Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia Axis Powers or any of it's characters.
The American entered the main hall with a huge smile on his face. It was his birthday, after all, and Alfred couldn't help but be in a good mood. Although he was excited for his birthday just like in years prior, his heart was under a vicious attack from the needles of anxiety.
This year, his birthday was taking place in a rented building on the west coast of his nation. The six-story building overlooked the ocean, and a couple hundred people had shown up at the venue to wish the country's avatar a happy birthday. The American was greeted from every side of him as he walked in. He waved to all of the faces that he recognized, but his eyes were instantaneously scanning the crowd. He was looking for someone, but he wasn't even sure if he would show up.
"Al!" A voice called out from beyond the bustling people and the pounding music. Alfred spun around before finally laying eyes on the person who had called out his name.
"Hey, Matt," He said as the Canadian made his way towards him.
"Happy birthday..." Matthew said, slightly out of breath.
"Thanks dude!" Alfred said as he flashed a bright smile and slapped his friend on the back. The Canadian smiled for a second before letting his smile fall a bit. Alfred had resumed studying the crowd.
"I uh...I asked Francis if...Arthur was coming, but...he said he didn't know..." Matthew said shakily. Alfred's head spun back towards Matthew. He smiled weakly.
"Oh."
A bit of silence passed before Alfred lit up in a smile again.
"C'mon, lets go get something to eat upstairs. I think I saw Antonio and Kiku head there," Alfred clapped Matthew on the shoulder and the two of them made their way through the crowd.
Arthur had occasionally showed up at Alfred's birthday parties in previous years, but some years he didn't show up at all. The reasons for him missing them varied from being "busy" to being sick. Alfred never knew if Arthur was going to show up or not, but he always hoped and waited nonetheless.
The party continued into the late evening. Alfred had been sitting at a table with Matthew, but when Matthew left to talk with Francis for a while, the American was temporarily left alone. Just as he was about to start on his eighth piece of cake, he noticed a man approaching the table where he was sitting.
A wide smile spread across Alfred's face as the familiar figure approached him. The Brit placed his hand on the table and leaned slightly on it.
"Hey," Arthur said as a small smile formed on his lips.
"Hey," Alfred replied, trying to contain the happiness of seeing Arthur. "You came," He blurted out as he averted his attention back to the plate in front of him. Arthur raised his eyebrows slightly before taking the seat next to Alfred. As his eyes wandered down towards the table, his gentle smile turned to a look of disgust.
"My God, Alfred, how much cake have you eaten?" He looked at the several plates that had been stacked to the side of the American, all of which contained small remnants of frosting. Alfred smiled.
"It's good. Did you get some?" Alfred asked as he lifted another forkful of cake into his mouth. In the process some of the frosting got stuck to the corner of his mouth. Arthur sighed and shook his head. He reached out and wiped the frosting off of Alfred's face with his thumb and brought it back to his own mouth. He furrowed his brow.
"How can you eat this, Alfred? It's too sweet..." The American frowned in protest at Arthur's reaction.
"It's not too sweet, its cake! That's how it's supposed to taste..." Alfred used a napkin to wipe the place where Arthur's thumb had been. His face had already begun to heat up. Arthur leaned a little closer to Alfred.
"Alfred, I was..."
"Al!" A voice called out, interrupting the Brit and causing the American to turn around in his chair to see Antonio approaching. The Spaniard stopped a bit when he saw Arthur, then smiled even more.
"Hey, amigo! Long time no see!"
"Hello Antonio," Arthur said, slightly irritated to have been cut off. Antonio averted his attention back to Alfred.
"Al! Yao brought some fireworks for you and wants to know where to set them up," Antonio said, clearly thrilled by the concept of watching fireworks.
"Oh, Awesome!" Alfred's face lit up in excitement and he stood up from the table. "I'll go show him where I-"
"Actually," Arthur interrupted, "I'm going to borrow Alfred for a moment."
Alfred turned around to see an especially determined look on the Brit's face. Antonio looked surprised for a second, before a sly smile slid across his face. He raised his hands in surrender.
