Midnight Manor Private Residence, Saturday Morning

[pocketpretzels]

At some point during the night, a restless Watts had woken up, scrawled a quick note for Steven that let him know he was heading downstairs to make a cup of tea, and then gone to do just that.

Due to the magic of Fandom, he'd never actually made it all the way back upstairs, and so it was a tiny Llewellyn fast asleep on the couch in the library, arms curled around an equally fast asleep Raphael that morning.

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[hasaknightjob]

Steven eventually woke up around about when Raphael needed to be fed. He noticed he was alone, and briefly wondered if Llewellyn had gotten up to take care of their cat son already.

But Llewellyn's side of the bed was cold. Sitting up, Steven spied the note and felt relief. He could stay in bed and have a lie in, but the fact that Llewellyn had been gone a while suggested it had been a bad night again and Steven didn't want to leave Llewellyn alone for too long.

So Steven got up and headed downstairs.

"Llew? You about?"

[pocketpretzels]

He was about, yes, but still very much asleep, and so not responding to Steven's question.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven knew Llewellyn wouldn't have left without updating his note so he had to be in the house somewhere. The library was Llewellyn's favorite room, so it was the natural place to check.

When Steven saw the small, familiar figure on the couch, he realized what must have happened.

Not wanting to startle Llewellyn, Steven came in quietly. He attempted to gently adjust the blanket Llewellyn was using to make sure the child was tucked in and warm.

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"Mrrph," Llewellyn grumbled, arms instinctively tightening around Raphael. Who, remarkably, did not offer any sort of protest of his own at being manhandled (kidhandled?) so.

[hasaknightjob]

"It's all right," Steven said, softly. "You're safe."

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"Hrrm?" Well, now he was blinking awake, staring sleepily at Steven.

[hasaknightjob]

"Good morning," Steven said, still keeping his voice quiet. "You can sleep more if you like."

[pocketpretzels]

Llewellyn shook his head, already starting to sit up, though he was still keeping his arms curled around Raphael as he did so.

The cat continued to be extremely patient with all of this, it should be noted.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven moved back so Llewellyn had room to sit up. He made a mental note to give Raphael extra treats for being so patient.

"Hello there," Steven said. "Have you been about long? Do you know?"

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Llewellyn scrunched up his face in thought. "About what?" he asked.

[hasaknightjob]

"Have you been here long?" Steven clarified. "On the couch?"

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"I don't know," Llewellyn admitted. "I just woke up."

[hasaknightjob]

"Probably not too long then," Steven concluded. Which was good. It meant Llewellyn hadn't been alone for long. "How do you feel? Are you hungry? Would you like breakfast?"

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"Yes!" Llewellyn said enthusiastically. It was a response that worked for at least the last two of those three questions.

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"How about some fruit and pancakes?" Steven asked, since those would be easy to throw together while being more substantial than cereal. "You could keep me company while I make them?"

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Llewellyn nodded excitedly. "And what about the cat?" he asked, gently patting Raphael's head. "He needs breakfast too."

[hasaknightjob]

"You're right, he does," Steven said. "Would you like to help by feeding him and giving him fresh water?"

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Another excited nod. "Can I?"

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"Absolutely," Steven said. He held out a hand for Llewellyn to take if he wanted. "Shall we?"

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Llewellyn glanced at the offered hand, looking thoughtful. It meant he'd have to let go of Raphael, yes, but...

He gave the cat one last careful pat, and then reached out to take Steven's hand.

[hasaknightjob]

"You could hold on to Raphael if you'd prefer," Steven said. "I don't mind."

Whether Raphael did was up to him, of course.

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"No," Llewellyn shook his head. "I wanna hold YOUR hand."

Raphael, for the record, was winding around Llewellyn's legs, brushing his cheek against them, an action that was making Llewellyn giggle.

[hasaknightjob]

It was very important for Raphael to do that. Otherwise Llewellyn could belong to any cat! Good that Raphael made sure to make it clear that Llewellyn was his.

"All right then," Steven said. He gave Llewellyn's hand a squeeze. "Let's go to the kitchen. We can take care of Raphael's breakfast first."

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"Good 'cause I think he's staaaaaaaarving," Llewellyn said dramatically.

[hasaknightjob]

"He told you that, did he?" Steven asked. Because he knew very well Raphael did sing that song in the mornings. "We'll have to fix that then."

Steven led the way into the kitchen. Once there, he gave Llewellyn's hand a squeeze before letting go. "Here. I'll get a step stool to help you reach the sink. Do you remember where Raphael's food is? It's all right if you don't."