He could barely see anything. He hadn't seen Arthur since the kitchen disappearance act, but he supposed that he was on the roof. That was what Elizaveta had said at least. He climbed the spiral staircase, slowly and methodically. Tiredness was within his bones, but he couldn't sleep. He had always thought that the expression too tired to sleep was just an expression, but now… well, lets just say, he had seen the light.

He came to a door and paused, staring at it in tired amazement. After a little bit of consideration he placed his hand on the cold handle and opened the door that might of been over a hundred years old. The hinges were old, but they didn't make a sound as the door swung open. He stared out on to the courtyard on the roof. He was only guided by the light of a half formed moon, but the darkness didn't frighten. Before he had met Arthur all he had done was converse with the darkness and it continued to flatter him. He had never been scared of the darkness, just the things that lurked within it.

The courtyard was big and flat, but Arthur was nowhere in sight. Alfred moved out of the doorway, a cool night breeze ruffling his hair. He subconsciously hoped that Arthur wasn't too cold. The fresh air filled his lungs and he closed his eyes, feeling ever so slightly at peace.

"Arthur" His voice was barely a whisper. "Artie" His voice was louder now, but not by much. He didn't want to disturb the night's silence. He owed so much to the darkness, he didn't want to shatter it's trademark. Still he yearned for a company only Arthur could provide. "Arthur" he still couldn't summon his voice louder than talking volume.

From somewhere off in the darkness he heard a snort, the type of snort you would expect of a dragon. In one of the far corners of the courtyard was a tall tower. Tall enough to hold Rapunzel, perhaps taller. If he remembered correctly Elizaveta had referred to it as the north tower. How daunting, tall and black. Right at the top was a little place where a beacon fire must of once been lit. Tall pillars, held a pointed roof above the beacon, like a shelter. The dragon's perch. Alfred could only just see its outline, but he craned his head to look up at it anyway. Just as he did a great figure emerged from the beacon and onto the roof. Arthur looked like something from a child fairytale. His wings were still spread, only enhancing his magnificence. Alfred's breath left him as he stared at this creature of great splendour.

He heard Arthur growl, so waking up a sleeping beast really was waking up a sleeping beast. Arthur launched himself into the air and Alfred gasped. The dragon's wings beat down upon the air as he landed, with another growl. His claws scrapped the stone of the count yard and Alfred was forced to notice how sharp and long they were. Arthur really was a man of mass destruction. He was so powerful, but he wasn't invincible. He was far from invincible. He was practically human in that sense. Before he had descended to sleep on the drawing room couch he had been trying to find bathroom only to discover a great library right at the back of the castle. Going on a whim he had searched for books of dragons, thinking that perhaps a library owned by a mythical might have some actual facts about mythicals. He had only found a single book, with the label 'dragons'. It looked like an elderly book and as he had pulled it open he had forced his fingers to me gentle. He had flipped to a random page and read the passage. Apparently while Arthur was in his human form he had no way to heal himself and hips body was as frail as the beings it mirrored. So while Arthur was human he was weak. He could use what powerful magic he had, but he was fragile and unable to heal himself. He was breakable.

Alfred, a voice cooed into his mind, what are you doing here?

Alfred almost shuddered, but he recognised that voice. That voice like velvet. Arthur's dragon voice was a little different from his human voice. It was deeper and gentler. Arthur began to walk around him. His long scaled tail slithering past the other man's bare feet.

"I couldn't sleep so I came to find you" Alfred said triumphantly. He felt rather proud of himself for now being scared of something as terrifying as Arthur. He didn't turn as Arthur skulked around him, his wings now held to his body.

You couldn't sleep, so you decided to wake me up?

The dragon seemed to raise an eye brow at his response. Even in the darkness Alfred could tell he was annoyed.

"Oh come on Artie. You were going to wake up anyway. I just helped" the dragon huffed disapprovingly, but also seemed to shrug. He came to stand in front of Alfred. He lowered his head to the man, his eyes blinking slowly. He was still quite annoyed about being woken up, but he didn't mind the company.

What do you want?

Alfred reached his hands up to Arthur's face, his fingers, scratching under Arthur's chin. The dragon shook his head with a faint growl.

