Chapter Four:

"Welcome Mattie!" Mrs. Kirkland opened the door to allow the small Bonnefoy family step through. "We're so glad to have you for a couple of days! We're going to have so much fun, right Alfred?"

"Yeah!" Appeared the honey blond on the top banister looking beyond ecstatic. He had been waiting for the weekend, constantly annoying Arthur, and occasionally, James with his constant chatter of his plans. Every single minute of their days together were booked with excitement and adventure until their little hearts could possibly pop. And with all of the ideas rushing through his head, Alfred latched onto his best friend and dragged him off before he could even say goodbye to his family. It was his job as the hero to make sure Matthew remained happy on his stay and if he said goodbye to them, he'd surely be depressed for a while, he reasoned.

The hyperactive child recalled Arthur's warning to be sensitive to their guest, so he loosened his grip, but continued to lead him up the stairs. Oblivious to the fact that Matthew followed less enthusiastically, the pre-teen called out to the rest of the house as they made their way to his room. "Mattie's here!"

"I can clearly see that," a small smile graced Arthur's lips as they ran past him. "Hello there Matthew. Careful now, Alfred!"

"Woah there," Mr. Kirkland came out of his study in time to see Matthew slightly greet him as they flew past him. "Good to see you Matthew, dinner should be ready in half an hour. I hope you like smoked salmon."

He was unable to hear the child's response for the boys were already out of sight. "That boy, what are we going to do about him," Mr. Kirkland shook his head in amusement. The new addition to the family was not as bad as he had predicted. Alfred was old enough to understand responsibilities and not too old to have attitude problems. Although he had to admit, the young rascal was a handful with so much energy. He could not even recall the twins with that much life in them, and he was polar opposite of Arthur at his age.

"Get him a human sized hamster wheel for him to burn all that energy?" James answered as he walked down the second pair of stairs. "I swear he was going to rip Matt's arm off. Hell, last time I played with him, he did leave a bruise." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a yellowing mark on his forearm. "Never play video games with that lad, I'll tell you!"

"Why would I?" Arthur scoffed.

"You're right, you're too electronically confused," James laughed and turned towards their father as they made their way down stairs to Mrs. Kirkland and the Bonnefoys. "Could you imagine Art and Al the same age? Art would definitely kill Alfred!"

"'E nearly killed moi," Francis wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and gave him a peck on his cheek, the most the two boys ever showed affection in front of Mr. Kirkland. "I forgave 'im 'owever. Bonjour James, Monsieur Kirkland. Zank you zo much for taking in Mathieu."

Mr. Bonnefoy agreed and the adults quickly exchanged pleasantries and contact information before leaving for their plane. Out of the three Bonnefoys, Francis gave the most elaborate descriptions in case of outburst, panic, depression, likes, and dislikes of the boy. "And if 'e ever becomez a little too zad, make zure you-er well not you Arzur-make him pancakez with a lot of maple zyrup. Oh! And if you ever want 'im to adorably chatter away, azk about Kumajiro. 'E might not pronounze it correctly each time, but-"

He was cut off my his mother as she reminded them they needed to leave to be able to catch the plane for their eight hour trip.

Unfortunately, Matthew was barely able to catch a peek of them in Alfred's window as they left down the road. He had promised himself that he would not cry, and he wasn't, but seeing his only family do something without him hurt for some reason. They had always done everything together or at least he'd always had Francis there beside him. With a deep sigh, Matthew ripped himself away from the window to sit next to a babbling Alfred with a thousand piece puzzle spread before him.

"... and then James said if we can finish this before bedtime, he'd take us out for some ice cream tomorrow! We can get as many scoops as we want and any kind we want, he pinky swore. So do you think you're any good Mattie?" Alfred looked up to see Matthew grin at him then lunge in for a hug. "Oh?! Uh, do you really like puzzles that much Mattie?"

"No silly!" Matthew giggled, "Thank you for letting me stay."

"No, you're the silly one! That's what friends are for, to help each other, cause chaos, and wreak havoc!" Alfred crushed the piece in his hand when he fist pumped the air. "Oops..."

"I'm surprised you even know what that means," Matthew took the wrinkled, colored cardboard to flatten out. "Do you?"

"Nope!" The honey blond admitted a little too cheerfully. "I think this goes in here! So do you think you know what kind you'll get? Ice cream I mean, I can already taste mine!"

In the few weeks Matthew has gotten to know Alfred, he had established that the boy loved to eat and it was best not to interfere with his food fantasies. Last time anyone (Ivan) had called him out on it, Alfred had bit him and Matthew did not want to put their friendship to the test; so instead he let the boy continue with his chatter as they diligently worked on the puzzle until dinner was ready.

