"Okay," Lisa began looking at Marina, who was holding Olivia. "When I count to three, we are going to open the door and wake them up!"
"Got it." Marina nodded with a toothy grin.
"C'mon."
Lisa snuck down the hall, looking back a few times to see if Marina and Olivia were still following her. Once they were at Marco's door, she quietly opened it and peaked it. Marco was asleep in his bed, curled up in his sheets. Lisa then glanced back and looked at Marina. "Alright, you get Marco and I'll wake up Eren. Ready?" Marina nodded. "Okay, one...two...THREE!" Lisa bursted open the door and rushed over to Eren while Marina, carrying Olivia, made her way to Marco.
"WAKE UP BIG BROTHER!" Marina called, placing Olivia down carefully on the edge of Marco's bed. Marco sat up quickly with wide eyes, staring at Marina.
"Wake up Eren! Wake up!" Lisa shook Eren's shoulders.
Eren spouted some panicked gibberish before putting his arms in front of his chest in a defensive position, "Oh my god! What?! Fire?! Titans?!"
Lisa giggled, "No! We just wanted to wake you up!"
Eren stared at the girl in front of him for a few seconds before lowering his arms. He groaned lightly, "Well thanks. I really am up now."
"You're welcome!" Lisa said innocently with a smile.
"We also came to tell you that Mama made breakfast." Marina told the boys. "She wants you guys to come down in a few minutes."
Marco smiled, ruffling Marina's hair gently. "Thanks for letting us know."
Eren rubbed his eyes and stretched before getting up, "What did she make?"
"Toast and waffles!" Marina answered happily.
"And Pancakes!" Lisa beamed.
"Sounds like I'm gonna have a good breakfast!" Eren laughed.
Marina giggled. "You bet! Mom always makes yummy breakfast!"
"Race you downstairs!" Eren bolted from the room with a grin.
"You're on!" Lisa turned and sprinted after him.
"C'mon Big Brother!" Marina cried, chasing the two out the door.
"I'm coming!" Marco said, picking up Olivia. "Be careful you three!" He said fast-walking after them.
"Careful is my middle name!" Eren called back as he tripped down the stairs.
"Eren! Are you okay!?" Marco cried from the top of the staircase cradling Olivia in his arms.
Eren groaned and rubbed his head, "No..." He said obviously being overdramatic.
Marina made it to the bottom of the stairs and knelt down besides the fallen Eren. "Where does it hurt my sweet baboo? I'll kiss it and make it feel better!" She said with a innocent giggle.
Eren's eyes went wide and he stumbled getting up from the floor, "You know what I'm miraculously fine again!"
"Oh that's good!" Lisa said with a smile as she made her way down the rest of the stairs, "Are you sure you're okay? You landed pretty hard."
Eren nodded, continued to rub his forehead, "I'm sure, I've been hurt worse than this before." he assured, smiling lightly at the girl.
"Alright." Lisa beamed. "Now, c'mon. Mom's waiting for us." She took Eren by the hand, practically trying to pull him.
Eren allowed the girl to drag him along. It wasn't like he knew where the kitchen was anyway.
Marco finally caught up with his siblings as they made it to the table. Lisa let go of Eren's hand and rushed over to her seat. Marina sat down next to her sister and Marco placed Olivia in her booster seat. Warren, Marco's three year old brother, was also in a high chair. His mother had probably gotten the boys downstairs before hand. Oliver, who was two, was already in his highchair at the kitchen table. His face was covered in syrup. He grinned and cooed when he saw his siblings.
Marco smiled as he gently patted his younger brother's head gently. He then took a napkin from the table and carefully wiped Oliver face. "Look at you, all messy. You must have liked your waffle, huh?" Marco chuckled.
"Yeah!" Oliver replied with a small giggle, "Waffle!"
"That's right!" The oldest boy said with a smile towards his baby brother. "It was yummy, wasn't it?"
"Yeah! Yummy!" The two year old smiled brightly. All the Bodt children seemed to have that infectious smile.
Mrs. Bodt walked over to the table, placing another plate of pancakes on it. "I've made plenty for everyone." She said with a smile. "Anyone want syrup?" The woman asked.
"Me! I do!" Lisa exclaimed as she rose her hand as if she was at school.
"Me too Mama!" Marina chimed in.
"I'll have some as well Mom." Marco added, "Here, Let me get it for you." The eldest Bodt child got out of his chair to get it. "Eren," He glanced over his shoulder. "Do you want syrup too?"
"Yes please." Eren smiled lightly at the boy.
"Alrighty." Marco found the syrup and brought it back to the table. He handed it to Eren, "Here you go."
"Thank you." Eren took the syrup and poured it on his pancakes before passing it to the next person.
Lisa took it from Eren, with a small thank you and poured it on her pancakes as well. The oldest girl then gave the syrup to her sister who did the same. When Marina had finished, she gave it to Marco. Once Marco finished, he placed the syrup on the table, just in case his siblings or Eren wanted more later.
Just then, Mr. Bodt came into the kitchen, wearing a suit. "Mornin' everyone!" He said in a cheerful voice.
