"Come on! Arthur, faster!" An overexcited, American voice rang out through a crowd as though it were coming through a megaphone, making heads turn and bodies part to let the owner of the boisterous voice through the street. British summer was slowly giving way to autumn, but it was still overly warm and left people milling the streets until evening. "We won't get there in time!" Pigeons scattered as heavy footsteps thundered in their direction, flying into the golden sunset that lay hidden behind the rooftops.
Arthur yelped as he tripped over and knocked into someone, crying out an apology as he disappeared round another corner. Being literally dragged along by his boyfriend toward God knew where, was not an experience he enjoyed, but luckily, he really didn't have to endure it too much of the time.
"Alfred, will you slow down? Jesus bloody- There goes my damn shoe…" Arthur swore several times as Alfred still kept a tight grip on his hand, the crowd of the town thinning now, but still the now hobbling Briton had to swerve to avoid hitting people. Why he had agreed to go out tonight, he didn't know any more. He should have been home meeting deadlines for work. "Alfred! For God's sake… Will you just tell me where we're going?"
Alfred took the annoyed tone in his partner's voice as a sign that he really needed to take more of an interest in what he was doing and not to be so focused on one thought. He slowed ever so slightly and turned his head after checking the area ahead was clear. Did Arthur leave the house with only one shoe? Oh wait- maybe he recalled something about him losing a shoe a few minutes ago… It was definitely Arthur's voice he remembered, at the very least.
"Our old spot. Got something I need to show you. Didn't think you'd forget it; but I guess you're getting forgetful in your old age, huh?" Alfred joked, taking it upon himself to start tugging Arthur along again, catching the Brit by surprise. There was eagerness in the American's cerulean eyes that Arthur couldn't quite make sense of.
"Old? I'm only four years older than you, you damned sod!" He yelled after him, the obnoxious laughter that followed the short tirade only serving to irritate him even more. Dark orange sunlight blasted into his vision as they rounded a corner and he growled, holding an arm up to shield his malachite eyes. He opened his mouth to start ranting at the other, when he suddenly found himself crashing into Alfred's back, his partner having stopped so suddenly he hadn't even registered it. "What the hell did you stop like that for?" He grumbled, rubbing his pink nose, which had smacked into Alfred's shoulder blade, and rubbing his sock on his jeans to get rid of any gravel that had stuck to it.
"We got time…" Alfred muttered to himself, checking his watch, before turning back to look at Arthur, seemingly unperturbed by his back being bumped against. "C'mon, on my back. I'm not having you bitching at me for treading on twigs and stuff… It was my fault you lost a shoe, and probably banged into loads of people…" Arthur had no choice but to roll his eyes as Alfred giggled at his use of the term 'banged', but as those green eyes looked up behind Alfred, he found he recognised the forests around them.
"Alfred, why are we-" He knew Alfred wouldn't spill anything if it really was important to him, and this apparently was, because nothing was said. His heart thudded as Alfred crouched, Arthur hesitating and looking around for a few moments before allowing himself to place his hands around Alfred's neck and let him grip his legs to keep him from falling. The Briton fell silent completely as Alfred turned and grinned at him, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth, before setting off into the woods.
Arthur knew this route like the back of his hand. It was their route. It was the place they had found together on one of their walks; it was their place to go when things were rocky at the start of their relationship; it was their place to go when personal things got on top of them. They always knew where to find each other. And Arthur had to have a moment of worry, because they hadn't used this place of safety for over two years...
He tore his eyes away from the trees and the pathway to look at Alfred's face, the concentration that was currently in his those eyes was rarely seen. They were the same as Arthur remembered on the first day they'd bumped into each other in the hallway of his new apartment, finding that this annoying, yet strangely infectious American lived next door to him. He leaned on Alfred's shoulder, tilting his head so his ear was beside his neck and just felt his pulse thrum, his mouth forming a smile.
Alfred raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him as he felt that all too familiar weight fall onto his shoulder, smiling back at him and returning his attention to the task at hand. They were not too far from the clearing, and Alfred was sure that others had found it, fearful that it wasn't kept in the same clear state that they always left it in, but there was no hesitation in his steps as he continued.
Arthur slowly lifted his head as he suddenly came to the realisation that it was getting darker and through the canopy of umbrella pine trees and the tall spruces, he could see the sun was almost done setting for the night. The sky was full of both bright and pale yellows that blended into deep khaki, as pale greens followed and turned into the midnight blue that was creeping ever closer; the first twinkle of stars begun to show themselves just through the branches.
