Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any of its characters. Hidekaz Himaruya does.

Also, this story has no historical accurateness (meaning none of this ever happened), except for a few hints of the Sino-Japanese War and what happened to the two nations after World War II.

Reviews would be awesome! Enjoy~!

Taiwan tossed and turned on her bed, trying with all her might to fall asleep. Despite her efforts, however, she remained awake for a good portion of the night, often drifting into half-awake slumbers and quickly waking back up. Uneasiness gripped the young nation, making it impossible for her to rest, and the anxiety about the sudden turn of events was constantly battering her mind.

The source of her apprehension came from a letter that sat, already opened and read, on her table. The neatly printed words seemed to float off of the paper and wind themselves around her head, whispering in the voice that she knew so well. No matter how hard she tried to block out the whispers, they kept coming back to her, softly murmuring their dreaded meanings, and keeping her awake every second of the night.

Finally, Taiwan couldn't take it anymore. It was three in the morning, five hours since she had gone to bed, and she was sure she would go crazy if she heard another word.

"BE QUIET!" she angrily yelled all of a sudden and to no one in particular. She found the following silence odd, since she was used to someone responding as it had been during her childhood when she lived with… Taiwan shook her head and willed herself not too think back upon those painful memories.

Her sudden outburst had succeeded in stopping the current of words, but she knew as soon as the silence returned, the words would come with it. Throwing back her thin blanket (it was often humid, even in the winter) as quickly as she could, she got up from her bed and walked over to the table where the dreaded paper lay. She grabbed the wooden chair that was next to the table, blatantly ignoring the piece of paper, and dragged it over to the window, making as much noise as she could.

Taiwan pushed open the window, feeling the night's breeze upon her face. The smell of the plum blossoms blooming in her garden drifted in and refreshed her mind, pushing all the irritating thoughts away from her. She sighed with relief and sat down on the chair she had brought over.

With her head in her hands, she looked admiringly outside at her homeland. Her house, exceedingly small compared to the other countries', rested on the side of a mountain and overlooked her city, Taipei. Even though it was late at night, the city still shone with lights and the air was filled with familiar nightly sounds, the occasional barking of dogs and one or two cars that happened to pass by her house. Taipei 101 glittered in a distance, standing high and proud amidst the other buildings.

Her mind eventually wandered to the paper, lying lonely on her desk along with the other important documents she had to fill out for her boss. Sighing, Taiwan got up and took the paper carefully in her hands. Sitting back down, she quietly read its contents again:

Dear Taiwan:

How have you been these past years? I know I am doing fine myself, but I worry about you since you are by yourself most of the time and have yet to become accustomed to the other countries. I trust you are doing well, however, from what I hear, and I will believe that that is so. Never forget that my best wishes will always be for you and your people, and I am always here if you need me.

It has been a long time since we have last seen each other, and I think it is best for us to get together again, as a family reunion of some sort (if you will not mind me saying). I was hoping you would allow me to come visit your home, since I have not been there too often and am certain that you will not enjoy being at my house. I know the memories in that house are painful, and I apologize for that. It was entirely my fault and I hope I can make it up by letting you decide where we can meet. And of course, if you choose not to meet at all, I will understand.

I sincerely hope the past won't affect our future together, since it was only misery on your part, and I hope that we can repair our relationship with each other through this visit. Please respond as soon as you can. I don't want to make my boss any more irritated than he already is at this "inconvenient business."

Sincerely…

Taiwan looked up from the letter before reading the name signed on the bottom. She knew who had wrote it just by a glance of those neatly-printed words and reading the name would only make the ache in heart even worse.

Reading the letter again resurfaced the odd mixture of feelings she had felt when she had read it through the first time. Anger was the first feeling that boiled inside her when she read through the first paragraph. As if she didn't know how to take care of herself! She was furious enough to rip the paper into shreds.

