Their master plan started early the next day. After breakfast, in which Arthur could barely eat out of anticipation, Alfred made a small gesture to him that indicated he wanted him to stay behind. Obviously, this was seen by practically everyone in the room, garnering whispers.

"Starting your day off well, I see," Leon gave him a friendly nudge, finishing up his soup. "Have fun, Arthur."

"Oh, are you guys going on a date this morning?" Now that they'd been narrowed down from twelve to eleven, Emma had requested to be allowed to sit on the same row as the rest of them.

"Shh, we do not want to attract too much attention," Sakura tried to calm the other two down, giving the cameras a glance, but once they'd quietened some what she leaned over to him. "Congratulations. I hope you two have fun."

He opened his mouth to deny her remark, that he and Alfred weren't going on a date and were just having a little talk, but their conversation from last night came to his mind. Especially now when confronted with the fact that he wasn't doing well at all in terms of popularity, now might be the right time to start appealing to the people.

Now also acutely aware of the cameras, he gave her a nod. "Thanks. I hope so as well." They exchanged a smile before the Jack dismissed them, and Arthur walked to where Alfred had finished putting away his chair, trying to ignore the stares sent his way as he did so.

"You wanted to see me, Your Highness?" he said, careful to keep decorum now that the cameras were trained on them.

"Yeah, of course, Sir Arthur! So, I was wondering if you were free this morning? Jack Yao told me about how everyone was doing in your class yesterday, and he had some words of praise for you. I'm interested to hear what you guys were learning about yesterday, so maybe we could spend some time in the gardens together?" Alfred's smile was as disarming as usual, but it sounded like an easy date. Recounting information and conversing with him – nothing neither of them weren't used to.

"Yes, that sounds excellent." He hadn't meant to sound as breathless as he had, but perhaps the audience would find that endearing. Before he'd sought out Alfred last night, he'd gone to the library to loan a few books to do with his research, so if he were to show off his intellect, it might be another excellent way to do so. "I'll fetch a few of my study materials I was working on last night, then we can go?"

Alfred offered him his arm, which was obviously rejected with a mischievous smirk. "Okay, then, heh. Lead the way."

As soon as they re-entered the empty male floor for the Chosen, Alfred turned around to the three or four cameramen that stood behind them.

"Give us a few minutes, we'll be right back-" he started to say, only to be held back by Arthur. "Wait, one sec, I gotta speak to Sir Arthur."

"Thank you," he said before turning to Alfred, lowering his voice. "Would it be all right to let them in for once? No one's here, and I don't mind. Not to mention I doubt they'll be too thrilled after that one time you unceremoniously kicked them out for my sake. I remember the Jack wasn't too pleased."

He gave him a blank stare before remembering the entire incident with the library. "So, uh, they're coming in?"

"Not necessarily, they could wait outside. But I think if our plan were to work, it would be best to…let them in a bit more. Especially with my popularity not being stellar right now, it could be a good focal point."

Alfred gave him a concerned glance. "Are you sure? It's gonna be a lot to ask from you. It's part of the competition and everything, but your needs come before the popularity stuff, okay? I get everything else, but it's your room and stuff."

Taking a deep breath, Arthur nodded. "It's okay. What's the worst that could happen? I helped Anna clean the room earlier today, and there's not many things that I'll be embarrassed about."

What about that bear, curled up on your bed? Alfred was tempted to blurt out, but Arthur looked so determined, and the camera crew seemed expectant that something would happen. With that in mind, he nodded. "Alright, let's go. Everyone, we're going to Sir Arthur's room."

In an all too confident stride that he'd wanted to see from him for so long, Arthur led the strange procession down the hall and easily unlocked his door using the key on a blue string. It was as clean as he'd described it – and surprisingly well decorated compared to last time when he'd only gotten a peek. Framed photos sat neatly on the corners of his desk, surrounding a small mirror. On the left were a stack of four thick books, underneath it was two pieces of note paper and next to it was a slim pencil case. Other that, the décor hadn't changed from when the rooms were tidied for the Deciding, but the cameramen were happy to show a rare sighting of a Chosen's room. Alfred only had time to glance at the carefully made sheets with a bear shaped bulge before Arthur started to speak.

