LonelyPerson: We've returned from the dead! Please forgive us, I've spent a couple of weeks being too busy doing nothing and last week stuck in the middle of nowhere with Onee-chan with only a very slow computer and a couple of chickens. I hope this chapter is good, I spent about an hour typing and didn't even attempt to avoid too much repetition. Forgive me if it drags. Enjoy!

We do not own Hetalia.

Gilbert pulled Matthew from his own stool and into his lap. The Canadian was blushing redder than a beet; Lukas, still squirming in Matthias's lap, panted out "Welcome to the club." Matthew was surprised that the Norwegian's voice remained monotone despite the fact that he was struggling to breathe as his captor squeezed him tighter and tighter.

Suddenly a ceramic coffee mug filled with foamy amber liquid was shoved under Matthew's nose. Gilbert rested his chin on Matthew's shoulder and spoke a little louder than he should have. "All the bierkrugs were taken by the time you got here, Birdie. You get this little pussy instead."

Matthew looked at the thin liquid. It was tempting, but Alfred had insisted on driving his 1971 Chevelle the few blocks to the Kirkland house. Matthew knew in his gut there was no way in hell Alfred would be sober enough to drive back without wrecking the car, and he didn't want to have to return after the party to pick the automobile up.

"I can't have it."

Gilbert gently stroked his fingers along Matthew's chin, tilting the latter's head to face him. "I'll be right back then."

Gilbert, despite being quite skinny, managed to lift Matthew from his lap and place him on top of the bar's counter. Matthew giggled as Gilbert slapped the back of Ludwig's head as he walked away in the direction of the kitchen, skirting various dancers and drinkers. Ludwig did not look up, but mumbled 'arschloch' and took another sip of beer.

"Glad to see you made it to the party, Pet." Allistor emerged from the throng of party guests. He seemed to be the only person lacking a plastic cup. His usual cigarette was absent as well.

"Hey Allistor. Not drinking tonight?"

"Not yet. I promised Ailis I'd save myself for her silly drinking competition. I'll kick everyone's ass anyway. I see you've already gotten some beer. We're going to have to send somebody on a beer run before the night is over."

Matthew smiled at his friend. "Where's the rest of the Kirkland clan?"

Allistor scanned the room as he spoke. "Well, Daniel's chatting up some girls over there," he pointed to where his older brother was telling jokes to a small group of women. Matthew recognized his friend Iryna. He was glad to see the normally shy woman laughing along with the brunette and blonde beside her. Allistor continued. "Ailis is waiting outside, searching for people to join her drinking contest. She's forming a new group because a couple of her original competitors," he glanced at Ludwig, "Are already drunk off their asses. Arthur got lost, Aiden's probably sneaking sips of beer from our guest's cups with his friends, and I'm here talking to you."

"I see."

"You seem to like Gilbert."

Matthew blushed madly. The question was unexpected, and he thought Allistor was going to laugh at him, but the redhead gazed seriously into his violet eyes.

"He's trouble, Pet. A womanizer, you could say, even though he seems rather interested in the male variety. We went to school together, and he was always the kid who flirted and threw around romantic signals. But you know what? He never asked anybody out. Never invited anybody to the movies. Never asked anybody to dance. He broke a lot of hopeful hearts, and he seemed to enjoy it."

"He's not that bad." Matthew gave a rare smirk as he added, "Are you jealous?"

Allistor frowned. "Are you already drunk? What happened to innocent little Mattie? And no, I'm not jealous. I'm looking out for you. You're like a little brother to me, okay? Arthur's already been fucked up. I'm not going to let you get screwed over by some skinny albino bastard."

"I thought you two were friends."

"We are, but there are some aspects of him I don't like. And one of those aspects is that he's a flirt terrified of commitment."

"He likes me."

Allistor's voice was slightly raised. "Why do you always think except when it comes to Gil?"

Matthew stared into Allistor's emerald eyes and then turned his own to the floor. "I get butterflies when I think about him."

Allistor sighed, and a few strands of hair fluttered above his face. "At least you're using silly phrases like 'butterflies' to let me know that my little Pet is still there. I don't want you to think about him. He'll break your heart. I don't want that to happen."

"ALLISTOR!" Ailis shouted above the music. It was low enough in this part of the room that the men at the bar could speak normally, but Ailis didn't seem to have made the adjustment from only being able to hear the person next to her if they were shouting.

"Pipe down," Allistor growled at his older sister. She didn't care for his disgruntled tone, but lowered her voice. "I've got my victims, let's get to drinking. I've decided to set it up on the back porch. Join us if you can, Mattie!" Ailis bounced off towards Daniel's corner and Allistor began to walk toward the kitchen, which offered the quickest access to the deck. "See ya later, Pet. And get off my bar, it's unsanitary."

As his friend meandered off, Matthew slid off the counter and called out, "Why is it you care more for me as a brother than you do for Arthur?"

He wasn't sure if Allistor had heard him, but the redhead seemed to hesitate before continuing on.

A familiar white haired fellow pushed past Allistor and stumbled over to the bar. "I'm ba-ack," Gilbert announced to the gathered men. Nobody seemed to care. Alfred and the Russian man, who Matthew had frankly forgotten about, were clinking shot glasses together, the American beer abandoned. Ludwig was attempting to have a phone conversation with Feliciano, and seemed to be giving directions. Lukas had escaped Matthias and disappeared, with Matthias chasing after him. The bartender was filling in a Sudoku.

