Chapter Text
Francis and Arthur were returning from their date night. Matthew and Al were in their sophomore year of college now. They were both still with their boyfriends from high school, Al had even gotten engaged. Their parents were happy for them, not to mention immensely proud. Al's career in football was going well. His college team had been winning many games and he was becoming a distinguished member in the world of college football. Meanwhile, Matt was in med school and had plans of becoming a pediatrician. he discovered that he liked working with kids and decided on a career.
Francis and Arthur couldn't have been prouder. Lately though the house had been quiet. They knew they should have become used to it after all this time but after eighteen years of hearing their sons bickering everywhere in the house and blasting their music in their rooms sometimes the silence was oppressing. These nights caused Francis and Arthur to go on dates and they seemed to be doing quite a lot of that lately. It was nearly Christmas anyways and this happened with them last year. The anticipation of seeing their boys again after months of being confined to Skyping made them restless.
Now they were just returning back from a little restaurant that the two of them wanted to try out. It had actually been really good and they planned on going back. They were probably going to take Al and Matt with them next time too. They only had to wait a week to see them so it wouldn't be too long of a wait. Arthur was sitting in the passenger seat as Francis drove them home. The heat from their left overs made Arthur's lap warm and the smell of it wafted throughout the car. Francis and Arthur's hands rested lightly on each other and occasionally Francis would lift Arthur's hand and kiss it. Arthur remembered that earlier in their relationship he would have snapped at Francis and told him not to be so embarrassing. Now he could hardly imagine why he would ever say that. Things had changed too much and he couldn't imagine Francis being any different than he was now, the man he was going to turn all wrinkly and gray with, the man that he had raised his children with. The man that he loved so much.
When Arthur and Francis returned home Francis took their coats and hung them up while Arthur went into the kitchen and put their leftovers into the fridge. He returned back into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. He had had a long day at work. Going out with Francis had made him feel better and now he was tired because his stomach was full of good food. Francis came up beside him and rested his head on Arthur's shoulder.
Arthur ran his hands through Francis' hair. It was silky, like it had always been but a slightly different shade of blonde from when they were younger. He had begun growing gray hairs and had resorted to dyeing it. He had tried to get Arthur to do it too but Arthur didn't want to bother with it, instead he had humbly let himself become peppered with gray.
Arthur rested his head on Francis' head and closed his eyes for a moment. After a while he sat up straight and shrugged his shoulder lightly, jostling Francis a little.
"We should go to bed," Arthur said tiredly.
"Oh? Is that a proposition?" Francis asked but he didn't move.
"You and I are both far too tired for that," Arthur said and yawned as if to emphasize his point. They stayed in place for a few more minutes and then Francis finally began to shift, only to move just enough to get off of Arthur's shoulder.
"Ugh, I don't want to get up," Francis said and wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck. "Carry me."
"Right, if that's what it takes to get you to sleep in a comfy bed I'm going to leave you out here," Arthur said.
"No," Francis whined, extending the vowel in that single word.
"Then get-" Arthur was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. He sighed and got up. Hero jumped up from where he had been lying on the floor and began barking.
Francis gave Arthur a questioning look and Arthur shrugged.
"I'm not sure," Arthur said. "But as I was going to say- get up yourself."
"So cruel," Francis said in mock hurt. He got up anyway and started shushing Hero. In the meantime Arthur opened their front door. Standing there was a little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked dirty, kind of like he had been playing outside all day.
Arthur looked behind him for any type of adult that might claim the boy as theirs but the road was deserted and dark.
"Um, hello there," Arthur said as nicely as he could. "Can I help you?"
"Do you have any food I can eat?" the strange boy asked. It occurred to Arthur then that the boy was pretty scrawny and that he looked like he hadn't had a good meal for a while.
Arthur blinked in surprise. "Ah, yes, yes we do." Arthur stepped aside to let the boy in. Was he homeless? "Francis, we have a guest."
Francis straightened from a now quite Hero and watched as the boy entered their house.
"Hello," Francis said.
"Hi," the boy said quietly. Arthur pointed towards the kitchen and went inside.
"I'm Francis," Francis said gently. He was glad the boy was talking. "What's your name?"
"Peter," the boy answered. "Who's the other person?"
"Oh, the one who opened the door? That's my husband, Arthur," Francis explained.
"Oh, cool," Peter said and looked towards Hero, who was obediently sitting still. "Can I pet your dog?"
"Yeah," Francis said and moved aside so that Peter could get to him. "His name is Hero."
"Hi, Hero," Peter said in a baby voice that is always used on dogs. Hero licked Peter's face and the boy giggled. He scratched behind both of Hero's ears and Hero thumped his tail happily, his tongue lolled out of his mouth with a slightly dopey expression.
