A/N: My longest one-shot so far. Hope you like it and please review. Thanks :D
Everything was already set. The candles are lit and the dinner is set on the table. Rose petals were all over the floor and the lights were quite dim so that the ambiance gives a romantic effect. There she was, dressed in a deep red knee length dress, which fitted her in every curve of her body, sleeves falling above her elbows and left half of her back exposed matched with the earrings and necklace that he gave her. She was there, boringly seated on one of the chairs, her patience slowly fading away. All that's left was him. It was at his own penthouse. She was there in his huge, empty place, had everything ready and he wasn't there. Of all times that he has to come home late, it had to be their anniversary.
It was their anniversary and she was all alone in his home. It was Friday and they agreed that it was her turn to stay at the other's place since they exchanged keys, so they could spend time together for the weekends, like they always do as they had been busy with their work. She was working on her own fashion clothing line called Elegancia. He was working on his own company left by his late father. Even if they were both very successful and busy, even if they were both known for their high financial status and worked from separate industries, they still found time to be with each other. This anniversary dinner was supposed to be a surprise for him. The least he could do was remember that it was their anniversary. The day that she agreed to be his girlfriend. The day their romantic relationship started.
Earlier that day, he acted like it was a normal day while she acted very enthusiastic. As part of her plan, she didn't greet him a happy anniversary at all although she tried to hide her confusion when he acted like there wasn't anything going on because it was, in fact, a very special occasion, so she decided that she should be happy and just expect that his attitude will change later on. She even gave up the day from working because of the occasion but as the day progresses, he still kept busying himself. He didn't even spent lunch with her, saying that he had an important meeting to prepare for. She hid her sadness and just waited for the day to progress on as she kissed him goodbye in his office, saying that she'll be waiting for him and left to go to his place to start setting up.
Now, back in his penthouse, scowling at herself, she sighed deeply then closed her eyes with tiredness and disappointment. She opened up her eyes and realized that there were tears threatening to fall down her face. I knew it… He forgot about our anniversary. she thought sulkily as she stood up, abandoned the whole set up, looked at her gift to him one last time, and walked towards the door when she heard the knob turn to see her boyfriend home from work. He smiled at her lovingly but then converted into furrowed eyebrows as he looked at her.
"Hey Love. You didn't have to wait for me, you know." he casually said to her and began walking towards her for a kiss, but later on became confused as he looked at her dressed up figure and everything around him. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. He quickly counted what day it was in his head and he knew that he forgotten something… it was their anniversary... Arthur widened his eyes with guilt and looked back at her.
Oh God. I knew I was forgetting something. She really waited for me. Oh Guinevere… please don't.
"Guinevere…" he whispered sadly and guiltily as he started to walk to her faster to hold her in his arms but he was cut short when he saw that she backed away.
She looked at him with sad and teary eyes, feeling disappointed. She smiled pitifully at him, realizing that he really forgot what day it was. She sighed deeply and spoke up.
"You know, this was supposed to be a surprise but, … I guess the surprise was on me. Happy Anniversary, Love. Just thought I'd let you know." she said to him walking to the door and let herself out without another word.
He called and ran after her but she was already in the elevator by the time he got closer. After moments of trying to wait for the elevator to come up, he decided to run down the stairs to catch up to her but it was too late when he just came out of the building. She was already her in her car, driving into the distance. He crouched down by the sidewalk and buried his head in his hands as his elbows settled on his knees.
After a while, he lifted his head up and rested his chin on his fisted hands, looking into the distance, thinking so deep.
How could I have forgotten? We've been together for 2 years already… this year making it a third year for us. We've celebrated two anniversaries already without either of us forgetting. Why on earth did I forget now? Of all events that I could forget, it had to be this one! Why didn't I just forget an important meeting or an investors' visit? How could I be so stupid? Guinevere must really hate me for this. I've been really busy this week. I didn't even have lunch with her because I had to prepare for a bloody meeting, although I was thinking about asking her to marry me, I even have a ring already-... maybe that's it. I've been so distracted by those thoughts that I actually forgot an important occasion in my life. But that's never an excuse for me to forget it! And now I come home late from work and she surprises me with a romantic dinner, which makes the situation even worse. So that's why she skipped work today and stayed with me the whole time… taking care of me, watching me as I worked my ass off… because it was our ANNIVERSARY! Now I've really done it. I have to do something… and fast! I've never lost Guinevere before and I sure as hell won't lose her now.
