Thanks to catsrulegirl for reviewing.

I told you the dates would be relevant. Poor Canada, that I should do this to him on his birthday.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 1

Canada tore the invitation in half, before crumpling each half and throwing them in the trash bin. America had called to remind him not to forget his birthday party and to remember to get him a 'totally awesome gift'. Canada just said that he wouldn't forget.

Like America forgot his.

Tears stung his eyes as he checked his phone, the date mocking him. He'd hoped to see that there was a message that he just didn't hear coming through, but there was nothing. And it was already late in the morning.

If his brother couldn't remember, then what were the odds that anyone else would remember? Well, other than his boss?

And to make matters worse, he felt as though Kumajiro was avoiding him recently. Canada still continued to feed him, but Kumajiro didn't want to be around him. Especially whenever Canada needed the bear's comfort. He'd never felt so lonely before.

He jumped when the phone started to ring, and even though he didn't recognise the number, he still answered it and hoped that his voice wasn't thick with tears.

"H-hello?" he greeted.

"Hey Canada." The voice sounded familiar, at least. "It's Portugal. I had to ask England for your number."

"Oh, right. Um, so, is there a reason you called?"

He wasn't going to be too optimistic. Portugal might have called for something completely different.

"Today's your Independence Day, right?" Portugal asked. "Which means… It's your birthday? Or, did I get the date wrong?"

Canada's heart fluttered. While it wasn't exactly someone remembering, it was still someone calling him for his birthday.

"Y-yeah!" Canada exclaimed. "Yeah, it's my birthday."

"Sorry, I wasn't sure," Portugal said. "Anyway, happy birthday. Do you have any special plans?"

Canada's good mood disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Not really," he said.

"…Please tell me you at least decided to buy a cake for yourself," Portugal said.

Canada hadn't, but now that Portugal mentioned it, it sounded like a good idea. At the very least he would have some comfort food.

"So then, I guess I'll see you at America's party?" Portugal asked.

And again, Canada's mood fell.

"Probably," Canada said. "Um, I should probably get going. Thanks for calling."

"Yeah..." Portugal said. "Happy birthday, Canada."

Canada thanked Portugal again before he hung up. He stared at the phone and sighed. The first person to remember, and still America's upcoming birthday came up. It was always about America, wasn't it? Canada didn't matter, did he?

Canada buried his hands in his hair and tightened his grip. He didn't realise that his nails were digging into his scalp. His eyes clenched shut and he tried to hold back the anger and frustration. Why couldn't someone care about him for a change? Was he simply born to be forgotten? Was he nothing more than a shadow?

Let go.

Canada jumped at the sound of the voice. He looked around, but not even Kumajiro was nearby, and neither the TV nor radio was on.

Canada shook his head, thinking that perhaps he should get out of the house. It would probably be good for him if he got around among his people. And he should probably take Portugal's advice and buy himself some cake. It would be too sad for him to bake himself a cake.

…

Portugal checked his bags one more time before he checked the time. He had about thirty minutes to get to the airport if he wanted to be on time for his flight. At least America arranged a hotel for all of the nations attending his party.

America's birthday almost seemed like a requirement for nations, especially nations that had good relations with him. And Portugal had seen the cold treatment that America had towards the nations that missed his birthday party. And unfortunately, his position as a global superpower meant that it wasn't a good idea to have him angry with you.

However, this would be a great opportunity to spend some time with Canada.

It always pained him to see the way other nations tended to ignore Canada, or how they even tended to forget him. And he could see the pain in Canada's eyes whenever that happened. Portugal wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Canada and just hold him tightly. He wanted to whisper reassurances in Canada's ear that Portugal could and would always see Canada.

And Portugal was looking forward to see Canada's face when Portugal gave him his gift. He had to ask England about what types of things Canada would like, after reminding him who Canada was. And then he had to ask France. After some teasing, France managed to turn serious and helped Portugal to get a gift that might actually be something that Canada liked. And after talking to Canada, he had a feeling that Canada would enjoy any gift.

He wondered if England had called Canada, and he wondered if he should remind England. But of course, whenever England actually remembered Canada, and if Portugal brought him up, then England was mostly focused on why Portugal seemed so bothered with Canada, and Portugal didn't want to have to deal with England regarding that right then. Not when he had a flight to catch.

But he knew that Canada would appreciate it if someone else remembered him, especially on his birthday. And so he sent a text to England to remind him to remember Canada's birthday, before grabbing his luggage and heading to the front door. He needed to go now.

…

Canada took another bite of the cake as he stared at the phone. Night had already fallen, and the only person that had wished him a happy birthday throughout the entire day was Portugal. He wasn't even particularly close to Portugal, but Portugal had remembered him when not even his family or 'friends' had remembered. And he went throughout the different social media pages from different nations to confirm.

