The long awaited beach episode has finally come to haunt yall. I planned this from the moment I started writing this... I mean, it's not very long but it's kind of there. It's not even at the beach... why does my setting have to be in the middle of London D:
Also I have no need for disclaimers anymore so just enjoy the story.
"-Hello? C... an you hear me?"
No I don't... let me sleep.
"Hey... wake up... are you listen...ing...?"
Go away... whoever you are... sleep is more important... zzz...
"Damia?"
A soft push. A gentle nudge. That's how you described the feeling of Malaysia's right shoulder being shaken awake.
She had to blink a couple times with her eyes closed before finally giving into the mysterious, tranquil voice that tried to make her break out of her dreamland. The voice she heard felt so calm, yet stern enough to rouse herself from her slumber. It was annoying to her to keep hearing it on repeat, but maybe it would've been better if the voice was singing instead of yapping at her to wake up.
Malaysia slowly opened one eye, then the other soon followed once she saw a downwards curl in front of her. And a very concerned face.
"... H.. wan Soo...? What are you doing here?"
Before he could answer, Indonesia pushed him off the bed and took his place on the spot cheerfully. Malaysia groaned as she buried her face in the pillow underneath her. Indonesia gave a clumsy smile as she stuck her tongue out.
"I forced Germany to tell me where North Korea lived. I visited North earlier because of an idea I had. And it just so happens that he told me he lived right across the street from you! So we both marched here and came to surprise you! Are you surprised?"
"Yes. Defiantly," Malaysia deadpanned. She focused her gaze on North Korea, who was dusting himself off from being pushed onto the floor. "Are you okay, la?"
"Well, I won't die." North Korea shrugged, his concern and elegance faded as he had gave a more nonchalant and unfazed look.
"Can we tour around London? It'll be a great bonding experience for us all!" Indonesia glimmered with happiness. Malaysia had to blink a couple times before rubbing her eyes. She was so tired of Indonesia's shenanigans sometimes. Indonesia pointed her finger at Malaysia. "You lazy bum! Get dressed, we're gonna get Jing Yi next!"
After Malaysia got dressed, cooked herself some breakfast for herself and the other two, they all went over to Singapore's house. Indonesia kicked the door down, which surprised both North Korea and Malaysia. The only explanation they received was that Indonesia has been training to get stronger, as she winked and stuck her tongue out playfully. Malaysia should really start working out as well...
Indonesia grabbed two pan lids and marched over to Singapore's room. He was sound asleep, his glasses on the night stand. Malaysia and North Korea peered anxiously from the doorway as Indonesia lifted the two lids.
"WAKE UP!" She screeched. Malaysia winced from the loud voice.
"ARGHHHH!" Singapore immediately sat up, putting on his glasses. He coughed as he turned to the source of the sound. His facial features ceased from shock to irritated as he peered at Indonesia. "Amita... and you two over there. What are you doing?"
Malaysia and North Korea stepped into the room, avoiding the question and his gaze. They both whistled in innocence while glancing at their surroundings. Indonesia set down the pan lids and put her hands on her hips.
She huffed in haughtiness, "We're inviting you to go on a eventful trip in London. Are you in?"
"No." He sneered. Surprisingly, Singapore blew a raspberry at her. It was a good thing he was just being moody, and not pissed off, Malaysia thought to herself.
Indonesia's jaw dropped, putting and hand up to her mouth. "What-? Why not?"
"It's not all that great, la." He said, pushed up his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's cold, wet, and gloomy. I hate England."
"And the food is terrible!" Malaysia shook her head. "Every time I see a scone I want to barf," North Korea gave her a confused look.
"Really? It's not that bad,"
"Have you been living under a rock, la?" Singapore chuckled, with an exhausted expression on his face. He returned back to his original features. "But in all seriousness, are we going to buy stuff on that trip? It's almost Christmas, and I just want to buy all the presents so all of you won't complain about not getting one. We need to shop, asap. No matter how much I hate going out or how terrible London's atmosphere is."
"All of us? You're including me...?" North Korea asked uncertainly.
Singapore nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to buy you a present, but first we're going to have to get to know each other first. Is that alright by you?"
