America the Mysterious (United States of America #1.5)

His American Wife (France) (Part 4)

It was done.

America was now the wife of France's personification, Francis Bonnefoy, a man she did not love in the slightest.

It had been difficult the night they were married, and America allowed the older nation to touch her after he took her to bed, allowed herself to feel pleasure as his experienced hands caressed her scarred flesh, all while she tried to ignore how disgusted she was with herself.

Of course, she knew she had dug this grave herself, and she had been fully aware of the risks that could come along with this, but it still hurt. She felt like she was betraying the people she loved most, and it prevented her from sleeping that night.

She also felt disgusting in her skin, and spent a long time in the bath the next day. France appeared concerned after she emerged from the bathroom, but he thankfully didn't say anything as he placed a delicious-looking omelet in front of her, after which the both of them ate in silence.

As soon as she had the first bite, America found herself going back to the days when France would happily cook for her and Canada, crying tears of joy when they would voice their happy opinions. Those were the days when America truly thought that she had a new family, that she and Honan were together again after being separated for so long, and that their new caretakers weren't so bad.

And as soon as she finished the omelet, the once delicious taste suddenly felt bitter, but America couldn't throw up.

It was over and done with. Honan was dead, France and England proved her wrong so many times, and she had been a fool. There was no changing that now.

At the end, America knew that she would never grow to love France, not as much as she did them, and it didn't matter if they got on better terms than before. This was an arranged marriage after all, and the both of them were only in this for the political and economic benefits it could present for both of their countries. America wasn't looking for love in this, and she didn't need it from France of all people.

She didn't want to love him, not after all the pain he caused her, and she certainly didn't want to replace the men who already loved her. However, that didn't mean she was just going to make this marriage uncomfortable for everybody.

She had to try, not only for herself and her country, but for her children.

She did not agree to this marriage for nothing, and she'll be damned before it doesn't work out, if only for a little while.

~~~

Months later, things were progressing smoothly for both America and France's countries. The economy was drastically improving thanks to many of French moving to the United States and settling in both the populated and less populated cities, therefore allowing the economy to heal itself. And thanks to that, America's people were starting to become either bilingual or multilingual, which had been a relief in itself, and the education of her country was increasing thanks to that.

Of course, there had been some minor hiccups with the education and the people adjusting to a new life, especially since many of the immigrants had been unintentionally offending their American neighbors. There also had been concerns that the French would cause resources to dwindle with how many were coming in, though since only a couple thousand French moved and the others were staying in their native country, not to mention everyone had been quick to adjust and correct any misunderstandings, these concerns had been eased pretty quickly to America's relief.

"What are you zhinking about Amerique?" asked France, just as the two of them were getting ready for bed. Even though they had been married for months now, America still had a hard time sleeping next to him, so they often slept in different beds. France never complained about the setup, though he did look sad.