Arthur wearily blinked open his eyes, and the first thing he did was groan in pain. Once again, Arthur had woken up with a splitting headache. The natural sunlight beaming at him, a curse to his sensitive eyes. Why did he have to drink so much the previous night?
The previous night. Oh dear, what happened? He could barely make out the reason why he drank so much, but it must have been bad...
Joan confessed to Francis. That's what it was! And him, being the sore loser he is, decided to drink his pains away.
His head hurt like hell, especially when he strained himself to think but he had to. Or else he'd have no context and he'd make an even bigger fool of himself.
He went home 'sick'... Made a mess... And found Francis' stash of drinks... and drank whatever amount, he couldn't remember how much. Francis came home.... They started arguing.... Then...
He had confessed to Francis too! Holy tea gods, he'd actually told him-
Arthur reddened wildly as he recalled what happened and squirmed on the couch out of embarrassment and held his head. He'd actually told him he liked him?! What an idiot! Ugh, Arthur! Why do you have to be so humiliating while drunk!
'Well, I guess it is my fault for getting drunk in the first place...' he reprimanded himself, and smacked his forehead as punishment.
Wait, but hadn't Francis shared his feelings? Hadn't he said he liked him back?! Or...
'Was it just a dream?' he wondered and deflated at the thought. It would make sense if it was, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary except for him waking up hungover on the couch, but then again, that wasn't too odd.
He shook his head to rid the thoughts and decided to get up off the uncomfortable sofa. His muscles ached as he got up, his head was spinning but served him right for getting pissed and nodding off on the god damn couch!
He checked the hallways for the supposed mess he made, but it was immaculately clean like it had never been bothered in its entire existence. So was it a dream...?
He headed to the kitchen, where a pleasant aroma had hit his nose. It smelt like walking into a bakery full of freshly made goods and enticed him to take a look.
Arthur peaked in curiously to make sure he was wanted there. A few seconds later he caught the attention of Francis, who seemed to sense his staring. He left his job of organising the pastries on the table and turned around, smiling brightly at him and beckoning him inside.
Arthur just blinked in surprise, it seemed like nothing changed. So... Had he not confessed after all? Or had none of it happened and Joan was still crushing on him secretly? He had no clue, but he didn't want to ask and ruin Francis' happiness.
This wasn't a dream was it? Maybe everything did happen but his mind was coming up with possible outcomes?
Nah, the excruciating headache he had proved that theory wrong.
"Bonjour!" Francis greeted merrily. He seemed to be over the moon this morning, the dining table decorated with all sorts of mouth-watering- I mean they weren't that tasty looking, pastries.
"M-mornin'," Arthur greeted back, but he sounded like absolute crap. He cleared his throat and hesitantly walked into the kitchen from behind his hiding place.
"How you feeling? You drank a lot last night."
So he did drink! That made sense, but that further proved that Joan had actually confessed so... The end result?
"Awful, but that's normal. I'll get over it eventually," he answered.
"What's the occasion?" He asked, quizzically, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He wondered why Francis seemed so exuberant and had made all these treats this morning. Even for Francis it wasn't very typical.
Francis looked taken aback.
"You don't know?"
"Pardon me, but I don't remember that well after drinking..." He stated embarrassedly.
Francis looked despondent for a moment, and then his eyes lit up for just a moment, or was that just Arthur seeing things? Either way, he beamed and explained what the 'occassion' was.
"You know how Joan told me she liked me yesterday?" He started with a playful grin.
Arthur nodded warily, his nightmares seemed to be coming together perfectly.
"I accepted her, and now we're together. So it's a treat to celebrate that!" Francis answered. He felt evil for doing this, but hey, he'd make it up to him later.
Now it was Arthur's turn to look surprised. After a while of staring into space, he cleared his throat.
"Good for you," he replied with badly disguised resentment on his face, crossing his hands over his chest.
"Aren't you happy for me?"
"I am."
"You don't sound too happy!"
"Well, I don't know how to express my happiness, okay?!" He sounded really aggravated at this point.
"Look, I have an awful headache, I'm gonna go get some medicine, you have fun doing whatever you're doing." Arthur said and stalked off to the bathroom while Francis snickered at how easy it was to manipulate the hungover Brit.
