In Arthur's mind, nothing interesting happened over the Christmas period. It was cold, grey, and overall unpleasant; there wasn't even any snow to make it tolerable. If had been any snow, the landscapes would have at least been attractive, but instead, he was simply faced with rain.

How unsightly.

But Arthur was used to it so it didn't particularly phase him. The crowds were just as horrid as they were every year and although he still had to work the sales, he didn't go nearly as arse-over-tit as he had the year before. Yes, there was certainly nothing worth reporting as far as his workplace was concerned. Arthur's attention was instead focused on his own personal life. For once.

Arthur had become a lot more involved in his cooking. He would actively go out and buy specific ingredients for recipes that he wanted to try, both baking and normal meals. That in itself was out of character for him; he never would have usually bought things like herbs, spices or specific cuts of meat, usually because he didn't feel the money was worth it. However, he had found some cheaper cuts that worked well for what he wanted to do, attempting to better his culinary experience. There was no point in being an acceptable baker, if one gave their guests food poisoning before dessert. As Arthur practiced, he found that cooking was not as much of a chore as it had been originally. Yes, there were still a few disasters; there were the times when Arthur was reduced to eating a meal that was two steps away from being charcoal, and times when the food was even utterly unsalvageable, forcing him to throw it away completely. However, on the whole, there was a huge improvement to what his skills had been before.

For each of these practices, Arthur would always use the egg timer that Alfred had given him; he really had appreciated the charming, practical gift that the American had so thoughtfully bought for him. The small timer seemed to give the Englishman a lot more confidence when it came to his lack of attention when cooking; he made his favourites regularly as well as experimenting with new recipes that he never would have tried otherwise –and of course this had nothing to do with the overwhelming amount of praise Alfred had given him before he left. A lot of the meals still didn't look exactly like the pictures; they would come out a little brown or crusty or drier than they should, the pastry would crack and fillings would go all over the place and sometimes there would even be a lack of flavour altogether. However, no matter how much of a disaster these culinary experiments were, after the small pang of disappointment in his chest, the feeling was simply replaced by a strange, fuzzy feeling of pride and even giddiness. No, the dishes weren't perfect by any means, but he was certainly improving. Alfred, evidently, was helping him quite a bit with that.

Arthur was now the main focus for many of his manager's jokes. Francis had been teasing him at work whenever he got the chance, and had been doing so since Arthur and Alfred repaired their friendship. The amount of marriage jokes and other romantic based questions reminded Arthur of that one elderly relative whose only interest is whether or not their granddaughter has a boyfriend yet.

It didn't help that since they spent Bonfire Night together, Arthur had been thinking more and more about the time he'd spent with Alfred. He'd been caught spacing out a countless number of times during work –thus the jokes from his manager- and each time the memories left him with not so much the fluttering feeling of butterflies in his stomach, but rather, the feeling could be better described as gigantic Tolkien eagles trying to flap their way out of his body.

Intense.

And Arthur, being the incredibly guarded, cautious-minded, hesitant sort that he was, was now surprisingly very close to admitting to himself that maybe, possibly, there was perhaps a small chance of him starting to think that just maybe, perchance, he could, possibly…

Be madly in love with Alfred.

Matthew couldn't help but feel that Alfred was avoiding him; in a sense at least.

His brother hadn't spoken to him over skype for a surprising amount of time; he hadn't called, only sending written messages and even those were scarce. When Alfred finally came home, he was distant, but not in the way he had been before. He never mentioned Arthur's name, but he didn't seem depressed like he had been in summer. Their parents were just happy that Alfred was back to his usual self, but when Matthew confronted Alfred on his own, asking about what had happened with Arthur, Alfred brushed him off. Whenever he would mention anything to do with him, Alfred would say dismissive things like 'Why does it matter?' and when he asked if he had talked to Arthur since Alfred had last called, his brother just looked at him with a small frown.

