A/N: As I promised, daily installments. Thank you all so much for your kind reviews!! I tried to spice up this chapter with a little humor, so enjoy :)

Oh, and the numbers next to certain words have their definitions at the bottom of the page...you'll see :)

Chapter Two: Chef England

America couldn't understand why he visited this nation's home so often. There must be a deep, underlying masochist in him, or maybe he was just plain stupid (nah, that couldn't be it). Alfred was currently wondering why he was sitting here in England's dining room of all places, awaiting imminent doom. He lifted his nose into the air and took a whiff of whatever dreadful cooking was currently wafting from the kitchen where England was currently trying to "perfect" his newest dish. Well, perhaps the dish wasn't new. It was probably some old English recipe that he was trying to actually make delicious…if such a thing were possible.

Earlier that day, Arthur had called Alfred saying he wanted his opinion on a certain matter. This immediately caused a "Red Alert" sign to flash through the young nation's head. There was only one possible explanation for Arthur inviting America over. Personality 2, labeled Chef England, had arrived.

Chef England was a dangerous creature. It meant that Arthur was in a cooking mood and looking to prove others wrong about English cuisine. The symptoms of Chef England included a need to impress, an overall happy demeanor, and later digestive problems for his taste testers (or perhaps a better word was victims). Alfred couldn't stand this personality. It definitely ranked in the bottom three. He was currently considering sneaking away with his ninja-like skills that came with being a hero, but before he could even lift himself from his seat, a sing-song voice called out, "Oh, Alfred~".

Damn. He was trapped.

"Yeah, Arthur?" America called out, praying that perhaps England had just accidently dropped everything he made and needed a hero to help assist him with cleaning his polished floor.

"I've got some dishes I know you'll just love~" England answered back. He was starting to sound a lot like Italy today…his voice was filled with a bubbly happiness that Alfred hadn't heard in a long time. Too bad this innocent voice was coming from a man bent on torture.

England appeared from the kitchen door with several small dishes on a plate. He set the plate down on the table and lifted a hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He had been working very hard on this meal, that was for sure. The hero in America just couldn't run away when someone needed him so…

"L-looks delicious, Arthur," America said, trying to hold down his breakfast at the smell of the food. Seriously, this stuff should be censored.

"Why thank you, Alfred. Please, I'd like you to taste the bangers(1) first," he said with a small smile as he sat down across from Alfred.

Alfred, however, was looking at England like he was from another planet. "Bangers?" he said with a confused look.

"Yes, bangers, you know, sausage. I know the variety of food here is mixed, but I have a feeling in my gut that I've finally perfected these dishes!" Arthur said, bringing his fist into the palm of his other hand.

Alfred just looked at the sausages before him. He remembered something that France had said about English sausages earlier…not only do they create a BANG in the cooking process, but there's also a pretty big BANG for the person who eats them… Oh yeah, that's what he said.

Slowly and carefully, Alfred picked up a sausage with his fork and took a small nibble of the banger. Chewing and finally swallowing, Alfred awaited the BANG to hit him square on.

Arthur looked at Alfred expectantly. "Well…?" he asked. Alfred looked at his former mother country, those eyes that were so happy, and yet so exhausted…

"Yeah, this is great Arthur! Seriously! Damn, I wish McDonald's had these!" he shouted with the perfect expression of pure glee. His smile was forced and one side of the mouth was twitching slightly.

"R-really, Alfred?! Alright, how about this dish then?" Arthur was just about to point to what he wanted Alfred to try next, but the younger nation stopped him.

"Um, Arthur, do you have anything to drink?" America asked, desperate for anything to take away the horrible taste in his mouth.

"I have earl grey tea(2), Alfred. Same as always." Arthur responded. But honestly, why would anyone want to wash down the delicious flavor of his bangers?

"Yeah, fine, tea, sure!" Alfred cried out while simultaneously running to the kitchen. Arthur sat there, dumbfounded. Alfred never drank his tea. He looked down at his meals with a sour face…so were the dishes really that bad?

America walked back into dining room and sat down with a lukewarm cup of earl grey tea in his hands. Honestly, there was no way he could wait for the water to boil. "So, Arthur, what's next?" he asked, trying his best to look happy. However, he noticed a crestfallen expression on England's face. Was he really being that obvious about not liking the dish?

"Um, you know Alfred, you don't have to try these foods if you don't want to…" he began softly with a sad smile on his face.

"What are you on about now, Arthur? If I didn't want to try the food, would I be here right now?" Alfred said, wanting to cheer the nation up. Arthur looked up at America and began, "But…"

"But nothing!" America said. "Look, old man, I've been eating your food for years. The stuff's grown on me, so give me some more!"

England brightened at the prospect and said, "A-alright! Well, I have some mushy peas(3) over here next to the Sunday roast(4), and some wonderful spotted dick(5)-"

"Excuse me?" America said. He wasn't sure if he heard that last dish's named correctly.

"I said mushy peas, Sunday roast, and spotted dick, Alfred. Pay attention, will you?"

"I-I know what you said, but…what the heck is spotted dick?!" Alfred shouted. Honestly, Alfred has had everything from England's meat pies to his fish & chips, but never had he heard of anything called spotted dick!

Arthur watched the shocked face of his former colony and felt very confused. "Well, it's a suet pudding, you know, a pudding made from hard fat. It has some dried fruit and is placed in custard with brown sugar…" England's voice became quieter as America's eyes grew wider. "I thought I'd given this to you before, America. Perhaps I gave it to you under a different title. It's also known as Spotted Richard, Dick in a box, Dick with a dot, Creamy Brown Dick-"

"Whoa! England! No, too much information!" America shouted while covering his ears. Honestly! Creamy Brown Dick? What the hell?! "Why do you call it that?!"

"Well, it beats me, Alfred. I believe the word "spotted" is used to describe the dried fruit-"

"No!" America yelled, waving his hands before him. In a whisper, he cupped the hands around his mouth and said "The other word."

"You mean dick? I believe that word is derived from the Germany word for "thick" because of the dish's texture… either that, or it's a shortened version of "pudding". Why do you ask?"

America just stared unwaveringly at Arthur. England, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what was wrong with the other nation. Alfred sighed internally…he truly hated it when Chef England made his appearance.

1. Bangers- basically, these are English sausages made from fresh meats. After WWII, the sausages tended to contain low-quality meat. The name stems from the fact that excessive water was added to the mix, which turned to steam while cooking. It would burst the case with a BANG! xD

2. Earl Grey Tea- this is basically black tea. The flavor (or should I spell it flavour since this is about England?) and aroma stem from the oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange. The English tend to add milk and sugar to this tea.

3. Mushy peas- dried marrowfat peas that are soaked overnight and then simmered with a little sugar and salt until it forms a thick, green, lumpy soup.

4. Sunday roast- a traditional British meal consisting of roasted meat with roasted potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. It can come served with vegetables and gravy.

5. Spotted Dick- exactly how England described it. I'm serious, this is a real dish. It's a dessert made with meat pudding that contains dried fruit on custard with some brown sugar.

All the information regarding the food items was found on Wikipedia, which means that everything could be a lie…but it's best to pretend it's not. xD I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter! :)

Up Next: Nostalgic Old Man