Hello everyone! I apologize for the long wait.

I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

One month later...

"Arthur! Arthur, are you ready?"

"Alfred, I don't understand how you expect me to finish dressing from five seconds ago to now."

"How about now?"

"The answer is still no, Alfred."

"...do you need helping changing or something?"

"Where the bloody hell did you get that from? Leave me be!"

"I'm gonna come in in a minute if you don't hurry up."

"Alfred! Oh...okay, hold on..."

Arthur burst out of the room, his cheeks red with a huge frown on his face. He glared at Alfred as a slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Great!" Alfred grinned as he pecked Arthur on the cheek. "Let's go!"

"Why are you so excited about meeting them anyway?" Arthur huffed. "The last time you met Alice she wanted to kill you, and the last time you met Amelia...well, let's just say I hope she doesn't hit you with that bat of hers. But they'll definitely be shocked, seeing you so...different."

"Not that different," Alfred winked. "I can act a bit if I want."

"Oh?" Arthur said absentmindedly as he tugged on his shoes. He leaned against the wall for support as he put them on, noting that he'd have to sweep the floors soon. He really didn't understand how dust and dirt was able to pile up so quickly.

"Yeah. You don't think so?"

"Mm-hmm," Arthur said, again not paying attention to the conversation as he planned out the rest of the day.

Let's see...we'll be meeting with those two for lunch, but after...what day was it again today? Did he have work?

His general rule of thumb was that he agreed with whatever Alfred was saying when he wanted the conversation to end as soon as possible.

In this case, though, it hadn't worked.

"What the -"

Arthur's back was against the wall as Alfred's arms were on either side of him, pinning him to the wall. His head shot up as he stared at Alfred in surprise, his mouth slightly open.

"A-Alfred, what are you -"

"Hush, little lion," Alfred murmured, his voice dark and deep, as he leaned closer to Arthur. Arthur panicked and tried to push him away.

"Alfred, what are you doing?" he protested. "I haven't even put my shoes on -"

"Shhh..."

Inches away from his face, Alfred's predatory gaze was erased in an instant as he burst into laughter.

"Oh my god! You should have seen the look on your face, Arthur! It was hilarious! You'd have thought I broke a mirror or something!"

Arthur was still flushed, staring at Alfred in confusion.

"You said I couldn't act. But I think I remember how I was pretty well," Alfred explained, winking again as he took Arthur's hand.

So that was what he was talking about. Arthur sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

Maybe he'd just not respond next time. And now he'd completely forgotten what he was thinking about.

He followed Alfred out of the house, his house, as they emerged on the cobblestone street. They had decided to move to Arthur's smaller home instead of staying in Liz and Gil's hut in the forest, as it was in the town and generally closer to everything. Besides, living in that huge house without Liz and Gil was...well, lonely.

Not to mention, now that everything was more or less back to normal, Arthur had to go back to work. He had a very...interesting conversation with Francis, but Francis knew his worth and allowed him back.

In terms of housing, though, Arthur didn't have a separate room for Alfred, so, much to his embarrassment, it was inevitable that they shared a room.

And one thing had led to another...Arthur shook his head vigorously, trying not to think about it.

Though it wasn't wrong - God, there was nothing wrong with what they had done, especially since it had felt right - there was still so much stigma around their being together that sometimes Arthur found it hard to believe they were actually living together at all. He loved Alfred immensely, but...

With time. I'll get used to it with time.

After walking for a while, the two arrived at the cafe where they had promised to meet Amelia and Alice.

They ran into them a couple of days prior, and the girls had insisted that they sit down to chat with them. Well, mostly Amelia. So they agreed to have lunch together.

Soon enough, they found Amelia and Alice chatting animatedly, and...Arthur's eyes widened as he saw that they were sitting next to each other, holding hands.

Alfred stopped as well, a peculiar expression on his face.

"They're...good friends, huh," he commented, his eyes round. "I didn't really expect that. Okay. Let's go say hi!"

"Are you sure we should...er, interrupt them?"

"I'm sure it's fine!" Alfred insisted, a grin on his face. "Come on, let's go."

"ALICE!" Alfred called, waving as he jogged over to them. "AMELIA!"

The two whirled around, Alice slightly red as she tugged her hand away. "Oh, Alfred," Alice said, her voice even as she smiled politely. "It's very nice to see you again."

