Double the Trouble, Double the Love [Silvery_Lady]

[Rissa]

Eli jumped slightly in his seat upon hearing his mother's voice so suddenly after he had blurted out his secret, worried she had heard him. Melinda nodded and smiled as the woman exchanged a knowing look with her, everything in the look telling the teacher that their mother could handle Eli's confession and would care for him when they left the schoolgrounds. She looked to Eli who still had his head on the desk facefirst, giving him a soft pat on the shoulder before taking the bullies by their ears and dragging them out of the room, clearly still p/o'd at their behavior and about to give her part of their punishment to add to the one they received from their principal, leaving the twins with their parent. The strict instructor's voice could be heard scolding the pair as she said she'd be giving them 'something to remember' before they went home. Eli looked up after a few moments of faceplant-mode on the desk, shaking his head at her question. "...It's not that... It's... nothing..." He replied with his eyes downcast, obviously trying to hide what had been said, not knowing she was fully aware. Matt sighed, patting his brothers shoulder, but Eli shook it off. If it wasn't clear he needed to talk about his problems with his 'secret', it was crystal clear now. Although it was obvious he wasn't ready to talk right away. He forced himself to look up at their mother, faking a smile he knew she'd see right through. "Don't worry about it... I'll be fine..." The teen said quietly, looking to his twin. Matt gave him a smile, cheering the moping teen up a bit. Matt caught the word 'surprise' and looked to their mother. "A surprise...?" He questioned, although his curiosity was quickly answered by an offer to go to the best Italian restaurant in town! Eli even perked up and looked to Matt with a bit of excitement showing on his face, masking some of his sadness. "REALLY?! You mean the one with the fountain?!" Matt asked excitedly. "We haven't been there in a couple years! Why would we--" He trailed off, facepalming a bit as he realized it was almost their birthday. "I almost forgot our own birthdays." He half-snort laughed at his silliness, looking to Eli who was smirking at him knowingly.

"You forget every year, you goof..." He teased. Both teens pushed their chairs out and got up from the long desk, both seeming a bit cheerier. Matt seemed embarrassed still to have let their birthday, but didn't forget that it would be their ten year anniversary of being with their mom. "Hey, mom... You know that it's a special year for you, too, right...?" He asked, trying to see if she remembered that it was 10 years ago when they were 8 years old and she took them in as her own. It was the night before their birthday, oddly enough. Smirking a bit, he continued: "Ten years since you adopted us... And ten years of sass, sarcasm, and plenty of punishments..." He mused, Eli chuckling a bit and half-sarcastically, loudly whispering: "Don't get in over your head, little brother. I don't want to be spanked along with you if mom decides on another of the birthday spanking tradition." He teased, a slight grin aimed to their mother, as she would always try to give them a play spanking on their birthday, but they never willingly let her. "If you keep up with mentioning punishments, I might just make this the year we don't try to stop her." He retorted, smirking a bit at Matt's shaking his head no and argument that he was only kidding. The brothers went up to their mother and Matt paused, hugging her with a squeeze, before pulling back and grinning from ear to ear. "You're awesome, mom! I've wanted some of their Alfredo for AGES!"

"And Eli's been craving the desserts." He shot his twin a grin, a light grumble leaving Eli's stomach that prompted both boys to laugh a bit. Matt stepped forward, giving a formal polite bow and offering his arm to their mother in a goofy and gentlemanly manner. "Shall your sons personally escort you home, m'lady? What say you?"

Eli laughed loudly, holding his sides and exclaiming: "If you think she'll let you drive us home because of that line, you're nuts!" He mused, but offered his arm to their mother with a goofy bow as well. "But we may as well walk our dearest mother to the car she drives us all home in." He laughed, muttering to Matt: "You're a goof, bro."

Matt smirked. "Takes one to know one."

[Silvery_Lady]

The woman started to feel way better watching their sons slowly going back to their usual goofy attitude, starting to tease each other and she was glad that Eli was now smiling and fooling around with his brother, instead of shedding tears with his face hidden against the desk.

So, especially since now they were on their own, once Melinda had left the room with the two bullies, Eleonor relaxed a bit, smiling at them and giving a loving nudge on Matthew's head when he admitted that he had forget their birthday once more.
-How can you forget about it every year?- she asked, with a little laugh -And of course i remember that, ten years is a lot of time. They should give me a prize for keeping you in line for so long.- she then played along, since they were now in the mood for silly jokes.

