#gah its been so long since ive written anything sorry if it's bad

[bluesfanfiction]

The Best of Luck - USUK FF

This is a fic trade with @x-silkplants-x​. I haven’t written in a while and boy I got a little carried away sorry! (I went over our word count but honestly don’t worry about it! It’s my apology for being late) This was a prompt they had requested so I hope I did it justice >< and I hope you like it!!! 

Summary - On Arthur’s birthday, there is a competition held in which alphas will compete for Arthur’s hand in marriage.  AU - Omegaverse, Wealthy AU  Rating - SFW 

It was that time of year again. Most people looked forward to their birthdays, and Arthur did have to say coming from a wealthy family parties did have their perks. However, his birthday also doubled as another event. It had started from his 18th birthday, from old traditions that had run in the family. On his birthday each year there was to be a competition where alphas from all around would come to compete for his hand in marriage. Since these were modern times though Arthur had been given the right to deny the winner each year since his 18th birthday if he was not satisfied with them. Which he had done. Besides, 18 seemed rather too young to get married. It was only on the condition that he would accept someone by his 25th birthday. It was his 24th birthday now, which meant he had this year or the next to decide, and honestly the thought was terrifying.

He was up late, tossing and turning. It wasn’t like he was… nervous. Probably it was the light from laptop charger, or not being able to get into a comfortable enough position, or the temperature of the room was wrong. Either way, he was unable to fall asleep. Part of him had contemplated that if it came to it, he would run away by his 25th birthday if there was no hope. However, he still was an omega so finding work and support would be more difficult for him than an alpha. And what if he were to get his heat in a place with no security or protection? Arthur had never particularly felt trapped here. He loved his family. But he hated the traditions their family had to uphold, and he hated the unfairness it brought to omegas.

-

Morning did eventually come. In the grand hall the competitors would gather for pre-event greetings. Arthur was expected to attend, of course. It did give him a sense of their personality before they went into the competition. Most of the time though the same competitors came back each year, persistent alphas who had nothing else to do it seemed. The maids came to help Arthur ready himself, helping him into his attire. He thanked them for their help- It was always such a troublesome task with all the different layers and pieces that went into his outfit. A tailored and fitted suit, with flares to accentuate his frame. He eyed himself in the mirror and ruffled his hair once the maids were gone, not liking when it stuck down on his head too much.

The event was an all-day one, the finale being a grand party held in the ballroom. It was at the end of the party, with a toast to all the competitors, that Arthur would make his decision.

When Arthur got to the grand hall everyone was gathered. His mother greeted him with a kiss to the cheek and a smile, his younger brother tugged at his sleeve and grinned up at him. Arthur gave him a pat to the hair and smiled.

“Martin is here again,” Peter said, looking over in the man’s direction.

Arthur caught a glimpse of the alpha and rolled his eyes. “Back for another round is he?”

“Ava is here as well.” Peter pointed her. She was near a group of Arthur’s housemaids, chatting them up. It wasn’t uncommon for female alphas to perform in these competitions either. After all, the alpha who would wed Arthur would have claim to the Kirkland fortune. That was enough to draw anyone.

“She performed well two years ago, if I recall,” Arthur said, thinking she looked more fit than before, as if she had been prepping for this year’s competition.

Arthur went around and made his introductions, or reintroductions for most, and was about halfway through when he spotted Alfred coming over to him. “Alfred?” Arthur was surprised to see the alpha. He was a bank teller full time and had a brother who was married to a cousin of Arthur’s. Arthur had met him at first at Alfred’s brother’s wedding, and then a few more times after that. He was an awkward alpha, but sweet all the same. He had a confidence in himself but no need to impress anyone. He always had some sort of awful joke he had saved to tell Arthur, and spent a lot of time telling him facts and trivia about ice cream. Arthur didn’t know if it was because the alpha loved ice cream, of if he somehow knew of Arthur’s secret love of the dessert. He was also an American but had moved to London after graduating university, so he still had that American accent Arthur secretly adored.

