And here's the next chapter! lol Don't worry, this isn't over yet! Just around three or four more and we are done!
Plus I've got Vietnam in this one! Hopefully, she's not to OOC... And there's some foreshadowing for this next chapter.
-Chapter 10 ~ Night and Day Meet at Last-
~*December 15, 2013 Manila, Philippines*~
|Vietnam's POV|
Vietnam adjusted her periwinkle scarf in her olive green fleece jacket as the cold but moist wind blew through her long dark hair. Her honey-colored eyes are directed to the doors of the bar in front of her, a sign with neon letters in a language she wasn't completely familiar with (she couldn't tell if it's Filipino or Tagalog), with the windows littered with Christmas decor. Although oddly enough, the bar itself wasn't too busy nor too quiet; it was going at a normal pace.
Although the reason for Vietnam's arrival to this bar in the Philippine Islands wasn't particularly tourism, nor is it that she wanted to try some exotic alcoholic drinks (she wasn't the type to drink-even if she does, it only be one glass and that's it). Rather, her main mission is this: to obtain a girl called "Philippines"-the one country her younger brother is deeply in love with-and bring her to him in hopes of them reuiniting.
Much like all the Asian siblings, Vietnam would do anything to make them happy, especially Hong Kong. And like any older sibling would be (or rather, the older sibling that's been distant from the younger one), Vietnam would worry about his well-being. When she had heard of Hong Kong being hospitalized and going into a coma from being shot in the heart in August 2010, she would only pray and worry that Hong Kong would recover. Contrary to the other Asian nations, she would always believe that the younger nation would recover fully from his chronic heart problems, even though to all of them, she assumes, those hopes would be simply childish. So this whole time, Vietnam kept silent about it, even though she knows it would be fruitless throughout.
Then comes three years later, in America, where the world meeting was being held, Vietnam was walking when Taiwan, her younger sister, approached her and told her that America had told her that Hong Kong's got a "special someone." Curious, Vietnam let out an "Oh?" and Taiwan continued that Hong Kong allegedly fell in love with a girl at first sight while he and Iceland were racing on their PicSkates in the park. Admittedly, the Vietnamese woman was surprised that Hong Kong's "special someone" was the Philippine Islands, as she assumed that the two nations would hate each other following the tour bus hostage incident back in Manila. Taiwan even admitted that it's a surprise to her, too. And it was then that the two young nation women concluded that neither Hong Kong nor Philippines met each other at all, given that Hong Kong was in a coma and that Philippines supposedly wasn't involved in the tour bus incident.
And so, after she flew back to her home country, Vietnam continued with her usual lifestyle of a Vietnamese. However, for a few weeks, she cannot find herself getting over the previous conversation she had with Taiwan, and wondering whether Hong Kong is doing, in spite of the chronic heart problems. Just a few weeks after returning to her home country, Vietnam contacted China just to check on Hong Kong. Somehow surprised, she hears that Hong Kong is "alive and well," much to her relief, oddly enough. Vietnam then asked Hong Kong about a girl named Philippines. The latter replied, somewhat sorrowfully, that "Philia… Charice… I fell in love with her." thus confirming the former's suspicions. Hong Kong then described Philia as having a beautiful and exotic appearance, her personality is being cheerful, outgoing, further saying that her eyes are like the sunrise and sunset, with Vietnam listening intently. It even made her own heart ache as the teen city-state said that he misses her greatly, and she readily understood, considering the great lonliness and depression he endured all those decades even when he was handed back to China in 1997, when the first human friend he made when he was a tween was imprisoned and later exiled back to his homeland (who later came to light as Iceland, the person whom Hong Kong befriended back in the 60's).
And finally, after saving up some money for a plane ticket to Philippines, right now, Vietnam's motives are to obtain Philippines (or Philia or "Charice," as Hong kong referred to her as), and reunite her with Hong Kong. However, the task was easier said than done, as she had scoured throughout the whole city for this Filipina girl. After asking a few strangers (whom spoke in English), whom they all said that they saw a Filipina anthropomorphic representation of their land walk down this street, Vietnam felt more determined than ever to find her.
