And another chapter is here. I think we all have recognized that Erik loves sweet things. And about this love will be this chapter. I hope you all will enjoy and I hope that I'm able to update next week. I wish you happy reading.

Greetings Petit Erik

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Erik POV

I felt old somehow. I just didn't know why. Maybe it was because the kids were growing so fast. It felt like they were just born yesterday and our big kids were going to school soon. Then the real stress would start. Every day, our two big kids would tell me and my wife what new things they had learned in kindergarten. Of course, their siblings listened just as curiously. Josy sat on my lap and tugged lightly at the ribbons of my sweater while she talked. She especially liked math, while her brother was rather the complete opposite. He didn't like it at all. He could do it, without question, but he didn't like to do it. Of course, both siblings had also inherited the musical talent from me. They played the piano perfectly and their younger siblings practiced diligently to be able to do it as well as their older siblings.

"Daddy?", Josy asked me.

"Hmm."

"What's for dinner today?"

"How about Kaiserschmarrn?", my wife suggested.

"What's that?", I asked curiously.

"Oh, it's something sweet. And you all like sweets, right?"

"YES!", my kids and I exclaimed.

Lou laughed and stood up.

"Well, come on then. Let's go to the kitchen together."

Immediately the kids had run forward and were giggling delightedly. I stood up as well and put my arm around my wife's waist.

"My sweet angel," I smiled and kissed her.

"We'll see about that," she giggled and ran into the kitchen while I followed her with my own laughter.

Louise POV

I didn't know that my family had never eaten Kaiserschmarrn. I had to fix that as quickly as possible. While I was preparing everything, which took a really long time, my husband and the kids set the table. I got the applesauce out of the fridge, which was not little, and asked Erik if he could open the jars. He did and I instructed him to pass it out and put a bowl down for everyone. He did so conscientiously and when he couldn't get any more out, he snacked on the last of it. He grinned like a happy schoolboy and then put the bowls down. Meanwhile, I started putting the batter I had mixed into a pan. Fortunately, it didn't take too long. Soon the first ones were ready and I put it on a plate. Soon the rest joined in. Each of us had an egg cake on our plate. Then I tore it up with a knife and fork and sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. Then I put the plates on each of us and we could start eating. The children stuffed their mouths with joy and had all the powdered sugar on their faces. Erik and I laughed delightedly and I looked at my happy family. I looked at Erik and I noticed that he also had powdered sugar on his face. I gestured to Jere and he immediately knew what I meant. He raised his hand and carefully wiped the powdered sugar from his father's disfigured cheek. Erik looked at him and his son grinned.

"How do you think that got there, Daddy?", he asked, chuckling.

"You of all people ask that," he replied.

"Why?"

"When you were a baby, I fed you pumpkin porridge once. Your whole face was covered with mush. There was even mush on your forehead. So the little bit of powdered sugar on my cheek is nothing compared to you."

When Erik told how Jere's face was full of mush, his siblings and I burst out laughing. Erik laughed as well and grinned at his son. Jere had blushed and buried his face against his father's shoulder. Erik was still giggling and stroking his son's soft hair. Jere looked at him and his father smiled and kissed his son's forehead with his distended lips.

"This is embarrassing, Daddy," he murmured.

"Oh, don't be. Your sister looked the same," he replied.

Josy turned bright red and hid her face in her hands. This time her brother laughed at her.

"Oh, don't laugh at the other one. You all looked like that," I told them.

All the children were looking at me now. Me and Erik laughed and gave each other a high-five.

"Mommy?", asked Basti meanwhile.

"Yes, angel?", I replied.

"Again?"

"Again you want? Then you get one more. You too?"

"YES!", everyone shouted, including Erik.

I again loaded their plates again and we each ate our second helping. I saw my husband and children enjoying it and was very happy that they liked it so much.

Erik POV

I didn't know what Kaiserschmarrn was, let alone that it tasted so good. It was really fantastic. The kids and I loved the taste. My kids' faces were covered in powdered sugar and even my cheek had powdered sugar on it. Jere wiped it away with a giggle. We shared funny memories of when the kids were babies and I had fed them. My two older children were extremely embarrassed, but Lou and I just grinned in amusement. When we were done eating, we went to the music room. Basti climbed onto my lap while Phia climbed onto my wife's. My son smiled at me and pressed the keys of the piano with his little hand. He giggled with delight and continued.

"Daddy, too," he said to me.

"Yes, angel," I replied and put my hands on the keys.

My son put his on mine and I started playing. He giggled happily and his whole face beamed. Jere also sat down and started to play as well. I was overjoyed that my children had inherited my musicality. Meanwhile, Josy and my wife sat at the table and she showed her how coloring on tracing paper worked. My daughter joined in with enthusiasm. Suddenly she jumped up, grabbed a stack of white paper and started drawing on it. I just noticed how quickly she was drawing on the paper. A short time later, she jumped up and I noticed her come running to me.

"Look at this, Daddy. Do you like it? Does it look okay?", she asked me, waiting for my professional assessment.

My eyes widened. It looked fantastic. She had amazing talent.

"It looks wonderful, dear. I'm very proud of you."

She beamed happily and kissed me on my cheek. Then she ran back to the table giggling happily and continued drawing.

"Daddy! Keep playing!", shouted Basti loudly.