Mrs. Bodt turned to face her husband, her face beaming as brightly as the sun. "Good Morning, honeycake." She went to grab a coffee cup. "Here, I made you coffee."
"Aw, Maude." He said, kissing her cheek. "You always know how to make my day."
The girls giggled from the table.
Mr Bodt turned to see his precious daughters, "What are you two giggling at?" He asked playfully, his eyebrow raised.
"Nothing!" The girls said in unison.
Mrs. Bodt glanced to the clock, her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh dear! Ned, you're going to be late for work! It's already heading towards nine-thirty!"
"Oh Fiddlesticks, you're right!" Ned said, glancing down at his watch. "I better get goin'!" Before grabbing his briefcase and hat, he went over to the table and kissed all of his children on the cheek. To Marco, he gave his hair a little ruffle. "You kids be dandy for your motheroo, you hear?" He said as he made his way to the front door.
"Yes Daddy!" Lisa said to her father.
"Okie-Dokie." Marina nodded.
"Don't worry about us Dad. We will." Marco chimed in.
"Bye dear! Have a good day at work." Mrs. Bodt cooed as Mr. Bodt left the house.
Eren gave a brief wave to Mr. Bodt as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth.
Marco finished his food and stood up, taking his plate to the sink. "Breakfast was great as it always is Mom." He smiled towards her.
"Thank you sweetheart." Mrs. Bodt smiled back towards her son.
"Yeah Mom! You always make amazing breakfast!" Marina said with a mouthful of food.
"Marina, don't talk with your mouth full! That's gross!" Lisa whined.
Eren finished his food and wiped his mouth off on his arm. "Thank you for the breakfast Mrs. Bodt!"
"You're welcome Eren." Mrs. Bodt said sweetly, as put the carton of milk and apple juice back into the fridge.
"Are you done with your plate Eren? If you want, I'll gladly put it in the sink for you." Marco offered, holding out his hand to Eren.
Eren nodded and handed his plate over, "Thanks man."
"It's no trouble, really." The freckled boy took the brunet's plate and placed it in the sink. "Anyone else done?"
"I'm done!" Lisa chimed as she jumped out of her chair, rushing over to her brother.
"Me too!" Marina said, following her sister.
"I done too!" Warren said from his booster seat, wanting to leave the chair like his big sisters.
"Done! Done!" Oliver called out holding his plate out to his big brother.
Seeing that her eldest son was busy taking the girls' plates, Mrs. Bodt walked over to Warren and unhooked him from the booster and let him down. She then took his plate and placed it on the counter. Then she went to Oliver, and also took his plate. Taking both plates, she made her way over to her eldest, who was already placing the girls' plates in the sink. "Here are the boys' plates." Marco nodded and placed the plate in the sink with the others.
Eren stood up, "Is there anything I can help with?" He usually never asked these things, but Mrs. Bodt had seven kids for god's sake. It was the nice thing to do.
Mrs Bodt's emerald green eyes seemed to look thankful towards Eren. "Yes, that would be a big help, thank you sweetie." She said kindly. She gestured to the sink, "You can help Marco wash the dishes if you'd like."
Eren nodded and walked over to Marco, "You wash and I dry?" He asked.
"Sounds like a plan." replied Marco, with a quick nod.
As Marco began to wash the first plate, Olivia had gotten out of her booster seat and walked up behind her older brother. She tugged on his shirt lightly. "Mawco, I'm done too."
Feeling the tug on his shirt, Marco looked down to see his baby sister there holding her plate out to him. "Olivia, you brought your plate up all by yourself! I'm so proud of you!" The oldest boy exclaimed with pride. Usually, she'd still be in her booster seat and Marina would often have to get the toddler's plate for her. He handed the first washed plate off for Eren to dry before crouching down to Olivia's eye-level. "You're getting to be such a big girl." He told her with a smile, gently booping the toddler's little button nose with his forefinger.
Olivia giggled and grinned, "Thank you big brother!" She hugged him around the neck.
Marco chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his little sister, lifting her up and spun in a circle. He was such a good big brother.
Olivia giggled more, "I love you Mawco!"
"I love you too Livi." He smiled as he held her tightly. Then he remembered that he still had a job to do. He placed Olivia back down on the ground. "Here, I have to go help Eren finish the rest of these dishes. Can you be a good girl and go play with your toys in the family room until we're done?" He asked, looking into his sister's sky hazel eyes.
Olivia nodded and rushed off to the family room with a smile still plastered on her face.
"Your family is so nice Marco." Eren told him as a compliment.
Marco turned to face Eren with a smile. "Thanks." He grabbed Olivia's plate from the pile and began to wash it. "Yeah, they're pretty great."
Eren held his hand out waiting for the plate. "It must be nice having a big family. Sometimes at least."
Marco handed him the plate and proceeded to wash another one. "It has its pros and cons. Not to mention, it's quite an adventure." He laughed.
Eren chuckled lightly as he dried the plate. "I could imagine. Your sisters do seem like an active bunch."
