For all of you who don't live in America and live in some part of Asia or just any where else, it's probably the 26th of December over there. But I live in California, so it's actually Christmas where I'm at. Merry Christmas everyone, have a great time!
'It's Christmas.'
That was the first thought that had arose in her head.
Her eyes burst open as she threw off the warm, cotton sheets on top of her. She hurried over to the window and peeked through the glass to see snow piling on the cement and trees. Malaysia closed her eyes and yawned, stretching out her arms before walking lazily over to the bathroom. She tucked the tangled strand of hair behind her ear as she turned on the sink's faucet. She splashed the water on her face before rubbing it with one of her hand towels.
Despite doing her normal everyday routine, Malaysia was a bit nervous. She could tell by the way her legs were shaking with each step, and how she had almost ruined her breakfast by staring into space in thought. She was never really used to celebrating Christmas on the actual day, but rather on the twenty-fourth. And last night, North Korea texted the same thing over the phone when they had just arrived home from the World Meeting. It seemed like it was going to be their first Christmas in a long time
Malaysia glanced over at one of the wall clock's, which read '9:31 am'. She only woke up twenty minutes earlier than her usual schedule, but the thought of that just made her even more tired than before...
Just as she was finishing up her breakfast, her phone started to ring. She picked up the cell, still munching on her food, and grimaced when she noticed it was Indonesia calling. She swiped the 'call' button and held the phone close to her ear while putting a spoonful of rice in her mouth. Though it was hard to talk by doing so. So she swallowed most of the food in one huge gulp before coughing out her greetings.
"H-hello?"
"Hey Damia! Are you outta bed yet?"
Malaysia groaned. "I already was up..."
"Good! Well, I got some bad news for you. Actually... this also will affect our whole family get together!"
"What's wrong?" Malaysia raised an eyebrow, putting the phone in her other shoulder to ease the weight of the other. "Did you set your house on fire or something?"
"Haha... no. So Hwan Soo can't make it to the party."
Malaysia went silent. Indonesia kept asking on the phone if she was there or not, trying to reach her. But Malaysia just dropped the phone and stared off into space, before promptly hitting her head on the table. Malaysia's hand shook as she grabbed the phone from the ground, lying her cheek on the table as Indonesia started to panic.
"-ey! Are you listening?! Don't die of a heart attack Damia!"
"I-i... I'm fine." She shook her head before anger arose. "But what do you mean Hwan Soo can't come?! Did he change plans last minute?"
"Er... kind of."
"What do you mean, 'kind of'?!" Malaysia shouted, sitting up straight. She slammed her hand down on the table, hearing a shriek from Indonesia over the phone. "I don't understand! And it's too early in the morning for me to be yelling..." She yawned, sitting down on her chair.
"South Korea is um... he's holding Hwan Soo hostage at his house."
"... What." Malaysia blinked a couple times to process that in her head.
"I called Hwan Soo, but all I heard was screaming and South Korea yelling 'HYUNG-NIM IS MINE!' before the call ended."
"... Ah..." Malaysia finally understood what had happened. She sunk low in her seat, her chair inching farther apart from the table. "... I guess South had kidnapped him... huh..."
"... So what now?"
After moping for a while, an idea popped in Malaysia's head. She jumped up from her seat and yelped, rumbling the chair and table from her movements. She once again, reached for her phone that was lying on the table and held it close to her ear. There was no way that she wouldn't spend Christmas without North Korea. Not on her watch.
"I know!" Malaysia pounded her fist on the table. "We'll have Christmas at South Korea's place if he won't give us Hwan Soo! Go text Jing Yi! I'll be there in um- I'll be there in less than an hour... I think." All the confidence Malaysia had drained out, as she remembered how tiring it was to get ready in the morning. She laughed uneasily as she ended the call, putting her dishes in the sink.
Putting on her warm, fuzzy brown boots, Malaysia recalled that America had given all the nations the list to everyone's house. He said that we could crash anyone's house on Christmas, any time we wanted. Although it was an inconvenience to most nations, it was certainly a big help to Malaysia. She took the list and a pen out of her purse and unfolded the paper. She scanned it before marking off South Korea's address. It was time to crash into South Korea's house. Malaysia started to realize maybe she was becoming more bold and brash after meeting North Korea...
Maybe that was a good thing too. After all- if she was still the polite girl from last year then she wouldn't have grown at all. And now a year later, Malaysia stood in front of South Korea's house with food and gift bags in her arms. She nodded at Singapore, who held up his wrench in response.
"Should we really be doing this-?" Malaysia asked.
Indonesia held up her foot as Singapore shrugged. "It's too late to go back now." He said.
