#this hope and sappiness is so uncharacteristic of me... i guess this game really does bring out things i didn't know i had in me huh.

[artekai]

HZD was such a magical experience. It was a game about the apocalypse, but it still left me feeling hopeful by the end, twisting the despair it made me feel over its past into something like appreciation for everything we still have. It was a game about life and death, about nature and both its vulnerability and its resilience, about how technology can be used for either good or bad, about how it could destroy us but also save us depending on how we use it. It was a game about GAIA and Elisabet's love for the world (and each other), it was about a lonely queer girl's personal quest to find her mother that turned into a quest to save her homeworld, it was the story of an outcast who became the chosen one she never wanted to be, who went from carrying the weight of negative expectations to the weight of positive ones on her shoulders, it was about showcasing both the best and the worst of humanity, while still reassuring us that the effort we put into this world is worth it, even against impossible odds, because this is a world worth fighting for, and there might always be bad but there will also always be good, and life on Earth is worth protecting.

It was so deeply beautiful and moving and at the end of the day it was just a game. I wish I could play it for the first time again

#this hope and sappiness is so uncharacteristic of me... i guess this game really does bring out things i didn't know i had in me huh. #of course i never thought hzd was perfect but.... it had such a strong emotional core that i really miss #yes i listened to sad machine and started crying about gaia again. how do you know? #because i only get this emotional about hzd when i listen to sad machine? ah yes of course. #i mean this is THE song that really sends me back and puts me in the mindset i was in when i was finishing the game for the first time.... #maybe i should just replay hzd and pretend i don't know anything about it. i could use the pick-me-up #but i don't WANNA replay it i just wanna relive that first experience :( i miss her i just want her back #i'm just gonna keep crying for now brb #ramble #hzd

[svt-writers-club]

Ask games #5: #17 AND #25 FOR CAT CAFE AU

since there’s no pairing specified, i guess i’ll just have to continue following the lame nerds wonhui oh no what a tragedy :3c

happy wonwoo day, to our favourite bookworm.

#17: “Dammit! I should’ve snapped a picture!”#25: “Open this damned gate now!”

Wonwoo wants to be cool just for once in his goddamned life.

He finally gets a date with the cutest employee in Catstronomy. The dinner actually goes pretty well, so they go on another date and another date and another date…

That’s – that totally means they’re dating, right?

Wonwoo groans. He’s face down on his desk. He has test questions to look through and papers to grade, not to mention a lesson plan for next year that he needs to submit by next week. He has so much work to do, but here he is, daydreaming about kissing Junhui’s stupidly soft lips.

“What did you do this time?” Seungkwan, the home economics teacher, sighs.

Despite Seungkwan being a humanities teacher and Wonwoo being a science teacher, they get along remarkably well. That and the fact that they’re cubicle mates, so it’s much easier if they get along rather than being at each other’s throats. (One such example is Mingyu, the algebra teacher, and Minghao, the Chinese language teacher, who are constantly bickering over the very low cubicle walls.)

“I didn’t do anything,” Wonwoo answers defensively. Being facedown on his desk does lessen the impact of his words somewhat, but that’s just how it is sometimes.

“Is this school-related or love-related?”

“It’s not school-related.”

“Oh.” There’s the sound of a pen scratching against paper for a brief moment. “Yeah, I can’t help you there, hyung.”

Wonwoo moans into the wooden grain of his desk pathetically.

There’s the distant sound of a chair being wheeled over towards him, the wheels squeaking while shoes scuffle against the concrete floors. A finger pokes Wonwoo’s spine, but the physics teacher is too busy throwing himself a self-pity party to see who it is.

“It’s about Junhui hyung again, isn’t it?” Mingyu says knowingly, with a tinge of pity in his voice.

Wonwoo just lets out a plaintive whine.

“Aw, hyung. You poor, unfortunate sap.” A pause, and then: “I have no idea what he sees in you.”

Wonwoo toys with the idea of punching Mingyu in the dick. That would be satisfying. Then again, he doesn’t know what Junhui sees in him either. Is it the glasses? It might be the glasses. Maybe he has a thing for guys in glasses.

Wonwoo sighs, rubbing his forehead absently. “Am I dating Junhui?” he asks aloud.

Seungkwan and Mingyu share a look that speaks volumes. They make faces at each other, having a silent conversation Wonwoo has no hope of ever deciphering.

