"Alfred F. Jones, I demand that you let go of that bag of sugar right this instant!"

An emerald-eyed man stared as intimidatingly as he possibly could at his companion in front of him, white-stained fists curled and ready to resort to force if needed. Arthur Kirkland never wanted to lose to Alfred Jones, and today was no exception.

Ingredients suited for baking were splattered all over the counters in the kitchen they were working in, and various pots and pans littered the ceramic floors. The sapphire-eyed man simply pouted immaturely, further frustrating Arthur, before dumping the sweet contents of the bag all over the already messy counters.

"Bloody hell!" Arthur cursed, snatching a rag from the floor before futilely attempting to clean up the sugar. Alfred simply smiled, pleased. He had never had this much fun annoying one of his significant others before!

"Don't just stand there, Alfred, get another rag and help me correct this mess of yours!" Arthur barked, his eyebrows furrowed as he continued in his efforts to clear away the sugar. Surprisingly, Alfred complied, but not before planting a wet kiss on Arthur's forehead. "Why, of course, dear!" he cooed, mimicking Arthur.

Red with embarrassment, Arthur glared at Alfred before wiping the saliva off of his forehead and throwing the rag aside, sending it flying to the trashcan.

"Whose idea was it to do this anyways?" Arthur grumbled, his posture drooping slightly. "And why am I on this, anyway!? You all know of my horrid cooking abilities!"

"Because you didn't wanna lose out to me!" Alfred sang happily in reply. "Did you space out again while I was explaining, mister?"

A few hours ago...

-0-

"Hey, Artietietie!" Alfred sang happily to the green-eyed man, oblivious to his tuning him out. "Her birthday's comin' up reeaaaaallly soon, so you wanna do somethin' for her?"

"Mmf."

"Huhuhu... You don't want to? Well, I guess I'll be the one winning her affections, then!"

Upon hearing that, Arthur's eyes widened. Standing up and stamping hard on the other man's foot, he said, "Mark my words, America. I will be the one she favours!"

Ignoring Alfred's cries of pain, he then declared, "It's a showdown, then! We shall both work together to bake her favourite doughnuts together, and whoever wins will be awarded with her affections and also a session with her!"

"Wha— Ow! Cut it out, Arthur— oof!"

-0-

And that was how they rented out some person's kitchen and caused a nuclear bomb to erupt in there, also known as a terrifying mess that would take hours to clean up.

"Oh, whatever! Come on, America, let us finish this before she arrives," Arthur mumbled in defeat, retrieving the printed recipe from one of the counters for her favourite doughnuts.

It was a recipe for a baked doughnut, with chocolate shavings and pink-coloured cream as toppings. It was just right for a girl like her, Arthur figured dreamily, stroking the page gently. Unfortunately, Alfred saw what Arthur was doing, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Give me that!" Alfred whined childishly, pulling at the recipe in Arthur's grasp. Stubbornly, his English counterpart kept his hold firm on the recipe, refusing to relinquish it to someone he deemed as messy as Alfred.

"No, you'll spoil it, you little baby!" he admonished, anger lacing his tone. Alfred continued to pull at the sheet of paper, despite Arthur's warning, however, and with a gasp and a loud noise, the paper tore apart.

The two men stared blankly at the halves they held before glaring at each other!

"It was your fault!" Alfred cried.

"My fault!? You were the one who were acting much like a child, you buffoon!" Arthur spat in response, visibly frustrated. "This never would have happened if you simply let it go!"

Alfred quietened, his ego hurt by his counterpart's harsh comment. Trying his best to blink back the tears in his eyes, he said, "Fine! Have it your way!" before throwing the recipe onto the ceramic floors and leaving the room in a fit of sadness.

The room silent with only the sound of Arthur's heavy breathing, the man relaxed his tense shoulders and looked around. The room was still messy, and the counters still dirty, but they would do to help him bake the doughnuts for her.

Sighing, he rose to his feet and retrieved the recipe piece that Alfred dropped. He was going to make the recipe and win her affections, no matter what, even if Alfred didn't stand a chance to win with his temper tantrum. Her birthday party was in an hour, and he wanted to make the best of the time he had left.

After taping the recipe back together carefully using some clear tape he found in one of the drawers, he set to work.

-0-

Alfred was back at his home, sulking. "Arthur is such a big jerk!" he muttered, scribbling some words onto a piece of yellowed paper from an old journal. It was old and had coffee stains splattered onto its pages, but Alfred decided that it was good enough for his sulking.

