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Chapter Text

1967.

"So, that's all proposed! Agriculture, tourism, economy and peace," Singapore read out from his notes. "I'm guessing that this article for you to read and sign will be short, but I guess it would be presentable. After all, it's just the first time we're doing this."

Thailand walks in the room and holds 4 pieces of bond papers with typewriter writings-the proposal. All they need is to sign the pages, and that is all for today, at least they thought so.

She placed the small stack onto the table gently. "Who will go and sign first?"

"I'm up for it," the Philippines said, preparing a pen on hand. He then dragged the group of papers slowly into his side, and gently reads all of the 'points'.

"Go ahead, I'll go next," Malaysia volunteered, as he reached out to his pockets and grabbing a pen.

"What about you, Indonesia?" Singapore asked.

"I'll go after one of you, you can decide the queue if you want," Indonesia shrugged. Both Singapore and Thailand nodded to his response.

"Alright I'm done po," The Philippines stated, and arranged the papers back to it's original order. "Your turn, Malaysia?" Malaysia nodded, and grabbed the papers from the Filipino's hand.

"How about this, Singapore will go last, I'll go next to Malaysia and Indonesia could go next to me," Thailand suggested. 

"Sure, like orders mattered anyway," Indonesia shrugged and commented.

"I'm down with that," Singapore sighed, as he closes his brand new notebook he bought just for this meeting.

Several minutes later, everyone's almost finished. Singapore was left unsigned. As Indonesia passed the papers to him, he gave off a wink. "Are you ready to make Southeast Asia a better place?" Malaysia asked from behind.

Singapore sharply looked at the part where he needed to sign. He sighed and released force on his face as he slowly but surely, signed successfully.

The 5 countries then looked at the last page of the documentation. Full of signatures, just what they wanted. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations—or ASEAN for short—has officially been created.

Philippines and Thailand both clapped in glee, Malaysia's expression became a little happier than he was, Indonesia gave off a positive mood (but attempted to hid it with his hand on his face) and Singapore just gave off a happy grin. All of the 5 countries were happy from the news that they themselves made some peace for once, and hopefully forever. Second time's a charm. 

"That's it," Thailand sighed. "If you can suggest anything then approach Phil, he's our chairman for now."

Everyone in the room nodded. That was it, they thought. 

They thought.

As everyone (but Thailand) was preparing to go back at their respective territories, a huge wave of air was felt through their skin in unison. It was strong and relaxing, it wasn't strong enough to blow them away like sticks. Thailand walked outside to see a person by her lawn, turning at their back. Thailand then approached the 4 other countries and called Singapore.

"Uhh, Singapore? Do you know who's that?"

Singapore wipes his glasses and puts them on once more and investigated it's features individually, and it turned to him. He had white skin with a yellow circle for a face with 5 brown lines shaped like a haystack in the middle. The figure had big golden wings at his back, and a golden saturn-like ring that floats around it's head. His eyes were just yellow as the sun.

The MaPhilIndo trio looked at the direction where the pair was looking and saw the same figure. Indonesia was the first one to speak.

"H- Hi?" He waved, and stuttered. Wasn't this the first time he met someone with such things before?.

"Whoa- Who are you?" Philippines curiously asked the figure.

"I'm ASEAN," the figure responded.

🌾

Chapter Text

1972.

They needed to expand their economy.

It's not that they have theirs individually, they need to work as a team. It's been several years since the formation, all they did was go to peace with each other. Sure, meetings were here and there, but nothing really else important.

This eventually made it up to now. The (then) white-colored organization walked in a fellow organization's office due to an invitation.

The European Union. 

The EU was a serious fellow organization, he was aggressive. In other words, it's really strict compared to ASEAN. ASEAN himself actually looked up to him once the organization was founded. He basically acts as his role model, and now he's invited to do something with him. He was somehow sent an invitation to have a said brotherhood. This was mostly about economic relations however, probably things will escalate more nicely soon.

ASEAN excitedly walked in the office, to be greeted with a really cool color scheme. The building was small, sure, but surprisingly it looked so good. Blue, white and yellow was the color scheme he would observe in the reception room. He admired the small view while it lasted, until the EU appeared on his sight.

He had pitch, full on black eyes with white pupil (unlike ASEAN's normal ones) and had a ring similar to his, this time with little stars surrounding it. He was also wearing a black suit business attire and showing off his dark blue wings, the exact same color of his overall royal blue color.

Both organizations stared at each other for a little bit, until one of them spoke out.

"Hello, ASEAN. Thank you for responding to my invite," EU spoke, as he reached out his hand for a handshake.

ASEAN nodded, and gave in the handshake. He then pulled back and brought up. "Thanks for bringing me here, it's truly an honor."

The 12-star organization smiled. "Alright, we have to discuss matters. Perhaps, would you like a cup of tea?"

"Sure, I don't mind," he grinned.

Minutes later, they found themselves in an office. It wasn't EU's office however, it seemed like it was an interview office or some sort. It would make sense for him, it's the first time they have formally met after all.

Their conversation during the duration of the day was mostly about how similar their experiences had been ever since the formation of both organizations. They both had countries that were extremely annoying to handle, both had similar thoughts, and a whole lot more. Adding to the mini-conversation, ASEAN was also given some tips by the EU.

Eventually they stumbled across the topic of trade. Both sides agreed that their economy would change positively when they would open trading. Therefore, ASEAN called off EU as his first ever trading partners in the entire world.

Chapter Text

"Welcome to ASEAN, Brunei Darussalam," Thailand noted, as she shook the new member country's hand. "You have been officially accepted as our first non-founder member in the organization, hopefully you can contribute as much as we do from now on." The fellow country, wearing her national costume (the baju kurung), shook it back, then backed off. She would start having a casual conversation with the Philippines after.

ASEAN wasn't really a part of their discussion, so he decided to stay put at his seat at the corner. He never was part of the discussion of new members joining anyway, he wasn't allowed to discuss over it yet. He also doesn't really mind any members joining, he just want the organization safe during the cold war.

Brunei herself just gained independence a few months ago, and so far is doing great as a small and new country. She is informing laws as strong as ever, and her economy was doing really well. ASEAN was happy that there was at least one country younger than him to say so the least. 

As the conference ended, all of the countries decided to walk home. Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia headed out first to do something else related to political scandals. Thailand then walked out of the room later on, after grabbing some files. That leaves Singapore and Brunei talking to each other.

Conference aftermaths are literally the most awkward time to stand up and talk. The organization would often be left behind in certain modern topics. He wasn't really the talkative type (well, yet), so if told to talk outside work, he would often stammer or just don't respond, which isn't surprising as he never really talks in meetings in the first place. Although, his confidence to communicate sort of improved since EU came to his career, the European even considered him as a 'friend' outside of the organizational activities, ASEAN doesn't consider him as a friend yet.

He was just doing his normal thing on the corner, reading a book about history. He is somehow fascinated reading about it, especially Asian history and the conflicts erupting from it. Although it doesn't come a surprise to many since he is an Asian organization after all, but it was due to the fact a peace maker was reading about wars and liked them... somehow.

He was in the middle of reading the history of Malaysia during World War II. As he flipped to the next page, he then got approached by the new member, and Singapore.

Singapore was one of his founding members. He was the youngest of the group (before it being Brunei) and the one that contributed the most in the association so far. He was his loyal follower and the most hardworking in the group, despite on how small his country is. He was also known for being relatively close to Brunei, as they actually both had similar experiences with Malaysia.

"Hey, ASEAN!" The country-state called, approaching the white-colored organization with some sort of... Brown box?

Brunei actually was behind him, probably a little nervous to talk to ASEAN face to face. It was normal to see for ASEAN though, people get nervous when he's around.

"Hai, Singapura. What do you need?" He asked with a hoarse voice. He hasn't spoke in the entire conference, in fact he barely spoke that entire day. The earlier meeting was literally about someone being his new member. That reasoning alone could explain his deep voice at that moment.

The newer member behind the bi-colored country gave off a confused look. "He talks?"

"Yes- Erm sir- I just really want to give you something for outside of work purposes," he stated. "If... You don't mind, of course."

ASEAN paused for a little bit, putting the bookmark on the page he just flipped and closed it. He sighed, "Alright, Singapore. Also please don't call me 'sir' if we're outside of work."

"I apologize," he said, handing over the box he was still holding towards the organization. "This is something from Brunei and I, we really like to give this to you."

Brunei just nodded behind the country and decided to step to the side to reveal herself a little bit more. The organization accepted the box and investigated it for a little bit. Should he open this right now? From all he knew, he doesn't usually accept gifts, as he barely received some anyway, but the gut feel seemed like it's something else special or some sort.

"Uhm, you can open it on front of us," the female smiled. "I don- We don't mind... Really."

He looked over the box once more and decided to shake it a little to observe. It was solid, and it fits the box almost perfectly. After observing, he opens the box lid. He was then greeted by 3 different colored books, a (deep) blue, a yellow and a (crimson) red one. Curious, he opened the yellow one and scanned through the pages, as it caught his eyes first. It was actually hand written, and all in the Malay language... And it seemed like it's something related to writing someone's life.

The haystack-icon organization asked, "What's this?"

"Yeah… I guess I needed some explaination here. That's Brunei's journal, I believe," Singapore stated. "Basically, Brunei and I decided for a little gift or whatever that... Maybe we should hand over out journals. We- I mean I personally know that you needed more knowledge with Southeast Asian history... Thought it would be a good reason."

"Yeah..." Brunei backed up. "Singa actually told me about the organization the day after I got my independence, and about you so..."

The room was then filled with silence for a little, as the association looked back at the book and flipped the pages again. Breaking that silence, Singa added, "I know you two haven't been interacting until today. I guess it's a good chance for it to you know, know out relationships better? I haven't been talking to you outside of this either."

"We can give you some silence for a bit," Brunei stated, starting to become confident with her own words.

ASEAN would nod and he stumbled to a time when "the United Kingdom decided to help Brunei with her independence". He then picked up the red journal, to see that it was now written in English and Malay. That might've been Singapore's.

He scanned through the pages quickly until he stumbled across the last page. The formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He flipped onto the next page, and there was nothing written on it anymore. There were 5 blank pages that wasn't filled up yet. Due to this, he then pulled out a question, "Why did you stop here?"

