Life after that was... eventful, to say the least.
World meetings in particular were... interesting.
"Will you shut the bloody fuck up you complete imbecile!" a red-faced England yelled across the room at America.
Arthur had spent most of the meeting arguing with France until it had morphed into petty name calling and personal attacks. As usual. No one was really paying attention to the pair unless they had nothing better to do and were merely trying to waste a few hours on pointless entertainment.
Alfred was stood at the front trying once again to push his idea about 'Superherogloboman' as a legitimate means to combat global warming to a rather bored collection of nations who, on the most part, were simply trying to appease the superpower by appearing to listen. At the sudden outburst from England, America looked up briefly from his notes (drawings) of the 'preventative measure'.
"Yo dude, wassup!" he grinned annoyingly back at him.
"You can't honestly believe all this bull or are you this thick all the time?" England huffed, kicking France under the table as an after thought.
"Aw come on, it's a cool idea. Plus I've made some headway on the tech stuff with Japan, it's totally a possibility!" America objected, pouting at the room in general.
"I agree with America-san," piped up Japan from further down the conference table. He was immediately shut up by a threat from Switzerland.
The new argument lasted the rest of the conference preventing anything that had been on the original agenda being addressed.
"Jeez America, can't you ever stick to the topic we were supposed to be talking about? Global warming was supposed to be the next meeting, not this one." Arthur asked as everyone packed up and began filing out of the room. A few lingered, looking both hopeful and a little worried about a real fight breaking out.
"Me? What about you? Every time I say something you shoot it down!"
"That's because everything you say is stupid, sometimes I wonder why you bother to speak at all." Arthur had walked over to America's seat as he spoke and now stood beside him waiting for Alfred to finish clearing his stuff away.
Alfred frowned up at the older man as he shoved the last file into his bag and stood up to join him. "If it's so stupid why do you always listen?" he asked as they started walking out the room.
"I hold out hope for that bright spark I'm waiting for." they had reached the open door and Alfred suddenly perked up.
He hopped across the thresh hold and turned to grin at Arthur. He offered a hand to the other as if Arthur needed help to take the small step. Instead of taking the proffered hand, Arthur took a step back.
"No I haven't finished talking business with you yet!" he tried to appear serious but Alfred could see the happy twinkle in his eyes that couldn't be masked no matter how hard he tried.
"Please," Alfred snorted, "all the 'business' you've been doing today has just been teasing me." he dropped his voice to a lower tone as he added quietly, "I can think of more pleasant ways for you to tease me on this side of the door."
Arthur gasped and looked behind him to see if anyone had heard that last part. Alfred took advantage of his distraction to lean forward and grab Arthur's wrist and tug him into the corridor.
"That's better Arthur." he smirked downwards, "I can touch you now."
Arthur merely went a deeper shade of red a whacked him hard with his briefcase.
"Ow! I meant like this pervert!" Alfred cried, rubbing his head once before wrapping his arms around Arthur.
"I-I knew that, what else could you have meant?" Arthur stuttered against Alfred's chest.
"Sure." Alfred laughed as they began walking away.
The weeks following the confessions had been difficult. It was hard to balance their work and personal life considering their work basically consisted of fighting until reaching an unsatisfactory compromise and trying to verbally attack each other on behalf of their countries but Alfred had been determined, he had been through not having Arthur close for long enough to know he didn't want to go back to that. In the end they had decided the doors separated work and pleasure, and even if they slipped up occasionally (earlier that week Arthur had called Alfred a selfish egotistical bastard over some commerce fiasco and they ended up not talking for two days) the system worked well enough.
Of course another big problem for their relationship was the fact that they were so far apart. Alfred thought phones and e-mails and video chat just about made the separation bearable and he was beginning to appreciate why Arthur had not visited as often as he wished when he was younger, the cost of a plane ticket was unbelievable and he knew even that long journey was faster than any methods of travel available back then. Thankfully their jobs meant a lot a traveling and they could meet up reasonably often even though they both knew there would be long periods of no contact that they would have to endure.
Arthur, Alfred had noticed, was a lot happier recently. He hoped it had something to do with him and wasn't just a reflection of his nation's lingering joy over the birth of Prince George. The only downfall of this was Arthur tended to snap a bit more than usual to hide his happiness but Alfred couldn't help feeling it was worth it for those increasingly more often moments where he caught a glimpse of the gentle and purely joyful smiles from him.
