Alfred leaned over his desk, looking over the room with a bright smile before turning back to the board, pen in hand. The class looked completely bored out of their minds, something that would usually bother him. Today, however, it was absolutely perfect considering what he had planned – the less focused they were, the less they would see it coming.

He had been teaching at this school for about five years now, and the surprised reaction to his present had never really gotten old. Every year it was the same – the kids would take their finals two days before Christmas break, and would resign themselves to the bad grades that they inevitably thought they'd gotten. And then, on the last day, he would curve the test (the biggest curve he gave the entire year) and order pizza.

Alfred tried to force his smile down as he wrote a few calculations down on the board. The first year that he'd done it, he'd been nervous that his students wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for the next year's class – but he didn't need to worry. When he asked them to keep quiet, they always did, no matter how many other stories they would pass down to the incoming AP Chemistry kids (probably because he bribed them with pizza, but he didn't really care).

"So to answer your question," Alfred explained, turning back towards the class, "The answer to number twenty-three would be A, not B, because the extra pair of electrons makes the bonding angle smaller. Like this, see –"

Alfred made a small motion with his hands, the lethargic students caught between laughing and rolling their eyes at their teacher's antics. He was well-known throughout the school for being one of the most energetic teachers – and one of the best as well, his methods making a usually difficult subject much easier to understand. The kids really did seem to like him, and Alfred smiled at the thought.

"Now, most of you missed question thirty-five, which is pretty understandable considering –" Alfred broke off in the middle of his sentence as a knock sounded at the door, quick and precise. The students looked up from their tests in curiosity, and Alfred shot them a grin as he headed towards it, dropping his marker down onto the table on his way.

He wrapped his hand around the handle, gave his class a small glance, and then pulled, the door swinging open to reveal Arthur with a stack of pizzas and a scowl. Alfred gave him a bright grin, but he only stormed past in order to shove the pizzas down onto his desk, the students staring on in surprise.

"I cannot believe you made me do this," Arthur complained, crossing his arms, "They almost wouldn't let me back into the school afterwards, as if they hadn't just seen me leave and didn't already know who I am!"

"Aw, come on," Alfred laughed out, a grateful smile on his face, "It can't have been that bad. Besides, you're a saint for doing it. It wouldn't be a surprise if I got them and the secretary said that she was tired of it and wouldn't pick them up anymore."

"Yes, well," Arthur grumbled, trailing off as a pleased blush appeared on his face. Alfred opened his mouth to reply, but was quickly cut off by a small, "Mr. Kirkland?"

The both of them turned to face the class, looking over at the students who were staring at them in confusion. "Ah, yes, hello," Arthur breathed out, his face flushing even more as he realized they'd been there the whole time. One student scrunched up her nose, staring at the English teacher in bewilderment, before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Alfred – Mr. Jones," He corrected himself, blushing up to his ears in embarrassment as Alfred shot him a grin, "Asked me to deliver these pizzas to you since I've got a free period at the moment."

"Yep! Mr. Kirkland," Alfred emphasized with a laugh, leaning back onto the countertop, "Brought these in to help me surprise you guys. Merry Christmas!"

A loud cheer went all across the room, and Alfred grinned as the students began to line up to take a slice back to their seats, not caring that their teacher hadn't even gotten the plates out yet. In the pandemonium, Arthur began to slip towards the door before Alfred caught his arm.

"Hey," He began, voice soft as he stared into other man's eyes, "Where are you going? The party is only just getting started."

"Alfred, I've got class," Arthur explained, pulling his arm out of the other's grip, "I can't just stay here because you ordered pizza."

"But you don't have class," Alfred complained, "You just said yourself that you've got a free period right now."

"Well I still have papers to grade," Arthur replied, eyebrows furrowing, "Not all of us can stop everything just to have a party."

"But Artie," Alfred whined, and suddenly a round of giggles erupted throughout the room. Both of them stopped in the middle of their conversation, turning to look at the smirking students in confusion. After a moment, Alfred let out a bewildered, "What?"

There was another few seconds of giggling before one student answered, "You called Mr. Kirkland Artie." Another round of laughter followed, and Arthur hid his face in his hands as Alfred continued to look at them in confusion.

"Yes?" Alfred questioned, his nose scrunched up as he turned his head to stare at Arthur, "I don't understand what's so funny about that."

The students laughed again, staring at the two men, and another student responded, "It just sounds like the sort of nickname you'd use, like…romantically." The laughter was harder now, as if it had somehow become funnier now that someone had vocalized it.

Alfred, for his part, continued to stare at them in perplexity. "Well, duh," He eventually replied, looking over the students with one eyebrow cocked, "I mean, he is my husband."

At this, the students went completely silent, their eyes widening as they looked up at their teacher. Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, his entire face blushing a bright, brilliant red in the quiet of the room. Nobody moved for a few moments, everyone standing completely still, before one student snorted out, "Very funny, Mr. Jones. You sure got us good."

"I'm not joking," Alfred responded with a shrug, "We really are married. It'll be seven years this July, right Artie?"

Arthur gave an embarrassed little nod, but the students still looked a bit suspicious, knowing how their teacher liked to play pranks and other childish things. Eventually, Alfred heaved a sigh. "Alright, look," He said, grabbing Arthur's left hand with his own and pulling them out in front of them, "Matching wedding rings, see?"

