Chapter 1- Ad infinitum
Disclaimer- I only own the plot.
The air is musty and his heart is heavy. Somewhere in the distance he thinks he can hear Alfred calling out to him. But he's far too busy being swept away with the tide of the past. As he flips through history, a terrible sort of pain grips him. It's not something that he can put his finger on exactly. He finds himself somewhere between the fear of the ravages of time and the resignation that change is an inescapable part of life.
Arthur's an old nation and he remembers things from days that skirt along the shore of history. He remembers his father, boisterous and wild. He's met Ancient Rome and Germania a few times and their presence is embedded in his memory. On a rare day, the strangest of sensations will trigger fleeting memories of his past, a folk song sung by townspeople or the scent of flowers lining a deserted lane.
These nations were thought to be invincible in their time. They brought the world to their knees and laid the foundation for the world of today. But that is not what causes Arthur to choke up as he runs his fingers along the lining of his old cloak. The fabric is worn with age and smells of dust and mold. Yet he stills presses it to himself and imagines the scent of flowers and herbs and magic that once clung to the land that he grew up in.
No, Arthur isn't frightened by the end of the nations themselves.
Tracing a finger along the edge of his old hunting knife, he smiles sadly. He thinks of the finality of things. Of Rome, who had seldom been serious, save for those moments when he was alone with Germania, a soft smile on his lips as he tucked the long strands of gold silk behind the flushing man's ear.
He thinks of Germania's anguish when Rome had vanished. How the once powerful nation had retreated into himself, disappearing bit by bit from the world until all that was left was his legacy.
His father had been a strong, proud man. Adventurous and brave, he had taken the world by storm. His brothers never spoke of his father's final days, but he can imagine it. Nations last only as long as their history permits them to.
A pair of strong arms wind themselves around his waist and he's pulled from his melancholy musings into the present. Pressing a soft kiss onto his neck, Alfred mutters, "I told you I'd help with the cleaning. You should have waited. I hate when you get like this."
Arthur thinks that Alfred doesn't understand, because he's still a young nation and how can he? But Alfred does understand it, better than Arthur wants to admit.
Burying his face in the elder's soft hair, he says, "Arthur, although we may perish, my love for you is eternal. Because the moment I stop loving you, the moment that I can no longer be by your side, that is the moment where I stop living."
Author's Note:-
This is pure, shameless fluff. Ad infinitum roughly means lasting forever. This is the first in a series of unrelated one shots. I think I may have mangled some history along the way.
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