((Hello!
This is the second story I have written in this series, so it would be wise to first read the prologue, otherwise you may be confused.
It's called 'Enter into a World of Darkness', and can be accessed in my profile.
Thank you for reading! Enjoy this next instalment~))

15 February, 1872
London

Throwing the drained, mangled body to the ground, Arthur looked up to the sky, an expression that could only be described as evil and sadistic was playing on his face. Blood was smeared around his mouth, and dripped down his chin. This was the feeling he enjoyed the most; when the life of the human he killed was flowing through his body, spreading warmth through all those empty veins deep inside of him. That and the screams his victims gave when he sunk his fangs deep into their necks… that was like a beautiful symphony to his ears of which he would happily set on repeat.

He had been living like this for almost as long as he could remember. The only enjoyment Arthur got out of life was that brilliant crimson substance sliding down his throat in the dead of the night. This is who he was now; a monster, and he had learned to embrace it fully over the past two centuries. Of course he had been lonely; who wanted to be acquainted with a monster in the first place? He had gotten used to this though, using his new instincts to hide away the thoughts and emotions of previous events, which still popped up into his mind during the day when he was forced to hide in the darkness of his own lodgings.

It had not been an easy road for him after first becoming a vampire. The hunters had been on to him for years, but he was too quick. He hardly ever saw another one of his kind, as they all went into hiding and hunted alone, which was why the hunters always had so much trouble with them, which was a good thing. However, due to the lack of contact with intelligent beings, Arthur was now quite socially inept. Occasionally he would taunt the attractive human females at night before he killed them, using his naturally given vampire charm, but other than that, he spoke to nobody. He had no friends, and no one to really on… not after that incident two hundred and seventy eight years ago…

Along with all of this, he had also been forced to come to terms with his immortality. It hadn't taken him long to realise that he was frozen in this twenty three year old state for the rest of his existence. At the moment, he was in the exact same physical state as he had been when he was turned. He had grown used to it though, watching as the human's in the area continued to age over time… the ones he didn't kill, that was.

He had had a few close instances with the hunters. Most of them involved substances like holy water, or pure objects like silver that could be used to burn Arthur's skin. Whenever this happened though, the voice of that devil would always float though his mind…

"Run!"

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"Go you idiot! I'll catch up in a minute… RUN!"

Arthur shook his head in attempt to rid himself of these memories… they seemed to keep coming back. As a vampire, he had become attached to this one, specific memory. Ever since he had been turned, he'd had a photographic memory; so he play that memory in his mind in such a quality that it was if he was reliving it. Despite the amount of years it had been, he had not let go. How could he have? Alfred had said he'd be back in a minute… but it had been two hundred and seventy eight years now.

So now when the hunters attacked him, he would follow Alfred's advice yet again and run. It had kept him safe the first time, and would every other time in the future. He did fight though, when he knew that he had a high chance of survival. Many hunters had died at his hand, and he was secretly quite proud of this fact.

Letting out a small sigh, he stood up tall, wiping the blood away from his face with the sleeve of his black overcoat. He always wore black; it was a way for him to keep incognito at night, and no one was able to catch him. Also, the blood stains seemed not to show much when he wore such dark attire, which was also extremely important, considering how messy he kept on getting.

One more…. Just one more human tonight, he thought closing his eyes and breathing in, trying to capture the scent and direction of the nearest human.

This time however, a completely different yet horrifically familiar scent filled his nostrils. Arthur turned around quickly, his reaction currently on high alert.

This moment was one that Arthur would never forget in his entire existence.

Standing behind him was the figure of what supposedly seemed to be Alfred Jones.

At first, Arthur couldn't even comprehend the sight before his eyes. This scene in front of him was like reliving a page from his memory, where Alfred had been standing before him in the dead of the night, whilst Arthur was covered in blood from one of his kills. The devil looked almost exactly the same as he had remembered. His hair was still that deep, midnight black shade, complete with two devil horns which appeared on the sides of his head. His brilliant blue eyes seemed to stare deep down into Arthur's crimson irises, however, dark rings surrounded both of his eyes, as if he looked tired or stressed… which had not been something Arthur recalled from his memory. His black wings were not in view, and had presumably been retracted into his back, and that tail…. Arthur could still remember how it had curled around his wrist when they kissed for the last time.

Surely this was all one illusion, that maybe Arthur had had too much O positive to drink or something… but this seemed pretty darn real to him. Or maybe he was just mistaking this for someone else. Yes…. That was the safest conclusion. Up until the devil spoke:

"Dude! Long time no see!" he said, a big grin on his face.

