So, this was a one-shot I wrote on Fourth of July. It's a bit late, but here it is! Also, be warned, it's really long.
I don't own Hetalia!
Patriotism: A ReaderxAmerica One-Shot
You sat in the corner table at Starbucks, lazily sipping at a Passion Tea Lemonade. As much as you would have preferred to be drinking a cold Carmel Macchiato, you chose the tea because of the large calorie difference. But idamn/i did the coffee sound good right now. Sure, the tea was nice too, it was refreshing and tangy, but that coffee was drinkable bliss. You sighed and took another drink, scrolling through your tumblr on your laptop. You were supposed to be working on the book you hoped to get published, but your focus hadn't set in yet.
You noticed that every other post had to do with the date today: July 4th. You noticed one post in particular and clicked on the gif set to enlarge it.
"Happy mother f***ing birthday, America! I'm so mother f***ing happy for you!" It read. The gif portrayed a picture of the land mass that made up the United States suddenly bursting into flames and leaving a large gap between Canada and Mexico. You smirked and clicked the favorite button.
Man, did you hate this country. It may have been your home for your entire life, but it sucked. The people that made up its citizens pissed you off royally, the government was full of idiots, and it seemed like everything that happened that was bad was blamed on anyone else.
"Whoa. Dude. That's messed up." You heard a voice say over your shoulder.
You snapped your head up, your (e/c) eyes meeting blue ones. You stared at the young man staring at your screen. His hair was dirty blond, with a strange piece of hair swooping up in the front. He wore glasses and a brown leather jacket emblazoned with a yellow star. He was wearing a red, white, and blue striped T-shirt underneath it.
He was attractive, you decided quickly. Although, judging by the venti Frappuccino in his hand and the expression on his face, you also decided he was probably nowhere near close to your type. He seemed idiotic and childish to you and you much preferred a man of intelligence and substance.
You closed the screen of your laptop and addressed him.
"Do you mind?" You spat and noticed his name written on his cup. "Alfred."
"Mind what?" He asked. "And dude, how'd you figure out my name? I don't think we've met before. I'd remember a pretty face like yours."
You tried to contain your grin at his compliment. You had never been very humble about receiving them. You reminded yourself that this "Alfred" guy had been snooping at your computer screen and you didn't even know him.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Your name was written on your cup, dummy." You replied shortly.
"Oh. Yeah!" He picked up your cup, analyzing it for your name. "Well then, _, nice to meet ya. My name's Alfred Jones. Do you have any plans for today?"
You snatched back your drink, and looked back at him with one eyebrow raised.
"None of your business, I believe. Why, you don't? It looks like you're actually one to celebrate the Fourth of July. Why are you standing here bothering me, good sir?" Your sarcasm was blatant, but he didn't seem to catch it.
"It's actually my birthday today, ya know." He started.
"Really?" You cut in, trying to inform him you weren't interested in the slightest. "Fascinating."
He didn't seem to notice.
"My brother and friends said they're too busy to hang out until later. I think the dudes are planning me a totally awesome surprise party and want to keep me away. So I need to find something to do all day in the meantime. Spending my birthday alone would be no fun, so I thought maybe I could spend it with a nice chick like you." Alfred looked at you expectantly.
Was he serious? This was the saddest excuse for a pickup you had ever seen. It was his birthday and didn't want to spend it alone? Come on. It was possible, but you highly doubted it was true.
"Look, Al, I have some work I should get done, I don't need to spend my day hanging it out with some guy I've just met."
"Oh, you're not celebrating? But today's a holiday! Don't you have any one to celebrate with? Why work all day?"
You scoffed.
"Yeah, I hardly constitute this as a holiday...Pun not intended. My family's in another state and I can't get to them. I figured I'd just Skype them later. Not that they really do anything for it either. Fourth of July stops feeling like a holiday after you're like eight anyway. So I figure I could work on my book in the meantime, if you must know."
Alfred frowned.
"Not a holiday? It's my, er America's birthday! It's a great holiday! Where's your patriotism, _?"
"Long dead, Al. Now if you excuse me, I should get going." You picked up your laptop, slipped it in your bag, and stood up. Alfred began to follow you as you were walking out. You muttered some curses under your breath and continued on.
You noticed that Alfred had stopped following you and got into his car, a red convertible. Damn, did you miss your car right now. It was in the shop at the moment, getting some sort of part fixed. You hated walking and biking everywhere or hoping to find a ride with a friend.
In the midst of your thoughts, you noticed Alfred seated in his red car next to you.
