Patchwork

by VioletLolitaPop

Meet Alfred F. Jones, five years old. Dressed in a pair of blue denim overall shorts and a striped short sleeved shirt he looks exactly like all the other little boys on the playground. Alfred, however, is not like all the other little boys.

6. Chapter 6

xxx
Chapter 6
xxx

The season passes as quickly as it had came; and throughout the summer, Alfred fills his schedule with work, job interviews, convincing his cousin to move in with him, and making financial plans to pay the price of the house in monthly intervals as well as transferring all of the bills to his own name.

Even though the payments for everything needed to keep the household running will be split into three ways, Alfred's convinced that he'll be residing within the home the longest. (And if he had his way, that would be true.)

Somewhere in between everything, he finds to opportunity to let Ivan know what is happenings, and to say that the ghost is even more ecstatic over the news than Alfred himself, is a clear cut understatement. Of course Alfred explains to him that Arthur has a wish to converse with him on all of this, and the two laugh and joke about how that would seem to any sort of third party.

Though everything is finalized when the time comes for the house key to be pressed into the palm of his Alfred's hand, and while watching Tino and Berwald drive away for the last time from what was their home for so many years, he clutches it tightly and still finds the whole situation incredible. When they are no longer in sight, he uncurls his fingers from around the small object and takes the time to study and memorize every groove embedded into the metal.

"Isn't there something that you need to do before Kiku arrives?"

Alfred is brought out of his reverie by the sound of Arthur's voice. His attention snaps to his former guardian, standing not half a foot away and at his full height, which is a great deal shorter than Alfred's and yet he still manages to look down on him. Alfred has no idea how Arthur is able to accomplish such a feat, but has every inclination to learn since a certain ghost still towers over him. In any case, Arthur seems to be waiting for a reply and it would only be wise to give him one.

"What?"

Arthur sighs heavily and brings his palm down his face. "I'm beginning to regret this."

"I'm just kidding!" Alfred laughs and claps his back. "Kiku said he wouldn't be moving in 'till the end of the week, you've got plenty of time to meet Ivan."

"Alfred."

Alfred laughs again as a reply and pockets the key, the door's already unlocked and as such, the small object is not needed for now. They both turn simultaneously, each meaning to enter the house before the other with Alfred eventually leading Arthur inside.

Though Alfred has entered the home countless times before, this one moment where his hand grasped the door's handle feels different. When he passes through the entrance and enters the vacant living room, the setting seems far more alien to him without the furniture that had occupied the space for so long.

The empty space might have been somewhat alarming in a manner of speaking, but the familiar temperature drop of a nearby presence causes Alfred to break into a grin and begin his search, leaving Arthur alone at the door.

He enters the former "painting room", thinking Ivan to be acting slightly nostalgic and choose to wait for him in the room where they solidified their friendship. When he doesn't find the other present, he races down the hallway into the former "big kid's room", where it was that they first made contact with each other. To his delight, it's in this room he finds Ivan in, gazing out from the same window he had when they first met, incidentally enough.

"Hey, mister," he calls out. "Ain'tcha gonna welcome me home?"

His voice snaps Ivan's attention straight to him, and the moment their eyes meet, Alfred rushes at him and envelopes the other into a large hug. Ivan is only more than happy to return the embrace while wearing a smile bright enough to rival Alfred's.

"Welcome home," he sighs into Alfred's hair and feels the other tighten around his own figure.

Reluctantly, the two separate, though Alfred latches onto Ivan's hand and keeps a firm hold. He turns to look out the window just as Ivan had moments before, not seeing anything of particular interest.

"What were you looking at?" he asks.

"I found myself remembering children playing about in the yard," says Ivan. "It is os much more quiet now, and it is almost as though the were never here."

"I'm still here," Alfred assures him with a light squeeze of his hand.

A loud cough interrupts the scene, forcing them both to turn their attentions towards the archway where Arthur stands, waiting to be acknowledged. Alfred gives Ivan a quick grin before dragging him over to the other male, speaking all the while.

"Arthur said that he wanted to meet you," Alfred tells him. "I toldja about that, right?"

"I am afraid you had forgot to do so."

"Oh, well he wanted to meet you before the move in, but figured it would've been kinda weird with everyone else still living here. So I'm gonna introduce you guys now."

After his hasty explanation, he turns back to Arthur who to his surprise, carries a peculiar looking expression.

"You okay?" he asks him.

"It's just a bit odd," Arthur confesses. "To watch you speak with another person I am unable to see for myself."

"Welcome to my world." Alfred claps his hands together suddenly and begins again in a cheery voice. "Ivan, this is my uncle-cousin Artie, I've told you about him. And Arthur, this is Ivan. I know you can't see him, but he's this much taller than me-" He takes a pauses to raise his hand up to Ivan's height above his own head. "-He's got hair like Ludwig's brother Gilbert and his eyes are the same as Mattie's."

"How old is he?" It's not the most gentlemanly response, but learning just his height itself is somewhat of a shock factor for Arthur.

Alfred tilts his head, thinking of the answer to the question. He replies with a shallow, "I don't know."

He turns his head upwards towards Ivan, who only gives him a small smile in return.

"Please inform your.. uncle-cousin, was it?" Ivan questions and waits for Alfred's affirmation before continuing. "Yes, please inform him that I am very glad to have made his acquaintance."

"Ivan says he's happy to meet you," Alfred directs at Arthur. "But just a lot more fancier."

"In that case, please let him know that the feeling is mutual," says Arthur.

"Just 'cause you can't hear him, doesn't mean he can't hear you," Alfred reminds him. "You don't have to go through me."

"Right, right…" Arthur faces the direction he is certain Ivan occupies and clears his throat before saying, "Please forgive my rude behavior, I assure you that I am also glad to be making your acquaintance."

Even though Arthur is correct in directing his speech, Alfred can't help but decide to have some fun on his former guardian's behalf.

"Arthur," he whispers. "Ivan's over here."

He points to the spot on his other side, opposite of where Ivan really stands. Though Ivan can't really condone the action since it's entirely unfair to Arthur, he also can't help the small laugh brought on by the red marring Arthur's face.

Throughout Arthur's visit, the two do a number of light pranks which not only involve having Arthur speak in a direction that no one occupies, but also has him being assaulted by numerous nudges and pokes that are excused by a quick excuse of Ivan being unbalanced and often tumbles into objects and people. Arthur narrows his eyes in suspicion at the sight of Alfred's all too amused grin, but keeps his mouth shut and continues to be surprised for the duration of the day.

When evening begins to settle in and the inevitable time for Arthur's departure approaches, he sighs greatly and crosses his arms across his chest.

"So then," Arthur addresses an empty space above his right shoulder. "What do you girls think?"

"What is he doing?" Ivan asks Alfred.

"Talking to his faeries."

"Do you really believe so?" Arthur continues to question the invisible creature. "Yes, I noticed that as well… I highly doubt anything like that will happen. The two of you have been listening to Flying Mint Bunny's stories far too much."

"You should hear him talk to Flying Mint Bunny," Alfred tells Ivan.

"Is it that amusing?"

"You have no idea."

Arthur ends his conversation with his faeries with a sad little sigh. He turns to Alfred and says, "The faeries see nothing wrong with you living here."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"For you I suppose, though now I'll have to be accustomed once more in living alone."

"Arthur, the house is only five streets away, you can come over and stuff, y'know that."

Arthur only nods in agreement and the rest of the conversation becomes nothing more but pointless small talk.

When the times comes for him to leave, Arthur says his farewells to both Alfred and Ivan, and was happily allowed to actually address the apparition instead of an empty space, and leaves the premises after Alfred encases him in one of his own bear hugs as a form of goodbye.

With the front door shut and bolted for the night, as well as any other exits, Alfred turns to Ivan's smiling face and finds nothing but excitement bubbling within him.

While Kiku may not have moved in yet and had no intention of doing so until later on in the week - and Matthew who made it perfectly clear that his own classes wouldn't begin until the Spring, therefore insinuating that his own move wouldn't occur until closer to the season - Alfred is not at all lonely.

He squanders the days with Ivan, discussing the new furnishings that will be purchased with enough saved pay checks and what it is that will go in what room. Even without consulting his other roommates, he goes on about which room will serve what purpose, figuring that giving the back room to them as a sort of study for schooling will make up for taking over the rest of the house. With Arthur's help he's able to accommodate for the kitchen and dining room aside from the bedroom, which in actuality is all Alfred needs the most.