Arthur, however, was not smiling, but instead was just staring up at Alfred like he was a statue. There were only metres separating them, and it was a wonder that Arthur hadn't noticed him walking up.

"A-Alfred?" he said, his voice higher than usual due to the confusion, "Is that… you?"

"You bet it is! Alfred Jones, the one and only, at your service," he said this all with that same grin, and even made a little bow.

Arthur was not taking this situation as lightly though. It had been centuries since they had last seen each other on that horrible, horrible day which continuously ran through Arthur's mind like a record. The screams, the pain, the separation… and the considerable life readjustment that he had gone through in one night… alone… All because Alfred had never come back. Yet here he was, standing tall. Alive. Alfred was alive! But after all Arthur had been through, he had no idea how to react… he had never even dreamed of this coming, as he had believed him to be dead… gone… he never came back that day… which was why Arthur was now like this, covered in blood, killing for joy more than for the blood. The body at his feet lay there limp and dead, blood still slowly oozing out of its neck. He remembered back to that day when he freaked out over killing that one man… Oh, how innocent he had been.

Arthur, with difficulty, broke eye contact with Alfred and looked down at the ground, his fingers clenched in his hands. "So you're alive then…"

"Of course I'm alive!" Alfred said cheerfully, "The hero doesn't go down that easily! Dude… you okay?"

"Where the hell did you go? I waited for you! I've waited almost three centuries now for you! You never came back… never said anything to let me know you were alive… And you waltz back here and talk to me as if we haven't seen each other in a week. Where the fucking hell have you been!" he was shouting by this point, overcome with a certain rage that not even he could understand. Of course, it had been so long since he had actually had a proper conversation with another being… and he had no idea how to control his temper or his feelings, so everything was just overflowing like a waterfall from his mouth.

Alfred looked a little taken aback by this response, as if he'd expected something different after such a long time. "Artie, you've changed…"

The vampire just rolled his eyes, "Of course I've changed, you git! Now tell me… where did you go? You told me you would catch up…. But you never did…."

Alfred sighed, looking directly at Arthur, who was looking back at the ground again, "I couldn't win… not against a group of hunters like that… they injured me, knocked me unconscious, and took me away somewhere…"

This was what Arthur had suspected had happened, but had refused to believe. It was enlightening to him in a way to know that Alfred hadn't done this on purpose… He looked up into the devil's eyes, his own irises slowly fading back to a dark, murky emerald green shade as the anger inside of him drained out. "How did you get away?" he asked.

"Like I said, Artie, the hero doesn't go down that easily," he replied with a grin.

Arthur just growled. Part of him didn't even know why he was acting like this; presumably due to the fact that he hadn't needed to act human for such a long period of time. "How did you get away?" he emphasised these repeated words from before.

Alfred's eyes widened slightly at Arthur's odd attitude issues, but he let out a small sigh. "When I woke up, I remember seeing fire… and smelling ash, and I was tied to a stake in the ground which was setting on fire. Then I don't know what came over me… Dude it was crazy, you should have seen it! I like, totally lost it to the devil side of me, like how you give into your vampire side…. Anyways, my memories of this day are blurred… but I remember my wings shooting out, and I watched as the humans screamed in fear, and I broke free of the ropes tying me to the stake. Then they through buckets and buckets of holy water on me… scariest freaking moment of my life! It hurt like hell, but somehow I got through it, and flew away… far, far away so that they would never find me. I looked for you, honestly, I did! But you were nowhere to be seen… Anyways, I've found you! Now it's my turn to hide," he said with a wink.

Why…. Why was Alfred so bloody optimistic and happy about everything? It was cruel really, in a way… Arthur could never be like that, and he knew it. "Oh… wow…" he muttered under his breath, staring into Alfred's eyes. They were as beautiful as he had remembered… and they shone, despite the dull light of the moon. "I thought you had died! And… I had to do this all alone… I had no one… I still don't have anyone…" his voice droned down slightly.

"I thought you had died! I was honestly so freaking scared that I'd lost you…. But now you are here! I'm so glad I came back to Europe… because you're here!"

"I did die, you were leaning over my dead corpse before I woke up like this…." He sighed gently, then tilted his head, "You left Europe? Where did you go…?"

"Well yeah, I guess you were pretty dead back then… but you came back to life! So you're like… undead, which is pretty cool, you know…." In answer to the next question, he responded, "I went to America. Pretty sweet place, you know? You should come there with me sometime! I could show you everything!"

