From then on, the years passed at a steady pace. Ups and downs made life a rollercoaster worth riding. Two years after school let out, Joy and England had a huge fight over some trivial thing and broke up.
"I hate to be a cliche gossip-spreader, but Joy and England aren't together right now," Alice said to Rayn, Vale, and Kate one day when they were having lunch at a cafe. "I'm really worried about them both. I mean, Joy's life force is tied to him. How is this gonna effect the two of 'em?"
"Yikes, I can't imagine them not being together. They've been together for a couple years now, I heard from a certain American that England was going to propose to her." Rayn sipped her drink nonchalantly while the other three just stared at her. "What?"
"Arthur. Was going. To propose?" Vale repeated incredulously.
"Yeah! I can't believe it either."
~In London~
The sky was dark for a summer's day, and rain sprinkled down upon everything in sight. Arthur sat at home, brooding over his troubles with a cup of fine tea in hand. How had it come to this? It had been a wonderful day, that day last week, but just a few ill-placed words turned it all into twisted spaghetti of misunderstanding.
'I can't hide from her forever. She's my secretary, for bleeding sake! God... Bloody hell...'
One hand went back into his pocket for the thousandth time in three hours. He ran a thumb along the velvet ring box there meditatively, feeling his sorrow and regret return twice as heavily.
'I shouldn't have said anything! Why do things always have to rain on me?'
~The Next Day~
"Mr. Kirkland, you have a two o' clock appointment with the president of the United States, and right after the files in your inbox need finishing," Ms. Nightingale said tonelessly when Arthur came in for work. No wam greeting (usually involving a hug) or cheery smile. She was the personification of an automated voice message system.
"A-Ah, yes. Thank you, J- Ms... Nightingale," he said awkwardly, feeling like his tongue was full of lead.
"But first, you have a meeting with Ludwig about the shipment arrangements in an hour. Be prompt and make sure things go smoothly. Afterward is lunch with your boss, where you're going to bring up the subject of-"
'That's it!' "SCREW THIS! FORGET ABOUT THE BLOODY FIGHT, JOY NIGHTINGALE WILL YOU BLOODY PLEASE MARRY ME?"Arthur yelled at the top of his lungs in the middle of his office.
Joy was startled, she had no idea what to do! 'Did he just say what I think he said...?'
"Wh... Wh... Wh...?" she stammered, eyes wider than the moon. She clutched her clipboard like it was a life preserver and she was drowning in a sea of her own emotions and surprise. "What...?"
He whipped out the box and dropped to one knee in a flash, opening it to show the jewel-encrusted ring inside. Arthur had it specially made to his own design, so it was one of a kind and very, very special. A hand made its way to Joy's face and covered her mouth when she saw the ring, and tears started to form at the corners of her eyes.
"Joy Nightingale, will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Arthur Kirkland?" he asked with every ounce of sincerity he had in his body. When she couldn't say anything in response, he continued. "Joy, it was all my fault that we had a fight. I shouldn't have been such a bloody git, and I am so sorry. Will you please say something?"
"I... I will," she said softly with a nod. "I'm sorry too, I overreacted."
"Then, you'll marry me?"
"Yes!" Joy tossed her clipboard to the side and threw her arms around him, smiling like she had just won the lottery and was given a puppy at the same time. Arthur hugged her back and kissed her cheek before they pulled apart and he slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. "Wow, it's so gorgeous."
"It's infused with magic," he told her. "Although I designed it myself."
"It's perfect," she said, kissing him soundly.
~~~
'I'm gonna do it! I can do this... I've been in wars, this is nothing! Come on, Matt... Man up!'
This was the pep talk Canada gave himself as he and Alice were eating dinner out one night. It wasn't much of a notable day, just an ordinary, hum-drum day near the end of August. But he knew it would become a memorable time for both him and Alice.
And all because of one simple question. Four words was all it needed.
Why did it have to be so hard to say?
