Hong Kong woke up alone. The morning air was frigid, and he could feel its cold wrap around his nose and fingers. His arm was cold from where it had escaped the blanket in his sleep. Very soon it would be snowing, and then he would need to ask Iceland for more blankets.

Hong Kong rolled over in Iceland's bed, his big form snuggling into the quilt blankets. His home back at China-baba's place never got this cold. But his home back at China-baba's didn't have Iceland either.

It had been a week since he'd arrived at Iceland's house. They'd established a routine, after Hong Kong had gotten over the trauma of waking up on Monday morning to an empty house. Three whole hours he had spent running around the apartment in a growing frenzy, looking for Iceland. He even got as far as shouting Iceland's name loud enough to get an angry knock from the landlord. Iceland came home to a dejected puddle of country that was formerly known as Hong Kong. After kissing Hong Kong back to his normal, kid form, he then accomplished the seemingly impossible task of making dinner with Hong Kong koala attached to his legs. The little country had refused to let go until dinner was ready. Iceland apologized for not letting Hong Kong know that he was leaving, and explained to him that he had to leave every weekday for his job.

On Wednesday, a bird arrived from Norway. It was a speckled pigeon with a small bag tied around its back. Hong Kong retrieved the letter and opened it. Immediately after he ripped the finely grained paper, a ring fell into his hand.

When Iceland got home, Hong Kong showed him the ring and the letter. The note was written in Icelandic, surprisingly— Hong Kong didn't realize Norway was fluent. Because of that, Hong Kong had to rely on Iceland to determine what the note said.

After Iceland finished reading, he explained to Hong Kong that the ring was an artifact that Norway had stowed away but was willing to loan to them. Now, if Hong Kong wore the ring when he changed, his clothes wouldn't be reduced to shreds.

"Well… That's convenient," Iceland commented sarcastically.

Iceland and Hong Kong also figured out what triggered Hong Kong's transformation during that first week. Iceland noticed that every situation that caused Hong Kong to transform involved Hong Kong losing exposure to light. With that, he told Hong Kong that the darkness was probably what caused him to grow. They tried to be more careful, but Hong Kong refused to sleep with a light on.

"I'm not a kid," he said.

"Yes, you are. Plenty of kids sleep with night lights." Iceland tried to argue with him, but Hong Kong refused to budge.

The child-turned-teenager frowned, remembering. Only crybabies and girls slept with night lights… Didn't Iceland get that? Hong Kong didn't mind growing at night when the alternative was sacrificing his manly pride. One of his earliest memories of China-baba was his mentor telling him to never lose face, and he took that advice to heart. Maybe Iceland never learned that, he wondered. He didget flustered easily…

Speaking of which. Iceland had started kissing him first thing in the morning when he thought Hong Kong was still asleep. Hong Kong pretended to be asleep for Iceland's sake, but also for his own. Because he didn't want Iceland to stop; it was nice to be woken up with a kiss.

For some reason, Iceland didn't kiss Hong Kong that particular morning. It was a Saturday, which meant that Iceland didn't have to go to work. He heard muffled clanking coming from the kitchen and smelled cooking eggs; Iceland was making breakfast.

Hong Kong slid off the bed and walked to the kitchen. Yep, there he was— leaned over a frying pan with an egg shell in his hand, staring at the food with intense concentration.

"Good morning," Hong Kong said, and Iceland looked up.

"Good morning," the white haired boy responded, and turned back to the eggs. "Your breakfast is over there," he said, and gestured with his head. Hong Kong picked up the plate and took it to the table, where he started eating.

"It's good," he murmured through chews.

"I try." Iceland finished dishing out his share of eggs and joined him at the table. They both ate quietly. Iceland looked like something was on his mind. When Hong Kong asked him if he was feeling ok, he stared at Hong Kong with a sidetracked expression. Then he realized Hong Kong was talking to him and snapped out of it, saying that he was fine. It was when Iceland was finished with the dishes that he brought up what was on his mind.

"Hong Kong…" He cleared his throat when Hong Kong looked at him. "U-uh, somebody's going to come visit us today. You might know her. She's a nation, like us, and it's just because I missed the important meeting the other day, but I still think it's important to hide your identity, not that it was really my idea, but Norway said that it was really important—"

"Iceland. That last sentence was a runoff and you, like, said 'important' three times."

"That's not impor— RELEVANT!" Iceland huffed, face red. He breathed deep a couple of times, then said, "All I'm saying is that I'd like you to pretend you're my roommate. And don't say anything about you being a nation."

Hong Kong raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. Can you kiss me first?" Iceland stared at him, mouth open.