When night comes, they both retire into their bedroom (because Alfred has no intention of taking what had belonged to Ivan long before he was even born) and spend the remaining time before Alfred falls asleep in each other's company much like they had during the day, which is how they find themselves the evening before Kiku's arrival to the household.

"He's not a bad guy," Alfred tells Ivan from his computer chair. "Kix's is one of the best friends I've ever had, I'm pretty sure you'll like him."

"Does he know of your ability?" Ivan asks.

"Uh.. No. I've never told anyone outside the family and there's a really big chance that his brotherly come over with him and look over the place."

"Is that wrong somehow?"

"'M not really sure. I don't think his brother can see ghosts and stuff like I do, but I know he's one of those sensitive types that know if there's something around or not. Just be non-threatening when they show up."

"I will try to be so," laughs Ivan, clearly not concerned over whether or not a complete stranger would view his presence as non-threatening.

Alfred shakes his head languidly, feeling as though all of his concerns in keeping his friend's interest in living with him are not taken seriously. He goes through the motions of shutting his computer off and stands from his seat, moving away from the desk and taking a short time to stretch before turning his focus back on Ivan, who has been sitting on the bed as per usual.

"Kiku's family's real traditional," Alfred goes on while making his way to his dresser in search of a loose shirt to sleep in. "Superstitious and all that, so I kinda don't wanna make him feel uncomfortable with living here."

"He has been in this house before," Ivan replies, his stare thoroughly focused on Alfred even while he undresses. "You are becoming quite plump."

Alfred rounds on him quickly, an absolute look of incredulity present on his face. "Did you just call me fat?"

"No, not fat. I am merely stating that you are accumulating a bit of a tummy."

"That's the same thing!" Alfred bristles and moves towards his bed, causing Ivan to move further up onto the mattress for more space. "Betcha anything you're pretty big underneath all those clothes your stuck in."

"I will have you know that I will forever be in my best shape."

"Really?" Alfred asks and crawls closer to him. "Whatever, no way you can prove that."

"Oh? What makes you so sure?"

"Well, you can't take your clothes off…" Alfred trails off, picking up the ends of Ivan's ever present scarf and caresses the non-existent fibers between his fingers. "Can you?"

Ivan carefully takes the scarf from Alfred's grip back into his own, studying it intently as though it is the first time it's been wrapped around his neck.

"I have never attempted to try so before," he confesses. "There was never an occasion which I needed to do so."

Alfred sits up on his knees and faces Ivan, his movement causing the ghost to drop the scarf he had been holding and his eyes to widen slightly from how close Alfred sits next to him, almost as if he had meant to straddle him. His shock continues to grow as Alfred places both of his hands against his own shoulder blades and begins to slowly trek them down his chest.

"Alfred?"

Alfred pays no mind to Ivan's reaction. In fact, it seems as though he hasn't realized the response his actions have caused. He merely keeps with his motions and asks, "Can you feel me?"

"What?"

"Yeah, because I know that I'm touching your clothes, and I can feel that there's something there," Alfred explains, "but I can't feel what they're made out of." He moves his hands away from Ivan's chest and places both hands against the sides of his face. "It's the same when I touch your skin. I can't feel it or anything, it's just cold."

Ivan places one of his own hands against one of Alfred's and nuzzles into it, making Alfred blush slightly and try to pull away unsuccessfully.

"I am afraid not," Ivan replies at length. "All I am able to feel is your warmth, but little else."

Ivan releases Alfred's hand and it instantly falls away precariously. Even with the lack of physical contact between them, they both remain in place, continuously absorbed with the other's presence. The spell is only broken when Ivan leans forward and presses his forehead against Alfred's, stirring up unfamiliar emotions within the teenager and causing his skin to break into goose bumps.

"Perhaps it is time for bed?" Ivan questions with his ever present smile.

Alfred's lips tug into a frown, he pulls away and flops backwards onto his mattress with a small bounce.

"I guess," he agrees. "Will you get the light for me?"

Ivan scoots off of the mattress without a word while Alfred climbs under his blankets after placing his glasses on the night stand. A muffled word of thanks is directed at him when the lights go out and in a few minutes, Alfred is fast asleep, leaving Ivan to significantly be concerned on what had just transpired between the two of them.

When morning dawns, Alfred wakes earlier than usual and goes through his morning routine quickly. Ivan watches him with mild amusement and slight remorse, knowing full well that with a roommate, Alfred's attention will be divided between the two of them. Though he believes that Alfred will always prioritize him first and is perfectly content in sharing.

However, when the doorbell rings, the speed Alfred uses to answer and the colossal welcome hug he bestows on the small male gives Ivan a sinking feeling he hasn't felt in a very long time.

"Kix!" Alfred exclaims and all but drags him inside. "You're finally here!"

Kiku's cheeks flush slightly from the physical contact and shrugs away from Alfred's touch. He takes a quick look around the empty room before making any sort of comment.

"It looks very different in here," he says.

"I know, can't wait 'till we fill this place up. Your brother here?"

"He should be coming in any moment now."

True to his word, Kiku's brother appears in the doorway, traditionally dressed and standing tall despite his lack of height. Once again Alfred finds himself wondering how that is possible.

Kiku's brother, Yao, turns towards Alfred, smiling and ready to give him a greeting. While he means to do so, Yao's eyes flicker past Alfred and then proceeds to scan the rest of the room, his smile faltering which each second steeped in silence.

When he does finally speak, he says, "It looks so different in here."

Alfred lets out a huff of air he hadn't been aware of holding and puts on a smile. "Looks bigger where there's nothing inside. I get paid tomorrow so I was thinking me and Kix could go shopping for some living room stuff." He faces towards Kiku and tells him, "TV's in the other room, just haven't hooked it up yet."

"There's an old arm chair and a few end tables down at the shop I was planning to get rid of," Yao directs at Alfred. "I'll sell them to you for a fair price."

"That's… great," Alfred replies uncertainly while thinking it would have been a much more generous offer to simply give them the extra furniture that was planned to be thrown out. "Need help getting your stuff in here, Kix?"

Kiku immediately agrees to the help, and before Alfred joins him outside to reclaim his possessions from the vehicle parked outside, Yao asks if it would be acceptable for him to roam the house for another tour. Naturally, Alfred gives his consent and leaves him to do as he pleases.

Not having much furniture to begin with, all of Kiku's possessions are moved into his new bedroom long before Yao is done with poking into every corner of the home. When he does finish having his little tour about the place, Yao takes Kiku aside and begins a soft whisper of a conversation with him. Alfred remains quietly, not entirely clueless as to what they could be discussing but uncertain all the same. He waits until a final harsh whisper from Kiku ends their discussion and then questions if anything is the matter.

"Everything's fine," Kiku assures him. "Just Yao trying to talk me out of living here, again."

"He's only worried," Alfred says. "Artie acted the same way with me."

"I still feel as though the both of you are too young to be living on your own in such a way," says Yao.

"I don't really see the difference in living in a house instead of an apartment," Alfred shrugs. "Still have to pay rent and stuff."

Alfred's argument is a logical one, leaving Yao with nothing to disagree with other than the possibility that so much space was most likely more than the need. Instead of continuing with the subject though, he turns to Kiku and says, "If things don't go as you both plan, you're more than welcome to come back to the house. It would also be nice to see you around from time to time."

"It's not like you can't come and visit him," Alfred laughs.

"Please, don't encourage him," Kiku mutters under his breath, though the others were able to hear it quite clearly.

Even with Kiku's harsh words, Yao leaves them in good spirits after offering to drive them around in search of furniture, an offer Alfred readily excepts much to Kiku's dismay. With his brother gone, Alfred decided to ask what the actual conversation was about.

"So what were you guys talking about?" he asks.

"He thinks there some kind of spirit living here," Kiku answers. "I think it's just a ploy to keep me from staying."

"You think so?"

"If there was something supernatural living here, you wouldn't be living here."

Alfred only laughs, his eyes sliding over to the staircase where Ivan sits with an amused expression himself.

"Hey, let's hook up the TV and have a slumber party out here tonight!" Alfred exclaims as a means to change the subject. "When was the last time we did that?"

"Feliks' birthday."

"Oh, yeah… But, yeah, let's do that, we'll hook up the console and everything."

