riverviewlogs | (closed) back at it again at fantasy krispy kreme

[In response, he places his free hand on Taako's shoulder.]

Of course I fucking missed you, Taako.

[He can't bring himself out of his chair just yet, but he can pull Taako down for a hug. It would've been awkward in any other situation, but circumstances considered, this chair-hug gets a pass.]

Jeezy Creezy, dude. I'm so fucking sorry. I just spent a whole month not even—[He leaves that thought at implied.] Fuck, I'm so sorry.

[There's a second where Taako isn't quite sure what to do with himself; chair hugs are a little awkward, until he kind of mentally goes fuck it and moves with the momentum of Magnus pulling him forward until he's straddling Magnus's lap.

It's been a while, but not forever, since they've done something like this.

He leans his head down, resting his forehead against Magnus's and takes a moment to just breathe. Magnus has been here but not here, not in a way that Taako could really appreciate until this moment. There was no time for a reunion like this, when they all remembered on the Bureau's base, but now there's time.]

Listen, that shit sucked, but it's not on you. [They both know who's fault it is.] It's just real fucking good to have you back.

Edited 2017-09-05 06:08 (UTC)

[This definitely had the potential to be really weird, but Taako ending up in his lap turned out to be preferable to an awkward chair-hug in terms of physical comfort. He would've stood to avoid the whole scenario if his legs wouldn't have given out, but, you know, this is fine. He wraps Taako up in his arms, tight enough to hold him captive if he'd wanted to, but separates. He follows the motions when Taako brings their foreheads together.]

It's good to be back.

[Instinctively, his hands join with Taako's. He can see the red string tied to Taako's pinky, cut off from his partner, much like his own string. They figured out a long time ago that they weren't a thing that would work out, so it makes sense. They've both got someone waiting for them in some other universe.

Whatever.

Pensively, he runs his thumbs over Taako's knuckles.]

[A hundred years is a long time, and it's a lonely time, when every single person they met turned to dust after only a year. Taako made sure to never get attached to anyone in the worlds they landed on, but that didn't mean he closed himself off completely.

He loved Lup, always, and he loved the rest of his family, and sometimes he loved Magnus differently from the rest of them.

That isn't why he cared so much about this, about getting Magnus back with all his memories. It mattered because it's only right, that Magnus can have all of himself, the power bear and that shitty sportsball team and every death they endured, together or apart.

But now they're here and he feels like he can hear Magnus's thoughts, or maybe that's just his own heart thudding in his ears and he doesn't want to listen to it anymore.

It's tentative, the way Taako tilts his head until he can press his lips against Magnus's in a light, chaste kiss. It's been a long time since he's done this, over a decade, but he doesn't think he'd ever really forget.]

Edited 2017-09-05 07:13 (UTC)

[Magnus squeezes Taako's hands as he returns the kiss. It stays soft and light—it's not the time for anything more than that—but it does last a hot minute. When they part, Magnus looks back into Taako's eyes, solemn, but smiling. They both know what they're getting into.

After a beat, Magnus breaks the silence.]

Remember the other day when I didn't know what ricotta was? God, I forgot that cheese master class you held for me.

[He's digging through his memories, trying to find the happy ones.]

[He wonders how long it's been, since Magnus did anything like this with him, but it's hard to remember one cycle from the next, sometimes. It's odd to think of the decade that separates them, all the things that Taako knows and that he can't stop thinking about as he kisses Magnus.

Julia. Raven's Roost. The Hunger.]

Seriously? You've got Taako from TV in your lap and you're talking about ricotta?

[There's a lot they should talk about, but this is easier.]

[He can't help but chuckle.]

Good point. I'll stop talking about cheese now.

[He'd thought it would be more appropriate to chill for the time being, but the change in Taako's tone tells him otherwise. He breaks the hand-holdy thing they've got going to bring a hand around to Taako's nape, and kisses him again.]

[It occurs to him at some point between when that second kiss comes and when he slides his hands into Magnus's hair that they'll never do this again once Taako returns to the world he's supposed to be in, once Magnus catches up to him and they're together again but separated by the lives they built in the decade apart. The last time they kissed was probably some uneventful thing and they didn't even know it would be the last time. This is something Lucretia took from them, too. Less consequential than Lup but painful all the same.

He loved Magnus, still loves Magnus, and Taako will go back to Kravitz and Magnus will go back to the pain carved into him by Julia's death, an emptiness that won't ever be filled. This place is a second chance to say goodbye to what they had for a century.

