It had been three days since Russia lost his heart. The nation was still running perfectly but its personification was completely lost in a trance. Those lavender orbs never blinked or clenched again. They kept staring ahead. Yao volunteered, or more likely, was obliged to take his buddy in. After all, the Chinese man couldn't just abandon his so-called comrade. He wrapped his heart cautiously and placed it in a secure container. The organ was still pumping. Everything looked so surreal Yao would have thought it was merely a nightmare.

Who on earth would have their heart leave their body without perishing?

Yao set Ivan down on his couch. Fascinatingly, despite the loss of major feelings and emotions, the Russian was able to hear and decipher others' speech. He could take commands and requests. When Yao asked him to sit, he would tilt his head and complied. Knowing this, the mischievous American tried to pull a prank on him but apparently, Ivan only listened to Yao. Whatever Alfred or other nations said, the Russian would only respond with a pause.

No one could figure out what was going on.

Or more precisely, what had gone wrong with Ivan.

It gave Yao nothing but trouble.

He now had to tend to the Russian as though he was taking care of a child, a child incapable of making important decisions and fending for himself.

"Aiyah, you didn't finish your meal again, Ivan. Is something wrong?" Yao asked, a bit disconcerted with Ivan's lack of appetites. Normally, the Russian would compliment his cuisine and demand more until his belly was fully stuffed with Yao's delectable cooking.

"Look, you got sauce on your lips, silly," Yao giggled, wiping Ivan's mouth with a napkin. "Do you want some water aru?"

The Russian shook his head.

"Anything else you want?"

Ivan's brows furrowed to form what Yao regarded as a frown. It was a good sign. At least, Russia was able to frown even though he practically displayed no significant emotions now.

The childlike man lifted one of his arms slowly and pointed to a distant object glittering from afar. Yao whirled around and tracked down what he was glancing at so desperately. The blooming sunflower glinted in the distance. Yao remembered picking it out a few days ago when he paid a brisk visit to the sunflower field he and Ivan shared. He originally intended to make the flower a proud décor in his household, but he supposed he could give it to Ivan as a little trinket. After all, the Russian loves sunflowers to death.

"Oh, you want the flower?" Yao didn't wait for an answer. He quickly scurried to the cupboard and took the flower out of his Chinese vase. He handed the gigantic plant to Ivan with a hopeful smile. "There you go, Ivan."

The Russian clutched the flower to where his heart ought to be. Like an innocent child, he breathed a sigh of relief and clung to his favourite thing.

"It's pretty late now aru. We should get you to bed," Yao said, collecting the dishes from the table. "Take a bath, Ivan. I've got you a new set of towels and pajamas in your room. Better wake up early in case Belarus comes to check on you tomorrow morning. You know I can't handle that superwoman," Yao chuckled and proceeded to dump the dishes into the sink, occasionally popping out from the kitchen to see if the Russian was listening.

Belarus, of course, went hysterical when she discovered that her precious brother had plunged into a state of…void. She even vowed to declare a war against America. Initially, the feisty woman demanded to take her brother with her but after realizing that Ivan listened to no one but Yao, she had to give in and agree to the fact that Yao was a better candidate to care for her beloved sibling.

"Ivan, why are you still daydreaming here? I ask you to take a bath." Yao finished his dishes and waved his hands in the air, trying to capture the Russian's attention. Ivan only shrugged and blinked silently at Yao with a faint smile.

"What's it? Is something wrong?" Yao sighed and helped his friend to stand up. Obediently, Ivan got up from his chair, still holdinghis sunflower tightly.

"No one is going to take it away from you aru. I'll get you to the bathroom, okay?" Yao led the Russian out of the dining room. They plodded upstairs and went into the bathroom.

"Now, off you go. I'll get your clothes for you in a minute."

Yao was about to turn around when he felt a hand tug his sleeve slightly. He stared at Ivan. "What? If you don't speak, I will never know what you want, aru!"

Ivan lowered his head glumly. Immediately, Yao felt guilty. Ivan hadn't spoken a single word since he lost his heart. It was only natural that he couldn't or he didn't wish to speak to anyone at all. There had to be a reason behind his rejecting his own heart.