It doesn't take long for Kiku to agree, and when he does Alfred gives him yet another hug and races for the other room where he's left his TV in, passing Ivan completely without so much as a second glance. At first, Ivan thinks nothing of it, already knowing how one-track Alfred's mind can be when excited.

However, even long after the television has been set up on the floor with a game console hooked up and their blankets and pillows have been tossed around the living room even though daylight is still shining through the windows, Alfred has yet to acknowledge Ivan in any way, always being preoccupied with Kiku instead. Ivan himself doesn't know what to do with himself, not having moved from his position all day and he steadily becomes more concerned as to what will become of him now with this new resident taking all of Alfred's time away from him. When the two leave the residence for the market without Alfred giving him so much as a small wave goodbye, Ivan comes to a clear decision of not liking Kiku whatsoever.

As the evening dwindles and the two fall into their own private home warming party, Ivan watches them from the sidelines unable to do much else. The one time he feels less ignored is when Alfred runs upstairs to grab a game or other and gives his shoulder a small squeeze as he passes by, but besides that, he spends the remainder of the night thinking of how much he wishes Kiku would just fall asleep and leave Alfred with him already.

The night progresses out of his favor though, Alfred is the first of the two to fall asleep, leaving Kiku to clean up the remnants of their festivities to the best of his abilities in the half-lit room. When he himself settles for the night amongst his bedding, Ivan leaves his post and approaches their sleeping figures. He crouches down next to Alfred, sitting between him and his friend, and spends the night keeping him from cuddling with Kiku.

As days go by, the only privacy Ivan has with Alfred is during the nights in their bedroom, it's the only time of the day Kiku lets Alfred have moments to himself, otherwise the two are always together. Ivan finds he is able to cope with this arrangement. He may not like it a great deal, but he is able to remain content with the living situation.

That is until one September afternoon.

As part of a silent agreement, Alfred is to do yard work while Kiku keeps the interior clean. Their other chores are split evenly and no arguments are had over any of them.

It's a ridiculously warm day and though Ivan isn't able to feel the weather, it's obvious to him just by looking at the way Alfred perspires after mowing the front lawn and drags the machine to the backyard to finish his work.

"Why is it so hot?" he cries out. "I thought it was supposed to be getting colder!"

Ivan doesn't give him any sort of reply from his position on the patio. Instead he focuses intently on the way Alfred removes his shirt and mops at his face with the cloth, admiring the new physique he's worked hard to acquire since Ivan commented on his small weight gain. There's no real cut muscle, but a solid definition is evident enough for Ivan to tell the difference. He briefly wonders how it would feel to be able to run his hands across the other's torso, and immediately looks away, feeling shameful for thinking such a thing.

His episode goes unnoticed by Alfred, who drops his shirt to the ground and walks over to where Ivan sits and settles next to him. He leans against him lazily and lets out a relieved sigh.

"You're so cold," he moans. "Thank you."

Ivan turns his head back to face Alfred, graces him with a small smile and says, "Glad to be of some service."

"No, really though," Alfred goes on, "it's way hot. You're lucky you can't feel it."

Before Ivan can respond, the backdoor leading into the kitchen opens and Kiku emerges with a chilled bottle of water. Alfred sits up the second he hears the creaking hinges and turns to see Kiku make his way straight for him.

"You seem like you could use a drink," Kiku tells him and offers the bottle out to him.

Alfred gratefully accepts the drink and throws his head back as he takes large gulps of the liquid.

It's hard to miss the way Kiku flushes while trying to be inconspicuous in watching Alfred's throat pulse with each drink. Ivan's eyes narrow in his direction, all too aware of what these tell-all signs mean.

Of course Alfred doesn't seem to notice any of what's happening on either side of him and crushes the plastic bottle once it's emptied with a happy sigh.

"I needed that," he says happily. "Thanks!"

"I could hear you complaining from inside, it's the least I could do."

"I'm that loud?"

"Is there anything you would like to eat in particular for lunch?"

Alfred blinks at the sudden question and eventually settles for a shrug. "No, I'm good for anything." He stands up from his sitting position, causing the others to do jus the same. "I'm just gonna put the mower away and take a shower. You're not hot?"

"It's cooler inside for some reason," Kiku replies. "The heat hasn't effected me."

"Now that's just not fair."

Alfred goes about collecting the lawn mower for storage with Kiku observing every move of his closely. Ivan still regards him coolly and not caring for the whirlwind of emotions that begin to stir simply by watching him watch Alfred.

"Should you not be going back inside already?" Ivan mutters in his direction. He knows that Kiku cannot hear him and is only speaking as an outlet for the frustration building. "There is nothing left for you out here, you may leave."

As soon as Alfred is out of sight, Ivan nudges Kiku's shoulder, just harsh enough to cause him to loose a small amount of balance. Naturally the action catches Kiku off-guard and has him looking about in every direction to pinpoint the reason behind him stumbling for no apparent reason.

Ivan can't resist enjoying the startled expression Kiku wore while trying to find what it was that touched him. In fact, he enjoys it so much that he shifts to the other side of the boy, nudges his other shoulder into the opposite direction, and laughs at how quickly Kiku returns inside. Ivan follows him inside, feel that he needs to do a little more to show that it's not just the two of them residing within the dwelling.

Which he does, but it's not nearly in the same manner as Natalia when attempting to remove Alfred from Ivan's acquaintance. He may not be able to do much when it comes to Alfred being a little more friendly than he liked, but whenever Kiku attempts to try something of the sort, Ivan gives him a little nudge in the opposite direction, placing a small bit of fear into the boy and causing him to think otherwise.

It's not as if Ivan wishes to cause any injury to Kiku. By all means, his method of placing a bit of fright into the other male is nowhere near as dangerous or fatal as Natalia's manner when attempting to remove Alfred from Ivan's acquaintance many years ago. All he wants is to show Kiku that there is another being present and that he doesn't greatly appreciate the touches, glances, or subtle dropped hints of him feeling a bit more for Alfred than he should.

So he goes about, making life a bit less peaceful for Kiku in a number of ways. From making loud sounds while he's alone to pressing against his back as though wanting to push him. Which at times, he really does, but holds back the temptation. In any case, the obvious tiredness Kiku begins to show from all of these actions, please Ivan in some perverse way. Especially when he notes how the other male takes into consideration that it's only when he has some kind of contact with Alfred and begins to distance himself more.

Alfred seems oblivious to all that happens under his own roof, though because of Kiku's sudden alienation from him, attempts all sorts of way for them to spend their free time together. It causes Ivan to wonder how Alfred really feels about his friend, and he means to bring the subject up during their next time alone.

"Okay, it's set up and working," Alfred says. "I think it is, all that thermal stuff's showing."

After being able to get his hands on much of the equipment needed for an extra curricular assignment for his class, Alfred asks Ivan to help him test how it works.

"I only need to walk in front of the camera?" Ivan asks.

Alfred nods. "It's supposed to pick up your body temperature or something."

Ivan says nothing more and only walks in front of the camera set up in the spare ground room. The smile on Alfred's face after doing so is what lets him know that everything works perfectly.

"I knew those ghost hunting shows were full of crock," Alfred says. "Lookit, your figure's completely blue, nothing hot or anything."

"Maybe I am just special," Ivan says. "There could be others that are not as cold as I am."

"I still think they're a crock."

"You still startle yourself when you watch them."

"That's 'cause they don't see the ones that are actually there and right behind them half the time," Alfred explains. "That last episode there was that one that was scary than Natalia, it even got into the car with them at the end."

Alfred visibly shudders at the memory. "I know I didn't have to yell, but it was kinda funny the way Kiku freaked out too."

Just hearing the other's name forces up a torrent of negative emotions Ivan holds back. Just as his smile strains and tries to say something else, the sounds of someone struggling with the front door announces Kiku's arrival home.

"Kix, get in here!" Alfred calls out when the entrance is shut again. He turns back to Ivan and gestures for him to leave the range of the camera.

Ivan complies willingly just as Kiku enters, backpack still placed on his shoulders and looking worn down from the day. Even so, he smiles politely at the sheer excitement radiating off from Alfred as per usual.

"What's this?" he asks.

"My new stuff for that ghost trip thing," Alfred says. "I bought it second hand but it works like awesome! C'mere, check it out."

Kiku follows the demand voluntarily after dropping his bag off at the entrance and makes his way over to him. Ivan can't help but notice the way Kiku brushes his shoulder up against Alfred's, sitting far closer than he needs to as Alfred goes into his long explanation on how everything works. Before long, Ivan's glaring daggers at him, wishing him away with all his might. Things stay this way until suddenly, Alfred fumbles with the monitor screen, pushing it away from them and tugging the cords in every which way in a fretful panic of keeping whatever is now recording away from Kiku.