"Ok, ok, I'll be over here," He said as he backed up a bit. Just as Alfred turned back towards Arthur, the Englishman grabbed his wrist and tugged him off in the direction of a back hallway.
"Whoa, dude, slow down," The blonde protested, but to no avail as Arthur tugged him around a corner and into an elevator. Once inside, he pushed the button for the building's top observation deck, and stood in silence as the small room began to ascend.
"Arthur..." Alfred said as he rubbed the part of his wrist that the Brit had grabbed so ruthlessly. Arthur did not respond and simply stared forward until the elevator beeped, indicating they had reached their destination. The doors rolled open, and Alfred stepped out into the room.
It was a small room surrounded completely by windows, and while the lights were off, the surrounding buildings and the moonlight provided enough light to see. The room was completely empty and free of people. Alfred stepped towards the wall of windows and looked out. The ocean was visible from this angle, and the moon's luminescence danced on the ocean's distant horizon.
"Alfred."
The American turned around only to be suddenly pinned up against the glass by Arthur. He only had a moment to be confused before being met with a gentle kiss. It only lasted a brief second before the green-eyed gentleman opened his eyes to look at the feverishly blushing Alfred.
"I missed you," Arthur said into the American's lips.
"O..okay-" Alfred was cut off, this time by a deeper kiss. Arthur's hands began to wander across the blonde's back. Alfred clung to Arthur and tilted his head, as the Englishman continued to push him into the glass. The kiss lasted several moments, and when the two of them finally did break away, they were both breathless.
"That's not what you're supposed to say," Arthur said as he began to place a trail of kisses along the American's neck. Alfred's face turned all shades of scarlet before he leaned forward, placing a kiss on Arthur's ear.
"...I missed you too," He whispered delicately, so that only Arthur could hear.
Arthur smiled and undid the top button on Alfred's shirt and began kissing the new area.
"Uh...um...Arthur?"
"Hmm?"
Alfred hesitated for a moment before addressing the question that had been eating at him all evening.
"How come you don't always come to my birthday...?"
Arthur's lips stopped moving. He slowly looked up and was met with Alfred's saddened blue eyes.
"I mean...the war was a long time ago, Arthur...and we're good now. So I don't understand why you tend to avoid me on the fourth...does it still bother you? The war?"
The two of them stood unmoving for several moments.
Arthur let his green eyes fall downward and he let out a sigh.
"The war hasn't bothered me for years, Alfred...it's just..." The Brit paused for a second, "...It reminds me that you don't need me anymore."
Some silence passed before Alfred reached down and tilted Arthur's head up towards him. He kissed him lightly and smiled into the face of the blonde.
"Honestly, Arthur...I may not need you to do everything for me anymore...but I still need you." Alfred said as he cupped Arthur's face in his hands.
"And I didn't declare my independence to get away from you, I did it to become your equal," Alfred whispered into the gentleman's ear.
A sheepish smile crept across Arthur's slightly reddened face.
"Okay..." Arthur said, as he took one of Alfred's hands and kissed it gently. The American's face grew warm again as he averted his eyes to the side.
"That's not...what you're supposed to say," Alfred whispered in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Arthur smirked lightly as he took the American's face in his hands.
"Really...? What do you want me to say?"
Alfred's face felt terribly flushed, and he wanted to look away to collect himself for a moment, but he knew that Arthur wasn't allowing him to do so.
"I..." The American paused for a moment and swallowed. He still wasn't used to saying it.
"Say it," The Brit coaxed as he placed another kiss on Alfred's cheek. The American let out a small sigh before finally uttering the words that the gentleman wanted to hear.
"I love you."
Arthur smiled and pulled Alfred in and kissed him deeply again. Somewhere beyond the glass, several fireworks began to illuminate the night sky, but despite the explosive sound, neither of them seemed to notice. After several more moments, the two pulled away slowly, and Arthur stared into the face of the American he adored so much.
"I love you too."
That's it...~ This is my first fanfiction, so I hope I did okay...~