A/N: Partially based on a true story.
So this is a sort of "Happy Birthday!" fic to America as well as my first official USUK fic. Yay! I don't think it's my best work, (the ending, oh, the ending…) but I only had the idea today, and limited time to get it up on July 4th, so please bear with me.
Fill in your minds who Kiku was cosplaying as :D
The rain thrummed on the sidewalk outside, continuing to pour from the gray, cloud-laden sky above. The green garden outside sparkled with the rain droplets edging every flower and leaf; meanwhile, the light blue pool's surface was disturbed by the downpour, ripples spreading across its entirety.
Arthur Kirkland watched the whole thing from the warm, brightly-lit inside of his house. His home country, England, was renowned for its rain showers, but America, where he had been residing for several years, certainly had their moments as well.
"If this doesn't let up, then there'll be no fireworks," he remarked to Alfred, his boyfriend who was currently sitting in the den watching the news.
"Yeah, those are already off." The American replied casually. "I guess they'll just have to have them tomorrow or something."
Arthur studied him. The blond looked and sounded as cheerful as ever, even though Arthur knew he loved to see the fireworks. Considering that Alfred shared his birthday with the United States of America, and had an affinity for fireworks, Arthur knew that he looked forward to that every birthday.
"It doesn't seem like it would be the same on July 5th…" Arthur said.
"It's patriotism, no matter how you look at it." Alfred responded in the same nonchalant tone he had used before when replying to Arthur's comment on the lack of fireworks. Turning to glance at the window, he added, "It's really coming down, isn't it?"
Arthur nodded, and before he could stop himself, added, "Do you really want to grill in this?"
Because of Alfred's enormous love of burgers, and Arthur's resignation to eat them every other day of the year, it was on the former's birthday that they always had burgers. They had decided it after Arthur had attempted to make a birthday dinner for Alfred himself- the result had been McDonald's, and Arthur didn't want to stomach that another year, so they compromised.
Alfred glanced out at the rain again. "Wellllll…" then he looked at Arthur, and as if he was putting two and two together, he hastily added. "But I will! It's fine, seriously, you don't have to cook anything-!"
"I wasn't offering." Arthur told him, scowling. Really, Alfred had no faith in him in the cooking department. His scones were delicious. And how hard was it to grill burgers? Then Arthur remembered there was fire involved which he didn't have a good track record with.
"I guess there'll be no burgers involved either then." Alfred said. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes behind his glasses. "I was really looking forward to those, but I guess we can just go somewhere instead."
Hopefully not McDonald's. Arthur was thinking, but he didn't say that to Alfred. Instead he felt slightly worried about him. Even though the blond seemed fine with it, the two parts of his birthday he enjoyed the most had pretty much been canceled.
And there was the party, too. Alfred had been planning on bringing all of their friends together on that day, but some of them had things to do, while others had never called back on whether or not they were coming. The only one they had confirmed was Matthew, Alfred's twin, and Francis (why did it have to be the frog, anyway?) coming later.
Arthur looked over at Alfred once again. He was usually as easy to read as an open book, but Arthur just couldn't tell now. Possibly because he had gotten tired of watching the news and was currently playing a game on his phone.
He walked over and settled himself on the couch next to Alfred. "Since we're not doing either of those things, Alfred, is there anything you really want to do?"
"Huh?" Alfred asked, closing his game and pocketing his phone. "What was that, Iggy?"
Not even bothering to call him out on his nickname (although after all this time, Arthur barely did that anyway) he repeated, "Is there anything you really want to do- since it's your birthday, after all?"
"Well…" Alfred's blue eyes got a bit of a childish look in them, a warning to Arthur as to what he was about to suggest. "Actually, I kinda really wanted to go swimming today!"
"Swimming?" Arthur repeated, not sure of what he was hearing. "But Alfred…it's pouring outside."
He hadn't really had time to anticipate Alfred's request, but even then he hadn't expected him to say that. Arthur knew of Alfred's distinct love for swimming- when they had bought the house together, he wanted one specifically with a pool (and a trampoline, and a pinball machine, but those had yet to come) and used it quite often. Arthur conceded, since they could afford it and Alfred would certainly make use of it.
"Yeah, but there's no thunder or lightning and I'll be wet anyway so what does it matter?" Alfred retorted. "Please, Arthur, come out to the pool with me!"
