A/N: maybe angst isn't so bad after all. I ship Iceland and Hong Kong. It's cute, okay, don't judge me. In this story, Iceland falls into a dangerous illness due to a sudden increase in volcanic activity in his country.

Despite Hong Kong's protests and refusals, his people seemed intent on sending him gifts. Most nations experienced this too; an unusual gratitude from their people, to thank them for simply existing and doing their job. Hong Kong received a myriad of things from his citizens, ranging from homemade cakes to the latest technological gadgets. He would donate most of it to citizens in need, but kept things that fed his hobbies, such as game consoles, smartphones and movies. He also had an extensive collection of plush toys, but no one knew of this besides his caregiver, China, and his special friend Iceland. He and Iceland, or Ice as he liked to call him, texted each other many times a day, the signals bouncing back and forth across continents. Sometimes they'd send pictures to each other; not of their country or their unique cultures, but mundane, everyday things, like lunchtimes, commutes, cleaning, shopping and various things about their day. Hardly an hour would go by without a text or picture from either nation, despite the difference in time zones.

Hong Kong glanced under the table at his phone, restlessly swiping the screen with a finger as the business men around him droned on in formal monotones. It had been at least four hours since Ice had texted. Allowing himself to dwell on his friend rather than his responsibilities, Hong Kong stared down at his phone, challenging the screen to light up. He shuffled his feet against the expensive carpet, bored of the stuffy conference room.

His phone suddenly vibrated, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise. A cute picture of Ice and his puffin, creatively named Mr. Puffin, materialized on the screen, displaying a phone icon underneath. Hong Kong frowns. Ice would usually never call him, unless he'd had a really bad day and felt the need to rant or complain. He stood up and his colleagues looked over at him, a handful of older, sophisticated men observed his teenage form and smartphone with disapproval.

'Sorry, I have to take this,' he murmured and quickly stepped out to the corridor. He breathed out a sigh before answering the phone. 'Hello? Ice?'

'Is this Li Xiao?' a somewhat familiar voice asked.

'Yes, who is this?' Where's Ice?

'This is Norway. Lukas Bondevik. I am Emil's brother.'

'Oh,' Hong Kong paused awkwardly, not used to hearing Ice's human name. 'Where's Iceland?'

There was a slight pause.

'Hello? Norway?'

'He's in hospital, at our Scandinavian Headquarters,' Norway replied heavily.

Hong Kong instantly tensed up. 'Is he okay?'

'…I don't know,' Norway sighed. 'His landmass is suffering volcanic eruptions. The plates are shifting and I don't know what will happen. Greenland is managing his country's affairs right now, but Emil has asked to see you.'

'Tell him I'll be there as soon as possible,' Hong Kong took the phone away from his ear, already in motion. He rushed down the corridor, dodging past employees and racing past the elevator to fly down the stairs. Annoyed at his pace, he leapt up onto the banister and slid down the last few flights. He ran down to his PA's office and grabbed him by the collar, dragging the surprised man out the door while making a stream of demands.

'Get on the phone,' Hong Kong ordered in an urgent but steady tone. 'Prepare the private jet and get the coordinates of the Scandinavian Headquarters and set a flight course for it immediately. Cancel all my meetings or have temporary replacements fill my place unofficially.'

'For how long, sir?' his assistant complied, pulling out his phone and headset.

'Indefinitely,' Hong Kong decided, pushing his assistant away. 'Go. We'll rendezvous on the jet. You have half an hour!'

His assistant nodded nervously, hurrying away to do his bidding.

Hong Kong ran out of the building and paused on the sidewalk, taking in the heavy traffic and crawling cars. Grinding his teeth, he ran off to the back of the building and quickly pulled out his motorcycle. He cast his helmet aside, jumped straight on and kicked the powerful machine to life, and flew off with a screech of his tires. He ripped through the noisy traffic, expertly swerving through the narrow gaps in a highly illegal fashion.

-page break-

Iceland stared at the TV at the foot of his hospital bed. He flicked through channel after channel, but the same thing was always shown; hideous ash clouds and explosive volcanoes. His dilemma was being broadcasted everywhere, in English, French, German, Italian, every language he knew. He couldn't look away, even though the frightening images and urgent voices of reporters coiled his insides into a painful knot. His hands shook as they hovered above his knees, clutched tightly around the remote. The liquids in the tubes attached to his wrists wobbled with his movements.

