"I'll see you soon, Ludwig," Kiku said softly, chewing on his lower lip.
"Ja," Ludwig replied, nodding to no one in particular, "Pass the message onto Feliciano, bitte."
Kiku smiled softly, nodding, "Of course, Herr Ludwig. A-and I care for you as well…"
Ludwig chuckled, smiling fondly at the phone, "Ja, I know. Thank you, Kiku. I must go now, goodbye."
Kiku heard the phone click off and sighed to himself, placing the object in his hand back in the cradle on the wall. He stood up, brushing his long, royal robes away from his feet as they padded across the marble-tiled kitchen floor. The king of hearts, Ludwig, had called his "queen", Kiku Honda to make sure everything had been dealt with since he had left. However, Kiku knew that Ludwig was really calling to check up on Feliciano, the Jack, with whom he was deeply in love. This did not make the Japanese man jealous, despite the fact that he was the German's "queen" and "husband". In fact, seeing Ludwig and Feliciano together made Kiku very happy. To make up for his lack of affection, Ludwig allowed Kiku to see whomever he wanted and Kiku did just that. He was in a very happy relationship with a farmer and archaeologist named Heracles Karpusi. The Japanese man shook his head; he had to wake up the Italian before the German came home.
"Feliciano-kun, please wake up," Kiku mumbled, stumbling into Feliciano's doorway.
"Nmm? Kiku," Feliciano replied blearily, wiping the mucus from his eyes, "Is Ludwig home yet?"
"Iie, but he will soon be. You should get dressed," the Japanese man replied, blushing as the Italian sat up in bed, the sheets falling to reveal his bare body.
"Why? Luddy likes to see me naked, doesn't he?" the Italian asked, cocking his head to the side, his auburn bangs falling in front of his fluttering, black eyelashes.
Kiku sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Please, have some decency and clothe yourself."
Feliciano nodded, standing up and wrapping the sheet around his waist and walked over to the closet to retrieve his clothes and put them on, despite Kiku standing in the room. Kiku chuckled, watching Feliciano struggle with his shoes and went over to help him tie them.
"Tell me, Feliciano, how did you and Ludwig fall in love?" Kiku asked, blinking slowly.
Feliciano smiled, sitting on the edge of his bed, moving over to accommadate space for Kiku, "I'll start from when we first met…"
**Flashback**
Feliciano, the newly appointed jack of hearts, stumbled into the castle, looking around with wide, amber eyes. They sparkled as they took in all of the bright and expensive things, trying to note every last detail. Of course, this meant that he was disregarding the tour guide, who was vainly attempting to keep his attention. She stormed off in a frustrated huff, throwing her clipboard to the floor. Feliciano tilted his head, suddenly realizing that he was alone. As he became more and more conscious of this, the Italian flipped out and sat down somewhere to calm himself. He did not know where to go or who to talk to and this distressed him.
Whilst Feliciano was having a mental breakdown in the living room, Ludwig was attempting to make breakfast in the kitchen. This culminated in the fire alarms screaming in protest as Ludwig scraped horribly burnt pancakes from the griddle. He cursed his rotten luck, wondering why on Earth he had decided to undertake this catastrophe of a cooking task. He sighed, scrubbing the griddle mercilessly with a metal sponge in order to remove the large globs of burnt batter from between the spaces in the griddles. Once he finished, he threw the failed project aside, picking up his mug of coffee and grabbing a coaster before going to read the paper in the sitting room.
The German hardly noticed the Italian curled up in the corner as he walked by, too busy worrying about the headlines he would read that day. There were rumors going around that Ludwig's queen, Kiku, was actually going around to all of the other kingdoms to have affairs with the other kings and not to attempt peace, as he had said. Of course, this rumor hardly troubled Ludwig because he and Kiku were not legitimately married because there was no consent. In fact, Kiku already had a lover and Ludwig was perfectly fine with it. It was not the rumor itself that concerned him; it was the fact that it was spreading so fast that troubled him so.
