Ivan had his ticket in one hand and a black bag full of things in the other. He was sitting patiently in a freezing train station, another coat under the one he was normally seen in. His bottom was placed on an old wooden bench and shivers ran through him like electricity through a wire, but he was happy.

The train pulled in, and the doors opened, people trickling out with luggage and lovers. Everyone had someone to speak to, and as soon as they could they intertwined fingers and adjusted to the cold. Finally, he was able to board and stepped onto the train, his ticket being torn in half with no second thought. He was given one of the halves and put it into his pocket, planning to give it a place on his wall as well.

Ivan found himself a window seat, and almost as soon as he sat down, he was accompanied by an old woman with knitting needles and pink yarn.

"Hello." He said.

"Hello. Is this seat taken? I should have probably asked first…"

"Oh, no. It's not…"

"Ah, well it is now!" She seemed to settle in, loose muscles becoming even looser. Ivan offered her a grin and looked out the frost bitten window, excitement filling his blood.

"So, where are you going?"

"China…"

"China? That's going to be a long trip. Who are you seeing in China?"

"My friend. He asked me to visit." He turned his eyes towards her, glad to have someone to talk to.

"Ah. I'm going to see my daughter, but she doesn't live all the way in China." She humored herself with a small laugh. "She had a baby not too long ago. I haven't got to see her yet because she's too far away. I can't go there too often…"

"Oh…Do you know what her name is?"

"Yes! It's Anna! Isn't that cute?"

He nodded.

"Would you happen t have a name, young man?"

"I'm Ivan…How about you?"

"Viktorya." She answered. "Ivan is a very nice name."

"Thank you…" His cheeks flushed at her compliment.

"Ah! My goodness you're cute! Do you have a girl friend?"

He couldn't help the words from flowing from his mouth. "Why? Are you interested?"

She burst out in laughter. "Oh, if my husband heard you! No, but really!"

"No, not at the moment."

"Well that's a shame. If I was forty years younger I would be all over you…"

"The same could be said for me if I was forty years older."

Another fit of laughter. "How naughty! Perhaps I should switch seats."

"Oh, I'll behave myself. You don't have to move."

"Alright. I'll trust you." There was an amused smile on her face. "So, Mr. Ivan, do you speak any Chinese or is your friend Russian but in China?"

"I barely know any…but his is Chinese. We speak to each other in English."

"Ah. Well, that makes sense."

The two went on for a long while, exposing interesting stories and laughing occasionally. Finally, Viktorya had to leave. She stood up with her bones creaking and a newly knitted pink square in her hands.

"Ah…It was very nice talking to you Ivan. I hope you find yourself a girlfriend soon."

"Thank you. Have fun meeting Anna."

"I will!" She was walking out of the train.

And Ivan was left alone, no one else taking a spot next to him for the rest of the trip. He rested his forehead against the cool glass and fell asleep.

A letter was sent to Yao detailing the Russian's arrival as soon as he bought his ticket a week ago. He couldn't be sent into a busy Chinese train station without Mandarin in his mouth.

The entire time, he pictured his departure from the train, his dreams inhabited with several scenarios.

Ivan felt himself being shaken awake by an Asian man, speaking in Chinese. Simply, the Russian nodded and sat up, taking his things in one hand and standing in an expansive line to exit.

His feet finally fell onto snow coded concrete and he glanced around for his friend, only to find a million ink colored eyes staring at him. His face turned red, immediately wanting Yao by his side.

Unable to find the one he had come for, Ivan sat down on an old wooden bench and placed his things on top of his lap, sighing. A little girl sat next to him, staring at him a moment and asking something, having to repeat it because he didn't seem to understand.

"English?" He asked.

She examined him as if he was pinned to a piece of foam. "No. No English." Her accent was incredibly thick.

"Oh…"

"Ivan! Ivan! Is that you over there?!"

"Yao?!"

His friend was pushing his way through the crown, which was moving in the opposite direction he was. A black over coat was wrapped securely around him and his cheeks were rosy from the cold.

Yao finally reached him, and the first thing accomplished was an embrace.

"Claustrophobic yet?"

"I'm getting there…but it's nice to see you again…"

"I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier…It's busier than it normally is…Good thing you're so easy to spot…"

The little girl was still placed on the bench and began to speak again, getting an answer back from Yao in the same dialect. They spoke for thirty seconds, Ivan still caught in a hug and unsure of what was even going on. Once she was satisfied, she sprung from the bench and left them to their embrace.

"What was she saying?"

"She wanted to know if your eyes were broken."

"What?"

"I'll tell you on the way home…Come on." Ivan's things were taken away from him and put into the Chinese man's possession. They began walking, a thousand people bumping into them before they even exited the train station.

And finally, they walked into the streets, the concentration of people seeming to lessen.

"So…Why would she think my eyes were broken?" Ivan asked. "…And I can carry that."

"Firstly, you can't carry this because I am, and secondly, she thought your eyes were broken because they're blue…A lot of people here have never seen a Russian…Which probably why everyone is staring…"

"…Oh…"

"Don't worry about it…Everyone where you live looks at me funny too. It's not so bad…You'll feel better when we get home…" A smile came across his face. "I'm so excited! I'll get to cook for you and show you around and everything!"

"I'm excited too…but please don't do too much…"

"Quiet you! You're gonna have the best damn time in your whole life and you're gonna like it!"

