Someday I'll write something else *laughs* Aah... Thank you for your patience anyway! Hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday!

No warnings for this chapter.

After Arthur came to check on Alfred's hysterical screams the police were called and Matthew held his brother like the world was about to end. For the next few hours there was a blur of activity, officers coming that had an overly calm attitude over the situation, questions asked and answered. Had any of them noticed suspicious people or activity around the area before the incident? Did Alfred have any enemies? Potential stalkers? The answer to all three, as far as any of them knew, was no. Alfred scarcely remembered half of what had been said. The state of shock left him numb.

Arthur took them to a hotel, disturbed that such a horrific thing had occurred under their roof at all. That it might have been Alfred rather than Charles perturbed him to the depth of his parental roots. It awoke a state of extreme paternity in him and he went into a hard nostalgia kick. It left Matthew feeling like he was a child again. Alfred seemed detached, sometimes breaking down into tears.

"Why would anyone want to hurt Charles? He was the sweetest dog in the world," Alfred would ask from time to time before his voice cracked and he couldn't continue.

The question left his brother and father speechless. How could they know why someone would be that sick? And quite frankly both were more afraid at the threat it posed to Alfred himself.

Despite an investigation nothing useful came up. No evidence left behind. No witnesses. No motive. The police promised that the investigation would continue but there was little to work with. Word was given out to the press both to warn the general public and to seek out further clues. It caused quite a stir in the usually sleepy town. Although there was a great deal of talk about it no leads came through. Until something fresh came up it seemed the situation was stagnant.

Feeling uneasy in their own home, the three had no choice but to go back and hope for the best. The attention brought from the story and the death of his dog was hard enough for Alfred, but the last straw was a mild inquiry that made him sick with rage. The question of whether Alfred had killed his own dog, even if it was without his being aware of it at the time.

Arthur's gentle probing to see a psychiatrist, if nothing else than to talk about the incident, was met with outright hostility. Alfred would do no such thing! He was not insane. The incident of the tapping hung heavily between them but was never directly mentioned in their arguments.

And so things gradually eased back into a strained day to day routine.

~.

Kiku's dark, flat eyes regarded Alfred's house curiously. It was the first time he'd gone over in quite a while. His mother had been convinced that the second he stepped through the door he would be chopped to bits. But Alfred was going to be alone that night for the first time since his dog was gruesomely murdered and neither Alfred nor his family felt comfortable about that. Still, somehow the fact that there was nothing visually changed about the dwelling made it somewhat disappointing.

Breath coming out in a soft puff, Kiku knocked on the door then brought his hand up to his mouth to blow on it. There was a pause and then the door opened cautiously. Once Alfred caught sight of Kiku he opened the door faster, giving a strained smile the other boy was still not used to seeing. "Hey Kiku, come in."

The other boy complied, stepping into the warmth. "Thank you for having me."

Alfred's smile became more amused. "You're seriously like the only one who would even come here anyway. Come on."

They went upstairs, pausing outside of Alfred's room. There was a slight tug of resistance in Kiku's chest as Alfred pushed the door open. As it started to swing inwards he almost cried out in protest and barely held himself back. He half-expected to see the blood still splattered on the wall. It wasn't. There was a thick layer of new blue paint.

Alfred went to the bed, pulling a pillow to himself and hugging it. "Not a bad color, right? I've been sleeping with Matthew mostly but I figure I have to sleep in my own room eventually. They, uh… Make you pay for things like painting over the wall yourself. Did you know that? I guess even in cases like suicides or murders there's no like… I dunno, I always thought there was some general service for that. Kind of fucked, isn't it?"

Kiku gazed at his friend in silence then went to the bed, sitting beside him. His hand came up and lightly touched Alfred's shoulder. "It seems like something there should be, yes. Out of respect for the dead and for those who are still alive."

Alfred nodded. Neither spoke for a few minutes. "I have the hardest time sleeping these days. Every time I shut my eyes I get this creepy feeling like someone is lurking nearby. Waiting for me to fall asleep to do something else. I figured I might as well meet my fear head on by sleeping in this room but mostly it just leads to me not sleeping very much and being sick with anxiety. Dad thinks I should go see a shrink I guess."

It was obvious to Kiku that Alfred had no desire to do so and didn't speak in favor of it, even though it would surely do him some good. "You should do what you feel is necessary for the healing process to take place."

"Stuff like that is exactly why I like talking to you, Kiku. Even if most of what you say is taking the middle ground and being obscure or whatever." Alfred smiled at him and it was the closest to his normal smile so far. "I'm really glad you came. Talking at school isn't the same thing at all."

"I'm glad to be of emotional support to you." It was all Kiku could think to say.

Alfred actually managed a laugh at that. "Like it's some kind of great honor." All traces of amusement gradually died. "You know… They questioned if I was the one that killed Charles."