"C'mon dude, it's Christmas, don't turn this into a drama fest."

Matthew didn't know whether or not there was something wrong, and he didn't like it; Alfred had always confided in him before, and brushing him off just made Matthew worry even more for his brother's wellbeing. Frankly, if Matthew was honest, if was a bit of a dick move on Alfred's part.

One night, Matthew confronted Alfred on the issue when they were alone; his brother seemed even more standoffish than he had been before, actually acting rather cold towards him.

"Why aren't you talking to me?"

"I am, dude. Are you deaf?"

"You know what I mean." Matthew sighed, mirroring his brother's small frown.

"No, I don't." Alfred insisted, plopping down onto his bed casually but Matthew wasn't about to let it go.

"Did something happen?" He asked.

"With what?"

"With anything!" Matthew snapped, getting annoyed by his brother's attitude. "Did something happen back in England? Did that Arthur guy say something?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why wouldn't I care?" Matthew asked, exasperated. "You've been talking to me about this guy for months on end and then everything goes down the drain. You say you're gonna get to the bottom of it and suddenly all word stops. You don't think that's gonna make me the slightest bit concerned?" Matthew watched Alfred shift uncomfortably, not looking him in the eye.

"You don't like him." Alfred said finally. Matthew stared at him with a confused frown.

"What?"

"Arthur. You don't like him, you think he's a douche." Alfred said quietly, frowning. "I didn't want to say anything because I know you don't like him now. I don't wanna get your opinion on what happens with Arthur anymore. Especially if it just makes you mad." He finished meekly and Matthew sighed, scratching the back of his head. He knew Alfred was younger than him, but he really acted like a child sometimes.

"Al… It's not that I don't like him… I've only met him once and he seemed like a decent guy, and everything you told me about him was great." Matthew looked at his brother with a sympathetic expression. "He's not a bad guy, Alfred, but he did a bad thing. I can't bear to see you like that again. You're too trusting and you give people everything and get nothing back. You've got involved with bad guys before and I don't want you to make that mistake again by giving someone too many chances. I want you to be happy."

There was a long silence between them; Alfred sitting awkwardly on his bed as Matthew sighed again and sat next to him, waiting for him to answer. When his brother finally spoke, what he said came as a bit of a surprise.

"I am happy." He said softly and Matthew looked at him.

"Because?" Matthew prompted.

"He apologised."

"Arthur?" He confirmed and Alfred nodded.

"He apologised. A lot. Turns out he'd been obsessing about it ever since it happened. I was right, y'know, he hadn't meant any of it. He didn't want to hurt me. He's just really not good with people." Alfred said softly, looking at the floor. "He deserves another chance."

"… What happened?" Matthew asked after a short pause.

Alfred told Matthew practically everything that had happened the day Arthur apologised, recounting it basically word for word, as well as adding all the nice things the Englishman had done for him to make up for what he had said. He told Matthew about the very late birthday present, the constant apologies, the bonfire night invitation, and how when he snapped at Alfred again, he apologised straight away and explained why he'd lashed out at him, which he wouldn't have done before.

"He's really trying, Matt." Alfred told him with a small smile on his face. "He's really trying to make it up to me and he really regrets what he did." He smiled at his brother softly. "It really means a lot to me, Matt. And I can tell he means it too. Something changed, and he's actually talking to me properly now. He really sees me as a friend."

"You're still completely love sick, aren't you?" Matthew sighed, but he was smiling, so it helped put Alfred's mind at ease. Alfred nodded sheepishly and chuckled.

"Yeah. But I'm fine with us being friends. If something happens, then it happens, but he's a really great guy. I think I'd be completely fine with just being friends. As long as we can still hang out." He smiled. "Y'know those cookies I brought over? The Christmas themed ones that everyone loved? He made those."

"He made them?"