"I hope you don't mind the mess," he caught a small waver in the other boy's voice, but his movements weren't static as he quickly crossed over to the desk.

"Not at all, Sir Arthur. May I ask – are you enjoying your room at the palace?"

He scooped up two of the books and collected his notes, probably to be used for later. "Yes, very much so. Even though my room in the Hearts holding facility were more than adequate, the level of luxury I've been fortunate to receive here in the Spades palace is nothing short of spectacular."

Alfred stood behind the cameras as the impromptu interview continued. "I see! Do you get along with your maid?"

The way the cameraman said it implied that not every Chosen had been in good terms with their maids, but Arthur answered this question probably the fastest he'd done so far. "We're not very close just yet, but I enjoy spending time with her. I'm not very good with, er, clothes and things, but her mastery of them is mostly what keeps me presentable."

A few of them laughed, including Alfred, giving him the cue to step in. "I can see what you mean, you look as handsome as ever," he said, using the usual charm. "Are you ready to go?"

"A-ah…yes, I think," Arthur stammered, clearly taken off guard. The camera crew parted for the two of them to walk out of the room side by side, capturing every moment as they walked their usual path to the gardens.

"Idiot, what was that for?" By the way Arthur nudged him as they started coming down the walkway, he wasn't as confident as he liked himself to be. Yet the way he blushed so easily made it so cute… "Calling me…calling me handsome, in the middle of all that – you almost made me drop my notes!"

"But you didn't, right?" Alfred leaned his head closer, perfectly aware of the cameras training on their every move. "Relax, Artie. You're doing really well. I was seriously impressed by you doing that little interview in your room."

"Tch, well." The same infectious pride danced in his green eyes. "I suppose after having deprived the public of my said handsome face for so long, it would be good to come into the camera's view more. Perhaps they'll warm to me."

"Oh, they definitely will! If they see how cool and smart and capable you are, I'm sure."

Arthur raised a thick eyebrow at him as they turned the corner into the pillar walkway. "Didn't they release my final holding facility scores when I was first chosen for the Deciding?"

"Yeah, but not everyone understands what they mean. For one, the fact that not everyone has access to the schooling system that the holding facility uses, so the scores might mean something different to the majority of people who attend public schools."

"Oh," he said. "I see. That makes a lot more sense."

"With the airing of the lessons, though, it'll show people what you're really made of. Y'know, a lot of people look at me and think of a king who's just served time in the military, and they'll be looking for a lot more brains, heh." It was better that Arthur didn't know about the insecurity he'd felt about that just yet – it wasn't good to go overloading him on a date like this. "I know you're really smart, so it would be good to have brains in the palace!"

"Hm? I don't know what you mean, you're plenty intelligent already."

That almost made him stop in his tracks. The all too familiar sarcasm wasn't there in his voice, and he hadn't received a nudge whilst he'd said it. Taking a moment to look down at Arthur's face, he saw a seriousness in it that could only mean one thing.

"You…you really think so?"

"Yes, of course, why ever not?" the way he said it made it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world, though he looked away when Alfred gently touched his shoulder. "Don't…don't look here, idiot! It's just that you make it sound as if you're a dunce. Well, you are-"

Alfred looked behind them to see if the camera crew were at a decent distance before he cried out, Arthur doing the same. "Artie! That's so mean. I guess. I dunno what that really means, but-"

"You're a – oh, never mind, it's not meant to be a real insult. But you're not unintelligent, anyone aware of your history, not to mention your current work, knows that. You just choose to apply yourself in different areas. T-That's how I see it, anyway. Regardless, er," the camera crew was close enough to pick up their conversation, meaning they'd have to revert to normal. "Let's keep on going. Perhaps to the fountain?"

