England x Reader: Welcome Home

Scenario: You spent a semester abroad in London, where you met and fell for Arthur Kirkland. Several months after that semester you had finally earned enough money to return for a visit. You and your best friend decided to go on the trip together. However, the two of you decided to spend the first few days of your trip in France before heading over to London...

It never occurred to you when you first got back to London that Arthur might be mad at you until (Best friend) said something about it. Try as you might, you kept getting lost on the way to the hostel, and then again when you took a bus in the wrong direction and ended up taking you way too far north. It wasn’t until then that (best friend) said, “Man, Arthur must be pretty mad at you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you've been hanging out with Francis these last few days.”

“Oh...” Suddenly recalling his enduring hatred for the Frenchman, the confusion of an entire day of everything going wrong in London suddenly hit you. You looked at the Brit sitting silently in the seat next to you with his arms crossed, staring straight ahead. Part of you felt guilty, and you felt bad for hurting him and his pride. But then, another part of you was slightly indignant, and you couldn’t help voicing your thoughts, “Stop acting so jealous. Francis is my friend. Am I not allowed to go visit my friends?”

Arthur turned his head slowly to glare at you, and then looked down at your hand that bore a new ring on the index finger, “Friend?” His lip curled sarcastically, “Do all of your friends give you jewelry as gifts?”

“Oh, come on!” You rolled your eyes and held up your hand, “Is that what this is about? Please, as if I would ever feel romantic about the guy. Am I not here with you now?”

“You went to see him first!” The left side of his mouth tightened as he clenched his jaw.

“Well duh,” you crossed your arms, “I wanted to save the best for last. I didn’t want to come see you first, only to have the rest of my vacation ruined by spending it missing you.”

The tight corner of his mouth softened slightly, which was a good sign, but he didn’t relent.

“Take off the ring. I can’t stand seeing you wearing anything that bloody frog gave you.”

“What? No! I like this ring, I’m not going to just throw it away. What, are you going to make me take off my jeans, too? Because these are also from him, you know.”

Arthur’s face went red, and he suddenly disappeared off to who knew where. You sighed. Way to go, ________. First day back and you ruin things by picking a fight with him.

Shortly after, the bus destination abruptly changed, and then terminated at the next stop. He was definitely still mad. Fortunately, even though you didn’t know what part of the city you were in, another bus was right behind the one you had just been kicked off of, so you and (best friend) were able to get on and ride the rest of the way down to Green Park.

Buckingham Palace and St. James’ park were so beautiful in the fall. You forgot about your fight for a while and lost yourself in taking pictures and enjoying the cool, humid, autumn air as (best friend) and you walked. The weather remained cloudy and damp - another indicator that he was still mad - but you were determined not to let that bother you. Finally, however, you decided to apologize...more or less. Arthur had turned up again while you were in Trafalgar Square, and seemed to be in a slightly better mood at seeing you so happy to be back in London.

“Look,” You looped your arm through his as you started walking down Pall Mall back toward Green Park Station, “I know you’re mad, and I’m sorry that I hurt you. But throwing a tantrum like this is only wasting away the little time we have together while I’m here. So please don’t ruin this experience for (best friend), and please don’t waste any more time being mad at me, okay?”

He turned his head away, and you couldn’t tell if he was still going to be mad, or if he was thinking about forgiving you. You rested your head on his shoulder as you walked and murmured, “You’re my only love, you know. No one else will ever have my heart but you.”

He still didn’t say anything, but his temper seemed to have cooled for the time being. (Best friend) and you didn’t encounter any more trouble going to a Cafe for dinner, but Arthur disappeared again. You missed him. Eventually, (best friend) and you decided to go check out the Winter Wonderland festival that was going on in Hyde Park, and took the bus down to Hyde Park Corner station. As you walked through the arch at the main entrance to the festival, you gasped with delight and giggled as butterflies tickled you inside.

Christmas lights twinkled everywhere, and Christmas music was blaring loudly in the cold night air from various stalls and rides. You walked through the stalls, window shopping and laughing at the cute beanie hats and jewelry you found until you came to a Christmas tree in the middle of a square. There, Arthur stood smiling at you. You rushed up to him, all smiles, “This is awesome! I love it, I love it, I love it!” And then you threw your arms around his neck, “This festival isn’t just to welcome me back is it?” You teased.

He chuckled and returned the embrace, “Tonight it is.” And then he leaned in closer and murmured in your ear,  “Welcome home, love.”