Hello everyone! Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate them, so feel free to let me know what you think of the story, especially what you like/dislike. As for the story itself, I can say for sure now that there will be seventeen chapters plus a short epilogue at the end! Thank you for reading until this chapter, and I really hope that you guys stick with me until the end ^u^

Once again, the english translation of Magnet is taken from vocalyrics*wikia*com/wiki/Magnet

(replace * with .)

"Hell..." Arthur was at a loss for words. It made sense - where else would demons come from? - but it was still a bit much to take in. To suddenly be forced to believe that hell existed, that there were other places from Earth...it jolted Arthur from his reality and opened the long-lost doorway to his childhood memories and fantasies. But he made himself concentrate on the situation at hand, trying to organize his mind.

He had been living with demons. From hell.

And Alfred was one of them.

Gilbert grinned. "Yeah. From hell. We're not meant to be here. But Liz and I, we pulled a few strings."

"Many strings," Alfred grunted, snorting.

"Many strings," Gilbert conceded. "And we managed to escape. We had to."

"For what purpose?"

Gilbert fell silent. Alfred looked at Gilbert stonily, shaking his head.

"He's mad," Alfred said, referring to Gilbert. "More insane than I am." But something in the tone of Alfred's voice made Arthur look at him closely. It almost seemed as if Alfred himself didn't know the reason, although the theory seemed a bit strange. After all, all three of them seemed to be on the same page. Or were they?

Gilbert cackled. "Thanks, man."

Elizaveta coughed, slowly cracking open her eyes. Her gaze landed on Arthur, who immediately straightened and rushed to her side.

"Elizaveta! Are you all right?"

"Fine, Arthur dear...a-are you all right?"

Arthur blinked. "Of course I am." Sometimes it was hard to believe that Elizaveta was actually a demon, considering how kind and caring she seemed to be. Of course, she wasn't like that with Gilbert, but Gilbert seemed to be a sort of exception.

She smiled at him. "Is that so...I was worried, I thought something happened...you and Al, together..."

Alfred and Arthur exchanged glances. They had already settled it; no point in bringing it up.

"No, we just...Alfred wanted a tour of the town, so..."

Elizaveta frowned. "He always goes into town...why would he need a tour?"

This was news. "For what?"

Elizaveta sighed. "He gets bored, our Al. Sometimes drinks. Sometimes girls. Sometimes he just wants a good fight."

Arthur's eyes fell a bit. Girls? "O-Oh, is that so...well, he wanted to see my work, and the like..."

Elizaveta's gaze hardened. "You went back?"

"Oh, just a cursory glance on the way to the pharmacy. In any case, you really should be resting..." Arthur responded hurriedly, easing her back into a resting position. She didn't need to worry about this.

"You didn't leave." Elizaveta looked brighter all of a sudden, her eyes sparkling. "You came back."

Arthur hadn't had a choice, with Alfred by his side, but he knew better than to admit that. "Yes. I came back."

Because he knew that, even without Alfred, his decision would have been the same.

Because their fates were already intertwined.

Arthur shifted uncomfortably for what seemed like the hundredth time. He was lounging on a library chair as he read a novel, and through the edge of his vision he could see Alfred sitting on the chair opposite him, staring at him.

Endlessly.

Arthur could feel himself grow redder with each second, until he finally put his book down, frustrated. Was this a new sort of harassment?

"If you want something from me, out with it!" he spluttered, glaring at the demon.

"I don't want anything," Alfred said casually, a grin on his face. "Am I bothering you?"

He didn't want to admit it. That he was bothered by Alfred's gaze. "N-No, I was just concerned that you were...bored...or something."

"Thank you for your concern."

Arthur glared at him again before glancing down at his book.

"...But he had betrayed her again.

'How could you?!' she cried, her eyes smeared with tears as she tossed accusation after accusation at him. 'After all we've been through!'

He had nothing to say in his defense, save for a shameful glance at the man standing next to him.

His lover."

Arthur choked on his tea, snapping the book shut, his eyes wide.

Alfred looked at him with concern, an amused grin on his face.

"You okay?"

"P-Perfectly all right," Arthur managed, unsettled.

That was the first time...he had ever read anything about...about those sorts of people. That...preferred men.

