appreciate that – black, slim fit dress with a faux-feather shimmering overcoat that was draped over her shoulders with an elegant fold. Straight black hair that fell in sheets over her shoulders. Dramatic, Gothic makeup, that somehow, she pulled off in this setting, striking against the dark tone of her skin that shone in the low light of the lounge. She sung with the grace of a well-practiced performer and all of Taakos attention was on her after his drink arrived.  

He couldn’t see the pianist, but it was clear the music was live. The drummer and others – one with a Saxophone, another with something unrecognizable were seated just behind the stage. It was a shame. The music was amazing – way better than that jukebox garbage the Davy Lamp would play. No offense to Ren. He considered for a whole second bringing the gang here before immediately, aggressively denied the thought; Magnus, here? Hed ruin the whole vibe of this place the second that lumberjack stepped through the door with Merle hot on his heels to out-embarrass him. Nah, that wasn't happening, not in a hundred fuckin years. This place was stayin’ a soft secret with him. Taako was allowed a few graces in life that stayed private and this was gonna be one of them. 

A few more songs and one empty glass later the singer announced that the place was closing for the night, and Taako looked at his phone. Fuck – it was nearly one am? Where the hell had that time gone? Jazz was a nightmare – though he wasn’t even sure if this classified as jazz. There had been a heartbreaking lack of sax and not enough shoo-bop, whippity whop-pa's for him to be satisfied. Taako tossed a few coins down on the bar for his drink and waved a goodbye to the bouncer, regretful the second the cold air reminded him of why he had come into the lounge in the first place. Ugh. A few more people filtered out behind him also grumbling about the cold and he stepped out back to the street, trying to convince himself that it wasn’t that far, that he could totally make it there, that he didn’t need to call an Uber. Just a few more blocks and he could be home again – home to a nice, warm, soft bed, an empty fridge and too many wine bottles to be healthy but fuck it, Taako recycled and Taako kept forgetting what day was recycle day. Save the planet, kids. 

Taako pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders, eager to be home, and walked a little faster. 

Chapter Text

Monday was chaos.  

Students, their second day into the new semester, struggled to find their classrooms, colliding into one another with creased and torn papers clutched close at hand. Teachers were frazzled and still getting used to suddenly having a schedule again. Supplies not being delivered having been ordered too late, the PR system having a malfunction that blasted the good morning chimes non-stop for ten minutes, one of the labs had already been on fire – he didn’t even need to ask to know that Barry was behind that one – and Kravitz's class? Kravitz's first class hadn’t even shown up. 

Davenport assured him it was a common occurrence. Something about first period always being scarce, the surprise around the fact that his class actually existed and wasn’t a joke. Apparently, somebody had put Magic as a subject a few years ago as a prank, and people had actually signed up for it – not that he could judge them, because if he was honest, he would have signed up for it too. 

But that did mean that he had practically a whole day free to do...nothing. He only taught three classes, and one of them had Mondays off, so the only class he actually taught was last period. He had hoped to get through the first, and then get by with paperwork until lunch – but he’d finished the paperwork by the time third period came around, and now he sat alone at his desk, twirling around a pencil between his fingers and chewing the skin off of his lip. 

Kravitz glanced at the photo on his desk. He still hadn’t moved it, so Taako and his sister watched him sit there for a long while, silently judging him and his lack of productivity. Not that he figured Taako as the productive type ( the opposite, actually ) but something about his arrogant, attractive smirk made Kravtiz squirm beneath his printed-paper gaze. It occurred to him that he should probably return it. Actually, it occurred to him that he should probably return everything here that wasn’t his – the elf’s things were still littered about, and he probably wanted them back. At least it would give Kravitz something to do for the next hour until lunch. 

It wasn’t anything to do with the fact that it meant he would be able to see Taako again. Absolutely not. The Elf definitely hadn't been on his mind since Friday – he most certainly did not think about him and his charming smile or how nice his hair smelled when he pressed up against him, not when he got home and laid in bed that night. No, of course not. Taako was just a coworker to him – a pretty coworker, yes, but nothing more. 

He ignored the itching thought of yet. 

Kravitz scooped up the photo and his keys to his office, locking it behind him. There was no way he could have carried all of the boxes to Taako’s classroom, and he probably would want to put them in his car, anyway, so he figured he could start light and use it to explain the situation. It felt...slightly weird, granted, carrying the framed photo of Taako around through the school's halls - but he quelled it down and pressed it into his side so nobody could see it. He didn’t need any rumors of him being creepily infatuated with Taako running around. 

Any more, anyway. Friday’s incident hadn't exactly gone unnoticed by the gossip crowds, much to his dismay.  

Was it even a lie?  

No thanks. He pushed that thought down deep and locked it somewhere where it wouldn’t come out until some ungodly hour when he was lonely and going through all of his character flaws. Like a normal person does. 

Lucky for him, class was still in session, so all of the hallways were empty; less lucky for him, however, was that the only class that wasn’t in session was Taakos. His class was locked and empty, and Kravitz sighed, leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the door as he tried to think. The staffroom was locked during class hours and he hadn't been given a key yet, and he had no idea where Taakos office was. Barry probably would, but he was in the med bay right now with the other students as a result of the fire, so he was a dead end. Kravitz wracked his brain for potential outs. 

Maybe Lucretia? 

She seemed, aside from Magnus – who intimidated him with his overt friendliness and bone-crushing hugs, Kravitz wasn’t going to kid himself – the most welcoming of everyone he had met so far. She was also the closest, considering the library was in the same block he was in right now, and would probably know where Taakos office was. It seemed worth a shot. Besides, if she didn’t know, it could wait. He could just spend his free hours in the library instead.  

Just like Friday, the library was quiet and only filled with a few students – one, he recognized from Taakos class, a dark-haired girl who was slouched against a long plush couch reading bartending – a 101 guide for dummies. Lucretia was here too, thankfully, and Kravitz waved a small hello as he came over to her desk. She smiled and put the book she was reading down gently. 

“Hello, Kravitz. Is there anything I can do for you?” 

“Yes, actually.” He inexplicably felt nervous, and tucked a non-existing dread of hair behind his ear. Too late, he remembered he had tucked the thick locs up in a loose bun this morning as he was running behind schedule. Late, to a class that had never showed. Of course. “I’m, uh, looking for Taako? I have some things of his to return, from my office.” He rushed the excuse and inwardly cringed. Why did that feel so awkward to say? He was just looking for a coworker to give him back some of his belongings. Nothing abnormal about that. He didn’t even have to lie about his reasons. 

She graciously didn’t seem to notice or mention his distress. “Of course. He’s here, actually, in study room three, just back there.” Lucretia gestured lightly behind her, to a few doors inlaid in the wall. “He’s with a student at the moment, but I'm sure he won't mind. I hope your first class went well?” 

Kravtiz chuckled nervously. “As well as not having anybody showing up can go.”  

She seemed unsurprised and shrugged. “Better not being able to teach due to absences than having a difficult class.” 

“...I suppose.” He chewed on that for a few seconds before gesturing that he’d better head over to the rooms, shooting her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Lucretia.” The librarian simply smiled in response before picking up her book again. 

All of the doors to the study room were open, save one, and he hesitated to knock. Taako surely wouldn’t mind just a brief interruption. Clutching the photo to his chest, and hoping he didn’t seem too creepy, he swallowed a lump in his throat before knocking, frowning at the sudden sweatiness of his palms and rubbing them quickly on his tweed pants. Again, overdressed. 

Perfectly, as if fate herself intervened, that’s exactly what an unimpressed Taako opened the door to; a frowning Kravitz who was wiping his hands on his pants and clutching a photo of the elf and his sister to his chest.  

Not his...best moment, so far.  

Upon seeing it was Kravitz – despite how disheveled he seemed – Taako immediately relaxed, leaning against the frame of the door and looking to him with raised eyebrows. He, of course, looked stupidly radiant in what was apparently his workplace wear – again with the tight jeans that zipped up high to his waist, a bejeweled black tank top that bared plenty of his collarbone and shoulders beneath the see-through, glimmering white shawl wrapped around and draping down his arms. That platinum blonde hair that smelt like strawberries and pomegranate was wound in a loose-fitting braid, tumbling across the left side of his neck and down his chest. He wore that same arrogant smirk that Kravitz was learning to be his usual greeting, and his glanced flit up and down, lingering, and very obviously – not that he made any appearance to hide it – checking him out from head to toe. 

Kravitz was very aware of the sweat beading at the back of his neck. Oh, by the grace of his lady, did he have it bad, and why did he have to realize it now? 

“Didn’t think I'd be seeing you so soon again, handsome.” The elf all but purred, twisting a loose lock of hair around his finger. “Now is this for business or for pleasure? Cha’boys a little busy, unless you can provide a good enough distraction.” 

His heated gaze provided answer enough to know exactly what could count as a good distraction.  

Kravitz choked on his answer, the words sticking in his throat and refusing to escape, only helping to feed the growing look of amusement that filtered across Taako’s face. Instead, he thrust the photo into his hands, feeling a moment of panic as the elf’s brows briefly knotted together in confusion. 

“You, uh – you still have your things in my office. If you’re free to come by sometime I can - I can help you load them into your car.” 

Something inexplicable flickered across Taako for a second before he slipped right back into his confident, typical demeanor, gracing him with a bit of a snort. “Oh, yeah, forgot about that shit. Can I swing by after fifth? The halls' be empty then, won’t have to worry about nosy students.” He winked, and suddenly Kravitz’s mind was filled with things that Taako could do to him in his study, alone, after school, and he got the gist that the wink was meant to do that. His answer – probably just a choked noise if he was honest - was interrupted as a small figure suddenly wormed their way between them and Taako’s face dropped. 

“Oh, sirs, can I help?” 

A small child, dressed impeccably to the nines, stood clutching a book, glancing between the two of them behind large round glasses before suddenly thrusting his hand in Kravitz’s direction. “Hello sir! My name is Angus McDonald. Are you Mr Kravitz McAllister? Taako has told me a lot about you!” 

Taako swatted Angus’s hand away just as Kravitz felt his face flush. “Shut your trap, Agnes, before you lose all Taako Teaching privileges for good.” The boy seemed unaffected by the threat.  

“He told me that you replaced his philosophy class, and that you were arch-nemeses now. Is that true?” He turned, and frowned at the photo in Taako’s hands. “I don’t understand why you returned his photo if you're enemies. Is it a peace offering?” 

“Angus, uh,” Kravitz tried to figure out how to phrase his words right, eagerly trying to move the subject away from the basis of his relationship with Taako. “aren’t you a little...young? To be in high school?” 

The question didn’t seem to faze the boy at all, who only grinned up at him, despite Taakos obvious disgust. “Oh, yes sir! But I skipped two grades because apparently, I'm some kind of kid genius!” He seemed to wilt a little then, fiddling with his fingers and glancing down at his shoes. “But, sometimes I'm not a genius at everything, and school can be really hard.” He brightened. “That’s why Mr Taako’s helping me with my schoolwork!” 

Kravitz had no idea what to do about this small, curly-haired child baring his soul to him. He glanced up at Taako in a silent beg of help me, what do I do, and Taako rolled his eyes, the twitches of an amused smile pulling at the edge of his lips before he grabbed Kravitz’s hand and dragged him into the room.  

“Come on, Agnus, Mr Kravitz can help us today.” He wove a teasing lilt into when he said Kravitz’s name, holding his hand for far, far longer than necessary before untangling them and sitting down in one of the unoccupied chairs. “Won’t you, Krav?” 

That was a new one. One that he actually liked, and he couldn’t help the warm smile that broke at hearing the nickname. “Yeah, of course. What’re you working on?” 

Angus happily hopped over back to the two, taking a seat opposite them while Taako slouched in the chair right beside Kravitz. He tried not to focus on the brief touches their knees made every so often. “English! We're reading ‘The Great Gatsby’ at the moment, and I have a report on this chapter due in tomorrow.” 

“I’m trying to convince him that Nick was a hundo percento horny for Jay.” Taako drawled, arms bent and loose across the chair as he angled himself to talk to Kravitz. Their knees pressed together in a more permanent way because of it, something definitely intentional and something Taako definitely savored. “I mean, seriously, there's no other way he would hang out with him. Dudes an egomaniacal dickhead.” 

Kravitz raised his eyebrows. “And he doesn’t sound...familiar to you? At all?” 

He grinned wider when Taako slapped his arm. “Fuck off! Just because I'm well aware of this,” and he gestured to his face, “doesn’t mean I'm as much of an asshole as Jay fuckin ‘teen angst’ Gatsby.” 

A slight tilt of his head was his response. “Well, while I'm...inclined to agree with your reading of it, that doesn’t mean that egomaniacal people can't have friends. Angus, what do you think?” 

Taako entirely ignored Angus beginning to speak and continued on. “So, what, you’re saying that if I was Jay and you were Nick you totally wouldn’t bone down with me in the name of friendship?” 

Kravitz spluttered and felt his cheeks grow a hot, fiery red, and Taakos smirk remained hard in place. “No that’s - th-that’s not what I - I mean -” 

“Don't they both have girlfriends?” Angus piped up and saved Kravitz from embarrassing himself further. He was relieved to move off the topic. “Well, sort of, Angus – how far in are you?” 

“Chapter Four.” 

He shrugged. “Then it’s complicated.” 

“Oh.” Angus frowned down at his paper and worried his lip. “I think this is going to be a hard report.” 

The bell saved them from any further arguing on the subject and Taako stood immediately, hauling his shoulder bag – a delicate, white leather thing, with golden clasps that suited his jewelry – and ruffled Angus’s hair in an affectionate goodbye. It seemed a natural, habitual move, that ended abruptly when Taako jerked his hand from his hair and shot a glare at Kravitz. A silent don't you dare tell anybody I did this that he obliged with a nod and a smile he couldn’t quite clamp down quick enough. 

“Well, it's been terrible, Ango. See you Wednesday – and you, later?” He brushed a hand languidly over Kravitz's shoulder, taking his time as he walked past him to the door, and every second of contact felt electric. Kravitz could barely manage a nod. With a final wink, and a look that send a shudder right down through Kravitz’s bones, Taako swept from the room, leaving a speechless Kravitz and a small boy packing up his books in his wake. 

Amazing. 

“He likes you, you know.” He was jerked from his haze with a start as Angus tugged at his shirtsleeve, looking up at him as he pulled his much-too-heavy bag over his shoulder. “He looks at you the same way Mr Merle looks at his plants.” 

Merle Highchurch? Kravitz had heard the rumors. His lip curled. “I, uh -”  

Angus gave a little laugh before he could say anything. “Just a goof, sir! I mean the same way miss Carey looks at miss Killian when she scores a dunk at the basketball.” 

He had no idea who those girls were, but he assumed that meant a good thing, and he patted Angus’s head affectionately, if also awkwardly. “Thanks, I guess. I like him too.” 

Angus cracked a big grin. “Does that mean you're going to kiss like them too?” 

If his cheeks could flush an even darker shade of red than before, they definitely were now. “I- how do you even know about – aren’t you like, nine?” 

“I’m eleven, sir, so you can cut the bullshit with me.” 

There was something strange about seeing an eleven-year-old boys mouth form the word bullshit. Foreign. Unnatural. He patted his head again awkwardly and strode off as fast as he could, once he realized that he couldn’t answer his question, not without dissolving into a mess. 

