AN: Another awesome update of this fic! YAY! I'm sure by now you are all pretty tired of cliffhangers right? Unfortunately for you, I love writing the cliffhanger endings!
Thanks for the awesome reviews once more. I'm glad you all like Francis the Matchmaker! His frustration mimics my own in this story! I love the reviews that have you admitting that I caused some form of emotion in you. That means that my job has been done correctly.
Please continue to review because reviews are awesome.
Francis pulled into his driveway and watched the two cars that were pulling in behind him; the damn stubborn idiots. He just wished that they would get over themselves for long enough to talk properly. He knew that Arthur was trying but, it took a lot to get a point across to the stupid American. Francis planned to help them fix this whole thing.
Arthur got out of his car with a sigh. It didn't surprise him that Francis was going to these measures. He really should have seen it coming. It was obvious that Francis was mad at the two for fighting. Arthur was mad at himself for not getting anywhere so of course Francis was mad as well.
Arthur watched Francis and Alfred get out of their respective cars. "What the hell is this all about Francis?"
Francis sighed and walked over to his door. He opened it and glanced back at the two staring nations. "Inside. I'll explain everything then."
The two men followed his instructions. They had nearly identical frowns on their faces. It was clear to Francis that neither of them wanted to be included in this conversation. At this point, he didn't care what they wanted to talk about. He gave them a chance to figure all of it out on their own. Now it was his turn to put things back to how they should be. At least, he would start the long process that the two would have to go through to make it there.
Francis followed Arthur and Alfred into the house and gestured for them to sit. They did and he began to speak. "Now, I told you two to come here for a very obvious reason. If you morons remember anything from the last time you were here you would already know why."
Alfred interrupted him. "We tried that already."
Francis chuckled. "You did not try to talk. Arthur tried to talk and you blew him off. Then, you argued. That is not talking."
Arthur sighed. "I really don't see what this will accomplish Francis."
"I saw you drinking more than you have in decades in that bar. I saw you crying because of a damn song. Don't pretend that you didn't do it and don't pretend that it wasn't because of this whole mess Arthur." Francis succeeded in making the two stubborn men shut up.
"Now that I have your attention," he looked at them. "You need to discuss what happened between the two of you. You need to discuss the pain you put each other through. I don't think either of you ever thought about how you made the other feel in anything."
"I did." Arthur whispered.
"What?"
"I said I did. I did think about what I did to him. I have been thinking about it for years now." Arthur admitted.
Alfred stood up. "I don't need this shit."
Luckily, Francis had planned for this reaction. He walked over to Alfred and placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't want to talk to him, I have something much more exciting for us to do." He whispered seductively, his other hand on Alfred's hip and slowly moving down.
Alfred got the hint and sat down again. "Fine."
Francis smiled. He might as well just sit back and observe the two now.
Arthur already had tears streaming down his face. "Alfred, I don't expect you to forgive me. The things I did to you were just too terrible for me to remember anymore. I hate thinking back to that dreadful time."
Alfred just laughed. "You're the only one that still worries about it Iggy. Once again, I don't hate you; you hate me."
The tears continued as Arthur felt the need to knock some sense into the lad. "I have said it before and I will say it again: I do not hate you Alfred. I never hated you. I may have said that I did at one point but, I lied to you. I couldn't hate you. It's impossible."
"You don't have to lie to me Arthur!" Alfred was clearly getting upset.
"I'm not lying Alfred."
"Yes you are England. You lied to me back then. You claimed to care about me and then all those laws started pouring in and I couldn't take it!" Alfred proved that he did care more than he let on. The tears started and the remaining pain was evident on his face.
Francis knew that he finally got them to hit something important. He finally got something out of the two stubborn idiots. He didn't expect a confession of love but, it was definitely going in a good direction.
"Don't call me England!" Arthur snapped.
"Why the hell not?" Alfred demanded.
"You do not call me England. You call me Arthur. Or you call me that annoying nickname, Iggy. I hate it when you call me England."
Alfred was too shocked to say a word back. He didn't expect that in a million years. He thought that Arthur hated the nickname. He always said that he did.
"I did not lie to you back then Alfred. I told you the truth when I said that I cared about you, you bloody moron. I lied when I said that I hated you. I put up those ridiculous laws so I could have more control over you. I held so tightly because I didn't want to lose. Of course, my efforts failed." Arthur felt somewhat defeated. It was obvious that Alfred didn't want to hear a word of it.
"If it wasn't true, why did you say it? If you didn't want me to leave, why did you push me away?" Alfred felt like a little kid again. He felt transported back to a time when he had to rely on Arthur. He knew that it wasn't the case but, it still felt that way.
"I don't even know why I said it. I pushed you away but, that wasn't what I intended. I wanted to hold onto you more tightly."
"You really hurt me Iggy." Alfred confessed.
Arthur felt like he was going to cry even harder. He couldn't believe that the American was admitting to pain. What was worse, he caused that pain. "I never meant to."
Francis felt the need to intercede once more. Yes, they were going in a good direction. They needed to discuss how Arthur felt about things as well.
"Arthur?" Francis called. The Englishman turned to look at him. "How did you feel by the end of this? How do you feel now?"
Arthur stared at the ground for a few minutes before answering the question. "I… I felt like I was going to die. I had never felt that pain before in my life. I felt utterly defeated. When I was about to hurt Alfred, I couldn't do it. I couldn't shot him. I cared too much. I was hurt and lonely and lost. I still feel hurt and lonely and lost." He whispered.
"Iggy…" Alfred was stunned.
Francis sighed. "I believe that is enough for today. Promise me that you'll discuss this again at greater length."
Arthur continued to stare at the ground. "Promise," he mumbled.
Alfred approached Arthur. "Iggy, please stop crying."
The truth was; another flashback was playing through Arthur's head.
It was the end of the American Revolution. Arthur was standing face to face with his soon-to-be ex-colony. He had the gun in his hand. He could have fired at the younger nation but, he couldn't. He felt to much love in his heart. He couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.
Arthur knew what would happen if he let Alfred win this fight. They would be done. Alfred would leave and he wouldn't be coming back. He should stop the crazy young man. He should admit to loving the other nation. He should admit to the pain this was all causing him. Instead, he just clutched the gun for dear life.
"Come on Arthur. Shoot me."
"I-I can't." Arthur dropped the gun to the ground. "I can't hurt you Alfred. I can't do it."
Alfred chuckled darkly. It looks like you're going to lose then.
The flashback changed. It fast forwarded by a few months.
"Angleterre, please get out of bed."
"I refuse." Arthur lay under the covers.
"Please Arthur; don't do this to yourself anymore."
"I already lost everything Francis. Just leave me alone." He heard the Frenchman leave and rolled over in the bed.
This was Arthur's punishment. He had chased away the only person worth fighting for. He had pushed away the only person that he would ever love. He just wanted to die. The pain was too great for him to handle. As a nation, he could take a lot of pain and damage. Of course, that was all physical. This was totally different.
He swore that he wouldn't let himself be happy until he made things right with Alfred. He wouldn't be able to live with himself until he told Alfred how he felt.
The flashback ended and Arthur looked at Francis. "I'm going to go home now." He walked out the door and got in his car.
AN: Chapter end!