"Oh, Kiku. With hair as black as ebony, lips as red as the rose, and skin as white as snow," the blonde prince remarked as he stared into his almond colored eyes. He brushed the Japanese beauty's black hair behind his ear and said, "You truly are the fairest one of all."

Kiku smiled at his comment. "You know, for years people like you have been telling me, 'Kiku, you're so beautiful,' or 'Kiku, marry me and I shall protect your beauty,' or my favorite, 'Kiku, you and I shall have beautiful children.' And I've pushed them all away... What makes you any different?"

Kiku tried to push him away, but Alfred quickly grabbed his shoulders and exclaimed, "Because unlike those guys I love you!"

Kiku's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened. Love. It's a feeling that he hasn't been too familiar with. The last time someone claimed to love him, his mother, died mysteriously. He missed her warm hugs, beautiful lullabies and delicious pastries they made together. He had isolated himself from reality within the confinement of his castle for years until a new mother showed up. A much crueler, malevolent mother who had manipulated his father, The King, into forcing him to neglect Kiku and inevitably, change Kiku. They decided that Kiku would grow out his hair pretend to be a girl so that he can marry a prince and live a lie for all his life. The only people who knew of his true identity were the King, Queen, servants and Alfred, whom he had been friends with for many years now.

"I've loved you since the day I first laid my eyes on you all those years ag-."

"Since you laid my eyes on me?!" Kiku shouted angrily. He shoved Alfred away from him, "I knew it! You're just like those powdered poodles who tried to woo me for my looks!"

Alfred gulped as he stared at the angry man. He put his hands up near his cheeks and confessed, "O.K. I'll admit. I was one of those poodles who liked you for your looks. But-."

Outraged, Kiku kicked the a small, wooden stool at the prince, who then dodged it. Kiku then grabbed a drawer and flung it onto Alfred. The drawer hit Alfred on the leg, causing him to fall to his knees. Kiku made a fist and tried to punch him, but Alfred managed to grab his wrist and pull him down onto his back. He quickly pinned him down by his wrists, but Kiku struggled to free himself.

"Wait! You didn't let me finish!"

"Why on earth would I want to keep listen to you?!" "

"Because I love that your caring, honest and compassionate." Kiku stopped struggling. His eyes lit up as Alfred gave his reasons for loving him. All his life, people have only wanted him for his beauty. But now, someone has looked past his physical experience. "I love how you can be as delicate as a flower and be as ferocious as dragon. I love how you can uphold traditional values and modern ones. And I love you can create beautiful works of art," he said as he held his left hand to his cheek. "I love the way you laugh and I love how you can kick butt." Both men shared small chuckles. "And I especially love that beautiful smile of yours."

Kiku's laughter died off. He asked, "Why did you come to find me? Didn't you know that I was banished?"

Alfred smiled. "Because I wanted to be banished with you," he said.

Kiku blushed. "T-That was a foolish decision! You would leave behind your duties and place on the throne for me?!"

Alfred giggled and explained, "You see. The thing about loving someone is that not a lot of those things matter anymore. Plus my brother Matthew can take my place." Alfred kissed the back of Kiku's hand. "Kiku. I truly do love you. My life would be empty with out you." Alfred lowered his head and tried to reach for a kiss, but Kiku moved his head to the side.

Kiku sat up and said, "I don't think you'd love me anymore if I told you what these hands that you love so much have done." His words surprised the prince. Kiku helped the wounded man up and asked, "Alfred, do you know why I cut my hair?"

Alfred nodded head side to side.

"It's because I was tired of my life. I was tired of being forced to love people who I didn't love. I was tired of living in that asylum I called "home". And I was tired of living a lie because my step-mother couldn't have a daughter, so she decided that I would be one!" His eyes began to water, like glistening crystals. "I thought that if I cut my hair, the weight off my chest would be lifted and everyone would accept me for who I am." Tears started rolling down his pale cheeks. "But when I cut my hair, my life went from worse to a living hell! When the neighboring kingdoms found out about my true identity, they wanted no involvement with me or my stepmother! We're the laughing stock of the whole region!" Alfred's mournful face stared at Kiku's agony. His eyes narrowed and voice began to crack. "So what did she so?! She beat me senselessly and, like everyone else, wanted nothing to me! So she banished me! She even hired an assassin to kill me! If I wasn't "blessed" by my beauty, I would be dead now!" Kiku took a step back and pressed his back against the wall. He slid down it, curled his knees to his chest and sobbed into his palms.

