Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Himaruya-sensei.
Xiang found himself waiting around for his older brother longer than expected. He watched his co-workers leave one by one as he was left behind. The teen looked at his watch briefly before sighing internally. Next time, I'm driving myself. Xiang's older brother Arthur was seldom late for picking him up from work, but recently, Xiang noticed Arthur was a little more distracted and busy at work. It wasn't much of a problem to him unless it affected Arthur's health or Xiang's schedule, of course.
After a few minutes, the clean and slightly used European import that belong to Arthur came rolling up the street and Xiang began walking to it. The car stopped and Xiang got it, putting everything into the back seat and gave a glare of death to the car's driver.
Arthur was a man with distinct European features such as blonde hair and green eyes in contrast to his brother's East Asian features. Xiang hated when people stared or talked about the differences between the two (and he hated explaining the circumstances) but despite their differing looks, Xiang and Arthur were in fact brothers with a good relationship.
"Xiang! I apologize for my tardiness. I was getting ready and lost track of time…" Arthur spoke quickly but Xiang interrupted him. "It's not a problem," he said and Arthur nodded silently and began to drive out.
Xiang gazed blankly out of the window for most of the car ride but glanced at Arthur for a second and noticed something different about his brother; his blonde hair was unusually tame and the older male was dressed semi-formally in a button up and jacket. Even if Arthur was going to work, he would dress nicely but this…this was different indeed.
"Where are you headed to?" Xiang inquired.
"Oh, just a business meeting with a colleague. A spiffy look, huh?"
"Er…yeah…very spiffy indeed," Xiang replied. His brother was a man who was 26 years of age but spoke like one triple his age. Arthur and Xiang were polar opposites in some cases, like how Xiang can always pick up on new trends but Arthur was at least 2 decades behind.
"Who are you going with?"
When Xiang said this, he noticed Arthur's face flush a slight hint of red. "…Francis Bonnefoy," Arthur said reluctantly.
Xiang succeeded in not letting his inner disgust and disappointment show on his face. Simply put, the Frenchman known as Francis Bonnefoy was a player. Even Xiang knew that he currently held relationships with at least four girls at the dance company and the orchestra. Everyone knew of Francis' lecherous ways, everyone, in fact, except for Arthur. The two met at their job and even though they fought, Arthur and Francis shared an immediate connection. Xiang knew that eventually Francis would hurt his brother, and even though it killed him to do so, Xiang had to leave it alone so Arthur could learn for himself.
"Why him?" the Cantonese teen asked.
"That frog wanted to talk some things over regarding work. I wanted to decline but I am a gentleman after all."
"I see. But it sounds more like a date to me."
Arthur's face grew even redder. "Wh-what? That's bloody preposterous! Even so, it's a Monday."
Xiang shrugged. "I've seen dates on Mondays."
"Well, it is not a date!"
"Whatever you say. Have fun." Arthur nodded and focused on driving.
The rest of the car ride was peaceful and silent for the brothers. Xiang used this opportunity to think about the day and the future. He didn't bother to tell Arthur about Mei at that moment. Arthur seemed to be a little bit focused on other things and Xiang was sure she would come up in other conversations. Then again, Xiang really didn't need permission to have a guest over. Most days, Arthur was at work during the day and as long as they didn't steal or break anything, guests were welcome.
The two's house was approaching, an old fashioned, brick "mini-mansion". It was too luxurious for both Xiang and Arthur but their father insisted on getting it for his boys. The car stopped in front of the not-so-humble abode and Xiang began to get out of the car.
"I'll be back soon. Dinner is in the oven if you need it."
Xiang nodded. He didn't need dinner. Not Arthur's anyway. It was a blessing that he had a job and cell phone to call for delivery or else Xiang would starve.
The Cantonese boy waved goodbye to the other and Arthur did the same as his car drove away.
In the kitchen of their small oriental style home, Mei stood over a pot along with her older brother Yao. As Yao carefully chopped vegetables, Mei grabbed them and put them into the dish along with some spices. The Taiwanese girl closed her eyes as she inhaled the aroma of one of her favorite dishes.
"Mm, Yao-ge~ this crab smells really good!" She exclaimed.
Yao smiled in return, cutting up the vegetables slowly. "Yes, aru. I wanted to treat you to something nice. But I didn't think that it would take you that long to leave work. I didn't want the food to burn."