As Vietnam entered the bar, the scent of sweetened alcohol entered her nostrils, as well as some cigarette smoke hovering in the air. Thankfully, it is not as much, so it is fairly tolerable. As she looked around, her honey eyes spotted something peculiar: a young boy who looked like in his teens with spiky black hair, wearing a blue outfit, and a gold sun pin fastened to the right side of his hair was sitting alone at a table, drinking what appeared to be beer. This boy looks far too young to be in a bar surrounded by adults, but Vietnam could not help but be drawn to him.
Perplexed, Vietnam meandered her way past the sleazy Filipino men and women and made it to the table. The boy stopped drinking out of the glass and letting out a breath sealed in for too long, he looked at her with his slightly foggy golden eyes with a curious but nasty look on his face.
Vietnam was taken back at the boys expression, but nonetheless asked, "You are the Philippines? Or rather, part of the Philippines?"
"Yes," the boy replied, his speech a little slurred. Just how much did he even drink, Vietnam could only wonder. "Are you from the service? Because I specifically asked for no Hmong women!"
Vietnam didn't know whether to be amused or be offended. But she sat down on a nearby chair and replied, "No, I'm not Hmong; I'm Vietnamese. I'm the personification of Vietnam. Human name Kim Nguyen."
"Waddya want with me, Vi-whatsit?" asked the boy drunkenly.
"I am here for you," replied the Vietnamese woman. "Or rather, if your're part of the Philippines like my younger brother said, I am here for your… sister."
The boy seemed unfazed. "Younger brother as in Hong Kong? Why should I give two shits about him?"
"Because I am on a mission. But it doesn't involve kidnapping and ransom, just so you know. Is your sister here with you?"
"Shhhheeeee's in the bafrooom~!" the boy replied in a slur. Vietnam assumed that the boy had far too much to drink.
Heeding those words, Vietnam got up from the chair she was sitting on, and made her way to the restrooms, the womens' on the left. She ducked herself into the entrace; once there, she could hear someone breathing heavily. Listening closer, she focused forward, seeing a pair of feet in khaki flats from what appears to be a handicapped toilet stall. Slowly and quietly, Vietnam walked from the restroom entrance to the toilet stall and knocked softly and waited. After a few seconds, there was no answer. So slowly, she entered the stall door, to reveal something that increased the Asian woman's wonder.
It was a girl with the same black hair as the boy's, with a white ribbon tired around a gold headband with a sun pin on the left of her head, skin lighter than the boy's, and wearing a pastel pink turtleneck sweater and blue jeggings (or what they appear to be). The girl was sitting in a corner, head down, her hair bangs barely covering her face. She looked a little pale.
Pressing her lips together briefly, Vietnam walked towards the girl and kneeled down. "Are you the other part of the Philippines?" she asked in a hushed voice.
|Neutral POV|
Philia's head shot up at who said that. Her sullen orange brown eyes met honey colored ones, that belonged to a face framed with dark long hair tied into a ponytail (which is not visible because of its low position).
Vietnam awhile, looked a little shocked at Philia's facial appearance. Her face was pale, and her eyes looked glum, but at the same time, she looked devastated, as if something terrible has happened recently. Could this be Philia? Vietnam thought. The one Hong Kong fell in love with?
Philia breathed shakily, struggling to find words, when she whispered quietly, "Wh… what… what… did you say?"
"Are you part of the Philippines?" said Vietnam. "Philia, is it?"
Philia's eyes widened slightly. "Um… yes… but how did you…?"
"My name is Vietnam," Vietnam replied gently. "Kim Nguyen."
A wave of nostalgia rushed through Philia. She remembered Hong Kong telling her briefly of his family. It felt like too long since she last heard of that.
"I am here on behalf of my younger brother, who cannot come himself, due to the travel embargo that his country had omitted," said Vietnam.
