Arthur sighed, frowning down at the long gown he wore. If he had disliked his wedding dress, then he absolutely loathed this one. It reached past his ankles and covered his feet, the silky red fabric that completely surrounded his lower half breaking only to show stripes of white with hearts on them that got bigger as the stripe got wider. With the dress, as if it weren't enough, he wore a little silver tiara with a red heart-shaped gem in it. He stared at his reflection a little longer. "Francis, this… this is silly." He muttered, looking back at his husband. Francis only chuckled, moving to stand next to him.

"Nonsense cher, you look fine…" he chuckled, placing his hands beside the puffy shoulders of Arthur's dress. His own costume was, to say the least, quite flattering. A trimming of dark maroon colored fur surrounded his neck, holding up the red cloak that framed his body nicely. They each wore the same red slippers though; dancing slippers.

"I just don't feel comfortable with this whole costume ball thing…"

"Ah, it is not simply a costume ball. It is the masquerade, and we have one every November Eve. I've told you this multiple times now…" he chuckled, pecking a kiss to Arthur's cheek. Arthur just frowned, squirming a bit.

"Couldn't I have at least worn a costume with a looser corset? At least for the baby's sake…" he mumbled, placing his hands on his belly. After four months the little bump was really beginning to show, although it was all but completely concealed behind the flurry of lace and little hearts and the bindings of the tight corset. He jumped a bit at the strike of the nearest clock, sending it a fiery glare before crossing his arms and giving a huffy sigh.

"Nine o'clock cher…" murmured Francis, his hands running lightly down Arthur's gloved arms before locking their fingers together, twirling Arthur to face him. "And on we go, to a nice of dancing…" He smiled, a nice contrast to the frown painted across Arthur's red lips.

"Francis, I… I'm not quite sure that I can do this…" he mumbled, gently pulling their fingers apart.

"Arthur, amour, you're going to be perfectly fine." He chuckled, going to the vanity and taking their masks- which also matched- and placing one delicately over Arthur's eyes. "It's just a few hours, nobody will recognize you, and at the end of the night the masks come off and we can come back upstairs, oui?" He smiled a bit, setting his own mask so that it sat nicely on the bridge of his nose. Arthur just stared for a while, his frown becoming more evident.

"Francis, what if I'm not fine?" he asked, looking almost a little upset. "What if I'm not every bit as happy about this little event as you are? You're going to have your two friends here, but all I have is you." He stepped back a bit, his voice rising with every word. Francis noted this and matched the other's steps, standing before him and grasping his arms.

"Arthur, calm down." He said firmly. "You're just getting a little moody, that's all, it's probably because of the baby-"

"And you know so much about the baby considering the amount of time you spend with it!" Arthur snapped back. "I stay here most days while you go out doing who knows what in who knows where. Sometimes I feel like you go out just to avoid me!"

"Arthur, please-" Francis was near begging now, his hands lowering to Arthur's and holding them in his own.

"Don't you 'Arthur please' me!" he shouted, tearing his hands from his husband's. He could almost feel tears in his eyes from the innermost thoughts he was now spilling out so easily, with no restraint to speak of. He gave Francis a last look, somewhat satisfied with the shock on his face, and stormed out of the room.

"Arthur, come back!" Francis rushed to follow him, but the door was slammed in his face. He cringed at the sound of Arthur's slippers stomping down the hall, luckily hidden by his long dress. He sighed heavily, tucking a red rose into his lapel before rushing out into the hallway after him, only to find that he had gone. "Arthur…" he muttered, giving a small sigh. He was sure that he'd see the other later. After all, he was sort of hard to miss. Surely there would not be a single other person in attendance tonight that looked better than they.

…

Arthur tore through the halls, used to the layout of the castle that had once been impossibly difficult for him to navigate. The further he got, the worse he felt about lashing out at Francis. He knew that it probably was just the baby, and that he was being a bit ridiculous.

