A distant roar of thunder crashed haphazardly in the distance as Arthur stood in rain. He was standing at the edge of a field, just where the muddy, beaten battle ground transformed into a lush grove. He had been standing there for almost an hour, and what had once been a light drizzle had quickly become a persistent storm that soaked him to the core. At the moment, all he wanted to do was go back to his soldiers and call it a night. He was tired and exhausted, and was nearing the end of his rope, but he had to keep waiting.

He was waiting for Alfred.

It was approaching seven years since the war had begun when that blond stubborn brat had started this battle with him. Arthur's eye twitched in irritation as he recalled the past several months of war. Alfred was leading generals and soldiers in childish and strange battle techniques that Arthur wasn't used to. And the thing that angered him the most was that it was working. The war was starting to take a toll on both of them. They were drained physically after spending so much time on the battle field. They were drained mentally after trying to keep control of their soldiers and generals. And, although they didn't want to admit it, they were drained emotionally. There had only been a few times over the past few years when they had secretly met in person. Arthur had tried to coax Alfred into ending this madness, but the foolish boy only insisted on gaining his "independence".

Arthur snorted. Alfred knew nothing about becoming a county. He knew nothing of what that entailed, he didn't understand how countries physically hurt when their people were suffering. He was simply focused on a childish war and severing ties. Most of these secret meetings had only ended in screaming at the other and lunging at each others throats.

But today, when Arthur awoke from a shallow sleep, he found a note from Alfred placed right beside where Arthur had fallen asleep propped against a tree. The note asked for Arthur to meet him in a certain field at sunset. However, with these rolling storms, it was impossible to tell what time it was. Still, despite the pouring rain soaking Arthur's uniform, he waited. Because he knew what Alfred wanted. The war was nearing its end, and Alfred was going to carry out the ritual.

He was going to leave him.

The minutes began to drag on as Arthur waited for Alfred in the rain. Arthur was so tired and exhausted that he actually considered leaving and going back to a fort so he could sleep, but just then, he saw a figure approaching him through the rain. It was Alfred. As he approached, Arthur noted the solemn expression on his face which was an unusual sight for the man he usually saw laughing. He was still wearing his uniform, but unlike their previous meetings he arrived unarmed. Something in Arthur's heart softened when he saw this. The past few meetings Alfred arrived with a musket clutched in his hands, and it infuriated Arthur every single time. The fact that he had arrived without it gave Arthur a glimmer of hope. It was possible he was giving up. Alfred could be asking to stop this idiotic fighting. But Arthur came back to reality. He knew that wouldn't be happening tonight. He blamed his exhaustion and bit his lip angrily.

Finally, after making his way across the field, Alfred was standing a few paces in front of him. Some moments of silence passed. Neither of them could bring themselves to break the silence. But eventually Alfred spoke up like Arthur had expected him to.

"Hey."

Arthur frowned at Alfred's nonchalant greeting.

"What do you want," Arthur spat under his breath. Alfred stared and Arthur directly.

"Independence." Arthur shot a fiery glare at Alfred.

"It's not enough that you make me wait in the rain for hours, but you call me out here to rub your cause in my face?" A deep feeling of hurt spread across Alfred's face.

"No. No, Arthur. I mean let's end this. You're tired. I can tell. Let's just end this." Arthur's eyes wavered for a moment as what Alfred was saying sank in. He forced a weak and mocking laugh and looked down. This caused Alfred's expression to darken in resolve.

"Arthur." Alfred said flatly. Arthur looked back at Alfred.

"Let me go, Arthur."

This statement made Arthur feel awful. It made him feel like the child. Like he was being unreasonable for trying to protect his favorite colony. But the worst feeling was that he knew that he would have to. Arthur decided he would make a last attempt to discourage him.

"You're not going to last as a country," Arthur spat, his word's dripping with malice.

"Yes I will." Alfred said calmly.

"You will never have my help ever again." Arthur said angrily, caught off guard by Alfred's response.

"Alright." Alfred replied. Arthur stared his colony in disbelief, and swallowed a feeling he recognized as disappointment. And maybe a little sadness. It was happening. Arthur paused for a moment.

