Written by my bestie~ Thanks for everything Crystal!

Arthur smiled coyly as he walked into the bustling airport.

Brilliant, he thought. I'm absolutely brilliant.

As long as Alfred didn't get distracted or give up, he would be occupied with the scavenger hunt for a long time, which gave Arthur plenty of time to take a flight to D.C. and surprise him at his place. With a rolling suitcase in tow and a special gift in his pocket, Arthur strode contently through the entrance.

It was just three days before Christmas, and the airport was busier than ever. Thousands upon thousands of bundled up bodies shuffled along the main lobby, and one of them bumped into Arthur's shoulder, causing him to stumble.

"Sorry," the stranger mumbled as he continued walking without even missing a beat.

"Bloody hell," Arthur cursed under his breath. Luckily, it didn't seem like he had dropped anything. He brushed himself off, sighing in contempt, and continued to look at the board of departures.

"Let's see…" he started. "D.C, D.C, D…" his voice trailed off as the words on the board changed, flashing red. One by one, each flight's status changed to the exact same word: delayed. Paris: delayed, Madrid: delayed, New York: delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed. The board flashed red as grumbles and angry shouts filled the room.

What the- Arthur wondered. What's going on?

Arthur managed to squeeze past the infuriated crowd until he reached the help desk.

"Excuse me," he asked hurriedly, "What's the problem here?"

"I'm sorry sir," answered the lady, "But all flights have been delayed due to weather."

"Delayed? Great!" Arthur exclaimed angrily. "I don't know how this could possibly get any worse."

As if on some cosmic cue, the words on the departures list changed again, only this time, each status shined the forbidden word on it: CANCELLED.

As Arthur stared in disbelief at the board, the lady at the desk answered a call, nodding and saying a quick "Alright" before putting down the phone. Taking a deep breath, she faked a smile as she said, "I'm very sorry, but all flights have been officially cancelled until further notice."

"…"

Somewhere in deep space, a very British-sounding disturbance could be heard.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

Hurry, hurry, thought Arthur as he ran out of the airport. What should I do? I have to get to Washington or everything will be ruined! He stopped in front of a world map. Let's see… a ferry would take too long. I have no idea how I'm going to get to America, but I have to start somewhere. His finger traced along the border of his own country as he pensively tried to think of a plan. The best place to go right now… is… Trailing downward, his finger stopped at the closest country. Bollocks! Anyone but this wanker.

Despite his complete and utter disgust for this country, Arthur realized that he had no other choice: he had to take a Chunnel and seek aid from his old enemy. You guessed it, he was going to France.

Francis was looking in distaste at the state of his living room when he heard the doorbell ring. "Coming!" he exclaimed. That's strange, he wondered. That punk told me Alfred wouldn't be here for at least another few hours.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see said "punk" waiting impatiently for him. "Arthur?" he asked. "What are you doing-"

"There's no time to explain," Arthur interrupted. "Flights are down, and I need to get to America as quickly as possible."

"Oh hon hon," laughed Francis. "Looks like you are in quite a predicament, my little Angleterre. At least tell me you got Alfred a decent gift to make up for it."

"Of course I do!" protested Arthur. "It's right… right…" he patted his pockets, but to his dismay, nothing was in it. "Oh no," he whispered. He dropped all his stuff as looked frantically through his pockets. "Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, SHOOT!" That's when Arthur remembered the incident at the airport. I must have dropped it when that arsehole bumped into me.

Francis was looking on in amusement when Arthur suddenly grabbed his collar and yelled, "Where's the closest mall?"

"Well that depends," said Francis calmly. "What do you want to buy? If it's something like a video game or a scary movie I know some good places to find some."

Arthur loosened his grip slightly as his eyes shifted to the side. Francis could have sworn that he was blushing a little. "It's nothing like that, it's…" he leaned in closer and whispered in Francis' ear.

Francis couldn't help but smile. So that's it, he thought. "Well then," he said. "We can get that too."

