Summary: A summer fling between Thailand and Vietnam became a problem, but then again, every summer fling does. This story cannot have a happy ending. Dark!ThaiViet.
A/N: After this chapter, I may change the rating of the story to M.
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Chapter 1: A Break in the Surface.
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April 4, 2030.
"Thank you very much for your contributions to the resolutions today. Before I call the adjournment of the meeting, I would like to remind everyone that the next ASEAN meeting will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 5. Alright, meeting adjourned. Have a great weekend, ana."
As soon as Thailand finished his peroration, all countries gathered their papers and started to mingle. The room was soon filled with murmurs and grumblings about the tight schedule, the abundance of problems in the region and the humid weather in Bangkok. It was a hot day in April. Even though the conference room was air-conditioned, the large assemblage of people and countries in the room still rendered it stuffy and unpleasant.
Vietnam was the only one who stayed in her seat and stared at the printed resolutions, until someone's low voice found its way into her ears and startled her.
"Vietnam."
Within a few seconds, Vietnam responded by scrambling her papers on the desk, putting them in her small satchel, and turning back and facing the male nation.
"Thailand." She nodded.
He smiled at her in return. Clad in charcoal wool suit jacket and matching trousers, Thailand would have looked clean-cut and well-groomed if not for his unruly hair that always seemed to stick straight out. His smile and his hail-fellow-well-met attitude usually made people fond of him. They did not have an effect on her, though.
"Laos just told me that you two are going out for a drink tonight." He said. "She invited me to come along and recommend a secluded pub for you two. What do you think?"
Vietnam did, indeed, have plans for a night out with Laos – one of her few 'friends' in the Asian region – in Bangkok to alleviate her stress. After three days straight of avid participation in discussions with Philippines and Malaysia over the joint emergency response plan, she was too haggard to proceed onto another work. However, she did not expect that Laos would invite Thailand to join their night out as well.
It was not that she had anything against him. Thailand was friendly, high-spirited and politic. Nonetheless, she did not fancy going out with nations with whom she rarely conversed. Thailand was one of them.
"Where is Laos?" Instead of giving him a direct answer, Vietnam looked around the room. "I don't see her anywhere."
"She went back to her hotel as soon as the meeting ended." He said, unblinking. "Mind if I accompany you two?"
It would be rude to decline him after Laos had extended the invitation. Though she was not entirely comfortable around the male nation, perhaps he could help them pick a place with suitable price and atmosphere.
"Well, sure." Vietnam replied in a perfunctory fashion. "We have not decided on what pub we would go to. Maybe you can suggest a few places for us?"
"Of course." Thailand smiled. "We will meet at eight, right? As soon as I get back to my hotel, I will text you the location of a pub that might be good for you two."
"Thank you." She nodded. "My agents are waiting for me. Have a nice day, Thailand."
"I'm sure we will."
Vietnam did not understand the spark in his eyes, but she eventually chalked it up with his enthusiasm to meet Laos outside the boardroom. After all, their current relationship was known to be somewhat intimate, even though she used to have a bittersweet history with Thailand as one of his vassal kingdoms.
As she brushed past him and joined her emissaries' conversation, Vietnam wondered if Thailand was sleeping with her western neighbor.
She decided to not delve into the thought. It would not be a surprise if they did.
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The pub that Thailand chose turned out to be an old-school hostelry residing in Bangkok's riverside area. On the face of it, the hostelry was small, cozy, dimly-lit and graced with dark-coloured, plain-vanilla wallpapers. A live band was playing a familiar western countryside song on the stage. As she hummed along with the melody, she cast a glance on her surroundings and searched for Thailand and Laos.
"Hey." Thailand's voice caught her attention. "I'm here."
When their eyes met, Thailand was leaning onto the counter, appearing to be having a chat with the middle-aged bartender. He wore a plain shirt and a pair of blue jeans, which made Vietnam somewhat self-conscious, as she had chosen to wear a neat button-down shirt and a job skirt for the night. She wondered if she appeared overdressed compared to him.
"Vietnam." Thailand greeted her with his trademark smile as she came closer. "This pub's good?"
"Nice choice of place." She inclined her head. "Where is Laos?"
"I just called her. She said that she was sick, ana."
