Arthur's Guide to Babysitting a Tinysaurus (and Sir Snot)
Author: Shadowspun
Title: Arthur's Guide to Babysitting a Tinysaurus (and Sir Snot)
Rating: G
Characters: Arthur, Mordred
Summary: Arthur watches Mordred while Morgana and Leon go on their honeymoon.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 832
Prompt: 503, cuddles
A/N: Have a kid!fic, guys. Arthur is woefully unprepared, but he rallies. I guess I should call this an actual series now, with three stories. Camelot Guides, maybe? I'll have to think about it.
Of course, it just had to happen when Morgana and Leon went on their honeymoon. There was Arthur thinking taking care of his nephew for six whole days was going to be a snap. Sure, there was the meltdown when Mordred realized Mommy and Dino weren’t coming home that first night like they usually did when Arthur babysat. That required a quick phone call to their hotel. The breathy quality in Morgana’s voice made Arthur chuckle a little evilly while Morgana reassured Mordred. A promise to call Mordred before he went to bed each night solved that problem even if it did put a tiny dampener on their romantic getaway.
There was even the monumental mistake Arthur made of putting on a movie with a clown. No one had ever told him Mordred was afraid of clowns. That was the second day.
By day five, Arthur figured he had it down. Feed the sprog. Play with him until he (Arthur) was exhausted. Feed him again. Con Mordred into a short nap, which Arthur took at the same time with the baby monitor on so he’d wake up when Mordred did. Help him with his preschool games and play again. Feed him one more time. Bathe him. Watch a movie. Read him a book and put him to bed. Do all the chores Arthur hadn’t gotten to, like dishes, picking up, and laundry. Sleep for a few hours until Mordred woke up and do it all again.
Arthur had developed a newfound respect for his sister and her new husband. His nephew was nothing short of an irresistibly adorable whirlwind who sucked all of the energy out of his caregiver. He was lucky he was so damned cute, because Arthur was going to need a vacation to recover from the vacation time he’d taken to care for Mordred and his sister’s house after he went back home.
One more night and Morgana and Leon were coming home. Arthur was cutting up the fruit he and Mordred were going to snack on while they watched one of the many Land Before Time movies. Arthur was just happy Mordred was finally out of his Elmo phase. That wretched red monster’s voice had a rent-free space in Arthur’s mind from too many times babysitting him before. Dinosaurs were always preferable to the Red Menace. Besides, he had a weakness for Spike.
He had almost finished when Mordred shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes with one hand while he held the little stuffed knight Arthur had given him as a baby. Sir Snot had been through a lot over the years. He was well-loved, and it showed. His arm had even been sewn back on once by Gwen, the neat stitches so well-done they were barely visible.
“Hey, Mordred. Figure out which movie yet?”
The boy didn’t pause but stumbled into his uncle’s leg, wrapping the hand that had been rubbing his eyes around Arthur’s knee. “No. Want Mommy. Want Dino.” He hid his face in the fabric of Arthur’s pajama bottoms.
“Aw, kiddo. They’ll be home tomorrow. You only have to put up with me one more night.” Arthur put the knife in the sink and rinsed his hands quickly when Mordred started to whimper. “Hey, I’m right here. Mommy will be calling in a little bit, remember? You can tell her good night.”
Mordred looked up, his eyes red. “Want Mommy now.” He lifted his arms and Arthur reached down to pick him up.
“It’s alright. We’ll be fine.” Arthur winced a bit when Mordred leaned his head against his neck. Was he warm?
He carried the boy and his knight out into the bathroom. “Let me just take your temperature quick, okay?”
Mordred didn’t say anything, just held on tighter to his uncle. He didn’t even say anything when Arthur had him pop his mouth open for the thermometer and just stared bleakly at him until it beeped.
“Ah, buddy, a thirty-eight point three fever? No wonder you’re not feeling well.” Arthur gathered him up and held him. “Let’s get you some water and our bananas. We’ll watch the movie until Mommy calls.”
Mordred just lay in his uncle’s arms limply, not protesting when he was left alone on the couch for the few minutes it took to come back with the water and fruit. He climbed into Arthur’s lap when he sat back down and snuggled right into his uncle’s chest.
“Want Mommy.”
“I know, Mordred. I know,” Arthur crooned. “Let’s just wait here until she calls, okay? We can watch my favorite of the movies, the one with the Tinysauruses. How’s that?” The little boy’s sniffling nod made Arthur hold him just a little tighter.
They sat with Mordred cuddled in his uncle’s lap until the little boy fell asleep, Arthur nodding along. Morgana would call soon enough and Arthur would officially put him to bed. For now, the sounds of cartoon dinosaurs accompanied both of them into a light slumber.