After quickly driving to the nearly shopping district, Arthur hastily picked out his present and paid for it at the counter.

"Are you sure Angleterre?" Francis asked. "Can you afford something that-"

"Shut up!" Arthur yelled in annoyance. "There's no time to worry about that!" He took his gift and practically ran out of the store. Francis smirked and followed suit.

However, as they were driving back to Francis' home, Arthur looked at his nearly empty wallet and sighed. This was going to complicate things.

Back at home, Francis asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

Here we go. "Well…" Arthur mumbled. "I need… a favor. I don't have enough money to take a train out of here, and…"

Francis raised his eyebrow. "You want to borrow money? From me?"

"Please!" Arthur begged. "I'll do anything!" It was degrading, but he was desperate.

"Well…" Francis thought, a devilish look in his eyes. "If you could do one little thing for me, I'd be happy to give you the money."

Arthur gulped. "What?"

"I'm having a Christmas party tomorrow, but my house is such a mess!" Francis explained. "Just look at all this dust! Would you mind cleaning up a little?"

Normally, Arthur would strangle Francis for such a suggestion, so Francis was surprised when Arthur just looked him straight at the eye and nodded. "Well, I obviously can't clean up the books for the scavenger hunt but… I'll do it."

Now, Francis was staring at Arthur while he dusted off the huge shelves in the library.

"You must really love Alfred, non?" he asked.

"Shut up!" Arthur muttered. There was no way he was going to talk about his emotions with Francis of all people. Suddenly, a feeling of dread surged over him as he heard the doorbell ring.

"Speaking of Alfred, that must be him now," Francis said as he walked over to answer the door.

"Wait you bloody idiot!" yelled Arthur. "I need to hide!" Francis obviously didn't hear him, as he continued to walk to the entrance. Think, think. Where can I go? Francis had already answered the door and was making small talk with Alfred. Having nowhere else to go, Arthur dove under the huge table in the middle of room just as Alfred was coming in.

Arthur crouched under the table the entire afternoon, struggling not to make a Alfred finally turned in for the night, Arthur practically fell flat on the floor out of exhaustion. But there was no time. He needed to get out, and fast. Francis met him as he was rushing out the door.

"Here's your money," Francis whispered.

"Thanks," replied Arthur. As he was running out, Francis hit him in the back with a crumpled up piece of paper. Arthur frowned as he bent over and picked up the small note. As he unraveled it, his thick eyebrows creased in confusion. In his hands, he was holding a 50-euro note. He looked at Francis in search of an answer.

"Think of it as a Christmas gift," Francis called as he winked and closed the door.

Hmm… stupid frog, Arthur thought smiling slightly. He proceeded to turn around and run to the train station as fast as possible. While he was waiting for the train to get in the station, he sent a letter to Austria in it enclosed his letter to Alfred.

He ended up taking the TGV, the fastest train available and in almost no time at all he found himself in Germany.

That was too close, thought Arthur. Alfred nearly saw me in France! I should be safe now, since he has a few more tasks to accomplish before coming to Germany, but still, I have to hurry.

Arthur started running to Ludwig's house. It was pretty early in the morning, but he was hoping the German would be awake. He was so intent on getting there as fast as he could that he didn't hear the screams of a whining Italian man coming closer.

"Wah… Ludwig… I don't wanna run anymore!" cried Feliciano as he was jogging down the sidewalk.

"Just shut up!" yelled Ludwig in demand, following behind him. "This is training, not a vacation! Kiku, keep up the pace!"

"Hai!" exclaimed Kiku in between short breaths.

The Axis Powers were running laps as a part of Ludwig's rigorous early morning training. Leave it to Ludwig to be exercising despite the fact that it was only a few days before Christmas.

"Veeeee…" whined Feli. "I'm gonna pass out!"

"Run faster or you're not getting pasta for lunch!" warned Germany.

"What?" As if rocket boosters had magically appeared on his legs, Feli started running faster than a speeding bullet. As he turned the corner, however, he had no time to react before crashing into a young blond man with bushy eyebrows.

