Hetalia Shots!

Birthday Blues (Red Velvet Pancakes)

Requested by AwesomePinkPikachu

Narrator's POV

"H-how's the meeting g-going?"  Matthew asked while skyping his longtime boyfriend.

"Meh, the usual."  James said, shrugging his shoulders.

"O-oh, I'm s-sorry about t-that."  Matthew said softly, eyes averting.  James chuckled through the other side of the screen.

"It's okay chickadee, it ain't your fault."  James said, a gentle smile on his gruff face.  Matthew gave a shy smile back as he blushed.

"S-so when d-do you-"  Matthew was cut off by the sound of something crashing in the background as a door slammed shut, followed by some people yelling at each other.

"Mattie, I gotta go."  James said with a sigh, looking over towards something off the screen.  "I'll see you in a few days but I'm not going to be able to skype you till then."  James said, making Matthew's heart shatter slightly, but he hid it with a smile.

"T-that's fine.  G-good luck James."  Matthew said softly.  James's lips twitched upwards as he leaned into the screen.

"Love ya too chickadee."  He said softly before turning the computer off, making Matthew smile a bit, though he sighed as he stared at his calendar.

'S-so he's not going t-to be here f-for t-tomorrow,'  Matthew thought, a pang of hurt hitting him.  He shook his head and decided to go to bed.

------------- Time Skip To The Next Day ------------

Matthew woke up with a small smile that disappeared once he noticed the other side of the bed was empty.

'This could s-still be a g-good day,'  He thought to himself, trying to stay optimistic.

Matthew got out of bed, humming a tune to distract himself as he walked over to his bathroom, taking a refreshing shower before heading down to the kitchen, making some special red velvet pancakes for himself, and some fish for Kuma.

Afterwards, Matthew began decorating his house, wondering if anyone was going to come by, or perhaps send him a message saying happy birthday to him, so he kept his phone in his pocket and his eyes on the door.

'Maybe s-someone sent m-me a gift,'  He thought, going out to check his mailbox, though he only found junk mail and work from his boss.  With a sigh, he trudged inside.

'Maybe someone will come by later,'  He thought to himself, heading over to the kitchen, beginning to bake a red velvet cake for himself with butterscotch frosting.  Just as he set the cake in the oven, his phone went off.  Matthew went over to it and looked, seeing he had a message Alfred.

"Hey Mattie, I need u 2 come over tomorrow and help me begin decorating 4 my b-day dude."

"Al, r u forgetting something?"  Matthew texted back.  It took a couple of minutes before Alfred responded.

"No, I don't think so dude."  The message said, making Matthew's heart crack a little more.

"Today maybe?"

"Umm... I have no idea what u r talking about dude.  Is it some holiday?"  Alfred texted back, making tears come to Matthew's eyes.

"It's nothing important."  Matthew texted back as tears began to spill forward.  Though Matthew was quick to wipe them away, heading back over to the kitchen and pulling the cake from the oven.  He let it cool as his phone went off again.

"Bonjour Matthieu."  The message said, coming from Francis, making Matthew smile slightly.

'Papa probably remembers,'  Matthew thought hopefully, watching as the three dots appeared on the screen.

"I was hoping u would help moi find a gift 4 Alfred."  It said, shattering Matthew's heart more.  Matthew bit his lip to stop it from quivering.

"Just get him a new pair of sun glasses, or a new American football."  Matthew texted back, placing his phone down as he went back to decorating his cake.

He then placed the cake down on the counter top beside the various snacks he had laid out for people who came, or at least, Matthew hoped would come.  So Matthew sat down and waited... and waited... and waited till it was almost ten at night.

"W-why do I even b-bother?"  He asked himself softly, getting up from the couch, not bothering to go find Kuma who was probably asleep somewhere.  Matthew went and began cleaning up with untouched food he set out, turning his phone off now that he had given up hope that someone, anyone, was coming.

Once all the food was gone, Matthew began pulling down decorations, shoving them into bags and boxes before heading to the attic, all his hard work gone in just under two hours.

Finally, before heading off to an empty bed, Matthew arrived back at the kitchen where he saw his perfectly made birthday cake.  Deciding he might as well give himself a proper birthday, Matthew placed a single candle on top of the cake and lit it with a match.

"Happy birthday to me."  He sang softly.

"Happy birthday to me."  He had tears in his eyes now.

"Happy birthday dear Matthew,"  He said, his voice cracking a bit.

"Happy birthday to you."  Someone finished, making Matthew jump as he turned around, only to be engulfed in a hug.  Matthew, tears running down his face, looked up, only to be met with the sight of James.

"J-James,"  Matthew stuttered out.  "W-what are y-you d-doing here?"  He asked.  James brought his hand to Matthew's face, wiping away his tears.

"It's my chickadee's birthday, of course I'm going to be here to celebrate it."  He said.  He placed a kiss on Matthew's forehead.  "Now why don't you go and blow out that candle."  He said, making a smile appear on Matthew's face.

Matthew turned around in James's embrace and closed his eyes for a moment, before blowing out the flame.  James hugged Matthew close.

"Happy birthday chickadee."  He said softly.  Matthew turned in his embrace, nuzzling closer to James.

"T-thank you."  Matthew said softly.  James hummed in response, beginning to guide Matthew back to their shared bed, laying him down before getting in beside him.

"Goodnight chickadee."  James said.  Matthew cuddled closer to James.

"Goodnight James."  Matthew said, closing his eyes.  James held Matthew close before closing his eyes as well, glad he made it in time for his lover's birthday, making it finally happy for Matthew.

~Fin~