Howdy y'all! This was written as a request for a friend of mine. She wanted England as Igiko...I'm not really one for genderbending characters. So I wrote two versions, one with Fem!England for her and this one with regular England! I like this one much better and I thought I'd put it up on here to see what everyone else thinks about it!

Warnings: I have made fluff in a situation that there should have never been fluff at all...slight USUK at the end. Fail!History due to lack of knowledge of the War of 1812...you have been warned...

Enjoy!

Alfred buried his head in his hands, sitting at the base of a destroyed building. The smell of charred wood and saltiness of the assaulted his senses, taking him back to the events that had happened in the last 26 hours. The burning of Washington, his capital, had taken quite a toll on the young nation. His body ached from the damage the British had caused, but he knew that he had to be thankful. If it hadn't been for that hurricane, more damage would have been done. The pain though was still torturous.

The British were finally clearing out, finished with their occupation. He was relieved, ecstatic that they were finally leaving. The sooner the better…he'd feel so much better once they finally left.

"Well, look who it is." Oh God no…Alfred knew that voice, that snarky, pompous, irritating voice of a certain island nation. He glanced up to see Arthur, England himself, leaning against the remains of the burned building. He hadn't changed at all. His hair was still the same sandy blond, his eyebrows were as bushy as ever, and his eyes…his eyes were still the brightest green he had ever seen. The only thing really different about him was the uniform he wore. It was strange seeing him in the royal blue cloth of the Royal Navy instead of the bright red uniform he had worn all those years ago. Unpleasant memories flooded to him for the second time that day as he glared at Arthur, who was smirking triumphantly.

"What do you want, Arthur?" Alfred growled which eared him a scoff from the so called British gentleman.

"I see you are still lacking manners. I thought you would have learnt by now. Obviously I have been disappointed once again." Arthur sauntered forward, stopping to stand over Alfred.

"How does it feel Alfred, to have your capital destroyed? Is it painful? Does it sting?" The Brit paused. Alfred's face had returned to his hands, remaining completely silent.

"Of course you brought this upon yourself, you wanker. If you hadn't pillaged and burned York, none of this would have ever happened! But you had to do it. You had to show that you were the almighty victor, and you had to rub it in your brother's face. Do you know how much you hurt Matthew? The pain you feel is nothing compared to how he has felt. No matter, in a day or two, we, the British army, will march on Baltimore. We will take that city and the next and the next and we will show you damned Yankees who the real power is in this world!"

Arthur finished him tirade with that angry exclamation, glaring down at his former ward. Alfred remained silent for a moment before his gaze turned upwards. Arthur's glare faltered as he saw the tears filling Alfred's eyes. His guarded heart melted slightly at the sight. The look was one he had seen many a times before he left to return to England. He had nearly forgotten how young the country before him really was. He was still struggling to survive in this harsh, uncaring world...all alone. With a sigh, Arthur moved to sit beside Alfred.

Alfred leaned back, leaning against the wall behind him. His hands fell lifelessly to his sides as he stared up into the cloud-filled sky. Without saying so much as a word or looking at him, Arthur reached down and grasped Alfred's hand. Feeling the unfamiliar, warm, gentle touch, Alfred glanced sharply at Arthur, a mix of shock and confusion shining in his sad blue eyes.

"Arthur…Are you...?"

"I'm not apologizing to you, you twat. Don't get any ideas from this! I'm just comforting you…nothing more." He muttered, refusing to meet his gaze. Alfred nodded and held him hand in his, returning his gaze to the sky. Tears slowly began to fall from Alfred's eyes, They stayed like that for a long while, basking in the silence of the destroyed city and the silent falling of Alfred's tears. No words needed to be exchanged at least not at the moment. It had been about 31 years since they had last seen or heard from each other. It was just nice to be in the other's presence after so long. Of course neither of them would have admitted that they had missed the other.

"Mister England?" The soldier's voice came from a ways away, but it still made Arthur jumped away from Alfred quickly.

"Yes. I'm coming." He called, dusting off his uniform. Arthur glanced back at the American, a trace of longing evident in his face. It flickered away, replaced by his normal pompous expression along with a glare.

"Mention this to anyone and I will hurt you." He threatened before hurrying off to join him fellow soldiers. Alfred watched him go, glancing down at his hand and then back to Arthur. A small smile graced his features and he brought his hand to his lips, kissing the warm spot Arthur had left.

Maybe after this war…after things have blown over…maybe…just maybe…Arthur and I can be friends…maybe even something more. Maybe he finally see me as his equal and not his little brother. Alfred bowed his head, tears still falling freely. He could only hope his thoughts would turn into reality.

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Much love!

Emma