I Love You
By: Asagi Tsuki
Pairing: PrUK
Warning: AU, OOCness (I can't be sure of this one), and forgive my lack of language diversity (I can only speak American English -_-;;;;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Axis Powers Hetalia
A/N: this is inspired by a beautiful, sad story of a man who died and arranged for a florist to deliver a bouquet of roses every year to his wife. The story was short and told from his point of view, and at the end, he said "if the florist came to her house three times and yet she didn't answer it, he'd know where to send the flowers—the grave next to mine, where she lies". I promise you this story won't be as heart-breaking :D (because that was basically spoiler already), so enjoy~
I admit I haven't been writing much for the Hetalia fandom lately. I am still quite sad that my latest fic didn't get any review :P but yes, since I've been writing mostly for DC, I thought that this beautiful story could be a basis for a good one-shot in another fandom :D
Whoo, I actually finished this in two days :D hope it's not that crappy, and hope I've made a good comeback to the fandom :P
The Roses Will Keep Coming
In this generation, there is a famous love story told by parents to their children. The story was said to have originated from years ago, long before long-distance communication was easy.
This is how the story goes. Once upon a time, there was a young man who lived by himself. He had no family, abandoned since birth. He was adopted, but his adoptive father died in an accident when he was fifteen, leaving him alone again. Ever since then, he relied on his friends from his boarding school.
"Hey Art, want to go to the lake today?" Gilbert asked as he ran up to Arthur who was walking back to his dorm room with a couple of textbooks in his arms. "Oh. What are those for?"
"I threw away my pillow and have to use these to replace it," Arthur said as he rolled his eyes. "You do realize the assignment is due in a couple of weeks, yes?"
"Yes, well, not a reason to miss out on all the fun," Gilbert replied as he grinned. "Come on, West is going too! How rare is that?"
"How did you get him to come?" Arthur asked as he frowned. "And when will you start calling him by name?"
"Let me think... never?" Gilbert asked as he grinned cheekily. "It's his fault for being so in love with sunsets that he always stood in front of that west-facing window, yes? You can't blame me."
"Your mother thought hard to give him a good name," Arthur replied.
"So you think my name is bad?"
"I didn't—argh!"
Over time, he became quite close with the Weillschmidt family, up to the point where they thought of him as their own child. He often came with the two brothers to their house during weekends. But as they grew closer, feelings started to develop between them too.
"Hey," Gilbert called as he walked into a small room where Arthur sat, reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and his eyes trained on a newspaper in front of him, spread out on his desk.
"Hey to you too," Arthur replied as he looked up and leaned back on his chair. "What brought you here?"
"I was surprised, you know," Gilbert said as he sat down on the chair across the desk, his figure slouched slightly. "When they told me you've become the student advisor, I was surprised."
"Why?" Arthur asked, slightly indignant and insulted. "You don't think I can make it?"
"No, of course not!" Gilbert exclaimed, surprised at the notion. "Well, to be honest, I've been wanting to get some advice."
"I don't do love advice," Arthur stated flatly as he picked his newspaper up.
"What makes you think I'm here for that?" Gilbert asked as he grinned lopsidedly. "Well, not saying that it isn't true, but..."
"You don't come to anyone for advice," Arthur started. "You are a very proud person, Gil. You have to be very careful, because being proud and arrogant is only separated by a very fine line."
"Yeah, I learned that," Gilbert commented as he leaned back. "And I guess I really need to learn to be more humble. Actually, I'm here to ask you for advice to make myself more confident."
Arthur sighed, placing his newspaper down and staring straight at Gilbert, right into his eyes.
"You know, Gil," he started, "I've known you for almost fifteen years now, haven't I?" he asked. "Even when my father was still alive. I've known you. You're an over-confident jerk who has a great sense of humor, although annoying sometimes. You are a very charming person."
"Are you trying to boost my self-confidence?" Gilbert asked as he chuckled.
"I like you," Arthur said, smiling at him. "I don't find myself unable to picture myself with you. Does that boost your confidence?" he asked, laughing as he shook his head. "You are a very unbelievable person as well."
Gilbert grinned as he got up from his seat and walked over to where Arthur was standing. "Yeah," he said as he hugged the smaller man tightly. "You are unbelievable too. I can't believe we could do this, but I want to believe we can."
"Me too," Arthur said as he hugged the silver-haired man back. "I want to believe we can."
Lady Fate, however, had other things in her mind. Apparently she didn't think the man had suffered enough in his life, and was about to take away another person who had made him happy.
"Oh my goodness," Arthur said in surprise as he nearly dropped the phone in his hand. "I'm so sorry to hear that. But she died because of old age, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did," Gilbert's voice came from the other end. "You don't have to feel sorry. She lived a long, happy life at least. She died in peace."
"I'm still sad to hear her go," Arthur replied. "She's such a nice woman, although I've only spoken to her through the phone. And for a very short time."
"I know," Gilbert said. "I'll be heading to Germany with my family tonight."
"I see," Arthur said. "Please give my respects to her."
