I have a few festering plot bunnies regarding a Hetalia Cardverse, but this is the first one to get out, mostly because it's a simple one-shot. Might do a back story or a short to follow, if this is well received.

I've noticed that the Joker isn't used very often in Cardverse fics, so I thought I'd have a little fun with it. :P

Enjoy!

Madeline turned on the faucet, rinsing out her wine glass. She swirled the water around before sending it down the drain, turning off the flow. Setting it aside, she leaned forward, peering out the window above the sink. The sun had set some time ago, and now the moon was high overhead, a pale silver globe in the night's sky amid a blanket of stars.

She sighed quietly, leaving the kitchen, turning off the light. It was late, and she'd learned long ago that pining away didn't make him get home any sooner. An occupational hazard when you were the Joker's wife, and one she'd known about going in.

Madeline padded through the farmhouse, turning off lights as she went, retreating to the master bedroom. They lived near the border of the Kingdom of Hearts and the Kingdom of Spades, a location she herself had picked. She knew that as the Joker Gilbert couldn't be too biased, but her brother was King of Spades. She liked living within a day's drive of the Spade's Capital.

After brushing her teeth and making sure the doors were all locked, Madeline closed the door their bedroom, sighing quietly. Left with just the lamp by her bed, Madeline climbed under the sheets, picking up a book. Gilbert had always been honest with his schedule, which was very erratic. If he wasn't going back and forth between the Kingdoms, he was delegating with the Fay, as was his duty as the current Joker. He was only supposed to be gone a few days this time. Today was day four, but then it was also supposed to be a trip to a Fay population. Their sense of time was a little skewed, a side effect of having a very long lifespan.

Madeline didn't get through very many pages of the book before her head started to nod. Yawning, she set it aside, reaching over to turn off the lamp, settling down in bed. Ah well, maybe he'd show up tomorrow. Usually he wasn't more than four or five days off in his ETA's.

In truth the Joker was more legend than reality to most people, especially these days. He was the mediator between the kingdom royals and the Fay, a new one born each generation. Gilbert's younger brother had been born with the marker that identified him as the King of Diamonds. Gilbert himself had been born with the long tail that was the more obvious signifier of the Joker. Personally, Madeline had always been more fascinated than disturbed by the tail. It was five feet long and as dexterous as monkey's, but covered in skin rather than fur. Gilbert just boasted that it made him more awesome.

Madeline set her glasses on the bedside table atop her book, pulling up the sheets and closing her eyes. She didn't think it'd take long to fall asleep, but this time she didn't get the chance to find out. No sooner had she started to nod off than the curtains rippled from across the room, the unmistakable scent of concord grapes filling the air.

A few years ago, Madeline would have been rolling out of bed and going for the rifle she kept on hand to greet intruders. Now, though, she just smiled, rolling over to squint around the dark room. That scent was something she'd come to recognize easily enough, the one that always gave away the use of magic.

"You're late."

The bed dipped next to her, a pale figure sliding into the bed. "They were unawesomly clingy. Apparently it's good luck to have the Awesome me around for weddings. I told them I'd stay until morning."

Madeline frowned. "What time zone were you in again?"

Gilbert chuckled. "One far enough away for it to be midnight there."

"Won't they be mad?"

"Eh, they'll get over it," said Gilbert, leaning over to peck her on the lips before flopping down with a weary sigh. "I'm tired."

Chuckling softly, Madeline laid back down, running her fingers through his hair. "Use lots of magic today?"

"Ja," he mumbled, rolling over and throwing an arm over her waist.

Madeline smiled absently, closing her eyes. "Get some sleep. You can tell me about it in the morning."

"Pancakes?" he asked hopefully, already half asleep from the sound of it.

"Yes, pancakes," she agreed patiently, still smiling.

"Maple syrup?" Gilbert mumbled.

Madeline snorted softly. "Don't insult me, Gil. Now seriously, rest. You've been too busy lately."

"Sorry, Birdie. But I can stay home a whole...a whole month this time...at least...

She didn't need to check to know he was asleep. Good grief, how much magic had he used? It didn't run in the Belishmet family, Gilbert only had it as part of his Joker position. What little training he had was thanks to Alice, the Queen of Spades, and even then only because Alice didn't want her sister-in-law to lose her husband due to careless magic use. There were a lot of ways for mages to get themselves killed if they misused their magic, and Gilbert had a bad habit of pushing the limits. Transportations were master level spells and could be draining if they weren't done on a fresh supply of magic, which the albino apparently hadn't had. Even if he had, Madeline planned to keep him here for a little while to rest anyway. He'd only been home for a few days at a time these last few months, running around between Kingdoms and the Fay. In addition to the recent crowning of the Heart's Queen and Jack, the Fay had been unusually active. Both required a lot of attention from the Joker. Madeline missed him, and he'd sounded exhausted whenever he was home.

Finger's still idly combing through his ruffled hair, Madeline closed her eyes, hoping to join him in short order. It'd be nice to have him around for a while, especially if he was serious about staying home for a longer period of time. Now if she could just get him to fix that broken gutter before he ran off again, everything would be perfect.

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