ffnet seems to be back up today, thank god. we're nearing the end so buckle in kiddos

as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively.

Over the weekend, Alfred and Arthur see very little of each other.

Arthur is learning to be a queen. Even though he's taking daily lessons from Yao about the basics, the situation of international relations and everything a queen specializes in, after class he is busy with preparations. His arms are consumed with plans on paper and armfuls of fabrics, green eyes occupied with reading swatches and observing menus. His wandering hands are carefully folded as he watches decorations and music being sampled, and goes to bed every night exhausted and very late.

Alfred, on the other hand, is learning to be a king. He folds over pages of important legislation, scans sheets so that the port can read them out loud for him to actually understand, and stands behind a window along with Matthew, watching the proceedings of court happen. It's mostly empty, with several of the advisors having neglected their duties for weeks, but it's enough to reassure Alfred. He sits in his study at night, pen working over his own errors as he thinks of Arthur.

On the morning of Saturday, Alfred rolls over his warm bed to discover that Arthur's not in it any more. He allows himself to be frightened with the fear that the end of the Deciding has not happened yet; that all these wonderful yet terrifying months have not happened, but with one look at the mussed bed next door tells him all he needs to know. He flops back onto his bed, pushing wedding plans to the forefront of his mind, but his maid knocks at his door and tells him that there's something on his office that he needs to see.

Alfred asks her for the usual breakfast then launches back into his new life.

The first thing Alfred saw in his sleep clouded state – he was full as well, mind you - were a lot of colours. Okay, fine, maybe it was a little improper for a future king to be wearing a onesie and toddling in a palace, but as Alfred slid his glasses on he quickly realized what it was.

"Oh man, thank the Fates," he exclaimed quickly, cupping all three of them in his hands. "They sure answered fast…"

Three envelopes – one peony, one chrome yellow, one jade. Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

Alfred opened the Hearts one first – obviously, they were already a the palace and intended to stay for the wedding, but for formalities sake Feliciano had written an acceptance letter.

…and please send me pictures! I'm sorry I couldn't be there for your big day Al, since our bambino – or bambina! - needs me, but I'm sure people who love you will be there and that's the whole point, right? See you soon, Feli! xoxo

"What does eks – oh – eks – oh mean? Or babbybina or whatever…?" Alfred wondered out loud, but smiled at the letter, running a thumb over the blood red seal of the letter. Even if so many things were happening in his life, it was good to know that life carried on for Feli.

He placed it on the desk and continued, going for Diamonds first. Wonder who's going to write me of the three? Alfred thought subconsciously as he leafed through the letter, resisting a laugh as he realized that it was bound with an 'inexpensive' seal in a shape of a topaz. We get it, Diamonds is the richest country in all of Cards!

The letter was from Lili, who was absolutely radiant in her joy. The youngest monarch gushed about how much she had followed the Deciding even through her state meetings and trips, and said that she was happy for them both. Naturally, she accepted their invitation but to his pleasant surprise declared that all three of them would be going. Well. I've gotta prep another room, since I was thinking only two from each would be coming…

Dusting through the last one, Alfred tried to get through it as soon as he could. Luckily it was written by Elizabeta, by far Alfred's favourite member of the Clubs Primary Suit, but to his dismay told him that all three of them would be attending. Sure, he wouldn't mind Roderich, even though he was boring at times, but ugh. Ivan. Probably would scoff at his guest room size and trample over the roses in their venue shouting something obnoxious. If he laid a single cell on Arthur he would be deported.

"Welp, better go pester Yao about the two new rooms," he muttered to himself, pushing the green envelope to the bottom of the small stack and leaving his study, coffee still lingering in his half empty cup.

At the same time, Arthur is carefully overseeing the menu for their wedding. He's tried his best to satisfy his wants as well as Alfred's, and with additional consultation with Yao he's added some signature Spadian dishes. It looks good to him, but he's concerned that the white chocolate fountain that he suspects Alfred likes will be too messy on the day…

He eats lunch in silence, internally missing Alfred – not like he would ever miss him or anything, what are you implying - but mind preoccupied with his lesson at two pm, where Yao will give him the briefing on the other countries before his own reception. Arthur knows he's woefully unprepared, so he manages to get there by one fifty with notepad in hand.

