Chapter 6 Are You My Mommy?
Arthur Kirkland was quite glad for his job as a Governess. Not only was he provided a home, food, and salary, he was also provided with the luxury of sleeping in just a little bit later than most working class people. Whereas the Viscount arose quite early on busy days, and merchants and other workers awoke with him around the break of dawn, Arthur had the opportunity to stay in just a little while longer, solely due to the fact that he worked with children. That would then pose the question: 'What makes working with children allow you to sleep in later?' Yes, he did have lesson plans to go over, but they were usually checked and ready before he went to bed. So, what exactly did allow Arthur Kirkland, Governess Extraordinaire, to sleep in? The answer was painfully simple.
No sane child wanted to wake up at the crack of dawn to start working on arithmetic.
Thus, when the blond Briton woke the next morning, the birds outside of his window were chirping happily, and the sunlight that streamed heavily through the thin glass was strong. Blinding actually. Really blinding. In fact, the moment Arthur's eyes even slid open to reveal moody and blazing green eyes, a loud groan left his lips as he slumped over in his bed, pulling the heavy navy blue blanket over his head and eyes. "Cloooooose…" Arthur moaned, despite the fact that no one was around to hear his demand. He was still for a couple more seconds, but once awake, he wasn't able to will himself back to sleep. It even seemed as if the light had penetrated the heavy blanket and was still getting in his eyes.
"For God's sake someone close the curtain!" He yelled, voice muffled. But he knew it was in vain. Just about ready to throw off the blanket, trudge to the window, and throw the curtains close as usual, a small yet familiar voice rang through the room.
"I GOT IT!" yelled the shrill voice, completely unfit for a serene morning. Instantly, Arthur jerked up in bed, his covers clutched tight in his fists against his chest, and his eyes blinking groggily yet fast, in an attempt to see his room's infiltrator. However, instead of seeing some man in a burglar's mask, running at him to tie him down and demand him of his money, he saw a flash of blond running towards his windows, and a small and lithe body jump up onto the chair in front of the windows to reach the curtain upper edge. Arthur watched in shock as Franklin dragged the curtains of the two large windows in his room together, effectively shutting out any light and leaving the room quite dark except for the small thin strip of sunlight that shone between the cracks. Franklin then hopped down from the chair and marched right over to the foot of Arthur's bed. Clasping his small hands behind his back and smiling at Arthur with a smile that could only be described as stupidly mischievous, Arthur slowly lowered his blankets and blinked a few times again so that his eyes could adjust to the darkness.
"Franklin?" he ended up asking, but it came out more like a statement.
"Yes!" came the bright response, and Arthur frowned a bit. It was way too early to be this happy.
"Franklin…thank you for...er, closing the curtains, but-"
"Yooouu're welcome!" said Franklin. Arthur thought it sounded like a small dog's bark.
"Yes, er, Thanks. But really. What are you doing in here?" he asked warily. He didn't really have the strength to scold the child for intruding into his room, and he knew he looked as if he didn't have any position to chide anyways, due to his mussed up hair and groggy expression. He simply just wanted to know what on earth Franklin wanted.
Franklin grinned his signature grin, one that made any onlooker a bit wary, and shrugged his shoulders. "Just wanted to wake you up!" he chirped, looking as awake as the day was. Dressed in a plain white dress shirt underneath what looked like a miniature tweed coat, he had brown trousers to match that hung just to his ankles, where his long and scrunched down socks showed, his feet inserted into nicely brushed brown child loafers. Arthur internally half-heartedly cursed wealthy people for being able to provide their children with the utmost best on the market. "I was awake awhiiiile ago, and even though lessons don't start for another…" Franklin's head jerked upwards to glance at the clock next to Arthur's bed. "Hour, I figured I'd wake you up instead!" he said, smirking.
Arthur, whose green eyes were still narrowed towards the small boy in front of him, sighed and began the trek of getting out of the bed, throwing his blankets off of him first before swinging his legs over the edge. "Well, I do suppose I should've been awake earlier as well, but thank you regardless for concerning yourself with my morni- OW! BLOODY HELL, WHAT THE-"
The Governess' polite sentence was cut off abruptly the moment his feet hit the ground. Or at least, what was on the ground. Unstable flooring and sharp edges sent pain shooting up his feet and legs, making him jump back onto the bed with a face of panic. The cuss had ripped from his lips unknowingly but it went unnoticed as Arthur stared down at horror at what was scattered all around the edge of the bed, ready for when he was about to step out.
Building blocks of many sizes and shapes were littered around the floor, scattered around to cover up a lot of space, but enough to be close together, ensuring that Arthur's foot would not find purchase on the ground at all. They were light brown and sanded down, then glossed over with lacquer. But the edges were still existent and those of the triangles, rectangles, squares and other various geometrical shapes were what caused the pain. Some were large while others were tiny, most likely the cause of the sharpest of pains when they sunk into his flesh.
Arthur's attention from the prank was pulled away when he tuned into the cackling that was audible from the foot of his bed. Turning his head slowly, with eyes wide due to shock, his gaze landed on the troublemaker that undoubtedly caused all of this to happen. Franklin, in his cute little jacket and shoes, was laughing madly at the scene that had just happened due to his ingeniousness. Arms crossing his stomach, the boy was doubled over as he laughed at Arthur's misfortune.
"Y-You're face!" exclaimed the Viscount's son between wheezes. "That was REALLY funny!" he cried out, his laughter dying down to childish giggles, masked by a smirk. A naughty smirk.
The Briton was still trying to recover from the shock (and the pain). Here he was, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Franklin was warming up to him, and that the boy genuinely came into his room just to wake him up. How could he have been so blind? Of course Franklin wouldn't have warmed up to him that fast. Arthur should've known, should've EXPECTED, that something was bound to happen. Finally, he found his voice. Unprofessionally, in a really undignified manner, he crawled hastily on his hands and knees to the foot of the bed where he was face to face with the boy that showed no fear. "You," he muttered, pointing a finger right in Franklin's face. "You, are a little-"
And then it happened. Arthur couldn't even finish his sentence because the little prankster was just so stupidly brilliant. Before the last word could come out, Franklin turned sharply to his left and bolted straight for the door, screaming at the top of his lungs. "DAAAAADDY!"
'Oh, you are EVIL!' Arthur thought, as he gaped at the little figure running away from punishment. A smirk appeared on Arthur's lips, one that rivaled Franklin's, and he grabbed the bedpost closest to him, using it as momentum to swing around as he hopped off of the bed. Luckily, there were no blocks placed at the foot of the bed, and as soon as Arthur's feet hit the ground, he started running. Franklin's lithe form slipped out of his door and Arthur followed in suit, flinging the door open farther in order for him to rush out quickly. Skidding out into the hallway outside of his room, the Governess whipped his head left and right before he caught sight of Franklin sprinting down the hall as if the devil was on his heels. 'And by hell, he is.' Arthur thought as he took off running down the hall.
