PSA: This chapter seriously toes the line between T and M, especially in the last section. Please be warned.
now that's out of the way, hello everyone! the reason this chapter is released today is because it's Arthur's (my) husband's birthday. happy birthday dork! arthur (i'll) love you forever.
as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively.
Arthur was actually quite surprised that it wasn't raining, as it almost always did when anything close to romantic happened. Alfred had tucked his pocket watch inside his waistcoat, so they had only really stayed in the outhouse for around twenty minutes, but they both knew they had to face their 'adoring' public eventually.
Namely, the media and the other Chosen. Neither of them was really looking forward to it at all.
"Not everyone showed up, right?" Arthur said out loud, lulled into a sense of security with Alfred's warmth against his skin and the slow, steady creak of the swing as they rocked back and forth in tandem. "You don't have to worry about them clawing your eyes out. Rather, they'll be furious at me."
"They're not going to do it in front of the cameras and guards," Alfred replied, only his heels planted into the old wood as he used his legs and arm to move the swing in a tiny rocking motion. "We're not the first Deciding to have ever happened, you know. And I'm a hero, so I'll protect you."
"Are you implying I can't fight in a wedding dress? Your suit's even more constricting, believe me or not," Arthur snorted, squeezing a little of the softness under Alfred's chin. "However, if we don't return soon, we're going to be at a disadvantage defending this base."
"As long as I have you, I can defend this base all day," Alfred said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Cut it out!" Arthur laughed, the breath leaving his lungs as Alfred scooped him in his arms and got up from the swing, leaving it to squeak forlornly. "We should have just had the wedding here, instead of just the reception. Jack Yao should take a break, the swing should resume his role next time."
"Well, I chose you, so there's no next time," Alfred winked, and that small motion made him all the more irresistible to Arthur all over again. He'd be hard pressed to not find a new way to love his husband again. "And even so, the next time's going to be really far off."
"Aren't you a protective father already," Arthur teased, fastening their lips together as Alfred shut the door with his right foot. "Already thinking about our child? How impatient you are."
"Mmm...don't kiss me when you're trying to make fun of me," Alfred hummed against his husband's lips, breaking their contact to let Arthur onto the ground before cupping his face with both hands and kissing him deeply, careful not to press his body so taut against his so that the surface of Alfred's glasses wouldn't freeze Arthur's face. No matter how many times they embraced, Arthur's lips were always so, so soft...
"Perhaps I'll save it then? And here I was, thinking you desired more," Arthur replied in tandem, eyes closing as he enjoyed his husband's touch.
"No, I do, but...we should save it f-for later, yeah," Alfred says, and then his whole face lit up in scarlet, leaning down and resting his forehead against Arthur's. "Tonight, I mean. As long, and as much as you want."
"...oh," Arthur whispered, looking away bashfully as Alfred took his hands into his own and lifted them to his lips. "You'd hold back for me?"
"Can't have the tabloids pounce on that cute face you make when I kiss you, the little noises you make," Alfred said against his knuckles, dotting them with kisses that felt like raindrops on Arthur's skin. "Some things I can let them have, but I can't let them have you."
"We did promise ourselves for things to be private – hnnn," Arthur said, lightly drumming his fingers on the underside of Alfred's chin, relishing in the familiar sound Alfred's mouth made when it let go of his skin. "We have to get back now, or...or all the planning we did w-was for nothing..."
"One more kiss, please," Alfred begged, tilting his head and giving Arthur massive puppy eyes. "Just to tide me over until tonight."
"Aren't you excited? All right, all right," Arthur sighed (although he wasn't the least bit bothered) and indulged him again, fingertips touching his.
The two of them agreed to re enter the party holding hands – enough affection so that the media would be sated somewhat, but not too much that it could be used against them (Arthur's words).
Alfred had to admit that Arthur was right, though – the reception was nothing short of lavish.
In the time between him leaving the indoor celebration to Arthur finding him, they had moved outside into the large tents in the portion of the garden nearest the palace. They could already hear the hubbub of the party that only amplified tenfold when the two of them arrived.
The grounds of the gardens were filled with a blue and white theme, to preserve both the completion of the Spadian Primary Suit as well as the wedding. Candles, with scents like lilies that enhanced the setting of the reception, provided a sense of calm to the organized chaos. Flowers mimicking Alfred and Matthew's corsages in their suits were arranged on draped tables, and the guests milled about eating light foods, accompanied by the entertainment Alfred had hired. Arthur couldn't help but exhale in relief that their plans had gone more or less perfectly.