Peter continued to pet Hero and looked around the room. He pointed at the pictures of Al and Matt that were scattered across the walls in the living room. "Who are they."
"Those are our sons. The one with the curl is Matthew and the other one is Alfred," Francis said. "They've both gone off to college already so they aren't here right now." The timer on the microwave beeped once and a moment later Arthur was in the living room, setting a fork and a plate of their left overs from tonight into Peter's hands. Peter hardly waited for Arthur's grip on the plate to leave before he set on the food hungrily. He moved himself to the couch while he ate.
He was done quickly. He hadn't even taken time to breath in between bites. Arthur and Francis exchanged a concerned look.
"Peter, would you mind telling us where your parents are?" Francis asked.
Peter scowled. "I dunno. I was told that I was abandoned when I was a baby and then I was living in foster homes and moving all the time. I didn't like it so I ran away."
Arthur and Francis considered this in silence.
"How long has it been since you ran away?" Arthur asked.
Peter made a face that showed that he was thinking. "I think maybe a month."
Arthur nodded. "Alright then."
"Do you want to take a shower?" Francis asked abruptly.
Peter's eyes sparked up. "Can I really take a shower?"
"Yep, come on I'll set it up for you," Arthur said and stood up. Peter shot up and bounced behind Arthur until they got to the bathroom. He barely waited for Arthur to get out of the bathroom before getting undressed. He threw his dirty clothes out into the hallway and Arthur picked them up and brought them into the washroom, he would wait for Peter to get out of the shower before putting these in. It might have been a while since Peter had had a hot shower.
When he came back outside Francis was sitting in the same place, his brow furrowed.
"Did you see the way he was excited over a shower? No boy his age gets excited over that," Francis said.
"No, no they don't do they?" Arthur said. He chewed on one of his nails.
"I think we should keep him," Francis said. "At least until we can convince him to go back to wherever he had run away from."
Arthur nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."
Francis went to look for any of Matt or Al's clothes that Peter might use for the night. All he could find though was a few of Matt's old sweaters and some of Al's shirts but they were all far too big for Peter. Francis decided that he would just give him one of Matt's sweaters and some boxers that he had never taken out of the package since Matt was the slimmest of their sons. When Peter came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around him Francis gave him the clothing items.
When Peter dressed he wrapped himself in the sweater. He had a little fun flapping his arms around because of the too-big sleeves. Francis showed him the rooms that he would be able to sleep in. Peter chose Al's room because it was the biggest. Now Peter was nestled in the covers, wearing a sweater and a pair of boxers that were too big on him. Francis backed out of the room when Peter sighed in content and seemingly fell asleep right after.
Francis went back out to the hallway and into his room. Arthur was there, taking off his clothes and replacing them with pajamas. Francis did the same and soon they were cuddled up on the bed, thinking about what they had just gotten themselves into.
“How do you think we’re going to convince him to go back to his foster family?” Arthur asked.
“I have no idea,” Francis admitted. He sighed and pulled Arthur closer to his chest. He could feel Arthur’s breath on his collarbone as it slowly evened out. It was lulling but Francis couldn't sleep. He was too busy thinking of the child that was in their house. It made him feel like the house was less empty when he knew that there was another, possibly rowdy, kid in the house. He knew that he would have to wake up early and make more food than he would normally in the mornings now. He would have to make food for three instead of two and while that may not have been the same thing as making food for four it sure felt nice to be responsible for someone again.
He thought that he should get some sleep so he could wake up early enough to make a nice breakfast.
Francis got up early and went into the kitchen, feeling good. He cooked breakfast cheerfully and let both Peter and Arthur sleep in. It was the weekend so they didn't need to wake up for anything.
When the food was done he went to wake Peter first. Francis found that he was actually a really heavy sleeper because it took a lot of shaking and calling of his name to wake him. But when Peter was finally up he rushed to the kitchen in a groggy state. He nearly tripped a few times because of that. Francis served him a plate of the waffles he had made before going to wake Arthur, who was much easier to get up than Peter was. All it took was a light shake on his shoulder and a kiss on his lips to get him up.
Francis went back into the kitchen where a tired Arthur shuffled behind him. Arthur sat at the table and yawned. Francis brought him his plate of food and his morning tea that he couldn't wake up without. Francis sat down at the table too with his own plate. Peter was already done and was sitting at the table restlessly.
"Peter, do you want more?" Francis asked. Peter nodded and Francis smiled at him while he took his plate. He knew Peter would probably want more so he had made enough waffles just for this situation. Peter cut a big piece from his meal and munched on it cheerfully. Francis and Arthur ate their food a lot slower than Peter. They remembered that Al and Matt inhaled their food but it wasn't until they were teenagers, before that they were always outside and playing and acted like they didn't have time to eat. But Peter was eating quickly and they wondered whether or not that was just him being himself or if he hadn't had a good meal in a long time.
