Fate's Strings (2p! Hetalia x Reader)

Chapter Twelve

(Ahhh...I'm sorry for the absence of updates everyone. I've been much busier than expected, so I haven't had time for much other than school and work. My college finals start next Monday, though, so hopefully things will calm down a bit before the summer semester starts! Enjoy!)

"Yao...is that you?"

The first thing that caught my eye when I turned the corner was the brunette, standing on the doorstep of Feliciano's home. I had been out in the garden, picking some tomatoes for Lovino. Since I had forgotten to unlock the back door, I had to come around to the front of the house, my basket of tomatoes in tow. Considering Yao was pacing around and muttering to himself, I had decided to stay quiet for a moment to see if he would stop, but had waited long enough.

"Aiya!" he exclaimed, obviously startled by my sudden appearance. "Don't sneak up on me!"

"I'm sorry," I held in my laughter. "Did you come to see Feli?"

He shook his head. "I came to see you. There is a cute new shop opening today in my Chinatown here! I wanted to know if you would come to see it with me."

"Sure," I smiled. "I would love to go. I have to bring these to Lovino, but it should be alright for me to leave afterward. Come on inside."

A cheerful smile lit up his face as he followed me inside and into the kitchen. Lovino was there with Feli, both of them working on cooking something for dinner tonight. Ludwig, Kiku, Gilbert, and Antonio were coming over this evening, so Feli had decided he wanted to make something special. I had offered to help, but Lovino had complained about there not being enough space in the kitchen for three people. 

"What the hell is he doing here?" Lovino glared at the sight of Yao.

"So rude..." he mumbled under his breath, obviously slightly annoyed by the grumpy Italian.

"He came to ask if I wanted to go out to see a new shop with him," I explained, setting the basket of tomatoes on the counter. "I'll be sure to be back before everyone gets here, so would that be alright?"

"Of course!" Feli grinned. "I hope you have fun, bella!"

"I thought you wanted to help out," Lovino grumbled.

"I can stay and help. But I thought you didn't want me to since the kitchen would be crowded?"

There was a look of realization on his face, and I could have sworn his face flushed a slight red. "T-That's right. Go, but make sure you're back in time!"

"I will," I smiled to the two of them before turning to Yao. "Ready?"

He nodded. "Let's go."

The Chinatown was further away than I had expected, but well worth the drive. It was amazing to see how pretty all of the buildings and decorations were around me. As we were walking through one of the shopping centers, the two of us were chatting over how he had been since the last time we had seen each other. 

He told me about how the Allies were becoming quite aggravating to him because of all the arguments and fighting that occurred during every meeting they had. Eventually, he admitted that he wanted to take me here to get a break from all of that, and to be able to spend time with someone who wasn't an annoyance.

"I'm glad I was able to come, then," I took his hand, giving it a light squeeze in order to try and comfort him. "It's very nice here. I would love to see what it's really like in China. Arthur has shown me around certain parts of England, and I've visited Ludwig's home in Germany with Feli, but I would love to visit the rest of your homes."