Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Oh, and I'm not good at writing accents. This was about the best I could do.

Tobacco smoke. Arthur had kicked the habit long ago so there was only one person who would be smoking in his house—and that was only because it would piss him off.

The blonde refrained from slamming his own front door and storming into the dining room to tell his brother off, instead he set his briefcase to the side and walked calmly to meet his elder sibling loosening his tie.

A redhead was sitting at the table with his boots up and a cigarette between his lips. He was looking at the ceiling acting for the entire world as if he didn't care, but the Englishman knew better. Scotland may be known for his brashness, but he also knew when to sit back and assess like now. William would wait for him to make the first move.

Arthur put on the kettle searching his cabinet for just the right tea: something calming, but wouldn't put him to sleep. He waited until the water boiled and his tea was brewing before he addressed the Scot.

"What do you want Will?"

William tapped the ash from his cigarette, smirking. "Funny, usually ye nag me first. Somethin' 'bou' feet on the table and smokin' in yer house? Jes' like a woman."

Bristling, Arthur retorted, "I'm not a woman! This isn't a pub. Now, put that damn cigarette out and put your feet on the floor!"

"See? No wonder the brats call ye mum," said the elder sibling, laughing. He still did what was asked though.

Arthur leveled a glare at him. "And who gave them the idea?"

William shrugged smiling. Arthur took a sip of his tea still glaring at his brother. They stayed like that for a few moments before the Scot sent him a look. Now generally he was quite good at reading his brothers' looks—living together and fighting each other for centuries tends to give people of an understanding of each other that makes verbal communication unnecessary—but the meaning of this one escaped him.

"What?" Arthur asked exasperated. "You're acting like Bran." He was used to the silent manipulation from Wales, but Scotland was usually more blunt.

"Quit yer mopin'." Ah, there was the William they all knew and loved. "So the lass left, at least she didn't declare war on ye. Hell, she's left ye how many messages?"

He decided to ignore the fact his brother somehow got hold of his phone. It actually wasn't that unusual of an occurrence. "I'm not moping," Arthur defended himself weakly.

William snorted. "Ye hardly get riled up anymore. Shite, not even France can get a real reaction from ye. The fae say ye aren't drinking, which I'm not complainin' 'bou' 'cause I don' want to deal with another after-Revolution breakdown, but ye also haven't gone out to 'ave any fun either.

"Can't you just accept that I'm happy for once?"

"Happy? The wee lass left ye, quit hiding!" he slammed a fist on the table rising slightly, his temper starting to flare. He was the tallest of the British brothers, an inch taller than Ireland, and he often used his height to his advantage.

"I am happy! She texts me every day, she doesn't resent my existence, why can't you just accept I may have actually done this right for once!"

"Because she's not one of yer colonies! She's not one of us! I don't want your happiness to just stop one day when you realize you may never see her again! Humans die, Arthur!" He slumped from the ridged stance he had taken. "I jes' don't want to pick up the pieces again. I don't want ye hurt."

"That's why I sent her home!"

"So yer goin' to cut ties with her? Save yerself some heartbreak?"

"No, you git! I sent her home so she could stay human!"

William stopped retort dying on his tongue. "What? What did ye do? Mess around with magic again? I told ye a thousand times, magic can be unpre…"

"I wasn't playing with magic." Arthur deadpanned. Why did everyone blame him when something magical went wrong? Norway and Romania used magic just as much as him and no one ever blamed them.

"Then what the bleedin' 'ell are ye gettin' at?"

Arthur took a deep breath relaxing his tense shoulders. It wasn't often their fights didn't escalate to blows, so he always braced for it. William had too if his slight shift in stance was any indication.

"She has his memories, Alfred's memories, and she has the nation aura. Only sometimes, but it's there." He told him about the American's episodes and, begrudgingly, how France had figured it out. "She was only getting worse the more she was around us. God William!" He put his head in his hands. "You and I both know how hard it is being a nation. If she stayed human, she wouldn't have to go through any of that, so I sent her home."

"Arthur," William sighed softly looking at the ground. "lad," he looked meeting his little brother's emerald jewels. "Pet, he's gone, and despite everything—faith, magic, love—he's not comin' back." William moved placing his hands on his younger smaller brother's shoulders.

Arthur blinked shaking his head furiously. "But, she knew things…" he stuttered. He hadn't realized the tears had started until his voice quivered.

William looked to the ceiling pulling his younger sibling close until Arthur's nose was smashed into his chest. "She called me Iggy." He muttered before breaking down completely.

"How did she ever end up with ye?" William asked rocking his sibling softly.

"Francis, damn froggy bastard brought her to me."

"I'll punch his face in, Auld Alliance or no." Arthur laughed, a strange hiccupping sound.

"Never did get what you saw in him." The words were muffled by his shirt, but William heard them anyway. Arthur was still clutching the fabric like a lifeline, but he was joking, so he was getting better.

Finally, Arthur pulled away wiping the tears from his face. "I know she's not Alfred, but she could still be a nation. I'm not the only one who felt it; the rest of the G8 did too. She tried to take on Russia."

"Ye sure ye're not mixing up nation and crazy? I mean a grown man talking to fairies is sure to attract all kinds of crazy." William smirked.

Arthur punched his arm. "Like you have room to talk!"

The Scot ruffled the younger's hair, which he hated, then leaned against the counter. "America hasn't had a nation personification since Alfred died. Why would one show up now?"

Arthur tried to flatten his hair out again (a losing battle, but he was too stubborn to give up even after all these years). Scowling he answered, "I've thought of that too. The fact is we don't know how a nation could die in the first place, not when their country and people are still strong. This has never happened before so what is to say she isn't?" He leaned against the opposite counter sipping at his tea.

William put an unlit cigarette in his mouth chewing on the end. "I don't know. Ye jes' can't become one o' us. Why has no one found the lass before?"

Now it was Arthur's turn to snort. "America is a big place. She's attending university in Washington D.C., but she's not from the east coast and, honestly, how often do we go anywhere in America besides New York or D.C.? It's surprising the snail-eating bastard found her at all."

Scotland ran a hand through his red locks. "Even if she could become a nation, what makes ye think ye can stop it? If the lass is goin' to be a nation, she will be one. We may not know how we're born little brother, but we do know we can't stop being what we are." William pushed off from the counter turning his back on his brother and making his way to the door. As he walked, he sent one last warning over his shoulder. "Ye've been hurt enough Arthur. Don't count on me to pick up the pieces again." He slammed the door as he left for good measure.

The Englishman stared into his teacup not even flinching at the loud slam. Was his brother right? No, he said himself none of them knew where they came from. He was doing the right thing damn it! He did not mess this up and he perfectly happy thank you very much. He finished his tea with a determined air setting to the task of washing the dishes as he sang softly to himself.

A few minutes later, his phone beeped alerting him to a text. The caller ID informed him it was from Evelyn. He smiled. See, there was no reason for William to worry. He hit 'Read' and his smile disappeared.

We need to talk.

Oh, bloody hell.

A/N: Yay! I finally got to introduce one of Arthur's brothers. I love the British Isle Brothers. They're amazing.

Man, school is keeping me so busy right now, but I wanted to get this typed up and posted for all of you awesome people. Seeing your reviews makes me ecstatically happy. Updates will be really erratic, but I promise I will finish this story. Auf Wiedersehen.

Reviews are loved!