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Alfred and Arthur sat facing opposite each other on the bed, neither saying a word, their gazes locked. Each studying the other, eyes unwavering.

Until they heard a crack. Followed by a louder one. Followed by a thump from downstairs. Several thumps, actually, that served to incite worry in both of them.

Arthur immediately stood up, looking around the room with wide, questioning eyes. Alfred followed suit, a confused expression on his face.

"What is...?"

Sunlight was just beginning to streak through the window, and they heard increasingly loud muffled thumps come from the stairs.

Arthur opened the door quickly, only to find Gilbert standing in the doorway, staring at them, his jaw slowly dropping as his eyes moved from Arthur, to Alfred, to Arthur again.

"Hot damn," Gil whistled, his eyes wide. "You two sure were busy."

Arthur blushed. "It...it isn't what it looks like, I can assure you, but what were those -"

"Nah," Alfred grinned, casually swinging an arm around Arthur's shoulders as he drew him closer. "Arthur here's just too embarrassed to admit it."

"Oh, will you stop it! Where are those noises coming from?"

Gilbert froze, and suddenly straightened up, his eyes darkening.

"I...I'm sorry, Al, Art. You need to scram. Like, now."

"What?" Alfred stomped over to Gilbert, his eyes flaring. "What the hell is going on?"

The crackling sounds grew louder and more frequent, and Arthur looked at the ceiling with wide eyes.

"T-The...Liz is too sick, and I can't...I'm sorry," Gilbert huffed, his voice surprisingly weak. "You guys need to leave. Get out of here."

"What the hell are you talking about? What's wrong with the house?"

"What did you think would happen, Al?!" Gilbert shouted suddenly, his maroon eyes glinting dangerously. "Our time's up. Liz and I..." He shook his head. "We'll be all right. You two. Go. Now."

"What the - I'm not leaving without an answer!"

But Arthur knew they didn't have the choice as the ceiling of Alfred's room caved in, followed by a seeping black liquid that seemed to come from the roof. Debris from the roof crushed Alfred's bed, and the roof was falling in at an alarming rate.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Gilbert cursed, running his hands through his hair out of stress. "Shit, not good." He gave Arthur a desperate look. "Please. We can't look after you anymore. I'm...I'm sorry. I couldn't see this through to the end..."

"Gil." Alfred straightened up suddenly, his eyes distant. "We'll see you outside. Promise. No excuses."

And Alfred suddenly grabbed Arthur's hand, racing for the stairs.

"A-Alfred!" Arthur exclaimed, taken aback as his feet barely touched the ground. He felt as if he were flying - Alfred was way too fast.

And soon they were out of the house, and Arthur gasped at what he saw outside.

The house was covered in some sort of black liquid, and it ran down the walls from the roof. There seemed to be some sort of black circle around the house which was slowly burning the grass around it, creating thick black marks made of charred grass. The liquid seemed to be sludgy in some areas and liquid in others, which only confused Arthur more.

Arthur turned to Alfred, only to see Alfred standing, dumbfounded.

"Alfred, what's happening?" Arthur asked, his voice rising with panic. "Alfred, what is this?"

"I..." Alfred's eyes were wide, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. "I don't..."

"Alfred, the...is the house melting?"

The roof seemed to be slowly falling, thick with the liquid, as the walls seemed to be caving in.

And Liz and Gil were still inside.

"We have to go get them," Arthur said automatically, dumbly moving towards the house. He stopped as Alfred caught his arm, tugging him back. He looked at Alfred questioningly.

"Alfred, if the house is really...if it's really caving in, we need to save them!"

"They'll come out on their own. They aren't like you. They're not weak."

Arthur groaned. Why was Alfred choosing now of all times to be unbelievably childish?

"Oh, for God's -" Arthur shook him off. "People don't follow through on their promises sometimes, Alfred! Gilbert was basically telling you to sod off before you both got yourselves killed!"

"Where is he?" Alfred repeated stubbornly, and Arthur ran over to him, grabbing his shoulders. Alfred's gaze shot down to him in surprise.

"Wake up, Alfred! It's too..."

But Alfred and Arthur could only stand there as the house disintegrated, falling over and into itself until there was nothing but a black pool of goop in the shape of where the house used to be.

Arthur stared at it, unmoving.

And then Alfred let out a howl, so filled with confusion and anger and sadness that it almost tore Arthur's heart in two.

"Alfred...are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Positive."

"Alfred...we passed this point already. See, I made a mark on the tree."

"Who asked you to mark the damn tree?"

"I did, because one of us has to keep track of where we're going!"

"Why didn't they come with us?!" Alfred shouted, his eyes red from the tears that he would never admit streaked down his face as he whirled on Arthur suddenly. "Why the hell didn't they come with us?! If we were able to make it out, they could have too!"

