Morningstar Cafe

September 20, 2008

They were meeting Francis and Monique for breakfast one morning before Al and Toris had to go to the set when out of nowhere, Alfred looked up from his omelet and asked, "Y'know, Franny, you never told us what you were even doing in Paris."

Arthur snorted at what was quickly becoming his favorite name for Francis while Francis himself winced, but chuckled at the question. "It is nothing complicated, I assure you," he began in French, since Toris and Feliks were occupied with each other on the other side of Arthur and Monique. "My parents simply requested for me to grace them with my presence for a short period of time so I may continue to reap the rewards of their benefactorship-"

"So they threatened to cut you off unless you showed your face," Arthur cut in in English. (He may understand just as much French as the others, but he staunchly refused to speak in it.)

Francis frowned at him and continued in his native tongue, "And while I was here, I met Monique and swept her off her feet, and therefore decided to extend my stay." At the mention of her name, jerked her attention from her coffee and grinned at the rest of explanation.

"He was behind me in the line at the store when my card was declined and he paid for my cigarettes in return for paying for my dinner." She patted his arm as he frowned at her, but much more attractively than he had frowned at Arthur. "A true gentleman."

"Oh. Okay, then. Just curious." Alfred turned the conversation away again, and Arthur smiled internally at his attention span.

Genius of Love

September 23, 2008

Francis decided that watching Arthur's life would make him laugh until his dying day.

It was the evening of Alfred's second audition, which he'd gotten the afternoon off from filming his first success to go to, and they'd gone out to celebrate the free evening, Tuesday, and the general thrill of being alive.

Alfred didn't drink with the gusto that his older companions enjoyed, but he was easily coerced into sweet and sugary cocktails that tucked away the burn of alcohol behind fruit and artificial coloring – a coercion that Francis had a special gift with. Tonight was one of those nights, and after three of them for Alfred and four shots of gin for Arthur, it was time for Francis's favorite new development in Arthur's existence, because as soon as that first sip of alcohol started entering his system, Alfred became very… touchy.

Francis swirled his tumbler of brandy around idly, hanging it by his fingertips and leaning on his other hand as he watched them across the club's dance floor. Since it was a Tuesday and still rather early in the night, the music wasn't quite bone-shaking, and the crowd of bodies wasn't nearly suffocating. They were a few layers in, but he could still see Alfred's tousled hair and Arthur's despicable jacket through the other dancers. Since he was currently alone at their table among the dirty glasses, he had no problems simply sipping his brandy and watching the unwitting lovebirds interact.

Because they were completely fools in love. He smiled as Alfred's hair ducked down behind a group of women in a clump next to them, a few of them glancing the starlet's way – not that he noticed, of course. A moment's opening, and Francis got an image of Alfred with his thumbs hooked through the outside beltloops of Arthur's jeans, bent down to talk into his ear, one of Arthur's hands sliding up Alfred's outside arm as he followed the pull and ground their hips together to the song, stepping forward so one foot was between both of Alfred's. Then the crowd surged back in his way.

He shot back the rest of his brandy and went to order another, maybe also one for that lonely redhead at the bar. After all, Monique wasn't here, and they weren't exactly in a committed relationship, if the evidence of another presence on her bedside table and bathroom sink was any indication.

Besides, his infallible fallback of sex with Arthur wasn't an option anymore. Such a shame.

{A/N: Decided that these were too short and too related to warrant separate chapters.

In other words God Francis stop being so damned perfect}