It annoyed him that Hong Kong, who wasn't even an official nation, got so many 'happy birthdays', but Canada only had one. It wasn't fair.

And asides from Hong Kong, the only birthday that seemed to matter to the nations was America's. The idiot who somehow managed to become a global superpower. The attention whore. The jerk that hated it whenever he wasn't the centre of attention. The one that always stole England's attention whenever he was busy with Canada. The one that caused England to lash out against Canada because America wasn't in reach. And England wasn't the last to take out his frustrations against America on Canada.

He hated it! Why was he the one that had to suffer through the loneliness? Why was he the one that was always forgotten? Why was it, no matter what he did, no matter how much he contributed in the world, he was doomed to be nothing more than a shadow?

Let go.

Tears streamed down his face, but after a few tries, he didn't even bother drying them anymore. What was the point? They would only keep coming.

He looked at his phone again. He looked at the number on his call log. Portugal had remembered him. Just like he noticed Canada three months ago, after England forgot about him. In the end, they never did get that cup of coffee. He knew that Portugal would forget about it, so he didn't have a lot of hope in the first place.

Let go.

Canada wanted to. He'd tried, whenever the loneliness and despair reached its peak. But he was a nation. They couldn't let go as long as their people thrived. But whenever Canada would try, it was always cathartic, and brought at least some relief.

Let go.

He pushed the phone away and finished his slice of cake. He wondered how he would do it this time. He sincerely needed the sweet release a temporary death would give.

He made himself some tea, mixing in rat poison along with the sugar. He drank it down as fast as he could before he went to lie down. His stomach started to hurt from the poison, but he held on. Soon, it wouldn't matter. He did the calculations. He would probably wake up before noon the next day.

As he slipped away, he heard a dark chuckle, before a dark figure appeared in his mind's eye. He tried to escape, but by then, it was too late.

Don't worry. I will make sure that you don't have to experience anything like that again. Rest and let go.

And, too late, Canada realised what the voice was that whispered to him. He could only feel helpless as he slipped away.

…

Portugal tapped his fingers against his thigh, eyes scanning the crowd in search of Canada. He'd arrived early for America's party because he wanted to find Canada as soon as possible. Of course, he'd already handed his gift over to America and wished him a happy birthday, so he didn't think that America would bother him for a while.

But it's already been half an hour since his arrival, and Canada still wasn't there. The party was already getting livelier, and the music had reached a deafening state several minutes ago.

Portugal pressed his hand into his pocket, feeling the small package inside. He wanted to give Canada his gift, and he wanted to tell Canada how he felt about him. Of course, he needed to find a quiet place to do that, but he already had a place in mind.

He yelped when he felt someone drape their arm around him, and he turned around to glare at France, who was smiling at him innocently.

"What has got you so anxious?" France asked. "You look like someone whose date decided not to come."

Portugal blushed at the words, before he sighed. He suspected that France suspected that he had feelings for Canada, and since he didn't seem as troubled about it as England, Portugal decided to ask him about his former colony.

"In fact, I'm looking for Canada," Portugal said. "Have you seen him?"

"Non," France said, frowning as he thought about it. "I haven't seen petit Canada since the last meeting."

"Have you spoken to him?"

"Non."

"…So in other words, you forgot that it was his birthday three days ago."

France's face paled, a mask of horror slowly building on his face.

"Please tell me you're joking," France said, gripping both of Portugal's shoulders now.

"July first," Portugal said, eyes narrowing.

"Oh mon dieu, I completely forgot! He must be thinking…"

"That you don't care about him."

France flinched, and Portugal found that he couldn't feel sorry for the other nation. After all, it was his responsibility to know the birthday of a family member.

"I'm going to see if England knows," Portugal said, extracting himself from France's hold. "Tell me if you see him. Or better yet, tell him that I'm looking for him. Could you perhaps remember that?"

France flinched again, but nodded his head. Portugal made his way to the bar, where he knew England would be drowning his sorrows. He knew that the other nation didn't want to be at America's parties, but America always managed to guilt him into coming.

Sure enough, he found England nursing a glass of whisky, the bottle within easy reach. Portugal approached England and sat down next to him.

"Have you seen Canada?" Portugal asked.

"Who?" England asked, eyes narrowing. Portugal had the feeling that this wasn't the first glass he'd downed.

"You know, the former colony that looks like America but who stuck by you throughout the centuries? The one whose credit you stole during the World Wars? The one with the maple leaf? The one you took from France? Ring any bells?"

England frowned, but Portugal didn't know if it was in response to the accusations or if he was thinking. Finally his eyes seemed to clear and he shook his head.

"No, I haven't seen him," England said. "To be fair, I've been here for a while, so I might have missed him entirely."

Portugal stared at England. There was a chance that England truly hadn't seen Canada, but there was also a possibility that England had simply forgotten. And so, Portugal decided to ask another, very important question.