That he would never admit. Honestly, how did that book even get published? Nowhere in Alar would any bookseller sell those sorts of books!

"Didn't like what you read?"

"I-It was all right...trite, though. Not really worth reading," he babbled as he stood up to put it back on the shelf. But Alfred quickly cornered him, snatching the book from him.

"Alfred-"

"Hmm...Blood to Roses, huh..." Alfred grinned. "Looks like my next read."

Arthur's face flushed. He had only gotten about a hundred pages in, but...he silently prayed that Alfred didn't have the attention span to get that far. "Alfred, it isn't worth your time!"

"Sure it is, sure it is!" Alfred responded cheerfully as he sat back down again, humming to himself as he opened the cover.

"You demon."

"Guilty as charged."

Arthur cursed under his breath as he scavenged for another quick novel to distract him.

"Really, I don't know what I was thinking when I picked that book up. Completely out of my character," he muttered, more to Alfred than himself as he searched the shelves.

Gilbert suddenly burst into the room, his eyes scanning the space for Arthur.

"Art, buddy, would ya c'mere a sec?"

Arthur peered from between the shelves, then made his way over to Gilbert. "Yes?"

"Great." He followed Gilbert into the hallway, closing the door behind them so Alfred wouldn't hear.

"S-So, uh...this may be awkward for you, but...we don't really have a lot of time here, and Liz isn't doin' that well..."

Arthur frowned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" He prayed her condition hadn't become worse. Surely the medicine would have started to work by now? Or did it not work on demons?

"No, not to do with you..." Gilbert frowned, his skin paler than usual. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he seemed panicked. "Uh, just a quick question. Don't think too much about it. Say the first thing that comes into your head. Let's do a practice round. Do you have any siblings?"

"...Yes." Arthur hated to recall them. "I do."

Gilbert groaned. "You're slow as fuck, Arthur! I said immediately! Quickly! First thing!"

Arthur blinked several times, taken aback. "All right."

"Favorite flower!"

"Roses."

Gilbert smiled weakly. "Yeah, more like that. Okay. One more warm up."

"Gilbert, what is the point of this-"

"Favorite drink!"

"I do enjoy tea."

"Great! Are you in love with Al-I mean, anyone?"

Arthur's blood ran cold. "Pardon?"

"Are you in love with anyone?" Gilbert asked shamelessly, impatiently, his eyebrows furrowed. "Come on, I said quickly!"

"I..." Arthur's tongue suddenly felt like leather in his mouth.

Was he? Love...a flash of blond, a hint of blue, that warm feeling that Alfred gave him...but all of a sudden that demon was there too, his infuriating gaze, his insufferable arguments and the way he smiled...

Arthur's gaze fell to the ground as his face grew red.

Gilbert sighed. "Please, I'm begging ya, Art...for once in your life can you just be honest?"

It wasn't possible. He was...he was a man, and a demon, and he was everything that shouldn't be, and Arthur just felt so confused...

"A-And if I was?" he managed after a while, glaring at Gilbert. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you want to free him?"

"Excuse me?"

"The guy you like. Do you want to free him?"

"How do you know the person is a male? I'll have you know -"

"I told you in the beginning I don't have time for this kinda shit, Art. Figure it out. The clock is ticking."

With that, Gilbert pushed past him, leaving Arthur standing dumbfounded in the corridor.

It was a risk. It was stupid. It was quite possibly one of the worst ideas - besides Francis - that Arthur had had in his life.

But he had to give it a try.

He had checked the clock several times and waited until 11:50 to walk to Alfred's room, silently ascending the stairs as he tiptoed across the wooden floorboards. He prayed that Gilbert and Elizaveta had decided not to stalk - sorry, guard - him that night, considering that they were both feeling under the weather.

He paused to listen for noise before he quietly knocked on Alfred's door.

He paused. Knocked again.

His heart practically jumping out of his chest, he knocked a third time, praying, wishing, hoping...

And finally, he heard the bedsprings creak, muffled footsteps approaching him.

And the door opened.

Green met blue.

"Alfred," Arthur whispered. "Please. Let me in."

Alfred's eyes widened as he reached for Arthur hesitantly, his fingers gliding over his cheeks, down his neck, his shoulders, and finally down his arms to his hands. He slowly led Arthur in without a word, shutting the door firmly behind him and locking it.

