Chapter 9 'New Zealand'

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any of its characters

Edited: 10/08/2018

Australia was laying contently on the couch reading a book, his eyes grew heavy as he stared at the words on the page. The words had started to blur as he finally succumbed to his tiredness and drifted off to sleep, the book falling open on the floor. Australia felt like he had only been asleep for a couple of minutes when he was woken from his slumber, he jolted upright to the sound of a door slamming shut. Drawn with curiosity Australia hopped down from the couch, he picked up the book and walked over to the end of the hallway. Maybe it was England returning back from his exploration?

He caught a glimpse of a younger looking boy storm upstairs into one of the spare bedrooms and slam the door shut. Australia poked his head out and was about to see if the boy was okay when his dad spoke to him.

"Leave him be, he wants to be left alone. He became quite homesick on the way here" England sighed sadly.

He looked very tired from his travels, but as much as he wanted to sleep for the rest of the evening he still had to write up the report of his travels. Australia was glad to see his dad return, he had spent several months by himself, even if he did have his uncles, aunty and even Canada visit for a day or two to check in on him and to make sure he was alright.

"How did your walkabout go?" Australia asked with curious eyes.

"It went exceptionally well, but it's good to be home," England replied. He ruffled Australia's brown hair lovingly

"I found another young nation, he actually lives fairly close to you."

"Was that who ran upstairs?" Australia asked as his head turned to look up at the stairs where the young nation ran to.

"Yes," England confirmed, "His name is New Zealand and he is your younger brother. So I expect you to set a good example for him"

Australia grinned widely. It was quiet lonely without someone close to his age, he always wanted to be a big brother.

"Did anyone visit or letters come through while I was absent?" England asked casually, before narrowing his eyes at the younger nation, "You didn't leave the house did you?"

"No one called around except for your older siblings and Canada, and I didn't leave the house." Australia lied.

Well the first part was the truth at least. He did leave to go swimming that one time, but there was no way he was going to tell England that. It had just been so long since he was able to just set off wandering around without a destination in mind, it had been before he left his home. But he must have sounded convincing because England dropped the subject, making Australia sigh in relief.

"Well I'll be in my office if you need me. I'll have dinner ready in two hours and don't forget to wash up before"

England retreated back up the stairs, he gave a sad glance at the closed door. Australia watched his father close the door to his office. He did feel bad for New Zealand, and he could relate to how his little brother was feeling. Australia did miss his own home, it was a constant ache in his heart. But it did get better after a while. Maybe he should see if New Zealand needed anything.

So Australia walked up the stairs and over to the closed door. He knocked softly, but got no reply. Thinking the nation was asleep he was about to turn and leave, when he heard a small accented voice.

"Go away England!" came the muffled yell from the other side of the door. It pained Australia to hear him sound so upset.

"I'm not England, my name's Australia"

"I don't care who you are! Just leave me alone will you, I want to go home!"

"Look I know how it feels to be taken from your home, but it's not so bad here" Australia comforted, but sighed when New Zealand didn't answer. He decided he should just leave him alone for a bit, "My room is next door if you need anything."

Australia left when he got no reply. He hoped that New Zealand would open up soon, he was determined to help his brother.

XxxxXxxx

After Australia and England finished their dinner England had begun to wash up. New Zealand still didn't join them for dinner, so Australia put some leftover soup into a bowl that was still warm along with a piece of bread, he then proceeded to walk up the stairs to New Zealand's room. Australia knocked on the door for the second time that day, he was met with the same reply.

"Leave me alone!" sniffled the youngest nation, it sounded like he had been crying. It broke Australia's heart to hear his brother cry.

"I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some tucker," offered Australia. He tried to sound cheerful, "It's not something I would feed to Steve…but it's edible"

When New Zealand didn't open the door or respond Australia sighed and placed the food gently on the ground and descended down the stairs again.

When Australia had disappeared out of sight, the door opened slightly and two mossy green eyes peered through the gap. Satisfied that no one was around New Zealand opened the door wider, his light brunette curls bouncing either side of his head. He carefully picked up the bowl of soup and bread his little stomach growling as he did so, he was starving, having refused to eat anything since the boat trip. He closed the door behind him, wiping some of the tears away from his face with his free hand.

