Matthew stood in the kitchen in front of the stove, cooking a batch of pancakes, as he did every morning. Today, however, he added mini chocolate chips to the batter. 'A special day deserves special pancakes,' he thought to himself, just like he did every year.
And today was certainly a special day. It was his birthday!
Once he had a good-sized stack of fluffy pancakes, covered in his favorite maple syrup, Matthew sat down at the kitchen table next to his best friend Kumajirou. "Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday, Kumajirou?" He quietly asked the little white bear with a sad smile.
"Who're you?" the bear responded with genuine curiosity.
"I'm your owner," Matthew mumbled. His spirits sank. He had hoped that maybe, just this one time, for his birthday, Kumajirou would remember who he was. 'Of course he wouldn't remember,' Matthew thought to himself. 'When was the last time anyone remembered?' It was true. Matthew hadn't gotten a birthday card in years, even though he never forgot anyone else's birthday. Why, he would even send Gilbert a little something every year, even though Gilbert wasn't even a country anymore.
Last year was the worst, though. For the first time in a very long time, his phone rang. It had scared Matthew when he first heard it, and he fell right out of his chair before running to the phone.
"Hello?" he had said, excited and out of breath. "Hey, bro!" It had been Alfred on the phone. Matthew had gotten really excited then. 'Al finally remembered my birthday!' he thought to himself. His hopes were shattered when Alfred said, "Don't forget to call Hong Kong today. It's his birthday, you know!" There had been a slight pause as Matthew tried not to cry on the phone. "Yeah, sure," he said weakly. "Awesome! 'Kay dude, I gotta go. See ya later." And then there was a click, and Al was gone, and the first sad tears of that year's birthday ran down Matthew's cheeks.
Remembering last year made Matthew even more depressed. "I don't need anyone to remember me," he said to no one. "I've been fine every year, I'll be fine this year, too." He wasn't doing a very good job of convincing himself, and his eyes were starting to water. Usually he didn't start crying until the end of his birthday, when he was alone in his bed. This year , just like last year, it seemed the tears would come early.
It was just as the first tear fell that someone pounded on Canada's door. Canada's head shot up in surprise. "Just a minute!" he called out as loud as he was able. He quickly wiped his eyes and checked himself in the mirror in the hallway. Good, his eyes didn't look too red.
The pounding only got louder. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Matthew whined to himself as he hurried to the door. He pulled it open and was surprised to see a small group waiting for him.
Alfred pulled Matthew into a big hug as soon as the door was opened. Behind him stood Arthur, Francis, Ludwig, Feliciano, Wang Yao, Ivan, and in the very back, Matthew could see little yellow Gilbird resting in a nest of Gilbert's hair.
"Happy birthday, little bro!" Alfred shouted, squeezing Matthew so hard that it became difficult to breathe. His sadness almost instantly vanished. "Al, let go, you're suffocating me," Canada pleaded, but Alfred didn't seem to hear him as he picked Matthew up and swung him in a circle. Arthur eventually had to thwack Al in the back of the head to get him to put Matthew down. "Heh, sorry…"
Matthew invited everyone into his living room. He still couldn't believe how many people had actually remembered his birthday! He was still in shock. They had even brought presents!
Al presented his gift first. It was wrapped in paper that mimicked the American flag, and it was wrapped very poorly. Matthew smiled and somehow knew that Alfred had wrapped it all by himself. He tore at the paper to reveal a brand new baseball mitt with a baseball tucked inside of it. The ball and glove were both white with red stitching. Matthew smiled, remembering all of the times he and his brother used to play catch. They may have been painful memories, but they were still happy memories.
Next was Arthur's gift. He handed Canada a big plastic container filled with scones. "Baked 'em myself," Arthur said with pride. "Try one." Matthew, not wanting to be rude, picked out one that didn't look as burnt as the other ones. He held his breath and took a small bite. "Mm, it's very good, Arthur," he said with a smile. Arthur was practically glowing as he turned to Francis and yelled, "I told you my scones were good!" Meanwhile, Matthew resisted the urge to vomit.
