Alfred caught Arthur in the middle of packing survival and started laughing at him. "This isn't some boy scout trip in the middle of nowhere. We're spending a week on a private camping ground. The only thing you'll need to bring is some change of clothes. Yeesh you really are an idiot." Arthur just threw a canteen at Alfred's head and started to pack some clothes.
A few seconds later, Peter came bursting into his room all excited about what he heard. "You're going on a camping trip! I want to go too," the small boy pleaded to his older brothers. Arthur and Alfred both answered with a loud no then proceeded to argue with Peter why he couldn't come.
Curious for what all the noise was for, Richard showed up. Seeing Richard, Peter decided to get his help. "Tell Alfred and Arthur to let me go on the camping trip. They're being really mean and won't let me go." Peter gave Richard the puppy dog face, willing to do anything to go on the trip.
Knowing that Richard was close to caving in they tried convincing him why he couldn't come. However, Richard gave in and Peter was allowed to go on the trip. Peter was ecstatic, and he was so busy jumping around with excitement that his brothers had to pack his clothes for him.
When it came time to go to bed, he couldn't fall asleep. So instead of being a good boy and stay in his room he decided to wake up Arthur to talk about the camping trip.
After waking up Arthur, he started rapidly asking questions. "How many people are going? Will there be any kids? What are we going to do?" Arthur was still too drowsy to answer any of the questions. He tried to get Peter back to bed, but it was all in vain. Oblivious to the fact that his presence was unwanted, Peter kept on talking.
Eventually he noticed that Arthur had fallen asleep on him. Deciding that a sleeping person wasn't that fun to talk to he went toward Alfred's room. Finding the door locked, he slinked back to his room. He finally fell asleep thinking of all the fun he was going to have tomorrow.
Arthur woke up in the morning to Alfred shaking his shoulder. "Hey dude. Matthew just called me and said they were going to pick us up in an hour. He also told me to let you know that Michelle is coming as well."
Arthur groaned inwardly when he found out that Michelle would be coming to the trip. "That's fantastic. Let's just make the trip awkward." He sighed then got out of bed. He had been hoping that he would have been able to spend the entire time with Francis. Now he would have to worry about letting Michelle know that he was no longer going to marry her, and he was going out with her brother.
While he waited for them to pick up he paced back and forth trying to figure out what he was going to say to Michelle. "You should really stop worrying so much everything is going to be ok," said Alfred after Arthur's pacing got really annoying.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Well excuse me. I guess I really should stop worrying about what I'm going to tell Michelle when I break off our engagement," he said sarcastically.
"What! You're going to break up Michelle. Why would you do that? She's such a nice person," said Peter, showing his concern and confusion.
Arthur swore. He had forgotten that Peter didn't know about him breaking off the engagement. "You wouldn't know why because you're too young. Just don't tell mom and dad," he said concerned about his parents finding out.
"I'm not a little kid! I'll understand," Peter said while pouting.
Before Arthur could disagree again he was interrupted by Alfred. "It's because he's madly in love with Francis. So they're going to elope and live in the Alps as goat herders."
Peter bought everything Alfred said hook line and sinker. "W-why would you go to the Alps and leave us all alone! Don't you love us too," Peter managed to say while tears ran down his face.
Arthur looked at Alfred like he was going to kill him but decided on comforting Peter instead. "I'm not going to elope with Francis to the Alps. Alfred just told you that to freak you out."
Peter sniffled and dried his tears. "Why would he say you're eloping with Francis?"
Arthur blushed slightly as he said, "You could say that we're dating."
Peter just smiled and said, "As long as you're happy. That's all that matters right!"
Arthur mumbled, "Yeah." He didn't want to tell Peter that there was a bigger issue that tried to govern his love life. Peter didn't notice Arthur's uncertainty and went back to his own cheery self.
It wasn't long before their ride showed up. Arthur went in the passenger seat next to Francis while Alfred sat in the back beside Matthew with Peter on his lap. Francis leaned over and kissed Arthur on the cheek causing him to blush. "Do you really have to do that in front of everybody else?"
