Tools of the trade
The door bell was ringing, and Francis could not answer the door because he was wrestling with a furiously fighting orphan. Not to mention that his clothing was soaked and his hair had been pulled from its ribbon by angry desperate little soapy hands. Francis had been left to bathing the two orphans, who had not taken lightly to the idea of a bath. Arthur had of course disappeared, he always did when there was an domestic situation of any kind that threatened trouble for him.
The said orphan he was bathing now was Alfred. Both boys had been horrified when they had observed the bath full of warm water gently steaming. They had wailed and ran as fast as they could to escape and hide; so that they could wait for Arthurs return so that he could rescue them from the evil Francis. It had taken Francis ages to capture one of them, and when he had it had been little Matthew. His reaction had been to cling on to Francis with all his might. Francis had placed the boy in the bath tub easily enough after some whispered encouragement, but Matthew had sat there looking like a puppy that had just been kicked, his eyes wide with fear and his bottom lip trembling. Other than that he had been successfully cleaned up, given a nice new set of clothes, and his freedom to escape into the bowels of the flat.
Alfred had been a different story. He had fought and hissed like a wild cat even once he was in the bath tub. It was thanks to him that Francis had a scratch under his eye, his hair was out of its ribbon and that he was soaked to the bone. He grit his teeth again as the doorbell rang and he dodged a kick that was aimed in his general direction. Still he didn't get the door until Alfred was successfully clothed and screeching that he was going to throw Francis in the Thames if he caught pneumonia. Francis didn't care about the boys threats, instead he was curious about who could have had the patience to sit outside and ring the doorbell the whole entire time.
When Francis opened the door it was to a grinning Arthur and an annoyed looking Tristain. Francis felt like strangling his companion as Arthur beamed at him.
"Couldn't you 'ave just opened the door yourself?" asked a exasperated Francis
"Yes I could have. But then how would I know how successful you where as a parent? I decided to test you to see if you could handle the boys and answer the door. By the way you failed miserably. " explained Arthur
Francis grimaced and repeated " je ne le tuera pas (I will not kill him)" over and over in his head. Arthur however seemed to only just now take in Francis's appearance. He frowned.
"You didn't bathe the boys did you? Now how are they going to be effective as the eyes and ears of London if they don't look like homeless orphans?" Asked an irritated Arthur who entered the house followed by an uneasy looking Tristain
"Disguise them then! Like I would let any child of mine, even if they are only part time mine, go out like zat!" huffed Francis
At his words the two brothers paused. The intensity of their gazes made Francis blush a little. Tristain rolled his eyes, and Arthur looked at Francis curiously. Arthur had a dazed look on his face but Tristain shook his head at his brother.
"Dear god, what kind of fantasy is this? Playing house now are you Arthur? " Teased Tristain
Tristain, unlike Iain, didn't look remotely concerned about what kind of relationship his little brother was having with his flatmate. Instead he led the way to the living room and took the chair closest to the fire. The two boys who had been in hiding darted out of their hiding places and up to Arthur wailing about the torture Francis had put them through. Arthur comforted them and allowed them to curl up by his side. Tristain on his part introduced himself to them and told them that they could call him Uncle Tristain if they liked.
The three men talked about random things, but once the two Kirkland's got into a discussion about chemistry and the latest discoveries in physics Francis gave up with the talk. He found himself looking over at Arthur and the boys. The two boys were sleeping next to Arthur; the scene really did look adorable, like two little boys sleeping next to their beloved father. Francis sighed and went to gazing out of the window so that Arthur wouldn't catch him staring at him. He wondered just what was going on inbetween himself and the youngest Kirkland brother. Of course he didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts because Iain came trudging towards the house out of the London fog.
It had been Mrs Hudson who had shown Iain into the living room. Iain paused at the scene in front of him. His eyes widening at the sight of the boys. Tristain laughed and indicated that Iain should sit next to him.
"Ok boys, this is your Uncle Iain." Tristain informed them
Iain looked like he was going to fall out of his chair. Francis chose this time to be appropriate to shooing the boys off to their bed. He decided to accompany them so as to avoid another confrontation with Iain.
There was a silence that filled the room which now only held the Kirklands. The fire crackled and hissed in the hearth, flickering its light over the room. Iain seemed to be chewing his tongue and Tristain looked like he was going to burst out into laughter.
"Wha are ye thinkin? Adoptin twa wee bairns with tha eejit! Are ye tryin tae get yer seln arrested? Are ye tryin tae inform us all of yer preference for the company of men?" Hissed Iain
"Hmm I have made it no secret that I am fond of Francis's company. As for the lads, they're quite sweet aren't they? I don't see any problem." Arthur said his eyes sparkling mischievously
"Aren't you always telling me that you wanted Arthur to be more human? What is more human than love? Many great men fell for other men." Tristain sided with Arthur, the two mercilessly taunted Iain
"Aye, but... ach, whaur ever ah am leavin, ah need tae get a drink." Iain said shaking his head
Iain left as suddenly as he came. The two remaining brothers burst into laughter at his disappearance. However Tristain sobered up suddenly and his eyes narrowed as he looked at his brother. Arthur noticed him do so, and stopped his chuckling.
"Arthur, I'm worried. You're starting to be a little careless. Using those three as tools, bait even. Good god man! They're just boys! I don't care what you do to yourself, and personally I see nothing wrong with one less Frenchman in the world, but children Arthur!" Tristain scolded
"Worry not Tristain, after tomorrow the plan will be complete. No harm will be fall the boys, it is only Francis and myself who face any danger. " Arthur shrugged carelessly
"Have you warned Francis of the events to come? Also I can't help but wonder, but just how real is all this? Do you actually intend to adopt these boys to some degree? Do you actually have feelings for this man?"Tristain asked completely dumbfounded
"I have not informed Francis. I will not reveal my plan until the very end. As for the boys, I truly do intend to keep them in my service. As for my feelings about Francis, I do not know what to call them. But I would not want to do an investigation without him." Arthur replied in a bored tone
"I see. I do not oppose to your feelings for Francis, whatever they are. But do be careful." Warned Tristain
"Worry not, I have only been out smarted by a few men, and one is sitting in this very room with me. My plan will work well and I will keep the boys safe. Now if you excuse me, I must ask you to leave as myself and my household must prepare for a family outing." Arthur said