Old Friends

"Uh, nothing..." Aiden sighed.

"He's old Alex...almost anything could be bad for him really..." Artemis said quietly, obviously worried.

Jasper was following behind Dante, carrying Soren in one arm.

Peter sighed softly to himself and nodded.

Alex carefully hugged Artemis.

Dante smiled happily as he looked back at them.

Aiden frowned and slowly looked away.

Artemis leaned against him and wrapped his arms around Alex's waist, hugging him back.

Jasper smiled back at Dante, pausing when he saw the others.

Peter sighed. "So... Did you eat yet?"

Alex kissed his cheek.

Dante looked at his parents, "What's wrong?"

Aiden shook his head. "No..."

Artemis looked up at Alex with a small smile before jumping when he heard Dante. "Oh, um ...nothing."

"Why not?" Peter asked, "No sleep is bad you know..."

Dante nodded slowly before walking over to them.

"So is overworking yourself like you'd been doing."

Artemis got up, smiling at Dante before hugging him. "Happy birthday."

"I.. That...." Peter sighed, "Your right..."

Dante smiled and hugged him back, "Thanks daddy."
Alex spotted the shine of the ring Dante wore, "Whats that little one?" He asked, using his nickname for Dante.

"Of course I am." Aiden shrugged.

Artemis smirked and gently grabbed Dante's wrist, lifting it so Alex could see.
Seeing what they were doing, Jasper quickly ducked out of site, hiding outside the kitchen with Soren.

Peter sighed tiredly, he wished that knew what to do.

Alex stared before giving a sound that almost sounded like a squeak (though Alex would deny it) and hugging Dante tightly.

Aiden leaned back, sighing as he closed his eyes.

Artemis chuckled as he watched, letting go of Dante's hand.
Jasper peeked his head around the corner almost nervously.

"Lets leave the office... I'm not in the mood to work..."

"Aww my little one." Alex whispered softly, "Congratulations... Awww my little one I love you." Alex blinked back a small tear.
"Papa..." Dante said softly as he hugged back. "I love you too papa."
Alex pulled back with a small grin, "You can come in you know scaredy pants." He teased Jasper.

"Oh, uh alright then..." Aiden said as he moved to get up.

"I'm not scared." Jasper said, pouting before going over to them. "I was...giving you a chance to see him first..."

Peter slowly got up and put his coffee cup away.

Alex laughed again and smiled as Dante hugged Jasper.

"So what did you want to do then...?" Aiden asked slowly as he watched him.

Jasper grinned and hugged Dante back with one arm, kissing his head.

"Well... What does one do when someone doesn't work?" Peter asked.

Dante smiled happily and leaned against him.
Alex smiled before looking at Artemis.

Aiden chuckled, wondering whether or not his boss was joking or not, though he didn't ask. "Lots of things?"

Artemis smiled, carefully taking Soren from Jasper before moving over to Alex, looking up at him.

"What sort of things?" Peter asked, truly curious. Most of his adult life had been spent running the business.

Alex smiled and reached for Soren, "Hey Soren." He smiled up at Artemis before looking at the doorway as the twins ran in.

"How should I know? I have to keep working as long as you do..." Aiden said.

"Papa!" Cole grinned, running over to Dante.

"Oh.... Sorry..." Peter murmured with a sigh.

Dante smiled and picked him up, "Hey you."

"It's fine." Aiden shrugged.

"Hi papa!" Cole said, hugging him.

Peter ran his fingers through his hair.

Dante smiled and hugged him tightly, "How are you this morning?"

"Um...we could go out for a walk or something I guess?" Aiden said.

"I good. Is papa good too?"

"A walk would be nice..." Peter said as he gave a small nod.

"Yes little one, papa is doing great! You wanna see what your daddy got for papa?" Dante said with a big smile.

"Alright then." Aiden nodded.

"Oh! Yeah, I wanna see." Cole grinned.