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"What is this?" Prussia raised a brow, looking at the intricately designed, portable box in her hands.
"It's a gift, aru." China crossed his arms, a proud smile on his face. "Your birthdate was January 18th, right? It only makes sense, now that we're trading overseas."
That was true, yes, Prussia had wanted to extend her trade all the way to East Asia, reaching many different countries. Ones such as China.
Prussia considered this merely diplomatic, nothing more but give and take, but here was the asian — giving her a gift for her birthday.
"..Are you serious?" She asked, her tone clearly confused, her usual brashness quieted down for the moment. "A birthday gift? We're not allies, you know." Prussia wanted to peek inside, but she hesitated. Maybe it was a trap?
"Allies, no." China shook his head. "But I like you, as in.." He placed a hand on his chin, long sleeve hanging below his head. "you. Not your country, you, Maria. Friend, aru!" The man explained, straightforward without a stutter.
Friend? Not ally, friend? Maria, friends with Wang Yao.
"You want to be my friend?" Prussia asked, getting a nod in response. She didn't know how to feel about this, if she laughed in his face, that'll probably have an effect on their trade. But she also didn't want to do that, she felt like she couldn't.
Geez, how soft could she get? Before she could refuse, China pushed it further into her hands. "Come on, open it!"
"I—" "Hurry it up, I'm an impatient man, you can't keep me under this suspense."
"You—" "Just get on with it, aru!"
Maria sighed, realising there was no way of escaping this situation. China was like a grandparent, too stubborn for their own good and demanding their grandchildren accept the one hundred bucks they've offered them for their birthday. But it seems like some more thought was put into this rather than just being gifted a red envelope.
"Fine, alright! Stop pushing me, I'm gonna fall. For being so short, you're quite the damn enforcer!" Prussia scowled, shoving him back too, albeit gently. What the fuck is going on with her?
She threw those thoughts away, focusing on the snuffbox in her hand. Prussia doubted there was any actual tobacco in this thing, China wasn't that type of guy. So what the hell could have he given her?
She opened the box, revealing a stone. A beautiful, green one, shaped into the form of a chinese character she couldn't read. Prussia had to admit, the craftsmanship was on an entirely new level compared to what Prussia was used to. "..A jade pendant?"
Yao nodded. "Indeed, small and easy to carry! Brings good fortune, but this specific shape is meant to represent longevity." He walked over, watching as Maria took it out of the snuffbox. "It's the character Shòu," China pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, showing the same symbol.
"I wanted to give you specifically this one, so your kingdom may live for eternity." He explained himself, now turning to face her.
In turn, Maria blinked, observing the jewelry. The gesture was.. sweet, to say the least. She felt her heart squeeze itself, a rare thing she once mistook for a heart attack because she's never been showed basic affection.
"Here, let me put it on for you." Yao softly grabbed it from her hands, giving her the chance to put it on herself, but she just let him take it, watching him with almost wide eyes.
He put it over her head and pulled her hair out, patting her shoulders. "There, you look so nice! Aren't you happy you got it?"
Maria looked at him with the same expression as she did before, but her lips were parted in complete bafflement. She could barely listen to the elder's ramblings about how she should wear more necklaces, saying they fit her style, especially jade ones. The woman didn't know how to feel, should she be mad?
Happy, probably? Maybe even embarrassed, she didn't know. Didn't know how to react. So she blue-screened, hand clasped over the jade.
She was snapped out of it by a miserable looking chinese, a frown on his face as he shook her by her shoulder. "..Do you not like it, aru?"
Maria blinked again.
"I can take it back, it's alright!" Yao sputtered, waving his long sleeves. "You don't have to wear it either if you don't want to, I just thought it'd be nice since we're getting along so well and I really liked the porcelain your country has sent over. Just keep it safe in the snuffbox, please, I worked hard on that darn stone-"
He was interrupted by a sudden hug coming from the taller country, letting out a soft sound of surprise. "Uh, Prussia?"
"Shut up." She snapped at him, but it wasn't as hostile as she wished it came out. "I.. I like it very much, a whole lot! So shut up about that, I'm not returning it, neither am I not wearing it." Maria didn't even realise when her voice had turned shaky, her vision blurred from the tears she was so desperately trying to hold back. She couldn't falter at something like this, something stupid and loveable and the perfect gift-
Before she knew it, she was crying, the chinese country taking a moment to understand the situation before placing a hand on her back and trying to comfort her. "Oh, Maria.."
The prussian didn't have the strength to yell back at him or snap again, just wailing loudly into his shoulder.
"You're the last person I expected to hug crying, you know?" He tried to cheer her up, but seeing she probably wasn't calming down any time soon, he sighed and continued to try just being there for her. "You are so emotional under all of that pride.. Let it out, bǎobǎo."
China was sure they probably weren't moving from here any time soon, but that didn't really matter to him. As long as she got it out of her system, that would be an improvement alone in itself.