Angus: Angus knew for a fact that he'd messed up real bad. He'd hurt Taako's feelings in the worst of ways. In his defense, the poor boy had been mid-meltdown when he chose to announce at full volume that he hated Taako and wanted him dead. That he'd never been adopted by anyone and he stayed with his real family. In retribution to his explosion, Angus been handed off to Auntie Lup without another word. so, Angus knew, he needed to save his ass.
Taako wouldn't hurt him. Angus had learned that by now, no matter what he did, Taako wouldn't slap or spank or kick or punch. Taako was good for that. He was still upset, though, and Angus knew how to fix upset. He'd learned from his own Daddy, the best at getting upset. He crept silently from his room down the hall and pushed open Taako's door, mumbling a soft spell that silenced the old hinges - the last thing he needed was to annoy Taako further. Angus made his way slowly over to the bed, then crawled up onto the foot, not saying a word until he had Taako's attention. "I want to say sorry, Taako."
Taako: The argument they had had earlier saddened Taako to no end. He never wanted to be mad at Angus, but what parent didn't have arguments with their kids? Still, memories of his countless different relatives getting angry with he and Lup swam through his head for the majority of his night. He felt absolutely devastated, and prayed for Kravitz to be back soon to help with the situation at hand. Finally, after hours, he slipped into a restless meditation, but was shaken from it at the sound of small footprints. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he sat up to face Angus, and he smiled as the boy spoke. "It's okay, Ango. You're getting older, and arguments are going to be a part of that process."
Angus: "Yelling is never ever okay." Angus countered. He felt nervous. Not nervous in the way he knew he should feel- his old daddy always made him feel like he was gonna throw up. It made him sick. This time, though, he was nervous in an entirely different way. What if Taako didn't like him? Angus was as cute as could be, having fought between the cutesy of matching pjs and the... grown-up feeling of just boxers and a big shirt. He went for the latter. "And I feel bad, Taako, I need to fix it." he knelt in front of Taako, fidgeting with his shirt.
Taako: "Oh- uh..." Taako withdrew, standing up, immediately suspecting something was wrong. "You don't need to- Pl- You... You can't, Angus." Years of being on the giving end of things like this meant Taako could pick up on it quickly, and he knew, especially when faced with Angus initiating it, he needed to shut it down. "You can't fix it like that."
Angus: Angus shrunk away, the his stomach tightening in a knot, "You don't know what I was talking about." he countered, though it felt pretty obvious that he did. "I don't- I don't even know what /you/ mean." He was going to throw up. Angus was going to throw up right here on Taako's bed in his cute outfit and everything. His nose and eyes started to prickle with a teasing of tears.
Taako: Taako stepped closer, offering a hand out to Angus. "Angus, please, it's alright. I kn- Angus, take deep breaths, please?" Gods, was this what he was like too? Slowly, he rested his hand on Angus's shoulder. "Are you going to be sick?"
Angus: Eager to follow direction - eager to calm down, Angus took gulping breaths, curling in on himself and covering his eyes. The touch made him jump, but he nodded up at Taako, reaching up in a silent plea to be held as he closed his mouth tight.
Taako: "Come on, it's okay." He pushed Angus just a little, to urge him off the bed and to the bathroom, guiding him to the bathroom. He rubbed a hand between Angus's shoulder blades through it, knowing it would be nice to be physically grounded. "It's alright," he whispered.
Angus: Angus wasn't sure what to do. He /needed/ Taako's touch, he wanted to be held, needed a hug. On the other hand, he was throwing up. And he was probably in trouble for being a weird pervert or something. Once he finished up, Angus pulled away and hid his face again, sobbing hoarsely.
Taako: "Oh, now. Come here, let's get you cleaned up." Taako stood and readied a warm washcloth to run over Angus's flushed face. He carefully pulled his hands away from his face as he worked, smiling softly the whole way through. "There we go, how is that? Much better?"
Angus: Unable to force himself to move, Angus simply sat limply and let himself be cleaned up. He nodded as Taako finished and rubbed his hands over his eyes. Between sobs, Angus managed, "I- I didn't do an-anything wrong. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Taako: "No, you didn't, Angus. Don't apologize, okay? Come on," he said, as he stood, trying his hardest to scoop Angus up in his arms to carry him back to bed. "Are you okay with telling me what happened?"
Angus: After a moment of hesitance, Angus pushed himself up on shaky knees. He pulled the neckline of his t-shirt into his mouth, worrying it as he followed Taako back into his room, "I-I don't know." it was hard to breathe between the sobs, and each breath grated on his burning throat.
Taako: "It's okay, maybe in a bit, hm?" Taako set him down on the bed, silently thankful for the end of that travesty. He walked around the to the other side to get in next to Angus. "I need you to take some deep breaths. Do you want me to get you some water to get that gross taste out of your mouth?"
Angus: With a nod, Angus pulled a blanket off the bed and up around his shoulders. He tried to do as he was told, sucking in a few slow breaths, but his teeth stayed firmly closed around his shirt. Angus nodded up at Taako.
Taako: Taako nodded once before he got up to fetch a glass. When he came back he held it out for Angus. "Now, I want you to drink this whole thing. Your stomach is empty and it needs something in there." He sat down next to Angus.
