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“We only have half an hour before the farm closes we have to hurry” Antonio hurried Arthur along the dirt path, running ahead of him.
“Slow down a bit would you, I’m not as fast as you” he sighed watching the excited nation bouncing around.
Antonio watched Arthur slick back his hair which was actually very at home with the colours around them, before watching him slip on a grey beanie to keep his ears warm “England how can you not be as excited as I am, it’s Halloween tomorrow, I honestly can’t believe you’ve left pumpkin picking this late!”
“I had to find a pumpkin farm for start, plus” he reached out to take Spain’s gloved hand, “I had to wait for you to get here”
Antonio smiled lovingly at Arthur, squeezing Arthur’s hand lightly “I’m glad you did”
The weather was colder than it had been a month ago, and the nights were drawn out longer, the Halloween spirit was in the air.
Spain had flown out specifically to spend the holiday with England, he had already been there two days but somehow the pumpkin picking had still been left till the 30th.
The whole world was changing colour from warm summer green to autumnal red, leaves were falling from trees with every gust of wind that shook them collecting on the ground. With every kick of their feet leaves went flying into the air just to once more float down to the damp brown ground.
“We should have gone earlier in the day” Antonio quipped.
Arthur scoffed, looking his lover in the eyes in disbelief “I’m sorry you’re the one who slept all day”
“You stayed in bed too!”
“Yeah because it was warm, and you weren’t awake so there was no point in getting out of bed” Spain grinned pulling England’s arm close to his body, hugging his other arm around it “Aw that’s so sweet”
Arthur spluttered, hand slightly tightening “I just you know didn’t want to disturb you, but you should have gotten up earlier if you really wanted to go pumpkin picking so bad”
“I know, sorry mum, but we’re here now at least” Arthur rolled his eyes.
They came up upon a small cottage, it was a small house with a thatched roof with those wooden fences that climbed up the outside of the house so that plants could grow up them. Ivy covered over half the house and there were two swinging baskets with poppies in either side of the door.
Smoke was funneling out of the brick chimney swaying gently; masking the surprisingly clear sky above the house with a thin layer of black smoke.
Even from their place at the end of the path, both men could make out the vast expanse of flat fields behind the house, half obscured by yellowed trees, though it was enough to cause Antonio to let out a very uncharacteristic squeal.
“Antonio don’t pull me so much we’ll trip” Arthur warned fumbling after the man as he began running towards the house.
“Don’t worry we won’t come on we don’t have a lot of time and we gotta pick good pumpkins!”
Arthur couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Antonio this excited, sure the man was a constant source of energy and was always happy or thrilled about something, but this was different, it just felt nice to be part of the thing that was causing him to act this joyful.
“Hello?” Antonio called out as they made their way towards the field, hoping to catch someone’s attention.
“Oh hello” an elderly woman emerged from an extension behind the cottage “here for pumpkins I assume”
“We’re here to burgle your pumpkins!” Antonio jeered
“No we’re not, we’re here to buy pumpkins” he hissed
“No it’s true” Arthur clamped a hand over Antonio’s mouth.
The woman just smiled “I hope you don’t steal my pumpkins, you don’t look like thieving types”
“We’re not, he’s just a fool” Antonio stuck his tongue out, making his way off down one of the pumpkin tracks looking over the first few he saw.
Arthur looked over to the woman “Go on I’ll be here if you need me” she smiled.
“This one?”
“No”
“How about this one?”
“No, it has bruising”
“Jee, what about, this one”
“Arthur, amor, that one’s tiny”
“Just like your, uff” Arthur was pushed to the floor, almost planting his hand in a pumpkin.
“That wasn’t very nice” he smirked watching as Antonio glared at him.
“Well you deserved it”
Antonio surveyed another pumpkin turning it over in his gloved hands “How many more pumpkins are you going to look at I’m sure the lady wants to lock up”
Spain held out his hand, silencing England’s whining “One does not rush pumpkin picking, just because you found your pumpkin straight away doesn’t mean I’ve found mine”
Arthur hummed lightly as Antonio moved over to the next row “I swear you’ve already looked at that one love”
Antonio laughed “I have, three times, just making sure I don’t want this one”
“Want me to look?” Arthur crouched down next to Antonio picking up the pumpkin and looking it over for any bruising or indents.