Though he felt so bad... Time to actually be a good boyfriend!
"Hey." Francis barged in uninvited.
"Why the hell did you follow me here?" Arthur shouted at him and tried pushing him out but Francis wouldn't budge.
"Aww, you're so cute when you're mad!"
"What the fuck, Francis?!"
"And such a potty mouth!" The French teen giggled, watching as the Brit became furious.
Arthur huffed out of frustration, he was exhausted, his head was tormenting him and his muscles throbbed. He didn't need Francis messing with him and confusing him further than he already was.
"Ugh, just leave me alone," he answered exasperatedly.
Francis obeyed and watched silently as Arthur sighed and started looking through the cabinet for the medicine he needed. He was on his tippy toes and he couldn't seem to reach the back here his desired medicine was so Francis, being the gentleman he is, stepped up from behind him to grab it.
The British boy blushed because of Francis pressed against his backside, and grimaced at being pressed up against the sink as it didn't feel too great.
"T-thanks..." Arthur grumbled, snatching the bottle from Francis once he got it down. He didn't need help, he was fine on his own!
Francis felt sorry and decided to let his little game go, since the blond looked fed up at this point.
He snuck up on the younger and wrapped his arms around his waist from the back.
"W-what are you-"
"It wasn't a dream, amour," Francis leaned over his right shoulder and whispered into his ear.
Arthur didn't reply, he waited a moment to process what he just told him.
"What do you me-" he turned his head to ask but was interrupted by Francis who captured his lips with a kiss.
'WHAT?!!' Arthur screamed in his head, why the hell was he kissing him, he was with Joan! Francis was such a cheater!
Wait a second... It wasn't a dream? Does that mean...
So he had confessed?! And Francis had... Francis explained that everything with Joan was fake just to get me jealous and admitted he liked me too!
So what he said about Joan just there was fake! Again?! Oh that piece of shit!
Arthur pulled away from the kiss and pushed him away, staring at him venomously.
"You bastard! You lied to me, again!" He shouted angrily, jabbing his finger sharply into the French teen's chest at every other word.
Francis laughed sheepishly, like Arthur's anger didn't faze him one bit.
"Ugh! Are you that inconsiderate to play with my feelings again, after all that happened yesterday?!"
"Chaton, calm down! It was just a test to see if you were being sincere yesterday and it wasn't just something you said while under the influence." Francis pleaded for forgiveness.
Arthur didn't seem to calm down at all and he sulked. He felt ridiculed.
"Arthur, please forgive me. I swear I won't do it again," the older promised, cupping his cheeks and looking straight into his eyes. A light blush spread over Arthur's face from being so close, but he convinced his eyes to not meet the cerulean ones.
"I'll make it up to you?" Francis tried to reason with cuteness, but Arthur didn't fall for it.
"I made a bunch of treats for this 'occassion'! How about we go eat now!" He urged excitedly.
Arthur let out a deep breath. There was no use bantering with him.
"Fine. But I swear, if you try to trick me one more time-"
"It won't happen, amour, don't you worry your pretty little head~" Francis said and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Now, how about you give me this-"
"Hey! Why're you stealing my medicine!" Arthur screamed as his possession was snatched. He relentlessly tried to get the bottle back, but Francis was flaunting his height.
"It's best you not take any painkillers when you're hungover, lapin. Trust me," Francis laughed like he knew what he was talking about.
"Then why did you grab them for me?! To show off your superiority?"
"Well... Yeah." The French blond snickered, putting the bottle back and pushing it all the way to the back again, to Arthur's dismay.
"Don't worry, I'll help you! I know exactly how to make you feel better~" Francis purred but Arthur didn't seem to notice his odd statement at first.
"Okay, but it better work... Wait a second... What was that supposed to mean!?" The younger argued.
"What do you think it means?" Francis said teasingly, sneaking a hand down the other's back but Arthur quickly caught it before it got to its destination.
"Ha ha, good luck with that. Just because you apologised, doesn't mean I've forgiven all that you did, you pervert."
Francis pouted dejectedly, but didn't try to convince him. He knew hangovers were a bitch, so it was wiser not to mess with the Brit while he was moody.