 Since when could an eleven-year-old boy deduce things about himself that he didn’t even know until ten minutes ago? What was he? Some kind of miniature detective?  

He hid a scoff to himself. Okay, that was a bit far. This school was crazy, chaotic – but it wasn’t that insane. 

Three-thirty rolled around and Kravtiz chewed the end of his pencil nervously, pretending to work on paperwork in his office while his brain absentmindedly both drifted and screamed at him. His first class had gone surprisingly well – students had actually paid attention despite it being the last class of the day, and hadn’t groaned too loudly when he handed out homework. 

He felt a slight twinge of annoyance at that. It wasn’t even that much – it was just asking for a small paragraph detailing their favorite kinds of music and influences! It was practically just a personal piece – it couldn’t be too hard for the first day, could it? 

Kravitz was reminded that he didn’t exactly have the education to fall back on here when thinking about if he was doing a good job. Reminded, severely, of his lack of degree, and of his lack of license to teach.  

He groaned and let his head thump on the table. At least it had been better than Friday – at least it was better than another day of unemployment. 

“Jeez, I didn’t think I annoyed you that much to warrant such a greeting.” 

Hands slammed into the table as Kravitz snapped his head up in surprise, seeing Taako leaning lazily against the doorframe of his office, arms folded. He stood suddenly, winced as his knees collided with the desk. 

“No! No, I was just – its...it’s good to see you. Here. To – to collect your things.” He stumbled his way through the mess of excuses and greetings, knees sore and wringing his hands. Taako had ditched the shawl and stood there with far too much skin exposed to not be distracting, freckles dotting his skin across his arms and chest like, and he knew that he would roast him at the cliché if he heard it, a map of a star-filled sky.  

Kravitz wanted to navigate that map. Wanted to find every constellation, track every supernova, trace every falling star -  

Horrifyingly he was brought to his senses as Taako coughed, pushing himself away from the door and into the room. “You uh, wanna stop staring and help me load up these boxes, homie? Not that I mind, because I definitely don’t have an issue with a guy such as yourself keeping an eye on the prize, just got a quick sched to meet, you feel me?” he tapped the empty spot on his wrist where a watch would be and looked at him expectantly, making Kravitz stumble into action, away from his desk and to where the nearest box is.  

“R-right, yes – sorry.” He rolled up his sleeves and Taako gave an appreciative hum, Kravitz trying to ignore It as he lifted the first box he could see. His mind, half screaming at him to stop making a fool of himself, the other a melted puddle at watching Taako bend over to pick up one near him, fumbled for something he could say that would redeem him. “You can – well, I'm sure you can hardly blame me if I make you late when you show up looking like that.” 

Taako’s elven ears flicked up and he stood up straight, clutching the box tightly with his hands and turning back to face Kravtiz. The smirk on his face had widened and Kravitz swore he positively preened at his attention, surprised himself that he’d even managed to come up with something that coherent. He offered a shaky smile in return. 

“So he does have a tongue. A sharp one, too.” Taako waltzed past him clutching the box almost effortlessly, hesitating for a second frustratingly close. “I’ll have to see what other uses it can get up to.” 

And he swept out the door, gesturing for Kravitz to follow him, who could only with a mind that had gone so devastatingly blank at those words.  

The car was halfway across the school but he didn’t care, too busy listening to Taako ramble on about his cooking class, about the annoying kids and the ones who actually did okay - “you absolutely have to try Rens Cordon bleu, babe, it’s almost as good as mine, well, like one fourth” - about how annoying Angus was, or something dumb that Barry had done, too rapt to pay attention. Taako had this...energy, about him; this absolute zest of life that was just so addicting that it sucked Kravitz into his orbit hard and wouldn’t let him go. Everything about him - from the way he flicked his hair over his shoulder with practiced grace, to the way his grin grew crooked and his laugh hiccup-y when he actually laughed at something, to the way he bounced when he walked, it all sparked with this magnetic draw that had Kravitz weak at the knees and want nothing more than to be near him, to be with him every second that he was awake. 

And Taako knew. Taako knew that he did something to Kravitz; knew it in the way he wasn’t shy with his touches and the way he was happy to talk about his dumb hobbies and his embarrassing self-indulgent binges of Fantasy Housewives. Knew it, in the way that made Kravitz so fucking happy to see, how he didn’t hide that crooked smile or gap between his teeth or when he tripped in his heels. That he was comfortable around him, even in the slightest of manners. 

Not comfortable enough, obviously, to share everything. There were some things Taako kept shelved away; the way he changed the subject when Kravitz asked about his degree, how he didn’t talk about his family – aside from his twin sister, Lup, who he rattled on about for ten minutes just on how annoying she was when she stole his clothes – and avoided anything to do with his childhood. It’s not like he was expecting much. He’d only met Taako twice. He was grateful that Taako felt this comfortable around him at all. 

They had just piled the last box into Taakos car when his phone buzzed, and he dug around in his back pocket to fish it out (Kravitz definitely, one hundred percent, not watching him do that) before answering it with a “Yello?” The car boot slammed shut and Kravitz stood back politely, watching as he leant against the car and rolled his eyes in good-humored annoyance. 

“Yeah, yeah I'm – no, I had to pick up some shit – no, Lup, I swear to fuck – do you want Magnus cheering you on drunk? Do you? No, I'm – I’m on my way, ‘kay? ...You too, doofus.” He hung up the phone with a groan and pushed off the car, blinking it unlocked with his keys. 

“’fraid I'm gonna have to cut our little party short, skull-face,” he gestured to the small, glittering skull earrings Kravitz had favored today, who tilted his head in agreement of the nickname, “gotta go pick up snacks and cheer on my dumbass sister at her hockey game.”  

He seemed to pause, for a moment, thinking about what he said next – a move that, surprisingly, wasn’t exactly something common for Taako. Kravitz’s palms began to sweat before he looked up again. “Hey, you wanna come?” 

That was.... okay, that was not what he was expecting. “To...your sisters hockey game?” 

“Yeah.” Taako shrugged, leaning back against the car and tucking his hands back into his pockets. “You’re friends with Barry, right? Should have met the missus by now anyway. Plus, you get bonus Taako time.” He winked, and Kravitz’s resolve shattered. “We can get something to eat after. Maybe with the gang, maybe not, let’s see where the night goes, huh?” 

There were so, so many things to unpack with that sentence. The one thing he focused on, however, and probably not the thing he should be focused on, was the one thing he coughed out next. 

“Lup is – wait, Lup is Barry's wife? Your Lup? Set her mailbox on fire Lup??” 

Taako looked at him unimpressed. “How many Lups do you think there are around Phandalin, Homie? Of course that Lup.” 

Kravitz was torn between that makes so much sense now and how does Taako’s sister marry a man who owns jean dungarees? Then, another, if more earth-shattering thought – could he have met Taako sooner? 

Taako snapped his fingers in front of Kravitz eyes and he blinked, watching as he snorted and pushed off the car again. 

“Look, I get that you’re currently going through like, a major mental kabloowie right now, so I'll just raincheck that dinner thing and -” Kravitz reached out instinctively and grabbed Taakos wrist, not aggressively, just gently enough to stop him from moving and getting his attention. 

“No, no I - I mean yes, that was a... bit of a shock, and mostly that’s on me, but – I'd love to go with you. To hockey, and... to dinner.” he smiled, trying to be reassuring and feeling very creepy at how he gripped Taako, letting go of him almost immediately and clutching his hands together instead. Thankfully, Taako didn’t seem to mind, and matched his grin with a flood of relief that he quickly hid behind a mask of arrogant confidence.  

“Well of course you do, Handsome. Who wouldn’t want to come with this?” Finger guns directed towards himself aimed, fired.  “Now you gotta get your car, or...?” He dramatically flicked his hair, again, over his shoulder, in a move that Kravitz found disgustingly endearing.  

“Uh, no. I actually walked here, I live close by.” 

Taako frowned. “This is a bad neighborhood, dude.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

A beat between them, then Taako shrugged. “Just means I can drop you off home at the door like a gentleman, or some tight shit like that. Hop in, broski, let's blow this popsicle stand.” 

Kravitz tried not to think about how warms his hands had been, or the genuine look of concern that had slipped through his mask of arrogance, as he got into the car and clicked the door behind him. 

Chapter Text

It wasn’t like he hadn’t been to a Costco before. Of course he had – he wasn’t beyond stumbling through those automatic doors at three in the morning craving Chunky Monkey – it was just that fantasy Costco was different. He was pretty sure the place wasn’t even a Costco; instead just a weird, off-brand parody chain, where all of the uniforms were a different shade of blue and the products were all similar offshoots like Prangles Chips or Thomas and Jerimiah's ice cream. The place even smelt fake – reeking of cleaning chemicals and Styrofoam.  

Not that Taako seemed to mind, at all, instead choosing to grab Kravitz’s hand and drag him through the shelves clutching a fast-filling basket to his chest. Kravitz chose to focus on how warm his hands slotted into his own were rather than the fact that they were the only customers in the store - despite it being four in the afternoon on a weekday. 

Taako seemed to know where everything was on a scary level of competency, even mumbling curses when they were seemingly out of stock for something he wanted. Diet Pepsi, – the only kind they sold – four different flavors of Doritos Kravitz had never seen before, and a gigantic, industrial-sized bag of cheezy popcorn were piled into his collection before it finally seemed to be satisfactory. It was enough food for a dozen people. At least, he guessed – was Taako preparing for leftovers? Or was this all going to be demolished over the next hour or so? He had no idea how long hockey games went on for. If he was honest, he didn’t even know how hockey worked. You hit a ball – a puck? - with a stick into a net...right? Was it ice hockey, or field hockey? Was there water hockey?  

God, Kravitz felt old. Not knowing how games worked anymore, being confused at how the self-checkouts worked as Taako scanned their items in. The machines were covered in too many buttons and had enough flashing lights to give him a headache – and it didn’t help that the seemingly only member on staff was breathing down their necks like they were about to make a bolt for it. 

“OOOH, CHEEZY POPCORN, HOW DELIGHTFUL! THE FAKE CHEESE REALLY ENHANCES THE BURNT FLAVOUR!” The staff member suddenly spoke from behind them, and Kravitz jumped, clenching hold of Taakos hand tightly. They were still holding hands? 

“Well no duh, Garfield, Taako only cashes out for the finest o’ dining.” Taako drawled in return, swiping his card almost lazily to the utter delight of the staff member – Garfield? 

“OF COURSE! I WOULDN’T EXPECT ANY LESS FROM SUCH A VALUED CUSTOMER.” The ethnically ambiguous staff member moved to drape himself over the counter in a manner than Kravitz could only describe as uncomfortably seductive, resting his chin on his hand and looking at them both through heavily lidded eyes. “DO COME BACK NOW!” 

Taako rolled his eyes and swept up the straining plastic bag that contained their goods. “Yeah, sure, ‘Sunday night ritual member bonuses’ and whatnot.” 

He didn’t want to know what the Sunday night ritual member bonuses were. He didn’t know why their total equaled to exactly 4.20$ despite them getting far more than that was worth. He didn’t want to know why the fuck they had a staff member called Garfield and why he was draped in a thick blue cloak. Kravitz was just happy they escaped that hell hole and gripped Taakos hand tightly, making him stop and grab him by the shoulders to look him directly in the eye. 

“Taako.” He said. 

“Yeah?” 

“Please never take me in there again.” 

Taako, who had seemed nervous at Kravitz’s sudden seriousness, collapsed into a snort, making his own facade crack and a smile tilt at the edges of his lips. “Jeez, Krav, give me a fuckin’ heart attack why don’t you? Made me think you were about to confess your undying love for me or some gay shit like that.” 

Kravitz raised his eyebrows. “And you’d complain about that?” He received a daring but curious glance in return, smirk sly against his cheeks. 

“Dunno. Depends on what you got, Death Daddy.” Taako was resting both of his hands on his chest now and Kravitz was all too aware of this fact, daring to rest his hands on the elf's waist who made no comment except for an expectant raised eyebrow. Kravitz took a deep breath. 

“Taako, you are the duck to my Magnus.” 

Taakos face immediately dropped. “No. Absolutely not. Stop.” 

“The flower bush to my Merle.” 

“I fucking hate you.” he struggled to get away but Kravitz’s grip on his hips held tight, giggles seeping through his heated words.  

“You’re the denim jeans to my Barry. The Lup to my Barry.” Taako paused for a second there, chewing on that one, reclining back into his arms.  

“Okay, that one's cute. Still disgusting, because I don’t want to imagine my sister and Barry doing x-rated level stuff, but cute.”  

“Oh?” Kravitz easily hid the slight blush that rose to his cheeks but he felt like Taako could still tell, and his grip tightened ever so slightly. “So you imagine us doing x rated level things?” 

To his integrity, and at this point in a very unsurprising move, Taako wasn’t phased by the question at all. He simply pressed their bodies flusher together, making Kravitz’s heart flip in his chest. “I could go into intricate detail about the things I imagine involving us, handsome.” 

Kravitz’s totally suave and not embarrassing one-liner response was interrupted by Taakos phone going off, again, and the Elf groaned, peeling himself away from his embrace and answering it with a snap. “The fuck you want, old man?” 

So, Merle. Probably. Kravitz was still tiptoeing around the differences in relationships between everyone - Taako, Magnus and Merle were tight, Lucretia and Davenport formed the most mature partnership out of the lot, and Barry floated between groups mostly sticking to Taako – but he couldn’t think of anybody else that Taako would talk to that way. Maybe Magnus, ironically? He still had a lot to learn. 

Taako rolled his eyes at whatever Merle was saying, huffing in impatience before nodding with a frustrated grunt. “Yeah, sure, I can pick him up. Is he at the school or home?” A brief pause while he waited, and he gestured for Kravtiz to get in the car and wait. “ ‘Kay. I don’t need to like, feed him, right? The whole ‘don’t feed the gremlin before midnight’ kinda deal?” 

He didn’t bother to correct him about the movie and simply hopped into the car, closing the door shut behind him and watching Taako talk on his phone now muffled through the windshield, still looking frustrated. Even with his features twisted in such a way he was still stunning. Kravitz tried not to stare, failed, let himself gleefully succumb to inevitability. The late afternoon sun was just catching his hair, and it was shimmering and transparent in the thinner locks that were swept over his shoulder in that lazy braid. The shawl was back over his shoulders but it wasn’t enough to keep the cold winds from rising goosebumps all over his arms. Golden jewelry jangled, reflected the light. 

Taako turned and caught him staring, paused. Stuck in his gaze and caught red-handed Kravitz squirmed, pulling at the cuffs of his shirt and unable to escape, hoping to salvage the moment with a smile as he held his hands up in a guilty pose to silently say uh oh, you caught me. A beat, and he got a wider grin in return, a flirtatious wink as Taako poke his tongue out to him and hung up the phone. He was sure he didn’t even say goodbye to whoever was on the other line. 

The car lurched a bit as Taako leapt in. “Okay, minor detour, we gotta go and pick up Angel baby for the match.” He started the car and kept explaining as they pulled out of the parking lot, body half twisted in his seat to look behind him. “Lucy’s working late and can't take him, and everyone else is already waiting at the field. You don’t mind, right?” He glanced over to Kravitz, and a flicker of worry tightened the knuckles on the steering wheel. Kravitz raced to ease it. 

