{+States} I'd walk a thousand miles, but the sea is in the way.

Amongst all the hustle and bustle of a marketplace of Copenhagen, all the cheery chatter and banter, there was a single man standing apart. Not only was he in an area with a low population, but he was also the only one dressed as he was-- dark, slim and rather pissed off at a small café on the corner. He stared through his shades at the glittering water aways off-- hoping it would calm him.

Doc Holliday Jones was not pleased.

He'd come to Copenhagen because his sister had proposed a kind of family trip there-- only to cancel at the last minute, saying something about fires. He was worried about it-- California burns every year-- and he wanted to go try and help his sister through it... but he was stranded. The plan had been to meet up in Copenhagen, stay for a few days, then return with tickets Lolo had already in her possession... But clearly that wasn't happening anymore. She said she'd mail them, but it would certainly take at least a few days to get here. Doc sighed, checking the time on the cell phone at his elbow-- he'd use his watch, but the battery was dead. What should he do for the next few days...?

Hein sighed. It wasn't often that his broer--Denmark--called him to Copenhagen. And three out of five times did he actually meet him when he was supposed to.

This time was one of those other two.

Now, Hein didn't like people. At all. He felt as if everyone was trying to kill him, or felt like they were all talking about him (and not in a good way), or felt like everyone had a better life than he.

So, the Netherlands retreated to a small café, where there was less people. Sure, there were people, but the throng wasn't as big; so it was easier to breathe for him.

As he passed a table with a rather eerie looking man, he tripped, grabbed for the table, and managed to get his hands on a phone before falling. Flat on his face.

He didn't feel like moving after that, especially since his face was so red.

"Ah..." Doc blinked a couple times, staring at the strange, clumsy person flat on the floor next to him. After a couple seconds, he got out of his chair and knelt down by the fallen man. "Hey. Are ya okay?" He could really care less about the phone-- it was a cheap thing that Lolo had finally talked him into getting. With strong, gentle hands he reached down and helped the stranger up-- he couldn't just leave him sprawled and humiliated like that.

Inwardly, Doc flinched as the thought of what Lolo would've done had she been there. She probably would have laughed and teased him for being so gentle with a total stranger. Still, there was something about this person that made him want to be at his gentlest-- like he instinctively knew better than to frighten him.

Hein yelped when he made contact with another person, and flushed even more when the man spoke to him. He sat up picked his glasses--having fallen off when he fell--and slid them back on, staring at the ground, refusing to meet the helper's eyes.

He whispered, "J-Ja..." He was currently unaware that he was clutching the cell phone to his chest, as if it were a delicate, ancient relic.

A soft, kind smile twitched its way across Doc's mouth. "Hey, now, don't worry! I'm not gonna hurt you." He reached up, touching the stranger's chin with the lightest of touches, drawing his face upwards to meet his eyes. "Name's Doc. Doc H. Jones." He didn't comment on the phone in the other's possession, finding the sight to be fairly adorable, really.

He winced and would've drawn away had he been able to move. Well, he tried moving, and it didn't really work out. He was completely frozen.

"A-Ah... H-Hallo..." His eyes were caught on the other's. "I-I'm H-Hein..."

Nederland tried to move again, moving his legs to stand up, and winced again at the pain in his ankle. He tried not to show the pain though, so he wouldn't worry the kind "Doc".

Doc was exceedingly experienced in noticing when people were trying to hide pain-- Lolo did it to him all the time, and she was much better at it than Hain is. "Ah, wait, you're hurt." He gently but firmly held Hein still as he examined his ankle. "You sprained this. Try not to put any weight on it." Mindful of the injured joint, Doc lifted Hein up into a chair. He pulled another chair to him, lifting Hein's foot up onto it, pulling off his shoe at the same time. Out of his pocket came a roll of bandages, which he used to tightly wrap Hein's ankle, providing support and compression. He saluted one of the waitresses and asked for an ice pack-- which she brought quickly. Doc immediately put the icepack on Hein's joint, and settled into his own chair.

