So, here's the next Arthur and FemMerlin story! I've decided, that this time, I'm going to put the date at the top of each chapter. I hope that you guys all enjoy it. Oh, and this one will be told from Arthur's point of view, which I think will be kind of cool. It's nice to get things from his perspective.

FEBRUARY 7

I paced.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

I couldn't help it. I was nervous. I was extremely nervous.

I hated being nervous.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

And there really wasn't any reason for me to be nervous. Merlin loved me. I loved Merlin. Sure, we had our fights. Every couple did. But we worked them out. We were good together. We were really good together.

Man, I wished I could have another chat with Lance about this whole proposal and marriage thing. He at least had some experience. Granted, he'd only been married for four months so far. Still, he knew more than I did at this point.

Deep breath.

I just needed to calm down. I was getting myself worked up over nothing. She was going to say yes. I was positive she was going to say yes. Well, I was pretty sure she was going to say yes.

Maybe.

"She better say yes," I grumbled to myself, "if I'm going to be nerdy about it."

Yes, I was going to give Merlin a nerdy proposal. Me, Arthur Pendragon, was going to nerdy.

But I really did love that girl. I was willing to be nerdy for her, once in a while. I knew it would mean a lot more to her if I went out of my comfort zone with this. She knew I didn't like acting nerdy. Yet here I was, doing it for her. Man, I really was in love with this girl.

Just then, I got a text from Lance.

SHE JUST PARKED.

Thank goodness Lance had agreed to be my lookout. The warning was good for me.

THANKS.

I took another deep breath. Then I sat on the couch and picked up the Harry Potter book. I wasn't really sure which one in the series it was. One of the last ones, I thought. I opened it and started pretending to read.

I had cut a rectangle out of most of the pages, leaving a hollow space. Almost like a shadowbox. I made sure that the title, The Unbreakable Vow, was visible. Then I'd tied the ring inside. As soon as she took the book from me – which I knew she'd do – she would see it.

Of course, I'd gotten the idea from the internet. But whatever. Merlin would love it. She better love it.

Merlin walked in the door. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't move my head. I pretended to be immersed in the story. Which, just to be clear, never happened with me. I didn't get immersed into stories the way my girlfriend did.

"Hey," she greeted.

I grunted in response.

"Okay, what could you possibly be reading that has you, Arthur Pendragon, so focused? You hate to read." I very carefully showed her the cover, keeping the inside of the book hidden from her view. "Um…you do know that's the sixth one in the series, right? The sixth one out of seven. And what made you decide to finally read the books? You've always told me that you were content to just watch the movies and not read the books."

I just shrugged. It wasn't like that had actually changed. I didn't plan to read any of the books.

"Well, what part are you at?" she asked, sounding impatient. She always wanted to talk about books. She and Gwen could go on for hours about the books they've read.

I didn't answer. I hoped she couldn't hear my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

Merlin sighed, and grabbed the book from me. She looked inside. Her jaw dropped, but she didn't say anything. She just stared at the book. Uh-oh. That couldn't be a good sign, could it? She should have said something.

Finally, after about five minutes of silence, I couldn't take it anymore. "Merlin?" I asked.

She punched me in the arm. Hard. Uh, I was pretty sure that wasn't how a girl responded to a proposal if she was going to accept it. "You cut a Harry Potter book?" she demanded, her eyes fierce. "What is wrong with you?"

"Uh…" I wasn't even sure how to respond to that.

"I mean, it's genius, of course. The Unbreakable Vow. That's clever. Really, really clever. Brilliant, even. But you completely defiled this book. You can't do that. That's just -"

I kissed her. I just wanted to get her to shut up for a few minutes, and stop talking about me defiling the book. I pulled back, looking into her eyes. "Merlin Ava Emrys, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me? Please?"

She frowned. "Well, duh. I thought I already said that I -"

I kissed her again, I was so happy.

"Best. Birthday. Ever," she whispered against my lips.