They had travelled together many a day. Through meeting in England to visiting Berlin, Vienna and Dublin, becoming a couple and wandering through Barcelona and Paris.

It was in Paris one early spring afternoon, in view of the Eiffel Tower where Shirou brought him flowers. Usually it was the other way around, and Ian could only blink in surprise at the initial white rose on the table of a small cafe that Shirou had told him to sit down by.

Picking it up, he turned to Shirou, but he was gone. In confusion, Ian looked at the smooth white petals of the rose. Though he was well informed about the flower language commonly used in European countries, he was still getting to know the Japanese hanakotoba, and he knew that this one differed depending on where you were. But Shirou was from Japan, and was the one who had made him interested in learning hanakotoba. He ought to mean the Japanese meaning of the flower, not the European.

He thought, mulling out loud. Innocence, devotion…. "Devotion?"

Once he uttered the word, he spotted movement in the corner of his eye.

He turned, and in front of him stood Shirou with a big bouquet of stunning red roses.

Red roses, that held the same meaning no matter which of the languages you looked at.

Love.

A feeling of warmth filled up his chest as he accepted the roses, and with widening eyes he saw Shirou get down on one knee.

"Ian. I know that legally it’s still not possible for us to get married, but, once England or Japan makes it happen…"

His heart nearly stopped, but at the same time he felt like his heart would burst out of his chest because of how fast it was beating.

The box popped open, revealing a ring.

"Ian Yorkland, will you marry me?"

With the music of a street performer down the street, and the rush of a fountain nearby, Ian didn’t know if he was breathing or not.

But then, in the course of a second, he had pulled Shirou up from the ground and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Yes. Yes, Mifune Shirou, I will marry you!"

He felt Shirou’s arms wrap around him, pulling him close, for a moment just letting them stand there together, before they pulled back just enough to let Shirou slip the ring onto Ian’s finger.

And that day, that beautiful spring day on the streets of Paris, was the day they got engaged.