Malaysia sighed while smiling uneasily. "You're probably right..."
Singapore knocked on the door with his wrench. "Hey, South. You better let us in. I have a wrench, Indonesia is pretty strong in hand-to-hand combat, and Malaysia can poison you with her food."
"Don't say it like that..." She exasperated, burying her face in the mountains of presents she was holding."My food is better than anything you'll ever make..."
"Actually, all of our foods are pretty similar." Indonesia piped up, setting her foot to the ground to turn to Malaysia. "You even stole some of my own!" She pointed out.
"... Anyway." Singapore continued before Malaysia could get angry at Indonesia. "Just let us in already. I bought North a present and I don't want it to go to waste. Don't make this difficult for both of us."
A loud 'NO!' was heard from behind the door. Indonesia looked around to see if anyone was watching from the sidewalks. When the coast was clear, she slammed her foot on the door as hard as she could. The door fell down with ease as Indonesia bent down to the ground to rub her sore foot. Malaysia put her hand on her hip, setting a couple of the bags of gifts to the ground.
"You really need to learn how to pick a lock, la." Malaysia said, promptly patting Indonesia on the head. Indonesia bit her lip as she cried out in pain, before wobbling to stand back up.
She dusted herself off. "I'm fine." Indonesia sighed. "Jing Yi, can you carry me?"
"You weren't this whiny when you broke my door down," Singapore grumbled, leaning down so Indonesia could hop onto him. Once she got on his back, he lifted her up by carrying her legs. While she picked up her own bags off the floor again, Malaysia wished for a moment that Singapore would be the one carrying her and not Indonesia. Malaysia just wanted to rest...
"That's because your door was so cheap, it was like stepping on rotten wood." Indonesia laughed. "South Korea is pretty rich, you know." They all stepped inside the house, the door creaking behind them. The door was pretty strong, since the only thing that had happened was it opening up. It didn't fall down flat to the ground like Singapore's did. Malaysia snorted, remembering how much of a cheapskate Singapore can be.
The living room they all stepped into had a large Christmas pine tree. The smell and look of it made Malaysia realize this was a real, authentic kind of tree. Not the cheap ones you could buy every year. The floors were carpeted with designs of red, green, and white. But the things Malaysia paid close attention to were the candles lit around the room and the fireplace on the side. And for someone who had only lived in the house for a couple weeks, the place was decorated to look as nice and homely as possible.
"Wow..." Indonesia awed. "He even lit a fireplace..."
"... South Korea is pretty intense, huh?" Singapore concluded. Malaysia could only gulp and nod in agreement.
She looked around the room before setting her eyes on a certain thing. And the only emotion she could feel was dumbfounded. In front of her, was North Korea curled up onto a large couch with hot cocoa in his hands. A blanket wrapped around his entire body as he watched a movie on the T.V. He finally noticed their presence and turned around, his eyes widened.
"What are you all doing here?!"
"Gee, thanks." Singapore rolled his eyes. Malaysia strode over to North Korea, who had set down his cup of cocoa on the table beside him. Malaysia tugged on the blanket covering North Korea.
"Anyways, we need to get you out before South notices we're here-"
Her words were cut short as her jaw dropped in surprise. The blanket she held fell to the flood aimlessly as Malaysia's eyes were focused on a handcuffs that bounded North Korea's foot to the couch. One cuff was on his ankle while the other was to the couch's leg.
"Hey I heard my door ope-" South Korea cut himself off as he saw the trio barge into his living room, seeing North Korea held hostage. He chuckled eerily and scratched the back of his head. "I can explain..."
"How can you explain kidnapping your brother against his will by chaining him up?!" Indonesia hollered, raging from Singapore's backside.
Singapore nudged Indonesia to stop shaking before talking, "Chaining up isn't the right word, but this is still messed up."
North Korea shrugged, his expression was nonchalant. "What happened isn't as complicated as you all think it is. Tell them what happened, Yong Soo."
Everyone focused their gaze on South Korea. Malaysia could only cross her arms and lean back, giving the Korean a cold glare that could kill anyone instantly. Even though North seemed oddly fine with being held hostage, Malaysia was having none of it. Did South Korea learn anything at all from North's past? She supposed he didn't.
South Korea stuck his tongue out and stared up at the ceiling in thought before he finally answered. His set his eyes on the group before him as he smiled jokingly. "You know, I really wanted to spend Christmas with Hwan Soo. Because this would be our first Christmas together." Then he gestured his hands out mockingly. "But then he's like 'Dongsang, I already promise my new friends that I would spend Christmas at their house.' I mean come on, how cold is that? So he invites me to go with him but I'm having none of that. So I forcibly took him here and handcuffed him so he wouldn't leave me!" South Korea put his hands up to his face and rubbed his cheeks. He gave out a soft sigh, "It's our first Christmas together, his first Christmas in general... until you guys came along." He gave Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore a sharp glare before huffing in response.
