Author's note: Well, hi there!
What is this, you ask? Well, this is the first of three side-stories to my GerIta friendship fic, Of Lions and Lambs. There's one for RoChu, one for FrUK and one for Ameripan. Read whichever one/s you like!
I originally didn't plan for this to be such a big universe... but I grew a bit too attached to the other characters' stories. So here we are. XD
... And, now, I'm wondering if I should do the friendship/romance split for these pairings, too...
So many ideas, so little time.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy it!
EDIT: Reposted, because I messed up a little. XP
Chapter One: Into the Web
Ivan wandered down the corridors of World Academy, looking around him at the mass of blue blazers. Everywhere he looked, friends were gathered together. Chatting. Laughing. Enjoying each other's company.
... He'd always wanted friends.
He didn't think it was too big of a demand, really. It wasn't as if he was asking for world peace, or superpowers. He just wanted someone to chat to and laugh with. Was that so much to ask?
Back when he'd gone to school in Russia, he'd been bullied a lot. Weird. Fat. Creepy. It was all anyone had ever called him. Especially that one Mongolian kid. He'd been particularly mean.
He just didn't know why no one wanted to be around him. Well, apart from his sister, of course. She was incredibly fond of him. Perhaps a bit too much... There was also his cousin, but even she didn't seem to enjoy his presence all that much.
When the family had moved to America, surprisingly little had changed. Other students still avoided him like the plague. Still threw around words like 'weird' and 'creepy'. He just didn't get it.
He'd toughened up a lot since the old days. That was probably why no one dared to bully him anymore. Because, now, he actually had the strength to flatten their skulls if they did.
It didn't stop them from avoiding him, though. He'd already spent two months in this new high school and he still hadn't made any friends. It wasn't like he hadn't tried, either. Just what was he doing wrong?
He sighed dejectedly as he pulled out his wallet, wondering idly if he had enough money for lunch...
As Yao opened his locker, he rolled his eyes at the giggling group of students that was nearby. Their voices were loud, their tones were obnoxious and their conversation was annoying to listen to.
Westerners. It was no secret that he wasn't fond of them.
Well, it wasn't as if he hated them. Not at all. It was just that, having grown up in China – where he'd had great friends and his family had run a fairly successful business – it had been quite disorienting moving to America. He'd left behind a lot and had remained rather sour over it. Being in a new land, full of people that were far too loud and, oftentimes, far too crazy only made him miss his homeland more.
There were only two good things to come out of being in this country. One of them was his friend, Kiku.
When Yao had first moved over from China, he'd been placed in a middle school, midway between the starting and ending years. That had been a rather awkward time for him, since he'd still been sour over moving there in the first place. Plus, coming into the school so late had made him a bit of an outcast.
When he'd first encountered the Japanese – who was two years younger than him – he hadn't been sure what to make of him, since he'd been rather stoic and difficult to read. After a while, though, Yao had realised that he was actually quite nice, so they'd become fast friends.
He rather enjoyed spending time with Kiku. He'd always wanted to be somebody's big brother figure and, with Kiku, he got to be just that.
The other good thing he'd gotten from moving to America was the Chinese takeaway that his family now ran. It was very rewarding work and, not to mention, a little taste of home. He was an exceptional cook, himself, so he was often told to take on kitchen duty, in place of his mother. Other times, he would have to deal with customers, which was his least favourite job. The night before, however, he'd been given heavy-lifting duty instead, since it had been one of those days where his parents thought he should 'work harder'. Hence his currently aching back.
He sighed as he switched his books around. For his high school years, he'd been sent here, to one of the most prestigious schools in the area. It advertised itself as 'A melting pot of nations'.
He scoffed. All he'd managed to find so far was nutjobs. Like the one French student who wouldn't stop flirting with him, whenever they crossed paths. Or the one British student who'd thought it would be a good idea to boss him around a bit. It was a shame that Kiku wouldn't be coming here for another two years. He could really use the company...
Huffing, he closed his locker a little too roughly, spun the dial to lock it and turned on his heel. As he did so, a great clatter resounded from nearby. Surprised, he looked across the corridor to see a pile of coins rolling around the floor. Glancing up at the person who'd dropped them, a strange chill ran down his spine.
The owner of the money was very tall, with silvery hair and a long scarf. He'd seen this guy before, but had never spoken to him. He'd never wanted to, honestly.
The student had a mildly surprised look on his face as he looked at the bottom of his wallet. There was a hole there.
