America burrowed into his coat, Tony walking beside him down the street. There was two bags of groceries in the country's arms, preventing him from pulling his hands into his coat sleeves and weighing down his arms. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have given the weight of the bags any thought, but these days he just didn't have the energy or enthusiasm that had become almost iconic of the young nation. It was hard to be enthusiastic about much during a recession. Sighing, America entered the soup kitchen and dropped off the groceries, receiving the gratitude of the sweet little old ladies who helped run the food bank. He gave them a half-hearted smile before going out front to the now closed building to help sort donations.

I made it through the year and I did not even collapse

Gotta say "Thank God for that".

It was the day before Christmas Eve, and ordinarily the thought alone would have been enough to lift the nation's spirits, but again, it's hard to feel happy or excited about anything when you're a nation, and your people and economy are both going through hard times. The cold outside certainly did nothing to help improve his mood. America sometimes went without dinner or lunch, some days.

I'm torn between what keeps me whole and what tears me in half

I'll fall apart or stay intact

America tried to keep his mind off his own misery and focus his attention elsewhere, but things like organizing food donations for Christmas dinners for struggling families - something that he helped out with every year and usually gave him a warm glowing feeling inside - only further reminded him of how hard it was for people in his country to get by right now, and just sent him even deeper into depression. Even video games didn't help, these days.

It always hurt to be all by myself this time of year

A cold and lonely Christmas Eve

He had tried calling up his friends the week before and inviting them to his place for Christmas, but they had all said they were busy or had already planned a Christmas party of their own (to which America never seemed to be invited, not that he usually minded - usually he was too excited about celebrating it his own way to care if he was left off someone's guest list). It wasn't like he wasn't used to spending Christmas with just him, Tony and the cat; this year, he just would have preferred to have someone to have a conversation with. Lately, he'd noticed just how empty the house felt - something he hadn't really noticed or minded since the time he was a kid and Britain was taking care of him.

And living out my days alone, well that had been my deepest fear

But You promised You won't leave

When they had sorted through all the donations and placed them in boxes according to the size of the family the box was for (large families, understandably, got a little extra than smaller families), they delivered the boxes to the families' houses, then everyone went home. America tucked his hands into his coat pockets, shivering against the wind, and said, "Geez, this year's sure been a downer, huh?" Tony didn't really respond - just nodded. America added, "Yeah, and next year isn't looking much better, at this rate. But at least we survived it; I guess that's gotta count for something." The minute they got home and stepped inside, America closed and locked the door and turned the light on. Letting out another quiet sigh, he shrugged out of his coat and let it fall to the floor. Britain always used to get on his case about that habit, but right now America just felt a bit too depressed to care.

The rest of the evening, and most of the next day, America just decided not to think of it as the holidays; maybe not treating it like a holiday would make the fact that he was alone for it less depressing. The phone rang a few times, but he was usually trying to keep himself occupied by doing laundry, washing dishes and finally cleaning up his video games and other junk around the house. When he was finished, he went out to the grocery store and got some junk food to have for dinner, leaving Tony in charge of the house.

On the way home, there were more cars parked on his block, and he thought some of them looked familiar, but it was probably just the way the snow was piling up on them. After all, the others had all said they already had plans for Christmas. It was therefore a huge surprise to walk into his house and find it crowded with people. And not just any people, but his friends and "brothers".

So look at me now

It's finally Christmas and I'm home

Head indoors to get out of this weather

America pulled off his coat, set the groceries on the hall table, and tapped his brother Canada's shoulder. When his brother turned around with a smile on his face, America asked, more than a little confused, "Mattie, what's going on here? I thought everyone had plans today - even you said you couldn't come." Canada replied softly, "We kinda started to get worried when you didn't answer your phone last night or today. We're not interrupting something, are we?"

"Not really, just...what happened to your plans? I mean, I'm glad you guys are all here, but don't you guys have your own parties to host?"

"Yeah, but to be honest, every get-together feels more like an office party when you're not around; too formal and stiff." America almost laughed at that - he was pretty sure at least a few of the other countries liked their parties formal and stiff (Britain and Germany immediately came to mind) - but he let it go. America frowned as a thought struck, and he said, "I'm really glad you guys came to visit, but I wasn't expecting anyone over - I don't have anything that the rest of you would like eatting." At that moment, France passed by the hallway opening, and asked, "What's that? Surely hell has fozen over if the human disposal America has no food." America replied, a little annoyed (his patience was kinda short with the recession), "In case you haven't noticed, my country's going through a recession." However, by now France had grabbed Britain and dragged him away from the party, saying, "Fear not, mon ami; Angleterre and I will return with all we need to make a proper Christmas dinner." Against Britain's protests, the Frenchman shoved their respective coats on and yanked the green-eyed nation out the door.

