Just one day later, it was only just morning in the Dark World, which could be sensed by the wind that was slowly dying down and becoming less noisy.
On this very morning, King and Queen, who could no longer sleep due to restlessness, decided to head outside together and shamble through Scarlet Forest. After all, nobody would and could consistently bother them in a hyperactive fashion at this time of day.
"It's nice and quiet, huh?" King said. "Just us and the rustling leaves."
Queen simply nodded while gently caressing the back of King's hand with her thumb while holding the former as well.
"I can sense you're nervous about something. Perhaps you'd like to discuss it?"
"Well You Saw Right Through Me Kingy Wingy. And To Be Frank I Sense The Same Thing Inside Of You."
"Aw, drat! And I did try to hide it all along…!"
"Hey Sweetheart You Don't Have To Hide Anything From Me That's Not Necessary. You Know You Can Always Talk To Me About: Stuff That Bothers You."
"Yeah, I guess so. But at least we're even right now, if that makes you feel any better."
The almost-couple exchanged a few kisses while slowing down their pace.
At some point, they both sat down underneath the nearest tree and looked at their surroundings.
The scarlet leaves in the trees rustled quietly through the soft morning wind, and mysterious, pink, stardust-like particles floated through the upper air like a gentle array of fireflies and dandelion seeds.
King gently drew his gloved fingers over the soft scarlet grass underneath him, and let some of the grass touch his bare legs, as well as Queen's.
Queen couldn't help but giggle a little at the ticklish sensation of the grass on her bare legs, her visor showing the text 'haha' while she did.
"Quiet autumn today, eh?" King asked. "It's what makes this spot so peaceful. Did you know I often went here to calm my thoughts when I was still young? Being a prince wasn't easy, especially for me."
"Being Of A Royal Status Is Never Easy" Queen said, "Especially When Everyone Wonders When We're Getting Married."
"True."
Some silence.
"We can get married whenever we want, of course. It's not like we need to hurry up with the preparations or anything."
"True. I Don't Even Know What To Put On The Invitation Cards Yet, Let Alone Our Wedding Date. We Can Take As Long With The Preparations As We Wish But Yet Those Cretins Won't: Shut Up About Everything. It Drives Me So Insane."
"It drives me just as insane, Queenie Beanie. Those dumb other kings wanted us to get married in the throne room or the castle courtyard, where chaos surely lurks. What do they even think we want, to have our wedding next to Jevil? He's not invited, in any case!"
"Ugh Only Better."
"Whom from your mansion do you want to invite, by the way?"
"Dad; Tasque Manager; Her Dad; Swatch; The Skittles And Of Course: My Mansion's Orchestra."
"Ooh, an orchestra, you say? I didn't even think of arranging that just yet…!"
"Those Will Be Paid From My Own Savings Just Like The Invitation Cards."
"What other ideas have you thought of yesterday?"
"Locking The Computers So That Everybody Will Focus On Our Wedding And Not On Those Stupid Oldgrounds Shows."
"Very clever of you! That day will be about us and us only, and not about some moronic zombie who becomes aroused by some stupid rusty forks!" King held his hand up, and soon got a high-five from Queen in response.
"Do You Know What To Wear Yet By Then? As For Me I Just Want A White Veil With Roses Which Are My Favourite Flowers."
The spadeling was suddenly dumbstruck upon hearing his prediction being confirmed.
"Hello Dark World To Kingy Wingy Are You Responding?" The cyber lady waved her hand in front of her fiancé's 'face spade'.
"The three other kings laughed at me for not knowing your favourite flower and yet I somehow knew it?! Oh my gosh, I'm so lucky to have you, Queen."
"Wow You Indeed Made A Lucky Guess. Were You Planning On Giving Me A Rose Bouquet By Then?"
"N-not just that… I want the fences and the arch at the altar to be full of roses as well!"
"Oh My Circuits That Sounds Terrific! I Love Roses!" Queen planted a big kiss straight onto King's mouth while her visor showed two beating heart icons. "Thank You So Much Kingy Wingy You're The Best Man Ever!"
"Y-yeah… I indeed am…"
Some more silence, in which Queen took some deep breaths to ease her sudden peak of energy.
"Say, um… who will escort you over the aisle and towards the altar…? B-because I don't know just yet…"
"Swatch Will And Then They Will Play The Piano With The Orchestra. I Thought Rouxls Would Escort You!" The cyber monarch's visor suddenly showed the text 'Serial Number Q5U4EX7YY2E9N .exe has stopped working'.
"Um… uh… I thought…" King then burst out in loud laughter. "Oh my gosh! You want me to be guided towards the altar by someone who just blubbers and sobs at every single wedding?! Wow, aren't you interesting!"
The laughter instantaneously snapped Queen out of her error message.
