He hums happily at the way Joshua touches him there. His own hand comes to join his, fingers linked.

"Oh, she'll be fine." He swats his other hand in the air in a vague gesture. "I'll just bring her and her pups a treat from the market next time I see them. Her daughter is becoming a little too obsessed with blueberries lately." He winks. "I'll use that to my advantage."

He pulls away now, as easy as the tide pulls back from the shore - sure to return eventually - to grab Avery and redirect him from shoving a tiny (but thankfully now, clean) hand straight into the pie cooling on the counter. He picks the squealing boy up into his arm, taps him on the nose with a finger. "Do you mind bringing your son out later? And remember his sealskin..." He pauses, his face briefly unreadable, a pain that he thought had left him long ago, rising to the surface of his heart just for a split second. "...it's in the trunk by the bed."