House of Cards

Feliciano didn't stop crying. His uncontrolled tears were falling on Gilbert's chest, who was hesitantly caressing the jack's head and thinking about how easy it would be to take advantage of him in this very moment, when Feliciano was the most vulnerable and ready to do anything for His Majesty. It wouldn't be hard at all to deceive him or blackmail him with a story about the king... The joker was running his fingers over the other's bangs and smiled with bitterness... not even someone like him was ruthless enough to sink so low. "Do not cry, Jack," he said to Feliciano, who was hiccuping and trying to stop his tears. "You will see the king again, I can assure you that," Gilbert comforted him, and the young servant raised his head and looked at him with tearful eyes. The joker gently wiped his wet cheeks. "Really? When?" Feliciano asked eagerly, while the other was getting off him and putting on his arrogant expression once again. "When I decide that it is the right time, but don't worry, His Majesty is fine," he added, seeing that Feliciano was about to protest. "Take care, Jack, and be careful to not be caught making deals with me." He moved to the window through which he had entered the room. "Wait," asked Feliciano. "Do I have your word that my lord is fine?" He followed the red-eyed one to the window, where the latter was already getting ready to leave. "We jokers cannot give anyone our word, we're tricky beings twisting the circumstances to our convenience, so it does not make any sense for you to trust someone who is always thinking of his own advantage. But if that comforts you, then let me say that the king is fine because I want it to be that way. To hurt them has never been our intention," replied the joker, climbing out on the narrow windowsill. "I still believe you, Joker," said the jack in a serious tone. "I want to think that you are a good person despite your actions, ve~" Gilbert couldn't help but widen his eyes after hearing these words that he had never thought to ever hear in his life. After his surprise was gone, he started to laugh as usual. "Kesesese, that naivety of yours will one day be your downfall... or maybe it is exactly the thing that makes you so special," he said and finally did a big jump to the ground, disappearing in the garden and smiling to himself due to the jack's words. He was passing the long rows of irises, listening to the murmur of the water in the nearby fountains and the clanking of some soldiers' armor, who were taking the night watch. "I knew you would come here, Gilbert," said a child's voice. The aforementioned had to get rid of his silly smile to face Peter, who was sitting on the edge of one of the fountains. "Well, for knowing it, you sure took your time to find me," the silver-haired one mocked him. "This is because I had to make sure first that you weren't with the other Feliciano, and as I didn't find you there, I supposed that you had to be with the jack, and I was right," explained the boy like an adult speaking to a child and not the other way round. "Yes, yes, Peter, I was with the jack, living out my frustrated love dream of Feliciano. Satisfied?" answered Gilbert sarcastically and laughed blatantly despite the other's anger. "Not at all, Gilbert." The child snorted, trying to calm down. "Why are you visiting the jack, knowing that he loves the king? We sent the latter away ourselves to make him realize this and reciprocate his feelings! So why are you putting the jack to the test?" "That's not it, it's just that I can't approach the other Feliciano right now because His Majesty is with him, and I have to satisfy my cravings somehow," explained Gilbert, caressing his tail. "So hold them in, then! Don't think of the jack as the other one, as his replacement!" Peter scolded him. Gilbert laughed, stepped closer and tousled the little one's hair together with the hat, leaving it out of place on the latter's head. "Since when do you talk like a grumpy old man? Kesesese!" he asked, making the boy angry, who removed his hand from his head. "It's not my fault that you're behaving like a child," he grumbled, snorting again. Gilbert looked at him with slight sadness. "Sorry, Peter," he suddenly said. "What are you apologizing for?" inquired the boy mistrustfully after hearing these words, coming out of the blue. "For having forced you to grow up so fast." Peter looked indignant. "You don't have to apologize for something like this," he snapped. "We are the last two jokers, so, of course, you had to teach me how to survive. There is no time to be a child, and I don't want to be one, either. I'm an adult, just like you!" he exclaimed proudly, making the older one laugh. "Of course not, you're still a brat," he said mockingly. The other pouted. "Shut up! At least I'm not behaving like a lovesick idiot, you should see your stupid face you put on every time you look at Feliiii!" "I don't put on any face!" Gilbert objected, ready to grab Peter and give him a good punishment for the insult, but the other was faster and skillfully jumped to the other side of the fountain, showing his tongue and crossing his eyes. "If I'm a brat, then you're an old fart, Gilbo." "Come here, and I'll show you what this 'old fart' is still capable of," Gilbert threatened the boy, who started laughing. "Forget it, old man, I have to go visit another stupid-faced guy now! See you!" And with these words, the boy slipped behind the big naked marble lady decorating the fountain. There was a brief shining light illuminating the darkness of the night, and when it was gone, Peter appeared once again behind a fountain, but this time not made out of fine marble nor with a sculptured woman. It was just a humble little stone fountain in the middle of a park, where a few people were doing exercises or taking a walk, since it was exactly seven o'clock in the morning. "Alright, so where is this stupid king now?" he asked, looking around and searching for the right direction to a certain book store. And while he was looking at some streets, in an attempt to choose the shortest route, his gaze fell on a couple of people, which made him let out a little scream and quickly hide behind the fountain once again. He gulped and hesitantly peeked from faraway at these two men. Both were wrapped up in warm clothes, since it was a gray morning and a thick fog covering the street. Peter followed them closely with his eyes. One of them was a very tall blond with blue eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses and a face that could scare anyone to death, except for the person accompanying him: a shorter guy, blond as well, but with brown eyes and carrying a small white dog in his arms, gently smiling at the first guy, who seemed to be carefully listening to him. The boy could not help but continue watching