My first APH fanfiction. I promised I wouldn't write stuff for this, because I thought it'd be insensitive. I'd like to say a couple of things in advance: firstly, yes, I do know of the complicated and saddening relations between South Korea and Japan (Hetalia inspired me to read into it, and while I knew that Japan had been a pretty nasty nation, I had never really explored it), so this is more of a wish. I do hope, beyond all things, that China, South Korea and Japan can get on some day. They're my three favourites, so...

Secondly, this was originally written because I watched CLANNAD for the first time a couple of months ago. The first two minutes of Episode 1 really, really shocked me; not in a bad way. I watched it thirty or so times, and each time it really made an impact on me; so the first half is more introspective. The second half is not. Explanations of various things are at the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own APH, CLANNAD, or Mary Stayed Out All Night (the name of the Korean drama mentioned later)

England watched the two brothers in a mixture of fascination and curiosity. As far as he knew, they were on bad terms, but as soon as it came to anything of mutual interest – animated movies of all things – they were suddenly like best of friends, laughing and smiling like nothing had happened between them. "So, what's this one about?" he asked, startled as the livelier one of the two replied with seemingly never-ending vigour. Did every area have an America act-alike?

"Oh! England-seon-saeng-nim!" South Korea grinned, the face in his hair grinning alongside him. England wondered what it was and why a fairy was trying to talk to it and what the strange jumble of sounds that had just tumbled from South Korea's mouth meant. "This one's Japan's. It's the same thing Japan always does: love story this, love story that…"

"Not this one," Japan said, smiling as he put the DVD in the player. "I'd been meaning to show it to you for a while, but I never got round to it. England-san can watch too if he wants to."

"Um… what's it about?" he repeated, sitting down next to the two of them as the title screen flashed up. "It isn't one of those weird explicit ones again, is it?"

Japan blushed and shook his head. "It was made by the same company, but there's no nudity in this one. I think this one's better…"

"Oh, you do, do you?" South Korea laughed and elbowed Japan in a friendly, teasing manner. "Knowing you though, you're imagining things in your head."

"Says you, breast-grabber," Japan retorted, and England raised an eyebrow, wondering just why he'd agreed to stay the night at Japan's house. The lightning overhead reminded him.

"Is there something I should know?" England asked, watching as South Korea tried to essentially throw himself on Japan, who responded by pulling his hair curl. Immediately South Korea went limp. "That's my life-source, swine," South Korea croaked out, and Japan hit him sharply round the head for good measure.

"And that's my chest, so leave it alone." Japan turned to him, ignoring South Korea's retort of 'stuck-up… babo!' and tried to think of the best way to respond. "The only thing you have to know, England-san, is that…"

"All your breasts are belong to me!" South Korea laughed, and Japan glared at him for a few seconds with eyes of ice before breaking out into similar laughter. England became very confused by their behaviour, feeling a little bit of indignation when Japan wiped a tear away, laughing openly about 'how they'd ruined yet another translation.' Well, it was Japan's own fault for not teaching him Japanese properly! "Bloody git, it wasn't like we could speak Japanese well," he said, frowning. "You taught us to speak like a woman so you could laugh at us."

"It was necessary," Japan said, becoming more serious again. "Vengeance, you see, for forcing me out of my room."

"Tell that to America, the stupid Yankee."

"I'll see what I can do. In regards to my brother's actions, you've nothing to fear. South Korea only likes to claim my 'breasts,' China's 'breasts,' and occasionally Hong Kong's. You'll be fine. Just don't say about the ownership of anything."

"Right…"

England wondered how South Korea felt about the whole thing. He hadn't failed to notice that Japan had referred to the boisterous East Asian as 'my brother' and wondered if relations between them had improved any. Or maybe they were like he and America—always pretending to dislike one another.

"Anyway, this one's about a girl who wants to restart the theatre club at her school," Japan said, plugging in the controller and moving down to select 'episode one.' "It's, as South Korea-san said, a love story, but… it's really, really good," Japan promised, smiling at the thought. "Wait a second." He paused it and stood up, bowing quickly as he rushed away. "I'm just going to find some tissues."