"Huh? Oh-" the country expressed. "Yeah, I lost the journal after the organization was formed so it stopped abruptly there... It wasn't too early since that journal started anyway, it started when I met Malaysia. I don't think Brunei started it as early as it was as well."

"Y- you didn't start another one?"

"I kind of did plan to continue it after I saw it yesterday, I did start a new one. It seemed like a happy thing to end it with anyway."

Brunei corrected. "You technically left it with a cliffhanger, they are lame. Saya mengakhiri tambang dengan kemerdekaan." [I ended mine with an independence.]

"Uhm- If you two fight over a journal ending, you know the consequences," ASEAN sarcastically stated. He wasn't a really good jokester to begin with. It was just an uncommon thing that he would pull out in a conversation.

"Come on, Negara Brunei," Singapore whined. "Sequels... You know I've started writing the other one!"

"Hmph, they still suck," she protested. 

"Fine- whatever," he rolled his eyes. 

ASEAN chuckled, and closed the red book. He placed the red book on his lap and picked up the deep blue one. If that's Brunei's and Singapore's, what should this be? He opened it, there was literally nothing on it.

"Oh that? Decided to give that to you just in case you really want to do them as well," Brunei stated.

"You don't have to use it as a journal though, just do anything with it," Singapore remarked, crossing his arms. "Just don't use it for something stupid. I gave you that."

He looked at both countries and close the empty book. "Well, that was really kind of you, honestly. I don't know if you're comfortable with me reading your struggles or anything..."

"I don't actually mind now," Singapore stated. "This organization has existed for a while now to the point where I treat this as my second family. I wouldn't be giving that to you if I don't trust this."

The female nodded. "If he trusts you, then so do I."

ASEAN smiled at them, a little flattered from Singapore's little compliment. The first few years were difficult for him to adjust, everyone basically started teaching him how do things work. Gladly, he was pretty much a fast learner and after 2 years of its formation, it had been flowing so well. 

"Thank you," he formally addressed.

Chapter Text

Welcome to 1997, the year that would mark a new era for ASEAN.

Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia all joined the organization ever since Brunei's registration and the Cold War. One more country to go—Timor Leste—and they basically have the entire sub-continent. Although, that country didn't pass the requirements for entering yet, he was still accepted as an observer state, just like Papua New Guinea.

However, right now… It’s an October.

As per tradition and routine, Philippines was invited to go to a beer festival, at Germany's. This was pretty normal due to him attending and hosting a lot of festivals himself, he would usually get drunk once he gets home to his apartment. It's been 7 years since he came back and fourth to that place, ASEAN was the one dropping Philippines to Germany's place after all. He kind of did didn't drop him off one time though, it was when he wasn't in a great mood to pick him up 3 years back.

For once more, he couldn't drop Philippines back there today, despite his really worried expression. He needed to observe some things around Vietnam, due to its recovery and it's ideology being different to the rest of southeast Asia. This leads him until now.

He was walking around a rice field, signing some papers here and there, but overall just observing every Vietnamese farmer at work. It was late afternoon, so the population of farmers around the area started decreasing, as everyone started going back to their homes, or their huts.

By that thought, he came close to a big rock nearby and decided to sit on it.

The sunset from behind the field looked amazing, it had the perfect transition of yellow-orange-blue colors. The sky basically looked like a painting. There was literally nothing but high, stratus clouds have been around the sky. The birds were starting to get quiet and the small buildings around him started to light up.

The temperature became colder than usual, an indication that it's becoming dark. He didn't know where to go yet, there are still some farmers on the field, doing some finishing touches. The farmers were just there, cleaning up the field as fast as possible. He would go and help, but his purpose was to sign papers at that point.

Agriculture was one of the purpose of his existence, his logo itself even represents strands of wheat. Now he jumped into the thought of his logo, his head went a few months back into an argument within the entire organization.

The colors.

It felt so... wrong? 

Light blue and bright yellow doesn't fit together. He's fine with the symbolism and everything... but why those colors? Who knows why the founding five chose them. He hated it. 

Crap, he also hated the fact that he needed to live with golden wings and somehow ring. It was normal for organizations, sure. EU literally has them as well. He just didn't think that his colors was ever good with his color combination. He didn't choose the color for his wings, he was technically made to have it and can't choose, the founding five also can't change it.

But why gold?

His argument isn't only the colors, it was also the fact that his icon itself needed a change. It felt outdated now.

The countries kept arguing about it back at June that year. ASEAN couldn't be apart of the argument, although he did have a side that he wanted to change the logo so badly. Myanmar, Laos and Malaysia had his side of the debate though, he can't just speak out to change everything. That wasn't the first argument about it though, there was one back at summer of 1981 which escalated to a friendly meeting quick.

He made his golden wings rest on the ground as he scanned the area. The sky has officially went dark and the night stars started appearing behind him. It was beautiful.

Why didn't he come outside as often as possible?

He was too busy with something else. He didn't have much free time. He liked nature as much as he supposed to, did he?

After a few more seconds of admiring the beautiful sunset, the 10-country organization stood up, with his wings positioned properly and decided to walk to the nearest hut. He needed to go, it was becoming night. He said his goodbyes to the Vietnamese farmers he can find, and now he was following a path, a rocky one.

He remembered this area, he passed here before. Not a long time ago, just this morning. The sun started to go down, and minutes later, it did.

The night sky, it was colored with black and dark blues. The white and bright stars dominates the sky, together with a probably perfect, crescent moon.

He eventually looked straight to his direction. ASEAN found his way walking in the dark and shallow pavement. No light was around him, except his halo and the faint glow of his wings. He basically couldn't see anything but the night sky and himself. He immediately panicked.

"Apakah saya bahkan melalui arah yang benar?" [Am I even going through the right direction?] he muttered in Indonesian, slightly hissing at the fact he heard a bat nearby. Yikes, that startled him just a tiny bit.

He walks more through the pavement, then he realizes that he was in a forest. He wasn't in the forest since he first got to the field, this thought made him jump.

"Ack, Saya tersesat?!" [I'm lost?!]

This wasn't the first time he got lost though, it was the first time he got lost in a dark forest with no companion. He then checked if he brings his own belongings, he brought nothing. He then muttered to himself in Filipino, "Ugh, dapat akong dinala ang bag ko, bakit hindi ko naisip yun- argh!" [Ugh, I should've just brought my bag today, why didn't I think of that-!]

He gets frustrated as he continued walking through the forest, kicking a piece of stone on the way. Eventually, he stopped walking. Now, he's just there. Standing in the middle of the forest.

"It's been thirty years and you still don't know how to handle this," he reasonated himself silently. "No wonder why UN hasn't affliated with you yet..."

He was now at the peak of frustration, guilt, anger towards himself. He has now been lost in this probably Vietnamese forest. Who knows what could happen next, hunters mistaking him for a glowing bird? Birds do fly, and he had wings.

Wait.

He had wings.

Unlike the other organizations he had met or known so far, he never really practiced flying, he was busy with almost everything. It was supposed to be ASEAN's monthly break that day, but what he did was instead serve the community. Everybody had mixed reactions on it, some say that it was kind of him, others kept saying that he needed a break. It's been flowing like that for at least 20, or even 30 years now.

The only time he flew was literally at the first day of his existence, he basically flew his way towards Thailand's house. Nothing else.

He moved on from that thought immediately. He sighed as he gave himself a checklist in his head.

He didn't bring anything but his ball point pen, check. 

Nobody near, hopefully check.

Is his hair okay? Who cares, he's about to fly anyways, like it's ever going to be fixed whilst flying, so that's a whatever.

Glasses' safety, he didn't care about his glasses anymore, he can just get a new one.

But, do organizations even fly? They do have wings, he saw UN and EU with them, but do they even use it? Aw man, he couldn't even find the answer to that question in that wild and dark tree cramped place.

His thoughts interrupted as he heard people from his left. ASEAN notices, and eventually swooped his way into the forest, charging... up?

Was this the way to do it? Man, he didn't fly for 30 years straight.

Oh wait, it wasn't.

He felt his energy rushing towards his face as he panted a whole lot. He stopped by behind a tree, and covered his face with his hands off of embarrassment. He didn't need to charge up by running, he just needed to flap his wings and fly.

This made him gave off a wave of shock, what if they saw him? He's going to be in a lot of trouble if so. He hated how bright his halo was at that point onwards.

"Okay, in the count of five, I fly away," he muttered, as he clenched his fists.

The humans were already nearby him, he didn't know where to run anymore. He heard the people from behind him, speaking Vietnamese.

"Này uh, bạn có tìm thấy nó không?" [Hey uh, did you find it?]

"Không, nhưng nó phải ở đây ở đâu đó." [Nope, but it must be here somewhere.]

He started counting, "Five.... Four..."

One of the hunter's vehicles suddenly appears on front of his view. The hunter immediately looked straight at him as he looked by the vehicle. He immediately took notice.

"Screw this- GO!"

Chapter Text

One of the hunter's vehicles suddenly appears on front of his view. The hunter immediately looked straight at him as he looked by the vehicle. He immediately took notice.

"Screw this- GO!"

-

His wings flapped and he eventually made his way to the sky. He was a little outbalanced, yet was able to keep a stable shape.

Didn't he already discuss with Vietnam about hunters in the middle of the night?

He sees flashlights from the forest, probably in search of him. He then heard about the faint conversation from below.

"Nếu đó là ASEAN thì sao? Anh ấy đã ở đây sớm hơn, anh ấy có thể bị lạc."[What if it's ASEAN? He was here earlier, he could be lost.]

"Giống như tôi đã từng thích các tổ chức dù sao." [Like I ever liked organizations anyway.]

"Woah bình tĩnh, anh ấy có thể đã nghe thấy bạn từ đâu đó!" [Woah calm down, he might've hear you from somewhere!]

"Bạn có nghĩ rằng tôi quan tâm?! Chiến tranh là cách duy nhất để giải quyết mọi thứ." [Do you think I care?! War is the only way to solve everything.]

Ah yes, people with the violence ideology, not even surprising if it comes from a communist country.

If people were against him, he would just ignore. Like he ever wanted everyone to like him anyway, he is technically human. People can hate him however they want. It's not like he control other's emotions or anything.

He wished that everyone would accept each other so bad.

Did they even spot him going up to the sky though? He thought it was kind of obvious, a hunter did see him from a distance. They're probably still looking at him from below.