And when the teens mentioned the tradition of the birthday spanking, something that she had forced them to submit to when they were younger, their mother immediately saw that as an opportunity to re-establish that and her smile turned into a sassy smirk; they weren't the only ones who liked to act foolish, from time to time.
-Well, well, well...- she said, looking at Eli -...since you have brought this up yourself, young man, now you can bet that i will give you both your birthday spanking, tonight.- she informed them, ignoring Matt's protests about it -Oh, i'm looking forward to it, after so many years.- she continued, giggling like a teen herself -That will be my gift for ten years of patience and cuddles.- was the conclusion.

She returned Matt's hug with enthusiasm, when the boy went up to give her a squeeze, all excited about the dinner they were going to have and she let out the most amused laugh ever the second she saw both her sons offering up their arms, ready to "escort" her out of the building and to the car, just like a couple of brave knights in their shiny armour.

For a brief moment she found herself thinking about how tall and handsome they had become and she felt her heart filled up with pride, remembering the two little children she had adopted so many years before.
A lot of things had changed, since that day, and now she was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the amazing men that they were turning into. It was such a blessing.

-Sure, you can lead me to the car, my lords.- she answered, accepting their arms and starting to walk toward the door like a queen with her guards, genuinely happy to see them acting like that.
Usually male teens didn't have such a relationship with their mothers, she had seen boys treating their parents very badly during her years as a teacher, and so she was feeling like the luckiest woman in the world to have such nice lads with her.

-Come on now, let's go. You'll have to take a shower, to get changed and i'll have to drive half an hour to get to the restaurant, so if we don't want to be late, it's time to go.-

--------------------------------------------------------

At half past eight, that night, the three of them walked inside the hall of the most renowned and expensive italian restaurant of their city, "Carmine's".
Eleonor was now wearing an elegant green dress, with wide sleeves and a pair of black high heeled shoes and she had forced them to wear something appropriate too, banishing jeans and hoodies for the night.

A waiter came immediately to lead them to their table, the one right next to the beautiful marble fountain that Matt loved so much, helping the woman to sit down and giving them the menu, before vanishing to go and serve some other customer.

-This place is always so nice...- she said, looking around, before focusing on her sons -You can have anything you want. So go ahead and let's fill our bellies.-

[Rissa]

Matt scratched at the back of his head, grinning sheepishly as his mother teased him about forgetting their birthday every year. "I really don't know, myself..." He said awkwardly, Eli piping up and teasing his twin. "It's because you ran into that wall when we were seven. I swear, you'd believe anything anyone told you back then! Like how you had a 'superpower' that made you able to run into a cement brick wall and phase through it? It's lucky mom adopted us that night... You might've tried again but that time headfirst." Eli mused, Matt smirking at his twin in response. "YOU were the one who told me we had superpowers. If I have memory loss, it's your fault, dear brother." Matt retorted with a chuckle, both twins looking to their mother in surprise as she playfully teased them back about deserving a prize for keeping them in line for so long. Matt gave his twin a grin, the other grinning back as the two turned to their mother and hugged her tightly, Eli playfully ruffling his mom's mid-length black hair a bit as the boys asked in unison: "Aren't we your reward?"

The twins knew they were a handful from the start, but they'd always been told by their mother that it was the luckiest day for the three of them when she adopted them. They knew her soft side would remember she had once said they were the best gift she'd been given, although quite sassy gifts. The boys were being sassy now, that much was clear by their laughter. But just a teasing sort of sassy. But upon her teasing that since they mentioned the past birthday spanking tradition of their childhood that now they'd get one for sure, the boys exchanged puzzled expressions, thinking for sure she was kidding because she hadn't given them a birthday spanking since they were 12. But grins returned to their faces as they heard their mom's adorable giggle. "That was cute." They said in unison, although exchanged confused glances as this time it hadn't been intentional. Their parent's reaction to the goofy offer to walk her to the car to go home made for more amusement. Matt laughed a bit more, stating: "I've heard you call us a lot of things, m'lady... Never thought I'd hear 'my lords' be one of them~" He teased, giving a playful wink to her. The ride home was more talkative than usual as both teens were excited to go out to dinner. Not only for their 'birthdayversary', as they dubbed the date on the way home, but because they were happy their mom was happy and they were going out as a family. But surely she was kidding about the birthday spankings. Right...?

