Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

"It's good to be home," Matthew said, staring up at the palace, though his expression was far from relieved. He turned to Alfred with a smile. "I'll be in our room."

Alfred nodded. "Too bad you can't come with us..."

Francis tugged Matthew close to share a parting kiss. "Perhaps, now that our kingdoms will be working together, you can tell Arthur about us some day...?"

"Maybe so." Matthew stroked his cheek. "Let's make sure there is a some day."

Alfred mentally sighed. Did they have to get all mushy right in front of him? "Well, Your Majesty, Queen Arthur awaits. Can I trust you to behave yourself?"

"Alfred!" Matthew said.

"What?"

"I'll try and behave," Francis said with a chuckle. "We'll see you later, Mathieu."

"Okay." Matthew gave a small wave, then continued on into the palace. Alfred wondered if he was feeling relief to be walking into his own home at last, or if he was too worried to notice.

"Remember," Francis warned in a low voice, "I don't know Mathieu. You and I have only recently met."

"I know, I know." Alfred tried not to roll his eyes. "We're talking about war, I doubt that'll even come up."

"Just checking. I don't want you to put him in danger."

Alfred bristled. Who was the one who put Matthew in danger? "Of course not. Come on." He walked into the palace, followed closely by Francis. The response was immediate, the surprised looks and whispered conversation as Alfred passed with the long-time enemy king. Did everyone recognize Francis on sight? It was a wonder it had taken as long as it had for Matthew to get caught! Or maybe they had all been recently briefed. Whatever the reason, Francis was the center of attention as they passed through the halls, and he seemed pleased. He even winked occasionally at those who seemed especially interested.

"Stop that," Alfred muttered. "No flirting."

"I'm not flirting!"

The other guards, at least, kept a wary eye on Francis, not falling for his charm. The pair that guarded the throne room slipped inside to let Arthur know his guest had arrived, and the doors were opened for them.

"Behave," Alfred said again as they stepped inside.

The temperature of the room seemed to drop as the two royals came face-to-face. Alfred looked back and forth between them as they just stared at each other, expressions neutral yet still managing to be chilly.

"Um." Alfred coughed. "Queen Arthur, I have brought King Francis, as you requested."

"Your Majesty," Arthur greeted with a slight incline of his head.

"Your Majesty," Francis said, mimicking the gesture. The air seemed to spark.

Alfred grit his teeth. What a couple of big babies. Did he have to remind Arthur that Francis was there to save his ass? "The King has graciously agreed to set aside differences and lend us some of his army."

"Right." Arthur's expression seemed to soften somewhat. "That is quite generous..." Alfred cleared his throat, and Arthur winced. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Francis said, also softening. "Our kingdoms have their differences. Er, obviously. But all of our kingdoms are at risk, and we're all in this together. We've known for some time that the Queen of Clubs wants to expand her kingdom, and that yours just happens to be the closest. Nobody deserves this." Arthur smiled at him, and Francis smiled back. "How is everything progressing? The last I heard, the army was approaching the border. But that was before your consort here left, and it's been a while."

"Yes it has," Arthur said. "They are well within the border, of course, but now that our army has met them their advance has slowed greatly. They have, however, already taken a few towns..."

Alfred stifled a gasp. They had already taken over parts of Spades? He bit the insides of his cheeks to keep quiet as he listened.

"As far as I know none of the citizens have been hurt. But their homes are being used to house enemy soldiers, and their stores used to supply them."

"I'm sorry," Francis said. "We'll get them out. My army is ready to join yours."

Arthur nodded. "Thank you."

They continued to stiffly watch each other, even after warming up a bit, and Alfred groaned. "Oh, for... Shake hands already will, you?"

Arthur eyed him, but stepped closer to grab Francis' hand.

"You're not looking too good," Francis murmured.

Arthur scowled. "I'm under a bit of stress."

"Besides that. Your eyebrows have expanded since the last time I saw them, I think."

"Why, you-!"

"So!" Alfred said. "I'm sure there's rooms prepared for you, Your Majesty. It's been a long trip."

"That it has," Francis said.

Arthur folded his arms, moving back slightly. "Did you want to negotiate terms?"

"In the morning." Francis waved a dismissive hand. "Let me get some rest first."

"Your Majesty?" Yao poked into the room. "Ah, Alfred!"

Alfred blinked, turning to him. "You were looking for me?"

Yao nodded. "Please, go get ready."

"Ready?"

"To... to go."

"Oh..." Alfred looked back at Arthur, who averted his eyes. He was leaving so soon? "All right. Except I told Mattie I'd meet him in our room after this... We were going to hang out."

"I'm sorry," Yao said.

