"Arthur! Hurry! Let's go!" Alfred called back as he ran ahead of the older man. Arthur walked slowly behind the boy, keeping a close eye on him. He didn't want to let him out of his sight.

They overcame the grassy hill they had been climbing and found the beautiful ocean spread out before them.

The bright blue of the water was enhanced only by the brightness of the sun's rays that reflected off the surface. Alfred's excitement was hardly containable.

"This is so cool!" The young boy yelled as he flopped to the ground and started to roll down the sandy hill.

"Be careful!" Arthur yelled after him as he made his way cautiously down the stairs that accompanied the hill.

Arthur had never taken Alfred to the beach before, but he decided today that Alfred was old enough to experience it. After much begging and bargaining, Alfred finally got his wish. There was, however, one condition.

"Silly boys." Arthur heard a voice behind him say.

He sighed and turned around to see Francis and Matthew standing at the top of the hill.

According to Francis, Arthur wasn't capable of handling Alfred on his own. He had offered his 'services' to help care for Alfred and Matthew for the day. Arthur begrudgingly complied, seeing as how the beach they were at was one of Francis' to begin with.

He owned a lot of beaches, and was more than happy to let Arthur and Alfred frolic there for the day, but only if Francis and Matthew accompanied them.

The two made their way down the stairs and walked gracefully past Arthur.

Arthur grumbled something under his breath and followed suit.

Once they hit the shore, the two young boys wasted no time tearing off their clothes and jumping into the water.

"Brr! It's c-cold!" Matthew exclaimed while his brother dunked down under the water.

He resurfaced and sighed audibly, "I don't know what you're talking about! This is great!" Alfred smacked his little brother on the back and dragged him out further into the current.

"Be careful!" Arthur yelled again. Francis chuckled and said, "Don't worry about them. They'll be fine." Arthur looked at him worriedly, "Whatever." He said finally.

The day flew by quicker than they had expected.

The sun started to set in the west just as Francis and Arthur began wrapping up a heated discussion about new policies in their government.

"I'm telling you, it won't work!" Arthur said as he stood up and stretched. He had sand in places where people just shouldn't have sand.

He shook his legs furiously to rid himself of the unwanted crystals. Francis stood up and retorted, "And I'm telling you it will! Just trust me on this."

"Sure, sure, whatever." Arthur said blandly as he made his way over to the ocean front. Arthur stood and looked out over the horizon. He saw splashing in the distance. He smiled and called out, "Boys! It's time to go! Let's bring it on in!"

He saw the tiny figure turn toward him and start to paddle. Francis came up behind him and asked, "Where's Alfred?"

Arthur glanced at him and scoffed, "He's right there, git." Francis shook his head, "That's Matthew." Arthur had never had the best eyesight.

He turned back and, sure enough, saw Matthew start to come into focus. Arthur ran into the water and met him halfway, "Where's your brother?" He asked him.

Matthew had been staring at the water the entire swim back. He wouldn't look at Arthur.

The Brit had to manually force the boy's chin up. Arthur gasped when he saw Matthew's face; eyes full of salty tears. "What's wrong, Matt? Where's Alfred?" Arthur asked again.

Matthew sniffled and pulled away from Arthur's hands. He ran to Francis and clung to his side; tears running down his plump cheeks.

Arthur began to worry. "Francis, ask him where Alfred is." Arthur called over to the Frenchman. Francis nodded and crouched down to Matthew's height. Arthur saw him whisper something into young boy's ear.

He watched carefully as the little boy whispered something in return. He saw Francis' eyes widen; not a good sign.

Francis stood up straight and walked gingerly over to where Arthur was standing; dumbly letting the waves crash up against his bare legs.

"I asked Matthew where Alfred was." Francis started. Arthur willed his emerald eyes to look back at the Frenchman. "And?" He questioned.

Francis sighed, "He doesn't know."

Arthur felt his heart skip a beat.

He turned away from Francis and ran out further into the deep abyss. The water was at his knees now.

"Alfred! Alfred! Where are you? Alfred!" He yelled out into the emptiness. His heart sank when he heard no reply. He looked back sadly at the Frenchman, who was now holding Matthew in his arms gingerly.

"I'm going to take him home. I'll be back to help you look." He yelled as he carried Matthew back to the shore.

Arthur didn't care what Francis did. The only thing that concerned him at that moment was Alfred. Where was he? Was he safe? Did he swim back to shore without him noticing? Or was he carried out to sea without Matthew noticing?

So many questions that he didn't want to know the answer to.

He waded slowly back to the shore and looked around. To his left was more sand.

The beach seemed to go on forever.

To his right was a gravel path that led over a quaint hill. He wondered if Alfred had gone that way. Without bothering to put his shoes back on, he ran over to the path and started to follow it over the hill. The path wasn't that long, and it soon led him to a quiet playground.

He carefully walked over to the equipment and analyzed it. It looked like it hadn't been used in over 50 years. The swings were rusty and creaked with every stray breeze. The lone slide stood wobbling in the wind while the monkey bars looked like they could break any minute. It was rather eerie.

Arthur scanned the edge of the playground. He gasped when he noticed a little blob laying soundly in the grass near the edge.

He ran over to the blob and shielded his eyes from the setting sun. The blob yawned and sat up when he noticed Arthur standing over him. "Arthur?" The blob said.

Arthur brought his hand down, "Alfred?" He replied. Alfred stood up and wobbled a bit, "I'm tired. Can we go home?" Arthur was both relieved and furious at the same time.

Alfred knew better than to wander off without telling anyone. He guessed he would let it slide just this one time.

Arthur held his hand out to the young boy, "Let's go home." He said softly.

Alfred smiled, "Okay."

He took the older man's hand in return and the two of them started back down the gravel path. They were interrupted by Francis, who met them halfway back to the shore.

Francis heaved a sigh, "So you found him. Good, now we can stop worrying." The Frenchman turned around and started walking back towards the shore. Arthur smiled and tugged on Alfred's hand.

The young boy complied and followed the two older men back onto the sandy shore.

Just as they felt the sand start to seep between their toes once more, the sun began to set behind the horizon.

"This has been a crazy day." Arthur said. "I don't think that we'll be doing this again anytime soon."

"Aw." Alfred whined.

Arthur smiled down at the boy and ruffled his hair, "Let's think of something else to do once we get home."

Alfred nodded enthusiastically and grabbed onto Arthur's arm. "Let's go!" Alfred yelled as he dragged the older man back towards the stairs.

Francis saw them and sighed, "Those two are really something else."

It's been a while since I uploaded anything. Oh well.

This was conjured up one day in Graphic Design. C:

Yay