Title: Coffee & Tea: A Hundred Day Challenge

Series: Axis Powers Hetalia

Pairing: America & England

Rating: K+

Genre: Romance, Friendship

Warning: Shouen-Ai, Alternate Universe, Human Names

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction by a fan for fans. Axis Powers Hetalia rightfully belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews and for adding this story to your favourites/alerts, guys! And because I felt guilty for writing 'Broken Bones' for Iggy's birthday, I made another one—where he's treated better. XD HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IGGY! APH 100 Day Challenge was made by kimchi71399.

Day 9: Phone Calls

Arthur woke up that morning to the ringing of his cell phone. With his eyes still closed, he answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear.

"'Ello?"

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you." Arthur immediately blushed when he heard the familiar voice singing to his ear. "Happy birthday, dear Arthur. Happy birthday to you. I love you, babe."

"Mmm... Love you, too, Al." Arthur murmured, his cheeks going redder.

"Looks like you woke up on the right side of the bed this morning." Alfred teased, "You should do that when I'm home."

Arthur grunted as he sat up on the sofa, "More like the right side of the sofa."

"What?" Alfred whined, "Babe, please don't tell me you went out drinking last night-"

"Calm down, I didn't." Arthur chuckled, his cheeks remaining red. "I uh, fell asleep while checking papers."

"Oh, okay. Jeez, don't freak a guy out like that, babe." Alfred sighed in relief, "I totally have no problem with you drinking but God knows what you would do if I don't rescue you."

"Belt up." Arthur frowned, then smiled as he replied, "I'm a good boy."

Alfred laughed only to stop all of a sudden seconds later, "Aw, man... Babe, I've got to go. We're leaving for the meeting. I'll call you later, okay?"

Arthur's frown returned and he tried not to sound sad when he replied, "Oh, okay then."

"I love you, babe. I miss you."

"I love you. Miss you, too."

Arthur placed the phone down on the empty coffee table. He felt like lying back down and burying himself under the covers until Alfred would return home, which was tomorrow morning. But sensibility kicked him on the arse and told him to get a bath and head to work.

"Alfred..." He muttered as he dragged his feet towards the bathroom.

Last night, Arthur hadn't even bothered to sleep on the bed. Alfred had to go out of town for a couple of days for work and it had to be during his birthday. All their plans had been put on hold but that wasn't what Arthur was sulking about. He didn't care if they ate at a fancy restaurant or if they ate three-day leftovers at home, all he wanted was to spend the blasted day with him.

His birthday had never really mattered to him quite so much in the past and it still hasn't but Alfred always made sure each year mattered, each day matter. He always fussed about their birthdays, often making plans and making every year different and special. Arthur had gotten used to it, he supposed, being pampered and now, it was almost like he couldn't live without Alfred—which was kind of true.

xxxxx

Arthur dismissed the little children for recess and once they were all out, he sat down on one of the small wooden tables. He let out a breath, wanting the day to be quickly over so that Alfred could get home yet he didn't want to go home later that day to an empty Alfred-less house.

Just as he was silently sulking, his cell phone rang and after checking that it was Alfred, he quickly answered the call.

"Break time yet?" Alfred asked, his voice cheerful as always.

"Yeah, it just started." Arthur answered, feeling the warmth from Alfred's voice. "Aren't you supposed to be having a meeting?"

"We're having a break, too." Arthur could picture Alfred grinning, "So, how were the kids?"

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the moment he entered the classroom, "Party poppers and confetti. The girls gave me heart shaped cards and candies, too."

"I'm not sure if it's appropriate to be jealous." Alfred teased.

"Please, Alfred, they're just children!" Arthur laughed, touched that Alfred was jealous. "Besides, they gave extra candy because Captain America likes candy."

"Trying to win me over, too? Sneaky little bastards." Alfred laughed, "Be careful what you teach those kids, babe."

"You-" Arthur began but was interrupted when the bell rang. His face fell, had it already been thirty minutes? "Al, I've to go. Recess is over."

"Oh, all right. Looks like we're about to start soon, too." Alfred said, "Hey, happy birthday, babe. I love you."

Arthur blushed, "You already said that this morning!"

"I know." Alfred snickered, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

By the time Arthur had pocketed his cell phone, a dozen pairs of eyes were already directed at him and a light chorus of snickers came from his second grade students.

"All right, enough of teasing your teacher for being cheesy." Arthur playfully scolded, "Let's get to our maths."

The groan that replaced the snickering was like music to his ears.

xxxxx

Arthur hated burgers, smoothies or anything fast food. They were quite unhealthy and he always preferred fresh, homemade and packed lunches; which was why the door to his classroom was locked while he opened his bag to retrieve the BigMac and canned soda he bought for lunch.

Alfred always loved fast food; he loved burgers and smoothies the most. Arthur had always nagged him about it but the American started making his own burgers and mixing his own smoothies in the kitchen. Oh well, at least it was cheaper than stopping by drive-thru every day.

Arthur unwrapped the BigMac and inhaled deeply, but he didn't smell the burger, he smelt Alfred. When he took a bite from the greasy burger and wanted to cry, not because it was disgusting or unhealthy but it was mostly because it reminded him of Alfred.