"Dude? You walk here? Want a ride?" He asked, elbow hanging out the window.
You set your jaw and tried to ignore him. You were seriously considering taking that offer. You did not want to walk back to your apartment. It would be empty anyway. Your best friend and roommate had ended up going to spend the day with her family, under the assumption you were going to do the same. When she found out you weren't going, she really wanted to stay with you (she really hated her family), but she couldn't risk them getting pissed at her and stop helping pay for her tuition. You sighed—it would be incredibly lonely when you got there. Curse your need for social interaction.
"_? Dude? Seriously, get in. It's not exactly totally safe for you to walk." Alfred tried to further convince you to get in. You stopped suddenly. "Dude…?"
"Fine." You murmured. "I live at Applewood Apartments. You know where that is, Al?"
He grinned widely and opened the other door. Damn him. His smile was cute.
"Yep. Sure do!" He said as you climbed in. The two of you drove in silence for a while. You breathed a sigh of relief as you saw the corner that led to your apartment. Finally, you could end your little adventure with Alfred and get to work at home.
Alfred zoomed past the corner.
You nearly yanked out your (h/c) hair.
"Dude! What the hell?!" You shouted, losing your cool, eloquent composure. Alfred slammed on the breaks for a second in shock, but quickly continued on driving.
"Something wrong, _?" The dirty-blonde asked. You resisted the urge to slap him upside the head.
"You just passed my street, Alfred." You explained though grit teeth.
Alfred glanced at his rear view mirror and looked at the street sign reflected in it.
"Hm. I guess so." He simply said, continuing to drive with no intention of stopping.
"Well stop, dammit!" You ordered.
The blue eyed idiot shrugged.
"Dude, chill out. I've got some things I'm gonna do first now that we've already missed it. Hey, and now look. You can like come and hang with me while I do. Sweet, huh?"
You gaped at him, dumbfounded. Was he freaking kidding right now?! He deliberately passed by to make you spend more time with him? Who the hell did this guy think he was?
"Stop stop stop stop stop stop! Now! Alfred, pull over the mother fucking car! I'm serious! This is kidnapping! Let me out now!" You demanded, punching at his arm repeatedly. You couldn't help but notice how well his muscles were toned.
"Whoa whoa whoa, dude! Calm down! I'm driving, bro! You're gonna make us crash, _!" Alfred said, panicked. You noticed he was right, you shouldn't be distracting the driver like that unless you had a death wish. Defeated, you sat back into your seat.
"Let me out." You mumbled in irritation.
"I will." He replied. "You know, you were wailing on my arm pretty hard. You may have left a bruise, dude."
You glared out the window.
"Consider it a birthday gift, dick."
Alfred merely laughed in response.
"That's a pretty bad gift."
"So's your face." You relented to one of your oldest, most overused responses: To return back whatever the person had said with their face was such. He laughed again. You observed how endearing his laugh was. And then cursed yourself for thinking so.
Alfred finally pulled over. You breathed a sigh of relief. Then quickly took back the sigh when you realized you were parked in front of a Red Robin.
"Alfred." You hissed. "What are we doing in front of a restaurant? Please tell me you don't work here."
"Nope!" He chirped. "We're going to eat lunch here. I'll pay for you, if that's what it takes."
He grabbed your hand to lead you inside. You felt your stomach flutter in excitement? His hand felt nice in yours. It was firm, but surprisingly soft and gentle. For some reason, you denied the urge to pull yours out of his grasp. Instead, you blushed heavily.
"A-Alfred! Let...go…" Your voice died down as you entered the establishment.
The air conditioning was welcoming—you hadn't realized how warm it was outside until you stepped inside. There were only two or three other parties waiting, but they were larger than average.
"Hello!" The server greeted. "Is it just the two of you?"
You wanted to deny the statement and walk right out of the building and back to the apartment, but you were getting pretty hungry. Plus, Alfred offered to pay. A free meal always sounded nice to a starving college student. Before you could make up your mind about it, the blond already had answered.
"Yep. Just the two of us." He grinned at you, and you looked away in response, choosing to focus on the crane game that was nearby.
"Okay. Your table should be ready in about ten minutes." She smiled warmly and the two of you floated further back into the waiting area.
The two of you stood awkwardly, waiting in silence. You played with your (h/l) (h/c) hair and continued staring at the crane game. It seemed like there was a possibility of getting a few of the animals in there…
You noticed Alfred staring at you from the corner of you eye, but chose to ignore it.
