Living with England wasn't as bad as Canada had first believed. England was fair in his treatment of the new inhabitant in the house, he made certain that Canada was well fed, even if the food wasn't the greatest, well clothed, and he hadn't raised his voice at all when addressing Canada. It also helped that America was causing enough trouble for the two boys all by himself.

Living in the same house as America wasn't quite as horrible as he would have thought either. Sure, the moments of peace where the other nation wasn't bothering him were rare and not as long as he'd like, but America also had the ability to be a source of unending enjoyment. The other nation also seemed to have a knack for annoying England, like slipping earthworms into the chocolate cake and stealing every left shoe in the hall closet.

England had given the boys a few days to get used to each other and become accustomed to the new dynamics of the household. At first he introduced a simple system where America and Canada would split the chores; then a few days later he began working on their educations.

"Today we will be learning about, and reading important pieces of literature," England said as he set a tea set on the table between them.

"Why are we doing this at teatime?" Canada asked rather confused. "I thought teatime was an important time to converse and enjoy company." England smiled at the boy, pleased at his interest in customs of another country; if only America would pick up on this little habit.

"Teatime is also a good time to brush up on culture and also creates wonderful conversations if everyone has read the piece of literature being discussed," England explained. America snorted in amusement, which earned him a glare from England. "Do you have something you wish to share?"

"He's just going to make us read some play by a stupid guy named shake-a-spear," America commented to Canada. "He's obsessed with the guy and all the plays are the exact same."

"His name is Shakespeare and he was a master writer," England defended. Canada shrugged and took a copy of Romeo and Juliet from the table and looked it through it randomly. "Nothing in his books was taken from another one, so I don't want to hear that rubbish ever again."

"Oh really?" America questioned with raised eyebrows. "I learned a few years ago a simple summary for all of the plays he did."

"I would like to see you try," England scoffed. America grinned evilly.

"Well," America said as he held up his hand to count. "The main character is always some emo depressed boy bent on some type of reckless scheme that will end up getting him killed, he takes half of the cast to hell with him, all the women are called whores multiple times and often by different people, half of the people who die don't deserve it but their deaths are amusing as all hell, and at least one character is mentally unstable."

"What about a Midsummer's Night Dream?" England asked with a smug look on his face. "No one dies in that, and there's a happy ending."

"In that one everyone's on LSD," America replied and stuck out his tongue. England's cheeks burned as he glared at the annoying blonde; if he wasn't such a gentleman he would take a leather belt to the young brat's tail end to teach him a lesson. However, he was a gentleman, and as a gentleman would never resort to such barbaric punishments.

"Go to your room," England ordered, "I don't want to see you for the rest of the day, and you are not to come down for supper."

America stood and stalked over to the stairs. "I don't want to see you either!" he yelled. "And your food tastes like crap!" Then he ran upstairs and slammed his door shut. England gulped down a quick breath of air and suppressed the thought of strangling the young nation within an inch of his life.

Canada sat in his chair reading the book, completely oblivious to what had just transpired to the two nations. Either that or he was a master at ignoring the tension between them. England sighed and took a sip of tea to calm his nerves. He wasn't sure of what was going on with America; he had never had so many troubles with the boy before the war, sure he had always been annoying, but never to such a degree that was displayed now.

"So what is Romeo and Juliet about?" Canada asked as he set the book down. England smiled triumphantly; at least one of his little brothers cared to learn new things.

"Romeo and Juliet is about a forbidden love between two people. Romeo and Juliet come from two rival families that are constantly picking fights with one another. Through their love their families are able to overcome their differences and learn to live with each other," England said.

"So it's not only well written, but has a moral to go along with it," Canada said as if testing the idea. The boy's interest didn't seem spoiled by America's words, England thought, and that was the best scenario for him.

"All of the best writing has a lesson for us to learn," England instructed. Canada thought a moment and then nodded with a smile as he understood what England was saying.

"It's just like the fairy tales France would tell me before…" Canada's voice faltered and England had to really try to keep the relaxed smile on his face. Canada shook his head to dispel the thought and waited for England to continue teaching.

America burst out laughing the moment he was safely hidden behind his door. No food was a rather harsh punishment, but the look on England's face was worth the price he had to pay. He could imagine his poor little brother, politely sitting through the entire hour either reading or talking about the oh so wonderful works of Shakespeare. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to starve.

America searched under his bed for a box which he had hidden for such occasions as this. A smile crossed the Yank's face when his fingers made contact with a cardboard box. He couldn't remember when he had hid the box, but knew that it would one day come in handy. America beamed as he opened the box; then his face fell in confusion.

What was supposed to be a burger, golden in it's amazing and awesomeness, was green, fuzzy, and twitching. America closed the lid and opened it again, as if the second opening would change anything and his hamburger would magically appear.

"Well this sucks," America said as he shoved the box back under his bed. "Now what do I do?"

Canada knocked on his brother's door, his eyes quickly checking over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't been caught by England. He hadn't gotten into trouble with the older nation yet, but he still feared his wrath. America might be able to laugh it off, but he wasn't America.

"Can I help you?" America sneered through the door. "Are you here to taunt me with your redness." Canada just stared at the door in surprise.

"America?" he asked hesitantly. There was a loud slam, as Canada assumed something hit the floor and then the door was ripped open.

"You're not England, here to threaten some manners into me?" America asked. Canada shook his head, thoroughly confused. "That's all good then, sorry about the insult. So how was Shake-a-spear?"

"He's a good writer," Canada said, shyly shifting on his feet. He glanced over his shoulder again, England was still nowhere in sight. "I snuck you some food," Canada rushed and shoved a napkin filled with food into America's hands. Then he ran into his room.

And I think I'll leave it there. I had another idea to add in, but decided that you guys have waited for this chapter long enough. Sorry it took me forever and I don't feel like saying anything other than I'm lazy. Not my characters. I own nothing. Hope you enjoyed.