to make up for my two week long absence - half of my exams done! - i'm giving you an actually decently long chapter today, haha. i've been largely AWOL as a whole - just had time to publish an old WIP for my friend's birthday and that's all. i'm sorry!

congrats to another US/UK couple getting married today by the way :)

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

Sunlight filtered onto Arthur's back as consciousness flooded his eyes. The sunshine seemed to have seeped into his skin, as warmth permeated his every movement, from the twitch of his fingertips to the movement of his sore legs.

"…oh, hey," came Alfred's voice – huskier than usual, and covered with a honeyed tone. "You're up."

"N-no, I'm not," Arthur mumbled, clutching at the sheets, cheeks pinking as he felt Alfred's hand work its way against his bare hip, cupping the curve and rubbing the creamy flesh there. "Good morning, Alfred,"

"Good morning, Arthur," Alfred responded in tandem, kissing his mussed hair and rubbing just a little harder, enough to elicit a soft moan from his fiancé as he moved lower. "But I gotta say sorry for keeping you up for so late last night."

"I…I thought you said you'd stop teasing me," Arthur said, fingers interlacing with the small silver chain securing his dog tags, cold against Alfred's soupy warm skin. "You're only getting worse, idiot…"

"I can't keep my hands off you, I guess," Alfred murmured, eyes roving over the necklace of love bites that adorned the dips of his collarbones; he knew that they couldn't be too visible as the castle was starting to warm up and Arthur wearing three scarves would be hard to explain, but they would be gone before the wedding.

"And you think I'm any better," Arthur replied, hands carving a long, languid path up Alfred's chest, resting on his arms before moving back downwards to stroke the short, dusty pink scratch marks he had left on his lover's shoulder blades, standing out amongst his tan skin. "However, I do believe we have a lot to learn."

"Mmm, it was our first time after all," Alfred said, grinning lazily. "We couldn't hold back, I guess. But with someone like you in the picture, I can see why I couldn't."

"Fates, look at your reflection in the mirror and come back to me with that sentence," Arthur said, burying his face into Alfred's neck and indulging himself with the musky scent that rested there. "If I had seen you that day in the gym…"

"What would you have done?" Alfred asked, dipping his chin lower to press his chapped lips against Arthur's scalp. "I'd love to know, princess."

"I would have asked you to take me like you did last night," Arthur said, bringing the side of his face a little lower so that their eyes could meet. "I'm being honest."

"You'd ask me in the same way you did last night? But I would have been all sweaty," Alfred pouted, face falling into puppy dog eyes. "That wouldn't have been romantic and all…"

"Darling, during that sort of…action, everything gets sweaty," Arthur chastised. "To be fair, though, you were already tired."

"I mean, if you catch me working out when we're married, you're welcome to help yourself to me – any time you want, really – but not in public. I wanna have you all to myself," Alfred sang, and Arthur spluttered with laughter, wrapping his arms around his neck as Alfred shifted so he was on top of him.

"This has got to be the dorkiest morning after talk ever," Arthur snorted, touching his nose to his. "I wouldn't have it any other way, though."

"It's with you, and that's all I care about," Alfred grinned, and leaned down to pepper kisses all over Arthur's face. "I've wanted to pamper you, Artie, like someone should do for their lover, and I finally got to."

"Then why are you still there, instead of down here?" Arthur said, his tone flirtatious as his toes curled at Alfred's proximity. "You're wanted elsewhere, you know."

"And where might that be?" Alfred grinned, delving in to attach his lips to Arthur's neck. Arthur thanked the Fates that he didn't wear his glasses to sleep, and couldn't resist wrapping his legs around Alfred's waist, a shiver going down his spine at their intimate skin to skin contact. "Maybe I should find out."

"Mmm, perhaps," Arthur said, tilting his head back to allow Alfred more access to his neck. "Take your time, dearest."

"I love you," Alfred whispered fervently in between kisses. "So, kiss, damn, kiss, much, kiss,"

"…" Arthur wasn't sure what to say. He had sensed from the beginning that Alfred was the type to shower a loved one with attention, to almost consume them with affection.

He would never have thought he would have been on the receiving end.

"…Arthur? A-Artie, sugar, I'm sorry if that came off too heavy, I…" Alfred had now backed off, cheeks flushing as he propped himself above Arthur, bare chest heaving and dog tags dangling loosely from his neck. It was practically the same image of a boy who had shyly asked Arthur if it was all right to lead.

But Arthur wanted it. He wanted to feel the obsession of giving himself to someone whole, to be consumed by the feeling of adoring someone.

And he wouldn't want it any other way.