"Wha— no! A little kid can't be my roommate! What the hell!"

"I'm not 'little'…." Hong Kong said sulkily.

"Right now, you're not. Look, I'll k…kiss you after she leaves, ok?"

"No. It's not ok. But I'll, like, do it for you." Iceland breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Just… act normal. If you even know what that means." Hong Kong rolled his eyes. Of course he knew what 'normal' was. Whether or not he would act that way simply depended on the situation. Would he act normal if he was suddenly kidnapped by a brigade of masked marauders? If he was on a capsizing fishing boat? If he felt his relationship was being threatened by a strange woman? Duh. No. He'd promised to say that he was Iceland's roommate, but Iceland didn't swear him to good behavior.

Hong Kong was forming a battle plan when they heard a knocking from the door. Iceland's head whipped up like a dog who heard the rattle of dog treats.

"She's here already!?" Hm. Maybe his battle plan would lean toward 'improv' rather than 'organized.' That's fine.

Iceland pushed Hong Kong toward his room, ordering him to put on some decent clothes. Maybe there was something in Iceland's eyes, or his taught expression, but Hong Kong felt a sudden urgency not to let Iceland out of his sight. Especially with this person that was so important. His eyes rolled so hard that the action was almost audible.

China-baba told him once that he had a bad habit of intentionally disobeying every order that was given to him. He claimed that this was Hong Kong's alternate personality, like a setting, and once it was turned on, the younger nation wouldn't take orders from anybody. "Woe on whoever activated this metaphorical switch," China had laughed. In Hong Kong's mind, Iceland's reaction to this mystery person had flipped the switch and now a big green "ON" was flashing erratically.

Hong Kong sped over to the door and twisted the metal knob. The door opened loudly, out-voicing Iceland's abrupt yelp of protest.

A pair of big, green eyes stared up at Hong Kong with surprise.

"Hello." It was that girl… the one who always followed the gun-maniac. What was her name? Something unpronounceable. She was dressed in a warmer dress the fell to her knees, and a warm gray jacket protected against the cold weather. Her hair was combed and a little purple bow rested on the side of her head.

She smiled and tilted her head as Iceland rushed over to the door.

"Mr. Steilsson, I didn't realize you had a guest. I can come later, if this is a bad time."

"Oh, oh— no, he's not a guest. This, um, this is actually my new roommate." Iceland stuttered. He turned to Hong Kong. "This is Lili Zwingli. She's here for my work. Lili, this is, ah…" A millisecond after he turned back to the girl, his expression darkened as visible worry crossed over his face. That dork had never asked for Hong Kong's human name. Hong Kong rolled his eyes inwardly.

"I'm Kaoru… Kaoru Yao Kirkland. I'm, like, the roommate," Hong Kong said, deftly grabbing Lili's hand and shaking it.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Kirkland." Lili smiled at him, and then Hong Kong remembered her country name.Liechtenstein. That's right.The girl looked him over and visibly expressed curiosity over the fact that he was still in his pajamas, but didn't comment.

Iceland invited Liechtenstein inside and shut the door. A cold, autumn breeze followed the girl inside, and Hong Kong shivered in his light clothing. Maybe he should've changed… No! Focus.

Iceland pulled out a chair for his guest and offered her a cup of tea. She politely agreed, and pulled out a manila folder that she had tucked in her purse. There was a slight scraping against the wood floor as Hong Kong pulled out the chair next to Liechtenstein.

He looked at the folder with minimal interest, then rested his head on his hands.

Liechtenstein looked slightly uncomfortable as she slid the folder in front of Hong Kong and over to Iceland's spot on the table. Iceland left for the kitchen, after giving Hong Kong a not-so-subtle glare that said, "Behave!" Then, the two younger countries were left in an awkward silence. Well, judging by the girl's nervous expression and slightly clenched hands, it was apparently awkward. Hong Kong didn't think it was awkward, but he wasn't one to be bothered by social anxiety anyway.

Liechtenstein tried breaking the silence.

"Ehem… I didn't realize that there was room for two people in this apartment."

"We manage." Deflected.

"So… when did you meet Iceland?"

"Like. A week ago. Or something." Hong Kong tilted his head, thinking. When the boy didn't offer any more conversation, Liechtenstein attempted conversation again. Her eyebrows furrowed daintily as she made a realization.

"Is this the first time we've met?" Hong Kong paused for a moment, not sure what to say. Iceland told him he couldn't tell Liechtenstein about his status as a country, because of "safety reasons." Whatever that meant.

He decided to use a line that he'd heard on the tele when he and England stayed in a hotel.

