Chapter One: The Beginning

"I wanna bedtime story!" Little Alfred sang as he chucked a pillow at Arthur, who dodged it.

"Me too." Matthew shyly agreed, slightly nodding.

You giggled as you listened in on the conversation. Thankfully you were standing in the room beside them so they couldn't hear your giggle. "It's 'want a' not 'wanna'." you heard Arthur chide. "A story?" he repeated as his mind wandered. "Hmm...ah, I know just the perfect one. Once upon a time-"

"Wait! Nana's not here!" Al protested loudly.

"Nana?" He repeated, confused.

Both boys nodded. "Nana has to hear it too!"

You walked into their room, smiling at the little boys that you loved. "I'm here! Is anything wrong?"

"Yeah Nana! We want you to hear the story too! But don't worry, Mattie and me will protect you from the scary monsters! 'Cuz we're heroes!"

You grinned and sat down in between the boys, who both climbed into your lap: Al first, then Matthew. "Thanks boys, I feel much safer now that I know who is lookin' out for me." You hugged them tightly and kissed their heads. "Eww! Nana stop it! That's gross!" Al complained, shaking his head.

"What is?" You chuckled.

"You're acting like a girl!"

"That's because I am a girl!"

Al's eyes widened in disbelief. "You are?"

Arthur cleared his throat trying to regain the tykes' attention. "It's 'the reason is that', not 'cuz'. Now let's begin-"

The older boy poked your stomach, and in a "whisper", said, "Nana! I want popcorn!"

You smiled and tousled his hair. "Alfred, Mr. Arthur is trying to tell you a story. Be patient."

"But I'm hungry!" He whined, ferociously tugging your sleeve.

Sighing, you looked at Matthew. "Are you hungry too?"

The shyer lad nodded, blushing at the attention.

"All right. You two listen to Mr. Arthur's story, and after he's done, I'll go make you some food, okay?"

"Okay!"

"O-oui."

"Thank you, Nana. Now!" Mr. Arthur cleared his throat again. "Once upon a time, there lived a little boy-"

"A little boy! Was he like me?!" Alfred interuppted.

"If you'll be quiet, I'll tell you! Now this little boy had a secret."

Both boy's eyes widened. "Oooooh..." they whispered in unison, leaning in.

"Yes, a secret." Arthur whispered. "A secret...that no one else knew."

You bit your cheek to keep from laughing at your master's face. Smiling, you softly tightened your hold on Al and Matthew as the little boys waited for the secret.

"Oooh..." the shy boy whispered, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Tell us the secret already!" Alfred demanded excitedly, throwing his hands in the air.

Arthur shot the little boy a look, and then said in a hushed voice, "His secret was...he could fly."

"Fly?!" He said gleefully, standing up. "I wanna fly!" He shouted, twirling around in his SuperMan pajamas.

"It's 'want to fly' not 'wanna'! Let me finish the story!" He cleared his throat once more as Al sat back down on your lap. "His name...was Peter Pan."

Both of the boys sucked in a breath, and leaned in a little bit. Smiling, you curled Matthew's hair around your fingers, loving just how adorable your boys were. Matthew was a shy sweetheart as well as a snuggle bug whereas his brother was a loud happy boy, who "hated" girls and mushy things, though occasionally liked hugs. You loved them both and were thankful you got to be their Nana.

You listened as Mr. Arthur told the story, admiring the Brit's storytelling abilities: the way his mossy green eyes lit up or darkened, how he used his hands to illustrate, and the way he "became" the characters by changing his voice and posture.

Your eyes locked with Arthur's and you blushed when he winked at you. Yes, despite your reluctance to admit it, you had developed a school-girl crush on your master. How could you not? He loved the children, was a warm, friendly man with gentlemanly manners and a good heart. Despite his flaws (who didn't have them?), he was perfect. He couldn't cook, or be a mother to the children, which is why you were here: Housekeeper, nanny, mother, cook, and friend all in one.

"So Peter Pan decided he would have to be brave and save TinkerBell from the nasty Captain Hook." Arthur said, poking Al in the stomach. "And so, what did he do? He did what he said he would do." The Brit smiled at Mattie and continued. "He pulled out his sword...and when the time was right, he challenged Captain Hook like a hero would. He said, 'Captain Hook! Tinker Bell is my friend and you can't have her!' And Captain Hook growled and unsheathed his sword, pointing it right at Peter Pan's chest." Arthur poked Matthew, whose eyes were already enlarged.

You smiled as Al swallowed nervously. "W-what happened, Mr. Arthur?"

"Well Peter Pan knew he had to be brave, so he charged Captain Hook, swinging his small sword at the captain's chest. Captain Hook fended off Pan's sword and charged, cutting Peter's arm."

Matthew whimpered and clung to you, very afraid of Mr. Arthur's fictional character. "Shh sweetheart." You whispered, rubbing his back. He sniffled and still clung to you. "Shh Mattie, Peter Pan won't die. Mr. Arthur won't let him die."

"And then Peter Pan shoved Captain Hook into the water where the crocodile was there ready to eat him up!"

"OOH!" Al giggled, very happy about the happy ending. "SO!" Laughing at his loud voice, he tugged on your blouse. "Nana, I'm hungry!"

"Oh that's right, I promised you two snacks. All right, say goodnight to Mr. Arthur and come to the kitchen. Don't forget to thank him for the story!" You stood, Matthew still clinging to you. "Mr. Arthur, Mattie says goodnight and thanks for the story."

"Oh you're welcome, lad. I'm pleased you liked it." He smiled.

"Yeah thanks! G'nite!" Alfred jumped him and then took your outstretched hand.