"Oh My Circuits I Indeed Said That! Ha Ha Ha I'm The Cretin Now!" She, too, started laughing heartily, her visor now showing the text 'LMAO'.
"Sweetheart, you're not as much of a cretin as those other kings are. It's just one teeny tiny mistake, but I'll take it. I mean, if you were convinced that Rouxls would guide me towards the altar, then I shall no longer confuse you and make this official. Mark my words."
"Ooh That's Going To Be Very Interesting. I Wonder How Many Millilitres Of Tears He Will Cry By Then?"
"At least we can still laugh with one another if it comes to our wedding planning." King put his arm around Queen's shoulder and gave her a peck on the cheek. "What other ideas do you have?"
"Not Many I'm Afraid, What About You?"
"Well, I was thinking of not just serving Eastern Dark World foods, but also Cyber World foods, since the peers from your mansion are coming too, of course."
"Ooh That's Perfect! But Only You Know How Good It Tastes."
"That's why I wanted to arrange a little taste testing session with my peers… I don't know when, however."
"We Should Probably Make That Our Pre-Wedding Excursion Because Bachelor Parties Sound Unfair To The Both Of Us IMO."
"Good idea."
"I Have This Feeling That You Have Significantly More Wedding Wishes Than Me So We Should Probably Head Home To Write Them Down In Silence."
"That's an even better idea. I'll just boot up my computer for that, so that nobody can accidentally peek between physical folders and then find out."
"You Outsmart Me Kingy Wingy I Didn't Even Think Of That Sooner!"
"Once again, I'm lucky to have met you. Without you, I would've never followed your examples that outsmart all of my peers combined."
Queen, her core beating audibly and giving off a pleasant warm aura because of the compliment she just received, suddenly leaned into King, embraced him and started making out with him, which initially surprised him quite a lot.
It eventually became a fairly long but very loving kiss before the two headed back home, where everyone else was still asleep, fortunately to them.
In the same silence, King and Queen soon made a text document on the former's computer in which they typed all of their wedding wishes, from which King indeed had significantly more than Queen.
Once the evening almost fell, King and Queen decided to go through the warp door so they could have dinner at the Colour Café in a higher degree of peace than back at Card Castle.
"Good evening, King and Queen" Rolek greeted the almost-couple once they entered. "You two are very lucky today, since there only happens to be one table for two remaining tonight." He left from behind his counter so that he could guide them towards the aforementioned table and pull its seats back. "Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable. You two look like you could use a little breather here, huh?"
"You Guessed That Correctly Dad" Queen chuckled. "Back At Card Castle Nobody Seems To Want To Shut Up About Our Wedding Even If We Don't Have A Date For That Yet."
"Oh dear, then it's indeed a good thing of you two to have come here. Could I offer you some substitute battery acid?"
"Oh Yes Please."
"With great pleasure, sir" King said.
"Alright. Two servings of substitute battery acid will be coming up." Rolek briefly went towards the bar, where Mardi was just done polishing some glasses. "Mar, two servings of Queenie's favourite, please."
"Yes, sir" Mardi said as he immediately grabbed two clean glasses and yanked the fridge open to take two bottles of the requested drink out.
There was some silence between King and Queen, and the only thing that could be heard was the background noise of chatting guests and calm piano music as provided by Swatch, who happened to sit at the nearby piano.
Queen slowly brought her hand towards King's, who rested his on the surface of the table, gently grabbed it and started caressing its back with her thumb. While she did so, she smiled and her visor showed the '^^' emote.
The youngest card monarch kindly smiled back and brought his fiancée's hand towards him to give it a gentle kiss.
"Aww Kingy Wingy You're The Sweetest…" Queen blushed a little.
"And you're the cutest" King said. "I love you, Queenie Beanie."
"I Love You Too Kingy Wingy Sweetheart Dumpling Honey Darling."
The two were soon left laughing at all of those nicknames.
Not much later, Mardi came towards their table with the requested drinks, as well as two menu cards.
"There you go" Mardi said, bowing deeply as he did.
"Thank you very much, sir."
"Thank You Kindly Mar."
The Swatchling dressed in blue soon went back to the bar to prepare the next drinks for some of the other guests.
"Shall We Have Spaghetti Code Again?" Queen asked as she opened her menu card, "Or Would You Like To Have: Something Else?"
"That Spaghetti Code last time was a big success" King replied, "so I think I'll just have it again."
"Then I'll Do The Same. Once Again All Of The Foods And Drinks Are On Me Okay?"
"Of course, sweetheart."
The almost-couple closed their menu cards and put them down, which was apparently timed perfectly since Fabio came towards their table to take their order.
"Ah, King and Queen!" Fabio said, "good evening! May I take your order?"
"One Big Serving Of The Spaghetti Code Please."