Philia's breathing pace became steadily harder. Hong Kong… he really can't be alive, can he? Even after Agust 20th? On the third anniversary of the incident? No, no, that's impossible. Hong Kong can't be alive. Hong Kong is dead. Dead from his latest heart attack. She accepted his death and is struggling to move on. What should she say? What should she do?
"No…" she finally whispered. "No… Li Xiao's dead. He can't be alive… he can't be alive…!"
"Philia, breathe," said Vietnam as she stretched out a hand and placed it on Philia's shaking shoulder. "No, Li Xiao is not dead. I contacted him a few weeks after the third anniversary of the… incident. And he's alive and well. And thinking of no one but you."
The Filipina steadied her breathing upon command (well, tried to). But, she still did not completely believe the Vietnamese nation. "Li Xiao's… alive?"
"Yes. He is. And he is waiting for you."
The color of Philia's skin then returned to her face as she came back to life again. Every last word Vietnam said rushed into her head like crashing waves of beach water. Almost every single emotion she kept bottled up all this time scrambled within her like static electricity, begging to escape. She wanted to cry, but she no longer has the strength to do so. Hong Kong is alive. Hong Kong is alive and all Philia could think of was rush straight into his arms and never, ever let him go.
But alas, not all of her strength had been restored, so all she could say was this: "C… can I go to him?"
Vietnam smiled. "Yes, you can, but only from my country. I flew all the way from here to Manila to come get you. I've also got tickets back. Besides, I'm sure your brother would like to say goodbye to you, firstly."
Philia beamed like she never beamed before, as happiness is restored into her face once again after so long, and as she jumped from her corner and pounced into Vietnam, putting her arms around her torso in a hug and burying her face. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! Oh!" Then she tore away from this position. "I guess I haven't introduced myself. I'm Charice Pacquiao! My brother, the one you spoke to not too long ago is Rizal, and he prefers to-" Then her eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh, Rizal!"
Vietnam blinked in confusion. "What?"
Philia steadily got up and stormed out of the women's restroom and into the bar, with Vietnam following suit.
Philia found an unconscious Luzon on the table, after having a 4th round of whatever alcoholic drink he's had. She sighed in embarrassment. "He's drunk again," she mumbled.
Vietnam jogged to the table Philia and Luzon are at. "Is that boy okay?"
Philia placed some money on the table to pay for the glasses Luzon drank and hoistened him up. "Yeah, he passed out from drinking too much. Coul you help me out here… what's your name again?"
"It's Kim," replied Vietnam as she slinged Luzon's arm over her shoulder with Philia doing the same. "And I'll be glad to help. Where's your house at?"
Philia let a small smile form on her face. "I'll lead the way, don't worry."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Sometime later at the Manila Airport*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Philia rushed through the crowded airport filled with tourists, vacationers, business men, military people, foreigners, airport employees with newfound energy within her. She meandered through the bustling crowd, with her purse and tote bag on her shoulder and her rolling suitcase in tow, almost not hesitating to wait for Vietnam, who was staggering behind (with only a tote bag in hand). She couldn't help it. She can't help it. She is going to see Hong Kong once again.
After she and Vietnam went back to her and Luzon's small house in the suburbs of Manila via Luzon's Mitsubishi and placed her drunken and unconscious brother on his bed upstairs, Philia dashed back to her room and packed her suitcase and tote bag to the brim with the totebag filled with her 3DS and favorite games, her manga books, her phone and charger, makeup and hairbrush and her suitcase filled with some of her clothes, her socks, her favorite shoes as well as her underwear. She remembered Vietnam giving her an amused and perplexed look when she said that she's packing as if she's meeting up a significant other from online, with the former retorting that she's taking her to Hong Kong and she is going on their first date together when she arrives at his home city. Before the two ladies left, Philia wrote a note saying that she's going to Vietnam and to Hong Kong for a while and will be back later and taped it on Luzon's door. She didn't particularly care if she'd going to get an earful from him.
After getting her and Vietnam's luggage checked, a male voice spoke on the intercom in English: "Flight 617 bound for Vietnam will be departing within 30 minutes. All passengers flying of 617 please board immediately."
