For Sweethearts Week on the UsXUk Community. I do need to practice my sappy fluff...
"What do you think I should get her?" The teenage-looking boy had his shoulders drawn in, head tipped down and –from what Arthur could see- a severe blush spreading across his face and to his ears. He shuffled from foot to foot, looking ready to bolt out of the little store and drive far, far away before the bells above the door stopped ringing.
And perhaps it was the atmosphere of the holiday finally getting to him, but Arthur couldn't help comparing it to the way Alfred had looked when Arthur first informed him that yes, he might have had a little, insignificant crush on him.
Arthur could feel the crease in between his brows as he shot the boy a skeptical glance. "I'm a florist, not a mind reader." Too harsh, perhaps. Arthur felt a twinge of shame. "What do you think she'd like?" He tried again, gentler.
"Roses..." The boy finally lifted his face in Arthur's general direction, but with the unfocused gaze of someone daydreaming. "But black ones, maybe some daisies or those tiny little white flowers with that."
Arthur of course was always more than willing to go along with requests beyond the typical red roses. "That's doable. How many?"
The boy looked delighted, and left the store with a bounce in his step. It made Arthur miss his own boyfriend, but he wasn't paid to text Alfred, and the store would close in half an hour anyway.
The week leading up to Valentine's Day was always one of the more hectic in the year at the florist's shop Arthur worked at. As it was a weekday, orders spiked around five and lasted up until the shop closed at eight-thirty that night, with a few stragglers that Arthur had to turn down after pointing out the closing time.
For the most part, people were pleasant, but Arthur knew as Valentine's Day approached and continued to drag on and the supplies dwindled, tempers would fray. But that was tomorrow and Arthur decided he had had enough stress and exhaustion for the day.
Arthur closed up shop with Kiku, who smiled slightly at Arthur's enthusiasm in closing. It was normal of Arthur to do his best so he could go home and spend time with Alfred, as they were dating and had been for five years. He bid the man farewell as they went their separate ways, and got into the worn seat of his aging car. His phone vibrated once in the pocket of his jacket and Arthur smiled as he fished it out. As expected, Alfred had texted him exactly fifteen minutes after closing hour.
I have cheap candy and lots of cookies left over from the party today. It's a great day, Artie :)
He smiled fondly at the little glowing screen in the middle of an empty parking lot, or rather at the person behind the message.
Alfred, it's your turn to make dinner tonight. I hope you aren't planning on just having candy, that's disgusting. And you'll be sleeping on the couch, was what went unsaid but was still very much implied.
Less than a minute later, his phone buzzed again.
What if I threw in a juice pouch too? Fruit punch, your favorite. And it's totally part of a healthy meal. :P Just kidding, I made dinner.
Lovely, now stop texting me so I can actually get back home within the hour.
His phone rumbled as Alfred replied, but Arthur ignored it as he started the engine. He'd be home soon and with his boyfriend.
"Artie! You're home!" Alfred flung open the door before Arthur even reached for the key and dragged him into their shared apartment. "I bought some kettle corn before you came home, so we're totally having popcorn movie night today."
Arthur toed off his shoes and plastered a scowl on his face. "Yes, now get off and let's have dinner." Alfred let go for all of thirty seconds before wrapping one arm around his shoulders, just as Arthur knew he would.
Alfred had always loved the overly commercialized holiday like he did all of the others (and if Saint Patrick's Day wasn't a day to find an excuse to drink strange green beer, then what was?) –and Arthur always let him get away with it despite his harsh criticisms, because Alfred definitely didn't just wait around for Valentine's Day to roll around to show Arthur he cared.
So really, it wasn't at all a repayment or some obligation he had to suffer when Arthur let himself be led to their folding dinner table, covered in a checkered tarp that had seen years of duty as a picnic blanket. Two lights were set up on the table, which produced a flickering effect similar to that of candles, minus the potential fire hazard. A platter of somewhat crumbled sugar cookies frosted in pink-
("We had leftovers after the Valentine's Day party, so I took them home!"
"You bought too many on purpose!")