them walk so calmly. Suddenly, they stopped and turned around. "Peter!" called the one with the dog in his arms, and the child jolted when he heard his name... despite knowing that it wasn't him they were calling. Instead of him, a blond, blue-eyed boy looking exactly like him answered the call. Dressed in a sailor suit with a matching hat and a woolen coat, he ran towards the two adults, and they both took him by the hand. This was his other "version", that world's Peter... the one who had parents, even though adoptive ones... the one who had people he could call family. The joker knew it, it was not his first time to see them and even less his first time to feel that envy eating at him from inside. "Enough! I have to find the king," he said, wiping away a few small tears that had managed to escape his eyes at the sight of that family scene that looked as though taken directly from a cereal commercial. He had to accept once and for all that this was not his reality. "Stupid King Alfred, this is what I get for searching for you," complained the boy with a broken voice and ran down the street to look for said king, thankful that Gilbert wasn't there to mock him and using all his willpower to not turn around and be forced to witness something he could never have in his own world. He passed another few avenues until spotting the aforementioned a few meters in front of him, accompanied by Arthur. So he hid in an alley to observe them better. "Why did we have to leave so early?" asked Alfred, yawning openly. "Because I don't plan on taking any risks by leaving you at home alone and because my doctor's appointment is at eight," replied Arthur, looking at the sky with worry. It was certainly going to rain, and he had forgotten his umbrella due to his struggles with Alfred to get him out of bed. "And you can't move it to a later time?" inquired the sleepy king. "Of course not." "Tell them it's a direct order from the king, they'll understand." "Yeah, sure. The only thing they'll understand is that you need psychiatric help," commented the other blond, and Alfred decided to stop arguing, he was just too sleepy for that. So he simply continued walking until reaching the crowded subway station, where he was forced to wake up abruptly when a wave of people basically dragged him into the train wagon and Arthur as well, who ended up being pressed against the door. "I hate public transport," grumbled the latter, being trapped between the door and Alfred's body, who did everything in his might to not crush him. "I had no idea that the commoners have to travel like this," said the king, leaning his hands against the door to not fall thanks to the metro's shaking. "Don't say commoners, say at least proletarians... that sounds less offensive," objected the other, who barely had any intact personal space. Which he couldn't enjoy very long, either, as even more people entered the wagon at one of the next stations, shoving the rest and thus Alfred as well, who would have fallen on top of Arthur if the latter hadn't stopped him. "Sorry," said Alfred, his body pressed against the other man, who had his hands on the king's chest to not be buried under him due to the people's shoves. "It's okay," he answered, suddenly feeling Alfred's heart beat fast. Maybe too fast. "Are you alright?" he asked the king, who seemed to be nervous. "Y-Yes, I'm fine," the latter replied with a forced smile. It was more than obvious that he wasn't alright, and this was due to being practically pressed against Arthur, feeling the other's breath on his neck and his legs brushing against his own from time to time. Not to mention his hands on his chest. Alfred had never been so close to another person, since due to him being a king, everyone was keeping a notable distance to him, maybe Yao was the only one to ever have gotten so close to him... but not like this, this was different, and the poor guy didn't know whether he should move or stand still like a stone, as he was already doing right now. He could perceive the smell of Arthur's hair, saw details in the latter's green eyes he would have never noticed at a normal distance, and could even sense the store owner's body heat, his tickling breath and his fingers moving on his chest, which were tickling him a bit as well. "No need to get so nervous, I won't start groping you," Arthur joked, noticing Alfred's condition and how the latter's face became bright red. "I'm not nervous!" he screeched, attracting the other passenger's attention and making Arthur laugh. The king lowered his head, feeling a bit stupid for his reaction. "Are you not uncomfortable like this?" he asked, trying to not move his face too close to Arthur's. "No, it's not the first time for me riding the subway at rush hour, and, to be honest, I have already been even closer and with fewer clothes together with other people than right now with you," answered the other, briefly remembering the days of his crazy youth. "With fewer clothes?" repeated Alfred, who, in his naively, didn't understand what Arthur was talking about. Why would anyone ride the metro naked? "Ah, this is our station," said the store owner, relieved to not have to give an explanation anymore. As well as he could, he squeezed together with Alfred through the wagon until they could get out. "Come, we still have to walk," he said, giving him a pat. The other started complaining about it, forgetting their conversation from before. "If we were in my kingdom, we'd have already arrived in a carriage or maybe on horseback, without having to walk," grumbled Alfred, walking on the street and feeling the cold produced by that foggy climate. "If we were in your kingdom, I'd have thought that we were on an LSD trip." "Arthur, you sometimes say things I don't understand." "And you sometimes say things that make me doubt your mental health," murmured Arthur, feeling a sudden weight on his shoulders at the sight of the hospital's entrance... he hated hospitals even more than public transport. "Listen carefully, Alfred: I go to the doctor, and you stay in the waiting room. Don't talk, don't move, don't breathe... okay, forget the last one, just behave yourself! And stay on your seat, understood?" he asked while they were heading to the hospital reception. "Stop that, I know how to behave, don't forget that I'm a king," said the other, offended. "Whatever you say, Alfred. And now stay here, it won't take long," ordered Arthur, leaving Alfred on a chair in the waiting room with other people. He even turned around a couple of times to make sure that the king was still there. "Finally managed to escape from Yao, but instead got to someone even worse," complained the latter, taking out his pocket watch and starting to open and close it, not even being sure when he had acquired that strange habit at all. He watched the minute hand's slow movement, while the second hand was doing its 60 seconds-rounds, making him feel as if the waiting time was becoming longer and longer.  "Bored?" asked someone, getting him out of his thoughts. Alfred averted his gaze from his clock's golden hands and raised it. In front of him was Peter. The king needed a while to recognize that boy with the black corned hat, who was looking arrogantly at him, with his arms crossed. "Joker," said Alfred, having finally remembered that mischievous face. "What are you doing here?" he asked calmly. "What an odd reaction, Majesty, for a moment I thought that you would threaten me to bring you back to your kingdom," replied the child. The king sighed. "Even if I did that, I have my doubts that you would do it, after all, you don't serve anyone, you said so yourselves," he explained. Peter smiled, satisfied that Alfred had remembered this. "As it seems, I have misjudged you, Majesty, you aren't as stupid as you look." Hearing that, the older one frowned. "Even though you don't serve me, I still demand respect, " he said. The joker let out a mocking laugh. "Respect is earned, not demanded," answered the child. "But I didn't come here to argue, but to see your progress. Would you accompany me for a walk?" The king looked at the door of the doctor's office, where Arthur was right now, hesitating a bit whether he should follow the boy. "Oh, so the King of Spades cannot make a movement without permission," Peter mocked him. "I don't need permission from anyone," contradicted the other, getting up on the spot. "Let's go." The joker smiled and went after the king. They left the hospital and entered the garden. The little one climbed on one of the planters and walked on them like an acrobat, extending his arms to the sides in order to not fall. "Say, Your Majesty, have you already learned your lesson?" he asked, now hopping on one foot, and Alfred started to laugh loudly, opening and closing his pocket watch he was still holding in his hand. "Of course, Joker, I will protect Arthur with all my strength, being by my side, he will be safe from anything, you'll see." He laughed again with his heroic pose. Peter stopped and shook his head, disappointed.  "No doubts that you, members of royalty, are incapable of looking beyond the tip of your noses," commented the boy, placing his index finger on his own nose. "You are just saying this to confuse me, Joker, I know that Arthur is weak and in need of a hero to stay safe, and this is why you have sent me here. Right?" The king was now spinning the watch around by its chain, until Peter took it away. "Hey! Give it back!" "You still don't understand anything, Majesty, now I see why your jack does nothing but complain about you, you are really slow in your head," Peter mocked him, opening the watch and looking at the golden numbers. "Yao would never do that, and I'm not slow, I know what I'm here for and will shut your big mouth by proving it," the king threatened, still trying to get his watch back, but in vain. "I really want to see that, Majesty, so please hurry up and do it, at least, until this clock's hands stop." The boy threw the object into the air, and the other caught it before it could fall to the ground. "Does this mean that I have a time limit?" asked Alfred, putting his artifact away. But the boy couldn't answer anymore, since the furious Arthur was approaching them. "Oh, Arthur, sorry, it's just that the joker wanted to talk to me. They were the ones who brought me here, remember?" Alfred apologized, and Arthur looked at the blond child climbing on the planters. "Do you know each other?" he asked Peter, pointing at him and Alfred. The king smiled, expecting to hear a yes from the joker and that the latter could finally and once and for all convince Arthur that he was really a king. "Never seen him in my life," answered the boy in a completely natural tone. Alfred opened his mouth, about to snap at him, but Arthur was faster. "I really can't leave you alone even for ten minutes without you starting to bother children and invent things." "But it is the truth!" Alfred defended himself. "Come on, tell him, Joker!" "No clue what you're talking about," said Peter, shrugging and jumping on the ground. "You are a traitor and a liar! Now I see that creatures like you really don't have any honor," spat Alfred, watching the child leave without any shame. "You're so hopeless..." said Arthur, grabbed the taller one's arm and started to drag him away. "Come, I don't want to stay here any longer." Rather than an order, this sounded like a humble request that Alfred didn't dare to refuse. So he followed the other, temporarily forgetting the incident with Peter. They walked to the metro station in complete silence. Arthur was immersed in thoughts that Alfred wanted to understand, since he could never bear to see these stoic expressions on people's faces, feeling that they were swallowing their worries. Something that a hero like him couldn't allow. "Are you alright?" he asked, taking Arthur out of his pondering. "Yes, I'm fine," the latter replied in a monotone voice, about to sink into his thoughts once again, but Alfred didn't let him. "Did the healer say something bad to you?" inquired the king with worry. "Doctor, not healer, and no, he just said the usual, that I have to be careful and continue taking my meds," answered the store owner, taking a prescription out of his pocket and showing it to him. After this, he put it away and fell silent once again. Alfred felt a bit uncomfortable and, in order to break the tension, gave the other a playful little shove. "Don't worry, Arthur, you'll be safe as long as I am with you. The honor of my lineage would get stained if I should fail!" he exclaimed proudly, making Arthur finally laugh. "Then I have nothing to fear with you by my side. Thanks, Alfred," the latter said, showing one of his rare but warm smiles. Seeing it, the king suddenly felt his face heat up, and for some reason, his heart started to beat faster. "Artie, is that you?" they heard a voice and stopped, turned around and saw a brown-haired guy with green eyes and a big smile. "Antonio, hello," Arthur greeted, while his happy expression got replaced by a more serious one. "I knew it was you, come here, greet me properly, Hombre." The Spaniard gave the other a hug that almost broke Arthur's bones, while Alfred was mistrustfully watching them. Finally, Antonio let go, but still left his hand on the blond's shoulder. "Where have you been? It's been a while since the last time you brought books to the orphanage, the kids have already read all of them." "Sorry, I didn't have time and still haven't gathered enough for a donation." "I see, I'm sure that you'll choose the best ones. By the way, several married couples will come today, you should too, a kid would