Breaking apart, gasping, Alfred rested his forehead's on Arthur's before looking into his eyes. Fates, the kiss really had lasted far too long, but neither of them truly minded. Green met blue once more, and he felt as if his breath had been taken away even after he'd just regained it. He could feel the moisture on his mouth, a slight mark from when Alfred's glasses had pressed into his face, parts of his skin set alight from where he was still holding him.

Alfred, on the other hand, could barely process anything other than the whistling of the wind in his ears and Arthur's hands resting on his chest. His fingers were slender, and he watched his vulnerable hands shift on his shirt as they parted. Taking in the milky white colour of his throat, and how his chest moved in tandem with his Adam's apple, he had a sudden, embarrassing desire to kiss him again.

Thank whatever foresight he had to make sure they were alone.

Leaning forward once more, he brushed his nose against Arthur's, carefully watching his face to see whether he pulled away or was reluctant. To his relief, though, he didn't look upset or flinch, but didn't move to reciprocate the action or did anything else but stand there.

That, in itself, made Alfred worry. "Arthur?" he murmured, doing his best to stop his voice from shaking, which failed. "Everything okay?"

"At least let me catch my breath, Your Highness," Arthur whispered, his voice ragged. To his great relief, though, a hint of a smile was pulling at his mouth. That made him want to grin so hard that he didn't even whine about the fact that he used his honourific instead of his name. "It hasn't even been a minute. Please, allow me a margin of error. Er. Did you intend on televising this? Or at least, this 'first'? I...that was...was that your first kiss? It didn't-"

"What's with all these weirdo questions?" Perhaps he was embarrassed, though Arthur couldn't perfectly read him. "A-Anyway, I'd say I didn't even get that far in thinking about it, I'm not good at planning stuff as you know." Irritatingly, he had now turned away, refusing to meet his gaze. "When I came to celebrate, I...didn't even think about it until you gave me that answer, but I've been hoping to get closer to you for a long time. That's all. Not gonna lie, I didn't expect you to...do it back."

"Oh," Arthur said, and that could easily have been the end of that. He couldn't see the prince's expression, and the conversation had been cut short so quickly – what else was there to speak about it? Did he regret it already?

Too much, actually, he realised. The prince, not to mention the future king of Spades, had made such a case for him, for being in his company, for not forcing his feelings onto him or making him feel like he had to like him in the first place. If he didn't so blatantly wear his heart on his sleeve, Arthur would have doubted his intentions, but too bad for the both of him, he did.

"Alfred," he said, mustering up the courage to edge his fingers and place them underneath his chin. Alfred jolted abruptly, eyes widening behind his glasses, causing Arthur's fingers to rest awkwardly on his jawline. "...Er. Apologies."

"No, I, uh, my bad," he stuttered. "What's up, Artie?"

"It's just that you were looking away, and you know how you feel about me when I do the same. It's not very befitting of you to do so, correct? Is there something you're thinking about?"

"It's not bee-fitting for you to keep on touching my face like that, right?" he said quickly, teasing in a way that for some reason made him feel off. "Heh."

Arthur could feel his mortification swell like a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Idiot, that's not the point – ah, I probably shouldn't ask you something like that if you're not able to handle it with seriousness." You just admitted to giving me your first kiss in the competition, but you can't even be serious regarding the scruples of our relationship?

"So why aren't you letting go! H-Hey, don't actually let go of me, wait," Alfred started teasing, causing the prickly feeling in his chest to magnify, but quickly stopped when Arthur detached away from him with a huff. "Please, Artie – Arthur, don't..."

Well. That tone of voice was slightly new, he realised. Turning back, Arthur saw an increased vulnerability in his eyes, mirroring his own. What did Alfred have to fear, after all? He was just Arthur Kirkland, someone without connections or fame, just a face in the crowd. At least, that's what he'd like to believe, that if he was inadequate – which he was – that none of them would get hurt.

But the evidence that it was a convenient lie was standing right in front of him.

I didn't mean for things to go wrong...the two of them thought, but no sounds came out of their mouths, forcing them to stand in awkward silence.

"I'm sorry," they both blurted out at the same time instead, leaving them in an even more awkward place than they had been.

