Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, just the story.

The day finally comes when all five kingdoms meet. Each Flush is eager to see their friends and family again as a season is always too long a time between visits. It's true that some Flushes can travel on their own for a small get together but it's rare for that to happen. Small changes occur every time a new set comes into the crown. Much stays the same though.

In Spades, Arthur and Lovino prepare for their trip over on the Queen's magic. "I still refuse to travel through that brat's portal," the Brit states. "He's pranked me several times with that skill of his and I've had enough!"

"I second that since I know he plans to use it on me some day," Lovino agrees. He crosses his arms as he glares at the sheepish kid. "We'll get there in no time. Don't worry about us."

"I will inform the Joker Kingdom to expect you two at a different hour." Yao wisely decides not to bicker with them as he glances at the child next to him. "Peter, will you please start?"

"Sure!" He steps forward and swings the hook end of his chain in a circle. He lets it go and it cuts through the space in front of him. It automatically opens into a larger portal as he walks closer to it. "It'll stay open as long as my chain is on both sides," he states while hopping through the blue ring. He leaves the anchor end in the Spades Meeting Hall as he takes up the hooked end of the chain from the Jokers Meeting Hall. "So come through whenever you want."

Yao immediately goes through but Alfred hangs back. The King of Spades gazes at the other two stubborn Flushes with a frown. "You guys sure that you don't wanna take the easy way? I can swear that Peter won't do anything to harm you two."

"How can we take your word for it when you yourself have become his accomplice?" Arthur scowls. "No, we'll take my way." He quickly looks at Lovino. "Unless you change your mind. You don't have to come with me."

"Are you kidding? I'm not dealing with them when you're not there."

"You can see your brother faster if you go with them."

The Italian pauses in thought. "We'll be there for several days. He can wait another hour."

Arthur would press but doesn't. Focusing back on Alfred, he speaks, "There's your answer, my king." The last words drip with sarcasm and distaste.

Alfred winces and nods. "Okay. Well, we'll see you at the Joker Kingdom. You know how to get there, right?"

"Flying Mint Bunny has been there a few times so he'll guide us." Said familiar rushes on in and flies around the group with a parcel in its mouth. Arthur takes the journal, smiling a little happily as he fingers the ivy pattern on the leather. "If you see Francis, the King of Diamonds, tell that frog not to worry about me. I'll be there soon."

Before the wheat-blond can worry any longer, the two men leave the hall and head outside. Alfred sighs, kicking an invisible rock as he watches them go. "Be careful!" He shouts after them. "Your magic isn't always stable!"

"Stop worrying and go already!" Comes Arthur's reply.

The King of Spades obeys, entering the portal when his Queen and Ace are no longer in his sight. "I just hope nothing happens from there to here," he mumbles as Peter pulls his weapon through, letting the portal close. "Anything's possible. I don't care if he has magic."

"If you are grumbling about Arthur, don't worry about him." The King of Diamonds steps over to the blue clad group. "He may be stubbornly reckless when he gets something in his head, but he's strong enough to handle his own battles." He offers a hand to Alfred. "I'm Francis, a friend of his."

Al glances at Yao, who he finds is speaking with someone clad in red. Peter has bolted over to another pair clad in white. He's alone expect for this Frenchman being next to him. "Alfred," he replies while taking his hand. "His king."

Francis chuckles as he shakes Alfred's hand twice before letting go. "I'm sure he's quite livid with being your queen."

"Eh, he was mad at first but then started to just deal with it." He shrugs, glancing around the room. "Have you already acquainted with everyone here?"

"Kind of." Francis turns and stands next to Alfred as he raises a hand to point out those he knows. "The red clad group is from Hearts. Their King is Ludwig, that tall man there. Queen is Kiku, the one who's talking to your man. Jack is Feliciano, the short one with a protruding curl. Then Antonio is their Ace, and Gilbert is their Joker."

"That's Yao," Alfred shares with Francis, "speaking with Kiku. Feli kind of looks like Lovino but slightly different. You know Arthur already, and the kid is Peter, our Joker."

The Frenchman nods, gazing toward his own group. "My queen is Lillian, who is okay with the nickname Lilly. Her brother, Vash, is our Jack, who holds our Ace's position since we still haven't found them yet. And Feliks is our Joker."

