Liam woke to a mess of wavy white hair engulfing his face. Confused, he sat up rubbing his eyes, still half asleep. His eyes came back into focus on the maze of hair in their nest of a bed. Tucked into the blankets, he found Arthur, curled into a ball and surrounded by the lengths of his beautiful hair that had grown overnight. Pushing the hair away from Arthur's face, he could see the life that had also returned to him. He really didn’t mind feeding him, especially if it had this good of an effect.

“Mmm,” Arthur stirred, stretching as he turned to face Liam. “You’re awake already?”

“Already? It’s nearly two in the afternoon,” Liam chuckled, brushing the rest of Arthur’s hair away from his face. “Come on, let’s get up. My mother is probably losing her shit right about now.”

“Mmn, okay,” Arthur reluctantly agreed, rolling over to cling to Liams waist in protest. “I don’t really want to see her but I understand. We should bring her some vegetables and maybe she will calm down more quickly. People who are full tend to be less angry.”

Liam laughed a hearty laugh this time. “I think you are quite right. Cooking for her always seems to calm her down. We can gather a few things for her and then head over. Now get your lazy butt up,” Liam teased, pulling off the rest of the blankets.

“Fine, but before we go let me check your magic again,” Arthur said in all seriousness. He pulled himself into the sitting position and held out his hands in the familiar pose, waiting for Liam to place his hands in his. “I’m really worried that I caused damage to you last night.”

Liam did his best to reassure him that he really was fine, then held onto Arthur’s hands as instructed. He relaxed and welcomed the now comforting feeling of Arthur’s magic poking around inside his body. 

Arthur let out a sigh of relief as he released Liam’s hands. “I don’t know how you did it but you feel even more stable than you have been.”

“I don’t think I’m the only one who’s more stable now,” Liam replied languidly. “I mean, just look at you. How could you manage to become even more attractive so quickly? I swear I won the lottery. Beauty, brawn and brains? Now, let’s go.”

It was practically sun down by the time they arrived at the front door of the old house. Liam hardly knocked a second time before the door was ripped open, leaving nothing for his knuckles to wrap. 

“Where the hell have you been Liam?!” Heather started in on him before he even set foot inside the door. “You just disappeared in the middle of the night and your damn phones turned off. How the fuck am I supposed to find you? Do you know how worried I was?”

Liam did his best to prevent his eyes from rolling clear back into his head. Worried? He thought. I doubt you could actually worry about me. You’re just upset not to have your maid at home. Who else is going to wait on your hand and foot? But, he kept that to himself.

“Mom, relax, I’m obviously okay. Look, we brought some food to cook dinner with. Can you let us inside now?”

Heather stepped aside to let them in, but not before giving Arthur a dirty glare. One glance over was all she needed to see that he had fed on her son. The only reason she didn’t start something over it right now was because she knew she was no match for him. If he wanted to, she knew he could kill her. That’s exactly why she didn’t approve of whatever he and her son had going on. As soon as he wasn’t useful to him anymore, he would just throw him away. She had heard plenty of stories about their silver tongues and she wasn’t going to let her guard down so easily. 

Liam rummaged through the kitchen drawers and cabinets, finding an old knife, cutting board and the spice cabinet. Pilfering through the spices he pulled out a few things he thought would go well with dinner.

“Salt doesn’t really go bad does it?” He asked, peering into the small container of salt. 

Arthur gently plucked the salt from his hands and cracked it open to give it a sniff. “It doesn’t smell weird, it should be fine. Salt’s used as a preservative anyway,” he replied, then set the salt down on the counter. He pulled a pot from one of the cabinets under the counter and filled it with water. Setting it on the stove, he lit a flame under it from thin air. 

Liam stared at him in awe. “How did you do that?” He questioned, half surprised.

“Lighting a fire to cook is a simple task. Once you are used to your magic it will be something you don’t have to think about,” Arthur responded, dropping the tomatoes into the already boiling water. “Would you cut the rest of those vegetables up for me while I make the sauce?”

“Sure,” Liam agreed, already reaching for the knife he left on the counter. 

It wasn’t long before dinner was ready and everyone sat awkwardly at the dinner table. 

Heather scarfed down her food like her life depended on it. Staying at the table any longer made her feel like she was going to explode. She wanted to give Arthur a piece of her mind and kick him out of the house but she knew it wasn’t a great idea. Never mind that she couldn’t win a fight against him but she was also trying to mend her relationship with her son. If she flew off again tonight, she knew Liam would be pissed at her. 

“Thank you for the food,” Heather said as she stood up, taking her plate into the kitchen. “I’m going to turn in for the night. There’s extra blankets and pillows in the hall closet, Arthur. Feel free to take what you need out of there. You can sleep in the living room.” Clearly she didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of him sleeping in Liam’s bedroom but she couldn’t just say that directly. She wanted to get her two cents in without directly causing a fight, so that would have to do. 

“Thank you Heather, I’ll take you up on that,” Arthur acknowledged, flashing her a fake smile. 

Satisfied with her small victory, she headed down the hall to her bedroom.

“I’ll just sleep out here with you then,” Liam chimed. “She didn’t say anything about where I had to sleep. Not like I would have listened anyway.” He opened the hall closet and pulled out a pile of old comforters, hauling them over to the fire before shaking them out. “She just has to try and control everything. She really drives me nuts.”

Once the kitchen was clean and the bed was made, Liam and Arthur settled down by the fire. Liam pulled out one of his books to study, fire light dancing across the pages. 

Arthur’s chest warmed as he watched Liam study so intently. He really was giving it his best to learn as quickly as possible. Soon, he felt like he wouldn’t be too far behind him. He leaned over to kiss Liam, happy with thoughts of their futures. He knew that their life times would be vastly different, and he would likely watch Liam grow old and die. His life but a small fraction of his own. So, he was going to savor every moment of it. Even these peaceful times, just watching Liam read. Everything they did together, he didn’t want to miss any of it.

“What was that for?” Liam asked, looking up from his book.