"Al, did you remember to fill up the car?" Arthur asked stuffing another suitcase in the trunk of the car.
"Yeah, it's full!" Alfred called from inside.
It'd been 2 years after Arthur came back from being gone for so long in England. The trees had grown their leaves back, in beautiful greens that would sway in the spring air. Arthur had gotten a job teaching World History at a high school that was 45 minutes away from their apartment. Alfred moved up from just wiping off the blood from newborn babies to actually getting to deliver them. They both enjoyed their jobs very much; of course Arthur's job paid enough to get by but Alfred's paycheck was nothing to be laughed at either. The first time he was paid he'd thought they made a mistake with their digits.
Arthur walked into the apartment and saw Alfred close the last suitcase. Alfred started looking in the desk drawers for something. "What're you looking for?" Arthur asked.
Alfred turned around, looked at the desk, and picked up keys. "Keys." He said, and sat on top of the desk and jingled the keychain. Arthur walked over in between Alfred's legs. He cupped Alfred's face in his hands and kissed him. "We really need this weekend." Alfred said once they were done kissing.
"You can say that again." Arthur replied. Their hours were kind of hectic. Arthur would leave about six o'clock in the morning and sometimes get home at seven and even then would have to spend a lot of time grading papers. Alfred would go in at 3:30 in the afternoon and get in at almost five in the morning. They managed to get the weekend off to meet up at an old lake house with the two newlywed couples; Daniel and Bridgette and Calli and Tyler.
Alfred gave a quick kiss to Arthur, "C'mon, let's go." He said, he and Arthur started walking away. They got in the car and Alfred turned on the engine. He checked his pockets and realized he'd forgotten something. "Be right back."
"Well, hurry up, okay?" Arthur called.
"It'll just take two seconds." Alfred replied and jogged back up to their room. When he got in there he went straight for the desk. He opened up a little cupboard and grabbed a little fuzzy box from inside. He tossed it up, smiled, put it in his picket, and then headed back to the car. This three-day weekend was definitely what he needed.
They arrived a little past four and were met up with Bridgette and Daniel. Arthur remembered the last time he saw these people and prepared himself for tight hugs. Alfred pulled up to the front door of the cabin, he and Arthur stepped out of the car.
"Daniel, Al and Arthur are here!" Bridgette said stepping out of the house and down the small steps. She gave a hug to both blondes and ushered them inside. Once inside, she passed the big living room and went to a small hallway, down two doors (one the bathroom and the other the room that Tyler and Calli would be sleeping in) and into the next one gesturing toward the room. "Here ya go." She said.
Alfred and Arthur put down a suitcase and looked at the room around them. Alfred looked out the window to see the glistening lake right outside. "Wow, we're right on the lake, aren't we?" he said.
"Yeah, we're just waiting on Tyler and Calli then we could get everything unpacked and get something to eat. Maybe later on we can go for a dip." Bridgette said.
"Bridge, can you come help me with somethin'?" called Daniel from their room.
"'Kay. Be right back." She started for the door then turned around, "By the way Al, these beds squeak so we can tell if y'all decide to do anything." She giggled and winked before she left.
Alfred shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Pshh, whatever." He sat down on the edge of the bed. It was, in fact, very squeaky.
Arthur heaved his suitcase on the bed and unzipped it. "We should get everything unpacked." He said.
"Roger!" Alfred said and started emptying out his suitcase.
Soon, Calli and Tyler arrived and the couples went to a restaurant four miles up the road. Once all of them got back from their late lunch and settled for a while, they decided to go swimming in the lake.
"The category is… presidents." Daniel said holding Bridgette half way in and out of the water, while she held her nose in case she got an answer wrong.
"Dammit I don't know presidents… um, Washington?" she breathed in and was dunked backwards once, then was brought back up. She spit out excess water that went in her mouth and slicked her hair out of her face. "Lincoln?" dunked again. "Roosevelt?" dunked again. "Wilson?" dunked again. "Nixon?" dunked again. "Jackson?" this time, Daniel flipped Bridgette and dropped her in the water, signaling she got the right answer. Everyone laughed and Bridgette came up for air. They played random water games for a couple hours after that and then decided to go inside and dry off.
