England
is
taking a stroll through the park.
Marianne
is
sitting on a bench in the park and enjoying the cool weather. She spots a familiar-looking man and the eyebrows she'd heard about. _
"Angleterre..?" She decides to follow him secretly.
doesn't notice her, and continues walking at a leisurely pace. Occasionally, he murmurs to the air, as if in conversation with someone.
hears him talking to himself and thinks that it's definitely England's male counterpart. Who else would talk to the air like that? She taps_
his shoulder from behind.
blinks, pausing his conversation with his fae and turning around. "Yes?" he asks, examining her curiously. She looks... familiar, and he
doesn't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
Marianne
says
"Excusez-moi, but... are you by any chance, Angleterre?" She's quite sure though, looking at his familiar face.
hesitates before nodding. "Yes, I am. And you are, miss...?" He thinks he knows who she is, though, if her calling him 'Angleterre' is any
indication.
claps her hands in delight, she was right! "Ah, bonjour! It's nice to finally meet you~ I'm Marianne, the counterpart of your France."
offers a polite smile; just because he dislikes France doesn't mean he has to dislike her... right? "I figured. It's a pleasure, Marianne."
smiles back, he was more polite than Ann was to her. "Ah, do you mind if I walk with you? I'd just like to chat."
nods, continuing his leisure pace. "Oh, of course. How are you?"
follows without much trouble. "I've been well, spending a lot of time with Francis~" She chuckles, remembering the fun times they had. "Ah,_
have you met Ann?"
frowns a bit at the mention of Francis, but replies, "No, I'm afraid I haven't had the honor. Have you seen her around?"
Marianne
thinks
for a bit, "Mmm, non, now that you mention it... Perhaps we should visit her at her house. She's probably in there, doing embroidery or some
such."
England
wonders
if Marianne and Ann have a rocky relationship, like him and France. Just in case... "Ah... I'll visit her later, at a different time."
actually has a rather cordial relationship with Ann, considering their pasts. "Bien~ Who were you talking to just now? I heard you talking_
when I was walking up to you."
replies, "Just the fae. They're rather chatty today."
blinks in surprise. The fae? "...are you... sure? If you were just talking about covert business, you can just tell me not to ask further,"_
she says, amused.
frowns a bit. "I assure you, I've no business to hide. I really was talking to them." Though, he shouldn't be surprised; not many can see.
shrugs, she guesses that it was just an English quirk. "Oui, oui~ I will ask no further. Ann is the same way sometimes," she smiles.
England
is
a bit displeased, but lets it go. "Are you close to her?"
tilts her head, "I suppose. She comes over for dinner sometimes, and we chat~ Though we still argue sometimes," she admits with a chuckle.
England
is
admittedly slightly surprised. "I see... well, that sounds much more pleasant than what France and I do. We argue more than anything."
isn't very surprised by that, men had different relationships compared to women. "I think it's a sign of unresolved sexual tension between_
you two," she winks at him.
blanches, disgusted by the mere thought. "Absolutely not!" He shakes his head vehemently. "There isn't even a chance of that!"
chuckles at his reaction, "Oui, oui, that's what you say now.. When you wake up in bed next to Francis, I'll say I told you so~"
looks horrified. "No! No, bloody hell, no! That would never-- I would never! I've no idea what kinds of... of activities you and Ann_
engage in, but I most certainly do not have any such relationship with France!"
tilts her head, "Well, Ann and I don't have any activities, she's too much of a prude for that~ But I find Francis most agreeable. Why not,_
really? You two might stop arguing so much after that~"
shakes his head, but is slightly relieved to hear that. "I'd... really rather not. Arguing is preferable to doing... -that- sort of thing_
with him."
chuckles, "Really? I find that doing such activities with him is quite... refreshing. You really should try it sometime~" She smirks.
grimaces, horrified. "You-- I... But that's practically yourself! I'd... really rather not do anything with an alternate version of me...!"
shakes her head, "We are rather similar, but it seems like we're still seperate people really. I'm not asking you to bed Ann, I'm advising_
you to bed Francis to resolve all that tension," she says with a grin.
reddens a bit at the suggestion, speeding up a bit as he replies, "That's not any better! In fact, that's even worse!"
giggles, she was really only teasing him. She adjusts to his speed easily and continues, "Well, it would be much more enjoyable than arguing
I can assure you~ Why are you being so shy about this, cher?"
scowls slightly. "It would not be! Absolutely not! Anything would be more enjoyable than... than -that-! I'm not being shy, this is just..._
Just... no!"
hides a smile, "Ahh, perhaps you're not into men? Then what about me then? On behalf of Francis~" He was so fun to tease.