Alfred examines the clothing that the Diamonds wear, noticing that not all of them are wearing yellow. "I thought your kingdom color was yellow? And how come your Ace isn't there?"

"There is no answer for their whereabouts. I've been told it's odd but have no clue where to start searching for them, if they're even alive." He clears his throat with a small smirk. "I decreed that my subjects can wear any color they want as long as it's not reminiscent of our neighboring kingdoms."

"Man, wish I thought of that. There's only so many shades of blue you can choose from." Alfred pouts at his strictly blue outfit. "It's also boring."

Francis studies Alfred's physique. "I can always send over some new garbs for you. Different shades of blue that match. Aquamarine, turquoise, even teal would be good colors."

"You'd do that?" The golden blond's eyes widen. "Wait, we could always trade for something." He thinks quickly. "We have seashells since we're on a coast. There's also seafood that's there. Uhm…"

"Seashells and seafood would be a good start. The shells for jewelry or decoration and food for, well, eating." Francis chuckles.

Alfred smiles. "Sweet. We can talk more about the details later, right?"

"Of course."

As the two continue conversing about little things regarding Arthur, the Clubs Kingdom finally joins them. Alfred watches as a man and woman enter before a taller man and his brother. He instantly perks up at the sight of his brother but then furrows his brows when he sees their white haired companion. He shakes his head, excusing himself from Francis and jetting over to the newest group.

"Mattie!" He calls out.

The Canadian smiles bright and welcomes the incoming hug. "Hello Alfred!" He coughs, patting his brother's back. "I missed you, too."

"I missed you more," he whines, pulling away with a pout. "I was so worried about you. Being with strangers in a strange new world."

"I can handle myself, Al." Matt shakes his head, looking at his companions. "I hope you remember Kumajiro."

"How can I forget your boyfriend?" The Spades King grins while his brother frowns. Alfred laughs, giving the shapeshifter a one armed hug. "How you doing, man? It's good to see you humanized again."

"I can still be feral," the disgruntled man states. "Quit joking about me being Matthew's boyfriend. I'm nothing of the sort and never will be."

"Right, you're more his lazy protector." Alfred chuckles, letting the other go. His eyes land on the taller man who is still standing by them. The other Club members have dispersed toward different groups for conversation but him. "So who's this?"

The King of Clubs smiles eerily. "I am Ivan." He offers a hand. "I have been taking good care of Matvey. He's very kind and helpful in many ways."

Something about the other's smile doesn't settle well with Alfred. He takes Ivan's hand, squeezing as hard as he lets himself with normal humans. "Nice to meet you. I'm Alfred." He forces a smile. "I'm glad to hear he's been doing okay." He wants to ask what exactly Ivan does with Matthew, ordering him around most likely, but refrains for his brother's sake.

Ivan grips back, not at all weak. "Da, he is doing well. He enjoys being in Clubs. Very strong and a quick learner, too."

"I'm the Ace of Clubs so I have to learn how to wield a lot of weapons," Matthew clarifies. "It's a lot of work but fun. You should see how well I can use a spear!"

Alfred lets his brother take him away from Ivan. Matthew shares with him everything that's gone on since he arrived in Clubs. Of course, he was always insecure and uncertain, but Toris, one of their Jokers, has been just as supportive as their Queen, Elizabeta. He learns the names of the rest of the Clubs Royal Flush and determines by elimination that the Joker Royal Flush are the other names.

King Berwald, Queen Tino, Jack Lukas, Ace Emil, and Joker Matthias. Peter has spoken of them plenty of times, especially since the king and queen had taken care of him since he was abandoned by his birth parents. Alfred feels for the kid and respects the Joker King and Queen because of that. He'd do the same thing. Peter is already like a kind of son, or really a little brother, that he gets along with well.

"Fratello!"

Alfred glances over at the shout, noticing Feliciano running over to Lovino and glomping him. He grins, happy that his Ace and Queen are here earlier than planned. He watches as Francis makes his way over to Arthur, who still looks unhappy for some reason, and says something. Arthur whacks the Frenchman, cheeks a little red from whatever was said. That makes Alfred furrow his brows as a twinge pokes his heart.

"Is that the rest of your group?"

He refocuses on his brother, blinking before he nods. "Yeah. Arthur's my queen and Lovino's the ace. You'd probably get along well with them, to be honest. More friends for you."

