Merthur AU

Merthur AU Chapter 9

Days after the, well, incident (that means having sex with Arthur), I found myself Christmas shopping with the most annoying yet still adorable moron on the planet. He absolutely lost all of his adultness and common sense, and turned into an overexcited puppy when Christmas was happening. Several times I had to drag him gently away from the store windows or say no to nearly every piece of candy (my heart isn't made of stone, of course he got some candy).

Not that I'm complaining or anything, but he made Christmas shopping way harder and time-consuming than it usually was. Plus, I couldn't exactly buy his present when he was there. So, after we'd bought all the presents for friends and family, I gave him some money and sent him into the candy store.

Then it hit me; I had no idea what I should get for him. And even worse; I didn't know if I could afford it. Looking bewildered around for a store that seemed tempting, I settled for a jewellery shop. Hopefully they would have something appropriate.

As I entered the shop, my eyes fell on the funny looking seller. He was about half my size in length and about twice my size sideways. Hearing the bells on the ringing, he turned around and smiled way too brightly at me. "Good day, sir, how are you today? I reckon you are looking for something for a significant other?" "Yeah, um, I am, I guess."

Winking at me, he moved over to the necklace and bracelet section. "Um, not that kind of significant other. I don't think he'll want a necklace." I said shyly. Quickly, he apologized for his mistake and slid over to the section with clocks and stuff. He must have seen my expression, because once he'd decided on a clock to show me, he put it back and went over to the rings.

"Your face says you want to give this significant other something special. Give him this, and he won't say no. I promise." What he held up for me to see was an engagement ring. Surprised, I thought about it. Maybe the seller was right? I mean, I definitely loved him and he loved me, so, why not? The worst that could happen was getting a plain no, right?

"I'll take it."

****

We'd spent Christmas Eve at my place, eating takeout and watching Love Actually twice. Then I'd fallen asleep in his lap halfway through the third time. I woke up on my cough, feeling cold for some reason. The reason, I discovered, was that Arthur wasn't beside me. Looking around confused, I spotted him under the Christmas tree he'd brought into the house two days ago. Smiling sleepily, I recalled the day. We'd decorated the tree and baked gingerbread.

"Merly! You're awake! Finally, we can open presents." Handing me the biggest one he could find, he picked a random for himself. Excitedly, we both ripped of the paper. I got shoes from Leon and Arthur got books from his friend Percy. We continued to open gifts from friends until there was none left. Arthur raised and went to the bedroom to get my last gift. As he was out of the room, I pulled out the ring from under the cough and went down on one knee. Hopefully, he wouldn't react the way I suspected he would.

Coming into the room again, he was confused when he saw me kneeling. "Merly? What are you doing?" "I won't make this a long speech. I love you, Arthur, really love you. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, will you marry me? Not so romantic, I know, but I really love you. And if you love me too, which I hope you do, say yes."