Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Hetalia
Again, written for scribere-multum on tumblr as an apology for Dust. I also used this to sort of flesh out HongIce, so there's some pretty noticeable ooc-ness in the first 200 words or so
"Come on, Hong Kong, you're gonna miss it!" Iceland called up the stairs.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He yelled back, pulling on a pair of boots. "Really, I don't see what's so exciting about the aura borealis. It's just a bunch of lights in the sky, same as the stars," Hong Kong mumbled to himself. "Same as fireworks, too," he added after a moment of consideration.
"Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!" Iceland called out.
"Hold on for just a moment, would you?" Hong Kong shouted as he shoved a sweater on and pounded down the stairs. "Jeez, you're always such an impatient boyfriend," he teased.
Iceland didn't reply, instead grabbing the other boy by the wrist and pulling him out the door, causing Hong Kong to stumble.
"Sorry," Iceland apologized.
"S'fine, don't worry about it," Hong Kong mumbled, rightening himself and brushing the nonexistent specks of dust off of his clothes.
"Where are we going, anyways?" he asked. "All you said was that we were watching the northern lights but like...they're in the sky. There's a lot of places where you can see the sky, Iceland."
"Yeah Hong Kong, that's true I guess, there are a lot of places where you can see the sky, but not all of them are very good," Iceland replied with a small smile on his face. "Besides, this place is special," he added.
Hong Kong rolled his eyes. "Sure," he replied doubtfully.
"You'll see," Iceland assured him before dragging him down a wooded path in the nearby forest.
Hong Kong could barely see where they were going, unused to the dark or the forest, but doing his best not to trip or stumble and trusting his boyfriend to show him the way. He knew where they were going, after all.
Finally they arrived at what Hong Kong could only assume was their destination - a hill, carpeted in white flowers.
The couple raced each other to the top of the hill before throwing themselves down at the top of it, Hong Kong propping himself up on one arm so that he could better gaze at his boyfriend.
With his purple eyes and pale features lit up by starlight and his head framed with the same white blooms that coated the hill, Iceland nearly seemed to glow with ethereal beauty.
So distracted was he by his lover's stunning visage was he that Hong Kong neglected to notice the gentle hand on his face until Iceland spoke.
"You know I'm not the view here, right?" Iceland said, voice tinged with mirth.
"Says who?" Hong Kong shot back.
"Says me," Iceland declared before pulling Hong Kong to lay down beside him, face turned towards the sky.
Hong Kong laughed breathlessly before his mind actually registered what he was looking at, and then he gasped in awe.
The sky was awash with thousands of stars, too many to ever count, like sugar spilled on the ink-black canvass of the night sky and set aglow.
And that was not to mention the green and purple lights snaking across the dome of the sky, light illuminating the world around them so you could faintly see the colors reflected in the flower petals.
Beautiful. Breathtaking. Hong Kong was nearly speechless.
"Pictures really don't do it justice," he managed.
"I know, right?" Iceland responded gleefully.
"I've never seen so many stars at onceā¦" Hong Kong murmured
"It's because you live in a big city, and before that you were with England," Iceland teased, poking him and wrinkling his nose when he mentioned England.
"Hey! That's rude!" Hong Kong cried out, jerking up and pulling Iceland with him. Iceland, surprised by his sudden movement, steadied himself by grabbing onto the other's shoulders, placing their faces almost dangerously close.
"Um," Iceland said. Hong Kong couldn't help but stare at his lips, and felt the heat rise to his cheeks. Iceland looked confused until the realization hit him and he shoved Hong Kong away and bolting up, cheeks flushing crimson.
Immediately Hong Kong was also on his feet, a thousand thoughts flashing through his mind. Had he done something wrong?
"Did I - did I mess up?" Hong Kong asked uncertiably. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just - this is the first time I've ever really, like, been with anyone, so I don't know what do, only what people say you should do but that's not always right, and - and I'm scared of messing up what we have because it's special and you mean so much to me and I don't want to ruin this," he finished taking a deep breath.
"So can you please just tell me what I did wrong?" Hong Kong asked, sighing.
"It um, it sounds stupid to me, but it's just...I don't think I'm ready for kissing and stuff um...and stuff like that," Iceland mumbled.
Hong Kong nearly sighed in relief. Of course. That would make sense.
"It's not stupid, Iceland, I promise. I don't wanna make you do anything that you're not comfortable with," Hong Kong said.
After a few moments of silence, Iceland spoke. "...can we please go back to stargazing? There's supposed to be a meteor shower."
Hong Kong sat down as his answer, and Iceland followed suit.
As the two laid there, Hong Kong's head resting on Iceland's chest, he considered their position.
Maybe they weren't ready for things like kissing. Not yet, and maybe not ever.
But this? Both of them sprawled out on a grassy hilltop at the dead of night, Hong Kong using Iceland as a pillow as the later taught the former every constellation he could remember while they both watched meteors streak across the sky?
That was paradise, in Hong Kong's opinion.
