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"Alfred...perhaps we should try again tomorrow."
"Why the fuck isn't he coming?! Seriously, are demons nowadays this useless?"
Arthur would have laughed at Alfred's insult to his own kind, but he was far too tired and far too cold. Instead, he sighed, resting his elbows on his knees as he slouched forward, exhausted. But he soon forced himself to sit upright, like an gentleman would.
He crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. If they went back to Arthur's place to sleep for the night, and the Duke came for them then, they wouldn't be able to carry out their plan - but if they stayed here, they may quite possibly freeze to death. Well, Arthur would, at least.
But he couldn't afford to be selfish. In all cases, it was better to confront him here.
And so they waited.
And waited.
...
A flash of blue.
A hand reached forward, clutching for it.
His hand.
"Oh," the man said as he turned around, his blue eyes twinkling with sorrow behind them. A sad smile graced his face, but it didn't suit him. "You have a request, my Queen?"
"..."
And suddenly they were close, and there were tears, and the man shielded him from the loud noise that had just begun...
...
"...thur. Arthur."
"Mmm?" Arthur felt something soft beneath his head. He could see darkness through his eyelids. Tiredly, he groaned, "What?"
"Arthur, are you okay?"
Arthur's eyes shot open, and the first thing he saw was Alfred looking down at him, his blond hair falling into his eyes.
"Alfred!"
Arthur shot up, scrambling to the other side of the bench as his face flushed. That dream...had Alfred been in his dream? He shook his head groggily.
And Alfred...if it was Alfred, he had said something about a queen...
"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep..." Arthur apologized, trying to forget about it.
Alfred half-grinned. "I found you on my lap like this. What better wake-up call than that?"
Arthur blushed again, turning away.
"...It's still night. How long was I asleep?"
Alfred fidgeted awkwardly. He knew he should stop asking Alfred questions he couldn't answer.
He turned around, seeing Alfred staring at him. He jumped a bit, frowning. "Alfred...can you see me?"
"I was going to tell you, actually...you're kinda blurry, but you're less blob-like and more...you're shaped like a person."
Arthur's eyes widened.
"So...so you're saying, your eyesight is improving?"
"Yeah. It feels so great to see again, dude. You have no idea."
Arthur couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face at the miracle. How was it happening? Was it even possible?
No. There was something he needed to do. Quickly, his face hardened as he moved a bit closer to Alfred, looking at him seriously.
"Alfred, you refused to tell me before. But...I need to know this time. Right now. What was it that..." He paused, not sure how to phrase it. "When we first met," he began again. "You apologized to me, you told me you were sorry, implying that you did something horrible. Alfred. Please tell me what it is."
Just as Alfred's face fell, Arthur reached out and cupped his cheeks in his hands gently. Alfred looked up at him in surprise, his eyes slightly watery.
"A-Arthur, this isn't a good idea...you...you might get some bad memories..."
Memories. He recalled the dream again, but pushed it aside. He shook his head, his gaze intense. "Alfred. Please. Tell me."
"I can't...I can't put you through that again," Alfred said, his voice shaking. "Please, you have no idea..."
"Do you trust me?"
Alfred faced him, and straightforwardly responded, "Yes."
"Then tell me. Please."
Alfred moved closer to him suddenly, and Arthur dropped his hands. "Arthur," Alfred whispered, his voice low. "I...I'm not doing it just because you're asking. I...I want you to know. I need you to know. And...and no matter what happens afterwards, I..." He looked as if he were about to cry. "Please, grant me one selfish wish before I tell you."
"Anything," Arthur responded automatically. Alfred was probably being dramatic anyway.
"Kiss me."
Arthur blinked, stunned. "E-Er..."
"Please. You..." Alfred chuckled to himself. "You probably won't ever want to touch me after I tell you anyway, so please..."
Arthur's face reddened as he moved closed to Alfred, shyly looking up at him.
