Update: This Chapter has been completely re-written, since I was not proud of what I posted last. A lot of things do happen in this chapter though, which is the reason for this warning. I really hope you enjoy it! ^-^

Chapter 3:

"Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave."
― A.A. Milne

Ignoring the fact that I had leaves and twigs in my hair, my legs were scratched from the low growing sprigs of the forest, and now my feet were wet from forgetting to hop over the stream in my desperation to reach the boy who I had imagined the horrible bloody death of for the entire night, I crashed into Alfred and clung, bringing him down to the soft ground with me.

"Hey, hey! What's wrong? I told you I was gonna come back..."

"You bastard!" I picked my head up only for a moment to wailed at him before pressing it even harder into his chest as a distraught greeting. Unfortunately I'd learned the word recently from my older brother's rough housing, so I'd assumed it was something of an endearing nickname, not an insult, that would send him all the messages that I could not force out of my throat for my distress.

I pinned the poor boy down, half kneeling half sitting on his lap, my face buried into his chest and my hands gripping into his shirt and the green cloak around his shoulders. I didn't realize I was sobbing until his hands met my shuddering back, and moved themselves in small comforting circles in an attempt to calm me down, although he must have been the one spooked from such a fearful and panicked 'hello'.

"Hey, please, what's wrong?"

The worry in his voice made my shoulders stiffen mid-shudder, and my immense relief of his safety was starting to dissipate into embarrassment as I realized how I was so close to him, and how I must look right now- snot nosed and wet eyed and messy. Only yesterday I'd met him but the fact that I'd been so mean to him on the first day of knowing the younger boy had made my guilt warp itself into terror at the thought of him dying just after discovering him.

Slowly I untangled myself enough to wipe my face with my sleeves although when I tried to push away he wrapped his arms around my waist, trapping me to sit on his lap, as he tried to look at my ever heating face.

"I-I'm sorry." the sniffles died down although my eyes would not stop their watering, "I-I thought that they'd gotten to you last night and that I'd never see you again!" I added as a mutter to his amusement.

His head tilted confusedly in that endearing motion I'd come to get used to.

"What are you talking about Arthur? Who's 'they'?"

"The wolves" I whispered anxiously, looking around as though a wolf would appear in the magical clearing just from saying it's name, and my hands found his sleeves.

"The wolves? Why would they get me? Mama says that they live far across the valley."

"But, my mother said that those noises last night werewolves!" Or that at least was what they were close to; in my terror I'd forgotten the real word my brothers had used…

"Oh! Heh heh heh," He started to laugh, his loud happy laugh that only served to make me feel foolish for ever worrying about the stupid git!

"What's so funny?" I growled dangerously.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just that, those were wolf howls; that was just my mom screaming at me for disappearing!"

What?

My expression must have given away my thoughts, as he smiled brightly.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. My mom's really nice when she wants to be, but when she's angry she becomes like. Actually, she's always angry at me now I think about it."

He poked at his chin thoughtfully before pushing us up to stand, and his grin grew another inch across his face as he grabbed my shoulders in what he thought was comforting, but what seemed to me as patronizingly and I frowned at him.

"But you don't have to worry about wolves either! Because I'mma hero! And I'll protect you against those stupid wolves!"

He struck a pose, the git, giving me a happy thumbs up, before it faltered and he leaned thoughtfully.

"Uh, but I just remembered, what was your name?" he said with a sheepish grin, the canines ever pronounced in his mouth.

It was then that I decided that Alfred Jones was a complete idiot, and that if anybody needed to do the protecting, it would be me.

A week after the mysterious howling noise, my older brothers were still talking about the wolf monsters. They said that an entire pack had been seen in the area past the forests where we live and over on the other side of the valley that held the village. The farmers were becoming more and more worried although there had not been any recent attacks. At the time I was only glad that the wolf people were not around to hurt my family or my new friend.

I'd tried to tell my mother about Alfred, but she seemed to think that it was only my imagination. "You silly boy, there are no other families living near here; how is a little boy supposed to walk all the way from the village to here?"

