England was exhausted. He quietly closed the door to America's room and proceeded down the hall to his quarters. It had taken a while, but he eventually had gotten the child to settle down long enough to fall asleep. He was getting feistier as of late when England came to visit him, vehemently fighting him against taking naps even though it was clear that he could use one. This, unfortunately, left his older brother with a very cranky and overtired colony to deal with, and it was draining. He pushed the door of his room open and froze as the hinges squealed loudly in protest. He hesitated in the doorway, praying that the sound didn't wake America up. He didn't think he could take another two hours of "but I'm not tiiiired," or "I need a drink," despite the fact that he had guzzled down three glasses of milk already and clearly wasn't thirsty. Oh, and then of course, this: "Hey, England? I gotta go pee," Ugh.
Satisfied that his brother wasn't awakened, England proceeded into his room and placed the candle on his nightstand. He peeled off his jacket and boots, placing them neatly on the trunk at the foot of the bed. He barely had the energy to pull on his nightclothes before collapsing onto the mattress with a heavy sigh. He'd even left his curtains open. Eh, it didn't matter. Good God, lying down felt amazing. He closed his eyes, feeling his achy body sinking into the mattress and thoroughly enjoying the sensation. He rolled over and blew out the candle. He smiled, nuzzling his face into the pillow. Between America, the ever-present squabbles with France, and increasing turbulence in his Indian colonies, the British Empire was left with little energy to do much else besides eat and sleep. And sleep was exactly what he was going to do now: a lot of it.
"England?" someone whispered.
"Hmm?" England answered groggily, still half-asleep.
"Hey, England—you awake?" the voice asked, closer this time.
"Mmph…" England mumbled, starting to fall back to sleep again. He jumped as a tiny hand grabbed his shoulder and shook it. Normally, a child's nudge wouldn't have done much of anything, but America's shove nearly knocked the other nation out of his bed.
"What?!" England snapped as he clutched onto the comforter in surprise, sitting bolt upright. In the moonlight coming through his window, he could just make out his little brother's figure perched on the bed. "Oh, America," England said sleepily, rubbing his eyes, "Sorry…what's wrong?"
"There's ghosts in my room," the boy whispered, eyes wide with terror.
England smiled, pulling his little brother to his chest in a comforting hug.
"Come, now, America, there are no ghosts in your room. I checked before you went to sleep, remember?" he soothed, smoothing his brother's hair.
"Yeah, but they waited until you left!" America cried into England's chest, "Now they won't leave me alone!"
"Do you want me to chase them away for you?" England asked as patiently as he could manage, suppressing a yawn. America shook his head, burying his face into England's shirt.
"No, it didn't work last time," he reasoned, "I wanna sleep in here with you. Please?"
England hesitated; the child kicked like a mule in his sleep, but he wasn't about to get any rest at all with America scampering up and down the hallway in fear every time a floorboard creaked.
"All right, you can sleep with me," he conceded, scooting over to give his brother some room on the mattress.
"Huzzah!" America cheered happily as England threw the blanket over the two of them. America snuggled up to England, grabbing a fistful of his older brother's shirt and plunking his head on England's outstretched arm. "Thanks, England!" he said.
"You're welcome," England yawned, "Now go to sleep. Good-night,"
"Good-night!" America chimed. England closed his eyes, sinking back into sleep as his brother's body heat crept over his chest. He wasn't such a bad kid, really.
"Hey, England?" came the whisper mere seconds later.
"What?" England whispered back, frowning.
"Do you think they'll come in here? The ghosts?" America asked anxiously. England cracked one eye open; America was staring into his face, clearly terrified, and trembling.
"No, of course they won't," England reassured him, exhaustion temporarily forgotten. He draped his free arm around his brother and rubbed his back gently, "You're safe with me. I won't let anything get you. Okay?"
"…okay," America agreed hesitantly, snuggling closer to England and closing his eyes. He was still shaking. England watched him for a moment and small smile crept over his face. Annoying or no, he was still his little brother, and he loved him. He gently rubbed America's back and muttered quiet "there, there"s until his brother's breathing became shallow and even. Satisfied that America was asleep, England closed his eyes.