“Have you kissed?” Seungkwan asks.

Wonwoo shakes his head. He feels a cold sweat starting up at the idea of Junhui’s soft, soft lips on his.

“Have you held hands?” Mingyu adds dubiously.

Wonwoo hesitates, then shakes his head. Sometimes Junhui drags him around by the wrist when he walks too slow, but that’s not really holding hands. His palms are starting to sweat just thinking about twining his fingers with Junhui’s.

Mingyu and Seungkwan share another look. That can’t be good.

Wonwoo makes his way over to Catstronomy after school, even though it’s not a Friday. He finds himself breaking his routines a lot, these days – and it’s all thanks to Junhui.

He doesn’t know when his life got so dull – every day just another shade of grey. Ever since Junhui came sashaying into his life with his black cat ears and easy smile, flirtatious words dripping from his lips effortlessly, there’s more colour in his life. Wonwoo doesn’t feel like he’s just drifting from day to day anymore; Junhui is a splash of colour and a breath of fresh air.

Just be confident, Wonwoo tells himself. He dries his damp palms on his jeans. Jihoon calls out a tired greeting that Wonwoo ignores, eyes set on the caramel-haired waiter that captured his heart from the very first day.

Junhui turns, eyes brightening as his grin widens. “Wonwoo!” he calls out, strides lengthening as he walks towards the physics teacher.

“We need to talk,” Wonwoo breathes out a rush. He holds his breath, biting his lip as Junhui’s steps falter.

“O-oh?” Junhui says. His eyes dart around the fairly empty cafe. “Just – let me get Jisoo hyung to cover the floor for me. I have to go feed the cats too, so head over to the cat pen?”

Wonwoo nods. He shoves his hands into his pockets and wanders over. The cat pen is where most of the cats hang out when they’re not out on the main floor, playing (or bothering) the customers. It’s where most of the cat trees and cat toys are, as well as their food bowls and water fountains. There’s a little door that leads to a small, ventilated room where the litter boxes are, as well as a small gate to keep the cats in during the night.

Wonwoo likes the pen. The cats are the most chill there, comfortable in their safe spot. When Junhui is held back at work before a date, Wonwoo will just hang out here with the cats, where they’re all content to hang out without actually interacting. Junhui jokes that Wonwoo himself has the soul of a cat sometimes.

Junhui looks uncharacteristically nervous as he brings over the large container of cat kibble. He doesn’t really look at Wonwoo, fiddling with the cover on the rectangular container.

“Junnie?” Wonwoo says gently.

Instead of making Junhui smile, the nickname has the waiter’s lips pressing into a thin line. Wonwoo is baffled; it usually never fails to elicit a smile from his kinda-maybe boyfriend.

Junhui clears his throat, frowning down at his feet. “Just – give me a sec. Could you wait outside?”

“Uh. Okay?”

Wonwoo officially has no idea what’s going on. Junhui is cagey, not really looking at him. He’s been acting weird since he walked off to go on his break. Nonetheless, Junhui looks really rattled, so he’ll give him some time to get his thoughts together.

He presses a hand against the gate, but rather than give under his hand, it holds steady. That – that’s not good. Wonwoo gulps, then presses against the gate again, but it refuses to budge. One more shove and he hears the gentle jingle of a lock against the metal.

“What the fuck?” Wonwoo whispers to himself, eyes widening. He turns back to Junhui, who has his shoulders hunched. “Junhui?”

“I told you to wait outside,” Junhui sighs, an uncharacteristic twinge of irritation in his voice.

Wonwoo licks his lips nervously, tamping down the hurt that immediately wells up. “It’s not my fault,” he says immediately, holding up his hands innocently. “The gate is locked!”

“The gate is – what?”

Junhui storms up to the gate, rattling the lock viciously. There’s a hint of desperation as his fingers curl into the metal grates.

“Lee Jihoon,” Junhui barks as the blonde walks past. “Open this damned gate now!”

Jihoon raises an eyebrow, twirling his keyring around his index finger. “No,” he says simply. Wonwoo winces as Junhui lets out an outraged sound. “Talk your shit out with him, Junhui.”

Without further explanation, Jihoon walks off. Wonwoo glances helplessly at the gate.

“Um?” Wonwoo says, for lack of anything to say.

Junhui lets out an irritated breath, throwing his hands up. “Just say it!”

“S-say what?”