At first I'd been angry that she didn't believe me, but afterwards I decided that it was best my family didn't know about Alfred: my brothers would no doubt find a way to ruin things for me and scare him away. So for the following weeks that I got to play with my new friend, and I was content to have three secrets all of my own. Magic, Fairies, and Alfred.

Over the years Alfred and I became close friends.

In the first year from the day that he appeared in the middle of my magical clearing, we explored the forest immediately surrounding my house, but never too far in fear of getting in trouble with my family, and I learned as much magic as possible. I also met his brother, Matthew, but the older twin had been very quiet and shy.

The first time I met him he hardly talked to me after first saying 'hi', too busy whispering to Alfred anxiously and giving me strange looks as I practiced my magic and played with Alfred. At the time I assumed he was put off from my eyebrows which my brothers always teased me about, so I did not take to Matthew immediately. However after that awkward first year, Matthew frequently came down to play with us, and finally began to talk to me. He never became as close to me as Alfred did, but having another person to drag along in our adventures was nice altogether.

After two years we had grown bolder in our explorations; the two of us went further and further in out "expeditions" around the forest, and my magic was now strong enough to make plants grow into flowers the size of dinner plates, and I could now heal minor wounds -this skill being a necessity with how often Alfred got himself hurt. Over the years I began to get taller, although I was still pale, and my eyebrows bushy as ever, and I was still incredibly skinny to the point my red cloak still fit me as well as it had when I was five.

Alfred on the other hand was beginning to grow too, but more in a way that made me envious. He had past me in height, his arms were becoming more and more muscular, and he was stronger than me even thought I was older!

I never got to meet his mother or his father, but Alfred told me he'd moved from a far-away village since the one nearby was smaller, and safer. Had I been older I may have thought that a bigger village would be safer; more people and guards to protect you from monsters. But I didn't dwell too much on it, because I now had a very best friend to keep me company, although I never tried to say that outloud; Alfred would be unbearable.

"Hey, Arthur?"

I hesitated as the boy crouched in the shadow of our favorite climbing tree, stopping in my motion of writing new spells in the dirt.

"Yes Alfred?" I'd said in a sniffly voice; I was still cross with him after he knocked me into the stream earlier. My cloak and pants had dried by now, but the squech in my boots kept my mood soured.

"We're Best Friends, right?" I spun on me feet at the quiet inquiry; was Alfred still mad at me being mad at him? He'd folded his legs up to his chin, and was staring hard at the ground in front of him as he dug trenches into the dirt at his side. For a moment I almost felt pity on the lad, but I saw what he was doing! He was trying to make me feel bad for him so that I'd stop being angry! He was sneaky like that, I thought with a shudder. It was also with a wave of heat on my face however, that I started to relent as I saw him curled into himself for pitifully, and I turned back to my work so he couldn't see my face.

"I suppose that I can consider you that…"

"Do you mean it?"

I started at his hopeful tone; the way he talked did strange things to my stomach when I wasn't on guard.

"Hmph. If you're not going to believe me then I won't say it again."

"Artie!" He whined, picking himself from the grass to approach me, trying to peek at my face as I kept trying to turn away! Blast it! The boy had learned too many of my habits.

"No, I won't say it."

"Please Artie? I really wanna know." He was grabbing my hands now despite my best intentions to keep my face turned away, and I avoided his gaze because I knew what his face would look like; he would have wide eyes and that slightly hopeful, slightly pleading smile and I would cave immediately because it was just too adorable when he did that! But he kept on staring, and I swear he was pulling my hands closer, and my face was heating up too much for me to concentrate on ignoring him properly.

"Fine!" I yelled, refusing to look him in the eye because I knew he would be smiling victoriously, "You're bloody well my bestest friend and the only one I'll ever have! Are you happy?!" I glared at him, red faced and embarrassed, but the expression didn't hold up well against his blinding smile.

"Hooray!" I found myself tackled down to the ground by a very cheerful Alfred, and I squirmed to try and get out of his crushing hug. "And you're my very best friend too!"

"Yes, yes, I get it, you couldn't live without me and all that. Now can we please get back to playing?"

"Okay!"

