Chapter 3: -But strip poker is even worse

Arthur was pretty good at poker, sparing him with only having to take off his blazer, his shoes and his bowtie (and top button); compared to his associate who was already in his undergarments (vest, pants and socks) whilst Alfred faring a little better, still having his trousers on.

"That all ya got? I still have your shirt over here, you know." Alfred grinned, looked at his cards, and yelled,

"Call!". The bushy-browed bloke studied his cards. A Queen and a nine. Not bad.

"Raise." It was then Gilberts turn. He had a strong poker-face ; however he kept refusing to 'fold'. Looks like he was going to lose pretty soon if he didn't swallow his pride a little and back down.

Arthur peered over to look at the Prussian's cards before he sharply pulled them away. That hand is awful- but how do I tell him to fold?

Arthur faked a cough or two, shaking his head in warning as subtly as he could. This was like Hang-man, and Gilbert was guessing all the wrong letters.

"I'll- ow!" The Englishman had kicked his leg, trying to prevent his loss. Gilbert then proceeded to take off his socks, raising the bet. As the cards were revealed, Arthur gulped. Alfred had the cards to produce a straight, from 9 to king. fucking hell.

Arthur, began to take off his shirt when he realised that he had forgotten to wear his matching vest (he would only wear a vest that matched his suit), which was currently at the dry-cleaners.

"Uh, can I raise the value on my shirt? I'll just undo a few buttons instead."

"Sorry pal, but its too late to change the rules now", The blue-eyed American wore a smug face.

"It's quite chilly in here, isn't it."

They all watched the dealer for the new round whilst he handed his item of clothing over to Alfred. Arthur leant over to Gilbert, whispering, "You need to fold this round. Surely your pride of winning is stronger than your foolish desire to not raise the bet."

His red eyes studied Arthur's face before he opened his mouth.

"Pfft. I am too awesome to lose. Just look at my hand!"

The slightly shivering Englishman furrowed his eyebrows and firmly spoke, "His hand is quite high too. The cards have been seeming to raise in value these last few rounds, wait a turn or two before betting again."

The English chaperone then sat back in his seat and began to say his move before Gilbert, almost as if in spite, cut in and spat out the word "Raise."

He then placed his own cards on the table and folded. What are you doing? I was your best chance to win! Arthur already knew that his opponent had a high set and took off his trousers whilst the blond man opposing him cackled a little, boasting as bad as a petty lion with a fluffy mane that only made it seem larger. Shit, do they have no heating whatsoever in here?!

He peered over to the other European, who didn't have a single goose-bump on his skin. He soon quickly forgot about the temperature as he began to mutter curses to the Ruby-eyed man.

A few rounds later, and Arthur was down to only his pants, ready to back out; with his comrade cheering him on behind him, butt-naked. He decided it was best to let the brash albino be, afraid of turning around and seeing something his didn't want to right now.

The hands had finally started to calm down, giving him the upper hand, and he knew this was going to be the last round. A flush for the grand finale. How fitting.

Arthur bit his lip to refrain himself from breaking into a devious smile, raising the bet. Gilbert cheered, and Alfred, slightly pouting, and held out his hand to congratulate them.

"Just to prove myself worthy of this title of awesomeness, all those stood around us gets their next round of drink on me!" The crowd whooped and made a bee-line to the bar. Gilbert was just about to follow them when Arthur, slightly embarrassed of how exposed he felt, suggested it would be wise to get changed in the men's room first.

"Thanks. If I had lost, Nobody would let me live down the fact that I had lost such a title to my darned rival." Gilbert, now fully clothed and ready to go, walked up to Arthur and pecked him on the cheek before dragging him out to the bar with him for some of his favourite celebratory drink: Beer.

Arthur, who was blushing and not fully prepared, stumbled with Gilbert to the bar; struggling to put his blazer back on at the same time. "Bloody heck, give me a break!" The flustered guy bickered. However once they got there, he decided that he would praise himself by drowning in ale.

~Back at Gilbert's house~

"That wasch a prechhy great party, eh, Arth's?" laughed Gilbert, throwing himself onto the bed.