Then, when she read through the second, she quietly calmed down as the words brought her the real meaning behind the letter and what it asked of her. It was true. It had been a long time since she had last seen him, and she knew that there was no way of preventing this "reunion." Despite her bitterness, though, she knew in her heart that she needed to see him again. After all, he was her older brother… in some sense. They weren't blood siblings, and she was quite thankful for that.

After reading (and rereading) the entirety of the letter, she had thrown it on her table, frustrated and refusing to look at it again. He had apologized to her, but an apology just wasn't enough to make up for all the pain she had endured before. It wasn't physical pain she had gone through; it was emotional pain that had hurt her years ago, and it was still hurting her now.

Taiwan had originally thought of ignoring the letter and therefore outright refusing to meet him. He would understand; he had already said so in the letter. But she knew she would hurt his feelings (though he would not show it) if she did so. As the two opposing sides clashed against each other in a furious battle inside of her, the ache in her heart increased and she sat there, gazing unseeingly out the window.

Finally, against her better judgment, she got up and walked over to the desk where her papers lay. Opening a cabinet, she quickly found a clean sheet of paper and, grabbing a pen, proceeded to write her response:

Dear…

Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I am doing pretty well on my own right now. There's no need for you to worry about my people or me.

As for your request, I am happy to accept it. I was thinking of meeting on the last day of this year, so we can have the opportunity to see the fireworks shoot out from Taipei 101. Trust me, you will not regret seeing it, and I know just the place to get a spectacular view. Hopefully, your boss will consent on letting you take a break for that day.

If it is convenient for you, I'll wait for you at the airport on that day at around 10. After that, I'll show you around my island. And some words of advice: don't bring any jackets to wear. Despite being winter, the weather around here is still pretty humid.

It's true that we haven't seen each other in a long time, and I'm looking forward to seeing you on New Year's Eve.

Taiwan

After scanning her letter for any mistakes, she couldn't help but laugh at the formality in which she wrote (and he had written her). It was if they were writing to complete strangers (and she wondered if they really were) and very unlike what siblings would write each other.

Taiwan folded the letter and tucked it inside an envelope. Tomorrow, she would send it and in a few more weeks, she would see him as a host. And nothing more than a host, she thought, grimly.

She left the envelope on the table and climbed back into her bed, thoughts still pouring into her mind. The emotions inside her wrestled for dominance, and she didn't know what to feel.

She hated and loved him both at the same time. Hated him for going to war when she still lived as a child in his house. Loved him for taking care of her (or at least trying to) the way China had. Hated his formality and manners, the way he always seemed to act like an old man. And yet loved him for being there for her always, despite the fact that it was she, Taiwan, who had left him.

"I'm sorry," she muttered into her pillow. "I'm sorry for leaving you. It's just…"

That I hated you? That I loved you? She didn't know what to say.

The last time he saw her, she was still young, barely looking older than a seventeen-year-old girl. Now, she had grown to look like a grown woman, and she wondered how he would react to the change.

No, she wondered how she would react. Her love for her brother had changed, just as she had matured. She had grown past her old love for him as a brother, and despite her reluctance in meeting him, she knew, deep, deep, down inside that new feelings were rising up, longing to see his face again.

Heartache, bitterness, and conflict between her desires slowly brought out a tear that rolled gently down her face. Instead of wiping it away, she let it fall down her cheek and land onto her pillow.

"Japan, you bastard," she softly whispered. A thousand childhood memories flashed before her eyes, of warmth and comfort… and of pain and sorrow. She closed her eyes and slowly sank into slumber, her final words still fresh on her lips:

"I love you."

A/N:

This was supposed to be a oneshot, but apparently, it's not. And it's definitely going to be more than a few chapters before you finally see the ending, so bear with me. :)

Anyway, this is the first fanfic that I have ever written, so I'm obviously excited. Reviews are the best way to improve an author's writing, so even if it's only a three-word review, I'll take it! (anything to keep me writing)

Update (7/21): I made a few changes, not much though. One thing you should note is that the time is changed from 8 to 10.