Hell yeah! Happy Fourth of July everyone! (munches on a hamburger).

So, I was totally inspired to write this after attending the Fourth of July parade in Bristol, RI. A group of ten-year-olds were singing 'Happy Birthday' to 'America", which totally inspired this one shot.

Dislaimer: I don't own Hetalia. I don't own many things. Heck, this computer I'm typing this up on doesn't even belong to me. *sigh* (goes over to corner and glooms)

It had been 235 years.

235 birthdays.

In 1777, he celebrated his birthday in Philadelphia. Good old Philly. There was something wonderful, something extremely American, about that city. It had been a great idea to use Philadelphia as his temporary capitol. That day, some of his buddies decided to host a birthday party for him. They prepared a dinner party with the rest of his pals in the Continental Congress. (Great food and drink. If he remembered correctly, Paul had gotten dead drunk on the wine). Ships floated proudly on the river, decked out in patriotic colors that matched the ensuing firework display. John and his cousin had gotten some grand ones that splashed brilliant colors against the night sky. Red, white, and blue flowers bloomed with a boom, only to wilt and fade away. It had been a supreme way to end the day.

In 1778, old George had allowed the soldiers a double ration of rum to celebrate the date. The announcement had been followed off by an artillery salute, of course. Later on, he popped by Bristol for some final celebrations to wrap up the night. America had smiled at the decorated town, wanting to thank the townspeople, even if they didn't know it was his birthday they were celebrating. They even had fireworks, which seemed to quickly become a tradition.

Soon his birthdays came and went. Over the years, they had started to blur a bit. Nevertheless, the date had developed its own customs and quirks. Then, in 1791, it had gained a name- Independence Day. He liked that. Independent. Strong. Free. Just like him.

America groggily rolled over in bed, and then finally sat up. He gave a big yawn, stretching like a cat. Brilliant blue eyes blinked owlishly with the remnants of sleep. His sandy hair was tousled, Nantucket's refusal to lay low not helping at all. His mind was still foggy from exhaustion. That was, until he remembered the date. July 4th. His birthday.

Along with the date came a torrent of information reminding him of his plans for the day. That's right. He had invited his friends over to celebrate with a barbecue party. Which meant he needed to prepare. He proceeded to get out of bed, feeling around for his glasses, then putting them on. America then padded over to the adjoining bathroom to wash up. That done, he went downstairs to the kitchen, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Tony had already brewed up some coffee. (When Tony had learned to use the coffee machine and the effects of the caffeine on his alien friend were complete mysteries to him.) Pouring himself a mug, he plopped down in a chair. He took a swig of the coffee. Ah... coffee. The best way to start the day. He remained blissful, until he caught sight of a battered toy soldier on the mantle.

"No way! Is it really okay for me to have it?" A young child excitedly ran up to a taller figure.

The older person turned back to smile at the child. Emerald green eyes were accented by the man's atrociously heavy eyebrows that stood out on his face. "Course it is. I did make it special just for you, America."

America pulled his new box of toy soldiers to his chest. Young eyes sparkled with happiness. "Oh man. This is cool! Thanks Mr. Britain, sir!"

Britain laughed, looking happy and pleased with himself despite the sling his arm was in. "Take good care of it. After all, I nearly broke my hand when I was piecing it together."

"Wow..." The man looked up. America, God bless his short attention span, had long stopped listening to im and had already proceeded to play with his new toys. "I got my own toy soldiers!"

Britain (England) stared on in astonishment. He had known his little brother would be pleased with the gift, but he had failed to guess how happy it would make him. The boy gasped in wonder. "You made all their faces different!"

The man got over his surprise and smiled again. He walked over to the child and knelt down, so they were eye-to-eye. "I painted each individual figure separately."

Little America looked at his older 'brother', cheerfulness and bliss radiating off him. "Thanks."

His birthday always brought conflicting feelings that he usually kept buried back to the surface. He always felt excited and proud when the date rolled by- after all, he became his own country that day, became independent (and really, that was all that mattered. ).

