(c)Hetalia - Himaruya Hidekaz
Story is mine
Warning: inaccurate timings in history
"Come on, Arthur! You're so slow!" Sealand shouted, far up ahead of his brother. "We're burning day light!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" England shouted back with a slight smile. "Excited aren't we?"
"Of course!" Sealand exclaimed, hopping up and down next to England, whom was now right beside him. "This is the first time I get to see Leon in so many years!" he proclaimed, sparkling.
Today marked the first day little Sealand got to see Hong Kong since the Chinese boy was returned to China. He never got to see him during any meetings because the little sea fort wasn't allowed in them. The first time Sealand saw Hong Kong back in 1841, the Chinese boy was half a head shorter than him. When he left in 1997, they were nearly the same height.
"I can't wait to see how he's doing!" Sealand smiled brightly. "I get to be the older 'brother' again!"
Hearing Sealand's remark caused England to pause his steps. " 'Older'? Peter, wait‒!" England tried to stop Sealand and explain that things had changed over time, but it was too late; the young English boy was already running through China's gate.
"Yay! We're here!" Sealand excitedly shouted again. When England finally made it up to him, the little English boy had already knocked on the door.
"Peter, I need to explain something to you! About Xia‒ Leon‒!" Sadly, the door already opened before England could say what he wanted to say.
"Hello?" China had opened the door. Being around the same height, England was the first person China saw, causing the Chinese nation to glare. He was right about to slam the door shut, but a happy, innocent voice shook China out of his irritation.
"Hello, Mr. Yao!" Sealand gave a toothy smile, eyes wide with hope. China found him absolutely adorable.
"Hello, Peter," he greeted, crouching down to Sealand's height. "What brings you here aru?"
"Is Leon there?"
"…'L-Leon'?" China gave a questionable brow raise, looking up at England.
"Xiang! Is Xiang home?" England clarified.
"Oh! Yes, Xiang's home aru," China confirmed, inviting his guests in. "He's in his room upstairs."
Sealand thanked China, running up the stairs to meet his friend, expecting to see the same boy as long ago. But a thought had occupied his mind at the moment. 'Xiang…?'
"You changed his name ahen!?" China growled at England, Sealand having left.
"I-it's like not it stuck! Only a few call him by that name!" England defended himself. The other only groaned, walking upstairs after Sealand.
"And you could've at least called before coming over ahen…" China said mostly to himself. England only nervously chuckled; calling really would've been a smarter move.
Almost making it to the top, China noticed Sealand, looking confused at the hallway. That was when the Chinese nation realized that he didn't tell the young boy which one was Hong Kong's room.
"His room's over here aru," China chuckled softly, leading the way. Sealand looked to the ground, thanking him softly with an embarrassed blush.
"Xiang!" China called, knocking on the door. No answer. "Xiang! Open up aru! You have a guest!" Still no answer. Growing impatient, China opened the door. "Xiang!"
Hong Kong looked over his book, headphones on and blasting music. "Yes?" he asked, uncovering one ear.
"Aiyah, what did I say about having those things on loudly aru?" China sighed. Hong Kong only shrugged, moving his legs over the edge of his bed. At the same time, be placed a bookmark in his book and paused his iPod, taking off his headphones and placing it on his neck.
China rolled his eyes. "Anyways, you have a guest aru." The Chinese nation stepped aside, letting Hong Kong see Sealand and Sealand see Hong Kong.
Sealand was eagerly waiting behind China, excitement building up. But when the older nation had moved, Sealand's excitement changed. He was shocked to see Hong Kong now looking a lot older than him.
"Peter." Hong Kong was also surprised to suddenly see the English boy unexpectedly, eyes widening.
"I'll leave you boys alone," China said with a content smile. "I'm going to make sure Arthur's not in my kitchen ahen!" he added, shouting the last part out the door.
"How could you tell!?" England shouted back. China groaned with annoyance again, closing the door behind him.
"Heh, Arthur's still the same as ever," Hong Kong snorted, leaning back on his bed, putting his weight on his hands. Peter only nodded shyly, making the older boy confused.
The Chinese boy stood, walking over to Sealand. "So, how has things been back in England?" he asked, now in front of the boy.
Sealand tensed up. "F-fine."
"Hey, are you okay?" Hong Kong asked another question, bending down a bit to be closer in height with Sealand.
"H-how old are you?" Sealand asked instead of answering the other's question. His voice was noticeably quiet and timid.
"Well, at least 200, I suppose," Hong Kong answered, standing back up straight and scratching the back of his head.
"That's not what I meant!" Sealand shouted. Hong Kong was taken aback by the sudden loudness in his voice. "H-how old do you seem to be?" the younger boy asked more softly.
