The morning air felt cool and welcoming as Arthur Kirkland jogged down the road. He always enjoyed going for a run during the summer months but found it a little difficult during midday. The weather would turn sweltering hot in a matter of seconds, and the next thing Arthur knew his clothes would be damp and glued to his skin.

This was why he preferred running in the morning. The air wasn't too hot, nor too cool, and the shower afterwards felt relaxing rather than mandatory.

Also, his daily jogs around the neighbourhood were the only times he felt at peace. Arthur was eighteen and finding college a bit of a nightmare. It wasn't as if the work was hard… He was especially good at English, and people often praised him as the fastest runner, but something felt wrong. Arthur would complete all of his work and win in as many sports as possible, but no matter how much everyone smiled at him and told him he had done so well, something wasn't right.

Maybe it was because of that one teacher, Francis Bonnefoy. Bonnefoy taught French at Arthur's college, of course, and although he wasn't in a single one of his lessons he always found himself bumping into the Frenchman. He would smile at Arthur and applaud him more than anyone else. It was almost he expected more from Arthur than any other student.

Needless to say, that particular teacher irritated Arthur to no end.

But Arthur didn't want to think about him. All that mattered was him and his feet on the pavement.

He continued jogging with a constant rhythm. His headphones were blaring Time is Running Out by Muse loud enough for a close passer-by to hear, and Arthur found himself absentmindedly humming along to the words.

Arthur eventually found himself in the shade caused by overhead trees, and he sighed. He would have to go home soon. Not because he was tired, mind you, he could actually run for miles without even feeling tired. He had to get changed so that he was ready for another day of college.

…But surely he could still run for five more minutes? He lived alone in a small flat, and having to return to that when he could be outside felt depressing. Yes, just five more minutes…

Then it happened.

There Arthur was, running and feeling perfectly happy, when suddenly something swung down from the tree. It was grinning at him upside down, obviously hanging onto a branch with its legs, and opened its mouth to call something. Arthur, however, had absolutely no time to register it. This had appeared out of nowhere and it was way too close to him. Before Arthur even knew what was happening, their foreheads connected loudly and painfully.

Arthur yelled and fell back, his headphones dislodging and clattering to the ground. The man in the tree wasn't much better. He was howling and clutching his head in agony. Just as it seemed the stranger had recovered enough to speak, as he had opened his mouth and tearful eyes, the tree branch he was hanging from decided it didn't want to support his weight anymore and snapped.

The man's head banged on the hard pavement before the rest of him crumpled to the floor.

The Englishman stared with wide eyes. His forehead was throbbing, and there would probably be some noticeable bruising later, but that man must have been seriously hurt. No one would be able to suffer a fall like that and come out unscathed.

He ran to the other's side. Unconscious. Damn. Arthur pulled out his mobile. He had to call an ambulance. He couldn't just leave this lad lying on the side of the road, could he?

His fingers hovered over the necessary numbers as his attention drifted to the stranger's face.

Though this wasn't an opinion Arthur normally had when it came to unconscious people, this man was actually pretty good looking. He looked about Arthur's age, maybe a little younger and was wearing glasses that were thankfully still intact. His dusty blond hair had been messed up from the fall, though one lock of hair seemed able to defy gravity no matter what.

Nothing seemed to be broken. If he hadn't seen what happened earlier then Arthur would have assumed the man was sleeping.

Arthur was about to scold himself for such thoughts when the stranger was clearly hurt, but stopped. A groan had escaped the man's lips, and his fingers twitched.

"Th…" the man mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Arthur blinked.

"Tha…"

"…Are you all right? I'm calling the hospital, so don't worr-"

Then the man sat up.

"That. Was Awesome!" he cheered suddenly. "Hell yeah! Did you see that?! I was trying to be all cool and dramatic with my entrance, but then, boom! The tree branch snapped and I fell and I wanna do that again!"

Arthur was taken aback by this sudden explosion. From the stranger's accent he could now tell he was American, but that didn't excuse such a reaction.

This man, Arthur thought, hit his head harder than I thought.

The American turned to him suddenly. He seemed surprised for a few seconds, but then he grinned and lunged forwards.

"Artie!" he cried, hugging Arthur as tightly as possible. "I found you! I can't believe it! I actually found you!"

…

Okay, what the hell?

Arthur pushed him away. "What are you talking about?" He had been worried about him just a few seconds ago, but the moment the blond opened his mouth this had been replaced by irritation. "Found me? How could you have 'found me'? I have absolutely no idea who you are…"

"…What?" The American looked stricken. "But, Artie… It's me, Alfred! Don't you remember? I came to rescue you, just like I said I would."

Rescue me? Arthur shook his head sadly. There was no point in getting angry. This 'Alfred' was obviously very confused.

