He awoke from his slumber, feeling his tear stained cheeks. "Have I been dreaming again?" He sighed. He's been getting countless of nightmares and dreams, some of which are scary or some, angsty.
He looked at the digital clock on the table beside him. It was 6:30 am.
He got up from the comforts of the bed. He and China had bought a shared beach house, which was actually pretty nice and big. The view was amazing, and the sea was right beside them, and it was prerty isolated from the tourist-y spots.
Philippines peeked out of his room, and quietly walked out of the house. Hopefully he's a heavy sleeper. He thought.
He felt his feet touch the soft sand, and he walked along the coast. The only source of light being the reflected light of the moon, and the only sounds being crickets of insects and the sounds of the waves crashing onto the land.
It felt pretty soothing, it reminded him of home.
He sat down on one spot, looking up at the full moon, and looked at the billion stars in the sky. It wasnt everyday you got to see them.
He closed his eyes with a satisfied smile, taking in the calming atmosphere. He placed his arms on the sand to support his weight, and he felt a sea shell beneath his finger. "Oh!" The filipino exclaimed, as he picked it up and looked at it. It was a beautiful blue conch, though small, being pretty outweighed it.
"Morning, 阳光." A voice said, happiness and tiredness in the man's voice. Philip jumped in his spot and looked up. "China!" He was suprised of his sudden appearance. He didnt even hear or notice the chinese man come up to him. The country looked down at the conch and sat down beside Philip, wanting to grab it for a look. He wore a calming smile, and examined the conch.
"This is very pretty, it fits you. We should make a necklace out of it." China gave it back, staring into Philip's eyes. The filipino was caught off guard by the man's politeness. He's never seen China act like this, he probably noticed he thought of this because his expression was confused. "What's up?" China asked. "What- what do you mean?" Philip questioned, a bit embarrassed.
"You're staring at me pretty weirdly.." Laughing, he at the symbol in Philip's flag with a light smile. "Sorry. Its just that, Ive never seen you so.." The southeast asian trailed off, not findig the right words. "Nice? Not terrifying? Probably something I picked up from one of my relatives." China shrugged, looking away. They both sat in silence. Though, not awkward. "You know how to play ukelele?" China asked, breaking the silence. Philippines shook his head. "Well, I guess? I learned it last century when I felt a bit alone." Philip said, and China nodded, running back to their beach house without notice and word, Philip just stared at him while laughing.
He was left with nothing else to do except stare off into the distance.
China came back a few minutes later, with a ukelele in hand, and he sat next to the filipino. "Alright, play for me." He handed over the instrument, waiting expectantly. Philip's eyes widened and he laughed. "I'm not sure I can..." He said with a giggle. China rolled his eyes playfully, "I'm you can, try." He encouraged him and Philip sighed as he started strumming the strings, playing a beautiful melody. China listened intently, while looking at the Philippines as he focused on the strings. He wasnt bad, he was actually a bit good at it.
The Chinese then caught on with the melody, humming along. The filipino chuckled to himself as he heard him, and then finished playing. "Was it good?" Philip asked. "It was.. decent." China smiled, and the southeast asian bursted out laughing. China raised an eyebrow, confused on to why he was laughing.
"What?" Philip tried calming himself down, and looked at the man beside him. "You know.. I'd expected more praise. I didnt just go a few decades of boredom just for this, 'It was decent'!" He had mocked China in the nicest way possible, cracking up once more. The chinese man couldnt help but also laugh, he didnt know what he found funny, but it was the atmosphere in the scene that made him laugh.
"Let's see you try-" Philippines handed over the ukelele, and China's eyes widened in shock as he froze in spot. "You think I can play this?!" He whined in dread. Philip snickered. "Just try," He forced the ukelele on his lap and China picked it up, his mind spiraling.
He strummed the strings, and it did not sound pleasing. Philip burst into fits of laughter, laying on the ground as he held his stomach. China looked at him, clearly offended.
"Ah, you suck!" The southeast asian cackled. He sat up, with the most funniest laughter face China had ever seen. He giggled at it. "Ah.. this is the most fun Ive ever had in a long time." Philip suddenly said, as he looked at China with a smile.
"Thank you for bringing me here.." He looked away, into the horizon. The sun was rising, and the sky got brighter and brighter. China peered at his face, not knowing what Philip's expression meant. "You got this far. You deserved it." China replied, and he looked out at the sky. It was a beautiful sight.
He could see a few stars on one side of the sky, and on the other, the rising sun. He never knew it could be so beautiful.
"Well.. we have a long day ahead of us. Why dont we get a bit of rest?" China stood up, glancing down at the Philippines, who looked at the horizon longingly. He looked up. "Yeah. Yeah.. lets get rest." Philip stood up, accidently holding China to support his weight. He jumped silently, but when China didnt react he just left it.
The both walked to their shared beach house, hopefully for a bit of sleep.
-.-
"You seem happy. Whats up?" China asked as he puts on his watch, just incase he needs the time and his Phone dies. Philip looked at him with a smile on his face, all while putting stuff in his bag.
