The twins were very distinctive looking, Alfred noticed as he was watching them sleep. They were mixed race with light brown skin and bright red hair. Alfred couldn't think of anyone with hair like that, so he supposed they must have gotten it from their mother.
He watched them, trying to decide on a name for them. Finally, he settled on two. Elizabeth and Hugo.
He heard a small noise behind him and saw Claire and Ivy entering the room.
"Where's Anna?" He asked quietly.
"Making lunch." Ivy said. "Who're they?"
"We're going to tell Anna they're your cousins. But they're your new brother and sister."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Claire asked. Alfred sighed. He'd been putting off giving them too many details of their situation, wanting to give them a normal life. He'd told them some things, but it looked like he would have to tell them more soon.
"Girls, I'll explain everything, but for now, please just listen to me." The girls looked at him seriously.
"There's something I need to tell you, but I don't have time right now. If Anna asks, tell her that your uncle, oh, Sammy died and these are your cousins. I know it's a lie, but sometimes we have to lie to keep people safe. This is one of those times. I'll explain everything later."
Claire and Ivy frowned at him, but nodded.
"Okay, Daddy." Ivy said.
"Their names are Hugo and Elizabeth." Alfred explained.
"Elizabeth?" Claire wrinkled her nose. "That's too long. She's too little."
"Well what would you suggest?" Alfred chuckled.
"Eliza!" Claire said.
"No, Elsie!" Ivy yelled. Alfred shushed her, but laughed quietly.
"Where'd you get that?" He asked.
"Lisette's puppy!" Ivy said.
"Girls, we shouldn't name your sister after a puppy…" Alfred said. But it was too late. The nickname had stuck.
When they left the room to eat lunch, they announced to Anna that "their cousins Hugo and Elsie were gonna live with them." Alfred shook his head, laughing, but his humor stopped abruptly when he heard a knock at the door and remembered that he'd left the meeting rather suddenly.
"Girls, be very quiet!" He said, rushing for the front door. Claire and Ivy listened, this a habit he'd ingrained in them from a young age. He peered through the peephole and saw England.
He opened the door quickly and stepped outside.
"I'm coming back. Don't get on my ass about it. I just wanted to get out of there, it was so boring! Plus, lunch!"
"Yes, yes. Just hurry up, the meeting needs to go on."
Alfred was glad it was summer, so he had time to arrange daycare for the twins. It was a hell of a pain finding a new daycare for them, seeing as there were two of them now. He also had to quickly figure out where they would sleep. Besides which, he was also caught up with curiosity again, wondering who their father was. He didn't have much to go on, of course, their facial features weren't fully developed yet, but he wondered regardless.
Suffice it to say, he didn't pay much attention to that particular meeting.
He decided he could move his desk into his bedroom- it was large enough- and make his office into a new nursery. Claire and Ivy already shared what used to be the spare bedroom and- his thoughts were cut off as Germany shouted for him to pay attention.
"No problem, dude!" He shouted back. Germany grumbled but said nothing else, and Alfred redirected his thoughts for the next ten minutes.
He did exactly as he planned that evening, leaving Ivy ostensibly in charge of the twins after paying Anna quite a bit extra for having to watch two newborns for half the afternoon, and for the surprise of their appearance, and for the extra hour he'd taken to pick up the old cribs from where he'd stored them in his house.
He still kept an ear out for any emergency, but he was a bit busy rearranging furniture. He moved in the cribs and he'd packed as much as he could fit into his car and was now arranging it in the new nursery.
He set the last thing down- a small stuffed bear he'd picked up on the way over- and moved to the main room of the apartment. Claire was reading a book for her summer reading project, and Ivy was as well, though she had an audiobook to mainly listen to and the written book to aid her.
Alfred saw Hugo and Elsie laying on the couch, and moved to pick Elsie up and move her to put her to bed. He picked her up, and she whined a little, but accepted him after a moment. This was also when he saw her eyes for the first time, since she'd been asleep before, and he hadn't had a chance to take much notice before now. They were a dark, deep brown, very pretty, he thought.
He brought her through to the nursery and set her in the left crib. He was glad they were different genders so he didn't have to worry about keeping them straight. Still he figured he'd try to dress them differently or something, because undressing them every time he got confused or dressing Elsie in only dresses would get annoying.
Which reminded him, he'd need to buy clothes for them. He made a mental note to go shopping tomorrow.
He went back to the main room and picked up Hugo. He noted with surprise that the boy had bright, brilliantly blue eyes, adding to his distinctive look. He wondered again who the twins' father was.