A/N: This was written for the USUK Secret Santa exhange on LJ for amael_elen. The prompt given: "England and America attending the Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting (and, perhaps, ice skating together after?)." Merry Christmas/ whatever holiday you may celebrate and have a wonderful and safe season. :)

Christmas Time in the City

Wind whipped through the buildings, its intensity growing with each passing second. Clouds covered the sky above and reflected in the long stretches of windows lining the sidewalks. England stared up above as a particularly dark puff passed by and sighed contentedly, a mist fogging over his immediate vision. Back on the Earth in front of him, Christmas lights were strung through the few bare trees lining the congested streets overflowing with shoppers with arms full of bags. Hurried figures shuffled underneath the grand decoration set ups of every store on the block. The usually grey city was decked with red, green, and gold glitter reflected brightly in the eyes of the small children who bounced happily along the snow obstructed walk ways. New York City was definitely a sight to behold during the holidays.

With one gloved hand intertwined with a larger one, England readjusted his earmuffs with his free hand before replacing it to his pocket and looking up to America. The golden haired man had a soft smile to his face, capturing the elder's glance and holding it there with the reflection of the twinkling lights in his glasses. Before he realized his gaze was met, it was too late and America smiled even more brightly.

"I still can't believe after all this time you've never been to the tree lighting, it's a Christmas tradition!"

"Yes well, it's not as much of a tradition in my country as it is in yours, Alfred."

"Well, anyway, at least you came with me this year!" It wasn't the first time that America had asked England to accompany him to the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting, but it was the first time that he had actually ever accepted the invitation. When the Englishman had finally agreed over the phone, America actually asked him along the lines of "wait, are you serious this time or are you just being a jerk?" England was un-amused and merely continued on with the conversation as if the other wasn't bouncing off the walls on the other end now more excited for Christmas than he had ever been. "But I come every year and this is the first time someone other than Mattie came with me. I'm sure he's really bummed that I didn't ask him this year, though."

England had a flashback to a brief phone conversation he had with the Canadian nation in question and recalled his relieved nature when he found out that the former empire was going with America rather than him. Of course, he had also wished him luck which made the English nation a bit nervous in his own skin, partially from Canada's warnings and partially due to the fact that this was the first relatively date-like happening the two had had in far too long. Both were busy nations and sometimes only had time enough to mumble a quick "hi" in the hallway to one another on their way to their next meeting. That was hardly the setting for lovers, however long America tried to draw out the curt hallway conversations with England.

But now, they were walking down the Christmas fixated streets of New York City, drifting along with sounds of jolly holiday tunes in which America insisted on humming every moment the two weren't talking. The shorter of the two decided just to accept the unintentional harmonies made by the other and pressed himself tighter to America while a smile grew on his lips.

They both rounded the corner to their final few blocks that would lead them to Rockefeller Center. England had insisted they leave earlier due to the immense amount of people that usually crowded around the iconic tree but America had insisted at stopping at Starbucks to pick up some ridiculously long titled and overpriced drink which made the green-eyed man's nose burn. Despite its potency, America merely drank it down like water along their journey, thick paper cup still in the hand that wasn't tangled in his. They finally reached where the tree was located and were stuck behind a massive crowd of people, England groaning a bit in annoyance.

"This is why we should have gotten here earlier…"

"Arthur, chill. All you gotta do is elbow your way to the front, that's what me and Mattie do every year and sometimes we're further back than we are now!" As if to demonstrate what he meant, America pushed forward a bit, squeezing the elder's hand as he tugged him with forward. The two continued to push with England apologizing for the oaf in front of him countless times. Eventually, the taller blonde had reached a point where it was too tightly packed for them to move any further and stood in the tight space with England crushed into his side. It was now dark out and getting colder by the second; the close body heat the only thing shielding everyone from the cold. Music performances continued on the stage in front of them; filling the air with sound loud enough to hurt England's ears through the muffs. America bobbed his head along with the songs and lit up each time another celebrity took the stage. There were only a few minutes before the tree would be lit and America pulled England in front of him with his arms wrapped around the man's small waist and chin resting on his shoulder. They both looked up to the tree, waiting for it to illuminate the Christmas season.

Resting his eyes on the people skating around in circles in the ice rink below, England watched how they all gathered around the tree in fascination, all wearing similar expressions to that of which America wore proudly. Suddenly, the crowd began an uproar of screams and something that resembled a countdown hung in the air. America's hold tightened on the English nation in front of him as he called out the numbers with the rest of crowd.