"Maybe we've met in a dream," he said.

Liechtenstein giggled politely.

"You're very silly," she said, smiling. That's very different from how the girl responded on the t.v. show, Hong Kong thought. Even though Liechtenstein couldn't have possibly known about Hong Kong being a child, he still thought he detected some hint of patronization. Which irked him. And he didn't see what was so silly about what he said.

However, Liechtenstein didn't press for any more information, and he regarded that as a (small) victory.

A few minutes later, Iceland returned with a cup of tea for Liechtenstein. She drank it slowly and engaged in small talk with Iceland. Hong Kong watched both of them talk. He saw how Iceland paid very close attention to Liechtenstein, and how she kept a very polite distance with her little "polite giggle." He saw how Iceland tripped over his words more than when he was talking to Hong Kong. And he saw Iceland's hand drumming against his knee nervously, out of Liechtenstein's line of sight.

The longer the two talked, the more a very heavy feeling filled him. He felt sick to his stomach, like an iron ball had passed through his stomach and settled in his intestines. Along with the physical pain, he felt himself simmer inwardly. Hong Kong never felt any malice toward Liechtenstein before, but right then he really disliked her perfectly modeled face, blonde silky hair, bow lips and large, upturned lashes. He wanted her to leave.

Finally, finally, Liechtenstein finished her tea. Hong Kong checked the clock— fifteen minutes. What a lying machine… That, like, totally felt like at least an hour. Iceland took her cup and asked her if she needed anything else.

"I'm good, thank you," she smiled at him. "The tea was very good. Thank you for having me." She got up from her chair.

"Y-yeah, thank you for coming. And thanks for bringing the notes," Iceland said, offering up a smile for her. "I know my house is pretty far away." He opened the door, prompting another loud squeak. Hong Kong winced at the breath of cold wind. Slipping her coat over her shoulders, Liechtenstein exited the house. She sent a final smile toward the white-haired teen as she passed through the doorway.

"It is no trouble. Please take care of yourself."

"And… yourself…" The door shut with a bang. The apartment was silent, void of the conversational noise it had held earlier. Everything was quieter after Liechtenstein left. Perhaps in an attempt to fill the emptiness, Iceland sighed. He seemed happy, but that fact didn't comfort Hong Kong. The Asian country sat at the table and watched Iceland move back from the doorway to the kitchen.

"That definitely could have gone a lot worse," Iceland commented absentmindedly. "Thank you for not being a total brat—"

"Didn't I say you were, like, my fated person?" Hong Kong said softly.

"What?"

"Why… with her…" Hong Kong cut off.

"Hong Kong, what are you saying?" Iceland was too confusing. When Hong Kong first saw Iceland and his magnificent violet eyes, the boy had felt so sure that he was there to save him. Save him from England, from the situation with China-baba, that whole mess. Hong Kong knew that even though Iceland acted prickly sometimes, he was really nice and helped make Hong Kong feel at home in his apartment. He was so happy to live with Iceland. It was like he finally found his place.

But then Iceland went right around and acted so strange with Liechtenstein. A little worm of doubt crawled into Hong Kong's mind: Iceland was more comfortable with Liechtenstein than with him. Liechtenstein could easily replace him. Maybe Iceland would even prefer Liechtenstein as a "roommate." That thought made him feel low and mentally brought the child to his knees. God, what did he know about Iceland anyway? Not much. He didn't even know his human name.

"Hong Kong, are you ok?" Suddenly, Hong Kong reached out and grabbed Iceland's forearm. Iceland recoiled in surprise. "Huh!?"

Hong Kong stared at Iceland intensely, his eyes boring into Iceland's violet ones. He wanted the strength of his emotion to be conveyed through the severity of his gaze, even though he knew that mere actions couldn't encompass the entirety of his emotions.

"Steilsson. What's… the first name?" Hong Kong wanted to see through Iceland, to make him understand. But the most he could do was stare, almost pleadingly, at the other teen and hope that his eyes were enough.

And then, somehow, it was enough. Because Hong Kong saw something on Iceland's face, something too vague to put into words. Even though it was vague and almost indescribable, that was okay, because Hong Kong knew that it was there and it meant something. Iceland's pale cheeks began to color, like their gaze had given off electricity that heated up his face.

"Emil."

A/N.Jfc I'm tired. I apologize if this last part didn't make that much sense, I'm writing this waaay too late for clarity to be relevant. XD

Anyway. Did you like this chapter? Mwehehe. Things are (maybe?) heating up. We'll see where the next chapter goes.

Off to bed. I shall have HongIce dreams.

Please comment and critique! And thank you for reading, as always :)