Arthur suddenly flinched and stilled, face going pale reaching out to grip the rim of the sink to steady himself.
"You okay?" Francis asked in concern.
"Y-yeah, just a wave of nausea, I'm fine." He waved it off, but he didn't look fine.
"You don't look too good though," he worried.
"I told you, I'm-" Arthur didn't get to finish his sentence because a hand flew to his mouth and was suddenly kneeling down in front of the toilet and throwing up.
Francis was right beside him instantly, rubbing his back in an effort to comfort him.
"Ugh..." Arthur groaned as he let himself fall limp in Francis' arms. He felt like half his soul left him after puking his guts out.
"I'm never drinking again..." he swore, making Francis chuckle.
"You say that now but you won't bide by it, and you know it." He told him and Arthur didn't oppose his statement.
"How about you go rest in your bedroom? I'll make you some nice ginger tea to make you feel better!" Francis offered, to which the British boy nodded dazedly. Francis gathered him up into his arms, Arthur curling up onto his chest, uncharacteristically but it was adorable.
"This is my second time in your bedroom and it still doesn't cease to amaze me," Francis said as he set Arthur down on his bed and looked around in awe.
"Are you always gonna comment on my bedroom's design every time you're here?"
"Probably, yeah." Francis answered, Arthur rolling his eyes at his comment.
"Here, I'll go get you a glass of water."
"What about the tea?" The shorter barged in.
"Don't worry, I will get you your tea as well, mon petit chou." Francis replied, booping him on the nose cutely.
As he promised, Francis returned with a glass of water first, then once he finished that he was greeted with the holy sight that was his ginger tea.
"Now drink it slowly! Don't gulp it down!" Francis ordered with concern.
"Alright thanks mum, really appreciate the advice."
"I'll just ignore that sarcastic comment because I know you don't mean it."
Arthur just smiled cutely and hid his face behind his cup as he took sip after sip, and then yawned loudly.
"Now, I know you want to sleep but before that you've got to eat something." Francis stated as he took the cup back.
"But I don't want to..."
"Come on! After all that I made for you this morning? At least try... A croissant?" The French teen requested, batting his eyelashes prettily.
Arthur sighed dramatically and nodded like he had no other choice, but Francis knew that wasn't the case.
Francis watched in delight as Arthur scanned the pastry, then slowly took a bite, soon chowing down on it hungrily.
"Would you like another?"
"Yes- n-no! I mean, no, I'm full thanks." The younger insisted reluctantly. Now that his mouth knew what the potential food he could be eating tasted like, he was starving!
At first Arthur thought Francis had given up and went to do his own thing when he got up off the side of his bed and left the room, but then Francis came back with an assortment of baked goods in his hand.
"Take your pick~" he said as he presented him with the enticing food.
Arthur glanced at it, but didn't move. He quickly looked away, trying to distract himself from the aroma of the still warm pastries.
"Come on! Don't be so polite, I made it for you, you know." Francis interlaced his hands and placed his chin on his custom made rest.
Arthur kept staring at his hands.
"You just don't want to give me the satisfaction huh?
"I- what do you mean?"
"I mean, you're scared that I'll assume that you like my 'stupid French cooking'?"
"What? N-no!"
Francis smirked at him knowingly.
"Chéri, I already know my cooking is amazing, I don't have to have your approval to feel worthy!"
Arthur smacked him upside the head as Francis chuckled frivolously.
"Please? Criticise it to your heart's content! But eat something for me?"
"Fine!" He announced and picked a cinnamon roll from the bunch.
"Too cinammon-y," he commented as soon as he took his first bite and swallowed, but Francis knew he was just trying to provoke him.
"Well, that's the point of a cinnamon roll darling!" Francis claimed with a sweet smile, untainted by Arthur's irate glare.
"W-well, it's too sweet then!"
"Nah, I think that's just because your bitter tongue isn't used to it," the older blond implied slyly.
Arthur glared at him, with an 'I give up!' look. He quickly swallowing down the rest and threw the covers over him, hiding underneath and ignoring the other to clearly convey his vexation.
"Aww don't worry, I'll stop teasing you, chaton." Francis told him, he could practically hear the smile off his face.