“No, no of course, it’s fine.” He reassured, thankful to see Taako relax and shoot him a brief smile. “I’m happy to be able to spend more time with you.” 

“Sap. Save it for the second date.” Taako teased, rolling his eyes, but Kravitz could see the faintest hint of a blush start at the tips of his ears. He grinned in return. 

“So does this count as the first?” 

He hummed for a moment, as if in deep consideration. “Maybe. You a third-date-third-base kinda guy?” 

Kravitz choked on his response but tried not to let it show. “If by that, you mean...well, in a sense, then, yes. I guess?” 

“Way to fancy it up, homeboy. I’ll be expecting flowers soon if you keep up the schmoozey attitude.” He turned down a side street and into a neighborhood, two-storied and well-painted houses with manicured lawns and white picket fences sweeping past them. “And in that case, consider yourself on a date. Lucky me, huh?” 

He tried to hide the dopey grin that cracked at those words, swiftly managing it into a soft one instead. “With you as my date? I think I'm the lucky one.” 

“Sap!” Taako slapped his arm and Kravitz laughed. “I said the second date! Stop breaking the rules!” 

Before they could argue date schematics any more Taako pulled into the driveway of a house, slapping the horn with a rough hand that didn’t let up after the typical, three second rule. He kept the horn down in a constant blare and sat back in his seat. After a few more seconds – Kravitz was really beginning to wonder how effective this method was at anything besides pissing off neighbor's – before the door to the house flung open and out stepped Angus McDonald, hurrying down the steps with his shoes half-tied and a thick jacket clutched in his hands. 

Ah. Angel baby. Angus. That explained a lot of things. 

“Hello sirs!” He greeted cheerfully as he climbed into the backseat. “I wasn’t expecting you, Mr McAllister! Are you coming with us to watch Miss Lup play too?” 

“Nope.” Taako cut him off before he could speak and they both looked to him in a quiet surprise, Kravitz more worried than anything. He waved off their concerns. “He’s coming to be my personal hot water bottle and to hold the chips when my hands get too cold to come out from my pockets.”  

Kravitz huffed a laugh and Agnus looked relieved at his answer. “I don’t think I'm going to make a good hot water bottle. Bad circulation, remember?”  

Taako glanced at him for a second with a distinct look in his eye, lowering his voice a little so their passenger couldn’t hear. “I can think of ways to warm you up.” 

“I can hear you, sir.” Angus’s voice cut through the deep shudder that Taakos tone sent through him, and made him flush with shame instead. “I’m eleven, you don’t need to pretend around me like you don’t kiss.” 

“Yeah, kissing, kid.” He could feel the audible eye-roll. “I wanna smooch the fuck out of this dude. Smooch him real fuckin’ good.” 

Kravitz was so, so glad that Taakos attention was on the road, because otherwise he would absolutely tear him to pieces at how flushed his face was and at the strangled noise that crept from his throat. Angus seemed to take that information and chew on It for a second, quiet in the backseat.  

“Oh.” He said. “Are you talking about sex?” 

And that was how Taako narrowly avoided slamming them into a lamppost as he slammed on the breaks, screeching “WHO TAUGHT YOU THAT?” 

Agnus was insistent that it was part of the required sex-ed classes he took in PE. Taako muttered about having some words with Merle and then cursed the influence of Carey and Kilian, to which Angus took to a great defense of them and their friendship. He did, however, admit that Killian had told him that girls can't get pregnant from just kissing like his class had told him, and had demonstrated with her own girlfriend to prove her point. Kravitz wasn’t sure if he was more horrified at the school's health program or the fact that Angus had actually believed any of it. 

It was nearing five by the time they arrived at the hockey field and the game was already underway, Angus racing off to the stands to not miss a second of play and was greeted by a small cheer from the group that had assembled. Taako and Kravitz chose to hang back, lugging the snacks and blankets that he had produced from the boot. 

He hadn’t been expecting the boot against his ankle, just a gentle tap that made him stop, seeing Taako standing behind him clutching a blanket tightly. He didn’t say anything and just looking to him expectantly, the Elf sighing after a moment's hesitation. 

“Hey so listen, I don’t just spout this shit out often so, be grateful you're even hearing this, alright,” Kravitz raised his eyebrows as Taako rambled on past his usual semantics, “but like, sorry for fuckin dragging you out here and having to deal with like, Ango and shit. We’re...probably gonna have to drop him home too, so. Raincheck on that dinner?” He winced, kicking a loose piece of gravel with his boot. “You probably weren't expecting this bullshit. It’d be fine if you wanted to go.” 

Taakos body language made it clear that it wouldn’t be fine if he left, but that wasn’t an issue here. Kravitz just snorted, making the elf glare, but it softened when he saw his smile. “Taako, I agreed to come out with your family and watch your sister play hockey. What did you think I was expecting other than this?” 

He rolled his eyes at Kravitz saying family but shrugged in return. “I mean, I promised you a one-on-one dinner date with yours truly, and I'm kinda skimping you out on that one.” 

“So we can get it another time. It’s not that big of a deal, Taako - I'm not going anywhere.” Kravitz adjusted the bags in his arms for a more comfortable grip, watching as the wind picked up and danced around with his braid. It was getting colder. “Honestly, I'm just happy to be spending time with you.” 

He was expecting the playful arm-slap and prepared for it, catching Taakos hand in midair and watching as his teasing ‘sap’ died in a choked noise of surprise. Kravitz raised his hand, gently pressing the knuckles to his lips, keeping their eyes locked and linking their fingers together. “I know what I am. But can you blame me?” 

The blush that spread across his cheeks and right to the tip of his ears was beautiful, and Taako, for the very first time since Kravitz had met him, was speechless. Or at the very least incapable of coherent words as his brain whirred, tried to figure out how to smoothly and suavely respond to such a gentle moment and unexpected. It couldn’t seem to come up with one apparently.  

“F-fuck you! Fucker!” He still hadn’t pulled his hand from Kravitz’s, an ignorance he relished in. It felt nice to not be the flustered one. 

“Wasn’t that, as you said, third date plans?” Oh ho ho, and yes, now he remembered how to flirt. Just took him a while to get the gears back in motion and shake the dust off. And, by the stammering look on Taakos face, it seemed to be working. He tore his hand from his grip – not violently, just startled, as if he hadn’t noticed it was still there – and huffed, flipping his braid over his shoulder and strutting off towards the stands. 

“Only cos you’re a prude, Skeletor!” 

He didn’t take it to heart. Taakos stuttered insult and brisk pace was reward enough. 

Once they reached the stands Kravitz could see the teachers were all huddled together, Taako hopping up ahead of him to sit beside Magnus, who sat beside a woman he hadn’t seen before. She had Magnus’s arm curled around her waist and her dark brown, curly hair was draped over his shoulders, and she smiled a soft hello to him as he approached. His partner, probably. Magnus spotted him as well and enthusiastically waved him over. 

“Krav! Buddy! Glad to see you made it!” Kravitz nodded hellos to the rest of the gang who was quiet back, mostly fixated on the game. Merle was asleep beside Davenport with his head lumped heavily against his shoulder, and Angus had settled in next to Barry and below Taako, who had his legs draped over the boy's shoulders and was leaning against Magnus struggling to get his Doritos open. He snatched the bag away before the guy could even try to take it from him with a warning glare. 

Note to self. Get his own chips next time. 

Kravitz sat down next to Taako and, after Magnus enthusiastically introduced his wife Julia, tried to understand what was going on in the game; the two teams, divided by red to white uniforms, were currently locked in a battle right in the centerfield, but from this far away and with half of the players in the middle of the scrum there was no way Kravitz could see who or where Lup was. Beside him, Taako quietly munched on his chips, while Magnus babbled on about who was winning ( the red robes, Lups team ) and how awesome it was when one of the players got smashed in the face with a stick and broke their nose. The scrum broke apart and the cheers of their group got wilder as a girl took the...ball? Puck? As a girl took an unidentifiable blob and lead away from the others, sprinting in the direction of the opposing team's goal. The tension in the air grew critical as she drew closer, and even Taako paused his crunching for a second to wait with bated breath.  

A miss. 

Collective groans all around as the referee blew their whistle, and Magnus flopped back down from where he had been standing, ready to cheer. “This sucks. How hard can it be to hit something into a net?” 

“Didn’t you coach a kids team, Magnus? Called the Losers?” Taako shot back, Dorito crumbs flying everywhere. “Don’t recall you ever winning with them.” 

“It wasn’t about winning! It was about kinship and bonding!” Magnus protested, trying to snag a chip while he was talking and grunting when he got nothing but a punch to the shoulder. Kravitz offered his own bag sympathetically. Taako narrowed his eyes. 

“Traitorous bastard.” He hissed, intended malice absent from his tone as he let the deal happen. “I bring you to the game and this is the thanks I get?” 

Kravitz grinned and shrugged. “I could always leave. Take the blankets with me.” 

“Don’t you fuckin go anywhere, bones, you're fulfilling your one duty here if it kills you.” He pulled himself away from Magnus’s side and latched onto Kravitz's arm, pressing their sides and legs together as he wrapped the blanket around his waist tighter. The air and wind had gotten sharper as the sun drooped lower in the sky, floodlights on the field blinking on, and it was only when he pressed against him that Kravitz noticed Taako was shivering. He didn’t exactly have flesh on flesh like Magnus to keep warm, and all he was wearing was that tank top and gauzy, see-through shawl. 

Kravitz pulled away from him – despite the desperate whine of complaint coming from his clingy friend – and pulled his jacket off, wrapping it around Taakos shoulders before securing it with his arm that he wrapped around the elf’s waist. “Better?” He mumbled. 

“It smells like mothballs and death.”  He muttered back, but he felt Taako squeeze in tighter against him and the shivering quelled. 

“That's just what I smell like.” 

“Hot.” 

The game seemed to drag on forever; Kravitz didn’t even realize halftime had been until suddenly the whistle blew and suddenly there was another skirmish on the field. The Red Robes scored two more points – Taako standing up and joining Magnus in a hollering cheer at every goal, screeching out ‘Kick their asses, Lup!’ and high-fiving Angus before sitting back down and tucking himself back into Kravitz's barely existent warmth – and the opposing team, the Hammerheads, one point, before suddenly the whistle blew and cheers from their entire set of stands rose into a roar. On the field, Lups team were huddled in a huge team hug, chanting something unintelligible before pumping their fists into the air and splitting apart. One woman, in particular, came sprinting over, and Kravitz could only assume she was Lup. 

“Did you see, babe? Did you fucking see how badass we were?” She leapt over the fence separating the field from the bleachers in one smooth move and crashed into an expectant Barry, arms around his neck drawing him into an adrenaline-filled smooch. She pulled apart before it could delve into anything more and kept babbling on. “Like when Noelle broke that dudes face? Holy shit! It was wicked!” 

Yup. Definitely Taakos sister. 

She looks almost identical to him save the amber-licked hair streaks, buzzed short on one side and the other plaited into a long, frizzled braid that was pinned up in an intricate design. She sported ugly hockey gear, and had mud, dirt, and a little bit of blood streaked across her face, but when Barry held her by the hips as she rambled on about some foul move she made he smiled like she’d hung every star in the sky just for him. Yeah, it was the exact same look he had got gushing about her way back in university, too. Some things don’t change. 

Eventually she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and pulled away, raising her arms in victory punches with a wide grin to her friends. A grin, and punches, that froze the second her gaze landed on Kravitz; and suddenly she was pointing with vengeance at him and double jumping her way up the bleachers. “You!” 

“Me?” He squeaked embarrassingly. Taako made no move to help him and crunched down another chip. 

“You got my brothers philosophy class cut!” 

Oh Lady. He thought this was sorted, he - “I’m sorry, I really am, I didn’t - I didn’t know that something got cut for me I - I wouldn’t have - “ He braced himself for something, anything, this was Lup who set her mailbox on fire after being rejected from a university, Lup who punched a professor in the face, this was Taakos sister, he had no fucking clue what to expect. 

She stopped just on the bleacher below him, pointed finger still outstretched, and held that position for a second before relaxing, and dropping it into an offered handshake. “Good to finally thank you in person, my dude. His class sucked.” 

“Hey!” Taako yelped, paying attention now and sitting up straight. Kravitz was grateful for the interruption as he didn’t really think he could speak right now – not with his heart still in his throat and his mind still racing to catch up to what was going on. “My class was rad!” 

“It sucked, Koko. Sucked major balls.” She deadpanned, hand still outstretched in a handshake that she looked back at, then to Kravitz expectantly. “Well? Can I meet the guy who saved the schools reputation and my brothers ego?” 

He fumbled to a start, reaching out and shaking her hand and boy that was a powerful grip. “Uh, Kravitz McAllister. You’re Lup, I presume?” She jerked her hand back the second they were released with a surprised look. 

“Boy howdy, you’re a clammy one, aren’t ya?” 

“Bad circulation.” He and Taako apologized simultaneously, Taako glancing over with a wink. Lup rolled her eyes and leant back to yell at Barry. 

“Babe! You didn’t tell me your old roommate was a living corpse!” 

Her husband shrugged. “Bad circulation?” 

Taako snorted, and stood, offering his hand to Kravitz. “You were badass, Lu, but I gotta get the kiddo fed and home before late else his ma 'll kill me. Or fire me. Can she do that?” He gestured down to Angus, who was excitedly explaining the game to a still sleep-drowsy merle. “But do like, four shots for me, yeah? The good kind. Ones with the fire.” 

She held up her hand in a mock salute. “Sure thing, Koko. You take care of my brother now, Zombie Boy.” Lup gave Kravitz a good-natured shove as he walked by and he sheepishly grinned, giving her a shrug in return. 

“Might be a difficult task.”  

Lup barked out a laugh. “If you’ve put up with him this long, you can make it through anything. Have fun kiddies!”  

By the time Taako had collected Angus and said goodbye to everyone it was well past six thirty, and they all clambered into the car, grateful for the warmth of the AC. Taako kept the car running to get it fully warm and turned around in his seat to face Angus. “What time you gotta be home by, kiddo?” 

"Eight-thirty, Mr Taako!” He said cheerfully, clicking his seatbelt into place. Kravitz was reminded to do the same. When he turned back Taako was counting on his fingers, chewing his lips in thought before raising his eyebrows in a knowing glance. 

“I’m thinking we got time for some m&m time, Django. You up for it?” Angus’s eyes shone.  

“Yes please, sir! We haven’t been in ages!” Taako clicked his tongue and Angus corrected himself. “Yes please, Taako!” 

“Hell yeah then, my dude.” 

‘M&M time’ turned out to be ‘Mcdonalds and (Mini) Mountains time’, and Kravitz soon found himself clutching a half-eaten sundae sitting on the hood of Taakos car, the two of them wrapped in blankets and watching the city lights below them wink. He had parked a good distance from the edge of the cliffside after driving for a solid ten minutes up the mountain, and he had to admit, the views were spectacular from up here. And he wasn’t just talking about the city. 

It wasn’t too cold up here, with a lot of shrubbery and trees blocking out the wind but Taako was pressed tightly against him anyway, his greasy burger and ice cream meal finished long ago and Kobe’d into the bin that was just by the public toilets a good few yards away. Angus had excused himself just a second ago, and now they were alone. Warmed by the still humming engine and their shared body warmth, Kravitz had his arm wrapped around Taakos shoulders, fingers stroking indistinct patterns into his exposed skin. His tongue was thick with unspoken words that threatened to spill out at any second.  

