Here we are! The next chapter, finally! Sorry it takes so long to do these things... but we're working really hard! Well, for all the people who like this story, then here is the next chapter for you!

Time seemed to pass by so quickly from then.

Before Alfred had even known what happened, it was nearing his eleventh birthday. He and Ivan had so many fun times together, and it really had a profound effect on Alfred. He became much more confident in himself, bold and daring, though still retaining that love of helping others.

Ivan cherished every moment with Alfred, each and every single one of them until he knew them so well he could recite them like the back of his hand. Those bursts of sunshine-like smiles normally sent warmth down his spine, and the need to always protect that smile was a constant driving force. He always wanted to keep Alfred close by, in case danger would come, but that was unlikely in those times.

Alfred was sometimes forced to go to therapy sessions, because his mother and father started getting really paranoid about his mental stability. Having an imaginary friend wouldn't usually worry a normal family. The therapist tried to explain that imaginary friends were normal, and that kids usually developed them due to abandonment issues. Despite the warnings, Alfred's parents insisted that Alfred was a normal kid that really had no need for Ivan. Of course, Alfred fought this, because Ivan was the one thing that he had that he could confide in. He couldn't bear it if Ivan were to be taken away.

The man Alfred appeared to be turning was a fine one, well on his way of becoming a better person than his parents. That sense, knowing that Alfred was growing up came with a sense of fear also.

Would Alfred forget about him once he had to go?

Would he move on in his life like Ivan had never stepped in it?

Would...this Alfred be the same if Ivan came and visited him once more..?

Questions like those pulled in his chest all the wrong ways, the way it could hurt without being touched by anyone. It would have shown on his face, but Ivan tried his best to hide it from his only friend. Alfred didn't need to know of his departure, and he was dreading the possibility of it even happening.

The little American was happy for his upcoming birthday, and (the previous celebrations made Ivan chuckle) the house went under extreme cleaning for the party. But as his eleventh birthday drew nearer, Alfred noticed sadness in Ivan's smiles, and he began to worry. How would he ever make it without Ivan around? And then, the night before his birthday, Alfred's worst fears were realized.

I should feel happy, Alfred's Birthday is tomorrow... The painful emotions of the nonviolent pain vibrated in his chest. It came whenever he was doubtful of their relationship; however, they were closer than they have been in weeks.

That could only mean...No. It cannot happen if I am not willing.

oOoOoOoOo

"Hey, Vanya, you're my best friend ever, you know that, right? Really... you're about my only friend... Well, you are my only friend… When I think about it…"

Alfred spoke to Ivan that night. It was particularly clear, not a cloud in the sky, and the moon and stars shone brightly through Alfred's bedroom window. The two boys were snuggled on Alfred's bed in a make-shift castle of pillows and blankets.

Ivan felt his Adam's apple get caught in his throat. Alfred became too attach to Ivan, losing social skills; however, gaining some happiness. He never wanted to leave, Alfred didn't want that either! It couldn't! I promised to always be there for him, as so did he!

Alfred really didn't have any other friends other than Ivan, when he really thought about it. It didn't help the school that he went to was all for rich people's kids, and they were all pretty much spoiled and stuck their nose up at him. But still, Alfred had wondered about getting more friends. But really, he didn't feel the need to make more, because Ivan was all he had really wanted in a friend.

To his parents, Alfred was still energetic and adventurous, but he kept a lot more to himself now, and seemed to be losing the communicative skills necessary to understand other kids and make friends with them. Alfred was developing a unique thought pattern, that sort of didn't understand others' struggles in relation to his own, and often times accidentally did things that affected others negatively without even realizing it. He was always stuck in his own world.

The fear started to crawl in on the edges of Ivan's mind. Mentally he fought them back.

"Alfred..Spasibo.." He smiled at the compliment, they were best friends to the end, even the little bracelets they'd made said so.

Ivan knew he would eventually have to explain what was happening, might as well lay everything out before he left. He would regret it later if he couldn't tell him so many things.

"Alfred, I need you to pay attention." Unlike his normal childlike tone and expression, a more serious one took hold. He waited for a response from the American, still trying to remember everything he wanted to say before he had to say good bye forever.

"Huh? What is it Vanya? You need my help? I'm the hero, so I'll be able to do anything for you!" Alfred replied, smiling brightly, like a little ray of sunshine. He had to force all of his fears and doubt down. He never wanted to be anything but happy with Ivan. And besides, it was going to be his birthday in a couple of hours. It was supposed to be a happy time.

"Alfred.." He fiddled with the scarf hem, unable to look at the boy in the eye. The little feeling was becoming stronger...

