(Three Days Later, The Weekend)

Arthur glared at his brother as he ran around his room, destroying everything. He pushed himself into a sitting position and frowned.

"Why are you searching my room?" He demanded.

"I want you to look spiffy for your date with Francis," Alfred replied quickly, shooting his brother a smug smile.

"Wipe the fucking smug look off your face, you still have to ask Matthew out." Arthur rolled over and lay out on his stomach, glaring at his favorite fuzzy blue pillow.

Alfred just snorted and went back to tearing the room apart.

Francis grinned at himself in the mirror and turned to look at his brother. Matthew had his hair pushed back with one of their mother's head bands with made him look adorable and was shaking his head at Francis

"This is totally weird. You're going on a date with my crush's brother and I know you're going to try and plan something-"

"Petite frère, no! I would never!" Francis grinned and flopped down next to Matthew. "Anyway, Arthur was vehement about it not being a date. Apparently, his brother forced him into it."

Matthew frowned. The one time he had met Arthur Kirkland, he had been terrified because of all the complaining Alfred did, but he turned out to be nice enough. Unless it came to Alfred, then he turned evil and all 'if-you-say-anything-I'll-kill-you-…-brutally.'

"I don't think he'd let Alfred make him do anything. Unless he got something out of it too."

Francis shrugged and let himself fall backward. He didn't really care about the reason as long as he got to take Arthur out to a movie.

"Your bruise is showing."

Francis flinched and his hand immediately went up to gently rub the big, black and blue bruise on his cheek. A sigh escaped Matthew's lips and he left Francis' bed and he retrieved something before returning.

"You really shouldn't argue with father so much. It accomplishes nothing." Matthew unscrewed the top off of the cover up and smeared a little on Francis' cheek. "And are you sure you want to keep this from Arthur?"

"I know that, Mattie, but he just pisses me off somuch. And yeah, I don't want to tell Arthur… at least not yet." Francis wrinkled his nose at the cold of the cover up and tried feebly to push away his brother. For his size, Matthew was pretty strong.

Arthur pulled at the collar of his turtle neck and bit his bottom lip. The clothes he, no Alfred, had chosen were simple: A black, cotton turtle neck shirt, dark blue skinny jeans (Arthur didn't know he owned them), and niceish black shoes. It wasn't over the top, but not too casual and, most importantly, it was freaking comfortable.

Alfred walked up next to Arthur and grinned, settling his chin on his shoulder.

"You look nice, bro. Francis will be smitten."

Arthur let out a huff and walked away from his brother, tossing him a glare. He tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"You know how to stop the kid's crying, right?" He asked.

Alfred nodded and launched himself onto Arthur's bed, snuggling into the soft blankets.

"Tomorrow, I'll call Matthew and ask him so you can see me do it, okay?"

Arthur sighed and nodded, rubbing his arm nervously. He looked at the clock, a sudden wave of anxiety hitting him low in the belly. He swayed a little on spot and felt hands clutch at his arm, holding him upright.

"Are you okay?" Alfred asked concern evident in his voice.

"Y-yeah… Just a little… nervous." Arthur let his brother keep his hand on his arm, mainly for balance, and he closed his eyes. It was just a movie outing with a friend. Nothing more.

Francis absentmindedly pushed his sleeves up while Matthew surveyed him skeptically. The look in his eyes scared his brother and Francis shuffled his feet nervously.

"You look fine," Matthew said happily after moments of dissection of the outfit Francis had him pick out. It was a simple white V-neck T-shirt, light blue jeans, and sandals with his hair loose. Until Matthew scampered over and pushed him onto the bed.

"I must fix your hair." He set to work combing through Francis' hair and pulled it up into a messy ponytail that complimented his features. "There! Arthur will fall in love when he sees you!"

"Because of my hair?" Francis asked smirking. He gathered up his keys and his favorite zip up sweater.

"Yup!" Matthew grinned playfully and walked past his brother and out the door, calling over his shoulder, "Be safe, big brother! I hope you have fun!"

