Francis's phone went off in the middle of Arthur's rant. It could have been about that Potter kid again, but Francis was obviously not listening. He hit the button to answer his phone.
"France, what are you doing?" Asked an irate Ludwig. There was a rule against phones during meetings, Francis suddenly remembered. Then he noticed the voice on the other end of the phone was crying. He paled, then looked to the taller nation with pleading eyes.
"Je suis désolé, Allemagne. I would not have left it on if it wasn't important. Please let me take this call," he said. Ludwig must have seen the panic in the blue eyes. He grunted and gave a curt nod. Francis ran out the door into the hall.
"Genevieve? What is happening?" The woman let out a defeated sob before muttering something incoherent.
"Genevieve, please tell me what is happening. I am in a meeting and you must be quick about this."
"I'm so sorry Francis, but it's about Marianne. I know you are in a meeting, but I know you would never forgive me if I didn't call you." At this point, Francis had tuned out the woman. He ran back into the meeting room. All fighting, which was quite a bit, ceased as he slammed the doors open.
"I apologize, but I'm afraid I have to leave you all early. Something has come up." There were loud protests coming from other nations, saying he just didn't want to be there. He was probably off to meet some girl, which, in a way, was correct. Francis sighed and looked up with a grim expression. "Se il vous plaît, This is incredibly important. Angleterre, would you please take notes for me to look over later if anything actually gets done?" Arthur's mouth was open, a loud and very likely rude, protest forming on the tip of his tongue. Francis stopped him by holding up a hand and giving a stern look. "Please, Arthur, I need to go and deal with this." He left the room before anyone else could announce that he was bluffing. He didn't have the time to deal with all this.
...
Arthur was confused. He hadn't seen Francis like that since the last few months of World War II. It wasn't like him to be so serious. Francis was supposed to be the flirty, confident, self-loving bastard he was when William the Conquerer became the first official king of England. Or when he managed to beat Arthur in a boat race during the Age of Exploration. Arthur sat at the table, not really listening, but still getting notes down as Ludwig explained a good way to cut carbon emissions. He was pulled out of his musings when a small voice came from next to him.
"What do you think is wrong with Francis, eh?" Arthur looked over to see Alfred - no wait - Matthew looking at him with concern on his features. Arthur sighed.
"I'm not sure, I haven't seen him like this in a long time. Do you know if there has been anything going on in his country?" He asked the younger, though taller, nation.
"I wouldn't know if you didn't. You live right next to him. And anything coming from across the Atlantic gets drowned out by Alfred's stupid television programs. I only get to know about major happenings that would effect Alfred and I, too." Arthur nodded, understanding completely. He went back to thinking, Matthew doing the same after realizing he wasn't getting an answer.
...
As soon as lunch break came around, Alfred found Arthur, asking the exact same question Matthew had. This was pointed out by Matthew as he came up behind his louder brother.
"So Francey-Pants could be doing anything, but we don't actually know where he is or what's going on?" The other two nodded. "Great! Absolutely wonderful. I have to go talk to Elizabeta now." Arthur and Matthew were left by the American. A sense of dread settled over them. What does Hungary have to do with this?
Alfred, of course was already complaining to Elizabeta about the entire situation. She was smirking through the entire explanation.
"Why are you smirking?! Our whole plan could go down the drain. I don't want to owe Gilbert any more money than I already do." The female nation laughed at Alfred's antics. Switching to Hungarian so they wouldn't be overheard, she started explaining.
"Then don't make crazy bets like this with him. You know he is more clever than he looks." Alfred shook his head, replying in the other language perfectly. He learned it specifically for occasions such as this, so may as well use that knowledge.
"You didn't answer my question." He said.
"You didn't let me finish. I was going to say that this could work out better. Try to get Arthur to figure out where Francis went. Make sure you and Matthew go with him when he leaves."
"How are you so sure he will? He says all the time that he hates the stupid wine-drinker. I'm in way over my head with this."
"No, you're just new to the game. Trust me, Arthur will go to find him." She reached into her bag and pulled out a little camera. She then tool Alfred's glasses and put it near where the glasses bend so that is was more out of sight. Alfred took Texas back and put it on his face.
