Arthur had loved him in many different ways as time passed, but at the peak of their time together, he had loved him as a nation.
Arthur had been his ally, and his lover, in the fading light of the 21st century.
America, the nation, was looking shaky, having too many internal problems of late, and many other nations had turned their backs on him as a nation, though they offered private support to the man.
"Arthur." Alfred had spoken up from his place on his couch, looking over to the man, smiling as he came in, and he stood up, eagerly going to see him. "What'd your boss say?"
"Well, it's complicated…" England admitted, and America seemed to damper.
"It always is…" Alfred sighed, and gently rubbed his thumb against Arthur's cheek, caressing his face with his hand, his kind blue eyes, the color of the sky on a perfect day, and with the essence forget-me-nots embedded in them, and he smiled, inviting Arthur to pull down the slightly taller man down to his height, bringing him into a delicate kiss.
"Dear, let's not talk about that." Arthur suggested, whispering as he squeezed Alfred's hand. "You don't need that right now. Let's cast away our darkness, and let's forget our unjustified fears. I'm here, right here with you."
"I know." Alfred chuckled weakly, kissing him gently and pecking his face gently, the younger's hands going to Arthur's shoulders, running down his back as he pulled him into a hug.
Arthur leaned into the larger man, and sighed. You don't deserve this fate, he thought to himself. "I'll be your freedom." England told him, teasingly. "That's what you want? I'll protect you, help you through this."
"Just…just tell me that you love me." Alfred murmured, his hand coming up and gently caressing Arthur's head, running it through Arthur's hair. "Take my attention off it by talking about other things…Promise me that you're not lying…"
"I love you, Alfred. You're safe with me." Arthur pulled him down onto the couch. "One day, it'll be summertime once again, and you're here with me right now, I'm not lying my dear…"
Alfred had started to cry softly, putting his head into Arthur's shoulder, "Tell me you still need me, Arthur…"
"I'll always need you, I love you every single moment of the day." Arthur responded, gently stroking Alfred's back. "You're going to be free soon, but until then, please tell me that you love me, and you'll share with me your remaining life, and tell me that I can be with you. Please, my love, don't go where I can't follow."
"I love you, Arthur. I want nothing more for us to always be together, and I promise to never go away." He kissed him, tears dripping down his face as sorrow and happiness conflicted inside of him, and Alfred gripped tightly to Arthur's chest, and onto his heart. "I will always be with you."
Arthur held his lover tight, repeatedly telling the man that he loved him, no matter what happened to him.
XXXXX
Of course, Alfred's existence as a nation was extremely limited from that point on, and the day came where Alfred's broken economy and government led to the dissolving of the United States, and Alfred was left without a country.
Their time together was a flicker in the darkness of Arthur's life.
The soft blue eyes on a bright face, the color of forget-me-nots, an innocent smile resting on his face, from his time as a child until the day of his death.
Arthur knew that Alfred F. Jones would be the end of him, the one who he would always love, and the day would one day come when their lives would have to separate.
Until that moment came, Alfred dedicated his life to being beside Arthur.
And once it came, Arthur, England, hadn't been prepared to lose him.
He had gone to the grocery store, to pick up Alfred's medicine, and had taken a bit longer than usual.
But when he came back, it was too late for them. Arthur came back, calling out to Alfred calmly, before he realized there was no voice answering him back.
He found him on the floor, having trying to crawl to the phone, and was now limp, and cold, dead.
Arthur quietly grasped for words, unable to really express his sorrow as he crouched down to cradle Alfred in his arms.
"Alfred…" Arthur's voice cracked as his hand gripped tightly around the cold hand of the younger man, tears slowly dripping down his face as he turned his eyes away from the sunset of Alfred's face, his sky blue eyes having been shut forever.
"I asked you not to go where I couldn't follow, my love." He held Alfred's hand to his face, forcing the dead ex-nation's thumb to wipe the tears off his face. "But do not worry. You can rest. I only hope that one day, I will be able to go after you, my dear."
XXXX
When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd,
And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,
I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.
XXXX
In the weeks, and months, and then years to follow Alfred's death, the world seemed to have dimmed.
Alfred's image in his mind started to fade, until the details of his face that he thought he would never forget dimmed, until the things that had defined Alfred were all he knew him by, the beautiful blue eyes like the expansive open skies of the American plains, and smile that was filled with hope, which had faded into the cold embrace of death, and-
Arthur kept his memory alive as best he could, but one day, realized that his mourning was in vain. Nothing he could do or say could ever bring Alfred back, though he wished otherwise.
He bit his lip, and at Alfred's memorial, since his body had faded not long after death, he started to talk to him.
"Sometimes I dream that you came back." Arthur told him, hoping that Alfred could hear him, wherever nations went after death. "I wish that I could hear your voice again, I'm forgetting what you sounded like…"
He didn't get an answer, and sighed gently. "I've spent too many years now looking back at my mistakes and dreaming of how I could have done things differently. How I could have saved you." Arthur looked to the sky. "I know we have to say goodbye, once and for all. Please, forgive me Alfred, I have to learn how to live again, please, give me the strength to try again."
There would be no more dreaming of Alfred's memories and crying silently over the wasted years they had spent hating each other.
He stood, gently feeling the cold marble tombstone and imagining it was Alfred's hand, smiling at the sky. "Please, help me say goodbye to you, Alfred."