Francis smiled and nibbled on his lower lip as he glanced around his room to see if he needed anything before he left to pick up Arthur. Finding nothing, he left his room and hurried out to his car. He picked another of his favorite CDs and put in, then drove off.

Arthur waited nervously in the sitting room, holding the CD Francis had continuously forgotten at his house. He had a spare CD case which he put the disc in and waited, his lip firmly clamped between his teeth. He shouldn't be this nervous, it was only Francis… Who he had a major crush on and who was straight.

A few minutes later, after toying with the CD case, a firm knock sounded at his door. Arthur leapt up and raced over to the door. He paused a moment to suck in a breath and run his hand through his hair, and opened the door. Francis stood in the doorway grinning, his arms crossed over his chest.

"'Ello, Mon Cher," He said, cocking his head to the side.

Arthur scowled and spun around, shutting the door after stepping outside muttering a quiet, "Hey."

Arthur followed Francis to his car in silence, feeling mighty awkward. He slid into the passenger's side and tapped his finger on the CD case. Francis slid in and started up the car. Before he pulled out, Arthur handed him the CD and faced the front, his lips pursed in a tight line.

Francis' eyes lit up and he immediately switched the CDs. He searched through the tracks until he came to track 10, which started to play.

He hummed along with the words which drew Arthur's attention. He watched him out of the corner of his eye, fighting a smile until the chorus hit.

"He said, 'My name is Private Andrew Malone

If you're reading this, then I didn't make it home

But for every dream that shattered, another one comes true

This car was once a dream of mine, now it belongs to you

And though you may take her and make her your own

You'll always be riding with Private Malone'"

Arthur's head snapped over to look at Francis', his green eyes wide with shock. Francis looked over and smiled sheepishly.

"I love this song. It's awesome… I wanna find a car like that once, it'd be awesome. And yes, Arthur, I sing. I'm actually pretty good."

Arthur felt his lips curl into a smile his didn't want to show and he shook his head, laughing quietly.

"I never would have guessed. But… I guess it makes sense. You love your music and your voice sounds kind of sing-songy already so…"

Francis seemed to blush a little and he looked out the wind shield. He wasn't used to praise normally and praise coming from Arthur was kind of unheard of unless you were Alfred Kirkland so… He beamed and shot Arthur a wink.

"You should pick a song and sing it, Cher! I want to hear it!"

Arthur flushed and jerked his head in a 'hell-no' manner. He glared at Francis, bracing himself against his window.

"Please, Cher?"

Arthur shook his head furiously and narrowed his eyes.

"Please? Just one song? And I swear I won't tell anyone about it and I'll even take the baby for more than two days at a time once."

Arthur shook his head again.

"I'll see with you," Francis said, trying to coax Arthur.

Arthur narrowed his eyes, wondering if he agreed what would happen. He did like when Francis sang, he admitted grudgingly, but he knew he himself was a horrible singer. Slowly he nodded, nibbling on his lip.

"Only because I'll fail with someone."

Francis grinned and watched as Arthur fiddled with the controls until 'Get Out Alive' by Three Days Grace was playing. In the beginning, Arthur barely uttered the words while Francis practically screamed out the words, trying to make Arthur feel more comfortable. Slowly Arthur got louder until he was comfortably singing, even though he couldn't look at Francis.

After the song ended, Arthur blushed bright red and pressed his forehead to the window glass. Francis chuckled giddily and reached over, squeezing Arthur's shoulder.

"You don't suck at singing, Cher, but you're not the greatest." Arthur slapped feebly at Francis' hand and stared at him angrily, opening his mouth to retort then snapping it shut. Francis smiled sweetly and gave his shoulder another squeeze.

"Whatever." Arthur sighed and a few minutes later they pulled into the theater. They parked and bought their tickets inside. Once they settled in the theater room, Francis turned to look at Arthur.

"You look tired, Cher. Are you sure you want to watch the movie?"

Arthur nodded, popping some popcorn in his mouth. Francis smiled and took a sip of his ice tea just as the previews stated to play.