Angus: Angus gave a small nod. He'd managed to calm down quite a bit since Taako left, doing his very best not to think about all his trouble. The water was mercifully cool and soothing for his belly, Angus finished it quite quickly and set the empty glass on the bedside. "I'm in trouble." he announced.
Taako: "You aren't," Taako combatted. "I just want an explanation. I won't get you in trouble, but I can get you help." He spoke as calmly as he could, though he found it ironic that his exact tone of voice wouldn't work to persuade him. Still, he tried to sound as understanding as possible. "I'm not mad, I'm not disappointed. I'm concerned. I want to help you, Angus."
Angus: "I'm in /trouble."/ Angus pulled the blanket up around his head, hiding under it. "I'm- I'm just gross and that's it!" he didn't like this, he didn't like talking, he wanted to fix it. He had such good plans to fix it, why did Taako have to be so... mean?
Taako: Taako shook his head, hushing Angus softly. "You're not. I'm not mad, Angus. I want to help you."
Angus: With a soft screech of frustration, Angus threw the blanket down, "I don't- I want to go to bed. I'm not gonna talk about anything!"
Taako: Taako threw hand hands up. "Okay! Alright, if that's what you want to do. We don't have to talk about this now, but if you ever want to..." He trailed off, sliding under the covers. "I just want you to know, I'm here and I'll understand."
Angus: "You think I'm gross." Angus announced, pushing himself off the bed, "You're gonna think I'm a nasty gross boy. You're gonna tell Kravitz and everyone and everyone's gonna know I'm /gross!"/
Taako: "Of course not, Angus. I just said I won't. Listen, I want to help you. This is obviously affecting you and you don't like it."
Angus: Angus rubbed at his eyes, "You can't fix it. You can't fix anything, it's not your fault, no one can fix it." he crossed his arms up over his face, trying to focus on his breathing again.
Taako: "I can, Angus, you know why? Because I went through the same thing. And look at me now, hm? I saved the whole world, you think I can't help out you out too?" He moved closer, resting a hand on Angus's shoulder. "Angus, I care about you. I care about your wellbeing."
Angus: After a moment of standing silently, Angus lowered his arms, "You can't... you can tell something's wrong with me."
Taako: "Of course I can. I mean, it was obvious right from the start, but you're clever, so I thought you knew how to keep it at bay." Taako sat up, avoiding Angus's gaze in an uncharacteristically shy moment. "I didn't know it was this bad," he said, mostly to himself.
Angus: "Can everybody tell?" Angus inched back over, sitting back on the bed and re-wrapping himself in the blanket, head exposed this time. "Does... Kravitz know? Auntie Lup?"
Taako: "Not everyone, but Lup? Probably." He sighed. "I don't want to make you nervous about it, Angus. The only reason I'd tell anyone was out of the best intentions."
Angus: Angus felt his stomach curdle, "I'm gross." his feet wriggled nervously, his ears flicking uselessly against his head, "I- I don't want people to know I'm a pervert."
Taako: "You aren't, Angus." He reached up and slowly ran his hand over Angus's hair, calmingly. "No one would ever say that about you, because it's untrue. Listen, someone tried to convince you that things like that are okay. But you have to realize that they aren't. Now, it's not your fault, because you don't know any better, but you need to find ways to cope with the abuse that you've endured." He sighed, leaning over to bring Angus closer as a surge of emotion ran through him. "I just don't like how I can... see what was done to you."
Angus: "Not abuse." Angus murmured, leaning into the hand. "I thought maybe- I knew you might freak out, but I was just trying to be a nice boy. Do something nice for you because I love you."
Taako: "It w- Angus. I- Thank you for the effort. I just need you to understand that it... It was abuse, Angus. You're a detective, you've seen some shit, and I'm sure some of that shit was more, uh, mature than others. You know what you went through looks like if it carries on too long."
Angus: Angus shook his head and leaned against Taako, cuddling to his side, "He didn't- okay. Let me... He hurt me /sometimes./ That's all. And that wasn't good, that part was mean, but when we got to have sex, that wasn't mean. It was very much nice and careful."
Taako: Taako took a shaky breath, exhaling slowly. "No matter how nice it was, you were too young, and he was taking advantage of you. It was r- It was bad. You were too young..." He hugged Angus tighter, fighting back tears that threatened to fall.
Angus: "Can't- he couldn't take advantage, I was smart! I'm a smart boy!" Angus wriggled a little, traced his fingers over Taako's arms. "He couldn't ever trick me."
Taako: "Angus, no amount of arguing can justify this. You were too young, and that's bad. You know the law, don't you?" he said, almost quietly. "It doesn't matter how nice it was, he was using you and your vulnerability and your naiveté to get what he wanted. I'm sorry."
Angus: Angus whimpered, but didn't try and fight Taako. "I'm not in trouble." he reestablished. "Are you going to tell? Anybody? Can it please be private, please?"
Taako: "Angus, I want to help you. We can get you therapy in secret, no one has to know about it."
Angus: With a nod, he laid his head on Taako, "Not even Kravitz?"
Taako: "Unless you want me to tell him, no. I want you to feel safe, Angus."