Cursed doll!England x Reader - I'll help you-

Chapter 4

The next morning, you woke up on the couch, Arthur leaning against you in his doll form. You carefully picked him up and sat him in the arm chair by the fireplace before you went and showered and dressed. The whole time you kept thinking about the story Arthur told you about his life; something about it sounded familiar, like you've heard it somewhere before.

You shrugged it off, putting it at the back of your mind for the time being. You wanted to do something for Arthur. Even if you couldn't break the curse, you wanted to prove to Arthur that he would always have a home here. And what better way than to treat him like family?

"Arthur, I'm going out!" you called, not waiting for a response (like you'd get one from a toy).

You first went to the clothing store and picked out a few outfits you thought would fit Arthur. You didn't exactly get any measurements for him but he wasn't exactly awkwardly shaped. You picked out a long sleeved, button up shirt with thin, vertical green stripes and some black jeans you thought would look good on him, and a belt just in case the pants were too big. You also got him a pair of black dress shoes and new socks and boxers. You figured that after 200 years of wearing the same thing that he'd want some new, clean clothes.

Next you went to the food store. You got a bunch of little things that you needed to cook a good, home-cooked meal. Arthur likely hadn't eaten anything since the early 1800's, you thought he could use a good meal. You didn't know exactly what to make since you never really asked, but you decided to make some general basics that most anyone would like. You also picked up some wine, since he likely enjoyed his alcohol.

The minute you got home, you called a quick Hello to Arthur and rushed to your room so you could wrap his new clothes in a box and give them as a present later tonight.

Then you ran to the kitchen and immediately set to work, tearing your kitchen apart bit by bit and putting every ounce of you effort into your craft. The first thing you made was a nice, vanilla cheesecake, since it would need a few hours to cool before serving. Since the cheesecake would take over your oven for a good three hours, you used this opportunity to clean up the dining room a bit. You had torn it up while redecorating your living room and hadn't gotten around to clearing it out again.

By the time the dining room was presentable, the cheesecake was finished in the oven and you pulled it out to let it cool on the counter for another hour or two. You looked at the clock; 10:47 P.M. Just another hour and ten minutes. You had to have everything ready by the time Arthur transformed.

You hustled around the kitchen, practically running laps, trying to prepare both the pasta and the veal parmesan for dinner; if you've learned anything from your friends Feliciano and Lovino, it's that pasta is always a crowd pleaser. You wanted to have everything together so that you could straighten up and get yourself cleaned up before midnight.

Before you knew it, it was 11:59 PM. You sat Arthur in the window sill again and waited for what you knew would happen next. The second the clock struck twelve, the toy was replaced with the same, handsome young Englishman from the night before.
He smiled at you "Evening, love."

"It's nice to see you too, Arthur." You smiled back. "I got you a little something." You revealed the big box you had hidden behind the couch.

"A present? What for?" he asked with a confused look on his face.

"It's just something I thought you could use. A little friendly gesture, if you will." You replied.

He tore the wrapping paper off the box and pulled open the lid. You saw his eyes brighten a bit when he pulled out his new clothes and shoes. "You got me new clothes?"

"I just thought you might like something else to wear after two hundred years. The ones you're wearing now are a bit frayed and torn."

"And they look just my size too!" You smiled at how excited he was just for a set of clothes. His face was one you would usually see on a kid's face on Christmas morning.

"Go ahead and try them on." You said "I want to make sure they fit. The bathroom's down the hall on the right."

He picked up the whole box and went to change. The story he told you still sat in your mind. The story sounded so familiar! But where could you have heard it before? You didn't know Arthur until two days ago! While you were stewing on the subject, you failed to notice Arthur coming up behind you.

"Um..._______?" you jumped a little at the sound of his voice. You turned to see him behind you, dressed in his new clothes which fit him perfectly, right down to his shoes. Except his shirt was buttoned up wrong and forced him to hold his arms up awkwardly. "A little help, please?"

You smiled and accidentally let a small chuckle escape your lips. "Don't patronize me!" he protested "This is the first time I've buttoned up a shirt in two hundred years!"

"Sorry, sorry!" you said as you began fiddling with his buttons. You unbuttoned his shirt completely, exposing his well toned midsection, complete with sculpted abs. Your face turned red at the sight, and you kept your face down to hide from Arthur. Right now you were grateful that he was that much taller than you because it was that much easier to hide yourself from him.

Once his shirt was fixed, you led him into the dining room where you had two places set and two plates of veal parmesan and pasta with red sauce waiting for you as well as a new bottle of fine red wine.

"You went through all this effort for me?" Arthur said, wide-eyed.

"Of course!", you said, looking up at him with a smile "I want to make sure that you really feel at home. And, like my mom always says, 'Nothing says home like a dinner made with love'."

"It looks amazing! And smells even better! I almost don't want to eat it just so it can last!"

'He really is sheltered, isn't he?' you thought.

"Well it won't keep forever, so you may as well eat it now" you said, taking a seat the table.

He joined you and the two of you happily ate the meal. Arthur acted like it was the greatest thing he's ever eaten. Every bite he let out a sound of delight as he savored the taste.

"Arthur", you said "Aren't you going a bit over board? I mean I know it's good, but you're acting like it's made of gold and diamonds."

"Well what do you expect? I haven't tasted anything like this ever before!"

Once you were both finished, Arthur took a sip of his wine and sighed with contentment.
"That's the best wine I've tasted in two hundred years!"

"Isn't it the only wine you've tasted in two hundred years?" you asked raising a brow.
"My point still stands; you have excellent taste!"

"You think that's good, wait until you see what I've made for desert." You stood up and left the table. You returned with the cheesecake in your hands and you cut Arthur a piece.
"What kind of cake is this?" he asked "I've never smelled anything like this before."
"It's cheesecake." You said, cutting yourself a piece as well.

"A cake...made of cheese?" he said raising a brow at the desert.

"You know I said the same thing when my mom first handed me a piece, but believe me it tastes delicious. Some people would eat this with every meal of the day if they could."

He gave you a weird look, trying to see if you were pulling his leg. "You don't believe me? Just watch." And you stuck a bite into your mouth.

He was convinced enough to try a bite. His eyes lit up like fireworks.

"This is amazing!" He exclaimed taking another bite. "Who came up with this recipe anyway?"

"I don't know" you replied "All I know is that it originated in France."

Arthur's expression darkened a bit. He pushed the cheesecake away from him and began grumbling a bit.

"I-is something wrong?" you asked.

"I don't like anything from that country." He said with a huff.

"W-why?"

"Two hundred years ago...my Louise ran off with a Frenchman."

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"No no, love, like I said before none of this is your fault. Let's just forget this, alright?"

"O-okay." You put your head down a bit and pushed your cake away as well.

"_______, don't look so solemn." Arthur said, rubbing your arm. "I know that you meant well, and that's all that matters."

"I know. But I just wanted to give you a good meal. After all, with everything you went through, it's the least you deserve."

"Love, I've only known you for three days, yet in that short amount of time you've done more for me than anyone has in two centuries. I am what I am because of my own mistakes and regrets. You've given me more than I could ask for and far more than I deserve."

You smiled at him before letting out a yawn. You saw the clock read 2:34 A.M.

"You should go to bed, _______."

"Right." You said, standing up "Just let me clean up a bit."

"No no! Let me, I need to do something for you once in a while. Go ahead and go to sleep."

"Alright, alright. Good night Arthur." You said drowsily, giving him a hug.

"Good night, love."