Chapter 4

The next morning, thankfully, was quieter then yesterday. England had gotten up and taken the children for breakfast, which didn't go too well. Denmark had decided to play sword-fight with a heavy stick, wacking Finland on the head with it, making the small fin cry. Sweden had punched Denmark clean in the nose after. So at breakfast England only let Norway, Iceland, and Finland talk. The other two were in trouble. It didn't bother Sweden, as he was used to not talking so much. However Denmark hated it, and couldn't wait to leave the restaurant so he could talk again.

Damn, how did America deal with this when he was a kid?! Denmark had thought.

Now they were back in Norway's house. Norway and Iceland were playing chess, Denmark was drawing some sort of picture with crayons, and Sweden and Finland were actually napping. England was surprised. Damn, they really are children again!

"Oh England…"

England turned to see Denmark in the doorway of the kitchen, a devious smile on his face. England frowned, "What?"

"I'm bored."

"And?"

"Well, we're all kinda bored actually. Since we're kids again we need to run around more. Annndddd I was hoping you could take us someplace fun."

England wanted to jump out the window and run. He didn't want to take them to some kiddy place. Where did he put his magic wand so he could poof himself out of here?

"What place did you have in mind?" England asked the small Dane.

Denmark rocked back and forth on his feet, whistling a small tune. "Well, I was kinda hoping for the zoo."

"The zoo? Really?"

"Yeah!"

England thought for a moment. That didn't sound too bad. Since it was Wednesday, not a lot of people would be there, since they'd be working. So it wouldn't be crowded. Eh, why not? "Ok, I guess that doesn't sound too bad."

Denmark's eyes widened. "Really? Great! Hey guys!" He yelled, running to the living room. England chuckled. It was kind of cute.

….

Later on, England got them to the zoo. England had to admit, it wasn't too bad. He just took the children around, and admired the children's amusement to the animals.

They passed a large fence, which held many buffalo. Denmark pointed and laughed, "Yip yip!"

England rolled his eyes to the avatar reference.

They were walking down the concrete path when something small and furry jumped out in front of England and ran away, making Finland squeak with surprise. "What was that?"

"A chipmunk." Sweden said.

Finland smiled, "It was cute!"

"Hey guys, look!"

They turned to Denmark, who was pointing at a sign. "Tigers are this way."

Sweden's eyes widened. He looked up to England, "May we go see them?"

England shrugged, "I guess."

England couldn't believe it. Did Sweden grin?

They walked into a small tunnel, which revealed a large wall of glass. When they looked through them, tigers could be seen napping in the distance. Sweden grinned, pleased at the large creatures.

"C-can we go see the butterflies? I want to see them." Finland pleaded. England forgot they had a butterfly exhibit. "Why not?"

Finland smiled happily.

They made their way to the butterfly exhibit, and passed large lions on the way. Denmark had jumped up and yelled, "Kimba versus Simba!"

Japan would be happy about that.

Finally they were at the exhibit, and Finland jumped up and down excitedly. They entered, and already a butterfly landed on Finland's finger. "It tickles!"

England and Norway watched as two butterflies landed on Iceland's head. Iceland stood still, not wanting to scare them. Suddenly four butterflies approached Norway and landed on his head and shoulders. "What the hell?"

One butterfly flew by Denmark, and the Dane smiled widely. He chased it, trying to catch it. Once he caught it, his placed his fingers on it's wings to stop it from fluttering in his hand. "Gotcha!"

"No! Den don't do that!" Finland cried, snatching the butterfly from his hands. Finland held it softly in his hands, and the butterfly struggled to move it's wings. It eventually gave up on trying to fly, and laid still in Finland's palms.

Sweden shook his head. "Den, you killed it."

"How?!"

Finland sniffed, "You're not supposed to touch their wings. They're very fragile, and if touched, they can no longer move, which means the butterfly can no longer fly. Which means it dies."

England felt a pang of sympathy in his chest for the little fin. England bent down and rubbed Finland's head, "It's ok. I'm sure it lived a happy life."

"Maybe.." Finland sniffed.

"Don't those things only live for like a week?" Norway remarked.

England shot him a look, "You're not helping."

Norway shrugged.

"Sorry fin. I didn't know." Denmark sighed. Finland just sighed and walked to a bush, placing the small insect in the leaves.

"It's ok, Den."

"Wonderful, you've made up. Can we move on?" Sweden asked impatiently.

England nodded in agreement.

They left the small exhibit, moving towards some other cages. Denmark looked up and pointed, "Look! A hawk!"

Sure enough, a large bird was circling the zoo, hunting for mice. England watched it circle the area with interest. He continued to walk until he stopped with surprise when he came face to face with a large animal in a small cage.

"A gorilla. And it's a big one!" England said in amazement.

"I agree." Iceland said.

"Hah, looks as hairy as the frog." England snickered, making Denmark laugh.

For the rest of the day, they moved around the zoo and had their fun enjoying the creatures of the wild. England had even gotten the kids ice cream.

Thankfully there was a small park at the zoo, where England sat down and let the little Nordics play. England watched him, past feelings coming to haunt him. He remembered when he used to watch America play like this. He would play with America and enjoy his time with the small child he raised.

