Prompt: America and Canada watch the joint Windsor-Detroit fireworks together.
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It's late June, so close to the Canada-US border that it's sometimes fuzzy which side is which. There's a blanket on the ground and a cooler sitting on it, and lying on the blanket is Matthew and Alfred smiles and thinks that watching the fireworks celebrating your birthday is much better with someone you love. It's even better when that someone's birthday is also being celebrated.
"Coke?" Alfred offers, going through the cooler and trying to see if Matthew's stowed any beer. None this time, which is a shame because drinking contests always end very well. (Matthew always wins, you see.)
Matthew nods gratefully and takes the cold can from his brother, opening and then holding it an arm's length away as it fizzes and overflows. The fizz ends up on the blanket and he frowns a little.
"Don't shake it, Al," Matthew says in annoyance, looking at his brother and rolling his eyes even as Alfred shakes his own can.
"Why not?" he asks. But he still stops the shaking and opens the can. He does it much more slowly, and the gas escapes without much mess. Matthew makes a face and looks away, sipping from his own can as he does so. He's not as fond of the drink as Alfred, but it's hot out and they've already spent a long day in the Windsor midway.
The announcement that the fireworks are about to begin elicits a pleased smile from Matthew and a whoop of joy from Alfred, who immediately settles down to lean against his brother. For once he is not wearing his bright red bunnyhug, which is nice to the touch and suits the Canadian well but just too hot for the weather, and instead has on a white t-shirt. It has a pattern on it that resembles the Canadian uniforms from the Beijing Olympics, the maple leaf at the bottom a familiar emblem past the stylized eights and bold splashes of red and gold. It is just as patriotic as the bunnyhug, and Alfred wonders why people don't mock his brother more often for his own usage of the red maple.
Matthew leans against Alfred in turn and lets their bare arms touch just a little. It is still much too warm out for his comfort, but a little physical contact never hurt anyone (except maybe Arthur, who is still recovering from Alfred's last over-enthusiastic hug) and Alfred seems pleased that Matthew is touching because of his whims and whimsies, not because of the American's requests.
Then their fingers entwine and it doesn't matter that they've been fighting as often as any European does, just in a smaller way, that they still have very faint matching burns on their collarbones, put there by each other, and that Americans and Canadians still don't really like each other. Because fireworks are exploding and the first boom makes Canada flinch, just a little, and the lights that illuminate their faces are all in honour of one thing. The fact the two nations had been born.
"Matt?" Alfred says softly, squeezing his brother's fingers just a little. Matthew turns to Alfred and gets a face full of bright smile and can hear Alfred bidding him a very happy birthday. He turns back to watch an especially large burst of light, the reverberating "crack" sending a shock through their bodies, but Alfred hears the "happy birthday" that his twin has muttered back. Alfred smiles and nudges his brother, and he nudges right back. The fireworks continue to explode.
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A/N: You can probably tell I was still experiemnting with ships when I wrote this. I have since jumped off the America/Canada bandwagon entirely. I think the story Accept the Things I Cannot Change (which is really good, by the way) was what wrapped up any curiosity I had with that ship.
Thank you for reading nonetheless~