Naadyia and Ludwig made their way to Alfred's house. Alfred had invited everyone to his house for a three-day pool party. The reason was because America, Venezuela, and India had become independent on the 4th, 5th, and 6th of July. Naadyia knocked on the door and let herself in.
"Hey Naadyia! Glad you came!" Alfred greeted, hugging them both. Alfred's pool was amazingly huge.
"Well, look who decided to show up!" Everyone greeted Naadyia warmly. The stereo was blaring loudly.
"I'm looking forward to shoving someone in," Naadyia said, looking at the water. No one really was swimming yet.
"This is going to be a fun three days, aru. I'm happy that I get to celebrate your independence with you!" Yao said, giving Naadyia a hug.
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't dream of spending my Independence Day without any of you! But my Independence Day is saved for the last day as the grand finale," Naadyia replied.
"Best for last," Francis said.
"You know it!" other guests started filing in. Feliciano and Marty came out to the backyard. Naadyia and Marty hadn't seen each other in months. Marty and Feliciano nearly knocked Naadyia over in a massive glomp.
"Hey there! Someone missed me!" Naadyia said laughing.
"I've missed you so much! You have no idea!" Marty said. Naadyia kept laughing.
"You act nothing like a married woman! Isn't your man supposed to keep you company?" she teased. She got up and gave Feliciano a hug as well. Next came Ivan, Arthur, Kiku, Maria, and Gilbert. It was nice to see everyone. Maria looked lovely in her red bathing suit. Naadyia wore a gold bathing suit. Everyone stood around awkwardly for a minute, unsure of what to do next.
"Come on guys! Get in the pool!" Alfred exclaimed. Naadyia smiled slyly.
"Ok," she said, taking off her cover up. She did a cannonball into the pool splashing everyone who was near.
"Naadyia, really?" Arthur asked, annoyed. Naadyia laughed.
"You're going to come in anyway!" she said.
"That's a good point," Alfred said, setting his beer down on the table.
"See? I have some of my sanity left!" Alfred laughed as he took he took his shirt off and jumped in after her.
"Damn, why do you have to be so hot, Al?" Naadyia asked.
"Hey, you're supposed to say those things to me!" Ludwig said.
"He's hot in the water, you're hot in bed. How's that?" Naadyia asked. Everyone laughed and Ludwig began to slowly unbutton his shirt.
"Ah, shit, he's gonna prove me wrong!" Naadyia said. Ludwig tossed his shirt aside and jumped in.
"Sorry, Al. But I think Ludwig wins this round," Naadyia said, giving Ludwig a kiss.
"Aw!" Alfred gave Naadyia the puppy dogface. Maria came and sat with her feet in the pool,
"I think you're amazingly hot, hero boy," she said. Alfred laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Thanks," he said, kissing her.
"You guys are such cute couples!" Marty squealed.
"Now don't be calling us cute! You and Feliciano are f-ing ADORABLE together. Emphasis on adorable!" Naadyia replied. Feliciano laughed and wrapped his arms around Marty's waist.
"Ve~! That's very true!" he replied.
Soon, more people went into the pool. Francis managed to shove Arthur into the pool and also jumped in after him. Marty and Feliciano began playing a game of king of the raft. Gilbert shoved his brother in again. Ludwig, now wet and pissed, proceeded to chase him around the pool much to everyone's amusement.
"Ludwig, just let it go and get in the damn water!" Ludwig sighed a frustrated breath and jumped into the pool while glaring at his brother. Feliciano and Marty with Ludwig trying to tip them off occupied Alfred's huge raft. Arthur came and gave Naadyia a cold beer and they talked by the side of the pool for a while.
"Please tell me you'll be up for the meeting on Tuesday," he said sarcastically. Naadyia chucked as she took a swig of her beer.
"Probably not. Just give me enough beer and I might be good for at least half of the meeting."
"That is if you don't crash because you're drunk."
"Nah, that won't happen. Ludwig, you're the designated driver!" Naadyia called. Ludwig turned away from the raft and pouted.
"I thought you said you would be the designated driver this time," he replied.
"Nope, hon. I've already started on my alcohol concentration! You're gonna have to drink a lot to catch up!" He laughed.
"I thought we were crashing here for a few days," he replied. Naadyia thought for a second.
"On second thought, you can drink as much as you want just stay sober so you can drive me home," she said with a laugh. She and Arthur watched Ludwig trying to flip Marty and Feli off the raft for a while.
"Are you going to drink, Artie?" Naadyia asked.
"Absolutely not! Don't remember the last time?"
"How can I forget the last time? I caught you hangover on my phone! You're getting drunk."
"I should think not."
"At least just get a little tipsy for my Independence Day." Naadyia pouted childishly.
"I thought pouting was my method of attack, da?" Ivan asked.
"It's a good plan of attack so that's why I'm using it." Naadyia continued to pout again. Arthur sighed in defeat.
"Francis, toss me a beer."
"Victory is mine!" Naadyia cheered triumphantly. Ivan gave her a smile and a wink.
Soon, the game of King of the Raft took a turn when Gilbert and Francis decided to play. Of course Marty and Feliciano couldn't stay on for very long, but they stayed with it anyway. Naadyia handed Arthur the empty beer bottle and decided to join in. She jumped on the raft and brought Gilbert down with her. They resurfaced, laughing.
