Howdy guys, I'm back :D Thank you MerridewLover for the fan art, I've never had it before and I'm so grateful for it :D Thank you again :D So here's the tenth chapter, double digits people :) Enjoy.

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Arthur glared at the piece of paper that had been tacked to the billboard crudely. He wished that it'd burst into flames with the intensity of his glare, but alas, it didn't. A few passerby's were sending him odd looks, but Arthur couldn't bring himself to care. The flyer just mocked him.

PARTY AT ALFRED F. JONE'S HOUSE!

ANYONE'S INVITED!

The damn American had thrown a party probably without his own parent's consent. Arthur had a horrible feeling he'd be on cleaning duty tomorrow. Jeez, that guy went from chasing after Matthew to throwing parties for strangers. Sighing in aggravation, Arthur slipped two fingers over the top of the paper and tore it off of the billboard, the tack remaining in the material, thus ripping the paper. Arthur, of course, didn't care though, crumpling up the paper and then throwing it in the empty cup that used to hold orange juice in it.

"That bloody yank went off without anybody's approval and threw a god forsaken party!" Arthur fumed. Matthew sighed and picked at his food, one hand holding the fork, the other tapping on the rim of the wheel to his wheelchair. They were expecting Matthew to be in crutched a few weeks from then, giving that the surgery was more than a success.

Muttering to himself, Arthur extracted his phone and speed dialed Alfred. When the other picked up, you could definitely tell there was a party going on at his place. Arthur could hear other people and the loud music, Alfred having to yell into his phone so Arthur could hear him over the ruckus.

"Alfred, what the bloody hell were you thinking?"

"Oh, hey Artie! Thought that I needed a little fun since…ya know, a whole bunch has happened. So I put flyers up yesterday and I got like…a TON of people to come! I swear, it's like I had posted it on the internet…well…someone else could've, but…you get the point! Oh! Hey Artie, come on over, it's really fun!"

"No, I will not go over there you—gah, Kiku's coming over soon to see Matthew, but I'm still not going there," Arthur sighed, taping one finger against the back of the phone he was pressing against his ear. Alfred was such a…a…he didn't even know.

"Aww…come on Artie, it'll be so much fun! Can't you just ditch 'em for a couple of hours?" the way Alfred had said 'ditch' instead of something else made something in Arthur boil. Balling his free hand into a fist before relaxing it, Arthur replied with a very stern 'no'.

"Oh, and by the way, do you know where Francis is? I need to speak with him," Arthur asked, Matthew sending him a slightly suspicious look. Mentally rolling his eyes, Arthur awaited Alfred's reply, which was a dumb 'dunno'. "It's 'don't know' you git. Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"ARTHUR WAI—" Arthur snapped his cellular shut before Alfred could continue his begging or complaining. Leaning back in his seat with an exasperated sigh, he rubbed his forehead with his hand, somewhat wishing that he would've stayed in England. Why did he have to choose the summer Alfred rose to fame? He was hoping for a summer of just doing things normal kids did like go out to play football (soccer) or start a food fight in the local café. But nooo, he just had to come when Alfred would start cramming his schedule with interviews, avoiding fangirls, photo shoots, concerts, the such.

Arthur jumped slightly when The Star Spangled Banner started playing on his cellular. Immediately knowing that it was Alfred (because when Alfred would call, Arthur had set the ring tone to the American national anthem), Arthur hesitantly flipped it open and answered. This time, there was the faint sound of music, but no people, Alfred was probably upstairs in his own room for peace and quiet. Slight peace and quiet actually.

"Hey Artie, I was gonna tell you that I'm throwing a party at Mattie's after the fourth of July concert, but you just hung up. So notify him!" and then he hung up. Arthur stared blankly at the space in front of him, not exactly wanting to accept what Alfred had just said. Throw a wild party…at a handicapped persons house…and it's not even your own…damn how was he going to tell Matthew?

"Hey Matthew, Alfred's got a party planned for after the fourth of July concert and it's going to be at your house," Arthur announced almost bluntly.

"I hate this wheelchair," well that went better than he thought. Arthur let out a dumb 'huh?', since he should know that having to operate a wheelchair wasn't the most fun on earth. "I mean, I can't walk and I need help getting places…I don't like it," Matthew continued, patting the rim of the wheel. Matthew seemed hesitant with what he was going to say next, but managed to get it out. "They…they say I might have a permanent limp…"

Way to make a guy feel guilty.

Arthur pulled Matthew into the best hug he could muster giving that the other was in a wheelchair and sitting across from him. Smiling lightly, Matthew hugged the other back before separating and returning to picking at his untouched food.