-and garnished with sprinkles sat next to green beans and the Chinese food Arthur knew Alfred had cooked himself. It appeared that Alfred had been serious about the juice pouches, because two sat down where others might put wine, not that either of them had any particular fondness for the stuff. (Fruit punch for Arthur, as promised, and grape for Alfred.)
"I would've made steak to go with the green beans but I didn't want to set up the grill today," Alfred explained sheepishly. "So it's just our usual scheduled Chinese food Fridays."
Arthur pulled out a chair for himself and Alfred and sat. "I think the setup's special enough, Alfred. It looks lovely."
Alfred grinned goofily as he sat down and tied the napkin around his neck. "Well if it's good enough for Artie than I must have done something pretty darn great, right?" He took the two juice pouches and punched their straws in before handing Arthur's back. (The occasions where they had juice pouches at their apartment was all too common, but after the first time when Arthur spent fifteen minutes trying to poke the damn straw through Alfred hadn't let him try again.)
"Cheers, Artie!" Alfred raised his pouch and looked at Arthur expectantly.
"Cheers, Alfred," Arthur raised his juice up to bump lightly against Alfred's, feeling ridiculous as he did so. He didn't mind, nor did he mind sending goofy grins back at Alfred over the dinner table.
After dinner, they migrated to the old couch Alfred had claimed from his parent's house and nestled in amongst the blankets and pillows, a bowl of kettle corn on the tea/coffee table in front of them and valentines spread out on their laps. Arthur had fond memories of that couch; it had been the setting of many a heated makeout session and countless nights of mindless channel surfing and infomercial criticizing, not to mention their movie nights.
"And this is the one Navya wrote!" Alfred proclaimed proudly as he showed Arthur the store-bought valentine, with a more personal message written in the steadying hand of a seven year old. "You remember Navya, right? Her handwriting's gotten a lot better since the beginning of the year..."
Arthur smiled too and settled more comfortably against Alfred's shoulder. "They've all improved tremendously."
"By the way, all of the kids loved the valentines from me and you, Artie." Alfred said. "I'm really glad you spent all that time with me making those things."
"I didn't help that much, Alfred. In the end it was you who wrote the messages and drew all of the pictures, I just helped with supplies and coloring."
Alfred laughed sheepishly. "I guess, but you helped make it so I could deliver them on time." He shifted his grip on Arthur as he gently moved the valentines aside to bring the kettle corn to rest on his lap. "Now then, horror or horror?"
Arthur gave Alfred his best scornful look. "Alfred, we'll already be spending the night together, so why don't we make this night easier on both of us so we can get the sleep we need?"
"You drive a very convincing argument, Artie. It's okay, I know you don't like horror, and I know tomorrow will be super busy." He poked Arthur's nose just to see his face scrunch up in response. "Maybe we should watch a documentary then, to put us to sleep faster." Arthur scowled and Alfred raised one kettle corn filled hand in surrender. "Kidding, kidding. Science documentaries can be pretty awesome."
"Are we going to watch a movie or not?" Arthur asked as he reached forward and popped a piece of kettle corn in his mouth.
"Just spending time with you is good enough," Alfred replied smoothly, easily as he looked at Arthur. Arthur blushed in embarrassment –not because he could still be flustered as if still in the honeymoon phase of dating, not that the idea was a bad thing- and adverted his gaze; he had given Alfred that opportunity. "But yeah, I rented a slice-of-life movie."
The warm atmosphere lulled the two to a state of near sleep as the movie drew to a close. Arthur stirred, and gently moved Alfred's arms so he could wriggle out of the blankets to stop the movie and turn the TV off. Alfred grumbled at the slight disturbance, which graduated to a full-out whine when Arthur begin to gently shake him back to the world of consciousness. "Come on Alfred, I can't carry you to the bed..."
Alfred's mumbled reply tickled against his neck, but eventually he was persuaded into leaving the comfort of the sofa.
Somehow by unspoken consensus, the two of them stumbled to their bedroom, Arthur tugging out the corners of the heavy comforter as he guided his boyfriend beneath and then joined him. Neither of them had brushed their teeth or washed their face, something Arthur was distantly aware of. But it was a minor thought easily brushed aside as Alfred wriggled forward; they ended up falling asleep with their arms wrapped around each other, lulled by their share warmth beneath the blankets.