Really.

Hein had absolutely no idea how to react to something like this. His eyes were wide and glossy as the other handled his ankle. He gasped a few times, even though he was gentle. He definitely gasped and yelped when the icepack was placed on his ankle.

The blonde looked up at the other across the table, completely flushed. He didn't know what to say.

"Th-Thank y-you..."

Doc didn't like to admit it, but he was blushing lightly from when he lifted Hein-- the only person who ever clung to him, ever, was Lolo. Besides that, Hein was really adorable-- especially all flustered like that. "Of course. We can't have that," he gestured at Hein's ankle, "turning into something serious." He'd done everything to treat Hein's ankle that he could with his limited resources, and done it as quickly as possible. He hoped it would be enough. He smiled gently at Hein. "You really should stay off your ankle as much as possible-- You don't want it to get worse."

Hein fidgeted a bit, nodding. "J-Ja..." He glanced at him, hands still clutched at his chest. His thumbs rubbed against the cell phone, before he realised he still had it. Looking down, he fidgeted a bit more before mustering up courage.

He reached across the table and handed it to him.

A soft chuckle escaped Doc's mouth as he took back the phone. Their fingers brushed against each other-- a soft touch, just barely there, but still there. He smiled, taking off his shades, not really needing them for now. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear, meeting Hein's eyes with his own pale, ice-warm ones, twinkling with good humor. "Can I get you a drink? Or did you come in here just to trip and injure ankle?"

He chose to ignore the touch, brushing it off as just a coincidence. He sat back in the chair, and looked down.

"A-Ah...? A drink?" He glanced up at him quickly, feeling like his face would explode when he saw his eyes. Glancing back down, "...N-Nee... Y-You've d-done plenty..." He fidgeted.

Doc laughed outright at his, a quiet, pleasant kind of laugh. "Nah, Hein. I did what I had to do." He smiles at Hein, his eyes lighting up with his inner happiness, only a fraction of which colored his tone. "Let me be nice, and get you a coffee or something."

He continued to flush, looking up at him. "A-Ah... B-But..." Being the nice person he was, he wouldn't want to let him do that for him. But... He did insist, so Hein supposed it was okay. "...O-Okay..." He looked down, fidgeting quite a bit. He wasn't used to this amount of attention.

Doc flagged down the waitress again, ordering a cup of coffee for his guest. He sighed, settling back in his chair, and examined Hein with interest. "...Beg your pardon, but you wouldn't happen to be a nation, would you?" There was just always... something about nations and states that gave away what they were-- if you knew how to look.

He felt scrutinised.

"A-Ah... Ja... I-I'm N-Nederlands... Th-The Netherlands..." He fidgeted, though he gradually started to get calmer. Something about the other man that was soothing to him.

Hein could tell that Doc wasn't out to kill him. It was a rather nice feeling.

A nod, and a soft smile. "Ah, forgive me... It's not often I run into a new nation, even when my sister and I are abroad." Doc reached over and patted his shoulder gently. "There's nothing to fear; I'm but a humble state amongst the many in the United States. I'm Arizona."

Something in his coat pocket tinkled lightly, a soft sound amidst the busy area. It was audible, if you were a quiet, attentive person. Doc reached in his pocket to still the item, smile dropping slightly, becoming a little sad. He could barely remember the person who'd given him this-- a special, magical person, whom he held dearly in his heart despite his inability to remember. Doc knew they'd meet again--- but when? Where? He didn't know... But Hein certainly reminded him of that person from so long ago. Perhaps that was why he was already so fond of him.

"Eh?"

The world shifted, and suddenly everything was silent—sans the item in Doc's pocket.

Hein blinked, and vaguely remembered something. He usually dreaded remembering things, because they often involved the war. But, no, this went back before it, back when he was still trying to colonise the New World.

He was silent as he tried to remember. And he remembered a little boy. And bells. And a small charm.

