GerUk/GerEng Collection

A Rose by Any Other Name

I am obsessed with the Alice AU and actually have a long fic in the works once I'm finished with "In the Deep", but until then have this little one-shot of King of Hearts Arthur and his personal guard Ludwig.

"The roses are lovely this year," Arthur commented as he and Ludwig strolled through the castle garden.

It was just the two of them that day upon Arthur's request. Such things often made Ludwig nervous, after all, Arthur was king and although he had confidence in his ability as the king's personal guard, it was always nice to have some backup nearby. At the same time, he was alone with Arthur, which was getting rarer and rarer each day. They could be closer, casual even, without having to worry about people catching onto their... relationship .

"Mhm." They may have been lovers and they may have been alone, but it was hard to get out of that guard mindset and loosen up. Even so, casual conversation had never been easy for him.

"Shame they aren't red though."

"Everything is red your majesty, some change is good." Upon realizing what he said, he quickly went to apologize, "I mean...s-s-sorry your majesty I wasn't-"

Arthur only smirked, walking over to one of the bushes as Ludwig stuttered out apologies. "It's alright my love," he said, cutting off a rose and returning to Ludwig's side. Removing the thorns and smoothing over Ludwig's uniform, he tried to find a way to weave the stem through "What I was getting at was that red roses represent romantic, unconditional love. A thornless red rose represents love at first sight. I guess this white one will have to do for now." With his work done, Arthur stepped back to admire his work.

A red blush crept up to Ludwig's cheeks. He would never understand Arthur. One minute he was this serious, cold, calculated ruler with a distaste for people, the next he was this charming, poetic flirt making Ludwig swoon with every word. Not that he didn't love being the object of his king's affections or relieved that his feelings were mutual, but it was very overwhelming all the same.

"Y-You're the king...you...you could always plant some."

"Hmm, that's an idea." Arthur stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Ludwig's neck. "Then I could give you one every day. A reminder of how much I love you."

"Sap," Ludwig said, trying to regain some control over his emotions and failing miserably as Arthur placed a kiss on his cheeks.

The king only chuckled at the response, caressing the other man's burning cheek. "Perhaps, but only for you my darling."

"Alright lovebirds, break it up," a teasing voice called from behind.

Ludwig jumped and Arthur let out a growl. "Really Afonso," Arthur yelled, turning towards the grinning brunette, only to begin chasing him inside and most likely right towards his next meeting which Ludwig now realized was in about ten minutes. Shaking off his embarrassment, he followed the two friends, putting his work face back on.