"Aw, Birdie disobeyed me," Gilbert whined, tapping on the counter where Matthew had been sitting moments before. "I didn't tell him to get off. But I'll be nice anyway, cause I'm the awesome one!"

Matthew suspected that the albino had drunk from a few abandoned beer cups along his journey. The red eyed man was holding something behind his back, flaring up Matthew's curiosity.

"Close your eyes and I'll give you a present almost as awesome as I am," Gilbert slurred.

The blond obeyed, but opened one eye in a slit. Gilbert was squeezing maple syrup into Matthew's beer. Matthew smiled. Allistor doesn't know what he's talking about.

"Open your eyes. Maybe you'll like it more now."

Matthew took a sip from the mug and was pleasantly surprised. The beer had adopted a mixture of bitter and faintly sweet taste. "It's fantastic," he replied. Matthew was suddenly aware that the stereo had been cranked up to full volume, and his head throbbed as an unintelligible techno song made his glasses vibrate. "Let's go enjoy it outside!" he yelled to Gilbert. The latter did not seem to hear. Matthew tried again. "LET'S GO OUTSIDE!" he repeated, louder. Gilbert nodded and grabbed Matthew by the hand. The Canadian felt faint as their skin touched.

As the pair walked past Alfred and the Russian, Matthew considered telling his brother where he was going. But he decided against it, eager to escape the awful music.

Alfred felt himself getting drunker and drunker. He'd had about four shots of vodka already, and his mouth and throat burned even though the alcohol had been diluted in cranberry juice. Ivan, on the other hand, had downed six shots of straight vodka and did not seem to be the slightest bit tipsy.

"Let's go outside, da? This music displeases me." Ivan said, standing up with vodka in hand. Alfred only now realized just how tall the Russian was. He gave a bleary nod and followed the silver haired man out onto the back deck. Damn it… There's no way I'm gonna win this bet. A group of people were gathered around the grill, among them the older Kirkland siblings and his own brother Matthew. Apparently there was a drinking contest going on, for there were a few crates of beer stacked up beside the railing and various voices yelling out "Go Allistor!" or "Show 'em your Goral side, Feliks!"

From what the drunken blond could tell, the contestants were Ailis, Daniel, Allistor, a girl named Elzvieta, a tall man named Berwald, and a long haired blond teenager named Feliks. The other seven people standing on the porch –Gilbert, Matthew, Basch, Roderich, Toris, Tino, and Lukas- seemed to be bystanders rooting for their friends. Among the other cheers, Alfred picked out his brother's voice calling out encouragements to Allistor, which the former was not happy about.

Feliks seemed to have the most attention, however, because he was taking alternating gulps from a bottle of beer and a bottle of vodka. Berwald was taking his time, taking sips and observing the others. Ailis, Daniel, and Allistor were chugging the amber liquid, obviously trying to outdo eachother specifically, and the occasional push from another sibling sent each of the three stumbling to the ground at least once each. Elzvieta paused her drinking to call out, "Basch, join the fun! You could give Feliks a run for his money!"

Basch, a teenager similar in appearance to Feliks, shook his head. "I need to set an example for Lili, and I refuse to go home drunk."

"Yet you accept the invite to a party that you knew would be full of alcohol and drugs," Roderich, a man with a faint German accent said. The dislike he had for the other was clear. Basch merely scowled and turned toward the competition.

Alfred smelled something strong. A shot glass filled with clear, burning liquid. He drank it, not caring that there was no juice this time. He was about to pass out and he knew it.

"I have no more vodka, I drank all of it. I shall get more, da?"

Alfred's vision was starting to blur; he knew he had a pretty low alcohol tolerance, but somehow he felt that he shouldn't have been blacking out already. He watched Ivan lumber toward Feliks, who was swigging from the beer, and reach for the vodka. The Polish teen lifted the now-empty beer bottle and slammed it into Ivan's head. Ivan took a step back, but reached for the vodka again. Feliks drove the beer bottle into Ivan's cheek and hissed, "Spierdalaj."

Ivan glanced back at Alfred, to find that the American was sprawled on the wood in front of the sliding door. He smiled and walked away from the contest, ignoring the strange looks he got from those gathered there.

Matthew rooted for Allistor, of course. He also cheered on Feliks; everybody watching was, even Gilbert, who was not a fan of the younger man. He stifled a giggle when Alfred's Russian friend attempted to snatch Feliks's vodka and as the Kirkland siblings shoved each other to the ground. He didn't notice Alfred collapse, nor his brother's silver haired companion scoop him up and carry him into the house the way a newly-wed man would carry his bride.

LonelyPerson: Again, forgive us. This story is supposed to be about Alfred and Matt starting an awesome '50s diner, but so far they've been in a train and a room, and a car and a room, and a room and a room! (Yay for The Beatles! And ignore that bit about the train...)

Sadly, we've got one more chapter ignoring the actual diner. But we promise, you won't have to wait like three weeks for the next update.

Also, because shit happens, I must add on: We do not own that little quote from A Hard Day's Night. Nor do we own any part of that movie.