"…15 or 16 at least," the Chinese boy answered honestly, understanding now how Sealand was feeling.
"Why?" Sealand looked up at Hong Kong, eyes more watery than before. "We were the same when I last saw you! Why did you change!? That's not fair!"
Sealand sniffled, rubbing his eyes. It wasn't fair. Back when Hong Kong was more his age, they had done everything together. Played games, read books, escaped from England's cooking, pulled pranks on England. He had hoped that things would be the same, that they were still the same. But that's not longer the case.
Now Hong Kong was a teenager, listening to music and reading more advanced books. Sealand was still a child, 10 at most, still doing childish things.
"Why did you change? Why couldn't I change, too?" Sealand asked, looking down towards the floor, rubbing his tears with both his hands.
"Hey." He looked up, seeing Hong Kong crouching down on one knee in front him. "I may have changed a bit, but I'll still the same." Hong Kong smiled softly. Sealand blinked, still sniffling a bit. Hong Kong snorted, rubbing the younger boy's head.
With his tears gone, Sealand saw his friend clearly. An image from the past flashed quickly before him. He saw Hong Kong as a little boy again, smiling brightly with wide eyes. The image disappeared a second later, revealing the current Hong Kong, now with a small smile and more slanted eyes. Though it looked like he had changed on the outside, his friend hadn't changed that much in the inside.
Sealand started laughing silently before breaking out his famous cheerful smile. "You are still the same!" Hong Kong nodded his head.
"Of course." Hong Kong stood back up, walking over to his desk. Sealand followed besides him. "Do you still remember this little guy?" he asked, picking something up and showing the younger boy. It was a plush seagull wearing a little sailor hat.
Sealand gasped, eyes sparkling. "Mr. Pepper!" he exclaimed, taking the toy into his hands. The little English boy remembered giving Hong Kong his favorite toy when they parted in the past. "You still have him!"
"Why wouldn't I? My best childhood friend gave him to me," Hong Kong chuckled.
Sealand hugged him suddenly, happy tears building up. "It's great to see you again, Leo‒ Xiang!"
Hong Kong gave another chuckle, patting Sealand's back. "It's great to see you, too, Peter. You haven't changed at all. In fact," Hong Kong pulled away from the younger boy, pulling something out from under his bed, "to prove I haven't changed at all either, would you like to have some fun?"
What the Chinese teen had pulled out was something Sealand remembered clearly about him; firecrackers.
Sealand snickered, nodding his head. "What are we waiting for!?" He made his way back into the hallway. Hong Kong put a finger over his own mouth, signaling Sealand to be quieter. Sealand mimicked him with a smile.
They made their way down stairs and to the backyard, seeing their siblings squabbling while having tea. Getting down on his stomach, Hong Kong army crawled over to them, placing the firecrackers under England's chair without being noticed.
"Ready?" he asked when he crawled back to Sealand. The younger boy gave a thumb up with an evil grin, striking a match and lighting the fuse. Back with the older nations, they were still arguing, what had just happened not yet known to them.
"You should just leave and pick Peter up later ahen! No one asked you to stay!"
"Well how would I know you would care for my younger brother!?"
"Ai! I care about everyone except for you, Opiu‒" China paused midsentence, seeing Hong Kong and Sealand hiding while snickering. He gave a raised brow, then noticing a thin rope on the ground. Following were it lead to, China noticed the firecrackers underneath England's chair, seconds away from going off.
"Well, fine! If you hate me that much‒" England was cut off, China suddenly tackling him away from their current spot.
"Look out aru!" the Chinese nation shouted, pushing England and himself to safety, landing on the ground. The firecrackers then went off, emitting a cacophony of booms.
"What the…" England sat up on the palm of his hands, China on top of him, both watching the explosive. When it was over, the English nation turned to the other, seeing he was still looking at the aftermath.
"I thought you didn't care about me," England slyly smirked. China instantly turned pink, shooting his head towards England to see his face.
"I-I don't, Opium! It was‒! Ugh!" China frustratingly shouted, pulling himself away from England, still flushed. It felt horribly awkward with the English nation looking at him like so. Luckily, the awkwardness subsided when the two heard an eruption of laughter.
China and England turned to where it was coming from, seeing their brothers.
"Peter!"
"Xiang!"
They both shouted at the same time.
"Time to go," Hong Kong said to Sealand, pulling the younger boy onto his back and piggybacking him as they ran from their fuming brothers.
"Still the same?" Hong Kong asked.
"Mmhmm! Still the same!" Sealand happily answered.
Thank you for reading! Please excuse spelling and/or grammar! Hinted IggyChu 0w0v