"Well, you certainly enjoyed yourself," Leon teased, his tone playful as he laid his head against Arthur's duvet. They were both sitting on the floor of Arthur's bedroom on the day after the date, having sang their throats hoarse for an hour and a half after dinner. Apparently, the other Chosen had been working on the last touches on receiving the Hearts delegation tomorrow, explaining the massive amount of chairs and tables that had been left in the Drawing Room that evening. Emma and Sakura were sharing a film night with the prince, leaving Leon and Arthur to spend time together.

But of course, Leon being Leon, had no qualms in letting loose his opinion with his best friend in the palace. Even as both their voices were exhausted from chanting out the lyrics from combing out as much of the impressive karaoke catalogue the palace machine had, Leon was good at getting to the point.

That meant that Arthur didn't have much space but to answer. "Whatever do you mean?"

"What, like, you haven't seen the footage from your date?"

"Haven't had the opportunity to. Did they already air it?"

"Not something comprehensive, no," Leon picked at a stray thread on his jeans, "But there was a bit of footage. We totally saw that small peck on the beach."

Though Arthur was content to let down his guard around his friend, even that little tidbit embarrassed him. "It…it was just a small peck, as you said," he muttered underneath his breath, reaching for his cup of cold water as he did so. "Nothing grand to the amount of kissing everyone's been undertaking."

"Everyone?"

"Yes."

Leon poked at his lips, glossy from the chap stick he'd applied to ward off the dry summer. "Eh. These guys haven't seen much action."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't worry about it." Leon stretched out, arching his back as if he were a cat. It was only afterwards when he settled backwards that he seemed to need to say something. "Art. Do you think you could keep a secret?"

"Is it secrets of the Alfred variety?" Arthur said.

"Sorta. I mean, it won't matter in a few days, but I'd just like to keep it between us. You kept my secret about the other incident tight, so I totally trust you."

"Of course, anytime." There was something comforting about the way Leon had shortened his name to Art, the exact same way Kiku did. "What's been troubling you?"

Ever cool under pressure, Leon didn't miss a beat. "I'm leaving right after the summer solstice."

Arthur couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. He didn't quite understand – he thought that all of Leon's issues with liking or not liking the prince had been sorted out, and there weren't any confusions on his end. Had Alfred told him right after their date? It wasn't like Leon to keep his problems bottled up, as he had told their friend group about his situation back home, so if this had been a problem they would have known for a while. Just barely a day had passed since their indescribable date, and the four of them had chatted briefly about it over dinner. They had meant to talk about it too tonight, but since the girls had been invited on a date…

Faced with so many questions, there was nothing else left to do but ask. "Did His Highness specifically request you to go?"

"Not exactly. See, I was giving the whole process another, like, look, and realised," he cleared his throat, "I realised that I'm not in love with him. Not like you guys at all. I'm not totally sure of whether to share this or not, but after the whole discussion you had with Marianne and the others doubting your intentions before the Meeting, quite a few people still doubted your, like, devotion to the prince. I think yesterday's date put away a lot of those doubts."

Arthur wasn't surprised that he still had detractors. "They did?"

"Yeah. It's kind of hard to fake a lot of the things you guys did on the date. So not only does the prince like you – which I, like, knew, by the way – but everyone got to see for themselves that you feel the same way. For the record, I totally didn't doubt you ever."

Arthur couldn't help but relax a little at that. "Leon, I don't doubt that, you'd probably have done away with the formalities and asked me, given the amount of time we spend together nowadays. Not to mention Emma would be cross."

"Mmh," Leon rubbed at the side of his nose, looking up at the overhead light. "She's really in love with him. Art, is it just me, or is your floor, like, kinda cold?"

"It's marble. Honestly, I should follow your example of wearing slippers all the time."

"It'll get worse in the winter, trust me, so yes. Anyway, I felt it was the appropriate time. Since you were busy with the date and everything, and, like, everyone was doing summer solstice prep. Not to mention, well…as much as I like them, I don't want to upset Sakura, and Emma, she'll totally start begging me not to go." Leon gave a shrug. "Would suck."

"Who says I won't ask you to stay? Wait, so you're wanting to go of your own accord?"

