Romulus Vargas gazed into the innocent, naive faces of his students. He was the school's latin teacher, the very handsome, very sexy latin teacher to be precise. He was also the father of Feliciano and Lovino, but he was really renowned for being the school's official matchmaker. Now, even as his eyes scanned over the class, he could see the relationships fold and unfold.
There, Lee Ha-Eung sat looking out the window and twiddling his pen. Not so far away, Natalia Bradinski would turn her head once in twenty minutes, and make a face at his ignorance. In the denial stage. But since they are...an interesting pair...well. In front of Natalia Bradinski sat Alfred Jones, who was practically pining after Lee Ha-Yeon, who had friendzoned him. Well, perhaps not friendzone. Occasionally, Lee Ha Yeon would poke her best friend, and smile, or blush. They'll be glued by the lips by the end of the year.
Too bad for Matthew Jones, the quieter twin had lost his catch because of his brother. One could tell by the wistful look on his face. At least it was not as bad as Mei Wang's cause, which was lost, Romulus mused. He knew that Kiku Honda and Hercules, his dear nephew had a lot of sexual tension-without-anything-happening. Anyways, he'd be surprised if Honda and Hercules weren't an item. It seemed that a lot of his students needed some help, oh dear. They were hopeless.
"Miss Wang?"
Mei lifted her face, mildly curious.
"Yes, sir?"
"Translate the word superbia for me."
"Pride, sir."
"Well done."
Romulus smiled widely. A little too wide-and Lovino groaned out loud.
"Don't tell me you're planning something-"
"Mr. Vargas, I may be your father but this is classtime, you will refer to me as sir."
"Don't tell me you're planning something, sir."
"Well, actually I am. Class, do you know what Class Aptent is?"
"A very high class!"
Mr. Jones blirted aloud without thinking, and the classroom burst into laughter.
"Actually, it's Christmas in Latin."
"Christmas? Class Aptent? How can that be the same?"
Mr. Beilschmidt exclaimed loudly, and Miss Hedervery just groaned.
"I will be hosting a party along with my two sons on the Eve of said day, and I expect all of you to attend! Along with your gifts!"
"But I don't have money!"
"Everyone who doesn't attend must have a good reason!"
There. I threw the bombshell. Now I'll land the bomb.
"Anyone without a partner also needs a good reason why! I'll deduct your points if you don't have one!"
The class visibly groaned. But Romulus knew them well enough, they'd go home humming, buying their clothes, and they'd dance through the night at said party. He wouldn't be surprised if his guest bedrooms were occupied afterwards.
"Oppa!"
Yao smiled at the voice of his sister. It was good to get called during work, he was tired nowadays and Christmas was coming up.
"What is it, Ha Yeon-ah?"
"Our teacher's hosting a party on Christmas Eve, and we're all supposed to attend-all of the juniors."
"Ah."
He had been planning on seeing the Nutcracker with his family. Well, it seemed that it wouldn't be possible.
"I'm really sorry, but..."
"We'll talk about this back at home."
Setting down his phone, Yao sighed. He had a very good idea who the teacher was, and he hated the man at this point. Romulus Vargas, stealing my siblings for Christmas Eve. There was a knock on his door, and he nodded, then realized the person at the other end of the door couldn't see him. Walking forward, he yanked the door open.
"Yao!"
Ivan Bradinski stood in front of him, holding a bouquet of the miserable trademark sunflowers that he had always bought.
"It's you."
Making to close the door in Bradinski's face, Yao pushed the door. Unfortunately Bradinski was stronger than him, and the Russian had one foot in the room.
"Did you hear from your family about the Vargas party?"
"Yes, I did. And I would like you to leave."
The man had to be deaf, as he plain ignored Yao, walking into the room and sitting down on Yao's sofa.
"It's so unfair, don't you agree with me? And I was planning to go to the Nutcracker with Nat and Katya.."
Wait. What.
Yao whipped his head around too fast, glaring at the man.
"What do you mean, the Nutcracker?"
"Well, Yao-yao, I am a man of upper society. And even men like me have the right to enjoy music, da?"
"No, I wasn't slanting you about that! I mean, I was going to see that ballet. With my family."
"Truly?"
Now even Ivan sounded surprised.
