Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

On the west coast of the central plaza was a wide variety of shops, cafes, and restaurants—a popular location for tourists and residents to regularly sojourn and inhabit.

Tucked between a shoe store and a local park stood a large bakery with a large open patio, prearranged with tables and chairs for an outdoor experience. The appearance of the building was painted honey yellow with mint green on its narrow sides. Small lanterns dangle above the store sign, producing a faint glow of light. Boxes of red, white and blue blossoms decorated below the lower sectors of the large glass windows. The gold-plated logo above the transparent entrance spells, 'Petite Patisserie' along with the phrase, 'Bon Appetit' beautifully imprinted underneath.

Inside the shop, oak layered rows are displayed throughout the different sections of the area with fluorescent lamps embedded into the ceiling.

On the left side—freshly baked goods such as cakes, muffins, bagels and loaves of bread—giving off an aroma of wholesome goodness.

On the right side—a widespread assortment of confectioneries in which was placed next to the serving counter. Behind the counter was a red curtain that only the employees can gain access through.

"Thank you, please come again!" The female cashier chirped as she handed a brown bag toward a father and his child. The two customers nodded and smiled before heading to the door, the bell on top of the entrance door softly ringing to indicate their departure. Scanning around the area, the female smiled wearily. She then proceeded to get out from the counter to approach the door, her hand reaching up to flip the mini sign from 'open' to 'closed'.

"Was that the last customer, Lucille?"

Upon hearing her name, the female turned to find her boss emerging out from behind the red curtains. "I'm afraid so," She confirmed while tangling her fingers on the ends of her long one-sided braid.

Francis nodded. Lifting the curtains above his head, he continued, "Come inside and join us, won't you?"

Dabbing the invisible dirt on her blue apron, Lucille shook her head before walking forward. Ducking her head, she then entered the red curtains with her boss following behind her. For what seemed to be a few minutes of silence, Francis took the liberty to speak first, "So far, so good." He uttered softly, loud enough for her to hear.

"How's Michelle by the way?" Lucille asked him. "I hear that she's in charge of distracting Arthur."

Francis chuckled softly, "Knowing her, she'll be taking her time. She does enjoy his company after all," He stated. "I just hope she won't tire herself out too quickly."

Pushing the bridge of her glasses against her nose, Lucille replied, "Then we'll have to make sure her contribution is worth it."

"Indeed."

Finally, they have reached their destination. Francis took a step forward; wrapping his fingers around the doorknob while placing his other free hand against the doorframe. Turning the doorknob, he opened the door. The majority of their orchestra band occupied the large mess hall, their loud outcries bouncing to and fro in the walls. Taking in the sight, Francis brought one of his knuckles to rest underneath his chin, brushing out his facial hair, "Everyone's here, right?"

Lucille pursed her lips, "I'm afraid so."

Francis heaved a deep breath, placing a hand on one hip. He then raised his arms up and began clapping his hands six times, getting the crowd's full notice.

Once the noise reduced, Francis grinned. "Mesdames, Messieurs, bonjour!" He began, "As you may all know, today's a very special day." Earning a wave of shrieks and applauses, he continued. "A dear Conductor of ours is getting older. And as always, let's commemorate this magnifique occasion, World-gig style."

Francis then gestured a hand toward the woman standing beside him, "Lucille here will be assigning each one of you the groups that you'll be in and the roles you will contribute to the party. Remember to relax and have fun, but not too much fun or you'll throw up," He explained teasingly, "Yes, you know who you are."

Stretching an arm outward, Francis lifted his chin a little, his violet eyes looming amongst the crowd in search of a certain bespectacled young man. "Alfred, start us off!"

An awkward moment of silence filled the room. This caused Francis to raise a questionable eyebrow.

"Alfred, hello? You're up!" Francis called again, this time, louder.

When he still didn't receive an answer, he frowned. "Has anyone seen him?"

In the midst of the crowd, a platinum blonde haired man folded his arms. "Now that I think about it, Mathias isn't here either."

"Didn't he say that he was sleeping over at Gilbert's?" Emil asked his relatives, retaining his poker face.

Lukas shrugged, "Can't say." He said simply, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'll answer you unless you call me—"

"Hell no!" Emil quickly cried, his left eye twitching in annoyance.

"Emil is right, fellas," Tino chimed in, "Maybe he forgot that there was an important meeting." Turning around, he asked the taller Nordic with glasses, "What do you think, Berwald?"

Berwald stared back at him, quietly grunting, "Who knows?"

Meanwhile, a group of friends quickly ran through the neighboring streets, their perspiring faces indicating that they had been sprinting for their dear lives. On the bright side, it was only a Monday morning, which meant that there weren't a lot of people loitering around the area.

