As it turned out, that would not be the last time either of the two dressed up in ridiculous outfits and got scrutinized by the other nations. And it wasn't the first, either. There had also been that time, on April Fool's, that everyone was forced to dress up in something ridiculous.

Alfred woke up one ordinary morning in April to find the sun searing into his not-even-open-yet eyes. Actually, this wasn't a very unusual occurrence. It happened every darn morning, especially in April. No matter how much he enjoyed being and boasting about being one of the sunniest countries, there were times when he appreciated a little darkness, and that morning had been one of those times. And if he stayed in bed any longer directly in the path of a searing beam of sunlight, he would be blinded, or something. So logically, his next course of action was to roll over so he could be out of the light. After a few more minutes of serene bliss that allowed time for vision adjustment, he opened his eyes to find a strange letter on his bedside table.

Alfred raised an eyebrow at the letter before realizing that he couldn't actually read it until he got his glasses on. And so, he grabbed Texas off the bedside table, put it on, and then grabbed the letter.

His immense strength proved to be very handy in opening the letter, though it also proved to be a little too handy when he realized he had ripped up the envelope so badly it was lying in shredded pieces on the ground. Oh well. It wasn't like he was going to need it anymore anyway.

He unfolded the letter and stared at it for a long time, reading the words over and over again and refusing to believe his eyes.

Someone had taken an embarrassing picture of him and was threatening him with its release into the public. Alfred knew he was doomed. He had enough trouble trying to maintain his acceptable reputation among the rest of the world, and he certainly could not afford for an embarrassing photo to come along and ruin all his efforts.

Luckily, the letter mentioned that his reputation would be safe, but only if Alfred agreed to do two things.

First, he would have to wear a certain waiter outfit, which the letter mentioned could be found on the kitchen counter, and second, he would have to walk to the central plaza area and wait. Wait for what, Alfred wondered. The letter just ended there.

Oh well. He supposed he had no choice, not if he wanted his dignity to be saved.

A few minutes later, Alfred was out of bed, dressed in his pajamas, and ready to face his decision. He decided that it couldn't hurt to maybe, possible consult the topic with Matthew. Matthew, though quiet and often forgotten, seemed to have a much more decent sense of logic, and just common sense in general, and frankly, Alfred liked to complain aloud, and Matthew was more or less willing to listen.

Alfred picked up his phone, dialed his brother's number, held it to his ear, and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Where was Matthew?

Wait, the ringing stopped. A meek voice responded from the other side of the line.

"Alfred? Is that you?"

"Yeah!" Alfred boomed, unaware of the fact that a certain nation on the other end of the line startled so much he dropped his phone on the ground before quickly picking it up again.

"Sorry," Matthew said after fumbling around with the phone as he picked it up. "What is it?"

"So I got this letter, and it's threatening to release an embarrassing picture of me to the public, and it says the only way that I can prevent that from happening and save my dignity is if I wear-"

"Oh, that," Matthew said, for once interrupting Alfred and not the other way around, "Yeah, I got a letter too. It basically said the same thing. And it also came with this ridiculous outfit."

"Oh." Alfred immediately shut up. "Wait, are you going to do it? Go out to the plaza wearing the outfit, I mean?"

Matthew hesitated before responding in what he thought was the most logical, explanatory way, "No. Those letters are always some kind of prank, and besides, I'm not too worried about my reputation…"

Not that Matthew even had a reputation to worry about, since everyone always forgot he existed and all.

"Well, I'm going to do it," Alfred huffed, remembering a certain time he had been pushed away by another nation because of his so-called flawless reputation. He couldn't let the same thing happen again. He was going to be a hero and save the thing in distress, which happens to be his dignity.

Another moment passed before the louder nation said, "I'm going to go, so bye!" and hung up. He left a frustrated Matthew sighing and shaking his head.

"Why do you have that picture?" Arthur demanded, tackling a miniaturized Francis to the ground.

Francis, who was wearing absolutely nothing… except, apparently, cat ears that had somehow fused with his skull, was being a jerk and refused to hand over the horrible picture of Arthur sleeping with a plush animal - hey, every nation had his preferences - even as Arthur tried to pry it from his miniaturized hands. When Arthur forced Francis to turn around to face him, the midget simply smiled innocently now that he could do so. Arthur resisted the urge to punch him, and instead settled for trying to get that picture back so that he could burn it.

"Give it back you pervert!" Arthur shrieked.

"No way!"

"Hey! Don't bully little kids!" A familiar, bold voice shouted from somewhere in the distance. "Wait, Arthur and Francis?"

Instantly both Arthur and Francis's heads snapped up to face the newcomer. Arthur found himself completely and utterly mesmerized by the sight before him. He unintentionally scanned the stranger from his feet, up to his chest and eventually his face…

"Alfred!?"

The boy was clad in almost as little clothing as Francis was. And he, too, was wearing ears that seemed to have fused with his skull. How did he do that, anyway? He also wore only the collar of what must have been a dress shirt, along with a short black tie and an even shorter waiter's skirt… thing. Arthur tried very, very hard not to stare. He failed miserably. Damn it , he thought to himself as he tried to suppress a blush, Francis must have infected him with dirty thoughts. He wanted to kick himself, in the face.

Was Alfred toned or what?

"Why is Francis so small?" Alfred asked, gesturing at the short blond nation, before looking up again and accidentally raking his eyes over Arthur, "And why are you wearing that outfit?"

Arthur was wearing what should have been a completely normal nurse's uniform. It had a button-up shirt… blouse… thing. And a little nurse's cap. The skirt part was, however, too short, and Arthur continued to try to hide an additional inch of his bare legs by pulling it down.

Arthur muttered, "Stop staring, you git."

Alfred ripped his gaze away, stammered, and blushed a little. He really needed to regain some control over his wandering eyes, dammit!

"So what brings you here?" Francis asked. Arthur and Alfred suddenly remembered that they were not alone. They both pretended that they hadn't been appreciating each other's lack of a normal amount of clothing.

"I got this letter," Alfred began, and proceeded to explain the morning's happenings to his friends as he had done so with Matthew earlier, and ended with "...and I talked to Matthew but he didn't seem to be too worried about it."

Alfred blushed and gestured at himself as he continued.

"And I guess I would rather wear this than let anyone see that photo…" he trailed off when he noticed Arthur approach him.

"Why are you embarrassed? You look just fine !" Arthur said. He tried to gesture at Alfred's outfit, but instead, their hands brushed, and their minds finally caught up with what Arthur had said.

While Francis made a grand escapade-escape in the distance, the two nations turned away from one another and tried desperately to hide the furious blushes on their faces.