Summary: Arthur saves Alfred from danger. Therefore, he must be Alfred's mate.

Arthur sighed heavily, sliding a few coins across the table toward a giggling pixie. In return, she dropped a small bag into his hand and, emerald eyes glaring vehemently at her, he slipped the bag into his worn satchel and slipped away from her stand, muttering about damnable overpriced pixie dust with distaste.

With most of his money spent and intending to get home before nightfall, Arthur began to push through the crowd, one pale hand in his bag and clutched very tightly around the bag of pixie dust. It was expensive, and there were plenty of thieves around here just itching to get their hands on something this valuable. Of course, Arthur had a protection spell as well, for there were plenty of thieves who could cast spells upon you to make you hand it over of your own will and you'd be none the wiser or other such tricks.

Arthur, however, had decided long ago that a life of thievery was not one he wanted to lead, and so he lived a meager, lonely life, but one free from evil and for that he was grateful. Plus, his modest dress and general lack of wealth or possessions generally lead thieves and other such criminals to believe he wasn't a good target anyway, and so he'd only been burglarized twice, both of which times ended in the thief failing after being defeated by a spell. Despite Arthur's small, pale figure, he was a rather powerful wizard capable of many things, and it became very apparent as soon as you crossed him.

Still grumpy about the ridiculous prices of pixie dust, Arthur failed to notice a large crowd gathering around a particularly large stand until he smashed into a man in a cloak with his hand shot up, attempting to holler above the crowd.

Jolting out of his stupor, Arthur realized that he had been swept into an auction. For what, he had no idea, but whatever it was, it was drawing a larger crowd than he'd seen at any one stand. Irritated and curious, Arthur began to shove shouting patrons out of his way until he was able to see, and what he saw made him gasp.

A dazzling blue dragon was perched upon the stage, a large metal chain (obviously magically reinforced, for no simple metal could hold such a majestic creature) looped around it's neck several times, holding him securely to the stage. The animal's beautiful blue scales were accented by beautiful golden spikes that trailed up it's spine to it's head, where lovely golden horns rested, and it had odd golden lines framing it's eyes. It's large, magnificent wings were folded, pressed tightly against it's body and it was obviously in distress, and yet none of the market goers seemed to care in the slightest as the man onstage whipped the animal, forcing it to blow beautiful blue fire through a hoop.

Thick brows twitching at the display, Arthur was relieved when it was over and the man snapped his whip once more, commanding the dragon to lay down. Arthur let out a cry of outrage that was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd; that asshole didn't have to whip the creature just for it to lay down!

"Alright, lovely, folks, who'd love to buy this amazing animal?! Yours to do as you wish with, chains, cage, and delivery included!" Exclaimed the magically amplified voice of the man, a fake grin that Arthur immediately despised set across his unpleasant face. "Just a two hundred pieces for this spectacular creature, that's right! Practically a steal!"

Immediately, most of the crowd dispersed, as was to be expected; two hundred pieces was absolutely outrageous, even for a dragon. Arthur was about to leave as well when a man beside him nudged him, leaning closer.

"My spellbook says that their whiskers are good for love spells and that their scales are great for plant growth potions! Worth the two hundred pieces, if you ask me!" The man chuckled loudly, and Arthur felt disgust welling up inside of him.

"You're going to skin it?!" He hissed, enraged.

"Well, yeah! One dragon for a lifetime supply of food seems like a fair trade. Ain't no reason to judge me; you look like you could use it just as much as I could!" The man narrowed a pair of haggard eyes at Arthur and made to climb onto the stage, but the Brit leapt up before he could.

"I'll buy it!" He exclaimed loudly.

"How much you got, eh?" Asked the man, whose voice was no longer amplified as he approached Arthur.

The Brit, judgement still clouded with anger, reached into his bag and began to grab as many pieces as he could. "Seventy four pieces."

The man raised a brow at him before bursting into hearty laughter. "That ain't gonna cut it. Why dontcha save that money, huh? Looks like you could use it."

Arthur's face went red, heat climbing from his freckled cheeks to the tips of his ears from both embarrassment and anger. Barely thinking at all, he reached into his satchel once more and produced the pixie dust he had just purchased, adding it to the handful of coins.