As Arthur came back into his house and into the dining area, he looked at the romantic scenery that Guinevere had set up for them, a massive deal of guilt flowing through him. He sees the freshly cooked steak, which was of course, his favorite and a box made in black leather with a bow wrapped around it and a card on top of it. His eyes narrowed then began to widen sadly when he came closer to the table and got the box in his hands. He reads the card and it says Happy 3rd Anniversary, My Love. Hope you like it. I love you. Yours Truly, Guinevere. After he finishes reading the card with tears daring to fall on his face, he looks up the ceiling and squinted his eyes, wiping away some tears that escaped from his eyes. After breathing deeply, he looks back at the box, unties the bow and confirmed his own suspicion. It was the Cartier watch he and Guinevere were looking at a few weeks ago. He looks at the watch then looks up again at the ceiling and sighs deeply.
Why did I ever deserve you, Guinevere? Why have you put up with me until now? he thinks and realizes something. Now, Arthur had to think of a way to make it up to her.
As he walks into his bedroom, he takes out his phone and dials her number, hoping that she would pick up the phone.
As Guinevere drives to her own penthouse, she couldn't help crying calmly going from his place all the way to hers. She was mad and was full of disappointment but most of all… she felt very unappreciated. She had felt so foolish about setting up an unsuccessful surprise dinner for her boyfriend, realizing that he really did forget what day it was.
As she parks her car into the garage, she goes out of her car and went into her place, thinking that her room is probably the best place to be in right now. As she opened her bedroom door, her phone vibrates and rang loudly in her bag. She gets the phone and saw who it was. She goes inside and lets it ring as she stops walking. The more she looked at the name on her phone, the more tears fall on her face and instead of accepting the call, she gently throws the phone on her bed and lets it go to voicemail. She drops on the floor beside her bed and cried silently.
He sits on his bed and as he waits for her to pick up one of his already many calls, he kept tapping his foot on the floor and looks up at the ceiling muttering "Come on, Guinevere. Please pick up." for a few times.
After minutes of waiting that felt like hours, he finally gave up and reluctantly lets himself be contented in voicemail. He calls her again and prepared himself for a very desperate and guilty voice message he's about to send her.
After a few minutes of crying silently , having moved to her bed to lie down, holding the pillow that Arthur's sleeping on, and listening to her phone ring and ring for several times, it was finally changed by a single flash on her phone, stating Arthur's voice message. She ponders on it as she sees his name, thinking about the right decision to make.
Oh fine! I'll pick it up. I was about to give in anyway…
She unlocks her phone and listened to the voice message.
*sigh* "Guinevere… Love?… I know that… I'm probably the last person- no, not just probably... I am the last person you want to see or even hear from but… I just - I can't let this go any longer. I messed up. I forgot our anniversary, all because I've been thinking about...other things… it's not the best explanation, I guess - even when you reminded me just a month ago…. I absolutely don't have an excuse for my forgetfulness… *deep sigh* I'm really not good at this but you're probably more irritated now because you know how much of an idiot I am when it comes to voice messages just like this one… I uh… I saw your anniversary gift… it's amazing, saying thank you is not enough I'm afraid. You know me so well… *breathing deeply* I am so sorry, Guinevere. I hope you forgive me - I don't want to lose you… I love you, Guinevere. I always will. You must know how much I appreciate you and you know just how much you mean to me… Well… I guess that's it - for now. I hope you sleep well… even though I ruined tonight….. I miss you already..." *sighing deeply* "Please don't be upset with me…" ending the message quietly.
By the time she finished listening to the voice message, she'd stopped crying , taking deep breaths, feeling a bit of relief that even though it's not much to cry insanely about, Arthur really made the effort to talk to her on the same night that should've been a happy occasion if he'd just remembered. She then sits up, leaning on her right elbow on the mattress, resting her head on her fisted hand, looking at the amount of missed calls on her phone. She sighs deeply. She rolls her eyes and lies down on her back, staring at the ceiling.
Oh he's so frustrating sometimes! I don't understand. With all the things he could forget, it had to be this one. And what "other things" was he talking about? What has he been thinking about that could possibly make him forget our anniversary? Didn't he notice that I've been in his office all day? he didn't even pay attention. He didn't even greet me a "Happy Anniversary". All I got were the usual "Hello Guinevere" and him kissing me every time he comes back to his office, waiting for another meeting. He didn't even bother to ask. I'm so disappointed, knowing that I'd set up a romantic evening for the both of us and this happened. But … all through that… he said he's sorry and I could forgive him instantly. It's always been that way. It's just this once and I'm sure that after this, he would have Merlin remind him over and over again. But if I do forget, I don't know if I already want to talk to him. I'm still upset with him. I guess I'll have to wait until Monday because I would just end up distracting myself. I guess I'll have to drop by the boutique tomorrow. At least it can take my mind off Arthur.
But let's face it… even if he is like that, he will always be the one for me. I hate him but then… I love him. So much.
After moments of silence, she sits up and finally picks up her phone to call her assistant, Sefa, to let her know that she'd show up at work. After the call, she stares into the distance.