"... That's still pretty messed up." Singapore pointed out. He laid Indonesia to the ground as she stood up, finally recovering from her injury. Singapore put a hand up to his chin. "Are your trust issues really that bad?"
South Korea stared at him speechlessly before putting his hands up in defense. "I-i don't have trust issues at all!"
"Then are you just a really possessive person?" Indonesia piped up from behind.
South Korea shook his head furiously. "I'm not!"
Malaysia and North Korea exchanged a look at each other before staring back at South Korea, who was frantically denying every statement thrown at him. They were both tired of this pointless conversation.
"... Dongsang." North Korea started.
"Yes!" South Korea said, ignoring the ASEAN's groups judgmental stares.
"... Will you uncuff me from this couch? My ankle is becoming sore." North Korea leaned his head forward, becoming tired of sitting in the same position for as long as he did.
"... Okay." South Korea sighed, finally giving in. He took out a key from his pocket and bent down to unlock the handcuffs. When North Korea was free, he wiggled his toes and set his foot on the floor, before promptly falling to the floor with a thud.
"Hwan Soo! Did you get hurt anywhere?!" Malaysia cried, laying on the ground on her knees.
"I'll call an ambulance," Singapore snickered, adjusting his glasses. Not putting up with his awful timing with jokes, Indonesia gave him a small punch to the arm, which made him almost fall over. As he rubbed his sore arm in pain, Indonesia kissed her own knuckles and gave him a smirk. She wasn't dealing with his attitude on Christmas Day.
South Korea also went down to his level and held North Korea's hand. "Hyung-nim! I didn't mean to accidentally murder you! I love you, so don't leave me!"
"I'm fine..." North Korea said with a impassive tone. "It's just my leg fell asleep so it's hard to adjust."
He let go of South Korea's hand and put both of his hands on the floor, his legs shaking as he held the table beside him for support. Everyone in the room stared at him in awe while North Korea pointed at the dish in Malaysia's hands. "Food."
"... Food?" Malaysia deadpanned, tilting her head in confusion.
"... I'm hungry." North Korea said with a blunt demeanor.
"Were my pancakes not good enough for you?!" South Korea stomped his foot on the ground, pointing his finger at North Korea. "I made sure to pour all my love, sweat, and tears into them and you just-!" South Korea put his hands up to his face as small tears formed at the corners of his eyes. "You just dissed my pancakes like that..."
"Ah, no. They were fine." North Korea put his hand up in front of him, signaling South to stop crying. He turned to Malaysia, with a small blush staining his cheeks. "But I really missed Damia's cooking. It's the best thing in the entire world."
Everyone's jaw dropped the moment he had said that. Malaysia stood up and handed North Korea the dish of food in her hands with a smile that couldn't fit on her face.
"Have as much as you want!" She squealed, North Korea becoming flustered at the notion. "I'm glad that someone appreciates my cooking at least," Malaysia gave him a fork and encouraged him to 'dig in'.
While North Korea started gobbling down her food as she stared at him adoringly, Indonesia went off to South Korea and tapped his shoulder. He turned to her, his expression showing confusion.
"... Do you mind if we spend Christmas here? I'm too lazy to go back to my house..." Indonesia chuckled nervously.
"NO!' South Korea yelled, balling his fists in anger. "Why would you even ask that?!"
"I'll tell China that you handcuffed your brother against his will." Singapore threatened, pushing his glass up the bridge of his nose. "And would you want that?"
"... No..."
And around noon on Christmas Day in London, the ASEAN trio had successfully infiltrated South Korea's home to spend their time with North Korea. This Christmas wasn't as lonely as last year, wasn't it?
Using the ingredients South Korea and Malaysia had on hand, they cooked a traditional Christmas feast. Or as traditional as they could've. Both nations came from different background and cultures, so their taste in food was different than America's. Malaysia and South Korea also had some disagreements preparing the dishes, which ended with Indonesia and Singapore holding them back from tearing out each others throats while North Korea ate some of the ingredients from the sidelines.
After a couple hours of innovating and changing the dishes here and there, their Christmas dinner was finally finished. Roasted duck accompanied with side dishes of eggs, salad, and various other foods as well. Everyone was thoroughly impressed by how it turned out. Especially North Korea, who even started drooling when he saw the finished product.