"Listen, I'll call an ambulance, so just-"

"I don't need an ambulance! I'm fine!" Alfred suddenly looked so sad. He had no idea why, but it almost broke Arthur's heart. "How can you not remember me? I mean, I knew they were going to mess around with your memories, but…"

Arthur sighed. He was somehow finding it harder and harder to understand Alfred. He looked down at his watch and swore.

"Dammit… I'm sorry, Alfred, but I really have to go." He stood up. "Do you have a phone?"

"Um, no?"

Right…" Arthur handed the American his mobile. "I'm sorry, but I really don't have much time. Use this to call an ambulance or your family or something. I would get my head checked if I was you."

With that, Arthur started running down the road again. Alfred probably had a concussion. Everything he said had made no sense, and Arthur was positive he had never seen the American before in his life. The fact that he somehow knew Arthur's name was confusing, but he had probably just heard it somewhere else. What else could explain it?

Arthur slowed and looked back hesitantly. Alfred was staring after him, phone still in hand. Even from where he stood, Arthur could see the misery in the other's eyes.

He shook his head and continued running.

His day passed uneventfully. The only strange thing that had happened, besides the obvious, was the fact Bonnefoy had been absent. Arthur had never known the French teacher to miss a single day. Was he sick?

Arthur shrugged this question off, gripping his shoulder bag with one hand. He probably just drank too much wine the night before and had a hangover. It would be just like that frog to call in sick over something so petty…

He almost didn't see him. Arthur froze. Standing there, leaning against a fence, was Alfred.

Alfred smiled at him. "Arthur," he said, parting from the fence and walking towards him. "Good. I've been waiting for you."

"Oh, um…" What was Arthur supposed to say to that? Why had Alfred been waiting for him?

"…Did you go to the hospital?" Arthur eventually asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," Alfred said in such a dismissive way that Arthur was almost positive he was lying.

"Right. Well, please excuse me." Arthur went to move past the American, but Alfred stepped in front of him.

"Art, I need to talk to you." Alfred glanced around, as if fearing someone was watching them. "Alone."

Arthur looked at him sceptically. "We're already alone. In case you haven't noticed, we're the only ones on the street. Besides, I don't even know you. I'm not exactly going to let you drag me somewhere where people can't hear me." He shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm going home."

He pushed his way past Alfred. The other didn't resist much and simply stared after him unhappily. Arthur wondered if he would actually be able to get away from the strange man this time, and—

"I'm from the future!"

Well, that certainly stopped him.

Alfred's voice had sounded loud and desperate. Arthur turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"…The future? Really? You really expect me to believe that?

Alfred nodded, but he was blushing. "It's true! That's why I need to talk to you."

Arthur tried not to laugh. "You're joking. You must be joking."

What Alfred was saying was impossible. Maybe his concussion was worse than Arthur thought. Maybe he was just insane.

…Or maybe he was an idiot. Arthur had heard of them, though he never encountered one before.

"I have a time machine." Alfred sounded oddly serious. "That's how I got here. I can show it you, if you want."

A time machine? Really? Arthur rolled his eyes. No way. There was no chance that was true. Although… Alfred didn't seem to be lying. He could see it in his eyes. Even if it wasn't true, the American seemed to believe it with all of his heart. He truly thought he had a time machine, that he was from the future.

…Well, maybe he could humour Alfred a little. It was better than returning to a lonely flat, and if the American did turn out to be crazy then Arthur could always get him some help.

"Okay, fine." Arthur sighed in defeat. "Show me your 'time machine.'"

Alfred's eyes practically lit up. He nodded eagerly and grabbed Arthur's hand.

Arthur soon found himself lead down the street and through an alleyway. As he dodged a set of bins, he wondered what he was doing. Did he really just agree to let some crazy man take him to who the hell knows where? What was he thinking?

He considered ripping his arm away and making a run for it, but he decided it was probably too late for that.

Eventually the alleyway turned to the right, and Arthur realized they had reached some kind of car park. A chain link fence surrounded it, so they had to move around to the main entrance to get inside.

"Why are we here?" Arthur asked with a frown.

Alfred grinned. "'Cause this is where it is! It seemed like the best place to hide it, you know?"

The Englishman looked around expectantly. There was nothing in the car park, except for, well, cars. One of them seemed to stand out, but not because it was special or anything. It caught Arthur's attention because it was so old. It was covered in rust and looked as if it would fall apart any second. Did it even still work?

To Arthur's utter annoyance, this happened to be the car Alfred stopped next to proudly.

"Well," he said, hands on hips, "this is it! This is my time machine."

Arthur honestly didn't know why he had been expecting anything else.

"This car?" Arthur pointed at the dilapidated vehicle. "This car is your so-called 'time machine'?"

