The boy was young, barely old enough to be considered a man, but he was definitely a man by his personality alone.
He was old enough to cry out for independence and strong enough despite all obstacles standing in his way, to obtain that independence.
There was strength in the 'boy' and respect enough for the Ottoman Empire to support him after all was through.
He'd met him as an overenthusiastic new nation and one that had certainly proved his worth.
The American was nervous though to meet such a nation, an empire at that, but he was clearly excited to meet him above all.
It was only seventeen ninety seven and so soon after the American had gained independence, but the Ottoman Empire could see himself in that kid that had just turned into a man, a full blown nation.
There was something enchanting about a young and enthusiastic man that definitely left the Ottoman pretty proud of the boy.
He extended his friendship back then, seeing the man eager to explore such a friendship and allow his own people to try to transform the citizens of the Ottoman into Christianity, but he was kind enough to let some of those citizens convert his people into Muslims.
There was something so beautifully stunning in how equally this relationship fell into, and it didn't take long for the Turk to become much closer to the American and for a century of trades, missionary trips, and a new friendship to pass by much to the Ottoman's surprise and joy.
There was to be a downfall though as well as World War One would not pair them up as enemies completely, but would put their relationship to a stalemate.
The Ottoman Empire though would not admit how much that kid left him happy when near him or how it saddened him to be saddened by their sudden emotional difference.
The Americans however had only declared war against Germany and not the Ottoman during World War One, but the older of the two still felt as if their friendship had needed a break now.
Alfred missed his friend dearly, the same man that he had rather reluctantly fallen for as he'd never quite opened himself up to having feelings for such a man and had therefore never brought himself up to deal with such emotions.
This hurt quite a bit for the American as he missed the Ottoman far more than he ever expected to.
He longed for a sudden proximity to the older nation and for the gentle and very equal friendship that they'd had before though his mind also brought forth his desires for more romantic ideals.
Alfred wished that he could hold his hand and possibly let their lips touch in a sudden and enchanting kiss, but these were just personal emotions for the American that still refused to reflect on what they meant.
He focused on this war and finishing it as quickly as possible though it never seemed an entirely easy feat neither did the eventual downfall of his economy after his sudden prosperity within his nation.
Alfred though would grow much stronger, gain more territory, and give up on his old ally after the surrender of the Ottomans in World War One and after the end of World War One.
He found that despite his own determination to move forward after such an event, after such a war, that Sadiq shown that he still cared in a letter addressed to America's president that begged for the Americans to help the Ottomans out though Alfred like his president would ignore this call for action that perhaps boosted his pride a little at the thought of strong Sadiq being humble in regards to America's growth.
Alfred had not expected for the passing of time to start dissolving the strong nation he knew of the Ottoman Empire into Turkey.
He'd never expected for his previous friend to lose some of his control over colonies or for his government to change so completely.
Alfred worried that he was not handling this as well as his president was; he knew he should be happy like his president seemed to be as his president was the 'voice' of the 'people,' but a part of himself shared his grievances that he couldn't quite completely understand with Turkey though he could not bring himself past pride to discuss this with the now Turk rather than Ottoman.
He did wonder some nights more than others however how much his friend must have changed with a new identity and the past hardships to look back on.
Alfred would not realize on those nights how the Turks had viewed the Americans after such a change as no longer a friend as he sort of viewed Sadiq as now though some of the Turks had time and time again tried to rekindle that friendship and had admired certain qualities about Americans.
Beyond human emotions, nations were to behave based off of what their people call for, and so Alfred continued on, pushing the once Ottoman to the back of his mind as he moved on with his life towards whatever needed to be done day by day.
Regardless of his own nation, Alfred valued Turkey's ability to avoid becoming a part of World War Two after he'd felt the pain and exhaustion caused by the war.
He was thankful that his ex-friend had managed to make it through without letting himself be taken into the battle and either humiliated by a loss or victorious and exhausted by a win.
There was a form of relief towards Alfred sans America once Turkey had joined NATO's ranks in nineteen fifty two.
It allowed him an actual chance to get to remeet and come to know his old friend, who now had a new nation name, and a whole new side to him as Alfred was pretty sure that all of this time would cause to develop.
It seemed both ultimately slow to when they did recover from those old past challenges that had kept them apart and mind numbingly fast with when they finally came to know each other again.
Finally, in the late nineteen nineties, Alfred felt that old stirring of their past friendship build back up and repair itself though he also admittingly felt that age old crush reform as if not lost in the passing of time.
Sadiq definitely looked different now as he appeared to have become more modern with this time and a little more of him was seen by the American.
Alfred was by this point nineteen and not so lost in his old childish naivety and a bit better equipped to be a nation and it was strangely freeing to realize that this renewal of their friendship allowed the other to see that and for the American to feel appreciated by the Turk that he'd admired so much in his younger years.
The American had finally grown up and was slowly getting used to his friends new name though it would be longer still until he told him of how he felt.
It had proved not to be too much longer when they had called their feelings into questions with each other as they slowly admitted their feelings in regards to each other in nineteen ninety nine and finally allowed themselves the joys found in human partnerships despite having been nations and focused primarily on politics and the slowly building bond of the two nations together as friends.
Alfred secretly savored the way that the Turk's lips fit on his and the way their fingers intertwined, one obviously tanner than the other.
There was a joy to be found here despite every difficulty arising in getting to this point.
Following the first couple of years or so together, things seemed fairly easy, they grew closer and things went better than even Alfred had hoped for as when things had gotten tough for the American the Turk was there to back him up though sadly just hitting the third year mark, their 'honeymoon' phase had ended and struggles began.
Still under the rising arguments they managed to stay together not simply as nations but as boyfriends that were determined among rising issues and increasing amounts of arguments to push through together, side by side for as long as they could last.
Compromises were made essential for the two of them to get over these bumps as soon as possible and push forward together.
Turkey was decently quick at apologizing to his boyfriend and strengthening their connection to each other despite obstacle, and Alfred eager for their own issues to resolve agreed with Sadiq and drew closer to his boyfriend again though it was a slow and sometimes impossible seeming task.
Thankfully though, they managed to draw even closer than before despite many difficult times and even pushed forward to continue standing side by side after their most recent struggle to remain together.
Alfred smiled at the way their hands intertwined together despite their sometimes less than trustworthy history; he loved him and knew that now.
Any future obstacle would be powered through side by side with the man that he'd came to love more than life, itself, and knew that the Turk felt the same way.