Best Friends being established Alfred began to grow clingier and clingier, if that is at all possible. When Matthew joined us for our adventures, he insisted on holding my hand, and plenty of the pranks we would play on my older brothers never came into fruition because Alfred would instead insist on tackling me and hugging me, which is very distracting when one is trying to play evil mastermind. It was incredibly embarrassing, especially since the fairies would always appear and start giggling when Alfred initiated those miniature wrestling matches. But aside from being embarrassing, the fluttering squirmy feeling in my stomach was becoming more severe whenever that idiot was close like that. I would be torn with wanting to push him away and hugging him back, and it was annoying, the contradiction.

As we grew older, our time together was becoming more and more brief. In part of my plan to grow more muscular than Alfred, who was always eating something but only getting stronger, I began to volunteer to help my father with chores around the house. I wish I could have saved that moment when I told him that I could help to fix the wagon in the morning before he went to work, because the man who'd always had a gruff look for when mom used me as a mannequin or when I was sitting in the corner stitching, the way his face stretched into a wide proud smile melted a piece of my heart. After that, I took every opportunity I could get to earn another smile like that. From wood cutting in the front yard, to fixing the windows under the eye of my anxious mother.

As I became a regular part of the chore doing team, I started to spend a little less time in the forest with my fairies and my best friend. But I was not the only one too busy to play like we used to.

"My father came home yesterday."

I had been standing in front of the tree trunk, using a stick to send magic spells along the wide rotting bark, and Alfred was plastered to my back, his chin resting on my shoulder in a gesture that I had said was annoying, but secretly enjoyed. I quirked a brow.

"Really? Isn't that a good thing?"

Alfred had told me years ago that his father went back to their old town to work while his mother took care of himself and Matthew. It was still very dangerous there, but his father had loved his old home too much to part from it, even though he also had a family.

Alfred groaned, his arms tightening around my shoulders. "I don't know… I thought I would be happy seeing him again; I only remember bits and pieces from when he was home. But it's not the same as back then. I don't really know him that well anymore, plus, he practically abandoned us!"

Alfred rarely admitted that he was bitter about his father leaving. He usually hid such thoughts behind his sunny smile and eagerness to play. With a sigh I patted a hand as he buried his face into his arm. If I did any more than that, Alfred would just turn embarrassed and go back to smiling stupidly.

"... It's okay just need more time to spend with your father again. Then I'm sure you will be back to blindly ignoring your chores or whatever to come and play with me."

"Heh."

He laughed into his arms again, and I had to turn away as he lifted his head to look at me.

"You help your dad around the house a couple of time, and suddenly you're an expert huh?"

"Belt up!" I shouted, aiming my sharp elbow into his side successfully as he pulled out of the hug to rub at his aching rib. I hope it bruised.

"It was a joke! Calm down Arthur." He yelled laughingly as I walked away towards the plot of grass covered in my experimental flowers and vines. I'd barely gotten to the boulder when he was back to pulling me into another hug, burying his face in the crook of my neck despite my protests. "Thanks, Artie."

I scowled in another direction to fight of the blush on my face.

"Hey, Arthur!"

I looked up from the heavy alchemy book spread out on my lap. I'd arrived to the clearing early that morning after I made sure all the chores were done, and was now lounging on the side of my boulder as Alfred appeared through the trees of the clearing running excitedly in my direction. I closed the book with a snap as he approached, and stood to eye him questioningly.

"You seem excited this morning." I remarked as he stopped to double over, trying to catch his breath, a feat considering he was also laughing. I worry for him sometimes.

I regarded him before walking past towards the fairy's house; Alfred presence was rousing them from sleep, the little dears adored the boy although he hardly took interest in them sometimes.

"Arthur!" I turned as the boy finally found his ability to breath again, as he grinned up at him brightly as though he'd just won a medal.

"Yes?"

"Good morning!"

One could not blame me for throwing that pine cone at him, right smack in the middle of his forehead.

"Aww, come on! Don't be like that!"
I ignored the silly boy as I pulled off my boots to soak my feet in the stream. It always felt clear, and cool, and soothing, and I glanced back at the boy as he calmed himself down and approached to sit beside me, his back against him arm to avoid the water since he was not a fan of the cold, or the wet.

