America felt a searing pain in his side as his troops were currently being massacred by the Russians. Ivan stood over him, that childish, creepy smile on his face.
"Now you will die, da?" He asked, watching as Alfred cried out in pain again as the guns of the enemy tore through his own men, his citizens. Ivan smirked and placed his foot on Alfred's gut. The American's eyes rolled back in pain before everything began to go hazy.
"Goodbye, Amerika." Those last words from Ivan, from his enemy, from the man that brought destruction, were the last thing that Alfred remembered hearing as his vision went blissfully black and his body felt no more pain.
"England! England!" Young America called out desperately, running towards the older blond nation with something in his hands.
Arthur turned around, a worried expression on his face. "What is it?" He asked, kneeling down so he was eye level with the colony.
Alfred opened his hands up to reveal a duckling, its small wing twisted and bleeding. Arthur took the duckling in his hands gingerly and rose to his feet. "Come on Alfred; let's see what we can do for him." They went inside their house and Arthur set the duckling down on the kitchen table.
"Alfred, can you get me a clean cloth?" Arthur asked, digging through cabinets in order to find some bandages.
Arthur eventually found them and straightened up as Alfred brought over a towel. "Thank you, love." Arthur murmured, setting the duckling on the towel. He grabbed another towel, got it wet, and began to gently wipe the wing, trying to clean the blood off.
The duckling let out a small wail of pain and Alfred clutched Arthur's shirt. "You're hurting him!"
"Sometimes a little pain can bring more comfort." Arthur told Alfred, pausing in his work to smile at the boy before setting the towel down and began trying to put the wing back in its original position as gingerly as possible. He finished this with much struggle from the duckling and wrapped the wing before wrapping it to the duckling's body.
"There. We'll have to keep him for a little while until he's better." Arthur told Alfred, bending down so he could look into the colony's clear, amazingly blue eyes. Alfred smiled and hugged him.
"You're the best England!" He chorused happily.
~~~Time skip because Alfred's memories say so~~~
"All right Alfred; it's time to let Willy go!" Arthur called as he picked up the duckling. The small duck had healed well and was ready to go back out into the world.
"Do we have to?" Alfred asked with his puppy-dog eyes.
Arthur knelt down and nodded, emerald eyes meeting sapphire. "Yes, we do. Willy would rather be free. It's what is natural for him."
Alfred nodded after a moment and Arthur smiled, placing the young duck in Alfred's hands. "Come on now, let's go outside."
Alfred followed Arthur out the door and a good distance away from the house. The sun was just touching the horizon, its vibrant colors saying one final goodbye before it would leave until the next day.
"Goodbye Willy." Alfred whispered before he set the duck on the ground. Willy quacked, looking up at the two nations for a moment before waddling off towards the horizon, towards the setting sun. He quaked once more, and then disappeared into the brush.
Alfred leaned against Arthur tiredly, yawning as he watched his friend disappear. Arthur let him watch for a moment before picking him up and walking back towards the house. Alfred snuggled into his arms, feeling warm and protected, drifting off into sleep.
Alfred presently became aware of a cool cloth on his forehead and he opened his tired eyes. Arthur was kneeling beside him, dirty and tired looking. He was wiping Alfred's face off gently, clearing away the dirt, blood, and dust.
"Hey Artie..." Alfred whispered in a hoarse voice.
Arthur looked startled, as if he had been deep in thought. To Alfred's utter surprise, Arthur wrapped his arms quickly around the taller nation. "You had me so worried you git." Arthur said into Alfred's shoulder.
Surprised, Alfred slowly wrapped his arms around Arthur. "I'm sorry." He murmured softly.
Arthur pulled away and rested his forehead against Alfred's own. "I don't want to lose you." He said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, so quiet that Alfred wasn't sure if he had heard Arthur correctly.
"I'm here now." Alfred replied, unsure of what to say.
Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, then pulled Alfred into a kiss. It was sweet and loving. The Englishman tasted of tea and those scones that he always ate. It was the most amazing taste in the world.
Alfred realized that he had just been sitting there and quickly kissed Arthur back, slowly bringing his hands up, one to rest on Arthur's cheek, the other to run through his hair. Arthur copied his actions until he pulled away.
"Alfred, I-" England started, clearly embarrassed by what he had just done.
Alfred placed his other hand on Arthur's cheek. "It's okay Iggy, I love you." He replied, more serious than he had ever been before.
Arthur's breath caught before he replied quickly, "I love you too."
Alfred smiled before tiredly leaning into Arthur's body, realizing how his body still ached and felt exhausted. Arthur's arms wrapped around him once more, supporting him, comforting him. And once again, Alfred slipped away into sleep, comforted by the fact that the Englishman that he loved was there for him, and always would be.
Author's note: Well that was fun. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have to request that if you like the Lord of the Rings books, you try my other story, called Night of the Dragons. It wasn't originally planned to be a fanfic so just bear with me until we get to the actual LotR part. Please give it a try; I already have written the first 8 chapters. Anyway, if you noticed anything wrong with this story, or the other, let me know. I would love to hear from you! ^_^