Canada Day:

Lil' bit o' fluff for our dear Canadian's birthday. 1st July.

To clarify, Maple is Canada's cat, Lars is the Netherlands, and Allisdair is Scotland. Oh, and 'fey' are fairies, basically.

Discalimer: "Hetalia" belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya, not me.

[…and clearly the spelling of 'disclaimer' doesn't belong to me either, or I'd know it.]

Small hint of ScotFran, and lashings of Papa!France.

Enjoy! =)

Matthew woke slowly to the scent of roses. He blinked sleepily, poking his head out from his warm comfy cocoon of softness. Against the bright sunlight streaming through his window he tried to distinguish the fuzzy blobs of colour hovering above his bedside table. The Canadian frowned slightly, and reached for his glasses, disturbing Maple who had been curled in a small hollow in the covers. She meowed, disgruntled, sitting up and becoming incredibly absorbed in washing her face. Matthew slid his glasses onto his face and blinked the bright intruders into focus. Roses. Red, pink and white, two dozen, sitting proudly on strong green stems. Well, that must be where the smell was coming from, but how the maple did they get into his room? As Matthew sat staring, another scent permeated the air: pancakes! Roses and pancakes. Francis was here!

With the most enthusiasm anyone ever showed at realising that the Frenchman was in their house the Canadian grinned, threw back his covers and leapt out of bed.

Dressed in jeans and his softest red hoodie, Matthew arrived in the kitchen to find not one guest, but two. Francis looked up from the stove, flashing the Canadian a large, dazzling smile, and Gilbert grinned at him from the table.

"Happy birthday, Birdie!" Gilbert exclaimed excitedly as Matthew seated himself at the table.

Francis slid two plates of crêpes, brioche and strawberries in front of him, kissing his hair with a soft "Bon anniversaire, mon cher." Gilbert pushed the maple syrup across the table so Matthew could join him in liberally coating his breakfast with the stuff. The Canadian tried to pretend, even to himself, that his smiles were just because Francis had made him a lovely breakfast; because it was his birthday; because the sun was shining so wonderfully; or because Gilbert had challenged him to a match of Ice Hockey, not just because someone had remembered him.

Halfway through the meal, Kumawhatsit decided to join them. Francis insisted he'd been fed, Kuma insisted he hadn't. Matthew sided with his papa, but slipped the bear half a crêpe anyway.

As Francis was clearing the plates, the doorbell rang. Matthew answered it and was quickly swept into a very blue and faintly-smoke-scented hug. "Hi, Uncle Allisdair," he beamed, as the tall man put him down.

"Hello, there. I jus' came tae wish yer a happy birthday, lad." The tall red-head smiled down at him.

"Thank you! Come in!" Matthew then proceeded, with strength the Scot hadn't anticipated, to pull him into the kitchen. Gilbert looked up with interest before resuming licking syrup off his fingers. Kuma was considering growling at the new arrival, but the Prussian distracted him by pushing some crumbs of brioche in front of his nose.

Allisdair produced a small gift for his former colony which Matthew quickly unwrapped with glee. Created with a little help from Nessie and his fey, it was a miniature, fully alive and functional Moose. The Canadian was absolutely delighted, and rewarded Allisdair with a rather over-energetic hug, before strictly telling Kuma not to go near it. He named it Albert Montrose.

As Matthew fed little Albert a little bit of left-over brioche, Allisdair took the opportunity to slide a bit closer to Francis.

"Frankie," he murmured softly, slipping an arm round the blonde's waist. Francis flushed a deep pink, and Gilbert pretended not to notice, instead pulling Matthew outside for their promised hockey match. Matthew gently place Albert in the small cage provided and set him on the windowsill before rushing after the Prussian with promises to beat him into dust. Francis enjoyed seeing his little ex-colony with that spark, but rather hoped that the threat wasn't a genuine guarantee.

Win, Matthew did, and Gilbert remained resolute that he had let him win because it was his birthday. Everyone knew he was lying. But Matthew was smiling knowingly, so nobody minded.

Alfred dropped round in the afternoon, presenting his brother with incredibly-strange-looking, far-too-brightly-coloured-for-anyone's-liking candy and a massive grin, before forgetting why he was there and jetting off back to New York.

Lars phoned, sounding like he had only just started smoking, and Matthew told a disapproving Francis that it was the thought that counted.

Even Arthur remembered (thankfully. Matthew didn't like to think what would have happened to him, courtesy of a Scot and a Frenchman, if he had forgotten). What he didn't know was that Arthur's calendar had been a gift from Francis, who had marked the Canadian's birthday before giving it to him. Even after reading it that morning, Arthur had forgotten twice, and had to write it on his hand to remember. Despite this, he had sent a rather splendid selection of British biscuits (not made by him, thank Maple), and had also partaken in a brief phone call, with felicitations from Her Majesty.

Cuba sent ice cream, but eleven days later, so Matthew wasn't sure if that counted or not.

There were fireworks and parades all across his country, and Matthew didn't stop beaming the whole day.

Gilbert and Allisdair both left around ten in the evening, both receiving more cuddles, but sleepier ones this time. Francis stayed the night, and insisted tucking his little ex-colony into bed. He was still his little boy, darn it! The Frenchman was budged out of the way slightly by Kuma, as he situated himself at the Canadian's side, but stayed long enough to watch Matthew fall asleep, which did not take very long at all. He watched the smaller blonde sleeping softly, pets by his side, and little Albert beside the vase of roses. Francis gently kissed Matthew's forehead once more, and left him to sleep.

I know, I'm such a sap! Anyway, hope you enjoyed! ^_^

Also, we have shiny new review buttons, so why not try pressing on one? =)

Fare thee well, my Darlings!