A/N: REALLY sorry for the late update. o3o;

Anyway, I finally learned to appreciate the last chapter. Thanks. :)

R&R


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Chapter 10

He lay there, staring up at the plain, white-painted ceiling. The warm morning sun came seeping through the window and began to creep its way into the room, gradually bathing everything in its aureate light. He sighed heavily; he woke up earlier than expected. A bit too early, perhaps, considering the fact that he hadn't had much sleep the previous night.

He spent a few more minutes the way he was. He wasn't thinking about anything, really. His brain was quite vacant. Thought processing must have worn out-or temporarily ceased, at least. He took in a deep breath. He glanced sideways and continued to stare up again. He didn't notice how much time he was wasting in his unproductive state.

The door creeked open. His brother's lips immediately broke into a childish grin. But, as sudden as it did, as he found his brother in quite a dreary state, his grin disappeared and unfurled into something between a frown and indifference. He was truthfully concerned although his face failed to fully manifest that fact. He shut the door behind him and walked over.

"Yao-hyung?" He began as he sat on the side of his brother's bed. "What's wrong?"

The Chinese turned his head to look at his brother. He beamed. "What do you mean?"

Yong Soo sighed. "Yao-hyung, I know I can be such an ass sometimes, but I'm not stupid. So what's wrong?"

"Nothing is, aru," he simply said, getting back to staring up. His voice sounded a bit husky.

"Seriously, tell me."

"You know what? You're just hungry, aru," Yao said, turning his head again to see his face. "Why don't you just run along and I'll be up in a minute."

Yong Soo frowned and spread a hand on his brother's forehead and the other on his. "Well that explains it. You feel hot, Yao-hyung."

"I am hot," Yao giggled almost stupidly as he finally sat up. Yong Soo made an annoyed duck face, making the elder take him more seriously. "Do I really?" He asked in disbelief. Like what Yong Soo did, he put a hand on his forehead to check, then on his neck. The Korean was right. He wasn't feeling too good, either. "No, I don't, aru," he lied. "Look, why don't you just get going and ask Kiku to make breakfast? It's his turn today, and I'm pretty sure he'll make whatever you ask him to, aru."

"But Yao-hyung-"

"I promise I'll be there in a minute," he said, standing up and ushering him to the door. At the youngest's worried look, he smiled reassuringly and said, "I don't have a fever or anything, okay? I'm perfectly fine, aru."

"But..." Yong Soo could only trail. On his way out, he spotted something. "Hey, wait a minute-what's that?" Yao strained to see what he was staring at. Yong Soo trotted over to Yao's desk to have a better look. "A chamomile and a peony? Where'd you get these? Did... Did Arthur give them?"

As much as he could manage, Yao glowered, indignant at the suspicion. "No. Of course not, aru."

Yong Soo inspected the flowers, completely ignoring his brother's defiance. "Hmm... Figures. Arthur couldn't've given them to you. He would've probably sent you a big 'ol bouquet of this stuff..."

Yao scowled, honestly pissed.

Anything anyone, or Ivan for this matter, picked would've been a hell lot better than what Arthur could ever give me.

A mental slap.

Wait. What am I thinking, aru? Why am I thinking like that? It's not like I'm favoring Ivan or anything, aru... It's just that Arthur's a huge jerk. Yeah. But... N-No, wait... It's wrong. This is wrong. I shouldn't think so immaturely. I'm over it now, aru. And I shouldn't be bitter about anything, at that. Right?

"So where or who are they from?" Yong Soo poked, snapping Yao away from his mental monologue.

"Well... They're... Ivan picked them, aru." He took the flowers away from Yong Soo and arranged them neatly on his desk again. The youngest sibling smirked, one with an underlying meaning. "What's that look for?" Yao asked. It was obvious. He just wanted Yong Soo to voice something out.

"Ivan did, huh?"

"Well, yeah. He was out walking in the hospital's garden, and he said he saw them and picked them up, aru." Yao didn't even bother to look up from the flowers in question.

The Korean snickered, earnestly amused. "Let's see here, a chamomile... Let me guess, he used the panda excuse and said he remembered that it was your favorite flower, didn't he? But as for the peony..." He furrowed his brows and his lips slipped to a slight pout. "I don't know." The smirk regained its post on his face. "But either way, that's adorable of him," he sniggered. "Would love finally bloom for my dearest Yao-hyung?"