"I uh…sorry…what about your head?" Arthur asked, knowing that his head injury wasn't so bad and that bringing up something that the other knew he'd fully recover from would make him cheer up at least a bit.

Smiling at Arthur's attempt, Matthew answered with a light smile. "Ah…nurse said I'd have a few headaches here and there. Might forget something miniscule from now on, but I'll be making a full recovery after about two months."

"That's good," he pat the other on the shoulder. Matthew's smile brightened at the friendly gesture and pat Arthur's hand.

The small bell to the door that allowed entrance to café rang, announcing that someone had arrived. Looking over his shoulder, Arthur was happy to see Kiku approaching them with a tiny box in his hands.

"Ah…Matthew, I heard about the accident, I hope you get better, hello Arthur," Arthur greeted Kiku with a nod of his head as the Japanese boy handed the tiny box to Matthew who opened it. His smile widened further, looking like a much softer version of Alfred's megawatt smile. He extracted a necklace, the pendant being a tiny sakura tree inside of a large red-orange maple leaf. There was no chain, it was more of a string so it wouldn't look feminine.

"Whoa, Kiku, this is so cool…" Matthew unclipped the two parts connecting the ends of the string and handed it to Kiku who helped put it around the Canadian's neck.

"You like it? I got it at this cool shop around here. It sells a lot of flags and country symbols there."

"We could get some stuff for The United Nations. It'll define us more," Matthew piped up. He was really happy for the first time that day.

"Oh, Arthur, I saw a few Anglo-America stuff that you or Alfred might like," Kiku suggested, Arthur going slightly red at what it hinted to. But Kiku wasn't that kind of guy. That was Francis. "We could go after getting you two a proper lunch, I know a good Japanese restaurant you might like," Kiku offered almost excitedly. Matthew agreed and Arthur agreed with it as well. The three of them left the café after paying and Kiku walked them to the restaurant, giving that they didn't have a vehicle that could transport wheelchairs and neither of them knew how to fold it up.

When they entered, it was slightly dim, but just bright enough to make it enjoyable. You could tell that it was a Japanese restaurant too. Arthur almost thought that he had stepped through some sort of teleportation device that had sent him to Japan. This was real.

"Jeez, didn't know this country was capable of such uh…I don't have the word at the moment, " Arthur murmured quietly, giving that it was slightly silent in the restaurant excluding the sounds coming from the kitchen and the quiet murmurs of couples eating together. Matthew almost laughed at Arthur's comment, wheeling himself alongside his two band mates as a waitress guided them to a square table, removing a chair so Matthew could get closer to the table.

After ordering and Matthew freaking out about how hot the meat was from just coming off of the stove, the three had settled into the place.

"So…what are we going to do about the fourth of July concert Alfred keeps talking about? Kiku, Alfred's throwing a party at Matthew's after the concert just so you know," Arthur started. Kiku took a moment to answer, but eventually did.

"Ah…I think we should outside, that way, we can watch the fireworks when we're done playing," Kiku suggested. Arthur, even though he wasn't fond of fireworks, liked the idea. They had yet to perform outside too according to Kiku and Matthew. He was kind of surprised, the weather was nice, much nicer and consistent than in London, and he'd see a lot of people doing stuff outside. When they had performed about three days ago, Arthur was surprised that they had ended up inside.

"That's a great idea," Matthew nodded his head. "We should also get a lot of lights, it'll make Alfred happy for all I know," Matthew chuckled at his suggestion.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. We're supposed to meet Ivan Braginsky a few days from now," Arthur announced, suddenly remembering that tid bit Matthew's mother had told him. The two looked a little blank on what he had said before it set in, the two suddenly remembering who that was. The bass player. "Matthew, you're mother recommended Yao Wang, a violinist if we ever needed one too," he added. Matthew smiled.

"Yeah, I know a few good songs that have a violin in it that I've been wanting to play, thanks for telling me Arthur," the three resumed to their lunch.

Ten minutes passed and the three paid the bill and left. Kiku was now leading them to the shop that sold flags and country symbols.

When they entered, they were hit with the scent of fabric material since most of the shop consisted of flags. Matthew wheeled off to the necklaces and bracelets while Kiku hung around Arthur who browsed blindly. It was impressi—was that the flag of that small not-a-country? What was it…Sealand? Anyways, the place was jam packed with stuff for every two hundred plus countries on the entire planet. He was even more surprised when there were less single American flag objects than the rest. It was mostly paired with something else. The one it being paired with the most being either the English flag, or the British Union Jack.

"Hey Arthur, check these out!" looking over his shoulder, Arthur grinned at what was on Matthew's head. He was wearing a pair of headphones, not the small ear buds, but the large muffed ones and on each muff was the British Union Jack. The headband that went over Matthew's head was white along with the cord. "Pretty cool huh?" yes they were.

