Wine, Syrup, and Koalas

The day was perfect! Blue skies, no clouds, warm, but not too warm. Francis was very excited to go visit Matthew, HIS Matthew. Francis was taking a shuttle to the airport, where he would be flying to Vancouver. He watched the scenery as it flew past the shuttle; he was mainly looking at the pretty girls.

There it was, the airport, the last obstacle in between Francis and his Matthew. He walked in, smiling at all the beautiful people. But something was wrong. There was a strange smell that filled the airport. It smelled like dirt and ocean water, covered up by very husky cologne. Francis looked around to find the source, 'It must be an Australian.'

And sure enough, it was an Aussie. Not just any Aussie, but Cody Walters. Francis didn't have the greatest of relations with this nation, so he tried to sneak around. Using his stalking skills, he did so. Success! He was at the counter to claim his ticket. After the claim number was put in, a familiar voice, accompanied by a pat on the shoulder, filled his ears. "Looks like we'a sharin' a plane, French."

Ooh! How Francis absolutely HATED that nickname! Wait, what did he say? Share a plane? That plane was only going to Vancouver and back to Paris. Did that mean… "S-So, you're going to V-Vancouver, Cody?" The Aussie was beaming with absolute confidence. He smelled surprisingly clean, despite the mixing smells of nature.

"Ye! I was goin to drop in on Matthew!" Oh yeah, the Aussie loved family.

"All who are boarding flight 247, please step through gate number four 'A'." Francis got up and boarded, hoping to leave Cody behind. He sat down in a window seat and watched out the window. "Perfect day," he sighed. Suddenly, there was a racket right outside of the gate as the Aussie pushed through the passengers and sat next to Francis.

"Them baggage claimin' people are so confusin'." Francis rolled his eyes and looked out of the window.

Wait, was the Aussie holding… Yes! He was holding that koala! That evil little pseudo-bear. "You know you're not supposed to have that on the plane." Francis was gesturing to the koala, which gave him an evil glare. Francis almost jumped when his eyes met the koala's eyes.

"What yew mean? Nobody's said anythin' so fa'." Cody looked down at the koala.

'Well I doubt anyone thought it was real with how little it moves…' Was it real? Francis reached out and touched the koala. It was real alright, and its fur felt so soft. It was softer than his pillows at home. "Cody… Would you mind if I… If I held your koala during the flight?"

The Aussie had a dumbfounded look. He looked down at that pseudo-bear, then back up at Francis. "Well sure. Jus' don' hurt 'im, alrigh'?"

Francis grinned. "Of course not!" He took the fuzzy koala from the Aussie and held it tight. "Does it have a name?"

The Aussie smiled wide. "Ye! His name is Kale!" Kale? Kale the koala. That had a slight ring to it. Pretty respectable title.

The flight didn't last long, especially when Francis was sleeping on the little koala while Cody was watching a movie. When they got off, Cody stretched wide, cracking a few joints in the process. "Neva' been on so many planes befo'a."

Francis, still holding the pseudo-bear, looked at Cody with a puzzled expression. "How many flight transfers did you go through?"

The Aussie smiled. "Jus' from Sydney to Paris to Vancouva'."

Francis chuckled. Cody must not travel that often, huh? Unless he went on a lot of cruises. "Cody…" The Aussie as picking up their bags. So kind.

"Ye? Wha's on yer mind, Frenchy?" Francis ignored that name.

"Do you travel by boat a lot? Like cruises?" All Francis could thing of were the cute Australian girls. Well they had to be cute, with all of the beaches that were there.

Cody was looking upwards, thoughtfully. "I dun do cruises a lot, but we got lots of 'em."

A nice cruise… Maybe Francis should go to Australia after Canada? Soft bears-only-by-name, cute beach Aussies, cruises, watching Cody almost get killed by a crocodile. Is that how he got that injury on his nose? "Cody, I see you constantly wearing that band-aid. Have you thought about wearing make-up over the injury or something?"

"M-My band-aid?! N-No! I-It isn' comin off fer nuthin'!" Apparently it was a touchy subject to the Aussie.

"Well, how did you get… Whatever it is?" Francis was very curious.

"I dun wanna talk about it…" Cody was looking down at the ground.

Francis looked even more puzzled, but decided to leave the subject alone. "Fair enough."

Surprisingly, there was a shuttle for Francis. Not wanting to let go of the plush little koala, Francis let Cody share the shuttle with him. "Mo'a sittin'? Well alrigh'…" The shuttle set off. Yet again, all Francis did was look out at the snow bunnies.