"SHIT, WE'RE LATE!" Alfred cried aloud, recklessly throwing more curses after the other, "WE'RE GONNA BE SO DEAD!"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, GILBERT!" Mathias protested at the albino, his hand firmly gripping onto his small black hat that adorned his head. "IF YOU HADN'T OVERSLEPT, WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE PANICKING IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY," Gilbert barked back, "MY DREAM LAST NIGHT WAS AWESOME!"

Alfred laughed, "HAHAHA! YOU MEAN THE ONE INVOLVED WITH YOU MOANING OUT ELIZABETA'S NAME IN YOUR SLEEP?"

Hearing this, albino blushed. "BASTARD, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BROADCAST IT!"

…Alas, this didn't stop some of the pedestrians that were currently present in the scene to stop what they were doing and send them weird looks, completely puzzled by their group's bizarre way of communicating.

Taking note of his surroundings, Kiku sighed. "Guys, enough with the shouting! What's done is done." He assured to them calmly. "Our top priority right now is getting to the bakery."

His three friends immediately shut their mouths. Kiku was right. Even if they were to continue arguing, they would never be able to reach the bakery in time. As of now, time was not on their side. Still, the least they could do was to make the most of it.

At long last, they finally made it to the bakery—only for their tiny spark of hope to get crushed upon catching sight of the 'closed' sign that appeared on the door.

"Great, now what?" Gilbert groaned, his chest heaving rapidly as he was out of breath.

"If my memory serves correctly, shouldn't there be an exit from the store?" Kiku gasped.

In response, Alfred shook his head. "Yeah, there is!" He cried before running ahead once more.

"Dude, wait up!" Mathias cried in an attempt to keep up with his friend.

Alfred didn't bother to listen as he made a quick turn to the left. "Come on, guys! It's right over here!" He shouted enthusiastically, laughing away.

Too exhausted to raise a question, his friends didn't say a word and obediently followed after him. Since when did Alfred still have the energy to keep going?

Once they managed to catch up to him, they found themselves in front of yet another entrance. The difference about this one, however, was the fact that it appeared to have a mechanical device stationed on its railing, signaling that the only other way for it to open was with a password.

Luckily for them, they had Alfred.

"When Matthew, Michelle and I were little, we used to sneak here in the backdoor to steal pastries from Francis," Alfred explained as he proceeded to draw out his hand toward the mechanical device and firmly began tapping the four digits that he remembered.

"Really? Matthew was in on it too?" Mathias asked, thinking that his ears were deceiving him.

Kiku frowned a little, "Not necessarily. Michelle and Alfred practically dragged him and used him as a decoy to talk to Francis while the two of them stole stuff," He explained thoroughly before sighing. "Poor Matthew though. Arthur ended up lecturing him for three straight hours when Alfred was completely spared from the consequences."

A few minor clicks erupted behind the door and it opened.

"Alright! Way to go, Alfie!" Mathias cried, lifting up his arm to bump fists with the bespectacled young man.

"There's no time to celebrate," Kiku reasoned, "Let's go in."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Gilbert cried before shoving his friends inside the entrance.

Shortly after the four of them had entered the building, the door automatically closed itself, prompting Alfred and Kiku to slightly jump a little. Looking back and forth, they all heaved a measured sigh of relief.

"Do you think they'd noticed we were gone?" Mathias asked softly to his friends as they walked through the narrow halls.

"Of course, we did."

"AHHHH!" Both Alfred and Gilbert shrieked; in the blink of an eye, quickly ran to hide behind their best friend's back.

Kiku folded his arms, sighing in dismay. 'What idiots.' He thought before looking up. His eyes slightly widened. "Mei? What are you doing here?"

Picking up the sound of her name, Xiao Mei frowned, "That's a rude question." She said, inwardly glaring. "I work here!"

"I don't recall." Kiku admitted, confused.

"Well, now you know." Xiao Mei said, shrugging. Tilting her head to the side, she beamed. "Whoa, is that Alfred and Gilbert?"

Clearing his throat, Mathias muttered, "Hey, I'm here too."

Xiao Mei blinked, averting her attention from her childhood friend and to the tall Nordic before her. She playfully hit herself on the head while sticking out her tongue. "Ah, my bad! I don't believe we met! I'm Xiao Mei Nguyen."

"Mathias Kohler," Mathias said rather charmingly, much to Kiku's disgust.

"Okay, I think that's enough of introductions," Kiku said, butting into their conversation, a scowl evident in his face. Peering over his shoulder, he then addressed to his cowardly best friends. "Alfred, Gilbert, relax. It is just Mei."

Hearing his name, Alfred poked his head out behind Kiku with the albino shortly following after.

"Xiao Mei!" Alfred greeted, emitting a grin.

"Hey there!" Xiao Mei responded back, returning the smile with one of her own. "You know, Mister Bonnefoy was looking for you."

Alfred scratched the back of his head, laughing, "Really? Well, we're here now!"

