I wanted to write a story about England being all geeky for once - and not just about Doctor Who and Harry Potter. About stuff you'd find on the Internet or wasn't from his country, etc.

And this happened. The face that it kind of centred around the fact that he was buying tickets to the Welcome to Night Vale live show in London is actually because tomorrow (or later today, anyway) me and my friends can do exactly that. :)

So... WARNING: there's a slight spoiler for Night Vale in there. It's brief and crops up in the show about halfway through all the episodes... But, still, if you intend to listen and you don't want to know anything which will happen, you should probably just skip this story. (I knew about this particular fact beforehand but I still love the show.)

Oh, another WARNING: If you know Mandarin, I'm sorry. The phrases are used in Firefly as swears and I copied them over (phonetically).

America had managed to wrangle a few days off before the meeting in London and decided to use them to overcome his jet-lag. Also, in order to save money, he decided he would crash at England's place. Even if he hadn't called ahead first.

And so he stood at England's door, tired but still grinning as he waited for the shorter man to open the door. He was giving him more time to get there than normal since it was eight in the morning and he was probably getting ready for work. Then again, maybe he had already left. America began to realise his sudden whim may not have been well thought out.

Suddenly, though, the door was wrenched open and a distracted England stared at him with those familiar green eyes. "America?"

"Yeah. I need a place to stay till the meeting, so...?"

He expected England to protest. Instead he shrugged a shoulder and moved out of the way. "You know where everything is. Make yourself at home – just don't break anything and don't disturb me."

Blinking, America stepped inside and headed up the stairs. What had that been about? He hadn't even been wearing his customary suit. As the exhausted nation stepped into one of England's guest bedroom and the one he always used, he realised something.

England hadn't even been wearing something smart and stuffy like normal.

Dumping his bag on the bed, America hurried back downstairs and into the living room. England was sitting on the couch, his laptop facing him on the coffee table. Music floated from it as England sang along.

"-himself. Boogie down like a unicorn, don't stop till the break of dawn. Put your hands up in the air" - which England did - "Like an ogre, just don't care. Can you dance like a Hippogriff? Ma-"

"Uh, England," America interrupted him. England hissed but turned around and looked at him from over the back of the sofa, letting the music continue. "What are you doing...?"

"What does it look like?" snapped the Brit.

"Well... Don't you have work?"

"I took the day off," England replied, waving his hand at him as he turned around. "Have you unpacked yet?"

"No, but-"

"Well, bugger off and do that."

"But-!"

"America!" England turned back around, glaring at him.

He pouted and waited until England's expression had softened a little before asking, "Are you having a Harry Potter day or something?"

"Or something," agreed England. "Do you know what day it is?"

"Friday?"

England sighed. "It's the day the tickets are going on sale – at nine o'clock. I made sure to get up early and my laptop's loaded up and I just need to wait."

That was weird. England had sounded rather excited towards the end of his small speech. And had America counted two 'and's in there? Confused, he said, "Uh, what tickets?"

"For Night Vale," breathed England in his creepiest voice. America shivered. "Now bugger off. You've made me miss the whole damned song."

Retreating from his possible wrath, America headed back up the stairs only to stop halfway. Had he just said 'Night Vale'? As in 'Welcome to Night Vale'? That podcast thing a lot of people seemed to like in his own country? He hadn't listened to it much, it didn't seem to be his kind of thing. Not that he was a little scared of it or anything, not at all! It just seemed a little strange...

Thundering his way back down, he burst into the room once more to find England singing along to the Doctor Who theme song. He still didn't understand how people did that when it was just noises.

"Hey, did you just say 'Night Vale'?"

Sighing, England turned round once again. "Yes. What of it?"

"You're... buying tickets to a live show?"

"Yes. They're performing in Europe this year and they're coming to London, amongst other cities in my country. But the tickets are up so early, I have no doubt they'll be snapped up if I don't get there first."

"Uh huh... Uh... You like it?" asked America.

"Oh, definitely!" exclaimed England with such enthusiasm that America's plans to tease him for liking something from his country died. The shorter man stood up then and turned round so that America could once again get a glimpse of what he was wearing. He had on a pair of comfortable-looking, faded jeans and t-shirt which displayed a cloud with the words "ALL HAIL THE GLOW CLOUD". "It's amazing! I love it. Cecil's voice is so smooth and his relationship with Carlos... It's so adorable!"

"Wow..." was all America could say.

"Since you're here," said England, ignoring America's shock, "would you like to join me for my weekend plans. Once you've unpacked, of course."

"What are your plans?" asked America, feeling a little dazed by England's relaxed state.

"Well, buying the tickets, watching Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Supernatural, listening to old Night Vale episodes... Maybe we could even watch a Disney film or two, since you're here." He turned from the confused America to turn on the TV.