His eyes were fixated on the TV, so much so that he didn't notice the door to his right swoosh open.

'Ice,' Hong Kong breathed, walking up to his friend's bedside, still dressed in his business suit and tie. 'Ice, are you okay?'

Ice looked up at him silently, and then looked back at the TV, a blank, lost, look on his face.

'Ice,' Hong Kong repeated, glancing at the TV screen. He carefully pried the remote away from Ice's frozen fingers, ignoring his weak protests. He promptly switched the TV off and dragged a chair up to the bedside.

'Ice,' he said again, sitting down. 'Ice, talk to me.'

Ice stared at the blackened TV screen, seemingly dazed. He shrugged uselessly.

'You asked me to come,' Hong Kong stated stubbornly. 'I'm not leaving until you talk to me.'

There was a painful silence as Iceland hesitated. The clean, white room seemed to grow still, the curtains stopped wavering as the breeze stopped, both nations became very still and nothing moved, save for the dust motes swirling gently in the sunbeams from the window.

'I…' Ice started, his voice a trembling whisper. 'I'm scared, Li.'

'Tell me what's happening,' Hong Kong insisted, his hands balling into fists, though he maintained a calm façade.

'The tectonic plates,' Ice explained slowly. 'Their shifting is tearing my country. It hurts, Li. My insides… ah…' The silver haired boy lifted his blanket and moved his shirt upwards, revealing several bloodied bandages.

Hong Kong's expression hardened. 'Is it the volcanoes? Do you know what's going to happen?'

Ice nodded, pulling his shirt back down. 'I feel like I'm breaking apart. I don't know what's going to happen to me or my people… I don't want to be stuck in here, Li. They won't let me have Mr. Puffin in here.' He tried to appear stoic, but his voice shook and his eyes grew tearful.

'You have me,' Hong Kong promised, gripping Iceland's hand. 'I won't leave, as long as you need me.'

Ice gave him a weak, grateful smile. 'My brother and the other Nordics are with the European countries and the Americas, taking worldwide emergency procedures. I'm stuck in this hospital room with no one besides the specialized staff and the news.'

'I won't leave,' Hong Kong repeated defiantly. 'And I'm not letting you watch the news anymore.'

'I need to know what's happening,' Ice protested in a desperate tone, struggling to sit upright. The room morphed and distorted around him in a dizzying illusion, and he didn't resist as Hong Kong pushed him back down. 'Every time there's an eruption… I get terrible internal bleeding… and if it's really bad, sometimes it even… ah…'

'What?' Hong Kong asked, his eyes betraying his deep worry.

'Umm…' Ice took a deep breath. 'Have you seen the movie Alien?'

The Asian boy's eyes widened in horror.

'I-It's not exactly that bad,' Ice tried to reassure him. 'It's just… my skin will tear if it's particularly bad.'

Hong Kong rested his forehead on the bed, recollecting himself for a moment before looking back up with a determined expression. 'I know you're scared, but watching the news is only going to make it worse, okay? We'll deal with it when it comes. I won't leave you.'

Ice smiled humourlessly. 'You keep saying that, but what about your people?'

'China will take care of things for me,' Hong Kong replied with certainty. 'I'm staying right here.'

Iceland suddenly jerked upward, his body convulsing as though he'd been dipped in scalding water. He slammed his left hand repeatedly down on the emergency button with a cry of pain. His right hand clutched the left side of his ribcage as a bloodstain quickly soaked his shirt.

Hong Kong grabbed his hand. 'Ice? Ice!'

Iceland choked and gasped unsteadily and his bangs clung to the sick sheen of sweat on his forehead. He propped himself on one elbow, leaning against the railing of his bed to look up at Hong Kong. 'Even if you stay with me…' he managed between gasps, 'what are you going to do?'

The room flooded with hospital staff, but Hong Kong refused to let go of Ice.

Iceland's snowy eyelashes fluttered as his vision dimmed, but he was conscious for long enough to hear his best friend's reply.

'I'm going to make sure you don't leave me,' Hong Kong answered heatedly. 'Don't you dare leave me, Emil Steilsson!'

Ice's eyelids closed as he sank into the darkness with a soft smile.

Hong Kong didn't fight as he was shoved aside by nurses and attendants, and watched helplessly as Ice was transported to the emergency room.

-to be continued-

A/N: Again, this story is not planned at all. Seriously, I am totally unreliable. Anyways, bye.