"Can you see it?" He asked.
"Only if you tuck your hair back behind your ear."
"And it will get a clear shot?" The woman nodded, looking very pleased with herself. She walked away to talk to Roderich, who was looking at Alfred with confusion in his eyes. After a few words from Elizabeta, he looked away from both the Hungarian woman and Alfred with a bright red blush on his face. Alfred decided that he didn't want to know what Lizzy had said to him. He went back over to where Arthur and Matthew were still talking.
"Sorry about that, I have something going with Prussia that Hungary is helping me out with. I had to sort it all out. It's all good now. Any ideas about France?" If either of the nations he addressed noticed he was using the country names (which they both had) they didn't say anything.
"I have narrowed it down to that he's likely with a girl." Arthur said, resentment in his voice.
"I don't think so," Matthew said. "And if you're right, the girl must be having problems."
Alfred cut in, "Why do you say that, Mattie?" The Canadian shrugged.
"Did you see his face? I know he's a good actor, but we've known him for centuries. He wasn't faking it. He's really upset about something." The three sat in silence. Arthur got up and walked over to Ludwig. Alfred tapped the camera. Upon hearing the squeak from Elizabeta's direction, he figured she got the message. He heard a buzzing noise from his ear, signaling that she was with him.
"Be a little more careful with the camera. That's delicate technology." Alfred muttered an apology, casing his little brother to look at him strangely.
"Alfred, you okay?"
"Yeah." He heard a beep in his ear. The plan was a go. "Come on, We should go with Arthur."
"Why?" Matt asked.
"Because I want to know what's happened to Francis." Matthew didn't question it and followed his brother. Arthur was asking Ludwig what else they would be doing that day.
"Knowing this group, absolutely nothing. You can go search for Francis." Arthur turned red. Alfred heard Lizzy chuckle. He almost copied her. He settled for a smile.
"Ho-How did you know that's what I wanted to do?" Arthur asked. Ludwig actually smirked at this.
"You weren't talking at all during the meeting today and I saw France written in at least seven different fonts and languages. You're worried about him, go." Arthur was now as red as Romano was when angry. Alfred and Matthew stood behind him. "You two want to tag along, I presume?"
"Yup, if that's alright with you. The hero's gotta save the day you know!" Alfred replied. Ludwig nodded and stepped away from the doorway, taking Feliciano with him.
"You two are coming?" Arthur asked. His blush was still visible on his cheeks. Alfred and Matthew nodded. Arthur sighed. "Alright then." They started walking towards the building's exit.
"Where are we going?" Matthew asked.
"Jeanne d' Arc centre médical," Arthur replied, a small amount of guilt in his voice.
"Joan of Arc Medical Center," Matthew translated. Alfred nodded. He remembered hearing about what Francis had said to one of his citizens, Lisa, about the saint.
"A hospital? Why? How do you know he'd go to this one?" Alfred asked.
"To answer your last question, Francis had been in love with the saint. She had pledged herself to God though, so she saw herself has Francis's protector and friend, not as his lover." Alfred nodded. That sucked for Francis, it must have been hard. Especially because of how she died. Arthur's guilt definitely made more sense now.
"And my other questions?"
"Matthew figured that whoever he was going to see would have been in a bad position. Nothing is wrong politically in France, so it had to be Francis's private life, not the nation itself. If someone is in as much distress as Francis made it seem, they'd be at a hospital." They hailed a cab and got in. Matthew told the driver where to go, before turning to England.
"You don't think he's gotten someone pregnant, do you?" Arthur looked at the younger nation, startled.
"I'd certainly hope not, you know how hard that can be on a human. It would make sense, but even Francis knows his limits. He wouldn't impregnate anyone."
Alfred almost jumped through the roof when he heard a beep in his ear.
"You hear that? The way he said that?! Oh my god I didn't think this would work. Did you hear how upset he sounded at the prospect that Francis may have someone else!? This is great!" Alfred chuckled, though a bit sadly. There was always the possibility that Francis did have someone else. He just wanted his big-brother/father-figure to be happy. He sighed.
