4th July

it was 3rd of July and Alfred Jones was excited for his birthday the following day; every year the young American threw a huge party with loads of junk food, massive cake and tones of loud fireworks.

It was always the party of the year.

But five months previous Alfred had a very strange convocation with Arthur Kirkland:

The World Meeting had just ended with the usual arguments and finally Ludwig storming out of the room with a sobbing Feli over his shoulder.

Sandy haired Alfred had been glued to his phone already sorting things out for his July birthday.

"bit early to be ordering a cake isn't it?" asked a calming voice behind him.

Craning his neck backwards Alfred saw fair haired Arthur glancing over his shoulder, "never too early to plan." he mumbled and went back to his phone.

There was silence for a bit, the rest of the Countries left the room but Arthur remained behind the younger blond; finally the room was empty the Brit cleared his throat lightly.

"you always spend so much time arranging your own birthday party." Arthur hummed softly.

Alfred stopped before he pressed the 'Pay' button on the screen, wondering why Arthur was mentioning his birthday; every year Arthur would refuse to attend, send a photoframe and never look at any of the photos afterwards.

Arthur cleared his throat again, "surely you'd have more fun if someone else arranged it for you?" he had tried to sound uncaring but Alfred heard the nervous edge.

Spinning in his chair the young American looked at his ex-guardian's blushing face, "what you saying?" Alfred teased.

Blushing even darker Arthur refused to make eye-contact, "i promise not to cook and I'll put as many fireworks in my garden as possible."

without even thinking Alfred jumped up and crushing Arthur in a hug, "you're so awesome!" he cheered.

After that Arthur had left the Meeting Room and never said anything since, no invitations, no hints, nothing.

Even during the meetings Alfred tried to sneak a lookin the Brti's briefcase or notebook but there was nothing to be seen, even the other Countries didn't say anything.

And now it was the day before his birthday and, for once, Alfred had no idea what was happening for his birthday; the panic was building in his stomach a little.

"Bonjour!" Francis swanned into the room in a red coat, blue trousers and a white starred shirt, "happy pre-birthday!" he simpered happily.

Alfred only managed a half smile, "thanks Francis." he mumbled.

With grace beyond any woman the Frenchman sat in the chair next the Alfred with a look of concern, "what's wrong?"

"Arthur said he was gunna arrange my birthday but he ain't said nothing." Alfred huffed, slumping in his chair.

Francis placed a caring hand on the younger blond's shoulder, " never fear, come round to my house tomorrow night, at 8 sharp." he informed Alfred firmly before leaving.

That night Alfred got no sleep, the very thought that he wouldn't have an awesome birthday was killing him, at least that's what he told himself; in truth he felt slightly betrayed that Arthur had made such an empty promise.

Alfred loitered on his computer for the whole day, receiving maybe thousands of birthday messages, videos and pictures but nothing seemed to cheer him up.

At 7:30 there was a knock at the door and Matthew Williams stood nervously on the other side, polar bear clutched tightly to his chest.

"ready for your party?" his nervous cousin asked.

Forcing a huge grin Alfred bounced at the golden haired Matthew, "dam right I am, wonder what Francis has got in store for me?"

a confused look crossed Matthew's face, he gently touched something in his pocket, "but, I thought Arthur was arranging your birthday?"

a small prang struck Alfred's heart but he forced it away, "he totally failed, let's go!"

Matthew listened to his loud cousin chatter on for the whole journey to Francis's house, Alfred was just trying to clear his mind of anything.

The first thing that greeted them were loud red, white and blue fireworks, 'Stars and Stripes' playing in the background and the amazing smell of food thick in the air.

Inside all the food upon the tables was either red, white or blue and a cake the size of a door in the corner; all of the Countries loitered around with flutes of bubbly alcohol.

"Happy Birthday!" everyone cheered as soon as Alfred came through the door; the young American noted that Arthur was absent.

The night that followed involved drinking large amounts of alcohol, stuffing as much food as possible and generally letting their hair down; finally the fireworks were set off in Francis' huge garden.

"this, was tha best." Alfred slurred and flung an arm around Francis' shoulder.

The Frenchman smiled happily, "of course, much better than any English nit could have done."

"blurg." Alfred spat, feeling angry at the very thought of Arthur, "wish you had been my guardian."

out of the corner of his drunken eye he saw something move from the shadows but paid it no mind.

Suddenly Francis stood up, in the middle of a fizzy firework, "let us go to Arthur's house!" he proposed, "show him what he's missing."

in a drunken excitement Alfred agreed and encouraged all the other intoxicated Countries to join him, so in a disordered fashion they stumbled towards the British mansion.

It was a cold night so by the time the group arrived they were all a little less drunk.

"maybe we should leave." Feli whimpered staring up at the huge, empty looking house.

With a still a little bit of rage in his stomach Alfred stormed ahead and broke the door down; all inside was dark but far from empty.

The whole foyer was filled with balloons, streamers and a huge, handpainted 'Happy Birthday' banner.

Stunned for words the whole group slowly entered the eerie mansion, the huge dining room had several tables filled to bursting with the finest foods long gone cold, a table of drinks with dozens of different size glasses, a bright white cake reaching the ceiling, iced with red and blue and an empty table with just a single present upon it.

"i thought he'd forgotten." Alfred finally whispered, unable to take his eyes off anything in the room.

"this all must have cost a fortune." Honda mentioned, gently touching the piled glasses.

Guilt punched Alfred in the stomach; technically Arthur had never said his preparations were a secret, maybe he had been waiting for the American to ask, to spread the word himself.

Alfred felt a little sick looking at the huge cake, uncut and beautifully crafted.

"better late than never." a short, sharp voice cut through the darkness, scaring the whole group.

Stood in the doorway was Arthur's aged butler, Marcus, dressed in a sharp suit that made him look like a ghost, in his hand was a USA flag envelope.

Without a word Marcus flicked a switch and the lights in the garden sprang on; every inch of the garden was covered with fireworks, ten times more grand than what had transpired at Francis' house.

"where's Arthur?" Matthew asked softly, looking close to tears.

Marcus sighed deeply, "Master Kirkland has taken himself to bed and is refusing contact. Stress has made him ill."

the guilt increased in Alfred's chest; Arthur must have spent the whole five months preparing this party, researched everything Alfred liked, personally designed the cake and arrange every little detail, he'd even found the beer he loved.

"we never got invitations." Ludwig said softly, looking sombre.

Raising an withered eyebrow Marcus looked surprised, "Master Kirkland spent a month designing the invites and delivered them personally three months ago." the butler informed them.

Confused faces covered the whole room; no-one had received an invite, all except Matthew who withdrew his glossy envelope from his jacket.

"Arthur gave me it on my birthday." the Canadian confessed and gestured a a picture on the mantle place.

Decorated with a maple leaf the frame showed a photo of a grinning Matthew and Gilbert with Arthur, dated just a week earlier, evidence of the young American's birthday already in the background.

Alfred stared at Gilbert, who looked confused before pulling a crumpled envelope from his pocket, "i was kinda drunk." he confessed.

Furious Alfred pushed his way to where Marcus was stood stock still, "if he hand delivered them then why didn't anyone receive one?" he fumed.

Marcus was un-fazed, "your's was sent by special mail, the rest were left on the World Meeting desk." he told Alfred calmly, seeming to enjoy the shocked face, "good night." he bid and vanished into the darkness.