They all sat outside around a fire when it got dark. Daniel resting his head in Bridgette's lap, Bridgette had her semi-wet hair up in a ponytail. Tyler sitting between Calli's legs with the back of his head lying on her chest, her arms wrapped around his neck down his chest while he stroked her forearms. Arthur sat sideways in Alfred's lap, but his torso faced the fire, one of Alfred's hands on Arthur's knees and one of Arthur's hands on the back of Alfred's head. The hands that weren't occupied holding onto the other blonde were on the ground, interlaced with the other's fingers.
"Y'know, Arthur, Al never told us how you two started dating. How in the hell could, no offense, a loser like Al get such a cool person like you?" Tyler asked.
"Uh, hello? He fell in love with my sweet body." Alfred said Arthur gave his hair a slight tug. They just laughed and smiled at each other.
Arthur turned back to the group, "It was kind of a strange turn of events really." He said.
"Yeah, I saved his life, like a total hero!" Alfred said, getting another tug.
Arthur rolled his eyes, "He just pulled me out of the way of an oncoming football player."
"Artie fell on top of me. We were super close. We probably would've kissed if he fell any closer." Alfred said.
"Aww." Bridgette and Calli said in unison while their husbands rolled their eyes at the girls' reactions.
"Not so 'aww'. We got a day of detention for that, 'inappropriate intimacy'." Arthur said.
"You're still on that? We didn't even have to stay the whole time." Alfred joked.
"I know, but still," Arthur said, looking at Alfred.
"Okay, I'm sowwy." Alfred tried being cute. Arthur giggled and gently pulled him in for a kiss. The girls sat there in awe.
Daniel pinched Bridgette's leg, shocking her out of her daze. "Geez, you get more excited over them kissing then us kissing." He said. Alfred and Arthur, while they did stop kissing, kept their faces close together looking at them.
"Aww, Danny wants a kiss." Bridgette said and leaned down to smooch Daniel.
"He does make a good point, though. You two get all googly-eyed when they get romantic, what's up with that?" Tyler asked.
"It's just like guys with lesbians. It's just hot to us." Calli tried explaining.
"But it's Al. The kid who broke his arm jumping out of a tree with his mom's drapes tied around his neck 'cuz he wanted to impress the neighborhood girls." Tyler said. Calli shrugged.
"I remember when you did that, your dad laughed 'cuz when he asked you why you did it, you were all like 'Daddy, the chicks dig it.'" Bridgette said.
"Hey, one of them gave me kiss. So who's the loser now?" Alfred said and everyone started laughing. He looked to Arthur who had a smirk and one brow arched. "I mean, you're the only person I've ever kissed." He said.
"You're all lucky you only have to be friends with this dork." Arthur said.
"Love ya, too Artie." Alfred responded.
~Day Break~
The next day, Alfred was pacing back and forth in his and Arthur's room, a war going on inside of him.
"Should I take it with me, then I could take him off into a trail and ask him then." He said, and then looked at the box. "But it might drop out of my pocket. That's almost a thousand dollars wasted if that happens." He bit his lip. He opened the box to take another look at the ring. Gold, with a thick line of silver; between two hearts wrote Forever Love in a fancy, but easily readable, script. The gold had small diamonds lined up, making the ring so expensive, but worth it for his Artie.
"Al, c'mon we're waiting on you." He heard Arthur call. He closed the lid and put it back in the bottom drawer, deciding to not take the risk of dropping it.
"Coming!" he hollered and made his way to the door. He opened the door, and had 3 four-wheelers waiting for him.
Bridgette sat by herself on one, Calli and Tyler sat on another, (Tyler was the one who was going to do the driving) while Daniel and Arthur stood, looking at Alfred. Once Daniel saw Alfred coming out of the door, he tossed him the keys and went to sit at the other vehicle. Alfred climbed up the four-wheeler and put the key in the ignition, thank god it was an automatic. Arthur climbed on after him and held onto the bars behind him. Both girls had their hair in a ponytail and a real-tree camouflage ball cap.
The others' started their engines, and so did Alfred. He put on his aviator shades and revved the engine a little. Daniel and Tyler took off without another word, and the girls would give a happy scream as soon as they went faster. Alfred pressed on the gas once, Arthur felt like he was going to fall off so he clung to Alfred quickly. Alfred looked back behind him, chuckled, and looked forward to actually start driving.