Although it was a hassle to fight for their favorite pieces of the duck, it was still fun to be around people at the dinner table.
While munching on one of the side dishes, Singapore asked South Korea a question. He pointed his fork up to the Korean, "Why did you buy an entire duck?"
"Well..." He scratched the back of his head and laughed. "I thought hyung-nim could eat that entire thing if he tried... but I guess he ate too much raw ingredients to even eat any duck." South Korea deadpanned, shifting his gaze to North Korea. North Korea was having trouble finishing his plate, as he rubbed his sore belly in pain. Malaysia felt bad for him and gave North Korea some tea to ease the discomfort.
The sky had already turned a pale, dark orange when they were done. And as time passed by, it became a serine dark indigo color. They all laid around or on the couch while they watched Christmas marathons before Indonesia piped up again.
"We forgot!"
"... Forgot what?" Malaysia inquired.
Indonesia waved her hands in the air, "The presents! We forgot about the presents!"
"I have none for any of you but Hwan Soo," South Korea whistled, kicking up his feet on the table.
"Oh we know that already," Singapore mused. He got up from his spot on the couch and sat near the Christmas tree, patting the empty spot beside him. "I'm getting bored, so can you all just get here already."
Malaysia was equally as bored, and and the rest felt the same way. South Korea shut off the T.V. with his remote and strode over to the tree, as did everyone else. Malaysia asked with a smile on her face, "Who wants to go first?"
"I want to!" Indonesia shouted gleefully, pushing her gifts in front of her. She peered over at Malaysia excitedly. "You go first Damia!"
Malaysia unwrapped the present carefully, admiring the paper's designs. She opened the box and her mouth spewed out inaudible words as she lifted the newest model of a steam cooker onto her lap. She was astounded by how the metal reflected so beautifully, and how the pot perfectly fitted into her arms. Malaysia fell in love with it at first sight.
"So? You like it?" Indonesia snickered.
"I love... I love you." Malaysia said, holding it close to her face. "I love you steamer..."
Singapore opened his gift to find a mug wrapped in the bag. He lifted the cup in the air and examined it.
"... Gee... thanks Amita." He said with an emotionless expression.
Indonesia huffed, "It's a mug that changes the picture on front when you pour hot liquid in it! Plus, you really like your coffee."
"... I like ice coffee." Singapore said.
"... Try hot coffee then." Indonesia shrugged. She turned to North Korea while his brother whined about being 'left out'. She balled in fists and bounced in her spot like a puppy. "Come on Hwan Soo, open it! Don't be shy!"
His first present. His first time celebrating Christmas. Malaysia subconsciously held in her breath as North Korea unraveled the gift whilst sticking his tongue out.
"WHAT THE-?!" He shouted, appearing shocked at the gift bestowed upon him. North Korea looked as if he was going to trip on his own two feet. Instead, he sat on the ground like everyone else and stared at the present uncertainly, fiddling it around with his fingers. Indonesia smirked as she let out a proud puff, putting a hand under her chin.
"So, you like it?"
Malaysia cursed under her breath as clenched her fist. She can't compete with Indonesia with an amazing present like that.
"... What is it?" North Korea asked.
"Wait- is that a snuggie?" South Korea proclaimed, pointing accusingly at the cloth in front of him.
Indonesia snorted, "It's footie pajamas. Do you like it?" She asked again.
"... I don't understand it, but thank you." North Korea said after a while.
"Why don't you wear it then!" Indonesia suggested.
"No, no. I'm good." North Korea declined, setting the gift aside. "It was cute... I think. So thank you for buying me it. It was very considerate of you, even though you barely know me."
"God, you're so polite! You're so cute!" Indonesia laughed, ignoring South Korea's childish anger rising. "Who wants to go next now, anyway?"
"Me!" South Korea shouted, handing his brother his present. "Hyung-nim, open it!" He said. As North Korea opened it, South Korea's piercing gaze didn't change one bit. The present revealed to be a brand new coat, and it looked like it was high quality too. North Korea took a peek at the price tag on the black coat with golden buttons, and his jaw dropped in surprise.
"You bought me a two hundred dollar coat?! That's worth more than my entire life!"
"Whaaat? Don't say things like that, hyung-nim." South Korea pouted. "Plus, I love you a lot. So this is my gift to you! What did you get me?"
North Korea handed him the present, and looked on the edge as South Korea opened it.
"Oh my! What a cute poncho!" South Korea squealed, rubbing the poncho on his cheek. Malaysia was actually a bit jealous of the gift, since it looked so nice and cozy. And the adorable tiger stripes and ears on it didn't cease her hidden envy.
