Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And that, my good dudes, is how you make the perfect buttercream for your cupcakes or whatever the hell it is you’re doing with it. Hell, you could just be scooping it out of the bowl and eating it, I know I sure do sometimes.”

At this, Taako makes a point of dipping his index finger into the frosting, before sticking it into his mouth with a satisfied half-smile. He knew that it would taste great – of course it does, he’s Taako, you know, from YouTube? – but even so, the familiar sweetness is a comfort that even now, he’s still got the magic touch.

With a grin, he finished up the recording, maintaining eye contact with the camera even after he’s done. Only once he stops recording and the little, red light stops flashing, did he relax and allow himself a sigh. Turning, he spotted a head peering around the kitchen door, until it disappears at the thought of having been caught watching.

“Come on, Ango, you know I already spotted you,” he teased, no real heat in his voice. “Besides, you really think I can eat all this buttercream by myself?” That did the trick, the young boy swinging the door open and immediately pulling himself up to sit on the countertop, so as better to sample the frosting. Angus did just as Taako had moments before, sticking an icing-laden finger in his mouth.

“Obviously there’s vanilla,” he said, after thinking for a few seconds. “But is that mint that I can taste as well?”

“Hell yeah, it is. The trick is to not add too much, otherwise it becomes overwhelming. You have to find the right balance.”

“It’s just like with the chocolate and orange soufflé!”

From here, the two of them chatted about the balancing of flavours in various recipes that Taako had posted, and he wondered how he’d gotten there. Ten years ago, had anyone suggested he’d become a “parental guardian” to some kid, he’d have laughed in their faces. He had things to do, places to go, people to impress and a legacy to build.

And yet, when he’d attended the meeting that spoke of guardianship and seen the small, fragile boy, made even smaller by the weight of grief on his shoulders, he had been the one to step forward. Sure, there had been half a dozen others who would be more suitable to taking care of a child, but in that moment he hadn’t thought of that. He’d thought only of how he had once been just like him; lost, hurting and in a chair far too big for him to even feel the ground beneath his feet.

That had been three years ago, and the Angus beside him was a far cry from the one in that meeting. It had taken time and more than a slight push to get there, but things were good now. There were obviously bumps along the road, but the majority of that time had been smooth sailing.

But in three years, not once had Taako ever had Angus in a video. He didn’t even speak of the boy on social media and while, yes, Taako had a big following online, he’d never been recognised in public. It was better this way, he said when Angus wondered if he could “collab” with him. He was still young – not even hitting the first of his teen years! – and Taako knew more than anyone how the internet could rip people to shreds.

And despite his rather blasé attitude towards him, Taako cared about the kid. So he’d keep him secret, keep him safe, for as long as he could.

Chapter Text

“So how’s that, uh, YouTube thing working out for you? Still making that cooking show of yours?”

Taako couldn’t help it, he snorted at the old dwarf’s wording. It wasn’t Merle’s fault that time had skipped on ahead of him, but the way he would word things on occasion was just… Precious. That wasn’t to say Merle was oblivious to how the internet worked – no, on the contrary he had a pretty good understanding of how to use it. But the words he would use to describe things truly spoke of older years, and Taako couldn’t help but let his amusement show.

“Yes, I’m still making cooking videos,” Taako replied, ignoring the eye roll he got from the older man. “Took a slight hit from YouTube’s new algorithm or whatever, but it’s all good.”

“Oh hey, I forgot to say it earlier but congrats on hitting 90k subscribers,” Magnus chimed in, lifting his beer in a silent toast. Both Merle and Taako join in, raising their glasses of wine with him.

“I hope they’ve got my gold play button ready, because it’s gonna be mine in just a short while,” Taako declared, confident words rolling off his tongue with ease. It wasn’t baseless boasting either – if he kept at the rate he was going, he’d hit one million subs in just a couple of months.

The three of them continued their idle talk, topics bouncing from Merle’s kids to Magnus and his carpentry. They were so caught up that they didn’t even hear the pattering of feet on the stairs and Angus had to clear his throat a few times before they noticed him.

“I just thought I’d let you know, I’m going to sleep now,” he said, already in his pyjamas and shifting under the gazes of the three adults. Taako nodded, setting his glass down and standing up with a stretch.

“Sure thing, I’ll be with you in a minute.” He turned and narrowed his eyes at his friends. “And don’t go drinking me out of house and home, I want some more of that wine when I come back.” Satisfied that he’d gotten his point across, he followed Angus upstairs and into his room.

Most of the lights were already off, bar the star projector that cast constellations across the ceiling and walls. The boy set his glasses on the desk and slid into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. As he did every night, Taako crossed the room in a couple of long strides and perched on the edge of the bed.

“Everything okay, little man?”

Angus nodded.

“You sure?”

Angus nodded again.

“Alright well, good night then.” After patting the boy’s head gently, Taako stood once more and left, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. It was probably silly, to most people, but Taako found comfort in that small ritual of theirs. And if it at all helped Angus sleep better? He’d do it every night, if that’s what it took.

When he flopped back onto the sofa, he held a hand out. Within seconds, his glass was back in it and refilled with the sanguineous wine he’d come to love.

“You still doing that patting thing?”

“It’s not like it does any harm.” Merle had probably meant nothing by it, but Taako found himself growing defensive over it anyway.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, free hand waving in a reassuring gesture. “I just meant it’s good to see that you and the kid are doing alright. I mean it’s not as if raising a kid is the easiest thing to do, trust me, I know.”

“Yeah, I mean, when I got Johann, I didn’t know what to expect,” Magnus added. “It’s crazy, you know? How someone is basically depending on you to take care of them?”

“Magnus, if you ever compare taking care of kids to having a dog again, I will personally cut off your sideburns with those dumb kiddie scissors.” At Taako’s threat, Magnus’ hands shot up to cover his sideburns.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

And with that, the seriousness of the moment was lost and they fell back into their usual camaraderie.