"My bad, I just...kinda clam up with these things, you know," Alfred said. At least, he was looking at Arthur now. No, I don't. I've scarcely had seven weeks to meet you, yet I am more affectionate than I'd ever expect to be with anyone, and I cannot comprehend why. "Being left alone like that...I'm not good with it."

That, Arthur did know, but he didn't push him farther on it. None of the copious amounts of romantic novels he'd borrowed from the public library in town back when he was still in his holding facility did any good in this situation. "I apologise. I'm not very good with affairs of the heart. I'm..."

Be honest. Be honest with why you're not. Why you don't believe, even with his affection, that you could ever win this thing.

Arthur clamped his mind shut. There was absolutely no way he could say it. "It was foolish of me to expect an answer regarding..." His mouth stilled when he observed Alfred's conflicted expression. "Everything. I understand that it is difficult for the both of us." Someone more than the other, as one has everything to lose by falling.

"Yeah, something like that," he replied, and the conversation seemed to peter out again, which neither of them wanted. "Though, if you don't mind me talking about it..."

He couldn't help but feel guilty; Alfred was clearly trying very hard to reconnect with him, so he'd better do the same – n-not like he wanted to be close again or anything, but he deserved that little bit of respect. "Yes?"

Arthur saw his throat move. "What did you think of the...kiss?"

"I..." Only someone as confident as you could ask such a brash question. "I don't have a firm grasp on what determines a quality kiss, as it was my first."

Alfred lit up. "Oh, it was your first kiss, too? That's awesome!" he exclaimed, not quite understanding the shock that slowly spread on his face and answering the question he'd tried to ignore earlier. "Huh? Did I say something? You okay?"

"You...that is to say, Alfred, I was your..."

"Ahah...yeah! Yeah, it's my first kiss too," he said. Trying his best to not blush which was pointless the moment he felt his cheeks warm again, he looked away. "Is, uh, that so bad?"

Alfred's bashful expression almost made him melt, and he stepped closer. Gingerly, he let his hands rest on his chest, the tips of their shoes brushing once more as Arthur tilted his head to continue speaking. "No, not at all – I just expected you to have done so already."

"Naw," he said. At the back of his mind, Arthur knew they should be untangling from each other and sitting on sofas, where the conversation would be more socially acceptable, but tonight's temperature was cool and his body was so warm...not like there were any other motives for remaining close to him, or anything foolish like that. His fingers curled slightly on his chest, but didn't seek to move away.

"Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to have a Deciding. Not only do I wanna marry for love and stuff, but also, you know. Our people need their morale back. Though it's been a decade since the sickness, you can still feel the scars on the land. And, uh, a Deciding can't fix everything, yeah, but it's a start. Even if I didn't wanna go through the process, I'd do it for my people, so I'm glad I could do that as well."

All the teasing and defensive jokes Arthur had prepared completely crumbled in the face of that confession.

"It's kinda silly, right? Heh. Us royals are lucky in that we now get to choose whether to do it or not, but I really wanted it." There seemed to be something else he wanted to say, but he shook himself out of it. "So I guess you could say I've always known that my first kiss would happen during the Deciding."

Did you know it would be me from the start? Arthur thought. If those words escaped his mouth, he'd be unable to hear anything over the sound of his heartbeat. "Then..."

"Is that really surprising? I mean, I've said it lots in interviews with the last few months." Alfred laughed, subtly adjusting his grip so one of his gloved hands was cupping Arthur's elbow.

"No, not at all, I just never imagined that..." He hoped he couldn't pick up on his stammering, or the fact that he had been too engrossed in absorbing all the knowledge he could possibly gain within his last term. "Someone like me would be your first."

"Whaddya mean by that?" If Alfred would stop speaking in that deep tone, Arthur could possibly just about avoid melting right there in his arms.

"Well, like a princess from another kingdom, or someone who's much more worthy-" Alfred gave him a pointed look, and he remembered that there were no eligible princesses or princes except Queen Elizabeta and Jack Roderich's two daughters, who were too young to be doing so anyway. "Well, not really, I suppose. Another continent. Off of Cards. No?"

Shaking his head, Alfred pouted a little. "Vienne and Elly are like little sisters to me, and they're too young anyway, but you knew that. And it's not like there are a gazillion countries outside our borders that have monarchies."

