"Emil." The name was rough and heavy on Iceland's tongue. Under the surface, his emotions and thoughts were roiling about, crashing and jumbling together like a line of confused ants. He had to concentrate to keep his composure, and even then, he couldn't keep the brunt his confusion out of his response. Hence the gravelly response.
Where had this emotionally tense atmosphere come from? Why was Hong Kong acting like this? More importantly, why was heresponding like this?
What startled him the most was the sudden change in Hong Kong's behavior. Sure, the boy had been quiet during Liechtenstein's visit, but Iceland had simply chalked that up to shyness. He'd never heard Hong Kong speak before at any World Meetings… didn't that mean he was shy? But shy people didn't grab other people's arms and act, well, the way Hong Kong was acting.
Iceland didn't like where this was going. The atmosphere had changed, and he recognized where it had gone. He didn't want to consciously recognize it, though. He'd never felt anything this intense, especially from Hong Kong. God as his witness, the kid never seemed to display any kind of emotion. But right then, his eyes were practically glowing with sentiment. Like somebody had lit a match and turned every fleck of gold in Hong Kong's eyes into a miniature candle.
"Emil." Hong Kong said the name, appearing to savor the taste of Iceland's name on his tongue. He still didn't turn his spotlight gaze away.
Iceland tugged his arm away, and rubbed the spot where Hong Kong had grabbed him. It didn't hurt, but Hong Kong squeezed slightly hard.
"Emil… what does Liechtenstein mean to you?" The question didn't surprise Iceland as much as he would've thought. He was, however, mildly disturbed by how mature Hong Kong was acting. He could say to himself over and over that the being in front of him was twice as young as he was, but that didn't matter a lick when Hong Kong wasn't acting like someone twice as young. Humans have misguidedly learned to put an unshakeable trust in their senses. Iceland realized in that moment that this infallible fallacy also applied to country personifications, and he cussed inwardly. As much as Iceland didn't want to consider it, a lot of things suddenly became a lot clearer.
Why he became so flustered at the sight of Hong Kong without a shirt.
Why he treated the adult version and the child version of Hong Kong differently.
Why his pulse went through the roof as he remembered that Hong Kong asked about his feelings toward Liechtenstein.
Apparently, his emotions were so out of control that he couldn't remember that the older Hong Kong was still just the littler version on magic steroids. All of his responses to the older version of Hong Kong were conditioned because his body thought of him as a peer, not as a charge. There was something more, a final piece of the jigsaw puzzle, but Iceland avoided thinking about that. His nerves wouldn't have been able to handle it on top of this whole deal with Hong Kong.
Iceland turned his head away, breaking the spell that was he believed was conjured by his own hormones. He felt slightly nauseous as a wave of self-loathing washed over him. It was like someone dumped a bucket of freezing water over him. He wished desperately that he could find a way to become more mature, find something that would help him see Hong Kong as what he really was.
He avoided looking at Hong Kong and kept his eyes firmly placed on his carpeted floor. It occurred to him that he still hadn't answered the other boy's prompt.
Iceland took a deep breathe. Then he looked back at Hong Kong with a small smile.
"She's just a friend. No, just an acquaintance." Hong Kong looked back at him, eyes searing. His mouth was slightly opened and Iceland could see his teeth outlined by his lips.
He's just a child. Iceland closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he superimposed a mental image of the younger version on the face he saw.
"Why do you ask?"
Hong Kong tilted his head, then said, "I… I don't, like, want to be replaced by her."
A small flower of compassion bloomed in Iceland's chest. Somewhere in his mind, a voice he would never acknowledge existed let out a huge, "AWWWWW~." The small smile on his face turned into a genuine one and he laughed slightly.
"What the heck do you mean by that? Silly. She isn't going to replace you."
"But you act like you like her," Hong Kong accused.
"Do I?"
"You act, like, totally flustered. And nervous." Iceland snorted and Hong Kong gave him a confused glance.
"That's something totally different."
"…Explain," Hong Kong stated dubiously.
