Warnings: Allusions to previous sex

Midnight

The night was warm.

England felt slight perspiration build up on the back of his neck, under his arms, and the parts of his body covered with the heavy blanket or entangled with limbs… America's limbs.

Because he and America were together now. Had been together for quite some time. Years, in fact.

And right now, the (lovely) dolt was fast asleep, slight snores emitting from his mouth every now and then. But England wasn't able to fall asleep. At least, not tonight.

A slight unease, a flutter of butterflies, a feeling of (excited) nervousness, all in conflict within England who felt his heart begin to race. He had never felt more at peace or more at war within himself than tonight, lying next to this (amazing, idiotic) person.

England swallowed anxiously. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to consciously stop his heart from beating so frantically. The reason he was so anxious was silly, really. It's not like what England wanted to do would actually change the dynamics of their relationship by that much. And yet…

A small snore and slight twitch from America snapped England out of his reverie. England was stuck between wanting to laugh and wanting to roll his eyes. Instead, he settled for a fond smile which he knew America wouldn't see. He carefully carded his fingers through America's hair, still slightly cool and damp from their previous activities. He listened as America's breathing deepened, truly relaxed and at peace with the world.

Tonight had been wonderful, or as wonderful as it could possibly get when you place a grumpy Englishman and an overly-excited American on a date. They hadn't seen each other in ages, and although it was rare for England to ever admit out loud, he had missed America terribly. That's why he…wanted this day to be perfect. He had been planning it for months.

First, they would wander through Central Park since it was going to be a beautiful spring day. Then, after they had built up an appetite from walking, they would have lunch at a small delicatessen nearby. After lunch, they would wander and shop around in the multitude of stores that surrounded them. Afterwards, as the sun was beginning to set, they would go back to their hotel to dress properly for a nice dinner at a lovely restaurant downtown. After dinner, they were to see a Broadway play, one of which America had been dying to see for quite a while. And finally, once day had ended and night had befallen, they would retreat back to the hotel room and resume some very intimate activities.

Except… the day hadn't gone exactly as planned. They had gotten lost in Central Park and had ended up walking for two hours before they finally found civilization, both starving. And the shopping had been nice, but America's choice in stores left a lot to be desired (honestly, a store dedicated to Nintendo? Whose genius idea was that?).

But then again, this was just how things went for England and America. The small mishaps along the way never took away what truly mattered, and that was that fact that they were together.

However, there had been one giant screw up on England's part earlier that day. During dinner, he was supposed to…well, he had planned to…to, well, to propose.

It was a stupid idea, he knew. After all, he and America didn't need rings to know that they'd be together for however long they remained on this Earth. But ever since England had the idea all those months ago, he couldn't get rid of it. He…he really wanted to marry the git. To be forever intertwined with America, to let it be said through papers and rings and vows that he and America were together, that they loved one another to want to be together always.

But England had gotten too nervous at the restaurant and failed to give America the ring. He stuttered for a few moments, attempted to leave his seat so he could get down on one knee and propose, but his legs were too jittery, his hands shaking with so much force that he had trouble keeping his wine in the glass.

The reason England wanted to propose today of all days was because it was their sort of unofficial anniversary. England didn't know if America realized it, but today was the day when, all those years ago, they had both come to realize they had…"mutual affection" for one another.

England let out a sigh. The clock read 11:53 PM. It was now or never.

"America?" England whispered against America's forehead, gently trying to wake him up. America stirred in his spot, but other than that made no response. "America? Wake up, you git," he said (endearingly) louder, nudging America's shoulder slightly.

England saw America's eyelids begin to shift until he sleepily opened his eyes. "Hm?" was the sound the back of America's throat made as he looked up at England. "What is it?" he said, slurring his words which were laced with sleep.

England felt his throat go dry. It was now 11:54 PM. "I need…to ask you something," he said, his voice being to crack as his heart once again began to race.

America shifted in his arms, snuggling closer to his form. "Ok…ask me what?"

Taking a deep breath, England reached beneath his pillow, where he had placed the box with the ring, telling himself he would propose to America before they…would sleep with one another. His hand shaking, he slowly pulled the velvet box out and placed it before America's eyes, fumbling with it a bit.

"I-I wanted to ask…I mean, I want you to know, I…" he stuttered. England closed his eyes, his hands shaking even harder than before. He gave himself a few moments to calm down. When he opened his eyes, he noticed America's had gotten impossibly wide.

"E-england? Are you asking me to…?"

"America, would you marry me?" England asked, opening the box to reveal the simple gold band inside. England's heart was beating impossibly fast, his breathing quickening as each silent moment passed. He kept looking at America, whose expression could only be described as shocked.

11:56 PM.

Yet, this silence was suffocating England. "America, I-I can understand if you don't want to, and damn, this was such a stupid idea, I know, but I, well-"

But before England had a chance to speak another word, America had grabbed his face and kissed him, almost desperately, needy and lovingly. England kissed back, his hand dropping the box so that it could curl into America's hair instead. They broke apart a moment later, their hearts thundering in their chests.

11:58 PM.

"Is that a…?"

"It's a yes," America said, his smile wide and his eyes glistening (with tears and happiness and love and a whole multitude of emotions).

And this time, England didn't hide his smile from America, a small laugh of relief escaping his lips. America had said yes. He felt his own eyes getting wet, so he quickly blinked the feeling away as he retrieved the box, pulling out the gold band and placing it on America's ring finger. America looked at the ring on his hand for a few moments before meeting his eyes with England's.

"God, I love you England…" he said softly.

England smiled and ran his hand through America's hair. "I love you too, America."

12:00 AM. Midnight.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed :) This was written a little while ago as a small thank-you to the mods of the usxuk community on livejournal, so I thought I'd finally post it. It's just a quick little spur-of-the-moment drabble. I adore proposal fics where Arthur is the one proposing. Gives me butterflies for some reason :) As always, concrit is loved.

Also, I know I've disappeared for the past few months. Stuff going on at home made things kind of rough for me and I found things in my life begin to slip, but recently everything's gotten better for both me and my family :) That being said, I want to apologize for my lack of updates for Different if you've been keeping track of it. Once classes end in mid-May, I'll be sure to continue where I left off. It was rude of me to disappear like that, I know, but I hope to finally continue and finish the fic for both you guys and myself.

Well, that was a long note. Ta ta for now~