The freckled boy nodded, "They are. Marina's the most hyper out of the three. She practically bounces off the walls sometimes." He handed the next plate to Eren. "Lisa, on the other hand, is the exact opposite...most of the time. She's mature for her age, so she's more calm than her sister." He began to wash the final dish. "I can't say much about Olivia since she's only three, but she can be a bit energetic at times."
"She's a sweet little girl." Eren said, "They learn from their big brother." He continued to dry the dishes.
Marco glanced over at the brunet, his brown eyes glistening a bit: The Bodt family gene. "Yeah, since our dad is gone most of the day and mom has to take care of Thomas, it's up to me to teach them things." He turned off the faucet, handing Eren the final plate to dry. "Having that much responsibility can get hard somedays, but seeing my siblings happy makes it all worthwhile." He said with a warm smile.
Eren dried the final plate and put a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Respect man... I don't think I could ever handle that kind of stress."
"Thank you Eren." The freckled boy said with gratitude lacing his voice.
Eren smiled lightly at him, "So, does anything else need to be done before we have to head to the school?" Eren asked. He knew what it was like to have a father that wasn't always around, and if he could help out a little he would.
"I don't think there's anything else at the moment. We can always ask my mom if there's anything else." Marco glanced over to the clock. It was nearing ten-thirty now. "Besides, we still have a few hours before we have to head over there. Miss Hanji said we were to report to the theater around three."
"Alright. We can just hang out till then." Eren shrugged, "Do you have any video games?"
"Yeah, but they aren't that exciting. Most of them are either educational or Lisa and Marina's princess games." Marco admitted a light blush appearing on his cheeks.
"Alright, maybe no video games." Eren laughed lightly, "We can find something else to do."
"You know, it's a really nice day. Why don't we go outside for a bit?" Marco suggested, noticing how lovely it was outside.
"Yeah!" Eren agreed with a smile. "Is there a park or anything close by?"
Marco nodded "Yup! It's about a few blocks down! It has a playground too. Maybe we can take the kids with us."
"That sounds great man." Eren nodded, "We can try to use up some of their excess energy."
"I'll go tell my mom and get the girls, Warren and Oliver." Marco began to head towards the staircase. He stopped for a second to glance over his shoulder. "Hey Eren, can you do me a favor and get Olivia? She's in the family room."
Eren nodded and made his way into the family room. "Hey Olivia!" He greeted the small girl with a smile. "Marco, your brothers, sisters and I are going to the park. Want to come with us?"
Olivia looked up at the boy and nodded, "Yes please." She stood and held out her hand.
Eren looked confused for a moment before taking the small girl's hand in his, "Marco! Olivia and I are ready!"
"Alright! We'll be right down!" Marco's distant voice called from upstairs.
In a minute, Marco walked down the stairs with Lisa and Marina. Lisa wore a cute dress with puffed sleeves while Marina wore overalls and a short sleeved shirt with stripes. "I went to go get Warren and Oliver, but Mom said it was their nap time." He told Eren when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "So we just have the girls."
"Alright. We're still going to have tons of fun!"
"Yay! I'm so excited! I love going to the playground!" Lisa clasped her hands together happily.
"Me too!" Marina chimed in, swinging her arms back and forth. "Maybe I'll finally be able to swing all the way across the monkey bars this time!"
Marco walked over to the door and opened it. "Are you all ready to go?"
"Yay!" Lisa and Marina cheered as they raced out of the house.
"Girls! Wait for us!" Marco called after them. "Don't go off on your own! Wait!" The boy sighed. "Oh boy." He looked over to Eren. "C'mon, before we lose them." With that, Marco sprinted after his sisters.
Olivia, currently being the only good child, raised her arms up towards Eren, "Pick me up!" She demanded of the boy.
"But, we have to go after your sisters I can't run and carry you." Eren pointed out following Marco at a slower pace.
Olivia was silent for a few seconds before glaring at Eren slightly, "Up." She demanded again and refused to follow the boy.
"Oh, my Jesus." The boy muttered to himself, "Fine, fine." He knelt down and the girl hopped on his back, and then they were off.
Thankfully, Marco had caught up with his sisters and grabbed them before they crossed the street. They weren't patient enough to wait for traffic. They were just little kids after all. "Girls! I told you to wait for us!" He said sternly.
"But-But, the playground..." Marina said out of breath, "We're almost there..."
"I know, but you can't just run off like that. What happened if you had gotten hit by a car if you ran across the street?"
Lisa looked down sadly, knowing what they did was wrong. "We're sorry Marco."
"Yeah, we really are."
Marco sighed. He couldn't stay mad at them. "It's okay. I know you're excited. Just next time, wait for us and we'll all walk down together okay?"
The girls nodded.
"Alright," Marco smiled gently. "Now, let's wait for Eren. He has Olivia."
Soon after Eren caught up the little girl still clinging to his back. "Finally. I thought we would never catch up to you guys. You're pretty fast."
All the girls could do was smile a bit mischievously up at Eren and their brother. They knew they were fast and we're proud of it.
"Now that we're all here, let's get going. It's not that far now. Just one more block." Marco said taking both Lisa and Marina's hands.
Eren adjusted Olivia on his back and followed after his friend. This was going to be a long morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marco is such a good brother. I'm proud of my freckled son.