Hello, just me again.

Sorry for the long wait. I'm pretty much so sunburned from vacation, I'll have nothing else to do BUT write fluffy fanfiction about my faaaavorite Hetalia Character~!

Oh, and you shouldn't use this fanfiction as a history lesson. 'Cause, it's very inaccurate and made for the purpose of entertaining story-lines.

And last but certainly not least, A big thank you to Kenzie-Onee-Chan for their review~! I certainly do like feedback, don't hesitate to review. C:

..Seriously, I don't bite.

Nestlings

"Hey Canada, I think it's time for you to meet America today."

I looked up at England, my lovely polar bear was tucked in my arms. I really came to like carrying him around, plus he didn't seem to mind. We already started walking down the stone path that paved the way to America's house.

"M-my brother…what's he like?" I was working hard to try to keep pace with England's long strides. He didn't seem to slow down or wait for me at all if he got ahead.

"Hmm…how do I word it..." He put a hand to his chin, "He's a tad rough around the edges, but I think you'll grow to like him." There was an edge of laughter in his voice, as if he was laughing at his own joke. It was kind of rare to see England so relaxed.

We stopped outside the door of a grand house. Practically a manor. Even though the walk to America's house wasn't very long, I could feel the temperature change noticeably. It made my heavy winter jacket feel like I had dressed for the completely wrong occasion.

"Oh, I really hope America and I will get along well." I thought to myself.

I was actually really excited. Trembling even. Kumakojiro shifted in my arms, I guess he could feel it too. After all, everyone was always mistaking me for America. Maybe we could play together, maybe he had the same problem that everyone mistook him for me. What did England mean by 'rough around the edges'? I didn't even know what he looked like.

"Hey America! Come outside for a bit, would you?" England called.

It was quiet for a brief moment before we could hear loud footsteps growing closer. A little boy poked his head out, almost as if he was hiding behind the door. He had short blond hair, with a lock of hair that was shaped like a crescent stuck up wildly. Blue eyes looked through rectangular framed glasses that sat loosely on his nose.

"Mmm? What is it Englan-"His eyes locked on me, "WOOOOOAH!"

He ran forward, zipping around me like a bee that had just found a field of flowers.

"Y-your face! You look just like me!" His expression was a strange mixture of awe and just plain confusion as he continued his examination. He started mumbling things that went among the lines like: 'Huh?' 'This is crazy!' 'Better than Aliens!'.

"H- hi…I'm Canada." I introduced myself, trying to disregard his odd actions.

I felt uncomfortable under his energized gaze. It was like electric charges amplified his every move. I wasn't used to someone so…animated. My face flushed with embarrassment as all I could do was stand there as he inspected me. It was like he expected to find robotic limbs or something on me.

When he finally settled down, I decided to try to get a few words in.

"Um, so you're my-"

"England! I'm hungry!" America turned back to his house, walking inside as England turned to follow. I stood outside and watched the door shut.

"O-oh…ok."

I kept walking down a snow covered forest trail, still a little melancholic from my first meeting with my brother. After they left, I walked back home myself, I was just too embarrassed to stay there any longer. I had already dug through the fridge for some leftover pancakes that England made me this morning, and drowned them in maple syrup. But not even my favourite food brought me out of this bad mood.

I wasn't really upset about the fact that England couldn't be there to take care of me all the time, I already knew that. England was an important, therefore busy person and I could fend for myself for that part. Well, at least the bare essentials. For the longest time, I never really thought I had a problem. It was only till England started bringing me to some of his meetings and I began to meet the other countries, did I realize how easily I was forgotten. It's just that, I don't know…like other nations couldn't remember I existed at all.

I hadn't seen Anna for a couple months. After her last visit, I think Denmark and Norway must have really clamped down on her. She would phone every now and then. Her bright "Hello~!" would always startle me. She would chatter questions to know about my day, and how I felt, never taking much interest about how her own life was going, even when I questioned her about it. It really did cheer me up on those more gloomy days. Slowly, the phone calls transitioned into letters, and then they just stopped all together. I missed her. In the back of my mind I wondered why she stopped contacting me. It nagged at me sometimes. Maybe she didn't want to be friends anymore. Maybe she forgot about me too.

