"Ah," Ukraine and Vietnam both said upon taking a sip of the homemade coffee Vietnam had prepared.

"You were absolutely right, Viet-dear!" Ukraine gushed. "Freshly made coffee during a rainy day such as this really is the best!"

Vietnam nodded her head in agreement. "It is, isn't it?" she mused quietly to herself as the two female nations took another sip. When she saw that Ukraine had already finished her cup and was disappointingly looking into it, a small and amused smile appeared on her lips before she stood up and asked, "Would you like another cup?"

Ukraine let out a tiny gasp of surprise. "R-Really?" She then raised her hands and frantically started to wave them as she shook her head. "Oh no, Viet-dear! You shouldn't have to take care of little old me! Especially after how I came here uninvited and all!"

Vietnam nodded as she calmly took Ukraine's cup and began making her way to the kitchen. "True, but considering the fact that this is my house and that I always find it a bit rude for a host to not take care of their guests, especially when their guests so obviously want something and are too polite to ask for it themselves, I unfortunately have to insist."

Ukraine watch Vietnam in awe as she prepared another batch of coffee with a certain amount of grace that Ukraine had never thought possible, especially when associated with the simple task of brewing homemade coffee. "She seemed so shy at first," Ukraine thought. "But after she had gotten used to me and gotten over how strange this whole situation was, she talks and treats me as if we've been friends for ages. Perhaps this is what Hun-dear meant when she wanted me to adopt a more assertive personality?" Ukraine dejectedly hung her head. "Is that even possible for someone as lowly and pathetic as I am?"

"Coffee's ready," Vietnam announced warmly.

Ukraine snapped back from her thoughts and smiled as she took her cup. "Thank you, Viet-dear. You really shouldn't have."

Vietnam simply shrugged. "Maybe," she admitted, "but drinking coffee while it's raining is a bit better when it's with somebody else, don't you think?"

Ukraine nodded. "Yes, it certainly is, isn't it?" She then giggled. "Oh, listen to us! We sound like a pair of old women, don't we?"

Vietnam thought it over for a bit before she blushed lightly and had a small giggle escape from her lips as well. "Yes, I guess we do. Then again, I guess the two of us ARE a bit up there in years."

Ukraine giggled once more before holding up her cup playfully and saying, "Then a toast, to us elderly women! May the whipper-snappers finally start listening to us one of these days!"

Vietnam chuckled before following suit. "To us elderly women!"

"To us elderly women!" they both cried as they gently hit their cups against one another and took another long and relaxing sip of their coffee before letting out a refreshing sigh and laugh at the end of it all.

Vietnam then looked outside her window and frowned. "Wow, it's still raining pretty hard out there, huh?"

Ukraine followed Vietnam's gaze and nodded solemnly. "Yes, it is." She then placed her hands into her hair and began to comb through it frantically. "Oh!" she wailed, unshed tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Why didn't I just wait until tomorrow to ask you about paying you back for the motorcycle damages like a normal person?!"

Vietnam's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing what the well-endowed nation had just revealed. "W-Wait a minute! Is that why you came to see me today? To pay for the motorcycle damages?"

Ukraine nodded her head frantically. "Yes! My dearest little sister, Belarus, pointed out to me that someone doing as poorly financially as you probably wouldn't be able to afford paying for the repairs all by yourself, so in order to pay my debt to you for accidentally wrecking your bike with my gigantic knockers, I came by so that I could get it over with and before it could grow out of hand, because I too am not doing very well financially!" She then grabbed Vietnam's shoulders, much to the poor nation's surprise, and cried, "So please, just tell me how much I need to pay you back, and I'll see if we can work out something out with my boss! Just please don't put me in debt! I'm horrible when it comes to managing my money!" She then broke down and began to cry her eyes out like a baby, burying her face into Vietnam's chest as she did.

Vietnam was at a loss for words. She hated to admit it, but she had always been a girl who could get easily flustered, and that was exactly what was happening now. The sight of an adult nation breaking down so easily before her and the almost incomprehensible story that was supposed to explain why this particular breakdown was taking place, as well as the unexpectedness of it all was too much for the poor girl to handle, which caused for her to lose her bearings and her thoughts to flutter uncontrollably as the blubbering nation continued to shed a multitude of tears onto her chest.

