The rest of what was vacation for the city children went by quickly. Arthur had to constantly yell at Alfred and Peter to 'get off the bloody game station!' though, he usually let them continue if it wasn't the childrens' bedtime. Lily liked to sit on the couch while Mario Kart played on the television and draw. She started off drawing flowers and bunnies, but soon tried to draw people. They really weren't the best, but she did show potential.

A few days before school started back up, Alfred and Arthur took the children school shopping. This put a huge dent in their wallets, but an even bigger smile on the childrens' faces. Sure, they couldn't have the nice notebooks with the ponies and super heroes on them, but they weren't expecting it. They were just nice to have something they could call their own.

The first day of school was a crisp day in January. Sun streamed in through the single window of the kid's bedroom, making the snow on the sidewalk below sparkle. Lily was very excited to go to school and it had taken her a good hour past her bedtime to finally fall asleep. Peter, on the other hand, didn't seem as excited and acted as though he would rather stay home than go to school for six hours.

At seven that morning, Arthur tapped on the door and came in. Peter groaned and rolled over while Lily sat up excitedly. "Good morning, loves," he smiled. "It's time to get up now. I'll get you some cereal while you get dressed." With that, he slipped out of the room and Lily bounced out of bed. Peter rolled his eyes and got out, going to the dresser where their clothes had been neatly folded for them.

They didn't have very many clothes, but that was alright by them. Arthur and Alfred had bought Lily and Peter new clothes for their first day. Well, the clothes were new to them. Arthur had found a Salvation Army thrift store and there had been a few gems there. Lily dawned a light pink dress and Mary Janes while Peter wore khaki pants and a blue polo. Peter complained that the clothes were way too formal for just school, but Arthur wouldn't hear it. Alfred decided it was best to stay out of this argument, simply because he thought Peter was right.

The two children dressed and were just about to go out into the kitchen when they heard shouting. Thinking it was just Arthur yelling at the cat again, they decided to venture out into the kitchen. However, the next thing they noticed was the smell of something burning and the shouting became clearer.

"I did not bloody burn the cereal!" Arthur shouted at a giggling Alfred. The American's face was red from laughing and the Brit's was red from anger and embarrassment.

"Well, then why is it all black and smoky and stuff?" Alfred asked, still chuckling. The kids came into the room and saw Arthur stand ridged and start to sputter.

"W-Well... I-I-I... That's just the way the cereal is made!" Arthur came up with weakly. "And it's not my fault, it's yours!"

"How is it my fault?" Alfred cried.

"Because you distracted me!"

"No I didn't!"

"Then that bloody cat did!"

"Nugget's still asleep in our room! Dude, you burnt the cereal. End of story!" Arthur gave Alfred a death glare and Peter started to laugh. Lily looked like she wanted to, but realized that Arthur was angry and didn't dare make him even more upset.

"Fine, whatever!" Arthur yelled. He turned to the kids and pointed at the table. "Eat your breakfast or you'll be late." It was then that Peter stopped laughing and Lily looked frightened, not of Arthur, but of possibly being forced to eat the burnt cereal.

"We're not eating that, jerk," Peter pouted and crossed his arms. Arthur looked like he wanted to strangle him and opened his mouth to shout when Nugget came into the room. The large cat jumped onto the table, looked at the cereal, sniffed it, and then did something that looked like a gag. With his long tail, he whacked the two bowls off the table and then walked off. Had Arthur not looked ready to kill everyone, Peter would have burst out laughing, but even the boy who loved making the older Brit angry knew where to draw the line.

Arthur started to scream at the cat and Alfred got the floor wiped up. He then stood and poured unburnt cereal into two bowls for the children to eat before they left. "Here, eat up or we really are gonna be late," Alfred whispered to them, then dragged Arthur out of the room in hopes of calming the Brit down before they had to leave.

Peter and Lily sat down at the table and started to eat the store brand cornflakes. Lily smiled brightly, excited about going to school while Peter looked uninterested. "Peter, aren't you happy to be going to a real school?" Lily asked, noticing the boy's expression.

