This is my 2016 Secret Santa gift for Eveylein! Hope you enjoy :)
"Shit", Alfred muttered, holding a piece of paper with just a single name on it, which also happened to be the last name he wanted to see at that moment.
Alfred had used to enjoy the Secret Santa exchange, but now that it was Arthur who he would have to buy a gift for, the American boy was starting to feel a ball of nerves form in his stomach and the excitement of participating in the annual event was beginning to dwindle.
There were about 15 other people he could have got! But nooo, it had to be Arthur. Alfred absolutely despised that stuck-up emotionally-unstable English teenager! It just wasn't fair, having to buy a cool Christmas present for someone who was so cranky and rude to Alfred all the time. Arthur didn't deserve a real present, he deserved coal!
Actually, it wasn't such a bad idea…maybe Alfred could buy him a gag-gift or something he knew the English boy hated…like coffee grinds, or a McDonalds giftcard, or an American history book… Hmm, it wasn't such a bad idea.
Maybe this Secret Santa would be the most fun one yet! He could just imagine the look of utter disgust on Arthur's face opening his gift and seeing something he absolutely hated!
Alfred looked around at everyone else in the group reacting to who they'd have to buy gifts for, and coincidentally, his eyes settled on Arthur reading the name on his own strip of paper, a slight smile appearing on the English boy's lips. And then unexpectedly, his eyes shifted over to Alfred and caught him staring red-handed! Thinking quickly, Alfred stuck his tongue out in a demonstration of complete maturity, to which Arthur responded by flipping him off and walking away.
Always so rude, Alfred thought. Ah well, a gag-gift was definitely warranted…
Why was thinking about it so much easier than doing it? It wasn't a big deal, it wasn't like Arthur was some kind of good friend of his. He was a jerk and jerks deserved stupid gifts for Christmas.
So then why was Alfred standing in front of the Revolutionary War section of the bookstore, hesitating so badly?
Maybe it was because Arthur always seemed kind of lonely, never really hanging out with many people after school. Or maybe because one time someone teased him so cruelly that he had actually broken down into tears. Or because last year for Secret Santa, Gilbert had given him tweezers to "help tame his eyebrows".
Now that was the ultimate gag gift, and yet although it had been pretty funny to Alfred at first, seeing Arthur's face so torn between anger and embarrassment made Alfred feel really fucking sorry for him. Alfred had figured that Gilbert had bought something else besides tweezers and was going to give them to Arthur afterward…but nope. That was it. Cheap-ass tweezers as a Christmas gift even when the price each person should spend on the gift is $15-$20. There's no way Gilbert's present was over $2, and for that Alfred felt really bad for Arthur the previous year. Now this year he had the power to make Arthur's Christmas maybe a little extra special with a really cool gift…
That settled it, he was definitely not sticking around the crummy bookstore to get a shitty present for Arthur. Christmas was the time to bring people together, not the time to continue a stupid rivalry that neither boy could remember how it all started in the first place. And Alfred considered himself a hero, so he would be Arthur's hero this Christmas and get him something so amazing it would make him cry tears of joy! Yes! Maybe Alfred would even get to see a real smile on Arthur's face; it was super rare and Alfred hated admitting it but he liked catching glimpses of the English teen's real smile.
Alfred walked home pondering a perfect present for Arthur, and it was a little difficult since he didn't know the other boy THAT well.
Let's see… so he loves tea since he brings that travel mug every day of school but Alfred didn't know his favorite type. And he likes playing soccer with the guys on the weekend but a soccer ball was kind of a lame gift. He also likes Shakespeare but probably already has a collection of Shakespearean novels. Hmm what else… Oh! One time, Alfred overheard Arthur talking with Francis about how he wanted to start guitar lessons because he wanted to learn how to play his favorite rock songs. AH HA! That gave Alfred an idea….
Once arriving home, Alfred got to work. And it took a whole night of searching online on a few different websites devoted to selling used items and a lovely $45 charge on his credit card for Alfred to buy the perfect gift for Arthur; he couldn't wait to see his face.
One week later, the whole group got together again, this time to give and receive their gifts. Alfred Jones arrived with a particularly large/long box, by far the biggest out of anyone else's. He was feeling particularly jittery; he couldn't wait to find Arthur and give him his present, but surprisingly, Arthur found him first.