"Yeah, the three—no wait, four musketeers are here!" Gilbert cried loudly, making sure to include Mathias in their group. He then pumped his fist into the air, his crimson eyes brimming with determination. "Let's get this shebang started!"

Xiao Mei clasped her hands together, grinning cheekily. "Would you like me to bring you guys over to where Mister Bonnefoy is?" She asked, getting right to the chase.

Mathias nodded excitedly. "That'll be great!"

"We are in your debt, Mei." Kiku thanked his childhood friend.

Xiao Mei winked, "Anytime!"

And from there, she led the way.

Pop!

"Dude, that was the fifth time in a row!" Gilbert protested, directing his anger toward his bespectacled best friend who stared back at him with a clueless look. "How many times do I have to tell you not to blow too hard?"

"You know that he can't help it, Gilbert. Alfie's just got some strong lungs." Mathias explained, snickering. "Man, it's no wonder he's called the ace."

Alfred pouted, his fingers fidgeting over the rubber texture of the party balloon. "I already tried blowing softer but it just keeps popping!"

"Then why don't you go find another job?" Gilbert retorted almost too quickly.

Sensing a potential fight between the two, Kiku walked over. "Calm yourselves!" He said with his arms spread out wide. "We still have more balloons!"

"Yeah, but if Alfred keeps it up, there won't be any more left!" Gilbert proclaimed, crossing his arms.

Before Alfred could respond back, Mathias had already beaten him to it.

"Gilbert's right, Kiku," Mathias said, tying the ends of a blue balloon together to form a knot. He then gestured to the collection of party balloons on the floor. "We're almost finished anyway."

Kiku furrowed his eyebrows. Turning to face Alfred, he asked, "You okay with that, Alfred?"

"I don't mind." Alfred confessed, shrugging. He forced out a smile. "I'll just go and ask anyone if they need some help or whatever."

"You sure?"

Alfred nodded in confirmation. "It's cool."

With the turn of his heel, Alfred left his friends to do their duties. Now that he was alone, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Then again, Gilbert had a good point. If he did stay any longer, he could've blown up the rest of the other balloons and there wouldn't be enough to decorate the whole place.

An idea popped into his head. Scrambling to his feet, Alfred began to make his way through the mess hall in search of something to do—or more specifically, somebody in need.

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Oh, I'm sure," Tino, affirmed as he covered one of the wooden tables with a white tablecloth. Wiping off the dirt from his hands, he continued, "Berwald, Lukas and I are almost finished assorting the tables and chairs." Noticing the disappointed look etched on Alfred's face, he quickly added in, "Say, why don't you go ask Emil then?"

Alfred's ears slightly twitched, his sky blue eyes twinkling brilliantly. "Do you know where he is?"

Tino shook his head. "Berwald!" He raised his voice to call over the taller figure nearby. "Do you know where Emil could be?"

Berwald stopped what he was doing and stood still for a moment, trying to think. "Isn't he in charge of culinary?"

"Oh, yes! That's right!" Tino chirped merrily. Turning his attention back to Alfred again, he motioned over to the opposite direction of the mess hall. "Do you know where the kitchen is at?" He asked. Receiving a nod, he smiled. "Yeah, he's probably there with your brother Matthew and Li."

Thanking him, Alfred headed off once more.

Upon arriving at the open entrance of the kitchen, Alfred gradually lessened his pace. Thick smoke clouded the entire area, causing him to feel a little lightheaded. Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes, seeking for a familiar blob of platinum hair in his surroundings. Now wasn't the time to get distracted.

Suddenly, something poked him on the shoulder, alarming him. "Something wrong, Alfred?"

"Xiao Mei!" Alfred acknowledged her, emitting another smile, "Have you seen Emil anywhere?"

Xiao Mei pressed her lips together in a straight line, "Not that I know of." She said flatly, "Do you need something from him?"

"Not really. I just want to help."

Placing two fingers under her chin, Xiao Mei slightly leaned forward, letting her long brown hair roll freely down her waist as she took in the sights before her. "Hmm… Everybody seems pretty busy." She noted, frowning. "I'll let you know when someone needs help."

"Mei, can you come over here? I need some help!"

A smile made its way through her lips upon listening to the sound of a feminine voice she recognized. "Ah! There's someone in distress right now!"

Alfred blinked, tilting his head. "Really? Who?"

Xiao Mei's smile expanded before immediately pointing over to the cake decorating section. "Right over there!"

Following her finger, Alfred stiffened.

"You know, might be a good time to apologize," Xiao Mei whispered lowly, patting him on the back before walking away.

Alfred bit his lower lip.

Was he ready to face her?

'Only one way to find out.' He thought.

Taking a deep breath, Alfred leisurely walked toward her. There was no turning back.

With a smile etched on his face, he proceeded to call out her name. "Lien!"

Lien stopped abruptly and turned, stiffening as well. "Alfred."