"Aahh!" cried Arthur as he was thrust into the street. His head collided with a parked car with a huge thunk and he slid to the ground, completely passed out.

"Kirkland-san?" asked Kiku in horror.

"Oh no!" cried Feli. "What do we do! He's not moving!"

"Wait here," commanded Kiku. "I will get Ludwig."

When Kiku arrived with Ludwig, the robust German man was mortified.

"What happened?" he yelled.

"Ve…ve… I was running really fast like you told me to, and then I bumped into him and he hit his head," explained a hyperventilating Feli. "What do we do?"

Ludwig thought quickly. "Well, it was just an accident, ja? Luckily it looks like the skin isn't broken, but he has an enormous bump on his head. For now, let's just take him home."

A few hours later

"Ow… my aching head…" moaned Arthur. He sat up, realizing that he was covered with a blanket on a couch of an unfamiliar-looking house. "What happened?"

He looked up to find a concerned Feliciano looking at him. "Hey guys, he's finally awake!" Feli exclaimed in excitement.

Ludwig and Kiku came rushing in. "Oh thank goodness you are alright," said Kiku with a sigh of relief.

"Ja, you were hit in the head very badly," said Ludwig, looking briefly at Feli.

"Ve… I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Feli apologized.

That's when everything came rushing back to Arthur. He got a very panicked look on his face. "Wait, what time is it?" he yelled.

"That's what I was about to tell you," explained Ludwig. "According to your instructions, Alfred should be here soon. Which brings the question… what are you doing here?"

Arthur explained his situation to the trio. "…And that's why I need to get to America as soon as possible."

Germany nodded in understanding. "Well if you can't get there by plane, then your plan is to get there by land, correct? So you need to keep going east until you reach America."

"Exactly," said Arthur. "What's your fastest way of getting anywhere?"

"I would say the Autobahn," Germany explained. "From there I suggest you take a train."

"Alright," said Arthur as he tried to get up. "Could I borrow your car? I'll drive to the train station and…ah!" he exclaimed as he dropped back down onto the couch, clutching his head. Damn, he thought. Everything feels like its spinning.

"There's no way you can drive in your condition," Ludwig declared. "One of us will have to take you."

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" screamed Feli, jumping in excitement.

The whole room fell silent. Kiku looked positively horrified at the idea and even Ludwig cringed a little.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I think I should probably drive."

"No, no!" exclaimed Feli. "I want to do it! I'm the fastest driver out of all of us. After all, I need to help Arthur as an apology for what I did earlier."

"What's wrong with having Feliciano take me? If he's the fastest, then he should drive," Arthur asked in confusion.

"Well," started Ludwig. "You have a good point. What do you think Kiku? …Kiku?"

Somehow, Kiku had snuck out during the conversation and locked himself in one of Ludwig's closets.

Ludwig sighed. "Alright, you can take him Feliciano. We shouldn't waste any more time."

The group, minus Kiku, walked to Ludwig's car. As Arthur got in, however, Ludwig closed the door and waved somberly from the outside.

"Wait," asked Arthur. "You're not coming with us?"

"Nein," explained Ludwig. His facial expression was the closest thing to PURE FEAR that anyone had ever seen on him. "I wish you luck."

"Vee… Ludwig…" Feli whimpered, his lip quivering. "You have to come with us. I don't want to go alone."

Ludwig couldn't resist those puppy eyes. Mustering up all his courage, he opened the door. "Fine," he said as he stepped into the car.

Here's today's daily lesson: never, I MEAN NEVER, get into a car with an Italian going on a highway with virtually no speed limits. This will result in permanent emotional damage and probably death. That being said, on with the story!

Arthur and Ludwig got out of the car looking like they had just been visited by the angel of death, while Feli was skipping along happily behind them.

"I will never, ever, go on the Autobahn again," whimpered Arthur, looking for a trashcan he could hurl into.

"Were we on the Autobahn?" Ludwig asked, his voice on the verge of insanity. "I don't even remember the car ever touching the road."