Usually, it would be Arthur stumbling on his words after a particularly long interaction, but this time it was him – and he didn't find his own embarrassment cute. He'd been told by many people that he was strong, that he was talented, that his swordsmanship was coming along, but being called smart? He wasn't used to it. Not by a long shot. And coming from someone that he cared for so much…

"Alfr – er, Your Highness?" Arthur was smiling now, folding his arms. "Are you all right? You seem a little…" he reached out, touching his forearm, "Flustered."

Oh man, it was so uncool – at the same time though, he wanted to keep the heady emotion that he was feeling, having Arthur look at him like that. It reminded him of the loud whoop he'd first let out when beating someone in a swordfight during his time in the Navy – he was embarrassed, sure, but the exhilaration was something unparalleled.

"It's, um, n-nothing," he had to reply quickly. Taking advantage of both the cameras and Arthur's closeness, he moved his hand so that it was linking with his. "Let's go, then! The fountain's right this way."

"Wait, you…don't hold onto my hand like that, it's…it's improper…I could drop my books!"

"The hero won't hear any objections!" The triumph singing in his voice would be hard to miss as they pelted into the sunshine of the morning. "C'mon, I know you can catch up!"

After all the excitement of the morning, the two of them managed to slow down. After finding a seat with an iron table situated close by, Arthur set down his notes and started to go through the classes he'd gone through yesterday. Alfred, along with the cameramen, were more than happy to sit down and listen to his wealth of knowledge.

During his description of his lessons in his holding facility, Alfred carefully peeked underneath the table. He was close enough to slide his foot to where Arthur's was to the point where their shoes were aligned yet separated only by a few centimetres. If only he'd pushed a little closer...just a little closer, he'd...

No, I can't do it, Alfred thought, blushing behind his glasses that suddenly felt too cold and heavy for his face. It's too weird or whatever, he'd just turn away and call me an idiot, it's happened a billion times. And what if I accidentally hurt his foot or something? It would be super unheroic for a hero to do that!

Though, maybe having this distance is okay for now, after what happened yesterday.

His toes curled, but he continued to actively try to not move his leg whilst they spoke. Arthur was talking about the stuff he'd learned during his courses on Hearts magic whilst he was in the holding facilities, and it was getting interesting, after all! A lot of things were different than what he'd learned from Yao and his parents in Spades.

"So, about the Fates and stuff," he piped up as Arthur talked about receiving blessings from their gods, "If it's okay for you to walk me through this. Which one would I be looking for if I wanted to get good luck during my Deciding?"

Arthur's hands, folded over his notes, instantly started to count off the kingdoms. "Well, for starters, Spades is for enhancing your physical and magical abilities, so unless you want to fight in a tournament, that's not very helpful. Hearts, on the other hand, helps with health and fertility, so – so, you'd um, want to go there later. After the process."

The lovely blush on his face was unmistakable against the cool colours of the flowers behind them, and the cameras were eager to capture it.

"Moving…moving on, in terms of Diamonds, their Fate grants blessings of fortune and financial success, but I don't think as a prince you'd need to worry about that. So that would leave Clubs as your primary destination. Their Fate, before being made into a god by the first Joker, was an expert gambler, if I recall correctly. So if you're interested in becoming luckier, that's the place you'd want to go."

"Oh, gotcha!" Perfect, he'd set up a situation where Arthur really could show all his expertise in Cards history. "Though if I'm going to Clubs, I might need to ask for a bit more luck in not arguing with King Ivan, heh. Maybe we'll finally get the luck we need to get along!"

Arthur snorted, and his foot jerked to the right – even if it was by a tiny bit, the soles of their shoes touched – something Alfred had not been on planning to happen.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry," he stammered, now made acutely aware of the contact and the red on Alfred's cheeks. "I'll move back a little. I wasn't aware that I was so close-"

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said before he could stop himself, "It's, it's fine. Really, it is."

I'm sorry I'm not brave enough to get close enough to you yet, but just being able to see you like this, he thought as his fingertips reached for Arthur's hands but made them fall just short, well, I hope it's making you as happy as I am. I wonder if he's thinking about the other night, too.