There’s a suspicious shine in Junhui’s eyes as he glares at Wonwoo. “It’s not you, it’s me,” he says. “That I’m not good enough for you and you’re breaking up with me.”

“I’m – why would I ever say that?”

The incredulity in Wonwoo’s voice takes the wind out of Junhui’s sails. Junhui’s forehead creases, lips pursing as he blinks rapidly.

Wonwoo barks out a short laugh. “Why would I break up with you? You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Aw,” Junhui says quietly. He lets a sappy smile loose before scowling. He points an accusatory finger in Wonwoo’s face – Wonwoo actually goes cross-eyes keeping that finger in his sights. “You said we need to talk!”

“Yeah? It’s ‘cause we do.” Suddenly, it dawns on Wonwoo. “Oh. Oh shit. Okay, I can see how that sounds.”

“Damn straight! I thought you figured out you’re way out of my league.”

“I’m out of your league? You’re out of my league! You – you’re – you’re amazing.”

Junhui’s cheeks redden as he sputters. It’s rare that Wonwoo catches Junhui off-guard. “Shut up,” Junhui mutters, but his lips curl into a satisfied smile.

It causes something in Wonwoo’s chest to tighten and he realises just how much he likes Junhui. Just because he doesn’t know what Junhui sees in him doesn’t mean he won’t hold on while he’s still got him.

They must look like idiots, standing in front of a locked gate and grinning at each other. They should probably do something about being stuck, but Wonwoo doesn’t mind standing close enough to Junhui for their shoulders to touch. If Wonwoo moves his pinkie an inch to the right, he could touch Junhui’s pinkie.

“I like you too,” Junhui murmurs eventually. His cheeks are still pink; Wonwoo decides this is one of his favourite looks on Junhui, even as his stomach lurches at the confession.

Wonwoo is not good at relationship stuff. He hasn’t really ever been in a serious relationship – the casual dating he did in college doesn’t really count – but he really wants things with Junhui to work out.

Confidence.

Wonwoo takes a deep breath, then blurts out, “Are we dating?”

Junhui doesn’t even blink. “Yeah, we are,” he says easily, like Wonwoo hasn’t been agonising about this for the past two weeks.

Wonwoo stares. He’s pretty sure his brain just broke down for a moment.

Junhui blinks this time. “Is – are we – I mean, I thought that was obvious. We go on dates and we text all the time and I send you memes.”

“J-just like that?” It wasn’t this easy in Wonwoo’s mind.

“Just like that.” Junhui chuckles warmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling in mirth. “I figured someone as smart as you would’ve figured it out by now. This isn’t exactly rocket science.”

“Rocket science, I get. This – what? Are you telling me I could’ve been kissing you all this time? And – and holding your hand?”

Junhui’s cheeks redden even further. “Do you want to? Be kissing and holding hands and stuff?”

“Fuck yes.”

Wonwoo probably shouldn’t sound so eager, but he’s wanted Junhui’s lips on him since the first time he kissed him on the cheeks. He wants to kiss Junhui and hold his hands and take him out on a million more dates. He wants to be his Valentine and secret Santa and everything in between.

Apparently, that’s all the permission Junhui needs, because he’s leaning forward and pressing his perfect lips to Wonwoo’s. Wonwoo is convinced he’s died and gone to heaven, because he hasn’t screwed up whatever it is between him and Junhui and they’re kissing.

There are fireworks and choirs singing. His hands are in the back pockets of Junhui’s sinfully tight jeans, pulling him closer so they can keep kissing. Junhui’s hands are in Wonwoo’s hair, messing it up and he’s totally okay with that. He can do whatever he wants to Wonwoo’s hair as long as they keep kissing and dating and seeing each other.

“So, uh,” Junhui says, when they finally pull apart, “I guess you’re my boyfriend now.”

Wonwoo makes a happy, delighted sound that sounds like the mating call of a whale.

“Dammit!” a new voice mutters. “I should’ve snapped a picture!”

There’s the muted sound of skin on skin, followed by a pained yelp. Wonwoo and Junhui turn to find Seungcheol and Jihoon on the other side of the gate, sitting at the table closest to the pen. Wonwoo wants to crawl under a rock and die from mortification, but he has a hand in Junhui’s back pocket and Junhui’s arm slung around his shoulders, so maybe it’s not so bad.

Feel free to ask me more of these ship asks here!

