I am sorry I missed last week's update. It was a bit difficult to write, and there are three main reasons for it: 1) Work has been keeping me busy. 2) It's loadshedding time again, which means that we have frequent power cuts. In fact, we've reached the point where we're at about two or three slots per day lasting 2-2,5 hours each, and it's not fun trying to write in the dark (and I already need to go to have my eyes checked, so I'm going to avoid putting too much unnecessary strain on them). 3) The generator at my work is right next to my office. There is literally a door and about 1,5 metres between us. According to health and safety guidelines, there has to be at least 4 metres between the generator and any doors/windows. And with the amount of time spent on loadshedding… Yeah, guess who had a mild case of carbon monoxide poisoning. Luckily, I didn't have to go to the hospital, but I wasn't doing very well. And naturally, feeling like this at the office forced me to try to catch up on work at home, when I wasn't sleeping it off. We've moved to a room farther away, but it still took a while for my body to get rid of all that nastiness. And loadshedding is set to continue until at least August.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

PhilViet: Marriage Meeting

Lien parked in front of the apartment building. Her friend Mei had a wedding on the way, and Lien was one of the bridesmaids. Mei and her fiancé had arranged for a little get-together so that the two sides could get to know each other a little better. And Lien saw the point, but she always felt uncomfortable with things like this.

"Lien!" Mei exclaimed as soon as she opened the door. "Welcome! Come in, come in!"

Mei led her to the kitchen, where everyone seemed to be gathered. Everyone had a mug in their hands, and the kitchen had a welcoming atmosphere in general.

There was a round of introductions, and eventually Lien stood next to a man named Dakila. He smiled at her as he stirred his coffee.

"So, how do you know Mei?" he asked.

"We went to school together," Lien replied.

"Ah. It's nice to see that you are still friends after all that time. Marcello and I were in the same photography class, and things just clicked. We've been friends ever since."

Mei glanced over towards Marcello, Mei's fiancé. She knew him to be an artistic sort, and wondered if he had gone to the class for that very purpose.

After everyone had finished their hot beverages, they piled into several cars, on their way to do a little bowling. Somehow, Lien had ended up next to Dakila again, and he chose to chat with her. She learned that he was very talkative, but he mostly focused his attention on her, to the point of ignoring his own friends.

The two were on the same team for the bowling, and afterwards, when they went to a restaurant together, Dakila managed to worm his way next to her again. Lien was very unused to the situation.

…

Mei glanced over towards Dakila and Lien and giggled. Several months had passed, and it was already her and Marcello's wedding. And the bridesmaid and groomsman were dancing together.

"What's so funny?" Marcello asked as he twirled her.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how Lien and Dakila make a cute couple," she said.

"And at first I thought they were too different, but it turns out they complement each other nicely."

"So, when do you think their wedding is going to be?"

"I don't know, but they better make us the man and maid of honour."

Mei chuckled at that.

So, my sister's wedding is next year, and she decided that it would be a good idea for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to get know each other a little better, so we had a little get-together at her place. The idea for a couple to spring up out of this crossed my mind, and I decided to write about it.