Arthur smirked, forgetting to hide behind his walls and push away his fondness, as the sensation of Alfred's mouth on his started fading. "A friend from the army, perhaps? Was that why your technique was good?"

"Hey!" Alfred said, but the pout on his face said otherwise. "Whaddya think of me? But wait, Artie - you think it was a good kiss?"

"...N-No, I didn't say anything like that," Now it was Arthur's turn to become flustered – he hadn't meant for it to slip out. Doing his best to avoid his gaze, he curled his toes in embarrassment when Alfred dipped his head to maintain their point of contact. "It's not like...I'd enjoy it again..."

"Say, Artie," he was grinning like a fiend, "If you only think princesses are worth kissing for the first time,"

"You're the future King of Spades, Alfred, do spare me."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, shaking his head in amusement. For some reason, though, through all his nerves Arthur felt compelled to look him in the eyes – not until after he'd rolled his eyes, of course. Standing so closely together, he could in fact see his own reflection within their blue depths, a discovery that made his breathing recede. "Haven't finished. Then...since I had you as my first kiss...wouldn't that make you..."

Arthur's eyes couldn't help but widen, and his mouth fell open. "No, that's-" He was struggling to find the words to express his surprise – calling him that would cross another line, something both of them were awfully fond of doing, but this one was too severe. "That's...sarcasm, surely?"

"Huh? Naw, you're the only one of us that knows how to actually use it."

"But you can't call me that, n-not when-" Oh Fates, he was so overcome he was stuttering now, forcing himself to lower his voice to a whisper. "-Not when it has not ended. Or are you...?"

Even though I'm chanced upon to be so close to you, ending it so soon would be impossible for me. Just having your affection could not make me an appropriate member of the Primary Suit. I'm not ready, not to be for you like that, or any part of the job that comes with it. I'm not nearly-

"Ending it...?" Annoyingly, Alfred's face was still stupidly handsome when he looked confused. "H-Huh? Wait, Arthur, I'm not-"

"If...if you were going to call me what I think you were meaning to say, I...couldn't handle it," Arthur said, his cheeks pinking, so much so that Alfred could see his very faint freckles. Shifting in his embrace once more, he still couldn't find the energy needed to pull away. "I...I'm not ready. I'm not fit t-"

A tight squeeze stopped what would be a most foolish confession. All of a sudden, Arthur's head almost naturally fell into the crook of Alfred's neck. His scent was even stronger there – coupled with the sensation of his gold chain and silver beads, Arthur could hear his heartbeat thrumming feverishly in his ears.

"But you're – you shouldn't have to make this decision, it hasn't even been two months!"

"My bad, Artie!" Alfred hissed, whispering into his ear that naturally sent another shiver down his spine, leaving no corner of his skin untouched. At least he was appearing to attempt to be discreet. "I didn't want you to be so scared, I'm not ending anything and stuff, I just..."

"Alfred, you-"

"Wait up, okay? So you know, what's going to happen when this Deciding is over, is that whoever wins," that sent relief coursing through his system, "ascends to the rank of Queen of Spades. There isn't going to be an inbetween, since that was part of the agreement for this Deciding specially. Didn't you know that?"

"Er, I..." No, but even if I did, I haven't been able to think straight for the past twenty minutes. "So, you're saying that..."

"Yanno, for a really smart guy you're kinda helpless on this topic." The dolt – he was laughing! The absolute nerve.

"Your Highness," Arthur was sure that would make him cross, "I did not come into this competition with the expectations that I would be chosen. Do forgive me."

"On one condition," he said, pulling backwards. Frustratingly, Arthur's heartbeat had not returned to pre-Alfred levels, and he was tactfully ignoring the jab at himself. "Anyway! It should be fine to call you that nickname because of that, right? In p-r-i-v-a-t-e?"

"Just say private, idiot," Arthur huffed. "W-Well. If you promise me it does not have the usual connotations within the space of a Deciding, and it does indeed stay private, I'd be willing to accept it."

Alfred nodded once, but the conservative movement couldn't disguise his shy happiness from Arthur, who was still close. They moved away, and for the first time he could see how red his cheeks were – did it mean that he was embarrassed by the implications of the nickname as he was?

