The next time they dared to look at each other again after that was when they were congregating for the weekly Broadcast. As usual, the set was humming to life when Arthur followed Leon as if it were an orchestra coming to life. Though he'd only been to an orchestra once, he was certain that the resemblance was there.

"Emma, you must stop shaking if you are to get through this," Sakura's voice came over the din, and she was sitting in front where there were two spare seats. "Remember, they are announcing – ah, Leon, Arthur!"

"Thanks for saving us a seat!"

"Oh, that's right," Arthur waited until Leon sat down before taking his own, he was a gentleman, after all. "Your date with the prince'll be announced tonight, correct?"

Leon nodded, his smartly styled hair falling past his eyes. "Sure. I'm a bit nervous, but I think poor Emma needs our help more."

Arthur studied his friend's face; it still lacked the self imposed doubt it had worn over the few weeks. Maybe just like him, he'd managed to start sorting out his feelings about the prince, albeit with a lot less holding back.

Emma was tugging incessantly at her perfectly arranged hair, running the edges of her immaculate nails delicately against her skin. "Oh Fates, this is a disaster, isn't it," she babbled right after greeting the two boys. "I have no idea what to say when he announces the news!"

"It's not easy. I don't want to imagine being picked out like that in front of everyone," Arthur shivered in his smartly buttoned black pea coat, "Not to mention the Broadcast, of all things. I hope that won't be me."

Leon elbowed him almost instantly in response. "Too bad, Arthur, everyone gets a date before that. You can't, like, say stuff like that and expect it to not happen."

"If I'm not eliminated by then, sure," he squinted when the harsh lights of the studio turned on, reflecting on the set of the news. He was met with a piercing silence. "Did I, er, say something wrong?"

"Ha ha. Totally not funny."

"Arthur, erm..." Sakura trailed off as she adjusted her elbow length sleeves, "You seem to speak about being eliminated a lot. Do you really want to go home?"

Arthur pinked, the colour even more highlighted now a softer set of lights had lit over where the Chosen were sitting. "No, of course not!" It had come out much faster than he had intended it to, and he could feel the heat on his cheeks increase tenfold.

"Shh, the show's going to start in a few minutes," an annoyed voice came in front of the four of them. "Seriously. Shut up."

"Don't want to start a scene," Emma cut in quickly, sensing Arthur's thick eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "Anyway. Are you, really? Please be honest."

By the awkward tensing of his shoulders, the three of them expected another deflection, as usual. The winding down of the lights in preparation for the Broadcast was another way he'd be able to slip away, but the moment before the red lights of the cameras blinked their way into the audience, they got a reply.

"I'm being honest, I..." the voice trailed off, but there was enough conviction to recognize that he was being truthful with them, "I don't want to leave."

Yao started his spiel exactly on time. "It's definitely been a turmoil filled week here at Spades, where the Deciding is moving along at an excellent pace. In this thirty minute Broadcast, we will detail the events of the Meeting, as well as speak personally to Prince Alfred on his thoughts and feelings about the recent events. Finally, we will be concluding with brief remarks with the twelve remaining Chosen. I do hope everyone in Cards is ready to hear from them first hand."

"Firstly," he extended his gloved hand to where Alfred was sitting on a blue plush chair, "I'd like to introduce our crown prince Alfred." Smatterings of applause, and under the absence of light Arthur allowed himself to watch him wave brightly. "Next up, our Ace Matthew." The same amount of applause, though slightly dulled. "And finally, in residence this year, our Joker Katya." More dulled, again, though that was probably due to the mere existence of the Joker rebels. She took it in stride though, as she waved to the audience without giving away a hint of potential discomfort, something he admired greatly.

"Uh, is it okay if I have the mic for a second?" Alfred had gotten up from his chair and had come to stand next to his mentor.

"Of course, my prince."

Taking it from him, Alfred quickly put his shoulder on the Jack's. "And who could but forget our amazing Jack Yao, who keeps the kingdom together! Make some noise!"

"Erm, Your Hi-" He was cut off by very enthusiastic applause by both the audience and the Chosen whilst he gently scolded the prince, yet the two of them wore sheepish smiles on their faces. "Yes, yes. Thank you, everyone, Prince Alfred. Please, do sit d – do sit down. Right."

As soon as everyone, including the royals, had sat down, the programme resumed. "All Four Kingdoms congregated within Spades this week to discuss closer ties, the present and the future of Cards with one another. There has been extensive media coverage this week, but for those who may not be clear, we've provided a short summary video."

