In Celebration of Mothers

"Bon Matin, petit Lapin." Francis whispered against the shell of Arthur's ear, smiling gently as Arthur grumbled and rolled over, waving him away. From the doorway, Matthew and Alfred giggled gleefully, giddy with excitement as they waited for their second father to properly wake up. If it weren't for them, Francis would still be wrapped in Arthur's arms, blissfully asleep. Happily asleep....

"You're up early." Arthur growled accusingly after a few more prods, awoken by the clink of his best china (he could tell) and the smell of french toast. He rolled over as Francis placed a tray on his lap. A seemingly simple spread of an omelet and french toast and a homemade blend of tea greeted him. Except that there was no reason for it.

"What's all this?" He asked, not bothering to wait for the answer as he dug into the food, taking just a moment to appreciate the light fluffy egg and the sweet crunch of the red peppers before swallowing and looking up at his husband, chewing a piece of french toast drenched in syrup.

Francis shrugged and smiled charmingly, nearly snorting with laughter as he watched Alfred and Matthew struggle to keep still and quiet, as though the surprise had not been ruined already.

"Give him the gifts!" Alfred hissed from the doorway before Matthew could cover his mouth. Arthur quirked one eyebrow, slightly confused. Gifts? Breakfast in bed? They had never had anything like that in their household before. Except on Christmas or maybe when Francis felt like being particularly romantic on Valentines.

Francis put two construction paper booklets into his hands, both titled 'I Love my Mama because', one signed Matthew and the other Alfred. Crude drawings of their family made his heart melt, warmed by the bright yellow sun and the stick figures that smiled back at him in front of a house with a green roof, just like their own.

"The boys' teacher told them they had to make a book for their mother. Of course, they worried that they didn't have one. So I told them to dedicate it to you." Francis leaned against the bedpost, watching Arthur flip through the glue wrinkled pages.

'I love my mama because....he loves me very much.' written in orange crayon in big trailing letters. Arthur smiled at Matthew who blushed and giggled.

'I love my mama because...he always fights with papa and it's funny!' stars littered the page sporadically and even though Arthur blushed at it, he found it horribly cute.

He nibbled the rest of his breakfast, unnoticing when Francis took the tray away, patting the boys on the head as he brought it to the kitchen, engrossed in the little pictures and endearing words. Alfred and Matthew jumped onto the bed, Matthew hugging his shoulders and Alfred bouncing on his legs, both asking him excitedly if he liked their gifts, eyes sparkling.

For a reason he couldn't understand, he felt tears prick his eyes. "I love them." he answered, pulling them close for kisses, distracted by Francis who pet his hair fondly and kissed his cheek.

"Happy mother's day, Maman." He snickered, readying himself to sleep until noon, waking up early just to make breakfast had taken a lot out of him. If the entire situation weren't so adorable, he might have just hit him.

He considered saving it for later.

Owari