Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz

Arthur Kirkland sat back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He sat in his small office, doing his best to keep up with work. He glared at his computer screen and shook his head.

He stared out the window at the snowy cityscape outside.

A knee-length amount of snow had fallen over the city overnight and now a layer of fine, whiteness blanketed the rooftops of the numerous apartments and buildings. Light gray clouds rolled across the sky, promising another snowfall later on. Smoke curled up sluggishly into the sky from a few chimney tops scattered across the city and even behind his closed window, Arthur could feel the cool winter air seeping into his skin and chilling him to the bone.

Sighing, he turned back to his desk. He shook his head again and got up to refill his empty teacup. Just a short break, then it's back to work.

Arthur sat back down after filling his cup with hot tea and carefully sipped the brew. He sighed in relief and began looking around the room, like he usually did during one of his breaks. His green eyes soon fell on a framed photograph propped up on his desk. The picture showed a young man who looked to be about nineteen. He had bright sandy hair and even brighter sapphire-blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. A single strand of hair like a cowlick stood up at the front and he was grinning happily at the camera. The man had his arm hooked around the shoulders of none other than Arthur who, in the photo, evidently looked like he was struggling to get away. He was scowling but blushing madly and his mouth was open in what was no doubt a curse and a demand to be let go.

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. He picked up the photograph and sat there staring at it for a long time, unable to tear his eyes away from the gleeful, handsome face of the man. Then he said quietly, "Two years, Alfred. It's been two years. Can you believe it's been that long since we last saw each other? I can't even begin to think about it." He sighed and stared sadly at the man, Alfred. "When are you ever coming back?" He said in no more than a whisper, replacing the photograph back on his desk.

Arthur sat there for a long time just staring at the photograph. He couldn't believe it had been so long since he last saw his boyfriend, Alfred F. Jones. The two had known each other for years now, ever since high school. But they hadn't become an official couple until only 3 years ago, when Alfred graduated from college and Arthur already had a job. It was on the night of Alfred's graduation party that the both of them finally confessed to each other. The night had ended in blissful happiness, the wonderful feeling of each other's warmth, and the warm feeling of their lips locked together.

The days following that were probably the best that Arthur had ever had in his life. They did everything together. They went out to dinner almost every night, took walks in the park, played video games (which wasn't really so bad as Arthur had thought it would be, at least, when he didn't lose), went to the library (only because Arthur had insisted and that he had promised that they would read a book about some famous American person that he hadn't even heard about) and had even gone swimming at the beach once. But most of the time, all they ever did was quietly sit somewhere, maybe on a bench in a secluded part of the park or at a table in a café, just talking about whatever crossed their minds. They'd often ask questions about one another, getting to know each other more and more.

It may have seemed boring to others, but to Arthur, and maybe to Alfred too, it was the most fun that he had ever had in his entire life. He always seemed to forget everything whenever he was with Alfred. There was just something about that crazy, brilliant grin of his and those sparkling blue eyes that made everything disappear and not matter anymore. There was something about the way he held his hand, the way he looked at him, the way he would say his name that would always make Arthur feel faint and just plain happy without even knowing why. There was something about Alfred's very presence, knowing that he was just an inch away from him, that made Arthur feel a sort of jittery feeling in his gut that he just couldn't get rid of.

His heart would always beat madly against his chest even at just the thought of the American and no matter what Alfred did, he almost always managed to take Arthur's breath away.

It was pure bliss just being with him and Arthur always hoped that it would never end.

But of course, it had to.

Sometimes, when the two were left with nothing to talk about, Alfred would tell Arthur about his long-time dream to travel around the world and see everything that it had to offer. He wanted to see in person all these famous sites in different countries that he could so far only see on TV or read about in books. It had stemmed from a childhood dream of one day becoming a pilot or an astronaut but in due course, had changed into his current ambition and he wanted nothing more than to be able to live it out before he died. Although Arthur gradually began to grow tired of hearing Alfred tell him this, he didn't stop him. He loved the way Alfred's blue eyes sparkled with thrill and excitement whenever he talked about his dream and it filled Arthur's heart with joy just to see him so happy.

But it was on a day just like any other when Alfred first told Arthur about his plans. At first, Arthur didn't even understand half of what Alfred was saying because he was stuttering and stammering too much, which was a sure sign that he was nervous about telling Arthur this. Which just made Arthur even more anxious about hearing what Alfred had to say. But soon, the truth finally came out.

Alfred had finally saved enough money and had gone and bought a plane ticket to Tokyo, Japan. From there, he was going to go on to different countries - first in Asia, then to Europe and so on.

He was finally going to live out his dream.

