Eh, sorry if this chapter sucks. I got a little stuck, and I've been distracted. Our family dog escaped from her run and ran into the road. She got hit right in the head and died instantly, so it's been very sad. I promise the next chapter will be better.
"Mattie, my bro, wassup?" Alfred greeted his brother with a one armed hug, since he was holding Arthur with his other. Matthew Williams-Beilschmidt, Alfred's twin brother, smiled upon seeing them. Clinging to his pant leg was Natalia, their newest edition. She was only a year older than Arthur. Apparently her parents were both serial killers. They'd somehow managed to take their daughter on the run with them for the first three years of her life before they'd been caught. So now the little Belarusian girl was with Gilbert and Matthew.
"Alfred, Ivan, come on in!" Matthew greeted.
"Unc'a Mattie!" Arthur squealed, holding out his arms eagerly. Alfred passed the squirming toddler over to Matthew, who took Arthur and planted kisses all over his cheeks.
"Uncle Mathieu!" Francis screamed excitedly. He instantly clung onto Matthew and started babbling to him in French. Matthew smiled, answering back in the same language. When they'd first gotten Francis, it had been a big challenge since the poor kid didn't know a word of English. It made communication rather hard at first. Thankfully they had Matthew though, who spoke fluent French and helped Francis learn and communicate. That left a special bond between them.
"Uncle Ivan! My Ivan!" Natalia was next, clinging herself very tightly to Ivan's leg. Ivan smiled, gently picking her up and smoothing back her long hair, which was decorated with a bow. Ivan always wondered what it would be like to have a daughter. At first he'd feel envy, but then realize that nothing was better than his little boys.
"Ve, Uncle Alfred and Uncle Ivan are here! Yay! Come on Luddie!" A little boy shouted happily from the kitchen doorway, dragging a boy who was taller and slightly older than him into the kitchen as well.
"Hey Feli, hey Lud!" Alfred greeted, lifting each of them up into the air at the same time, kissing their faces. Feliciano giggled and Ludwig turned red.
"Hey guys, I see you came to visit the awesome me!" Gilbert said as he walked through the doorway. Francis ran to give his other uncle a hug too. Uncle Gilbert was considered the 'fun and wild' uncle. He worked as a mechanic, and made a good amount of money doing so.
Gilbert ruffled Francis' hair, and then walked over to fist bump Alfred and give Ivan a rather hard clap on the back. Then, the albino man reached out and snagged Arthur from Matthew's hands, raising the toddler up into the air.
"He's still awfully tiny for a two year old," Gilbert observed, bouncing Arthur in the air. "You're not starving the kid, right?"
"Of course not!" Alfred practically shouted, "Art's always been tiny. He even eats a lot!"
"Relax Al, you know I'm joking." Gilbert laughed, passing Arthur back to Matthew.
"I'm making subs for lunch," Matthew told them. "Gil's making some wurst to go on the side. It'll be ready in a few minutes."
The family promptly settled down. Francis, Feliciano, and Ludwig played outside, with Arthur attempting to follow them. Ivan and Alfred sat outside on the patio chairs while Gilbert grilled wurst. Matthew had finished the sandwiches and was setting them up on the patio table.
Natalia sat on Ivan's lap, refusing to get off. Ivan didn't mind though, she was very adorable. While Alfred and Matthew argued over which sport was better, hockey or baseball, Ivan chatted with Gilbert about work.
Eventually Arthur got tired of being excluded from the older kids, so he went back to the porch where the grownups were. He saw Natalia sitting on his father's lap and decided to join them. However, as soon as he attempted to crawl up onto Ivan's lap, something unexpected happened.
Natalia struck Arthur across the face. Hard.
The two year old fell back in surprise, landing flat on his bum. At first everyone was in shock, not knowing what to do. Then Arthur started to cry, his cheek already very red and swollen. For a three year old Natalia was very strong.
Alfred quickly scooped Arthur up from the floor, holding him to his chest. He looked furious. Nobody hurt his baby, not even his niece.
"Natalia, what have I told you about hitting?" Matthew scolded. "Go to your room young lady."
"No!" Natalia screeched.
"Natalia, go to your room or you don't get any cupcakes tonight for dessert. Listen to Vati, okay Princess?" Gilbert said.
"Your daughter's a psycho!" Alfred told Matthew angrily, trying to soothe the sobbing toddler in his arms.
"Alfred, she doesn't know any better! Stop acting so mean!" Matthew defended his daughter.
"Yeah man, she spent the first few years of her life watching people get killed! Cut my princess some slack!" Gilbert added.
"Alfred, they are right. She didn't mean it." Ivan said softly, laying a hand on his husband's back.
"Whatever, we're leaving." Alfred said shortly. "Get Francis."
Alfred knew he was acting immature, but he didn't care. Because of his niece, his baby boy's cheek was swelled up and red. He didn't even know a three year old girl could hit that hard! Matthew tried calling his name but Alfred stomped away and got into the van, buckling Arthur into his carseat. A moment later Ivan came with Francis.
"You're going to have to apologize to them you know," Ivan told him. "You should be more understanding. If Arthur hit someone then would you stay mad at him forever?"
"Of course not! He's my baby!" Alfred answered instantly.
"And Natalia is Matthew and Gilbert's baby. She's also our niece." Ivan reminded him.
"I know, I know," Alfred grumbled. He glanced in the rearview mirror, face instantly brightening when he saw that the two kids had fallen asleep. Sleeping children never failed to brighten his mood.
"Why don't we take it easy for the rest of the day? Maybe take the kids to a movie later or something?" Ivan suggested, taking one of Alfred's hands in his own and massaging it with his thumbs.
"Yeah," Alfred agreed with a smile, eyes still on the road. "That sounds good babe."