The three browsed a little longer and Arthur pulled out a large, almost body sized Canadian flag. Grinning once more, Arthur called out to Matthew and showed it to the other. Matthew looked ecstatic to see it and Arthur just had to get it for the other since it had made him so happy. The browsing continued, Arthur having set the flag in Matthew's lap. He stopped when he saw a necklace similar to Matthew's, though it had the American flag and the British one crossed like two swords. He liked the simplicity of it and purchased it for Alfred's birthday which was, of what a coincidence, the fourth of July.

After paying for the flag and the necklace, the three began heading back for the hospital, Matthew looking a little down at having to go back. When they entered, they didn't expect to find Francis dead asleep in a very Alfred-like way. Across about the whole row of empty seats, mouth wide open, snoring (though not drooling like Alfred), and a hand on his belly, lifting his shirt. Okay, that was so Alfred-like that Arthur swore it was Alfred in disguise. But alas, the French murmuring kept him from thinking that.

Walking over, Arthur lifted a leg and placed one foot on the other's chest rather harshly, jolting the French teen awake. Immediately though, Francis started complaining.

"Oww…what the hell Angleterre? I am trying to le sommeil." Arthur snorted and tugged the other off of the row of chairs.

"Last time I checked, chairs were meant for sitting in."

"But a lot of people sleep in them at a hospital!" Francis argued, sitting up from the floor and pulling Arthur down as well just for good measures. The other started yelling at him for almost concussing him and in the midst of the epic battle in between the two, Matthew and Kiku watched, if not, a little embarrassed.

"Ow! Now, before you—stop it! Francis! Apologize to Matthew!" they were getting very strange looks from other in the waiting room, especially from some teenage girls, for Francis was straddling Arthur. The Brit refused to acknowledge the fact and forced the other off, telling Kiku that they should leave Francis and Matthew alone.

After a long moment of silence, and the people that were staring at them earlier returning to their business, except for a few who looked like they were dying to get their autographs, Francis returned to a chair.

"Well, I guess I should explain…" Francis was looking almost dejectedly at the floor.

"Yeah…I think you should."

"That Anglete—"

"Arthur has a name Francis," looking up, Francis flinched at the sour look he was receiving from the Canadian half-brother of Alfred. Sighing, he continued.

"Arthur, was verbally harassing me about what I should be aware of if I were to get in a relationship with you. But you know us…we can't settle things civilly and always end up at each other's throats comprendre? And…I got angry…and he got angry…and…things just went out of control from there. Matthieu, I was angry okay?" the look of skepticism on Matthew's face made Francis's heart drop and return his gaze to the floor.

A sniffle. Looking up, Francis noticed that Matthew had silent tears streaming down his face and he hesitantly pulled the other into a hug, muttering sweet nothings into his ear. Matthew smiled, but continued crying none the less, going on about how Francis was a dumb Frenchman that he'll always love even at gun point.

Ka-chick!

Breaking apart, the two spotted someone with their cellular camera pointed at them, currently jabbing their thumbs on the key pad.

Francis chuckled. "Looks like we'll be in the tabloids tomorrow no? Might as well join Arthur and Alfred."

The next day, the French teen was right. At around lunchtime, the other had burst into Matthew's hospital room, his laptop tucked under his armpit and a wide grin on his face. Matthew had stated how that was an entrance Alfred would make and Francis laughed heartily at that.

"Look! I was right," Francis opened the laptop, tapped the touch pad a few times before turning the laptop around so Matthew could see the screen. There was the picture of the two hugging in the waiting room of the hospital. Grinning and laughing lightly at it, Matthew motioned for Francis to take the seat next to the bed. "Oh, and I've been bookmarking things that pop up about us on the internet," Francis added triumphantly.

Matthew laughed at that. There were three bookmark files reading 'Alfred & Arthur', 'Moi & Matthieu' and 'Kiku'. Matthew wasn't surprised about how much was in Alfred and Arthur's file, but he was shocked about how the file was almost full. Francis had files that could fit thousands of bookmarks and favorites, literally.

"I guess they're the most popular eh?"

"Mostly because of that video mon amour," Matthew blushed lightly at the last two words Francis had said, but smiles none the less. Kiku's folder was basically dead compared to the other two files. There were only three titles in there. Poor and lucky guy. The two began browsing the bookmarks, joking here and there about what they read. It took about an hour, until Matthew remembered about the Canadian flag Arthur had gotten him yesterday.

"Oh, Francis, I got this really cool Canadian flag yesterday, here, let me show ya, it's under the bed, can you get it?" Matthew excitedly asked, motioning to the space under the hospital bed he was in. Francis bent over and pulled out the large flag from under the bed. Standing his full height and holding the flag by the short side, Francis beamed at how it still was able to reach the ground.