A few minutes passed with nothing but the minor noises of Lien's steady and graceful movement as she rolled the ball of dough on the large rectangular wooden board on the kitchen counter. Alfred on the other hand just stood there and watched her, patiently waiting for his turn to occasionally replace the dough with another one.

Clearing his throat, Alfred decided to speak up. "Nice weather we're having." He commented. He slyly took a quick glance at the woman beside him, hoping to receive a reaction coming from her. Unfortunately, all he could get was a slight nod. He resorted to throwing in another question, "Um…wow, so you can bake?"

"Not just baking." Lien simply answered, still focused on her work. "I also make confectionaries."

"How long have you been doing this?" Alfred asked further.

"Two years."

Alfred whistled, "That's impressive."

Lien slightly motioned her shoulders. "Not really."

More silence saturated between them. Alfred sighed, bringing a hand to tousle his sandy hair as he did so. Was she still mad about the previous afternoon? 'She has the right to not talk to me,' He told himself, 'but how long is she willing to stay silent?'

Looking back at her, his eyes widened.

"Hey, you got something on your face," Alfred noted, startling Lien from her concentration. "Let me take care of it." When he tried brushing the white powder on the top of her nose with the back of his right hand, it only resulted in him to accidentally sprinkle more dust of flour all over her face.

Lien closed her eyes, opening her mouth to gasp, "Wha—Alfred!"

Alfred withdrew back as he waved his hands back and forth in defense, "No, no, wait! That wasn't what I—"

He didn't have time to explain as the lenses of his glasses was suddenly covered with some specks of flour as well, catching him off-guard.

Alfred blinked once, then twice.

What just happened? Taking out his specs, Alfred was met with a surprising scene.

Right there in front of him—the usually quiet and reserved Lien was cupping her mouth with her hands as if the air had been taken out from her lungs, her head slightly thrown back, the sound that she was softly making reminded him of tinkling glass.

Witnessing this, he smiled.

He made her laugh.

"Are you challenging me, Miss Nguyen?" Alfred asked with one eyebrow raised.

Lien removed her hands away from her mouth. The mischievousness tinge in her piercing amber eyes made his heart skip a beat. "Excuse me, but you were the one who started it, Jones." She stated matter-of-factly.

"What?" Alfred began, "But it was an acid—"

TWACK!

Much to his dismay, more flour was thrown onto his face. "Lien!"

Lien giggled, "You talk too much!"

Folding his glasses and then pocketing them inside his brown bomber jacket, Alfred grinned.

Oh, it was on.

Taking a small dose of flour into his palms, he throws some flour powder onto her, laughing, "Sneak attack!"

Alas, Lien dodged it at the nick of time. "You can't say sneak attack by yelling it aloud, dummy!"

Before they knew it, they continued tossing more flour at one another. Unknown to them both, everything around them was also being affected as well and eventually, their small workplace was filled with the color of white caused by the flour. The more they kept on doing this, the louder Lien's laughter grew.

As Lien was distracted with laughing, she failed to realize that Alfred took a washcloth from the counter. Ever so stealthily, he lowered down his knees until he met her eye-to-eye.

Noticing this, Lien stammered, "W-what are you doing?"

"Close your eyes, Lien." He instructed her, his voice becoming softer.

Lien looked up with giddiness, "How do I know if you're planning to do something to me?" She asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything." Alfred assured. "Trust me."

Lien hesitated for a moment before finally giving in to his words. As she shut her eyes closed, Alfred proceeded to hoist the washcloth and gently pressing it on her facial features. First her ears, then her forehead, her cheeks, her nose…

Her lips.

Thinking back to that faithful evening when they both shared a kiss (thought it was mostly him), realization struck Alfred like lightning. Now would be the best time to give it to her. "Hey, Lien," He began, "Can you do me a favor and put your hand out for me?"

"Hmm? Why?" Lien asked with her eyes remaining close.

Alfred snickered. "Just do it, please."

Lien furrowed her eyebrows. What was he up to? Even so, she did what she was told.

Alfred turned and began to quietly open up one of the cupboards.

When he discovered that Lien was stationed in the cake decorating section, he nearly had a heart attack, thinking that she might have known. 'Good thing Ludwig hid it well.' He thought once he found what he was looking for. Instead of taking it out however, Alfred stopped to look around. Taking the ballpoint pen and post-it that he found from one of the cabinet drawers, he quickly scribbled something before placing it on Lien's hand.

"You can open your eyes now." Alfred told her.

Fluttering her eyes open, Lien looked down, frowning. "What's this?"

Before Alfred could answer her, someone called out his name. Turning, he took notice of a silhouette approaching them. The person was male with violent eyes and wavy brown hair. On the lower left of his face was his birthmark mole. Just like Alfred, he too wore glasses.

There was no mistake; this person was, in fact, World gig's prized pianist: Roderich Edelstein.