"I-I love you, too," Arthur breathed, interlacing his fingers with Alfred's dog tags so they clinked together, a small noise that echoed throughout the room. "In…in the same way as you do."

The last thing he saw was Alfred's relieved, slightly teary face before he surrendered to the simple yet endless feeling of complete adoration.

"No, you are not carrying me to the shower – oi, don't give me those eyes!" Arthur said, his voice caught between a cross tone and a laughing voice.

"But you're gonna be sore…right? You said you felt sore this morning," Alfred said, tipping his head to one side. "And you look really cute in my shirt and all, but we have to clean up before breakfast."

"F-Fine…" Arthur mumbled – Alfred had snuck into his adjacent bedroom and took two of his dress shirts from his wardrobe (all right, they weren't comfortable or anything, but Arthur looked so handsome in them). "Aren't you sore as well?"

"Not as much as you, I think," Alfred said, using his foot to nudge open the door to Arthur's bathroom, "I guess it hurts a little, since it's our first time."

"I can still walk, you know, I'm not that fragile," Arthur replied, twisting the taps of the bathtub as soon as Alfred had let him down. "We only went for once…it shouldn't be that bad."

"We should hope it stays that way."

"I doubt it," Arthur chuckled, unbuttoning Alfred's shirt and placing it on the rack near the bathtub, not being able to resist the delectable view of Alfred doing the same. "From what I can tell, at least."

"Oh man, not gonna lie, but that's pretty hot," Alfred said, making sure the door was completely shut before he tilted up his glasses with a jerk of his hand. "I, uh…"

"Join me," Arthur all but purred, hugging his knees to his chest and looking at him. "This is the loneliest I've been all morning."

"Ahh, we can't have that, can we?" Alfred grinned, the water dancing against the soles of his feet as he clambered in the tub and pulled the curtains shut, fingers tracing up Arthur's forearm like a fairy dance and unlinking his clasped hands. "What a future husband I would make if I were to do that."

With a large splash that sent droplets flickering into Arthur's eyes, Alfred sat down in the water and brought Arthur inbetween his thighs, maintaining skin to skin contact as Arthur did his best to turn around and give him a quick kiss on his right ear.

"You smell really good," Alfred confided, cupping Arthur's elbows as he rested his chin against Arthur's shoulder. "Especially here. That's why I kept on kissing your neck, if you were curious…and your skin feels really soft there. It's pretty sweet to mark."

"Love, if that came from anyone else, they would be unconscious for a month, you oddball," Arthur laughed, but examined his love bites self-consciously. "N-next time, heart, can you leave them a little lower, perhaps?"

"When's next time?" Alfred beamed, moving his hands up in a stroking motion to clasp Arthur's, intertwining their fingers.

"Remember what we got so worked up about before…everything? Consummation night," Arthur replied exasperatedly, letting go one hand to tug on a strand of golden hair. "Y-You…can mark me wherever you want then, you know."

"You know it," Alfred murmured, running a wet finger over the marks on his own chest as well, before darting forward to nip again at Arthur's left shoulder, eliciting a shiver from the other boy. "Mine."

"How did you deduce my intentions…?" Arthur gasped, his breath hitching as Alfred suckled on the small fold of flesh, making a humming noise in his throat. "You do this sort of thing quite well, crown prince."

"I try to please ya," Alfred chuckled, and the vibrato of the sound resonated all through Arthur's frame.

They sat in the tranquility of the bathtub for a little while longer, Arthur leaning back against Alfred's chest and just enjoying the sensation of his heartbeat against his spine, and Alfred with one arm around Arthur's waist and another playing lightly with the water, exhaling deeply into the steam as the water line climbed higher and higher.

Alfred moved forward, Arthur along with him as they were so entangled together, to turn the water off as it hovered just above Alfred's knees. The wetness of each other's skin, coupled with their intimate position sent a throb of wild arousal into Arthur's head, something he couldn't quite fend off.

Alfred started to reach for the shampoo perched precariously near the lip of the tub, but Arthur stopped him with a kiss, weaving his wet fingers in his hair and pressing him against the back of the tub – Alfred's very blue eyes were tinted with surprise at the passionate movements of his lover. "A-Artie, I thought we were gonna shower together…"

"We still have some time before breakfast," Arthur reasoned, moving his legs closer to his chest so he was tucked into Alfred's lap. "I suppose we could take that walk in the gardens tomorrow instead of now."

Alfred's cheeks progressed to peony, and he placed a warm hand on Arthur's left thigh, water rippling as he did so. "So, you - you mean…"

"Would you want to?"

"I mean, s-sure, if that's what you'd like…"

"No, Alfred," Arthur insisted, "If you don't want to then we don't have to at all."

