Set in my universe of 'Worth It' stories, where Ivan and Alfred are a couple and adopted Francis, Toris, Feliks, and Arthur. Usually my stories are of them as young children, but in this one we get to see them as teens. Hopefully you like it! And if you haven't read my other 'Worth It' stuff, then I suggest reading them! You'd probably like it if you're a fan of family fluff.
Enjoy!
:-)
Introduction: No Longer Babies
Alfred liked to think back to the day when he'd first became a parent. All the kids had looked up to him so much. He could hug, kiss, and tickle them in public without getting hit. They would beg him for cuddles and stories. Whenever there was a problem they would go straight to him. Now it was different. If he so much as said 'I love you' in public he would get an embarrassed or angry glare. Actually, they even pretended that they weren't related to him if they were around friends. All of this was because of one reason.
His babies had become teenagers.
"Dad, I need five bucks!" Feliks demanded, running into the garage. "It's for tomorrow. My whole English class is like, pitching in for a pizza party."
"I don't have any cash on me," Alfred replied, shutting the hood of the car that he had been working on. There was some problem with the engine, so likely they'd have to take it over to Gilbert's garage later. Having a brother-in-law mechanic came in handy after all. "Go ask your father. He's making dinner."
"Okay!"
Fifteen minutes later, after washing the grease from his hands Alfred went inside to help Ivan with any last preparations for dinner. Ivan had just finished the beef stew, and was putting the canned green beans in the microwave.
"Papa, could I drive over to Jeanne's house after school tomorrow?" The American heard Francis asking Ivan as he came into the kitchen.
"Will her parents be home?" Ivan asked pleasantly.
"Um...well no, but-"
"Then no," Ivan told him firmly. "You know the rules Francis."
Their oldest child had grown up a lot. Now that he was sixteen, Francis was mainly into one thing...girls. He'd always sort of been a flirt, but Jeanne was 'different', as Francis said. She was the first girl that he'd dated for longer than a month.
"But Papa, we won't do anything! Well maybe some kissing, but that's all!" Francis argued.
"Sorry Francis, but we won't allow it. I remember being sixteen...I know the way your mind words." Alfred cut in. "But I'll be home tomorrow, so she can come here if you'd like."
"But then we can't have fun!" Francis sulked.
"Aha, so you do want to get into her pants!" Alfred shouted triumphantly. "You listen to me mister. I'm not becoming a grandpa. Plus you know that you're supposed to be a gentleman around young ladies. Do we need to have the gentleman talk again?"
"Non père, we don't." Francis answered quickly. "Fine, I'll have her over. But please don't embarrass me when she's over like last time."
"What are you talking about? She loved seeing those old family tapes." Alfred defended himself.
"Dinnertime. Go fetch the other children." Ivan spoke up before the conversation could turn into a bigger argument. A few minutes later Feliks came in, and then so did Toris.
"Um...Arthur says he's not eating with us." Toris informed them. Toris had matured into a fine mannered young man of fifteen. He was getting excellent grades, and had joined the chess club at school. He was still terribly shy and self conscious, but not so much around the family.
Feliks himself got decent grades, but the teachers said that he talked a lot more than he should have, and was often a distraction to the class. He was in the drama club though (As was Francis) and acted wonderfully. There was also a slightly new interest of his...Feliks enjoyed crossdressing. Alfred and Ivan didn't have a problem with it at home, but they wanted him to wait awhile before wearing dresses to school. Kids could be cruel, after all.
"You guys start filling your plates, I'll go get Artie." Alfred said, leaving the room.
Out of all the kids, Arthur had probably changed the most. No longer was the the sweet happy go lucky child that he used to be. He was currently going through a rather rebellious phase, or at least Alfred hoped it was just a phase.
Arthur used to idolize Alfred. He used to follow him everywhere, and do anything that was asked of him. Most importantly, he would love being cuddled and doted on. Now Arthur acted as if he hated both Alfred and Ivan. The kid went against every single rule they'd ever taught him. Speaking of which, he was currently grounded for sneaking out during the night and graffiting his school.
Alfred knocked on Arthur's bedroom door but there was no answer, prompting him to open the door uninvited. His youngest child was sitting on his bed, scribbling something into a notebook. There were headphones in his ears, and the music was blasting so loud that Alfred could even hear it from across the room.
It was obvious that Arthur was deliberately ignoring him. This prompted Alfred to do the only reasonable thing. He marched over and pulled the earbuds out of the kid's ears.
"Dad! Why are you even in here? You're invading my space!" Arthur shouted, throwing his notebook and pen aside. Alfred didn't want to know what he had been writing..
"It's beef stew tonight, one of your favorites. I expect you to come down and eat some, unless you want to hurt your father's feelings. You know how sensitive he is sometimes." Alfred answered.
"If I come down then can you unground me?" Arthur asked hopefully.
"Nope," Alfred answered cheerfully. "But I can guarantee you a full stomach before bed."
"Alright, fine!" The teenager huffed.
Eavesdropping
Alfred was carrying some clean laundry back to his and Ivan's room when he heard hushed voices. Francis's door was cracked open slightly, and when Alfred peered in he saw Arthur sitting on the edge of Francis's bed, the older teen himself sitting against the headboard.
"You have to be joking...I mean, you are joking, right?" Arthur was asking wide eyed.
"Nope, I'm not joking at all," Francis replied, grinning widely. Alfred smiled to himself, happy that his two boys were actually getting along for a change. Because he was a little curious about what they were discussing, he decided to eavesdrop a bit longer.