After Arthur and Francis stopped arguing, Francis presented a box wrapped in pink wrapping paper. Matthew opened the box, and inside was… Oh my god. He didn't. Matthew looked up at Francis in horror. All Francis did was wink and sit back down. Alfred leaned over to try to see what was in the box, but Matt quickly slammed it shut too fast for Al to see, his cheeks red.
"Matthew! Maaatthewww! Open mine next!" Feliciano whined as soon as Francis sat down. "Okay, I will," Matthew said to calm him down. Matthew took the box from Feliciano to discover it was filled with, what a surprise, pasta. But wait, it smelled… Sweet. "You like maple syrup, right?" asked Feliciano. Matthew couldn't help but laugh. Feliciano had given him a box full of pasta covered in maple syrup? It seemed so… Fitting. "Thank you Feliciano, it smells delicious," Matthew said with a smile. Feliciano's entire face lit up as he went to sit back next to Ludwig.
"My turn, aru!" shouted Wang Yao. He clapped his hands twice, and two Chinese men walked in carrying the biggest stuffed bear Matthew had ever seen. "I only had stuffed pandas," Wang Yao said as the men set the bear down and left, "But those don't live here, aru. So I bleached the black spots white on this one, aru! Now it's a polar bear!" Matthew stood up and ran his hand over the bear. It was the softest thing he'd ever felt. He gave the bear a hug. "I love it!" He exclaimed, as loud as he could manage.
Next was Ivan. He stood up and handed Matthew his gift. By the shape of the object, Matthew already knew it was a hockey stick. But when he unwrapped it, he was surprised to find it was made of solid steel. It was literally just a piece of metal in the shape of a hockey stick. "Good for bashing skulls in, da?" said Russia sweetly. All Matthew could do was shake with fear and nod his head.
When no one else presented a present, everyone just started talking. Not all of the conversations were directed at Matthew, but he was surprised to see that every now and then someone asked him his opinion on this movie, or that song. And the longer they went on like that, simply enjoying each other's company, the happier Matthew became. For the first time in years, Matthew was truly happy.
When the time came for everyone to leave, Canada stood at the door and thanked everyone for a wonderful time. Arthur and Francis walked out first, angry at each other, with Alfred's arm slung casually over both of their shoulders, oblivious to the argument. As Ivan left, he patted Matthew's shoulder roughly and said, "Maybe one day we shall become one, da?" His tone gave Matt the shivers. Feliciano happily said his goodbyes then walked outside, telling Ludwig how excited he was to go home and eat pasta. Ludwig had stayed behind, however, and without looking at him, he handed Matthew a bundled-up magazine. "Happy birthday," he mumbled, before stepping out the door. Matthew looked down at the cover, and his face broke out into a bright blush. He quickly slipped the magazine into his jacket.
It was then that he noticed Gilbert was still in the house. 'Strange, I almost forgot Gilbert was here. He's usually not so quiet…' Gilbert almost looked nervous about something. He had Gilbird in one hand and was scratching the place on his back between his wings with the other. When he noticed Matthew's attention on him, he seemed to gather his courage, and he placed Gilbird back on his head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box tied with a silver ribbon. He ruffled Matthew's hair and handed him the box. Matthew looked up at him questioningly before untying the ribbon. Inside the box was nothing but a folded piece of paper. Matthew carefully unfolded it. The only thing written on it was, "This is a distraction." Matthew just started to look up when Gilbert placed a kiss on his cheek. Confused and blushing, Matthew stuttered, "G-Gil…?" Gilbert just winked and said, "Happy birthday, Birdie." After that, he ran out the door before Matthew had time to react, shouting, "Stay awesome!" over his shoulder.
Matthew stood there in his doorway, hoping for the universe to magically give him an explanation, when he heard someone say, "Hey, Matthew, I'm hungry." Matthew whipped around to see Kumajirou peeking out from behind the stuffed bear. "Did you… Did you just remember my name?" Kuma just stared at him. "You did, you did! You remembered my name!" Matthew ran to his best friend and lifted him up, laughing and snuggling him close.
Then, just like every year, Matthew began to cry. But for the first time since he could remember, his tears were tears of joy.