And so we arrive to the final chapter. There's always this strange feeling I get when I finish a work. It's the same feeling I get when reading a good book. That feeling is basically a mix of "Yes! It's finished!" and "Aww... It's over..." I had so much fun writing this and thinking up how I could make certain events fit the characters I used. I hope you all loved reading this and thank you all so much for following, reading, and reviewing this story. It really means a lot when I see that people are reading my stuff. ^^ Thank you all so much! I hope you enjoy the last chapter of "Over the Rainbow and Far, Far Away."

Chapter 12

After the Rainbow

There's no place like home…

The first thing he noticed was that his head was aching and then he felt the sensation of a wet cloth being pressed to his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes, flinching slightly at the light that greeted them.

"Arthur?" a familiar voice next to him asked. "Arthur, dear, are you awake?"

"Uncle Tino…?" Arthur muttered as he slowly opened his eyes, seeing the face of his uncle hovering above him.

"You're awake!" Tino exclaimed, a bright grin on his face. "Thank goodness! I was beginning to think that you would never open your eyes again!"

Arthur touched a hand to his forehead and tried to sit up only to lie back down due to the pain the movement roused. "My head hurts…"

"You were hit by some flying debris during the storm," Tino explained. "You still have a big bump on the back of your head but the swelling's been going down quickly."

"How long was I out?" Arthur asked.

"Not too long," Tino smiled. "Only for a day. But it was enough to give us all a scare. Speaking of…" Tino stood up from the chair he was sitting in and went to the door. "I'm going to go get Berwald and your brother. They'd like to know that you're awake."

Arthur nodded and tried to push himself into a sitting position. As he was readjusting himself, he felt something move on the bed. He looked over to see that Alfred was sitting in a chair next to the bed, his head and arms resting on top of the mattress as he slept. Arthur blinked at his sleeping form. How long had he been there?

"Arthur!"

The Briton looked up to see Peter rushing in, his blue eyes excited. The boy ran over to the bed and embraced Arthur, holding his big brother close.

"Peter…"

"You idiot!"

"Eh?"

"You idiot!" Peter repeated, looking up at his brother with teary eyes. "You just had to get hurt, didn't you? I was so worried about you! I thought… I thought…" the boy paused, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "I thought you would leave me… like mum and dad…"

"Oh… Peter…" Arthur sighed, holding his little brother close. "I'm sorry I scared you. I promise I'll never leave you like mum and dad, okay?"

"Okay…" Peter sniffled, rubbing his eyes as he pulled away. "But you owe me!"

Arthur chuckled and nodded. "I know…" he then turned his eyes to Alfred. "How long has he been here?"

"Since yesterday evening," Tino said. "The poor dear was just so worried about you that he didn't want to leave your side. He said he wanted to see you wake up."

Arthur smiled softly to himself and touched Alfred's head, stroking the blonde hair on the American's head. The American stirred and opened his eyes slowly. His blue orbs slid upwards and focused on Arthur's face. He blinked twice before something in his mind clicked in place and his blue eyes widened.

"Arthur!" he gasped, shooting up into a sitting position. "You're awake!"

"So it seems," Arthur said with a small smile.

"I… I was so worried…" Alfred muttered, taking Arthur's hand in his own. "When I found you in here, knocked out cold on the floor, I assumed the worst. I'm just glad you're awake now."

The Briton felt himself flush at this but he squeezed Alfred's hand regardless, smiling softly at the American. Alfred's cheeks turned pink and he looked away, embarrassed. The door opened again and Ludwig and Feliciano entered, the Italian holding a bouquet of flowers.

"We came to see if Arthur was alright," Ludwig said as Feliciano set the bouquet down next to Arthur's bed.

"He j'st w'k' up," Berwald told the farmhands.

"You didn't hit your head too hard, did you?" Feliciano asked the Briton. "I would hope you didn't get amnesia… You remember Ludwig and me, right?"