"Good night, Arthur. I love you." she muttered to herself as she looked at his picture on her lock screen, smiling and staring at her, melting her with those sweet, blue eyes of his before standing up to get ready to sleep.
As Arthur heard himself mutter the last phrase "Please don't be upset with me…", he suddenly panicked and wished that he didn't send the voice message but as always, it was too late. The last phrase made him sound very desperate and needy and the last thing he'd want Guinevere to think is that he became just that.
On the other hand, Arthur still couldn't think of a way how to make it up to her. He's been pacing back and forth in his room like a caged animal, thinking really hard… until it hits him. Now that he and Guinevere won't be spending some time with each other thanks to me... he thinks, it meant that Guinevere could be working instead, which he found as an opportunity to surprise her back, as his way of apologizing properly and a post-anniversary celebration.
Thankfully, as a means of knowing each other's schedule, Arthur had a number of Guinevere's assistant, the same way Guinevere had a number of his, who Guinevere never called because she'd always end up calling Merlin. Not only was Merlin Arthur's co-worker as Head of Finances in his own company, but he also happens to be their mutual best friend since University.
By having each other's assistant's number, they can contact one another if there was ever an emergency. Right now, to Arthur, this was considered as an emergency. He picks up his phone and scrolls to the name he's been looking for and began calling Guinevere's assistant. After a few moments, the call was answered.
"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.
"Yes, hello, good evening, sorry to interrupt. Is this Sefa?" he asked, making sure that it is her as this was the first time he ever had to call her.
"… Yes, I am. May I ask who I am speaking to?" she questioned innocently, voice becoming clearer.
"Oh, right, sorry. It's Arthur Pendragon." he said casually.
"Oh! Mr. Arthur, I didn't know it was you." she apologizes quickly, sighing in relief.
"It's perfectly fine, Sefa. Listen, I need to ask you something." Arthur asked as he started walking around his room.
"Yes, anything at all, Sir." Sefa said accommodatingly.
"Sefa, no formalities are necessary. Anyway, I called to ask if Guinevere's called you already." he asked firmly but softly.
"Um… yes, she gave me a call an hour ago. She said that she'll drop by at the boutique tomorrow." she said confusingly, wondering what's going on.
"I see. Sefa… may I ask you a favor?" he asked, relieved that his plan may actually have a chance in succeeding.
After moments of telling Sefa about what happened, asking her of the favor and later on spending hours in setting up everything, they now stand in the middle of Guinevere's clothing line boutique, inspecting everything.
"Um… Mr. Arthur, what are we doing here if I may ask?" Sefa asked Arthur, who looked very nervous on what he's about to plan.
Arthur sighed and said "Well, now that you know what happened, I am sure you know what I would want to do…" as he looked at Sefa expectantly.
"You want to apologize to Ms. Gwen in a very big way, I presume." she asked, looking at him with a hint of a smile.
"Exactly. Now I just have to find a way how to make it really big, in here…" he said as he looked around "… I just now realized how big this boutique is… and she even thought of opening a new branch in another state this week." he muttered softly to himself, suddenly wondering why he remembered that but not their anniversary.
"Well… maybe you should consider setting up a romantic surprise just as Ms. Gwen had prepared for tonight. Since it didn't exactly go very well, I think you should give the surprise back to her." Sefa suggested sympathetically.
Arthur thought for a moment, then his mouth turned upright into a smile and said "That's not a bad idea. You're right, I should do it the way Guinevere did with our anniversary and… I know exactly what to do." he said as he fetched his phone from his pocket, contacting people for the things he needed.
Now, there they were, looking at every inch of the set up, making sure that nothing was going to go wrong.
Arthur then sighed and turned to Sefa.
"Now, are you sure that you're going to come here both at the same time? You know that sometimes she's the first to come in. She owns the place, she should be able to come in whenever she wants…" Arthur muttered as he paced in front of her with his hands on his hips but stopped, looked at Sefa and added "no offense…" he said quickly and began pacing again as gets his phone from his pocket.
"None taken, sir." Sefa said shyly showing off a hint of smile, watching Arthur pace repeatedly.
"I'm just going to call Merlin. We'll need someone to watch this place." Arthur said as he searched his name in his contacts and put the phone to his ear.
A few moments later, an annoyed looking Merlin barged in quietly in Guinevere's boutique and stopped in front of Sefa and Arthur.
"What's taken you so long?" Arthur asked annoyingly.
Merlin ignored his question and spoke up.
"All right, what did you do this time? I've just been off work for one day and the next thing I know, your calling me in the middle of the night for something very urgent." Merlin ranted at Arthur, who raised his eyebrows in a sarcastic and annoyed way when he was about to speak, he cut short seeing Merlin bidding a good evening to Sefa, which made him a little bit more annoyed. Arthur then began to speak up.
