Whoops here's another chapter.

I don't own Hetalia. The stars are not in position for that to be so.

Alfred had been discharged from the hospital after twelve days. The doctors described his swift recovery as "nothing short of miraculous". This allowed Alfred's currently fragile ego to begin its own recovery.

Alfred still had a cast on his leg. He still needed to go get his lungs checked every month. But before Arthur's eyes, Alfred shed his emotional collapse like a coat. Each day, he grew more confident.

For the duration of his stay in the hospital, Alfred had fretted about not releasing a new issue of his comic book that week. He was concerned that his fans would be disappointed. However, it seemed that his fanbase had grown during his absence, cheering him greatly.

On the first day Alfred was home, he and Arthur had moved the American's workspace downstairs so that he didn't need to stumble down the stairs when he wanted a snack. He moved his blankets and pillow into the spare downstairs bedroom that Arthur haunted at night. This was all completed at the expense of the living room, which had been coated in drawings, comics, and memorabilia. Arthur didn't really mind, though.

Three days after Alfred had been discharged, Arthur was left to himself while Alfred threw himself into work. The Brit knew that this was a result of Alfred's long absence and his emotional trauma, which he was coping with through distraction. Arthur noted that it seemed to be working very well; Alfred hadn't shown any signs of distress and seemed to be rather comfortable and cheerful. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if the boy had been through similar pain before.

Unfortunately, Arthur was unable to distract himself from his own thoughts. There was no way he could deny it any longer. Arthur had fallen head-over-heels for the young comic book artist. Alfred's accident had only reinforced this idea in Arthur's mind – he didn't want to imagine an existence without Alfred.

Arthur may have fessed up to himself, but he undoubtedly wasn't telling Alfred. After all, the man had been hurt enough. A relationship between them could only lead to more pain. Arthur sighed. Life truly hadn't seemed to work out for him the way he had wanted it to, and now even his afterlife was going down the drain.

Arthur was thrust out of his thoughts by the sound of the doorbell.

"I'll get it," Alfred called.

"Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"

"Nah, it's fine. I got this." Alfred pushed his wheelchair forward to the front door while Arthur watched from his seat in the living room. Alfred opened the door to reveal a small boy of about seven years of age, wearing an oversized backpack and a toothy grin.

"Hello, mister," the boy said. He had a small lisp. "Is this a comic book store? I saw comics through the window." The boy blinked. "Wait, are you Alfred Jones, the guy who made the Freedom Fire comics?"

Arthur smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that's me."

The boy gasped. "You're my hero!"

Alfred's grin grew. "Woah, seriously?" Arthur could nearly see Alfred's heart swell with pride.

"Yeah, really! Can I have your autograph?" The boy took what appeared to be a sketchbook and a Sharpie out of his backpack and held them out to Alfred. Alfred took the marker and book, still grinning.

"What's your name?"

"Todd Harmon, sir."

Alfred scribbled on the cover, then handed the book back to Todd. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks, Mr. Jones!" Todd gave Alfred another toothy grin. "Can I come visit some time?"

Alfred nodded. "But make sure your mom is cool with it, okay?"

"Okay!" Todd put his backpack on and began to walk away. "See you!"

Alfred gave one last parting smile and closed the door. He wheeled himself back into the living room with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Well, that certainly cheered you up," Arthur commented. To tell the truth, it was an understatement. Alfred seemed – well, he seemed perfectly back to normal.

Alfred looked out the window at Todd's retreated form. "I had almost thought there was no one left who loved me. I guess I was wrong, huh?"

"You were. I love you," Arthur said. Alfred turned around and stared at him. "I-in a brotherly way, of course," Arthur added hastily, a blush blooming on his face. Alfred still looked suspicious, but he wheeled himself back to his desk.

"Well, I'm glad."

Arthur sighed. Now that he had admitted his feelings to himself, it was only a matter of time before Alfred found out the full extent of them.

Woohoo this chapter I'm feeling pretty alright with. In fact, I have become confident enough in my writing that, for this chapters and all others following it, I'm ready to get some ~*~constructive criticism~*~

So few of you lovelies reviewed! DDDDDDDDDDDDDD: Thank you to hi and mochiusagi for reviewing, and thank you to pikachucrazy23, Eng-chan, venikle, Suzie Loux, Moonlit dark, GeenieMac, and swirlygirl123 for following! Hugs and cookies for all of you!