Butler eases himself onto the sofa, closing his eyes with a sigh of relief. He doesn't mind helping Mrs. Fowl with her last-minute charity bake sale—he's happy to do his part in raising money for the children's hospital—but making a full table's worth of dessert in two days takes a lot of out a body.

He hasn't been sitting for more than ten minutes when he hears the door open, followed by Juliet's voice. "Finally taking a break, are we?"

"Hush," he says in reply.

She sits down next to him and tucks her legs underneath her, nudging his arm aside so she can snuggle up against him as she unlocks her phone with a soft click.

"Staying long?" he asks dryly.

"I'm cold and you generate the most body heat, plus you deserve a break. Somebody has to make sure you don't go jumping up again in two minutes because you think something's burning."

"What if something is burning?"

"Then Angeline can deal with it for a little while."

"After the crepes incident, I'm not so sure."

Juliet opens AO3 in her browser, leaving Butler to doze off. They're interrupted a while later by the door opening again. Artemis is bundled up in his favorite grey cardigan, hugging himself for warmth. "There you are. I came to tell you central heating is down, and we can't get anyone in to fix it until tomorrow."

Juliet groans. "Seriously? It's like the coldest day of the year. Couldn't it wait until spring to break on us?"

"Complaining won't change the facts, nor will it make us any warmer," Artemis says with a shiver. Noticing this, Butler pats the empty spot on his other side, inviting Artemis to join them. He pads over to take the offered seat, resting his head on Butler's chest as he pulls out his own phone to check the Financial Times. Butler goes back to his much-needed nap, and the three of them stay like that for the rest of the afternoon, warm and cozy...

Until Angeline sets off the fire alarm.