After exchanging the gifts, Indonesia and Singapore seemed satisfied with the gifts Malaysia had gotten them. Malaysia gave Singapore a book by one of his favorite authors, and a polaroid to Indonesia. Both had responded quite well to their gifts, and thanked her shortly after receiving them. And in return, Singapore gave Malaysia a small butterfly knife to 'protect herself'. He had also given Indonesia a giftcard to one of her favorite stores, and money to North Korea. He was actually quite pleased with the gift, telling Singapore it was the 'best present he had recieved all day'. North Korea had been the last to give out his presents- a cute blanket with kitten paws as the design for Indonesia and a DVD of Singapore's favorite drama. Both were equally great gifts.
They ended the night with Indonesia and South Korea battling out on his karaoke machine, trying to out-due each other in their own duet. Singapore only cheered at them from the sidelines. Malaysia felt a tap on her shoulder as she turned around to face a flustered Korean. North Korea held a gift in his hand and anxiously glanced around his surroundings.
"Um- I want to give you your gift somewhere private."
"Oh..." Malaysia felt herself blush as she walked with North Korea outside, feeling the cold air rush from inside when she opened the door. She stepped out, her feet creating foot marks on the snow. She had also held her gift to him close to her chest, and near her heart.
"You go first!" They said in sync. Malaysia got embarrassed and peered over her side, trying to avoid eye contact.
"... You can open my gift first." Malaysia said, handing her present to him. They exchanged gifts quietly, small specks of snowflakes piling on top of their heads. North Korea had already took the sketch book out of the bag and stared at it in awe, flipping it back and forth to examine it.
"And this is suppose to be a sketchbook?" He asked. Malaysia nodded slowly, her nose becoming more chilled by the cold air. She lifted her shirt collar up to her nose in response.
"Ah, but there's more!" Malaysia said, ushering him with her hands to look further into the bag. North Korea reached inside and found the markers- twenty four different colors. And they were quite expensive too.
"Those are called Copic markers." She explained, rubbing her freezing ears with one of her hands. "They're suppose to be really good for coloring and blending, and you can refill them by putting in alcohol. They weren't that cheap, so I hope this was good enough for your tastes."
"They look amazing..." North Korea inspected the markers just as he did with the sketchbook, before putting them all back in the bag. He smiled earnestly, "Thank you. You should open my gift now,"
Malaysia proceeded to follow his orders, and took out the gifts from his own bag. Her eyes widened and immediately cooed at the small, circle things in her hands. They were cute coasters used to go under drinks or hot dishes on the tables. She grinned and laughed, "I love it! It's so cute, and I'll treasure this forever! Thank you so much."
North Korea stepped back, almost surprised by how happy she became. Then smiled again, "It's no problem." Then he started to twiddle his fingers together. "I also... have another gift for you."
While Malaysia pouted, not understanding what he meant for a moment, North Korea grabbed something from his pocket and handed it to her. It was a small, but long rectangle box. She took off the ribbon holding it together, and opened the lid. Malaysia's lips parted as she lifted the golden chain from it's contents. She could see her own reflection on the moon crescent shaped locket, with a small star hanging beside it.
North Korea avoided eye contact by staring off into the snow, scratching his neck. "I saw it in a store and it reminded me of you... I had already bought you a gift, but I had a sudden urge to buy it. Is it okay?"
"It's so beautiful..." She trailed off. "Why did it reminded you of me?"
"... Don't laugh... but it reminded me of how the stars reflect in your eyes." North Korea confessed, setting his hand down to his side while a blush formed on his cheeks. Malaysia blushed, staring at him in astonishment. He started to rub his foot on the snowy ground, looking embarrassed. "And the moon reminded me of how you, since your both always there for me. The moon is always hidden in daylight, but it's still there."
"You don't really mean that, do you?" She asked, her eyes widening.
"I do... I'm not joking."
She unhooked the necklace and placed it around her neck before locking it in place again. Malaysia chuckled, "Thank you so much. I hope this Christmas was fun for you. It was... it was really fun for me." She gently caressed the moon crescent on her necklace, the star beside it twinkling under the porch lights. Malaysia wanted to treasure it as long as she had lived.
"... It's my most favorite Christmas ever."
She nudged him playfully, "But this is your first Christmas celebration. Let's go inside, I want to drink some coffee." She raised her hand towards him, which he gladly accepted.
Malaysia never felt happier than she had ever felt before.
God I'm soooo tired. I stayed up until it was like 1:11 am in California time, but Merry Christmas! I hope this was good enough for you all, I want you all to have a wonderful Christmas. Please review... I am dying to know your feedback.