Arthur found himself wandering the halls after returning home from the ball. Now that he was no longer in the public eye, under pressure to perform, he found the tension in the shoulder had loosened. If only marginally.

After stopping by the kitchen to make himself a mug of tea (quite possibly the 5th today), he found himself wandering again.

He supposed, that if he were on holiday and were an unruly teen, he wouldn't consider the time to be late at all. But being a grown man with responsibilities that burdened him, he knew it was late and really wished he were asleep.

But he couldn't sleep. Not when the boys were still out.

It was a funny feeling but he knew that was the reason. Why he couldn't just close his eyes and fall asleep? He also knew he had no reason to be restless over the boy's whereabouts.

He knew exactly where they were and with whom. He trusted his driver would look after them in his place. Yet when he passed their room he found himself staring at their bed with some sort of revelation.

He sat himself in his study and opened the scrapbook.

When he first held the book, the weight felt so much more... overwhelming. He had almost been afraid to see the contents. To some degree he still was, but his curiosity and... if he was frank with himself, his longing, was becoming too much to bear.

He opened the book and flipped the page.

It was a standard scrapbook and he was pleased to see that everything had been arranged in chronological order and thoroughly labelled. It was especially helpful when the twins were younger and their identities were still forming. Though he found it amusing that when it came to some photos, instead of trying to figure out which was which, the boys had just admitted they didn't know and wrote '? (left)' and '? (right)'. He had to admit it was amusing. Arthur supposed their memory wouldn't go that far back to know who was who when at that age they looked so damn identical.

It was hard to wrap his head around that not only did he have a child, but somehow from the one chance, he got two kids. Twins. The odds were astronomical and yet he had rolled them. It made him feel as though his kids were extra special.

Though every parent felt that, didn't they? He wondered if Glynnis felt that way about Clarissa. Though unlikely, Glynnis didn't really give him the impression that she thought Clarissa was amazing.

But did Amelia feel the same as he did? Arthur hoped she did.

He continued to flick through the boy's childhood as a feeling snuck up upon him. In each photo, everyone seemed so happy. Of course, Arthur knew the photo only represented a moment... but he couldn't help but feel like he was left out. Missing out. He could've shared these moments with his boys but... he was across the pond and completely oblivious.

Things would've been different if he were in the picture (so to speak, a bit on the nose for a metaphor when he was sitting in front of a photo album) and things probably wouldn't have been perfect. Scratch that, definitely not because he was by no means perfect, but things would've been right.

He'd been suppressing his feelings on the matter since the boys' arrival because he'd been taught from a very young age that he had to 'keep on keeping on' because the world would keep turning. But anger was an acceptable emotion, one that came quite easily.

Yes, he was angry at first but then he adjusted and he was left with the absence of anger.

He kept turning the pages as he observed, through the third person what their childhood looked like.

It looked like adventure, which wasn't a surprise considering the boys' mother. He could tell she loved them through the countless upon countless of photos she'd taken and from the way the boys' smiled when they looked at her.

He could also tell how close the boys' were too. The pair were hardly photographed separately. They were always caught up in each other and leaning on the other for support. It was adorable and made Arthur's heart melt. It also made his heart squeeze.

It wasn't jealousy, but a sense of gladness that the boys didn't have his experience. Arthur wasn't an only child. Through a complicated family tree, he had several half-brothers. All older and they loved to lord it over him.

They weren't close at all. That's all Arthur would say on the matter. It hurt to think otherwise and what could've been. If the family wasn't so turbulent... maybe things could've been different-

Arthur banished the thought. Things are the way that they are. And he's so very pleased that the boys have discovered what it's like to be a part of a family. A proper family. Not proper, formal, like how Arthur was trained to be, but the definition of a picture-perfect family. Only missing one piece.

Arthur couldn't continue. He bookmarked the scrapbook before resting his head in his hands.

He knew he shouldn't entertain the thought, it would only bring him pain but - if, he had been a part of the boys' life... would they have grown up like he did? It was all he knew and he couldn't imagine how to act so carefree anymore... he had forgotten how to a long time ago. But maybe if he had been with them, Amelia, just by the merit of being around would've made sure everything was alright. Maybe then everything would've been just like this scrapbook.

With this revelation of having a part of him kept from him for his entire life, thinking about alternative paths he could've taken intruded into his head. If he had a second chance again he'd go live out his fantasy with Amelia. The thought left him with a moral dilemma and guilt. He was engaged. Because there was no alternative route, the door of opportunity had long since closed and this was his life. Now he just felt guilty for having these thoughts at all and convincing himself that it was only natural just felt wrong.

