Tears

1781- Yorktown

"I am no longer a child, nor am I your little brother!"

The words rang out across the battle field like a bell, falling across those present like the rain that was pouring down from the sky.

A young man stood in front of a small group of soldiers in blue, his rifle raised and aimed at a solitary man in red that stood across from him with a look of hurt and horror plastered across his face. Both men were tired and bloody from the years of battle, their once pristine uniforms soiled from the fighting and the mud.

The man in red's expression twisted in agony and he rushed forward, his own rifle raised.

"No- I won't allow it!" he screamed, his voice nearly breaking.

The man in blue hastily swung his rifle in front of him, his blue eyes widening as a bayonet slammed into the wood of the weapon and knocked the gun away, leaving him open to the man in red.

There was a cry from behind the two men and the soldiers raised their guns, ready to defend their leader.

Neither man paid them any mind, their eyes locked on each other in a last moment of desperate communication. After what felt like hours, the man in red collapsed into the mud, his rifle falling uselessly from his hands.

"You idiot..." he moaned, his agonized voice slightly muffled by the hands he had pressed against his streaming eyes. "Stupid... you never see anything through to the end! I can't shoot you... Damn it, why? Why me? Why did this have to happen...?"

The man in blue looked down at the other, his expression twisting ever so slightly as he watched the man below him start to sob.

"What happened to you?" the new country of America croaked, his voice thick with unshed tears. "You... used to be so big."

As the Englishman who had raised him continued to sob at his feet, America cast a desperate glance behind him, searching for something that could justify the pain he felt at the sight of his brother- his guardian, his love- reduced to such ruin. His cerulean eyes caught sight of a small group of thirteen children that huddled behind the soldiers- fourteen if you counted the tiny Maine that clutched onto the skirts of his sister Massachusetts. The children- his children now- were watching him, their eyes wide with the fading innocence of a shattered childhood. America stared at all of them, his eyes going from the Carolina twins that huddled together with a shaking Georgia in front of them to the sobbing Virginia as she held New Hampshire and Maryland in her thin arms. This was why he had to go through this, he knew. It wasn't just for his freedom, it was for theirs.

He would give up anything for his children.

The thirteen future states had watched their father struggle from the very beginning, and they watched his final battle in the end. They didn't look away as he finally destroyed the last ties he shared with their former guardian England; their eyes were locked on America's back as he led his troops away from the battlefield for the last time.

The thirteen children saw everything.

Even the tears that their father tried so hard to hide.

USUK*USUK*USUK

Present Day- New York City

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard! You bloody wanker, I thought I raised you better than this!"

"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say to the Hero, Iggy! You're just jealous because my robot crime fighters are totally more interesting than your boring peace agreements!"

"You stupid git! At least my peace agreements would work!"

"Yeah, only 'cause you'll have bored the other countries to death with your talking before they can even put up a fight!"

Albert D. Jones (a.k.a New York) sighed and leaned back against his chair, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses as his father and England started fighting... again.

It was the first conference to be held in the United States in over two years, and New York had worked his ass off to make sure that his city was in the best shape possible for the arriving nations. He had had the United Nations building where the meeting was taking place cleaned until you could literally see your reflection in almost any surface, and had personally made sure that every country stayed in the best hotel New York had to offer and ate the best food money could buy (okay, so maybe Pennsylvania and New Jersey had helped a little bit with the hotels but, come on, he could only do so much by himself!).

And now, of course, his father, the United States of America, had to throw all of that hard work and effort out of the window with another one of those insane ideas that pretty much proved the assumption that all Americans were morons. Not that New York didn't love his father and his insane ideas- hell, Albert was often one of the people helping Alfred come up with some of his plans.

Seriously, though, did America always have to make himself look like an idiot in front of the rest of the world?

New York sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, careful not to jostle his designer sunglasses (which he technically didn't need since he was inside but... hey, they were awesome sunglasses!).

"Dad's doing it again," he hissed to the state that was currently lounging beside him with a book clasped between his thin fingers.

William P. Jones (Pennsylvania) glanced once over the top of his book, his brows raised for a moment behind the steel-frame glasses that he only wore while reading. Pennsylvania shrugged and returned to his book, not really in the mood to listen to his father's rants.

"They'll stop eventually," he murmured, a small grimace flickering across his pale skin when something crashed against the wall of the meeting room. "Although I'm glad that we're not in there for once..."

New York nodded in agreement. After nearly getting killed by flying chairs and the like, New York had had another room built beside the meeting room so that he and his siblings could occasionally watch the world meetings without being killed (or humiliated by their father). The adjoining room was set up so that the states could watch the meeting through a one-way window without being seen by the other nations. It was very convenient, especially when you wanted to observe something without being seen.

