Those with Lilith's blessing are subject to its curse...
Prologue
Arthur stared up, his once emerald eyes glazed over. His golden blonde hair was covered in grime and his fair skin now pale and covered in blood. Alfred held him gently, sobbing. Arthur was only vaguely aware of the tears falling onto his face. The rain had stopped, and Arthur managed to find one patch of cloudless sky; he saw the dark blue night sky, and the shining stars. He gazed upon the pearly white moon, nodding weakly in acceptance, before everything went black.
-Chapter 1-
Alfred woke up covered in a cold sweat. It had been 10 years since that fateful night, but he hadn't dreamed of it for a while. He had been dreaming of it night after night for weeks now; it was completely obvious he hadn't been sleeping well. The dark circles under his eyes were more than apparent, and he was even less coordinated than usual. He groaned.
"Damn... My 26th birthday and I'm like this..." he muttered. He shook his head and got up. He walked to the window and leaned on the wall, gazing out longingly. "I can keep wishing, but it'll never come true..." he mused, wincing at the painful memories. Alfred truly missed his companion, his partner, his lifelong friend... But no matter how much, none of it would help anyway. Alfred sighed sadly and walked to the shower.
An hour later, Alfred sat on the old chair in his lonely abode, grouchily tending to his aching foot. As soon as he had turned off the shower, the phone began ringing; nobody really called him these days, so Alfred, assuming it was important, had grabbed a towel and dashed out of the bathroom, banging his toe on the ceramic on his way out. In the end, it had only been Ivan calling to invite him to go drinking later. Not really having other plans, birthday or otherwise, Alfred had accepted; now all he needed to accomplish was to quell the throbbing pain he now felt in his foot. He sighed again. Some birthday...
Another hour or two later, Alfred was walking to the bar Ivan was at. He needn't worry about driving drunk; it was only a few blocks from his apartment. Alfred gazed up at the sky. At the very least, it was a nice day. He frowned. Ten years had passed, yet he still found himself thinking of Arthur like a lovesick schoolgirl. He had attended Arthur's funeral, given a speech, yet he still found himself hoping his British companion would appear again. Everywhere he looked, he saw Arthur. In the clouds. In the swirls of a freshly stirred cup of coffee. In darkness and light. Arthur Kirkland had long since become the default setting of Alfred's brain, yet the poor American man had no outlet for his affections. Given a choice, he'd simply quit loving Arthur. While it wasn't a very "heroic" choice, Alfred couldn't take it. It was painful, pining for a dead man. Alfred shivered as an unusually cool breeze swept by, and he hurried inside.
"Happy birthday!" a collection of his friends yelled once he entered the bar. Alfred put on a fake smile for them, as he did every year on this day.
"Hey, thanks, guys!" he exclaimed with false enthusiasm. "This is awesome!" he continued.
Kiku walked up with a weak smile and a large box. "Congratulations." he said, a bit quieter than usual, as he handed Alfred the present. Alfred grinned wide with impeccable acting skills.
"Naw, Kiku, you shouldn't have!" he exclaimed, opening the box. Kiku looked to the side silently in response, piquing Alfred's attention. "Something wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
The Japanese man frowned. "Would you visit me at work tomorrow after my shift?" he asked quietly.
Alfred nodded. "Um, sure. But, uh, why?" he asked, now genuinely curious.
Kiku looked at the floor. "There is..." he began, pausing to search for words to use, "There is... something you must see." he finally said.
Alfred tilted his head in confusion. "Something I must see? Dude, you're not making any sense. What would there be for me to see at a hospital?" he asked.
Kiku simply shook his head in silence. "You would not..." he began, stopping himself once realizing how many bad outcomes that choice of words would bring. "Just come." he ended up saying before bowing and walking over to Heracles. Alfred blinked and sighed.
"Guess I'm going to the hospital tomorrow."
The next day, Alfred woke to the screeching of his alarm. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered on a Saturday, but after the "Petting Zoo Massacre" (as the group called it), he had made it a point never to be noticeably late to any meeting with Kiku. Alfred yawned as he went through the kitchen, eventually settling on a donut and a can of TM. Yes, in the mind of Alfred Jones, that was the healthiest a breakfast could get.
