Ann
is
watching the sunset.
watches her watch the sunset from behind a tree, because he can be sneaky like that.
would wonder why he was watching her if she realized he was there. It seemed like an odd thing when the sunset was so nice. She plopped over
onto her back, the plush grass cushioning her fall. It had been a nice day.
just likes having fun with her. And now he's decided to be even sneakier. He picks up some dandelions and blows the seeds towards her.
watches them float above her and blinks at the odd sight. There was not much of a breeze. "Fairies?"
snickers to himself. This is what he gets for pursuing someone whose head was in the clouds. He continues to blow more dandelions though,
sneaking carefully towards her.
Ann
is
reaching up for them with a smile. "Ahh~ Cute. You should come out!" She would be in for a surprise.
France
thinks
she's definitely in for a surprise when he throws a piece of cloth on top of her face, taking the opportunity to close that gap between
them and sitting right next to her on the grass.
gave a startled squeak and quickly sat up. "W-What the!?"
takes this time to rummage through his bag and plop a box of Belgian chocolates on her lap, waiting for her to just recover, whistling.
yanks the cloth from her face and turns to look at him. She splutters for a moment before looking down to the chocolates on her lap. _
"Ah...what are you doing here?" She had not seen him in a while.
just shrugs at her reaction, before looking at the cloth in her hand. "Whatever you are, ma Angleterre.~ Did you miss me?"
tosses the cloth back at him. "Of course not." She was lying, she had wondered where he scampered off to.
takes the cloth and folds it carefully, setting it on her lap. "Ah, but I am so hurt.~ Perhaps I should not have stopped by to visit, after
all..." He looks away, just pouting a little bit.
picks some of the dandelions out of her hair. "...Oh, stop that pouting. You look like a child."
keeps doing so anyway and now angles his back away from her. "And after I came back from my trip so quickly to see you, too..."
Ann
is
silent for a moment. "Well good thing you found me then. Otherwise you would be looking a while. I moved out of Arthur's house, you see."
looks up. Well, that was enough to capture his interest. "Ah, yes, I just know this happens to be one of the best spots for me to think...
I just didn't expect you here." He looks at her now. "Porquoi?"
nods a bit to that. "It is a nice spot and you heard me."
would attest to that since he comes here often. "Oui, I did... but why?"
huffs a little. "I kept fighting with Alfred."
France
is
actually taken aback by that answer. "I thought you and Alfred got along pretty well."
tilts her head. "What made you think that?"
... is not sure. What did make him think that. Oh, change of course. "I mean, I thought you'd get along as well as England and America do,
at the very least... but not badly enough that you'd move out."
furrows her brows. "Me and Alicia don't get along either."
France
is
genuinely confused. "Then..." He smirks a little. "Is it because you've intruded on their ah, love life more than once before?~"
shakes her head. "More like their love life intruded on my life." Alfred bursting into the house and eating her food bugged her. Plus, she-
just thought it would be better for England if she wasn't there. They could have more freedom.
doesn't really think it would be better for her to move out... what sort of gentleman would reject a lady's company? Regardless... "Haha,
and I suppose you enjoyed that quite a bit, ma cherie?" He casts her a sultry wink.
did not consult Arthur about it naturally. She rolls her eyes at him and pulls her knees to her chest. "Oh quite!"
"Really?~" He'll humour her, but not before draping his coat over her shoulders." Did you take many pictures, ma cherie? But... you know,
experience is the best teacher."
looked over to him when she felt the weight of the coat on her shoulders. She didn't want to admit it was getting a little cold._
"O-Of course not! Their love life does not interest me!" Did that mean she would have if it did?
would think Ms. Ann is definitely a pervert at heart, and is quite proud of that.~ "Doesn't it? Really?" He smirks at her. "Wouldn't you
like to unlock all the secret... shall we say, techniques to greatest pleasures?~"
looks at him from the corner of her eyes with the strangest of faces. Of course she did, but admitting that to him would have embarassing_
consequences. So it was time to change the subject as she was known to do. "So! you mean to tell me you came all this way to watch the-
sunset here?"
chuckles at the sudden change in subject; it was too bad too, because he likes seeing her squirm a little. "Ah, yes." He tosses the cloth
over to her face again. "That was part of the reason, and that I wanted to think. Pourquoi?~"
pulls it away from her face with a pout. "Think? About what?"
gestures for her to put it on the side for now, before he tilts his head innocently. "Wouldn't you like to know? I might say... if ma ange
makes me."
does so before tilting her head back at him. "...Make you?" She huffs. "I could if I wanted to."
casts her a look that says "I don't believe you. At all."
grins at him. "Don't believe me?"
shakes his head simply. "Non, not at all."
