Arthur's last memory…
Alfred had come to visit again. He always did since the news was broken. He didn't want to lose Arthur, he said. But Arthur assured him that he would be fine, he would live and it would be like it was before.
They were just teenagers, but Arthur could honestly say he loved Alfred. And it was very obvious Alfred loved him. Though he would act strange at some times, Arthur had grown accustomed to it. It wasn't weird for him to disappear for a couple days at a time. But, when he came, he was always perfectly amazing.
"Hey," Alfred smiled when he came in.
"Hello," Arthur smiled in return, but it fell slightly when he remembered what he had to tell Alfred. They had figured it out three days ago.
"What's wrong?" Alfred tilted his head to the side. He was standing at the foot of Arthur's bed.
Arthur sighed, staring down at his hands. He was sitting up, leaning against the headboard. "I'm done with the tests," Arthur muttered.
"Well, that's amazing!" Alfred smiled widely, but it fell. "But…you look sad…"
"…I'm going to die in a year…" Arthur muttered practically silently, but Alfred still heard him.
"No," Alfred shook his head. "No."
"I can't help it, Alfred," Arthur shook his head, laughing slightly, but he didn't mean it.
"Can't they do anything else?" Alfred demanded and he started pacing. "They're doctors, right?"
"Alfred, what's happened is happened," Arthur muttered. "I have a year and a week, they say. We can make that last as long as it can."
Alfred suddenly stopped and stared out a window. Then he swiftly turned towards Arthur. "Do you want to live?"
"What?" Arthur asked.
"Do you want to live?" Alfred repeated himself.
"I'm sure that's human instinct," Arthur stated.
"Do you love me?" Alfred asked.
Arthur blinked a couple times. "O-Of course I do, Alfred."
"And do you trust me?" Alfred walked over to Arthur's side.
"What's with all these questions?" Arthur asked.
"Just answer it," Alfred leaned towards him. "Do you trust me? Like, as much as you love me?"
"Should I be afraid to say yes?" Arthur asked, starting to feel slightly nervous.
"Is your answer yes?" Alfred asked, dead serious.
"Yes," Arthur answered. "What's going on, Alfred?"
"Just…brace yourself," Alfred took a deep breath.
Before Arthur could say anything else, Alfred pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. Arthur accepted it happily. They hadn't had a kiss like this since Alfred had learned of Arthur's illness. But still, in the back of Arthur's mind, something felt wrong.
All too soon, Alfred pulled away. But his face didn't go too far and soon, Arthur could feel Alfred's breath on his neck.
"Alfred, what are you-" Arthur was cut off with the intense pain of something biting his neck. His eyes went wide and he gasped for a breath that did not come. He felt something slowly drain from him, but he soon ignored that because of all the pain. He screamed, but he knew better than anybody that no one could hear through these walls.
Finally, when Arthur's vision was tunneling, Alfred pulled away. There were red marks on his face.
"Shit," he said, but it seemed like his voice was a mile away.
And then Arthur passed out.
Which leads to the present.
Arthur couldn't feel anything, he felt like he was in an abyss. He was surely dead. He didn't feel a need to breathe or sleep. So, when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see a ceiling. He breathed in and out, but felt no need to, so he stopped. And he waited to need breath. But it didn't come. He blinked a few times and found he didn't need that, either.
He slowly started looking around, surprised that his neck wasn't aching. He knew this room, it was Alfred's. His red Queen sized bed was across from a very large TV, on which they had seen many a horror movie. There was an electric guitar plugged into an amp, multiple sports trophies, far too many for which Arthur thought was possible. And then, his closet was opened, showing off the boxes he kept action figures in, some as old as the 1900s.
As Arthur looked around, he saw Alfred in the room, too. He was pacing at the foot of the bed, muttering things Arthur was surprised he could hear, they were so quiet.
"Shit…I shouldn't have done that…He's going to hate me…" he paused when their eyes met. He spoke louder next. "Hey."
Arthur blinked and then tested out his voice. "Hi." Arthur looked down at himself, he was in normal clothes, clothes he would wear before he was diagnosed. Before he was trapped at that hospital. Funny thing was, though he couldn't feel anything, he felt better than ever.
"How ya feeling?" Alfred said, rather hesitantly.
"I feel…" Arthur tried moving his hands across the comforting of the bed he was lying on. "Nothing…Wh-what did you do?"
"It's a long story," Alfred muttered. "But…I guess you have a lot of time now…"
"What are you talking about?" Arthur slowly sat up and saw something fall in front of his eye he hadn't seen in a year. A blonde lock of hair. Both of his hands quickly went to his head. Something moved with his hands, something soft, he was guessing. His eyes went wide and he gaped at Alfred. "I have hair," Arthur muttered as he dropped his hands. "Why do I have hair?"
"Yeah," Alfred nodded slowly and forced out a small smile. "I kinda missed those bushy eyebrows of yours."
"How did…" Arthur muttered, using a hand to stroke his forehead, where his eyebrows were. He hadn't had eyebrows in a year. The chemotherapy got rid of all of his hair. And here it was, back like it never left. "Why am I in your room? I was supposed to leave the hospital tomorrow."
"Five days ago," Alfred muttered. "I…I took you out myself."
"I've been asleep for five days?" Arthur demanded.
"It's better you were asleep," Alfred muttered. "Otherwise the pain would have been unbearable."
"Alfred, what did you do?" Arthur asked, rubbing his neck where he had felt that bite. There wasn't even a bump or scar.
"Don't be mad," Alfred muttered.
"What did you do?" Arthur demanded. He didn't need to breathe, he felt better than ever, his hair had all grown back… What did it all mean?
"Technically…uh…cured your cancer?" Alfred tried. "And at the same time…killed you."
"I'm dead?" Arthur's voice cracked.