"First of all, why do you always think that I did something wrong here? And second of all, the minute you saw me you ignored me and just ranted at me like you were my mother but when you saw her…" he said as he pointed to Sefa, beside him " you turn into a nice, different person. I can't believe I still put up with an idiotic friend and a co-worker like you. Why did I ever entrust you with the finances of my company?" Arthur finished with a deep sigh as he shook his head.
Merlin stared at him with same annoying look that Arthur has been giving him.
"First, because you always do something wrong when you call me up on unreasonable timings. Second, I bid good evening to someone who deserves it. Third, you gave me the position yourself so, therefore, you trust me enough to keep the finances of the company safe. You, on the other hand, do not need a greeting and you don't deserve it especially if you woke me up just to save your sorry ass from Gwen. This is about you and Gwen again… isn't it?" Merlin asked him confidently, judging by his surroundings and an awful lot of experiences between the couple since they all started as friends at University. Merlin became the bridge of getting Arthur to admit his feelings for Guinevere. Merlin had known the both of them all too well as much as they've known him if he had a problem like this one.
Arthur was dumb struck by the time Merlin finished his ranting and just ended up looking guilty and softly muttering "Of course it is, Merlin. You know it is." he sighed deeply "I stupidly forgot our anniversary, all right? There, I said it, are you happy?" he asked Merlin annoyingly with sarcasm.
Merlin grinned and ignored Arthur's question "Did you just call me your friend?" he asked teasingly.
Arthur then scowled at him and said "Shut up, Merlin. Now, there is a reason why I called you here."
Merlin cut Arthur short again and intercepted "Wait… let me guess. You want me to stay here for a couple of hours until you get ready to see that everything is still in place when you comeback?" he said as he held his chin up while holding his pointer finger up at Arthur, knowing full well that it's what he's about to ask him.
Arthur then scowled and rolled his eyes at him but instead of fighting him, he sighed deeply and said "Yes! Fine! That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. Now, will you please just do it until I get back?" he asked annoyingly with widen eyes to a smirked, confident Merlin in front of him.
"Oh, alright. Since you begged me to do it. And I already knew that because as you can see by that door, I already brought my things because I'm going straight to the office when you come back, since you don't come in through the weekends." Merlin said annoyingly as he rested his hands on his hips.
Arthur shook his head and sighed "Thank you." he said seriously as he clapped Merlin by his shoulder.
Merlin became serious and lost his teasing attitude, knowing that Arthur was serious too. He clapped Arthur's shoulder back and nodded once.
"Ah, it's alright. You'll owe me." Merlin said, going back to his teasing mood.
"Don't push it." Arthur said menacingly back at him, making it sound like a warning.
Sefa, on the other hand, was enjoying herself with them bantering and began to intercept.
"Well, if you'll excuse me Mr. Arthur, Merlin, I think I should go. Ms. Gwen might call me again." she said shyly.
Both men stopped the ranting and looked at Sefa and straightened themselves.
Arthur cleared his throat "Oh, of course. Thank you, Sefa. Just make sure that Guinevere doesn't know any of this, alright?" he asked her softly.
"Of course, sir. " she affirmed, acknowledged Merlin and went for the door.
"Well, isn't that sweet of you?" Merlin teased as Sefa left.
"Shut up, Merlin. Well, I guess I should go too. I have to come back here earlier than them so I will assume that while I'm gone, nothing is going to be ruined. Are we clear?" Arthur asked and warned at the same time.
"Crystal clear." Merlin said with a big smile on his face.
Arthur narrowed his eyes at him and went for the door too. As soon as Arthur left, he made himself comfortable on one of the couches in the boutique and began to fall asleep quickly.
The next day came and Arthur was back into the boutique and Merlin left for work to continue his interrupted sleep. He was now inside the boutique, dressed in a white, long sleeved formal shirt topped by a dark red, button - down cardigan paired with casual jeans and semi - formal tan shoes, wearing the Cartier watch that Guinevere gave him, which to his surprise, when he turned it over, had a customized engraved message- With all my heart - G. He looked at himself at the mirror for a moment and straightened himself. He then looked around, looking at the rose petals scattered on the floor and a bunch of petals formed into a big heart at the center of the boutique that had a "Will YOU forgive ME?" message formed by the petals in it as well. Other than the rose petals, he held a beautifully wrapped bouquet of Guinevere's favorite combination of flowers. And most of all, he had a lot of bunched up flowers surrounding the whole boutique, provided of course that the clothes were still in its rightful places. Thankfully, nothing was ruined while he was gone. It's gone 4:30 am when he left for his house to get ready and came back on 7:30 am to check if anything was wrong. Once everything was in place and after he told Merlin to be back at exactly 9:00 am, all that he had to do was wait for Guinevere and Sefa to come in.