Although Arthur smiled and congratulated Alfred, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He was finally together with the man he loved yet something had to cut it all short. He knew that he was being selfish, that he shouldn't act this way, but he just couldn't stop himself from feeling this way about it. To him, Alfred's dream was a hindrance to his own dream of being with him all the time and he hated himself for thinking of it this way. He should be happy for Alfred, glad that his dreams were finally going to come true. But no matter what he did, he just couldn't bring himself to be happy about it. Alfred was going off to see the world, and where was Arthur? Stuck here, sitting and waiting.

But there was a catch though.

Alfred had bought two tickets to Japan. Meaning that he was taking Arthur there with him.

The thought had excited Arthur, no doubt, and as much as he wanted to go there with Alfred, he couldn't. He still had a job, lots of deadlines to reach and projects to do that he just couldn't put off till later. And anyway, Arthur's boss was impossible to deal with, especially when it came to holidays and leaves. (Arthur had tried talking to his boss once about giving him a day-off. It had ended badly and Arthur certainly did not want to repeat the experience)

So it was a no.

Arthur wasn't the only one who was disappointed though. He could hardly bear the sad look on Alfred's face and it had immediately pushed him to say yes. Screw the boss and the work, he was going on a trip around the world with Alfred. How often did you get to do that?

But even though Arthur had told Alfred this, after hearing his reasons for staying, Alfred had told Arthur that work was his first priority right now and he should stay here to do it. And anyway, this was his (Alfred's) dream. After that, Alfred went on a long monologue about how he shouldn't have asked Arthur to come if he didn't want to, about how stupid he was for thinking that Arthur would want to come when he still had a lot of work to do. He had completely convinced himself that Arthur wanted no part in his dream and had a lot more important things to do than travel around with him.

Arthur could barely contain his frustration at this. Everything was so mixed up and confusing. If only he could sort things out so that he could come with Alfred and still manage to do the work. But he knew deep inside that he couldn't without making things even more complicated than it already was.

So Arthur, with a stiff upper lip and an even stiffer resolution, decided to settle the matter once and for all in the best way possible.

Alfred would go off and travel the world and Arthur would stay here and continue with his work. However, both of them had to promise to the other that they would keep up any means of contact with each other in the best possible way available depending on wherever they happened to be at the moment. Or at least, depending on wherever Alfred happened to be at a time. Postcards, letters, e-mails, long distance phone calls, all within a minimum sending period of once every month.

Both of them had agreed readily to this deal and it took Arthur quite some time to figure out why he hadn't thought about it sooner when it was quite obvious what they should do.

And it all worked out fine from there.

Arthur kept every postcard, every letter and had even printed out every e-mail that Alfred would send to him, telling him about wherever he happened to be at the time and what he saw and did there. It made Arthur happy to hear about Alfred's adventures in every country and place that he visited and even if he wasn't there with him, Arthur could feel how delighted and excited Alfred was just by reading his letters. Oftentimes, Alfred would even enclose or attach photos in his letters and e-mails. It made Arthur laugh and grin with joy when he saw just how much Alfred was enjoying himself. He had even made a few friends.

He had a met a nice, quiet guy named Kiku in Japan, a somewhat grumpy yet hospitable Chinese guy named Yao, a sort of creepy Russian guy called Ivan and his sisters Nataliya and Katyurshka, a cheerful boy named Feliciano and his grouchy, short-tempered brother Lovino in Italy and even a German named Ludwig and his loud and obnoxious brother, Gilbert.

And there were still many more but Arthur couldn't keep track of so many different names from so many different countries.

Still, even if Arthur was sort of happy for Alfred, he couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy whenever Alfred would talk about the people he met there. These people had only known Alfred for a short time yet they spent a lot of time with him. And here was Arthur, who had known Alfred the longest, stuck in his office reduced only to speaking with him through letters and e-mails, which just wasn't like talking to him in person.

Arthur missed Alfred more than anything and in their time spent apart, there wasn't a day that Arthur didn't think about Alfred, what could he be doing right now, where could he be or if he (Alfred) missed him (Arthur) just as much as he (Arthur) missed him.

Even if he had all the letters and postcards that Alfred had sent to him, it wasn't enough for Arthur. He wanted to see Alfred face-to-face, not just through photographs, and hear him tell him about his adventures with his own mouth, not just through letters. Overall, Arthur just wanted to see Alfred, finally be with him after all those days being away from each other.

ldquo;But I'll be back." Alfred's voice suddenly rang in Arthur's ears, even when he knew that he wasn't really there. He could just see the American's face, smiling at him with those mesmerizing blue eyes. "I'll always come back. Because I know that being in a different place will never be the same as being here, in America, with you. Sure, it's fun and all, but I'm sure that it would be even better if you were there, so of course I'll come back! You'll wait for me until then, right?"