After Australia had walked down the stairs he almost ran into England. The older nation looked startled at first, but then composed himself.

"I closed the windows down here, there appears to be a storm approaching. If you need me I shall be in my quarters."

Australia decided to stay up for a bit longer. The storms his father had reminded him of the thunder storms he had back home, it brought a sense of comfort to hear it once more. He sat down on the couch and listened, letting the memories of home drift back. He missed the way the hot sun felt against his skin, but he didn't mind living in England's home it was just different. But the winters were the worst! They were so much colder than it ever got at his home.

All of a sudden a loud crack of thunder seemed to shake the house. Australia heard a whimper from upstairs, now filled with curiosity and concern he wandered upstairs. Another crack of thunder followed by another soft whimper coming from New Zealand's room.

Australia tried the door handle and to his amazement, it opened. Australia quietly peaked into the dark room, the only source of light was the brief flashes of lightning that lit up the room. The Australian's attention was brought to a shaking form that as wrapped in a blanket, it seemed to curl tighter every time another round of thunder hit.

"Hey Zea, you okay?" Australia asked. He walked over to the side of the bed sat down next to his brother.

New Zealand stuck his head out of the safety of the blanket to view the nation in front of him. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, but Australia was amazed at how similar he looked like England.

When New Zealand didn't respond Australia tried again, "I'm Australia, and you're New Zealand right?"

"Yeah" Came the soft voice hesitantly. Australia smiled, he finally got the young nation to talk to him.

"Well, are you okay cause-"

"I'm fine!" New Zealand glared up at Australia, his voice wavered but he was determined to sound somewhat persistent.

He just wanted to go home, he didn't like how busy England's home was, it unsettled him how different it was to his own, he just wanted the familiarity of his own land and people. He certainly didn't need help from Australia how seemed to be giving him a look that was a mix of concern and slight amusement. Australia tried to hold back his laughter at how New Zealand was trying to act angry, he was like an angry lamb.

But as soon as the words left his lips a loud clap of thunder seemed to shake the house. Australia seemed unfazed with the thunder and the bright lightning that followed, but New Zealand shrank back underneath the blanket with a whimper, his little body trembling in fear.

"Well if you're sure, then I'll just leave," Australia stood up, he was about to walk away when a trembling hand gripped his wrist.

"W-wait no please don't go! Don't leave me here alone" pleaded New Zealand as more tears threatened to spill over at the prospect of being left alone. A flicker of recognition flared in Australia's eyes as he remembered pleading the exact same words to the other nations that left him alone.

Pushing back those thoughts, a grin lit up Australia's face as he sat back down on New Zealand's bed.

"I hate thunder storms" New Zealand mumbled softly as he stared down as his hands, "I wanna go home, this place is so different to mine, it's scary"

"It will be okay I promise," Australia whispered, "When I first got here I felt the same, but it gets easier after a while.

New Zealand shuffled just the tiniest bit closer to Australia, he didn't fully trust the older nation yet, but he didn't look like he was a threat. He didn't have many encounters with the other nations, for a long time he thought that it was just him on his island home.

"W-Was England the first to find you?" New Zealand spoke after he gained some confidence. The more he talked with Australia the less scared of the storm he seemed to become since his mind wasn't focused on the loud noise anymore.

"Nah, there were a few others before dad" Australia replied, "What about you?"

"There was this one bloke that was real scary," New Zealand explained with wide eyes, "He was wearing a scarf, but I can't remember his name"

"You mean Holland?" Australia offered. He remembered that Netherlands was one of the first Europeans to find him, and he was wearing a scarf.

"Yeah, that's him. Do you know him?" New Zealand asked.

His fears and worries were abandoned as he got more comfortable around Australia, they appeared to have a lot in common. The blanket fell from around his shoulders as he moved to the side so Australia could sit more comfortably on the bed.

"Bloody oath mate. He declared me as 'New Holland'," Australia stated.

New Zealand scrunched his nose in dislike of the name, "You think that's bad, he called me 'Staten Landt' when he first saw me, then it was 'Nova Zeelandia'," (A/N: I'm sorry if this is incorrect, I got it from Wikipedia)

"That kinda sounds like a shelia's name" Australia laughed

"That's what I thought too" New Zealand grinned as he giggled a bit at the memory.