"I still don't know why you brought me along," Pennsylvania muttered, finally putting aside his book with a sigh of defeat. "You could have come by yourself."

"No way, Penny," Albert snapped. "You know I like to have someone else give me their opinions on my observations. Besides, everybody else was busy and I'm already staying at your house for the week so I knew that you wouldn't have anything to do."

William rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the meeting, his hand thoughtfully stroking the soft stubble on his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm still not sure what you want me to look for," he told his closest brother truthfully. "All I see is arguing, and that's not exactly anything new."

"Just keep watching, okay?" Albert snapped impatiently. "Trust me, you'll see it."

Pennsylvania sighed in defeat and watched as the fight between America and England lasted for another five minutes before a frazzled Germany yelled at them to calm down. His blue eyes watched his father's expression as America reluctantly returned to his seat, his lips parting slightly when he saw the pain hidden in the American nation's eyes behind the glasses that had been named after Texas.

"You see it?" New York whispered, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

Pennsylvania nodded, his mind flying back to the other times that he had glimpsed his father's pain. The fury of the battles... That last awful confrontation at rainy Yorktown... America's gasp of betrayal when he saw his daughter Washington D.C. burn in 1812... the World Wars...

"I can't believe he still love him..." William murmured. "After all this time..."

"See what I mean?" New York whispered. "This can't go on much longer, Penn. We need to do something."

"What?" the other state demanded, his eyes narrowing again. "What can we-?"

"Hey you two!"

The two states jumped and whirled around at the sound of their father's voice, trying not to look guilty.

America stood in the doorway of the small room, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement behind his glasses as he watched his sons. He smiled at their discomfort, reveling again in how similar yet different his children were.

New York looked like Alfred; America had always known that. With his perfect smile, messy golden hair, and baby blue eyes that were always hidden behind those sunglasses, Albert Jones was almost the spitting image of his father, although he did tend to look more sophisticated most of the time in his tailored suits...

Pennsylvania was different. His hair, long and pulled back into a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck, was a deeper honey than New York's, although his eyes were the same shade of blue that most of Alfred's children shared. The Pennsylvanian wore a nicely fitted suit like his brother, the silver frames of his reading glasses poking slightly out of his breast pocket. Both boys were well-built and fit, like their father, although America had to admit that Pennsylvania was slimmer than New York. Maybe there weren't enough McDonald's in that state...?

"So," America continued cheerfully, apparently oblivious to the heart attacks he had nearly given his sons. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to make sure that you had a ride," New York answered quickly before Pennsylvania could open his mouth. William had always been a bad liar... Albert blamed the Quakers.

"Ooohh." America grinned and bounded forward to pat his sons on the head, ignoring the irritated squawk that broke through New York's lips as the contact partially flattened his carefully ruffled hair. "That's nice of you! But I already have a ride, remember? Mattie's going to have me over at his place for a bit so I can get to know his boyfriend more." The American paused to grimace at the thought of being in the same house as that Russian communist while his sons struggled to remember who 'Mattie' was...

"Anyways, you two should head home," Alfred continued happily. "And nice set up, by the way, Bertie. Made me proud!"

New York flushed slightly in pleasure and nodded to his father before he herded Pennsylvania out of the door a few steps in front of the nation. The states hesitated when they saw England deep in conversation with Japan a few feet away, their eyes going to their father in time to catch another brief flash of pain before it was hidden in the American's deep blue eyes.

"Get along now, boys," America muttered, his voice slightly subdued. "I'll come over to visit when I come back from... uh, that place where Mattie lives... Yeah, anyways, I'll see you then, okay? And don't forget to come over on the 4th of July! No fights with Lizzy this year, Bertie."

New York winced at the mention of his sister Virginia and nodded sheepishly, his hands still shoving Pennsylvania in the direction of the door.

"Will do, Dad! See ya then!" he called over his shoulder.

The New Yorker didn't take his hands off of his brother's shoulders until they reached his black Mercedes, his brow furrowed above his sunglasses as he slid into the driver's seat.

"What are you doing?" Pennsylvania asked, suddenly wary. He didn't like the look on his brother's face...

New York grinned suddenly, that crazy grin that had become so infamous among nations and states alike.

"I am thinking," he said slowly. "Of a plan."

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, states, or Mercedes. Or McDonald's... Okay, I really don't own anything...

Yeah, had to write this... plot bunny attacked me weeks ago and I couldn't get the idea out of my head so... yep!

I promise I'll keep working on my other fanfics, this will just take some of my time too!

Please review, tell me what you think!