It was 8:45 am according to his watch, meaning that hopefully Merlin, Guinevere and Sefa would be coming in a couple of minutes. From the door, he heard it open and then he heard voices. He looked alarmed at first but then he recognized that the women coming in were not Sefa and Guinevere but instead, he recognized the saleswomen were the ones talking. As he watched them coming in, Arthur realized that Sefa didn't inform him that the saleswomen would have the possibility of coming earlier than them. Thankfully the saleswomen, who were a number of four ladies, didn't touch anything until they saw him and they suddenly realized why the place looked like it did presently.
The ladies then stopped in front of them and one of them spoke up "Good morning, Mr. Arthur." as they all smiled at him politely.
Arthur nodded at them but still kept an eye on the door and looked back at the ladies for a moment.
"Good Morning. You're rather early." Arthur said dumb - founded.
Of course they're early. They look after the place all day. Stop being so stupid, Arthur. It's not like you haven't been in here and haven't recognized the workers before. He thought, internally scowling at himself.
"Well, of course we are. We make it a habit to come in earlier before Ms. Gwen and Sefa so that the boutique's already open when they come here but, I guess we don't have a problem opening the shop today since you're here. We were alarmed when we saw that it was opened. W e thought that something bad happened." another lady explained.
"Ah. There's really no problem here. I guess I just wasn't expecting you to come here before Guinevere and Sefa did. I just wasn't informed, actually." Arthur explained back.
"Oh. Well, we were wondering why the boutique was surrounded by flowers and rose petals." one lady said and continued "but now we know. It's your anniversary together isn't it?" she asked, realization dawning on her as all of them were aware that Arthur and Guinevere have been together for a long time, fully supportive that they looked so adorable together.
Arthur's face went down for a moment but answered "Actually, yeah. It's our 3rd anniversary, I mean, it was last night but, the supposed - to - be celebration was cut short because of me forgetting that our anniversary was yesterday and it ended up really bad." he said guiltily as he earned scowls and deep sighs from the ladies, two of them even shaking their heads slightly, showing that they were disappointed in him.
"I know, I know. It was very stupid of me. But, as you all see it, I've messed up in a big way and I plan to ask for forgiveness in an even bigger way." Arthur said as he gestured to the surroundings. And with that, he earned soft smiles and eye rolling in a good way.
"So this is your plan?" asked another lady from the group as she gestured to the whole place then continued "no gift or anything? Because I'm sure Ms. Gwen got you something. Didn't she?"
Arthur looked at the lady surprisingly these ladies know Guinevere all too well he says to himself begrudgingly but nonetheless answered her.
"Of course she did. I'm wearing it right now." he said grinning proudly as he showed the new watch that settled on his wrist then said "And of course, I have something for her other than these flowers but, I will only give it to her when she's already forgiven me." he said firmly, starting to get a little annoyed with all the interrogation from the female workers.
"Why? What is the gift exactly?" the same lady asked with a bit of excitement, starting to have suspicions.
Arthur stared at the women exasperatingly with amusement. He scowled amusingly and spoke up.
"Alright, let's assume that Guinevere forgives me," he explains as he looks at the constantly nodding, excited ladies looking and listening intently "I would get down on one knee and I would give her this." he explained as he took out a small red velvet box and opened it, finding an oval diamond ring that was surrounded by even smaller diamonds. As he showed them the ring, he was immediately irritated and amused by the squealing and giggling produced by the ladies.
He then closed the box and continue "And of course, that is where I'm supposed to ask her the big question." he finished proudly.
"We are so happy for you, Mr. Arthur. Congratulations." one lady said excitingly.
"It didn't happen yet." Arthur said and chuckled, putting the box back inside his pants pocket.
"Oh, but we're absolutely sure she's going to say yes. Everyone can see how you feel about each other. And, you do make a very lovely couple. Oh my goodness! I bet this would be displayed on every magazine and newspaper soon." another lady intercepted coyly.
Arthur smiled nervously, trying not to think about the people who might see the proposal he's planning and said "Thanks."
With all the talking between Arthur and the saleswomen, they didn't notice Guinevere and Sefa come in until Guinevere spoke up as she was surprised by everything she's seeing.
"Arthur?" Guinevere said surprisingly as she and Sefa suddenly stopped and looked at the center of the boutique, where the heart - formed petals with a message was nestled on, smirking slightly at it.
Both the women and Arthur turned to Guinevere all at once. As Arthur looked at Guinevere, he couldn't help staring at her beautiful appearance.
As a well - known fashion designer, it was Guinevere's priority to make herself always look fashionable and sophisticated even in the simplest ways. It was one of the things that Arthur loved about her. To him, she always looked beautiful.