"Y-yes..." North Korea replied, stroking one of his hair bangs from anxiety. "... Thanks..."
"While touring London, we can all buy Christmas gifts for each other. And we can celebrate it at one of our houses. Yahoo!" Indonesia pumped her fist in the air with a cheery grin. "Let's get you ready, Jing Yi. You smell like bad B.O. today!"
As she pulled Singapore out the door by the collar of his nightshirt, Malaysia and North Korea were left alone together. North Korea turned his head towards her as Malaysia let out an uneasy laugh and smiled.
"You don't have to get me anything. After all, you don't have much money anyway. It's fine, la." Malaysia reassured him in a joking manner.
Suddenly, a dark glare was directed towards her as North Korea spat out his words, "I have enough."
Then Malaysia nervously tightly gripped the hem of her clothing and bit her lip. 'I defiantly messed up. What was I thinking? That's just plain offensive! NO one wants to be reminded of what their financial situation is like. Kyaa, Allah please punish me this is horrible... I'm a horrible person. Why did I have to say that...?'
But his expression softened when he noticed her shaking. "Damia I... I-i'm sorry."
She shook her head, "No it's fine-"
He grabbed her hand swiftly and held it with both of his own hands. Malaysia stared at him with complete disbelief as North Korea rubbed his thumb on her skin. His eyes were cast down to their conjoined hands.
"I'm an asshole," He started, a visible blush appearing on his cheeks. "Sometimes I can be too blunt, and I really don't know when to stop my words from spilling out. So um, I hope I didn't hurt you as much as I saw it did. Feel free to slap me anytime," North Korea licked his chapped, pale lips for a moment as Malaysia watched in astonishment. He continued, "Do I really hurt you like that?"
"W-well..." She gulped. "I don't want to l-lie... but don't all people get hurt in strong relationships?"
"... I guess you're right," He exhaled, his warm breath tickling her skin. "I just want to make sure I don't mess up this one... I wouldn't want to lose you over something I did."
Malaysia lifted her other hand onto conjoined hands, and gripped it tightly. It was North Korea's turn to widened his eyes in shock while Malaysia smiled nervously. "If I left you for something like that, would we really be considered friends? I like you a lot," She almost wanted to take back her words, but pressed forward. She leaned forward, centimeters away from his surprised face. Her heart raced as her breath quickened. "And I want you to know that from the bottom of my heart, I'm truly in love w-"
"YOU GUYS!" Indonesia slammed the door open, causing North Korea to immediately let go of her hands. Malaysia twitched her eye in exasperation as Singapore walked in whilst combing his untidy hair. Indonesia whistled, "What were you all doing when we were gone?"
"Nothing special!" Malaysia denied, gesturing her hands in front of her. "We talked about food!"
North Korea chocked, but quickly wiped his mouth once he saw people staring. Malaysia raised an eye brow at his sudden choke, but he turned away with a tint of red on his ear tips.
"Damia," hissed Indonesia as she bumped her elbow into her ribs. "There's no way he'll like you if all you do is talk about food!"
'Tell me about it.' Malaysia silently laughed about the situation in her mind.
Singapore crossed her arms and sighed, leaning against the doorway for support. "Hey, can we go already? I got dressed up and everything..."
"Oh right," North Korea muttered. "I forgot you existed for a second."
Malaysia's mouth dropped open as Singapore gave him a sarcastic 'thanks'. Indonesia thankfully ignored that comment, as she was in her own little world at the moment. She made her way towards the door, with everyone else trailing behind her.
"So where are we going?" Malaysia asked as she closed the door.
"We're going to that nearby mall! We'll all take a cab there," Indonesia explained.
"Hey, wait a minute." Malaysia spoke with impassiveness, squinting at her in disbelief. "Do you even know where it is?"
"Yeah, yeah. I have a map and everything." Indonesia stopped in her tracks as she pulled out a folded piece of the paper the size of her palm. As she unfolded it, the paper grew bigger, and bigger. North Korea and Malaysia had eyes as wide as saucers while Singapore only shook his head in response. He wasn't very amused.