"That's right. And man, please don't," Leon broke off into a quiet laugh, "It might be a bit selfish, but I trust you here the most. You know why I don't think this is, like, the right path for me."

Arthur knew it would be dumb to ask him whether he had actually tried to like the prince back, or asked him to stay for a little longer. After all, with the summer solstice being a large event, being the Deciding he was certain that someone eventually would be kicked out. Leon wouldn't let the guilt of being kept in favour of someone else eat at him, so it was the only logical choice. Though he had to ask, "Before, you said that it was hard to fake some of the things we did – what did you mean?"

"Hm. There's a lot of things, from the fact that, I don't know, he found an entire pirate ship outta nowhere," Leon reached over to poke playfully at the pillow Arthur was holding to his chest, causing the other boy to laugh along with him, "Not to mention, y'know, the entire walk on the beach. That was totally cute. Also, the whole thing with the crowds!"

"You and Emma and Sakura did the same on your date! Swear, there were a small army of suitors for the two of you."

"Maybe I'll get a nice pick when I go back home." That garnered snorts from the both of them. "Jokes aside. All that cute stuff, but I have to say it was mostly the way you, like. The way you looked at him."

That caught Arthur off guard from where he had put down the pillow and was about to take a sip from his cup. "The way I…look at him?"

"I started to notice it when you guys started, like, going outside to the gardens, but there's something different in the way you gaze at him." Leon admitted. "It's like…how do I put it…like you're looking at something you can't have. Like you can't believe you're here with him and stuff."

"Oh," Arthur said. Trying to brush off his immediate embarrassment, he took a sip of his water, hurriedly running his options through his head. Though Leon couldn't see past his façade as easily as Kiku could, it still had been five months, and despite their friendship group, he still trusted Leon the most out of everyone in the palace. So a lie was out of the question, but the truth…if it somehow got out, it would be beyond mortifying.

Then again, hadn't Leon shared secrets with him that he wasn't meant to be? Who in a normal Deciding would tell their secrets to a friend who they felt wouldn't reciprocate? As Arthur looked at Leon's chocolate eyes watching him expectantly, he realised only a prick wouldn't afford their friend an equal level of honesty.

And Arthur was not about to be a prick, at least to his closest friend, who would possibly be leaving very soon. Taking a swallow, he opened up. "In a way, I still can't believe I'm here in the palace, let alone being close to him."

Leon raised an elegant eyebrow, hugging the pillow to his chest. Even if it were the height of summer, Arthur liked to have the air conditioning turned on. "Huh. Is there a reason why?"

"I'm a commoner, and I don't have nearly the amount of connections the others in the palace have," Arthur said, gesturing to himself. "You saw how my popularity with the people surprised me so."

"Yeah, it was funny when the lady shouted she wanted to marry you." Running a slender finger against his own forehead, touching another to Arthur's thick eyebrows, he gave his best friend a knowing smile. "Must be the eyebrows."

There wasn't much to do besides concede the point. "I'll try to trim them more…"

"No – I mean, it might totally be a charm point to some. Anyway, sorry for interrupting. Keep on going."

Arthur continued, though without running a finger against his eyebrows. Perhaps he had to trim them after all. "But yes. In an environment as intense as this, not to mention that this Deciding is also for a queen, I can't help but be slightly surprised that I'm still here. I've always thought perhaps the prince would be interested in marrying someone from a region that's less friendly with Spades, and we all know Spades and Hearts are extremely close. Let alone the prince giving me the time of day."

"But this Deciding is also for love," Leon shifted in his spot, "Maybe in the past, in the other Decidings you guys studied in the holding facilities, it was different, but it's totally obvious that Alfred wants to marry for love first instead of connections. I don't think it matters that you aren't from a fancy family like Sakura is, or maybe from Clubs, like Natalya. Besides, the Four Kingdoms have been nothing but close since the sickness ended, right?"

At Arthur's confirmation, Leon continued. "Maybe some previous Decidings were different, but at least where I was from, the lottery was drawn live, so there was no chance of, like, tampering. The same went for Clubs. What about Hearts and Spades?"

