Lup Taaco: Being stuck in an umbrella for a decade would change anyone. Lup knew that. She knew the moment she got sucked into it that everything would change. She fought it at first, struggled against the magical restraints that she had crafted into the umbrastaff, then she stopped and waited. She knew Barry and Taako would look for her and when she heard Taako’s voice break through the trance she had fallen into she regained that hope and waited. She waited for Taako to connect the dots but he didn’t even seem to recognize the umbrella. Her second point of hope was hearing Barry’s voice. When she was eventually set free there wasn’t even time for her to think about the prison, and then she regained her body. It wasn’t until that first night when she was trying to sleep that the realization that things were different had hit her, bring in nightmares of being lost alone with the heavy feeling of forgetting who she was and where she was like a blanket of panic. Lup jerked awake in a panic and sat up, breathing heavily and trembling.
Taako: Taako was stirred awake, a rush of panic washing over him as he knew exactly what was waking him. He turned over in bed and sat up, moving forward to place his hands on Lup's shoulders as he tried to shake her awake. But before he could success she woke up on her own. "Lup, are you okay?" he asked, his voice almost too quiet to hear through Lup's heavy breathing.
Lup Taaco: Lup looked over at him with tears in her eyes. She nodded slowly and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Yeah... Yeah I'm um, I'm okay," she said, rubbing tears from her eyes before they could fall only to have them be quickly replaced by more.
Taako: Taako reached forward, but retreated. He didn't know what would set Lup off again, and he was too afraid to find out. "You aren't, but okay." He mimicked Lup, bringing his knees up to his chest. "You know that I know what it's like to have night terrors. And I know you need help."
Lup Taaco: "I know," she nodded, pulling her hair over her shoulder and laying her cheek against her knees. "These are different though... They feel more real than just a nightmare, Taako..." She bit her lip and felt a tear fall down her cheek.
Taako: "That's what I'm saying, Lu. Night terrors. Totally different. We've been through a lot." He reached up to catch the tear with his thumb, and leaned forward to kiss her cheek softly. "I know they suck, and they're scary, but they go away after a while. After you've... dealt with your trauma."
Lup Taaco: She looked up at him. "I was back in the umbrella," she told him in a soft whisper. "It felt so real, Koko... I-I thought this was all a dream. I thought I had imagined you saving me."
Taako: "Oh, Lu..." He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her arm. "It's okay, don't worry. You're here. Lup, I missed you so much, I forgot you even existed, but it's okay now. Because you're here."
Lup Taaco: Lup leaned into his touch and sniffles softly. "I-I was so alone... It was dark and I was- I was alone in there," she told him, on the brink of tears.
Taako: "Stop thinking about it, okay? It'll only make you more upset. Today was your first day back in your body, just think about everything that happened."
Lup Taaco: She nodded slowly and wiped at the tears falling down her cheeks. "It feels weird to be back in my body... I spent the last decade without one."
Taako: "But we had fun, right? We cooked a huge-ass dinner for everyone. Your favorite, that turkey Auntie made for us on our birthday." He moved closer, slowly rocking himself and Lup back and forth.
Lup Taaco: "Yeah," she nodded, shifting to lay her head against Taako's shoulder. "It was a nice a nice dinner. At least you can still cook. That's never going to change."
Taako: "Lup, the only things that are going to change are for the better. Now let's get some sleep. I'm sure you've missed sleeping in?"
Lup Taaco: "I'm not really tired anymore," she said, staring down at her knees. It was a lie but she didn't feel like admitting to Taako or herself that she was afraid of going back to sleep. She's just have to drink an extra cup of coffee in the morning.
Taako: "Okay, I get it. Come on." He stood, urging Lup out of bed with a hand extended in her direction. "Up, come on Lulu. We're making some Hot Chocolate à la Taako."
Lup Taaco: Lup nodded and took his hand, climbing out of bed and rubbing her eyes. "Do we have marshmallows?" she asked, grabbing one of the blankets at the end of the bed to wrap around herself.