Peter huffed and took an angry bite of cereal. "School's stupid. This is stupid," he replied shortly, making Lily frown.

"But school's important, Peter! Mr. Arthur told me when you were asleep a little while back. School makes you smart, so it's important to go to a good one. The one in the city isn't the best ever by far, but it's better than the education we've gotten." Lily smiled. "And Mr. Arthur taught us everything we'll need to know to start school!"

Peter simply shook his head and didn't reply. He knew that both Arthur and Lily were right, but he didn't want to admit it. Plus, Arthur probably wouldn't understand the social part of school which, as a young boy would, he was focusing on.

Peter had never gotten along well with other boys his age. He had only ever had Lily to protect and he usually had to fight the boys his age for food. For him, it was easier to interact with kids younger than he was than with people his age and older. However, now he was going to be put in a class with kids he not only didn't know, but also didn't know how to interact with. He knew Lily would get on just fine. She was shy, but could be friendly, and was also very kind. There was not a doubt in anyone's mind that Lily would make a friend on the first day.

Peter decided as he finished his cereal and began to clean up that he wouldn't even bother to try and make friends. Arthur had said that it was important to meet the other children and Alfred made it sound like friends were the most important part of school, but Peter wouldn't listen. He would just sit there and learn and maybe just read during recess.

Lily sighed at Peter and got up to clean as well. She wished that he would have a better attitude. She was worried about him, even though she knew he was probably more worried about her. They wouldn't be going to the same school. Lily was going into 5th grade at the elementary school and Peter was going into 7th grade at the middle school. Alfred, who passed the school on the way to work each day, told them that it was a very modern looking school complex where all the grades were included. However, the elementary and the middle school sections were kept separate. The children had never been apart for that big a length of time since they had met each other.

Arthur and Alfred came out of the bedroom dressed for the chilly winter weather. Arthur was still scowling, but seemed to have calmed down. He turned to the kids and finally put a smile on.

"Good, you're done eating. Well, it's time to go. Go get your coats on and we can head out." The children nodded and got up to get their coats. Lily happily put on her pink and purple winter coat. Peter grudgingly threw on his green and blue one. Arthur helped get Lily's purple gloves, hat, and scarf on, though Peter refused any help. Alfred grabbed his keys and wallet and together, the family headed out.

The sun was misleadingly bright, but the rest of the world was cold. It had snowed the previous week and the roads and sidewalks were clear. People on the sidewalks walked in between mountains of snow on the sidewalks, leaving footprints with their boots in the white dust that lightly grazed the top of the cement.

It took ten minutes, but eventually the small family had made it to the school. It was a single plot of land that included the elementary, middle, and high schools. In the future, the kids would go their separate ways down the indicated paths to their school building, but Alfred and Arthur felt it best to introduce themselves since the kids were starting in the middle of the year.

They walked into the main office building and found their way to the principal's office. A kind secatary told them to take a seat and that they were expecting them as Alfred had called previously to enroll Lily and Peter. A few minutes later, they were ushered into the principal's office.

It was a nicely decorated and large office that featured a nice wooden desk with a large black chair on once side and two smaller, but still cushioned, chairs on the other side. A smiling Italian man was seated in the large chair, a strand of his dark brunette hair sticking up. His smile only widened as he motioned for the blonde family to come forward and sit down. Lily and Peter brought up two more chairs off to the side and placed them on either side of the set that was already there. Alfred and Arthur sat down in front of the man.

"Well, hello!" the man said with a bright smile. "The Kirkland-Jones-es I presume?"

"Yes, it is very nice to meet you," Arthur replied with the same politeness. "I am Arthur Kirkland and this is my husband Alfred Jones. These are our children Lily Kirkland-Jones and Peter Kirkland-Jones. We just wanted to make sure their schedules were correct that their transition into the school system would be sooth." The principal nodded.