"The Ace of Hearts was present at mine, and they did the drawings live, too. I'm not sure about Spades, but if the Jack of Spades had anything to do with it, it would have been done well." Arthur said.

"There you go. And we all know how much Alfred wanted this from when he was a kid, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure he's told all of us by now with how enthusiastic he's been about it." Arthur was unable to hide his scoff as he said it. "I suppose once he has his mind on something, he won't stop to get it. At least, he'd want to go all out with it. At least, he was so enthusiastic about serving that he managed to get approval from the Jack to enter when he was younger."

"Not to mention, like, what you just said." Leon reached out for the cup he'd left on the cool floor to take a drink. "His work with the military. Not every prince has had the chance to do that, after all. I bet a lot of soldiers there didn't know he was royalty."

"Because both him and his twin were protected from the public eye by his parents."

"I didn't know that. One more way to totally show off your smarts, right?" At Arthur's proud nod, Leon nudged him. "But yeah. You don't need to, like, think about yourself as not being worthy of his time or whatever. "

"At the same time, I can't help but feel he's perfect. As in…every time we talk," Arthur shifted so he was holding onto his knee, giving him a much needed sense of stability, "Or spend time together, it's just…I don't feel deserving. Do you understand what I mean?"

A knowing smile played on Leon's lips. "You like him because of that?"

"No, of course not – it's just an observation," Arthur said hurriedly. "Yet at the same time, he doesn't constantly ask me to prove myself, or my feelings for him, or really demand much from me. I worried about that before. As the competition's continued…I can't help but think about that even now."

Hugging the pillow closer to his chest with one hand, Leon scooted forward. What he said next, though, was surprising. "Is that why you think he hasn't kissed you yet?"

"Pardon?"

"I said what I said," Leon's expression gave nothing away, "Is your worry pushing him back? Maybe, I dunno, he's feeling all that negative energy or whatever."

"I…wouldn't say that, no." Arthur swallowed – had his best friend guessed his secret? "Leon, that is to say, I, er-"

Ever so slightly, the other boy's lips lifted into a tiny smile. "Hmm?"

"That…hasn't been an issue," Arthur felt his cheeks getting hot, and he tried to hide his face under his cup, "At least…on that…aspect." With a triumphant snap of Leon's fingers, he couldn't help but mortifyingly hide underneath his cup more.

"Knew it."

Might as well. "Actually, I was his first kiss."

"Huh. Explains why you looked like you wanted to move to the northernmost mountains of Clubs when he was photographed with Avie. There you go. You, like, totally proved me right on that bit. Don't stress about it, all right? If you want to, you can write to me when I'm gone."

Arthur felt his smile drop. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course! I mean, you'll invite me to the palace when you're crowned, right? I'll give you my address, one sec," Leon got up to fetch a piece of paper from Arthur's desk, stopping briefly to take into the photo frames. "Huh, that actually reminds me. The four of us haven't, like, taken a photo together, have we?"

"Don't think so."

"Maybe before I'll go, we could have one at the summer solstice. Just for you guys to, like, remember me. I promised Sakura we'd have a hotpot during the winter…I feel super bad I can't do that for her."

"Perhaps afterwards when we can meet up."

Leon's fingers stilled on the pen, and he turned around to nod at Arthur. "I'd like that."

On Monday, Arthur and the rest of the Chosen woke up early to receive the Hearts royals and the Hearts Chosen. From what they had heard on the news, there were only a handful left – the description was vague enough for him to worry about Kiku somehow not being there. There had apparently been rumours of someone being eliminated being spread around the Drawing Room on Sunday, but Arthur wasn't certain.

So it was with a hint of apprehension that he went along with his breakfast duties – adjusting his tie, talking with Anna about how her sister had got along with her essay, pretty much anything to get his mind off seeing Kiku. Had his best friend changed? Was he going to be at the palace that afternoon? Would he want to stick close with his fellow Chosen instead of seeking out Arthur's company?

Thankfully, breakfast and one last round of preparations during the course of the morning managed to speed it up somewhat. He, Emma, Sakura and Leon had decided to help out with the colour of the cutlery during the large lunch that was due to take place until two guards rushed in, sounding out of breath.