"Cooked and decorated them himself. He used the egg timer I got him." Alfred chuckled at his brother's surprised expression. "Pretty cool, huh? Made 'em just for me." He blushed slightly, his cheeks turning a little pink. "He said we might hang out on New Years too."

"That's why you're going home early." Matthew said with a small smile and Alfred nodded. "Well, I dunno why you didn't tell me that before. But I'm glad it all worked out."

"You don't hate him anymore?"

"I never hated him to begin with. He pissed me off, yeah. Because he hurt you. But now he's apologised, and you're not hurt anymore." Matthew smiled. "I think he's redeemed himself in my book." He chuckled when Alfred pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Mattie."

"Hey, I just said he's not an asshole, I'm not giving you away to get married." Matthew grinned and laughed as Alfred gave him a thump on the arm.

Arthur almost had a heart attack when he saw Alfred stroll into the shop on the 28th of December. There he was, that stupid, sunny American, on a cold and dreary day with the sky as dull as the pavement outside, walking in like Arthur's personal supply of sunshine. Arthur was out on the shop floor in a matter of seconds, using the excuse of taking some rejected clothes back to their rightful place. Francis let him go purely for the reasons that the customer flow was fairly slow at that point, and he had also seen the object of Arthur's affections walk in; it would have been unfair to separate the not-quite-lovebirds after so long apart. Besides, any reason to tease Arthur was a good reason in his opinion.

"You're back earlier than I expected." Arthur said casually, feigning indifference even when faced with that carefree grin he'd recently grown so fond of. He walked straight past Alfred, making his way to the rails and becoming far too pleased with himself when the American followed him without question or hesitation. His stone expression cracked, however, when Alfred spoke.

"Were you counting down the days until I returned?" Alfred asked with a sly grin, clearly messing around but it still made Arthur sputter despite himself.

"I most certainly did not! Don't think of yourself so highly!" He said in a rush, hiding his surely blushing face by focusing on his work.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Alfred laughed. "I know you missed me really!"

"I'm going to miss the peace and quiet, I know that much." Arthur muttered but his otherwise grumpy words held no actual malice or disappointment in them.

They chatted for a while; Arthur slowly going about his business, asking the occasional question as Alfred babbled on happily about his time back in America and how his family had loved the treats that Arthur had made –which made Arthur a little sheepish not only because people were praising him for his cooking, but also because Alfred was praising him for his cooking. However, the elated feeling he had from Alfred's praise promptly came crashing to the ground.

"And I told them all that I'd bring more the next time I came, too!" Alfred reported happily, much to Arthur's horror.

"You what!?" Arthur hissed. He'd never said that he would make more for the stupid American, let alone making them simply so he could rush off and shove them down his family's throat. A sudden rush of nausea swept over Arthur as he thought about having a bar to reach if Alfred really did make him cook for him again. Arthur's thoughts were disrupted by Alfred's boisterous laugh.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Alfred insisted, holding his hands up in surrender. "Seriously, though, they did really like them. My Mom said you were a talented decorator, and coming from her, that's a lot." He grinned widely, making Arthur blush and stammer under the praise.

"Oh. Um- right. W-well then. U-uh- thank you, then… I suppose." Arthur said awkwardly as he looked away.

"So, what're you doing for New Years?" Alfred asked casually and Arthur almost dropped the item he was carrying.

"I'm sorry?" Arthur asked, blinking in surprise.

"Remember after the fireworks display you took me to, we were talking about vacation plans and I suggested gettin' together for New Years?" Alfred continued despite Arthur's deer-in-the-headlights expression, grinning happily. "Thought maybe we could still do that? It would be fun! Especially seeing as I actually missed watching the display last year."

"You…" Arthur said slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly at Alfred. "You didn't leave America earlier than usual because of that, did you?" He asked warily. Alfred pursed his lips, closing his eyes and frowning as he shook his head. After a moment, he pressed his lips together into a firm line and started nodding; then shrugged sheepishly and gave Arthur a shameless grin, still nodding his head.