He chuckled to himself. "Whoops, my bad..." he said.
Yao wasn't quite sure what, but something felt disturbingly off about this guy. Maybe it was the smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Maybe it was the strange lilt in his voice when he spoke. Whatever it was, it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. It was almost as if the student was giving off a dark aura, or something...
No. He was being stupid. This student hadn't even done anything to him! So why did he feel afraid of him? It was ridiculous! He had more backbone than this!
As the tall student put away his wallet and knelt down to pick up his coins, Yao watched him for a moment, then glanced down at the two cents near his own feet.
... Well, if there was one thing his parents had taught him, it was to never judge a book by its cover. Now was probably a good time to put that into practice.
Kneeling down, he picked the cents off the floor, then shuffled around the corridor to pick up a couple of dimes, as well.
Eventually, he straightened up, catching the surprised gaze of the taller student. As he stared into the eyes of what looked like the personification of winter itself, he felt his heart freeze in his chest.
... Why did this keep happening?! Sure, the guy was tall and muscular, but that did not warrant these reactions! They were just illogical!
Shaking it off, he gave a small smile and held out his hand. "Here you go," he said.
The student blinked at him. "Oh... spasibo." He took the coins from him and put them in his pocket.
"I assume dat mean 'thank you'?"
The student nodded. "Da."
Yao smiled wider, though it felt oddly strained. He had no idea why. "Well, you're welcome." He felt a moment of awkwardness. He wanted to move – be somewhere other than here – but his rational brain told him how ridiculous that was. Instead, he continued talking. "So, what language was dat?"
The student blinked, then gave a small smile. "It Russian, comrade."
It was a slight comfort that the student's English was as broken as his own. His smile became more relaxed.
"Russian, huh? I Chinese. Our countries not far from one another!"
The student smiled wider. "Da."
"I Yao. What your name?"
"Ivan."
"It nice to meet you, Ivan." His stomach suddenly growled. His eyes widened. "Aiya! I forgot I late to lunch!" He began walking past Ivan. "Well, I go now. You take care of self!" He paused. "And be sure to buy new wallet!" He hurried off down the corridor.
Ivan stared down the corridor, even after Yao had disappeared. Someone had actually spoken to him... Not only that, he'd helped him pick him up his coins! No one had ever done that before! Did that mean someone actually wanted to be friends with him, after all?
He smiled to himself. Yao seemed like such a nice guy. So polite. So mature. Not to mention, he spoke in broken English – rather like himself – which was honestly rather cute. There weren't many students here who did that.
He would love for him to be his first friend!
Nodding, he set off towards the cafeteria.
Standing in the queue for his lunch, Yao groaned to himself. He was so hungry, yet the line was so long! It would take forever to get his food...
Before he could lament any further, however, someone suddenly hugged him from behind, causing him to jump out of his skin. Whirling around, he caught sight of silver hair and a scarf. Oh, god...
"Oh..." he said, thoroughly disturbed, "hi, Ivan..."
He wasn't like Kiku. He didn't really have a problem with physical contact, though he would appreciate some warning first...
"We friends now, da?" Ivan asked happily.
"... Huh?"
"You my friend and I your friend. We eat lunch together, da?"
"Uh..." Yao took a moment trying to process this. "Wait. Hold on. Back up. Friends?"
"Da!" Ivan hugged tighter. "We friends!"
Yao paused, noticing the disturbed faces on the other students as they subtly tried to edge away from them.
... Well, it wasn't like he had anyone else to sit with. He didn't honestly have much in the way of friends. Mostly because he was very picky with who he socialised with. Not many made the cut, unfortunately...
Ivan seemed nice enough, though, he supposed. If a bit weird... Again, though, it was probably unfair to judge him without actually talking to him. At least he had an excuse with most of the Westerners. They were genuinely very annoying to be around. Especially Francis.
He sighed. "Aiya... Alright, sure. We friends."
"Hooray~! I have new friend!"
Letting go, Ivan stood behind him, a pleasant smile on his face. Yao gave him an exasperated look that he didn't even notice. Was he really just going to stand there? He'd just cut in line, but it didn't look as if the other students were going to call him out on it. They probably also feared him for unexplainable reasons...
This made him wonder if he'd made a mistake in accepting Ivan's offer...
After a moment, he shook it off, turning back around in the queue. It was complete nonsense.
