Hey~ If you didn't read the last one because in the one before it I said it would be yuri…it's not yuri, so you should go read it. You might get the song/TV referene that no one got. Hint: it's something from Monty Python.

This is a lead-in to a request from thousands of years ago that was sent in by MataHari-Chan, and it's a sequel to Costermonger, the very first one. IF you don't remember what happened in that one…go back and read it, I'm too lazy to write a recap. :D

Title: Marketplace Blues

Pairings: USUK, implied SuFin, and some PruCan if you squint~

Rating: K+

Genre(s): Romance, Friendship, Angst, some Humor

Dedications: tintenstern, Alphine, DancesWithCranes, SnowGirl999, MataHari-Chan, TheNinjaWangsta, Hana1225, Chibirisu, and anyone who fav'd or alerted~

Inspiration: That request from above from a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

Warnings: The ending is angsty, but fear not! There will be a sequel! …in like a week and a half when I get back from NYC and my birthday is over…

Summary: Artie has returned to the market to see Alfred, but the boy has some misconceptions that Arthur doesn't do a very good job of fixing…

Disclaimer: I don't own Douce France, or any of the pictures in this video, or even this computer. What would possess you to make you think I might own Hetalia?

Begin~

"Why did I come back?" Arthur muttered to himself. "Oh, why? I should have just stayed home.." This was far too difficult. For the life of him he couldn't find Alfred's cart. He thought he'd let his nose guide him (as the cart was between two large fish stands), but he'd gotten hopelessly lost. That was Roderich's job!

He'd have the Flying Mint Bunny or the unicorn find it for him, but he'd made them stay home. He didn't want to scare the poor boy (Alfred, of course) by talking to things he couldn't see.

By now he was tired, and after spotting a lemonade stand, he supposed it couldn't hurt to take a short break to get some sustenance.

"Er...one large lemonade, please," he told the vendor, an albino with an arrogant grin.

"Kesesesese, coming right up!" Arthur watched him get the drink fixed, and as he did so, someone walked up behind him.

"Gil, when you have a minute, I need two more. Al's going through them like crazy today, he must be worried about something."

"Here." The one who was apparently called "Gil" handed Arthur his lemonade and started work on the other two the person behind Arthur had ordered.

When the Brit turned around after paying, he came face-to-face with someone who looked just like the person he'd been looking all over for. "Alfred!" he exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"W-Wait, I'm not—

I couldn't find your cart! You really should make it more visible."

"H-Hold on, I—"

"That's strange, your tan is lighter than before. Hm…" Arthur added, peering closer at the boy's face, which darkened.

"Um, actually—"

"Sir, you must be confused. This is Mattie!" said the albino. "By the way, Matt, here's your drinks." He slid two very large cups over across the counter.

"Thanks, Gilbert." He didn't pay Gilbert. Interesting. "If you like," he said, addressing Arthur, "I can take you to go see my brother."

Arthur gave "Mattie" a relieved smile. "That'd be great."

The boy, who told him his name was actually "Matthew", led him through the crowd and to the back of the vegetable cart, where its co-owner was sitting, gazing into the street forlornly.

Arthur coughed awkwardly, and Matthew announced, "Al, I'm back. Also, someone was looking for you. I brought him here…you don't owe him anything, do you?"

Alfred turned around, and his face broke into an ear-splitting grin. "Artie!" He ran back to the pair and threw his arms around Arthur.

"W-What are you doing?" demanded a very uncomfortable Arthur. After all, he barely knew the kid, and he was hugging him.

"You're late, Artie! Where have you been?" asked Alfred as he let the Brit go. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"I got lost, okay?" snapped Arthur. "And why did you just assault me like that?"

Alfred ignored him. "Mattie, this is the Arthur I was telling you about!"

Matthew nodded. "The one that likes withered cucumbers."

Arthur blushed. "N-No, I don't like them, per say, but I needed one, so…"

"Yeah. Okay. Right. Mattie, me 'n' Artie are gonna go walk around! So watch the cart, okay?" Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and dragged him off. Arthur could see Matthew sighing to himself back at the vegetable cart.

"So Artie, what do you want to do first?"

"Stop…running…!" panted Arthur.

Alfred abruptly stopped behind a Spanish guy's tomato stand. Said Spaniard was chatting happily with an Italian who looked quite angry. "Huh?"

"L-Look…Alfred…y-you're a nice chap and all, but…what exactly do you want to do?" asked Arthur awkwardly.

Alfred beamed. "Hang out and stuff~ 'cause we're friends."

"Alfred, you sold—well, really gave—me vegetables and then told me to show up here for no reason whatsoever. How does that make us friends?"

The boy's smile dropped. "I…I guess…um…" His cheeks darkened. "Well, it's just, uh, you seemed really nice, so I just...I don't know. I saw you and I…immediately liked you? And I wanted to get to know you better…"

"O-Oh. Well…you seem very nice as well, but I think you went about this the wrong way, and—" He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. "Just a moment, sorry."

"Sure."

Arthur opened his phone. "Hello?"

"JERK ARTHUR!" screamed the other end. Arthur pulled the phone away. "Mom and Dad—the ones that are just mine—are going on some weird retreat thingy and you have to watch me! Come pick me up from the airport!" And then they hung up.

The Brit scowled. Stupid little brother…he could have given him a little more warning, right? "I'm sorry. I have to go to the airport."

"Oh. Okay," said Alfred. "But, um…"

"Yes?" asked Arthur impatiently. Knowing Peter, he was sitting outside on his giant suitcase already…

Alfred kissed Arthur.

The Brit's entire face went red as he froze, unable to comprehend anything as the boy's lips pressed into his own. After a few seconds, Alfred pulled back.

"Nothing?" he asked. Arthur couldn't answer—he was still frozen. "Nothing at all?" At the lack of a response, the boy smiled sadly. "Well, sorry for wasting your time. See you later." He ran off, presumably back to his cart.

Arthur couldn't get that brief moment of contact out of his head, even as he yelled at his baby brother to stop changing the radio station in his car. He knew Alfred has assumed incorrectly—though it was faint, he thought he had felt something.

Now, how to tell Alfred?

AN: Haha, scared ya with that page break just before the last paragraph + one sentence at the end there, huh? No, I probably didn't. *turns back to video* Ooh, GiriPan~

Okay. And remember, no one got the song/TV reference from the last chapter. I expected more of you guys. Honestly…(Hint: MONTY PYTHON)

One last thing. I got so many requests last chapter. It was great! Plenty, since I'll be on a bus 13 hours to NYC, and 13 hours back…BUT I STILL WANT MOAR. Raise your hand if you're suicidal~ *raises hand* Haha. But seriously. It is now 9:10 Central Standard Time. If I could have requests in before this time tomorrow, it'd be great, because otherwise, I won't get them until the fifteenth. (After we get back, I'm going to bed.)

That there above, that also means that I probably won't be able to reply to reviews until that time. Thank you for understanding~

I know there are probably errors all over this. I'll fix them…eventually…

Well! Thank you for reading~ I hope you enjoyed!