He was placed the large burger down and began to question his sanity when his cell phone rang. He answered it without having to check, having a gut feeling that it was Alfred.

"Eating lunch yet, babe?" Alfred asked and Arthur felt like embracing the American. "Babe?"

"Y-Yeah?" Arthur sniffed.

"Whoa... Are you crying?" Alfred asked, shock in his voice. "Did the kids use you a donkey again?"

"No." Arthur muttered, flushing. He was not going to tell Alfred that he was crying because he missed the git, he refused to sound like a needy boyfriend.

"Are you crying because you miss me?" Alfred teased.

"N-No!" Arthur huffed, "Why would I cry because I miss you? I'm not that needy!"

"Sure." Arthur could just imagine Alfred rolling his eyes then and the Briton just wanted to snog him. "So, what're you eating for lunch? I hope you didn't try to cook."

Arthur glared at the space in front of him, imagining that it was Alfred he was glaring at. "I bought something."

"Oh, what'd you get? A BigMac and soda?" Alfred joked and Arthur froze.

"No!" Arthur exclaimed, "There's no way I'd eat those heart attacks in a bun!"

"I'm just pulling your leg, babe." Alfred laughed, "I bet you got a veggie burger and that inky stuff you call tea."

"It's not inky!" Arthur frowned as he bit on the BigMac. He listened to Alfred's laughter and chewing, and suddenly blurted out, "I miss you."

"Aw, I miss you, too, Arthur." Alfred said softly, "I love you."

Arthur didn't bother to fight the blush that grew on his face, "I love you, too. The kids were teasing me earlier."

"Really, why?"

Arthur spent the rest of his lunch period chatting with Alfred, listening to him chew, laugh and talk. He suddenly didn't feel so lonely anymore, it was almost as if Alfred wasn't out of town and was at the office, eating lunch.

xxxxx

After Arthur locked the front door behind him, he sank leaned back on the wooden door and exhaled. He looked at the empty hallway and felt lonely again. There was no mess that Alfred left nor was there the sound of cartoons from the television. It was just the quiet that greeted him.

His cell phone rang and he answered it immediately, "Al?"

There was a deep chuckle and Arthur felt like throwing his cell phone, "You sound quite needy there, mon ami."

"Belt up, Francis." Arthur hissed, his mood definitely turning sour.

Francis chuckled, unaffected by Arthur's rude mouth. "Gilbert, Tonio and I are going out for the night, want to join us? It is your birthday after all and spending it alone at home is quite sad, even for you."

Arthur sighed, knowing that his old friend meant well. "No, I don't feel like it. Besides, I have papers to sign and check."

"Are you sure?" Francis asked and Arthur could tell the Frenchman was frowning, "We can always come over, instead."

Arthur chewed on that thought for a moment, it was certainly sad if he spent the night of his birthday alone at home. After a few moments, he finally decided to take the Frenchman's offer, "That sounds-"

Just before he could finish, the door behind him opened. Arthur quickly jumped forward and reached for the umbrella, thinking it could be thief-

"A-Al?" Arthur gasped, dropping the umbrella and cell phone. "Al?"

"I'm home!" Alfred grinned and embraced Arthur, pressing his lips on the Briton's temple in the process. "Happy birthday, babe!"

"What are you doing home?" Arthur asked, his arms around the American. "I'm not complaining, but I thought you were supposed to arrive tomorrow morning."

Alfred chuckled, "Surprised?"

"Oh, you!" Arthur frowned and playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "I went through such hell today, thinking you were returning home tomorrow and-"

"And I thought you didn't miss me." Alfred teased, kissing Arthur's red cheeks. "Come on, I bought cake and stuff. Francis and the others are on their way, too."

"Francis?" Arthur gasped, instantly wanting to murder Francis for tricking him.

"Yeah, I invited the guys over." Alfred said as he entered the house, "Gilbert's bringing the beer, Tonio and the twins are bringing pasta and pizza, Ludwig's bringing sausages, Mattie's bringing pancakes and the others are bringing other stuff, too. Xiao Chun said he'd bring fire crackers but I convinced Yao to bring dumplings, instead."

Arthur didn't know what got into him when he ran to Alfred and embraced him from behind. He was happy the man was home, he was touched that Alfred had actually planned this, his heart swelled at the thought of Alfred planning all this despite being busy with work and-

"I love you, git."

"I love you, too, Artie."

The End

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, guys! Oh, and a head's up. I'm leaving tomorrow to go to the countryside for summer (it's summer here) and there's no internet connection at the farm so, I might not be able to update regularly. But I'll try hard to update, though. (Our neighbor has wifi and it's unsecured. xD)

Shameless promotion-Please check out my other Hetalia fics as well: Kiss Me Here, Minty Fresh, Melt, The Big News: Alfred & Arthur, World's End, The Big News: Francis & Matthieu, Nightmare, Choco Choco, Hung for Hungary, Just Another Meeting, Password Error, Creamed Trousers, The Best Man, Ring Tone, Concerned Brother, Happy Camping, Alfred's Hangover, Taste of Love, Possessive, Fetish, Lovino's Favourite Cap, Tokimeki Memorial World Edition, Public Display of Affection, Dragon of The Sea, Wilted Rose, Cupcake and Broken Bones