He sighed and decided to spectate the surrounding area, to see if he could find the direction he was at. He eventually found it minutes later, so he flew to that direction.

He can't go to Vietnam's place at that rate, so he decided to find Cambodia, one of her nearest neighbors.

While he's there, he started to enjoy flying as well. For something he didn't do a whole lot, he sort of felt bad for himself. Not only it is enjoyable, he was able to take some stress away are well. His hair was really covering his face a little and his glasses might get a little misty, but most of the flight was actually pretty good. 

"Dapat talaga akong magsimulang lumipad hangga't maaari," [I should really consider flying as much as I can,] he sighed, speaking off of the Tagalog language.

Minutes later of probably the most fastest flight he had ever had (since it’s literally the second time he used his wings), he reached Cambodia's place and landed a little smoothly, a little since he wasn't able to control his weight, he almost sprained himself landing to the ground. He walks up to the house and knocked on her door gently. He immediately fixes his hair a little and turns around from the door. He began checking if whether or not he looked okay, for the better at the least.

Cambodia's place was an average house, actually, a little lower than that. Her country was the poorest one in the ASEAN group, that's why she was offered to join them in the first place. It was still slightly covered in vines and it was smaller than the usual, but it didn't mind for the country to live in there.

He heard the door croaking for a little and he turned. A familiar looking country, ble red and white, wearing a flower on her (non-existent) ear and wearing a cheap but neat dress. 

"អាស៊ាន?" she asked, as ASEAN adjusted his glasses. 

Cambodia was well, one of the poorest countries in the organization. Unlike Vietnam, she really relies on ASEAN for her economy. ASEAN himself had mixed reactions on it, but it was anything to help her do something. Aside from that, Cambodia did a huge chunk of ideas, too.

"ASEAN," she repeated, translating what she just said. "What are you doing here?"

"I may have gotten a runaway incident in the middle of the Vietnam forest, that's for sure," he stated, as he closes his wings at his back.

"You flew your way here?! When was the-"

"I don't even have a choice, the hunters were literally after me."

Cambodia facepalmed, "Oh goodness, we literally had a discussion with Myanmar and Vietnam about hunters this morning, they went rouge huh?"

"Yeah..." he shrugged. He then realized something he should've just done earlier. "Hold on, do you have contact with Phil?"

"Uh yeah! I'll just grab my phone, pa. One second."

As the country walks away from the doorstop, he immediately thought of Philippines. He probably is panic calling him though right now, or probably high. Actually, all of the members would call him, right?

He then traced back what happened in Vietnam. He really hoped nobody spotted him at all, he's just worried if he gets on the headlines again. He didn't like attention given from the news, there would be so many arguments around him if so.

As Cambodia arrived with a keypad phone, she typed Phil's number and handed it over to her technically boss. He grabbed it, and called the number.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

No response.

He sighed, as he called the number once more. This time, after 3 rings, someone from the other line finally picked up the phone.

"Hello? Phil?"

"ASEAN?!" A familiar voice called. Oh wait, it was EU.

Ever since their relations, they both became close enough to be friends. Not to mention that they had the ability to joke with each other with confidence now. EU was also kind of attending the beer festival Phil was in, it was a forced thing for him to do anyway as Germany was basically his version of Singapore.

"Europe? Where's Philippines?" he called out of concern.

"Eh, don't worry. He's a little drunk right now, might as well answer your call."

The white-colored organization sighed. Philippines was fine. He's in good hands, he well at least he hoped so. He trusted EU, right? He doesn't even know if his partner can handle alcohol well.

He sighed. "Did he do something wrong?"

"In a case of breaking something, yes."

"What did he break?"

"Someone's heart."

"What," ASEAN deadpanned through the phone. "No- Euro, I'm serious-"

"I'm not, it's hilarious. Why did you call for Phil anyway?"

"Just checking, also kind of needed to talk to him about something, but never mind that," he stated, as he slightly zoned out from the call. He was supposed to talk about the logo change today, he literally can't do it now.

"Alright- Oh!- see you then. Germany's is calling me right now."

"Okay sige, buh-bye."

"Tschüss."

He was supposed to hang up on the number but EU did it anyway. He then thought of it once more, what would the others think about change?

Cambodia approaches him and raised an eyebrow. "What's with Philippines and Germany anyway?"

"You didn't know?!" he exclaimed. "Oktoberfest, something with festivals and beer."

"Eugh, beer. Of course. It's really no surprise to us anymore," she sighed.

ASEAN muttered a "yeah" before being lost into thoughts once more.

It was silent for a few more seconds. Cambodia examined her business partner. It took her a while to ask until she brought it up.

"Hey ASEAN."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever wondered that if, you could you know- considered changing how you look like..?" she asked, finding a seat nearby him and sat on it. "I mean- we did had a discussion about it, sure- but you changing yourself... It's like changing your own flag if you know what I mean."

ASEAN looked at her for a bit. How didn't he think of that? He can't let others change his colors, he can. 

He recalled back to the time he was in the office, the argument of changing the flag. Nobody had mention that, they can't change the organization without permission. He believed that argument took place before Cambodia arrived too. 

He smiled at her. "Yeah, I kind of considered it, actually," he stated. "I just, never had the actual chance to do it, you know."

The ASEAN founding five designed him. He thinks it was time to change it himself.

He looked at the country and smiled, "Thanks for the suggestion, Cambodia."

"No problem! Maybe we could decide the new colors together?"

He nodded.

Chapter Text

"Alright, Cambodia," ASEAN smiled, as he stood up from the desk. "I guess this design is final? Well it does look a lot more prettier."

He looked over at the paper that was placed on the desk. It was the new logo, or the emblem perhaps. Its basically the returned version of the old one, but it actually had more meaning and it looked more color-friendly.

They took the blue, red, yellow and white colors since there were reoccurring colors throughout Southeast Asia. Blue means peace, red means courage, white means purity and yellow means prosperity. The logo itself has changed too, since they expanded the 5 lines into 10, one line representing each member state.

Brunei was actually the one who brought up the idea of the colors a few months back during the argument. Although she was fairly neutral, she was just giving off smart little ideas. Malaysia then agreed with it, and nobody touched that idea afterwards. Cambodia just decided to bring back that one colors suggestion since that's what she remembered during the argument, and she liked that idea.

He glanced at the paper once more until his face shrunk into a grin. He looked at Cambodia, "What do you think would the others think of this?"

Cambodia chuckled. "I know Laos would like this, who knows for the rest though. We did a pretty good job."

The association nodded. "Well, do you want this to happen now, or?"

"Maybe we should get the other's thoughts first? You know, the Maphilindo trio might be against it, who knows for Myanmar since he doesn't have the blue-red-white color scheme as he has a green. Probably next meeting," she sighed, as she started keeping the coloring materials they used in making the flag.

"That seems fair," he pointed out, and then started helping the country fix up the place.

It was already past 11pm, they both already had dinner and both were exhausted by probably the longest day ASEAN had in his entire life. As a few minutes passed by and the desk was already clean, he looked over the country's window and started at the sky for a bit, now lost into his own thoughts.

This was a huge step up for the entire association. It has been 30 years, and this was the first ever time he himself got into a flight, changed something he felt like he needed, and he suddenly had his voice heard to everyone.

This thought made him trace back to when he was in the forest. Where was Vietnam? Surely she did show up when he was in the field earlier, but what about the forest incident? Was she aware of it a few hours ago?

Interrupting his thoughts, the country in the house with him asked, "So, I think I'm going to bed now... Do you want me to set up for you or you don't want to sleep? I could leave my phone with you as well if you want to check on Philip."

The organization looked at the country about 3 meters away from him. He nodded at the statement about her phone, but then he sighed, which switched the mood of the building. 

"I don't know if I could sleep tonight."

"Right, but didn't that flight made you exhausted or something? I could just bring midnight snacks or what," Cambodia asked, as she picks up a pillow from the nearby couch. She continued, "Plus, we did work for a few hours. Maybe it made you a little more tired."

He paused for a little, trying to process if he needed anything but decided to say, "I think I'm alright. Thanks for the offer, Cam."

She looked at her boss once more and sighed happily. Before leaving the sight however, she told, "Also, please tell me if Laos busts open my door in the middle of the night, it's extremely normal for me to have him interrupting my evening."

ASEAN chuckled, and then responded, "Will do."

Cambodia smiled, gave a little "goodnight" and headed into her room. The association observed her actions, and as she left, he was left alone with his own thoughts, and the open window.

He sat down on a chair he found nearby, which was actually facing the night sky. Relaxing, he thought. It truly was for him.

He never sleeps at times, basically all organizations do not require sleep. Weirdly for him, he didn't feel tired after that flight. It was also adding to the fact that he hasn't used his wings for 30 years straight made it more unnatural. He should consider flying practice, right? The only person he could remember having wings in his circle are Singapore and the EU. Singapore never really uses his though, as he usually made them disappear. That leaded him to EU, does he even have enough time to hang out with others?

His thoughts were once again interrupted by Cambodia's phone ringing. He looked over the device and picks it up, it was Vietnam.

He looks around for a moment to check if anyone was at the door, but rolled it off. He then picks up the phone and answered. "Vietnam?"

The other line picked up and answered. "Cambodia! Chờ đợi- Sir ASEAN?!" 

"Vâng," he responded, as he looked through the window again. 

"Sorry... What are you doing at Cam's? I know we're technically neighbors but... And her phone," the Vietnamese asked, somehow the other line was a little windy as well.

"It's a long story... It was on your news I believe," he muttered with a low voice. "I just flew."

"Oh right, yeah," she answered, then a sigh came out from the other line. "I guess I do need to discuss..."

"You don't have to do it right now, Nam," he said. "Besides, it's almost 12am, you a should be sleeping by now. Eve-"

"I'm sorry."

ASEAN paused as soon as that sentence was said on the other side. For a moment, he just went completely silent as he went into thoughts. He then responded, "Vietnam, this isn't the place you should say this right now, and it's almost midnight."

"But-"

"Meet me by Thailand's gulf, please," he ordered. "It's better to talk about this over there, despite it being midnight."

Vietnam stuttered, "Uhm... Sure."

The call ended between the two as soon as the country spoke. ASEAN stood up and called out Cambodia's name. 

