For a man who loved his own personal space above anything else, he was sure nice and cozy beside ___. Alfred must have sent Kiku up to watch over her - knowing that the Japanese teenager would not get fresh with her. Well, for once, the American was quite wrong. Kiku was holding onto her quite tightly. Whether or not he was consciously doing it, ___ did not know. Instead of shouting or getting up, she simply laid there for a while more. She would not mind watching the Japanese man sleep. She had never seen him so comfortable. His ebony locks were in his face, hiding the faint blush on his cheeks. She shuffled in the covers slightly, pulling the comforter over Kiku's shoulders. His nose twitched, and he opened his dull eyes to gaze at her. She thought for sure he was going to freak out like he normally did with close contact.

     She was wrong.

     Oh yes, she remembered now. The personification of Japan had often been awoken in the middle of the night by Feliciano. He was probably used to someone being in bed beside him. His face went a bright red, nonetheless. She knew that he was respectful of women and probably would never do this on purpose. In fact, if the two of them were still in the Feudal Era, he probably would have forced her to marry him. ___ let out a long sigh, brushing the (h/c) locks away from her face. She would have sat up now, but Kiku was still embracing her. Her own face was slowly growing warm. Even though their friendship was permanently such, she couldn't help but feel very flustered when this close to Kiku. She wondered when the last time was when they were this close.

     ___ remembered perfectly after a few moments of brief thought. It had been on the battlefield years before their high school had even been invented. Ah, the life of being Countries was a slow one. The two had been huddled in a trench, holding guns close to their chests. It had been pouring so violently that day, and it was so cold. Naturally, they had to huddle together for warmth. That was probably when ___ first fell for Kiku. He knew how to put his fears aside to keep others safe.

    The Japanese rolled over, sitting up from bed. He was still wearing his school uniform, the only difference being his lack of a tie. For a second, ___ could've sworn he was going to freak out. Once again, she was wrong. Instead, the Japanese turned to look at her, brown eyes full of worry - for her. She did have a nasty headache, and her shoulder was very sore. Nonetheless, she wouldn't complain.

    "Ohayou, ___-chan," he said, "I hope you're feeling better than I am at the moment."
    She shook her head, "I feel like crap," ___ froze, "Eh, did we do something last night? If we did..."
    The personification of Japan quickly shook his head, "No, we didn't do anything, I swear," he replied, "You were asleep when I came upstairs, apparently you were alone for a few minutes."
    "Do you know if I did anything at all?"
    Japan shook his head again, "No, I don't," he blushed, "Ah, but...do you...feel sore at all?"

    ___ took that moment to stretch her body out. No, she was not sore at all. This came to a surprise. She was sure she would end up in bed with someone. It was strange it didn't happen. However, her shoulder ached horribly.

    "No, just my shoulder," she said, "But I'm sure I probably just fell really hard or something. I hope it's not dislocated..."
    Kiku reached forward, gripping her shoulder, "No, it's fine," he stated, "Uhm, I didn't scare you did I, ___-chan?"
   
    She shook her head now. Honestly, she wasn't scared by waking up next to Japan. It was the fact that he didn't totally freak out that scared her. Then again, she was grateful. Being so near to the man brought back good memories. In some ways, she wished she could be back on the field of war again - not having to worry about the next day. Now, when she was all safe, she only worried about tomorrow. It wasn't fun always wondering if one would end up alone or not. Or if her Country would fall to the hands of someone she trusted.

    Noticing her sudden depression, Kiku did something very brave. He gently caressed her face. She looked toward him, cheeks growing warm. Her (e/c) orbs were wide with shock at the loving gesture. She shuddered slightly, looking down to her hands now. It was awkward to be surrounded by so many sleeping figures and have a gentle moment like this. Why had Japan always been so sweet to her? She never deserved his kindness. Once more, she recalled that cold night in war. She had told him many things, and the two had grown closer. She had even openly admitted to having feelings for him, even if he wouldn't accept them. That night, the two had grown closer and broke apart at the same time. He needed to space himself from ___.