do you good, so you won't have to be so alone anymore," Antonio joked, and Arthur was about to scold him that a kid wasn't the same as a pet. But Alfred spoke first. "Arthur isn't alone, he has me." After hearing this, Antonio finally noticed his presence. "Oh, sorry for my rudeness, I didn't know you were accompanying Artie. Let me introduce myself, I'm Antonio Fernández Carriedo, at your service," he said cheerfully and with a smile, extending his hand. Alfred shook it. "Then I'll accept your service, Antonio, I'm Alfred, the Ki-" "We're just friends, that's it," intervened Arthur, before the other could add "King of Spades", not knowing that Antonio already knew the one of Diamonds. "You talk funnily, Alfredo, you're reminding me of a new friend," said Antonio, shaking the king's hand. The latter didn't understand why he was calling him Alfredo if his name was Alfred. "I won't disturb you any further, I have to make it before it starts raining. Take care, Artie, and it was a pleasure to meet you, Al." The Spaniard left, leaving the other two behind, and continued straight along the avenue, without resisting making a stop at a bakery. Because why not? He bought a dozen churros for himself, Francis and Lovino. After leaving the shop, he couldn't resist eating some to "sweeten" his way to the orphanage, where he saw all the kids dressed in their best clothes, clean and combed, waiting for the arrival of the potential adoptive parents. "Fran, Matt, hi!" he greeted the two of them who were having some sort of fight, because Francis was once again insisting on making Matthew look more presentable by cleaning the boy's nose with his handkerchief. "Seriously, boy, I have no clue why you are so determined to walk around with a dirty face," he scolded the little one, who was groaning from annoyance. "Let me," Matthew asked him with his barely audible voice. "Forget it, I cannot allow you to be like this in my presence. Alright, done," said Francis, satisfied with his work. "You're always so caring towards Matty," commented Antonio, holding out his brown paper bag with churros, offering him one. Francis shot a mistrustful look inside and broke off a piece from one of them, even examining it before putting it into his mouth. "Take one, too, Matt." The Spaniard bent down to let the child grab the one Francis had broken a part off from. "Thanks," said the boy, taking a bite. "The kids are very excited today!" said Antonio happily and ate another churro, almost forgetting that he still hadn't offered any to Lovino. "And what is the reason for all that bustle?" asked Francis, wiping off the sugar from the corners of Matthew's lips, who was moving his head away again, annoyed by that much cleaning. "Well, today is the day they may get adopted," answered Antonio, licking his sugary fingers. "And how is that?" inquired the king again, watching, displeased, at the way Antonio was cleaning his hands. "Well, some married couples or people in general who want to adopt, come to live for a while with the kids to choose which one they want to take home and make a part of their family," the latter explained, finally letting his hands in peace. "I'm always so moved when one gets adopted," he confessed, a bit embarrassed. "I find that a despicable practice, to be honest," said the king suddenly, making both Matthew and Antonio look at him with surprise. "Why is an adoption something despicable?" asked the Spaniard with a nervous laugh, hoping that Francis was joking. "Because these people come and choose the children as if they were cattle." "Don't make such cruel comparisons." "But it is the truth," contradicted Francis, frowning. "Do they not come and pick one? I doubt very much that they consider the child's wishes, they simply decide it, without caring for anything else." "But the kids want to be adopted, too," objected Antonio. "How can you know that?" insisted the king. "How can you know that this is what they wish for? No, these people just arrive and decide their fates as if they were property changing its owner. And this is despicable, is it not? Being given away like merchandise!" He almost spat out the words, seeming to get angry at each phrase. "But..." Antonio tried to intervene, Francis, however, continued his speech, getting louder and louder. "They look at the children and see a value in them, letting them change hands as if they had a price written on their bodies... given to the highest bidder... but this is normal, is it not? We all have a price, you just have to possess it, to possess the exact amount of golden coins to throw into the pockets of the ones who are greedy for money and not plagued even a bit by their conscience!" he finally screamed, suddenly getting furious for apparently no reason, startling Antonio and also Matthew. "Calm down, Fran... the kids aren't sold here at all, it's just legal paperwork, nothing else," said the Spaniard, wanting to put his hands on the king's shoulders, but didn't because he thought that he would be hit for it for sure. "But they still are given away, are they not? To people who are not even their own flesh and blood, they could just feed them to the wolves, and it would be the same... or lock them in a golden cage that is still a cage, even though it is made out of gold..." Francis commented, getting quieter and arranging his hair, trying to look as elegant as always. "Hey, Fran... could it be that you are an orphan as well?... You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I know that it's a very personal matter..." Francis just shot Antonio a look, clearly telling that he didn't want to continue that topic, so the other gulped and looked around, searching for something to distract the attention and leave the matter that seemed to have affected the king a bit. While Matthew, for his part, was looking at Francis, who was immersed in thoughts that looked painful. He was obviously not explicitly showing them, but Matthew knew that look better than anyone... that expression hidden behind a pair of blue eyes that were clearly telling how abandoned they were feeling, as if there wasn't any place for them in the whole wide world... To not belong... to be abandoned to your fate, wanting to fill that eternal emptiness at each cost and with everything possible before it can end up absorbing you completely... that terrible fear you feel at perceiving the hollowness inside you... So, without knowing what to do, Matthew took Francis' hand and placed his other one on the king's arm, touching his mark as though he was trying to hide it from the man himself. The latter got startled and left his thoughts, looking at Matthew, who was staring at the floor, not daring to face him... wanting to make Francis understand that he couldn't offer him diamonds nor precious metals to fill his life, but at least a