Alfred stood alone in the cemetery, the wind blowing ever slightly, but just enough to think the wind is whispering.
He clutched the bouquet of Tudor roses in his hand gently so he wouldn't crush them. These flowers were his lover's favorite. They reminded his lover of England, his homeland. His pride… His home…
"You know it's funny," Alfred said in a quiet, somber tone. He decided to give up his happy, carefree attitude ever since Arthur, his lover died. He felt that there was no need to be happy anymore since he had nothing to live for.
He continued speaking, "You've been dead for a while now... years... Was it five years? Four?"
No response. He sighed, remembering his favorite memory he had with Arthur.
*Flashback*
"Artie! Hurry up dude, we're gonna be late!" Alfred called out to his English boyfriend.
"I'm almost done, Al!" Arthur said.
"You're taking way too long," Alfred said while checking his watch," the party starts in five minutes!"
"Well I'm sorry; a man has to look his best!" Arthur said putting on his jacket.
He ran downstairs meeting his American lover at the bottom. "You ready, love?"
"Sure, dude."
They walked over to their shared blue car and drove over to the party. Said party was hosted by Gilbert, a self proclaimed "Prussian" known for his trademark laugh and distinctive albino look. He was a loud, obnoxious, and arrogant man, but was one of Alfred's best friends.
They arrived at the party and saw that it was already going wild.
Pretty much every guest was drunk. For instance, Matthias, Alfred's loud Danish friend was trying to have a drunk make-out session with his "best friend" Lukas, a quiet, stoic Norwegian. That didn't turn out well for Matthias since he had a broken jaw and a black eye by the end of it...
"ALRIGHT, UNAWESOME PARTY PEOPLE!" Gilbert shouted, "VE ARE PLAYING SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN...RIGHT NOW!"
He dragged everyone, including Arthur and Alfred to make a circle around an empty beer bottle lying on its side. Gilbert spun the bottle once, landing on Tino, a cheerful Finnish man. He spun it again and it landed on Berwald, a tall, intimidating Swedish man who rarely spoke.
Tino's face turned a ghostly white as Berwald took his hand and walked over to the closet. "Help me..." Tino squeaked out of nervousness just before the closet door shut.
"Alfred..." Arthur said tugging on the American's jacket.
"Yeah?"
"I'm bored. I'm going to go outside."
"Wait... I'll go with you."
He nodded as they walked outside from the loud atmosphere of the party to the big, serene backyard of the German mansion. Arthur sat down by an ornate, giant white marble fountain.
"Fun party right?" Alfred asked jokingly.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Very."
"It reminds me of that party I met you at."
"The one the Dane hosted on Christmas two years ago?"
"Yeah! The one with the spiked eggnog I think. Remember how wasted everyone was?"
"How could I not forget? Everyone was bloody loud and acting like such wankers!"
"But those 'wankers' you speak of indirectly got us together... Which reminds me… I have been dying to give you something."
"If it's a hamburger, forget it."
"It's not. I promise... Arthur, I love you. You know that right?"
Arthur nodded and listened.
"I feel like we shouldn't be boyfriend and boyfriend anymore..."
"...if that's what you want, I'm fine with that. It's not like I care anyways..." Arthur said trying to hold back his sadness, "good bye, you bloody git."
Just as Arthur stood up to leave, Alfred grabbed his wrist and pulled the English man back.
"Artie, that's not what I meant..." Alfred said laughing lightly.
"Just spit it out."
"I love you, Arthur Kirkland. I want to take our relationship to the next level."
He took out a black box from his jacket. He got down on one knee and opened the box, revealing a simple silver ring.
"Will you marry me?"
Arthur felt his eyes get teary. He breathed in to answer.
"Yes."
Alfred smiled and slipped the ring on Arthur's finger. He gave him a hug and a peck on the lips.
"I love you, Arthur. Forever and ever."
*Present*
Those were happy times for Alfred, he was loud, carefree, cheerful, and handsome at that time. But ever since Arthur's death, he has been depressed, quiet, and isolated. His appearance took a toll as well, his once golden blonde hair was knotted and a mousy brown due to dirt and he had prominent bags under his eyes due to insomnia.
"I really miss you, you know... You were always there for me..."
Alfred felt tears come up at the corners of his eyes.
"Where are you now? I still can't believe that you're dead... I feel like you're still part of me."
A single tear traveled down Alfred's cheek. He wiped it away only to realize he has been crying a lot more.
"I know you said that I shouldn't cry for you... But it's just so hard not to. I've been in so much pain since you died... I really wish that it was me that died. You didn't deserve it. It wasn't your time to go anyway... Curse time for taking you away."
*Flashback*
Arthur and Alfred were now a happily married couple. They lived in a big, modern loft in New York; which was newly furnished and painted. They were on a date. Today was the fifth anniversary of their marriage; and they wanted to celebrate.
