Re: All of a Sudden [2/?]
anonymous
April 4 2009, 07:40:33 UTC
It was complete silence except for Alfred's crying. He'd do it, he'd give up anything to bring back Arthur; himself if that's what it took, but the Grim Reaper takes no bargains, Alfred knows.
Arthur's gone, he'll never see him again. He'll never see those bright green eyes, angry, happy, sad, worried, everything. He'll never hear his voice, see him welcome Alfred to his house, watch him cook, laugh at him drunk, he'll never see it again, hear it again. Alfred knows, he knows so painfully that Arthur is gone.
It drives him mad.
Other countries are aware; at the funeral, they give him hugs while he stares lifelessly at the grave. Matthew gives a specially tight and long hug; he knows, he knows Alfred's in pain, he knows his brother just wants to lay down, lay down and die, never wake up and find Arthur wherever he's gone.
Francis doesn't make any sexual gags. He tells Alfred to look at Arthur, be happy, he isn't in pain anymore from the damned disease. Kiku prays; he is not religious, but he feels it would only be right to Arthur and Alfred as well. Feliciano and Romano offer to take him out to eat one day; eating helps you feel better, they say.
Ivan and Natalia say they've brought the best flowers they could manage to get for Arthur. Yao and Yong Soo brings incense and gifts and flowers to help Arthur pass into the afterlife easier. Ludwig prays for a long time, and he tells Alfred that he's free anytime Alfred needs someone to speak to him.
Alfred nods and thanks them.
They care, he knows, but that doesn't make him feel better.
It wouldn't bring back Arthur.
They did what they could, but the fellow nations knew, knew too well, Alfred either didn't want to heal, he didn't care enough to heal, or he just couldn't. No matter which option, he was frozen in time.
Everyone knows; in Alfred's heart, he is still in that off-white hospital room, still holding Arthur's dead body, still crying and still begging someone to help him.
He hurts, he hurts inside, not just because Arthur died. There's one the countries didn't know; they don't know Alfred loved Arthur, he wanted to spend his life with the guy, be together with him, all his dreams were cracked when Arthur fell ill, they were completely nonexistent when Arthur died.
Alfred comes home everyday, lonely, broken inside. He'd sit down on the couch, flip on the TV that he wouldn't even listen to, and maybe work a bit, eat a bit to keep himself occupied. Occasionally he'd work out, keep himself in shape; it kept him occupied too. Whatever it took to keep him thinking.
If he ever sat, blank in his mind, it wandered back to Arthur.
The Arthur he doesn't know is clutching his shoulder, smirking, the door to the spiritual world open.
Arthur is no idiot, he feels it; he feels Alfred's sorrow, he knows how much Alfred wants to give up, he knows he has to go back, in whatever form possible.
"You remember me, right? Arthur Kirkland. You still owe me. I want you to send me back to Earth as a ghost." He says, and the small fairy looks at him worriedly.
"I... I can send you back, but only for 3 days... beyond that isn't allowed..." she replies meekly, and Arthur nods.
"3 days is enough."
---
3:39 am, I need to sleep. ): I'll finish this up tommorow, ahaha... ha.
Re: All of a Sudden [3/?]
anonymous
April 5 2009, 07:45:54 UTC
Arthur walks down the hallways, his feet don't creak the wooden floor. He looks pale, still in those stuffy hospital clothes. He's not see through though, he's visible to people who can see ghosts and other spirits, he's visible to anyone he chooses to be visible to. So he chooses Alfred.
He pauses in front of the bed and looks at Alfred. He can tell, Alfred is sleeping less because Arthur died, he can see the bags under his eyes. Arthur wants to wake him up, but he figures he should let Alfred sleep.
He yawns; ghosts can sleep too. They don't need to; they don't have to eat, aren't really held back by natural human needs, but they can still pursue eating, sleeping, the like. So he lays on Alfred's bed, beside him, and lets himself fall asleep in due time.
---
Alfred yawns, his eyes are unfocused because he's groggy and his glasses are on the nightstand. He stretches and looks over at his nightstand, one fat blur, and reaches to blindly search his nightstand, except his glasses find their way to him instead.
"Here." A voice says, and Alfeed nods and mumbles thank you. He puts on his glasses, looks around, and sees someone. Floating in mid air with a book.