No matter how well it was going there was one thing that Alfred continued to regret. Not being able to give Arthur his child was a thought that plagued Alfred more and more as he watched him interact with the newborn Prince. Arthur never voiced his wish and somehow that made the sad feelings harder to bear. Every smile hid pain and drove daggers into America's heart until one day he couldn't stand it anymore.
He sat at his desk in his home far away from Arthur's and stared at the empty piece of paper he was trying to fill with words. It was so... awkward and embarrassing but he couldn't put up with it anymore so after only a few months of being together Alfred was writing this letter.
'Arthur,
You know I suck at this kind of stuff so please forgive my lack of eloquence.
I need to talk to you. This is getting ridiculous, the distance between us is so big and I can't help feeling like it's getting bigger. Every day I spend just thinking of you causes me greater pain than I thought was even possible.
I don't want to discuss this via a letter and I know it might take longer than a phone call would but I wanted to make sure I didn't mess this up and just blurt it out so can we meet in person? I want to tell you face to face. If you want to talk, meet me at the terminal Saturday 31st.
Alfred.'
He sighed again as he folded it up and inserted it into the already addressed and stamped envelope. He really did suck when it came to things like this, Alfred thought as he got up and passed the waste paper basket filled almost to overflowing with the first three dozen attempts he had made for this simple letter that he knew explained nothing.
Arthur sat at his kitchen table the morning of the 31st. The letter he had received earlier in the week sat in front of him, unfolded and re-read so many times that it didn't fold flat anymore and made it impossible to avoid looking at the handwriting of his lover.
What was that jerk thinking now? After all the fuss they had gone through just bloody confessing and getting together in the first place Alfred just sends a letter telling him that it was basically over. And he was demanding a final meeting to what, make it official? Insult him some more? Make it bloody well clear that he couldn't deal with Arthur's issues anymore? Screw him!
Arthur yawned and stretched his arms above his head. It was five in the morning and Alfred's plane wasn't due in for another ten hours but Arthur had been unable to sleep. After a few hours of tossing restlessly he had given up and gone downstairs and now he was sat nursing a warm cup of coffee as he watched the sky lighten through the window.
The coffee had been scalding hot when he had first made it and since then it had cooled down until it was stone cold, only warmed by the heat of his hands rather than the other way around. Slowly he tilted his head over the cup and took in the scent of the drink. He had drunk less than half of it but it seemed the smell had gone with the warmth. A few plops caught his attention and he opened his eyes. Two tears had rolled down his cheeks to land in the cold coffee.
Giving a humourless laugh Arthur whipped his face with his arm. He hadn't realised he had any tears left.
Alfred sat on his seat barely able to contain his excitement. He had spent the rest of his week with a solicitor. In his briefcase, instead of the usual papers it held for world meetings, were sheets of prospective places he had to show Arthur. There were huge, multi bedroom homes, smaller homes big enough for a cozy family atmosphere, homes with big gardens, city homes, suburban, rural, everything he could think of.
He wanted to build a home with Arthur, he just needed to get him to agree first and he knew how difficult that could be which was why he wanted to talk in person. He always had a better chance of getting Arthur to see reason when he could use his weakness for Alfred's puppy dog eyes to his full advantage.
The plane's captain had recently announced that they had crossed the Atlantic and were now flying over England. Alfred continued grinning, and bounced slightly in nervous anticipation.
Arthur didn't even know why he had bothered coming. It was clear there was no point so why did he force himself to go pick the idiot up? Was he really this desperate to try and convince Alfred not to leave him?
He stood at the terminal waiting in a crowd of people with cards and happy smiles waiting for friends, relatives, a few cabbies stood around slightly separated from the happy crowd with their own cards and less cheerful expressions. Arthur thought he might have been more comfortable standing by them but he decided to instead stand with the more excited and amiable crowd of his people trying to draw some of their enthusiasm into himself. Really, he was just a coward trying to share their strength when he was supposed to be strong enough to support them.
The plane had landed and shortly, a small trickle of passengers began filtering off and walking towards the waiting people with tired grins in response to their welcome. Arthur suddenly wanted to bolt but before he could take more than a single step backwards he caught sight of a familiar blond head and leather jacket making his way through the disembarking swarm.
"Arthuuuuurrrr!" he yelled trying to jump over the people in front of him to catch his first glimpse of his lover. He spotted him by his appalled face and messy blonde hair. Alfred laughed loudly and began running though the gaps until he broke free from the group and almost sprinted the short distance to Arthur.