"Yep!" If Alfred noticed Arthur's growing irritation than he didn't show it. "It's not always a car, though. I had to change its appearance a bit so that it wouldn't stick out. I mean, if people knew it was an actual time machine then everyone would try to get their hands on it!"

Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Right… Right!" His tone was suddenly airy. He clapped his hands together. "Well, Alfred, it was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for wasting my time like this. Call me when you have a blue box, and maybe we could talk some more."

"What? But—" That didn't seem to be the reaction Alfred had expected. "Artie, listen—"

"No, you listen, Alfred!" Arthur exploded. "I don't know what kind of stupid game this is, but if you really expect me to believe that this stupid, old car is a bloody time machine than you obviously have more than a few screws loose! And if you actually believe it yourself, well, then there's something wrong with you! Time travel doesn't exist, Alfred. Hell, is that even your real name?!"

Alfred listened to this sadly. He only started speaking when Arthur stopped for breath.

"So, you really don't remember…" Alfred said quietly. Arthur glared and readied himself for another rant, but what Alfred said next stopped him.

"Arthur, when was the last time you cut yourself?"

Arthur blinked. What kind of question was that? "I…" He tried to think back. The last time he cut himself? Well…

"I don't think I ever have," Arthur admitted.

"So you mean you've never scrapped your knees as a kid? Don't you think that's strange?"

It was strange, Arthur realised. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't remember anything like that.

"So? What's the point in this?" Arthur asked.

Alfred was leaning against the car. He never looked away from Arthur as he spoke. "Okay then… What's your earliest memory?"

"My earliest—? What are you talkingabout?!"

"Answer the question, Arthur," Alfred replied coolly.

His earliest memory… Arthur would have thought his earliest memory was of something simple, like of his family or falling down the stairs, something common. But… there was nothing.

With a sudden chill, Arthur realised he couldn't remember anything before his first day of college. He shook his head numbly.

"Right." Alfred began moving towards Arthur. "One last question… What does your mother look like? Or, what's her name?"

Panic welled up inside Arthur. He couldn't answer it. Why couldn't he answer it? The question was so simple! His mother was… was…

Arthur cried out suddenly and ran. He didn't care where he was going; he just had to get away. He heard Alfred call after him, but this only made him run faster.

The chain link fence rushed to meet him. Arthur hadn't even thought about going through the entrance, his only thought had been to get as far away from Alfred as possible. But, just as he was about to crash into it, he jumped.

It wasn't possible. Arthur had been known for being good at sports, but to jump so high… It obviously was possible, though, because Arthur was doing it. He had leapt into the air, bloody somersaulted above the chain link fence, and landed on the other side perfectly.

He froze. What was going on? What the hell was happening?

Arthur barely even noticed the thump behind him. Alfred had somehow jumped over the fence too, and he slowly walked forward so that he was in front of Arthur again.

"Please don't run, Arthur," Alfred begged softly. "Please… I've missed you… I've missed you so much…"

Arthur backed away. He couldn't take it anymore. Barely even thinking about it, Arthur started running. He didn't know why, but he was scared. Alfred had turned in his eye from just some crazy guy in a tree to the most terrifying man he had ever met in a matter of seconds.

Soon, Arthur entered another street, a friendly, quiet looking place with lots of houses. He glanced behind him after his initial panic had faded slightly, but didn't stop running. Was Alfred following him? He couldn't see him anywhere…

Then he hit something.

Arthur spun around fearfully, but it wasn't who he had expected. He frowned.

"…Mr Bonnefoy?"

"Ah, Arthur!" The French teacher seemed surprised, as anyone would be if someone randomly ran into them, but smiled. "You seem shaken. Is something wrong?"

"N-no, it's nothing." Arthur sighed. Bonnefoy might have been his least favourite teacher, but at least it wasn't Alfred… "I just… I ran into some nutcase, so I—"

"A 'nutcase'?" Francis looked concerned. "Are you hurt? Should I call the police?"

"No, no! It's nothing, I'm fine. They… They just said a few weird things."

"Oh." The Frenchman seemed to think about something. "Like what?"

"Well…" Why did Bonnefoy want to know that? No, Arthur, stop it. You're acting paranoid… "He just said a few stupid things. He told me he was from the future." He tried to laugh it off.

Arthur looked up at Bonnefoy. It was brief, but anger flashed across his face.

"Ah," Bonnefoy said. "And did you believe him?"

Arthur stepped back slightly. "No. Of course I didn't. Why would I? It's impossible…"

"Good, good." Bonnefoy smiled. He reached into his pocket. "But, it's best to be on the safe side." In his hand was some kind of remote. "Hold still. Don't worry; we're only going to give you a reboot."

He aimed the remote and Arthur found himself automatically preparing for… something. What Bonnefoy had said made no sense to him, yet it still filled Arthur with fear. What was going to happen to him…?

