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It's been a full year since Arthur and Ivan had officially become a couple.
And they haven't even kissed yet.
Arthur leaned his head on his hand. He just couldn't concentrate on his homework and pushed it aside. It wasn't that there was no affection between them, quite the opposite actually. Ivan would always hug Arthur when they were out of the public eye, always held his hand, always shuffled just a little bit closer while they were studying so their shoulders touched. While Arthur protested at first, the small touches just became part of their routine and he started reciprocating. At the start of their relationship Arthur had insisted on keeping physical contact to a minimum when they were out where everyone could see. Ivans smile when Arthur took his hand in the middle of the hall was priceless, the moment was instantly ruined by Alfred dramatically ewing.
The first time Ivan had tried to kiss him was after one of their dates, when they were leaning on the small bridge over the lake in the park. It was late and there was no one around, Ivan had commented on how beautiful the night's sky was and they stayed there talking about nothing under the light of the full moon. They laughed and a comfortable silence washed over them. Ivan leaned in, but Arthur had stopped him by putting his hand over Ivans mouth. He felt as though his heart would burst out of his chest at that moment, it sank as soon as he saw Ivan look away with guilt and disappointment. Arthur just wasn't ready and Ivan understood.
Arthur put his head on the table, using his arms as a pillow, in part to hide the redness spreading throughout his face. Their anniversary was a couple days ago, Ivan had brought him flowers like he did when he asked Arthur on their first official date, only this time he brought Arthur a bouquet of roses, unlike last year's single flower. Arthur was unsure if he liked the simplicity over the big romantic gesture. Although he still complained to Ivan about how sinking a lot of money into something wasn't the proper way to be romantic, he accepted the gift with a soft smile.
There was another thing Arthur was expecting on that day, however. He knew it was cliché, he knew it was foolish of him to expect it when he hadn't voiced the wish beforehand. If anything he should have made the first move, but he still waited for Ivan to initiate it. He was on a romantic high all day, but that desire hadn't died with it. It was driving him up a wall.
"My my, are you having romantic troubles again, mon ami?"
"No!" Arthur sat up straight, hands slamming onto the table. The librarian shushed him with a glare and Arthur took a deep breath. Turning to face the frog-faced excuse for a friend, he whisper-shouted. "What are you doing here?"
"This is the public library, am I not allowed to be here?" Francis huffed with his usual over-dramatic flare as he sat down opposite from Arthur.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Arthur rubbed his temples. He didn't have time to deal with this moron. "What do you want, Frog?"
Normally, Francis would again have a theatrical reaction over being "insulted" like that, instead he turned to face Arthur fully and leaned in, an uncommon serious look on his face. "I saw you sulking, did something happen?"
"It's none of your business, asshole." Arthur mumbled, trying to find the place where he stopped in his book. His face was still slightly flushed and he just couldn't get the damned fantasy of a romantic anniversary first kiss out of his head.
Francis hummed in response, thinking of something. It didn't take him too long to figure it out, it never did when it came to pushing Arthur's buttons. "Say... has Ivan tried to kiss you yet?"
"Wha-NO!" Arthur's face went red. The librarian shushed him again, louder this time. "I mean yes… It's none of your business."
Again, that damned, knowing smirk, Arthur wanted to punch it off his face. Francis leaned back in his chair, with a flick of his overly long hair. "Oh well, it looks like I, as the Master of le Amour, will have to help you."
"Francis I swear, if you're going to dress up as Cupid again I'd rather suffer."
Francis laughed. "Oh trust me I have a better idea…"
On their way home, they would always go to the park. It was part of their routine and the fresh air of spring was a pleasant change of pace after a stressful day. They would almost always hold hands as they did so, some days they would make small talk, others they spent in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's presence. Today it was the latter, but Arthur still couldn't fully relax, he had to look out for the frog-faces stupid plan.
"Do you want to go on the boats?"
Arthur didn't know how Francis had pulled a favour from the owner of the small boat rides to where he was willing to move the spot he operated from to suit their usual path and Arthur, to be Frank, didn't want to know.
"Hm," Ivan looked over to the boats, not having noticed their new location. After a moment of thought he agreed and they got on one of the many two seat boats after paying the fare to the man in charge.
Arthur cursed internally, where was that frogface? He hadn't told Arthur all the details, but he said he would be waiting for them on the boats. If he was late and the plan was a failure Arthur would kill him. Ivans question brought Arthur out of his thoughts.
"Is something on your mind?"
"Ah no, it's nothing. Just a bit tired."
With a small humm Ivan reached into his bag and got some of the plain cookies he had as snacks, offering a couple to Arthur. They talked about nothing as they fed the ducks, though they seemed to avoid Ivan as they mostly flocked by Arthur's side of the boat. After a couple minutes of this, Arthur leaned on Ivans shoulder with a sigh, a soft smile on his face as he watched the water. Ivan, in turn, put his arm around Arthur's shoulders, letting out a breathy laugh as they took their time enjoying each other's presence.
And then there was that god awful music. Apparently Francis' plan was to ruin their nice mood by playing some 'romantic' song to get them to kiss. Arthur was going to strangle him. Pushing Ivans arm off his shoulder, Arthur stood and turned around so he could see the Frenchman and two of his buddies in their own boat. Ivan was enough of a counterweight that Arthurs sudden movement didn't tip over the light boat.
"For fucks sake... FRANCIS I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
All three laughed, with Gilbert's obnoxious laughter being most prominent. Arthur growled, but sat back down with a huff and a pout on his face, crossing his arms over his chest as he sank into his seat. There was no way for him to reach those three and now there was an awkward tension in his own ride.
"What was that?" Ivan laughed awkwardly. Crap, now Arthur had to explain himself, he should have just stayed silent and ignored those shitstains…
Arthur sputtered for a second, turning so he wasn't facing Ivan. His face heated up as he struggled to find the right words. "Well um you see… Francis offered to help me with something and well as you saw he was no help at all…"
"And what exactly did you need help with that you would ask Francis of all people?"
He wanted to hide somewhere, but Arthur couldn't see a way to escape this situation. Ivan knew and he probably wouldn't let it go until he found out the full story. "I just couldn't find the right time to finally kiss you…"
The few seconds of silence seemed like an eternity to Arthur as his embarrassment grew. He should have just waited instead of taking up the french bastards plan. Ivan spoke in an unsure voice, "But didn't you say you…"
More silence. Coming to a realisation, Ivan laughed. "I thought you meant you wanted to wait till marriage when you said you weren't ready."
Arthur turned around, indignified. "Ivan!"
"Prosti- Sorry, here…" Ivan chuckled, leaning in closer to Arthur. Placing one of his hands on the smaller blondes shoulder, Ivan brought their lips together briefly before pulling away, hand still on Arthurs shoulder.
"Is this really the right time and place…?" Face going completely scarlet, Arthur pouted. He fiddled with the hem of his sweater as he tried to look anywhere but into Ivans eyes. "At least kiss me properly… idiot…"
Ivans smile turned sheepish, but he still leaned in again. "I've never really done this before so…"
He trailed off as their lips met again. Arthur hesitantly wrapped his arms around Ivans neck, pulling him closer as their kiss got more heated. The small raised part that served as a separator for the two seats was getting in the way and while the two were caught up in their passion they shifted to both be on one side of the boat.
The boat couldn't handle the shift and they both fell into the water.
Arthur began thrashing as soon as he felt the cold bite of the water, but Ivan was still holding him to his chest with one hand, using the other to grab the side of the boat. Pulling both of them into the now water filled boat, Ivan laughed.
"Well so much for a first kiss."