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"Hullo, love," Arthur said, setting down his bags to give Alfred a peck on the lips. He'd just returned from a diplomatic trip to Diamonds. It had gone very well, but Arthur was always glad to return home.
"Hello!" Alfred said brightly, nearly suffocating Arthur in a bear hug. "I missed you," he added, pouting slightly. Arthur smiled.
"And I missed you. But you know how that frog can be, the stubborn arse. I got him to agree to that joint military base you proposed, though."
"Really!?" Alfred exclaimed, lighting up. He'd been trying for months now to get Francis to agree, but all of his diplomatic envoys failed until Arthur had gotten fed up and decided to go.
"Yes, really. Come on, let's go to the garden. I missed that much more than you, of course," he teased.
Alfred smirked. "Jerk."
The couple walked through the garden, Arthur recounting his tales from his visit to Diamonds (an alarming number of which seemed to have taken place while drunk). Arthur didn't say it, but Alfred had gotten a letter from Francis implying that the two were finally on slightly better terms.
Arthur also told Alfred that he wasn't going on anymore diplomatic missions anytime soon. Alfred was relieved; this had been Arthur's fourth journey this year, and he had missed his Queen terribly. But he knew Arthur was just making up for lost time.
Besides, it wasn't like Alfred could stop him. He had finally passed the laws he'd been working on, the first of their kind in the history of the Kingdom of Spades, explicitly stating that the King and Queen had equal power over the Kingdom. (He also may have slipped in a few clauses limiting the power of the government, but luckily the nobles hadn't noticed yet.) It was considered revolutionary, although for Alfred and Arthur it was just common sense.
Alfred paused in their walk through the garden, stopping to admire a newly planted flower that he didn't know the name or meaning of. He decided to appreciate its beauty before Arthur ruined it by telling him. Arthur just smiled, also appreciating his eglantine rose. A wound to be healed. He had already replanted all of the flowers he had destroyed – lavender, aconite, lobelia, marigolds, hydrangea, daffodils. Many of them had dark meanings and bitter memories. But, they told a story. They told Arthur's story, a story with a happy ending.
The King and Queen were happy and in love. The Kingdom was flourishing, and the people were also happier than ever before. In the long, dark hallways of the cold castle, Arthur and Alfred finally found love and friendship.
A/N The end! Kind of cliche, but I think they really needed a happy ending. Thank you everyone who's stuck with me through this story! If I find some time (and inspiration) I'll try to write more in the future.