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“Are we almost there?” Alfred groaned, throwing himself back onto his cot.
“For the millionth time Alfred, if all continues to go smoothly, we’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon,” Arthur grumbled in reply. Alfred had been asking him that for the past three weeks, and each time, Arthur would explain they were still days away from even being able to see land. It could have been worse. The winds and tides were in their favour, thus the trek turned out to be six weeks instead of the average eight, and Alfred had only been impatient for half the trip.
Alfred let out a whine, but for the time being, his complaints stopped.
With Alfred more or less satisfied for the moment, Arthur turned towards his other charge who laid on the queen-sized bed that would normally belong to Arthur. The poor boy hadn't taken too well to the long voyage and rocky nature of the sea. He had been ill for most of the trip.
"We'll be there soon, love," Arthur assured him, petting Matthew's hair lovingly.
Matthew gave him a weak smile in return.
"I'll make sure the cook makes something light for you tonight."
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome." Arthur rose from his seat on the bed and headed towards the door. "I'm going to check if everything is in order. You boys stay here. Matthew don't forget to drink and Alfred…just keep an eye on your brother."
"Fine," Alfred sighed.
"Thank you. Now be good, and maybe there will be a surprise after dinner."
Alfred quickly lit up at those words.
—
Arthur’s heart pounded in his chest as the sharp peaks of his childhood home came into view. He thought the boat ride was rough between Alfred’s complaints and Matthew’s seasickness, but nothing compared to the dread he felt as the carriage pulled up in front of the cozy cottage Arthur’s siblings were currently residing in. Maybe it wasn’t too late to just bring the boys to his house in London and spend their two weeks there.
“What’s uncle Alastair like?” Alfred asked Matthew as the two boys exited the carriage.
“Well…He’s loud. A little scary. But he’s also really nice. He’s got a lot of cool stories, and he was teaching me how to ride a horse. I think you’ll really like him, Al.”
“Really?”
Matthew nodded.
“Do you know anything about the others?” Alfred asked.
“N-No.”
“Darn. We’ll find out soon enough though!” With that, Alfred took off towards the house.
“Alfred, wait…” Arthur called, but the boy was already inside. The Brit let out a weary sigh as he collected his luggage. He began heading towards the house when he noticed the lack of footsteps behind him. Looking back, he found Matthew with his feet planted on the ground and his face hidden in his teddy bear. “What’s wrong poppet?”
Matthew only let out a fearful hum and took a small step towards Arthur.
“Are you nervous?”
The young boy nodded.
Arthur gave him a tired smile before putting the luggage down and crouching to be at Matthew’s level. “Don’t be. Uncle Allie will be there, and I’m sure you’ll get along swimmingly with your Uncle Dylan. You remind me a lot of him, you know?”
Matthew peeked up from behind his stuffed animal's head. “Really?”
“Mhm,” Arthur hummed. When he noticed Matthew was still hesitant, he scooped the boy into his arms. “But, if you’re still nervous, you can stay right here with me.”
“Okay,” Matthew whispered, a shy smile spreading across his face.
One problem down, but with his arms occupied holding Matthew, another problem emerged. Arthur looked around at his and the boys’ luggage. As if on cue, three servants came rushing out, greeting them cheerfully before collecting the bags.
“Thank you,” Arthur said, following the three women inside, “Bring them to my room please.”
“Of course Lord Kirkland,” the eldest of the three servants replied.
“Oi would you look at that,” a woman’s voice cried as Arthur and Matthew entered the living room. “Never thought I’d see the day that the mighty Arthur Kirkland would care for something other than power and wealth.”
A woman with bright red hair and green eyes matching Arthur’s was perched on the armchair near the fireplace. She scowled at him, though upon seeing Matthew cower away, her gaze softened.
“Not now Niamh,” Arthur said through gritted teeth.
Niamh just glared at him as if wanting to say more, but fortunately, Alfred came barreling in to break up the tension.
“Hey Auntie Niamh,” he exclaimed, “This is my brother Matthew.” Alfred proudly pointed to Matthew who curled further into Arthur’s arms when attention was brought to him.
Niamh threw Arthur one more hard look before taking a deep breath and putting on a tight smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Matthew. I’m sorry to have startled you. It just hasn’t been a good day.”
“I-It’s okay,” Matthew mumbled.
“What’s all the noise in here?” Another voice called.
“Uncle Allie!” Alfred cheered, running over to the brunette that now stood in the doorway.
