That most sacred of all days on the couple calendar: Valentines day. Arthur, though a bit out of practice, thought he had done everything right.

Surprise flowers sent to her at work: check.

Appointment to a fancy dinner at her favorite restaurant: check.

Paying for the meal: check.

Ending the night with a walk in the park where their first date was: check.

Was he missing anything? If he was, he figured it was too late to try and make up for it now. He walked hand-in-hand with Amelia in the quickly fading light, jolted up from his inner musings as their pace picked up suddenly.

"Look, Art! It's the bench where you read me your story last."

Amelia announced, pulling Arthur along with her to the point that the gentleman nearly tripped over his own feet.

"Ah-Yes! It does seem to be the same one." he remarked once they'd reached it, doing his best not to sound out of breath. "How ever did you find it? It's been months since then…"

Amelia winked, taking her hand from Arthur as she plopped herself down on the green metal seat.

"Hard to forget good times like that with the person I love."

She proceeded to pat the empty space beside her, inviting him to join. Arthur tried to hide the red on his cheeks, pulling his plaid scarf closer to his mouth. While it was growing darker at an alarming rate, the soft flicker of awakening lamp posts assured him that they could linger here...if but a few very important moments. He followed her instructions and sat down, not surprised when he felt the warmth of his lover's cheek on his shoulder.

The two sat together in blissful silence watching the other couples pass, exchanging sweet smiles and stolen kisses. As if inspired by their example, Amelia lifted her head up from Arthur's tawny jacket to plant a light peck on his cheek. Arthur's eyes shifted over to her, his head unmoving as she'd chosen to reposition her head against his neck now.

"Thank you for today, Arthur," she cooed, snuggling closer to him, "I know that you've been extremely busy lately working on your book, but I really appreciate you taking the time to spend today with me."

Arthur stiffened. Amelia felt it. She opened her eyes once more to look up at him, concerned by his distant stare, his head tilted in the opposite direction. She felt strong arms about her waist, insisting that she sit up however much she protested the action. She blinked as Arthur finally turned to face her fully, his arms grasping both of her shoulders to hold her there.

"Amelia...I'm sorry that I've been such a horrible boyfriend to you as of late. Locking myself away at all hours of the day, ignoring your concern for my health, ignoring your needs for my own selfish reasons." He paused, long enough to prompt Amelia to respond, but as soon as she started to speak he continued. "I know that it's been difficult for you these past few months. I don't pretend to understand exactly how you feel, as I've always had a loving and supportive family. I've never had to want for money, material positions, nor have I feared for my well-being by the hand of my own sibling-Well that's not entirely true, I suppose. My brother Scott use to-" he stopped mid-sentence, recognizing the look of confusion Amelia was giving him. "Nevermind."

He released her, the young woman steadying herself in a second attempt to offer her input-an attempt that was immediately stunted when she noticed Arthur reaching into his side-pocket. A million thoughts invaded her mind, hands gripping the hem of her coat tightly, watching his every action like a hawk.

"Amelia Felicity Jones….I've been keeping something to myself for a while now. I've spent nights-many nights-trying to figure out the best way to tell you. If it would be best to tell you at all." He let out a faint, breathy laugh, shaking his head. "But I just can't think of any other way to do this-or any other way that I would want to do this."

Amelia's eyes widened, the sound of her racing heart drumming loudly in her ears when Arthur pulled an envelope from his pocket and presented it to her. She tore her gaze away from the object to stare back up at Arthur expectantly. He merely smiled shyly, extending it towards her. Her hand was shaking despite her efforts to tame it, as she reached out take the white parchment. She turned it over gingerly in her hands, peeling the seal back slowly, anxious of what could be hidden within its folds.

Arthur seemed to share her nervous demeanor, inhaling sharply as she pulled back the front flap to retrieve the envelope's contents. His nails dug into his leg, restraining himself from speaking for as long as he could stand.

"So," he started meekly, "what is your answer..?"

"Arthur….I-"

Amelia's voice turned from one of pensive excitement to one of disbelief, lifting up what seemed to be a pair of airline tickets.

"I'm afraid I don't really understand what you mean."

Arthur shifted in his seat, embarrassed. He knew that he should have explained it better, but the moment had been so right and the scene was so romantic he just. He sighed, shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Those are a pair of tickets to London this March. I intend on returning home as part of a promise I made with my parents before I left for America." Arthur lifted his hands up to his scarf, pulling it away from his face so he could speak clearly. His cheeks and lips were red from the cold-at least that's what he told himself was the reason. "You see, Love, I've aspired to become an author since I was young. I gained minor popularity while attending Uni in London, but I always felt there was more I could achieve. I came to my parents with the intention of telling them I wanted to pursue my dream in America. They were hesitant, at first, so we decided to strike up a deal."

"They offered to pay my way, all my living expenses, and fund me for the first year in exchange for proving to them that I had a reason to stay by having my work published. However, if I was unable to, they would pull all their funding and I was required to come back to England. Being the fool I was, I took their offer and moved to New York the following month. Things were going horribly at first," Arthur turned his body to face her once more, "That is, until I met you."

"Your contagious smile, your steadfast spirit, your willingness to follow your dreams regardless of where it took you inspired me. I fed off of your positive energy and found myself writing again. I had hope that I would be able to finish in time. However, when the Holidays came around, circumstances being what they were, I was unable to write as often as I would have liked. My motivation was allocated to other, more important duties, and my prose was put on the back-burner. These past few months, I've been trying to play catch-up...unsuccessfully, I might add. All those nights I spent slaving over my work, trying to at least make something I could put up for publishing before the time came was in order to keep me from having to leave America. To leave you."

Arthur reached out, enveloping Amelia's hand in his own, catching her bright blue eyes now shimmering with fresh tears at their edges.

"Amelia, I want to take you with me to meet my family. I want them to meet you, to meet what I believe is the reason I have to stay regardless of how far I've gotten with my work. I love you, Amelia, and I know they'll love you too if given the chance. So please," he pleaded softly, "Won't you be my proof?"

Amelia's voice caught in her throat when she tried to answer, clutching the two tickets tightly between her fingers. She was, for once, at a loss for words. Her mouth turned up in a wide, delighted grin while she made a valiant effort to speak.

"Arthur-Of course. Of course I will!" she stammered, stifling a sob and lifting one of her hands to her eye to clear the emerging tear. Arthur's hand, still holding on to Amelia's, went with her, wiping it away with his thumb. She hiccuped, Arthur pressing his forehead against her's to sooth her tremors. "I love you too, Arthur…"

The Briton's features relaxed, letting go of Amelia's hands to wrap himself tightly about his lover, feeling her arms go limp as she pressed her head to his chest. Arthur had lost all knowledge of how much time had passed, how cold it was getting as the night deepened. He'd made his peace with the woman he loved, and told her that she was the most important person in the world.

Check.


Author's note: I'm SO sorry that it's taken me forever to post it. It was suppose to wait until Valentines Day, but I felt sorry for leaving you guys hanging like this. Hope you enjoy it and definitely expect some fun shenanigans in the coming chapters!

I still have no clue how I'm going to end this...