This chapter hates me. After being stuck on for so long, I was just going to scrap it and start over, but then I figured I had too much usable stuff in here and just finished it. The ending is lame, but I finally got it done, so I don't care. One of my reviewers might notice their suggestions have been incorporated into this. ;) Please review! I'd love to know what you guys think
The next morning, Arthur and Francis got in the car and headed towards the orphanage. They were going to pick up Alfred and Matthew for them to spend the day at home with them, so the boys could see the house. Arthur was driving, allowing Francis the freedom to bounce up and down in his seat, excited. Arthur smiled at his husband's antics and parked next to the orphanage. Francis got out of the car so fast he almost fell face-first on the ground, but he caught himself in time and hurried into the building. Arthur followed at a slower pace. When he got inside he saw Francis already talking to the woman.
"Yes, Alfred is outside, but Matthew I think is in his room," she was saying. "Would you like me to show you where his room is?" Francis glanced back at Arthur and smiled.
"Why don't we find Alfred first and then he can show us where Mathieu's room is?" he offered. Arthur nodded in agreement. The woman smiled and showed them outside. It didn't take them long to find Alfred. They followed the sound of the boy's voice to the playground, where he was standing at the top of the slide and shouting something about a hero.
"Bonjour Alfred!" Francis called. Alfred looked down at them and grinned. He sat down and pushed himself down the slide, landing neatly on his feet when he flew off the end of it, and ran over to them.
"Hi! Are we going to your house today? April said something about it!" the boy said. Francis nodded and smiled.
"Yes, you get to come with us today."
"Cool! Let's go get Mattie!" Alfred grabbed their hands and dragged them back towards the building. He led them through a maze of hallways filled with children and color until they came into a narrow white hallway with red doors. Alfred let go of Francis's hand to point. "That one at the end of the hall is Mattie's room! This one is mine!" He pulled Arthur through a different door. Francis smiled and walked over to Matthew's room, knocking gently on the door as he pushed it open.
"Mathieu? Are you in here?" he called softly. Matthew blinked and looked up at him from where he sat at the foot of the bed. Francis smiled. "Bonjour cheri." Matthew blushed and hid his face in his hands. "Oh, don't hide your face, cher, I want to see you." Matthew peeked out at him and mumbled something. "What was that?"
"Pouvez-vous fermer la porte, s'il vous plait?" he asked quietly. (Can you close the door, please?) Francis blinked.
"Oui, of course." Francis turned and closed the door, and Matthew let out a breathy sigh behind him. Francis turned around and gasped. An array of moving colors lit up the wall above Matthew's bed, and the child stared at them, captivated, a happy smile on his face. Francis smiled and walked over to sit next to Matthew on the bed, putting an arm around the boy's shoulders. "That is beautiful, Mathieu," he whispered.
"C'est l'Aurora Borealis," Matthew said.
"C'est magnifique," Francis said. "How do you make it?" Matthew sighed as the lights shifted and disappeared. He slid off the bed and walked over to the window, lifting the blinds to point to the objects lined up on the sill. Francis walked over to get a better look and knelt next to Matthew. "C'est très jolie." (It's very pretty.) Matthew beamed at him.
"Merci beaucoup." The boy looked down at his hands shyly, and Francis looked at the wall over his head.
"Those are some colorful pictures. Can you show them to me?" he asked. Matthew nodded and shyly took one of his hands, leading him over to the wall and pointing out the different pictures. Francis listened intently as Matthew explained what they were, how he'd gotten them, and what he liked best about each one. The Frenchman was delighted to hear Matthew's angelic little voice speaking his language.
Matthew paused once, and Francis realized there was a noise coming from the next room over.
"Nuh uh, Elvis is way better! That's why he's called the King!"
"Have you ever even heard the Beatles play?"
"No!"