Arthur was assigned the task to get the boys and his mother for dinner before he somehow ruined his father's hard work in the kitchen. He had just informed his mother, who was also not allowed in the kitchen, that dinner was ready when he heard a loud thud a floor above him. Horrible thoughts of the boys being smashed underneath something flashed through his mind, but Alfred wasn't the kind of boy who'd climb unstable furniture. "Wait, yes he is!" Arthur few up the stairs two at a time and slammed the door open. "Boys!"

"IhatethisIhatethisIhatethis, huh?" Alfred had stopped wiggling around the puzzle pieces now scattered even more than when they had started and looked up at his foster brother from the ground.

"What the blazes are you doing?"

"I-I think he attacked the puzzle," Matthew looked between the piece in his hand, Alfred, and then Arthur in confusion.

"I'm afraid to even ask why," the older boy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come now, dinner's ready."

Alfred shot up at the mention of food and Matthew calmly followed. Behind them, the boys could hear Arthur clucking away like a mother hen, reminding them to be careful, wash their hands in the bathroom, and lecturing Alfred to let the guests go first. Once hands were clean, Matthew stepped up to the dinning area a little weary.

Mrs. Kirkland noticed and warmly invited him over. "Sit wherever you like, dear; think of this as your second home."

Thanking her, he sat in between her and Arthur. He noticed how Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland sat at the end of the table while the two older Kirklands sat diagonally from each other comfortably without shifting around Matthew. He had thought he had picked a seat that did not mess with their usual seating arrangements, that is until Alfred came out of the bathroom. It was quite obvious Alfred did not particularly like Matthew's seating order.

"Heeeey, I usually sit next to Artie," he pouted, but it soon dissolved when realization hit and then winked at his best friend. "Oh, but I guess you can have it."

Matthew blushed, remembering that Alfred knew of his crushes, but was glad he didn't say anymore of it or that anyone else noticed the pink sprinkle across his face. It remained rosy, however, throughout dinner whenever Arthur or Mrs. Kirkland fussed over him to eat more or drink more. He didn't receive this much attention at home and quite liked it if it wasn't for a glare Alfred would throw at him every now and then when Arthur would serve him or ask him things instead of Alfred.

"So what were you guys doing?"

Arthur directed the question towards Matt, but Alfred answered with his mouth full. "Wames gif meh ah pussle fu comfeet mefore pep an we gef ifu cweem fufarrow!" (James gave me a puzzle to complete before bed and we get ice cream tomorrow!)

"Is it frightening that I understood that?" James dropped his fork and looked around the table with mock horror.

"Alfred, what did I say?" Arthur gave him a look that caused the boy to use his most angelic facial expression as an apology. Mrs. Kirkland grinned at how fatherly Arthur was while Alfred played along. She loved all her children equally, but would never admit aloud how much she adored Arthur's and Alfred's interactions with one another.

"I'm sorry, Artie. I was just so excited that I wanted to tell you," Alfred reached for more vegetables that Mr. Kirkland made so deliciously, but when he couldn't, Arthur lifted the bowl to get it closer to him. "Thanks! So, as I was saying, we were working on the puzzle when we noticed that it was slowly trying to get away from us so I tackled it to not let it get away!"

They all just looked at him in stunned silence for a brief moment before Matthew giggled, as he was the most accustomed to Alfred's imagination during the school day and this little episode was no different. "You were getting frustrated, Al. We were even almost halfway done."

Mr. Kirkland burst into laughter. "You're even more impatient than James! Are you talking about that thousand piece dragon puzzle I gave to him when he was your age? You never finished it did you?"

"Oi, Arthur finished it and I saw the final product; that's what matters, right?" James gave Al a high five when he nodded in agreement. "I'm sure if you bug him enough, he can do it again for you."

Simultaneously, the two young blonds turned to look up to Arthur with large eyes filled with hope. He, however, knew to close his own eyes to resist Alfred's puppy eye look, but was not quick enough. Al was just beginning to jut his lips out into a pout and if Arthur was artistic enough, he could probably sketch it out with his eyes closed. "No."

"But Artie!"

"Yeah, Arts!"

"Belt up, James."

"Come on Mattie, you gotta ask for Artie's help!" Al jumped in his chair to get his friend to participate. "You're the guest, he'll do anything for you."

"He's right, Mattie," James encouraged again. "Arthur can never resist anything small and adorable like you guys. He's a total softie!"