After paying for his meal, Yao picked up his tray, turning to face Ivan and waiting. He'd been asked to sit with him, after all, so he might as well wait for some form of instruction.
Once the Russian had paid for his own meal, he picked up his tray and walked past him, somehow still smiling. He hadn't stopped smiling since Yao had agreed to be his friend.
"This way, comrade~" he said.
Yao sighed. Just how did he get himself into these messes? Shrugging, he followed.
They soon reached a table, which was in a corner and out of the way. Ivan sat down and gestured towards the seat next to him.
Yao hesitated. This student – hell, this whole situation – still unnerved him slightly, but he should try to give the Russian the benefit of the doubt. Brushing away his fears, he set down his tray, pulled out the chair and sat on it.
Ivan continued to smile at him. "It so nice to have a friend~"
"I suppose so..." he replied.
It was also unnerving how the student could hold a smile for so long. Didn't it make his face ache?
Turning away, he picked up his fork and poked at his miserable excuse for food.
He decided to strike up a conversation, to ease the strange tension.
"... So, who you normally sit with?"
"Oh, just my cousin."
Yao glanced up. "And your friends?"
There was a pause, though the smile remained. "I sitting with my friend~"
"No, I meant your other friends."
There was a longer pause, Ivan still smiling. "... You the only friend I need, Yao."
... Oh. Did that mean this guy had no other friends, either? Well, that certainly explained a few things...
Suddenly, he heard the sound of timpani drums. It was weird, but that had been a distant sound all over the school for a while now. What the hell was causing it? It took him a moment to realise that the sound was getting louder.
Ivan turned to the side of him. "Oh, there you are!"
The timpani drums resounded not far from Yao's ear. He turned around and was greeted with the sight of a student with, possibly, the largest chest he'd ever seen. His eyes widened.
"Aiya..."
"Hello, Ivan!" the student said, holding a tray. She moved slightly and her chest bounced. Yao heard the timpani drums again. "Who's this? A new friend?"
"Da," Ivan replied. "This is Yao."
The girl smiled at him. "It's very nice to meet you!" She moved again, her chest bouncing, and he heard the noise again.
Yao stared. She was the one causing the drum sound?
"Yao, this is my cousin, Iryna."
He attempted a wave. "Hi..." he said awkwardly.
"You seem nice," Iryna replied. She gave him a sheepish look. "I hope you won't mind me sitting with you..."
Yao blinked. "Uh, no. Go ahead."
She smiled. "Oh, thank you!" Moving around the table, she carefully sat across from them. All the while, her chest continued to emit sound as it moved. He hadn't even been aware that chests could do that. "Your new friend seems nice, Ivan."
"Da," Ivan replied with a smile.
She turned to face Yao. "So, where are you from?"
"China," he replied.
"Oh, China! How wonderful! I'm part Ukrainian."
Yao blinked in mild surprise. "Ukrainian?"
"Yes! My father is Ukrainian and my mother is Russian." She threw a smile in Ivan's direction.
"Oh. Dat very cool."
Yao tried not to look down, but the noise from her chest was very distracting. Just what size was she? Not that he was about to ask... That'd just be rude.
"Do you have any family in the school, Yao?" Ivan asked, turning to him.
"No, I don't."
"Aww. That big shame... Oh well, you have me now!"
"I suppose..."
"I'm so happy you're making friends, Ivan!" Iryna said.
"Da," Ivan replied. "Yao is very good friend."
Iryna looked at Yao a little too eagerly. "You'll keep being his friend, won't you?!"
"Uh..."
"My cousin, he does not have many friends, you see... so it would be really nice if you'd stay with him!"
... Why was this conversation making him feel uneasy?
He shook it off. "Uh, sure. I stay friends with him."
Iryna beamed. "Oh, good! That makes me so very happy!"
"It make me happy, too~" Ivan said.
After a moment of blinking at them, Yao returned the smile. Maybe things weren't so bad, after all. Sure, Ivan was rather strange and his cousin just as much so, but he couldn't see any reason not to stick around.
He had to wonder, though: did Russia count as an Eastern country? If he remembered right, it was the largest country on the planet, stretching quite a distance across the map. Only a small section of it was considered to be European.
It would be strangely ironic if his first friend in this school was a Westerner.
... Well, he didn't suppose it mattered, in the end. Either way, they were friends now. He had to admit, it was rather nice having someone to sit with.
Still smiling, he turned back around to eat his lunch.