Chapter Text
Harry woke up in his room without a memory of getting there in the first place. The last thing he remembered of the night before was falling asleep on the couch between his new parents. A warm feeling flooded into his chest at the new memory. Harry crawled out of his soft cocoon and wandered into the dimly lit hallway. A lighter quilt draped over his shoulders like a cape.
After making his way down the stairs, Harry found Martin at the stove, making tea and humming along to a song on the radio. Jon was nowhere in sight. The bottom stair creaked to announce Harry’s presence and Martin smiled at him. Martin waved his hand to signal him over.
Harry was hesitant, but he walked over. Being a short, malnourished 8 year old, he couldn’t see what Martin was doing, but that was quickly remedied. Martin lifted Harry onto the counter (he would regret this in later years, as it inspired a habit in Harry) and started to explain to him the process of making a proper cup of tea. The Cadet had jumped up to the counter and curled into Harry’s lap without him noticing.
“... After steeping the tea, be sure to throw the teabags into the compost. Jon uses them for the garden and gets a bit pissy if he sees one in the garbage.” Harry giggled a bit as Martin started to intimidate the man.
“It’s important to the environment, Martin! The plants grow better with the tea!” Martin had tried to deepen his voice, but ended up sounding too gravelly and painful. Harry made eye contact with Jon, who now stood unimpressed at the bottom of the stairs. He had a hand on his hip and one eyebrow raised.
“Was that really your impression of me? Because it just sounded like you’re sick.” Martin whirled around, cheeks pink as Harry tried to hold in a smile. Martin crossed his arms and looked at Jon with narrowed eyes.
“Well maybe you always sound like you have a sore throat. You don’t even know how your voice sounds.” The argument was weak, but after a moment of silence, the kitchen erupted with cackles. Jon was leaning against the banister and Martin leaned back against the stove, wiping happy tears that leaked from his eyes. Harry clutched his blanket tighter as he tried to regain his breath. The Cadet yeowled for attention and Harry scratched behind her ears to appease the tiny beast.
“I was making tea when you so rudely interrupted. We’re out of breakfast foods, so we need to make a trip into the village as quickly as possible.” Martin said with a sigh. Jon was quick with a solution.
“How about we drink our tea and get dressed. We can have breakfast in the village.” Harry looked to Martin and nodded his head shyly to Jon. Harry slipped off the counter, set the kitten on the floor, and rushed up the stairs back to his bedroom. Jon and Martin decided to stay together for a few moments alone. Jon made his way over to Martin and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Their foreheads connected softly and tender smiles graced their love sick faces.
“I kind of expected to be married before we had a kid” Jon blushed at the idea and hid his face in Martin’s shoulder. Martin chuckled slightly and gave his beloved’s head a chaste kiss. Jon made a muffled sound into Martin’s neck.
“Come on, Jon. If we’re going into the village, I would suggest getting out of your pajamas.” Jon gave another miffed response, but uncurled from his place between Martin’s neck and shoulder. He gave Martin’s cheek a quick kiss and walked back to their room to change. He stopped by Harry’s room and knocked waiting for an answer. There was subtle thud and a soft groan.
“Harry? Are you alright?” Jon had to stop himself from entering the room at the noise.
“Fine! Ju- I just tripped over something. I’m alright.” There was the padding of light footsteps and the door creaked open. Harry’s hair was a mess and he was drowning in a too big shirt. Jon realized he had probably startled at the knock, used to an unfriendly presence on the other side. It made him shake a little with anger and frown a little with regret.
“Well, I thought you might want to take a shower. I don’t think you took one yesterday, so I would recommend it. I’m going to get dressed and be downstairs with Martin. Take as much time as you need.” Harry nodded. Jon smiled and walked further down to his and Martin’s room.
Not much of the closet was individual. A lot of the sweaters, hoodies, and t-shirts were mutual property. However, Jon and Martin each had their favorites that the other was not allowed to lay claim to. On this day, Jon decided to wear one of these tops. An older, black crew-neck sweatshirt that had the Mechanisms’ logo embroidered over the left breast along with “D’Ville” stitched in under it. It had been a small token of his university years that still made him smile. Basira and Georgie had insisted on doing something for the band’s 3 year anniversary and it consisted of sweatshirts and getting drunk.
As he decided that the crew-neck with an older pair of jeans and his jacket would be enough to fend off the cold, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jon Knew it was Harry and went to answer. Harry was looking at the ground in embarrassment.
“I don’t know how to turn on the shower or where the towels are.” He mumbled softly. Jon smiled.
“It’s alright, Harry. I’ll show you. All you need to do is ask.”