Philia immediately bounced up and down in excitement. "Kim! Kim! It's our flight! Let's go!" She then grabbed all of her things she's packed and made a mad dash to the flight gate where her and Vietnam's plane is, with the latter following suit once again.
Once both of them boarded the plane and presented their tickets, Philia then rushed to the nearest empty row of three seats and eagerly placed all her stuff on the upper shelves. Meanwhile, Vietnam walked slowly down the aisle, taking in the plane's interior. Sure, she'd bought second-class tickets for herself and Philia, but the plush blue material of the floor and the seats… something felt off about them, but she decided to not dwell on them too much.
As she caught up with Philia and placed her tote bag next to her things, she sat down next to the Filipina, who was looking at the window.
"You know," said Vietnam. "You really need to learn when to wait for someone, Charice."
Philia turned her head to meet with Vietnam's face. "Eh?"
"You were meandering through the crowds. I could barely keep up with you."
A small tint of pink appeared on Philia's cheeks. "Sorry. It's just that… I got so excited to be able to see Li Xiao again, and…"
Vietnam smiled again. "You'll see Li Xiao very soon."
"Then… how long does it take to fly from here to Vietnam, and from Vietnam to Hong Kong?"
The dark-haired woman bit her lip in thought. "Well, the estimated flight time from here to my home country would be between four hours and thirty minutes to five hours and forty-five minutes, depending on what city in Vietnam you go to-I live in what used to be Ho Chin Minh by the way-and from Vietnam to Hong Kong, it could be between around seven and twelve hours. So the estimated total could be between nine and seventeen hours."
Although the answer sounded fair, Philia's heart sank like a stone. Just eleven hours until Philia could see Hong Kong once again?
However, all Philia could say was, "Oh, alright." and turned away from the Vietnamese woman. Between nine and seventeen hours… But then, the seventeen hours themselves would be worth all the wait. After for what felt like hundreds of years, an eternity, even.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*In Vietnam, on the plane bound for Hong Kong*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Even though it was already nighttime and late, Philia could not sleep. Her excitement, her anticipation, was replaced with fear and worry. Perhaps, she was foolish enough to believe Vietnam that Hong Kong was alive and well. Her strong romantic love for him was only all for naught. She looked at the blackish-blue sky, with only a few stars twinkling within it, through the plane window. Vietnam was reading one of her mangas she asked to read, but she assumed she dozed off. Maybe she won't even notice that she's still awake, Philia was thinking.
However, meanwhile, Vietnam woke herself up, and checking the time on her digital watch, whose glowing numbers read 12:06 AM. Just past midnight, she thought. As she turned to Philia to return the manga she was previously reading, she found her wide awake, staring into open space. Was she not sleepy at all?
Tenaciously, Vietnam tapped on the Filipina's shoulder-which caught her attention by turning her head towards her-and gave the manga book to her, which she took in response.
"Thanks," said Philia.
"You're welcome," replied Vietnam with a yawn. "So… how come you're still up? It's past midnight."
There was hesitation from Philia before she answered, in a hushed voice, "I'm terrified."
"About what?" Vietnam asked, leaning in a little closer.
"I'm terrified that… that all of this would be a dream," Philia explained as she let out a shaking gasp. "If I close my eyes and sleep, and if I wake up, I would still be in my bed by morning, and Rizal would be here, and Li Xiao would be dead, and…"
Vietnam then put a hand on Philia's-she then observed that it was slightly cold-and smiled lightly, even though the plane was dark around them with all the other passengers sleeping and said, "Charice… I assure you that you're not dreaming. Nor is this your mind playing tricks on you. Hong Kong really is alive and well and you will be seeing him very, very soon."
Philia stared at her a little longer, then turned her head and craned her neck downward. She even gently dragged her hand from underneath the other nation's. The latter did not say nor do anything when she did that. She suddenly wondered then why she, Hong Kong's older sister of all people, would go out of their way just for both Hong Kong and her sake? In fact, she'd been meaning to ask that ever since Vietnam came to the bar restroom where she was sitting in the corner of the bathroom stall, alone.
