August 1776

The only warning Arthur had was a loud knock on his door before it was thrown open and he found himself looking into the excited face of Alfred, who was waving around a piece of paper.

"To…what do I owe this intrusion, Alfred?" Arthur asked, barely glancing up from the paperwork in front of him. He'd probably come to demand for physical representation again…when was he going to realize that virtual representation worked well enough?

Alfred let out a small sigh as he noticed how uninterested Arthur seemed. "Arthur, I'm sorry..." he trailed off before giving his head a small shake and taking a deep breath.

Clearing his throat and standing tall, Alfred held the document firmly in his hands and began in a clear voice, "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another…"

Arthur looked up, startled, as he listened to Alfred continue reading his paper. Was that fool really…declaring his independence? The list of grievances, though aimed at the king, felt like a bullet hitting his heart. Was his brother truly that unhappy?

Alfred paused in his reading, tilting his head towards the door, almost as if waiting for a sign. He must have heard whatever it was he was waiting for, because he took another deep breath and continued, "We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America…"

Arthur once again found himself losing focus. The United States of America? When had Alfred start calling himself that?

"And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor," Alfred finished as strongly as he had started. Cautiously, he looked up from the paper in his hand to Arthur—England—who was still sitting in shock.

"Did you hear me, England?" Alfred—America—asked.

"You can't…you're not…you're not united…" England said in a daze. He did it. He really did declare independence…but what right did he have to call himself the United States of America? Those colonies were as disjointed as anything.

America let out a laugh, a cynical laugh that England never wanted to hear from his little brother again. "Oh, I'm not?" He let out a whistle, and called "New Hampshire!" The door once again flung open, and New Hampshire ran into the room.

America continued with his summoning until England was face to face with his younger brother and those thirteen states. Sure, they were standing together now, but they weren't truly united, were they? England opened his mouth to protest, but America waved him silent.

"By our powers combined, we are…" America trailed off, and England thought he heard a drum roll coming from someone—Massachusetts, maybe?—in the back.

"THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!" The fourteen shouted together.

England sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let me guess…united you stand or divided you fall? You really think standing together and shouting at me is going to make me believe you're united and ready for a country of your own?"

America grinned and nodded. "Yes."

"Get. Out."

"But Eng—"

"Get out, now, or else, America," England said in his best no nonsense tone.

America huffed, but headed out of the room, anyway, following behind the States. So what if England didn't believe in him? That's fine. America would show him he was serious. He would. As long as the states stood together, as long as they stay united, as long as their powers were combined, they would be the United States of America, and one day, they would be taken seriously. They would. America just knew it.

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Notes:

Like most of my fics, this was written for the kink meme. Chapter 1 is the first version I posted. OP responded with the vision s/he had, which inspired Chapter 2. Chapter 2 is heavily focused on the States, and it's not a requirement to read.

Headcanon used in this part: Human names are reserved for close friends and "family" nations. When America decided he wanted to break away, he had to drop the name Arthur in reference to England.