Arthur's eyes cottoned onto the small movement but said nothing.

Throughout the next two weeks, they continued to do small dates here and there. It wasn't so much that the audience could potentially be overwhelmed, but enough so that the first time Arthur really had put himself out to the cameras was front and center.

Both had agreed that the smarts angle had been the correct one to go on. Inbetween the two outside dates Alfred had had; they'd definitely made up for the lost week with dates every other day. One in the library, when they'd practically had to be dragged outside for dinner. Then they'd had one in the movie theatre where Alfred heard Arthur's overly serious film critiques more than the actual superhero movie itself.

He'd lost track of how many times they'd sat in the gardens and talked. More often than not, he'd be overwhelmed by all the work he had sorted out for himself, so Arthur would request to go to the gardens. He wasn't sure how the other boy knew about a lot of things he was going through, to the pressures of becoming closer with the other Chosen to the amount of planning they were doing for future events. The summer solstice party had been scheduled to take place in two weeks' time, meaning that footage had to be taken of the entire palace getting ready for it. Between the calls and the formal invitation letters to the other kingdoms, to the guest list planning to the decorations, Alfred found it hard to breathe between everything. But there was Arthur, only asking for his company, his breath of fresh air. Every time they sat together in the gardens, a dwindling number of cameras observing their conversation, he felt much better about practically everything.

He hadn't been quiet about his troubles, either. The two of them had been talking – Arthur about how much he missed his family no matter how much he wrote, and Alfred about the pressures of the Deciding. Officially, he still hadn't kissed anyone yet, and the heat was on, meaning that the others were starting to ask.

"Clare and Marianne have been asking me when I'll be able to," he admitted one afternoon in the gardens, a little before the cameraman that day caught up to them. "I'm not sure how to answer them."

"You don't have to force yourself, you know that," Arthur replied, fixing his tie. He insisted on dressing well for every date, on camera or off camera, and if Alfred hadn't felt so comfortable in his polo and pants he'd feel embarrassed. "You'll be ready to kiss someone when you want to, and not before. Not like…not like I'd know anything about it."

The deflection had come just in time as the cameraman had rounded the corner to film their interaction, but those words had stuck with him. He still hadn't wanted to kiss anyone but Arthur, not felt close enough to afford anyone else his vulnerability. He'd stared up at the walls of his four poster long after he and Matthew had shut off the lights, wondering what was wrong with him. Alfred loved spending time with the others, it was just that desperate tug that had brought him to the memory of Arthur's mouth against his own time and time again.

The whirlwind of a week concluded in an afternoon session at the stables. Arthur had been wanting to go look at the horses for awhile, but as many of the guards had taken out the horses for training that afternoon, Alfred took the opportunity to teach him how to take care of some of the horses.

At first, he was worried the uppity guy would be squeamish and complain about the smell, but all the cameras managed to capture were a wrinkled nose and rolled up sleeves before he got straight into the action. It was a blissful two hours of standing around in Butterscotch's stall as she got brushed, braided, and her equipment put on whilst Alfred watched, as usual, proudly in the background.

Everything was going perfectly well, until ten minutes before they broke for dinner.

It started pouring, because of course the summer rain would spy them having fun then elbow them out of the way.

"I asked the camera guy to help get us an umbrella, so we'll have a few moments to ourselves." Alfred squinted beyond the sheets of rain, his fingers curling against the stable doors as he did so. "Lucky we don't have many horses left in the palace, huh?"

"That may be true, but many of the others seem to do well." They'd managed to scoot along the end of the stables, coming to a rest just before the uncovered area. "Don't worry, I made sure to not ask Thomas about it when you told me about your plans this morning."

"I appreciate it. You were pretty hands on and stuff! The cameras seemed to love it."

"Taking care of a horse is a gentleman's hobby, correct?" Arthur leaned back against the wood, Alfred catching a glance of his prideful expression. "They're mighty magnificent creatures. I've only glimpsed them a few times in person."