"Yes?" the country responded, opening the wooden door. Luckily the country hasn't actually slept yet, so the response was a little quick.

"I need to go to Vietnam again. Please bring the draft of the flag next meeting," he said, as he adjusted his glasses which somehow survived his flying earlier. He has to do it again.

"What about Philip?"

"Tell him that I will pick him up at 3 in the afternoon tomorrow."

Cambodia nodded. "See you later."

He nodded, and waved as he left the house.

Chapter Text

ASEAN arrived first at the landmark. He did use his wings again, but decided to run when there was a mile left. As he arrived, he now felt tired. It was past 12 midnight, and he decided to meet up at Thailand's gulf.

The gulf was actually at the borders of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand so its a short trip for him to pass. There wasn't anything distracting as well, it was literally the middle of the night.

He panted heavily once he got there, and immediately was greeted of the sight of the dark, cooling water. The place wasn't lit up at all, aside from the reflection of the moon on the waters and his golden halo-ring.

It took him a while to hear some footsteps behind him. He turned to see his member country Vietnam, that girl who was wearing some sort of long sleeve with a rice hat, who was also tired from running and it seemed like she just arrived here. He stood up and looked at her for a brief moment, before breaking into a hug.

The woman was a little shocked by the sudden action, but digged into it and hugged back. Although she was in the organization for only a few years, she really had so many doubts and heavy experiences with ASEAN. Tears started flowing into her eyes as she felt the wings of her technically adopted father, and her head digged into his right shoulder.

The organization noticed the action, as he responded with body language. He removed the country's hat through his left hand, and dropped it on the floor for now, then he placed his hand over the back of it's head.

They were both in that position for a little bit as the cold breeze passes through the area. Vietnam was still crying, but now having a hard time to grasp air. ASEAN asked, "Do you want to sit down and talk all about this?" The country nodded in response.

The white-colored organization pulled out from the hug, as he offered the country to sit down on the grass. She did as he offered, but she leaned towards the shoulder of his boss.

ASEAN looked at the country, trying to not move a muscle. He dragged the rice hat he dropped closer and placed it over the country's lap. 

"So, do you want to talk about it?" he asked calmly. "I don't know if I'm okay with emotional support, but, I've been here long enough. I've known you outside the organization for a while now."

The vietnamese responded, as she wiped away the tears of her face, "I'm sorry for... Uhm- Do you think I'm doing alright?"

"Nam, you're doing great! I know it wasn't your fault about what happened earlier," he stated, as he removed his glasses off his face. 

"No- Ever since I've been apart of this... I keep having these types of thoughts," she stated, looking over at the reflected water on front of her. "I mean... I killed my brother you were supporting and rooting for. I didn't know about you accepting me as... Me?"

"Things had changed, the reason why you're with me anyways is because... You deserve to be here," the organization smiled. "I know how different your background is, but you still fit in this family. Besides, all of us welcomed you into the association, you have a really distinct personality."

Vietnam released her head from the other's shoulder. "Do you really mean that..?"

"I'm not saying it to make you feel better, it's really true. My thoughts do change over time, and thinking about it now, I'm really proud of your success in the war," he said, grabbing his glasses again and puts it on.

Vietnam became a little flustered from the compliment, and instead of a frown, a smile went across her face. ASEAN grabbed the hat and placed it on top of the country's head. He stated afterwards, "See? You look extremely pretty in that hat!"

The woman giggled at the organization's expression. Vietnam didn't know ASEAN fully as he was always quiet for a bunch of reasons. Seeing her boss like this actually felt more relaxing, and she really liked every second of his company. 

"Thank you," she said, as she dozed off over the body of water.

"It's nothing," ASEAN acknowledged.

He looked over the waters once more, observing every wave and every light reflected onto it. Eventually he sees both of their reflections, as he observed that Vietnam now has a smile over her face. He wasn't the best person to talk to about therapy, he's happy that he had fully accomplished it.

Moments later, he found himself laying on the grassy ground. He was now staring at the stars, with a few amount of clouds blocking off the view. That didn't change anything from admiring the view. Shortly after, Vietnam dropped onto the floor.

It was a long night.

Chapter Text

"Alright, thank you for your help, Singapore. I'm glad you spoke out in the first place," he smiled, as he stood up from his desk chair.

"Of course! Tell me if you need anything else," the city-state said, approaching the door. "I will be there to help."

ASEAN nodded. "See you later Singapore."

"Cya, sir!" he smiled, as he leaves the apartment room.

ASEAN sighed, and locked the door to his own apartment. He then found himself at his light blue couch, pulling out his tablet, scanning for probably important details missed during the meeting. After responding to some emails, he places his tablet down.

What now?

He looked around the place for a little bit, in his point of view. He looked at his clock at the wall. It was 3pm. He was already done with his workload together with Singapore just a few minutes back. That means he had nothing else to do now, nothing that catched his interests anyway.

He could read a book? It was his hobby after all, as he would usually read history books. He stood up and looked through his black mini bookshelf. Nothing caught his interest as of that moment, some books were already read and some didn't seem eye-catching to him.

He didn't want to scan the internet today, does he? All of the time he accessed the internet, he would be greeted with chaos. Maybe just another time.

He thought that he can just cook something? Wait... He doesn't have a stove. Plus the last time he attempted to cook anyway, the kitchen was burnt down because of a silly democratic country.

After looking around for things he could've done, the organization eventually made his way to a black, wooden cabinet. Maybe he could just look in here to catch something to do.

He opens it and noticed one instrument right off the back that catched his eyes.

A ukulele.

That specific ukelele was actually a gift given by MaPhilIndo themselves. It's obviously noticable that it's from them, because of the classic Philippine sun and Malaysian moon imprinted on it, as well as the white/red color scheme.

It was given during his 30th birthday, well not really. The 30th birthday of the "Association of Southeast Asia" or ASA anyways, meaning that it was given during his 24th birthday. Yes the association existed beforehand, but nothing made out of it when it was formed except for territorial disputes. So, it had been a while since it was in that cabinet.

He picks up the instrument and dusted it off a little bit before sitting once again on his couch. He played each string, and adjusting it when it was needed.

When was the last time he touched this anyway? It's been like... 25 years since he touched it. It's a good thing to remember again.

He started to play a mini melody with 5 notes, just for him to remember how the instrument works. Eventually, the memories of him playing that instrument had gotten back to him.

He goes back to the time when it was a really sunny day, and he was in a flower garden, under a tree, and playing a specific melody while the rest of the organization either studies, play or chilled around him. He really wished that he didn't forget playing this instrument again.

He regret not playing this instrument for the past 25 years.

It's such a small instrument... Yet so relaxing and memorable. He's glad he picked it back up from his cabinet.

He sighed happily, as he started playing a song he could remember. A song that the entire organization only knows, which hasn't been played in so long. Muttering the lyrics in English, the cords started ringing to his ears calmly. 

The sunlight rays through the window were actually making the place more calmer, with the white curtains fluttering peacefully. 

ASEAN leaned on the couch. He never felt so relaxed by just playing an instrument he haven't touched.

Maybe he should consider it as a returning hobby for him.

He can't believe he had forgotten about this instrument, it was disappointing. Sure, it's had almost been 60 years, he can forget things. But out off all things... Why this?

He stopped playing the cords at the thought of it. He stared at the window, which the sunlight was emitting on. 

Why did he forget all of this? Was it his fault that he did? He was busy almost all of the time now, especially when the ASEAN regional forum existed, he just can't loose it.

He sighed, and placed the ukulele down on the sofa. After though, a couple of knocks can be heard from his door. He heard it and stood up.

"Hang on a minute!" he shouted, adjusting his glasses and walking through the hallway to the door.

He turned the knob and opened the door. Oh great, it was Indonesia.

Indonesia lives near to that apartment he stays anyways, so no surprise that he is on his doorstep. However there was one thing, he rarely comes in his place alone. It was always with someone else, especially with Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

ASEAN waved. "Hello! What brings you here today, Indo?"

"Hey, I just wanted to see what's the noise from my place was all about," Indonesia smiled.

"Oh my God- I was that loud?!" His eyes widen. "I'm so sorry, Indo. A- I didn't mean to disturb you."

"No, it's alright," Indo responded, leaning on the door frame. "I liked the music, it sounded familiar. Decided to check what's happening over here."

ASEAN sighed. "Well... Yeah... I kind of- I did keep the ukulele you, Phil and Malay gave- erm- actually."

"Masih bersamamu?! Tunjukkan kepadaku." [It's still with you?! Show me.]

"Come in." 

Both of them walked in the apartment, sitting in the same couch ASEAN was just on a few minutes ago. ASEAN brings out the ukelele once more and showed the country.

"Wait woah, it's really still with you then," the bi-colored country stated.

"Yeah, it was in my cabinet. 'Twas a little dusty though and the cords were messed up due to me abandoning it," he shrugged. "Glad I came across it again."

The country started at him once more then suggested, "You should try making it a hobby once more, it's been a long time, pa."

"I know! I have been considering it myself," he stated, as he looked onto the carpet. "I kind of don't know if I have the time to practice it more, due to the current situations lately."

"Ya, saya perhatikan," [Yeah, I noticed.] Indonesia said. "But if it's something about passion then you should really do it again. I don't think you'll last long on Earth anyways."

He chuckled. "Everyone technically doesn't. But sure, I guess I'll think of it, untuk sekarang." [for now.]

"Heh, sure," Indo smiled. "Can I borrow it for a little bit?" 

"Sure, don't you dare break it though," he childishly gave off an angry tone.

"I won't! Give it to meee," He whined, and reached out his arms. The organization then placed the instrument onto the country's hands.

Indonesia looked at it for a little, examined every single side and checking for scratches. There were a few, but he plainly didn't mind, as long as it still existed.

He started strumming the four cords slowly, checking if it still works flawlessly. It did. Indonesia commented, "This still works fine!"

"Yeah it does," ASEAN replied. "If you want then you can play something if you'd like."

"Hmm, nah," he objected, as he gave back the instrument. "Trust me. I don't remember how to play now, plus I gave it to you."

"Fine," he muttered, grabbing the ukulele once more.

He looked at it again once more and began positioning his arms. He started playing another melody from what he had on memory.

Chapter Text

If you were to think of Southeast Asian culture, you might be landing on the food industry at one point.