"Why the hell would I go anywhere with you?" he spat, almost instantly regretting the words as they fell out of his mouth. He was just speaking his mind now; no thought involved. "You left me like that, and you expect me to just treat it like nothing happened? Besides, I can't even get out of the country in time before the sun rises. I'm sure even you can't fly that fast…."

Alfred just pouted, looking down on Arthur due to his height. The vampire's eyes met with the devil's, and he had yet another round of deja vu. "I don't know… I thought you would be happy to see me… Oh, yeah that… I didn't think of that…"

His words had made Arthur think this time. Was he happy? Arthur was more shocked than anything else, his mind reeling extremely quickly as he took in the sight before him. Alfred had come back… after all those years. Of course he was happy, in a way… but wasn't showing it. He didn't know how to… after all, what was happiness when you have been dead for centuries? "Well, I am happy to see you. And you should think harder before you plan other stupid things…"

"Really? You're happy? Dude, that's awesome! Because I missed you. I know we had only just met and stuff, but those days meant a lot to me. So yeah, now we're back! This is awesome." He said this all with such a happy smile on his face, and Arthur secretly loved it. Everything about Alfred was perfect, especially the fact that he always seemed to be in such a light and carefree mood, which was partially inspirational to the vampire who had been so used to the darkness for all those years.
"You know what? We should go somewhere together!"

In a way, Arthur was weirded out by this conversation. He looked down at himself, where blood stained his clothing, and was most likely smeared across his face. If anyone else were to see him like this, they would either, scream, run, or attempt to kill him. Alfred was different… he still had that same smile on his face, one which seemed to come straight out of Arthur's memories. Of course he was grateful for this. "Sure… fine… I'll go somewhere with you… but what do you have in mind? We can't go too far… I have to be back by sunset."

Alfred seemed to consider this for a few moments, "Hmm.. Well, there's that new clock tower thing that wasn't there last time I was here. I'm sure the view from that would be pretty awesome. You'll love it!"

"Clock tower… you mean Big Ben?" Arthur had walked past the new monument only a few times, paying no particular interest in such things. "Sure, I guess that would be good…" Talking like this made Arthur feel extremely odd… making plans to 'hang out' with someone. He was sure he'd never done that in the entirety of his existence.

Without even a moments warning, Arthur was suddenly being carried in Alfred arms. He opened his mouth to protest, but Alfred's words stopped him, "Come on, let's go! I bet it's not every day you get to do something like this. No complaining, Artie~" As he spoke, he extended his wings out fully. They were so large and glorious and strong, and as black as the night itself. With no hesitation, they were in the air, slowly rising until Arthur could see all of London beneath them. How could he possibly complain about something like this? Besides… Alfred's grasp on him was so beautifully warm and comforting, in a way. It was yet another thing that he had missed, and had secretly been longing for.

He didn't utter a word, but only stared at the world beneath him. It was so different usual, but beautiful all the same. The scenery had definitely changed, especially ever since the industrial revolution. There were more buildings, and gas lamps now lit the streets for humans to see by. In a way, he had been blind to all these changes. His life had revolved around blood and killing and pain… but now he saw how the world had changed around him. Sure some certain events had had an impact on him, things like the Big Stink and other stupid things due to the work of humans. They were all useless creatures, the lot of them.

It didn't take them too long to reach high standing clock tower, and Alfred landed right above the face of the clock. Of course the view was spectacular… a sight that Arthur would commit to memory. He turned and looked behind him at the bells of the clock within the tower. They were large, but beautiful in their own way.

Alfred, who was still holding Arthur in his arms, was still smiling. "Don't fall off now! Although it would be fun to catch you…. But this view is awesome! I think I'm going to stay in London for longer because of this… and because of you."

Arthur just looked back into Alfred's eyes. They were only centimetres apart, "You would really stay here for me?"

"Of course I would! You mean a lot to me, I've said that before. I have never met anyone else like you before."

For the first time in what seemed like years, Arthur smiled. It was completely natural, not forced and not sadistic, but he was genuinely happy, an emotion he hadn't experienced since the last time he had seen Alfred. Sure, drinking blood gave him joy, but that was an entirely different feeling to this. "You mean a lot to me too… I'm glad you didn't give up on me like I did you…"

"Dude, its fine. We're both here, and that's what matters! Don't even think about the past, think about the future."

"Haha… you make it sound so simple. There is no future for me…I mean, look at me… I kill people for fun, and I actually enjoy it now. That's not much of a life, if you ask me…"

"That's just because you're a vampire. You grew up, and got over the initial stage of regret. You're higher than those humans. I dislike them too…"

"Well, it seems we have that in common then…" Arthur said softly.