"Vee… that was fun," said Feli cheerfully. "So where are you going Arthur?"

Arthur snapped out of his distraught state and said, "Oh right! Well, how far can I get with the money I have now?"

Since Arthur was running low on cash, he decided to ride to Poland and figure something else out once he was there. As he got on the train, he waved goodbye to his kind friends. "Thanks a lot!" he exclaimed. "I won't forget this!"

As he got off the train, his eyes spotted a certain brown jacket-wearing man just exiting the train. He quickly got to his seat before turning back to Alfred and sparing him a loving glance before the train left the station.

When Arthur reached Feliks' house, he hesitated for a moment. His wallet was almost completely empty: the only thing left was Francis' extra 50 Euro note. Hoping to get this over with quickly, his hand reached for the horse-shaped knocker on the door, but just before he banged it, he heard what sounded like… caroling.

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… a totally cute hot pink Snuggle!" came a loud voice from inside.

"On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… two turtlenecks, and a totally cute hot pink Snuggle! On the-"

Arthur couldn't wait for them to get through ten more days. He knocked twice harshly on the door.

"I'll get it!" came a quieter voice. To Arthur's surprise, Toris opened the door.

"Arthur? What are you-"

"May I come in?" Arthur asked quickly. He really needed to get going.

Toris nodded slightly and let him come inside. Upon seeing the frazzled looking gentleman, Feliks stopped singing and yelled, "Arthur! What a surprise! Are you here to like, sing with us?"

"I'm sorry to be a burden," Arthur started, wanting to cut right to the chase. "But I need to get to Russia. Fast."

"Russia?" Feliks asked. "Well Toris was like, going to go there right now, right?"

"That's perfect!" Arthur replied with joy. "Can I come with you?"

"Well…" Toris said hesitantly. "I'm not sure if you want to travel the way I do. Russia forces me to come to his place every Christmas, but he never sends me any money to get there. I usually hitch a ride on the back of some fruit cart, and since it's completely open, I tend to get a little frostbite." Holding up his hands, Arthur saw that the tips of his fingers were getting a little blue. Looking into Toris' sad and sweet eyes, he took sympathy on the poor Lithuanian. Looking at his nearly empty wallet, he made a decision that wasn't smart methodically, but that he knew in his heart was the right thing to do.

Taking out the 50 Euro note, Arthur held it out to Toris and said, "Here, this should be enough money to get you there without having to amputate your fingers."

He handed over the bill to a very surprised-looking Toris. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly-"

"Please take it," the British gentlemen insisted. "You need it more than I do."

"Tha-Thank you!" stuttered Toris. "Well then, I should get going!" he said as he ran off to catch the nearest train.

After waving goodbye, Feliks turned to Arthur and said, "Wow. That was like, really really nice of you. You know what, I'm going to let you ride my mustang! You'll get to Russia in no time!"

Arthur was taken aback. Feliks had a car as cool as a mustang? He didn't care if it was hot pink or some other outrageous color, he would take it. "That's great. Where is it?"

"Here, I'll go introduce you to her," Feliks said as he led Arthur to the backyard. Introduce? What would he mean by… oh sweet mother Britannia.

Arthur found himself in front of the stables looking at one of Feliks' many ponies. This "mustang," as Feliks called it, was the girliest thing since Toddlers and Tiaras. She was a tiny mare with a braided mane, a hot pink saddle and flowers tattooed on its butt. It looked like it came straight out of My Little Pony. But if it was the only thing he had…

"I'll take it," Arthur said, looking very determined.

There Arthur was, riding uh, valiantly across the snowy horizon with a… majestic beast and its soft hair whipping in the wind, and… eh who am I kidding? Arthur looked as cute as a cupcake riding on that pony across the country. But Feliks was right; despite its petite stature, it was probably the fastest pony alive. He arrived in Russia about an hour earlier than he expected. A furious snowstorm was rearing its ugly head, causing Arthur to rush quickly to Ivan's front door. Rubbing his sore behind, he knocked on the huge wooden door.