They are astonishing, sometimes even full of colors! It depends whether you eat it with a spoon (and fork) or with an actual hand, the food out there are just so delicious.

Take Laos for example. It's Laap is literal butchered meat, spices and vegetables together. They go good together apparently, which is a really neat sound to hear.

However, ASEAN is, you may know already, economy based. Some of its economy relies on tourism and cuisine, sure, but he himself never had a chance to cook in his entire life. If told to be handling a kitchen, he literally couldn't.

It was five in the morning. The organization just woke up from his vacation hut, boiling some water in the kettle. He had been in that hut for a while now, it was a little gift from Singapore and Brunei for him to "take a rest" after a mountain of paperwork. Although he was truly a workaholic, he literally couldn't turn down an offer like so, especially when it was given on a summer.

Where was the hut? It's in Thailand. The two small countries actually agreed with her to settle their "boss" in that country for a little, it was placed in a small, port town. Myanmar and Laos also decided to hang out in Thailand for a bit as well, just for purposes.

The southeast Asian went to a nearby wooden chair, sat down, and checked if anything happened when he was asleep with his phone. Apparently there was some killings somewhere in Malaysia, but it wasn't his problem to deal with.... And that was all of the news.

Extremely early mornings are usually quiet, well as expected because some people are still sleeping around you. It would be very cold as well, as some shivers can pop up every now and then. 

As the kettle finally started squealing, he started to make some coffee for himself, not from the powder but from the coffee beans immediately. After that, it was all settled, 5:48am.

He decided to sit by the window to see the sunrise, luckily the hut was placed on the spot near the sea and the sun would start off from there. Sure there were some distractions like random boats and other things, that didn't bother him at all. As long as he wasn't called out for and distracted—

Ring! Ring!

—There goes his peace.

He stared at his phone for a little bit before picking it up, reading the contact that called him. 

Myanmar.

What does he want in 6 in the morning?

Although they usually aren't seen together in the family and often goes unnoticed, Myanmar was pretty peculiar in terms of being in the organization. Their flag color extinguished them from the rest of the group, despite being it rules by the military. This made ASEAN himself really proud of them, even if his government may go over the edge.

He picked up the phone then answered the phone, immediately calling his name.

"Myanmar?" he called, with his usual morning, natural, and croaky voice.

"ASEAN!" He answered from the other line. "မင်္ဂလာနံနက်ခင်းပါ! How's your mini vacation?" [Good morning!]

"Great... I 'uppose," he muttered on the phone, then took a sip off his coffee he brewed himself. "Why'd call?"

"O- oh yeah! Laos and I have been deciding that we would cook something together... I don't know if it would you know, catch your interest but... I think it's s- something we should try out?" Myanmar asked, with a little stuttering on his words. It was the phone connection's fault on why he appeared to be stuttering.

The organization thought of it for a while. He hasn't hanged out with Laos and Myanmar lately, and he actually had free time for once. And kitchen? He hasn't touched a kitchen. He din't think that he had a busy day as well. Maybe it could be worth a shot.

He answered, "Yeah, I guess that sounds good... Where are we meeting?"

"You're going?! Neat!" He stated, followed by a bunch of claps on the other line. "T- Thailand told us we can use the kitchen she had near her park, so I guess that's where we are meeting up."

He looked over the window. Thailand's park wasn't actually too far from where he was. He then answered, "Sounds good, seems like a few minutes walk from where I am... What about the ingredients and stuff?"

"Yeah, I prepared them! Laos, still asleep, is kind of in charge for this thing, I just asked you if you had time to go, you know?" The other line chuckled. "Alright, I need to go now, still need to do something else unrelated to this. Meet you by 11."

"Mhm! See you two later," he stated, as the call ended from the other line.

He looked at the window once more and stared at the waters. He sighed, and decided to get up from his seat, to mentally prepare himself for the next few hours.

---

Quite immediately, Laos recognized his technical second father from a distance. He dragged him right towards an establishment near "Thailand's park".

Laos was one of his members that were really poor, yet trying to catch up with the other members. He wasn't given that much spotlight, he was really a person that has a spirit of climbing up the ranks, yet still doesn't know yet.

Laos actually dragged him into a Thai kitchen. It had a stove, an oven, a place where you can cut-literally everything! The ingredients were halfly prepared when ASEAN arrived. 

It seemed like they had been planning this for a while now.

He was told to sit down on a deep brown, wooden chair. It wasn't long after that Myanmar came with some ingredients and placed them on the counter.

He pulled out a piece of paper, presumably a list, and read it silently. As he pulled it down, they noticed ASEAN staring around the area.

"ASEAN!" Myanmar greeted. "How long have you been there? A- I didn't notice you here..."

"Lao dragged me here," he stated with a slightly tired voice. "Just got here technically."

"Erm, you don't really have to come here to be honest," he stated, folding the paper and placing it in their hoodie pocket. "This was just a fun thing we planned to begin with."

"No! It's fine really," he sighed. "I just forgot to help out Thailand yesterday morning with the rice field, which is a shame."

Laos appeared on the door, dragging a sack of rice towards the area. "Don't worry about it, remember you're in a break- argh." —He drops the sack into the side of the counter.— "You really work hard for us, kind of wished we had some fun once in a while."

"Mhm," Myanmar agreed, leaning his elbow on the lavatory. "I mean, you did kind of accepted the offer... So why not?"

The association sighed, it won't be too bad if there's something else to do for once, right?

He spoke out, "Erm, sure. Do your thing."

"Do our thing?!" Laos emphasized. "Daaad, we literally told you to come to do this with-"

"Fine! Fine." ASEAN stood up, interrupting the country's statement. "I'll do this with you. How does that sound?"

"Sounds... Good," the other country stated, before pulling out another piece of paper in their pocket, and scanning it for a little. He knows that he's really nervous whether he changes his mind real quickly

He notices their expressions and the atmosphere and stated, "I apologize if I scared you both."

"It's all good!" Laos smiled. "Sooo, Myanmar? What's going on with the list- what we doin'?"

"It's okay, southeast," he muttered, as he pointed his finger across the paper. "Right- we're going to do the... Thai curry? How do you pronounce this...- May-sa-man?"

"Oh that? Massaman curry," the other country corrected. "It's a thing for Muslims I believe, for fasting stuff."

"Right! ASEAN, do you know this?" Myanmar asked, pulling down the paper to see him.

He shrugged. "I haven't really cooked before before this, so no... Kind of seen them on the papers though, that's all."

"Hmm, I haven't actually cooked them before too," Laos stated. "Maybe we can do this if we follow the instructions."

Myanmar chuckled. "If this kitchen gets burned down, I'll pay for it." It was clearly sarcastic, as they wouldn't think that some sort of accidents might happen anytime soon.

"Shut up," the organization playfully laughed. "Alright, what now?"

Chapter Text

"Done with the water pot?" ASEAN asked Laos from across the room.

"It's boiling!" He responded. "Myanmar! Where's the seeds?"

"It's on the counter near the lavatory," he stated, walking in the room with some peanut butter. ASEAN grabbed the seed package and gave it to the country who was cooking. Laos placed it in the pot together with the curry sauce.

The association took care of the meat part, as he was by another lit stove with it inside the pot. The ingredients were already placed, all he needed to do was to simmer. Myanmar was the one doing the instructions and giving off the ingredients.

"What's next?" Laos asked.

Myanmar spoke, reading through the paper. "Add potatoes and carrots and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes. Then add coconu-"

"Woah! Stop there," he stated, as he added both the chopped potatoes and carrots into the curry sauce pot. "Coconut aminos is next after 2 minutes, eh?"

"No- next is coconut milk and water, then the other stuff I separated over there," he corrected, pointing to a place in the counter that was actually separated from the rest of the ingredients, some of which ASEAN had no idea it existed.

"Got it," the tri-colored country responded, as he started mixing the pot gently.

"ASA, how's the meat?" Myanmar asked.

"Yeah I think it's fine now... Is it okay?" He asked, giving way for Myanmar to investigate it. 

The country opens the cover and looked at it for a little. Eventually, they turned off the fire. "Yeah it's all good."

"We're going to worry about Laos now, huh?" He chuckled, looking at the country still mixing the cooking curry sauce.

"Yeah, the thing is... He's just not good at instructions, whether about anything," the country stated, folding the paper they were holding twice. "I mean, no offense but- he does participate well in ASEAN activities, just that he needs a little more focus."

"Can shed a light there, to be fair," he agreed. "He might get a little overboard with things... And I mean a little overboard." 

"Haha yeah, I asked for honey one time and he immediately got out to find a beehive," Myanmar stated. "It was funny, even Vietnam and Cambodia were there."

Someone knocks on the door and it opened. It was then revealed to be Thailand, one of ASEAN's founders, and the said owner on this "kitchen".

She was really sweet to him, as she was technically his parent. Disregarding the fact that conflicts may happen between the two, she is still really gentle towards him, even got him into vacation in her country. She still remains as one of the most active members of the group.

Thailand waved. "ASEAN! Didn't know you're here right now."

"Oh hey, Thailand," Myanmar waved.

"สวัสดี!" [Hello!] He greeted in her language. "Just helping your fellow neighbors in cooking something, it's not a huge deal really."

"Yeah, it's fine with me!" She responded. "What are you cooking at the moment?"

The other country spoke, "Your Massaman curry? Did I pronounce that right?"

"Oh that! Yeah, you did pronounce it right," she responded, as she leaned across the cream-colored wall. "It's really one of my favorites, fun seeing you guys cooking it."

"Well... Adding to the fact that ASEAN hasn't cooked in his life," he added. "Say... Why didn't you?"

"Why are you blaming me for not cooking?" He smiled. "It isn't really my thing to be fair, I'm not designed to do these things."

"At least you're being forced to do it now," Thailand smiled. "Also shut up with the robot talk, the only organization which is a robot that existed in Earth is NATO."

Myanmar commented, "SEATO did exist."

"Well, there was nothing left to do! I considered joining you at the field earlier but I forgot about it," He exclaimed. "And, I technically am not from here so call me what you want."

"I haven't seen you being this talkative outside of work in a while," Myanmar commented, fidgeting with the paper of instructions on their hand. 

"I was supposed to be quiet?" He asked. ASEAN had been a little more talkative over the years, which was indeed a really huge improvement. He doesn't notice it himself though.