"Ivan, what do you want?" Yao asked patiently, fondling the other's cheeks. "Is there something you want from me? Do you not want to take a bath?"

The Russian nodded slightly, his eyes flickering to the bath tub.

"What?"

He pointed at the Chinese man, then back at the tub.

"You want to take a bath with me?!"

The Russian nodded.

"Why, this is not appropriate. You're not even a child anymore. No way! You do it yourself. You were able to take a bath on your own last night!"

The hand fell back to his side as Ivan averted his gaze sheepishly. He nodded and stumbled to the tub.

"Quit moping. On second thought, I think we can take a bath together," Yao gave in with a sigh. He started filling the tub with warm water and asked the Russian to undress himself.

"Put that sunflower down, aru. You don't want it to get soaked, do you?" Yao rolled his eyes and pulled away his hair band, letting his sleek, black hair sashay over his shoulders.

The Russian climbed in first, the sight of his naked body causing the Chinese man to blush timidly. He looked away and unbuttoned his robe reluctantly. After striping himself, he got in together with the other man.

"Ai, this is so embarrassing," he sighed, wondering why on earth he would agree to such absurd act. Fortunately, the Russian didn't try anything on him. The normal him would most definitely seize such a golden opportunity to grope Yao and possibly ravage him, or in his case, become one with him.

"Want me to wash your back for you?"

The Russian nodded as the other nation turned him around and grabbed the soap.

All that remained for a long moment was silence and the occasional splashing of water.

The scene was quite nostalgic though. It stirred up plenty of beautiful memories in the Chinese man.

When he first encountered Ivan, the Russian was barely a delicate child wandering in a snowstorm. They used to spend the majority of their time together whenever Ivan took shelter under his roof. Yao would feed him, frolic with him, tell him stories, bathe him and even tuck him to bed. How he turned out to be such a psychotic, enormous nation was always a mystery. There was a time when Yao lost contact with the Russian and when he returned, he had already grown up and stood even taller than China. He became a full-fledged nation and started pursuing the Chinese man as an adult himself, much to Yao's dismay.

"You never told me what happened after you left me, Ivan," Yao said, scrubbing the other nation's back gently. "When you came back again, you were completely different…well…not completely…but you weren't the little kid I once knew."

The Russian twitched a bit but didn't reply.

"If you would just tell me, I would have come to your rescue," Yao said. "It must have taken a boy more than usual suffering to grow up so…big and strong. We used to do this a lot, remember? When you were staying with me as a child, we always took a bath together. You always refused to get out of the hot water until I lied to you about getting a heat stroke."

Yao tittered and ran the tap, allowing the warm water to rinse their limbs.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, aru. Sometimes, I wonder where the cute little fellow I used to know has disappeared to. But then, sometimes when you pull that childish grimace, I think the boy I once loved hasn't actually gone away. He's still here, inside you, somewhere. You still have that trace of youth and innocence in you. Such selfishness and tantrum have never changed a single bit aru. And it's something I both like and hate about you. You never stop giving me trouble, do you?"

Yao gasped as a pair of strong arms wrapped around him.

"Ivan?"

The Russian stayed mute as he burrowed his face into the Yao's shoulder. He remained solid for a couple of minutes.

"I miss the old days but we have got to move on…" Yao smiled, patting Ivan's back lightly. "There's always something we can't change. I believe it's what we call fate. I never regret having met you though. You're still the biggest child ever."

xXx

Yao flicked off the lights and strolled back to his bed.

"Finally, I can rest aru!"

He yawned, tossing himself onto his fluffy mattress. A minute after he settled down, the door swung open, revealing a large shadow.

"What're you doing here?"

Russia strode towards the other nation's bed and climbed in with Yao.

"Ivan! Get out of here! This bed is mine!"

The Russian snuggled up against the smaller male, his hands still gripping his beloved sunflower tightly.

"Don't bring that to bed, Ivan!"