"Bloody hell," England remarked, watching in slight apprehension as the paper door slid shut and he was left alone with the America of the East-Asian nations. "So…" he begun, unaccustomed to the acceptance of silence in the other's culture. "Lovely weather we're having."

"I think it's cool, personally," South Korea said, grinning as another rumble of thunder was heard. "And cool originated in me."

"So I'd heard," England said wryly, and the other beamed, grinning as though England told him he'd just won the lottery.

"Wow! Someone other than China-hyung-nim who acknowledges me~daze!" South Korea leant over and shook his hand again. England wondered how many brain cells this guy had. "I was being sarcastic."

"I know," South Korea said, laughing again. "I was playing along. Jokes were invented by me, so I know how to make them." There was a little silence before South Korea looked around, frowning. "I wonder where Japan is."

"You two seem pretty close," England ventured, and South Korea turned to look at him, evidently confused. "Well, it's just that you seem so friendly with one another, and you don't put an extra thingy on his name…"

South Korea picked up the DVD case and looked at it disinterestedly. "It's not that," he said, choosing his words carefully and looking serious. Perhaps he wasn't like America after all. "I'm actually a little older than him, so I don't need to use an honorific. And we're… closer than we were seventy years ago, but…"

South Korea discarded the DVD case and hugged his knees close, looking at the soft glow of the television. "I haven't forgotten what Japan did, nor have I forgiven him. I know I won't ever forget, but recently he apologised, you know, and I don't know how to act around him. I'm not sure if he's thinking that now that he's apologised everything's done, or if he doesn't know what to say or do. He's never been easy to read."

"Now there's a bloody understatement," England laughed, thinking of all the times that Japan had said yes but meant no. South Korea chuckled too, smiling.

"I can't fully hate him," South Korea said, looking around for any signs of Japan returning. "Not just because he's family. He's got a way of thinking that I've never seen before… and I admire it."

"Oh?" England wondered whether Japan knew what his brother thought of him genuinely, and suspected he did not. "What do you mean?"

"I like you," South Korea said suddenly, and quite frankly. "You're easy to talk to. What I mean is… Japan doesn't see bad in anybody, and even if he does, he seeks to justify it. I wish I could think like that. And it's not just that. He thinks… on almost a different level to everyone else."

"You haven't got an example?" South Korea frowned and thought, and then indicated the television. "Watch some of the movies he makes, or read some of his books. The sort of language used in them is… an example, um… 'The memories add colour… and start to grow,' or 'Can I think like that… because I loved those days?'," he said, still serious. A sigh escaped him, and he looked up, downcast. "Sometimes I feel a little inadequate compared to him."

"Do you think that Japan might admire something about you?" England said casually, watching as South Korea stretched and stared at the wall. The other Asian scoffed. "No, there's no way. He complains about my behaviour all the while."

"Hmm," England responded, and jumped guiltily as the paper door opened and Japan returned, laden with boxes of tissues and tubs of ice cream with spoons and boxes of sweets. "Here," he said, sitting down and noticing something was wrong. He poked South Korea's cheek. "What's up? You two look so gloomy."

"We were thinking it'd be sad, since you went to get tissues," England improvised, and South Korea nodded, looking grateful for the cover-up. Japan blinked and handed South Korea a tub of ice cream: "watermelon; your favourite."

"It is sad," Japan said, scrunching up his toes and hugging his knees as South Korea had done earlier before handing England some ice cream. "It's a…" He trailed off, uncertain of what to say, or perhaps unwilling to try to classify what he evidently thought was a masterpiece.

"Let's just watch it," South Korea suggested, and Japan nodded.

"By the way, what flavour is this?" England asked, appreciating his ice cream. "It's good."

"Octopus," Japan said, without skipping a beat.

England dropped his spoon and shrieked. "Octopus?" Japan nodded and blinked as England smiled, defeated, into the bowl. "It's octopus-flavoured and it's still better than my cooking…"

"I lied. It's not really octopus. It's squid."