    "You know, ___-chan," he whispered, "Ah no, that's not good. Sumimasen, I'm trying to come up with the right words to say."
    She gripped the comforter, "Kiku?"
    He took a deep breath, "I know you don't like it when I speak my language because you don't understand, so I'm putting a real big effort into coming up with a way to say this in English," he replied, "I might have to ask America-san, I'm not...good at this."
    "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short," she whispered, "But I have to go...I promised (friend's name) that I'd meet up with her to do some shopping for her birthday. Just...call me when you figure it out, yeah?"
     ___ begrudgingly sat in the salon, waiting for her friend to get out. She had been sitting there for almost an hour, waiting for (friend's name) to finish getting her hair cut and styled. Oh how she despised waiting. ___ let out a small sigh, flipping through the language book she had acquired, 'Japanese for Dolts'. (Friend's name) thought it would be funny for ___ to learn what Kiku was saying most of the time. Nonetheless, she couldn't work out most of the word's pronunciations. Yes, she had all ready given up. As much as she appreciated Japan and its culture, she refused to learn its difficult language unless taught by Kiku personally.

    Eventually, she gave up on waiting for her friend. ___ got up and walked away toward the other-side of the mall, hungry. Hopefully, the food court would be good. She was tired of eating sucking foods (which mainly comprised of instant potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and ramen noodles). Ah, the life of a budget-ridden high-school student without a job. She would have to get more money from her boss - it was his fault for sending to the Country-ridden school in the first place to make better relations (and how great that was).

    ___ nearly cursed loudly in front of several children when her phone run in her pocket. She fished it out, looking at the screen. A text message - from Kiku. She was honestly surprised, it had only been two hours since she left the house. She figured it would have taken him much more time to sort out his feelings and thoughts. The Japanese was always shocking her. ___ opened the message up, staring at the one word there.

Theatre

    Despite every nerve in her body telling her to go to the theatre, she didn't budge from her spot. The thoughts of being in a theatre with Kiku weren't pleasant. Instead, ___ sank down into the nearest booth and kicked back. If he wanted to talk to her that bad, he could come find her. He knew perfectly well that was how she was - stubborn. He could blame Alfred - he had rubbed off on her. Apparently, he knew that extremely well. Not five minutes after his text had he arrived in the cafeteria. Instead of his school uniform that ___ had gotten so accustomed to seeing him wear, he wore a kimono. So, he had changed before coming here too! He must have spoken to Alfred the moment she left.

    There were giggles around the food court from his apparel, but he ignored it. Kiku walked right over to the table ___ was lounging at, noticing how she was reading the Japanese for Dolts book again. He never knew she was curious to know Japanese, and it sort of made his insides squirm. He bowed politely to ___, face becoming flustered as he mulled his words over.

    "Konnichiwa, ___-chan," he stated clearly, "Somehow I knew you weren't going to the shinema. I told America-san but he didn't seem to believe me. Saiwai, I found (friend's name) and she told me you were here. Can I have a word with you?"
    ___ looked up from the book, eying his kimono for a brief moment, "Yeah, sure," she stood, "Ah, I like your...outfit."
    "Arigatou," he nodded, motioning for her to follow. "Uh, sumimasen, ___-chan, I'm really nervous. It's a big thought I have to tell you."

    The two continued to walk through the mall, Japan's shoes gently clicking. He finally opened the front door, allowing ___ to exit through it. Once both were out in the mall's courtyard, he decided to finally speak. His face was flushed pure red, and he avoided her gaze entirely. Ah, how cute he was when it came to personal subjects. If this wasn't cute, ___ didn't know what was. Soon, Japan had pulled out a card from his sleeve, holding it front of him with a shaky hand.

    "'I-I would like to be more than-than friends, ___-chan,'" he read, "'More than sweethearts too, if that's okay. I-I want us to be...married. I know of your feelings and I match them. P-please do the honor of...' America-san, this is embarrassing!"
    Alfred peered out of the nearest bush, "Just read the next card then!" he hissed.
    "A-ah okay," Japan said, "'I want to kuso you...' AMERICA-SAN! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!"

    Even though Alfred had burst in laughter, and Kiku was silently sobbing in embarrassment, ___ was in deep thought. She hadn't known the Japanese man was also in love with her. He had never shown any sort of interest until now. Yet, he wanted to go as far as marry her? Whether or not this was a joke on Alfred's part, she felt her face grow warm and her heart pound away. She never thought she would be given the chance to do such a thing. Silently, she thanked the American, glad that he had pushed Kiku forward.

    "H-hai!" she replied, bowing, "I-I'd like to marry you very much, Kiku!"

    It took a moment for her words to kick in for both nations. Alfred stood there, jaw dropped. Kiku's face went bright red too. Both men then looked relieved - America going as far as laughing at the outcome.

     "I knew she'd say yes!"