Ivan briefly wonders what causes this sudden flurry of commotion and then barely notices Natalia standing in the center of the room, seemingly to have just entered, politely smiling and waving in his direction.

"So yeah, that's how all that works," Alfred says in a rush. "Hey, we haven't gone out to eat in awhile, let's go get something before I go in, you look like you had a rough day too."

"Okay," Kiku replies, though he seems to be entirely puzzled by Alfred's recent actions and the sudden question. "Let me just drop my things off in my room."

"I'll wait here."

Alfred keeps the façade up until Kiku is out of the room and he can hear the staircase creaks from his weight. Once he knows he's out of hearing range, he slumps over and swivels towards the two apparitions.

"Why're you here?" he asks Natalia.

"I believe I am free to come and go as I please," she responds. "It was part of an agreement that keeps me from strangling you whenever I feel the need."

"Charming as ever, Natasha," Ivan comments.

"He makes me say such cruel things, Vanya," Natalia says while making her way closer to him.

Alfred stifles a small chuckle with his hand as she did so, with Ivan's discomfort becoming more and more obvious with every step. A door slamming shut sounds from upstairs brings him out of his amusement and reminds him of the lunch date he promised Kiku.

"I don't really want to leave you by yourself with her, Ivan," begins Alfred, "but I gotta take Kiku out now."

It's not what Ivan wants to hear, but he agrees all the same and only watches placidly as Alfred leaves the room to meet with Kiku and the two leave the house.

"How sweet," Natalia smiles. "Your little Alfred has grown and found a love of his own."

"They are friends only," Ivan explains, though he's been having trouble in thinking such a thing will continue to be true as of recent.

"But do you not think they go so well together?" Natalia persists. "I was only able to see a small portion of how they interact with one another, but they look very content with each other's company. I would have mistaken them for lovers had you not told me otherwise."

The more she speaks, the more Ivan's mood turns sour. He begins to clench his fists again and again at the mere thought of Alfred and Kiku… It infuriates him so!

He is already very aware of Kiku's feelings but has not yet come to determine any sort of romantic interest on Alfred's part, and friendship turns into infatuation so easily, he knows. Not that he's had any manner of first hand experience, of course.

Natalia easily senses what he keeps to himself. She kneels in front of him and takes his hands into her own, and says as pleasantly as possible, "It was only a matter of time, Vanya. Eventually Alfred will want another's warmth and forget you sooner or later. He is so young and so fickle, but at least I will always love you."

Ivan shakes off her hands and stands. He gently pushes her to the side and makes his way for the exit, intending to retire into the bedroom alone. Natalia attempts to follow, but he puts a stop to her doing such.

"I am in no mood to entertain you," he tells her. "It would be best for you to leave."

"Vanya-"

"I said to leave, Natalia!"

Natalia shuts her mouth and steps away from the staircase. She watches Ivan walk away from her silently and eventually leaves, knowing that to do anything else would only worsen her standing with him.

Upstairs, Ivan broods over his situation. As he anxiously awaits Alfred's return, he contemplates all of what Natalia has said to him, and knows she is right. Under their circumstances, it doesn't matter if Alfred seems to care for him more than any other person, the fact of the matter is he's alive and has his own life to live. With that in mind, he comes to the ultimate conclusion of it being best to leave things as they are and allow them to end where they are needed.

However, one night where he finds himself sitting next to a sleeping Alfred on his newly acquired sofa, Kiku enters the living room on his way to the kitchen, most likely needing a drink after studying in his bedroom for so long. He instantly notices Alfred's sleeping figure and retreats upstairs once more, only to come back with a blanket in hand.

"So thoughtful you are, to bring him a blanket," Ivan says sarcastically. "Had it been me, I would have taken him to his bedroom where I am sure he would be more comfortable."

Kiku, as always, does not hear a word he says and only goes about tucking Alfred in, removes his glasses and sets them aside. Ivan would have been fine with this if it weren't for his hesitation in leaving the blonde's side.

"You did what you needed, you are free to go back to your books."

Apparently, while Alfred sleeps is the only time Kiku's courage appears. Though in Ivan's book it's considered cowardice when he places a fragile hand against Alfred's cheek and bend towards his face, acting as if wanting to steal a kiss. Before he even realizes, Ivan's hand is buried deep within Kiku's hair and he aggressively pulls him backwards.

Not only does the back of his head ache, but the way his hair is pulled causes him to fall all the way to the floor, landing on his back painfully. Kiku recovers as quickly as he is able to, and without so much as a second glance, races up the staircase and barricades himself in his room.

Ivan remains still, his hand still out in position and he scarcely believes what he has just done. At this point, he highly doubts anything will have Kiku trying something else like that again.

As for Kiku, the hair pulling is the breaking point.

Since that first nudge against his shoulder, he's been increasingly alarmed by numerous other activities happening around him, and he's known from the beginning that they are not normal. Neither are feeling hands pressed against his back, acting as if they are meant to push him forward but never do. In the bathroom, when the steam clears in front of the cabinet mirror, there's always handprints pressed against the surface. The kitchen sink starts to run while he's cooking, his textbooks flip pages by themselves, even at night when he's ready for bed, he hears footsteps all around his room.

Alfred does not seem to be bothered, Kiku notes, and for a time wonders why. There's no doubt in his mind now that his brother had been right all along, but for no sort of trouble to be caused for Alfred is both perplexing and suspicious. For some time he thinks that maybe the entity dwelling alongside them is planning on torturing one and then the other, which leads to an unpleasant thought of what will happen after the harmless pranks are over.

They stop though; the touching, the pressing, the footsteps, everything. The house is normal once more, and Kiku determines that it may have just been a passing spirit that wanted to cause some sort of mischief before departing into the afterlife. His relief is short-lived, and after the hair pulling incident, decides once and for all that him and Alfred need to leave.

That, however, does not go accordingly.

"Why d'you wanna move out?" Alfred asks, genuine concern etched in his voice.

"It's not just myself," Kiku says. "I think we both need to leave."

"I can't do that. I dug myself into this too much, I can't just leave."

"Alfred, there's something wrong with this house. Yao was right from the beginning, there is something evil in here."

"If there was something evil here, wouldn't it have gotten me?"

"I don't know why it hasn't, but it has attacked me and I feel that it'll only grow worse from here."

Alfred runs a hand through his hair, looking frazzled and not himself at all. "I can't leave," he repeats quietly. "I can't just walk out like nothing."

"I don't know then," Kiku sighs heavily. "I feel as though whatever's here has a stronger animosity towards me than you, for whatever reason, but even so, I don't think you should stay here anymore either."

"Kiku, whatever's been going on, it won't happen anymore."

"How can you promise me that?"

Alfred doesn't answer, he's not entirely sure if revealing Ivan's identity would be a helping factor in this discussion. Kiku takes his silence as him being unsure himself and continues on.

"I've talked with Feliciano," he says. "And he and Ludwig are already sharing one bedroom which leaves the extra one available once more."

"Please don't leave me, Kiku," Alfred pleads, even using his patent kicked puppy expression.

Kiku looks away regretfully, he doesn't want to leave Alfred's company, but he knows he can't stay either.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I don't want you to stay here either, and really, I think you should find somewhere else to live."

Alfred looks away this time, it's pointless to repeat how there's no possible way for him to leave the house after investing so much, even if he wanted.

Their exchange ends on that note, and Alfred watches Kiku leave the room back to his own. He looks down into his lap and starts to fidget with his hands, mulling all of his thoughts back and forth in his mind.

"What'd you do?" he asks, not even bothering to look at Ivan who has been present for the entire conversation.

"I did nothing," Ivan lies.

"Something freaked him out," Alfred goes on. "And if it was Natalia, I'm pretty sure she'd let me in on the fun."

"Alfred, I did nothing."

Alfred gives him a long side glance before returning his focus back to his hands with a heavy sigh. For some reason or another, he finds himself unable to believe Ivan, and it bothers him greatly.

With Kiku gone, the news of Alfred living alone once more spreads amongst their group, and for Toris, it was a celebratory matter. In secret, he discussed with Alfred the possibility of moving in with him, wanting some breathing room away from Feliks.