There is a pregnant pause.
Alfred screams like a wuss, a prissy girl and runs like he's going to be strangled if he doesn't. He nearly runs into a wall and turns to the closet and grabs a broom, and looks at his bedroom door; be a hero, be a hero, be a hero, he tells himself. He's not scared of a ghost, no he's not, it's just a ghost.
Arthur walks out; Alfred's still too scared to realize it's Arthur, drops his broom and screams, running some more. Arthur grits his teeth.
"You bloody git, stop running!" Arthur calls, and Alfred pauses. He looks back, he sees a familiar smirk. He keeps staring, he looks, he can't believe he sees him, he seeing Arthur.
Is he going crazy? He can't tell. He wants to run over and hug Arthur, except his body doesn't know what to do anymore. Everything's running through his mind; is this a dream, am I going crazy, is it some ghost out to kill me and pretending to be Arthur... is it really Arthur?
Arthur sighs, "You git, belt up and get a hold of yourself," and begins his way over to Alfred. The blond does the next natural thing, he takes a few steps back. It continues on like this until Alfred is backed against the wall of his living room. All he can think is doom is impending, even if it's Arthur. Actually, that may be a worse thing if Arthur's come back to piss him off.
"Why the hell are you backing away? I know you're afraid of ghosts, but you can obviously tell I'm me at this point." Arthur complains, but Alfred still looks like he's white as a sheet, and two seconds away from falling over, dead.
"I-I know you're Arthur, but... But you're a ghost! A freaking ghost! H-How do I know you're not just pretending to be Arthur?! Or what if you're mad at me and here to kill me! O-Or did you come to make me help you kill Francis?!" Alfred throws out these wild and nonsensical ideas. Arthur really does consider coaxing Alfred to help him kill Francis, but he thinks against it. He is dead now, he doesn't even have to deal with Francis, but killing him will send Francis to where he is, in other words, suffering through him all over again.
"How do I prove it to you..." Arthur sighs, "Ask me whatever you want. I'll answer it." Alfred twitches, does not move, and thinks of a few questions off the top of his head.
"Did you raise me?" "Yes."
"Do you like tea?" "Yes."
"Do you find me annoying?" "Yes. Very."
"Do you find me stupid?" "Yes. Very."
"Do you love me?" "Yes. ... Wait, what!?"
---
Oh god. Author is so sorry she didn't finish today and swears she will finish tomorrow. Would try and finish now, but it's 4:45 am and she fears the wrath of anyone who catches her awake.
Re: All of a Sudden [3/?]
anonymous
April 5 2009, 22:46:27 UTC
“Okay, I'm done! I believe you!” Alfred says to a flustered Arthur, who has the nerve to run over and smack him. But he doesn't. He smirks instead and begins to speak.
“You've fallen for it, you pathetic human!” He suddenly shouts, and begins to laugh. Alfred is totally unaware and he's glued to the wall again, "What the hell!?" he shouts, and Arthur begins to cackle.
“You moron! You actually believed I was your friend Arthur? You must be an idiot! Now I'm going to kill you; I'll rip your limbs apart and...” He starts, and looks smug and when he looks up at Alfred... who is on the ground. Unconscious. Out like a light, good as dead, no pun intended.
“... Did I scare him that much?” Arthur wonders to himself and crouches down beside an unconscious England. He pokes him a bit and sighs. How the hell's he going to wake up Alfred? He has the nerve to leave him, but he knows, time is very limited. He's already wasted a few hours, all he has is 3 days. It may feel like a lot now, but things are subjected to change.
“Alfred, I was just kidding. Wake up, c'mon.” Alfred does not budge though and Arthur wonders if shock has killed Alfred, but shakes his head. He ponders for a moment; how will he awaken Alfred? And then he smiles.
“You're not a hero, you're a hick with hamburgers for a brain.” Arthur says, and Alfred shoots up almost instantaneously, shouting without a care on how loud he may be.
“I am a hero, damn it! Fuck what everyone else says!” He declares, and pauses when he finds him in his own living room, and turns to see ghost Arthur again. He, by near, faints again, except Arthur slaps his cheek in a swift motion which leaves a sting and a certainly awake Alfred.