"Yes, little one," I replied, continuing to play a soft melody.

Jere added his own notes to it. His piano playing was wonderful. I was immensely proud of my son. My son grinned at me and he knew very well that I was proud of him. Basti looked at his big brother and beamed at him. Jere reached out and tickled his brother under the chin, whereupon he giggled. I smiled, closed my eyes and let the music take me away.

However, that didn't last long. Soon I felt my sons start to tickle me. Why did they have to do that? They knew exactly how ticklish I am. They dug their fingers into my ribs and I squealed. They giggled loudly and continued with glee. I had to get up from the piano stool because otherwise I would have fallen over. Instead, I sat down on the floor and my children immediately pounced on me. They tickled my ribs and didn't even think about stopping. Their little fingers were nimble and I giggled like a madman. Phia looked at me and her brothers grinning broadly, climbed off the couch and joined them to torture me. In the end, I just screamed and then lay on the floor panting. The kids were doing great. Phia sat on my stomach and looked at me, beaming.

"Oh, your poor Papa," Lou said.

I whimpered playfully and looked at me out of wide eyes and then hugged me.

"Love you, Papa," she said.

I hummed happily and replied: "I love you too, angel," and kissed her on the head.

My little angel was truly wonderful. But so was my whole family. They accepted me for who I was. Unconditionally. It was a wonderful feeling. I closed my eyes and basked in the love of my family. Soon after, I felt my head being gently lifted up and then placed on something soft. I opened my eyes and saw that Lou had placed my head in her lap and was gently stroking my hair. She smiled at me from above, bent down and kissed me on my lips. I hummed and smiled into her kiss. When we parted, she smiled at me.

"Fancy something sweet, angel?", she purred.

I leaned my head back and grinned at her. She giggled, kissed me again, grabbed a pillow off the sofa and replaced her head with it. Then she walked out of the room and I heard her go into the kitchen. Then she pottered around there for quite some time. Soon a delicious smell wafted through the house.

"Hmm. Your Mama is really wonderful," I purred, sniffing.

Pie. This woman is a real blessing. When my kids smelled the aroma, they ran into the kitchen. I giggled, got up and followed them. I heard their giggles in the kitchen. My wife turned around, grinned, and held a spoon out to me. I felt a real sparkle come into my eyes. I quickly grabbed the spoon and licked the dough. My eyes closed in delight. It was so delicious. My wife was wonderful at baking. When I opened my eyes, she grinned at me.

"It seems to me that you like it."

"It tastes wonderful, angel," I replied, kissing her.

Louise POV

My Erik had such a sweet tooth. He loved to eat sweet things. I had noticed that back when we first met. I had visited him in his hideout one day and bought some chocolate. I loved them. When I arrived at the hideout, Erik was sitting intently at his organ. He had his chin propped up on his hand and was wearing only a shirt and pants. Over his shirt he wore his oriental robe. He didn't even notice me, he was so focused. I went into the kitchen, put the chocolate in a bowl and went back to Erik. He still hadn't noticed anything. I took the bowl and slowly swung it under his nose. His eyes followed it greedily. Suddenly his hand shot forward and he held the edge of the bowl. He looked at me and his eyes widened. I grinned at him.

"Nerve food?"

He nodded quickly, threw down his feather, and ran to the couch where I had sat down. Erik plopped down next to me and a greedy grin was on his deformed face. He was almost drooling.

"Louise. Can I have some of that, please?", he asked.

I held the bowl out to him, but before he could reach for it, I quickly pulled it away.

"Louise," he cried out indignantly.

I chuckled nastily and grinned.

"Please," he whimpered, looking at me with puppy eyes.

I relented and held the bowl out to him again. He beamed and took a piece of chocolate. He popped it in his mouth, hummed, and closed his eyes.

"Hmm. I love it."

"I didn't know you liked chocolate," I said, amazed.

"Well, it's such a characteristic of mine, which isn't necessarily conducive to the opera ghost. But when I go shopping, I always look to see if there's any somewhere. I just can't do without it," he admitted.

I chuckled in response.

"I agree with you. I, too, love chocolate. Luckily with you, it wears off quickly with all the running around. That's why I always make sure I don't eat too much of it."

"You know when the urge hits you, though, and all you want to do is eat it?"

"Oh yeah. Then it's especially hard for me to stop."

"Me too," he said, grinning and taking another piece, which he ate with relish.

Even now he had that grin on his face. He looked like a happy little boy. I tickled him lightly and he giggled happily. It was so nice to see that he was happy and that he was comfortable. I don't think he would have thought this would happen then when he met me.

"What are you thinking about?", Erik asked me, tilting his head in his so sweet way.

"Nothing, my angel. Just about how happy I am."

He smiled at me and kissed me.

"I'm happy too," he replied.

"That's nice, my little sweet tooth," I smirked and he gave me another happy kiss with a giggle.

Notes:

Definition of Kaiserschmarrn: Kaiserschmarrn or Kaiserschmarren (Emperor's Mess) is a lightly sweetened pancake that takes its name from the Austrian emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I, who was fond of this fluffy shredded pancake. It is served as a dessert or as a light lunch alongside apple sauce and contains raisins or dried cranberries.*

*From Wikipedia

Little note: It's so delicious. Just try it. You will not regret it 😋