"Really? Oh, it's good you weren't scared, then."

The staccato of the rain on the covering of the stables accompanied them as they spoke. "I suppose it was more awe than fear. I've never had the chance to see such a great animal from up close. In my holding facility, it's deep in the middle of a city, so we just didn't have that opportunity. I hope I didn't react too badly to the smell at first."

"Naw," Alfred adjusted his glasses, wiping off the rain from them as he spoke, "We spent the entire afternoon around them, y'know? You're an expert in dealing with it already, I'm sure, especially the fact that we're technically on a date. Even with the smell and everything."

Arthur looked around them – indeed, the place where they'd taken temporary refuge was void of the earthy smell that had accompanied the occupied stables they'd left Butterscotch in. "I suppose the stench wouldn't be too romantic."

Alfred gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I guess not! Where are the camera guys? I guess umbrellas really are that hard to find, heh."

"At least it doesn't smell here, so we can take refuge for awhile."

"Mhm. I'll just peek – argh-"

Without thinking, Arthur grasped his forearm and tugged him back from the lip of the stables. "You idiot – don't peek your head out like that, you'll get drenched! Honestly, it's dripped into your collar and your hair – aren't you supposed to be a prince? One moment, I'll get out my handkerchief."

There was something unreadable in the way Alfred reached into his duffle bag and pulled out Arthur's pristine handkerchief. "You mean, uh," the words were barely audible over the sound of the torrential rain, "This?"

"How did it-" With a rush, it all came flooding back – the rose he'd been growing these two weeks in his room, the way the light had casted on Alfred's face that night, the look in his eyes that had lived in his mind for nights on end.

That same expression was watching him, for once without a teasing reply in wait. It was enough for Arthur to slowly take the handkerchief from his hand, a shiver running through his system as their fingers touched, and gently wipe at the edges of Alfred's fringe.

"Thanks," he said quietly, not taking his gaze off Arthur for one moment, which made it increasingly difficult to complete the task. Now with the cameras happily trained on their much greater amount of moves, the moments where they could loudly be themselves had decreased.

"Thank me by not rushing out there like an idiot again," Arthur huffed, but it was muted underneath the noise of the rain. Swallowing once, he paused to hear if the camera crew were approaching them before moving on to wipe at his damp collar. "Honestly, you could have…you could have gotten sick. With the summer solstice being in a few weeks, it wouldn't look good at all."

Alfred was still watching him, a smile playing on the edges of his lips. "Mhm."

"And you could have gotten drenched! How bad would that look on the two of us? I wasn't enough to keep you away from getting wet, and then you rushed out like that, and here I am, doing something that's off limits…"

"I guess you could say doing this is dangerous, huh."

Arthur's shoulders sagged. By all accounts, yes. He'd told Alfred off for possibly getting the two of them in trouble back in the gardens, so whatever light scolding he was about to receive was to be expected. That is, until he looked up from the wet floor to where Alfred was gazing at him, his blue eyes intense behind his glasses.

He's not angry, I…Alfred leaned closer, fingers brushing against Arthur's handkerchief as he did so, his glasses sliding a little lower on his damp face. Suddenly, the rain roared in his ears, exacerbating his heartbeat, driven warmer and warmer by the soft noise of Alfred exhaling.

The thought of the cameras dispelled in their closeness. Their lack of contact, everything that they'd worked together on the past weeks, every teasing glance across multiple rooms culminated together in Arthur's grip tightening from where it was buried in his collar. "Well…well," he stammered, steeling himself for what he was to do next, "I suppose this is more dangerous." And this time, it was him that leaned in.

Their lips had just barely brushed against each other, causing Arthur's mouth to wet with rainwater and Alfred, before the sound of footsteps in a puddle echoed against the doors of the stables, causing them to practically jump apart.

"Sir Arthur, Your Highness," the cameraman panted – he was carrying his equipment on a strap with one arm, meaning that they could have been so easily caught. Whatever side of their relationship they'd wanted to show to the camera these few days could have been ruined, yet Arthur couldn't bring himself to feel angry. "Please, come this way."

