Rose Tea
USUK Secret Santa 2015
For blackrosegirl666 on Tumblr
America sighed for the umpteenth time as he shuffled through piles of paperwork at his desk. His eyes didn't shine as bright as they usually did, and the eye bags underneath only accentuated America's fatigued state. He even turned down England's invitation to get lunch in order to finish his work. So England, instead of getting lunch himself, accompanied America back to his room and was currently sitting nearby. The whole time, England studied America and noticed that his features were duller than usual. Sometimes, America would even nod off for a few seconds before his head shot back up and his eyes focused once more on the papers in front of him. Suddenly, England stood up and made his way towards America.
"Love, you need to get some rest," England firmly advised. "You weren't this dedicated to your work before. What brought on the sudden change?"
America glanced up at his lover. "It's..there are way too many things happening in the country right now, and I just don't want things to keep going to shit. And I'll be fine. I can sleep later."
England felt even more worried after hearing America's dejected tone, but he still stood his ground. "No, you can't 'sleep later'. You need to rest now. You've been sighing for a million times and you don't even seem like yourself right now. You keep nodding off as well. Either you get some sleep now or I will drag you to your bed."
Before America could protest, England used all of his strength to yank America up and literally drag him across the room.
"Ok, ok! I'll get some sleep here, on the couch. But only for an hour, "America reasoned.
England gave his lover a small smile and released him. America plopped down on the couch and as he got settled, England fetched a quilt that America always kept in his office and draped it over the larger country's body. America then took off his glasses and handed them to England.
"Wake me up in an hour, ok?" America asked.
"Alright."
"America, wake up." England gently shook America awake.
America's eyes opened a little, then he stretched his body right before he sat up. England handed him back his glasses. "That was pretty nice, actually," America admitted.
A knowing smile graced England's features. "See? Now, here, drink this." England brought a cup of rose tea and placed it in America's hands.
"What's this? Tea? You know I don't really like this stuff," America groaned. He had to admit though, the scent of the rose tea was pretty soothing.
"No complaints. Drink up," England commanded.
America just shrugged and took a sip of the tea. It was surprisingly not as bad as he thought it would be. The taste of the tea combined with his recent nap had him feeling much more refreshed than he had been in days.
"This is actually good," America complimented. "I guess tea's the only drink you can make well, huh."
England got slightly irritated at America's backhanded compliment but decided to let it go. "I'm glad to hear your usual attitude returning."
America took another sip of the tea. "Thanks for doing this, England. I didn't really think that I needed some R&R. I can't relax for too long though, I need to get back to work."
England sighed and sat down next to his lover. He then draped an arm over America's shoulders and brought him closer. With his other hand, he started brushing America's blond hair gently.
Not used to England's extremely rare displays of affection, America tried to hide his blush by bringing his cup of tea right in front of his face. "You're being awfully nice today," America commented as he took another sip of his tea while blushing.
England chuckled. "Is it that strange of me to take care of you while you're fatigued? You're going to run yourself to the ground if you continue working like this."
"Mm," America hummed. He leaned against England's body and slid down a little so that he could lay his head on his lover's shoulder. Content with his current position, America's mouth curved up into a small smile.
"I wish you'd show your more innocent side like this more often," England admitted. "You're much cuter this way."
The unexpected comment caught America off guard, causing him to turn his head and press his forehead against England's shoulder, earning him a loving smile from England.
"Can I ask you something, England?"
"Of course."
"This may seem out of the blue, but I was just curious. What does a rose mean to you?" America asked. "Drinking this tea just reminded me of how much you love roses. Not to mention both of us have the rose as our national flower. I was just wondering why you love roses so much."
"Hmm," England hummed. "To me, a rose is a symbol of beauty and love. I love each and every one of my people and treasure the bonds we've built with other countries as well...but every rose has its thorns."
America nodded in agreement. "Y'know, now that I think about it, the rose describes our relationship perfectly."
"I agree. America, when I found you and raised you, you were the light of my life. It was hard for me to leave you, but whenever I got the chance to see you again," England trailed off as he placed his hand on the side of America's head and touched their foreheads together. "It was all worth it."
A gentle smile tugged at America's lips. "We had our fights too, and I know that I hurt you...a lot, in the past. Even now, we have our own small fights, and there are times when both of us misunderstand a lot of things." America then leaned forward and placed a small, quick kiss on England's lips. "But we managed to get through those painful times, and establish our own, special relationship."
Now England leaned forward to press a kiss on America's lips. The kiss lingered for a while longer before they broke apart. "Just like how a rose has thorns, but is still beautiful despite them."
"Yeah," America whispered. He then pulled away from England, downed the rest of his tea, and placed the empty cup on a nearby table. "Thanks for doing this, England. I feel much better now."
"It's my pleasure," England replied. "I can't bear to see you work yourself to death."
"I'm glad you're here with me," America sincerely admitted. "I really appreciate it."
England gave his lover a warm smile as America stretched his arms. "I'll leave you to your work now. Don't forget to take short breaks," England reminded as he stood up as well and picked up the empty teacup to wash and put away.
"Mmhm," America responded. Before he could make his way back to his desk, he felt England pull him back by his shoulder, turn him around, and give him one more kiss.
England gave a smug smile once he saw America's surprised face. "Make sure you have enough energy for tonight, love."
A light blush made its way onto America's cheeks as he realized the implication England was making. Before he could come up with a reply, England released America's shoulder and proceeded to walk out the door, giving a small wave as he exited.
A flushed America walked to his desk and sank down on his chair. With a sigh, he tried to go back to work, but not without being bombarded with a bunch of mental images of him and England (in bed) first.
This is my first try at UKUS, so I apologize if they seem a little out of character ; It was a nice experience writing UKUS though, and I enjoyed it! I hope you all liked this story and the fluff that came with it!