hand the other could take any time he was plagued by that emptiness. Francis didn't say anything, just feeling his anger leave a bit. Without wanting to show it too openly, he slightly squeezed Matthew's hand, while perceiving the child's warmth on his stigma he despised so much. For a moment, he had the feeling as if the little one's body heat would melt away the diamond that had been marking him since birth. "Lovino!" yelled Antonio suddenly with so much relief that it almost looked like he was about to start crying any moment, since the teenager had basically saved him from that uncomfortable situation. "Hey, don't get too close to me!" Lovino warned, noticing Antonio's intentions to throw himself at him with a hug, so the other had to stop before even having tried anything. "Are you still not sitting in a dungeon?" asked Francis, without letting go of Matthew and looking at Lovino with displeasure. "And you? Still not sitting in a madhouse?" replied Lovino and turned to Antonio. "How can you let an insane guy look after little kids? I should report this place to human rights or to the social services." "Just keep talking nonsense, young man, and be thankful that Vash is not here at the moment, because your body would have already been perforated by his lance," said Francis, looking up once again, while Lovino just raised one eyebrow, a bit confused.  "Who is Vash?" asked Matthew, tugging at Francis' hand. The king looked at him, and a little smile appeared on his lips. "Vash is my jack, my most faithful servant and, excuse me for my lack of modesty, the most skillful soldier of my entire kingdom," he answered with pride, remembering that the aforementioned would also become his brother-in-law in the future. "No doubt that some people really need professional help," murmured the annoyed Lovino, but this time, it was Matthew who got angry due to his comment, taking a step towards the teenager, still holding Francis' hand. "He's telling the truth!" he exclaimed with his shy little voice. "Grow up, brat, he's lying to you," Lovino contradicted, leaning a bit forward and glaring at the frowning Matthew, vaguely remembering that his brother had said something about a king as well last night. "That's not true, Francis is really a king!" insisted Matt, starting to pout out of anger. "No king in the world would set foot into a dirty orphanage like this one, let alone take care of brats," said Lovino, piercing the little blond with his gaze. "Well, Francis is here, because a wizard had brought him, but in reality he has a huge kingdom and a lot of money! You're just jealous!" the latter snapped, so furious that his face was red. "Jealous of a poor devil, who's also a terrible actor? No, thanks." "Hey, Lovi, don't fight with Matty," Antonio tried to intervene. "He's not acting, he's really a king, and he has a queen and so many servants!" Matthew defended the king, extending his arms, still without letting go of Francis, to show Lovino, how many. "Keep dreaming, boy, but once you've discovered the truth, don't come crying to me." "Francis, tell him that it's the truth!" Matthew wanted to ask for the king's support, pulling his hand. "Do not waste time trying to convince someone who does not even see the truth, having it right before his eyes," Francis said and walked together with Matt past Lovino, who was looking angrily at them both. Suddenly, the king stopped, put his hand under the teenager's chin and approached him a bit into his direction, ignoring the reproach in Antonio's eyes and the disgust in the face of Lovino himself. "You should sharpen your vision, young man, and I am not talking about myself..." Having said this, the king shoved the other, almost making him fall on top of Antonio, but the teenager managed to stop just in time. Meanwhile, Francis took the bag with the last churro from Antonio and gave it to Matthew, perhaps in an attempt to calm the little guy down a bit. "The fuck is wrong with that idiot?" muttered Lovino, watching him leave together with the child. "He's a bit weird", answered Antonio, laughing. "But that's not a reason to argue with a kid." The teenager ignored him. "Whatever, I just wanted to ask you to let me use the phone in the office," he said, shrugging off the small fight from earlier. "Lovi, you know I can't do that or I'll get scolded. And besides, people are coming today, so you have to be with the others." "I don't want to be with anyone and I don't give a shit whether you get scolded or not, I need the phone!" insisted the boy with impatience. "To call whom?" "My brother, of course. Or can't I even do that? First, these assholes who call themselves his 'parents' don't let him see me, barely give me the permission to send him letters I don't even know he receives or not, and now I can't even call him." "You know very well that the reason why they decided to not let you see him, is your attitude, precisely because you get so aggressive... maybe you should better follow the rules and behave..." "Look, Antonio, I don't give a single fuck about your advices, so just let me make my damn call and keep your speech for yourself. I know that you don't care about me as long as I don't cause you problems." "Of course I do, Lovino!" exclaimed Antonio. "No, you care about Feliciano. So much that you even got him a family, leaving me here alone. You don't give a shit about what becomes of me!" "No!" screamed Antonio, suddenly grabbing Lovino by his clothes and pulling him into his direction. "I lo-..." he began, moving his mouth and pronouncing silent words, words he knew were prohibited, while the other was looking at him, startled and surprised. "You what?" inquired Lovino, trying to overcome the surprise. "I'm worried about you..." said Antonio quietly, slowly letting go of him and lowering his head. "You can make your call, just be careful to not be seen," he asked. The teenager arranged his clothes and shot a questioning look at the Spaniard, who was taking deep breaths, in an attempt to calm down and to keep his composure. Without saying another word, Lovino headed to the building, occasionally looking over his shoulder at Antonio, who was hitting himself on the head for some reason as if scolding himself for something the teenager had no clue about. But he didn't have to care about that, he just wanted to talk to his brother... the only person he knew who was really caring about him and his well-being. He sneaked into an office Antonio and other volunteers were using from time to time, took the old telephone that was still a rotary one and hid under the desk making sure to not be seen. Then he marked the number and waited. "Ve~ Hello?" Feliciano finally answered. He seemed to be busy with cleaning the house, since he was holding a broom in his hand.  "Feli, it's me, Lovino," replied the older one quietly. "Brother, hello! How are you? Ve~" asked the younger one cheerfully, putting the device between his shoulder and ear to sweep the floor better. "I'm fine, listen, I have to make it short: I'm just calling to tell you that you can't come tonight," Lovino hurried to say. "Ve~ Why not?" asked Feliciano, disappointed. "Because a lot of people are going to come today, the ones who are looking for someone to adopt. I'm sure that they'll stay till late, so it's too dangerous to meet." "Not even for a few minutes?" "No, stupid, don't forget that we won't have the chance to meet again at all if we get caught," the older one reminded him, again with that authoritarian tone. "I see... so until tomorrow..." said the younger one in a sad voice, stopped sweeping and let out a piteous sigh. "Until tomorrow, Feliciano," answered Lovino, being well aware of the fact that saying this was difficult for both of them. Or more precisely, they were afraid of saying it without knowing whether they would really be able to see each other the next day, afraid of being separated once more and never meeting again. A fear that had become their routine. Feliciano listened to Lovino's breaths for a moment through the phone until the other finally hung up. So he did the same, immersing himself in thoughts for a while, getting a bit sad due to not being able to see his brother that night. However, he shook his head and patted himself on the cheeks, trying to cheer up and smile like always. He left the broom standing against a wall and went upstairs to tell Ludwig that they wouldn't go out that night, calling his name, but not getting any answer. Maybe the king was still in the bathroom, taking a shower. But when Feliciano arrived on the second floor, he noticed that the bathroom door was open and steam was coming out, so he headed to his bedroom and found Ludwig there, standing in front of his desk and reading some papers. "Ludwig, what are you doing?" he asked the king, who did a jump with a letter in his hand and a towel over his shoulders. He was bare-chested, so his red heart mark was fully visible. "Fe-Feliciano, please excuse me, it was not my intention to read your personal letters, but they were here, so..." he apologized, blushing for having been caught, and placed the letter on the desk. "Ve~ my brother's letters," said Feliciano, coming closer and looking at the papers and a shoebox full of envelopes. "Your brother wrote this?" asked Ludwig with slight surprise. "Yep. It doesn't look like it, right?" asked the boy, taking one of the crumpled papers. "Feliciano: Everything here is getting unbearable again, sometimes I can't even distinguish between this reality and my nightmares anymore, and sometimes my bad dreams are even easier to endure than this. I want to leave this place before exploding... but can't find the exit. If you were here, Feliciano, then I'm sure I would find the door to escape together with you." Feliciano smiled with slight melancholy as he read the words Lovino only dared to say through letters, never being able to pronounce something like this out loud nor be that honest. So these letters were his only means to tell his brother everything that was going through his head without feeling embarrassed or ending up being rude or cursing. "He seems like a completely different person when he writes," commented Ludwig, still finding it difficult to believe that these letters had really been written by Lovino.  "I don't see any difference... maybe because I know him so well," answered Feliciano, looking for something among the letters. "Look, that one's my favorite, I sometimes reread it when I'm feeling lonely, ve~, though they're pretty short, my brother doesn't write long ones." He gave another one to Ludwig, who looked at him, as though asking for permission. Feliciano just smiled, letting him read it. "Feliciano: Veneziano... Do you remember that grandpa used to call you that? Because he said that you were Venice and I was Rome, this was why he was calling me Romano... Can you imagine what would be if we were really born as nations? Veneziano... I want to reincarnate as a nation, me as the south and you as the north... I'm tired of being separated from you..." "To reincarnate as a nation in order to be together forever... that sounds like such a romantic idea, don't you think?" asked Feliciano, taking back the letter and placing it into his shoebox together with the rest. "I suppose..." was Ludwig's answer. "You and your brother seem to be very close." "Yes, after all, he's my only family," said the other with a smile. "And what about your grandpa? Well, the letter mentions that you have one..." "Our grandpa died when we were still kids, so we were left alone and only have each other now," replied the teenager, trying to not sound sad, but a hint of melancholy appeared on his smiling face, however, he managed to hide it well, since Ludwig didn't notice it. The king seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. “I wonder if my jack also has a brother, from whom he was separated…” he said, thinking suddenly of the other Feliciano, the Jack of Hearts, who always seemed to be fine, who had a smile on his face no one could erase and a contagious optimism… the one he had never seen sad in his entire life. “He’s your friend, and you don’t even know if he has siblings? Not great, Ludwig,” Feliciano scolded him, frowning and crossing his arms, wanting to look angry. “I am not to blame, it is just that…” The king tried to give some excuse, but realized that it was not Feliciano’s fault at all, but his alone for never having asked him anything about his personal life, even though they knew each other since they were children, he had never cared for anything behind the other’s work, the life he was leading as a person. For Ludwig, he had always been just a servant and nothing else. “Does he know something about you, at least, or is he a bad friend as well?” inquired Feliciano, still looking reproachfully at the other, who started to feel even worse. “No… he knows everything about me, I think that, among all the people surrounding me, he knows best what I am thinking, even better than Kiku,” he replied, now aware that he never had corresponded his jack’s trust and loyalty. “In fact, he even promised me to always be by my side when we were children.” He laughed at that memory. “I remember it well, because he really held his promise,” he added, getting immersed in old memories. The king was seeing himself as a ten-year-old, being in his kingdom's palace and escorted by his entire court and the person who had been his jack back then, a tall man with long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He didn't let Ludwig out of his sight, who was sitting on the grass in the huge garden, accompanied by Feliciano, who was wearing torn brown