Chapter 21. When You're On A Date.

Arthur greatly disliked the idea of waking up in another person's body. Especially when it was Alfred's. He disliked how much Alfred's body sweated, how damn hungry he was when he woke up, and he hated jamming his bloody toes in the morning because he wasn't used to his body being so damn big! He hated all of it so much. If only that damn potion could have actually worked yesterday!

Arthur muttered to himself as he finally left Alfred's mess of a room. Honestly, he was scared to even try to clean up that mess. He blinked in surprise when he saw Matthew step out of the bathroom, a towel in one hand drying his hair, dirty clothes in the other. Matthew smiled politely at him.

"Did you sleep well?" Matthew asked, walking in the direction of his own room. That lucky bastard…he was able to finally go home…Meanwhile, Arthur was stuck…

"Fine," Arthur sighed. "And yours?"

"I can't say how happy I am to be in my own body," Matthew sighed. "Even after Ludwig figured out who I was, I still went on runs with him at, like, 4 AM. Getting to sleep in is like a dream."

"You do realize it's still fairly early?" Arthur asked. Last he checked, it was around 6:30 or so.

"I'll get back to sleeping until noon soon," Matthew smiled. "You should go ahead and shower, if you want. Our parents usually use all the hot water once they're awake."

"Right," Arthur sighed, glancing at the bathroom. A quick shower would be rather nice…He still didn't like the idea of being naked in someone else's body, but he could deal with the discomfort for the sake of being clean.

"You have that date with Francis later today, right?" Matthew asked curiously, and with a knowing smile. Arthur blushed slightly. The damn Frechman…blabbing about their…date… "Gilbert decided it was some kind of great idea so we're going on one as well. And I think Alfred was talking about how excited he was to go on some date with Ivan. So at least you're not alone."

"You are very reassuring," Arthur rolled his eyes. He quickly ducked into Alfred's room to pick some (hopefully) clean clothes before going to the bathroom.

"I'll make some pancakes for breakfast," Matthew offered with a smile. "Don't worry, I guarantee they're better than Gilbert's."

"Do you two eat anything other than pancakes?" Arthur scoffed.

"Sorry," Matthew laughed, but started heading downstairs anyway. Arthur just shook his head with a small smile. His friends were pretty odd, weren't they?

Alfred forced himself to stop fidgeting his fingers as he sat in his car, waiting for Ivan to come out of his damn house so they could start their damn date. He'd made sure to switch cars with Arthur before either of their dates. Mostly because Alfred trusted himself in his own car a lot more than with Arthur's. Automatics never worked very well for him, they didn't keep his attention and he spaced out a little too often. He loved having a manual car, it was like his baby. Granted, he didn't like being so short and having to adjust the seat, but he'd live.

Finally, Ivan walked out of his house, that stupid smile on his face. Alfred couldn't help but smile back. Okay, maybe it wasn't so bad…

"Took you long enough," Alfred said as Ivan opened the car door.

"You were late as well," Ivan smirked.

"By five minutes," Alfred scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Jackass."

"You still haven't told me what you're planning," Ivan said, amused.

"It's a surprise," Alfred muttered. He couldn't just admit that he came up with the lame plan of just going to a movie…Sure, he'd have to admit to it eventually, but he still had some time to act all mysterious and cool and stuff. And hopefully Ivan didn't think it was lame that they were just going to see a movie.

Arthur was not nervous, dammit! Nowhere close. He shook his head furiously where he stood at the door of Francis' house. He'd been given directions there and he was sure it was the right place…it was just that he was…okay, maybe a tad bit nervous. He'd never been on a date before, regardless if it was in someone else's home or not. Not to mention he wasn't even in his own body. Who knew what Francis would think if Arthur wasn't even in his own body or so long…

Finally he worked up the courage to ring the doorbell. It was less than a second before a very amused Francis opened the door.

"I was wondering how long it would take you," Francis smirked and Arthur blushed, glaring at him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Arthur scoffed. "I only just got here."

"You can say as many lies as you want," Francis winked, "but we both know how long you've really been here."

"Then why didn't you open the damn door?" Arthur grumbled, walking in beside Francis, who closed the door.

"I wanted to see how long it would take," Francis smirked once again before taking hold of Arthur's hand and leading him further into the house.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Arthur snapped immediately, but didn't try to take his hand back. Granted, it wouldn't take much strength in this body to get his hand back…

"I prepared dinner for us, remember?" Francis smiled. "No one else is home, so it will only be the two of us."

"Right," Arthur nodded as Francis happily lead him to a table in what appeared to be his dining room. The table was rather large, but he had placed two table settings at the head of the table and the chair to the right. He sat Arthur down at the head.

