Arthur was glad that Francis didn't want to consume all of his time like people in the past have. He enjoyed the man's company while enjoying his drinks as well. The alcohol was helping him relax, though it was starting to make him feel a bit warm. He was partially tempted to pull his shirt off, but a part of his mind kept telling him not to. That part would be silenced if he drank to much more. "Oh really? Wine has never really been my thing, you know. It would have to be extremely good for me to drink it."

"It's extremely good," Francis said with a smile. "I mean, I wouldn't keep bad wine at my house. It's against the rules." And there was such a thing as bad wine, contrary to what a lot of people thought about his drinking habits. Just a love for wine did not mean he'd drink any wine. Arthur looked a little intoxicated and he felt just enough so to push away any lingering hesitations inside of him. "Would...you like to come back to my place to try some?" He never invited Arthur to his place before now and really, he hadn't invited any of his dates over. He couldn't stop himself from offering though.

It took Arthur a few moments for what Francis said to register in his brain. He was surprised by the sudden offer, having not been expecting it. He hadn't been aware they had reached that point in the relationship. But then again, it could just be the alcohol talking. He didn't care either way. He wasn't going to pass on this opportunity. Though that could also be the alcohol talking. He was past the point of wondering if they've reached that point or not. "I'd love to. I will be the judge of whether this wine is as good as you say." he said, downing the rest of his drink.

Francis smiled with relief even though he could just distantly hear a voice in the back of his head saying he just put a little more of himself on the line. He ignored that voice. After finishing the last sip of his wine, he paid the drink tab and got up, pleased that he didn't feel much lurch in his step. "Well then, my dear, I'll just have to try my best to impress you." He turned and offered his hand to Arthur, still smiling.

"Lead the way then." Arthur said, stumbling only slightly as he stood, but quickly regained his footing as he took Francis's hand. A part of his mind was contemplating whether or not going to the other's home meant that he would have to open up his own to the Frenchman. He supposed that would only be fair. But he'd bring that up later if he remembered. No point in thinking about it right now, after all. There were much more important things to focus on.

Francis didn't let go of Arthur's hand until they made to his car. He decided he hadn't drunk too much to drive and ten minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of his small home. The neighborhood wasn't anything special, well kept, on the better side of town, but not particularly affluent. He parked and led the way to the door. "I hope you weren't expecting much. I don't actually have a lot to show," he chuckled.

Arthur didn't say anything on the ride, alternating between looking out the window and looking at Francis. When they arrived, he looked around, taking in the scenery. It was a pretty nice neighborhood, much like his own. So that was nice. "I'm sure it will be great. Much better than my flat. I have a lot of books that are all over the place." he said.

"Really?" Francis chuckled. He paused on the path that led to his door and just stared for a second. Oh well, too late to take anything back now. He unlocked his home and flicked on the lights. "Anyway, take a seat on a couch and I'll get the wine and the rest of the bread I made yesterday. No one will be able to tell if the drinks taste good if we're just drunk." He pouted to a simple ivory colored couch before he headed into his pantry to get the wine bottle. He left his home in fairly neat repair and hopefully there weren't any embarrassing things laying around for Arthur to look at.

Arthur nodded slightly in agreement, but didn't go sit on the couch. He really wasn't in the sitting mood. Instead, he looked around the room, taking everything in. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting for Francis's home, but it probably wasn't this. It was definitely nicer than his own home. Not that he was complaining about his own place. He liked it just fine. Reminded him of his place back in London. But this place gave a completely different feel to it and he liked as well. He kept looking for a moment before finally taking a seat on the couch like he had been told.

Francis popped back into the room with a decanter of wine and two glasses, a basket with bread tucked under his other arm. He'd let the wine breathe for a minute and looked around cautiously. It didn't look like any of his things had been riffled through though. "The bread's a little stale, but feel free to munch," he said as he poured them two glasses. He sniffed his own and smiled. "Well, what do you think? This wine good enough to convert you to being a wine drinker for life?"

Arthur ate a piece of the bread before he even picked up the glass of wine. He wasn't sure what the proper etiquette for drinking wine was, but he decided to copy Francis for a moment and sniffed it. From what he could tell, it just smelled like wine. Nothing special so far. He took a small sip and tasted it. ".. It's alright, I suppose." he eventually said. It definitely wasn't the worst wine he'd ever drunk before. Probably up in the top ones. But he wasn't going to say that.

"You're just saying that," Francis huffed. He settled back against the couch with a sigh as he drank a sip. "It's just as good as I expected. See, this wine was a gift from..." His brow furrowed. He had the bottle for years and he thought he set it aside for a special occasion, but he forgot what that occasion was. "I already had it when I left Paris. I wonder, was it Jean that gave it to me?" He had the bottle so long that he couldn't remember and honestly, he hadn't thought much of her recently so it didn't matter much.

