Hey there, folks! I'm really excited about this new project!

PLEASE NOTE: Please do NOT review or PM me complaining that you don't like the pairings or that you don't think it is historically accurate enough. I'm a biology major, not a history major and this is fiction. Hetalia itself is historically inaccurate. The dates/locations/etc are not going to be perfectly accurate and that's just the way it is.

That being said, please enjoy!

Raising North America

CHAPTER ONE: The New World

A strong wind swept over North America, rustling leaves and bending grasses into sleek, shiny plains. Cool air flowed down coastlines, stirred lakes, and wrapped itself around tree trunks in the gray shadows of ancient forests. Evening fell gracefully; layers of gradually deepening colors spread themselves over the land and settled comfortably in corners and crevices. Many eyes were upturned to see the serene blue of the sky explode into pinks, oranges, and deep reds, striking against the vivid green of the landscape. Most of the eyes belong to the animals; some did not. All were appreciative of the natural wonder, the Earth's goodnight.

Silence rose from the ground as the land grew darker and more still. Glowing orbs peered from between tree branches and under brambles; the nocturnal creatures' morning had come. As most of the world lay to rest, the animals of the night stirred and prepared for their doings in the dark. Stars winked into sight by the hundreds until the sky was thickly studded with lights, glimmering as they had done as long as the land could remember.

Separately, in places distant from each other, two small blonde heads, exhausted from a sunlit day of running through the fields of their homes, nestled into tufts of grass to sleep the night away. Their earthy beds were cheerless and chill from the wind, but considered to be comfortable, as the sleepers had nothing with which to compare them. The two children could remember neither from where they originated nor how long they had existed; only vague, hazy memories of many ages of moons and the constant promise of sunlight in the morning. They knew no change and expected none and so slept peacefully in the holy stillness of nature's song that had soothed them for so long.

Far away, to the East, the same wind was blowing ships across the Atlantic and towards the virgin land. The silence was almost over.

oOoOo

France, stepping off the gangplank and onto the sand of the New World, approved of what he saw. England, directing the crew to remove cargo from one of the ships, had no time to stop and admire the scenery. What a waste of life, France thought to himself, watching the Englishman bustle about, checking lists and pointing men in different directions. Life should be about beauty and the appreciation of it, not endless work. He rolled up his sleeves to catch the sunlight on his arms. England, working hard, noticed that France was strolling about and humming to himself. Stuck up old git, he thought, anger prickling the back of his neck. He's never done an honest day's work in his life. As was customary, however, the two smiled politely at each other in passing and said nothing.

Once satisfactorily unpacked, the group, consisting of France, England, Sweden, and Finland, set up a rudimentary camp and then turned towards the vastness that was the land beyond the beach. "Let's go in two groups of two and explore a bit to see what we can find. I'll go with Finland," England ordered. Finland was a very agreeable man, but mostly England wanted to avoid being in a group with his old rival, France. Whatever was in this land, England wanted to find and claim it before France had a chance.

Sweden, turning his back on France (who was bobbing his eyebrows up and down suggestively,) shook his head. "'M goin' with Finland," he said firmly.

Finland smiled apologetically at England, who cursed his luck. "V-very well then. Come on, Frog, and don't dilly-dally. Don't forget that we came here for a reason: to see what lay on this empty land! We shall meet back here at nightfall and report our findings." Resigned, the Englishman motioned to France and marched off, entering a copse of scrubby palm trees. France straightened the ruffle at the front of his coat and followed suit. The two picked through the underbrush, stepping around pools of escaped ocean water and avoiding some unlikely-looking creatures sunning themselves on rocks.

France wafted the air towards his face and sniffed appreciatively. "Ah, ze air here is so fresh! It smells like Bretagne after a heavy rain!" He made the mistake of closing his eyes and put his left foot into a muddy hole. Disgusted, he kicked about, trying to rid himself of the mess. "But ze ground is too wet. Reminds me of your home, Angleterre."

"Shut up, you," England said irritably, not bothering to turn around. "and try to be more quiet. You sound like a herd of bloody cattle tramping through the trees."

"Hmmph." France sniffed. The two walked on in silence. "Yes, I zink I shall name zis place 'New Renneso.' Some large artistic nudes would look splendid along a harbor on ze coastline…"

England growled in the back of his throat. "Stop talking about the land as if it's already yours," he groused.

"…most prominent of ze nudes will, of course, be modeled after me. After all, what is more beautiful zan love itself?" France ignored his companion's complaints entirely. "If you'd ever let me do somezing about your dreadful hair, Angleterre, I could fashion a statue after you as well! Of course, you'd 'ave to pose nude…"

"NO." England yelled. "Don't speak poppycock! Why are you so bent on having this land anyway? So far, I'm ruddy unimpressed; seems to be a load of mucky forest. And there's too many bloody insects!"