"I'll let you sleep then," was the last thing Arthur heard Francis say before he himself was out like a light.
Francis wouldn't be surprised if Arthur slept in almost the whole day, but that didn't matter. Sure, he had great plans for that day but he should have considered Arthur's state first.
And besides! It's not like he couldn't do all he wanted the next day!
Francis didn't know what to do while he waited, so he decided to chill on the couch and watch something in the meantime.
************Time Skip!************
Arthur's face drained of colour when he saw him. He couldn't even utter his name without wanting to throw up.
"You..." His words trailed off as he stared back at him and grinned.
"Arthur! What a surprise!" He exclaimed as he feigned shock.
"W-why are you here?"
"Well, that's a good question you should ask yourself. Why, this is your dream after all," The male stated as he smirked wickedly.
He was dreaming? Of course, he was in America, a whole ocean away from him.
"So how's your new school treating you?"
"Quit it with the small talk, why the hell are you here?" Arthur demanded an answer, but got a patronising laugh instead.
"My, I'm hurt! You've changed a lot, you know. You used to be so innocent and small. Now you're short-tempered and... Well I guess you're still a midget." He patted his head down into the ground imperiously.
Arthur scowled at him, he was fuming at his cocky behaviour. How dare he, who does he think he is?!
"I heard you have a new boyfriend," he continued, edging closer to the blond and trailing a finger along his jaw.
Arthur grabbed his wrist and threw it down angrily.
"Y-yeah, I do! Why? You jealous?"
The male burst into laughter like what Arthur said was the joke of the century.
"Yeah I am, darling. If jealousy means feeling sorry for the guy who's dating you." He admitted as he wiped tears from his eyes.
Arthur just stared daggers into him.
"I doubt he treats you better than I did," he continued.
"A rabid animal would get treated better than how you treated me, you scumbag!"
"Really? But I treated you exactly like you deserved-"
Arthur grabbed him by the collar and violently yanked him down to meet his eye, but the other didn't blink an eye at his anger.
"Look here, you arse. You better wipe that shit-eating grin off your face right now or else I'll wipe it off for you."
"Alright, alright calm down! But you know, you might wanna watch your back, Arthur. Love hasn't always turned out 'happily ever after' for you." He casually taunted.
"That was once, and I'm never making that mistake again. Francis wouldn't... Francis is trustworthy. I know it." He started off strong on his defence but then ended in a low mutter and slowly his grip on his shirt fell to his side.
"Are you sure? The lack of confidence is oozing throughout that sentence."
Arthur gave out a frustrated groan, he didn't know how to reason with him, and he didn't see it necessary to, either.
"A little bit of advice for you though, love isn't always what you expect. It won't always go as you want it to, either. You may think you know a person, but in reality, they were nowhere near who you thought they were. I'm just telling you this so you won't be totally oblivious when, what's his name?... Francis, decides to dump you."
"Francis wouldn't do that! Francis isn't like... Francis isn't like you!"
"You must know him well if you're this insistent. How long do you know him anyway?"
"Um... Around... Two months..." Arthur whispered inaudibly, as though he only realised when he said it how short of a time that actually was.
The male started laughing obnoxiously, if he wasn't grating on Arthur's nerves before he definitely was now.
"You got with him after knowing him for two months?! Were you really that desperate for love?" He asked, wiping laugh tears from his eyes.
"Hey! A lot happened in that time, okay! Ugh, why am I even telling you this?!"
"Because you care what I think."
"I do not!"
The other didn't retort anything back, just smirked at him.
"Anyway, tell me about your new fling," he insisted.
"He's not a fling!"
"Really? Is it true love then?" He stated in a condescending manner.
"A- w-well that-"
"Do you always stutter when true and love appear in the same sentence?"
"Shut your gob." Arthur demanded irritatedly.
"Alright, say your feelings are genuine. Are his? He might just be using you~" he lengthened the end to emphasise it.
Arthur fell quiet. That was a question his mind had replayed over and over before, and hearing it made him question it even more.
Then suddenly, anger enveloped him as the lovestruck side of him won over and he stuck to defending his man.