Attention flocked to them like moths to a flame, both wanted and unwanted, as reporters asked Arthur question after question about the whole ceremony, who his dress was designed by, what they were doing while the two of them were gone from the party, etc.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before the two of them were separated. Naturally, the royals took the opportunity to flock around Alfred, gently chastising him for his disappearance.
"Yao had to jump over quite a few hurdles for you," Francis sighed, ruffling Alfred's hair. "The press was swarming all over the party looking for you and your lovely."
"You're no longer a little boy now, Alfie!" Elizabeta said – she wouldn't pat him on his head as she felt that she was a little too short for something like that. "You're a king now. And that doesn't mean you can run off from your parties any more."
"Seriously, Alfred, there's only so much rubbish I can feed them about the colour of underwear you wear every day," Matthew grumbled, folding his arms – and snorting when Alfred's mouth dropped open. "Jokes, jokes. I was tempted to though."
Alfred felt a pang in his chest and reciprocated with a smile that barely reached his eyes, still a little surprised that his brother would even want to talk with him after the incidents of the last three months.
"So, what else is on your agenda today? We have the dinner, and then..."
"Oh my," Roderich said sharply, placing down the flat base of his flute of champagne into the palm of his right hand, "Not in front of Lili again."
"So what was your main inspiration for the reception today, Queen Arthur?"
"Is there any specific reason why you allowed S – Leon back into the public eye today? What are your thoughts? Were you involved? Why was he not deported or exiled?"
"Who designed your wedding dress? Were there plans for you to change after the ceremony?"
"There was a mention from a reliable source that you and the king planned today's events, can you confirm this?"
"We didn't get to see much of you and King Alfred earlier this afternoon...for the Weekly could you please elaborate?"
"What are your thoughts on the monarchy right now? Do you think your presence will be an improvement to it?"
Arthur was never any good at answering questions (especially from the media), but he couldn't just stare at the bright lights and not say anything, so he decided to wing it regardless.
It's just a rehash of these past few months, being a Chosen, he told himself mentally as he arranged his skirts and brushed away a stray lock of hair with the back of his hand.
"One at a time, if you don't mind? And then after a small session, I'd like to spend time with my family and those who were invited," Arthur said, trying to both tactfully shoo them away and firmly tell them that they weren't exactly welcome – he had seen more than a handful scoff down more than a finger sandwich. "Also, I will not be answering extremely personal questions."
He arranged himself carefully as he answered question after question about the ceremony, details about the reception – something that wouldn't garner controversy or excess conversation. It was something like how he had watched Queen Piper's conduct through the footage he had obtained, trying to emulate her levelheadedness with his own sense of calm.
After all, he was no longer a Chosen, an Elite or the Deciding winner. Arthur was now a queen.
When the mini conference was over, though, Arthur didn't manage to find time to talk to his family. Yao had beckoned him over to get more acquainted with the other members of Cards royalty – with far more familiar faces than the press, the experience was slightly less stressful. Arthur had initially felt a little intimidated about calling people who he had been taught to revere from a very young age as an equal, but with Kiku's air of reassurance to Alfred's hand always resting on his back, Arthur started to feel as if he could be accepted into the group a little easier than he thought he could be.
"Congratulations, Queen Arthur," Queen Elizabeta gushed, her brown hair pushed back into a loose bun compared to her usual ponytail or wavy locks. "We're all so glad to see you and Alfred so happy together."
"Please, just call me Arthur, Your Highness," Arthur replied awkwardly. "I'm honoured to receive your blessing."
"The other queens and I would like to invite you to talk with us privately before we leave at the end of the week," she continued. "It's nothing serious, really, but we feel it's important to preserve the bonds between our kingdoms. That is, if you manage to untangle yourself from our Alfie..."
Roderich coughed as Alfred turned peony, right hand against Arthur's right arm scuttling behind his back. Gilbert couldn't help but sputter once, attempting to cover up his mouth (which failed).
"Um, absolutely," Arthur replied, trying to fight down a blush that he was certain cameras would leap to capture. "Thank you, truly, for being so welcome to an...outsider."
