"Are you sure about this?" Arthur eyed Merlin suspiciously. He wasn't quite convinced that this plan was going to work. Gwen wasn't exactly the kind who loved lavish expression of emotions - something he learnt when he attempted to throw a dinner party to celebrate her birthday. He wasn't very sure that Gwen would enjoy being proposed to in public.
"Don't be silly. How else would you show her how much you love her? Plus you have the money. Might as well use it. So what will happen is that you and Gwen will attend the football match. Then at half time, your proposal will be flashed on the screen and then you can get on one knee, show her that ring you spent months looking for and she'll say yes and the whole stadium will scream in happiness. Got it?"
"I'm still not sure about this. Gwen doesn't like all this attention."
"She'll love it. All girls love this sort of things. In fact when I propose to Morgana …"
"Stop it. I do not want to hear about your relationship with Morgana. Oh god, does this mean you're planning to become my brother-in-law?"
As it turned out, Gwen had food poisoning and they ended up staying at home that night. No ostentatious proposals for them.
"I am so sorry about this," murmured Gwen, "I know you were looking forward to the game."
"It's ok. How are you feeling?" He rubbed her stomach as she lay sprawled on his lap. Her face was pale and she had just finished yet another bout of vomitting.
"Not so great. But I'm glad you're here."
"I'll always be here."
"Come on. Turn on the TV. I'm sure the game is being shown on TV."
For the next few minutes, they watched the game in silence. With Gwen snuggled against him, Arthur felt at home and incredibly happy. He wanted this to last forever.
Then the half time whistle went and Arthur suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to tell Merlin to call off the proposal on the screen. He had to turn the TV off.
"Where's the remote control?"
"Why?" Gwen shifted and sat up, her face still pale.
"And now we have a special message from a very special sponsor!"
Why couldn't he find the control? Maybe Gwen was sitting on it. He tried to reach under her.
"Arthur?"
"Are you sitting on the remote control dear?"
"Arthur?"
"What?" He looked up at the TV screen and plastered across it was his proposal: Will you marry me Guinevere? "Ah, crap." The camera panned to two empty seats.
"It looks like the lovebirds are missing!"
"What is this?" There was uncertainty in Gwen's voice and he hoped that that didn't mean she was going to say no.
Getting on one knee, Arthur dug into his pocket for the ring, presenting it to a Gwen who looked like she was about to cry. He wasn't sure if it was the result of the proposal or her food poisoning.
"It wasn't really supposed to happen like this. The thing is Guinevere Thompson - I love you. I love everything about you - your sense of humour, your stubbornness, your determination to do the right thing. I am a better person with you. I am a happier person with you. And so, I want to spend the rest my life with you and I am really hoping you want to as well. I'm not as good a person as you are. I can be selfish, rude and as you often tell me, arrogant but I promise that I will always, always love you, support you and …"
"You also talk too much. Of course I will marry you. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else."
Then, Gwen covered her mouth and dashed to the bathroom. He followed her to the bathroom, unable to stop himself from grinning foolishly. This may not have been the perfect proposal but he thought the result was perfect.