The Chinese simply sighed. Arguing wouldn't help anything. "The extent of your imagination never fails to amaze me at times, Yong Soo, aru. You should be a writer."

"You call evidence imagination?"

"No, it's not evidence of anything, aru. And like I said, you're just hungry you're getting delirious." He secured his hands on his brother's shoulders and gently pushed him to the door. "Now, just take a bath, then go to the kitchen and help out Kiku. I'll be out in a minute, aru."

"But Yao-hyung!" He whined.

"Didn't you say you were going to sleep over at Hong Kong's tonight? Why don't you go pack your things now so you wouldn't have to do it later? That way, when you get home in the afternoon, you'd just have to pick your clothes up, then off you go to his house, aru. Now, run along, little boy," he said. Finally, he successfully managed to rid his room of Yong Soo.

"Fine. You can have your way. But you haven't seen the last of me," he uttered just before the door shut. He sighed again. "You know, you should keep an eye on yourself, too, Yao-hyung." He retreated to his own room.

He heard footsteps fade away. Little did Yong Soo know that his brother heard him perfectly.

Keep an eye on myself, aru? That's... Interesting.

Yao went and fiddled with the stuff on his desk. He took the flowers and gazed at them. He looked at the chamomile; the ends of the petals were starting to wither. The petals that were once white were turning a bit flaxen. He placed it near his nose; it was still fragrant, but the scent was terribly faint. He grinned at it fondly and put it down again. Next, he took the peony. He stared at its pink figure. Unlike the chamomile, it still looked fresh. It still smelt nice, too. It reminded him of some things. He spent a few more minutes fiddling with the flowers, occassionally taking small glimpses out the window. When he somewhat became aware that he got a little too absorbed, he whipped around to look at the time. His grip on the flower tightened.

"Aiyaa, aru!" He exclaimed. "I can't believe I just spaced out like that!"

He ran about the room; he fixed his bed, fetched a decent pair of clothes from his wardrobe, glanced at his phone for any new messages, and all the while stopping every now and then to briefly think about what he was supposed to do next. Abruptly, he was already in the bathroom, rushing a shower. In a span of a few minutes, he stepped out with a towel draped across his waist and, dropping to his shoulders, a shorter one was on his head, one hand vigorously drying his hair. He pulled down the blinds and got dressed. He almost forgot his phone amidst all the alarm.

Yao was panicking, even though he didn't really need to. He just thought it was already that late-even if he's just five minutes behind his daily routine. He calmed himself down a bit and scuttled out of his room. He met Ivan in the hallway. He looked like he just woke up; his silver hair was a mess, and he still had his pj's on.

"Good morning, Yao," he greeted, rubbing his eyes sleepily, but flashing him a serene smile.

"Oh. Ivan. Yeah, aru. Good morning," he said curtly. "Come on. Let's have breakfast." He ushered the tall Russian to come with him, and he obliged.

Ivan noticed something. Yao seemed a bit flushed, although it wasn't the same kind of red his face got. It was different, but somehow, it was also familiar. He was worried, but he decided to keep quiet about it. For the mean time, at least.

The middle brother looked up at him gravely as he appeared with Ivan.

"Good morning, Yao-nii," he uttered as he finished pouring something out from a pot. The eldest nodded and mouthed a reply. "Here's some tea," Kiku added, pushing the cup in front of Yao as he took his seat.

"Huh?" It was the tea that he wanted, the remedy. "What's with...?"

"Yong Soo told me you had a slight fever," he said. Ivan discreetly commenced eavesdropping as Kiku placed a pitcher of orange juice on the table. "How are you feeling?"

"Thanks, Kiku, but really. I'm fine, aru. I feel great!"

Quick as a flash, Kiku had his hand sprawled on his eldest brother's forehead; his other hand was on his own. "You do have a slight fever, Yao-nii," he said. Even though his voice was low, Ivan heard this. "Please, drink the tea."

"Kiku, please don't tell them," Yao said, almost whispering.

The middle brother nodded. "Just take it easy today, okay? And don't forget to drink the tea. Take some medicine, too."

"I promise, aru," Yao said.