But...

But there's no need to rush it.

Taako breaks away with a little huff of breath, though he doesn't go very far.]

You wanna do this or you wanna talk? Cause I'm down for either but Lup will kick my ass if she comes in and catches us making out at the kitchen table like a bunch of fucking teenagers.

[Magnus doesn't know that Lup died.

The thought makes his blood run cold, but he doesn't let his smile falter.]

[Magnus laughs, reminded of all the times Lup had walked in on them in the past.] Mine too, probably.

[And then, with a start, he realizes:] Lup! [Another wind of joy is blown into him, realizing he has even more people to come back to.] I gotta say hi to her! And—

[And then, of course, his smile dips as quickly as it came. Lucretia. He remembers walking into her room on the Starblaster, hoping to bring her comfort but instead discovering her betrayal seconds before forgetting it.

There's a beat where he thinks on it, eyes shifted away from Taako, and another beat where he forces himself to push that thought aside. He doesn't want this to impede on his reunion with Taako.]

Fuck it, I can do that later.

[It's been long enough that he's got his mobility back. He stands from his chair, straight up carrying Taako in the same position. He always loved doing this. He's a show-off.]

[Taako picks it a second before Magnus's words cut out, but he knows that it isn't the end of it for Lucretia and Magnus, he knows that Magnus will forgive her, because the dude's heart is too goddamn big.

And then it doesn't matter, because Magnus is picking him up and it startles a laugh out of Taako; Eddie was a buff dude, sure, but not on the level of Magnus fucking Burnsides who can haul Taako around like he weighs nothing. It's almost automatic, the way he wraps his legs around Magnus's waist.]

So we're talking, right, that's what this is?

[It's too easy to tease Magnus.]

Yeah, sure. We're talking.

[With a grin, he plants another kiss on Taako's lips and makes for Taako's bedroom.]

Watcha wanna talk about, hun?

[Two can play at that game, Taako.]

[That's cool, Magnus has a neck that very clearly needs a love bite, which is what Taako's going to spend the trip working on, pausing only to add:]

Fisher had a baby.

[Get fucking rekt, Magnus. His weird fish kid has a kid of its own.]

Edited 2017-09-05 13:11 (UTC)

[He's taken aback by the news. ] No way. I'm a grandpa! What's its name? [He adds, in a mocking stern tone:] You gave my grandson a good name, right?

[He manages to one-hand Taako (no sweat!) to open the bedroom door, then shuts it with his foot. He pauses once inside, bringing his now-free hand to Taako's face, brushing back some of his hair. Finally, privacy.]

Edited (i added a single space) 2017-09-05 13:28 (UTC)

Pretty sure you decided on Junior.

[Honestly he can't remember now, if it was something Lucretia labelled it or if Magnus just decided on the name the instant he remembered Fisher.

It doesn't really matter, anyway, especially not when Magnus is touching his face.

Taako's wry smile softens to something warmer, as he tilts his head into that touch.]

Hey, bubbale.

[It's soft and quiet and maybe, just maybe, a little bit reverent. He's missed Magnus, more than he ever really expected to. Because as much as Magnus can be an idiot or a bit of a dick, he's always, always had Taako's back, and that means more than anything else.]

[His gaze softens as well. They'd been alone anyway in the kitchen, but now they were together in the security of Taako's room.]

Hey.

[With Taako's face still cradled in his palm, he runs his thumb over Taako's cheek. He lets his gaze linger a while before he kisses Taako again, hard and slow.

They're done talking for now.]

[anyway.

As it turns out, a decade isn't long enough to forget how they fit together, regardless of the life Taako had lived in between and it had been a relief, more than anything, a reassurance that this wasn't something that was irreversibly changed, too. It will be, back in Fearun, but for now he's - happy. It's a nice change from the tension of the past couple of weeks.

This isn't too dissimilar to how he found Magnus in his bed a few weeks ago, except there's significantly less clothing involved and an arcane lock on his door, the magical equivalent of hanging a sock over the doorknob in case Lup comes home and tries to look for him.

He's kind of hoping that's not for a little while, since he wants to just enjoy this for as long as possible. Magnus is warm and soft and Taako is trying to remember all his scars, absently tracing a finger over a twisting one on Magnus's bicep.]

It's been like, over ten years for me. Since the Starblaster.

[He says it quietly, as if it's not as big of a deal as it is.]

