It was mid summer, and the sun beat down quite harshly, even through the thick set of trees in the forest. This was why a certain small little nation was headed towards the river to cool off. Though he looked to be merely a toddler around two or three, in reality he was quite a ways older than that. After all, he was the nation of England.

England's usual warm cloak was long forgotten, laying on the forest ground somewhere. He only wore a dirty white tunic that looked more like a dress, almost reaching his feet. That too would be gone soon though, once he made it to the water.

"It's hot today. We're gonna go into the water! Won't that be fun?" England asked the small bunny that was trailing him. The animal wiggled it's nose and hopped faster. England giggled and imitated the bunny by attempting to wiggle his own nose. He then also picked up his feet and tried hopping. He only made it about three hops before tumbling over a root. While on the ground, his eyes caught something tasty.

"Look, blueberries! Yummy!" He squealed, getting back up on his feet and racing towards the bush. He grabbed as many berries that his hands would allow, shoving them all into his mouth at once. If Francis or one of his older brother's were there then they'd probably scold him and say that he'd choke. He didn't choke though, and instead ate berry after berry.

Once he'd had his fill, the tot realized that the berry juice had turned his hands blue, and so he wiped them off on his shirt. Now that he was full, he sort of felt like taking a nap. That could wait though; right now he he was too hot to sleep!

"Angleterre, where are you!" A voice called from the distance, just as he'd turned in the direction of the river, which was only a few minutes away.

"Uh-oh, it's the frog. Let's hide 'fore he finds us!" England cried out to his bunny, knowing that once France found him he wouldn't be able to get rid of him for quite sometime. It was too late though, for the bushes separated and out emerged Francis. He wore quite an elegant tunic with many ruffles, and his hair looked as smooth and silky as ever. Often France tried to dress England up in such clothes, but he would have none of it.

"There you are! Oh Angleterre, you're covered in blueberry juice," France sighed. "When was the last time you had a bath?"

"None of your business frog!" England growled. "And 'sides, I'm going to the river now."

"Perfect, let's go get you cleaned up." France agreed. England scowled. First off, he wasn't some baby...kinda. Secondly, he wasn't taking a bath, he was cooling off. Thirdly, he didn't want Francis to come!

"Can't you go 'way? I was doing 'portent stuff!" England said in aggravation.
"Come now Angleterre, you enjoy mon company, no? Besides, I don't like you wandering the woods by yourself." Francis replied, before grabbing onto one of England's sticky hands. "Now let's get going."

England didn't think it was fair that France was so much bigger than him. He looked to be like a teenager, almost as huge as Scotland! That also made it a tad bit difficult to get away from the French nation.

"Here we are. Come now, off with your shirt." Francis instructed, reaching to lift England's tunic off. His hands were slapped away before it could totally come off though.

"I'm not being nakey in front of you! Go away!" He spat.

"Honestly Angleterre, it's nothing I haven't seen before. How about I won't look until you get into the water?"

"Nuh-uh!"

It was a bit of a struggle, but eventually France had managed to persuade England to take off his shirt, leaving him completely nude and waist deep in the water. He couldn't go any further since he had no idea how to swim, and he wouldn't allow anyone to teach him. The little nation had to admit though, the cool water felt wonderful against his sweaty skin.

France had joined him, but thankfully wore light undergarments instead of being completely undressed. He waded over to England. The water wasn't nearly as deep as if was for England, since France was considerably taller.

"Alright, start washing," Francis instructed professionally, dipping down so that his own hair could soak into the water.

"Don't tell me what 'ta do!" England snapped, but then began scrubbing the dirt off of his legs and arms. He made sure to be turned away from France though, because he didn't want that perverted frog to try anything bad!

'My, my!" Francis gasped dramatically. "Goodness, I almost forgot that brown wasn't your original color. You look so much cuter when you aren't covered in so much dirt!"

"I wasn't dirty!" England retorted, but did notice how much dirt was slowly running off from his arms and shoulders. Oh well, what did they expect? He lived in the forest, so it was only natural to get dirty. He had to admit though; It did feel sort of better to be free of so much dirt and grime from his body.

A few small fish nibbled at his toes, causing the small child to giggle and pat at the water. France watched with an amused smile. He really did love being with the little one, even if the other detested him. He knew that England's brother's weren't the nicest sometimes. This made him believe that he himself was the true big brother, instead of Scotland, Ireland, or Wales.

"I think we should wash your tunic too. It's almost as dirty as you were." Francis commented, walking out of the water to retrieve England's tunic and start dipping it into the water.

"Hey! I won't have anything to wear if you make that all wet!" England yelled.

"Not true!" Francis sang. "I brought along an extra tunic for you. I honestly haven't the slightest clue how you survive with only one pair of clothes."

"Ew, I don't like the clothes you bring. They're too girly!" The little Brit said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "But, um...did you bring anything to eat?"

"You're in luck," Francis winked. "I happened to have brought some very yummy fresh baked bread and jam. Would you care for some, mon cher?"

"Yeah! Give me!" England demanded. It was rare to have such treats; His usual meals would be berries or sometimes deer meat if his brother's felt kind enough to share. Whenever Francis visited though, he usually brought treats like bread and cake.

"Alright, I'll make a deal with you. Dunk that head and clean your hair, and then you can have as much bread and jam as you want," Francis promised.

"I don't know..." England pretended to think it over. "Well...okay!"

With that, he dunked under the water quickly and instantly felt his hair become cleaner. After scrubbing at it a little bit he was done. France already had another tunic ready for him. It was white like his other one, but much cleaner and comfortable. He had France close his eyes while he changed, and then ran over towards the older's bag eagerly.

"There we are...ah, you look so adorable!" Francis commented as he drew the bread and jam from the bag. He opened the jar, tore off a piece of bread, and handed it over to England. You younger one eagerly grabbed the bread and dipped it into the jar of jam, cramming the entire piece into his mouth.

"Careful not to choke," Francis warned, dipping his own piece into the jam.

That was how they spent the rest of the afternoon. After England had eaten his fill of bread and jam, he sighed contentedly and gave a big yawn, rubbing at his eyes.

"It is getting rather late..." Francis realized aloud, noticing that the sun was already beginning to set. He knew that he had to get back home, but felt oddly guilty just leaving England here to sleep all alone in the forest. "Come Angleterre, sleep at my house tonight."

England only replied with another practically head splitting yawn, allowing France to scoop him up into his arms. His eyes closed as he slowly drifted off into dreamland. He vaguely heard France singing him some sort of lullaby, but was too out of it to really listen.

"Good night mon petit frere," Francis whispered to the now asleep toddler in his arms once they had reached his home. He tucked England next to him in the bed and settled down himself. Sighing, he fell asleep peacefully, knowing that he and his baby brother were safe.

a/n: Just a one-shot, because I love writing about little England and big brother France. I know France supposedly teased England a lot, but I think their childhood relationship was a lot more than just that. I like to think that France looked out for, and took care of England when he was young. I mean honestly, isn't it all just so cute?(:

I'd love some reviews telling me if you liked it!