i.

"Welcome back, mommy!"

Arthur gaped at the cheerful blonde standing in front of him.

His young colony beamed at him, raising the boquet of wild flowers even higher, pride lighting his eyes. Alfred shifted a bit to the side, ahoge bouncing with his movements.

"I got these flowers for you, Arthur! They're really pretty!" Alfred chirped, blue eyes wide.

Arthur closed his mouth, opened it again, and then closed it with a strangled sound.

Alfred stared at him, confusion causing his eyebrows to scrunch together.

"Don't you like it?" He asked softly, lip wobbling, tears building up.

"I-i love it, Al! But I'm not-You're not-I'm a man!" Arthur blurted out, cheeks heating a bright pink in embarrasment.

Alfred blinked, tilting his head. "And? You're still my mom, right?"

Arthur twitched. "No! Only women can be mums, Alfred." He practically whined. Alfred gave him a look, and mused over that quietly.

"Oh." Alfred finally said. Arthur smiled slightly, a chuckle coming out of him. Alfred was just so cute sometimes.

"So... I don't have a mommy?" Alfred said quietly, looking dejected. His blue eyes were downcast and he just looked so upset that Arthur wanted to wrap him up in a hug.

"Nations don't have parents, Al." Arthur said slowly, sighing lowly. He reached both hands out to Alfred and Alfred ran towards him and wrapped his arms around Arthur, wild flowers squishing into his back.

"I don't care. Can't you be my mommy and my big brother at the same time?" Alfred mumbled into his shirt. Arthur laughed softly, reaching up to ruffle Alfred's hair.

"Mhmm. I can be your dad?" He suggested, tightening his hug momentarily before releasing Alfred.

Alfred scoffed and shook his head vehemently, almost as if the very idea offended him. Arthur gaped at him.

"Whatever you want, mommy."

ii.

"Oh." Arthur stares at the boy-man?-in front of him. When had Alfred gotten that big? Alfred stares at him, and raises his eyebrow, slight amusement flashing in his eyes. But there was something else, a hint of bitterness and anger. It was gone the minute it came though; Arthur... might have imagined it.

"Hey, mom. Welcome back."

Arthur's mouth falls open, cheeks heating up. This again?

"I'm not your mum!" He squeaks.

Alfred grins at him, bright and easy as he presents a single wildflower to Arthur. Yeah, Arthur probably imagined the bitterness in his gaze.

"Whatever you say, mom."

iii.

Near the end of May 1914, Arthur received a letter from Alfred.

Arthur stared at the unopened letter in front of him. He bit his lip. Alfred and he hadn't been on good terms since... Since he declared his independence. Why was Alfred sending him a letter now? Did he need help from him? Was America doing well?

He sighed, and then cut it open. The letter slipped out, a fragrant smell coming out. Arthur wrinkled his nose and shook the envelope. Crushed petals dropped out and Arthur's breath hitched. Wildflowers.

His hands shook as he opened the note in front of him.

"Happy Mother's Day, Arthur. May 9, 1914.

Alfred F. Jones

United States of America"

Arthur twitched. Git.

iv.

War was a horrible thing. It had been approximately 5 months since the United States joined the war. And Alfred still hated it. He let out a long sigh and leaned back on his fighter plane.

"America." A familiar voice called out, slight annoyance ringing in its tone.

And of course, since it was a war, he had to be referred to as his nation name. Gah.

He turned his head lazily and blinked in surprise at the sight of the man in front of him.

"Art-England, hey!" He replied, smiling brightly. Arthur and he were better now. Not quite best friends, but close enough. Alfred was fine with that for now.

"How's the USAF?" Arthur asked, looking a little upset. Alfred was momentarily distracted at that. Why would Arthur be upset? Was something wrong?

"Uh, great, actually. We're fine. How's the Royal Navy?" Alfred replied, blinking at his ally. What if something was wrong with Arthur's precious ships?

"Swell. Do you even remember what day it is?" Arthur grumbled, flushing slightly as he crossed his arms. Alfred frowned. Oh damn, was it Arthur's birthday? Was it his Queen's birthday?

"Um. May... Ten?" He asked uncertainly. That wasn't Arthur's birthday, right? Arthur huffed. "It's Mother's Day, you tosser." The pink flush on his cheeks seemed to darken to a deep red as he looked away from Alfred. Alfred blinked. He was vaguely aware of a few of his men staring and hiding their grins to his side.

"Oh, I-uh, um." Alfred stuttered, his own cheeks reddening. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he ducked his head, Texas sliding a bit down his nose. Ever since Wilson declared Mother's Day an official holiday back in 1914, Alfred had gotten into the habit of sending Arthur a letter. It started out as a joke, but it seemed that Arthur took it seriously.

Alfred looked around him helplessly. His people grinned at him and shrugged.

"Err." Alfred choked out, eyes wide. Arthur stared at him. And so did a crowd of bystanders.

