After France had finished all of his needed preparations to look extra presentable, he had found himself staring at the nearby clock where it seemed that time was getting slower with every round of minutes that continued to pass. When it did hit three-thirty, the man practically bolted out of the room when the clock hit three-thirty.
"Signor! Your keys!" Rosalie exclaimed as she ran after France who was already searching for his car keys.
"Oh, thank you." France said with a smile, something that Rosalie was still getting used to. She noticed France's change of demeanor these past few days and she wonders as to what can be the reason for that. Though she's just glad that France was showing signs of "living" as compared to how he was before where the man just became so black and white.
Rosalie smiled and handed the key to France who immediately got inside of his car. Rosalie bowed before turning to go back inside the masion but halted when France called for her.
"Rosalie?" The woman turned around with a curious look.
"Do I look.. okay?" France hesitated. Rosalie surpressed a small laugh and gave him a genuine smile instead.
"Yes Signor, you do. Just as always." France gave her a smile and a word of thanks before driving off.
"I wonder why Signor seems like he wants to impress someone." Rosalie said to herself before walking back to the mansion.
______
"Bels? I'll be heading out now. I've got dinner with a colleague." Yvain spoke while putting his things back on his brown leather sling bag. He would be lying if he said that he didn't look forward to this part of his day. He somehow was still kinda puzzled as to why he was so fond of France when he gave him such a bad impression during their first meeting. Nonetheless, he was glad that they moved past and now they're good friends. He thinks.
Once he was finished with what he was doing, he immediately bid his farewell and practically ran to go outside. He still had to go home and change to something a little bit decent than usual.
He walked down the stairs when he got out and scanned the his surrounding to find someone he was eager to spend time with. Then there it was, those eyes that immediately captured his attention, making his lips curve into a small smile. France was observing Yvain from a distance when the younger barged out from the building. He was mesmerized for whatever reason he can't pin point. He was captivated by France who was now looking at him with a small smile.
At that moment, he felt something. His heart was beating a little more prominent and his breath hitched for some reason. He looked at Yvain without saying a word and just admired everything about him. He noticed how Yvains' hair was slightly disheveled, how the button on his collar was unbuttoned, how his skin glistened with the shade of the sunset, how small trickles of sweat rolled down on the latters neck, and how Yvain's eye bore directly into his.
"Hey." Yvain greeted while catching his breath. France smiled and opened the door to let Yvain in.
"How was work?" France asked, his eyes still fixated on Yvain who was busy trying to get comfortable in his seat.
"It went as how it usually does, nothing exciting happened. Except for that phone call." Yvain chucked at the last part of his sentence.
"Well good thing I called, right?" Yvain chucked at France's remark. The older started to drive as the both of them talked throughout the ride, both asking how their day went on. France told Yvain about him taking a break for a while. This was certainly news to Yvain since he's heard that France was quite the workaholic. He wondered secretly why the older decided to take a break, not that it was a bad thing. He was just curious. Ultimately, they arrived at Yvain's house with the younger instructing France where to turn and whatnot. The drive was twenty minutes long but to the both of them, it was quite a short time as both were to immersed in their company.
"Nice house you have." France commented as he casted his gaze on the infrastructure. It was simple but had elegant elements to it. There was a garden filled with flowers and a fountain on the middle. It looked very taken care of. Well he expected things to be like this, this was Yvain, he was no normal person with normal taste, probably.
"Heh, thanks. The reason why I bought this actually was because I wanted my mum and dad to stay with me but mum insisted on staying at our old home so, it's just me and my maid here." Yvain shared while the both of them walked towards the door. Just as when Yvain tried to knock, the door opened and revealed an old lady, maybe in her sixties. France thought that she might be.
"Hi dear, I heard a car drive in and thought it was you so I hurried here." Martha spoke in a calm voice. Her gaze then went to France. She looked at him with a smile and such kind eyes. Eyes that France doesn't often see. Her whole demeanor was so calming which relaxed France a little.