"Ah.. I dont know. This sudden thought of finally seeing a relative of mine just makes me happy. Ive been way too lonely for like- decades! And now, I have my brother." Philip flashed a big grin, as he zipped up his bag, not fully, and put the straps on his shoulders. He looked at China with a nod.
"I'm ready! But.. why dont we go to the mall first?" He suggested, China's eyebrows raised. "Why?" He asked, putting on a mask, and getting a hat to cover the sun away from his eyes. Philip did the same.
"I just feel like we could use some snacks, and we could definetly get some souvenirs." He suggested. China nodded, "Very well," was all that he said.
There was nothing wrong with it after all, because he was quite hungry, and they barely had anything to eat. Plus, he could go for a few little charms.
They walked outside, calling a taxi to head to the big city. It was Philip's dream to go to Hawaii and visit the amazing spots, which they werent doing, but he was glad he'd atleast stayed near the beach and visited the city. Which, was on his list of things to do, someday.
"Look at the ocean! Its so pretty!" Philip said in awe to China, pointing to the Pacific Ocean. China smiled. "Yeah. But dont you get these views all the time aswell?" He asked, saying because Philip had like, thousands of islands in his home country, and he thought he'd see the ocean all the time.
"You'd be suprised. But yeah, I guess. I just felt the need to compliment the ocean." He shrugged, turning to China with an embarrassed smile, and redness on his cheeks. China chuckled at it and looked away.
Philip sighed as he leaned on the window.
Shortly after, they arrived. "Thank you! Here's your money, keep the change!" Philip gave the driver money with a grin, and the Driver nodded with a smile, waiting in his spot for another customer. Philip turned to China, who looked around.
"Where exactly do you wanna go?" He asked, adjuting his mask. He didnt really wanna be seen by other people, thus the reason why he was wearing it. "We should just go around, window shop!" Philippines suggested, China couldnt argue so he followed Philip around the building.
They went to get breakfast first, and then went to the grocery store to buy snacks for themselves. "Agh, this ones so heavy!" Philip exclaimed and China rolled his eyes. "You complain too much." China snickered as he held the bag Philip thought was heavy, and gave him the lighter one he held.
"Oh, what's that?" The archipelago had spoke, pointing to a large crowd not too far the in distance. He didn't know there was a big event happening. "That? Dont ask me." China looked at the crowd. He too was kind of curious but he didnt show, because he thought it was irrelevant and stupid anyway. "Can we check?" Philip asked with a few blinks. China mumbled and nodded. They both walked side-by-side to the crowd, pushing through to see what it was.
It seemed to be some people dancing, cultural dances, they presumed. All the people who participated in the dancing had huge smiles on their face, but the attention seemed to be pointed at a very familiar person.
"What!?" China's eyes widened in a sudden anger, but he said it quietly. Only enough for only Philippines to hear it, he too was shocked. Basically frozen in place as he stared at the person. "Pearl, we have to go." China pulled himself together and he took Philip's hand, but America had noticed them just in time. Philip looked horrified as he looked back, and was forced out of the crowd.
He felt something fall out of his bag, but he couldnt react. The crowd was too big and he was bound to lose it.
"Agh.. why is he here.." China groaned in disappointment. Philip looked at his bag in worry. "Talk about bad timing." The chinese added, like he was talking to himself. He noticed that the filipino wasn't responding and looked down, and saw that he was frantic. His eyebrows raised.
"What happened?" Philip turned his head to him, and China almost screamed like a girl at his face. "My phone! It fell out-" Philip was near tears and China made a confused face, wondering why it was such a big deal. "You can just replace it." He pointed out, and Philip almost went ballistic.
"You don't understand! Some important thing is inside the case! Agh, you're right about the phone but the case, its more valuable then any money, like, ever!" Philip yelled and put his hands on his head like he was going to put on a tantrum. They got stares from surronding people, and China looked at the crowd, which was very far away from where they were. China turned redder than he already was, "Look, we'll find it! Just calm your ass down!" He said while palming his face with his hand. Philip's nose was red and he had tears forcing themselves out of his eyes.
"What if we dont? Its the end of my life.." Philip looked at China with the most worried face. China almost felt a bit guilty. "Uh.. we will." He wasnt the best at comforting. He tried.
The Chinese watched as Philip wiped his eyes with his shirt. While he was doing that, China picked up the two bags, light and heavy. He groaned and put them on the floor, transferring some snacks from the heavy bag to the light one to make them equal. He shouldve done that earlier, but he didnt.
He glanced back at the crowd and saw that it became smaller in number, and he was thinking if the phone had already been taken by a passerby. He was also thinking about what if they happened to bump into America, he really wouldnt want that.
Both Philip and China walked to where the crowd was, it had dispersed and only a few people were there.
"Where did you drop it?" The east asian scanned the floor, for a phone with a red and blue case, and yellow sun in the middle. Philip ran everywhere near the place, and didnt even listen to China. He looked panicked.
