Arthur

The first and what should have been the last time that I met the man named Arthur I was sitting in a McDonalds when I was seven with my parents. I had always liked going to McDonalds, though the food was horrible for you. But for me, it was more about being with my family than the yummy Happy Meal and toy. Those things were just added to the awesomeness. And even though Dad would always order too much food and then complain at the cost, and Mom would always snap at him I still had fond memories.

I remember looking at Arthur once, before it happened. He looked scraggily, far too skinny, and had been wearing too many layers in the summer. All of those things had caused my mom to mutter the word "homeless man" under her breath and say how he should be "polluting" a homeless shelter and not a restaurant as we had walked in.

People always say fast food would kill you. However it wasn't the food that killed fifteen of the twenty-six people in the Mickey D's that day. It had been a crazy Realtor depressed over the housing market, who had open fired at the restaurant before shooting himself in the head.

I had almost died, I saw the man raise the gun towards me, but before he could do anything that homeless man that my mom had ridiculed had thrown himself over me, protecting me from the bullets, but giving up his own life.

As the police arrived, all I did was cry and beg the man not to die. I was so terrified for him, but he on the other hand looked so calm and accepting of death. The green eyes were so vibrant and gentle that I couldn't believe it. But somehow they looked so sad…so very very sad.

"Wh…What's your name?" The homeless man asked me…quieter than a whisper as I squeezed his hand. He had a strange accent, British; I recognized it from the Harry Potter movies.

"Alfred. I'm Alfred F. Jones." I somehow managed to sob out. The man gently stroked my hair with a bloodstained hand, so much more tender than my own father had ever been.

"Alfred…what a good name…it's very nice to meet you, love…very nice. My name is…Arthur." And the homeless man named Arthur, smiled at me. Then his body stiffened and I watched his vibrant eyes grow dull.

His name had taken his last breath away from him.

There was a huge story about it. All of the news channels and newspapers were telling the story of a hero, a hobo named Arthur, who saved a little boy and died bravely. No one could find his family, or any of his belongings, or any record that he had even existed besides his body. It was as if he was a leaf, blown here by the wind.

They buried him in the town's cemetery, with a tombstone that read, Arthur, AHeroThatTragedyTook,ButWhomWeShallNeverForget. And almost the whole entire town came out for the funeral. People thanked him for what he did, people cried, and the tombstone was almost buried under flowers and candles. For the people who had lost someone, this anonymous hero was a beacon of light and hope.

And I just remember standing at the tombstone of the man who had saved me, and wishing I could meet him one more time. I wanted to tell him thank you for giving me the greatest gift of all, my life. I wanted to meet him and to hold his hand, and to hug him. To let him know how much good he had done.

I wanted to be a hero, just like him.