"Great timing, since a large fresh batch of it is almost done! One Spaghetti Code for two, coming right up!" As soon as the Swatchling dressed in green wrote the order down onto his notepad, he swiftly went back towards the kitchen counter, where the orders were always placed before being brought to the tables.
"Wow We Really Are In Good Hands Tonight Huh?"
"One could indeed say that" King chuckled. "How such a stressful period can actually have a little spark of enjoyment as well…!" He took a tiny sip of his substitute battery acid. "Mmm! My tastebuds are now lightened up just as much!"
Queen copied King and also hummed in approval of the sweet taste.
Suddenly, at the least convenient timing, a strange puppet-like gentleman came towards their table. He was mostly dressed in black, had his black hair combed backwards in a stereotypical Elvis Presley style and wore thick glasses with sky-blue-looking lenses.
"So you two [royal little sponges] are getting [hitched] soon?" the gentleman asked in a fairly loud tone. "Are you interested in a [[thunderclap]] deal?!"
"No I'm Not Interested" Queen replied. "Also How Can You Tell We're: Getting Married?"
"A [little bird] told me recently and I already had the feeling you two would [appear] here on a [[Friday night]]! Full wedding planning only 1500 [Kromer]!"
"Ugh I Literally Told You: No You Crazy Cretin. We Can Perfectly Plan Everything By Ourselves Since We're Of A Significantly Higher Status Than You."
"Don't you two [royal little sponges] want to be the [[big shot]]? You'll even get a free opportunity to have the [gigantic] discount of [[Hyperlink blocked]]."
"Get Out Or I'll Call The Guards!"
Coincidentally, one of the other Swatchling waiters immediately came towards King and Queen's tables and grabbed the strange gentleman by the back of his blouse, like how a mother cat would grab a kitten by their neck.
"My sincere apologies for this strange man's inconvenience, my Queen" the Swatchling said. "He has come to bother us every week, no matter how often we escort him out. Rumour has it that he's a rising salesman who thinks he's already successful."
"Ugh Holy Mother Of Gigabytes Just Trap Him In The Nearest Dumpster For All I Care."
"Your wish is my command, my Queen." The Swatchling speed-walked out of the café to dispose of the strange gentleman… or so we're convinced, at least.
"Who The Beep Was That Weirdo Anyway?"
"I have no clue" King replied. "But you said it right, we can perfectly plan our wedding by ourselves without any assistance or whatsoever. Plus, you know how we're already tired of everyone else interfering with it lately, right?"
"Oh Absolutely It Tires Me So Much And You Just As Much Probably."
"Can't even sleep anymore for a split second if someone mentions it when passing by our bedroom door."
"Tell Me About It."
Within almost the blink of an eye, Fabio appeared with a large tray that was covered by a cloche, which he placed onto King and Queen's table, followed by two napkins and two sets of cutlery.
Next up, he took the cloche off of the tray, revealing a freshly-cooked serving of Spaghetti Code, which still gave off a thick fog of steam.
"There you two go" Fabio said as he bowed, "a fresh batch of Spaghetti Code for two."
"Thank You Kindly Fabio" Queen said.
"Thank you, sir" King said. "This should taste as good as it looks once again."
"Told you it's the kind of pasta that you don't want to stop eating…!" The Swatchling dressed in green chuckled heartily, making King chuckle along at a slightly louder volume.
"Everyone at Card Castle is already curious about this dish, and yet they never even tried to get here to have a bite for themselves!"
"Then what are they waiting for? This is the only place where it's served according to Rolek's one and only secret family recipe!" Fabio then saw that a group of several Swatchling waiters went towards one of the larger occupied tables. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have this girl who is waiting for us to sing that lame old birthday song for her. Bon appetit to you!" He swiftly joined the group of fellow waiters, and only just 5 seconds later, they were all singing Happy Birthday To You to a teenage female Virovirokun at the aforementioned large table.
"Please enjoy, Queenie Beanie."
"Thank You Kingy Wingy" Queen said, "You Enjoy Too." She grabbed her cutlery and twisted her fork and spoon full of the ribbony pasta before eating it.
King and Queen were smiling all along when they ate, and contrary to last time, they now ate calmly so that they could not just enjoy the taste of the pasta, but also each other's presence as well as the café's somewhat homely atmosphere.
Many bites and spoonfuls later, the two happened to share one string of pasta once again, about which they couldn't help but laugh about one another.
I should slowly chew it up, King thought to himself, because if I suck it up again, it'll whip me right into my face just as hard!
Nobody at the Colour Café saw how King and Queen's faces came closer to one another as they shared and ate the same string of pasta slowly.
Okay Here's My Chance, Queen thought once she was significantly closer, Don't Fail Yourself Queen.
