Body swap (FrUK)

Chapter twenty

Today was the pre-party for Alfred's wedding; luckily, things settled down between Francis and me, meaning we had not discussed the kiss...he was right. We were going to forget about it. "Hey dude, how is it going with .....Francis?" Alfred whispered his name. "You do not have to whisper" I looked at him, annoyed.
"If you need any advise, feel free to come to me."
"I'll pass."
"Ugh.....well....any progress?" He looked to me, interested. "No, and in fact, have you seen Yao anywhere?" I asked, changing the subject. Alfred shrugged his shoulders, looking around. "Nope, I think he might be late. Where is Francis?"

"Ahhh, he is running late too. We were supposed to get together, but Gilbert and Antonio needed him for something."
"Really? Okay then, well, the party starts in a few more minutes. Mattie should be getting here soon as well."
"Whoa? "As well" I see you are using your big boy words; I am proud" I pretended to cry. Alfred nudged my shoulder in a joking way. "Whatever," he continued to laugh. This party was for both the families to meet entirely, and this meant that the Kikus family and Alfred's family were there.

It was a lot of planning, but Alfred did well. Kiku thought it would be a good thing to do and said it would be considered "respectable" on his side of the family, especially since they were skeptical about him marrying a westerner. "I am here!!! So sorry, Arthur!" Francis came running in. He fixed his hair a bit as I stood him up straight. "It has not started yet, but thank god you came, and I could use some backup if needed" I smiled at him. "Arthur, flattering will get you nowhere."

"Oh really? It seems to have gotten me this far, right?" I laughed, fixing his coat. He was a mess after being in such a rush. "Awww, look at you too!!!! Just kiss already!!" Alfred chirped. Francis and I stiffened in our spots as we looked at him slowly. "We are just friends!!!!" We both said in unison. "Whoa, calm down! I was only joking" Alfred took a sip of his drink. After Alfred walked away slowly from us, I led Francis to the seat we would be at. "So I have never been to these types of parties before a wedding; what is it for?"

"Well, Kiku thought it would be a good idea for the families to meet formally. The parents met Alfred, but the rest of the family has not. Of course, what happens tonight won't affect the wedding in general, but it is to give the relatives a good idea of who Kiku will be marrying," I finished explaining. Francis took a seat beside me, nodding his head. "That still seems like a lot of pressure" Francis lifted a brow.
"Oh definitely, Alfred is not showing it, but he has an internal mental breakdown as we speak."

I pointed to Alfred, who was drinking a lot of soda and fixing little things here and there. "I see" Francis looked to Alfred. "Matthew should be here soon. He speaks French, so you might like him" I smiled. "Wow, That is very cool" Francis nodded. We looked at each other for a second before looking away. It has been since Friday that we have spoken to each other. It had become highly awkward, but it seems that maybe things have gone away. He still looked really handsome, of course. "Hey...I do not know if things might still be awkward, but maybe we can just act normal?"

"Yes!!! I was thinking the same thing! I really like having you as a friend, and that incident kind of crashed everything," I laughed nervously. "Yes! Let's just pretend it did not happen," he smiled. We laughed once more before turning away from each other silently. This sucks so bad right now. "So...I started seeing someone..." Francis looked at me. My eyes widened, and I felt my heart crashing into a million pieces.....I felt....sad.

"Really? Oh, that is amazing; who is the lucky person?" I asked, trying to seem casual. Why did this break my heart so much? Also, I only saw him on Friday; that was really quick; maybe he was already talking to her for a while. "Her name is Elizabeta; I am sure you know her from the office staff," he explained. She did ring a bell. "Oh, the secretary," I nodded as he nodded as well. It stayed silent some more as I looked off a bit. "Well....as long as you are happy, then that is all that matters" I smiled. "Really?" Francis looked at me a bit sad. Shouldn't he be happy that I was okay with it? Not like I care or anything; he can date whoever he wants. Not my problem.

"Yes, of course" I smiled. From across the ballroom, I could see Matthew come in. Alfred, with a swift motion, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him in our direction. "Francis, this is my brother Mattie, Mattie; this is Francis....talk in French or something!" Alfred said quickly, soon running away. "Well, I guess he is nervous," Matthew laughed, taking a seat. "He has been like this since I arrived," I laughed. "Oh, so for the past few hours," Matthew shook his head, laughing. He looked at Francis, smiling. "So Alfred has told me about the guy hanging out with Arthur; he does not shut up about the two of you."

"Oh really? What does he say?" Francis asked. "He says the both of you love each other a lot" Matthew pointed at us, laughing as we turned red. "Alfred....is just too damn extra for his own good. Francis and I are just friends," I explained. Matthew nodded, smirking as he took a drink from the table. "If you both say so," he laughed. "He has a girlfriend too," I pointed out. Matthew puckered his lips together, nodding. "I see; hopefully, that works out," he added, looking at us again. "Now then...I will calm him down...nice meeting you, Francis" Matthew waves us off as he turns away. He was walking to a frightful Alfred.

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