-----

Matt and Eli looked as if they felt a bit awkward wearing suits and ties, but they were too excited to be out with their mom on their 'birthdayversary' to complain. The twins opened the door to the restaurant, gesturing with a slight bow for her to enter first, following her as she led the way to their table. Smiling from ear to ear as he looked at the fountain, Matt looked really excited and cheerful. Eli was still cheerful, but a bit wary. He didn't like suits, but more-so he was worried about his 'secret' getting out... His eyes glanced around the restaurant a bit, before settling on his menu. Matt had already picked out his chicken alfredo dish with vegetables, along with his favorite raspberry iced tea the restaurant had. Eli was staring off into the air, half paying attention, as his concerns were returning. He didn't notice when he let out a soft sad sounding sigh. Matt caught it and looked from his brother to their mother and back again, feeling caught between the two in the situation Eli was upset about. He wanted his twin to be open with their mother, as they'd never kept important secrets from her before, but also knew if he tried to intervene and help, he'd make things worse. "H-hey, Eli... They've got your favorite Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti!" He said, softly nudging his twin and giving a worried smile. Eli sighed and nodded in response, but looked to their waiter and politely ordered the dish along with some sparkling grape spring water, as they'd never been allowed anything alcoholic and knew that was the closest they'd get. Matt gave his order politely, too, knowing when they were out, especially in a high class place, their best manners were expected. Looking back to their mother as the waiter took their orders and hers, Matt looked worriedly a bit down at his hands which were folded on the table. A silence overtaking the table for a few minutes...

[Silvery_Lady]

When the two boys teased her talking at the same time, their mother could't push back a laugh; they could such a couple of clowns, when they wanted to.
-You are a reward and a pain in the neck, all at the same time.- she answered to them, pretending to be serious, even if she clearly was not -And don't get used to it!- she then added, talking about calling them "My lords" -I'm the only ruler around here and i'll always be.-

As for their sudden concern about the Birthday Spanking, Eleonor decided that it was funnier to leave them in suspense and to let them think that was just playing around.
They would have quite a surprise later, since she had already decided to actually revive that little tradition, before sending them to bed, that night...

--------------------------------------

Once at the restaurant, the woman asked for a glass of fine wine and she went on looking the menu for a while, deciding what she would eat, hoping to have a good time with the boys, that in her opinion were looking great in their suits.

But when she finally lifted her eyes to look at them, she found out that, all at once, Elijah was once more in a bad mood, looking down at the table and that the laughter from before were nothing but a memory.
She could easily imagine why he was so depressed and she felt so sad about him, who was clearly in pain and struggling with his huge "secret", that she had to force herself not to jump up and hug him in front of everybody.

Instead, she put on the sweetest smile of her repertoire and, once the waiter had walked away with the orders, she gave both a quick glance.
-Well, since we'll have to wait a while for the food, i was thinking that maybe someone would like to open up his present a bit earlier, this year...- she said with a teasing voice, grabbng her purse and pulling out of it two golden envelopes, one marked with an M and the other with a E, slightly waving them in front of the boys, tempting them.
Clearly there would be no videogames or books, that year.

-I thought that you've become a little too old for toys, so....- she went on, teasing them with her most sassy smirk -...what do you think?-
Of course all that was just a little scene she was playing for them, since she was planning to give them the envelopes no matter what answer they would give to her, but she liked to provoke them a bit, when she was in the right mood.

So, when they finally grabbed their gifts, she simply leaned back in her chair and she waited for them to open them up... but most of her attention, for once, was focused on only one of them.
She was keeping an eye on Eli.

Inside both envelopes, the kids would find a 500 dollars note, alongside with a little handwritten note.
On Matthew's note she had just written a few words

I WISH YOU TO HAVE THE HAPPIEST LIFE EVER, MY LOVE.
YOU CAN DO GREAT THINGS AND I'M GLAD THAT I'LL BE THERE TO SEE YOU TURNING INTO A MAN.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATT.

As for Elijah, his note was a bit different, this time. She had thrown away the one she had prepared a few days before and she had wrote a brand new one while he was in the shower, a couple of hours before.

NEVER FORGET THAT MOM LOVES YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING, MY BEAUTIFUL CHILD.
AND NEVER FORGET THAT YOU ARE FREE TO LOVE JUST AS MUCH.
YOU'RE FREE TO LOVE ANYONE THAT YOU THINK WORTHY OF YOUR AFFECTION.
AND WHEN SOMEDAY YOU WILL BRING HER OR HIM TO MEET ME, REMEMBER THAT MY ONLY WISH FOR YOU IS TO BE HAPPY.
MY DOOR, MY HEART AND MY ARMS WILL ALWAYS BE OPEN FOR YOU, NO MATTER WHAT YOU WILL CHOOSE.
BE PROUD OF YOURSELF, BABY.