Knowing he was ignored yet again, Yao snorted and went to close the door. There was no point in arguing with Ivan because…well, he couldn't even argue back.

He could never control this giant kid.

"Okay, lights off. Let's go to sleep," Yao sighed, not exactly wanting to share a bed with Ivan.

The gap in Ivan's body kept bugging Yao. It distracted and distressed him terribly. The Chinese man kept gawking at the hole and thinking about Ivan's missing organ.

Why?

He still couldn't understand why.

Why would his heart leave him?

Why wouldn't it blend back with his body?

Why wasn't he talking?

What was on his mind now?

"Ivan…"

The Russian wasn't even trying to sleep. His eyes were wide open. He continued staring blankly at the ceiling, with the sunflower in his embrace.

"Say, are you…are you mad at me for yelling at you earlier?" Yao asked, brushing off a strand of hair covering Ivan's left eye. "Is that why…you're now protesting and refusing to talk to everyone?"

Still no response.

"You know you can't stay like this forever," Yao said."You need your heart back. Everybody needs a heart to survive…don't they? How can you feel without a heart?"

And then, the sudden realization hit him like bolts of lightning.

It made sense now.

Without a heart, he would never have to endure any pain and grief.

Without a heart, he would never have to feel love and grudge.

He would never feel warmth, cold, anxiety, solitude, anything….anymore.

"Is that the reason why?" Yao asked.

Ivan must have felt lonely then.

Who wouldn't when they were rejected by the person they loved most endearingly?

It was so arduous to love Yao.

The ancient nation had got so much pride in him he would never allow himself to fall head over heels for someone so easily.

How long had it been since Ivan was in love with him?

For once, Yao forgot.

It had been so long since Ivan first professed his love to him.

It had been so long he had quite forgotten when it all started.

This long, strenuous journey of yearning for the attention and recognition which Yao never granted him.

The Russian was always on the giving end but besides receiving all this wondrous love he could boast about, the Chinese nation almost gave nothing quite similar in return.

It must have crushed him hard when America said that Yao was only using him.

How would a child feel when he realized that he was betrayed and forsaken by the world?

How would a child react when he knew he belonged to nowhere?

How would a child live when the sun could never reach his heart?

"Ivan!" Yao yelped and straddled the other's body. He grabbed Ivan's cheeks, forcing him to face him. "Listen well, Ivan, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I should've known it sooner. You must be feeling lonely, right? Are you lonely? Are you sad? Are you mad? Tell me. Answer me, please…"

No response.

"Ivan, I didn't mean to shout at you the other day. I was…I was busy but I know it was probably just an excuse…I always evade you…It's not because I loathe you. I will never hate you. The reason why I'm always running away is because I don't know how to…well…face you. You know sometimes you say really embarrassing stuff. Quite cheesy really. Your love confession. You know I don't like getting bound by relationships but still you never give up trying. It annoys me but mostly it's my problem…I don't know how to return your feelings. So I flee. Like a coward. I'm afraid to admit that I care about you. Because…well, you're my friend, Ivan. You'll always be my comrade, my best friend, my…soul mate. Just so you know, you're never alone. So don't ever listen to whatever other people say because you only have to listen to me…and to your heart. You get it? Ivan?"

The Russian squirmed a little beneath the Chinese man.

"Please…say something, Ivan…" Drop by drop, tears started trickling down China's cheeks. They landed flat on Ivan's face. "Say you can hear me…Say you're not mad anymore. Say you love me like you always did every single day…"

Without saying anything, the Russian raised his hands to caress the other's face.

"It's freaking me out, Ivan! The way….the way you keep silent and refuse to speak a word…" Yao wailed. "It's creepy…it's driving me manic. I don't like this…I don't like this at all…I'd rather have you stalk me all day long and chase me from Moscow to Beijing than have you looking deadpan all the time! I want you to call me 'Yao-Yao' and bring me sunflowers every day! I even want you to bicker with America because it's how you should be. Please, don't stay in your own realm. Come back to me, okay? I promise you I won't ignore you anymore. We'll…like…go on a date or something, though I'm too old for that, actually. But…just whatever you want. You can name it and I swear I will do as you say. Just don't keep this any longer. Please..."

