Alfred's P.O.V

Dinner time passed peacefully, Michelle succeding in keeping Arthur away from the kitchen and Allistor only making a few digs at the WKA. He probably would've continued, but Arthur had 'accidently' knocked him off his chair with a look and small gesture at Peter, who was looking upset.

Now Alfred was sat around the fireplace with Arthur, Francis, Allistor, Dylan, Michelle and two others who had introduced themeselves as Feliks and Toris. All the kids had gone to bed and they were left to discuss what to do about the WKA and the missing girl.

Before they had sat down, Arthur had pulled Alfred aside.

"Are you still against witches?" Arthur had asked, cutting straight to the point. It had been extremely hard to answer. Alfred was still part of the WKA and would never truly forgive the witches for killing off his family. But on the other hand, witches were people with lives and familes, Arthur had shown him that. The witches didn't really deserve to be killed in cold blood.

"I... I'm not sure..." He had responded quietly. Arthur sighed. He looked so tired, Alfred could imagine him as an old man.

"I'm going to trust you with this. We're going to be discussing what to do about the WKA, and if you take any of this information and use it against us..." Arthur sighed again, looking pained. "We won't hesitate to kill you."

Alfred wasn't stupid or naive. He knew Arthur wasn't bluffing, and he wasn't arrogant enough to kid himself into believing that he could fight Arthur and his brothers on his own. It would be suicide to betray them. And Alfred honestly didn't know if he would be able to bring himself to do it.

So now they were gathered and munching on left over cookies from dinner. Alfred was sat on the floor, leaning against a patched up armchair that Arthur was sat cross-legged on. Feliks and Toris were sat on the sofa, Feliks curled up on Toris' lap. They were dating apparently.

"Is there anymore updates for the wanted list?" Allistor asked, breaking the silence. He was hogging most of the warmth, sat right infront of the fire. Arthur and Alfred shared a look.

"Yeah..." Arthur exhaled heavily through his nose. "Me, Francis and Feliks. I have no idea why though..."

Feliks shot up, nearly crushing Toris in the process.

"But, like, what the hell?" Feliks exclaimed. His cocky grin had slipped from his face. Now he looked scared. "I get Arthur and Francis, but why me? It's totally unfair!"

"Ahh..." Francis sighed. "I may have angered a non-magic in a shop and I may have, um, knocked over a shelf or two. By accident!" Arthur groaned, rubbing his forehead, exasperated.

"But!" Francis continued quickly. "But, I did manage to get away without anyone else noticing... They must have reported it to the WKA."

"Obviously!" Arthur hissed. "But I don't know why I'm on there..."

"Someone must have seen you collecting apples, I told you to be more careful!" Dylan sighed. He looked just as stressed. Arthur paled at that, before slamming his palm to his forehead viciously.

"God... I'm so stupid..."

"But I wouldn't do something as dumb as that, so why am I on there?" Feliks shouted, waving his arms in the air like a mad man.

"Probably when you tried to steal that pony from it's field." Toris told him gently. Feliks looked outraged.

"Oh my god, I, like, told you that he wanted to be free, it's as if you never lis-"

"Anyway," Michelle interrupted Feliks' rant, to everyones relief. "You three need to make sure you don't do any magic in public. Arthur, it might be best if you don't pick the fruit from now on..."

"I'm the only one here with knowledge of Earth Magic. No one else will be able to do it!" Arthur explained. He really didn't look very well.

"You'll have to pick them by hand, it'll take alot longer but it's safer." Francis piped up. Dylan and Michelle nodded in agreement.

"I'll help!" Alfred offered quickly. He wanted to talk to Arthur, alone, and he hadn't had much chance to do so with the amount of people Arthur lived with. Arthur give him a small smile as thanks. It sent a warm, tingly feeling down Alfred's back. He liked Arthur's smile. He decided to make it his own personal mission to make Arthur smile as much as possible.

"Well, now we've got that sorted, what are going to do about Peter's friend?" Toris asked. Silence fell over the room. The lighthearted atmosphere of the room dissapitated immediatly. Alfred felt guilty, as if he had caused the change of mood. He hadn't known about the missing girl previously, but it was pretty obvious the WKA had got her.

A little kid...

"I think we all know why she's gone." Allistor murmered darkly. Francis nodded gravely. Michelle sniffled quietly.

"Bastards, the lot of 'em." Dylan growled. "Who the hell goes for a little kid, witch or not? It's inhumane..."

"I don't believe for a second that they actually killed her. They're probably holding Wy hostage. Bait, y'know?" Toris said. Feliks frowned, seeing that his boyfriend was troubled.

"That does make sense, yes." Arthur mumbled. "Doesn't make it right."

The room fell into silence again, the only sounds where the crackling of the dying flames and Michelle's soft sniffs every now and again.

The door was thrown open suddenly, making everyone jump. Arthur nearly fell onto Alfred, who caught him just in time. A tall man strode in, looking severe. He had bags under his eyes and messy brown hair. He looked like he'd been dragged through a bush backwards.

"Peter had a nightmare again. 'Bout Wy." He grumbled miserably. He slammed the door behind him and collapsed on a beanbag next to Alfred.

"Decided to grace us with your presence, eh Seamus?" Dylan chuckled. Seamus rolled his eyes and turned to face Alfred. He stared at him with bleary eyes before blinking rapidly then staring again.

"Who the 'ell are you?"

"Arthur's boy-"

"A friend! Friend." Arthur cut Francis off quickly with a glare. Alfred laughed loudly at that, but soon stopped when Arthur gave him a sharp kick to the back.