And so I grew up with those thoughts in mind, and didn't know of the magic that was being spun outside of my door.

~~~~~OMGitsgreen~~~~~

Twelve Years Later

"Hey Al, how's your paper coming along?" Gilbert Weilschmidt asked me as I took a sip from my coffee mug and stared at the screen of my laptop.

"On page thirteen." I muttered under my breath before scratching my head, "These last two pages aren't coming easy."

"Lucky, I'm only on page three." Gilbert said with a laugh. I chuckled under my breath as my cousin Matt smacked him hard.

"Isn't that paper due in two days?" Matt asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well yeah." Gilbert said nervously.

"You get your ass to our dorm room and get moving on the paper!" Matt said pointing out the door of the small café. Gilbert mumbled something in hushed German before he stomped out. Matt and I sat in silence before I closed my own laptop.

"I've been working on this for about forty eight hours already. I think I'm gonna take a break." I sighed before putting the laptop back into my backpack.

"At least you're almost done."

"Yeah, thank god for that." I said stretching and getting up, "So dude, want to go hit the gym?"

"Sorry Al, I've got a lecture I got to go to in thirty minutes." Matt said, getting up himself. We did our regular top-secret handshake, before I smacked his back.

"Aight dude. Catch ya on the flip side." I said before waving and walking down the street in the opposite direction of him, and texted Kiku to tell him that I was heading back.

Most of my classes were in the mornings, as I always liked to get my things done as quick as possible, which left me with enough time to do whatever homework and shit I wanted to in the afternoon. As a hopeful med student, I was taking plenty of rigorous courses and defiantly needed the time to do all of that. No crazy parties and what not for me. Not that I minded or anything, I wasn't too keen on getting drunk in my everyday life.

As I was walking, I began to wonder what method I should do to get to my dorm. I could walk, and since it was a nice day I wouldn't mind that, but it was a good fifty-minute walk and that was waaaay too much for my fatass to handle. I could catch a trolley back at the next trolley stop, but those were always way too crowded. My last option was taking the subway. I always did like the subway, though sometimes it smelt like homeless people.

So I began to walk to the subway station, along with the many other people and students at World Union University. Though I stopped by the door and began to dig my pass out of my backpack.

That was when my cell phone vibrated.

For a moment I frowned and took it out, maybe it was Matt texting me to tell me I forgot something. But that thought was immediately expelled when I saw the number.

432836

What the hell kind of telephone number was that? Was it one of those Verizon bastards texting me about some sort of stupid upgrade or something again? With a sigh I opened up my phone, expecting something about a new cellphone that I didn't have enough money to buy because I was a broke college student.

However that was not what I got.

Do not take the subway.

A simple message. But the warning made my stomach sink.

I immediately began to glare at the cellphone. Maybe it was one of those sicko stalker girls that followed me around sometimes. I knew for a fact that none of my friends used proper English when they were texting, so it couldn't have been one of them texting from another phone. I took a quick look around, looking for someone who might've been watching me, before punching back my answer.

who the hell is this?

I sent it and stomped back to the card swipe and walked through and began to make my way across the station to the stair, when suddenly my phone vibrated again. I opened it to see the same number as before.

Do not take the subway.

I gritted my teeth and quickly typed back my answer.

ill do whatev i want.

I made it down the stairs and watched the train approach, feeling the wind whip my hair off my skin. The other passengers got off of the train, and I began to reach for the door.

My cellphone buzzed once again and I opened it.

Please.

My blood went cold. I immediately began to walk away from the subway, feeling my steps becoming faster and faster until I was out of the subways at a full on sprint. I was running as fast as I could, away from the subway station, trying to outrun whoever was watching me. As soon as I was far enough away, I collapsed on a bench to the trolley car that would hopefully take me back to my dorm room. I stared at my cellphone, and at those messages before taking a deep breath and typing in a final response.

who is this?

I waited for a response as more and more people began to mill about the trolley stop. Seconds slipped into minutes, and I finally gave up. Whoever it was, apparently wasn't going to answer me, or was just simply appeased at the fact that I had taken their warning. I just sighed as the trolley pulled up. I guess it was just going to take me longer getting back to the dorm than I wanted to for a well-deserved nap. I had certainly had too much excitement for one day.

About twenty minutes later, I got off the trolley and made my way up the stairs, before my roommate Kiku tackled me to the ground. I yelped, Kiku never hugged. And he certainly wasn't a touchy feely person.

"Thank God you're alright!" He gasped, hugging me so tight that I was sure that I was about to have a couple of my ribs broken.

"Ow! Kiku! Can't breathe! What's going on?" I shouted dislodging myself from his embrace. He looked at me dumbfounded.

"Didn't you hear? About thirty minutes ago the northbound subway train crashed into the eastbound one, the one that we always take to get back to the dorm!" He explained.

I felt all of the blood drain out of my body.

"I-It crashed? You aren't shitting me? It…it…" I whispered, feeling my stomach lurch. I immediately scrambled for the dorm room and dive-bombed into the bathroom and began to throw up whatever was in my stomach. Kiku stood by the door, looking concerned.

"Alfred-san…is something wrong?" Kiku asked. However I was far too occupied with staring at my cellphone.

"Someone texted me, Kiku. Someone texted me right before I was going to get on the train and told me not too." I said between gasps. Kiku looked confused.

"Let me see your phone." Kiku said, and I dug it out of my pocket and handed it to him. He flipped through the history before he frowned, "There are no messages like that on your phone."

"What? But-" I started to protest, snatching my phone away, only to see that Kiku was right. There were no messages like that. My last received message was from Kiku, when he had replied to my message telling him that I was coming home.

"Are you sure you are not imagining it?" Kiku said, tipping his head to the side. I shook my head. I typed in the number that had texted me, 432836, and sent them an exclamation point or something stupid like that.

Almost immediately I got a text from Verizon, telling me that the number didn't exist.

My hands were shaking.

What on Earth was going on?

