"So, this is Big Ben. Well, actually — the tower itself isn't Big Ben. The bell inside the tower is Big Ben. But a lot of people get confused about that."

Gemma and Kieran glance up at the large structure in awe as Levi gives them the sweet tour of the city; they have heard about this famous clock in school, but seeing it up close is an entirely different matter to them both. George stands behind the children, resting his hands on Kieran's shoulders as he reminisces the times in the early seventies, when he was the child and his dear mother was stood in this same spot with her hands rested on his own shoulders. He used to marvel at the attraction just the same as his kids are doing in this moment; but since getting older, the novelty has worn off, to some degree. Seeing Gemma and Kieran reacting to the landmarks around the city he grew up in, brings him a strange sense of nostalgia that almost moves him to tears.

"It's so tall," Gemma comments, her eyes scanning up the architecture. "How did people make it if it's so big?"

"Because they'd have special ways of doing it," George answers. "They would've had ways of climbing up to reach really high. Maybe with ropes or ... ladders?" Admittedly, he is also unsure of the orchestration of a huge project such as the tower. "Point is, they did make it. And you're seeing it right before your eyes."

"It's so cool." Kieran grins, turning his head to look up at his parents. "Can we see the big wheel thingy now?"

"The ... The London Eye?" Levi suggests, with a chuckle.

"Yeah!" Kieran confirms. "Can we go on it, Daddy?"

"I mean." George rubs the back of his neck; he doesn't want to let his children down, but he acknowledges that The London Eye is rather expensive to go on. "Th-There's plenty of other things to do in—"

"It's funny you should ask," Levi interrupts, a smirk rising onto his face. "I booked tickets already. We have a two o'clock time slot."

"Yes!" Gemma squeals, jumping up and down on the spot. "Are we going on the big wheel?"

"That's right," Levi assures her, clearly satisfied with himself for hiding this plan. "So I hope you like heights, sweetheart."

"I can't wait!" Kieran cheers.

George averts his eyes from the excitable children, to his husband. "You really didn't need to do that. It's a lot of money."

"I just want to see you all happy," Levi explains, touching his hand briefly to George's jawline. "I don't care what it costs. Money can be replaced any time if I put the hours in at work. But time? You only get a moment once, and I want to make as many of those moments happy, as possible."

George gives Levi a mellow smile, appreciating such a kind gesture and thoughtful sentiment. "What did I do to deserve you, hey?"

"You brought light into my life," Levi responds. "So now I'm going to bring The London Eye into yours."

"Soppy git," George snickers. "Who knew that the key to a man's heart was through English capital city attractions?"

"See, I could have gone a step further and said that you're my English capital city attraction," Levi quips.

"That's not accurate anyway," George points out. "I'm a Greek-English capital city attraction."

"Alright, Mr Technicality," Levi teases. "I try and make a cutesy remark and I just get shot down."

George laughs at this. "In case you forgot, it isn't a technicality. I'm a full fifty percent Greek. Just because I have a London accent and swear all the time, doesn't mean anything. I thought the name, and the hair being ... absolutely everywhere, would suggest something to you."

"So sorry for disregarding your Greek heritage, Mr Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou," Levi jibes, his pronunciation perfect.

"What did you just call Daddy?" Gemma gasps.

"His real name is very long," Levi explains. "Because he's half Greek. You've heard me call Daddy, 'George' sometimes haven't you?" When both children nod their heads to confirm this, he continues. "Well, that's just his English name. His real name — the one his parents gave to him when he was a baby — is a lot more difficult to say."

"Say it again," Kieran requests.

"Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou," George repeats, on Levi's behalf. "I bet you couldn't say it, if you tried."

"We can say the surname," Gemma states proudly. "Because it's our surname too."

"Yeah!" Kieran agrees. "Panayiotou, Panayiotou, Panayiotou!"

"Now you're just showing off," Levi gasps, gently ushering the family in the direction of the nearest tube station. "But anyway — let's carry on exploring a bit, before our trip to The London Eye."

• • •

"Now, kids — you can spend a tenner each, and that's it," George instructs, as the family enter the famous toy shop: Hamley's.

Gemma and Kieran squeal, darting off in separate directions to find something to buy as a memento of their trip to London. Kieran heads immediately towards the toy cars and lorries; Gemma makes a beeline for the plush teddies. George and Levi try to follow behind as best as they can, but children can often be hard to keep up with. George attempts to catch up with Gemma, while Levi goes to keep an eye on Kieran.

"Seen anything you like?" Levi asks, once he finally finds his son knelt on the ground. "Oh — that car is so cool, isn't it?"

"I'm stuck on which one to buy," Kieran frowns, presenting his father with three toy cars. "I like the orange one, the white one and the blue one."

"Have you checked the prices of them?" Levi encourages. "Because if they aren't too expensive, you may be able to get two of them."

Kieran checks the packaging that the vehicles come in, quickly finding the tag stuck to the back. "It says five."

"So, if you have ten pounds to spend, that means you could get two if you wanted," Levi informs him. "Because, five plus five is ten, isn't it?"

Kieran's eyes light up at this newfound knowledge, flitting his gaze between the three little die-cast cars in his hands. "I think I'll choose the orange one! And ... " He struggles to decide on which to select from the blue and the white. "Which one should I choose, Daddy?"

"Hm." Levi examines the remaining two options. "I would choose the blue. Blue is Daddy's favourite colour. He would think it's so cool, you know?"

"Okay!" Kieran tosses the white car back on the shelf, content with his orange and blue ones. "I choose orange and blue."

"I think you've made a great choice," Levi praises. "Let's go and find Daddy and Gem now, shall we?" He takes Kieran's hand, pulling the boy up from his kneeling position on the floor; then, they venture further into the store to find the other half of their family.

