My level of excitement has quickly risen. WOW, I am so glad to finally write this chapter. These scenes, mostly the first one, have been running through my head since Chapter 5 of Arrangement. So pumped.

Hello! My name is Elsi, and welcome to my Hetalia Cardverse AU - A Question of Fidelity! This IS a sequel to the paired fics I wrote earlier - A Question of Arrangement and the Issue with Arrangement. For this sequel, I have put together elements of both, resulting in CHANGING POV! WOOT! As of right now, we'll just have Kiku and Ludwig trading off. I'll add Feli if I feel I need to, which I don't think I will. But it's very possible.

Much GerIta ahead. The fluff is real.

Chapter 1: The Harvest

Another year, another harvest festival, and Ludwig sat leaning against his closed fist as he watched the proceedings from a throne on a hill. Kiku sipped at apple cider with one hand. Neither of them really acknowledged anymore that they were holding hands on the shared armrest the thrones shared. In year one, it had been slightly awkward, but now, Ludwig was all too used to it. Kiku felt similarly.

Ludwig was proud to call himself King of Hearts these days, and he was getting familiar with the idea of Kiku being Queen of Hearts – meaning, his husband. The realization had been difficult to take in at first, especially after Kiku had found out that Ludwig didn't actually love him. They had both been involved in a war with the Great North, the isolationist country to the cold north that had nearly wiped them out with technological prowess. Kiku had blackmailed and intimidated his way through the court, in the process saving Ludwig and the rest of Berlin – perhaps the Four Kingdoms as a whole, if he was to go that far.

The throne on the other side of Kiku was vacant, and it was to its occupant that Ludwig's eyes were invariably drawn. Today's event had been entirely Feliciano's work, and the Jack of Hearts would not have missed what Ludwig knew was his favorite festival. Today, Feliciano had discarded the heavy scarlet robe over the arm of his throne, and he danced in the hayfield wearing nothing more than a rolled-up pair of brown pants and a thin collared white tunic. He had clasped hands with two girls with big brown eyes and black hair, and the three of them were frolicking around with the other children. Ludwig smiled as Feliciano bent down to accept the hay-and-flower crown being pressed on his head by a blonde girl no older than seven. Kiku had confiscated Feliciano's actual crown for the day, mostly out of fear that he would give it to the nearest little boy in sight as he had for the past two years. Ludwig personally thought that the hay-and-flower circlet fit Feliciano better than the thin gold band the nobles liked to see him in. Feliciano was a child of Hearts.

The music died down, and Feliciano turned up, beaming, to look at Ludwig and Kiku. Before Ludwig could remember to guard his face, the Jack of Hearts had already arrived before them, dragging a small mob of children with him.

"Ludwig! Kiku! Come meet my friends!"

He leaned forward, the top button of his shirt coming loose and giving Ludwig just a glimpse of the smooth chest beneath. The flowers bobbed on his messy auburn hair, and the late harvest sun shone in an aura around him. Ludwig had no words for this, but he knew that his cheeks were bright scarlet, because Kiku squeezed his hand and then stood up. The Queen of Hearts bent down formally to shake hands with the suddenly-shy children.

"Hello," said Kiku. "My name is Kiku. I'm Queen of Hearts."

A few of them giggled. The smallest ones pulled on the bottom of Kiku's long Eastern-style robes.

"Why are you wearing a dress?" he asked. His older sister whacked him on the back of the head, but Kiku smiled.

"I came to Hearts from the Far East," she said. "On great celebrations, I like to pay my ancestors homage by celebrating how far I've come."

They nodded as if that make perfect sense. Ludwig smiled and rose from his chair as well, causing the small children to look up at him with wide, awestruck eyes.

"And this is King Ludwig!" said Feliciano, dancing to Ludwig's side and slinging an arm around his waist. "I know he looks big and scary, but he's really nice, ve~!"

Ignoring the burning pressure from Feliciano's arm, Ludwig let his cloak fall back onto his chair and crouched down, so he could look them in the eye.

"Hello," he said. "How are you?"

