Chapter Text
"Sir, I was wondering, could you teach me, cooking. If you're not busy?"
Taako's breath catches as he looks up from the TV to stare at a very anxious looking boy detective.
"What? The magic's not enough?" He tries to hide the fact that he's having to steady his breathing a bit.
Angus' eyes widen, "No!" He rushes to assure, "I mean, yes? I mean, I was just wondering."
And fuck, Taako kind of wants to.
He shouldn't. He definitely shouldn't. But, as much as he enjoys magic; cooking is something special, always has been.
It's been a while since he's cooked with someone else.
It's been a while since he's cooked.
'It wasn't your fault,' he reminds himself, looking over Angus with exaggerated scrutiny to waste time as the boy rocks on his heels and waits for an answer.
"Sure, why not?" This is a bad decision; Taako can think of many reasons why not. He pulls on an earlobe to try and distract from the way his ears are pressed back against his skull. "But don't be disappointed if you can't keep up; I'm the best after all."
Angus responds with unbridled enthusiasm, as he usually does, and says that it will be no issue. And in the end, he's right. Angus is doing more or less okay; Taako is the one struggling to keep up.
"Let's stop here, baby," Taako blurts out. His hands are shaking. They're only halfway through the dish, but he can't do this anymore.
Angus seems a little agitated too. Taako can't remember what they'd started out making, but it was probably too difficult for a kid beginner.
(That's Taako alright, can't do a damn thing right anymore.)
"Can I come back to try tomorrow?" Angus asks, ever persistent, despite the fact that he's tugging on a strand of his afro unhappily.
"As long as nothing comes up."
Taako wants nothing but to put it behind him, but he can't stop thinking about it. He winds up scouring his memory for the simplest fucking thing he can imagine making, and carefully prints out the instructions on a loose scrap of paper.
When Angus comes back the next day, Taako walks him through the steps alongside the notes, double-triple-quadruple checking everything they do.
It's slow as fuck, but Angus seems to appreciate it, so neither of them are complaining.
They manage to finish making the dish. Taako checks the pasta with the poison detecting salt, and eats it first. He makes Angus wait a full 24 hours before he gets a bite.
Taako almost has a panic attack, but it's fine, he's fine, it's all okay.
They make the exact same dish the next few times they do these little lessons. Angus doesn't get bored of things apparently; Taako's too busy panicking to get bored.
But one day, he's halfway through a plate that he'd split with Angus when he realizes that they hadn't checked with the salt, or even waited before eating it.
He wonders if maybe teaching the kid wasn't such a bad idea after all.