Of Kings and Queens

If You Take A Bite Of My Heart

Arthur sat silently with the other parents of the high school as he held a small pink pamphlet to his chest. Peter squeezed in next to him, chatting on and on about how he had made some friends in the lobby. Arthur nodded along and listened to Peter mindlessly go on and on about making new friends and how they might be able to keep in touch through the internet.

As the stage lights before them dimmed, Arthur shushed Peter.
"But it's not starting yet Arthur!" Peter complained.
"The play will begin momentarily Peter! Hush!" Arthur growled and scolded the young Brit.
Peter whined, but reluctantly sat back in his seat and watched as the high schoolers entered the stage, Leon up in the box controlling music and sound, Emil pulling the curtains.

Arthur was overjoyed the day he heard Leon wanted to join theater, as if he was following in his footsteps. Yao would be so proud of him, if only he were here. And yes, maybe Leon wasn't onstage but he did say he would appear later on.

Arthur couldn't be more proud.

Peter couldn't be anymore jealous.

It was apparent to Arthur that Peter seemingly got jealous very easily, being a young naive boy. His jealousy ranged from his friends having different robot toys to the people Arthur spent time with. After last night and leaving Peter alone with their other brothers, Arthur felt it only necessary to spend a little time with his little brother.

"Say, do you want to get ice cream after this?" Arthur whispered to his younger brother.

Peter looked baffled, as if Arthur had just asked him if he wanted a new gaming console.
"Are you serious?! I'd love to--"

"Shut up!" Arthur hissed and covered the boy's mouth. "We're at a play, now pay attention."

"But you were--"

Arthur held a finger to his lips and ruffled his brother's hair. Peter sighed and angrily swatted Arthur's hand away, trying his best to hide the small smile that played on his lips.

~~

Peter hummed happily, swinging between Leon and Arthur as they walked to Braginski's Ice Cream Shop.
"Do you think I'll be an Astronaut when I grow up?" Peter bounced and swung again from the older boy's hands.
"Maybe," Leon smiled. "You'll see, won't you?"
"That's not--"
Leon smirked. "Life doesn't always give you the answers you seek, but questions that lead you to them."

Arthur paused to contemplate what Leon had said. "That's very wise of you Leon."

"Thanks, I got it off a Tumblr post."

Arthur rolled his eyes and laughed, not surprised in the least by what Leon had said. Leon loved to waste time away at his computer scrolling through various websites. Peter on the other hand just looked confused.

"What's Tum--"

"Anyway," Arthur interjected, cutting Peter off once again hoping he would forget the whole thing. Tumblr was not a very nice place for the innocent minded. "The shop is just around the corner, what do you want?"

Leon looked at the sign and decided on Mango Blast Ice Cream.
"It totally matches my shirt yo." He smirked.

Peter bounced up and down, listing all his choices. "Can I have a Chocolate Oreo Sundae with cookies and cream, cookie dough, chocolate syrup and sprinkles?!"

Arthur frantically write this down. "Yes?..."

"Yes!!" Peter giggled and high fived Leon.

As the boys played behind him, Arthur ordered their ice creams, taking Vanilla for himself. He grabbed the ice creams from the counter, the tall Russian man behind it smiling and uttering a good morning.