#seventeen #svt #btsvt-adventures #serrauthor replies #serrauthor ask game no. 5 #cat cafe au #wonwoo #jun #junhui #wonhui #much less puns but much more fluff #happy wonwoo day #here's a good boi #wonwoo deserves all the love #happy birthday boo

[nd43taags]

Please Let Those Idiots be Happy

Yeaaaaaah done in response to a prompt by @dawnieserix!  Also available to read on AO3.  Merle Highchurch is the Taagnus Wingman we all deserve.

Merle Highchurch had been in love.

In mostly abstract ways, of course.  Romantic love, not so much.  He hadn’t dated much, and There were days where he could almost see himself loving his wife as he settled into the future he was forced into, but he and Hecuba simply didn’t get along.  Arranged marriages were like that sometimes.  But he loved his children, and he loved his friends.  

And he had passing moments, nervous glances exchanged with people that didn’t go anywhere.  Moments that he wasn’t even sure he  wanted  to go anywhere.  But he knew.  He knew what it felt like to be in love.

Which was why he knew before his friends did.

Those careful glances.  Those wistful sighs.  Those longing moments spent lingering, waiting for someone to appear while you “happened” to be there.  He knew all too well.  Magnus and Taako were in love.  

Fortunately, it was with each other .  

Unfortunately, they were both failing to actually  do  anything about it.

Merle wasn’t sure if it was because they were nervous or confused or just so monumentally  stupid .  They had baggage, Merle knew that much.  And they were bad with talking about feelings, anyone with eyes could see that.  And they were so…  so  stupid.

It was starting to affect team performance.  Magnus was distracted and unfocused (and that resulted in Merle taking more hits than was necessary), and Taako was over performative and and bombastic (and that resulted in some misfired spells in Merle’s direction).  Both of them were not on their game, and Merle was taking the brunt of it.

Honestly their inability to talk about things was going to get him killed.

So it was partially self interest and partially affection for those two idiots that lead him to the decision.

Merle was going to hook those two up  before  they killed him.

Step one of his master plan was figuring out why they weren’t just  talking  to each other.

Magnus would be the easier of the two to work down, so Merle invited him to the greenhouse to help out with some gardening.

“There’s lots of lifting and shit I need help with,” Merle explained, “I’m an old man, are you going to make me lift fertilizer by myself?”

Magnus rolled his eyes, but did not bother to protest.

The greenhouse was sweltering and humid, and Merle felt his hair frizzing out from it’s bun as they worked.  Lucretia had tasked Merle with growing medicinal herbs for the base because of his skills with plants, but the greenhouse had been in pretty bad shape before Merle had the job.  It had taken a lot of work to get it back to a decent state.

After a few hours of silently helping Merle rearrange planters and cart literal shit around, Magnus sighed deeply and wiped his forehead with his bandana.

“I’m not much of a gardener,” Magnus laughed.  “Never had the time for it.”

“Nah you don’t need time,” Merle replied, carefully tying a vine to a trellis.  “Plants are pretty cool with minimal attention, as long as the little attention they get is quality.  You gotta have love, but you don’t have to devote every moment to them.  They’re pretty independant.”

“That’s… I guess I hadn’t thought about that,” Magnus said.  “All my experiences with gardening have been hyper focused on trying to get things to grow.”

The moisture in the air made every word they spoke seem heavy, and Merle could sense that Magnus was feeling that.  Things said in this garden carried weight.  Exactly what Merle was hoping for.

“You had a garden before?” Merle asked.

“Yeah back… Back when I was married,” Magnus said quietly, and Merle could see his grip tightening on his kerchief.  “My wife was a bit of a black thumb, but she wanted a garden so bad.”

Wife .  The word seemed to echo around the room.  Merle had suspected Magnus had been married (he still wore a wedding ring) but they had never spoken about it.  Merle wanted to reward Magnus’ honesty with some truth of his own, though he had little to offer.

“At least she probably loved it,” Merle scoffed, taking a moment to observe his handiwork and make sure the vine was properly attached.  “My ex wife hated gardening.  Any time I tried to grow anything she’d holler and moan about it being a waste of time.”

“You were married?” Magnus asked.

“It was arranged, but yean” Merle explained, moving onto the next plant.  “Most dwarven marriages are.  You were married too?”

“Yeah… she passed away,” Magnus sighed.

