Important question to ask you guys at the end of the chapter!
Alfred was not able to fall asleep tonight. He had been laying awake next to Ivan, eyes staring at the ceiling for the past hour and a half. At first he hadn't understood why something felt so off, but then he knew. No little feet had padded into the room. It was just him and Ivan...so empty. It was weird, because he'd had nights alone with Ivan before. Tonight he just craved being close to his children though.
Unable to sit still in bed, he climbed out and walked towards the door and into the hallway. The hallways was lit up by a night light, to he was able to make out all the doors. The first door he made it to was Francis's. It was cracked open, and he slipped his head in.
Francis was sound asleep, hugging his pillow tightly, breathing softly. Alfred felt his lips tug into a smile. The little first grader would always hold a special place in his heart, just like all the other kids. His memory flashed back to when they'd first gotten Francis, when he was four. The child, who had not known one word of English, yet still as soon as he'd seen his new parents, the boy had ran towards them for a hug.
He left Francis's room and headed towards the room across; Toris and Feliks' room. The door was all the way open for them. As soon as he entered he stifled laughter. Sprawled out on his bed was Feliks, the pillow discarded on the floor, and the blanket half hanging off. Toris however was the complete opposite, burrowed so deeply into his blanket that you could only see a bit of hair peeking out.
Alfred walked over to Feliks's bed, picking up the pillow and carefully placing it under the boy's head, and also replacing the blanket back on him. He kissed his forehead before tiptoeing over to do the same to Toris. Those boys were really starting to grow on him. Neither one had been in their family that long, but already there was no way that the family would be complete without them.
His last stop was Arthur's room. The blue walls had sailboats painted on them, which were lit up due to the peter rabbit themed night light. His littlest baby had a thumb in his mouth, curled up in a small ball at the foot of his bed. The American couldn't help but go 'aw' under his breath. Arthur was the cutest baby ever. He didn't care if Arthur denied it. To him and Ivan, Arthur would forever be their cute little British baby no matter what.
Soon Alfred felt himself yawn, and decided that maybe he would be able to actually go to sleep now. He quietly returned to his room and slipped back in the bed beside his sound asleep husband.
An hour later all four children joined them in bed.
The weather was now colder due to it being October. Alfred, ever so festive during the Halloween season, decorated the house from top to bottom. Fake cobwebs, gravestones, and all that stuff. Alfred was always the festive type, while Ivan sometimes thought that he went a bit overboard.
Also, tonight was Francis's play that he had been so excited about. Francis was already at the school with his class while they set things up. Meanwhile at home, the family was getting ready to go see the play. It was a bit of a hassle. They had just finished dinner, and Ivan was digging around in the closet trying to find the video camera, the kids were getting into their outdoor stuff, and so on.
"Where did my other shoe go?" Feliks asked, hopping around with only one sneaker on.
"I think I last saw it under the couch, dude." Alfred, who was zippering Arthur's jacket, answered him.
"Aha! I found it!" Ivan called, referring to the video camera that he'd been searching for, for the past hour.
"We've only got fifteen minutes till it starts, we gotta hurry!" Alfred shouted, while now helping Toris tie his shoes. Finally they made it out to the car, hardly getting a chance to buckle in before Alfred started driving.
"We get to see Francis the frog!" Arthur cheered.
"That's right Artie. This time Francis actually will be a frog." Alfred agreed with him.
"But once the play is over then you are not allowed to call him a frog." Ivan added.
"I've never seen a play before," Feliks commented. "This is going to be fun, right Toris? We can tell everyone that we know the main star of the show! I bet Francis will be famous now. Do you think he'll be on TV?"
"Maybe Feliks, you never know," Alfred chuckled.
When they got to the school, which was crowded from the cars of all the other children's families, they had to hurry in order to make it to the gym in time, which was where the play was taking place. Thankfully it hadn't started yet, so they had made it in time.
"Oh look, I see some seats over there!" Alfred pointed. They made their way towards them, quickly sitting down just as the lights began to dim. Arthur sat on Ivan's lap so they he would be able to see. Alfred sat next to Ivan, and then Toris and Feliks sat next to him.
The play went relatively well. It was an hour and a half long, which was a little bit long for Arthur. Wanting to move around, the three year old was constantly switching from lap to lap, and complaining about wanting to get down every so often.
Francis did great, or as great as any six year old would be at saying lines that he'd had to memorize from a play. He was wearing all green clothes, and his face had been painted too.
After the play had ended, there were refreshments served. Francis joined his family once again, and Alfred crushed him into a hug.
"You did awesome dude!"' He congratulated him.
"Merci!" Francis replied. "That was fun! I hope we have another play soon."
"We should ask the teacher is our class can have a play too Toris!" Feliks said to Toris excitedly as they scoped out the food table, where there were cookies, cupcakes, and Hawaiian Punch. Toris nodded before hesitantly reaching for one of the Oreo cookies. Before he could grab it though, some older kid shoved into him, in order to get in front.
"Hey! You like, totally shoved into my brother!" Feliks shouted before he even realized what he was doing.
"So what? he was taking too long," The kid replied, before finishing grabbing his sweets and leaving. Toris looked like he was about to cry, and so Feliks patted his arm.
"Come on, let's go." He said, grabbing an Oreo and handing it to Toris before leading them back to their family. Ivan was holding Arthur, who was licking the frosting off the top of a cupcake. Next to him, Alfred was chatting with a parent about baseball. Francis had just said goodbye to some of his classmates and was now standing next to Ivan.
"Hey guys, reading to start heading home?" Alfred greeted them one they came over. "It's almost past your guys's bedtimes."