"How could I forget?" Arthur smiled. "Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."

"They were picked by the best florist in Bloomsberg," Feliciano smiled. "Antonio always knows what people like."

Arthur smiled and then turned to Tino. "So what happened with the storm? It doesn't seem like it touched the house."

"It just disappeared before it reached the house," Tino explained. "The only parts of the house that was truly damaged were the windows but other than that, the storm barely touched it. You were pretty lucky."

"Yeah…" Arthur muttered as Hanatamago hopped onto his lap. "Guess I was…"

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

Arthur looked out the window to see Francis Bonnefoy stick his head in the window. The French man looked around until laying his eyes on Arthur. Upon seeing that the Briton was in good condition, the man smiled and turned to Berwald.

"I see he's awake now," Francis smiled. "Good thing too. I was getting worried. How's he doing?"

"J'st f'ne," Berwald responded. "Th'nks f'r all th' h'lp ya've g'v'n us."

"You're welcome," the French man smiled. "The herbs I gave you should help reduce any headaches he'll have."

Alfred smiled and turned to Arthur. "So how was your slumber, sleeping beauty?"

"Now that you ask, I had the strangest dream…" Arthur muttered, recalling the Land of Oz. "You were there and they were too." He pointed to Ludwig and Feliciano. "And so was he." He pointed to Francis. "And Hanatamago of course. But I was in this strange land where there were witches and magic shoes and flying monkeys… I kept telling everyone that I wanted to go home and they sent me home." He paused, looking thoughtful. "But… it wasn't a dream… I could swear it was real…"

Tino frowned in concern and touched Arthur's forehead with the palm of his hand. "I hope you didn't hit your head too hard…"

"I swear it was real!" Arthur protested. "It was just too vivid for it to be a dream!"

"Okay, Arthur, calm down," Tino said in a comforting tone. "Let's say it was real for now. I'll just make you something to eat. You must be starving."

The Finn got up and left for the kitchen. Berwald also stood and motioned for everyone else to leave the room.

"We all kn'w Arth'r's f'ne n'w," he said to the farmhands and Peter. "L't's g't b'ck t' w'rk n'w." Ludwig, Feliciano, and Peter nodded and rushed out of the room, going back to the stables and the pens. Francis then bid farewell and removed his head from the window, taking this as his cue to leave.

"Actually, sir…" Alfred started. "Can I stay with Arthur for a little bit more?"

"I d'n't see why n't," Berwald said and then turned to Arthur before leaving. "I'm gl'd y're feelin' b'tt'r, Arth'r."

"Thank you," Arthur nodded with a small smile and then turned to Alfred. "I'm sorry I scared everyone. I… I wasn't thinking…"

"That's okay," Alfred said, taking Arthur's hand. "All that matters now is that you're okay." There was a short pause as Alfred stroked Arthur's skin with his thumb. "Quick question… Could you tell me more about that dream of yours?"

"Later," Arthur said as Tino came back in with his food. "You should probably get back to work. No need to get fired because of me."

Alfred smiled and nodded in understand even though he could have argued that Berwald had given him permission to spend time with Arthur. "I'll see you later."

Arthur smiled as the American left and looked down at Hanatamago as he began to eat. After he took a bite from the soup Tino had made for him, he touched the small dog's white fur.

"It wasn't a dream was it, Hanatamago?" he asked the tiny dog who only yawned in response. "I know it wasn't. I just know it wasn't…"

…

"What an interesting dream you had there," Alfred chuckled.

He and Arthur were outside now, the Briton sitting on top of the fence of the pig pen. Alfred was leaning on the fence next to him, his blue eyes sparkling as he listened to Arthur's story.

"It wasn't a dream," Arthur said, looking up at the sky. "I know it wasn't. It felt too real for it to be a dream."

"I'll take your word for it," Alfred smiled. "So what was the name of the guy giving you a hard time?"

"Russia…" Arthur said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "And before you ask, yes they were all named after countries and no, I don't know why."