"It's not that I don't like Feliks," he says. "Because if I didn't, we wouldn't be friends-"

"Yeah, you would," Alfred interrupts with a grin. "You're too good of a guy."

Toris nods somewhat in agreement. "Anyway, you think I could move in?"

"He's not gonna come crashing through the door every hour or something is he?"

"Probably."

Even with the answer, Alfred simply shrugs. "Eh, why not? You remember that my cousin's moving in too, right?"

"How's he like?"

"Kinda like me," Alfred answers. "Except less awesome. A lot less awesome."

"I think I'll be able to deal with him."

With that, Toris makes the arrangements of moving in, much to the displeasure of their flamboyant blonde friend. Alfred discusses the new arrangements with Ivan, and makes it perfectly clear that he is not to scare him away like he had with Kiku, though Ivan vehemently denies having any part of him moving. In any case, the two retire together much like they always have and await for the following morning.

When Toris shows up, his move in is relatively simple. The one obstacle they face is with handling the frame of his bed as well as the mattresses, but with a bit of time and effort, the whole matter is settled quickly. By this time, Alfred's already equipped the back room into a study, and the living room is more or less furnished comfortably and under Alfred's insistence, Toris finds himself arranging his belongings around the house as if he has lived there all the while.

True to their predictions, Feliks shows up and complains non-stop on how Toris has abandoned him, usually over a meal that the new resident painstakingly made for their own enjoyment. His visits though are more loud than they are long, usually gone with only the absence of his voice being the only sign of his departure. In retrospect, Felik's social calls aren't annoying in the least and are practically welcomed if they are not already expected.

After two weeks of things playing out much like this, Alfred's concern of Toris being chased out of the house much like Kiku dies down and he's more than happy to find another roommate in his friend. At least until a certain conversation with Ivan changes his opinion on the matter.

"I rather like this friend of yours," Ivan says one night as they lay side by side on the bed.

The comment catches Alfred slightly off guard, but the positive opinion is a bit of a relief to hear all the same.

"That's good," Alfred replies. "Wait, does that mean that you didn't like Kiku?"

Ivan hums slightly before responding, "Why do you ask?"

Alfred stares at him for a long while before continuing on. "You didn't like him."

"I said nothing of the sort."

"Why didn't you like him?" Alfred asks, ignoring Ivan's denial entirely.

"Are you saying that you enjoy one friend's company more than the other?" Ivan questions in return. "I must say, Alfred, I would not have expected that from you."

"Okay, that is not true because I like Toris just as much as Kiku. I just wanna know what your deal with Kix was."

"There was no 'deal' with your friend," Ivan finally answers. "I only think his own persona is a poor match for your own. The two of you may be good friends, but I find it hard to believe that it would be possible to live together peacefully for long."

Alfred rolls over onto this side and props his upper body up with his elbow, allowing his chest to fall forward and brush casually against Ivan's.

"You did scare him away," he says. "You did, huh?"

"What difference does it make now? He is no longer here and that makes this conversation to be entirely meaningless."

With a soft glare thrown at Ivan, Alfred flops backwards on to the mattress and turns over completely, muttering, "Find. Just, fine, whatever."

This causes Ivan to sit up, not liking the change in Alfred's mood. He makes an attempt to roll Alfred back over so that he may be able to speak with him face to face, but Alfred's stubbornness refuses to budge.

"Are you angry perhaps because there was some romantic interest in your beloved Kiku?" Ivan asks, his tone turning into a low growl Alfred has not heard before. It startles him enough to face Ivan once more as he continues. "Were you thinking to take advantage of needing to live together and have him fall for you? It would certainly explain they way you pleaded for him to stay."

"And what if I was?" Alfred returns. "What if I do love Kix? What does that have to do with you?"

Ivan's eyes narrow marginally and in one flowing movement he's off of the mattress and onto his feet.

"Then maybe it would be better to have him come and keep you company," he says.

"I'm pretty damn sure he'd be lying here next to me already if someone wasn't a selfish jerk."

"Should I leave you to pine after a lost love then, Alfred, and entertain myself elsewhere while you mutter to yourself on what a 'selfish jerk' I am?"

"Maybe you should go shack up with Toris for awhile if you like him so much!"

"What an excellent idea, I must not let it go to waste."

"Yeah, well good luck with someone who can't even hear you!" Alfred exclaims and watches in panic as Ivan fades through the bedroom door.

The moment he disappears entirely from the room, Alfred hurls one of his spare pillows towards the door and curls up against himself, laying still for a great moment in complete silence, pouting and sulking. Eventually he falls asleep with the light illuminating brightly, head smothered against his spare pillows and his glasses pressed awkwardly against the bridge of his nose.

The following day does nothing to improve the abrupt rift in their relationship. Alfred has no contact with Ivan at all, the only sign of his presence within the home is the small ever present chill that seems to linger around Toris, which gives Alfred the impression that Ivan is indeed attaching himself to his friend and being very clever to keep out of sight when the two of them come into contact.

This act continues on for the rest of the week before Alfred decides that he's had enough. Rather pretend that none of Ivan's actions bother him, he chooses to play a little game of his own.

Whenever Feliks makes his house calls, Alfred announces that he has plans with Kiku. For the most part, they're true, and often times he invites Toris and Feliks to join them. Yet the days when he really doesn't have any sort of planned engagement with the other male, Alfred simply leaves the house for a few hours and wanders alone, wasting time in any manner.

Things progress this way for nearly two months before they do speak again, and the situation that causes them to do so is completely inevitable.

It's during the early hours of the morning, somehow during Alfred's visit to Kiku's new residence he had convinced the trio of roommates to attend a night club with him. After Ludwig drops him off he comes into the house, swaying his head to a beat that has lodged itself into head. Being mindful to keep the noise level to a minimum since Toris would most likely already be sleeping, Alfred climbs the staircase, humming a small tune and eager to fall into bed.

When he reaches the top landing, Ivan comes out of his room, looking as if he's in a hurry. When their eyes meet, they both come to a complete standstill. They remain in this condition of silence, and when Alfred thinks he may just walk past him without a word passing between them, Ivan makes a noise as though to clear his throat and speaks.

"You came home late tonight," he states.

Whether it's because Alfred is more than weary of this game they play or simply because he really does miss the closeness they shared, he replies, "Yeah, me and Kix ended up going clubbing. We invited everyone else, but only Feli and Luddy came along."

"And so it became a double-date?"

Alfred gives him an indifferent sort of half-shrug. "I guess… You having fun with Toris?"

At this Ivan smiles and readily responds, "Yes. He makes the most amusing motions when he feels he is not alone."

"Cool," Alfred counters curtly and bites at the inside of his lip. "I'm gonna go to bed already, so…"

Ivan gives him a small understanding nod and moves aside the closer Alfred approaches the door. He enters his bedroom without another word and closes the portal softly behind himself, taking a moment to lean against the firm wood and foolishly hopes for Ivan to come inside. When he finally berates himself for being so moronic, Alfred kicks his shoes off and flops onto his bed, staying still with his head buried amongst the pillows and linen, fully clothed, very much awake, and very unaware of Ivan sitting outside the bedroom door with his head leaning against the wall in an attempt to hear his movements inside.

The next morning, Alfred finds himself waking later than usual, and to the scent of a breakfast that had long since been made.

He rolls out of bed in yesterday's wear and trudges through the bedroom door and down the stairs, making his way to the kitchen. Once there, he finds Toris fretting here and there in his manner of cleaning. Alfred notes dryly that Ivan in once again, nowhere to be found, though he highly doubts Toris had taken his meal alone.

This thought combined with the sudden memory of last night conversation doesn't settle well with him, and before Alfred even realizes, his lips tug into a frown as his eyes slide down to the linoleum flooring and his subconscious begins to think semi-hateful thoughts towards his friend.

It doesn't take long for Toris to notice his presence, and right when he's about to greet him with a 'good morning' he notices how the normal exuberance that generally radiates from Alfred is missing as well as the down trodden look that graces his features.

"Alfred," he calls out, snapping the other out of his trance. "Are you okay?"

Instantly, Alfred flashes him a quick smile, a poor substitute to his normal grin and musses his hair with a laugh.

"Yeah," he answers. "I'm just beat is all. Came in a lot later than I thought I was gonna."

"I figured you would when you called about clubbing. What time do you work today?"

"Don't hafta," comes the answer while Alfred takes a seat at the kitchen table and slumps over the surface. "Day off today, that's why I figured last night would be an awesome day to go clubbing. You should've come, kinda surprised Feliks didn't wanna."