"Do you even know how to read that thing? Let me help-"
Indonesia slapped away Singapore's hand as her eyes focused on the map in front of her, which was bigger than half of her body. Malaysia's mouth formed an 'o' shaped at the girl. Indonesia's eyes were so determined and persistent... she didn't have the heart to tell her that the map was upside down. Malaysia glanced over to North Korea, who could easily tell the paper wasn't being read correctly.
"Actually-" Singapore clamped his hand over North Korea's mouth. He winced at the physical contact, but Singapore held a finger over his lips with a small 'shh'.
"Just humor her a little. She'll get mad if we point it out," Singapore whispered in North's ear. It was loud enough for Malaysia to hear, but not enough for Indonesia to notice. Singapore quickly lifted his hand off North Korea's mouth, who began to wipe away the 'germs' left behind from him. Malaysia silently took note that North Korea's lips looked really kissable at the moment. As cliche as it had sounded, it was true. North Korea finished rubbing his face and glanced back at Malaysia, who noticed her staring at him. She quickly looked away, flustered about what had happened.
"I'll call a cab and we can go to... Westfield mall in London." Indonesia said after a while, completely ignoring her surroundings. She began to walk off, with the group frantically trying to catch up with her.
Her foot almost stepped out onto the road while a truck was about to cross it. Malaysia felt her heart stop as she tried to reach out to grab Indonesia. Instead, North Korea pulled Indonesia back by grabbing the back of her shirt.
"Hey, be more careful or else you're going to die." North Korea scolded, eyebrows furrowing. He let go of her shirt and tilted his head to the side. "Are you normally that clutzy?"
Indonesia giggled softly as she lifted her hand behind her neck. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for saving me!"
"No problem..."
Singapore, and which was probably for the tenth time that day, sighed again at Indonesia. "What he said. Please take it seriously and don't die..."
"I won't!"
"Aw, I'm disappointed." Malaysia muttered, kicking her foot at the ground. "If Indonesia died, then I could take all the nasi lemak she has and I won't have any competition."
Indonesia raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Why are you being... extra salty today?"
"Salty?" Malaysia and North Korea asked in sync. Indonesia shook her head.
"Meh, doesn't matter." She shrugged. Malaysia looked around and found Singapore no where to be seen. Which was odd, considering he was here about three minutes ago. As she was about to point that out, Singapore has appeared by jogging back to the group. He collapsed her hands to his knees while he panted.
"I found a cab," He said in between breathes. Singapore pointed in the direction of the supposed car, the driver being a middle-aged British man with a large belly. They all walked to the cab as Malaysia tugged on Singapore's jacket, trying to get him back to the vehicle without collapsing in front of her. She felt like she was his mom, trying to push him to get better. Maybe he was so out of breath from the lack of exercise he hadn't been getting.
The seating arrangements were North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore in that order. Indonesia told the driver the location. On the way there, Malaysia had joined in on a conversation with the two ASEAN countries. She missed talking about random stories or small inside jokes with them, and it made her guilty that they didn't spend any time together last year. Besides Indonesia, Malaysia wondered what Singapore did in Japan while they were there. Did he know about her Korean drama plans...? That was something she would never know.
"Are you okay?" Malaysia snapped out of her thoughts as Indonesia asked North Korea that question. The entire car ride he was silent, and stared down at his twiddling fingers. Indonesia tilted her head, "Did you want to say something?"
North Korea's head bounced back up as his face became awkward and flustered. "I uh- I'm just not used to this sort of thing."
"Being around talkative people?"
"Mmm... something like that."
Malaysia felt a pang of guilt. She wished she had noticed North Korea's dilemma earlier. He seemed like he wanted to fit in with everyone else, but he just didn't know how to. She could easily tell he was trying really hard to become friends with her family. Her lips formed into a frown as the car of the road started to bump more, to the point where the seats started to make her bounce in place.
Suddenly, the car stopped to a halt. The impact made Malaysia fall into North Korea's lap and face plant into the door's interior. Her nose stung in pain as she laid down in North Korea's lap, groaning from her pain.
North Korea was unsure of what to do as Indonesia and Singapore slid down on them, crushing North Korea against the door. The cab driver paid no mind to them as he held his hand out. "I want my money."