"Alfred," Roderich addressed, his voice slightly shaken. "Come, we need you to help us with the music."

Alfred nodded, slightly gripping the washcloth. "I'll be there!" Fixating his attention back at Lien, he sighed. "Guess that's my cue."

Lien arched an eyebrow. "You're leaving already?"

"I'm afraid so." Alfred said; trying not to sound too upset. "If you can, stick a little longer for the party. We've got something awesome planned later!"

Lien crinkled her nose, softly smiling. "We'll see."

Setting the washcloth aside on the counter, Alfred smiled once more, "Catch ya later!" He didn't bother to wait for her to bid him goodbye as he dashed off with Roderich trailing after him.

Taking a quick glance at his disappearing form, Lien lowered her head down to examine the yellow-colored post-it. She narrowed her eyes as she attempted to read the scratchy handwriting.

Open the top left cupboard!

Looking around, she then headed over to the left of her direction. Stretching her arm forward, she lightly pressed the frame of the cupboard, triggering it to instantly open. Tip-toeing a little, she buried her arm a little deeper inside before she felt something soft brushing her fingers. Taking hold of the strange item, she pulled it out.

She held her breath, completely at a loss for words.

In her hands was a bouquet of freshly cut white star-shaped flowers. Attached to the decorative wrapping was a small card. Carefully hold of the flowers into her right arm, she used her other free one to take the card and open it. Imprinted on the card were another series of messy handwriting.

Star of Bethlehem Flower

Check out the meaning ;)

"Star of Bethlehem?" She wondered, reading the message out loud. Even so, Lien went along with it. She then took out her phone from the pocket of her yellow apron. After she inserted her password, she pressed an app and began to search the flower name on the Internet.

"Sis, what'cha got there?"

"Huh? Oh, Mei!"

"Woah! Flowers!" Xiao Mei cried, feeling giddy all of a sudden. "Where'd you get that?"

"Good question." Lien said, blushing. "You don't mind if you hold them for me, would you?"

Xiao Mei flashed a grin, spreading her arms out to accept the flowers. "I don't mind!"

"Thank you," Lien thanked before fixating on her phone screen once more. Scrolling down through a list of possible links, Lien clicked the first choice.

'There we go,' She thought to herself, once the page successfully downloaded. 'Now let's see…'

Star of Bethlehem symbolism:

Innocence.

Purity.

Honesty.

Hope and…

"Forgiveness." She uttered under her breath. Upon reading the last word, Lien's mouth slightly opened.

Noticing her older sister's sudden quietness, Xiao Mei grew concerned. "Sis, you okay?" She asked, peering over her shoulder to take a look. "What did you see?"

Lien ignored her, her amber eyes darkening as a whirlwind of mixed emotions overflowed her. "He remembers."

The sun sank lower in the dusky, brownish sky with only the faintest of sunlight gleaming through the far side of the neighborhood. The heat of the day ebbed to a comforting and relaxing warmth.

"I appreciate you coming along," Arthur commented, referring to the younger girl walking beside him.

Michelle grinned, "No problem!" She said as she playfully nudged him on the elbow, "Besides, I've always wanted to spend some quality time with a special someone, if you know what I mean."

Hearing this, Arthur turned the other way, blushing. "F-flattery won't get you anywhere," He grumbled.

Realizing what she had said, Michelle rolled her eyes, "Excuse me but I wasn't talking about you!" She immediately retorted as she gestured an arm over to the presence of the Chow Chow walking in between them. "I was talking about Kumajirou." She explained, "Why? Are you jealous?"

Hurling his head around, his eyes widened like saucers. Arthur blushed deeper. "No, I'm not!" He protested before quietly murmuring, "Bloody hell, you really do take after that damn Frog."

Michelle folded her arms, "Stupid eyebrows."

Arthur shook his head, muttering, "Stupid pigtails."

Suddenly, Michelle skidded to a halt.

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Arthur wondered curiously.

Michelle didn't bother to respond as she began to wave toward the two approaching silhouettes before them. Similar to their case, they were also accompanied by a canine.

Out of nowhere, she leapt forward.

"Wha—Michelle!" Arthur cried out, "Come back here this instant!" When he took note that she didn't stop running, he clicked his tongue in irritation. Gripping Kumajirou's dog lease, he followed after her.

Great, she was mad at him.

"Louis! Abel!" Michelle greeted the two men, abruptly changing her demeanor.

"Oh. Pleasant evening, Michelle." Louis replied back politely, his stylish long bangs in which covered his right eye partly moved prior to his gesture.

Michelle nodded and then averted her focus to the other man. "What's up, Abel?"

The spiky dirty blonde haired man grunted, adjusting his long blue and white scarf around his neck. He puts a hand over the top of the right side of his forehead, which visibly shows his short, vertical scar. "How annoying," He said softly before casually shrugging, "Fine, I guess."

