The boy shook his head and hid behind the tree again. Francis moved closer to him, scooting forward on his knees.
"Please, will you tell me your name?" he asked. The boy shook his head and hid his face against the trunk.
"Mattie!" Alfred came running towards them, and Francis looked up in surprise. The boy darted out from behind the tree and grabbed onto Alfred.
"There you are, Matthew," the woman said. "Alfred has been looking for you."
"Mathieu? Is that your name?" Francis asked softly.
"O-oui." Francis smiled.
"C'est très magnifique, cher!" he said. He stood and moved next to his husband. Matthew raised his head so that his face was right next to Alfred's, both children looking up at the couple. Francis gasped and grabbed onto Arthur's arm.
"Arthur, they look like twins!" he whispered.
"You're right. Are they brothers?" Arthur asked the woman. She shook her head.
"No, they are not blood related. Though I've never seen children bond this quickly. They truly act like twins." Francis shook Arthur's arm to get his attention.
"Arthur, can we get them both? Please?"
"The paperwork would take too long," Arthur replied. "Besides, do we really want two?"
"Yes! We are more than capable of taking care of two!" Francis insisted. The woman decided to speak up.
"I'd really hate for the boys to be split up," she said. "Maybe just this once, I can do a sibling adoption? There wouldn't be as much paperwork as two adoptions, and the boys could stay together. Would that work?" Arthur glanced at Francis's pleading face and sighed.
"Alright." Francis hugged his husband excitedly.
"Thank you, thank you, Arthur!"
"Yes, I get it Francis, that's enough," Arthur said, blushing a little. The woman smiled.
"Follow me, please." She headed back to the building.
"See you later, cher!" Francis called back to Matthew. Arthur dragged him away, leaving the two children standing out in the yard.
I know people have been announcing the start of school in the past few weeks. Since I'm in college, I only just started school today. I also have a job. So between work and classes I will work on this as much as I can, but my updates will be completely unpredictable. Please bare with me, I'm doing my best! Thank you all who have read this!