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Kravitz wasn't a nervous man. He got embarrassed sometimes, he wasn't shameless, but most of the time he was rather confident in his own abilities. Nevertheless, Taako had a way with pinpointing his every anxiety and bringing them to the surface.
"Of course I can pick Angus up," Kravitz said as brightly as he could manage, thankful Taako couldn't see his petrified expression on the other end of the phone. "It's no problem, I would be happy to."
"Are you sure, Krav?" There was some movement in the background of the call, and then silence; Taako must have closed himself into an empty office. "I'm so sorry to put this on you, my man, but I called everyone else and somehow they're all fuckin' busy--"
"No, no, I promise, Taako. It's fine." Kravitz did work a very demanding job as well, but at least he was a higher up in the music production company he worked for. Taako was a "glorified secretary" (his words, not Kravitz's) at some tech firm and was routinely treated like shit. The fact that he could get paid double for all his overtime was the only thing that kept him at the job but, from what Kravitz knew, his entire massive family was almost begging him to find new work.
Taako gave him the address of the school and when Angus would be released from classes, and then said a rushed, quiet goodbye under the sound of someone angrily calling his name. If Kravitz were a more rash man he would probably have stormed into the offices where Taako worked and shouted right back at whoever it was, but he took a deep breath and set his cellphone down instead.
Kravitz knew he was the very, very last choice for this, and after three months of dating Taako and meeting his son twice, he wasn't at all offended. Taako would probably send Phantasmal Killer at anyone who looked at the kid wrong, he was so unflinchingly protective. Even if they'd had hundreds of dates and Taako saw him be cordial to his boy thousands of times Kravitz knew he would be just as suspicious as any other random man.
Going to get Angus from school was a big thing for Taako, and for Kravitz. The Elf wouldn't trust most people as far as he could throw them normally. If Kravitz fucked this up, he would be gone for good.
With this in mind, Kravitz shut down his computer, picked up his car keys, and got ready to leave for the day.
Angus looked a lot smaller outside of his school than he did in his own home. Part of that was probably Taako's absence from beside him, where he remained the whole time Kravitz and Angus interacted, but the other part was probably the other students leaving the school around him. He was tiny for an eight year old and he seemed to be going to a high school.
He wasn't completely isolated there, which alleviated Kravitz' fear as he watched. A few students waved goodbye to him and he smiled back, looking awfully shy and cute in a way that was likely not contrived--everyone cooed at him and a few patted his shoulders instead of touching his curls as they passed.
Kravitz got out of his car at the curb and stood on the passenger side, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair to hopefully make himself more recognizable. Angus looked over at him within moments, and after narrowing his eyes at the passenger window (maybe to check that Taako wasn't in the car), walked across the grass-lined sidewalk until he was standing a few feet away.
"Hello, Mr Kravitz," Angus said, his head tilted back a bit to look directly at the taller man. He adjusted his round glasses with his index finger and his mouth tilted into a wry smirk. "You don't have to look so nervous. I'm only eight."
Kravitz cleared his throat and thanked every god that his skin was too dark to see a blush through. "Kind of worried about Taako," he said honestly, and when Angus' face fell, he quickly asked, "How was your day? Learn anything new?"
Angus let himself into the car and buckled his own seatbelt, making Kravitz feel vindicated in not offering to help out of fear. "No, not really. Today was a slow day." He turned dark eyes, somehow so like Taako's despite their complete lack of genetic connection, onto Kravitz as he pulled away from the curb and onto the street. "Is something wrong with Taako? He texted me and told me you would be coming, but…."
"Ah, no. Nothing is wrong with him." Kravitz knew he sounded cagey and suspicious but he couldn't help it. "He only said no one else was available, so."
That didn't seem to be the right answer. Angus wrapped his arms around the bag in his lap and faced forward, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry, Mr Kravitz. I hope you weren't too busy."
"Just Kravitz is fine. And no, I wasn't. I'm, um, I'm happy to help." He watched Angus perk up as they turned the opposite direction from his and Taako's apartment and explained, "I'm taking you to my house. Taako said he can come pick you up this evening but he's working late. Which you probably already… know."
Angus leveled a worried look at him. "Sir, I can stay at home alone. You don't have to take care of me."
Kravitz glanced back at him for just a moment, and then watched the road. "I know I don't have to. But I want to. We could, um, get to know each other a bit."
Angus pursed his lips but didn't say anything else. They passed the rest of the ten minute drive in silence, Angus absorbed in looking out the window--probably remembering the directions from the school to where they were going, which was a good practice to have, in Kravitz's opinion--and Kravitz resisting the urge to fiddle with the radio just for some sound in the silence. When they pulled up to his townhouse Angus eyed it curiously, sitting still long enough that Kravitz could open his door for him. He startled a bit at the movement but quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out of the car onto Kravitz's driveway.
"Make yourself at home," Kravitz said as they entered his house, setting his keys on the entryway table and closing the door behind them. Angus stepped forward and looked around slowly and curiously like a cat getting familiar with its new residence. Kravitz went to the kitchen so he wasn't just watching Angus, which probably would have made him uncomfortable.
