A/N: Story inspired by the following songs: 'Lucky' by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, 'Say Something' by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, and 'Just Give Me A Reason' by P!nk and Nate Ruess.

Chapter One

Francis Bonnefoy wore a huge smile as he walked into the jeweler's that morning, thinking of his beloved, Alice Kirkland. He had quite a special day planned for them, unbeknownst to her. He had secretly taken the day off work, but left at the same time he usually did so she did not suspect anything. He was required to wear a suit for his job, but made sure to wear the nicest one he had today, pairing it with Alice's favorite tie of his and his least worn pair of dress shoes.

One of the workers looked up and smiled brightly, recognizing him from his previous visit when he had ordered and paid for the ring.

"Welcome back, sir. Francis Bonnefoy, was it?" She asked cheerily.

"That would be me." Francis answered, his eyes twinkling.

"One moment, I'll be right back with your order." The woman said before disappearing into the back of the shop.

Francis waited patiently for her to return, though he was hardly able to contain his excitement. He had the most lovely day planned for him and Alice; first, he would surprise her with coming home, saying he had gotten to work only to be told he had the day off, then, he would give her the roses and tea. After that, he was going to take her to their favorite spot at the park they frequented for a picnic. That evening, would take her to the fanciest restaurant in town, and there, he would get down on one knee, present the ring to her, and pour his heart out to her before asking her to be his wife.

The woman returned and handed him the box, smiling warmly, of course, knowing what the ring was for. "Congratulations, sir."

"Thank you very much." Francis replied, unable to wait until he got back to the car before opening it and looking at the ring. Just as he had imagined, it was perfect. The ring was silver and made to look like tiny leaves and flowers had swirled together in an elegant dance, with diamonds placed as the hearts of the flowers and with smaller ones dotting the leaves. She was going to adore it.

After another long moment of gazing at the ring, Francis closed the box, slipped it into his pocket, and left after bidding the woman a good day. Next, he drove to Alice's favorite tea shop and the second he stepped inside, smiled wider than he already had been, the smell of it bringing memories of all the times they had visited there together. He exchanged a brief friendly greeting with the shopkeeper, who knew him by name at this point, and walked to the wall of the more expensive teas. Very, very rarely did Alice splurge and buy her absolute favorite tea, as for a reasonable amount of it, it was an absurd price of two hundred and forty pounds. Francis, at first, found it completely ridiculous that she was willing to pay such a price for it, but then she had told him to imagine if it were wine, and he understood completely.

Without hesitating, he grabbed the expensive brand of Earl Grey tea and took it to the register.

"Not with your little lady today?" The shopkeeper, Yao, asked inquiringly as he scanned the tea and wrapped it, per Francis's request.

"Mm, no, not today. I want to surprise her." He says fondly, counting out the proper amount and putting it on the counter.

"Well, this definitely will. She has only gotten the expensive Earl Grey once, and it wasn't half this much. And that's in all the years she has been coming here." Yao said, handing him the tea and putting the money in the cash register. "Thank you for your purchase."

Francis smiled at him and nodded in appreciation as he left, humming happily to himself as he got into the car and drove to the florist's. When he arrived, he bought a dozen red roses, delighted to find that they were flawless and smelled particularly sweet. He took them to the car and laid them with care on the passenger seat, not wanting even a single petal to be marred.

He had gotten things for the picnic yesterday, so as soon as he left the florist's, he was on his way home. When he arrived, Francis got out of his car and took up the roses and package of tea before walking to the door, the lyrics to his and Alice's song popping into his mind as he dreamily wondered if they would dance to it at their wedding. He hoped so.

Do you hear me? I'm talking to you. Across the water, across the deep blue ocean under the open sky. Oh my, baby, I'm trying.

The two had been together for five years now, since Alice was eighteen and Francis was twenty-three, and for the past two, had lived together in that lovely little house. They had created so many wonderfully fond memories there, and he cherished them all, the good and the bad. Every 'I love you' and kiss, and every tear shed and hardship they had fought through. Every terrible meal Alice had made and every night they had fallen asleep in one another's embrace, he held each dear memory close to his heart.

Boy, I hear you in my dreams, feel your whisper across the sea. I keep you with me in my heart, you make it easier when life gets hard.

Francis opened the door and felt his heartbeat quicken in excitement as he closed it behind him. How he was going to bear waiting until tonight, he didn't know, but he hoped he would be able to; he wanted today to be absolutely perfect. He kept his footsteps as light as he could as he checked the living room and then the kitchen, moving onto the bedroom, where she was likely reading in bed, the package of tea and the bouquet a red roses in either of his hands.

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. They don't know how long it takes, waiting for a love like this. Every time we say goodbye, I wish we had one more kiss. I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will.

He heard a rustling behind the closed door and grinned; she was in there, after all. He moved to hold the tea under the arm with the roses and carefully turned the doorknob before inching the door open.

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. Lucky we're in love in every way. Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed. Lucky to be coming home someday.

Francis heard the breaking of a kiss, followed by light panting and a soft giggle, causing him to pause in pushing the door open. What had that been…? They didn't have a TV in their room…. A whisper of a thought echoed in his mind, but he promptly ignored it before it could plant itself and grow into suspicion. Alice wouldn't do that. No way in hell would she do that. The lyrics to their song were about to continue playing in his mind and he was going to step into the room when he heard the unmistakable, accented voice of his lover breathily say to man that most certainly wasn't him.

"Undress me, Alfred."

The words pierced Francis's heart, causing it to pound with dread and his mouth to grow dry. No…. He thought. There has to be an explanation. Alice wouldn't…. Francis forced himself to push the door the rest of the way open and when his eyes met the scene in front of him, his heart shattered. He...he had been wrong.

Alice was laying on their bed, obviously not protesting as the man straddling her unbuttoned the top of her pajamas. Her hand even ran up and down the man's torso as he did so, in the same way she always did to Francis when they made love. He recognized the man as their good friend, Alfred, though he already had suspected it was him from her words before. He dizzily recalled that he and Alice had been lovers in their youth, and felt ill as he wondered just how long this had been going on behind his back.

The ache in his chest only grew and grew as he watched them, unable to tear his eyes away. This couldn't be happening. It had to just be a bad dream...this wasn't real. It couldn't be. He was going to propose….

Francis didn't realize he had dropped the flowers and tea until both Alice and Alfred had gasped and looked over at him. He watched as shock replaced Alfred's smile and utter horror replaced Alice's, feeling a physical pain in his heart as he stared into her wide, green eyes.