The glow of the setting sun lit everything in a golden yellow, stray hair sticking out from Arthur’s hat captured the light. It was something about Arthur Antonio really loved, his unruly hair.
Arthur was wearing a long dark green pea coat with black jeans, he’d been complaining of a headache for the past few days and had finally gone to wearing his glasses which were a large thin circular frame. Coupled with the grey beanie, his black scarf and his oxford shoes and he looked like the text book definition of a hipster.
Though there was nothing wrong with that, Arthur actually looked good, with some goading from Antonio (“You’re not leaving this house wearing that!”) he had actually put a bit more effort into his appearance for a change.
Though that’s not to say Arthur never normally looked decent, it’s just that he normally stuck to wearing plain clothing or the same suits, it was nice to spice it up a little bit.
Arthur stopped twisting the pumpkin when he felt Antonio’s hand on his “Have I told you that you look really beautiful today?”
Arthur couldn’t help but blush at the sweet compliment, he watched Antonio’s eyes dilate the longer he starred at him.
“No, but I really don’t look all that different to normal” he hurriedly picked up another pumpkin, he hadn’t even noticed his hands were lightly shaking.
“Hmm really, that’s because you look good every day, but today especially” Antonio nuzzled at Arthur’s cheek, although he was blushing it was surprisingly cold. Guess the scarf wasn’t doing much protection.
Arthur let out a contented sigh placing down the pumpkin and going back to the one Antonio had picked up before.
“I think this one’s good, shapely and unperforated” Arthur went to pass the pumpkin to Antonio but was stopped by a kiss.
It was childlike, very innocent, it held no lust or force behind it, it was a sweet and loving kiss that lasted only a second but completely stole Arthur’s breath.
“If you think it’s good then so do I” Antonio stood scooping the pumpkin up, committing to memory Arthur’s red face as he smiled up at him in adoration.
England laughed breathlessly, struggling from his locked knees to his feet “Alright, lets pay then”
“There! I got it!” Antonio smiled, placing the roof of his pumpkin on the table.
The table was covered in pumpkin guts, truly a violent scene, Arthur had finished drawing his design on the pumpkin and had already scooped the insides out, Antonio had only just managed to tear it open.
“Well done love, but I fear I may win the carving race”
“In your dreams, I’m a master at carving”
“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never seen you carve a pumpkin”
“You’re about to witness art then!”
Arthur laughed at his lovers childish sensibilities “I’ll give you a chance to catch up then I’m going to make some tea”
Antonio starred wide eyed and hopeful “Can I have a hot chocolate?”
With a tender smile he replied with a soft “Sure”
A few minutes later he returned with steaming mugs in his hands “Thank you!” Antonio took the cup carefully as not to burn either of themselves.
Somehow in the time he had been gone Antonio had made even more of a mess, there was pumpkin on the ground, on his lap, there was even a seed in his hair and pumpkin smeared along his grinning face.
“How’ve you got pumpkin in your hair?” Antonio patted at his head pulling at where he thought the seed might be.
“I don’t know, the pumpkin must just really like me!”
“That or you’re a messy man child”
“That too, but you love it”
“Questionable”
Antonio pouted at Arthur’s grinning face and in a moment of enthusiasm flicked some pumpkin guts at Arthur.
“Don’t you dare, I know I’ll be the one cleaning up, plus we can make pumpkin pie with this” Now Antonio had the high ground, he could either surrender and go back to peacefully carving his pumpkin or he could fight the fight and win. Without a second thought, and with a sardonic grin he grabbed a handful of pumpkin guts.
Arthur noticed Antonio’s slow and careful movements, scowling deeply in warning “Antonio I swear to God” but Antonio didn’t heed the warning and immediately lunged at Arthur, taking the man down on the floor with a shriek.