~~~~~OMGitsgreen~~~~~

That night I sat on a bench outside, in my sweatpants and sweatshirt, staring up at the moon. Classes had been cancelled for the rest of the week because of the subway crash, and the fact that forty-seven students who had been in this university had died. Thankfully, all of my friends were safe but…

If it hadn't been for the mystery person who had texted, it would've ended up being forty-eighth student.

I shivered at the thought before lifting my cellphone up, to block the radiant moonlight. My phone was an Envy Three, one of those ones with the older keypads on the top, and one of the newer ones if you flipped it. But right now I was entranced by the groups of letters under the numbers.

432836

GHI, DEF, ABC, TUV, DEF, MNO

It was a puzzle. It was a word puzzle. I thought to myself with a smile. And immediately began picking out the letters to form words.

Gebteo, Idatem, Hfaven-

I blinked at my realization.

H…E…A…V…E…N. Heaven? A text from Heaven?

I began to chuckle to myself.

"Well, what do you know? A text from Heaven. Maybe my guardian angel was doing his job today." I said with a big smile.

That smile dropped off my face as soon as my cellphone started buzzing again. I looked on the screen to see it was another text, from that number. I quickly opened up my phone.

Why thank you, love. It's all in a day's work.

I stared...and stared…and stared a little more. I finally typed in the response I had been sending this whole time.

WHO IS THIS?

The answer came back immediately.

Arthur.

I immediately chucked my phone as far away from me as I could. I stood up and began to turn around, desperately looking for the person in the shadows.

"Who's there? I know you're there! I don't know how the hell you know about me and my past, but just cut the shit!" I shouted wildly into the darkness. I finally gritted my teeth and glared at the ground, not caring how I might have looked to any passerby.

I wanted to become a doctor, so I could save people and be of assistance to others in my life. I wanted…I wanted to make Arthur proud, wherever he was. I wanted to show him that saving my life wasn't for nothing. I wanted to be a hero for him, because I loved him so desperately that it was possibly borderline obsession. So for someone to be playing such an awful joke on tore my heart out and shredded it into a million tiny pieces. It wasn't funny to make fun of a dead person…or me like this.

That thought stopped as soon as I felt warm hands slide up underneath my glasses, and being held over my eyes. I immediately stiffened as the person bent down and whispered,

"Guess who?" That voice…that voice that I knew from my dreams…my memories… that soft, accented voice filled with warmth.

I screwed my eyes close, and held my breath, to scared that anything I might do would break this illusion. I felt those warm, gentle hands move from my eyes, to trace the curve of my shoulders, to finally wrap around my waist and hug me.

"Ah, my love. How good it is to see you up close after all of these years. You have grown up so wonderfully haven't you?" His voice laughed, the sound reminiscent of bells, birdsong, and everything wonderful in this world. I felt my knees go weak as he buried his head into the place between my shoulder blades.

"A-A-A-A..." I tried to say, but I was far too overcome with emotion. This had to be a dream. But even if it was, I didn't want to wake up.

I felt his arms loosen and disappear, though my heart ached at the loss. But soon enough, I felt those hands cup my cheeks.

"Alfred, love, won't you look at me?" He asked me, and I swear I could hear the smile in his voice. "I won't disappear if you look at me."

I finally opened my eyes.

And there he was.

He was literally glowing in the moonlight, wearing a white toga that was only connected on one shoulder and fell to mid thigh. His skin was porcelain white, and his hair the color of sunlight, while his eyes were as vibrant green as ever, but instead of looking as sad as they had in the past, they were filled with warmth and love. But those weren't the most shocking features. The most surprising thing about it was the large expanse of snow-white wings, and the golden halo floating above his head.

I felt tears streaming down my face.

"Arthur…" I whispered, reaching out for him. He accepted my embrace and I pulled him, as close to me as humanly possible, though I was careful of his wings.

"Ah, Alfred. How glad I am to see you once more." He chuckled into my shoulder.

"I'm so happy…I'm so happy to see you!" I sobbed. I felt him stand on his tippy toes to kiss away my tears.

"Now no more crying over me, lad. You've done quite enough of that in the past twelve years." Arthur said trying to sound more annoyed than he was.