The overhead spotlights dimmed on the stage, the royals' faces only lit by the weak lights at their feet. As the video played, the noise echoing through the room and filling the comparatively small area, the Chosen remained silent. Usually, there would be a bit of light chatter, but the solemnity of all the royals in Cards gathering was not something to be disturbed.

It seemed as if the royals were not speaking amongst themselves either as the glamorous reel video played. Arthur folded his arms and stared at every poorly lit corner of the room other than the main stage. The shifting of his fellow Chosen's feet, or each awkward adjusting of their clothes, and the tiny fishes of conversation that leapt between them was enough to keep him distracted. Changing his position multiple times through the airing of the opening ceremony once again, he finally settled on clasping his hands between his legs and slouching over.

That is until he turned his head inbetween footage of the party and let the scent of the rose in his lapel waft through his senses. In a moment, his mind connected the smell with the audible chatter of the party, which in turn linked it with his and Alfred's unauthorized early morning rendezvous. His gaze darted up to where the prince was sitting on the sofa, which had been arranged to face Jack Yao's.

He already knew, the thought sitting up alert at the back of his mind that Alfred would be looking back at him. Too bad he couldn't prepare himself for it nearly enough, as the same bolt of heat shot up his spine as their eyes met across the room. Alfred's blue was darker under the poor lighting, practically mirroring the colour that they had been in that secluded room. Arthur barely heard his breathing speed up between the loud applause that had erupted now the recap video had finished airing.

They maintained eye contact for another moment, the edges of Alfred's lips perking up into a smile before the lights came back on and they had to go back on pretending like nothing had happened. At least Arthur had the luxury of turning his head away sharply and shutting his eyes, as the spotlight hadn't been piloted to where he was sitting.

"There was significant progress made this year, as always," Jack Yao was speaking once more, addressing the crowd with a clear confidence. "The Diamonds kingdom welcomed a new Ace, and we were able to hold successful talks on all the avenues that we sought to tackle. With the remarkable effort of three kingdoms holding a Deciding, we had to fight to discuss it, but we managed to get there in the end." Polite laughs from the audience, the Chosen joining in. "Though, I'm certain that Prince Alfred would be happy to discuss it with me, instead of having me speak all about it myself. So, may I ask – has there been significant progress?"

"Yeah, there has been!" Tugging on his tie, he cleared his throat again before he spoke. "As usual, there's a lot of people coming from all places all over Cards, so it was good to get a lot of different perspectives. Obviously, heh, it doesn't really matter where they came from, but it's good to understand everyone."

"Indeed. Though I will say, it was good to see everyone again, wasn't it?"

Arthur could practically feel the collective happiness from the audience. There wasn't any denying that there was a reason that the photos of every royal interacting with one another were by far and away the most desired.

"Uh huh. It was good to see everyone, especially Ludwig-"

"Don't worry, we all saw the way we so warmly greeted the Hearts," Yao remarked dryly, causing laughter and Alfred to grin self-consciously. "It's wonderful that we're managing to be close, is it not? Given our history."

Alfred nodded. "It means a lot in that way. There's something special about being able to get everyone in a room such as the party, and not have us erupt into arguing."

"Speaking about the party, that was incredibly fun, was it not?" Yao managed to easily segue into the next part of the conversation. The Jack was exemplary at his work; he knew exactly what most of Cards wanted to hear. "Compared to our last conversation regarding the Chosen, I hoped it managed to clarify your feelings about everyone."

"Not everyone, but I managed to figure out more things than I thought I would have," Alfred admitted, pushing his hands underneath his legs as he swung them back and forth. "Being able to clarify my feelings whilst having a competition of such a magnitude is an incredible chance, a privilege, and that isn't lost on me, not for a second."

Smatters of applause from the audience, and this time Arthur didn't need to be swept away by his fellow Chosen to join in. Seeing Alfred step further into his shoes as a king with every passing day filled him with both a pride and admiration that Arthur felt like it shouldn't belong to him.

Yao himself looked proud, continuing on with the brief interview with a smile. "We'll speak about your thoughts on the eliminations, but I'd also like to ask. Would you say that the event has brought you closer to anyone, then, other than clarifying your feelings?"

"Yes, I'd say so." Alfred's fingers strayed to his tie again.

The chaos of the continent leaning further into their television sets practically resonated in Arthur's ears. That, combined with the noise of everyone talking around him, threatened to overwhelm his thoughts. There was no way he'd say his name here, on the Broadcast...right?

With a hint of dread, Arthur waited for some previously unshared footage of him and Alfred chasing each other in the maze, waited for everything they'd been working towards revealed in an instant. As Alfred kept on talking about dancing and the ball and how he'd managed to at least take everyone on a dance, Arthur did his best to pretend like nothing had happened.