Ann
thinks
for a minute before she reached over to poke his side. She was testing to see if she could torture him with laughter.
France
is
sadly not ticklish. He had more forceful ways in mind. "What was that?"
Ann
is
not amused. So instead she grabs his arm and yanks it behind his back. Damn, things never went as planned with him. "Say it!" That and she_
supposed she was just a naturally violent woman at heart.
France
is
once again reminded of the tendencies of any England... and knows just why there were all those wars. Nevertheless, he keeps his mouth
shut and waits for more.
Ann
hates
to admit that she is curious. She hates to admit that she also realizes regular measures probably won't work. So while she is still holding_
his arm hostage she leans over to kiss his cheek over his shoulder and gives him a face that was clearly awaiting some results.
would like to think that Angleterre in general hates to admit anything, which makes his job so difficult. But the sudden kiss throws him,
really not expecting that, and his body reacts before his mind does. His free arms reaches over and almost roughly yanks one of her arms,
pulling her and pinning her on the ground as he smirks down at her. "Mon Dieu, since when was ma ange so... direct? Does she really want
to know that bad?~"
had clearly not expected this result. She let out a small scream of surprise and blinked up at the man with wide eyes. She barely had time_
to register she had just been thrown so easily. Her face slowly turns a nice scarlet shade. "N-No way! I just was trying to catch you off_
guard!"
"Oui, you did.~" He admits that much. Moving a bit, he places his body directly over her, his legs spread to keep hers between them, his
hands on either side of her head as he leans down a little. "Now do something else that catches me off-guard.~"
Ann
thinks
this isn't as fun when it wasn't on her own terms. She had to fix this. She promptly head butts him in hopes to knock him over.
France
thinks
it isn't fun when he's in physical pain - save for a few choice scenarios - and promptly sits up to nurse his now throbbing head. "A-ah,
yes... definitely unexpected. Must you be so violent, ma cherie?"
takes the moment to shove him over and assume the position he had been in. "You're the one who keeps coming back despite knowing I am."_
She pauses and adds on. "Masochist."
purrs a little at the new position. Ah, so he's on the bottom now? This will work.~ He can only laugh at her words, but when she adds that
last part in, he freezes, before reaching over to move a stray lock of her hair away from her eyes. "And what if I am?"
looks down at him with furrowed brows. "You're a freak." She couldn't think of a better term to explain him. She just didn't get him.
smiles a little now, one that looks oddly humble on his face. "Oui, I know I am...~" He wonders what other choice adjectives she's going
to use.
frowns a little at that. "Now are you going to tell me why you're here, or are you going to keep wasting time?"
shrugs... or as much as he can in his position. "I like the sound of the latter better."
makes a frustrated noise and crawls off him.
pouts a little and tugs on her arm before she fully moves away, forcing her directly on top of him. "But Ann hasn't made me tell her
yet.~"
gets a face full of his chest and pushes away in a fluster. "U-Ugh! I wonder if it's worth it!"
France
gives
her a sad face, looking away towards the sunset. "Probably not. But it's okay, because I am a masochist, right?"
looks a little surprised by that face and feels slightly guilty. She sits up, so that she is now sitting on his stomach. "...Idiot_
you're cheating making a face like that."
does not appreciate that because she's actually a little heavy. "Huh, what face?~" He turns his expression into another big smile.
grabs his face with her hand, giving him a cranky look. "If you don't want to smile, don't smile."
"Pardon?" He blinks, not quite used to the physical touches with her. "I want to smile, because ma cherie is here.~"
frowns deeper. "But if I wasn't here, you'd be making that sort of face."
tries to sit up a little. "Why would you say that? Ehh..~" The smile turns teasing. "Is Angleterre actually concerned about me?"
Ann
is
a little...perhaps. "I am curious is all!"
shakes his head. "Curiosity killed the cat, and all that.~"
wrinkles her nose. "Good thing I'm not a cat then."
France
has
to laugh at that. "Oui, that is true." Now wiggles a little at gently shoves her off him so he can sit up. "Perhaps I will say, but only one
on one* condition."
(at = and)
lets him sit up. "What's that?"
doesn't hesitate when he says, "You will let me visit your new place whenever I want.~"
ponders this for a minute. "Fine."
really did not expect that at all. "Are you... certain? I do mean any time. Even in the middle of the night...~" He trails off
suggestively.
Ann
gives
him a look. "You come whenever you want anyway."
nods... That didn't quite work to his advantage... Okay, maybe he can distract her. He points to the sunset. "Ah, why are we talking?
