For a long moment, Hong Kong just stood there, blinking at England with a completely blank face. The temperature in the room plummeted. England cocked his two bushy brows. He took a cautious step forward, not expecting the girl to leap back reflexively.
"Woah, d-don't do anything reckless," England said, fearing that the other might blow up the entire hotel room out of shock. "Calm down."
"I'm, like, calm enough," Hong Kong said, extremely composed to say the least. She ignored the frantic beating of her heart and slowly stepped back out of the room.
"Hong Kong-"
"You're kidding me, right?" She frowned, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're, like, pulling my leg."
"I'm not," England said seriously. "Now tell me who it was."
"What?"
"Well, the least you can do is to tell me who you had sex with," England said. "I'm your guardian too."
"Drop dead," Hong Kong grunted.
"You know, things are going to get pretty complicated. You can't turn back into a boy unless you-"
"Can I, like, get rid of it?" Hong Kong blurted out. She didn't know why she would say that without the slightest hesitation. It was a downright brutal request. She was trembling. Her heart was racing. Her skin burnt. Even her vision started to get blurred. Her mind drifted off to a haze.
"What?" England gasped, staring at her in astonishment. "You want to get rid of the baby?"
"Is that…like a possible way to…you know," Hong Kong stuttered, not sure of her stance anymore. She glanced down at her flat tummy. Seriously? Something was growing inside her? Why would that even happen! It made no sense! "Wait…just…let me…like clear my head first…"
"Leon- I mean, Leona, I'll see what I can do to help," England said, walking up to her. She only scooted away from him until she was out of the room and her back hit the wall.
"No, don't, just…let me think for a moment," Hong Kong said.
"Who is the father?" England asked again, perturbed.
"I'll, like, see ya later, bye!" Hong Kong yelped and ran out of the floor.
"Hong!" England shouted after her. She disappeared around the corner.
She ran upstairs and bumped into China. He glanced at her in perplexity and caught her in time before she tripped.
"Hong? What're you doing?" China asked.
Hong Kong averted her gaze and mumbled something.
"What're you saying?" China shook her. "Is everything okay? Aiyah! Why are you still a girl?"
"Sorry, I think I, like, needa think quietly for a moment," she muttered and pushed China aside. She continued to run upstairs.
"Hong!" China shouted after her. He frowned and growled under his breath, "Damn it, opium bastard. You're gonna pay for this aru!"
He rolled up his sleeves and stomped downstairs, heading straight towards England's room.
Hong Kong stood outside her room. She froze when she heard laughter and chatters. She opened the door. The two boys stopped laughing and turned to her. They paused their video game and put down their controllers. South Korea waved at her with a wide grin. Iceland smiled.
"Hi! Where did ya go?" South Korea asked. "We're waiting for you to have dinner!"
"Did something happen?" Iceland asked, noticing that his other companion was panting and sweating with a frown.
"Hey! How come you're still a chick?" South Korea stood up. Iceland followed. The two stared at her curiously.
"Did you go to England?" Iceland asked. "Why hasn't the spell worn off?"
"You're acting weird da-ze!" South Korea waved his hands in front of her. "What's the matter?"
"Should we go down and have dinner together?" Iceland asked and showed them his watch. "It's almost eight."
"What's with that grumpy face?" South Korea poked her cheeks. She growled and shoved him hard. South Korea fell on the floor with an aching butt. Iceland gasped.
"Out," Hong Kong mumbled. "Please get out of my room."
"That hurts!" South Korea sat up and glared at Hong Kong. "What's that for da-ze?"
"Like, leave, now." Hong Kong opened the door. "Both of you."
"What's happened?" Iceland frowned. "Why are you so-"
"Pissed!" South Korea grunted and stood back up. He dusted his shirt and crossed his arms. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Did we do something wrong?" Iceland asked nervously.
"No, just leave," Hong Kong said. "I, like, wanna be alone tonight."
"Fine! You're not the only one with a temper da-ze!" South Korea grumbled and stomped out of the room. "Let's go, Ice. Obviously someone isn't grateful for our company at all!"
The Korean boy grabbed Iceland's wrist and dragged him out of the room. The two boys walked down the hallway together.
"I don't get it," Iceland said. "Why is she so angry at us?"
South Korea shrugged, still holding the other boy's hand.
"Whatever," he said. "Her mood is always unpredictable."
