"What would say if I asked?"
It was a conversation they had had too many times to count. It had almost become rehearsed. Except right now, it almost sounded as if he were being asked, and Arthur no doubt required an answer. So Alfred said, "I don't believe in marriage," even though Arthur knew that well enough and it wasn't exactly an answer to the question.
"Why not?" Arthur asked instead, a question he had never pressed before.
So Alfred explained exactly why he didn't believe in marriage, from the religious reason to the statistical. Arthur immediately shot down the political argument with his own, but that was to be expected.
"Does that mean you would decline?"
Alfred had to think for a moment. Just a moment before he decided that he didn't know. He would worry about that time when it came.
To which Arthur replied by holding Alfred closer and mumbling a proposal, which Alfred in turn immediately denied.
"Alfred, I'm serious. I don't want to have to worry about losing you. I want you to be only mine."
To that, Alfred could agree. Yes, he would be his. For as long as he wanted.