Title: Love Like This

Pairing: Lichtenstein x China (plus a vague hint of HongIce.)

Rating: Hmm... T for when there's some swears. ^^"

Sisia was not particularly good with feelings, but when she first met Yao Wang, she knew she felt more for him than she had felt for any other person besides her family.

It was normal, how they met. Or perhaps it wasn't. *Sisia's brother's friend's ex-boyfriend's friend's boyfriend's sister was going on a date with Yao's brother, Xiang, and her family wanted someone to accompany them, so Sisia had offered, 1) because she liked the girl and 2) because she really needed to get out and meet some new people. Now that she was eighteen, she had a freedom she hadn't possessed before, and she planned on using it to the fullest.

Little had she known that Xiang's older brother, Yao, would be there, or that she would spend most of the not-date staring at him- when he wasn't staring at her.

They had inconspicuously exchanged phone numbers just before Yao and Xiang had driven home, and Sisia spent the whole car ride back with Emillia (the sister) trying to push down the butterflies in her tummy. Yao was perfect: Kind, sweet, knew how to cook (something she couldn't do), had a lot of common interests with her- such as an overprotective family, or so it seemed -and, well... the fact that he was cute didn't hurt things at all.

Almost as soon as she got home Sisia began texting Yao, and a relationship spun from that simple act. Though they rarely met face to face- they lived quite a distance from each other, and Yao worked at a very popular Chinese restaurant while Sisia attended college -they talked and talked and talked over the phone, and email, and text, and wherever they could, for days that soon turned to weeks that soon turned to a month, then two months, and so on. Sisia learned what seemed like everything she could about Yao, though she kept managing to learn more and more and more, and the more she learned, the more she slowly, steadily, fell deeper and deeper in love with him.

By the time three months had passed, they had both decided that they were dating.

But... how would they break it to their families? Yao's parents wanted him to marry a nice Chinese girl, and they played such a major role in his life that it was hard to not bend to their wills. Sisia's only living relative, her step brother, did not want Sisia to date anyone, ever, because he was worried that they would leave her and she would be empty, just like his mother was after his father left. It was a hard thing to maneuver around, both of their families, but they somehow managed it. For a while, that is.

Until Sisia kissed Yao.

She couldn't help it, really. They were walking along the pier, and it was cold and snowing lightly. She had her hands dug deep into the pockets of her fluffy jacket, and was wearing a scarf and a hat. Yao was looking more and more disgruntled as it grew later and colder, and finally, she couldn't help herself. He grabbed him by the arm, swung him gently around, and pressed her mouth to his.

At first, it didn't seem all too spectacular. Sisia had kissed people before, and this kiss didn't seem to be any different.

But then he had grabbed her waist and deepened the kiss, and suddenly it was as if she had just drunk warm tea; a heat flowed through her body from the place their lips touched, warming her from the top of her head to the bottom of her heart, from her fingertips to her toes, and she knew, in that moment, that she had to have Yao. She had to. It didn't matter if her brother disapproved, didn't matter if the world disapproved. His kiss tasted like sunshine on a rainy day, and that was all she needed.

Breaking that to her brother- and Yao's parents -would be a hard thing to do, though, filled with many trials and errors and fights and tears and long hours spent alone and fuming.

They started off small: Sisia's brother. There was only one of him, so he wouldn't be able to make much of a fuss, right?

Wrong.

"You what?!" he asked when she told him. She braced herself for him to yell, to scream, to rage about his mother, but all he said was, "I see."

She opened first one eye, then the other, to see him staring blankly at her. "B-brother...?" she asked softly.

"I. Disapprove." he said, clearly and slowly.

"But- Brother! I l-love him, I really do, I-"

"I disapprove, Sisia. I won't allow it." And with that, he got up from the dinner table and left the room.

At first, all Sisia could feel was sadness. She sat there at the table, staring blankly down at her meal, and tried to fight the tears rising to her eyes.

After that, she got angry.

She ran outside, slamming the door as hard as she could before running out into the front yard and kicking the tree once, twice, three times. Sure, it hurt like hell, but in her anger the pain felt good. How dare he. How dare he! How dare he not respect her wishes. How dare he not respect her choices. How. Very. Dare he!

