Love Around the World 22: Vietnam

A/N - Though I base many of my stories in Sydney, I don't use real suburb names some of the time so anyone looking for the suburbs I mention will be disappointed.

Much like the story about India, Vietnam won't be the centre of the story. Like my story about India, it's more about the background of the MC's love interest and there might be a holiday or something that will involve Vietnam.

Previous stories in this series:

Love Around the World - Andorra (Mature)

Love Around the World - Bangkok, Thailand (Interracial)

Love Around the World - Colombia (Transgender)

Love Around the World - Dresden, Germany (Romance)

Love Around the World - Estonia (Group Sex)

Love Around the World - France (Anal)

Love Around the World - Guangzhou, China (Interracial)

Love Around the World - Hungary (Incest)

Love Around the World - India (Interracial)

Love Around the World - Japan (Mature)

Love Around the World - København, Denmark (Transgender)

Love Around the World - London, England (Transgender)

Love Around the World - Montenegro (Mature)

Love Around the World - Nepal (Romance)

Love Around the World - Oviedo, Spain (Incest)

Love Around the World - Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Incest)

Love Around the World - Quezon City, Philippines (Transgender)

Love Around the World - Reykjavik, Iceland (Incest)

Love Around the World - Sri Lanka (Interracial)

Love Around the World - Tromsø, Norway (Mature)

Love Around the World - Uruguay (Transgender)

Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.

Proofreading and editing suggestions provided by OhDave1. Any mistakes are still mine.

Comments are appreciated as always.

Feedback by email is always welcome. Enjoy chatting with anyone who likes my work.

*****

Romance blossoms as friends confront their feelings.

*****

Australia's history with immigration isn't all sunshine and roses when comparing it to the multicultural society it has become in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. With Federation in 1901 to create the Federation of Australia - the joining of the six self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia - the government of the time implemented the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 which later became known as the 'White Australia Policy'.

From 1901 to 1949, immigration was pretty much restricted to white British subjects, which did include the Irish even after their own independence. After 1949, some of the restrictions were lifted that allowed thousands of Italians and Greeks to immigrate to Australia, and they've since become synonymous with areas of Sydney and Melbourne, the latter considered the largest Greek city (Greek-speaking people) outside of Greece itself.

By 1975, the 'White Australia Policy' was completely overturned with the Racial Discrimination Act that outlawed racially based selection criteria when it came to immigration into the country. The first beneficiaries of this act were the Vietnamese. Australia had been heavily involved in the Vietnam War, and while originally supported in the mid-1960s, it didn't take long for support to completely diminish and by the early 1970s, the war was wholly unpopular with the Australian populace.

With the victory of North Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese wanted to flee. Some found their way to Europe or North America, but thousands chose to head to Australia which welcomed those wishing to flee the Communist takeover. While the Federal Government relaxed immigration completely, it's fair to say that many Australians themselves... They were not as welcoming. Italians and Greeks learned that in the 1950s when they were referred to as 'wogs' and other derogatory names.

The Vietnamese suffered some horrific racism from certain sections of society though it's fair to say that the Federal Government, even in the 1970s, knew that relaxing immigration would eventually lead to a more multicultural and inclusive society.

By the time I was born, Australia was receiving immigrants from all across the Asia-Pacific region. Indians. Chinese. Indonesians. Vietnamese. Lebanese. Pacific Islanders such as Fijians, Tongans and Samoans. The major cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, were now multicultural melting pots, with entire suburbs almost dedicated to a particular immigrant group.

The school I attended was incredibly multicultural. Plenty of white kids but most of my classes would generally have a couple of Chinese kids, maybe a couple of Indians, and then other non-white backgrounds. And when it came to graduating from high school and attending university, that's when I realised just how multicultural my home city of Sydney could be.

Attending a university in the centre of Sydney, having gone to both primary and high school in the western suburbs, none of my friends from high school ended up attending the same campus so I had to make new friends. Lectures weren't the best place as we had to concentrate, but it was during the classes that we could establish relationships and perhaps even friendships.