"Yes?" answered Ivan as he opened the door. "Oh Arthur! Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the world right now?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yes, I should be, but I need a ride," Arthur said. He hated to be so rude and forward, especially to Ivan of all people, but the clock was ticking.

"Of course!" said Ivan with a smile on his face. Apparently the holidays thawed over his normally cold and ruthless heart. "I'll just fly you over there! We can take my plane now!"

Fly? Arthur thought, looking skeptically up at the sky. "Um, isn't the weather a little too chaotic for flying?"

"Oh no," said Ivan reassuringly. "This is just a little drizzle compared to what we usually get here in Russia. Come now, let's go. You don't want to be late, da?" he asked with a creepy smile. Guess the holidays did have its limits on producing miracles.

"Eh…" Arthur gulped. "You're right, let's go."

30,000 feet above the ground, Arthur could finally sit back and take not only some well needed rest, but also some well needed time to think.

It had been a crazy couple of days. But why? Why was he willing to do so much just so he could get to D.C. before Alfred? It didn't make any sense. But Francis' words couldn't get out of Arthur's head.

"You really love Alfred, non?"

I guess I do, thought Arthur. He had never really thought about it before, but deep down he knew he loved the loud American. He always had, even when Alfred was a little baby. Back then, Alfred was his precious baby brother. But he had grown up so fast. Now… now they were in love. And nothing was going to separate them, not even the fact that they were separated on opposite ends of the earth.

I would travel anywhere, any distance to be with him, Arthur concluded. Yes, I really do love him, more than I could possibly say. He fell asleep hoping that by this time tomorrow, he would be by Alfred's side again.

"Drink up," said Ivan, waking Arthur from his pensive daze. In his right hand he held a large bottle of Vodka.

Arthur immediately rejected the idea. "No thanks, I'm not a big fan of drinking. So what airport are we landing in?" In all the craziness, he had forgotten to ask Ivan where he was being dropped off.

"Oh, we're not landing this plane," Ivan said.

"…What?"

"It's too dangerous to try to land in this weather, so we're just going to drop you off right here, in Canada."

"What do you mean you're going to drop me off…" Arthur paused as he saw what Ivan was clutching in his left hand: a parachute.

"Oh no, there's no way I'm jumping off this plane."

"Don't worry," Ivan smiled. "With all that snow, you'll be fine. It's like jumping onto a soft mattress, da?"

He's crazy, thought Arthur. But if this is the only way… He vigorously grabbed the bottle and chugged down the entire 1.75 liters of vodka. Grabbing the parachute, he jumped out of the plane, yelling "AMERICA NO BAAAAAKKKKKKKKAAAAAAA!" the entire way down.

Well, Ivan thought. He took that better than I expected. Oh well, I should get going. Alfred should be at my house any minute. With that, he magically vanished in a puff of smoke.

Arthur landed miraculously on the softest pile of snow Canada had to offer. He actually came out relatively unscathed, considering the fact that he had just parachuted down 30,000 feet during a killer snowstorm. Things would have been perfect, except…

"Eh..he… the clouds lookin' like *hic* flyin' mint bunnies…" he slurred as he collapsed to the snowy ground. Arthur was completely drunk out of his mind. He laughed crazily as he made sloppy snow angels on the floor and rolled on his back like a little dog. After an hour of drunken ecstasy, he passed out right there on the cold floor.

Many hours later, Arthur felt a wet nose pressing his cheek. In the distance, he heard a familiar voice.

"Kumajiro? What is it?"

Matthew came running over, and gasped when he saw his older brother. "Arthur? Hey, wake up!"

Long seconds past as Matthew held his breath, dreading the worst possibilities. Thankfully, Arthur moaned as he got up looking like he had simply been sleeping for too long. "Wha- ah, my heeeeaddd… not again," Arthur groaned.

He was about to collapse on the ground again, but Matthew caught him just in time. "Whoa, easy there," he said. "We need to get you home." Arthur nodded wordlessly, and Matthew slung his arm over his shoulder and helped him get into the car.

