Sorry this took me so long! Forgive me! T^T I got a new laptop and it doesn't have word on it, so I had to break out my old, slow one... Anyway, Enjoy this installment!
Ivan stared at his heart piece with disdain. It was a nice color, sunflower yellow, but he just wasn't ready for it to break yet. He picked it up and tore a piece of scotch tape off the roll.
H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Priviet Toris~"
The brunet tensed and turned slowly "O-Oh! Hello Ivan! How are you today? How was Russia?"
Ivan had just gotten home from a trip back to Russia and had returned to school after nearly a month. "Cold, but wonderful. It was good to be home, da?" He peered at his friend's chest. "Your heart…"
His heart was beginning to heal. It was now a gradient of green and pink. "Oh!" He smiled "Yes, Feliks's heart broke with mine and we exchanged." He smiled dreamily, his face changing to a look of horror upon seeing the displeased look on the huge man's face.
"Really? Feliks?" He smiled, a dark aura surrounding him. He was not fond of Feliks.
"Y-yes, Feliks… OH!" Suddenly, Toris brightened, remembering something and avoiding the topic "We got some new students!"
This interested Ivan "Some?"
It was normal to get new students at the school they attended, but some meant several. Toris nodded "Six, I think! All from an exchange program in Asia!" He ticked them off on his fingers "South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and China!"
Ivan considered this. Maybe they could be new friends! Ivan was not good at making friends and now that Toris's heart had broken… As the bell rang, Ivan smiled politely and said "Thank you Toris. I will see you again soon!" And he headed off.
The poor Lithuanian was left shaking in his boots.
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As it turned out, Ivan shared a history class with one of the Asian students. He noticed him out of the corner of his eye as he sat down for that day's class. He was very feminine in appearance, but the Russian could tell he was male. There was just something in his eye… He had long, dark hair, black, or maybe a dark brown, and sharp brown eyes.
Once class began, the teacher called him to the front to introduce himself. As he stood, Ivan noticed his panda bear backpack. "My name is Wang Yao from China." He introduced himself. "I like good food and pandas." He nodded in finality and sat down.
Ivan noticed his heart was hidden by his school sweatervest.
Ivan didn't pay attention in class that day, he simply watched Yao. There was something about him that simply interested the Russian…
After class, Ivan approached Yao. "Priviet Yao." He greeted with a smile. "I am Ivan from Russia."
Yao looked up at him, almost in annoyed manner. "Ni Hao Ivan. Excuse me; I have to get to my next class." He stood with his panda backpack, which had a kitty keychain on it.
"Do you like cute things Yao?" Ivan asked as her began to leave.
Yao glanced back at him "I suppose." Were his last words before he took off.
Throughout the rest of the day, Ivan noticed he had a couple other Asians in his classes, mostly his mixed classes, as they were younger. A man from Japan, a boy from Hong Kong and one from Korea. Ivan silently vowed to kill him; he talked far too much and was very obnoxious. Sadly, Yao was nowhere to be seen anymore, until lunch.
"They're like a pack of wolves…" Toris shivered "I tried to ask one if she needed directions and I think she was going to kill me!"
Ivan imagined he was speaking of the girl with the long ponytail. However, she seemed to be speaking calmly to a boy with spiky hair and glasses, eating an apple. "I am going to sit with them." Ivan decided, smiling.
"Ivan! Are you crazy?" Toris gasped in horror "They'll-!" But Ivan's mind was set… and his little warning chant of "Kolkolkol." Shut Toris down cold "G-Good luck…" He shrunk off to sit with Feliks.
Ivan approached the table, hearing some of them speaking "I hear Kiku has a new friend already~"
"A-ano… He was in my art class and simply proclaimed himself my friend! I barely know his name! Vargas something…"
"Well at least you made friends! Aniki hasn't even tried!"
"Aww, Yao, why not?"
Yao looked up from eating what looked like very delicious dumplings. "Because I have family aru. I don't need and friends"
"As sweet as that is," The girl that had scared Toris cut in, "Having friends is healthy. Besides, we're not blood family. I am from Vietnam, Kiku is from Japan, Li is from Hong Kong, you are from Beijing China, Im Yong is from Korea…"
"I get it! Ayah… you give me a headache aru…" He sighed.
Ivan blinked. "Aru?" He asked.
Suddenly, the whole table seemed to freeze. They slowly turned to face him. "Who are you?" The Vietnamese girl demanded.
"I am Ivan, from Yao's History class." He greeted them.
"Tink!" The table all looked down at the table where a pale yellow heart piece was laying. However, there was a piece of tape on it "Ehe~ that's mine!" Ivan picked it up and opened his coat, pushing it back in and pushing on the tape. "I'll need new tape~" He said cheerfully.
"Why not leave it out?" The boy with the glasses asked.
"Or, better yet! Trade with A-rghnmgr!" Im Yong spoke, causing Yao to shove his spoonful of kimchee into his mouth.
"Stop being rude!" He snapped.
Ivan tilted his head in confusion, and then smiled. "I do not know whose piece matches, nor am I ready to trade with anyone. So, this never happened~" As this, the whole table, save Yao, shivered.
Yao stood and glared at him. "Listen here, nobody, and I mean, NOBODY threatens my family!" He barked angrily, poking Ivan in the chest with his chopsticks. "Now get away from us."
Ivan frowned, but much to the surprise of the spectators around them, he walked away. "Brother!" Ivan's little sister, Natalia, practically bowled him over. "Do you want me to kill them for you?"
Ivan frowned again "Natalia, didn't you learn your lesson about knives in school?"
"I don't need knives if anybody threatens brother~" She growled, causing Ivan to shiver.