The Thai chuckled. "You'll get used to it, don't worry, พม่า." [Myanmar]

"You just haven't brought me out in gatherings like this," he winked.

"Fair," Myanmar shrugged. "Also stop with those faces, it's making me nervous."

"Get used to it, Myanmar! We're all human," Thailand playfully smiled.

"Alright, sheesh!"

It was silent for a few seconds until Laos screamed loudly that caught everyone's attention. They looked at the direction, the entire stove was on fire, and it spread towards the counter immediately.

"Apakah kamu bercanda-" ASEAN hissed. [Are you kidding me-]

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Thailand shouted. "Laos?!"

"SORRY?!" He responded. "How the heck do you control your stove?"

"Laos, you're an idiot." Myanmar gave off a disappointed sigh, as he walked out of the kitchen.

ASEAN grabbed the fire extinguisher nearby and removes the pin, immediately extinguishing the fire properly before being spread elsewhere. As he noticed the fire calmed down, he dead stared at the country.

"Laos, explain yourself."

Chapter Text

It was the end of another ASEAN meeting.

As always, the members would start heading back to their homes. Brunei would go first, Myanmar would follow, then Vietnam and so on. The place would decrease it's population, until there were 4 people left in the conference hall.

Indonesia.

Malaysia.

The Philippines.

And ASEAN himself.

For ASEAN, the MaPhilIndo trio was the most hardest members to take care of. They would often go into fights, most likely Malaysia and Indonesia, and sometimes even pull pranks on any member of the organization. Another thing, they were literally part of the founding five. People really think that they would take things seriously, but of course the exact opposite would happen.

Indonesia was the biggest country in the entire organization. He is the most protective and also the most quirky of the group. He is the one who mostly starts arguments, some which were really dumb and doesn't make sense and all, and he never get tired of it. He is also the emotional support of the entire group, as they (with ASEAN) did talk to each other calmly the other day. The meeting hall was located in Indonesia anyways.

Malaysia was the one who pulls out the most jokes. He was the mastermind of all of the pranks given, and has an extreme obsession over a specific chocolate drink. He's really just a kindhearted guy, but to the fact that he gets loud and sometimes even distracting. 

Philippines on the other hand was ASEAN's "best country" as people joked. He was a widely successful country in terms of industrialization (aside from Singapore and Brunei), and the oldest one in the group. He has the most difference between the trio and the entire ASEAN (he was influenced by Spain, the only country that doesn't share land borders, etc.) so people treat him as a Got of some sort. He is also culturally sensitive as well.

The trio have always been there since the beginning. The three of them share the same love for their own countries and some cultures were also shared as well. They unintentionally influenced ASEAN himself to not be serious at all times, which they were glad about. He seemed like the person who would hate them, but the truth is, he really enjoyed their company a whole lot. They would secretly cheer him up on whatever he was doing. Their comedic timing still needed work, however.

ASEAN was still on his seat on the meeting table, scribbling some notes he remembered from the meeting on his tablet. The trio was actually across the room, playing some sort of mobile game. It wasn't a huge deal for the organization though, as they respected his presence there and kept quiet at the side.

Eventually, he finished taking down notes of the meeting and closed off the notes tablet application. The three boys were still enjoying themselves playing that video game. He sighed, stood up and decided to organize the papers left on the table into their respective file cabinets. It wasn't that much left anyways, a lot were eventually organized by the other members, including the trio.

He turned back to the countries. It's been like 40 minutes since the meeting ended, they really should be home at that hour.

He asked, "Hey, when are you three leaving? You three aren't usually here for that long."

"Not now..." Malaysia mumbled.

Indonesia sighed, and pulls down the phone. "Berhentilah mengalahkanku- We actually got caught up with the rain, so we decided to stay put for now." 

"It's raining outside?!"

"Yeah," Philippines and Malaysia both responded in unison.

"Hm," he crossed his arms. He really can't give them a ride, he did just walk to the meeting hall by himself. That means he's stuck in the building too.

He really can't keep himself quiet for forever. His tablet is dying, and he left the charger back at his rented apartment. He could finish up his reading hobby, but he doesn't think he should read at the moment.

He turned to the countries who were stranded inside the hall. Maybe he should go talk to them? He never really talked to them outside of work related things before (except for Indonesia and the ukulele), maybe it's a little step up for him at the least of things.

He walked towards the three and glanced at them. Indonesia was the first to notice the sudden choice of actions by his boss. He commented, "Oh uh- hey? Who're you?"

He waved back lightly, giving off a are-you-serious look. "Yes, we met before." Indonesia just smiled and laughed.

Philippines then placed his phone down on the table out of frustration. He muttered, "Ayoko na sa iyo."

Malaysia giggled and placed his phone back in his pants pocket. "Come on, where is the promised amount of money?"

"Can you just do this back home?" Indonesia asked. "We're in a meeting hall, I basically own this place, and because I said so."

The association did nothing but chuckle at that statement. "Oh, ASEAN!" The Philippines greeted. "Sorry, we were just playing some sort of game and I... Swore."

"Yeah it's no problem, Sunshine," he responded. "I mean it's the end of the meeting, so go do whatever."

"Sunshine?!" Malaysia exclaimed, as he placed his phone back at his own pocket. "Sir- when did you start these type of nicknames?"

"Just now, I'm just playing, don't expect me to use them anytime soon. Unusual to hear from me, don'cha think?" He played, taking off his glasses and started wiping them once again. "I'll make it usual of you'd like outside of meetings."

"That would be neat," Indonesia commented, slightly playing with his phone by rolling it's sides. "But you're still going to make up our other nicknames, do you?"

"Nickname making are fun," Phil said, adjusting his bandana on his neck.

"Who knows when I'll grab a nickname for the rest of you soon," he shrugged as he places back his glasses. "Just haven't thought of that yet."

"That would be lovely!" Indo stated, as he grabbed his rice hat on the table.

Malaysia scoffed. "If Phil is called 'Sunshine', does that mean I'll be called 'Moonlight'?"

"What about me?!" Indonesia asked. "I literally have nothing but... Colors."

ASEAN chuckled. "Who knows, maybe one day I might call you that one day or another. Just stay tuned."

"Yeah that seems kind of unfair, Malay," the Pinoy said. "Maybe we should call you 'Milo Addict' of some sort... Man we should probably ask Australia for more supplies."

ASEAN gave off a slight chuckle once more. Philippines immediately remembered one little thing Indonesia told him and asked. "By the way, pa... How's the ukulele? I do told me you still have it with you the other day..."

He responded, as he leaned towards the wall. "It isn't destroyed, if that's what you're wondering. I'm sorry for not picking it up as soon as possible... I just haven't noticed that instrument until last week."

Malaysia then spoke, "Oh, don't worry! I forgot about it as well, I'm glad you still have it with you..."

Indonesia then pulled out his phone and noticed a missed call, leaving the country into a silent panic. "Excuse me for one second, Neth called me and I didn't realize."

"It's all good," Phil stated, as the other two people of the room just nodded. As the country walked out of the room, he spoke, "Do you still remember some cords or something? I still have a bunch of music books related to ukuleles in my shelf."

"You still have them?" Malaysia asked, as he grabbed the tumbler near him and drank from it.

"Err- yeah! I haven't touched it in years... Might give it as a donation, who knows?" He shrugged.

ASEAN scoffed. "Donation?"

"Well it's not exactly a do-nation, giving it to you or something?" 

"I get what you mean Phil," the blue colored organization stated. "But, honestly that would be kind of you. I'm not really accepting things, you know that."

"You did accept the instrument," the other country stated. "I don't know if it's either because it wasn't bugging you or something, but hey you did it anyways!"

He sighed. "Well, I don't- I don't get gifts by this often until now. Are one of you picking on me or something?"

"Pfft, no!" Philippines giggled, but immediately calmed down. "I mean, first off, I don't think I could pull out a prank on you straight to be fair."

Malaysia called. "Phil."

"What?"

The room went silent for a few seconds until Malaysia slammed his red water tumbler on top of the table. "By the way, you broke the coffee machine, did you?"

"Sorry, what?" ASEAN asked. "What happened to the coffee maker?"

The archipelago country didn't respond straight, as he only responded with an "uhm". Due to this, Malaysia facepalmed in dismay. "You should go fix it."

"Ugh- yeah fine, I will!" The Philippines reacted. 

As soon as Phil said so, Indonesia would run inside the room into his seat. "Guys, the rain stopped."

"Aye, that's neat," Phil commented, before putting his phone down and placing it in his gray sling bag.

ASEAN observed the three just packing back their belongings before heading out if the hall. Eventually, they waved at the organization and left the room.

As the door closed, he made his way back on his own chair and rolled around for a little. He was... Happy? It's really a step up from his attitude years ago. He wasn't that talkative for the first years of his entire life... Until he reached thirty anyways.

His eyes landed on the horizontal and rectangular framed picture of the three countries that just left the room. It was taken when ASA was first formed, way before he existed, and that picture alone shows a really positive energy between the three. He was glad things escalated nicely after then.

"Saya sangat gembira untuk anda bertiga," he muttered, as he stood up and prepared himself to leave the premises.

Chapter Text

It was now around 2010. He, all of the sudden, got invited to visit a place where he surprisingly haven't been: the UN building.

He has met other organizations in the past, he basically did meet the EU due to other reasons, but never the UN. He never had a chance to talk to him, since they both are busy in their own separate ways. It was totally understandable, as the UN manages almost all of the counties of the world.

All of ASEAN's associating countries told him to go to the building, since it seemed "important". They were all encouraging him to go, as it might make him be listed as an official organization, or just anything related to UN in general. He then responded with a "fine, I'll just go" whilst everyone cheered.

Now he's in this position. On the foot of the huge building. Holding some sort of sling bag. Wearing a Barong Tagalog. Feeling nervous in entering the 5 story building.

He stared at the entrance for a little bit and pondered at first on what could happen next. He then entered the building shortly afterwards. He looked around the first floor, it seemed like that there was a reception desk. The decorations around looks like space, literally, with it's dozens of star chandeliers and diamond ones. It really seemed like he was way ahead of its time.

He heard a ding from somewhere behind him. He turned back to see someone who was light blue in color, has a white leaf crown on his head and white enormous wings, bigger than his own. He was about decades older than him as he might've noticed. That must be UN.