"Wait here, I'll go get it." Francis seemed practically giddy. Of course, Arthur had heard Francis talk about cooking and seen how animated he got then…but this was something else entirely. Arthur was curious what Francis could have made that made him so excited. Arthur waited patiently, smiling slightly at the thought of Francis coming back with that smile.

He came back humming, holding two plates in his hands. With the poise of an experienced waiter, he placed one of the plates on the placemat in front of Arthur, who stared at it in surprise. Francis placed a practically identical plate at his own setting before sitting down beside him. Arthur looked at the food for another moment before looking to Francis.

"How long did it take you to do this?" Arthur asked in awe.

"A few hours," Francis shrugged. "Though I did begin preparing the meat last night…"

The dish did look delicious, almost like it was made by a professional, like nothing Arthur had seen. Francis practically beamed he was so proud. He leaned forward, resting his arms flat on the table, apparently waiting for Arthur to try it first.

"You really didn't have to go this far just for me," Arthur muttered, biting his lip just slightly.

"I wanted to," Francis replied almost immediately and Arthur felt that damn blush again. "I even decided to take into account that you now have an athlete's body, so I made sure to portions were bigger." He was just so damn proud.

"Thank you," Arthur muttered shyly.

"And if you think this is good," Francis smirked. "We still have what I made for dessert."

"Good God, you're such a show off," Arthur rolled his eyes, but the smirk never fell from Francis' face. Arthur let out a small sigh and decided to try the meat first, easily cutting into it before taking a bite. It was…delicious. Amazing. It practically melted in his mouth but he had to remind himself to chew or he might just sit there all night with one piece of food in his mouth. He made sure to eat like the proper gentleman he was before he glanced at Francis, who simply watched him with apt interest.

Arthur made sure to swallow before speaking. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Of course," Francis smiled. "You are just so interesting to watch. I don't normally get to watch people enjoy my cooking this close. Usually, it's my teacher or someone I can't watch."

"As happy as I am that watching me pleases you," Arthur sighed. "You should eat as well. It is…very good."

"Who do you think test tasted it?" Francis smirked, but finally sat up straight to pick up his utensils. "Of course I know how good it is."

"You prideful bastard," Arthur scoffed, but continued eating anyway because, damn this food really was fantastic.

The movie had been a mistake. Like, a massive mistake.

Alfred had picked something that at least looked cool. He'd seen the previews and the poster looked cool. But damn was it boring in the theater. And it only took one glance at Ivan for him to figure out that he was just as fucking bored as him.

"This is bullshit," Alfred muttered to him during an 'action' scene where less people were likely to hear him. It was a Saturday night, so naturally the theater was packed, but they had a few seats between them and the nearest person, mostly due to Ivan's creepy aura.

Those three words were enough to spark a commentary between the two, both of them snickering as they gave the actors names based on how crappy their acting was. They were shushed at least 10 times, but Alfred stopped caring.

"Dude, we could totally make out and no one would notice," Alfred noted at one point.

"I believe that is what half of the theater is already doing," Ivan supplied. "What else would they be doing? Watching the movie?"

"You fuckin' jackass," Alfred laughed, but got shushed yet again. That just made him and Ivan laugh harder, but they stifled it.

All it took was a few lewd noises and Alfred playing the penis game alone for them to get kicked out of the theater. But it was only a matter of minutes later when they found their next target; a practically empty diner. Alfred had to basically drag Ivan inside.

The interior was like a classic diner from the 70s or something and brought a massive smile to Alfred's face. After ordering shakes and burgers, against Ivan's will, Alfred dragged him over to the jukebox sitting near the entrance.

"Holy shit, they've got great songs," Alfred laughed, flipping through the music selection to find the perfect song. The only other people were these two biker dudes in the corner, who were way too wrapped up in their own conversation to care about two teenagers. The waitresses just sort of giggled and allowed them to do what they wanted.

"I am not sure if I trust your music choice," Ivan shrugged simply. "After I've seen your movie choice."

"Okay, totally didn't expect it to be so lame, bro, I'm sorry," Alfred rolled his eyes. "That's not my fault. That director just fucking sucked, okay?"

"Da, whatever you say," Ivan nodded with a smirk and Alfred elbowed him, none too lightly either. Finally Alfred picked the perfect song, but they had to wait until the current one ended. He tapped his foot impatiently. He wanted to dance with Ivan, dammit!

Once it started, he let out a laugh. He hadn't heard any of these songs in forever! He took hold of Ivan's wrists, forcing him to dance with him. Ivan seemed surprised and didn't easily comply and Alfred just laughed.