"We have more than just that in common, Artie…" he whispered back. Arthur loved the nickname; loved it more than he could even describe. He was the only person who had ever called him that, so in a way it was special to him. And right now they were so close, and Arthur could even feel Alfred's heart bumping against his own still chest. It was such a perfect rhythm, just a simple bump-bump, bump-bump…. Arthur couldn't even remember having that feeling inside of his own chest. The idea of himself ever being human before usually slipped his mind entirely…

But as he stood here in the arms of Alfred, he felt comforted in a way which he never had been before. It was as if Alfred had opened his eyes once more, and now Arthur could see how he had wasted those centuries killing and feeding off blood every single night. There were hardly any disruptions besides the hunters. Tonight had been completely unexpected. He had never imagined that something like this would ever happen… it was like something straight out of a fairy tale.

"You know…" Alfred continued in a whisper, "You really haven't changed that much." Arthur opened his mind to disagree, but when he thought about it, he knew Alfred was right. Arthur hadn't changed, he'd only let the vampire take control of his body so he could hide away the thoughts and feelings which usually targeted a human mind. Feelings of love and loss… they were all coming back to him one by one now as he stood there.

"Nor have you," he whispered back, and Alfred leaned forward so that now their foreheads were touching. He had his arms around Alfred's neck, holding him close as if he never wanted to let go of him again. To have a reoccurrence of last time would have been overly traumatic for the vampire. Letting go of the grip around Alfred's neck, he brought his hand down to feel at Alfred's arms. They were so toned and muscular, much unlike Arthur's pathetic, lean arms. Yet again, the warmth of another body felt so brilliant against his own cold skin, and Alfred's body seemed to fit perfectly with his own.

"I'm hoping that's a good thing," he whispered with a smile. Then, without any further warning, Alfred leaned down and pressed his lips against Arthur's, who responded immediately to the stimulus. The kiss was soft, slow, and perfect. Arthur closed his eyes as he let his lips meld around Alfred's as if they had done this hundreds of times before. However though, it didn't take long for this small kiss to evolve into something much more passionate and erotic than any other previous time they had spent together. Alfred's tongue traced the outside of Arthur's lips, as if demanding entry. Arthur granted it, allowing for Alfred's tongue to slip into his mouth, exploring his inside. Arthur couldn't help it; he let out a soft moan, mostly due to the fact that Alfred tasted so brilliant, so perfect… It was like a dream had come true out of nowhere in particular.

However, being a vampire in all of this made things complicated. Due to the fact that it seemed Alfred heartbeat alone was turning him on, there was no way he could get out of this without tasting that crimson substance than ran through the devil's veins. Unable to control this need, he bit down onto Alfred tongue, nipping him gently with his fang. Alfred let out a soft grunt of pain, but saw no reason to stop.

Instantly, an explosion of taste filled Arthur's mouth. Like the last time he had tried this blood, he noticed that it was entirely different to human blood, of which he was so used to. No… this blood was stronger, and almost as sweet as it was bitter, which in the end turned out to be a brilliant combination. He bit down once more, harder this time, and let out another moan of pleasure escape his throat. Alfred however pulled away from Arthur, gasping for breath; his own blood now dripping down his chin. A wide grin was now situated on his face.

"God, Arthur, I need to breathe! Silly vampire… and now my tongue hurts!" he said playfully. he Although it was as if Alfred had said nothing; Arthur just leaned forward once more to lick the blood off Alfred's chin so that it was all clean. In a way, this reflected how he would sometimes play with human females before he killed them, but there was no way in hell that he was going to kill of Alfred… he meant far too much to him.

"Breathing is for the weak," he mumbled, another natural smile playing on his face as he gazed up into Alfred's eyes. He could tell immediately now that he own eyes would have already shifted back into their hungry, crimson red form, meaning he wanted more… a lot more.

"You calling me weak?" Alfred said, smirking, "Let me show you 'weak'" he grinned, gripping Arthur tightly in an embrace before falling to the side in the bell chamber of the clock tower, his wings stopping them both from seriously injuring themselves. Arthur was lying on the ground, blinking slightly from the impact, and Alfred was leaning over him, pressing him to the ground so that there was no way he could even move.

"Is that the best you've got?" Arthur said with a smirk.

"Oh, I'll show you what I've got, little vampire~ With this, he leant closer and pressed his lips against Arthur's in a deep, passionate kiss.