Michelle proceeded to put the tips of her fingers together, her mouth curving to form a smile. "I'm guessing you're meeting up with Bel and Antonio, huh?"

"You could say that." Louis said, exchanging quick glances with his big brother. "What about you, Michelle?"

Michelle pressed a finger against her lips, "That's a secret~"

A soft bark erupted, causing Michelle to peer down in curiosity. Squatting down to her knees, she gasped. "Oh my goodness, what do we have here?" She began, speculating the chubby Newbie dog.

"His name is Pelze," Abel explained as he put one of his gloved hands into the pockets of his light brown tunic.

"Awww, what a cutie~" Michelle gushed, "You have such a cute doggy!"

Louis smiled, feeling a sense of pride. "Why, thank you."

Michelle cautiously reached out to touch Pelze's black fur. She stopped midway, glancing up to ask permission, "May I?"

Abel shook his head with a lackluster smirk. "Go right ahead."

Michelle's face brightened. Just when her fingers could make contact with Pelze's fur, a strong force held her back.

"Stand up, Michelle."

Michelle looked up, puffing her cheeks. "You can't tell me what to do, eyebrows."

"It doesn't matter, stupid." Arthur said sternly, his voice dripping with venom.

Looking up to face the brothers, he bowed his head, his expression mixed with anger and annoyance. "We'll best be going now." Grabbing hold of her wrist, he dragged Michelle off, much to her constant protests with Kumajirou following at their stead.

Once they were a couple of blocks away, Michelle tore his grip from her, "What is up with you?"

"What's up with me? What's up with you?" Arthur ranted, waving his arms hysterically, "You shouldn't be talking with them!"

Michelle furrowed her eyebrows. "Why? Because they're from Star Fest?"

Arthur nodded, "Exactly."

Michelle clenched her teeth, "You are such a jerk!"

"I'm the jerk?" Arthur proclaimed haughtily, "You were the one busy flirting!"

Michelle stared at him with a scowl, taking a moment to absorb in his words. "Arthur, are you seriously jealous over a dog?"

"No way!" Arthur defended, despite how his reddened face said otherwise. "If anything, Kumajirou here should be the one jealous!"

"You mean with Pelze?" Michelle asked, her face contorting in sadness. "Really?" Bending ever so slightly, she then reached out to ruffle Kumajirou's head. "I'm sorry, buddy."

A corner of Arthur's mouth lifted as the tension in his shoulders lessened.

"Ewww, is that a smile I see?" Michelle noted, pointing at him. "Gosh, you are such a pervert!"

Arthur sighed deeply. "Michelle, you're really…"

"Yes? I'm waiting." Michelle said, her nose crinkled.

"Stupid."

"What?"

"You're so stupid," Arthur finally confessed to her, "You're making me look stupid, stupid."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Michelle countered, stomping her foot on the ground. "And stop saying stupid!"

Arthur pressed his lips to a straight line, "Stupid is a good thing." He said softly.

Michelle tilted her head, "What was that now?"

Arthur chuckled, scratching the back of his head before looking up at her once more, "Just stay stupid for me, alright?"

"Okay..?" Michelle trailed off, nibbling her bottom lip. "Hey, you don't mind if we drop by over my brother's bakery? I forgot something,"

Arthur took a deep breath and sighed. Oh, the things he does for this girl. "Whatever."

Michelle beamed. "Good!" She then took out her phone, "Let me just call my brother if he's still there."

"I got a call from Michelle!" Francis announced, "You all know the drill! Everyone, hide!"

Noises of shuffling feet amplified in the large mess hall. As everyone began to find their own personal hiding spots, Francis didn't budge from where he stood, observing his surroundings. It was basic really as each corner of the mess hall was designed for varied uses. For instance, on the right corner with the windows was where the food court was stationed and on the opposite side was an array of tables and chairs. The wide, open space at the center was left empty, as it should be as its purpose would be revealed quite shortly.

Walking over to the light switch, Francis bellowed, "Is everyone ready?" Getting an amount of cheers from all corners of the room, Francis smiled and then pressed the button, causing the entire room to become shrouded in absolute darkness.

It was time.

For what seemed like hours, their ears eventually picked up the sound of jingling bells and then a loud thump of a door unlocking. Quiet utterings lessened, followed in by cackled thuds and clumps that screeched the tile floors. In his hiding spot, Francis quivered anxiously, taking deep breaths to ease his racing heart.

"Bloody hell, where'd the lights at?"

The sudden click of a light switch triggered the room to light up and just like that, a large crowd of twenty people or so jumped out. A mix of "Surprise!" "Happy birthday!" and "You're getting old!" erupted the entire room.

Somehow, Arthur managed to pull out an awkward smile. "You guys really didn't have to." He said to them, feeling embarrassed.