“Now look here, Alfred F. Jones. I am a ghost, and my name is Arthur Kirkland. And I will not hesitate to beat your ass until that gets in your head. Got it?” He says with a threatening voice, and Alfred nods meekly back. He may be Arthur, but he's a ghost, and it scares him like a spider scares an arachnophobia child.
Plus, he knows, that gruffness only belongs to Arthur. He recalls it as a child, how it's been used against him countless times, he can not mistake it now. Arthur nods in satisfaction and stands, taking a step back to let Alfred stand.
“W-Well, all right, Ghost Arthur! I-I'm going to get dressed! There's a World Meeting today!” Alfred says, and before Arthur can object, he runs down his hall. Arthur pouts, but shakes his head and sits on his chair. He hasn't even put much thought into what he'd say...
I guess I can just tell him to be happy... No, that wouldn't work. I have to show him he can be happy without me. Maybe I should make him hook up with someone else, it'll make him forget about me. Arthur thinks, but it hurts him. If anything, he wants Alfred to be his, wants to keep him in his arms and love him, be happy with him... but he knows, he knows too well. He can't. He shouldn't.
Re: All of a Sudden [5/6]
anonymous
April 5 2009, 22:49:24 UTC
Author!Anon apologizes for forgetting to change [3/?] to [4/?] XD;;
He can't hold back Alfred. He'll never be happy then. If Arthur truly loved him, even if Alfred didn't reciprocate, he wants him to be happy. Even if it means Alfred will find someone to love, someone that isn't him.
Arthur sighs, and moves to other ideas. Maybe he can tell Alfred he'll always be there... no, that was too corny, he knows it. Plus, it's not even true. The worst thing Arthur can do is lie now, surely. He needs to be honest with Alfred, give him the horrible truth.
“I'm back!” Alfred says, with a grin, dressed in his normal, dull attire with his leather jacket. Arthur sighs and grumbles that he returned to earlier, but Alfred only blinks in response.
“Just... Just head off to your stupid World Meeting. I need to think about something.” Arthur snaps back, and Alfred looks offended, about to respond about Arthur's poor manners, but Arthur looks at him with a scarily dangerous look, which is only more coupled by the fact that he's a ghost.
Alfred thinks he doesn't want to eat breakfast at home that day, and goes out to buy McDonald's.
---
This leaves Arthur to think, think about what to do. He knows he shouldn't leave this off to the last minute, but... He can tell, Alfred was so alone earlier, but Arthur's return, scary as it was for him, lifted his mood, even if he didn't show it because his dumb cowardice covered it up.
He... He doesn't want to kill the mood yet. He wants to spend his days with Alfred normally. So in the end, Arthur decides he won't do anything for now. It'll give him more time to think about how to tell Alfred the cold truth.
That's what Arthur tells himself, and 3 days pass. They pass so fast Arthur doesn't realize it, and he knows that only a few hours remain before he has to go back... but he still can't tell Alfred. He doesn't want to hurt him.
“Arthur, tell me a story.” Alfred suddenly says with a small chuckle. His head is on Arthur's lap and Arthur is busy stroking his hair. Ghost or not, he is still touchable.
“What are you, 5? You stupid git.” Arthur remarks, and Alfred only smiles and laughs a little more. Arthur gives a sheepish smile, and adds, “Fine. I'll give you your stupid story.” Alfred smiles with success on his side, and Arthur rolls his eyes and begins.
“Hm... Once there was two boys who were friends for a long time. All of a sudden, one died, and the other one was miserable. He tries to make the best of it, but he can't. His dead friend can tells he's miserable, and goes to see him, for 3 days. In those 3 days, he told him it'd all be okay and--”
Alfred turns his head to Arthur, “Hold on, Arthur, are you being serious?!” He was in shock, in rage, he was... sad.
Arthur pauses. He isn't sure whether Alfred gets the message by now, but... but, oh forget it. He cuts his story short, and kisses Alfred.
Alfred is stuck, in shock. First off, he's kissing Arthur. Second off, he's kissing a ghost. He doesn't respond for a few moments, in what may be called perpetual shock, before Arthur pulls away, scarlet red.
“... Sorry.” He says, and looks away, sheepishly. What he doesn't expect is Alfred to get back, get back up and kiss him back. It's Arthur's time to be shocked, and when he pulls away, he can see in Alfred's eyes, which are stressed, that he wants the truth.