She took a sip of wine while they were reading their notes, still smiling, and the very moment Elijah looked up at her, she gave him an understanding smile.

[Rissa]

Matt watched his twin with concern as he was shutting them out. Or trying to, at least. The twins attention was, however, grasped when their mother suddenly spoke about giving them their presents early this year. Neither brother was expecting that... Matt grinned as she stated they were a little too old for toys, taking the envelope from her curiously looking at it and giving her a bit of a sassy smirk in return. "Aww, but mom, you know how much we love building castles with Lego blocks..." he teased, but his teasing smirk faded into a bit more of a warm smile as he read the letter she had given him, not seeming as into the cash as he was her personal touch to their gifts. "You're sweet, mom... Even though I don't express it a lot, and we tend to get on your last nerve, you're still our hero that saved us from the streets and took us in..." He looked up from the note, smiling to her with a soft look of thanks in his eyes. "But don't think we'll turn into angels overnight~" He teased with a smirk, looking to Eli who was staring at the note, having read it over several times. Eli looked up to their mother, looking shocked. But a sound of relief filled his voice as he spoke. "You knew...?" he asked, prompting Matt to blink in confusion until his brother spoke again. "And...you really don't think any less of me...?" the teen stopped, grateful tears in his eyes that he wiped away with the back of his hand, a smile forming on his face. "Matt's right... You really are still our hero. Thank you, mom..." He smiled a bit of a goofier smile, adding on: "Although, I suppose we'd be the annoying sidekicks if we're talking superheroes. Or the bumbling bad guy characters, with how much you have to put up with from us." He laughed a bit, relief and a happy smile both showing in his expression. Matt chuckled and lightly bopped his twin on the shoulder. "She really should get some kind of trophy... We're a bit more of a pain in the neck than the bumbling villains a lot of the time. At least villains are predictable." He added with a smirk to their mother, along with a goofy wink.

Matt smiled as he saw how Eli's downcast eyes were now brighter and his smile remained this time. Whatever she had written for him surely made him feel better. He was curious, but wasn't going to ask to see it... The letters were something she'd written special for each of them. Eli started to ramble about self defense techniques and Matt chuckled a bit softly, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Glad you're back, bro." He said with a genuine warm smile. Eli nodded, half shrugging off the comment as he was excited to talk about the new martial arts regimen Miss Melinda was starting, and that she had asked him to help her stay in sparring shape and spar with her. Since his brother was excited to tell them about the news, Matt smiled and listened. Eli rarely got so excited about something that he talked about it for so long, so he was content seeing his brother being himself again.

[Silvery_Lady]

Eleonor ruffled Matt's hair with her hand at his commentaries about his note, in a loving way, letting out a little laugh when he called her "a hero".
-You were too cute to be left on the streets.- she joked with him, talking about them like if she was talking about a couple of puppies -Plus, i have trained you to load the dishwasher and i have always hated to do that, so...- she went on, fooling around for a while, at least until Eli too seemed to have read his note.

At that point, when the other twin looked up at her, wiht glossy eyes and almost whispering those first words, their mother reacted bending over a bit, just enough to surround his shoulders with her arm, pulling him toward her and landing a sweet kiss on his head.
She didn't care at all if everyone would watch and if he would feel embarrassed by her motherly love, she had just felt the urge to do that.

-I know.- she confirmed -And i think that you are perfect just the way you are, no matter what people say.- was her only commentary about the matter.
Of course she would have been happy to discuss with him about that, if he had decided to do to so, but she didn't want to force him in any way; she she had just let him know that she was there for him.

Anyway, the general mood seemed to improve a lot from that moment and Eleonor laughed even harder when the boys said that they were like the annoying sidekicks in a superheroes movie, before adding that she should probably get a trophy for putting up with them for so long...
And that sentence made her smile turn into a sassy smirk; she would get her prize later, even if they were not aware of it yet.

So, the rest of the evening was the most perfect time they had had in a long while.
Elijah was finally smiling and chatting non stop about martial arts, Matt was fooling around like always and laughing all the time and their mother was feeling more relaxed than she had ever did before.
Her boys were happy and safe with her and everything was fine.

---------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, shortly after midnight, they went back home.

They all kept chatting during while on the road, but once they walked inside the house, the adult seemed to get a bit more serious, taking off her coat and turning to look at them.
-Okay, you two.- she said -It's pretty late and you have school in the morning, so now off to bed.- she added, basically sending them to their room to get ready to go to sleep -I'll come to tuck you in in a little while, just in name of the good old times.- she the concluded, warning that she was planning to join them in their room to kiss them goodnight, even if she hadn't done that in a couple of years.