“H-hey Artie,” Alfred said, looking nervous for once.

“Are you dropping by Alfred? Were you interested in watching the competition?” Alfred had never come before, so Arthur didn’t know why he was suddenly interested now.

“Actually I’m going to compete,” Alfred said, standing up a bit straighter than before.

Arthur laughed. “Is this one of your new jokes you’ve saved for me?”

Alfred’s expression was stuck between a grin (he couldn’t help but smile when Arthur was laughing) and one of embarrassment. “No jokes here today. I’m really going to compete. I-I hope you’ll wish me luck.”

Arthur quieted a bit, seeing the seriousness in Alfred’s expression. He didn’t know how he felt. It was a lie to say he had never considered Alfred in that way. Alfred was handsome and kind and sweet. He could certainly picture him as a good husband. But Alfred had just never seemed interested. Not in money or being part of a wealthy family or even in Arthur at all… It wasn’t determined that Alfred would win today, but if he were to … Would Arthur turn him down?

The nervousness made Arthur’s hands sweat as he was once again reminded of how his time was running out. Alfred cleared his throat a bit, unsure, when Arthur didn’t answer.

“I wish you the best of luck, Alfred,” Arthur said, meaning it.

Alfred beamed. “I’ll do my best.”

-

Alfred’s best was… clumsy. It looked as if the alpha had not prepared in the slightest. The schedule for the day started with Archery. After that, Hunting, a Luncheon, followed by a Trivia of the Kirkland Household, and finally, the party. Each event would award the competitors with points. It didn’t matter if the competitor scored low in the first event, they were still allowed to continue onto the next one, and complete in all of the events of the day. At the end of the day, the final points for each competitor would be totaled, and the one with the most points would be decreed winner and be eligible to marry Arthur (if Arthur agreed). It was made this way so that those who perhaps were not as skilled in archery could make up points in later events, or vice versa.

Arthur found himself too focused on Alfred to really see how any of the other competitors were doing. He wasn’t even sure who was leading at the moment, but he knew for a fact it certainly wasn’t Alfred. The alpha was struggling to even string a bow. Arthur wouldn’t doubt it was probably the first time he had ever picked one up. He felt pity for Alfred and wished he could go down and give him some pointers. It was no matter though, there were other events Alfred could score points in to make up for it. It was just a slow start, that was all.

But it seemed it was not just a slow start. In the Hunting event, Alfred didn’t know what he was doing either, and had even struggled to get on the horse. At the Luncheon, Arthur observed his manners at the table and found his etiquette to be lacking. However, he was excelling in drawing out forced laughs with his horrid puns. Arthur was at a separate table but could still hear those punch lines and the groans from the other alphas that looked at Alfred like he was just there to make them look better. He didn’t seem to mind, or… he didn’t even seem to notice. He carried on, a big smile on his face. He kept complimenting the food and thanking the butlers and maids that brought each dish out. Arthur smiled to himself, catching his eldest brother looking over at him when he did.

-

The last event of the day before the party was the Trivia. It was the history of the Kirkland household, the family history, everything important that had been crammed into Arthur as a child about his relatives and all that nonsense. Arthur watched hands raise, answers come. Alfred attempted to answer as many as he could but was often wrong… by a lot. The host of the Trivia event announced the end of the round.

“We will have a set of three bonus questions. These questions are specific to Arthur Kirkland, rather than the Kirkland family. These points will have no negative effect on your score if you are to answer them wrong.”

Each year there was a bonus round, it was promoted as a way to earn bonus points to help you out, but in all the years they’d done it, no one had managed to answer all of them, or even one of them. They were more personal to things about Arthur that his competitors often didn’t take the time to look into. Most of them had never even spoken to Arthur before or outside of this event, and so how could they know anything about him? It wasn’t really fair, but Arthur placed a lot of importance on this part of the day. He didn’t want some stranger marrying him. He wanted someone who knew him or even cared to know anything about him. These competitors might be trained in Hunting, have knowledge of the household, or have table manners, but… They were marrying Arthur, not the hunting grounds or anything like that.

