Warring Pyongyang // Reader x Countryhumans

Drinking Buddies

    As sobs stopped wracking her body, Y/N realized that her tongue was dry as sandpaper. Crying every night really dehydrated you.

    She forced herself to go downstairs to the kitchen, but stopped when she saw light coming out from underneath the dining hall door. Who was up this late?

    Opening it quietly, she peeked in.

    "Hello," China greeted her. He was dressed in his usual changshan, and leaning on a pile of the red cushions. "You're up late."

    "When did you get back?" Y/N asked, stepping in. A part of her was disappointed, hoping that it would be Korea, while the other half was relieved that she was escaping another awkward encounter.

    "An hour ago." The Chinese country smiled. "Korea didn't tell you?"

    "We're not really... talking right now," she said awkwardly.

    China's smile turned bitter. "I wonder why. He didn't seem so eager to talk to me, either. I heard about the Reunification. That's really not North now, is it?" He took a swig from a soju can on the table, and for the first time, Y/N noticed the other empty cans around him.

    "Are you... drunk?" she asked warily.

    China shrugged. "Who knows? I just had to destroy my little cousin, and I lost my best friend. I'd say I deserve to be drunk."

Y/N blinked in surprise. "...Hong Kong? Did you...?"

    The Countryhuman's laugh was just as bitter as his smile. "No. He's in solitary confinement. As for our people..." He shrugged haphazardly, slightly open changshan slipping off of his shoulder. "War is war, even when it's with family. Especially when it's with family. Come here." He took a cushion from the pile, patting it.

    "Why?" Y/N asked cautiously. The Chinese Countryhuman seemed to be in a very erratic mood.

    "You lost your boyfriend, and you look like you've been crying. I would say you deserve to be drunk, too." China pushed a can of soju towards her as she sat beside him.

    "What did he say to you?" Y/N popped open the tab on the soju, using it to quench her thirst.

    "Didn't say a word in the car, didn't even respond to my attempts to tease him. Told me to stop touching him. Not in the way that North did, he wasn't just trying to be all cold and brooding. It was like he actually didn't like me." China finished his can, and immediately opened another. "There goes my only friend. Why is North Korean alcohol so sweet?"

    He critically examined the can of soju with his semi-open eyes. But instead of the threatening edge that they usually had when open, he just looked sad and soulful.

    "Hey, China?" Y/N said awkwardly. "I'm sorry for calling you heartless that one time."

    "You shouldn't be- I am heartless." He was slurring his words slightly. "I don't even remember you saying that."

    Y/N thought that he did, though.

    "Drink more." The Countryhuman tipped her can, and Y/N sputtered as the soju poured down her chin.

    "Hey!" She grabbed China's can, and splashed some on his face.

    The Countryhuman stared at her, eyes slits.

    At first she wasn't sure if she had crossed a line, but then the country started laughing, doubling over. As she felt the warm alcohol drip run down her nightgown front, Y/N started laughing, too, uncontrollably. It was probably part hysteria, but it still felt good.