Disclaimer: I do not own Alfred, Arthur, or Matthew. I do however own the father and Victorea.
Arthur woke up groggily. He instinctively knew that when he woke up feeling heavy and exhausted that he had slept in – which is something he doesn't do often. He stole a glance at the clock and grew wide-eyed.
Shit. One o'clock? That can't be right. The sun was shining brightly through the large window, so he knew that he must have slept in for sure.
I've never slept in this late before. What happened? He yawned hugely, stretching his arms out, accidentally hitting a particular American who was sleeping like a rock. Their cots weren't all that far apart, after all. Alfred mumbled something and swatted at Arthur, startling him. He didn't see him there, so being touched was a little unexpected. But Alfred never woke up, he was sleeping on his belly with his face flat on the pillow, his arms and legs dangling on either side of the cot, and his blanket in a pile on the floor on the other side.
How unattractive, he thought with a smirk, before wondering why he was sleeping in a cot anyway. Why was Alfred sleeping in a cot? And Matthew was sleeping as well on another cot to Arthur's right, with Kumajirou tucked soundly in his arms, not a sound from him (unlike Alfred's snoring). But there was another cot in between Arthur's and Matthews that was empty, with blankets folded neatly on the end and the pillow fluffed properly.
Who… Then Arthur remembered. He facepalmed, hating himself for sleeping in this late with Victorea over. That was impolite, and not to mention indolent. He almost didn't want to get out of the cot, though. He was afraid that their father would laugh at him and call him lazy right in front of her.
For some reason that thought made him want to go back to bed and wait until she left.
But he got up anyway, folding the blankets similar to how Victorea did, feeling slow and tired. He hated getting up late. It made him forget things easily and usually gave him a headache later on. He decided to take a pill later on beforehand. Once his blankets were neatly folded, he could hear someone shift, and saw Matthew sitting up, rubbing his eyes with one hand and hugging Kumajirou with the other. He looked around dazed for a moment, before resting his eyes on Arthur, who was watching him with an amused expression. His hair was slightly disheveled, and his glasses were still on, crooked on his face after he reached under them to rub his eyes.
"Whatime sit?" he asked groggily in his usual quiet voice.
Arthur shook his head at him. "One o'clock in the afternoon."
Matthew gave a start, suddenly seeming wide awake. He fixed his glasses hurriedly and jumped out of the covers. He's never slept in this late, either, and he appears to have remembered that they have a guest over. "This late? Why didn't you wake me, Arthur?"
Arthur laughed at him as he quickly looked at the clock to make sure this wasn't a joke. In all honesty, it was unusual for Arthur to lie anyway, unless it was for something important, so Matthew believed him. He appeared just bewildered. "I actually just woke up myself."
Matthew froze, looking at Arthur with a raised eyebrow. Arthur shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He didn't like that look on anyone when it was directed at him.
"You're kidding?" said Matthew.
"No, I'm afraid not," Arthur replied. "And I'm afraid our guest is MIA, so we should get dressed and ready before she sees us like this."
Matthew looked at himself, then at Arthur, and nodded. Apparently, Arthur must not look any better than Matthew. They each walked to their separate rooms, completely ignoring the still snoring Alfred. This was normal for him.
Arthur walked into his room as quietly as he could, Matthew right behind him. Their rooms were right across from one another, with Alfred's room next to Matthews. They split up , with Mattie soundlessly opening his door, walking in, and shutting it again, not even glancing at Arthur. Arthur turned to his door and turned the handle, attempting to go as quietly as possible, in case Victorea or their father would hear them. He walked in and shut it quietly, pleased with the lack of sound.
He turned and walked to his closet.
His room was pretty large, with a full sized bed that boasted England's flag pinned on the wall above it, a few posters of famous English politicians (his favorite being Winston Churchill), white walls and ceiling, a ceiling fan, a brown desk and chair with school papers stacked neatly, a little miniature globe and a lamp, a large bookshelf with many books, journals, sketches, and binders, a rocking chair and foot stool, a cuckoo clock, and his closet, with neatly hung shirts and pants, shoes, and a chest at the bottom that had embroidery needles and yarn and embroidery fabric.
He looked around for a moment, pondering what to wear. He pulled out a white shirt and red tie with a green sweatervest, hoping this would be fancy enough. It had been pretty cold out yesterday, anyway. He also pulled out tan pants and his socks and sneakers, expecting to be running around town a bit. It is Saturday, and it might be nice to maybe take Victorea out somewhere to see the town, considering the bitch of a nanny or whatever-they're-called doesn't even seem to let Victorea outside.
He walked out the door and to the room next to his – the bathroom. Matthew wasn't in there yet, so he brushed his teeth and combed his hair and checked his appearance in the mirror, checking for any wrinkles in his clothing or flaws in the hair. Of course there were flaws in his hair. His hair was always disheveled. Hopefully it didn't look too bad.
He took a deep breath and walked out, hoping for little criticism from his father. He walked out to see him sitting on an armchair in the living room, with Victorea sitting politely on the couch, talking. Seeing as his father was facing the entrance to the hallway, it wasn't long before he spotted Arthur.