Arthur sighed. All hope of Alfred had gone out the window too. Arthur had thought the Archery was just a blunder, but as the day had drawn on it had become apparent to him that Alfred had not prepared and knew little to nothing about any of the events. Even if he did have his bad jokes and charming smile and cute dimples…

“First question: How does Arthur take his tea?”

One hand shot up. Alfred’s. He’d been trying to answer all of the questions anyway so Arthur thought he was just going to guess at this one too.

“As sweet as it can be,” Alfred said. “Arthur likes as much sugar as the cup will hold. He doesn’t like anyone knowing how much he loves sweets but he just can’t help himself when it comes to tea.”

Arthur’s eyes widened, his posture straightening a bit, his attention more on Alfred now.

“That’s correct. Bonus points to Mr. Jones. Second question. What’s Arthur’s favorite flower?”

Another hand shot up before Alfred’s. It was Martin’s. “Obviously it’s the same as the Kirkland household’s- the Foxglove.”

“That’s in-”

“That’s stupid,” Alfred interrupted. “It’s obviously not the Foxglove. Artie’s favorite flower is a rose. Specifically red roses,” he said confidently. “Arthur always grows them in his private garden and likes to take care of them practically every day.”

“That’s correct. Bonus points to Mr. Jones once again. Final question…” Arthur was as straight up in his seat as he could be, more attentive than he’d ever been before. Alfred had… remembered all those things… about him? They had met before but not that often and Arthur didn’t talk much about himself. Even when he did, he didn’t think anyone listened- especially alphas. He remembered giving Alfred a rose once before, telling him he could use it to brighten up his desk at the bank. Arthur felt his heart race a bit.

“What’s Arthur’s favorite dessert?”

Alfred’s hand went up again with no hesitation. “Strawberry ice cream. Artie likes a lot of different flavors of ice cream, but he likes the sweetness of fresh strawberries and he especially likes them in ice cream. He always craves it around spring and early summer.”

Arthur… had never told anyone that. How could Alfred have known?

“That’s correct,” the host announced. “This event has now concluded. Everyone may now take some time to relax and freshen up before gathering in the ballroom for the party. Thank you.”

The competitors began getting up and stretching and chatting amongst each other, talking about how they think they did, or how many points they thought they had. Arthur couldn’t move, still stuck to the spot, eyes on Alfred. The alpha met his eyes from across the room and he smiled at him. He could see Alfred get up and walk towards him and felt his hand twitch. People moved between them, cutting them off from each other’s view. Arthur got one more glimpse, then stood up and ran from the room.

He ran to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and walking to the window. There were people out in the lawn who were looking up at his window, pointing towards it and waving when they saw him stand there. Arthur closed the curtains. His heart was racing. Alfred… Alfred had answered every question right. And yet, he had gotten everything else wrong. Oh why had he been so ill-prepared in all the events? Unable to do a single thing. Even with the bonus points he was most certainly in last place. Even if Arthur wanted to chose him, he couldn’t.

Is that what Arthur wanted? Did he want to chose Alfred?

That dolt. That simple stupid American bank teller with his stupid puns and stupid blue eyes. That charming, sweet, wonderful alpha who listened to Arthur when Arthur went on about his boring books or his garden. Arthur felt tears sting in his eyes. He heard a knock on his door.

“Arthur? Dear?” It was his mother’s voice. Arthur wiped the hot tears away.

“Yes mother?”

She entered the dark room, finding Arthur still standing near the window, the curtains drawn closed. She sat on the edge of his bed. She had gone through the same thing as him, competitors asking for her hand in marriage through competition and events. She understood what he was going through. “You don’t have to chose anyone this year, you know…” She murmured, although she too realized he only had one year left to pick.

Arthur sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.

