"Arthur, what are you feeling right now?", Alfred whispered into the earpiece. He and Matthew had taken a call to a beautiful old mansion No one had been able to live there since 1984, when the original owner died.
"I'm feeling like this is a bunch of bullshit", he responded dully.
Arthur had his doubts about joining this ghost busting team, but he joined since Alfred really wanted him around. Not that he made it apparent, but he was good friends with the American boy, and he would go along with most of his ridiculous plots. The whole reason that Alfred and Matthew were adamant about him joining too, was his sixth sense.
Alfred and Matthew both knew that Arthur could see ghosts and sense when spirits were close.
"Are you even paying attention!?", "Oh yes. I'm absolutely enthralled with the area", Arthur responded sarcastically. This was his first time hunting ghosts with the team. "Dude! Come on, take it seriously, would you? We gotta contain this thing. The current owner is offering up some big bucks for this."
Arthur let out a long, irritable sigh. "Fine. I'll remain on the ground floor."
His younger teammates were upstairs on either wing of the big, beautiful building, and he was staying on the ground floor. Really, He didn't have to creep about since he could both sense and see.
The only reason he had to be careful was because the house was old and he didn't want to get hurt by any of the old fixtures or furniture. There was no telling when anything would fall, so Arthur would have to be mindful. The house was dark and grim. The smell of mold was thick through the air, so Arthur would likely be sick by the end. Unlike Arthur, though Alfred and Matthew didn't really have mold allergies. It also helped that it was Autumn and the wind was blowing through the open and broken windows. It worked to air out the mansion somewhat.
The air inside the mansion though was difficult to breathe for the Englishman. Not only that but he had to haul around a heavy proton pack.
The floor creaked with every step. "You guys still holding up?" Alfred chimed in. Arthur could tell he was scared. "I'm fine on this end" Matthew answered over the earpiece, "Still good down here", Arthur answered. The only thing he could foresee at the moment was being bedridden for a week. "Alfred, come on. This house is empty—" Arthur paused. He felt something.
The kitchen smelled positively vile. Arthur's nose crinkled and he gagged. "Arthur are you there?", he felt like throwing up, he turned, quickly scampering outside the nearest door, Alfred calling to him over the earpiece all the while. He leaned outside of a broken out window and took steady deep breaths. After collecting himself, he responded, "I'm fine! Calm down!", Alfred paused, "… But are you em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"really/em Arthur?", "You fucking doughnut, I just walked into the kitchen and nearly died!", "Yeah, that's Arthur", Matthew responded. Another gust of wind blew through making the house creak some and the loose wood shutters that still remain on the building rattle.
He glanced back at the large kitchen. He could clear that if he ran. After all, there was a ghost on the other end and his job was to bust. The faster he got it done, the faster they could go home and he could enjoy some tea.
He leant outside one more time to take a deep breath of the fresh, chilly Autumn air, then darted into the creepy, disgusting kitchen. There were hanging hooks in the corner that definitely didn't fit in with the décor. Burn marks near the stove. Dark splotches here and there… Arthur didn't want to think about what went down here. Strangely enough, the spirit felt distinctly benevolent.
Once out, he coughed out and inhaled, his body instantly recoiling from the musty, moldy air. "Once we leave and I get ill, you two had better take care of me", he hissed. "Anyway, I'm on this ghost's trail.", "Awesome job, Arthur! Keep us posted." Matthew chimed in, "Don't worry, if you get sick, you'll be well cared for." Arthur grinned a little, "You make me sound like a pet cat or something."
He sped walked after the spectre. It seemed like the ghost was distinctly running from him. "Look, you! Don't make me run and start making me gasp in this moldy arse air! Wa—", he tripped, breaking whatever had caught his foot. Right in the carpet. The moldy carpet that was older than he was. He sat up quickly wiping his face. That God he didn't have his mouth open and get a mouthful of whatever was on the floor.
That's when he felt something… Wrong.
Up until now, he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings.
He stood up, brushing off his uniform. This room was very dark, so he grabbed a flashlight. The rest of the house that he'd been in had a lot of windows to allow the natural light of night time and the hanging outdoor lights that him and the other ghost busters had set up so they wouldn't waste their flashlights.
'Click'! He turned on the light.
This room was a dining room, but there was no doubt that a struggle had taken place. Sturdy looking furniture had been pushed over a long time go like the glass cabinet that had a strong oak base. He felt like he shouldn't be here. He turned to find his way back only to see the most beautiful phantom he'd ever seen. Sure, a person standing so close was startling at first, but then he got a good look at him. Long curled blonde hair, bright blue eyes, slightly stubbled chin… And he didn't look too amused. "You're very stubborn, you know that?", his accent was distinctly French.
"Well. You're the entire reason my coworkers here, so…", "You know, I didn't notice it before, but you're pretty cute~" Arthur's cheeks reddened some, "Excuse me? Are you even listening? Ah, bloody hell." That's right, he was supposed to com the others.
"I've got the ghost downstairs. Just past the kitchen", "We're on our way!"
"How rude! You could at least refer to me by name." Arthur, frowning, responded with and unamused: "Well, what is your name?", "Francis Bonnefoy!" Arthur could hear his friends running to his location. He unloaded his proton pack, "Very well, Mr. Bonnefoy. You're about to be contained."
"No, I'm not", he answered in a matter-of-factly tone, "I simply refuse, Unless I'm to be locked up with you~", he pressed a brief kiss to his cheek. Arthur had dealt with many spirits, but none quite as flirtatious or forward as this one. He half expected a vicious spirit, but this guy? He was the one scaring people off? "Okay, I have a hard time believing that you're scaring people away from the property", "I'm not! Not intentionally anyway. They take one look at me and run screaming. As if I were ugly!", "Vanity doesn't look good on you."
About that time the boys ran in, proton packs charged and aimed.
Instantly, the French ghost retreated into the walls. "Arthur! Why didn't you contain him?!", "He kept kissing me." Arthur's face was red and both of his teammates were staring. "You sound so disgusted!", Francis' voice rang from the walls, only making the Englishman redder.
"Call me crazy, but I don't think we have to worry about this ghost being particularly violent…", Matthew added, dully. "Of course you don't!", the ghost retorted from the safety of his walls. "And he said he refused to be contained. I don't know if we can get him out of here…", Arthur responded, ignoring the phantom, "Oh but you can~", that caught their attention. "If you let me have a date with the cute one."
Alfred snorted, "Dude. This ghost is sweet on you!", "I'm not sweet on him!" Francis peeked out, wearing a smug grin, "You will be, petit~" This urged Alfred to laugh harder. "Oh my God- A ghost and a Ghostbuster!", he managed in between laughs. Matthew's expression was still deadpan, "Yeah, this is pretty funny", he meant it though.
"Fine! I'll date you! Now let's go so I can breathe, dammit!" He started heading out. He wanted his payment and he didn't want to get sicker than he already would be. Arthur couldn't believe the nerve of his friends- laughing at his expense. Suddenly the ghost was next to him. "Bien~ You won't regret it!"
One date turned to two. Then three. And soon Francis became the first ghost member on the team.
Arthur still wasn't even sure how this happened, but at least he was happy.
/ Sorry it was short! Idid this as a one shot for FrUKtober2016 on tumblr and I had very little time to get it together. But I feel like I may want to expand on this later? Only if you guys want, like. I have ideas./p