Petit Lapin

Chapter 2

Francis was still in a state of shock for the next week. Apparently, the baby was biologically his, however, the mother's name was unknown. The only known fact about the mother was that she was Canadian. He had tried to recall who he had slept with two years ago, but he couldn't seem to remember. The next two weeks, Francis had bought a crib, some baby formula, and other supplies needed to take care of a child. After reading the baby's documents, he discovered that it was a boy, his name was Matthew Williams, and he was nine months old. He had also called up a friend of his, Arthur, since Arthur had a child of his own.

"Who did you knock up, you bloody frog?" Arthur asked through the phone, annoyance evident in his voice.

"Je ne sais pas! I honestly can not remember." Francis replied. He had the baby in his arms, bouncing it as he kept his phone between his head and his shoulder.

Arthur sighed. "Well, are you planning on keeping the baby?"

Francis thought for a moment. He had all the legal documents to take custody of the baby. All be had to do was sign them. It was also his child, so he felt responsible for bringing him into the world.

"I plan on keeping him." The Frenchman stated. "He is my child. I should take responsibility for him."

"Alright then. Take good care of him, babies are quite the handful. Alfred almost ripped out a chunk of my hair when he was one year old." Arthur chuckled, reminiscing on old times.

"I will, mon ami. He's such an adorable little thing, I will do my best to raise him well." Francis replied.

"He can't be that cute if you're the father. I hope he hasnt inherited that heart shaped birthmark on your butt." Arthur retorted.

Francis gasped. "After all our years together in school, you still make fun that birthmark. Mon cher, tu me fais mal."

Arthur laughed. "You twat, you know I'm trying to forget my French so you'll be forced to speak English whenever we talk. Your accent when speaking English is atrocious "

"Non non non, je ne te laisserai jamais oublier ton français. C'est la-"

Arthur hung up. Francis smiled at the very Arthur gesture.

The Frenchman put Matthew in his crib before putting down the phone. Francis decided to go get the legal documents to sign them. He took out a pen and began reading through all the documents, signing wherever he needed to. It wasn't long before Matthew started crying.

"Oh non, what's wrong mon petit lapin?" Francis cooed, picking up the child. He knew Matthew wouldn't tell him why he was crying since he was only nine months old. The Frenchman put the baby down and went to make a bottle of baby milk before returning to the crib. "Are you hungry, petit Mathieu?" He said as he swirled the bottle of milk in front of the baby. Matthew looked up at the bottle and reached his little hands up to make grabbing motions at it. Francis smiled, then picked up the baby to feed him the formula. Matthew kept his hands on the bottle as he gulped down every last drop of the bottle's contents. The Frenchman wanted to die of cuteness. His son was so adorable with his big violet eyes and soft blonde hair. The hair must come from Francis, since it's slightly curly.

Francis put the baby down after he had finished the milk, then went to wash the container. He continued to look at the paperwork for Matthew until his doorbell rang.

The Frenchman walked downstairs to answer the door. Swinging it open, he came face to face with Antonio and Gilbert.

"Q-quoi? What are you doing here mes amis?" Francis blinked in shock.

Antonio and Gilbert walked past him into his house without a care in the world. Francis sighed, as Antonio forgot to take off his shoes and left dirt on his precious white marble floors.

"We're here to see your bebé!" Antonio exclaimed. "I am his godfather afterall." The Spaniard grinned, giving Francis a thumbs up.

"HEY!" Gilbert shouted. "Who said you could be the godfather?!"

"Now now, calme-toi Gilbert. Mon petit Mathieu can hear you from upstairs." Francis shushed. "Also, I've decided that Arthur will be the godfather."

Antonio's mouth dropped. "QUE. After all our years together, you choose that British guy who lives in another country to be the godfather?!" He put a hand on his chest and sighed dramatically. "I'm so hurt, Francy pants."

Gilbert laughed. "And you say Francis is the extra one."

The three of them catched up with each other for an hour, talking about family, work life, and of course, Francis's new addition to the household. They were later allowed to meet the small child.

"Ohhhh my goodness, Francy Pants. You're telling me this adorable thing is your offspring?! I don't believe it." Antonio gasped in awe at the baby in the crib, looking up at the three men.

Francis slapped Antonio in the arm. "Why does everyone think that?! Excuse-toi, but I am quite adorable, thank you very much."

"Who's a good little baby? Who's a good little Gilbert follower in the future?" Gilbert snickered as he tickled Matthew in the crib as the baby giggled at the sensation.

Francis raised an eyebrow at the German. He wouldn't question anything Gilbert had to say. Nope. He's learnt that years ago to just not question it at this point.

Suddenly, a Spanish song played loudly from Antonio's phone. The Spaniard took out his phone and grinned before whispering "It's mi amor." He answered the phone and began speaking rapid Spanish. He hung up after a short thirty seconds. "Sorry friends, the wife needs me to run some errands. Apparently we only have eggs and water left in the fridge..."

Gilbert snickered. "Kesesesese, no worries Toni! I'll help you out."

"I'll see you again, little one! Don't forget about your uncle Toni!" Antonio squeezed Matthew's cheeks before poking his nose gently.

Gilbert and Antonio left and Francis closed the door behind them. He went back upstairs to his office where he had set up Matthew's crib. The Frenchman finished up with reading and signing the paperwork for custody of the child while Matthew took a nap. He realised he would have to take the metro to the post office where he would have to submit these. It was quite far from his house, which meant Matthew would be left at home for a while. Being a new father, Francis was anxious about the idea of leaving Matthew alone, so he decided to take the child with him.

Picking up the baby from the crib, Francis put him in a baby carrier (the ones you wear), put the documents in a satchel, and left the house, locking the door behind him. Matthew giggled at a look at the outside world. Francis smiled at the child before beginning his trek to the post office.