America had never seen him like this before. Sure, he'd come across his love of Harry Potter and Doctor Who. It made sense he liked Lord of the Rings. But Supernatural? Wouldn't he have problems with that and 'getting the magic wrong'? Besides that, America could almost feel an aura of barely suppressed excitement radiating from the smaller man.

"You like Night Vale and Supernatural?" he settled for asking, mostly for something to say.

"Of course. I like a lot of things, America. Just like you loved Harry Potter so much you pulled strings to get a theme park built." England let himself drop onto his couch, bouncing slightly, something he always scolded America for. "And in Florida, of all places. Why Florida? It should have been built here, really. Not that it's not good, of course, but still."

"Well, yeah," said America, shifting his weight but not moving from his spot.

"Which reminds me, that's something else we can do."

"What?"

"We can have cocktails."

"Er... is that such a good idea?"

"Of course it is! Especially since it will be themed cocktails!" England looked at him over his shoulder. His eyes were glowing with excitement. "I'll make some later. And if you don't want alcohol" - he rolled his eyes - "I'll make non-alcoholic versions, okay?"

"Right." Biting his lip, America moved towards the couch.

"You still haven't unpacked, have you?" asked England, pointedly.

America sighed and turned around.

"Argh! No, no, no, no! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"What's up?" asked America as he returned from the kitchen with a mug of coffee.

"The bloody site crashed!" wailed England from his place on the couch as the first Harry Potter movie played on the TV. "This is ridiculous! They should have anticipated this!"

"Calm down," said America as he sat down, barely suppressing a yawn. "I'm sure it'll work out."

"And what if it doesn't?" growled England.

"Look, can't you just pull some strings with the place hosting it and get yourself a seat?"

"That would be disrespectful, America."

"Yeah, well." America shrugged, not sure what else he could do. "Let me see it."

Obediently, England pushed his laptop towards him. This was another first. England was always super protective of his computers, reluctant to let anyone else touch it. He must be desperate to get a ticket if he was willing for America of all people to fiddle around with it. Dutifully, America spent the next few minutes moving around the site, trying everything he could think of despite the fact there was a clear message telling him to check back later. Eventually, he gave up.

"Sorry, England. I think you're just gonna hafta wait."

"God dammit," growled England. "And speak properly, boy!"

"Maybe you should watch the movie and we can get this sorted later?" suggested America.

"Fine." And so they continued to watch Harry work out that the Philosopher's Stone was hidden in Hogwarts. England, though, kept tapping the refresh button on the site. It distracted America a lot but it meant that the man didn't complain when he brought out a tub of ice cream and ate almost the whole thing himself. Almost – he let England eat a few spoonfuls, of course, but he stubbornly kept hold of the spoon just in case. England barely noticed.

Finally, England gave a yell and began frantically clicking and typing, hunched over the laptop as the credits rolled on Harry Potter. America watched him as a grin spread across his face. His eyes glowed with excitement.

"And..." said England, suddenly. "I've got one!"

"Only one?"

England blinked at him. "What, are you wanting to come?"

"Well, er, not necessarily, but..."

"If you want to come, hang on." And England went back to tapping and clicking on his laptop. Once he had finished, he turned to America and smiled so genuinely, America was surprised. "There. I've got you one, too."

"Okay, America – do you want a cocktail?"

Surveying England with his mixer in hand and excitement in his eyes, America nodded. "Sure. What've you got?"

"There's Butterbeer, Firewhiskey, Pureblood and Mudblood, White Owl, The Phoenix, Whomping Willow-"

"Woah, woah, England!" cried America with wide eyes. Why were there so many of these themed cocktails? "I'll take a Butterbeer."

"Are you sure?" asked England, suddenly looking uncertain. "I could make you a themed cocktail of something else you like."

"Really?" asked America, grinning. "Could ya do a Captain America cocktail?"

"I'll see what I can do," England said and began to rummage around in his drinks cabinet.

Shrugging, America turned back to the TV. "What are we watching now?"

"I don't know," grunted England as he hefted several bottles and carried them away to the kitchen. "Why don't you pick something out from my collection?"

"Sure." With that, America got up and went over to the bookcases holding the few DVDs England seemed to have. He spotted his copies of all the seasons of Supernatural – and all of the books. Chuckling, he moved on until another familiar title caught his eye. "Dude, you have Firefly?" he called.

"Yes."

"It's awesome, ain't it?"

"BUN tyen-shung duh ee-DWAY-RO!" came the reply.

America blinked but figured that England was quoting the show and let it go, moving on to the other DVDs. He spotted Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and At World's End but passed them over. Black Adder, Black Books... Finally, he spotted something interesting and pulled it out.

"Yo, England! What's Spaced about?"

"It's a comedy," said England as he reappeared with their drinks. "It's rather wacky and about a guy and girl pretending to be together so they can get a flat. And they know nothing about each other."

"Hm."

"They make Star Wars references. There's all sorts of weird and wonderful people in it. The main guy – Simon Pegg's character – is trying to be a comic book artist. His flatmate wants to be an author but can't find the inspiration."