Arthur smiled. "I will." He said softly, staring affectionately at Alfred's photo.

"Feeling sentimental now, are we, mon cher?"

Arthur looked up at the sound of the voice and his face immediately took on a hard look to it, like it usually did when faced with the owner of the voice. In fact, it was almost second-nature for it to do so. "Who's feeling sentimental?" He snapped.

A man with wavy shoulder-length blond hair stood leaning against the open doorway of Arthur's office. He had dark blue eyes and just the slightest hint of stubble on his chin. He had an amused, smug look on his face and judging by his accent when he spoke, he was French.

"Well I would have thought you'd know the answer to that." He said smugly, walking inside with his arms over his chest.

Arthur glared at him. "Go away, Francis." He turned back to his computer. "I'm working."

Francis raised his eyebrows at him. "Are you now? Well that's a surprise. All I ever see you do when I come by is stare at that old photograph." He smirked at the reddish tint on Arthur's face. "So tell me." He sat down and leaned forward. "What are you thinking?"

Arthur only glared at him even more intensely than before. "I'm thinking about how much of a bloody annoying git you are."

Francis clutched his heart in mock hurt and his face twisted into a pained expression. "Oh how my heart breaks! Why must you hurt me so, Arthur?"

Arthur glared at his computer screen, his fingers typing furiously on the keyboard. "Stop that nonsense and just tell me what you're doing here."

Francis' hurt expression turned into a smug grin. "You seem to be very busy lately, mon cher. Even more busy than usual."

Arthur frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah well" Francis threw his arms up dramatically, ignoring Arthur. "Who is not? What with Christmas just around the corner, and in your case, all those bills to pay, those deadlines to reach, all the work to do, not to mention Alfred coming back for Christ-"

Arthur was out of his seat in the blink of an eye and grabbed Francis by the collar. "What did you say?" he said fiercely.

Francis blinked, "Which one?"

"That last one." Arthur said, his tone starting to sound disbelieving and almost hopeful. "Something about Alfred."

Francis' eyes widened first in recognition then in surprise. "He didn't tell you?"

ldquo;What didn't he tell me?" Arthur asked.

Then Francis actually laughed. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. "What's so funny?" Francis shook his head before saying, "Why, Alfred's coming back! In fact!" With a flourish, Francis showed Arthur his wristwatch. "His plane will be arriving in less than five minutes now!" He sighed. "But ah well, I'm sure he'll be quite disappointed to find no one waiting for him when he arrives. Well, I expect Matthieu will be there but it would be such a shame if you didn't show up."

But Arthur wasn't paying attention anymore. He dropped Francis unceremoniously on the floor and raced out of the room as fast as he could.

He could feel his heart hammering against his chest and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears. A sudden feeling of anticipation and elatedness enveloped his entire being and his mind could only process one thing.

Alfred.

Alfred was back.

Alfred was coming back.

Finally, after two goddamn years, Alfred was coming back.

Arthur laughed as he breezed right through the doors of the office building and out into the cold weather outside. He didn't even realize that he didn't have his coat until he had hailed a taxi and had told the driver to go to the nearest airport.

But that didn't matter now.

What mattered now was that Alfred was back. And he was going to see him. He was going to finally see him. The thought made Arthur laugh and grin with no reason at all and he could swear that all throughout the ride to the airport, the driver was giving him odd looks from the rearview mirror.

When he finally arrived there, Arthur could barely contain it. He had gotten so excited that at first, he had absolutely no idea what to do or where to go. And when he had finally calmed himself down enough to get his bearings and find out where the Arrival terminal for Alfred's flight was, he found that he was far from it.

But that didn't matter.

He was going to see Alfred anyway.

No matter what happened, he was going to see Alfred.

And that was all that really mattered now.

Arthur ran right through the doors, heart beating so hard and so fast that he could hardly bear it. It was almost hard to believe that finally, after such a long time, he could finally see the person that he longed for and missed the most in just a few minutes, maybe even seconds. The thought only made Arthur's pulse quicken and his heart keep pace.

The moment he stepped through the door, he found him. His heartbeat quickened and he could hardly believe it.

"A-Alfred…?" He said shakily as he neared the person who had his back turned to him. But as the person turned and he got a good look of his face, his heart fell. "Oh." He said, trying to hide the disappointed tone in his voice with a smile. "Hello, Matthew."

Matthew blinked then smiled. "Arthur! I was beginning to think you weren't going to come. Alfred told you he'd be coming today?"