Francis lifted an eyebrow and replied, "If we didn't have an audience I would have done a lot more." This caused Arthur to wander off and think of what more Francis could have done to him wishing they were alone. Arthur's thoughts of what to do with Francis later were interrupted by Peter.
"You guys better not do anything pervy in front of me. I'm still a kid so don't ruin my innocence just yet," said Peter while he crossed his arms.
Francis smiled and replied, "I promise I won't do anything pervy to Arthur in front of you. I can't promise that everybody else at the camping trip won't do anything."
"That's okay. It's different for you and Arthur because I can't imagine anybody wanting to do pervy things with him so it's gross to me." Francis laughed as he turned the car on.
Thinking this was the best time to apologize to Michelle Arthur turned around, but before he could say anything she interrupted him. "I'm so glad that you and my brother are dating. No offense or anything, but I just didn't want to really marry you. You're a great guy and all, but just not my type."
Arthur was shocked for a few moments before he responded. "I'm happy to hear that you think that way. I was worried that you would get sad about me not wanting to marry you." He was truly relieved. Although he didn't want to marry Michelle she was still a nice girl and he didn't want to see her upset.
Arthur spent half of the trip wondering why Alfred and Matthew were so close and the other half stopping Francis from groping him every time Peter stopped looking at them. He was relieved when they finally got to their destination. He was starting to get tempted to let Francis do whatever he wanted to him even if it was in front of an audience.
When he got out of the car he saw a familiar face. "Hey! Kiku! I didn't know you were going to be here," Arthur shouted. Kiku turned around and saw Arthur and started walking towards him to avoid shouting.
"I wasn't aware that you were going to be here as well."
"Francis invited me along so I couldn't say no." Kiku got a confused look on his face.
"Why would Francis invite you to the camping trip? You told me that he hated you." It was that moment that Francis decided to interrupt them.
"It was a big misunderstanding between us. We actually love each other. Isn't that right mon-cher," said Francis and kissed Arthur on the head.
Arthur just nodded and hoped that Kiku didn't think it was weird that he was now dating someone that he was trying to avoid earlier.
"It's good that you got over that misunderstanding because you seem to be a lot happier now. May I ask what your parents thought about you dating Francis?"
"They don't know yet," Arthur said in a guilty tone of voice. Kiku just sighed but didn't prod any further not wanting to be rude.
"Just so you know, if you need anything I will always be here for you."
Arthur smiled at Kiku and thanked him. After that Kiku apologized and said there was somewhere else he had to be. When he went to get his bag out of the car he noticed that Alfred and Matthew were missing. Curious as to where they could have gone he looked for them. Just as he was about to give he found them kissing.
Arthur backed away slowly and quietly so he wouldn't interrupt them. When he got back the car he announced, "I finally found out who Alfred was dating!"
"Who is it," asked Peter curious to know who his brother was dating.
"It's Matthew," said Francis stealing Arthur's words.
"How did you know," asked Arthur. He was sure that he discovered something new.
"Matthew told me yesterday after I dropped you off at your place."
Resigning to the fact that he hadn't discovered anything new, he still had questions. "How did they keep this secret for so long?"
Francis shrugged. "They're both good at keeping secrets. What I want to know is how far they got. If Matthew inherited any of my skills they probably already had sex."
Arthur was mortified at the thought. His little baby brother lost his virginity and didn't even tell him. If this was true they were going to have a serious talk later about telling each other important things.
Francis chuckled at the look on Arthur's face. "Come on. We better catch up to everybody else and see what they're doing." Francis grabbed Arthur's hand and led him towards where everyone else was heading.
Antonio saw them and waved to them with a big smile on his face. "Hola mis amigos! We were about to go hiking. You're tent is over there," he said while pointing towards which tent was theirs.
Going into the tent, Arthur saw that they wouldn't be the only ones in the tent. He was surprised to find himself a tiny bit disappointed. He had been secretly been hoping they would have a tent to themselves.