We should be watching this beautiful sight.~"
stares at him for a minute before smiling. Hah. He thought he could pull that one on her? Ah, but it was fine she guessed...she would let_
it go for now. She turned her gaze back to the sunset. "Then stop talking, idiot."
France
will
take that as a cue, and immediately stops talking. But she never said anything about touching.~ So he moves over a little closer to her
and drapes his arm around her shoulders - with his coat and all - and pulls her close, giving her a genuine smile before staring at the sun.
Ann
was
about to protest until she saw the smile. Her open mouth closed and she looked down and then back to the sunset. Just this once, she'd let_
him get away with it. Something was bothering him, she could tell that much and she could be nice...sometimes.
smirks a little at her "silence", before he pulls out his cellphone with the other hand, and takes a picture of it... then he takes a
picture of her.~
freezes. He had to ruin it! She holds her hand out to the camera. "W-What! Stop this!"
raises an eyebrow at her, and just shakes his head. He stretches out his arm and takes another picture from above. And he's not talking
because she told him not to.
Ann
is
trying to get the camera. She could be nice, but she didn't want evidence! "F-Francis!"
France
is
amused and continues snapping pictures here and there. Ah, the wonders of height... before he freezes. Did she just call him by his name...?
Ann
is
still trying to get the camera, oblivious to his lack of movements. "Give that to me!"
lowers his hand slowly as realization hits. That was a joke, right?
snatches the camera away and tries to delete the pictures.
blinks and doesn't do anything except hug her and placing a kiss on her forehead.
Ann
is
now the one to freeze, looking up at him in confusion. "...w...what?"
takes advantage of that and snatches the phone back, laughing a silent laugh. He then shakes his head and begins to stand.
now thinks he just used that to take her off guard and puffs out her cheeks. She stands up and resumes trying to capture the camera.
keeps stretching his arm out so she can't reach, and slowly begins to walk away from the spot.
Ann
is
following him. "Argh! You cheat!"
suddenly remembers his gifts... he tucks the phone into his pants pocket and goes back for the chocolates and the cloth.
Ann
is
not sure she likes all the silence. So she just pouts for a moment before turning to head home. It was dark now anyway and she was_
frustrated. But that was nothing new when it came to him.
pulls out his phone after picking up the gifts. On the screen, he writes: "You told me to shut up." He then shows it to her.
shakes her head. "When do you listen to what I say!"
texts, "Since you looked so beautiful under the sunset."
flushes at his words. "You really are an idiot. Talk to me properly, damn it."
snaps a photo of the flush before texting. "Is that a request, or an order?"
tries to snatch the phone again. "It is a request."
quickly puts it into his pocket. "Okay, okay.~" He holds out the two gifts for her to take. "Are you heading home now?~"
glares at that action, but takes the gifts. "It's getting late, so yes."
"Bien.~ Then you can show me where!" He's going to commit the location to heart, of course.
Ann
wonders
if she should. Then again, he would probably find it himself anyway. "Hmph..." She didn't give a definite answer, instead she turned_
expecting the other to follow.
would have followed regardless!~ He walks behind her and hums the tune of his national anthem, still slightly bugged by his earlier chain
of thought.
's eye twitches a little. "Must you?" She asked, leading him towards her house. It was not that far from the location where they watched the
sun set.
"Must I what?" he asks sweetly. He looks around the neighbourhood, finding it not too bad... Yes, this should be fine.~
leads him up to a small house and unlocks the door. "...Augh. Never mind. We are here."
surveys it keenly. "Not bad... but it's so... English. And thus, bland.~"
she enters the house, leaving the door open for him. "It's not bland! It is a lovely little cottage."
snorts. "A cottage. You are as old-fashioned as always." He looks the door behind him, starting to pull his shoes off.
hangs up his coat. "Nothing wrong with that."
"But does it not remind you of the past too much?" He saunters in, now exploring the little "house".
takes a seat at the table. "Remembering some things isn't bad."
shakes his head simply and already begins to walk into the kitchen to familiarize himself. "Not when it comes to our history, it's not."
Ah.. he didn't mean to say that.
frowns deeply at that and looks away. "I see."
distracts himself with rearranging the glasses. "Ah, but this kitchen is definitely an improvement.~ Are you hungry?"
goes about opening a news paper. "If you want to cook, have at it."
peeks at the drawers now. "Did you want anything in particular?~"
shakes her head. "Surprise me."
"Oh- ah!" As he tries to pull out his watch from his pocket, a small box and petal falls out, which he hastily picks up and stows back in.