"It is not every day a Deciding goes so romantically," Katya chipped in, much to Arthur's continued embarrassment. "It's a good thing to see a couple so readily in love."
At this, King Francis exchanged a glance with Ace Matthew before raising his half empty glass of champagne.
"To the continued prosperity of the royal couple. To King Alfred and Queen Arthur!" he called in a loud toast. Funnily enough, practically everyone dropped their conversation or whatever activity they were doing to grab a drink, from a paper cup to a flute of wine.
"To King Alfred and Queen Arthur!"
As if it were clockwork, Arthur's fingers found Alfred's and grasped them as if they were a lifeline. In response to this, Alfred moved forward, brushing away the hair that obscured Arthur's forehead and laying a gentle kiss on it.
"We completed the Deciding, as I promised," Alfred murmured against his skin. "We made it."
There were no words to be spoken as blue eyes met green, meaning communicated between them far stronger than speech could convey.
Arthur's heartbeat started to gradually speed up as the day progressed and the night sky changed from hues of pale violet to indigo. He couldn't help but constantly press his legs together during dinner – of course, due to the press coverage had meant that the reception ended around six thirty. Many of the royals, Alfred and Arthur especially, were already tired, so they had half an hour of downtime. Arthur used it to spend time with his family and Leon – even though many would find it a bit stupid to go to dinner still wearing his wedding dress, but it was worth it. At least Alfred had the good luck to change into just a waistcoat and dress shirt with his pants.
Every single look that Alfred sent him across the dinner table elicited a reaction that, if there were cameras around, would have mortified Arthur. Sometimes he'd glance coyly at him as if Arthur wouldn't notice, or their eyes would meet for a moment before both would look furiously in the other direction. Yao and Kiku, both sitting next to him, probably were concerned, but were kind enough not to point it out.
It's not the first time we've had sex, Arthur thought fiercely to himself as he finished the last bite of his roasted peach and strawberry soup (not the weirdest thing he'd eaten by far – it actually tasted quite good). So why am I still so nervous? I want him to, but perhaps it's different because our first time was supposed to be tonight, not the night where I got out of the infirmary. It is because everyone expects us to consummate the marriage?
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, are you finished? We can wait to take the plates in if you are," a serving girl said, her voice making Arthur jump at both the suddenness and the honourific instead of his usual Sir Arthur. He'd have to get used to that...
"Oh, I'm sorry," Arthur said quickly, shoveling the last three or so spoonfuls back into his mouth with the most grace he could muster, and moving aside so she could collect his plates. "Thank you."
That meant dinner was over, and they would be retiring to their rooms soon. Nervousness broke out again in Arthur's spine, burrowing into his mind, something that Kiku just managed to pick up by the telltale yet familiar fidget of his friend's feet.
"Art, is there something wrong?" Kiku hissed as another serving boy picked up Yao's cutlery. "I can see that you are feeling slightly unwell?"
"Um, no, not really," Arthur whispered back, looking at Alfred, making sure he was in deep conversation with Matthew. "It's just...tonight. You know."
"...Ah," Kiku said weakly, his face pinking. "I have not...you know, so I cannot help you there. But I know that it will not be a problem. The two of you understand each other relatively well, so there shouldn't be anything you're scared of."
Last time he left a lot more hickeys than I was expecting for an illegitimate first time of sorts...so this time when we're supposed to consummate the marriage, how many will he want to leave? Arthur already secretly liked the idea of Alfred marking his neck, but with his husband's (!) fixation on that particular area of his body, would it prove troublesome?
"I'm relieved no one's talking about it," Arthur admitted, "It feels like the elephant in the room here."
"I suspect for the majority of the room that they do not have any problems with...that," Kiku said, quickly getting out of his seat, "But if it's anything bad, please let me know. Good luck, Arthur."
"Send the Hearts my best," Arthur replied, pausing for a moment before he tucked in his chair. "Are you talking to Heracles tonight?"
"I would if they can spare a line for the Queen of Hearts," Kiku said jokingly, but nodded once, short hair falling past his left ear in a glossy curtain as he tilted his head. "With all the requests for an interview with the new, blissfully married couple, I am concerned it is not possible."
"You're the Queen of Spades, Kiku," Arthur said, shaking his head. In return, Kiku only winked ("Well, you're the Queen of Spades) – but then paused when he noticed a familiar figure looking at Arthur across the room, standing with the other kings of Cards.