The blond man didn't really have an attack plan for what was going to happen when he was going to catch Franklin - and yes, Arthur was quite sure that he was going to catch him – and all he knew was that the child was in for a scolding, as predicted. Down the long hallway was where the chase took place, and the ultimate climax was not Arthur victoriously tackling a 6 year old child to the ground. Instead, it was when Franklin halted abruptly at the entrance of another passageway and Arthur nearly collided with him in an attempt to halt. The Governess made no move in trying to seize the boy at all, in fact, because the reason why Franklin stopped and the reason why Arthur immediately froze right after him was because the Viscount Jones was standing at the entrance of the hallway, staring at the two of them with the most peculiar expression.
"Franklin?" Alfred asked curiously, staring down at his son, who was breathing hard yet wore a bright and innocent smile. Then, the Viscount's head turned and landed on Arthur. Arthur, who was still wearing his pajamas and was barefoot. Arthur, whose hair hadn't been brushed whatsoever, and looked like a bird's nest upon his head. Arthur, who didn't even wash his face before sprinting out of his room and was 1000% sure that a few sleep remnants were still visible around his lips and at the corners of his eyes. The Dignified and Proud Governess Kirkland. "Arthur." Came the Briton's name from the Viscount's lips. Instead of sounding like a confused question like Franklin's was, it instead was a simple statement, one that had many meanings in it without actually saying it. There were questions upon questions piled up on that simple word and Arthur simply wanted to die.
Like a bullet, Arthur moved. He straightened himself up as best as possible, flattening his hair as much as it could go and brushing himself off to make himself seem worthy enough to be in the presence of the Viscount this morning. Simply looking at the taller man made Arthur want to groan at how out-of-place he seemed. Alfred was already dressed in casual day clothes, looking ridiculously handsome despite the fact that they were just garments a rich man would wear at home. The Viscount had forgone the dress suit and/or tailcoat, choosing to stick with simply a white dress shirt that was trimmed with gold at both the collars and the wrists. The buttons themselves looked as if they were stamped from gold and the light grey trousers that the noble paired the shirt with looked so contrasting that it somehow just fit. "Bloo-" Arthur's mouth moved to release a cuss, but when his eyes caught those of Franklin's, he swore internally and let out a weak: "Blimey…"
When the Governess felt that he was as decent as he could make himself-which in all honesty was not that decent at all-he took a deep breath and began to apologize, while expecting the worst. "Good morning sir," he started off, making sure to maintain eye contact, since it was courteous to show that you were in the wrong by being confident, rather than hiding one's eyes and face by looking down and sulking. "I apologize for having you see me in this state. I was simply following after Franklin here who had found quite the interesting way to wake me up this morning…" Arthur trailed off at that statement, refraining the urge to drop a 'friendly' hand on Franklin's shoulder. But Alfred still looked a bit bewildered, although he did have a slightly bemused expression by this point.
"I don't doubt that he had done something undesirable," The Viscount spoke, shooting a slightly disapproving look at Franklin, whose expression turned sulky as he crossed his arms and turned his head away. "But I am quite aware of the fact that an adult does not normally chase after children, especially in their own homes." His deep blue eyes slid back over to Arthur, who blanched and couldn't help but duck his head just a bit in humility. "Do clean up and ready yourself up for the day, Governess. I'll have Franklin brought up when it's time for his lessons." Was the last thing that Alfred said to him, before giving him a nod and taking Franklin by the hand, leading him back down the hallway.
The blond man was left in the middle of the hallway, standing awkwardly in nothing but his pajamas and a head full of bed hair. As the Viscount and his son rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Arthur groaned and turned to the side, falling forwards the short distance until his forehead slammed into the wall across from him. However, the moment Arthur's head touched the wall, he shouted in pain and jerked backwards, stumbling a bit and vigorously rubbing the skin right in the middle of his forehead where he could feel the blood underneath pulsing. With horrified eyes, he registered the extremely large gilded frame that hung right in front of him on the wall. As he had fallen forwards, his forehead and slammed right into the intricately designed wooden frame, that depicting of tiny cherubs and other heavenly themed ornaments. Arthur swore loudly by himself in the empty hallway, his hand clamped over his forehead. If he had the imprint of a tiny naked baby angel, he was going to throw a fit.
His temporary irritation dissipating, Arthur's eyes traveled upwards and he was a bit startled by the picture that was depicted on the large frame. It was a family portrait, and it had finally dawned on the Governess how peculiar it was for such a massive picture to be placed in such a random hallway in the middle of the manor. Also, it struck him surprised to see that when he saw a family portrait, it was a family portrait. The Viscount was sitting on a chair, smiling handsomely towards the camera. Next to him, a beautiful woman with a waterfall of brown curls sat on a chair as well, with a small child in her lap. Charlotte Jones, Arthur thought, truly was a stunning woman. 'Shame she abandoned such a nice looking family…' Arthur mused, his eyes straying to little Franklin Jones, who could be no older than two years old. He could see the clear resemblance between the two parents, and he noticed how the Franklin's eyes resembled his mother's almost to the point. Perhaps that was what kept the Viscount from punishing the child too much. He looked like his mother.
A voice came from beside him, and the Governess jumped as his head whipped to the side, expecting the Viscount to have come back, saw him still standing there, and began to scold him. But instead, much to his relief, it was simply Percy, who had somehow materialized next to him silently while Arthur was busy gazing at the photo. Percy's own eyes were also trained on the large portrait, causing Arthur to return his gaze.
It was silent for a second or two, since Arthur wasn't quite sure what to ask, but Percy spoke instead, in a graze tone. "They were a very admirable family." Percy shot Arthur a glance, and the blond nodded, knowing the reputation. "Charlotte was quite the woman, and everyone loved her. Of course, when she…left, her reputation vanished in instants."
Tilting his head to the side, Arthur's eyes followed the streams of Charlotte's beautiful brown locks, following their curls and their curves. "If she had turned…unappealing, why is this portrait still up?" Arthur questioned the butler, genuinely curious. "Wouldn't most people take down any pictures of a cheating spouse not only for their sake, but to shield their children as well?" Arthur immediately thought of Franklin, who probably passed this portrait every single day of his life. He wondered what the child thought, when he gazed upon his mother and knew that she had done a horrible deed to her family. For a moment, Arthur thought of the Viscount being terribly irresponsible.
To his side, he heard a slight chuckle, and Arthur looked at Percy who had turned to him to speak. "Plenty of the Manor's staff love the Viscount, so we have no problem in giving him our advice when it comes to this house. So when Charlotte left, almost all of us were set on taking down her photos. We had loved her as well, but seeing her smiling face brought pain to many of us when it brought back the memories of her betrayal." Percy spoke with a tired expression, as if he had gotten over the fact that it hurt so much and that he had accepted it with a grudging heart. "The Viscount went through the typical stages of grief, from tearing down every picture aggressively, to holding them in his trembling hands, but in less than a day, almost every picture of the Viscountess was gone. Either burned, shredded, hidden away, or thrown out."
"All except one…" Arthur chimed in, his voice showing sympathy as well as question as to why Alfred had chosen to leave this massive portrait up.
Percy nodded a bit forlornly, looking back at the picture. "This used to hang in the entrance hall, on the wall of the landing as soon as you go up the main stairs. We all knew we couldn't destroy this one, but we did push for it to be safely stored in the deepest parts of the cellar downstairs. However, by this point, the master had gotten to the point where he slightly regretted treating the pictures of his love so harshly, and he refused to take this down. He did order it though, to be moved to somewhere else in the house. He left it up to my discretion, and simply wanted it for it not to be in the main hall."