pants, a dingy shirt and a white cloth on his head that was identifying him as a servant. "Ve~ Your Majesty, did you know that when a heart-shaped mark appears on someone's chest, this person becomes the queen?" the latter asked, placing his index finger on the little king's chest, exactly where his mark was. "Yes, I heard it many times during my lessons," answered Ludwig, a bit inexpressive contrary to the very cheerful Feliciano. "And do you know that the queen is always at the king's side?" inquired the small servant. The king nodded. He had been hearing this without end during his short life, on top of the hundreds of obligations he had to fulfill. "Ve~ I'm praying every night to get that heart symbol on my chest and to become your queen," admitted the other with a bright smile on his lips. "Why do you want to become a queen?" asked Ludwig, not understanding why someone would want to have a life as complicated as his, where he never had any time to play or to be a child. It was always about obligations and duties in order to become an exceptional ruler. "Well, to always be with you," replied Feliciano, as though it was more than obvious. "I will always be by your side, I promise, Your Majesty." He placed his hand on his heart, showing that he was being completely serious. “Ve~ I think I understand your friend,” commented Feliciano, interrupting Ludwig’s thoughts. The latter looked at him, without really understanding what he meant by that. “I want to always be together with my most important person, too,” said the teenager with a smile, and the king recognized it as the same he had gotten from his jack while giving him that promise he had been keeping until now. And then the king realized something else. “Do you think that I really am the most important person for Feliciano?” he inquired, without being able to believe it. Still smiling and coming a bit closer, Feliciano rose a bit on his tiptoes to reach Ludwig’s head and lovingly tousle his still humid hair. “Of course,” he answered, completely messing up the king’s blond hair, but without removing his hands. “No one makes a promise like this to someone who isn’t special.” Ludwig couldn’t utter a word, just staring into Feliciano’s almond-colored eyes. “What’s the matter?” the latter asked due to Ludwig’s silence. “Nothing, you two are just so similar…” the king said, unconsciously running his hand through the boy’s bangs, moving them to the side to see his face better and getting even closer to him. None of them noticed it. Feliciano’s hands gradually descended to Ludwig’s neck, who hadn't stopped staring at him, creating a strange silent atmosphere between the two of them. They didn’t care nor think about what was happening at that moment nor about that odd situation that was becoming more and more intimate… Suddenly and out of the blue, they were startled by the strong drumming of rain drops against the window and left their trance, separating and feeling their hearts jump. “Oh no, it’s raining!” exclaimed Feliciano nervously, separating himself completely from Ludwig and running to the window, seeing a downpour outside that was more like a real flood. “Ve~ get dressed, Ludwig, we have to go to the market.” “In this weather?” asked the other, his heart still pounding. “Yep, the rain’s not that bad,” said Feliciano, laughing and leaving the room to allow the king to finish getting dressed. The other watched him leave and couldn’t do anything else than to let himself fall on Feliciano’s bed, covering his face with both hands. “Just what am I doing?” he wondered, remembering the minutes with the latter… this was wrong… he couldn’t do things like that with a guy who was exactly the same as his servant. Or maybe this was the reason he was doing them at all. This Feliciano didn’t have the same restrictions as his jack, he wasn’t his lord and could approach him and have physical contact that the jack wasn’t allowed to have… No! He didn’t have this kind of intentions neither with Feliciano nor with his servant, he couldn’t, a king couldn’t have these feelings. Inhaling deeply, he got up to put on a shirt and comb back his hair. Then he left the room and went downstairs, spotting Feliciano at the foot of the stairs, putting on a coat and taking an umbrella. “Ready?” the other asked, fresh as a daisy, as if nothing had happened. “So we are really going out in that rain,” said Ludwig, looking outside right as Feliciano opened the front door. The streets were wet and with big puddles, on which the raindrops were splashing violently.  “Stop complaining, let’s go, rainy days are fun, ve~” And with these words, the younger one tugged at Ludwig’s arm and opened his umbrella, so that they both could find shelter under it. They were hearing the drops fall on the umbrella’s vinyl, and their feet started getting wet, as they went out on the empty street with no one but just some street dogs trying to hide from the rain under the cars. “I never leave the palace on days like this,” Ludwig commented, trying to make himself smaller to fit under the umbrella and rubbing his arms to get a bit warm while Feliciano was jumping into puddles from time to time, like a child. “You’re so boring, Ludwig.” The king got a bit annoyed by these words. “I just don’t see the appeal in getting wet and cold,” he replied, now trying to get away from the other, who didn’t stop splashing around, but since they were sharing an umbrella, it wasn’t very easy to keep a safe distance. “But this is the appeal, Lud! To feel the water and cold and to get goosebumps as if they were reminding you that you’re alive!” Feliciano exclaimed poetically, gave him the umbrella and jumped out into the rain, raising his face to welcome it. But not for long, since Ludwig quickly covered him again. “And the pneumonia you are going to get will remind you that you are mortal,” grumbled the king, annoyed by the other’s childish attitude. Feliciano just laughed, continuing to walk under the torrential rain that was falling over the entire town. The two of them kept on evading puddles and the water splashing from the cars passing by, walking on the sidewalk in front of the mental hospital that was looking quite eerie in that cloudy landscape. Especially due to the silhouette of a person looking outside from a barred window… "Like, so horrible, Ivan," commented Feliks, watching the two friends play under the rain, or, more precisely, one of them. "It's pouring!" "This is the third time you are saying this," replied Ivan, just calmly lying around on his bed, since the weather hadn't allowed them to sneak out on the roof like they usually did. "Because this is something super horrible, I hate rainy days, the humidity is ruining my hair," complained the other, grabbing one strand of it and looking at it with slight pity. "Complaining won't solve