Burnt Out Hearts (Hetalia Fic)

Burnt Out Hearts

Summary: In which Scott is always right, Arthur is a (metaphorical)pyromaniac and Francis is sweet.

"You're so lucky to have him! "

"I'd love to have a boyfriend as sweet as him."

"How could you not fall in love with him immediately?"

'Why do all my friends praise Francis so much?' Arthur wondered as the lay under the willow tree in his backyard. Glancing over at his current boyfriend who was drawing, he observed the Frenchman quietly. 'He might be sensible, charming, handsome even, but he's still a frog!' he contemplated. 'I suppose I do like him, however French he is...'

Arthur was shaken out of his thoughts by Francis speaking to him. "Mon lapin? Are you awake?"

" 'Course I am. What do you want wanker?" he grumbled.

"Would you like to go out to dinner tonight? I can get reservations at the new Italian restaurant that opened up in town," Francis asked.

"Fine. What time?"

"Great! I'll come over at 6." Francis smiled brilliantly. He escorted Arthur back to the door. "See you soon, cher," Arthur scoffed at his attempts to be romantic and shut the door to head inside.

"Francy pants? That's who you're dating now?" his eldest brother and legal guardian, Scott, questioned incredulously once Arthur reached the sitting room.

At Arthur's nod, Scott sneered. "What a pussy. You and I both know the other one was better. What was his name again? The Spanish one."

"Antho- Antonio."

"That's the one! Antonio was a good one. Why'd you go and lose him?" Scott barked. "This one's a priss. Like you, huh Bunny?" he scoffed and went back to his beer.

Arthur silently trudged up to his room, not bothering to summon the energy needed to reply to Scott's words. The words didn't leave his mind however, taking up more space in his mind than he wanted them to.

Antonio...

He remembered Antonio all too well. All the harsh words they'd exchanged, all the times they'd poured their hearts out to each other, every single date, Arthur remembered them all. The sun seemed to bend to their will when they were together.

With a bittersweet smile, Arthur reached a realization that came a few months. He was, is and will always be in love with Antonio Carriedo. But it was too late. So he did what he did best.

Arthur lied to himself. He pretended he never had those thoughts. He shoved them aside and went to his room to waste time before his date with Francis.

Francis,that perfect bastard, arrived at exactly six. He was a complete gentleman the entire date. He opened all the doors for him, pulled out Arthur's chair at dinner, and even went so far as to lend him his jacket when he shivered due to the cold wind that blew across the balcony where they were seated.

Arthur had complained that Francis was treating him like a delicate girl but Francis had brushed off all his words with a single sentence, "I must care for the keeper of my heart, lest he drop it out of discomfort, non?" and Arthur didn't have the heart to tell him that he wasn't fit to keep his own heart safe, much less anyone else's.

The date was lovely as always but Arthur couldn't help reminiscing of other dates. Dates that occurred in the dead of the night with a different person.

It was a dark night and the moon was hidden behind clouds, leaving only the streetlamps to light their way. Antonio had convinced him to come to the park at midnight for a date and it had been going splendidly until Arthur noticed the very slight drizzle coming from the sky.