"So you moved it here."
"Yes," replied the butler. "Into the guest wing. Since we don't normally have guests, I decided that this would be the best place to keep the portrait. The Viscount and his son don't have much business in this wing so it lowers the chance of them coming across it." Despite him saying that, Arthur pulled a dubious expression, which Percy immediately noticed. "Of course, Franklin has scoured every inch of this house, so he's come across it many times." The Governess nodded a bit at that, for it was understandable.
Arthur wondered how it must've been in the beginning, when Franklin would be sulking, and walk past this portrait. Perhaps it was even because of this picture that he was still a cold-hearted little boy. Maybe it would've been better had the Viscount simply just tucked this away.
"But if he makes any reaction to it, he hasn't shown it since." Arthur was about to open his mouth and make an inquiry on the child, but Percy had turned to him with an expression of finality. "I believe you must get going in preparing yourself for the day." Checking his wristwatch, Percy nodded. "I must also prepare your and Franklin's breakfasts."
"A-ah," was all Arthur could muster in reply before the butler was already readying himself to depart. But before he left in a little hurry, he paused and turned to Arthur with a small, faint smile.
"Franklin is truly a magnificent boy. Sometimes it takes a while for others to notice it. But right now, he hasn't been able to realize it for himself at all." And with a bob of his head, he murmured a quick 'Good morning,' and left Arthur at a brisk pace.
A frown slid onto the Governess' lips as he tried to register what had just happened. Percy provided him with backstory, then dropped some mystic-seeming line that made it seem as if he was supposed to spend the next couple of hours pondering about it. Speaking of time, Arthur started a bit, eyes wide when he knew that yes, he should actually be getting ready at this moment. Spinning around, he quickly walked back to his room, returning his thoughts back to today's agenda and schedule. The Jones and their tragic life could wait. For now, Franklin was going to learn the double digit addition.
As the Viscount and his son entered into the main hall that exited the guest wings, Alfred paused, causing Franklin to pause, looking up at him with a slightly sulky expression, awaiting his scolding. Instead, Alfred simply looked down at him with a raised brow, the one hand on Franklin's shoulder light and conversational. "Franklin," the tall man started off, his tone of voice causing the younger boy to pull on a curious expression. "What exactly did you do to Governess Kirkland this morning?"
Franklin, a bit surprised at the question and the way it was asked, let out a lame 'Uh…' before he shook his head to focus and bit his lower lip. His father didn't look mad…at least, he didn't think so. "I…I put my building blocks all around the floor around his bed…" The child mumbled, his toes scuffing the ground underneath him. "So that when he got out, he stepped on them. And it hurt. He yelled a lot. Then he chased me." When he said that, it surprised Franklin himself at how little conviction was behind those words. Normally, Franklin would've used any sort of thing to accuse someone of something in order to get his way. Arthur yelled at him and chased him? Well by god that was violating 6-year old rule number 32…Whatever it was. But now, he had simply muttered the statement, for it was something that happened. Did that mean Franklin didn't want Arthur to get kicked out of the house? For a split second, the young boy grew terrified that his father would use that information to kick his only source of entertainment out of the household.
But instead, his father uncharacteristically snorted and shook his head lightly, patting his shoulder. "Don't do it again next time." He was peering down at Franklin with a slightly amused expression, and for once, Franklin's terror switched from terror for his life, to terror for his father's sanity.
"I…uh. Oh. Okay." Franklin replied lamely, nodding as he gave his father a wry smile. "I won't."
"That's a good boy," the Viscount said, reaching up to ruffle the child's hair. "Now go get breakfast, and head to lessons. You don't want your Governess to be left waiting." Franklin was then spun around and lightly pushed on his shoulder blades in the direction of the dining hall. He stumbled forward a bit, still unsure of what was happening, and with a slightly unsure glance over his shoulder, he saw his father urging him forward with an absent wave of his hand. With a jerky nod, he turned back around and walked towards the hall as quickly as he could while still maintaining a 'casual posture' (which resulted in him looking like a soldier). At the entrance way, he took one last peek towards his father from behind the door frame and watched as the man simply turned himself and headed towards the direction of his study, arms slid into his pockets, and gait looking relaxed. 'Weird…' thought the child, before disappearing into the dining hall.
The Viscount himself was surprised at feeling himself feel quite amused by this morning's happenings. When he had gotten up, he had decided on meeting Arthur this morning to speak over a couple of Franklin's lessons scheduling. But instead, when he entered the guest wing, he was met with a panting Franklin, obviously running from something. When he saw who he was running from though, he was quite surprised to see a rumpled Arthur Kirkland, still sporting his pajamas and a lovely nest of bed hair.
Alfred found himself subconsciously thinking it was quite a cute display. He surprised himself by mentally thanking his son.
"When the two numbers on the right side add up and do not exceed 9, then you simply add straight down." Arthur was in front of the chalkboard, writing on the board that held largely written numbers for Franklin to easily see. It was a 33 over a 10, with the plus sign and the line underneath. "So here, 3 plus 0 comes up as 3. And that is…more or less than 9?" The Governess questioned the boy, peering over his shoulder to see Franklin copying the example into his notebook.
"Less than." Came the young voice.
"Correct! So you add…?"
"Straight down."
"Good." Arthur circled the two numbers together vertically. "These add up to…?"
"Um…3." Franklin said, looking up at the Arthur to ensure he was right.
"Yes! So you put the three underneath this line, right underneath the two numbers you just added. Then you move onto the next line. Here, you don't have to worry about being bigger or less than 9. 3 plus 1?"
"Franklin quickly calculated it in his head before nodding and saying "4!" While Arthur nodded and write down the 4 next to the 3, Franklin jotted it down in his notes and grinned. "So the answer is 41!"
Smiling at how quickly Franklin had caught on, he nodded. "Yes, well done. Let me go get a worksheet for you to practice." He said, turning to head towards the various cupboards that he had used as storage for various sheets of work paper. While he was pulling open a drawer, he heard the nonchalant voice of a curious six year old waft over from his desk in the room.
"So Sir Toni was here yesterday…" Came the really casual conversation starter, and Arthur wanted to snort and laugh at it. Obviously Franklin wanted to ask him about it, and the way the boy was going about to do it was truly quite amusing.
"Yes he was." Replied Arthur in just a cool tone, walking over with the sheet of paper, one with a couple of rows with easy double-digit addition equations.
Franklin pursed his lips at the sight of it, and also because that reply wasn't what he was expecting. He wanted deetaaillss… "And you guys had lunch together!" he quickly said, trying to see if that would prod anything more.
Instead, Arthur simply nodded and dragged a stool over to in front of Arthur's seat in order to help him whenever he needed it. "Yes we did." He said, situating himself on the stool.
At that, Franklin pulled on an extremely pouty face and leaned forward on the desk to get his teacher's complete attention. "How did it goooooo?" he whined in question.
Finally, Arthur looked at him with a peculiar expression, one of suspicious curiosity. "Franklin. Why on earth do you want to know?"
