Chapter Text
Arthur Kirkland and his husband Francis Bonnefoy shuffle into their house. They awkwardly bang around in their narrow hallway that leads from their front door to their living room. They have large baskets held out in front of them to keep the precious cargo from smacking against the walls. Arthur marches into the living room and gently sets the basket onto the couch. Francis follows his lead and both of them scoop out a baby from their baskets. Soon they're holding two cooing baby boys in their arms. They beam at each other over their squirming bundles and come as close together as they can. They touch their foreheads together and grin.
"We finally did it," Arthur said softly.
Francis lifts his head just enough to press his lips to Arthur's forehead, "Oui, we did it."
Francis returns to his original position. They had adopted two boys named Alfred and Matthew. Alfred is trying to grab at his brother's face.
Francis and Arthur had found them when deciding to take the big step and adopt. Alfred and Matthew were biologically related twins, which Arthur thought was a good thing because they could feel like actual brothers. Arthur and Francis had found them in the system when they were looking for children that they might want and they fell in love immediately. They filled out all of the papers that were necessary and today was the first day that they could bring them home.
Arthur lifts his finger and places it in Alfred's tiny, grasping hand. Alfred squeezes as tightly as his little muscles will allow. He still reaches for Matthew with his other hand.
Francis chuckles, "It seems that he's going to be quite a handful."
"And Matthew seems like he'll be nice to his daddies and be calm for them. But his silence is a little worrying is it normal for him to be this quiet?" Arthur says.
"I'm sure he's fine, mon amour," Francis says and lifts his head, "We should put them to bed."
Arthur hugs Alfred to his chest as tightly as he can without hurting him, "I don't know. I feel like if I put them down it'll turn out to be a dream."
Francis nods in understanding, "Then let's at least hold them in their nursery."
So they do. They hold onto their children for a very long time before becoming tired and going to bed. They embrace there, smiling, feeling like they're flying. Neither of them can believe that they have taken this big step. They're so incredibly happy that at times it didn't feel real.
This is can't be real, Francis thought to himself. He was dropping off Alfred and Matthew off for their first day of school. Arthur had come with him and they had walked their children to the front doors of the school. Francis wasn't ready to let his babies go off to school, they were growing up too fast and based off of Arthur's tight grip on his hand he was sure Arthur felt the same. Arthur let go of Francis' hand and crouched down.
"You two be good okay?" Arthur said. He hugged both of his boys in turn and let Francis do the same.
"Bye daddy, bye papa!" Al and Matt said simultaneously before running off to join their class. Francis visibly sagged and leaned against his husband as he watched his children go. Once they were out of sight Francis buried his face into Arthur's shoulder. He groaned.
"I'm not ready for this," he moaned. Arthur rubbed reassuring circles onto his husband's back. Francis sighed and straightened again. He had to get a hold of himself. They had to grow up some time and he had to keep his head clear for work. He had been a stay at home dad until just a week ago. He had never been apart from his boys other than to sleep. He could already feel a big part of him missing them. He sighed and slowly walked away with Arthur, tossing looks over his shoulder at points.
Francis and Arthur both had an uneventful day at their jobs. Francis only worked part time so he was able to get off of work and pick up the boys when school ended. Arthur still had to work however and would be there until five o'clock.
Francis stood in the same place that he had stood when he said goodbye to the boys. He waited eagerly for their familiar faces to come into view. Alfred came bounding up to Francis looking happy. Francis smiled.
"Did you have a good first day?" Francis asked hugging the boy clinging to his leg. Alfred bounced up and down excitedly.
"Yeah, I met this boy named Tony and we became friends!" Alfred exclaimed.
"That's wonderful!" Francis said. He liked that Al was making friends, that was a good thing.
Matthew came up behind Alfred, looking upset. Uh oh. It seems that Matt didn't have as good a day as Alfred clearly did. Francis worried about what had happened. Was Matt being bullied? Was he not getting along with other people? Did he get into a fight? These thoughts flew through Francis' head and he had to stop himself from panicking. He looked over Matt. He didn't seem to be visibly hurt.
"Matt?" Francis said tentatively. He crouched so he stood face to face with his son, "Is everything alright?"
Matthew pouted and tossed his head to the side. Apparently he didn't want to talk about it yet. Francis sighed and grabbed both of his son's hands. Matt seemed to calm down a little bit at the feeling of his father's hand. Alfred chattered on about his first day and Francis listened to him. He still worried for Matt and he nearly lost his concentration on Al's talking. But he managed to keep his thoughts in order. After four years he had nearly perfected dividing his attention between the boys.
Matthew stayed silent but this wasn't anything new. Matt was a silent child and he much preferred sitting quietly and reading a book. On the other hand his brother could hardly ever stop talking.
Francis strapped them into the car before speeding off towards home. He had decided that he would confront Matt on his bad mood when they got to the house. The car ride was filled with Al's voice. Francis was glad that at least one of his sons was liking the kindergarten life.
Once home Francis unstrapped the boys and Alfred flew out of the car and to the front door of the house, waiting for his father to unlock the door. He was just a bundle of energy. Matthew walked at the same pace as his father. His little hands were wrapped tightly around the straps of his backpack. He was still very upset. Francis jiggled the keys in the lock once he got to the door and let them all inside. Of course Alfred zoomed inside and went straight for his toys. Matt trudged inside and tossed his backpack down.
"Matthew," Francis said softly. He sat on the couch and patted the spot beside him. Matt jumped into the seat and stared hard at the ground. "Tell me what's wrong mon petite."
Matthew took a deep breath, "It-it's just that, just that, just that the other kids and-and me we had to get in groups. And, and, and they. And they."
Francis tried not to let himself let out a small smile. It's not that Matt being distressed was funny. It was just his mannerisms when he was angry that were adorable. He clenched his tiny fists against his knees and scowled at the ground. He even shook slightly, like he was going to just explode with rage. When he got like this he could barely get any words out.
Francis pulled him into his side and said kindly, "Use your words."
"Those- those stupid-heads. Th-they- they totally ignore me when- when I talk," Matt said and pouted his lower lip.
Francis squeezed his shoulder, "Oh Matty. I'm sorry."
Matt jumped off of the couch and stomped around the coffee table. He lifted his knees high and let his feet hit the ground hard. He stopped when he was in front of Francis, the coffee table dividing the space between them. Matt crossed his arms and scowled again.
"You don't have to say sorry papa, those dumbos have to," Matt said and paced, still stomping in the same manner as before.
"Well why don't you tell them that they're being stupid-heads and that they should apologize?" Francis suggested.
Matt stopped his tantrum for a second. He nodded determinedly. He was frowning as he slapped his feet against the stairs loudly, making it very clear that he was still supposed to be mad. Francis felt that he should leave him alone and let him cool down. Maybe he would buy him a stuffed bear to get him to feel better.