Matthew smiles with a hum. "That sounds nice." The two fall silent, scanning the whole room full of people. "It's nice being in this world," the Canadian says.

"Really?" Alfred gazes at him. "Why ya think that?"

"Well, everyone is so different here. They're all very accepting. I can't believe how open and nice these people are. Do you know how many gay couples I've seen who don't get ridiculed here? It's a nice change."

The American hums, thinking about how that's true. His kingdom also has its bizarre couples, but they all make it work which is awesome to him. He's not a person to judge, at least not anymore. He had a time where he couldn't understand why he was sexually attracted to men. He could joke about his brother being gay, in a loving way though he knows Matthew is pansexual, but thinking he was the possible gay one? It unsettled him. The world they grew up in was discriminative of anyone that wasn't straight. He hated it but Matthew got him through it all. His mind set slowly changed from, "I can't be this way, it's not socially accepted," to "I don't give a shit what people say, I'm going to love whoever I want to love be it man or woman." He officially got comfortable with the tag of bisexual and the idea of being with either gender.

"You know about the soul-mate marking crap, right?" Alfred asks his brother.

Matthew flushes. "Yeah, I've heard a little about it. We don't speak about it a lot, though. Why?"

"Is your mark filled in?"

The Canadian is hesitant to answer. "Not entirely," he soon caves.

Alfred quirks up an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Mine's only half filled." He reaches for his right shoulder and grasps it. "It's on my shoulder blade so I can't see it all that well, but I can recognize half of the A being dark green."

Hearing that infuriates Alfred. "Don't tell me that means Ivan's your soul-mate."

Matthew scowls. "So what if it does? Do you know how many people actually act upon these revelations? Not everyone. There are some people who prefer to stay with their loved ones even after finding their supposed soul-mate. Fate doesn't always control our lives."

"Hn." Alfred crosses his arms, feeling slightly attacked though he's the one who initiated it. "I just don't get a good vibe from that guy. You know I'm usually right."

"Alfred, I've been with Ivan since I found him in the tunnel up to now. He hasn't harmed anyone or anything," Matthew defends his king. "If anything, he asks small favors from me but doesn't force me to do anything I dislike."

"So he does order you around."

"He is my king, Alfred. Of course he's going to give me some tasks to do."

"Well I'm a king but I don't order anyone around!"

"Why are you two idiots arguing?" Kumajiro pops into the middle of their verbal fight. He watches the two huff and turn their backs on each other. "Oh come on. You guys haven't seen each other in weeks. Act like you're actually happy to be reunited. And Alfred, stop being stupid."

"Why are you singling me out?"

"Because Matthew doesn't instigate fights like you do," Kuma answers. He grabs Matthew's wrist and pulls him away. "They're about to do some introductions. We should get back with our respective groups."

Alfred frowns as he doesn't stop Kumajiro from dragging Matthew away. He sighs, uncrossing his arms as he walks over toward the Spades group. He leans against the wall, ignoring the concerned green eyes cast his way while observing the others in the room. His ear twitches when he hears Arthur comes to his side, but the Brit isn't able to say anything as the Joker's King clears his throat for attention.

Everyone hushes and looks at Berwald. He stares at Tino, who steps forward with a broad smile, ready to welcome everyone. "I hope everyone is having a grand day," the queen starts. "For those of you unfamiliar with who I am, my name is Tino. I am the Queen of Joker. My husband, Berwald, is the King of Joker." He motions to the silent man at his side. "He's one of very few words so don't be insulted if he doesn't reply verbally." He chuckles when some of the others do as well.

He continues, "In any case, I wanted to let you all know that today and tomorrow are days of greeting. Some of you haven't seen your friends and family since last season or since you've come to this world. So take your time to mingle, make new friends, catch up with old friends. On Spring Day 61, we will congregate in the meeting hall, here, where we will discuss politics and any changes. I've already heard word of Diamond adding colors to their robes, and I see that lavender is a splendid color on Lilly." He smiles at the young queen. She blushes and shyly hides behind her brother. "We can arrange trades, speak of partnerships for the future, and keep the peace between all our kingdoms. The meeting doesn't usually last too long so whatever remaining time is left we can use as we see fit. Then anyone can decide when to leave for home.

