It was a beautiful day, really. And so he thought that me might enjoy it by spending his time gardening. For once. But, alas, he hadn't thought about overdoing it. In his excitement, Arthur Kirkland had worn himself out. Sure, gardening wasn't a huge exercise for some people. But this was Arthur's garden we were talking about.
For one thing, the size was enormous. It emptied out into the countryside, and no one who entered it, knew where it ended. Not to mention that strange sounds could be heard. Like giggling or singing. And whenever asked, Arthur would say it was the faeries, to which his guests would laugh, as if he were joking, or shake their heads at the all-too-familiar visions of imaginary things.
Still, they couldn't deny the sounds being there.
Anyways, Arthur had tuckered himself out, and had decided he needed to be revived. So he began to crawl across the ground, through the grass, to get to his house. "Almost..."
"Like, what are you doing?"
He glanced up, and his green eyes met with the Hong Konger's. Leon's familiar cool stare only made Arthur's face heat up, but surely he could blame that on the sun. "Going inside."
"You look like one of those guys from the movies. You know, where he's injured but desperately needing to get to something," commented his former colony.
"Right. Why are you here?" Arthur asked, standing up to regain some of his lost dignity.
"Teacher has been a bit too annoying for me lately. I thought I'd come here, take a break." He paused. It was true, but not fully. In the end result, Leon just wanted to, as cheesy and stupid as it sounded, spend time with the Englishman. Arthur and he had many similar interests, it was easy for them to talk, he could trust him to keep his secrets...
Let's just be blunt about it. Leon and Arthur were in a relationship. (It certainly took long enough!) Though it wasn't really a secret, it wasn't exactly known to all of the others. They figured the longer it was quiet, the better they could manage.
"Hong Kong!" The Asian blinked and turned his eyes to the Brit, who was currently at the door with a slightly bewildered look on his face.
"What?"
"I asked you if you'd like some tea. You didn't answer."
He must have gotten lost in thought. Couldn't blame him, though. The Brit was in his mind like peach buns were in his stomach. Still, he had to be more careful. It wasn't like him to get distracted too often. "Like, yeah, that sounds great. I was just thinking about the plane ride here... Kid was literally screaming and fighting his dad when he told him to calm down, it was really annoying."
Arthur didn't really answer back. Not a legitimate one if you asked him. Just a weird grunt, to state he had been listening. However, it didn't seem like he suspected anything, so it was fine all in all.
But while Arthur made tea, he'd have to think some more
"...then he told the Dane that if he didn't leave right then, that wolf wouldn't be the only thing he'd be worried about," Arthur concluded before taking a sip from his tea.
"Sounds like Norway," Leon agreed, with a sort of amused grin.
"Denmark just knows how to rub him the wrong way when he wants," he sighed.
"Maybe..." Leon murmured. "...Hey, what do you think it'd be like to be a human? Like, what would you do?"
"A human?" Arthur looked puzzled. An abrupt and hard question, really. He'd do many things as one. There'd be so much that he could do... "I'm not sure..."
"You have to have some sort of idea. You've thought about it, haven't you?"
Well, he had, but not to any great degree. Just off-handedly. "Alright, well, if you're so keen on it. What would you do?"
"What would I do?" Leon already knew the answer to this. "I'd go to school, find a career that suits me. I'd want a family at some point."
"Oh? Well, I thought you'd want a life full of interesting things, go adventuring," Arthur replied. Honestly, he hadn't expected the Hong Konger's answer.
"No. I already figured it out," he stated. "I know where I'd go, what to do, who I'd marry."
"That far, huh?" The Englishman smiled somewhat, told himself to nod, but he couldn't help his curiosity... "I never thought you'd want to settle down that far. It never occurred to me."
"Hm... Well," he began with a sigh, "I thought it would be pretty nice." Leon pulled at his white sleeves, a force of habit. "The garden looks nice."
Indeed, it was. The roses curled themselves along the fence, or anything they could grasp. They clung and bloomed in blood red, snow white, and soft pink. Leon distinctly remembered imagining Arthur could change the color if he asked them... Ah, then there were the vines that held small and delicate little blossoms, that weaved themselves into a work of art. Sunflowers held golden sunlight in their petals, and glittered strategically throughout the garden.
Then Leon saw the tree that he didn't remember being there. He stared at it quizzically. It was one of Kiku's presents, he remembered. Just a little thing at the time. It was a Japanese Cherry Blossom, but he had only gotten it a little while ago... How did it grow so fast? Perhaps that tree had a fast growth? No matter. Though it was unique, as all the flowers and plants were, it somehow still fit in. It was strange how all of these flowers, despite how overrun yet organized, could still live in harmony. How Arthur did it, Leon would never know.