China huffed. There was no stopping him. It took a few minutes before Phil walked back to China in dread. "I can't.. find it anywhere..." He covered his face with his hands.
"Hey, uh.." A young girl tapped Philip's shoulders. Both China and Philip turned around to look. "Hello?" Philip wiped his eyes, and looked down at the child.
"Is this your phone?" She asked, showing a phone, with red, blue yellow and a little phone charm hanging from it. Philip's eyes widened in happinesss. "You found it! Thank you!" Philip took it with gratefulness and a huge smile, and he opened the case, revealing a photo of him and two different people. China peaked, and saw that it was Martial and some other man.
"No problem. I didnt find it.. Mr. America told me to give it to you." She pointed at a man who was drinking from a bottle of water, and talking with some other person. Philip looked that way and his smile faded, but as he looked back at the girl. He smiled.
"Koa!" A woman shouted. "Coming!" The girl shouted. "Bye bye!" She waved and hopped to her mother, and Philip looked down at the objects in his hand. China looked with disgust at the American and looked back at the photo.
"Who's the other man?" China asked with curiosity. Philip looked at him with a soft smile. "That's my older brother, Del." He handed over the photo to China, so he could show it. Back then, Philip looked pretty cute. China giggled at Martial, never expecting to see a younger version of him.
"I should.. thank Ame." Philip said. Looking at China with an awkward smile, knowing he would disaprove of it. "If you want to. Ill be waiting." China pointed to a few chairs, not wanting to meet the American. Philip nodded. They both went their ways, China going to sit down, and Philip going to thank America.
He took a large breath before approaching him. "..Joe?" He spoke, looking up at the American. He turned around and his eyes widened, but then it softened. "What a suprise." America looked at him without an expression. Philip looked down at his hand, which carried his phone. "Thank you for finding my phone..I dont know what I wouldve done without it." Philip said rather shyly, but with a small smile. America sighed.
"No problem. I knew it meant a lot to you. What are you doing in Hawaii?" He asked, in interest. "I needed a break." Philip said, getting straight to the point. Even though, it really wasnt that. I mean, he guessed it was half of it. "You couldve told me." America laughed this time, and with a genuine smile. "Seriously? With your work? Agh. Id never." Philip looked at his face, with a giggle.
"Anyway. Who's that with you." Ame nodded his head towards where China was, and Philip turned red. "Oh.. him? That's.." He thought. "Vietnam!" Was the first thing that came to mind, he guessed it was fair to say that. America raised his eyebrows in suprise. "That's Nam? He looks different now." He squinted his eyes, and Philip popped infront of him to block his view. "Yeah.. he's got a new style. Haha." He faked laugh, which basically fooled Ame. He nodded.
"Could I say hi? I havent met him in a while." America waved his arm to exaggerate. Phil tensed. "I dont.. I dont think he wants to meet anyone-" Philip looked back at China, and noticed he looked up. Thankfully, his face was covered with a mask and a hat. "It wouldnt hurt to try, wouldnt it?" America gave him a closed-eyed smile, which creeped Philip a bit.
Before he could object, America walked over, China was already glued to his phone, so he couldnt see anything. Philip's heart was beating so fast as he chased America. He couldnt do anything anymore.
Before they approached China, America stopped. Philip was confused, until security came and forced China up. "What the hell?! I didnt do anything!" China yelled, his phone dropping to the ground, and their groceries being left. Phil's eyes widened as he quickly turned to America who had a smirk. "Joe! What?!" Philip said in anger.
"Get off!!" China's hat fell, revealing the very five stars on his flag. "China.." Philip muttered under his breath in helplessness. China's eyes landed to the both of them, and his expression turned into anger. "China!" Philip exclaimed as he ran to him, America stopped him, grabbing him by his hand.
Philip's eyes widened as he turned around. "Joe! Please! Let me go! Why is security taking him away?" He yelled, with a crowd forming, looking at the incident.
America took a deep breath. "Because I dont want you being with him. Besides, what is a commie like him doing in my country?" He said in a low, calm voice. Clearly Philip wasnt having it.
Philip struggled to let free, but America's grip was way too strong. Philip watched as he was taken away.
"Let go of me Joe!" Philip waved his arm around so he could be released. America didnt say anything. Only, he let go. Philip looked at the groceries that were left, and China's personal belongings. He ran to China's purse, and saw that his phone was on the ground. He quickly picked it up, opened it. "Phil! What are you doing?!" America came up to him, his now sweet tone, was now very strong and strict. "None of your buisness, seriously! Why are you still so.. controlling!?.." Philip almost had tears coming out of his eyes, as he looked through his contacts.
He saw the one he was looking for, and he put it in his pockets. He grabbed the bags and walked away. "Goodbye, Ame." Philip turned around with a sad face, and left.
[ Ahh. New chapter!! Also, im making a better cover for this book, because the one i did was quite rushed and ive gotten better at making covers, so looking forward to that! ]