For the most part, Arthur had fun. Once he adjusted to the speed Alfred would go, he let his grip around Alfred's waist get looser. He even found that he loved when they went through rough trails the most, the way the huge vehicle would get bumpy and wobble. He could tell Alfred definitely knew what he was doing and wouldn't let him fall off.
"You wanna drive?" Alfred asked, slowing the four-wheeler down some.
"What? Uh, sure." Arthur said. Alfred hopped off, Arthur slid up further to the handlebars, and Alfred got back up on the back. Arthur put his hands on the handlebars, and thought he was looking at controls for a rocket ship, he didn't know what he was looking at.
Alfred tapped the plastic screen in front of Arthur, pointing to a digital zero, "That's the speed, we're goin' and as you can see, we're not goin' very fast." He said over the engine. Arthur still looked confused, so he put his hands over Arthur's. He moved Arthur's thumbs to the gas, and pressed it. The four-wheeler jerked them back and forth at the short amount of gas that was given. Alfred laughed and held down the gas gently, to get them a steady pace.
"It's just like a regular car, babe. Go at this speed until you wanna go faster, and try not to run into anything." He whispered into Arthur's ear. Arthur nodded, and Alfred took off his sunglasses and put them on the Brit. "Don't want to get leaves in your eyes."
Arthur took the trail that was laid out in front of him, eventually he went up to 13 miles per hour, and they got deeper in the woods. Arthur was definitely enjoying himself, until it got dark and he didn't know how to get back to the cabin. He let Alfred take the wheel again to get them back.
Alfred really didn't want to go back, though. They barely got any time to be alone, besides today, but they couldn't really talk to each other over the engine. He turned on the headlights and drove back to the dock at the lake. He shut off the engine and got off the four-wheeler. He held out a hand for Arthur, who took it and climbed off.
They walked to the edge of the dock and took off their shoes. Both blondes rolled up their pants and let their feet hang off the end of the dock into the cold water. They sat next to each other and Arthur rested his head on Alfred's shoulder. The lake was stunning, the moon illuminated it perfectly, and every ripple you could see the moon's shine on.
"Al, today was so much fun." Arthur said.
"I'm glad you had fun, Artie." Alfred said, resting his head on Arthur's. "And the lake looks amazing."
"Yeah, it does." Arthur sighed.
"So, how did a loser like me get someone so… perfect?" Alfred asked.
"Ha, I'm not perfect. If anyone's perfect it's you." Arthur said.
"Nah, no way. Not compared to you." Alfred said.
"How can you say that? I was away in a different country, for four years, and you did nothing behind my back. I'm sure you had plenty of opportunities to, but you didn't."
"Neither did you."
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Damn, I'm calling you perfect, would you just take the compliment?" Alfred laughed.
"I still think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, including going to a great college." Arthur said.
"Really?" Alfred asked.
"Yeah. College was all work, but with you I can just forget about it all." Arthur sighed.
Yes! Perfect chance! Pop that question, Al! Right now's the best time! Alfred's inner voice said. He checked his pocket discretely. Shit! The ring's back at the cabin! If we go back now the mood will be ruined. Dammit!
"Artie, would you still think I was 'perfect' if I did something super mean and stupid?" Alfred said, standing up.
"What do you mean?" Arthur stood up as well.
Alfred brought Arthur in close for a deep kiss. Their silhouettes only showing the spaces between their mouths. Arthur, while very confused, gave into the kiss and clutched Alfred's shirt. Alfred ran his hands down Arthur's back, down too his hips. He started going to Arthur's side, Arthur furrowed his eyebrows.
"Mm, Al… what are you doing?" he said.
"Something super mean and stupid." Alfred said and lifted Arthur like a bride. Arthur, quickly realizing Alfred's intentions, broke the kiss and started protesting.
"Al, don't you dare. Put me down right now!" Arthur shouted, even though he was clutching onto Alfred tighter.
"Sorry, Artie." Alfred said, dropped his glasses on the wood, and jumped into the lake with a big splash, it was colder than he expected.
Arthur punched Alfred's shoulder, once they were engulfed. But it was underwater, so it was slow and didn't hurt at all. After he punched him, Arthur smiled and went to kiss Alfred again. They slowly kissed as they both rose to the surface of the water. Once they came up they stared into each other's eyes very closely, both heaving, rather from the kissing or being underwater. Arthur caressed Alfred's face and chuckled. He separated himself far enough away and ran his hand in the water to splash Alfred. He just shook it off and got closer to the drenched Brit.
