Halo

by candy4yourEYEZ

UsUk songfic based on Arthur's historical-and present-relationship with Alfred.

Halo

Remember those walls I built

Ever since he was young, Arthur always had walls around his heart. After only a few years of bloodshed and war in his rarely peaceful kingdom, England found it easier just to shut everyone out, instead of letting them through his walls and burning down the city of his heart.

Well, baby they're tumbling down

But the second he'd found that small, blonde haired child on the Great Plains, something had started to crumble.

And they didn't even put up a fight

He was putty in the child's hands, his own moods dictated by whatever childish whims Alfred had at the moment.

They didn't even make up a sound

Arthur had had so many colonies before, but none like this one, this one that silently snuck his way into his heart.

I found a way to let you in

Arthur had never really meant to let the child claim his affections; he had never loved another quite like this. He tried to make it work though, tried to make it last.

But I never really had a doubt

It wasn't a sudden realization; England had known that America was different ever since he was chosen for his food, and not any other reason like power, money, or influence. He knew that instant that America was unique.

Standing in the light of your halo

I got my angel now

Sure, Arthur Kirkland believed in faeries, goblins, and the like. But, having lived for so long, he had never really believed in angles. How could something so good, so pure, exist in such an evil, rotten world that they lived in? But, when the light hit Alfred's corn silk hair just right, a small halo would seem to shine above his head.

It's like I've been awakened

Arthur had thought he knew it all, had seen it all, but Alfred opened his eyes, envisioned a better world that the others never could have reached on their own.

Every rule I had you breakin'

Arthur knew their relationship went against society, against what was believed to be right. After all, he had raised Alfred, not counting the fact that they were both men!

It's the risk that I'm takin'

He thought it would all come crashing down someday, but held on while it lasted.

I ain't never gonna shut you out

Whenever America needed a shoulder to cry on, England would have one for him. When the woes of Alfred's country became too much, even for a 'hero,' he would always have Arthur's help.

Everywhere I'm looking now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

And when America snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around him, Arthur just relaxed into the hug, knowing everything was going to be alright after all.

Baby I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace

Just being around Alfred was ecstasy; he balanced out all the negatives that Arthur had, and seemed to make him a better person just by walking into the same room.

You're everything I need and more

It's written all over your face

When he would flash one of those ridiculously large grins of his, England would feel his heart constrict, and almost couldn't believe that this angel was his.

Baby I can feel your halo

Pray it won't fade away

Yes, Alfred was his angel, he was sure of it, and if he yelled at him or called his latest plan stupid, it was simply because he didn't want his angel to get injured.

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

Yes, Alfred was his angel, however unlikely it seemed… And Arthur loved him all the more for it.

Hit me like a ray of sun

Burning through my darkest night

Before Alfred, Arthur drowned his sorrows in drink. He was constantly depressed, putting up an angry façade for the sake of appearance. But Alfred changed all that.

You're the only one that I want

There had been others before, but none quite like Alfred. No one else made Arthur feel the same way, no one else made him have to decide between kicking them in their vital regions and kissing them until they couldn't breathe.

Think I'm addicted to your light

Sure, Arthur was pretty messed up, although he'd be the last one to admit it. But Alfred, Alfred and his hero complex, Alfred and his bomber jacket, Alfred and his aura of… Good… They made Arthur feel better, made him want to climb out of the hole he was in and try to live again. He was addicted, but this time, to something that wouldn't hurt him anymore.

I swore I'd never fall again

But this don't even feel like falling

Gravity can't forget

To pull me back to the ground again

Arthur had tried to find love before, tried and failed each time. He'd told himself to stop trying, to lock his heart up and close off his emotions. Alfred slipped through those walls, and the way Arthur felt now didn't even feel remotely close to the heartache he'd had to endure before.

Feels like I've been awakened

Arthur felt-high, almost, when he was near Alfred. Like the boy opened his eyes to a completely different world, a world that existed only because of his perfection, a world that only someone he wanted to see could see.

Every rule I had you breakin'

The risk that I'm takin'

It had felt wrong from the start, but Arthur shut that feeling out. He didn't want human conventions intruding on the one true happiness he'd found.

I'm never gonna shut you out

Normally, Arthur would never reveal anything about his real character to anyone. Solitude was comforting, and he didn't care what others thought about him. But the one person he couldn't ignore was Alfred. Alfred would be the only one never turned away.

Everywhere I'm looking now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

Alfred always hugged him from behind, like a surprise made the contact better. He would pick him up and swing him around like a child, and Arthur would turn and bury his face in Alfred's chest so no one would see his small smile.

Baby I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace

Alfred was, in Arthur's opinion, the only good thing about him. The part of him that loved Alfred made Arthur resent himself just a little less. He was astonished that part of the cruel, spiteful, hated country that he was could ever love something as good as Alfred, could even stand to be near him when Alfred's triumphs only made Arthur's failures stand out all the more.

You're everything I need and more

Alfred was the only drug Arthur needed, anything else fell short of the high he got from his lover.

It's written all over your face

And when Alfred smiled, Arthur knew that he smiled for him, to reassure him that everything was alright.

Baby I can feel your halo

Pray it won't fade away

And Arthur didn't know what he'd do if Alfred was gone, didn't know how he'd keep living if that insufferable, obnoxious, adorable, loving idiot wasn't there.

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

Halo, halo

Arthur didn't think it was a coincidence that Alfred looked like the saints and angels that were painted all those centuries ago, didn't find it remarkable that his eyes were the exact color of the sky on a sunny day or that his hair blended in with the fields of wheat that waved gently in the west. Alfred was an angel in human form. But no one believed in angels nowadays, so Alfred was called something different entirely. A hero.

Everywhere I'm looking now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

And the feeling of Alfred's strong arms around him made everything better.

Baby I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace

Alfred really was the only reason to try.

You're everything I need and more

It's written all over your face

Alfred was the one drug Arthur refused to give up. He didn't care what others thought, Alfred was all he needed, all he wanted, all that and much more.

Baby I can feel your halo

Pray it won't fade away

And if Alfred disappeared, Arthur knew what he'd do. He was pretty sure it wasn't that easy for a nation to off itself, but he'd give it his best shot.

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo

I can see your halo halo halo

When the light hit Alfred's corn silk hair just right, a halo would appear. And Arthur wouldn't tell him, or wonder about it. He'd just bask in its light and pray it would stay.

Because, quite honestly, if he'd gotten his own guardian angel, who was he to question it?