He gulped and greeted the higher rank, "Hello, sir."

He felt weird talking to someone who had higher rank than him. He was basically at high standards, sure, but higher than him, which is an organization comprised of 100 countries? He can't just make him call someone an actual person.

"Hello, ASEAN," The higher rank greeted. "I have been expecting you today due to some, important matters."

He didn't know how to respond, so he just maintained eye contact as he nodded, and reached his hand out to him for a handshake. The UN shaked his hand back and backed off.

"Alright, I should bring you to my office for this matter. Please follow," the UN ordered, as he started moving to the direction he just came from. ASEAN followed behind him.

He was directed to a staircase which leaded him to the second floor. He still continued following the UN behind him, and the older organization started giving him a question, which made him, a little nervous.

"You changed your color scheme?"

ASEAN thought. He just noticed it? It had been a while since his 30 year anniversary. Maybe he wasn't really updated?

He spoke, "Err, yeah, everyone hated the old one, including me. Glad to see it change."

"I actually agree, it looked better than your previous one," the UN said as he arrived on the floor and pushed open a red door. ASEAN was confused at the reaction at first but decided to forget it, as he followed him and walked inside.

The floor comprises of office cubicles, a whole lot of them. Some of which were occupied by countries. It felt a little emptier though, because it was a Saturday. Some countries in duty were mainly Belguim, Germany, Japan, Mexico and other people he didn't recognize yet.

UN lead them both to a room by the side, which seemed like the UN's office. UN told him to sit down on a chair on front of his desk, as he grabbed a few documents from a nearby shelf.

The office was cozy, it had loads of wood put into it, in a good position. The browns were clearly seen by the ray of sunlight coming from the window behind the desk, which is overloaded by papers at one side, and having a globe on the other. It looked pretty for an afternoon.

The UN then presented ASEAN with a clipboard which had a paper attached to it. He then stated, "I called you today for you to fill up this form, it will not take a while. If you reject, it's all good."

ASEAN nodded and grabbed the clipboard. He adjusted his glasses and read carefully. The first thing he had read was the following words.

UN Affiliation Form 

That title immediately threw the organization off in his head.

They literally just met today. He must've just been told that he existed, probably EU, or one of his members. That was one huge opportunity, that means that he would be called out as a recognized organization. 

He continued reading the form, stating some rules and policies he was already familiar with, including one which requires him to "look after" all of the countries associated like a father. It's funny-the entire organization was basically comprised of literally children.

He then stumbled across the place where he needed to sign. His wings closed tremendously behind him. Feeling nervous, he started to ask the world organization.

"Uhm, can I give off some questions for a bit?" he asked, as straight to the point as he can.

UN replied, "Sure, you may."

"What can I get from this? Like- I never been affiliated before, well aside from Europe of course..."

"It's just something that the world could see, if you want you and your organization to be known across the world. We could help you grow too."

"Yeah, but... Why me? I don't think anyone but Asia, Australia and EU knows I existed in the first place," he asked.

The UN sighed, and gave off a huge chunk of an answer.

"EU called me a few- about 9 years ago I believe, stating about your existence. He really liked how you handle things as an organization, better than a lot of people in here. You were literally treating your members as a parent, and we really needed that. You were extremely humble and active as well, as a team you have really accomplished a lot. We were observing you from that day onwards, and I think it's time, after 30 years, for you to start being affiliated."

ASEAN looked at the pages once more, scanning just in case he missed a single detail with his fingers tripping on it. This was it, everyone is going to see him. Everyone is going to treat him properly. But... What if people might misjudge him? Thought crumbled in his mind, completely oblivious to what he was going to react.

"Do you like this opportunity?" The UN asked, handing over a ball pen on front of him.

He stumbled across that specific sentence. He then started to think about it for a little bit.

The entire group wants it. 

EU probably wants it. 

He wants it. 

No.

No, not want.

He needed this. 

The group might disband quickly if he doesn't.

The group might be disappointed in him if he doesn't.

He won't get any more allies if he doesn't.

There's a less percentage of war if he doesn't.

It was time to make a move. 

He grabs the pen and signed the paper. He then gave both the clipboard and the documents back to UN.

The UN nodded and explained thoroughly in Malay, "Saya lihat, anda pergi untuk langkah selamat." [I see, you went for a safe move.]

ASEAN just nodded in response, thinking if Nations have a threat or not. However, that thought flew away as UN clapped twice, "Well then, welcome to the UN, ASEAN. We could give you anything you need, thank you for your affiliation."

Chapter Text

Singapore and Brunei are both countries who are devoted right from the very beginning. Who knew that 2 small and rich countries would earn their place high up in the ASEAN organization. They're dedicated to the organization, and it seemed like it haven't changed ever since.

Tick tock, it was now the spring of 2018. The UN affiliation went great, EU was very supportive as he should've. Speaking of which, they both started hanging out often once more after ASEAN was introduced. It was a wild experience for him, he felt more needed and made him more busier than ever. He liked that experience.

Spring in Southeast Asia sadly doesn't exist, but it doesn't stop them for having durian seasons, heck even extremely hot temperatures throughout April. Despite that small difference from the rest of the entire sub-continent, it was still a great place to see nature nonetheless. Being tropical in the entire region makes everyone not complain about it being too hot or cold, as they all have the same climate. 

Spring is also the time of work, loads of work. From February to June, there is usually a wave of problems ever so often that needed fixing, so there's little to no time to hang around. It's the highest amount of paperwork they had to do for the entire year. From fixing tourism to making sure the economy doesn't crash, it's sure preventing everyone to be relaxed throughout.

Two of which are, back to the original topic, Singapore and Brunei.

It's now 3am. All three of them—ASEAN, Singapore and Brunei—had to pull out an all nighter for that day. Laos and Myanmar did help at one point, but they had to get home at around 1am. 

What were they working on? The Spratly islands territorial dispute.

What a mess, Singapore isn't even involved in that drama. Brunei is, but she only claimed a small portion of it. ASEAN himself doesn't even know how to take that seriously anymore, he just constantly gets ideas he knows it wouldn't spark the situation off. Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines made a huge chunk of mess behind the organization, which was one of the reasons why their reputation has been slowly decreasing. That's excluding China, who isn't even part of the organization but the regional forums, who claimed to take the whole thing.

ASEAN sighed out of frustration as he drops the black (digital) pen on the desk, looking towards the tablet and placed his palms on his forehead out of stress. He was trying to write an entire report about this, but he literally couldn't think of more things to be added. 3am isn't the best time to write things straight for him anyway, but he really needed this who-knows-how-long-this-essay-will-be as soon as possible. United Nations needed it for more reviewing. 

'If only that group of islands won't exist, then we're done,' he thought, as he read through the document he had written digitally. It's expected to be five pages long, he's still at the third one under the paragraph about Malaysia.

Two of the small countries were at the same room as him, so they both felt the pressure too. Both of them were actually contacting a fellow European organization since it was still afternoon in it's timezone, about other matters to be felt with. They were too focused on their work that they lost track of time.

It took a few more minutes until Singapore looked at the time over his laptop. 3:17am, that's brilliant. He is a night-owl for sure, but he worries so much about his adopted father and fellow partner. He was the chairman after all, and he recognizes a lot of things happening throughout the entire region, and ASEAN himself. Ever since Brunei joined, ties between the three have been strong, to the point where Phil had to give up his chairman role to him. 

He would look back and forth from Brunei for ideas, and onto his laptop for some time, but then eventually broke that chain and looked towards the organization instead. Both him and ASEAN are actually around the exact same age if we include ASA, so both of them knows each other really well. Both of them often go outside of business as well, it became extremely normal. They seldom celebrate birthdays together too, as their birthdates are beside each other on the calendar.

But something has been bothering him. Ever since he got the role of the "chairman of the ASEAN", it suddenly became active. It was surely a good thing, but he's worried about his boss. ASEAN never took breaks for sure, but his consistency just started to go lower than usual. Especially now, it felt like a pandemic had hit the entire organization, figuratively.

"Pa, you can take a break if you want," the Singaporean said, looking at his boss with concern as he developed those thoughts. He hoped that he would get a proper response, as what he had heard the Thailand vacation didn't go well.

ASEAN jumped a little as he heard his member's voice but preceded with a sigh afterwards. He looked towards the country-state and said, "No..."

Singapore frowned by that response. "Yeah, I totally get you all don't really take breaks but, it's really for the good..? Don't want to force you," he responded, as he leaned towards the wall. Singapore couldn't recall when ASEAN had last taken one ever since the 30 year mark hit aside from that one time they took him out, it totally bugged him the most as he was his moral support.

"Singapore?" the other country called, as she pulls down her tablet off of her face and interrupting the current conversation. "EU said he doesn't have any of them."

"Just end the conversation off, but be sure to pay respect," Singapore said to Brunei, and then turned to ASEAN once more. "How long has this dispute been going for again?"

"32 years," he responded. He took off his glasses afterwards and placed it on top of the desk.

Brunei shuts off her own tablet and added, "Yeah, Philippines started it. I didn't really have a part of it for a bit but- yeah it became worse than it should've."

The organization looked at the mirror on the desk for a moment then added, "This was mostly China's fault, this wouldn't be crazier when he isn't involved."

"Yet we still let him in the regional forum," Singapore commented, closing his laptop. He realized afterwards that he dodged the "rest" topic away fully, but then noticed that there's a high chance it will be pulled out once more. 

"Let's just take a break," the female whined. "It's 3:20 and I'm starving."

ASEAN was seen shutting off the tablet on his desk and tied his hair into a low ponytail at his back, as he said, "You two can just leave right now, it's pretty late. Very late."

"But, where are you going? It seems like your preparing for something," the bi-colored country asked, with a genuine look on his face. Is he going to work again? I don't think I should allow it now.

"I don't want to sleep, I'm too exhausted," he muttered loud enough for both of the countries to hear.

In response, Singapore just gave a I-don't-know-what-you-just-said-but-please-go-to-rest look. Brunei asked as she kept the tablet into her sling bag, "How does that work?"

"Ay, too exhausted noon ko-" he mumbled quickly and then shook his head. "I don't want to sleep, didn't feel like it right now... I still need other things to do."

"Hmm, UN?" 

"Yeah it's... It's Uni. Called for a meeting in like fifteen minutes."