The little girl he was squatting before just stared, big brown eyes wide. Another little boy with black hair reached forward to tap him on the knee.

"Is it true you went to military school?" said the little boy.

"I did," said Ludwig. "It taught me many things."

Blue eyes gleamed back at him, and Ludwig mustered a smile, shaking the kid's hand.

"You have a firm handshake," he said. "You would impress a commander."

"Isn't it hard to get in?" said the boy.

"Not if you're willing to work hard," said Ludwig. "Are you?"

The boy sprung into a salute, and Ludwig saluted in return before standing up.

Feliciano was already spinning two girls in circles, and Kiku was telling three girls and a boy about Diamonds. Ludwig glanced down suddenly and met the eyes of a circle of men in thick cloaks.

He patted Feliciano on the shoulder as he passed, pulling his gloves on. Then he met them at the base of the thrones and gave a tip of his head.

"Your majesty." They were a trio of advisors, nobility from South Hearts who had come to Berlin explicitly for this festival and the diplomatic meeting in Paris next month.

"My lords," said Ludwig. "Are you enjoying the Harvest Festival this year?"

"It is quite colorful," said the middle one, a tall man with a bristly mustache. Ludwig knew him from the pictures on the walls at his military academy – this man had retired from service no less than five years prior. No doubt he was used to taking orders from men a third his age, but for the two men on either side of him, the same could not be said. The short blonde one owned the leading chain of apothecaries in Venice. The taller dark-haired one had gotten money a while ago – Ludwig wasn't sure what he did with himself now.

"The Jack of Hearts organized it," said Ludwig, indicating with a hand to Feliciano, who was now running the children back into the hay. He had lost his boots sometime in the last minute. Ludwig smiled to himself, imagining the maids grimacing at the sight of Feliciano's pink stockings ripped and dirtied.

"He seems quite invested," said the dark-haired noble, tugging on his lapels as if the sight of the Jack of Hearts playing in the hay was an offense. Sometimes Ludwig forgot that Feliciano had been raised a noble.

"He has put months into making this event absolutely perfect," said Ludwig. He nodded to each of them, hoping that a question would come up. They didn't seem to approve of the way they went about things. Ludwig needed their favor, as each held a great position in the political system in the South.

"I must congratulate you, your majesty," said the one in the middle. "Sometimes royal marriages do not work out, but you and your queen seem to get along quite well, despite your cultural differences."

Cultural differences? Ludwig smiled and thanked the noble, but he knew he wasn't imagining the shift in mood.

"What is it now, your third year as king?" said the blonde noble. "You've had a rough start, the three of you, but all seems to be doing well. I assume nothing has happened that could start a scandal." The nobles laughed, but that tone had an edge to it, and Ludwig took a step back in spite of himself. The military man living inside him wanted to challenge these three as to what they meant, but he held his tongue. This was time to play the aristocrat, not the soldier; Ludwig was getting better at it, even if Feliciano could out-political him any day. Three years of "class training" had gone by painfully, and he could hold a lengthy discussion on the cultivation of wine and styles of painting. He and Kiku had become immensely better at not stepping on each other's feet while dancing, and Feliciano was quite intent on making Ludwig his dancing partner for more showy sequences. But he wasn't fond of being questioned, especially on a matter such as this – if the nobles caught wind of his affair with Feliciano, nothing could save his reputation, not even Kiku's permission. Not that it hadn't happened before, but as a young king just starting out…

"If that is all, I believe Kiku and I must begin wrapping up the festival," said Ludwig. "I'm afraid we have scheduled for a small dinner tonight, but we would be happy to accommodate you in the palace."

"That's very generous, your majesty," said the tall dark-haired noble. All three bowed, and Ludwig accepted their courtesy with a sweep of his head. Then he headed back and slung his cape around his shoulders again. Routine instructed him to rest his hand on Kiku's forearm and lean over.

"You seem tense," said Kiku. "Is everything alright with the lords?"

"Nothing of note," said Ludwig. "I fear they may be looking for some big secret, and we will of course have the one they're looking for."

Kiku meditated on this in silence, as he was prone to do. Then he patted Ludwig's hand, the perfect image of a man comforting his husband.