He just couldn’t help it. Not with Taako held so tightly in his embrace, not with him resting his head against his shoulder, not with his hair cascading down Kravitz's chest and tickling the bottom of his chin. All this embrace made him want to do was hold him tighter, to murmur all of the lovely things he thought of him into his ears until his face was hot enough to burn – to feel what his lips tasted like, how his hands would feel on his naked chest, to wake up seeing that soft smile he gives him in moments when he thinks Kravitz isn’t looking. Kravitz falls fast, and Kravitz falls hard; but Taako had just been so incredibly intoxicating that he hadn’t seen the warning signs until it was too late.  

There was a soft poking in his side and he was suddenly aware of Taako looking up at him expectantly, making him bare a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry, I kind of zoned out. Did you say something?” 

Taako huffed in mock disappointment. “I asked what you were thinking about, homeslice. You were all glassy and smiling dumb like you’d just adopted a kitten or something.” 

Well, shit. Backtrack, backtrack - “I’d love a cat at some point.” 

Crit fail on that bluff check. “Nice way to avoid the question.” 

Kravitz hesitated for a second, and concern briefly flickered its way across Taakos face, making his heart leap to sooth it. “ I was... I was thinking about you.” 

“Oh yeah?” Taakos eyebrows immediately leapt up and wiggled suspiciously, making Kravitz laugh an ugly snort. “What about me, handsome? Anything in particular?” 

“No n- nothing like that-” Taako looked at him with disbelief and he snorted again, rolling his eyes. “Okay, maybe a little -” 

“Fuckin perv.” 

“Your hand is literally on my thigh right now.”  

“Yeah?” He gave a sharp squeeze. “You gonna do anything about it?” 

“I mean, no, but – I wasn’t just thinking about that, you know.” He got another disbelieving look and he shuffled a bit, moving his spare hand so that it was resting on Taakos leg. “I was – mostly, I was thinking about how beautiful you looked right now. How you look – always.” 

“Well, natch.” Taako retorted, but his voice had dropped an octave, turning hushed and quiet and urging him onwards.  

“About how – how whenever you talk about things you care about, your eyes shine like nothing I've seen before – you just become radiant, Taako, and I don’t mean that like you aren’t that way always, but you have something about you that just makes you so...addicting to be around. You make me want to be the kind of person who makes you talk that way.” Kravitz spoke softly, not wanting to break the thick silence around them and gently reached up with his hand to cup Taakos cheek. The elf leant into the touch, gaze still fixated on Kravitzs face in something he could only describe as awe. The attention gave him the confidence to press on. 

“You...you’re so fucking...stunning, Taako, and I know, you know that already,” he broke off into a nervous laugh, stroking his cheek with his thumb, “but every time I look at you I’m just dumbstruck that you even spared me a second glance. All I can think about whenever I'm with you is how lucky I am that you’re even giving me the time of day, about how you take my breath away every time you smile.” he took a breath, almost as if to prove his point, mostly to make sure his tongue was able to form the next words right without fucking up. “All I can ever think about is how much I want to kiss you.” 

There was a pregnant pause between them, long enough for Kravitz to start to worry, for his cheek caresses to still in fear. He was about to pull away and apologize when Taako swallowed and Kravitz was suddenly aware of his grip his shirt.  

“What’s stopping you?” 

And his eyes, those beautiful, perfect eyes begged him with permission, flirting downwards to rest just for a heartbeat on Kravitz's mouth before meeting his again in a silent cry of please. 

How could he say no? 

He used the thumb on his cheek to dip him closer and tilt his head right as he pressed their lips together, Taako tasting like strawberries and ice cream and being irresistibly warm, Kravitz deepening the kiss without a second thought. Taako made a pleased noise; hand on his shirt clenching tighter and pulling them closer together, Kravitz's hand naturally falling from his cheek to his hips as fingers snuck beneath the thin material of the tank top. The other arm still wrapped around his shoulders, reached up behind the nape of his neck to run his hands through Taakos thick hair and, at the soft moan he gave into Kravitz's mouth when he tugged the first time, clenching fronds in between his fingers and tightening his grip. When they broke, breathless and panting, it was only seconds before they fumbled back together again. Taakos lips were so soft and he felt so good pressed hot against his body, his fingers clumsily undoing the buttons on his shirt and sending electric shivers through Kravitz's skull, and the knee he slipped between Taakos legs only felt natural. It all felt natural; like kissing Taako had been something he’d always needed to do, like this wasn’t their first, like everything right here, right now, had led to him feeling like he’d finally found a piece of him that he never knew had been missing.  

The loud flush of a toilet is what broke them apart from their stupor, yanking away from each other with an almost violent force that Kravitz nearly slid off of the car and had to grab Taakos forearm to stop it. They locked eyes, both with cheeks still flushed and clothing tussled and hair messed and came to the same, synonymous conclusion: Angus was not going to know about this. 

“Are we going home now, sirs?” Angus asked, confused, as the two slid off the hood and packed their things together quickly. Facing away from him as he picked up a dropped blanket Kravitz rebuttoned his shirt, letting Taako answer the question instead. 

“Uh, Yeah, Agnes, it’s getting pretty late and we better getcha home before Lucy gets worried.” Taako lied through his teeth and pushed a blanket into the boy's hands, obscuring his view as he desperately tried to fix his hair and pretend like his tongue hadn’t been down Kravitz's throat just ten seconds ago.  

Angus frowned from behind the cloth. “But it’s only eight -” 

“Times a-wasting! Let’s load up, Krab cakes!” 

They piled into the car, still warm from blasting the AC and drove back down the mountain in what could only be described as a nervous silence. Kravitz kept checking the time on his phone, feeling the quiet between the three of them stretch out for longer and longer, and the tension felt immeasurable. He couldn’t help his glances over to Taako who would meet his eyes once for a single second before turning back to the road.  

The silence finally snapped as Taako gave a huff, turning a corner and into what he recognized as his own neighborhood. “So where's your crib, bones? Angus is on the other side of town so, might as well drop you first.” 

“Oh.” Kravitz blinked, looking about where they were. “Astral crescent. Near the Stockade.” 

Taako made a humming noise in recognition. They drove in quiet for a few more moments – Kravitz sure Angus was asleep, only finding out he wasn’t when the boy sneezed and muttered a quiet ‘excuse me’ - before pulling up outside of his apartment building. It wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of high class, or even middle class, really; cracks running all up the side, the garden out front full of weeds and empty bottles. He got a sympathetic look, to which he simply shrugged. 

“At least let me walk you to the door like promised, yeah? Gotta keep up at least one part of the bargain.” Taako said, getting out of the car before Kravitz could protest and sliding over the hood to stand beside him. “Come on, let me be all gentlemanly and shit.” 

Kravitz held out his bent arm and Taako latched on eagerly with a grin, gripping his muscles with both hands and raising his eyebrows for a second. “Gonna have to rethink that nerd label there, handsome. Didn’t realize you were a secret jock.” 

He laughed as he led Taako up the path to his apartment building. “I can’t be that hot, mysterious stranger with a dark past that you fall hopelessly enamored with?” The quip earnt a snort in return, and Kravitz felt awash with relief that nothing had changed between them. 

“Sorry to break it to you, babe, but you’re not exactly a stranger to me anymore.” They came to a stop just outside of the building's doors, Taako adjusting so he was standing in front of him rather than to the side. “Keep the dark past shit though. Nothing hotter than mutual bonding over fucked up childhoods.” 

The silence between them now wasn’t tense, or awkward, like in the car; more soft, like they both had things they longed to say and shared the words in warm glances and fleeting touches rather than speaking. Taako wound their fingers together and bounced on his toes.  

“I had...i pretty good time, tonight.” He said, finally, and Kravitz felt his chest grow warm. For all of that blasé, hard shell Taako put up, the fact that he allowed vulnerable moments like this to happen with him made his heart melt into a puddle and want to declare every single declaration of love his mouth could fumble. “I know it was pretty fuckin inconvenient, but if you’re still down for that dinner sometime, I'd be cool with that.” 

Kravitz squeezed his hands and smiled. “I’d love that. We can...talk more, tomorrow?” And he gestured lightly with his head towards the car and a waiting Angus. Taako sheepishly nodded. 

“Yeah, that’d be chill.” 

“Perfect.” Before he could overthink It Kravitz leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, feeling the grip on his hands tighten and the elf draw in a sharp breath before he leaned away. “Goodnight, Taako.” 

“Guh- yeah. Yeah, g’night.” 

The last he saw of Taako before he disappeared into the car and drove away was the tips of his ear's blushed a bright red, braid sloppy and shirt still untucked at the back.  

Chapter Text

Tuesday came by and went. 

Taako and Kravitz organized a dinner date for thursday - both of them had too much paperwork to do until then, and were happy with just seeing each other at school between days. Today was thursday, and Kravitz could easily say he was a little excited about tonight's prospects. While, of course, he enjoyed every second he could spend with the Elf, he craved for something more one-on-one. Something more personal. In public, Taako acted like nothing was different; flirting overtly, not being hesitant with his touches, trying to fluster Kravitz as much as possible much to the amusement of their fellow coworkers.  

In private, it was a bit of a different story. 

Four times, now, they’d nearly been caught by another teacher or a student with hands and mouths all over each other; Taako would sweep into his office the moment they both had a free period to spare and would be on him before he could even protest, settling on his lap and silencing his flustered excuse of having work to do with heated kisses. It never went beyond making out. Kravitz was far too aware of their environment to let Taako drag him that far - but he would admit that the temptation had crossed his mind too many times as he grinded over his lap or whined obscenities into his ears. He got him back once too in revenge, pinning him against the countertop of Taakos kitchen classroom with those long legs of his hooked tightly, irresistibly around his waist and hands on his chest burning hotter than the element beneath them. 

Taako complained about the singe mark on his pants once they realized that he actually was sitting on a burning countertop, but decided that it was ‘rustic chic’ after a few seconds and went along with it. Kravitz knew it was just an excuse to keep kissing him, but he wasn’t going to protest. 

None of their friends or family had seemingly caught on yet. Lup still endlessly teased Taako about him, and Barry would give him a side eye and snicker nefariously whenever he caught them having a conversation, but from what he could tell they still figured neither of them had made a move yet. It was understandable – Barry knew Kravitz wasn’t one to move fast, and there was no reason for him to think otherwise. Truthfully, what he had with Taako even surprised himself. It went against everything he’d ever think he’d want in a relationship; casual, mostly physical, with no real sense of commitment or even a mutual confession of feelings. Yet somehow Kravitz didn’t seem to mind – every moment he spent with Taako felt like heaven on earth and he never wanted it to stop. That wasn’t just reserved for makeout sessions, either, even talking to him and seeing that crooked smile of his made his heart warm, his hands shake, his knees weak. He ached for the day he could touch him and kiss him in public and call him his.  

There was a small voice, in the back of his head sometimes, wondering if maybe this whole thing was just physical. That maybe Taako was only interested in a kind of stress relief, a workplace affair. He tried to clamp it down, thinking about all of those soft smiles he got out of the corner of his eye, the times Taako grazed their hands together when they walked down hallway, but it was still there, still nagging, just sometimes.  

On top of that, despite it only being a few days his relationships with the other teachers had improved dramatically; Barry and Taako had integrated him seamlessly into their social circle, though he still felt a bit awkward when he missed inside jokes or took banter seriously. There were a few other teachers around – Leon, who ran the history department, Jenkins who helped with sciences and botany alongside Maureen Miller – but they mostly stuck to themselves, and didn't seem to want to make friends when Kravitz tried. He didn't mind too much. Taakos group was lively and talked enough for him to sit in the background and eat his lunch quietly, piping in now and then but mostly staying aside. 

Today, he was expecting pretty much the same. He’d packed a lunch from home and was looking forward to inhaling it – after Taako critiqued the ingredients of course, giving him a thorough rundown on how to make a gourmet version, not that he really understood how you could make a sandwich gourmet – to another story about Merle and the time he fought a squid on the beach, but when he opened the door to the staffroom, the place was empty.  

Kravitz frowned. He glanced at his watch in a quick confirmation of yes, it was lunchtime, he hadn't screwed anything up. Where was everyone...? The whole room was empty, not even a trace of a lunch or anything left behind. Was there some kind of event going on that he didn’t know about? A fire drill? 

“Sir!” A familiar voice called to him from down the hall and Kravitz turned, smiling at the sight of Angus running towards him. He was still dressed in his little sweater and bowtie – eerily similar to what he himself was wearing, actually – but wasn’t lugging his backpack or books around today, a rare sight for the academy's arguably most studious attendee.  

“Good afternoon, Angus.” He greeted, closing the staffroom door. “Perhaps you know where everyone is? The staffroom is empty.” 

Angus nodded, still slightly huffed from running. “Taako - Taako sent me to find you, sir! He thought you wouldn’t know.” 

He felt a warmth spread through his chest, and didn’t hide his smile growing brighter. “That's very kind of him. He was right, I don’t.” 

The boy finally got his breath back and stood up straight, pointing in the rough direction of what he could guess to be the gymnasium. “It's Dodgeball day, sir! Everyone's there!” 

Dodgeball day? Right, he’d heard it dropped in conversation a few times. “Alright then. Want to walk with me?” 

As they walked along Kravitz realized he hadn't actually had much time to get to know Angus by himself; all of the time he had spent with him so far had been through Taako or the rest of the group. Everyone seemed to care about him a lot, and it was obvious that he shared a more intimate relationship with everyone than most students, and he was curious at how that began. “So, Angus -” 

“Lucretia's my adopted mom.” Angus cut him off before he could even begin and Kravitz gaped at him, startled. 

“h-how – how could you have possibly -” 

He shrugged. “Most new teachers ask whenever they see how she is with me. And you’ve seen me hang out with Taako and everyone else, too, so you have double the reason to be wondering.” He looked up with a bright grin. “I’m a very good detective, sir!” 

“Y-yes, I suppose so.” Kravitz stammered, wondering what else the boy had been able to deduce that he didn’t know about. He was beginning to wonder if he was too smart for his own good. 

“My pops died a few years ago, and Lucretia had been tutoring me even before that for a while.” Angus continued as they walked along, pushing open the doors to the athletics block. “It took a long time, but eventually she managed to adopt me officially. She's so wonderful, and all of my friends are so nice!” The gap-toothed smile returned even wider, and he skipped a step, heading fast towards the gymnasium's doors. “Especially Taako!” 

Right, Taako has been tutoring him for a while. That was still something that confused him – Taako didn’t seem like the type to get along with smaller kids, like, at all; teenagers he handled well, sure, he spoke their language of snark and curses, but kids like Angus? He avoided them like the plague whenever they walked near him through the school's halls. Why was Angus different? It wasn’t like Taako was granting him a family pass, Kravitz had seen enough of Taakos wicked attacks on Magnus or Merle to know that wasn’t going to let you off easy, so what was it? 

It was a question he would have worked himself to death overthinking, if he hadn't entered the gym halfway through a thought that died the second his eyes landed on the elf himself. 

There was a game of dodgeball happening between them, kids screaming and launching balls at each other, but not even that could stop Kravitz’s heart from practically stilling in his chest and his feet stumbling as he refused to tear his eyes away. Taako, likewise – noticing him enter he shot him a wink and a flirtatious wave, gesturing for him to come over in a hand movement that was suited for an environment much different from this. 

