"Save your tears, it's not the end yet." The man emerged from the shadows, his stare as cold as his expression.

"Not the end? Not the end?! He's dead! Gone! Everything has ended for me!" Arthur wailed, tightening his hug on the motionless body that was slowing losing body heat.

He could feel his heart ache with every single beat, the blood in him ran cold as desperation filled him.

He's dead.

Alfred's dead.

Gone.

And it was all his fault.

"Say, how much do you love him?" The man asked as he walked towards Arthur, stopping when he's just a step away.

"What's the use of asking that now?" he asked, looking up at the man with red slightly swollen eyes; results of the frantic wails.

"Just answer me. How much?" He squatted down to see Arthur eye to eye, slightly grinning.

"… I'd die for him."

Yes.

Yes he'll, and it would never change. Even if Alfred's no longer with him, he'll still die for him. No. In fact, he'll die right now. Maybe, just maybe, they can meet in the other world.

"Well," The man's grin widened to a smirk. "I suppose there's no problem then. I'll let him live again, but you. You'll have to take his place in hell.

Arthur's eyes widened at the offer. Take Alfred's place? Let Alfred live again? Was that even possible? It's not some sort of sick joke right? Then again, it didn't matter. He'll take up any offer now. As long as, as long as…

"Can you really do that?" Arthur interrogated as he grabbed the man's sleeve tightly, in fear that his only possible hope might just leave him.

"Of course I can. What can't I, Satan, do?" Then man caressed Arthur's left cheek with his left hand, wiping the tears dry.

"Come, my poor lost soul. Be my child and serve me. Give me your soul, and I'll restore life to who you love dearly."

Satan? Child? Serve him?

Arthur couldn't understand half of what he had just heard. But it didn't matter, what he had understood was enough to convince him. There's nothing to lose, right?

"Yes. Yes Please. Take my soul. Take it. Just." Arthur looked down at Alfred, then at the man again, his eyes full of remorse and an unknown determination.

"Just make sure he lives. Please. Correct my wrong." He gave a rueful smile as two fresh streaks of tears rolled down his pale face.

If he didn't have that quarrel with him, if he didn't run out across the road, if he bothered to move when the truck was coming at him…If…If…

"Very well. Welcome, my new child." The man smiled, a pair of devil wings grew from the shadows behind him, wrapping themselves around Arthur and Alfred.

Arthur watched as the lights around them were sealed out and lowering his head,kissed Alfred on the forehead for one last time. He knew what's going to come, and to be honest, he wasn't surprised when something took Alfred away from him in the complete darkness.

It just felt empty.

And extremely painful.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Don't worry about your love. He'll wake up with a little bad headache and everything would be a dream to him. He won't be able to remember anything about you. I'm sure he'll live a happy life." The man's voice echoed in the darkness, reaching Arthur's ears.

His tears won't stop falling, but he kept smiling. Alfred's going to be alive again. He's changed his mistake. That was all he needed.

As long as Alfred's alive, everything will be alright. He didn't need to be remembered. Alfred will be happier without memories of him. It will just.

Well.

It'll just hurt so much.

Arthur woke to the cold tingling sensation his tears left on his cheeks. Blinking his eyes to clear the blurred vision, he stared at the pastel ceiling blankly as he recalled the dream with little efforts. Then, he sighed.

It's been almost two years since that day, and Arthur's been busy adjusting to his new identity as a demon, or the Satan's child, as some people would say it.

Being a demon really wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. He maintained his human look with the addition of horns, wings and his tail, and his hair changing red. In fact, the life of a demon was simpler than the life of a human. Besides the occasional mission of collecting some souls here and there, he's practically a free man.

And he would have enjoyed being a demon, if not for the fact that the same memory that he dreaded kept coming back to haunt him.

Having being a demon and living in hell, the world that he belonged for so long, he's forgotten almost all his human memories. But the ones related to Alfred, the ones he wanted to forget about the most, those memories stuck to him like pests.