"I want you to promise me things you'll do when you grow up. Pinky promises, the type that can't be broken, да?" He opened out his pinky for him to hook onto.

"Eh? You want me to do something when I'm older?" Alfred asked. But even still, he put his hand up, pinky out, in order to make his promise with Ivan. Alfred, if anything, always kept his promises. Especially pinky ones.

"Promise me to be happy. Never act like your parents," Ivan commanded. Alfred deserved more than Ivan could give him. Breaking the small pact, out of a whim, grabbed Alfred's hand and squeezed it. The contact was always warm to Vanya, one of his favorite things about Alfred, he could say. The feeling of disappearing started from the toes, breaking off slowly. It grew faster as he understood what was happening to him.

"Alfred, these years have been the best I ever had...if your unhappy again, remember me…" Hot globs of water was coming down from his eyes and Ivan couldn't stop them.

"Bye, Alfred F. Jones. My only friend."

"What? VANYA! WAIT! DON'T GO!" Alfred yelled out and sobbed. Why was he leaving? What did he do wrong? Alfred stared at the empty space that once held his most precious friend, and he could feel something in his chest just breaking. He couldn't take it! He couldn't! The tears continued, like an endless river, on through the night.

oOoOoOoOo

The world blacked out for hours, or maybe days for Ivan. He didn't know. The change from being in Alfred's life and receding into his mind could take a long time to adjust too. Floating about in the empty space, it took at least a month to form together as himself again. Sadly, the friend had become attached to in the real world he could no longer interact with, and the ability to see Alfred smile every day was practically lost to him.

oOoOoOoOo

Alfred spent most of his nights awake and crying, staring blankly into nothing.

By the time his mother had come for him that morning after Ivan had left to take him out shopping for new clothes for his birthday, he still wasn't out of tears. She and his father tried to get Alfred to tell them what was wrong, but he wouldn't, couldn't, utter a single word.

For the next days, he was completely listless, his body now drained of all the tears that he could cry, and nothing seemed to bring him any joy. What was even the point? His therapist became extremely worried, and tried to advise Alfred's parents to look after Alfred and pay close attention to his behavior, but his parents couldn't be any more happy that Alfred had finally 'settled down' and didn't even make a fuss over anything anymore. He just followed their instructions wordlessly, like a robot or a zombie.

And then, after the first weeks, this depression gave way into the next step: anger.

He was done with his self-pity, with these days of nothing! Did Ivan think that this would break him? Was he secretly mocking him, like everyone else did? Did he think Alfred was a joke? Well, he would prove that he wasn't! He would show him; he would show everyone!

He became even more of a trouble maker after that. He only did what he wanted, whenever he wanted, and wouldn't listen to anyone else's opinion. He was still the sweet young boy that he used to be, but now he had almost completely become detached from the opinions and feelings of others, and helped others still, but only in ways that he wanted to. This could ether help or hurt the situation, depending on what he did. He was still completely oblivious to others' opinions.

Years passed. He grew older. The only thing keeping him from completely offing school was his dreams. Even if Ivan's memory faded from his mind, the painful days of his mourning the loss of his friend locked tight in the back of his mind like a safety mechanism, he still remembered the promise: be happy. He would do whatever he wanted to make his happiness real, and not just a front he put on to make people think that he never had problems, that he never hurt.

He began to realize as he started freshman year in college that his dream of becoming a world traveler was a little unrealistic, and his parents would never support him. Though he didn't care a single bit for his parents' opinions, he still depended on them for funding and a roof over his head, at least until he could move out on his own. And he planned to move out as soon as he could.

He was already planning, at sixteen, to get a part-time job and work. He wanted to make his own way. But his parents were stubborn, and continued to feel like they needed to sink their claws into anything that Alfred did. Alfred was pushed into business, and was on his way to studying that field, but he resolved not to let it bring him down, but to make it his own. So even though he was going into business, he wanted to deal with something that HE loved. So, he started looking into selling things such as: cars, motorcycles, planes, or boats. He had even started looking into getting a minor in auto repair for these vehicles so that he could work on them as well, while his major, business, insured that he could always find a way to sell them.

This, he felt, made him content. And even though he would never know the vast lands beyond his own country, he felt that he could live without them, if he just worked hard enough where he was in securing his own happiness here.

And he would do anything he wanted.

Anything.

His parents had an extremely hard time keeping a leash on him starting his Junior year of High School. Alfred had only a handful of friends, mostly from the baseball team, as he was always around them practicing, and they were a very tight knit group. He became friends with party animals like Antonio and Gilbert, who also played baseball with him.