“Arthur, I'm not that dumb. Are you... Are you seriously leaving?” He asks, brows knitted together. Arthur looks down, and Alfred grabs hold of his shoulders; “Arthur, look at me.”
“... Yes. When it's midnight... I have to go back and I... I'm not allowed to return.” He looks up and sees Alfred willing himself not to cry, but it's obvious the whole resistance is futile. He feels himself embraced by Alfred, and he can't help, but bury himself into his chest, mumbling that it'd be okay...
“But it's not okay! I... I don't want you to leave... It's like you dying all over again...” Alfred chokes out. In his mind, he screams, “Tell him you love him! Tell him you love him, damn it!” But all the more, it's so hard... Even if he's kissed the guy. He wants to kick himself for being such a wuss about the whole thing, but a confession was the least of his problems.
Re: All of a Sudden [6/6]
anonymous
April 5 2009, 22:52:16 UTC
“Life isn't fair, Alfred. It never was and it's not supposed to be.” Arthur replies. He knows he can't play nice guy right now, he has to be tough so Alfred will be strong enough to get through all this.
“Just forget about me. You can make new friends and you can--” Arthur says, but he's so easily cut off by Alfred's voice, which is much more louder, he's angry, Arthur knows. “I can make new friends, I can meet new people, but I can't ever meet another England... Meet another Arthur who I loved...!”
Arthur pauses, and before he knows it, he's clutching Alfred so tightly, the water works pouring out, he is sobbing and all Alfred can do is cry and hold him close too. It hurts, it hurts him like he's stabbed thrice, he just wants to cry. So he cries, he cries with Arthur, the person he wants to spend his life with.
But... but the world is not very kind. Everything does not end with a happy ending.
“Alfred... I love you too... You may not ever meet another me, but you can fall in love again...” Arthur chokes out, but he knows it was no use. The way Alfred holds him so tight, the way he cries, he knows... he knows Alfred doesn't want to fall in love again, he doesn't want anyone else, but Arthur.
It makes Arthur happy, and tears his heart in two, all at once. He loves Alfred, wants him to be his forever, but he knows that if he really loves Alfred as much as he thinks he does, he has to let him go.
“I don't give a damn what you say... I'm going to love you for damn forever...” Alfred replies, and Arthur only cries more. He's never cried this much, not even at the revolution, it feels so... it feels so familiar, yet like a stranger, but he feels no shame, because the person who knows he is crying is Alfred, and he is weeping beside him too.
It was then they kiss again, Alfred begs him to stay, but Arthur knows a deal is a deal. So he lays Alfred's head back down on his lap again and strokes his hair. Alfred wills himself not to, but his eyes, swollen from all his crying, pulls him into sleep, and when he wakes up, he does not see Arthur there.
---
Alfred smiles down at Arthur's grave. How many years has it been? 5, maybe... The other nations have yet to arrive. It is maybe... 5 years since Arthur passed away, the anniversary for his death. Alfred's fellow countries know he is there, and that is why they do not come. They want to give him time with Arthur.
They know he is no longer crying at Arthur's bedside, but they know he misses him.
After all, he is always the first to arrive, and the last to leave.
He crouches down and smiles, “I wonder if you're happy that they come every year, Arthur...” and runs his fingers lightly over the slab of stone, surrounded by grass, under which Arthur is buried. He looks up to the stone above it, detailing Arthur's name and all, but... but something was wrong.
There was nothing there.
At first, Alfred worries someone has grave-robbed Arthur, but a voice surprises him.
“It doesn't really matter to me, as long as you're there.”
Alfred turns instantaneously and what he says is enough to kill him, from the shock, the joy, everything. Because that was Arthur, right behind him, not in his hospital clothes; he looks the same as he did 5 years ago, messy blond hair and think eyebrows, with a green sweater vest and a tie and for the love of God, it's Arthur Kirkland, England, it's the person Alfred loved, and still loves.
Alfred wonders that maybe the world truly is kind, and maybe his story may end with a happy ending too, because he is embracing Arthur, never wanting to let go, and Arthur wraps his arms back around Alfred.
It is no ghost, it is no illusion, it is Arthur, alive and breathing, warm and full of life, and still in love with Alfred as much as he was 5 years back.
