2Day Two - Cuddling Somewhere
VietTai - Vietnam x Taiwan
I walked at the edge of the rice plantation, surveying my hard work and deeming it good for the day. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and finally arrived onto dry grass without rice plants. My nón lá* askew, I let myself relax and slid down a banana tree in a laying down position.
This was usually my favorite part of the day. The moment you begin to relax after a day's worth of grueling work. When you see the benefits of your efforts through your squinted eyes, then close them in contentment, knowing that you did good and now rewarding yourself. That moment of sweaty satisfaction is one I enjoy living over and over.
The bright disc of sunlight was nearing it's end too, after a taxing day of giving energy and light and warmth; finally sinking into the horizon with it's pleased gratification leaking out in the vivid colors of the sunset.
It was a beautiful sight, and so through half squeezed eyes I lay in awe staring at the sunset.
Soon, the hypnotic colors made me drowsy, and I drifted off to sleep...
...Only to be woken up a mere few hours later by a cheerful voice.
"Vietnam! Nǐhǎo!"
Startled by the sudden sound, I woke up from my light nap.
"Hmm?" I mumbled, slowly arising. "Oh, chào**, Taiwan,"
Taiwan smiled brightly at me and sat next to me, leaning on the tree. I could easily say Taiwan was my best friend of all the East Asians, even all the countries. Although she was a bit too...eccentric, she was sweet and strong-willed. She was fun to hang out with. However, although we were best friends, I sometimes felt a different way towards her. It was more affectionate, but in a weird way. It often confused me, so I didn't like to think about it.
"So what were you doing just now?" Taiwan wondered aloud.
"Nothing special," I answered. "I just finished working on the rice plantation, and I was just sleeping. Why'd you come by?"
Taiwan shrugged. "I don't know, I just felt like it. Korea came to our house and he was being especially annoying today, so I wanted to escape. I figured Japan wouldn't, um, appreciate me being at his house so I came here! Besides, I haven't seen you in the longest time, and I love your house!" She beamed at me.
I gave her a tiny smile back (at least, I hope it looked like a smile—Thailand better have been successful at teaching me how***). "Cám ơn.^ But, why would you think Japan won't appreciate your visit?" My small smile immediately turned into a concerned frown.
Taiwan waved it off with her hand, but her eyes were sad. "Ah, it's nothing,"
I sent her an unimpressed look. "No. You mentioned it, and now you have to tell me. You basically asked for me to worry about you. What happened?"
"No! It doesn't matter. So...how's you government?" she asked in a weak attempt to change the subject.
"It matters now! Come on, please? Just tell me. Is he acting bad? Did Japan do anything to you? Hmm, would he do anything to you...?"
Taiwan looked horrified. "What?! NO! Why would you think that?"
Wait, what—oh. I shook my head frantically. "I didn't mean it like that! But I really won't know what to think since you're not telling me!"
"Hǎo ba^^, I'll tell you!" Taiwan relented crossly. "But it's not a big deal—I mean, it's just, we're not like we used to be, you know? Lately when I come, he just doesn't talk to me as much and only acts polite—but he's polite to everyone! We used to be able to tease each other, and now it's sort of distant? And he only acknowledges me when I talk to him and he barely answers my texts! I don't know if he thinks I'm his friend anymore and—okay, never mind, I'm being stupid, sorry."
I was shocked. It wasn't like Taiwan to get so upset over something like this. Usually when she worried about something she preferred to forget about it and move on, but now she looked on the verge of tears. I never had been one for comforting, but I used my Taiwan-instincts and cautiously leaned in for a hug. Did I have to say something? I had no idea what to say, so I decided to keep silent and let Taiwan shed a few traitorous tears.
She let go of me quickly (which made me a bit disappointed) and sniffed. "But, I mean, I'm okay. I'll forget about it. The only thing I was upset about is what did I do wrong? Is he mad at me? I just don't want our relationship to shatter...not after all we've been through," She grew quiet at the end.
Perhaps it was inappropriate due to the setting, but I couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of jealousy. Taiwan never acted this miserable about anyone, but now she was blubbering about Japan? Why Japan? Why not me? It was this irrefutable schoolgirl jealousy that made me brainlessly scoot towards Taiwan and mumble, "Well, at least you know our relationship will never shatter,"
Taiwan looked at me, surprised, but then grinned. "Aw, I know that, Vietnam! You're so cute!" I blushed and was about to scoot back when suddenly Taiwan laid her head on my shoulder. I blinked, surprised, and my blush became more prominent.
"Thank you, Yuènán.^^^ I feel a lot better. You don't know how much that means to me," Taiwan said softly, snuggling in a bit closer.
I gazed over at the fading sun. "...You're welcome, Đài Loan,"
Taiwan sighed in content and I stared at her a bit. Cautiously, I rested my head on hers and winced as I did so. But Taiwan responded warmly to it, and wrapped her arms around me. I looked down, shocked, but a ghost of a smile graced my lips and, with irrefutable schoolgirl fondness, did the same. We leaned in to one another, holding each other close, overlooking the rice plantation in silence under the dying sunlight. It was a strange feeling (I had never before touched someone so intimately!) but it made me feel warm.
And I knew that no amount of relaxation would give me as much satisfaction as cuddling with Taiwan gave to me.
[A/N]: *Nón lá (Vietnamese for 'leaf hat') - conical Asian hat, used primarily as protection against sun or rain
**Chào - Vietnamese for 'hello'
***Referring to that time when Vietnam needed Thailand as a smile coach in the Bloodbath 2011 because her face was too tense to smile properly :)
^Cám ơn - Vietnamese for 'thank you'
^^Hǎo ba - Chinese for something like 'okay, fine' or 'ugh, okay'
^^^Yuènán - Chinese for 'Vietnam'
¤Đài Loan - Vietnamese for 'Taiwan'
holy shit that's a lot of footnotes (and i'm sure you know what nǐhǎo means so)
UGH SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THE LAST THREE DAY MY INTERNET WENT BUST but here you go now
so sorry if it's lame, i tried to finish it as fast as i could
also gomen if it's kinda slow and boring at the beginning