A loud screech filled the air. The two blonds paused and looked up in surprise. A car was heading towards them at a speed that couldn't be legal. Arthur realised that he recognised this car, though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Its passenger door opened just as the car was about to pass them and Arthur groaned. He knew what he had to do, and he didn't even have time to contemplate on why it was such a bad idea. Even so, Arthur pushed past Bonnefoy while he was still stunned and dived in through the open door.

The car slowed down, allowing Arthur to move into a less sprawled out position and close the door. He glanced at the driver hesitantly.

Alfred stared back at him worriedly.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes… I'm fine." Arthur didn't know what was going on anymore. He looked back just in time to see Bonnefoy's expression twist into some kind of murderous rage, and he began barking something into a phone.

"Don't worry." Alfred grinned. "He'll never catch us. Remember? This is a time machine. We can go where and whenever we want!"

"…I'm still having trouble believing that."

"Aww... You still don't remember? I thought seeing all this would have sparked something!"

"Sparked what? What are you talk—?" And stopped. As he stared at the American next to him, something in his mind snapped, bringing forth a flood of pictures, colours, sounds and information.

Arthur screamed, causing the car to swerve as Alfred jumped. "Whoa, whoa, what's wrong, Artie?!"

But Arthur didn't answer. He could remember. He could actually remember.

"I… I'm an android."

It was true. Many years in the future, scientists were manufacturing thousands and thousands of androids. Their goal was to create a robot that could blend in so well, that could show emotions and looked so normal, that anyone watching would think they were a normal human.

Arthur was one of these robots. He, like all the other, was able to feel and show genuine emotions. He was almost complete. All they needed to do was test him…

"They sent me back in time." Arthur stared down at his hands. "They wanted to test me, to see what I was like in a human environment, so they sent me back in time to a place that was quieter, safer. They didn't want to risk me getting broken in their time."

"Wait, you remember now?" Alfred's expression turned from stunned to happy in seconds. "You remember! Oh my God, this is amazing!"

"Yes…" Arthur didn't feel amazing. To make him as believable as possible, any memories Arthur had of the future world were stored away. Instead, he was made to believe he was just a normal student in whatever time he landed in.

"I don't understand." Arthur shook his head. "I'm a robot? But… how? I can feel pain, I can feel sad and happy, I…"

"That was the point, Artie." Alfred smiled at him sympathetically. "That's how they made us. We were made to be as human as possible. We can feel happy, angry, sad, even pain. I guess the only main difference between us and regular humans is that we have more stamina. We can be really strong and really fast if we need to be, but that usually only works in emergencies."

Arthur nodded distantly. In his mind, a scene was playing out. Arthur and Alfred were standing together, holding hands as if for the last time.

"Please, Arthur, don't go," Alfred begged.

"I have no choice, Alfred." Arthur shook his head sadly. "I don't want to go either. The only part of this I think I'll actually enjoy is the fact I'll be able to go outside. You know we can't argue with them."

Alfred tightened his grip on Arthur's hand. "But they said you weren't coming back here."

"Yes. I know." Arthur pulled his hand away. "I'm really sorry, Alfred. You know I love you, but there's nothing we can do…" He sighed and turned away.

Just as he started walked away, Alfred called out suddenly. "I'll find you, okay?! No matter where they send you, I'll find you and then I'll rescue you!"

Arthur's mouth fell open. Dear God… "I didn't think… You stole a bloody time machine? Really, Alfred? Do you even know how dangerous that was?"

Alfred grinned at him. "How else was I supposed to find you? Getting this thing wasn't easy, let me tell you."

"I can imagine…" Arthur frowned suddenly. "Wait, why was Francis here?"

"I think the other scientists sent him here to watch you. You know, to make sure you were acting as human as you were supposed to."

"Won't he come after us?"

"Dude, what part of time machine don't you get?" Alfred laughed. He pressed a few buttons, and the normal scenery in front of them faded away. Instead, they were surrounded by colours.

"Any time period you wanna go? Alfred asked casually. "I'm up for anywhere… Well, as long as it's with you." His face turned an interesting shade of red, and he looked away.

Arthur reached for Alfred's hand and gave him a gentle smile. "I don't mind. I suppose it's the same with me. I'm happy as long as I'm with you."

Alfred smiled back. "…Oh! Right." He pulled something out of his pocket. "Here's your phone, Arthur."

Hi there! This was written for the day nine of the USxUK Summer Camp thingy on tumblr XD I hadn't entered the earlier ones, but I thought this would be fun...

The theme was Back to the Future. Somehow, that made me come up with this XD

A word of advice to those who read this: if your planning on writing an almost 4000 word one-shot, make sure you take breaks XD This took me 6 hours and my eyes feel very tired O_O

Well, please review and tell me what you think ^_^