Rebirth (Hetalia X Reader)

Chapter 3

"Have a nice breakfast?" Marianne was lounging elegantly in a chair at our small kitchen table.  Her blonde hair was up in curlers, her face washed of any trace of makeup just like mine and she wore fleecy pajamas with cows printed on them under a long, red silk housecoat.  She held a lit cigarette near her lips.

"Yes." I drop my keys on the kitchen counter.  "You didn't have a client last night?" 

"Non, I decided to give my little girl a break." She waved casually towards her crotch.  "Don't want her to get too stretched out."

"You know that vaginas don't get looser over time and use, right?  It's an urban legend." I inform her, opening my laptop to an English news site.  "A vagina is pure muscle. So as long as you exercise it properly it will stay nice and tight, just they way your clients like it." I look over the top of my screen at her with a smile.

"And to exercise it..?" Marianne seems to gain interest. 

"Orgasms." I shrug.  "Or there are also special weights designed to exercise your little girl." I smile when I use Marianne's term for her vagina. 

"Ah bon." Marianne straightens up.  "Good to know." She slides to her feet. "I'm going to go to the market.  Want to tag along?"

You shrugged.  "I don't have any classes today."

"Alright." My roommate turns and walks towards her bedroom.  "Let me just get ready then we'll be off."

I wait until she had gone into her room and closed her door before bounding off to my room.  I throw on something a little more fashion forward, brush my hair so it doesn't look as much like a rat's nest as it did this morning and swipe on minimal amounts of makeup.  The French appreciate women who lean more towards natural beauty than the women who rely on heavy makeup to do the job. 

I meet with Marianne by the front door.  Her hair is pulled back into a tight little bun at the base of her neck.  She wears a wispy red blouse, a black pencil skirt the cuts off just bellow her knees and black heels.  She's perfectly accessorized herself to look absolutely exquisite.  The little makeup on her face doesn't hide her natural beauty in the slightest.  "Ready?" She chimes, a sweet and eager smile on her face. 

I nod and Marianne opens the apartment door.  A man stands,  across the hallway at an agacent door fiddling with his keys.  He looks up when he hears the door open and smiles.  "Mesdames." His voice is smooth and luxurious.  I stare at him for a moment before recognizing him as the frenchman I saw at the café earlier.  

"Bonjour." Marianne replies graciously before walking down the hallway towards the stairs, her little black purse swinging on her shoulder. 

"Hi." I say, sounding like a frog compared to Marianne.  But the man still smiles at me and bows his head slightly before pushing into his appartement.  I wait until he closed his door before shuffling after Marianne.  What just happened?  Why had I just been so awkward around that man? 

===

The market was stock full of people.  The smell of crêpes and fresh brewed coffee drifted over the crowd of chattering people.  Street vendors sold a range of things, from fruits and vegetables to clothes and handmade accessories to ready-to-eat snacks and more.  I'd been to many of these with Marianne before... but never had it been this full. 

"It's tourist season." Marianne leaned down to inform me.  She was at least a head taller than I was.  "You better watch out, (Y/n), keep a hand over your bag.  Pickpockets are at their best this time of year."

I hurriedly clenched my purse to my stomach.  I needed this hard earned money to pay for rent as well as my university tuition.  "Ah, mais que c'est beau!" Marianne exclaimed.  She had stopped at a jewelery display and was looking down at a diamond necklace.  Small circular diamond were making up the chain and a larger square diamond acted as a pendant.  "Il vaut combien, le collier?" Marianne asked the old vendor.

"Deux mille euro, madame." He answered with a kind smile. 

"Dommage." Marianne looks back  down at the necklace sadly.  "It would have looked beautiful around your neck, (Y/n).  Merci monsieur." She said, pulling me away. 

"How much was it?" I asked. 

"Two thousand euro." She gave me a tight smile.  "A little out of our price range, non?"

I nodded.  "Only by a few hundred."

Marianne laughed.  Once we were away from the crowds and seat on a bench near the Seine river, she pulled a cigarette out of her handbag and lit it.  "Living life to the fullest isn't always about having," She starts, crossing her legs and resting her elbow on her knee.  "Sometimes all you need to do is see what you want and that is enough.  For example, I think that the Seine is beautiful and I love looking at it.  Nothing makes me happier.  But, she belongs to France and everyone should be able to enjoy her.  So seeing the river everyday is the best I will ever be able to do and that is fine by me.  Seeing is sometimes better than having."

I peer down into the rippling water.  Of course I'd never tell Marianne, but I thought the water looked muddy and unappealing.  "You say the strangest things sometimes."