“Fuck, sorry,” Merle said, wincing.  He knew that Magnus had baggage but he hadn’t known what it was.  This made a lot of sense.  His over protectiveness.  His unwillingness to open up about his feelings. Losing someone you love would do that.

“Nah it’s okay, it’s been a few years,” Magnus said slowly.  Merle wasn’t sure if that was true or not.

“Do you like gardening?” Merle asked, swerving away from the sensitive topic.

“I like the idea of growing shit, I like working with my hands,” Magnus shrugged, “I’m not very patient though.”

“Yeah I could see that,” Merle laughed.  “It’s hard to sit back and wait for things to happen.”

“Yeah…”

“In fact I’d say it’s downright uncharacteristic of you to hang back from things,” Merle continued.  “You like to rush in.”

Magnus nodded, unsure where this was going.  Merle gestured over to have Magnus hold the trellis steady as he worked with a particularly stubborn plant.

“Listen… And feel free not to answer me, it’s cool if you don’t want to talk about it but…” Merle looked at Magnus softly.  “Do you  like  Taako?”

“... Yeah?  He’s my friend.”

“No no,” Merle said, shaking his head.  “Like him.  Like,  like like  him.”

Magnus laughed with a hearty, booming laugh that felt out of place in the quiet of the greenhouse.

“Are we in  grade school ?” he gasped, catching his breath.

“I’m serious!” Merle cried, “I may be old but Merle’s seen a crush or two in his time and you?  You’ve got it  bad .”

Magnus was turning red.  “I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Listen son, you’re human,” Merle said bluntly, “You’ve got no reason to waste time hemming and hawing about  what ifs  and  but maybes .  If you have feelings for someone you should act on them.”

“It’s not that it’s…” Magnus stammered, “I’m not sure…”

“You’ve been hurt, right?” Merle said, putting a dirty gloved hand on Magnus’ chest.  “You’re afraid of being hurt again.  But Taako… he’s just like these plants.  He’s not looking for  all  of your time and attention.  Just  quality  time.  Even if it doesn’t pan out, don’t you want to at least say you tried?”

“How do I even  start ?” Magnus asked.

“Maybe something like ‘ You really are a great a magician, because Abraca-DAYUM!’ or-”

“That’s terrible,” Magnus said smiling, but scrunching his nose up.

“Eh it needs workshopping,” Merle shrugged, “But the point is,  go for it .  You’re not getting younger.  And things aren’t getting easier.”

“I just… I loved my wife,” Magnus said quietly.

“So?” Merle said.  “She loved you too.  She’d want you to be happy, not suffering and holding out on yourself because of her.”

Magnus laughed at that.  “Okay you didn’t even know her, but that’s probably true.”

“Magnus, I don’t doubt that someone who loved you enough to marry you was a one-of-a-kind gal,” Merle sighed with a smile.  “But you’re a one-of-a-kind guy too, and if you  want  to try this falling in love shit again, you should.  Don’t hold yourself back if you’re feeling something.  That’s not you.  That’s not the you she loved.”

“Yeah… Maybe.” Magnus replied, and the smile he gave seemed tired but genuine.  “Thanks for this.”

“Any time big guy,” Merle said, putting a hand on Magnus’ shoulder.  “Any time.”

Taako would be the difficult one.  That was just his nature.  There was no way Merle was going to have a spontaneously deep heart-to-heart with the elf about  feelings  and  love  and all that nonsense.  Taako definitely kept that shit on lock down.

Things would have to be more abstract.

The time came unexpectedly when they both ended up needing to go to Fantasy Costco for spell components.  They tried never to go to that store alone; Garfield’s deals got a little more  sinister  when he got one of the boys on their own.  So they tried to synchronize their shopping trips, and it turned out that Merle ran out of purified water at the same time Taako needed more glass beads and feathers.  So the two of them grabbed their bags and headed to the place where all their dreams could come true.

“I can’t believe you cast enough spells to actually  use  components,” Taako teased as the sliding doors opened.

“Oh I don’t  use  them, I mostly  lose  them,” Merle corrected.  “I can’t find shit anywhere in the dorm.”

“So you’re telling me that there’s probably a bunch of little vials of water and bushels of herbs shoved into the couch or something?”

“I’m thinking more  under  the couch,” Merle shrugged.  “Maybe under my bed.”

Taako grabbed a basket and headed towards the Arcane section, pausing occasionally to look into barrels and vats of ingredients.