England's mood went from distraught to relieved to disgust and back to defeat, before Japan reassured him that it was just strong-milk flavoured. That didn't change the fact that it was better than England's cooking though.

"What flavour do you have?" South Korea said, his spoon hovering dangerously close to Japan's own little pot of ice cream. Japan narrowed his eyes and defended it slightly, which of course only prompted South Korea to try harder to get at it. Triumphant eventually, and with Japan glaring, South Korea stole the pot and happily took a bite, before blanching and hastily returning the pot to its rightful owner. "What was it?" England asked, rather worried as South Korea forced himself to swallow.

"Cheese," the distressed Asian nation forced out, before rounding on Japan. "You did that on purpose!"

"Of course. Who eats cheese-flavoured ice-cream?" Japan forced out amongst stifled laughs, South Korea's own laughs eventually joining him. Japan wiped tears away, smiling all the while. "I bought it thinking you might to try to steal it."

"Bastard." But South Korea was smiling, and seemed to have found it as funny as Japan. England was laughing too, and briefly reflected that he'd never seen or imagined Japan acting like this. "Gosh, I haven't laughed so much since China fell in the fish pond," South Korea said, and they all laughed at either the memory or the thought. England now found himself armed with, at the least, friendly blackmail against China, and a whole lot of hilarity for the next world meeting.

"I'll get you back for that," South Korea promised, before picking up the remote control and pressed play. England wondered why suddenly Japan looked nervous, and why he suddenly felt extremely childish. Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that they were watching a children's cartoon and that they were grown men.

The screen dimmed down, the episode beginning in muted blues and grey as it panned down over the blue-and-grey city with eerie music playing in the background. England had heard about the supposed 'awesome' nature of Japan's drawn works (and the questionable integrity of others) from America, but if this was all he was going to see, he was a bit disappointed. It was well-animated, and well-drawn, but severely lacking. "I hate this city," a young man off-screen said. England frowned. He wasn't going to get depression from this, was he?

The boy walked with his back to the camera, droning on about how everyday he went to school, did nothing and then went back home. England was going to say two things—firstly, he was going to ask where the antidepressants were, and secondly, he was going to wonder out loud exactly how this show was appropriate for children.

The music changed as the boy walked up a hill, still in the bluescale of the animation, and froze suddenly. A close-up of a girl's face was the run-up to another miniature rant (god, Japan's stuff was strange) about how things always changed and how she didn't want that to happen. "The words weren't directed at me," the boy was saying, watching her. "She must be talking to somebody in her heart."

What an odd choice of words, England thought, but neither Japan nor South Korea appeared to be fazed. Maybe this was what South Korea meant about thinking on different levels. "Fun things, happy things… they can't all possibly stay unchanged," the girl said, and England felt a sharp pang—it was true. How many times had they longed for peace and ended up fighting?

The screen flickered, for the first time, into colour. It was brief, and eye-catching, with pinks and whites replacing the blue, but ended virtually immediately. South Korea shifted and looked a little confused, but was quiet nonetheless. "Even so, can you keep on loving this place?"

The music crescendoed, the screen flickered, and their eyes met, and the 'camera' took a wild turn and panned out, revealing stunning colours, pinks, greens and soft yellows.

"We start to walk up the long, long uphill path."

And the effect was promptly dispelled by South Korea. The screen froze, the pause button pressed down under his finger. "I did not just watch that," he said, looking stunned. "That was…"

"I'm sorry!" Japan apologised before even hearing what South Korea had to say, bowing his head and making a little 'uwa' noise as South Korea smacked him. "You can apologise when I cry," South Korea said, and England patted Japan on the back, trying to make his host feel a little better. "It's good, Japan, but is it really suitable for children?"

The two Asians looked at him, confused. "Why would it be for children?" Japan asked, watching him curiously. "Just because it's anime doesn't mean it's childish."

