Little Brother North


Holding the tiny, fragile hand in his England felt sheer terror. A million doubts and fears bombarded his mind the loudest of them all being:

He'll leave; he'll leave like everyone else!

"Big brother?" the little freckle faced boy questioned, staring up at his guardian's troubled countenance with a frown.

"Ah, I'm sorry North. I spaced out there for a moment, didn't I?" England commented, smiling at the youthful face.

Kicking at a pebble, Northern Ireland looked away. "Yeah..." he mumbled, not willing to look into his brother's broken eyes.

"I'm sorry, lad, shall we go to the park?" England offered, giving the child's hand a squeeze as his heart throbbed.

Please, please, look at me...

Lifting his head, North Ireland smiled, showing off his missing front teeth. "Yeah! C'mon big brother, let's go!" the child shouted, dragging his big brother down the street. England found himself chuckling, the dark thoughts pushed away for the time being. Upon reaching the park, Northern Ireland led his brother to the swings and ordered him to push him.

"Higher!" North shrieked as he kicked out his feet.

"Alright, alright," England laughed while giving the small back a firm push.

As the sky came rushing towards him, North felt the overwhelming urge to jump and see if he could fly. Letting go of the rusty chains, North flung himself from the swing. For a moment, the feeling of floating mesmerized the boy, before he realized how quickly the ground was rushing towards him. Sticking out his feet, Northern Ireland managed to land on his feet with little more than a stumble.

Heart thumping, England watched with horrified eyes as North fell from the swing. Weakly, England reached out, but was unable to do anything for the child as he came rushing toward the park gravel. When North landed on his feet, England felt a wave of relief coarse through him. Running to his little brother's side, he scooped the boy into his arms.

"Are you okay? Nothing hurts, does it? Are you dizzy? What the bloody hell were you thinking!" England shouted, as his worried words ran out.

North shrunk back in his big brother's arms. "I-I just want-ted to s-see if I-I c-could fly..." he stuttered.

"Fly? Oh for the love of-! You're just like that idiot America! You don't think before you jump and this time, literally!" England ranted, not noticing the tears that were flooding his younger brother's large green eyes.

"I'm not!" Northern Ireland cried. "'m not like 'merica! 'm not!" England stopped his tirade, turned speechless by his brother's words.

Snuffling, North wiped at his tears. "'m not like America, he left big brother and broke him. I'm a good little brother, I'm not gonna leave big brother an' I'm not gonna break big brother, either." A new fit of tears starting, North buried his face in England's chest, muffling his loud sobs.

Hugging the little boy fiercely, England began to walk toward his and his little brother's home in a daze. Broken? Was that was England was? Was it so easy to tell even a child could figure it out? Coming to front yard, England was more than confused to see his older brother Ireland waiting on the front stoop. Ireland's head perked up at the sound of footsteps, however, a scowl quickly grew on his face at the sight of Northern Ireland crying in England's arms.

"Oi brat! What did ye do ta the lil' one?" Ireland shouted at his brother.

England frowned. "What are you doing here, Ireland?" he asked.

Ireland's eyes grew. "Did ye ferget? I get him fer the weekend, 'member?" Then his brother's eyes narrowed as he hissed, "Or were ye tryin' ta keep him from me?"

England frantically shook his head. "I wouldn't, he-he deserves to see Ireland just as much as he does England."

Glaring at England, Ireland demanded, "Why's the lil' one cryin'?"

England looked down befuddled at his younger brother. "I-I'm not really sure."

Ireland raised an eyebrow. "Ye don't know?"

The younger man glanced fretfully between Ireland and North."When he jumped off the swing I told he was behaving like America then-then he started crying..."

Ireland sighed, running his hand through his hair. He knew England didn't understand; he didn't always realize just how perceptive the little one was. North had confided in him during one visit that he would always stay with England, because if he didn't, England would become too broken to fix. The words had alarmed Ireland, to say the least, because even if he didn't care much for his younger brother, he still loved the brat.

"Why...why don't I stay here for the weekend?" Ireland suggested.

England blinked in surprise. "What? Didn't you want to take him to Ireland with you?"

Ireland only shook his head. "He won't be happy if I take him from ye right now, we can have some family time, aye?" Ireland suggested, gauging for his brother's reaction.

England gaped. "If-If that's what you want to do..."

"Aye, it is," Ireland confirmed. Then turning his attention to the little bundle in England's arms, he whispered, "How would ye like that, Patrick?"

The boy sniffled, considering his two brothers. When he seemed to find what he was looking for, a slow smile spread across his face as he said, "I'd love it."

North knew he couldn't make it better between England and America, but he would try to make it better between his favorite big brothers Ireland and England.


Just a one-shot with Northern Ireland and his big brothers. Please review and tell me what you guys all think, thank you all for reading.