"We do not need to worry about the nobility until tomorrow," he said. "We will have a private dinner tonight and think about other things. At least for one night. It's a special occasion, and Feliciano deserves to be rewarded."

"I'll remind Toris to set out something nice," said Ludwig. "I would love to set aside obligation for tonight." He glanced up at the setting sun and sighed, signaling the trumpets to flare. Feliciano scampered back up to them, slinging his cape on.

"You aren't wearing boots," Ludwig reminded him. Feliciano smiled broadly, but he didn't do anything about that particular informality. Kiku took Ludwig's arm, and Feliciano signaled the trumpets to die down as the people of Berlin looked up at their monarchs for instruction. Forgetting about nobles and casual dress and looking forward to the dinner ahead, Ludwig raised his hand and began the prepared speech. As King of Hearts, the show never really ended.

XXX

Kiku was humming softly to himself, which put Ludwig into a good mood. The Eastern man was rarely so expressive. Ludwig had sent Toris to help set up their sitting room, where they would be eating dinner with Feliciano. Now he was left staring at himself in the mirror, adjusting his bow tie while meditating on the day behind them. Feliciano had bought him this particular bow tie, and he quite liked it. He quite liked this suit, too – he would have to thank Toris for this. Ludwig couldn't help but wonder whether Feliciano would wear the dark brown pants or the tan ones. He liked the dark brown ones better. Satisfied that his bowtie was precisely straightened, Ludwig placed his hands on the counter and stared at himself in the mirror for a few more moments. He had already meticulously done his hair, and he knew that if he meddled any more he would be bordering on late.

He didn't quite know why he was getting so dressed up for a dinner between him, Kiku, and Feliciano. Maybe it was because Kiku didn't mind it when Feliciano fed Ludwig a bit of his soup, and because Kiku didn't mind it when Ludwig spent a few seconds longer than necessary watching Feliciano come in. At first, right after Kiku had found out about this affair, everything had been quite awkward. Now, the only thing Ludwig felt bad about was excluding Kiku from this. But the Eastern man hadn't minded in two years, so he didn't spend too much time worrying. Tonight, he didn't have to count to three in his head every time he so much as glanced down the table at Feliciano, no matter how he was dressed or how he laughed or how much wine he drank.

Ludwig was startled from his increasingly tangled thoughts by the light sound of a Viennese waltz drifting into the room, replacing Kiku's soft humming with a reminder of the dance he had just mastered. Smoothing the top of his hair one more time, he turned and wandered through the door to the sitting room.

Kiku was shooing Toris and Niran – Kiku's personal attendant - out of the room when Ludwig entered the room. Ludwig called his name, and Kiku turned around with a shy smile most uncharacteristically excited.

"What's going on?" asked Ludwig. Kiku had changed from the festival into something light, reminiscent of what he usually wore on days when he was sure he wouldn't have to leave his study. "Why music? Wasn't this a formal dinner?"

Kiku clasped his hands behind his back, looking unusually chipper.

"I decided that am going to go for a walk," said Kiku. "I will eat dinner with the advisors tonight."

"But – "

"Ludwig, you have probably forgotten what today is," said Kiku. Ludwig blinked.

"October 3, the day of the Harvest Festival –"

"And your birthday," added Kiku. "So consider this my present."

His birthday? Ludwig blinked again as he processed this. He had gotten in the habit of not celebrating his birthday, or even acknowledging that he had a birthday. Birthdays were something to put on official documents and to use as a marker for keeping track of age he was. Apparently, last spring, Kiku and Feliciano had gone digging through said official documents to figure out exactly when Ludwig's birthday was.

"Happy birthday, Ludwig," said Kiku. "Oh, and I offered to help Bella with some reports, so I have arranged to sleep on the other side of the castle tonight. I hope that will not be an inconvenience." His politesse was accompanied by a smirk, and with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes, Kiku slipped out of their room.

Ludwig stood in their sitting room, realizing that he should have guessed all of this. Between the candle on the small table, the music still playing, and the bright red rose petals littering the floor around the table, Kiku had orchestrated the romance perfectly and without Ludwig having any knowledge. A few minutes later, there was a nonsensical, tapped knock, and Ludwig was effectively startled out of his daze long enough to answer the door.

