The washing machine vibrated as it ran. And sitting atop it, was Arthur, waiting for the load of laundry inside to be finished. He swung his legs slightly as he let out a heavy sigh. This was the third time this week this had happened. The day has brought about plenty of stress, anger, and left him feeling generally fed up. And then apparently the world wasn't through beating down on him, for when he awoke, he found that his sheets were wet. Arthur was a bed-wetter.

Of course he didn't mean for this to happen! And he did whatever he could to try and prevent it. Reduced fluid intake before bed, alarms to wake him during the night, and so on. But nothing seemed to work! He didn't wet the bed every night, but it seemed to be every other night. Arthur had looked up a bit about the accidents in order to see why they were happening at his age. And one of the reasons he found, was stress wetting. Was he wetting the bed due to stress? Surely it couldn't be so! However..it did greatly explain why he might be having this problem. He worked harder then many other nations and was always pushing himself to do better. He would tone it down a bit, but he simply couldn't afford to! He had far too much to do and didn't have any areas where he could slow down.

'This may just be something that I just have to live with..' Arthur thought to himself. It was rather irritating and very embarrassing. But…at least no one was there to witness it. Arthur lived alone in his big house, and didn't have to worry about being caught.

The washing machine dinged underneath him, indicating that his wash was done. "Right-o. Time to dry it."

Arthur was hoping for a peaceful day, as he was not expected anywhere today. However he received a call from the queen who was requesting that he fill out a bit of paper work and bring it before her as soon as possible. That normally wouldn't be too much of an issue. But Alfred had decided today was the day to spam him with phone call after phone call to talk and relieve him of his boredom. Alfred had broken his foot the afternoon before and was trapped in bed. So he needed something (or someone to entertain him) and he chose Arthur. When Arthur told him to buzz off, Alfred laughed and ignored him. He started to ignore the phone calls, but in doing so, missed a call from the queen and was scolded harshly for it. Today was not going in his favor unfortunately. And he knew he would likely pay for all of this unnecessary stress tonight.

He worked for a majority of the day and soon into the night. He was in the middle of one particular contract when he startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. Oh? Who could that be? He stood up and walked towards the door. As he did however, he got a chance to glance out the window. Rain was beating down against the window from the night sky. Goodness was it dark out already? Well who in the world would be calling at this hour. He went and pushed open the door to see who was there.

"Francis? What in the world are you doing here?" He demanded. Sure enough, Francis was standing on his doorstep, rain dripping from the ends of his hair, and his clothing soaked through.

"Ah! Thank goodness you are home mon ami!" Francis sighed. "I was on my way home when I was caught in this rain storm. I know it is sudden, but will you allow me inside, just for a moment?" He asked. Arthur frowned.

"Why can't you just call a cab and have them take you home?" He asked. He knew he was being a bit rude, but he was tired and didn't want to deal with this mess.

"I didn't bring my wallet with me. I was only going out for a walk when it began to rain." When Arthur looked hesitant, Francis pleaded, "Please Arthur? My clothing is soaked and it is so cold! Please don't leave me out here to die." Arthur shook his head and sighed.

"Oh belt up. You aren't going to die from having wet hair." He stepped back and opened the door a bit more. "Fine, come in. But don't try anything funny frog." Arthur warned. Francis gratefully stepped into the house, removing his muddied shoes and setting them by the door.

"Oh merci Arthur! You are a life saver!" Francis said as he planted a kiss on both of Arthur's cheeks. Arthur pushed him away with a scoff.

"That's enough of that." He scolded. "Just..hold on, wait here." He left Francis for a moment and came back with a towel. "There. Dry off your hair and clothing as best you can. I'll call you a cab and give you a little money to pay the fare." He told him. Francis did as he was told, using the towel to dry his hair as best he could as Arthur watched. As Francis began to attempt to dry his clothing, he paused for a moment. His nose scrunched up a bit and he sneezed into his elbow. He shook his head and continued wiping off.