South Korea nodded and England shifted uncomfortably, watching as the credits began to roll. Well, the starting credits. They were much like the beginning had been, dark and suddenly inundated with colours so lucid that it was almost ethereal. "Besides," Japan said, settling back against the edge of his table. "This one… is… It's a lot like what I want to be able to say."

Oh, how seriously the East Asians took their cartoons.

Somehow, the night had slipped away from cartoons to dramas, and South Korea and Japan were eagerly taking it in turns to watch each other's programmes, laughing at this and smiling at that and occasionally trying to learn each other's language.

"What's with this?" Japan said, slightly drunk from some form of alcohol that South Korea had persuaded him to try. "It's all like 'gge' and 'ttze' and not fun at all…"

"Serves you right," South Korea said, also slightly drunk. England wondered where on earth they had got their ridiculously low alcohol tolerance from. "Besides, I bet England-nim could say it perfectly."

England had to admit he had not tried to learn South Korea's language. Raising an eyebrow slightly, he accepted another glass of alcohol from South Korea and sipped at it steadily, wondering again just how they had got so drunk after only two glasses. "What is this?" The young man in South Korea's drama said, pulling back the girl's fringe and revealing a scar. "This scar is like the one on that wizard… Harry Potter?"

Japan pointed to the telly and missed, clutching at South Korea's arm. "Have you read Hari Pota? It's really good. If England-san were here I'd get him to lend it to you. He owes me a favour from something or other anyway." England raised an eyebrow. They didn't just have poor alcohol tolerance; it had terrible effects on them too.

"I feel like I'm going to die," a very drunk girl said, nearly throwing up. South Korea nodded in sympathy. "I know exactly how she feels," he said, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. "Hey, Japan, when I die, you can be the best man at my funeral, okay?"

Japan nodded and England decided to intervene. He removed South Korea's bottle of alcohol from the nearby table and took Japan's glass away, for good measure. "You don't have best men at funerals. You have them at weddings."

"South Korea-san's getting married?" Japan looked at him in confusion and then turned to South Korea. "You mean the best man marries the bride and groom?"

South Korea looked a little pensive. "Does that mean we're getting married?" England said nothing and South Korea proceeded to jump Japan again. "Alright, Japan, I'll marry you, but you're wearing the dress."

"You two can't get married," England said, pulling South Korea off of the now rather violently protesting Japan and his chest. "Does that mean we'll have to elope?" South Korea asked innocently, giggling tipsily. England ignored him and helped Japan up.

"England-san! There you are," Japan replied, looking positively overjoyed to see him. "We were just talking about you! Can you lend South Korea-san Hari Pota? You know, you said you owed me a favour when I found that sanitary towel America-kun had stuck to your jumper."

South Korea snorted. England wanted to evaporate on the spot, or at least… do something. "Watch out, Japan!" South Korea said, laughing. "He'll shoot you with his eyebrows!"

England blushed and cleared his throat. "Really, you two are behaving like… three-year-olds. I wish I had a camera to film it."

"It's his fault," they both said at the same time. "He's a bad influence."

"Just watch your telly."

The two complied silently, Japan resting his head on South Korea's shoulder. England was quite grateful that the next four episodes passed in relative silence, and found himself dimly praying to God that they wouldn't remember the incident when they finally snapped out of it.

"Out of trust, hope and love," the character on the television said. "Which is the most important?"

"Ooh, I know," South Korea said, pausing the drama. "Kimchi!"

"It's not kimchi," Japan said, poking South Korea's cheek.

"Korean spirit?"

England nearly dropped his glass in a mixture of shock and amusement as Japan shook his head again.

"It's pastaaa~~!"

"You've been spending too much time with your weird western friends." South Korea immediately blushed and covered his mouth. "Except England-nim. He's not strange. But he is Western. And your friend."

"We call that 'digging yourself a hole'," England said cheerfully, wearing a threatening smile. "Nice to know you still remember I'm here, though."