Form-fitting sports leggings, a baggy tank-top that was tied into a knot just above his exposed navel and a high-pinned ponytail with tips curling beneath his ears. Taako had practically assaulted him and did so with a smile.  

Him and Angus finally made their way over to the group of teachers, carefully avoiding any stray balls or attacks. Taako touched his arm lightly in a private hello before the others noticed their arrival, of whom Magnus shot a high-five and Lup glanced between them with a knowing, smug look. Angus slipped behind them to go sit on the stands. 

“Fancy seeing you here, handsome. Come here often?” Taako said, leaning against the wall and folding his arms. Kravitz glanced around, shrugged. 

“Can't say I have, it's not exactly somewhere you frequent, so what's the attraction?” 

The elf slapped a hand to his chest and gasped in mock hurt, but he couldn’t hide the grin from his face. “Are you saying I don’t look like I go to the gym? Let me tell you, pal, a lot of work goes into keeping this physique up.” 

“Yeah, like eating an entire pint of Mint chip while watching Queer eye.” Lup butted in, rolling her eyes and prodding her elbow into Taakos side. “I don't think you’ve even ever seen a gym, let alone used one.” 

“I'm in one right now, aren't I?” He retorted.  

“Only to show off your ‘fit to the guy whos bones you oh so desperately want to jump.” 

Despite the fact that Taako was, already, ‘jumping his bones’, ( sort of ) Kravitz flushed, trying to hide in a cough as he turned and tried to focus on the game. There were so many things he wanted to say to him; to tell him how good he looked, to ask him how his day had been and if the movie he watched last night had been any good – Taako had complained about having to watch it for the Drama production he was helping for the school, texting Kravitz constantly about every plot-twist until he fell asleep during the credits – but Lup, Barry, but everyone was here, and he knew Taako liked his privacy. He shuffled a bit, antsy, before the movie memory gave him an idea and he dug out his phone. 

Kravitz >>> Taako

Kravitz: You look really nice. 

Taako : Ov course I do 

Taako : 2 tongue tied to say it 2 my face handsme? 

Kravitz: I figured you wouldn’t want your sister to hear me. 

Taako : ooo 

Taako : was it THAT kind of compliment 

Taako : its ok if it was I know my ass looks KILLER in these leggings 

Taako : I wore them 4 u  

He tried to not let his eyes wander, his flitting gaze being caught immediately by Taako, who smirked. 

Kravitz: You're not wrong. 

Kravitz: I just figured there wasn’t a reason you haven't told your sister that you are, to paraphrase, ‘jumping my bones’ 

Taako : haven’t jumped em yet, babe 

Taako : Just u wait till 2nite tho ;)

Taako : N I have told her, lol, but only her 

Taako : shes my twin ykno, I gotta tell her everything, its like, the law 

Taako : m sorry if u minded Ive made sure she wont tell anyone until like 

Taako : this is  

Taako : A Thing™ 

Taako: shes just giving u shit rn sorry if u don’t like me telling her but, package deal so, buckle in bub 

Kravitzs phone was flooded with texts and as he looked over Taako was typing furiously, not seeming to give up or be ready to stop anytime soon. He reached out to touch his elbow slightly, and the texting calmed. 

Kravitz: I don’t mind, Taako, honestly. I was actually pretty surprised when I thought you didn't tell her. 

Kravitz: It's not like I'm going to want to stop seeing you just because you told your sister we’re involved. You’re too important for anything petty like that. 

Kravitz: Also I'm kind of scared of her so I'm just happy she hasn’t killed me yet 

He heard taako snort beside him, and they bumped shoulders, a reassuring touch. 

Taako : nah she wouldn’t kill u  

Taako : not yet anyway  

Taako : just don’t pull any shady shit and she’ll just give u the shovel talk and leave u alone 

Kravitz: The shovel talk? 

Taako : Yea 

Taako : long story pal gotta unlock like, level 2 of this relationship 2 access that sec’ of my tragic backstory 

Kravitz: What level am I on right now? 

Taako : 69 

Taako : It goes downwards 

Kravitz coughed into his closed fist but it was unable to hide his laughter, paying no mind to the others who were glancing at them curiously. Before he could respond, though, a sharp whistle blew, and Taako looked up with unexpected eagerness. As students peeled off the floor and into separate groups he grabbed kravitzs hand, dragging him forward and onto one side of the court. “Taako - t- waa?” 

“Teacher versus students round!” was his answer, and he felt a very deep fear settle into the pit of his stomach.

Oh no.  

The whistle blew again and all hell broke loose.  

Balls were suddenly flying at him from every angle, fast and hard like rubber, gigantic bullets. He saw Jenkins get punted in the face and drop to the ground. Lup, twirling like a ballerina, flung a ball with force enough to shatter a wall and it slammed into a kid he recognized as Greg Grimaldis. Taako beside him cackled wildly and joined her, diving between throws and sweeping ammo up from the ground before tossing it to her. Kravitz just...tried to avoid everything. It, obviously, didn’t work, and he was just ducking from one well-aimed headshot before he was slammed into by another. All of the air was punched from his lungs but he automatically fumbled for it, pressing the ball to his aching chest and holding firm. 

Taako glanced over and saw that he caught one, cheered. ”Hell yeah, babe! Secret jock, I told you!” 

Huh. Maybe he was kind of good at this. 

He pried It from his grip and flung it wildly against the other team, a terrible, weak throw, that still somehow managed to bounce off of the head of Lucas Miller who toppled to the ground like a couple of bowling pins. Taako shouted a whoop from behind him and he turned, flashing him a triumphant grin and a thumbs up. Maybe this game wasn’t too bad – he was actually doing pretty decent at it. 

Then a ball slammed into his chest with such an intensity that Kravitz was sure he blacked out for the seconds it took for him to fall to the ground. One second, he was standing, and the other he was on the court with no breath in his lungs and staring up at the ceiling with ringing in his ears from when his skull had cracked against the ground. 

Yeah, okay, he deserved that one. Don't confuse confidence with arrogance and all of that yadda yadda. 

There was suddenly a face in his vision, a pretty one, and he rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear the dancing lights. Hands were soft beneath his chest lifting him up into a sitting position and he groaned, feeling like six of his ribs had just caved in on themselves. The ringing began to subside and through it, he could start to hear whoever was beside him talking. 

“-ly shit, babe, are you okay? I mean you took that hit like a fucking champ but fuck, you can't go dying on me now, handsome, you gotta date to keep-” Taako was crouched beside him helping him sit up, and gingerly touched his jawline to the side so he was facing him. A smile broke in relief at the sight of nothing bleeding or broken, but he hid it with a gentle pat on the cheek. “Yup. Still hot.” 

He could already feel his head pounding. “Ow.” 

Taako suddenly stood from his crouch, sweeping a free ball from near their feet and clutching it close as he scanned for potential targets. He zeroed in with a catlike frequency and as Kravitz groaned, trying to get to his feet, he twirled and flew the ball against the other team, it making a dull thwop sound as it struck a kid – who sported an unsettling amount of spider-themed sports gear, what the fuck – who tumbled backward. “Yeah, get fucked, Brian! That’s for your exam entry last year!” He whooped. He glanced down with a wide grin and his hands on his hips, Kravitz in his feet now but still bent over and holding his face. “That one was for you, babe. Revenge tactics.” 

“You specifically said two seconds ago it was for his entry exam -” He was interrupted by the whistling of a ball, instinctively jerking to the side, relieved when it didn’t hit him. Less relieved when it hit Taako, instead, who took the full brunt of the blow to his face with a sickening noise. Kravitz only barely managed to dive beneath him before he slammed into the ground. His own knees screamed at the brute contact with the polished wooden floors – or was it because this was his first exercise in months and he was getting old? Istus knows - but he thrust his arms behind Taako, catching his head before it cracked against the ground and the other curling around his waist in an awkward but effective position. 

Somewhere from the sidelines Lup wolf whistled. Kravitz didn't pay her any attention, fumbled, instead, with his grip on Taako, who was blinking up at him hard and clutching his face. After a few seconds, he felt that nothing was broken or out of place, relaxed, letting his hands rest on Kravitz's chest and turned his gaze upwards. He focused directly on the man holding him and shot him a weak smile. “S-swept me off my feet, huh?” A weak cough. Couldn't get much more cliché than that, bones.” 

Despite the fact that Taako was winded beneath him and his own face was aching, Kravitz couldn’t help the smile that cracked. “What can I say? I’m a romantic.” 

“Gross.” there was no malic behind the words and Taako used his arms to help himself up, Kravitz following suit and helping him stand as he was still a little shaky. “c’mon, Lups on next anyway and she can wipe the rest of those nerds. Let's get me some ice for the horrible tragedy that has occurred here.” And he gestured lightly to the forming bruise on his face. Some ice probably would be nice, and Taako probably needed to sit down, his eyes still kind of unfocused and a dodgeball-patterned imprint turning red on his forehead.  

The balls, thankfully, avoided them as they made their way back over to the stands, Lup watching their approach with her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised in an unimpressed look. Magnus and Merle, he now noticed, were still bent over in laughter, and the sight of them limping over sent them over the edge. Lup offered Taako his bag. “At least now you can admit that i'm the pretty twin.” 

“Fuck you.” He spat, and even Lup seemed taken aback by the venom in his words. He snatched the bag from her grip. “We both know it’ll take a lot more than a fuckin’ dodgeball to even drop me on par with your level.” 

“We’re identical, Koko.”  

“To the common eye, maybe.” He scoffed. “Anybody with taste would be able to tell which one of us is more vivacious.” She rolled her eyes but didn’t return with a quip, waving him off.  

“Go get your face fixed, doofus.” And she jogged out onto the court. 

Taako muttered a ‘nerd’ in return under his breath as he dragged them out of the gym, the game continuing on without them as only the muffled thumps of balls and bodies hitting wood seeped through the door. The medical bay was close by and the nurse, seeing they were two teachers, didn’t move from her station when they entered. They made a beeline for one of the rooms and Taako opened the fridge inside, pulling out an icepack and pressing it to his face with a huffed sigh of relief. He sat next to Kravitz who also had an icepack pressed to the back of his skull. For a moment, there was just a beat of silence between them. Kravitz would have been happy if the whole time they spent there was in silence, actually – his headache, though a little relieved from the ice, was still strong, and the lights were far too bright In here – but Taako squirmed beside him, ears drooped and face twisted in thought. He kept squirming until Kravitz reached out and linked their hands together gently. “You know, we can reschedule dinner for another time tonight, if your face hurts too much.” he said, softly, really the only tone he could manage right now. Taako released his bottom lip from where he had been chewing on it and sighed. 

“Nah, ya dude’ll be fine, if you still wanna go.” The added, if unintentional emphasis on you made Kravitz frown, and he squeezed his hand. 

“Of course I still want to go, Taako. Why wouldn’t I?” 

“M’dunno.” He muttered, and caught Kravitz's disbelieving gaze, winced. “I mean, this,” and he gestured to his face where his black eye and cheek bruises were beginning to bloom, “is a bit of a boner killer.”  

He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help the laugh of sheer shock, the relief that it wasn’t something he'd done, and he felt Taako shrink away from him and glare but he pulled closer instead, pressed their linked fingers to his chest. “Taako-” 

“No, Is fine, I get it, I'm a regular stooge over here, why wouldn’t you laugh-” 

“Taako.” He said more firmly, making him stop. He put down the icepack that he had been holding to his head and cupped Taakos cheek with it, feeling him flinch at the sudden cold but nuzzle into his touch. The elf noticed what he was doing and frowned, but didn’t pull away. “Taako, you’re...you’re beautiful, for one thing.” 

“Natch. When I'm not fucked up.” He tried to banter but Kravitz didn’t let him, fingers caressing gentle as to not aggravate his bruises. 

“But - Taako, I was crazy about you before some dodgeball hit you in the face and – nothings gonna change that? As much of a surprise it may be, I do like you for more than the way you look.” 

There was a moment, Kravitz thought, where something deep and dark and vulnerable bubbled its way up to the surface of Taako, flickering in his eyes that were wet with unreleased tears, but it was only a moment and as quick at it was there it was gone and Taako snorted. “Yeah, well, your face has skulls decorating it like half of the time anyway, you goth motherfucker, so this was a test I just wanted to – yeah, no fucking kidding.” 

Kravitz didn’t press, and let the diversion pass as Taako moved to rest his head on his shoulder. There was obviously something buried there that he wasn’t supposed to have access to yet, so he simply tightened his grip around his shoulder and ignored it when Taako palmed his eyes and sniffed that his head hurt. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his forehead, and ran his thumb on the outside of his hand, which were still tangled together and pressed to his chest. “If...if you want, I can reschedule the dinner, and we can do something more relaxed. Like takeout and a movie, or something?” 

“Nuh uh, no fuckin way, cowboy, that’s not happening.” Taako shifted in his grip, still leant against him but facing him now. “You’re coming back to my place, we are not ordering some cheap-shit fake Chinese food. Your boy isn't that fuckin sad – if you're gonna come over, Boner Babe,” and he poked at his chest, “we’re gnna make some bomb ass mac n cheese and then watch shitty tv until we pass out. Capiche?” 

He didn’t really feel like he had a choice in the matter, but he smiled, pressing another smooch to his forehead. “That sounds wonderful to me.” 

“Cool beans.” Taako, unsatisfied, pulled him down for a proper kiss, soft and warm against his lips and surprisingly delicate. Kissing Taako in such a public place, where he didn’t seem to care who saw them, turned his heart to mush and as much as he needed to breathe, he didn’t want to pull away. The Elf seemed to notice his disappointed and grinned before giving him another short peck. He settled back against his side with a wink and the icepack pressed back against his face. “Dont worry that pretty little head of yours, making out is def on tonights schedule, so, cool your jeans.” A disgusted look immediately passed over his face. “Jets. Oh, Gods. Don’t tell Barry I said that.” 

“Whats in it for me?” Kravitz nuzzled his cheek, making Taako laugh.  

“You can pick the movie tonight and... I won't make you do the dishes?” A pause of consideration. “I won't make you wash them?” 

He seemed to consider that offer for a moment, then shrugged. “I really just wanted another kiss but, alright, that sounds fine by me.” 

“N-nuh uh! Nuh, youre on dishes buddy, don’t fuckin’ try to cut me out of this deal -” Taakos hands were suddenly on his cheeks trying to pull him in, and he pulled away with some effort, snorting at his sudden eagerness. “Taako doesn’t fuckin get ripped off, Taako does the ripping off, don’t you dare pull this shit with me.” 

Kravitz relented, letting himself be drawn into another kiss that was mostly smiles and cold hands. “Damn, I guess I have to do the dishes now. What a shame.” Taako just mumbled a soft sound of acknowledgement into his lips, and he melted, his heart feeling like it was going to tear straight from his chest. 

By the grace of his Lady, Taako was going to be the end of him. His head pounded, his chest ached, and his heart thundered with something soft and growing that he was far, far too gone to even consider being afraid of. 

Chapter Text

Vorewhore  >>>  TranzRights  

Vorewhore :  Lup  

Vorewhore :  Lup  we have a problem  

TranzRightz :  wha  

TranzRightz : did you show Magnus that video of a dog eating a watermelon again  

TranzRights :  tacobell  you KNOW that man has no control over his tear ducts what were u thinking  

Vorewhore :  Oh   mygod  no ok   

Vorewhore : its  nthing  2 do w/magnus  

Vorewhore : Its Kravitz  

TranzRight z : :0!!!!!!!!!  