---
OTL;; Author!Anon apologizes for terrible, rushed, and then corny ending. She just likes her happy ending, ahaha... ha;; please don't kill me, aye?
Re: All of a Sudden [6/6]
anonymous
April 6 2009, 00:53:46 UTC
AHHHHHHHH I LOVED THAT!! (NOT OP) I LOVE PARANORMAL FICS, ANON! That was funny, sweet, sad and completely perfect at the end T_T! Epic! I loved it so much! Thank you for that!
NOT OP BUT SAKLAJSDSAJKADS
anonymous
April 6 2009, 08:16:20 UTC
That was so awesome anon, really, it was MADE from pure epic. I felt myself wibbling during it all and then at the end just. . .pure happy endings! <33 Thaaaank you~!
Re: All of a Sudden [6/6]
anonymous
April 16 2009, 23:55:45 UTC
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS That was beautiful. It was just like England to be able to visit America as a ghost, but I wasn't expected the very last bit. Very cute~
Arthur's gone, he'll never see him again. He'll never see those bright green eyes, angry, happy, sad, worried, everything. He'll never hear his voice, see him welcome Alfred to his house, watch him cook, laugh at him drunk, he'll never see it again, hear it again. Alfred knows, he knows so painfully that Arthur is gone.
It drives him mad.
Other countries are aware; at the funeral, they give him hugs while he stares lifelessly at the grave. Matthew gives a specially tight and long hug; he knows, he knows Alfred's in pain, he knows his brother just wants to lay down, lay down and die, never wake up and find Arthur wherever he's gone.
Francis doesn't make any sexual gags. He tells Alfred to look at Arthur, be happy, he isn't in pain anymore from the damned disease. Kiku prays; he is not religious, but he feels it would only be right to Arthur and Alfred as well. Feliciano and Romano offer to take him out to eat one day; eating helps you feel better, they say.
Ivan and Natalia say they've brought the best flowers they could manage to get for Arthur. Yao and Yong Soo brings incense and gifts and flowers to help Arthur pass into the afterlife easier. Ludwig prays for a long time, and he tells Alfred that he's free anytime Alfred needs someone to speak to him.
Alfred nods and thanks them.
They care, he knows, but that doesn't make him feel better.
It wouldn't bring back Arthur.
They did what they could, but the fellow nations knew, knew too well, Alfred either didn't want to heal, he didn't care enough to heal, or he just couldn't. No matter which option, he was frozen in time.
Everyone knows; in Alfred's heart, he is still in that off-white hospital room, still holding Arthur's dead body, still crying and still begging someone to help him.
He hurts, he hurts inside, not just because Arthur died. There's one the countries didn't know; they don't know Alfred loved Arthur, he wanted to spend his life with the guy, be together with him, all his dreams were cracked when Arthur fell ill, they were completely nonexistent when Arthur died.
Alfred comes home everyday, lonely, broken inside. He'd sit down on the couch, flip on the TV that he wouldn't even listen to, and maybe work a bit, eat a bit to keep himself occupied. Occasionally he'd work out, keep himself in shape; it kept him occupied too. Whatever it took to keep him thinking.
If he ever sat, blank in his mind, it wandered back to Arthur.
The Arthur he doesn't know is clutching his shoulder, smirking, the door to the spiritual world open.
Arthur is no idiot, he feels it; he feels Alfred's sorrow, he knows how much Alfred wants to give up, he knows he has to go back, in whatever form possible.
"You remember me, right? Arthur Kirkland. You still owe me. I want you to send me back to Earth as a ghost." He says, and the small fairy looks at him worriedly.
"I... I can send you back, but only for 3 days... beyond that isn't allowed..." she replies meekly, and Arthur nods.
"3 days is enough."
---
3:39 am, I need to sleep. ): I'll finish this up tommorow, ahaha... ha.
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He pauses in front of the bed and looks at Alfred. He can tell, Alfred is sleeping less because Arthur died, he can see the bags under his eyes. Arthur wants to wake him up, but he figures he should let Alfred sleep.
He yawns; ghosts can sleep too. They don't need to; they don't have to eat, aren't really held back by natural human needs, but they can still pursue eating, sleeping, the like. So he lays on Alfred's bed, beside him, and lets himself fall asleep in due time.
