A man with curly brown hair and eyes the color of emerald stared at the child in front of him. The child was little, coming only up to his knees, with hair as black as a raven's wings and beautiful doe brown eyes, deep set and large, framed by long and thick eyelashes.
He blinked at the child.
It blinked back, tilted its head to the side curiously, and wrinkled its nose adorably.
A smile tugged at his lips. 'How cute~!' he thought.
"Hola pequeño, cuál es tu nombre?" He said. (Hello little one, what is your name?)
The child's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Ano? Hindi kita maintindihan." (What? I do not understand you.) It replied in a soft voice, heavy with confusion.
He squatted down at its level so that the child would not have to crane its head while talking to him. He smiled softly and pointed at himself, saying "Spain."
The child stared at him blankly.
He repeated his gesture and said "Spain"
Its eyes lit up in comprehension and tried to mimic what he said "Shpayn?"
He shook his head no. "Spain" He repeated slowly and clearly.
The child pouted in concentration and repeated what he said carefully "Spain?"
He nodded. "Spain." It repeated, more firmly this time.
He smiled and asked "que pasa contigo?" (What about you?)
It blinked at him, once, twice, thrice.
He pointed at himself and said "Spain" then pointed at the child, waiting for its answer. When it still did not reply, he repeated the gesture a few more times before it finally understood what he meant. When it did, It shook its head, looked down, and scuffled its feet in the dirt, its face red.
Spain stared at the child. Did he say something wrong? Why did its face turn red? Like the little tasty tomatoes that he loves to eat? After a moment of contemplation, his eyes widened when he finally understood that maybe it don't have a name yet. He hummed in contemplation. If it does not have a name, then perhaps, he could give it one?
After a few minutes of silence, the child in front of him fidgeted, and when it can't stand the silence any longer, poked him in the nose. He blinked and shook his head faintly, emerging from his thoughts. He stared at the child; it stared back, and there, with its skin bathed in sunlight, decided a name to christen it with.
"Philippines – Perla Del Mar De Oriente" (Philippines – Pearl of the Orient Seas) He murmured softly.
At first, it smiled, and then grinned, which turned out into a full blown childish laughter, its voice carried on the wind.
He smiled warmly at the child, stood, and offered his hand. "Quieres vivir conmigo?" (Do you want to live with me?)
It looked at him for a moment, before shrugging, grabbed his larger hand and gripped it tightly. He chuckled, and together, they walked to his ship. Who knew that he will discover another nation like him in his expedition? And a little, adorable one at that.
And that was how Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, otherwise known as Spain, met Maria Clara Dela Cruz y Carriedo, otherwise known as Republic of the Philippines.
A/N: There's a reason why I called her "IT" in this first chapter. It will make sense later, promise~! Oh! And if my Spanish is wrong, I'm very sorry, I only used google translator. This is my first story, so I hope you guys liked it :)