"Not all people out there have the intention of using their lovers for their own pleasures like you do. There are many decent people out there, and I know Francis is one of them. He may be tough to handle sometimes but in the end he's so caring, unlike you, you scumbag." Arthur protested.
"Right, well what if his intentions are different than that? What if he's just humouring you and he doesn't want a romantic relationship with you at all?"
"But he seemed very genuine when he told me..."
"Though, wasn't he hesitant to even kiss you yesterday? And didn't he stop that before it escalated?" The male asked, smirking as Arthur's eyes widened slightly in realisation and
he knew he hit the bullseye.
"He's just... He knows I'm not too comfortable with it, that's why!"
"Whatever explanation you'd like to believe, you believe." He stated, noticing Arthur's strong demeanor faltering as he contemplated the ideas he was feeding him.
"Actually now that I think about it, I'm surprised you fell in love after me. I thought I scarred you for life," he stated, followed by a string of laughter.
"I'm not afraid of you and I was never afraid."
"Liar. You are afraid, you just want to seem tough but truth is, on the inside you're having a panic attack right now," he claimed and stared darkly into his eyes with a knowing gaze. Arthur gulped and tried avoiding his eyes.
"Would you ever consider coming back, Arthur? I miss you~" the taller male tantalised, placing his hand on his cheek but Arthur backed away from his palm quickly.
"M-miss me?! Weren't you the one who just called me a fool for falling for y-you?" Arthur stuttered as he became more and more flustered by the second, the other constantly touching everywhere he didn't want to be touched.
"Oh, but I still can't forget about you. You were so meek and soft, blushing at everything I did to you." He reminisced, lust overtaking his eyes as he wrapped a hand around his waist, only for it to be thrown off in haste.
"Your innocent green eyes, and your rosy pink lips. Your prominent, yet masculine curves. Fuck, I miss you so much baby." He declared as he forced his mouth onto his.
Arthur knew he was just toying with him and that he had no actual feelings for him. And so, when he was pulled into a kiss unwantedly, he struggled ceaselessly to get him off of him.
The other took his chance to let his hands trail where they wished, ducking them underneath his shirt, his fingers trickling up his waist teasingly.
Arthur yelped and wouldn't take it anymore. He pushed him away by his chest violently.
The male didn't respond too well to being pushed away though. He grasped Arthur's arms and threw him against the wall behind them, pinning his hands above his head.
He had such a strong grip around his wrists that Arthur thought his hands would fall clean off or at least leave a hideous bruise, but there was no pain.
Arthur's chin was forced up as he was made to look into his eyes, a devilish grin overtaking the taller male's features.
"There it is! The fear! What did I tell you, I knew I could make you break," he exclaimed when he saw the raw horror in the shorter boy's eyes.
Arthur looked down in shame as anger boiled within him. He still had a strong grip on his wrists but then the truth dawned on him again, and he took comfort in the fact that it was a dream. Well, more like a nightmare. But not real, nonetheless.
"Huh, nevermind, you haven't changed one bit. You're still pathetic." His words dripped from his mouth like poison.
"You're still the exact same too. You're still a heartless monster!" He shouted up into his face.
"Oh, that's only a part of my job requirements, sweetie."
Arthur couldn't say anything else, he just gulped because he felt like his heart was in his throat and if he opened his mouth he'd puke.
"Alright, I think that's enough teasing for today, I'll leave you be. For now." He snickered, winking at him and let him go in one motion. Arthur's knees buckled instantly and he fell against the wall, no energy left in him all of a sudden. Did he suck the life out of him or something?!
"This won't be the last you'll see of me, Arthur. Just a quick heads up," was the final thing he announced with that vile voice of his before Arthur found himself in reality again.
"Arthur! You okay?" He woke up from his nightmare to see the angelic presence of Francis beside him. He could feel his heart hammering wildly in his chest as he breathed heavily and blinked rapidly to focus.
"Are you alright, chéri? I came in here to check up on you and you were whimpering and writhing around feverishly. Did you have a bad dream perhaps?" Francis enquired with concern, sweetly caressing his cheek to calm him down.
"I-I I'm fine. Yeah, I did have a nightmare," he admitted. For some reason he felt exhausted once he woke up, was it because of the hangover or him?
"Do you want to tell me or...?"