"So…_...Want to play anything while we wait? I think that racing seat is calling me."
You really wanted to try your luck with that stupid game. You had always had a strange want to play them whenever you saw them, but hadn't actually done so very often. Anyway, you didn't have anything to do. You weren't talking to Alfred and didn't intend to do so.
"Sure." You replied finally and slipped your wallet out of your pocket.
You walked over and put a few coins into the machine. You stared, trying to figure out what to go for. The Superman logo seemed pretty possible, as did a Hello Kitty plush, and a black Angry Bird. You didn't like Angry Birds at all (#FruitNinja for you) and you didn't like Hello Kitty much either. Superman seemed definitely the best option right now, as much as you preferred Iron Man and Batman.
You stared intensely at the contents and maneuvered the crane carefully. A (favorite color) (favorite animal) caught your eye, but you quickly ignored it. It was far too buried to be able to get. You stared at the Superman logo and the crane, trying to get them perfectly in alignment. You pressed the button on the handle with confidence. The claws wrapped around the plush and began to lift up. Glee began to slowly bubble up inside you. Had you finally won one of these things?!
No. It seemed not.
Halfway through the ascension, the Superman logo began to slip though the claws. You gaped in disbelief as it hit the pile of plush items. Your heart shattered and you stared at the piece of superhero memorabilia.
You let go of the joystick, straightening your back, and glared at the crane game. Stupid game. These things were always rigged! You silently cursed at it, very annoyed at how it had tricked you.
"Aww. Dude, that totally sucks!" Alfred said, suddenly next to you. You looked up at him in surprise. When the hell did he...?
"Alfred, did you...?" You tried to start.
"Hm. Oh yeah, I won! It was fun. Got the high score and everything. Now the initials "AFJ" will be there forever! Well, unless someone beats me, but I doubt that. Anyway, _, we still have some time. Why don't you try for it again?"
You nodded, wanting to prove yourself against the game. You were going to show it if it was the last thing you did. You slid a few more coins into the slot and grabbed onto the joystick. Determined, you set it up and pressed the button over the Superman logo again. The claws went down, but came back without it up for even a second.
"Gah. Stupid game." You murmured, glaring downwards at nothing in particular. You felt Alfred's hand on your shoulder. It was nice, you thought hazily.
"Dude, mind if I...?"
You shook your head.
"Go ahead. Good luck actually getting anything. These kinda things are rigged any—" You stopped as you saw the blond drop the plush item down the shaft.
"No. Way. Dude, you seriously...?" You began, staring at him your (e/c) eyes wide in disbelief. "In just one try, too? Like, dude, that's kind of super skilled."
You realized you had once again dropped your calm, eloquent pattern of speech and tried not to blush.
"Er, I mean that..." You stammered, trying to find another way to say that or change the subject. Alfred flashed a wide smile, that suddenly, was a lot more attractive than before.
"Thanks, _. Here, you can have it." He held it out to you. You decided to take it. After all, you were pretty sure you could use it as an elbow rest or something at home. "Anything else catch your eye in here?"
"Well, that (f/c) (f/a) is kind of awesome, but I think it's impossible to even get it. Heck, if you can manage, you may as well be a hero."
Alfred's blue eyes suddenly seemed to shine brighter than before. He seemed quite determined and serious at the mention of the word "hero".
"Okay then! I'll do it and prove to you that I'm a hero!" Alfred cheered out and quickly slipped in some more coins.
"No, Al, seriously. It's just gonna be a waste. I mean, our table's probably ready and everything now. Dude." You were still going to try and convince him to stop when you suddenly found a new plush shoved in your face.
"I did it, _, I did it!" He pumped a fist in the air. "I'm the hero! Say it, _! Say it!"
You contained a giggle, but a smile still shone through on your face.
"Okay, Alfred. You're the hero, just hush down. You're being too loud." You grabbed his arm gently in an attempt to get him to calm down. He seemed to get the message, but Alfred was still grinning large enough to rival Cheshire Cat.
"Right. But, you said it yeah? I'm the hero! Hahahahaha!" His triumphant laugh was kind of adorable. It actually reminded you a bit of yourself after you beat some huge, annoying boss in a video game.
"Mm hmm!" You smiled. Maybe lunch with this guy wouldn't be so terrible after all. And if it was, well he was paying and you weren't so there was already one good point.
The hostess looked down at something before calling out.
"Alfred, party of two! Your table's ready!"