He smeared the pumpkin over his lovers face, but Arthur wasn’t just about to roll over, he kicked up getting Spain in the side and flipping him onto his back.
Antonio landed on his back hard causing the wind to be knocked out of him “That’s not fair!”
“Life’s not fair” Arthur sniped, wrestling Antonio’s arms to the ground.
“Ah okay, okay, peaches, peaches!” Antonio called slamming his heel into the floor.
“What?”
“That’s our safe word isn’t it” he smirked.
Arthur recalled letting out a breathless laugh “Yes it is” he rolled off of Antonio climbing to his feet “Damn I landed on my shoulder hard”
“Want me to kiss it better”
Arthur thought about the proposition but didn’t answer instead settling back down to finish his pumpkin, “Look we’re almost done, when you finish we can do something else” he promised pulling his chair out from under the table, taking a sip from his now tepid tea.
“Can we do something I want to do?” Spain looked expectantly up at England.
“Depends what you want to do”
“I just want to watch something, something in theme with the spook” he gestured his hands in front of him making a strange, supposedly ghostly, sound.
Arthur laughed, he couldn’t win against this man “Fine, fine, think about it while you carve”
“And so the story is complete, and everyone is satisfied with the ending and so on and so forth, and yet over the garden wall,” Arthur stretched out like a cat against the sofa, having just finished binge watching ‘Over the garden wall’.
“Beckons through the leaves”, Antonio was leaning heavily on his shoulder, one leg kicked over Arthur's lap watching the screen intently as the ending played through.
The Woodsmen and his daughter, the toy maker and his toys, Langtree and Jimmy, Enoch and his pumpkins and finally Beatrice and her family “Now eat your dirt”.
“Ah man I love this series” Antonio groaned stretching his arms out in front of him.
“The music’s good” Arthur hummed moving to stand.
“Arthur no, stay” he moaned gripping tightly at Arthur’s arm, hugging it into his chest.
Arthur moved to protest, he wanted tea, but upon seeing the dopey tired grin on the Spaniards face he found his resolve began to brittle and crumble.
“But tea?”
“Tea can wait, sit!” Antonio was persistent that’s for sure, his grip on his arm never relented and Arthur found his body moving on its own, reclining back into the sofa. From the sofa he had a pretty good view of their pumpkins in the window aglow with candlelight.
For a while they just sat there holding each other, Arthur felt content, even as his arm slowly lost feeling as it was crushed by Antonio’s back.
Though adventuring was fun sometimes just sitting back and enjoying Antonio’s touch was enough for Arthur, it warmed his soul melting the bitterness away.
“I think you and your brother should dress as Wirt and Greg for America’s Halloween party” Arthur said absently, though upon seeing Antonio’s pretty face sneer, maybe he should have said nothing.
“Oh yeah and who’d I be?”
“I mean obviously Greg” he snorted.
“Why obviously?”
“Because,” Arthur readjusted his arms, holding Antonio closer “you’re not serious enough to be Wirt, plus it’d be cute if you went around saying ‘and that’s a Toni fact’!” Antonio laughed resting his head in the crook of Arthur’s neck, Arthur could feel Antonio’s lashes flutter against his throat.
“Maybe I’ll do it just for you, I don’t think Port will need much convincing if you ask him” Arthur rolled his eyes, he didn’t have to see Antonio’s face to know the smug look that would be on it.
Antonio pulled back wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck, a strange knowing look in his eyes “But I may need convincing”
With a laugh and a sigh Arthur cocked his head innocently “what do you mean”
“You know what I mean”
“I’ll buy you two packs of Hobnobs and a bottle of wine”
“Any wine?!” He perked up.
“Any”
“Whoa that’s way better than what I had in mind!”
Arthur scowled, maybe he should take back what he said about the wine “I’m kidding, how about all three”
“That I can get behind” they sealed the deal with a kiss.
“Happy Halloween Spain”
“Feliz Halloween, Inglaterra”