"V-very well...~"
seems intrigued. "What was that?"
hurriedly pulls out pans and spatulas now. "What was what?"
closes the paper and stands up. "What fell out of your pocket?"
now moves on over to the freezer. "Ah.~ Souvenirs, not much, ma cherie."
quirks a brow. "For who?"
replies a little sadly, before setting to work on the eggs. "Only myself."
picked up on it. "Can I see?"
shakes his head. "You don't need to." He cracks three eggs simultaneously and does so one more time before whisking.
moves over to his side, picking up one of the eggs and looking at it. "Oh? Why is that? Embarrassed?"
does indeed turn red, but probably for a different reason she expected. Hee shakes his head. "Non, not at all."
sets the egg down before casting her green eyes up to him. She was taken aback by the blush on his face. But it only made her more curious_
There were just so many things he seemed to be hiding. She wondered why she never noticed it with Marianne. She couldn't help but feel a _
little childish now, not being able to get passed their arguments to see that she barely knew the person at all. She wanted to fix that in_
a way. Francis was not Marianne, but he still had many of the same mysteries surrounding him. "Then why?"
pushes her away gently to open the fridge again, to look for some cheese... and hopefully she had the non-synthetic kind. Ah, this would
have to do. He wonders though, why she's suddenly so curious and not yelling at him for the information she wanted. "Juste parce que." Now
he turns the stove on.
Ann
is
feeling tired of yelling. She yelled a lot earlier. Which made her pretty whimsical she realized. "What would make you tell me?"
France
thinks
she should yell at a lot of it gives him such a calmer version. "Ah... if you promised never to cook when I'm here?" He chuckles jokingly,
now working on the meat.
looks displeased by his words. "No way."
smiles a little. "Then non. I win.~" He minces the meat, before working on the garlic, pepper and seasoning. He wonders vaguely if he should
make dessert too...
clicks her tongue. This was going nowhere. She eyes his pocket, wondering if she can snatch it...
doesn't think that would be wise or he might flail too much and spill sizzling oil everywhere. Everywhere. Now he sets two pans on and
stirs, whistling a little.
Ann
thinks
that would be an awful scenario and is fortunately observant enough to realize this. She would wait for an opportune time to strike.
"Could you set the plates? They're almost done!~" He always feels just a little bit happier after cooking. Just a bit, but not enough to
quite forget.
nods and moves to do as he asked. Perhaps after dinner. "What did you make?"
"Poulet Sauté aux Herbes," he says with a flourish, placing some on her plate and leaves his own empty. "With simple scrambled eggs with
cheese.~ Here you are."
cocks her head to the side, her hair falling over her shoulder. He didn't make any for himself? She plopped down into the chair before she _
voiced her question. "Not eating?"
shakes his head. "I am not hungry. I don't have much of an appetite." He smiles a little. "Food is best eaten when one is hungry, oui?~"
slams her hands down on the table. "I am tired of skirting around this." She announced, finally feeling brave enough to come right and ask._
"Something is wrong with you. You're acting strange and you look upset at times."
leans back a little at the sudden loud noise and raised voice. Leave it to Angleterre to be assertive. "Really now?" He humours her, going
to pour himself some wine. "But isn't that normal for me? The strange part, I mean.~"
Ann
gives
him a glare. "Sure you're strange, but this is strange even for you."
tilts his head to smile at her. "I am merely feeling nostalgic, is all. But Angleterre shouldn't care so much.~"
grumbles a bit. "Of course I'm going to care when you make those faces in front of me. It's irritating."
blinks. He hadn't really noticed, but now he's going to start with always just smiling. "What faces are you talking about?~"
looks at the food and pushes it away. She stands up and turns to go to her room and closes the door. She really was a true idiot.
"... Ah?" Surprised by her sudden outburst, he flinches a little when she slams the door, wondering if that was his fault... yes, of course
it was, but it was hard for him, to tell someone he's had a bitter rivalry with for who-knows-how-long... Shakily, he picks up the plate and
goes up to her room, knocking.
Ann
is
also having a hard time over looking the fact and reaching out to him. but she was trying. She wasn't Arthur and he wasn't Marianne, so in_
truth, were they not strangers in a sense? "What?"
takes a deep breath and sighs, feeling guilty all of a sudden... though withholding personal information shouldn't do that, right? "You
forgot your food. You must be hungry."
flops onto her bed. "I am not so hungry anymore."
"But... it is still hot." Alright, maybe he was contradicting himself a little from before. "Won't you take a quick bite?" He vaguely
France
wonders
if there's a guestroom here...
shakes her head, even though he can't see it. "Not hungry." The guest room was just across the hall.
"... will you at least open the door and let me set it on the table for you somewhere?" And, yes, there it is, he can see it.
Ann
is
being a brat. "Just place it in the kitchen."