"Gem, it's too expensive," George explains to her, showing her the price tag on the cuddly cat plush she's chosen. "It's twelve-ninety-nine. You only have ten to spend, remember?"

"But I really like it," Gemma protests, with a forlorn expression settling across her face; this is her not-so-subtle way of trying to persuade George to let her have her own way. "Please Daddy? I really love it."

"I know you really love it," George reasons with her, "but it's too much money. I told you how much you're allowed. Please choose something else."

"But I don't like anything else," Gemma frowns. "I like the cat."

"Everything alright?" Levi interrogates, as he and Kieran approach the pair. "What's going on?"

"She wants this cat, but it's over the price limit we set," George answers. "I'm telling her that she needs to choose something else."

"Your father's right, sweet," Levi tells her. "You can't have that. It's too expensive. Would you choose something else?"

"But I don't want to!" Gemma cries, folding her arms. "I just want the cat, and that's it." She then observes the cars in Kieran's hands. "That's not fair! Kieran gets two things, and I'm not even allowed one!"

"Now." George's father-mode kicks in, as he bends down to his daughter's level and speaks sternly. "This is not how I raised you, is it? I didn't raise my little girl to throw tantrums in the middle of shops, did I?" He places the plush cat back on the shelf it came from, before continuing to talk. "Kieran has two cars because they both add up to ten altogether. So, you're going to stop arguing with me and Daddy, and you're going to be a good girl and choose something else. Otherwise, you'll lose the ten and go down to zero. Do I make myself clear?"

Gemma furrows her brows, still hurt at the implementation of rules she deems as being so unfair; despite this, she calms herself down, nodding in understanding. This doesn't stop tears from forming in her eyes, however. "Okay. Sorry."

George notices the emotion in her moss green irises, deciding to let his guard down a little now. "You can still choose something, alright? But you need to understand how money works. Kieran has chosen two things that are five pounds each, and that equals to ten. So his two cars are still less expensive than the one cat. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy." Gemma sniffles, turning around to look at the shelf of teddies behind her. She rummages through the various plush animals, rejecting a majority of them, before pulling out a smaller cat. "What about this one?"

George takes a hold of it, checking the price. "This one is only eight. That means you have two pounds left to spend. So, if you find something else, you'll get two things like Kieran."

Gemma moves away from the teddies, sauntering over to the pocket money section of the store. She checks over the options she has, deciding against bouncy balls or slinkies; eventually, she picks up two stretchy men, one yellow and one blue. "These are one pound and one pound — and that makes two."

"See? Now you have three things," Levi points out. "Let this be a lesson for you, sweetheart. If you think hard enough, you can make your money go further and you can get more out of it."

She carries her cat and her stretchy men over to the till, before placing them on the counter. Levi gently takes Kieran's toy cars, adding them to the little collection for the staff member to scan through.

"That's twenty pounds, please," she speaks kindly.

"Card please, sweet." Levi takes out his debit card, inserting it into the machine; once the screen prompts it, he types in his PIN code to pay for the goods. "Thank you."

"That's gone through just fine," the lady informs him, as she hands him the receipt. "Here's your receipt. Have a great day."

"Thank you. And yourself." Levi watches as the kids take their respective toys, before he ushers them out the store. The four of them bundle together outside; Levi checks his watch, evaluating that it's time for the next activity. "Right, who's ready for The London Eye?"

"Ooh! Me! Me!" The children chant in unison, raising their hands as though they're answering a question in class.

The reaction causes George and Levi to laugh; Levi leads the group as they head to the closest underground station. "Then let's go!"

• • •

"Daddy look, they're taking photos." Gemma points over to one wall within the queue for The London Eye, where a green screen stands; a photographer enthusiastically ushers whoever is next in line, to have a photo taken to serve as a memento of their experience. "Can we have a photo taken, too?"

"Of course," Levi answers. "When it's our turn, we'll have a photo taken together."

"Will Daddy be in it, too?" Kieran asks Levi.

"Uh ... " Levi hesitates; since the pair have been young, George has always expressed a slight discomfort in getting his photo taken — particularly if he isn't the one holding the camera. George likes to have control over every element of composition in the photo; hence, his favourite method of capturing moments including him, are selfies. "W-Well, Daddy doesn't normally like having his photo t—"

"Of course I'll be in it, mate," George says, beaming wide. "This weekend is all about making memories. And one day, memories are all we have left of someone."

Levi realises, without saying anything, that George's perception has only changed as of late due to his mother's passing. Lesley was another soul who felt nervous around camera lenses; as such, George doesn't have many photos of his dear mother to look back on.

After a short while of waiting, the family reach the green screen; the photographer gestures with his hands for them to come over to get their picture taken. "Come on guys! You're all looking great today!" He waits while they assemble themselves, with the children at the front, and the men in the back. A couple of snaps later, the photographer is satisfied. "Excellent! Thank you guys!"

"Thank you," Levi returns graciously, leading the children away from the green screen for the last part of their wait. He turns to speak to George. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I suppose not," George responds. "And it's something for the kids to remember me by when I'm gone."

"Hopefully that won't be for a while, yet," Levi reminds him; although he wouldn't dare mention anything, the notion frightens him — that one day he could once again be alone in the world.

At last, it is their turn to go on The London Eye. They are placed in a single pod of the wheel along with a group of other strangers; these new people, of course, attract the curiosity of the young individuals as they explore their surroundings. George can't help, however, feeling an unexpected irritation burn through him when he hears Gemma question him.

"Daddy, isn't that the man who picked Daddy's knife up at breakfast?"

• • •

Chapter eleven! Hope you're still enjoying the story. xx