After that, Kiku took his own seat, and breakfast began. Like tradition, they talked about stuff. Ivan and Kiku laughed when Yong Soo made a couple of puns-Yao didn't think it was funny because he was mostly the subject.

"Yong Soo, you do the dishes, okay?"

"Aye, aye, Yao-hyung."

"I'll be in the bathroom if you need anything, aru," he said, trotting to the nearest bathroom. Kiku went to his room and fixed himself for work. Ivan leaned against the counter and watched Yong Soo.

"You want to help?" He offered.

Ivan shook his head and grinned. "No, thank you. I am quite fine as I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, ye-"

"Are you really, really sure?"

The Russian chuckled. "Alright. If you insist so fervently, I shall help with drying the plates, then."

"Good, good! Thanks a lot. Here," he said, handing him a clean dish cloth. Ivan took it and dried the dishes carefully. After couple more minutes, Yong Soo's over-active brain generated an idea, which he decided to voice out. "So, Ivan..." He glanced up from the dirty dishes, Ivan looked at him. "I heard you gave Yao-hyung flowers yesterday."

Once again, Ivan smiled serenely. "Da. I did."

"I see..." He nodded. "So, is that a step forward?"

Ivan tilted his head in false confusion. "A step forward?"

Yong Soo smirked mischievously. "You know what I mean."

"Another of your hints, is it not? Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of what you are speaking of."

"Oh, come on, Ivan," he whined. He took a glimpse over his shoulder to see if anyone could hear them. No one. "Are you hitting on Yao-hyung or not?"

Ivan let out a childish laugh. Of all the years he spent in the household, he was familiar enough with how Yong Soo gets his points around. He just wasn't too keen on keeping up with this conversation, so he steered it away, "I can assure you that I have never hit Yao before."

"Ugh!" The Korean breathed, exasperated. He gave him the last plate to dry and said, "I didn't mean it literally! Come on, I was asking if you were-"

"If he was...?" Kiku asked.

"Kiku-hyung!" Yong Soo blurted out, startled. He felt his heart pounding like crazy. "Don't just pop in like that, you're gonna give me a heart attack!"

The Japanese brother just looked at him, utterly unamused. "You're not talking about indecent things are you?"

"No! Of course not! I wasn't talking about that sort of things, Kiku-hyung!" He stammered.

"Honestly, Yong Soo..." He just sighed helplessly. He looked up at Ivan, apologetic, and said, "excuse him. And please, do tell me if he... Brings up anything improper."

Ivan grinned. "It is fine."

With a nod, Kiku said, "we'll be leaving now." His tone seemed a bit serious. He nodded and took his youngest brother by the arm.

"Have a safe trip."

"What? We are?"

"Yes. I'm going to drive you to school."

"B-But-!" He protested.

"No but's. Come on. Let's not cause any trouble for him." Kiku pulled him. It damn hurt even though it didn't look that way. "Let's tell Yao-nii then let's go."

"Okay," Yong Soo said, defeated.

Ivan watched them walk out the kitchen.

"Yao-nii, we'll be going now," Kiku called. "I'm driving Yong Soo to school."

"Okay. Take care, aru," Yao yelled from behind the bathroom door.

And with that, the two took off. In the car, Yong Soo sat in the passenger's sear next to Kiku. Somehow, he noticed a small smile crawling its way to his brother's face. It poked both his imagination and his curiosity.

"Hey... What's with the smile?"

Kiku looked at him and evidently suppressed a laugh. "What?"

"Just now. You were smiling. You even looked like you were going to laugh. What's up with that? And really, Kiku-hyung, why'd you want to leave right away, anyway?"

The Japanese brother couldn't help himself. He glanced at the house and a giggle escaped from his lips.

Yong Soo broke into a smirk and sniggered. "You sly dog!"

"Ivan?" Yao called as he took his umbrella from the rack. "Oh. There you are," he said when he found him leaning on the counter. He put the umbrella down for a second and fixed his hair. "I left a fresh pair of clothes on your bed, aru."

"Ah. Thank you," Ivan said, his soft, but penetrating gaze making the other look away.

"And... Umm... I'll be pretty busy later, so... I can't bring you to work today, aru. You think you'd be fine if I left you alone? It's just for today, at least."

"Da. Of course. I would be fine. You need not worry about me." He assured Yao with one of his charming smiles. He never seems to run out of them.