"Oh for goodness sake…" Arthur groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose; he couldn't even bring himself to be frustrated at Alfred. There was no use in denying it; the man was adorable.

"I wanted to see the fireworks in London with someone I knew!" Alfred laughed.

"I'm not going to London!" Arthur said firmly, just giving Alfred cause to grin wider. That wasn't a 'no'.

"But they still broadcast it, right? We could totally still watch it!" Alfred's grin stayed on his face as Arthur started to flounder. The Englishman was trying to keep his gaze on anything other than Alfred's face and his frown was simply adorable. "Come, on! I came home specially to see it!" Alfred added, grinning at Arthur hopefully. The other man finally seemed to break, looking away and folding his arms over his chest, letting out a small defiant huff.

"Well, obviously if you went out of your way to come back early, then I don't really have a choice in the matter, do I?" Arthur frowned, pursing his lips slightly in frustration so the American knew just how much Arthur was sacrificing to let Alfred have his way.

"You're such a selfless man, Arthur! How can I ever repay you for troubling you so?" Alfred grinned. Arthur just rolled his eyes and snorted in practiced frustration.

"Oh sod off. You're such a child." Arthur felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards so he hid his smile by going to fetch a pen and piece of scrap paper from the fitting rooms; he returned shortly after and jotted something down. Before Alfred could ask, Arthur handed him the paper with a number written on it.

"There. That's my mobile number." He told Alfred, who seemed rather surprised. "I'll text you the details once I finish work and sort myself out. When to come over, the address and such." Arthur spoke casually with an air of indifference and frowned slightly at the American's vacant expression, raising a large eyebrow.

"Oh!" Alfred started slightly, apparently snapping out of his daze. "Text. Yeah. Okay. Cool." There was a short pause. "Cool." Another silence. Arthur looked Alfred up and down with a wary expression.

"Quite."

They exchanged numbers and Arthur soon excused himself, unable to put off his work any longer. Alfred left the shop in a daze with a small frown of disbelief on his face and a touch of colour to his cheeks; he touched the folded piece of paper in his jeans pocket, moving it around between his fingers. Why did that feel like such a victory to him? Alfred was flattered that they were now close enough that Arthur trusted him with such a thing; he knew that it must have big a big step for the Englishman to take, but Arthur had been so casual about it. Alfred took a big breath of fresh air, deciding it was nothing to overthink about. They had known each other for over a year now so they were bound to exchange numbers at some point. Friends have to keep in contact somehow after all. Regardless, he was now very much looking forward to New Years Eve.

Arthur fiddled with the tea towel in his hands. The few days leading up to New Years Eve had passed terrifying quickly, and with work, Arthur had had surprisingly little time to get everything ready. Thankfully he was a fairly well-organised person, so it took only one evening to tidy his small flat. The television, though smaller than some, would be perfectly sufficient for watching the fireworks on even if it could do little else. Arthur had never seen the point in satellite television since he was never really interested in the services it provided; his old laptop could do most jobs the television could do perfectly well if he wanted to watch a specific series that he couldn't see on TV, so it was of little consequence. It was the food that he was worried about.

Arthur had invited Alfred round a little earlier so they could have dinner together before the fireworks began. After all, he saw little point in having a guest over for only half an hour at midnight to then leave. Even on New Years Eve, what would the neighbours think if they saw? Arthur frowned. Now he was just being silly. No one would care either way whether they saw or not, and they certainly wouldn't come to such a conclusion that Arthur's mind had somehow jumped to. In fact, it may have been more suspect if Alfred arrived in the evening and left in the morning. Arthur shook his head, throwing the tea towel onto the kitchen counter and going to the sink to get himself some water. On his way, he checked the food for the fifteenth time in the past half hour. It wasn't that he was nervous or anything, or worried about messing up the meal even though he had been practicing this particular meal over and over again to get it just right and he now despised the very idea of beef and roasted vegetables-

Arthur narrowed his eyes and picked up the discarded tea towel just so he could throw it violently onto the floor. He stared at it for a moment before bending down to pick it back up again, folding it neatly and placing it back on the counter.