Finally, she asked, whispering, "Kim, why would you do this for me… and Li Xiao?"
Vietnam let out a soft exhale. "I have seen far too many lives destroyed… during the Vietnam War up to 45 years ago. People being drafted, never to be seen again-both my and America's people were forced onto the battlefield against their will, either dying or never seeing their lovers or family members again… some traumitized by the events that happened there, forever crushing their spirits… When all that was over, I then vowed to never see anybody destroyed, whether it's physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. And I am helping you and Li Xiao come together again, because I am keeping up with my vow.
"And this is also because Li Xiao is my younger brother. Like all of my family members, I would do anything to make him happy. His happiness was all I care about. What all of us care about. Even I care about your happiness."
Philia stared wide-eyed (well, sort of, since it's dark) at Vietnam's one-paragraph answer. She then hugged the latter's arm and nuzzled her face against it. "Thanks again, Kim," she said. "Thanks again for doing all this for me and Hong Kong!"
"You're welcome, Charice," Vietnam replied. "Anytime. Now get some sleep. We'll most likely be arriving at sunrise."
Philia then let go of Vietnam's arm with a relieved and happy smile on her face and closed her eyes, knowing that Vietnam is true to her word, and slowly fast asleep, with the image of Hong Kong kissing her over and over again in a grassy sunlit field.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*December 16 Victoria Harbor docks, Hong Kong*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hong Kong was sitting at the empty docks of Victoria Harbor yet again. His usual sitting position was his legs close to him, and resting his folded arms on his knees, and staring out into the ocean, looking at the horizon that's changing into an orange and rose color. He usually does this on most occassions; his habit dates back to the early 50's when World War II ended. Whenever England was out of the house, Hong Kong would always go to the docks and sit on the pier, staring out into the ocean. The waves and sea breeze would put his mind off of whatever verbal spats England said to him whenever France wasn't around. France once purchased him a sketch book, a pencil and an eraser in hopes that he would get a hobby, so Hong Kong would sometimes go to the docks and draw in his sketchbook. Whenever he runs short of the materials, he would always turn to France to purchase more.
Then comes Iceland, who was visiting the country of England at the time, who would always visit Hong Kong when he was a preteen and sit next to him on the pier and look at the ocean. Iceland would tell him of the sea creatures in the seas of Northern Europe-as far as the Arctic Circle-such as blue whales, belugas, the dolphins that swim in cold waters, and of course, Hong Kong's personal favorite (as well as Iceland's), the narwhals. Iceland had told him that the tusked sea mammals are the most beautiful and majestic creatures of the Arctic waters. They are even called "Unicorns of the Sea" because of their single tusk on their faces. No matter how many times the Icelander told him about the narwhals, Hong Kong would never cease to hear about those majestic creatures.
And even up to the day that Iceland got arrested, imprisoned, and banished back to his home country, and even from the day that he was handed back to China in 1997, Hong Kong's habit stuck to him like glue; he would always go to the docks whenever they're empty and whenever Iceland was on his mind, and look out onto the seascape horizon, and think of him, and the narwhals.
And nowadays, his second reason was to think about Philia. His one and only Philia. The sky turning into a clearer orange as the sun is peeking out over the horizon would always remind Hong Kong about Philia's beautiful orange brown eyes. He truly longed to see them again. He also had the bust sketch of Philia, stashed neatly in his closet (no, not his walk-in closet), as well as the selfie he had taken with Philia on their first outing together. It had already been four months since he was last with Philia. Four months since they first met in the park back in America. Four months since that dreaded confession that he was among his people in the tour bus incident. Four months, almost the last time he saw her, was the dreamlike moment under the drizzle of rain, was when he forgave her and Luzon for the tour bus incident; when he shared his own first kiss with her. He still remembered how Philia's lips tastes; he savored it for all those months.