And suddenly she was sad again, so terribly sad that she wrapped her arms around the tree in front of her so that it would hold her up as sobs shook her whole entire body from shoulders to feet. Tears streamed down her face in never ending torrents, and she wanted nothing more than for her brother to come out and take back what he said, or for Yao to suddenly appear and take her up in her arms, and stroke her hair, and make everything better...

After a couple moments, she straightened up, wiping her tears on her sleeve. Yao wasn't coming, and her brother was far too stubborn to take back what he had said. No, this was a problem she would have to take care of by herself, for herself.

She marched back inside, slamming the door open and closed, then marched into her brother's room, slamming that door for good measure. As she entered, he glanced coolly up from his book, then set it down on a side table.

"Yes?" he asked coldly.

Sisia opened her mouth to speak, to say something eloquent that would prove her right, but the only words that came out were, "Fuck you. FUCK you!"

She stormed over to him, grabbing him by the collar and hefting him partway off of the bed and shoving her face into his. "I'll love who I want, Vash. Just because your mother was abandoned doesn't mean that I will be. Stop trying to protect me, I'm a grown woman who can take care of herself!"

Vash's eyes widened as she slowly lowered him back down to his bed. Wow. She hadn't known she was strong enough to practically lift her brother off his feet. Not that he had been on his feet. But whatever.

"Sisia... I see that you are very determined about this man." Sighing, her brother scooted over on the bed, then got to his feet. She turned around and watched as he paced back and forth across his bedroom. She didn't speak. She knew that, if she wanted his approval, she would have to let him think this whole thing through. This was the moment of truth, and whatever decision he made here, he would stick with it for the rest of their lives.

Finally, he turned to her and said, "Well... if you're truly certain about this... How about I meet the boy?"

At first, she couldn't believe her ears. Had he... had he just... asked to meet Yao...? She stood up and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she shrieked. He winced at the volume of her thanks, but smiled too. He had rarely seen his step sister so happy, and never about a boy.

Three days later, Vash and Sisia had Yao over for dinner. Though Vash seemed reluctant, he soon grew to like the man- or maybe the way his sister couldn't stop smiling in his presence. Either way, he soon gave his approval, considering how happy the two were.

But, after Vash came the star-crossed couple's biggest hurdle yet... the Wangs.

Though Yao's three siblings- Xiang, Mei, and, and Cheng -supported Yao wholeheartedly, his parents thought that his infatuation with the little blonde girl would soon pass and he would end up settling down with a cute little Chinese girl, as they had expected from the start. They were not at all willing to accept that he wanted to actually date this girl, possibly with the intent of marrying her.

But, because of their children's insistence, they consented to inviting Sisia and Vash over for dinner. Everyone was polite, friendly, even, but by the end of the night, the Wangs remained unimpressed. They showed Yao pictures of the proper Chinese girls, children of their friends, that they had found, but Yao refused to even look at them, instead locking himself up in his room and furiously texting Sisia everything that had happened. Xiang, Cheng, and Mei were just as angry as the couple in question, and argued with their parents for weeks straight about it, but the Wangs would hear none of it. They were still completely determined that Yao- and all of their children -would marry nice, Chinese people, and have nice, Chinese children.

And they stayed with this mindset for over a year, until Yao and Sisia, despite their wishes, announced that they were getting married.

No one was sure if it was the fact that Yao was serious, or that he and Sisia looked so happy with their arms wrapped around each other's waists as they announced that they would like to be together forever, but eventually they both gave in and gave the happy couple their blessing.

And everything... was good.

A/N Wow, I didn't think I would become so invested in these two! I'm not sure if you wanted a happy ending, but... um... you got one. ^^"

THUMBS UP FOR EDITING, BITCHES. (No, I'm just kidding, you're not bitches. I love you all. *hugs you*)

Thank Ayumi Kudou for this, folks!

((*Sisia's brother Switzerland's friend Fem!Austria's ex-boyfriend Prussia's friend Denmark's boyfriend Norway's sister Fem!Iceland was going out with Hong Kong.))