He's here now because he didn't know he could've spent his time with Amelia. He reminded himself that she left and as a respectful gentleman he had to respect her decision and not chase. What's done is done and he's not a delusional man. The past was unchanging and he was only left with the now.

He would marry Glynnis who sometimes drove him mad - but that's human nature and he wasn't the most patient man either. He would inherit Clarissa, though truth be told he didn't feel like he knew her at all. And his most esteemed advisor would be his father-in-law, which in all honestly the idea sounded awkward but being raised the way he was to keep a business face on at all times, Arthur knew he could get over it.

From the moment he was born into the position he was, he knew he simply just had to accept his life. It was almost second nature to shelf his wants at this point. But the one thing he refused to shelf was his boys.

It's late here, the clock was inching towards midnight and Arthur knew he should at least try to get 8 hours of sleep, as impossible as that was for a man like him... But he knew that it wouldn't be so late... over there.

He gave in before he could change his mind and picked up the phone.

He was frozen as the phone rang and rang and rang-

"Arthur?" Amelia sounded surprised, but not in a bad way. "What's going on?"

Oh, he needed to talk now.

"Sorry," he found himself saying, "are you busy?"

"Not really, I'm just making dinner- wait, what's the time there?"

"Um," Despite his straightforward nature, Arthur hesitated. He couldn't say why, but he knew he didn't want Amelia to have a bad impression. But he wouldn't lie to her. "It's nearly midnight."

"OOooohhhhh what have you been up to?"

She wanted to know, tell her.

"Well, there was a coming-of-age ball I attended, purely on business. That went rather late as those things tend to do. To my knowledge, it's still going."

"Was it any fun? The way you're talking about it makes it sound so stuffy but if it's going late it has to be a party, right?"

"You know, Alfred said the same thing," Arthur mused. "I suppose I did have 'fun' and I'm quite certain the boys did too. They're still there actually-"

Arthur said that without thinking before he realised what he could be implying.

"They're not there alone! My driver is with them and I'm sure they'll be home any moment now-"

"Sounds like they're having the time of their lives! I'll have to make sure to call them at some point so they can tell me all about it themselves." Amelia said without a hint of worry. Arthur didn't know how she did it. Years of practice? Or was she just as carefree as she was 18 years ago?

Arthur couldn't ignore the lull in the conversation as everything was weighing down on him, and the last thing he wanted was to not have anything to talk about with Amelia. If only to occupy her time some more a moment of spontaneity urged him to open his mouth and just talk.

"I understand and hope you had your reasons, but I do wish you told me about the boys... I wish I could've had what you had all these years..."

He missed their entire childhood and he'll never get that back.

His office was deafeningly silent once the words left his mouth and the world was quiet while he waited for Amelia to respond. With every second that she didn't, a sense of darkness grew heavier and heavier and his moment of vulnerability fucked everything up.

"I couldn't imagine living again without them," Amelia said softly. "I just thought it was the right thing to do... not telling you, that is. I guess I thought it would be more complicated than it really was and I told myself if you really cared you'd have come after me but I... I don't know. You cared a lot about your career and I didn't want to come between that."

Arthur's heart was racing and squeezing.

"We were married," Arthur's tone was raw, "Married! we could've found a way to make it work. At least we would've been together and I know we could've got through it! Sure, I'm sure you felt it was unexpected and perhaps it was overwhelming, or frightening, or- I wish I knew how you felt about it. Did- did I do something to give you the impression that you couldn't talk to me? It was never something you had to go through alone-"

He knew it was pointless to plead for things to be different when they were already done, but now he was finally confronted with the reason that everything was kept from him and the reason was just so weak-

"Arthur- stop. Just, no. I'm sorry, alright? You never did anything to make me feel like I couldn't talk to you. I just... I thought it was right, alright? And... I'm sorry."

Amelia's tone was tense and Arthur held his breath as she spoke.

"Look, I can't apologise enough. I can't imagine what it's like having this all dumped on you now and I now know I was wrong. All I did was hurt everyone with my decision. Those boys always wanted you and all this time I worried they were unwanted... I never gave them the impression that you didn't want them but they never would have had to yearn like they did if I just-"

Amelia sucked in a deep breath of air-

"I know I need to apologise to them and to you. So, if it makes any difference, I am really sorry about how everything turned out. I didn't think it would hurt you like it did and... well, since the boys left I've been thinking about how things could've been and Arthur, I am so so sorry that I just left. I should've talked to you. You're right, we were married, we could've, I don't know, tried somehow... I can't undo what I've done and I hope you can accept my apology. But look on the bright side- I know you've missed out on everything so far, but we have the rest of our lives with our children and I really really hope that you don't spoil that by thinking about what you've missed out on."