"I will," Gilbert said, then paused.
"Gil?" Arthur asked. "What's wrong? You sound nervous. Is there something wrong?"
"I..."
"Yes?"
"I don't know how to break this to you," Gilbert said with a sigh. "I would love to say this to you face to face, but I don't have time. I have to pack up now because the flight is in four hours."
"Why? What's wrong?" Arthur asked, clearly worried by now.
"I don't know when I'm coming back here."
It felt like a huge bombshell was dropped. The shock numbed him until he almost didn't hear Gilbert calling his name.
"I know this is so sudden, and I'm very sorry," Gilbert said, his voice thick and Arthur couldn't help but shed some tears himself. "They want to stay there. I don't have a well-paying job here. I can't support myself if I stay here. Not yet. If I can't support even myself how am I going to support you?"
"I—"
"I'm not giving up on you Art," Gilbert cut in quickly. "You're a wonderful person. The best thing that has ever happened in my life. I won't give you up. Not unless you're giving up on me."
"Oh Gilbert..." Arthur sniffed. "I love you. I understand your concerns. I... I will wait for you."
"Even if it would take me years?" Gilbert asked, his voice broken.
"Yes..." Arthur answered, a wide smile on his face even though tears were still streaming down his face. "Even if it would take you years. I will wait for you."
"Thank you," Gilbert said, his tone relieved, and Arthur could almost hear the smile in his voice. "Thank you Art. That means a lot to me."
"It means a lot to me too," Arthur replied. "I'll write you letters."
"I'll be waiting for them."
As promised, the two sent letters to each other. However, air mail wasn't a very quick way of communication, although affordable. Each day the two of them would be checking their mailboxes, anxiously waiting for the next letter to come. On the day, exactly a month after his lover left, the man received a very pleasant surprise.
Arthur looked up in surprise when the doorbell to his apartment was rung. He didn't have many visitors as not many knew where he lived. They usually only knew where his office was.
"Yes?" he asked as he opened the door and saw a courier standing there with a bouquet of beautiful red roses in his hand.
"Mr. Arthur Kirkland?" the courier asked.
"That would be me," Arthur answered.
"Sign here, please," the courier said as he handed Arthur a clipboard and a pen. After he signed the form, he handed the bouquet over. "This is ordered and sent by Mr. Gilbert Weillschmidt for you. Have a good day."
That day, for the first time in a month, he fell asleep happy. He took good care of the roses, but eventually they wilted. He, however, wasn't given much time to brood over it, as a month later another bouquet of red roses came.
Arthur mentioned it in his letter, how grateful he was for the flowers. It meant a lot to him, and he took really good care of them. Gilbert was happy to know that, and the flowers kept coming every month.
One day, the delivery stopped. No bouquet of roses was delivered. Dread filled the man as thoughts of what could have happened fill his mind. His lover could have died. He could have gone totally bankrupt. He could have forgotten him and went for someone else. Although he strongly believed his lover wasn't that low to cheat on him, negative thoughts still fill his mind.
And on one fateful day, he finally knew why.
Arthur came back from work completely exhausted. He had loosened his tie and took off his suit jacket. He checked his mailbox and found just one personal letter. Taking it, he walked up to his apartment. He took off his shoes, putting them aside, and threw his suit, tie, and suitcase onto the couch, before sitting beside them.
Inspecting the letter, he found no return address and no name. Curious, he opened it and unfolded the letter.
'Dear Arthur,' the first line went. 'By the time you receive this letter, you might be wondering why I didn't send you a bouquet of roses this month.'
'When I first arrived in Germany, West gave me the idea of sending you flowers every month. My mother loved it, and I actually went through with it.'
'I made an agreement with them that I would be sending you flowers routinely, but one day it would stop. I wouldn't be sending you flowers anymore. I'm sorry.'
Arthur frowned, but his eyes went down to read the next line.
'I will stop sending you flowers the day—'
The doorbell rang and Arthur's head snapped up. He looked at the door curiously and walked over to open it when the bell rang again.
"Coming!" he shouted and flung the door open. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw the man standing before him. The man he had been waiting for for the last twelve months.
Gilbert looked up, and grinned lopsidedly. Arthur immediately noticed that his hair had become less wild and his jaw more refined. He had gone from looking like a wild teenager to a very refined gentleman.
"Gilbert!" Arthur exclaimed. "Look at you. You changed so much."
"I did, didn't I?" he asked, his grin growing wider. "Staying there and working did a lot of good to me. I'm more confident in myself now."
"That's great," Arthur said.
"Oh, right," Gilbert said, remembering something. He then pulled out a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. "Here you are, princess. Thank you so much for believing in me and loving me. You really are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Aside from my family, maybe. But you're practically family."
Arthur laughed as he hugged the taller man tightly, kissing him for all he's worth. Gilbert wrapped his arms around the slender man's waist, the bouquet still in his right hand, and returned the kiss, just as passionately.
'—the day I would be able to give it to you myself.'
Until I Can Give It to You Myself
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