Visiting Australia
England pays little!Australia a visit. Father and son bonding time. Family. One-shot.
Set not long after England 'adopted' Australia.
Dislaimer: I do not own APH. Ah, the joy to own Iggy.
A special shout-out to Caitlyn, who helped me brainstorm this story...during Maths class. I'd like to thank our Maths teacher too, in fact, for letting us chill instead of doing any work. xD Thanks Caitlyn!
Enjoy!
The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child- Joe Houldsworth
Stepping out of the ship, the refreshing smell of wood and grass ran up England's nostrils, reminding him of the part of the world he landed on- the mass land where the sun always shines, where birdsong never stops sounding, and where Mother Nature was praised and complimented by its locals' way of living. He was surrounded by sand; and not far away, tall green bushes. He sighed, knowing it would not be an easy job to look for the newfound nation.
A jumping motion out of nowhere startled him. Slowly, he registered that it had most probably been a kangaroo. Taking a few more steps away from the vessel, he walked closer to the bushes and shouted.
'Hello? Australia?'
No response.
'AUSTRALIA? WHERE ARE YOU?' England raised his voice, concerned of his colony's whereabouts.
VROOOOOM!
A speedy shadow slashed the still air right before his eyes. England thought he was going blind. He closed his eyes and waited for pain. But all he received was an echo of delight.
'G'DAAAAAAAYY, England!' Came a young boy trotting from the bushes, one hand gripping onto a boomerang. Oh, England shot his eyes opened, relieved that he was out of threat, so that's the thing that was going to kill me. Great. He put on a smile to greet his latest colony, despite the fright he had just been put in. Ah, that's fine. He's still little.
The bright smile on the child's face contrasted his current condition. His brown hair was disheveled with a hint of dried mud; his khaki shirt and pants tainted were with dirt and water. Not to mention that band-aid on his nose.
'Good morning, Australia,' England was about to tell the said colony about the books and toys he brought with him when he examined the mess on the boy. 'What have you been up to, my child? What happened to your nose?' England tapped his own nose in indication to the toddler.
'Oh!' Australia touched his nose, 'I've just been tree climbing. It was really fun!' Smiling at Australia's cheeriness, England ruffled his hair, 'Don't be reckless now, lad.'
'I'm all good! Hey, let's climb up the rocks together!'
Small hand captured big; Australia pulled the older nation the way he'd come from. Pushing back the dangling branches and kicking away the multicoloured fallen foliage, the pair made it to a group of gigantic rocks. Without hesitation, Australia swung off England's hand and began to ascend the rocks, leaving the Brit in awe. He'd never seen his colony in such agility. Good heavens! He couldn't have been more than eight years old! Swallowing hard, he decided to put himself up for the challenge. He followed closely behind the Australian, struggling on four limbs to climb up the sandstone. By the time he was halfway through, the child was already standing at the top with pride, arms sticking on his waist.
'Come on, England!'
'I'm…almost…there…!' The older nation gasped, raising his right arm for support on the remaining sections. Within only a meter to the top, the pushed down on the stuck-out segment beneath him for support, swinging swiftly upwards and landed next to the small boy.
'Ha! Here I am,' he proclaimed as he mused to himself, since when did these visits turn into workouts?
He turned around for the child, preparing to tell him a rewarding 'Well done!' as he steadied his breath. However, Australia appeared to be rather busy- he was poking a lizard with some stick he'd picked up, seemingly fearless. Oh no, he could get himself hurt, England gathered, what if it bites him?
'A-Australia! That's dangerous!' England shouted. Not that mounting these rocks by yourself wasn't.
'Nah, he's my mate,' Australia voiced with a grin, letting the dark brown lizard clamber up his arm. Extending his arm, he showed his caretaker his little animal friend. 'Say hello to him, England!' He motioned the Brit to pat the lizard.
England gulped. It wasn't that he was afraid of the little creature. It was just…his gentlemanly side refused to let him be in contact with the amphibian. I've already climbed up this bloody pile of… rubble! He started a minute-long staring challenge with the lizard, all the while trying to look as friendly as possible for his young colony.
Ugh. Fine. I'll do it.
He let out his forearm to let the 'friend' ascend on, at the same time noticing Australia's laughter. Raising his other hand, England gently patted the lizard on the back. 'Hi there,' he kept his tone calm.
Australia gave him a praising nod.
After many more hours of adventurous endeavours, the duo find themselves lying in the lazy summer sun in Australia's garden.
The young boy was exhausted, yet not expressing any want to head back to the mansion. His pale cheeks had turned into a dark shade of pink, kissed by the strong sun. England gently shoved the boy onto his lap, letting his head rest comfortably against his chest. Propping himself up with one arm, England carefully brushed off the stray strands of hair off Australia's forehead. His soft gaze fell on his innocent sleeping face. He also noticed that the boy needed to be washed up soon. Australia's outfit was in an even messier state than when he just greeted England half a day ago, before the rock-climbing, hiking, horse riding, swimming…. England considered waking him up and bathing him, but soft whisperings in his head convinced him against it. They told him that it had been a while since he had peacefully held a sleeping child in his arms; and that these days would not last long. They also made him wonder how his other children were getting by; those who had once, too, fallen asleep in his rocking arms, yet no longer needed his care…
The decision was made. He stroked Australia's hair lovingly, ignoring the stickiness of mud there. He pulled down his rolled-up sleeve to wipe the boy's childish sweat-stained face. Australia let out a relaxed, lethargic sigh. England smiled fondly at the reminiscing sight. A part of him did not want to let go.
For now, let him sleep.
He stood, scooping the slumbering child up and walking to the front door of the house. He bowed down to give Australia a kiss on the forehead before preparing to place the child in a feathery soft pile of blankets and pillows.
'Sweet dreams, mate.'
A/N:
Thank you for reading!
I've been wanting to do something with Australia for a while now :D
Hope you liked it!
Please review to let me know what you think! :) Hands over...kangaroo tails? lol but kangaroo meat is yummy :P
Much luuuurrvvvee,
~OmangoOlemonadeO~