Will You Marry Me?
It was a chilly night in England, late on Christmas Eve, and snow slowly drifted through the air. Alfred got off the plane hurriedly, checking his watch as he walked toward the baggage claim. He'd been lucky to get one of the three flights that were allowed to come into England per day, but he was running out of time. It was already ten o'clock at night and if he wanted to do this correctly he'd need to be done by midnight. Quickly grabbing his bag and rushing out the airport doors (not without shoving a few people out of the way), Alfred hailed a cab and instructed the driver to take him to the nearest Goodwill center. Alfred leaned his head against the icy cab window and sighed tiredly, after all, it had been a long flight. It's worth it though, he thought to himself with a smile, looking at the wallpaper on his phone; Arthur laughing at him, holding a large bouquet of roses, he's worth it.
They got to the Goodwill soon enough, and Alfred hastily hopped out after giving the driver his money, almost forgetting his suitcases. He went up to the Goodwill sign and took a picture of himself, head blocking the word 'good'. People stared at him strangely, but Alfred pointedly ignored them, sending the picture to Arthur quickly before hailing another cab. Back at his flat in London, Arthur looked at his phone curiously when it started vibrating on his coffee table. Glancing at the name on the screen, he found himself grinning when he saw 'Alfred', but quickly went back to a frown. "No use getting worked up over nothing," he told himself sternly, "He can't be here for Christmas, you know that." Keeping his hopes down, he picked up the phone and looked at the message, staring in confusion when he saw the top of Alfred's head and the word 'will'. Shrugging it off, he set down his phone and went back to reading, trying not to acknowledge the tiny feeling of disappointment in his gut.
Alfred looked at the big map of London that was displayed in one of the parks. At one area there was a red dot beneath the large words 'YOU ARE HERE'. Perfect, Alfred thought. He quickly asked a few girls to take his picture by the sign, to which they giggled and agreed, trying to flirt with him. Alfred was oblivious of course, his heart was already taken. He posed, hands in a heart shape over the 'you' and flashed one of his charming smiles. Then he grabbed his phone (still oblivious to the girls' wandering hands) and sent the next picture, setting off down the road toward a familiar flower shop. Arthur got the second picture and blushed, staring at Alfred's heartwarming smile. He was so wrapped up in imagining Alfred there with him that he didn't piece together that the two messages spelt 'Will You'.
The shop Rose & Mary was right where it always was, on a busy street corner near a Tube entrance. It was the shop where he always bought Arthur flowers when he knew he was in trouble. Running out of time, he quickly took a picture of the 'Mary' part, but didn't send the picture just yet. These last two photos needed to be sent together. He didn't have to look long to find the public restrooms. Going to the Men's door, he took a deep breath and snapped a picture, his hand covering the 'n'. Dragging his suitcases behind him he hailed the third taxi that day (at this rate he wasn't going to have any money left) and got in. He quickly put the two pictures in one messages and sent it, his heart palpitating loudly in his chest, fingers sliding into his jacket pocket to curl around that tiny velvet box…
Arthur quickly rushed to his phone when he heard it vibrate again, seeing as it had been more than an hour since the last text message, and nearly dropped the device when he saw the pictures, everything suddenly coming together in his mind. "Will you marry me?" He whispered aloud to himself, dropping down onto his knees after they had given out from the shock. Tears slipped from his eyes as he stared at his phone, wondering whether or not Alfred was serious. It was unlike him to joke around with such serious matters, but there no way he'd want to…would he?
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Startled, Arthur quickly went to answer it, only to yelp in surprise and drop to his knees again. Alfred was outside the door to his flat, kneeling down with a red velvet box opened to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. Arthur sobbed quietly into his hands and stared at Alfred. The taller blonde man hesitated; unsure whether Arthur's crying was a good or bad sign. Well, he hadn't been punched yet, so he might as well do it. "Arthur," He whispered, taking out the ring (tossing the box off to the side carelessly) and slipping it onto Arthur's ring finger, "Arthur, baby, I love you so much. I want to be with you every day for the rest of my life, to wake up and see your face, to eat your awful food and to raise children with you and maybe have a cat. What I'm trying to say is; will you marry me, Arthur Kirkland?" Arthur laughed, a breathless, half-sob, and wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck, pulling them both onto the floor.
"Yes, of course you stupid git!" He said, kissing all over Alfred's face. Alfred froze, as if he'd been expecting Arthur to reject him, then began to laugh loudly, gripping Arthur's waist and rolling around with him joyously. The grandfather clock in Arthur's living room chimed to signal it was midnight and Alfred smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Arthur," Alfred whispered, kissing the smaller Brit gently. Arthur smiled, heart overflowing with joy and replied the same. Defiantly the best Christmas gift ever.
…
A quick Christmas fic for you all, I hope you like it! I'm sorry it's so short, I was in a rush.
FORGOT TO ADD: Based off this doujingshi - http:/ .net/member_ ?mode=medium&illust_ id=13313946 (remove spaces)