"Hello…there," Jack Yao said, his eyes slanting in slight surprise. "That's quite unexpected - is there something you need me for, Arthur?"

"...? Um, Ja - Yao, if you don't mind me, I was under the impression we were going to have a lesson today?" Arthur asked plaintively, shifting his notebook uncertainly between his arms. Oh no.

"…Oh! Oh, yes," Yao spluttered, embarrassment lighting his cheeks as he quickly nodded after an awkward moment of silence "I'm sorry, Arthur, Alfred stopped by this afternoon with new arrangements for the Clubs and Diamonds. I was preoccupied by organizing two new rooms; it must have completely slipped my mind. I must apologise."

"No, it's no problem at all," Arthur said quickly. "We can move it to tomorrow if you're not ready…"

"There's no need for that," Yao reassured. "I have the things ready, just give me a moment to fetch them from my desk. Take a desk in the front middle, all right?"

Arthur placed his notebook and opened it up, preparing his pen and slotting it neatly next to it, tapping his fingers lightly on the table while waiting for him. The Jack returned with a handheld port, a silver pen and two slim books, setting them on top of the pedestal at the front of the room where Arthur and the rest of the other Chosen used to have their weeklies.

"All right, we should begin with alliances," Yao said as soon as he had finished setting up the port, the screen casting a faint sheen onto the dark wallpaper - in some funny way, it made Arthur think of his wedding dress. "I assume that you've remembered from our previous lessons who we're the closest allied with?"

"I'd be disappointing Kiku with that," Arthur said, smiling a little. "Hearts, right? I'm not quite sure on Diamonds and Clubs, though, although Alfred seems to despise the King of Clubs."

"Yes, well, that's their own personal vendetta," Yao said, and even it was for just a moment his tone turned forlorn. "That doesn't mean Clubs is our enemy, however. Other than…their little feud, all of Cards is on good terms for now. Although, we don't know what's to change. But since Diamonds and Clubs are each others' strongest allies, if in the event of a feud we will side with the Hearts."

"Is that written in stone?" Arthur asked, looking at the small diagram with the two lines drawn between the four kingdoms.

"Nothing ever is," Yao said wanly, looking at the diagram as well with a quick tilt of his head. "For now, we are peaceful, but we do not know if the Joker rebels will press at our borders. The disaster that was the Easterns offensive has made our war situation even worse for all four kingdoms. Allegiances change, Arthur, and I hope that you will be the queen to help us get through it."

"I'll…I'll do my best," Arthur said, swallowing down his intimidation. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Exactly who is who," Yao said, tapping on the screen to bring up eight square portraits of the Clubs and Diamonds Primary Suit. "I'm assuming you're familiar with the Hearts Primary Suits by now?"

Arthur nodded once, wringing out his hands.

"Very well. I'm aware that you attended a holding facility in your youth, but you'll be needing more than that basic information in order to really succeed during your first meeting. Impress them, Arthur. We'll start with the Diamonds…"

Later that evening, Arthur went back to his room and ran a highlighter over all his notes.

He would have never imagined that he would make as many notes on a group of eight people. Granted, yes, they were monarchs, but it was like Arthur was creating a character sheet for one of his sappy romance novels…

Speaking of said novels, as Arthur reflected what had happened over the week, it felt that his life had but become a sappy novel story. He was getting married to the man he loved on Friday. Granted, it was only Saturday evening, but Arthur desperately wanted to burst through the adjoining door that separated their bedrooms and kiss his fiancé senseless.

It's your fault I want to hold you so badly, Arthur sighed internally, turning around slowly to see Alfred's lit bedroom. But he knew once he went in, there was no turning back – he still had to finalize the time for the entertainment, figure out how to tell Yao about Leon, try to catch Kiku for a time where they could organize the fitting for the bridesmaid-esque outfits, call Erin, finish his notes…

"…well, maybe a note wouldn't hurt…" Arthur said to himself, fishing for a spare piece of paper in his desk. Pulling out the meticulously carved item, he pulled out a piece of light blue paper – Fates, they really went all out with the colours in Cards, didn't they - and scribbled a hasty note before summoning Anna who came in the space of around two minutes. The two of them had agreed to have her office only a few rooms away, and the closeness had comforted him somewhat.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to do this one duty for me this once," Arthur said, his tone apologetic as he handed her the folded note. "I won't let myself see Alfred until I've finished my work for the wedding, so is it all right if you deliver this note?"

