Chapter 4

"All done!" England happily announced.

America stood dripping in the tub. England had just finished pouring a bucket of water over him. Any lingering suds or dirt had now been rinsed off. America was still in the same position he had used to brace himself for the short shower: standing with his eyes shut and holding his nose with his hand. England took a large towel and lifted his little brother out of the tub with it.

"Don't you feel better now that you're clean?" England asked America as he dried the boy off.

America grumbled something incoherent. He was still pouting about having to take the bath. To tell the truth, he would still be fighting England's efforts to bath him at this moment if England had not won his cooperation part-way through the bath. Remembering why he had surrendered his fight, the boy began to wiggle a bit in the soft cloth. England was busy rubbing America's wet hair when the boy suddenly poked his head out from under the towel.

"When do I get my present?" he wanted to make sure that England didn't forget about the promised reward for his obedience.

"Patience," England said with a small smile before recovering America's face and playfully ruffling his hair further with the towel.

America scowled under the cloth at England's cheer. The boy was starting to suspect that the bribe had just been another trick. He really hoped it wasn't. He had been so good for the last half of his bath, that he felt like he deserved something. True to his word, he had allowed England to scrub and clean every inch of him. Throughout the whole process, he had stayed as still and as quiet as it was humanly possible for a boy his age. The only exceptions were when England had gone over a few ticklish spots, but even then America had mustered up enough will-power to only allow his body to twitch a little. The worst had been when England had cleaned between his toes. America had thought that that part would never end. And just when America had thought it was over, England started cleaning under his toenails. America had almost broken when that happened. Who cares if you have dirt under your toenails?

But America had not complained. He had just bit his lip and continued to wait patiently for England to finish. After that, the boy's fingernails had received similar treatment. Of course, England had also paid special attention to the boy's ears; washing both behind them and inside them. America had grimaced silently as every speck of filth, hidden in every crack in his body, was scrubbed loose and then finally washed away when that last bucket of water was emptied on him. After all that meticulous cleaning, America felt like he should get a medal at the very least!

Suddenly, America felt himself being lifted up and carried. He couldn't see where he was being taken because England had tightly wrapped his entire body (including his face) in the towel. America immediately began trying to squirm his way out of the towel cocoon.

"Hey! Let me out!" he demanded from inside the towel.

"What's that?" he heard England tease. "I can't quite hear you. You know mumbling isn't polite."

America shifted his arms around until he was able to bring them up and pull the towel down from his eyes.

"I'm not mumbling! You covered me up with the towel!"

"Did I?" England asked in indifferent innocence. He was pretending to be blissfully unaware of what he had done.

"You did so!" America insisted as he squirmed harder. "Stop playing around! You know you did!"

"Alright, alright," England admitted wearily. "Stop fidgeting before I drop you by accident." The next thing America knew, he was being laid out on a bed. "Wait here, and I'll get the surprise," England told him.

America saw now that they were in England's room. The boy sat up and watched as England went around to the foot of the bed. The old nation took a key out of his pocket and bent down to unlock a large chest that rested at the end of his bed.

All of a sudden, America forgot that he was supposed to be angry about the bath. Bath? What bath? England was actually opening his chest! America had always wondered what was inside that thing. Although England always denied it, America still thought that the wooden container looked suspiciously like a pirate's treasure chest. It did not matter what his elder said. The boy's active imagination convinced him that the mysterious chest had to be filled with treasure. England would never let him look inside it, and in America's mind, that only confirmed his childish beliefs. But now America was not only going to get a chance to see what was really inside the secret chest, but he was also going to get a special surprise from it!

America hastily loosened the towel around him and stood up on the mattress. He could barely contain his excitement as he walked to the end of England's large bed. Unfortunately, the boy was in for a disappointment. His anticipation was crushed when he snuck a peek over the open lid of the chest. The only items inside the "treasure chest" were some large blankets, some extra sewing supplies, and a few small boxes. England was in the process of going through the boxes, so he did not notice America. Supposedly, England was looking for America's "special surprise," but as far as the spying boy could tell, each box that his brother opened only held small, uninteresting, old trinkets.

