Spain didn't throw "parties". "Parties" meant planning, sending invitations, doing a full cleanup of his house and yard, and frankly, he was far too lazy to be bothered with such formalities. No. Spain had "get-togethers", and "hangouts". Just a bunch of nations who happened to be free on one particular Friday afternoon, sitting back, drinking wine, doing whatever they felt like to keep boredom at bay. Going to Spain's house meant a nice, laid-back afternoon with good company, and great food.

So when Matthew got a gold-embossed invitation to a party from Antonio himself, he felt that he was right in being shocked, and quite possibly appalled. This just didn't happen and holy mother of God did that invite say formal wear?

There was just no hint at what it could be a party for. It wasn't anybody's birthday, as far as he could tell. Nothing particularly special about August 3rd that he felt he should be remembering.

After calling Alfred, Francis, Arthur, Gilbert, and even Willem, who all seemed just as lost as he was, Canada figured he'd just have to make an appearance to find out what this mystery party was for.

He found upon arrival, that Spain was likely expecting every single nation to show up, only adding new levels of disturbing to this scene. The entire back yard had been transformed into a maze of large white pavilions and long dinner tables.

"Ah! Mateo! Good to see you!" Antonio hurried from a likely awkward conversation with Sealand as evident by how quickly he recognized him as not Alfred, and gave the Canadian a kiss on each cheek, followed by a warm hug.

"You too Antonio. But, forgive my curiosity, what's going on here? Why the big show?"

"And that, my young friend, is the big surprise! I've got special news to share with everyone."

"It must be pretty big then."

"Sí! And all good! Now, if you'll excuse me…" Spain was quickly distracted by France and Prussia's arrival, and rushed over to greet his friends. So still puzzled, Canada continued to one of the empty tables to escape the hot sun for a while.

It didn't take long for the rest of the guests to come pouring into the yard, some better at hiding their curiosity than others. Matthew waved to his brother to come over to where he sat, but went unnoticed by the American.

"Business as usual then?" Canada looked up with a start at the new voice muttering over his shoulder. Romano stood over him, lip curled in mild amusement.

"Ah. I suppose so." He motioned for the Italian to take the seat next to him, which he accepted without a word. "So where's your other half?"

Lovino groaned at the nickname that Gilbert had coined for Feliciano, and shoved his friend lightly on the shoulder. "He's over there with Japan and the potato-bastards."

Canada followed Romano's pointed finger to just at the edge of the thick forest that Antonio had perched his home next to. Italy stood there with an arm linked eagerly with Japan's, much to the latter's discomfort, and talking cheerily with the German brothers. "Why aren't you there with them?"

"Are you crazy, or just stupid?"

"I prefer quirky."

"Of course you do. You and your fratello are one and the same."

"You take that back."

Lovino let out a sharp bark of laughter before continuing. "By the way, do you have any idea of why that idiota threw this whole party?"

"No. I was going to ask you."

"So we're all really in the dark then." But something in Romano's voice didn't sound too convinced. Like he had a good idea of what announcement Spain had planned.

Before Canada could question him about it any further, the caterer entered the yard, rolling in half a dozen carts of food for the party. The plates were quickly dished out, and everyone returned to their tables to dig in.

Once everyone was eating, Lovino fell silent, even though Matthew made several more attempts to strike up another conversation. His few replies were short, and distracted. And his gaze continued to slide somewhere off into the distance that no one else could see.

After the clattering of utensils against china gave way to the loud, and often heated conversations that inevitably arose whenever this many nations were assembled in one place, Antonio called out for silence so that he could make his announcement. Everyone stopped talking almost immediately, their curiosity piqued.

It was only then that Canada noticed Belgium sitting at the Spaniard's right-hand side, and the whole thing began to click into place, even before he opened his mouth.

"Well, thank you all so much for coming. Many of you are probably wondering why the big event, so I'd like to announce to all of you that Laura and I are officially a couple, and we wanted to invite all of you to find out together."