"Seriously, dude, the food's great. Stop worrying."

"Sorry?" Arthur jumped, blinking out of his thoughts. Alfred was sitting across from him, both of them sitting at his small dining table, eating the food that Arthur had prepared. The American raised an eyebrow, an amused curl to his lips.

"You've been staring at me and watching me eat for like, five minutes straight."

"I was not staring." Arthur said firmly, looking down at his own food, frowning at his fork.

"Yeah, but you were though." Alfred chuckled, earning another weak glare from the man across from him. "You don't have to worry."

"I'm not worrying."

"Yeah, but you are though." Another glare. Alfred just smiled at Arthur until he finally conceded, admitting sheepishly,

"I don't want to give you food poisoning."

"With beef? That's impossible!" Alfred grinned and gestured a little widely, trying to cheer the man up. "Have you ever had blue steak before? It's so underdone that when you poke it, it moos!" He joked and Arthur laughed despite himself. Alfred chose to ignore that he was far too happy about it.

"Alright, alright." Arthur chuckled, seeming more at ease. "And you're sure you're not just being kind?"

"Seriously, I love it. It's delicious. I think you were lying when you said you weren't a great cook." The American grinned, leaning forward a little and resting his elbow on the table. Arthur averted his eyes with a small smile.

"You have no idea how much I practiced this single meal to get it like-" Arthur's eyes widened as he caught himself, clearing his throat. "U-Uh! W-well, I'm better at, say, baking. Or rather… The decorating that comes after the baking…" He frowned, sheepishly looking at his food again. "Anything that has to do with presentation really, I suppose. I can do that very easily. It all looks immaculate, but everything else?" The Englishman looked up at Alfred with a wry smile. "Let's just say my cooking may be more suited to presentation rather than taste. Or texture…" He frowned again and Alfred made a show of chewing his next bite very slowly, a serious and thoughtful expression on his young face. Alfred swallowed and Arthur awaited his decision with bated breath.

"Taste and texture seems fine to me!" Alfred grinned with a cheerful laugh and Arthur suddenly just felt sheepish and giddy under the praise. Arthur cleared his throat again and nodded, a tiny smile on his lips.

"Yes. Well. Thank you."

"So how long until the fireworks?" Alfred and Arthur were sitting in the living room on the sofa, the TV was on but they were watching nothing in particular; they had just been conversing about what their workplaces were doing to celebrate the New Year. Arthur's workplace did hardly anything, other than a small table of party food in the staff area, whereas Alfred's had a fairly large and impressive party with music, food and alcohol; which Alfred had missed in favour of taking Arthur up on his invitation. When Arthur asked why Alfred had chosen his offer, Alfred had simply said that he 'wasn't into the party scene', which Arthur didn't believe for a moment. However, seeing as Arthur was more than flattered by the American's choice, he let it slide.

"You really do seem like you're obsessed with fireworks, Alfred." Arthur chuckled and Alfred just shrugged.

"Fireworks are cool, man!"

"Well they're not starting for a while, check the time."

Alfred did check and promptly groaned, throwing his head back to rest on the back of the sofa.

"Why do you always want us to be so early with things?" Alfred whined.

"Well there wouldn't be much point in you coming over for less than half an hour and then leaving, would there? That's why I told you not to eat before you came." The Englishman huffed, causing the other man to snicker to himself.

"You, wanting to spend more time with me? Now that's impossible!"

"You keep using that word." Arthur mumbled almost to himself as he picked up his cup of tea. "I do not think it means what you think it means." The words were said with the slightest of smiles and silence followed after. Arthur didn't see Alfred's wide eyes until he realised the American was slowly turning his head to look at him, his expression shocked and serious. The silence stretched on until Arthur couldn't handle the intense, if not somewhat overdramatic, stare any longer. "What?" He demanded in a slightly exasperated tone.