Feliks, suddenly beginning to feel tired, held his arms out to Alfred, who didn't hesitate to swoop him up into one of his arms. With his free arm he picked up Toris as well. Francis, not wanting to be left on foot, climbed on Ivan's back. Together, the family made their way out to the car.
Because the next day was Saturday, they mostly took it easy. The sun was peaking out, and Francis suggested that they ride bikes. Alfred readily agreed that this was a great idea, and so they all bundled up with their coats and prepared for a walk/ride around the block.
They had bought bikes for each of the boys. Francis was the only one who was able to ride without training wheels, but he was still a little wobbly, which was why he wore knee and elbow pads too, along with a helmet of course.
Ivan and Alfred had their arms linked, walked next to Arthur, who was clumsily peddling his small little bike. Toris was still very new to bike riding as well. Feliks, who already knew how to pedal and steer, was coaching Toris as he rode alongside him.
"I love this," Alfred suddenly blurted out to Ivan, who raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean seriously dude...everything. Just look at what we've done Ivan! We're raising four amazing kids, we have a family. Just think, we would probably still live quiet, boring lives if we hadn't of joined that fostering program."
"Da, I agree," Ivan replied, "It was certainly worth it."
For a moment the couple just watched their children. Francis was leading their trail, yelling at Feliks and Toris that they were slowpokes. Feliks took that as a challenge and began going faster, leaving a panicked Toris behind, who desperately tried to catch up. Arthur was in the same boat as Toris, struggling to go faster so that he could catch up to the older kids.
When they got back home, Matthew called and invited them all over for lunch. Apparently Gilbert was going to be grilling for the last time before the colder weather and holidays came. Besides, they still hadn't met Feliks yet.
"Uncle Mathieu and Uncle Gilbert's house is really fun!" Francis was telling Feliks in the car as they drove there. "Feliciano and Ludwig have a lot of cool toys. You just have to stay away from Natalia though."
"How come?" Feliks wondered.
"Because she's a meanie!" Arthur explained.
"Alright you two, that's enough," Ivan said to Francis and Arthur. "Natalia is a sweet little girl...just a bit clingy I suppose. And defensive. And possessive..."
"Of sure, that sounds totally sweet," Alfred said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
When they arrived, Gilbert was out on the porch grilling burgers and sausage, Matthew standing next to him.
"Oh hey guys!" Matthew greeted them cheerfully. "Come on up here. Lunch is almost done."
"Mattie, Gilbert, I'd like you guys to meet Feliks!" Alfred introduced them to their newest kid. Feliks, feeling a little shy, ducked behind Alfred's leg.
"Hi Feliks, it's nice to meet you," Matthew greeted him kindly.
"Hi kid, welcome to the family." Gilbert added. "Hope you like wurst!"
"The kids are inside, come on," Matthew told them, leading them through the front door and into the kitchen. They saw Feliciano sitting in a chair, humming as he colored a picture with come crayons.
"Veee, you're here!" He shouted happily. "Come color with me Francis! Luddie didn't want to when I asked him."
"Feli, Ludwig doesn't have to color with you all the time you know." Matthew softly reminded him. Francis was quick to sit down and begin his own picture. Yes, those two were certainly the artists in the family.
"Natalia, Ludwig, they're here!" Matthew called into the living room. It only took a few seconds before Natalia raced into the room, screaming 'Uncle Ivan!' Ivan looked a bit scared, and he set Arthur, who he had been holding, down onto the floor just before Natalia jumped into his arms.
"Uncle Ivan, I've decided that I'm going to marry you," She told him seriously. Ivan blinked.
"Ah, I am very sorry little one, but I am already married to Alfred." He explained, glaring at Alfred and Matthew, who were chuckling. Natalia meanwhile, gave Alfred a very dirty look.
"You can't marry my father!" Arthur added in horror. "I wont let you!"
"Yes I will! Just you wait!" Natalia shouted back at him.
"Okay, okay, calm down!" Matthew said. "Feliciano, can you and Francis color in the living room? I need to set the table up for lunch."
"Why don't you guys all go into the living room until we get the food ready?" Alfred suggested. Once the kids, minus Natalia, had left, they began getting things set up. Gilbert by now had brought in a plate filled with wurst and burgers. Matthew dug around in the fridge for condiments, and Alfred began pouring drinks.
"Feliks seems like a great kid Al, you were right," Matthew said, as he observed the kids in the living room, who were all playing with some of Ludwig's toy soldiers.
"I know, he fits in great!" Alfred replied. "He's been by far the easiest to adjust to things. Sometimes I wonder though, you know, if he'll ever have a breakdown."
"It is possible," Matthew agreed. "But maybe he wont. Just keep doing what you're doing, then I'm sure he'll be okay."
"Yeah. He's also really helping Toris. Honestly, since Feliks arrived the kid has smiled more times than I can count." Alfred said, remembering how hard it had been to get Toris to smile before that.
"Listen Al, you're a really great parent. I'm sorry that I ever doubted you before." Matthew suddenly told him softly.
"Thanks Mattie. You're not that bad of a parent yourself." Alfred replied.
He couldn't help but beam while thinking of their beautiful kids.
a/n: After reading some of your reviews, I found out that some of you really liked the idea of me writing about some of the children's pasts, particularly Arthur and Francis. So, what would you guys say to me starting a couple of short stories about those two guy's stories, like maybe how their pasts were and then how they first got fostered by Ivan and Alfred? What do you guys think? Whose story do you want me to start with, Arthur's or Francis's?
By the way, this story is drawing close to ending. Just two or three more chapters. Sorry this chapter was so much shorter than the rest!