"Bollocks." Arthur sighed, getting his attention. "Never mind. You'll fall ill if you stay in those wet clothes." Despite not liking Francis too much, he still couldn't help but look out for him a bit. Francis was prone to doing silly things, and this would just be one of those things that Arthur could have prevented. "Come on, I'll wash and dry them. You can wear a pair of my pajamas or something of the sort."

"Oh! Why thank you Arthur~ I didn't know you cared about me so~" Francis teased, earning a slap on the arm from Arthur.

"Watch it you!" Arthur scolded. "I'm only doing this because I have manners, unlike some people." He sighed. He didn't want him going back out there in that downpour. It seemed he didn't have much of a choice. "Look, you may reside in the guest room for the night okay? But when morning comes, I want you out of the house, understand?" He instructed as he led Francis to the laundry room. "But whilst I am asleep, I don't want you coming into my bedroom, understand?" He said. He knew the risk he was taking. He knew that there was a chance that Francis would discover what he was trying to hide. But..perhaps if he set an alarm to wake him up especially early so he could wash the sheets before Francis woke up. Yes..that would work.

Francis was tempted to tease a little more and ask to sleep with Arthur. But he decided that it was best not to and just left the matter be. Arthur took Francis to the laundry room, and went back to his bedroom to retrieve a pair of pajamas. "Alright, put your clothing into the washing machine and put these on." Arthur instructed. Francis thankfully obeyed without doing anything stupid.

"I'm going to my room for the night. You go into the guest room and stay there alright?" Arthur instructed. "Good night."

"Ah but angleterre. The night is still young! Perhaps we can-"

"Not tonight." Arthur interrupted. "It's been a long day and I just…want to go to bed." He sighed. He had to sleep now if he was to awake early the next morning. Francis raised an eyebrow.

"I see. If you insist then…" he blew him a kiss good night before departing for the guest room. Arthur shook his head and went to his own bedroom. He had placed his clean sheets over his bed earlier in the day so that his bed would be ready for him. But..he was still a bit wary. What if he was caught? What if Francis made fun of him?

"Oh..I can't think like this. It's going to be fine. And besides, it's not even a guarantee that I'm going to…so I can't go and worry about it like this. It's not going to make things any better." He sat down on the bed and sighed. "It's late. And I need to sleep. That's all there is to it right now." So he set his alarm and got under the covers. But it left him just staring at the ceiling. And that was the position he found himself lying in for quite awhile until he finally succumb to exhaustion and fell asleep, thinking not of the French man in the next room over.

He managed to sleep all through the night, his head empty, with no dreams of any sort to disturb him. And thankfully, old Frenchy kept to his own room and didn't come to brother Arthur during the night, and he was able to sleep without a fuss.

When morning came, and Arthur awoke to the alarm, he hardly dared to move from the spot. He kept his eyes firmly squeezed shut, not wanting to face the day ahead. But he didn't have much of a choice at this point. And he knew that. He reached out and switched off the alarm, and with bated breath, sat up, and pulled back the covers. And to his dismay, a dark patch was staining the crotch and thighs of his pajama bottoms, and his sheets. That was to be expected he supposed. But it was still terribly worrisome. Francis was in the next room and if Arthur wasn't careful enough, he would be caught.

He climbed from the bed and sighed heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair. "This is just great…" he murmured. If he was right, then Francis was still asleep and wouldn't see him. So he didn't have anything to worry about right? Right. "First things first. I need to clean everything up.." He went to the corner of the sheets and pulled them off of the mattress and went to pull them off the rest of the way.

"Oh Arthur~ Are you awake?" Arthur froze on the spot. Francis?! Why in the world was he awake? In his panic, he said nothing in return. "I'm about to go home now. I thought I would return the pajamas you left me." Again he didn't get an answer. "I'm just going to leave them on your dresser then."

