The 'FrUk' In 'Fructosis'

The Confession

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Francis closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath before opening them and opening his mouth to speak.

"Angleterre? Look at me, please," his voice was gentle, a stark contrast to the inside of his head, which was going deaf from the sound of his heartbeat echoing in his ears.

Arthur hesitantly turned his attention to the man sitting across from him. His sapphire blue eyes, those same eyes he adored, were now staring at him with so much raw emotion. In a way, it was unbearable.

"Eng- No, Arthur. I'm guessing you know what I'm about to say." Arthur responded with a slow nod, struggling to keep his eyes on Francis.

The Frenchman chuckled at the other man's shyness. If only he was always this cute...

He continued with his speech. "I'm sure you've noticed how tense the atmosphere has become between us, and I think you know why that is."

He made a small pause and glanced at Arthur, who was as stiff and silent as a statue.

"I'll be honest: while you were eating, I was staring at you because of how gorgeous you looked. Sitting here alone with you in silence made me realise that. We've known each other since forever, and we've been rivals for so long, but in a way, I think we've also been friends. I mean seriously, no matter where I go, you're never too far behind," Francis laughed at the irony of them being unable to escape each other, despite being rivals.

"I've realised I love you. I really, truly do. I can't imagine life without you," Arthur's eyes widened at the confession. He expected this when Francis first started speaking, but it still took him by surprise.

The Frenchman wasn't done. "I love the way your eyes sparkle in the sunlight. I love the way your hair always looks like a mess. I love your stupidly thick eyebrows. I love your needlework. I love how bad your cooking is. I love every side of you, regardless of whether it's the drunk, sober, delinquent, gentleman, pirate, or sorcerer one. I love YOU."

Once Francis finished what he was saying, he looked at Arthur with a hopeful, yet scared expression. He had poured his heart out to the man he's meant to consider an enemy. If England decided to reject him, he'd never be able to live that down.

Arthur decided it was his turn to speak. "You're an idiot, you know that?," he said, but his smile told Francis that he wasn't being serious.

"Since you were honest, I guess I'll be honest too. I was also unable to take my eyes off of you because of how handsome I find you. I had always admired that about you, among other things... And I guess I was an idiot too for not recognising my own feelings sooner.

I despised how much of a manwhore you were and thought it was due to my jealousy caused by my lack of success when it came down to finding partners. And sure, that might've played a part, but I now realise that my rage was mostly caused by my own feelings not being reciprocated.

Also, remember that time you asked to marry me and then revealed it was all because you had financial issues? At the time, I felt so disappointed but didn't know why. Or rather, I knew but chose to repress it. It's why I told you I didn't want to marry you for "that" reason. But, of course, you never picked up on that, you shitty beard."

Once Arthur was done speaking, he looked at Francis, who was staring at him in shock. However, that shock soon turned into a wide smile as he stretched out his hand and silently offered Arthur to take it. The Brit blushed but complied. The two were now silently holding hands, content that they finally acknowledged each other's true feelings.

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Time passed by quickly, and before long it was time for the G8 meeting to start.

All eight nations entered the meeting room and sat down in their respective seats. Arthur ended up seated right next to Francis, who smiled at him before switly turning his attention to Ludwig, who was in charge of leading the meeting.

Arthur's face turned a light, barely visible shade of pink, but he acted like usual. After the confession, the two had stayed together and discussed their relationship moving forward. They made an agreement to keep it a secret, at least for now.

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After excruciating four hours, the meeting was finally over. Arthur felt himself collapsing due to the sheer exhaustion he was experiencing.

The meeting itself was nothing new. Everything went by as usual. Feliciano kept annoying Ludwig and interrupting his presentation. Ivan was a menace to the other representatives. Alfred wasn't paying attention and would eat and drink loudly in the middle of the meeting; and Kiku kept to himself. As for Matthew, he was once again ignored.

The only thing that was different was that Arthur and Francis weren't fighting. The other personifications noticed this strange phenomenon but chose not to say anything about it.

In the end, Arthur went back to his bedroom and fell into deep sleep the moment he touched his bed. Francis, on the other hand, went back to his room and stayed awake until late in the night, drinking his favourite red wine and looking at the sleeping city of Berlin from his hotel window.

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Fin.