"Return here once you're ready," Arthur said. "I'll send for him. You can say goodbye to him then."

"Okay." While he was eager to join his comrades and kick Clubs out of his kingdom, Alfred had been hoping for a little extra time beforehand. With a heavy sigh, he turned to follow Yao.

A hand on his arm stopped him. Alfred turned, in time to be pulled into Arthur's arms. They embraced, kissing tenderly for a long moment. Arthur caressed Alfred's cheek, eyes glistening with tears. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Alfred said with a shake of his head.

"Try and come back to me, okay?"

"Of course!" Alfred kissed his nose. "I'll single-handedly toss all of them back across the border."

"Good." Arthur lay his head on Alfred's shoulder. They remained like that as long as they could, but Alfred could sense Yao's impatience to get going.

"Well." Alfred reluctantly stepped back. "I love you."

Arthur smiled. "I love you, too."

Alfred turned to leave. Behind him, he heard Arthur say a quick "Goodbye." He paused at the doors, turning back.

"Bye," Alfred said, then hurried from the room.

Matthew tapped on the door before walking in. A useless gesture, since the guard had just announced him, but he was nervously working on instinct. "Hi, Arthur..." He shuffled into the throne room, which had been mostly emptied except for the weary Queen. Arthur looked terrible, exhausted, dark rings under his eyes. He looked far older than he should.

Matthew swallowed. He hadn't seen Arthur since before he left for Diamonds. He would have really preferred their reunion, after such a rocky parting, would be at a better time.

"Matthew," Arthur said, nodding. "Thanks for coming. Welcome back..."

"Thanks."

They fell into an awkward silence for a few minutes, until Arthur finally cleared his throat. "You're looking well."

"Thanks," Matthew said again. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "So Al's fighting..."

Arthur looked away. "Yeah, he is." He slumped back in his throne. "I didn't bother telling him not to. He would anyway."

"I know."

Another long pause. "Come closer."

Matthew approached the throne, trying not to wince at how much hurt was in those green eyes. "Do you want me to fight?" He hoped that was the case. He'd find a way to make it work. But he wouldn't feel right hiding in the palace while his brother was out there on the front lines...

"Not exactly." Arthur averted his eyes again. "I just thought... It's optional, not an order, don't feel like you have to..."

"What is it?"

Arthur rubbed a hand wearily down his face. "You know the Clubs language too... right?"

Matthew nodded, frowning. "A little."

"But with a crash course with a native speaker, do you think you could pass for a Hearts man who's lived in Clubs some?"

It dawned on Matthew where Arthur was going with this, and his eyes widened. "I suppose so."

Arthur smiled weakly. "You've been such a good spy for me so far..."

Matthew swallowed thickly. Spying on his boyfriend, who likely would not harm him even if he were discovered, was a little different than spying on dangerous enemies. "What... what did you have in mind?"

Arthur studied him for a moment before nodding slightly. "They – the Clubs army – have already taken a few small towns."

Matthew flinched. "Already...?"

Another grim nod. "They use them for supplies, and places to sleep if they want a bed... The citizens aren't harmed, presumably so long as they cooperate. But they... the people there, they've been brave, and sneaky, and have been coming here to keep us updated on what's going on. If we had someone in the army, delivering messages to the townspeople, they could bring it to me."

Matthew frowned slightly. "What if the they leave the towns? The army, I mean."

Arthur let out a slow sigh. "Then they'll probably find another one. But they seem content using those places, and our army has kept them from advancing for a while. If they do leave, hopefully it'll be toward home... I'll work on finding some additional spies who would be good at moving between the armies, carrying messages. I'd prefer if you didn't do that, though."

"So I'm joining their army?" Matthew rubbed his chin, wondering how to avoid such unwanted situations as fighting against his own people. Or brother.

"Yes, that's the..." Arthur trailed off, eyes widening. "Matthew, are you agreeing?" He only look more shocked when Matthew nodded. "Not that I'm going to complain, but... why?" His eyes narrowed abruptly. "You're not taking on a dangerous mission because Alfred's fighting, are you? I want you to do your best, not throw your life away."

"No, that's not it." Well, Alfred going to war probably had something to do with it. Matthew took a deep breath. "It's just... for so many years I was completely dependent on Al, and I couldn't stand it. And even since I've gotten better, people still treat me like I'm made of glass." Matthew made a face. "To this day I can't do anything at all strenuous without somebody getting concerned and asking if my doctor okayed it. And here you are asking me to take on a dangerous and important job, because you think I'd be good at it..."

"Oh." Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you'd be aghast at the idea. I didn't realize it'd get mushy..."