And the charm and the fire and the war and the beatings and-and—

He covered his ears, closed his eyes, and leaned forward, beginning to cry. He cried out in Dutch several times, calling for that boy.

Startled, Doc leaned forward and hugged Hein gently, unsure of what else he could do. "H-hey, Hein---" He stopped, hearing a familiar nickname on Hein's lips. "...ah..." Something stirred in his mind, speeding through the processes in his brain until--

Until finally, it clicked-- he could match a voice to a figure in his memory, though he still didn't have a name--- "Y-you...! I-I remember you, kind of!" He jammed his hand back into his pocket and withdrew the item-- a small bell on a long, wide ribbon. "You... you gave me bella. didn't you?!" His voice cracked with disbelief and amazement. "So I'd never get lost!"

Hein glanced up. "... B-Bella...?" He paused and subconsciously scooted closer to Doc. "... A-And..." He wiped his eyes and took the small bell, holding it by the metal—not the ribbon.

His voice wavered as he looked at Doc softly. "... A-And you're... You're..." He cried more, leaning into Doc's shoulder. "H-He knew—! H-He knew who y-you were! H-He threatened m-me wi-with you—!" He sobbed, getting Doc's jacket all wet. "I-I was s-sure th-that—!"

He paused, choking on the tears, trying to regain his composure. "H-He—He burned it... I-In front of me... H-He burned th-the charm...!" He reached up and fixed his glasses; he wasn't really caring about the odd stares they earned from passers-by. "I-It was the only thing I-I really cared a-about... A-And he took it! I thought he'd taken away you too, my precious—precious Duckie...!" His voice ceased as he was abruptly taken over by sobs.

Doc's immediate response was to hold Hein tighter, pressing his lips softly to his hair, simply holding him for a minute or so before speaking. "Hein... Here, see? I'm safe, and I'm real..." he murmured, stroking Hein's hair lovingly, "Whoever that was has never laid a finger on me. And-- I'll make you a new charm, Hein. Please, don't cry..." He leaned down and kissed Hein's cheek tenderly, brushing away the tears with his fingers. "Whoever that was-- he'll never hurt you again, because I'll protect you. Always." He smiled sweetly, looking much like his younger self, but with all the maturity of all the years he'd lived fighting for existence. "Okay?"

He grit his teeth and tried to stop crying. "A-Ah! I-It was the b-bastard Germany..." He leaned up and glanced at Doc. "B-But... I-I know you will...

"I-I thought you were g-gone all these years! O-Or I would've looked for you..." Hein slowly stopped crying, and now he just leaned against Doc, limp. "H-Hn..." He snuggled into him.

He never could've felt safer in someone else's hands.

"Ah... I see..." Doc nuzzled Hein's hair, breathing in its scent. "I've been looking for you ever since you left, Hein... even though I forgot your face and your name, I had bella, and your voice, to keep me walking." He wrapped his arms more securely around him, cuddling him a bit. "And... see, bella really is magic. It led me right to you. Even if it did take a long time."

Doc loosened his arms a bit to scoot his chair over, adjacent to Hein's, so he could hold him better. "Together again... just like we promised, ja?"

His chest hurt and he wrapped his arms tightly around him. He nuzzled into his shoulder. Felt like he couldn't get close enough to him.

"J-Ja... Forever." He laughed weakly, softly, once. "I... I told you that I'd come back to you... After the war..." He clenched at Doc's jacket softly. "I told you that I'd be fine. I-I'm fine now..." He leaned up, feet slipping off the chair. He winced lightly, but then kissed his cheek. "I told you... I told you, mijn Duckie..."

A soft sigh escaped Doc's lips. A name. Finally. A name emerged in the back of his brain. "Ah... You did, Pween." He gently picked Hein up and held him in his lap. "You were always right."

He wasn't sure how long he held Hein there, reveling in his very presence... It could have been minutes, it could have been more, but eventually he drove himself to speak. "Hey, Hein... I'm stranded here for a few days... Any idea on what I should do?" He grinned at the man in his lap.