"Well, Sir Arthur," she said, the hint of her familiar playfulness dancing on her lips as she rocked back and forth on her heels, "Only if you let me read it."

"You know I've never been one to interfere with your following of our relationship," Arthur said, smiling in spite of himself. "As long as you don't sell us out to the paparazzi, you can do as you wish."

"I don't need to tell the paparazzi, I already have a front seat," she joked, a little skip in her step as she unfolded the note. "Aww, I find it so cute that he's the prince but you're the one writing these love notes! Put him in his place with those suave words, huh?"

"Anna! I thought you said you wouldn't tease," Arthur said, turning away in light embarrassment.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir Arthur – or should I say Princess Arthur, the way Prince Alfred says it?" she countered, but gave his hand a squeeze. "Keep it up, okay? You're doing great."

"A…Anna!"

The mischievous girl laughed a little to herself as she strode over to Alfred's door and delivered two loud knocks.

…even if we're not married yet, I feel that we are. I've been holding myself back lately, Alfred, in all the senses – but I cannot wait for the moment where I get to call you mine.

It's just Saturday night, but…maybe after the reception, we can go walk in the gardens together like we used to? I'm sorry for not being able to involve you more in the wedding plans, I was thinking that you'd be busy yourself and not want all this extra burden. But if you want to help, or even talk…I'll still be there. Always.

With all my love, Arthur

"Oh m – aaah Fates, how cute can he get?!" Alfred squealed to himself, pressing the paper up against his nose (and unfortunately crumpling it, but it was okay). "Why can't it be Friday?!"

He read the little contents of the note over and over, wracking his brain for something that could possibly be better until it hit him – well, it rubbed against his leg but he had an idea!

Hero was nuzzling the side of his leg against Alfred's trousers, and then an idea lit up. Even though it was kind of late, the stables were still lit up at this time – so what couldn't be more romantic than a secret horse ride? Alfred almost threw himself at the door and about instantly went misty eyed at the elegant image of Arthur writing something in his notebook, which he gasped and instantly abandoned when Alfred came to the door.

"Alfred, you…darling, what are you doing here? Did you read my note?" Arthur whispered, not before Alfred sprinted to his chair and flopped against him like an overgrown teddy bear. "Alfred…ah, your dog as well…"

"You've been working so hard, Artie, I wanna do something fun with you," Alfred murmured into his waist. "Can you go out with me?"

"But I thought we were already married?" Arthur teased, pinching his ear. "I would love to go, Alfred, but I've got a lot of things to do before Friday. There's the decorations, the entertainment, the-"

"Aww, let me do that stuff as well!" Alfred exclaimed, looking up and fixing Arthur with his very (very) best puppy dog eyes. "Come on, it'll be fun! You get to hold onto me really tight if you want."

"…I do hope it's not a scary film," Arthur said, his head dithering, but after a little while he exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "…All right, Alfred. I would appreciate the help, so I'll spend some time with you on this trip of yours…it better not be too long though!"

"Leave it up to the hero!" Alfred cried, kneeling down and kissing Arthur's hands with a wink. "Will you come with me tonight, my princess?"

"…you just asked me, and I said yes," Arthur deadpanned, but took his hands with a fond expression. "All right, lead me to where you want to take me."

"Um, Alfred, why are we doing this in the bitter cold, it's only TWENTY DEGREES CE – AAA!"

"Arthur, princess, I said to hold on!" Alfred laughed wildly, using one arm to wrap Arthur's arms around his waist. "Hold on, honey, you said an hour!"

"Prince Alfred if we die tonight you're the one they'll flash on the television saying 'royal homicide'," Arthur shrieked, legs and heart pounding as Butterscotch took them into the dimly lit woodland of the palace grounds. "I SAID an hour, but not in such a way that it'll get us killed!"

"Okay, okay, if it scares you that much come sit in front then," Alfred called over his shoulder, squeezing his legs so that his horse slid to a halt. "Come here where it's warm, Artie."

"I told you I should have brought another jacket," Arthur grumbled, but allowed himself to tilt his head back into Alfred's shoulder as soon as they were seated and Butterscotch was going at a much slower pace. "…all right, this is quite nice."