“Ah, so this is where you ran off to,” Alastair noted, ruffling the boy's hair. “And hello Matthew. How are you?”
“Okay,” Matthew whispered, “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Right back at you lad.” He patted Matthew’s head. “I was just about to give Alfred a tour of the house and garden. Would you like to join us?”
Matthew shook his head before hiding his face in Arthur’s neck.
“Shy as always,” Alastair teased though it was full of affection, “That’s okay. Maybe you can help Dylan and Arthur unpack.”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Arthur agreed.
“Do you want to go on the tour too Niamh?” Alastair asked.
“Please Auntie Niamh?” Alfred begged, crawling onto the arm of the chair.
“Well, since you asked so nicely, sure,” Niamh sighed. Taking Alfred’s hands, Alastair and Niamh headed out to the garden to begin their tour.
Arthur let out an exasperated sigh. That could have gone better. At least Dylan would be the easiest out of his three siblings to introduce Matthew to. Hopefully, his soft-spoken, eldest brother would be able to make Matthew forget all about the confrontation.
“Arthur! It’s so good to see you,” Dylan gushed as Arthur and Matthew reached the top of the stairs. “This must be Matthew.” Dylan hunched over slightly to be at his nephew’s level. “I am your Uncle Dylan. I sure hope my three siblings didn’t give you too much trouble.”
Matthew peeked over at Dylan.
“Well Niamh wasn’t all that welcoming,” Arthur grumbled.
Dylan shook his head. “She’s only not welcoming to you. You already know my stand on all that though, but I wish she didn’t bring it up when the children are here. I’ll talk to her about it. But you…don’t do anything to push her anymore.”
“Fine…”
“Thank you.” With the seriousness out of the way, Dylan turned back to Matthew.
“Are you going to help me unpack all your things?”
Matthew nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
Dylan led them to the guest room where Matthew and Alfred would be staying. Their suitcases were already set on the bed. Arthur placed Matthew beside them, and though Matthew was reluctant to leave the protective arms of his guardian, he knew Arthur had to get them settled. Dylan worked on hanging up the boys’ coats in the closet while Arthur filled the dresser.
While he searched for extra hangers, Dylan spotted a patch of mossy green fur. “Oh Barnaby,” Dylan murmured, pulling out an old plush rabbit, “That’s where you got to.” He turned back to Arthur and Matthew. “Arthur, look what I found.”
“Is that…”
“Yes, it is!” Dylan thrusted the stuffed animal towards Arthur who carefully took it.
“Goodness I haven’t seen him in decades,” Arthur beamed. He turned towards Matthew, who had curled up into a ball on the bed but was still watching them. Arthur gave him a warm smile before taking a seat beside him. “Matthew, I have one more person I’d like you to meet.” Arthur handed the bunny to Matthew. “This is Barnaby. Your uncle Dylan made it for me when I was around your age. Maybe you can keep him company for me during our stay?”
“Okay,” Matthew agreed, matching Arthur’s smile.
“He used to take that thing everywhere,” Dylan laughed, “Actually I think I might still have a portrait of…”
“Dylan,” Arthur groaned as his brother ran out of the room. The Welsh man returned moments later with a fairly large, framed painting. He turned it around to reveal a young Arthur, pouting as he held on tightly to the little green bunny Matthew now had. Matthew giggled while Arthur grumbled to himself (which made Matthew laugh even more).
“If you two are quite finished, we have a job to do,” Arthur snapped.
“Alright, alright,” Dylan said with a chuckle.
In no time, all of Arthur’s and boys’ belongings were in their places. With the job done, Arthur, Dylan, and Matthew headed back downstairs to see what the others were doing. When they reached the living room, Alfred, Niamh, and Alastair were hard at work draping a blanket over the couch and some extra chairs from the dining room, creating a tent-like structure.
“What are you–” Arthur began, but when he saw Matthew’s face light up any complaints he had got caught in his throat.
“No sleepover is complete without a pillow fort,” Alastair shot back.
Arthur groaned, but only he seemed concerned with the mess this was going to make.
Dylan offered his hand to Matthew, and Matthew happily accepted. They started to make their way over to the fort, but when Matthew realized Arthur wasn’t following them, he stopped. Turning around, Matthew extended his hand to Arthur.
When Arthur met the boy’s expectant eyes, he couldn’t say no. He could push his worries and concerns back for tonight. For his family’s sake. Taking Matthew's hand, he was led over to the fort.