A/N: hey another one

plot(TM) happens here

oof

get ready my dudes

-oxy


The attire for the event was extraordinarily formal, and so stuffy Eva felt like her back was wrenched into a severe upright just so she could breathe. The stiff white jacket was fitted - very fitted - while the skirt they'd put her in flowed when she moved while still somehow managing to restrict her gait. At least her minders had allowed her two pairs of shoes; heels for the announcement and flats for the short stint around the gathered press afterward.

Her hair, longer than she remembered it ever being, was twisted into a smooth mass of black and red curls cascading around her shoulders. She felt too dressed-up - constricted.

Eva's racing gear was much more comfortable and functional than this - whatever this was. She took one last glance in the mirror at the overkill makeup some stranger had applied for her and sighed heavily.

"Eva?"

She whirled around to see Aikka entering the green room. His posture screamed formality, but his face expressed something like trepidation.

The prince's hair was a mixture of tight plaits and loose ponytails, two of each adorning his royal head. He wore heavy white clothing, his hips and shoulders criss-crossed with red and gold fabrics inscribed lightly with some sort of runes. He'd forgone a chest plate - or perhaps his stylist had? - and kept instead with simple red spaulders and a red wrist-guard.

"I must ask you one final time - are you quite sure that you wish to continue with this plan?" Aikka crossed the small room and picked up Eva's left hand, holding it in both of his own as one may cradle a small, frightened animal.

Eva flashed him a wry smile, "If I weren't sure, do you think I'd be standing here looking this ridiculous?"

Her attempt to lighten the mood obviously didn't go over very well with the Prince.

"That was not my meaning," Aikka muttered, bowing his head slightly and closing his eyes. Then he fixed Eva with the most intense stare she'd ever been privy to - eyes peered like chips of afternoon sky right through her, "Eva - you have the rest of your life ahead of you. Are you sure you want to spend it in this way?"

Eva raised her right hand to join the already-clasped ones. The corner of her mouth quirked up as she observed the mild trembling that'd caught her friend's hands. She tried to find the right words - words to stop the shaking. Words to reassure.

"Aikka, please understand me when I say that I would fight the entire Crog armada by myself if it meant that Earth and Nourasia would be safe - if it meant that you would be safe," Eva added, "I think that getting engaged is pretty easy, in comparison."

Aikka seemed relieved, but only just.

"Eva, I was born royalty. I have no problem doing my duty for my people, whatever that may mean. You were born with choice - you do not need to do this if you do not want to."

"Hey," said Eva, and placed a fingertip under Aikka's chin to tilt his face up so she could meet his eyes again, "we got ourselves into this mess, right? I think this is the best way we're gonna find to get out of it."

The tension bled out of Aikka's posture and he huffed out a quick breath before stepping even closer to her hesitantly. He pressed his lips to the back of her left hand and then bent down to do the same to her forehead.

"You seem to know just what to say," Aikka chuckled, maneuvering the two of them into an embrace. There was a pregnant silence, and then Aikka asked against Eva's hair, "Are you prepared to face the vulturous masses?"

Eva pulled back and held out her fist, knuckles first, waiting for Aikka to bump it with his. She delighted in the tiny smile that stretched across Aikka's face.

"As I'll ever be, Prince."


Aikka was not reluctant to admit that he stared at Eva. He stared at the smooth curls and the flowing skirt and the fitted white coat. The Prince stared at the woman who was so familiar and yet so strange all at once.

The formality of her clothing made her uncomfortable, and Aikka agreed that the oil-stained, leather boots and baggy cargo pants suited her infinitely better than these pristine vestments did. The crown of her head seemed empty without the cracked pink goggles she carried with her everywhere.

Aikka stood back and observed as cameras flashed and flashed while Canaan stepped up to make a statement. While the President stepped up to make a statement.

Eva.

His friend. His companion. His betrothed.

Reaching a decision had taken significantly less time than one may expect for something so drastic. But soon, all other options were exhausted and the summit was left with the obvious: a political marriage to tie the two planets together. Who better than Eva Wei, a Star Racing Champion with a wealth of experience racing against alien species and striking up amicable friendships with her opponents in the process?

Why had the two of them gone out on so many outings together when they had no way of knowing each other beforehand? Obviously, they would be part of an arranged marriage. Archaic, yes, but the best way to quell the animosity. This way, there didn't have to be a war - no classified debriefings would be released to the public.

It had been convincing the King and Queen of the necessity of the engagement that had been the most lengthy piece of the puzzle. A week was spent in negotiations with the United Earth Government and the King and Queen of Nourasia. They requested to speak separately and in private with both Eva and Aikka, requests easily granted by the President.

("My son," Aikka's father had fretted over a private channel when Aikka was alone, "this was one freedom I had wished never to be taken from you. The ability to choose your bride was to be yours and yours alone."

"Father, if I were ever to choose anyone, it would always be her."

From his father's right side, Aikka's mother offered him a knowing look.)

"The Prince and his retinue are currently planetside, and we will be holding the first wedding ceremony in the capital city of Eva's country of residence, Washington, D.C.," President Wong was informing the public, ignoring dutifully the constant clicking of cameras, "The second wedding ceremony will take place on Nourasia, at a venue of King Lao's choice."

Aikka could not imagine the logistics that went into organizing two weddings on extremely short notice, but the public had to believe that the marriage had been agreed on long before his visit to Earth. Thus, they needed to happen quickly and perfectly to avoid public suspicion.

So he stood next to Eva and watched her flinch minutely at the uproarious press, just barely enough for him to notice. He reached out slowly and clasped her left hand loosely in his right in order to provide what comfort he could, his thumb stroking over the back of it.

Aikka watched the nerves disappear from her stance instantly, and watched her head raise a fraction in confidence. The wine red of her eyes, so much like the beloved blossoms worn by his people, shone bright with resolve.

His breath stuttered out of him in a staccato and his heart started beating much more quickly.

A political marriage was a cunning solution to an otherwise extremely messy situation.

It was also the means by which Aikka found himself as flustered as a young boy confronted with the object of his affections.

"No further questions," said the President to a flurry of agitated reporters.

Aikka and Eva were escorted away from the flashing cameras and - now shouting - reporters with all the urgency their entourage could muster. Aikka took the lead out of the two of them, ensuring Eva didn't trip over the heavy skirts as she stepped down the stairs. He was pleased to see Canaan bringing up the rear, looking slightly more on guard than usual, as if he were ready to go to battle for the two of them at any moment.

The Prince locked eyes with his advisor over Eva's head as she took the last couple of steps down off the platform and saw the older Nourasian nod once. Aikka then understood what Canaan was attempting to communicate - Aikka would have Canaan's full support.

This was comforting, to say the least.

Confidence swelled in Aikka's chest, and he let go of Eva's hand in order to link his arm with hers instead. The small smile that spread across her lips sent a fluttering through his abdomen.

With Canaan behind him and Eva beside him, Aikka believed he could accomplish anything.