"Nah, I just thought we were taking an innocent bath," Alfred said, using his other hand to subconsciously rub the small of his back. "With soap bubbles and rose petals and all that jazz…but I'd like something a little more…passionate, after last night."

"Would you like to lead, then?" Arthur asked him, looking at him underneath his lashes.

Alfred swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he nodded. "Okay. T-Tell me what feels good…"

Arthur's feet kissed the side of the large tub as he wrapped his legs around Alfred's waist and met him with an open mouthed kiss, Alfred's hands moving up to feel his hips, fingers moving briskly amongst his sides, eliciting goosebumps. The water moved in tandem with their steamy movements, latching onto their gasps as they moved together in unison, hands and mouths still clumsy from inexperience yet filled with desire.

Thank the Fates they had locked the bathroom door.

Lili lifted her spoon to her lips, trying to keep the crunch of her cereal and the slurp of her milk as discreet as possible as the breakfast progressed. With the addition of Gilbert, as well as Prince Alfred and the soon to be crowned Sir Arthur, it was the first time since the visit that all members of the Primary Suit were present.

The room…was strangely silent. There was something peculiar about her Papa's expression, and Miss Eliza was whispering in Miss Katya's ear every so often, and Prince Alfred's cheeks were stained pink as he ate another forkful of sausage. Vash was staring determinedly down at his plate.

"Papa," Lili asked, tugging on his fancy sleeve to get his attention, "What's happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Hm? Oh Lili, there is nothing to worry about," Francis said warmly, brushing her fringe aside with elegant fingers so it didn't poke into her eyes, and fussing with her bow – all things that her beloved Papa would always do, but he seemed distracted all the same. "Everyone's…just getting a little used to being together."

"…okay," Lili said, returning back to her breakfast. Well…if her Papa didn't give her any answers, surely Vash would?

"Vash? Vash, are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, Lili, everything's fine," her retainer said, almost a little too quickly – he was looking in the direction of the Clubs trio, missing their Ace. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, not at all," Lili smiled, patting his arm when his expression contorted to concern. "I just…everyone's acting a little weird, and Papa won't tell me anything about it."

"Beats me, the rest are a weird bunch," Vash snorted, ruffling her hair and dislodging Francis's hard work. "I don't know any more past that…but I promise you that it's nothing to do with you."

"It's not that, it's just…I want to know," she said, pouting a little – but paused abruptly – it made her seem even younger. "Is it because I'm too small?"

"Y-You're only a few years younger than the prince himself," Vash mumbled to himself, suddenly extremely engrossed in his pancakes; "Probably some boring trade things. You needn't bother with their foolishness, dear."

Why do I still have this feeling that I'm not getting the whole story? Lili thought to herself. She wanted to talk to Miss Elizabeta, but her friend was talking animatedly with Miss Katya. Oh well. Perhaps she could send her a message after breakfast?

"Goodness, Yao, with the size of this dining room you'd never guess that you don't host a bevy of guests every month," Roderich said delicately, taking a sip of his orange juice. "It puts ours to shame, surely."

"Well, with the upcoming wedding, I did not see a reason to remove it," Yao replied, raising his eyebrows a little in surprise at the remark. "And regardless, I am sure that you are aware of the appearances we all have to maintain."

"Ah, I am painfully so," Roderich said, tilting his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose, "How many lengths the monarchy goes to preserve their scandal – free image."

"Of course," Ivan said, his voice almost echoing off the spacious walls of the room. Yao visibly flinched; perhaps that wasn't the answer the Jack wanted? But there was something more in the King's tone…

No, it couldn't have been. Just Lili's wandering mind getting the better of it. It wasn't a very pleasant reply, and it wouldn't have been something she would have liked to hear. That, as well as Papa and Vash telling her that Clubs was their closest ally. She couldn't risk upsetting the King…

"Oh lord, the three of you…just look at little Lili's face," Lovino - the Ace of Hearts no less! – snapped, placing down his croissant. "Honestly, I doubt the younger ones in the table would want to feel depressed early in the morning."

"You sound like you're as old as us, dear Lovino," Francis laughed, but Lili could tell that he felt relieved the way the conversation was now turning. "But he is right, gentlemen. Perhaps we should ask Prince Alfred about his morning."

"Wh…what?" Alfred blurted, cheeks red. Sir Arthur's fork lay still on his plate along with his hands, and Lili blinked.

All right, there was definitely something up in the room.

"My dear boy, there is nothing to be ashamed of. We – at least, I could tell by your gait and-"

"Francis!" Vash hissed through gritted teeth. "Not – in – front – of – Lili..."