"Eh, sorry about that. It won't happen again!"
"It's fine. Just be a little more hasty next time, aru." Mei nodded and the siblings continued silently with their cooking. Yao took the crab out of the pot while Mei seasoned some lo mein noodles. After all of the food was prepared and set on the dining room table, Mei prepared some drinks and she and Yao sat down.
"Looks tasty!" Mei announced before taking her chopsticks and slurping down some noodles.
Yao nodded and followed suit. He drunk some tea and began to stare involuntarily at his younger sister. His face grew troubled and Mei noticed that something seemed to be a burden to him.
"What's the matter, gege?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing, aru…" he was unaware that he was staring at Mei. "It's just…who was that young man from earlier?"
"Xiang? He's just a friend from work. He plays in the orchestra!"
"You don't like him…romantically, do you?"
Mei's face turned a hue of scarlet. "No, that's silly! What if I did?"
"You're too young to be dating anyone," Yao said simply.
"Um, I'm 17."
"Too young, aru."
Mei smacked her lips, folded her arms and pouted. "That's not fair! I'm very mature!"
Yao laughed at his sister. She was so sweet and innocent; he didn't want her being corrupted by some boy. "I'm sure you are Mei. You can date once I meet the guy, okay?"
Mei cracked an accomplished smile and unfolded her arms. "Okay. Thanks, Yao-ge~" and she resumed eating her food.
Because both of them were busy eating their food, the siblings were indulging in complete silence. The silence wasn't awkward nor rude but instead, relaxed. Until Mei broke it, of course.
"Oh, I wanted to mention that I'll be going over Xiang's house a few days out of the week."
Yao nearly spit out his tea and looked at his younger sister with a look of fear and confusion. "What?" he managed to choke out."Wh-why?"
"Auditions are coming up. He said he'll help me and in return I get to see his music. Plus it helps him practice the orchestra music."
"There is no way I am going to let you go over there, aru."
"Why?" Mei whined.
"At that age, all boys wanna do is put their things in everything, aru!"
"Don't be stupid, Yao-ge! I don't believe those are his motives."
"You can be so naïve. You barely know the boy." It was true, she only knew Xiang for a short amount of time but Yao didn't know him at all! Who was he to just assume that Xiang was like the teenage boys Yao had seen in movies. Mei had been approached by those types of boys a myriad of times to know that Xiang was nothing like them.
Mei just sighed. She didn't want to argue with Yao anymore. Arguing with him was just like trying to put a square peg into a round hole, completely and utterly pointless. The two continued eating and an air animosity between them filled the air. They had disagreements like this once in a while but Mei was pissed. By keeping Mei away from Xiang, Yao was keeping Mei from her dreams. He didn't know how much this actually hurt her.
After the siblings completed their meal, Mei abruptly got up from her seat and walked away without helping put away the dishes. Yao sighed in defeat. He just stood up and took the dishes into the kitchen. It was obvious that Mei did not want to be bothered with him so Yao just let her be.
As Yao washed the dished, he wondered why is sister wanted to hang out with that boy so much. Yes, it was for work but they are teenagers, of course. Yao thought that he should give Mei a little more freedom. She was turning 18 that October. It hit him like a bag a bricks to realize that his baby sister was growing up and the argument that evening led him to the epiphany.
The Chinese man sat at the kitchen table, rubbing his temple and contemplating whether or not he wanted Mei to practice with Xiang. It hurt him to let her go but it hurt her even more to stay with him. He knew that this day would come ever since their parents died and he took responsibility for the young girl. He needed help with this decision and had no one to go to.
Yao sighed, defeated, and dug into his pocket to take out his money, car keys, and some lint. Amongst the contents of his pocket, Yao noticed something peculiar: a piece of paper. He looked at the paper and underneath a phone number, in messy cursive, read a familiar name. It said Ivan.
Mei was up in her room, screaming into the pillow she buried her face into. With a grunt, she tossed the pillow into the wall and looked up at the ceiling. She was trying to think of a way that she could meet with Xiang but not get in trouble with Yao. After a few minutes, a thought came into her mind. It was risky, but she needed to be with him.
A/N: I'm probably gonna add some more and repost this chapter, as well as the next chapter. Thank you for reading and for your patience!