After a while of just sitting in silence, Feliciano just started to whimper, pulling his knees to his chest like a frightened child. The Italian had always been prone to panic attacks when he was alone, mainly because there was a chemical imbalance in his brain that triggered them. However, doctors refused to treat him for this imbalance, even the ones who diagnosed him. Their excuse was that he was "special" and that his brain needed to be in sharp shape in order to keep the position he had earned.
The soft, child-like whimpering reach Ludwig's ears and he turned slightly, placing the paper aside and listening closer. A frown marred his features as he stood up, mistakenly looking under the couches and loveseats for a toddler or other small child. He finally came to the corner on the opposite side of the room from where he came. Huddled in the corner was a petite man with messy auburn hair and wide, frightened amber eyes. Ludwig raised a blond brow at this before letting out a soft sigh and stooping to the other's level.
"Are you lost, little boy?" he asked clumsily in an attempt to be tender.
"I-I'm not a boy!" the other whimpered, crossing his tanned arms over his chest, "And I'm not lost either."
Ludwig's eyebrows furrowed as he thought of a comeback for the other man before him, "M-my apologies, sir. But if I may ask, what are you doing in my palace?"
"Your palace?" the man inquired with the tilt of his head, "Oh, you must be the king. I am deeply sorry; I am Feliciano, the newly installed jack."
"Ah, so you're him, hm? I was expecting someone a little more... pale, I suppose," Ludwig noted, "But, it is a pleasure to meet you, Feliciano."
Feliciano laughed, joking lightheartedly "What, am I going against the theme? I do apologize Your Majesty, but I did not choose my position; the people did."
"That is true, I suppose," Ludwig replied, standing up and offering Feliciano a hand, "Now come with me. We have much to speak of..."
**Timeskip**
It was Kiku's second week of absence from the Kingdom of Hearts and everything was as if he had never left. Ludwig was actually enjoying Feliciano's company, though a little bit more than he would have liked. In fact, he would not be surprised if someone had told him that he was exhibiting signs of love for the other. It was all there; the faster heartbeat, the ubiquitous blush, the constant stuttering. The only thing left was for Ludwig to admit that he was charmed by Feliciano. It was very easy for one to see why he was so likable; he was consistently sweet, always flirtatious, trying to 'mix things up' and constantly romantic. Ludwig was really beginning to wonder what the Italian felt for him and decided to ask him before they slept.
At the normal time, Ludwig climbed into his bed, pulling the covers over himself. He waited about an hour before noticing a familiar tuft of auburn hair at the doorway. The German sat up with a soft sigh, beckoning the Italian over. The smaller man all but jumped into the larger man's bed, unashamedly bare from his toes to his neck. This made Ludwig flush and move over slightly as an excuse to move farther from Feliciano. The Italian frowned and basically plopped himself on the German's lap, causing the latter's face to burn with embarrassment.
"F-Feliciano," Ludwig stammered, attempting to sound stern, "We need to speak about something."
"Si," Feliciano replied absently, matching the intensity of Ludwig's tone, "We do."
"W-why don't you go first then?" Ludwig prompted, leaning his head against the intricately carved headboard.
"I wish to speak to you about our relationship," Feliciano said, tilting his head slightly.
"W-what about it?" Ludwig stammered, gnawing on his lower lip.
"I know you are married, but I also know that you allow Kiku to have a lover. I also notice that you lack a love to make you happy," Feliciano noted, his eyes dancing, "So I was wondering if I could be your lover? You see, I really, really like you and I know you feel the same way. You seem really happy and I want to continue to make you happy!"
Ludwig sat, listening to Feliciano and just staring. Of course, Feliciano would be the insightful one. A blush covered his face; he supposed that the arrangement could work. He certainly would not mind sharing time or a bed with the other. Ludwig smiled, kissing Feliciano's head gently.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, liebe," Ludwig said, smiling.
**End Flashback**
"Oh, I see," Kiku said smiling as he heard the door open.
Feliciano's attention darted to the door as well, "Luddy!"
Ludwig chuckled, holding his arms out for Feliciano to jump into, "Hello, dearest."
Feliciano nuzzled into Ludwig's chest, "Welcome home, amore. Ti amo."
"Ich liebe dich," was Ludwig's only reply as he and Feliciano kissed whilst Kiku closed the door and left the room quietly.