Side Effects of Superstrength (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: So you know how, canonically, Alfred can drag around cars and swing bison like it's nothing? Yeah, the other Nations do too.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: Hilarity and chaos involving Alfred

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Today was not his day.

"Are you okay?"

Arthur groaned, lifting his head enough to try and give his new colony the most reassuring grin he could muster. "I'm, urgh, fine, just a bit tired."

Alfred frowned, not looking like he was buying the excuse. "Do you want me to get some help?"

"No no, I've got this well under control." The older Nation did not want anyone to know he'd managed to get himself injured when his horse got spooked and bucked the two of them off; at the least he could take comfort in the fact that his colony appeared uninjured from the fall. "I just need a few moments and I'll be good to go, alright?"

Alfred nodded slowly, still frowning as he replied, "Alright."

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes as the child left his field of view, figuring the boy couldn't get into too much trouble while he rested for a bit…

He startled awake again when someone shook him, his eyes flashing open in preparation to defend himself before he realized it was Alfred and their wayward horse, not France and Prussia. "You found him?"

"He was just grazing a little bit away," Alfred frowned, the expression adorable in its seriousness. "You aren't supposed to sleep outside; you said that yourself."

"I was resting, not sleeping," Arthur automatically denied, wincing at the attempt to wave it off as nothing.

"You should be in bed if you're gonna sleep more," The colony ignored him, turning back to the horse. "Can you help me get him home? He's being silly."

"Don't talk to the horse like it can…" Arthur blinked slowly, watching as the horse got down to its knees, accepting the nose pats from the child before turning to look at him.

"You're gonna have to hold on, kay?" Alfred told him cheerfully, right before he felt something under him, and suddenly he was off the ground, which was surreal because the other two here were himself and-

A flash to his first meeting with the boy, when he'd been helping Ginny and Ben with one of the carriages by holding it up while they fixed it came to mind. It was still surreal to him, because even for Nations this level of strength was absolutely absurd.

Alfred settled him gently onto the back of the horse, his hands automatically coming to cling its mane as it stood back up. The colony then grabbed the reins and started walking back towards the house, humming to himself as they plodded onwards.

At some point he must have drifted off again, because the next thing he remembered was Ginevra frantically pulling him off the horse, half-carrying half-dragging him into the house while Alfred followed, blabbing about everything that had happened since they'd left earlier that day for a nice, harmless ride.

He exhaled sharply as he was pressed into bed, his shirt getting pulled off as she checked him over for injuries, prodding at each with what he felt to be excessive force.

"Honestly, you've been out there for days if Alfred hadn't hauled you back," She huffed, turning away to grab the cloth she'd ordered the younger boy to grab. "Gave yourself a concussion falling off your horse, and you thought you were alright? I ought to keep you in bed for the next fortnight so that you don't do something so foolish again around him."

"I would have been fine," Arthur protested weakly, wincing at the look she gave him for it. "It's hardly like it would have killed me."

"Men," She groaned, shaking her head in despair as she scrubbed over the wounds as gently as she could manage with the damp cloth. "You're just lucky Alfred wasn't hurt as well; neither of you would have returned for days, and that horse of yours would probably still be out there somewhere."

Arthur groaned and let his eyes slide shut. Seriously, why were all of his colonies so set against him? It was hardly the worst wound he'd suffered, and Alfred would have been fine regardless. Really, it was quite the overreaction.

(And he didn't appreciate the accusation that Alfred was the more sensible of the two of them, either, thank you very much!)

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AN: And here's the update for this month! I've been reading your guy's suggestions and am liking a few of them, though others might be a bit tricky to pull off. I'll sort of mix and match and intersperse with my own things I guess, but overall all of these should be short and fun to read.

Reminder that reviews on any and all of my stories help motivate me to keep writing!