"It seems like we won't be able to do any naughty things," said Francis unknowingly voicing Arthur's thoughts. Francis sighed and put down his stuff. "I even brought condoms and lube with me."
Arthur blushed and hit Francis. "What makes you think that I would do those kinds of things with you!"
Francis pulled Arthur into a hug and purred into his ear, "Because you love me."
"We should probably go meet everybody else to see what they are doing," said Arthur. Francis kissed him on the cheek before letting him go. After all he could wait a little bit longer.
When they got outside they saw that Antonio was waiting for them. "Most people went on the main trail. Some people went on the smaller trails so you can do whatever you'd rather do," he said.
Francis thanked him and pulled Arthur towards a smaller trail.
"Why don't we go with everybody else? I wanted to see who all was here," said Arthur.
"We can do that later. Right now we should spend some time together." Arthur just nodded and followed Francis onto the trail. As they walked they chatted about random things. After a while Francis stopped in the middle of the trail.
"Why did you stop?" Arthur got his answer as Francis pushed him against a tree and kissed him. He eventually overcame his initial shock and kissed him back. He tentatively opened his mouth wanting more. Francis complied by slipping his tongue into Arthur's mouth.
Arthur could tell of Francis's skill from the beginning. He was beginning to wish that they could have gotten alone a lot earlier. They had to eventually break off the kiss in need of air. Arthur went for Francis's neck and started making a hickey.
"I was under the impression that you weren't capable of these kinds of things," Francis said with some amusement in his voice.
"Just because I don't do this in front of people doesn't mean I can't do it. I just have more sense to keep my love life private."
"But how else would I let the whole world know you're mine."
Arthur replied in a small voice, "That's the problem we can't tell the whole world we love each other. We're not supposed to love each other." Francis's words had reminded Arthur of their inability to show their love.
As if he was reading his thoughts Francis said, "I don't care if the world says we can't be together. I'm going to be with you and show the world how much I love you. Starting with your parents." Arthur looked up with a scared expression on his face.
"No! You can't do that. I wouldn't know how my parents would react and even if they won't hurt you they could still ruin you. Promise me won't do anything drastic like that!"
"I won't mon-cher," said Francis while stroking Francis's head. "We should head back it's getting late." Arthur nodded and held onto Francis's hand not willing to let it go.
When they got back to the camp ground, everybody was already there. Looking around Arthur noticed that he knew most of the people there. Everybody from the party was there along with Vash and his little sister Lili. The only people he didn't recognize were two people that were hanging around with Kiku. He turned towards Francis and asked, "Who are those two people with Kiku?"
"The one with the mask is Sadiq and the other one is Heracles. Although they both hate each other they both happen to be friends with Kiku. I think Kiku invited them here so they could maybe get over their differences and stop fighting."
Arthur glanced over them and saw Kiku's plan was working very well. They were arguing with Kiku in the middle looking like he was trying to stop them. Arthur looked around the group to see where Peter and Alfred went to. Eventually he spotted Peter playing with Lili and Alfred snuggling with Matthew.
Francis and Arthur joined everyone else and helped get dinner ready. At first Arthur thought he would help with the cooking but was rejected when Peter and Alfred started complaining. In the end he sat in front of the fire watching Francis cook.
Noticing that Matthew was all by himself, he decided to go talk to him. "How did you meet my brother?" Matthew acted surprised like he wasn't expecting anybody to notice him.
"We met by accident at a café. Back then we didn't know we were from conflicting families so we kept hanging out with each other. By the time we found out our families might not approve of us dating we didn't care anymore. I'm sorry that we kept it a secret from you for so long, but Alfred wanted to tell you at the right time."
"What are you talking about? The reason I knew you guys were dating is because I saw you guys kissing earlier."
"I-I'm sorry! I told Alfred to tell you that we were dating but he must have forgotten. If I would have known I would have told you myself," said Matthew looking very apologetic.
