Disclaimer: No matter how much I would love to, I honestly don't own Hetalia - Axis Powers, it was solely created by Himaruya Hidekazu.

How long had it been? Seventeen months? Yes, that was it. Seventeen months since he'd met Alfred online, roleplaying together on a site specifically designed for that sort of thing. Thinking back on it all that time, Arthur wondered what on earth he'd do if he hadn't chanced across the boy, or what he even passed his time with before he'd met him.

God, he was so in love.

Seventeen months since they'd first met each other online, but a mere fourteen since they finally admitted that yes, they did both like each other in that way and decided to give a relationship a try.

Their relationship had been tentative and rocky in the beginning, considering that it was long distance and there was a whole body of water between their two countries, but it had developed and deepened, and now, it was what Arthur would call the perfect relationship without the touching and kissing and snuggling.

Arthur had been nervous, at first, not having ever been in a relationship before in his sixteen years of life, but then, he knew that he truly, deeply loved Alfred, and nothing could convince him otherwise. That had been enough for him. The trust that he had in himself, and the trust that he had in his new boyfriend.

Each day they talked online. Their roleplaying habits hadn't disappeared. Yet, by the fourth month, Arthur still hadn't seen a picture of Alfred. He, himself, had sent plenty to his partner, and had been urging him to create a Skype account so that they could communicate easier and have video calls, but Alfred was always hesitant.

Honestly, he had been longing to see a photo of Alfred for ages. Arthur had been sure that his boyfriend was handsome, if his accounts of his days at school (in which girls and boys alike swooned at the sight of him) were accurate. So of course he wanted to catch a glance at his own boyfriend's bloody face!

Five months came and went, and Arthur was getting a bit desperate. He tried begging Alfred for pictures, bribing him, but none of it worked. Soon, desperation turned into frustration.

'Are you playing with me Alfred?' he'd asked one night while they were chatting online.

'Playing? What? Dude, why didn't you tell me you were into gaming?' Alfred had typed back, oblivious to the real meaning behind Arthur's words. Arthur had dropped the subject then, knowing that his boyfriend's confusion was sincere.

By the time their six month anniversary was approaching, Arthur had been antsy and extremely anxious about their relationship. What if Alfred didn't actually like Arthur and wanted to break up with him?

As it turned out, Alfred had been preparing a big surprise for their sixth month anniversary, complete with a Skype call, a bouquet of roses (Arthur's favourite flowers) and a bottle of Möet Champagne (which Arthur, ever the golden child, had given to his mother) sent to Arthur's house.

Arthur knew not to doubt Alfred, after that.

All of that had been a long time ago though. Their fourteenth months anniversary was slowly approaching, and Arthur was wondering what he should do for Alfred. Usually, he wrote something for his boyfriend (like a love poem, or a short anecdote on how much he loved Alfred, or a lot of the time a fanfiction of Alfred's favourite pairing, because they were both huge dorks).

Instead, he was stuck at the desk in his room (which had school books strewn over most of the surface) with his hands steeped and his chin resting on them. He was thinking. Deeply. What would Alfred want?

A loud knock on the front door interrupted his thoughts, and as he swiveled around on his chair to allow himself room to get up, he could hear one of his parents shuffling towards the door to open it.

Arthur walked to his own door. He could hear the faint sounds of a conversation happening, which only got louder once the door was open, though still not loud enough to decipher what the conversation entailed.

Slowly, he padded down the stairs, curious as to why his mother (he could hear her voice clearly, but the other voice was... unrecognisable, more untraceable) was having such a long conversation. Perhaps one of their relatives had popped around for a quick chat?

Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, he paused. His mother was blocking the guest so that Arthur could only see one side of a set of shoulders (very nice, strong, man's shoulders, he admitted to himself - he wouldn't be telling Alfred that) that were slanted, indicating that the man must have been bracing himself up against the door frame.

"Mum?" Arthur asked hesitantly. She turned around, slowly revealing the mystery man. For some reason, he felt his heart beat faster in anticipation (which was preposterous, it was probably a relative or one of his mum's friends).

What he saw once his mother was out of the doorway, though, made his eyes widen impressively and had him clutching at the banister of the staircase for support in his shock.

"A-Alfred?" he whispered, raising a hand to his mouth to stop a gasp from escaping as he felt tears pooling in his eyes.

"Heya Artie," his boyfriend smiled, still leaning against the door frame.

Arthur's mother smiled as well, somewhat delightedly. "Oh, so you do know this strapping young man, Arthur! Is he one of your school friends? Now why haven't you ever introduced him to me? He's lovely, Arthur!"

Arthur ignored his mother in favour of walking towards Alfred, which soon turned into running. He ran into Alfred's arms, wrapping his own around Alfred's neck tightly, crying tears of joy as his boyfriend caught him, pushing off the door frame, and all but spinning him around.

"You two must be close," his mother remarked, watching them with a raised eyebrow, amused. "Best friends are you? Why haven't you ever be around, dear? You are more than welcome, I'll have you know."

Smiling up at Alfred tearily and turning back to his mother, his arms still wrapped around his partner, Arthur replied, "Mum, this is my boyfriend. He lives in America."