Yao blinked groggily. He was laying on something… not soft… but warm… and comfy…

"That was the best sleep I've had in a long time," He said aloud, not fully awake.

"I'm glad I made a good pillow."

Yao stifled a scream and shot up. To his left, there was the airplane aisle. To his right, a man was grinning at him.

The man looked vaguely Italian, with olive skin and amber eyes. He had some facial hair on his chin, shaved though, like Yao's associate-not-friend Francis. The man was annoying tall, taller than Yao, but that was nothing new. He had a board chest, and, like Yao himself, was dressed in a formal suit. Though his right shoulder did have some wrinkles…

"I-I'm sorry," Yao stammered, blushing furiously, "I- uh… forgive me, uh…"

He was starting to sound like his younger brother Kiku. The memory of him made Yao wince.

The man chuckled, "No problem, bella. I was cold anyways, and you smelled nice. What perfume do you use?"

Yao was about to tell him that he didn't use perfume, before a sudden flash of horror ran through his body.

Perfume? Bella?

Weren't those used for girls?

The (idiot) man smirked, "Too enchanted by me to speak? I can't blame you, I am a very exquisite piece of work, no? But you, my lady, are very exotic-"

And that's when Yao snapped.

Maybe it was the stress of his work. Maybe it was his family problems. Maybe it was his terrible friends. Maybe he was just sick of being mistaken for a girl.

"I'm a man!" He screamed, ripping his seat belt clean off the seat and shooting up, "I'm a man! A man! You stupid, little…"

Vaguely, he could hear the flight attendant begging for him to calm down. But he was beyond reason.

"Why does it have to be me? You know, in ancient China, men were respected for having beauty! But now I'm just mocked. Every. Darned. Day!"

"I'm sorry-" The man began.

Yao began to sob, "Why does is my life this way? Arthur's always being mean to me, and Francis won't stop trying to bother me into doing stuff I don't want. Kiku's doesn't treat me like his brother anymore, and Mei's with him! Li Xiang only sticks around because I give him money and I cook better than Arthur, and Cheng is always so distant! Yong Soo and Hyung Soo are always fighting… why?"

Yao broke down crying. He collapsed back into his seat and curled up into a tight ball. His heart ached. Tears flowed freely from his once-bright eyes.

The pilot's voice crackled over the intercom, announcing that they were about to begin their descent. The flight attendant didn't bother him about his broken seat belt. She didn't care.

No one cared about him.

Then he was pulled into a gentle embrace. It wasn't soft, but it was warm. And comfy.

"Hey," The man's voice- rough, but gentle at the same time- said, "Mi dispiace. I'm sorry."

"Nobody loves me," Yao whimpered.

He burrowed his face into the man's suit. He was probably going to ruin it. Stupid Yao.

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is," Yao whispered, tears flowing freely.

The man grabbed his face and pulled Yao up, so that they were eye to eye. The man's eyes were amber, like his own, but a different shade. Darker. More passionate.

"That's not true," The man repeated, more forcefully this time, "The way I think about it, love is something that the universe gives us to keep us from going insane. And the universe is a beautiful, amazing place, so it would make sure to give everyone love. Someone out there loves you, bello."

Yao sniffled, "Do they just have a really bad way of showing it?"

The man chuckled, letting go of Yao, "Yeah, probably."

Yao began to smile.

"I'm sorry about your suit," He said.

The man looked down, looking surprised. Then he shrugged.

"Nah," He said, winking at Yao, "You're worth a million fancy suits."

Yao blushed, "You did hear the part of my rant where I said I was a man, right?"

The man grinned, "Eh, I swing both ways. But right now I'm swinging in an all-new direction- right towards you."

Yao blushed even harder, "Shut up, you idiot."

"Admit it- you're enamored with me, bello."

"Don't call me that."

"The what am I supposed to call you? I don't know your name."

Yao blinked. All this time, and they hadn't even bothered to ask for each others' names!

"I'm Yao," He offered, "Yao Wang."

The man smiled, "Romulus. Romulus Vargas."

"Like that Roman myth?"

"Sì. Mi mama was a bit of a mythology geek. But she cooked the best food in all the world!"\

Yao huffed, "That would be impossible, unless she cooked Chinese food."

Romulus rolled his eyes with a grin.

The two men lapsed not silence as the plane touched down, thankfully successfully.

As people began to get up and gather their carry-ons, Romulus got up as well and helped Yao up.

He gestured at the broken seat belt, "I wonder how much you'll have to pay for it."

Yao shrugged, "I'll give them… say… three hundred on the way out."

Romulus nodded. The two men stared at each other as people began to file out of the plane.

"Well," Yao said finally, grabbing his one carry on bag from under the seat, "Bye…"

Romulus stared at him for a heartbeat, before saying, "Goodbye, bello."

Yao stared at him for another second. Here was a man who could mend his broken, messed up heart. But Yao had never been good at the romantic stuff.

Ignoring his protesting heart, Yao turned to leave. He moved into an empty spot in the aisle, and began to walk away.

As he neared the exit, he turned back on more time. Romulus was still standing there, looking forlorn.

The line pushed Yao forwards. Before Romulus could fade out of sight, Yao called out to him,

"谢谢你！"

Thank you.

Thank you for helping patch up my heart.

1/4/2016

Three cheers for RomeChu! The Silk Road pairing!

Imagine what would happen if Rome and Russia ever met while visiting China… tehee…

Expectation: Russia and Rome get into a dramatic battle for China's heart, while China sits helplessly in the corner like a porcelain doll and cries.

Reality: The two begin to fight, and China scolds them, before kicking them of his house out to think about their actions. They end up looking like kicked puppies.