Be Well, My Darling (Fruk)

Chapter 19: Atomic (final)

It would be known as unconditional surrender. Within a year, Mr. Germany was alone. Not because his remaining ally had gone rogue but because his own leader killed himself. Germany surrendered in May, and soon, the entire world discovered what was happening.

I have seen many terrible things in my lifetime and have even committed some of those bad things. However, everything was modern now. None of those barbaric circumstances should be happening anymore, yet they were.

Word spread across the globe: pictures, videos, written accounts of the mountains of bodies. The group of people who suffered the most didn't surprise me. There were many laws against their group before the war began, so knowing they had been slaughtered was unsurprising. However, it was horrific, inhumane, and a crime against humanity.

People of color were the next group. People who didn't meet the criteria of the 'superior' race were taken away into other 'work' camps. Then people with disabilities who didn't meet the criteria were taken away.

Then...

Homosexual people...

It wasn't the worst thing I had seen. This particular group has always been looked at a certain way, but it was barbaric. They wore patches to identify themselves, and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I fought myself to look at Mr. Germany a certain way. At first, he didn't seem ashamed, but the more consequences he faced, the more I could see the regret in him.

Now, the war was over in Europe...

But Japan was giving China a hard time...

Then...Alfred did something horrible, too...and that is where we were at now.

"Please tell me you didn't..." I spoke.

"I had to...they wouldn't give up, Mr. Japan would not surrender..." Alfred defended.

"Bullshit! Was that really the case? Or were you waiting for an opportunity to show off your cool new weapon!" Russia yelled.

All of the allies were together...

"He is still my brother!"

"They were almost about to surrender; there was no need for any of that!"

"America! What have you done?!"

Everyone only stood there in disbelief. This was it; this was officially the end of the war. Even without a treaty, everyone knew. "No more fighting...please..." Francis spoke. I looked over at him sadly. He was silent this whole time.

Ever since that day, he was distant despite returning to normal. It didn't make sense to me, but I accepted it. I feel that maybe deep down, we agree these feelings aren't for people like us. We are allies, and that is all.

"I agree...no more fighting," China spoke.

"Bullshit! America! You have made a huge mistake!" Russia started.

"What? I saved everyone!"

"You killed thousands of people!"

"Well, what are you going to do about it? The war is over, so you can take your communism and shove it up your ass!"

"AMERICA!" Francis and I said in unison. He and Russia began to argue with each other, and it made us nervous. "You've made a huge mistake. You will regret this; you are making an enemy with the wrong person, Mr. America; remember that!" Russia spat. He began to walk away, and Alfred did not seem to care. Soon after, China left too.

"Alfred..."

"You are going to lecture me too? It ended the war, didn't it? Why is everyone upset about it?"

"Yes, but you did it without telling anyone; you destroyed two cities. No one has seen Mr. Japan, and China and Russia are very powerful allies. You should have come to us first, at the very least..."

"Yeah, Yeah! Everything will be fine! You are worrying too much!"

He was not listening to me at all, which was pissing me off. "You aren't listening—"

"England, I will be fine. Don't worry about me; I'm not a kid anymore. I haven't been for a long time. I think maybe you should focus on fixing your country. You have lost much of your empire, and who knows what that will mean..."

Why did this feel ominous?

He placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a thumbs up. "You worry about yourself, and I worry about myself. Russia isn't going to do anything. No one can afford to go into another war. Trust me; everything will be fine!" He cheered. He smiled at Francis, giving him a thumbs up.

This kid grew up to be a little scary, and I was sure it was my fault. Much of the political cartoons coming out of his place have mentioned me before and how they look up to me and my empire, but now, I hope he wasn't using it as an excuse to hurt people. It was different if he actually wanted to conquer people. I didn't want to see him go down the same path Francis and I had been on.

Once that feeling is gone, it feels terrible. It makes you feel like a terrible person, and I did not want him to go through that.

Alfred left the room, leaving Francis and me alone. We stayed silent, and I felt so gross. This needed to stop between us. This weird tension we had. There was no way we could continue doing this.

"I've never told you I was sorry for being rude. I didn't mean to; I was going through a lot then. Do you think you could find it in your heart to forgive me?" He asked. I closed my eyes, feeling my emotions scream. There was no way I could be angry at him; there was no possible way. I took a deep breath and smiled, turning to look at him.

"Mr. France, my forgiveness is all yours. I don't think I could ever stay mad at you anymore. Annoyed, yes...mad, not possible."

"What a relief..."

"Yes, but I have you know that I plan to focus on myself a bit, so try not to bother me so much. I am getting very old and tired after all," I laughed. He nodded at me with a smile and came closer. "Well, at least do me the honor of meeting me for tea once in a while," he smiled. I nodded at what he said and reached my hand out for him.

"Naturally, I couldn't think of anything better," I spoke. He grabbed my hand, and we didn't do anything. We only stared at each other as we held each other's hands. We smiled at each other, and there was only one thing I could think to do.

"You have been holding my hand for an awfully long time!"

"Oh! My bad!"

His face had turned red, and I smiled. I think our future might be promising after all. It doesn't hurt to mess with him a bit. Besides...maybe I might get a good laugh if I were to get him to confess to me first.

Hmmm...

That doesn't sound like a bad idea...

I got it!

From now on! It will be my goal to get him to confess first. Besides, we wouldn't be hurting anyone, not really, anyway.