"Did you at least remember to wish Canada a happy birthday?" Portugal asked.

"What?" England asked, looking at Portugal as though he'd grown another head.

"His birthday was three days ago. I even texted you a reminder."

"Oh. Of course I remembered! What kind of person do you take me for?"

Portugal narrowed his eyes, before he held out his hand.

"Show me your phone," Portugal said.

"What are you…?" England sputtered.

"Your phone. Now."

England looked annoyed, but he dug his phone out of his pocket and handed it over to Portugal. Portugal searched through England's messages. He saw the one he sent to England, but there was no message to Canada. And then he checked through the calls. Nothing.

"No calls, no messages," Portugal said, handing the phone back in disgust. "How sure are you that you remembered?"

England's eyes widened, and he looked through the messages as well. He then smacked his forehead, his eyes filling with guilt.

"Bollocks, the lad must be so disappointed," England said. "I would have to apologise when I see him."

He reached for the bottle, but Portugal jerked it out of his reach, his eyes narrowing.

"You're not going to remember if you keep drinking," Portugal said. "So try to remain as sober as possible until after you see him."

England glared at him, though his cheeks were red and his eyes were still filled with guilt. Portugal left him there. He would need to ask around.

He went to everyone that he knew was Canada's friend, though none of them had seen the North American. Finally, Portugal had no other choice but to go ask America. And he really didn't like the idea of asking America about his brother.

America was talking to Japan and South Korea, laughing far too loudly. Portugal sighed, before clearing his throat. America turned to him and smiled.

"Yo, Spain!" America greeted. "What's up?"

"First, I'm Portugal," he sighed. "Second, have you seen Canada? I've been looking for him all night."

"Canada?" America frowned. "No, but he totally said he's coming. So, what do you want with him?"

"I just want to wish him happy birthday. It was three days ago, after all."

America's face fell, and Portugal sighed. He was starting to see that no one else seemed to have remembered Canada. And he was starting to think that, perhaps, Canada had no intention of attending America's birthday. Portugal certainly wouldn't.

"You're joking, right?" America asked. "He didn't say anything when I reminded him of my party the other day."

"And when did you call him?" Portugal asked, anger simmering beneath the surface.

America pulled out his phone, checking something.

"Um, I called him on the first…" America said.

"To remind him of your birthday?" Portugal asked. "On his birthday?"

America chuckled, but Portugal could hear the nervousness. Portugal clicked his tongue.

"Well, Mattie's totally chill!" America said, sounding as though he was trying to reassure himself. "I'll make an announcement when he comes."

"He's not coming," Portugal said. "France and England didn't remember either. And the last thing he would want is to come and celebrate a birthday party when the host of the party couldn't even remember his."

America grimaced, before his eyes narrowed.

"Why is this your business?" America asked.

"Because I didn't forget," Portugal said. "I spoke to him. He sounded close to tears. He couldn't even give me an answer when I asked him if he had any plans. He didn't even have a cake."

America averted his gaze, looking guilty. Portugal shook his head.

"Happy birthday," Portugal said. "I'm going to see if I can get in touch with Canada. I think he needs my company more than you do."

America didn't answer, and Portugal didn't wait. He spun around and made his way towards the front door. He already had his phone out to check flights. He suspected that Canada would most likely be in his capital. He would have to ask France or England for the address, but…

He opened the door and jumped. On the other side of the door was none other than the nation he was thinking of, though his head was lowered. He looked as though he had been contemplating coming in for a while.

"Canada!" Portugal exclaimed, smiling. "I'm glad to see you made it! I was just…"

He blushed, his hand returning to his pocket and closing around Canada's gift. Before he could pull it out, however, Canada raised his head, and Portugal froze.

"Canada?" he whispered.

Canada's eyes were pitch black. They weren't the beautiful colour that reminded Portugal of a field of lavender. Canada grinned, and the expression didn't seem natural on his sweet face.

"You're the only one that remembered about his birthday," 'Canada' said, but it wasn't his voice. It was the voice of a total stranger. The voice was scratchy, and Portugal took a nervous step back. "For that, you shall be granted mercy."

Portugal cried out in pain, clutching his cheek. Something stung, and when he pulled his hand back, he stared in horror at the blood. Canada walked past him, and Portugal spun towards him. He reached out to grab Canada's shoulder, only for Canada to spin around and grab his throat.

"I will not kill you," Canada said. "But I will hurt you if you interfere."

He released Portugal, and the European reeled back. He watched as Canada disappeared into the crowd. He needed to find England. There was something seriously wrong with Canada, and his instincts told him that England would be the only person that he could ask about it.

He was halfway to the bar when he heard horrible screams. And he just knew that Canada was in the middle of it.

So, how many of you thought that this would be a Snapped!Canada fic? Because it isn't.