Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Hetalia. Hey everyone! Before I begin, I just want to thank all of my readers! You guys rock! And thanks for all of the reviews! They really motivate me to make the next chapters as soon as possible! You guys are really awesome! So (as always), please read, REVIEW, FAVORITE, and enjoy! Here's chapter 4:

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Arthur took a deep breath. He clutched his knees tightly with his hands as he sat in his chair. Only Kiku had ever known the truth about him, and no one else ever cared. For Alfred to care was unthinkable. 'No,' Arthur thought. 'He has a right to know. He's already done so much for me, so I can do this one thing for him.' Arthur looked deeply into Alfred's brilliant blue eyes one last time before he began to speak.

"When I was 7 years old, my mum died. Now that I think back on it, that's when the abuse started."

_._

The front door slammed shut with a loud bang. The door was followed by loud swearing, and eventually the swearing began to make its way up the stairs. Arthur ran to his bedroom door, attempting to close it before his father reached the top of the stairs. 'Please!' he thought desperately. Unfortunately, Mr. Kirkland was faster than his son, and he flung the door open, knocking Arthur onto the floor. Arthur quickly spoke up.

"Dad! I was just on my way down to say hi!" Arthur lied, trying hard to appear as sincere as possible. "But you came up to my room before I could go meet you at the do-"

"Like hell you were you little shit. You were trying to shut me out. You know what happens when you do that," Mr. Kirkland said menacingly. "Your dear mum isn't here to help you now."

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Arthur apologized. "Please don't hit me! It still hurts from last time!" Arthur curled up into a tiny ball in the corner of his room, desperate to get as far away from his father as possible. He wished that he could just go through the wall, or make the bad guys disappear like Superman could. But all Arthur could do was sit there and endure it.

"Why would I smack you Arthur? Do you really think I would do such a thing?" Mr. Kirkland mocked. "No, I won't smack you."

"Y-you won't? You promise?" Arthur asked, slowly turning around. When he had turned halfway around, he heard a loud crack, and a stinging pain spread all over his face. He looked up with horror to see what had struck him.

"I'm not going to smack you! But I said nothing about using my belt."

_._

"That's horrible!" Alfred exclaimed. "How could that bastard do such a thing?" Alfred was literally shouting by this point. His face turned red with rage, and his fists shook uncontrollably.

"Sit down wanker. That wasn't that bad. The beatings would sometimes go on for hours upon hours without end," Arthur said. "Sometimes it would be smacking, but sometimes it would be punching. Sometimes it would be the belt, and sometimes it would be kicking. That bastard beat me all the time. He blamed mum's death on me, saying that I was a burden to her. With her dead, she would finally be free from the anxiety of putting up with me all of the time…"

"That's bullshit!" Alfred shouted. "How did your teachers not see the bruises?"

"They did actually. When I was in 8th grade, they finally saw my bruises. I blamed it on playing rugby. The teachers ignored it like always. But when I told my dad, he was furious," Arthur explained. "That's when I started wearing these clothes. He told me to wear tank tops so they could see my arms and neck were not bruised. The spiked bracelets hid the ones on my wrist, and my jeans hid the ones on my legs."

Arthur slowly removed the spiked bracelets from his wrists. Once he did, Alfred saw that his wrists were covered in scars and some burn marks. Originally, Alfred thought that Ivan did this to Arthur when he was being beaten up. After hearing that his father inflicted the damage, Alfred's rage increased tremendously. "Because of my…different appearance...the kids at school started to pick on me. This was when the bullying started."

"That damn monster…who the hell does he think he is?"

"He was my father. As time went on, the beatings got worse, but I grew accustomed to the pain, so it wasn't as bad." Arthur looked down at his feet. He was finding it increasingly hard to look Alfred in the eye. 'Why does he care so much about what my father did? It doesn't concern him, and the past is the past…'

"Then what happened? Did it get worse?" Alfred inquired.

"No," Arthur said. "One day during junior year, it stopped altogether."

"That's a relief. May I ask why?" There was a long pause after Alfred finished the question. 'Shit! I went too far, but I want to know!' Alfred thought to himself. He heard a small sigh come from Arthur, and then three words.

"He disowned me."

_._

The back seat of his old car was crammed with Arthur's clothes, and the rest of his possessions occupied the trunk. He'd been driving around for a couple of hours, looking to see if he could find a place to stay for the night, but every place turned him down. No hotel wanted to sell a room to a 17-year-old high school student. After an exhausting afternoon of driving, Arthur parked under an overpass and tried to go to sleep. The same scene from earlier that day replayed in his mind a dozen times. Arthur's dad came home in a rage from work. The beating that day had been especially bad. His dad burned him with the ends of his cigars, kicked him until he was almost unconscious, and smacked him until Arthur apologized for the death of his mom. Finally, his dad spoke up.

"Get out of my fucking house. I can't put up with your shit any longer," Mr. Kirkland had said. "You are no son of mine."