Vietnam cautiously placed a comforting hand on the back of Ukraine's head and began to slowly stroke it. "I-If you're worried about the expenses, then don't! I can pay for it all by myself, really!"

Ukraine looked up to reveal a messy face that all of her crying and frantic worrying had caused. "But your financial situation, Viet-dear!"

Vietnam nodded her head slowly. "Y-Yes, that's true, I'm not exactly swimming in money right now, but..."

Ukraine couldn't understand why Vietnam was hesitating to finish her sentence. "But?!"

Vietnam lightly blushed, before sheepishly mumbling, "I've... got motorcycle insurance."

Ukraine blinked. "W-What?" she squeaked.

Vietnam averted her eyes from Ukraine's horrified gaze. "I... have insurance." When Ukraine didn't say anything, Vietnam anxiously and apprehensively added, "I've done the math. I'm... I'm pretty sure it will cover all the damages." When Ukraine still did not say anything, Vietnam bravely asked, "Um, Miss Ukraine? A-Are you feeling alright?"

"Agh!" Ukraine wailed, clutching her head as she did. "Oh, how stupid of me! Of course someone who owns a motorcycle would have the insurance for it! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"N-Now wait! Hold on! There's nothing wrong with taking responsibility for your actions and being considerate of other people!"

"But I wasn't being considerate of other people!" Ukraine argued. "I was only thinking about myself and how it would affect me! And I originally wasn't going to take responsibility for my actions! My little sister, Belarus, had to tell me to!" She then buried her face into her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm such a selfish and inconsiderate person!"

"B-But," Vietnam looked around frantically as she racked her brain for anything that she could say to lift the depressed nation's spirits, "if you're self-aware, then how bad could you possibly be?"

"Stupid!" Vietnam inwardly reprimanded to herself. "What type of reassurance is that? You'll be lucky if she doesn't cry herself to death because of you!" She then shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. "No! Calm down, Vietnam! You can't afford to lose it either! At least calm her down!"

"And think about it like this," Vietnam sheepishly suggested, "it wasn't you who was too dumb to consider motorcycle insurance, it was your sister! Your sister was the one who suggested for you to come over and pay off a potential debt, right? So if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be here in the first place."

"Idiot!" the voice inside her head cried. "What are you doing?!"

"I don't know!" she inwardly wailed back.

Surprisingly enough, Ukraine actually took what Vietnam had said better than most people would've. In fact, she almost seemed to become calmer because of it. Ukraine sniffled a bit before wiping a tear from one of her eyes and saying, "Then that just means Hun-dear and Belarus were right. I'm really AM unassertive!" She once again buried her face into her hands as she shook her head. "I am such a mess! How am I ever going to make friends and a better life for myself if I continue to be like this?"

Vietnam gave Ukraine a sympathetic look as she rubbed her back. "If… if it makes any difference to you... I don't think you're... THAT bad." Realizing how condescending that sounded, Vietnam mentally slapped herself and quickly added, "I-I mean, you don't seem THAT unassertive!" She slapped herself again.

Ukraine whimpered a bit before wiping her eyes and saying, "You don't have to be so polite, Viet-dear."

Vietnam firmly shook her head. "But I'm not." She then placed a hand over one of Ukraine's hands and gave it a firm, but reassuring squeeze. Vietnam took a deep breath and took a moment to gather her thoughts before softly stating, "If you ask me, it took a lot of assertiveness to come here at all, especially in spite of the weather and whether or not it was at someone else's urging or not. Because when you really think about it, isn't making the decision to listen to someone else its own type of assertiveness? Isn't making the conscious choice to follow someone else's lead or reasoning just as good as following one's own lead and reasoning? I mean, you're still making your own choice, right? You're following your own lead to follow someone else's. And even if you don't count that as being assertive, isn't not giving up to fulfill someone else's ideas and ideals a decision you and only you can make?" Ukraine let out a small gasp and looked back at Vietnam's tender gaze. "I can't speak for everyone, but to me, that's proof enough that you're plenty assertive." She then averted her eyes sheepishly and added, "Or, at least, assertive in your own little way."

"Viet-dear," Ukraine murmured.