Halfway into the boring drama Arthur and Francis had picked, Francis watched half-heartedly while trying to keep an eye on Arthur. He still couldn't get over his adorably awkward singing. For a second, the movie actually held his attention- something about a man's wife cheating and the wife freaking out- when a weight settled on his shoulder. His haze snapped down and he was utterly bewildered.

Arthur's eyes weren't fully closed but they were slitted as he laid his head on Francis' shoulder. Smiling softly at the look of contentment on his face, Francis gently shifted, trying to make it more comfy for Arthur.

After the movie and waking Arthur up, they were walking back to the car which was parked pretty far down. Arthur was still sheepish about falling asleep but Francis kept assuring him it was fine (cute even, though he didn't say it out loud) when Arthur's foot caught on something. He flailed his arms, trying to grab something to stop himself from falling.

Francis reacted swiftly, grabbing Arthur's arm and jerking him into his chest. He held the boy close until he felt that he was safe to walk on his own.

"Are you okay?" He asked letting him go.

Arthur nodded, biting his lip and flushing slightly.

"I'm fine! I just… almost killed myself. Anyway, let's get home. I'm… really tired."

Francis laughed, throwing his arm around Arthur's shoulders, leading him to the car.

Francis held tightly to Arthur as he walked up to the house. Arthur had fallen asleep and instead of waking him up and then escorting to the door, he merely picked him up. Francis knocked on the door with his foot and Alfred answered a few minutes later, his glasses off. He let them in without much question and drifted away to somewhere Francis didn't really want to know about.

He carried the sleeping man up the stairs and peeled back the covers awkwardly, then laid Arthur down and covered him with the blankets. He smiled and shook the boy awake. His unfocused green eyes blinked open slowly.

"Good night, Cher. I had a wonderful time. Maybe next time we can have a friendly picnic with the brothers." Francis smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before he could stop himself. He waited with bated breath for Arthur's reaction. All he did was smile airily and snuggled into the blankets.

"Mm bye, Francis… G'night…"

Francis smiled and walked out of the room, tromped down the stairs and popped his head into the kitchen. Alfred was getting a drink of water and waved wearily.

"Hey… Thanks for bringing my brother home. I'll see you around."

Francis inclined his head to Alfred and paused for a moment. Should he…? No, no he shouldn't. Why screw up Matthew's love life yet? He waved and exited the house swiftly and slid into the car. He drove home languidly and hurried into his room after kissing his mother's cheek and checking on his brother, who was asleep, curled up on the couch.

He stripped, crawled into bed, and then buried his face in the cool pillow. Arthur was seriously bad for his health. He was just too freaking adorable and the best part was that he didn't know it.

He reached his hand up and rubbed at his cheek absently, feeling it itch. When he pressed a little too hard, he flinched, remembering the bruise he had gotten earlier that day.

(Flashback)

Francis glared at his father, his head raised defiantly and his fingers curled into fists by his sides. He hated this man, he hated what he stood for and what he did. He was a poor excuse of a man, let alone a father.

His father's beady little eyes glittered with anger and hate, and what happened next was so fast, Francis didn't see it happen, only felt it.

His cheek exploded with pain and he stumbled backward, pressing his hand to his face.

"Don't ever speak like that to me, or you'll get worse, brat," he father snarled, storming away.

Francis watched him leave fury and pain mingling into a heady cocktail of emotion. His hand gently prodded the place where his father punched him and hissed out a breath. At least he didn't do this to Matthew, because if he had tried, Francis would have gone to prison for murder a very long time ago.

(End Flashback)

Francis sighed, biting his lip. He really shouldn't get too close to Arthur and drag him into his screwed up family life. It wasn't fair and if he ever got hurt, Francis would never forgive himself.

Expelling the troubling thoughts with difficulty, he fell into an uneasy sleep.

I hope you guys enjoy, and don't kill me about what's happening to Francis- I love him too. Well... Review, maybe? And I love you guys. You're fucking awesome and don't forget that. And I really hope the plot doesn't get too cliché.