"You're so testy in the morning." He remarked, relaxing against me although the git was too heavy for that. I pushed him up with an annoyed glare.

"Only because you act a complete fool in the morning. Now what were you so excited about?"

"I have a present for you."

My eyes widened and I turned to look at him in shock. He'd leaned back as far as possible to plop his head on my lap, giving me his most blinding grin.

"Y-you didn't have to get me anything." I said, turning my head away since my face was heating again."

"Maybe, but I really wanna!"
"Why would you want to do that?" I said, empathising the 'want to' since the git refused to use the correct words, and subconsciously I played with that doofy little curl poking up over his forehead. He giggled as it tickled before brushing my hands away to sit up and face me happily.

"Becasue! Now, close your eyes Arthur!"

"But-" I started, warily. The last time I'd been told to close my eyes for a surprise like this, I'd ended up with a handful of soggy mud. But Alfred eyes were wide and innocent as he leaned forward pleadingly.

"Please? Just do it Artie!"

"It's Arthur, you git." I muttered, but I obliged, feeling ridiculous. What was I expecting from Alfred? It was probably something incredibly foolish. But even at that thought my brows furrowed as something thin and cold was placed around my neck, tickling against my skin.

"A necklace?" I whispered, as I felt Alfred fiddle with the chain behind closed eyes.

"Nope! But you're sorta close. Now open your eyes!"

I blinked them open, first glancing towards Alfred's very happy excited face before my hands found the chain around my neck and I examined Alfred's gift. It was a small golden band, decorated with little vine like lines and fitted with a very pretty green stone shining lightly in the sun. A ring. A very expensive looking ring. I looked up in wide-eyed shock with a sinking feeling in my chest. It must have registered on my face because Alfred who'd looked so insanely happy a moment ago was slowly beginning to lose his smile;the way it slid off my face only made my heart wrench.

"You… you don't like it?" He asked softly, the most heartbreaking softness one such as Alfred could ever muster.

"Alfred, I can't accept this!" I choked, my fingers squeezing around the chain as I moved to take it off.

"But- why not?! I gave it to you! I want you to have it!"

"Alfred, do you know how expensive this probably is? You can't just give it away-"

The boy was shaking his head quickly, his hands gripping mine to stop me from pulling off his gift.

"But that's what my mom said to do!" He shouted tearily to my face. "My mom gave one to each of us, and she said that if I find someone I really like, that I want to be with then I'm supposed to give it to them! Because it's a promise ring! You give it to the person you want to be your mate! And I wanted to give it to you, Arthur!"

He stopped struggling against my hands as I froze to stare at his teary face; he was trying to smile even though he was crying, and the pit in my stomach exploded as I realized what he was saying. It was then that I realized that my face was wet too, and I fought a sob as my hands twisted into the fabric of my red cloak, and I felt my own mouth turning into a sad grin.

"Do you even know what you just said?"

"Yeah, of course I do." He said grabbing my wrists pleadingly. "I mean it Arthur! I… I want you to be my mate."

Something must have broken inside me, because then next thing I know I was clinging to Alfred, like I had years ago the day after we first met. Burying my face into his chest, I shuddered out a sob that choked off into a watery laugh as he wrapped me into a strong hug.

"You're such an idiot," came out my voice, muffled by his shirt as we clung to each other. His hands were stroking through my ever messy hair, and I really wondered what he saw in it whenever he did it as he had in the past four years.

"Does this mean you accept it?" He murmured hopefully.

I nodded. "Yeah. I accept it." Because after years of being in denial it had all started to make sense; the fluttering feeling, and why I had always been so happy to be around the other boy. I liked him. I liked Alfred.

I wasn't going to call it love because I was still too young to know if that's what it really was. But I could settle for knowing that I liked him, and I didn't need love to know that in the future I could live happily if I had Alfred as my 'mate'.

"Good, cuz I was totally not going to cry if you said no." He said, smiling as he lifted his head to look at me.