If he tilted his head just so... "R-Regardless," Arthur said quickly to distract himself from his foolish thoughts, "What was the one condition you were asking about?"

"It's not that big of a deal! Hero's honour."

"You say that every time and it is..."

"Hey, what's with that look? Anyway, there's just one more thing," Alfred said. His tone lowered from his usual excited pitch once more, and by the Fates that was unfair. "Since, well. You're in this competition also for me, now..." he said, letting the words hang in the air to great effect.

I've already deprived you of so much honesty tonight; you deserve this confirmation, at least. "Yes, I am. I suppose. Oi – don't thrust your hand up like that, the sound you'd make would signal things were amiss...never mind, dolt. As long as...as you're happy...Regardless! That doesn't answer my question."

"Getting to that, there's no need to be impatient!" Arthur hoped he disguised his embarrassment well enough. "The thing is – the competition is going to start becoming intense soon. We're at twenty people, and I think it wouldn't be fair to Yao and Matt if I had this go on for more than a year. At most." The conflict in his eyes was palpable. "I'm not...saying this for the sake of making you take on other roles, but I just wanna warn you that you might find the atmosphere of the Deciding different compared to when you weren't gunning for me. That's all."

"I understand. Thank you," Arthur acknowledged, his eyes softening. "It's gracious of you to warn me."

Alfred winked, and he sensed his knees weakening. "Knowing you, it still wouldn't get you down. Don't go brawling with the others, though! Don't think I'll allow everything just because I like you!"

"It'll take more than a few people to, I'm sure, even if it was physical combat," Hating the bead of happiness that had grown in his chest after hearing that remark, he defaulted to his usual sarcasm. "So, what was that favour?"

Taking a moment to peer at the clock above Arthur's desk, and noticing the now dark sky, Alfred pursued his lips, which obviously made him look at them, and the small dip of his Cupid's bow, and-

"Would you wanna do it again?" The boyish charm had arrived once more, red cheeks behind his glasses, and his cowlick was acting up in a bizarre way. "You know. Just a little one. Private and all."

Things were about to be drastically changed, set into motion simply by that one kiss they'd had awhile ago, which they still hadn't moved away from. He'd been practically elated with his detachment from the palace at the start – he felt as if he'd be able to continue on with his life after he was eliminated, with merely a story about how he'd spent the first few months of the spring within the throes of the Spadian palace, earn possibly enough so that his family would not have to worry about utilities and food ever again, and walk away with his heart intact, as he didn't ever intend on falling in love.

But as Arthur's hands moved from his chest to seguing up the back of his head, finally getting to truly run his hands through his hair, and pulling him so their noses brushed together once more, he realised that the future he'd envisioned was – not for a lack of trying – moving further and further from him by the minute.

An unspoken agreement was made to not speak of the birthday celebration the next morning, and thankfully neither of them had much opportunity to do so anyway. The following weekend, Arthur was having a tiny celebration with his trio of friends as promised, and Alfred was speed dating again. Since Meeting footage wouldn't happen until the week after, he'd have to supplement it again with interviews. Because of that, he simply wouldn't allow himself to daydream or dally on what had occurred in his room – not to Yao, not to Matthias, and not even to Matthew. His brother seemed busy, anyway, seeing that the Meeting was next week.

The worst part of the week, however, was not the speed dating – rather, it was the consultation with the advisors. Though it had been Yao's suggestion, he was not happy with Alfred having to defer to a council alone, even though he was unaware of...certain things. After all, he did need someone who hadn't raised him for half his life to hold him accountable. He just wished it wasn't them...

Them, with their gleaming badges of contempt, fully and gleefully aware of the power that they held within the court which was much more than it should be. For all he knew, opposing them when the Primary Suit was only two people was useless. With public opinion still in favour of them, not to mention the weakness of the monarchy, there was nothing he could do but explain his plans and wait with tensed breath that they'd accept them.

Lately, though, he'd started to bring some moral support to back him up. Usually it would be Michael, once or twice he'd been able to get Matthew to come along, but this week he'd had the luck to invite Katya along. Strangely, even though he and Ivan would – and probably wouldn't ever – see eye to eye, they got along with each other.