Ignoring his own discomfort from the bugs in favor of taunting his rival, France waved his hand dismissively. "You 'ave always been worthless at seeing ze natural beauty in anyzing. Take me, for example. You 'ave never been anyzing but nasty to me and I can't figure out why. Am I not ze most exquisite work of-"

He was cut off by a swift elbow in the gut from England. "Hush. Look!" Lost in his thoughts, France had missed the fact that the two had emerged from the forest into a magnificent glade. Green rolled out before them like a carpet, dotted here and there with fluffy yellow flowers, their petals open to receive the sunlight. Somewhere far off they could hear the slight burbling of a stream flowing towards the ocean and in the distance, white-capped mountains could be glimpsed. England stepped out of the shadow of the forest and breathed deeply. Yes…I could find magic here, he thought, taking off his jacket to better enjoy the warmth. A longing stirred in his gut and pleasurable goosebumps rose on his arms.

France came to stand alongside him, eyes glittering with greed. He draped an arm patronizingly around the shorter country and sighed deeply. "Now zis…zis is glorious. Ideal place for love. Yes, New Renneso is what I shall name it."

England shoved him away. "SHUT UP!"

oOoOo

Finland and Sweden were late returning to camp that afternoon. England had already started a small fire and was preparing to boil water for his usual evening tea when the two returned to camp, chattering excitedly. To be precise, Finland was chattering excitedly and the ever-stoic Sweden grunted agreement at appropriate times. "I think this could be huge!" Finland squealed. "Ah! England! France! You have got to hear the news!"

"What is it?"

Finland sat on a mat, settling in as if ready to spin a long yarn. "Sweden and I were walking sort of southwest of here, trying to find a break in the thick trees. We eventually discovered a patch where the trees were not so dense and, once we passed through them, we found ourselves in a wide open plain that seemed to extend for miles. There were mountains in the distance and tall grass and bushes everywhere. It was really very lovely. Anyway, we wandered about for a while and were getting ready to follow what looked like an animal trail when we heard rustling behind us. I whirled around and…well, guess what I saw!" He asked animatedly, drawing out his story and the attention he was receiving. When no one answered, he continued. "I saw a child!" Sweden nodded slowly beside him.

France and England gasped. "A child?"

"Yes! He was nearly invisible among the tall grasses, but he was there! When our eyes met, he fled, but I know I saw him!"

"Mon Dieu," France breathed. "What did he look like? Are you sure it wasn't a pretty girl?"

Finland wrinkled his face, trying to remember. "I think it was a boy. He was dark blonde…or a very light brunette…he had blue eyes…and I think he was wearing a sort of nightie. Very cute." Again, Sweden nodded beside him.

"Did you see any signs of a nearby civilization? Spain could have gotten here before we did and colonized," England asked quickly, nervously.

Sweden shook his head silently and firmly. "No, we saw nothing of the type," Finland answered. "Absolutely nothing. No man-made traps, no human foot trails…listen…do you think this child could be…?"

England was confused, but France sat up straighter, his face lighting up. "Yes! He could! I had wondered if zere was anozzer one!"

"Another what?" It clicked. "Wait a bloody minute. Are you suggesting that this boy is one of us?" England looked from Finland to France. "That he's a country?"

"Yes! Really, what else could such a small, fragile child be doing wandering the land?" Finland deflated a little, freed from the weight of such an important secret. He reached for a bag of ruislepä near England's feet. "We should find him and see if he really is what we suspect he is. If so, we should help him. After all, one of us might be his big brother!"

France waved his hand, pooh-poohing Finland's words. "S'il vous plaît. 'e is obviously my little brozzer." He pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it up.

"How do you know?" Finland asked, puzzled.

"Because you said 'e was 'very cute.'" France blew smoke out of his nose. "I am very cute, 'e is very cute…'e must be related to me."

England flicked the cigarette out of France's fingers. "Oi! Don't claim things you haven't even seen yet!"

Vexed at the loss of his cigarette but determined not to show it, the Frenchman lit up another and turned away from England. "Fine, fine. You'll see. 'e is certainly not your little brozzer, Angleterre."

"He could be my little brother!" Finland volunteered quietly. No one paid him any attention. He sighed and took another bite of his ruislepä. We'll figure it out tomorrow.

oOoOo

Sorry if any part of this was incoherent…I just had surgery and am pretty zombified on pain medicine. Please tell me what you think!