Arthur looked around the room, noting the austere furniture, the lack of color, and the rigid organization. It was almost the opposite of what he had expected of Alfred. The demon Alfred, at least. He quickly turned on the lamp so he could see better, and found Alfred tracing his movement with his eyes.

"Can you see...can you see me?" Arthur asked tentatively, walking towards him again. It was impossible, of course...Alfred had said he was blind, after all. But the previous time they had met, Alfred had mentioned something about seeing blobs of color...

"I was...I was thinking about you. I am thinking about you. Always."

His voice was so soft, so broken, and Arthur felt his heart twinge in pain. He knew he had to bring it up, or they would never talk about it. Best to be straightforward, however hard it was. "Alfred...the song you sang to me last time, I...I always hear it, in my head. Especially when I'm around you. I hear fragments, and they're gone as soon as they come but it's always there." He looked up, his eyes a bit moist. "Tell me. What is that song?"

Alfred's eyes widened, a new light in them. "You remember? You remember it?"

"I-I don't think that counts as remembering, but it...resurfaces. Just fragments."

Alfred smiled sadly. "That's our song, Arthur."

Our song?

"I don't know how long it's been..." Alfred trailed off, rubbing his hands together. "If you don't remember..." He frowned. "No, I...you told me before, you told me that..." He gripped his head, as if he were in pain. "No..."

Arthur rushed to him, helping him over to the bed and easing him down so that the two were sitting next to each other on the side of the bed.

"Alfred, listen to me. For most of the day...at least, since I've been here, you've...during the day, your appearance changes, and you...you're a demon. I saw...you have wings, too, and you don't seem to remember what you go through when you're...like this. And I think the reverse is true as well."

Alfred's eyes widened miserably. "I know. I feel...sometimes I get glimpses. Of what I did. Of who...of who I hurt. And I hate it, and I try to push it away..."

"Are you a demon now?"

"No!" Alfred exclaimed, whirling on Arthur, his eyes desperate. "No, I...I'm like you. I'm a human."

"And...at night, you become like this again?" It was like some sort of fairy tale.

"N-Not every night. I think...since I saw you again, it's been happening almost every night, but..." Alfred's hands reached for him again, but he suddenly drew back. "No. I can't hurt you. Not again. Don't worry about me, it'll be fine, I can figure it out -"

"Well clearly you can't!" Arthur exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowed. "Alfred, I..." His voice softened. "Rely on me more. I know...I know there's a lot I don't know, and...I don't know what you've been through, but I can't...I can't bear to see you go through this sort of pain. It's as if you're torturing yourself."

Alfred smiled bitterly. "I deserve it. I deserve all of it, and worse -"

"I will slap you if you say that again."

Alfred's eyes widened in surprise. "That's so mean!" He pretended to look offended.

Arthur grinned. "Is it? Then let me help you, and I won't. I assure you, I'm a perfect gentleman."

Alfred snorted. "As if."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, I can recall tons of times you went totally ballistic and broke a bottle or three...and I had to drag you home with you screaming about how you wanted to be a rockstar, and believe me, while that was cute to me I had to spend days convincing the neighbors you weren't some sort of street hoodlum -"

"What on earth are you talking about, there's no universe where I'd ever do that!"

"Well you did! I can't help it!"

"Shhh! Liz and Gilbert are sleeping!"

Alfred covered his mouth, but an amused grin still lit up his face.

"But you don't remember, Arthur," Alfred said softly, his eyes downcast. "Any of it. And...and you're still the same, but...the way you talk...it's different than before. You use the same mannerisms, but...your speech is different, somehow." He frowned. "And...if I'm a...but how..."

"Alfred, I can assure you that I have never met you before."

He winced at the harshness of his words, and he saw Alfred try to keep his expression the same, but he saw the hurt in his eyes.

"Arthur...no, I guess it's impossible to ask you..."

"What?" Arthur asked gently.

"How long has it been? Of course, you wouldn't know that..."

"Alfred, do you think..." Arthur began after a while, his mind racing. "Alfred, what did you do?" Fear clenched in his throat. His entire body was armed, as if preparing for a punch, concern in his eyes as he looked towards Alfred. "You mentioned it before. You keep saying that you deserve this, that you did something, you kept apologizing to me the first time we met...I assure you, I..." Was it too much, too naive, to forgive him for something Arthur didn't know of? Could Alfred truly do something so horrible?