"He has a class now on Saturdays, didn't he tell you?"

"You're the only one he tells stuff like that. He just like, so totally loves you that way."

"Don't talk like that, it sounds too weird coming from you."

"I don't know how he does it. It's a talent, it has to be." Alfred's head falls against the table and he groans, "I don't think I should've gotten up."

"I put a plate aside for you when I made breakfast," Toris tells him. "You want me to get it for you?"

"Toris, you cook, clean, and do everything else around the house, the least I can do is feed myself."

"I don't mind," says Toris, going about collecting the meal seat aside for Alfred anyway.

"I know you don't mind, but it feels like I'm taking advantage of you somehow."

"I'm not doing anything I wasn't already doing when I lived with Feliks."

"So I am taking advantage of you," Alfred jokes as the plate's placed in front of him along with a drink.

"If that's how you feel, how 'bout you do the dishes so I can weed the flowers out back?"

"I thought I did yard work."

"You mow the lawns, but you don't bother with the flower beds. There might not be anything growing right now, but we can't let those go bad. Tino put a lot of effort into making them."

"Hey, y'know how they lived here and all that? Well, you think they ever did it up there?"

"What?" Toris exclaims. "I don't want to think about that!"

"I think they did," Alfred goes on. "'Cause I'll let you know right now, towards the end, they were already sharing a bedroom, I know it."

"I'm not listening anymore!"

Alfred laughs at his reaction and continues with his breakfast. The two of them settle into a comfortable silence before Toris asks a question.

"Do you like living here?"

Alfred pauses his fork in mid-air and looks directly at him, noticing how serious Toris is taking the question.

"I guess," he answers. "I mean, I practically lived here my entire life, it's not really all that different. Why? Don't you?"

"It's not that I don't like living here, it's just that… I don't know how to explain it, it just feels like there's something different here."

"It's probably just because you were used to all the kiddy stuff around," Alfred tells him.

"That's what I thought at first too, but I don't think that it." Toris furrows his brow into thought for a second, trying to collect his feelings into a coherent statement. "Usually when you're at work or class and I'm here alone, I get this feeling that there's someone else around, and sometimes I swear that there's something touching me-"

"Touching you?" Alfred cuts in, a little more fiercely than he meant. Toris looks at him strangely and he clears his throat to hide whatever embarrassment he might feel. "I mean, you think there's something touching you? Like there's a ghost in the house or something?"

"Well, you're into this ghost stuff so I thought maybe you'd have felt there was something weird about the house too," Toris says.

Alfred hums slightly while he finishes a mouthful of food. "Well… I guess you can say there might be something here. It's like a few years back when I was working, you could hear some one walking upstairs during nap time and all of us where downstairs. A lot of the time when I was left alone, I'd feel someone next to me."

"Do you think it could hurt us?"

Alfred shrugs. "Some ghosts hurt people, some ghosts don't. I think it all depends on the level of interest they have in whoever they're following."

Toris pales considerably and wrings his hands together. "I-I think I'm gonna go ahead and work outside already."

"Okay. I'll do the dishes after a shower, 'kay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Toris says quickly and walks out the backdoor.

Alfred smiles to himself, a little ecstatic for hearing how uncomfortable he was beginning to feel on living here and also a tad awful for taking pleasure in scaring his friend in such a way. Still, hearing exactly how friendly Ivan was making himself with Toris bothers him tremendously. It couldn't hurt to strike a little fear into poor Toris' heart, just so that he could keep his guard up. He doesn't know how much of a handful Ivan can really be, Alfred's only looking out for his best interest.

On that note, Alfred finishes the rest of his meal happily, dumps the plate into the sink with the rest of the dishes and bounces back upstairs for a quick shower, assuring himself that today will be a good day. He continues to think this, long after his morning routine is complete and he descends the staircase once more. However, upon entering the kitchen the scene he is presented once taking position in front of the kitchen sink and takes a gander out into the backyard through the window, is most displeasing.

Toris is dressed in his usual outerwear, going about the flower beds and doing whatever it is he needs to do in order to keep them alive through the season, and beside him is Ivan who is only too happy in following Toris around and merely observes his actions. Alfred, who had never seen the two of them together in person, is practically stunned by the sight and finds that he just can't look away. So intense is his stare that while Toris may not have felt it, Ivan certainly did, and it was only when he smiled and waved in Alfred's direction did he turn away and begin to work on the dishes.

There may not have been a high stack piled within the sink, but since scrubbing at the remnants of food is his only outlet for the frustration he feels, Alfred takes an incredible amount of time on each one. Truthfully, he's entirely too occupied with controlling his emotions that he fails to notice that someone else has decided to join their household for the day.

"Such an unhappy face. I am very sorry to not have been the cause."

Alfred drops the plate, it makes a dull clunking sound against the remaining dishes in the sink and he turns to face the one non-existent person he does not want to see.

Natalia leans against the wall beside the kitchen table, looking pleased at the distress Alfred emits and overall happy with whatever it is troubling him. Alfred regards her presence with slight indifference and goes about with his chore.

"Go away," he says and nothing more.

"Hello to you as well, child who continues to be in my way." Natalia moves away from the wall and approaches Alfred with fluid steps, speaking the entire time. "Tell me, where is Vanya? I cannot find him within the house."

"Maybe he heard you coming and ran away again," Alfred suggests sweetly.

"Such a height you have grown for such a little brat, I would not think it possible." Natalia reaches over and pretends to caress his cheeks lovingly, as if she is playing the part of an elder that generally cared for his well being. "What is it, child? Did my Vanya finally realize how he wastes his time with you?"

Alfred flinches away from her touch and turns towards her with a little smirk of his own.

"Even if your precious Vanya got tired of me," he tells her, "it looks like he has no problem in finding someone else to spend his time with instead of you."

Natalia's eyes narrow suspiciously, right as she is about to ask the meaning behind his declaration, Alfred's eyes flicker out the window for just a moment before they're back on her. Such a blunt insinuation that she do the same could only be followed, and so Natalia looks out from the window just as Alfred had earlier. Her reaction is even the same as Alfred's, although maybe a bit more angry.

"It has been hard enough being able to cope with one of you," she mutters darkly. "But now there is two? This is not fair to me…"

"Yeah, well, life's not fair. Or in your case, your afterlife."

Natalia grits her teeth and steps aside. "In any case, I must make it clear to this one that Vanya belongs to me as well."

"See that's the thing though," Alfred says, stopping her just as she's about to make her appearance into the backyard. "Toris can't see him. He can't hear him. He can't talk to him. He's not like me, he has no idea Ivan's even there."

Upon hearing this, Natalia's mind began to conjure the idea that Ivan may very well be following this young man for intentions different than those he has with Alfred. After all, this one he hasn't known since his childhood, could it be possible…

Fortunately for Alfred, Natalia is easy to read when she forgets to keep her emotions in check and is already beginning to formulate a plan that has Ivan coming back to him and doesn't have him apologizing in any way. Not that it was his fault all this began anyway.

"I think it's kinda cute," Alfred laughs. "It's like he has a crush on Toris or something, he's been following him around like that for a month already. It's kind of a shame that Toris doesn't know he's there. Actually, he does know, but he doesn't know what Ivan is. He actually talked to me this morning and said that he was starting to get scared living here. I told him not to worry about it but if Ivan keeps touching him like that, he's gonna end up moving out and then he'll never get to see him again."

Natalia gives a hard stare, looking very much annoyed at how delighted Alfred could seem in this type of situation. Either way, she glances once more out the window and turns away, leaving the way she had come without another word said. Alfred's eyes keep to her figure as she leaves, wondering if his little psychological upset had any effect on her. Whether or not it did, he decides that instead of pondering over it, he needs to finish with his chore.

Eventually, the outings with Kiku progressively come to an end. Alfred isn't really covering any kind of ground in using the poor boy and is actually somewhat upset with himself for thinking such a thing was possible. Kiku is, first and foremost, Alfred's friend and shouldn't be involved in any disputes platonic or romantic that doesn't directly involve him. Not that this dispute was romantic, because it most certainly was not, how could anyone think such a thing?

Alfred sighs and lifts the remote up with his hand along with his legs so that his entire body is on top of the sofa. He begins to channel surf and realize that no one is thinking such a thing, only himself, and really he has no idea as to why.

