Midnight Manor Private Residence, Saturday Evening

[pocketpretzels]

After their usual jaunt over to the mainland, Watts had headed to the kitchen to do a bit of baking, and then to the library for some piano practice.

And as he'd told Steven the other day at lunch, he was close to mastering the piece he was currently working on. Maddeningly close, in fact. So absorbed was he in getting to the point where he could play it through without a stumble that he did not notice as the hour ticked over past that where he usually stopped for the evening so he and Steven could have dinner together. Instead, he kept playing, and playing, single-minded in his determination to finally master the piece.

Comments

[pocketpretzels]

"Mmm, but then you'd have to get up, wouldn't you?" Watts said, a note of complaint in his voice. "To get paper."

[hasaknightjob]

"I didn't say now," Steven said. "More as a concept. It might be a nice story."

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh," Watts relaxed again. "Well. Yes. You're not wrong there."

[hasaknightjob]

"You think?" Steven asked. He'd been nervous about suggesting it. His anxiety couldn't help but make him wonder if Llewellyn's protest had been a sign he shouldn't pursue it. "It's only - well it's a fairy tale, isn't it? Sweet, I thought."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts's protest had only been in regards to the idea of Steven moving right then.

"I love your stories," Watts reminded him. "I'd like- to hear your take on a fairy tale."

[hasaknightjob]

"Yeah?" Steven started to smile again. "Maybe I'll give it a go sometime. And - and maybe it's something we could read to our children someday."

[pocketpretzels]

"I'd like that," Watts said with a soft smile. "A great deal."

[hasaknightjob]

"Long as we're sort of dreaming," Steven said. "Thinking of things that could be nice."

[pocketpretzels]

"Of course," Watts nodded. "Nice, and- not impossible," he reminded Steven.

[hasaknightjob]

"Possible," Steven agreed. "Not a guarantee they'll happen, not a guarantee that they won't either."

[pocketpretzels]

"Regardless, you and I," Watts said. "You and I, we get our happy ending."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven looked down at Llewellyn fondly. "I like the sound of that. You and me. Something I didn't think possible once."

[pocketpretzels]

"Me neither," Watts said. "But we found each other."

[hasaknightjob]

"We're each other's fairy tale in a way," Steven said. "Dream come true. Something we thought out of reach but very much real."

[pocketpretzels]

"You did mend my broken heart," Watts pointed out. "If that's not a fairy tale, I don't know what is."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven rest his free hand on Llewellyn's chest, right over his heart. "Perhaps that's my special power in this fairy tale. I can heal you."

[pocketpretzels]

"How magical," Watts said, reaching to twine his fingers with Steven's. "And heroic."

[hasaknightjob]

"Perhaps when the knight kisses the prince, that's what happens," Steven said, warming up to the idea. "The prince went to sleep because his heart was broken and he couldn't see a reason to try to stay awake. But then the knight came along and showed that his love was returned."

[pocketpretzels]

"Yes," Watts said. "He went to sleep heartbroken, and the world changed around him as he slept. Until the knight arrived and woke him."

[hasaknightjob]

"How much did things change while he slept?" Steven asked. He kept running his fingers through Llewellyn's hair in a slow, gentle motion.

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh, loads," Watts said. "Plenty of it good- the people when he woke had- a broader understanding of what love could encompass. Treated those who were different much better, too. Far from perfect- but leaps ahead of what the prince was accustomed to."

[hasaknightjob]

"I like that," Steven said. "More love in the world. Compassion. So it's not just the knight who's reaching out. The world is too."

[pocketpretzels]

"And for those things that are- confusing. Overwhelming. The knight is there too, ever patient as the prince learns to navigate this new world."

[hasaknightjob]

"He protects the prince," Steven suggested. "With a shield or - or a nice coat, maybe."

Not a cape. Capes were silly.

[pocketpretzels]

"Either, both, depending on the situation," Watts agreed. "Different problems require different solutions."