When Arthur woke up, he was in another couch in another house. Unfortunately, it was not the house he had hoped to be in by now. His vision was blurry, but soon he could make out some voices.

"Hey Mattie, isn't your brother supposed to be here soon?" a rough voice asked.

"Yup, just give me a minute," answered Matthew. Arthur heard footsteps approaching, and when he looked up, he saw Matthew's kind face looking at him with sympathy. "Good, you're awake," he said. "That Russian vodka is amazing. I don't know how, but it helped you survive in the snow." Maybe that's Ivan's secret, Arthur thought whimsically. That's strange… isn't there somewhere I need to be right now? Arthur suddenly shot up off the couch and yelled, "Shoot, I should be in D. C. right now!"

"Calm down, calm down," whispered Matthew. "First, we should take care of that hangover. Here," he said handing him a mug full of unappetizing-looking brown liquid. "This is proven to get rid of any hangover, guaranteed."

Arthur looked at the drink suspiciously. Not only did the liquid look like sewage water, but it smelt like old socks and rotten fish. "And… what would you know about hangovers, Matthew? Have you been doing anything lately that I should know about?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.

"No- No! Nothing like that!" Matthew stuttered embarrassingly. "It's just… Gilbert comes home sometimes having drunken one beer too many. And this usually clears him up right away!"

"Hey, no amount of beer is too much for the awesome Prussia!" Gilbert yelled in the background.

"Well, if you say so…" muttered Arthur. He looked once more at the mug, then swallowed the entire thing in one huge gulp. Gagging and convulsing on the couch, he had to do all he could to keep the retched mixture in his stomach. But gradually, his head stopped throbbing and he could actually process things clearly. "Wow," Arthur gasped. "That's some powerful stuff."

Matthew smiled. "Told you. Now what were you saying about being in D.C?"

The Canadian listened to Arthur explain what had happened for what felt like the millionth time, and when it was all over, Matthew sprung into action. "I understand. I'll take you as far as the border, but that's all I can do."

"Thanks, Matthew," Arthur said with a smile. "I knew I could count on you!" Matthew blushed. It wasn't often he was complimented, or even noticed for that matter.

"No- no problem," he stuttered again. "Let's go."

Matthew drove quickly to the border just outside of New York, and shouted, "Merry Christmas!" as he was driving away.

"Merry Christmas!" Arthur replied. Now all he needed to do was get a taxi to D. C… Shoot, Arthur thought. I forgot I don't have any more money. But this wasn't going to stop him now: he didn't take three trains, one pony, and jump out of a plane just to get stuck in New York when he was so close to Alfred's home.

Alright, think Arthur, think! he motivated himself. Arthur scanned his surroundings. He saw a trashcan, a homeless man, a bike, a pigeon, another trashcan- wait. Arthur did a double take back to the bike. I could work with this, he thought as a smirk ran across his face.

200 miles, two flat tires, and countless hours in the freezing cold later, Arthur finally arrived at Alfred's house. He found the hidden key under the floor mat, unlocked the door, and went inside.

"Finally," he breathed a sigh of relief. The house was dark, but there were Christmas lights and other decorations scattered around the rooms.

Now, just a few more finishing touches and I'm ready.

As Arthur put his jacket on the couch in the living room, he thought again about what he had done to get to where he was right now. I took a Chunnel to France, a train to Germany, a heart-wrenching drive on the Autobahn, another train to Poland, a stupid pony to Russia, jumped out of a plane to Canada, a car ride to New York, and a bike to Washington D.C. And throughout all that I had to clean Francis' house, crouch under a table for hours on end, took an injury to the head, got the worst hangover in the world, and had to drink Matthew's vile medicine. Now all there's left to do is cook some dinner and… oh screw it, he concluded as he dropped down to the couch exhausted. He fell asleep instantly just as a special American was opening the door.

All reviews will be loved X2 and will be sent to original author! Thanks for reading!