DISCLAIMER: APH does not belong to me.

I'm so sorry for the late update guys, I was working on another, mass editing it. DDx I'm very sorry for the wait, and if the ending wasn't satisfying then I'm very sorry, DDx. Anyways my history class is going over WW2, so I just got a boat load of ideas, which I may publish later on this week. as always, my grammar is painfully getting a bit (very tiny bit) better. As always reviews are welcome!

" Alice Kirkland… answer me..do you love me the way I love you?" Alfred asked. Alice's eyes widened, another thunder played a crashing sound. At this Alfred hugged Alice tighter, getting her close to him. Alice stopped the struggle of moving his face away from her shoulder, one hand caressed Alfred's face. She could feel him trembling.

" your fever is-"

" IT'S NOT THE FEVER" Alfred yelled as he propped himself up on his elbows. He looked down on Alice, her face was painted with a soft tinge of pink on her cheeks. What surprised him the most was that she was crying. Alfred mentally kicked himself again.

" I don't get it" Alice said, she turned her face so that it was half concealed by the pillow. Alfred bit his bottom lip. " why? Don't you hate me?" her words were like knives. Alfred closed his eyes and then opened them, with his left hand he directed Alice's head so that she could face him.

" if you're referring to the Revolution, no, I just wanted to be free" Alice looked at him and again turned her head so that the pillow could cover half of her face. Again, Alfred's hand stopped her head, and directed her gaze to him. This time he caressed her left cheek and sighed as he felt a cold tear land on it. " you once told me, that there was no point to keep a bird, who wants to be free, in a cage" he took a deep breath. " I just acted on what you thought me" he said, he leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. He closed his eyes, he couldn't look at her green eyes, he couldn't look on how they were surrounded by a red rim.

"When I was your colony, I wanted to protect you, from whatever made you cry. That was the last thing I ever wanted you to do." he looked at Alice who remained silent.

"I knew the only way to protect you was if I could become stronger than you, France, and Spain…" he stopped as a small sob escaped Alice's lips. He looked down. " no offense, but I couldn't grow under your rule, just like a bird, I have to leave the nest and grow on my own.." he opened his eyes, as he removed Alice's glasses. He doesn't get it, Alice could've overpowered him and run, but she didn't. Instead she just laid there, underneath him sobbing, not retorting nor defending herself. " I didn't want to separate from you, trust me, but it had to be done, for me and for you." he heard another sob from Alice. He looked down, he couldn't handle it anymore, her crying face, her little sobs, her green eyes hidden behind her eyelids rimmed with tears. He couldn't handle it anymore, ' I made her cry…again' he thought, he formed a fist, grabbing some of the fabric underneath him. ' why is it always me? Why do I always make her cry? Is France the only who can-' he stopped his thoughts there. He bit his bottom lip and raised himself up away from Alice. The Alice who has her eyes covered with her hands, desperately wiping the tears away. The Alice who's little sobs are like screams of pain in his ears. The woman he wanted to protect, whose tears felt like bullets piercing his hand. He sigh and looked at Alice 'is France the only one who can make her smile?'' he finished his thought. As he raise himself up and looked down, he sees her green eyes, covered by crystal clear tears, then suddenly, before he could get away from her, she threw her arms up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, he felt her hands on the back of his neck and back. She pulled him close to her, into a hug. Alfred's eyes widened, and his face felt warm. He found his head on the crook of her neck, and listened through her sobs, he could hear words behind them.

" Alfred…Alfred…" she sobbed as she held onto him tighter. "Alfred…Alfred…"

" I'm here" he said, wrapping his arms around her small waist. He rolled over so that Alice was on top, he didn't want his weight to crush her.

"Alfred.." she continued, she couldn't seem to help but say his name.

" I'm here, shh it's okay Alice, I'm here" he said assuring her. He felt her tighten her grip around him.

" I love you" she said as she hugged him tighter. She let her tears fall, she couldn't stop. Suddenly she was being pulled away, next thing she knew was that she was sitting on Alfred's lap.

"Look at me" he said. She couldn't help but look down. She felt his hand underneath her chin, "I said look at me" he said as he directed her face up. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck, she looked up at him.

" Please don't cry" he said. He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. " I don't like it when I see you cry, especially if I'm the one who made you cry" he said. He heard a small sob from Alice as she remove her hold on him. She began to wipe her tears away as she sit on his lap. Alice looked at Alfred, his eyes closed, and his arms around her waist. She stopped crying, but her eyes were still rimmed by a hue of red. Suddenly he opened his eyes and looks at her. He flashes her a smile as he began to moved his head forward again. At first Alice didn't know what was going on, she suddenly got the hint when one of Alfred's hand traveled from her waist to the back of her head.

" Alfred what are you doing?" she asked.

" You'll see" he said in a whisper. He closed his eyes as his face gets closer to hers.

" Alfred you wouldn't dare!" Alice said as she covered her lips.

" c'mon just a little kiss"

" You're sick you git" she said trying to push herself away from him. For a sick person, he was pretty strong.

" I could be faking it, I mean I pretended to hurt myself all the time when I was still your colony" Alfred said as he chuckle. He saw Alice's hand drop, she gasp.

" You….you git..you.." in the middle of her sentence, Alfred closed the gap between them and kissed Alice. He withdrew, letting Alice breath. " you set-" she began again, only to be interrupted with Alfred kissing her again, this time it was a bit more passionate, he withdrew, a smile clearly on his face. ".you set me up!" she exclaimed, again she was silenced as Alfred pushed her down onto the bed and kissed her. A moment later, she rolled to the side so that she was hovering over Alfred.

" Enough," she said, at this she heard Alfred groan. " You need your rest, regardless you being sick or not. You have "panda" eyes" she said. Alfred looked away and closed his eyes.

" Kill joy" he muttered, at this he felt Alice's weight lifting off of him. In a rush he wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her back down. " Don't leave me!" he demanded. He laid on his side and laid Alice down next to him. He was going to pull her close to him, but the thunder played its monstrous sound, making Alfred hugged Alice tighter than he intended. He heard Alice gasp from the sudden movement, but instead of flailing or pushing him away, she relaxed. "I wasn't going to leave you, you idiot." she said. She wrapped her arms around him. "Now got o sleep" with that Alfred hugged Alice close to him He kissed her forehead, and close his eyes.

3 weeks later

The doorbell rang. Alice put her tea onto the saucer. She slowly peeled the layers of blankets off. The doorbell then went off, as someone pressed the button about fifteen times. The poor girl was dizzy, she quickly made her way to the door. She opens the door, the cold air hit her pale skin, there she saw a blue eye blonde, who had a lock of hair defying gravity's pull. As soon as she opened the door she nearly fell forward. Suddenly a pair of arms caught her, she felt herself getting picked up. She heard the door close and the locks clicking. She opened her eyes and saw Alfred. He was carrying her bridal style. She huddled closer to him as he began to descend up the stairs.

" What are you doing here?" she asked.

" To return a favor" Alfred mused as he opened the door and set Alice down on her bed. "I'm here to take care of my girlfriend, what else?" He asked.

" how'd you know that I was sick?" she asked.

" you told Mattie, and Mattie told me" he said.

" you git, you're the one who got me sick" she said. At this Alfred covered her body with the blanket. He grabbed the chair by Alice's window and placed it next to her bed. He was surprised that the small girl was already asleep. He smiled, and leaned over her, kissing her forehead. He sat down on the chair and grabbed her hand, and held it. Slowly but surely, he drifted to sleep, right next to Alice.

I'm sorry if the ending was bleh, but I assure you that this was not rushed. Please review!