Arthur wasn't one for swimming, not much anyway, and even though he could occasionally be prompted into the water by Alfred, now was not one of those occasions. However, there was truth in what Alfred said- he could go out in the pool and be perfectly okay.
Arthur was ready to refuse, but Alfred was giving him a puppy-dog look. One of his very own, perfected so that Arthur couldn't refuse. It was maddening. Arthur felt himself caving, but managed to regain himself at the last moment.
"Let me think about it." Well, maybe not.
Alfred, able to tell that his look had worked successfully, grinned. "Great!" he said. He leaned over and hugged Arthur, before getting up from the couch and running across the room to their room, probably to get his swim trunks. He came out a moment later (having changed into his American-flag themed swim trunks) and ran by Arthur, saying, "Don't take too long, Artie!"
Arthur wondered briefly how they had gone to their earlier conversation to Alfred swimming out in the rain, before remembering that he had brought it upon himself. He had to admit that Alfred's enthusiasm was endearing, and it was his birthday after all. Then he looked out at the rain, still thrumming down steadily on the pavement, soaking Alfred and everything else.
Arthur, noticing Alfred had left the back door opened, walked over to close it. Before doing that, though, he stepped out, under the cover of the garage, to where he could see Alfred better.
The blond had since cannonballed into the pool and was now swimming energetically around. His head broke the surface, blond hair wet but that cute little cowlick of his still standing straight up.
"Come on, get in!" Alfred urged, swimming over to the steps of the pool, which was as close as he could get to Arthur- not very. "It's kind of lonely in here…"
That was when Arthur caved completely. And he also felt a little sorry for Alfred. Even though he would be and apparently was fine without all the things he didn't get to do on his birthday, it still probably was lonely, and Arthur most likely wouldn't be good at remedying that. That's when he decided to do something that would.
"Fine." He called back to the American. "Let me go get my bathing suit." He turned to go back into the house, as Alfred cheered, "Love ya, Arthur!" before diving back under the water.
However, when Arthur entered the house, the first thing he did wasn't going to his room and getting his swim trunks. Instead, he walked over to the phone and began dialing.
Even though most of the people Alfred tried calling had prior arrangements, it was possible they might be able to come over then. As for the ones who never phoned back, they were worth a try as well. The first one Arthur called was Gilbert, and by an extension, Roderich, seeing as they lived together.
"Hey Arthur, what'd you call the awesome me for?" came Gilbert's voice over the phone.
"Hello Gilbert, I'm sorry to interrupt you during Roderich's recital but I was wondering if maybe later you could-…"
"Well, actually, about that- the recital ended early because of a power outage, so Roderich and I are actually just getting home now. Which is good, because aside from Roddy's piano playing the rest of the recital would've been a total bore, and even that…"
Arthur was fairly sure he could hear Roderich reprimanding Gilbert on the other end, and Gilbert's signature laugh.
"Okay, okay Roddy…anyway, what was it that you were going to ask?"
"Yes, I was wondering if you two could still come over here today?" Arthur asked, praying silently that they didn't have anything else to do.
And, as it turned out, they didn't. "Sure thing!" Gilbert responded cheerfully.
"One more thing." Arthur added in, before Gilbert could hang up. "Bring bathing suits."
Gilbert laughed incredulously on the other end. "What, is Alfred having a pool party or something? It's raining, you know."
"Yes, we're aware." Arthur told him. "As for the party…well, it's something like that."
Gilbert just continued to laugh. "Well, whatever. We'll be there sometime to make things more awesome!" and then he hung up.
Arthur set the phone down, glancing around the kitchen and wondering if they had any alcohol. He always found Gilbert funnier and easier to deal with whenever alcohol was around.
Putting that thought to the back of his mind, Arthur was about to think about who to call next when he himself was called instead.
Picking up the phone with a tentative "Hello?" Arthur was greeted with the sound of Kiku, a close friend of his and Alfred's, giving him a quiet and polite greeting.
"Hello Kiku…what is it?" Kiku had told them previously that he was going to an anime convention, so he wasn't expecting to hear from him, even though he had been on the list of people to call.
"Weren't you at a convention dressed as…" Arthur struggled to remember the name of the character, but all those Japanese names escaped him. Thankfully, Kiku filled it in for him (if only he could remember it) before continuing.
