It had been a long day in the office and Arthur wanted nothing more than to return home and rest in his favorite armchair before dinner. Entering, he heard the familiar noises of dinner being prepared and called out in greeting while removing his jacket and shoes before moving further into the house. He would have checked on dinner, however Francis had long ago banished Arthur from the kitchen before any meals for fear he would "help" is some way. So, with a sigh he fell into his chair and closed his eyes.
He hadn't been there for very long before he became uneasy. He could feel a presence somewhere nearby and that this unknown entity was watching him. Arthur cracked one weary green eye open to find a small boy standing in front him staring intently. Grudgingly, he opened both eyes to look towards the small child that watched him with his violet eyes wide.
"Is there something that you need?"
The boy looked shocked for a moment, before clutching his bear tighter and nervously looking down at the floor. He shook slightly while he opened his mouth attempting to voice something although Arthur couldn't hear anything. Trying to be encouraging no matter how frustrated he was, Arthur attempted to wait patiently for the child to say something.
It was while he was distracted that something suddenly landed in his lap causing him to yelp in surprise. The boy in his lap wasted no time before lunging forward and grabbing Arthur's face in his hands, looking him in the eyes and stating "Glad your back!" in a bright and cheerful manner. He then leapt off his lap and high-tailed it out of the room, his distinguishable laugh carrying back and his brother two steps behind him.
Stunned, Arthur didn't move for a while, even after the laughter faded out and the only sounds emanated from the kitchen once again. It was then that he came to the awful realization that that ridiculous child's hands had been covered in something wet and slimy. And to make matters worse, whatever it was that was now coating his cheeks was starting to dry and become sticky. Grumbling and scowling he reached a finger to his face and touched one of the spots to discern what it was.
When he tried to reclaim the finger it wouldn't come away from his face.
Arthur let out a roar while he frantically attempted to pull his hand away from his face only succeeding on getting other fingers stuck to the quickly drying glue. It was at this point that Francis stuck his head in room and burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter at the sight of Arthur, hand stuck fast to his cheek, sputtering profanity and curses.
"Well?! Don't just stand there laughing! Help me!"
Still giggling and wiping tears from his eyes, Francis brought a small container of chemical solvent with him to help the poor man from his predicament. It took several minutes, but eventually Arthur was freed and still scowling darkly.
"Go easy on Alfred, mon cher." Francis grinned as he moved back into the kitchen to put the finished dinner on the table.
"I think the other one was in on it too!"
"Oh? Matthew? He doesn't seem like the type."
From a distant room cackling could still be heard.