"Ah. That's... Good. As for lunch, I'm going to make something quick and you can just heat it up later, okay?"

Ivan nodded.

Yao began making magic in the kitchen. Soon enough, the familiar scent of sautéed garlic lingered in the room, impetuously arousing Ivan's appetite, disregarding the fact that he just had breakfast. He eagerly watched the talented Chinese handle the ingredients skillfully, not messing up anything. Yao has always been meticulous about the food he makes; he always wants everything to be near perfection, if not entirely perfect. Not to mention he still looked pretty energetic despite the fact he wasn't feeling too well.

Ivan knew there was something wrong with him. He was aware that Yao was just doing his best to seem normal and all. Ivan noticed that the redness in the Chinese's face eventually faded, and was replaced by pallor. He felt something, something he hadn't felt for a long while, slushing away merrily in his gut-anxiety, perhaps. His pondering was disturbed when he heard him speak.

"There you go," Yao uttered as he placed a plate of his cooking on the table. "Now, all I have to do is wash these and I'll be good to go, aru." He snatched his apron from the hook and wore it. Then, he dealt with the dirty dishes. He had his back to Ivan, who was still staring at him intently, although hesitant to talk. "Ivan..."

"Yes?"

"About... You know, I... I wanted to thank you, aru..."

"To thank me? Whatever for?"

"Well, for the flowers yesterday... I didn't really say anything about thanking you, right? All I did was get mad and scold you... Look, I'm sorry for that, too. I-I don't want to let that effort of yours go, umm, unappreciated, so I wanted to thank you properly, aru," he stuttered a couple of times. "Thanks for the flowers," he said, finally catching a glance of him from his shoulder. His face regained a bit of color when he saw that Ivan was smiling at him. Like he involuntarily but somehow automatically did, he had it hard to catch his breath when his chocolate brown eyes met with the Russian's glinting purple ones.

"I am truly glad that you appreciate my humble gesture," he said.

"Sure. But remember: don't just pick stuff up randomly, okay? Especially if they're not yours, aru."

"Da. I vowed on that matter."

"Good," Yao said, taking off his apron after he finished the last dish.

Ring... Ring... Ring...

"Oh, wait," he took out his phone form his pocket and looked at the caller id. "Excuse me, I have to take this, aru."

Ivan nodded. Yao didn't bother getting out of the kitchen, he didn't really mind if Ivan heard anything. Hey, what was there to hide?

"Right, right. Don't worry. I'm pretty sure that their little brunch meeting would probably end at around noon, aru." A pause. "Okay. Oh, right, didn't you say I'll be talking to him in his office?" Another pause. "What? So he changed the venue. Big deal. That's fine." Ivan heard a few wailing sounds. "Alright. Just calm down, okay? I'll get there soon enough, aru."

"Hurry!" Ivan heard someone shriek from the phone.

"Alright already!" And with that, Yao hung up. He pocketed the phone and faced Ivan. "Hey, you could handle stuff here alone, right?" He didn't wait for any answers and instead he continued, "I really ought to get going now, aru. If anything comes up, call me. My number's on speed dial," he walked to the door, and Ivan followed. "And if ever you feel bored, just watch TV, or read, or something, okay?"

"Worry not, Yao. I am positive I can be trusted with these duties."

"Okay, then. I'm going now, aru. Bye," he said, looking up at Ivan's build, towering over him. Before Yao completely turned his back, he felt a big, warm hand sprawled across his forehead.

"You do have quite a fever."

Yao looked up at him, purple eyes momentarily distracting him from thinking. After realizing that Ivan still had his hand on his forehead, color suddenly filled his face; finally, it was the normal kind of red again. With a nervously trembling hand, the flustered Chinese impulsively snatched the other's wrist and took it away. His grip was surprisingly tight.

"I know, aru," he defiantly said. His voice sounded hoarse, but he just coughed it away. He loosened his hold until he completely let go of Ivan's wrist.

The Russian's smile faded. "Please do not exhaust yourself."

"I..." He redirected his vision outside, "I won't. Thanks. Bye, aru." With a quick nod, he took off.

Ivan just watched him. Seeing Yao turn to a corner, he sighed and went inside. He sat on the couch in front of the huge, flat screen TV-Kiku bought that when he first got his salary. One wouldn't believe how big the manga business actually pays.