"Ha ha, Artie. You ask that like you care"

Don't call me that

With one great leap, Arthur leapt into the air.

"Hey, where are you going dude?" Alfred asked frantically. He didn't want to be abandoned that soon. He still wished to converse with the dragon.

There is a door and I feel no need to carry you

Arthur's head gestured to the small door Alfred could barely make out at the base of the tower.

"Oh"

Alfred, how did you die?

Arthur knew what he was picking at. It was a well know fact that wizards are only able to resurrect a person if they had died a cowardly death. Alfred was curled against Arthur's belly one of his wings covering him and keeping him warm in the chill of the night. Alfred frowned deeply,

"Why do you ask?" It was a little odd talking out loud when you're answering someone talking inside your head, but Alfred had long gotten used to it. He looked to Arthur, his head was leaning down on his front paws, his insightful green eyes sparkling with knowledge.

Curiosity, now answer the question

Alfred sighed, Arthur was being too persistent. His attempt to distract the dragon had failed and now he was left with those emerald eyes twinkling in the fire Arthur had lit.

"It happen when I was 22. Ha, it was so long ago" he settled back, trying to get himself relaxed. This was Arthur, he was only judgemental about the things that didn't matter. It was fine. Still Alfred couldn't help the gnawing feeling in his chest. That sadness he always had. "I got stabbed… by a mugger. I was coming home from a uni class, I was taking law and I wanted to get home real quick. My brother had gone home a few minutes before me, but I couldn't see him ahead. I… I just figured he got a lift from his boyfriend. I was walking past an ally and I heard a scream, so I looked in. My brother… my Mattie died because I ran away. I could of saved him, but I was too scared. One of the muggers ran after me a stabbed me in the chest three times. It took me four minutes to die" Alfred lift up his shirt and showed Arthur the scars if where the knife had entered his body. Arthur watched on in thoughtful silence, his emerald eyes looking at them without judgement or thought. "I loved him very much, I did. But I was cowardly and now I gotta be the hero. I gotta be brave" Alfred's eyes glimmered in the low light.

Be quiet Alfie. You've started butchering the English language.

Arthur nuzzled Alfred neck and Alfred laughed weakly, reaching his hands up and running his fingers over Arthur's soft, warm scales. Never did he think he would be having midnight conversations with the last dragon alive in a tower that belonged to a castle somewhere in the middle of Austria.

"Alfie? Does this mean I get to call you Artie?" Arthur gave him a cross look and knocked his large head against Alfred's to scold him.

No.

Alfred laughed again and Arthur replaced his head back onto his front claws.

Sleep now git

"Boys! Wake up, you adorable idiots!" A sing song voice echoed up the spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower. The sound of a wooden spoon being banged onto a fry pan came stomping up to the slumbering beasts. By this time Arthur had reverted to his human form in his sleep and the view was quite different from what it had been that night.

Elizaveta stood in the door way still banging her fry pan with a huge smile on her face, just from the sight of him. Alfred was using Arthur's shoulder as a pillow, with his hands folded over his stomach. Arthur lay on his tummy his head still resting on his hands. Unfortunately Arthur's wings had decided that they would stick around for a little longer than everything else. They still stretched as far as before, partially covering Alfred as they sprouted from under Arthur's shoulder blades.

"What…?" Alfred muttered, rubbing his eyes groggily and wondering where his glasses had gotten to. He heard Arthur give a hearty yawn and snort some smoke and he could fell Arthur's heart beating beneath his head. Such a stubborn heartbeat for such a stubborn person.

"Good morning, Elizaveta. Please go back to bed" Arthur sounded dry and Alfred felt the need to ask why. Then he noticed that the sun was only just starting to appear of the horizon and he felt dry too.

"But, Arthur!" The woman whined like she was a little girl. "You have to get everyone up, I can't do it by myself"

"Elizaveta, I am not an alarm clock" then Alfred got it. Elizaveta wanted to get Arthur to roar so everyone will wake up. Alfred grinned and squinted at the woman hovering just above the cold stone floor. She was blurry without his glasses.