A bright smile lit up Australia's face, his pearly white teeth showing, "Hey! You understood what I said"

Not many, actually scratch that, no one seemed to understand Australia's slang. He often found himself explaining to England what he meant half the time, so he was beyond happy that he finally found someone that understood what he meant.

" 'Course I did, why wouldn't I?" New Zealand questioned in a confused manner.

"Well not many understand me when I use my slang," Australia replied. An underlining of sadness was hidden in his words. It made him feel like even more of an outsider in Europe, he was known as the nation that had harsh and barren land and conditions, ridden with deadly animals and spoke in an alienish version of English.

New Zealand noticed that Australia seemed sad, and for some reason he didn't like seeing him upset. It was weird. He had only met the older nation for a few minutes, yet he had found his smile and laugh infectious. He felt content and relaxed around this nation. It was similar to how he felt around England, he had felt a sense of security and safety when they first met, of course his fear overcame him when he entered a foreign land. So the little kiwi took it upon himself to cheer the Australian nation up.

"It's a cracker of a day, it's colder than a chilly bin" New Zealand smiled as his used his own slang.

"Fair Dinkum mate! It's like the sun has gone walkabout" Australia grinned back. He knew what New Zealand was trying to do, and he appreciated it.

Both the young nations burst into laughter at their made-up conversation in their respective slang terminology. It was so similar yet different at the same time. But Australia was just glad that there was a nation that was just as different as him.

"I'll let you get some sleep," Australia said as he stood up from the bed, "I'll see ya tomorrow"

"Wait!" New Zealand called out once more shyly. His face turned an embarrassed light shade of red.

"Could you-maybe stay with me tonight?" New Zealand asked, "It's my first night away from home and I don't wanna be left alone…especially in the storm"

Australia smiled softly and crawled back into New Zealand's bed who had shuffled over more so they could both lay down. They were small enough that they could both fit in the singular bed without any fear of rolling off the edge. Another loud crack of thunder rolled overhead as if to demonstrate New Zealand's point.

"You don't have to be afraid, 'cause I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through it, it's just a thunderstorm" Australia tried to reassure his little brother.

Australia then pulled the trembling younger nation in for a comforting hug. New Zealand tensed at sudden contact and show of affection. But he soon relaxed and hugged Australia back showing that he was placing his full trust into him, his new big brother.

The two Oceanic nations soon fell asleep in New Zealand's room. New Zealand lay curled against Australia's chest, the thunder storm not bothering him anymore, and Australia laid a protective yet comforting arm around his younger brother.

Soft footsteps quietly shuffled into the room, England had heard voices coming from the room. So he got up to check on his two sons. Only to find them fast asleep, he smiled softly and moved closer to the bed and placed the warm blanket over the two of them, before retreating back to his room closing New Zealand's door behind him.

He had a feeling that Australia and New Zealand would grow to be very close indeed.

Again, I'm sorry if that isn't historically correct with how the Netherlands named New Zealand in the European colonisation era, as I said I used Wikipedia as I'm not Kiwi so I'm not as familiar with their history as I am with Australian. But isn't New Zealand and Australia so cute! They are such great brothers that I can see will be inseparable as they grow older. And England was right, Australia and New Zealand are actually very close, and we consider the Kiwi's as one of our greater allies and friends :) and we share a major history with them as we fought honourably together in both wars and forged the ANZAC name… but that is for later chapters. Reviews are very much appreciated

Shelia- Woman/girl

Bloke- man/guy

"It's a cracker of a day, it's colder than a chilly bin"- "It's a great day, it's colder than a freezer"

"Fair Dinkum mate! It's like the sun has gone walkabout" – "Yeah honestly friend! It's like the sun is lost and can't be found"

Yes, and another thing, I had to google the New Zealand slang because as I said before, I'm not kiwi. I know it sort of similar to Australian slang, but there are some major differences. A chilly bin for example (portable freezer) is called an esky in Australia. Trying to think of, write and then translate the was probably the hardest part of this chapter xD I had four tabs open in google trying to search how to describe the weather in slang for a silly little sentence for the two siblings to laugh and have fun over.

*Hint* You know that last sentence Australia says to New Zealand before they fall asleep? Well remember that, it will come up in Chapter 22. I'm not saying that will happen in that chapter, but it's going to add to the feels