anything, young Feliks, and if you continue doing it, my patience will end, and you do not want that," threatened Ivan, completely calm and smiling like always. "And mine will end too if that rain doesn't, like, stop anytime soon." Feliks snorted angrily and reluctantly sat down on his own bed, crossing his legs and placing his chin on his palm, thinking of something to pass the time on that boring rainy day. "Ivan," he called the king again, who was lying there and just enjoying the sounds of the rain against the window, as if they were a natural relaxant. "Do you want to relax for real?" Feliks asked with a certain mischief in his voice that made the other look at him, trying to figure out what he was planning. "And you know how?" inquired Ivan. His roommate smiled. "Yep, I do," he responded, got up and lifted his mattress, revealing several magazines, nail polish, nail files, lighters, cigarette boxes, lipsticks and a sock that seemed to have something inside and had a knot to keep the content from falling out. Feliks took the sock and lowered his mattress again, hiding his little treasures. Then, he opened the knot and poured various pills of different colors on his bed. Ivan got curious and approached him to have a better look. "Isn't this the stuff you get at the pharmacy?" he asked, while Feliks chose a couple of the pills. "It is, my dear Ivan. Have you really thought that I'm swallowing this poison every day? I pretend to do it, but in reality, I'm keeping it here. Don't wanna be like a vegetable the entire day," he explained, putting the rest away. "Speaking of that, Ivan-baby… you never get any medicine nor have to go to therapy. Why?" he wanted to know, realizing that small but still important detail that was making Ivan so different from the other patients. But the latter just shrugged, not knowing the answer, either. Feliks didn't want to complicate his life any further, so he just shrugged it off with a gesture of his hand and placed one of the pills on Ivan's palm. "This is for you, this is for me," he said, putting his into his mouth. The king was still standing there, with the pill in his hand, and looking at him, as though waiting to be told what to do. "Put it under your tongue and wait until it dissolves," said the other, rolling his eyes. "Won't it harm me?", asked Ivan with mistrust. "Like, of course not. But don't forget, Ivan: NEVER take all of them at once! This can kill you for real," Feliks warned him. "Come on, take it." The king shot the pill and then Feliks a last mistrustful look, and finally placed it under his tongue, just like the other had said. At first, he didn't feel anything... until the moment the medicine had completely dissolved in his mouth. After that, Ivan and Feliks both ended up on the first one's bed. Feliks had his feet on the headboard, and Ivan on the other end of the bed, their heads were lying in the center of the mattress and their hands stretched out. Feliks' fingertips were occasionally touching the ones belonging to the king, who was feeling it through his unexpected drowsiness. His eyes were heavy, and his body felt like it was floating, he could barely talk and was filled with a complete calmness. The only thing he was able to perceive were Feliks' warm fingers caressing his, as though clumsily wanting to entwine with them. "I feel weird," said Ivan suddenly, trying to pronounce it well. "But good," replied Feliks, managing to feel Ivan's icy fingers. "Yes..." agreed Ivan, closing his eyes and hoping to not fall asleep all of a sudden. "I feel alright," he added, slurring his words. "You're always alright..." Feliks affirmed, raising his feet and putting them against the wall, feeling its texture under his soles.  "Not true, what makes you think that?" asked the king, playing with Feliks' fingers. "'Cause you're always smiling," replied the other, staring at the ceiling, without letting go of Ivan. "This doesn't mean I'm alright," answered the latter, still smiling. "So, like, why are you doing it, then?" "'Cause my world will fall apart if I stop," admitted the king without any hesitation, forgetting for a moment what secrets were, how to hide his feelings and how to mistrust a stranger, just talking freely, as if he and Feliks were the only ones in the entire universe.  "Then just let it fall apart, to hell with it," said his roommate, bursting out laughing like an idiot, infecting Ivan, who started to laugh about that casual advice as well, hoping to still remember it when he would be back to his senses to be able to put it to use... and send the world packing, at least for a day on which he won't be able to maintain the facade... Could he allow himself that luxury, just like Feliks? "Tell me... Majesty..." asked Feliks out of the blue, after his sudden laughing fit had stopped. "What do you want me to tell you?" inquired Ivan, still laughing while speaking and trying to calm down. "About your wife... I wanna know..." "This again?" asked the king, lifting his feet as well and staring with a slightly blurred vision at the emerald club on his foot. "Yeah, tell me about her," Feliks repeated, turning his head into Ivan's direction, who was still contemplating his mark. The king let out a deep sigh, thought about it and then opened his mouth to begin... "Elizabetha and I met for the first time when we were both sixteen, I can still remember my first impression of her..." he started to narrate, closing his eyes and seeing the young queen again, wearing pants and a shirt, and her long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. Her face was dirty and she was standing there, with her hands in her pockets, looking a bit boyish due to that. Ivan was looking at that peasant girl as if she was an amazing specimen he was not used to seeing every day in the palace among the high-society ladies who were walking around in ostentatious dresses, make-up and complicated hairdos, covering their laughter behind fans with laces and wearing gloves made out of silk. Elizabetha, on the contrary, was smiling openly, showing all her teeth, her hands were full of mud and calluses, she was natural and definitely fascinated the young king. During that presentation, he could clearly see that she didn't care about the looks of disapproval she was getting from the other nobles, and a pure honesty. He was hoping to find in his future wife the company he had always longed for, someone to get him out of that loneliness that had been tormenting him until turning him into the man (or teenager) he was. However, Ivan hadn't realized something else that day, the moment that would be the beginning of a story developing right before his eyes... He had never thought that Elizabetha would change the Jack of Club's life as well. That he, the king, would participate in a love story, but not as the protagonist...