Matthew couldn't help but laugh. Trust Arthur to feel awkward about this. "Sorry. But yes, I'll do it."

"And now I feel kind of bad that I was planning on sending Tino with you."

"I suppose that would be necessary." How were they going to pull that off, though? "And his role will be?"

"Your doctor from home. You don't even have to lie about your illness, it spread to Clubs. His Hearts accent isn't perfect, but good enough to fool them."

Matthew nodded to himself. "I don't know if I should tell too many people about my illness. They probably aren't any keener than Spades about letting people like us join the army."

"Probably. But we were thinking he could volunteer as a field medic. With you as his assistant." Arthur smiled. "On top of the language, you'll be getting a crash course in basic medicine."

Matthew was starting to feel overwhelmed. "All right." Would this really work? If only he didn't need Tino... But if he worked as a medic's assistant, they might not ask him to join the fighting. Unless they became desperate enough to need every man. Tino himself might end up fighting for Clubs. "Oh..." A minor problem occurred to Matthew. "What will I tell Francis? I want to tell him about what I'm doing, without giving him the idea that you think I make a good spy..."

"Why do you have to tell him what you're doing?" Arthur wrinkled his nose.

"Because."

Arthur rolled his eyes, but gave in. "If it makes you feel better, you can tell him it was your idea."

"What...?"

"Why not? He'd believe you if you said you were upset about not being able to help, and we brainstormed this idea together."

He probably would. Francis was too trusting sometimes. Matthew didn't want to continue lying to him, but it was better than the alternative. "All right. I'll do that." He tried to think of other questions that needed to be asked, but his mind was still reeling from the enormity of what he had agreed to do. "Maybe I can have some time to think about this."

"Hold on. There's something I want to give you." Looking immensely awkward, Arthur pulled a tiny bottle out. "Hang onto that."

"What's in there?" Matthew took the bottle and held it close, peering at the liquid within. The bottle was tinted, preventing him from seeing what color the concoction was.

"Drink it if you're caught," Arthur said softly. "You'll be dead in seconds."

"Oh..." Matthew swallowed. "Right. Thank you." Arthur really thought of everything.

Someone else walked in, and Matthew shoved the bottle into a pocket, unconcerned about breaking the sturdy glass. He turned to find Alfred approaching, already dressed in the uniform of a soldier. Matthew's heart broke. "You're going? Now?" They had only just arrived! That night in Diamonds had been the only time they had spent just with each other in months.

"Yeah." Alfred stepped close, eyes sad. "They need me."

Arthur hurried past Matthew to reach Alfred first, hugging him tight, wordless. Matthew averted his eyes as they kissed desperately. He glanced back after a long silence, and the two were just looking at each other. Then Arthur turned and walked away, heading for the door.

Matthew blinked. "Arthur?"

He paused, but didn't turn around. "We already said our goodbyes." And with that, he left.

"Oh..." Matthew moved closer to Alfred, swallowing against the lump in his throat. The odds of both of them returning were slim. Hell, the odds of either of them returning were slim. It was hard to even grasp something like that, hard to really believe this could be the last time they see each other.

"Hey, don't look like that." Alfred managed a smile, a far cry from his usual boisterous grin. "We'll see each other again."

Matthew squeezed his eyes shut. "You know that we don't-"

"We will," Alfred insisted. "Because I want this back."

Matthew cracked his eyes open to see Alfred holding out his watch, dangling it from the chain. "Dad's watch?"

Alfred nodded, pressing it into Matthew's hand. "You're holding onto it for me. So I'll have to come back to get it."

"Oh." Smiling, Matthew tugged out his own keepsake, the silk scarf from their mother. He offered it to Alfred, who graciously accepted the length of fabric and tucked it away.

"There. See? This isn't goodbye."

"Yeah..." Matthew abruptly hugged Alfred, tears starting to stream from his eyes. They remained that way for some time, Matthew wasn't sure how long, but it only felt like a second before Alfred was pulling away. "Wait."

"I have to go." Alfred stared at his feet. "I have to make sure the army doesn't get even a bit closer to the capital."

"I'm going, too," Matthew said abruptly, and Alfred looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"I'm going. Not with you, though. That's what Arthur and I were talking about. I'll be infiltrating the Clubs army, and spying on them from within."

Alfred gaped at him in wordless shock. Matthew waited for the barrage of protests, but they never came. Alfred nodded. "Make us proud. Maybe you'll stop the war all by yourself."

Surprised (though he supposed he shouldn't be), Matthew hugged Alfred again. "I'll try."

They exchanged goodbyes, trying to keep them lighthearted. Then Alfred finally walked out, leaving Matthew alone.