The First Tiger (Countryhumans Fanfic)

Chapter 22

" Have you guys seen Mal?" Indo asked Phil and Marshal as they were picking food from the breakfast buffet.

" Not yet, nope." Phil said in bright voice.

" But what about last night?" Indo asked. He wondered why these two were pretty happy this morning. " I'm really worried guys."

" I'm sure he's okay." Marshal said after a pause. Their positivity was so bright that Indo was weirded out by it. He doesn't how and why they're so calm despite what happened last night.

" Guys," Singa and Brunei called them out. " Have you seen Mal? I heard about last night. Is he okay?" Singa asked them.

" I don't know." Indo told them. " And it's making me worried as heck."

" I think he's okay." Katipunan said as he approached them with a plate full of cakes and sweets. " Have you tried these? They're pretty sweet." He offered them.

" Morning, chap." Britain said in a surprisingly cheerful tone. He was being friendly and they couldn't sense arrogance in his voice. " Have you seen Langkasuka? I need to apologise for my previous behavior."

" Hm, I don't know. Maybe he's still sleeping with the others." Katipunan suggested in a thoughtful voice. " Must be nice." He mused.

" Guys, this is serious." Singa said blankly. " Mal had a breakdown and I need to know if he's okay. Cause back when I left him, he....he wasn't okay....He keeps pretending to be fine with everything." He began. " He keeps saying that he's okay but he's not. He's not okay. He keeps throwing himself in front of others and gets himself hurt and after that he acts like it's nothing but it's not." Singa took a deep breath. " After everything, the confrontation, Japan, our freedom, he...." His face changed as if realizing something. " He puts up with everything to stay independent. He's afraid that....that he'll be alone again...." They all looked at each other, the man clearly needed help. Therapy. Everything.

" Hi guys!" Mal said cheerfully out of nowhere, making Singa jump. " You enjoying the food?" He asked in a sweet tone. He was dressed fully in his Baju Melayu, complete with a tongkolok. " Is something wrong?"

" We should be asking you that." Indo snapped at him. " Are you okay?"

" Yeah?" Mal said with a confused look. " Why wouldn't I be?"

" You keep saying that." Singa grumbled. " Just admit you're not okay. Nothing's wrong about asking for help, you know?" Mal stared at Singa for a while before glancing at the other countries who were giving him worried looks. " Just. Say something-" Singa froze as Mal pulled him into a hug. He had an endearing look on his face as one would cherish a sibling.

" You're still my brother." Was all he said to Singa. " Always." Singa felt like he could cry and he couldn't even understand why. Mal had said things like that before but why did it feel so different? Mal smiled brightly at him when he let go, a smile so full of bliss and happiness, you wouldn't be able to ignore it. " You too, Bru." He smiled to Brunei. " Which kinda reminds me." He turned to Indo and grabbed his arm, dragging him across the room.

" Where are we going?" Indo asked. Was this it? Is Mal taking his revenge for the scar?

" I stood you up a couple days ago, right?" He said as he lead Indo to the karaoke machine. " Wait. It's way too early in the morning for this." Mal realized. " Oh well, I guess we could try some other time. Maybe tonight? Indo?" He froze as Indo lifted the left side of his shirt. His hand moved on its own and grabbed Indo's wrist.

" You told me you were fine." Indo said in a quiet voice as he looked at the scar. " Back then, you said you were fine." Mal released his wrist and pulled the shirt back down as his other hand covered his mouth. " I'm sorry." Mal opened his mouth to speak but faltered. The bright feeling he got that morning was fading. Singa and Brunei caught up to them and was surprised to find Mal's face looking slightly alarmed and he wasn't smiling anymore.

" What are you doing?" Langkasuka asked in a lazy tone. He looked between the four of them and almost understood immediately. He guided Singa and Brunei towards the other two nations. Indo looking regretful and distraught, almost afraid even.

" Tok Lang, it's not what it looks like. I can explain." Langkasuka pulled all four them closely to the point that they could hear his heartbeat and breath over their heads.

" Stay still." He ordered them as he glanced around for a bit, making sure no one else would look or hear them. Then he started to purr. The gentle sound surrounded them as he pulled them closer into the group hug. Mal relaxed immediately, remembering the sweet feeling when he woke up that morning with his family. Indo saw his parents, Majapahit and Zamrud, when the three of them walked together around their palace when he was so little. Singa was at a time with Temasik, then shifting to when he was with Mal in their younger years, the first time Mal called him 'brother'. Brunei was at a much sweeter time with his father, training together. " To me, you're all my family." Langkasuka said in his gentle voice. For once in a long time, all four of them felt....safe.