England
is
just more embarrassed by that. "That's not-- that... sort of thing stops mattering after a few years, but that's besides the point! I hold_
no such interest in France, or any version of France!" He pauses, then, and quickly adds, "No... offense to you, of course..."
chuckles, knowing of his distaste of Francis, she wasn't offended at all. She pouts though, "Am I not good enough for you then~?"
pauses, reddening slightly. "I-- a-ah... I didn't mean that. You're fine - truly, I mean it. You're far more pleasant than your male_
counterpart, at the very least."
smiles and decides to let him off the hook. "I was just teasing, cher~ You're adorable when you blush, oui?" She plants a kiss on one of_
those red cheeks.
just reddens more at that and inches away, flustered. "N... No, I most certainly am not. Perhaps you aren't too different from France..."
grins and moves even closer to him. "But of course~ We are still similar~ Especially in these aspects."
mutters, "Unfortunately. Where is that frog, anyway? I'm sure he's looking for you."
tilts her head, "I wouldn't know, we don't keep track of each other at all times. Mm, and how would you know that?" She asks with a chuckle.
frowns, unamused. "That's assuming he has a speck of responsibility!"
didn't know that their counterparts were responsible for them. "Ah~ but I'm not a child, he doesn't have to watch me all the time..."
frowns. "Well... yes, but isn't it... difficult to adjust here? Not to mention that it's rude to leave a lady unattended."
smiles at his gentleman's attitude. "Well, I'm not unattended now, am I? I have you here after all~" She links her arm with his as they walk
pauses before hesitantly continuing the walk. "...I suppose..." A pause, "How are you finding this... dimension?"
hums as she thinks of an answer. "It is... very similar to mine. It doesn't feel like another dimension even, apart from the counterparts."
nods, replying, "That's a relief. I'm sorry you... all of you, actually, have to go through this. It must be very confusing."
shakes her head, "It hasn't been very taxing, though I wonder what happened to our world with all of us missing... Do you know_
of a way for us to go back though?"
frowns a bit. "No, I'm afraid not. I've been looking into it, but... as I don't know what brought you all here in the first place, I can't_
figure out a counterspell. It'll be too dangerous to try random ones, so I'm afraid for now, you're stuck here." He smiles apologetically.
sighs, disappointed. "Well, it's really no hardship to stay here.. I am just worried about the people back home." She shrugs, "There is_
nothing to be done for that though, I suppose."
nods. "I'm sure they'll be fine, Marianne." He pauses when they pass a small ice cream parlour, and hesitates before asking, "Would you_
like some ice cream...?"
(I just finished a bowl of ice cream... ARE YOU IN MY MIND? XD)
"Ah, that would be nice," she smiles up at him. "Perhaps a vanilla cone..."
[ YES, OF COURSE ||
<3 ]
<3 ]
approaches the parlour, then, and gets a vanilla cone for them both before handing it to her. "Here you go."
thanks him, "Merci~" before taking a lick at her cone. The cold sent a shiver down her spine before she got used to it and happily ate it.
smiles slightly despite himself as they continue their stroll. "Perhaps you're not so like France after all."
tilts her head, "Hmm? In what manner~? I thought we shared quite similar thoughts..."
England
thinks
a moment. "You're far more pleasant company, for one. You seem to know how to enjoy a good conversation without ruining it with a grope."
chuckles, "Ah~ I do know when the time for a good grope is, I suppose." She winks at him and continues licking at her cone.
sighs, though he does smile a bit still. "You ought to teach him that. It'll save him a lot of trouble."
hums, "I don't think he'll learn~ Francis is just like that, after all. "
rolls his eyes. "Unfortunately. Lord knows that he'll end up losing a limb or two, with the amount of tact that he has now."
laughs despite herself. "Well, Francis just has a different sort of tact~ Perhaps you should teach him a thing or two then."
frowns, and licks his ice cream. "I've been trying to teach him manners for centuries. He's hopeless."
grins, "There's only one way that things will get through to him, hmm?" She winks so he can't mistake her meaning.
reddens, almost spitting out his ice cream. "N-- No! Bloody hell, no! I'd rather die in a trench!"
Marianne
is
still amused by the red blush on him. "Ah~ That blush is very becoming on you, I couldn't resist teasing you again."
England
is
embarrassed even more by that, and distracts himself with the ice cream. "It is not...!"
"Oui, it is!" She giggles and finishes her ice cream. "You just make me want to tease you more~"
shakes his head vehemently, and finishes his own cone as well. "No, I don't! No one would like that!"