It was then that he felt it, one of those odd moments that England had that he wished could last forever. In the hype of the crowd, he could feel the warmth within his chest and despite the large amount of people around him, he felt as if the entire world just consisted of America and himself. England and America. Arthur and Alfred. That's all there was at that moment, just Alfred and Arthur, the taller's arms encircling his middle and the caramel that lingered on his breath from his coffee as he yelled the numbers with growing enthusiasm. The abrupt kiss that he was pulled into once the tree was lit and the almost painful amount of swelling his heart went through with the love that packed into it was enough for him. As nations, they would never be able to enjoy the wonderful tales of Santa Claus because they didn't have time. And (with the exception of America who went all out every year) they hardly ever celebrated Christmas as an actual fun holiday. They merely celebrated it with their citizens and that was this end of it. But this warm and almost suffocating feeling of joy… England was sure this was exactly what those small children felt every Christmas morning when they raced down the stairs to open their presents.

As they pulled back, Alfred smiled one of his endearing smiles with his forehead resting against Arthur's lightly. Arthur actually wondered how Alfred had managed to pull him back to his side with the limited amount of space that was available but did not question it further. The look in America's sky blues showed the same emotion England felt, the both of them closing their eyes for what seemed like only a moment. When England's green eyes were opened to the rest of the world, it seemed as if more than half the people who were crowded around had dispersed and the two of them were left in their position.

"So, are we heading back to your apartment now?" The Englishman asked pulling away slightly.

"Nah, I actually kinda have a surprise." Feeling his stomach flip in excitement, the shorter cocked an eyebrow.

"O-Oh?"

"Yeah, close your eyes!" America lifted England's gloved hands over his eyes to ensure he wasn't cheating and pulled him by the arm towards an unknown destination. The green-eyed nation stumbled a bit with the lack of sight but allowed himself to be pulled by the taller for what seemed like forever before they stopped. "Okay, you can open them now." Following the command, England removed his hands and looked to America who held out a pair of ice skates in front of him. Taking the skates in his hands Arthur felt his eye brow raise further as the younger explained. "I asked for a favor! I asked if I could have the skating rink under the tree for just us… They kinda gave me a lot of grief about it at first but I managed to get them to agree eventually."

"A-Alfred…" The former empire was at a loss for words as the blue eyed man plopped on the ground to change his shoes to the ice skates. When he stood up, he was a full head taller, forcing England's gaze up in order to make eye contact with his clear azure orbs. His gaze shifted behind him to the bench that was a few feet away and sat down lightly on it in order to undergo the same steps the American had, tying his laces tightly to fit his slender legs. "I can't believe you went through all this trouble…" The English nation felt guilt knot into the bottom of his stomach at being so harsh on the boy throughout the day. Only shrugging his shoulders, America moved forward and held his hand out to pull England up off the bench. They were now relative to their original heights as the bespectacled man began to pull the other towards the rink that had been freshly paved over with a new sheet of ice.

"It only took a few phone calls and some name dropping. No biggie." He smiled as England's eyes looked up, families crowded around the rink and the tree looking down at the rink in all its glory. The tree looked absolutely magnificent from this angle, the twinkling lights reflected in the clear surface of the icy mirror. The taller moved forward and set foot on the rink sliding slightly while holding his hand out, silently asking England to join him.

Truth be told, England wasn't very good at ice skating, he never really had any opportunity to practice and suddenly, he felt shy about stepping onto the slippery ice. He stepped forward apprehensively and felt his leg fall out from underneath him as his arm shot out to grip America's hand tightly. Using his strength, America yanked him back up and into the crook of his arm, holding him up as he slowly pushed his feet forward.

"Wait a minute Alfred let me get used to this!"

"Oh come on, it'll be morning if I do that! I can hold you up!" Illustrating his point, America pushed his feet farther apart, increasing their speed as well as his grip on the smaller man. England looked at the eyes on them, being the only two permitted on the ice, there really was no way too not draw attention to themselves. Rather than be embarrassed, he decided to just focus on moving his feet in time with America's movements which was an easy notion to consider than execute. With the minutes passing by, England gradually got his rhythm down to this feet and was able to skate next to America rather than slammed up against his chest. He felt a smile come to his lips as they skated around the rink countless times; the tree's beauty above something that the Briton found a loss of words for. He blinked a few times, not quite sure if it was just the lights or if his eyes were fooling him… But it looked as if it were beginning to snow. America had noticed as well, his nose pointed up in the air, the small white flakes falling onto his lenses and dissolving into small beads. He chuckled lightly while looking to the older man next to him.

"Guess we should head in." The American smiled while the other nodded. They had one more lap before they were back at the skating entrance and took their time as the people around the rink stated to disperse due to the precipitation picking up to a steady fall. Sighing in contentment once again, England looked up at America and the now nearly empty sides to the rink and shared a smile with the other. When the blue-eyed nation looked back, there was a heavy silence that hung in the air, their expressions saying more words than either of them could come up with. Deciding to break the silence first, the former empire inhaled a small breath which was then stolen away in a light kiss from America as they slid to a stop.

"Merry Christmas," America said in a much softer tone of voice than he usually would have.

"Yes, Happy Christmas to you too." Folding back into America's arms, the two slowly made the rest of the short journey back to the entrance way as the snow began to cover the branches of the tree outside.

I do not own any of the characters depicted. Happy Holidays. :)