Singapore grumbled as he bitterly gave the driver his bills, not wanting to pay the man at all. North Korea's face was squished onto the glass. He had to pat the door's handle before finally reaching it, pulling the knob and falling out of the car with the rest of his group. Singapore was the least damaged, since he had sat on the other side of the car. Indonesia had already pushed Singapore off herself so she wouldn't be crushed by him. North Korea and Malaysia weren't so lucky...
North Korea shyly poked Malaysia's cheek as she laid lifelessly on his lap. The cab already drove away and Singapore already fled the scene while Indonesia looked around.
"Damia? Damia? Dam... dammit I think she's dead." North Korea murmured to himself, still poking her cheek.
Malaysia stirred on his lap, and finally rubbed one of her eyes. She yawned and sat up from his lap, sitting beside him on her knees. "What happened?"
"You hit your head when the driver stopped the car. I was ready to punch the guy but you were laying on me so he drove away before I could."
"... What?!" Malaysia's eyes widened in panic. "Did I do anything weird?!"
"No. You just slept on my lap. Honestly you were so motionless, I thought you had died."
"Oh..." Malaysia blushed red from embarrassment. Now more than ever, she wanted to get hit by a car. Every time she gets stuck in these humiliating situations where she has to explain herself in front of the love of her life, she felt the need to imagine herself getting stabbed in the stomach. These ridiculous high school scenarios absolutely humiliated her at times.
"... Damia, I have a question." North Korea avoided her gaze as he twirled a strand of hair with his finger.
Malaysia gulped. "What is it?"
"... What did you mean earlier when you said 'I'm truly in love'?" North Korea inquired, biting his lip. "I still don't get what you were trying to say back at Singapore's house?"
"T-that thing I said, la?!" Malaysia laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Truthfully... I wanted to say I'm truly in love with how strong our friendship is! We really are good friends. Yes, good friends!"
"... Oh..." was all North Korea could say.
Malaysia was saved from this awkward scenario when Singapore came walking back pointing his thumb at a mortified Indonesia. "Hey guys, Indonesia got us at the wrong location." He explained. She blankly stared out at the crystal clear river, blue waves crashing against the cement shorelines. Malaysia looked up at a nearby ferris wheel next to the river and and her eyes became half-lidded.
"Huh." Malaysia snorted. Indonesia was silent for a moment, and turned around with a fake smile on her face.
"So... we went to wrong way..." She said.
"Yeah..." North Korea sighed as he crossed his arms.
"... Maybe we can pass the time by trying to swim here!" Malaysia became taken back by the sudden bounce of energy flowing within Indonesia. Her eyes were full of swirls and Malaysia even saw Indonesia drool a bit. "It doesn't matter! WE CAN SWIM!"
Malaysia raised an eyebrow at the girl who ran down to the river, and splashed some of the water crashing back on shore. Indonesia had some sort of crazed look in her eye. This was probably because she felt so embarrassed about getting to the wrong destination that her mind was fumbling all over the place, trying to forget her past mistakes. Malaysia almost felt bad for her.
"Amita's gone crazy..." Singapore concluded after a while. North Korea could only nod in agreement.
"... Do you want me to read the map?" Malaysia asked as Indonesia stared out onto the large river. The water had a beautiful texture that almost matched the ocean's view. Indonesia sighed and mumbled a small 'no' before standing back up.
"Sorry for acting a little weird earlier. I just hate being wrong, so I became kind of deranged in the moment!" Indonesia explained, walking off quickly before she could meet anyone in the eyes.
Malaysia knew that this had caused even more embarrassment for Indonesia, who wanted to get as far away from everyone as possible.
"... Does she like the water that much?" North Korea asked.
Singapore shook his head. "She just used that as a distraction to forget how dorky she is."
"... I'd like to go to the ocean with you all someday..." North Korea said after a while. "... I'll go to Indonesia." In the same manner of Indonesia, he walked off to avoid looking flustered in front of them. Singapore turned to Malaysia and chuckled.
He put a hand under his chin, and elbow supporting the arm. "Your taste in men isn't that bad. He can be kind of cute,"
Malaysia shoved him off. "Be quiet, la. Don't try to steal him away from me."
Singapore whistled mockingly, putting his hands in his coat pocket. "Don't worry, I won't. I'm not into romantic relationships at the moment. I prefer my alone time over that."