Iceland brooded over the words. True it wasn't always easy to comprehend Hong Kong's thoughts. Even as a boy, he had always been rather reticent and fluctuating. He could either stay mute for the entire day or talk incessantly but all that poured out of his mouth were sarcastic remarks. When he was silent, there were many possibilities. Iceland had learnt over the years that Hong Kong's quietness could indicate he was unamused, stressed, depressed, miserable or furious.
"I wonder what we've done," Iceland said. "Did we piss her off by accident?"
"I don't think so," South Korea said. "She was pretty fine before she went out."
"So something happened then," Iceland sighed. "Why wouldn't she tell us?"
"Who knows?" South Korea pouted. "I'm tired of her getting violent all the time da-ze! I mean, we're all best buddies! Why is it that I always get hit!"
"Well, you deserve it for groping others," Iceland said.
"I don't just grope anyone, you know."
Iceland stared at his friend inquisitively. For once, Yong Soo wasn't bouncing and fooling around. His smile was gone. He had an awfully solemn look on his face.
"I thought Leon preferred talking to you more," he piped up.
Iceland frowned and shook his head.
"Not really," he replied. "We skype frequently but all we talk about is silly stuff. He never told me much about himself to be honest. I thought you know him better. Well, you two are kinda related, right?"
That question put South Korea in deep thought. They reached the cafeteria and took two empty seats. Iceland caught a glimpse of his family over the corner. Denmark spotted him and hailed to him loudly. Iceland rolled his eyes and made a grimace. Norway stared at him sternly, but decided not to interrupt his date. Sweden was asking Finland to feed him something. Iceland sighed inwardly and tried to ignore his peculiar family.
They went out and grabbed some plates. They filled them with food and snacks. Iceland got himself a glass of soda. South Korea went for some wine. They settled down and ate their buffet dinner.
"Right," South Korea said as he took a large bite of the cheese pizza. "We used to live together as kids, but that was like a century ago. We weren't really that close, if you ask me. We were all under Yao's care. I suppose he talked a lot more then. We sometimes argued and fought for the last piece of meat bun on the plate."
"Who got the bun in the end?" Iceland chuckled.
"Leon." South Korea pouted and propped his chin in his palm contemplatively. "Old man said older kids should take care of the younger ones. So not fair. Leon was younger than me. So Yao always asked me to give him food, toys and other stuff."
Iceland thought about the times Norway always pampered him. He might be an overprotective and nagging brother, but he couldn't deny that he had always taken care of him painstakingly, leaving all the possible goods to him.
"He smiled a lot. We played together. Those were the times when Kiku, Mei, Cheng and others were still home da-ze. What a beautiful memory!" Yong Soo giggled and took a sip of his wine. "And then, everyone left. One by one. We were still pretty small at that time. I remember seeing England take him away. We were all there on the port. Old man tried not to break down. Leon was crying and kicking and shouting. They dragged him onto the ship and I didn't see him for decades. Kiku left. He took Mei with him. He annexed my land and forced me to live with him as well. Then, a lot of things happened. We all got separated and took different paths."
Iceland nodded silently and peeked at his family. He remembered those horrendous times when Denmark and Sweden were practically walloping each other to death every day. The family broke apart when Sweden decided that he had had enough. They had an awful fight which rendered both severely injured. Denmark was yelling and thrashing about like a feral animal. Iceland had never seen him so intimidating and deranged before. There was blood everywhere. Broken glasses. Ripped family portraits. His brother was trying hard to hold Denmark back. Finland got accidentally struck by Denmark. Sweden went haywire. Everyone was shrieking and bellowing at one another. Iceland cowered in one corner with his pet. He was six or seven at that point, but was old enough to comprehend what was going on in this warped family. That night, Sweden and Finland disappeared into the snow for good. The house smelled of iron and tears. Iceland could never wipe out the image of his brother holding the wounded Dane close to him, humming an old folk song while sobbing.
"Arthur took him away by force. Kiku broke him the way he broke me. Yao got him back but limited his freedom because he was afraid of losing him again. When he was back with us, he wasn't the same Leon I used to know," South Korea went on. "It took us years to make him smile again da-ze! All he ever talked about after he returned to the family were economy, finance, business, trades, stocks…well, simply everything about money!"
"He does have an infatuation with money…" Iceland muttered.