"Hello Jones, I'd like to tell you that I am your Secret Santa this year. Happy Christmas." And with that, Arthur held out a medium box decorated in reindeer wrapping paper to Alfred, who took it gratefully and with just a hint of amusement since that they both so happened to have the other person for Secret Santa (not that Arthur knew yet). It was a nice surprise.
Alfred tore the wrapping paper of his gift and opened a box to reveal a few paperback Capitan America comic books, which the American boy thought was just perfect. He loved reading comics!
"Oh my god Arthur! Thank you, seriously! How did you know I didn't already have these ones?"
The other boy became a little pink in the cheeks. "Just luck, to be honest. Although I must say I'm relieved to see that you like them. I didn't know if you preferred Batman or Capitan America."
"I love it, seriously, it's awesome. Thanks so much." And with that Alfred put down the comics to pick up his gift for Arthur. "Now for your gift."
Arthur's eyes grew wide taking in the size of his apparent Secret Santa gift. "Bloody hell Jones! The hell is in there?" He then looked up skeptically at the American's face. "And how is it that we both have each other as gift exchange partners? A bit suspicious, is it not?"
Alfred laughed, "I swear it was just a coincidence! But dude please I'm gonna die if you don't open your gift right now, I've been waiting for this moment all week!" After another suspicious glance from Arthur, he added, "And it's not gonna explode or anything, it's a real gift."
With that, Arthur gingerly took the heavy present and after setting one side on the ground, began to unwrap it with extreme care. After finally undoing all the messily taped-together wrapping paper (Alfred wasn't the best at wrapping presents), he gasped loudly once the present was completely revealed.
A beautiful acoustic guitar embossed with the Union Jack was staring at him and all Arthur could do was gape back. Looking closely, there were a few minor scratches on the surface but that hardly mattered! It was a real functional guitar!
"Bloody hell you did not. Jones is this a joke? Tell me you didn't actually buy me a guitar?!" Arthur was looking a combination of shocked, thrilled, and terrified, as if he couldn't allow himself to believe it was true.
Alfred ignored the questions and asked, "Do you like it?" After all, it had taken him a while to find the perfect one. He still couldn't believe his luck that he had found a used guitar with England's flag on it! It was definitely meant to be.
"I…my god, I love it. I bloody love it. I don't know how to thank you…but there's no way in hell this cost $15! It looks like it must cost at least $100! And that is completely against the rules, Jones!"
"Dude chill, I admit it was more than $15 but waaaay less than $100, please promise me you won't worry about it. I saw it and knew I had to get it for you. I overheard you saying one time you wanted to take up guitar lessons, and I hope this can start you off right." Alfred wasn't normally so sentimental, but something about Arthur and this whole exchange was making him feel warm and gooey inside. And mission accomplished, Arthur had smiled for real after all.
"Alfred, that's…surprisingly thoughtful. It's very unexpected and I never would have thought you capable of such an act of utter kindness. I want to thank you sincerely, this is by far the best gift I've ever gotten." Arthur continued to roam his eyes, almost hungrily, over the details of the guitar, stroking the cords and the wood of the base. Then almost instantly, a guilty expression replaced his previous happiness. "My gift to you is completely incomparable, it's shite compared to this. I have to leave right now to get something else—"
"Stop," Alfred cut him off, "You don't need to get me anything else." Then suddenly he had an amazing idea! "BUT, if you really want to make it up to me, you can take me out for dinner to a nice restaurant." He was looking at the English teen with a crooked smile, deviant and smoldering.
A few seconds passed where Arthur clearly assessed the idea, and to Alfred's surprise, did not negate the offer in any way. "Fine Jones, if that's what you want. I'll take you out, but we go where I want to go, understood?"
"Fine, just no English restaurants for the love of God," he responded, half-joking and laughing merrily, happy for the surprising turn of events that day and happy to have an actual conversation with Arthur sans insults.
"We'll see. Oh and Jones? You know it sounds like we'll be going on a real date, right? That's what you had intended?"
"Yup!"
"Perfect then," Arthur looked quite excited and picked his new guitar up, "And who knows, maybe by then I'll even be able to play you a song."