'I'm thankful that I finally left the care of that unmerciful bastard, but I don't know what to do,' Arthur thought. 'Maybe I should go and apologize…no! Of course not! That asshole tried to kill me on a regular basis! Damn…what should I do?'

Even though he suffered through years of abuse, Arthur still couldn't think straight. He finally got what he wanted, to be free from that bastard of a father, that was the only life he had ever known. He barely remembered anything from before his mom died, so abuse was all he could recall. 'Thrown away like shit by the people who are supposed to love you above everything else…what the hell?' Arthur put his hands over his face and began to cry. That night, and several others as well, he cried himself to sleep. He wished that this had all been a bad dream, and that his mom was still alive. He wished that his father hadn't abused him, and he wished that the bullies never got to him either.

Morning came, and Arthur drove off. During the summer, he would go to work at his monotonous job for 10 hours, and then he'd look for some place to stay. When he gave up, Arthur would drive back under the overpass and sleep there. Every day the cycle repeated, and everyday Arthur was unable to find a place to stay.

_._

"So when did you find this place?" Alfred asked. "And how did you afford it?"

"Well I found this place after a couple months," Arthur replied. "Kiku and I have been good friends for years, and his parents helped me pay for the apartment. Of course, most of the money from my job goes into the rent money. Kiku's parents also co-signed for the apartment. In fact, the only reason why I was allowed to stay here is because they're good friends with the landlord, Mr. Yao. Their family has done so much for me that I could never repay them."

"Kiku's one hell of a good guy," Alfred said. "I can see why you guys are good friends."

"Yeah," Arthur retorted. "He's always been there for me…just like…"

Arthur paused. He didn't want to finish the sentence, and he hoped that Alfred just disregarded it. 'Oh shit! Please, dear GOD, let him ignore that! Why the hell did I have to say that? Damn, since when did I care about what I say?' Arthur held his breath, hoping for Alfred to brush off the slip-of-the-tongue Arthur had just had. But he didn't.

"Just like…?"

'Shit! What the hell was I thinking! It's Alfred; he's not going to let something go…' Arthur thought. After a minute of silence, Arthur finally spoke up. "Just like you've been there for me. The past few days I mean…you helped me out several times. You saved me from Ivan once, prevented a detention from Ms. Daniels, and helped me today after…you know…"

Alfred got up and slowly walked over to Arthur. He placed his hand gently on his shoulder, and smiled down at him sincerely. "It's what I do Arthur! I mean, I am the hero! I couldn't let them do that to you."

"You did all of this…and I never said thank you…"Arthur looked up to see Alfred's sincere smile. His brilliant blue eyes shone, and his perfect smile beamed down. Arthur desperately tried to hide the color in his cheeks. Despite all of his efforts, he blushed brilliantly. 'Why am I blushing? I mean, it's not like I actually LIKE him…do I?' Arthur began to panic. He quickly turned his gaze to the floor, and continued to speak. "So…thanks. Thanks for everything…but you really didn't have to. People expect me to be like this, and for these types of things to happen. That's just what society has molded me to be, an outcast. You have no reason to protect me…"

"Yes I do," Alfred replied in a serious tone. "My reason is a damn good one too."

"Why then? What's your reason? Why do you want to go through all of this for me?" Arthur suddenly felt Alfred's hand lift up his chin. Arthur was once again staring deep into Alfred's brilliant blue eyes. Time seemed to slow down, and Arthur soon became oblivious to all that was around him. All that he seemed to be aware of at the moment was Alfred and himself. He felt his blush deepen, and his stomach was doing flips. Arthur's heart began to race uncontrollably; the feeling was resonating throughout his entire chest. Arthur felt his breathing become shorter, and then…

He felt Alfred's lips on his own. Arthur's eyes widened as he was overtaken by shock. However, the shock quickly subsided, and his eyes slowly closed. Despite Alfred's tough-looking exterior, his lips were as soft as silk. Arthur leaned in, and he began to kiss Alfred back. Arthur's heart was almost beating out of his chest, and he felt like he was on cloud nine. At that moment, the hand that was under Arthur's chin reached up and touched the side of his face. It gently rested gingerly on his cheek, causing Arthur's blush to become even deeper. It was pure bliss, and it was there that Arthur wanted to stay. Time seemed to slow down to a stop, but Arthur didn't mind. Finally, after a few more seconds, Alfred broke the kiss.

"Because I love you Arthur Kirkland."

_._

So what did you guys think? Okay…so this is OFICIALLY the last chapter where poor little Arthur gets hurt. But, it was kind of necessary for where I plan on taking the story. Once again, I'd like to thank you guys so much for following my story so far! You guys are amazing! I'd also like to thank FMAvatard for your suggestions and helping me with some editing! The people who make reviews, I love you guys! Thanks so much! Make sure to check out my profile to see my other stories and to answer my poll to VOTE for YOUR FAVORITE pairing. So please, leave your comments and questions in the REVIEWS, and anonymous reviews are active. Any suggestions, PM me. No flat out hate please :3