TranzRight z : did u smash  

TranzRight z : or do I  gotta  beat him up  

TranzRight z : I  kno   hes  scared of me I  wont  even have 2 punch hard babe  

TranzRight z : I see it. the look of fear in his eyes whenever he talks to me. Its primal  

Vorewhore : oh my god ur so dumb  

Vorewhore : no ok its fine like  everythings  fine  

Vorewhore : too fine?? Maybe???  

Vorewhore :  hes  coming over 2nite  

TranzRights : is the 2 fine thing a joke  abt  his looks or  

Vorewhore : I mean yea but also no  

Taako  sighed, pressing a palm to his face as he  threw himself  down on his bed. He could see  Lup  typing, then pause, type again, an endless popup of three dancing dots that taunted him  from beyond the screen . He didn’t know how to explain it – he didn’t even know what it was! How was he supposed to convey what he felt – how Kravitz both terrified him and made him melt at the same time, how he was so scared of him coming over tonight but at the same time so excited.  

Vorewhore : like  

Vorewhore: ok.  Its   gonna  be a Gay Therapy Session rite now  hol  up  

TranzRight z : o shit ko  finna  lay DOWN  

Vorewhore : ok so   

Vorewhore : I get terrified whenever I see him  

Vorewhore : BUT LIKE IN THE GOOD WAY  

Vorewhore : like  

Vorewhore : fuck  

Vorewhore : I get like  

Vorewhore : nervous fuckin??? Jitters?? Whenever I see him? Like I feel sick whenever I KNO were  gnna  meet like 2day at dodgeball  

Vorewhore : like I get sick and I don’t  wanna  see him but the second I do  its  like,  hhhNGGHG  hello ; ))) pls hang out w me as long as you can   

Vorewhore :  hes   gonna  be here in like 20 minutes n I  cant   fuckgng ,,,, do anything but panic my gay ass away  

TranzRigh tz : oh god,  Taako ,  im  so sorry  

TranzRight z :  youre  really sick.  

Vorewhore :  Istg  If this is a joke  im  going 2 end u  

TranzRight z : why would I joke about something like this?  

TranzRight z : my baby brother is falling in love we need to get him to the emergency room stat  

Vorewhore : blocked. I  cant  believe you’ve done this  

He locked his phone and buried his head into his pillow, letting out a muffled scream and hearing his phone buzz with unread texts.  

Taako, you know, from tv, did not do crushes. He does not do love. He does not do that lovey-dovey, long walks on the beach, roses, candlelit dinners and looking at each other with goofy doe-eyes kind of bullshit. That was Lups forte, her and her dumbass, amazing husband Barry, because even if that nerd had absolutely no self-dignity or sense of fashion boy howdy did he know how to treat his sister right. That shit was not for Taako; no, thanks, Taakos good out here, he wasn’t falling into that fuckin trap. Love was for losers like Magnus and Lup and maybe Merle. 

And  Taako  was not a loser.  Taako  was cool. Hip. On brand.  Taako  was not having an existential crisis over a cute boy.  

He swiped the phone unlocked again, despite knowing  Lup  wasn’t going to be as helpful as he thought she would be .  

TranzRight z : ok  ok  listen   

TranzRight z : u remember how I was w/ barry ? When that stupid nerd played that  song  he wrote for me as a way to ask me out instead of like, just asking, like a normal person?  

Vorewhore : normal people don’t pine 4 like, 100 years,  Lup  

Tranz Ri ght z : ok fuck up  

Tranz R ight z : my POINT is  

Tranz R ight z : u know how I fuckin ran away from that  

Tranz R ight z : how I just like, came home, threw up n then called him and asked him out 4 coffee  

Vorewhore : ur saying I  gotta  run away from my house, throw up and then ask him out on a date?  

Tranz R ight z : ur a fuckin idiot that’s what  im  saying  

Tranz R ight z : what  im  SAYING is that like, fuck,  feelin  sick is normal when ur  rlly  scared to enter a relationship  

Tranz R ight z : and like fuck,  koko , you got every right to be scared,  esp  with what happened last time  

Tranz R ight z : but u don’t  gotta  run away from this guy  

Tranz R ight z : Kravitz is ACTUALLY a good guy. Like, 4 once, you have good taste, and I got the  bluejeans  babe 2 back me up here  

Tranz Ri ght z : u deserve 2 be happy,  koko , and I  rlly  think that you can find that w  Kravvy  

Tranz R ight z :  also  I can always just beat him up so like u got insurance  

Vorewhore : u give fuckin shit advice  frootloops  

Vorewhore : but thanks  

Vorewhore :   anywayz  I  gotta  go get changed into something that doesn’t highlight the fucked up  avant   garde  mess on my face so   

Vorewhore : any good movie recs  tho ?  Smth  not 2  intriguing  that it cuts into make out time but also not boring enough that we pass out the second it starts  

Tranz Ri ght z :  ew , gay  

Tranzr Ri ght z : put like, something Marvel I guess  

Tranz Ri ght z : or u want something steamy ; )))  

Vorewhore : ur work here is done thank you goodbye get out of my life  

He tossed the phone aside, groaning as he stood and ambled over to his wardrobe. He should probably clean his room – his carpet could barely be seen amidst tossed about clothes and accessories, the chair to his desk equally encumbered and weighed down. His wardrobe was surprisingly the place with the most space available, and that was because everything that was meant to be up on hangers was...everywhere else.  

Taako flicked through the items hanging up, unimpressed with the selection, trying to flip through his catalog of potential outfits in his mind. They’d be cooking, so nothing too flouncy or gauzy. There was a high potential of falling asleep on the couch, so, comfortable. Kravitz was going to be there, so something clean, that looked good, and probably showed off his ass or legs to some degree. 

A pair of loose booty shorts that read MOTHMAN across the back and a soft, pliable sweater was what he finally settled on, untwining his hair from his ponytail and braiding it loosely. He studied his face  i n the mirror and grimaced; bruises had begun to flower along his cheekbones and darkened around his left eye, light enough that it wouldn ' t be hard to hide it with foundation, but...it wasn ' t like this was something Kravitz hadn ' t seen. He was there when it happened, for  Gods  sake. Hiding it would just be a waste of good makeup. Instead, he settled for basic eyeliner, sharp enough to slice through steel and a thick layer of mascara.   

His phone buzzed with an incoming text and rolling his eyes, expecting  Lup , he checked it, surprised to see it was actually from Kravitz.  

Bon Bon(e) >>>  Tacolicious  

Bon Bon(e): I ’ m really sorry,  I' m going to be a tad late.  

Bon Bon(e): I had to stop in to see someone about my schedule, but  I' ll make it up to you, I promise.  

Tacolicious : u better hot stuff  

Tacolicious :  leavin  me all high n dry here waiting 4 my  manz   smh  

Tacolicious : can I get  macnchese  started w/out u?  

Bon Bon(e): Go ahead. Want me to pick   up something for dessert?  

Tacolicious : I think  youll  be enough  😉   😉  

Tacolicious : but  also  yes pls get a cheesecake from  FantasyCostco  

Tacolicious : the  lemoncurd  and anise one,  itll  b expensive but  Its  so good  

Tacolicious : ill pay u back be it in baked goods or other services  

Tacolicious : wink  

Bon Bon(e):  Taako .  

Bon Bon(e): You promised to never make me go back there.  

Tacolicious : PLEAAAASE babe I promise  its  worth it it’s the only place that sells it  

Tacolicious : ill make it worth ur while and break out the good wine  

Tacolicious: or bourbon? I think I  hav  some of that  lyin  around somewhere  

Bon Bon(e): You’re lucky you’re so pretty.  

Tacolicious : I thought u liked me 4 more than my looks hmmm???? Exposed??  

Bon Bon(e): Shit, you got me. I’m only interested in you for your looks and your ‘bomb ass’ Macaroni and Cheese. Better go return these flowers I ordered for you.  

Tacolicious :  oh  m  yogld .  Whof   uckign  types out the full  macncheese  thing Kravitz  youre  so  fuckgn ,,  youre  incredible I  cant    beleiv  e  

Tacolicious :  also  what  

Bon Bon(e): See you soon! <3  

Tacolicious :  krav  WHAT  

When he didn’t respond  Taako  groaned and threw his phone to his bed,  the third time today,  storming into the kitchen with a huff and hating the ache in his chest that grew every second he thought about what Kravitz had said.  Lup  didn’t know what she was talking about –  Taako , near-graduate of the finest culinary school in  Faerun , beloved teacher, adored tutor, and bomb-ass cook, was going to make the best mac n cheese in the world for his not-boyfriend, hot piece of flustered arm candy, and he was absolutely not to impress him.  

He didn’t need to be impressed by his staggering skill in the culinary arts.  Taako  was impressive enough by himself without needing to feed him near-orgasmic levels of food art.  

With the oven preheated and his butter, milk, and cream broiling in one pot as he stirred macaroni in the other,  Taako  checked himself  In  the stainless steel mirror of the fridge. As minutes ticked  down  he started to regret not putting on a fuller face of makeup, the warped surface giving him a grotesque stretched look made worse by the  blooming  purple and yellow marks. His stomach folded itself into knots and suddenly he wanted to very much stop stirring hot cream and throw it all in the sink before he threw up. The worst part was, is that he couldn’t tell why his whole body was shaking, because the only two reasons he could think of were equally worse;  

Either  Lup  was right about needing that therapy, or, Gods help him,  

Against all fuckin odds and despite every single wall he’d put up between his heart and his ribs,  Taako  had a crush.  

Before the cream could  burn  he slid the shredded cheese into the pot, dialing down the heat, straining the macaroni and leaving that waiting as he sliced the pre-cooked bacon and spring onion. The methodical process of cooking seemed to calm him a little, grounding his feet back into reality and letting him take in a long, shuddering breath. He didn’t want to check the time - didn’t need to, anyway, because even as his hands hesitated over his cellphone for a long few seconds there was a quiet knock at his door.  

Motherfucker. He swallowed hard and tried to stabilize his voice. “Hop right in, homie, doors unlocked!”  

He ignored the door opening and turned his full attention to the kitchen below him, dividing the macaroni in two parts and poring the melted cheese between the halves, folding in the bacon and onion. Quiet steps approached him and through the corners of his eyes he spotted a flash of violent red. A hand, cool and inviting but unexpected, suddenly rested on the small of his back and he couldn’t hide the flinch in time.  

“ Hatchi   matchi ,  krav-daver , you ever think about getting mittens or something?”  Taako  finally faced Kravitz and his next smart quip died in his throat at the sight of a half-dozen bushel of roses clutched tightly  In  his – boyfriends? Crushes? Friends with benefits? - in Kravitz's hands. The man seemed a little  uncomfortable , too, with a blush tinging his dark cheeks and eyes darting down to the pot to avoid contact with  Taako .  

“Well, you uh, mentioned expecting flowers, so. On the first...date. ..? ” He stumbled, and with the knowledge that Kravitz was just as if not more flustered than  Taako  was, confidence flooded his veins and he equipped his well-practiced smirk.  

“And here I was expecting some half-assed petunias and a shitty block of chocolate. You sure know how to treat  cha’boy  right, huh Krav?” He took the roses from his hands and leant upwards, pressing a soft kiss to his lips with a sincerity that even surprised himself. “Let ' s get some water for these bad boys. Oh, and keep  stirrin ’ that cheesy goodness over there.”  

Kravitz muttered a hum of assent and moved to take over  Taakos  spot, giving him ample time to check out the flowers that weighed surprisingly heavy in his hands. They were definitely expensive – wrapped in thick, roughly hewn fabric paper, twined with string for a rustic but charming effect that b r o ught o ut the vibrant red of the roses. A few sprigs of...rosemary? Were even poking through their thick petals, and altogether  it  smelt fuckin dope.  

He found a cobweb entrapped vase in a cu p board somewhere and shuffled past Kravitz to fill it with water, snorting a little as he stirred with an incredible amount of determination. “ It's  not rocket science, babe, you ' re not  gonna  ruin it just by stirring.” He teased, sliding the roses out from their paper cover and into the water.  

Kravitz tossed him an apprehensive look. “I don’t  wanna  burn it,  I' m not –  I' m not exactly a good cook,  Taako .”  

Taako  rolled his eyes and fixed the arrangement for a second before being happy. “I think even you can handle stirring a pot.”  

“Barely!”  

Leaving the vase on the empty bench  Taako  sighed in faux dramatics, reaching over and slipping his hand over the one that was clutching the spoon. He settled in behind Kravitz, resting his chin on his shoulder – having to stand on his tip-toes to do so,  goddamnit  he was a fuckin elf he shouldn’t have to deal with this height bullshit – and resting the other hand on his lower stomach. “I guess I could help out a little.”  

The macaroni was way past the point of needing to be stirred now. That shit was mixed up to fuck and just needed some sweet breadcrumbs and a quick twenty-minute bake before it was time for heaven in a bowl – but he was happy to indulge. Kravitz stiffened for just a second before relaxing, turning his head so he could kiss  Taakos  cheek in a disgustingly affectionate move that made  Taakos  stomach flip. He hadn ' t even noticed the fact that he had, against all odds, actually calmed down for a second; no longer feeling like he needed to scream or lie down for three hours, there was just a heavy weight in his gut that didn’t feel unpleasant but wasn’t exactly enjoyable either. Fuck, this was weird.   

“Alright, hot stuff  numero   uno , let ’ s get our hot stuff  numero  dos into the oven and  cookin . I  wanna  get my  mack  on with you ASAP but we  gotta  sort out the food first.” He slipped away from Kravitz and gently nudged him aside, paying no attention to the dopey smile the guy was wearing or how he slipped an arm around his waist before  Taako  asked him to pass the breadcrumbs. The pasta was layered, prepped golden and slipped into the oven, and then that arm around his waist was joined by another one for a fleeting moment before reaching up to gently cup and caress his bruised cheek. He flinched, more out of surprise than anything else, and  Kravitz's  face that was now inches from his shifted into tender concern.  

“Does it hurt much?”  

“Not as much as my pride,  homeslice .  Cha’boys   gonna  have to go through a ton of foundation these upcoming weeks to hide this Picasso.”  Taako  had looped his arms up over his shoulders and linked behind his neck, bodies as flush together as they could be while standing. “Or maybe just take my vacay days and chill it on up back here. No point in scaring off the students trying to teach in this mess.”  

The hand still cupped to his cheek stroked softly, and Kravitz ' s concern morphed into genuine confusion. “ Taako , what are you – nothing ' s wrong with you. A black eye isn ' t the end of the world.”  

Taako  rolled his eyes and inched up to try and draw him into a distracting kiss, whining when he wasn’t allowed. “Your face isn ' t fucked to hell and back.  Taakos   gotta  keep up his brand, baby, can ' t have a temporary foreclosure on Good Looks Central become a PR scandal.”   

There was a beat between them, a soft moment where  Taako  caught a glint of something scarily soft and genuine in those eyes that were studying him, and he squirmed in his grip, that heavy weight in his stomach seeping into his chest and creating a dull ache. He was about to say something – anything, a n  off the shoulder joke or quip about Kravitz being so gullible and that he wasn’t that vain before soft lips silenced any words he had built up ;  cold pressed against his but warm enough to melt away that  thrum   in his chest and dissolve heat into the rest of his body. When he pulled away ,  Kravitz kept their foreheads  pressed  together.  

