One Family


Out in the yard, England hums happily as he finishes covering the latest grave with a new rose bush. Somewhere near the road, he hears the farmer from down the road's cat start to yowl. England considers going to see why it's making a ruckus, but decides against it in the end; it's probably just America playing with it.

Blinking around him then, England frowns; he does hope the lad doesn't kill it. He doesn't think he has any more flowers to cover up a new burial spot. Suddenly, the yowling comes to an end. Sighing, England gets to his feet, fully prepared to go and show America how to weigh corpses down with rocks and similarly heavy objects so they don't float up in waterways. But, coming around the corner of his colony's home, England sees a delightful surprise.

"France!" he shouts in elation. Approaching the messily dressed man, England nearly goes to hug (stab) him when he notices the little blonde on his shoulder. "Ooohhh..." England murmurs. "Who's this?" he asks before he leans in and begins to pinch the child's cheek none too gently.

"Erk," the child on the tall man's shoulders grunts before he's scrabbling for safety behind a chunk of France's limp hair.

Pushing him away, France snaps his fingers, drawing England's electric gaze back to him. "This is my colony…"

"You better not have forgotten my name again," the little lad growls, yanking on a lock of France's hair.

Patting the boy's knee, the other lies easily. "Of course not, mon chou," he answers. Swinging the boy down from his shoulders, he gives him a nudge in England's direction. "Go introduce yourself to Angleterre."

Dutifully, the colony does. Coming up to England, he lifts his purple eyes to meet inhuman blue. "I'm Canada," he stresses. Eyes taking a dangerous gleam, he warns, "Don't forget it, eh?"

Smiling not quite nicely, England pats his head. "Of course lad," he agrees.

"Hey! Bro, what are ya doin' here?" America inquires, coming to his twin's side.

Meeting the other boy's stare, Canada answers, "Dunno, really, I think France said something about rubbing me in England's face."

Kneeling down next to his little colony, France smothers the child with his hand. "I said no such thing," he declares, ignoring the way the colony struggles.

America and England watch for nearly a full minute as Canada's face turns red, then purple. "I think you should let him go now, dude," America says.

Blinking at the oddly colored face, France studies it for a moment. "I think you are right," he concedes as he lets the boy go.

Gasping for breath, the blonde child kicks France in the shin. "You suck!" he screams in fury. Then, Canada snags his brother's hand and drags him towards England's house.

Watching the children go, England says, "You aren't very good with him."

"Like you're any better with Amerique," France huffs.

Smiling almost triumphantly at the other, England replies breezily, "Actually, as long as I keep him in a constant supply of carrots and beans, he's quite an easy fellow to get on with."

Crossing his arms, France frowns. "It's not like it matters anyway," he says, "I won't be keeping…Ci-Ca-Cad-Can-"

"Canada," England cuts in when it becomes obvious the Frenchman is just going to continue tripping over his colony's name. As much fun as it is to watch the taller make a fool of himself, England wants to know why France doesn't have plans to keep his colony.

Nodding, the older man repeats, "Canada." And then continues on and says, "I won't be keeping Canada much longer, my people are actually working out a deal with yours. 'E will be your colony soon."

England leers at him. "Pushing him away before he becomes another Joan, eh?" he needles.

"Shut up," the taller hisses.

Sniffing once, England primly changes his approach. "It's no matter," he proclaims. Rubbing his hands together, he grins cheerfully. "It just means I have another poppet to teach!"

Tugging out a pipe, France stuffs it with tobacco before lighting it with a match. "I wouldn't call what you do 'teaching'," he mutters.

Scowling briefly at the slob of a man, England chooses to let it go in favor of inviting him in. "Tea?" he asks.

Shrugging, France heads for the still open door and blinks in surprise at what he sees. At the far end of the room, Canada and America sit across from each other. They are eating a carrot and a stalk of rhubarb respectively, which isn't that strange, but the dead cat between them certainly is.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to bring bodies into the house, America?" England tuts from behind him.

Disconcerting red eyes meander to the two countries standing in the doorway. "You also told me to never leave them where the neighbors could see," the lad reminds England.

Sighing, England puts the kettle on the fire and takes the seat in front of the dead animal. "You are right," he agrees. Jabbing a finger at the ragged thing, he says, "It's high time I teach you how to make a body 'disappear'."

"Disappear?" America repeats. "Does that involve stupid magic?" he demands, a scowling morphing his features.

"No!" England snaps at the child, "and there's nothing wrong with using magic either."

The boy glowers. "It's stupid! I don't like it!" he shouts back.

"That's because you aren't any good at it!" England yells loudly.

Coming over, France grabs the other by his strawberry-blonde hair and yanks him back into a chair. "Stop arguing with a child like a child," he orders.

Pouting, England slumps in his chair and falls silent.

Still infatuated with the idea of making a body "disappear", Canada asks, "Can you show me how to make a body disappear too?"

England laughs joyfully. "Of course lad!" he says. Getting up from his chair, he picks the cat up by its tail. "Come along lads! I'll show you right now," he tells them.

Following after the man, the twins are tripping over one another in their haste to keep up with England.

"Where are we goin', England?" America asks.

"To the lake!" England says, sounding quite chipper.

Watching them go, France watches the lads continue to question the younger nation and how said nation answers. Shaking his head, the France starts a new round in his pipe. England may be rather childish, but it helps him well with the colonies, it seems. Unfortunately for France, he can't say he has the same luck with them.

Carefully taking the kettle off the fire, he douses the flames and heads out. He'll make sure to check up on his former colony from time to time. If only to ensure the England hasn't killed the lad.

(He won't admit it's because he'll miss him).


2P!FACE family. What do you guys think? Is it good? Bad? Anything you'd have to say? Also, sorry about the whole cat thing...

anyway, thank you everyone very much for reading and please review! :)

EDITED: 1/6/15