"Yea, s'was great. Acsh, I can't undo t'is damn bow-tie thinghy." Gilbert propped himself back up, so that he was sitting but slightly leaning to the left.

"Tha's 'cush you did et too tight. c'mere befure I wanna schleep." Arthur staggered over, trying to yank himself free from the accessory around his neck.

"Shtap pulling! yar only making et tightter." he fumbled at the bow-tie, digging his fingers into the knot until it broke free.

"See- only ze awesome c'n undo the tighttest ufh knots!" he yelled proudly as he got undressed, and prepared his bed.

"Whait, ah forgot to take uhff mah shoes!" Arthur looked at how silly it appeared and broke into fits of laughter.

"Sho you shay yer awesome an' all, but ye furget to take off yer shoes! Right, right, I to'ally believfe you." as he slapped Gilbert's shoulder, and fell onto the bed.

~the next morning~

Ughh, I feel so exhausted. It feels as if I have a whole other person on top of me. Damn, this this bed is warm though. Arthur unwillingly opened his eyes when he felt something move.

"Fuck off, can't you see I'm trying sleep you bloody twa-" As his vision cleared he realised that he did have a whole other person on top of him. He could feel his cheeks burn, as he yelped out,"Why am I almost naked in your bed?"

Gilbert moaned, pressing down on Arthur as he awoke. "Because you fell flat onto my bed last night, and I couldn't be bothered to put you onto your own. So I got you out of your uncomfortable attire and laid you beside me."

He gave a small smirk as he rolled over.

"You should be thanking me." he grinned as he poked Arthur's cheek.

Pouting, the bushy-browed man sat up, rubbing his head. Gilbert tugged him back down.

"If you don't want to get up, then don't."

"But I thought-"

"Fuck breakfast." he chuckled, and stared into Arthur's emerald eyes.

"Right now I want you to be my hot-water bottle" He wrapped his arm around him to stop him from struggling. Arthur, red to his ears, soon realised that his efforts to escape was futile.

"Could I at least-"

"No."

"But-"

"I said no, now shush, or I'll make you." A moment of silence filled the room.

"Just let me-" Gilbert scooted closer to the tomato-faced man, and kissed him on the lips, muffling Arthur's speech. Once Arthur stopped struggling and making muffled sounds in a frustrated tone, he released his grip on Arthur's lips.

"I warned you, my stubborn little princess." Arthur made a quiet whine. This is worse than that time when I had to look after a that perverted frog! at least i was able to push him off me.

~a little while later~

"So, do you feel any better now?"

Gilbert asked, getting up to get a cup of coffee. Thank goodness, I can finally breathe!

"Yes, now I don't have someone squeezing me to death." He then got up and delved into his suitcase for a casual t-shirt and a loose set of jeans.

"Cool people pull their pants up when they're bending over, especially when someone is trying to drink." Arthur peered back at him, scowling, then pulled them up.

"At least I'm looking for something to wear. Besides I need to go shopping today, we're running out of things. Anything you want in particular?" Gilbert stood for a moment, thinking.

" I want to go to a supermarket and roll around pushing a trolley with my awesome cape on." Arthur gave him a confused look, and then broke out with laughter.

"Are you mad? You're an adult, not a five-year old." Gilbert grinned, putting on a black t-shirt and dark-blue jeans.

"And what if I am?" Putting on his shoes, The overly-energetic albino kicked open the front door and strode over to his sports car. Arthur, wincing at the slamming door, followed behind and got into the driver's seat.

Writer's note

Phew, I think I overdid that one. Now it's time to finish my cookie and go outside ~opens door~ ... I think I'll have to become Mary Poppins for this one. ~grabs umbrella and is swept away by the ridiculously wild wind~
But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this one and are prepared for Prussia's hilariously silly antics (and maybe something quite sweet).

Upon edit: Okay so at the moment it's not windy, but it looks like it will be soon. Also, I think that storm is coming sooner than I'd like, as it's already getting cloudy again. I feel sorry for the weatherman.

Wow, after editing this chapter I realise how much I miss writing this. My new story feels a lot more serious than this, I think I'll try to lighten it up a little.