There had to be a way to delicately breech the subject Merle needed to talk about.

“So Taako…” he coughed, clearing his throat.  “You seeing anyone?”

Nice.  Perfect.

Taako froze where he was, a bundle of twigs in his hand.  His eyes slid to glare at Merle.

“Why the fuck are you asking me this?” he sighed.

“I just like to keep up with what my boys are doing,” Merle replied.  “This is gonna sound sappy but-”

“Please don’t say it,” Taako interrupted with a moan.

“You and Magnus are like my… weird nephews or something,” Merle continued, “I want to know what’s going on in your lives.”

Taako turned back to the bundle of twigs, inspecting them closely.  Satisfied, he put them into the basket.

“Why, does Magnus have something going on?” he said calmly.

“Oh, it could be nothing,” Merle smoothly replied.  “He’s just pining something awful for a secret crush he has.”

Taako glanced at Merle again.

“Secret… crush?”

“Yeah the guy is absolutely head over heels for someone,” Merle explained, “But the idiot is too shy to make the first move!  Can you believe that?  Magnus being  shy ?”

“Ridiculous,” Taako scoffed, examining a potion bottle label carefully before putting it back on the shelf.

“Yeah I told him there’s no reason to pussyfoot around,” Merle laughed.  “He’s human, he doesn’t have time like that to waste.  But he said all this shit about  not being sure  and  waiting for the right moment. ”

Taako put some dried mushrooms into his basket.

“Did… did he happen to say… I-I mean…  is it anyone we know?” Taako stammered.

“I  think  it’s someone on base,” Merle said sagely, “But he didn’t say who it was.”

They walked in silence for a bit, checking out various semi-precious stones cut into travel sized pebbles for spellcasting.  Taako was suddenly very focused on the errand, looking at every component closely as if trying to see through it to the flaws at it’s core.

When they reached the cages where live bugs and creatures were kept for the more  animated  ingredients, Taako turned to Merle with a frown.

“So,  hypothetically  ,” he mused, not looking directly at the dwarf.  “Say someone has been trying to drop hints for  ages to Magnus, but the idiot has not been picking up those signals.”  He fiddled with his sleeve absentmindedly.  “What was the issue?  Were they being too subtle?”

Subtle was not Taako’s specialty.  Taako could not be subtle if his life depended on it, and anyone with eyes could see that he had been dropping hints.

“ Hypothetically ,” Merle replied, “that person probably didn’t know Magnus had some personal shit to deal with that was keeping him from seeing those signals clearly.”

“Is he straight?” Taako said bluntly, and Merle started to laugh so hard he coughed again.  “Seriously Merle cut the bull, is he straight?”

“I dunno about  straight ,” Merle laughed.  “But he definitely was way more calm about this shit than you are!”

Taako sighed.

“Alright cool, secret’s out,” he grumbled.  “Taako has a crush on the bear.  Taako’s  had a crush since he fucking jumped off a catwalk through a plate glass window to save me from ogres.”

“It’s a very sweet way to meet people,” Merle chuckled.

“But, like, he’s sending out signals that say ‘ Please oh god I’m so alone I need literally anyone to give me a hug’  but also ‘  Stay the fuck away I have issues and I have zero interest in opening up about them’ ,” Taako sighed.  “And I get that.  I do.  I’ve… I’ve got issues too.  But how’s a guy supposed to read that?”

“I mean, you read them 100% accurately,” Merle shrugged.  “The man desperately wants a hug but also sucks at opening up.”

“I just don’t want…” Taako hesitated, watching some crickets crawl around in their cage.  “I don’t want to  say  something, and then things be  weird  between us.”

“He’s a good friend,” Merle agreed.

“And I’ve got so  few  of those,” Taako muttered.

“Listen Taako,” Merle said, gesturing for Taako to kneel next to him.  The elf hesitated, then got down on the floor so he was eye level with Merle.  “I get that you’re not the kind of guy that takes unnecessary risks, and that’s good most of the time!  Saves me a lot of trouble at least!”

“Like you’ve ever fucking healed anyone in your life,” Taako smirked.

“But  loving  people, be it friends or something more, is  always  a risk,” Merle continued, ignoring the slight against him.  “And in this case, it’s a risk  worth taking .”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Taako laughed, rolling his eyes.

“Nah I’m serious,” Merle replied, “I think Magnus is the kind of guy that would be cool with it even if he wasn’t interested.  He’s got a lot of love to spare.”