"Holy shit, boy. I thought you had died," he said with a laugh. He flushed deeply and looked at the floor, apologizing. "Ah, I'm just teasing, Artie. Come sit next to Tia here."
"Tia?" Arthur asked. "Who's Tia?"
"Well, she is!" he gestured to Victorea. "I learned her nickname was Tia, so I like calling her that." Arthur looked down at Victorea and she smiled back up at him, appearing slightly flattered and embarrassed.
"You gave him permission to call you that, right?" He asked with a smirk. "He can be downright curt with some people."
Victorea shook her head. "Don't worry, it's fine. I don't mind." She scooted a little away from Arthur, and before he could even wonder why, she patted the cushion next to her. "Why don't you sit? It's your house, after all."
"Alright," he said with a laugh. He sat down gingerly next to her. His father smirked.
"Now don't start smooching. I would like to keep my breakfast down this morning, thank you."
"Father!" Arthur glared at him. "That's rude!"
Victorea giggled, however, flushing deeply and hiding her face, trying to hold back the laughter. Mr. Jones simply got up, winked at Arthur, and left into the hallway. Probably to wake up Alfred.
He took the time to glance at Victorea, who was still giggling. He didn't know why, but maybe because she thought of the idea as silly. Maybe she didn't like him at all. For some reason, that brought him down a bit. But he really couldn't be sad, her laughter was contagious, and pretty soon he was laughing along with her. "Why…Why are we laughing?"
"Because…Because you…You're face was priceless," she gasped between laughter. She mimicked a completely shocked expression for a split second before breaking out in giggles again. "You're too funny!"
This caught him by surprise. So it isn't because she's repulsed by me? Of course, that was still an option; she seems like too nice of a girl to just say that kind of stuff out loud. It took him a moment of thought, which Victorea noticed. "Is something wrong? Did I offend you?"
Arthur was jostled out of his thoughts and hurriedly apologized. "No, no. I was just…Lost in thought, I guess." He hoped she wasn't good at reading expressions.
Of course she was.
She looked at him, her expression exactly opposite of what it was just mere seconds ago. Her eyebrows crinkled in thought, her lips in a frown and her eyes empathetic. She looked beautiful when she looked like this. It showed how thoughtful and kind she was. "What's on your mind?"
Arthur laughed, inwardly disappointed as to how nervous and forced it sounded. You could tell it was fake even if you were as bad at reading the atmosphere as Alfred was. "Now why would you think something like that? I could have just dazed out for a second."
"Nobody goes from laughing to deep in thought within a second for nothing," she responded casually.
He frowned. "Good point."
"So something is on your mind, then?"
"No."
"You just told me I was right. Now you're lying."
A pause.
Arthur chuckled. "Damn, you and your logic."
Victorea smiled softly. "I won't force you to tell me what it is, but you can always come to me when you want to talk about anything. I'm not a blabber."
Arthur looked over at her, sharp green eyes meeting with soft blue ones. He never wanted to look away. "Thanks."
Her smile widened into one of her genuine ones that made his heart skip a little. "Anytime."
Arthur looked away, a bit nervous. "That's what friends are for, right?"
He was hoping Victorea would show some sort of sadness at this comment, guilt, anything negative. But instead she chucked and nodded. "Of course."
Well, that hurt like a sonofabitch.
"Yooooooooooo!" Alfred jumped in through the hallway entry. If anything, he was good at entrances. "Mattie said he's gonna make pancakes!"
Victorea and Arthur looked up, Victorea seeming a bit depressed, but smiled nonetheless.
Arthur noticed this. It was a bit harder to recognize her fake smile from his fake laugh, something Alfred definitely could not distinguish, but something made her sad. Maybe she was a bit disheartened by his friendship comment? I mean, what else could she be sad about? The pancakes?
…
"These are AAAAAAAAAmazing, Mattie!" Alfred sung when he was finished with his fifth pancake. "More!"
Matthew laughed and passed the plate that was stacked with almost twenty pancakes.
"These really are delicious, Mattie. You should be a chef or something," Victorea said with a smile, her plate clean as well (even if she only had one pancake).
Matthew blushed deeply. It wasn't usual for him to be the center of attention, so when he was, he was always embarrassed. "Well, that is what I'd like to be when I'm older."
"Really?" Victorea giggled at herself. "Well I suppose I was accurate. You'd be the best!"
Mattie hid his face behind Kumajirou, muttering a quiet 'thanks.'
"What does everyone else want to be?" she asked curiously.
"I want to be a porn star!" Alfred shouted. All eyes were on him, bewildered. He laughed for a while at their expressions. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
Victorea's face twisted into a smile she was attempting to hold back, Arthur facepalmed (something he was accustomed to doing when he was around Alfred), his father laughed with him, and Mattie slowly chewed a bite of his pancake, pretending as if nothing happened.
"I'm not sure what I would want to be. I'm stuck on something athletic, like a football star or coach, or maybe something like video game designer. Maybe even something in the math and science fields. Not sure yet."