Arthur studied Alfred carefully before taking a deep breath. "Alfred...did I ever mention to you that...well, when I was a child - really, it was a while ago - I used to...read books about...the supernatural. Demons, pixies, fairies, magical creatures..."

Alfred blinked, surprised, as a small, strained smirk lit up his face. "Huh. Never would have thought it."

"Anyway," Arthur pressed, "The liquid? The circle? The fire? Three tell tale signs of the house being cursed. How long have you been living there?"

Alfred frowned as he mentioned the curse. "Uh...well I mean, we ran away a decade or two ago. Don't really remember."

"Was the house..."

"No, Liz and Gil made it from scratch. And..." Alfred's eyes grew wide. "Oh, shit. That's what they were talking about."

Arthur waited.

"Ugh...when we first...when we first came here, Liz and Gil used their powers to make the house, and they had to hide it from being spotted, right? Especially by the demons coming after us. We weren't supposed to leave Hell," Alfred said, a grin on his face. "But we made it out. So they put up a barrier around the house to make sure no demon could see it or get in. But...the thing is, we're not supposed to be able to do that sort of thing. And Liz and Gil aren't some shitty high end demons either, so they each traded a part of their powers, their life, and blood for it. Obviously, the spell...it protects the house by sucking their life."

Oh no.

"And the thing is...they can't leave the house either. Fuck," Alfred growled as everything clicked into place.

"What...then the liquid..."

"No, that isn't a curse that was there forever," Alfred frowned, his eyes dark. "You were right about black liquid usually being used - and I've seen it myself, the nasty stuff gets everywhere, but...no. It had a different smell. But..."

His gaze shot up to Arthur as his eyebrows furrowed.

"No. Somehow, they knew. They did that."

"Alfred...who..."

"They're after us," Alfred stated, his eyes dark.

Suddenly, he grinned maniacally, his eyes glinting. "And it's about damn time. I was getting bored, sitting on my ass."

"Alfred..."

Alfred turned to Arthur. "Are you scared?" he asked, his grin fading a bit.

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest. "Honestly, you haven't even told me what we're up against."

We're. They were together. Arthur hardly realized the impact the use of the word had. It just felt natural.

"Did I tell you that I'm a great prison wrecker? They had to lock me up..." Alfred leaned back, sighing as he reminisced. "Damn, I haven't thought about those times in a while. Funny, don't really remember anything before that. Anyway."

He motioned for Arthur to follow him as they began to walk casually through the forest.

"I was apparently a strong deviant, so they locked me up in one of their largest prisons. Then I broke out of that. Then they put me in their worst prison. Then Liz and Gil broke me out of that. And see, the guy in charge of that prison - the Duke - he's a nasty piece of shit. He didn't think that my escape was funny. But I laughed in his face before I left. He's probably after us now. Done with our little escapade."

"What did you...what did you do to become imprisoned?"

"...It's been a while. Don't really remember. Must have been something badass."

Arthur snorted. "So there are crimes even a demon can't commit?"

"Oh, not those sorts of crimes. Your silly human crimes, like robbing or stealing or killing. I mean..." Alfred frowned. "Don't really know how to explain it."

Arthur fell silent, thinking. The demon Alfred wasn't conscious of the human side of him, and vice versa. The demon didn't have memories of before, while Alfred only seemed to have memories of before...

It wasn't possible. In all the books he'd read on the subject, it was practically unheard of. Most likely because demons weren't the ones writing the books, but...

"A-Alfred," Arthur began hesitantly. "Is it...hypothetically...possible...for a mortal to transcend the boundary?"

"What?"

"I mean...is it possible for a person, a human, to...well, become a demon?"

Alfred froze, staring at him for a couple of seconds before bursting out into laughter.

"A human? Becoming a demon?" Alfred nearly choked, his laughter loud. "That is a good one."

Arthur's face fell a little bit. So it wasn't the case. But...Alfred had definitely been human, at one point. So he must have been...something must have happened for him to become a demon. Plus, although his mind might have been playing tricks on him, Alfred seemed to have a heart...

Arthur felt more and more confused. Figure it out.

Figure what out?

"Curious? Are you attracted to the immortal life?"

Alfred slowly approached him, his eyes narrowed slightly. Arthur stood his ground, frowning.

"Of course not. It's for a...friend."

"Tsk. Little lion. That's the easiest excuse in the book."

Arthur frowned, glaring at him. Honestly. It was his fault he was even asking!

"So tell me. Who is this...friend of yours? Ah, perhaps, the one in the tavern?"

Arthur's heartbeat sped up as he flushed slightly. He opened his mouth to retort, but Alfred had already seen his reaction.