---
Alfred yawns, his eyes are unfocused because he's groggy and his glasses are on the nightstand. He stretches and looks over at his nightstand, one fat blur, and reaches to blindly search his nightstand, except his glasses find their way to him instead.
"Here." A voice says, and Alfeed nods and mumbles thank you. He puts on his glasses, looks around, and sees someone. Floating in mid air with a book.
There is a pregnant pause.
Alfred screams like a wuss, a prissy girl and runs like he's going to be strangled if he doesn't. He nearly runs into a wall and turns to the closet and grabs a broom, and looks at his bedroom door; be a hero, be a hero, be a hero, he tells himself. He's not scared of a ghost, no he's not, it's just a ghost.
Arthur walks out; Alfred's still too scared to realize it's Arthur, drops his broom and screams, running some more. Arthur grits his teeth.
"You bloody git, stop running!" Arthur calls, and Alfred pauses. He looks back, he sees a familiar smirk. He keeps staring, he looks, he can't believe he sees him, he seeing Arthur.
Is he going crazy? He can't tell. He wants to run over and hug Arthur, except his body doesn't know what to do anymore. Everything's running through his mind; is this a dream, am I going crazy, is it some ghost out to kill me and pretending to be Arthur... is it really Arthur?
Arthur sighs, "You git, belt up and get a hold of yourself," and begins his way over to Alfred. The blond does the next natural thing, he takes a few steps back. It continues on like this until Alfred is backed against the wall of his living room. All he can think is doom is impending, even if it's Arthur. Actually, that may be a worse thing if Arthur's come back to piss him off.
"Why the hell are you backing away? I know you're afraid of ghosts, but you can obviously tell I'm me at this point." Arthur complains, but Alfred still looks like he's white as a sheet, and two seconds away from falling over, dead.
"I-I know you're Arthur, but... But you're a ghost! A freaking ghost! H-How do I know you're not just pretending to be Arthur?! Or what if you're mad at me and here to kill me! O-Or did you come to make me help you kill Francis?!" Alfred throws out these wild and nonsensical ideas. Arthur really does consider coaxing Alfred to help him kill Francis, but he thinks against it. He is dead now, he doesn't even have to deal with Francis, but killing him will send Francis to where he is, in other words, suffering through him all over again.
"How do I prove it to you..." Arthur sighs, "Ask me whatever you want. I'll answer it." Alfred twitches, does not move, and thinks of a few questions off the top of his head.
"Did you raise me?"
"Yes."
"Do you like tea?"
"Yes."
"Do you find me annoying?"
"Yes. Very."
"Do you find me stupid?"
"Yes. Very."
"Do you love me?"
"Yes. ... Wait, what!?"
---
Oh god. Author is so sorry she didn't finish today and swears she will finish tomorrow. Would try and finish now, but it's 4:45 am and she fears the wrath of anyone who catches her awake.
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i love this by the way.
and there is no explanation for why i am up right now. lol
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At the same time, I can't stop laughing at "or did you come to make me help you kill Francis?". You know he would come back to do just that!!! XDD
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“You've fallen for it, you pathetic human!” He suddenly shouts, and begins to laugh. Alfred is totally unaware and he's glued to the wall again, "What the hell!?" he shouts, and Arthur begins to cackle.
“You moron! You actually believed I was your friend Arthur? You must be an idiot! Now I'm going to kill you; I'll rip your limbs apart and...” He starts, and looks smug and when he looks up at Alfred... who is on the ground. Unconscious. Out like a light, good as dead, no pun intended.
“... Did I scare him that much?” Arthur wonders to himself and crouches down beside an unconscious England. He pokes him a bit and sighs. How the hell's he going to wake up Alfred? He has the nerve to leave him, but he knows, time is very limited. He's already wasted a few hours, all he has is 3 days. It may feel like a lot now, but things are subjected to change.
“Alfred, I was just kidding. Wake up, c'mon.” Alfred does not budge though and Arthur wonders if shock has killed Alfred, but shakes his head. He ponders for a moment; how will he awaken Alfred? And then he smiles.
“You're not a hero, you're a hick with hamburgers for a brain.” Arthur says, and Alfred shoots up almost instantaneously, shouting without a care on how loud he may be.
