Standing in the doorway was Xiao. His hair was pulled back neatly for the first time in many years, and he wore a pair of glasses on his face.
Yao, as well as everyone else, were all mortified at seeing the 2p Chinese male standing there. Said male was growing nervous at their stares.
"Uh..." Xiao wrung his hands anxiously.
"Why are you wearing glasses?" Allen broke the silence.
"I can't see without them." The brownish red eyed male replied, his answer shocking them even more.
"I've never known you couldn't see properly." Kuro spoke up, and Viktor nodded his head in agreement.
"Uh... yeah... I haven't been able to see properly in a long time. I've never been able to say so though." Xiao placed a hand on the back of his head and smiled modestly.
Everyone continued to stare at the Chinese male blankly. Suddenly Xiao almost collapsed, bemusing everyone.
"Ah... sorry... I forgot. My head is killing me." He explained with a slight drawl.
Kuro, Viktor, Matt and Oliver moved over to help steady him, whilst the others watched on. Some more concerned than others.
"Aiyah... how could you stand to be on that rubbish? I feel horrible after only a couple of hours." Yao explained, moving further into the lounge room to face his 2p.
"Well... all this time... it's helped me cope with my insecurities." Xiao explained, a shy smile on his face. His statement caused a silence throughout the room, everyone struck by the heartfelt words and modest tone.
Kuro was the first to move, helping his older brother into a nearby seat, before he entered the kitchen, shortly returning with a glass of water and a couple of pain relief tablets.
"Thank you." The brownish red eyed male was grateful for the medicine, quickly swallowing the pills.
"You said you were insecure, why didn't you tell anyone?" Oliver asked, an eyebrow quirked.
Xiao looked to be thinking it over, conflicting expressions on his face. Finally the male swallowed and sighed. "Do you really think it was that easy? No a better question would be, how long do you actually think I've been masking my insecurities behind the use of Opium?" The male's question rang through the silent lounge, no one knowing what to say to that.
"Because it's been a lot longer than you think. A lot." Xiao continued, hiding his face, his words surprisingly cold. He suddenly stood and turned his back on the rest of the room.
"This is exactly why I was insecure in the first place. Too much doubt, too many questions, it's not good for one's self. Goodnight." The Chinese male ended abruptly, his voice small and weary. He then exited the room without making another sound.
The lounge was silent. Most of the 1p's felt awkward, seeing as the scene between Xiao and the 2p's had not very much to do with them. Yao was conflicted, he needed to bond with his counterpart at some point, so he should care for the male's well-being, but he currently had no way of helping him.
"Well this is great. You guys need to sort out your problems! Anyways, the hero needs to sleep!" Alfred suddenly exclaimed, breaking the silence and even making those who hadn't been expecting his booming voice, to jump.
"Don't be disrespectful!" Arthur spat, throwing a fist towards the American, narrowly missing his retreating figure.
"No he's right." Oliver began, colourful eyes downcast. His statement attracting the attention of the room. "It is our problem."
"We should leave you alone for now then." Francis explained, standing and stretching his body, letting a yawn escape. As he left, Gilbert, Antonio, Ivan, Matthew and Lovino followed after him.
"We should go too. See you all in the morning." Arthur muttered, interrupting Ludwig, Kiku and Feli's quiet chatter. Yao sighed and moved towards the door. Before the group had time to fully leave though, Feliciano stuck his head back through the entryway.
"Buonanotte and good luck~ I'm sure your friend will be fine in the morning. Just treat him as you normally would, don't mention anything about his insecurities, and you should be fine! Pretend they don't even exist." There was a kind, warm smile on the auburn Italian's face as he spoke. The room listened intently, and were quite shocked to say the least to hear such advice from the 1p. Even his friends were bemused. Not having known where such a statement could have come from.
"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you haven't lived as long as you have and haven't found yourself full of self doubt and loathing?" The 2p's heard Feliciano exclaim as the group travelled towards their rooms.
"Well... oh ok fine. Of course I have. I wouldn't be surprised if most of us had." Arthur sighed, taking a hand through his unruly blonde hair.
"Ve~ I knew it. What about you Kiku?"
And soon their conversation dwindled until they could no longer be heard. The 2p's sat in silence once more.
Feliciano's words had impacted them somewhat, some more than others.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't really know Xiao too well, albeit I do know that I'll have bags under my eyes if I don't get a certain amount of sleep, so ciao!" Flavio stood cheerily and excited the room.
It wasn't long before Andrés and Gillen followed. The rest of them were happy, to an extent, to help decipher a plan that would make Xiao happy and forget all about his insecurities.
"We've already been here quite some time." Oliver muttered absentmindedly, his eyes glancing out the window.
"Well exactly how much time did that spell of yours even give us?" Allen was the next to speak, knowing what Oliver was getting to.
"I'm not sure it specified, so we should be cautious and hurry along with our mission as quick as we possibly can." The strawberry blonde explained, turning to face the American.