"That's ridiculous! Money isn't everything!"
"Well, I suppose he depends on it like you depend on kimchi," Iceland said.
"Still makes no sense to me," South Korea said. "I like kimchi, but I like other stuff too."
"Breasts, for example."
"No!" South Korea whined. "I'm not always that perverted, okay? You know me."
"Maybe." Iceland shrugged.
"You were so quiet before too! But you're getting so much better," South Korea said. "And Leon…he's still so…stubborn! I wish he could open up more da-ze!"
"Maybe there's something he wants to hide from us," Iceland mused. "We can't force someone to do something he doesn't want."
"But we're best friends…I mean, am I the only one who thinks we are?" South Korea frowned.
Iceland put down his fork and glanced at the other boy.
"No," Iceland said. "We are."
He didn't know if Hong Kong thought the same, but a giant, goofy grin was already visible on South Korea's face.
"Let's check up on her tomorrow da-ze! She can't just slam the door on us!"
"Sure."
Iceland looked up at his brother. Norway stood at their table with his arms crossed. He glared down at the two teenagers.
"What's it now, Lukas?" Iceland grunted.
"I hope you two aren't up to some mischief," Norway said. "I don't need you to break any more laws here, lil' bro."
"Cut him some slack, Norge!" Denmark laughed and patted Norway's back. "They're teens. They're supposed to be young and wild and oh, have you forgotten our glorious, crazy teensy days?"
Norway pinched the Dane in the arm, successfully shushing him. He turned back to Iceland and South Korea.
"And I'm glad Hong Kong isn't here. I don't need to know my brother is involved in another explosion in the town."
"S-Stop it, Lukas!" Iceland blushed and argued, "What we do when we hang out doesn't concern you at all!"
"I'm just saying, pick your companions wisely," Norway said and walked away. "The bad ones tend to get you into trouble a lot."
"S-Shut up!" Iceland shouted.
"Come on, we're heading back," Norway growled and dragged the whining Dane out of the cafeteria.
"Your bro seems to have an issue with us da-ze!" South Korea giggled.
"Don't mind him," Iceland sighed. "He's like that. He can't do anything."
oOo
When Hong Kong woke up the next morning, she dashed into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.
"Shit," she cussed. "So, this isn't a dream after all."
She banged her head on the table.
"Damn it."
England's words lingered in her head. She turned on the tap and splashed her face with lots of cold water. She looked back at her reflection, her bangs dripping wet. There were dark circles around her eyes. She sighed.
A knock startled her. She scurried out of the bathroom and answered the door. To her annoyance, it was Iceland and South Korea. She tried to slam the door on them but apparently, they had foreseen that. Iceland held the door open with his hand while South Korea stuck out his left foot. They raised their brows at her.
"Oh come on, you can't be, like, bothering someone this early in the morning," Hong Kong croaked. She reluctantly let the two boys in.
"It's eleven, my dear." South Korea laughed and pranced into the room. He bounced onto her bed. She growled.
"Morning, Leona." Iceland smiled and held up a plastic bag. "We brought you some breakfast."
"Figure you would sleep in da-ze!" South Korea rolled on her bed and giggled. "We're so considerate!"
"Uh, you don't, like, really have to do that," Hong Kong said. She took the bag and put it on the table. Iceland took a random seat on the couch.
"Are you feeling better?" Iceland asked.
"What? I'm fine," Hong Kong mumbled.
"No, you're not!" South Korea yelped. "You were so rude yesterday for no particular reason!"
"Can you tell us what's going on?" Iceland said. "Why are you still a girl?"
Hong Kong took a deep breath and sat down on the chair. She crossed her legs and sighed.
"And I suppose you guys, like, won't leave me alone until I tell the truth, eh?"
"We're just trying to help," Iceland said.
"Isn't that what friends are for!" South Korea yelled.
Hong Kong twitched at the word "friends". How could it slip out of South Korea's mouth so easily? She peeked at Iceland, who surprisingly was nodding.
"I just hope you guys, like, won't freak out," she said nonchalantly.
"Go on," South Korea urged, kicking his legs in the air. "We're listening da-ze!"
"Okay," Hong Kong said. "I'm pregnant."
South Korea stopped kicking his legs and gawked at Hong Kong. Iceland stared jaw-dropped at her. Nobody moved. For five minutes, the room was drop dead silent.