They arrived at Matthew's winter house. It was quite large and very well decorated. Francis had been there before. He loved this house, especially since every room had a fire place. He wondered if the Aussie had ever been here. Well, with his apparel, it was doubtable. The Aussie stood in the middle of the snow in kaki shorts, kaki shirt, and that strange hat on his back; staring up at the house. "Man… Tha's a big house!"

Francis rolled his eyes. 'Mr. Obvious.'

Just then, Matthew came out and ran up to Francis. "Francis! You came! And… What's that in your hands? Oh wait, hi cousin Cody!" Matthew hugged Francis, a large smile.

Francis hugged Matthew back, squishing Kale in the middle. "Matthew! I missed you so much." Francis was beaming.

Cody piped up. "G'day Matthew. How'v'ya been?"

Matthew's eyes lit up at Cody. "I've been great."

Francis let Matthew talk with Cody for a while. 'I'll let the Aussie have his fun for now.'

Kumajiro walked out of the house and saw Francis holding Kale. Kale was indifferent about Kumajiro, but Kumajiro couldn't stand that not-bear. The little white bear piped up. "Leave."

Matthew turned to Kumajiro. "What was that, Kumijiji?"

Kumajiro glared. He pointed at Kale and said, "Make leave."

Matthew looked at Francis. "Eh? Why do you want Francis to leave?"

Kumajiro shook his head and kept pointing at Kale. "Make… Not-bear leave."

Francis understood that perfectly. What wouldn't make you jealous of the soft koala? Besides his slow nature and his smell. "Sorry Kumajiro but wherever Kale goes, so does Cody, and Cody won't leave." Francis didn't want to sound rude in his statement, yet he wanted Cody to take the hint. Cody didn't.

Cody looked up at Francis and took Kale. "I'll jus' hold onta Kale so he doesn' botha' ya, Kumajira." The white bear wasn't too happy with the compromise, but took it anyways.

Francis went inside and sat on the couch in the living room. "Matthew, do I stay in my normal room?"

Matthew nodded and sat down in a chair. "Cody, you can stay in any room that isn't taken."

Both Francis and Cody took their luggage to their rooms. Francis's room was right next to Matthew's, near the back of the hallway. Cody chose one that was closer to the living room.

Francis was so exhausted from the flight and everything that he crawled into bed and slept. About a half of an hour later, Francis woke up and went out into the living room. He yawned and stretched. Nobody was there, except for Kumajiro. "Kumi," Francis's nickname for the little bear, "where is your master and that Aussie?" Kumajiro looked up at Francis, then pointed at the hallway that lead to the kitchen. "Thank you, Kumi." Francis patted the bear's head then went that direction. 'What are you doing to my Matthew, Aussie?'

There was a wondrous smell coming from the kitchen. It smelled like spicy English meat pies. Wait, 'English' meat pies? No, it smelled much better. There was a hint of maple syrup too. What are they concocting? He walked in and saw meat pies. But they were larger than the ones he usually saw in England. Cody looked up from the cooling pies. "G'mornin, Frenchy!"

Francis rubbed his eyes. "What are you making?"

Cody smiled brightly, "I'm makin' Australian meat pies. I merrinated the meat in maple syrup."

Francis blinked. 'That sounds… oddly appetizing. At least it smells nice.' "I'll try one."

Cody shook his head. "yew gotta wait until they settle." Francis gave him a look that said 'fair enough', and sat next to Matthew.

"Francis, doesn't it smell amazing?" Matthew looked happier than ever. Francis just nodded. He hadn't eaten since before the plane flight. The smell of the food made him hungrier and hungrier.

"How much longer, Cody?" Francis was holding his stomach.

Cody grinned. "Jus' a few more minutes. Can' wait, huh?"

Francis nodded, annoyed. When they were finally done, Francis was almost dying of hunger. It had only been a few minutes but it felt like an eternity to him. Cody set a meat pie in front of him with a fork sticking out of the top. Francis looked at it, then opened it with the fork and ate a piece of meat. Frozen. Never did he think that Aussies could cook so well. Never did he think any nation besides himself could cook so well. "Well, Frenchy? What do yew think?"

Francis just stared at Cody, not over the euphoria in his mouth. When he finally swallowed, he stumbled with the next sentence. "H-H-How d-did you learn t-to cook so well? "A-Aren't you England's son?"

Cody chuckled a little. "I hated England os much that I lea'ned somethin that he was neva gonna lea'n. How to cook."

Francis smiled at this comment. He couldn't stand England either. Francis kept eating, not even noticing the passed out Matthew until he was done. Matthew had the cutest look on his face, like someone was rubbing Vancouver, his little curly strand of hair.