"You won't reconsider?" This time, Arthur did everything he could to keep the desperation from leaking into his voice. Alfred looked sad for a brief moment and frowned as if he was debating something in his mind.

"No."

They stood quietly in the rain for a moment, before Alfred began to walk towards Arthur.

Over the course of hundreds of years, countries began to practice a certain tradition. In history, many countries have split, and dozens of areas have become independent from their parent countries. At some point the tradition became ritual to in order to make independence official.

Alfred continued to walk towards Arthur, and stopped leaving just a few inches between them. Arthur looked into Alfred's blue eyes, and saw that they were filled with resolve, but also with heartfelt sorrow. Arthur felt terrible and fought to keep so many emotions choked down inside of him. They stared at each other for a while as a hushed rain fell, silencing everything around them. Then Alfred gently placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders. They looked at each other for a little longer, then Alfred leaned slowly towards Arthur's face. As they got closer, Arthur realized Alfred wasn't leaning towards his cheek like most countries traditionally did for this. But as their faces got closer and Alfred's eyes slipped closed, the older country found his eyes sliding closed too. The feeling of cold rain running over Arthur's face was gently replaced with the warm feeling of his colony's breath, and slowly, a warm pair of lips captured his. Alfred kissed him gently and softly as their lips met, overlapped, and then met again. Arthur slowly matched the movements that Alfred was making with his mouth, and leaned in a little closer. It felt nice. They kissed slowly in the shadow of the nearby trees with no one to witness them aside from the falling drops of rain. Arthur lightly pulled their bodies closer together seeking warmth from the rain and something to distract his heart. This wasn't helping. It was just breaking his heart even more. Why now? Why was Alfred kissing him like this now? The more they kissed, the more he hated Alfred. It was so infuriating. And he was enjoying it. He slid his arm up Alfred's back and pulled him closer. Alfred gasped slightly in surprise, then began kissing him a little deeper. Small noises began to slip from Alfred's mouth and the kiss began to grow more demanding. Arthur's heartbeat quickened, as he placed one hand at the back of Alfred's neck and another began to wander down Alfred's chest. Alfred in turn moved his hands from Arthur's shoulders and moved them to wander the man's back.

"England," Alfred gasped into the kiss. A sharp pain shot through Arthur's heart. Alfred never called him England. Never. It felt too formal for them. Too distant. Arthur tilted his head and kissed Alfred fervently, trying to silence Alfred. Soft moans began to come from Alfred, and now, some were escaping Arthur's mouth as well. A deep warmth was being generated between them, and shallow gasps were filling the air around them.

"England," The name slipped from Alfred's mouth again. Arthur's heart pounded erraticly in his chest. His mind became fuzzy and he soon found it hard to focus on anything aside from kissing Alfred. Then, without thinking, Arthur gasped something into the kiss.

"America."

Before he could fully grasp what he had said, Alfred was fully embracing Arthur, kissing him deeply and honestly. Arthur felt like he was being devoured and it became difficult to breathe, but for a few moments they both completely forgot about their situation.

After that, the kisses began to slow down. They became less desperate. Less hungry. And more lingering and gentle. A few times, one of the countries would begin to lean away, only to have lips recaptured by the other. Neither one would say it, they were both trying to prolong this for as long as possible. But eventually, this would have to end. Alfred brought his hands up to the sides of Arthur's face. They pulled away briefly for a moment before Alfred leaned down and kissed Arthur gently one last time. As they pulled away this time, Alfred took a step back. They stared at each other for a moment. They both felt the need to say something, but there was nothing to say. So without any words at all, Alfred turned and walked away back into the distance, without looking back.

Arthur's heart fell as he watched the country disappear from his sight. Out of all of his colonies, he thought Alfred would stay. He recalled the days when they were both younger, when Alfred would walk right beside him, talking about how they would always be together. About how much he loved him.

"...damn liar." Arthur said as he forced down the disappointment swelling inside him.

The pouring rain had long since returned to a persistent drizzle. The warmth from Alfred's touch had already dissipated from his senses, and the cool rain had replaced it with a cold, distant feeling.

Arthur stood in the field alone.

His favorite colony was gone.

And he would never be his colony again.