Disclaimer: I obviously created Hetalia. Why draw comics when I can write fanfiction for my creation?
A/N: Thank you for all of the support! I decided to give you guys a treat and do a double update so enjoy.
"Hey, Xiang…"' Mei leaned in and whispered to her friend. Xiang turned to her and raised a curious eyebrow. "Does that kid ever shut up?" She was referring to Im Yong Soo, who was currently being a nuisance and uninvited guest on their trip to get some ice cream.
"…Unfortunately no," he looked back and glared at the boy. "We could ditch him."
"You're terrible. But…sure." Xiang smirked and held onto Mei's hand. "Hold on." She tightened her grip and looked at him with unsure eyes.
Mei looked back at Yong Soo, and before she knew it, her feet felt like they were moving by themself and the Korean boy was already about a meter behind her and Xiang. Yong Soo tried to catch up with the two but he was nowhere near as fast as Xiang. He was in the distance in no time waving his arms and screaming, "Hey! Wait up~!"
Xiang pulled Mei onto the side of a building and they pressed their backs against the brick wall. Mei was in hysterics.
"Shh…" Xiang warned. "He could hear you."
Mei bit her bottom lip and nodded silently. "Right. But that…that was just too funny!"
Xiang smiled slightly. "I guess so. He deserved it. We're here, by the way."
Mei walked out from the side of the building and Xiang followed behind. She chuckled slightly upon finding out that they were hiding out right behind the ice cream place.
Inside, the ice cream shop seemed like a child's wonderland. Not only did the store sell ice cream; sweets and desserts were also served. A myriad of ice cream flavors were placed behind a glass screen and Mei scurried over to the selections and pressed her face against the glass to get a better look. Xiang followed her, amused by her childlike enthusiasm.
"What do you want, Mei?" Xiang took out his wallet and nodded at the owner, who waited behind the counter.
"Mmm~ they all look so good!" Mei looked at the ice cream, tears forming in her eyes from the joy of having so many choices. She stood up straight and told the store's owner, "Um, I'd like a vanilla cone. With sprinkles!"
"I'll take strawberry," Xiang requested. The owner nodded and proceeded to get their cones.
"So I can't wait until the Giselle auditions~" Mei remarked, looking around the shop casually.
"Hm. What part are you planning on auditioning for?"
"The Lead: Giselle!" Mei replied with a grin.
"I figured as much," Xiang replied teasingly and took the cones from the man behind the counter and gave him money in exchange. He handed Mei her ice cream, she replied with a "Xie xie ni," and the two made their way out the door.
The duo took a seat on a bench in a nearby park. The park had a serene and relaxing air to it; birds chirped happily as frogs and squirrels frolicked by a rippling stream.
"This place is so pretty. I can't believe I've never been here," Mei said. She licked at her ice cream gingerly, savoring its sweet taste, while admiring the beauty of the woodsy park.
"It's a getaway for me; like when I just wanna think or get inspiration."
"I can see why," Mei smiled slightly and her gaze met Xiang. "You should let me see some of your work sometimes."
"Wh-what? No!" Xiang retorted.
"And why not?" Mei pouted slightly, hoping maybe that would change his mind.
"I…I don't think it's good enough," he sighed, a whisper of defeat.
"Xiang, if you think your work isn't good enough, no one else will either. Stop being so hard on yourself; I'm sure it's great."
He looked up at her, in disbelief. "Really?" Mei smiled and nodded, encouragingly, in return.
"I'll let you see then. On one condition."
Mei raised an eyebrow. "What might that be?"
"You come over to my house so I can help you practice for auditions."
"You…you would do that for me?"
Xiang nodded. "Of course. That's what friends are for."
"Ahhh! Xiang! Thank you so much~!" She hugged Xiang, so hard, that their ice creams almost fell out of their hands. Xiang laughed and when Mei let go, he pet her shoulder fondly.
"It's my pleasure," a warm smile spread across his face. Mei felt a tinge of heat dance across her cheeks as she saw Xiang smile. She never actually saw him smile other than a smirk or crack of the lips. He actually looked really nice.
"A-ah, right." Lost for words, Mei was actually relieved when she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She opened it up with a sigh to find out that it was her older brother, Wang Yao, texting her.
"Text from Yao-ge: Mei, where r u? Ive been waiting a while now..."
"Aiyah…It's my brother," Mei said, looking at Xiang apologetically.
"Hm. I'll walk you back to the company then," he stood up and Mei did the same. The both of them finished off the remainder of their sweet treats as they walked back to their job.