Arthur scratched his head. "Actually…no. I knew just now."

Matthew's eyes widened then seemed to take on a look of understanding. "O-Oh…" He said, in that shy, quiet manner of his before turning his back on Arthur.

It was understandable how Arthur could have mistaken Matthew for Alfred, especially since he wasn't facing him. They were brothers after all and although Matthew's hair was longer than Alfred's and his cowlick was far messier, it was still easy to mistake him for his brother. In fact, it was as easy as forgetting Matthew, which was, regrettably, far too easy.

Arthur sighed and mentally scolded himself. Idiot, don't get your hopes so high up! He probably hasn't arrived yet.

However, no sooner had he thought this then Matthew cried out. "Oh there he is! Alfred! Over here!"

And then time seemed to stop for Arthur. Because right there, walking straight towards them, was Alfred F. Jones himself. His hair was still the same sandy color that Arthur had remembered it to be, and still with that little cowlick. He wore his usual get-up of an old bomber jacket over a plain t-shirt, a pair of jeans and his favorite pair of sneakers. He had gotten taller over the last few years and more muscular it seemed. But what struck Arthur the most were his eyes. They shone like a pair of stars in the middle of the day and were still that deep, dazzling, mesmerizing blue Arthur had always loved.

Arthur held his breath and he felt so weak that he was surprised that he could still stand. His heart was just threatening to burst right out of his chest and he just couldn't hold still.

Alfred grinned happily at Matthew. He raised his hand in greeting and opened his mouth to call something out to him, but he stopped at the sight of Arthur. He halted right there, his hand slowly falling back to his side, his other clutching the handle of his suitcase behind him. His grin fell and he just stood there, stunned, as he stared at Arthur.

Arthur felt his heartbeat quicken and his palms go sweaty. Time itself seemed to stop. And suddenly, they were all alone. Matthew disappeared and so did everyone else. Everything just dissolved and fell away around them. Because all they could see now was each other.

Neither could believe that after months of being miles away from each other, here they were, standing only a few feet apart.

Then Alfred smiled, a kind, knowing smile. A smile full of happiness, relief and love.

And then, like all those years spent apart was leading right up to this moment, like all that time spent worrying and wondering had been waiting for this single minute, Arthur broke the spell and ran towards Alfred, hardly daring to believe it. Tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes and everything muddled and mixed together into a blur of colors and joy.

He didn't even realize it when Alfred took him in his arms and spun him around happily. Arthur reveled at the warmth of Alfred's arms as they wrapped themselves around him and he couldn't help but laugh.

Finally, here he was. Right in Alfred's arms. It wasn't just a dream. Arthur knew. This was no joke. Alfred was really here.

Alfred was back.

Alfred was safe.

No words could ever properly describe how happy the both of them felt in that one single moment. Nothing could ever amount to what they both felt at being finally reunited with the person they loved the most.

And it didn't matter if anybody could really describe it.

Because all that mattered in that one moment was that they were together. They were together, right here, right now. And that was a feeling that nobody in this whole world, not even the wisest philosopher, could ever come close to describing.

And then Arthur was hearing his name. He was hearing his name being said in that loving, tender way that Alfred always reserved for him and it was the best feeling in the world. He was already feeling dizzy and light-headed and overall, like he was floating.

"Alfred," He clutched Alfred's jacket and buried his face in his shoulder, tears stinging his eyes. "Why didn't you bloody tell me you were coming today, you bloody idiot?!" He said angrily.

Alfred laughed and brought their foreheads together. His blue eyes glistened with tears of joy. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Didn't work, huh?"

Arthur punched Alfred weakly on the chest. "No, and I hate surprises!"

Alfred cupped Arthur's face in between his hands and laughed and to Arthur, that laugh sounded like the most beautiful piece of music he had ever heard. "I'm home, Art." He closed his eyes. "I'm home." He whispered, smiling contentedly.

And then Arthur couldn't take it. He threw his arms around Alfred's neck and crushed their lips together in a fervent kiss. Alfred's eyes opened and widened in surprise but he chuckled and closed his eyes, giving in to the kiss.

And neither of them knew how much time passed nor did they really care. They didn't care that people around them were staring, crying out in surprise and outrage, and even glaring in disapproval. They didn't care that Matthew was there and staring on in a mixture of surprise and shock (having never seen them kiss in public or at all, for that matter, before). They didn't care that they were being far too intimate and affectionate in public.

Because all that mattered was they were together.

Alfred was home.

And there, in his arms, so was Arthur

Originally posted on LJ for the Secret Santa fic/art exchange on the UsxUK group on LJ.

And yet another casual reminder that I am not dead.

Thanks for reading!