"During your stay, you will all be put into separate towers. Your Jokers will lead you to them after we dismiss you for today. We ask you to respect each kingdom's tower as if it was a home. No trespassing unless given permission to enter. For the last note, please refrain from causing any trouble. I've heard that some new people like to cause mischief and while we can tolerate some hilarious pranks, we should be careful and respectful." Tino doesn't eye anyone specifically since he knows the people he is referencing already understand. "With that, everyone may now explore and have fun."

Alfred doesn't move as everyone else heads with their Jokers toward their living quarters. Arthur still stands by him as they all wait for Peter, who stayed at Matthias's side during the queen's talk. The Brit eyes his king, studying his expression. The golden blond sighs, gazing at Arthur with a raised eyebrow asking a silent question.

"Is everything all right, chap?" He inquires. "I noticed how you were heatedly speaking with your brother. What happened?"

The American quietly groans. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it," he mumbles.

"I don't believe that." Arthur scowls. "You have been excited to see your brother ever since hearing about this day. Now you're upset with him."

"It's none of your business, Artie." Alfred glares. "It's a brother thing. I'm not sure if you'd understand."

While he doesn't completely have the experience of blood related siblings, Arthur still knows what it's like to be in a fight with someone you care about. "Brotherhood isn't all that different between men whether you have the same blood or not. I won't pry as it's rude but I would like to know. If you wish to talk, I'm here. As long as you swear to be serious and not prank me."

Alfred cracks a small smile, noticing that Arthur does as well. His heart quickens but he ignores it. Pushing himself off the wall, he nods to the Brit and follows Peter through the doors.

"Al?"

The King of Spades glances over, seeing his brother with one of the three Jokers of Clubs. He turns to his group. "I'll catch up later. Don't wait up for me." Lovino and Yao keep going with Peter but Arthur seems hesitant. Alfred smiles reassuringly at his queen. "It's fine, Arthur. I told you, it's a brother thing." When Arthur doesn't move, he sighs. "I swear I'll talk about it later, okay?"

Arthur seems convinced as he nods. He quickly catches up with the other Spade members, his little flying bunny at his back. Alfred chuckles a little, turning toward the Ace of Clubs.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to talk," Matthew replies. "Properly."

"I can guide you toward our garden," Toris offers. "It's a place people usually like to be in for a calm atmosphere."

"Actually, I was thinking of something else." Mattie smiles, pleading with his eyes. "Can you take us back to Clubs? I want him to see my new home."

Toris blinks. He takes a moment debating whether he should or not before relenting. "As long as we're not gone for too long."

"I swear we won't be." The Canadian turns to his brother. "You don't mind, do you?"

Alfred smiles. "Not at all. I miss our bro time."

With everyone's consent, Toris takes his spear and opens a green portal back to Clubs. Instead of being inside a building, they step into the plains outside the forest where the village lives. Alfred takes in the scenery, breath caught in his lungs as he sees the lush green grass waving in the gentle breeze. Small birds fly around, playfully attacking each other before landing in their nests. Butterflies flutter through the small wild flowers. That's when Alfred takes notice of the sunflower field next to them. They're tall, bright, strong, and well taken care of.

"Wow," he starts in awe. "This is where you live?"

"Technically this is the field outside of the village." Matthew chuckles. "Ivan asked for this field to be created and I've been taking care of it ever since I conjured it."

Alfred narrows his eyes on his brother. "He knows about your powers?"

The younger super human sighs. "Yes, he does, but he hasn't asked me to use my powers. Not since he wanted me to check on his and his sisters health. Which was weeks ago when we first started getting used to being here."

The answer still unsettles Alfred but he lets it roll off his shoulder for now. "Okay. So what else did you want to show me?"

They take their time walking through the Kingdom of Clubs. Matthew introduces Alfred to his guards, a lot of kind men and women who marvel at his super strength when he shows off. As they keep going through the village, Alfred realizes that a good village like this wouldn't be ruled under and awful king. A lot of the citizens sing high praises of their king. He slowly takes in what Matthew is subtly doing and shakes his head.

"Okay, bro, I get it."

"What?"