"Hello…" Alfred said softly, and Arthur could have sworn he heard the man use a different accent but his focus was more on how unsteady he felt with Alfred looking at him like that.

"Hullo…?" He replied but Alfred kept going regardless.

"My name is Inigo Montoya." Alfred continued, hope in his eyes and small, expectant smile on his face. Arthur's eyes widened as the quote dawned on him.

"You killed my father…" Arthur said slowly as he imitated the same accent Alfred was using, wide grins spread across both of their faces.

"Prepare to die!" They finished in unison and broke into excited laughter.

"You know 'The Princess Bride'!?" Alfred leant forward, his eyes shining. Arthur scoffed with a haughty expression.

"Do I know 'The Princess Bride'?" He repeated incredulously. "There are two kinds of people in this world, Jones; those who love 'The Princess Bride' and those whom have never seen it!" He grinned widely as Alfred cheered. The American bounced in his seat happily.

"Fezzik!" Alfred grinned, nudging Arthur's side playfully. "Are there rocks ahead?" Arthur grinned in response and shrugged.

"If there are, we all be dead!" They both snickered and Alfred added a more nasal quality to his voice, imitating the character he was quoting.

"No more rhymes now, I mean it!" He pointed a finger at Arthur with a serious look on his face. They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Arthur grinned like a child on Christmas.

"Anybody want a peanut?!" Arthur had barely finished the line before they both collapsed into laughter again. They could barely breathe but Alfred took on another accent.

"Bye bye boys! Have fun stormin' de castle!" He called and waved, grinning so much his cheeks hurt. He didn't have any time to recover either, because Arthur quickly threw his arm out dramatically, taking on a new voice as well.

"Mawwiage!" He said wistfully and Alfred lost all ability to function, shrieking with laughter and doubling over on the sofa. "Mawwiage is wot bwings us togeva, today!" Arthur snickered through his teeth, grinning widely at the incapacitated American clutching his stomach with one hand and gripping Arthur's shoulder for support with the other.

They both gasped for breath and tried to get a hold of themselves, multiple times simply descending into giggles again just as they were about to stop laughing. Once they had finally calmed down,

Arthur lit up slightly, a bright smile still on his face.

"I'm certain that I have that DVD in the other room."

"Oh my God, yes please!" Alfred gasped happily. "I effin' love that movie!" Arthur just grinned widely at him before leaving the room, heading to the small bedroom to search for the DVD.

Alfred sat back in his seat, still grinning and chuckling to himself. He was sure that had just been a very definite moment they had just shared. He never pinned the stuffy Englishman as someone who would like films like 'The Princess Bride' but then again, who didn't love that film? Like Arthur said, the people who hadn't watched it. This new fact certainly didn't help to dissuade his full blown crush on the Englishman. Alfred had come to realise that, in fact, Arthur wasn't really all that 'stuffy' to begin with; he was sheepish, yes, and that aspect of his personality was effing adorable, as was the flustered and awkward parts of his personality. But he was also thoughtful, and witty and full of sass; and Alfred had now confirmed that the man had a hilarious sense of humour, as well as fantastic taste in movies! A sense of humour that also coincided rather well with Alfred's own.

The film was just as good as they remembered, both of them mouthing along to the lines and staying completely silent at the best bits, only to burst out laughing and grin at each other on each punchline. As the credits rolled, they discussed their favourite parts of the story and the few nit-picks they had; it was surprising how with each comment, they would be entirely in agreement with each other. Especially when it came to the main lead.

"Cary Elwes really was the perfect choice for Westley." Arthur commented fondly. Alfred made a groaning noise and put a hand on his chest.

"Be still my heart!" He said dramatically and grinned. Arthur nodded knowingly for a moment before catching himself and blushing; this just made Alfred grin wider. "You liked him too! Don't you dare deny it!"

