Hello~ Just to specify, this is only part one of this fanfic. Part two should come shortly, depending on the popularity of part one. This isn't one of my best written works, but I felt like publishing this one first for some reason. Hope you guys will like it! Feedback would be great as well. I always love hearing what my readers have to say.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia or any of the characters belonging to it: Himaruya does. The Ferring family are all OCs for this AU, but specifically, I do not own Toris, Eduard, or Raivis.
"Toris, we're home. Sorry we're late."
The nineteen-year-old looked up from what he was doing at the sound of his name. A slight smile spread over his face when he saw the recognizable young couple entering the house. Redirecting his attention to his work, he finished wiping down the kitchen counters quickly before squeezing water out of the dishrag and drying his hands.
"Welcome back," he greeted. "Did you have a good time?"
"We did," the woman replied with a kind smile. "Sorry we got home so late; I know we said we would be home by nine. We appreciate everything that you do."
It was true; he was beginning to wonder where they were, but he didn't question it too much. They were only an hour past the time that they were supposed to return, and it gave him more time to get everything done.
"It's fine, and you are welcome Mrs. Ferring." He moved toward the door and grabbed his jacket, slipping it over his shoulders as he continued. "The children were a little bit wild today, but they didn't misbehave."
This was a little bit of an under exaggeration, but Toris had no intention of getting the children in trouble with their parents. They were good kids, they just had a hard time listening. The oldest, Peyton, was five years old and beginning to find joy in being completely independent of authority. His three year old little sister, Alyssa, was hardly better. She looked up to her brother a lot, and seemed to enjoy mimicking everything he did, especially the bad things. Still, they were good kids. Toris enjoyed their company, and he could tell that they were starting to grow fond of him too. Babysitting them two or three times a week was often stressful on top of his full-time job, but it was worth it for his cause.
The children's father took a quick look around the house before Toris left, making sure that everything was done well. "Thank you for cleaning up. You came in at four today, right? How many hours have you gotten in this week then?"
Toris paused to make them think he was thinking it over, though he knew the answer right away. He counted his hours very carefully to ensure that he was getting paid what he worked for. Every little bit counted. "Four hours yesterday, five on Wednesday, and six today. Fifteen."
"Fifteen?" Mr. Ferring gave the younger adult an incredulous look. "Are you sure?"
"Yes sir," Toris replied. "Well, it was a little more than four hours yesterday, but a little less than five on Wednesday. It still comes to fifteen."
Mrs. Ferring put a hand on her husband's arm, indicating that she would take care of it. She was always the more appreciative of the two, while her husband usually cared about money first. "That's fine, dear," she replied to Toris. "So we owe you 180 then?" She pulled a check out of her own wallet and began filling it out.
"Yes ma'am. Thank you." He sighed inaudibly with relief when she put the full check in his hand. Last week, she was away for her job when it was time for him to be paid, and her husband shorted him a good bit, claiming that there were things that he didn't do properly during the time he was babysitting. It was nice to get paid in full this time.
"Run along now," Mrs. Ferring encouraged. "Go get some sleep. Don't you go back to work tomorrow?"
"Always," he replied with a soft chuckle. It seemed that was all he ever did anymore. "Thank you again. When will you need me next?"
Mrs. Ferring slipped her wallet back in her purse and took a seat. "We won't need you on Wednesday this week, but that does remind me: you have a pretty big job this coming Saturday if you're up for it. Peyton is having half of his class over for a play date. We were going to chaperone, but we just realized this evening that we already have something scheduled. We won't be able to be here."
"That is fine. How many children are there going to be?"
She bit her lip at his question, hoping and praying on the inside that he wouldn't decline once she told him. "There are going to be at least twelve children here, not including our own."
"Oh…"
"Will you be able to do that for us?"
Not really, was the answer he wanted to give. It was hard enough taking care of two for the evening. How in the world was he supposed to take care of twelve? Furthermore, how was he supposed to meet the cleaning standards after Peyton's classmates went home? The house wouldn't survive… and nor would he.
"Yes. I suppose so."
"You're more than welcome to find help. Bring a friend or two in and I'm sure you will be fine."
"Thank you." Toris visibly relaxed at this news. "I will see what help I can find, and I will see you on Saturday. Have a good night."
When Toris returned to his apartment, he wasn't at all surprised to see that the Raivis, the youngest of his roommates, was sprawled across the couch, sleeping with an open textbook beneath his head. He smiled a little and approached the younger male. Seeing as he was already fast asleep, Toris removed the book from beneath his head and replaced it with one of the couch pillows. He shut off the lamp on the little side table before retreating to the corner office that he shared with his other roommate.
Despite only barely being an adult, Toris was actually the oldest of the three. The two others he shared his apartment with were both still in high school, but they worked just as hard as he did to pay the bills. They were all considered to be underprivileged, but they didn't look at themselves in that light. Toris considered his two younger friends to be blessings. He knew that with the past he went through, he very well may not have had a home at all if it wasn't for their help.
"Are you awake, Eduard?" Toris crawled onto the air mattress he shared with the blonde-haired high school senior. "I have something for you."
"Yeah," the younger replied. He rolled over onto his back and removed his glasses for a moment to rub his eyes. "How were the kids?"
"Crazy," Toris replied. "As usual. But that isn't important right now. Here." He reached into his pocket and retrieved the folded up piece of paper he received earlier that night. "This is for you, for college."
Eduard sat up on the mattress and looked at the other for a moment before unfolding the paper and staring at it for a long time. "No. Toris… no. You can't keep doing this. It's fine, really."
"No, it is not fine. If you want to go to college, you need money. That's why I got the second job, so that you can have the opportunity to follow your career path. If you don't want to take the full check, give half to Raivis for his classes next year. But please take some of it."
"Toris…" Eduard stared down at the check for a long time, saying absolutely nothing. "…If I don't get a scholarship, I won't go. It's fine, really."
"No." The brunette shook his head stubbornly. "You want to go to college, and you will. One way or another."
Eduard sighed and smiled ever so slightly, deciding that there was no use arguing. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for... You and Raivis both; you have no idea how much this means to me." He settled back down and scooted toward his dear friend, wrapping an arm around him and letting his eyes drift shut. "Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
"You are already paying a third of our bills, so I don't see any point in…" He stopped short when he actually processed the offer. The first thing that came to mind was his upcoming Saturday, which was inevitably going to be spent trying to manage a large group of rowdy five-year-olds. It hadn't crossed his mind yet that the help he needed was right in front of him.
"Actually, there is one thing."