"Arthur, mon cher, I don't think sandwiches are supposed to have real sand in them."
"Well, we're surrounded by bloody sand. I couldn't help getting some of it in the food, could I? And don't call me your cher," snapped England, trying not to give away how much he actually wanted France to call him that. He could see Canada politely trying to eat his sandwich; America had yelled "Dude, these are gross!" after the first bite and was now on his 5th hamburger.

The beach trip had been America's idea. Like all of the younger nation's ideas, Arthur quickly began to question the wisdom of it. The FACE countries had come over to England for the summer, and as usual Arthur had started wondering why he had invited Francis after the first hour.
Alfred had suggested the trip at breakfast. Francis had readily agreed, so Arthur had automatically refused at first. He only backed down when he saw how enthusiastic Flying Mint Bunny and the other countries were (and when he realized he would get to see Francis in only his swimming trunks, although he dismissed this thought as soon as he had it).

The day had started off alright. America had run straight off to the rockpools and the others sat on the shore looking at the horizon. Matthew gazed into the distance, probably remembering the time he had spent with Cuba on beaches. "This beach is lovely," said Francis.
"Well, of course it is. It's part of me,"replied Arthur.
"And I think one of the best things about it is that I don't have to look at as much of England as usual," continued the other as if he hadn't heard. Arthur punched him in the arm. Soon after he had left to prepare the sandwiches and make tea - he had naturally brought his kettle and a gas stove. After that, things had gone downhill.
When lunch was ready, he had turned around to see France sunbathing in only an indecently tight pair of trunks, and immediately looked back in the other direction with his face bright red.
"Like what you see, mon cher?" came Francis' voice. "Put some more bloody clothes on, you bloody frog," choked out Arthur, who was desperately trying to deny that he DID like what he saw, "It's lunch time. Where's Canada?"
"I'm right next to you."

Maybe he had got more sand in the food than necessary, although he was obviously making France suffer, which was a good thing. The countries decided to give up on lunch and went off to do other things. The two younger nations were having a stone skimming competition, although Alfred kept forgetting that Matthew was there. After Alfred had taken 5 of his turns, Matthew gave up and took out his camera to take pictures of the beach. He had taken to providing photographic evidence for the other countries that he had in fact been with them on their outings.
Meanwhile, Arthur was packing away the picnic things when he noticed a stone with a hole through the middle. Remembering that they were supposed to have magic properties, he decided to see if he could pick up any more. He walked through a maze of tall rocks that eventually led to a large area of sand and stones. He was looking at the ground when he stiffened, surprised by an arm around his waist. "Angleterre..." a familiar voice purred, "It is too hot. Why don't you take off your shirt?" "Francis!" he snapped, turning around. "What are you...". His protests were suddenly cut off, both by France suddenly pulling his shirt over his head and by the realization that the other nation was only wearing his tight trunks again. He was cut off suddenly, both by Francis pulling his shirt over his head and the realization that the other nation was once again wearing only the tight swimming trunks.
When he could speak, he tried to cover his embarrassment and arousal by snapping "What the bloody hell was that for, bloody frog?" but once again his protests were cut off in the middle, this time by the soft pressure of Francis' lips against his. After a few seconds of shock, Arthur allowed himself to relax into the kiss, opening his mouth to allow the other's tongue entry. When they pulled away, Francis murmured "For once, mon amour, it appears we both want exactly the same thing," before leaning in again. As the Frenchman moved to undo the zip on his trousers, Arthur reflected that maybe the beach trip hadn't been such a bad idea after all.


A/N: And then I crept up behind them and filmed the whole thing! *giant nose-bleed* In case you didn't know, stones with holes are supposed to grant wishes or let you see fairies or something. Anyway, please review.