"Oof! Arthur, what the hell?" He groaned. Then, to Seamus "Hi i'm Alfred." Seamus nodded and then turned to adress the group.

"Peter was telling me how the Brownie was trying to tell him something, about Wy. I don't know why though, the Brownie's been useless up 'till now..." Francis and Michelle exchanged a look. Alfred just frowned.

"Um, why are you talking to brownies?" He asked nervously. Allistor chuckled and Arthur snorted from behind him.

"Not the cake, the small bearded fellas. They tend to live in the woods." Allistor explained with a wink. "You lot probably can't see him, gotta be gifted. Like us."

"Mmm, gifted..." Francis muttered. It went unheard by the Kirklands, thankfully. Arthur yawned widely and stood up slowly.

"Well, I'm off to bed, night all.." Alfred got up quickly and Arthur turned to face him with a confused expression.

"Where am I sleeping?" Alfred questioned. Arthur just shrugged.

"In my room I guess."

Francis smirked, making Alfred feel rather uncomfortable.

"Don't get too rowdy in ther-"

Arthur slammed the door and stormed upstairs before Francis could finish, Alfred hot on his heels.

**

Arthur's room really wasn't very big. He'd been lucky to get one to himself, Allistor and Dylan had to share. There was no room on the floor for Alfred to sleep, unless he wanted to sleep in the wardrobe, so after a little convincing, Arthur agreed to share the bed.

"Fine. But one night only." Arthur had said, and Alfred agreed to that. He could always convince him otherwise later.

Arthur had passed out almost immediatly. He was also hogging all of the duvet and snoring. So, needless to say, Alfred was having a bit of trouble getting to sleep. He wondered what would happen tomorrow. Allistor had warned him that he needed to get up pretty early if they were going to be picking the fruit by hand, so Alfred had set the alarm for Arthur.

Arthur snuffled in his sleep slightly, then rolled over so he was pressed against Alfred's chest. Alfred rested his head on Arthur's messy hair and closed his eyes. It was peaceful here, Arthur's room was in the attic so it was practically silent if you ignored the gurgling pipes.

Arthur's soft snores and the rise and fall of his chest began to lull Alfred to sleep. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift away...

**

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

Alfred shot up, the alarm ringing in his ears, making his head throb. He blindly felt around for the alarm and slammed it with his fist. Next to him, Arthur groaned miserably, burying himself under the covers in a fruitless attempt to fall asleep again. After finding his glasses, Alfred peered at the time.

6:00am

"I am mortally offended by the time that I have to be awake..." Alfred muttered, swinging his legs out of bed.
He was still in the clothes from yesterday, and all of Arthur's were too small. All he had to do was pull on his shoes and go. The same could not be said for Arthur.

Arthur grumbled and cursed as Alfred pulled the duvet off of him.

"Come on Artie, time to get up and greet the day!"

"Fuck the day, leave me to sleep." Was the reply he got. So Alfred decided to resort to the 'hard way'.

Grabbing Arthur by the ankles, he dragged the shouting witch out of bed, laughing as he did. Arthur kicked and swore, making quite a racket, but it seemed to wake him up alot.

After throwing on some clothes, the two crept downstairs, careful not to wake everyone up. They had to skip breakfast, which Alfred was most displeased about, but Arthur had said they could probably nab a couple of apples whilst they were out.

They stumbled through the woods, the only light being the dim sunlight shining through the trees. Arthur had been banned from any magic outside the safehouse unless it was an emergency, so he couldn't summon a light to help them.

If there was one thing Alfred learnt about Arthur in this early adventure, was that Arthur really wasn't a morning person. He was cranky and short tempered, especially as he hadn't been able to have his cup of tea. This didn't keep Alfred from being loud and annoying. It was fun pissing off the grumpy Brit, even if it did earn him a few slaps around the head.

They reached the clearing that Alfred vaguely recognised and Arthur summoned a small light that could be easily extinguished if they heard anyone coming.

Arthur sighed then bent down to begin picking the blackberries off the bushes. Alfred decided to start on the apples, thinking he probably had a bit of an advantage, he was quite a bit taller than Arthur.

As he made his way over to the tree, he tensed. The tree...

"Recognise this place? It's where you attacked me and tried to kill me... Ahh~ good times." Arthur mumbled from behind him sarcastically. Alfred flinched, turning round to face Arthur who was staring at the ground.

"Artie, I... I'm sorry... It's just... I wanted revenge, y'know?" Alfred murmered miserably. Arthur still refused to make eye contact. Reaching out a hand tentatively, Alfred softly touched Arthur's cheek. He didn't push him away, so he placed his entire hand on the soft skin, lifting Arthur's head up to look at him. Arthur's eyes were pained.

"Revenge? I didn't do anything to you?" Arthur seemed unsure. Alfred smiled pathetically.

"Not you. Witches killed my entire family when I was young and I swore I would repay the favour."

Arthur placed his hand over Alfred's and finally made eye contact.

"I'm sorry. The WKA killed my parents also. It's hard to deal with, although I had my brothers. I hate that you had to go through it alone..." Arthur said softly. Alfred nodded and then pulled the smaller man in for a hug, which he returned hesitantly.

"I promise Arthur... I'll help you find Wy, I'll protect you and the others.

I'll keep you safe."

--

Feliks: Poland
Toris: Lithuania
Wy: Wy

Wow i'm creative. I figured Wy could probably pass as a name, and I really could not be asked to make one up. If she ever gets an official name I'll change it!