Hawai'i Talks Story [Countryhumans and Statehumans Oneshots]

Erased From History

A/N: Apparently the 1830's weren't as boring as I thought. You can call this an extra scene, I suppose, for that chapter of Where Mountain Meets Sea. This very much has a religious overtone, so you can't say I didn't warn you.

"Oh, that's Kahiau and Makanui." Hawaii said, pointing at two men, who were sitting together under a tree, basking in the shade. They had their hands intertwined, and were smiling together and talking. "They just got together a little while ago. They are very special, being aikāne. I don't know what you call that. Someone told me "friend" is the closest word, but I..."

"Sandy, slow down. What's the confusion?" Britain said, his voice turning to one of someone gently correcting a child. "You have only known English for a very little while. I think they are right about that."

"But friends don't kiss and love each other like aikāne. It's... This is special," Hawaii said. She leaned in close, as if she were sharing a big secret. "And Beretania, it's, can you guess what? Their kids are amazing! One of the girls, Pokaku? She's really really really pretty."

"Is that so?" Britain seemed to have taken it as childish rambling, more focused on the fact that not only did homosexuals exist, they were well known and open.

"But my Pāpā always said, when you love someone, you don't care what they look like. You just... You know that they will love you forever." Hawaii said, dreamily sitting with her chin in her hands.

"I'm sure, if that's what you choose to do, you'll find a lovely young man." Britain said, and Hawaii frowned. Why emphasise on men? Women loved women too, right? That was all well and normal, nothing secret. Besides the Missionaries, who snubbed anything that wasn't their own.

Maybe it was not so in his country. But that was sad, only confining yourself to one side, and not even thinking about the other. Hawaii had grown up in a world where you were allowed to abstain if you so pleased, or be with whoever else you wished, as long as they were the same class.

"Pāpā loved both." Hawaii rolled her eyes. "But then again, he loved everybody. I don't see why you're being all grumpy and snobbish about it."

"Because... it's not right, Sandy, can't you see that?

"But the king has an aikāne, and so did my Pāpā!" Hawaii said, her voice taking on an edge that she hated to use with someone she considered a friend. It wasn't a very nice sound to her voice at all, and it sounded angry and mean. Exactly what she didn't want to come off as.

So she calmed herself down, slowly breathing. "Pāpā had aikāne, before he... before he died. They were very nice to me. And they helped take care of me when I was really little. I miss them. A lot. I need to pay Ailani and Kekoa a visit sometime soon."

"How many?"

"How many?"

"What you called your father's... Those. Just the men."

"So Kekoa... Oh, really early on there was Kala before he passed away... so... maybe 2 while I was around? Plus whoever before, my Papa mentioned maybe 15 of them, but of course, he's been around for thousands of years, so...." Hawaii scrunched her nose as she counted on her fingers. "Oh, you met Kekoa before! He was the one who was calling me home that one time you came and my Pāpā was too busy with the ali'i."

Britain seemed... confused at that. As if he didn't understand the idea of aikāne, as if he were thinking about something far different. It was hard to read him, but Hawaii figured he was trying to find something to say.

"The only thing in the world that's wrong with Kaomi is that he's a commoner that is in a relationship with the king. He's also half Tahitian, but that's not the problem. If the king loves him and he loves Kauikeaouli, then I see nothing wrong with this at all."