“ Taako ,” and he spoke with a soft tone that  Taako  couldn’t detect any trace of sympathy or pity in, just overarching adoration that was sickly sweet, “you ...you do  know that regardless of how bruised your face is, I still find you the most beautiful man  I' ve ever seen before in my life, right?”  

Something deep inside him cracked. “Elf.”  

“Elf, then. You know that, right?”  

“Well,  pssh , yeah,  natch ,” he aimed for flippant and instead got hesitant. “Have you seen me?”  

“You haven ’ t exactly evaded my attention, no.” Kravitz didn’t seem to want to press anymore to  Taakos  relief, and pressed another cool kiss to his cheek, even as he tried to angle it and catch his lips. “How long before the foods ready?”  

Taako  tried to think as lips were suddenly drifting down his neck, making him crack a smile and shift his chin for better access. “About fifteen minutes.”  

Kravitz murmured a quiet sound of acknowledgment as kisses peppered the bare skin he could find, fingers sneakily sliding beneath the heavy drape of his sweater and encircling his naked hips.  Taako , after indulging in this for a few seconds, patted him on the back to get him to pull away and cupped Kravitz chin in his hand. “Kravitz.”  

“Hm?” he seemed to arch in for a kiss but, in revenge for earlier,  Taako  denied him the grace.   

“Are you suggesting, you filthy, scandalous, perv of a man, that we make out in my kitchen? A place where we eat?”  

“You didn’t complain last time.”  H e arched a brow and the grip on his hips grew tighter,  Taako  allowing himself to be pulled in closer.  

“Last time it wasn’t my kitchen.” It was a fair point that made Kravitz pause, consider his options.  

“Didn ' t you say you wanted your ‘ mack  on with me ASAP’?” He  hummed in assent, letting him have that one, and let him draw in for a kiss. Then another one. And maybe another.  

“You know what I think?” He mumbled in between kisses, feeling the bench press against the back of his knees as they shuffled lip-locked into a more comfortable position. “I think you’re just looking for an excuse to distract me enough to burn the macaroni so we can order pizza.”  

“ D istract you?” Kravitz’s hands were suddenly tight on his thighs, and he felt  cold  counter beneath his ass as Kravitz suddenly  slot  between his legs after lif ti ng him up to sit. Boy was strong. “I’m in the kitchen of a very pretty elf wearing very little clothing, and you think  I'm  the distracting one?”  

By the way the way his hands were trailing up his chest and lips that were murmuring the words hot and low just below the cusp of his ear,  Taako  figured Kravitz knew he was being very distracting.  

He didn’t deign to answer . K nowing it wouldn’t be anything as smooth or  sauve  as what goddamn this Hollywood play-actor was coming up with,  he let  his response be the way his legs hooked around  Kravitz's  waist as he pulled him into a searing kiss that seemed to stop time itself. He wasn’t sure if he was taken off guard about how passionate it was but Kravitz fumbled for a second into it, eventually deepening the kiss and leaning into the heat of his body. He had to give one thing to him. Kravitz kissed good.  

One hand slipped from beneath his sweater and he shuddered at the absence, feeling it creep up his neck and cup his cheek for a single second before running along the thin shell of  Taakos  ear and delving into the thick locks of his hair. Even the briefest touch dragged a whine from his throat and he felt Kravitz take a moment to think on that, file that information away, and he shivered in a jerk as a thumb suddenly rubbed along the base of his earlobe in languid, pressured strokes. Kravitz was smiling into the kiss and  Taako , desperate for a form of revenge, tugged his hips forward with his legs and grinding them together in a move that stuttered Kravitz’s breath and brought out a breathy moan that, Gods, that did things to him.  

Kravitz did things to him. Crazy, stupid, horrible things, like making him smile whenever he was around or daydream during his paperwork of holding his hand and being swept up in his warm, strong arms. Cold, strong arms.  Also  things like this. Things that pooled heat in his lower stomach and make his kisses turn borderline frantic and open-mouthed. Things that made him consider that maybe  Lup  was just a little, smidgeon, just a fraction right.  

The timer on the oven dinged.

Taako  ignored it, just for a second, just to indulge a second more of Kravitz’s body pressed against his and the swipe of his tongue across his teeth, before heaving a sigh and pulling away. He patted his shoulder and made him move away, hopping off the counter, and despite the fact Kravitz wasn’t much cooler than the cold counter he had just spend ten minutes making out on, feeling a sense of cold that permeated down to his bones. As he snagged the oven mitts out of the corner of his  eye  he saw Kravitz shuffle a bit awkwardly trying to move behind the counter, out of his view as he adjusted his pants and a wicked grin broke across his face.   

Not that he could blame him. He just had a very large sweater to hide most things.  

“You ready for me to blow your fuckin mind?” The heat blasted his face and tinged pink his already flushed cheeks as he opened the oven door and took the pot out, golden crisp wafting delicious smelling temptation as he plonked it on the bench behind him. Kravitz was sat at the counter and looked down at the pasta in a dazed awe. “Well, for the first time tonight, anyway.” And he caught his eyes in a wink.  

Sometimes he wondered if that man knew how much he blushed, and how easy it was to tell when he did.  

He left the pot to cool and examined the wine collection, pausing and pretending like he hadn't already spent ten minutes deliberating what kind he would pair with the meal. Picking a bottle, two bowls from a  cupboard  and gesturing to where the cutlery  was  he set the wine down on the coffee table and headed back to dig into glorious, cheesy, breadcrumb heaven. Kravitz looked just as eager.  

“ Taako  this...it smells amazing.” He reached out for a bowl with grabby hands but  Taako  swiped it away before he could get a chance, stealing a fork and spearing a good forkful of the pasta before shoving it into his mouth with a shrugged ‘ natch ’.  

It tasted like Mac N Cheese. Good, normal, fuckin perfect Mac N Cheese.  

He played it off as a goof and offered the pot to Kravitz, digging out his own portion with the same offending fork and watching as he rolled his eyes, but served himself with an endearing smile. He was too good to him - putting up with his shit like this. Anybody normal would have been disgusted.   

Taako  felt his chest grow warm from something other than pasta and he shoveled it down quicker, trying to smother it in cheese and bacon. Across the counter, he finally noticed that Kravitz had stilled, another forkful still hanging halfway in the air as he stared down into the bowl. A shot of panic raced through him. “Kravitz?”  

“ Taako .” He looked up at him, wild-eyed and mouth still half full. “ Taako . This is the best fucking macaroni and cheese I've ever eaten in my goddamn life.”  

Right. Right. Of course. He hid the barely-quelled panic with a dramatic flip of his hair and a roll of his eyes, leaning up against the bench as they ate. “You were expecting less?”  

Kravitz's  reply was muffled beneath a mouthful of pasta as he continuously shoved it in his mouth, barely even pausing to chew or breathe. He had to hide a snort.   

Sure, this wasn’t...as exuberant as going out to dinner, as getting the opportunity to dress up and drop  Kravitz's  jaw and play teasing footsies under the table or as drinking too much wine and stumbling home. Sure,  Taako  was wearing what could be counted as his hottest slouch-fit and looked like he’d fought a gorilla and lost. And, sure, he’d worried, that maybe Kravitz would stand him up, or realize finally that  Taako  wasn’t exactly worth all of the efforts the teacher was seemingly pouring into him.   

But  Taako  was utterly, devastatingly dumbfounded at how Kravitz just genuinely didn’t seem to mind. Not about the comfort food, the rushed-together backup date that this had become,  didn't  seem to mind any of the numerous messes that this night had glued together. Kravitz just...either he was a stellar actor or he actually seemed to like spending time with him.   

And that was fucking scary.  

“.... Taako ?” He blinked out of his thoughts and shot him a sheepish grin.  

“Sorry,  bubbelah , your face is just too distracting for  ya  boy to even get a coherent thought in.” He teased and Kravitz just rolled his eyes, still smiling.  

“I was asking if  you'd  already picked a movie for tonight. I don’t have to be home until late, so,  i'm  happy with whatever.”  

Taako  glanced at the clock. Yeesh, already 8? “What, big boys got a curfew?”  

“Just a basic understanding of a sleep schedule, and a good work regime.” He shot back.  

“Love a good work ethic in a guy.  Really feeds into my whole sugar baby thing I got going on.” He winked, and Kravitz choked on his food, making  Taako  snort.  

“As much as I would – as much as I would like, that,  Taako , I don’t really think  im  in the kind of financial situation that...allows me to be  your . Uh. Sugar. Parent. Daddy?” He drew out the words slowly, avoiding eye contact and sudden flush burning the tips of his ears.  Taako  reached out and placed a hand over his.  

“I’m sure you can find other ways to treat me, baby.” Running his thumb along the outside of his hand, watching as Kravitz tried to hide his fluster by shoveling the last bits of food in his mouth and standing. A tease.

“You, uh. Said there was wine...?”  

“Oh yeah!”  Taako , having long finished his meal, bounded from the chair and into the living room. He picked up the bottle and beckoned Kravitz over, who followed obligingly. “ I'm   gonna  need my strong handsome man to open it, though.”  

He looked unimpressed. “ Its  a twist top,  Taako . And  its  already half empty.”  Taako  simply fluttered his eyelashes and held out the bottle in his direction.  

“ Pleasee ?”  

Kravitz sighed, but the corners of his mouth twitched up in a smile, taking the bottle and twisting the cap off it easily.  Taako  whumped himself down on the couch. “I got Netflix loaded up already, but  im   gonna  need me some go-go juice before we even think about putting anything on.”  

He felt wine slosh into his glass and shifted his feet to let Kravitz sit next to him, snuggling up against his side the second he was settled and feeling an arm snake around his shoulders. Clicking through the options, he was all too aware of the heat to his side – Kravitz was warm today, no doubt something to do with the amount of blushing  he'd  done in the past half an hour, and  Taako  curled into him tightly like he was a space heater.   

It was a bad idea, he realized, to serve comfort food and wine before settling down to a movie; because now, after warm, cheesy food and a soft, fruity wine, he was slumped against somebody who smelt too good and comforting and all thoughts of heated making out and maybe something a little further was gone from his head. Disappeared in smoke. All he could think about was how comfortable Kravitz would be to fall asleep on – or if he would notice when he did.   

When. Because this was definitely happening.  

Ah, shit.  

“You  wanna  pick a movie, stud?” He offered the remote to Kravitz, who took it after a second. “ Taakos  busy getting his cuddle on and can't be fucked picking something boring to fall asleep too.”  

There was a moment of quiet stillness, and for a second,  Taako  realized that maybe telling a guy he had been furiously making out with ten minutes ago that he wanted to nap wasn’t exactly the best idea. But Kravitz simply shuffled, moving further down the couch so he was more lying down and  Taako  could slot neatly between his legs. His head was rested against his chest and he felt arms encircle his waist and – and boy howdy, this was nice. The last time he’d done this was – fuck, years ago, when  Lup  and Barry had a fight and she’d stormed over to his house with streaked mascara and a smoldering rage.   

But this...this was different. It held a sort of tenderness to it, the way he never had with  Lup , something in the way Kravitz pressed a soft kiss into his hair, the way his hands were linked underneath  Taakos  sweater as he held him in the embrace. The movie was on but he wasn’t paying attention; only to the rhythmic, soft sound of his heart beating right beside his ear. It was reassuring, to be reminded of his presence.  

Something soft and warm bloomed in  Taakos  chest, something that, if he wasn’t so wine-drowsy, would have had him running and screaming in the opposite direction.  

But  Kravitzs  arms were holding him secure and soft, and his heart was beating in time with his, so maybe he could stay just a little bit longer.  

Chapter Text

Magnus was usually the third person to arrive on campus every morning – fourth, if you counted the janitor, Robbie, though he could barely be counted as ‘on-site’ unless that included hot-boxing the landscaping shed out back. Davenport was always the first and Lucretia, the second – Magnus would swear up and down that the both of them lived on the campus itself. It was the only explanation that made any possible sense. He had swung by the school more than once at three in the morning, having forgotten something important and had always seen a light flicker off somewhere.  

He had been hired just over five years now, and the trio had settled into an easy routine; Magnus, after kissing Julia goodbye – already awake and working on orders smelling like pine-oil and metal shavings-  would swing by the local coffee chain and pick up three steaming-hot ventis of go-go juice before hitting the school. Lucretia would be in the library and take the drink – cream but no sugar – with a thankful smile and they would make idle chit-chat about Julias work, his side business as a contracting wood-worker. Mornings were usually subdued for Magnus. It was far too early and the world was far too quiet and still to be shattered by his usual, boisterous laughter.   

By the time it was six-thirty he was sat in Davenports office and Merle had usually joined them, sporting his own mysterious beverage that was never the same temperature two days in a row. Sometimes, and Magnus was  sure  it was just to fuck with him, Davenport and Merle would swap their drinks. Sometimes just theirs, sometimes they could distract Magnus long enough to swap his, too. Kept him on his toes. He supposed it was revenge for when he had run the student games a few years ago, and had probably shaved a few decades off of everybody's lives by jumping around corners and screaming his own name to get their blood pumping in time for the events. Nobody had liked it. Nobody except Taako, anyway; who seemed to be able to predict whenever he was hanging around and threw himself into stitches as he let other people go on ahead.    

Was there a term for masochism but only against other people? That was what Taako was.   

So, given the fact that he was usually one of the earliest people to arrive, it was a genuine surprise to discover somebody waiting for him outside of his office at exactly six-fourty seven in the morning. And on a  Friday , no less.   

“Carey?” He greeted, questioningly, watching as the Dragonborn spun around on her heels and started to see him. “While I'm not one to shame your eagerness for class, I was  preetty  sure I don’t teach you until fourth today.” He unlocked the door to his classroom and gestured for her to come inside. The lights flickered on and he breathed in deep, the smell of coffee, varnish and oak-chips a welcoming wakeup call to drive away his still lingering sleep-sluggishness. Sipping on his now lukewarm drink and setting his bag down on the desk, he turned and leant against it, watching Carey – who was now sitting on one of the carving tables – fiddle with her claws nervously and look down at her lap. “So what's up, my dude?”   

“Well, Mr Burnsides – Magnus,” she started, huffed, ran a hand down her frills that formed a mohawk-esque headpiece, “I really... I really liked the way you uh. Carved that birdbox. Yesterday.”   

“Oh.” He blinked, before a broad smile broke across his face. “Thanks! Julia said we needed one anyway for the garden, and I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. You did a good job on the roofing, I remember!”   

“Yeah, I mean like... I really liked it. I really liked the way you carved it, and I was just wondering...” she seemed to struggle with how to phrase her wording, scales tinged a light pink as Magnus tried to guess where she was going with this. A small thought occurred and he immediately blanched.    

“Oh, Gods, Carey – no, I'm married, and – Gods, you're a student, you shouldn’t - arent you with Killian? Please don’t -”   

“No! No no no! No! Not that!” Carey, eyes widening in horrified realization, rushed to protest, shaking her head violently. “I want to make something nice for Killian for her birthday and I want your help ‘cos I'm shit at carving and I want it to be really special!  No !”   

Relief washed over him in waves and he sighed, letting himself give out a nervous chuckle. “Aw jeez, Carey, you had me worried there for a second. But yeah, no, yeah! Magnus loves love! What you thinking?”    

