AUTHOR: Zeplerfer

4th of October, 2014

"Okay, I've got popcorn and chips and guacamole and plenty of soda, so we should be good for the night," America explained, grinning as he showed off the smorgasbord he had stockpiled near his gigantic television. He didn't understand why other countries complained about his food. It was all so delicious!

England gave the food a wary look. "Little early for the Super Bowl, isn't it?"

"Way too early," America agreed. "Guess again!"

"Hmm... I recall a ghastly amount of junk food when we marathoned Lord of the Rings."

"Yeah, that was a awesome week." America smiled fondly. "Man, we should do the original Star Wars trilogy sometimes."

England crossed his arms. "Not until you explain why the bad guys have my accent."

"Uh..." Instead of discussing the whole empire/rebellion analogy, America wisely chose that moment to change the subject. "Here. Let me give you a hint!"

He proudly pointed to the patriotic "I Voted" sticker on his chest. He would have covered his t-shirt in "I Voted" stickers but the poll workers had shooed him away when he tried to steal the entire roll of stickers. America loved those little stickers. Not only did it make him look extra patriotic, it had also gotten him free fries at his favorite burger joint. And was there anything more patriotic than free fries? That was a rhetorical question, because the answer was obviously no.

"Ohh... you want to watch your election returns." England sighed as he sank into America's plush couch. He looked tired after his long flight. "I suppose an hour or two of the news wouldn't hurt."

"Heck, yeah!" America plopped down next to him and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend. "I can't wait to see who gets control of the Senate."

England glanced at the clock and the pile of food. "Why do I have the sinking suspicion that this is going to take more than a couple of hours."

America grinned sheepishly. "Well, Alaska's got an important senate race and their polls don't close until 1am our time."

He felt England tense. "You're planning to stay up until one in the morning?"

"Oh no." America laughed. "That's just when the polls close. They'll need hours to actually count the votes after that. Alaska's a big state, you know."

"You could just wake up tomorrow and read the papers."

"But England, you're always telling me not to put off till tomorrow what I can do today!"

"The one time you actually listen to me," England muttered under his breath. "Well, stay up as late as you want, but I'm going to bed at ten."

Hoping that England would change his mind, America made sure to hand him plenty of delicious snacks as they flipped between news channels, waiting for the anchors to start calling races. England complained about the junk food, as usual, though he ate it anyway. Maybe it was unfair of America to expect his English boyfriend to watch election returns, but he just couldn't hold in his excitement! As America proudly watched results begin to scroll across the television screen, he chattered excitedly about all of the important races.

"Oh, look, they legalized weed in the District." America laughed. "I can't wait to see what Congress thinks about that."

"They'll probably think their nation has gone to pot," England teased.

"Hey! It was the sixties. Everyone was doing it!"

America quickly changed the channel and moved on to the next race, watching as results began to pour in from his Midwestern states. One downside to having so many different time zones was waiting for the polls to close out west.

"Wow, check out Kansas. I did not see that coming."

Caught up in the excitement of Election Day, America didn't immediately notice that England had stopped providing snarky commentary. After a few minutes, he glanced over and smiled when he saw his boyfriend slumped against the sofa with his mouth hanging open. He felt a warm feeling of contentment fill his body.

"It's not even nine yet, old man," he said fondly. To be fair, it was five hours later in England and his boyfriend was clearly exhausted from his transatlantic flight. Expecting him to stay up late for election returns hadn't been America's best plan.

America turned down the television volume and pulled the sleeping Englishman closer. He smiled when he felt the warm weight of England's head come to rest on his shoulder. England mumbled sleepily and snuggled into his side. Despite his sometimes grouchy demeanor, the English nation acted like a cuddly teddy bear in his sleep. America was tempted to keep watching the television with England curled up at his side, but sleeping upright would leave England grumbling about his stiff neck in the morning.

After glancing up at the screen and then looking down at his snoozing boyfriend, America made a decision. He turned off the television and gently shook England awake.

"Is it over?" England asked drowsily.

"Nah." America replied as they climbed together up the steps and tumbled into his king-size bed. He pulled England closer and reveled in the warmth. "But why put off cuddling till tomorrow night when I can do it tonight?"

He felt England smile and relax in his arms as the Englishman drifted back into sleep. When he was sure that England was deeply asleep, America pulled out his phone and checked the election coverage. When it came to a choice between giving his boyfriend a good night's sleep and watching election results, he preferred to have both.