I was sitting down waiting for a class to start when a cute girl looked around the room, met my eyes and she must have had a good thought as she immediately walked towards me. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, and I almost started to laugh, as she didn't quite sound like a bogan, but given she was of Asian extraction, I wasn't expecting her to sound so much like a local. She giggled at my reaction. "Not expecting the thick Aussie accent?"

"Sorry but no... And the seat definitely isn't taken."

Smiling as she sat down, there was no missing the tight black t-shirt she wore was highlighting some delightful curves, her shorts were almost painted on and barely inched down her thighs, her sandals on some pretty little feet and I could see her toenails were painted a bright red.

"I'm Vivian though my friends call me Vi," she stated, "You can definitely call me Vi."

"I'm Mark," I replied as I offered my hand, "Nice to meet you, Vi."

"You don't look familiar so I'm guessing we didn't go to the same school or even in the same district?"

"Northern Meadows."

"Ah, that's not too far from me, to be honest. I'm just north in Tower Heights."

"So the posh part..."

My tone had her giggling next to me. "Not that posh considering my father is a bogan Vietnamese-Australian."

"How bogan?"

"He drinks Tooheys New and smokes Winfield Blues."

I felt my jaw drop. "Jesus, does he keep a pack of cigs wrapped up in the sleeve of his shirt?"

"No," she replied, laughing to herself, "But he swears like a trooper as well. Drops the c-word like it's going out of fashion. It's amusing because my father does have a bit of an accent despite the fact he was born here."

"Yet you don't?"

"My mother and father have a Vietnamese name and an Anglo name. I just got an Anglo name... Though my surname is Nguyen. Most of my friends were Anglo given where I live. I was one of only a couple of Asian-looking kids in most of my classes. Though we do speak a little Vietnamese at home, my mother insisted we mostly speak English when I was growing up so I wouldn't face too many problems."

"I have the very imaginative Smith surname, and I went to a school that was very multicultural. I liked it."

We stopped talking as the class started. It carried on for around forty-five minutes, Vivian turning to me when we were told that class was dismissed. She asked if I wanted to join her for a coffee, we both seemed to know where everything was as I'd made sure to attend orientation day and had spent a day exploring the place during the summer before classes started.

I hadn't met all that many people before Vivian though she had a couple of friends that she knew that were attending the same campus. After purchasing a couple of coffees and earning a grateful smile from Vivian as I sat next to her, we were quickly joined by a couple of girls who introduced themselves as Samantha and Heather. Neither were of Anglo extraction, Vivian quickly explained that Samantha was second-generation Indonesian-Australian while Heather did have Chinese heritage, but she could trace her ancestry to pre-Federation when the Chinese had arrived when the goldrush was in full flow in the 1850s and 1860s.

By the end of the week, I had made three firm friendships that would carry on through our three years at university.

To my amusement, it only took a couple of months before people thought Vivian and I were a couple despite the fact we were just good friends. I won't lie about the fact I was attracted to her. In fact, she was so breathtakingly beautiful that I simply didn't think I had a chance with her. I thought of myself as just a friendly face, and I know she liked me as a good friend.

"So we're both eighteen, Mark," she stated one afternoon while we studied at my house. I still lived at home with my mother and two younger sisters. Dad was no longer on the scene.

"Yeah," I replied cautiously.

"I was just wondering... Are you still a virgin?" Glancing her way, her brown eyes eventually gazed into my blue and she smiled. "To be honest, I can see some interest from a few girls at university, but you're either shy, oblivious or..."

"Not shy. Not oblivious. Mostly just focusing on studying for now. To answer your question, I'm not a virgin."

"When did you lose it?"

"Why are you so interested?"

"Call me Vi, the curious Vietnamese girl."

Leaning back in my chair, I finally nodded. "Okay, fine. I lost it a while back to a girl I went to high school with. She was my girlfriend for around six months. We must have ended up in the backseat of my car after only three dates as we were eager to get physical."