Deciding to put whatever train of thought his mind seemed inclined to take him on aside, Alfred reclines into a comfortable position and flips through every television station, not really finding anything of general interest. He suddenly hears someone muttering to themselves and turns towards the direction of the staircase just in time to see Ivan coming down quickly and soundlessly.

"What's wrong?" Alfred calls out to him.

Ivan looks at him with a worried expression and hurries to where Alfred sits. "Natalia's upstairs."

Alfred returns his worried expression with a semi-confused one. He licks his lips uncertainly and repeats slowly. "Natalia's upstairs."

As Ivan nods his head, he continues on.

"Natalia's upstairs," says Alfred. "And you left Toris up there with her…"

Ivan has the decency to look rather ashamed at his action of leaving Toris in the company of someone that he could not only be unaware of, but is known between the two of them to be mentally unstable.

"How could you do that?" Alfred exclaims.

"I had thought she came back to bother me, but when she entered the room, she said nothing," Ivan explains. "She sat and watched, but nothing else. So I thought it would be best to leave the room and have her follow, but she did not leave."

"So she's still up there?"

"I would assume."

Alfred rises from his seat and makes his way up the staircase, jogging upwards and rushing towards Toris' bedroom door. He taps against the wood in a short knock and waits for permission to enter. Once he hears Toris call out for him, he doesn't hesitate to enter. When he does, Natalia is nowhere to be found.

"Did you need something, Alfred?" Toris asks. He sitting at his desk, textbooks opened in front of him as well as several spiral notebooks and pencils scattered about the surface.

"Nah, I was just wondering what you were up to," Alfred answers casually. "Looks like your studying though."

"Yeah, I have a couple of exams tomorrow."

"That sucks. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't."

"Night, then."

After Toris bids him a 'good night' in turn, Alfred closes the door gently behind him. He lets out a relieved sigh, nothing horrible has happened but now that there could be a possibility, Alfred is beginning to regret saying anything to Natalia. If only he hadn't been irritated and had been thinking clearly…

"Is she still inside?"

Alfred looks down the hallway towards the landing, not at all surprised to see that Ivan had followed him upstairs. He shakes his head quickly and sighs again.

"No," he answers. "She's not in there. But, I think you probably shouldn't be around Toris for awhile."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because the only reason I can think of her maybe targeting someone other than me is you."

Ivan smiles sadly and only nods in agreement. "That is true," he says. "But then, now what should I do?"

Alfred hesitates in responding, ultimately though, he replies, "Well I was watching TV if you wanna come back down with me."

Ivan throws him a questioningly glance, but accepts the invitation nevertheless. Alfred is the first to descend, Ivan trails after him closely and they both settle themselves comfortably in front of the glow of the television screen. It's a tad awkward at first, but after awhile they become accustomed to being in one another's presence once more and it's almost as if their petty argument had never happened.

However, simply because the two appear to be reconciling after so long, their relationship is still not as it once had been. Ivan still does not enter his bedroom, and when they find any conversation interrupted by Toris' appearance, Ivan leans slightly closer to him. Whether or not this is intentional still, Alfred has no way of being certain. All the same, he finds himself not liking it.

Not that Toris feels himself to be in a favorable position. Though he has no way of knowing what it is that is constantly surrounding him, it makes him steadily uncomfortable and finds that his only moments where he is at peace is during work and class time. Unfortunately, after some time, not even these places are able to be much of a salvation.

When Ivan first begins to leave him alone, he senses that for once he is by himself in his room and just about any other part of the house. Toris is more than content with things being this way, but after some days, that dreadful feeling of having unwanted company surrounding him returns. Yet this feeling isn't like that he usually felt, it's almost menacing in a way and when it first begins to appear, he finds that he is not able to stay by himself and seeks Alfred's company straight away. The days Alfred is not home, he finds himself back at his former residence with Feliks and the others, sometimes even staying the night.

When he does return home, whatever it is that's there begins to act up around him, tripping him at every conceivable moment, dropping any number of objects around him, and in once case throwing a large textbook against the wall while he tries to study in his bedroom. When this happens, Toris calls Feliks and expresses great interest in moving back in with him.

Of course Feliks is more than happy to take him back in, it was letting Alfred know of his decision Toris was more concerned about.

"You wanna move out?"

It's sometime during the afternoon when neither one of them have a class to attend and their working schedule permits some time off simultaneously when Toris brings the subject up. Alfred is splayed haphazardly on the sofa with a game controller in his hand and he himself is on an opposing arm chair watching disinterestedly with what's on the screen.

"I'm a little worried about Feliks," Toris tells him. "I really don't think he's been able to take care of himself properly and all that. He did always need someone to look after him, and it's always been me…"

Alfred pauses his game and turns his focus to the other male sitting across from him.

"Lying doesn't suit you, Toris," he says. "What's up?"

Toris sighs deeply and reclines further into the cushion of the seat. His eyes droop halfway and he looks tired, a lot more than he should be at this age.

"I just can't take whatever's here anymore," he confesses. "I need to get out of here, Alfred, I think it doesn't want me here and it's really starting to scare me."

"Did something happen?"

"Well, I wasn't hurt or anything, but I just can't keep living here. I don't know how you can deal with it."

"Nothing's happened to me," says Alfred. "I was gonna bust all of my equipment to try to find out if there was a ghost of something living here, but nothing ever happened to me so I thought it was just a passing thing."

"Then you're the lucky one here," Toris sighs. "But I can't live here anymore, I'm sorry."

"Hey, man, if you can't, I get it."

Toris pushes himself out of the chair and brings himself to his feet. "I'm gonna call Feliks and see if I can stay over there tonight. Nothing's bothered you, really?"

Alfred shakes his head in the negative. "No, I've been fine."

Toris leaves the room with a puzzled expression and makes his journey upstairs to call on his cell phone while Alfred resumes his game.

"Sure did a number on him, didn't you?" he mutters just loud enough over the noise from the game.

Natalia appears next to him, her usual frown and overall irritated aura present. Even so, she seems to be a little more content then customary.

"You are improving in telling when there is someone present despite hiding," she says blatantly. "How annoying."

"What can I say? I've had practice," Alfred boasts. "So what gives with you scaring my friend away? I know it wasn't Ivan this time."

"Do not act as if it was never your intention to have me do so. I am no so stupid as to be tricked by a mere child." A smile begins to form as she notices how distracted Alfred becomes and is no longer able to multi-task, instead he pauses the game once more and gives her his attention. "A blind man would have noticed how jealous you did become of your friend."

"I wasn't jealous."

"Of course not," she agrees mockingly. "It only so happened that they day you insisted Vanya to be infatuated somehow with this new boy is also the day I found you looking so mournful."

To his surprise, Natalia laughs when he looks away. Yes, his action might have been a confirmation that there may have been a slim chance of him harboring any jealous emotions, but he wouldn't have expected the notion to actually have her laugh. Such an infuriating sound it is as well, Alfred decides that he prefers her when she is not so jovial.

"Do not even for a moment consider that I chased him away for you benefit," she says after calming herself. "My intent was, and is, completely selfish. As I said before, it is difficult enough with one person, I cannot very well let Vanya attach himself to another."

"You are some twisted person," Alfred says decidedly.

"So says the one who attempts to use another in harming a friend."

"I didn't want you to hurt him."

"And so you admit it." Natalia goes still suddenly and her eyes slowly look up towards the ceiling. "Vanya's upstairs."

She makes to run for the staircase, no doubt in an effort to find Ivan before he realizes she is inside the house and try to hide, but Alfred calls out to her and surprisingly enough, she listens.

"Why do you love Ivan so much?" he asks her.

Natalia blinks at the question, not answering at first and when she does she replies, "I will have you know that my mother is still living, even after all this time. Do you know why it is I think she is able to do so?"

Alfred looks at her, thoroughly confused as to what was being asked. Instead of giving her a verbal answer, he shakes his head in the negative and waits.

"I believe it is because she minds her own business," she responds and continues her chase, leaving Alfred totally alone.

Alfred faces the television screen once more, begins his game once more and continues with wasting his afternoon. Still, something about what Natalia has just said amuses him and finds that he is not able to keep himself from snickering at her reasoning.

