That Special Relationship

Arthur would be lying if he said that he was fine after his boss told him that parliament was considering ending the Special Relationship with the United States of America. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't hurt by the heartlessness of the headlines, reading in thick black ink "UK special relationship with US is over." He would, however, be telling the truth if he said that he became numb at the news that spilled from his boss' mouth, and that he became terrified at the prospect of losing Alfred F. Jones for the second time in his long life.

Any coherent thought left Arthur as he made his way out of his boss' office that morning and went to the world meeting that had been scheduled. He was unaware of anything going on around him, though the few times he was addressed at the meeting pulled him from his reverie long enough to notice the expressions of pity on the faces of the nations around him. Arthur was vaguely aware of Alfred's hand clasping his own tightly.

Several hours found him back at home, sitting at the kitchen table with a cold cup of tea, staring into space. Arthur desperately wanted to think about what he could do to revive the relationship that his bosses wanted to dissolve, but he couldn't find the power to focus on anything. Every movement was routine and played out through his muscle memory. When Alfred finally showed up for their apparently planned dinner at Arthur's townhouse, the elder nation was pulled from his numbness once again, but only enough to relish in the short kiss he was given.

Within an hour, Arthur had started cooking, ignoring with the most neutral expression Alfred's complaints and pleas to help. The elder blond fell into a leisurely pace slicing vegetables while the younger found a place sitting on the counter beside him. Arthur was barely aware of his presence. Several minutes passed in silence as Alfred merely watched his former caretaker, and Arthur busied himself with cutting a small bunch of celery clumped beneath his hand. A sudden dull throbbing made him pause, and he watched with wide eyes as the knife he held slid from the muscle between his thumb and forefinger and sent blood flowing onto the cutting board and vegetables. Arthur hardly registered firm American hands guiding him to the sink, rinsing his non-human blood under the tap. He didn't hear his lover berating him for not paying attention and merely nodded when Alfred bandaged his hand and told him to wait in the living room while he cleaned up.

Arthur was left alone with a fresh pot of tea for an unknown amount of time, staring at a spot on the wall with eyes glazed over from the quiet shock. He gripped his teacup in his hands, feeling the pain in his left throb violently and send a new wave of blood through the wound and bandage. At the sight of red staining the gauze, Arthur finally felt the haze lift. Tears immediately spilled over from his eyes and he felt harsh sobs choke in his throat. He moved his hands up to cover his face, salty tears soaking the bandage on his left hand. It wasn't long before he heard Alfred enter the room again and sit quickly by his side, arms wrapping around Arthur's petite frame. Large hands rubbed sooting circles on the elder's back while quiet words were whispered in his ear.

"Ssh, come on, Arty. Come on, baby, calm down..." The pleas emitted from the American's familiar voice grounded Arthur enough that within a few minutes he was wiping the tears away and clinging to Alfred' shirt, hands fisted in the soft white material and head nestled in the crook of his neck. It was another minute before Alfred continued to speak. "You okay now?"

Arthur shook his head solemnly. He unhooked a hand from the younger man's shirt and watched his fingers stroke the fabric they formerly held onto. He felt Alfred adjust beneath him.

"Wanna tell me what happened?"

Arthur's expression betrayed his feelings as he smiled at Alfred's naivety. Pushing back from the other's body, he leaned over the coffee table to grab the newspaper he had left there that morning. He hands it off to Alfred and the young superpower read over the headlines. Arthur watched as something akin to a mix of shock and anger shone in his blue eyes. After reading through the article almost three times, the gaze was directed at Arthur.

"What the fuck is this?" Alfred started. Arthur turned his eyes away.

"My boss told me this morning. He... they feel that it's gone on too long and... and we need to fix things."

"But nothing's wrong!" Alfred retaliated, shoving the newspaper away.

Arthur felt the beginnings of more tears poking at the corners of his eyes. "I know, Alfred. I know, but I also know my boss. He won't agree to it. He's already told me, but the rest of parliament..." Another sob hitched in his throat, and he turned his eyes back up to Alfred, the movement jarring the tears and sending them in free-fall down his cheeks. "I don't want it to be over, Alfred. I've already lost you once, and I can't remember how many times I almost lost you. I don't want you to leave me."

Arthur saw the sorrow in the other's face before he heard it in his voice. "I won't," the blond muttered. He lifted his arms from holding the elder's hands and pressed his own against Arthur's cheeks, wiping away the damp trail of the tears. Alfred smiled as he leaned in to press tiny chaste kisses on every surface of the other's skin, causing Arthur to sigh in content and close his eyes, leaning into the touch. Alfred pulled back enough to gaze at Arthur, teary blue into teary green, and form small kisses against his lips between each equally small word that he said.

"Arthur... Arthur, baby, please... You won't lose me, I promise. There's no way I'd leave you. Especially not now! Shit, Arty, I'd never leave you..." When Alfred paused long enough, Arthur took the opportunity to grab one of Alfred's large hands and press deep, full kiss to his lips. The American responded immediately, winding his free arm around Arthur's waist.

"Alfred..." The smaller nation moved away only enough to speak, continuing his own barrage of kisses. "Alfred... America, I love you so much...!" He heard laughter through the younger's lips and smiled into the kiss.

Firm hands pushed Arthur's body down onto the couch while the kisses traveled across his jaw and along the column of his neck. The Englishman held back a gasp as Alfred bit down gently on his collarbone. Arthur vaguely felt the other's hands stroking his sides and pulling their lower halves closer together; he could tell that Alfred was already excited. The elder clamped his legs around Alfred's waist, and the American pulled away from his chest, earning a small whine at the loss of heat, Heady blue eyes gazed into lustful green ones for a few moments before the owner of the blue spoke, reaching up to grasp Arthur's injured hand carefully.

"I love you, Arthur. Nothing in the universe, or in any universe, will ever be able to change that or take it away. I will never leave you, and nothing your boss, my boss, fuck, even Russia's boss will ever do will ever, ever change that, either." In that moment, Arthur wanted nothing more than to kiss his former colony senseless and make love until they couldn't breath, but he felt no desire to look away from the baby blue eyes that he had raised and come to love more than the sky they resembled. The Englishman turned his attention back to what Alfred was saying, lest he interrupt. "I love you, and I love the relationship we've had for the past century or however long it's been. It's not gonna end anytime soon, so you'd better be ready to deal with me on a regular basis, okay?" Alfred's smile became a grin and Arthur noticed his vision blue with fresh tears. Alfred quickly brushed them away.

The elder nation bit his lip in order to prevent himself from laughing out loud like the lovesick idiot he knew he was. Alfred loved him. It was as simple as that. Alfred loved him with all his heart and would never leave him as long as he was the United States of America. It was a very riveting feeling to Arthur, and he couldn't help but keep letting the tears flow, even as the two nation's wandered up the stairs to Arthur's bedroom, made love, and fell asleep in each other's arms until noon the next day.

Ummm... I don't really have an explanation for this one. I don't think it's that good, but I'm happy with it.

The title of the headlines is the title of an actual article I found when researching the special relationship, so I can't claim that lol.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated, not demanded, and flames will be used to stoke the fire of Mrs. Lovett's oven. Or, if you're so inclined, Arthur's stove. You know how he likes to cook. -heehee- I do not own Axis Powers: Hetalia and all copyright privileges, excluding the plot of this story, belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.