"Quite a few of us already have bonded though. Matthew and I, Ivan and Viktor, Luciano and Feliciano and Alfred and Allen." Matt spoke up, resting a comforting hand on the Brit's shoulder.
"Yeah and if Luci and Feli managed to bond then I'm sure anyone could." Allen laughed, grinning widely. Luciano raising his fist at the American, whilst the others sniggered at the comment.
"Okay let's get down to business then. If we all wish to have Xiao as a friend and ally then we need to persuade him that we are not against him." Viktor spoke up, a large pale hand supporting his chin. The room went silent, the other 2p's not expecting the comment or the Russian to contribute.
"I guess you're right man." Lutz sighed and leaned back into the couch, kicking a leg up into the coffee table and placing his arms behind his head.
"Didn't you hear Feli? If we take his advice then Xiao might warm up to us!" Kuro exclaimed, nearly jumping right out of his seat.
"I don't think listening to that 1p will help us." Francois muttered bluntly, eyes narrowed and dull.
"And how do you assume that? I actually find the idea rather useful?" The light red eyed Japanese male countered, a confused look on his face.
"Because he's a 1p, and obviously an oblivious one at that. What would he know about helping us." The Frenchman explained, narrowing his violet eyes further.
"Wow... you have no manners whatsoever." Allen gave a whistle, a slight smirk coming to rest on his tanned features.
"No Francois, you can't think like that. If you have a hard time tolerating Feliciano then how do you suppose you'll bond with Francis?" Oliver questioned, his colourful gaze disappointed.
"Looks like we're never getting out of here then. I still support my idea, and by my, I mean Feli's, so I think I'm done here. It's late you know." Kuro stated, standing and yawning, before exiting the room.
"He's right. I think my 1p's advice was quite informative to be honest." Luciano was the next to stand, adding his thoughts on the issue.
It seemed that most agreed with Feliciano's solid advice, and all went to bed, most content with what they had discussed, other's like Francois grumbling unhappily.
By the time morning came around, the 1 and 2p's were situated in the kitchen for breakfast once more. It wasn't long before Feliciano and Luciano left to head towards the room where they painted freely, the latter beginning to tolerate his counterpart more than he originally had. It seemed that Kuro was content with tagging along with them, as he had followed them into the room.
"No more lewd drawings please?" Feliciano had pleaded, honey gold eyes wide. Kuro could only nod his head, captivated by the cuteness.
Elsewhere Gillen and Gilbert were together, Gilbert wanting to bond with his counterpart again.
"Well what do you like then? I can't get to know you if you don't tell me anything!" The loud, red eyed male gave a frustrated cry, hands ready to pull his hair out. "This is so not awesome!"
Gillen shrugged, flinching at the outburst before his downcast expression came right back.
"Hey! I know! Do you have a pet? Cause I have a bird that is totally awesome!" Gilbert exclaimed, letting out a boisterous laugh. As if If had sensed its master's calling, the little yellow bird suddenly landed on the albino's head.
Gillen could only watch as the other tried to bond with him, finding his attempts rather pitiful, he wasn't too fond of the loud mouth so far. Whilst his counterpart was busy cooing over his awesome pet, he exited the room quietly, without Gilbert noticing.
When the albino finally did notice that Gillen was no longer in the room, he let out a displeased sigh.
"Looks like I'll have to pull out my awesomest guns."
Francois was seated in his room, alone in the dark. He wasn't sure why, but he was angry, furious even at the 1p's. They were the main representatives, the 2p's were the counterparts, they were expendable and irrelevant. Some of the 1p's seemed to think that too. He hadn't heard the words out loud, but he could see it clearly in their eyes, they were insignificant, and just another problem that the 1p's had to deal with. They had been transported to their world after all.
His violet eyes narrowed in distaste as wrung his wrists. All this talk of bonding and getting along was starting to sicken him. It was all rubbish anyways. As if their worlds were going to combust based on if they 'bonded' with their counterparts. Complete and utter rubbish.
"There's no way in hell that I will bond with my counterpart. I should just get Oliver to somehow send us back, because this is pointless." He muttered angrily.
As he tried to reign in his anger, ideas suddenly flooded into his mind. The Frenchman nearly letting out a small laugh at a few of them. Then his dark violet eyes widened as he realised something, something that would end the nonsense downstairs and return everything back to normal.
"Well they do say a little trust goes a long way~" Francois gave an uncharacteristic smirk. Time to get to work.
Xiao had finally made an appearance at about lunch time, making his way to the table slowly before hunching over a steaming cup of coffee.
The kitchen had been empty save for Yao, who had jumped when he came in, but had quickly got to work.
"I was just making lunch for myself, aru. Would you like a portion?" The 1p inquired, shuffling the contents inside his wok.
"Ah... Yes please." The darker haired male muttered. He glanced up at his counterpart, watching him finish cooking curiously.
It wasn't long before both were seated and eating a meal of stir fry.