"This entire bag of pixie dust as well,"

Eyes widening in surprise, the rather annoying announcer burst into more chuckling, though this time he seemed pleased. "Alright, kid, you got yourself a deal. Hope you know how to put it to good use." He said as he collected the money and pocketed it.

With a snap of his fingers, two men appeared beside the announcer and Arthur glared heatedly at the two of them.

"Load it up and take it wherever he tells you to," said the man.

The two nodded, and within a few minutes the poor dragon had been forced into a cage with the help of a whip, then placed upon a cart. Arthur heaved himself onto the cart beside the driver, telling him to 'bugger off' when he attempted conversation.

On the silent ride home, Arthur didn't look at the creature he had purchased, merely staring ahead into the woods, in which his house laid in the center of, and let the realization of what he had just done sink in. He'd spent all of his money, and given up the extremely expensive pixie dust, in order to save one dragon. It was preposterous! Of course the wizard valued nature highly, and as dragons were very rare as well as majestic, he hadn't wanted any harm to come to it, but to purchase it?! What had he been thinking? What would he do with it?! He barely had enough space around his house for it to lay!

Finally, they arrived at his tiny home in the woods and the cage was placed in the center of his yard. After bidding Arthur a farewell to which the Brit nodded curtly, the driver took off back the way he came, leaving the Brit alone with a very irate dragon.

"Alright," said the wizard, approaching the cage. "I don't know if you can understand me or not, but I won't hurt you."

The creature growled, enchanting blue eyes watching the Brit with what the man knew was both fear and anger.

"You must let me inside if you want me to get those chains off," Arthur said, reaching for the lock on the cage, to which he held the key.

At this, the dragon seemed to perk up, and it's head tilted, seeming to want to watch Arthur remove the lock. The wizard did so with great caution, dropping the magically enhanced key and lock to the ground once it was off the cage. Seeing as the dragon was still chained, Arthur saw no harm in opening the door, and let the large metal swing open.

The dragon was still eyeing him closely, but it didn't seem to mind much and so he stepped closer. He was only a few feet away when the dragon suddenly let out a low growl, making Arthur jump.

It's blue eyes scrutinize Arthur's, and the Brit couldn't help but see something strangely human in the eyes that stared into his. Then, the dragon was backing up a bit, still growling, and Arthur began to grow a bit frustrated with the creature. Couldn't it see that it didn't want to hurt him?!

"Now, do you want me to take those chains off or not?!" Arthur snapped.

Much to his surprise, the dragon seemed to understand this, and lowered it's head enough for the Brit to reach out and mutter a simple incantation. The heavy metal collar snapped off and Arthur yelped as it fell, nearly missing his foot.

The dragon let out a roar so loud that the Brit stumbled back in surprise, but found himself saved from a painful date with the cold floor of the cage by the dragon's tail wrapping around his torso. Shocked, the Brit began to holler at the dragon, urging it to release him. Instead, it did the opposite and lifted him off the ground with ease, the end of it's tail wrapped around his body tightly as hit carted him out of the cage. This didn't stop Arthur from clutching the tail tightly, careful to avoid the lovely golden spikes, of course.

"Oi! Put me down right now, damn it!" The Brit cried in shock.

Obeying his command, the dragon set him down and began walking toward Arthur's home, stopping at the clothesline.

"Where do you think you're going?!" The wizard hollered, beginning to run after the gigantic creature.

Seeming to consider something, the dragon paused, eyeing all of the clothing before it selected a pair of loose-fitting trousers. Scooping the pants up with it's tail, it began to walk off again, situating itself behind a bush, much to Arthur's confusion.

"What exactly are you—bloody hell!" Arthur let out a cry of shock as a huge puff of blue smoke erupted in place of the dragon, and when it dissipated the creature was gone. "What the—"

"Hey, sorry." Came another voice, startling the Brit. His head swiveled around in search of the voice, but he saw no one; that is, until a lovely, golden haired, bespectacled man with a pair of beautiful blue eyes stepped out from behind the tall bush wearing Arthur's pair of loose-fitting trousers. Beautiful black tattoos adorned the man's arms and ankles, as well as piercings that climbed up his ears and a golden ring at his septum.