“You  think ?”

“I  know ,” Merle said with a wink.  “The man is shy, and working through some baggage.  But I think he’s been getting those signals clear as day.”

“So… I should make the first move,” Taako realized.

“Exactly!” Merle cried.  “He’s dense and afraid but so  eager  to love people.  If you wait around for him to figure it out you’ll be waiting for the rest of his life.”

With that, Taako stood up and roughly pat Merle on the head like a dog.  Merle glared at him, but Taako only smiled, and that made him soften too.

“You know… You’re not  completely  shit at this uncle thing,” Taako mused.

It was a few days before Merle saw the sprouts of the seeds he had planted in the boy’s minds.  He didn’t expect them to change overnight, that was too much too fast for troubled men set in their ways.  But they were softening, opening slowly like flowers of their own, and Merle could see that things were about to pop off any day now.

One afternoon Magnus caught him in the common room with a smile.

“I think… I think I want to take Taako out for coffee,” Magnus said.

“Good for you big guy!” Merle cried, patting him on the hip.

“Yeah I just… I think it’s time,” Magnus hummed.

“When you asking him?” Merle asked.

“Ugh  that  I don’t know yet,” Magnus replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck nervously.  “Do you think he’ll say yes or…?”

“Magnus, remember what we talked about,” Merle teased.

“I know I know,” Magnus laughed, “I’m definitely doing this.  I’m rushing in!”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Merle chuckled.  “Now Magnus, I have something kinda serious I want to talk about.”

Magnus nodded and bent down so that he was closer to Merle’s face.

“I like you big guy,” Merle continued.  “I like Taako too.  I’m happy you guys are finally going to try and work this shit out.  But I’m a worrier and a dad at heart.”

“Is this… are you gonna  dad  this?” Magnus laughed.

“I’m just saying Taako’s a beloved member of our team, and if you hurt him you’re threatening to  tear the very fabric of this team apart .”

Magnus went a little pale at that, but Merle punched him in the hip gently.

“I’m not trying to scare you big guy, I’m saying… be  careful ,” Merle smiled warmly.  “You’re both pretty fucked up.  Go slow, but don’t hesitate.  Be gentle and thoughtful of each other, and we won’t have any problems.”

“I think I get what you mean,” Magnus said, and the color started to return to his cheeks.  “You don’t have to worry about that Merle, I’ll be careful for us both.”

That same day Taako flicked some tuna casserole at Merle across the cafeteria to get his attention, and in a hushed whisper hissed “Today’s the day, I’m asking Maggie out.”

“Cool,” Merle hissed back with a grin, “Did you have something in mind?”

“Planning dates and shit is  not  Taako’s specialty,” he huffed.  “I’m used to being  pursued , not doing the chasing myself.”

“So no plans,” Merle concluded.

“I figured I’d ask him what he wanted to do and go from there,” Taako mused.

“Good idea,” Merle smirked.

Things were coming together perfectly.

“By the way,” Taako hummed quietly, “You’re not pulling my leg on this one right?  He’s gonna be down for this?”

“Taako I wouldn’t lie about this,” Merle replied, “Magnus is a sensitive guy with fragile emotions.  Speaking of which… Taako, Magnus has been hurt before.”

“So have I, what’s the point?” Taako curtly replied.

“I’m saying don’t hurt him again,” Merle answered.  “I want to see both of you happy, and if you’re not careful with him you’ll  break him.”

“Aaah, is this, like, the doting Dad thing?” Taako laughed.  “You don’t gotta worry Merle.  Taako’s gonna take this one slow and steady.”

“That’s my boy!” Merle cried, and Taako rolled his eyes in response.

It was then that Magnus came into the cafeteria, and Taako hurriedly shoved Merle away.

“Shit shit  shit  get out of here old man you’ll ruin everything,” Taako hissed as Magnus came over.

With a laugh, Merle headed off.  As he headed for the door, the edge of their conversation carried it’s way to him.

“So Taako, uh… I was wondering…”

“Yeah I’ve been thinking we should… go  out  sometime.”

“Oh!  Oh yeah!   Definitely !  You… want to go get some coffee?”

“Maggie I would  love  that.”

Merle knew what it felt like to be in love.

It was something he hoped those two idiots felt for the rest of their lives.

#taagnus #nd's fics #request