Sorry, My Boyfriend is Just Kind Of Old-Fashioned [Hetalia England x reader]

Chapter 5- A Beautiful Curse

"(Name)... We lost the war."

"The w-war?" you stammer dubiously. "Arthur, what are you talking about?"

"The Revolution, over in the colonies..." he breathes, barely a whisper. "I was supposed to fight in it, remember?"

Wait, the Revolution? The American Revolution? When the colonies had broken away from their native England, and the United States was formed? Vague memories of history textbooks and seventh grade American history fill up your mind.

"Look, we'll find a way for you to get back to your family and everyone over there, all right?" you say. "I actually may not be the sorceress you think I am, and maybe it's going to be really hard, but—"

"It's no use!" Arthur snaps. "What even use it to go back when you know how it's going to turn out! No use, I tell you, no use at all!" Suddenly he looks down at the floor, maybe trying to disguise the distress in his face.

"H-Hey.... it'll be okay..." you say cautiously.

"'It'll be okay', she says. No, (Name), actually it won't, it won't at all, because would you like to know something?" He's staring at you now, those intense green eyes seeming for a second to stare right through you.

"My friends, my family, and all the people I grew up with and even knew back in England are rotting three hundred years dead in the ground right now!" the boy you met just two days ago cries. You notice now how big and awkward your father's shirt looked on him, kind of like one of those paintings by a famous artist meant to be grander than it actually is.

"Rotting in the ground, (Name)-- and I should be with them. And even if there's a way to go back, would I even want to? What do you expect me to say to my friends who are drafted to war like me when I get back, hm?" he demands. "'Sorry chaps, it's good to try, but I know you'll lose'??"

"Arthur," you say softly, "You're just scared..."

For a second he closes his eyes, admitting it. "Yeah, maybe that's it," he breathes, letting the air out slowly. "Maybe that's all it is."

You had never seen him as emotional as this. "Do you still to try, though? I mean to you want me to try and help you get back home?" you add quickly, to disperse any awkwardness after he had opened up about his feelings.

Arthur smiles sadly. "That desperate to get rid of me, eh?"

"No, no, not at all!" you counter. "I actually like you being her-- but not that much-- I mean not in that way-- ah, bollocks!!"

He allows a slight grin, letting the corner of his mouth twist up a tad more crookedly than normal. "Bollocks? They still say that here? I do declare a good word never goes out of style!" Well that's good, you remark. He seems to be back to his normal mood.

~Later, walking back to the parking lot after stopping by Sephora for a new eyeliner~

"(Name)?"

"Yeah?"

"I—actually I do think I eventually will have to go home. To Queensbury."

"Oh." Part of you is really glad for him, but you still try to hide your disappointment.

"But.. I was thinking..."

"Yeah??"

"It doesn't mean I can't enjoy my time in the future either, does it?!"

"Sure it doesn't!" you grin. "Just wait till I take you to Hot Topic!!"

"'Hot Topic?' Pray tell, is that some sort of climatic condition?"

"No, you idiot, it's a clothing store!"

"A clothing-- Oh mercy me, I do hope it's not as terrible as that "Hollistair" concoction---

"--liSTER. It's Hollister..."

A curious though crosses your mind as the two of you make your way past many a pretzel stand and sunglasses station.

Arthur was right.

It's a beautiful curse, being stuck in the future.

You giggle at the shop-keeper's reaction as he offers to buy you a pretzel with a handful of Elizabethan-era bronze coins.

Sure it is, you smile. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it.