It wasn't like he wanted to disguise his relationship with Alfred entirely, it...it just was the fact that he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready, and he'd accepted his cowardice weeks before this, but he just had no idea what it was to be in a relationship. Not to mention the scrutiny, the pressure, the loss of secrecy between them that would be hard to temper again.

Alfred was right about it being a privilege, them being allowed to take their time within the confines of the Deciding. Whilst Spades didn't have both a King and Queen - though Jack Yao and Matthew kept it running –the sickness had curled its vile tendrils around the palace and their people. With him being so stubbornly determined to have both a King and Queen ascend together, the issue of the country's troubles couldn't be solved.

"There's a lot of reasons why people were eliminated, yes. It's kind of difficult to talk about every particular reason," Alfred was speaking, but Arthur's mind was on the mystery he couldn't quite piece together. "Since it was the largest since the first day, but..."

Then again, why would Alfred insist on completing the Primary Suit in one fell swoop? Did he not have his advisorship, who were sitting here today, their multicoloured emblems gleaming on the dais where they were positioned? Was their support not enough for him to just ascend by himself first?

"Yes, I agree that that sort of sentiment still existing is grave news indeed. It's an excellent move that you chose to combat them with."

"I do try my best, heh. But that's why, mostly. About the eliminations, that is."

A pressing thought was nagging at the back of his mind, but between all the chatter of the people around him, the audience, and the rapid fire interview, he couldn't pinpoint it.

"Are there any names you'd like to share, concerning the people you feel like you've been bonding closer with? Anything special happen specifically?"

Alfred blushed a little, ducking his head before he spoke. "Um...yeah. Maybe."

Arthur's heartbeat felt like it stopped.

The weight of everyone leaning into what he was saying magnified tenfold, along with the incessant inhale and exhale of his lungs.

"I, uh..." he trailed off, fumbling with his tie before starting again, "I had my first kiss just before the Meeting."

Obviously, the effect on the entire audience was instantaneous. Jack Yao's mouth slackened in shock, the audience blow erupted with pleased gasps, and the Chosen side erupted with fevered speech. All except Arthur, who sat like a statue in his ornate chair.

The mechanical whirrs and the beady blinking red lights coincided with bitter dread in his throat. Every lack of reaction, every frozen limb, every gaping moment, captured on camera for all of Cards to see.

To Arthur, it felt as if Alfred had just gathered up their dynamic in his hands and threw it away. In his terrified, wracked mind, all the cameras needed to do was to record his reaction, and then it would be obvious who had kissed Prince Alfred F Jones first.

"By the Fates, I did not know of this at all," the shock coursing through his system was replicated in the Jack's enthusiastic reply. "Why did you not seek to tell us sooner?"

"It was the Meeting soon!" How did he manage it? How did he manage to stay cool whilst revealing such an important secret? Though it was his Deciding, he should be affected by it, even a little. "I didn't want to upstage such an important event with one of my own."

"Would you care to share their name?" Yao said, faintly over the sound of Arthur's pounding heart. He was being watched, that was for sure, but his fear threatened to overwhelm his other, slightly lesser fear. Speculation was one thing, but a firm confirmation was another.

He didn't notice Alfred's gaze flicker to him for a split second before replying. "Aw, well. I was requested to keep the details pretty vague, but I won't give you a straight name. But h – they know who they are." He topped it off with a wink, because of course he did.

The rest of the interview must have continued without a hitch, because it just kept going. It kept going, and going, leaving Arthur to sit there paralyzed, watching the red of the camera start to unwrap a corner of his life for Cards to see.

The first thing Arthur did besides greet his maid, was to ask her to leave him alone for the rest of the night.

"But you might need something," Anna insisted, fixing one of her pigtails as she spoke. "I want to be there to assist you."

"No, I...I assure you, there is nothing else I need other than some privacy at this time," Arthur gave her a shaky smile. "Please, Anna. Thank you."

"...All right then, but promise me that you'll ring if you need anything." With that she was gone, and Arthur allowed himself to sit down at his desk. More than anything, he wanted to hear back from his family and write to Kiku about the turmoil that had been swirling around in his mind, but his fingers felt too exhausted to pick up even the pen stuck haphazardly in his desk.

In what felt like both a millisecond and an eternity, he heard the familiar symphony of Alfred's knuckles on his door. Trying to hold in his emotions, he only needed to see the prince's concerned face for them to come up in every crevice of his expression.