I thought that maybe my brother of all people would be able to relate, but from what I saw, I guess that wasn't the case. I knew they all meant well, if they could help it, I'm sure they wouldn't ignore me like that. But they also had so many good qualities that made them stand out. England always has a certain air of class to him, France has his… flamboyance, and America, even though he's one of the few who doesn't has problems seeing me, he's such a good leader that I just get left in the dust. I looked down to my polar bear, hanging like a rag doll in my arms.

"Why don't I stand out Kumajyuuzo?"

"….Who are you?"

"I'm Canada. The person who feeds you." I responded, defeated. Even after all of this time, my own pet couldn't remember my name. I really hope that wouldn't become a habit of his. "Well, that one is only fair, since I can't remember his name either." In all honesty, I was feeling kind of lonely. I wanted someone to talk to.

I kept walking on. I found that I had gone so far, that I was back into that familiar old pine forest. There wasn`t any sun today, since the sky was covered in a dense layer of grey clouds. A strong wind blew by, forcing one of the branches carrying snow to drop its load. A heavy chuck of snow managed to land on me, my head bent under the weight. I shivered as the snow touched my skin, sending cold chills down my spine. I patted off what I could. Since it wasn't snowing out, I didn't think I need to put my hood up, but clearly I was wrong.

"Just plain bad luck." I grumbled to myself. Finally getting most of the snow off, I lifted my head to see that one tree, stood taller than the rest. Light nostalgia came onto me. Wasn't this the tree I dug under to hide from France?

It's also where I first met Anna.

"Hey, Kumakichi." I jostled him lightly; he had been so still, I thought he had fallen asleep, "This is where-"

"What was that?" He interrupted me. His ears twitched, turning slightly trying to focus on the source of the sound. "..Oh, and who are you?"

I ignored that second question, a little annoyed. But now that he mentioned it…I thought there was something earlier on, but I just passed it off was the wind. Nobody usually came here anyways. I stood as stiff as a board, listening carefully. There it was again, I was sure of it this time. The tree. It was coming from the tree. Slowly, I pushed aside the thick bristly branches aside.

"..Anna?"

A small shock went threw me. Layered on top of her, I saw a flashback of myself. When I was hiding here, cradling my legs to my chest. Crying. All alone. And now I was looking at practically a mirror image. And it hurt to see it. Her face was buried into clasped hands. She looked up at the sound of my voice. I crawled into the canopy of branches. I sat Kumikichi beside me.

"Oh! William…" Her voice cracked. Her eyes were red and puffy. Just how long have you been here? I guess I looked kind of surprised, and in response she turned her head away quickly, wiping the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket.

"I'm sorry, I'll get out of your territory."

In a hurry, she started to stand up. I don't know if it was out of reflex, but I grabbed her sleeve. She stopped and looked to me; her eyes were still wet with tears. She looked so fragile that it was almost like a light breeze would carry her away. I let go, embarrassed with my rash action. I could feel the blood rushing to my face already.

"I'm sorry. I-uhm, it's okay, please, stay." Jumbled words just tumbled out of my mouth, they barely made any sense. Even to me. She smiled at me, though it looked strained and sat back down beside me.

Silence.

"…What happened?" I asked quietly.

She looked to me, a dejected expression on her face. She didn't answer right away, almost as if she was thinking about whether or not she should tell me anything at all. Finally, she took a long inhale followed by a heavy sigh.

"Well, I guess you could say it starts all the way back from when I was still roaming in the tundra." She rested her chin on her knees before continuing, "Everything was so much simpler."

A little girl, just barely a toddler, sat on the snow covered ground. She almost seemed dazed by the fluttering snowflakes and the mist from her own breath. A weak smile was spread on her face. But, with snow, comes the cold. The girl was shivering, teeth chattering and all; she wrapped her arms around herself. Her vision was growing blurry. Maybe everything would just fade to white, and she could finally rest. She was dying.