"It cannot be helped…" he muttered, continuing on a bit more slowly than he had been before in the hopes of Francis catching up to him. He eventually found that he had not only reached the ballroom but had almost stumbled right off of the loft, stopped only by what appeared to be a masked knight- no doubt one of the guards. He tugged his arms from their grip, starting down the stairs to the dance floor on his own. He didn't need Francis. It was as the other had said dozens of times, it was a masquerade ball, everyone was in costume. He could dance with whoever he wanted. The only problem with this philosophy, however, was that he didn't want to dance with any of these men, and the more of them talked to him the more he wished that Francis was there to dance with him. He gave a sigh of defeat, retreating to the space under the loft in hopes of finding a dance partner there. An ornate clock hung above the door, one meant to tell the time in addition to the large one across the room which had been constructed for just these sorts of events. It read nine-thirty. Another two and a half hours until he could go to bed. He groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Something wrong milady?" came a voice. Arthur warily glanced up, blinking a few times. A young man in a long, blue coat was standing before him. He wore russet-colored pants that made him look tall, and hanging from a small chain he held what appeared to be a pocket watch shaped like a spade. Arthur examined the costume a little closer to find that this symbol presented itself in a few other places; along the chain of the watch, at the bottom of his coat, dozens of times on his mask, and- most prominently- in an intricate tattoo on his hand. Arthur had something similar on his own hand, although it was a bright crimson heart rather then a navy-blue spade. He smiled a little.

"The king of spades?" he asked, chuckling. The man grinned, giving Arthur a small bow.

"And the queen of hearts… although I would suspect that the king should be joining you tonight?" he asked, glancing around. Arthur's smile faltered.

"Oh, him… yes, he seems to be absent at the moment…" he mumbled, still not sure where Francis was himself. The king of spades just widened his grin and took up one of Arthur's hands, giving another deep bow to peck a polite kiss to it.

"Then perhaps I may fill in for him?" he asked. Arthur felt heat rise to his face, his cheeks turning a shade of red that rivaled the heart on his right hand that had just been pressed to the spade king's lips. He was tempted to deny him, but then he remembered why he was making his offer in the first place and straightened up a little.

"W-well, I… I suppose that it couldn't hurt." He chuckled, allowing the king of spades to lead him to the dance floor.

…

Francis, unlike Arthur, had made his way first to the castle's front entrance to welcome his two friends. They'd traveled quite the distance to get there, having taken the longer route in an attempt to visit their families in the countryside. Francis listened to their stories happily, slowly leading them to the ballroom and taking a place at the railing of the loft. He took a glance at the clock: nine forty-five. He glanced to his friends, his smile fading a bit as he looked out at the masses of dancing people.

"Hey, what is the problem amigo?" came the voice of the first, Antonio, who leaned against the railing with him but didn't look out into the mass of dancers. "You have seemed a bit off ever since we arrived, no?" he laughed a little, patting him on the shoulder with a gloved hand. "Ah, what about this wife of yours that we've been hearing about? Where is she?" he asked, looking in the crowd for a moment before remembering that he had no idea what to look for.

"Ja, that's why we're here." Piped in the second voice- Gilbert's voice. He looked Francis's costume over, then scanned the crowd. "If I know you, you would have matching costumed for you two, right? Or at least wearing red, as is customary of the kingdom of narcissism." He laughed, and Antonio joined him.

"Oh shush, both of you." Francis scowled at them, staring back into the crowd. "We had a bit of a… disagreement earlier, and she's a bit upset with me right now…" he mumbled, his gaze eventually lowering to his boots. Gilbert patted him on the back.

"Maybe she's out there waiting for you. I'll bet you that she's been thinking of you the whole time. For all you know, she's just waiting for you to go find her." This thought brought a smile to the faces of all three friends.

"Oui, perhaps…"

"Or maybe she's out dancing." Antonio offered, looking to the other two. Out of the three, he was the only one who managed to retain his perkiness. "Well, that girl down there has a costume just the same color as Francis's, si?" he pointed into the crowd, still grinning. Francis looked into the crowd again hopefully, his heart falling as he saw Arthur- his Arthur- twirling happily on the dance floor, a wide smile across his face as if he were laughing and really enjoying himself. Francis groaned, his head falling into his hands. Gilbert scowled at Antonio, leaning down to eye level with Francis.

"Hey, maybe she'll come looking for you later… come on, let's go sit down or something…" he muttered, taking Francis by the arm and leading him to one of the small tables set up around the walls. He kept straining to see Arthur, although Antonio just stood in the way.

"You know, she really does look pretty from here~" he chuckled. Gilbert frowned a bit and pulled him over to sit with them, staring at Francis.

"This is my fault…" he muttered, looking up at them. "I may have said something that set her off earlier, and she just… w-well, she'd been moody lately…" he sighed. He wasn't ready to deal with the way his friends would pounce on him if they discovered that he was a father before them at the moment.

