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cataztrophi · 7 months

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TAZ November Celebration 11: Wonder

One week left for @taznovembercelebration y'all! It's been so awesome seeing everyone's amazing work, I'm so impressed by everyone who's participating this year. The card I drew was "wonder," which of course immediately made me think of Wonderland. So this one's about the consequences of that arc, plus trying to gain a better understanding of the people you love. Spoilers for TAZ Balance, particularly The Suffering Game and the finale.

Kravitz sat down on the bed, watching Taako take his hair down at his vanity table. “It’s going to be different having Angus around,” he said.

“Mmhmm.” With a wave of his hand, Taako dispelled the glamour that he used with almost everyone, and his face changed subtly.

“It’ll be good, though,” Kravitz added. He saw Taako’s smile reflected in the vanity’s mirror.

“Yeah, he’s a good little dude.” He picked up a brush and began running it gently through his loose hair. “By the way, remind me to go to the store tomorrow, I need to pick up a few things.”

“Didn’t you just go yesterday?”

“That was before I watched Angus put away four bowls of stew at dinner tonight. He’s a growing boy, and he’s gonna need to keep his strength up for the training regimen I have planned for him.”

“I thought the poor kid was on vacation,” Kravitz said, smiling. He knew Taako wasn’t going to budge on this one.

“Absolutely not. I need to make sure none of Lucas’s little turds even come close to my boy next year.” He waved the brush around for emphasis.

There was a timid knock at the door, and Kravitz said “come in” before he could even think about it. He only realized his mistake as the door opened and Taako’s hands flew to his face.

“Um, excuse me, sirs,” Angus said quietly, “could I have another blanket? It’s a little cold in my-” he broke off when he caught sight of Taako. “Are you alright, sir?”

Taako sighed, the sort of bone-deep sigh that Kravitz only heard in the infrequent moments when he talked about the horrors of his–and their–past. Slowly, he lowered his hands.

“I guess you might as well know, Ango.”

Angus’s face betrayed only a moment of surprise before returning to his usual thoughtful expression. “So that’s why you use a glamour all the time!”

“You caught that, huh?” Taako said, and even now there was an unmistakable note of pride in his voice.

Angus puffed out his chest. “Yes, sir!” Then he continued in a more solemn tone. “If it’s okay with you, sir, I’d like to know what happened.”

Kravitz slid across the bed and took Taako’s hand, and Taako gave it a firm squeeze before he began.

“Well, Ango, you remember when we were with the B.O.B., and Merle, Magnus, and I had to go down to that Wonderland place?” His tone was carefully measured.

Angus nodded, his eyes wide.

“The liches that ran it made us make… sacrifices. They got their power from suffering, you see, so they wanted to make us as miserable as possible. And they did that by making us give up things that were important to us.”

“Like Mr. Highchurch’s eye!”

Taako nodded. “Exactly, Ango. One of the things I had to give up was, well, some of my looks.”

“Because they were important to you,” Angus said slowly.

“Yes, they were.” Kravitz wasn’t sure if Angus picked up on the slight unevenness to Taako’s voice now. He squeezed his hand gently.

Angus nodded. “Thank you for telling me, sir. I…” He hesitated. “I think you look very nice both ways.”

A gentle, tired smile crept over Taako’s face. “Thanks, Ango.”

Kravitz stood up, giving Taako’s hand one final squeeze before he dropped it. “Come on, Angus. I’ll get another blanket for you.”

“Hey, Ango?” Taako said just before they left the room.

“Yes, sir?”

“If you tell anyone I'll curse you to be four feet tall forever.”

“I'm… five foot six now, sir.”

Taako rolled his eyes. “And? I saved the planarverse, kid, you don't think I can shrink a little boy?”

“Yes, sir,” Angus said, more slowly, and he looked a little nervous now. Kravitz shook his head and led him out into the hallway, heading for the linen closet.

“Mr. Kravitz?” Angus asked after a moment.

“Yes?”

“What happened to those liches? The ones that ran Wonderland?”

Kravitz felt a sudden pain in his hand, and he looked down to find that he was gripping the closet’s door handle tight enough to dig into his skin. He took a deep breath and let it out, long and slow.

“We tracked them down,” he said finally. “Lup, Barry, and myself. We destroyed them, perhaps with more force than was strictly necessary. But they hurt Taako, and they used Barry’s relic to do it, so I believe Our Lady understood. Now what’s left of their souls is in the Stockade, where they can’t hurt anyone else.”

Angus nodded, wearing one of those expressions that looked far too old for him. “That’s good.”

“It is.” He opened the closet at last and pulled down a warm woolen blanket from the top shelf, then turned towards Angus’s room. Taako had called it “the guest room,” but Kravitz wasn’t sure why a general-purpose guest room would need an entire bookcase dedicated to books on early magical training. Taako ignored him when he pointed this out.

Kravitz helped Angus spread the blanket over his bed. He was very quiet the whole time, and as Kravitz turned to leave, he asked, “Mr. Kravitz?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think Taako’s upset? About me seeing him without his glamour?”

Kravitz looked down at him, into those big, bespectacled eyes that had seen so much more than a kid his age should have to. “Not with you, Angus. He trusts you, more than he trusts most people, honestly. He wouldn’t have talked to you about it otherwise.” He hesitated for a moment, then added, “And I know he doesn't say it, but he cares about you a lot.”

Angus visibly relaxed, then smiled up at him. He looked over to the shelves stuffed with magic books. “He says it other ways, sir.”

Kravitz smiled. Taako was lucky he'd found a kid who was perceptive enough to see through him. “Good night, Angus.”

“Good night, sir!”