"Hello, Alfred," she said, the same motherly affection he'd felt from her ever since she'd been stationed in Spades. They'd agreed to meet in the entrance to the main room where court was usually held, but since there was no king, it was the advisorship's main base for now. "You look nervous – is there something wrong?"

Right, she hasn't even been doing this with me before, he thought as he smiled his usual smile to ward off her worries. Michael had been with him enough times to expect his nerves, and Matthew and Matthew alone knew exactly why they were there, so it was fine. Thankfully, she simply patted him on the shoulder and entered along with him.

Even with a full fledged Joker by his side, he could feel the waves of contempt for the boy king that he was roll off them in waves, so he clutched his papers and tried not to look too much at them in earnest. Since Matt was busy with Meeting prep, his advisor, and the one guy Alfred grudgingly trusted wasn't here, so it was just him and Katya.

"Joker Katya, how excellent of you to join us today," a woman's voice was the first one to greet them – Aileen, the de facto leader of the highest faction of the advisorship, easy to tell by the way everyone deferred to her. Her dark hair was pulled back too tightly as always, and the purple badge gleamed in the light, catching Alfred's eye. "Along with the crown prince."

Always the crown prince. Never Prince Alfred, never anything more. "Ah, it was a pleasure to join him today," Katya said. Her speech gave nothing away, but he felt the squeeze on his shoulder tighten, in a way that made him strangely comforted in the face of the hawkish eyes honed on him. With her being the only person he could trust in this room, he latched onto her by sitting down after she did, in the usual seat of the Queen and the Jack. The King's seat, markedly, was removed.

This turned out to be a big mistake, which was picked up quickly by the advisors.

"Your Highness, is something the matter? We were expecting you to give the presentation, not Joker Katya." The same sneering tone, again, when he'd first brought in Matthew. "If you would like to witness exemplary behaviour in court, we'd prefer you do it after the whole Meeting business is resolved."

Not unable to hide his flinch, Alfred fought back with the most boisterous laugh on the matter as he could, hoping to quell Katya's concerned look, which thankfully it did. They'd been watching him like hawks since he'd been born, so they'd know all about his tendency to cling onto people he trusted.

Then again, like so many other people in his life, she would one day have to leave, and...

"I do hope, dear crown prince, that you aren't upset she's not in your Deciding."

"Of course not, she's far too established in her role to come to something like my Deciding," Alfred joked.

"Oh?" Somehow, somewhere, he'd fucked up, as the same silky voice that had taunted him countless times was back again, though disguised in a joking manner. "Are you insinuating that your posse is not capable of being Queen?" Aileen didn't even have to keep on speaking for him to understand the words lying underneath.

Befitting, for a boy who was powerless to do anything when your mother, then your father, perished.

Without your brother and the Jack at your side, who are you, really? A child with an oversized crown, whose destiny is to flail until your precious Deciding fixes that – or pretends to do so. What would your parents say?

We do not need to prove the weaknesses of monarchy. You do so without us lifting a finger. We know why you truly went to serve in the military, crown prince.

Swallowing once, Alfred replied. He desperately hoped Katya would not take her hand from his shoulder. "It's only been two months. They're all perfectly capable of taking the role i-in time."

Perhaps it was the Joker's presence, or something in her face that Alfred could not see as his gaze was too fixed on the advisorship in front of him, but the taunting stopped. Shoulders relaxed, people sat back, and Aileen herself simply gestured with her head. "Of course, crown prince, with time they will grow to be an exemplary member of the Primary Suit, and we will do everything to assist them whilst they ascend. It was fun discussing it with you; now do you have the reports that we requested?"

There it was again. The advisorship dangling time, which Alfred would never really have enough of, like a carrot on a stick, forcing himself to second guess every action he took within the Deciding. Well, no matter. He'd have to stick by their games, just for now.

"Yes, I do," he said stiffly. He had to remain official and boring, he'd already given away enough of his personality over the years to them, only to have it twisted every way. "First, we'll start with the ones regarding development in the south of Spades, and how we're looking to concentrate metal trades to fix their development."

For now.

What choice did he have?

