England ducked into the crowded cafe, closing his drenched umbrella quickly. He shivered. The relatively warm weather had given way to sharp, bone-chilling rain, and lots of it. Add the bad economy and the constant annoyance that was America, and Arthur Kirkland was in a worse mood than usual.

He had just received a nice large cup of Earl Grey when, of course, some wanker had to bumped into him, spilling hot tea all over his front.

"Ow! Bloody hell, watch where you're going, you insolent twat!" the nation shouted. It was one of his citizens, for christ's sake! They weren't supposed to do that! Who exactly did the man think he was, wearing a red neckerchief like some kind of American cowboy? "Honestly!"

"Sorry! I'll buy you a new cuppa, if you'd like." the man scrambled to pick up the teacup, mopping up the mess with napkins. He got some fresh ones and handed them to the nation along with the now-empty cup. "Here, if you dab it out it won't cause as much of a stain-"

"Yes, I know how to clean a bloody tea stain, thanks!" England swiped them from his hands. Angry green eyes met concern blue ones. The cup clattered to the floor.

The young man was pale, with ebony hair and high cheekbones. His scarf worked nicely over his soft blue shirt and open, slim-fitting brown leather jacket. He was wearing bleached Chuck Taylors.

"Well, your style hasn't changed much since Camelot." was all the nation could think to say.

The man gaped at him.

"... Albion? Is that you?" he whispered.

"Just England, now. Or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, if you really want to be formal." England gave him a small smile. He glanced out the window. "The rain's letting up. Shall we go somewhere a bit more private?"

Merlin nodded, beaming. They quickly cleaned up the mess and went out into the drizzle.

"How've you been, old chap? Have you been here this whole time?" the nation asked. "If so, you've better have a bloody well good excuse for avoiding me for over fifteen hundred years!"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of invoking the wrath of the country itself!" the warlock laughed. He tousled the nation's hair, earning him a swat. "Arthur and I come back every few centuries or so. My magic must have bound us here, or something of that sort. I don't really know. Arthur would've really like to see you! He's in New York right now, looking for some of the knights. They occasionally come back when we do, so we keep an eye out. It's usually easy to find each other, though,"

England nodded. "Well, next time you pop in, ask around for Sir Arthur Kirkland, and word will get around to me eventually... That's an order! I don't want to go another millennia without seeing you again! Understand?"

Merlin smiled. "Yes, sire."

They stopped at a stone bench underneath an overhang. Each recounted some of the greatest moments since they had last seen each other. For a few moments they sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's presence.

"You know," England said softly. "you were my first real brother. Sure, there were other nations, my 'birth' brothers and the bloody Frog, but you took care of me. At the time, you were the only thing on two legs that gave a damn whether I lived or died." he looked up into the warlock's bright blue eyes. "I suppose I never did thank you for that."

"Well, I couldn't just leave you there, now could I?" Merlin smiled. "You also don't realize how cute you were, that was a big factor- Ow! You know I'm just kidding!" he said, rubbing his arm where he had just been punched. He settled down quickly. "...Even though I knew you were actually older than I was, I couldn't help think of you as my little brother. You understood me better than anyone else in the world sometimes."

"And you were the only human anywhere close to understanding me." England could feel his lips lift into a smile.

The only sound was the slight pitter-patterof the constant rain.

England felt a slender hand fit hesitantly into his. He closed his fingers around it.

Suddenly, he pulled the warlock into a tight hug.

"I've missed you, lad." the nation said, holding back tears. Now, in his brother's arms, he felt safer than he had felt for centuries.

"I'm here, Albion." Merlin whispered comfortingly. "I'm here."

A/N: I hope you like my little crossover. (I also have a Captain America/Hetalia crossover, if you want to check that out)

Thank you so much for reading!