Aaaand, we're down to the last and final chapter of this story. The epilogue.
I cannot thank all of you readers enough for reading until the end and going on this adventure with me. I'm so grateful, and I'm so happy for those of you who enjoyed it. Thank you so, so much for all of the reviews; they really helped give me support to continue writing.
So, without further ado, the epilogue. I hope you enjoy this story until the end!
Once again, the translation of the song 'Magnet' by Ryuusei-P is from wiki/Magnet#Translation
15 years later...
"Alfred, it's your turn to get the kettle."
"What?"
"I said, it's your turn to get the kettle."
"What?"
Arthur snapped his book shut, swerving his head towards the direction of Alfred's voice in frustration. "For the last bloody time, I said, it's your -"
"Can't hear you!"
"Alfred, you're barely 35! Your hearing cannot possibly be that bad!"
"Who says? Plus, if you count when I was a demon, I'm like, probably five times your age!"
"What does that even mean?"
Alfred popped his head into the doorway, grinning at Arthur. "Aww, c'mon. Let's go get it together."
Arthur sighed, standing up and stretching. He walked over with Alfred to the kitchen, taking the kettle off the stove and pouring the boiling water into a well-used, moss green mug.
"You really should learn to drink tea. Calms your nerves."
"Nah, I'm more of a coffee guy."
"I know."
"Plus, you can still be hella prickly even with tea. So I don't think that it really calms your nerves," Alfred teased, and Arthur elbowed him in the side.
"Shut it."
"Arthuuuur."
Arthur sighed, deciding against arguing with Alfred. He walked over to the couch, settling himself down.
"It's midday and we still haven't eaten anything," Arthur said aloud, realizing he was hungry. "Shall we go get a bite, or shall I make something for us?"
"Uh." Alfred froze. Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Um...no, although, trust me, I would..." Alfred gulped. "Love to eat the...stuff...you make...I promise...but uh, yeah, let's go to get something to eat, yeah?"
Arthur shrugged, again deciding to avoid squabbling over nothing. But he could never understand why Alfred opted to avoid his home cooking so many times. Perhaps, the less he had it, the more he'd savor it?
"All right," Arthur said decisively after a while. He stood up again, finishing his tea quickly before the pair made their way out the door.
Winter in Alar was always hard, a fact Arthur was constantly reminded of every time a gust of cold, biting wind smacked his face the moment he opened the door. But, like always, he grit his teeth and bared it, while Alfred opted to wear more layers and a scarf. Several, if Arthur decided not to wear his own.
He shivered involuntarily - and, as always, began to regret his decision not to wear a scarf. But Alfred quickly held his hand, as he always did, with a sympathetic smile towards Arthur for his stubbornness.
Arthur felt the back of his neck heat up as he blushed slightly, an uncontrollable reaction he just never got used to over the years.
He heard Alfred chuckle next to him, and turned on him with a glare.
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing. You're just cute."
"Honestly..." Arthur had long given up arguing with him on that point. He just couldn't fathom what went through Alfred's head sometimes. But then again, maybe that was for the better.
About ten minutes into their walk, Arthur noticed two small, quite loud children playing in the park across the street. He smiled to himself. It was a harsh winter, after all, and seeing children healthy and happy was a rarity these days. Alfred seemed to notice as well and smiled, squeezing Arthur's hand.
"Do you want to loop around the park?"
Arthur nodded, feeling somewhat drawn to the children. Perhaps it was their energy. He needed that nowadays.
Of course, he always had Alfred. But even Alfred had softened over the years - in fact, sometimes Arthur himself made certain rash decisions that were somewhat out of his character. Perhaps they were rubbing off on each other, just a bit.
Upon closer look, Arthur noticed a small boy and girl were running around, chasing each other. The girl was chasing the boy, to be precise, and she shrieked with delight every time she got closer to him. The boy yelled in excitement every time he evaded her, a crooked grin on his round face. As they got closer and closer to the children, Arthur noticed something very peculiar, and his heart thudded loudly in his chest.
The boy's hair seemed to be unnaturally pale, almost white, and his eyes...were an unusual maroon color. The girl, in contrast, seemed fairly normal, and she had brown hair with bright green eyes.
"Got you!" she exclaimed, and the boy screamed again as she suddenly rammed into him. They both toppled over, laughing and fighting with each other.
Those eyes...that smile...
Arthur didn't know why, but they seemed uncannily familiar. It was...they were too similar to...
Suddenly, the girl barreled into Arthur, and she quickly jumped back, looking up at him in surprise.
