A/N: I've had this idea in my head for a few days and now that those Secret Santa fics are out of the way, I can write fluff! Listening to Owl City really helped, too...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, and the names of the faeires are taken from, of course, SHAKESPEARE! So. Please enjoy.

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For the first time, the forest he had grown to love looked ordinary. Its regular haze of purple and blue and gold dimmed and fluttered away with the wind, its sweet scent replaced with the normal aromas of bark and wood. Arthur stared, perplexed and above all, concerned.

"Please. Be alright," he whispered, feeling the held back tears seep down into his throat. He took a small step, for his short legs could only carry him so far, before bolting into the dark depths of the forest. His breath began to speed up, a tempo with his strides, but the sight of the empty clearing in the forest's heart stopped every movement in the young boy's body; every movement, but his tears.

He flicked his head around the dark area, his tears streaming in the air to glisten in nothing. "Portia! Titania, where are you?!" Arthur's voice echoed in the wooded abyss, his only response the burning silence of the woods.

Choking on his sobs, his small body flopped to the ground, his green cape pooling around him in the dry dirt. "You can't go, you can't leave me," he whimpered, dirt and tears staining his face. "Ariel, Ophelia, please answer me…"

A flicker in the clearing caught the young boy's attention, the magenta glow dimmer than it should be. "Cordelia!"

The faerie's light could barely brighten Arthur's face, her tired expression a hint to her eventual demise. "Arthur, what happened to us?"

It hurt to even think of the tragedy, let alone speak of it. "No one…believes me, they don't believe you exist," he said, stumbling over words with hiccups and cries.

Her magenta weakened to his statement, Cordelia's wings barely able to keep her floating. "Oh, Arthur, to where has this world fallen?"

Fat tears dribbled from his eyes, Arthur's tiny fingers reaching out to hold the dilapidated faerie in his shaking hands. "But I believe in you! Please, Cordelia, hang on! For me, please!!"

"I'm the last one," she croaked, nuzzling the pillow she made of Arthur's fingertips. "The rest have all…disapp…"

Arthur gasped, dark pinks melting into dust and coating his fingers. Torrents of tears flooded his face, his eyes watching in horror as his last friend died before him. "No, come back," he cried, clawing at the air, desperate for her existence somewhere in the clearing. But there was no Cordelia, no trace of her left in the forest. Even the pink dust on his fingers had faded. He screamed, pounding his fists on the ground. "Come back!!!"

Silence. Arthur's tired eyes took a glance around the empty clearing, his face void of any emotion. "I'm alone, no one's here for me…"

"That's not true."

The voice unfamiliar, Arthur perked up his head and spotted a boy about his age standing at the edge of the clearing, his blonde hair dancing in the soft wind.

He growled, giving the boy a look of warning. "Go away! No one asked you to come here!"

The other boy smiled, stepping into the clearing and bringing an odd sort of light with him. "No need to be so hostile, Arthur," he said, that smile shining as brightly as the glow his footsteps left on the forest floor.

Arthur gasped, in awe at the mystical abilities this boy harbored. "How…how are you doing that?"

"You're not alone," the boy whispered, taking Arthur's hands in his own and giving a gentle kiss upon his nose.

Arthur felt his whole face fire up with blush, keeping his eyes out of contact with the other boy. "You…you shouldn't kiss people you don't know," he mumbled, squeezing the warm hands that held his own.

Soft giggling ushered in a warm feeling throughout Arthur's body and then that voice whispered miracles in his ear. "I believe in faeries, Arthur."

And the forest burst with life and color and light, twinkling laughter and fluttering wings filling the clearing with childlike symphonies. Arthur's eyes panned the tree-canopied sky above him, his smile widening at the sight of hundreds of thousands of old friends returning to life. He leapt joyously into the air, catching the ends of their wings on his fingertips. They greeted him with gentle kisses that tickled his cheeks and small hugs that pinched his arms, but they were back, and that's all that could matter to Arthur.

He glanced over at the blonde boy and smiled, but before he could thank him, a blink of the eye transformed the boy into an older, bespectacled man with that same magical smile on his face. Arthur stared and reached out, but the changed size of his own hand startled him as well, warranting a laugh from the blonde man.

"Come here, Arthur," he said, holding out his arms.

Arthur glowered at the man, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Don't treat me like a child, Alfred…"

But laughter like his was hard to resist and their embrace was met with a glittering atmosphere that faded into white and into darkness and disappeared.

Arthur sat up, his heart pounding from the dream that lingered in his mind. His hand to his chest, he glanced back at the serene face of Alfred, fast asleep beside him. He chuckled and lay back down, nestling back into the empty space between the American's arms.

"Thank you, Alfred," he whispered, kissing those lips and closing his eyes, prepared for a dream just as wonderful as the one before.

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Thanks for reading!!! Much love for all of you! :D

~erbby