"You're welcome. Goodnight." He stood and sighed, watching the three of you walk downstairs to the kitchen. Arthur rubbed his eyes and walked downstairs to the living room, plopping down onto the overstuffed couch. As much as he loved his tykes, they could be quite taxing on the nerves...particularly Alfred.

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You fed the boys milk and cookies, grinning as they gobbled them up greedily. Matthew sighed as he hugged his teddy bear, relieved to be away from the haunting Captain Hook.

"Mey Mana!" Al said, tugging on your apron.

"Alfred, don't talk with food in your mouth, you could choke."

He gave a dramatic sigh and swallowed his food, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Hey Nana!"

"Yes baby?"

"Can we play pirates after cookies?"

"Pirates? I don't think so, Al. You need to go to sleep."

"Awwwwww!" He whined, tugging on your apron harder. "Pweeeease Nana?"

You sighed, smiling at him. His adorable four-year old face was all puckered up like a smaller toddler's. And his "pweeease" didn't help any. "All right, but only for ten minutes while I put up the milk and cookies."

"Thank you Nana!" He shouted, tearing up the stairs to the bedroom he shared with his brother.

"You're welcome! Don't make a mess!" You called after him. Matthew politely sat in his high chair and ate his cookies. You chuckled as you saw the boy hold up a cookie to his bear, Kuma. Matthew looked around, and then ate the cookie. He swallowed, and then asked shyly, "Nana...more?"

You hid a smile. "What happened to all of your cookies?"

"Kuda ate them."

"Kuma?"

He nodded.

"How about I give you one and you share it with Kuma?"

He thought about it and nodded. "O-...o-okay."

"All right." You planted a kiss on his head and handed him the cookie.

Matthew ate it and then held up his arms, wanting out of his chair.

"There you go." You scooped him out and set him down, taking his hand as you led him upstairs.

Alfred was jumping on his bed, attacking his stuffed animals while shouting, "I will save you TinkerBell!" The four-year old pulled out an imaginary sword and ran it through his pillow, giggling with glee.

"What are you doing?" You laughed, setting Mattie down. "You have to sleep with that sweetheart."

"Nana! I'm Alfred Pan and I saved the fairy from mean old Captain Hook!" He pointed to three-year old Matthew and said, "And he's the Lost Frog!"

"Frog? That's not polite Al. Why don't you let him be the Lost Boy?"

"Because boys don't say weird things!"

"Weird...things?"

Matthew looked at his brother, puzzled. "F-frog?...Moi?"

You rolled your eyes at Alfred. "Just because your brother speaks French does not mean he's a Frog."

"But", the boy interjected, "Mr. Arthur says that Mr. Francis is a Frog, and he speaks French!"

"Mr. Arthur is wrong. Now apologize."

He, of course, ignored your polite suggestion. "Alfred Pan and the Lost Frog and Bear!"

Sighing, you poked Al in the stomach. "Listen to me, calling someone a Frog is not polite. You need to apologize, and then go brush your teeth."

"Awwww! But you said I could play, Nana!"

"I said you could play for ten minutes. It's been eleven."

"B-but!"

You exhaled and scooped up Mattie. "Fine, you have five more minutes. I'm going to help your brother brush his teeth, and then it's your turn."

"Okay Nana!" he giggled.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's brush your teeth and get in your bed."

Matthew, still puzzled at his brother's words, nodded and said to his bear, "Ribbit?"

You helped the boy brush his teeth while trying to explain that he wasn't a frog despite what Alfred said. "You're not a frog sweetie. You're a boy. You're Mattie, oui?"

He looked up and shyly nodded. "O-oui."

"Good." You planted a kiss on his head and led him to his bed. "Alfred, time to brush your teeth. Now."

"Awwww!"

"Now or else."

He sighed loudly and stomped off to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Matthew snuggled under the covers with his bear and looked up at the ceiling, repeating "Boy" and "Ribbit" to himself.

"I'm done!" He announced, bouncing in the room. "I even brushed my hair!"

"Let me see."

Alfred nodded and gave a cheesy smile. "Cheeeeese!"

"... Good enough. Get in bed, it's really late. You're not going to want to get up tomorrow."

He obeyed, attacking his pillow. "Can we go to the park tomorrow, Nana?"

"We'll have to ask Mr. Arthur." You tucked him in and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Al. I love you."

"Ewww Nana! You're being a girl again! Stop it!" He protested, wiping off his cheek.

"Can I have a kiss?"

He rolled his eyes and kissed your cheek. "Hold still!" He stood, raised his hand, and wiped his kiss off. "There! Night Nana!"

"Night Al." You smiled and walked over to Matthew and tucked him in. "Goodnight Mattie. I love you." you planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

He blushed at your touch, and nodded, holding up Kuma.

You grinned and kissed the bear's nose. "Goodnight Kuma. I love you too." You turned off the light, and quietly walked downstairs, not paticularly excited about cleaning up everything.

Arthur sighed, rubbing his head as he reclined in his overstuffed chair. "Oh...Alfred..."

Pausing, you walked up behind him and placed your hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Arthur...it's late...why don't you get some sleep?"

"Tell me, _. How do you deal with him?!"

"He's not that bad..." You smiled, "He's...quite imaginative for a four-year-old...and he does deeply respect and admire you. There's nothing to be so worried about...right?"

Sighing in defeat, Arthur nodded. "Yes, I agree...though sometimes I wish Matthew's quiet behaviour would rub off on him."

"Well...maybe they'll balance each other out...?"

"I suppose it's a possibility. Goodnight, _." He said as he stood and walked away.

You blushed slightly and nodded. "Goodnight sir." Hurriedly you cleaned up what mess the boys had made and walked upstairs to your own bedroom. Exhausted, you fell on your bed and drifted to sleep, dreaming of boys, Mr. Arthur, Captain Hook, frogs, and Kuma.

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