Taako: "I wouldn't even think of making hot chocolate without marshmallows. I'm not a savage, you know this!" As he made his way down the stairs, he almost blushed out of embarrassment, for his limp was even greater without those damn leg braces. If it weren't for those godsforsaken elves in Wonderland dropping a washing machine on him, he wouldn't have to be worried. Still, he knew he shouldn't be embarrassed in front of his own sister, but something inside him couldn't help to make him a little uncomfortable with walking beside her. "I'm going to make it homemade, like mom used to. You know, the long, tedious way with the largest payoff. None of that packet shit."
Lup Taaco: "I wouldn't expect anything less of you," she said, hugging the blanket around her body and following her brother down the stairs. She watched his limp and frowned lightly. "That lich... Edward, he was destroyed right?" she asked. "I didn't really see what happened to him after I kicked him out..."
Taako: Taako smiled, breathing out a laugh. "Yeah, he's gone. I don't really..." he trailed off, distracted by the pain of standing for too long. He sat, sighing. "Yeah. Lydia too. Still, they took too much before they were destroyed. Even between just the three of us."
Lup Taaco: "Yeah... I heard it all. Sometimes I'd get glimpses of what was going on if I concentrated enough but that got hard to do when you were casting spells or if there was a lot going on... I got the gist of it all though..."
Taako: "I've never been embarrassed around you, Lup, but I dunno. What they did... I'm ashamed of it, even with you." He shrugged, finally getting up to get the things for the hot chocolate.
Lup Taaco: "It's okay, Koko... You can be all hurt and struggle walking around me and I'll forget that I'm not in an umbrella anymore," she said, resting her head in her hand. "It's what twins are for."
Taako: Taako smiled, nodding. "I think only one of us can forget at a time, like a curse," he joked. "But we still have, like, two hundred years worth of other bad shit up here." He pointed to his head. "Half of those years includes bad ways to die. Like, remember when Magnus was impaled in the stomach, and Lucretia and Barry couldn't sleep for a week?"
Lup Taaco: "Yeah," she nodded, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath. "I don't really want to think about dying though. Just came back from being dead and all and it was probably the worst way I've died so far so..." Lump trailed off and looked over at him, biting her lip.
Taako: "The umbrella didn't even kill you. You were, like, stabbed? I'm pretty sure all seven of us have been stabbed at some point."
Lup Taaco: "It wasn't just being stabbed, Taako," she said, looking down at the table and sighing. "I locked him away and kept the Phoenix Fire gauntlet from doing more damage but... I also died and got trapped in my umbrella. I-I couldn't get back to you or Barry even though I promised I would. I was trapped there and... Being imprisoned like that. It was worse than any other death I experienced. It want just the being stabbed."
Taako: "I know, Lup. Shit, just take a deep breath, yeah? It's okay. It's over."
Lup Taaco: She nodded and tipped her head back, taking in a deep breath and pushing the thoughts back. "I know it's over but I can't help feeling that it's not."
Taako: Taako made his way over to Lup, balancing himself with a white-knuckle grip on the counter. "All trauma is like that. You know we've been through a lot. And sure, nothing like this, but this ain't our first time dealing." He moved to sit, wrapping his arms around Lup. "And just like all those other times, I'm here."
Lup Taaco: Lup nodded again and leaned into her brother. "You and Barry. My two boys," she said softly. "I just need to keep reminding myself that this time it's real."
Taako: Taako pressed a soft kiss to Lup's temple before getting up to finish the hot chocolate. He stayed quiet mostly, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. After a while, he turned to Lup. "I know we don't really say this a lot, but... I love you, Lup."
Lup Taaco: Lup looked back over at him when he spoke again and smiled softly. "I love you too, Koko. You're my heart. You know that."
Taako: Taako handed Lup her mug, which looked as if there were more marshmallows than hot chocolate, and sat next to her with his own. He took a sip, humming proudly. "This may be my best batch yet."
Lup Taaco: Lup took the mug from him and held it in both hands, looking down at the marshmallows for a moment before taking a sip. "I missed your hot chocolate."
Taako: "I missed your grilled cheese. You need to make it for me and Angus tomorrow. Open his eyes, enlighten him."
Lup Taaco: Lup nodded. "I can probably do that," she said, picking one of the marshmallows off the top and popping it in her mouth.