"Ah, I am impressed. Didn't know l'Amérique sold these," Francis shook it, making the fabric ripple before folding it up neatly and placing it on Matthew's lap. Matthew smiled.

"Yeah, but I really like it," Matthew pat the fabric in his lap before leaning back into the pillow.

"When you get out of this hell hole, you should run around with it, when one runs with a flag, it looks just majestic," Francis grinned, placing his hand on Matthew's. The blush died on Matthew's face when he thought about what Francis had just said. The teen didn't know the news yet apparently.

"Uh…Francis…I…I'm going to have a permanent limp…they say I'll never be able to run again…jog yes…but not run," the look of pure defeat crossed Matthew's face briefly before become less intense.

"Ah…I am sorry for bringing it up then," Francis apologized, squeezing Matthew's hand lightly before stroking it with the pad of his thumb. Matthew sniffled and a lone tear rolled down his cheek.

"N-nah…it's all right…I don't do much anyways," Francis knew that was a lie. The boy did hockey in the winter and track in the spring, his two favorite things. That Feliciano boy on Matthew's track team (who had managed to win them every single track meet) was a funny guy too. Whenever he'd see someone scary in his opinion, he'd be off like a gazelle. It was funny, for the pure terror on his face was basically real, though one shouldn't laugh at him, everyone couldn't help it. Plus, Feliciano had never heard of track, so he was basically forced into it.

Then there was hockey. It was Matthew's life other than his drum set. Before he knew it, Francis had leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. Matthew was shocked, but expected it sooner or later since Francis preferred kissing as a type of communication over vocally saying something according to Alfred. The guy tasted like roses and…was that wine? He'd have to tell Francis to not drink it until he got older later. But his thoughts were swept from his mind when he decided to kiss the wavy blond Frenchman back.

Arthur sighed when he finally finished his epic battle with the door, which had been blocked shut since something was lying in front of it. Okay, the house was more than trashed. It was like a tornado had touched down in the middle of it. In utter shock, Arthur stepped into the living room, it being full of junk, spilled beverages, streamer, you name it. And right there on the couch, sprawled out much like Francis in the waiting room, was Alfred. The only difference being the drool that was making its way down the side of his face.

Grunting in disgust, Arthur stepped around whatever was on the floor, trying to stay on the clean parts if one could even consider them clean, and approached the couch. Picking up an empty soda can on his way. When he was standing next to the piece of furniture that held the snoring American, Arthur raised his hand and chucked the can at Alfred's forehead. He jolted awake, screaming about an invasion before grabbing his glasses and pushing them harshly onto his face.

"STRANGE—oh hey Artie!" Alfred greeted with a sleepy megawatt smile. Yep, it was a Jones/William thing to yell 'stranger' at the top of ones lungs when they didn't recognize someone in their home. Apparently, the last few times they'd been yelling it, it was false accusation.

"I have a real name Alfred. And please, let's get started on cleaning this house before your parents get home," Arthur sighed, deciding that he should just get to the point with Alfred. The other seemed unfazed until the information finally registered in his brain, setting him into full panic mode.

"SHIT! C'mon man, we gotta CLEAN!" Alfred wailed, picking up soda cans on his way to the kitchen on throw them away. Rolling his eyes, Arthur followed, picking up what Alfred had missed.

"You brought this upon yourself," the Brit pointed out, throwing the cans in the recycling and cringing at how full it already was. "Bloody hell Alfred, take out the trash on Thursdays or whenever you guys take it out, you'll be flooding your home with garbage," Arthur groaned, returning to the living room to retrieve more empty, crushed cans. Alfred babbled something off in the distance, but Arthur didn't catch what the other had said. "What?"

"I said that we've been invited to a party that Ludwig guy's throwing next week! You, me, Kiku, Frenchie and Mattie!" Alfred grinned, returning with a rag and some carpet cleaner. Arthur rolled his eyes at Alfred's grammar, but didn't bring it up. Ludwig was Gilbert's younger brother and an extremely popular guitarist that had risen from the crowd about a year ago according to Alfred as they cleaned the carpet the best they could. "So, you gonna come to this party?"

"Sure…I guess I could," Arthur really didn't want to go, but what better things did he have to do? Sighing, Arthur realized that he'd be attending more parties from here on out.

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Le sommeil – sleep

Comprendre – understand?

L'Amérique – America

Whoop, yay, this is a good length for a chapter is it not ? Well, I really don't have anything to say other than my laptop's trying to spell check every single word I type. The spell check must be set to a different language and I don't know how to fix that :P Oh well, review guys, I really like to hear what you have to say. Peace out my friends )