HELLO~!

EXTREMELY sorry about the late update. I just started school again, plus it's high school now. Yay, Freshman~!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN HETALIA! Hetalia is owned by Hidekez Himaruya. (I think that's how it's spelled...)

Warnings: Nondescript nudity, Real name usage... pretty much it!

Story of Louisiana Part 4

A Bath and a New Meal

Cocking his head to the side, Matthieu smiled brightly and nodded, looking a bit curious. "Of course!" he said, obviously willing to do anything for France. I shifted a bit uncomfortably, for I could clearly see what is about to be asked. Please, no. Please, no. Plea-

"Could you give Louis a bath for me? I, unfortunately have piles of paperwork to fill out, including Louis' founding papers," he stated, shrugging off his fancy blue coat and hanging it on a nearby stand. I nearly slumped as I could practically hear God laughing at me from Heaven. I inwardly groaned, not liking this situation. Matthieu's going to find out my charade, and surely, telling France would be the first thing he would do. Craaaaap...

Thinking this, I didn't realize my grip loosening until the okra fell from my hands, causing me to be so startled from the slight thud that it made me jump. France stared at me, a look of confusion written on his face. Matthieu just stood there for a moment before speaking up.

"I guess so... I was just about to take a bath, myself," he said, making me nearly groan from despair. I guess being a boy won't last as long as I thought...

...But, maybe Matthieu was easy to convince?

Said Canadian took a step forward, hesitantly taking a hold of my tiny hand. "Eh, follow me." He tugged me gently to confirm his request. I had no choice but to follow him, panicking as I did. Form a plan, Form a plan...

...I got nothing. I guess I'll just make it up as I go along, I thought.

We walked down the halls, passing a lot of doors on the way. And he just wants to call this a house... As we passed by more doors, my head started to spin until we finally reached the washroom. I was actually kind of surprised at how it looked. It was so clean and...white! There were a bunch of shelves on each wall, all of them holding different types of cleansing soaps and lotions. In the center of the room was a giant tub that could probably fit six or eight of me inside. Next to it was a neat, clean pile of towels and clothes.

Matthieu closed the door behind us and walked to the tub, sticking his hand into the water already in it to test the temperature. "It's hasn't cooled a lot, so it's still good," he muttered, walking to one of the shelves and picking out a soap. "I guess the maid already came and brought your clothes."

After walking back to the tub and placing the soap on the edge of it, Matthieu started to undo the buttons on his vest, slipping it off before taking off his shirt underneath it. I still hadn't thought of a plan, and I tried again, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Matthieu, of course, just had to notice this.

"Louis? You don't have to be nervous. We're both boys, right?" he said, a reassuring smile on his face. Oh, the irony! I would have laughed at it if I weren't so nervous. The Canadian sighed before walking towards me. "Here, let me help you." He grabbed the bottom of my dirty gown and lifted it up.

"N-no! I..." I tried to say something, but before I could, the gown was pulled over my head, leaving me exposed. I gasped and grabbed my gown from his hand, trying to cover myself again. Matthieu just stared at me for a bit, trying to process the information of my lack of a certain body part. I stood awkwardly, starting to shift again.

"Please...don't tell France!" I exclaimed quietly, as if France was right outside the door listening. He still stood there, but after a few seconds, he smiled and nodded his head. I sighed in relief, dropped the gown, and made my way to the giant tub. He stripped off the rest of his clothing and hopped in before lifting me up and placing me in the warm water. That went better than expected...

I smiled an sighed as Matthieu scooped up some water and poured it over my head, washing most of the dirt out of it before removing the rest with the soap. He continued to wash himself and me, until he suddenly stopped and stared at me, mouth agape. I looked at him quizzically. "What?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Y-your hair! It's so red!" he said, obviously surprised. I nodded my head slowly, making my stupid curl bounce along with the motion. Seriously, you would think it would stay down when it's wet! Anyway, I just reacted to his discovery like it was extremely obvious.

"Yeah, and yours is so...blond," I replied, giving him a weird look. Then I felt my self shiver as the water started to get cold. I could see that Matthieu was starting to shiver also.

"Okay, w-we're all clean now," he stuttered, then stood up and jumped out, grabbing the towels and wrapping one of them around himself. I attempted at getting out by myself, almost making it but slipping on the edge and landing back into the water, my head going under for a second. I came up just as Matthieu reached in and grabbed me, lifting me out. "You okay?" he asked, clearly worried. I just nodded and reached for the other towel.

We dried off and got dressed in silence, him putting on a baggy shirt and some trousers. I looked at what I had to wear and merely shrugged. Since I had no clothes yet, I had to wear France's old clothes from, what? A thousand years ago? I didn't know. It was okay, just a darkish blue gown with three fleur-de-lis on the front with matching white bottoms. It looked a bit too big, though. After I put them on, Matthieu looked at me to see how they fit, and chuckled. I just stuck my tongue out at him.

We started to leave the lavatory, and when we were almost out the door, I stopped Matthieu. When he turned around, I yanked on his hand to bring his face down to my level, looking him square in the eye.

"If you tell France that I'm a girl, even make the slightest hint, I will find you in your sleep and make you a girl, m'kay?" I told him, my voice sweet but my eyes saying different. He paled a bit and nodded stiffly. I smiled again. Despite my size, I could be pretty damn scary at times.

We walked through the halls again, me keeping my eyes on the floor so I didn't become dizzy like before, until we heard faint groaning coming from around the corner. We followed the sound until we came to a stop in the kitchen, where we saw France sitting at a table with his head in one hand, and a few cards in the other.

"What's wrong with him?" I whispered to Matthieu, who just shrugged in return. I rolled my eyes and let go of his hand, then started inching my way toward France quietly. When I reached him, I hesitantly stretched my arm out and tugged gently on his shirt.

Almost immediately, he lifted his head out of his hand and looked down at me. I saw his eyes widen a bit from shock. "Louis! I thought your hair was brown!" he exclaimed in bewilderment. I sighed. Since when did my hair become a big shocker? I shook my head slightly.

"Why were you holding your head? Did you hit it?" I asked, and he just chuckled and shook his head.

"Non, I just don't know what to cook for supper. It's sort of a... chef's block of sorts," he replied, ruffling my now-clean hair.

"Chef's block..." I repeated, then I had an idea. "Why don't you create something new? I'll help!" I smiled and put my hands together in excitement. Matthieu had taken a seat in a nearby chair and was watching us curiously.

"Wonderful idea, though I'll have to pick some ingredients to use," he muttered mostly to himself.

"Use the okra, and...can I pick out some of the other things you have?" I asked, already heading to where I saw vegetables sitting in a large bowl. France nodded in my direction, looking through cabinets for a pot or pan to use. I saw him looking at a giant pot that looked like it could fit a whole chicken inside. "Oh, use that one! I was thinking about making a soup," I said, picking out the okra and other ingredients that we bought earlier that day.

So... Was it better than the last post, now that this one was longer? ._.

Okay, it's 1:30 in tha mornin' and I have to go to a wedding tomorrow, so...yeah. Review on what I might possibly need to fix.

Au revoir, my little dumplings~!