More fluffy Modern AU because I like writing it. I promise the next chapter will be canon though. I really tried to finish this before November ended because December is closer to winter but alas school always ruins my plans.
~O~
Ciel steps back to inspect the several orange and red leaves stacked into a large pile.
His blue eyes scan the large yard for any more of the fallen plants.
Seeing none, Ciel gives a smile. After what seemed like hours, he is finally done. He has done an exceptional job if he must say so himself. Not a single one of those pesky leaves are to be seen.
As they young man bends down to pick up the black garbage bag he had retrieved from inside, a loud crash and a crunching sound causes him to immediately stop and turn to the pile.
His mouth falls agape as he sees Abigail and Elliot rolling about in the once neatly raked leaves.
The twins coo and giggle in delight as they playfully begin throw leaves at each other.
"Abby, Elliot! Just how many times do I have to tell you two not to play in the leaves! It took me forever to rake those up!" He shouts, which the children ignore in favor of playing in the leaves.
His rambles are interrupted by the hysteric giggles of a woman. Ciel turns towards the front door. "You! I thought I told you to keep them busy inside!"
Elizabeth glances up and wipes away the tears accumulating in her eyes, "I was but we finished baking the cookies and they got bored." She explains through bouts of untamed giggles.
The man deadpans at her. "Then why didn't you lock the door?" He snaps while trying to pull the twins out of the leaves.
Elizabeth grins, "I think you have forgotten their new ability of locking and unlocking doors. They're so smart." She coos, watching them roll around in the now demolished pile.
Ciel rolls his eyes, "Of course. I'm still trying to figure out if they're intelligence is a gift or a curse." He groans.
Elizabeth smiles and kisses his cheek before strolling over to the pile\ if it could be called that.
"Alright babies. Let's get of those leaves before daddy gets upset." The woman announces as she takes hold of each of their hands.
"Too late." He mutters under his breath.
"Mommy should play in the leaves too~!" Abigail giggles before throwing the remaining fistful of leaves she had in her hand.
"It's so fun mommy!" Elliot adds, kicking a small mound of leaves.
Elizabeth shakes her head, "No, you shouldn't have done that. Daddy worked hard on raking those leaves." She berates, looking into each of their eyes.
"Yes and mommy should have worked harder at keeping you both inside." Ciel adds.
"Shut up!" She yells, before scooping up an armful of leaves and throwing them at her husband.
The man gasps and braces for the impact. "Elizabeth you're worse than the children!" He shrieks as dozens of leaves are hurtled towards him and knocks him to the ground.
Elizabeth and the children double over with laughter as Ciel scrambles to his feet.
"Honestly Lizzy, we're supposed to be setting an example for the children." He grumbles, brushing off the leaves that cling to his coat.
Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "You sound like an old grandpa, Ciel." She replies and childishly sticks out her tongue.
"Throw more leaves at daddy!" The twins cheer, picking up more leaves and throwing them at Ciel.
"Stop it you two! Lizzy help me!" He shouts before slipping on damp leaves and falling to the ground again.
Elizabeth grins and scoops up leaves and begins to dunk them onto her husband alongside Abigail and Elliot.
The twins and Elizabeth burst into giggles as Ciel is practically buried underneath the leaves.
"Alright, Alright, I think he's had enough you two." She snickers, holding her hands out in front of the children, indicating for them to stop.
Elizabeth bends down and holds out her hand with an infuriating smile. "Here baby, grab my hand." She chuckles at her husband as he violently thrashing on the grass.
Ciel sits up and stares skeptically at her outstretched hand before cautiously taking hold of her it.
"Now was that so\ack!" The woman screeches as Ciel yanks her down onto the crackled leaves.
Abigail and Elliot begin to laugh, though it is cut short due to Ciel pushing them down with his feet.
"Oww~!" They wail.
Ciel jumps to his feet and smirks down at his startled family.
"My turn." He says, the grin on his face laced with malice.
The man swiftly begins to gather up large mounts of leaves in his arms and upends them on his awestruck family.
"Ack! Daddy, stop it!" The twins helplessly whine.
Coming out of her daze, Elizabeth kicks Ciel in the knee. He falls to the ground with an audible thud.
"Attack!" She yells and begins fisting orange and red decayed leaves and shoving them onto Ciel's head.
Following their mother's orders, Abigail and Elliot begin picking up leaves throwing them down onto their father.
Ciel rolls over on his back after he clutches leaves at his sides. He releases them into the twins faces and tackles Elizabeth, slipping his fingers under her jacket and tickling her mercilessly.
She gasps at the painfully familiar tingly feeling.
"Ahaha! Kids help me!" She yelps, futilely trying to pry her husband's chilled fingers away from her sides.
Abigail jumps to her feet and chargers toward the man in attempts of rescuing her mother.
One of Ciel's hands retreat from Elizabeth's sides in favor of wrapping around Abigail's waist and pulling her on to the grass.
"Wah~! Daddy, quit it! That tickles~!" She squeaks as her father's hand begins to attack her side as well.
Ciel smirks, digging his fingers deeper into his wife and daughter's ribs.
"Help us Ellie!" Elizabeth laughs breathlessly.
Elliot inhales a large breath before sprinting towards his family. He carefully avoids his father's outstretched arm and runs behind him.
Elliot snickers and jams his fingers into the man's side and begins to shift them in sporadic directions.
