A/N: For fruksexual on Tumblr for officialnordic's 500 follower giveaway. Prompt: Denmark & America.
"Hey, Denmark?"
Denmark looked up from the arcade game he was playing at the young nation sitting in the driving games next to him, just staring blankly at the screen. Ignoring his ongoing game, Denmark turned to America.
"What?"
Surprisingly, the other nation looked at him, almost a frightened look in his eyes.
"What's it like...being so...old?"
Denmark stared at him for a second before bursting out laughing and clapped America on the shoulder, who looked taken aback by the sudden outburst. It took a bit for Denmark to calm down, but when he did he gestured for America to follow him and they went to sit at one of the eating booths.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well," America picked at the table. "I just don't know much. I feel like a kid sometimes around all the other nations. And...is it hard seeing things change and die so much?"
Denmark looked at the other curiously, wondering where the change from the usually cheerful attitude had come from. It was true America was young, but he'd gone through quite a bit in his short lifespan. A revolution, civil war, two world wars, and several others. He figured that amount of war and conflict had to damage something in a nation's spirit.
"I've been alive for thousands of years!" Denmark started. "And let me tell you, things were a whole lot different back then. I mean, when you were young, things weren't too terribly different than they are now. But back in my time, we were just little tribes of people." He looked at America seriously. "If you're worried about change, the best thing to do is to just let it in your people, guide your government the best you can, and look forward to the future." He paused for a second. "There's a lot I regret, and by the time you're my age, you'll regret a whole lot more too. But in the end you just have to forgive and forget. I mean, look at the Nordics now! We're all buds. You wouldn't believe how much we used to fight."
America nodded seriously. "It's just...nevermind. I feel like things are changing in a way that might be negative…"
Denmark shrugged. "And what are we supposed to do about it? We're representations of our people. Our people do as they want to do."
A nation is like a person in many ways. It has it's likes, it's dislikes, it's culture. But at the same time, there are separate groups. Languages mix, cultures clash, opinions collide. These are people. We're indecisive. We hold cultures within us, our minds are indecisive, we like more than one thing.
A nation is like a person. And thus, our nation is a person. They don't control anything, they just are, and represent the people. In the end, we all all a part of our nation, and our nation is all of us.