He stared blankly at the empty screen, and thought. He recalled the weather forecast last night; it was going to be nice and sunny in the morning, but it'll be raining in the afternoon. He was about to reach for the remote when he heard the doorbell ring. He took a quick look over his shoulder before he stood up. When he opened it, a figure of a woman appeared. She had long, beige hair, and bright, sparkling green eyes. She was wearing a frilly apron, and was also holding a plate of sweet-smelling somethings. She smiled enthusiastically at the sight of him.

"Hi!"

"Da... Hello," Ivan said, managing a smile.

Just when he was about to open his mouth to say something, she started excitedly, "hi, there! You were the guy Yao was with the other day, weren't you?" Ivan nodded. "And if I remember right, you weren't wearing a top back then, were you? Oh, I am so sorry if I disturbed anything."

"No, you did not-"

"Say, could I ask you something?"

"Yes, you m-"

"Are you Yao's boyfriend?"

"I..." Everything in Ivan's brain stopped. "Could you repeat that? I believe I heard wrong."

"I said, are you Yao's boyfriend?"

He didn't expect that. Really.

"I..." His mouth was left hanging half-open. "That is..."

He paused, making Elizaveta prod, "well?"

"Absolutely not. We are not in any relationship, if that is what you are suggesting," he said, chuckling.

"Oh..." She trailed, evidently dismal. "Are you sure?"

"Completely."

Quick as she went gloomy, she bounced back into energy again and said, "oh well." She smiled a sweet smile and added, "anyway, here," she offered the plate to him-freshly baked sweets. "I was bored so I thought of baking, but you see... I got a little carried away and made a tad too much of these cookies, so instead of stacking them away, I thought I'd give some to you."

Ivan took it. "How generous of you," he gawked at how large the plate was and how much cookies there were. The plate was almost as large as the baking tray in the oven, and the cookies were a huge pile. "Thank you very much."

"It's nothing," she giggled. "Oh, that's right. Where is Yao, anyway?"

"He is out for work," he replied.

"So you're alone?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay. Have fun, then!" She happily said. "I better get going now, too. Bye!"

"Good bye," he said. Returning a wave, she skipped back to her house next door. "She is quite the character," Ivan told himself.

He sighed as he put down the plate of cookies on the kitchen table. He got curious and took one. Holding it up, he examined it. Even before, he didn't really like sweets, but he didn't hate them, either. He decided to take a bite. His face lit up. "This is delicious," he uttered. The biscuit itself was nice and soft, and the chocolate chips were delicately melted next to perfection. He finished it in a couple more bites, and he took another one. Chewing away merrily, he took a few more cookies until he ate a little more or less half of it. He went to the fridge and scouted around. He saw the milk carton and grabbed it, then he took a glass from the rack. With a mouthful of Elizaveta's cookies, he took a refreshing gulp of milk. Great. Considering how long he spent being a panda, he almost forgot how awesome it felt to have a full mouth. All that's missing now is a big bottle of vodka.

"I shall take my bath in a few minutes," he planned, contentedly smiling to himself.

He went back to the table and took another one. Munching away, he didn't notice something important was left sitting on the table. An umbrella.

Yao's umbrella.

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A/N: Heheheh... n_n; Sorry for the filler chapter. n_n; Umm... Please don't hate my work. 'x) You can hate me, but please, don't hate my work. It has nothing to do with me. :D And about the semi-late update... I'm well aware that writers aren't supposed to have excuses, but... I just really had a tough time. TT3TT And my brain got re-wired, too. TT3TT

Anyway, I learned a new word yesterday. I found it on the class bulletin board. :D

lethologica (n.) the state when you can't remember the word you want

Is Katyusha Ukraine's official name? I need an answer for that... :^ Thanks.

And about the RoChu stuff I was talking about, no, the stuff up there wasn't it. I could do better than that. [LOL such an ass] Anyway, I realized that if I covered up to that part, then... It would be too long for one chapter, trust me. Plus, I would run out of things to write about since there wouldn't be anything left for the 'side plots', and the end would come soon after. So I postponed it, but I promise it'll come up pretty soon.

So, there, I guess. See you 'round.

18 August 2010

1840H