He sighed, gazing at a photo of him and Arthur on the wall. The picture had been taken when they were both 15; Alfred hadn't gotten his glasses yet, and was still going through that "wild west" phase. His room had been, for lack of better words, very Toy Story-esque, with a decent number of cowboy-themed decorations added in. In the photo, Alfred stood by Arthur, wearing a cowboy costume (minus the hat), his left arm wrapped around the British boy playfully while the right was held up to the camera, his hand making a peace sign. He was grinning ear to ear, his smile bright, while he winked with his left eye and leaned onto Arthur a bit. Arthur stood there, as prim and proper as ever, dressed in his usual, rather expensive formal clothes with arms crossed. He had been trying to act grumpy, but hadn't been able to after seeing the American boy and instead wore a small smile. He himself at just passed a phase of his own; while he wasn't a hardcore punk, he had been quite noticeably rebellious for a time. Looking at the sharply dressed gentleman in the photo, you never would have guessed. He had almost started doing drugs, until Alfred found out and got into a fight with the dealers. While the argument the two friends had had wasn't convincing enough to bring Arthur to his senses, the display Alfred had put up for his sake /had been. The only downside Alfred had ever found to the end of this phase was that Arthur had left the rock band he had joined. Cliché as it may be, Arthur had been the lead singer, and Alfred had always felt bitter about not being able to hear that amazing voice anymore. Alfred continued gazing at the photo longingly.
"Arthur... Why did you have to go?" he mumbled sadly. He knew after 10 years, it was long past time to mourn. He should have moved on. But for the life of him, he couldn't bring himself to do it. By moving on, he would have to forget about Arthur, and he simply wasn't ready to do that. He wasn't sure he would ever be ready. He couldn't forget Arthur. Not Arthur. A small alarm rang, snapping Alfred out of his reminiscing. Realizing what said alarm was for, Alfred's eyes widened in panic. "Oh, shit, I'm late!" he cried, jumping up and bolting out the door, his breakfast remaining untouched.
Half an hour later, Alfred stood at the hospital's main entrance. He, like many others, had never liked hospitals; in all honesty, they scared him a bit. Not that Alfred "the hero" would ever admit it aloud, of course. Even without the needles and other assorted sharp/pointy tools, hospitals were where a lot of people died. The place had to be crawling with ghosts! Alfred couldn't even begin to fathom why Kiku chose to work there, especially being the germaphobe he was. Maybe because hospitals were meant to be kept so clean? Or maybe he saw it as simple public service? Regardless, Alfred couldn't imagine ever getting a job there. He might be (mentally) a hero, but he wasn't that kind of hero! He wouldn't stand a chance against all those ghosts! Alfred shivered and looked around in fear.
"Maybe this was a bad idea..." he mumbled, feeling quite uneasy. For some reason, the hospital made him feel even more on edge than it usually did... Reluctantly, he forced himself to go inside. There in the lobby stood Kiku, his face solemn. Alfred put a hand behind his head and forced a smile. "Um, sorry I'm late...?" he said weakly.
Kiku shook his head a little. "You're a bit early, actually." he commented. "Come." he said, motioning for Alfred to follow him. Said American blinked like an idiot and nodded, walking behind Kiku.
"So, Kiku, what's this about?" Alfred asked as they walked through the hallways, counting the door numbers on his left to keep his worried mind occupied. 141.. 143... 145... Kiku stopped in front of room 146 and turned to Alfred.
"You may need to brace yourself for this." he said. "It is very... surprising."
Alfred blinked. "Ookaayyy..." he said. "How bad could it be?" he asked with a laugh before walking into the room.
Kiku had been right.
Alfred froze at the sight, his eyes widening in a combination of shock, disbelief, and hope. The man in the bed looked over at Alfred and Kiku with the same emerald eyes Alfred had dreamed of so many times, his golden hair swaying ever so slightly as he turned his head.
"Ar... thur..."
Okay. Chapter 1 of Lilith's Curse, complete. Geez, all my stories these days end up being either romantic comedies or dramas. Hoo... I wanted to get all my unfinished chapters finished and uploaded before I started any more new ones. While I need to be writing chapter 2 of Peppermint, I got really sick of all the unfinished projects I had laying around on my phone. (I read/write most fanfiction on my phone, since the small screen helps me focus and my computer is an ass.) Alright. Now, to finish chapter 3 of Triangles... Also, before I forget, let me clarify something. Just like in Hamlet or a Christmas Carol, for the events to work as I hoped, it has to be completely clear that Arthur was dead, had been dead for a while. In addition, some of you may think Alfred was being a bit dramatic, choosing to continue mourning for so long. Alfred and Arthur were raised side by side their whole life, and shared a very special bond. All Alfred's memories are of Arthur and the times they spent together. He was very affected by Arthur's death, especially considering the circumstances; wouldn't you be strongly affected as well, watching your best friend or love (unrequited or otherwise) die in your arms? Alfred feels like he'd be betraying Arthur by moving on. That's just the way he is. Please keep those things in mind. I'd really appreciate reviews; tell me what you think. If you like it, or if you think there's an aspect I need to improve on, I'd really like to know. Enough of my prattling. Thanks for reading chapter 1 of Lilith's Curse, hope to see you again.
