"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." — Alice Morse Earler

It was that day again. The years passed in the blink of the eye for Gilbert and the clock did not run any faster on January 18th. And the Prussian did not see the slightest need in birthdays for nations, even because he wasn't exactly one to begin. Moreover, January 18th was just the day he was born as the Kingdom of Prussia; he also had some other birthdays to celebrate because of his other incarnations (Teutonic Order, Brandenburg-Prussia, DDR, among many others). However, it was something his friends and family asked him to keep that date as his birthday.

It was seven o' clock already, and Ludwig would come in exactly fifteen minutes with that gentle smile that still melted the albino's heart. The older would give his brother a (tight) hug, inviting him to come in. The two Germans would end the chores in a very short time, rewarding themselves with two bottles of the best beer.

The next ones to come would be Francis and António with a large pie and a bottle of champagne. Thankfully, Gilbert was still in pyjamas, and it wasn't anything a bath and a change would not solve. Instruments and speakers were all in the back of the Spanish's truck. After the secret handshake that would last up to a minute, more pre-party heavy work.

Following the order, the Italian brothers arrived. Feliciano was already running into the house searching for the albino by throwing himself on him to unleash his famous "rear naked choke of love." Lovino snorted and sat on the couch, spitting a 'congratulations' before turning on the TV.

Then came Sadiq on his van, bringing Dragomir and Marko. Once the usual mocking-about-being-millennias-old was over, the old colleagues from Eastern Europe helped to move the furniture and organize the barbecue on the backyard.

Roderich came soon after at ten (even though he swore that he would be there with Ludwig). Amazingly, the two were on great terms, to the point that they would even share sincere smiles, formal handshakes and some affectionate hair-messing on the Austrian. But in the end, the amethyst-eyed man sat in the favourite seat of his cousin, to read one of his thousands of books and messing his perfectly alphabetically sorted library.

And no signs of Erzsébet.

In her apartment in Hungary, the brunette just wanted to smash her head on her desk because of the sudden paperwork from her boss. "I need those documents and data memorized to an emergency meeting tomorrow," he ordered the on the phone.

"Gil, I won't be able to get there in time. My fucking boss sent me a bunch of stuff for me to solve right now, but happy birthday, csíllagom,"said the Hungarian on a text message. Despite the setback, Gilbert still smiled briefly by reading the word in the language he learned to love.

"Is she coming?" Ludwig asked realizing his brother had his phone in his hands and a smile on his face.

"Sadly, I guess she won't. Motherfucker politicians strike back. "

"Well, we can agree that he has somewhat of a reason to have done it on purpose."

"Just because there was that time she forgot to hide the hickeys on her neck."

"… Gilbert."

"Ludwig, don't play dumb, because you know how it works."

"You two are impossible."

"Fuck it, you know that you can't simply stop when you are there doing the do, especially because we are talking about Erzsi and more so because she was telling me to keep suck–"

"Spare me the details, please."

The rest of the guests were coming gradually, but her absence made the party remain incomplete. There really was something missing there. Even the drinking games, the thousands of poker rounds, the loud music and the jokes could not keep his mind busy.

It was almost the 19th and no sign of her… Half an hour to the end of the day.

Gilbert looked at his watch when a hand, someone pulled him from out of the crowd.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he protested at the time, a little sleepy because of the alcohol. "What do you want–?"

"Hi, asshole," the female voice echoed in his mind amid the darkness of the house. The magenta and blue lights of the small improvised dance floor in the middle of the living room shone her face, revealing the last invited person to appear for the anniversary. "Did I miss something?"

Without giving the albino due time to answer her somewhat rhetorical question, she grabbed him by the shirt, holding her lips to his. Gilbert even tried to say something, but his voice came out of his throat to travel to the mouth that kissed him and numbed his senses. The two quickly separated after the sudden movement.

"How did you …"

"Long story. It's about having to sneak out, disrespecting an officer and not giving a flying fuck about my obligations," she laughed, taking him to the upper floor. "And I know you keep your spare key next to the doghouse."

"Atta girl."

The two pairs of lips met again to lose themselves in the motion they created themselves. He pushed her against the wall until they finally stopped and slowly broke the kiss.

Every time she looked into his eyes, she would get fascinated as in the first time in their childhood.

Every time he touched her, he felt the heat invade his body, dye his face red and make his heart beat faster.

Every time she kissed him, he felt sure that that feeling was real, that it was human.

Each time he apologized, she laughed, ignoring the mistakes until they go unnoticed.

Each time she felt their steps, their breathing synchronizing, she would realize that the two souls belonged together.

Every time he closed his eyes and imagined only her there, above the loud sound and the lights that sought them in the shadows, he would leave all the uncertainties and fears aside to pursue the heart for which his very one beat, was beating and would beat without remorse.

And finally, even if none of the two lovers knew how long they would have each other to love, they knew that the best choice they could do there was to love each other today, in that day.

There was no greater gift for Gilbert than the Present itself.

FlamingHelmet: OOooohhh it's a shame it's over so soon! D: Well, I'm very tired, it's 4:17 already and I really need to sleep after all these evenings we spent writing. I hope you guys enjoyed it and see you around!

UndeadAlbinoTrash: Can't believe it's finally over… We had loads of fun writing the chapters (CHUGGING DOWN BOTTLES AND BOTTLES OF COKE TO KEEP AWAKE), but here we are. Welp, like Helmet said, I deeply hope you have liked our run through the week! Please, if you do have some time to spare us, write a review! It would encourage us to write a lot more! So, here's our final chapter and see you folks later!