Boy was that painful.

He's long lost count of the times he dreamt of that night, his last night as a human and the night he lost Alfred. The dream got clearer each time and by now he could even hear the dripping of Alfred's blood and his tears on the gravel road, the menacing and mocking voice of that man, and his own heart breaking. And with that, he woke up to a sweat drenched bed and tears still running down his cheeks, every single time.

Arthur's amazed that he's not crazy yet.

Then again, maybe demons were immune to losing their minds.

He heaved another deep troubled sigh and left his bed to get changed. The clock affixed on his wall showed 1 pm, but from his past experiences, he knew better than waste his efforts trying to go back to sleep.

At times like this, the best thing to do was to go back up to the human world, and try getting drunk.

…Also to purposely forget that demons can't get drunk.

Arthur was about to leave his place when he remembered that it was already December and returning back to his room, he slipped into his coat and left the place, going for that particular bar where he first met Alfred.

He can't help it. Even though he wanted to forget, part of him clung back to the memories he once shared with Alfred, as if by losing them, he'll completely lost everything precious to him.

Maybe that's why he's doomed to suffer like this.

"Welcome!" The bartender turned to smile at the new customer the moment he heard the door open and close, only to realize that it was one of the old familiar faces.

"Hey Arthur, Can't sleep again?" The bartender, Sam, gave the guy a friendly wave.

"What else?" Arthur waved back, returning the smile as he hung his coat on the clothes hanger beside the door.

Once away from hell, his demon features would automatically vanish, even his hair colour would change into its normal dirty blonde. He would look just like a human, and since he was the only bartender here, he didn't have to worry about this new bartender knowing who he actually was.

Or the fact that he's supposed to be dead.

"So, what are you having this time? Or do you want to go ahead and make your own drink?" Sam asked as he watched the Brit take his favourite sit furthest from the door in the empty bar.

Business's always like this during Winter, especially late hours.

"Tis alright, just the usual this time, I'm not really in the mood to mix anything." Waving the thought away, he simply watched as Sam started on the usual creation.

"You know, I never get why you're refusing my invitation for you to work here. I mean, you're far more skilled than me, and I really need another pair of hands here at times." Sam started as he served the drink. "It's on the house." He smiled.

"Thanks, for both the treat and the offer. But I told you Sam, I am not as free as you think I am." Rolling his eyes, Arthur shook his head as he smiled at Sam's determination.

The guy's been asking him the same question for almost a year now.

"Right, says the one who comes here at midnight almost every day. You either have a lot of time, or you don't need sleep. And if you ask me, I would say both." Sam returned the eye roll as the both of them laughed.

"Fine, I'll give it some thoughts, but nothing's guaranteed." Arthur finally decided to give in as Sam's face lit up.

They continued chatting after that, the topic varied from recent news to the best possible mix a bartender can create. And they would have eventually moved on to really mixing something up, if not for another customer's appearance.

When the door opened again this time, Sam was still the only one looking up. Arthur looked down at his drink; he didn't quite appreciate the presence of someone else in the bar. For all he knew, that someone might just be someone who knew that he's supposed to be dead.

"Brr, man it's freaking cold outside!" A cheerful and familiar voice sounded as the door closed.

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and immediately turned to look at the new customer. And oh, he could have sworn that if he had a human heart, he would be having a heart attack.

"Hey Al, a little too late compared to the usual time, no?" Sam greeted Alfred with the same amount of friendliness he showed Arthur and gestured for the American to take a seat.

"Thanks dude. Yeah well I got a little caught up with something. Who needs sleep anyway?" The blonde grinned and as he was about to sit down on the nearest seat, noticed Arthur from the corners of his eyes.

Arthur quickly looked away when Alfred looked back, feeling his face flush red. That's him alright. His Alfred. Right there, alive and the same. Except that. To Alfred, he was just another stranger.

"Caught up with something? You mean another one of your horror movies?" Sam laughed, then noticed Alfred looking at Arthur.