Now that they were both on the same page, Carey relaxed, and excitedly relayed her plan to Magnus. Killian loved ducks, and Killian loved puzzles; while she had originally planned to create an elaborate escape room that was designed around her and Kilian's first few dates, she explained, all the escape room companies in the area had declined her request, so she’d had to scramble for something else. She had tried to make duck-themed cupcakes, but that just ended in a wreck of a kitchen and a lifetime ban from her family's cupcake trays. She wanted something authentic. Something that could convey to Killian how much she meant to her.    

Magnus had always been a sucker for young love. Scratch that, Magnus was a sucker for  love , full stop. By the time she had finished listing off all of her failed ideas he was already tripping over himself with proposals for what they could do, enough that Killian would have enough presents sorted for a hundred birthdays if they ever had the time to do them all.   

Eventually they settled on something simple; a duck shaped puzzle box that would be small enough to fit in her bag but adequate to fit a few different puzzles. Carey had her first period free and Magnus had seniors working on personal projects, anyway, so they spent the first period working together on just the basic designs. After an hour it was clear why she had come to him for help; while in class, she was an adequate student – Carey prided herself on an overall average of b+’s in every class except gym, which, unsurprisingly, she nailed – in terms of duck-related craftsmanship she was a bumbling mess. But it was a start. By the time she was on her way to her next class bright and full of smiles and promises to return at lunch, they had worked past rough drafts and were well on their way to the finished product. As the bell for the second period rang, and students began to file in, Magnus was humming happily and bursting with energy to pour into their works.    

Half an hour into the class, in-between varnishing a rather nice pair of wooden spoons and sanding a horribly carved face from a bowl, Magnus’s phone buzzed. He excused himself from his student for a moment and clicked on his latest texts, a few from Lup that were recent as well as some from Julia that featured pictures of a cute dog she'd seen on the street.

FruitLups >>> Powerbear   

FruitLups : Hey mags   

FruitLups : U seen Taako anywhere?   

FruitLups : he didn’t show 4 his first class n we had to get Ren to teach, AGAIN   

FruitLups : he better give her extra credit 4 all the classes shes half-taught 4 him   

Powerbear : havent seen him around, Lup, sorry : (   

Powerbear : Sure he didn’t take the day off? He got pretty hurt yesterday in d-ball   

FruitLups : nah, checked in w/capnport   

FruitLups : hes not picking up his phone so he’s either drunk or dead   

FruitLups : if hes drunk im gonna kick his ass   

Powerbear : and if hes dead? :0   

FruitLups : im gonna kick his asshes  

Powerbear : XD   

Powerbear : Keep me updated on the sitch!!!! Hope hes ok   

Magnus slipped his phone away and, seeing no students immediately in need of help, turned back to his own table, letting the rhythmic slice of wood lull him into deep thinking.   

Sure, it wasn’t exactly unlike Taako to not show up to the first class of the day. First class was hard on everyone – well, everyone aside from Magnus, Lucretia, and Davenport, he supposed – and half of his students never showed to that class anyway considering it was a good 25 percent chance that Taako wouldn’t make an appearance. But at the very least, usually a text would come in with some half-assed excuse, or just an emoji to show that he was alive. It was unusual for him to be on complete radio silence.    

He  had  taken a pretty hard hit yesterday in dodgeball. Magnus hoped he hadn’t given himself a concussion or anything, If he had passed out with a head injury, that wouldn't be good for anyone.  

When a text from Lup into the group chat demanding a staff meeting during interval came through, he was one of the first people there.   

Friends filtered in one by one; Lucretia, first, sharing the same worried look as Magnus, followed closely by Davenport and Merle. Angus, a regular by this point though not added to the group chat - for obvious PG18 related reasons -plopped himself on the couch and chowed down on a ham sandwich with a book toted in hand. Barry was in next and Lup followed closely after with a dramatic, but anxiety calming groan – it obviously wasn’t life or death circumstances, no matter how much she liked to act like it was.   

“So, Taakos still AWOL.” She started with as she folded herself into a chair, sipping on an iced latte and hair braided up into a casual pattern. “Good news is he only missed one class. Bad news is that his phones dead, so I can't use that creepy tracker thing on snapchat and peek where he is. Any ideas?”   

A shared glance around the table confirmed that none of them had any clue, and Lup groaned again, thunking her head heavily against the table beneath her. “God, I'm going to  kill  him.”   

Beside her, Barry was glancing around with a slight frown on his face, and at his concern Magnus suddenly clicked that their table was emptier than usual – a little  too  empty to only be missing one person. “Hey, wheres Kravitz?”   

Lup stilled.    

Quietly, Merle and Lucretia exchanged a handful of bills.    

Magnus grinned, because man, Magnus  loves  love.   

“I'm going to kill him.” Lup repeated, snatching Barrys phone out of his pocket despite his protested ‘hey!’ and swiped through his contacts.I'm going to fucking  kill  him-”   

The phone rang. And rang. The staff of Starblaster academy waited with baited breath for it to be answered by someone, anyone, all staring at the phone screen and the blurry photo of Kravitz from a distance.    

A beep, and a tired, sleep-drawling voice answered the phone in a pitch much higher than Kravitz could have ever hoped to accomplish.   

“You’ve reached the Addams family household, how can I help yoou – oh,  fuck .”   

Merle burst out into hideous laughter, and Lup slammed her fist on the table. “ Oh fuck  is right, Koko! Do you have any fucking idea what time it is?”   

There was a quiet murmuring from the other end of the phone and Taako shushed somebody – though it was pretty clear, at this point, who it was – and there was the sound of frantic movement. “Listen, Lup – am I on speakerphone right now? Take me off speaker phone!”   

“Nuh uh.” She shook her head and folded her arms. “This is your punishment for making me go like three fuckin hours wondering If you were dead in a ditch somewhere. You explain yourself, and Istus be damned youre gonna do it in front of everyone else who was worried about you.”   

A crackly groan filled up the room as Taako dragged on his sentence, the faint sound of something breaking filtering in through the background. “I drank too much and ate comfort food and fell asleep on the couch. What more do you want from me? My signed death warrant?”   

With a shit-eating grin that he could more than likely feel through the screen, Lup arched a brow. “Wanna explain why you answered Kravitz’s phone and not yours?”   

“Uh, cos mine is dead, dumbass?” He answered curtly, and a soft but quickly cut off laugh slipped through from Kravitz. “What, you want explicit details? With Ango in the room?”   

“I’m fourteen, sir! I know all about the birds and the bees!”   

“No, you don’t.” Taako sniped. “And you never will, because you are a pure little flesh boy, and we love you for your innocence. Also, because we  didn’t  bone, and when we  do  bone, absolutely none of you chucklefucks are ever gonna hear about it except for when Kravitz writes a goddamn soliloquy. ” From across the room, Merle cursed, and handed Lucretia back the wad of notes from earlier.  “I'm that good. I’m also going to be half an hour late cos ch’boy needs coffee, and he doesn’t have another class until fourth, so all of you gossip girls can get fucked.” And, with a beep, the call was ended.    

A beat. Angus chewed further into his sandwich, Barry took his phone back, and Lucretia was stifling her giggles.    

“So, like, do we have to...fire one of em now?”   

Everyone turned to look in shock at Merle, who shrugged his shoulders. “What? Inter-coworker relationships are a total HR violation, right?”   

“You're literally married to Davenport, Merle!” Lup exploded, and he paused as if he had never considered the thought.   

“Huh. Guess you gotta fire me too then, huh?”   

“Nobody is firing anybody!” Davenport protested. He rested his head in his hands and sighed. “But I am going to have a serious talk with Taako about missing classes. This can't keep happening.”   

The bell rang and cut off any responses, the staff muttering amongst little groups with sly smiles and curses about non-monetary bets. Magnus was quickly spun off to his next class and the brief, romantic drama was forgotten – filed away to talk about with Julia later, maybe over wine and something nice for dinner. Should he pick up something? Or maybe take her out?   

His thoughts shifted.   

By the time Taako showed up, fabulously rumpled and coffee in hand, Lup had cooled down enough to be sitting patiently on his cooking rooms counter. He breathed a sigh of barely-faked frustration and lowered his sunglasses; large, opaque leopard-print things, paired with twin braids and a ridiculous outfit that did quite a fair bit to draw the attention away from his battered face. Seeing him, she winced “Hows the mug doing Cocoa?”   

“It’d be better if it was being stuffed with mint-chip, but alright. I can pass it off as an elaborate new makeup technique.” He waved off her concern and dumped his bag on the counter next to her, hauling himself up to sit with a sigh and knocking their knees together. “Lup, look-”   

“Its fine.” She cut off his half-assed apology and grabbed his hand, linking their fingers and squeezing tightly. “Your face was fucked up. Nobody was gonna judge you for having a little Taako time. You just gotta...call ahead on these things, yeah? We can't mess this one up.” Lup kept her tone soft as Taako stared straight ahead, the only sign that he was listening being the constant off-and-on beat of him squeezing her hand back. “If it wasn’t for Dav’ Gods knows where you’d be -”   

“i get it, Lup.” He snapped, and drew his grip away and into his own. “I don’t need to be reminded every fucking time I screw up how much I owe him or any one of these other chucklefucks. You think I don’t already know that?”   

Lup sighed, not taking his hand again but reaching up with a gentle touch and tucking some bangs behind his ear. “Yeah, that ones on me. I’m just worried, and you know that. Can’t have the other half of me goin’ full on Britteny spears now, can I?” It got a soft smile from him. “Sorry about it, babe, but I don’t think you'd pull off her mental breakdown bald buzz. Not quite you.”   

“Fuck you.” He muttered, after a moment. “I could pull it off better than that kid from Stranger things.”   

“How bout you leave the buzz cuts to me, hm?” Lup shuffled closer so their sides were pressed together and Taako, no longer tensed and ready to snap, leaned on her shoulder with a sigh. “So...Kravitz, huh?”   

He snorted and from behind his glasses, she could sense the eye roll. “Dont act like you haven't been getting live fuckin tweets from me this whole time.”   

She chuckled. “How’d it go? Do we gotta expect more quote unqoute subtle flirting, or are you guys gonna be like, blaringly, disgustingly obvious about it from here on out?”    

“Oh, we talking merle’s senior gardening classes level of subtly.”   

“Oh Gods, Taako, please don’t let me catch you two buck-naked in a rosebush.”   

They laughed, swinging their legs together, and Lup sighed into his soft hair. It was good to hear his laugh again.   

The first few years after culinary school had been...rough, to say the least. With Taakos trust in both himself and others shattered, and confidence in cooking reduced to practically shreds, it had taken him a long while to pull himself out of the shell he had retreated into and finally begin to rebuild himself. Learning to cook again had been...a harder challenge – Lup had practically moved in with him during those tenuous first months, where he would break down and throw everything he cooked into the garbage or out the window no matter how simple it was – but, eventually, he began to carve something new. Two years ago, she’d convinced Davenport to give him a job. A year ago, he began to rewrite his university applications.    

He hadn't submitted any yet. Baby steps.   

And now, with Kravitz...Lup wasn’t going to lie to herself, she had been wary of the guy. But Barry vouched for his character, and if he had managed to put up with Taako so far and still, somehow, be as besotted as she had seen him the night of the hockey game, then he was pretty alright in her book. At this point the tables had been turned and she was more worried for him rather than of him. Taako, at the best of times, was a ‘endearing, learn to love over time’ kind of a handful. At the worst of times; he was what she could only describe as a giant, clusterfuck of an emotional mess because the little shit still refused her therapy suggestions and was utterly convinced that his ‘Taakos good out here’ attitude would plateau him through life until he either died or ran out of ground to follow. Eventually, he was going to run out of ground.   

Taako had plenty of people to catch him. He just refused to see it because he'd rather die or learn to fly than ever admit to himself that it was okay sometimes, just sometimes, to rely on people other than himself.   

“He’s really nice.” Taakos mutter stirred her from her musing, and she glanced down surprised to see his ears flattened against the sides of his head.   

“Hm?”   

“He’s nice.” He repeated, avoiding her gaze. “Like, dumb nice. Stupid nice. Cheesy 60’s sitcom nice.”   

The hints of his cheeks were tinged a blushed pink, and she stifled down her grin. “Oh? I didn’t picture him for the type.”   

“But its like, endearing, you know?” He sighed and leaned against her further, still staring at his hands. “Like he does all of this, fuck, romantic – fuckin, sappy and cheesy bullshit, and that’s like, alright, I guess, but then he just has to be smooth and suave on top of it? Like, jeezy creezy, how did he get loaded with both settings on the hot-o-bot model? You wanna know what he fucking did today, Lup?”   

She watched as he moved, crossing his arms with an annoyed huff that even she couldn’t hide her grin at. “Oh, do enlighten me.”   

“He - don’t fuckin look at me like that, Lulu – he offered to drive me to work. I have a car, Lup, and he still fuckin’ offered to drive me and then take me out to dinner after school to pay back for making me miss classes and – who does that, Lup? Who fucking does that kind of shit?” He was seemingly getting more and more agitated the more he talked but Lup simply raised a brow.   

“Uh, good boyfriends?”   

“He -” Taako was suddenly fixated on the wall in front of him and fell uncharacteristically silent. “hm.”   

“Oh don’t tell me you didn’t - you guys haven't even made it official yet? Are you serious?” Lup facepalmed and groaned into her hands, ignoring the shove at her side. “Oh my God! Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”   

“Real fuckin cheap coming from someone who took fuckin forty years to hook up with her husband. ‘Oh, what if he doesn’t like me back, Taako, I don’t wanna ruin our friendship, oh Taako, whatever will I do, he looks so handsome in those striking blue jeans!’” He mocked and shoved her off the counter. “I couldn’t just - I was in a hurry, okay! And technically it was only our second date, so like -”   

“Second?” Now he had her attention. “Exxxcuse me? When was the first?”   

“Hockey game, dumbass.” He said, unimpressed. “You were literally there. I was literally calling you the second I got home and told you all about his tongue.”   

She stuck her own out and made a sick face. “Ugh, Gods, yeah I remember now. It was real gross.”   

“It was hot goss and you loved it.”   

“Only because I love you, doofus.” Lup rolled her eyes. “You text me after tonight though, right? It's imperative we know when you guys finally like, put a name on it. The betting pool’s deep.”   

He raised his eyebrows and hopped off the counter to join her, hands tucked into the pockets of his highwaisted, flared 80’s style jeans. “Oh yeah? Whos on who?”   

“Cheating.” She winked and pressed a finger to her lips in a hush moment, making him snort.   

“Okay, sure, whatever. You better be splitting the profits though, homie.” Taako shooed her out the door, excuses of his class beginning to start any minute now, which wasn’t entirely a lie. Right before she left he paused her for a second, hand on her shoulder, and she was startled by the softness in his face.   

“Hey, Lup, listen.”   

“Uh oh.” She said, and he punched her lightly.   

“Fuck up. I just...wanted to say thanks, you know? Don’t...don't say that enough.”   

The sincerity in his voice was alarming, and for a second, she considered it to be a goof. But then it wavered and that telltale, awful facade of his was sneaking back up, afraid of her response, afraid of this vulnerable moment. Before it could escape she slammed him into a hug. He coughed, a little, before squeezing her back just as tightly.   

“Love you, Koko.” She muttered into his ear.   

“Love you too, Lulu.” He muttered right back.