God, he wished he had stopped and listened to Matt, because there…

Walking down the road…

Arm in arm…

Laughing…

Was Arthur and a blond man Alfred recognized from his first trip to England.

The American could feel the tears stinging at his eyes as he turned and grabbed his suitcase roughly. He drug it back out to the street and spared on last hurt look back at his cheating boyfriend. Arthur had finally noticed him and made a move to run toward him, only to be stopped by his companion.

"Francis! What are you-?!"

The Frenchman had effectively stopped Arthur's complaint by pulling the confused Brit into a kiss.

Al had seen enough. He spun around quickly and stormed away from them, back toward London. He didn't care about the approaching storm. He didn't care about how late it was getting. He didn't care that he no longer had somewhere to stay. He didn't care about Arthur behind him, yelling at him to turn around and for Francis to let him go. All he wanted was somewhere he could sit and drown what he had just seen.


The American found himself in a pub hours later, downing anything the bartender put in his hand. He had managed to find a cheap room a few blocks away and was now intently focused on drinking himself into oblivion.

"Another!"

Instead of the drink he had wanted, the bartender placed a check on the bar in front of him. Al stared at it, not quite comprehending.

"I think it's time you go home, sir."

He frowned. He hadn't had that much to drink, had he? He pulled some cash out and dropped it on the paper before standing and wobbling his way out the door.


It was a miracle Al had made it back to his hotel room. He had had to crawl his way back there, not that he really remembered that part. Honestly, he couldn't remember leaving the pub. All he knew when he woke up next to the toilet was that his entire being hurt, his stomach was effectively empty, and he wasn't entirely sure where he was.

After some time spent staring blankly at the bathroom wall, he managed to piece together part of his evening…and what had led up to it. With a resigned sigh, he heaved himself upright and stumbled into the bedroom. One look at the clock told him the day was already mostly over, not that he felt like going much of anywhere anyway. He fell back on the bed with another sigh, reaching for his phone.

Hey Mattie? [Sent 7:15 pm]

Hi Al. Hanging in there all right? [Received 7:18 pm]

No. Got a ? 4 u. [Sent 7:19 pm]

What? [Received 7:21 pm]

I'm stuck here 4 2 weeks. WTF am I supposed 2 do? [Sent 7:22 pm]

I don't know. Try to fix things? [Received 7:25 pm]

With a frustrated yell, which only succeeded in worsening his hangover, he threw his phone across the room. There's no way he'd be able to fix anything as it was. He had flown all the way over here to do just that and look what it got him!

That brief conversation he had with his mother years ago drifted back through his head. As much as he hated to admit it, she had been right. Maybe he was too immature and oblivious to hold down a real relationship. The next sound he made was one of resignation as he rolled back off the bed and retrieved his phone from where it had come to rest behind a hotel chair.

Mattie, am I pathetic? Cuz I sure feel that way right now. [Sent 7:47 pm]

What makes you say that? [Received 7:52 pm]

Something my mom told me years ago. [Sent 7:54 pm]

Which was? [Received 7:57 pm]

Not something I wanna talk about. [Sent 7:58 pm]

Then how am I supposed to help? [Received 8:03 pm]

I don't know! Just, answer my question? [Sent 8:06 pm]

Fine. No, Alfred, you are not pathetic. You're one of the bravest guys I know, even if you do manage to do some incredibly stupid things sometimes. [Received 8:10 pm]

Now, what I suggest is that you text or call or do something to get in touch with Arthur and actually talk things out properly. [Received 8:13 pm]

But, you don't know what I saw, dude! [Sent 8:14 pm]

Then tell me. [Received 8:16 pm]

He was with that Francis guy. Do I really need to say any more? [Sent 8:18 pm]

I guess not. But I still say contact him. [Received 8:21 pm]

All right, fine. After I get dinner. [Sent 8:22 pm]

Ok. Let me know how it goes. [Received 8:24 pm]

Can do. Later, bro. [Sent 8:25 pm]

Bye, Al. [Received 8:26 pm]

The none-too-happy American, resigned to getting something to eat, forced himself to get up from the bed once again. Technically, he wasn't really hungry, but he knew not eating wasn't going to help his situation any. So twenty minutes later found him showered, in clean clothes, and getting directions to a nearby pub for a late dinner. He looked up at the sky as he left the hotel, wishing he had thought to bring an umbrella or at least a coat. The rain didn't look like it was going to hold off for much longer.

Sure enough, he had barely made it a block before the clouds open up and poured, soaking him to the skin in a matter of minutes. Yet, he trudged on, ignoring the inclement weather. That is, until something stopped it.

The blond turned quickly, a surprised look turning quickly into a glare.

"Francis."

"We need to talk, American."


A/N: I'm so sorry guys. I really didn't abandon this story. It's just, between health problems of my own and my family and my last year of community college and the ensuing workload, I just simply haven't had time XP But I'm taking the next year off to try and get my health back up to par before going off to university, so I will, quite literally, have nothing but time to work on this.

As it stands, I'm not sure how Fighting Fate will be. It may only be another handful of chapters or it might be longer. I don't know. I've never been very good at ending my stories. But I do hope all of you will hang with me until the end.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews over the past year of my absence. It really means a lot that, even though I wasn't updating, there were still people who wanted to see it through. So, truly, thank you.

The next chapter should be up soon. Just so you know, from here on, I don't have anyone to beta. So, please, feel free to point out anything that might be wrong with it. Constructive criticism is always welcome!