“I am a hero, damn it! Fuck what everyone else says!” He declares, and pauses when he finds him in his own living room, and turns to see ghost Arthur again. He, by near, faints again, except Arthur slaps his cheek in a swift motion which leaves a sting and a certainly awake Alfred.
“Now look here, Alfred F. Jones. I am a ghost, and my name is Arthur Kirkland. And I will not hesitate to beat your ass until that gets in your head. Got it?” He says with a threatening voice, and Alfred nods meekly back. He may be Arthur, but he's a ghost, and it scares him like a spider scares an arachnophobia child.
Plus, he knows, that gruffness only belongs to Arthur. He recalls it as a child, how it's been used against him countless times, he can not mistake it now. Arthur nods in satisfaction and stands, taking a step back to let Alfred stand.
“W-Well, all right, Ghost Arthur! I-I'm going to get dressed! There's a World Meeting today!” Alfred says, and before Arthur can object, he runs down his hall. Arthur pouts, but shakes his head and sits on his chair. He hasn't even put much thought into what he'd say...
I guess I can just tell him to be happy... No, that wouldn't work. I have to show him he can be happy without me. Maybe I should make him hook up with someone else, it'll make him forget about me. Arthur thinks, but it hurts him. If anything, he wants Alfred to be his, wants to keep him in his arms and love him, be happy with him... but he knows, he knows too well. He can't. He shouldn't.
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He can't hold back Alfred. He'll never be happy then. If Arthur truly loved him, even if Alfred didn't reciprocate, he wants him to be happy. Even if it means Alfred will find someone to love, someone that isn't him.
Arthur sighs, and moves to other ideas. Maybe he can tell Alfred he'll always be there... no, that was too corny, he knows it. Plus, it's not even true. The worst thing Arthur can do is lie now, surely. He needs to be honest with Alfred, give him the horrible truth.
“I'm back!” Alfred says, with a grin, dressed in his normal, dull attire with his leather jacket. Arthur sighs and grumbles that he returned to earlier, but Alfred only blinks in response.
“Just... Just head off to your stupid World Meeting. I need to think about something.” Arthur snaps back, and Alfred looks offended, about to respond about Arthur's poor manners, but Arthur looks at him with a scarily dangerous look, which is only more coupled by the fact that he's a ghost.
Alfred thinks he doesn't want to eat breakfast at home that day, and goes out to buy McDonald's.
---
This leaves Arthur to think, think about what to do. He knows he shouldn't leave this off to the last minute, but... He can tell, Alfred was so alone earlier, but Arthur's return, scary as it was for him, lifted his mood, even if he didn't show it because his dumb cowardice covered it up.
He... He doesn't want to kill the mood yet. He wants to spend his days with Alfred normally. So in the end, Arthur decides he won't do anything for now. It'll give him more time to think about how to tell Alfred the cold truth.
That's what Arthur tells himself, and 3 days pass. They pass so fast Arthur doesn't realize it, and he knows that only a few hours remain before he has to go back... but he still can't tell Alfred. He doesn't want to hurt him.
“Arthur, tell me a story.” Alfred suddenly says with a small chuckle. His head is on Arthur's lap and Arthur is busy stroking his hair. Ghost or not, he is still touchable.
“What are you, 5? You stupid git.” Arthur remarks, and Alfred only smiles and laughs a little more. Arthur gives a sheepish smile, and adds, “Fine. I'll give you your stupid story.” Alfred smiles with success on his side, and Arthur rolls his eyes and begins.
“Hm... Once there was two boys who were friends for a long time. All of a sudden, one died, and the other one was miserable. He tries to make the best of it, but he can't. His dead friend can tells he's miserable, and goes to see him, for 3 days. In those 3 days, he told him it'd all be okay and--”
Alfred turns his head to Arthur, “Hold on, Arthur, are you being serious?!” He was in shock, in rage, he was... sad.
Arthur pauses. He isn't sure whether Alfred gets the message by now, but... but, oh forget it. He cuts his story short, and kisses Alfred.
Alfred is stuck, in shock. First off, he's kissing Arthur. Second off, he's kissing a ghost. He doesn't respond for a few moments, in what may be called perpetual shock, before Arthur pulls away, scarlet red.
