The Perfect Night
Roses?
Check.
Wine?
Check.
The dulcet sounds of Frank Sinatra in the background?
Most definitely check.
Francis grinned, looking around his apartment with glee. The rather small space looked absolutely beautiful. Absolutely romantic.
Everything was going to go as planned. Arthur would walk in, be utterly amazed and touched that Francis had gone beyond his way to make his home so romantic and beautiful, they would eat dinner and Arthur would be in awe of Francis's cooking skills, Francis would pretend to receive a call from Antonio telling him to come downstairs and will drag Arthur downstairs – pretending to be upset that their wonderful night had been ruined, a horse drawn carriage would appear and drive them to their favourite meadow spot in the woods nearby Francis's house, Francis would propose, Arthur would say yes and Francis will cue Gilbert and Antonio to start the fireworks and they would make love under them.
Oh yes, this was going to be perfect.
Francis made the finishing touches to his centerpiece [a large bouquet of roses, for how can one have a romantic night without roses? To think of doing so is blasphemy in Francis's book] and took in a deep breath, patting the pocket where the ring was in and smiling widely.
Arthur was going to love this – hell; Arthur was going to love him even more than he already did.
Arthur was going to kill the bloody wanker.
The roses, the expensive wine in those sparkling glasses the wanker only used during fancy parties, the music playing in the background, the dimmed lights, the candles – what was the idiot thinking? All this for a simple dinner? It was frankly very annoying and very distracting. Arthur could feel his irritation growing.
"So how was your day at the office-"
"What? Sorry, I can't hear you – Frank Sinatra's singing is currently louder than you are."
"But Frank Sinatra in amazing!"
"Yes he is but…oh bloody hell, I can barely see you over these roses. Couldn't you move them or something? I prefer being able to see the people I'm talking to, thanks."
"But they're the centerpiece! You can't move the centerpiece!"
A lift and an unceremoniously dropped vase of roses onto the ground later, Arthur grinned triumphantly at a pouting Francis.
"Now I can eat and talk to you without those blasted roses in the way," Arthur said, cutting into the well cooked meat with extreme hunger.
Ring! Ring!
"The phone rings," Francis said, looking surprised. Arthur rolled his eyes.
"I can hear that," he said. "Aren't you going to answer it?"
"Oh yes, of course," Francis replied, standing up and rushing to the phone. Arthur continued eating, catching phrases like 'I told you to call after dinner' and 'no we aren't finished dinner and no Gilbert you aren't getting any!'. Arthur really didn't care – he was too busy digging into his food to care.
When Francis finally returned back to their table, he looked slightly irritated. "Antonio called – he needs our help with something," he told his boyfriend.
Arthur looked up, disappointed. "Couldn't you go? I haven't eaten for the entire day thanks to the idiot, Alfred, from Human Resources and Antonio doesn't really need me, does he?" Arthur asked.
"No, he specifically asked for the both of us," Francis replied.
"Well, what for?" Arthur asked.
"I don't know," Francis snapped back.
"Why would you agree to do something for someone without knowing what it is? What if it gets us killed?" Arthur shot back.
"I assure you, whatever Antonio wants will not get us killed," Francis replied.
"But you don't know that, do you? You never bothered asking and – hey! Unhand me this instant!" Arthur cried out as Francis grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him towards the door. Arthur turned to stare mournfully at his uneaten dinner, his stomach growling angrily. He glared at his boyfriend as he was dragged unceremoniously down to the lobby.
Slightly out of breath, the Brit wrenched his arm away from Francis and looked around for any sign of Antonio.
There were none.
"I thought you said Antonio was here," Arthur shot at Francis, now sufficiently irritated.
"L-look, over there!" Francis said hastily, pulling Arthur out of the building into the cool night air.
"Over where?" Arthur asked uninterested. He blinked at the sounds of hooves against pavement. "Are those…horses?" he asked as a pair of grey horses pulled up in front of them with a rather nice looking carriage.
"I believe this is for us~" Francis said, pushing Arthur into the carriage and following him in.
"W-where are you taking me?" Arthur yelped as the carriage started moving again.
"You'll see," Francis sang out.
"If this is your idea of a romantic date, I will hit you. Turn this carriage around and take me back home so I can eat my damned dinner," Arthur growled, his stomach rumbling again – louder this time.
"I can't do that, cher," Francis replied. Arthur glared at him and made a huffy sound, turning to look out the lone window.
"Where are we going anyways?" Arthur replied. They seemed to be heading towards the forest near Francis's house. What for? Was Francis going to murder him and burry his body in the woods? Just as he asked that, the carriage came to a stop. Francis smiled at him and pulled the carriage open, climbing out and holding his hand towards Arthur. Arthur rolled his eyes and swatted the hand away. He wasn't some bloody princess, needing help out of a carriage.