The unhappy boy flopped back down on the bed with a moan. Talk about anti-climactic. There had not been so much as one golden coin in the misleading chest. There wasn't even anything remotely interesting in the chest! What a let-down. And England was looking for America's big surprise in there? America sighed and prepared himself for more disappointment.

"That's odd," America overheard England say to himself. "I was certain I left it in here…."

The waiting dragged on. The more time England spent searching, the more anxious America got. What if there was no present after all? What if it had all been another trick, and England was just pretending to have lost the non-existent gift? America wiggled his toes outside of the towel with worry. England wouldn't do that to him, would he?

America looked around the room and tried not to think about his missing surprise. He really wanted to trust England. He reminded himself that his brother did have a tendency to misplace things. England would probably find what he was looking for any second now.

As America scanned the room, he noticed something on the bed. It was one of the boy's long shirts—a clean one. England had probably laid it out before filling up the tub, so he could be ready to dress America right after the bath. America pulled the towel tighter around him. He was chilly, and he was getting annoyed with having to keep a hold on the towel. He wished he was dressed so that he could walk around normally. The boy glanced back expectantly at the man who usually dressed him, but England was still rummaging through his old trunk. America sighed with displeasure and returned his gaze to his shirt. Why hadn't England dressed him before he started searching for the surprise?

All of a sudden America sat up straight. A revolutionary idea had just come to him. Why hadn't he ever thought of this before? He wanted to get dressed, but England was busy. So what? It was so obvious what he should do. America took off the towel and picked up the shirt.

Meanwhile, on England's end, the British man was getting discouraged. His thick eyebrows were lowering with concern as he pressed on in his search for his object of bribery. He was having no success, but he kept up his hunt. He was so sure that he had stashed what he was looking for in his storage chest. He couldn't understand why it was now so hard to locate.

"How is it that I always manage to lose the important items?" England asked himself.

England was very happy with how the bribe had worked out. After he had won America's cooperation with it, bathing the rest of boy had been as easy as taking a stroll through a park. The remainder of America's bath had gone more smoothly than any other bath that England had ever managed to force upon the boy. England was so excited about the pleasant outcome of his bargaining that he had almost jumped for joy when the bath was finished!

England had to find the reward he had promised his brother. He knew bribing America might never work again if he couldn't find what he was looking for. Not to mention that England had made the gift for America, himself. He had been working on it for a while; taking great care to craft it with high quality. He was quite proud of his handy-work. England didn't want to lose all of the effort he had put into the surprise. He began to re-search through the contents of his chest one last time. The chest was where he had always put his project when he was not working on it. It just had to be in there somewhere!

"Ah ha!" England exclaimed at long last. "Here we are!" he proclaimed triumphantly as he took the box he had been seeking out from its hiding place deep in the chest. How the box had become mixed in with his folded blankets, England would never know. England rose with his special gift and walked back to the awaiting boy on his bed. "Now then, let's…" England paused when he saw America. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting dressed," America responded with child-like pride. He was sitting on the bed with his clean shirt over most of his upper body. He had succeeded in getting one arm through one sleeve but was having difficulties doing the same thing with the other—mostly because he had ended up putting both his head and his arm through the hole for his head by accident. He was now stuck in a very awkward position with his sleeveless arm up in the air and his head halfway through his shirt's neckline. To top it all off, the shirt was on backwards.

"Do you need any help?" Amazingly, England suppressed his laughter as he offered his much needed assistance.

"No," America grunted confidently. "I can do it."

England waited for a minute or two while America tugged and pulled at his shirt. It would have been a bit difficult for any grown person to take off a shirt in that position, but little America had not yet mastered the delicate art of dressing oneself, so this new adventure was a quite a challenge to his uncoordinated body. After much effort with no progress, America began to get a little frustrated. The boy tried harder, but he only wedged himself further into the hole. England watched America's struggles until he couldn't stand it anymore.

"You've got it all wrong. You need to—"

"No!" America waved England away when he came closer. "I can do it by myself!"

