The car drove slowly back into the drive at 6pm that night, much slower than the speed at which it had left it that morning. Matthew, although he didn't show it, seemed to be thankful for that as he exited the car, with Alfred following shortly behind. It had been a quiet drive home from the office, which wasn't that strange really. Matthew and Alfred were brothers, but it was clear to see their personalities were completely at odds, with Alfred's serious and business-like persona and Matthew free-rolling and flirty one. As such, they normally didn't have much to talk about and when they did talk, it normally came in the way of argument about one thing or another.

Matthew, though, had expected it to be different tonight. After all, his older virgin brother Alfie had finally gotten onto the first rung on the ladder of love, namely the first date. Of course, Alfie would have denied it with all he could, but Matthew knew a budding relationship when he saw one. Kat clearly had thing for Alfie and Alfie, despite everything, didn't seem to dislike her. It was promising and just thinking of the possibilities made Matthew eyes almost brim with tears of happiness.

"What are you thinking, Matthew?" Alfred questioned his brother, his eyebrows knitted together in curious suspicion behind his glasses. Matthew noticed then that his eyes were wet and he had almost actually cried. Matthew laughed at the revelation and suddenly put his arm around Alfred's shoulder, bringing his older and slightly taller brother close to his side.

"I'm just so proud, that my little virgin Alfie is finally on his way to becoming a man."

Alfred blushed instinctively at the contact and words his brother used and tried to push him away, growling back his response.

"Where do you get off talking about manhood? If I remember right, it isn't very mature to go out with three girls, all at the same time in high-school!"

Matthew made a face like he was trying to remember what his brother was talking about and then grinned, pointing a finger up in the air as if there was a thought cloud above his head.

"Oh yeah… That was really cool though, three hot ladies and one irresistible me! And face it, big brother, I 'grew up' way before you did~"

Matthew was still holding onto Alfred at this point, not seemingly even bothered by the other's struggling. He decided he wanted to tease him even more, seeing the light dusting of a blush on his brother's face and brought his face close to Alfred's, within kissing distance. It was one of the oldest ploys in the book, and a rather effective one.

"Hey, how about I teach you teach you one of the best things about being a M.A.N?"

He whispered in his best husky voice, drawing out every last syllable on the last word. Matthew smiled and noticed the blush on his brother's face darkened considerably before he felt something else… extreme pain.

Alfred pushed Matthew back, having kicked him rather squarely in the crotch. He didn't like doing this to his brother (ok, maybe a little), but this time his brother had gone a bit further than necessary. Matthew, no longer able to grip Alfred because of the burning pain down south, came off without a fight and fell down, curling into the fetal position in the dirt, hissing various curses in French and English. Alfred didn't have much time to think and, looking around quickly, took off at a run to the forest, the sounds of Matthew's shouts following him as he tried not to trip on tree roots or get his toe caught on the various branches.

He'd been running for what seem like an hour, though in reality it had only been five minutes, before he stopped, bending over and putting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath back. He sighed. That had been stupid, he shouldn't have reacted to such childish teasing in such a way. When he had caught his breath, he looked up from the ground and found he was in the clearing where he had been yesterday with

"How're doing?"

Arthur.

Alfred, shocked by the sudden noise behind him, moved forward, falling down to the ground and then rapidly turning around to see Arthur standing there, smiling.

"Did I catch you off guard again? You really need to work on your reaction time, Alfie~"

"W-wha-"Alfred stuttered both because of outrage at the comment and the adrenaline still running through his system due to the surprise.

"Hmm? Yes?" Arthur questioned, leaning in comically and moving his head so his right ear was closer to Alfred "what is it?"

"Wh-what are you… doing here?" Alfred finished, breathing slow and deep to regain his senses.

"Hmm?" Arthur hummed, drawing back and looking down at Alfred with look you would give someone when you asked them what colour the sun was and they said it was blue. "Is twenty years such a long time?" he asked, not giving Alfred a chance to answer before continuing. "I live here, remember?"

"You live… in the forest?" Alfred asked, in slight disbelief.

"Yeah, and guess what. I'm the king of this place too." Arthur said, grinning at the cute face Alfred made when he didn't understand.

The king? Alfred thought that's impossible…

Flying Bunny Forest, as it had been named by the first inhabitants of Alfred's home, was quite a large forest, stretching for many miles in all directions, only really split by some small old roads built in ancient times and the house that had been built in its midst some two-hundred years ago. An area so huge and so filled with wildlife, it was impossible to have one person as its king.

"How can you be the king?" he asked Arthur, his mind driven away from the previous situation in a need to figure out this puzzle.