So, more or less half an hour late, once they had used the bathroom and they had had time to change their clothes with their Pjs, Eleonor knocked on their door.

-I'm coming in.- she said, before opening that same door, entering into their "lair", as she used to call that room; she had washed off the make up from her face and she was now wearing a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a tank top, cleary ready to relax a bit before going to bed too.

[Rissa]

After enjoying the lovely dinner their mom took them out to, the teens returned home a bit after midnight. Matt looked a bit puzzled as their mom's demeanor turned a little serious when they got home, but smirked as she added she'd check on them in a few minutes like good old times, guessing she was feeling nostalgic as she added that, neither twin knowing her true intention.

After changing into their regular sleepwear, which for Matt were boxers and a t-shirt, but for Eli were just a pair of loose stretch pants and obvious underwear, the boys exchanged puzzled looks as their mother walked into their room suddenly. Matt was leaning back on the bedframe reading a magazine on building computers from scratch, and Eli was doing his regular nighttime stretching routine. "Hi mom." The teens chimed, continuing their winding down activities.

[Silvery_Lady]

Eleonor took a look at them, while closing the door, and she couldn't push back a proud smile; they were growing so much and they were now a pair of really handsome guys, nothing like the couple of slim and scared kids she had adopted many years before.

So, she walked toward Matt's bed, the one closer to the door, and sit down on the edge of the mattress, her sweet smile now slowlu turning into an amused grin; they had not a single clue about her intentions, it was clear.

-Well, well...- she started to say, while stretching a hand to take away the magazin from her son's hand, so he would focus on her -...before i send you to bed for good, i think that you owe me something, don't you agree?- she added, throwing a glance at Eli too, who was doing his night exercises like always.

-I wasn't thinking about this until this morning, when you decided to start talking about birthday traditions and you basically dug your own grave.- their mother went on, letting out a little giggle, since she knew that they were smart enough to understand where all that would lead them -So, guess what? I decided that since is also my anniverary, i want my gift too, for looking over you during ten years. Plus, you said that i deserved a trophy, didn't you?- the woman added, glancing over at Matt: she was clearly having a gret time, messing with them.

She was having a ball and her smile was super amused.

-Well, my prize will be to re establish the birthday spanking tradition.- she then announced -I loved that, when you were younger, and since this is a special occasion, i deserve a treat too. So... who's gonna go first?- was the final question.

[Rissa]

"H-hey! I was readin' that..." Matt started to question why she had taken his magazine, looking puzzled until she spoke. The glance she gave Eli after she commented on them owing her something, too, gave the teen a few uncomfortable flutters in his stomach, knowing the smirk that followed. She looked too amused. Something was definitely up. Matt remained oddly quiet, but Eli spoke up. "Uh... Sure, mom... But what did you have in m--" He stopped short as she brought up the twins joking about the past birthday traditions of birthday spanking, stating they'd dug their own grave. "...Wha?" He managed to stutter out upon hearing her little giggle. That giggle was obvious that she was teasing them, but also meant she had something special in mind.

Matt already looked embarrassed as their mother continued that she had decided since it was her anniversary as well, having caught on to the fact she was planning to re-initiate their birthday spanking tradition. Matt turned red in the face as their mother questioned who was first. He knew she'd choose him first, as he objected more to the embarrassment. "....You can't be serious..." He said awkwardly backing into the bedframe.

[Silvery_Lady]

Their mother enjoyed every second, since she announced her intention of giving them a birthday spanking, like in the good old days, until she could read the disbelief on their faces.
Matt, more than his brother, was blushing like a little girl, clearly embarrassed about all that.

-Oh, i'm more than serious, boys.- she answered to his words, cheerfully -You did this to yourself, blabbering about it this morning. You made me feel so nostalgic.- she then went on, reminding them that they had been the first to bring out the subject earlier that day, at school -So now i demand satisfaction.- was the conclusion, that came along with another little laugh.

The woman turned to look at Matt, who was trying to disappear through the wall judging by how he was leaning against it, and she smiled at him.
-Don't be so dramatic. It's no big deal, you won't die for this. I'll just give you a few pats on the butt, it's not a torture.- she told him, before looking over at Eli too -Maybe you should go first. You're the older brother, after all... am i right?- she said to him, before lightly tapping her thighs with her hand, calling him over -Come on, young man. Bottom up.- was the final order.