“That’s not it mother… I have decided…”

His mother perked up a bit, interested. “Really dear? Then what’s the matter?” Arthur looked down at his hands. “The stupid alpha didn’t score enough points,” he muttered.

Realization dawned on his mother’s face as she figured out who Arthur was referring to. She had seen the alpha’s performance throughout the day, had met the lad before, and she had seen her son and him talking a few times. She smiled and ran her fingers through Arthur’s hair.

“You chose him?” she asked. “Are you sure, Arthur?”

Arthur nodded, trying to stop from crying so his eyes wouldn’t be red and puffy during the party. “Even if we gave him a year to prepare for the next competition, there’s no guarantee he would win or even get enough points. And next year is the last… But… he was the only one who knew…” His mother smiled softly and kissed Arthur on the forehead.

“Let me talk with your father,” she said.

Arthur looked up at her. “You mean… you would… let me chose him?” he asked.

“We know this tradition is hard. It’s unfair to chose. We had hoped you would find someone through these parties and events that you would want to chose. And now, it seems you have.”

Arthur felt the tears well up again and leaned over to hug his mother. “Thank you,” he murmured, burying his face into her neck, feeling comforted as if he were a small child again.

-

Arthur felt as if he were floating through the party, unaware of most things. He felt nervous now even more than before. What if… What if Alfred didn’t accept him? He had run away earlier. What if Alfred had taken that as a bad sign and had left? He didn’t see the alpha at the party now, although there were a lot of people. Hor d'oeuvres were being passed around, family and competitors and many others stood around with wine or champagne in hand, chatting excitedly to find out the results.

A clink to a glass caught everyone’s attention. Arthur had made his way up to the main part of the ballroom, on a raised stage where everyone could see him more clearly. His father and mother were there, smiling proudly at him. His father winked in a comforting way towards Arthur.

It was customary that Arthur was to read the results and make the announcement to everyone. He took a sheet from a maid and stepped up to a microphone. “Thank you everyone for coming and participating today,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. His eyes scanned the crowd of faces, trying and failing to find Alfred’s. “Thank you to the competitors for doing their best and working hard for this day,” he added. “As you know, the points from today will be added together, and the one with the most points will be decreed the winner.” Arthur looked at the list. He was always given the score from 3rd to 1st place and started from bottom to top. “I know you all put in your best effort. All of you trained and prepared and studied for the events of today. I saw many of you doing your best and working hard to impress me or show what you can do. I really do appreciate it.”

After searching Arthur’s eyes finally found Alfred. The alpha was near the back, looking at him, that same smile on his face, like he was trying to tell Arthur it was okay. He looked as if he knew he hadn’t won, but he was still happy for Arthur anyway. It made Arthur want to run away all over again. What ifs ran through his mind, making him doubt himself. Arthur took a deep breath.

“In 3rd place, with 380 points, Ms. Ava,” Arthur announced. The audience clapped for Ava, who looked disappointed. Arthur smiled at her. “Thank you… In 2nd place, with 410 points, Mr. Choi.” More applause erupted from everyone. Everyone grew quiet, waiting intensely for the 1st place winner.

“And in 1st place… with 25 points, Mr. Alfred F. Jones.” There were gasps of surprise, even Alfred looked incredibly shocked too. Some of the other competitors began to anger but the maids calmed them down. Alfred, you’re the one I chose… You’re the one I want to marry a-and I hope you want me to,” Arthur said. “If you would please come to the stage if you accept… I-I don’t care if you can’t shoot an arrow, or that your jokes are the worst I’ve ever heard… You knew the most about me and I want to know more about you. Do you- Will you accept?”

There was a pause and then some of the crowd began pushing Alfred towards the stage until he was right at the steps and then next to Arthur. Arthur turned to look at him, swearing he wouldn’t cry again.

Alfred smiled at him. “Thank you for wishing me all that luck earlier,” he said. Arthur laughed and Alfred continued on. “I want to get to know you more too so, I guess what I’m saying is of course I accept.”