"I get what you're trying to tell me. Ivan ain't some villain. If he were a vile person, this kingdom wouldn't be as happy as it is." He glances around as they stand in the center of the tree village. All the smiling faces calm his mind. "I'm sorry. I can deal with him being a good king but I still have that feeling." He locks eyes with Mattie. "There's something off about him, Mattie. I want you to be careful around him."

Knowing he shouldn't fight with Alfred's instincts, Matthew nods. "I will. You know I'm usually a good judge of character."

"And you know I'm never wrong about my gut feelings." He grins, wrapping an arm around Matthew's head and giving him a noogie. "Look at you. Captain of the guard. Standing your ground. You've grown up a lot."

Matthew pushes himself away, pouting as he rubs his head. "I'm not a little kid that needs protecting, Al. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

"Fine, fine. I believe ya." Alfred chuckles, stuffing his hands in his jacket. "We should probably get back. I'd love to stay since it reminds me of our old home but we don't wanna keep anyone waiting with worry. Did you even tell Ivan you'd be doing this?"

The Canadian's face says it all. He glances over at Toris. "Could you take us back now? We're finished here."

"Of course." Toris immediately opens up a portal and they all go through. "I'll show you to the Clubs tower. Then I can take you to the Spades tower, if you wish."

"I'd appreciate it, thanks." Alfred nods.

They walk through the halls of the Joker castle. When they reach the Clubs tower, Matthew and Al hug. They promise to hangout again later and Matthew heads up the stairs. Toris then leads Alfred toward the Spades tower.

"Matthew is correct, you know."

The American glances at his companion. "Huh?"

"Ivan isn't that bad." Toris smiles. "I was frightened of him for a very long time since I'm engaged to his little sister. I never met him until he crossed the tunnel. I was so certain he'd blow up at me or something, so I avoided him for a good week until we finally met. Instead of what I expected, he gave me his blessing and said to take care of his sister. He can be scary but he's a good man."

Hearing the story confirms even more so that Ivan isn't a villain. Alfred nods, bidding his goodbye when he arrives at his respective tower. He takes each step slowly, thinking about why his gut feeling was saying otherwise. He's never been wrong about someone ending up being a bad guy. Not once. So he trusts his gut but he also trusts his brother. Matthew would never lie to him. It's going to drive him crazy if he doesn't find out why there's an evil vibe oozing off of the Russian king.

"There you are!"

When he reaches the top of the stairs, Alfred blinks. He takes note of Peter, Lovino, and Arthur all standing there. "What's up? Something wrong?"

Arthur scoffs. "Yes, but it seems everything's been solved." He frowns. "Did you settle everything with him?"

The King of Spades takes a second before smiling. "Yeah. It was just a misunderstanding." He still doesn't like knowing that his brother is possibly the soul-mate of a man he doesn't know and won't entirely trust. The question of why his mark is only half filled remains unanswered. "Crap, I forgot to ask him something."

Lovino snorts. "Of course you'd forget."

"You can ask him tomorrow. Right now, I'd like to speak with you."

"Hold your horses, Artie. I'll talk with you soon." He glances at Peter. "You need something, kiddo?"

"No. I kind of wanted to show you around the place but if you're busy…" he trails off with a shrug. "I'll just go bug Matthias, then. I'm always around the castle but I might try spending time with Queen Lilly while she's here. So I'll be around." The kid smiles and waves before hopping off to wherever he wants to be.

"I'm going to meet up with Veneziano. Don't expect me back too soon." Lovino passes by them with a small wave.

"Good. Then we'll have time to talk." Arthur nods, set on discussing whatever is in his mind. "Come. I'll show you where your room is."

Alfred follows the Brit. "Is this just about me and my brother or is there something else you want to talk about?"

"I do wish to hear about what happened but only when you want to share." The king's room comes up quickly, a blue K on his door. It's right across from a door with a blue Q resting on it. "There's a few other things I want to mention. Find out as well."

They open the door for Alfred's room and move inside. "Well, it's not much to share anymore. Mattie's mark is half filled with a dark green color which can only mean Ivan's one of his soul-mates. I don't like that, though."

"Why not?" Arthur goes and sits on a lounge chair.

"There's something not so good about him. Like, I get these gut feelings that usually tell me when some is bad. I mean real bad." Alfred mimics Arthur but sits on his bed, relaxing into the mattress. "He proved to me that Ivan's not like that but my gut's never been wrong before."

The magician hums in thought. "Maybe it's not him, per say."