He had long since realized he was in love with Alfred. He just didn't want to admit it. Didn't want to admit that he was in love with both sides, the endearingly sweet and insufferably stubborn Alfred, the Alfred he had known for a couple of months and the Alfred who seemed to know him way beyond that.
Alfred smiled at him, sensing his embarrassment, and Arthur quickly grabbed Alfred's shirt collar and tugged him down, gently pressing his lips to Alfred's.
It was supposed to be a kiss.
Just one kiss.
So how Arthur ended up with his back on the bottom of the bench as Alfred was over him was beyond comprehension. One kiss became two, and then Alfred had wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist, drawing him closer in. Then two became three, and Arthur ceased thinking, and three became four...
Four became five...
And then Alfred had pushed him down.
Finally, they broke for air, and Arthur's eyes were wide with embarrassment.
"Alfred! You said one kiss!"
"You don't like it?"
He couldn't deal with that puppy-dog look. Arthur sighed, trying to push himself up. "N-No, Alfred, you have to tell me, you promised -"
Alfred kissed him again, and it was quite a while until he responded.
"You told me that not everyone carries out on their promises."
Arthur frowned, puzzled, and he suddenly remembered - but he had told the demon Alfred that as they had fled the house, leaving Gil and Liz behind.
"Alfred...when did I tell you that?"
Alfred frowned. "Uh...I don't remember, actually. I just remember you telling me that."
"Alfred..."
But Alfred seemed to sense his time was up. Staring down at Arthur with a heavy expression, he tried to compose himself, breathing hard. His face was flushed slightly, but much less than Arthur, who had gone beet red, and he slowly took a deep breath in.
"Arthur..."
"Alfred." Arthur reached up, brushing a strand of hair from Alfred's forehead. He gave him a gentle, reassuring smile. "It's all right. I can't think of anything so horrible that I would never talk to you again."
"Really?" Alfred scoffed, looking as if he were about to cry. Arthur frowned again, letting his hand fall unsurely.
But Alfred quickly caught it, interweaving it with his own.
"Arthur..." Alfred's voice was low. Vulnerable.
"Alfred, it's okay," Arthur repeated, his voice rising slightly with nervousness.
"Is it, though?" Alfred countered, a sudden anger in his blue eyes. An anger that poisoned him from within, that made the first tears fall. "Arthur..."
A pause.
"I..."
Arthur nodded encouragingly, a small smile on his face.
A smile that he vowed to keep until Alfred was done.
"I tortured you. And then I killed you."
Arthur's eyes widened as his blood ran cold, goosebumps chilling his flesh as he opened his mouth in shock.
He was speechless.
But he didn't have time to respond. Alfred's gaze was steady as streaks of black ran down his blond hair, his eyes slowly melting into red, his skin becoming paler and paler. For the first time, Alfred didn't cringe or faint when he changed back.
"I really am a demon," Alfred chuckled, his voice much lower. "Look what I've done to you. I told you, I'd kill you if I saw you crying again. Maybe I should put you out of your misery."
"A-Alfred," Arthur began, his voice small. He couldn't process what he had just been told. Alfred? Torturing and...and killing him? It made no sense. And Alfred hadn't looked away as he transformed..."What...?"
Alfred suddenly put a palm to his head, wincing. "Fuck. I just...wait, what were we talking about?"
Arthur relaxed a bit. So the demon didn't remember. They weren't the same. Maybe...maybe Alfred was just getting stronger.
But since he was talking to the demon now, he didn't have to address what Alfred had just told him.
"Get off of me, you oaf," Arthur said, sitting up and lightly pushing Alfred off of him. Alfred complied strangely easily, watching Arthur with a wary expression.
Arthur sat at the edge of the bench, his eyebrows furrowed.
It was only then that he realized he was crying.
Why? He had felt no pain, no memories of pain, nothing...
But his heart hurt, his head hurt, and the shock of everything...
Why? That was all Arthur wanted to know. Why had he tortured him and what drove Alfred to such desperation to kill Arthur in the first place? And Alfred didn't hate Arthur, either - in fact, Alfred was the one to admit to Arthur that he was in love with him first, so why...