But at the same time, it created an atmosphere of tense awkwardness between him and England, which also affected other nations as well, both directly and indirectly. The others had told him that his former guardian spent the day getting depressed, then proceeded to get dead drunk on whatever British crap that he fancied. Both he and France had learned to steer clear of the former empire when he got like that. America still felt somewhat guilty about that. He remembered he happy times as a colony at England's house, filled with laughter, toys, good times... he shook his head. What's done is done. He'd rather be a free country (Land of the Free) then a pampered colony, a lapdog, a goddamn trophy. Nevertheless... although his relationship with England had improved since the war ended, this day always somehow reopened wounds that everyone would prefer to forget about. The nation sighed. What's done was done. The least he could do was have a good time today.

The nation stepped back to study his handiwork. The place looked A-W-E-S-O-M-E, awesome. The yard was decked out in vibrant hues of red, white, and blue. A pile of huge fireworks were placed in a corner for later usage. Man, he sure loved fireworks. Sizzling sounds accompanied a delicious, mouth-watering aroma which wafted from the grill. They were going to have an amazing time, the American way.

Time passed, and the guests began to arrive in a trickle. First came Japan, as punctual as always.

"Hey, Japan! Thanks for coming!"

"Happy birthday, America-san." The Asian island nation gave a small bow, then handed the birthday boy an elaborately wrapped gift.

America whistled. "Holy shit, Japan. These are some mad ninja-wrapping skills! Maybe I should adopt one of your hobbies and take a photo of this."

Japan smiled. "I hope you like it." America grinned back.

"Hey, do you want me open it now, or...?" Japan shrugged. "In Japan, we like to see the gift opened. You don't have to, of course."

"Hell, it's not a problem to me, of course." He eagerly ripped the paper off. (Yeah, waste of pretty origami wrapping). It was...

"No way," he breathed. "How did you know I wanted this game? But it's slated to not come out for another three months..." His voice trailed away. Japan's usual emotionless facade was replaced by a smile, and he tapped his head knowingly.

"I make the games, remember? I'm glad that America-san likes it."

Then the others came. France had given him another statue, China had brought some of his food for the party, along with gifts. ("So, how old are you again, aru?" "Two hundred thirty-five. How about you?" "Eh, I lost track around four thousand, to be honest, aru.") Germany and Prussia had ignored the offered cans of Budweiser and had opted for the keg of beer they had brought instead. (He had quite a bad feeling about that, to be honest. No one likes to see a drunk Germany).

After the party had truly started, America took a break. He grabbed a soda from the table and sat down, watching his fiends interact and laugh. His eyes scanned the group... and felt his heart sink. He wasn't here. Not that America had expected him to accept the invitation. But it would've been nice to see him.

Someone sat down next to him. America looked up. "Oh, hey Canada. What's up?"

His brother smiled. "Happy birthday America. Hard to believe its already been 235 years already, isn't it?"

America nodded in agreement. "Yup. Time sure flies."

They sat in blissful silence together, watching the party. Canada was the first to talk.

"Do you remember-" America nodded.

"When the whole war was finally over? Yes. I was so happy that day."

"It literally changed the world. Colonies knew they could become independent."

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on both of their shoulders.

"Mes amis, what are you doing here by yourself? You should join the party and have fun."

The two brothers looked up to see France grinning at them. Canada shifted awkwardly. America coughed.

"Hey, France. You know, that statue-" France waved his hands.

"It was nothing. How are you?" America smiled back.

"Wonderful. Look, man, I just want to thank you for your help all those years ago."

"Like I said, it was nothing. I'm just glad you did something productive with your life. Look at you! The youngest out of all of us, and already a superpower to be reckoned with! Youth is a wonderful thing."

They chatted some more, and eventually the Frenchman had bounced off, presumably to harass some other poor country.

America took a walk. He sat on his porch, watching the sun set, munching on a hamburger.

"You're gonna give yourself a heart attack, if you keep pigging out like that."

America froze, mid-chew. It was...it couldn't be...

England held out a cake.

"Happy Birthday, America."

Historic facts (from wiki, but who cares?):

In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired, once at morning and again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.In 1778, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, FranceIn 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration.In 1791 the first recorded use of the name "Independence Day" occurred.In 1820 the first Fourth of July celebration was held in Eastport, Maine which remains the largest in the state

So, how did I do for my first Hetalia fanfic and my first one shot? Yeah, I rushed at the end, but whatever. Might do some editing later on.

Reviews make me write more!

Yeah. I know I should be updating The One That Is All. I promise that I didn't abandon it... just a little writer's block.