"Sweet, that's us!" Alfred said, grabbing your hand once again and walking over to the hostess stand. She smiled warmly at the two of you. It wasn't that fake hostess smile, however. It seemed like she thought to two of you were a cute couple, you realized.
For some reason, it didn't overly bother you.
The two of you were quickly seated into a small, secluded booth further from the loud noise of the families and large groups of friends. The noise level was just right, not obnoxiously loud, but not dead quiet to a point of where you felt it was so quiet you would have to whisper to not feel overly awkward.
"So..." You began, trying to start a conversation. If the two of you were going to be here, you sure didn't want to be sitting in silence. "What...are you going to order?"
You mentally slammed your face into the table. "What was he going to order?" What kind of stupid conversation starter was that? Idiot!
"A burger. Fries. And maybe some onion rings?" Alfred replied without hesitation. "You?"
You looked at your menu. There were a couple of things that sounded pretty good. You looked at the prices of a few of your top choices. They were all close to the same price, so there wasn't a quick decision on what was clearly cheapest.
"Um, I'm not sure. Maybe the Guacamole Bacon burger and a chocolate shake?" They both sounded really good. You hadn't had a shake in a long time and recalled that the ones from here were pretty damn fine.
Alfred smiled. You stared at him in confusion.
"What?" You said, ready on the defensive.
"Nothing, really. Just, most girls I go out with will be kind of like "Oh I'll just have a salad and water with lemon." It's nice to know that there are girls that actually eat real food." Alfred used a higher pitch when quoting the females he had dated. You smiled.
"Dude, I totally love to eat. Especially meat. I absolutely could not survive without meat. Mm, a well-seasoned steak is like freaking heaven on a platter." You said, mouth watering at the thought.
The two of you ended up talking about your food interests for a while when your waiter appeared and took your order. After he left, Alfred and you began to ask each other questions about other things you liked, some of the topics being music, TV shows, books (it seemed he actually read them!). You found out that you had some common interests with him after all.
You sighed after you had finished all you intended to eat. Alfred had eaten absolutely everything on his plate. Somehow, his appetite didn't surprise you. The way he talked about food definitely made you categorize the blond as a Foodie.
You took the rest of your food to go home in a box—You'd have another meal later or tomorrow you wouldn't have to worry about now. So overall, this date had gone on pretty—
You stopped yourself mid-thought. Did you just think of this as a date?! It wasn't a date. ...Was it? No, it couldn't have been. Alfred had forced you to come here and you just happened to enjoy yourself in his company. It wasn't a date, surely. It wasn't.
As you were walking to the exit, Alfred grabbed a (f/c) balloon that was sitting against the ceiling. He tied it to your arm.
"You said (f/c) was your favorite color, right?" Alfred clarified. You nodded, but untied the string and moved it to around your wrist. You grabbed a white balloon and took it with you as well.
When you got to Alfred's car, you reached into your bag and pulled out red and blue Sharpies. You quickly scribbled on some blue stars and red stripes. You then wrote out "Happy Birthday/ Fourth, Al!" on the back of the balloon, before fastening it to Alfred's headrest.
"There!" You said, smiling at you own handiwork. "Happy birthday, Alfred."
He smiled at you and you noticed something different in his eyes again. You couldn't make out exactly what it was that was there, but you knew you recognized it from somewhere.
"So, _. Anything in particular you want to do now?" He asked.
You considered his offer for a while before remembering what you were doing with Alfred in the first place. He had practically kidnapped you after offering you a ride home! Somehow, he had weaseled you into having lunch with him! Sure, it had been nice, but that wasn't the point!
"Hold on a second! Alfred! You were supposed to take me to my house forever ago! What the hell? I...I only met you this morning!" You realized finally. The two of you had clicked so well over lunch that you had almost forgotten that you hadn't even known each other the day before. It seemed the two of you really were pretty compatible...
You shook the thought from your mind. No, that didn't matter. Alfred should take you home, now!
"Alfred. Take me to my apartment, 'kay?" You finally sighed and sank into your seat.
He nodded sadly and was about to pull out when his cell phone rang. He scrambled for it and answered the call.
"Yo, Alfred. Oh, hey Mattie. Hm? You can hang now? Arthur's there already and is pissed 'cuz I'm not again? …Mm hmm. Uh huh. Sure thing, I'll be there ASAP, bro." He noticed your glare. "I've just got to do something really quick first, bro. Okay? Bye, Mattie. See ya."
He closed his cell phone and looked at you.
"That was my brother. So, you ready to go home now?" You nodded curtly. "Okay."