A plethora of scrappily written curse words were scribbled around a surprisingly elegantly scrawled Arthur's name, and Alfred was adding more to the pool of profanities every second as he muttered complaints under his breath about how Arthur sucked ass and he was better than him or his comrades for that matter.

A few minutes of swears that were quickly expanding into the most ancient American curses that not even Alfred's old grandma would remember using in her younger days later, he halted his words and exhaled heavily.

"I guess I'll be losing the challenge," he thought aloud, his eyes downcast. "I don't want to lose to someone as horrible as Englishpants though..."

Walking to his small kitchen to make himself a cup of Joe, a lightbulb suddenly lit up in his brain.

He had a kitchen, unlike Arthur, in his own house. Why won't he try making his own doughnuts instead? There were always going to be plenty of recipes online. With that revelation, the blond man quickly sprinted to his laptop, coffee in hand, and proceeded to Google doughnut recipes.

He was not going to lose. Especially not to Arthur Kirkland.

-0-

Back in the spacious, untidy kitchen, Arthur was laying out his utensils and ingredients. He went out and purchased new sacks of sugar and flour as well, to replace the ones on the floor. Ants were everywhere, but he didn't care.

Preheating the oven to 350°F, he quickly set to work, pulling out a bowl and proceeding to blend two tablespoons of butter and a cup of sugar as instructed by the recipe. The butter and sugar mixture done, he then added two eggs and continued stirring.

As he worked, he noticed how quiet it became without a noisy bugger annoying him every ten seconds and fights commencing every five minutes. It was easier for him to focus on his work now, but at the same time, he noticed that he felt a slight discomfort bubbling in his chest with every minute that passed. Dismissing it after a glance at the clock, he judged that it would be more efficient for him to work a bit faster to have time to decorate the doughnuts properly.

With a sifting of some flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg, he found himself humming and he smiled, picturing her dazzling smile in her head as he continued. Alfred would be so jealous, he thought.

He might have been bad at cooking, but he did have a recipe. It would turn out well, he told himself as he used a spoon to add the butter mixture to the sifting results. Pouring a dash of milk into it, he continued to combine the ingredients with an electric mixer.

"Well then," he said aloud, smiling triumphantly and very smugly, "Alfred will be completely blown away and jealous!"

"Speaking of which... I wonder what that buffoon's doing now... Sulking, I bet?"

Despite his smug words, he couldn't deny that he felt worried for his counterpart. Was he going to be alright? His heart ached slightly when he pictured Alfred's tearful, sorrow-ridden face.

Pushing the thought away, albeit with much difficulty, he told himself that he had to win. He was going to be the person she was going to marry. She needed a strong man, unlike that childish boy who considered himself a hero to all.

But still, he found himself smiling at the thought of Alfred's antics.

"What a childish boy he is," he found himself remarking fondly as he resumed baking.

-0-

A few hours later, the two boys finished baking, just in the nick of time before the birthday party for her.

"Mine has to win! It has to!" Alfred looked down determinedly at the box in his hands as he ran to his destination from his house.

"Hmph, the boy stands no chance against my doughnuts!" Arthur held his head up high as he sat in the taxi.

Before the duo knew it, they were at the headquarters just in time before the party. The both of them rushed in at the front time through the front door, barely being able to acknowledge each other with scoffs before presenting her with their doughnuts.

"Happy birthday!" they both cried out, their faces flushed and sweaty. She looked at them, surprise evident on their faces, before she smiled and kissed them both on their faces.

"Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it. But do you want to know what would it the best birthday ever for me!?"

In a heartbeat, the two boys nodded. Her smile widened, and she leaned in closer to them to whisper what was on her mind. "I want you both to kiss... Right now."

"What!?" the duo exclaimed in unison, their eyes the size of saucers.

"But, my lady, I couldn't possibly—" Arthur began before Alfred cut him off. "Kiss this idiot!"

Her smile never left her face, however, and she stood there with a serious expression on her face. Although feeling shameful, the duo looked at each other, a blush evident on both of their faces.

Finally, after an agonising minute, Arthur couldn't take it anymore and pulled Alfred close to kiss him right on the lips.

He couldn't deny that he liked it. It felt nice, like toasted marshmallows against his lips, and he didn't want to stop, even when she and the other countries were yelling about them being lovebirds and whistling about how they were gay as fuck.

It was not only the best birthday gift for her, but also the best birthday he had ever celebrated in his life.

-0-

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay, Kira! I hope you like it!

This fic is dedicated to on Instagram for her birthday.