"Arthur-"

"I would have preferred it if you'd at least have given me a heads up about what you were going to talk about," Arthur said, stuffing his hands underneath his arms. All the insecurities and cold fear he'd been feeling presented itself in his harsh words, a serpent run away with its own tongue. "The only way you could have mucked it up worse was putting me up by name!"

He instantly went on the defensive, understanding what was going on. "Arthur, would it kill you to show to the world the extent of our relationship? That's what the whole competition is for, anyway. Is that so hard to get?"

He pursued his lips, giving Alfred another look, really gave him another look. There was a clear message in how tightly his lips were pursued, and how he was reaching back to run his left hand through his hair. Clearly, with how well everything else had gone, he had expected that to go right as well. But no, Arthur himself was being an insufferable git.

The scent of the summer evening felt like it was curdling in his room. "It wouldn't kill me, because if it did, I would be dead right now."

"Do you hate being shown in the public that much? Do you really wanna die?" The stricken expression on Alfred's face made it all even worse, sending the storm straight through his stomach.

"No, I-" Every single word seemed to come off wrong. "No. That's not what I meant."

Alfred didn't even seem to be listening, either. "I didn't even – ugh, I didn't even name you! I don't get why that's a problem."

"I reacted like a total idiot, and Fates knows all the cameras were aimed at all of us," Arthur hissed. "If only you had given me a notice before the Broadcast started airing, then I'd know about you talking about kissing someone, then I wouldn't react completely different than everyone else!"

Alfred drew breath to speak, but the words were tumbling out of Arthur's mouth almost faster than he could process them.

"I've been reacting differently than everyone else all week," he blurted, "All week. From the elimination where everyone was worried and I wasn't, from me not understanding the situation about the reason why you took the non holding facility members out of the competition. There were so many things I wanted to ask you, but I just couldn't."

"Why couldn't you?" Arthur hunted for a hint of contempt, annoyance, something that would justify his own walls, but there was nothing but a sincere question.

"Because I..." It felt as if the walls were pressing in, though it had quite literally been his own bedroom for three months now. "Alfred, I..."

"Arthur," he responded with a tone so soft that it made his heart sink, "Please. Just tell me."

The words won't bloody come. "I...I'm terrible at this communication aspect of a relationship," he admitted, wringing out his hands. "Even outside of romantic relationships. I went weeks – weeks! – without talking to my siblings when I was in the holding facility, and I've only really had one friend before entering the palace. But I've had years to learn how to deal with those types of relationships."

Arthur waited for Alfred to nod once, watching at his reaction out of the corner of his eye before he continued. "I've had three months of learning how to deal with being in a romantic relationship. Three months is very little. If you don't know."

"Three months is kinda fast, I guess." He was still watching him intently in a way that made the wind whistle tauntingly past his ear.

"I felt that it was unfair to you if I kept my feelings so private to the point where I wouldn't even acknowledge my...attraction towards you, but I cannot help but feel that sometimes, it is a little too much. Everything, from your kindhearted gestures, to the things you say, to the-" Breaking off, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Everything. Just everything. I don't even know how to reciprocate in a way that would be befitting of the attention you grant me. You're a...you're about to be the next King of Spades, and I am nobody. Nobody at all."

"That's not true, you're..." the words died in his throat, and Arthur couldn't get anything from his troubled expression. Someone who knew him better might have done, but he'd perjured himself to the point where he was afraid of unmasking his real feelings.

After a few moments had awkwardly passed, Alfred cleared his throat. "Do you want me to...back off, then?" His tone had changed; gone was the boyish lightheartedness, there was a hard edge in it that he hadn't heard be directed at him yet.

"Par...pardon?"

"From what I can tell, I guess I misinterpreted a lot of the stuff," Alfred gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders, staring at Arthur's windows. "I thought you were saying one thing, maybe you meant something else. If...If I'm coming on too strong, then it's okay, I understand. I understand. A hundred percent."

No, that's not what I meant, Arthur wanted to say, but no sound came out of his throat, clogged by insecurity and fear. "Alfred, I-"

"I-I'll take your advice, okay?" He was already halfway out the door, and Arthur couldn't see his face. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. I'll do my best to interact with everyone else, and I'll give you some space. See you..." Alfred's voice broke right before he left the room, "See you around."

Arthur stood there, crying out for either of his legs to take the first step, to apologise as well, until the sounds of Alfred's pressed shoes had disappeared from the carpeted corridor. Too little too late. Unable to even shed his fanciful clothes, he curled up into a ball against his door, burying his face in his knees and shutting out everything else.