𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 | 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐢

.  .  .

A week had passed ever since your arrival in the new world. You had grown accustomed to the routine of the organizations, and the building wasn't as unfamiliar anymore. You knew where every room on the second floor was, and only half on the first floor, since you couldn't frequent it as much as the second, due to countries visiting unexpectedly from time to time. Other than that, you had a lot more freedom to move about, with NATO still right behind you, but more freedom nonetheless. When NATO wasn't around due to an emergency, you kept your phone with you so the tracker let him and the other organizations know where you were or where you were going.

You and NATO had grown closer than before, with him feeling more comfortable showing light affection toward you in front of the other organizations. Patting your head, hugging you, or smiling, even if it was the ghost of one. They didn't mind at all they were happy to see NATO so open and caring. It helped ASEAN and the European Union to have more conversations with him, without expecting NATO to be so defensive. The United Nations was more than satisfied to know about the development, as he had tried to get NATO to take care of himself for the past decade and he never budged.

"How many times do we have to watch the Tomorrow War for you to sleep?" You furrowed your brows.

NATO shrugged. European Union and ASEAN had entered the dining room, acknowledging both you and NATO, taking their seat on the table to wait for the United Nations. You bickered back and forth with NATO, him getting defensive over his sleep schedule while the European Union and ASEAN watched the interaction with interest.

"I'm not going to let this slide." You huffed.

NATO held the ghost of a smile and patted your head. "I'm sure you won't."

ASEAN and the European Union often made time to spend with you, be it in the kitchen, garden, or library. The three of you could spend hours talking, watching TV, or keeping company with each other. ASEAN continued to tease you when the time was right, and he managed to get many different reactions from you, but you knew he did it in good fun. The European Union loved taking you to the library to tell you different stories of Europe, the cultures you didn't recognize, and countries you barely knew information about. He warned you about the most unstable countries you should avoid when the time came and the ones you could rely on.

The United Nations had grown fond of you after you had spent a night in his office while he worked. NATO had gone out to attend to an emergency in the aftermath of a party on the other side of the city, so The United Nations offered to keep an eye on you. He had been mostly concentrated on the papers, but would sometimes make small talk with you. He had taken a break in the middle of the night and he opened a conversation, and you learned that he rarely had the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone without work getting in the way. He was more than grateful to have you there and he opened up, trusting you enough to talk about his feelings.

With time, Missy had also been allowed to navigate through the second floor, to and from your and NATO's room. NATO had been kind enough to show her the rooms and teach her which rooms were out of bounds. European and ASEAN's rooms were at the end of the hallway, past NATO's, and Missy never missed the chance to rob them of their beds too. The United Nations only let the feline in his room once but would give her his attention if he was passing by her in the hallway. Missy was more than happy with how much space she had to herself, the second floor was a playground for her to run around and roll on the carpet.

Your day had started like any other. NATO woke you up for breakfast and waited for you by the door, hands behind his back. You lazily made your way to the bathroom with your clothes in hand to shower and tidy yourself up. The shower was refreshing, but you didn't take long and quickly moved to fix your hair and brush your teeth. You left your hair wet, deciding to dry it after breakfast so you wouldn't be late. You put on your clothes, and checked yourself out in the mirror, making sure you weren't missing anything. Satisfied, you met with NATO at the door and the two of you headed to the dining room to meet the others.