"Aw, Mattie, look! I didn't know ahoges did that," Alice laughed softly as she pointed to his stupid hair. The loop had bent the teeniest bit to become a heart. Matthew blushed and ducked his head a little, gripping the box in his pocket tightly.
"Hey, what's on your mind, Mattie?" Alice asked curiously. She leaned over the edge of the table a little, peering at his face with interest. It took a little further self-coaching before he was able to reply.
"W-Well... I w-wanted to ask you someth-thing," he answered quietly, hating himself for how timid he sounded.
"Yeah? Like what?" Alice sat up straighter and gave him an encouraging look.
'Okay. Matthew Williams, do it.'
He stood from his seat and made his way to her side of the table, asking her to close her eyes. She did after giving him an amused look, and she flipped back her shoulder-length hair just a little bit. "Okay, go for it."
Silently, Matthew opened the box and took one of her hands, sinking to one knee slowly. "O-Okay, o-open your eyes, Alice."
She did, looked at him oddly, and then realized what he was holding was, in fact, an engagement ring in a dark blue box. She felt the breath catch in her throat and gripped his hand tightly.
"Alice Carlea Jones, we've done so much together, things people would only be able to imagine in a dream. But you being by my side has made my dreams come to life, and I want to share that with you for as long as we both exist. Will you marry me?"
Mentally, he was congratulating himself for keeping his voice steady and suppressing his stutter.
And mentally, she was flailing her arms everywhere and squealing her head off.
"Yes yes yes yes yes yes a million bajillion yesses!" she cried out happily, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him ferociously. Matthew sighed in relief and even let out a little laugh, relieving the tension pent up in his chest.
"Thank you, Alice. You've got to be the most amazing person I have ever met," he whispered as he slid the ring onto her finger and embraced her again. Others in the fancy restaurant clapped animatedly as the newly engaged couple kissed happily. And from the main doorway of the dining area, Francis Bonnefoy nodded and smiled brightly as he looked on.
'I knew it would be a success. Good job, mon frere.'
~~~
"Wow, look at that!" Kadi said excitedly when Vale showed her the engagement ring on her finger. "It's so cute, it looks like a sunflower almost!"
"Doesn't it?" Vale replied, gazing lovingly at the diamonds and topaz set in a white gold band.
The door suddenly burst open and America stormed in. "What's this I hear about a ring?"
"Yeah, Ivan proposed to Vale and she accepted!" Kadi exclaimed happily, knowing exactly how much it would aggravate the American.
"Holy crap! Is everyone getting married?" he asked. "I just heard about Joy and Artie, he actually managed to propose, and now Alice and Mattie are getting together like that! It's like the world's ending..."
"Dad... Are you gonna be okay with this? With me marrying Ivan?" Vale asked hopefully.
"I... I know I had some rough issues with him in the past, and I knew this was gonna happen at some point in our lives, but as long as you're sure about this, then I guess... I can't stand in your way," America said sincerely. "But I swear on my flag that if he mistreats you, Matthew's gonna become the biggest country in the world when I'm done with Ivan."
Vale giggled a little and hugged him soundly. "Thanks, Dad. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. You'll always be my little girl, Valasha."
~~~
"Hey, you wanna get married, babe?" Alfred asked Rayn one night when they were watching a comedic movie together. They sat on the couch in his living room, in the dark, when he spoke.
"Huh?" Rayn replied.
"I asked if you wanted to get married to me," he said.
"... Kind of an odd way to propose, don't you think?" she said back.
"Yeah, well, I've had a few," he said, referring to the number of shots he and Rayn had taken not long before.
"Suuurreee... Yeah, I'll marry you," Rayn answered calmly. "Got a ring, or no?"
"I'll go get one," he promised before kissing her strongly. She just smirked and kissed back.
--------------------------------
Short but VERY sweet, so this can't be a bad chapter~!
WUVS~!
ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT, ERMAGHERD