"Your Highnesses, Chosen," she bowed quickly, "They're here."

Same as last time, the Chosen were clustered together as they watched the three royals from each kingdom and Joker Katya greet one another. However this time it was slightly different – they were peering at the positively small group of five who had stood in a neat formation behind the royals.

Arthur's heart pounded in his chest as his eyes roved over the group – blond hair, brunette, then sleek, raven black – it felt as if a massive weight was lifted off his shoulders the moment he saw Kiku's form in the courtyard.

His best friend had changed, that was for sure. All of the Hearts Chosen were wearing formal clothes, and he was wearing a ceremonial red robe, keeping his gaze steady as the royals greeted each other, looking like the picture of composure, whilst Arthur was craning his neck past the others to get a sight of him. Yet at the same time, he was still the same recognisable Kiku – the folded hands, the regal calmness in his eyes, the steely composure in his shoulders.

Then Kiku took sight of the boy clad in a blue waistcoat, tilting his chin higher to confirm that it was indeed him. Arthur was thankful that in that moment, he was standing as calmly as possible at the front of the window, giving him a good view.

"Art," Kiku mouthed, the hand resting at his side giving him a little wave as if to keep it subtle. Perhaps no one else noticed, but Arthur did, and that was the one important thing. At least the two of them knew reservedness and decorum, or Arthur wouldn't be sure whether or not he would have broken away from the formation at that moment to give his best friend a hug.

It would be a hard ask of two people who had been so close for so many years not to do so, Arthur thought to himself, as the two Jacks exchanged pleasantries and a hug of their own. Even if it had taken them a year to be comfortable with small actions of friendly affection, the comfort in their stable friendship, not to mention being each other's rock in an ever changing environment, had melted away a lot of the formalities. In that dormitory they shared, the fact that Kiku had come from a prestigious House and the fact that Arthur was a commoner faded in the sound of tentative laughter and quiet understanding.

Perhaps it had been the first time the warden had visited their dormitory when they were still very young, when Arthur had hurriedly tossed a blanket over Kiku's comic reading form when they were meant to be asleep. Perhaps it had been the time Kiku had helped Arthur to mail his first wobbly letters to home. Perhaps it had been the time Arthur had walked into the dormitory to see Kiku sobbing over the letter that informed him his pet dog had passed away, and how he had dropped his backpack right there and then to hold Kiku in a tight hug. Perhaps it was when they were twelve and Cormac was deathly ill one winter, when Kiku had slipped in his own extra allowance in a letter home so his family could get him into the region's best hospital. Arthur only found out later and wouldn't stop thanking him for it.

As the two kings moved to greet each other, Arthur's eyes couldn't help but stray momentarily to how Alfred wrapped Ludwig in a massive bear hug to a half hearted frown of protest. Or perhaps that was just the method in which the stern King of Hearts preferred to smile. In a way…maybe their friendships weren't so different.

To that effect, Arthur slid his gaze away, locking it with Kiku's steady eyes.

"Kiku," He gave a small wave back, coupling it with a smile, hoping his best friend could catch his mouthing through the glass. "Missed you."

"You all must be very hungry after that greeting ceremony," Yao said, after everyone had filed in from the courtyard. Frustratingly, everyone was still separated in two lines, though the Hearts and Spades royals were now happily mingling together. "Before we take our seats, though, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce the Chosen to one another. King Ludwig?"

"Of course, Jack Yao." Coming up to stand behind the Chosen, Ludwig spoke their names as he moved down the line. "I'm sure a few of you have been acquainted with one another through the news and whatnot, but as this is a rare opportunity for our kingdoms, I'd like to take the time to introduce them. Sir Toris, Lady Scarlet, Lady Sophia,, and Sir Kiku." All of them were vaguely familiar as Kiku had written about them, so Arthur stole a chance to glance at his peers. Emotions ranging from jealousy to intimidation to surprise cast over their faces, though Arthur thought he saw a flicker of recognition in Sakura's eyes as Kiku bowed in greeting.

Rumblings of greetings flickered between the two lines before Yao stepped forward. "It's good to meet you all. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Lady Natalya, Lady Clare, Lady Marianne, Sir Thomas, Sir Alfonso, Sir Arthur, Sir Leon, Lady Sakura, Lady Emma, and Lady Avie. We look forward to solidifying our alliance this week."