The Brit's jaw dropped and he stormed over to the man, stopping in front of him. "Oi! Who the hell are you, and what did you do to my dragon?"

The much taller man laughed. "I am your dragon. Well, half-dragon. Alfred." He said, a wide and beautiful grin set upon his lovely suntanned face.

"You're—You're a hybrid?!" The Brit asked in utter shock.

"Yep!" Alfred beamed proudly. "And that was awesome, what you did, so I decided something."

Arthur frowned, folding his arms across his chest. He'd wasted so much money on a bloody hybrid! He could've gotten out of the situation himself if he'd only bothered to change to a human, and then Arthur would still have his seventy four pieces and a bag of pixie dust! Damn him for being so gullible; the auctioneer was probably some kind of con artist.

"You're my mate!" Alfred exclaimed excitedly, grinning as he stepped closer and pulled the Brit into a hug.

At being pulled into the muscular, bare chest of the hybrid, Arthur began to sputter indignantly. "I beg your pardon?! Your what?"

"My mate! Only fate could make someone so obviously poor give up the last of their money! Fate is what brings a dragon and their mate together, therefore you must be mine!"

"Fate—Hah! This was no such thing! This was a mistake! An accident! I didn't know you were human—why didn't you change?! No one would have wanted to buy you if they knew you were a hybrid, you know!" Arthur huffed as he shoved the incredibly strong arms off of him.

Alfred chuckled a little. "Yeah, that's why the guy used magic to keep me from changing."

Arthur mouth hung agape, then closed. "Well—Well, that's truly unfortunate. But, in any case, this was merely an accident. Fate wasn't involved in any way, and I am certainly not your mate." The wizard said with a huff, red dusting his pale cheeks.

Alfred frowned. "Yes you are! You have to be! I feel a pull to you, that's another sign that you're my—"

"I already told you, I am no such thing! Now, why don't you go back to where you came from?! I've had enough annoyances in one day, and I'd very much like to try and see what I might be able to eat from my garden and what I must sell." Arthur huffed, already turning away from the dragon.

"But I can help! If you won't mate me to me yet, at least let me help!" Alfred insisted.

Arthur's thick brows twitched at the word yet, but he turned around. "How could you possibly help me?"

"My scales have growth properties! It's really easy! Just pick a few off, lay 'em over what you want to grow, and give it a night. They'll be fully grown and three times the normal size by tomorrow!"

"Well, thank you very much for the offer, but I think I'd much rather prefer it if you left and allowed me to take care of this myself." Arthur said curtly.

Alfred frowned. "Please?! Come on, give me a chance! I swear I'll be useful!"

Arthur's eyes swept over the American's body, as if considering whether he was a suitable guest or not, before he sighed heavily and nodded. "...Fine. But you're out when I say so!"

"Got it!" Alfred exclaimed.

A week after becoming a guest in Arthur's house, Alfred's hopes of winning the wizard over were already dwindling. Not once in the seven days that he'd been here had the Brit been anything more than civil to him, and it was starting to perplex the American. The wizard was tight-lipped and refused to look directly at him. Whenever he accidentally did, his face would turn red and more than once Alfred had wondered if he had something on his face or chest, as he often caught Arthur staring at his bare torso, but the Brit had simply claimed to be admiring his tattoos and then shooed Alfred away.

Finally, the American had enough; he needed to be braver in his attempts! And so, when Arthur finally announced that he was retiring for the night, Alfred waited outside of his room for a few minutes to make sure he didn't walk in on the Brit changing (hey, he had to respect him!) and then silently crept in, slipping into bed beside the Brit.

He wasn't expecting Arthur to let out a scream.

"Woah!" Alfred cried, instinctively wrapping his arms around Arthur, a natural urge to protect him from whatever danger had frightened him overtaking the hybrid. After a moment, he released the shocked Brit, realizing the danger was him.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed, you dolt?!" Arthur cried in anger and shock.

"Sleeping," Alfred answered nonchalantly, once again laying his arm around Arthur.

