Chapter Text
Spring usually brought a fresh breeze along with its blossoms, but for Arthur the season brought yet another boring meeting. Trade was always a bit of a sore subject with the introverted Brit. Trade, negotiations, reluctant agreements. Human interaction. Ugh. Arthur had never been too great with that. He didn’t feel like improving that any time soon.
But anyway, business was business.
Rubbing the last of the sleep from his fatigued eyes, he drew his attention to his phone, flicking through email after email. Francis Bonnefoy. All of them from this same sender. Nothing but constant pleas for negotiations since England’s decision to Brexit. Yet another sore subject…
Both these troubling thoughts and the constantly whining brat opposite him were causing the rapid formation of splitting pain in his temples. The boy’s mother sat directly beside him, too busy tapping hurriedly away on her laptop to discipline the squawking infant. She didn’t even spare him a glance when he continued to kick Arthur’s shins, evil grin spread across his face, matching the sticky smudges of chocolate. Great. Not only did he have to suffer this ludicrous train journey but now he would have to suffer a headache. He even made the mistake of leaving his pills at home. Damn it all. The sooner he got home the better.
The sudden voice over the tannoy announcing their arrival in France sent a wave of relief through him. Gripping his bag in one hand and tracing his hands through his blonde bombshell hair with the other, he stood up, stretched and strode through the smooth, automatic doors of the train. Finally…