The child huffed a bit and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as he stared at the numbers before him on the desk. "I dunno…" he muttered a bit. "You seem as if you don't hate him anymore. And I know that you hated him a lot when you came here because you said that he dragged you away from a nice family. But Sir Toni can be really nice sometimes so I wondered why you hate him. But I don't think you hate him anymore. Do you?" Franklin looked up at Arthur with wide, dark blue eyes, making Arthur blink in surprise at the very long spiel.
'Ah.' Thought the Briton, leaning back on his stool and crossing his arms. He didn't reply too fast, which ended up in Franklin frowning a bit and picking up his pencil, starting his worksheet. 'So Franklin is just really curious on what happened exactly yesterday. Maybe he thinks I was brainwashed.' Arthur snorted internally at that thought, watching his pupil steadily work his way through each problem diligently, using his fingers for counting and adding things up. "No, I don't really hate Antonio that much. At least, not anymore." He said, smiling faintly as Franklin's head popped up at his voice, his expression obviously waiting for more juice on the topic. "Yes, it's true that Antonio did rudely pull me out of my old home and workplace, but after spending lunch with him, I learned that he is truly a fine gentleman." Figuring that this could be another learning experience, he waved a finger. "That's why, you should never resort to prejudice when you meet a person."
Franklin, tilting his head a bit to the side, flashed him eyes of confusion. "Predge…dis?"
Arthur nodded, repeating himself. "Pre-juh-dis. Prejudice. It's when you meet a person for the first time, and before you even get to know them, you don't like them because of one thing or another. It's judging people badly without learning their stories."
Understanding shone in Franklin's eyes when he understood Arthur's words, and he nodded quickly, putting down his pencil in able to use his hands to gesture with his words. "So…when you met Sir Toni….you did prejudice!" He said, and Arthur nodded. "But prejudice is…bad, because you thought he was a bad person even though you didn't even know him?"
"Well, yes," Arthur admitted. He wasn't quite sure how good of a role model he was seeming to Franklin at this very moment, but at least he was learning. "But after I got to know him-"
"You learned that he is a cool guy!" Franklin exclaimed, proud in understanding the entire situation as a whole.
The Governess smiled a bit and nodded in agreement. "Yes, Antonio is a nice man. He's also very funny, so that was a nice thing to learn." Arthur thought back to their adventures in conversation yesterday. How Antonio made him realize that he truly wasn't some over-bearing man that also worked to get his way done. He had just done it for the sake of his best friend, the Viscount, knowing that Franklin needed someone, and needed someone fast. Plus, the knight was completely accepting of his sexual orientation. That, being rare enough on its own, shocked Arthur into completely admiring the man as a newly-made friend. Speaking of which, Arthur was a bit eager to get to lunch to see what they would be able to discuss this time.
"So do you like him?" Came the abrupt question, falling from Franklin's lips without hesitation. It brought Arthur back to the present like at train crash, and he stared a bit at the small boy.
The Governess blinked, trying to figure out how to answer that. He knew that children usually figured that 'like' meant 'friends with.' But for some reason, as well as just knowing Franklin, he figured it was a bit more than that. "He is…my friend, so yes, I suppose I like him?" Arthur answered him slowly, trying to sort the words out, with a slightly curious look on his face, one eye just quirked a bit higher than the other.
But just as expected from Franklin, Arthur watched as a mop of blonde hair shook back and forth in a vigorous 'No.' "I know you two are friends!" Said Franklin, frowning a bit at Arthur's apparently obvious misunderstanding at the question. "But do you like him? Do you like-like him?" Franklin's questions were very demanding and very straightforward, leaving Arthur in the dust.
'This child…is there no filter where his mouth is?' Thought the Governess as he stared at the smaller child who was impatiently waiting for a reply. 'Why does he even want to know that bad…?' He questioned, before sighing a bit. He formulated a reply in his head before answering, and despite questioning whether or not the Viscount would be happy with his disclose of information to his 6 year old son, the child also did have a right to know. "He…He is certainly admirable. And attractive?" He tried to see if that would satiate the demanding child's curiosity, but Franklin's hard face told him that it obviously wasn't. "Franklin," he said seriously, "I don't know if I quite like Antonio in that way. In technical terms, we simply just met, and I don't believe that that's enough time to like someone. But in case you were wondering, I am…well, I do have a certain higher appeal to men, which makes me what you call a homosexual. Of course, I don't-"
"So you like boys?" Franklin asked abruptly, making Arthur stop and stare at him with wide eyes.
The older blond was truly at a loss for words and he could literally only ride the wave at this point. "I mean, well, technically, that is what the term means-"
"So you wanna get married to man?"
Arthur began to grow uncomfortable. "That doesn't necessaril-"
"Is that what homi..homi..sectal means? You like boys and want to get married to them?"
"Um, Franklin-"
"That's okay, boys are cooler than girls anyways. You can be homisectal! I won't be…um…prejudice!"
"That's nice, but-"
"But I don't think papa is homisectal."
Pause. Everything paused for a moment and Arthur was frozen. During the whole back and forth tirade, the Governess was trying to get his pupil to shut up already, but Franklin was on a roll, going on and on about orientation when in all honesty, Arthur just preferred that he get on with math. But when he brought up his father not being gay, Arthur paused and stared at Franklin who had finally finished, and was looking at him expectantly. Why would Franklin even relate his father to being a homosexual?
"Okay. Franklin, for one, it is pronounced homosexual, not homisectal. And two, where on earth did you come up with a conclusion like that? Your father isn't a homosexual. I'm quite certain about that. He was married once, and had you. Obviously, men can't have children." Arthur had grown deathly curious of what exactly was going on now. Now it had turned into Arthur demanding the question, wanting to know what Franklin was thinking right now. Sure, he was happy that the child didn't care one bit that he liked men (ah, the joys of non-judging children), but when he randomly brought in the Viscount, the story twisted.
Luckily, Franklin was all too happy to provide his own thoughts.
"Well," the child started, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat as if he was just about to tell the most amazing story ever. "I thought you were going to be my new mommy."
'Wait, WHAT.'
"Papa had told me that he was looking for a new mommy for me. That he was going to balls and parties and all sorts of different places because I needed a new mommy since I was becoming too wild."
Arthur winced a bit; did Alfred actually say that to his child's face?
Franklin went on without a chance in facial expression. "So I waited for him to bring in my new mommy because I was going to hate her since she was never ever EVER going to be my mommy." Franklin scowled a bit at that, and Arthur couldn't help but to sympathize. How else would any young child act when their father said that they were going to bring in some random woman as their mother? "But then you came to our house and I was really, really confused… Aren't mommies supposed to be girls? But Papa brought you in, and instead of saying you were going to be my new mommy, he said you were my Governess. I don't know what that is but I think you're just my teacher. Not my mommy. So…I don't really hate you I guess."
Arthur blinked. "Thanks?"
The boy merely stared at him. "So I thought that papa liked boys, like you do. But I don't know now. I don't think so? I don't think he's a…a homosexual. But he brought you in. And he had said before that whoever he was going to bring in was my new mommy." Franklin's expression grew a bit wary of Arthur. "Do you…want to become my new mommy?" he asked a bit dubiously.