"And as for your little friend and life situation," Vietnam calmly and softly continued, "I wouldn't worry too much about it." She gave Ukraine a small smile. "You seem like a grown woman who can take care of herself and make her own decisions. Your assertiveness will definitely show whenever you're in a pinch. After all, you've made it this far into your life, haven't you? You should already have all the tools you need to survive. All you need to do now is recognize that you have it, no matter what other people say, and you should be fine."

"Viet-dear," Ukraine whimpered in awe as freshly made tears of joy began to form at the corners of her eyes. Unfortunately for Vietnam, she would not be able to hold this particular crying fit in either. "Viet-dear!" Ukraine cried as she grabbed the surprised nation and hugged her out of joy, inadvertently suffocating her with her well-endowed chest as she did. "Oh, thank you, Viet-dear, thank you!" She released Vietnam from her unintentionally deadly embrace. "You are absolutely right!" She pumped up her fists enthusiastically. "I've made it this far into my life, who can say that I'm ill-fit to keep on effectively living it?" She then happily turned to Vietnam, grabbed her shoulders, and began to shake them excitedly. "Thank you for making me realize it, Viet-dear! Maybe now I can be a bit more confident in myself!" After realizing that Vietnam had been silent for quite a while now, Ukraine stopped impulsively shaking the other female nation and gave her a curious and concerned look. "Viet-dear? What's wrong? You've been awfully quiet all of a sudden. Is something the matter?"

Vietnam took a moment to get her bearings before wearily answering, "N-Nothing. Nothing's the matter."

Unfortunately for her, Ukraine immediately saw through her little ruse. "Don't lie to me, Viet-dear!" Ukraine cried out worriedly. "Something is definitely wrong with you!" Then, upon realizing Vietnam's head loosely leaning back, her slightly opened mouth, her painful groans, and her own hands still firmly holding onto Vietnam's shoulders, Ukraine quickly and horrifically realized what she had just done. "Oh no!" she cried, immediately taking her hands off of Vietnam and towards her as unshed tears of sadness once again threatened to fall down her face. "I'm such an inconsiderate fool! I was so wrapped up in my own emotions that I accidentally almost killed you with my shoulder shaking and my suffocating knockers!" She then once again buried her face into her hands out of great distress and embarrassment. "Oh! I really am hopeless!"

Once Vietnam had recovered from her unfortunately strange and unintentional torture session, she let out a small, exasperated sigh at the sight at the once more sobbing Ukraine. "She's a bit on the emotional side, but," Vietnam smiled a bit, "her heart is definitely in the right place about it... I think. And besides, I probably shouldn't be the one to judge. When you really think about it, she's just like me, only she's more willing to wear her emotions on her sleeve." She let out an amused chuckle. "In a weird way, I should probably be looking up to her."

She then wrapped an arm around Ukraine's shoulders and gave one of them a pat with her hand. "There there, it's alright. Just let it all out."

"Oh, Viet-dear!" Ukraine cried as she rose her head and turned to admiringly face her. "You are too kind! And you're also so cute and cool too!" She enthusiastically grabbed Vietnam's hands and held them up. "I could really learn a thing or two from you!"

Vietnam bashfully blushed. "C-Cool and... cute?" She averted her eyes to the side. "I... I'm flattered that you think that about me, but in all honesty I'm not really that cute or that cool, s-so -"

"Nonsense!" Ukraine kindly insisted. She maternally fixed a strand of Vietnam's hair before explaining, "You're a perfect example of a natural beauty! You look so cute, even when you're embarrassed!"

Vietnam let out a small, surprised gasp. "H-How would you know?!"

Ukraine let out a soft giggle as she smiled and answered, "I saw your picture on the school paper today. You looked so embarrassed! It made you look so endearing!"

"N-No! No, it didn't!" Vietnam sat forward, brought her knees up against her seat, laid her arms on them, and hid her face behind her arms and against her knees. "That photo was bad and everybody knows it," Vietnam mumbled from her hiding place. "I know for a fact that I'm not photogenic."

"Oh, stop that!" Ukraine gently chided. "You're plenty photogenic! You were just unlucky, that's all!"

Vietnam shook her head. "No, all of my pictures look like that," she replied glumly. "I'm never going to take another picture as long as I live."