Alfred kneeled down in front of him and hugged the man tightly. "Don't worry. I'm here for you Kiku," he stated. He worried that Kiku might be on the brink of loosing his sanity.

Underneath his sniffles, Kiku spoke, "I've been wandering in the forest for over a week. Surviving on the unlucky woodland creatures that come's my way. Encountering bears and wolves and hunters forgotten traps. So when I found this little cottage, I had hoped that the people here would let me stay for the night. I was startled by the sight of dwarves inhabiting this cottage." His sniffles turned into maniacal giggles, startling the blonde prince. "When I asked if I could spend the night in their warm home, they didn't allow me in. I couldn't contain it anymore, so I just... snapped."

Alfred gulped and loosened his grip. "K-Kiku...W-What do you mean snapped?"

Kiku stopped chuckling. He looked up and stared into Alfred's sapphire blue eyes with a dead expression. "I killed them. All seven of them."

Alfred gasped. He couldn't believe the person who baked cute cakes, shrieked at the sight of a cockroach, and drew bunnies in the rose garden would do something as wicked as to take someone's life. Let alone seven. "H-How did you kill them?" He asked.

Kiku pointed over Alfred's shoulder. He turned his head and saw a blood encrusted axe leaning on the wall. "For small men, they sure do have a lot of blood in them. The house was covered in blood. I was covered in blood."

Alfred turned back to Kiku. "Wha-What did you do with the bodies?"

Kiku answered casually, "I couldn't fit their bodies in the closet, so I just burned them in the fireplace. While they burned, I cleaned the blood off me and decided to clean the place. I was surprised by how dirty this place was. It took me hours to finish cleaning." He smiled. "I didn't want my new home to scare off guests." He said, implying that the guest was Alfred. "After hearing all of what I've done, can you still love me?"

The room fell silent for a moment. "Can you?! Alfred?!"

"I thought I was the only one," he muttered.

"What did you say?"

"I thought I was the only one," he said, more clearly and louder than before.

Kiku was shocked. "Wh-What d-do you mean?"

Alfred explained, "Earlier today, The Queen, your stepmother, called for me. When I got there, I was surprised when I was greeted by an old woman."

Kiku slightly tilted his head with confusion. "The queen was an old woman?"

"Yes. When I asked why she turned herself into an old woman, she gave me a disturbing explanation."

Kiku interrupted him, "What did she say?"

"She told me that you were alive and she had found where you had resided. This cottage." Alfred's face grew pale, "And she had planned to kill you herself."

"What?! Where is she now?!" Kiku asked frantically, thinking that she was roaming around to kill her.

Alfred put his hands on his shoulders and told him to calm down. "She asked me to escort her through the woods and lure you to her. At that point, I was filled with mixed emotions. Anger because she wanted me to help kill you. And then again," he smiled at him, "happiness because you were alive." Alfred's happy expression died off, "However, my anger took the best of me. Once we were deep in the forest, I puled out my dagger and killed her."

Kiku was shocked that Alfred had soiled his hands for his sake. But on the other hand, he wasn't because it meant that his cruel stepmother was dead.

"I made sure I did the job right. I stopped till she stopped screaming." As he explained, he outlined how he killed the queen with his finger on Kiku, "I sliced her throat, stabbed her heart a couple times, and stabbed her abdomen just in case. After I hid her body in some bushes, I ran as fast as I could here and, " he smiled again, "found you."

"Wow. So I guess we're going to hell," Kiku joked.

Alfred chuckled and gave Kiku a hug, "At least we're going together." He then wept onto Kiku's shoulder. "I'm so glad that you're alive," he sobbed.

Kiku smiled and hugged the crying man. "I'm glad to be alive now that you're here."

Alfred pulled back and wiped the corner of his right eye with the lower palm of his hand. Kiku removed his glasses and wiped the tears away from Alfred's eyes. He put them back on Alfred and they locked eyes for a moment. Alfred puckered his lips, leaned in and gave Kiku a kiss. It wasn't Alfred's ideal kiss, bit it was still a kiss to him. Unable to resist the temptation, Alfred unbuttoned a few buttons from Kiku's shirt before he noticed. Angry, Kiku shoved the prince off of him and wiped the sides of his mouth with his sleeve.

He stood up and starred at the startled prince. Kiku couldn't bare look at Alfred's confused face and looked down at the wooden floor. "I know you've been in love with me for many years. You've made that statement very clear to me."

