/ Let's all pretend that April 23 is not a special day in England, okay? /

I

"What are you doing here?" England asked, his green eyes narrowed suspiciously at his "guests". The redhead in front of him sighed and glanced at his two companions with a look that said, "I told you so."

"How could you forget?" the stern looking ginger asked, looking at England as if he was stupid.

"Forget what?" the blond asked, both frustrated and confused. "I'm pretty sure you didn't call me about this 'visit' beforehand."

"There's no need for the air quotes, little brother," the redhead said. "And this isn't an ordinary visit, for sure."

"It's April 23rd," the brunet said quietly. Arthur sighed again.

"Not you too, Wales," he said. "I thought for sure you're here to talk some sense into Scotland. But then again, it also surprised me that North is in on it."

"In on what, little brother?" Scotland, the redhead, asked.

"This... Whatever it is," England said, exasperated. "Look, I have no time for your nonsense right now. If you were visiting, you should have phoned me in advance so I could clear my schedule. But right now, I have some reports to write up so I'd really appreciate it if we could do this some other time." He moved to close the door but Northern Ireland's foot was wedged in the corner of the doorway.

"It's no time for work," the ginger said gruffly, pushing the door open.

"It's a special day," Wales agreed.

"What's so special about it?" the blond asked, confused. "Admittedly, it's unusually sunny, but that's not an excuse for me to get off of work, you know."

"Aye, it isn't. It's a good thing that's not the reason," Scotland said. "Well, whether you know it or not right now is of little consequence, but I have to say, little brother, I'm really disappointed. 'We' are all disappointed."

"What's with the air quotes on that 'we'?"

Scotland just shrugged. ""Now go get dressed. We're going somewhere."

"This isn't some scheme to get me in trouble, is it?" England asked warily.

"Not today," Wales answered him, but it did nothing to ease the blond's suspicions. Nevertheless, he trudged upstairs to change. He wasn't going to admit that he was thankful for the excuse to get away from his paperwork for a while.

When he returned downstairs dressed in a plain white polo and black trousers, Scotland clicked his tongue. "Should've gone with you to pick your clothes," he grumbled. "But we're running late so it'll have to do."

"Late? What for?" England asked, but he received no answer. Instead, he was whisked into Scotland's car and the brothers rode off to Arthur-knew-not-where.

~.;*;.~

"Is a blindfold really necessary?" England asked as Wales tied a piece of cloth around his head. They've gone only a few meters before the Welshman brandished it in front of him and insisted on putting it on him.

"It will have more effect this way," the brunet replied. The blond Brit just sighed and stayed silent. Nobody spoke throughout the whole ride and it was relief to England when North tugged him out of the car. It was unsettling when the four of them were together and it was quiet. It usually doesn't bode well.

As England was led to he-knew-not-where, Wales deemed it necessary to point out various obstacles in the path that could trip England. The blond disregarded them at first, thinking it a joke, but after tripping several times and the Welshman swatting his shoulder for not listening, he started heeding the brunet.

"You're unusually kind today," England remarked.

Northern Ireland s snorted. "It's a special day, brawd. We're not going to do anything today."

"If April 23rd is 'be-nice-to-England-day', maybe I'll remember this occasion," the blond said. Scotland laughed.

"That's what you said last year too," the Scot said.

England made a face. "Last year?"

"Aye, last year. We visited too and we stayed at your place."

"But somehow, that eejit found out, so we're spending it out this year," North muttered.

"Eejit?" England echoed. "Who? And what did he find out?"

"Why do you always forget? Seriously," Scotland sighed. "You'll find out soon enough."

"So you're telling me that you visit me every year on April 23rd for some reason I apparently forgot-"

"You forget every year..." Wales grumbled.

"It's usually just the four of us on this day, but some idiot found out so now we're outside because of them. Does that about sum it up?" England asked.

"You made the same conclusion last year too. Minus the 'some idiot finding out' part, of course," Wales muttered.

Before England could ask what he meant, Scotland spoke up. "We're here. You can take the blindfold off now."

That's exactly what England did and what he saw made tears spring up in his wide eyes.

/**

* I've been meaning to post this story since May. I could've waited until April next year, but meh.

* Sabila, this here is dedicated to you. Remember when I mentioned it? Hey, come back soon. :)

*/