Arthur, watching Alfred jump about and shout for him, paled in shock. It had been a more than week since they last saw each other and although Arthur knew logistically nothing would have changed, he was still surprised to see Alfred was still the same boisterously happy lad he had been the week before when Arthur himself felt like he had been dragged through hell and spat back out again, thanks in most part due to his lack of sleep.
When Alfred started running towards him with arms outstretched expecting to be caught in a hug Arthur swallowed. Perhaps he had changed his mind...or maybe Arthur had been wrong from the start. Either way he would take this-perhaps his last-chance to grab the American in a half tackle at the airport for a happy reunion.
Alfred slammed into him at full speed, delighted that instead of shying away, Arthur had made his way to the front of the waiting crowd to meet him in the hug. Arthur was knocked flying and landed on the floor hard with Alfred sprawled on top of him. For once he ignored the pain in favour of receiving the kisses Alfred was peppering all over his face. He blushed crimson as he tried and failed to shove the younger nation off himself.
"Alfred, people are staring." he mumbled as Alfred kissed him once more but on the mouth this time.
"So? I'm so happy to see you, let them stare." he smiled, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Arthur looked into those blue eyes for a while. He wanted to see if he could tell whether Alfred was lying to him or not but all he could see was pure honesty and happiness. Arthur decided then and there that he must have been wrong about the letter, even if a small part still feared losing his American again, and he wouldn't let that fear get in the way. He smiled shyly and a little apprehensively up at Al.
"Well that's all very well and good, but at any rate will you please get off me?" he asked still blushing as he heard giggles and quiet muttering start up around them until the crowds attention was diverted to the arrivals they had been waiting for.
As Alfred stood and offered a hand down to Arthur to help him up only a few people were still staring at them. An old lady kept shooting them glances that showed her disapproval and a couple of men who stood with their arms around their wives or girlfriends gave them disgusted looks before steering their women away. Well, Arthur had never fooled himself into thinking everyone would accept their relationship but the looks still made him squirm a little inside. That was until Alfred slung his arm around Arthur with a grin and gave him the perfect distraction from his worries.
Arthur was lead out of the airport under the secure guidance of Alfred. As they were taken back to Arthur's house he settled himself against Alfred to calm down and convince himself everything was going to be okay. Alfred definitely wasn't acting like he wanted to break up and Arthur tried to take comfort in that.
"Wait, take a left here." Alfred told the driver, who nodded and followed his directions.
"Hmm? Where are we going?" Arthur asked trying to sit up.
"Out. I thought we could go for a walk, you know enjoy the weather before it turns sour again." he teased.
"Git." Arthur muttered, half heartedly elbowing Alfred in the ribs for the jibe.
They were dropped of at a park near Arthur's home and Alfred told the driver they would walk back from here before grabbing Arthur by the hand and dragging him towards the woods.
They walked in silence for a while after Arthur had convinced Alfred to slow down to a comfortable pace and stop tugging his arm. The tree's were a beautiful forest green and the ground was dry from the lack of rain in the past few days. Overhead they could hear birds twittering at each other and occasionally a startled bird or squirrel would dart out of the foliage and make a sudden loud flapping and rustling that shattered the calm. Alfred loosened his grip on Arthur's hand until they could lace their fingers together. Arthur walked close by his side and lay his head on Alfred's shoulder as he sighed slightly.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Arthur broke the silence finally, unable to take it any more.
They were in the centre of the woods now and the afternoon sun broke through a gap in the trees just up ahead. Alfred didn't reply until they stood in that small patch of sunlight and before he did he stopped Arthur and took his other hand in his.
"Like I told you in that letter, I can't stand being apart from you any longer." Arthur blinked in surprise.
"You did? What letter is this?" Arthur asked in confusion.
"Yeah, I did, in that one I sent you earlier thus week. You didn't read it?" Alfred pouted.
"I got a letter. It said 'the distance between us is so big and I can't help feeling like it's getting bigger. Every day I spend just thinking of you causes me greater pain than I thought was even possible.'" Arthur recited. He knew that letter word for word by now.
"Exactly!"
"How on earth did you get 'I can't stand being apart' from that?!" Arthur asked.
"You know, coz we live so far away from each other, it's a big distance and it felt awful not being with you all the time and only being able to think about you and not touch you made it hurt so much more. I couldn't stand being apart from you." Alfred got suspicious, "Why? What did you think I meant?"
Arthur was feeling equal parts relief and annoyance. Of course he was relieved Alfred really hadn't been thinking of breaking up but he was also annoyed Alfred couldn't have said that and avoided the confusion in the first place. He was too embarrassed to tell Alfred what he had really thought about the letter so he inwardly cursed him whilst saying, "Nothing, just nothing."