Indonesia called them to a new cab and yelled excitedly at them. They hurried over to the car, squishing together in the supposed three seated cab. Indonesia and Singapore on the sidelines while North Korea and Malaysia were sandwiched in between them.
"North Korea showed me how to read the map correctly! He said I was holding the thing upside down." Her eyes were bright again, a tint of red forming on her cheeks. Indonesia's face was full of adoration as she clasped her hands to look up at North Korea in awe. "May I call you Hwan Soo?"
"Huh-? Sure..." He avoided her gaze, sinking lower in his seat.
"Maybe I'll call you that one day," Singapore reached his arm over to Malaysia's head, to gently pat North Korea's head. North Korea immediately slapped his hand away out of defense.
"S-sure..." North Korea blushed.
Indonesia lazily scrolled through her feed on her phone before erupting into a huge mess, shaking the North Korean next to her. She became speechless but tried to splutter out as many words as possible.
"Amita?! What are you doing?!" Malaysia shouted. Even Singapore seemed confused, and slightly worried.
"NEW EPISODE CAME OUT!" Indonesia screeched. The driver told her to shut up but her mind and body wouldn't ease over the excitement. "My favorite show... a new episode... yay..." She sighed blissfully. Seeing the sweet, cheerful look on her face made Malaysia smile. It was good that she was feeling a lot better than before. A wave of relief washed over Malaysia's face as she giggled at the excited puppy that Indonesia was.
"What's the show called?" North Korea inquired.
"Yuri On Ice!" Indonesia shouted with starry eyes. "It's a show about ice skating and the healthy love between two men."
This sparked everyone to start talking to each other. Malaysia was rather happy when they all engaged into a fun, light-hearted conversation about their favorite TV shows. When Indonesia was done rambling about how 'beautiful' anime was, Malaysia explained her passion for shows like the X-Files and mindless sitcoms. Singapore begrudgingly admitted he had really liked Indian dramas since it 'kept him on the edge'. What surprised everyone the most was when North Korea confessed he used to smuggle South Korean dramas from the blackmarket and watched it in secret from the government. This made Singapore and North Korea connect on an emotional level more somehow.
The car ride was rather short, and they all finally found their original destination. The building was large, and Malaysia couldn't believe how big a mall can be. They all split up to find each other the perfect gifts.
Malaysia tried to ignore the salesmen who kept pushing cheap perfume products in her face as she waltzed through the mall, a wave of exhaustion finally overcoming her. She had already found the perfects gifts for Indonesia and Singapore since she knew them so well, but North Korea was rather hard to differentiate. She tried to think of his likes and dislikes.
"Okay..." She muttered to herself, setting down her shopping bags as she sat down on the edge of a stone fountain. "Dislikes... Japan, capitalists, fake people, liars. Likes... he likes food, his brother, people noticing him..." Malaysia smiled at the thought of him being comfortable around others. This wasn't the usual possessive and jealous tendency of hers, but rather she wanted him to feel happy. "Having friends, the beach... he loves beautiful things..."
Her eyes widened at the sudden realization. North Korea loves beautiful things, which reminded her that he was an artist. But he didn't have the greatest drawing supplies, since hi sketch of her was on cheap lined notebook paper. She knew exactly what to get him now.
She rushed to a nearby art supply store, and grabbed the most high quality supplies they had. Malaysia tapped her foot impatiently at the check out counter as the employee scanned the thick sketchbook and expensive markers. She ran out of the store with the things she bought, satisfied with all the presents she had bought.
"Now all I need to do is find them all-"
Malaysia was interrupted by someone crashing into her. Her stuff went flying out of her hands as the person toppled over her, locking her under the person's feminine frame. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as Indonesia gave her a sheepish smile.
"H-hey there Damia..."
"Get off dummy."
"Okay," Indonesia lifted herself off the girl, Malaysia dusting herself off from the impact. Indonesia frantically scanned her surroundings, and sighed in relief. Malaysia sighed as she stood up to cross her arms.
"What did you do now?"
