His phone was much quieter now.

England had placed the piece of technology on his coffee table, which was thankfully quiet. Poland had finally stopped calling him and leaving him worried messages, the same with Portugal. The rest of the EU had stopped the day after the polls. He was thankful for that as well. He had a lot to be thankful for. The house was quiet, but he could hear Uni chasing flying mint bunny, presumably for a biscuit, somewhere upstairs, making him smile at their antics. There were soft whispers outside as well, but he ignored them, opting to stay under his blanket and relish the quietness.

He had, for a few minutes, wondered what life would be like for him now - they only held world meetings once every 6 months. EU meetings were held every week for nations, sometimes twice a week. His life had been a rush of getting to the meetings and back, with a load of work in between.

And then there was this.

Was this how the USA felt? So much free time on his hands. He was unsure what to do with it. He tossed the notion from hand to hand, thinking of all things he could do - all the things he would do - now that he had time. He had never felt freer. No prime minister, no work, no stress, just the blessed quietness of his home as he tapped into the thoughts and feelings of his people, becoming one with them again.

He hadn't done that in a long time. Often he felt his people, a murmur next to his heart, but he hadn't tapped into them, been them, for such a long time. He had stopped listening a long time ago.

"Dear God, please help my dad find a job so he can pay the mortgage, thank you very much, from Eliza."

"I hope I got good marks on that test!"

"Wow, she's so pretty... But is she a lesbian like me or not?"

He laughed at that last one, before tapping back into Eliza's life. A teenager was kneeling by her bed, eyes shut, whispering prayers for her dad. England floated through the house, looking at the girl's father. He smiled silently, looking through his job folder and quickly ticking an option, knowing it would best suit the dad. He went back to Eliza, murmuring, "Your wish will be granted, love" and popping out of her existence.

Eliza jumped up, eyes wide. "What the fuck!?" she yelled, making her dad barrel into her room.

"What? What is it?" he cried. Eliza stared at the place England had been floating.

"Nothing dad..." She took the folder from him. "Hey, did you tick this?"

"I don't remember doing so... But it's an interview, eh? Might as well go and see them..." he replied, kissing his daughter. "If I ticked it, it must be for the right reasons..."

He got the job.

Poland slammed the phone down, screaming. Portugal covered his eyes, scowling at his friend. "Please calm down! I know you're worried, but -"

"Worried? Worried? I'M BEYOND WORRIED!" Poland screamed. "I've contacted France, his prime minister, USA, and his president, Britain's own prime minister, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, the Minister of Defence and his wife, MI6, 7 and 8 and not one flipping person has seen him since he left the EU!"

"It's only been a day, meu querido," Portugal tried to console his friend. Poland ripped the phone from it's holder and threw it at him. "Meu Deus!" He cried, ducking.

"Don't you querido ME!" shrieked Poland. "ONE DAY is all England needs to set his walls back up! ONE DAY is all England needs to go back into isolation! ONE DAY is long enough to announce their retreat from the world! ONE DAY is enough to make him feel worthless, unloved, unwanted -" Poland sank to the ground.

"I care too much about him..."

Thanks to readers! I'm not really sure if North and Scotland should declare independence, as I don't really intend to make them part of the story... But anyway, I figure that Portugal and England would be really good friends because of their alliance (which is the oldest in the world - look it up!) and since England came to Poland's rescue during WW2 they would be quite close. I think Polish is the 3rd or 4th most spoken language in the UK. Those two will be a major part of the story, so get ready! ;)

UPDATE: Thank you SpiralofSilence for correcting my Portuguese... (google translate SUCKS)

meu querido- sweetheart
Meu Deus! - my god!