"Well then, maybe you two need time apart." Gilbert shrugged, taking a cup of what could only be some alcoholic drink from one of the castle workers who had gotten stuck serving food at the ball. "I mean, I don't know much about women, but my little brother has been with a young lady for quite some time now, and she always talks to me when they have problems…" Antonio elbowed him and grinned but Gilbert just elbowed him in the side, implying that they had some inside joke about her. "Anyway, from what I've heard of them it's normal for couples to argue over things…"

"I know that Gilbert…" Francis looked up at him, his hands gripping his hair and looking almost ready to tear it out. "I know that couples fight, but… I was hoping that this night would be special, that my dear A-Alice and I could dance, or at least spend time together…" he gave a heavy sigh. "I'm always so busy during the day, and she had to stay on castle grounds because they fear that she'll try to escape otherwise… and with the cold weather coming soon, pretty soon she won't even be able to go out to the gardens…" he frowned, staring out into the crowd with no intention of finding her again. Neither Gilbert or Antonio smiled now, glancing at each other. Antonio, however, was the first to regain his smile, taking two more drinks and passing one to Francis.

"We can still spend this night together as friends, can't we?" he asked, grinning. Francis stared at him, then at the drink, and then smiled.

"Oui, I suppose that we can." He sighed, taking a small sip. Antonio started on some story of their travels, occasionally joined by Gilbert. Francis listened intently, sipping his drink and slowly regaining the happy grin he'd been wearing before the party.

…

Arthur laughed a little as the spade king spoke again, saying something that was apparently supposed to come off as funny. He barely even had to listen anymore, he was enjoying himself so much that every word that was spoken from the man's mouth came off as hilarious. A few times their feet touched and Arthur would take a small step back in embarrassment, only to have the spade king take another step to match his.

"I-I apologize, I haven't had many dance lessons…" he laughed weakly.

"It's quite alright your highness." He replied, earning another round of flattered giggled from Arthur. He assumed that this was what girls felt like when being flirted with, although it wasn't the same kind of love or even mild attraction that he felt with Francis. It was much more friendly, a bit more like he'd felt with Alfred. And once that thought was in his head he just couldn't shake it. Memories of the fun times he spent with Alfred flooded back to him, of evenings spent sitting on a hill together laying in the grass and telling stories as they watched the clouds until it became dark and they turned to stargazing. There had always been a sort of love there; it just hadn't been a romantic sort. Truth be told, he just didn't have that type of feeling for Alfred. He looked up at his masked dance partner again and smiled sheepishly, glancing at the clock. It was a quarter to midnight. He blinked, nearly stopping the other.

"Goodness, we've been dancing for hours…" he stated, nodding to the clock. The other looked up and frowned a bit.

"Yes, we have, haven't we…" he mumbled, slowing their steps as the song changed. Arthur almost didn't notice this change, being distracted. He hadn't even realized the time slipping away. Surely Francis would have come looking for him by now? He glanced toward the loft, swearing that he saw a flash of blonde hair.

"Probably with those friends of his…"

Arthur frowned a bit, turning his eyes back to his dancing partner. "You know, we've been out here together for a while now, I don't even know your name…" he chuckled, one hand starting for the mask only to be quickly pulled back down.

"Your highness, surely not even your power can interfere with the rules of the ball." He replied coolly. "The masks come off at midnight, no sooner. It's just a few dances away…" he chuckled, and they both let their eyes dart to the clock for a second look. Only minutes had passed. Arthur sighed, trying to forget his thoughts for a little longer.

…

Francis laughed a bit to himself, watching his two friends each take another drink as he still sipped his first. They just babbled on, and Francis didn't even know how long he'd been listening. It felt like it could have been ages. He looked up at the clock- three minutes to midnight. He frowned a bit, looking at the two men in front of him. Had he really spent nearly two hours listening to them? He had barely heard anything of their travels, there speaking having mostly been conversations re-enacted from different situations that only the two drunks could possibly find funny. Francis set his half-empty glass down and stood, looking onto the dance floor again for his beloved Arthur. He was nowhere to be seen.

…

Arthur sighed a bit as the final dance was finished- well, nearly final, but his partner had allowed him to step to the side. Arthur immediately made his way to the exit onto the balcony, taking a deep breath of cool night air.