At this, Arthur's eyes shot open, but managed to avoid Alfred's gaze directly in front of him. "You know you're only injuring yourself. If they complete it with my help, not only will you have to get them the treat you promised, but me as well. Again. You never kept your promise ten years ago."

"Yeah, yeah," James continued to eat, "as long as it keeps these ankle bitters outta my room; I'll do anything. No offense, lads."

Alfred shrugged it off as if he understood when he really didn't.

Mattie tugged on the sandy blond's shirt, "So you will help us, Arthur?"

And just like Alfred, Matthew had the most sweetest look on his face with such optimism and esteem of the teen before him. How could he not accept with seemingly large violet eyes pleading at him? With his longer honey blond hair, he looked like the definition of an angel only in a white shirt and light blue jeans. "Of course," he smiled brightly at Mattie, unaware of the other boy's slight frown.

The rest of the dinner remained uneventful except near the end when everyone had finished except for Alfred. Ever since the child had arrived at the Kirkland home, he had eaten everything handed to him. There were never any real complaints about the food, he usually asked for more than there even was, and his plate always ended up as if it was licked clean. So when he didn't finish the random three peas on the plate, everyone was shocked, if not concerned.

"Oh no, the world's coming to an end!"

"Again, belt up!"

"What's wrong, lad?"

"Alfred, dear, are you okay?"

"Are you sick, Al?"

"Huh? Why?" Sapphire eyes quizzically looked around the table.

Arthur pointed at the younger boy's plate. "Well you usually finish everything on your plate, Alfred. You cannot really blame us for worrying when you don't."

"Oh." Arthur found the preteen unreasonably adorable with the innocent expression on on his face, making him look even younger than he really was. "I'll just finish it then." He popped in the remaining tiny, green spheres before anyone could say otherwise.

"That was not the point lad, but alright," their father chuckled. "Well go on and tidy up so you can finish that puzzle with Arthur's help before bed."

And the boys did just that. As fast as they could, they washed, dried, and placed their plates, silverware, and glasses away, along with pushing and dragging Arthur with them upstairs. With a sigh, the teen remembered the mess left in the boy's room, but laughed along with their antics. Was that jealousy in Alfred's eyes when Matthew grabbed Arthur's hand to pull him along? No, probably not, but Alfred was not satisfied with the pace and pushed on Arthur's bum to keep him moving faster. "Okay, alright, I'm going, I'm going."

"Not fast enough, Artie!"

"Oh hush now, we have plenty of time," the sandy blond resisted only to laugh at Alfred's annoyance.

"But Mattie sleeps early! We'll lose man power if we don't hurry!"

"I can stay up if you want me to," violet eyes turned to look at the boys behind himself and caused himself to trip.

"Careful Mattie," Arthur reached for their guest, but Alfred was quicker.

"See Mattie, you're already stumbling with sleep!"

The three finally made their way to Alfred's room and set to work around the puzzle. Arthur tried to teach Alfred a few techniques, but the stubborn child refused to cooperate, claiming it took out all the little fun puzzles had. Matthew, however, did listen and applied the tips, thus getting praise from his infatuation. Soon, a little rivalry between the two pre-teens developed as Alfred insisted on proving himself just as good as Matt only in his own heroic way. Emerald eyes ended up looking back and forth between slightly smaller hands criss-crossing one another in order to grab the next piece. "Oh, I didn't see that one Mattie!" "Good job, Al!" "You're even better than me, Mattie!" "Al, I don't think that goes- Oh it does! Good eye, lad!"

Little by little, Arthur inched away from the boys and sat on Alfred's bed to watch them. Alfred's tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration, while Matthew maintained a light smile on his face as his eyes darted quickly back and forth between the pieces. The scene before him was utter perfection, too cute for words. It was almost as if they were siblings by how much they looked alike and coexisted together. Unfortunately not all siblings got along and he and his own brothers were living proof of that. How many times he had wished he could have played calmly with his own brothers and sister the way these two North American boys were doing?

Perhaps instead he'll have his own children who'll get along like Al and Matt. Wait- children? I'm only fifteen, he thought to himself, why in the bloody hell am I thinking of this?! He and Francis couldn't produce children, and they weren't even that serious about one another. Arthur always figured he would end up with a nice woman and live a pretty ordinary life, but now was too soon to think about children! Yet, something on the back of his head reminded him that his mother was about James's age when she married his father and two years later Liam Scott was born. Granted, they were a different generation, but he knew their parents were anxious for some grandchildren in a matter of time. And in four years time, Arthur couldn't even begin to imagine how much different his life could be. His current plans were to attend university and possibly-

"DONE!" Alfred yelled at the top of his lungs, startling Arthur off the bed and everyone else within a five kilometer radius. "Look Artie! We finished with enough time to spare!"