His childhood friend appeared with a glass of champagne in his hands, "We know." Francis said. "But we wanted to, anyway."

Arthur grimaced. Nevertheless, he accepted the drink. "Thank you, Frog." He thanked before raising his voice, "Thank you, everyone."

Sneaking up behind him, Michelle gently took Kumajirou's lease from the his grasp. "You know, there's someone here to apologize." She chirped, joining in on the conversation.

Arthur narrowed his eyes in confusion. It didn't take long before it dawned on him. And just like that, his gentleman-like state was shattered. "Where the bloody hell is that son of a bitch?"

Francis placed a hand on his childhood friend's shoulder. "Now, before you try to lunge at him," He said, squeezing his hold on him, "Let him do his thing first."

"What thing?"

As if on cue, a bespectacled young man appeared, standing on top of a table with a microphone on one hand and his golden trumpet on the other. His twin climbed in, following his example.

"Sup, bro," Alfred greeted with his usual cheerfulness.

"We prepared a song for you." Matthew said, finishing the rest of his brother's sentence. "Hope you like it!"

Everybody gave a loud cheer, causing Alfred to laugh a bit. "Okay, hit it!"

Arthur's ears perked up by the intro of a slow song being played. He raised his head in suspicion to discover Roderich playing the piano from across the room. His mouth slightly opened. So he was in on it too.

Suddenly, the classical music superseded and instead, was replaced by Alfred and surprisingly, Matthew, yelling at the top of their lungs, "Clap your hands, everybody! And everybody just clap your hands!"

Out of nowhere—his friends: Gilbert and Mathias joined in, each equipped with electric guitars, "Clap your hands, everybody! And everybody just clap your hands!"

Arthur tried hard not to get swayed by the music as he waited for his younger brothers to begin a storm.

Hey, hey, everyone! Today's April 23rd!

You know what that means? What does that mean?

Hey, hey, everyone! Today's April 23rd!

You know what that means? Yes, it means one thing!

Alfred took a step forward, leading the chorus:

Happy birthday to you, bro!

Happy birthday to you, bro!

Happy birthday to you, bro!

Today's your special day!

The air becomes packed by shouts of encouragements as the rest of their entire orchestra band flocked around the birthday boy, forming a circle. Linking their arms with one another, they began rocking their body back and forth to the beat of the music.

Ah, what a fabulous gig!

Without you, it would not be the same!

Your guidance is what made each and everyone who we are

And so, we'll like to thank you!

Handing his microphone over to his brother, Alfred brought the mouthpiece of his instrument against his lips. Taking a deep breath, an explosion of brilliance erupted, sending yet another wave of applauses throughout the mess hall. As Alfred performed his solo, this didn't stop the others from trying to compete for their Conductor's attention. And so, the music continued with Alfred and his friends providing the background music for them.

"World gig thanks you, today's your special day!" Matthew sang with eagerness.

"We stand here, united, still the same band!" Francis piped in, blowing a kiss.

"Here we are," Michelle, cried with her arms spread out wide, "We are family!"

All at once, each and every member sang with his or her hearts out:

Yes, yes, we are! And forever we shall be!

You are more than a Conductor!

You are Arthur, head of our regime!

Once again, more cheers erupted the room. Arthur couldn't help but emit a proud smile on his face, at the same time, letting a few tears fall.

Without you, it wouldn't be the same!

Your guidance is what made us who we are

With love, from World gig!

The song ended after a few keynotes played on both the piano and guitars. Alfred gave a sigh of relief, wiping his sweating face with the back of his hand. He nudged his twin, who gave him a winning smile in return. Jumping down from the table, the siblings approached their older brother, anticipating for his reaction.

"So? What do you think?" Alfred gasped, out of breath.

Without warning, Arthur tackled his brothers, wrapping his arms securely around their waists as he pulled them into a bone-crushing hug. "You idiots," He sobbed, raising his voice. "You are all idiots!"

Both Alfred and Matthew exchanged smiles, returning their brother's embrace wholeheartedly.

"But we're your idiots," Alfred said, laughing.

"We love you, brother." Matthew added in. "Happy birthday."

Arthur smiled, "Yeah."

Leaning close to his brother's ear, Alfred whispered, "You know, it's not over yet."

Arthur cocked an eyebrow, releasing them from his hold. "What do you mean?"

Something tapped him on the shoulder and as soon as he turned around, was smacked with an unknown substance. He took a step backward, "What in blazes?"

"It's like what Alfred said," Francis said with a plate of cake in his hands, grinning toothily. "It's not quite over yet."

A smug smirk appeared on Arthur's lips.

Smearing some of the cake leftovers off his face, he quickly threw them toward a random direction, landing right onto his siblings' faces.

Alfred laughed. Placing his hands over his mouth, he cried out, "FOOD FIGHT!"

It was out of control.

Lien watched with wide eyes, observing the scene unfold before her.