"It's much nicer out here…" he murmured, smiling a little. He forgot that he had even been dancing until the spade king stood by his side, his hand slipping around Arthur's.

"It is indeed." He replied with a small smile, leading Arthur a little further onto the balcony. Arthur managed to keep a smile, although he was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"I-it's only two minutes more, maybe you can-" he started, once again reaching for the mask only to have it denied.

"Your majesty, that's simply not allowed." He teased. Arthur frowned, tugging his hand away lightly.

"Then maybe I'll just go find my husband, I know that he won't mind letting me see his face…" he muttered, starting for the door. The spade king scowled, grabbing Arthur by the forearm and tugging him back. Arthur stumbled, his foot catching on the long dress. He was almost afraid that he would fall until the spade king caught him, one hand lightly holding him by his back and the other holding his arm. Arthur stared in near shock, opening his mouth to speak but being cut off as he was helped up.

"It's alright Alice…" came the soft voice from under the king's mask. Arthur's eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer.

"H-how do you know who I am?" he asked, trying to cover his fear with slight aggression in his tone. "Who are you?" he grabbed for the mask, only to be pushed back and cornered against the railing of the balcony. Arthur glanced desperately inside, a bit surprised to see the two blue eyes fixed on his own. Francis had seen the whole thing. He struggled to pull himself away from the spade king as he saw the other rush towards him, disappearing as he came down the stairs and through the crowds.

Francis found himself in a mix of envy, fury, and disbelief at what he had just witnessed. He pushed others aside- shoved even- to get to that door. Be the time he got there the man had one hand around Arthur's waist, a look of horror on his queen's face rather than one of disgust. He scowled when he saw Francis, sitting on the railing, setting Arthur in his lap, swinging his legs over, and starting to let himself fall off of the balcony. Arthur screamed, grabbing for the railing. His eyes snapped shut in terror as he felt the smooth marble slip under his fingers, but they shot opened as he felt something warm, felt himself jolt to a stop, felt the spade king's arms slip from around his body. He looked up, seeing Francis's hand just barely holding onto his own. He gripped it tightly, tears starting in his eyes as he felt himself start to slip. He nearly held his breath by the time he felt the second hand a bit further up his arm, heaving him up until the first hand could be replaced around Arthur's middle and Arthur himself could brace a foot on the railing. Francis sighed, helping Arthur over and holding him tightly. He wrapped both arms around him and sighed softly, frowning. His love was shaking slightly, no longer from fear but from the soft sobs caused by it. A small crowd of people had amassed by the door when the screaming had started, and now a slightly larger crowd watched them in awe. Arthur noticed this and let a small cry escape his lips; they were all people of the red kingdom, those of them who disapproved of Francis's marriage to the brat of the GreenKingdom. All eyes left them, however, when the sound of bells started from inside. Francis smiled a little, glancing inside to see the second hand of the enormous clock tick just moments past midnight. He looked down at Arthur.

"Cher…" he whispered, getting the other's attention as well as those timid green eyes fixed back on him. "It's midnight. You can take your mask off now…" he chuckled, raising a hand to lightly pluck the covering away from Arthur's eyes and slipping it into his pocket. He wasn't at all surprised to see signs of tears under the mask. The small crowd had returned inside for the remainder of their dancing, leaving Francis and Arthur by themselves. Arthur sighed softly.

"W-well… I suppose th-that this won't be an evening t-to be forgotten easily…" he mumbled, earning a laugh from Francis and himself. They looked at each other for a moment before their eyes darted in different directions, both eventually to the moon. It was nearly empty, a crescent visible like a wide, toothy grin. Francis took them to the side of the door where they wouldn't be easily seen, taking Arthur's hand in his own.

"Non, it won't be." He chuckled, pressing their noses together for only a second before closing the distance between their lips. The kiss was sweet but short, over in just seconds. Arthur looked up at him and smiled a little, a stray tear still rolling defiantly down his cheek. Francis moved to straighten up again before Arthur wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him into what could- in this context- be appropriately described as a 'real kiss'. Tongues touched for a few long, loving moments before they pulled apart, Arthur's face flushing red as he noticed a small string of saliva still connecting them. Francis broke it with another peck on the lips, smiling a little.

"Je vous jure, I'll be damned if I let a night like this slip my mind so easily." He chuckled, letting their fingers intertwine as they re-entered the ballroom, speeding past all of the crowds and back to their bedroom.