"I promise we will make this move very happy and relaxed for your kids," he said. "I am Brutus Romulus, the principal here, obviously. I have been principal for over twenty years after teaching here for thirty."

"Dude, your name is sweet!" Alfred blurted out. "It's all Roman-y!" Arthur rolled his eyes and sighed. His husband knew no manners. However, Mr. Romulus laughed.

"It is, isn't it?" he smiled. "I love it. My parents were very fond of their Roman heritage, so they decided to pick a Roman name for me. You can trace my blood all the way back to Caesar's time."

"That's very interesting, Mr. Romulus," Arthur said with a smile. "Anyway, Lily will be going into fifth grade and Peter will be going into seventh, correct?" He didn't want to come across as rude, but the children needed to get to their first class and even he could tell that it wasn't socially acceptable for their parents to stick around for an extended period of time. It was time they were on their own without the guidance of Alfred and Arthur, yet under the watchful eyes of the school system.

"That is correct!" Mr. Romulus nodded, slightly saddened that they had to drop the subject. He loved talking about his heritage. "Now, do you two have any question?" He addressed this question to Lily and Peter, his gaze flickering between them.

Lily shook her head with a smile, but Peter nodded. "Yeah, when does school end?" He asked this with a haughty and rather rude voice, making Arthur glare at him. Mr. Romulus chuckled.

"School days go until two thirty and the year ends sometime in June, but I'll have to check the exact date," he responded. "Now if there are no further questions, I believe the school day is about to begin." He stood up, indicating that it was time for the parents to go and the children to leave for their classes. The family stood up and Lily ran to hug Arthur.

"Now, you have a good day, love," he smiled at her. "We'll be here to pick you up when school's over. Enjoy yourselves and learn something." He looked over at Peter and the boy scowled. This made Arthur frown, but he forced a smile onto his own face.

"Have fun guys!" Alfred said brightly and took Arthur's hand. "Wanna walk me to work?" Arthur sighed in an exasperated tone, but nodded 'yes,' wanting nothing more than to walk with Alfred. He would then have to walk to classes at the community college and come home to an empty house which saddened him a little. With the children, the house had been so lively. It made the days when Alfred wasn't home much easier to get through. His mind then drifted to the new computer he had gotten and he smiled some. He had, indeed, started writing a novel, but he had only written a few pages. At least now he would have some quiet time to work on his story.

The four made their way out of the office where they would take separate paths. Lily would go to the left which would lead her down a hallway to the elementary school. Peter would take the middle hallway where he would find the middle school. Alfred and Arthur would exit through the doors and go to work and school.

As the couple walked, Alfred smiled as the cold bit at his face, turning his nose and cheeks and rosy red. "I really hope they have fun today!" he said brightly. "And that they make a lot of friends. And that they get good grades." Arthur smiled a bit.

"I hope so too, dear. I have a feeling that Lily, though shy, will meet at least one other kind little girl. Peter however..." Arthur allowed himself to scowl and Alfred chuckled.

"What's with you and him? You two bicker like brothers!"

Arthur mulled this over. "You think so?"

"I'm so excited! Are you excited? Huh? Are ya? Are ya? I can't wait! This is gonna be so awesome! I just love little kids! I can't wait to meet them! I hope I get a girl! Then I can do her hair and—"

"Amy, would you shut up?" Green eyes fell upon a young girl of the same age. She blinked and looked up at him in confusion.

"Geeze, Vash, I was just trying to be happy. I mean, I know you're never happy, but—"

"I said shut up." The boy named Vash turned his head and crossed his arms as he walked down the hallway towards the administration building. His class was going to the fifth grade to meet up with their "little brothers and sisters." It was a school program where the seniors would take on one of the fifth graders as their little friends which would prepare the older kids for taking care of children when they got older and help the younger kids make friends and develop social skills as well as whatever skills their big siblings teach them.

However, Vash was less than excited and could think of a million things he would rather be doing, some of which involved hot lava. His idea of fun was not taking care of little kids. If they couldn't fend for themselves at this age, they never would be able to and they should just give up on them now.