"That's alright. It's not like it was your fault. I'm just glad to find out that he's dating someone as nice as you. I was worried that he was dating someone that would take advantage of him."
"T-thank you," Matthew said while blushing. Seeing Alfred, Matthew excused himself most likely to scold Alfred. Seeing that dinner was ready, Arthur grabbed a plate and sat next to Francis.
"So you want to tell me why Alfred and Peter were so against you cooking," Francis asked with a playful tone.
"The cooks were off for the night so I tried cooking myself something to eat. I ended up burning down the kitchen so they've tried to stop me from cooking anything else since then."
Francis laughed and said, "Well it's a good thing I can cook no? So at least we won't starve to death when we elope to the Alps and become goat herders."
Arthur glared at Francis and said, "You've been talking to Alfred haven't you. I'll advice you not to believe a single word he says."
Everybody was eating around the fire and chatting with each other. Arthur amused himself by watching Elizabeta try and get Vash and Roderich together. It reminded him of the time she was doing the same thing for him and Francis.
After everybody was done eating Gilbert decided it would be fun to tell ghost stories. To Arthur they were really cheesy but Alfred was so scared he was cowering behind Matthew. Arthur began to feel a little drowsy so he rested his head on Francis's shoulder. The heat from the fire and Francis drawing circles on the back of his hand lulled him to sleep.
"Sshhh! Arthur is sleeping," said a soft feminine voice.
"We should draw on him and stuff like that till he wakes up," another voice cackled.
"Non. He's cute when he's sleeping."
When Arthur opened his eyes he saw Gilbert, Francis and Elizabeta looking at him. Looking around he noticed that he wasn't outside anymore. "What am I doing in the tent," he asked sleepily.
"You dozed of outside so we carried you in here so you could sleep. Sorry if we woke you up," said Elizabeta then punched Gilbert blaming him for waking Arthur up.
"Just go back to sleep mon-cher," said Francis while smoothing Arthur's bed head.
"Only if you sleep with me," Arthur said already half asleep. Francis complied and held Arthur close to him. While listening to Francis's heartbeat, he fell asleep again.
When Arthur woke up he noticed that Francis was gone. "He could have at least woke me up," Arthur mumbled. He was about to leave the tent when he heard his name mentioned. Wondering why someone was talking about him he decided to listen in.
"It won't be that easy. His parents aren't the type to forgive so easily. I'm surprised they even created a truce between our families even if it was for them to further themselves." He recognized the voice as Francis's. Wondering who he was talking to he decided to eavesdrop a little longer.
"That's what you keep on saying but who says they'll even be against him dating you," said Ludwig.
"I don't think our parents are okay with gays. They might not like having a son who's gay. I think I should tell my parents that I'm dating Matthew to see their reaction before we let them know they are dating. I think they'll be more lenient to me," Alfred said in a surprisingly serious voice.
"I'll tell my parents as well. I've been waiting to tell them anyways," said Matthew. Arthur decided that he should come out of the tent now. When he got out he noticed that everybody was sitting around the fire all discussing how to keep him and Francis together. If he had been more emotional he might have cried right then.
"So you thought you could get away with talking about this without me." Everyone turned around to him, surprised that he was awake. He sat down next to Francis and continued to talk, "I approve of your little plan with one extra detail. We're going to talk to Richard to make a safe haven in case mom and dad respond badly."
"I'll be fi-," Alfred started to say before he was cut off by Arthur.
"If our parents don't like the idea of you being gay you'll need some place to get away from their fury. Trust me." Alfred just nodded not knowing what else to say. Arthur then turned to address everyone else, "Thanks for trying to help, but you don't have to."
"But we want to help. You're the first person that Francis has seriously dated," said Antonio.
"Ve~! And you're our friend so we want to help you," said Feliciano with a chorus of nods agreeing with him.
Arthur didn't know what else to say so he simply said. "Thanks. All of you."
A/N: Nothing else to say other than please review!