"Well, I do~" She shows a bemused expression at his denial. "Ah~ You don't want the world knowing you're so cute?"
frowns, unamused. "I'm not cute. And the world doesn't need to know -anything- relating to how you view me."
grins, "Really~? I think the world needs to know! If I tell Francis, he'd surely pass on the news, hmmm?"
huffs. "No, absolutely not. He'll spread some falsified version of the information and make it perverted, just for his own amusement."
shakes her head, "I suppose they wouldn't believe him anyway. I suppose I shall be the one to pass the information then!"
looks appalled. "Why would-- that would be absolutely pointless! There are other ways to entertain yourself, Marianne."
smiles and taps her cheek with a finger. "Non, non, there isn't. Besides, the world should know of your cuteness~"
frowns. "They should not. And, for the final time, I am not cute, and would appreciate it if you stopped referring to me as such."
Marianne
thinks
that he's probably had enough of her teasing and lets him off. "Well~ I will keep it to myself then~ Then I'll be the only one who can put a
blush on your cheeks." She winks at him.
reddens slightly despite his attempts not to, and looks away. "...Don't be ridiculous!"
chuckles, "I am not~ I'm being perfectly serious here!" She skips ahead a little, then looks back at him over his shoulder.
her shoulder*
blinks, then looks away, unwilling to acknowledge that she looks pretty. "B... Bollocks."
only grins and skips ahead further, pausing at the pond to look for ducks.
follows, looking around before spotting a few. He points, saying, "There." A pause, "If, uh, you were looking for them."
lets out an 'oh' and watches the ducks. She wanted to see if there were any ducklings. Probably not though. "Oh, look at that one! It looks_
just like you~"
blinks, looking at the duck and frowning a bit. "I look nothing like that one... or any duck, for that matter."
grins and shakes her head, "It does look like you, it has these little dark patches above its eyes..."
crosses his arms. "Then the one not too far behind is like you - the one paying more attention to preening rather than looking ahead."
giggles, not offended in the least. "Oui~ But that duck is looking at her while she preens, non?"
resists throwing a rock at the duck to distract it. "O... Only because he doesn't want her bumping into him!"
just smiles at him, then continues watching the ducks. They were really adorable.
pauses, hesitating before asking, "Is there anything I can get you, Marianne? A drink, or..."
shakes her head, "Non, it is fine~ You're quite the gentleman though, cher." She hadn't expected such treatment from him.
smiles slightly. "I always have been. And you're surprisingly pleasant company, so I've no reason not to be."
"Well, you're pleasant company yourself, so don't mind if I pop in for a visit or two sometime, oui~?"
nods, actually finding himself to be okay with that. "So long as you leave your counterpart at home, you may come by any time."
chuckles, "But we could have such fun together~ Why not?" She's serious about it though, she would like them to mend their burned bridges.
shakes his head, frowning. "If by fun, you mean migraines, perhaps. He isn't nearly as bearable as you are."
tilts her head. "He is good company to me though? He can be civil when he wants to, really."
disagrees. "I've known him for centuries now, Marianne; the few moments we were civil to each other were still tedious."
"You're not completely opposed to all things French though, you're talking to me, non? Give it a try!"
frowns. "It's not the French culture I have issues with, it's the man himself. He's unbearable, no matter what either of us do."
pouts at him and gives a pleading look. "I'll be there to mediate~ If you two would just settle down and have a civil talk... we could have_
better relations. Do it for me?"
reddens slightly and looks away. "We've had plenty of civil talks in the past, and none of it has led to anything but biting arguments. I
appreciate your concern - and hopefully, the frog does too -, but... we just can't work together."
clings to his arm and continues giving him puppy eyes. "I can persuade him to be nice~ As a gentleman, you should set an example for him to_
follow, non?"
frowns, hesitating. "...Fine," he says, finally giving in with a sigh. "But I'll only try once. I'm not sure I can handle multiple migraines
in one day."
hugs him in delight. "Good! Let's go over to his house now~ I'm sure he's in~"
stiffens, looking uncertain. "Right now?" he repeats, "To his house? But that's-- how about next week, instead...?"
shakes her head, "It's best to go now, oui? The sooner the better~ You are free, oui?"
hesitates. "Well, yes, but... it's a pleasant day out, and I assure you, all we'll end up doing is argue."
just looks up at him and pouts, she'd really like it if he did go with her to France's house right now.
sighs, giving in. "Fine," he grumbles, looking every bit displeased. "Are you sure he's even home right now?"