"Oops! Sorry, mister! Nice to meet you!"
Arthur stared at her, overcome with emotions he couldn't understand.
It was impossible. It was probably just Arthur imagining things.
But all he could think of was her.
Alfred smiled tenderly at the girl as he squeezed Arthur's hand, as if he knew what Arthur were thinking. He helped the girl up gently.
"You be careful, okay?"
The girl nodded rapidly. "Thanks!" She rushed off towards the boy again, chasing after him. The boy met Arthur's eyes for a split second before grinning sheepishly and running away again.
"Y-You think that was..."
"Hmm..." Alfred shrugged before turning to Arthur. "Let's leave them be."
Arthur knew Alfred missed those two even more than he did, but...he knew they had to let it go. That they had let it go, that they had prayed, and that their wish could have come true.
As they walked away, they failed to notice a third child hiding behind the tree, watching the other two with calm, violet eyes, a small smile, and a dark cowlick that refused to join the rest of his neatly brushed and parted hair.
So they continued, leaving the two to their game.
"I wonder how Alice and Amelia are," Arthur mused, looking at the sky.
The two had moved to a different town on account of Amelia's job over a decade ago, and they hadn't seen them since. But they had continued to spend time with them until they left, and they had gotten to know them well.
"I'm sure they're all right. Just like us," Alfred said, smiling.
"Moving forward."
"Moving forward," Alfred agreed.
Suddenly, Arthur stopped, and Alfred halted immediately, turning to him, slightly confused. Arthur turned to face him hesitantly, a memory popping up in his mind of a conversation they had years ago.
"You never did argue with me about my job. About Francis being my boss. Not once."
Alfred frowned. "Why are you talking about this now?"
"You had so many problems with him before. Why did you never ask me about him?"
Alfred smiled. "Duh. Because I trust you. And besides, he seems to know what he's doing. This time, at least. It can't be helped. Everything aside, he's a pretty cool guy."
He wondered how it had all happened.
Everything, leading up to this. Their happiness. Their being together.
How lucky he was to have Alfred by his side. He had no idea why on earth it was now of all times that he was acting all old and sentimental - perhaps it was those children - but he knew that he was, unfortunately, very deep down...the sentimental type.
"Arthur..." Alfred looked concerned. "You're not gonna start crying, are you?"
"You idiot. There's just...s-something in my eye," Arthur muttered, swiping at his face.
"Uh-huh." Alfred sounded unconvinced.
"Alfred, I just..."
He didn't understand why his feelings for Alfred grew over time. Why, every morning as he looked at Alfred's face, his heart wouldn't stop pounding, why he loved Alfred more and more as time went on, as he discovered more and more about him...
"I'm here." Alfred suddenly took his hand, kissing it. "I'm here. I'm right here."
Arthur looked up in surprise, thinking Alfred had misunderstood and thought he was having another episode, but he realized Alfred understood how he was feeling.
And Alfred had been there for him. They had been there for each other, through nightmares and fits and everything else, they had been together, supporting each other, lifting each other up...
And Arthur knew that he didn't want anything more.
Just to be here, in this moment, with Alfred, was more than enough.
"I love you."
A smile, as radiant as the sun. That had saved Arthur, shown him light, given him meaning...
"I love you, too."
And in soft, gentle voices, Alfred and Arthur sang together as they walked.
'A slender flame burns at the edge of my heart...
Without warning, it spreads into a burning passion
My butterfly, flitting around it chaotically
Scales dropping into your hand...
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...
I want to embrace you, I want you to tell me
That you don't think this is a mistake
I want you to kiss me, I want you to remake me
I want to drown in this moment of captivation...'
Alfred's grip grew tighter, and his voice grew louder. Arthur followed suit.
'Every moment, it's harder to restrain myself
If this is love, I want to wear it on my sleeve...
The 'strange feeling' turns into an unbearable longing...
I would follow you to the end of forever
If my heart goes astray, I will be easily relieved
As if we had no time to feel tender to each other
That dream has never come again
There is no chance in our reality
If we touch, I know we can never go back, and that's just fine...
You are everything in the world to me...'
Alfred slowly came to a stop, turning to look at Arthur, a small smile on his face.
'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?
I want to embrace you, I want you to tell me
That you don't think this is a mistake
I want you to kiss me, I want you to remake me
I want to drown in this moment of captivation
I am drawn to you like a magnet
Even if I left, we would find each other again
I've touched you; I can never go back and that's just fine...'
Blue joined with green as they drew closer to one another, their faces inches apart and slowly closing the gap.
'You are everything in the world to me.'