Well... I was kind of stunned by the lack of reviews. Did I do that badly with the chapter? Because if this story is turning sour, I'd really appreciate being told so. I'd rather be told I'm doing something stupid than just keep doing it thinking I'm doing okay.

I don't own Hetalia! /AN/

"All right, snack time, children!" Nefertiti was taking her turn with the children, allowing Ariadne a short break. And it was a good thing too, because the brunette was a little tired, as she typically was at this time of day. Nefertiti grabbed a tray of gold fish in cups, along with a bottle of apple juice and more cups.

The children clustered around the table excitedly, each one eagerly reaching for their share of the snacks. "I want some!" "Give me mine!" "I'm hungry!"

"Now come on, calm down and get in your seats!" Nefertiti said, flicking back her hair. She wore an astonishing amount of jewelry for a daycare provider, with many bracelets, necklaces and a pair of stud earrings. One would think she would worry about being strangled by a child grabbing hold of her necklaces, but it would appear she had no qualms about it.

"Everyone gets one cup of gold fish, and one cup of juice," she explained, handing out the cups one by one into the greedy little hands outstretched for them. Heidi, who was sitting next to Matthew, promptly tried to feed him, shoving gold fish against his lips. Matthew, bewildered, let the goldfish in, but didn't chew them.

Tryggvi glared in pure jealousy, little arms crossed in imitation of his big brother. You wouldn't guess it, from Tryggvi's calm exterior, but the boy had a temper, and so now he threw gold fish one by one across the table at Matthew, who blinked in surprise when one hit him on the nose.

Alfred stuffed his mouth, having gotten fairly hungry over the course of the morning. He slurped his apple juice down as soon as it was handed to him, mixing the flavors in his mouth. He looked over at Kiku, who was eating much more serenely, one gold fish at a time, and little sips from his cup. It made Alfred feel self-conscious, and he slowed down in his snacking.

Now. He wanted to get Kiku to notice him, which there were plenty of ways to do, but without thinking badly of him. Any acting out, he feared, would be looked on unfavourably by the quiet child. But, there was nothing he wanted to do more right now than keep his attention, and get him to play with him.

"Hey, Kiku," He said, trying to sound cool. The shorter child looked up, seemingly mildly displeased. "Yes?" Alfred tried one of his winning smiles, but it did nothing to warm up Kiku's cold face. "Oh, well, I know you didn't like me earlier today, but we should play a game after snacks!"

Kiku became very concentrated on his gold fish, face set in a minorly polite mask. "I will think about it." Alfred's face brightened. He had no way of knowing that this was Kiku's way of saying no, having not known Kiku very long. "Really? Awesome! Maybe we could play hide and seek, or we could play freeze dance with all the other kids! I really have a lot of ideas! We'll have a lot of fun!"

Matthew, meanwhile, got hit in the eye by one of Tryggvi's crackers, and began to cry. Heidi started kissing him on the cheek, both her arms thrown around his neck. "It's okay Mattie, no crying... I'm the big mama, and I'll take care of you."

Nefertiti gave Tryggvi a look. "If you don't like something Matthew's doing, you talk to him! We do not throw food at each other! Into the timeout corner!" And Tryggvi went, shoulders up around his ears and head bent down. For there was no greater humiliation than to have to go in the corner, and a couple of the kids giggling was certainly no help to his ego. He hunched over on the chair as soon as he got there, and wrapped his arms around his knees, glaring balefully at Matthew and Nefertiti intermittently.

Xue threw her arms around Kiku then, distracting him from his mature posture. "Xue, please get off of me." She whined back at him, fingers running through his hair and cheek brushing against his, "But I just want to love you!"

"Xue. Get off or I'll tell Yao." It was not enough to dissuade the tiny girl, however, and she continued to hang off of him. He sighed in frustration. It was about then that Alfred got an idea.

"I'll get her off!" Alfred cried out manfully, grabbing on to the girl's pig-tailed hair and pulling with all his might, as though it were some massive beast affronting Kiku and not just a zealous little sister. A piercing cry rent the air, and Xue fell backwards off of Kiku. Kiku was watching in silent horror, wondering where on earth Alfred had gotten the idea to do something like that.

Yong Soo did not take it well. As Xue lay on the floor sobbing, he marched over, shoving Alfred with all his might. "You can't hurt my little sister, you big fat idiot!" And Alfred got up and pushed back, feeling the anger undeserved. He'd just been helping Kiku get rid of a pesky sister, that was all! It's not like he really hurt her.

Nefertiti stepped in before further violence could occur. "Boys! Stop! Alfred, I'm ashamed of you! I'm sure you know better than to hurt a little girl! And Yong Soo, you know we do not push people! Both of you are going into the corner!"

Yong Soo had seen this coming, and smirked. "Tryggvi's in the corner, so we can't be in it too." Nefertiti, however, had a plan precisely for this sort of scenario. She grabbed each of the boys by their shoulders, and marched over to one of the unused corners in the room.

She pushed aside some toys, and then pointed to the corner. "Yong Soo, get in that corner, and stay there until I say you can leave." Yong Soo glumly complied, face pulled into an angry pout at Nefertiti overcoming the obstacle of the corner being filled already.

Nefertiti marched Alfred over to the next corner, and moved a toy bin. "You stay here. And no playing with the toys, because I will see you and I will take them away." Alfred glanced back at Kiku before he turned into the corner, and was shocked to see Kiku giving him a mild glare, Xue held in his arms. So maybe that really hadn't been the brightest idea, Alfred reasoned, as he turned his face into the corner.

/AN/ My mom used to put us in the corner all the time. We always had to kneel and push our faces in as far as they would go. It kinda stunk, but now I'm pretty grateful my mom bothered to discipline me.