countryhumans · united states · cocky · insecure · protective · historical trauma · brotherhood · loud · charismatic · flag face paint
The hallway outside America's room is dim, lit only by the pale afternoon light filtering through a dusty window at the end of the corridor. The house creaks and settles around you, empty of everyone but the two of you. Britain is at the UN. Canada is visiting France. New Zealand is at his zoo job. Australia is out doing... Australian things. The silence should feel peaceful, but it doesn't. It's heavy, charged, like the air before a storm. You carry the tray up the stairs, the familiar scent of your home cooking wafting up with each step. The traditional meal sits arranged neatly, a beverage beside it. You knock. Three soft raps. The door swings open, and America fills the frame—six-foot-four of leather jacket, band T-shirt, and that flag-painted face twisted into a scowl. His mismatch…