"Are you alright Alfred?" Arthur asked. The man in question turned to look at him with a smile.
"Yeah! I'm just thinking, is all." Arthur winced at the grammar, but dropped the conversation. They were soon at the hospital. Alfred surprised both Matthew and Arthur by pulling the correct currency money and giving it to the cab driver.
"What?"
"Nothing" they said in unison. The went inside and went up to the receptionist. Arthur cleared his throat before getting her full attention.
"Is Francis Bonnefoy here?" He asked. The woman's eyes widened and she nodded. She motioned for them to follow her. They went down a few corridors until coming to a door. The woman waved her keycard over the lock and they stepped through.
"This is the children's hospital," the woman explained. Arthur and the boys looked at each other in confusion. "It's attached to the main building of course, but it has a bit more charm to it. I believe part of that comes from Monsieur Bonnefoy. He has been volunteering here for a few years." Her tone changed suddenly, looking down at her feet. "There is one girl that he has grown very fond of, Marianne. She was diagnosed with leukemia when she was three. She's seven now, but the cancer has spread throughout most of her body. She was in so much pain this morning." the nurse paused, gathering herself. "She asked to see Francis today. When we asked her why, all she said was 'I beg your pardon,' which we didn't quite understand at the time. She hasn't said much since. The only one she'll talk to is Francis." She huffed out a laugh. "Francis had always said that Marianne had reminded her of someone."
"Marie Antoinette." Arthur said. He remembered those days well. Francis had been torn between his monarchy and his people. He was a mess.
"Oui, that's it. We never really understood, but thinking about it now, she even looks a lot like how the last queen probably would have as a child. Her room is the third on the left. Have a nice day." She walked away, dabbing her eyes with a cloth.
The three men were left in the hallway, fighting with themselves over whether or not they should go in. Hungary was the one to push them.
"What are you waiting for, you dummy? Go!" Elizabeta yelled through Alfred's earpiece. Alfred winced. Arthur and Matthew turned toward him.
"What did you say?" Matthew asked. "Shit, they heard me." Alfred held himself together.
"I said that Arthur should be the one to go in, or we should only go in for a little bit and then leave Arthur and Francis in there."
"Why?" Arthur asked. There was a faint brushing of pink on his cheeks.
"You've known France the longest out of anyone here, heck, anyone in the world. It's better that you're the one to see him through this. I know you've helped him in the past, whether you want to admit it or not." Arthur looked at Alfred, a strange mix of denial, sadness, remembrance, and maybe even a little pride. Arthur nodded.
"I believe that idea works perfectly." The three nations went to the door and knocked. Francis opened it.
"Mon Dieu! What are you all doing here?" He asked, shock covering his features.
"Arthur-" Alfred was elbowed in the ribs. He glared at the offender. "We were worried about you." France seemed to believe them as he stepped aside.
"How did you find me?" He asked as he moved to sit by the hospital bed. Inside of the bed was the small frame of Marianne. Tubes were coming out of her all over her body, the heart monitor beeping slowly. She looked so small in that bed, but Arthur could see the resemblance to the former queen. She had the same grey-blue eyes that had a spark of kindness in them. Her hair was gone, but he could picture the strawberry blonde waves that would have been there.
"We figured what ever it was, it was part of your personal life. I knew the hospital because of, well, you know." Arthur looked down. Then the figure in the bed coughed. Francis immediately had his full attention on her. He put on a smile. He spoke in French to the little girl.
"You should be sleeping, my little girl." He said.
"I would be," the girl said weekly. Matthew's eyes were starting to go a bit misty. She was so young. Too young to have to go through all of this. "but I had a funny dream."
"What was it?"
"There were other people. You told me about them once." Francis chuckled.
"That was not really a dream, little one. Arthur and the twins are really here. They came to see you." The last part was directed toward them. Marianne's face brightened. She tried to sit up, but she was too weak. Francis took her and propped her up on a pillow. She smiled when she saw the three other men in the room.
