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"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—"
"You're counting too fast!"
"Sorry, aru…"
The taller nation started to count again, slowly this time.
Standing in the dark, feeling as if he was alone, but knowing that he wasn't.
He felt as if anything could jump out at him at any moment.
"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…"
It was honestly too cold to be playing games like this.
China could feel the cool air against his skin. He wiggled his toe inside small shoes, realizing his feet were freezing, basically numb.
He wrapped the scarf that the small child had given him around his mouth and nose, pushing out a hot shot of breath, trying to warm his face.
His hands were shielded by the mittens that the same little child had lent him, but the cold was pushing through.
But he wasn't going to show weakness by giving up on their little game.
"Forty five…forty six…forty seven…forty eight…forty nine…fifty.."
Wang Yao opened his eyes the small flakes of snow that was starting to pour down brushing against his forehead.
Everything around him was dark, the sun had nearly set completely, leaving everything a blue-ish black, soon the world would turn pitch black for the night.
He blinked multiple times.
He trudged about in the white wonderland, finding no sign of the small child.
"Little one..?" China questioned.
"It's getting really late, aru…give me a hint..?"
Yao got no answer from the smaller nation.
He sighed, exasperated.
"Aiyaah!" China cried out, feeling slightly worried now.
"Little one! Please come out of hiding, aru! I-I don't think I can put up with this game!"
Yao was now running around frantically.
What if that small child had died, of the cold, stuck in this frozen wasteland?
It would be his fault, wouldn't it?
Suddenly, the tiny Asian man tripped over a bump in the snow, he wore a stunned look, not being able to stop himself from falling.
He nearly fell face-first, but use his hands as a shield, making his feel even colder.
Wang Yao held back a scream of pain.
He let out a shaky breath.
"Looks like you found me, da.." The tiny voice murmured.
The small child rose out of the snow.
He'd been hidden under a blanket of snow. In other words, he'd been the bump Yao had tripped over.
Yao was startled, but right away realized what had happened.
He turned to face small child with an accent that he'd never heard before.
It was odd.
That's what came with a new nation, though.
"I was starting to get worried about you, aru.." China whispered to the little nation.
The tiny nation scooted closer to the nation that seemed so much bigger than him in and felt his hands.
The little nation's hands were bare, as he had given his mittens away to China.
"You're cold, da… I can feel your hands through the mittens…"
China was tired, and irritated.
His face was flushed, red.
"Well! Of course they're cold, aru! What do you expect, we're basically in a frozen hellhole!"
He hadn't meant to snap at the child, but he couldn't take it back.
Yao felt his heart beginning to pound, as the little one's lilac colored eyes teared up.
"W-why you come here, if you are just here to yell at me..?" The tiny nation whimpered.
"No, no, aru.." China soothed, pulling the little one onto his lap.
He was warmer than he, but still cold.
"I'm sorry.."
The little nation snuggled against the Asian man's chest.
China stroked the child's snow covered blonde hair.
"Why did you come here really, da..?" The little one whispered.
"I came, aru… because I heard you're a nation, like me.. is it true?"
The little one perked up, looking at the tiny Asian man.
"Da! I am!" He grinned, sheepishly, his little voice enthusiastic.
"Who are you?"
China managed to grin softly at the tiny nation, even though he was freezing.
"I'm China.." He answered.
"But my human name is Wang Yao… who might you be, aru?"
"I'm Russia!" The little one giggled.
"My human name is… well! I-I don't have one, da~!"
He quickly lost his enthusiasm as suddenly, a cold breeze swept over both of the nations.
He shuddered, and began shaking from the cold.
Yao, by instinct, quickly took off the burrowed scarf, and wrapped it around the little child's neck once again.
Yao was hardly dressed for this kind of weather considering the fact that it wasn't even winter China started to figure that this was how the little one's home always was.
Yao stood, lifting up the little child with him, cradling him, and letting him lay his head on his shoulder.
He kept his arms wrapped around the tiny child for the sake of warmth, and comfort to the little one.
With a deep breath, China started trudging through the snow, back towards his home.
He planned on taking the little one back with him, just for a little while.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Russia, aru.." China replied, even though it was delayed.
Russia wrapped his tiny arms around the older, and stronger nation.
China's home wasn't far off, considering that he had barely entered the new country. The little one had been close to reaching China, himself.
Yao figured he'd been searching for human contact, but he'd found him first.
"Ivan.." China whispered.
"W-what..?" Russia questioned, softly.
"Ivan. That's what I'm going to call you, for your human name, aru.."
The name wasn't anything close to China's culture, but he figured that the name fit him.
It had just suddenly come to his mind.
He wasn't sure if this little one already belonged to someone else as an underling.
But he didn't even really want an underling, did he?
No.
He had just seen the tiny nation, and he had seemed so alone.
He couldn't just leave anyone like that especially one with such little experience in the cruel world they lived in.
…
Ivan opened his eyes.
He still felt the older nation's arms cradling him.
He must have dozed off.
He looked around, the older nation was one-handedly lighting a candle.
"Mr. Yao..?" The little nation asked, finally speaking.
Yao was slightly startled, since the little one hadn't said a word for at least a half hour. He'd figured he'd fallen asleep for the night.
"Yes, little one..?" Yao answered.
"Ogromnoe spasibo …" He whispered.
"What, aru?" Yao asked, confused.
"it mean…"thank you" thank you very much… thank you greatly.."
"Aaah…" China nodded, as he lied him gently in his bed, taking off the tiny nation's boots, coat, and scarf.
"Anytime, Little Ivan.."
Ivan loved the sound of his new-found name on the Chinese man's lips.
He closed his eyes again, as he felt the older nation climb under the blankets with him, curling up.
The last thing Ivan saw before Yao blew out the candle, was a single sunflower in a vase.
A/N: Okay~! Ohai. .3. It's me. I'm back with another RoChu story~ Yeah. It's like, my first one-shot of them didn't get popular, but this isn't a one-shot. I randomly got the idea. Follow, favorite, and review..? Thank you~