Yesterday was pretty bad, what with the school shooting in Connecticut and all. My heart goes out to all of the people who are suffering/mourning for loved ones. I decided that we all need a bit of cheering up, and thus this one-shot was born.
For those of you who have not read Worth it, Basically Ivan and Alfred are foster parents to Francis, Toris, Feliks, and Arthur. Anyway, enjoy!
"He's chopping up carrots with a big knife!"
"Shh, Feliks he'll hear you!"
"Oh yeah, sorry. Come on, write it down."
"Right. Um, how do you spell carrots?"
"Like, how should I know?"
Alfred tried to refrain from grinning as he worked on dinner. All day Toris and Feliks had been playing 'spies'. This whole fad had started yesterday, after he had taken the two five year olds to see a James Bond movie. Now they had been sneaking around all day, taking turns recording every single thing he did in a small notebook.
Of course he knew they were hiding behind the fridge, but he didn't tell them that. Then where would the fun be? He completely understood how kids were with their creative imaginations. It was also incredibly adorable in his eyes. So instead of looking in their direction, he ignored the whispers and focused on getting dinner on the table.
"Okay, I wrote it down! Now what?"
"Let's go see who else we can spy on!" Feliks suggested.
"Maybe father?" Toris suggested.
"Yeah!"
The two boys giggled to themselves and then tried to find a path to sneak by without Alfred seeing them. Alfred kept his gaze on the food as the kids very poorly sneaked behind the chairs and out the door. Before they made it however, footsteps were racing towards the kitchen. Alfred knew exactly who is was by the sound of the little steps.
"Hi daddy, hi Toris, hi Feliks!" Arthur greeted them happily.
"Hi Artie," Alfred said, laughing at the shocked squeals from the other two boys from being caught, by their little brother nonetheless!
"What are you doing? Can I play?" The three year old asked the two older boys.
"We aren't playing anything!" Feliks said quickly. "Um...we were just cleaning the floor!"
"I can help!" Arthur said, plopping down onto his knees and trying to sweep up any particles on the floor that he could find.
"Well, we gotta go now..." Toris said quickly, and then he and Toris quickly ran from the room.
"Wait for me!" Arthur called, but Alfred was quick to distract them, knowing that the other boys didn't want Arthur to tag along this time. The boys almost always included the youngest, and so Alfred knew that they were entitled to a break.
"Hold up a sec Art, I need your help!" He said quickly. "Can you put the silverware on the table for me pal?"
Always looking for the chance to be a big boy and help, Arthur easily compiled and agreed to set the table utensils.
Meanwhile, Ivan was in the living room watching the news while he did some of the bills, a calculator and many papers spread out on the coffee table. While half listening to a story about some woman who had stolen eighteen iPads, he scribbled out numbers and such.
"Look, he's like, writing out a secret code!"
"Wow! I wonder what it says?"
"I bet it's an evil plan to take over the world!"
The Russian smiled to himself at the sound of his middle aged children's voices. So they were spying again, were they? Yesterday Alfred had taken both of them to see a James Bond movie as a reward for helping him clean out the garage. Ivan had disapproved of Alfred taking two five year olds to see a action movie such as James Bond, but he hadn't known about it until after Alfred had taken them.
However, his views had changed the instant after the two had began playing spy. He thought it was both cute and amusing, especially how they thought nobody was ever able to see them. He and Alfred both went along with the game, acting oblivious to being watched.
"Dinner!" Alfred called from the kitchen. He set down his papers and stood up, hearing Toris and Feliks both gasp as he did so, each child scrambling into the kitchen before they could be seen. Francis came racing down the stairs as well. He had been playing upstairs in his room, probably coloring or something of the sort.
Dinnertime was something that Ivan very much enjoyed. It was a time where they could all sit around the table and be a family, laughing and talking with one another.
"So, who's ready to go back to school tomorrow?" Ivan asked once their plates were all full and they began to eat.
"I am!" Arthur shouted happily.
"You don't even go to school," Francis reminded him. "You're too little."
"When can I go?" Arthur asked, turning his green eyes towards his parents.
"It'll be about another year before you start preschool," Alfred told him. 'But when a year passes I won't allow that to happen. You're going to stay as the baby, and there's nothing you can do about it little dude.'
"We get to watch a movie tomorrow!" Feliks spoke up.
"About a puppy!" Toris added.
"I want a puppy," Arthur stated.
"We can't get one, they make Francis sneeze remember?" Feliks reminded him.