After all the formalities had been completed, everyone was allowed to disperse to the dining hall. To Arthur and Kiku's dismay, this did not mean that the lines melted – even during the dining hall, the Chosen from both kingdoms were split down the tables for their meal. They weren't even able to sit directly opposite to each other, meaning that they would have to maintain their cool façade, which was difficult after reuniting with each other. Arthur barely processed each bite of his lunch until their plates had been cleared away and the Jack stood at the front once more, accompanied by Joker Katya.

"The schedule for this week will be relatively laid out now the other royals will be arriving soon. On Wednesday, we will hopefully be able to receive the Clubs and the Diamonds delegations, though it seems that unfortunately the Clubs Chosen will be unable to attend the event." That garnered a few whispers around the room, but he seemed unfazed. "Hearts Chosen," he directed his attention to the right side of the room, "On your carriage ride here, you should have been assigned a room number – our Chosen will assist you to your according rooms. Please read the information packet left on your tables for the guidelines we will ask you to follow during your stay. After dinner, your maids will deliver everyone's schedules. Until then, we will give you time to relax and settle into your lodgings. Any questions?"

At the chorus of 'no's, the Jack relaxed his serious face. "Excellent. You are now dismissed."

Arthur waited until everyone had made their way to the front of the room before being unable to hold back his relief. "Kiku," he said, nodding once in his direction, noticing how quickly his friend's face lifted.

"Art, it has been awhile," Kiku said, coming to stand next to him. As it seemed as if people had buddied up to bring the few members of the Hearts Chosen to their room, they went upstairs on the staircase towards the boys' wing. "I hope everything has been all right. I have missed your companionship more than I can admit. Your letters are not as good of a companion as you are."

"I can say the same here," Arthur replied. His voice sounded wobbly bouncing off the walls of the palace; he had really missed Kiku more than he could admit. "I've missed you a lot. I've been doing all right."

"We saw your excursion with Prince Alfred. It seemed as if – ah, that way? Interestingly enough, this palace has quite a different layout that that of Hearts. But it is roughly the same size. Regardless," Kiku's knowing grin reminded Arthur a little of Leon's the earlier weekend, "It seems as the friend I knew who would not think of romancing the prince has changed."

The sun reflected off of the pink in Arthur's cheeks as he coughed into his fist, barely swerving out of the path of a sculpture. "Listen, Kiku…it's…things have changed, that's for sure. But I haven't changed much, promise."

"I know," Kiku said, "At your core, you are still the same old Art. But some parts of you have changed. Remember when you wrote to me about hating the media attention? Then you told me how you wanted to step out more to the people before?"

"I suppose, yes. Then again, I rarely think up anything these days without running them by you, since you actually know what you're doing."

"I do not think that is true when it comes to things you are actually doing. After all, I do think it would be quite convenient if you are asking me on everything you are doing with a few days delay." Stopping briefly in their conversation, Kiku started examining the rooms, stopping when they got to one three doors left of Arthur's. "Oh, I believe it is here." Raising a key similar to the one Arthur owned, he unlocked the door. "My, these are large bedrooms."

Arthur couldn't help himself. "Better than the ones back at the holding facility, right?"

"Depends. Some days, it is harder because there is not someone to be equally as late to lessons with you, but some days it is better, because there is an absence of a certain someone and his loud snores."

"Kiku! I don't snore…"

"Remember that time we had that paper due on the Joker-Ace War and you stayed up until five in the morning for it?" Arthur sat down on Kiku's immaculately made bed as his best friend went to draw the curtains, toning down the glare of the summer sun. "Either there was a bear in the room, or you were snoring. And last time I checked, Hearts is not close enough to a forest to have bears."

"Listen, that was a very hard paper."

"Which you aced. Is this the packet we have to read?"

"So did you! Don't worry about it," Arthur peered over his shoulder, "Oh, it's nothing important. Essentially the same set of rules you'd go by Hearts, I'd imagine."

"Other than not having to romance the prince. But there's no need, I believe he is already spoken for, and so am I."