Surprised by the question, Arthur hesitated in how he was supposed to answer. To many children, governesses ended up becoming another parent, granted they were a well-liked governess. And since most governess were women, they ended up becoming 'Mommy no. 2'. In Arthur's cases, either Mommy or Daddy no. 2. He replied slowly, since he now just realized that Franklin had no previous knowledge of his arrival. He had braced himself for expecting a mother. Not a teacher. So now he didn't know what to think of Arthur. He spoke slowly, so that he wouldn't be misunderstood. "I would like if you eventually looked up to me. I don't have to be a mother or father figure to you. I could even be a big brother if you really wanted me to be. But I don't doubt that it'd be a nice feeling." He smiled a bit playfully. "I've been called mama a few times before by my previous children.
Franklin's eyes widened at that and he stared at his Governess. "Whoa, really? You became someone's mommy?"
Arthur chuckled lightly and shrugged. "Kind of. But you can call me whatever you'd like. My titles can be quite versatile."
Franklin gave him a small smile at that. "Okay. I'll just call you…Arthur. Can I call you just Arthur?" he asked, peering at him.
The Governess thought about it for a bit, then shrugged. "Alright, that's fine. Hello Franklin, I'm Arthur." He smiled, sticking his hand out for a handshake.
Staring at the hand, Franklin snorted and reached out to clasp the hand and shake it heartily. "Hello Arthur!"
The Viscount was slouching. Now, he didn't normally slouch in his big armchair in his office, but today, he was. Percy was standing in the room off to the side a bit while the noble simply slouched deeply in his seat, staring at the extremely empty desk before him. A couple of quills. An inkwell. A stack of empty parchment, ready for letters. His seal with a little candle next to it, ready for waxing and stamping. Some folders. Those were all bordering his desk. But right in front of him, it was completely empty.
"Do I truly have nothing to do today Percy?" he asked, his voice tinged with the smallest whine as he turned his azure eyes to his loyal butler's grey ones. "Not even in the evening? No papers? Nothing to read? To sign?"
Percy, already having answered this question many times today, could feel the confusion and bewilderment exuding from his master. Never before had Alfred been 'accidentally free' for an entire day. Maybe for an evening or afternoon, but never for a whole day. Now, he could tell that paired up with their Governess' turn down of luncheon offer, Alfred was thrown into limbo. "No sir. You cleared out everything for today's afternoon, and the dinner you were supposed to have this evening with the Duke had been canceled due to some urgent business he called in with to cancel."
A groan erupted from the Viscount's lips as he resisted the urge to curl up in his arm chair and sigh. Sure, Percy had seen the best and the worst of him, the dignified and the 'classy', but Alfred figured he'd just suck it up like a man. He sat up in the chair and placed his hands on the table, sighing a bit. "Okay. Perhaps I'll just…spend the day with Franklin. I haven't done that in a while, right? Spent a whole day with him?" He turned his hopeful eyes up to Percy, who simply stared right back at him.
"That's always a possibility. He is currently in lessons at this moment though. But, if you'd like, there is also the invitation to the lunch Governess Kirkland and Knight Carriedo are having today, here at the manor. Since this is your house, I don't see why joining in would be such an intrusion."
The Viscount shot up even straighter in his seat, instantly remembering the small discussion he and those two had had the other day. Right, how had he forgotten? Antonio had been at his house the entire day, stealing the attention of his own employee, and having lunch with him, and even scheduling another one today. And Arthur himself, who he had invited to a lunch with him to make up for the date with Odette, (right, that woman, who had already slipped his mind) yet turned down the offer. …Rude. He cleared out his schedule for him! Regardless, Arthur had struck him as an enigma from the moment they met, so when Arthur politely turned down Alfred's lunch offer, the Viscount didn't feel too insulted or offended. He simply felt…left out. And it was his own house for God's sake!
He stood up quickly in his chair and looked at Percy with a determined expression, and a nod. "Good idea, splendid, even. I'll go tell him now. I'll just…just pop in momentarily for a bit into their lessons." Maneuvering around his desk, he headed straight for the door while Percy followed him from behind. "Begin to prepare lunch. I want something nice, something elegant. This would be the first time I'd have a completely free afternoon to spend time just eating and talking without worrying about the rest of my schedule. Have something made that will take a long time to savor." Alfred continued to list of his afternoon's demands and just before they crossed the kitchen wing where Percy would depart him, he paused a bit and turned to look at the other man. "Also…make something that Antonio hasn't eaten here at our house before." Percy murmured his understanding and the two left, both on a mission.
The tall Viscount continued to stalk down to Franklin's classroom, thoughts rolling about in his head. The usual ones were there, which consisted of him wondering what they did in the classroom, how Arthur taught, and how Franklin reacted. Alfred noted that he should schedule a sit-in one day in the future. The other thoughts mainly revolved around Antonio and Arthur. He was aware that Arthur was a homosexual, and unfortunately, he was jumping to extremely far conclusions. Was Arthur trying to get close to Antonio? Or was it the other way around? Not that he cared of course…but then again, Arthur was his employee and therefore Alfred should have a right in getting to know the Governess first! Right? Was he too late, and was Antonio moving in first? He had said that Arthur was quite the enjoyable and interesting companion…Alfred was terrified to feel a small wave of jealousy rise in him towards the Spaniard, and he found himself walking faster, as if he wanted to talk to Arthur before Antonio could (despite the fact that the other man was currently in his own home a few miles away).
The thoughts were cloudy and made him feel a certain kind of anxious, a feeling that Alfred hadn't experienced in a very long time. Reaching the door, he stared at its innocence, before huffing a bit and mentally prepping himself up. Knocking twice, he quietly opened the door, expecting to see the two both at work with Arthur at the chalkboard and Franklin at his desk.
Instead, he walked in on Franklin sitting eagerly forward in his desk and Arthur leaning in just as eager on a stool. Their hands were clasped in a hearty handshake and Franklin had just happily greeted 'Hello Arthur!' Alfred blinked a bit, wondering what had caused the two to just do introductions…now. Regardless, he stepped in and cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two men, since the door knock didn't. He watched as Arthur was startled jumping a bit in his seat and pulling his hand back immediately. Franklin's head whipped over and his eyes widened to show an expression of complete and utter shock. When Arthur's head swiveled to look at him, he saw as green eyes grew ridiculously wise, and a light pink color washed over Arthur's neck and his ears. The blush looked like it wanted to take over the Governess' entire face, but it looked as if Arthur was fighting very hard not to let it.
"Er…" said the Viscount, staring at the two who looked just as awkward as the Viscount. What the hell did he just walk in on? Obviously they weren't currently learning anything when he walked in, but from the writings on the board and the worksheet on Franklin's desk, he figured that they at least were at some point. But Arthur looked extremely bashful, Franklin looked shocked, and Alfred was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. "I hope…everything is going well? I just came in to check." He said, his words sounding nothing close to professional. They were hesitant and awkward, just like his stance.
