"Dad!" Alfred yelled as soon as he heard the front door open, pausing the game he was playing and scrambling to get to his feet, yelping as he got caught up in the cable from the controller. "Dad!" He shouted again as he got himself free. "Come on, Matt!" He grabbed his brother's shoulder and hauled him out of the desk chair and away from the revision he was doing, "You can do that later!"

Matthew yelped as well as he was pulled over backwards but regained his balance by gripping his brother's arm, "Sorry..." he muttered as Alfred winced in pain, "You okay?"

Alfred smiled at him, shaking off the pain from the half-healed cuts that were hidden under his sleeve, "I'm epic. As always. Come on, let's go tell Dad and Papa our news!" With that he was off, bouncing down the stairs and leaving Matthew to untangle himself from his iPod before he could follow.

By the time both boys managed to get downstairs Arthur was in the kitchen, making himself a cup of tea and generally getting in the way of Francis trying to make their dinner.

"Mon Dieu!" The Frenchman exclaimed eventually, getting annoyed and hitting Arthur on the side of the head with the spatula he was holding, "Out! Get out!" He shouted, "Let me finish ze dinner and then we can eat and hear about what Mattheu and Alfred are so excited about!" He hit Arthur with the spatula again and shooed all three of them out of the kitchen.

Matthew glanced at Alfred and simultaneously the two boys burst out laughing, running into the living room and leaping onto the sofa. Alfred landed first and Matthew on top of him, laughing at his brother's discomfort as he sat on his stomach.

Arthur looked at the pair of them as he entered the room with his cup of tea, "Boys, stop mucking about." He sighed, going over and sitting in his armchair, sipping his tea.

Matthew looked over at him, "Not fair, Dad. Al won getting to the sofa and therefore, he is my cushion." He folded his arms.

"Matt, stop playing around. Get off your brother." Arthur told him.

Matthew grumbled and slid off his brother's stomach, sitting on the floor. "Is Papa making pancakes?" He asked.

"I think so, Matt. Smells like it!" Alfred grinned, sitting up. "Pancakes are epic!"

Matthew giggled and grinned, "They are awesome. And Papa makes them really well. Like, the best!" He giggled again, "Then we can tell Dad and Papa about our news!"

"Yes, I would like to know what this big news is," Arthur put in, watching the twins with bright eyes. "You both seem very excited about it. And did I hear that the sports team captain announcements were today?" He teased them.

Matthew and Alfred exchanged a glance and grinned at each other, "Yeah. But we're not telling you." They said in unison before bursting out laughing again.

Francis put his head out of the kitchen door, "Dinner is ready, mon petits."

Matthew was on his feet and in the kitchen like a gunshot, bouncing in excitement at the thought of pancakes. Alfred grinned and followed him quickly, leaving Arthur to follow them more slowly.

"So..." Francis said once they were all sitting round the table with their food in front of them, Matthew's plate swimming in maple syrup. "What is this news you want to tell us? Mattheu?"

Matthew nodded at Alfred to tell them, shovelling pancakes into his mouth. Alfred laughed, trying to push down the feeling of annoyance that Francis straight away had asked for his brother's news and not his, "We had the announcements over who is the team captains for the sports team next year. And I got made team captain for rugby!" He grinned at them before starting to eat, mumbling happily.

"And what about you, Mattheu?" Francis asked, looked expectantly at the other boy.

Matthew mumbled and grinned, managing to stop himself eating the pancakes for long enough to mumbled through his mouthful, "I got captain of hockey."

"Oh boys, We're so proud of you!" Arthur grinned, clapping his sons on the back, "Well done!"

The boys both grinned at their parents, continuing to eat their pancakes though Alfred still couldn't push away the feeling that Francis wasn't nearly as pleased with him as he was with Matthew, even though they had gained pretty much the same achievement at the same time.

The family talked idly and laughed as they finished eating and then went into the living room, settling in front of the TV and curling up. Matthew fell asleep with his head against Francis' chest while the others watched the TV, content as a family unit.

Author's Note: Yay for happy filler chapter before everything goes bum over heels.

Also, minor change in backstory (which I am saying now before I forget as I am likely to do) Gilbert is three years older than Matt and Al but only two school years above them. So he's 18 and in his first year at 6th form (which is part of their school) and at this point Matt and Al are almost 15.