Alfred lifts his head up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Ivan himself might not be a bad person, but maybe something is attached to him that isn't friendly." He closes his eyes. "Francis and I both felt the same disturbance around him and even the Queen of Joker."

"What disturbance?" The king fully sits up, elbows on his knees.

"Did you notice anything odd about the tunnel?" Alfred shakes his head and Arthur sighs. "It was created by magic. Francis and I can recognize any kind of magic since we are users ourselves. While the main form of the tunnel was a white based color, there was a dark coat of another spell on top. They could be unrelated but they give off the same feeling."

Alfred ponders over what his queen says. "So what, is he cursed or something?"

"That may be but we can't assume anything. This is merely speculation." Arthur opens his eyes, remembering the main point of why Alfred mentioned this topic. "So he could be a good mate for your brother. He just has an unfortunate circumstance. Possibly."

Alfred hums, still displeased but decides to let it go. "If I find out he's hurting Mattie, I won't forgive him."

"Neither will I," Arthur blurts out. His cheeks become warm as Alfred smiles at him. He glances away. "Speaking of filled in marks, do you mind me asking about yours?"

At the question, Alfred's mind wanders to his previous thoughts about his mark. It was easy to find it as it was on his left shoulder. He wears shirts with longer sleeves to keep it covered because he doesn't want people knowing it's filled in with a teal color. He refused to share that fact because he doesn't want some silly soul-mate system to determine who he should be with. He eyes Arthur's right hand, covered by a glove and by Arthur's left hand. He figures that Arthur might feel the same in a way.

"It's filled," Alfred answers. He turns to his side so he can pull up his left sleeve to show Arthur. "It was like that when I found it. It could be anyone in our kingdom but I don't want to chase an unknown person down just because of fate. It's silly." He rolls his sleeve back down, noticing Arthur clench his right hand. "I know yours is filled, too. It's possible that we could be a match but I'm not going to do anything unless I'd really like to try it out with you."

"Wait, so you're not straight?" Arthur balks.

"I'm bi." He shrugs. "It took a looong time for me to accept that I was attracted to men sexually, though."

"If I can guess, it's probably because of a discriminating society."

"Right on the nose."

The Brit smiles a little to himself, taking off his gloves. He fingers the cyan colored Q. "I'll be honest, I'm quite the romantic. I very much enjoy adorable stories with perfect characters paired for each other. Personally, though, I've been burned by someone before," he grips his gloves in his hand, "so I'm wary to find love again."

Alfred stares at the other. "What happened?"

Arthur doesn't respond instantly. He breathes in, closing his eyes as he exhales. "He fell in love with a woman. He was seeing her the same time he was seeing me, and I couldn't take that. I wanted something exclusive, something where the other person won't cheat on me, they'll be loyal until either a mutual separation or death." He opens his eyes. "I broke it off with him when he couldn't chose one of us. Stated he loved both of us equally and wanted both of us in his life."

"That's kind of selfish."

"You're telling me." Arthur chuckles slightly. "It didn't help that later I found out she was riddled with cancer. He had been taking care of her for years while also attending school. She didn't last very long. Couldn't even make it to his graduation. I felt horrible."

"But you did nothing wrong," Alfred grounds out. "You were the one hurt by him. If he truly cared about your relationship, he would have told you about everything, apologizing. Maybe to him he was doing right, but he did you wrong."

For once Arthur feels happy that someone is on his side of things. "You're the first person to tell me that."

Alfred stares at Arthur, watching as the man continuously fingers the back of his right hand while clenching his gloves tight in a fist. He can tell that Arthur's ex-boyfriend truly hurt him. For some reason, rage wells up inside him. He stands up and kneels in front of Arthur so he can see his green eyes.

"I wouldn't do what he did," he says, taking Arthur's hands in his own. Arthur's eyes widen at his actions. "I know we barely know each other personally and haven't gotten on the right foot, but I can tell you this: I'd be loyal. I'd care for you and spoil you. I'd want you to smile, laugh, and maybe argue with me over little things." He smiles as Arthur chuckles. "I'd warn you that I'm a bad teaser so you'll probably blow up a lot."

"Not like I don't deal with that already," Arthur mutters.