Up until this day, Hong Kong was back to his normal self since 1997. He still wore that emotionless mask to save him from insanity, but the depression was always evident in his eyes. But along with the depression, there was also hope. China suspected that Hong Kong got into a friendship fight with Iceland and had a falling out, but Macau cryptically stated that it was something else, leaving China confused. When Macau asked Hong Kong what was going on in his mind-in private as to not piss China off-the latter confessed that he met Philippines in person and promptly fell in love with her, although it's not necessarily at first sight, from Hong Kong's viewpoint. The brunette city-state further told his other guardian that that Philippines accepted his feelings and that they both kissed in the park. He also told him to keep this a secret from China (and of course, both the Korea brothers). He told the same thing to Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, respectively. All of them had complied.
The sea breeze blown gently against Hong Kong's face, going through his brunette hair as he let out a dreamy sigh. He then got up and stretched his entire body, believing that enough time has passed. He should get home before China notices that he's gone; wouldn't want to miss out on his cooking.
As he let out a soft exhale, something called out, ringing his ears.
"Li Xiao!"
|Philia's POV|
Both Vietnam and Philia were walking along the cement docks of Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, with the former leading the way. Vietnam vaguely remembers where China's house is since she left due to war back in the day, and much to Philia's relief, the dark-haired woman stated that she's not going to remember where it is. When asked why they were going through Victoria Harbor's docks, Vietnam replied that it's the first thing that came to her mind, since she had a hunch that Hong Kong would be there. She further explained that China told him of this strange habit Hong Kong has of being there since being handed back to him in 1997. When Philia asked if they would be able to find Hong Kong just by walking along the docks, Vietnam replied that they will find them eventually, but she will only be watching when they reunite.
The Filipina's insides were buzzing with excitement and anticipation of finally reuniting with Hong Kong after so long. However, her body was numb after her brain could barely register her or Vietnam's footsteps, with only her feet following the other from behind, he low ponytail swishing back and forth with each step. Contrary to what anyone would think, this is actually the second time she's experienced this. The first time, in just three years since the Manila tour bus incident, was when she and Hong Kong met in the park when the former accidentally knocked her down while having a PicSkate race with Iceland. When she opened her eyes to look at his face, a shockwave ran through her body, as thousands of images of the incident and Hong Kong's comatose state flashed repeatedly in her head. She remembered Hong Kong blushing slightly and tried to pull back, but both the chains from their necklaces got tangled within each other. Philia tried to fight away the numbness and bursts of neuroses coming to life as she spoke, but Hong Kong's touching of her was enough to electrify her, rendering her speechless on and off. Thankfully, she kept her emotions under control during this whole commotion. And right now, Philia could feel her emotions clawing at her ribcage, just begging to be broken out. Four months felt like four years. This felt way too long for the Filipina nation to even bear.
Eventually, Vietnam stopped, and Philia had to force herself to stop along with her while being behind.
"So there he is," said Vietnam in a quiet tone.
Philia swallowed hard as her heart was pounding against her chest, shivering. It's probably because in December, the average temperature in Hong Kong would be in the late 40's, but then again, for some reason, she started to grow nervous. What if Hong Kong moved on? What if he had forgotten about him? What if Hong Kong really is dead and it was just someone else that looked like him on the docks? If he really is dead, why would Philia stupidly believe every word Vietnam said just to spite and mock her for "killing" Hong Kong back in August 2010? The Filipina then took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. Hong Kong is not dead and right now, she is just around 20-30 paces away from his person. Vietnam's words are genuine and true. There is no reason for her to lie to play tricks on her.
Swallowing again, Philia slowly walked around Vietnam to take a peek at the person sitting on the dock. His face is barely visible because of the way he's sitting. Hong Kong? She had to be sure. And strangely enough, Vietnam isn't saying nor doing anything. Is she waiting for something.
Just then, the figure got up and stretched, letting out an exhale, his brunette hair flickering in the sea breeze. As he relaxed into a standing position, Philia took the time to study him closely. Leather pants, biker boots, leather jacket, a red qipao shirt with gold dragon markings, thick eyebrows…
Philia's eyes widen and let out a soft gasp as she immediately recognized who it really is, and ran towards him, shouting out his name.