"But I—"

"No!" America insisted as he pushed England's hand away. "Let me do it!"

England held himself back for a few seconds before he gave up and tried once more to intervene.

"Let me at least—"

"No!"

"Why don't—"

"No-ooooooooooh," America whined stubbornly as he waved England's hands away again.

England sighed. He put the box down on the bed. Without a word, he took hold of America's shirt—much to the disapproval of his independent little brother.

"Hey, stop!" America gripped at the shirt as England tugged it upwards. "I wanna do it!"

"You are going to rip it if you keep that up," England warned. With one swift pull, the shirt was off.

"Give it back!" America stood up and jumped at England.

"No!" England took his stand. He held the boy back with one hand and held the shirt high in the air with his other hand.

"Why not?" America demanded as he pushed against England's blocking hand.

"Because you don't need it!" England angrily informed. He had thought the storm had passed. How had he ended up in another fight with his brother today?

"Yes I do!" America persisted.

"No," England grunted against America's advancing. "You don't!" With that last statement, England gathered his strength and pushed America back. America tumbled backwards on the bed. While America was momentarily down, England tossed the shirt behind him and went for the box he had placed on the bed.

"Hey!" America cried out indignantly as he sat back up, but before he could say anything else, the box was tossed onto his lap.

"There!" England bursted.

America looked down at the box in his lap.

"What's this?"

"What do you think?" England was aggravated and insulted. Had the boy forgotten the surprise which England had toiled over already? "It's your gift. Open it," he commanded.

America looked at the box. Then he looked at his shirt on the other side of the room. Instead of opening the box, America took the towel that was still on the bed and wrapped it around himself.

"I'm cold," the boy complained. "I wanna get dressed first."

England was going to lose his temper if America did not do as he was told, and soon.

"You don't have to get dressed yet," England said firmly.

"How come?" America wanted to know.

"Just open the package," England spoke quickly. "You will understand."

America didn't see why it was so important for him to open his gift before he got dressed. He was cross with England for taking his shirt away before he could finish dressing himself for the first time, ever. Plus, he was still a bit worried that he would not like the gift. The box didn't look attractive, and if that was any indication of what its contents were like, America was in no hurry to open it. Still, he did as England told him. He lifted the top off of the box. Sure enough, America was not too happy with what he saw.

"A new shirt?" he whined. What kid enjoys getting clothes for a present? "I thought you said I would like it."

"It's more than just another shirt," England patiently assured.

America reluctantly held the piece of clothing up for a closer look. When it hung down unfolded, he could see that it was very different from the other shirts he had. The most obvious difference was the length. It was even shorter than the ones that he had been growing out of. America studied the shirt in confusion for a moment before something else caught his eye. The box was not empty. There were more items in it that had been hidden under the mini-shirt.
America put the strange shirt to the side. He picked up some mysterious black cloth sitting in the package. He curiously unfolded it and gasped.

"P-p-pants! I have pants!"

England smirked in satisfaction at the boy's shocked expression. America looked up at England with wide eyes. England merely gestured back at the still not-emptied box. America hastily went through the rest of the container. He took out the many parts of his surprise one by one. With each new item, his excitement grew.

"And socks! And shoes! And a vest! And a tie!"

Plop.

America was temporarily blinded. Something large had dropped on his head. America swiftly took it off and held it in front of him.

"And a HAT!" America trembled with joy at the three-cornered hat that was so popular in his colonies. England seemed to have produced the hat out of nowhere and dropped it on the boy's head for fun. To America, the hat might as well have descended straight from heaven.

"I take it you like it, then?" England calmly asked (as if the answer was not obvious!) with a very pleased expression on his face.

"I…I don't believe it!" America exclaimed happily as he gathered his entire outfit together and hugged it close to him. Everything looked so nice! It was all just like an outfit that a real grown-up would wear—and it was all his size! America held his clothes tight as he looked back at England in wonder and disbelief.

"Can I really keep them?"

"If they fit," England said with a nod.

One more left to go!