The Governess immediately jumped to his expected reactions and he nodded vigorously, waving his hand to Franklin in order to get him to start working. Franklin nodded quickly and grabbed his pencil, ducking his head in order to begin hastily working on his arithmetic. Alfred stared. "Everything is going fine, yes, I was just teaching Franklin double digit addition." Arthur spoke with an air of regained-professionalism, the pink around his neck and ears fading quickly as the man quickly took back control.
With a nod, the Viscount glanced at his son who was working hard. "Sounds as if everything is going well." Turning his gaze back to Arthur, he gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry for interrupting lessons, ("Oh no, don't worry!") but I just wanted to say that if it's still acceptable, I'd like to accept your invitation and join you and Knight Carriedo today during lunch." The Viscount clasped his hands behind his back, waiting for the reply, and refrained from quirking a brow when Franklin's head jerked up to stare at him and Arthur's eyes going wide again.
"That'd be brilliant! I mean, yes, yes it's still acceptable." The Governess was smiling brightly as if Alfred had just dropped a couple million dollars in his hands and said 'here's a tip'. It shocked the tall man just a bit, for the radiance of the smile was truly quite bright. He wasn't quite sure if his invitation acceptance had been the only thing that caused Arthur to seem so happy, but he was going to assume so.
Smiling in return, he nodded. "Good. I've had Percy prepare us a lunch for when your lessons are over, and when Antonio arrives we can eat outside in the garden since it's a nice day out. Does that sound alright with you?"
"It sounds just fine, Viscount." Arthur showed his affirmation with nods, glancing out at the window and seeing that yes, it truly was nice today.
"Good, I'll leave you two back to your studies then." Turning his head to Franklin, he shot him a smile and a nod. "Work hard." He told him, and Franklin replied with a two fingered salute. As he headed back to the door, he gave the two a quick wave of his hand before disappearing into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
The duo paused for a moment, then the silence was broken by a stage-whisper, coming from Arthur's right. "Homisectaaaaal?"
Arthur didn't bother to move his head, and instead continued to stare at the door with his blush returning back to his face. "Homosexual." he corrected.
A little bit before twelve, there were knocks on the Jones' manor's door, and Percy opened the large mahogany doors to come face to face with a brightly smiling Antonio. Dressed this time in clothes of nobility which consisted of the typical pants boots and tailcoat, he grinned and greeted Percy happily as he was ushered into the main hall of the house. There, he turned and saw the familiar sight of Alfred emerging from his study, a warm smile on his face as the two friends walked towards each other.
"Nice to see you again, Al-migo," said Antonio, throwing the man's name and the Spanish term together cleverly. The two clasped hands as Alfred stared at his friend, snorting a bit.
"Don't call me that, and yes, nice to see you again as well." The Viscount steered them the direction of Franklin's classroom, speaking as they walked. "I assume you're here to have another lunch with my Governess?" he inquired nonchalantly.
To his side, Antonio laughed and nodded, light green eyes flashing playfully. "Ah, yes, I am. Two days in a row, but I'm not yet tired of his companionship." Antonio smiled lightly.
Alfred resisted the urge to purse his lips at that, and wanted to quickly snap that if Antonio wanted to spend so much time with Arthur, at least do it out of Alfred's house. "Yes, well, yesterday after you left, Arthur invited me to join in your luncheon today, so I hope you don't mind, but I'll be turning your duo into a trio." He said, a bright and polite smile on his face as he turned his head to look at Antonio.
The Spaniard looked at his friend with an expression of surprise that he quickly morphed into happiness. "Oh." He said, before smiling and reaching over to clasp the man around the shoulders, shaking him playfully as he laughed. "What, realizing that you're missing out on making new friends, Amigo? Well, I can't blame ya; Arthur really is a fantastic guy."
"Mhm, I don't doubt it." Replied the Viscount, smiling faintly at his friend's statement. They fell into comfortable silence for the rest of the walk down to the classroom, Antonio's hands comfortably in his pockets and Alfred's by his side. As they turned a corner, a maid crossed the hallway before them, carrying a basket of laundry, and as she glanced at the two men, her eyes widened and she scurried away quickly. She wasn't quite sure what had happened to the two famed friends in the Jones' household, but as they walked side by side down the hall without looking at each other, both held on a particularly stormy expression. 'What a scary vibe…' thought the maid.
As Franklin's classroom door came into view, so did the two males that were exiting from it. Franklin walked out first and was followed by Arthur who was closing the door behind him. They looked up at the same time as the Viscount and the Knight walked up. Arthur looked pleasantly surprised at the sight of the two of them, and Franklin began to grin wickedly at his side. "Viscount, Antonio." Arthur greeted, and he reached out to shake Antonio's hand with was outstretched. Franklin watched as his father's brow twitched slightly at the obvious use of Antonio's use of first name, and his title for his. The child snorted quietly, crossing his arms and staying by Arthur's side.
"Hola, Arthur, fancy seeing you again." Said the Spaniard with a playful wink, and Arthur smiled lightly, nodding a bit. "And I see that my friend here will be joining us?" he asked the Briton, clapping Alfred on the back.
The Viscount himself looked as if he wanted to barf for being referred to as if he were the guest to his luncheon despite the fact that it was in his own house. Before Arthur could even reply, Alfred spoke quickly. "Yes, the Governess invited me, so I thought it'd be appropriate to attend." He said, flashing a smile at Arthur who simply nodded in return. Turning to Franklin, he jerked his chin to the direction of where he and Antonio came down in the hallway. "Go do your thing, you deserved it after all that math." Franklin blinked owlishly. "You know where lunch is. Don't get lost, and try not to get hurt, okay?" He said, reaching over to ruffle the child's hair. With a confirming pat on his back by Arthur, Franklin smiled at everyone and nodded, before darting away. As he ran, he spun around and ran backwards, staring at Arthur who was facing him, whereas the other two men's backs were to him. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he mouthed out 'HOMISECTAL' and pointed at the two men. In the few seconds before Alfred returned his attention back to Arthur, the Governess narrowed his eyes and jerked his hands in a 'shoo' motion, thinning his lips as Franklin mimed laughing, before disappearing around a corner.
"Shall we go then?" Said Antonio, looking towards Arthur, waiting for his approval.
Instead, the Viscount spoke again and nodded, beginning to lead the troupe down to the garden doors. "Yes, I arranged for us to be eating in the gardens, since the sky is truly fair today, and I figured we could all do with some sunlight."
Antonio stared at him for a moment, before breaking out into a smile and looking down at Arthur who was walking in between them, his eyes before him so that he could focus his thoughts. But he was brought back when the Spaniard nudged his shoulder and grinned at him. "Just like yesterday si? We too ate outside, and then lost ourselves in the mazes!" he said, and Arthur chuckled lightly, remembering. They didn't really get lost, but they did walk around outside during lunch. Alfred stayed silent after that comment, and when Arthur glanced over to look at him, he saw that a blank, sauve expression was upon his face. The Governess pursed his lips into a frown.
The Knight chattered on as they continued to the gardens with Alfred staying uncharacteristically silent and Arthur chuckling or commenting lightly whenever Antonio's words demanded a reply. Soon enough, they were all seated around the small circular table on the garden patio, the sunlight shining brightly around them, making the porcelain tea cups gleam brightly on the table. There was barely any breeze, but the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, making it quite comfortable for each man. Alfred and Antonio spoke about a few related topics as they waited for the food, and when Percy came out pushing a tray, they all looked towards him expectantly.