Through their connections, he became quite the daredevil, and never backed down from a challenge. How he had partied almost every night and managed to pass his classes and keep his GPA up enough to get into the business college that he wanted to get into was nothing short of a miracle. He distanced himself from his parents once he left for college, and really, the less he saw of them, the better his life became.

His dorm mates were Kiku and Matthew, both into vastly different majors than his own, and vastly different personalities as well. The Matthew guy never really seemed to be around very much, and Alfred didn't really get to know him, but he and Kiku became really good and close friends once they realized that they kept bumping into each other at the game stores. Alfred could say that he was content during his college years, but it never seemed like anything he was truly excited for ever happened.

oOoOoOoOo

He could only watch from the sidelines. Ivan could only watch his best friend transitioned to hating him, before going to the next phase of forgetting about his very existence... Ivan had no one to talk to for months... Oh, what Ivan would trade to have the ability to wake up beside Alfred! He asked himself, what was the point of even being here, having this empty existence?

By the time he and Alfred had turned 15, if he stood beside the American he would be taller, standing nearly 6 feet. His hormones raged against themselves, the only thoughts he ever processed were towards Alfred. The only person Ivan ever truly knew, and the only person who used to know Ivan even better than he knew himself. He watched the rebellious stage of Alfred, always trying to guide the stubborn boy's thoughts in the right directions. What Alfred saw, so did Ivan if he wished. Don't do this...

The strange feelings had all started when he caught Alfred staring in the mirror, the bright eyes dragging him in. It made his heart race, Ivan blamed it on a disease.

A day passed from that incident. The feelings returned, with more fire and intensity. Ignoring the emotional overflow, he took a moment to look at it all rationally. I can't get diseases… It felt beyond frustrating, the inability to speak when it came to Alfred, the tightness in his chest...

A song played on the radio, the rambling duet of what happened when the two singers saw their 'love' for each other, and what they felt. Like always, Alfred didn't notice or pay attention to these things. Ivan heard it, the lilting notes of the song, and his heart stopped in his chest. The sudden realization of what these feelings could mean jumbled together inside his brain, threatening to turn him insane. His rapidly beating heart, the feeling that could burst open anytime... the warming feeling... all of these things he felt when he thought of Alfred, or even just looked at him sometimes…

"N-n-yet..." Ivan clutched at his chest, "I couldn't..."

The rapidly swelling feeling in his heart told him otherwise.

It dawned on him, and he had to sit down to prevent injury. "Alfred...Oh, Alfred..." Ivan muttered into his hands, "I think I'm in love with you..."

oOoOoOoOo

After Alfred finished his education, High School and College, he scored a pretty sweet job dealing with boat sale and repairs. It was after working there for a few months that it seemed like his life was finally getting that spark back.

oOoOoOoOo

Ivan had come to a shaky acceptance of his… condition…four years ago.

Ivan watched every date, every woman that caught Alfred's eye. Each one made Ivan grow protective over his little.. 'pet'. They mocked him, you see? He could never talk to Alfred, hold him close… touch him in person… never again see that sunshine-smile that was reserved for only Vanya.

oOoOoOoOo

And it all started when Alfred had ran into an expert boat captain named Alice.

oOoOoOoOo

Alice Kirkland. Ivan hated her instantly. The little green glint of cockiness shown in her eyes, her accent, her hair… and everything in between.

oOoOoOoOo

It had started innocently enough, Alfred had thought. Alice was a boat captain in both hobby and profession. She handled a tourist ferry that took people to see the sights of the city on the river, and also enjoyed her own hobby of sailing to pass her free time in the small boat that she owned privately.

It was no surprise that she would come in frequently to have her boat tuned up or get some miscellaneous work done on it, as well as checkups and various other small favors for the tourist ferry she owned.

For the first few months that he worked at the boat shop, Alfred only saw her in passing. It was always really obvious when she came in, because all the veteran workers would call out her name like they were greeting and old friend. 'Miss Kirkland!' and sometimes even 'Captain Kirkland!' could be heard when she entered.

However, Alfred was quickly starting to get notice from the others due to his handy work around the shop. Alfred was always and had always been really good with his hands and loved to work with them. Building and flying planes would have been the best choice, but he had settled for the boat shop when it seemed that the only shops that would allow him to work on airplanes that were out of state and he would have to move far away. He had settled for second best, because he convinced himself that he could make do with what he had where he was, and that moving so far away couldn't be good. So, even though he was content, he wasn't really as happy as he could be, as he should be.

As usual, Miss Kirkland would say, "Hey Frank, only the best for my lassie, you hear?" and only the best workers would be sent to check on her prized 'Queen Elizabeth', as her boat was named. Something about the shop owing Alice for keeping them in business when they had hit a rough patch or something... But everything changed when one day, after 'Miss Kirkland', as Alfred had known her then, had come around asking for her daily tune up. The boss had started to round up everyone together, and was selecting who he thought should go work on the boat.