"Ah ha! So it is that man. And why is he interested in demons?"

"No, it isn't...it isn't him. That frog has nothing to do with it."

"Wow. What did he ever do to you, I wonder?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "It's none of your business."

"But that makes me all the more curious," Alfred drawled as he casually came closer to Arthur. "Tell me, little lion."

"Hm. Are you jealous?" joked Arthur in an attempt to avoid the subject. Alfred frowned, his eyes flashing dangerously, and Arthur shrugged. "He's just a colleague. Now it's my turn. Why did you come back for me?"

Alfred looked smug, before he mimicked Arthur's shrug. "I felt like it."

"Did you? After you told me I wasn't different enough for you?"

"Are you still mad about that?" He sounded petulant now. Childish.

Arthur sighed. "Why are we arguing over this? I was trying to..." he stopped, knowing he shouldn't let Alfred in on what he was trying to do.

How he was trying to connect past and present. Telling Alfred would either help him understand or completely shut himself off completely to the idea.

And knowing the demon Alfred, it was probably the latter.

"And where are we going, exactly?"

"I would have taken us to the town," Alfred said, frowning. "But I can't...I can't do anything to draw attention. Like using my wings, or mingling with the people. I give off a different smell. Right now, I pretty much just disguised myself as human." Arthur's eyes widened as he noticed Alfred's horns were gone.

"So...so that the Duke can't find you?"

"Yeah. He's a pretty shitty guy. He's so stuck up, and he always wants everything orderly and perfect. Plus, he's super arrogant and standoffish."

What's the difference between you and him? Arthur was tempted to ask, but he held his tongue.

"So...where are we going then?"

Alfred blinked. "I dunno. I was going to -" He stopped. "Oh, shit. You're a human."

"..."

"Fuck. I was gonna...damn it."

"What were you going to do?"

"You humans are so needy. If we lived like I wanted, you'd probably die."

Arthur stared at him. "So you have no plan?"

"Plan for what?"

Arthur put his hand on his temple, groaning. "Alfred. According to what you just said, one of the strongest demons in hell is after you, and you were just planning on wandering around the forest doing nothing?"

Alfred frowned. "Well I mean, Liz and Gil are gone, so -"

"You're practically begging him to take you. You might as well knock on Hell's front door and give them your wrists to shackle. Do you honestly want to go back there? You need to fight, Alfred. Make your life worth something. Stop running away. Confront the problem."

Alfred stared at him, shock written over his face.

"And how do you propose we fight, little lion? We all can't fight with words, as you do."

"That's where you come in."

"You know, despite all of that, I can manage to hold my own when I want to," Arthur argued after he finished explaining their plan.

Alfred laughed. "I could beat you blindfolded, Arthur."

"No, you can't," Arthur stated simply, walking a few paces ahead of Alfred.

"Wanna bet?"

Arthur turned around. "Bet what?"

"Hmm..." Alfred's eyes flashed wickedly. "Loser has to do anything the winner wants."

Arthur frowned. This was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea.

"You're on."

"Some quick fun before we hit the town," Alfred grinned, cracking his knuckles. "I'll go easy on you. Won't want to injure your pretty face."

Arthur snorted. "If by 'pretty' you mean incurably average," he muttered, and Alfred laughed.

"If you keep underestimating yourself, you'll get in trouble one day."

"I'll count on you to help me when that day comes," Arthur said offhandedly, a mischievous grin on his face.

The rules were simple. Whoever could force their opponent to the ground for three seconds would win.

Arthur and Alfred circled each other, their gazes locked.

"Finally, I'm in the ring with the lion," Alfred grinned, looking more amused than truly threatened. "Let's see how well he bites."

"Show me your worst, you big oaf."

Arthur predicted Alfred would try to rush at him - impress him with his speed, shock him, catch him off guard. Which was why it was so easy to see him coming - he waited until it was just long enough that he thought Arthur might lower his guard, and rushed at him, just as Arthur predicted. Arthur quickly sidestepped, allowing Alfred to barrel past him, and lunged after him, jumping over him.

Alfred fell to the ground with a thud, Arthur leaning over him triumphantly.

"Well, that was quick. One, two..."

But before Arthur could count to three, Alfred got up, grabbed Arthur's shoulders, and forced him onto the ground, sitting over him with an arrogant smirk.

"Isn't that my line? Tell me when I should start counting."

Arthur glared at him, trying to grab his wrists to make him let go, but to no avail.

Arthur suddenly froze, his eyes wide as he looked at a point past Alfred. "A-Alfred..." he whispered, his voice tight. "I-Is that..."

Alfred's eyes widened and he immediately turned around. Quickly, Arthur maneuvered himself out of Alfred's grip, using his surprise to dislodge him and effectively flip their positions.

