Prompt: Food
Characters: America, Canada
Notes: A Twitter thread about "emotional support Canadians" during the recent U.S. election inspired me to write some fluff with the NA bros. (To be clear, though, this isn't a fic about the election.)
America was having one of those weeks, and it was starting to get to him. He hadn't made it to any of his meetings on time, which wasn't that unusual, but he had actually been looking forward to that NASA meeting. Missing the first half hour because he'd overslept just sucked.
And then this morning, his car died. In the middle of the road. During rush hour. He'd been making a right-hand turn when, out of nowhere, the engine began powering down until he came to a stop just past the intersection.
It had been great fun to have all the drivers on the other side of the median staring at him as he sat there waiting for the tow truck, and even more fun when the mechanic told him there was nothing wrong with his car. In fact, it was in excellent condition.
America wasn't sure he was comfortable with living in a world where cars could just stop all of a sudden.
He was ruminating about this delightful piece of information when he got a text from Canada asking if he could come over to America's house.
America perked up and began tapping out his reply.
As long as you bring ice cream!
He'd hardly set his phone down when Canada responded, That kind of day?
America chuckled. Yeah, pretty much, lol. Tell you later.
The moment his brother arrived, America flung open the front door and tackle-hugged him.
"Dude, you're the best."
Canada snorted. "Are you saying that just because I brought you food?"
"What? No, I mean it! C'mon, let's go sit on the deck; the weather's perfect!"
The brothers made their way outside, and after sinking into one of America's matching red deck chairs, Canada handed his brother a spoon and a pint of Americone Dream, keeping the vanilla for himself.
"D'you ever think about how much England and France must judge us for stuff like this?" he asked as he pulled the lid off his ice cream.
America laughed and popped a fudge-covered waffle cone piece into his mouth. "Nah, who cares? Besides, it's fun to make them say things like, 'I raised you better than this!'"
"Mm, true."
Canada took a moment to let the atmosphere settle, and then he asked: "So. What's eating you?"
America put his feet up on the wooden railing and sighed.
"Well, basically, here's what happened."
Between mouthfuls of ice cream, America vented about paperwork, boring meetings he had to attend, and exciting ones he'd missed. Canada listened, adding a nod of understanding here and a sympathetic frown there. He commiserated with his brother about the strangeness of his car troubles. And when America was ready to talk about something more lighthearted, he was happy to oblige.
By the time they finished their ice cream, the cool September breeze had begun to pick up, the sun had set, and the weariness had lifted from America's bones.
He still had to live in an uneasy, unpredictable world, but as long as his brother was around, he could forget about his anxieties.
Short fic is short. Oh well.
My car randomly died in the middle of the road while I was driving to work last November. I can laugh about it now, but it was definitely not fun at the time, especially because it was freezing outside. Fortunately, nothing like that has happened since.