It was only ten minutes of walking and finding the trees the two of them had marked together, when the grass began to show itself again, sparingly at first, then quickly turning lush and thick. The sigh of nostalgia was resounding as Alfred carried Arthur through the opening that the trees naturally made, bending his knees once again when he was sure the ground was safe to walk on.
Arthur climbed down from Alfred's back, missing the warmth his body provided already as he padded his unprotected foot on the ground. Everything was the same, untouched. There was silence for a few minutes as they looked around, their fingers entwining as they remembered arguments by the trees, unneeded tears that were shed by the large rock that sat near the edge of the clearing, how they used to make love after without a care to the world around them.
"It's been a while…" Alfred murmured, tugging on Arthur's hand and leading him over to the rock and smiling all the while, a glint to his eyes.
"It has…" Arthur sighed, linking their fingers and looking up at the darkening sky, the stars blinking down at them now from their dark abyss, the tip of the crescent moon just showing over the treetops.
Arthur stopped suddenly beside the rock, his eyes wide and unblinking. A shooting star had just shot across the sky in a split second. His hand tightened in Alfred's as the American sat and tugged him down into his lap. "There was a shooting star… Did you see it?" He settled himself down between Alfred's legs, his back resting against the others torso and his head tucked underneath Alfred's chin.
"Nope. But it doesn't matter. There'll be plenty of them tonight." Alfred pressed a lingering kiss to Arthur's forehead and wrapped his arms around his lovers stomach as he leant back against the rock and looked up at the sky. There was no noise except for the birds settling down in the trees, no heavy lights from the town: it was just them and the stars. "I knew you'd forget." There was amusement in his voice as Arthur tilted his head to show he was listening, a frown on his face. "You were so excited when you found out about the meteor shower, but you've just been running yourself ragged with work."
Arthur's eyes widened and he was about to turn to look Alfred in the face, when another flash in the sky caught his gaze and his eyes shot back up to the stars again. "You planned this? You thought of this? Of being here…?" He murmured, his cheeks gaining a pink dusting that was almost natural for the Briton. He fell silent, drawing his knees up and snuggling further into the warmth his boyfriend provided. "We haven't done anything like this for so long… We've both been so caught up with things."
Alfred nodded and nuzzled his nose in Arthur's stupidly soft blonde hair, a smile on his face. That was typical Arthur; believing that Alfred wouldn't think of something like this for him. That he wouldn't show the Brit just how special he was to him.
"I had to do something to get you to relax, and it's far too hot for sex." He kissed Arthur's ear, chuckling softly as his comment earned him a playful slap on the arm and a rather undignified noise. "Just enjoy tonight, alright? The air's cool here, we'll see something amazing, and if you fall asleep, we'll just stay here like we used to." Alfred murmured with a smile as Arthur nodded in confirmation this time, both of them content to just sit with each other's company in silence. "Love you, you know."
"Love you too. Thank you." Was Arthur's reply, soft and affectionate. All was quiet for a few minutes, until the Briton raised his arm and pointed to the skies. "See that group of stars? Those there! The ones that trail off into that long, bright tail?" He waved his arm across, pointing to each star in turn, looking excited as another white streak appeared for a second before it vanished again and Alfred kissed his hair lovingly.
"Draco, right?" The American asked, grinning at the confused look on Arthur's face. "You told me once. Maybe twice." He told him, leaning his head back against the rock and looking up at the dark sky. "We spent so many nights here, you told me about all the constellations in your part of the world and I just sat here taking in everything you said. But y'know… It has been almost four years… Why don't you carry on telling me, just in case I forgot?"
"Soppy git… Shut up." Arthur stuck his tongue out, red-faced once more. But his face lit up as he turned his gaze back to the stars, taking a deep breath as he raised his hand once more and started pointing out the stars and constellation locations in the clearing. Alfred just listened as though it were the first time he'd heard the Briton speaking, pointing out wildly whenever there was a streak of light.
They sat there for hours switching between talking about everything and sitting in silence, until Arthur's voice begun to slur and Alfred's grip on him started to loosen; the silence, warmth of summer and sleep overtaking the pair of them. The shooting stars were scarce now, but completely unseen as the couple slept through the night.
When the sun rose, Alfred carried Arthur back home through the trees. Arthur's shoe was found kicked into a shop doorway but otherwise unharmed. And as they treated themselves to coffee and doughnuts for an early breakfast, they found themselves feeling the most relaxed and content with life and each other than they had been for months.