"Wait! Don't!" Arthur quickly called when he regained his voice. But he was a moment too late, and Francis stepped in. He wore the clothing he had last night, now dry and clean. And the pajamas he had borrowed were draped over his arm. He was about to say something more once he came in, but he paused when he saw Arthur standing there in his wet pajama bottoms and a handful of the wet sheets. And Arthur looked absolutely mortified.

Arthur's face became absolutely scarlet and his mouth gaped open and closed as he tried to come up with what he should say. "Francis I…this isn't…I mean.." he tried. But he did not have any idea of what to say. "P-please don't tell.." he finally settled with. Tears of humiliation started to prickle in his eyes, despite how he tried to blink them away. This was all just too much for him right now and he didn't know how to deal with this. He shielded his face from the older man as he turned his head. "Just leave okay? This is already humiliating. I.." he didn't know what else to say at this point. After a moment, he heard Francis come foreword. Going to mock him was he? Of course he was. Why wouldn't he? A grown man wetting the bed? He probably deserved to be made fun of. He kept still and waited to see what Francis would do. Rather then tease him or poke fun at him, Francis did something he didn't expect. He took Arthur's hand away from his face and kissed the back of it.

"Cher, there is nothing to be embarrassed about." Francis told him in a soft, and slightly concerned voice. "Do you think I am going to laugh at you? I would never!" He promised.

"B-but I've..soiled the bed. A man shouldn't do that at my age." Arthur said back as he tears overwhelmed his eyes and began to spill down his cheeks. He was humiliated by his own behavior, but he never thought anyone would actually catch him. And he wasn't sure how to feel right now.

"I know your embarrassed. But it's okay. It happens. And the best thing to do now is to take care of what's happening. I won't laugh."

Arthur's face stayed pink and he tried to avoid Francis's eyes. "You promise?"

"With all of my heart." Francis returned. He used his thumbs to brush at Arthur's tears. He pulled Arthur into an embrace, and for once, Arthur didn't fight it. He allowed himself to relax a bit, despite what had just happened. He truly felt safe in Francis's arms, and like he wouldn't be harmed or shunned. It was the first time in quite a while that he actually felt so secure.

"Thank you Francis.." he murmured as he rested his head on Francis's shoulder. The Frenchman gently rubbed Arthur's back to help him calm down a bit. Arthur let out a soft sigh. He was still feeling rather worn down. He wanted to go back to sleep. But he had work to do today. But Francis seemed to pick up on his fatigue. He broker the embrace and went to the bed, proceeding to lift up the rest of the sheets and bundling them into his arms.

"You helped to wash my clothing the other night. So allow me to help you with yours today. Let me take care of this. You should get a bit more rest no? You seem tired."

"But-"

"No buts from you Angleterre. You work too hard, you always have. And you need your rest. Change out of those pajamas and bring them to me so I can wash them okay?" He instructed. A little surprised that the man had decided to take charge, Arthur nodded and obeyed, pulling out a pair of clean pajamas and going into the restroom. When he came out, he saw Francis was placing another sheet on the bed. Why, this was the one from the guest room wasn't it?

"All finished? Good. Now let me have them please?" Arthur hesitated and held the wet pajamas close, already becoming timid once more. Francis gave him a soft smile and came close. "Come now. I want to help you Arthur. Will you let me?" Arthur eventually and hesitantly let Francis take the pajamas. Once he had them, Francis pat the sheets, encouraging Arthur to lie back down. The bed did look rather tempting.. Arthur went up and lie back in the bed, letting Francis pull the covers up to his chin. Then Francis brushed the bangs off of his forehead.

"Poor thing. You must be exhausted." Francis cooed to him. "You get all the rest you need okay? I will wash your things and I'll leave you be." He promised. Arthur chuckled softly but nodded in response. Francis kissed his forehead, making the man blush, before turning to leave.

"Francis.."

"Yes Arthur?"

"…Thank you."