He instantly descended into another one. For Feliciano stood there in a cream-colored dress shirt, a luminescent gold waistcoat, a scarlet coat matching his tie to the shade, and the dark brown pants Ludwig particularly liked. His face was turned up in that smile Feli reserved particularly for him, the one that made Ludwig turn from almighty King of Hearts to a little boy wanting to go to military school and showing up laughing with scraped knees and dirty cheeks.

"Happy birthday, Ludwig!" said Feliciano. He tilted his head to the side as Ludwig continued to take in his every features. "Did you forget about your birthday? Ve~I told you I would remember, didn't I?" He brushed past Ludwig and into the room before stopping. "Kiku? Hey, Kiku!"

Ludwig shut the door softly, took two steps, and spun Feliciano around before kissing him. It took about two seconds for Feliciano to accept what was happening, and then Feli's arms snaked around Ludwig's neck, holding him close for a few moments.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," whispered Ludwig as they parted. Feli's pretty eyes met Ludwig's. "Gott, Feliciano…"

Overcome with flashing memories of Feli at the Harvest Festival, Ludwig placed a kiss to his lover's neck, for an instant feeling Feliciano's racing pulse against his lips. He smiled. For a second they stood like that, arms around each other, Ludwig leaning his head on Feliciano's shoulder and breathing in the rose-scented soap that still lingered on his skin.

"It's just us, then?" said Feli after a moment. He pulled away from Ludwig to take a good look at the room. "Wow, look at all of this!"

"Kiku did it," said Ludwig. Feliciano walked around the room, subconsciously moving in time to the Viennese waltz that still played in the background and pretending to be ignorant of Ludwig's predator-like stare. Were it not for his hunger after making speeches all day, Ludwig would have been entirely willing to bypass dinner and pull Feli into his bedroom.

"The attendants will be up soon," said Ludwig. Forcing himself to remain composed, he strolled over to Feliciano and offered a hand. "Can I take your coat?"

"Ve~ such a gentleman," teased Feli. Ludwig reached over before Feliciano could fiddle with the buttons and deftly slid the coat off of Feliciano's shoulders. Feli shivered as Ludwig's hands passed over his shoulders. For a second, Ludwig hesitated. Whenever he was around Feliciano, he wanted to do nothing but stare at him, and hold him close, and kiss him warmly, and make sure that he would hold onto Feli no matter what happened. So much had happened, and Ludwig was terrified that something, one day, would come and try to rip them apart.

Then there was a soft knock, and Ludwig guided Feliciano over to the table just as a pair of attendants - for once not wearing hoods – swept into the room, bearing trays.

"Dinner, your majesties," said the lead attendant. He lowered the plates onto the table. Another attendant filled up their glasses with a small substance of a white wine. Ludwig sniffed it, sipped it, and deemed it acceptable.

"Look at you," said Feliciano, a twinkle in his eye. "You're a proper noble, ve!"

"And you play in hay bales like a commoner," said Ludwig, tipping his glass to his lover. "It seems we've traded places."

He glanced down as their dinner was unveiled, and Ludwig's mouth watered right away. Sliced pork over noodles. Sausages. White asparagus. Scalloped potatoes. All of his favorite foods, and across the table was Feliciano, grinning. And there was music in the background, and the candlelight cast such lovely shadows onto the rose petals all around and the golden-rose embellishments of the room.

"Happy birthday, Ludwig," said Feliciano, reading the look on Ludwig's face for exactly what it was. Feli reached over and brushed his fingers over the back of Ludwig's hand. "I hope you're happy."

"I am," said Ludwig, kissing Feliciano's hand and making his companion giggle.

Their conversation dissolved into talk without worries for a long time, and Ludwig cleaned his plate before taking Feliciano's uneaten asparagus tips, and between them, they finished off the course. Two attendants came to clear the plates, and then Feliciano emptied the bottle over their cups, took a sip, and pulled Ludwig to his feet as the background music turned to a slower song.