But the expression didn't last long. Matthew jumped up. "Cody! That was the best use of maple syrup I've ever tasted, ever!" His face was gleaming, making him look even cuter. Francis couldn't help but reach over and pinch Matthew's face.

"Don't make a mess in your pants, Matthew. You can wait until later, when we practice sweet la amour." Francis smirked at Cody then smiled back at Matthew.

Matthew just blushed, making him even cuter, if possible. Cody just rolled his eyes at the Frenchman. Francis looked up at Cody. "Are you jealous or something Cody? I'm sure we could find you someone here."

Cody shook his head. "Nah. I dun wan' anyone hea'."

Francis really didn't understand this. It was like he was speaking a different language. Not want la amour? What is wrong with this Aussie? "Why not?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Yew migh' not be able to live without it, but I can. All I need is somethin to do."

Simple yet to the point. That was a strong suit of the Aussie. In Francis's opinion, it wasn't attractive. Yet he had some playful cuteness about him, the Aussie did. France didn't want to make sweet la amour to him, but he did want to 'play'. Matthew looked at Cody. "Well we could go out and do something if you would like. We could go see a movie or something. Maybe play some sports?"

Cody did his thumbs up, holding a meat pie in the other hand. "A movie soun's good! What kinda movie, though?"

Francis rolled his eyes. "I want to see a romance.

Matthew smiled. "A romance sounds nice…"

Cody shook his head. "I say a horra movie. They're the funnest."

Francis jumped. Yeesssss… This is how he'll get Matthew to himself. While Cody is entranced by the movie, Matthew would be all over Francis. Scared little Matthew was so timid, he might get scared of his own shadow if he wasn't careful. Francis couldn't stop thinking about it. "I agree with Cody. A horror movie sounds pretty fun right now."

Matthew frowned but didn't want to lose his guests. They all got up and went outside to Matthew's car. Francis was in the passenger side seat while Cody was in the back. Matthew's driving was like his personality, calm, collected, and timid. They got to the theatre and looked at the movies.

Cody was the first to point at one. "The Curse of a Thousand Deaths… I's rated… X? Wha's that mean?"

Francis snickered, thinking a joke to himself. 'I doubt Aussies even have rated R.' "Sounds good, Cody."

Matthew piped up. "X means that it is adult rated. Usually means there is lots of gore and maybe explicit sexual content."

Cody frowned. "Well that soun's like most of our movies… Wha's so good abaot that?"

Francis shrugged. "I'm not sure… But it sounds like a good movie. It has top ratings by horror movie enthusiasts."

Matthew started trembling. It was plain to see that he didn't like horror. Francis laughed and put an arm around Matthew. "It's alright. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you."

Matthew blushed and looked away. "Th-Thank you…" He walked up to the ticket booth. "T-Two to 'The Curse of a Thousand Deaths, please…" The person in the booth gave them tickets and watched as they went inside.

Cody ran up to the ticket checker, ready for the movie. 'That's right, Aussie… Go find us seats.' Francis stood in line with Matthew to the concession stand. He wanted a drink and he would buy some popcorn for Matthew. Matthew was still trembling about the movie.

After Francis bought the drink and popcorn, he gave his and Matthew's tickets to the person at the stand, and then proceeded to the theatre. They walked in, being fairly quiet. It didn't take them long to find Cody. He was the only one wearing that much kaki in the theatre. Francis sat next to Cody, Matthew at his other side. He put his arms back behind both of them. The Aussie was pretty cute, but not as cute as his Matthew. There wasn't a doubt in Francis's mind that this plan was going to work.

The movie started. There was an ominous sound going through the speakers. A girl jogging in the woods. There was some rustling in the bushes, then a flash of black. The girl, flash of black, a fortune teller came out of the bushes, flash of black, the girl offended the fortune teller, all black. Francis fell asleep and was leaning on Matthew.

Cody was affixed to the movie like no other. He didn't move one inch, having a creepy smile on his face. It was easy to tell how much he liked movies like this. Matthew, on the other hand, was holding on Francis tight. Francis was still asleep for the moment. A scream scene, Francis woke up. He didn't jet up, or even jump, just opened his eyes to Matthew crying and a murder scene on the screne. "Francis, I thought you told me you were going to make sure nothing bad happened." Matthew was whispering.

Francis put both of his arms around Matthew and held the Canadian to his chest. Matthew just sobbed, not liking the movie at all. Francis put his hands on Matthew's ears, making it so he didn't hear anything from the movie. Francis kissed Matthew on the top of the head, making him feel all better. 'Nothing to worry about, my dear Matthew, I'll be here.'