"Oh, you bought a friend. Well aren't you handsome deary." Martha spoke with a warm smile while looking at France. France smiled at the compliment while briefly looking at Yvain who chuckled.
"Nan, this is my friend and also business parter, France. France, this is my nan, Martha." Yvain mused to the both of them. France looked back at Martha with a genuine smile and asked if he could hug her instead of just shaking her hand. Martha just seemed like a sweet lady so France wanted to do the same in return. The old lady agreed and the both of them came into an embrace.
'What a motherly hug' France thought quietly. His mum used to give him hugs like this.
"Nice to meet you France, you have such a handsome face, doesn't he dear?" Martha asked Yvain who rolled his eyes playfully.
"Well, yeah I guess?" Yvain answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" France asked with a furrowed brow to which Yvain just laughed at.
"Whatever, let's get inside already. I still have to take a shower before I change." Yvain walked inside, both Martha and Yvain following him.
"Would you like some tea dear?" Martha asked France. France declined as he already had too much coffee for today. Martha just gave him a smile before walking into some room where she said she'll be continuing her crochet.
France looked around and was quite impressed as to how the interior was designed. It wasn't that colorful but instead it looked minimal and clean. Yvain turned around and saw France looking around.
"It was actually Nan who wanted the inside of the house to look like this. I allowed her because I knew that whatever she came up with, it will feel like home. I wasn't mistaken." Yvain started to go upstairs where his room was located. He did not want to waste that much time in getting ready.
"Where are you headed?" France looked up at France who was midway up the stairs.
"To my room, I'm going to shower remember?" Yvain answered. France just nodded and continued looking around.
"Will you be okay here? Nan is busy with her crochet stitching at this hour and she's quite dedicated with that which makes her unable to hold conversation." Yvain laughed at the end bit.
"Yeah, I think I'll just wait here." France reassured the younger with a smile. Yvain nodded and continued to walk upstairs before going inside a room.
France was left in silence in the common room. He sat on the white couch, crossing his leg. His gaze continued to roam inside the house. There were some plants inside which complimented the color scheme of the interior. The drapes were also quite huge and made sure to let no light in when closed.
There were some large images hangged on the wall some of which only had Yvain in a suit. Then there were some where he was with what France assumed to be his parents. Yvain looked alot like his father but he definitely got his facial features from his mother. A photo of Martha and Yvain was also hanged on the wal, lYvain was a teenager then. Even if so, he still looked dashing and still had the same smile and bubbly personality.
France was so immersed in observing the house, that was up until he heard a scream from upstairs. He immediately got up and ran to where the scream came from. His heart started to pound heavily when he figured that the scream came from Yvain's room. What had happened to the younger? Did he slip in the shower?
"Yvain?! Open the door!" France banged on the wooden door while aggressively turning the knob. He didn't hear the younger respond which made him even more anxious so he kicked the door open. When he got in, he immediately called for the younger and scanned the room. He heaved a big breath when he found the younger in a corner with a stick in his hand. He was about to go near him but Yvain gestured him to stop.
"What happened?" France asked but Yvain was too focused on something.
"Yvain? What happened-"
"Shhh France. There's a rat- oh my god the rat!!!" Yvain screamed at the last bit when the rodent ran on top of the stick he was holding. He bolted out of the corner and went to hide behind France.
"Can you kill it?" Yvain asked France, clearly frazzled. France just sighed and silently nodded. He walked slowly to where the rat was. He noticed that a window was slightly open near as to where the rodent was. He stomped on the floor heavily startling the rodent. It climbed on the wall and jumped out the window. France sighed yet again and closed the window.
"You know, I thought you had slip in the shower or in a near death situation." France spoke.
"I was! That rat scared the soul out of me, literally!" Yvain answered dramatically. France turned around and was about to talk but was taken aback. He didn't realize before because he was too concerned as to what had happen to Yvain but now, he realized that the younger was wearing nothing but a towel that was loosely wrapped around his torso.
'Shit' he mustered inside his head while his eyes were glued on the younger.