"But…it was my fault you died. If I hadn't-"

"Now listen to me, Alfred Franklin Jones. I did what I did because I wanted to save you. In my life, as Arthur Ignatius Kirkland there was nothing but darkness and addiction. I was a street rat, going to be sent to a certain afterlife in hell. So after I died and when I saw you, Alfred, you looked so innocent, and happy. So much so that I couldn't bear to let you die. I stole away to the mortal world and protected you. I honestly couldn't have been happier, Alfred." Arthur reassured me.

"Kirkland… you're last name is…er…was Kirkland?"

"Why, yes. Yes it was. A long, long time ago."

"The police couldn't find out who you were."

"I wasn't too surprised at that. I'm not a human. Now Alfred, I must tell you something very important, so listen to me." Arthur said tapping my nose with his finger.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"You have a dream, don't you?"

"Yes! I'm going to become a doctor." I explained, and Arthur smiled.

"Oh yes, I know. You must follow that dream, Alfred. Do not let others try to get you to do things you don't wish to do. Stay on the path that you've chosen, and you shall live the best life you can live." Arthur said with a smile, and I suddenly saw that he was becoming translucent. I grabbed his shoulders, desperately.

"No! You can't leave yet! I have so many things to tell you!" I gasped.

"I can't stay in the in-between place any longer, Alfred. I've done my duty and protected you…and now I can finally go to heaven." Arthur told me with another one of those smiles before looking up at the stars dreamily.

"What do you mean? Aren't you already an angel?"

"Angels are people trapped in the in-between place. If we do two great deeds we can finally go to heaven." Arthur explained.

"But there's still so much that I have to tell you!" I shouted, watching in horror as his wings began to dissolve. Tears were freely streaming down my face.

"Go ahead, Alfred. I don't have much longer."

"I love you, Arthur! I've been in love with you ever since you saved me! I'll never love anyone as much as I loved you!" I told him, feeling those tears sliding down my face again. Arthur looked startled, before he continued to smile. Even as he began to cry as well.

"Thank you, Alfred. I love you too. I've always loved you, and always will love you." Arthur said. I gently cupped his face, and pressed our lips together. He tasted like sunshine, melted smiles and laughter, of things that shouldn't have flavor. I pulled away, and watched as he began to float up, and slip out of my grasp.

"I'll find you again, Arthur! I swear! I'll find you!" I shouted to the heavens.

"Find me soon, Alfred." Arthur said though it could've just been a whisper in the wind.

And then, I was all alone, staring up at the stars, at heaven.

To the place were Arthur Kirkland had disappeared.

~~~~~OMGitsgreen~~~~~

Many Years Later

Arthur Ignatius Kirkland had lived in Victorian era London and had died after he had killed himself by jumping off a bridge, after he failed at protecting his brother Peter Kirkland from death at the hands of a murderer. Peter Kirkland apparently had had blue eyes and blonde hair, much like my own. Maybe that's why, even in the afterlife, Arthur had been attracted to me and why he had spent his two great deeds saving my life.

I pondered over those things as I was pretending to look over my files from my latest patient. My thoughts often traveled back to the past, when I was bored. My train of thought was soon disturbed by one of my nurses who came knocking on my door.

"Dr. Jones, the newest doctor has just arrived. Would you like to meet him?" My nurse, Hilary asked me. I got up from my desk and brushed my hands on my lab coat.

"Of course. Just show me where he's at." I said with a big smile that made Hilary grin. I walked with her down the hall, only to see the group of doctors I worked with milling around the new guy. But it wasn't the fact that the other doctors seemed genuinely happy to talk to the new guy, or how the nurses were gossiping over him, or that the new guy turned to me quickly as I approached that made my heart leap up into my throat.

It was his eyebrows…his hair…his vibrant green eyes that twinkled with knowledge and mischief.

"Why, 'ello Dr. Jones. It's very nice too see you again. I'm Dr. Kirkland." Arthur said with a smile.

"Wait, Al, do you know him?" One of the other doctors asked confused, however I was too busy throwing myself at Arthur and crushing him into an embrace that made him gasp.

"Arthur! Oh, Arthur!" I cried before kissing him right there, not caring how many others could see. I felt him return the embrace, and the kiss.

Maybe in life, there were things that were simply meant to be.

TT~TT Awwww, I hope everyone enjoyed that one shot! I might make it a two-shot if enough people want it. I was supposed to be working on my latest chapter of The Meaning Of Eternity…but the plot bunnies were out to get me. So…

I hope you all enjoyed! Please Review/Fav/PM me to let me know you care!

Thanks again! ~OMGitsgreen