"Are you okay, Arthur?" Matthew asked, concerned after the adolescent fell face first onto the floor.

"Did you really have to bloody yell?" Arthur didn't know what hurt more, his ears or nose. "Yes, thank you Matthew; I think I am fine. And what do you mean you have time to spare? It's nine thirty and neither of you have showered. Now up you go; while you two prepare, I'll get James to view the end result again. So who'll go first?"

"Mattie can 'cause he's the guest!" The younger of the two pushed the other into the bathroom with little resistance and gave him his bag with his belongings.

And as soon as they heard the water running, Arthur suggested they switch jobs. Alfred was to get James while Arthur went into the attic to get the inflatable mattress and some more blankets.

"But why?" The child trailed after the older teen.

"So that one of you can sleep on the floor." He responded, glancing towards cornflower eyes.

"Then why doesn't Mattie take my bed and I sleep with you?"

"Er, well, then Mattie would feel left out," his lips twitched lightly. Alfred could be very stubborn, but he really needed to stay in his own room. If Arthur was honest with himself, he'd admit he really didn't mind the boy with him all the time, however, he figured they were both becoming too attached to one another. In less than three years, Arthur would be out the house. The teen was positive it wouldn't affect him as much, but would Alfred be able to handle it? It seemed Arthur was Alfred's substitute for the parents he had lost. Of course then there was that chance that he wouldn't stay with them until he is of age...

"So?"

"Alfred!"

"I mean he can sleep with us too then," he didn't really like the idea of sharing his foster brother's bed with his best friend, but again, Mattie was a guest, blah, blah, blah.

"I'm sure the three of us wouldn't fit. You're not even supposed to be sleeping with me. You have your own room and bed. So how about I stay with you guys until you fall asleep, deal? Oh, I can read you guys a bed time story if you'd like," he crawled into the attic to retrieve the mattress.

"No way, we're not babies!" Even without Arthur seeing him, he could tell the boy crossed hims arms in defiance and pouted.

With a slight smirk, he asked, "Even if it's a superhero story?" Arthur dragged the plastic out along with an air pump. "Oh well, I suppose you are a little too old to really care about strong-"

"Alright! But it better be a good one or you're sleeping over with us. I'll go get James now!" He took off to find his other foster brother to show off their accomplishment and make him promise thrice more to get them ice cream.

~4~

"Are you sure you even scrubbed?" Arthur questioned after Alfred's ridiculously quick shower. Mattie peaked around the towel around his head that Arthur was using to dry his hair with and giggled at his friend in only a pair of Batman boxers.

Alfred jumped behind Matthew where the plastic bedding was patiently waiting to be filled with air. "Of course! A hero is always clean and cannot let his sidekicks do all the work! SO! I had to hurry."

With doubt from the other two, the trio inflated the mattress (supposedly a hero really could do it all on his own, but encouraged his sidekicks to help him out), selected their pillows and blankets, picked a book, and snuggled close to Arthur on the floor next to the inflatable mattress. Unfortunately, the literature had no pictures, thus having Arthur convince the youngest of the boys that is was up to his own imagination to produce them himself. He did not particularly enjoy the idea, but when the other suggested they read along and act it out a bit, the boy warmed up a little.

Roles were assigned with Alfred being the main protagonist, Matthew playing best friend/sidekick, and Arthur everything else including the antagonist and love interest.

With a deep breath, Arthur began:

"The world was coming to an end, but nobody knew about it except for the princess of Spades. She was a beautiful girl with long hair so light it was almost white, and piercing teal eyes. And although all of the land loved her, she was known for her overactive imagination. The fact that she claimed she could also do magic did not help her case when she announced the end of the world was soon to happen unless they were able switch out the worlds' life source with the Last Emerald their country owned.

Her parents ignored her, her teachers scolded her, and her people laughed at her. No one would believe her and with the end of the world coming closer and closer, the princess became worried. So anxious she was that soon her studies were skipped, her hair began to fall, and she ate less and less.

'Oh, what are we going to do about this, honey?'"

"AHAHAHA! YOU SOUND SO FUNNY, ARTIE!" Alfred laughed.

Although Alfred was ten and he was fifteen, it kind of hurt Arthur a little to be laughed at. He prided his theatric skills, especially since he was a young boy and was told he shared a birthday with William Shakespeare. "Belt up, twat. Are we not acting along?"

Matthew's slightly damp locks tickled Arthur's forearm as he nodded along. "Well I like your... eh... Queen voice," he read over Arthur's part to make sure he said the right character.

