No, I still do not own Hetalia... I'm really sorry...
Attraction of Opposites
Chapter Nine: What The Hell Am I Even Doing?
"Eliza, I'm not sure about this. I'm not even sure I like him. What the hell am I even doing?"
"You do like him, Leon. I know you do, you know you do, even Roddy knows you do. Besides you're only going to ask him if he wants to go to the cinema with you."
"But-"
Eliza put her finger to his lips in a way that, had they not been planning how to kickstart a new relationship on Leon's part, he would have probably found vaguely flirty. "Hush, child. It'll be fine."
Leon sighed. "I'm still not sure about this."
"So? Just go for it. Like I said, even Roddy can see you like him, and it took him years to work out he liked me."
Leon hesitated again, then gave in. "Okay. Wish me luck, I guess..."
"Good luck!" Eliza beamed a little too brightly.
The plan was simple: Leon was going to ask Emil to go to the cinema with him. Start simple, as Eliza said. Then, if that goes well, build on it. If it doesn't... Persistence is key.
Mind focused on his task, Leon steeled himself for the battle ahead.
TIME: 0900hrs
STATUS: TARGET seen outside GEOGRAPHY CLASSROOM (Clearly, Leon had been playing too many assassin-related video games.)
Emil was leaning against the wall outside their classroom - early as usual - waiting for registration to end and for the lesson to start.
Hey, Emil. D'you want to come see a film with me this weekend? I've heard that one about that old ship is pretty good, what do you think?
He glanced up as Leon approached him, giving a curt nod of acknowledgement. Then he returned to staring into space.
Leon swallowed nervously, trying to find the courage to speak. Needless to say, he wasn't usually this nervous, but days of Eliza pestering him about it led to nerves gradually building up. Clearing his throat, he adjusted his tie and forced himself to act as if he weren't suffering from crazy-romance-obsessed-girls-induced nerves.
"Hey, Emil," he started as he had totally not mentally rehearsed. Emil glanced up again at his words, now looking down on Leon (what the hell, when did Emil get so freaking tall, he could've sworn they were about the same height? But now Emil towered over him...) with his default blank expression.
"Yes?" He responded, almost impatiently.
"D'you wanna- would you like to- to go see a film this weekend with me?" Please say yes, please don't say no, please say something...
Emil was silent for a second. Then something flashed in his eyes - sadness? Almost... Regret? Leon couldn't quite read it - and he broke eye contact. "I'm sorry," he said, without sincerity. "I am otherwise engaged this weekend." He pushed his glasses up his nose and turned his gaze to the off-white wall of the corridor.
TIME: 0910 hrs
STATUS: PLAN FAILURE
Needless to say, the lesson after that was awkward - well, on Leon's part, at least.
Eliza couldn't believe it.
Her face was a picture of disappointment and annoyance as Leon recounted the experience to her. (Leon privately thought she was being a little overdramatic, but he'd learnt from experiences with his sisters to keep that kind of thought to himself.)
"All our hard work," she said in a pained whisper, "reduced to nothing," her voice rose, "with a sentence like that?! Honestly, Leon, if he wasn't your soulmate, I'd give up right now." Ignoring Leon's spluttering denial, she continued. "He's so - ah, what's the word?" She snapped her fingers a couple of times in annoyance.
"Apathetic, dear?" Roderich suggested, examining his fingernails idly.
"Yeah, that's it! He's so apathetic. Nevertheless, he's your beloved, and kind cute with it. So, here's what we're going to do..."
Eliza went into a detailed plan of how Leon was going to slowly convince Emil to fall in love with him, as Leon insisted indignantly that he's not my beloved! and Roderich continued to examine his fingernails, as if he was used to this kind of thing.
And really, Leon thought, his heart going out to his classmate, he probably is.
From then on, a war very different to the first that Leon had engaged in with Emil commenced.
Unlike previously, Leon wasn't aiming to infuriate and annoy Emil - instead, he was trying to attract his attention. His actual attention, that is, and not just a glance or a monosyllabic reply as was the norm after the classroom incident.
It wasn't proving to be particularly successful.
A whisper of his name, a poke in the ribs, a kick aimed at his foot, a note flicked into his work... They all resulted in little more than a glare and/or a dismissive 'hmm'. Leon was trying his best - and he was actually somewhat surprised that Emil wasn't yelling at him for being annoying - and getting nowhere.