"Oh yes, you are really good at those subjects," Victorea politely commented.
"Hell yeah. It's just stuff like English and Social that I don't understand. If it doesn't have a formula, then I can't do it."
Victorea thought about it. "Maybe an astronaut?"
Alfred blinked at her for a moment, then his eyes went wide. "That'd be soooo freaking cool! I want to be an astronaut!"
Victorea laughed. "Well I didn't think you'd take my offer seriously."
Arthur scoffed at the idea, but couldn't imagine Alfred doing anything differently. "Fortunately he wouldn't even be on the same planet as me. I like the idea as well."
Alfred stuck his tongue out at him childishly. "Maybe I don't want to be on the same planet as you!"
Mr. Jones held Alfred's shoulders and pulled him back a little. "That's enough, boys."
Victorea laughed at them, and Mattie handed Alfred another pancake to calm him down. Alfred was instantly distracted as he pulled another onto his plate, smothering it in butter and syrup. She turned to Arthur.
"And what do you want to do?"
Arthur shrugged. "I'm hoping to be a politician."
"Really?" Victorea thought about it. "I suppose that kind of job would be something you're good at. They have lots of really smart people there."
Arthur blushed, but the compliment was short-lived, as Alfred said with his mouth full, "Ya, and dey're all sctuck up noobs."
Arthur flushed red and was about to comment, but Mr. Jones slapped Alfred on the back of the head lightly, but it was enough to make him choke a little. "Hey! Why didn't you do that to Arthur when he insulted me?"
"Because I can't reach him," his father said simply. Alfred glared at him, then at Arthur. "You're right next to him."
His father laughed, giving his son a noogie. "You're a dork."
"What do you want to be, Victorea?" Matthew asked quietly.
All eyes were on her as she thought. "A veterinarian," she said.
"Well, I've never seen you with an animal before. You good with em?" Mr. Jones asked.
Victorea shrugged at this. "Well I suppose I've been told I am. But I like them, and I like helping them. I don't know if I am, really."
"Don't be modest, I'm sure you're great with them!" Alfred said happily, reaching for yet another pancake.
Victorea smiled. "Thanks, Alfred."
"No probs."
"So what are we doing today?" Mr. Jones asked. "I have nothing planned for the weekend."
"Well," Arthur spoke up, "Maybe we can go around town? The park or something?"
Victorea smiled at this. "Town? I've never been to the town, and I didn't even know we had a park!"
Mr. Jones laughed. "Well, alright then! It's settled! But you've gotta take Peter out with you."
The four teens froze at this. "Peter?" Arthur asked. "I thought he was coming next weekend?"
"No, it was this weekend," Mr. Jones said calmly, biting into his seventh pancake. "He should have been here at noon but his flight was delayed so he should be here soon."
"Cool! We get to see little bro!" Alfred fist-pumped. Mattie and Arthur just smiled, and Victorea looked a little surprised.
"Wait, but…" she looked nervous. "Am…Am I going to intrude?"
"Nah, course not!" Mr. Jones laughed heartily. "You're one of us now, ain't ya?"
"I am?" Victorea looked surprised.
The four boys smiled happily. "Sure you are, dudette!" Alfred cheered.
"Not to rush things, of course," said Arthur. "You've only known us for about a week, after all."
"But you're still like family," Matthew whispered. "And that means that you're welcome here anytime you need us."
Victorea's eyes grew a little moist, her cheeks flushed. "Well, golly I'm flattered," she said in her accent that Arthur found adorable.
No, bad thoughts.
"You're welcome here anytime, Tia. Just say the word," Mr. Jones said happily.
"Tia?" Alfred and Matthew said in unison.
"Yup, that's her nickname," Mr. Jones said almost proudly. "I call her Tia, because Victorea sounds too long for me."
"I like that," Alfred thought for a moment. "Tia. I like that!"
Victorea giggled. "Thanks."
There was a rapid knock on the front door. "Oh, that must be him!" Mr. Jones got up, and the other four soon followed. He took a look back at them and winked at Victorea. "Let's introduce him to our new family member, shall we?"
She flushed a deep red as Alfred patted her on the back.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Good gravy, that took forever and a half.
Sorry about being slow. The surgery kind of took its toll on me, but my mom is trying to get me to walk around and do things, anyway. Which I suppose is good, but it hurts. And it's exhausting.
But I like this chapter, as it is the development of the characters (and the intro to one that I like). My favorite characters will be in the main chapters, but I will still post 'Lazy Day' chapters with other characters as well as the main ones. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any comments about what to do or who to include, so I'm going to have to think most up. I suppose I should have seen this coming, after all. My stories suck ;-;
Well to those that favorite and followed: a big hug and one of Mattie's cookies! Please review and tell me what I need to improve on and what you think you want to see in this! I would appreciate it and I will give credit to whomever gave me ideas!
I also accept pairings, but I do not do those on my own free will. If you want to see them, go ahead (I don't care if maybe I don't like the pairing; I will pair them anyway).
Thanks!
~Dreampainter