Edited 2017-09-05 23:09 (UTC)

[It's funny being back in Taako's bed, this time intentionally. He regrets that nothing came of it then, although it couldn't have been helped. It doesn't matter. He's here now.

He's running fingers through Taako's hair when he oh-so casually drops the line about the Starblaster. Magnus shifts in surprise.]

Holy shit, dude. That's a lot longer than me. [Magnus thinks he's been gone a year or so? Maybe more, maybe less.] What did you do for ten years? [...Without the rest of us?]

Edited 2017-09-05 23:30 (UTC)

I, uh, I had a cooking show? Like this travelling thing, I dunno if you'd have heard of me, don't think I ever made the trip to Raven's Roost.

[It's a bitch of a town to get to and if Kalen was as controlling as he must've been for Magnus to fight back against him, it isn't somewhere that would've been on Taako's radar.]

Lucretia... she brought us back together. To track down the relics, but we couldn't remember each other, you know? We've been working together for like a year, maybe more?

[There's so much that he knows about Magnus's future and he's not sure what he should tell him. This isn't like Lup, who Taako can't keep a secret from, and half of it isn't even mission related so it doesn't feel as vital to share in the same way as the lich and umbrella shit did with Lup. It's just the life that Magnus had, until he didn't.]

[He purses his lips, trying to think back to any mention he may have heard of Taako.] No, yeah, I think I heard about it once. Like, in passing. That sounds great, dude!

[He doesn't know any of the backstory here, of course, so all he's hearing is that his friend finally got some widespread recognition for his talent.

On the other hand, the bit about Lucretia...]

Wait—She brought us together but we couldn't remember each other? She just... pulled us together like we were strangers?

[That's not cool.]

It was pretty great.

[There's a lot of reasons it could be a past tense, and Taako doesn't really want to get into the whole Glamorsprings & Sazed incident when he's in bed with Magnus.

Not that the Lucretia shit is more fun to talk about, but it's important, at least.]

You, me and Merle. Barry'-- I killed Barry, when we realized what was happening with our memories, 'cause it doesn't effect the undead. [And then they found Barry again, only to lose him in Phandalin, which Taako feels like he should apologize for, next time he sees Barold.] Davenport was with Lucretia, that one's a long story but he's not on her side. And uh, Lup was gone. For a long time. She got her dumb ass stuck in that stupid umbrella.

Shit, you killed him?... I mean, makes sense given the circumstance, but that sucks, dude.

[That's a lot of info all at once, vague as it is. He'll ask for specifics on all of it later. Except for the last bit.]

Stuck in an umbrella? You'll have to explain that one to me. I haven't heard it before.

[Taako lifts a shoulder in a lazy shrug, figuring Magnus will feel the gesture and leave the whole Barry thing at that. Even if Barry begged him to do it, he still feels shitty and guilty about the whole mess.]

So you know how she's a lich, and how she made that stupid umbrella at the uh... fuck, the place we made our magic weapons? Anyway that umbrella would eat the wands of defeated wizards, but I guess when she died and went lichy it vored her up too.

[Taako has cried over this shit, but he manages to make it sound like he's just describing some annoying bullshit that Lup pulled, in a way that only a sibling can manage.]

[Magnus has known Taako long enough to know when to drop it. So, yeah. He drops it.

He also knows when Taako is bullshitting. He's not gonna wave off something this big happening to his sister. Lup is his everything. ...But, of course, he doesn't wanna push this too far, so he chooses his words carefully.]

I'm gonna guess things got better...?

[Hopefully?]

She's all good, we got her outta there

[She's still a lich and without a body but Taako has faith that Barry will figure something out. He's smart enough and desperate enough to get Lup back exactly the way she should be.]

That's not... there's more, Mags. We won.

[If he sounds a little sad, well, that's only because he's not sure if they survived winning.]

[He's grateful to hear that Lup is alright. He figured it couldn't be too bad if Taako could stand to mention it, but he still worried about her, of course.

He doesn't need to ask what they won.] Holy shit.

[There's disbelief at first, followed by a wave of relief. He rolls onto his back, still processing. The last thought he'd paid regarding the Hunger was that they'd fucked up. Magnus had thought they'd lost the game. This is fuckin' fantastic. He's grinning ear to ear.]

Holy shit, we did it.

[He lays in that feeling for a moment before he realizes Taako isn't quite as enthusiastic. He remains on his back, but turns his head toward Taako.]

You were there for it.

Edited (sometimes you post a thing and it looks hideous so i reworked EVERYTHING) 2017-09-06 00:58 (UTC)

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