Midnight Manor Private Residence, Sunday Evening

[pocketpretzels]

Watts couldn't pinpoint when, exactly, Steven came to bed during the night- only that he woke up in the morning clinging to Steven like a human octopus.

After waking there had been the promised breakfast in bed- French toast with syrup and fruit, of course. What followed that was- well, it may have been Steven's birthday but he had something of a gift for Watts of the variety that would normally go behind a cut tag or in the comments because NSFW.

Next up had been the part that Watts was the most apprehensive about- he'd put together a little concert of sorts of a few piano pieces he felt he'd especially mastered. But Steven had enjoyed it, so it was a success.

Late afternoon rolled around and Watts excused himself to go prepare dinner- he'd done as much of the prep work as possible yesterday but despite it not being quite as elaborate as last year's, it still did require some work day of.

Eventually, though, dinner was laid out in the dining room: A soup and salad, along with the main course (which Watts had cooked indoors, with Midnight's help, thank you). There was a cake as well, that would be brought out later. For now, there was music playing softly in the background, and all Watts needed was the birthday boy himself.

Comments

[pocketpretzels]

"And ties nicely with your cake," Watts said, excited anticipation lighting his eyes as he thought about how Steven would (hopefully) react to seeing that.

[hasaknightjob]

"Looking forward to that one," Steven said. "I know Marc liked his pie."

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"He seemed to," Watts nodded, appreciative of the outside confirmation.

[hasaknightjob]

"He didn't say much and I didn't press," Steven said. "But I know it left a good impression. Last night in general."

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"I'm glad," Watts said. "That was my intent."

[hasaknightjob]

It wasn't full heart eyes, but Steven was looking at Llewellyn with great fondness. "I - you make this a good day, Llewellyn. That at this stage of my life I have you."

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"This and all future stages, is my hope," Watts admitted.

[hasaknightjob]

"Absolutely," Steven said, without hesitation. "But - it's a nice round number, yeah? Makes you reflect. See where you are in life. And - it might not be where I thought I'd be. But I'm happy. Very happy. You're a big part of that."

[pocketpretzels]

"I'm glad," Watts said. "You deserve happiness, and- selfishly, of course, I'm glad I'm part of that."

[hasaknightjob]

"I wouldn't be happy without you," Steven said. "I - you're too wonderful. You're everything I could need and more."

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"Thank you," Watts said. "I feel- the same about you, you know."

[hasaknightjob]

Steven reached for Llewellyn's hand. "Like you didn't know you could find someone so perfect until you did?"

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Watts twined his fingers together with Steven's. "Someone who fit with me in all the best ways. Who gave his love and support freely. Who encouraged me to become a better person."

[hasaknightjob]

"Who is brave for me," Steven said, giving Llewellyn's hand a squeeze. "Who inspires me to be brave as well."

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"Who softens the sharp edges of the world for me," Watts continued.

[hasaknightjob]

"Who makes sure I don't get lost, even when I don't know where or when I am," Steven said.

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"A man who tells me when he's made a joke, who doesn't mind explaining the joke if I missed it."

[hasaknightjob]

"A man who knows that I'm not me without Marc," Steven said. "And loves and values me anyway."

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"Not in spite of," Watts said. "Never in spite of."

[hasaknightjob]

"My life fell apart a few years ago," Steven said. "Everything I knew shattered into pieces. Including me. You gathered me up. Made me feel valued. Even broken as I am."

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"You can be broken and still be beautiful, still be a treasure," Watts said, his other hand coming up to cup Steven's cheek.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven blinked as his eyes suddenly felt wet. "I love you. So much."

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"I love you too," Watts replied. "My rare one."

[hasaknightjob]

"It's an honor," Steven said. "Spending my birthday with the man I love."

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"It is an honour," Watts echoed. "Being that man. I want to spend all the rest of our birthdays together."