"Like any of us, I don't remember how I got there. How I was born. How old I am exactly. We all just…were, and always were. And even though I was enjoying the snow, I was near death. I didn't know how to take care of myself. How could I?"

Two men in the distance were approaching the girl. The taller one had striking blue eyes and a mischievous grin on his face. A long black coat with red cuffs draped down to his legs. He wore black gloves and heavy brown boots on his feet. Lastly, a small black hat was nestled in his untamed ash blond hair. The other, who had darker purple eyes, had almost a bored expression on his face. He wore a belted, navy blue sailor coat, matching pants and a tie that draped around his neck. A sailor hat rested gracefully his head. Fair skin, and pale blond hair that was clipped back by a Nordic cross barrette.

They spotted her. The taller one pointed straight at her. She knew they were coming, but was too weak to call to them, or even flee. The pair ran to her. The one in the Navy Uniform picked her up from the snow; they huddled around her with worried expressions.

"…Ice cold." The shorter one felt her forehead.

The little girl smiled, comforted by the thought that she might be rescued. Her vision blurred again. She went limp in the man's arms.

"Shit Norway, we gotta get her back!"

"Calm down Denmark, we'll never get anything done if you panic."

"I don't know what would have happened to me if Denmark and Norway didn't find me when they did. When I think about it, guys like England or China must be pretty tough. They were here, before anyone else after all. Next thing I knew, they had already taken me in."

"What're we going to do man?" Denmark was pacing around the room.

The little girl was resting in bed; her eyes opened a crack as she regained consciousness. Norway had his back leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. He looked annoyed by Denmark as he tried to think.

"By the looks of it, she's another Nation." He paused before continuing, "By right, she's ours."

Denmark stopped and looked at Norway before his gaze moved to the little girl.

"Seriously?" He grinned, "So we finally got ourselves a lackey, huh?" He touched the girl's forehead with the back of his hand to check her temperature, she was warming up and color was returning to her cheeks. "…Well, I do see the resemblance, she's got your eyes. Not to mention she's just as pale as you." He added on teasingly.

Norway looked away with a small 'hmph' and started to make his way to the door, though he stopped as he reached the door's frame.

"…Her hair's the same color as yours." He left in a huff. As he went down the hallway, he shouted: "N-not by much, just a little bit, you know?"

"And I was apart of their family, just like that. It was really nice; all I had to do was a few chores here and there in return. Honestly, I don't know how they got by on some of it before I arrived. We were like a small dysfunctional family. But, somehow, it all seemed to work out. Denmark was always there when I needed to play with someone. He took me outside a lot, and I got to meet the other Nordics. He could always cheer me up. And he loved to play jokes on the others. Norway, he always seemed like the more responsible one. The one who kept everything together. He didn't talk a lot, but sometimes, he would tell me bedtime stories about fairies and trolls. They were so original and complex. If you looked into his mind, I bet it would really be something to see. It was like he was talking right to them sometimes."

"Sounds like England." I thought in the back of my mind, but I let Anna continue her story.

"Even though they argued, and sometimes didn't see eye to eye, they still cared for each other….We were happy. And it was all put under one roof."

She paused. From the look on her face, I could guess that this was where the turning point in the story came. Her lips trembled, and she steadied herself before started again.

" Recently, Norway's been acting even more distant than usual."

The same little girl, now grown a little in size, was lying on her stomach, a bright smile on her face and her legs were swinging back and forth. She hummed a cheery tune, a song she had just made up, as she added the last line of her drawing. She picked the piece of paper and held it to the window, the pale light beaming through. She was no artist, but still quite happy with her work. She hopped to her feet, the page in hand and skipped down the stairs.

Making her way down the unlit hall, she heard shouting. Her plans to show her drawing to her guardians slowly dissolved as she slowed her pace. She stopped right before the doorframe and pressed herself against the wall.