Alfred stood up and exclaimed, "Then what's the problem with wanting to make love?! Don't you love me?!"

Kiku looked up and shouted, "Of course I love you Alfred!" The prince blushed when he heard those words come out of his beloved's lips. "I-It's just that... I-I'm not ready."

Alfred sighed and reached in his satchel, "I didn't want to have to resort to this." He pulled out a red apple and placed it into Kiku's hands.

Kiku examined the fruit and reported, "It's an apple."

"This is no ordinary apple. This apple had special powers." Kiku raised his brow. "One bite of this, and you'll give in to the one you love, no matter what misgivings you have."

Kiku gulped. He held the apple close to his lips, but hesitated for a moment. "How can I tell if this works?"

Alfred grinned. "It this works, then all you will feel is love and pleasure."

Kiku pondered on this idea. He had long to be loved by someone who loved him for who he really is. Kiku made the fateful decision and bit a large chunk of the apple. He chewed it cautiously and swallowed it forcefully.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you another crucial detail." Alfred slapped the apple from Kiku's hands, grabbed his waist and pulled Kiku's frame against his. "The spell can only be activated if the person who ate the apple consensually kissed their love interest." Alfred moved his face close to Kiku's nervous face . "I'm ready. Are you? Kik-."

Before he finished his sentence, Kiku got on his tippy toes and kissed his prince. He wrapped his arms around his neck. Alfred grabbed Kiku's thighs and held them up near his waist. He then pressed Kiku onto the wall. Unlike how they kissed moments ago, they were devouring each other. They exchanged tongue and saliva. Kiku was gripping onto Alfred's dirty blonde hair as they both let out soft moans. Kiku's hot breath fogged Alfred's glassed, causing him to quickly remove them and get back to making out with his lover. A trail of saliva formed as they parted lips, collapsing as they giggled at it. Alfred picked up Kiku and carried him upstairs bridal style to the bedroom. He then pinned Kiku's wrists above his head once they fell onto the huge bed made up of seven smaller ones.

As he unbuttoned his own shirt, Alfred asked, "Are you ready?"

Kiku smirked and replied, "If I wasn't ready, I wouldn't have eaten the apple."

Nighttime...

The night sky blanked the area. The twinkling lights and full moon lit up on the forest. The lights from the sky shone through the window onto the lovers. Kiku, the banished and once unloved prince, was making sweet love to Alfred, the only man in who loved him.

Alfred moaned the occasional 'I love you' and 'Kiku' under his breath near Kiku's ear. Kiku's legs were resting on his shoulders and he gripped the sheets as Alfred was trusting into him. Moans were emitting from both of them, but more from Kiku. Alfred kissed the side of Kiku's neck, all the way down to his collarbone. He then sucked underneath his collarbone, intending to leave another mark on his lovers pale, relaxed body.

Alfred moaned in between his words as he said, "Kiku. You have no idea. *Ah*. How long I've waited for this moment. *Ngh*" He looked up to see his beloveds beautiful face, but was disappointed to find that Kiku was covering his eyes with his forearm. "It would be nice if you showed me those chocolate colored eyes of yours." Kiku moved his arm away from his eyes and stared into his sapphire eyes. Alfred saw his lovers beautiful features. His black eyebrows pulled together and raised in the center of his sweaty forehead, his pearly white teeth biting his rosy lips and eyes that have longed for affection. Beautiful, he thought. Alfred licked his lips and remarked, "It feels so~ good being inside of you."

"Y-You being ins-*Ah*" Kiku gripped Alfred's hair and grinned. He moaned a bit more and finished what he said in a seductive tone," You being inside me f-feels *Ah* amazing~."

Kiku's tone of voice made the prince thrust himself deeper into his lover. Kiku moaned louder and chuckled, "T-That magic apple surely is effective."

Alfred paused. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and said, "Magic apple? That wasn't a magic apple."

Kiku's eyes widened. Alfred's words rang in his ears like church bells. Horrified at his response, he gulped and spoke, "W-Wait. Wh-What are y-you saying?"

He responded, "That was just an ordinary apple." Alfred snickered at the shivering prince. "See Kiku. The thing is, everything we've been doing has nothing to do with magic. Just a little white lie and lust." He asked playfully, "Doesn't it feel amazing to be loved?" He moved his face closer to Kiku's pale face. He kissed his forehead as Kiku cried. Alfred licked one of his tears and licked his lips. He smiled and chuckled, "It was worth a little deceit. Don't you think?"