Alfred's lips had been so warm despite the rain…

This time, their arms bumped against each other as they walked in front of the cameraman back to the palace. Usually, the sheer amount of body contact would have sent Arthur's heart a million miles an hour, and this didn't change.

Other than the fact that this time, it felt like starlight was cooling his arm down from where he was huddled underneath the umbrella. Alfred had kissed him.

Alfred had kissed him. Alfred had kissed him. Again.

Every sheet of rain that pelted against the umbrella spoke those words, so much so Arthur had to lift his chin to enjoy them, not noticing how Alfred looked at his every step.

Once they got back, though, they had to regroup for the cameras. "I hope that didn't put a damper on the date. Get it? Cuz it rained-"

"Your jokes are absolutely awful, Your Highness. Do…" Arthur forced himself to look away from his lips for a moment, "Do get yourself changed when you're back at your room."

"Yeah, sure. Listen, you did super well today, Art – Sir Arthur. Get warmed up in time for dinner, okay? Thanks for coming out."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Prince Alfred," Arthur said, bowing. He managed to catch his gaze before they parted, and it made him want to wrap his arms around his waist and hold him like it had never done before.

It was ridiculous. The whirlwind of the last two weeks had been ridiculous. Speaking with him, spending so much time with him, had put everything into perspective. It made him feel like the knowledge hungry child that had been accepted into the holding facilities – he couldn't get enough of anything, not of Alfred's jokes, not of the way he knelt downwards when he laughed, not of the way his fringe fell into his eyes. Arthur had never felt anything as intoxicating as falling in love with the future King of Spades, and he wasn't sure as if he'd feel anything like it again.

With everything else, Yao, Matthew and Katya had picked up on it.

"Arthur's really showing up on cameras a lot this week, hasn't he?" Yao started with an open ended question when it was Alfred's turn. After dinner on Friday, the trio along with Katya had gotten used to a round up on the Deciding in Yao's office.

"Yeah, he has! Before, he wasn't very confident with his skills in front of the camera, but as we've gotten close – Matt, shut up, okay-" he tried to ignore the smug grin from Matthew, "I think he's grown that confidence, and for that I'm really happy."

"He does seem to be doing well, I think," Katya said. "I'm sure that you have been guiding him excellently these two weeks, Alfred. Well done."

"Well, I wouldn't say that I didn't see this coming, but he has improved magnificently on the more public aspects of the Deciding," Yao added, sending a thrill through Alfred's spine. Though at first during their weekly meetings, Yao only had praises for Arthur's eagerness to participate in his lessons and his general knowledge, his compliments had been directed more on his conduct as of late. "He has this sense of maturity that I can appreciate."

"You really think so? I mean, there was that thing with the movie, and you guys laughed a lot at that."

"I guess you could say, but," Matthew fought back a snort, "Arthur has this serious face that makes him look older than he actually is. He acts much more mature than you, for sure."

"Hey, Matt, what's that about?!"

"Joking, joking. But it's good what you two have done." Matthew patted his brother's thigh. "Though I will suggest, for the upcoming joint outside date, that it's all right to not want to give him so much screen time."

"Huh, think he's caught up?"

Katya nodded. "I agree with Matthew – we're still at eleven, and you don't want to eliminate anyone until the summer solstice, right? There's still four of them to receive outside dates including Sir Arthur, so it might leave one of them without a partner. It might not be good to single them out."

The four of them continued into their discussions, from everything to kissing –Alfred did his best to move on from that one – to the summer solstice party, which they were all happy to talk about.

"Everyone's accepted, haven't they? Katya, any news from Gilbert?"

"Gilbert's coming."

"All right then, we'll have to open more rooms. Carlos and I can work on that."

"Actually, Matthew, hold that thought." Yao peered over his notes, "Seeing as we've narrowed it down so much, what about we invite the other Chosen from the other kingdoms?"