He placed his elbow on the arm of the chair, the fabric molding around the shape while he sipped his Earl Grey tea. The twin toddlers sat on the opposite arm rest, swinging their chubby legs and absentmindedly poking and teasing each other. Arthur turned to them, a nostalgic smile forming from his lips. "Kids, do you want me to tell you a story?"
From the kitchen, Francis poured himself a glass of red wine and rolled his eyes. "What are you going off about this time?" he cried out while making his way to the living room.
"Oh hush dear, you'll enjoy this one. Remember our first date?" Arthur said as Francis plopped down beside him.
"Oh, that? How could I forget that! Are you sure they're old enough to hear about it?" asked Francis, glancing at the pair of five year olds next to him.
"If they're old enough to listen to the tales of my pirate days, they're old enough to hear about this." A look of curiosity swept across the faces of the two boys and they tuned in, impatiently awaiting the start of the adventure.
"Alright, I'll start. It was the halfway mark of the sixteen hundreds, under the everlasting reign of the great Sun King. I was very close with Louis, and a masquerade ball was being held for the most elite of French society. By some miracle he courteously invited me to this event, and I was allowed to bring one guest." Francis looked over to Arthur with a wistful smirk. "I took along my friend from overseas, Great Britain to be precise."
"That 'friend' would be me. Now, at this time, me and your Papa were in a relationship, but the both of us had such cluttered schedules that we hadn't had time for our first date yet. This would be it. When we arrived, after being greeted by everyone, we snuck off in a cozy little room together. We danced to the lovely music being played in the grand hall, and everything was beautiful and perfect. At the end of the fourth song, we leaned in for our first kiss-"
"When suddenly, a thug popped out of nowhere! He was trying to pass through our hideaway with a firearm this big!" Francis stretched out his arms to represent the weapon, the kids staring in awe and fear. "He spotted us and pulled out a large coil of rope, binding us together. He couldn't shoot us just yet, because it draw attention to himself by making a loud noise. It was quite obvious that he was a trained, deadly assassin, on the hunt for members of royalty attending the ball. He stuffed our mouths with bits of our very own clothes, desperate to shut us up. Luckily, I was highly skilled in the art of escaping; I broke free while he was turned away. I store a knife in my clothes for protection at all times, and it certainly came in handy - I whipped it out and slashed his neck before chopping up the ropes that tied up your Daddy."
"After that, we dashed out of the room to alert the king and queen what had just taken place. They thanked us immensely, and Papa here was seen as a noble hero. We were treated fantastically for the rest of the night, and that whole town came to know us as the brave hostages that saved the Sun King," Arthur concluded proudly.
"Wow!" Matthew and Alfred chimed in amazement. Alfred clapped his hands, stupefied and inspired. Matthew's eyes still held open in wonder with his mouth left somewhat agape. Their fathers beamed at each other, satisfied with their audacious memories.
"You know, Arthur... You still owe me a kiss from that night," Francis stated after a moment. Without argument, he received a smiling, warm peck on the lips.
"I do believe it's time for bed, boys," Arthur glanced up at the grandfather clock nearby. After a moment of whining, Alfred was whisked off to his room by Arthur and Matthew was hoisted up on Francis's shoulders for a piggyback ride to his bed. The night for the both of them held intense dreams of exciting jeopardies and dauntless victories.