It was coming up to their second anniversary, and Kiku definitely wanted to surprise Alfred with something sweet and meaningful though ideas beyond normal days were hard to come up with.
Alfred would have been fine with that, but Kiku really did want to commemorate the occasion with out being bizarrely romantic.
Kiku struggled with things as blatantly romantic as fancy restaurants on anniversaries and candle lit dinners inside the house; it overwhelmed him.
Alfred took those kinds of things as embarrassing at time and inside it seemed to be something that the American constantly wanted to check up on and usually ended in ways against the dinner, spoiling food which simultaneously upset Kiku.
The Japanese man struggled with romance though two weeks or so before the anniversary, they visited Alfred's parents' house for dinner; it would leave an idea implanted in Kiku's mind as he heard about the camping trips that Alfred had adored as a kid.
Kiku's breath caught as he saw Alfred's eyes light up at the mere thought of those memories, and that was enough to convince him of what he'd do though Kiku wasn't a very outdoorsy person.
It took some talking to Alfred's parents however to figure out what to bring and if he could borrow some of the old supplies; they also told him of an area that they used to camp at when Alfred was younger and that the American had adored.
Kiku spent the time leading up to the very important date, preparing for the occasion which included shopping for it and making sure that the campgrounds weren't busy.
He smiled on the day of and couldn't resist waking his lover up with a kiss though Kiku had never been one to start their kisses off too often.
"What's up, Kiku?" Alfred's voice practically yawned for him as he was still rather sleepy.
"Happy anniversary." Kiku was still smiling slightly as he greeted his lover this morning verbally for the first time so far that day.
"Is it really the twenty fourth already?" Alfred's eyes widened as he sat up in bed to look over at their calender on the wall.
"Hai." Kiku smiled at him, knowing that Alfred would have realized the date if he'd slept in a bit more.
"Happy anniversary, Kiku." Alfred smiled at his boyfriend and leaned over to kiss him.
Kiku wrapped his arms around him temporarily before speaking up, "We have to hurry up."
"Another reservation, Kiku?" Alfred asked, tiredly.
"Not quite." Kiku was excited to surprise and brighten Alfred's day.
"What is it?" Alfred asked and had to muffle his another yawn that rose up in his voice.
"You'll see." Kiku still felt an urge to smile as he got up to dress for the day ahead of them; Kiku had long since had clothes prepared for today, so it didn't take long for him to get dressed appropriately for a day of being outdoors in moderate weather.
Alfred stared at him, "That's really casual for plans."
Kiku left to prepare breakfast for the morning; Alfred shrugged and put on some casual clothes of his on as well.
He followed the way that he always went to get to the kitchen and hugged Kiku's waist, "I love you, Kiku."
"I love you too." Kiku always stuttered over the word, 'love,' in shyness which Alfred found adorable; the only time that Kiku seemed able to speak it with out stuttering was when he spoke a similar phrase in Japanese.
Alfred smiled and kissed Kiku's neck before sitting down at the table to await the simple breakfast that Kiku was making.
Kiku smiled faintly enough for it to be indistinguishable as he finished cooking breakfast and sat down to eat with Alfred.
When they had finished and Kiku led Alfred outside, Alfred still seemed to be trying to figure out how Kiku intended to celebrate their anniversary.
After they got in to the car, the questions began; Kiku was positive that he'd never heard so many questions asked in his life as were asked in that half hour car ride, and Kiku refused to answer them as he knew the surprise is what would really please Alfred other than what the surprise was, of course.
It really was worth it to hear Alfred's excited squeal and to feel the American's lips against his own despite the fact that he still needed to park the car.
Alfred's new question seemed to be, 'how did you know?'
Kiku smiled as he took out the camping equipment, so that they could start the long hike up the mountain a little bit before them.
While the hike was long, Alfred's enthusiasm made it all worth it especially after they reached the top and had headed towards a large patch of grass beside a beautiful waterfall.
Then Alfred convinced Kiku to swim in it before the sunset much to Kiku's amusement as the water was quite cold this time of year, and they hadn't packed any bathing suits.
Naturally Alfred seemed excited enough for this that it didn't matter, and they ended up swimming in their boxers and playing around.
Kiku was still surprised at how Alfred could make anything brighter and days to be full of excitement and fun despite the situation.
Hours later, the shivering lovers sat down by their constructed tent and watched the sun set beautifully over the scenery; Kiku couldn't imagine a more magical moment than when Alfred had leaned over to kiss him as the sunset faded.
The next moments were spent watching the stars and counting who could name the most constellations before laughter abounded, and Kiku managed to start a fire to cook a late dinner and to roast marshmallows.
Alfred smirked and asked about scary stories.
Kiku obliged, and Alfred began to show signs of being scared though he covered them up the best way that he could.
Eventually they both crawled in to the tent and cuddled against each other inside their sleeping bag.
The warmth and closeness of Alfred when they turned in to sleep every night always suprised Kiku with how gentle, peaceful, and loving it was; it made the Japanese man feel complete when he could lay in Alfred's arms and when Alfred could lay in his arms.
It became obvious that Alfred was still terrified from the scary stories as his arms tightened around Kiku; the petite, Japanese man began to comfort Alfred much to the American's relief no matter how he tried to hide it.
Finally they shared a good night kiss after Alfred had calmed down from his fear.
They had fallen asleep shortly after that to spend the rest of the night wrapped up in each other's arms; the next morning would be their last day on the campgrounds for now though Kiku already had considered taking Alfred back again one day.