"Merci again for helping~!" Francis called out over his shoulder. Arthur turned around to see the carriage driver [wait, when did he get there?] who looked oddly like that Jones idiot from Human Resources wave and drive the carriage away.
"We aren't going for a midnight hike, are we?" Arthur asked, turning back to face the [very] dark forest with apprehension. Having a very active imagination was sometimes not a good thing, as Arthur began to imagine various monsters lurking between the trees, watching their every move.
"Of course not," Francis replied with a bright grin, pulling Arthur into the forest with him. "It isn't midnight yet."
"Can we leave yet?" Gilbert whined, looking up from his cell phone, the bright light illuminating his face. Antonio shivered and looked away. Sometimes Gilbert was scarier than monsters themselves.
"Franny said we have to wait until he gives us the cue and then we have to set off these fireworks," Antonio said, holding up one of the fireworks as proof.
"What's the cue?" Gilbert asked.
Whoops. Antonio frowned, trying to recall if Francis said anything about a cue. "I think it's when he and Arthur walk into the meadow," Antonio said finally, pointing towards the clearing they were near.
Gilbert shrugged. "Cool. Let's hope they get here fast – I'm starving!"
"Kill me now," Arthur gasped as he tripped over yet another tree root.
"You never complain this much normally when we go hiking," Francis remarked, a few meters away from him. Arthur shot him the dirtiest death glare he could muster.
"Normally I'm in a happy mood and not starving to death and we usually aren't hiking in pitch black darkness," Arthur shot back.
"We're almost there – just a few more steps," Francis said cheerfully.
"You better bloody hope it's only a few more steps," Arthur grumbled, picking up his pace and jogging over so that he and Francis were together. His foot managed to get under a root and Arthur felt himself falling.
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD-"
"They're here! They're here!" Antonio said enthusiastically, poking Gilbert. Gilbert looked up from the dramatic gnawing on his arm to stare at the meadow.
There was a loud shout and Gilbert smirked. "Yup, that's definitely Artie," he said.
"Should we set off the fireworks now?" Antonio asked.
"Probably," Gilbert replied, a grin on his face. "This is going to be fun."
Francis was going to kill Gilbert and Antonio.
"AREN'T THESE FIREWORKS BEAUTIFUL?" Francis yelled.
"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Arthur yelled back.
"WHAT?" Francis yelled.
"WHAT?" Arthur yelled back. Arthur was pretty much about to strangle someone, most likely Francis. Not only was he dragged away from the only meal he had that day, but he was forced to trek through a dark forest, only to be assaulted by the loudness that was those fireworks.
He turned to look at Francis, a strange look in his boyfriend's eyes. What was wrong with him? It wasn't like he had been dragged away from the only meal he had to be forced into hiking through a dark forest.
Francis seemed to look determined about something. Arthur blinked as Francis opened his mouth and yelled something at him. Arthur faintly caught his own name, but nothing else.
"WHAT?" Arthur asked, not comprehending. Francis seemed to look annoyed and tried again. "I'M SORRY FRANCIS, BUT I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Arthur tried to yell as loudly as possible.
"I WANT TO MARRY YOU!" Francis yelled…a few moments after the last firework exploded in the night sky. His voice echoed around the clearing.
"Francis fails so hard," Gilbert remarked with a snicker. Pity the lighting wasn't so good out there – he could've tried recording it for Elizaveta so they could have a good laugh at it.
"W-what?" Arthur asked, blinking. Had he heard correctly?
Francis cleared his throat and pulled something out of his pocket, smiling slightly and going down on one knee. Arthur stared at Francis in almost horror. No…could it be?
"Arthur, I know this entire evening was a total failure but…I really wanted it to be special. I've loved you for so long and I just want to be with you forever," Francis said softly, looking up into Arthur's green eyes. "Arthur Kirkland, will you marry me?"
"I…you…" Arthur was speechless, staring at the little box with a golden ring in it. It was beautiful – clearing something that Francis had chosen out himself. Arthur swallowed thickly and nodded, unable to speak anymore. His face was a bright red.
Francis stood up, sliding the ring onto Arthur's finger before pulling him into his arms and kissing him deeply. "Je t'aime, mon coeur," he whispered with a smile.
"I-I love you too," Arthur replied, burying his face into the crook of Francis's neck so that Francis couldn't see the look of supreme happiness on his face.
"Would you like to go home now and eat the rest of your dinner?" Francis asked teasingly after a moment of silence.
"Not anymore, actually. I'd like to spend some time with just you," Arthur replied, looking into Francis's eyes. "Alone."
As the two kissed passionately, the kiss turning something much more passionate, Francis reflected while everything had gone completely wrong, at least he managed to propose and make love under the night sky.
So, in Francis's books, it was still a perfect night after all.
The End.
A/N: Thank you jubilee_berry for the prompt~! This was so much fun to write, I felt like writing more 8D
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