Why would he kill someone he loved?
But Arthur was crying now, not from his mind, but from his heart - from a pain he didn't understand.
A pain that his past self might have.
He couldn't even fathom it at first, but if everything that Alfred had said was true, it was quite possible that Alfred had...a long time ago, Alfred could have met a different Arthur. And while Arthur had been born again normally, Alfred...
But Alfred had also denied the possibility of a human becoming a demon.
It was all too confusing, and the tears wouldn't stop falling...
"I told you," Alfred repeated, breaking Arthur out of his thoughts as Arthur felt himself being pulled against Alfred's chest. "I would kill you if I saw you cry again."
"So kill me," Arthur retorted miserably, crying into Alfred's shirt.
He didn't want to be hugged by this creature, this loathsome being who had killed him, but he didn't want to let go either, to lose Alfred again...
But deep down, Arthur knew that his love for Alfred was unchanged. As much as he hated to admit it, while their past disturbed him greatly, almost enough to unhinge him...it was still there. That feeling, that warmth that Alfred always gave him...
He hated it. He hated that he loved him, and he hated himself for it.
Because underneath everything, it still felt right.
He protested feebly, pushing against Alfred's chest, but the arms around him only tightened.
"That I will, mortal," came a voice, and as Arthur turned to look, he found himself staring at the narrow violet eyes of a man who could only be the Duke.
"Shit," Alfred hissed, standing up and pushing Arthur behind him. He turned around and nodded to Arthur, who slowly backed away from them until he was hiding behind a tree.
Regardless of how he was feeling, Arthur was strong enough to focus his mind on the task at hand.
It was something he couldn't afford to fail at.
"But you first, Alfred," the Duke stated simply, straightening out his silky, refined clothing. He adjusted his glasses briefly, and Arthur noticed that he had a beauty mark on the right side of his face under his mouth. Similar to Alfred, he also had a random curl stick out on the left side of his head, although his dark hair was quite neat. "Do you know how much trouble I've had to go through to find you?"
"Don't give a shit," Alfred retorted, his eyes dark and menacing. "What did you do to Liz and Gil?"
The Duke looked up suddenly, sniffing the air. "Ah. You have a trap laid."
Alfred pretended to look shocked. He turned to Arthur, flashing a peace sign behind his back. Arthur quickly nodded, pretending to look ashamed as he silently walked over behind Alfred. He took the dagger Alfred had stashed in his belt behind his back.
"And since you wouldn't know much of demon magic, I'd assume your accomplice is your...friend, here," the Duke commented disdainfully, shaking his head. "I'm frankly surprised that a mortal has so much knowledge."
"You flatter me," Arthur said flatly, slowly retreating back to the tree. Placing both hands behind his back, he quickly slit his palm with the dagger, pressing it the trunk of the tree. The darkness and foliage managed to hide his actions well, and the Duke's attention was quickly on Alfred again anyway.
"So. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
"Where are Liz and Gil?" Alfred repeated, his body tense. Waiting.
Arthur suddenly approached the Duke, a frown on his face. "So you're the Duke?"
"Wait your turn, mortal."
"I don't think I shall," Arthur said offhandedly, walking towards the circle and symbols they had drawn on the ground under the grass.
The Duke cracked a smile. "Ah. You're trying to lure me, are you? I see your little trap. Anyone can spot it from a mile away."
"Oh, do you?"
"Besides, a low level trap like that one? Any demon such as I can escape. Why did you not bother to test your little contraption on Alfred here?"
"You don't need a trap to restrain Alfred." He silently flashed a peace sign at Alfred again, and then another one right after that.
"Oh?" Alfred pretended to be offended, stalking over to Arthur with a predatory look. "And how would you go about that, little lion?"
Alfred was moving out of the way, but the Duke stubbornly stayed in place, watching them with disapproving eyes.
"You can fight all you want in prison, Alfred," he said.
He had only noticed the blood on Arthur's hands too late.