"Well" Elizaveta gained the evil, scheming look if someone pulling out their secret weapon. "I hope you haven't forgotten our little bet, my dear. Because I certainly haven't" Alfred felt Arthur tense beneath him and his wings twitched violently. Then, suddenly, he wasn't where he had previously been. Instead he was suspended in the air with Arthur's arms around his chest. The wind was blowing and Arthur was yelling and beating his wings against the air in a frantic attempt to keep them from falling. Alfred then noticed that he was slipping through Arthur's struggling arms and he was also going to throw up.

"Arthur!" His scream thankfully didn't fall I deaf ears. Arthur was still yelling at Elizaveta who had begun to yell back, but his arms tightened around the larger man's torso. Alfred frantically tried to scramble up Arthur's thin frame. He twisted himself around and clung to Arthur's neck, his hoarse screams pulling the dragon away from his heated argument.

"Okay fine" he heard Arthur mutter. He was then promptly dropped on the coned roof of the become tower. He wrapped his arms around its black spire for dear life.

"Leave me alone, woman!" He heard Arthur yell. "I'll roar! I'll roar, just leave me alone! God dammit!" And with that a loud sound rumbled out of Arthur and Alfred was force to shiver with it's power and it's volume. It was a lot clearer now that the source was just below him. The tower shuddered with it force. It was amazing. Brutal and gentle and confronting and hiding and all. It was so amazing all the fear melted out of him and his previous panic dissipated into the cool morning air.

"Jesus Christ" he muttered to himself as he wrapped his legs around the spire. He heard the large wooden door slam with triumph. Arthur fluttered up to the roof soon after.

He seated himself in the roof a little way away from Alfred, grumbling unhappily to himself. He wrapped his arm around his knees and placed his chin upon them, his wings were quivering with anger and fright. As they shivered Alfred noticed the sharp horns that spiked at certain places around the rim of his wings. They were sharp and pearly white, made specifically for battle. That's what Arthur was, wasn't he? He was a creature born on the offence. Born to be in battle and win against all the odds. Alfred sighed.

"You could of put me done inside the beacon you know" Alfred said disapprovingly, still clinging to the spire. He didn't particularly like being deposited three hundred meters in the air on a sloping surface. At least Arthur had wings, if Alfred fell he would land at the same pace.

"No, I couldn't" Arthur didn't looked back at him, but still huffed at his words. "I would never let you down there with that woman. She probably hold you hostage or something"

"I'm touched" Alfred said sarcastically. He saw Arthur smile softly. Very slowly he eased himself down to Arthur until they were sitting next to the smaller man. Alfred shivered and wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Arthur looked to him in horror only to find the man's head resting on his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing, wanker?!" He screeched. Arthur would of tried to push him away had he not of been wary of his abilities to catch a large, lean, falling man. It was too risky even for someone with the abilities Arthur controlled.

"I'm holding you" Alfred looked up at him and then away again, unfortunately he wasn't quick enough for Arthur's reptilian eyes to not catch the faint red on his cheeks.

"Why?" It was a totally fair question.

"Because I'm freezing and I suspect that you have a fire in there somewhere and I intend for it to keep me warm" Arthur didn't know whether to be impressed that Alfred had said something actually intelligent and logical or horrified that he was being used as a heat source. Instead he did neither, opting instead to just ignore the other man's presence entirely. Alfred seemed content with that.

"Hey Artie?" Or not.

"What? And don't call me that, you git" Alfred grinned, tightening his arms around the small waist of Arthur. Alfred loved it when Arthur got annoyed. He was just so much fun to wind up.

"What bet was Elizaveta talking about?" Arthur slid a look over to him, but seemed to soften. Another thing he liked about Arthur.

"Well, a few centuries ago we made a bet that if I ever came back to this house I would have to…" he trailed off, his cheeks burning. Obviously it was bad. "I would have to kiss Yao" Arthur buried his face into his knees and Alfred laughed softly, but then felt a jab at his chest.

"You won't actually do it, right?" He asked fearfully, somehow managing to smother a brief stutter.

"No!" Arthur wailed as if he was opposed to even the thought. "I would never kiss that asian wanker. God, Alfie. Never ever" Alfred laughed with relief.

