you should stay and deal with the problems at hand. -_-

wouldn't mind if you came to visit. Though...he's only speaking for himself. Well, he's pretty sure it would be okay!

Florida is nice this time of year...

a break! So he'll just hop across the lake and visit Matthew. And maybe Florida afterwards.

pretty free, so any time is good for a visit.

heads over, then, and knocks on the door.

answers, smiling. "Hi...! Here, come in."

smiles a little in return, and steps inside. "It's good to see you, Matthew. How have you been?"

goes a bit pink. He liked when anyone acknowledged him. "It's good to see you too. I've been..." How do you describe 'I've found out there's

a female version of myself' in one word? "...fine. A-and yourself?"

"I've been... a little exhausted, but more or less alright. Is Madeleine around?"

blinks in surprise. Oh right, that's how she knew about him. He'd completely forgotten. "Oh, she actually stepped out for a bit." He still

didn't feel right asking her too many questions.

nods. "I see. It was quite a surprise, you know. I dropped by a while ago with some scones for you, but she'd been the one to answer the

door instead."

smiles nervously. He hopes she didn't eat them...! "Yeah, it was a big surprise for me too. I thought someone had wandered into my house."

chuckles a bit. "I'd imagine. Ah, forgive me, though; I forgot to make some scones before coming on over."

waves his hand. "Oh, that's fine. You didn't have to, really!" Really.

shakes his head. "No, it's not. It's rude to visit without some sort of gift, after all. I'll make sure to bring extra pastries next time."

makes a second attempt. "Honestly, it's fine. I mean, we're family, so we can bend the rules a little bit, right?"

get you those scones, whether you like it or not. "...Absolutely not. And..." he hesitates, "I'd prefer it if you said... as close as a

family. It'd be rather odd if... we were officially a family at this point. Not... that I have anything against it, or that anything has

changed between us, but-- a-ah... you see, Alfred and I..." Alright, why is this more difficult to actually say? "We've... put aside our

differences... so to speak..."

initially thinks Arthur's just referring to the fact that they're all official nations now. But then... He deflates a little. "O-oh...that's

good to hear." He smiles, but it's pretty weak. If nothing had changed between them, then why couldn't he still call him family?

guilty, seeing Matthew's shoulders slump a little. "I... don't mean it in a bad way, Matthew. Really. It's just... ah, how should I say

this..." He reddens a little, slightly awkward. "...Alright, allow me to rephrase that. Alfred and I have become... intimate."

blushes. He didn't need to hear that! Awkward forever! "Oh. That's, um...nice. So...I guess you'll be seeing each other more, then?" And

he'll just be ignored some more. Sigh.

nods, glad that the news had gone over well. "But... well, if you weren't too busy - and not just for today, I was hoping that would give

me the opportunity to visit -you- more often as well. Lord knows I haven't done enough of that for... well, quite a while."

doesn't quite believe him, but it's nice that he's trying. He smiles. "Oh, you don't need to go out of your way or anything." Especially if

both him and Alfred would be there at the same time; he doesn't want to be the third wheel.

smiles faintly. "Well... I'll be on this side of the pond, anyway. Perhaps we could enjoy the finer aspects of life - the classical theatre,

for example? Alfred isn't too big of a fan of those..."

would really just prefer a hockey game, but theatre's alright. He nods, smiling. "That sounds like it'd be fun." Arg, is he only offering

because he knows Alfred doesn't like it?

cheers up a little to hear that confirmation. "Brilliant. It'll be fun, Matthew; it'll be just you and me."

nods, despite still feeling unsettled and a tad gloomy. "Okay. Just you, me, and the theatre, eh?"

"Yes. We could even get some ice cream afterwards, if you'd like." Arthur paused, then, immediately feeling a little guilty. He realized

that when he really thought about it... he hardly knew a thing about Matthew.

smiles more genuinely. That actually does sound good. "I would. I know a place that makes their own specialty ice cream." Maybe he was

wrong for doubting him earlier...

nods. "That'd be brilliant. If you're free, why don't we go right now?"

blinks at him in surprise. "You're sure? I mean...I have time..."

nods again. "I came here to visit you, after all."

smiles brightly. "Okay! It's nearby. We could even walk, if that's alright..."

"Ah, I'd like that. It's really been a while since you and I were able to do anything like this, hm?"

heads toward the door, then! "Y-yeah, I suppose it has been." No, he wasn't keeping track, really. "Shall we?"

nods, following him out again. "So, how have you been these days? France isn't pestering you too much, I hope."

smiles. "I've been good. And no, France hasn't visited recently." He was fairly certain he couldn't convince Arthur he didn't see it

as pestering.

-always- think France was pestering him. Always. "Good," he huffs. "Bloody frog finally learned a thing or two about privacy..."

snorts and shakes his head. "He's not that bad, really." Or if he was, he either didn't mind, or had gotten used to it.