Alfred moved with a person, rushing to the airport, stopping only once, in his storage closet to pick up a small piece of fabric. He tenderly folded it and placed it in a box, then bounded off at record speed.

Alfred reached England in the wee hours of the morning, but had enough decency to loiter around Arthur's house until 7, when he knew the Brit would be waking up. As soon as the his watch beeped, he began to thump on the door.

"Arrrtie!"

Apparently being nervous didn't make Alfred any more mature.

"Iggy! Arthur! Open the door!"

After some determined knocking, an annoyed Brit opened the door.

"Alfred. Why the bloody hell are you here? It's your birthday, right?"

Arthur practically spat the words at him. Alfred stepped tentatively over the doorstep, holding out the plain box as a peace offering.

"I know. But I realized how selfish I've been for the last century or so. So I came to say sorry."

Arthur's annoyance melted at the American's earnest face. He was always so open.

"Fine. You can come in." Arthur allowed, adding a muttered "Git" for good measure.

Alfred smiled. These were the kind of insults he could deal with, as the Englishman always said them with a gruff sort of affection.

"Ok." Said Englishman growled. "Talk."

Ok, maybe not so affectionate at the moment.

"Artie, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much my birthday hurt you."

Arthur snorted, whispering "No, wasn't obvious or anything. Bloody oblivious Americans."

The personification of oblivious Americans continued, undaunted. "I shouldn't have made a big deal about celebrating. I just wanted us to be close again. Friends. And I was stupid. So today I'm spending time with you instead, to start to make up for all those years. Because I want you to know that I do still care about you." Alfred shoved the box at the shorter man. "This is for you. I found it in my closet and I thought of you."

Arthur softened as he carefully opened the box, unfolding an authentic Grand Union flag, which was much like the American flag, but instead of 50 stars, it featured a Union Jack in the upper lefthand corner.

"Alfred, why did you give me this?"

"Because you're still part of me, Arthur. I didn't leave because I didn't want to be with you. I left because I didn't want to be with you as a brother."

Alfred looked into Arthur's eyes shyly, then gently kissed the Brit, softly and quickly. After pulling back, he said "I love you." Simply and directly, expecting to be run out of the house.

To his surprise, he only felt arms and the fabric of a flag around his shoulders as Arthur pulled him back to kiss him again, more passionately this time, lacing his hands in the American's hair. As they kissed, releasing centuries of built up desire, Arthur replied in a soft whisper.

"I love you too, you git. It just took you a century or so to notice."