France
is
not sure how much longer he can tolerate this, what with the burden he's been holding since... "But it will be much easier to access in your
room."
rolls onto her side. "It will be fine in the kitchen."
lets out a deep sigh before finally giving up. He never could beat his England in stubbornness, so why now? He nods at the door, and turns
to leave, but not before he says in a volume so low, "It's Jeanne." Then he trudges down the stairs.
sat up upon hearing it. She felt a wave of guilt hit her and she threw open the door and slid around the corner so fast that she...ended_
up sliding down the stairs into him.
shouldn't have told her, knowing that it's probably also going to make her feel bad... but she wanted to kno- "Sacre bleu!" He's able to
hold on to the railing on time, to prevent them both from tumbling into the ground and keeping the plate from breaking. "A-Ann...? Did you
want your food?"
Ann
is
breathing deeply from the fear of falling before she blurts out. "You are...an idiot!!" She grips his shirt and looks up at him. She_
hesitates a moment, not sure what to say before she slumps her shoulders. "If you're hurting you shouldn't hold it all in all the time..."_
She shakes her head. She didn't take her own advice. "I-I know I am not the person you probably want to hear that from...! But...There are_
...you know...You are not as alone as you think...!"
France
is
... really getting used to being called an idiot, but that's beside the point. Eyes widening a little at the sudden pull, he leans down to
stare into her eyes, something in his chest just pounding a little harder at her expression and her words. He somehow finds a time to
chuckle, using his free hand to gently pat her on the head. "My beloved Jeanne is dead. I loved her and I miss her." He smiles a little. "Is
that enough for you?~"
Ann
is
making a saddened face by the pat and his words. "I know you do. I may not know how you feel exactly, in fact. I don't know how you still_
look in my direction. But I know what it's like to lose..." She lets him go with every intent to return to her room. She pauses at the top_
to look down at him. "Keeping my head high is all I can do to not fall into darkness." She admitted finally, which would explain her _
stubborness quite well.
allows her to go, then, because he's not of much help and she's probably already deciding that this isn't worth her time. Plus, he shouldn't
be brooding!~ But her words make him pause and sigh, feeling his chest pound even more. Walking forward a little towards the kitchen, he
refuses to make eye contact with her. "Then I lost the one person I thought I would never lose, but for the sake of love, I allowed it.~" He
then goes to grab some plastic wrap. The food won't be too bad in an hour or so, would it?
can't help the pain in her heart at his words. She lost the one person she thought she would never lose too. "Good night France." she tells_
him, though the words she muttered after would be so silent he might have missed it. "I'm sorry."
opens his mouth to greet her sweet dreams, but he does hear the final words and it makes him stop and look up. "I do not get what you are
sorry for.~ Please, forgive my ramblings. If you want to eat, I'll leave this here."
| "For causing you so many problems lately. You don't have to bother."
smiles - genuinely. "You have solved quite a lot of them. Goodnight, Ann.~" He then walks over to her and gives her a very quick kiss on the
lips, before returning to the kitchen, slumping a little.
Ann
is
stunned for a moment before the flush creeps up on her features. She retreats to her room, even more confused than before.
takes out the petal and the box, looking at it. Inside the box is a pendant, which opens to reveal two pictures inside. He leaves that on
the table as he goes to the living room to see if there's anything he can read...
went to find her phone, but she realized she left it downstairs. She quietly goes in search of it, passing the kitchen. The shiny object_
caught her attention and she moved over to observe it. "What's this?"
France
has
found a perfectly good book!~ Of course it's in English, but what can he do? He walks back into the kitchen, only to be startled by a
voice. "A-Ann, don't! That's-" ... He's in too much shock.
Ann
has
all ready opened it. "Huh?"
reaches out to grab it from her, despite knowing she's already seen the picture of Jeanne and his England in it. He quickly stuffs it back
into the box, retreating to the living room without another word.
Ann
feels
like she did something awful. But if he didn't want her to see it, he shouldn't have placed it in such a place! Still...why was Arthur in_
it? Unless...Ahhh! She was over thinking this now.
does not appreciate seeing remnants of his past come up before him again, and is content to just drown in this book that somehow doesn't
make sense to him, despite him being fluent in English. He sighs, giving up after a few seconds and trying to sneak out of the door to go
home.
Ann
is
watching him sneak out. She doesn't say anything till he is about to close the door. "The food was good." She crosses her arms. "Have_
a good night..."
just chuckles as he leaves, hearing those last words. "You too, ma cherie...~"
((U-uh... n-new thread? ;-; /was upset by this ))
(( ;w; yeah. they have problems. And sure!))
((I'll start this time, then?~))
((Sure~))