Belgium blushed happily at the cheers of congratulations that instantly followed Spain's announcement. Canada applauded politely, though he honestly didn't see the need for such a big party when it was something that everyone had already assumed for the past decade or so. He was a bit more occupied with the fact that Lovino was no longer sitting beside him. Concerned, he looked around the yard, but everyone was sitting, and none of them were the grumpy Italian.

"Hey Gilbert?"

Prussia looked back to the younger nation, one pale eyebrow raised.

"Have you seen Lovino?"

"Yeah, he just ran off into the woods. Must've had to take a wicked leak." Gilbert broke out into his trademark high-pitched cackle, leaving the Canadian no less concerned for his friend's safety.

So while the party recommenced, he stood, and hurried off into the sun-dappled forest. The noise of the other nations drifted away, replaced by the quiet rustle of his own footsteps in the dry underbrush.

It was a lot bigger than he'd first thought, and as he trekked deeper in, Canada started to really hope that Romano would know the way back.

"Lovino!" He called, eyes darting every which way in hopes of spotting his friend. "Lovino, it's me, Canada! Are you alright?"

A quiet sniffling caught his ear, and he paused to listen closer. "Lovino?"

"What the hell do you want?" the telltale mutter sounded from somewhere beyond Canada's line of vision.

"You just disappeared." The blond replied, still searching for some sign of where Romano hid. "I was worried."

"Yeah, well, don't be. Everything's just grand." A low hiccup followed the retort.

"Doesn't sound okay to me." Matthew turned around a few of the nearby trees, but Romano still eluded his sight.

"You don't have to play hero, Mateo. That's your fratello's job."

"I'm not playing hero. I'm being a good friend. Now come on out, and tell me what's got you even more upset than usual."

A heavy sigh followed, and more sniffling, but he did eventually answer. "It's not even like I really like him that much."

"Spain?" Matthew guessed.

"Sí. I suppose it's just that he's always been there for me, even when I was a little brat. And now, with Laura, he won't be."

The revelation made Canada pause to think. He wasn't very good with relationship advice, seeing as everything he knew either came from France, who certainly wasn't a valid source, or from England's blunt realism, which would never help in the situation at hand.

"Have you considered talking to him about it?"

"No use. He'd just call me adorable, and go on his merry way, like always."

"Oh." The blond replied lamely.

"It's not even a problem of romance. I've never liked him like that. It's only this childish notion that he'll forget about me now that he's got a girl in his life."

"Well as long as you know that, then I'm sure you can get past it. Besides, you've still got Feliciano, and even me if you want someone to talk to."

"You sure about that?" Okay, now he was certain that Romano was in one of the trees above him.

"Absolutely. It might even be good for you to get yourself a relationship too. Someone who's patient enough to put up with your bad moods. I'm sure that someone like Toris or Katyusha or –" He was cut off as Lovino swung down by his knees from a branch above to face Matthew with a strange smirk on his face.

And he pressed their lips together. Even upside-down, they fit, albeit a bit sloppily.

"Or you?"

"I-if that's what you were going for…" Canada sputtered in shock, certain that his face was cherry-red. But a tiny voice in the back of his mind was jubilantly cheering, "Lovino kissed me!" And further in, a much nerdier tiny voice shouted, "Lovino Spiderman kissed me!"

"So then. Would you put up with me for a date, Mateo?"

"I… yeah! Maybe a few more than that."

Before Lovino could reply again, he slid an inch further on the branch, eyes comically wide as the inch turned into a full-scale drop onto the ground below.

"Mon Dieu! Are you hurt?" Canada shouted, hurrying to help the other nation to his feet.

"Just my pride."

"Okay. Well, let's get back to everyone else. I think there's going to be dancing later on."

But as they returned to the party, he couldn't help but notice that Lovino's eyes didn't show even the slightest indication of being red. And he didn't so much as glance at the table where Antonio and Laura sat for the rest of the day, except to smirk in reply with the Spaniard flashed him an eager thumbs up.

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Thanks for reading~!

I'm sorry; this took way longer than it had any right to. I just couldn't figure out the ending, and the title took an unholy amount of time to come up with. But I hope it was worth the wait. This is a request from Luna-music inc. So… here it is.