The students gathered around in awe, staring at their rings, and Arthur fidgeted uncomfortably. One student quietly whispered, "Holy shit," and then all of a sudden the room was in an uproar, everyone shouting and laughing all at once. Not only did two of their favorite teachers know each other, but they were actually married. It was a once-in-a-lifetime surprise, and they were taking the opportunity to celebrate in their new knowledge.

Arthur pulled his hand away from Alfred and used it to cover his face, even the tips of his ears flushing. Alfred slung his arm around him, a look of pride falling over his features, and only laughed as Arthur buried his face even further into his hands.

When they arrived home that night, Arthur was quiet, hanging up his coat on the hook and silently heading into their living room. Alfred followed him, shoving his shoes off by the door and littering his things across the floor. "So I know that we had pizza for lunch, but I'm not really in the mood to cook right now," Alfred whined as he flopped down onto the couch, leaning his head against the back, "What do you say to ordering Chinese?"

Arthur didn't respond, and Alfred sat up, looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Babe?" He asked, worry evident in his voice, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Fine," Arthur responded, tone pinched as he began to pick up a few papers that were lying forlorn on their end table. His movements were stiff and jilted, and he avoided his husband's eyes as he moved past him to put them in the other room.

Alfred heaved a relieved sigh, laying his head back down upon the couch. "Oh thank God," He breathed out, closing his eyes, "You're just mad at me."

At this, Arthur flipped around, eyes furious as he stared at the other man. "You just had to go and make a spectacle of me in front of your whole class!" He hissed out, gesturing with the papers, "Not to mention the fact that it had gotten around to the whole school by fifth period! I couldn't get anyone to pay attention the whole day because they wouldn't stop asking questions! Do you know how embarrassed I was?"

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," Alfred shrugged, running one hand through his hair.

Arthur threw his arms up, beginning to pace across the room. "Not a big deal?" He questioned, his voice rising in volume, "Alfred, you didn't even think to ask if I would be okay with it or not!"

"Alright, babe, I get it," Alfred conceded, standing up and grabbing Arthur's hands in order to stop his pacing, "I'm sorry that I embarrassed you by spilling the beans on the secret. I just didn't really know that our marriage was a secret, is all."

Arthur stared at him in confusion, the anger almost entirely evaporating from his face. "What do you mean?" He asked, voice wary.

"If I would've known that nobody's supposed to know about us, I wouldn't have told them," Alfred explained, his face having fallen a little, "It's just – I'm not ashamed of you, so I kind of assumed that you wouldn't be ashamed of me."

Arthur's eyes widened and he grasped Alfred's hands even tighter in his own, vehemently shaking his head. "Oh, darling, I didn't mean it like that," He pleaded, "I'm not ashamed of you – quite the opposite, really. You're the best husband a man could have. You're sweet, kind, considerate, and you never forget our anniversary, even though I have so many times already. And I love you, so much that it makes my heart ache sometimes. But that's our personal, private life, and I didn't want anyone else to be a part of it – which is a little selfish, I know, but when it comes to you I can't help but want to keep everything all to myself."

Alfred's face melted a little at this speech. "It's the exact opposite with me," Alfred explained, a fond look falling across his features, "I love everything about you, and sometimes I just need everyone else to know how perfect and wonderful and amazing you are. The only reason that I told the students in the first place was because in that moment I just needed them all to know how irrevocably and completely I loved you."

Arthur laughed, leaning forward to whisper in his ear, "Your vocabulary certainly has improved over the years, hasn't it?"

"It's all thanks to you, sweetheart. You're basically my own personal word-a-day calendar," Alfred smiled, leaning forward to place a small kiss against his husband's lips, leaning their foreheads together after they were separated. Silence reigned in the room for a moment, punctured only by the sound of their breathing.

After a few seconds, Alfred closed his eyes, heaving out a sigh. "I'm glad we're not fighting," Alfred admitted, rubbing his thumbs across the back of Arthur's hands, "I hate it when we fight."

Arthur breathed out a laugh, placing his lips briefly against his husband's forehead before pulling back to stare into his eyes. "Oh, come off it," He chuckled, "You know that I can never really stay angry at you. I mean, what's the longest fight we've had since we've been married? A day, maybe two?"

"A week, when I punched Allistor in the face," Alfred corrected, "You made me sleep on the couch the whole time. But to be fair, he deserved it for what he said about hamburgers."

Arthur rolled his eyes, flicking him in the nose as he began to make his way out of the room. "You ought to be glad that you're so lovable," He snorted out as he headed towards the door, "And Chinese sounds fine, by the way. Just make sure not to eat all the rice this time."

"Gotcha!" Alfred grinned, watching as Arthur walked into the other room, his eyes quickly moving to his left hand as soon as he was out of eyesight. The ring glinted in the dim light, and he let a fond smile grow across his face. Even after all this time, he really did love Arthur – more than anything else in the world.

And there's the epilogue, which means that this thing is officially over! I can't believe it.

I can't even explain how much it means to me that all of you have read this. Especially all of you who have stuck through since the very beginning – all of your favorites, follows, and reviews have kept me writing this all the way to the end. Honestly, I'm about to start crying right now. You're all the sweetest readers that a writer could ever hope for, and I take every single one of your reviews to heart. Thank you all so much.

~Alix Marie