"Living dead," Alfred kicked at the ground. "It's different."
"You bit my neck," Arthur muttered, almost silent. "You're a…I'm a…"
"Vampire," Alfred finished for him. "I'm really, really sorry… You told me you were going to die and I just…I love you…I was selfish and I didn't want to lose you! It was the only thing…I'm sorry."
"I've known you for…for years…" Arthur muttered. He was trying to cry, he really was. But nothing came out. "And you've been dead this whole time?"
"I'm sorry," Alfred stared at the ground. "I really am."
"Can I even trust you?" Arthur just stared at him.
"I won't blame you if you don't," Alfred shook his head.
"You couldn't let me live for the year I had left?" Arthur asked him, feeling betrayed.
"I'm sorry," Alfred muttered again.
"Stop saying that!" Arthur snapped. He wanted more than anything in the world right now to cry.
"Do you hate me?" Alfred asked.
"What can we do?" Arthur said shakily. "Do we have superhuman strength, speed? Do we burn in the sunlight?"
"You've seen me in the sun," Alfred stated. "It just stings a little is all. A lot of strength and speed, though I wouldn't consider it superhuman. Or anything compared to a human. I haven't used any of it for sports or anything, I swear!"
"What does everyone think about us?" Arthur asked. "Are we missing? Are we dead…?"
"According to the people at the hospital and those that ask," Alfred muttered, "you're out to live the year you have left to live. With the boy you…you love…"
"My brothers think I've just run off?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "I-If you want them to see you, before that year is up…"
"Will I be hungry for blood?" Arthur was scared to ask this one.
"Yes," Alfred said slowly. "And before you ask, there is no substitution for human. On the bright side, we only have to feed every couple months. Usually, by then, I find someone who's recently dead and drink them."
"How much blood do we need each time?" Arthur asked, not looking at Alfred anymore.
"All of it," Alfred muttered. "It's hard to…to stop after you've started. No matter what. To turn someone…it takes a lot of skill and…patience."
"Did you almost drain me?" Arthur asked.
"Yes," Alfred said disappointedly. "But I forced myself to pull away. If I had drained you, I would never have forgiven myself. I would have killed myself, but there would be no way you would go to Hell, like I am."
"If you're dead, immortal, why did you chose to go to school?" Arthur asked.
"To feel normal," Alfred stated. "I've been to a lot of schools."
"Why did you chose me, rather than some girl or…someone better?" Arthur asked.
"Because I love you," Alfred stated. "The first time I touched you, that was the first time I've felt something since this…happened to me. When I kiss you, I can actually feel love. I heard about stuff like this in myths and books, but I didn't think it existed. I don't care if you hate me, I swear. You can hate me as much as you want, for what I've done to you. You don't deserve something as horrible as this. I'm sor-"
Arthur quickly got off the bed and stood in front of Alfred. "Stop apologizing." Arthur stared at Alfred, tempted by what Alfred had told him about feeling. Arthur wanted to feel something, anything. So he quickly stood on his toes and his lips touched Alfred's.
He felt something. A spark, life, and he clung to it. He gasped slightly and then clutched Alfred's clothes, pulling him in closely and roughly. He could feel his lips against his, he could feel something in his chest that made where his heart used to be flutter, and he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew from every time he had kissed Alfred. He was normal for this short time.
And he was determined not to make it short. He didn't have to breathe, neither did Alfred, so he made him stay for as long as he could. Alfred eventually kissed him back when he saw how feverishly Arthur was acting. He could feel his huge canines for the first time. He could feel Alfred's. He could feel the hair on his head. He could feel Alfred holding him close, too. He was human.
Until they finally pulled away. Arthur kept his eyes closed and his mouth open. "Why the bloody hell did you pull away?"
"It's not as special if you do it all the time," Alfred muttered and Arthur opened his eyes. Alfred moved a hand to ruffle his hair.
"Okay," Arthur nodded slowly. He felt like he should be gasping for air, but he didn't need to. He couldn't help but wonder how Alfred forced himself to breath the entire time they hung out together. "I trust you. And I forgive you."
"You do?" Alfred asked.
"I still love you," Arthur smiled slightly. "I don't think I can't."
"Oh, thank God!" Alfred wrapped him in a tight hug. From the looks of it, it was enough to break bones, but Arthur felt nothing.
"This leaves one last question," Arthur muttered and Alfred let go. "How old are you, really?"
"217," Alfred said shyly.
"You've been around since the eighteen hundreds?" Arthur gaped.
"Yeah," Alfred shrugged. "I gotta say, the most fun I've had is when I got to be a cowboy."
"You're such an idiot," Arthur chuckled and placed a short peck on Alfred's lips. He savored every feeling it gave him in the short amount of time and had a problem going back to Earth when he separated. "That will take some getting used to."
"I'm still not used to it," Alfred laughed. "On the bright side, now I don't have to hold back."
Okay, I don't think I've ever been so cliche in my whole life! Don't ask me what made me come up with this, I was watching Merlin and all of a sudden, this came to me, so I wrote it in about 2 hours. I know it's kinda lame, but it's October and I'm in the Halloween Spirit! I was gonna update this on Halloween, but I got a better idea for what to update on Halloween. Look out for it on the 31st! It'll be called "Monster Meyhem".
Okay, now for explaining this thing. For those who didn't catch it or need more explaining, Arthur had cancer, he was just diagnosed as terminal, meaning he would die, no matter what happened. He'd been in the hospital for a while, for tests and such, and Alfred would come a lot to visit, blah, blah, blah. I kinda like the idea of these two as vampires, I've seen some pictures and it looks dead sexy, so, I thought I might as well give it a shot.
Please review! I would like to know if I'm good at being cliche.
I don't own Hetalia.
And Happy Halloween, for those who celebrate it!