It was the day after Canada's small and quiet Canada Day celebration when England called them up and invited them over for tea, "Just Because." Both America and Canada accepted this invitation, and they flew out of Ottawa on the morning of July Second.
England met them at Heathrow, and they took a flat to England's London townhouse, not mentioning anything about birthdays. They talked about inconsequential things like the weather and America's latest plan to end global warming.
England had set up tea, with a tower of scones staked in the middle of the table. America and Canada both sat down at the table and England poured them tea. America pouted at the lack of coffee, but took a sip of tea. England had made it up with an equal measure of milk and six spoonfuls of sugar, just the way America had drunk it as a colony and he surprisingly liked it.
America actually didn't think England's cooking was that bad, and maybe because England had made the tea just the way he liked it, he stopped pretending for a little while and him and England ate scones while the three nations reminisced about old times, avoiding any mention of the revolution.
The two North American brothers were quite tired from their flight and it wasn't long before
America and Canada were yawning. When Canada fell asleep at the table, England had America carry him to the guest bedroom. When they got to the guest bedroom, Alfred set Matthew down on the king sized bed and went to lay down beside him. When England made to leave America grabbed his wrist and said, "Stay with us, Iggy."
England frowned and said, "Don't be an idiot, Alfred."
Then Alfred looked at him with those hurt blue eyes and said, "Please?" and England sighed, he never could resist those eyes, and climbed into the bed next to Canada and America climbed in next to him. Canada subconsciously snuggled closer to England and America laid his head on England's shoulder and just for a little while, he let himself pretend that the brothers were still just his little colonies.
The next morning, he drove with them to Heathrow and America asked what he was doing the next day. He seemed disappointed when England said that he had a full day of meeting with his boss.
The day after that, America let himself coast on the natural high of his people so he could smile when the other nations showed up for his birthday party and ignore the little voice in the back of his mind that wished England was there to celebrate with him. Back in London, England lay in the guest bed that still smelled like maple syrup and freshly cut wheat, with a bottle of whiskey and cried and drank until he passed out.
Canada spent the day with America, the only one who could see through his mask, then flew out the next day to London to nurse England through his hangover, silently wishing that America had been patient like him and the revolution had never happened, for both their sakes, because he is the only one who sees who much that day in July hurts them both; America drowning out his pain by surrounding himself with happy people and England drowning his pain in whiskey.
