The Hero
"Daddy! Papa! Someone heeeeeellllp!" Alfred sprinted through the bedroom door and leapt onto the bed, landing squarely on both the occupants.
"Oof! Alfie!" Arthur sat up and pinned the flailing boy's arms to his sides.

Francis opened one eye, "What's the matter?"

Alfred took a deep breath, "Well I guess Mattie was tryin' to sleep an' I just kept talking an' then he told me a story 'bout an evil creature that lurks in the room of kids who don't go to sleep on time. So I said I'm sorry an' tried my best to go to sleep but then I heard a scary sounding noise. I asked Mattie if he heard it an' he said he didn't so I tried to go to sleep again but I kept hearin' it and it sounded like a scratching comin' from under Mattie's bed so I went to check and there was this scary shadow so I ran and hid under my blankets but I kept hearin' the noise so I asked Mattie if he was ok but Mattie didn't answer!" He took another deep breath, "So I ran over to his bed an' pulled back the covers an' he was gone! An' then! An' then I heard him scream in the closet so I went to go find you 'cause he kept screamin' and I think the shadow monster got him 'cause I didn' let him go to sleep on time! You gotta rescue him from the shadow monster!" Satisfied with his story Alfred sat panting. "Well! Are you going to rescue him? You gotta hurry!" Alfred pulled himself out of Arthur's grasp and tugged on his arm. "Come on come on come on come on! We can't let him get eated!"

"It's eaten and I'm getting up!" Arthur knew exactly why Matthew was screaming in the closet. The kid was as conniving as his Papa sometimes. Arthur yawned and swung himself out of bed. Alfred was already running to the other side. Francis had chosen not to get up yet and had curled farther under the blankets.

"Papa Papa Papa Papa Papa! Get up! We need to save Mattie!" His tiny little hands flew furiously as he pounded Francis's back region. "Wake up!"

Arthur swore he heard Francis snickering. He rolled out of bed only to be dragged out of the room by Alfred. Arthur quickly followed, trying his best to match the breakneck speed of his oldest son.

The trio raced into the boys' room to find Matthew fast asleep on his bed. His blankets were tucked up around his and Kuma's heads and Arthur could hear him softly snoring.

Alfred gasped and let go of Francis's hand, "Mattie! The shadow monster didn't eat you!" He hugged his brother, successfully waking him up.

"Alfie? What are you doin'? I was sleepin'." Matthew groggily turned to look at Alfred. "What are Papa and Daddy doin' here?"

"Mattie! You were screaming! And I thought you were dead and stuff! I went an' got them so we could rescue you!" He shook his brother excitedly.

"Alfie... Alfie! Stop it, I'm fine." Mattie rubbed his eyes. "The shadow monster let me go 'cause I told him why I couldn' sleep." Mattie appeared to fall back asleep, leaning his head on Alfred's shoulder.

Alfred carefully set him down and turned with enormous eyes to his parents, "HE'S GOING TO EAT ME!" He jumped onto his own bed and pulled the covers over him.

Arthur sighed wearily and sat on the edge of the bed, "Alfred, nothing's going to eat you."

There was something muffled from under the bed then Alfred curled tighter into a ball.

Francis smiled, "Would you like me to check in the closet?"

A pair of huge blue eyes emerged from the blanket, "You would do that? But...but it'll eat you! An' I don't wanna lose my Papa!"

"Don't worry! No shadow monster can eat me! I went to sleep on time!" Francis stood at his full height and walked to the closet door, ignoring the snicker from Arthur. He slowly pulled open the door and peeked behind it.

"See anything Papa? Don't let it eat you." Alfred still refused to let more than his eyes out from under the blanket.

"Non, you have nothing to worry about Alfred. There is no shadow monster there as far as I can see." He opened the door all the way, causing Alfred to burrow into the blankets, to prove his point. There was nothing there other than a collection of jackets, toys and shoes strewn about messily, with one or two things actually placed where they belong.

"O-ok Papa. But what if he comes back when you leave. An' what about the shadow under Mattie's bed? Monsters are afraid of parents an' really good at hidin' an stuff! He's just going to come back an' eat me later!" The fully freaked out Alfred started bawling and slid back under his blanket.

It was Arthur's turn to try something. He stood up and flicked the light on, earning a small groan from Matthew. "There, he shouldn't come back now. Shadow monsters are deathly afraid of the light because it eats them." He went and sat back on Alfred's bed and hugged him. "Besides, you don't have to be afraid of monsters! They wouldn't be able to touch the hero! Any monster that comes in this room would be shaking in their shoes at the sight of you!"

"You really think so?" Alfred asked quietly, "I did see a shadow though."

"Of course! A monster wouldn't dare mess with a hero. And I'll check, but I think I took care of him." Arthur set Alfred back down and tucked him back in. He kissed his forehead and crossed to Matthew's bed. "Goodnight to you too. I know you're still awake." He peered under the bed and nearly burst out laughing. The "shadow" was really Tony, who'd somehow made his way across the room.

Matthew smiled sleepily and rolled over, "Night Daddy."

Arthur walked back to Alfred's bed, "I think this will help you sleep better."

Alfred smiled and hugged the alien.

Francis shut the closet door and yawned, "Goodnight you two." He followed after Arthur to tuck the boys back into bed, making sure to tuck Tony in too.

Arthur flicked the light off and led the way back to the bedroom. He flopped onto the bed, "Matthew is a strange kind of younger brother."

Francis chucked, "Remind you of anyone?"

"Shut up frog." Arthur hugged Francis, hoping Alfred wouldn't wake him up again.

"DADDY! MATTIE TOLD ME THAT GHOSTS AREN'T AFRAID OF HEROES! YOU GOTTA HELP ME!" Alfred's voice rang through the house again.

Arthur groaned, "That kid's never going to sleep again at this rate."

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A/N

Mattie = secretly evil. We all knew it was true . This is his way of telling Alfred to stfu already 'cause he's trying to sleep. This is kinda a random update to this but I was listening to Goodnight Demon Slayer one morning and had this brilliant idea for Arthur to have to rescue Alfred from normal childhood fears of the dark. So yeah, for those who already liked this, enjoy my random brain.