Alfred stared up at him in shock.

"That wasn't fair."

"I thought demons don't play fair," Arthur teased, smiling slightly.

Alfred continued to stare at him, not resisting. It was over a minute before he slowly held up his hands, not breaking his gaze.

"All right," he said, a small smile on his face.

Arthur blinked, taken aback. Had he...had he just let him win?

"I don't know," Alfred said, shaking his head. "Something must be wrong with me. The sun...it was all over your hair, and it looked like you had a halo..." He was muttering to himself, but Arthur caught his words and blushed slightly.

So that was why he was staring at me.

"All right. What's your request?"

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm going to save it."

Alfred frowned. "Oh, come on! Why?"

"...I have a feeling I'll need it."

Alfred laughed. "Fair enough."

Alfred quickly flew them into town, landing just outside the border in the same place they did on their last trip.

"Perhaps we should stop by the pharmacy and say hello to Alice," Arthur joked. Alfred's expression darkened.

"Don't go near her."

"Oh, sod off," Arthur sighed, beginning to walk along the path. "We need to find an open place, anyway. Perhaps a park."

"Seriously," Alfred whined, catching up with him. "You said you didn't like her!"

Arthur tossed him a cool glance. "And why are you so concerned? Isn't who I like my business?"

Arthur would have never thought that one day, he'd be teasing Alfred.

Alfred shut up at that, frowning severely. "Whatever. I don't care," he said in a low voice.

Alfred was so painfully obvious that it took everything Arthur had not to laugh.

"Hmm...this location seems all right," Arthur said after walking for a while, pointing out a small fenced park with a couple of trees and a bench. "It's open, but small enough that it won't attract a lot of attention."

"There's nobody here," Alfred commented, his eyes sweeping the streets. "Holiday?"

Arthur paused, frowning. Today was...what day was it again?

A signal went off in his brain.

But he didn't remember the holiday like normal people did. He remembered it because it was...

"Francis' birthday."

Alfred turned to him, surprised. "Some asshole's birthday has everyone off the streets?"

"No, there's a harvest festival today...but today's also his birthday," Arthur admitted. "Everyone must be inside cooking up something for the town party."

"What does his birthday have to do with it?"

"Nothing, Alfred," Arthur sighed. "It's just a coincidence."

"So it's a coincidence that he's your acquaintance, coincidence that you were at the bar together..."

"Oh, shut up. Come on," he said, and before he realized what he was doing he took Alfred's hand in his own and dragged him over to the bench under the shade of a tree.

Alfred looked down at his hand, and then at the back of Arthur's head. He noticed that the tips of Arthur's ears were pink.

"A-Anyway," Arthur coughed, letting go of his hand, "I suppose we should just wait here. Hopefully your Duke is prompt."

"Yeah, it might take him a while to find us. Considering our scents changed after so many years. But they're similar enough. He'll come. But Arthur..." Alfred turned to him, his eyes unreadable. "He...you're not involved in this."

"I told you, Alfred, I wouldn't leave you aga -" Arthur clamped his mouth shut as his eyes went wide. Alfred stared at him, surprised.

Shit. He had told the other Alfred that. Not the demon Alfred.

"When did you say that?"

"Uh...nothing. Never."

"Really?" Alfred walked over to him casually, his eyes glinting. "Tell me more about what you haven't said."

"Alfred -"

"We have all day. Literally."

Arthur sighed, fidgeting as he sat down on the bench. Alfred sat next to him, his eyes never leaving him.

"Alfred, I need to ask you a question first. What did you get imprisoned for before you came here?"

Alfred groaned. "Damn it, Arthur, I told you I didn't remember."

"Can you at least try?"

"I have!" Alfred exclaimed suddenly, whirling on Arthur. "So many times, I've tried, and it's driven me insane because I can't remember anything before the dark cell!"

"D-Do you remember what you could have possibly done?"

"No, of course not!"

So if Alfred couldn't remember backwards...he'd have to ask the other Alfred about the last thing he did. But he knew that coaxing the other Alfred to confess was not an easy task.

"I...I'm sorry, Alfred. I know all this is hard for you, and I..." Arthur ran his hand through his hair. "I just don't know what to do."

"It's no big deal. Not for someone like me, anyway," Alfred said smugly. "I don't care."

He was always saying he didn't care. Another defense mechanism.

"And you do know what you're doing, Arthur."

"Pardon?"

"I trust you."

Arthur turned to Alfred and found that Alfred was smiling slightly at him, an innocent smile that made Arthur's chest swell with something he didn't understand.

And it was so, so much like the other Alfred's smile.

Surely there was a way to reconnect the two?