As he looked at her, Guinevere was wearing a fitted navy blue, long - sleeved, low square neckline dress that stopped just above her knees. The sleeves were designed with lace floral patterns and the whole attire was matched with a pair of black suede pumps. But what made Arthur stare at her more was her hair let down naturally with her curls resting just above her chest. Even if it looked simple, he can't help thinking that it made her look more beautiful than ever.
As he stared, he even noticed that she was wearing a set of diamond earrings that Arthur gave her on her birthday, which gave him hope that all will go well. But, when he notices her disappointed and slightly confused look, he was suddenly brought back to reality and began to talk.
"Guinevere." he said softly as he looked down at the bouquet in his hands. He looked up at her and slowly gestured the flowers for her to take and said softly "These are for you. They're not much, I know but, I thought this would be a start. I mean, they're your favorite."
Guinevere looked back at him, not noticing that Sefa and the saleswomen moved farther into one corner of the boutique as they stood, excitingly and happily watching them. Guinevere, too, noticed his presentable attire and her eyes travelled from her surroundings to the message written in the heart to his longing, guilty face and to the flowers he held out for her until they stopped at his left wrist. She stared at his wrist, looking at the watch he was wearing that she left last night as an anniversary present. She looked up at his face again, searching eyes.
She took the flowers from his hand looked at it with a slight smile.
He did all this for me in one, whole night! I can't believe it. This is so sweet of him and he just made me fall in love with him even more.
"Please say something." Arthur requested softly, looking softly with guilt at her.
She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye softly but with a hint of hurt "You're wearing it." were the only words she thought of saying at the moment.
"Of course I am. You gave it to me…" he murmured softly as he looked at the watch then back to her.
"You look beautiful." he complimented her softly.
She stared at him for a while and answered back with a soft "Thank you." then continued "You don't look so bad yourself."
Arthur raised his eyebrows and looked down at his attire and looked back at her muttering a "Thanks." with a slight smirk on his face, knowing how much she likes him wearing a white shirt.
His face turned back to being serious and continued after a deep sigh "I am so sorry, Guinevere. I've been a fool to forget a very important day such as our anniversary. I know I have been busy lately and we haven't spent that much time together but it really wasn't an excuse for me to forget completely. I did, however, had an odd feeling yesterday, it's as if I was forgetting something and my feeling was right because I forgot one of the most important things to remember in our relationship. Guinevere, you know how important you are to me and you've always known just how much I love you. Please never doubt that… Please forgive me." Arthur finished softly and hesitantly takes her free hand and caresses it with both of his hands as he brings it to his lips. He looks back at her with pleading eyes, not letting go of her hand.
Guinevere looked at him softly and sighed "Arthur… when you forgot what day it was yesterday, I felt really stupid, waiting for you to come home to my surprise for you, having the knowledge in my mind that you remembered or maybe you were just pretending that you didn't remember earlier that day. I understood at first because you were so busy and I let it slip from my mind. But, while I was there waiting for you… it was like I was losing hope of this supposed-to-be-surprise ever being successful and, indeed, it really didn't end very well." she stopped as she sees Arthur's face become more guilty, looking away and looked down, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb repeatedly.
She smirked at his bowed head "but…" Arthur's head quirks up as he heard her "You've gone through all this trouble, picking out my favorite flowers, scattering petals all over my boutique floor, just to ask for my forgiveness…" she smiles at him lovingly as he smiles at her back happily.
"And how could I not forgive you..." she paused as she loops her arm around his neck and Arthur automatically putting his arms around her waist, bringing them closer together "when I love you so much?" she asks him gently, the smile never wiping off her face.
Arthur's eyes widen with joy "Forgive me?" he asks softly.
She smiled teasingly and suddenly grabbed his shirt's collar and leads his head to her lips, giving her unspoken answer with a lingering kiss, still holding the bouquet of flowers in her other hand.
She pulls away and looked at him as she smiled shyly. "Does that answer your question?" she asked coyly.
Arthur then quirked his head a bit as he played along saying "That's definitely a start."
They looked at each other and smiled as they both leaned their heads closer for another kiss.
The kiss was later on interrupted by the squeals and giggles of the audience inside the shop, reminding them that they were not alone. As they pull away, they both look back at the happy ladies and Guinevere starts to giggle and touched his forehead with hers and they smiled at each other.
As of the happenings inside the boutique, there had been some photographers lingering outside the boutique, taking a couple of pictures.
The couple pulls away from one another and Guinevere puts down the bouquet on a side table nearby and entwines her hands with Arthur's. She looks up at him.
"Thank you… for going through all this trouble when you didn't really have to." she explains, looking lovingly into his eyes.
He tightens his hold to her hands and sighed happily "Trust me, Guinevere. I had to. If it meant that doing all of this and more will let me see that lovely smile of yours, I would do it without hesitation." he declared, looking at her the same way she's looking at him.
