Summary- For England the Fourth of July is bittersweet, and though he pretends not to care that England never shows up America is always deeply hurt. But maybe this year would be different. Well, one could always hope.
The Fourth of July
The sound of the telephone ringing was what woke England on July second. A groan escaped the blond country's throat as he slowly swung his legs out of bed and stumbled down the hall. Once he'd reached the phone he stood there for a few moments; one hand hesitantly hovering over the receiver. Finally he steeled himself and answered the phone.
"What do you want you bloody git? Do you even know what time it is?" well, I never said the Brit was a morning person.
"Yo Iggy do you know what today is?" a very loud voice asked from the other end of the line. Immediately England recoiled from the phone sending a glare its way; green eyes smoldering.
"America, you bloody git you don't have to be so bloody loud!" England shouted back. The green eyed country decided that he would need some aspirin once this conversation was over. Well, aspirin and some Earl Grey tea.
"Well, do you know what today is?" the American at the other end repeated.
"Of course I bloody well do; I'm not daft after all," England grumbled; America just laughed. England added a good book and a blanket to his list of things he needed after the conversation.
"Well, then you know that two days from now is my birthday," America said voice falling serious for a brief moment before regaining its cheer, "I'm throwing a party, and it's going to be epic, and I was wondering if you'd be coming?"
England closed his eyes, and took a calming breath before answering.
*With America*
"Oh I see, well… maybe next year then," America said; shadows hiding his eyes as he hung up. A lone tear ran down the nation's face. He wiped it away, and straightened a wry smile on his face. He'd known it'd be a long shot, and he'd expected England to refuse, but he'd been hoping that this would be the year that his 'brother' would come.
"Who needs him anyway, everyone else will come," America said aloud though it was just a poor attempt to convince himself that he really didn't really mind the fact that England never came to his parties. Heck he'd never even gotten a card from the guy, and that hurt worse than anything the American had ever experienced. Wait, scratch that earning his freedom had hurt worse. He didn't regret it, but he did regret hurting England; physically and emotionally. Shaking himself the blond country went about inviting the others, and getting things ready for his party.
*July Fourth*
The day had finally come, and though America was happy that most everyone else he'd invited had turned up his thoughts were still stuck on the rejection England had given him. Canada had tried to cheer him up, but America had just sent him a small smile with no joy in it. Finally the party ended, and America numbly went and cleaned his place up. He was stopped by one of the human guests that had turned up.
"This was in your mailbox," the guy said handing him the envelope. America looked at it, and brightened up a little. Like every year the envelope lacked a return address, and had his human name as the send to.
"Thanks dude," America said. He waited until his citizen had left before he opened it. He smiled as he looked at the card, but his smile turned to a frown when he read the inside.
Meet me on the roof.
America flipped the card over and tried to find some sign that this was a gag, but there was nothing. Confused and slightly cautious he set down the garbage bag and went to his room. The he grabbed his pistol and stuffed in his jacket pocket just in case something happened. Then he headed for the building's roof. When he opened the door he didn't see anyone at first; in fact it was only when the person spoke up that he noticed them.
"It's about bloody time," the voice said making America pause, "Do you have any idea how long I was waiting."
The American spun around eyes wide to find England standing there looking off to the side. For a while they both just stood there staring at each other. America was torn between hugging the older nation or yelling at him.
"So you got your card then," England said breaking the tension.
"Yeah, but how did you…" America trailed off as realization washed over his, "Then all this time you were the one."
"I…" England sighed a small embarrassed blush on his face, "yes."
What happened next surprised the elder. America fell to his knees and had tears rolling down his face. England had a flash of de ja vu though the roles were reversed now. No conscious thought filled his head as he walked over to the younger nation and awkwardly pulled him into an embrace. The stayed there for some time until their legs screamed from disuse. Both stood shakily and leaned against each other for support as they made their way back down stairs.
*Small Time Skip*
England looked at his younger 'brother' and smiled. The American was sleeping; hair in complete disarray. The older nation still couldn't believe that America had always felt hurt by the fact that England was never at his parties. England shook his head smiling.
"Happy Birthday America," he said quietly.
Me: I don't own Hetalia or the characters associated with it. However, I do own this story and I'd like to wish America a very Happy Birthday on this Fourth of July. So, Smiles Through Fandoms I finally did it, hope you like it.