“... Sorry.” He says, and looks away, sheepishly. What he doesn't expect is Alfred to get back, get back up and kiss him back. It's Arthur's time to be shocked, and when he pulls away, he can see in Alfred's eyes, which are stressed, that he wants the truth.
“Arthur, I'm not that dumb. Are you... Are you seriously leaving?” He asks, brows knitted together. Arthur looks down, and Alfred grabs hold of his shoulders; “Arthur, look at me.”
“... Yes. When it's midnight... I have to go back and I... I'm not allowed to return.” He looks up and sees Alfred willing himself not to cry, but it's obvious the whole resistance is futile. He feels himself embraced by Alfred, and he can't help, but bury himself into his chest, mumbling that it'd be okay...
“But it's not okay! I... I don't want you to leave... It's like you dying all over again...” Alfred chokes out. In his mind, he screams, “Tell him you love him! Tell him you love him, damn it!” But all the more, it's so hard... Even if he's kissed the guy. He wants to kick himself for being such a wuss about the whole thing, but a confession was the least of his problems.
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“Just forget about me. You can make new friends and you can--” Arthur says, but he's so easily cut off by Alfred's voice, which is much more louder, he's angry, Arthur knows. “I can make new friends, I can meet new people, but I can't ever meet another England... Meet another Arthur who I loved...!”
Arthur pauses, and before he knows it, he's clutching Alfred so tightly, the water works pouring out, he is sobbing and all Alfred can do is cry and hold him close too. It hurts, it hurts him like he's stabbed thrice, he just wants to cry. So he cries, he cries with Arthur, the person he wants to spend his life with.
But... but the world is not very kind. Everything does not end with a happy ending.
“Alfred... I love you too... You may not ever meet another me, but you can fall in love again...” Arthur chokes out, but he knows it was no use. The way Alfred holds him so tight, the way he cries, he knows... he knows Alfred doesn't want to fall in love again, he doesn't want anyone else, but Arthur.
It makes Arthur happy, and tears his heart in two, all at once. He loves Alfred, wants him to be his forever, but he knows that if he really loves Alfred as much as he thinks he does, he has to let him go.
“I don't give a damn what you say... I'm going to love you for damn forever...” Alfred replies, and Arthur only cries more. He's never cried this much, not even at the revolution, it feels so... it feels so familiar, yet like a stranger, but he feels no shame, because the person who knows he is crying is Alfred, and he is weeping beside him too.
It was then they kiss again, Alfred begs him to stay, but Arthur knows a deal is a deal. So he lays Alfred's head back down on his lap again and strokes his hair. Alfred wills himself not to, but his eyes, swollen from all his crying, pulls him into sleep, and when he wakes up, he does not see Arthur there.
---
Alfred smiles down at Arthur's grave. How many years has it been? 5, maybe... The other nations have yet to arrive. It is maybe... 5 years since Arthur passed away, the anniversary for his death. Alfred's fellow countries know he is there, and that is why they do not come. They want to give him time with Arthur.
They know he is no longer crying at Arthur's bedside, but they know he misses him.
After all, he is always the first to arrive, and the last to leave.
He crouches down and smiles, “I wonder if you're happy that they come every year, Arthur...” and runs his fingers lightly over the slab of stone, surrounded by grass, under which Arthur is buried. He looks up to the stone above it, detailing Arthur's name and all, but... but something was wrong.
There was nothing there.
At first, Alfred worries someone has grave-robbed Arthur, but a voice surprises him.
“It doesn't really matter to me, as long as you're there.”
Alfred turns instantaneously and what he says is enough to kill him, from the shock, the joy, everything. Because that was Arthur, right behind him, not in his hospital clothes; he looks the same as he did 5 years ago, messy blond hair and think eyebrows, with a green sweater vest and a tie and for the love of God, it's Arthur Kirkland, England, it's the person Alfred loved, and still loves.
Alfred wonders that maybe the world truly is kind, and maybe his story may end with a happy ending too, because he is embracing Arthur, never wanting to let go, and Arthur wraps his arms back around Alfred.
It is no ghost, it is no illusion, it is Arthur, alive and breathing, warm and full of life, and still in love with Alfred as much as he was 5 years back.
---
OTL;; Author!Anon apologizes for terrible, rushed, and then corny ending. She just likes her happy ending, ahaha... ha;; please don't kill me, aye?
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continue dear anon! :)
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