Just about a minute ago, she heard a lot of chanting and dancing from outside the walls of the kitchen. All of a sudden, a masculine voice she recognized yelled something and then the next thing he knew, the cries of laughter was replaced by the sounds of clattering plates and stomping of feet.

Curious, she cautiously walked out from the entrance of the kitchen and well, here she was. A giggle escaped her lips.

Lien had always thought that something as crazy as this only happened in movies.

Oh, how she was wrong.

"If you can, stick a little longer for the party. We've got something awesome planned later!"

Alfred's words from earlier resurfaced in her mind. Was this food fight the thing that he was talking about or was it the song that he performed beforehand? Whichever is the case, Lien couldn't help but smile. She used to hear rumors of World gig and how they were depicted to be snobbish brats.

What she's witnessing right now was completely different: the World gig, in which everybody depicted it to be, particularly Yao, was false. In all honestly, they were a big, happy family.

Maybe this was the reason why Kiku decided to leave Star Fest. Aside from the fact his two best friends were involved in the same orchestra band, she assumed that it was the hospitality and familial warmth that Kiku found amongst the members that made him want to stay.

Lien couldn't blame him. Witnessing the catastrophic food fight occur before her, she secretly wished to be a part of World gig.

And if it did were to happen, would she be closer to a certain trumpeter?

Too consumed with her thoughts, Lien didn't realize that something had been flung onto her. Lien blinked, "What the hell?"

"Hahaha! In your face, sis!" Xiao Mei shouted, dancing merrily. "Get it? In your face!"

Lien glared at her younger sister, "You better run, Mei."

Xiao Mei gulped, sensing the sinister aura surrounding her. "CRAP! RETREAT!" And then broke into a run, searching for another target to pursue.

Lien folded her arms, sighing as she began to wipe the cake fillings smudged on her face.

"Having fun yet?"

Lien snorted, not bothering to face the bespectacled figure who was obviously behind her. "Oh, yes. I'm having a blast."

Alfred winced. "So, you're not having fun then."

Finally, amber eyes clashed with sky blue.

A small smile unconsciously materialized on her face. "I'm kidding." She said, "This party is amazing."

Alfred flashes a wide grin. "Glad to hear you're lovin' it!" Placing his hands on his hips, he continued, "You know, I think it's best if you hang around me for awhile. Wouldn't want a damsel in distress like you to—"

His words escaped his throat as Lien suddenly blocked his vision with arms outstretched.

Alfred screamed, carelessly tossing his arms out in front of him in an effort to shield himself from the impact.

Casually wiping the cake frosting off from the side of her cheek, Lien turned to glance back at him with growing amusement. "You were saying?"

Alfred swallowed thickly.

Funny, how the tables have turned. Alfred, the one proclaiming to be the hero, instead was the one being saved.

With this in mind, his smile expanded.

Damn, he loves this woman.

Author's Note:

Hello there! I would like to humbly apologize for not being able to publish for awhile now. Aside from my studies, I was actually writing this huge chapter in commemorating England's birthday (4/23). Alright, the eleventh installment to this fanfiction!

I missed the dynamic of World gig which is why I reintroduced some of the characters here!

New characters shown in this chapter: Lucille (Monaco), Roderich (Austria)* [mentioned back at Chapter 4] and as requested by a fellow fan, nervosa, here is Luxembourg and I also added in Netherlands for the heck of it! (I would like to apologize if the human names that I used for them are not entirely accurate. If there is a mistake, feel free to inform me and I will correct them right away!)

Whew, there is so many things happening!

We have Alfred and his friends running past the streets practically screaming (based on my experience with a cousin of mine in the mall), then we have Alfred finally encountering Lien (cute ameviet moment), then revert back to take a glimpse at Arthur (meeting Louis and Abel w/ Michelle), a Marukaite Chikyuu song based on happy birthday for Arthur and then an amusing ending to wrap it up with a bow.

Oh, if you guys are wondering the Marukaite Chiyuu songs in order:

Austria (Marukaite Chikyuu instrumental-stop at 1:00)

America (Marukaite Chikyuu-entirety of the song)

In America's Marukaite Chikyuu, I realized that the instruments they used was a trumpet and so I took that as an advantage (using it as a way for Alfred's redemption).

Now, Lien realizes that Alfred remembers the kiss they had in the previous chapters. How does she react afterward?

Quite honestly, there was supposed to be two surprising characters that were supposed to show up but due to the things that are happening in the chapter and the abundance of character introductions and reintroductions, I decided to present them for the next chapter.

Want me to give you guys a hint? Next chapter will introduce _ and _.

Oops, that's too much already!

Starting next week, I will try to update to make up for lost time.

Once again, thank you so much for the amazing support!

As always, I'm looking forward for more character requests!

Your opinions are very much appreciated!

*drops dead on the floor after huge announcement*