"Alfred! You too!" He had said, and Alfred almost did a spit-take. Really? Him? His boss trusted and regarded him that highly? I mean, it was no secret that Alfred was working his butt off, and that he was pretty handy with his... well, hands. But still: being asked to work on Miss Kirkland's boat was like the ultimate show of professional grade work and trust among the workers of the shop. Alfred nodded eagerly and treated the job like he would any other. It didn't matter what customer came in wanting work done, Alfred always gave his 100% best effort. Alice came in to watch them and immediately noticed the new face.

"Well, you're a new face around here," She stated. It almost seemed like she was looking down on him with the way she tilted her head up and crossed her arms, assessing him to make sure that he was up to her standards.

"I have been working here for about a month or so," Alfred told her, a thoughtful expression crossing his face, "Has it really been that long? Huh..." Miss Kirkland rolled her eyes.

"Just make sure you do a good job on 'Queen Elizabeth', or you'll have me to answer to," she growled. Alfred waved her off, laughing.

"Sure, sure, I got it," he told her brightly.

This only seemed to irritate her further, but Alfred had already turned around and went back to working on the boat. It was really quite an uneventful first meeting, nothing all that special that Alfred could really talk about.

There were no 'fireworks' and no 'love at first sight'. Alfred didn't really believe in that mess anyways, even if he was a closet romantic. But that first meeting had set in motion something that Alfred himself didn't really understand.

'Was this what it felt like to be in love?' he remembered thinking to himself as he catered to Alice's latest whim. Their relationship after their first meeting seemed to progress incredibly slowly after that, but then somehow Alice had gained the courage to storm up to Alfred one day at the shop and ask him out. Alfred was a bit freaked out, of course, but decided that one date wouldn't hurt. After all, Alice was a funny girl. Despite the repercussions, Alfred did like to rile her up. It was kind of fun, like the way people liked to mess with dangerous animals to see how far they would go before finally lashing out at you brutally.

It seemed like their relationship kind of went on in this cycle, with Alfred doing one thing or another that finally set off Alice past her limit and her storming off, before they would have a very arduous and messy recovery period in which they laboriously agreed to get back together again. Rinse, wash, repeat.

After about a year at this, Alfred wondered if this was all there was to relationships. Was everyone like this? Was this normal? Alfred might have felt something for Alice, but it was always drowned out by his feelings of trepidation at her volatile moods, and he was constantly on edge, watching what he said and did to avoid setting Alice off and having her blow up at him.

That was always the worst.

Alice was by no means a clingy person, but she was always constantly asking questions about Alfred's schedule and what he would be doing. It got on Alfred's nerves, really. But he suppressed himself for her, because she was his first ever 'serious' relationship and he just felt like he had to make it work. Just like everything else in his life, he would settle for something and work to make it the best he could, while wondering if this was it, if this was really the best that he could do? And maybe he might have been content sometimes, with her, but it was never something he would leap into the air in joy about... Especially when he had to watch his every move or word. It always felt like he was trying to appease Alice, and always had to work for her affections, when he gave his to her so willingly and caringly.

They seemed such opposites too. Alfred loved cuddling, but Alice never seemed to want to give away any of her personal space to anyone. She was a bit intense about people touching her. Alfred always enjoyed showing how much he loved his partner, and was very open about it, but Alice never seemed to want to do anything that suggested that they were a couple in public. Sometimes even in private, too. Alfred always wanted to go somewhere or do something with Alice, always wanted to share his hobbies with her, but she would rather keep to herself. Alfred remembered distinctly one time she had told him, "There are things that you do with your partner, and things that you do by yourself." And Alfred could agree with that, somewhat, but what was wrong with wanting to do things with her? She never seemed to really ever want to spend significant amount of time with Alfred… It almost felt to him as if she ignored him most of the time, really.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Alice had just stormed up to him, much like how she had asked him out and spoke:

"So, since it seems like you aren't going to ask me anytime soon," she said in that voice that just made Alfred feel like she thought dealing with him was a chore, "I guess I'm going to have to do it myself. This is so unconventional but... Alfred. Will you marry me?"

Alfred's world was quickly and quite suddenly thrown into complete chaos.

And that is the exciting conclusion to our awesome chapter! A lot happened in this one, and there was a lot of time-skipping around, but it'll slow down next chapter and it'll all be in real-time from here on out. The past two chapters were kind of an 'introduction' if you will. Setting up for the main part of the story. But any who, we both hope you enjoyed!
~Much love from Slivertrain and Penguinwholikesfire