"Ve~let's dance," said Feliciano. Accustomed by now, Ludwig placed an arm around Feli's hip and clasped the other. A few seconds, and it truly sunk in: they were alone. They could dance like no one was watching, because no one was watching. Ludwig boldly moved his arm to Feliciano's lower back, pulling him in closer so that they could sway together, and that Feli could lean against Ludwig's chest.

It was so content it didn't feel real. They danced together often, kissed whenever it was possible, and Feliciano and Ludwig had left their own beds unoccupied more than once over the past three years. Ludwig was always awestruck at how beautiful these moments between them really were. With the candlelight flickering, the music playing, and the wine buzzing in their systems, it was…what Ludwig wanted at all times.

"Is this even real?" murmured Ludwig. Feliciano lifted his head off of his partner's chest, and Ludwig brought his head down so that their foreheads were resting against one another. The music faded out to a dull click, and gently, Feli stood on tiptoe to give Ludwig a chaste kiss.

"We've had three peaceful years," said Feliciano. "I believe we can have more."

Ludwig regretted bringing up the past as soon as he said it, for they were instantly lost in memories. Three years ago, Ludwig and Feliciano and Kiku had been thrown into a war with the Great North halfway through their training to be monarchs. The monarchs of the other kingdoms had been killed, and they had been given a hasty coronation, a sped-up marriage, and then they had gone to Berlin, walking straight into a trap. Somehow, Kiku had saved them, but had he and the Spades army been any slower, Ludwig would have died. As it was, he had spent a month in bed recovering from inhaling poisonous fumes, as there was apparently an incinerator in the basement of the Berlin palace that ran off of poison coals.

"I would go through all of that again," said Ludwig softly, making Feliciano look up again. At last, it seemed to occur to them that they had been dancing to a silent room or several minutes, and they stood there gazing at each other. "If I knew that I had this waiting for me."

"This?" said Feliciano. He put his arms around Ludwig's neck and tilted his head, suddenly becoming less sad and all flirty again. Ludwig had always been awestruck at Feliciano's uncanny ability to turn the mood on its head, but here they were.

"Yes," he said coyly.

"How about some detail, hm?" Feliciano winked. Before two seconds had passed, he let out a ve! of surprise as Ludwig scooped his feet out from under him to carry him, bridal style, back to Ludwig's side of the room. Grinning at Feli's appalled yell, Ludwig tossed the smaller man on the bed and slipped his door shut. He flopped onto the bed beside Feli, and they stared at each other. They were always doing that, it seemed.

"I mean," said Ludwig, cradling Feliciano's hands in his own. "That if I had to be bedridden for an entire month just to see you play in the hay with seven-year-olds, to help you take flowers out of your hair and scold you for not wearing your boots while making a speech, to have a candlelit dinner with you and know that I could keep you all to myself…I would do it without hesitation."

Feliciano's face split into a real smile, a proper one that Ludwig knew fell into a category of Feli smiles that only Ludwig saw.

"I love you," said Ludwig. There were tears brimming in Feliciano's eyes. A powerful surge of heat shot through him. "Gott, Feliciano, I love you." He peppered kisses onto Feli's face, feeling Feliciano wiggle closer to him. Ludwig placed a kiss to the top of Feliciano's head and felt Feli nuzzle into his neck.

"I love you, too," whispered Feliciano, placing an open-mouthed kiss to his throat. "You make me happy, ve, and I'm glad I get to spend your birthday with you."

"You're the best present I could ask for," said Ludwig. He rolled onto his back, pulling Feliciano on top of him. The room was dark, but there were still candles lining the desks, and it was enough to see his lover's face. Feli's smile could stretch across galaxies, light up planets that existed in the dizzy daydreams of scientists, and extinguish the moon by radiant competition.

Naturally, Ludwig pulled Feliciano and kissed him until he saw stars.

God, if only everyone could be happy all the time...

If you're excited for the road ahead, if you liked/hated this chapter, or if you just have some advice, let me know by leaving me a review! Don't forget to favorite and follow! Thanks, everyone!

~Elsi