"Quite easily, actually" Arthur responded, happy the other was taking an interest in his life. He sat down on the ground, cross-legged as he spoke in a teacher-like tone, his tails idly moving around. "You see, this forest is special. This forest is one of the last in the world to be a home for mythical creatures, big and small. Back when humanity was young and more accepting to us, there were places like this all around the world, where creatures of every plane of existence could live in harmony with each other and in some cases, the humans. Each place, whether it be a forest or a mountain range, had a system by which the most powerful and wise of these creatures would act as a king of that land."

By now Alfred was sitting up, listening to the other with an odd nostalgic sense of wonder. Arthur continued, seeming to be into the flow of his tale now, his eyes closed as he continued to speak.

"For many years, we mythical beings wondered whom of our kinds could be most suited to being rulers who were impartial, wise and very powerful.

"Eventually, one beast made itself stand out among the others. The Kitsune. Japanese in origin and one of the most powerful creatures in the mythical world. My ancestors took the mantles of kings and queens of their kingdoms, their descendants taking over when they retired and so on and so forth. For many, many years, this was the way of things, the kitsunes, with their almost boundless wisdom and power, kept the law of the land and peace with the humans. We prospered. Then, it fell apart.

"Like most kingdoms and dynasties, we found that just because you were a Kitsune, did not mean you were fit to rule with the people's best interest at heart. Some of us were greedy, other's cruel. War broke out between the kingdoms and revolts sprang up, some oppressed creatures killing their Kitsune leaders and taking the mantle for themselves. At the same time, humanity became scared of our collective power and, fearing for their lives, started to destroy our habitats and our kind, locked up in cages or killed us for our bodies. In the time, many of my kind fled, not wishing to die by either side. Some of us left behind out heritage and bred with the humans, leading to hybrids and loss of the pure bloodline. Others were killed, either by their own or by the humans. Many territories were destroyed and many creatures, having no home to return to, faded into obscurity and legend."

Arthur paused for a long time after that. It seemed to be a difficult subject to talk about, which wasn't surprising. Alfred felt almost like comforting the other, but held back, letting the other continue on.

"My family have ruled this forest for many years, stretching back to when the first Kitsunes ruled. My mother was alive at the time of these wars with my father. She was with child back then. The war came to us as well and my father had to kill many a friend to keep my mother safe. The humans tired as well and they were also slaughtered by the inhabitants of this forest, who wanted nothing more than to live in peace. By the end of it, we had lost many friends and family. My father was a broken man and ran away shortly after, leaving my mother here with her new child… me."

Arthur stopped then. He looked up to Alfred, smiling, though Alfred could see he was shivering slightly.

"Arth-"Alfred started before he was stopped by a long and drawn out growling noise. He looked around quickly, thinking it was a wolf of something before he heard it again and looked at Arthur, who seemed to be blushing slightly as he covered his stomach.

"Are you…"

"Sorry, I couldn't forage enough to eat today and I was busy looking after some baby griffins and I kinda"

Arthur suddenly felt himself being poked with something and looked up to see Alfred standing up and looking down at him, in his hands a bar of some sort.

"Here." He said, his tone stern while he looked to the right.

Arthur didn't move for a short while, transfixed by the strange wrapped bar the other held in his out-stretched hand. It was colourfully-wrapped, with the words 'Super Healthy Nut Bar' written on it in bold lettering.

Arthur smiled, a warmer smile this time and looked up at Alfred again.

"Thank you, but… I'm allergic to nuts."

Alfred twitched, damn, why hadn't he thought of that. He suddenly started freaking out, fiddling around as he blushed.

"S-sorry, I didn't think you were."

Arthur stood up then as well, grinning now like he had done before.

"I should think so!" he said, his tone hard for a moment before he paused and then laughed "because I was lying!"

Alfred, hearing the words, looked Arthur straight in the eyes, his glasses doing little to hide the look of shock and confusion on his face. Arthur chuckled, pausing before moving in on a whim and giving Alfred a chaste kiss on the lips.

"You look so cute when you're shocked, you know?" he said as he drew back. Alfred stayed frozen in his position for a few seconds after and Arthur wondered if something was wrong before bar was suddenly pushed towards his bare chest, pushing it into Arthur's hands as Alfred looked sternly away.

"Eat this…" he murmured and then walked to the edge of the clearing, in the direction of his house. Arthur thought he'd gone too far and was about to apologize when Alfred spoke again.

"I'll come… and give you food, okay?"

That seemed to stop Arthur and Alfred walked out without another word, leaving Arthur there, with a nut bar in his hands, a blush on his cheeks and a smile on his lips. Yep, that was his husband, all right. Meanwhile, in Alfred's view, he felt like something was changing. Something was coming back, something he had forgotten long ago. As he walked back, now short of a nut bar he had gotten from the canteen, he despite everything, felt himself smile. Then grin. Then laugh.

Hey guys, back again with another chapter. Sorry about infrequent updates, I've been getting busy as of late. But, I hope you like this chapter of exposition dump and some fluff and I'll see you next time. Oh, how OOC my chars are~