"Well, I can't have my dragon going around kissing people, can I? It would ruin my reputation" Arthur scoffed and was reduced to a stuttering, blubbering mess. He was obviously astounded by Alfred's choice of words.

"I do not belong to you Alfred!" was all he could manage. Alfred pushed his nose into the soft crook of Arthur's warm neck.

"Sure you do" Alfred said light heartedly, his voice muffled by Arthur's soft skin. How do you get skin so soft? It was like feathers smoothed out. So lovely. So reserved. After a little while Arthur's head rested on Alfred's hair and they both began to watch the sun rise on the horizon. Both their faces alight with the orange glow.

"Hey, look" Arthur said softly. He raised his head and pointed. Alfred dragged his eyes away from tentative sun, trying very hard to focus on the balcony Artie was pointing at without his glasses. He could just make out two figures. Noticing his squint, Arthur brought his glasses out from the inner pocket of his waist coat and held them out to him. Alfred rushly put them on, sitting up properly and removing his arms from around Arthur, much to his own personal dismay.

"Roma and Old Man Fritz" Alfred said, in conformation. "Isn't it a little early for drinking?" The two older men were sitting together in their pyjamas, Roma with a glass of red wine, Old Man Fritz with a mug of golden beer. Arthur laughed at his observation.

"It's never too early for those two. Ever"

"I've been meaning to ask, what is with those two? I mean, mostly Roma. Why are his kids from all over the place?" Arthur nodded understandingly.

"Feli and Lovi are his real grandkids, their parents died about a year ago. They stayed here for a few mouths while they tried to track down Roma who was in Spain with me at the time. He adopted Francis from France cause he's parents didn't want him after he had been bitten when he was three. He adopted Antonio two years later for the same reason. Now he just considers all of them his boys. He loves them very very much" Arthur nodded to himself, still looking at the werewolf and the elvish man.

"And so do you" Alfred finished for him.

"And so do I" Arthur said laughing. "Anyway, while Feli and Lovi were staying here Feli met HRE who's Old Man Fritz's youngest. Through them Roma and Fritz met. They had known each other way back, so it was more of a reunion. They're really good friends"

"What about Fritz's kids?" Curiosity picked at him. Wanting to know more about the strange group of people gathered in the castle.

"As far as I know he has three boys. Two of them are all grown up now. The eldest, Roderich, is the man who fell prey to the prank and he's Elizaveta's husband. The middle child is a man named Vash who always seems to be carrying a gun. I think that he and his adoptive little sister will be arriving today. Then the youngest is HRE who is a huge fan of Feli's. He's the little blond boy, that is always clad in black" Arthur laughed to himself at the thought, but Alfred looked at him confused.

"What about the white haired boy?"

"Ah, well thats very complicated. Did you see Ivan's family's servants?" Alfred nodded. "Well, Gilbert is their brother, but they already have Ravis, the brown haired boy, to take care of so they try to make sure that Fritz looks after them. Its not surprising, given how much of an attachment he has to Roderich and Elizaveta" Arthur was smiling, so Alfred smiled in turn.

"What about the other children? Tell me about them"

"Well, there's Yao's brothers and Mei. He's the oldest and after him is Kiku, who turned three thousand and four last week. Like Roma's boys there all from different parts of Asia. Yao's Chinese and Kiku is Japanese. The third oldest is Leon, whose from Hong Kong and good friends with the youngest of the vampires, Emil. He also knows so pretty badass kung-fu. After him is the second youngest, Mei, who I think just turned nine. Then there's Yong So who just turned six. The only child left is my nephew…" He trailed off and Alfred turned to him only to see one of the saddest expressions he had ever seen. His heard jammed into his throat at the sight. "His name is Peter… and he is my late brother's child" Alfred looked at him confused. He had spoken to the boy Peter, he had barely been pushing twelve. And Arthur was the last of the dragons, how could he have a brother with a son? ,You see, I have only been the last of the dragons for a short while"

Author's notes:

ah, yet another chapter finished and done with. Tis is my favourite story and thank you all for the reviews and follows and favourites. It really motivates me to write more. Expect that this story will go on for a little longer. I am far too attached to abandon.

With love,

Clementine