Alfred's eyes fell again. "It's for the best. I don't want to remind you. I don't want you to relive...that...again." Alfred's eyes grew hard, and he curled his hands into fists.

"Were you a human before?" Arthur knew the answer, but he wanted to ask once more to confirm.

"Yes."

"So...so essentially, you becoming a demon...was it a consequence? A punishment?"

"I guess so."

"..." Arthur fell silent again. How could they solve this predicament? Was it possible for Alfred to return to normal?

Gilbert had told him to figure it out. That was quite possibly the most unhelpful advice anyone had ever given him.

"Tell me what it's like."

"Pardon?"

"Your world." Alfred smiled at him, and Arthur sensed Alfred was willing him to change the subject. "What do you do?"

"Oh, I..." Arthur was suddenly at a loss for words. "It's not a big deal, really. I'm an editor."

"Oh yeah, you and your books," Alfred chuckled. "I always preferred comics, but some books are nice. I guess."

"You guess? And what are comics?"

Alfred turned to him, gasping exaggeratedly. "You don't have comics? What kind of hell is this?"

Arthur sighed, repressing a smile. "Alfred, that pun was inappropriate."

He grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I try. But seriously. I need to show you sometime. It's too bad I'm kinda blind, or else I would have drawn you some good ones."

"So it's art?"

"Yeah, but it has, like, words and stuff, you know? So like, you'd draw the dude, and then you'd draw a speech bubble with some text. Oh my god, and then, there's like, this whole other subsection of general graphic novels, which is like, a lot more in depth, and the stories can sometimes be serious but I always did like the classic superhero ones, you know?"

"Super...heroes? Some sort of powerful hero figure?"

"Aww yeah, man!" Alfred was positively glowing with excitement, and Arthur found himself smiling too, leaning in to see and hear all of Alfred that he could.

This was Alfred. The true Alfred, the happy Alfred that didn't deserve any of what he got. He realized he had tuned out of the conversation, and quickly began paying attention again.

"There's a lot, but I mean, in terms of like, powers and stuff, I think teleportation would be pretty cool. Or like, laser beams from the eyes or something. I always told you that if I had teleportation powers I could take you anywhere you wanted, and we could go on walks on the beach at night, stay in a fancy beachside resort and go mountain climbing in the morning, and then you could go to some historical exhibit and I could grab a burger and we could both walk on those cobblestone streets you always liked...I mean, yeah, we had different tastes but I think the great thing was that we both grew to appreciate the other's interests."

"I've never been mountain climbing, actually," Arthur commented, frowning slightly.

"It's sick, dude. But..." A shadow crossed over Alfred's face. "It's probably my fault that we never got to, anyway."

Arthur suddenly found himself reaching for Alfred's hands and holding them gently with his own. "Then we'll make new memories. New activities. New adventures."

Alfred's eyes widened.

"...And together, we'll create our own world."

"What?" Arthur tilted his head.

"It's..." Alfred smiled sadly. "It's what you told me once before. You said to me, 'We'll make new memories, we'll have our adventures, and we'll rewrite society's rules, and together, we'll create our own world.'"

"That's a very embarrassing thing to say," Arthur admitted, his face growing red from just imagining it.

"You said it. And it was the damn coolest thing I've ever heard anyone say. I still...I still can't believe it."

"Believe what?"

"That you're really here, with me."

"You keep saying that."

"I know, but...it's a miracle. I...I'm so scared, that if...if I hold you again..."

Arthur's heartbeat sped up.

"If I hold you again, if I touch you again...you'll...I'll hurt you, or you'll disappear..." Alfred trailed off as he plunged into another depressed state.

"Alfred," Arthur breathed, and everything told him to stop, told him this was wrong, but he was tired of listening to the voices in his head. He reached out for Alfred, cupping his cheeks in his hands before he drew himself to Alfred, suddenly wrapping him in an embrace.

He felt Alfred freeze, then slowly bend to wrap his strong arms around Arthur's smaller frame.

"Alfred, I'm not going anywhere. I...I can't leave you."

Alfred chuckled into Arthur's shoulder. "Why not?"