As he had said, they returned soon after, arms full of grocery bags. Germany asked, "What's going on? You two just disappeared." Britain replied, "Our sudden visit caught America a bit off guard, so he didn't have anything for a proper dinner. We just stepped out to accquire what we needed." France added, "And you have my thanks for carrying bags, Angleterre, but please understand that you will not be having anything further to do with making dinner." France called out through the house for Italy and Romano, and soon the brothers appeared, looking nervous like they expected to be scolded for something. France said, "Would you two perhaps like to help me prepare dinner?" Italy volunteered, asking if they could have pasta, but Romano replied, "No way, you frog bastard." Canada spoke up, "I'd be happy to help, France." With that, the three nations retreated with the groceries into the kitchen, leaving a very confused America wondering how he suddenly had people commandeering his kitchen and buying groceries for him

I look towards the east and see a star

Jesus Christ has blessed my life to know just who you are

While France, Italy and his brother took over his kitchen, America did his best to make his unexpected guests comfortable. Japan was busy petting his cat, China was looking at his Christmas tree with a mix of curiosity and awe (didn't they have Christmas trees in his country?), Spain and Romano were arguing, and Russia, Germany and Germany's brother Prussia were getting drunk with the alcohol they had brought with them (apparently, none of them were very fond of the beer America kept in the house). Switzerland was just standing against the wall, while Liechtenstein was trying to get him to join in the fun. Meanwhile, America could see the Baltic countries chatting amongst themselves while discretely keeping their distance from Russia. Suddenly, piano music could be heard, and they all turned to see Austria sitting at America's old upright piano. Austria frowned at one of the keys, and asked, "When was the last time you tuned this piano?" America just replied, bemused, "Um...not sure. I haven't played it in a while. And these days...I haven't been in a mood to play music." Lithuania asked, "Why is that?"

"...Stuff happens. The country's in a recession - folks are having a hard time getting by. Had to sell a few things to pay the bills... Just a bunch of little things weighing me down lately." America went over and helped Austria open the piano, reaching his arm in to tune the offending key. After a moment, he said, "Try it now." Austria pressed the key and smiled when the note sounded right. Shutting the piano up, America stepped back and let Austria play while he went out back and got a few more logs for the fireplace. When he came back in, he found everyone singing along with Austria's playing, and America immediately recognized the carol. It made America smile genuinely for a moment. It was the first real smile he'd shown in a while.

I don't know how

But the closest friends I've ever known

Are all inside, singing together

A few hours later, France and his helpers called everyone into the dining room, where Britain had apparently occupied himself setting the table. Everyone took a seat, and America helped his friends carry out the various dishes of food and set them on the table. And this time, the weight of the dishes and their contents didn't even register in his head. When everything was on the table, the four countries took their own seats, and Canada asked his brother, "Do you want to give a toast?" America thought for a moment - it had been a while since he'd given a toast, but then he smiled and raised his glass, saying, "May all our heavy burdens go up the chimney in a cloud of smoke." Everyone laughed or politely smiled (this was the sort of toast that the others would have expected from their friend), and America said, "Seriously, though; Merry Christmas, and here's to many more." They all raised their glasses and echoed the sentiment, each boasting a warm smile of their own (even Switzerland and Austria). With that, they all helped themselves to the delicious meal.

Singing Merry Christmas, here's to many more

Please be polite (or at least civil) with your reviews. This is the first fanfiction I've ever published. That being said, there are bound to be some snafu's along the way (like the fact that I didn't know to put my author's note into the story when I first saved it here). Right now, I'm basically learning from trial and error. This is a songfic (another first for me), and I know I put the verses out of order a bit, but just bear with me on this one. For those of you who don't recognize it, the song is "Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More" by Relient K, and I highly recommend you listen to it after Thanksgiving. I feel like I'm kinda setting double standards since I'm publishing this before Thanksgiving is even here, but the plot bunnies wouldn't leave me be...