"Don't you—Get off of me, you insufferable—"

"You're cold." Alfred mumbled softly, dragging the Brit's body closer until his back rested against his chest. It was true; the man was shivering. Dragons were naturally warmer than most other creatures, and they also had rather good hearing, which allowed Alfred to hear the soft sigh that Arthur let out as warmth began to seep into him.

"L-Let me go, damn it!" Arthur argued.

"But I like it here!" Alfred whined childishly as he nuzzled into Arthur's neck a bit.

"Well, I don't believe I asked what you liked, did I? Get your filthy hands off of me!"

Alfred smirked, tightening his arms around the Brit as he felt warmth at his neck, the telltale sign of a blush. "Come on, I've been sleeping on your old couch. Let me cuddle with my mate for a little while," he purred into the man's ear, pleased when the man shivered.

"For the last time, I'm not your mate."

"Not yet." Alfred argued.

"Not ever!"

"C'mon, please? You're already warming up a lot."

After a brief moment of silence, Arthur huffed. "...Fine. But if you try anything with me, I'll castrate you!"

"I'd never do something like that to my mate." Alfred said in reply. "Or anyone."

Arthur was silent again, but just as Alfred opened his mouth to speak, he broke the silence. "Yes, well... Don't think I'll be allowing you to do this every night!"

The hybrid laughed. "G'night, Artie."

"Don't call me that!"

A month into their 'arrangement', as Arthur called it, he allowed Alfred to go to the market with him.

Of course, Alfred eagerly jumped at the chance to go out with his mate, and they'd made their way to the market faster than usual, thanks to Alfred practically dragging Arthur toward it.

"Why are you so eager to go back? This is where you were almost sold to a man who wanted to skin you." Arthur huffed as they entered, his satchel full of the abnormally large vegetables he'd grown thanks to Alfred's magical scales.

"It's also where I met you," Alfred retorted, and Arthur looked away with bright red cheeks.

Though he loathed to admit it, he'd grown rather fond of the half-dragon. Despite his annoying cheerfulness, maddening curiosity, and seemingly insatiable hunger, he was also an extremely funny, caring man, and Arthur hadn't been in the company of someone who genuinely cared for him in so long. Unlike all of Arthur's superficial acquaintances, Alfred showered Arthur in love and attention despite the Brit's hot temper and generally sour moods. He laughed at Arthur's insults and thought he was cute when he was fuming, and even though Arthur had already attempted to kick him out, the American had simply come back hours later with as many flowers as he could handle and asked to be forgiven. It was completely foreign, and Arthur was beginning to realize that Alfred was, perhaps, the most genuinely kind person he'd ever met, and he was only half-person!

Even still, Arthur simply wouldn't allow himself to do anything ridiculous; they'd barely known each other for a month, and that simply wasn't enough time for him to commit to Alfred; there was so much he didn't know about the man!

As Alfred scampered through the market, eyes lighting up at all the unique wonders displayed there, it occurred to Arthur that he may have never seen a place like this before. Of course, he'd been here two weeks ago, but Arthur wouldn't count that. After all, it was obvious the American hadn't been able to do much looking around the last time.

As the American excitedly dragged Arthur toward a stand giving out free samples, Arthur couldn't help but to laugh a bit. Despite is very adult appearance, Alfred truly did act like such a child sometimes. It was startling in comparison to the strong, dominant personality Arthur had seen once or twice, but it wasn't an entirely unwelcome change.

"So, where shall we head next? I've been meaning to purchase some new clothes, perhaps a new pair of pants is in order for you as well?" The Brit suggested, taking a glance at the dirtied white trousers that Alfred had been wearing since they'd met. "And perhaps a shirt?"

"Pants, sure. Shirt, no. These tattoos are important to me, and I like showing them off! Plus, I know how much you like my muscles, Artie." The American teased, making the Brit flush bright red and begin to sputter indignantly.

"Shut it!" Arthur huffed, beginning to walk in the direction of a rather kind vendor who he knew would sell them clothes for shirts. "What do they mean, anyway?"

"Well, all the pieces have different meanings."

"How do you remember them all? You have so many..."