"Nah, it's fine. I've already forgotten it."He ran a shaky hand through his tousled hair, to find it slick with sweat. Was he really reacting that badly on the outside?
"You look quite unsettled, it's okay if you don't wanna tell me but you know I'm always here if you wanna talk about anything right?"
Arthur tentatively nodded and flashed him a weak smile to make him give up. But all it did was make Francis feel even more worried for him.
Arthur was then startled to find himself drawn into a hug.
"Before you say anything, you looked like you needed a hug. You don't mind... Do you?" Francis muttered over his shoulder softly.
Arthur grabbed Francis' shoulders and gently pushed him away. Francis looked caught off guard, even though he said it himself, it looked like he didn't expect to be pushed away.
Francis was about to laugh sheepishly and crack a joke to soothe the awkward atmosphere when he felt a pair of lips land on his, then quickly disappeared again. He gaped at Arthur in astonishment.
"Why are you looking at me weird? Did I sprout horns!?" The Brit shouted and reddened from the attention.
Francis recovered from his stunned daze and smiled so brightly at him, it rivaled the sun. Arthur melted underneath his gaze but he was delighted that a small gesture like that made him happy.
"Now, how about you go take a cold shower and then we can have dinner?" Francis asked sweetly.
"Oka- wait, what time is it?" The blond questioned worriedly.
"It's nearly five."
"Oh god I slept for... How long?"
"Don't worry about that, you needed the rest, go take a shower and then come to the dining room." Francis said, grinning from ear to ear. The effects of the kiss hadn't seemed to have worn off yet.
"Alright," he nodded and he left to have a shower as was instructed. Throughout the shower, all he could think about was of what happened in his nightmare. Why would he have come back to taunt him? Was it his mind trying to warn him about something... Was it about Francis? Did Francis really love him?
'No, that's a stupid question, stop it. You're only with him a day and you're already questioning your relationship?!' he told himself off as he got out of the shower and dried off his hair, looking in the mirror.
'Oh, well I look better than I did in the morning, and I don't have much of a headache I guess. Thank god it's nearly over,' he thought with a relieved sigh.
When he got dressed and made it to the dining room, he found Francis was just finishing up setting up the table.
"Arthur! How are you feeling now?"
"Better after that shower, actually. My headaches gone down tremendously," Arthur replied.
"Génial! I told you I could help. Also, I've made ratatouille today," Francis said benignly, with his signature charming smile.
"Dear god, why are you so overzealous about cooking today?!"
"Well, it is a special occasion, non?" The French male stated, purposefully repeating the statement Arthur had made earlier to tease him.
"Oh come on!" The younger cringed as he recalled his stupidity.
Francis started laughing and apologised for bringing that up again.
Francis served dinner and the pair continued to talk and eat, Arthur obviously not admitting he liked the French dish even though he was ravenously digging into it and even asked for seconds. Francis watched him percipiently, pretending as though he believed his amusing antics wholeheartedly.
Afterwards, the couple settled down on the couch and proceeded to make fun of the typical American news together whilst snacking on Francis' home-made macarons.
After watching a few movies, well, arguing about whether macaroons or macarons were better while the movie played in the background, they decided to call it a night. The pair dozed off on each other on the couch, like they had the previous night. Turns out it was going to be a regular occurrence from then on.
Sure, it wasn't the amazing day Francis had planned it to be, but it turned out to be simple and cute. And who knows, maybe the Brit would be up for a date the next day... He subconsciously smiled in his sleep as he imagined the next day.
yO PEOPLE WHAT'S UP MY DUDES
IT'S SAINT PADDY'S DAY Yo 🇮🇪☘️🍻🇮🇪
*said in the most American way ever* XD
Anyway, I was supposed to get this done last Friday(cause according to my calculations that was exactly a month since the last chapter? Idk I'm bad at math) though I had writer's block, but it's out! Finally!!!
This chapter is just like... A filler really. I hope it's cute enough. Most of the chapter was taken up by the mysterious jerk though...
Oh yeah, what's y'alls thoughts on him? Did I make him generic asshole ex enough? Or is it too much? Is anyone actually curious about this story or what-
Hope you enjoyed reading and have a great St Patrick's day~