A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for all of your support.
I really hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Nine: Happy Birthday!
The yard was bustling with the activity of young children. Screeches could be heard throughout the neighborhood. There was a blow up bounce house in the expansive grass area, balloons that lined the yard and two cakes sitting on the garden table. On each of the cake there were four candles.
"So, the twins are turning four today," Elizabeta smiled. "Feliciano had just turned four the year we adopted him and his brother. Before you know it the boys will be ready for school. Are you going to send them to preschool this year?"
"Non," Francis answered. "We decided to give them one more year to completely adjust. Plus that will give us the opportunity to travel and do some family things without having to worry about working around the boys' school schedule."
"That's understandable. Now that both of our boys are in school it is harder to plan vacations unless it is summer time," the Hungarian woman sighed.
The children ran back and forth across the yard yelling with pure joy at the enormous amount of fun they were having. Matthew and Alfred always enjoyed having the other kids over since they didn't get to interact with children their own age a lot. Even though Emil lived right across the street they hadn't been able to play much due to the ongoing court battles that Lukas was having with his family. He was trying to get complete guardianship over his younger brother due to his parents being unfit to raise the child themselves. Emil was always traveling back and forth between their home across the street and the town in which the courts were located or he was under Mathias' charge. Mathias wanted nothing more to win the approval of his housemate, so when he was in charge of the small child he would take Emil to different places for fun.
As for all the other children, they lived in different towns so play dates had to be scheduled and that didn't happen very often due to everyone's busy life styles.
Arthur watched the boys giggling and smiling as they chased after their friends. It warmed his heart to see them so happy.
Lukas took a seat next to the Englishman. "Thanks for inviting us over. Emil is really enjoying himself."
"Your welcome, chap," Arthur smiled. "You are always welcome to come over whenever you like. Even if you just want to drop Emil off for him to play with the twins. That is fine as well."
"I might take you up on that offer in a couple of weeks. I have a court hearing soon and the judge said it might be a little too long for him to sit through. Mathias would normally watch Emil but he has an important meeting that day."
"How is court going? Any progress?"
"Well, the judge is finally seeing my side so I don't think it will be long before I have full guardianship. We are supposed to go over all of the points and checks at the next hearing. That is why it will take longer than usual."
"Well, I hope you get the outcome we are all expecting. Emil will benefit even more if he can stay out of that house." Arthur knew exactly how rough Lukas' childhood was and he didn't want to see Emil go through the same thing. Not only would it be bad for the toddler but it would devastate Lukas, even if he didn't show it outwardly.
"Daddy!" Alfred came running at full speed. "Tan we open presents, please?"
"Not yet, love," Arthur laughed knowing how his son had been eyeing the stack all morning. "After lunch and cake."
"Otay," Alfred said with a pouty tone but he ran off when Ludwig and Feliciano called him from the bounce house.
Around noon the yard, and quite possibly the neighborhood, was filled with the smell of freshly grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. Everyone who was attending the boys' birthday party gathered on the patio to eat.
The boys and their friends sat down at the small patio table. The air was filled with their chatters of the most recent popular cartoons. Arthur thought it was quite humorous how the twins tried to act like they knew everything the other boys were talking about, when in reality they got very little TV time each day.
"So, Gilbert," Arthur said. "How is Ludwig doing in school?"
"Oh, he's doing awesome. He had straight A's at the end of the last year."
"That's amazing," Elizabeta sighed. "I wish my boys would apply themselves to school like your brother does."
"Maybe they would if you were stricter about them studying," Roderich grumbled.
"The boys need to have fun too, so they don't become a couple of kids with too much energy. You know what happened the last time you grounded Feliciano for a whole week."
The Austrian sighed in defeat. "You are right, dear. We don't want a repeat of that."
"What happened?" Francis questioned curiously.
"When he was in first grade, he got in trouble for sneaking pasta into the classroom and trying to feed it to the class pet," the Hungarian woman giggled. "It was a goldfish."
"The fish nearly died and traumatized several of his classmates." Roderich rubbed his brow as if the memory pained him. "As a result, I grounded him to his room, where all he could do is study for a week."
Elizabeta couldn't help but laugh out loud as she continued the story. "It had only been two days into the week when we got the call. Apparently out Feliciano is a bundle of energy and trying to contain it isn't a good thing. Half way through his reading class he got up, took a deep breath and yelled pasta. Then he ripped off his clothes and ran down the hall screaming pasta for all." All of the adults at the party burst into a fit of laughter, even Lukas. "We asked him later why he did that. He told us he couldn't remember."
"That is why, when he gets in trouble now we give him extra chores," Roderich explained.
Arthur and Francis exchanged grim looks. Alfred was already proving to be a bundle of energy. They feared as he got older he would be uncontainable. At least they could take this experience their friends had and not repeat it.
After chatting for a short time longer they could tell the birthday boys were getting restless. Not only did Alfred have his eyes and mind on the presents, Matthew did too.
"Papa, pweas tan we open dem now," Arthur heard the quiet voice pleading with Francis.
"After we have cake, mon cher." The French man told his son. Matthew sighed but rejoined his brother and friends.
With faces covered in icing and sugar fueled energy, the boys ran back and forth playing tag with their friends. Francis called both over and wiped the sweet sticky goodness off of them and told them to sit down.
One by one, each opened a present from their friends. Matthew received several coloring books with arctic animals, some crayons, and some other toys that suited him perfectly. Alfred was pleased with his super hero coloring books and crayons, along with his many super hero toys his friends gave him.
"Tank you," the boys chimed in unison. In returned they got a jumble of your welcomes.
Francis gave Arthur the thumbs up, which was the cue to bring out their presents to the boys.
"Happy Birthday!" Arthur exclaimed as he wheeled two bikes with training wheels around the corner of the house.
"Bon anniversaire!" Francis cheered at the same exact time.
Both boys stared with their mouths hanging slightly open. "Wow!" was the only thing they could manage.
The bike Alfred was receiving was dark blue with bits of red designs all around the frame. Matthew's on the other hand was bright red and had white images throughout the frame.
"Tank you, Papa and Daddy," Matthew cried. He ran over to Francis and gave him a tight hug.
"Tank you," Alfred said as he jumped up into his father's arms.
"Your welcome, love," Arthur cooed as he cuddled his now four year-old close. "We can practice riding them tonight."
"Otay," Alfred cheered.
After all the thank yous were given, the kids went back to playing. Francis took a seat next to Arthur and commented with a grin, "It looks like we did well today, Angleterre."
"I do believe so, old chap," replied Arthur taking a sip from his tea.
"I have one more surprise for the boys and you, since I missed you anniversaire. Next week we are going on a little vacation, but I am not saying where," Francis smiled smugly.
Arthur was touched by his friend's gesture but was also concerned by this sudden mystery. Who knows what the next week would bring? Apparently only the French man with blue eye like the sea and wavy blond hair that made Arthur think of the summer sun.
A/N: Thanks you for reading. Please consider reviewing. See you next chapter.