"What's happening?" Lili demanded, her fists curling on the linen of the mat in front of her out of impatience.

Vash's expression sagged, and as Lili continued to pepper her father for answers about what exactly had happened between a mortified Alfred and Arthur, he stared at the back of the room as if he were having a traumatic flashback.

"…it had to happen some time, Jack Vash," Joker Katya said, as gently as she could, and awkwardly patted him on the back as he almost melted at her touch.

"Is it too early for me to say that I dislike the King of Diamonds?" Arthur mused, drawing lazy circles on Alfred's chest as his legs warmed underneath his blanket – they were sharing his bed tonight. "He had to bring that up in front of everyone…his daughter, nonetheless."

"That's big brother Francis for you," Alfred said ruefully, but continued to stroke the back of Arthur's head in a comforting motion with a nudge of his chin, eyes fixed on the newspaper in his hands. "He made sex ed both funny and unbearable for me and Matt."

"I'm relieved Matthew and Gilbert got to eat all three meals with the rest of the Primary Suits today, though…at least, that's what Kiku said," Arthur continued – he had eaten lunch with his family in their room as he had promised Erin and the others. "A few months ago, I wouldn't have imagined it be possible."

"Me too," Alfred said, but by the hitch in his throat Arthur quickly changed the subject.

"What's that you're reading, darling?"

"There's been a lot of press about the wedding on Friday," Alfred said with a small smile, internally thankful his lover had decided to talk about something else. "Funnily enough, the stuff they've written is pretty interesting."

"Perhaps you could read it out to me? Your English does need some improvement," Arthur replied, reaching out to pull at the floppy ears of Alfred's unbuttoned onesie. "Go on."

"Hey, my English is pretty good as it is!" Alfred complained, but turned to the next page and indulged Arthur as always. "Royal Wedding – the day's events."

"Fates, they're so much more prepared than we are," Arthur teased, interlacing his legs with Alfred's and curling closer to him to share his overabundance of body heat. "They even have times and everything. I suppose you should take notes."

"Based on previous royal weddings," Alfred said, pointedly ignoring him, "The Weekly has put together a time table of what might happen on the big day. After the whirlwind of arrivals from the other Primary Suits, we expect the palace to issue a formal time table within the next twenty four hours. Well shit…"

"Oi, don't start developing a sailor mouth," Arthur reprimanded him, touching the side of his face. "Better put that on your to do list tomorrow."

"All right…" Alfred said, before continuing. "People online are already discussing which areas of the Inner Circle they'll be camping on, and are selling kits – pictured, bottom left – with items such as warm water bottles and fold out chairs for what will surely be a cold day. Uh, hey, why don't we pay for them?"

"I doubt Yao was able to gander as much money as he would have liked from the advisorship," Arthur said. "I know you want to be a hero, and it's a very grand gesture for you, but it doesn't cost as much gold as you think. To be honest, I'm fairly sure I didn't anticipate such a reaction."

"It's a royal wedding, sugar," Alfred said, although a little put out by his reasoning. "One for the future King and Queen of Spades. It's gotta be a massive reaction."

"If you put it that way, I do understand," Arthur murmured, "But I'm so worried I'll mess up on the day."

"Don't worry! If you mess up – which I don't think you will – I'll mess up with you as well! If you mix up my four royal names I'll say you're James Arthur so it looks like it's scripted!" Arthur didn't have the heart to sigh at the beaming face of the boy he loved, so he simply shook his head and asked Alfred to carry on.

"Based on the poll that we ran last week, the readership was divided on whether or not the future Queen would be wearing a dress or a suit to match the crown prince, but a source stated that a seamstress from the Inner Circles was privately contracted by the palace to commission a piece. The detail of Sir Arthur's wedding dress has been kept tightly under wraps, so it merely increases our anticipation for the big day! What about me?"

"There's a section right here, love," Arthur said, having read a little faster than Alfred's talking speed but still wanting to hear the deeper voice that he adopted when reading from books.

"The prince is expected to wear a dark blue military suit of sorts – we have seen him attain more than average recognitions for his service to the country, so we also expect him to don them for the big day. We have only a handful of pictures of the prince wearing said outfit, with the latest being three years after he started his fateful Deciding. Please view them…yeah that. There's more speculation about the dress though."

"Don't I like myself a military man," Arthur hummed, changing his attention to run his thumb over Alfred's engravings on his dog tags. "I must admit it, though, I am interested in a stranger's speculation about my own wedding dress."