But he wouldn't give up.
At least, that was his attitude at first. After days and weeks of attempting to at least engage the other in some sort of conversation, he was becoming tired of his own persistence. Or perhaps it was Emil's indifference that he was tired of? Either way, he was close to giving up on Emil - he wasn't even that attracted to-
His aura of mystery, set off by his intriguingly blank expression and snowy complexion, those piercing violet-blue eyes that weren't exactly hidden by his glasses, that silvery hair-
Leon had a sudden need to run to the bathroom.
(Honestly, if only GCSE English was centred around creative writing...)
Perhaps Eliza and he needed to rethink their battle tactics.
"So, you're saying the person I'm looking for is Yao Wang?" Lukas clarified.
Kiku nodded. "I don't mind who Leon dates, just as long as he is happy. However, Yao will want to know. He cares for Leon-kun very much, but I think he takes it a little too far sometimes..."
Lukas nodded, wondering if he was perhaps that type of sibling, but brushed off the thought. "Okay, thank you. So how would I contact him?"
"Ah," Kiku bit his lip in thought. "Well, that may be a little problematic. He's currently at university, and I'm not sure exactly when he's meant to be visiting next. You could probably email him, though. I'll write down his email address for you..."
"Thanks," Lukas gave him a grateful look. He had approached the Japanese student after one of their shared classes with the intention of acquiring the information he wanted, and found that Kiku was not only willing to help him but a genuinely nice person as well - this, he decided, was the kind of person he wouldn't mind having as an in-law. Hold up, Lukas, let's not get ahead of ourselves.
"No problem," Kiku smiled back.
To: "Yao Wang" wangyao
From: "Lukas Johannessen"
Subject: Siblings
Dear Mr. Wang,
We are not acquainted, but I am writing to you in regards to one of your younger siblings, Leon. My name is Lukas Johannessen, and I am the elder sibling of one of Leon's classmates.
It has come to my attention that Emil - my younger brother - has become somewhat more antisocial than usual during his GCSE year, and according to one of your other siblings, Kiku, Leon is somewhat the same. They are not particularly close friends at the moment - as previously mentioned, Emil isn't the most social of people - but I can read my brother like a book, and according to Kiku, the desire to be friends and perhaps more.
I suppose the real reason I'm emailing you is, effectively, to ask for your 'blessing' for a relationship between Emil and Leon. It seems a little strange, I am aware, for me to be emailing you solely for this purpose, but I know that if it were Emil entering a relationship with someone I had never met while I was away at university, I would be worried for his safety with this person.
Emil has dedicated himself completely to studying recently, which, while being good in regards to his grades, isn't the best for his stress levels. I think that if he were to enter into a relationship with Leon, he would perhaps relax a little more. The same would go for Leon, of course. However, I am aware that you care for Leon a lot, and therefore would want to be aware of this happening and be able to approve it, instead of letting your brother date someone you haven't even heard of.
Therefore, as I said before, I'm essentially simply asking for your approval of a relationship between our younger brothers. Feel free to take your time considering it - as I said, I understand your desire to protect your younger brother.
Regards,
- Lukas Johannessen
To: "Leon Wang" bertholdme .uk
From: "Lukas Johannessen"
Subject: No Subject
If you are unkind to, cheat on or mistreat in any way my little brother, you will regret it.
- Lukas Johannessen
A/N: Because HongIce isn't HongIce with an overprotective Nor somewhere. Also, you'll notice I've given up updating every Friday, just updating as I finish a chapter... So yeah... Here's your chapter... Things beginning to happen again... Thanks for all the support you're giving this guys, it does give me motivation to stop rewatching Free! and rereading sad fanfics and actually write this. See you next water time time I find the time to write!
Wait, forgot to mention that Leon's email address is an Attack on Titan reference, sorry! (And yes, people still use emails, do you mind?!)
Also, if you follow me on tumblr and see I'm spending a little too much time on there, feel free to remind me to get the fuck off and write something!
Oooh another thing I should mention is that about halfway through the writing of this fic I started using a different surname for Norway. I've searched the document for the old name, and can't find anything, but I often edit it slightly on here... So, if you see the surname "Bondevik" used anywhere previously in the story, feel free to tell me and I'll change it. Thanks!