And there came the moment itself. The moment that we were most likely waiting for this entire time.
King and Queen locked their lips, split their string of pasta into two each, and gently made out with one another while leaning over their table.
The young cyber monarch's core started beating more audibly and became pleasantly warm, and her visor showed two slowly beating heart icons.
The spadeling couldn't help but smile a little once he felt the warmth of his fiancée's core radiate onto his upper chest. It was one of the few sources of warmth he loved the most.
It took about two minutes before the two let go of one another's lips, sat back and basked in the pleasant afterglow of their fair share of love and slight lust just now.
"That Was: Brilliant…" Queen sighed after draining the last few millilitres of her substitute battery acid. "Worth Every Millisecond…"
"I cannot agree more" King said with a smile as he, too, finished his drink. "I feel warm from the inside, and not just because of your core."
Queen couldn't help but giggle cutely, her visor showing the text 'haha' as she did.
"The other kings always tell me I'm cold-hearted, while I, too, have feelings! You're one of the only ones who's actually able to warm my heart to the fullest, Queenie Beanie."
"Aww Thank You You're Flattering Me Sweet Kingy Wingy. For All I Care Those Other Kings Should Get Locked Up For Being Such Big Stupid Meanies To You And Acting Like You're Everything But: High And Mighty."
"Yeah, I partly second your opinion…!" King couldn't help but chuckle either. "But before I ever get the chance to jail them, I should prove myself and rise in the rank of kings! And with that, I shall not fail! Mark my words!"
"You Bet You Shall Not Fail!"
After a hearty high-five and one pair of big smiles, Queen paid for the ordered foods and drinks and calmly left the Colour Café with King.
On their way towards the warp door, however, they bumped into a familiar face.
"My Queen!" Bowen said. "And, of course, King! Good evening…!" He hastily bowed and chuckled nervously as he did. "Had a good dinner just now?"
"Hi Bowen Sweetie" Queen greeted the Swatchling dressed in yellow. "Oh Yes We Had A Lovely Dinner Just Now, We 100% Needed A Break From The Card Castle Peers Who Can't Stop Yapping About: Our Upcoming Wedding."
"Wow, they really are the polar opposites of me and the rest of us! We try not to focus on it, with which we mostly succeed, and I'm convinced I'm the best at it since I'm currently still studying very hard for medical school."
"You Guys Are Doing Amazingly Like That! You Should Definitely Become An Example For Kingy Wingy's Peers!"
"But I don't know anyone from Card Castle who studies for medical school like I do…!"
"Iggy And Eiji Currently Are."
"Perhaps I should study along with them? But I will have to make sure that Cathy doesn't distract me since… well, our long-distance relationship honestly makes it quite complicated for the both of us."
"Oh Dear That Pains Me To Hear. Maybe You Two Should: Sort Stuff Out?"
"That doesn't really sound like a bad idea… thing is, I'm not the best at breaking up in a friendly fashion, and since you two are getting married and everything, I never thought I'd discuss this with you, actually…!"
"Hey, don't worry too much" King said. "Cathy has never broken up with someone in a mean manner; all three of her exes are still her friends. If you can tell her that it's complicated, she won't make too much of a deal out of it, and I did experience two of those friendly break-ups personally."
"Sh… she has her experience? Phew, that's a weight off of my mind to hear, actually…" Bowen wiped some sweat off of his forehead and shook his feathers dry. "I… I guess it's the best idea to do this face-to-face, too… after all, I don't want to come off as a big jerk or anything…"
"Now Bowen Don't Be So Hard On Yourself. You Already Made A Good Suggestion To Yourself To Talk To Cathy Face-To-Face, Which Is A Gigantic Improvement Compared To 2 Years Ago."
"Y-yeah, I guess you're right about that, my Queen. Well, if y-you are looking for me… I'll be relaxing and h-having some food at the Colour Café now, since I'm starving so hard r-right now… h-have a nice evening!"
"You Have A Nice Evening Too Bowen Sweetie Honey Lemon." Queen ruffled the feathers on Bowen's head with a sweet smile.
"You have a nice evening as well, my good sir" King said.
The Swatchling dressed in yellow bowed deeply before heading into the Colour Café for dinner.
"It seems like… the peers from your mansion are more civilised? Or am I imagining things?"
"Oh You're Most Certainly Not Imagining Things Kingy Wingy. Soon I'll Be Teaching Your Peers Some Manners In My Way So That They'll Stop Yapping And Annoying Us The Entire Time."
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. If you got your own peers to behave so formally, then you should easily be able to pass it on to mine."
"Fingers Crossed That This Statement Is: Correct. I Myself Am Already Convinced Of It Don't Worry." Queen leaned towards King's face, peppered his cheeks with many kisses and gently grabbed his hand so they could finally go back home through the warp door together.