"Russia, huh?" Alfred said thoughtfully. "Sounds a lot like Ivan from the way you described the guy."

"Oh, I almost forgot about him!" Arthur groaned. "Is he still trying to take Hanatamago away?"

"You're going to love this," Alfred snickered with a mischievous smile. "The twister didn't reach your place but it hit Ivan's place. He and his sisters were in their cellar but their place is just trashed. It's not like they're out of a place to stay but Ivan will be more focused on getting his house fixed up than getting rid of your dog. I think I also heard him talking about moving to a place where there weren't so many tornados."

"That's so… weird…" Arthur said, shaking his head. "In my dream, he left after I dealt with him… well, he was dead and obviously Ivan is not, but it seems so weird that they're both going to be out of my life."

"Coincidence," Alfred shrugged.

"I don't know… One of the men in my dream looked remarkably like you," Arthur said with a small smile, remembering America. "He was very kind to me and he acted a lot like you do."

"Oh?" Alfred looked interested now. "How nice was he exactly?"

"He seemed to be… infatuated with me," Arthur chuckled, laughing at the jealous expression on Alfred's face. "He truly was a very sweet individual."

"I see," Alfred muttered, looking at the ground.

"You're jealous."

"What?" Alfred gasped, looking up at the Briton. "I'm not! I just…"

"You're jealous of a scarecrow," Arthur chuckled. "You're so funny, Alfred."

Alfred pouted, looking away from Arthur with a small blush dusting his cheeks. "Am not…"

Arthur smiled softly and touched Alfred's hand. Just then, he had remembered the last thing America had said to him before he left. He jerked away from Alfred and began to dig around in his pocket frantically, looking for the thing America had given him.

"What are you doing?" Alfred asked.

"Looking for the proof I have that it wasn't a dream," Arthur said, his fingers clasping around the metal object in his pocket. "Here!" he withdrew the heart charm. "Here it is!"

Alfred blinked at it, shocked. "Where did you get that?"

"America gave it to me before I left," Arthur said. "It's proof that my dream was indeed reality."

"I… I saw something like this in a shop," Alfred whispered, taking the charm gently from Arthur's fingers. "I was thinking of getting it for you but when I went to the shop this morning, it was gone…"

Arthur flushed slightly. "Impossible… That can't be coincidence…"

"I guess I have to believe you now, huh?" Alfred chuckled half-heartedly, handing the charm back to Arthur. "So you have some guy waiting for you somewhere over the rainbow?"

"No, Alfred, it's not like that," Arthur said, quickly taking Alfred's hand. "He was in love with me and while I somewhat shared his feelings…" Alfred frowned at this. "…I'm already in love with someone."

Alfred looked up at him curiously. "And that would be…?"

"Just guess," Arthur smiled and moved closer to the farmhand, pressing his lips against the American's.

After the Briton pulled away, Alfred was left staring into space for a while. A smile then spread across his face and his blue eyes were sparkling.

"Wow…" he breathed.

"You know, when I was in Oz, I realized something," Arthur said. "I wanted so much to just leave this place and I got what I wanted. I was taken somewhere else. In that place, I realized just what I would be leaving behind if I left Kansas. I realized that I would leave behind Peter and my uncles and…" He looked into Alfred's blue eyes. "You. I would have left you behind. I… didn't want to because I needed to tell you that I love you. I wanted to get home so I could reunite with my family and eventually tell you those words."

Alfred smiled and positioned himself in front of Arthur, pressing his forehead against the Briton's.

"I'm glad you came back to tell me that, Arthur," he smiled. "I've been waiting to hear those words for what feels like forever. So let me say this one thing… I love you too, Arthur. Welcome home."

Alfred leaned forward and captured Arthur's lips in his own, the two joined in a sweet kiss as the sun began to set on the farm. As Arthur linked his arms around Alfred's neck, he smiled to himself and decided that there truly was no place like home.

The End