His fingers skimmed over the smooth wood of the instrument, pausing slightly on the strings. He gently plucked them, each one producing a unique note that quietly resonated throughout the air.

Matthew sighed and glanced at his telephone. No one had called yet, but he didn't expect anyone to. It was a quiet day, as always, even if he didn't really want it to be.

He sat down and pulled his beloved acoustic guitar into his lap. The golden wood gleamed in the dim lamplight; the various scratches it had accumulated over the years stood out in the white glare spots. Matthew had long since given up on attempting to keep it pristine. He was just too clumsy to keep it from bumping into one thing or another.

He closed his eyes, sighing again. It had been a while since he'd played, and he was sure to be a bit rusty, but why not practice now? It wasn't like he had anything to do.

A minor, D, G, A minor again…

Matthew winced at how out-of-tune his poor guitar sounded, but continued playing anyway.

G, C, G, D…even though he generally didn't pay attention to Arthur's trends, he had to admit that the man had borne some of the greatest bands of all time.

However, his memory failed him at that point, and even though the song was ingrained into his fingers as an automatic motion he forgot the next few notes. Scowling, he sat back and thought of other songs he knew he could play all the way through.

Nothing came up.

Damn, it really had been a while since he'd played, hadn't it?

He paused, still thinking. His gaze wandered over to his calendar, with the current date circled in red Sharpie. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the door opening, or the tall albino man walking in.

Matthew jumped, shocked. "Wha—who's—oh." He greeted his new, uninvited guest with a frown. "Gilbert, what are you doing here, and how the hell did you get into my house?"

Gilbert half-smiled, half-grimaced, evidently in pain. "Gott, Mattie, think your kitchen island could be in a more inconvenient place?"

Matthew rolled his eyes, used to Gilbert complaining about this or that. "I mean, if you have that much of an issue with it, Gil," he said, "maybe you should pay for someone to come in and rip apart my kitchen just to move it a few feet."

"Fuck no! My awesome self isn't paying for your renovations."

"I thought not."

Gil snorted. "So have you been unconscious all day, or what?"

Matthew blinked, nonplussed. "I honestly have no idea what you mean."

"Do you even know what day it is?"

"Yes, Gilbert, I think I'm competent enough to keep track of what day it is, thank you."

"Well then, why didn't you invite people over or something?"

"Because they'd do one of these three things: not answer their phone; answer their phone thinking I'm Alfred; or answer their phone and have no idea who I am," Matthew shot back.

"Come on, you could've at least called me! I'm awesome enough to tell you two apart."

"I never know where you are, and half the time you're home you're drunk."

Gilbert opened his mouth to deny it, then shut it; it was actually true.

Matthew spoke up again. "So are you just here to annoy me about my house, or is there a reason you came in unannounced at eight at night? What did you drop, by the way?"

"I came because it's your birthday, dumbass, and I dropped your present because I ran into that damned island that you need to have moved."

"Well, gee, thanks for insulting me. I'm definitely going to let you stay for dinner now," Matthew shot back sarcastically. It wasn't like he was actually going to kick Gilbert out; the guy said he'd brought a present, and he was the only person to remember it was his birthday.

"Aww, come on, Mattie. You love me too much to kick me out."

"…If you say so."

Gilbert shook his head, an expression of disbelief on his face. "I can't believe you. You're just sitting alone at home on your birthday? What kind of guy does that?"

"An un-awesome one, I'm sure," Matthew muttered under his breath. Gilbert didn't seem to hear him, too busy messing with something that was on the floor. He stood up as Matthew put his guitar down and began walking over.

"Oi, oi! Stay right there!" Gilbert said frantically, making a shooing motion with his hands.

"I'm guessing that means you didn't wrap my present before you came over," Matthew said with a slight smile. Typical Gilbert.

Gil darted over unexpectedly and covered Matthew's eyes with his hands. "No peeking!" he yelled right in Matthew's ear, causing the blonde to wince. "You stay right here and keep your eyes closed or else I'll seize your vital regions. Got it?"

Not necessarily desiring to be molested by the Prussian, Matthew nodded.

"Good."

What was heard next was a great deal of bumps, clatters, and swearing. Matthew dearly wanted to see what was going on, but opted to keep his eyes closed in favor of remaining unscarred.

After only a few more seconds, Gilbert exclaimed "Okay Mattie, open your eyes!"

The first thing he saw was the cake. Written on it in big red icing-letters was "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!" and in slightly larger letters underneath was "FROM THE AWESOME ME!" Leave it to Gil to do something like that.

The second thing he saw was his guitar in Gil's hands. "Hey, put it down!" he shouted, afraid that he'd wind up dropping it and smashing it to bits.

"Relax," Gilbert said easily (Matthew was finding it hard to do so with his precious guitar in such unreliable hands). "It's all part of your present."

And with that, Gil began to strum the guitar, producing a very familiar tune. He was singing along as well, which was quite a surprise; Matthew had only ever heard him sing while drunk.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, you're more awesome now that you're older, even though you're not as awesome as me!" he sang with a foolish smile on his face.

Gil's smile was infectious, as one crept onto Matthew's face while he watched his friend sing. When did Gilbert learn how to play the guitar?

This was the question he voiced when his albino counterpart stopped singing and bowed with a flourish. His only answer was "Who doesn't know how to play guitar? Anyway, do you want your present now or cake first?"

Matthew considered for a moment. "Present. Cake can wait."

This was apparently the answer Gilbert was looking for, because a gleeful look filled his eyes. "You're gonna love this!" he said happily while moving behind Matthew's kitchen counter.

Moments later Matthew heard the sound of clasps being undone with sharp clicks. Gilbert emerged from behind the counter with one hand still hiding the gift behind the counter. A serious look came on his face. "Please tell me you won't cry like a sissy."

"You know me better than that."

"Good. I thought so."

And with that, Gil brought whatever he was holding into Matthew's line of vision. Suddenly he was finding it hard not to cry.

A beautiful new acoustic guitar—bright green, glossy, with a plug for an amp cord—was suddenly thrust into his hands. He'd been eyeing this for months, and he knew Gilbert knew it too, and he should have seen this coming but for some reason he had no idea that his best friend would go and buy something like this for him.

"I know you've been dying to have this guitar," Gil said, "so I figured I'd go ahead and take care of it for you!"

Matthew was speechless.

"Hey, Mattie, you there? Earth to Mattie! Wake up—"

Gilbert was silenced when Matthew threw his arms around him (after gingerly setting his new guitar on the carpet) and whispered "Thank you" into his ear.

They spent the next several hours playing the two guitars and fooling around until they finally remembered that there was a cake on the counter, which they attacked viciously. (Rather, Gilbert attacked it viciously; Matthew at least used a fork.)

All in all, Matthew felt, it had been one of his better birthdays.

A/N: In honor of Canada's birthday! :D This was actually originally an idea I had for theme 67 ("playing the melody") of the 100 theme challenge, but as I'm trying to keep it Asian-centric it wouldn't really work. However, it DOES make a nice oneshot! XD

And in my headcanon, both Canada and Prussia are EPIC guitar players. If you're curious as to what song Matthew's playing at first, it's "Blackbird" by The Beatles, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. (Unfortunately, I can't play it...)

I don't really like the ending so much, but whatever. It had to end somehow.

And yes, there IS such a thing as a bright green acoustic guitar with electric connection. My friend has one. It's rather epic.