"Perhaps I am." Arthur said. He had just been saying that, after all. Though he wasn't sure why he had admitted it. He never had before. He couldn't really focus on that for long though. "Jean?" he asked, having a bad feeling in his gut about who that was. He took another sip of the wine, but it suddenly tasted bitter in his mouth and he couldn't drink anymore.

Francis frowned. He brought her up? He froze himself, his wine glass half way to his mouth. After a second, he forced himself to drink like nothing at all just happened. "No one. She's just a bit..." He shook his head and trailed off again. He knew he mentioned following a girl to the states back when he first met Arthur. Saying the name and just how important she had been did not seem like good date conversation. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm here with you right?" he asked with a plastered on smile.

"Right." Arthur said, forcing himself to smile in return. That did nothing to stop the bad feeling in his gut. He quickly downed the rest of the wine in his glass, not even tasting it. But that didn't help either. He felt like Francis was trying to hide who this girl was and how important she was to him. That's what his gut was telling him and he felt and urge to bolt. He forced himself to remain where he was though. It would be rude to just leave and he was hoping something would happen to reassure himself that the other cared.

Francis started to fidget in the silence. He couldn't stand it and Arthur's one word response really meant that it wasn't alright at all. He'd messed up and he finally invited the other man to his home. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Just when it seemed like Arthur was yearning to leave, Francis grabbed hold of his wrist before throwing arms around him. It was a hug as much for his own comfort as to capture Arthur. Burying his face against his boyfriend's shoulder, he let out a little whine. "You know I really like you, right?! Please tell me you're not thinking of leaving now!"

Arthur couldn't stand the tension between himself and Francis. Just as he was about to get up to leave, the room at the very least, the other threw his arms around him. He immediately stiffened, not expecting it. It was hard for him to force himself to relax, still feeling to tense. "I'm not." He said, though he still wasn't sure if that was true or not.

"It's my fault okay. I messed up," Francis pleaded without loosening his arms in the least. He wouldn't let Arthur go until they made this right, even if he asked Francis to let go. "It's just...the past still hurts and no one wants to hear stories like this from their boyfriend. I shouldn't have said anything at all." He didn't lift his face from where he hid, afraid of what expression Arthur might be wearing.

Arthur sighed quietly to himself. "It's alright...." He eventually said. It probably wasn't, but he didn't want to fight about this. Not when their relationship was still so new. He didn't want to ruin anything. "I'm not going to leave... Now can you let go of me!" he said, trying to push Francis away again. He was holding on way to tightly.

Francis hesitated. "Is it really?" He didn't think from Arthur's tone that he was as okay as he said. Francis still didn't want to let go, but after a second, he slipped away, though he stayed close enough that he could capture Arthur again if he needed to. He ran a ran through his hair. "Merde. All I wanted to do was drink the night away with you." He didn't think either of them were much in the mood for wine anymore though.

Arthur scooted away from Francis very slightly when the other man let go of him. "I don't see why we still can't do that.. As long as there is no more awkward conversation." he said. Though he wasn't really in the mood for wine. He wanted something much stronger than that. But he wasn't sure if the Frenchman had anything like that.

Francis had the same thought as he looked at his wonderful bottle of wine. "How does rum sound? I know I have a bottle I put away somewhere. I'm afraid, I'm not much in the mood for wine." Without waiting for a response, he went back to his kitchen and rummaged for a minute before he found the bottle he'd had little more than a sip from. He took it back to the couch with a couple cups with ice. "Shall we get drunk then?"

"Rum sounds excellent." Arthur said. That was definitely something he wanted. It would be way better than the wine, that was for sure. "Let's definitely get drunk." Maybe if he drank enough, he'd be able to forget about what had just happened and they could both move forward with their relationship.

After pouring them two full glasses, Francis knocked back drink in one shot. "I don't drink it often except to mix in drinks, but that is a wondrous burn!" he exclaimed. It made him glad that he kept the bottle. Otherwise he'd have to resort to the bottle of tequila that Antonio bought him for a birthday last year and he accepted only out of niceness. That was one drink he could not stand. He poured himself another glass and lifted it for a toast. "Here's to getting drunk together in the comforts of home."

Arthur took Francis's lead and knocked the drink back, enjoying it. "Only the weak mix drinks like this. Real men drink it straight up." he said. He personally didn't like mixed drinks. He felt it ruined the taste of the alcohol. He refilled his own glass and raised it as well. "Yes. Much better than getting drunk in public and making a complete fool of ourselves."