Arthur caught himself in a middle of a snort laugh, processing what Kiku had said, the comment about Alfred hiding into the background. "How's Heracles?"

Kiku's smile faded slightly. "He is doing well," he replied, "However, his regiment has not been able to write frequently, so I receive an update every two weeks or so."

"How has he been handling training?"

"He has not been injured majorly, just…the typical wounds a soldier may incur. Though he believes that whatever training they receive in Clubs may not be enough to protect them enough whilst they are in the Easterns. At least, the death rate is not consistent and all encompassing. If he can handle himself during training even during the summer, I will allow myself to hope. But his deployment begins in the autumn, where winter would have already arrived…" Kiku twisted the pen he had been holding to go through the information packet. "I just do not know what to do other than to keep up hope."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about it."

"No, do not be. It is just…the advisorship in Spades handles it, and I understand if the crown prince cannot interfere, as it might be seen as meddling. After all, it is too late now. So perhaps we should move forward? There is so much we have to catch up on, though we have kept in correspondence, and Heracles is doing the best he can right now."

You want to be distracted, but you're too polite to say so. By the way Kiku's lips had pressed themselves into a thin line, he was banking on Arthur to understand. For a moment, Arthur tried to put himself in his shoes – the thought of Alfred being shipped off to a place like the Easterns was unfathomable. Being a soldier, the comparisons were too easy to make, then in a flash Arthur was thinking about Alfred's training, how much work he'd had to go through. He was lucky, able to avoid being shipped off to the Easterns.

Had the advisorship saved him from that? For some reason, Arthur doubted it, as they were meant to be a separate entity from governance, but perhaps he just hadn't been selected to be sent there after all.

Hating the squeeze in his heart as he mulled over the possibility, he nodded, coming to stand beside Kiku as his friend settled into the chair to look over the information. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Any place you'd like to visit before dinner?" Unable to help it, he smiled knowingly – Kiku was even less of a fan of physical activity as he was.

"Visit?" Kiku looked bemused. "Oh, Art, you know me too well. My aching bones must take a nap, at least for now."

"Kiku, I know you'll do all you can, but Alfred – His Highness – said that his advisorship is the one that manages these things." Arthur was starting to feel like they'd be caught, walking near the advisorship's office just before dinner after Kiku had woke up from his nap. Whilst waiting for him, Arthur had been writing a letter to his family to inform them of their reunion. "I can ask him about Heracles again, but-"

"No, there is no need," he replied quickly, rubbing at his face. The two of them stared down the corridor at the chief advisors' office before Arthur gestured with his head to turn back. "I know it would reflect poorly on you."

He didn't even hesitate to speak. "I would do that for the two of you. Like always."

Kiku fell silent for a moment, but he shook his head. "Art, you have already done too much. Not to mention the chances are, he would suspect that I was the friend you were talking about." Attempting to lighten the mood, he carried on. "Let us just go back to the dining hall for the meantime. Or is it too early? Then maybe our room-"

The two boys exchanged a look before they sputtered into laughter. "Ah…we are not allowed to do that anymore, are we?" Kiku waved away his snorts. "Sorry."

"We spent almost ten years living in the same room, and never applied to switch roommates," the two of them started going back down the corridor as Arthur fought back a huff of laughter, "Old habits die hard. Some nights I think it's too quiet, even with everything going on."

"Hm," Kiku said, "It is surprising that there is time for you to think about how different it is to be in a room by yourself, between everything else," they turned a corner, his best friend stopping to scurry underneath a portrait. "That must be going on in your mind."

"Like what?"

"I am not quite sure. I have not seen you in love before, I will admit, so I cannot deduce entirely, but I know you well enough to believe you are, let us say," Kiku reached out with his hand, holding it up against the dark blue wall, "Thinking about how nice his arms would be around you, or what sort of person he is, cat or dog…"

"Is that from your own experiences? Fairly sure he's a dog person, by the way."

Two pink spots appeared on Kiku's cheeks as they approached the first floor, "I am not taking from my own experiences!"