"It's nice to see you up. I was worried after you left so hurriedly last night." Yao began, his chocolate eyes showcasing worry and care.
Xiao breathed in heavily before sighing and answering. "You should understand. We are the same age, we've lived through the same events, experienced similar problems. You know what it's like. I'm surprised you stayed sober this whole time."
Yao's eyes widened in surprise as he hadn't been expecting the answer. He had to mull it over before deciding that his 2p was right.
"You're right. I remember times throughout my history which aren't so pleasing, but with that comes the good stuff too. Just keep in mind that even if the worst day brings you to your knees, there will be someone or something that will lift you back on your feet. A piece of advice I heard somewhere, aru." The chocolate haired 1p gave his counterpart a soft smile, before returning to his meal.
Now it was time for Xiao to bear the shocked expression, the words resonating in him, meaning something to him. Maybe he could begin to cope without his go to drug.
"Huh..." He drawled off, a small smile coming to rest on his face. The duo returned to their meals, the room silent but the atmosphere warm.
Francois pushed his palm into his forehead, letting out a sigh of frustration. He had gone in search for any 2p's and had found Xiao having a comfortable conversation with his 1p.
He hadn't stayed long to overhear much, but from what he had picked up, it seemed the pair were getting along.
"Agh!... That's not what I had in mind!" The dirty blonde haired male hissed and stomped up the stairs. He had to find someone. Without realising it, he had come across the room where Luciano and his counterpart painted. The door was open a crack, he noticed that the pair were alone, Kuro must have left them at some point.
"I could use this to my advantage." He muttered and pushed the door open fully, alerting the Italian's to his presence.
"I passed your brother in the hallway and he was looking for you." Francois started, pointing at the 1p. Feliciano looking up from his colourful canvas in surprise.
"Ve~ really? Grazie for telling me then! Do you know where he was going?" The auburn haired Italian exclaimed and jumped up, placing down his brushes and paints.
"I think he was heading outside." The Frenchman hid a smirk as he sent the idiot on a goose chase. When the 1p had left, he approached Luciano, who was seated at his own piece of canvas.
"What do you want?" The Italian wasted no time, ceasing his brushstrokes to glance up at the dirty blonde.
"I just came to tell you something I overheard earlier."
"Does it look like I am one to gossip and such, I don't care." The Italian narrowed his magenta eyes, moving back to his painting.
"Not really, although this is quite offensive towards us, I just thought you might want to hear this." Francois's words and tone seemed to capture Luciano's attention, he turned to the other male once more.
"What are you talking about?" The Italian asked, putting down his brush and paints.
"Well it's just that the 1p's seem to look down upon us. You haven't heard the mutters and pitying looks. They've said that we are irrelevant and pointless. They don't like the fact that we are also armed, I'm sure I even heard a few of them muttering about removing them from us." The Frenchman explained, his whole tale a lie, but Luciano didn't need to know that. Said Italian was left in a surprised stupor, eyes wide in disbelief.
"They really said that?" He muttered and looked towards the floor.
"Oui, they did, it's quite sad." Francois faked a saddened expression, violet eyes crinkling in hidden amusement.
"To think I actually began to open up, wow was I wrong." The red haired Italian let out a stiff laugh before kicking the seat underneath him away and storming from the room.
Francois smirked. His plan had worked, now he just needed to create more havoc between the sides. He was about to leave the room when he noticed a couple of Luciano's knives sitting in the open. It didn't take him long to decide whether or not he was going to use them, taking all three and pocketing them.
When Francois had left the room though, he had come face to face with Kuro, the Japanese male seemingly downcast.
"Was what you said really true?" He inquired, continuing to look at the wooden floorboards.
"Ah of course. Every part of it. It's quite saddening to think about." The blonde continued.
"I see, I better go and find Luciano then." Kuro then waved him off, light red eyes downcast as he strode down the hall.
"That worked to my favour." He noticed a door open in the hallway, finding it to be Flavio and his counterpart's room. He entered the room after discovering that it was empty, to find that Flavio's favourite designer shirt was lying out in the open on his bed.
"I'm sorry Flavio but I need this." He picked up the designer shirt whilst also locating a pair of scissors. It didn't take him long to destroy it, leaving the evidence on the Italian's bed.
Francois left the room quickly, violet eyes searching for anything else he could mess up, or any other 2p's he could persuade. It shouldn't be long until both sides were against each other.
I really tried with this chapter, and was stuck on the middle part for awhile there, I had no idea what to do, but then I got the idea of antagonistic 2p!France, and him trying to sabotage what everyone else has going on. He's not necessarily the bad guy, I just needed something new. So I hope you like it. I also hope you like my idea of sober 2p!China, I thought having him as insecure would be a valid reason for his drug use.
When I wrote this back in 2018, I was unaware of what I was actually writing and may have addressed some uncomfortable issues. I apologise for that. Someone also mentioned I should have a warning on this chapter. When I edit this chapter I will address these issues. Thanks for reading and reviewing though.
-Ella
