Arthur gripped tightly on his sword, pointing it at his target. It had been quite a while since he had done something like this. It felt kind of good, he had to admit. The freezing cold around him, the snow falling everywhere, and he was finally able to move around as he pleased.

Arthur swung the sword heavily against the dummy made of hay in front of him. He grinned slightly seeing the dent he caused in it. He swung again and again and again, attacking the thing. It felt so amazing, being able to let loose after about a month of having to just sit down and let Alfred care for him.

"Don't you think you should cut that thing some slack?" Alfred laughed, coming up to him.

"Perhaps," Alfred muttered in-between swings.

"Why are you exercising?" Alfred asked, staying out of the way of Arthur's back swing.

"I was told that I can finally do something," Arthur grinned. "I figured this would be the best way to get my strength back up."

"Remind me not to get you mad," Alfred laughed when Arthur accidentally sliced off the dummy's head.

"You should have known that from before," Arthur smiled, pointing the tip of the sword on the ground. "Considering I can also wield magic."

"But you wouldn't use anything bad on me," Alfred walked towards him and messed up his hair.

"It depends," Arthur grinned and stuck the sword in the ground. "I take it since you're out here, you wanted to talk with me?"

"Well, I heard you were all better," Alfred smiled widely. "So that means you can finally run in the snow with me?"

"I guess," Arthur chuckled.

"Sweet," Alfred said excitedly. "'Cause I know the perfect spot! I found it, like, a week ago."

"Is that what you did when you went missing?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Yup!" Alfred nodded proudly. "Now, come on! Let's go!"

Before Arthur could say anything, Alfred started running to the forest around the castle. Arthur just laughed and ran after him. Arthur wasn't exactly fast, though, so he was stuck quite a while behind Alfred. They ran for a while, and Arthur was beginning to run out of breath. The cold air was thin and it was hard to get enough while they ran. The snow falling around them was getting heavier.

Thankfully, Alfred finally slowed down.

"Slow…the bloody hell…down," Arthur panted and stopped next to where Alfred did.

"I thought you said you needed the exercise," Alfred grinned. It didn't even seem like he was tired from the run.

"And before today, the most exertion I had was walking down the halls," Arthur panted, his hands on his knees.

"That's not my fault," Alfred laughed.

"You could say it was," Arthur glared at him.

"And you decided to step in front of me," Alfred lightly poked his nose. "Which I love you for, by the way."

"Whatever," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. He was slowly getting his breath back, but the cold air around him stung his throat.

"So, when are you gonna look at where we are?" Alfred smiled.

Arthur stood upright and looked around the clearing that Alfred had stopped at. There were tall trees all around them, their bark a dark brown. There were even a few evergreen trees scattered around. They were a sharp contrast from the pure white snow around them. Arthur looked up and saw that he could clearly see the gray sky above them, despite all the tall trees.

"Alfred, it's beautiful," Arthur smiled.

"Wait 'till you see the fireflies," Alfred wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulders.

"Fireflies?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. He knew very well that fireflies did not exist. That was just how some people saw fairies.

"I've seen them a couple times," Alfred smiled. "I've been here a lot."

"Right," Arthur ducked out of Alfred's hold. "So, you've said something about games you would play in the snow?"

"Yeah, there's a lot, actually," Alfred laughed and stooped down to pick up some snow from the ground. He started compacting the snow in his hands, turning them red with the cold.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Snowball fight," Alfred grinned and threw the ball of snow at Arthur's chest. It was light, and Arthur just stared down at it for a second.

"You did not just throw snow at me," Arthur stared back up at him.

"I'm gonna do it again," Alfred grinned mischievously and stooped down to pick up more snow.

"No," Arthur shook his head.

"Yup," Alfred quickly started packing up snow. Arthur darted for a tree and saw snow splatter against the tree.

"Dammit, Alfred!" Arthur yelled at him.

"It's more fun when you fight back," Alfred laughed and another snowball hit the tree.

"I don't know what to do," Arthur couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"You're a Queen, right?" Alfred teased. "I thought you said Queens were good at fighting."