"…Okay…"

Yao laughed. "I'm sorry…but you're going to have fun, I promise."

After a lot of walking, they finally reached a gate with two dragon statues on both sides. Snow covered vines were growing around them, as well as the rest of the wall. It was amazing.

The gates were opened by two servants and they stepped inside.

"Well, we're here…" Yao seemed to be giddy. "What do you want to do first?"

"…Sit down…"

"Aiya! Sit down?"

Ivan nodded.

"…Fair enough…It's been a long trip…but after that what do you want to do?"

"Sleep…"

"Aiya! Pick something fun!" Yao hit him playfully across the shoulder.

"Well, I don't know…What is there to do?"

"…We could always go into town…There's a lot of shops…Or we could see a show…"

"…None of those things…" Ivan said.

"Why not?"

"…Because…they cost money…"

"I have that covered!"

"Exactly…I don't want you to waste your money on me…"

"Don't worry about that! The only thing you have to worry about is if you're bored or not…alright? And if you do get bored you can come and tell me and I'll make sure you're not bored…"

"…Okay…" Ivan gave up, knowing there was no arguing with Yao.

They were standing before two large double doors, the handles golden and looked as if they were made years upon years ago. Yao pushed one of them open, giving a smile to Ivan and then letting him step inside.

The first room he was exposed to was large and had a staircase at the right wall. There were lovely paintings hanging everywhere and a few statues in different corners. Two women were standing before them, both pretty and thin. They said something or other and bowed, hobbling off on bound feet.

"…So, do you like it?" Yao asked.

"…Yes…" Ivan was a bit dazed and for a moment felt inadequate. His house was barely the size of this room, and the things in it could buy him an even bigger estate…

"…You're alright, aren't you? Oh…you wanted to sit down…" A table was waiting in the center of the room, two seats patient for an occupant. "You can have one right over there…I'll join you in a moment…"

Yao went off to speak with his two servant women and Ivan took a seat by the table's edge, feeling a bit misplaced. Everything in this home was so…Chinese…and he clearly wasn't. He began to feel hot under his many layers, peeling them off to reveal a shirt and vest. That day, Ivan looked particularly sharp.

Finally, Yao came back and took the seat across from him, his coat hanging from his forearm. He was dressed in black himself and seemed entirely different.

"…You look nice." The Chinese man said to Ivan and smiled. "…You should wear coats less…I like your clothes…"

"Oh, thank you…" Red inhabited his cheeks and he smiled. "I like what you're wearing too…"

"Bah. This old thing?" There was a slight pause. "…So, how was your trip here?"

"…Well, an old woman was hitting on me on the train. She was a grandmother too…" His grin seemed to expand. "…But she was nice…"

"Really?" Yao was laughing. "Did she take her teeth out to kiss you?"

"God no!"

"With that look on your face, it seems like you got to know her pretty well…Sorry." He laughed. "Well, how was everything else?"

"…Everything else was pretty normal…"

A tea kettle and two cups was set on the table before them, and the woman went away, talking with another servant, long sleeves covering their faces.

"Aiya!" Yao scolded them in his own language and gave his eyes back to Ivan. "…Sorry…" Tea filled his cup and drank it without second thoughts.

"…What happened?"

"Don't worry about it." Yao waved a long sleeve as if dismissing something unpleasant and offered him a little grin.

"…Oh, well alright." He had an idea of what they were speaking about. What an odd man he was…especially somewhere like this where everyone had black hair and dark eyes.

The two chatted for an expansive amount of time, and by the end of their conversation, Ivan only wanted sleep.

"…You look tired…I'm sorry…Am I boring you?"

"No, not at all…I'm just exhausted…" Another yawn escaped his lips and a few tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away with a clean white sleeve and looked back to his friend.

"…Well…Do you want to eat? I was going to make dinner, but if you're tired I can always do that later…You can go sleep…"

"That would be very nice…"

Yao nodded. "I'll show you were your room is…"

Ivan was led up the stairs, which had scrolls decorating the walls. They all said something or other, but all Ivan's eyes could see were confusing brush strokes. What a complex system…

They stopped outside of a door in a hallway with only rooms. The porthole was opened and Yao was the first to step in.

"…Wow…"

It was quite a nice place. The walls were decorated with scrolls and a window was open to over look the garden on the bottom floor. The bed was a descent size, and there was even a desk on the other side of the room. It looked as if this place was a normal bedroom, but no one had inhabited it yet.

"You like it, right?"

Ivan nodded and placed his things by the door. "Thank you…" He wanted to apologize for not having a guest room in his house. "…Where are you going to sleep?"

"Down the hall…" Yao said. "…I'll show you my room tomorrow…Actually; I'll give you a descent tour tomorrow…" He sighed. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay." He yawned. "I like talking to you, so it's not like you deprived me of anything…"

Yao smiled. "Alright…I'll leave you alone…Come wake me up if you get hungry…"

"I'm not going to wake you up…"

"…We can argue about this later. Good night." He grinned and left Ivan to his temporary room, the door shutting softly behind him.

The Russian sighed, his body flopping gratefully onto the bed. It was so warm here…He felt more excitement than when he was on the train. Part of him couldn't even believe he was where he was…It could have been another dream…He had been here so many times in his head…

Before he could think about anything more, his eyes closed and he was taken hostage by sleep.