Chapter 17: MORE BTT BC I CAN

Gilbert was grinning wildly, hair messed up, with one of the boys on his shoulders.

"Hallo Frenchie und Britty! Zhe awesome me iz being even more awesome zhan usual und giving zhe kids plane rides!" he yelled, stepping aside to allow entry into the Frenchman's own house.

"Plane rides?" Arthur asked, mind a bit slow from the earlier kiss. Gilbert nodded, removing whom Arthur assumed to be Mattie, damn they were so IDENTICAL, from his shoulder and holding him by the legs with one hand supporting his chest, beginning to run across the house, yelling in German while Mattie laughed and shrieked, enjoying the game.

"Mein bruder can get a bit enthusiastic vith kids, sorry about zhat." a deep bass voice spoke from behind him, and Arthur turned around to see a harried looking Ludwig, Feliciano holding his hand and looking like he'd just drank an entire coffee shop.

"Oh West jou're just missing vhen I used to do zhat vith jou!" Gilbert exclaimed, setting Mattie down and tackling his little brother. "Ah I remember zhat! Jou used to alvays vant me to fly jou around." he sighed, falling back into memories. "But neiiiIIIIIiin jou just HAD to grow up to be zhe size of a fucking tank. At least I have someone else to do zhat to." He got off Ludwig and ran to Elizaveta's side, picking her up and twirling her.

"This reminds me of when-a my little fratello was only a couple years old." Lovino remarked from beside him, a glass of wine in his hands. Francis looked at the glass, brow furrowing.

"I zought zat I locked ze alcohol up…"

The Italian snickered, tossing Francis an unlocked lock. "You might want to get a new one. Good thing that the albino potato is too dumb to realize that it's opened."

"Oh nein I realized it's zhat Frenchy just haz wine and no good beer!" Gilbert yelled, Alfred and Feliciano on him. "Jesus christ Feli vhy zhe hell are jou so heavy?"

"I thought you two were twins?" Arthur asked, puzzled by his earlier remark.

"No there are three of us. Romeo, who's the youngest, Feliciano, and I'm the oldest."

"UND ZHE SHORTEST! KESEKESEKESE!" Gilbert yelled, narrowly avoiding a skillet to the face for his rudeness. Lovino scowled at Gilbert, sticking his tongue out at the German man, who replied likewise.

"Oui zere are trois of zem, and zey are all a pleasure to be around, I remember when Feli was a petit garçon!" Francis twittered, a dreamy smile on his face. Beside him Lovino frowned, a different memory brought to light.

"Do you mean that one time when he was about 12 and he visited your house? That was a horrible day."

"What happened?" Arthur asked, Francis wandering off to talk with Gilbert while Antonio and Feliciano played with the children.

"Well Feliciano visited the vino bastardo in his home in Corsica, and he found some books. He didn't know all the words, and of course when he found the word 'intercourse' Francis had to explain. IN DETAIL YOU BASTARD!" He yelled at Francis, who merely raised an eyebrow and shrugged. Arthur's face went pink and if he had water he would have spit it out. "You might be dating the biggest pervert in Europe." he concluded, swishing the wine around in his glass.

"Oh but mi tomate I have some stories to share about you!" Antonio smiled devilishly, while Lovino went tomato red and tried to strangle him before he could tell. They spent the rest of the night sharing stories from their childhood while Alfred and Matthew played upstairs. After a couple hours passed Arthur happened to look at the clock, facepalming.

"Oh bloody hell I don't have a way to get home. My idiot brother took the keys. Crap." He groaned, aware of how dark it was outside.

"Ve can drive jou if jou vant, but varning both of zhe Italians drive like zhey are in a race, und I don't zhink zhat Francy-pants likes zhat idea very much." Gilbert offered, ignoring the brothers protests about their driving, despite everyone else turning quite pale and nodding. Arthur stole a glance at Francis, catching a small pout crossing his face before he could compose it.

"Maybe, let me just check on the children first." Arthur responded, climbing the stairs. He knocked on the door to Matthew's room and after about a minute with no reply, opened it with Francis peeking over his shoulder and suppressing a squeal. Matthew and Alfred were both fast asleep on Matthew's bed, propped up against the wall and their stuffed animals with Matthew's head resting on Alfred's shoulder, and Alfred's head on Matthew's. Arthur couldn't stop a smile from making its way onto his face, and grabbed his phone to take a quick photo. Francis smiled at him, eyes half closed and a seductive smirk on his face as Arthur closed the door silently. "Not tonight there are kids in the house." Arthur hissed once it had closed, looking at his boyfriend while trying not to let disappointment show on his face. Francis opened his mouth to protest but shut it, scratching his chin in thought.

"Hmmmm you may be right about zat mon cher, I don't know about Alfred, but Matthieu iz a very light sleeper, and i'd 'ate for Alfred to be woken up by 'is pére screaming in pleasure." He said with a wink, laughing at how Arthur blushed red and smacked him on the arm.

"I'm starting to think Lovino was right." He hissed, still red in the face. Francis merely shrugged, smiling and planting a kiss on Arthur's cheek.

"Ah but you love me anyway! Besides, my simply charmant cousin 'as to be right about somezing in 'is life, non? Ozer zan when 'e agreed to marry Antonio." He remarked on as they made their way down the stairs, Arthur shaking his head when Ludwig raised the keys to the car, which were promptly snatched away by Feliciano. Lovino scowled at Francis, flipping the end of a silk scarf over his shoulder.

"I heard that, you vino bastardo." He was promptly picked up by a certain Spaniard bridal style, face going quite red.