Vietnam raised an eyebrow. Laos being absent meant that Vietnam would have to stay and have a drink with Thailand alone this evening. Thailand and Vietnam used to be enemies, and these days, they almost never talked to each other – no mutual issues, no border conflicts, no potential benefits. Even in the height of their bilateral relationship, their exchanges rarely went beyond diplomatic discourses and a few polite words outside the boardroom. With her stilted way of interaction, they would probably be immersed in an awkward silence after half an hour of conversation.
Even so, she went to sit beside him while Thailand motioned the bartender to make whatever she ordered. This uncomfortable situation was not something she had not faced before. Lucky for her, Thailand was one of those countries that never seemed to run out of things to say: he would in all likelihoods compensate for her lack of topics and enable her to be the quiet, attentive listener.
"I'll have Cabernet Sauvignon, please."
"You don't like sweet wines?" Thailand grinned.
"I prefer sharp flavors to mild ones."
"Cool." Thailand said casually. "So what made you and Laos decide to go out tonight?"
"Too tired to work." She exhaled. "Not for a drink, though."
"Good choice." His fingers toyed around with his drink. "As a host country this year, I am also exhausted. But let's not talk about work. How are you enjoying Bangkok so far?"
"It's not the first time I have been here." She avoided saying that she did not get to enjoy Bangkok much because of work, and she truly did not mind.
"You have probably been to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, but what about the National Museum? The old Wang Na Palace? The Lumpini Park?"
"I haven't. I'm usually busy with work, so I rarely find time to… travel around."
Thailand gave a low chuckle at her answer. His amused expression made Vietnam shift back on her seat and wonder if he was mocking her.
"Now you make me sound like an irresponsible country, ana. I am busy with my duties too, but I still try to explore the cities where I am assigned to work." He paused and eyed her for a reaction. "It's good to gallivant around once in a while. If you want, you can stay in Bangkok for one more day and I will show you around as a personal guide."
After a brief moment, his suggestion sunk in. Oh. Thailand, the male nation who seemed to pay little heed to her stated that he would be willing to accompany her for a day.
"I still have work to do… but sure."
"Great. Don't tell Burma or Philippines that I get to escort a lovely lady like you for a whole day – they'll get jealous."
She blinked. Was Thailand flirting with her? Under the rich, warm glow of the pub's light, his golden eyes glimmered with mirth. She had always thought Thailand was decent-looking in his formal attire, but now that she had had a closer look, she could conclude that he was indeed handsome.
Vietnam shook her head slightly.
"I won't tell anyone." She said.
He fixed his eyes on her. Their gazes locked and they sat in silence for a while until the bartender came back with the drink.
"It's been a while since the last time we talked like this, huh?" Thailand broke the silence between them. "I didn't get the chance to talk to you during the world meeting in January."
Most likely did not care enough to talk to her, Vietnam thought.
"Those occasions are quite rare." She took a sip. The bitterness of Cabernet Sauvignon burned her throat and left her tongue with an astringent aftertaste. "Besides, I have little liking for unimportant conversations when I still have work to do."
"It's good that I get to talk to you now, then." Thailand seemed to find humor in her statement. "You should loosen up from time to time."
Vietnam did indeed loosen up a little that night. As time elapsed and her alcohol consumption increased, she began to jabber on trifling matters from her recent embarrassing encounter with the press in Paris ("I made a mistake in pronunciation. That was not professional." she insisted to a mildly sober Thailand who reassured that her error did not put her country to shame) to her newly-discovered favorite food (which, to Thailand's fake disappointment, was not Pad Thai). He laughed at her random remarks and occasionally patted her shoulder to commiserate with her on her past mistakes. After Vietnam had finished her angry speech on inappropriate jokes in world meetings, Thailand also went on to admit that he was very uncomfortable with inappropriate behaviors (especially those of France).
They got so drunk and comfortable with each other that at some point, Thailand leaned over and asked Vietnam if she wanted to continue their conversation in a more private place. The rest of the night breezed past her mind in a blur as a dark curtain fell over her eyes and the retrograde song in the pub swirled around her head over and over. After the music had died away, the only things she remembered were the feel of his lips on hers and the sound of his deep, quiet voice into her ears.