"You know, we have to do this to graduate, so you'd better at least try to like it," the girl named Amy pouted. "And if you make your kid cry, you get an F. It's not written down, but I bet you will." Before Vash could yell at her to be quiet again, she moved on to her group of giggling, gossiping girlfriends.

Sighing, Vash continued along the hallway, into the administration building, and down the hallway to the elementary school. A raven haired Asian boy with deep brown eyes jogged up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Vash turned and noticed this boy as his friend, Kiku. "Hello, Vash-kun. How are you today?" Now, Kiku had recently moved from Japan and his parents still expected him to uphold the highest respect for even his school friends. This meant adding honorifics to the end of peoples' names. It was annoying at first, but Vash soon grew to appreciate this example of respect.

"Fine," Vash replied to his question shortly. "This is stupid, though. I don't see why we have to take care of a couple of brats and try to teach them the ways of the world." Kiku sighed. His friend could be so stone-hearted.

"I think this will be a wonderful experience, though," Kiku said. "It will teach us how to interact with children and meet their needs. I mean, I do have a few siblings, but this will still be stimulating." Vash simply remained silent. He didn't want to think of siblings.

"Not to mention that fifth grade is a nice year to learn. I remember when Mei Mei was in fifth grade," Kiku went on. "She did have her tempers, but she was a nice sister." Vash looked away. She would have been in fifth grade.

Noticing his friend's silence, he turned to see Vash not looking at him. "Vash-kun? Are you alright?" The Japanese boy gently touched his shoulder and Vash shrugged it away.

"Fine."

"I can tell you are not..." Finally something clicked. "Is it... Is it about your sister?" Vash had confided in his best friend the truth about his past. He wasn't always raised in Elizaveta and Roderick's home. He had told Kiku about his mother and father and of course about his precious sister, Lily, who had died in a fire when she was three.

"She would have been in fifth grade." Vash responded and quickened his pace, not to get away from Kiku, but to get away from the subject. His friend remained silent for the rest of the walk.

Soon, the class entered a classroom and the teacher greeted them. A chorus of greetings resounded around the room as the children said hello to their new brothers and sisters. "Welcome to the class!" the teacher smiled brightly. "If you would please take a slip of paper from this hat and read the name, that would be great! Then match the name with the name tag on the desks and you'll find your little sibling!" She spoke just like a fifth grade teacher would, kind and soft, but with a cheery air.

Vash picked out a name and read the paper. Clifford Phillips. Stupid name. He glanced over at Kiku's paper and his eyes widened despite himself.

"Kiku, who did you get?" Vash whispered in a demanding tone.

"Lily Kirkland-Jones... Oh." Kiku looked up at him sympathetically.

"Trade me."

"Vash, it's not—"

"Now, Kiku."

"Are you sure that's the best idea, Vash? It could hurt you emotionally..."

"I don't care. Trade with me now, dammit." Vash glared at him and Kiku sighed. He swapped the papers and the seniors went about trying to find their sibling.

Vash looked through the rows until he spotted a small girl doodling on a piece of notebook paper. Her head was bent not in resentment for the program, but out of shyness. Light pink brushed her face as though she hoped that she had not been counted and they wouldn't make her meet someone.

He paused and watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, allowing a bow to fall in front to cover her face. It was frayed and tattered.

And purple.

DUN DUN DUN THE PLOT THICKENS
Guys.
Guys.
GUYS. Dude, you guys are amazing! Seriously! Over ten reviews? Hmm maybe I need to beg more eue /SHOT. Kidding! But keep it up! Seriously!

Sorry for late updates. School started a little bit ago and I've been weighed down with homework. But I've been trying to write a paragraph a day, even if it's just on one story. Hopefully it'll help!

Anyway, we have some foreshadowing here and next chapter involves Vash and Lily! Whoot! So, review and I'll try my best to get the next chapter out!

AND YES ROME'S NAME IS BRUTUS ROMULUS SHUT UP I DO WHAT I WANT /SHOT