#future taakitz at least :D

[barry-j-blupjeans]

:0 “I’d rather just hang out with you, if I’m honest” and Taako, please??

35. “I’d rather just hang out with you, if I’m honest”

((50 ways to say "I love you" prompts here! Send some in!))

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Magnus didn't want to say anything about it, but to be completely frank, he was getting a little freaked out by Taako sitting so close. If there had been anything he had learned in the past few months, it was that Taako was like a territorial cat who only ever bothered you if he was hungry. And Taako would have said something if he was hungry. And he definitely wouldn't be near Merle, because last time he had complained about hunger to Merle, Merle had taken a handful of dirt from his pocket and offered it as a meal.

Magnus was worried about Merle, for different reasons, but now wasn't the time for that.

Point being is that Taako was sitting incredibly close to both him and Merle. Maybe something about the time loop shit had fucked him up more than he was letting on. He didn't look injured, at least. Magnus was trying not to look at him too much, or make eye contact, lest he scare Taako away, but it was hard. Trying to focus on carving this duck was even harder, but Merle kept talking to himself and Taako kept moving around and distributing the couch.

Magnus just wished he had roommates who could give him a second of peace.

"Alright," Merle said loudly. Magnus looked up. "Maggie isn't gonna say anything and I wasn't gonna say anything but like. You good?"

"Me?" Taako said. "Taako's great."

"You don't usually..." Merle scratched his beard, glancing at Magnus. Magnus didn't want to be having this conversation. Again, territorial cat and all that.

"I'm literally just sitting here," Taako said. "In our dorm. If I had my own dorm, I'd be sitting in it."

"You've got your own room!"

"Taako can hang out if he wants," Magnus said.

"Yeah, but he's not usually this affectionate about it!" Merle said, throwing his hands up. "It's weirdin' me out, man!"

"I'm literally just sitting here," Taako repeated. "You're- whatever, I don't care. I'm gonna enjoy my time in the living area I was given. You can get up if you're bothered by it."

"I'm not bothered by it!" Merle said. "You're just being weird."

"You're being weird," Taako sniped.

"This whole thing is weird," Magnus interrupted. "Taako can sit where he wants. Just please stop moving and talking and- and arguing or I'm going to my room."

"Feel free, homie," Taako said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Up to you," Merle said.

For a blissful one, maybe two minutes, Magnus had his silence back. And then Taako said,

"I'm just kinda fucked up about it, right?" Magnus looked up again. Taako had pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Like, usually we just almost die, but then we did die. A lot. And now I gotta like, talk to the grim reaper or whatever about it 'cus we broke his deal. And it's not like, a big thing, but death isn't my favorite topic, so uh."

"You're meeting with him again?" Magnus asked, setting aside his carving tools. Something in my mind whispered "you have to wait for the cat to approach you first" and he beat it back with a stick. Taako was a person, not a pet.

"Yeah," Taako said, peaking from beneath his hat.

"Want me to come with ya?" Merle offered.

"I can scare him away if I need to," Magnus said.

"No, it's fine," Taako said. "It's just weird. I don't wanna talk about death, I wanna talk about, like, recipes and shit. He seems like a good hang, so I wasn't gonna be like "hell no". But I'm kinda like, "hell no" anyway because there's fifty-fifty of me ending up in prison so."

"Just talk to him!" Merle said. "Doesn't have to be about death!"

"Kinda does," Magnus said. "Like, that's the whole meeting purpose."

"Get the boring stuff outta the way then," Merle said. "Listen, kid. I trust him. He seems like a chill dude."

"He tried to kill us," Magnus pointed out. "Also he got your arm chopped off."

"I remember someone with an ax coming towards me and it sure wasn't him, Magnus!"

"What am I supposed to say, though?" Taako interrupted. "Like, "Hey I know we're supposed to talk about me and my friends-"

"Aw, we're your friends!"

""-but I'd rather just hang out with you, if I'm being honest." Like, what?"

"I think that's pretty good actually," Magnus said. "You state your point pretty clear. Less death, more friendship, and all that."

"Yeah!" Merle said. "That's my life motto."

"Less death, more friendship?"

"No, the "that's pretty good actually"."

"I fucking hate both of you," Taako cackled, pulling his hat over his face to muffle his laughter. "This is the worst. I'm going back to my room!"

"But I've got so much more advice!" Merle exclaimed. "Is this gonna be like a date thing or a hang-out thing or what? 'Cus I've got more advice for the first one. My first date with my ex-wife-"

"The start of that sentence gives me all the information I wanna know, actually," Magnus butted in before it could get any worse. Taako was still hanging off the side of the couch, laughing so hard Magnus could hear him wheezing. "Thank you so much, Merle, we'll definitely come back to you on that."

"No, we won't!" Taako wheezed.

"No, we won't," Magnus agreed.