"Oh, Monsieur Francis, they are exactly like you described. You must be Alfred." She pointed at the American. His face lit up like Broadway. He spoke in French so she could understand.
"That's right little miss. Alfred F. Jones, at your service." He pretended to tip his hat.
"You really are American! How exciting! I never got to travel." Alfred smiled, remembering something that he always had with him. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his stack of postcards. He had one from each state.
"Here's some pictures from the states. Would you like to look at them?" She nodded and Alfred walked over to her. He put his glasses on her. The prescription wasn't very strong, so it didn't bother either one. In fact, Marianne just smiled and proclaimed herself the hero. Both laughed and Alfred named each of the states and said a sentence or two about each of them.
"He has a way with children, doesn't he?" Arthur asked Francis.
"He gets it from you, I imagine. You always had a motherly side to you." Arthur smacked his head, but didn't deny it. They turned their attention back to the girl, who was now finished with her tour of America.
"Are you Matthew?" Marianne asked.
"Yep, and this is Kumajirou." He held out his polar bear. The white ball of fluff sat on the bed and curled up by Marianne. She pet him and giggled.
"A polar bear is such a peculiar pet, where did you get it?"
"In Canada, I found him. He's been by my side since." Marianne coughed again, this time more hoarsely. Arthur went to the bathroom to get some water from the sink. He brought it back out to her. She took it with a thank you.
"You must be Mr. Arthur Kirkland. Francis talks about you a lot." Marianne said. She giggled when she saw both Arthur and Francis blush.
"What about?"
"Everything, how you met, when you would fight, when you two found Alfred and Matthew. He mostly just talks. He told be about a few other people. Antonio and Gilbert, but you three were who he talked about the most." All four of them looked at each other. Alfred and Matthew decided to tell Marianne goodnight. They left the room.
"You left your glasses." Matthew said.
"I know." Alfred replied.
...
Back inside the room, Marianne was talking to Arthur.
"Do you like Francis?" he asked.
"Yes, he would always come see me whenever he visited the hospital. He would let me braid his hair." Arthur and Marianne both laughed at Francis's shocked face.
"His hair is a bit long, isn't it?" Arthur asked. Marianne giggled.
"He said you tried to grow yours out like it." Now it was Francis's turn to laugh. It stopped when the doctor came into the room. Francis looked at him.
"We have to do it, I'm sorry." The doctor said in English. Marianne's face fell. The adults only spoke in that language if they didn't want her to understand. Arthur took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. He knew what they were saying, and he didn't like it one bit. Francis came over and held the little girls hand. Arthur put his arm around Francis, much to his surprise.
"What's going to happen now, Francis?" She asked, fear in her eyes. France almost broke right then.
"Not much, sweetie, they're just going to give you a special medicine that will make you sleep. You'll be okay." He smiled. Arthur looked at his long time acquaintance, friend, and rival. Behind those eyes was a dam, a dam that was threatening to burst open. He sighed and took Francis's other hand. The Frenchman immediately grabbed onto it like a lifeline. The doctor looked at the pair of them as he put the sedative into Marianne's IV. Her blue eyes drooped closed. She breathed out a thank you before succumbing completely to the drug. A few hours of tense silence, broken only by the monitors beeping, ended with a final, single tone. Francis collapsed into tears, holding Arthur like his life depended on it. Arthur let him, and for once decided to take a chance.
"It will be alright, she will be back again someday." He said.
"Oui, but it still hurts. Two different lifetimes, two different deaths. Both at ages far too young. Why has fate cursed her in this way?"
"I don't know," he paused. "but I do know this. I will wait with you." Francis looked up, his sapphire blue meeting emerald green.
"What do you mean, Angleterre?"
"I mean what I said. I will be by your side and wait with you. We'll do it together, like we always have." France shut him up with a kiss. Arthur kissed back, sharing the other's pain.
"Thank you"
"You're welcome"
"I love you"
"I love you too"
...
When Alfred got his glasses back, the camera was gone. He smiled anyway, knowing that even if he had to give Gilbert money, he was glad Arthur and Francis were happy.
(And he knew Elizabeta had a copy of the video too.)