The girl listened intently; her head peaked out ever so slightly. It sounded a lot more serious than their usual scuffles.

"Just what is up with you lately?"

Norway sat quietly in his seat while Denmark, in the chair across from him looked wildly irritated.

"Denmark. I'm moving out."

Deafening silence. Denmark clenched his teeth.

"…If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny."

Norway's hands clasped together, his fingers entwined. His eyes shut with frustration.

"I've become a lot stronger. I'm highly self sufficient. It's time I received my independence… I've already gotten a house of my own."

"When? When my back was turned? All of this was right under my nose wasn't it? Does everything we've done together mean nothing?" His voice grew louder and harsher as he went on.

Norway's eyes opened in response. They were hard and serious. Like looking upon ice.

"I'm taking Greenland with me."

Denmark stood up abruptly. His hands in tight fists at his sides. He spoke slow.

"There. Is. No. Way. In. Hell."

"You think that you can take care of h-"

"What gives YOU the right to keep her any more than I do?"

The atmosphere was so heavy, it could practically smother breaths. Tears ran down the little girl's cheeks. Norway's eyes drifted to the girl, the subject of their arguing, as he realized that she had been listening the entire time.

"Get out." Denmark pointed to the door, his head was bowed, his facial features distorted with pain.

"You know, I'll be coming back."

The door closed without as much as a sound. Denmark sank into his chair, his hands covered and shielded his face and broke into loud sobs.

"It was the worst I've ever seen them. Norway left. Denmark cried. Both were hurt."

And that was the end of Anna's story; just retelling it had brought her to tears again. We sat there, I wanted to comfort her, but no words came to mind. I guess you could say, I was so afraid of saying something wrong, I didn't say anything at all. It couldn't help remind me of France and England.

For months, they fought each other. Yes, they still came to care for me, but never did they come together. France would show up with a black eye. Or England would try to cook with a broken arm. Until one night, France was there to tuck me in.

"I don't think I can come to see you anymore."

Was all he said to me before he left. He realized that maybe, this was a battle he couldn't win.

Of course, I never pieced it together myself. Could you blame me? I was young. I didn't understand why they had to fight. I liked France and England, never one over the other. But at the time, I guess it felt like that I wasn't important enough that France and England couldn't put aside their differences for long enough to even sit in the same room. Unlike Anna I didn't know the feeling of a family, I started with this chaos. But she had it ripped away from her.

I did know from my own experience that there were some people, whose voices were never heard. We cried. We shouted. But it was the same as talking to a wall. Sometimes, for kids like us, the best thing you could give them was someone who could listen. Anna had been like that for me. Now it was my turn.

We sat close together, Anna continued to cry. I put my arm around her shoulders, still feeling a little awkward. She was cold. She leaned her head against mine.

"I'm sorry." She rubbed her eyes again, "I hate seeing them fight. It's just that…sometimes I feel like a bird that had its wings clipped." She sighed softly.

Looking upon the scene, you'd just see two kids caught in between an adult's arguments. Caught and stuck in the middle. While the ones around us were getting hurt we were left feeling useless. But we were just Nestlings. Too young to take care of ourselves, and worst of all, we couldn't fly. We couldn't leave. And wasn't that the same as being caged?

"It's not that we can't fly at all. We just can't fly, yet. We just need to wait for our wings to grow. "

I patted her back, smiling weakly. I still was at a loss for what to say. We were so alike. I was oblivious when my family was fighting. But Anna had everything happen right in front of her.

I parted the heavy pine branches, taking a look outside. It was dark. Where did all of the time go? The minutes must have just slipped right through our fingers. I looked to the sky…huh? Oh yea, I almost totally forgot! A little excited, I turned back to Anna.

"Hey, Can I show you something? Close your eyes." I spoke in a hushed voice, like how someone would tell a secret.

She tilted her head, looking a little confused. I smiled.

"Trust me." I held out my hand.