"I-I..." Arthur stammered, frowning at Alfred's expectant smile. "Oh come off it! Who didn't!?" He huffed and folded his arms as Alfred cheered in triumph. The blush on Arthur's face was just too adorable.

"He was my first celebrity crush." Alfred chuckled, cupping a hand around his mouth and leaning closer as though he was telling Arthur a deep dark secret. It was very obvious that it wasn't a secret and Alfred was really just trying to make Arthur feel less embarrassed.

"No kidding." Arthur smiled; he couldn't help it, Alfred was obviously enjoying the situation way too much.

"Yup! Made me realise I was gay as a fresh wild pansy too!" Alfred grinned wider when Arthur snorted; the American nodded enthusiastically when Arthur raised his eyebrows, urging him to continue. "Yeah! Saw him on the screen and I was like 'Woah… Boys are nice.'" Alfred started laughing again as Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders shaking slightly with a silent laugh. The Englishman shook his head and closed his eyes, smiling fondly.

"Oh my God…" He chuckled. "What a way to realise something like that."

"Oh come on! I was a kid!" Alfred chuckled, having some more of his drink. "How did you find out that you played for both teams?"

"Really?" Arthur said flatly, but he was smiling so Alfred just grinned at him. Arthur was in a good mood so he decided to indulge him, rolling his eyes. "I don't know. Oh don't look at me like that, I really don't! It certainly wasn't an epiphany moment like it was with you!"

"Ugh! You're so boring!"

"Oh! Well, I'm sorry that the realisation of my sexual orientation wasn't exciting enough for you!" They both laughed again but it was cut short as Alfred almost dropped his drink.

"Crap, what time is it?"

"Fuck-!" Arthur hurriedly grabbed the remote and changed the settings on the TV, taking them back to the live feed from London. A news reporter was speaking in front of a murmuring crowd, gathered on London Bridge. The London Eye could be seen behind them as well as giant crowds of people.

"Made it." Arthur said with a sigh of relief, chuckling along with Alfred.

"That would've been awkward. Comin' over for fireworks and we miss them." Alfred laughed softly.

As they waited for the final minutes to tick down, Arthur's mind –without his permission, he would add- thought back on a year prior; where Alfred asked about a 'New Years kiss'. Arthur became a little tense. There they were; two adults, spending New Years together and having a damn good time, if Arthur were to be honest about it. From that thought, things just started going downhill. The image of Alfred's hand against his cheek floated into his mind, resting there softly as his heartbeat fluttered in his chest. The warm smile on Alfred's lips as they made eye contact, not being able to tear his eyes away even as that warmth burnt him from the inside, even as Alfred moved closer, until he was nothing but a blur of warmth. As they-

"Arthur!"

"What?" Arthur snapped back to reality and whipped his head round to look at Alfred. "Yes. N-no-what?" He blushed when Alfred chuckled, feeling absolutely mortified; he'd let his imagination run wild again.

"Don't space out on me, Arthur, the countdown's gonna start in a sec." Alfred smiled at him patiently.

"Oh. O-oh! Right! Of course!" Arthur said quickly and glued his eyes to the screen, ignoring how the American snickered. Arthur didn't move; he refused to, no matter how much his body apparently wanted to turn to the other man. And certainly not because he was afraid of what he'd do if he did. Alfred counted down with the rest of London, an excited and expectant grin on his face.

"Three! Two! One!"

Arthur's fingers twitched.

"Happy New Year!" Alfred cheered happily as Big Ben chimed off the hour, fireworks lighting up the sky between each count.

Alfred practically squealed in delight when the music started playing, the fireworks matching the beat of the songs and creating a fantastic spectacle.

"Oh shit! That's the Doctor Who theme!" Alfred squirmed in his seat from excitement, his eyes glued to the screen. Arthur glanced at him and smiled fondly; Alfred really did have endearing qualities.