"I'm super romantic huh," Alfred beamed, puckering up his lips to kiss Arthur's hair. "It's such a nice night as well…"

"It m-might have started to be a l-little bit romantic…w-when you weren't trying to kill us, of course!" Arthur sighed, but bit his lip a little as he looked up at the sky. Fine, the idiot was right. Maybe he was a little too preoccupied with his work…

"Look at them," Alfred said gently, tightening his grip on the reins so he could hold Arthur closer. "Look at how they shine for us."

Even though a thin canopy of trees obscured some of their vision, they sparkled quietly in the sky, bright to stand out from the velvet of the night like the minerals from Diamonds. As Arthur raised his head and his eyes shone with wonder, Alfred couldn't help but feel that he still found Arthur's stars to be prettier.

"I know…it's still a few days until the wedding," Alfred continued, nestling his chin in between Arthur's neck and shoulder, "But I feel that it doesn't really matter to me. As long as I get to see you, it's worth the wait, right? I know planning it and all these jobs you have are super important, but if you have to be a royal you have to at least enjoy the simple stuff in life. If we were like quote on quote common people, we might not be able to have a super fancy wedding, but I guess we could rent a horse and go on a ride like this."

"I doubt that the horse would love you as much as Butterscotch would," Arthur replied, but rested his head on top of Alfred's, soothed by his warm breaths and Butterscotch's soft steps. "But even if I were a commonplace boy, someone who didn't go through the holding facilities, etc, would you still love me the way you do today?"

"I'll love you as fiercely as I do, yeah," Alfred said, two fingers detaching from the reins each to stroke alongside Arthur's arm. "That's kind of why I don't really like the idea of the holding facilities mainly for Decidings – what if my ancestors didn't find true love because the person they were meant to lived in a poor place and they didn't like them? That would be cheating."

"I suppose we're lucky," Arthur echoed, shuddering a little at his intimate touch. "But even if we switched roles, it wouldn't matter to me. However…there might be a better way than a Deciding."

"Maybe," Alfred laughed, and Arthur could feel the rumble of it against his chest. "Though for me, it worked like a charm."

"Sap," Arthur snickered, reaching up to pull Alfred's head a little lower (ugh. Too tall for his own good…) so that their lips could meet for a moment. "I suppose I have to agree with you…"

"Mmm," Alfred purred, wrapping his arms around him and pushing a little forward to a mew of surprise from Arthur –

-until, of course, the reins slackened in his hands and Butterscotch stopped.

"Ah…oi, oi, Alfred, what are you doing?! Butterscotch's going to run off any moment, idiot, you're…"

"H-Huh? O-oh man, I'm sorry, Butterscotch, give me a mo…"

All that commotion and just for a…vase full of blue roses, Arthur thought to himself as he reclined against Alfred's chest, eyes willowing in content as the other boy ran his hand through his hair and dotted little whispers of affection in his scalp. What a dolt…

"Goodnight, Alfred," Arthur said softly, all thought of work evacuated from his head as he said their usual greeting. "I'll…I'll send you the things for the decorations and band tomorrow…don't take on too much work, hnn, idiot…"

"Goodnight, Arthur," Alfred replied in tandem, unearthing his forehead from where it was covered by his hair. "I love you, too."

surprise USUK interaction attack whoo

CFAA - i guess that's a right a fic author gets, haha. and thanks for the idea for the sequel ;)

russia says hello - nah it's fine! ffnet didn't even send ME an email to let myself know i had updated, lmfao. ~the mirror breaks~ sounds like some title for a video game, funnily enough. shuri is absolutely amazing and god i wish i had that sense of humor. and the good thing about aph is that there are so many characterizations you can have with them and that gives them so much charm!

mi chan kizanami - their level of sap is something extreme i can't even control whoops x.x and i feel called out, haha. thank you for reading as always ;v;

spade sama - me: oh, it must be so hard. also me: has been to a total of 4 weddings...hey i also really missed writing leon! glad you liked it :D

vivadragnire - alfred and arthur: wow, our jaws hurt too. maybe we made out too much... and i think i mentioned this previously? what a dork, wow.

hearthorse11 - i bet alfred would be like parmesan if he were an irl cheese ball. and yes, i am because i don't want this story to be wiped off ffnet just yet! thank you for everything as always as well, haha.

reviews, favourites and follows are what will keep me writing, so please go ahead and leave them!