Hong Kong looked away from her two friends and unpacked the plastic bag. She took out the lunch boxes and opened one of them. She snapped a pair of wooden chopsticks into half and started eating the fried noodles.
The two boys exchanged a dubious glance. Eventually, South Korea broke the silence.
"W-Wait…what did you just say da-ze?"
"You heard me," Hong Kong said, basically gobbling up the noodles. She didn't even care how unmannerly she looked at the moment. She was so damn hungry. The other two could stay stunned for another hour or so.
"You're…pregnant?!" Iceland gasped. He stood up abruptly and shuddered. "You're joking, right?"
"Nah, Arthur confirmed it last night," Hong Kong said. "That's why I can't, like, turn back into a boy for the time being."
"Holy shit!" South Korea exclaimed. "You mean you're having a baby?"
"Im Yong Soo, if you don't know what 'pregnant' means, you can, like, look up the dictionary," Hong Kong said. She grabbed a pocket dictionary from the table and tossed it at him.
"This…This is impossible," Iceland stammered. "I thought…"
"We're nations da-ze!" South Korea said. "We aren't…supposed to have children…I don't know. I mean…aren't we all infertile or something?"
"Does that mean female countries like Hungary and Belarus are all…fertile?" Iceland gulped.
"Yea, I, like, realise that now," Hong Kong echoed.
"Gosh!" South Korea dashed towards the table and squatted down before Hong Kong. "You're serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Hong Kong stared at him grimly. Iceland walked towards the table and frowned.
"But…how?"
Hong Kong sighed. She decided that both her companions weren't so bright after all.
"Emil, you know how sex and reproduction work, right?" She smirked. "You have a penis museum at your place."
"S-Shut up!" His cheeks turned beet red. "Of course I know how reproduction works! But…But how did you-"
"Get knocked up?" Hong Kong laughed. "Oh please, you forgot we had sex a week ago?"
"Oh that night…" South Korea scratched his head.
"Probably." The girl shrugged and moved on to the next lunch box. She grabbed a bun and munched on it.
"So…you're going to…" Iceland trailed off.
"I'll ask Arthur later if I can, like, get rid of it," Hong Kong said.
"What?" The other two widened their eyes.
"An abortion or something. Then I can, like, turn back into a boy?"
"Isn't that something dangerous to do?" Iceland said.
"Exactly! You could die da-ze!"
"Stop being so dramatic," Hong Kong said and stuffed his mouth with a bun. "There, I'll be alright."
"No, we can't just let you do this on your own," Iceland said. "We're all responsible."
"Yea! Responsibilities originated in me da-ze!" South Korea yelped. "We should've used condoms that night!"
Hong Kong rolled her eyes.
"See, that's the reason why I don't, like, wanna tell you guys at all."
"Hold on a second," South Korea held up his hand, "if you're pregnant…that means you're having a baby and which leads to the ultimate question-"
South Korea and Iceland both glimpsed each other before turning back to Hong Kong.
"Whose baby is it?" the two boys asked simultaneously.
Hong Kong didn't even look them in the eyes. She opened a can of coke and started drinking.
"I," she paused and licked her lips, "don't know."
The three of them were quiet for a moment. In all honesty, she had no idea who the father was. They both came in her that night. It was a mistake. She didn't realise the chance of getting knocked up as a girl would be that high. They never needed any protected sex when they were all guys. It was so much more convenient. None of them would have gotten pregnant at all.
"How am I, like, supposed to know?" she said after noticing their puzzled expressions. "You both…well…" she trailed off with a faint blush. "Shit. This is so messed up."
"I don't think you should...do anything dangerous," Iceland said. "What if…it kills you?"
"I agree." South Korea nodded.
"What? You mean I should keep it?" Hong Kong frowned. "But I, like, don't even wanna be a girl anymore!"
"But…have you even asked if it's possible to abort the baby?"
"No." The girl finished her drink and stood up. "I'm going to find Arthur now."
"We're going with you da-ze!"
They found England in the lounge room. He had a plaster on his forehead and lots of band-aids on his arms. He sat on the couch reading a newspaper. When the three walked up to him, he lifted his chin.
"Wow, I'm guessing, like, teacher did a number on you last night?" Hong Kong smirked.
England growled and crumpled his newspaper. He stood up.