"We wouldn't forget you're here, England-san," Japan said, smiling. "Here, look, have some sake." England briefly wondered where he had found that bottle and hesitantly accepted it, fearing he might cause some dishonour or the like. He didn't see Japan drinking any, and their eyes were on him, so he sipped the drink and nodded politely. "It's good."

"I'm glad," Japan said, smiling. He looked a little more like himself and a little less like the tipsy teenager he had been acting like a couple of hours ago. England felt his head muddying with the combined effects of the alcohol and the lateness of the hour, and had to keep pinching himself to make himself stay awake. Morning was not far around the corner, and he was just slipping into a hazy sleep when South Korea helped Japan move him onto a futon. They really were responsible, after all.

"'m sorry," he heard Japan yawn as he pulled a blanket over him. "I've only got the one bed, so…"

"Guests first," South Korea nodded in understanding and England heard him flump down nearby, though he was far too tired to open his eyes to check where they were. Another flump signalled Japan sitting down.

"Nee," Japan said, yawning again. "That was a good drama."

"That's because good dramas originated in me~~" South Korea replied. There was a thud, and Japan groaned in pain. "Stupid thing, don't bang your head."

Japan was mumbling now. "Mmm. I don't know. I thought it was a little bit like you…"

"Look at you with your fancy thinking…"

"No, I mean…" Japan yawned widely. "It was warm; you know, that sort of thing. You're really warm-hearted, and so open… I kinda admire that, y'know?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Good night, South Korea-san."

"Night, Japan."

"Love you."

There was a pause and England froze. That was maybe not the best thing Japan could have said. The tension died away as South Korea shifted slightly. "Love you too."

England smiled and found himself rolling over, towards the direction of their voices. There was a sleepy yawn from South Korea and Japan joined him not a second later. England finally forced his eye open and smiled a little more as he saw them asleep together; Japan's head resting on South Korea's shoulder and South Korea's head resting on the crown of Japan's. He forced himself to find another blanket and draped it across their shoulders, before sinking down into bed himself.

The morning was around the corner, and tomorrow was another day.

Explanations of various things:

Seon-saeng-nim = Korean honorific for a teacher who is of a higher status than you. Given that I'm new to Korean, I was toying with the idea of -ssi for England, and I originally used just -nim, but 'Masked Manipulator' suggested 'Seon-saeng' (and to make that polite, you use 'Seon-saeng-nim'). (Can anyone tell me which is more appropriate?)

Babo! = Idiot, in Korean. (Again, please correct me if I'm wrong, particularly when it comes to languages *underlines penname*) Thanks to 'Masked Manipulator', who told me it wasn't 'babo ya,' but just 'babo'. I wasn't sure if 'ya' was an emphatic particle or not. I only wish you'd been logged in so I could reply!

All your breasts are belong to me = a shameless parody of 'all your base are belong to us'

Teaching us to speak like women = Most people who teach westerners Japanese are women, so even men tend to learn the politer women's speech. When men start speaking very formally, particularly in business meetings, they're laughed at. It's my own private idea that this is vengeance for being forced out into the world in 1854. *shot*

Hyung = Korean honorific for older brother and close male friends (only used by boys, I think - I'm not too sure about this though)

I don't need to use an honorific = Koreans tend to not use honorifics for younger family members (unless I'm wrong)

Thinking on a different level = The first thing that really inspired me to learn Japanese was the emotional quality of the language used. Examples are taken from Fruits Basket.

Squid ice cream = octopus, squid and cheese ice cream are all real ice cream flavours in Japan. Oh, Japan, you.

Alcohol intolerance = I read somewhere that some Japanese, Koreans and Chinese lack an enzyme in their bodies which helps them break down alcohol, so they get drunk really easily.

Kimchi = a usually spicy Korean food. It's really popular.

Digging yourself a hole = the idea that you're making the situation worse and end up embarrassing yourself.

There we have it. OTL.

Once again, please feel free to correct me, particularly in regards to language and culture. I hope I haven't offended anyone. South Koreans and Japanese: I do understand the history between your two nations; as I said before, this is but a little hope of mine.

Thank you for reading!