"Li Xiao!"
|Neutral POV|
Hong Kong was sure he was imagining things when someone called out his name. However, he was proven wrong from the sound of footsteps running towards him. As he turned quarterway, his tarnished gold eyes widened and his eyebrows rose slowly as the familiar person ran towards him.
It was Philia.
Before Hong Kong could say anything, Philia rammed into him, pulling him into an embrace, with the former hugging her back. A small shockwave went through his body, from head to toe, as he hugged the Filipina a little tighter. He could hear sounds of soft crying against his chest.
Not too long, Philia's head shot up, her orange brown eyes meeting Hong Kong's tarnished gold ones. And it was then, that she knew she wasn't dreaming; she is with Hong Kong right now, in his arms, fully embraced sharing his warmth with her.
"Charice…" Hong Kong finally managed to say.
"L-Li Xiao," Philia choked out through her tears. She then rested one side of her head on Hong Kong's chest once again and closed her eyes. "You're here…"
"Alive and well," Hong Kong responded.
Philia lifted her head off of Hong Kong's chest once again. "I thought for sure you'd have died from your heart problems."
Hong Kong couldn't help but let out a small smile. "They're all gone. And it's all thanks to you, and myself."
Philia let out a shaky sigh as she moved away a little from Hong Kong, but both of them intertwined each other's hands. "I've missed you so much, Li Xiao… you had no idea… I wasn't able to contact you because of the embargo and I've worried, always worried. I thought for sure you'd have… you'd have…"
Hong Kong brushed a tear away from Philia's cheek with his thumb. "None of this matters to me now. It doesn't matter. You're here with me; I'm here with you, that's all I care about."
Philia smiled genuinely, for the first time in just a few months, as she and Hong Kong pressed both their lips against each other to kiss. The first time they've done it, it was under a gloomy, cloudy, drizzly day. This time, it's under a sunny sky with the sunrise, with the two of them tasting each other's mouths and lips in such a loving and caring manner. Philia didn't care if Vietnam was watching from a distance (she doesn't even know if Hong Kong knows that Vietnam is even here; perhaps she will tell him later).
Eventually, the need to breathe overcame their desire melt into each other once again, and both their lips parted, softly gasping as much air as their lungs can handle.
"Let's go to my place," said Hong Kong.
"But wouldn't China be here?" asked Philia. "I don't think he would be happy with the two of us being together."
"He's on a trip to Indonesia to set up trade deals with the diplomats there," Hong Kong assured. "Left early this morning before you came here, so he won't be coming back any time soon."
Philia breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Oh!" She broke away from Hong Kong suddenly. "My stuff is in the hotel Kim and I are staying at!"
Hong Kong blinked in confusion. "Kim? You mean you've met my other sister?"
"Yes, and she's standing straight over there! Both of us have a lot to thank her for!"
Hong Kong pressed his lips together in suspicion when he took a glance at Vietnam, who was standing in the distance clad in her olive green winter coat and black flared yoga pants. He then smiled and said, "Yes, we do, Charice."
Philia let out a small squeal. "Awesome!" Then she took Hong Kong's hand. "Let's go!"
The brunette Asian boy squeezed Philia's hand in response as they both walked towards Vietnam, who had a content smile on her face. Hong Kong teased her a little about the expression she had, with her laughing repeatedly saying that it's not like that.
Awhile, all of Philia's hopes and dreams have come true. There was a way to go to Hong Kong and visit its personification, thanks to Vietnam, she and the taller woman travelled to her country to get to Hong Kong and now, she is here, with Hong Kong holding his hand, finally reunited. This time, hopefully, they will never be forced to be separated ever again; not even an embargo, nor Luzon, nor China would ever stand between them. Philia could only hope that both their countries' bosses will forgive each other for the tour bus incident and be able to work all this out in due time.
But, first thing's first; Philia's got a lot of plans and things she has to do with Hong Kong for today. Lucky thing she's got her makeup kits in her luggage.