"You're way too stiff," Alfred smirked. "You've gotta learn how to loosen up!" Alfred let go and started dancing on his own. "Like this, see?"

"You look ridiculous," Ivan said.

"No, you look ridiculous just standing there," Alfred laughed and a family walked in, a few kids trailing around them and going to their own seats. "If I knew you couldn't dance I never would've asked you out."

"Ah, so that is your deal breaker," Ivan laughed slightly and Alfred smirked.

"C'mon," Alfred sighed, holding onto Ivan's wrist again. "Dance with me."

"I am not very good," Ivan shook his head.

"Neither am I," Alfred snorted. "So whaddya say?"

A few minutes packed with clumsy steps and muttered curses later, their food finally arrived and Alfred all but dragged Ivan over to their booth. Oh, it was beautiful. He just wished that he had his usual appetite. Now that he was in Arthur's body, he probably couldn't even finish the damn burger.

"You are so small," Ivan laughed, once again making fun of Alfred's new size. "Your food looks like the size of your head."

"Shut up," Alfred rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Arthur can pack it in, he's just never tried."

"I am not going to nurse you when you over eat," Ivan said. "Not again."

"That was one time," Alfred whined. You eat too much during one team dinner, resulting in Ivan having to take care of him, and you get branded for life! (In all honesty, Alfred didn't regret that dinner because that was when his crush on Ivan had actually developed.) "It's not like you don't eat too much."

"I eat the perfect amount," Ivan said simply.

"Whatever," Alfred snorted. He smirked after taking a bite of his burger. "Hey, Ivan."

"What?" Ivan asked, mindlessly eating his own fries.

"Penis."

"Alfred."

"Penis."

"Don't."

"Penis!"

"Alfred, I swear."

"You're just jealous because you're losing," Alfred smirked. "Penis!" People were starting to look now, but Alfred just continued like nothing was happening.

"I am not even a player," Ivan said.

"You too chicken to loose?" Alfred asked. "How about this? Loser pays for dinner. Penis!"

"Penis!"

The diner was a mistake, too.

Arthur chuckled as he sat back on Francis' couch, an empty plate on his lap from the cake Francis had made. He was completely stuffed, a feat considering Alfred's stomach, and Francis had decided to finish their date by watching a silent movie together. It certainly didn't help that they were providing their own lines for their respective actors.

"What on Earth makes you think that she would be a witch?" Arthur asked.

"Look at the way she smokes!" Francis said. He was leaning comfortably against Arthur's side, which was fine considering Arthur was actually taller for once. It actually felt kind of nice, but of course Arthur didn't mind it the other way around. "Have you noticed that she never has a lighter? She just has a lit cigarette every now and then."

"You don't need to show lighting a cigarette every time someone smokes," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows you need to light a cigarette, you don't have to show it to everyone."

"Oui, but you watch the detective light a smoke every time," Francis shrugged and Arthur snorted.

"He's the main character," Arthur sighed. "Of course they're going to show you every time he smokes."

"Ah, the mermaid is back," Francis said happily as another woman returned to the movie. He was sure she was a mermaid due to how he had never seen her touch water.

In reality, they were just watching something about a peaceful family in a prairie or something, but that was irrelevant. As far as they knew, it was about a vampire, detective, witch, and a mermaid about to be abducted by aliens to save the world.

"You are absolutely ridiculous," Matthew giggled and Gilbert pulled him inside. He had no idea what to expect while on this date, but Gilbert said it was close and they just walked there, Gilbert leading the way. It was like a miracle to be back in their own bodies. Matthew could constantly see Gilbert relax in his own body, hear him laugh in his own body, see him like he was meant to be. Gilbert was still the same as he always was, however, and wasted no time in dragging Matthew into the arcade he'd picked out. It doubled as a bowling alley, apparently, and was fairly loud, but Gilbert went straight for the counter, telling Matthew to stand still. After just a few minutes, Gilbert came back flashing two cards with a proud smile.

"Here you are," Gilbert bowed dramatically, holding up Matthew's card for him.

"I could have paid for myself," Matthew rolled his eyes. He wondered how many games he and Gilbert could go through with these.

"Please, I've got this," Gilbert smirked.

"Then I pay for the food," Matthew smiled before going for the arcade, Gilbert following after him.

"What if I wanted to?" Gilbert asked.

"I never asked," Matthew laughed. The arcade was packed full of kids, teenagers, adults. All of them with hands full of hard won tickets. It was dark, a black light illuminating various shapes and pictures on the floor and the light from the games illuminating the faces of all of the players.

"Let's go find a shooter game first!" Gilbert cheered, dragging Matthew towards one of the closer games. It was one of those cheesy ones with the rifles where you had to fight back zombies.