England didn't feel the water droplet down his face.

"England, why are you crying?"

England's green eyes widened with surprise when he looked down and saw a little Finland staring at him with concern. England had no idea he had a tear on his face. He wiped his eyes and gave a fake smile, "I'm fine."

"No you're not."

Finland could see right through his lie. Damn he was smart. England sighed and looked away. "No really….I'm fine…."

Finland shook his head with disbelief. He hopped up on the bench next to England and gazed at him with a soft look of concern in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

England looked away, feeling as if the fin wouldn't leave him alone unless he spilled his feelings. He sighed softly. "Well, this just brings back old memories. When I used to play with America like this. Or when I used to watch him play like this. It's painful to remember that because…you know…."

Finland nodded. "I understand. Denmark should know how you feel, a little bit."

England flinched. "..Denmark-?"

"Yeah. We all left him and became independent as well. It hurt him, and I think it still kinda does."

England had no idea. Yet Denmark acted so cheerful and oblivious. He looked to the Danish child, who was now pushing a squealing Iceland down a slide. He may be annoying but….in a way they were sharing the same feelings about the nations they once ruled-or raised. And he couldn't believe Denmark was able to hide that pain so well.

"I…I had no idea. It doesn't pain you to know he feels like that?" England asked.

Finland shrugged, "It sorta does. But we know it was for our independence, so we ignore those feelings."

England flinched. It hurt them…but they ignored the feelings so they themselves wouldn't feel guilty or hurt. Does….does America do the same thing?

England, suddenly realizing how similar he and Denmark really were, grinned. "I understand now…"

Finland smiled, "Glad I could help."

"Thank you Finland."

"My pleasure!" The tiny fin smiled. England grinned. He looked at the sky. The sun began to disappear behind the trees.

"Time to go." He called.

Denmark pouted, lowering his arms. "Aww, but England! We're having fun!" he whined.

"Don't care. Nighttime is coming and I guess I should get you guy's dinner."

"Yeah, I'm hungry." Finland said.

England gathered the kids and they made their way to a nearby restaurant. Denmark leaned to England's ear and whispered, "Hey England, get me a cup of beer. I won't tell."

England just gave a low snarl, signaling his answer. Denmark gulped and sat back down in his seat, fearing the brit's temper.

After dinner, they made their way back to Norway's house, and Denmark leaped up to the couch. "I'm tired."

"Then go to sleep." England said.

"Gladly." Denmark yawned, making himself comfortable. Finland gave a small yawn.

"I'm tired too. I think I'll hit the hay."

"Me as well. G'night." Sweden said, leading Finland to the guest room. Norway nodded and made his way to his bedroom, and Iceland leapt up to the couch with Denmark, snuggling himself to sleep.

England smiled. It was cute. He turned to Norway's other couch. I suppose I'll stay again tonight.

He made himself comfortable on the couch and be began to fall asleep.

….

"Um, England…."

England was woken from his deep slumber by the sound of a soft voice. He looked up with tired eyes, making out the small figure in the dark. "Finland? What is it?"

"I-I had a bad dream."

"And?"

"I…I can't sleep…"

"Are you scared? You have Sweden with you."

Finland looked away. "Well…I….I still can't sleep."

England sighed. "Maybe get a glass of water. That might help."

Finland shook his head. "Actually, I wanted to ask you if…if I could…sleep with you tonight?"

"Huh?"

"I-I'm sorry.' Finland looked away. England rose an eyebrow. "I don't mind."

"Huh?"

"Whenever America got scared at night, he would make me sleep with him, or he'd jump into my bed and sleep with me. I've been through this before. I don't mind."

Finland grinned. "You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Thanks!" Finland beamed, leaping onto the couch with him. England smiled as Finland snuggled up to him, and pulled the island nation's arm around him. England smiled and closed his eyes. He remembered when he used to hold America like this. It was great to experience this once more. Kids were troublesome, but also wonderful to have around. Man he forgot what it was like to raise kids! From America to Australia, to Hong Kong and Canada. Now he was somewhat raising tiny Nordics. This was actually making him really happy.

What could be better then this?

England yawned, feeling himself fall into a deep sleep.

Suddenly, a sudden thought made his eyes fly open with shock and worry. He trembled, remembering what tomorrow was.

Crap. The world meeting.

How would he explain this to the other countries? Well, it was Denmark's fault, so maybe he could explain it. As worried as he was, he was too tired to think. He yawned, and let himself fall asleep.

Maybe he could deal with this in the morning.

Author's note!

Our little finny is too cute.

Kimba the white lion is a Japanese anime from 1965. It is rumored that Disney stole the plot from it to make the lion king. I believe it, and I am on Kimba's side. I watched Kimba and I love it. And if you look closely, a lot of the stuff from Kimba is indeed very similar to the lion king. And kimba came out in 1965, while the lion king came out in 1994. I mean, even their names rhyme! Kimba and Simba. Come on people, you feel it. And I said Japan would be happy about that because not only is it anime but who knows? Maybe he knows it's copyright XD

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I did. I tried to make it emotional, and I think it worked. Anywho, big plot twist next chapter.

See you in the next chapter! :3

Tails