The female then stood up from her seat and glances over at her boss, arranging her sling bag over her shoulders and fixed her black hijab. "You should really consider taking breaks, it's been non-stop work ever since you hit thirty."

Singapore then sighed in relief when that conversation was brought up again. Brunei was right—the entire organization had been noticing too much work had been put around the organization. That's why they literally force him to go on so much vacations recently, and it was not helping as much. That Thailand vacation was actually shortened to 4 days after an incident in the economy, MaPhilIndo themselves had been struggling with so much things due to their population rising quickly, and the Spratly Islands dispute had been chaotic every now and then. He had no other choice but to waste his time with it. It was obviously quite noticing that he had been burnt out by it, and everyone especially Thailand and Singapore noticed how much coffee he drank over the last couple of weeks. He surely doesn't sleep, it was optional. It's just seen that he was tired of working from that day.

There wasn't a response from the association, so Singapore caught the silence and spoke out. "Look, May is such a terrible month-! But... We can't just let you do this for how many years in a row now. I don't know- you just need a break."

The organization gave no response once more since he plainly looked at the stack of four books on his table, zoning out deep into more thoughts. He wasn't really okay, right? He was stressed and really tries to fix every single problem that goes out, and it made him feel bad for himself. He could do anything for the countries, but not... everything. In fact, he is just an organization, not a person who could literally change anything nor control one's country. It's them who can change, if he likes it or not.

He then traced back to the time where he changed his flag without anyone noticing, many years ago. The family actually gave a lot of mixed responses and different "theories" at first since he himself did the change. That's what he reacts on certain things with the countries, a lot of reactions and misconceptions. He hated how Phil works with his government nowadays, he hated how Myanmar is military owned nation, he once thought how bad Vietnam was as well due to it being communism... He couldn't change them. He could only change himself.

He then traced back to the topic where he was told to take a break, he notices how the countries would just straight up be worried now, for fifty years and counting he had been really active, especially the last 2 centuries. He wasn't actually okay, he never was okay. He then remembered, is that why he was forced into a vacation for a couple of times now?

Why was he so... blind?

He then leaned towards the table, arms crossed on top of it and his head being digged on the bottom—facing the messy papers on his desk. 

ASEAN had been focused on his work and others, and never really himself. He never spotted the others saying that he could use a break too. It's been going on for years now, and he didn't notice. He didn't realize how dedicated he was to everything else but himself, and his surrounding people who actually cared.

Singapore and Brunei, who were still in the room, took notice by that sudden change of response instead of a strict order, they both looked at each other for a little bit until the male country-state notice his boss was...

Shivering.

Panic rushed towards the bi-colored country and he reacted immediately. 

"Wh- nononono..!"

He walks behind the desk near the desk and pats ASEAN's head twice. He didn't move.

For goodness sake Singapore didn't want to do this, he was nearly the exact same age as the organization. Almost the same birthdays, but he wasn't an expert on comforting him, especially when he is his boss. He puts down his glasses on top of the desk, beside where the organization puts his and looked over the person once again. 

A few seconds later, he realized there was nothing else he could do to comfort him, so he just placed one of his knee on the ground and hugged ASEAN.

ASEAN, who suddenly felt a grip by his waist, slowly but surely revealed his face once more to Brunei. Brunei was there standing, couldn't help but observe. She wasn't really aware on his mental health until that day as well, everything seemed new to her and seeing her boss really exhausted made her speechless.

ASEAN then nodded, signaling something that Brunei is yet to confirm what it meant, but then he turned to Singapore and stood up from his office seat, pulling away from the hug. 

He then remained eye contact to the smaller male as the country stood up. Eventually he broke it as he looked towards his right side onto the wall, as he was admittedly embarrassed. 

"I'm so sorry if it's surprising of you to see me this way. I'm never like this," he muttered, then released a deep sigh under his breath.

"No- it's okay..! Are you alright now?" Singapore asked calmly.

He paused for a moment again, since he didn't want to respond to anything related to that question at all. But he didn't really have any other choice, does he?

He just shook his head in response to that question. It felt like the motivation of speaking has gone away from him, just like the first ever years he had been alive. Nobody cares about the organization when it first started, so that made him quiet. But this. This situation was different, and it still made him mute. He couldn't speak because he literally don't feel like so, but he needed. Nothing just came out of his mouth every time he tries.

Singapore literally had nothing to help, so he just hugged him once more. This time however, ASEAN slightly hugged back as well. The taller's forehead then landed on the smaller's right shoulder a few seconds later.

He sighed once more, making his wings slowly appear and dropping them onto the ground. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine. Ambil masa anda," [Take your time.] Singapore informed.

After that little response, the room became dead silent.

If it wasn't for Singapore and Brunei to bring out how worried the entire family was for him, who knows what would happen to ASEAN. After all, it's been more than fifty years. Who knows why he didn't realize about his health sooner.

Brunei was now on her phone, texting Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia to come over. They were the only one they could help them, as she personally know how they react to ASEAN, and overall how their sleep schedule is broken. After all, it's still at the middle of the earliest morning, and it's still dark outside. She really hoped they would come.

But then, the door slowly creeked opened without someone knocking.

Malaysia.

---

"I hope everything will be okay," Brunei stated, as she tapped her 5 fingers onto the steel bar.

The three (Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia) were left at a balcony still around the ASEAN building. They just needed a well deserved break after being into some sort of situation. Phil arrived earlier that day right after Malaysia did, so he was still in good company.

Singapore walked over the iron bars and leaned his back onto it as he scanned over his phone gradually. The country then broke the silence, "If Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste joined, I'm guessing we will have twice the chaos from now."

"Those two are really attached with each other, doncha think?" Malaysia asked, as he looked over the city observing the view gracefully. "I mean, they started to be friends quickly immediately after they saw each other in the observatory hall, I feel like there isn't any tension with both."

"Adding to the point where both wanted to join this family so much, I definitely agree," Brunei said in Malaysia's language. Everyone could understand though, since the three of them have been contacting each other in that specific language a lot.

Malaysia then returned a sigh to the conversation as he started to change the pace of the topic. "I'm really sorry for all of the things I may have caused between you both."

"You did nothing," Singapore said with their language then proceeded to turn off his phone. "If you're talking about the past or the past before that past then it's all good, no need to sorry about it."

"Mm, you didn't really do anything," the other small country responded, checking over her phone.

"I hope so," he sighed. "It's not only that, I haven't really been active on the organization lately and I just realized it's falling down slowly like this. I don't even know why I'm on here in the first place. Now it's just straight up... Worrying."

"I hope he's okay," Brunei added. "It's been years since he has been around like this... I don't know.."

Singapore looked over the two other countries at his sight. He puts down his glasses and looked over the city together with them both. He sighed.

"Yeah.."

Chapter Text

The Association of Southeast Asia.

That one unfinished project, turns 60 that year.

If it wasn't for that to happen, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations won't have any experience whatsoever.

It's been quite a long year, well the last two years anyway. It's only June of its second year, and heck, a lot had already happened.

That ukulele? He definitely did get back to it for the past decade. He started learning more tunes, with the help of some countries of course, including Phil's "donation" of 7 music books he had on his shelf.

For cooking, Vietnam actually invited ASEAN to a cooking contest one time. He was extremely confused why, but it turned out it was a whole lot of fun watching them. Thailand was actually one of the contestants and won, then he was forced to cook with her. It became a monthly thing starting then, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia would go together and either watch, or cook together. There were still some instances that the kitchen burned down, though.

An unusual thing he somehow got back into was flying. The European Union started visiting him since 2015 once every three months to have 'practice'. He hasn't really considered it as fun, but he enjoyed EU's company nontheless. He hasn't come back ever since 2020 due to some reasons to be delt with, however.

Brunei and Singapore did contribute a lot for the past year, due to the most obvious current events. They also gave another thing, a portfolio. It was given when ASEAN had it's 50th year, and it was on his desk right now.

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows around that century, the economy was literally crashed that year.

The UN and the EU really did a good amount of support ever since, and it made him think that maybe, forming the organization wasn't that bad after all.

We all know that the ten countries are just, childish in a light-hearted matter. However, they all contributed as one.

Nothing else could bother him.

If there was something he learned, communication was important. Whether online or not.

The vaccines are being distributed, and they really hoped it would be over soon.

Ah, he really missed the feeling of going to a farmland. Stumbling across some wheat and throwing a coin... that strangely resembled him in a really amazing way.

Coins... They're valuable, are they? The purpose of ASEAN was economy after all, no wonder why it was. If he was a coin, the would would be... Who even knows how the countries would react?

He smiled light-heartedly at that thought, as he looked through the city window. He missed going outside his apartment so badly. He just can't, things had been chaos ever since then. 

Standing up from the window seat, he approaches his freezer and grabbed a bottle of cold iced tea he had just bought online. He opens it, and drank it.

Closing the cap back, he began to realize. He really needed to go back to that Vietnamese farmland soon. That's where he spent his 30th year anniversary after all. He wondered what even happened to them as erll. He shrugged off the thought and placed the bottle back down.

He walked across the apartment once more, before landing onto the (laptop) desk and pulling out his tablet from a cabinet. He stared at it for a bit, before noticing his own reflection.

A blue organization, with a red circle in a middle surrounded with white, and 10 lines vertically in a strange shape.

People often mistake it as an hourglass, or just a plain old weird shape. It wasn't.

10 lines represents all of the ten countries in the organization, before it was five. The yellows represented the wheat in the wheat farms, one strand per country. A haystack.

He was agricultural based after all, right next to economy anyways. That meaning often goes unnoticed, sadly. Maybe because it wasn't too obvious to see.

He sighed and turned on his tablet, to be greeted with a really familiar background picture.

A family picture.

Not just any family, the ASEAN family.

This was taken back at 2019, when everyone was alright and well. He started at it for a little, dozing off on how much they missed them. It was until that point where he forgot why he picked up the device anymore, so he just placed it down.

He glanced at his apartment once more. The newly installed kitchen with the help of Laos and Myanmar. The ukulele on his bed, which had been given by Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines. That one picture on his desk on the second day he was on Earth. The color scheme he chose for his 30th birthday with Cambodia and slightly Vietnam. The photo album on his desk which Singapore and Brunei gave. He smiled.

He missed them so much.