"Alfred! Waaiiit..." Amelia frowned. "What happened to your hair? Actually. What happened to you? Did you get a tan or something?"

Alfred stopped, frowning slightly. "What? Oh...uh, yeah. Been working out, that sort of thing."

Amelia whistled, a smirk on her face. "Oh ho ho. Very interesting. Looking forward to kicking your ass in our next game," she said, her smile slightly threatening as she motioned for the two to sit down.

"Hey, Arthur!" Amelia grinned, beckoning him over.

"Hello, Arthur," Alice said, the same smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, you two," Arthur greeted, sitting down next to Alfred opposite Amelia and Alice.

"So like, where have you guys even been?" Amelia demanded. "You just ran off with that cute guy the other day and nothing for a month! Alice was super worried!"

"I was not worried," Alice intervened, frowning slightly. "Simply startled."

"Uh-huh. Which was why you began asking around to see if anyone saw them," Amelia countered, and Alice frowned, looking away.

"No worries, and apologies for worrying you two," Arthur said, smiling slightly. "We were..."

"Busy," Alfred finished. "With stuff. Moving in, and all that."

The other three stared at him, Arthur shaking his head vigorously.

Don't you dare mention that, Alfred!

Honestly, how could he be so thick-headed?

"Moving in? Where?" Amelia asked eagerly. "When?"

"Oh, just me an' Arthur!" Alfred replied cheerfully. "The old house was kinda stuffy -"

"Wait. You guys live together?"

Alice looked up at that, looking slightly surprised.

"N-No, he just means -"

"Yeah!" Alfred interrupted, a grin on his face. "Can't split us apart, me and Arthur!"

Arthur knew he was blushing. He looked down into his lap, speechless.

It was careless, to talk about their relationship in such a manner. Dangerous. Especially when people generally weren't accepting. At all. But Alfred wasn't daunted by it.

"Wait...so you guys..." Amelia looked between the two of them, her eyes wide. "Like...you're together?"

"Yup!"

Why was he being so...why was he acting so proud of it?

Arthur kicked Alfred under the table, and Alfred finally looked at him, realizing Arthur was uncomfortable.

"Uh...yeah," Alfred said again hesitantly. "A-Anything wrong with that?"

"That's actually really cute," Amelia laughed, lightening the tension. "I thought something was going on with you two. Now I guess I know," she said, winking as she nudged Alice. "See?" she whispered loudly. "We're not the only ones."

Alice suddenly went red, and she hid her face in her hands. "S-Shut up, Amelia..."

Amelia turned to Arthur suddenly, a slight, somewhat sympathetic smile on her face. Arthur's eyes widened slightly as he realized she had known from the start. How she had known, Arthur couldn't guess, but...

Apparently she was a lot more observant than he realized. Perhaps she just pretended to be so outgoing and oblivious when it suited her, but she could actually be quite compassionate when she wanted to be. Especially since she had gone out of her way to clearly let them know she and Alice were together as well, much to Alice's embarrassment.

Suddenly, a waiter bumped into Arthur, spilling cold ice water onto his head and lap and jolting him out of his thoughts. He jumped, startled, and the waiter dropped his drinks in surprise.

"Oh, pardon me - I deeply apologize sir, I must not have been looking where I was going! My apologies, sir, are you all right?" The waiter seemed to trip over his words, but that no longer mattered.

Cold.

Before he knew it, Arthur began to hyperventilate, losing control of himself as his eyes grew wide with fright. Everything was suddenly fading, growing darker, his very self dissolving into memories and fragments.

Cold. It was cold, and he was there again, in that dark cellar, and Ivan was there, and it was cold, and he couldn't see anymore and he was going to die -

"Sir! Sir, are you all -"

"It's fine," Alfred cut in, his voice low. But Alfred didn't exist anymore. No, Alfred wasn't there, his voice a grotesque temptation from Ivan, a trick, nothing more, and he was alone again...

"Please, can you go get him a towel or something?"

"O-Of course, sir!" the waiter yelped as he ran off. Alfred stood up immediately, leaning in front of Arthur as he took his hand. Alice and Amelia watched, their eyes wide, and Amelia had unconsciously gripped Alice's hand in shock.