Yao stood outside of Taiyo's building, arms folded and feet tapping impatiently as he waited for Mei. He was a short man; about 5'3 or 5'4, and he possessed feminine features and long straight hair styled in a ponytail and a side-swept bang. For someone of his age, he was youthful and very good looking.
Yao's face was uncharacteristically distressed. "Aiyah…what is taking her so long?" he mumbled to himself.
"Something wrong, little one?" Yao looked up to find a large blonde man dressed in a big winter jacket and scarf approaching him. Yao raised his eyebrow, skeptical of this stranger's motives. Instead of protesting, Yao just sighed. He was too worried about Mei to argue at this moment and besides, this guy didn't seem threatening at all.
"Nothing, aru," Yao replied. "Just... little sisters can be hard to deal with at times."
The tall, flaxen stranger smiled and nodded. "Ah, I have same problem with my sister."
"It's good to know I'm not the only one, aru," he sighed and looked over to the stranger. "She's such a sweet girl but lately we've been drifting apart."
"That's opposite for me and my sis. She's too…clingy," the taller man smiled sheepishly.
"Aww~ that's kind of cute, aru!"
"Da, I guess. To a certain extent," he laughed softly. "I am Ivan, by the way. Ivan Braginski." Ivan reached his hand out for Yao to shake it. Yao smiled, taking the large hand and shaking it. He was warming up to Ivan a bit.
"I'm Yao Wang."
"Ah, Jao! A nice name for nicer face, da~" Ivan grinned. Yao smiled, amused at the blatant mispronunciation of his name but it all made up for the double compliment, which cause him to blush.
"Th-thank you, Ivan," he smiled shyly. "Um, you say your sister is in the company, aru?"
Ivan nodded. "I am waiting for her now."
"I see. Do you come here often, aru?" Yao mentally scolded himself for making that sound like a cheesy come on. He really wasn't trying flirt with Ivan; truth was he honestly wanted to know if that was true. Ivan, however, was oblivious to this and a smirk appeared on his face.
"Not usually. I might come more often if Jao is here~"
Yao's face grew scarlet and he swallowed a lump of spit that formed in his throat as he tried to find words. Wow, aru, he thought. He's pretty blunt…
"W-well, I'm going to be here every day, for my little sister."
"Aha, I will be seeing more of you then!" Ivan's lips curved into a jolly grin and his eyes simultaneously closed. "Is good, da?"
Yao nodded and a warm smile formed. "Very good, aru." Ivan opened his eyes and his pleasant expression turned to one of horror. Yao looked at his friend, a concerned look on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"M-my sister…" Yao's eyes followed the path of Ivan's gaze to see the blonde haired girl known as Natalia, running right towards them.
"Big Brother!" Natalia yelled as she hugged Ivan tightly, clinging on to his waist like something was out to get her. Yao gave the young lady a friendly smile but in return, she glared daggers at him and then went to focus more on her brother. Taken aback, Yao's smile vanished and he stood there, watching the two siblings.
"Ah, privet, N-natalia," Ivan greeted. He squirmed in her arms and was relieved when she let go. "Your day was good, da?"
Natalia nodded. "Yes. I must tell you on our way back home!" She grabbed Ivan by his arm and began dragging him in the direction of their car. Yao was surprised by this girl's strength. She had to be at least half of her older brother's weight. Yao gave a disappointed sigh at the premature departure of his new friend. He waved goodbye, giving Ivan a small smile. "I guess I'll see you later, aru."
Still being dragged along, Ivan winked at Yao. "Until tomorrow."
Yao watched Ivan and Natalia walk into the distance and turned back around to find his younger sister walking towards him with a young man.
"Yao-ge! Sorry I'm late!" Mei said, bowing. Yao's eyes fell on Xiang for a slight second; he became curious on who Xiang was and why exactly was he with his sister. Xiang noticed Yao staring and nodded politely at the older man and Yao did the same, not wanting to seem rude.
"It's fine, aru," Yao replied. "We just need to hurry up and get home…before the house burns down." He laughed softly. "Now say goodbye to your friend so we can get something to eat, aru."
"Oh, right!" Mei turned to Xiang. "Sorry. I gotta go right now."
"It's okay. You should come over to my place later this week."
"We need to get some practice in~"
Xiang nodded. "Well, my brother will be here as well."
"Right. See you later then." Mei waved "goodbye" and so did Xiang. And with that, Yao and Mei walked off, leaving Xiang alone but with a hopeful smile appearing upon his face.
I thought I'd introduce some secondary pairings. For now, you can probably assume it's going to be RoChu and onesided HongIce (from the last chapter). More drama in upcoming chapters~ I'm glad people are reading!