They tried sneaking up the porch steps, but the sensory lights came on. They flinched like they just heard someone get shot, but both snickered at them being 'caught' by the light. Calli opened the door, as they were going towards it. She gasped at the sight of the two blondes soaking wet, holding their shoes.
"Where have you two been? We've been worried sick." Calli asked.
"You sound more like a wife every day, Calli. Calm down, we're grown men." Alfred held Arthur's hand and made their way inside. He guided Arthur back into their room to get dried off and in new clothes.
"I don't think I sound like a wife." Calli pouted and crossed her arms.
"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I think it's sexy." Tyler kissed her cheek.
Alfred slipped on an undershirt and smoothed it out some. Arthur wrapped his arms around the American's hips. Alfred cupped Arthur's face and, as if he hadn't gotten enough of those lips, he kissed Arthur again.
"Too bad, the bed's squeaky." Arthur teased, and walked away.
"Well, we don't exactly need a bed to, mph" A towel was thrown at his face before he could finish his sentence. "What about when we get home?" he tried, hopefully. Arthur laughed and rolled his eyes, while he rubbed his head with another towel.
~Day Break~
"Morning, Bridge." Calli yawned.
"Mmhm." Bridge somewhat replied. She was looking through a pair of Daniel's binoculars out the window.
"What're you doing?" Calli scratched her head and walked over to her friend.
"Here, I saved you a pair." She handed Calli some binoculars, not tearing her attention away from the view.
Calli looked confused at the binoculars for a moment the leaned into the window with Bridgette. She saw the back of Alfred and Arthur, holding hands, walking very slowly. Instantly, she was interested.
"Ever… drank a beer?" Alfred asked.
"Yes, your questions are getting pathetic." Arthur laughed.
"Well, I've asked so many of 'em I'm running out of good ones. Oh, I got it! Ever get a tattoo?" Alfred said.
"You would've noticed a tattoo by now. And if you ran out of questions, I'll ask you some." Arthur said.
"Fire away." Alfred said.
"Have you ever… starred in a porno?" he laughed.
"No, definitely not." Alfred laughed, as well.
"Have you ever been in love, besides with me." He asked.
"Uh, I thought I was this once. But, as soon as I told her I did, she was all 'Oh my god, really? I totally love you, too!' and she got really clingy and cray-zee." Alfred answered.
"Don't worry that won't happen with me. As long as you don't hang out with anyone but me, just me, no one else." Arthur joked, both of them laughed. "Have you ever cheated on someone?" Arthur asked, returning to their 'game'.
"Now your questions are getting pathetic. You know I'd never do something like that." Alfred responded.
"I know I just wanted to hear you say it." He leaned in closer to Alfred. "Can I ask for a more perfect boyfriend?"
He remembered it this time, "Well, you could ask for a perfect husband." Alfred said, digging in his pocket for the little box.
Arthur's eyes opened wide, "Wh-what?"
Alfred separated, but never let go of Arthur's hand, he knelt down on one of his knees.
"OH MY GOD!" Calli and Bridgette looked to each other and then instantly back to their binoculars.
Arthur's face heated up, and got dusted with a pink blush.
"Artie, tell me if this is too cheesy for you, 'cuz I've never did this before so kinda new at it. I guess I'll just speak from the heart. I've known you for almost 11 years now, and at first I thought you were just my best friend, but now I constantly think about you. Everything I do, it's not just for me it's always for you, too. Maybe it was a weird trick of fate that that baseball game happened, but I think it was… destiny. I seriously think we were made to be. I've never felt this way about anyone and I never imagined I'd be this sappy. You're my whole world." He opened the box. He picked a great time to do this, the sunset was beautiful beside them and the sun shone on the ring just right. He took it out of the case, and slipped it on Arthur's third finger. Arthur's stomach felt like it was on a gymnastics team with his heart, because both were doing crazy flips. "Artie, I promise we're not gonna be those boring married couples."
"It sounds funny saying this, but will you be my husband?"
Now it's time for me to be a complete asshole and tell you to wait for the next story! Teehee~
What will Arthur say? The ever expecting 'YES'? Or the terrible twist 'NO'?
This is the last chapter for this story, a sequel coming… soon. I hoped you really liked it, show some love to that favorite button and hell, while you're at it leave a reply. It might make these come out faster.