"Oh, dear me. How can I forget." He knocked himself on the forehead. "Alfred, that gentleman over there's Arthur, he's a regular just like you. Arthur, this is Alfred." He introduced and unknowingly forced Arthur to look back at Alfred and wave.

Arthur never thought that he would feel this awkward in his whole life.

"Now that I think of it, you two practically started becoming regulars at the same time! Oh Alfred, remember that mix you really like? Arthur taught me that, he's a really skilled bartender in disguise." Sam noted, ignorant to Arthur's obvious attempt to escape and get as little attention as possible.

"Really? Dude! That's totally cool!" Alfred's face was covered in amazement as he shifted to sit next to Arthur instead. The latter almost jumped in his seat.

Arthur couldn't understand his own feelings anymore. It's obvious that Alfred really didn't remember anything, but. Heck. Everything about him was the same and he just couldn't help but feel excited to be able to not just see, but interact with the one he loved so much.

"You two go ahead and chat; I'll go and check the stock." Sam passed Alfred his mix and disappeared into the 'staff only' room, leaving the two alone. One was happily drinking his favourite mix and the other was doing all he can to stay calm.

"So, name's Alfred F. Jones, but like Sam's said, you can just call me Alfred. You?" pushing his empty glass aside, Alfred decided to finally start a conversation with the somewhat interesting person beside him.

"Arthur Kirkland, but just Arthur will do." Arthur replied, still trying to convince himself that it's alright to look at Alfred and that he won't suddenly lose self-control and just hug Alfred or anything.

Though honestly, he really wanted to do that.

"Oh, Arthur. Cool name. Arthur. Arthur. Hmm. Arthur." Alfred started repeating Arthur's name, using a different tone each time, and actually managed to annoy Arthur

"Why, may I ask, are you bloody repeating my name for no purpose?" He finally looked up at Alfred, the little bit of annoyance kept him well and calm.

"Well you don't just meet someone called 'Arthur' anywhere. It's a really cool name, like, 'King Arthur', 'Artie' or something." Alfred explained, his eyes sparkling like a five year old that just caught his first butterfly.

The Brit on the other hand was not amused as he felt his eye twitch.

"But you know, even though I'm sure this is my first time meeting someone called Arthur." Alfred smiled at Arthur, "Something in me tells me that I am really used to calling this name."

Arthur's eyes widened upon Alfred's words as unknown feelings filled him. Even if all memories of him were being erased...

"M-maybe you heard it from some TV series or something." He stuttered, taking a sip of
his drink.

"Hmm..? You think so? I don't think it works that way though. It's like, your name somehow rings a bell, but I just don't know what." Alfred continued to explained, and as he voice trailed off, he suddenly noticed something that made him blush a little.

"D-don't get me wrong! I'm not trying any weird pickup line or anything! You are a nice person and even though we just met, it feels like I've known you for a long time. But err… I don't mean what I said in err. Um…" Alfred stuttered, trying to explain things as he observed Arthur's expression.

"I… Just made it more confusing, didn't I?" he asked, and as the Brit nodded, sighed.

"Erm… haha… Let's talk about something else." Alfred suggested as he pulled a sheepish smile.

"Well then, mind telling me why you are in a bar at…" Arthur looked down at his watch. "3 AM in the morning?"

"Dude I want to know that too, Sam once told me that there' a regular who loves coming at midnight and stuff, that's got to be you right? Why are you always here? You know, besides drinking."

"Excuse me? I asked you first, didn't I?" After talking for quite a bit, Arthur had, surprisingly, found himself automatically interacting with Alfred like how they used to.

It's like some things never change no matter what you do.

"Oh, right. My bad." Alfred shrugged. "I don't really drink much, but when I walk past this bar, there's just this feeling that tells me that. Well… That this bar means something to me. Before I knew it, I became a regular!"