"White girl?"

That made me smirk. "Sort of. She was Lebanese. The Christian variety. Tell you what, once we lost it together, she just wanted to have sex all the time. Even wore me out sometimes though I was never complaining."

"Is she the only one you've been with?"

"Nah. As I said, we were together for around six months. Then she was introduced to a guy by her family. They knew about me, in the sense that I was her friend, but I think they still thought she was a virgin. More fool them. We've remained friendly even after that though."

"So who else?"

"Why are you so curious?"

"Just humour me, Mark," she replied softly, resting her soft hand on my forearm, "Please..."

"I've been with two other girls. I dated another girl I went to school with. She was third-generation Chinese. Her name was Linda. Then over the summer, I had a bit of a fling with an older woman who worked in the office of the warehouse I was working at. Maria. Italian heritage so all fiery passion and, considering the age difference, wanting to almost mother me in a way."

"Did it get kinky?" she giggled.

"If you mean like asking me to call her 'Mummy' in bed... Yes, she did want that."

"And did you?" I gave her a look that had her laughing. "Well, as long as you both had fun."

"I remember her very fondly. She was older than me by twenty years, so she had plenty of experience and I was a willing student. And no, she wasn't married. Bitter divorce, feeling a little lonely, and I was a young man who showed an interest in her. I was left thinking there were just a lot of blind men around as she's beautiful. She invited me around for dinner, answered the door in just a robe, and the night went on from there."

Moving her hand down my forearm to my hand, she gently squeezed it. "Mark... I'm still a virgin..."

"That's not a bad thing, Vi," I assured her, "Plenty of people wait as too many young people are in such a rush to lose their virginity that they almost end up messed up because of it. I waited long enough. I lost it with someone I genuinely liked and have only been with other women I genuinely liked. I know we're only eighteen, but the idea of one-night stands never appealed. I could possibly do casual sex, you know a friends-with-benefits situation, but I reckon even something like that would eventually lead to at least one person getting feelings."

"I want to wait for the right man," she stated softly, "I want it to be special."

"It was special with Maya, the girl I lost it with in the back seat of my car. Despite it taking place there, we took our time when making love the first time. I still remember the look in her eyes when I slid inside her the first time..." I trailed off and felt myself smile as the look of pure bliss but also love made my heart hurt briefly. The only reason we'd broken up was that she knew her family would never approve of our relationship. She could only be with a Lebanese man according to what her parents told her.

"You loved her?"

"We weren't in love, but I did love her. I'm glad she was my first, and she told me all the time how happy she was that I was her first in return. I'm glad it's something I'll never regret. The only regret is that we couldn't remain together for longer."

"And now you're single..."

"Yeah. To be honest, I'd rather concentrate on studying. I'm not working at the moment and, let's be honest, dating costs money. The only time I'm going to be working is during the long breaks in the summer and winter. That will earn me money to tide me over during each semester." Squeezing her hand, I added, "And you're single too, Vi."

"Same as you, Mark. Concentrating on studying. I'll worry about meeting a man once I'm working and looking to the future. I'm focused on studying, assignments and spending time with some good friends."

Over the weeks and months, Vivian and I spent more time together. Some of our conversations turned deeply personal. Our hopes and dreams for the future. Our regrets from the past. What we looked for in our future partner. Did we want the partner, kids, house, two cars in the driveway... Vivian was certain about what career she wanted after graduating, but when it came to her personal life, she was willing to wait.

To be honest, time at university passes rather quickly as there are daily lectures and classes, spending lots of time at the library in study, whether alone or in groups, and even many weekends were dedicated to getting assignments completed as I wasn't one of those students to leave it until the last minute. I wanted my essays written in plenty of time so I could perfect them.

During Christmas at the end of our first year, I returned back to the same warehouse for around two months of work. Maria was delighted to see me, but for some reason, I didn't feel right about hooking up with her again as although I wasn't in a relationship with Vivian, it almost felt like I'd be doing something behind her back. But when she asked about Maria and I told her that she was flirting with me, Vivian gave me a look, said I was an idiot, and I should have some fun with her if that's what she was offering.