Suddenly, the tree began to crackle, and the Duke whirled around in surprise.
A tree branch suddenly swung out, wrapping itself around the Duke.
"What the - unhand me, you beast!"
"It's not a beast," Arthur laughed, unable to help his victorious smirk. It really gave him a boost, after Alfred's revelation. "It's a tree. It's life, and it doesn't welcome you here."
The Duke scoffed.
"Seriously. Now that we have time on our hands, Roddy, I say we get to know each other real well. Let's start with Liz and Gil." Alfred stretched as he casually walked towards the Duke.
Roddy? Was that his name?
"Roderich," Alfred said to Arthur curtly, as if sensing his thoughts. Arthur nodded.
"So, I don't think you have the heart to kill Gil. Or Liz. Especially Liz. Haha. Get it? Don't have the heart."
Roderich looked offended. "What would a couple of low level demons mean to me?"
"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. You're in love with her, that much is painfully obvious," Alfred laughed, his eyes merciless. "So where are they? Even you'd break the rules for your sweetheart."
Roderich looked stunned at that, his eyes widening in shock. "O-Of course not! However," he said, clearing his throat. "You are correct. They are not dead. Merely...detained. Permanently."
Arthur's eyes widened in surprise. Alfred had gotten so much out of him in so short a time.
"And you're after me, why?" Alfred asked casually.
Roderich's eyes narrowed. "You don't belong here."
"All right. We'll make a deal. You let them go. I come with you in peace."
Arthur shot towards Alfred, grabbing his arm. "Alfred, what are you -"
Alfred shook his head. "It'll be fine."
"No, it won't, you git, you can't just hop on out of prison once you -"
"Shhh. Down, little lion."
Arthur's temper flared up as he shoved Alfred aside, fully facing Roderich. "All right, Duke. Tell me. Is it possible for a human to become a demon?"
Roderich's eyes widened. "Why would you ask such a thing?"
"For a friend."
Roderich pursed his lips, then looked to Alfred curiously. "...It isn't impossible."
Alfred scoffed. "Humoring him?"
"No. For the proof is right in front of him," Roderich said with a careful smile, and he suddenly regarded Arthur curiously. "But how you found out, that is what I am curious about."
"If you let Alfred go, I'll tell you," Arthur responded, wary.
"Hmm. No can do. That demon deserves to be locked up, for what he's done."
Arthur's heartbeat sped up again.
I tortured you. And then I killed you.
"Y-You...do you know what he did?"
"Shut up, Roderich," Alfred interrupted.
Arthur whirled on him. "You said you didn't remember! Don't you want to know?"
"It...it isn't important," Alfred muttered.
Roderich looked at them curiously, as if they were specimens he were experimenting on. "Curious. Very curious." He cleared his throat.
"I understand what Gilbert was trying to do now. And while Elizaveta was foolish to accompany him, I can understand the...sympathies she shared. However, it seems as if it wasn't good enough." He smiled pityingly at them. "A good team, you two make. I wonder if you know, Arthur...is that your name?"
Arthur nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from Roderich's.
"I wonder if you know, Arthur...about how your last life ended."
Arthur gulped. "I..." His mouth was dry.
Roderich smiled again. "Of course, Alfred must have repressed it from his memory. But you..." He tilted his head. "Have your memories really not come back? Because if they have, you would have used your dagger to kill him, not save him. Leave him to me, mortal." Roderich's eyes softened. "I'll take care of him. I will allow you to go back to your normal life."
Alfred had stood there, stunned, until his eyes flared at Roderich's accusation. "What the fuck, Duke."
"It's too late," Arthur interrupted, his eyes blurry. "I know what he did, Roderich. And...and it's true, I don't...remember, but..." Talking was becoming difficult. "I...I'm sure...a reason..."
A second later, he collapsed, Alfred's voice ringing in his ears.
'Anxiety arrives with the dawn, to find me still crying...
When you whispered 'it's all right,' did I hear tears in your voice, too?'