"Francis, why do you have to sneeze?" Arthur asked with a pout.
"I can't help it, they make me feel yucky." Francis said, looking down self consciously.
"It's alright, many people are allergic to dogs." Ivan comforted their oldest child.
Once dinner was over, Toris and Feliks were about to run off and probably finish their spy game, but were stopped by Alfred.
"Hold it!" He said, causing both boys to turn around slowly. "It's bath time, remember?"
"But why can't Arthur go first?" Toris asked. Normally he enjoyed getting his bath every other night, but now that he was a spy, he had important business to do!
"Artie took his this morning while you guys were riding bikes. He decided it would be a good time to attempt to make mud pies in the backyard. Sadly I think more of the mud ended up on him rather than in the pies." Alfred explained. "Now come on, let's get bath time over with. I promise it'll be a quickie tonight."
Toris and Feliks took baths together. The kindergarteners both enjoyed having 'boat battles' in the tub. It was nice because Alfred mostly left them unattended to play until it came time for washing. This bath went quick though. Usually Alfred allowed them fifteen minutes of play. Neither wanted to play though, so they went straight to washing.
"Francis is our next victim," Feliks whispered to Toris as they both followed Alfred to the bedroom, each wrapped in a large fluffy towel.
"Right," Toris agreed, and then reached their room.
"Okay, get into your jammies, then you have about a half hour till bedtime." Alfred told them, before leaving the boys alone in their room as he went downstairs to join Ivan and help clean up the kitchen.
"Hurry up!" Feliks urged Toris, who was still struggling to get his shirt on. Once he did, they both quietly tiptoed through the hall towards Francis's room, where they could hear Francis singing to himself. The boys giggled quietly to themselves as they peeked through the crack of the door.
"Subject appears to be singing in French..." Feliks whispered.
"I wonder what he's singing about?" Toris asked aloud.
"I'm not sure, but it's pretty suspicious." Feliks whispered back.
They continued watching for a few more minutes. It was a tad bit boring though, because now Francis just laid on his floor playing with his toys.
"I'm bored. Let's go back to spying on father and dad," Feliks suggested, and Toris nodded in agreement. They both retreated down the hall and over to the staircase. They could hear the TV on, and Ivan and Alfred were chatting.
As they slowly crept down the stairs, they got a closer look. Ivan was finished with the bills and was now just watching the news, relaxed on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Alfred sat next to him, and Arthur was in his lap. Alfred was clipping the three year old's finger nails, and Arthur kept squirming and protesting.
"Look, they're torturing a poor innocent child!" Feliks said. "These people really are evil."
"We have to rescue him!" Toris insisted, "It's our duty!"
Neither child moved however, and instead watched the scene from their seats on the stairs.
"Ouch! I don't want it!"
"Artie, they're way too long. Just hold still for a sec, it'll be over soon. You don't want long girly nails do you?" Alfred tried to reason with their youngest.
"I want down! They are not long!" Arthur protested.
"Arthur, calm down and let daddy clip your nails." Ivan cut in.
"I don't like it!" Arthur screeched. Feliks and Toris looked to each other with wide eyes. These villains were so evil!
"Somebody's overtired. There, done," Alfred finally announced, proud that he had achieved his goal. "Now it's time for bed buddy."
"I don't like it," Arthur repeated with a whimper.
"I know bud, having your nails clipped is probably the worst thing a kid can go through," Alfred replied sympathetically, grinning at Ivan as he picked up the fussy child. The American then proceeded to walk towards the stairs, right towards where the two spies were hiding!
"Run!" Feliks squealed, but it was too late.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Alfred asked, eyes sparkling playfully.
"Um...hi dad. We were just sitting here...and resting." Toris said quickly, hoping that the excuse was plausible.
"Resting huh? Well next time try to make it to the beds or couches. Wouldn't wanna get stepped on huh?" Alfred said with a wink, and then walked past them up the stairs.
"Okay, we will!" Feliks replied, and then turned to Toris. "We got caught..."
"That's okay. Maybe we can be done for today. I mean, it's almost bedtime and stuff."
"Yeah. All spies deserve breaks," Feliks agreed.
So they were finished for today...
But tomorrow the spying would start all over again.
There, I hope that at least made some of you smile! :) I remember being little and playing 'spy' all the time.
Reviews=Eternal Love
(Also, I read people's suggestions for one-shots. I'll definitely end up doing all of them!)