"What?" Arthur felt himself go red. "I-I don't know. I just...when I did leave you...well, it wasn't really you, but I guess it was technically you...when I did, I just...you were all I could think about, and it was so infuriating and I felt so much better when I saw you again."

"A confession?"

Alfred's voice seemed so much lower than normal.

"Alfred? Are you all right?"

"You're trapped, little lion."

Suddenly, Arthur felt his back hit the bed as a dark figure towered over him, staring down at him amusedly with blood red eyes.

"Al...fred..."

"I was wondering why you were so flustered reading that story," Alfred began casually, his eyes never leaving Arthur's. "Why you always seemed so stubborn. I get it now."

"You don't understand anything," Arthur retorted immediately, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to form an escape plan, glaring at Alfred. "And the book has nothing to do with it."

"But it has everything to do with it. You read everything, Arthur. Even those books that make you cringe, that you want to rip apart, you still make it through the end. Except that one. You put that one down without even getting halfway."

"How do you know that?"

Alfred laughed. "I've been watching you, obviously. Did you think I was sitting there to admire the shelves?"

Arthur felt his face heat up. "It doesn't mean anything," he hissed.

"You say I'm a demon. But you're pretty cunning too. Are you tempting me? Playing dumb like that? Denying everything?"

"Tempting you for what? Honestly, I have no idea what you're saying -"

The words died in his throat as Alfred closed the gap between them with a kiss.

'I am wrapped around your finger from the lips to the tongue...

Even if this is something that cannot be allowed, the flames jump higher still...'

Arthur's eyes shot open in surprise as he pushed against Alfred's chest, but Alfred was holding him down now, deepening the kiss, and Arthur felt his mind go blank.

It was indescribable. He felt all of Alfred's possessiveness, his hunger as he practically devoured Arthur's mouth, and only when they broke apart did Arthur remember to breathe. His face was a deep red as he stared at Alfred, a mixture of surprise, confusion, and embarrassment written across his face. Alfred was all he could see, and the warm feeling that seeped through his chest and his body left him weak.

Alfred looked down at him as they parted, a slight smirk on his face.

And it irritated him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he spluttered, fixing a harsh glare on Alfred. "That isn't funny!"

"It wasn't supposed to be funny."

"Then...then what was that?"

"I think, by your expression, you know exactly what that was."

"I..."

"Yeah. You definitely do."

"I don't...!"

But Alfred didn't let him finish as he leaned closer again, sealing the gap between them once more. Alfred kissed him roughly, erasing all thoughts from Arthur's mind, but Arthur managed to grab a fistful of Alfred's shirt in an attempt to push him back.

"...fre...!"

He didn't have time to talk as Alfred kissed him again, and Arthur failed to notice the hands creeping to his collar and slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

And soon Alfred drew back, and Arthur felt extremely warm, his face flushed and feeling slightly dazed. His eyes were slightly unfocused as he gazed at Alfred, struggling to think, to form thoughts...

Did he want this?

...He shouldn't. He knew he shouldn't.

"A-Alfred..." he tried, but he felt something warm on his neck, and soon Alfred was kissing him again, slowly, deeply, sucking on the nape of his neck as Arthur struggled not to make a sound...

No. He had to stop this. He needed...they needed to talk.

Jolting upwards, he forced Alfred off of him, and he shrunk back a bit at Alfred's annoyed expression. He flushed, noting that Alfred's eyes were slightly glazed over as well - Arthur could easily recognize lust.

Alfred sat up with a groan, frowning at Arthur as he studied him. Arthur immediately sat up as well, backing into the bed frame as he held a pillow in his arms, as if it offered some sort of defense.

"You're so weird," Alfred commented irritatedly.

"Excuse me?"

"You know what you want. Why don't you just go get it? What's the point of turning dumb shit in your head over and over again?"

Arthur blinked. "I don't follow."

Alfred sighed. "I'll never understand humans." He gave Arthur an intense look. "Or maybe I'll just never understand you."

Arthur huffed. "As I said before, the feeling is mutual."

No. That wasn't right.

He had to pick up the pieces. Figure it out, Arthur.

Alfred wanted to know. He wanted to understand, he wanted to feel, he was as lost as Arthur but in different ways.

And all of a sudden, Arthur knew what he had to do.

Free him.