Alfred shrugged, offering a small, yet very genuine, smile at the question. "Well, tattoos are really important parts of hybrid culture. I got my first one when I was six."

"Six years old with a tattoo?!" Arthur asked, shocked.

Alfred laughed loudly at the reaction and displayed his wrist, where a simple circle with a dot had been tattooed in black ink. "This is the sun symbol. 'Cause dragons have fire, and fire is a sun thing, get it? We got our powers from the sun, so every hybrid should have this mark somewhere. At least, in my village we all did."

Arthur nodded, admiring the simple mark for a moment. "What about the circles on your shoulders, then?"

"Circles are unity." Alfred said, and smiled. "The lines coming off of them are another representation of the sun. Fire markings are pretty important to us, y'know?"

"Why does one line run through another circle?" Arthur asked, eyeing the markings closely. The more he stared, the more intricate he began to realize the tattoos were, but he decided to focus on the bigger parts first.

"Unity, again, but this time for specific people. See that little squiggly line running through the line? I chose that symbol to represent brotherhood. The line running through the second circle is how I chose to represent my connection to my brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Had," Alfred replied, a bit grimly. "He died. Dragons mate for life, and Mattie found his mate when he was a kid. Gilbert died of disease and Mattie couldn't be without him. He died of a broken heart not long after..."

Arthur stared, wide-eyed. Alfred's mouth was set in a grim line, and yet there was a fondness in his eyes, and Arthur knew with certainty that Alfred had loved his brother very deeply. Despite the childish persona Alfred displayed, there was depth in his eyes; a depth well beyond his years, for Arthur had learned recently that his hybrid companion was no older than nineteen.

"I guess I understand it, though," Alfred said, startling Arthur from his revelations, "when you meet your mate, you just know." At these words he looked down at Arthur and smiled, the same fondness in his enchanting blue eyes as when he'd spoken of his brother, and for the first time, the Brit realized that Alfred was extremely serious.

Flushing red, Arthur averted his gaze and continued to head toward the source of new clothing. "Wh-What of your village?" He asked, cursing his flustered stutter.

"I left when Mattie died. Couldn't stand it without him." Alfred rolled his shoulders, smiling. "What about you? Where are you from?"

"My mother and I were wanderers since I was a child." Responded the wizard casually, despite the sudden pang in his heart. "When I was fifteen she disappeared. I wandered for a bit more on my own, but by the time I was sixteen I'd decided that my current home was where I wanted to stay."

Alfred looked down at Arthur, frowning. "Woah, that was, like, ten years ago. Why did she leave?"

Arthur sighed. "I don't know," he said, quietly.

Alfred didn't press.

The fire burned low, casting pale light across the figures of Alfred and Arthur. Both silent as they ate (though, could Alfred's animal-like noises whilst devouring his food as if it were his first meal in a hundred years really constitute as silence, Arthur wondered), the two simply enjoying each other's company and the beautiful night that had settled around them.

Today had been rather tiring, as Arthur had decided that, since Alfred had no officially been living with him for two months now, he would now be required to fulfill responsibilities, including helping with his gardening. And Arthur was very, very particular about his gardening. Before he planted anything, he drew up a detailed blueprint of exactly where he wanted each individual plant to go, and if Alfred didn't stick to each measurement exactly, Arthur would scold him very vehemently about how this could affect the plant's growth, and how he must take great care and precision in gardening or else Arthur would throw him out this instant.

This had lead to a small fight, which very quickly ended when Arthur, in a fit of anger, had hollered out, "If you want to be my mate, then you must understand that this is a crucial part of my life! You have no chance with me if you can't do this?"

To which Alfred had very excitedly retorted, "You'll mate me if I do this right?!"

Despite Arthur's numerous exclamations to the contrary, Alfred seemed to have the idea stuck in his mind, and was very dejected when Arthur hollered at him for even suggesting such a thing. At least it got the bloody git to plant his petunias properly, though...

"I'm going to grab my cloak." Arthur said, standing up.

Alfred looked up and nodded, about to go back to stuffing the delicious fried vegetables into his mouth when he heard a crack and the Brit yelped, loosing his balance as he tripped over a rock he hadn't seen in the dark.