Coming out of the weekend, though, Monday was unrepentant. Their breakfast was only allowed to take around forty five, and Arthur, who had woken up later than usual holding his stuffed bear, had to eat faster than usual. Lunch wasn't any better, and it was only when he made his way down to the Drawing Room with Leon afterwards that it didn't seem as if anyone had a date scheduled for that day.

Arthur was more than willing to just sit back and listen to the hums of conversation whilst he and Leon sipped their cups of tea for Sakura and Emma to arrive. He was just in the process of waving a hello to Alfonso, who came in with Thomas as he usually did, when he picked up a conversation thread.

"We already had that large elimination just before Friday," someone muttered. "Do you really think the prince will do it again?"

"Who knows?" came the answer. Arthur's cup was raised to his lips, but did not move. "At least, the competition is split strangely – there's still so many holding facility kids here. Nothing happened at lunch, either."

"Eight's not that many, Marianne."

"You're right. Eight is too many," she snapped. Arthur placed down his cup, careful not to catch Leon's – who was reading the newspaper – attention. Someone else turned on the television in the background, news of the Meeting blaring in the background. "Someone should get them out."

"What, like they can't do it themselves?" her companion sounded incredibly disinterested in the conversation, his gaze looking elsewhere in the room. "These are holding facility kids we're talking about." Out of the corner of his eye, he realised that he was looking in his direction, which caused Arthur to look away sharply, but not so to the point where he couldn't eavesdrop. Attempting to blend in, he picked up his teacup once more.

"At least, Natalya said she overheard that one of the girls that were eliminated – holding facility, of course, was talking politics on a date, or something about that. They don't even know that's inappropriate."

Arthur's own cutting words in the library flashed through his mind, and he tried to ignore the slight tremor as he held his cup.

"Oh? Natalya? Did she divulge any details? That's a mysterious girl, she is." Marianne was arranging her skirts, sitting closer to him. "I'm not terribly fond of getting information from her, but that's beside the point."

He shook his head. Arthur took a sip of his tea, his eyes darting to the door for a moment before quickly placing it back onto the table. Still no Sakura or Emma. "No, that's all she overheard, apparently."

"I don't trust her. She's all too happy to sit in our company but doesn't do much past that. Perhaps she's one of those types to not do anything until the competition really heats up."

"She hasn't been sent home yet."

"She's not from the holding facilities," she scoffed, "Of course she would still be here. Regardless. I wonder what else they did in the date. They went to the stables, correct? I wonder if she was invited to groom the horses, and got angry because she was unable to?"

The two of them tittered in unison, and thankfully at this moment Emma and Sakura arrived together – Emma wearing light pants like she had done during Arthur's birthday gathering, and Sakura a dress to match the windy day.

"I saw the Ace and the Jack come down here just now, when we were walking in!" she said enthusiastically, adjusting her headband as they sat down. "There must be a big announcement if they're both coming downstairs with the prince."

"You think?" Leon asked, folding over his newspaper and placing it to the side. "At least. Did you see him?"

Sakura shook her head, fixing her skirts before facing the rest of the group. Strangely enough, Arthur felt himself understand her more as their age difference had shortened; yet he had a ways to go in terms of maturity. "Not yet, I do not think," she said. "I believe it is something for the Meeting festivities, though."

"If the activity is sitting around and listening to politicians do something that's completely over our heads, do count me out – I'd be absolutely rubbish."

"Ah, there is no need to count yourself out, Arthur. I think you would be good because of your schooling."

"That sounds pretty dull, though...but I'd be all right with it if it involved Alfred. Right?"

"Fair point," Arthur nodded, shifting forward to get another drink of his tea, but paused when he saw Leon staring at him. "Pardon?"

"Wait a minute, timeout. I totally...when did this happen?" he asked.

"What happened? Are you talking about me turning eighteen?"

"No, not that." Leon was clearly fighting back a snort. "Your eyes are sort of...how do I put this, they're, like. Moony. Dreamy. Whatever." At Arthur's persistent confusion, Leon raised an elegant eyebrow at his friend. "You've never, like, talked about the prince with that face. Right? Am I going ballistic?"

To his mortification, Emma and Sakura peered over at him, their eyebrows knit together and shoulders touching. "P-Pardon?" he spluttered. "Has anything changed-"

Snapping her fingers, she nodded brightly. "Wait, Leon! You're completely right. He looks like a love struck teenager!"