Matthew slowly quieted down and just snuggled against Francis, not having a happy expression on his face. Francis could hardly care about the movie, wanting to hold Matthew so much. Francis moved the arm up on the seat, making it so they could be closer. Instantly, Matthew laid against Francis all of the way. 'Such a sweet scene,' thought Francis. Cody knew what was going on with them, but didn't care much.

When the movie was finally over, Francis escorted Matthew out of the theatre, holding the Canadian to him tightly. Cody bounced out after them, feeling very excited. "That might not've been the best horra movie I eva seen, but it was pretty good! Yew Canadians know what yer doin!" Matthew just hid his face more.

Francis just smiled and snuggled the little Canadian closer. "It'll be alright Matthew. I'll drive us home and we can get some sleep."

Francis got in the car, putting Matthew in the passenger side seat while Cody in the back again. They drove home and went inside. Cody couldn't stop running around, but Francis was beat. He let the little Aussie run around in the living room and escorted Matthew into his room. Matthew was shivering a lot. "F-Francis… C-C-Could you stay with me tonight?"

Success! More than any other! "Of course I will stay with you." Matthew tucked himself in under the covers and pulled up the other side's covers for Francis to lie down.

Francis took the invitation and laid in Matthew's bed. As soon as the covers were back down, he pulled Matthew close to him. "I'll make sure you feel safe, Matthew." Francis proceeded to kiss Matthew on the cheek from behind.

Matthew was blushing very badly. He turned to look at Francis. Francis had a very loving look on his face, which made Matthew blush more. Francis took Matthew's hands and leaned closer to Matthew. Matthew did the same, and their lips met. Francis didn't take it any farther than that, the passion was already there.

Although Francis didn't take it farther, Matthew did. Matthew put his arms around Francis and pulled in closer, deepening the kiss. Francis felt that he did good and held the kiss for a while. It was a sweet scene. But it didn't last because after the kiss was broken, Matthew drifted to sleep pretty fast. Francis held Matthew tight and slept as well.

Meanwhile, Cody was out in the living room, watching TV. Thankfully, he knew how to use Matthew's remote. He kept flipping through the channels; educational, movie, cartoons, documentary-wait. Cartoons! Cody never watched these. He turned it back, it was Astro Boy! He sat back and watched it happily. He loved the older cartoons, they were a lot funnier. He watched it for hours; he couldn't sleep that well because he was too excited. He decided to try when the clock struck 3 a.m. He slowly crept into his room, after turning off the TV, and laid on his bead. It took him another half of an hour before his body just fell asleep on him.

Now, the funny thing about all of this was that the next day, Cody was the first up. He started making breakfast, which was lamb's fry and bacon. The smell of food aroused both Matthew and Francis. Francis got up first, which woke Matthew the rest of the way. Francis went out and sat at the table, waiting for the new meal. He was hoping that Cody's cooking would be just as good as last time.

Matthew came out and sat at the table as well, not being able to resist the smell of food. Everyone's stomach was growling very loudly, yet Cody didn't skip a beat. 'Like a machine… I wonder how well he would do… No, Francis! Get a hold of yourself!' Francis looked away from Cody and at Matthew, who was staring at Cody.

Cody turned to them and smiled. "Food is almos' dun… Yew'll like it, I'm sure." He flipped a piece of meat then poked at the bacon with a fork. Cody was right, it was done soon after that. He served it all up to them and sat down with them, eating very hungrily.

Francis took a bite. It wasn't much to his tastes, but it was alright. Matthew was enjoying the meal quite a bit, which made Francis smile. Yet, there was something that made Francis keep thinking that he forgot something. Something very important in his homeland. He would have to call later and see if he did.

Breakfast was over and they just sat in the living room and chatted idly. Francis kept looking up at Cody's band-aid. He was so curious about that little piece of material, it was going to kill him if he didn't find out what was under there!

But, Francis let it slide for the moment. He went to Matthew's phone and called home. The news was horrifying. Ivan was coming over to his house to talk about trades and commerce. 'Trades? What does he have to trade? Vodka? Snow? What?' Apparently it was very important to the Russian so Francis had to entertain. He had to leave early the next day. When he broke the news to Matthew, Matthew looked very disappointed. "I'll miss you Francis… Will you come again soon?"

Francis nodded. "Of course, my darling, I will come back." Cody looked oddly disappointed as well, which made Francis feel even worse.