Ukraine gave the distressed nation a sympathetic smile. She remembered when she felt like that about her chest. She had been so embarrassed by it that she had originally insisted on never leaving her home ever again. Childish, yes, especially when one would have to venture outside eventually, but she could tell that Vietnam was currently going through that same feeling, and at a time like this, there was only ever really one answer for it.

"Viet-dear," Ukraine began, placing a gentle hand over one of Vietnam's own, "how about I tell you some magic words, so that if it ever happens again and other people torment you about it, you'll be able to make them stop?"

Vietnam raised her head from behind her knees. "I suppose that could help," she admitted. "What are they?"

Ukraine smiled before closing her eyes and reciting, "If there are people who are causing you trouble..."

Vietnam nodded. "Yes?"

"And no matter what you say, they won't leave you alone..."

Vietnam leaned towards Ukraine. "Yeah."

Ukraine took a deep breath before finishing innocently, "Show them your milk makers!"

Vietnam blinked in confusion and stared at Ukraine in shock for a moment before jumping back, covering her chest with her arms, and crying out, with her entire face turning beat red, "W-What?!"

"Show them your milk makers!" Ukraine enthusiastically repeated.

Vietnam quickly shook her head. "N-No! T-That's impossible!"

"But it works."

"No! It's indecent!"

Realizing that perhaps the times have changed, Ukraine thought her advice over for a bit before nodding her head and instructing, "Alright, then do it in the metaphorical sense!"

"M-Metaphorical sense?!" Vietnam cautiously repeated.

Ukraine nodded. "Yes!" She the cupped Vietnam's face into her hands, earning a surprised gasp from her, and said, "Whether you believe it or not, Viet-dear, you really are a beautiful girl, you just need to acknowledge it more often and be more confident about it! So," she took her hands off of Vietnam's face and clenched her fists, "if you ever come across someone who is making fun of how you or a photo of yours looks, just hold your head up high, don't let it get to you so much, and flaunt it!

"B-But aren't you always embarrassed about your," she quickly glanced at Ukraine's chest, "you know!"

Ukraine blushed. "Well... yes, but only because I can never find the right bra or shirt for them. And, well, the fact that they make noise and that they can sometimes suffocate people, but otherwise, I'm not against them!" She then quickly muttered, "Even if they give me back pains."

"S-So what you're saying is that... instead of being embarrassed about it, I should just try... owning it?"

Ukraine nodded. "Yes! Exactly!" She then stood up and gently encouraged Vietnam to do the same. "Come on! Let's try it out!"

Vietnam sighed as she slowly got off her couch. "Fine," she muttered. "But I doubt that it's going to work for someone like me."

"That's the spirit!" Ukraine cheered. "Now, imagine someone making fun of that embarrassing photo you took!"

"O-Okay."

"Now imagine turning to him, placing your hands on your hips, and proudly sticking your chest out at him, like this!" As Ukraine demonstrated what she had instructed Vietnam to do, her chest let out a resounding "boing" as she did.

Vietnam blushed at the sound and sight of it, and was seriously considering backing out of this training exercise at the last minute before shaking her head, taking a deep breath, and forcing herself to do it anyway. "L-Like this?" Vietnam asked as she held her chest out, an embarrassed blush and uncomfortable smile covering her face as she did.

Ukraine clapped her hands as she nodded proudly. "Yes! Just like that!" She then cupped her face and gushed, "And your 'really trying' face is cute too! That settles it! Anyone who makes fun of how you look from now on will now have to face just how cute you really are!"

"Um, no offense, Ukraine, but does this method actually, um, work?" Vietnam asked, suspiciously eyeing Ukraine's chest as she did, hypothesizing that perhaps that was the reason why it worked so well for her.

"Of course it does!" Ukraine insisted. "Why would I ever lie to a friend?"

Vietnam gasped upon being taken out of her trance by Ukraine's words. "F-Friend?"

Ukraine nodded her head, though she was clearly taken aback by how surprised Vietnam sounded. "Y-Yes," she answered. She then lightly blushed and quietly asked, "I mean, we are... aren't we?"