"That was fucking epic!" Alfred cheered in an overly gruff voice, making Arthur scoff and shove his shoulder lightly.

"Calm down."

"That was so awesome! Imagine what that would be like in person!"

"Cold and tiring." Arthur said flatly.

"And awesome!"

"Then maybe you should go see it in person next year." Arthur joked.

"Then maybe I'll drag you along too! I bet you'd love it once you got there!" Alfred grinned at Arthur's unamused expression. "You have no choice." He added.

"Get out of my flat." Alfred burst out laughing and Arthur smiled; he wouldn't admit it out loud, but spending the night with Alfred to watch a fireworks display had been wonderful before, it would only be natural that he would enjoy the same experience in London.

However, shortly after, Alfred did admit that he would have to go home, as he had a lot of work to do the next day. Arthur walked him to the door and they said their farewells.

"What a great way to start off the New Year, right?" Alfred grinned, zipping up his jacket.

"Quite." Arthur smiled.

"See you around?"

"If you keep visiting my workplace then I assume that you will."

"Shut up, dude." Alfred chuckled and gave Arthur a lopsided grin. "Thanks for having me. I appreciate you hangin' out with me for my first English New Years."

"No problem at all, Alfred. Thank you for coming. It was fairly enjoyable if I'm honest." Arthur smiled, ignoring the little flip his stomach did. Alfred scoffed lightly.

"Well, I'm glad I was able to amuse you for a while."

"You did a fine job of it, too." Arthur teased playfully with Alfred and chuckled. "Just make sure you get some sleep and do your work tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes, Mom." Alfred rolled his eyes. "Thanks again. See ya around." He said and took a step backwards. Arthur smirked.

"Have fun stormin' de castle." Arthur said and waved slightly, leaning against the doorframe. His smile widened when the American snorted and grinned at him.

"Do you think it'll work?" Alfred quoted.

"It would take a miracle." Arthur finished and they both chuckled. The two men looked at each other for a moment, both smiling happily. Alfred waved goodbye with a wide grin.

"Happy New Year, Arthur!"

"Happy New Year, Alfred. Now go home, for goodness sake." Arthur chuckled and smiled. Alfred bowed jokingly and offered a warm smile.

"As you wish." And with that, he waved once more and turned, heading down the road to find where he parked. Arthur chuckled and shook his head, going back inside and closing the door.

It was only after he shut the front door that Alfred's words clicked in his mind, and it made his heart trip over itself. There was no use in overthinking the statement; after all, they had been quoting their favourite film basically the whole night.

'Still…' Arthur could feel heat rise in his cheeks as he stared at the wood of his door. He turned around finally but could only bring himself to lean his back against it heavily. Arthur felt a little lightheaded, even though he knew full well that he shouldn't have. He rested the back of his head against the door and stared up at his ceiling, Alfred's words drifting through his thoughts.

'As you wish.'

Hello again! I'm so sorry that this too so long to get out, University was intense XD But my first year has ended and I passed so that's good! I can now focus on my own stuff again for a while! Thank you all so much for all your support, it really means the world! Your in depth, passionate, wonderful reviews and comments help me to keep going! And now we may be approaching the end of this particular story! I hope you're all looking forward to it!
To those who don't know 'The Princess Bride', I HIGHLY recommend it as it is a wonderful film and a brilliant cult classic! Every line is so quotable and it's a really fun and sweet story full of adventure!
And, for those who don't understand the reference at the end of this chapter because you haven't seen the film, let me give you a quick quote from the film (that is currently floating through Arthur's mind):

"That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying 'As you wish', what he meant was 'I love you'.
And even more amazing was the day she realised she truly loved him back."

Thank you for reading and sticking with these boys as well as me, who still has trouble with regular updates XD I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue to look forward to future updates! Thank you all once again and I wish you all the best!
-Lolo