"I accidentally broke a figurine in a store, and when they asked me to pay for it, I ran." Indonesia nervously giggled, putting both her arms up in some sort of a shrug. Malaysia only shook her head in response. Then, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Singapore and North Korea came back. They walked up to the duo as Singapore waved at them.
"I'm done shopping. Can we go now?"
"YES!" Indonesia shouted. She covered her mouth with her hand and inhaled, lifting it off and regained her composure. "Yes..."
North Korea tilted his head in confusion. "Did something happen?"
Indonesia dismissed him with a hand gesture. "I'm fine." She said, Malaysia shaking her head. She put a hand over her hip and laughed softly. "I just got into a little trouble with the security guards, that's all." North Korea nodded.
"I completely understand how you feel. I too, am used to getting kicked out by store managers. Let's go then," And just as they were about to leave, a nearby security guard held a walkie talkie up to his ear as he pointed his finger at the group. And before Malaysia could even grasp the situation, she was running like her life depended on it. She was the slowest runner, but she still made it to the cab on time. The entire group was a exhausted mess, wheezing from the chase as they tried to regain their breath.
They were all too tired to talk. The cab driver, a woman in her late twenties with sleek black hair, pulled over after about twenty minutes of driving. She held out her hand as she gave a warm smile. "Pay up."
"We didn't tell you were to go." Singapore said. The woman laughed.
"Don't worry, you'll thank me for going here." Singapore exhaled softly. He turned her Indonesia, who had a quiet poker face the entire care ride. "It's your turn to pay it, you caused us a lot of trouble." Indonesia shrugged, but she was being fussy about it.
"It's not like it was my fault..." She muttered, handing over the currency to the driver.
North Korea opened the door and got out. Malaysia heard a light gasp from him, and got up from her seat to found out what he saw. She gaped at the beautiful view in front of her.
The large sign that said 'Winter Wonderland' had certainly caught their attention at first. It was big, over their heads, and it dazzled brightly under the setting sun. The string sensory elements of the place made her feel light and airy. But the festival was so large. Malaysia could see booths of games, arts, and gift shops from all over. She fell in love with this place at first sight. She could tell her family felt the same when they stepped out the cab and viewed the place in awe.
"We should split up. I need some time to myself..." Indonesia trailed off, rubbing her foot on the ground. Singapore shook his head.
"No. I'm going with you, you big crybaby. I can't leave you alone if you're like this." He said, patting her head. She snorted and pushed him away playfully.
"Okay, fine mom. But I'll be spending all your money if you want to be around me." Singapore cringed at the thought, Malaysia noticing the huge amount of discomfort that brought to him. Be he inhaled and held his solemn expression. Family was more important than money. She knew that was what Singapore was thinking in his mind.
"Whatever. Just don't be so hard on yourself today. Or else, I'll have to keep your Christmas gift to myself." Singapore warned.
They walked off into the crowd, Malaysia losing sight of them immediately. She smiled, knowing that Singapore will probably cheer Indonesia up with some cotton candy, or some odd festival food like that. She turned to North Korea and laughed.
"Amita is sensitive, but I think she'll get better."
"You really know her well..." North Korea said so quietly, the crowds behind him almost blurred his words. "I wish I can get to know her that well too. By the way, are those two in a relationship?"
Complete and utter disbelief washed down Malaysia's expression, as she stared at him in alarm. "Huh? Jing Yi and Amita? No way. That'd never work out at all. They're like family to each other! I don't even think they'd get together if it was the end of the world."
"Then..." North Korea put his hand under his chin in thought. "Do you like either of them?"
She was left speechless for a moment as North Korea sneezed with a small 'achoo!'. Malaysia didn't know what to say about any of this... and he was probably cold since she took his only scarf.
"Of... of course not! Well I had a one time thing with Jing Yi, but that was because England kind of pushed us into marriage! And Amita defiantly doesn't like me in that way, vice versa. There's nothing romantic at all!" Malaysia's hands shook frantically, North Korea tilted his head back with confusion.
"Why are you so anxious?" He inquired. "Are you lying? You can tell me,"
"I'm not lying, la..." Her voice croaked with exasperation. Her fingers started to twitch. "Why are you so dense...?"
North Korea looked in surprise for a moment, before pouting at her childishly. "Dense about what?"