"For lunch, we have a French Cassoulet, from the southwest region of France. It is a duck and beans stew that has a reputation of providing great comfort." Walking around the table to each man, he placed a bowl of steaming Cassoulet which truly did look appetizing. "It will be paired with red wine, from the same region, and I will bring out an apple tart for desert when you sirs have finished." Said Percy, pouring some wine into each of the men's glasses, before setting the bottle on the edge of the table.
"Thank you Percy," said the Viscount, smiling at his friend and then the food before him. It definitely was something different that none of the three men had obviously tried before, and Alfred was proud of his butler's competence. Of course, it was a French dish and Percy must've been really pushing his luck with this, but Alfred wasn't an arse. French food was good.
As the butler left, the three men began tasting the dish, each one expressing their delight at its taste. "This is really good, Al! What, did you get a new chef down in those kitchens of yours?" Before Alfred could reply, though, Antonio turned to Arthur and gestured at their balls. "It tastes fantastic, doesn't it amigo?"
Arthur looked up from when he was eating and smiled, nodding and swallowing his spoonful. Instead of replying to Antonio, he turned to Alfred and raised his spoon to emphasize his words. "This tastes very good. Compliments to the chef, Viscount."
"Thank you," replied Alfred with a smile as he bobbed his head modestly. "I'm glad you like it." He said sincerely, and grew internally delighted as he saw the familiar tracing of pink showing at the tips of Arthur's ears.
"Si, compliments to the chef," chimed in Antonio who was taking a few sips of the wine. "So, Arthur. How are you adjusting to life here?" He asked curiously, noticing Alfred's just-as-curious expression as he looked up from the soup he was eating.
As they both waited for a reply, Arthur mulled it over a bit, knowing that they most likely wanted to know about Franklin's progress. "Franklin is an extremely smart boy and I'm honestly quite surprised by how he works in the classroom." Turning his head to Alfred, he spoke to the Viscount who looked almost just as surprised. "He's very diligent in his work and when he's interested in the topic, he learns it in an instant."
"Yes," Alfred murmured, thinking over Franklin's past. "When he was even in primary school, he was a quick learner. He's got that going for him, at least."
Setting his glass down in order to take another few spoons of the Cassoulet, Antonio spoke curiously. "I don't doubt at all that Franklin is a bright student. His father is a smart man and he's getting lessons from a great mentor," he said, flashing a smile at Arthur who smiled in thanks in return. "He's just a little bit of a trickster, isn't he?"
The Viscount snorted, which sounded like a choke, and both men looked at him curiously. "You're very fully aware that he's not 'a little bit' of a trickster, Antonio." Said the tall blonde, who was snickering lightly.
"Heh." Replied the Spaniard.
"But he's a splendid kid," Said Arthur in his defense. He works hard and simply loves to play hard. He's what you'd call…a pineapple!"
That instantly caused looks of confusion.
"What?" asked the Viscount, paired up with a confused 'Pineapple?' coming from Antonio.
"Yes, a pineapple." Arthur nodded, before going on to explain. "He's full of spikes on the outside. Hold it carefully or else it'll hurt. He's not necessarily a porcupine. Those hurt when it wants to hurt you. They can adjust their quills. But for pineapples…it's just generally spikey. Anything can hurt you. Even the leaves. That's how Franklin is. He's all-around spikey. I'm not saying that he's always trying to hurt you, but he does have defense mechanisms all around him. Walls, basically, that are made of the strongest iron. But like a pineapple, once you cut it open- metaphorically, Viscount (for Alfred had taken a deep intake of breath), - it's amazing on the inside, Pineapples are sweet. Franklin is a very sweet boy, once you get past his walls. I'm not saying that I've gotten past them, but I could say that I've gotten a sneak peek…and Franklin is truly a nice boy."
There was silence from the other two men for a bit, until both attempted to speak at the same time.
"Did-"
"That-"
The Viscount and Knight looked at each other, a little spark of irritation flashing in between them, before Antonio naturally backed down and allowed the noble to continue. Alfred turned his head back to Arthur and stared at him. "Did you just compare my son to a pineapple and a porcupine?" he inquired, and he watched as Arthur seemed to wilt in front of him. Oh. Did it come off bad? He was merely wondering why those two seemed the best comparisons.
Sensing Arthur's mood, Antonio jumped in quickly, a scolding tone to his voice. "Oh come off it Alfred. Arthur's comparison was basically hitting the bull's eye! Franklin is a walled fortress, and we need to break down those walls!"
"No," said Arthur quickly, holding out a hand to stop Antonio from going on any more. "We can't break down those walls."
"Oh, right, I'm sorry." Said Antonio, angling back to listening to Arthur.
"Well," started Alfred curiously. "If we can't break down his walls, what are we supposed to do? He can't keep guarding himself forever. He'll hurt people."
Arthur felt a deep frown slide onto his face as he took in the two men in front of him. Were nobles supposed to be smart? Because obviously these two couldn't even bother to look for the other ways to confront a situation. He sighed, before speaking. "No. What we do is to get him to open up slowly. To trust us. To trust us personally. Each one of us has to be trusted by him on a special level. Viscount, you're his father. I know that your current relationship seems a bit shaky-" He paused, sensing the stormy feeling, "-But you have to regain that trust on a fatherly level. Antonio, you're his father's best friend. He needs to see you as his own friend as well-"
"He does see me as a friend!" protested the Spaniard, and Arthur shook his head.
"No he doesn't. So you have to work at that. Work on getting to his level. In understanding how he works. What he wants. I myself have to work on earning his trust on the level of that of a mentor and a friend. We need to work together to show Franklin that we're there for him. Not simply there because of him. Sir, you're not there because Franklin's your son. I'm not here because he needs a mentor. We're here for him."
That left the two men in silence as they pondered about what had just been said. Everything that Arthur said was true, and when they looked at it from that perspective, they finally understood.
"I see…" Said Alfred carefully, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin, thoughts on his son. "I'll try to…incorporate what you said."
"But what exactly are we supposed to do in order to get him to realize this?" Asked Antonio, looking at Arthur curiously.
That was where Arthur got a bit stuck. He too had been pondering that ever since he met the child. "Well. It would be best to start to get to know him more." He said slowly. Looking at Alfred, he spoke. "He collects worms. Don't shame him for it."
The Viscount blinked. It was a very abrupt statement, and it was one he hadn't known before. Granted, Franklin collecting worms didn't really surprise him, but what did was Arthur's obvious acceptance as well as the command of telling him to accept his own son. But all he could do was nod thickly and say "Alright".
Arthur looked back to the two of them, snorting faintly when he saw that their faces both held solemn expressions. "Men, this isn't a bloody execution meeting. We're not here to demand of the poor boy all of his secrets. I'm simply telling you how to deal with him from now on. Does it sound like a plan?"
Alfred looked up, and glanced at Antonio, who looked at him and shrugged. Together, they nodded.
