Pineapple
Rating: PG for allusions to violence
Genre: General
Characters/Pairings: America, OC Alaska, OC Hawaii, mentions of England.
Summary: It's Hawaii's 50th birthday party.
Words: edited down to 299.
Won 3rd place at hetalia_contest !! Thanks to everyone who voted!!! :D
It’s August and for once this year, Alfred Jones is happy. He’s on the beach, surrounded by friends and individuals considered family.
The sky is ink black, salted with stars. Tiki lamps and city lights keep the beach lit amber. Music from the bar is sporadically broken by England and Massachusetts’ roaring at the television.
He takes a bite of pineapple. The fruit cleaves under his teeth, and acid bites back. Juice, thick with pulp and sweeter than oranges, rushes through his mouth and dribbles down his chin (he catches it with his wrist). He remembers.
It’s 1893. The air is damp and heavy. The sun ablaze.
He licks a spot of blood from the corner of his mouth, iron, but it doesn’t dilute the taste of pineapple’s profits. He turns from the window overlooking white sands and Pacific and crouches to the bound Nation’s level.
Alfred picks her chin between his fingers and forces her brown-black, smoldering coals of eyes to meet his. They flicker with hate and he grins, emboldened by her passion.
“Now, Miss Leilani, there’s no need to be fussy.” His smile is more like bearing fangs. Fangs for ripping, chewing, devouring a land rich in sugar, pineapple, money. “It’s just business.”
Alaska drapes Hawaii over his shoulder. She flails and shrieks for help, though her face is alit with a smile like the Waikiki afternoon sun. With a splash, two bodies, two States, are waist deep in the Pacific.
“Alfred, help me!” Leilani cries. Alfred obliges. He wrests Hawaii from Alaska’s grip, but not without a mouthful of bitter salt.
On shore, she pulls him into a kiss that tastes of pineapple. “Thank you,” she says when she pulls back, tucking a runaway hair behind his ear, “for everything.”
Historical Notes:
In 1893, the offical royal Hawaiian family was deposed of power, and an American-backed republic was formed. The administration of President Cleveland said the removal of Liliʻuokalani was illegal and demanded that Queen Liliʻuokalani be reinstated. The local government refused and with McKinley (who has a school downtown named after him...good speech team), the Hawaii Republic was swallowed into American territory.
When the dust settles, this whole thing came down to money. The Hawaiian monarchy was upsurped by America because local plantation owners were tired of paying international tarrifs on sugar and pineapple.
However, a lot of the resentment between Hawaii and America has disipated. In August 1959, Hawaii became the US's 50th state, with approval of about 97% of her citizens. Since then, we've enjoyed our status of America's last (even though we're often forgotten as a state) and I would say the relationship is pretty damn good.
Once again, I wikipedia my information even though I live here.
Literary Notes:
So I've been looking for an excuse to write a Hawaii-America fic, mostly for the line "It's just business." And, because it might not be blatantly obvious, here's some notes on my train of thought.
Week's theme: masticate, which means to chew so I tried to describe things with the sense of taste and incorperated eating to the actions. And last, what I said in the cut. To chew over something means to think about it. Al's remembering. Thinking. w/e.
I imagine this taking place at whatever hotel this is.
I promise I'm working on Suburban Youth. It'll be up by Sunda~~y.