Screams of horror were heard. Thick, gray smoke smothered the air as the flames grew stronger. Tears were shed, lives were lost, and all hell broke loose. People jumped out of windows to survive, though dying in the end. There were children with warm blood and salty tears trickling down their faces as they saw the death of their parents before their very eyes. There was no hope. It was truly a terrible memory for someone to have to live with.
Now, eleven years past, Alfred Jones still lives with that painful memory. Knowing his country was in vain, and being able to do nothing about it.
BEEP! BEEP! The alarm went off. Stretching his arm out from under the covers Alfred turned it off. "Man, morning already." he moaned sitting up on his bedside.
"Geez sun, why do you have to come so soon? Mehh." He said reaching for his glasses. He looked outside his window, using his hand to cover the sun's glares. The sun was shining and the leaves were turning their fall colors.
Stretching out his back, Alfred got out of his bed and headed toward his bathroom. After minutes of fumbling around, he stepped out wearing a white collared shirt, black dress pants, and an undone tie around his neck. He walked over to a mirror and began fiddling with it, continuously repeating the words "Meeting day."
Watching himself through the mirror, he caught his eyes on the small calendar on his desk."Is it… really?" he mumbled, moving toward it. He picked it up and locked his eyes on it. "Nine… eleven…" he read to himself. He sighed, sat on his bedside, not taking the calendar with him, and brought his hands to his forehead.
"It's, been so long. Heh." He fell silent and closed his eyes. "I can't let this get to me." and with that said, he grabbed his coat and left his home.
"Okay, listen up everybody." Arthur said seeking everyone's attention. "Today is a very… memorable day for Alfred. So let's not get to the poor git today, agreed?" Everyone in the room nodded.
As they were doing so, they heard the door slowly creek open. Coming in they saw a rather cheerful Alfred; in one hand a Big Mac and in the other a milkshake. Everyone else was a little confused, but they decided it was best to play along. However, instead of him standing in front of the room laughing like usual, Alfred just sat and chomped away at his burger.
"Ok guys…" he said silencing the room. "Let's get this meeting going!"
After the meeting had ended, Alfred stayed after a bit. He sat in his chair and gazed out the window. Bringing his head to the table, he thought about that day. That scarring memory. He couldn't get his mind off of it. Suddenly he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
"A-Alfred? You okay buddy?" asked Matthew, his soft voice leveled. Alfred looked up. "Oh, h-hey Mattie. What's up?" he asked trying to sound happy.
"Look, Al, it's okay to be sad. Really!" Matthew paused. "Everyone's worried about you. They were all asking each other if you were alright. Al, are you?"
Alfred looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "Yea, thanks bro. Hey, I'm gonna go, alright?" It was quiet and Matthew continued to stare at him, worry written across his face.
"Matt, promise you won't worry, 'kay?" Alfred said, trying his hardest to sound happy. "I'm fine." and off he went, with his somewhat normal smile. Matthew sighed.
"Al, I know your not," he mumbled, "but only if you knew."
Alfred rushed through the door of his home and leaned his back against it. His panting became lighter, and he started sliding down the door.
"Agh. I can't let this get to me." he told himself as he walked to his couch. He laid his head back and looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift. His drifting, however, was cut short by the sound of the phone ringing. He turned his head away from the phone and groaned before getting up and answering his phone.
"Hello?" he said with a small bit of irritation in his voice.
"Hello, Alfred." answered the British- accented man on the other side of the line.
"Oh, Artie, it's you. How's it going?" Alfred asked, sounding a bit more at ease, but still a little tense.
"Well, I was actually about to ask you the same thing."
"Oh, well I'm fine." There was a pause. "R-really! Dude, I'm really okay! Believe me!"
"Alfred, I know your not. I could tell by the way you were acting during the meeting." Arthur sighed. "It's okay to be upset, you know-"
"But Arthur!" Alfred interrupted. "It was so long ago… I should be over it…" It got quiet for a moment, it being broken by the sound of knocking on the door. Alfred looked toward the door and brought the phone away from his ear.
"Who the hell could that be?" he asked himself, wiping his eyes for any tears that might have fallen. He opened the door and instantly dropped the phone, because Arthur was on the other side with a worried look on his face.
Arthur stared at the stressed American; bags under his partially swelled eyes and his hair tossed around on his head. "Heh, and you say your fine." he said leaning against the door.
"Ha, funny." Alfred responded looked at the floor.
"Alfred, ugh, I'm sorry. May I come in?"
"Oh, uh no man it's okay! Yea sure, come in." Alfred said leading Arthur to the living room. They sat down. "So, why are ya here?" he asked.
Arthur looked away; his face tinted a light pink. "Well, I came to check on you. You sounded like a mess and I was near by, so yea."
"Oh, thanks dude." Alfred said facing forward, hands together.
Arthur watched him as he fiddled his fingers and scanned the floor. Sweat dropped from his face and he also was tinted a light pink. Arthur could also see a small tear bottled in the young American's eye.
"I wish he would just admit he was upset, he'd get through this a lot quicker and easier." Arthur thought to himself.
"I guess there's only one thing I can really do… but I suck at it and I'll hate dear life for doing it…" he thought looking at Alfred, who was sniffing away his tears.
Suddenly Arthur scooted over on the couch and pulled Alfred into a hug. Alfred jumped and was shocked; knowing Arthur hated hugging people.
"Look, I know your going through quite a lot right now," Arthur began. "But you have to understand; it's okay to be upset."
Alfred stared off, taking in what Arthur had told him. The tears in his eyes had multiplied and eventually fell down his cheeks. "I know." he finally choked out. Arthur tried his best to comfort him. His sobs started to become louder. Alfred broke the hug and covered his reddened face.
"B-but it was so long ago; I-I should b-be over it." he managed to get through his sobs.
"Alfred," Arthur sighed. "I understand what you're going through. It's tough. And even though it's in the past, it can and will come back to hurt you." He paused and put his hands on Alfred's shoulders. "But believe me when I say this. It's all over; it's not going to come back to hurt you, and everything is okay now. You know why? Because your strong." he finished with a comforting smile.
Even though the tears were still rolling down his cheeks, Alfred managed to pull off his signature smile. "So, are you okay now?" Arthur asked.
"Yea dude," Alfred responded. "I'm fine."
A/E: Why do I love such cheesy endings? xD So yea… THIS IS NOT USUK! Just comfort… /bricked by fangirls. *coughidolikethatcouplethough cough* So any who~ If you haven't already noticed, the end is horribly rushed. Blehh. I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers, nor it's characters. Blah blah blah.