Arthur lay awake, unable to sleep due to an odd reoccurring feeling he'd been getting for the past few months. About four months ago, he'd begun living at Alfred's house. The war had slowly and stealthily crept its way upon his beloved country, and when the first attack came, Arthur had sent the Royal Family to one of the Neutral Forces Countries. Shortly after, Parliament declared a surrender, and England fell to Russia's feet. Before the brute Ivan Braginski could force Arthur to work at his house, Alfred offered Arthur refuge in America; one of the world's last strongholds.

Growling, Arthur sat up and swung his feet over the bed, wishing that Flying Mint Bunny were there with him. He grabbed the coat Alfred had lent him and draped it over his shoulders. "It even smells like him." Arthur murmured as he held the sleeve up to his nose, the scent of hamburgers and cheap cologne making him blush.

Arthur headed downstairs to the kitchen, hoping a late night snack might help. As he walked through the large living room towards the kitchen, he noticed that Alfred was fast asleep on the couch, a horror movie marathon still playing on the tele. Sighing, he turned the tele off and walked over to Alfred, kneeling down next to him.

Arthur pulled the coat off his shoulders, shivering slightly, and lay it over Alfred. Without really thinking, he leaned in and gave Alfred a quick kiss on the forehead. Alfred shifted slightly, his eyes fluttering open. "H-hey…" He yawned as he sat up, the coat falling to the floor. He picked it up, a faint blush staining his cheeks. "Did you…?" Arthur nodded silently. Alfred stood up and placed the coat back over Arthur's shoulders. "You need it more than I do, dude."

Tony walked in on the two and immediately began glaring at Arthur. "Fucking limey." Arthur returned the glare but refused to say anything. "Nothing to say, fucking bastard?" Tony asked suddenly. Alfred's jaw dropped. "Dude, since when-?" "Stay away from Alfred, fuckass." Tony growled at Arthur. "I know you like him. I hear you tell yourself every night, "Oh, I just can't be falling for Alfred! Oh, Her Majesty would have a fit if she knew how I felt about him!"" Tony imitated in the world's most annoying British accent.

Ignoring Tony, Alfred turned to Arthur, his blush returning. "You… Feel that way about me?" He reached for Arthur's hand, his face heating up a bright red. Arthur pulled his hand away and held it over his heart. "I… W-well, I-" "Oh save it Redcoat." Tony hissed at Arthur. "You think he likes you back?! Alfred isn't gay… Unlike you, fucking bastard." He snickered slightly.

Arthur hung his head low, shaking with anger and embarrassment. Alfred rested a hand on Arthur's shoulder, but he simply brushed it off, walking to his room while resisting the instinct to just run in and slam the door. The bedroom door closed behind him, not with a slam, but with hardly any sound at all. Alfred glared at Tony. "Dude, not cool…" He shook his head before rushing off to check on Arthur.

As Alfred reached the door, he could hear muffled whimpers that sounded like a poor attempt at hiding a sob. He opened the door slightly, peeking in to see Arthur sprawled out across his bed with his face buried in his Union Flag pillow, which was glistening wet with tears.

Alfred walked in and sat down nest to Arthur. "Hey." "Go away." Arthur scooted away, face still buried in the pillow. "You're being tsundere." He replied flatly. Only silence came from Arthur. Sighing, Alfred decided the only way to make the Brit talk was to make him uncomfortable.

Blushing, Alfred climbed on top on Arthur, letting his full body weight on the Englishman as he wrapped his arms round him. Underneath him, Arthur was a blushing mess. His eyes shot wide open and he tried to shove Alfred off of him. "G-get off me, you b-bloody git!" He continued to struggle, a lot stronger that either had anticipated.

Quickly shoving Alfred off, Arthur turned over onto his back and sat up, holding his pillow tightly to his chest. "I-I… I just want to be along…" Arthur whispered, barely audible. "Aww, come on dude. Tony didn't mean any of that… Just forget abo-" "I said I want to be left alone…!" Arthur's usual frustrated tone crept its way into his voice.

Alfred simply closed his mouth and nodded. Getting up, he headed to the door. He glanced back, an unusual softness in his eyes. "Dude, in you need anything… Or just need someone to talk to… About anything… I'm here for ya'." 'Like you were there for me all those years ago.' He thought to himself as he left the room.

About six o'clock in the morning, Alfred was woken up by his cell phone playing the German Anthem loudly. "Lizalla, you do realize it's six in the morning here, right?" Lizalla was Gilbert and Ludwig's little sister. Despite her smaller stature, she was just as fierce as her brothers and extremely skilled with words. "Alfred, pay attention." Liza's stern words woke Alfred up a bit. "The Prime Ministers of England, Scotland, Australia, and Canada were murdered an hour ago. Along with them, the President of Russia has gone missing." Her voice softened to the sweet motherly tone that everyone both loved, and feared. "Alfred… We could only locate one of Arthur's brothers after the murders… Alistair, Connor, Joey, Ian, und Peter Kirkland are gone. Rhys Kirkland ist on a plane with mein bruder, Stärke, headed to your place."

Alfred remained silent, processing her words. He took in a breath to ask a question. "Und before you ask, Stärke ist Brandenburg… You should remember, you kicked his arse during the Holocaust.." She muttered the last part quietly. "Okay, that answers one question… Number two is; How do I tell Arthur…?"