Be Well, My Darling (Fruk)

4

"Smile for the camera!" The lady spoke. Francis and I stood beside each other, with straight faces, as the woman snapped the picture. We stood there for a few seconds, waiting for her to tell us we were good to go. We were told to take a few pictures at the ceremonial party. So, we did.

"Alright! Thank you, Mr. England and Mr. France," the woman smiled. Francis and I nodded in response and began to walk away. The cameras were so weird to me. Or maybe I was used to old-fashioned paintings.

I began walking away from Francis, and I could see him looking at me, shocked. "Where are you going? Leaving me already?" he asked, pretending to be sad. "Getting a drink...I don't know about you, but I plan on getting drunk off my arse!" I laughed. I shook my head, turning away from him, and heard him gasp. "I will join you! It will be a competition!" he declared. As I walked, I rolled my eyes at him, and he rushed to my side.

We both walked toward the pub counter, sitting beside each other. It was a bit loud in here, but it was expected. People were celebrating and getting really drunk.

There was really nice music playing in the back, which amazed me. I have witnessed the evolution of humanity, and I can't tell if it feels bittersweet or makes me anxious. I wondered how long this would last. "Scotch, please...and keep them coming..." I spoke. Francis looked at me, a bit horrified, and nodded. "Any wine is fine, please," he spoke. The tender nodded at us, walking away.

"Why a competition?" I asked, annoyed.

Francis came closer to me, so close that our shoulders touched. It was not much, but I really loved the feeling of how simple it was. "Ah, I am curious to see which of us has built up their immunity the best," he laughed. The tender returned as he said that, placing the drinks in front of us. "Well, if that is the case...I am not one to stray away from a challenge," I laughed.

I took the drink quickly, throwing my head back and drinking it all. "You should have picked something stronger than wine," I mocked. He laughed at my behavior and followed my lead, but with his wine.

"Waiter! GIVE ME SCOTCH TOO! AND KEEP THEM COMING!" He declared. The tender nodded at him and began to prepare his next drink. That idiot...as if he could out-drink me.

~ four hours later~

"Arthur! Arthur! Do you remember how Portugal shot you with that arrow? Did it hurt? Tell me! I must know now!"

"Do you want to find out?"

We were still at the bar, drinking, and I knew I was drunk, but I couldn't make it obvious. However, I could tell that he was.

"Francis, you are so drunk right now," I laughed. He shook his head determined, "No! You are!" He declared. We were both standing, drinking still when he shoved me. It felt like I was moving fast, so I held onto his shoulder for support. "Wait! Arthur! Arthur! Do not look away from me! Look at me now! You will miss what I'm about to do if you do not look at me!"

"Huh? What is it?" I asked, shocked. He moved back slowly, pointing himself up and down. It was like my vision of him was getting a bit blurry, so I shook my head a bit to give him my full attention. "WATCH CAREFULLY!" He demanded. I nodded at him, holding onto the wall beside me.

Francis put his arms up, looking determined. He curved his back forward, doing an awesome cartwheel. "Wow! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" I asked. My jaw dropped as he did it again.

"How is this possible? You are really good at this!" I cheered. I looked at someone who was passing us by and stopped them. "Look at his cartwheel! It's amazing!" I spoke. The random man stopped, looking at Francis do it again, but his face looked mortified. "Yeah...that was...almost a cartwheel..." he laughed. I looked back at Francis, mesmerized, and quickly rushed to him. "Teach me!" I demanded.

"Ah! Its...so easy! You just... do this, then flip...and catch yourself," he slurred. I don't think I'd be able to do something so advanced. "Like this?" I asked. I tried to do the cartwheel, but I felt like it wasn't any good.

I suck at this!

"WOW! That was amazing! You could go to the Olympics with those moves!" He cheered. My eyes widened, and I began smiling at what he said. "What? Really? You promise?" I asked. He swayed to the side and tried to catch himself to give me a thumbs-up.

"Francis! Do you realize the power we have?" I asked. His eyes widened, and he shook his head at me. "The other nations would be jealous! We have to show them!" He cheered. I placed my hands on his shoulders so I could hold on. I felt like my legs were turning to mush.

"We can cartwheel to my hotel! And darling is there!" I cheered. He looked at me excitedly and nodded his head. "Everyone in Paris would think we are so amazing! Let's do it!" He cheered. I nodded at him, determined, and we slowly began to make our way to the door.

The event was pretty much over; no one would notice if we left.

"When we get there, we will give our dear darling all the love he deserves!" I declared. Francis laughed at what I said and began pulling me out of our building. There were people still in the streets celebrating, many drunk too.

I knew I was drunk, but I couldn't be that drunk. "We will race! And the first person to your hotel room will have to drink a whole bottle of wine!" He spoke.

"Deal, Deal, but we have to run simultaneously!" I demanded. He nodded at me, determined, and we both stood by one of the nearby walls. Our hands touched the edge of it, and we both nodded at each other.

"Okay...on three....one...two..."

"Arthur! Look at that!" He exclaimed.

My eyes widened, looking to where he pointed, and he tried to run off. However, as I quickly turned back to look at him, I began laughing at how he tripped over the sidewalk within a few seconds. I took this time to run ahead of him.

"Pooo, no fair!" He whined. I continued laughing as I did my best to run away from him.