"Happy Mother's Day!" he yelled out, throwing his hands up in the air in a panic. Arthur twitched, and facepalmed, shaking his head slightly.

"Bloody git." He grumbled. Alfred laughed nervously.

"Oh, come on, we're in a middle of a war! I can't just go out and get you flowers, mom!" he whined. Arthur huffed and turned away from him, stalking away hastily. The crowd of soldiers laughed, all of them looking highly amused at their nation's problem.

"Did America just call England his mom?" A soldier hissed to the one on his side. The man laughed and nodded.

"I don't understand it either, but England did raise him."

"Mom! Arthur, come on, don't be like that!" Alfred called out to England's retreating back.

xxx

Arthur found a boquet of wildflowers in his room the next day.

v.

"World Meeting!" His brother yelled, flying across his room to his cell phone. Matthew sighed and shook his head bemusedly.

"Alfred, we're going to be late." He murmured softly, hugging Kami-Kuji-Kuli-his polar bear closer to his chest.

"Who?" His bear asked, looking up at Matthew with wide eyes.

"I'm Matthew." He sighs.

"Say what, Mattie?" Alfred called out, lifting the couch up with one hand as he looks under it. He flails a bit, a panicked look on his face as he looks around the room. He takes one step, and then freezes. He looks up at the couch and then puts it down carefully.

He looks around again, and then realization flashes on his face. He groans, looking absolutely horrified.

"We're going to be late." Matthew repeats, lips twitching a little.

"Agh, who cares? Not like I'm hosting it anyway. I need to get something, Mattie! I can't believe I forgot them!"

Matthew can't help but smile at that. "Al, we're in the United States; you are hosting the meeting."

"Gah, doesn't matter. Go ahead, I'm going to find a place with Annual Baby Blues or whatever." Alfred grumbles, waving a hand in the air carelessly as he strides out the door. Annual Baby Blues?

"Al, wait, I dont-"

The door slams.

"...have a ride."

Matthew twitches.

xxx

Alfred is obviously late for the meeting. He comes in with a messenger bag over his right shoulder and a plastic bag on his left. Matthew blinks at the almost invisible dirt smudges on the white shirt under his bomber jacket.

Obviously, the nations have descended into chaos from petty arguments, and even pettier grudges.

"Hey, y'all!" Alfred yells out, Southern twang appearing out of nowhere. Matthew facepalms. If he continued speaking like that, he was bound to start flirting and drawling.

The nations quiet down, staring at Alfred in amusement.

"How 'bout we calm down and get this meetin' started?" Alfred drawled. They stare at him longer. Matthew moans quietly into his palms. No more, please.

Alfred opens his mouth and then closes it. He flushes, loud laughter bubbling out of him. Was he done?

"Haha, sorry. The girl at that garden was Texan." He grins at them in apology. Some of the nations shrug, others nod, and the others rolls their eyes. Oh god, he was done.

As soon as Alfred practically skips to his seat beside Arthur, the noise begins to increase again. After United Kingdom is United States, of course. And well, nobody really had anything to talk about, it seemed.

Alfred taps Arthur's shoulder and the man turns to him. He raises an eyebrow at the large grin on Alfred's face. If Matthew didn't know any better, he'd say Arthur was annoyed. However, he did know better, so he smiled slightly when he saw the fond look in Arthur's eyes.

Arthur says something, expression bordering on mischievous. Alfred laughs, and then reaches into the plastic bag at his left. He rummages around a bit, and Arthur tilts his head curiously.

Matthew's eyes widen. Alfred, really?

And then Alfred pulls out a bouquet of flowers, blue and white wildflowers mingling together beautifully. Alfred grins sheepishly, and pushes Texas up his nose. It's then that Matthew sees the dirt on his hand as it smudges on his face. Alfred must have picked those himself.

Alfred says something then, and Matthew's pretty sure it goes along the lines of, "Happy Mother's Day!"

As Arthur flushes and delicately accepts the bouquet of flowers, Matthew can't help but laugh softly.

And as Arthur huffs and rolls his eyes before rubbing at the dirt on Alfred's nose, Kuma-Kida-Kafa-his polar bear looks up at him and says softly,

"Mother."


The first one is set a few years or so after Arthur originally finds Alfred. The second one is when Arthur comes back to find Alfred after his growthspurt.

From what i've researched, Mother's Day was proclaimed an official holiday in 1914 in the US by Wilson on May 9. Therefore, the third one is set after that. I've estimated the amount of time it takes a letter to reach, lol. US officially joined WW2 December 8, 1941. Five months and three days later, it's May 10! Last is present time, 2012.

This isn't really well done. It's a l'il rushed, sorry. It's 1 in the morning and I'm typing it up on the iPad. It's not even Mother's Day over here anymore, lol. Well, whatever. Good night! Happy Mother's Day!