The next few months of Arthur's life was the happiest he has ever been. He officially felt like a free man, and a clean one, also. It had been six months since Natalia had poisoned his veins with heroin, and he has not taken a single drug since. Now, he only had positive things in his life to look forward to. However, he still felt like there was one thing left that he had to do. He wanted to invite his family to his wedding.
Even though it was now well over sixteen years since the man had last spoken to his parents, he still wanted to see if any of his blood relatives wanted to attend the special ceremony.
"You mean you're actually going to England and visit your childhood home to invite your parents?" Asked Francis ludicrously. "Well, this idea is pretty insane – and we've all had our fair share of crazy ideas lately – but I still support you. I just… don't want their outdated and old - fashioned opinions about our lifestyle to hurt you before our special day."
The other man simply smiled at his fiancé's worry. "Don't the words old – fashioned and outdated have the same meanings, love?" Asked the blond Brit with a bright smile.
Francis smirked fondly back at him but gave into his partner's request to invite his family in the end. "Alright, okay… but if anything goes wrong, just call me, okay?"
Arthur nodded in response. "I promise, and don't worry, if the meeting with my parents goes horribly wrong, I'll catch another plane on the same day. I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, but I'll only be gone a few days. I'm sure Alfred and Gilbert will be good company for you."
"Oh, please don't torture me, mon Cher."
Even Arthur agreed with himself that this plan had been a stupid idea as he stood in line to board his flight the next morning. The only meal he felt like grabbing for his flight had been a blueberry muffin and a bottle of orange juice, and it would probably be the only meal he would have for the rest of the day.
A million conversations played in his mind as the plane finally started to take flight. His parents would either force him off of their doorstep, or they would welcome him with open arms and back into the family. However, he wondered if he would even want to belong to a family that had rejected him for over sixteen years.
He must have fallen asleep during the horrible plane movie – some film featuring a dog who was a detective, but it had been the only option available for a ten - hour flight. "Welcome to London, England." A very feminine and overly friendly flight – attendant announced. "We hope you've enjoyed your flight and will choose to fly with us again for all of your future travels. Have a great day!"
'Ugh, I've been asleep for six hours.' The Brit thought to himself. He may have had plenty of sleep on the flight over, but he still felt incredibly exhausted. He couldn't even imagine how he had managed to fall asleep in the first place.
The taxi ride from the airport to Arthur's family's house had been an hour and thirty – minutes, a nice pay day for the cab driver, but not for the blonde's wallet. The driver had been particularly nosey, attempting to pry into Arthur's life and why he had been so desperate to pay the driver so much to drive such a long way, but he figured he owed the man that much.
"Wow, it's really been that long since you've seen your family, then? Do you really think you're ready to see them after all these years?" The driver asked.
Arthur shrugged and smiled. He really didn't hold anything back, he told the man he was getting married to his fiancé next month, and that he wanted to try and patch the rift up with his parents so that he could invite them to the wedding, and hopefully mend their relationship afterwards. "I don't think I'd ever be ready, honestly," He replied with a chuckle. "But I know I'd kick myself if I never tried. I really do wonder what type of people my mother and father had become after all this time."
"You surely are a bigger man than I am." Replied the man behind the wheel. "f I were you, I don't think I'd ever want to see my family again, and then I'd tell them to go to hell. Well, good luck to you anyways, kid. And thanks for the generous tip."
"No problem." The two shook hands and then parted ways. 'Maybe I should have paid him extra to stay a little while longer in case things go horribly wrong and I need a ride back.' The Brit thought the moment the cab drove off. 'Oh well, I can't turn back now.'
When Arthur arrived at his childhood home, he was in for quite a nasty shock. When he rang the doorbell, an elderly man appeared.
"Who are you?" Asked the man.
"W-wait, I'm Arthur – who are you?" The man inside the home was clearly not his father.
"Kid, I don't know why you're here, but I'm certainly not in the mood too play any of your games that you young people think it's funny. My wife is sick and we don't need the lot of you ringing our doorbells and running away all the time."
"What? N-no, that's not what I'm here for. I'm looking for my father." The Brit answered with a gulp.
The other man shook his head, suddenly appearing a little guilty. "I'm sorry, son – I guess no one told you. We bought this house ten years ago after a murder took place here. Some burglar looking to make a few bucks broke in here and killed a middle – aged married couple. We bought the house after it got cleaned up because my wife and I needed a small place to live, and after the murder… well, the price to this place went down significantly, and we needed a one – story house as the Mrs. And I can't get around like we used to. I'm sorry for accusing you before of being rude, would you like to come in? I was just going to make some tea for my wife and I'll make some for you, too."
Arthur gave the man a sad smile. "No, sir. But thank you. I – I'll leave you alone, now."
He was on a plane home the same night. When he arrived home to Francis a bawling mess, the Frenchman didn't ask any questions. Arthur wasn't even sure why he had been crying especially after all of the hurt that his parents had put him through. The two men stayed up until three in the morning to talk it out.