"Hm? Thank you. I've been putting in some extra time. I didn't get around to it a week ago..." Arthur trailed off, because a certain weed was bothering him.
"...Go ahead," Leon rattled off, rolling his eyes once his lover yanked that weed right out. "You really are too obsessed with that garden, you know."
"I am not! This garden is a source for powerful magick, and it should be maintained or grown ruly. There's no in between."
"Yeah, yeah..." Here we go with that again. "Hey, like, let's go out on a date!" It was just recently that the two of them had, if you wanted to put it simply, been together. So they hadn't much time to interact...
"Tonight?" Unexpected, but welcomed. "Yes... Yes, that sounds lovely."
"Good, I know the perfect thing."
"Alright, well, let's go."
"No." Leon looked right at him, and Arthur looked down. Yes, well, perhaps gardening clothes weren't the best idea.
In a much more acceptable evening outfit, Arthur left the house with the Asian hand in hand. In comfortable silence, they walked through the streets for a few moments.
"It's been awhile since we could do this." Arthur had been the first to speak, but he had kept his eyes to the sun, which was readying to set.
"Totally." Leon found himself smiling in the slightest, as he looked over at the Brit. "You're too cute for your own good."
"I am most certainly not cute!" Despite his words, Arthur could feel the heat creeping up his neck, and attaching itself to his ears and cheeks.
"Are so," snickered the Hong Konger. "You're even blushing."
"I am not." Arthur wrinkled his nose up. "I'm just slightly hot."
"Ah? But the sun is going down." Leon rolled his eyes. That's it, just go on and deny it. I see right through your little white lies.
"Just shut up, would you!"
"You make too much of a fuss." Leon reached over and pressed his lips to Arthur's ear. "No need to get so flustered."
At this, Arthur's face must have been as red as mars. He found himself trying to "casually" look over at something, to conceal the evidence of his embarrassment.
"Cute."
"Not."
"Very cute."
"Not."
"Super cute."
"I swear on the names of gnomes, I will go back home right now."
"You will not." Arthur had no argument to this, as Leon was pretty much right. It was an empty threat. "But you really are cute."
There it was, what Leon had been waiting for. He knew that Arthur would crack it at some point, that smile no one else got to saw. Just him, for his eyes, as he was the only person that could bring it out. And with him smiling like that, his face burning as red as a tomato, it was really, really cute.
"C'mon, just a little bit further."
"Like, what in the world happened?" Leon muttered to himself, as he continued to comb the crumbs out of his hair.
"I really have no clue. It's a complete mystery," Arthur said casually, shrugging his shoulders. Lie. He knew everything that had happened.
They had settled on going out for dinner. And it really was going very lovely, until they met their waitress. Perhaps she was just having a bad day, but she really should learn to keep a better attitude.
Anyways, when Leon had been ordering, she cut him off, right in the middle and told him to speed it up. Then she had gone by so fast to set their drinks down, that she spilt it right over Arthur's lap. (Ice cold! Brr!)
Well, before she could do anything else disasterous, Arthur had asked a favor. And one of his favorite little bunnies decided to fly over and oops! There went her tray, and everything on it. Little teases like that happened, but then she turned ultra sour.
Now, he knew it wasn't fair of him to be doing it, but dammit, if she didn't absolutely piss him off. So that loaf of bread she had been carrying just swelled and swelled until... Crumbs were everywhere. Despite the mess, nearly everyone in the restaurant had laughed, including the cook, who was doubled over.
But as they were walking home, Leon had to wonder what in the hell had happened. Of course, Arthur wasn't going to tell. Not like he would be believed anyways.
Their fingers were entwined, as the last of their small laughs finally died down. That event would definitely be told over and over, with future laughs.
"We need to do this more often," murmured Leon, as Arthur leaned his head on his shoulder. "I really do miss you."
The Englishman felt his face heat up again, and his smile grew wider. "I miss you too."
The moon wasn't providing much light, due to the clouds. But the streetlights compensated for it. "I'm not even tired."
"Neither am I," Arthur sighed, as they approached his house.
"Then, like, let's go have a movie marathon. Who said the night has to end?"
Arthur laughed softly, and the sounds of the night followed him. It really was nice to be this close with Leon. Before this relationship began, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so at home with someone. So confident. So...safe.
"Yes, alright," he sighed, nodding.
"...I love you," the Hong Konger murmured, turning his head and pecking the Brit's lips. And as they shut the front door behind them, Arthur's pink, smiling face now fully seen by the soft light of the house, the Englishman only said, "I love you too."