"Um, I think your suitor has gotten too impatient with my presence," Kiku chuckled lightly to himself, "Have fun tonight."
"Don't...it's not...if you put it that way, it sounds so embarrassing," Arthur said weakly, but followed Kiku's gaze to where Alfred was walking briskly to where he was. "Thank you, Kiku, for everything. I'm thankful we get to stand as equals again."
"Your Highness," Kiku greeted as Alfred arrived, bowing quickly before leaving. Alfred dipped his head in return, before diverting his entire attention to Arthur.
"Alfred? You appear..." Arthur said, raising a thick eyebrow at Alfred's flushed face. "You look a little flustered."
"Sorry, Artie, I was looking for you before we broke up after dinner," Alfred rambled, "But then Francis pulled me over to congratulate me with the other kings. Ludwig and I haven't talked since Gilbert, and I still dunno what's going on between us, and Ivan is Ivan, so when I saw you with Kiku, I gotta say I was feeling pretty relieved."
"I'm glad," Arthur said softly, interlacing his fingers with Alfred's. In response, Alfred brushed his lips against Arthur's hair, and the two of them stood there almost awkwardly, keenly aware of all the eyes on them – not just the royals, but the servants in the palace. "Why did you keep on looking at me in dinner?"
"Fates, you're the most handsome thing I've ever seen," Alfred said, tipping his head to one side. "Seriously."
"Oi, you know that's not the real reason for...today. Was it silly that I went to dinner in my dress?"
"Nah, you went to see your family," Alfred grinned, tilting his chin down to meet Arthur's eyes. "That's important to you. Even if I had a towel wrapped around my waist and was wearing 17 centimeter long heels I would have gone to see my family in an instant."
"What a family man," Arthur said. "That is, we'd need to have a family first..."
Alfred swallowed once, and Arthur could feel the heat radiating from his forearm as his fingers slid from his hand and onto the tan surface, wrapping his hand around it and rotating his palm so it was a gentle, caressing motion. This wasn't exactly seduction by any means, but it was more intimate than Arthur was used to in public.
"Alfred, should we..." Arthur trailed off, teeth tugging loosely at his lip.
"Yeah, we should," Alfred said huskily, looking up from where Arthur's hand was. Arthur's fingers lingered on his wrist before they held hands. Alfred said something about retiring to bed early.
Straight after that Alfred's arm wrapped around his waist and guided him out of the familiar doors of the dining hall and into the huge hallways of the castle. Arthur remembered ducking his head and saying something along the lines of that as they left the room, but by now his heart was pounding in his chest and arousal was flaring in his blood, and then the guard had just unlocked the door to the first floor and Alfred was pulling him past his own bedroom door to his, shutting the door and not turning on the light.
As soon as the door shut, Alfred cupped Arthur's face and tugged him in so close that Arthur could taste the peach lingering on his lips from the soup and the cold of his glasses against his nose, one, two, three times before Arthur's right heel met his bedroom wall and Alfred was still there, holding Arthur and embracing him, a man starved.
The room was completely quiet and dark save the dim moonlight drifting in from Alfred's windows, and Alfred's desperate, husky breaths in Arthur's ears as they embraced again and again before they broke apart, chests heaving and mouths stained, their raspy breathing echoing in the large room.
"Do you want to..." Alfred panted, gesturing to his waistcoat. Arthur nodded once, shaking hands undoing his buttons and slipping his waistcoat, then helping him shrug off his shirt, Arthur's fingers lingering on the edges of his open shirt before easing his arms out of it, instead of the usual way Alfred would yank it off his head. Arthur could feel Alfred's intense gaze scorching his skin as he let the dress shirt fall to the floor.
"Is it okay?" Arthur asked, the sound seeming to vibrate around the room. "Your...your back, that is."
"It's healed a lot better, it had a lot of time to rest," Alfred says, eyes softening a touch but not losing that smolder of lust. "Don't worry about me, though. I'll be okay. Are you okay taking it off, or...?"
"I'd – I'd like you to, if you don't mind," Arthur said, turning around and hoping Alfred couldn't see the fierce blush in his cheeks. He merely heard Alfred grunt once, then his warm fingers were trailing to the back of the zipper. Arthur waited, heart pounding in his chest as his chin pressed down. Alfred gently unzipped his dress, the sensation of it leaving goosebumps along his spine. All of a sudden, it gave way, pooling at Arthur's feet in a motion so swift that he didn't even had the chance to grasp it to attempt to cover himself.