Natalia was known as the girl with the grey heart, who loved her brother and sharp, cold steel. The rumor was that when Ivan's heart breaks and hers doesn't, she'll burn down the school and the home of whoever matches his. Very few people knew Ivan's heart had broken. Natalia's hadn't even cracked yet.
"Natalia," Ivan said calmly "Do big brother a favor and get to class~"
She sighed but did as she was told. Ivan leaned against the wall and touched his heart, pressing on the tape. Yao was the only person in the school who had ever dared to stand up to Ivan… "Ehe~" The Russian giggled and smiled, he was happy! "I think I'm in love~"
H-
The next few weeks, Ivan did his best to get into Yao's good graces. He started by providing a sort of peace offering. He was pretty sure Yao would like it…
He set the little box on Yao's desk that morning in History class. All that was left to do was wait. Yao came in moments after Ivan had sat down. He spotted the box and looked around. Ivan was inconspicuously reading a book, but he watched out of the corner of his eye as Yao red the tag. He had written "I am sorry Yao. Be my friend?-Ivan" He sincerely hoped that he hadn't pushed it by adding that…
Yao read the tad and opened the lid. Ivan saw his eyes go wide upon seeing the gift and quickly closed the box, shoving it inside his backpack and sitting down, sitting stock-still and staring straight ahead until the end of the class, when he approached Ivan, holding up the keychain of the kitty mascot in the panda bear suit. "This is from you, right?" He asked firmly.
Ivan nodded "Da. And I am sorry if I scared you. I would like to be your friend Yao~" He smiled, doing his best not to look creepy.
Suddenly, Yao broke into a wide grin and hugged the keychain "It's so cute, aru! You are forgiven for now, aru. But!" He added, pointing to him "It is too soon to decide if you can be my friend. I will allow you to by my study partner to start off with!" Ivan was pretty sure he fell for him again.
"Da~" He agreed. "I will see you again soon Yao~" He stood and walked out the door, for the first time since his heart broke, feeling warm~
H-
Yao and Ivan remained study partners for a while, but eventually, Yao let Ivan into his little world as well. He allowed him to sit at their table and he would speak to him in class and tell him about himself and his family, like how his verbal tic "aru" was something he tried to avoid using in polite company.
One day, Yao didn't come to school. Ivan was worried, but it was quelled when Kiku came in to retrieve his assignments "Yao is sick today, just a cold." He had said.
Later that day, Yao texted him saying the same "I will try to be there tomorrow."
But tomorrow came, and Yao was still not there. A couple more days passed and Ivan became more worried. His siblings told him they didn't know what was wrong and that he would only speak to Kiku about his condition. So Ivan went to Kiku.
"Yao is sick, that is all." He said "That is what he said to tell you, anyway…" He murmured.
"Then what is really wrong?" Ivan asked, close to demanding.
Kiku looked up at him with blank eyes "Normally I would not speak of this, as he swore me to secrecy, but I firmly believe this to be the root of his problem." He sighed "Yao… has a weak disposition. He was in an accident when he was younger and now suffers from a bad back and other ailments. He was also born with a poor immune system. About a year ago, His heart broke without warning; this caused him to get cranky and irritable. I believe that because of his change in personality, he has been pushing himself and putting stress on his body." During the last few sentences, he had been drawing on a napkin. "It looks like this. You know what to do." He handed it to Ivan and walked away.
Ivan stared at the drawing for several minutes.
It looked just like his.
H-
Ivan rang the doorbell of the address Kiku had given him. "Coming, aru…" a weak voice called.
Yao opened the door, looking pale, but turned paler upon seeing Ivan. "May I come in?" The taller asked.
Yao nodded "I am sorry I have been so absent…aru…" He murmured, walking to the couch, covering himself in a blanket. "My illness is getting worse it seems…"
Ivan sat on the floor in front of him "Is it your heart?"
There was silence, but Yao nodded "I believe so…"
Ivan nodded in understanding "What was it like?"
Yao sighed. "It was like the world was against me… everyone wanted something from me or just wanted to scare me… I became paranoid, aru." He shivered. "You?"
"Everything became cold" He said "Like winter in Russia, but worse…" He reached into his shirt, under his jacket, and ripped at the tape. "I was not ready to give it up, to have it break…" He removed the tape. "But now, my Yao needs it…" He offered it to him. "I love you Yao. I do not want to see you suffer."
Yao took it and gazed at it "It… looks like a sunflower petal…" He whispered. "It even cracked like one…" He looked at Ivan. "I'm not putting it in until you go get mine!" He demanded. "It's on my nightstand."
Ivan lit up and rushed to Yao's room. He looked around the room, full of Chinese things as well as plush toys of the kitty and pandas. He spotted the piece after a moment. It was a gorgeous cherry red. He smiled and hurried down to see the one he loved. "Ready?" He asked, sitting beside Yao.
Yao nodded and at the same moment, they pressed them into their chests.
It was warm. So warm, very warm, perfectly warm! Ivan hugged Yao's tiny frame to him "Thank you Yao… I love you…" He whispered.
Yao hugged him back "I love you too Ivan…" He looked up at him "Now, since we are together, there are a few rules I think I should-!" But he was silenced by Ivan kissing him softly. Once he pulled away a moment later, Yao blushed "Like that! You cannot do that in public!"
"Why not?" Ivan asked, smiling. "I want everyone to know you're mine~"
Yao went quiet for a bit. "…Fine… But if you get sick because of me-!"
Ivan kissed him again, and this time, Yao shut up and kissed him back.
There it is! I hope you like it! ^^ From now on, if you want to recommend a pairing, feel free to PM me! R&R please~ HongxIce should be next!