Arthur nervously entered the apartment to greet his boyfriend, Francis. "H-hello? Francis… I'm home."

Francis excitedly rushed out from his bedroom to give the Brit a warm hug. "Hello, mon Cher. Gilbert told me that you two had a wonderful time at the gym. I'm so happy that you are getting along so well with my best friend."

The green – eyed blond could see the albino on the couch. Gilbert looked up from whatever he was reading and nodded at Arthur, remembering the talk they had after their workout that Arthur was going to tell his boyfriend about his troubling situation.

"Ugh, that's gross! Don't kiss in front of me!" The German complained. However, Arthur could tell that his friend's complaints were all an act as he was really excusing himself so that Arthur could confess to Francis about what he had really been spending his money on the past couple of weeks.

"Francis, I love you… do you love me?" The blond began.

The usually cheerful Frenchman now looked completely confused. "Arthur, of course I love you. You know this." He sighed. "I can tell that something is bothering you. Please don't hide I from me anymore, all right? I'm not going to yell at you, I'm not going to leave you, I just want to help you."

Tears had now begun to stream from the Englishman's eyes. "I've been lying to you, Francis. Remember weeks ago, when Ivan had broken into my apartment when you were helping me move my belongings to your place?"

Francis nodded, beginning to dread the worst possible outcome of this conversation.

Arthur gulped a painful lump before he continued his story. "Well, I ran into his sister just last week, and she told me that I owed her and Ivan money for the drugs that I never sold. She said that if I paid her eight hundred dollars by the end of the month, she would leave me alone forever… and that she wouldn't kill you." Arthur had been a sobbing mess by that point, his face completely buried in his lover's chest, his shirt now covered with Arthur's tears.

The Brit heard his partner release a deep sigh, and at first, he suspected that Francis was angry with him, until he planted a kiss on top of his forehead.

"Arthur, believe it or not, I knew that getting involved with you would be risky business from the beginning. But let me tell you something, human beings aren't perfect people. We are filled with many flaws, including you and me."

The short – haired blond sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes with the sleeve from his shirt. "Oh yeah? You seem perfect to me. What kind of flaws could someone like you possibly have?"

As he felt his spirits lift, the Frenchman smiled and ruffled his partner's hair. "Well, for starters, I was a total commitment – phobe before I got with you. If I never took the stand to help you on the path of recovery and fall in love with you at the same time, I probably would have been without love for the rest of my life, and that is the greatest flaw that any person could ever have."

Later that evening, the two partner's laid side by side in the bed that Arthur had also had come to know as his own, the one that he would always share with Francis.

"I can't believe it's taken me so long to tell you." The Brit sighed. "I was just so worried that you would think the money had been disappearing because I was on drugs again – which I'm really not! I even borrowed money from Alfred… and he gave it to me without a second thought and trusted me completely. I want to repay him, somehow, I'm just not sure what to do."

Francis smiled warmly and brushed his finger up and down Arthur's fluttering eyelash. "Just tell him." He said simply. "Alfred is a gentle man, he would understand, especially the part about you saving his life from a deranged lunatic. I promise I'll come to work with you tomorrow and we will tell him together."

"I love you." Whispered the Englishman before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

The other man smiled back and gently kissed his partner's lips. "I love you, too. Nothing can change that."

"Is it okay if I come back in now?!" Hollered Gilbert from across the room.

Francis' once sweet and tender expression now turned to one of annoyance. "Gilbert! How long have you been listening?"

"I…didn't listen to the whole conversation?" The albino replied and sounded very guilty.

Arthur chuckled and shook his head. "Are you gonna chase him now and make him run for his life?"

The Frenchman shook his head and released a deep sigh. "Non. I'm going to go after him when he expects it the least. I don't have the energy to deal with his foolishness right now, but I am proud of him for encouraging you to come and talk to me, so I will let him off the hook, just for tonight. But he is a dead man tomorrow morning."

"Do you want to have sex?" Arthur asked, rather abruptly.

Feeling frisky, Francis lifted his British boyfriend off his feet and carried him bridal style into the bedroom. "I always want to have sex."

That morning, Arthur and Francis woke up bright and early to the smell of freshly made pancakes and maple syrup.

"Matthew must be here." Francis said. "I wonder what time he came in last night. Did you hear Gilbert let him in at all?"

The green – eyed blond shook his head. "I didn't hear anything, but knowing Gilbert, he probably wanted sex at two in the morning, and he is probably going to carpool with Matthew to work."

Francis nodded and brushed his fingers through his curls so that it did not look as obvious that he and Arthur had had sex the previous night. "Well, I see no reason why those delicious pancakes should go to waste. Shall we?"

Arthur couldn't agree more. "Most definitely. Also, I'd never want to miss an opportunity to tease Gilbert about his little love affair. He's pretty cute when he's in love, isn't he?"

The curly haired man laughed out loud. "I guess he is. If you consider a red – eyed demon from hell to be cute."