"Are you...scared?" Alfred murmured against the small of Arthur's back, sending another shiver through his system. "It's not the first time, though."
"I told you then, I still felt that my body wasn't good enough for you before – we had that talk about whether you'd want me or not." Arthur sighed, turning around and trying not to moan as Alfred's lips attached themselves to Arthur's neck. "A-ah, we're not even at the bed yet..."
"You're so fucking handsome, Arthur, I want you to see it," Alfred said huskily, sucking firmly until he released Arthur's skin with one firm, hard suck that reduced Arthur's shallow breaths to a moan. "I love you, princess. I want you. I'm gonna make you feel better than the first time."
"Please," Arthur pleaded, pressing his right leg around Alfred's waist as if to ask him whether or not to continue. Wordlessly, Arthur used the door as a leverage to wrap his legs around his husband, leaning back against the wall for a moment, mouths tangling and Alfred's hold sliding to his rear end to support him, taut grip leaving marks that dissolved from pain to pleasure – Arthur had to thank Alfred's remarkable strength for that. In return, Arthur's hands roamed all over his body, deft and nimble in their desire filled movements.
"You have no idea how long...after that night, how much I thought about you this way again," Alfred breathed, kissing Arthur harder, filled with a wild abandon that his adolescent hormones only served to fuel. "I could eat you up..."
Arthur's body shuddered with erotic want as soon as his back touched Alfred's mattress, fingers tangled in his lover's sheets as Alfred pursued his body with unrefined yet lascivious kisses, unable to stop his wanton ministrations.
"Show me, then," Arthur gasped, pressing his creamy thighs tighter together so their grip on Alfred's hips tightened. "Just telling me what you want to do to me won't bear any fruit in our union."
Alfred stopped for a moment, chapped lips forming a smirk as he raised his upper torso to look at the divine view of Arthur's body arching to his touch in his sheets, cheeks flushed and jade eyes glittering with lust. "Your wish is my command, then, princess."
please forgive me if it was really crap! it's not the real thing lol
OK, this is officially the 'last' story based chapter. HOWEVER, i'm guessing that a lot of you readers aren't on AO3 but want to read the smut omake. so as a compromise, i'll stuff the last A/N and a short epilogue to lead into the sequel as the second and final chapter, as per FFNet's rules.
thank you! just hold on for a few days - i will be updating on sat this week, i promise. o/
replies
russia says hello - oh man, i have to google that when i wake up (1am here eep). and finally indeed, lol.
izumirin18 - thank you for your kind words! i did want them to have sufficient character development in this fic, and i'm relieved it seems to have been the case. i can't wait either ;D
CFAA - me, clutching a tissue box: h-how did you know
vivadragnire - oml i dare say that you might be even more invested in his dress more than my words are, pfft. the line 'cuties and butts' is legendary and you should be saving that in drafts
caribbean green - for now until the sequel! your kind words mean so much to me, ahh. i'll carry them with me as i try to improve!
n kukuri chan - tbh i imagine you calling your children, telling thme to gather around and then you whip out your phone and start at the very beginning. at the end of the first chapter you can see all your children have gone to sleep, foolproof method lmaoo. you're probably going to reread it and go 'oh man, the first part SUCKED'. if you're anything like me!
ahhh it was exam season, so everything just came crashing down and i couldn't juggle so many things at once. i AM going to write it though! it'll be pretty challenging but i'll do my best - i have to for you lovely readers. to be fair, though, all good things have to come to an end. i don't think that the sequel will be nearly as long (fingers crossed) as this one, as it's basically my first ever work that i dared to publish and i still kept from this day alone. honestly, if i didn't have enough readers, i would have put it down and just left it there, but thanks to your support, it's the way it is today.
originally, i wrote it to better my english, then it slowly devolved into telling a story that was worth reading. i've spent a lot of time reading fics, from fluff to angst to basically stalking the usuk tag on ao3, so i felt that i had to give back some time. gosh you're going to make me cry as well :')
p.s - mango tart and tea sounds good! both cold and hot tea are my passions. o/
reviews, favourites and follows are what will keep me writing, so please go ahead and leave them!