Amelia had always been so... optimistic. Thinking about spending the rest of his life with his boys... Arthur's vision blurred.

"So, are you okay?" Amelia asked timidly.

"Yes, I'm okay. Are you okay?"

It was said in such simple terms it felt like they were children again. But Arthur didn't have the words otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Amelia said softly.

"Good, good," Arthur traced the scrapbook with his spare hand nervously. "I hope we can be friends?"

"Arthur, we share kids, it would be weird if we weren't at least friends," Amelia chuckled and Arthur felt himself loosening up.

But he also felt a strange pang of disappointment that he quickly stifled.

He was tired, and it was time to go to bed. But he wasn't going to hang up until he absolutely had to.

"It's everywhere," Glynnis sighed as she snatched the newspaper from Percy and flapped it in Arthur's face.

"I'm not surprised, they're train wrecks," Clarissa added from her seat at the table.

"That ball was a fiasco and now those poor Orwood girls have been labelled as troublemakers! It's those boy's terrible influence-" Glynnis cut herself off sharply when she saw what Arthur was eating. "Percy, what on earth are you giving Arthur?"

"Coco pops, I believe Ma'am."

"Hell yeah! Can we have some?" Alfred said/yelled as he skipped into the room, somehow, against all odds, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed despite his late night.

Well, it might have appeared that way, but both the boys were dead inside and any behaviour that resembled energy just happened to be enthusiasm because they were having breakfast with their father.

"I'm surprised you came back at all last night," Clarissa said snarkily.

"You know? I'm surprised you didn't either," Alfred declared as he sat. "I thought you'd run off with Prince Charming."

"Could you blame me? I know you hijacked the Ball-" She gasped when Percy went to pour her tea but got some in her lap.

"I'm dreadfully sorry miss," he said calmly as he reached for some napkins.

"You idiot!" She shrieked and jumped from her seat.

Matthew's eyes followed her as she stormed out of the room. He didn't approve how she was unnecessarily rude to the butler, even if the butler seemed more or less unaffected. Then his eyes caught the paper sitting on the table, the front page about last night's events...

"We're sorry about last night," Matthew said to Arthur.

"Yeah, we were just trying to help them," Alfred added.

"Did the girls want the help?" Arthur asked instead.

"Well, yeah, they were kinda bored at their own party and they didn't like that their Dad planned it so?" Alfred shrugged.

"They didn't ask but they were happy about it," Matthew added.

"Well, I suppose there's no real harm done. This is only in the paper because there's nothing actually serious to report on. Consider that a blessing."

"But think of their reputation!" Glynnis scoffed. "Things like these aren't forgotten easily."

"With the context of their upbringing, I should hope they're given some leniency."

Matthew was aware of Glynnis' irritation, clouding her like an aura and an idea came to him.

"Alfred, we should call Mum later. We haven't really spoken to her since we left and I bet she misses us."

Since leaving they had texted Mum updates and some photos, but they hadn't actually had a chance to call her yet. Matthew didn't want her to feel like she was missing out but there was also no better place to bring her up than in front of Arthur and Glynnis.

"Oh yeah, we really should! We need to tell her everything!" Alfred perked up before deflating. "But what about time zones?"

"Oh right, I forgot about that," Matthew lied, but his sleep deprivation made it look like he was actually sad about it. "Arthur, do you know what the time would be in New York?"

"Oh, I'm not sure... let me think..." Arthur paused from eating, taking a sip from his tea.

"Does it really matter?" Glynnis said callously before composing herself. "What I mean to say is, Arthur needs this time now to go over the schedule for today. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out the time difference for yourself."

Her phone rung abruptly and Glynnis practically ripped it from her pocket to answer. Matthew's eyes followed her as she excused herself to the corner of the room to answer, while still keeping her gaze set on Arthur.

"At this time of year the difference is only 4 hours or so," Arthur said as he finished his Coco Pops.

"Wait, how's that work?" Alfred said with a mouthful and it didn't escape Matthew's notice that Glynnis made a face. "Our flight took forever!"

"I'm into politics, not aviation or anything of the sort, I can't answer that one."

When Glynnis hung up with a huff, she made a show of checking her fancy watch with an attention-grabbing sigh.