"Hong, where have you been? Yao's gone berserk," England said, rubbing the lump on his head.
"You didn't tell him, did you?"
"No," England said. "Why would I want to make him slay me? He's looking for you. You have to face the music sooner or later."
"This is, like, all your fault," Hong Kong said. "You've got to fix me."
"Like I said, Hong, I can't turn you back into a boy now because you're…" England paused. He stared at the two other nations behind Hong Kong. "Wait, why are you two…Hong, don't tell me it's one of them?"
Hong Kong looked over at her two partners. Iceland remained stoic. South Korea had his trademark cherubic grin.
She nodded.
England facepalmed and fell on the couch.
"Now tell me, which one of you impregnated my so- I mean- daughter?"
"We don't know da-ze!" The two teenage boys shrugged.
England scowled.
"Look, I, like, need your help to get rid of this thing in my belly," Hong Kong said. She inched closer to England and pointed to her tummy. "Please, Dad?" She smirked, knowing just the right magic word to flatter the older nation.
"I can't," England said glumly and shook his head. "I can't do that…It won't do anything to help you turn back into a boy. You have to…you have to give birth before the spell wears itself off. Also, an abortion may mortally harm your body. I am not taking that risk."
Hong Kong's face paled. She stumbled back.
"But…there has to be another way, right?" Iceland asked.
England glared at him. He had never been too fond of that boy even after Cod Wars and the financial crisis a few years back. Needless to say, South Korea got on his nerves all the time. He had heard enough tales of him from China and Japan.
"No," England said firmly. "I'm afraid not. I'm really sorry, Hong. I'm still trying to look up more information regarding genderbending. I suggest you stay here at my place for a while. I need to make sure that nothing will go wrong with your health."
"No, I wanna, like, turn back into a boy now!" Hong Kong shouted, her face boiling with irritation. "You must, like, help me turn back normal!"
"Hong, I told you it's impossible. You're now pregnant. You have to-"
"Oh come on!" Hong Kong shook England's shoulders. "Please! I can't stay like this! I needa, like, go back home soon. My boss will, like, freak out!"
"Hong!" England growled and held the agitated girl. "Listen, you reap what you sow. All three of you played a part in this. You have to take responsibilities for your own action. I thought I taught you better than this. You've decided to do something impetuous, then you need to face the consequences."
"Consequences?" Hong Kong scowled. "Damn it! You were, like, the one who turned me into a girl in the first place!"
"Yes, I admit that's my fault. But you had sex with these two guys. You should've known you might get pregnant!"
"No," Hong Kong said bluntly. "This is outrageous!"
The other two nations exchanged a look and tugged her sleeves.
"Le-"
"Shut up," Hong Kong silenced the other two and glared back at England. For once, she was genuinely frightened. She didn't want to be pregnant or give birth. She was supposed to be a boy, not a girl!
"Shut the hell up…" she mumbled, her hands shaking. She glanced down at the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"We'll…find a solution," Iceland reassured.
"Yea, we'll help da-ze!"
"I don't even, like, know which one of you is the father!" She flopped down on the couch and groaned. She covered her eyes with hands and shook her head. "Gosh, kill me now."
"Does it really matter?" South Korea said.
They all gaped at him.
"Is that really what concerns you?" he asked and sat down next to the girl. "Who the father is."
"No…I mean, that's, like, one of the problems…I don't know…I'm so confused right now," Hong Kong grumbled.
"I don't care how you judge us," Iceland said to England. "But Yong Soo and I won't leave things as they are. We want you to help us and ensure that she is alright."
"Yes da-ze!" South Korea nodded. "She'll be fine, right?"
England looked from one boy to another. He sighed.
"You'll be fine, Hong," he said. "I promise you, nothing will go wrong. I'm going to watch over you."
"So…I just have to, like, give birth and then the spell will wear off?"
England nodded.
"Cool."
Hong Kong finally calmed down and rubbed her eyes.
"But," England added, "I think you have to break the news to Yao."
Hong Kong bit her lip.
"And you too," England turned to Iceland, "I will need to inform your family."
Iceland gulped.
"Well, shit is getting real da-ze."
A/N: I haven't planned the remaining plot yet, so how it turns out also kind of depends on your opinions. I know this chapter gives rise to lots of questions, like what they are going to do, how their families will react and who the kid's father is. It'd be nice if anyone can offer some advice :)
