It was a warm Spring afternoon, and Arthur Kirkland was busy in the kitchen making cupcakes. While he baked, his son, Alfred, was on his way outside. Just as he was about to run off, Arthur thought about his other son. Mathieu wasn't technically his biological son, but he promised Mathieu's father to love him like he was. Ever since Mathieu and Francis came to America, Mathieu has refused to come out of his room. Even when Francis returned to his home country, Mathieu refused to come out of his room.
"Alfred, is your brother still hiding in his room?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to Haru's house." Al said.
"Why not take him with you? It'd be a good idea for Mattie to get some fresh air." Arthur smiled.
"What? Are you kidding me? Matt's a bummer, I can't take him with me." Al whined.
"That wasn't a suggestion, that was an order. Now go upstairs and have your brother come down to play." Arthur hissed.
"Y-yes sir." Al sighed, slamming the door behind him.
As Al headed upstairs, Matt laid in his bed looking out the window. He hated being in America. He was hated sleeping with Alfred, he hated baseball, and he was beginning to hate cupcakes. . . .okay maybe not cupcakes, they were pretty good. As his mind began to drift away from brooding about leaving Canada, Alfred burst through the door.
"Get up, Sad Sack! Dad wants you to come outside. Let's go!" Al sighed.
"Fine, I'm coming." Matt sighed.
Once Matt got dressed, Al dragged him out the door and headed towards Haru's place. Matt didn't like hanging out with Al's friends, however this would be the first time he'd meet Haru. As they walked up to a two story cream colored house, Matt was shocked by the navy blue shutters and the different potted plants decorating the porch. As Al knocked on the door, a young girl with long black hair and dark blue eyes stood in the doorway.
"Al, what are you doing here?" Haru asked.
"I came to see if you wanted to play. Oh, and this is my brother, Mathieu." Al said, pointing to Matt, who was standing in at the end of the walkway.
"Hi Mattie, sure just let me ask my dad. Come on in, guys." Haru said.
As they walked in, Matt grumbled beneath his breath. He hated people calling him "Mattie," however Haru seemed like a nice kid. As they walked in, Matt was surprised at how tidy the house was. Then again, Arthur's house was real clean too. Which seemed to be shocking since Al was a walking dirt magnet. As they walked into the kitchen, a young man sat at the kitchen table reading a book. He had long white hair and golden eyes, and his glossy cream colored skin.
"Daddy, can I go play with my friends?" Haru asked.
"Hmm? Oh hey Alfred, who's your friend?" The man asked, patting Al's head.
"Hi Mr. Gray, this is my brother, Matt." Al said, nudging Matt.
"Nice to meet you, Matt. Would you boys like a snack?" Mr Gray asked.
"Oh yeah, snack time. Can we have some chips daddy?" Haru asked.
"Sure, I put them in the cabinet." He smiled, "After your snack, you guys are welcome to stay and play with Haru."
Haru smiled, pushing a stool against the sink. As she climbed towards the cabinet, Al smiled at the large bag of chips in the cupboard. Climbing back down, Haru rushed into the living room with the chips, Matt and Al followed behind her.
"So, what do you guys wanna do first?" Haru asked, ripping open the chip bag.
"Hmm, how about? Oh I know, let's be superheroes!" Al smiled.
"Super heroes, that's random. Well, what should our names be?" Haru said, stuffing her face.
"I wanna be Captain Maple." Matt said, licking his fingers.
"Not bad, then I'll be. . . Lady Velvet!" Haru smiled.
"Cool, and I'll be the villain. The Mighty Batman." Al smiled.
"Batman is a superhero, stupid." Matt sighed.
"No he isn't, Batman kills people. He's killed the Joker like three times." Al growled.
"Actually Batman is a superhero, but you can be . . . Dr. Alfiend." Haru said, tying a blanket around her neck. "I think I've got a lab coat upstairs."
"Excellent." Al said, tenting his fingers.
Once the children were geared up, the adventures of Captain Maple and Lady Velvet were heard throughout the household. Dr. Alfiend was planning to blow up the dam so that he could flood the city, but Captain Maple held the dam together with maple syrup while Lady Velvet captured Dr. Alfiend with her velvet lasso. As Haru and Matt stood triumphantly over Al, Mr. Gray walked in with a young woman in a black suit.
"Having fun, Haru?" Mr. Gray asked.
"Huh? Oh, hi daddy. . . .welcome home Phoebe." Haru sighed, glaring at the woman.
"I have a photo shoot to go to, so Phoebe's taking you to karate class." Mr. Gray said, "I'll see you later tonight, okay?"
"Okay, bye daddy." Haru sighed, kissing his cheek.
"Tell your little friends goodbye, Haruka. Afterwards, head upstairs and put on your gi." Phoebe said.
Haru hugged Al and Matt, then walked upstairs. As they headed home, Al couldn't stop laughing at the blush spreading across Matt's face.
"Looks like you had fun, Captain Maple." Al teased.
"Huh? Shut up about that, okay? Don't say anything to Artie." Matt sighed.
"Whatever, I'm just glad you stop brooding. It was getting annoying." Al said.
"Yeah, I like Haru. He's nice." Matt said, opening the door.
"He? Wait Matt, Haru's not a . . .or is she?" He said, closing the front door.
