Amelia had woken up early. Or at least she thought she had. The sun had just barely peeked its way through the curtains of Arthur's childhood room when Amelia opened her eyes. It took her a few moments to access the situation, recalling the events of the previous day; she was in London, visiting her boyfriend's family, and currently sleeping in his not-so-roomy bed. She felt the weight of Arthur's arms around her, hear his steady, relaxed breaths just inches from her own. It was a wonder neither of them had fallen on the floor during the night. Though she had little desire to leave such a comfortable position, she knew Arthur wouldn't be up for a few hours more than she could stand staying in bed. Carefully, she wiggled her way out of his grasp, replacing herself with a pillow, and lingered by the bedside to admire her resting partner. With a final light peck on his forehead, she gathered up a change of clothes and headed into the hallway.
The house felt empty, overly large even for the number of people that lived there. In her life she had never been accustom to such extravagance, even if by modern day standards this was barely above middle class. After she'd changed, she entered the kitchen with the intention of spending a few hours enjoying the solitude of a cool English morning. To her surprise another had had a similar idea.
"Ah! Good morning, Amelia...Surprised to see you up so early." Wes stood half-turned to face her next to a kettle that had just barely begun to whistle on the stove-top. He was stressed in a deep blue button-up shirt, sleeves casually folded up to his elbows and front open just enough to see the deep red from the tattoo on his chest. His smile was pleasant, reaching his teal eyes among the numerous freckles that dotted his tanned face.
"I'd figured any girl of Artie's would sleep in just as much as he did." the man chuckled, shutting off the heat to calm the ringing beast as steam erupted from its spout. Amelia, still slightly caught off guard by his presence, meekly returned the greeting, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't think anyone could sleep as long as him without someone fearing they'd fallen into a coma."
Wes laughed and Amelia felt a slight sense of accomplishment from the response. "Well since you're up, care to join me for a stop of tea? Mum and Dad live off the stuff so I make it for them every morning when I come to visit," he paused, putting his hand to the side of his mouth and lowering his voice to a harsh whisper, "I can't stand the stuff though." Her mood brightened significantly, following his gaze when he gestured to sit over at the table. She did as instructed, choosing a porcelain cup that was a particularly lovely shade of green. She nodded her thanks, watching the dark brown liquid fill the cup before Wes sat down opposite of her with a large mug of what Amelia could only assume was coffee in his hand.
"So Amelia, " Wes started, taking a whiff of his brew, "I hope that we didn't scar you too much from your dinner experience last night." he remarked, obviously teasing but Amelia's head shot up none the less in defense. "Oh no! It was an honor to be able to have dinner with ya'll and I," she stopped herself, hiding her mouth behind her hand at her southern slip-up. Of all the people to accidentally break into her home-grown slang, a member of Arthur's family was not it.
"I mean...It was a pleasure to join everyone last night." To her surprise, Wes' grin only broadened, the man's shoulders slouching as he rested his arms on the table.
"There's no reason to be embarrassed, love. I find your accent adorable and just another part of your American charm." Amelia attempted to think of a reply but merely faltered, dropping her gaze back to the untouched liquid in her hands. "Not to be rude, but I'm actually quite fascinated by American culture." He took another sip from his mug. "The indomitable spirit of your people, the way you band together when disaster strikes and the next day you're at each others throats again...And not to mention the variety of music that has a birthplace in those lands. It's been quite an inspiration for my own work." Amelia shyly returned her eyes to meet his own, a look of genuine interest coloring his face. "You think so?" The Englishman nodded, though in an instant his expression grew from one of admiration to that of caution. "However, this is also the reason for any hostility you saw from my father last night." Amelia's grip on her cup tightened.
"As ironic as it might be that he works for a international travel agency that deals with the American branch specifically, he's never been a fan of your country or its people. It's nothing personal against you, I feel like he and mum just always had this idealistic nonsense that all their boys would stay home, find some nice English ladies and raise large families that'd come and visit on holidays. Arthur had a hard enough time convincing our parents that he needed to go to America to 'live out his dream' and even then he was only given a year."
Wes stopped his rambling abruptly upon seen the look on Amelia's face. "So sorry, dear, I didn't mean to pull the conversation down like that." The young woman's demeanor had visibly fallen, her eyes out of focus as she stared absentmindedly at the starch white of the table.
"I never intended to take anyone away from their family...I didn't mean make Arthur choose between the people he loves and-"
Her words halted at the sign of Wes' raised hand, a serious tone in his voice, "Amelia, I hope you realize that Arthur's decision is his own. He wouldn't have brought you here if he didn't fully believe that he loved you just as much. What's more is that your choice to come with him proves all the more that you're the right one for him. " "But I-" "You did nothing but be yourself so stop apologizing like you could have done something differently. You don't make him stare at you with goo-goo eyes, do you?"
Wes' laughter returned, casting Amelia's nervousness aside. "Just give mum and dad time, I'm sure they'll come around." Though Amelia remained unconvinced, she smiled politely at Arthur's brother, thankful for his efforts to dismiss her insecurities. "The real problem you'll have is with Liam," Wes remarked, throwing back a long swig of coffee. "Liam? Why is that?" A sly grin emerged from behind the mug as he lowered it, pausing a painfully long time before offering his reply. "He's been known to steal girlfriends in the past."
- Arthur's note: Sorry that these are so short as of late! I'm basically just going to be writing little ficlets in response to asks/small progressions on the blog. It was definitely interesting to write Amelia's perspective for once though!