July 1787 ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Indian Queen Tavern was usually a hub for the political and the intellectual. Yet, at the moment, it sounded like a common pub, full of drunk faces and incredible laughter. To the ordinary American, it was a normal evening. But to the delegates of the Constitutional Convention, it was a momentous step toward achieving an ideal government.

Massachusetts was in midst of writing when New Jersey snatched his letter off the table. "Hey! Give it back!"

"What's this?" New Jersey skipped around the room. "To my lovely sister Maine, I am very touched by your most recent letter. It brought a tear to my eye for I, too, miss you so dearly. I promise when I return, I'll spend lots of time with you..." he giggled.

"S-Shut up! Shut up! Invasion of privacy!" He chased after the Jersey Devil with burning red cheeks.

Connecticut and New Hampshire watched the frantic chase while drinking some mead at their table. "You know, I should write a letter to Little Rhodey informing him about the latest developments at the convention," Connecticut suggested.

New Hampshire frowned at the idea. "I don't think that's a good idea. A letter containing progress of the constitution's development will breach the convention's rule of top secrecy."

"Ah, right... I completely forgot about that." He sighed. "Why did Little Rhodey have to be such a dick? His participation could've boosted New England's voice in this whole affair."

At another table, four Southern belles were having their own discussion to themselves.

"I can't believe we ended up relying on a Northerner," South Carolina grumbled. "If I were you, I would've threatened the room with secession if they didn't accept my plan."

"Threats would only worsen the situation." Virginia calmly drank her cup of tea. "Rather than scrutinize the past, let us look forward to tomorrow."

"It's quite odd seeing you so composed after failing to get your plan passed," Georgia noted.

"Failing? From what I recall, parts of my plan are written into the compromise. At the very least, it's better than New Jersey's plan."

"By the way, where's Maryland?" North Carolina questioned. 

Georgia gestured to the bar counter. "Somewhere we shouldn't be."

Maryland groaned, "Uh... Am I Catholic...or Protestant... God, I don't know...!" She laid her head on the counter.

"Excuse me. Is she okay?" the bartender asked New York.

"She always gets like this when she starts drinking-"

"You don't know me!" she shouted. "I'm the Old Line State! I can hold my liquor better than you any day!"

"Mary, calm down-"

"SHUT UP!" She pointed a finger at him and laughed. "I challenge you to a pint of the strongest liquor in this tavern! The loser must sing Yankee Doodle while stripping naked on top of a table!"

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone was getting along, other than Massachusetts attempting to strangle the living breath out of New Jersey. It was a rare sight, especially for Delaware.

The Blue Hen State sat at a quiet corner of the room, drinking a glass of cider to himself. He watched his fellow states make a ruckus from a safe distance. No one took notice of his isolation which was fine in his opinion. They were too busy socializing with one another, especially with Connecticut who got the credit for his compromise. His inclusion would only make things awkward. After all, he wasn't the type to play around or make gossip. He intended to drink his glass and head back to the inn without interact-

"Looks like you could use some company." Pennsylvania smiled as she took a seat at his table.

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She expected Delaware to look more stupefied than annoyed when she sat herself down at his table. Nevertheless, the smile on Pennsylvania's face never wavered. "Congratulations."

He raised a brow. "For what?"

"For speaking up at the meeting."

"... It was nothing."

She shook her head. "Nothing would've allowed South Carolina to punch New York in the face. What you did was something akin to leadership."

He scoffed, "I'm no leader. I'm just a small state."

"So?"

His scowled. "If that's all you have to say, I prefer to drink to myself." He took a giant swig of his drink.

She thought to further question his behavior, however, she recalled an earlier scolding she gave him. She decided to change the subject of their conversation. "You were the last person to sign the Declaration of Independence," she recalled. "What made you change your mind?"

"... Technically," he placed his glass back on the table, "New York was the last person to sign."

"Only because he had yet received permission from his representatives. But you on the other hand were allowed to decide. You initially refused to sign it, adamant of your loyalties. But then you ran through those doors at the last hour of the deadline, frantically screaming if the time to sign had passed." She chuckled, "It was quite rare seeing you so frantic, an amusing sight to say the least."

"Hmph. Fortunately for you, the time hadn't passed, allowing me to place my signature among your kind. I felt relieved, proud for a moment until you proceeded to joke about all us getting hanged. How encouraging."

She chuckled again, "Luckily for us, we're nowhere near a gallows."

He groaned, "Did my signature even mattered?"

"Of course! You were the needed vote for us to legitimize our right to independence."

He took a small sip from his glass. "Is that all I'm good for? A needed vote..."

Her smile shrunk slightly. "Well, your contributions in the war helped us greatly."

"Don't flatter me. I'm nothing special." He stared at his drink with sullen eyes. "Virginia has her leaders. New York has his harbors. You have Congress. As for myself, what do I have to offer to make myself stand out among us thirteen independent states?"

"... I heard about a bunch of blue hens." She tried to bring up the mood but to no avail.

"I guarantee my name in history will be foremost forgotten, the last to be remembered. I've done nothing to make myself stand out, and I doubt there's anything in the years to come that'll make me more famous than the minimal name recognition I get in the present. There's no need to hide this fact. I'm a small state and nothing more than that."

An awkward moment of silence permeated the stiff air between the two.

She placed a hand on her cheek and sighed. "Is there ever a happy moment you say anything positive?"

He, too, let out a sigh. "I may look and sound like a brooding simpleton who does nothing to fix his insecurities. But I can assure you I'm okay with being a small, forgotten state."

She cocked her head. "Are you sure?"

"... Positive. Fame is the least of my concerns. What I care about the most is the future, what happens after tonight."

She pondered over his words for a moment. "Do you think we can make it on our own?"

"... No," he finished his drink, "it's impossible under current circumstances." He looked directly at her with determined eyes. "I'm placing all my hopes into this constitution. I may not be able to do much to influence what's written, but I'll do my utmost damnedest to support it under the condition it helps states like me."

She smirked. "Well, we still have a lot of work to do."

"You're right." He stood up from his seat and placed a couple of silver coins on the table. "I'm off to bed now."

"I'll see you tomorrow." She waved.

He waved back. "Take care." He walked out of the tavern and into the night.

She sat back in her seat. "Oh, Delaware. Small and boring as you are, you can still surprise me." She took a sip of her coffee.

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+ Compared to other states, Delaware doesn't particularly stand out. Nothing bad stands out. Nothing good stands out. As such, it's easy to forget Delaware's existence. Of course, I have nothing against Delaware although I wish there's more interesting content on the state to make them sound interesting at the very least.

+ This episode is a follow-up to a story involving Delaware's perspective in the Connecticut Compromise (see Chapter 1 in "Hetalia: The Fifty Stars"). This is also based on a request regarding Delaware's feelings of being forgettable among the Original Thirteen. As sad as it sounds, my Delaware OC is used to the lack of attention. He does get annoyed whenever he's compared to popular states, however, he tends to keep such negative emotions to himself.

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