"Of course you weren't. Idiot." I laughed as I wiped my face on my sleeve and smiled. "A-and this doesn't change anything! You're still a git, and an idiot, and you exasperate me to know end!"

"Well, I could say the same about you; Mr. Bushybrows."

He ran as I bolted after him, and after the fairies saw the ring and gave us a magical 'blessing', really it was just an excuse to throw flowers at Alfred, we were incredibly happy for the rest of the day, unable to sit still or hold each other's gazes without bursting into fits of laughter.

And if I kept the chained promise ring on me at all times, nobody ever commented.

I wish things could have stayed the same after Alfred's 'confession'. It did for a while; months after I was given the chain. But soon things started to change for good.

It was one day in fall that Alfred came to meet me, in less than happy spirits. I tried my best to cox it out of him, but for the entire day Alfred would force a smile and shake off my worried inquiries even as he clung to me. It was only before sunset that Alfred finally broke the news to me.

"Dad is taking us away next week."

I froze in place to stare at Alfred, his face pointed sadly to the ground, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"W-what do you mean?"

"He told us this morning. He wants to bring us back home to meet the rest of the pack. We have to leave on Monday before it gets too cold."

He looked so miserable that I hadn't thought too much of the reason he'd given, just the fact that he was leaving. Alfred was going away.

"W-when will you be back?"

He stared sadly at me for a moment before his eyes slid away.

"I don't know."

My hand found the ring around my neck, and in a gesture that had become one for comfort, I clutched it like a lifeline even as Alfred's hand slid into my other.

"But I promise I'm gonna come back." His face was set into a determined line that made me smile sadly.

"Of course. You have to come back… you're the one who-" I broke off as a flush formed on my face, it happened all the time, but especially when our promise was mentioned.

"Yeah, I know. Hopefully I won't be gone too long. But I will come back. And then you're gonna be my mate!"

"Heh. I don't think you even know what that means."

"Of course I do; with dad back he and mom are always doing-"

"No stop! Don't tell me!"

He laughed, his usual beautiful laugh that rang throughout the clearing, his canines glinting in the sunlight. Even with the heaviness of knowing he would be leaving soon, we were still able to be happy since we were together now.

"Take this with you." I started, shoving something small into Alfred's hand on the last day we had together.

"Geeze, Artie! You already gave me a scarf."

"Belt up, idiot! I know I did, but this is a good luck charm!"

Alfred looked down at the little ball of glass. I'd spent the entire week trying to get it right since I heard Alfred was leaving, it had four leaf clovers and Alfred's name scratched as neatly as I could get it on the surface, and I had gotten the fairies to put fifteen different good luck spells on it for me. If that didn't keep him safe, I don't know what could.

He smiled at me happily, before I was tackled to the ground again, but I ceased my kicking and screaming almost immediately as I buried my head into his shoulder and held him close.

"Remember your promise, okay?"

"Of course I will, I'm the one who made it."

I shook my head tearily, even as I clung to him tighter. We stayed like that for a few more minutes before Matthew, who'd been there the whole time trying to avoid looking at the two of us, coughed.

"Come on Alfred. We have to go."

"I know. I'm sorry Arthur." He muttered to me with one last hug, before he picked us both up, and began to trudge towards his twin. I hadn't let him get three feet away when I, not completely in control of myself as I was, before I called after him again, and as he turned to face me I'd stretched up on my toes, grabbing his hands for a final squeeze before pressing my lips against his in a hard parting kiss.

"A-a-artie?!" He was red in the face in shock and embarrassment, and Matthew laughed off to the side with a grin.

Without thinking about it I uttered out three words that I now can't remember through a watery smile, before I turned on my heel and ran, leaving Alfred sputtering and blushing redder than ever as Matthew laughed, pausing only once when I was far enough that I would let him go, to turn and watch as he joined his brother, rubbing his arm as Matt elbowed his shoulder, before he also looked back to wave at me again. I clutched at the chain around my neck once more.

"See you soon, Alfred."

{Authors Notes:}

:D I think I like this chapter! I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, but my beta reader sorta ditched me recently, because she's starting up her own clubs and stuff like that. :P But I re-read it to fix what I saw. Lemme know if yall see anything.