The Russian frowned a little and glimpsed the container on the nightstand. Immediately, Yao leaped off Ivan's body and clasped the box.

He took the heart out and stared at the hole in Ivan's body.

"Ivan, you don't have to feel cold anymore because I'm here." Yao sobbed, "I'm your sunflower, right? It's what you always say. Come back to me, love. Come back."

He shoved the heart into the gap with all his might, praying that everything would turn out just fine.

Sure enough, he would need time to adapt to the other's love.

But who cares?

He had been loved and treasured by Ivan for centuries. It's about time he did something for his eternal comrade.

"I love you aru," Yao whispered as he bent down to kiss Russia.

The body wiggled beneath him with a whine. A second later, two strong arms enveloped him.

"Mmmphh!" Yao gagged and withdrew from the fierce kiss. A triumphant grin crawled over the Russian's face as he hugged his lover tightly.

"Ivan!"

"Yao-Yao~" Russia cheered gleefully, crushing his lips against the other nation's cheek. "You gave my heart back~"

"Ivan! You're…you're back to yourself?" Yao gasped in ecstasy.

"Da~ I'm always myself," Ivan chortled and pecked at Yao's lips.

"Oh…this is…this is good…this is great!" Yao gazed down at Ivan's chest in relief.

"How…how do you feel now, Ivan? Is your body alright?"

"I feel warm," Ivan smiled and hugged his partner. "Because Yao-Yao's kissed me~"

He wiped the tears off China's face and chuckled.

"So…I've heard…Yao-Yao loves me too. Is that true?"

"I…I…" the Chinese man blushed. His heart fluttered as the other man clutched him tighter. "What're you doing?!"

"I'm lonely. When Yao-Yao ignored me, I felt hurt," Ivan admitted with a childish pout. "When Yao-Yao yelled at me, I thought I did something wrong. But you never told me why you wouldn't see me face-to-face. Are you angry at me?"

"No…I was never angry at you, Ivan," Yao cooed.

"Good~" Ivan smiled. "That means Yao-Yao will not ignore me anymore?"

"No…I guess…"

"Don't leave me again~ Don't leave me for that stupid Amerikan."

"I don't know where you got that idea. There's absolutely nothing between me and Alfred," Yao sighed.

"I'm glad~" the Russian whispered. "I'm so glad."

"And you…you scared me to death when that heart kept popping out! What's that all about?"

"It's Yao-Yao's fault."

"What? How's it my fault?!"

"'Cause…'Cause you made me super sad. I don't have the strength to carry on without a complete heart~" Ivan croaked.

"Báichī! Your heart is complete! What're you talking about?"

"It's never complete without you," Russia chirped and pinned the other nation down with a crafty smile.

"Aiyah, what do you think you're doing?" Yao cried, "Now that you've got back your heart, you should just get out of my room and-"

The Chinese man was shushed with a passionate kiss.

"W-What're you-"

"Yao-Yao, you have to take responsibility. You said you would do anything I tell you to if I return to myself?"

"What?"

"You said I'm a big child. You made me sad. You left me alone. So you need to do something about it~kolkolkol…"

"I've already returned the heart to you, Ivan! What more do you want from me?"

"Yao-Yao said he loves me~"

"Ivan, that was-"

"But you ignored me," Russia wheezed. "You made me wait for so long. You always treated me so cruelly, Yao-Yao. I cried many times, you know."

"I told you I'm sorry, Ivan..."

"Da~ Still…bad boys need to be punished?"

"What? No!" Yao yelped, but couldn't bring himself to reject the kiss.

"Yao-Yao~" Russia hummed merrily as he kisses Yao's neck.

"Stop it! Ivan!" Yao bl blushed. "What're you doing?"

"Become one with me, da?"

Perhaps mending the big child's heart wasn't a fabulous idea after all.

"Aiyaaaa! Stupid, stupid Ivan aru~"

"Da~ I love you too, Yao-Yao~"