Requested by gαlαхч cαrσuѕєl

Victorian AU

Based off the song "Love At First Sight" by Michael Buble

[name] = your name

[h/c] = hair color

[e/c] = eye color

Narrator's POV

I'm making this one special evening

Taking a chance in my life

Hoping you feel the same way as I do tonight

Arthur took a deep breath as he stepped out of his carriage, his cane in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other as he approached the door to the grand estate.

A servant was quick to open the door, bowing as Arthur entered the mansion.  The servant led Arthur to a parlor, leaving him there to his thoughts and the gossip of servants.

"It's Lord Kirkland again."

"Ohh~  He has such a lovely bunch of flowers!"  One squealed, peering at Arthur through the crack in the door.

"No doubt for our lovely mistress."  Another said, acting as if she was dusting a nearby vase.

"Oh what I wouldn't do for a handsome chap like that to court me~!"  The younger maid squealed.  "Look at him, so calm and rich."

'I can hear you ladies,'  Arthur internally scoffed in his head.  But he simply turned towards a window.  'It can't be helped though.  Nosy servants will be nosy servants.'

Arthur looked up towards the setting sun, the sky just starting to turn orange.  Arthur gently leaned his cane against a nearby table as he put his hand into his pocket, closing his eyes and just taking a deep breath.

"Tonight's the night."  He mumbled to himself.  Arthur turned when he heard footsteps going off, signalling that the maids were leaving him be.  Which meant that-

"Lord Kirkland, what a surprise."  A voice said, making Arthur turn to see the most stunning woman of his life; [name].

"It is a pleasure to see you Lady [name]."  He said, giving her a bow as a servant closed the door, leaving the two alone in the parlor.  "Flowers for you, milady."  He said, straightening up and presenting the bouquet to her.  [name] smiled, making Arthur blush just a tad.

"Why thank you Arthur."  [name] said, dropping her formalities now that they were alone.  "Your family's roses are always the finest."  She said.  Arthur smiled.

"Only the best for a beautiful lady such as yourself."  Arthur responded, getting a giggle from [name] as she took the bouquet.

"Besides bringing me such beautiful flowers, what else have you in store of us?"  She asked.  Arthur did his best to remain calm, but his blush was a give-away.

"I thought we could stroll through the gardens for a bit.  We do have an hour until the sun has completely set.  And as you and I both know, your estate has the finest gardens ever seen in all of England."  Arthur responded.  [name] gave Arthur a small curtsy.

"How very sweet of you, and yes, I shall love to go on a stroll with you."  She said, her glittering [e/c] looking into Arthur's emerald ones, making Arthur's heart flutter.

Just try and look into my eyes

Don't be scared of what you might see there

"Such a lovely evening."  [name] said as she and Arthur walked through the gardens, Arthur slowly leading them to a small gazebo that was rather private.

"Quite lovely, though anytime I'm with you is quite lovely."  Arthur said, making [name] giggle.

"Come, come, what is with all the compliments tonight?"  [name] asked teasingly.  Arthur blushed and pointed up ahead of them.

"I shall tell you at the bend."  He said, knowing they'd have another 10 or so minutes of walking, giving him time to gather his nerve.

"Now I must insist on knowing."  [name] said back, walking a tad faster, pulling Arthur along with her.  Arthur gulped as they quickly approached the gazebo, taking his time to help [name] onto a bench.

"It's quite lovely out tonight."  Arthur said, looking out at their perfect view of the setting sun.  [name] nodded, her [h/c] hair shining brightly in the light of the setting sun.

"Indeed it is, but tell me Arthur, why are you acting so strangely?"  She asked, not taking Arthur's ploy to change topics.

"I am not."  Arthur said.  [name] pouted.

"Yes you are; you have continuously acted like a gentleman this whole night, not even one scowl on your face."  She said.  She then placed a hand on his forehead.  "You are not coming down with the plague are you?"

"I am most certainly not!"  Arthur said, his face bright red as he gently batted [name]'s hand away.  [name] laughed.

"There's the Arthur I know so well."  She said, getting a scowl from Arthur.

'Ugh... this is just like how we met; when she laughed as she watched me dance with that ditzy clutz, Lady Vargas... How that woman managed to marry the impeccable Lord Beilschmidt I'll never know.'  Arthur thought with a sigh.

"[name],"  Arthur said, coughing into his hand to get [name]'s attention.

"Yes?"

"Well... I wanted to ask you; do you remember the first time we met?"  Arthur asked, cursing himself for hesitating.

"Oh indeed I do,"  [name] said in a teasing voice.  "You nearly lost all your toes dancing with Lady Feliciana of Italy because she wasn't used to dancing to English dances."  She said, a bit of laughter escaping from her lips.

"Yes, and you simply watched from where you stood talking with Lord Beilschmidt."  Arthur said dryly.

"Yes, I found it quite amusing as he found it quite mortifying."  [name] said.

"For you..."  Arthur said.  He then shook his head and turned to [name].  "Well, [name], I have a bit of a confession to make."

"A confession?"  [name] asked, eyebrow raised.  "Of what sort?"

The first time I saw you

"Well, going back to the first time we met, I must confess I felt a lot of emotion going through me then.  Anger the most obvious one, but I must confess that when our eyes met, I fell in love."  Arthur said softly.

I knew love at first sight must be true, so true, oh so true

And now I just have to explain why I feel this way

"The way you laughed made me want to laugh as well.  I confess I feel jealous whenever I see you with another man, regardless of whether they are married or not, though it's the unmarried ones that get to me the most.  When you smile, my heart flutters and my face flushes with heat.  And I feel that I lose my gentlemanly persona when I'm with you."  Arthur confessed.  He then gently grasped [name]'s hands in his own as he looked into her beautiful [e/c] eyes.

I feel joy, I feel pain

You're in my heart and it's tearing me apart

'Cause I love you, I love you, I love you!

"[name], I can not picture my life without you so I must ask,"  Arthur then pulled out a small box from his pocket.  "Will you marry me?"  He asked, opening the box to reveal a simple but beautifully designed ring.

"Yes, yes, yes!"  [name] cried out, her arms going around Arthur's neck.  "Of course I will you stubborn British nobleman!"  She said.

Normally Arthur would've scowled and argued that he wasn't a 'stubborn British nobleman', but not this time, because right now, Arthur is the happiest 'stubborn British nobleman' in the whole world.

~Fin~