It's a North American Birthday

July 4th- Independence Day

[shh i know im a day late]
The twins stood against the wall of the airport, waiting for the few people that they had invited over to get there, all of their planes scheduled to land at almost the same time.

"Oh, come on, Mattie! You can't still be mad at me for the spicy stuff yesterday!" Alfred nudged his brother playfully. He crossed his arms and looked away, fighting the smile that same to his face.

"I can be and I am. That was so mean, Alfie!"

"Aw, come on, Mattie," Alfed hugged him, looking at him over the rim of his glasses with his best puppy face.

Matthew rolled his eyes and huffed, bringing up a hand and ruffling the other's hair. "Alright, alright, fine. I forgive you."

Alfred smiled and hopped away from him, looking around again to see if anyone they were waiting for had emerged from the airport yet.

Matthew's phone buzzed, and he pulled it out, answered it, and put it on speaker. "Bonjour, Papa. You're o speaker."

"Yo Papa."

"Bonjour, boys. Arthur and I are here. Where are you two?" his voice came through the speaker, overlayed with slight static.

"We're near the B exit, I think."

"Oh, we can see you from here!"

Alfred turned around, searching the crowd for familiar faces. When he found them, he smiled and waved, starting towards them at a jog.

"Salut, Papa," Matthew bid a short farewell and hung up, jogging to catch up with his brother. When he met with his brother again, they slowed down to a walk.

Arthur was holding a suitcase in one hand and a large bouquet in the other, while Francis had only a backpack, similarly to how the North American boys travel.

"Papa!" Alfred cried, running up to him and jumping into his arms. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Oui, I agree with my brother, Papa. Very good to see you." Matthew hugged him from his other side, nuzzling into the soft fabric of his shirt. France smelled like soft frosting and a warm bakery, just as always.

France wrapped his arms around them both, burying his nose in his boys' hair. "It's good to see you both, too!"

They separated, and Arthur cleared his throat behind them, and they all turned to him. Alfred grinned. "It's good to see you, too, Arthur." He stepped over to him, enveloping the other in an embrace. "I'm real glad you could come today."

"Don't go getting all mushy on me, Alfred," he told him affectionately. Arthur held out the large bundle of flowers, ranging from poppy flowers to roses to violets to lillies and everything in between. "Happy birthday, cancers."

Alfred took the flowers, looking over them appreciatively, before handing them over to him brother. "Aren't they pretty, Mattie? Thank you, Arthur!"

Arthur's face tinged pink, and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course they are. I picked them from my own garden."

"But I arranged them perfectly so they'd be pleasing to the eye," Francis cut in, moving to stand next to the Englishman.

"Oh, bugger off, frog."

Before things could go any further, Alfred grabbed them both by the arm and started dragging them to the waiting car. "Come on, you two. We've got places to be today!"

"Wait, Alfie!" Matthew called, catching up to them. "Aren't you forgetting about Kiku?"

"Nah," he said, "He texted me earlier that his flight landed way early so he's already waiting for us at the house."

"Were you planning on telling me this?"

"Nope!"

-------

The night was dark, the moon was out, and the field was filled with people on blankets and in fold-out lawn chairs. The sound of summer bugs chirping filled the air, and the humidity felt like a blanket, smothering everything.

"It'd be nice if the air was more air and less water," Francis complained, pulling his long hair up in a ponytail.

"I can't help but agree," Arthur said, reluctantly.

"Me as well." Matthew, this time.

"I think it's rather nice out here. There's no overbearing sun, there's no clouds, it's not raining, and you can see so many stars!" Alfred laid back on the blanket, one hand under his head and one reaching up to the sky. "Of course, you can see even more stars from the moon, but this is still nice."

"I agree with Alfred," Kiku added.

"Of course you do, Kiku."

"Dudes shut up they're starting!"

The five all dropped their conversation as soon as the first firework exploded.

"Happy birthday, Alfred and Matthew."

The end