Lunch went on and finished smoothly, their topics ranging from various things such as Alfred's work, Antonio's duties, and Arthur's lives at different houses, which the two men enjoyed listening to more. They laughed over instances at Arthur's previous houses and groaned at the embarrassing stories that the Governess shared of his previous governed children. Soon, the Viscount glanced at his watched and shared the closing of the hour.
As Arthur heavily insisted that he helped Percy with the clearing of the table, Alfred saw to seeing Antonio out. The Spaniard had turned to address the Governess as they all stood up, but Alfred's steady hand appeared on his shoulder and was slightly pushing on him towards the door. "Come, Antonio, your duties are most likely calling and I would hate for the Queen to be missing a guard."
"But, today I'm stationed at the mill-"
"Ah, but you shouldn't be late to any work day, isn't that right, Arthur?" he asked, calling over his shoulder as he all but steer-dragged Antonio to the door as politely and subtly as he could.
The Governess looked up from where he was putting plates on the tray and he blinked. "Um, yes. Of course." He answered, unsure of what was going on.
Antonio, who looked a bit bummed out for being urged away so quickly, turned over his shoulder to wave his hand at his smaller blonde friend. "Adios, Arthur! I'll see you later!" he called out, and Arthur looked up to smile and wave before Alfred pulled him into the house.
"Amigo, I really don't have to go so quickly," Antonio protested, as Alfred's steady pace brought them straight to the front door.
There, Alfred merely opened the door and smiled at him. "Ah, but Arthur has Franklin's lessons he needs to get to, and I do have some papers to look over and send to the Duke before the evening is done." The Spaniard pouted a bit, but walked out the door nonetheless.
"Alright, but we should schedule another lunch like this!" he said, smiling politely at Alfred's equal gaze. "It was fun, si?"
Alfred leveled his gaze. "It truly was. I'll send an invite for when we can. Have a good day, Antonio."
"You too, Amigo." Green eyes clashed with azure ones as they stared at each other for a second longer, before Alfred closed the door.
As Alfred returned through the entrance hall, intent on going back and seeing if Percy or Arthur still needed help, he ran across Arthur who had just entered the main hall himself, intent on returning to the classroom.
"Ah, Viscount. Thank you for joining the lunch today." Said Arthur with a sincere and courteous smile as the two stopped before the large staircase. "It was quite enjoyable to talk to both you and Antonio. Perhaps we can do it again."
Alfred looked down at the smaller man and nodded with a smile of his own, quietly hiding his distaste towards inviting the Spaniard again. Why? No clue. Perhaps he was just curious on how it would be to have lunch with Arthur and Arthur alone. Speaking of which… "Governess, I have two requests, if I make ask them?" He inquired, and Arthur nodded, saying a quick 'Of course'. "One, is that tomorrow I'll be making rounds of the shop branches that I own, which is something I do every two to three weeks, just to check up on how they are running. If you are interested, I could tour you around my various company branches." He smiled, hoping the man would accept. "Since it's also a Saturday tomorrow, Franklin will no doubt find something to occupy himself with, so it would be no trouble in you joining me for lunch out on the streets of England, would it?"
Arthur stared in surprise, but he smiled brightly and bowed his head slightly in a nod of appreciation. "I think that would be fantastic, and I would love to accompany you, sir"
Alfred wanted to sigh in relief, but knew that it obviously wasn't professional, so he grinned and nodded. "Perfect, we'll leave around 11 o'clock tomorrow." He watched Arthur nod, before he coughed a bit, and unconsciously scratched at his ear. "My second request, is that… I believe we have achieved a friendship standpoint…So if you'd like, you may call me Alfred."
The Governess blinked in surprise a bit, but grinned a bit in reply at the second request. Good. 'Viscount' was a mouthful anyways. "That sounds splendid, Alfred."
The Viscount smiled wider at the sound of his own name falling from Arthur's lips and he chuckled. "Good. Well, I wish you good luck on the rest of your lessons, and I shall see you two at dinner, since I have no other occupation for the rest of the day."
Arthur merely smiled and nodded, before the two of them parted ways, both smiling a bit too brightly to be considered normal.
On the first landing of the large and magnificent staircase, a small figure poked his head out just in time to see his Governess and his father walk in opposite directions. Franklin, who was going to go down and grab a drink from the kitchens had paused and quickly hid himself when he saw the two men talking. He had listened in carefully, and when he heard his father invite Arthur to the store rounds, he clamped his hands over his open mouth. A date! His papa invited Arthur on a date! Listening in closer, he heard Arthur happily agree to it, and Franklin had to force himself not to giggle wildly. Maybe his dad really was a homisectal like Arthur! And maybe the two of them would fall in love and get married…!
Franklin paused for a bit, thinking it over. If Alfred married Arthur, Arthur would end up really becoming his mommy…Was he okay with that? He peeked over the edge and saw his papa walk away with a bright smile. A smile he hadn't seen in a very long time.
A sly grin slid on the child prankster's face as plans and plots began to formulate in his head.
Yes. He was alright if Arthur became his new mommy.
Author's Notes:
Hellooo! I'm back! I've taken to just not even bothering counting how many months it's been. D: I'm sorry for taking so long again, but i do hope that you enjoyed this chapter! As promised, i gave you Franklin :)
And actually, when i outlined this chapter, i had a CRAPTON more things that were supposed to happen, but it got to the point where certain parts where getting too long and i didn't want to bother cutting. So, i'll just have the left over stuff in the next chapter. :)
This is really unbeta'd. I'm so sorry for my laziness.
JollyBigSis: Thank you :3 and i hope this chap satisfied your wants and needs.
alguien22792: *grins* That and other things indeed~ distractions, what fun!
Puolukka: ahhh, hello hello loyal reader! (and i hope you're still loyal, your guys' words keep me running 3) I hope this was enough for the need of a Jealous Alfred haha! Although i may or may not have portrayed Toni a bit too irritating. I dunno though, what d'you guys think? Anyway, have a fantastic day :3
Guest: ...shhhhhhhhh. Fine, semi-SPUK In future chapters! Sorry friend. But you should be prepared for any random pairing D: its what spices up a story!
KellehKupKake: :3 here's your update love
CircadianLily: may i shower you in hugs? I'm so glad my story gave you the initiative to write a review. :) and i'm so glad you enjoy my characterization xD sometimes i get worried that they come off as too OOC, but i also try and incorporate it through how they would act if they were in that time period in their current professions. :3 don't hesitate to tell me if it doesn't work, or if it is!
Guest: whatababe 3
Poor Alice: I'VE NEVER MADE SOMEONE'S CHEST HURT IN A GOOD WAY WOW THANKS BABE
Nekocandy4life: I hope this answered one of your questions. I love making last lines so question-tugging. But gosh i'm glad that this story lives up to your standards :D and whoop, i'm on the level of Ellen Hopkins xD *party*
meep: Noooo! ACtually, i said to my friend 'writing is so tedious.. i'm so tired' and she said 'it's YOUR story. You can end it, or abandon it' and i went GASP NO. I love this story a bit too much to leave it hanging (plus i hate people who do that) so i'm going to finish this to the end, or at least i'll try! of course, my updates might come slow xD writing around 20+ pages on word is hard. But thanks for loving it! :D
I'm a Review-Whore. Make it rain. Tell me what you think. :)
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