"Ah but mi tomate i'm so glad that you said yes!" Antonio chirped, looking way too happy. Lovino scowled harder and rested his head on his husband's shoulder, amber green eyes closing slightly.

"What else would I have said? Te amo, Antonio." he mumbled, yawning slightly. Antonio grinned, kissing the Italian's forehead.

"Not a night person whatsoever." He mouthed at Arthur, smiling softly at the half asleep man in his arms. "You know, the first time he ever said a direct yes in English was when I asked him to marry me. Our first date was just 'when' our second 'what should I wear' but never the three letter word. I'm so glad he said it."

"Ve have to go, our flight is early in zhe morning und some of us still need to pack." Said Ludwig, tapping his foot and running a hand through his hair. "It vas very nice to meet jou, Arthur." Goodbyes were exchanged, Feliciano crying at the loss of his new friend and hugging Arthur so tightly he swore a rib cracked. Gilbert clapped Arthur on the back, shaking his hand with a large grin.

"It vas nice to meet jou, Britty. Treat Francy right over here, vill jou?"

"Will do… Maria." Arthur said with a sly smirk, laughing loudly when Gilbert's eyes went wide and he let out a betrayed screech, Elizaveta smacking the back of his head while also chuckling. After the last visitor had left they made their way up the stairs, the boards creaking beneath their feet.

"Sooooo… where is your guest room?" Arthur asked, fidgeting a bit. Francis laughed, the sound soft and comforting.

"Mon amour zere iz no guest room at zis moment. You will 'ave to sleep in my room, iz zat alright?"

"And let you sleep where?" Arthur asked as Francis opened the door to his bedroom. Francis raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and looked at Arthur, amusement clear on his face.

"In my bed, with you of course. Ze bed iz very large, et I can stay on my own end if you want me to. 'Ere, i'll get you some clothes and towels along with a robe in case you want to shower." he offered, going over to one of the closets in his room. He handed a very fluffy white towel, along with a silk robe and pants to Arthur, who accepted them wordlessly, walking into the adjoined bathroom and closing the door behind him, setting the items down on the marble counter. He took a moment to gape at the sheer amount of various bottles on the counter… was that makeup?

"Francis?"

"Oui, mon petit lapin?"

"Why the bloody fuck do you have makeup on your counter?" Arthur asked, fiddling with the knobs on the shower. Why the hell do they have to be so bloody complicated?

"Ze very pale one is for my middle sister, ze darker one is for ze youngest, and ze middle one may or may not be mine."

"You wear makeup?" Arthur chortled, clutching onto the edge of the counter to avoid falling over.

"Only ze makeup from France et it iz tone evening cream! Zere iz a difference!" Francis protested, embarrassment clear in his voice. "Ze blue and green bottle would be good for your 'air." Arthur rolled his eyes and picked the bottle up, groaning when he saw it was in French. It did smell very good though. After he finished and the mirror was all fogged up with steam, Arthur got dressed, shaking his head when he saw that the pants that Francis had given him had French flags embroidered on them.

"Francis I swear to god if you make one more joke about my arse being French territory i'll make sure you won't have an eiffel tower anymore!" He warned, chuckling slightly.

"Hon hon hon was zat a dirty joke? And you 'ave ze audacity to call me a pervert!" Francis teased, knocking on the door. "Get out already, I 'ave more 'air to wash zan you." Arthur pouted, drying his hair. He exited the bathroom, making sure to put the temperature for the shower on cold first, snickering. He was greeted with a kiss on the cheek and a playful pinch of his rear, to which Francis had to dodge a punch for.

"FrANcis why do you always feel the need to do that?" He protested, collapsing onto the bed and rolling over so he was on his back in the middle.

"Hon hon hon mon ange it iz because- AIIEE ARTHUR TOI SALAUD C'EST VRAIMENT FROID!" (you bastard it's really cold) Arthur heard Francis yelp, accompanied by several swears in French. Arthur laughed, a large grin stretching his face. His relationship with Francis was unlike any other he'd had with a guy before. Francis was sweet, caring, didn't mind Arthur's sharp tongue, and was perfectly fine with going slow. Arthur had dated a lot of people, both males and females, before finally settling down with a wife. Good thing his family had accepted him with open arms when he told them he was bisexual, and had never given him any shit for it other than a bit of lighthearted teasing. The door opened and Francis stepped out, a loose towel wrapped around his waist and hair dripping. Arthur's breath caught and his face turned bright red, turning away and trying not to drool.

"F-Francis put some clothes on! You're soaking!" He sputtered, stealing a glance at the Frenchman.

"Oh about zat I might 'ave forgotten my 'air towel and what I sleep in in zis room. Mind passing zem to me, s'il te plaît?" Arthur nodded and tossed a bundle of fabrics to Francis, who caught them with little effort. "Merci beaucoup, mon cher!" he chirped, shutting the door. Arthur collapsed into the wine coloured covers, taking up the whole bed. He heard the door open and a weight sit on the bed, a hand caressing the part of his cheek that was visible. "Arthur~" Francis sing-songed, lightly pushing the sleepy Brit. "You are taking up ze whole bed. Move, s'il te plaît?"

"Mmmmm… non." Arthur mumbled, cracking open his eyes and shifting his face to see Francis leaning over him, expression gentle and still damp hair in a braid, his bangs falling out to frame his face, the edges just tickling Arthur's face.

"D'accord." Francis whispered, picking up the Englishman, pulling the covers away and lying down, Arthur's head on his chest. Francis's fingers softly stroked Arthur's hair, and before he drifted off to sleep, he felt a feather light kiss on his forehead, along with whispered words that made his heart swell. "Bonne nuit, mon amour. Je t'aime."