We've come so far... America x Reader

“No...” he whispered over your body. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to end like this. How did everything go so wrong?!” Alfred had just wanted to be independent from England; he didn’t want so many people to die! All these deaths, they were quite new to the young country of America.

Your hat slipped from your head, and your (h/c) locks spilled around your face. Alfred cradled your body, now completely devastated. “(Guy’s name)... How didn’t I notice?”

“_-_____.” you choked out, a little smile on your face as the blood seeped through your wound.

You could see the tears gather in his eyes as the rain pounded down on the both of you and mingled with the blood redder than the redcoats that stained your blue jacket. Alfred stared at you, “Why did you do it, _____?”

“I had to fight for what we deserve, even if I’m a girl. They have no right to do what they’re doing, and we have to stop them. I’m glad to die for such a cause. I died fighting for my country.” you said, barely above a whisper anymore.

One of the water droplets that fell on your face wasn’t as cold as the others, and you realized Alfred cried over you. “Don’t-don’t say that! You aren’t dead yet; I won’t let that happen!” he said, but you could feel yourself slipping.

“I’m just a girl, Alfred. I’m not strong enough to hold on any longer.” you said.

He looked down at your face, growing paler all the while, and couldn’t believe how horribly this all had escalated. “But you can’t die. You just can’t.” he told you, feeling a terrible lump in his throat.

“There are people dying all around you, Alfred. This is war. This is what happens. People die fighting for what they think is right. We all want to be here. We want to gain independence. We can’t just let them win because you don’t want anyone to get hurt. This is how things get done in our violent world.” you said, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. He was stunned at how weak you already seemed, then felt the blood seeping through his fingers. You gingerly wiped the tears from his eyes, and went on, “You have a chance to make a difference and fight for our freedom. You can live on and change the way everyone does things. You don’t need a king anymore, you can create something entirely different that keeps the welfare of all the people in mind. And I’m sure it will be beautiful.”

Your arm fell back into your chest, and you stared deeply into those teary blue eyes with your own (e/c) ones. There was devastation and horror in them, but the slightest glimmer of hope. Of course, the hope was small, but you could see it.

Alfred just got lost in those (e/c) orbs, until they were utterly lifeless, and the blood seeping through his fingers started to make him feel ill. It was like your life was literally leaking out of your body and through his hands. But what you said still stuck in his mind.

~

Alfred stared out a window in the White House, looking at the sprawling capital that now housed one of the first successful democracies and thinking about the difficult past and the surely hard future that lay ahead.

He whispered quietly, just so only he could hear, “You’d never believe how far we’ve come, _____.”