Protective instincts flaring up instantaneously, Alfred disregarded his food and leapt to his feet, stepping into the fire to catch Arthur and save him from falling directly atop it. Squeaking in surprise, the Brit's arms came to grasp Alfred's arms, holding tightly to them as Alfred got a better grip on him and gently helped him away from the fire.

"You okay?" Alfred asked, the flames still licking at his feet as he looked his mate over.

Blinking rapidly, Arthur straightened himself out and nodded. "I'm fine," he answered, glancing down, only to have his eyes widen in shock. "Bloody hell! What are you doing?!" He cried in horror.

Alfred laughed a little. "Don't worry, man! Fire can't hurt me!" He easily stepped out of the fire pit, lifting a leg to display the completely unscathed sole of his bare foot.

Arthur, still wide-eyed, seemed to relax at the sight, and nodded. "...Ah, I see. Well then, thank you." He mumbled embarrassedly, trying to calm the butterflies fluttering restlessly in his stomach and the tingling along his waist where Alfred had held him. The firmness of his body, the strength in his toned, tanned arms was invading Arthur's thoughts, and he was growing rather flustered.

"Wh-What other qualities do you possess?" Again with that damned stutter! Arthur wanted to smack himself in the head for sounding so ridiculous.

Luckily, Alfred seemed entirely oblivious to his distress and simply grinned.

"Not much else, really. 'Cept I can breathe fire still!" Alfred beamed, opened his mouth wide, and blew a small gust of fire out with a grin. "See?!"

The wizard jumped back a step, startled, and Alfred grinned, coming closer.

"Don't worry, Artie, I wouldn't hurt you," he said with a smile, and before the Brit knew what was happening those strong arms were encircling his waist again and he was tugged closer, his chest against Alfred's, his head tilted up to look into the hybrid's face.

Gulping, Arthur racked his mind for something to say to distract himself from the lovely feeling of Alfred against him, the love in the beautiful blue eyes that had become so familiar to him.

"D-Don't call me that," he finally managed, disregarding is stutter. He was too damn distracted by the lovely man in front of him to care what he sounded like, not when he was trying to resist melting into the half-dragon's arms.

"Or what?" Alfred challenged with a smirk.

"O-Or..." Arthur faltered, hypnotized by the hand that came up and very gently brushed his pale hair from his face. He repressed a dreamy sigh, unwilling to show the sod exactly what degree of fool he'd turned the wizard into.

Before Arthur could think of any witty retort, he felt Alfred's arms tighten around him, and with a gasp he'd been lifted up, raised to eye level with the American. Then, a pair of soft lips pressed to his ever so gently and he couldn't help it; he looped his arms around Alfred's neck and gave in, melting into the kiss.

It was exhilarating. It had been so, so long since Arthur had last been kissed, and even then it had never felt as good as it did now. The tingling that had lingered on his arms was now a red hot spark, shooting throughout him with all the intensity of a roaring fire. Alfred invaded his senses, the feel of his lips against Arthur's, the silkiness of his hair in Arthur's hand, the smell of fresh pine and burnt charcoal that was so distinctly Alfred surrounding him. A strong hand slipped to the small of his back and pressed against it, the other arm still holding Arthur off the ground, and the incredible strength the hybrid possessed was not lost on the Brit.

After what felt like an eternity, and yet not nearly enough time, Alfred pulled back to catch his breath. A wide smile lit up his face, his eyes bright and hopeful, and Arthur realized with a jolt that he was in love with him.

And so, suddenly feeling more frightened than he ever had in his life, Arthur shoved against the American until the hybrid released him in confusion, and took off running. Behind him, he heard Alfred yelp and begin to chase after him, but Arthur had a head start and made it into the house quickly, slamming the door. He ran down the thin hall and to his bedroom, slamming that door as well and placing a sealing charm over it so that Alfred wouldn't even be able to physically break the door down, not that he thought the American, however brutish and impulsive he was, would do such a thing.

After a moment, he heard thudding footsteps and then Alfred had stopped outside his door, trying the knob. "Arthur?! What's wrong? What happened?!"

