Bookstores

I actually love this ship,,, what good boys. I love them. Crossposted from Ao3.

Gilbert hadn't exactly planned for Francis to say yes when he asked him out. Which meant that he hadn't exactly planned where they'd go. At all, really.

He was just great at these things already, wasn't he?

Francis didn't expect much from the location itself; it was Gilbert. He had nice taste in some subjects, but mostly the Frenchman couldn't wrap his head around half the things he liked. He had never known him to be a good planner, for anything, although he was surprisingly organized. So when Gilbert showed up at his front door to take him somewhere, he really had no choice but to take his hand and put his faith in him.

They'd walked almost four blocks into the nearby city before Francis really suspected anything was wrong. Gilbert was glancing around somewhat nervously, his grip on the other's hand rather tight.

"Gil? Is there something wrong?" Francis asked softly, trying to get his attention.

Gilbert snapped back to him, shaking his head. "Uh, nothing," he assured. "Just...trying to find the pla-"

"There is no place, is there?" he raised an eyebrow, chuckling when Gilbert turned beet red.

"No! There totally is! I promise!" He insisted, regretting it immediately. Francis knew him - he knew he was completely and utterly lost in making up a good excuse.

"Alright," Francis nodded, his smile never leaving. "Need help choosing somewhere?"

Gilbert was defeated, finally nodding. "Yeah," he sighed.

Francis' gaze softened and his kissed his cheek, turning in time to miss the way Gilbert's face flushed brightly. "How about there?" he asked, pointing a used bookstore. It was the first thing he'd seen, but he knew Gilbert wouldn't hold back his opinion on anything.

He glanced over, not giving it that much thought, simply nodding. "Sure," he mumbled, a goofy grin slowly crossing his face as Francis pulled him along to it.

They'd been in the store for only a few minutes before Gilbert found something to turn into a joke. There was a section filled with pregnancy books, and he nodded at them. "Planning to expect the unexpected?" he raised an eyebrow at Francis.

Following his gaze, Francis hit his arm, shaking his head. "You're absolutely ridiculous," he insisted. "I'm not the woman of this relationship."

"Last time I checked, neither am I," Gilbert grinned, only resulting in another playful hit from the other.

"I hope you get kicked out first," Francis joked, beginning to flip through a novel, unfortunately taking his attention off of his date.

Gilbert on the other hand, had wondered off to look at the CDs. If not to find one he liked, he could at least buy it just to make Francis listen to it - he had the funniest faces when he listened to music he disliked. Flipping through them, he did eventually find one he knew Francis would hate. It was perfect; maybe he could give it to him for his birthday? No, too far away. He'd rather give it to him that day. Just to see the look on his face.

Francis had finished looking at the shelf, starting to get bored. He had chosen the place, but most of the books he looked at were either uninteresting or he'd already read them (Arthur wasn't the only bookworm, he would admit it). Looking around, he spotted Gilbert, linking an arm with his once he walked up to him. He glanced over the collection of CDs, not finding them very interesting.

"Hey, Fran," Gilbert nudged him, attempting to hide his smile. "I found one you'll like."

Francis only raised an eyebrow, trying to see what he was holding. Once he did, he was deeply disappointed as Gilbert laughed at his response.

"The Beatles? Really Gilbert?"