Despite his hopes, sunrise provided little comfort for Arthur. A new day brought new hope, and especially in the interest of the new member to the village, Alfred. Local children flocked to their door in hopes of catching a glimpse of him before Charlotte had the chance to shoo them away. Arthur decided to take it upon himself to distract himself from the constant threat of the wolf under their roof by indulging in one of his favourite calming hobbies, gardening.

Kneeling in a flowerbed, straw hat keeping the sun from burning the skin on his face, and up to his elbows in dirt certainly served to sooth Arthur's nerves. He pulled at weeds, clearing the flowerbed for the coming winter, knowing it was going to be a cold one from the distinct nip in the air. He leaned back on his feet for a moment, wiping at his brow and giving a content sigh when a voice broke his palace of peace.

"This is a lovely garden. You look after it yourself?" The distinct drawl of the wolf sent a shiver down Arthur's spine as well as a twitch of irritation in his face.

"That is none of your business." Arthur snipped back, not even turning to face Alfred. He could practically hear a pout in the other's voice regardless.

"Aw, I'm just trying to get to know you better, Artie~" The nickname suddenly snapped something inside Arthur, causing him to spin round wildly and snarl at the other man.

"Don't you ever call me that."

"But Charlotte calls you that." Alfred grinned, not at all phased. Arthur had yet not settled on whether or not that grin was childish or predatory, full of teeth and laughter. "'Artie this, Artie that~.' She really loves talking about you."

"And that's exactly why you can't-" Arthur hiss froze in his throat as he took in the clothes that the other was wearing. Obviously, from the attack the night before, Alfred's clothing had been torn to shreds. But the clothing he wore now were fresh, clean. "... You can't wear those."

Alfred blinked for a moment before looking down at the shirt he was wearing, casually picking a lose thread from it. "Charlotte gave it to me. It's a bit large but this shade of blue suits me, don't you think?"

Arthur could feel the boil in his blood rise at the wolf's careless tone. "Those are my fathers and you have no right-"

"No right to wear clothes gifted to me?" Alfred challenged, his icy gaze locking with Arthur's until the smaller man had to tear his gave away. "What happened to him anyway?"

"It's none of your business." Arthur refused to cover the snap in his tone, anger bubbling under his skin. "Why don't you go back to my mother and discuss me some more if you enjoy it so much?"

"Because it's more interesting gaining information from its source." Alfred's voice was suddenly too close to Arthur's ear for comfort, feeling the other man's breath against the shell of his ear and down his neck.

Panicking, Arthur practically threw himself away from Alfred, who had been leaning over him, and ended up sprawled in the flowerbed with one hand pressed to his ear and his chest heaving as he struggled for breath. Memories of the night in the woods came flooding back, filling him with fear at the thought that Alfred could rip his throat out at a moments notice.

Alfred stared at him, filled with curiosity, because erupting into a fit of laughter. The wolf's joy in his fear created the anger in Arthur's chest to overflow, cheeks flushing red in embarrassment at his reaction. In his rage, Arthur got to his feet as gracefully as he could before he took a swing for the taller man. Alfred dodged the surprise attack easily, one hand grabbing hold of Arthur's fist and twisting his arm behind his back. Feeling the heat of Alfred's chest pressed against his back, Arthur felt his rage dissipate to his initial fear for the taller blonde, Arthur's chest heaving as he tried to control his breathing.

"I may be weak but I'm not stupid, Artie." Alfred growled in his ear, keeping a firm grip on him. "It's rude to attack your guest, and I will be your guest for some time to come. You are just going to have to suck it up and get used to having me around."

As soon as he released him, Arthur took a good number of steps away from Alfred, turning and trying to resist the urge to rub his sore wrist. Even if Alfred was weakened, he still possessed a ridiculous amount of inhuman strength.

"So we might as well be friends, okay?" Alfred grinned at him, all teeth again. As much warmth as he put in to his voice, Arthur refused to feel any warmth from the other's smile. Alfred offered a hand to him, obviously expecting Arthur to cooperate with him.

Arthur huffed, ignoring the hand and shouldering his way past the wolf. He gave Alfred the coldest look he could muster, swallowing the fear in his stomach. "We will never be friends."

Arthur stalked back in to the house, leaving Alfred stood speechless in the garden. He refused to glance back at the other, refuse to show that he was scared or that he doubted himself. He stalked past his mother, who threw him a questioning look, and made his way upstairs to his room. Once the door was closed, he let his legs give out from under him, sliding to the floor. He took gasping breaths, clutching at his chest with trembling hands. He wasn't sure if he could do this, face having the wolf living under his roof. He could not even confront him without giving in to his rage or the swallowing feeling of panic rising from his bowels.

After a while, he heard voices and laughter coming from outside. Gathering strength, he rose back to his feet and gradually made his way to the window. He had a beautiful view of the garden, where Alfred and Charlotte were talking and laughing together, sounding care free and merry. Arthur felt torn on what to do with himself. There was threat under his roof, but he was powerless to do anything against it. Alfred had so far proven that while he meant no harm, he had the potential to carry it out. Biting on his fingernails, Arthur frowned at the two from his window, worrying over whether or not Alfred had different motives.

That was when Alfred's gaze connected with his, looking up at Arthur's window. When their eyes were locked, Alfred flashed Arthur a prize-winning smile. Feeling his breath catch in his throat a little, he froze up, staring down at the baby blues that spoke out to him. Arthur forced himself away from the window, away from the prying eyes, away from the laughter, away from the source of confusion and fear. And away from whatever was causing his heart to beat so painfully in his chest.