"Do you still have the pictures?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Oui, of course I do! Would you like to see them?" Francis offered, cackling joyfully as he held out his phone.
"Er...I don't think so. She's your girlfriend. If I looked at pictures of her...girl parts...then she might get mad." Arthur said quickly, blushing a bright red. Alfred didn't need to hear anymore of the conversation, and he barged inside.
"FRANCIS BRAGINSKI-JONES!"
Love
Sometime a few months ago, Alfred and Ivan had been in their room watching the news. It was late, almost midnight. The Russian had his arm wrapped around his husband tightly, the American snuggled up to him contently.
"...Father? D-Dad?"
Their attention was brought to the doorway. What they saw surprised them a great deal. Feliks stood in the doorway. It wasn't him however, but what he was wearing. The teenager was in a skirt and blouse, sporting a pair of high heels as well.
His parents could only stare in shock. Feliks looked like he was about to cry, hands gripping the door frame so tightly that they were white. He swallowed thickly before opening his mouth.
"Do you still love me?"
That was enough to break Alfred from his stupor. He jumped out of the bed and quickly walked over to his middle child. Feliks flinched, as if he were about to get hit, but was shocked and relieved when Alfred wrapped his arms around the teen tightly, while Ivan sat up.
"Of course we still love you." The Russian told him earnestly.
He couldn't be any more right.
Brothers:
"Toris, how much cash do you have on you?" Arthur inquired.
"Why?" Toris asked, feeling a sense of dread.
"Because I want to get an ice cream," Arthur answered, as if it should be quite an obvious thing. "Why, what did you think I wanted it for?"
"Oh," Toris replied apologetically, relieved as he handed over five dollars. "Well with your recent...new behavior development, I couldn't help but wonder."
Arthur smirked. "You don't need to worry about that. I wouldn't go to you guys with my problems."
"Well we are brothers," Toris reminded him. "And look Arthur, you know that dad is freaking out over you. Just...be careful. If you do anything else I fear that he might keep you locked up in your room until you're eighteen...maybe even longer than that."
"I can handle dad," Arthur said with a chuckle. "He just needs to learn that I'm not a baby anymore. I'm in the eighth grade now! Next year I'll be with you guys in the High School."
"You can prove to him that you're mature in other ways," Toris said, trying his best not to sound like a parent himself. "Some of the things you do...well they won't help your cause. Unless you like being grounded."
"Oh save your preaching for someone else Toris," Arthur scoffed, but more in a joking manner than anything else. "Um...but if father asks where his wheat penny collection is, you'll cover for me right?"
"...Sure," Toris agreed after a moment. "What are brothers for?"
Tradition:
Despite a number of years passing, the Braginski-Jones family still had a certain tradition, which was having a movie night in the living room every two weeks. It always brought them closer. For instance, although Arthur was always acting grumpy around his parents, during movie night he always settled down with his head in Alfred's lap. Francis would lay down on the couch with his feet in Ivan's lap, and together Feliks and Toris would sit in the large armchair surrounded by pillows and blankets.
When the credits of the screen came on, as always, Ivan and Alfred would have the difficult task of getting the tired kids upstairs and in bed. Alfred would steer a half asleep Arthur upstairs carefully, dragging a groggy Francis behind him.
Ivan would manage to get Feliks to walk by himself, but Toris would be dead to the world in the chair. The Russian would have no choice but to lean down and take the teen into his arms and carry him to his bed. It wasn't a difficult task, because Toris was quite the small teenager. Sometimes it worried him and Alfred because it seemed like Toris never gained any weight despite eating regularly.
Finally the kids would be tucked safely into bed, leaving the two adults to themselves. When they were finally ready to retire to bed themselves, Alfred would insist upon checking up on them 'just one more time.' Ivan would smile.
Things never changed.
Cautious:
"Have a good day at school today guys! It's a Friday so it should be fun, right?" Alfred chatted as he walked his kids to the front door. Now that Francis had a license he drove everybody to school. The middle school was right next to the High School, so that worked in Arthur's favor as well.
Speaking of Arthur, Alfred thought, his youngest was looking a little malicious today. He wore an over sized gray hoodie and tight skinny jeans with chains hanging off the ends. His backpack was hung over one shoulder, and he looked quite eager to leave the house. Alfred let the older three pass and then blocked the doorway with one arm.
"I'm going to be late for school dad," Arthur huffed.
"Arms out," Alfred ordered. "And give me your bag."
"Wha- you can't be serious!" Arthur protested. "I'm not harboring any weapons, I swear!"
"I'll be the judge of that," Was all Alfred told him, and then proceeded in giving his son a full pat down. He got to the pockets and immediately felt multiple items. He pulled them out and gasped in shock.
"A wrench? Scented crayons? Cotton balls? What the hell are you planning Artie?" Alfred asked, shaking his son's shoulders slightly. As he did so, something fell out of his shirt and onto the floor. Upon further inspection Alfred saw that it was the head of a barbie doll covered in red paint.
….The seconds ticked by very slowly.
Alfred took a deep breath. "You won't be riding to school with your brothers this morning. In fact, you will be missing your first period. We're going to have a long chat mister troublemaker!"
On the outside Arthur acted angry about being caught. On the inside he was grinning. 'It worked! Now I won't have to worry about that bogus Algebra test!'
Oh Arthur, such a troublemaker. ^J^ Since I feel so guilty about the lack of proper updates, I decided to give you all this. Hopefully it at least made you smile. It'll probably be updated rather quickly since there is no true plot, but instead just random drabble things.
Let me know if this is of interest please!