"Doesn't that just mean that you didn't?" he laughs to himself and follows it with an exasperated sigh. "She's right though. Must be outta my mind…"

It doesn't take long for Toris to pack up his things, in actuality he's been steadily moving back in with his former roommates unconsciously long before that all that's left to pack is his bedroom furniture and the rest of his clothing and school supplies. Feliks is on time to pick him up and chauffeur him back to his old-new home. He doesn't leave the safety of the vehicle though, hearing stories about all that's happened inside the former day care and the strong possibility of a malignant apparition residing within keeps him from helping Alfred and Toris from loading the last of the packed up boxes.

Not that he would have really helped anyway…

In any case, Alfred holds the door open for Toris as he's about to exit with the last of his belongings. He expects some sort of goodbye, and even a word of warning much like the one Kiku had given him, and when Toris asks him if he could give him some advice, he's already certain it's exactly the same.

"Are you going to tell me to leave the house too?" Alfred asks. "'Cause Kiku already told me that."

"No, I wasn't going to tell you that," Toris says. "I was just going to say that maybe it'd be better for you to live here by yourself."

"That's just financially irresponsible," laughs Alfred. "Why would tell me something like that?"

"I'm gonna be honest," the other beings, "I do think there is something here, but I think it only wants you around."

"Don't say things like that, you're gonna freak me out."

"I'm serious. When I told Kiku I was moving in, he warned me about something being here, he told me to be careful. I thought he was overreacting but when things started flying at me… I'm just glad he didn't get hurt like he did."

"Wait, Kix got hurt? Here?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"No!"

"Oh, well, I guess while he was living here, something pulled his hair so hard that he fell backwards and bruised his back pretty badly," he tells Alfred. "He even said something about being nudged around a lot and feeling like there was hands pressed against his back like they wanted to push him but didn't. I think it was the hair pulling that made him leave though."

There was a sudden blaring noise coming from outside. Feliks has run out of patience and is not using the horn of the car to inform them both that they both best finish up their little chat.

"I'd let your cousin know before he comes in," Toris says. "He's gonna be moving in soon, right?"

Alfred nods thoughtfully, as though he agrees with the advice given to him when in reality, his mind is elsewhere, contemplating another matter entirely.

Toris leaves after a quick goodbye. Alfred closes the door right when he disappears from the threshold, not even bothering to watch them drive away. With the front entrance closed, Alfred turns to face Ivan (who had been watching the activity while resting against the back of the sofa), leans against the wood and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"You wanna deny hurting Kix too?" Alfred asks him. "'Cause I'm pretty sure Natalia didn't have a reason to hurt him."

Ivan inclines his head to side as an indication of hearing what is said to him, but says nothing in return. Alfred pushes himself away from the door, intending to walk away from the scene instead of causing another argument. Though as he begins to walk past Ivan, the other male restrains him by clutching at his wrist, forcing Alfred to halt and make eye contact.

"I did force him out," he confesses. "I did all that I could to make him leave. And yes, I pulled his hair much so that he did fall in the manner Toris had told you. And yes, I meant for the action to hurt him."

Silence befalls the two of them, with only Alfred's rhythmic breathing making any distinguishable noise. During this period, one waits patiently and the other is calculating.

"Should I even bother asking why?" Alfred finally asks after a great length of time has passed.

Ivan releases the hold he has on Alfred's wrist and says indifferently, "I did not like him living here. I did not like how he would force himself into every spare moment of your time. And, I did not like him being around you generally."

Ivan naturally assumes his confession will cause Alfred to raise some sort of commotion, perhaps even refuel the small conflict they had found themselves ending only a short while ago. To his surprise, Alfred laughs and only continue to do so upon seeing the evident surprised expression he wears.

"You were jealous," Alfred says and promptly laughs again. "You were jealous of Kiku, awesome."

If Ivan still had the capability of blushing, he's most certain the truthful accusation would have cause him to do as much. Since he doesn't, and in lieu of keeping his embarrassment out on display, Ivan brings out his usual grin and retorts, "Much like you were with Toris, yes?"

All laughter on Alfred's part ceases, and because he has not lost the ability of blushing, do just that, all the while denying the allegation.

"Is that so?" Ivan questions. "So the reasoning behind you explaining to Toris how ghosts are able to hurt him was…?"

"You're a creepy guy," Alfred shrugs. "Thought I should warn him before you decided to feel him up or something."

"I would never act in the same manner as your friend."

"Who, Kiku? When did he feel someone up?"

"He was never able to. I had pulled his hair to stop him from doing such."

Alfred remains silent, and whether or not this is caused by him coming to terms with what Ivan has just told him or because he can scarcely believe such a thing to be true, Ivan does not know but wishes to escape the conversation all the same. He begins to leave, but now it's Alfred's turn to grab onto him and keep him from leaving.

Before he is able to inquire after the action, Alfred asks, "What was Kiku doing when you pulled his hair?"

Ivan closes his eyes and tilts his head upwards, appearing to be caught in remembering the offense he had caught the poor boy in the middle of when really he's just hesitating in answering straight away.

"He had covered you with a blanket as you slept in front of the television," he finally replies, using a slow even tone. "And after that, he moved your glasses to the side and I thought it was a very kind gesture. But then I found it to be quite peculiar when he leaned closer, even if hesitating, to your sleeping face, and when I noticed that he made a decision to bestow you with a kiss goodnight, I thought that it was very selfish of him to indulge in such intimacy without your consent. And so, I punished him."

"Kix would never do something like that," Alfred insists.

"So modest you are in assessing your own level of attractiveness, Alfred, I am most surprised you have not already allured many others. Then again with as much time you are away from the house with your beloved friend, I am convinced that you were able to secure his feelings to your own."

At some point during their conversation, Alfred had secured Ivan's free hand with his own, and while Ivan explained his reasoning behind his actions towards Kiku, both of Alfred's own hands travel up Ivan's arms and settle on his shoulders, bringing them all the more closer together. Intentional or not, neither one seems to mind.

"I don't like Kiku like that though," Alfred confesses in a small voice that gives Ivan an excuse to lean closer so that he may hear his words clearer. "He's still my friend and everything, but he's not even at the top of that list."

"May I inquire as to who that would be?" Ivan asks in a harsh whisper close to his ear.

Alfred faintly hums before answering, "The same person that's been there since forever. Y'should know that."

It's hard to decipher who makes the first move. It could be Ivan, as he wraps his arms around Alfred's torso and brings him closer to his own body. It could be Alfred, as he lifts himself up the few extra inches he needs to match Ivan's height by using the tips of his toes and locks his hands behind the other's neck. In reality, whether it's one of these solitary acts that causes the two of them to finally press their lips together or a clumsy combination of both, it proves to be the least important detail as Alfred presses himself closer to Ivan and vice versa, wanting and wishing to feel more than the vague temperature they've only been able to feel since the very beginning.

Ivan's the first to come to his senses, pulls away, and even pushes Alfred to the side. Alfred tries once more to bring them together, but Ivan deters him from doing so much to Alfred's displeasure.

"What's wrong?" asks Alfred.

"This… We cannot do this," Ivan replies. "Not only is morality being put into question, but you are still living. Whatever we may want to begin, it will not work."

"I don't care," Alfred mutters while embracing him once more. "I don't care, I don't care…"

Even though he knows better than to do so, Ivan allows Alfred to do as he pleases and even returns the gesture much like he had before.

"It will not work," he repeats, but the premonition is only taken half-seriously.

"Then just for right now?" Alfred asks him. "Not worry about what'll happen later, but just do whatever for right now?"

The very idea goes against every one of Ivan's rational thoughts, yet as per usual, he finds himself concede to Alfred's whim. He answer the other's question by bending his head forward, and capturing Alfred's lips once more.

xxx

-Lol, can we say "chapter not as planned"? I restarted it like, four times and I know I said it was gonna be long, but it wasn't supposed to be this long. D8

-This fic went totally romantic on me and I have no idea how that happened. It sooo was not supposed to do that. What made me think I could control these two? -facepalm-

-I do, however, totally heart the jealousy thing that went on. Made my day.^^

-I think I'm developing a soft spot for Natalia though...

-And is it just me, or does anyone else think that kiss would be really awkward to walk in on? o.O?

-Anyway, the fic's coming to an end. So sad. -sniffle-

-I'll just say this: Anyone expecting a time jump, fuggedaboutit. All time jumps are over! Ho ho ho~! What can that mean? :3

-Also, there's no special story behind Japan's nickname. I just call him Kix 'cause it's shorter. And 'cause Kix is like, the bestest cereal evar, eff yeah!

-...I need to bump the rating, don't I? -so not completely sure anymore...-