IDK with this one tbh... It's a direct follow up to the last one, where England is hanging around with his military. I dunno, I just kinda like it when the countries interact with their citizens, sorry it's not very ScotEng-y, I even left the ending deliberately open... IDK I'm sorry, I promise regular programming will resume shortly.

Enjoy! ;)

If there was only one place on earth which a country could feel completely, one hundred percent at home, it was in the company of their military. Or at least, in England's humble opinion. The feeling of all the people who are fighting in your name, for your sake, is unlike anything else, it just made one feel completely... loved.

England laid in the drizzle, in one of his military bases, on the roof of a jeep, with the grunts, groans, and ruthless shouting that went with the training of new recruits as his ambient noise. He smiled a little as the first recruit finished the course they were running, maintaining his composure for long enough to put on a show, but collapsing onto the ground as soon as the instructor turned his back to check on the other recruits.

England rolled gracelessly off of the jeep, landing on his feet but stumbling a little as he did, he was still a little out of it from his stunt a few days ago. He shook his head to clear it of the fluff which had built up there, wandering over to join the recruit on the floor.

He held out a hip flask to the boy, can't have been much older than eighteen, who eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "Is this some sort of test, sir?" he asked, frowning a little.

England chuckled, shaking his head, "Not at all, you finished first, and I can only lie on that Jeep for so long. Have some whiskey."

The boy took the flask with caution, taking a calculated sip, "Thanks..."

England rolled his eyes, "I shouldn't be drinking anyway, one of my siblings would rip my bollocks off if they knew I was."

"You cold turkey then?"

England made a noncommittal gesture, "Not for alcohol, but the point still stands."

"Who are you?" The boy asked curiously, "I mean you showed up yesterday, and all the sergeant said that you were important and to be treated with respect, but he didn't say what you did exactly."

England looked down at the damp ground, "Me? I'm the highest up, my boy. Don't fool yourself into thinking that means I have any power though."

The boy frowned in confusion, "You mean the PM, 'cause-"

England chuckled again, "No, no, I'm not the prime minister, nor am I anything like it, unfortunately for you my real status is irritatingly classified."

"So you can't tell me?"

England smirked a little, "Sharp, aren't you?"

The boy frowned, "Alright smart arse," he grumbled through a slightly amused smile, "If you can't tell me who you are, can you tell me why you're here?"

England thought on that for a moment, "I'm rather the selfish prat and threw myself off a bridge," he said after a short time, pursing his lips and frowning at the soft ground, "Wouldn't recommend it, it's rather hard to remove the smell of the Thames once it's stuck."

The boy didn't reply, seeming to think about what England had said before deigning to reply, "Well, I'm glad you didn't kick it," he said, "If you'd gone the way of my sister then I can't say your siblings would have forgiven you."

"I wouldn't expect them to," England replied, turning his attention to picking at a lose string in his trousers, "Sometimes it's hard to think about one's siblings when all you think about is yourself. I'm getting better at that, thinking of others that is, not that it stopped me from keeping them from a week's worth of sleep."

"They don't mind missing that sleep," the boy said, pointedly not meeting England's eyes when he glanced up to catch the boy's, "Not so long as you woke up in the end."

England smiled a little, and was about to reply when the voice of the drill instructor cut over them and the boy stood. He saluted as he left, with a sad kind of smile on his face. England frowned for a moment, staring blankly at where the boy had left, not moving from where he sat even as people started to move around him.

He opened his phone, flicked through his contacts and pressed call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, I love you."