"Oh, shut it," Arthur rolled his eyes and jumped when another snowball hit, some of it nailing his head. Arthur looked down at the snow in front of him and, in a split second decision, stooped down and picked it up. He started packing it quickly and then, using his tree as cover, threw the ball at Alfred.

"You missed," Alfred laughed.

"Well, it's not that easy," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It would be better if you would stop hiding behind that tree," Alfred chuckled. "I'm not throwing them hard enough to hurt."

"I have no intention in being covered in snow, thank you," Arthur laughed.

"Really?" Alfred asked and Arthur noticed that his voice was far closer than he was before.

"Jesus Christ," Arthur flinched away.

"Come on," Alfred laughed. "You're supposed to be having fun!" And then he tackled Arthur to the ground.

"God," Arthur muttered, the breath knocked out of him. "What was that for?"

"Now that you're covered in snow," Alfred smiled, resting his arms on Arthur's chest. "You won't have a problem doing a snowball fight with me."

"You're hopeless," Arthur laughed and secretly started scooping up snow.

"But you love me anyway," Alfred grinned slyly.

"You know, this snow is bloody cold," Arthur chuckled.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Alfred laughed. "Because you haven't hit me with a snowball."

"Really now?" Arthur grinned and used the snow he scooped up to hit Alfred in the back of the head. "I think I just did."

"Hey!" Alfred laughed, shaking his head to get the snow off. "That was sneaky!"

"Your point is?" Arthur smiled.

"Fine then," Alfred moved his hands above Arthur's head.

"What are you-" Arthur was cut off when a massive clump of snow covered his head. Alfred started laughing like a little kid and quickly got off Arthur, running away. "Dammit, Alfred," Arthur muttered to himself and quickly swiped the snow off his face.

"I dare you to hit me right in the face," Alfred taunted from back in the clearing.

"Didn't you tell me not too long ago that you didn't want to get me mad?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"What, are you gonna use magic?" Alfred teased.

"Perhaps," Arthur grinned and finally stood up, but holding a ball of snow in his hands. He quickly threw the ball at Alfred and nailed him in the neck.

"I told ya this keeps us from getting cold," Alfred laughed, watching his breath puff up above his face. They were lying down in the snow in the middle of their clearing, trying to catch their breath after their snowball fight.

"Right," Arthur chuckled. He had to admit, he could hardly feel the cold of the snow on his back.

"Admit you had fun," Alfred poked his cheek.

"Yes, Alfred, I had fun," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You're a lot better at it than I thought you would be," Alfred laughed. They continued to look up at the gray sky, and watched at how it became darker, but they had no idea where the sun was up in the sky.

"So, when do your fireflies come out?" Arthur asked.

"Whenever they want to," Alfred smiled. "I know they probably aren't fireflies, right? I remember when you were out cold and all of those fairies were around you. They looked just like fireflies."

"You should know that fireflies don't exist," Arthur smiled.

"I knew it," Alfred laughed and turned towards Arthur. "So, they're fairies or something?"

"Yes," Arthur sighed and sat up. "I do kind of wish I could see how beautiful they are when they're fireflies."

"I think they look prettier when they're fairies," Alfred smiled, sitting up next to him. "When I saw Ella, she was very beautiful."

"It's a little weird, not having her around," Arthur sighed.

"Well now you're getting depressing," Gilbert's voice groaned and Arthur looked in front of him, where Gilbert was standing, looking a little aggravated.

"Hey, Gil," Alfred said, staring right at him.

"Oh, so now you're letting everyone see you, is that it?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"There's a lot more magic in this world right about now," Gilbert stretched his arms over his head. "Might have something to do with a certain Queen of Spades."

"So, he's made more people believe in magic?" Alfred tilted his head.

"Yup," Gilbert knelt down in front of them. "Plenty of magic around for me to show myself. You know, I came here to gripe about you two being all obnoxious, but then you started being serious and I had to make you shut up."

"About Ella?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Gilbert stood up.

"She said she had seen into the Joker's world," Arthur stated. "She knew when she was supposed to die."

"You have no idea how old she was," Gilbert stated. "Once they get to a certain age, they'll all learn when they die. She just didn't know how she would die, she just knew. It's not specific. The Joker's world is weird. But I'm just here to tell you to brighten up and stop dwelling on it."