Ciel gasps and falls to his stomach while heaving winded giggles.
Having finally been released, Abigail and Elizabeth remain on the cool grass to catch their breaths before joining Elliot in the assault against the navy haired man.
"Ahaha, Uncle, Uncle!" Ciel wheezes as he tries to shift his body away from the appendages.
Elizabeth grins down at her husband, pulling back and glancing back up at the twins. "Alright, I think he's had enough. I don't want his asthma to start acting up again."
The children obediently pull back. Their fingers were growing tired anyways.
Ciel allows his breathing to regulate before muttering, "Thanks."
Elizabeth smiles joining him on the grass and cuddling into his side. "You're welcome, love."
Abigail and Elliot plop down on to ground with their parents and rest their heads on Ciel's arm.
"The yard looks messy again." Ciel states after a pregnant silence.
"I'll help you rake them up during Abby and Ellie's nap time." Elizabeth offers, snuggling closer to the man.
"I'm holding you to that promise, Ethel." He snickers.
The woman groans, "Stop calling me that. You know how much I hate that name."
"Wasn't it your grandmother's first name?" He asks.
"It was my father's mother's first name. My mom's mother's name was Cordelia. My parents couldn't decide whose name to use so they used both." The woman explains.
"So that's why your name is a mouthful to say." Ciel chuckles. Elizabeth lightly hits his chest, "Shut up."
The family lies wordlessly on the slightly damp grass and stare up orange sky.
The gurgling sounds emitting from Elliot's gut disrupts the tranquil silence.
The boy instinctively wraps his arms around his stomach. A rosy blush mounts his porcelain cheeks as his lips curl into a mortified smile.
"Are you hungry Ellie baby?" Elizabeth giggles, reaching over to pinch his red cheek.
The younger twin nods his head sheepishly.
"Can we go eat the cookies now, mommy?" Abigail inquires while sitting up straight.
"They should have cooled down by now. Let's go eat." Elizabeth announces, lifting herself off the grass and brushing away the dirt and leaves clinging to her jeans.
Ciel stands up as well and helps the children up to their feet. He bends down and tenderly wipes the leaves and grass off their clothes.
The family retreats inside the house and into the kitchen.
Abigail and Elliot hop onto the stools by the counter and begin grabbing at the cookies before greedily stuffing them into their mouths.
Elizabeth giggles taking a bite out of a cookie and striding towards the stove, taking a kettle out of the cabinets.
"The cookies smell delicious, Lizzy." Ciel comments shutting the door behind him and entering the kitchen.
"Thank you. They're sugar cookies." Elizabeth calls, pouring something into the kettle and setting it on the stove.
"Look daddy! They're shaped like leaves!" Abigail grins, her voice muffled by the cookies stuffed in her mouth.
Ciel chuckles and pats the enthusiastic girl's head.
"Daddy, daddy look! This is a maple leaf! Mr. Spears taught us that." Elliot chimes, holding up the maple shaped cookie.
"That's very good Elliot. You're very smart." Ciel smiles and ruffles the boy's hair.
The child beams, appreciative of his father's praise.
"They're both little Einsteins." Elizabeth coos, pouring what appears to be milk into the mugs.
"Well of course." Ciel smiles.
"Alright, who wants hot cocoa?" Elizabeth asks, carrying four mugs over to the counter with a grin.
"I do! I do!" The twins squeal, anxiously waving their hands.
Elizabeth giggles, handing them each a steamy red mug. "Be careful babies; it's hot." The woman cautions.
"Here you are darling." She beams, passing Ciel his mug.
"Thanks." He replies before taking a sip.
"Would you like some whip cream, you two?" Elizabeth asks turning to the children.
"Yes please!" They eagerly nod their heads.
Elizabeth retrieves the can from the cabinet and sprays a good amount of cream into their mugs.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome." The mother replies, adding cream to her own drink.
Abigail takes a sip out of her mug before squealing, "Look I have a mustache~!" She giggles at the cream clinging to her upper lip.
"Me too!" Elliot laughs and licks the white foam off of his lip.
"I have one too." Elizabeth chortles with the children.
"Mommy looks silly~!" Abigail teases, leaning over to scoop some of the cream on her mother's face onto her finger and plopping it into her mouth.
"Look at mommy's mustache, daddy." Elliot giggles, tugging at the man's sleeve.
"I think mommy's mustache looks nice." Ciel replies, grabbing the can and squirting the cream into his mouth.
"Ciel don't do that! You're worse than the children about that habit!" Elizabeth chides, snatching the can away from her husband's grasp.
"Look who's talking." Ciel grumbles while rolling his eyes.
Elizabeth flicks some of her whip cream at him. The man effortlessly dodges the weak attack.
"Mommy can we watch a movie?" Abigail asks, poking her mother's arm to gain her attention.
Elizabeth beams, "Of course, go pick one out."
"Okay~!" She smiles, grabbing her mug and skipping into the living room.
"I wanna pick one too, Abby!" Elliot shouts after her and sprinting into the next room.
"Don't spill any hot chocolate on the couch!" Ciel yells after the two.
"I'll go supervise them." Elizabeth chuckles and pecks his cheek before walking out of the kitchen.
"Don't forget you have to help me rake the leaves!" She hears him shout.
"Alright grandpa!" She shouts back and helps the twins pick out a movie to watch.