"You know it," Alfred winked, but continued reading. "Uhh…the dress most certainly involves blue – in both Spades and Hearts, the winner of the Deciding wears a wedding dress with their new country's colour on it, so unfortunately it is almost guaranteed that there will not be a luxurious, traditional dress of the Diamonds and Clubs weddings. The prince and temporary princess have always been photographed in the gardens during the Deciding, so there could be a rose motif reflected in the dress, but more likely the bouquet. From footage found in the Halloween party and the reunion filmed when Sir Arthur's family returned to the palace to see him for the first time, we can deduce that Sir Arthur is very close to his family, so he will be wearing an inherited piece as well."

"Do these people read minds?" Arthur said, fascinated by the depth of their analysis. "There are a lot of things about tradition and how I should dress."

"They kinda go all out the week of the wedding…at least, that's what Mom told me," Alfred said. "They're not giving you any weird treatment – it's really protocol, anyway. Mom wasn't the most popular candidate when she became queen. You are, so there's that much more attention on you. I guess you're just too handsome to not focus on."

"Speak for yourself," Arthur retorted. "But wasn't Queen Piper the most popular? Surely she must have been, with her charms."

"Nah, she was the second," Alfred replied, folding the corner on the paper – Arthur's eyes were starting to willow with exhaustion, not surprising given the long and…active day. "It was cause that she was from Diamonds made some of the older members of Spadian society distrust her a little – that's what Dad told me. You're from a stretch of land that's known for rotating around Hearts and Spades in the past, and Hearts are our closest allies. You're also from a holding facility, and you're super clever and handsome so that's why-"

"Goodness, Alfred, you're not thinking of penning a tabloid piece about ten reasons why you love me, surely?" Arthur laughed, then mewled with satisfaction when Alfred suddenly dipped his head to capture his lips in a kiss. "I'm afraid too many people would fork out to read that."

"Don't need to, I just need you to know how much I love you," Alfred grinned sheepishly, and Arthur's head tilted upwards as Alfred grasped his face to kiss him once more. "And I'm so damn thankful I get the rest of my life to tell you."

"Hasn't your English teacher taught you to show, not tell?" Arthur whispered, their lips connected by a thin line of saliva that broke as he replied. "Perhaps I should be the one to tell, and you should be the one to show. You're always so good with your gestures, crown prince…"

"I'd show you something Friday night that's not for any newspaper to see – or anyone to see except you," Alfred murmured, his voice dropping in a tone reminiscent of that accent that had Arthur weak at the knees; "So I'll give you all the kisses you want in the meantime."

"I'll take you up on that offer in the morning," Arthur sighed – he couldn't disguise his exhaustion any more – and pulled him down in the blankets, burrowing into his fiancé's arms. "Goodnight, Alfred."

Alfred left a soft, affectionate kiss on Arthur's forehead, looking down fondly at the perfect weight that was in his arms. "Goodnight, Arthur."

next time on dateline: will nyo ever stop the fluff? we want the angst ew

and psa i'll be completing my exams on the 13th of next month so the story will hopefully be wrapping around then.

replies

CFAA - the rare pair power couple, dead? bitch u thought

hearthorse11 - indeed winking face lmao. i'm actually on time with the actual chapter as well…i'll carry your luck for the rest of my exams!

russia says hello - oh man, i completely feel you on the whole school year ending (i got a scary email about sign out and it still hasn't hit me i'm technically sixth form yet, lol.) i was studying 1918 germany earlier today and honestly, stresemann is absolutely the best. get that man a peace prize, please. now you mention that, it makes me really think about the father/son dynamic i've given them here…hmm…

n kukuri chan - gives you hugs as well! i'm so sorry for the wait aaa, i really don't like it since we're so close to the end hope this reaches you in good time, pfft. i'm absolutely going to take your wise, sagely advice ;) to be very serious that sentence was pure sin and i was breaking out in pure hives when i wrote it in nervousness. eliza really wants to take lili under her wing as she never really knew her mother, and i really like the 'motherly' side to hungary's character, so i wanted to pronounce it that bit more in this fic.

matthew's teasing francis obviously! as liege/mentor, i think they have that little bit closer of a bond. and eliza/roderich's daughters were mentioned p early on i think? francis was probably giving gil a hell of a side eye during that conversation LOL. it was probably a staged photoshoot to give them a glimpse of the actual relationship…and a friend of mine sent these america CGs to me through google drive and i rediscovered them and went well DAMN…had to at least draw inspo for the description and made it even more vivid. ;o; i hope this chapter meets your expectations, wink wonk.

elli's food truck rolls up again! must be magic haha.

vivadragnire - we are all saints this blessed day. i'll think of dropping some omakes when i've done some…research ;) ;)

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