It didn't take long for a sock-footed little human to enter the kitchen after him, holding his school books to his chest, ready to start his homework. Kravitz set a glass of water in front of him and he smiled gratefully, seeming more relaxed already. Now was probably not the best time to ask personal questions, so Kravitz went upstairs to get his laptop and bring it back down to at least keep Angus company while he worked.
The opportunity to talk didn't come up. Angus was engrossed in studying but could be pried away long enough to pick what dinner they ordered in. He very politely put his work away when it was time to eat, and Kravitz followed his example, but he did insist that they eat on the floor in the living room in front of the television.
Kravitz knew that Taako wasn't a stickler for eating at tables, but Angus still sent him a shy, happy smile that made his heart melt. They were sitting companionably close, mouths full of pad thai and watching Forensic Files, when all of a sudden Angus put his plate on the floor and buried his head in his hands.
Kravitz panicked. Kids were hard, so crying kids were impossible. He wasn't sure if it would be better to hug Angus or leave him alone and wasn't sure how to ask. He did say, "Come sit on the couch, Angus," and held the boy gently by the elbow to help him up. "I'm going to… um, I'll be right back." He took their food into the kitchen, leaving both plates on the counter, and then came back out to the living room and pulled the throw off the chair in the corner to wrap around Angus' shoulders.
"Sorry," Angus said, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. He seemed calm again, now that the brief spell of tears was over, but also grateful for the blanket. "I'm alright now, sir, I was just a little upset." He sniffled and curled his legs up underneath himself.
"Can I help? What happened?" Kravitz sat sort of beside him but a bit further away than before, just in case it was his fault.
Angus shook his head slowly. "I was just… thinking about my daddy. He's working too hard because I can't take care of myself, I'm not being a very good son--"
They were interrupted by a knocking at the door. "One moment, darling," Kravitz said, standing again and walking to the door. Taako didn't text and say he was on his way, which is what he told Kravitz he would do when his overtime ended. Whoever was at the door better have a good excuse because it was seven pm and Kravitz was already very stressed out.
He looked through the peephole. Then he sighed, steeled himself, and opened the door.
Magnus Burnsides was standing on the other side with his arms crossed over his chest. Kravitz had barely gotten a chance to welcome him in before he was looking over Kravtiz's shoulder; Kravitz knew the exact moment he saw Angus because he was being grabbed by the front of his button down and pulled forward.
"No, Magnus, it's okay!" There was a sharp, quick pit-pat of feet, and then Angus was basically between them, holding onto Magnus' arm with both hands. Kravitz didn't try to resist him, because Magnus probably had no qualms about killing him, Taako's boyfriend or not. "Magnus, it's not his fault. Please let him go?"
"What did you do to Ango?" Magnus growled while tightening his hand in Kravitz's shirt.
Kravitz held both hands up, palms open. "I didn't do anything. We were just going to have a talk about it when you came over."
Magnus eyed him over for another second before dropping him. "Taako told me to come get you, Djangus. You're staying with me and Julia tonight." He ran his fingers through Angus' hair, something Kravitz wouldn't dare do, but Angus just closed his eyes under his touch. "Get your books, okay?"
Angus nodded and did as he was asked, leaving Kravitz and Magnus alone in the doorway.
"Sorry about that!" Magnus said cheerfully. His eyes were still boring holes in Kravitz' skull.
"No problem." While Kravitz wasn't a traditional magic user, he was a devout follower of one of the more distrusted gods, and he assumed Taako's family knew about it. He had certain abilities not unlike a Warlock that came with his acolyte status that literally manipulated life and death. "You're really not at all intimidated?" he asked, kind of unnecessarily, while straightening the collar of his shirt.
Magnus grinned. "Nope!" he said, popping the "p," and just then Angus came back around the corner with his backpack.
Kravitz crouched to eye level with him and he turned around; the redness around his eyes and unnatural paleness of his normally brown face made Kravitz' heart clench. "Hey, Angus," he murmured, mouth twisted as he thought of what to say. "You're an amazing son. Taako always talks about you, how smart you are, how self-reliant you are. He loves you very much. Him working hard isn't your fault."
Maybe that was too patronizing. Angus didn't seem annoyed, if it was. He tilted his head, blinked, and then thanked him quietly. Then he took Magnus' hand and let himself be led out the door and to Magnus' pickup. Kravitz stood straight and waved, earning only a smile in return just like Angus' classmates did, and then the two were gone.
Kravitz texted Taako that Magnus came and got his son, and as he was finishing his dinner Taako sent him a bunch of hearts and kissing emojis. A few minutes later, in his suddenly oppressively quiet house, Kravitz got another message.
thx for watching my baby!! ur a lifesaver
It was short and simple, much more concise than Taako usually spoke or texted, but the whole night represented some leveling of their relationship that Kravitz was thankful to experience. Plus, now that he was proved trustworthy, Taako would maybe ask Magnus to back down a bit next time. Maybe.