Dedicated to my America

Disclaimer: I own nothing well, except for Ian and Sean

Pairing: UsUk or AmericaxEngland in that order

It wasn't Arthur's first time drinking. He had grown up in a familly full of drinkers, his father, his mother, all of his brothers drank, especially his oldest twin brothers Ian and Sean who were constantly competing to see who could drink the most kegs.

At that moment, it was Sean who was winning. He was on his seventh, and it never failed to awe Arthur how much his brothers could drink without passing out.

"Anot'er!" Sean sang happily. It was obvious that the boy was giddy and high off his horses, as he hummed a merry tune and tipped back so far on his chair that Arthur was absolutely positive that he was going to fall, and hit his head, or somehow manage to break something from that short of a distance, like say an arm or leg, or maybe even his twin brother Ian's arm or leg, who was just so happening to sit right behind him on the floor, covered in spilled alcohol and wreaking of a bad night on the town. A night, that Arthur knew for a fact that Ian had very much been having.

The small shot of beer in front of him sat there waiting expectantly, but Arthur wasn't interested. What he wanted was something bigger, much bigger, and who could blame him after the day he'd had? He finallly decided that a shot was enough for now, and downed it all in one swift gulp, the caramel liquid burning down his throat and into his body. It only took seconds for the alcohol to kick in, knocking out Arthur's senses one by one.

"Do you want anot'er go?" Ian asked from his precarious position on the floor, holdiing out a bottle, barely half full. Arthur nodded and leaned forward to grab it. A mischevious cackle was heard, then a thunk, as Sean kicked Arthur's legs out from under him and he was sent sprawling across the hard wood floor.

Laughing merrily, Ian handed him the bottle as if in apology, and stood, very shakily as he attempted to head up the stairs. Sean, the more tall and gangly of the two, who was substantially less wobbly, followed after him, arms scooping under his, to pick him up and carry him the rest of the way to their room.

Arthur lay on the floor for the longest time, bottle in hand, as he tried to clear his mind enough to sit up to take a few more swigs. When the bottle was empty, he stood, needing the table for support as he went in search of more alcohol. It was lovely to feel absolutely nothing, his mind blank except for the dizzying want of another glass, another bottle.

Eventually Arthur found himself outside, in the cool night air and he decided that the best thing he could do was go to the park and wait for an alcohol cart, which he absolutely believed was real, because it was far more useful than an icecream van, and why not?

It took him a substantially longer time to arrive at the park than it normally did, but when he did, he eagerly collapsed on a bench, and closed his eyes. It was cold outside, the crisp coolness, wafting over his body and making him shiver slightly, and wonder why he hadn't worn a jacket. He shrugged off the feeling of discomfort and curled into a ball, his mind kind of turning off to the world. Everything was a blur anyway he told him self, what does it matter if I fall asleep?

Arthur was there for who knows how long before he felt something wet press into his face. He nudged it away, but it just came right back. After a few more times of this dance he opened his eyes and saw staring back at him, the big brown ones of a golden lab. The dog nudged his nose into Arthur's face again, and the blond young man just stared at him. There was a heated battle between eyes before the dog simply reached up and licked his face.

"Yuck!" Arthur laughed and wiped at his face, "You- Mr. Lab need to go see a dentist" he chortled quietly at his own joke. They sat there in companionable silence for several minutes before there was any sign of the dogs owner.

"Captain!" a voice called, "Come here boy! where are you?" Arthur looked away from the dog to see a young man with blond hair, and an empty leash and collar in hand. The other boy came closer, and eyed him with concern, probably thinking he was a hobo of some sort. Captain stared up at his owner with sad brown eyes as he wagged his tail in a slow exaggerated manner. Arthur closed his eyes and willed the young man to go away. He was here for the alcohol, not to see other people. Where was the alcohol cart anyway? He was absolutely convinced it was real.

"What's your name?" It took Arthur a moment to realize that the blond boy was talking to him. He opened his eyes, brow furrowed as he answered slopilly.

"Ar-thu-r Kirkl-and." His words came out in a sort of drawled out manner and he bit his lip, working really hard at keeping his head up, and not letting it loll to the side.

"Are you drunk?"

"No." Arthur shook his head adamantly. "I never get dru-nk"

The other boy shook his head despairingly and reached out a hand to help Arthur up. "How old are you?" He questioned, blue eyes digging into Arthur's green ones.

"Eighteen." He answered carefully.

"Should you be drinking?" When the blond boy saw that Arthur couldn't stand on his own, he grabbed his arms, and knelt down, pulling him onto his back.

"Probably not" Arthur replied, hiccuping against the blond's neck.

"I'm Alfred by the way." The other boy added, reaching back to wrap his arms around Arthur's thighs, keeping him on his back.

"Helloooo" Arthur laughed drunkenly. His mind was a mess at that point. He was unsure of what he was actually saying or doing for that matter. The world was a blur around him.

"Can you direct me to your house?" Alfred asked carefully, looking back at the nearly unconcsious boy on his back. Arthur's brow scrunched up and he thought long and hard, but he couldn't really recall where he lived. In a white house? Or was it blue? After several minutes of trying to think of it, Alfred just assumed he couldn't and headed in the direction of his own home. "Do you mind if I take you home with me?" Alfred asked carefully, "It's better than being stuck alone in a dark park, drunk off your ass."

Arthur laughed against the back of Alfred's neck and squirmed slightly, "I'm not- Drunnnnk"

"Sure you aren't." Alfred agreed, carefully pinching Arthur's thigh in a warning to not wiggle. "Come on, Captain." He called to his dog, who soon followed after him, keeping up a steady pace as they headed out of the park and down the street. Arthur lost track of which way they turned after the first few turns, and finally just closed his eyes, the effort of keeping them open, too much. "Are you graduated or?"

"Senior year of high school." Arthur answered.

"That means that you have school tomorrow."

Arthur nodded.

"What school do you go to?"

"Birdale High school."

"Alright." They finally made it to Alfred's house and he set Arthur down to fumble around in his pocket for a key. Arthur slumped against the wall, his legs almost slipping out from underneath him as he Alfred to unlock the door. Alfred carried him in as quietly as possible, carefully toting him up the stairs and to his own bedroom. It only took a few minutes for Arthur to fall asleep after he touched the mattress.