"Yes, I was, but about that Arthur-san…" Kiku sounded vaguely uncomfortable, and paused for a moment before going on. "Well, this convention is lasting several days, and it is raining right now, making it unfortunate circumstances for cosplay. Besides, I was thinking that it was rude for me to go there instead of seeing Alfred-san on his birthday, and I as I am going tomorrow, would it be too much trouble for me to see you two today?"
Arthur took a moment to process all that Kiku was saying, as he rarely talked so much. "Actually, Kiku, I was going to call you to ask you to come over anyway, so this is perfect. Although I do have to tell you to bring a bathing suit."
"A bathing suit…? Arthur-san, it's raining, right?"
"Yes, well, that doesn't make much of a difference if you're wet anyway. It was nice talking to you, Kiku." And then Arthur hung up, leaving no room for argument.
For the next twenty minutes he continued to call various people, actually getting many people to come over, most of them being the ones who had never replied. Among them were Yao, Ivan, Ludwig, Feliciano, and Elizaveta among several others. All the while, Alfred floated in the pool, wondering if Arthur was breaking his promise and just how long it took to put on some swim trunks.
For Arthur, not long at all (although he couldn't do it at Alfred's record breaking speed). He got dressed quickly in a green pair and walked outside, immediately getting bombarded by small raindrops. The rain was considerably colder than he had thought it to be, and the Briton actually looked forward to getting into the pool, as it would probably be warmer than the cold pavement and beating rain.
"Hey Artie, you made it out! What took you so long?" Arthur looked over to where Alfred was, his blond head breaking the surface as he stood where he could barely touch.
"We're going to have company is all." Arthur replied bluntly.
Alfred's eyes widened in excitement. "Really? Who? Are Francis and Matthew here yet?" he swam over to where Arthur was crouching by the side of the pool, not ready to get in yet although the cold rain was soaking him through.
Arthur remembered giving the swimsuit memo to the two, and suddenly wondered if it was a good idea to have Francis around a lot of people in swimsuits. It's too late now though… He then listed off everyone who was coming.
"Really?" Alfred repeated, having the look of a giddy child. "And you called them all? Arthur, you're the best!" Now being able to stand, he reached up and hugged Arthur. The pool water certainly was warmer, or that could've just been Alfred's body warmth.
"Yes, you could say- hey! Watch it!" Arthur was almost dragged into the pool from his precarious position. "You almost pulled me in-!"
Alfred just laughed at him, before looking back to Arthur with a mischievous look in his eyes. He reached forward and, grabbing Arthur's arm, pulled him into the pool.
Even though the pool water had felt warm enough when Alfred had hugged him, it certainly wasn't that way when Arthur was dragged in headfirst. It was nearly as cold as the rain outside, and Arthur felt a shock go through his body when he hit it. He was planning to kill Alfred when he got to the surface (forgetting and simultaneously not caring that it was his birthday) when said person pulled him into an underwater kiss.
Breaking the surface, Arthur sputtered and coughed on water. So much, in fact, that he couldn't even say anything to Alfred. The pool and pounding rain were still cold but Arthur's face felt quite hot.
"What was that for?" he asked, referring to being pulled into the pool but trying to guilt Alfred for surprising him on both counts. Alfred instead just laughed.
"I had to get you in somehow, didn't I?" he said cheerfully. "Besides, it was funnier that time. Your face still looks funny now."
"Be quiet." Arthur ordered, swimming a few paces away to where he could stand. "I tolerate you the rest of the year because of love, and today because it's your birthday."
Alfred just continued grinning, and because the rain was cool and the pool water was warmer (not because he was still blushing) Arthur ducked his head underwater. When he came up, Alfred was sitting on the stairs not too far away.
"But thanks for tolerating me anyway, Arthur." Alfred told him. "That's actually the best part of today, or every birthday, having you here to celebrate it with me." Arthur would've relished in the fact that now Alfred was blushing too, but he wasn't much better, so it was a small victory.
"It would've sucked without you, so yeah, thanks." Alfred came over and hugged Arthur and this time he didn't reprimand him or wiggle away. Swimming in the rain wasn't that bad, and without Alfred, Arthur never would've done it. That was one thing Alfred was in Arthur's life- always a source of surprises, amongst so many other things.
Halfway submerged in pool water, dampened by the rainwater above them, the two of them stayed like that for a few moments, completely forgetting of what else they had missed out on to get there in the first place (and about what to do for dinner) and the fact that they had guests coming shortly.
Incidentally, Elizaveta and Kiku were the first to arrive.