She studied my face with a look of curiosity on her own before she nodded and took my hand and closed her eyes. I felt my face grow hot, but managed to shake the feeling away. I waved my hand in front of her. No reaction.

Together, we trudged down the snowy plains, my docile polar bear grasped under my other arm. I glanced back at her several times; her eyes were shut tight with a thin smile on her face. She looked so…at ease. Not once did she bother peeking or tried sneaking a glance. It kind of made me happy that she had so much trust in me. We went about carefully, she kept me stable as I still tripped and fumbled throughout our walk. I've always had an amazing lack of coordination.

"Sorry." I apologized again. She giggled. I sighed inwardly, slightly embarrassed. And I was the one who could see.

Eventually, we reached the peak of a snow covered hill. Our destination.

"Alright, open your eyes."

Her eyes fluttered open. Her lips parted in awe, before spreading into a wide grin as she looked at the sky with wide eyes. She laughed out loud, staring straight up, tipping over landing on her back in the snow. For a moment, it reminded me of when we made snow angels together.

" Canada…This is amazing! I…Wow…" She breathed, not taking her away from the sight.

"The Aurora Borealis." I said quietly, I sat down beside her, and set Kumaokiro down besides us.

Bright colors leaped and danced in the sky. Practically everything from the color spectra was present. The snow reflected off the color and glimmered. The treetops sparkled and swayed in the breeze. Even our faces were lit up with soft pastels. I was glad that the sight cheered her up.

"You know," She said gently, "I don't think I can come over as much anymore. It just seems like Denmark and Norway don't fight as much when I'm around." She sighed, her mind was clearly still wondering to her troubles.

The thought that she couldn't come over, it was dampened my spirits a little, but I kept it under wraps. There was also one more thing…a question that I wanted to ask her for a while now. It was quiet for a bit as we both just stared up at the sky.

"…A-Anna?" I said finally. I was a little hesitant, but it was too late to back down now.

"Hm?" She had an arm tucked behind her head as she looked at the phenomena.

"D-do you know my brother, America?"

"I've met him a couple of times…why?" She looked at me from the corner of her eye.

"Well…I-I was just wondering…do you ever get us mixed up?" The second part of that sentence rushed out all at once. I cringed, almost frightened of the answer.

"What?" She sat up and took her eyes off the sky; I was their new subject of attention. "Do people actually do that?" She giggled, "That's so…silly!" She continued to laugh.

Was the thought of it really that funny? I stared down at my hands, fidgeting with my fingers.

"What I mean is," She looked at me apologetically, "You two are so different. First of all, your glasses are rounded, America's are rectangular. The frames aren't even the same color!" She leaned in closer and twirled a lock of my hair around her pinkie, "Your hair. It's wavy." She eyed the stray lock of curly hair, "And you can never get that one piece under control." She laughed.

Why was I blushing so much?

"But much more importantly," Her eyes softened, "You're gentle, kind and shy…You always listen to what others want, and everything you do, is always to make them happy. You put others before yourself. America, he's nice and all, but it's Canada that I call. Who I write letters to. Who I come to see. " She tilted her head, " You're Canada, and you always will be. America has his own place, and so do you. So don't worry about it okay?"

With wide eyes, I nodded shyly. I was still trying to take it all in. We smiled at each other.

It made me so happy so hear that. It was as if a huge weight had been pulled off my shoulders. Anna, we both had, and still have problems. Whether it's with our family, or simply being at war with ourselves, we'd make it through. I really hoped that she could spread her wings soon, and maybe I'd be lucky enough to spread mine soon after.

I looked back up to the sky, brilliant streaks of colors continued to bounce around the arctic scene. Even in polar nights. When the sun doesn't come out for months at a time, something beautiful can still come of it.

At least to one person, I wouldn't have to repeat my name over and over again. I wouldn't have to live in America's shadow. I felt like, slowly, I was becoming my own person.

"Thank you."

Her words meant so much to me. She meant so much to me. Maybe she always did. I think that was just the day where I realized it.