"I suppose we are pretty similar, this place is pretty important to me. Here's where I first met the idiot who soon turned out to be the most important person in my life." He said with a slight smile.

"Woa, man, that's cool. It must be nice to have someone you love." Alfred exclaimed with a sigh.

"…Don't you have one?" Arthur raised a brow, knowing that Alfred's definitely got the charms and whatever's needed for a relationship. Though, it might seem selfish, but he was secretly happy that Alfred wasn't in a relationship with anyone else.

"Not really. There were a few ladies who asked, but I just don't think that any of them is the one I'm looking for. But to be honest, I have no idea who I'm looking for at all. I'm actually hoping that I could find the person for me here in this bar. Since, you know, my heart obviously wants me here." He smiled and looked up at the bar's ceiling.

"Huh…" Arthur looked down at the table and took another sip of drink, ignoring the small grin that crawled up on his face.

He first met Alfred in this bar.

"Say, what happened to that love of yours?"

"Hmm? Oh, I left him." Arthur simply said, his eyes blankly staring at his glass of drink.

"What? Why?! You still love ... him, right?" Alfred immediately sat back straight to Arthur's answer, his eyes wide open and his mouth ajar.

"It's for his own good, I suppose. Of course I still love him, he's going to be the only person I love so dearly. But I had to leave him, there's no other way out of it." He sighed, smiling at himself.

"... I'm sorry for bringing that up." Alfred apologized and as Arthur nodded, the bothof them sank into silence again.

"But you know, that just gave me an idea on what my purpose here might be!" Grinning, the blonde suddenly said as he looked back at Arthur, sky blue eyes meeting the emerald green ones.

"…And what would that be?"

"To accompany you of course! As a hero, I can't just walk away from a poor and lonely soul!" Alfred nodded, sounding all determined.

"… Since when did I become the lost and lonely-"

"Don't worry dude! I may not be as great as that love of yours, but I'll at least be here when you need someone to talk to!" Alfred interrupted with a confident smile as he winked.

"... I think I was doing well talking to Sam when you budged in. Besides, what makes you think that I'm free enough to talk to you-"

"If you are free to come drink at such a late time, then you're never too busy to join me! Here!" Grabbing Arthur' left hand in one hand and his own pen in the other, he quickly scribbled some numbers on Arthur's palm.

"That's my phone number, and if you're ever lonely, you're free to call the hero anytime!" Ignoring Arthur's glares, Alfred explained, his warm and cheerful smile maintained on his face.

"Why do I even need-"

"Ahh! Look at the time! I have to go now, but remember to call me when you're lonely! See ya again, Artie!" Not giving the Brit a chance to say no, Alfred shot up from his chair, shoved the money for the drink on the table and almost literally ran out of the bar,leaving a very confused male behind.

"Phew, glad that that's over." Sam heaved a sigh of relief as he walked out of the room, holding a checklist in his hand.

"Eh? Where's Alfred? Did he leave already?" Looking up to see only Arthur, Sam asked as he looked towards the door, confirming his thought when he saw Arthur's lone coat on the coat hanger.

"Hmm... That's strange. it's not like him to leave without a goodbye." Muttering to himself, he looked back at Arthur, who was staring at his own palm, looking somewhat flustered.

"Say..." Arthur finally muttered as he looked up at Sam, managing something between a grin and a smirk.

"If I work here, can I get flexible working hours?"

Ah well. So far for being a free man. No matter. They'll meet again real soon.

Sorry my fellow fangirls. I wrote this, and i had to dump it somewhere.

Probably going to be the last Demon!Iggy I'm ever going to write. :3

And if you didn't notice, Alfred's already gotten a little crush on Arthur after their little convo. Since he's not one to take 'No' for an answer, he took the 'Give phone number and run for it' approach. /nods/

AND HORRY SHEET I AM SORRY I MISSED POCKY DAY Q_Q ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE USUK POCKY, BUT DIDN'T GET TO DO IT AFTER ALL /WAILS