"I hope you realize zhat scared zhe shit out of me," he said. Naadyia climbed up on the raft and braced herself.
"That was kind of the point," she replied. Ludwig flipped the raft completely on its head. Naadyia yelled in surprise before she went under.
"Son of a gun!" she said laughing. After a while of playing rough, Naadyia decided to head into the Jacuzzi with Marty and Feli following her. Alfred and Kiku were conversing. The hot water made Naadyia's insides suddenly relax.
"Ahhh," she sighed. "This is the life. What more could anyone ask for?"
"I know. World peace, no war, and another beer," Kiku said, getting up to get a beer.
"Get me one while you're at it," Naadyia said,
"I would ask for a high-tech weapon, a bigger house with a bigger pool. Would you ask for anything, Naadyia?" Alfred asked as Kiku tossed her another beer.
"Nah. I've got an amazing hero brother, beautiful 'daughters', and an absolutely wonderful husband. I'm good for another lifetime," she replied.
"That just brought tears to my eyes, Naadyia," Ludwig said with glassy eyes as he climbed into the hot tub with Gilbert following. Naadyia grinned and gave him a wink. Alfred sighed.
"It's hard to imagine that almost a hundred or something years ago, I had earned my independence for the first time…"
"True that, brother. Got the patriotic feeling and everything."
"I can't wait to see the fireworks tonight!" Marty said.
"Ve~ the fireworks are my favorite part! There's so pretty!" Feliciano said. Naadyia chuckled.
"Alfred, Maria and I have a special tradition for Independence Day. On the day we became independent, we take our nation's flag to a special spot. We watch the fireworks and, during the grand finale, we raise our flags on a flagpole while singing the national anthem. The raising of our flags symbolize the unity between America, Venezuela, and India," Naadyia explained.
"Yeah and on your specific Independence Day, you're showered with attention and stuff like that," Alfred, added.
"Ve~! I want that to happen to me!" Feliciano said. Naadyia and Alfred exchanged smiles, but said nothing.
Naadyia's hands began to get all wrinkly so she decided to get out. She sat at the table outside and started talking to Ivan and Yao.
"You look like you were having fun out there, aru," Yao said. Naadyia nodded.
"Yeah but it gets a little rough with the hothead brothers fighting for dominance," she replied, eating some chips and guacamole.
"So I heard you and Ludwig are thinking of relocating," Yao said. Naadyia nodded.
"Yeah, but I highly doubt we'll be going anywhere. My boss is wanting to set up some communications there but I doubt anything will happen." Naadyia didn't like the subject of being relocated, especially on a day like this.
"So, why haven't you guys gone in the pool yet?" she asked.
"I'm not going in," Ivan said bluntly. Naadyia flipped out.
"Ah come on! You cant go to a pool party and not go in the pool! I will get both of you in that pool before this party is over," Naadyia said. Yao and Ivan said nothing but laughed. Naadyia's cell phone rang and she groaned when she saw who it was. Everything seemed to quiet down.
"Kabzeel…. Right now? What about getting someone else to do it? Huh? Ever thought of that?" Naadyia ran her tongue over her teeth. She rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"I'll…" she began, then, she caught sight of Alfred's face. His expression fell and he looked away.
"You know what? I say fuck you. I'm a country not your fucking secretary," Naadyia said, hanging up.
"Was that your boss?" Marty asked. Naadyia grinned and nodded as she chucked her phone into the pool.
"Nice! I never thought you had it in you!" Alfred said, giving her a high five.
"I've been waiting for you to say that! Your boss is always asking so much of you!" Francis said. Naadyia sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Ludwig came over and kissed her cheek.
"Hey guys! Dinner's ready!" Feliciano called from the kitchen. Feliciano and Marty had worked on making thirteen different types of pizzas for everyone.
"Feliciano! I love you!" Naadyia yelled from outside when she took the first bite.
"Hey! He's mine!" Marty called. Naadyia laughed.
"That's alright. I've got Ludwig!" Ludwig smiled and blushed a little.
"You're cute, Ludwig. We're married and you still blush," Naadyia said, giving him a kiss on the lips. Ludwig still didn't say anything.
"Hey guys! It's almost time for the fireworks to start and we still have to hike up that hill!" Alfred called. Naadyia put her summer dress and sandals back on and headed out with everyone.
Silently, everyone made the hike up to the special spot. Alfred carried the American flag folded into a triangle in his arms. Naadyia could see his eyes were sparkling. The spot to watch the fireworks was an amazing spot. The view was perfect and clear. Alfred connected the flag to the flagpole but waited. The fireworks began in a fantastic display. Naadyia rested her head on Ludwig's shoulder. When the finale came up, Alfred began raising the flag while singing the American National Anthem.
"…Over the land of the free, and the home of the brave!" Alfred wiped tears from his eyes as fireworks lit up the night sky. The last firework was that of the American flag. Everyone cheered for Alfred. Naadyia and Maria gave him a hug at the same time.
"Three cheers for hero boy!" Maria said giving him a quick kiss. Alfred actually blushed at that. Everyone went back to the house and crashed in every room in the house. Naadyia and Ludwig occupied the guest room at the back of the house. They were so thankful that Alfred installed insanely soundproof walls.