But Francis wanted to do one last thing before he left, so he took Matthew in the back room and made a plan. They were going to get the Aussie drunk and take it off. Full proof plan! They just needed to get everything ready. Francis went into his bag and pulled out his best wine. Well, not his best, just the most alcoholic. He poured a glass for Cody while Matthew poured some vodka that he got from a Russian immigrant in Alaska. Strange concoction, but it should work.

Francis took it out to Cody while he had a glass for himself. "Eh? Wha's this?"

"Oh, just a bit of wine from my personal collection. It's a good year too." Francis smiled smugly.

Cody shrugged and started drinking. It didn't take long for the alcohol to set in and Cody was pretty buzzed after just 4 glasses. 'He's such a lightweight', thought Francis. As soon as they could, Matthew got Cody from behind, holding his arms back while Francis came up to the Aussie.

"H-Hey! What yew doin?! Wha's the big idea?!" Cody was squirming quite a bit but the alcohol helped keep him enough at bay that Matthew could keep a hold.

Matthew wasn't one for these kinds of actions, but curiosity was getting the best of him as he kept the Aussies hands back. "Francis wants to see what's under your band-aid before he has to leave."

"W-Wha?! D-Don' take off my band-aid!!" Cody was still kicking and writhing, but to no avail.

Francis came up to him, having that stalker-like expression that he usually did. He took the Aussies band-aid off, carefully so it didn't hurt. As soon as it was off, 'it' was revealed. Francis gasped. A heart shaped birth mark. It was adorable! Francis had to touch it. "Cody, how come you never show this? It's absolutely adorable!"

Cody was blushing badly. "B-Because I dun like Sydney showin off so much…"

Sydney, huh? Francis leaned over and kissed it, very sweetly. Cody swooned and made strange noises. 'Like the Vargas twins…' Francis started rubbing it, wanting to see more of a reaction. Cody kept swooning and making those adorable noises. Francis smirked and started rubbing in between the Aussies legs. 'Hmm… Lots of… padding…' Francis kept rubbing, thinking it would just help more. Matthew started getting a little more curious. He broke out of his shell and started rubbing Sydney. Cody let out a large moan at this, not wanting this to be happening but loving it all at the same time. Such confused emotions made him just sit there and accept what was happening.

Francis smirked at Cody's reactions and kept rubbing, pressing against him a little. "Matthew, you can move your arms to go around his waist. He isn't going to be going anytime soon." Francis kissed Sydney again, it tasted really sweet. 'He can cook and he tastes sweet.'

Matthew nodded and moved his hands down, holding Cody up and tight against his body. Matthew rubbed against Cody, really liking the smell of the ocean.

Francis was almost there, he was about to pull Cody's pants off and do it all. The phone rang. "Ugh. I'll get it." Francis trudged over to the phone and answered it. "Bonjour?" It was Francis's boss, saying that he had to leave that instant. Russia was planning on coming early to do some sight seeing. 'Why??? Why cruel world??" Francis hung the phone up and looked at Cody and Matthew, having a tear in his eye. "I have to go, my darlings."

Matthew frowned. "Already? Tabernak… I was having so much fun, too."

Cody gasped and fell to the floor. "Ahh… Sorry mate… Should we escort ye to the airport?"

Francis nodded. "I would like to spend my last few minutes with both of you. Cody, without your band-aid." Cody groaned and agreed to it. Francis was sure that Cody was going to put a band-aid back on right after he left but oh well.

They all piled into the car and drove to the airport. Cody carried Francis's luggage, 'like the good boy he is'. Francis chuckled at the thought. All of his things were loaded, the ticket was changed and the flight was boarding in a half of an hour. The three nations hurried to the gate so that Francis would make it there on time.

Francis was almost crying. He didn't want to have to leave so soon, but he knew that he could come back after Ivan left. Francis hugged them both and kissed them both very lovingly, wishing that he didn't have to go. Matthew kissed Francis back, but Cody just blushed and hid his face. Cody was so cute and innocent, Francis had to change that.

Well, it was time for him to be off. "I'm going to miss you both. I'll hurry back as soon as I can!"

Matthew nodded. "I hope to see you! We'll have so much fun together, I swear."

Cody smiled, a little tear in his eye. "I'll miss yew too. Dun be a stranja and call us wheneva yew can."

Francis nodded and smiled. "I'll do so, Cody." He boarded the plane and waved to them as he got on. The plane was taking off and Francis could see Cody and Matthew waving as the plane jutted down the runway. The ground started falling and he was up in the air. No telling what Ivan was going to do in his country, all Francis could do was take a small nap and ponder at what was coming next. "I'll come back to you, Matthew. Soon."