"Sounds... strange."

"Do you want to watch it?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Well, here's your drink." England handed out a glass filled with three different coloured liquids: red, white and blue. A tiny American flag stuck out of it. In his other hand was a large beer mug with a brown liquid and cream on top.

"Wow," breathed America as he took the glass. "What's in it?"

"From bottom to top: Grenadine, crème de cacao and Blue Curacao."

America nodded and stared at his glass for a moment before handing over the DVD to England. "What's in yours?" he decided to ask.

"Butterscotch schnapps, cream soda and whipped cream. Now, sit down and let's watch this. It's actually a really good comedy."

"But British," said America wrinkling his nose as he obeyed his host.

"Shut it. If you don't like it, you can Gun HOE-tze bee DIO-se."

"Drink up, me hearties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho-"

America laughed, cutting across England's singing. "We haven' even been watchin' anythin' with pirates in it," he said, only slurring his words a little. The Captain America drinks were good. And they always came with a little flag, no matter how drunk England had gotten.

"Y'wan' m'to sing some'in' different?" he asked, swaying.

"Sure, why not?"

After a few seconds of contemplating, England began to sing and it was obvious that he was remembering their earlier conversations. "Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me!"

Trying to join in, America hummed the next line, having forgotten it in his drunken haze. "Uh... Tell 'em, I ain't coming back. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. You can't take the sky from me!"

England took over but he either couldn't recall the words of that verse or he was too drunk to form them. So, in the end, all he did was make some garbled noises before singing, "You can't take the sky from me!"

"You can't take the sky from me!" America simply sang, not even bothering to remember the rest.

Suddenly, England seemed to have an air of melancholy around him. He sang the next verse and America winced as he realised the double meaning of the lyrics. "Lost my love, lost my land, lost the last place I could stand. There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity." As England opened his mouth to sing one last line, America joined him.

"And you can't take the sky from me!"

There were a few minutes of silence before, quite suddenly, England gave a sob. Sighing, America slid over and put an arm around him, trying to comfort him.

"You've drunk too much again, aintcha? And I'm tired. Let's go sleep."

England nodded so America helped them both stand, even though his head swam a little as he got upright. Since he could barely stand, England leant heavily on America. They staggered up the stairs and America dropped England onto his bed.

"G'night," murmured England.

America nodded as he wobbled on his way to the door. "Night, England."

The next morning, America woke up to a slightly sore head. He was pleased that that was the extent of his hangover but he still felt groggy. Dragging himself from the comfortable bed, America trudged to the bathroom to take a shower. Once he was more awake and fully dressed, he emerged from the room to discover a zombie at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, England. How're ya feeling?" he asked, cheerily.

"Urgh."

"Yesterday was awesome, by the way," continued America, grinning at the dishevelled state of his host.

"Huh."

"Yeah, I never knew you were such a geek."

For a few moments, dull green eyes stared into sunny blue ones. Then England glared. "If you tell anyone-"

"Dontcha worry. I wouldn't want my blackmail material to be-" He was cut off as England pushed him and he tumbled down the stairs. After tumbling head over heels, thankfully not breaking anything or bashing his head off the floor, he stared up at England from the bottom. "What was that-?"

"Just demonstrating what will happen if you tell anyone that I'm a, ah, 'geek'. Now, bugger off and make me some tea or I'll throw you out of the house for being such a pain in the arse."

Heh. I thought it would be fun if England only lets himself be geeky and excitable every so often. Then he goes back to his normal state. Unfortunately, America was at the top of the stairs - because I thought it would be amusing if he fell down them.

I love the fact that part of the theme song for Firefly (what they sing) has a verse which kind of relates to American Independence. If you're writing a story with the two nations and see the lyrics, anyways.

I thought America would find Night Vale a little creepy, if not terrifying, so he doesn't listen to it much. (And I would love to see him watching Supernatural with England. It would be like the Yellow Fever episode with Dean screaming at the cat. I bet America did, too.)

Not gonna translate the Mandarin. But, if you Google Firefly swear words, you'll find out what they mean. I just copy and pasted it from a site I found.

I actually wanted Black Adder to be put in the story but, like everything Edmund and Baldrick do, my cunning plan did not come together. (Black Adder is a comedy about... history... it's... It's really hard to explain... =/)

References everywhere! The first song is "Dance Like a Hippogriff" by the band that played that song in the 4th Harry Potter movie.

Black Books is about Bernard Black's struggling bookshop. It's pretty funny since they don't actually sell books, most of the time. ^^"

I have all the Supernatural books! Except, perhaps, any recent ones which have come out which take place during season 8 or 9. I even have John Winchester's Journal, Bobby's one and... Oh, no, I think that's it.

I bet England loves Firefly - pirates in space. :) And Mark Sheppard is in it. Which has nothing to do with anything but I'd just like to point out that Crowley was in Firefly.

... God, I'm such a geek.