Alfred mumbled something. He laid in bed with a headache, Colorado cuddled up against him and Ivan cleaning the shelves. Akilina was starting to walk, having gone right past the crawl stage and straight onto her feet, and she hung onto his arm that was hanging off the bed.
"Is the noise getting any better?" Ivan asked.
"Nancy Pelosi... is a knock-off conservative that calls herself a liberal."
"I'm guessing that means no."
"Papa!" Klementina exclaimed, and Ivan looked over to her- she spoke in Russian as she said: "Up! Up!"
"C'mon," he said, picking her up and putting her on one shoulder before looking over to Akilina. It was getting to be early September, meaning they had been alive for almost a year- although at the moment they resembled human two-year-olds.
Just two-year-olds with no communication skills.
"Hey," Sami said, opening the door a little bit before slipping in. Colorado groaned from where he was, trying to get closer to his mother for a moment before going back to sleep, "Oregon's on the phone. She has something to tell you."
Alfred actually pushed himself up at that, and Sami handed him her phone.
"Hey little one," he drawled, sounding tired. Oregon didn't seem to care.
"We pushed the Feds back into their building for the night! Do you think you can come over and join us? Oh, by the way, Texas is here, his phone just died- he's not dead!"
"That's good," Alfred replied, "make sure they don't block off the roads in and out of the city, okay darling? And make sure people keep their windows closed, the tear gas can cause miscarriages and period issues, don't want anyone to get sick."
"Okay mom," she said, "I will."
"Be safe."
"Okay, mom," Oregon said, "you too. Also, tell Akilina and Klemintina that her siblings are really fucking cool!"
"Okay," he laughed, "goodbye."
"Bye!"
Alfred laid back down, rubbing Colorado's hair as he grumbled.
"Akilina, Klemintina," he called, and the two looked over to him, "your siblings are really fucking cool."
Akilina laughed, grabbing back onto his hand so she could continue standing before Ivan picked her up and put her on the bed. Sami took her phone back before leaving the room- whistling as she did.
Akilina huddled up under his other arm, seeming to copy Colorado.
"Akilina, can you say Colorado?" Ivan asked, sitting down on the bed.
"I'M A GIRAFFE!" Colorado screamed, rolling over, and Alfred laughed, covering his face with his hands. Akilina seemed to copy her mother.
"I'm being serious," he mumbled.
"Colo...rido."
"Close enough," Colorado muttered from where he was resting, and Alfred kept laughing.
"AOC is pretty..." he mumbled, and Colorado looked over to him.
"I know right."
"Alfred, what's going on in your head?" Ivan laughed, and he glanced up at him.
"My politicians on repeat. There are very few that I actually like."
Ivan started snickering, petting his hair before looking over to Colorado and patting him on the head as well. He put Klemintina down on the bed too, and she went over to her sister.
He looked around, going back to cleaning as Alfred dozed.
Samuel brought some pain medication, and soon Alfred was back up and running. Colorado though, seemed to want to stay in bed.
Alfred sighed, going into his office to do his work. He still had a headache from all the yapping going on in his head, yet it seemed to be slowly fading.
He was just glad to finally have his body back. He'd felt like he was being controlled by an outside force since July until like, August. It was not a fun experience.
Conner was still in the basement, out of his mind. Something bad was happening and Alfred was waiting for it to just end. He could tell something was getting bad, yet it surprisingly had nothing to do with Oregon- her work in Portland was actually helping him a lot.
He just continued writing, deciding to check on Conner. Maybe today would be the day where he was back as himself- well, that, or he'll still be the same angry and he'd just be sad and disappointed. But guessed it would be worth it, because his brother was worth it.
He gave his last signature, before walking down all the stairs and down the hall, going into the basement.
He didn't hear anything, but that didn't really mean anything.
The door opened and closed again, and he turned around to see Ivan holding the two little ones.
"They want to see their uncle," he said softly, and Alfred sighed sadly, petting Klemintina's hair.
"Then let's go."
Alfred walked over there slowly, as if he was expecting yelling. There was nothing to give him that idea, which would have made him miserable if his brother was still ill.
He looked over at Conner, who was sitting in the back of what was being used as a cell. Akilina reached out to touch the glass, and Alfred glanced at Ivan to try and tell him to take her hand back, but he was too busy looking at the South.
Conner stood. Red tear streaks went down his face, and he looked at Akilina. Alfred felt a wave of protectiveness run over to him, before he noticed his brother only raised a hand to where Akilina's was.
"Hello, Conner," Alfred said, and Conner looked over to him. He moved slowly, like he was lethargic.
"Hello," he croaked. He hadn't said anything besides screaming and quite obviously crying, so his voice seemed to die on his tongue.
"Do you feel better?"
The real question was: Can I let you out? It was better left unsaid in front of the children though, they still had their innocence and deserved to keep it.
"No."
Alfred frowned at the answer, "What's wrong?"
"It's still too loud. I don't want to risk it." They were very simple words, and Alfred nodded.
"Do you need anything? Water, or food?"
"No," Conner replied, "I'll be fine. I'm better than I was. I should be getting better. Is the death rate...?"
"Still bad," Alfred said, "he's quite literally killing his chances."
"Hm."
That was no answer, everyone in the room seemed to realize that- and nobody wanted to mention what it might imply. It was horrible to think about.
"Then, I'll see you?"
"Eventually," Conner smiled, before looking over to the children and Ivan, "Hello little ones."
Ivan noticed how he sounded like Alfred in that moment- maybe it was the fact that both twins were raised by their father, and learned to talk from him, or maybe it was that both were so similar there was no point in pretending they were different.
"Hell-o," Akilina said. She dug her tiny claws into the glass, and he copied it on his own side.
"Hi," Klemintina also said, "why is there glass?"
Conner looked to the side, away from Alfred, "Because, I'm not feeling well right now."
"Feel better!" she exclaimed, and he smiled at her.
"Be good," he said to the two of them. It was not a farewell, it was advice. They didn't seem to understand it at that moment- that he was locked up because he was dangerous, that he could tick off at any minute and then be pounding on the glass, screaming.
Alfred patted the glass twice, and Conner nodded, stalking back to the back of his cell.
"Goodbye," Ivan said, and Conner nodded at him. He continued to stare at his hands as if they had an answer, and Ivan gazed at him for a moment, sadly, before following behind his husband.