"Go away, git!" The Brit hollered.

"What did I do wrong?" Alfred said back, and the wizard couldn't help but wince at the worry and desperation he heard in the hybrid's voice. "C'mon, Arthur, open up!"

"Leave me alone, Alfred!" Arthur yelled louder this time.

There was a silence for a long moment, then a loud sigh.

"...Okay, I'll go sleep on the couch." Said the half-dragon dejectedly. Arthur waited until he heard the telltale creak of floorboards that meant Alfred was walking away before collapsing onto his bed, tears already stinging his eyes.

They spoke scarcely for a week.

Alfred slept on the couch every night, and Arthur was left to agonize over the fact that he missed Alfred's warmth around him.

Tonight was no different.

Arthur had curled in on himself in his bed, teary-eyed once again, wondering to himself why he had to ruin everything. It was different now; Alfred was tense, worried, and unable to face him. He couldn't seem to speak about what had happened, and Arthur was too cowardly to bring it up.

That is, until he heard the telltale groan of his bedroom door being opened, and after a moment Alfred's arms circled around him, pulling him closer gently until Arthur's back rested against his chest in the way that they had both gotten so used to, the way that was most comfortable.

"What did I do wrong?" Alfred asked quietly after a moment of silence.

Arthur's bottom lip wobbled. "You didn't do anything," he answered, matching Alfred's volume.

"Then what is it? What happened?" The American asked. "Do you really not want to be my mate? I thought—I thought I felt it, when I saw you it was like—"

"It's not that, either." Arthur mumbled.

"Then what is it?"

"You'll leave me."

"What?"

"You'll leave me." The wizard whispered, as if he spoke louder the moment would shatter and Alfred would do as he said; he'd get up and walk out the door, leaving the Brit alone once more.

Instead, Alfred merely echoed his words. "Leave you?"

"Yes."

"What makes you think that?" The hybrid asked,

"My father left my mother because of me. Because I was born, and he wasn't ready to have a child. He left me. My mother tried to love me, but how could she? I was the child who ruined her life. She couldn't help but to leave me, too. All my lovers, all my friends... Everyone has left me in the end. No one can bear to stay by my side for too long," the Brit mumbled shakily.

At this, Alfred shifted, and Arthur squeezed his eyes shut as he prepared for the man to slip out of his bed and walk out just like the rest.

Instead, Alfred merely turned Arthur around to face him, then wrapped his arms around the man again and pulled him closer, their chests pressed together.

"They were stupid." Alfred argued simply.

"They were smart," the Brit retorted, ignoring the rapid pace of his heart, "they knew I wasn't worth it. They got out while they could."

"Now you're being stupid." Alfred replied.

"I'm warning you!" Arthur said angrily. "No one can stand me for very long, and I know you won't be able to either! A man as kind as you could never spend his life with someone as mean and hot-tempered and pathetic as I am, so stop pretending I can't cope with my emotions or express them properly at all, I can barely pay you a compliment without some snide comment attached, I've pushed you away countless times, I yell at you and I can't cook and—!"

"I'm not pretending!" Alfred growled firmly. "I wouldn't lie! I told you that when I met you I felt it! When dragons meet their mates they know, and I knew! I know."

"No you don't! You'll realize soon! You'll see that I'm just as bad as they all said, and you'll leave, and—"

"Arthur!" Alfred roared, making the Brit quiet. "Listen to me. I don't care about your flaws! They're what make you you! None of those things make me upset—I love them because they're you, and I love all of you, even what other idiots couldn't. You're not just what you consider the bad stuff! You're kind and caring, you saved my life without even knowing me, you refuse to kill bugs, you give money out to anyone in need that you see! You're sweet and cute and I know that your grumpiness is just defense. But that's okay! I love it all. I—I love you, Arthur."

The Brit stopped, staring in shock for a moment. "...You won't leave me?"

Alfred grinned. "Dragons mate for life."

Arthur sighed, pulling the American closer. "I love you too," he quipped, sighing as their lips met.

A/N: I live for reviews. Tell me what you think, dudes!

Also, I hope the lovely friend who inspired me to write this likes it. You know who you are. ;)