"Me? Emma, I think you're mistaken for yourse-"

"I agree with Emma and Leon," Sakura said quickly.

"B-But, I'm not in-"

"Did something happen?" Leon repeated, tilting his head slightly to the side. "You told me a few weeks ago that you didn't have feelings for him. Has that totally changed?"

"That was a few weeks ago, I-" Thankfully, Arthur was saved from his humiliation with the Jack and Ace arriving in the room. The moment Alfred walked in, though, all blue overcoat and bright smiles, he completely forgot about hiding his feelings and instantly looked away, doing his best to avoid eye contact but instead bringing up a memory.

His body was warm...Arthur thought, about to overwhelm himself with his embarrassing longing for his heat before he realised that warmth was a matter of human nature. Fates, he hoped neither of his friends were looking at Alfred instead of him.

"Apologies for the impromptu message, Chosen," the Jack was speaking, to bows and curtsies all around the room as everyone rose up to greet them. "Yes, thank you. We have an important announcement to make regarding the Meeting."

Matthew stepped forward. "This has been a bit of a special event we were planning to surprise Prince Alfred with," he said. "But we were thinking of hosting a mid Meeting ball on Friday this week, and every single Chosen member are cordially invited to attend." Translation: you have no choice but to come and be gawked at from cameras, and the nation, not to mention the whole of Cards, sees your clumsy feet.

Predictably, this caused the room to break out in feverish conversations. He and Sakura exchanged a glance, whilst cheers and applause broke out amongst the Chosen. He still daren't look at Alfred's face as he leaned in to speak to both his brother and the Jack, whispers being exchanged amongst them. It felt like an eternity of a wait until he turned around.

"I...I don't know what to say, I was gonna attempt to plan it but I didn't feel like it would be feasible at all," Alfred said, barely able to keep the disbelief out of his voice. "Please, join me in thanking the Ace and the Jack."

After a considerable smattering of applause, Ace Matthew continued speaking. "The details are not firm for now, but we will be hosting lessons for those unfamiliar with the dances being performed at the ball. Prince Alfred," he nudged him, "Will be personally assisting with everyone individually."

That seemed to get everyone's attention, and Arthur could see backs straightening and clothes being arranged. "We will get the details to you by the end of the day, but please, look forward to it. We regret that we haven't been able to involve you all in Deciding preparation, so we hope that the festivities will be able to make up for it."

Jack Yao took over from Matthew, projecting his voice over the din. "In addition to more information about the ball, we would also require your attendance at dinner tonight, as we will detail what aspects of the palace will change for the Meeting, not to mention further guidelines on conduct and security. We look forward to seeing you there tonight."

With that, he swept out of the room; Matthew following diligently behind him with a pleasant smile, though his eyebrows were creased in thought. Alfred, cheeky brat, took a few moments to hang back and talk briefly with the Chosen before leaving, and that was all very well for Arthur, who was glad to engage in conversation about the new ball instead of his new, slightly unwanted feelings.

That is, until the moment Alfred left in the midst of everyone talking with one another, when their eyes met briefly, over the top of a lilting plant placed near the entrance. He seemed to stand in place, mouth slightly ajar, watching him. Was he still having the same thoughts as Arthur did, if he was thinking about their interactions?

He's probably already kissed someone else, his cynical side protested, kicking him in the hypothetical shins. Fates, Arthur hated that side. He would drive it off a cliff whilst waving an umbrella angrily at it. Yes, if he believed it, it would all be so much easier.

Once again, the softened look on the prince's face told him it was a lie. And yet...

Arthur felt his traitorous lips shift into a soft smile, and he raised two fingers in greeting, trying to play it much cooler than the fireflies in his heart, glowing quietly like the ones in the garden.

Should I move them to my lips? No, no, he scolded himself for such a ridiculous thought. Blushing and turning away, he barely missed Alfred's reaction. Only when he heard the sound of him closing the door did he allow himself to return back to his conversation.

Alfred on the other hand, straightened himself out; he was jogging back to his room before he assumed anyone noticed. Even with the added weight of assisting to plan the new event, his walk seemed much lighter than it had before, and he felt as if he were walking on clouds instead of the palace carpets.