Francis chuckled as he listened to Arthur and Alfred arguing lightly about their music. Matthew giggled as well, feeding Francis's laughter, and soon the both of them were laying on the floor next to each other, unable to keep themselves up from the force of their laughter. They gradually calmed down and sat up. Francis smiled at Matthew, who scooted closer and sat in his lap. Francis gently hugged the boy.
"Hey! Stop hugging and stand up already! I want to go!" Alfred said from the doorway, making them jump. Neither one had heard the door open. "Mattie, why are you still wearing your pj's?" Francis looked down at Matthew, just now realizing the little white gown he was wearing was wrinkled from sleep.
"Alfred, why don't you go out to the car with Arthur, and I'll wait here while Mathieu changes?" Francis offered.
"Okay!" Alfred said. "Hey Arthur, Francis said we can go out to the car!" The boy ran back out of the room. Francis chuckled and got to his feet, setting Matthew gently on the floor. Matthew walked over to his closet and disappeared inside, muttering quietly to himself.
"Mathieu, do you need any help?" Francis asked.
"Oui, s'il vous plait," he answered. "It's stuck." Francis moved to the open door and helped Matthew pull out some clean clothes. Once Matthew was changed, he shyly took Francis's hand and they walked out to the car, where Alfred was eagerly waiting. Francis made sure both boys were buckled in safely before he got in the passenger seat and Arthur drove them home.
"What does your house look like? Is it big? Do you have a tv? Ooh, I hope there's lots of kids around to play with!" Francis chuckled at Alfred's constant stream of questions.
"Why don't you see for yourself, cher? We are here." Matthew and Alfred both looked out the window as Arthur pulled into the driveway.
"Whoa!" both children exclaimed. Francis let them out of the car while Arthur went ahead to open the door. The boys held each other's hand as they slowly walked up to the house, mouths hanging open as they stared up at the size of the building. Francis chuckled.
"It's not that big, cheri," he said.
"But it's way taller than the orphanage!" Alfred exclaimed.
"Would you two like to have your rooms upstairs?" Francis asked.
"Really? That would be so cool!" Arthur held the front door open for them.
"Go ahead and look around," he said to them.
"Alright!" Alfred dragged Matthew into the house and Francis followed. Arthur closed the door behind him and Francis put an arm around his waist. They smiled as they listened to the boys run around the house.
"Whoa! Look at this Mattie, it's so cool!" Francis grinned at Arthur and ran up the stairs two at a time. Alfred was standing in front of a window, clinging to the ledge to stare out. Matthew went up to him and peered out as well.
"You can see to the park from here!"
"I don't know what you said, but you can see really far!" Francis chuckled. The boys turned to him with matching grins. They ran to him and tackled his legs.
"I love this place, Francis!" Alfred said.
"Oui, c'est très jolie, Papa!" Matthew said. The three of them suddenly froze. Matthew let go and ran away from them, putting his hands over his face.
"Mathieu, wait!" Francis quickly but gently detached Alfred from his leg to run after the other boy, but Matthew had already disappeared.
"Francis, what's wrong?" Arthur asked, coming up the stairs.
"Arthur, can you watch Alfred, I need to find Mathieu," Francis said. Arthur nodded, confused, and Francis hurried in the direction Matthew had gone. While Arthur and Alfred went downstairs, Francis set to searching all the rooms. The muffled sound of sniffling caught his ear, and he walked into the room the sound was coming from. The room was bare; it was one that the boys would be living in. The sounds were coming from the closet. Francis quickly opened the door. Matthew squeaked and tried to hide himself, but Francis knelt and hugged him tightly.
"Mathieu, why did you run away?" Francis asked.
"I—I was afraid you'd be mad at me. For calling you…P-Papa," Matthew answered.
"Oh, cher, it would make me the happiest man in the world for you to call me Papa," Francis said. Matthew pulled away to look at him.
"R-really?"
"Yes, really." Francis smiled at him. Matthew smiled back and wiped his face dry.
"Okay then. Papa."