Malaysia gave out a sheepish, tired laugh. "It's nothing. It's nothing at all..."
"Even though I haven't known those two for a while, I think I like them a lot..." North Korea confessed, putting his hands in his black coat's pockets. Malaysia had fear written on her expression before he continued. "I think we can be friends if I tried." Malaysia put a hand over her chest, sighing in relief. He almost gave her a heart attack with what he had said.
He pressed his cheek onto his coat's collar, hiding his mouth and the tip of his nose. "I'm not sure... if they'd like me. I think I annoy them by being too quiet or awkward. Do you think so?"
Her bangs cast a shadow over her eyes. Malaysia linked her arm around his, looking away from his face. She felt uneasy, and maybe a little sick. But her stomach had butterflies from it. It didn't seem like he was pulling away either. He seemed startled, stepping backwards from the impact, but it didn't make him push her away.
"Amita wanted to be your friend for a long time." Malaysia downcast her gaze towards the ground. "And this entire trip she's been anxious about how she can make you comfortable. Jing Yi isn't very good around people either. It's kind of a miracle that he can relax around someone he's unfamiliar with. I think... that you should be thankful for that. So let's enjoy the festival knowing they feel that way."
North Korea's lips parted from surprise, but smiled earnestly. Malaysia's eyes widened in surprise and North Korea gave out a small laugh. "Yeah... I get that." He chuckled, his aura shining brighter than ever before.
Walking around booths with her arm wrapped around his other, she felt like she was on top of the world. Malaysia was searching for something fun she could show him. Then, a large plush of a tiger caught her eye. She stared in awe at the animal, who looked too soft to touch. She just wanted to run her hands all over it.
North Korea seemed to have the same thought has he pointed at the booth with starry eyes. "Can we go there?" He gasped. Malaysia nodded furiously as they strode over to the game.
She went up to the booth man and asked how to get the prize. The man told her she had to shoot from one of the toy guns to the middle of the target. She has had military experience, but that doesn't mean she was a world class sniper. Malaysia had to let go of North Korea's arm to shoot the target. She missed on her first two tries, but triumph in the end when she hit the middle three times. She pointed almost immediately at the life sized tiger and held it towards North Korea's hands. He flusteredly took the doll, carefully cradling it in his arms.
"A-are you sure? You didn't have to do that..."
"But I wanted to." Malaysia loved the bashful expressions on his face or the cold, stotic ones. His warm smile or cold stare. Either one was fine, because she loved everything about him. Mental illnesses and all. She continued, "I want this tiger to be there for you if I'm not here. That way, you'll never feel lonely. Because I don't want you to feel upset about that,"
He stared at her with twinkling eyes for a moment, before he slammed his money down on the booth counter.
"Give me the gun!" He barked, startling the customers around them. Malaysia's jaw dropped as she saw North Korea hit all the targets with the determined look in his eye. It looks like he had plenty of military experience in him. In the end, the shaking employee gave him the other life sized tiger plush. North Korea gave this one to a stunned, flabbergasted Malaysia.
She waved him off and tried to reject the prize. "You didn't have to do that!"
"But I wanted to," He snorted, mimicking her earlier words. "It seemed like you wanted it as well, so how could I not get it for you?"
"B-but still! You didn't have to-"
Her words were cut short as North Korea held her in his arms. Her eyes widened in surprise as she dropped the plush to the ground, the world stopping in motion as the festival lights began to shine even brighter.
"Thank you for being there for me," Even though she couldn't see him, Malaysia could tell he was smiling giddily.
She embraced him back, nuzzling her nose against his warm neck. "You're welcome."
I hope... this satisfied you all. I'm sorry if the quality of this chapter wasn't as good. I've been having writers block lately D: On Christmas day I will post a long chapter as a Christmas special. It's going to be great. And spoiler alert, it's going to move the story along quite well. It's going to be great. Also the anime Indonesia was talking about 'Yuri on Ice' is a popular anime that almost the entire world has been watching. It's a figure skating anime about this Japanese skater named Yuri, who finds inspiration to skate from the best skater in the world (his idol) Victor.
Please review about anything you want to say, it really motivates me to work harder on getting these chapters done faster!