"You know, I'm kinda curious," Alfred grinned. "How good is a Joker at a snowball fight?"

"You wanna find out?" Gilbert challenged and Alfred quickly stood up scooping up some snow. Before he could even stand up, though, Gilbert nailed him with a snowball right in the face.

"Hey! I was caught off guard!" Alfred whined.

"You gonna complain?" Gilbert smirked. "Or are you gonna try to fight the awesome me?"

"Fine," Alfred laughed and they continued their snowball fight. Arthur just stayed sitting down, laughing at their immaturity. Alfred wasn't standing a chance and he even fell over onto the snow.

Arthur couldn't help but laugh even more seeing how Alfred was pathetically losing. Then, something caught his eye. He turned his head to the side and saw the familiar form of a fairy flying next to him. He was very familiar, it was one of the fairies from the maze. There were a few around him, too.

"Hello," Arthur nodded to them politely.

"We've seen your King around here a lot," the first fairy smiled. "It's nice to finally see you around here."

"Well, it is rather beautiful," Arthur smiled, looking up at the sky. He could hear Alfred and Gilbert talking behind him.

"Who's he talking to?" Alfred whispered.

"Don't worry about it," Gilbert laughed and Arthur heard a snowball hit something behind him.

"So we hear it's mostly you we have to thank for the sudden belief in magic?" the fairy asked.

"I guess you can consider that," Arthur chuckled. "I noticed a lot of young lads accepting their magic just because I was marked insane for believing in it."

"You're brave for all you've done and been through," the fairy smiled. "You've been through too much for one person."

"I've had a little help," Arthur grinned and looked back at Alfred, who was backed up against a tree and being pelted with snowballs. "He's more help than he looks," he laughed.

"I heard he made Spades the first ally of Clubs," the fairy said happily, flying up next to Arthur's face. "That was truly brave, considering their abilities."

"Yes, it was," Arthur smiled. "I think we've both been through a little too much."

"Hey, Arthur!" Alfred called out to him, trying to use his arms to protect himself from snowballs. "If you're done talking to fairies, I could use some help here!"

"We just wanted to say thank you, on behalf of all the fairies," the fairy nodded towards him. "And I'm sure Ella's pleased with what you've done, too."

"God," Arthur laughed and stood up, brushing himself off. "I just know she would kick my arse for worrying about her."

"Goodbye," the fairy called to him and they slowly flew off.

Arthur gave them a wave and then turned towards Alfred. He quickly ran up to him and dragged him behind a tree.

"Are you really having that many problems, love?" Arthur grinned. "He is just one thing, after all."

"Don't patronize me," Alfred pointed a finger at him. "I'm doing my best."

"Not good enough," Arthur laughed.

"You gonna help me with some magic?" Alfred asked.

"I guess," Arthur sighed and gave Alfred a small, quick, yet sweet kiss.

Before they could even separate, a snowball hit them both in the face.

"You're being obnoxious again," Gilbert grinned, holding another snowball.

"Nix," Arthur wove his hand over the snow on the ground and a lot of it flew right at Gilbert, knocking him onto the ground.

"Sweet!" Alfred cheered. "Now we have a fighting chance!"

"You sure?" Gilbert's voice sounded behind them and they ran away slightly, Alfred scooping up snow as he went.

They continued their fight, nearly oblivious to the world around them and not caring. It was like a well-earned break for Alfred and Arthur. A way for them to bond over trying to survive a fight against a Joker. There was even a point when Alfred carried Arthur away, pretending he was badly wounded. They were just having fun, which was well needed. They couldn't even tell it was cold outside. It was a wonderful break and they needed it.

After all, they had all done Too Much.

Cheesy ending is cheesy...I couldn't think of any other way to end it. But, whatever, it's done! And now that this isn't consuming my life...I'M SO BORED! I'm saving my writing for NaNoWriMo, and so I'm just sitting around, trying to figure out what to do with my life... It's not working out well...

But, hey, I shouldn't bother you with that. It's finally done! Please tell me how you think I did, whether it's good or bad, I don't care! And, even though I'm done writing this, you should still look out for one-shots during holidays!

Um...and I don't own Hetalia.

Goodbye!