Alfred continued to giggle, "Yeah I guess, Artie would make a perfect Queen."

"Well just wait until you hear my King and Princess voices and all the other ones!" Arthur began to be affected by the boy's chortle and snickered along.

"'Oh, what are we going to do about this, honey?' The Queen looked out the window where their daughter sat almost lifelessly in the garden.

The king, a handsome, strong man with sky blue eyes wrapped his arms around his queen. 'Well, my love, I think our daughter is simply alone. Perhaps it is time we introduce her to her prince?'"

"Woah! How'd you make your voice so low!" Again, the boy interrupted.

"Puberty," Arthur flicked Alfred's nose and returned to reading.

"Jade eyes looked up towards her husband. 'You really think so?'

And so the order was sent that night to contact the prince of Ace-"

"Oh! I'm coming in soon aren't I?"

"Would you stop interrupting me?!"

~4~

When Mrs. Kirkland came around to make sure Matthew was not crying at night, she found the two younger boys tangled in blankets and on top of Arthur on the poor mattress that seemed about ready to burst. However Mrs. Kirkland paid no mind to that and cooed at the scene before her. Together, the three of them looked like angels sleeping on a cloud and she just could not resist the temptation of snapping a picture of them.

Matthew was snuggled right in between Arthur's left arm and chest while Alfred seemed to be mostly on top of the adolescent with his head on Arthur's shoulder and his arms wrapped around his foster brother's right bicep and left armpit right above Mattie's head, fully embracing him. With her cellphone she took a few pictures, but then set off to find her camera. After she came back and was satisfied with multiple angles of them, she finally picked up the book discarded alongside the makeshift bed and turned off the lights. Halfway through the night, however, Alfred had managed to push Matthew off and have Arthur all to himself.

He was, after all, Alfred's princess, or so his dream dictated.

Just like the storyline Arthur had read, the prince of Ace helped the princess with preventing the end of the world. They had stolen the country's jewel and together with the hero's best friend they traveled the world to find the hidden chamber. Along the journey, the the three face multiple life or death obstacles, but near the end where the hero was to die to save the princess and his best friend, Alfred had not.

Instead, the plot thickened in the child's dream when the emerald ended up to be the princess, a.k.a. Arthur, instead. So no longer was the hero to die, but the princess was going to be sacrificed in his place and Alfred, as the hero, could not let that happen. He had finally met the royal, the love of his life, and he would not let him go so easily.

"It's okay, Alfred," emerald eyes engulfed his azure ones as he caressed his cheek, "I want the world to live on and I could not imagine it without you in it. I love you Alfred."

A stone wall appeared, separating the two before the walls began to crumble.

"NOO!" The boy punched and hit the wall, but nothing would make it move. It was up to Mattie to get them out of there before it all collapsed on top of them. And once out, the cavern had crumbled with nothing left but, rock and dust.

With the energy of a madman, the honey blond began to frantically move rocks away, ignoring his friend's efforts to stop him.

It took the prince, two days and nights working nonstop along with Matthew's help to get to the place he last saw Arthur, only instead of a wall, there was a small tunnel. Wearily they trudged along until they saw Arthur collapsed and not breathing.

Tears immediately began to flow from both of the boys. Arthur was gone from them. Only a week ago was he scolding them along their trail, a few days ago he was lovingly caring for them, and only a few days ago together they had navigated around the dark chamber full of traps. He had loved the world so much, loved him so much he wanted to protect it, all especially for the love of his life.

Alfred reached for Arthur, tears continuously flowing down his face and brushed his cold face, "Our kiss goodbye."

. . .

"Shh, it's okay, Alfred."

Alfred slowly began to wake up, feeling a hand on his back rub soothing circles.

"You'll wake up Mattie with your crying. It's alright, love, I'm right here."

And then Arthur kissed the boy's forehead, promising everything will be alright.

Our kiss goodbye. The dream was all too vivid and Alfred buried his face deeper into the teen's shoulder, daring him to leave him, but he wouldn't let him even if he tried. "D-Don't leave-leave me," he whispered in between sobs. "I l-love... you... Artie..." The teen's warm arm around him cradled him to sleep once more.


OTL University, my dear readers, has finally given me a small window of opportunity to write this. I had much to say, but since it's been so long and I can't remember, I shall spare you. I know this story is going really slow, but a plot-ish is coming, I promise! Hopefully I can write more during Thanksgiving Break in a few days or update some of my other stories in case anyone reads those. I would gladly write 50 pages of fanfic than of essays, but the semester is full and there is more to come...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! SO MUCH FOR READING! You guys are my inspiration and motivation! Good night and good luck to you all!