"Arthur, it's 8:15 and you have an appointment in Westminster at 9:15."

"Yes, I know," Arthur sounded disappointed as he confirmed on his own watch. "Duty calls. See you later."

He downed the rest of his tea before striding out of the room at the same time Percy came back in.

"A 'Francis' is here to see you," he informed the twins.

"Shit, already?" Alfred gasped as he did a double take on his attire. "Don't let him in! He'll bully me so hard!"

"As you deserve," Matthew teased.

"Look at yourself Mattie!" Alfred retorted as he scurried out of the room, still in his pyjamas. The same pyjamas with the American flag, fireworks and bald eagles. Matthew was in pajamas too - ones with maple leaves and maple sauce. Only he wasn't ashamed to wear them and didn't fear bullying. He was the one that did the bullying.

Arthur was not expecting to have company when he entered the lobby. Another man -or rather a boy, likely near the age of his own children, which was a strange thought- strode confidently forward and held out his hand.

"Bonjour monsieur, Francis Bonnefoy. I'm here for the twins."

Arthur's eyebrow twitched but he shook the other's hand nonetheless. Clearly a friend of his sons', but he wondered what were the chances that he had to be French.

"-How are you doing?"
"-How do you do?"

The awkward atmosphere was climbing in tension.

"Good," Francis chuckled.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked pointedly. "How do you know my sons?"

"I was in the band last night. But I met them before, at their last 'otel."

"I see," Arthur said. "And what are you planning on doing with them?"

"You make me out to sound as if I have nefarious intentions," Francis laughed. "I am just showing them around, it's their first time 'ere and I know everything there is to see."

Arthur really didn't like that statement, but as a proper gentleman, he kept his face appropriately pleasant.

Though he may have shown a little surprise when one of his boys ran past him, almost bouncing in excitement - his first thought was, 'oh this is typical Alfred' but then he realised it was Matthew.

And he was speaking French.

Enthusiastically.

Willingly!

Arthur was gobsmacked.

"Am I missing something?" The words fell out before he could stop them.

"Yeah, missing out, cus you're so busy!" Alfred chuckled, coming up behind him. "But we'll hang out later, right?"

Arthur couldn't find the words.

"Right?" Alfred questioned.

Arthur just felt frozen as his day started off so bizarre.

"Right, yes, of course," he made himself say and cleared his throat. He watched as Francis gave them helmets as they walked towards a motorbike-!

He didn't even know if that was legal. But he did know it wasn't going to stop them when neither teen showed any hesitancy.

"Now hold on," Arthur started, "Are you really going to ride on that thing?"

"'That thing!'" Francis sounded offended. "It is in perfect condition, don't you worry."

"Yeah, worry not chap," Alfred laughed mockingly, completely not serious, "I'll even sit at the back so you don't have to worry."

"How could I not be worried!" Arthur could hear his voice was strained.

"Cus Mattie will be in the middle," Alfred shrugged like that would explain everything.

When Arthur didn't reply because he was absolutely gobsmacked, somehow more than before, Alfred kept talking.

"Cus then I can pin him in like this-" Alfred demonstrated by wrapping his brother in a hug- "And he won't fall off because I'm super strong, y'know?"

"I think he's worried because he hasn't seen three people on a motorbike before," Matthew winced.

"Really? But they do it all the time in Chinatown-"

"In New York, in America," Matthew reminded.

"Worry not, I will drive very carefully," Francis said as he sat on the bike and buckled his helmet. Then he called something in French and patted the seat behind him for Matthew.

"Ah, since when did you know French?" Arthur asked, doing his best to keep judgment from his voice. "Did Amelia teach you...?"

"Oh, I've been learning for a couple of years now," Matthew said modestly.

"'e is really good," Francis added. "His accent is-" he finished the sentence with an exaggerated kiss of perfection.

Matthew just sheepishly shook his head.

"But-" Arthur cleared his throat and kept his voice neutral. "But why French?"

"Believe me, I've asked," Alfred groaned and sat behind his brother. "Apparently, he 'just felt like it'."

Matthew shrugged and Arthur found himself nodding. Be supportive Arthur, be supportive.

"Arthur!" Glynnis' voice came from inside and obligation caught up to him.

"Right well, enjoy yourself, I suppose," he felt a bit flustered and slightly jealous that he wasn't able to show his own sons his city, but it was too late for that now and he had things he needed to do.

"Will do!" Alfred cheered as Francis revved the engine.

Matthew gave him a wave and Arthur hesitantly returned it as they sped off.