o.o.o

Title: Foolish Eating.

Characters: England & Canada.

Verse: Canon/Nationverse.

Pairings: None. I see them as family, though it's fine if you guys see them differently.

FAIR WARNING! : This story includes a forgetful ol' fool missing some of his daily meals, and him getting berated/scolded for it.
(That's really the only thing I can think of to warn about. If you guys find something else though, feel free to tell me).

With that out of the way... Let's begin.

o.o.o

If Canada had been anyone else England would have raised hell at the current actions taking place, but since it WAS Canada right now England only lightly struggled against Canada's grip on his shoulders as he was pushed out from his own study. They both knew the struggle was only half-hearted at best anyway, and mostly just for show.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Yes," Canada gritted out and slammed the door to England's study close after them, before he continued to push England forward and almost made England fall down the stairs when went they walked down to the first floor.
"You made it necessary when you missed three of my calls and didn't even hear me ring on your doorbell."

"Then at least tell me where you want me to go, so I can walk there by myself," England sighed as he resigned himself to his fate.

"Kitchen."

Though England didn't appreciate being interrupted in the middle of his paperwork and forced out of his own study, he still did what Canada wanted him to do and (more or less) willingly walked towards the kitchen. (Truth to be told he still also felt bad he hadn't heard Canada call his phone or on the doorbell). Thankfully enough Canada also let go of his shoulders the moment he realized England wasn't going to protest against the interruption anymore. Once inside the kitchen England then gestured Canada to one of the chairs before picking up the kettle from the sink, but wasn't surprised when Canada didn't sit down and instead choose to stand leaned against the counter beside him.

Really, if that hadn't yet clued England in on the fact how frustrated and worried Canada was at the moment, then he would have been worse than America.

"Do you want a cuppa?"

"Yes, please."

England was allowed to work in relative silence while making the tea, but as soon as the tea was done England could see Canada's jaw working, as if his boy was trying to decide on how to go about what he wanted to talk about.

"Spit it out," England sighed as he placed down a cup of tea by what long ago had been dubbed Canada's seat, and then tiredly sat down in the kitchen chair facing it.

He noted with some surprise that it was already late afternoon outside, based on the sun's position.

"You're overworking yourself again."

"I disagree," England answered calmly and blew some air onto his tea while Canada still refused to sit down. "I have been doing a lot of paperwork lately that I still need to finish, but I'm managing it just fine."

It wasn't even that late, really. He would still have time to make supper after finishing some more of his paperwork.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"I had my usual English breakfast just after we finished our last call-" ('the one I actually didn't miss'), "-thank you very much."

However instead of the satisfied nod England expected in return he was met with aghast horror.

"England, that was three days ago!"

Ah...

"Are you sure?"

"YES."

"Right," England said as he nervously cleared his throat.
"Well, don't worry Canada. As a nation a few missed meals isn't going to kill me," England tried to reassure, but regretted his choice of words as soon as they left his mouth.

"And that makes it okay?" Canada exploded, stomping up to the kitchen table.

"No!" England quickly amended. "No, that doesn't make it okay. My apologies, Canada. I didn't mean that. I just… I just lost track of time and forgot to eat."

"Again."

It pained England to see how much Canada's shoulders slumped as his boy said that simple word. Again.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"For what it's worth, I'm trying to get better."

At those words Canada finally sat down in his chair with a tired, and perhaps a little resigned, sigh. Canada knew he was trying to get better, too, though England also knew that didn't stop Canada from worrying when there were… set-backs. Thus it didn't really surprise England to see Canada begin to fidget with his cup of tea, loosing himself deep inside his thoughts.

England wasn't stupid. He could see his bad habits worried Canada, and though England didn't like to admit it he had never been particular good at taking care of himself. However, if it meant Canada could worry less about him then England would damned if he didn't at least keep trying to become better at it. It was with those thoughts in mind England decided to finally break the silence which had fallen over them.

"There's a small curry restaurant nearby which should still be open," he began softly.
"Would you like to go out and eat some food? They make an amazing curry sauce served with chicken and rice. My treat."

It was the least England could do, really, after having worried Canada enough to come over from across the ocean just to check up on him. Besides, though England still didn't really feel hungry the hopeful look of Canada lifting and meeting his eyes with just a little less worry in them made it more than worth it.

"Really?"

"Yes. Or would you perhaps rather I cook something for us?" England joked with half a smile directed towards Canada and stood up from his chair to place the tea cups in the sink, knowing exactly what Canada thought about his cooking but was far too polite to say.

"No, curry sounds great," Canada chuckled lightly in answer and rose up from his chair.

With England's paperwork long forgotten they walked out from the kitchen together and into the hallway, where they got England's wallet and their jackets before braving the drizzle of rain outside for the promised curry. They both knew this would most likely not be the last time England accidentally lost track of time and forgot to eat, but... England also knew he would keep trying to get better. To remember his meals. Despite the setbacks, it would always be worth it to keep trying to get better – and eating a meal of chicken curry sauce with Canada was a good start.

. . . [ The End ] . . .

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Okay, so... Okay. This is a fanfiction I actually wrote a few months ago (back in May, 2020, I think?), but it is/was my first time writing something similar to this, so to be perfectly honest I was nervous about uploading it. For better or worse though, I finally decided to. I tried to write the fanfiction to have hope for the future, even if it's a struggle and hard work to get better - and while the story is about a more serious topic than I usually write about, I hope the story is still enjoyable and/or can bring comfort to those who need it. It's always worth it to try and get better.

With that said:
Please enjoy, be kind, and stay safe. I love you guys. /Jezzica

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