"Peter, when do you think you're going to go back home?" Francis asked.
Peter frowned. "I don't have a home. I'm in foster care remember? I really hated it there. I was always with some family that was way too annoying or I would be in a foster house where I had to spend time with other gross, smelly boys. I was sick and tired of it so I left."
"How old are you exactly?" Arthur asked.
"Twelve," Peter said proudly. Arthur and Francis exchanged another look and Peter scowled. "I know I'm not the oldest but I can take care of myself."
Arthur sighed. "Well no matter what age you are don't you want a home?"
Peter shrugged. "I haven't had a home for my entire life, I think I'll be okay without one." Arthur and Francis were silent and that seemed to unsettle Peter. "Can I go play with Hero or something?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Arthur said distractedly. Peter left the table and Francis and Arthur both sighed. "What are we going to do?"
They were both silent for a while as they thought. Finally, Francis spoke. "We aren't new to the adoption process, maybe we could be the ones who can take him out of this system."
"Do you think he would be happy here?" Arthur asked.
"It's worth a chance," Francis reasoned. Arthur nodded.
"We need to make some sort of plan though, we can't just jump into this. It wouldn't be good for us and especially not for Peter if this doesn't work out," Arthur said.
"You're right," Francis agreed. So they planned. They talked about it for a good while. They were probably in the dining room for an hour before they decided that they had probably thought of every pro and con of what they were about to do.
"Alright, let's go talk to him," Arthur said, and stood up.
Francis and Arthur trailed into the living room. Peter was there petting Hero and looking content. Hero seemed to be taking to him really well. Maybe he missed the boys just as much as they did too. When they had first left Hero had never let the front door out of his sight.
Peter looked up when they both came into the room. "You guys were talking for a long time. You don't want me to stay anymore do you?"
Francis and Arthur sat on the couch and Peter turned so he could face them.
"Actually, we were talking about the opposite," Francis said. "We'll be taking you back to your group home, yes, but that would be so we can fill out the paper work to make you our foster child."
"But I've only been here for less than a day," Peter said.
"We know," Arthur said. "Which is why we're not going to adopt you right away. If you decide that you don't like it here then we will let you go. But if you do want to stay then we will be more than happy to adopt you."
"Really?" Peter asked thickly.
"Really," Francis said. "And if they're quick about letting you move in then you can meet Matthew and Alfred next week."
Peter looked down to the floor. "You're not just saying that are you? No one's wanted to adopt me before."
"We mean it," Francis said. He and Arthur stood up. "The faster we get this done, the better right?" Peter nodded enthusiastically.
"Your clothes are all washed now," Arthur said. "They're on the bed that you slept on last night. Go get dressed and we can hit the road."
"Okay!" Peter said and went into the bedroom. Arthur and Francis also went into their room and got dressed. When everyone was done getting ready they headed to Peter's foster house.
They ended up having to wait four days before Peter was able to move in with them. Things stayed pleasantly domestic after that. They didn't overdo it with the activities that they did. Peter said that that was the downfall of most of the foster families he had stayed with. Most of the time Peter was just okay with staying in and watching a movie, he wasn't a very high maintenance child.
Peter had also been enrolled into a school and was going to begin attending it when winter break was over.
Then Christmas break rolled around for the college students and Al returned home and Matt came a day later. Gilbert came along with Matt and stayed with them. Ivan was visiting his sisters but came to their home often on account of Al being there. Arthur and Francis decided to invite his sisters over for their Christmas dinner as well. It was going to become a little crowded this Christmas but they could live with it.
Peter took an immediate liking to Al and Matt. They got along well which was a huge relief to Francis and Arthur. Peter liked Gilbert as well, although he was slightly intimidated by Ivan but really that was a normal reaction.
When it was time for Christmas dinner it was a warm atmosphere. The table was loud and people were talking happily. The food was good and the company was good as well. Peter seemed really happy to be with so many people. He looked at home.
Two months after that, once Al and Matt and their boyfriends had gone to their own respective houses Peter had brought up adoption at the dinner table. He said that he had decided that he was going to stay.
After that they had launched themselves back into the adoption process. It took a year but finally, finally they were able to get custody of Peter. When that was done they came home, tired and ready for bed. Peter went to sleep immediately in Al's room, which had really become his at that point. Arthur and Francis went into their room and stood at the foot of their bed, smiling and touching their foreheads together like they had done so many years ago when they had first brought Al and Matt home.
"We did it," Arthur said in a disbelieving tone.
Francis smiled even wider. "We did it."