She smiles widely and goes further into his embrace, resting her hands on his arms that are holding her waist "Well in that case, I love it. Although, what you did are now drawing attention from the people outside, not to mention there are photographers standing by." she explains as she looks over her shoulder referring to the people watching from the outside of the glass walls and doors.
Guinevere looks back at him sternly with amusement, not caring if there are people watching outside. Arthur looks over her shoulder then back at her and his brows creased for a moment "Yeah… I really haven't thought that one through. I was nervous about all this and I actually forgot that there are going to be people passing by and see what's going on and they were early so they knew my plan and-"
His rambling was stopped by Guinevere's fingers pressed onto his lips. After a moment, she gently lifted her fingers off his mouth and shook her head amusingly when Arthur stopped talking.
"I don't really care. Besides, I would assume that you had help?" she asks as she looks over his shoulder to Sefa accusingly, who was wearing a guilty smile and shrugged shyly, biting her bottom lip nervously.
"Yes, I did get help from Sefa." Arthur admitted as he looked at Sefa over his shoulder, winking secretly at her and turned back to Guinevere.
Guinevere then pulls away, crossed her arms on her chest and looked at him knowingly "Just Sefa?"
Arthur deeply sighed and scowled "Fine, I also called Merlin to watch over the place."
Guinevere looked at him with much amusement and laughed freely, knowing that he hated to admit that he treated Merlin more like a brother than just a co-worker.
Arthur then rolled his eyes playfully at her and turned back to being serious. He again closed the distance between them and took her hands in his, lifting them to his lips and looked at her sincerely.
"Happy Anniversary, Love." he said softly.
"Happy Anniversary." she said back with the same sincerity and leaned in to give him a simple peck on his lips.
As they pulled away, Arthur then looked at her, nervously laughing which lead to a curious Guinevere.
"Well… given that you already forgave me and everything, I actually wasn't planning on ending it at this point." he said firmly, still holding Guinevere's hands in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumbs as he spoke.
"What do you mean?" Guinevere asked confusingly, starting to have a sense of worry in her tone.
"Guinevere, " he paused as he looked lovingly into her eyes and continued.
"Ever since we've been together, I've certainly never been happier than when I was with you. You always knew what to say to me when I had problems and you were there for me, even when at times that I wasn't there for you. And… fortunately, for some miraculous reason, you put up with me and I suddenly became the luckiest man in the entire world because, for any man that you could ever choose to be with, you chose to be with me. And I am grateful that you wanted me because I realized that I would never want to lose you …" he paused and looked at her softly with intent and finally said "ever…" as he knelt in front of her, who realized what he was doing and brought her hands to her mouth with a surprised look.
He smiled softly at her and took out the velvet box in his pocket and opened it for her see. Guinevere gasped and chuckled nervously as she sees the ring, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He then continued to speak as he looked up at her.
"I know we've always been busy with our lives for the past two years, hell, we still are..." he said and smiled widely before becoming serious and speaking up again "but… I think that I've always been ready to take another step with you. As long as I have you with me, I will always be ready for anything. You mean everything to me, Guinevere. Now… and forever."
She looks at her intently as he takes a deep breath, ready to ask the big, enticing question "And I would ask you if you are willing to take every step of your life with me. Guinevere… will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked her nervously, patiently waiting for an answer.
Suddenly the excited squeals of the ladies in the boutique reminded them again that they weren't alone but, neither of them looked away from each other's gaze.
Guinevere's face was unexplainable until it broke into a sweet smile brought her hands down and stooped down to hug Arthur tightly. Arthur froze like a statue and got confused that lead him to asking her "Is that a yes?"
She then gasped, realizing that she hasn't given an answer. She then spoke up quickly as she pulled away from him and stood up.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, Arthur, I will marry you." she said as she happily chuckled and wiped a few tears on her face.
Arthur then laughed with happiness and relief. He smiled lovingly at her, turned to her held out left hand and slid the gorgeous ring on her finger. He felt immensely proud of himself, knowing just now that he'd won her back and that he was now going to spend the rest of his life with her.
Finally… I'll be married to this amazing woman.
Guinevere looked at the ring and back at Arthur, who stood up without taking his eyes off her. They smile at each other and she held his face with both hands.
"I love you." she muttered sincerely.
"I love you, Guinevere." he answered back with a wide grin as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and leaned down to kiss her once more. As they pull away, he hugged her tightly and started to lift her off the ground to spin her around in circles as she squealed in happiness. They pull away as Arthur put Guinevere down and leaned on each other's foreheads as they looked at one another, laughing softly.
Once again they pull away and they started walking further into the boutique, towards the giggly and squealing ladies, hand in hand.
"Oh congratulations, Ms. Gwen and Mr. Arthur. We are so happy for you. I have no doubt that your wedding will definitely be talked about." Sefa said excitingly with a slight shyness.