"You're on," Matthew smirked. He didn't spend so much time playing video games with Alfred for nothing. They swiped their cards and picked up their guns. It was co-op, but Matthew was competitive. "Tell you what, Gil. Whoever gets the highest score on more games pays for food."

"You're on," Gilbert smirked as they watched the cut scene at the beginning of the game. "This ain't hockey, kid."

"You bet it's not," Matthew smiled. The game started and Matthew didn't hesitate to shoot everything he saw before Gilbert even had a chance to pull his trigger. "Try to keep up."

They played through a lot of games and Matthew won practically all of them. Shooting games, racing games, even dancing games. Gilbert won at air hockey and Guitar Hero, and a few others, but it was obvious that Matthew won. They even played a few that didn't give tickets, just for fun. By the time they ran out of games they could play with their cards, they had to practically juggle the amount of buckets they had full of tickets.

"You're way better than you let on," Gilbert laughed as they walked towards one of those machines that could take their tickets.

"You should see me play against Al," Matthew said proudly. "I kick his ass every time."

"Hey, let's put all of our tickets together," Gilbert nodded thoughtfully as they reached the machine. He started feeding the tickets in and Matthew laughed. He was just as excited as some little kid. He kept glancing excitedly to where they could redeem their tickets, where everything cost way too many tickets for what it was really worth. "We can get something together!"

"Sure," Matthew laughed. "What do you even want to get?"

"I've got my eye on that stuffed bear for you," Gilbert laughed and Matthew smiled, glancing over where the stuffed animals hung. There was a white bear that looked especially perfect for hugging. He blushed slightly.

"That's way too many tickets," Matthew shook his head.

"We've got plenty," Gilbert rolled his eyes. He wasn't even done with his collection of buckets, let alone Matthew's. "Hell, I'd settle for just some candy myself if that's all we've got left after it. The second I saw that thing, I knew I had to get it for you."

"Well, maybe I can afford it with how many tickets I got," Matthew smirked. "I'm not so sure about you."

"Hey, man," Gilbert shrugged, "I was just off today."

"Oh, really?" Matthew laughed. "So you're usually just bad, not terrible?"

"Is this about that damn motorcycle game?" Gilbert asked. "Because it wasn't my fault I crashed then, it was totally the NPCs, I swear!"

"You flew off the edge of the map!" Matthew laughed. "You're saying that bad of a failure wasn't your fault?"

"Yes!" Gilbert pouted. "I'm not that bad at that shit, jeez."

"I'll believe you when you can actually beat me," Matthew smirked.

A few minutes and some arguing later, Matthew was holding that stuffed bear and Gilbert was marveling over a Ring Pop while they sat at a table, a greasy pizza and tray of cheese fries between them.

"So, how happy were you to see Gilbird?" Matthew asked curiously, almost scared to get the grease on his new bear.

"You have no idea how much I missed the little guy," Gilbert groaned. "Did you miss your damn cat?"

"Of course I did," Matthew smiled. "Kumawari and I are pretty much inseparable now."

"You should've seen the dogs when I got home," Gilbert smirked. "They could totally tell you weren't me. And I went on a run with them this morning with Lud…" he sighed happily. "Everything is right with the world again."

"Yeah, thanks to that running habit you two have, I got up so early this morning," Matthew sighed. "I can't wait to start sleeping in again."

"Why would you waste your time like that?" Gilbert asked, going right for a slice of pizza. "You can get so much shit done in the mornings!"

"I get plenty of things done late at night," Matthew pointed out. "I'm perfectly fine wasting my morning. What's there to even do in the morning?"

"Enjoy the sunrise?" Gilbert smirked. "And enjoy the peace? No one's fucking up, so it's so relaxing."

"Why would you get up when no one else is going to be up?" Matthew raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like it would be so boring."

"Hey, to each his own," Gilbert shrugged.

"You are never going to make me a morning person," Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Gilbert winked and Matthew blushed slightly, but moved towards the cheese fries regardless.

For those of you that don't know, the "penis game" is where you go to a public place and start by saying the word 'penis' quietly and the next person has to say it louder and you continue until you're basically screaming it in public. Loser is the first person to stop escalating it.

Anyway! It took me forever but I got through date night. I had their dates planned, naturally, but goodness did it take a while for me to get everything written down the way I wanted to. Arthur and Alfred have just admitted to the fact that they're going to be stuck for the weekend and they're just rolling with it. Meanwhile, Matthew and Gilbert are thoroughly enjoying the fact that they're back to normal.

Anyway, that's all, so I'll see you all next time!