Alfred laughs that time. "I'm not going to propose that we date so suddenly, but you deserve a person who will love and cherish you. Fight beside you, help you in any situations, take you in as a whole, not run away when they find your faults. You can't truly call yourself someone's friend unless you accept them all, good and bad."

The Brit blinks away the stinging sensation in his eyes. He sniffs, looking up at the light in the room. "God, why is it you saying these things to me?"

"It doesn't matter who is saying it to you. You just need to hear it." Alfred smiles, standing up again. He lets Arthur's hands go but keeps eye contact. "I can promise anything, but I'm willing to at least go on dates with you. If you want."

"Are you even interested in me?"

"You have no idea how interested I am in you. And not because of the stupid marks."

Arthur laughs, covering his face as he shakes his head. "I must be mad. I swear off love and here I am actually considering it."

"We don't have to. I mean, we're still acclimating to this world."

"Yes, but sometimes it's better to acclimate together than alone." Arthur smiles up at Alfred. "All right, King of Spades. As long as you are a gentleman and don't go behind my back, I'll give you a chance. Be honored."

Said king smirks as he bows with his arms extended out. "I am honored, my Queen of Spades." He laughs at Arthur's pout. "We'll take it slow. Just some outings and getting to know each other. That okay with you?"

"Of course." Arthur smiles back.

"…I can still prank you, right?" Right after he asks this, Arthur's face morphs into pure rage. Alfred tries saving himself. "I'm not joshing you now! I'm serious! About us. I just- I wanna know that you won't stop this just because I've pranked you. You know how bad my pranks can get."

Releasing a sigh, Arthur massages his forehead. "That'd be poor of me to do so unless it crosses the line."

"I promise no prank will be life threatening."

"Then we shall have no problems. Now, I probably should get going."

"Already got something set up?"

"Yes. Francis wishes to catch up over some tea with me."

The golden blond tenses. "Oh. Okay."

Arthur eyes him. "What?"

"Nothing. I hope you have fun."

"No. Tell me what's bothering you."

Alfred sighs. "…what's your relationship with him? I, uh, saw him talking with you earlier in the hall and…well…" he trails off, unsure how to finish the sentence. He doesn't want to come straight out saying he's slightly jealous and miffed.

A chuckle comes from the Brit. "That frog is nothing more than a friend." He wishes to keep it at that but knows honesty is best between potential lovers. "And yes, he's the idiot who broke my heart." Alfred's face twists as he reaches to grab Arthur's wrist. "Look, he hasn't made any advances. I've told him that I'll never try with him again no matter how much he will beg." He slips his wrist out of Alfred's hand. "We've only just reconnected, I won't immediately trust him. So for now, he's just a friend."

The American stares, brows knitted together as he thinks. Closing his eyes, he breathes in then exhales. "Okay. I'll trust you." He smiles a bit sadly, realizing there won't be many people for him to be with until tomorrow. "I guess I see you later, then."

Arthur doesn't feel this kind of end to the conversation is good. Sighing, he faces the King of Spades and wraps his hands around his neck. Alfred's eyes widen as his head is forced down and lips touch his forehead. Both of their faces are set aflame as Arthur lets him go.

"I might check in on you later. If I don't, I've gone to bed."

"Okay. Uhm, good night, Arthur."

"Good night, Alfred."

When the door closes and Alfred is alone, he stands there in a daze. He brings a hand up to his forehead, lightly brushing his fingers across the skin where Arthur kissed him. It's warm, sizzling, and his stomach feels like it's flipping around, tying itself in knots. A goofy grin slips along his lips as he chuckles. He's had crushes before but has never truly experienced what it's like to date someone. Some girls, maybe, but they never felt like dates. It felt like they were fawning over him because of his powers. This time, however, it's different. Arthur knows about his powers but hasn't expressed interest in them.

"Maybe Fate is actually pointing in the right direction," he mumbles aloud. Shaking his head at the thought, he decides to call it a night for himself. He flops onto the bed that's supposedly his during his time here and relaxes. Not too long after he settles in does he get swept away by sleep.

Note: Long chapter be long but I like this chapter. I've also realize that this whole story will be longer than I though since I need to add a 1.5 act between this act and the second one. Which I'm fine with.

This is not beta-ed so there might be mistakes.

Ciao: I hope you enjoyed the update, lovelies! Thanks for reading! R&R.