Guinevere smiled and sighed happily "Thank you, Sefa. Although I don't think the news would be kept hidden any longer." she said as she glances over her shoulder at the paparazzi before looking at Arthur with a distinct, teasing glare, knowing that she can't get annoyed in the slightest bit even if she wanted to.
Arthur shrugged apologetically and brought his arm around her and kissed her temple.
As the other ladies have finished saying their congratulations and looking closely at the ring, Merlin came in nervously and quickly, knowing he was in for quite a lecture and a ton of work to be given to him.
They all glanced at him and instead of seeing an arrogant, annoyed face from Arthur, he saw a happy, contented look on his face. In fact, not only did he see it on Arthur's face, but he saw the happy looks among the ladies as well.
"Am I missing something here?" Merlin asked with curiosity, nerves calming down, seeing as Arthur wasn't about to blow up at him.
"Ah, Merlin. You're late. Again. Why am I not surprised?" Arthur says sarcastically and happily in tone.
Merlin laughs nervously and says "I'm sorry…?"
Arthur gives him a sarcastic smile "Don't worry, you'll get a lot of fun paperwork and reports concerning the finances next week. So many that you won't be able to leave until all of it is done and approved by me." he says happily.
Merlin sagged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.
"You know you should really consider yourself lucky because I won't be giving it to you this weekend. Thanks to Guinevere, " he glances at her and turns back to Merlin "I'm too ecstatic that I can't bring myself to make anyone miserable, especially you." Arthur warns happily.
Merlin furrows his eyebrows "Thank you…?" he says and became curious about Arthur being too happy.
Gwen just forgave him. It's not that big of a deal. Is it?
"All right, what is going on? What's gotten you all so happy and excited?" he asked as he looks around at the still smiling faces he noticed since he came in the boutique.
Sighing deeply but happily and rolling her eyes playfully, Guinevere stole Arthur's moment and blurted it out.
"Arthur's asked me to marry him, Merlin… and I said yes." she said as she placed her left hand on Arthur's chest, showing off her engagement ring with a bright smile on her face while Arthur kissed her forehead.
Merlin just stared at them and began to chuckle "I knew it. I knew you had something on your mind, you were too distracted these past few days and you didn't even bother to tell me." he said confidently as he crossed his arms annoyingly.
"I was trying to keep it from blabbermouths like you." Arthur intercepted.
"Arthur." Guinevere warned, glaring slightly at him with amusement.
"Well, congratulations, I guess to the both of you. Gwen, you already know what to do with Arthur. Keep him on his feet always." Merlin chuckled as Arthur scoffed amusingly.
Guinevere laughed with them and said "Thank you, Merlin." as she came to him for a hug. As they pull away, she comes back to Arthur's side.
"Well if anyone is going to give me a tongue lashing and keep me on my feet, I'm glad it's you." Arthur said lovingly, gazing deeply into her brown eyes.
"Well, I'm just glad that I get to be with you but, I'd prefer that too." Guinevere reciprocated as she too stared into his blue eyes.
"I love you." Arthur said.
"I love you." Guinevere said.
They both lean in for a kiss when Merlin cleared his throat. They pull away again and looked at Merlin.
"What?" Arthur asked annoyingly.
"If you must know, you're not the only people in this boutique and if you want to continue your little celebration, I suggest you do it somewhere else so that everyone can get back to their job." Merlin stated plainly.
Arthur sighed deeply and Guinevere giggled, turning to the ladies.
"Go on, Miss. We'll take care of everything. Enjoy your weekend." Sefa obliged happily.
"Thank you." Guinevere said as she tightly embraced Arthur.
"Thank you for your help, Sefa." Arthur nodded at her.
Sefa simply smiled and acknowledged him with a nod.
Guinevere and Arthur then turned to Merlin.
"Ah, Merlin. I trust that hopefully everything is in place during my absence." Arthur said as the three of them started to walk out of the store, not caring about the people outside.
Merlin scoffed and said "It always is. Now, I'm off to work. I'll make sure no one disturbs you for the rest of the weekend." he promises teasingly.
Arthur laughed and said "Thank you, Merlin." as he and Guinevere watches him walk away from them.
They now make their way to Arthur's car despite the paparazzi following them. As Arthur gets in after escorting Guinevere on the passenger seat, he turned to her.
"Now, where were we?" he asked coyly as he took her hand and kisses her palm.
She smiled widely and answered "We were supposed to kiss until we were interrupted but… I think it's better if we continue somewhere where no one can see us. Come on, let's go to your place, we were supposed to be there last night remember?" she reminded him coyly.
He looked at her teasingly before kissing her hand again and puts their joined hands on his lap while he starts to drive with his free hand.
He chuckles and said "Let's go then." and drives to his place for them to continue their celebration.
THE END