I wasn't an idiot though I never told Vivian what I was doing though we still spent plenty of time together. She was also working which meant we spent more time texting than hanging together in person.

What surprised me on Christmas Day was when she turned up at on my doorstep at around lunchtime. Mum and my younger twin sisters were not surprised as they knew Vivian well enough by now. Handing me a bag, she leaned up from her height of barely five feet, having to lean down from my height of six-one, as she left a very soft kiss on my cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Mark," she said softly.

"Wait here," I told her, quickly disappearing to my room and returning with a bag for her. The smile that lit up her face made my heart beat a little faster. "I thought I should get my best friend something."

I didn't expect her to nearly start crying on me, removing her thin, black-framed glasses as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. When I gently pulled her into me to hug her, she cried a little more. "Thank you, Mark," she murmured into my chest as I stroked her back, "I'm your best friend?"

"Of course, you are, Vi. We spend every day together during the semester, and I think we must text each other whenever we can during the day."

She snuggled tighter into my chest. "And you're my best friend, Mark. I'm so glad I met you."

Mum walked in and cleared her throat. I opened my eyes to see her smiling at us with my two little sisters standing behind her, giggling away. "Lunch is ready, you two," she stated, Mum giving me a look I knew well. It was only when Vivian left later that afternoon to spend time with her family that Mum sat next to me on the couch while I was nursing a beer.

"When are you going to put each other out of your misery and finally admit how you feel about each other?"

"Mum..." I warned.

"I just want you to be happy, Mark. And I see how she looks at you. That young woman is in love."

"She's not in love with me, Mum. She just appreciates our friendship."

"I'll never call my son an idiot, but you are acting like one."

"We're good friends, Mum. Close friends. But I don't want to ruin our friendship..."

Mum made sure I was turned to face her. "Sweetheart... Mark... That girl wants so much more than just friendship with you, it's written all over her face, in her body language. The fact she came here on Christmas Day to spend time with you over anyone else speaks volumes." She paused and asked, "What did you get her? Something special?"

Feeling myself blush, I opened my phone and showed her the message Vivian had sent me of the jewellery I'd bought for her that she put on, took a selfie, and sent it to me with a bunch of love hearts underneath it.

Mum laughed, shaking her head. "She's in love, Mark. The question is what are you going to do about it?"

One thing I did do was stop sleeping with Maria and made sure I showed no real interest in any other women. Vivian did occasionally ask about my love life, usually fobbing her question off with a little joke about my only partner being my right hand. She'd blush then tease me about using her right hand in return. The first time she retorted with that, my jaw dropped so low, that Vivian spent the rest of the day laughing to herself.

There was no missing how close we were by the end of our second year. We spent nearly all of our free time together. We were doing plenty of things that couples would do. Lunch. Dinner. Entire days of activities. We'd made friends with plenty of people, many of them couples, and we were treated as much like a couple as the rest. Samantha and Heather were as close to Vivian as the friendships she'd retained from high school.

I was cornered by them a couple of days before the end of our second year. "You ever going to finally ask her out?" Samantha wondered.

"You realise she's absolutely crazy about you, right?" Heather asked.

Looking between them, I could only deflate slightly. "I just won't want to ruin things..."

What made me smile was the fact both of them immediately hugged me. "Ask her out, Mark. A proper date. Not just the lunches and dinners you have as 'friends'," Samantha suggested.

"She loves you, Mark," Heather added, "I mean totally head over heels, wants to have your babies sort of love."

Meeting one pair of eyes and then the other, I sighed and nodded. "Okay..."

"Just ask her Mark," Samantha said softly, "Trust the pair of us. We know you talk to each other every day. She talks to us too. Want to know who she talks about all the time? You. Mark this, Mark that, Mark is so wonderful. Mark is so sweet. Mark is so handsome. Mark, Mark, Mark..."