Chapter Text
“I think someone needs to kill me.” America stated.
“What makes you say that?” Canada asked, not pulling his eyes away from his phone.
“Well I can’t very well just kill myself, can I?”
Canada finally looked up from his phone to shoot a unimpressed look at America. “Well I guess not, but that’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean then?”
“I mean why does someone need to kill you.”
“ ‘Cause.”
“Cause?”
“Yeah, ‘cause.”
“Really, America? I know your people always say they're going to kill themselves, but you shouldn’t start saying it too.”
America groaned and turned around to face the wall.
“People are going to believe you if you keep saying it.”
“I’m tired, Canada.”
“I know, it’ll pass.”
“Why do I gotta keep doing this?”
“Because you have a duty to your people and your government.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, my government sucks.”
“Everyone's government sucks.”
“Yeah, but have you ever thought about just leaving and never returning.”
“No.”
“Well I do. Every single day I wonder how it would be if I just backpacked around my country and disappeared from politics and people alike.”
“I thought you liked people.”
“Very big misconception, I love talking to people, I don’t like people in general.”
“You just like hearing your own voice.”
“Pretty much.”
“…”
“What?”
“Would you disappear if you could?”
“Yeah, hundred percent. I’d disappear as fast as possible.”
“…”
“You can come with me if you want.”
“I couldn’t possibly.”
“Yeah, we could backpack together around both the American and Canadian wilderness.”
“America.”
“We’d have so much fun, bro!”
“Let’s say I entertain your fantasy. What would we do for money?… Without stealing from our government.”
“I have a large savings account under a different name. Just in case my government decides it wants to stop giving me money.”
“What happens when that runs out?”
“Easy, we stock up on what we need and then live off the land. We could make our own house deep in some forest that no one enters, hunt for food and any miscellaneous things we need we can trade with people for.”
“But that’s no longer backpacking around.”
“Yeah, but by then we’ll have seen everything we wanted to see.”
“I don’t think it would work.”
“Why?”
“Wouldn’t our government be after us, and try to find us?”
“If they think we’re dead they won’t.”
“I wonder what goes through your mind everyday.”
“This exact situation is what goes through my mind! Look if we can successfully make it seem like we died either from magic or that we just killed ourselves. They would never even think about trying to find us.”
“There are so many flaws in your plan.”
“I know, that’s what makes it fun to think about. I’ve gotta figure out the perfect way to fake my death.”
“But still you would never do that to your people, right?”
“It’s not like I would stop being their nation. I’d still make sure no nation tries to wreak havoc on my land. I might serve in another war or two if I believe in the cause.”
“If you do find the perfect plan, just tell me before you leave.”
“You won’t come with me?”
“I wouldn’t be able to.”
“I’ll visit you every once in a while.”
“Make sure to be with me for our birthdays.”
“Done.”
This conversation was the one and only conversation they had about this. In five years when the American government announced that their personification was dead, Canada didn’t worry for a moment. To everyone else though, Canada seemed devastated.
Canada withdrew from everyone, preferring to stay home and away as much as he could. He basically became a hermit, only going out when it was absolutely required of him. He didn’t go out much before then either, but now it was much more noticeable with him and America being gone.
Britain was the only other one who somewhat knew that America wasn’t dead. But that was the only thing he knew. Britain was upset for the first few months, even if he didn’t have the greatest relationship with America. He still cared about the boy more than he’d like to admit. Britain had just gotten used to having America by his side at most times. Now America was gone. The empty seat beside him still made him upset. The silence that would’ve been broken by some dumb joke now stretched on. Frankly he just missed him.
From the outside it seemed as if Canada and Britain were grieving for their dead family. Britain looked like he was braving through it as everyone thought he would. He remained strong and stood tall. Everyone could see it was still affecting him, those moments where Britain would glance to the seat next to him as if he expected someone to be there, then visibly wilting a bit when he saw no one.
Canada had seemed to take it much harder from an outside perspective. He rarely talked to anyone except Britain. Even those conversations seemed short. He never went to any meeting that wasn’t required of him. Canada seemed quieter somehow, going as far to just nod or shake his head when he had to answer someone. When anyone tried to give him their condolences he would just nod and walk away. He avoided any conversation with America in it like the plague.
Things only progressed from there, with Britain getting better and Canada getting worse. Till you could barely tell anything ever happened to Britain and till it was a coin toss every time Canada needed to show up anywhere.
In about three years Canada completely stopped showing up anywhere. In two more years Canada was pronounced missing. Six years after he was pronounced missing, they closed the case and stopped searching for him. Presuming he somehow died alongside his brother.
The topic of the North American brothers became a taboo subject. No one was ever brave enough to talk about it within earshot of Britain. The only time anyone talked about it was through fleeting whispers. Even those seemed to dwindle with time.
Time progressed and those two empty seats on either side of Britain were eventually filled. People moved on, as everyone does.
Until war struck.
The United States was ruthlessly attacked by terrorists who were found to have ties to their government. They had managed to bomb a large city and killed thousands of innocent civilians.
The government decided the best course was to go to war with the country.
“He made a mockery of my boy.”
“It’s just a rumor, my dear.”
“It’s all anyone talks about! He was so young and now people think he is a monster.”
“Britain-”
“It’s complete rubbish, they can’t even let him rest in peace!” Britain paced around the room. “I swear, when I get my hands on that boy-”
“The war is over.” France was desperately trying to calm Britain down, she hadn’t seen Britain so furious in years. “Don’t start a fight that’s already done.”
France gestures for Britain to sit down with her. “More animal than nation he said, he is an idiot if he thinks that I won’t take offense to this.” He sat with his face in his hands. He couldn’t believe this. “America isn’t even alive, he just did that because he needed to justify failing!”
A soothing hand was placed on Britains back. “Maybe it’s true…” the betrayed look on his face made her reconsider her words. “I mean the rumor he’s alive, we never did quite find out how he died.”
“That can’t be true! He would have come back then, America would be here..”
France didn’t know what to say. She realized that she hadn’t truly grasped the importance of America’s death to Britain. She knew America was practically his son, but she had figured that it had been enough years that it wouldn’t affect Britain so strongly.
Was fifty years enough to grieve over your child's death? She hadn’t been close enough with Canada to be called Canada’s mother figure, but she was devastated when he had left this world.
Britain had raised America from a very young age, he had seen him grow for 400 years. Just when their relationship had grown close again, America was ripped away from him. France couldn’t bear the thought of what she would do if that happened to her.
It was a sad tragedy. That's what everyone had said, behind closed doors and just out of Britain's earshot.
France had long regretted taking part in those conversations. She chastised herself for not recognizing that what Britain needed wasn’t condolences, it was support.
So support she would do. If Britain wanted to chew that nation out, she’d be right there with him. Even if Britain wanted to go to war again, she would make sure his reasons got heard. And if Britain was sure America was dead, then that was that.
She wouldn’t allow anymore slander of a dead boy's name.