The ride to your apartment was just about as quiet as the first one began. Alfred turned on the radio to try and make the mood less awkward. Some rap song you had never heard before played and Alfred began to rap along. You couldn't help but snicker. He was so bad. He had no flow whatsoever and he just sounded silly trying.
He looked over at you and smiled.
"You like it? I'm pretty good, yeah?" Alfred grinned.
You weren't sure if he was being serious or sarcastic, but you burst out laughing. In response, Alfred began to sing louder and more intensely. You continued to laugh, and the awkwardness of the situation quickly began to fade. Once again, you were feeling pretty good with Alfred.
Sooner than you would have liked, you arrived at the Applewood Apartment complex. You couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when you stepped out of the car. You closed the door and looked down at Alfred.
"Well...Bye, Alfred, I guess. It was very...eventful meeting you. Happy birthday to you and this country." You swayed awkwardly on your toes.
"Yeah, thanks. _, I had an awesome time with you. Thanks for spending it with me." He seemed pretty dissatisfied as well. "Um, do you want me to like walk you to your apartment? I feel like I should at least accompany you the whole way. I mean, we're already parked and everything so..."
You nodded. Alfred got out of the car and the two of you walked uncomfortably side by side. Your apartment was only on the second floor, so the two of you were there in a matter of moments.
You unlocked your door, stepped inside, and looked at Alfred.
"Thanks again, for lunch and the ride. Although, I could have done without the kidnapping." You smiled slightly, but it didn't hold for very long.
"Yeah...So anyway. I guess I'm gonna go then, dude. Bye, _." Alfred sighed. You felt bad to see him down like this.
"Yeah...Bye, Alfred." You said and moved your hand to the doorknob. He nodded and began to turn away.
The house seemed so empty and lonely, you noticed right away. You closed the door and sat your bag down on the couch. You picked the laptop out of it and pulled up your story. You noticed where you were at still. Currently, the main character was trying to describe what it felt like being with their lover. You were truly stuck on how to write this piece. You had never had a real significant other.
You sighed, trying to pick up as much personal experience you could. Alfred suddenly popped into your mind. You furrowed your eyebrows. Alfred was just some guy you had met... There wasn't any sort of romance in having a forced lunch. You continued to try to draw into past boyfriends and crushes, but nothing else would come to mind.
Just Alfred.
You closed your laptop and stood up. Without thinking first, you opened your front door. You quickly scanned for Alfred and spotted him making his way to the parking lot.
"Alfred!" You called before realizing what you were doing. "Alfred! I...Could I, like, go to your house? It's...um..."
Alfred turned around and looked up in your direction. You swore you could see his stellar grin from there.
"_! S-sure!" He yelled back up. "I'd…love that!"
Your heart skipped a beat when he said "love". Suddenly, you were smiling wide and felt a ton lighter.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a pool at your place, would you?" You called out.
He nodded.
"Yeah, I do. Perfect weather for swimming, isn't it?"
You nodded enthusiastically.
"Hold on! I'm going to get my bathing suit and I'll be right down! Wait for me?" You asked, darting inside.
"Always." You heard him reply as you stepped in. Once you decided he was far enough out of earshot, you squealed out in delight. You weren't sure because you wouldn't know how to gauge it, but you were pretty sure you were falling head over heels in love with Alfred. It seemed he was doing the same for you.
You ran down the stairs with a bag of your things you figured you might need and met Alfred at the bottom. He smiled and grabbed your hand as you walked over to his car. Your fingers intertwined and you just felt happy.
The ride to his house was silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable like the last ones. This silence was blissful and loving. The whole time, you and Alfred kept smiling and looking at each other. Neither of you had to say a word. Your expressions said it for you.
Alfred pulled into his garage and sighed contentedly. You smiled at him. Neither of you had made a move to getting out. The blond brushed a piece of your (h/c) hair back and leaned in close. You moved in to match him. He cradled you face as your lips met. His kiss was soft but strong. You couldn't remember the last time you had kissed anyone, but this definitely was the best one you had ever experienced.
Suddenly you heard the door swing open and it was quickly followed by a wolf-whistle or two. You blushed heavily and Alfred broke the kiss and looked at the people in the door in surprise.
"Ohonhonhonhon~" One blond at the door laughed.
"Ha. It's about bloody time, Alfred." Another smirked.
"Surprise?" A smaller blond said shyly.
Well, at least it seems we have support as a couple? You thought, embarrassed. And hey, looked like you would be celebrating Fourth of July more often.
Review please!