Vietnam's darted from Ukraine to the floor and back several times as she considered how to answer. On the one hand, this was the first time the two had ever really interacted with one another, but on the other hand, their time with each other had felt quite refreshing, wasn't it? It wasn't the constant need to be energetic and failing at it like it was with Taiwan, but it also wasn't a total bore like it was with other nations sometimes either. It was a more relaxing type of fun, a fun where you didn't have to worry too much when you were around a person and could just talk normally with about anything and still have somewhat of a good time with. It helped that Ukraine, despite most people's first impressions, was a bit more outgoing than she let up to be, and was more patient and less forceful in terms of persuading someone to do something new or something she wanted to do; and if Vietnam remembered correctly, she had even thought that they were more similar than she would've initially given them credit for. Sure, Ukraine was a bit overemotional, but she wasn't exactly the most fun person to be around either, and when she really thought about it, they seemed to complement each other quite well.

Maybe, just maybe, it was possible.

Vietnam gave Ukraine a small smile before nodding her head slightly and saying, "Yeah, I guess we are."

Ukraine's face practically glowed, unshed tears of joy threatening to fall from her face as it did. "Oh, Viet-dear! Do you really mean it?"

Vietnam chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I do. I had fun."

"Even with the milk makers?"

Vietnam blushed and averted her eyes while covering her chest. "L-Let's not get too carried away now."

"O-Oh!" Ukraine cried, blushing out of embarrassment over not realizing her friend's own discomfort. "Right! Sorry! But," she grabbed Vietnam's hands excitedly, "this is wonderful! I've made another friend after so long!"

Vietnam nodded and chuckled at the bustier nation's enthusiasm. "Same here." It was then that the two nations noticed the sun shining through Vietnam's window. "Huh," Vietnam mused. "It looks like it finally stopped raining."

"I know, right?" Ukraine replied. "It's almost as if the weather got sunnier after we declared our friendship with each other."

Vietnam let out a weary sigh. "I highly doubt that. It's probably just a coincidence."

Ukraine giggled. "Yes, I suppose you're right.

"Ugh!" Britain cried as he and Romania fell to the floor out of relief and exhaustion. "We did it! We finally bloody did it!

"I know, right?!" Romania said. "Who knew that in order to stop the rain, all we had to do was say the chant backwards?!"

"Of course no one would know, you bloody twit! Who would be stupid enough to suggest an idea so bloody stupid?!"

"Huh?" Romania said, turning to Britain questionably as he did. "You did, didn't you?"

Britain blushed. "Of course I did! I know I did!" He then scooted himself closer to Romania and threateningly whispered, "Which is why we will never speak of this night for as long as we live, do you understand?"

Romania gulped before giving Britain a dutiful salute. "Eye eye captain.

After Ukraine's clothes had finished drying and Vietnam had called a taxi cab for her to take her home, Ukraine and Vietnam exchanged hugs and said their final goodbyes for the day at Vietnam's doorstep. Before leaving, however, Ukraine stopped after a taking a few steps, turned around, and said, "You know, Viet-dear, now that we are friends, I feel a bit bad for not at least trying to help you pay SOME of the expenses for your motorcycle, otherwise all this visit would've been was you taking care of me and my stupid mistakes."

Vietnam simply shook her head and waved it off. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Besides, it's the thought that counts, right? And when you really think about it, you've more than paid your end of the debt.

Ukraine raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? And how exactly did I do that?"

Vietnam gave her a small smile before simply answering, "Your friendship."

Ukraine gasped before tearing up a bit and crying, "Viet-dear!" and running back to envelope her in one last, great, big hug for the day, inadvertently squishing Vietnam's face against her breasts as she joyfully laughed at the thought of making such a good friend that day.

The two would hang out sporadically throughout the rest of their lives, hanging out with their usual friends most of the time, but always keeping in touch and planning friendly outings whenever they could and whenever they could make contact with one another. They were certainly an odd pair, a pair that, at first glance, didn't seem to be particularly close, but the two of them didn't mind. They knew that they were friends, and that was all they ever needed to know.

Author's Note: Sorry that it took so long to finish this story! Hopefully the ending was at least somewhat worth the wait! And with that, this story has officially ended. These two are my favorite Hetalia characters, and since the two nations have a pretty good relationship in real life, I sort of wanted to write a story about them. When you really think about it, the two characters have a lot in common, don't they? Either that or they seem like people who would get along with each other just fine. Ah well, all's well that ends well. Thanks to those who stuck with this story despite the long wait between chapters! You guys are real troopers and a real motivator to finish what I started! Again, I hope it was worth the wait!