"Nothing wrong with it," they rounded the corner, "At least the question about being a dog person and a cat person gave it awa-"

"Your Highness," Kiku said, then down he went into a bow even before Arthur had the chance to reconcile with the fact that he'd practically collided straight into Alfred. Even Alfred looked surprised, judging by the slight space his lips had left – though what was he doing, after all, looking at his lips so closely. "Please, er, excuse us."

"No, no – Sir Kiku, right?" Alfred's interest when taking in the sight of the two of them was palpable. "You called over to celebrate Arti – Sir Arthur's birthday during April, right? It's great to meet you. Are you guys close?"

"It is an honour to meet you as well," Kiku said, completely unshaken. Much different than the first time Arthur and Alfred had met… "I have been very relieved to see that Arthur has been enjoying his time whilst in the palace, and I believe a lot of that is due to you. And yes, we have been close ever since his entry into the holding facility."

"Oh…um, heh, I do try," The bashful smile was something Arthur's eyes couldn't tear away, even in the darkened hallway that was lit up by a wall lamp, "But I'm really happy that you guys got to catch up! You were on your way to dinner?"

"Yes, but I am afraid that we were quite early."

Arthur couldn't help but be impressed at how calm Kiku seemed at approaching a royal – he knew if Ludwig had accidentally encountered him like this, he would have tripped over his words to the point of gibberish. Even the way he carried himself suggested an equal meeting an equal, making Arthur almost feel sheepish for ever worrying about his best friend's possible elimination.

"Don't worry about it. Hey, it's actually getting kinda close to dinner," Alfred tugged back his sleeve, revealing a rather large watch, "So maybe I'll escort you guys there? If that's okay?"

Kiku and Arthur exchanged a glance. "Yes, that would be excellent, Your Highness," Kiku said, taking advantage of the poor lighting to brush against Arthur's forearm. "Please, do lead the way."

To Arthur's dismay, the second Alfred started walking, Kiku slowed his pace deliberately so he and Alfred would be walking right next to each other. Turning his head desperately back to him, Kiku only gave him a knowing wink, meaning that they would have to keep close…though as they walked closer, sides accidentally brushing as they rounded the corner, Arthur found that he didn't mind too much.

After dinner, to the great anticipation of almost everybody, the theme for the ball was announced – that being of a masked ball on Saturday.

"Not another ball," Arthur groaned, though he managed to keep it quiet throughout the din of people moving away chairs and tables in the dining hall. After the announcement had been made and the Jack had dismissed them, anyway, everyone was filing to leave.

Kiku tilted his head to speak to him within the crowd. "It is a masked ball, Art. Less people to stare at you."

Arthur tilted his head back. "Point still stands."

"It does sound quite romantic, right? I am certain you will be able to get your public kiss – oh, it is not…common news yet," Kiku stopped when he remembered. "Apologies."

"Well," Arthur trailed off, making sure the crowd had dispersed somewhat, "Only Leon knows. But I'm not sure whether it'll happen yet…I will admit it hasn't mostly because of me."

"Still holding back?"

"Just a little," it came off like a snort, "I can't help but still be scared. I like things as they are, but if our relationship was to be put out like that, I feel as if it would change everything. Kiku, want to go to the gardens before bed?"

"Oh? Yes, that would be nice – you have spoke a lot about them," the two of them rerouted their path from Kiku's room as they chatted. "Then again, everything will change soon. If you want to go all the way for him, it is just a matter of time. I understand if you want to hold back, but…"

"I…after the date on Friday, I do feel more ready," Arthur admitted, the two of them pausing to admire the view from the walkway. "I know what I'm here for. It's just that with the summer solstice, seeing you again after so long, not to mention the thing with Ace Matthew, I'd like things to slow down a little first."

Kiku inclined his head, a non verbal way of saying that he understood. "At least, Matthew has been doing well lately, yes? There does not seem to be an issue with," he looked around them, making sure they were alone, "It does seem relatively quiet around them. And you wrote to me saying that Matthew told you to pretend as if it never happened."

"Yes."

"So for now, I think it'll be all right to concentrate on yourself. After all, perhaps pretending it never happened will be able to put away the issue until we are ready to tackle it."

Arthur felt his shoulders relaxing; like always, speaking with Kiku about something put him at ease. "Good point."