"Yes. I remember you mentioned it." The words were said gently.

"I don't know how they can think that. I never would have killed Charles! I loved him! I loved him so m-much!" Alfred reached up and covered his face, shoulders shaking.

Kiku watched him uncomfortably for a moment then moved in to give him a small hug, which Alfred immediately returned on a much larger scale. Kiku stiffened then relaxed, reaching up to pet Alfred's hair awkwardly. "I know you wouldn't have. I know. You would never do something ugly like that."

The two of them remained like that for a while, Kiku waiting patiently. Alfred pulled back and seemed better for the comfort. "Sorry, man. I've just been having a really hard time with this."

"I would not worry about it Alfred. That is expected of something traumatic." Especially when they had never found who had done it.

Alfred stared at the wall again then smiled at Kiku. "I guess so… Want to go eat some cake?"

Now that was closer to the Alfred that Kiku was used to. "I would be alright with this."

Alfred's smile widened slightly and they headed downstairs. It wasn't until a few hours of much snacking and a couple of movies later that they made their way upstairs again.

"I'm telling you Kiku, there is no way you saw that ending coming." Alfred switched his light on, pausing to scan the room before entering.

"On the contrary, it was quite obvious after the first quarter of the film who the guilty party was."

"Uh huh, sure." Alfred collapsed onto his bed. There was a cold tingle at the thought of someone under it and he got off, cautiously pulling the blanket up. Nothing. Of course. He got back onto the bed trying to hide how sheepish he felt.

Kiku didn't comment, taking a seat on the floor. He in no way blamed Alfred for his behavior. He was not sure he would be able to sleep in the same room after an event like that. Alfred was either stubborn or brave. Kiku's attention was drawn to Alfred's necklaces as he began to twist the tangled chains. "I have been meaning to ask you, Alfred. Where did you get those? You wear them all the time."

"Hm?" Alfred stared at him blankly then tugged at the chains. "Oh! Yeah, I guess it's one of those things I stopped noticing I was even wearing after a while. Let's see, I found them at a thrift market thing we went to a while ago. I actually only wanted one of them but it's pretty much impossible to get them separated. I tried."

He tugged on it and the two circular pendants clanged softly. Kiku nodded. "I see. Maybe I could try for you sometime. I've been told I have very nimble fingers."

One look at his thin, delicate hands was enough to confirm that. "Sure. But for now, bed. You seriously going to sleep on the floor again? I know you're against sharing beds but it's freezing."

Kiku was very rigid about the bed issue. When Alfred came over he wasn't allowed to share Kiku's bed either, even though there was room. It just made him uncomfortable. Besides, there were things like crumbs that had to be worried about and whatnot. "It will be adequate."

"Alright, dude. Whatever works for you." Alfred readjusted his weight and started to gather up his comforter. Kiku could use it. He'd definitely need it more. Kiku watched him silently, eyes flickering down to the space under the bed. Icy fingers seemed to wrap around his throat and he couldn't utter a single sound.

Where there had been nothing previously, the space was now occupied by man in a long black and red coat. Messy blond hair rested lazily on the floor as ice blue eyes fixed on him. There was the slightest smirk as he brought a finger up to his lips in a shushing gesture. That alone was perfectly disturbing. It was not what made Kiku freeze, though. What did was the large, silver axe that the man's other hand was slowly curling around.

Kiku broke eye contact and looked up at his friend. Keeping his focus on Alfred, he stood slowly. "…Alfred, I have just remembered something. Please come with me. It will only be a moment."

Alfred tilted his head. "What, you forget something downstairs? I can wait-"

"I must insist that you come with me." There was the slightest strain in his voice but it held steady.

After a short pause Alfred shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, alright."

As he lowered his feet to the floor Kiku's heart lodged itself in his throat. He reached forward and grabbed Alfred's hand, tugging him away from the bed almost violently. Alfred started to protest and Kiku silently pulled him from the room, not stopping until they were outside.

Alfred shifted on the cold pavement, feet bare. "Dude, what is wrong with you?"

"There was someone under the bed, Alfred." Kiku turned to look at him, face lacking any color. "A man with an axe."

There was a long pause and then Alfred let out a short, humorless bark of laughter. His expression quickly became grim. "That's really not funny, Kiku."

"I am not trying to be funny. Not at all. I know what I saw. You know I would not lie to you about something like this!" Kiku's expression was frightened but insistent.

A chill went through Alfred that had nothing to do with the cold. Kiku was right, he wasn't the kind to lie or joke about that sort of thing. Their eyes slowly travelled up to his bedroom window and they stared as if waiting for something. It was Kiku who finally broke from the stupor and pulled Alfred towards a neighbor's house to call the police.