Brotherly Love

"Hey short stack, get out of my way!" a rude stranger demanded, shoving Rhode Island out of his way.

The state stumbled, trying to regain his balance. He hated being so short. It wasn't his fault! Blame geography, not genetics. Just because he was the smallest state, he had to be cursed with the shortest height. At least the opposite wasn't true. That would mean Alaska would be the tallest.

While images of a giant six year old rampaged through his mind, Rhody didn't notice the person in front of his until it was too late.

CRASH!

Poor Rhody and the unknown person collided, sending then both hurtling to the concrete. After a few stunned seconds of lying on the ground, Rhody managed to get to his feet. He saw the other guy hadn't gotten up yet, so he reached down to help. It was just his luck to knock someone down right after having been made fun of. Was the universe out to get him or something?

"Are you alright?" he asked. The stranger finally faced him, revealing his identity. The guy actually looked a bit like England, though his skin was a bit darker and he had dorky black rimmed glasses. He also had on a Red Sox jersey and jeans, which just reinforced who Rhody knew it was. It was his brother, Massachusetts.

"Rh –Alistair?" Mass said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad told me to socialize in other states," Rhody explained. "I chose yours."

"So whatcha wanna do?" Mass asked.

"Well, what are you doing?"

The bay state grinned. "I'm heading to a Sox game. Wanna come?"

"Sure."


The stands were in utter chaos. People were screaming for their team, shouting insults at each other, throwing popcorn and other vendor-supplied snacks at each other, and some things that no one sane would even want to know.

Poor Rhody had no idea what to do.

Was everyone at the game insane? It was like sitting on a rickety boat in a sea of pandemonium. Mass wasn't being much help, either.

"Stupid ump!" he shouted, flinging his popcorn, trying to hit said stupid ump. "He was safe!"

Eventually the shorter state had had enough. Without another word, Rhody fought his way through the crowd, trying to leave. Let Mass have his baseball game. Rhody was sick of the chaotic swarm.


Two hours later, the game finally ended. Mass walked out happily; the Red Sox won 15-10. It wasn't until he had already made his way out of the stadium that he realized he had left his brother.

"Al?" he called, trying to look above the crowd. "Al!"

The bay state didn't see his brother anywhere, which wasn't all that surprising. Rhody was the one who always got lost in the crowd. As Mass started wandering around, calling his brother's name, Rhody was very close to falling asleep.

After leaving the game, the short state had found a bench just outside the stadium. He had sat down, leaned back, and watched the clouds drift across the sky. That was two hours ago.

What some people didn't know was that heat could make people sleepy. Sunlight was a perfect example. And Rhody was one of those clueless people. So as two hours passed, he found himself drifting off.

By the time Rhody had completely fallen asleep, Mass was in a worried frenzy. He lost his brother. Holy crap, he lost his brother. Dad was gonna kill him if he didn't find Rhody soon.

"Alistair Jones!" Mass shouted at the top of his lungs.

No response. Time for panic.

As Mass was freaking out, calling his brother's name and running around like a chicken with its head cut off, Rhody started waking up. Oops, he hadn't meant to fall asleep. Wait, was someone yelling his name?

"Anthony?" Rhody called sleepily, using Mass's human name.

When Mass heard Rhody respond, a huge grin spread across his face. He found his brother! He wasn't going to get in trouble for losing him! Okay, so Mass was happier about the second one, but still. Mass rushed over to where Rhody's voice was coming from until he found his brother.

"Why did you leave the game?" he demanded, still a bit frazzled.

"I got tired of the yelling fans and the chaos," Rhody explained calmly. "I guess I fell asleep."

"At least you're okay," Mass sighed. When Rhody stood up, Mass hugged him. "Don't scare me like that again, Al."

"Alright Tony," Rhody agreed with a sneaky grin. Mass pushed him back, a fake-upset expression on his face.

"What did I tell you about calling me Tony?"

Rhody just rolled his eyes. "Same thing I told you about calling me Al. Come on, let's go home."

The two states laughed as they walked away from the stadium. As annoying as family was, they knew at least someone who would always have their back.


Tada! Someone asked me a while back to write a Massachusetts/ Rhode Island brother fic, and I finally got it typed up! Yay! I can't remember who asked though. Oh well. Thanks for reading!

~C