"Arthur. Arthur, can you hear me?"

No.

No. It was dark. And Alfred was there now, yes, but he was bleeding, it was red, he was dying and he was a demon and it was too late, and Ivan was there with the knife, with the water again, cold, cold, cold -

"Arthur," Alfred murmured, his eyes pained, slowly running his hands up Arthur's arms, to his shoulders, steadying him.

This was not the first time it had happened. The first time, Alfred had panicked, not knowing what Arthur was going through or what was happening. But he soon realized what it was.

Ever since that day, something would occasionally trigger Arthur, and he'd fall into fits. Alfred was helpless at first, not knowing what to do, how to save him. How to bring him out, how to show him light. But he had slowly learned, as Arthur had slowly learned to help him all those months ago. Sometimes his voice worked, sometimes touch worked, sometimes he would just hold Arthur in his arms until he stopped crying.

Alfred forgot the world around him as he slowly gripped Arthur's hands again, kissing them.

"Arthur," he murmured again, frowning as he saw the missing finger. "Arthur, it's okay. It's over now. You're safe. I'm okay. You're okay." Alfred's hands drifted up Arthur's arms, holding his shoulders gently before raising his hands to cup his cheeks. Alfred noticed that Arthur's eyes had gone slightly unfocused, almost as if he was seeing something Alfred couldn't.

"Dead..."

"No. I'm not dead."

"It's red," Arthur said, his voice broken, hoarse, soft. "Your eyes, your...everything is gone..."

"No," Alfred pressed again, pressing his forehead to Arthur's. "No, nothing is gone. Everything is here. With us. In this moment."

"Ivan, he -"

"Doesn't exist," Alfred interrupted. Sometimes Arthur couldn't even hear him, so he considered it lucky that Arthur was less inside his mind this time.

"Why...how..."

Slowly, Arthur's breathing began to return to normal as his green eyes focused again, and he finally saw Alfred, his blue eyes inches away from his own.

"Al...fred," Arthur swallowed, gasping as sweat beaded on his forehead. "Alfred."

"Yes. I'm here."

Arthur suddenly realized where they were, and he looked across at Amelia and Alice's frightened faces.

"Oh my - I-I apologize," Arthur said quickly, struggling to recover as he motioned for Alfred to go back to his seat. "J-Just was frightened a bit. That's all."

Alfred went back to his seat, but he still held Arthur's shaking hand.

"Arthur," Alice began, hesitant. "Are you..."

"N-No, it's all right, I assure you," he said with a smile. "Not feeling well." He was still shaken and shivering, but he knew he had to try his best to feign normality until he had time to recover.

"I give good massages," Amelia offered with a sly smile. "You want one?"

Arthur blinked. "No thank you."

Amelia pouted. "You sure? You'd feel real good."

Arthur's eyes widened. Was she honestly flirting with him when she was already in love with someone? He couldn't fathom it. He saw Alice shift uncomfortably next to Amelia, glaring at her ever so slightly. Arthur chuckled as he realized that the girl really only wanted to lighten the mood and change the subject.

"Maybe another time."

The rest of the lunch had been more or less pleasant. They'd caught up with each other, though Alfred and Amelia had done most of the talking. Although the demon Alfred just bickered with her, Arthur was surprised to find that Alfred and Amelia actually agreed on a lot of things.

"And I'm always like, we should just go do it, you know? But Arthur always insists on taking a step back and analyzing everything, and it's just -"

"Oh my God, I know, right?! Alice is exactly the same, and I get so annoyed because it's like, hello, I just asked you -"

"Well, I do hope you are enjoying a good laugh at our expense," Arthur interrupted, tired of their accusations. He glared at Alfred, and looked at Amelia irritatedly. "I think it's time we change the subject."

Alice smiled briefly at Arthur before nodding. "Agreed."

"Oh come on, we all know you're both hopeless romantics -"

"I am not!" Arthur and Alice said in unison, and glanced at each other in surprise as Amelia and Alfred broke out laughing.

"Oh my god, did you hear that?" guffawed Alfred. "They said it at the exact same time!"

"This is too good!" laughed Amelia, slamming her fist on the table repeatedly. "I can't...even..."

"Arthur?"

Arthur blinked. He turned around suddenly, thinking he heard someone say his name.

