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Newt groaned and Percival swallowed against the tightness in his throat.
“Is daddy sick?”
Percival flinched at the small voice piping up next to him and cursed his lack of foresight. He should’ve closed the bedroom door after bringing Newt in. Not that closed doors had ever stopped Credence before. The incident of him barging into the room in the middle of the night had taught Percival and Newt to lock the door of they wanted privacy.
“Daddy is a little unwell,” Percival replied. He could hardly tell his three-year-old that his father was currently laid up in bed, groaning in pain because he’d had an unfortunate run-in with an erumpet that had apparently been cursed. Now a potion was mending the broken bones in his right arm, hip and leg. Not to mention the concussion, and the various scrapes and bruises the mediwitch had already taken care of but that were sure to still sting and ache.
“We make tea? And soup?” Credence suggested, peering up at Newt with wide eyes, his lips pursed.
“Tea might be a good idea,” Percival agreed. He set a charm that’d alert him should Newt be in distress and walked down to the kitchen with Credence. The act of making tea was soothing to his frazzled thoughts, his heartbeat slowing down to a normal level again for the first time since he’d gotten the call from hospital.
Dougal chirped at Percival’s elbow.
“Thank you for watching Credence, Dougal,” Percival reached down to stroke the demiguise’s head. “Newt is going to be alright.”
Dougal nodded like he’d known that all along and stroked a finger down Credence’s cheek before wandering off again. As much as Percival hated leaving Credence, in situations like today where he had to leave at a moment’s notice Dougal was a blessing. If possible he was even more overprotective than Percival, his natural magic casting cushioning charms and protections around Credence, so he never so much as fell down when the demiguise watched him.
“Soup too?”
“I think tea will be enough for now,” Percival forced himself to smile down at his son, though his skin felt tacky and pulled uncomfortably. He’d brewed a pain relief tea for Newt, hoping it would provide a little relief.
“Can I carry it?”
Percival’s protest got stuck behind his teeth at Credence’s hopeful look. “Sure, darling. Be careful.” He cast a cooling charm on the outside of the mug, and on second thought placed an invisible lid over it to keep it from spilling, before handing it to Credence. The boy held it with both hands and took careful steps, his tongue peeking out in concentration.
Like that they progressed at a snail’s pace, Percival following behind Credence and trying not to lose his patience because he wanted to be back by his husband’s side.
He nearly wrenched the bedroom door open when they finally reached it and walked over to the bed with Credence behind him. Newt’s face was still twisted in pain but his breathing had evened out. Percival sat down on the edge of the bed and pushed a few strands of hair, damp with sweat, away from Newt’s forehead.
“Daddy, we brought you tea!” Credence proudly lifted the mug, but his smile faltered when Newt didn’t react.
“Daddy is still asleep,” Percival took the mug and placed it on the nightstand before he lifted Credence into his lap. His son’s frown deepened as he looked at Newt, before his wide eyes turned to Percival.
“Is daddy okay?” Credence twisted in Percival’s lap and fisted his hands in the front of Percival’s shirt. His son’s concern made Percival’s chest tighten and he struggled to push his own worries aside and present a calm front for Credence. The mediwitch had said all had been healed, this was just Newt’s body recovering from the trauma and healing itself completely.
“Daddy will be just fine,” Percival carded his hands through Credence’s soft hair. “He just needs to sleep a little more, then he’ll be all better.”
“Mh.” Credence nodded but didn’t look entirely convinced, his thumb hovering close to his mouth. They’d broken him out of the habit a while ago and nowadays he only did it when truly distressed. Percival rubbed Credence’s back and leaned down to kiss his forehead, his chest feeling hollow and caved in with both the people he loved most hurting. “It’s going to be fine, I promise.”
Credence sighed deeply and burrowed into Percival’s chest. Shifting his arms so he could carry Credence, Percival walked over to the other side of the bed and toed his shoes off before settling down with his back against the headrest, Credence curled into him.
A chitter interrupted the silence and a little twig jumped from the nightstand to Percival’s shoulder. Pickett then used Percival’s chest like a slide and landed on Credence’s shoulder. He started a low, comforting chitter and his leafy arms stroked over the boy’s cheek, making him giggle.
“See, Pickett says your daddy is going to be fine and you have nothing to worry about.”
Pickett nodded enthusiastically and made himself comfortable on Credence’s shoulder. Percival gently rubbed circles on Credence’s back and hummed softly, the knot in his own chest loosening as he felt the tension draining from his son’s body. Next to him Newt sighed in his sleep. With his adrenaline dropping after the initial spike, Percival felt his own eyelids growing heavy.
***
“And then the dragon went ‘raaaaaaw’ and the diricrawl got scared.”
Percival frowned. What dragon? He was fairly certain there was no dragon in Newt’s suitcase. Unless Newt had recently adopted one and was plotting to get Percival in a good mood before telling him. It wouldn’t be good if the diricrawls got scared though.
Blinking his eyes open Percival tried to shake the heavy webs of sleep from his brain. He must’ve fallen asleep at some point. The lights in the bedroom were on, albeit dimmed, and next to him Credence was sitting on the bed with a book in his lap and apparently making up a story as he went along. Newt was awake and although his green eyes were bright with amusement as they met Percival’s, the skin around them was tight.
Percival raised an eyebrow in question, not wanting to interrupt Credence and his enthusiastic storytelling. Newt pulled a face and shrugged. Still in discomfort then, but bearable. Percival gestured for him to sit up and floated the cup of tea over.
“And then they goes into the woods and are happy. The end!” Credence declared and closed the book.
“That was a great story,” Newt rasped, taking another sip of tea. “Thank you, I feel much better.”
Credence beamed and threw himself at Newt, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck before Percival could react. Newt made a strangled noise and exhaled harshly through his nose.
“Careful.” Percival sat up and pulled Credence back. “Daddy is a little sore.”
Credence looked from Newt to Percival and back, his bottom lip trembling. “I hurt daddy?”
“You didn’t, baby,” Newt said and reached out to cup Credence’s cheek. His arm was trembling slightly and Percival had to clamp down on his own urge to pull Newt into his arms. When it didn’t seem like Credence was going to launch himself at Newt, Percival let him go. Credence shuffled forward on his knees and reached out to stroke Newt’s arm. He made hushing sounds as well, like his parents did when comforting him, and Percival’s lips curled into a smile.
Newt settled back against the headboard of the bed with a groan and put the tea on the bedside table. “C’mere,” he smiled and Credence settled against his side, overly cautious and careful this time, until Newt pulled him close.
“I’ll get you another pain relief,” Percival murmured, pressing a quick peck to Newt’s lips. “We’ll talk about how much you worried me later.”
“Mh,” Newt only smiled in return, like he knew that Percival couldn’t stay mad at him anyway. “I’ve had worse.”
“That hardly makes it better,” Percival huffed as he got out of bed and stretched, groaning when his spine popped. He really was getting old.
The rest of the house was dark and quiet and Percival yawned. No matter how heavy his limbs felt, he’d have to feed the beasts once he’d brought Newt the potion, and prepare a light snack for Credence before bed. He grabbed two vials of potion from the medicine cabinet and made his way back to the bedroom, stopping in the doorway.
Light streamed out of the room into the hallway and Newt’s and Credence’s soft voices filled the silence, the two of them curled up in bed. Credence stroked Newt’s cheek and Newt pressed a kiss to the boy’s palm. They looked comfortable and happy and warm, and Percival felt breathless for a second with happiness. When he stepped into the room his husband and his son turned to smile at him and Percival smiled back, making a fervent wish that they’d alway stay this happy.