Alfred shrugged and let it go.
"Right, so what I wanted to ask you in person was." he took a deep breath and looked Arthur in the eyes. "Will you move in with me?"
"What?"
"I've got like, places lined up and stuff so if you want to do it we can look them over and decide which ones would be good for us. I just, I really want to be with you more Arthur and..."" he stopped getting too nervous to talk (a rare phenomenon) and instead stared at his shoes. "And if we lived together we could have a family."
"Al, you want to... with me?" Alfred nodded.
Arthur could only stand dumbfounded staring at Alfred. He was touched that Alfred sincerely seemed to want this with him but it was just impossible.
"Oh Al, you know I can't leave my place for longer than a couple of months, and you can't leave yours either," before he could continue Alfred jumped in determinedly.
"I know, that's why I want to get two houses, one in your place and one at mine. I know it means a lot of effort coz we'd have to change house like twice a year, but we just need to split our stuff in half so we don't have to literally move everything, just ourselves and a few small things. I really did think this through! We could stay at the houses we already own but I only have a few apartments and small homes that aren't really suitable for a family so I know we need to at least buy one house in America for us to live in. Please consider it." he begged.
Arthur shook his head and for a split second Alfred looked crestfallen until he saw the smile spreading across Arthur's face.
"I don't need to. Thank you for putting so much thought into this. Yes, I want ti move in with you." he laughed as Alfred pulled him into another one of his bone crushing hugs.
"Awesome dude!" he shouted happily as Arthur rolled his eyes in mock exasperation.
(Some years later)
"Alfred get down here now! We're going to be late!"
Arthur was a wreck. He had been waiting for this day for almost a year, since Alfred had sent off the applications as a surprise. When he had first told Arthur that he had actually posted the ones they had filled out as a 'joke' just 'to see what kind of stuff you'd write' Arthur had nearly throttled him. Alfred had laughed it all off as one big game even when Arthur had chased him around the house with a baseball bat he had found lying by the back door.
Later when Arthur had calmed down and Alfred had been trying to convince him 'it would all be fine and everything would work out, just you wait' from the roof where Arthur had finally decided he would not follow him, Arthur had left to sit on his own and think.
All those years and he had never gone for adoption. Not just because he had no partner and the agencies were strict but because he knew one day that child would grow up, would grow older than he himself appeared, would eventually die. Arthur knew any child he could hope to adopt would never out live him and those thoughts had kept him from doing it, and now they made him cry in despair because Alfred had done it anyway.
Alfred finally came down from the roof to find Arthur curled up in their bed, crying into the pillow. He sat beside him and rubbed his back up and down to comfort him.
"I know you're scared but I also know you want this, you'll be great at it, you'll always be there for them and any child would be lucky to have you in their life. Trust me I know from experience." he had reassured Arthur.
And now, the day had come. They had a call the other day asking them to come down to one of the offices to have a meeting with the officials and later the child. Arthur had been up since five as he always was when nervous or excited. Alfred was finishing getting dressed upstairs and glanced at the clock. They still had an hour and a half to be there.
"And to think it was you who made me wait when Prince George was being born. Arthur they aren't going to see us any faster if we rush." he called as he made his way down the stairs.
Arthur got his way despite what Alfred said and the left not ten minutes later.
"Well the odd thing is, he was found wandering through a field a mile or so out of town. We've asked him his name and where his family is and all he'll say is that he doesn't have one. It's very odd, we asked how old he is and he said he didn't know. Well we tried finding his family but it really does seem like he appeared out of thin air. In the end someone referred us to you two. If you would like to follow me sirs." the woman they had met with led them through seemingly (to Arthur anyway) endless corridors until they reached a plain wooden door.
The woman indicated that they should enter first. Alfred took Arthur's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as Arthur opened the door.
There standing in the middle of the room playing with a stuffed bunny was a young child in a long white gown just like the one Alfred had been wearing when Arthur had first set eyes on him running wild in a field. He looked up and smiled.
"Hi there!" the boy smiled at the two adults, the woman had closed the door to give them some time alone. His mismatched eyes of blue and green twinkled happily up at them.
"Hi." replied Arthur and Alfred together in awe.
THE END!
I didn't know how I wanted to end this so I'm going to let you make up your own mind about the child but I know what I'm thinking! I hope you enjoyed this, I know it was fun for me to write and this is actually the first story I have ever completed and I'm very happy with the end even if it is a bit open, but then it is hard to end a story about two supposedly immortal beings. :) THANKS FOR READING!