And he wasn't wrong. For Matthew was standing there, with his gentle smile, as he walked towards Arthur.

"Arthur...do you mind coming with me?"

"Hmm?" Alfred turned to Arthur. "Arthur, what are you looking at?"

Arthur frowned. "Alfred, Matthew is-"

"What?" Alfred looked at where Matthew was standing. "Uh...what?"

So he couldn't see him? Arthur frowned, and saw Matthew shaking his head sadly.

"I'm not allowed to meet him. Just you. Come with me, Arthur."

Arthur stood up abruptly. "I...I need to use the restroom," he said, walking towards the restroom. When he was out of sight, he quickly darted out of the cafe and followed Matthew away from the busy streets.

"Arthur...I needed to see you one more time...t-to finish what I couldn't tell you."

"Matthew. You're all right." Arthur couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "I thought...you...you got hurt, didn't you? Protecting us..."

"I-I'm fine," Matthew said, returning Arthur's smile. "But...you...I told you, this world at this place and time...there's a paradox."

Arthur frowned. "You said that before. What do you mean?"

"I mean, there cannot be two manifestations of a single soul in one place at one time. It goes against the laws of the world. The laws of life, of reincarnation..."

Arthur frowned.

Matthew cleared his throat. "W-What I mean, is...you should try to stay away from those two. I'm not...completely certain, but..." Matthew frowned. "It would be best to...not be close to them. Because this world cannot have two of you."

"What does that..."

He couldn't believe what Matthew was implying. But it made so much sense, at the same time...

"I-If you're too close, for too long..." Matthew's eyes fell. "To put it bluntly, this world will try to kill you. And Alfred. Because you two weren't supposed to be here in the first place. Order will be restored with you two gone."

Arthur's heart thundered in his chest. "Then..."

Matthew looked up at him, his eyes earnest. "So please. Haven't you noticed any accidents that happen when you're around those two?"

The waiter had spilled the ice water on him.

Amelia had almost whacked him with her bat the first time they met.

But surely those were coincidences? And they weren't life-threatening, at that.

"But that's not..."

Matthew smiled sadly. "Staying away from them is your best bet. But Arthur, as much as you've been through...there's a lot more to go. For the rest of this life. Living in a world that is unforgiving..."

Arthur felt a huge weight suddenly weigh him down.

Matthew walked towards him, and Arthur could swear that Matthew was becoming more and more transparent...

"But I believe in you, Arthur. Because I know that, against all odds, you will create a happy future. For you, and for him...so now, for the last time. Goodbye, Arthur. And please...tell Alfred that I'm proud of him."

And then he vanished again, leaving a white feather in Arthur's hand.

Arthur was mainly silent for the rest of the lunch and on their way home.

Alfred sensed something was wrong, and when they arrived at Arthur's home, Alfred decided to ask.

"Hey...so...what happened back there? Are you still...feeling ill, from the water?"

"Hm? Oh, no...nothing like that. I'm fine, honestly."

"You're kinda quiet."

"I'm always quiet, you twat."

"Yeah, but...not like this."

"Alfred..."

He knew he had to tell him sooner or later. So he told him everything that Matthew said, from start to finish, as Alfred listened with wide eyes.

He saw Alfred hunch over slightly.

"So we can't see them again?"

"...That's what he advised."

"That's such bull. I can't believe that."

"It seems fair enough, though."

"No. About the part where...where the world is against us. I can't accept that."

"Alfred..."

"No. We didn't fight this far just to realize that the entire fucking world wants us gone."

"Alfred." Arthur took his hand suddenly, and Alfred froze. "I don't care that the world wants us gone. I want you here with me, and that's why we're both going to survive."

Alfred grinned. "That's exactly what I was gonna say. Honestly, according to him, we weren't even supposed to be here in the first place. But that happened. And you weren't supposed to save me. But that happened. So, I'd say there's a fair chance that we're gonna fight through this. Me and you." Alfred kissed him quickly before bending down to take off his shoes.

Arthur let out a small breath, smiling.

Whatever it was, they'd take it on together.

They always had, and they always would.

Thank you to everyone who read this story. It really means a lot to me, and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I loved writing! This is the end of Magnet, but there will be an epilogue that takes place some time later which I'll be sure to post soon!