"Basically," Iceland said, running a hand through his hair, "I've had a problem talking to girls for as long as I can remember. It's not just Liechtenstein; I can't really talk to any girl without becoming nervous and jittery." He wasn't just making it up for Hong Kong. There was truth in that he felt nervous around girls, but he couldn't straight out say that he didn't feel anything for Liechtenstein. She was really pretty and nice… He wasn't sure if he like liked her or if he just thought she was pretty.
"So, Liechtenstein isn't special to you?" Hong Kong said after a pause. Iceland noticed that he held himself perfectly still, almost as in in anticipation.
"N… Not really?" Hong Kong didn't look convinced, and he sighed and leaned back in his chair.
He pointed at his cheek.
"You said you would, like, kiss me."
"Yeah," Iceland replied. Hong Kong closed his eyes. Iceland couldn't see the colored, piercing irises, and his attention wavered on Hong Kong's dark, long eyelashes. They left little shadows that outlined Hong Kong's cheeks. Iceland knelt and kissed the outlining eyelash shadows.
The transformation was imminent, and then Iceland was looking at the Hong Kong who looked his age. Because of Norway's ring, the Asian kid's clothes changed with him, so that he was dressed in appropriately sized pajamas. Although Iceland's conflicted feelings remained, he held firm to the belief that if he didn't acknowledge them anymore, they would go away. He stared at Hong Kong and tried to tell himself that.
Hong Kong suddenly grabbed Iceland by both shoulders. He remained expressionless as he spoke.
"I found you. I foundyou," he said, putting emphasis on his words. "You're, like, my fated person." Iceland could hear the unspoken words. Not Liechtenstein's. "Don't make light of me."
Not knowing what to say, Iceland just blurted out something.
"Uh… okay."
Hong Kong patted Iceland's shoulder's, then got out of the chair. Iceland was still trying to process what the other nation had said. That sounded almost like an accusation. But… that doesn't make any sense. Does it? Did he just accuse me of cheating on him with Liechtenstein? But we'd have to be in a relationship for me to be cheating. Not that I want to be in a relationship! I don't! Wait, no, I meant being in a relationship withhim. A kid. A KID! And what did that "don't make light of me"statement mean? He's JUST A KID!
"Iceland, you gotta do something to repay me." Iceland raised his eyebrows. He kept his emotional turmoil undercover.
"Really? And why do I have to repay you?"
"That's a dumb question. I just told you."
"You… you did?" Iceland tried to feign innocence. He wanted Hong Kong to say it out loud. Hong Kong wasn't buying any of it. His narrowed his eyes and looked unamused.
"Yes."
Iceland paused, leaving a tension that visibly made Hong Kong uncomfortable. Then the brown haired kid stubbornly joined in, and they had a staring contest for a minute or so. Iceland's eyebrows lowered in concentration, and Hong Kong's followed. Both of their eyes started watering.
"You, like, blinked!" Hong Kong pointed in accusation.
Then, rubbing his burning eyes, Iceland said, "Fine, fine. What do you want me to do?" He decided that pursuing the previous line of thought would only end up in more failed staring contests.
Hong Kong was quiet as he stared up at the plaster ceiling.
"I want to go outside."
Iceland shrugged. That sounded simple enough. Wait, come to think of it… has he been in the apartment this whole week?Iceland realized that he would make the worst parent ever. That had to be abuse of some kind. But then and again… Norway left him several times to fend for himself, so maybe he'd learned it from the other country.
"We can get some candy, if you'd like," he said, feeling guilty.
"I'd… like that," Hong Kong said. He looked pleased.
A/N: Honhonhon. I have developed a (slightly) regular update pattern. Achievement unlocked or something. XD
I hope you guys liked this installment as much as I liked writing it. The first half came so easily, but I did struggle a bit during the last half… still not quite sure where I'm going with this fic.
Is there anything you guys want to see? I have a broad idea of what's gonna happen, but I'm up for considering anything
Also, wow, I totally didn't even realize Hima sempai made a continuation of hetalia. It's called "World Stars"… ya'll should check it out.
Critique, comment, fangirl, blackmail me, whatever's clever. Hongice shipper out!