They were going to the Central Park for their anniversary.
It starts raining when they were outside after the date. Arthur hates the rain. They run fast. Arthur starts laughing at the American for he has not been exercising lately. They found a nearby vacant phone booth and decided to use it as a temporary shelter. The atmosphere was all happy then suddenly, out of the blue, Arthur whispers: "Alfred... I have something to tell you"
|| You used to captivate me by your resonating light
|| Now, I'm bound by the life you left behind
|| Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
|| Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
|| These wounds won't seem to heal,
|| this pain is just too real
|| There's just too much that time cannot erase
*Present*
"What you told me then…" Alfred clutched the bouquet of flowers he was holding with force, but still tried to keep it in tact, "Still hurts me every time I play that scene over and over. The way your cute and innocent smile turning into a depressed and wounded one. I can never forget that face. It made me feel as if my whole world just flipped up-side down." The American was still holding the bouquet of flowers with force and a petal fell ever so softly onto the ground.
*Flashback*
"What is it, Arthur? What's the matter?" Alfred questioned his beloved, who was whimpering onto the American's chest. Arthur looked deeply into Alfred's eyes, which were full of concern. He saw his own reflection on Alfred's eyes and cried even harder.
"C'mon, honey. You can tell me anything. Did you do something wrong? Did someone hurt you?" Alfred questioned Arthur once more while wiping away the stream of tears that built up on Arthur's cheeks. Arthur tried to get the words out of his mouth. He was not sure how to put it simply to Alfred.
"Do you remember when I went to the doctor's four months ago?" Arthur stuttered as he tried to explain.
"Yeah, I was at work that day, wasn't I?" Arthur nodded at Alfred's response. "What of it? What did the doctor say to you?"
"The doctor said…" Arthur choked on his words and tried again, "The doctor said that all of the symptoms I have been feeling lead to leukemia… He said that there is no hope for me since it has progressed too far into my body…"
*Present*
"I wish I could've done something to help you. I wish I could've seen that you were not feeling well, much earlier. I felt so powerless. I felt so weak. I was so angry at the world and at myself." Alfred felt tears slide down against his cheeks once more. "I'm sorry Arthur! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I did everything I could! But it still wasn't it enough, was it! I'm sorry!" Alfred yelled repeatedly toward the sky above him. The winds started blowing hard. The sky darkened, covering the sun. Rain started falling, softly at first. Then it started crying, as hard as Alfred was.
The bouquet of flowers was gripped with full strength now. The stems were slowly being bent by Alfred's strong fingers. Alfred fell onto his hands and knees and crushed the flowers between his hand and the ground, ruining them. "I wasn't good enough." The wind shrieked onto the field. The petals, which were now slowly separating themselves from its main body, flew in the air, being carried by the harsh winds into the unknown.
*Flashback*
Arthur lay in the hospital bed, his eyes fighting to stay open.
"Arthur... Please... Stay with me!" Alfred nearly shouted, hot tears threatening to spill over.
"Oh Alfred... There's no need to shout..." Arthur chuckled almost inaudibly.
"But... you're dying Arthur... I don't want you to leave me..." Alfred said averting his eyes from the painful sight before him.
"Alfred, look at me."
Alfred turned his head towards Arthur. Arthur gently squeezed Alfred's hand, and shakily put Alfred's ringed hand to his lips. He gave Alfred a wounded and forlorn smile. "Don't cry for me, Alfred. You know you'll see me again. Until then; Ill be waiting for you. Thanks for the journey in this world. We'll start our next one beyond the heavens."
With that, Arthur's breathing ceased and his emerald green eyes closed, never to be seen again.
*Present*
"Please Arthur... come back to me…"
*Time Skip*
May 23rd. It used to be the day Alfred looked forward to celebrating with his beloved; but it had no purpose now since Arthur has been gone for a while now.
Alfred woke up, feeling weak due to not eating for days. He just never had the energy to eat or do anything anymore. Every second he felt himself chip away, piece by piece like paint. Alfred knew he was going to die sooner or later. Alfred smiled weakly, something he hasn't done in the past few years.
"Arthur…" he rasped almost inaudibly, "I can't wait to see you again… after all these years… I'm coming back… I missed you."
He shakily put his hands to his lips, kissing the silver band that encircled his ring finger. A bright light came into his vision and he followed it until the brightness took him away from the mortal world.
A man in the distance started walking towards Alfred. Alfred's eyes widened and he ran over and embraced the man tightly. The man hugged back and pulled away, smiling a true, genuine smile making his emerald green eyes sparkle.
Alfred grinned and felt tears pool up in his azure eyes.
"Hi, Alfred. It's been a while. I've missed you."
The man cupped Alfred's cheek and kissed him on the lips. Alfred returned the kiss and pulled away, their foreheads touching each other.
"I love you, Arthur."
"Forever and ever."