He closed the door behind him and headed back to his own room. He found Taako still seated at his vanity, staring down into his lap. He didn't look up when Kravitz entered.

Kravitz knelt beside Taako’s chair and took his hand, stroking the back of it gently with his thumb. He sat there patiently until Taako roused himself a little and looked down at him.

“Are you okay?” Kravitz asked, his voice sounding strange after the long silence. Taako didn't answer for a while, and when he opened his mouth Kravitz was sure he was going to deflect or flat-out deny there was anything wrong.

“I don't look like me anymore,” he said, in a voice strained from the effort of not breaking. “And I know, if most people saw me they'd still be able to say, ‘hey, that's Taako,’ but it's different when it's your own face. I know it's not the same. I mean, I don’t know, maybe I am just vain. But I liked being that guy, being Taako, the beautiful magical chef, and then suddenly the whole world decided to start carving pieces out of that.”

He was quiet for a moment, but Kravitz waited, still stroking his hand, letting Taako take his time.

“Did you know Lup and I were identical?”

Kravitz blinked, startled by the new direction of his thoughts.

“Yeah, I mean we both got into our own things as we got older, and then it was easier to tell us apart, but…. We always had the same face. I didn't… I didn't know that's what I was giving up. Maybe I would have tried harder if I did.” He laughed, dry and bitter, staring off into the distance behind Kravitz’s head. “Which is, oh boy, that's saying something, cause I really didn't want to. It was sort of… my last thing, you know? I wasn't a chef, I wasn't a celebrity, but hey, at least I was nice to look at!”

Kravitz saw the tension coiling in his shoulders, heard his voice fray at the edges as it was overwhelmed by anger and pain. “Then suddenly that’s gone, and when I finally get to remember who I was before I got half my fucking life stolen, I don’t even look like my fucking twin anymore.”

There were furious tears welling up in his eyes, and the silence seemed to stretch like hot tar between them before Kravitz found the words he needed to say. Hopefully they were the ones Taako needed to hear.

“It isn't fair,” he said gently, taking Taako’s hand in both of his. “And it isn’t small, or vain, or any of that. You’ve gone through so much, Taako. You’ve had so much taken from you. I know it’s hard to talk about, or, fuck, think about, but I want you to know I’m here. Whenever you need me. For whatever you need me. And…” He looked up at Taako’s face, holding his gaze. “There is no way your body could change that I wouldn’t still love you. Even if you looked like Merle.”

Taako laughed quietly, even as tears fell down onto Kravitz’s hands. “Wow, even then?”

Kravitz nodded solemnly. “Even then.” He pressed Taako’s hand to his lips. “And I know this might not help, but… no one could see you and Lup together and doubt you were twins, you’re the same in so many ways. You both get exactly the same look in your eyes when you’re about to do something stupid. And I have a lot of experience with that look, from both of you.” He grinned up at Taako and was happy to see him smiling back, albeit weakly.

Taako swiped a hand across his eyes, shaking away the tears. “Fuck,” he said. His voice still shook a little. He took a deep breath and started again. “Alright, no more sad Taako.”

Kravitz stood up, still holding Taako’s hand. “You can be sad Taako as long as you need to, babe.”

“Ugh, I’ve got too much shit going on to be sad Taako.” He swung Kravitz’s hand back and forth a little, then looked up into his face. “Thanks, Krav.”

“Any time.”

Taako yanked on Kravitz’s hand to pull him back down and drew him into a kiss, long and sweet. It left Kravitz’s face hot and his skin tingling, but he held back, not wanting to push. Even so, it was impossible to miss the flush in Taako’s cheeks, the increased pace of his breathing. He kissed Kravitz again, more insistently now, one arm curving over his shoulders. Kravitz straightened back up and this time Taako came with him, slipping his other arm around Kravitz’s waist.

Kravitz’s hand went to Taako’s cheek and he gently pulled away. Taako looked at him with questioning eyes.

Kravitz smiled reassuringly. “I just wanted to look at you again.” He dipped his head and kissed the curve of Taako’s neck. “My gorgeous….”

“Talented…” He moved down, slipping Taako’s robe from his shoulder to press a kiss there as well. Taako let out a quiet exhale of laughter.

“Clever…” He trailed kisses down one side of Taako’s chest, moving his robe aside as needed to bare warm, freckled skin. Above him he could hear Taako’s breathing turn uneven, then ragged, and then to soft whimpers as his mouth teased lower.

“Brave…” he undid the tie on Taako’s robe and spread kisses over the soft part of his stomach, savoring each gasp and moan he coaxed from Taako’s lips.

“Wait,” Taako panted, and Kravitz sat back on his heels to look at him.

“You alright?” He couldn’t keep a note of concern from entering his voice.

Taako laughed shakily. “Oh, I’m… fucking fantastic, my man. But we should probably lock the door.”

Kravitz nodded and pushed himself to his feet. “Right.” He hurried over to the door, locked it, and twisted the door knob to check, just in case. Then he turned back towards Taako and his breath caught in his throat. He was sitting on the edge of their bed, his robe discarded and his hair cascading over his shoulders in soft waves. There was a deep blush in his chest that made Kravitz want nothing more than to kiss every inch of his skin. He drank in the sight with a slow smile spreading across his face.

“Gods, you’re beautiful,” he breathed, once he found his voice again.

Taako ducked his head in a moment of uncharacteristic self-consciousness. “Get over here.”

Kravitz was more than happy to oblige.

#to be clear im sure merle is a very handsome dwarf #taz november celebration #taz balance #taz balance spoilers #taako #taz kravitz #taakitz #troph writes #angus mcdonald

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