"Why would I lie to you? I was looking forward to going there, the Bolshoi Ballet doesn't come everyday. It's a shame that my family cannot attend. Perhaps I should give the tickets to someone more willing to attend."
"Nyet, you lie to me a lot. Last time when you said that you were attending a seminar in China and you were eating chop suey back home, and the previous time when you said you were busy, and..."
"If you weren't stalking me, I wouldn't have to lie to you!"
"Well, I love you too much, Yao-yao!"
He'd ignore the part about love.
"So, what's the real reason you've come all the way here? It can't be because of our lovely siblings."
"Vell..."
The large man fidgeted, and Yao felt his neck prick with apprehension. This couldn't be anything good. Ivan's Russian accent was returning to his English, which meant he was nervous of what he was going to ask.
"Vill you go to the ballet vith me?"
Yao blinked, then rubbed his temples. This had to be someone's idea of a bad joke.
"My siblings cannot go vith me, and I didn't know anyone else to go vith me."
The CEO considered the words. He had a bunch of reasons why he didn't want to go with Ivan Bradinski to the ballet. He'd get bad press. Bradinski had a sister who would murder anyone close to the man, and most of all, Bradinski was his stalker who always wanted Yao to be one with him.
"Please, just this once."
Do not, do not...
"Fine. I will go to the stupid ballet with you for Christmas Eve. And you will pick me up."
"Thank you!"
The taller man hugged him fiercely, then whirled him around.
"PUT HIM DOWN, YOU STALKER!"
Lien and Cheng stood at the door, the former angry and the latter horrified.
"Ah, the bodyguard and the secretary."
Ivan smiled, putting him down, and kissed a slightly dizzy Yao on the top of the head, saluting him.
"Then I will see you tomorrow, Yao."
"What do you mean, he's seeing you on Christmas Eve?"
"It is none of your business."
As Ivan twirled out, humming a song, the Vietnamese woman turned on Yao.
"You're not going out with him, are you?"
"I didn't want to waste a ticket."
"Then why are you so red? You're not seriously falling for him, are you?"
"I'm not! And if you accuse me of that one more time, I'm going to sack you!"
He was not falling for that man. He refused to believe it.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Mei was in her room, her sister sitting next to her.
"Oh, Mei, can't you just go with someone else? Like Elizaveta or something."
"I'll just get my points deducted."
Mei shrugged, pulling a comic out.
"You know, why don't you just ask Kiku or something?"
"Oh wise one, how can I ask him when he knows I like like him thanks to your oh so very kind brother?"
"He might go with you for all he's worth."
It was all so easy for Ha Yeon to say, with her popular jock boyfriend.
"Come on, you'll never know if you never ask him."
"But it's incest!"
"Did it ever occur to you that you're not related by blood?"
And as Ha Yeon left her to ponder, Mei thought about all of the things that had made her like Kiku. His quiet acknowledgements, his occasional smiles, and so on. She had always loved Kiku ever since she was a child. She pulled out a clean sheet of paper and began to write.
What I love about Kiku Honda
1. His smile
She couldn't find herself to write more. This was... very embarrassing. There was a call from outside.
"Mei-chan!"
Her brother that she loved too much. Mei stood from her chair, making her face slightly less red.
Act normal, act normal.
Walking out, she found her older brother holding a box.
"Your doujinshi arrived. Here-"
"Kiku Honda, will you go to the stupid Christmas Party with me?"
What was that.
The senior's eyes were round with surprise.
"I don't have a date."
Wonderful excuse.
"I know you have a crush on Hercules and everything, but I don't have anyone else to go with, Leon's coming out of the hospital just today and I can't ask Ha Eung and-"
She probably sounded stupid, and Kiku just looked surprised.
"Well, our sister who is stupid at giving advice told me to ask you. And to be openly honest with everything."
If there had been any chance he'd go with her, she had thrown it out the window.
"I'm really sorry for bothering you."
"No, I'll go with you."
As Mei wondered if she had misheard, Kiku just nodded.
"I'll go with you, I'm the good older brother. And besides, I don't think Hercules actually cares about me. He didn't ask me out."
Was she some kind of subsitute or what? But it was better than watching him go out with the Greek.
"So, Leon, how do you feel after returning from the hellish ward?"
It was dinner time, and the family was gathered around the table. Yao had prepared Leon's favorite meal, Beijing Duck.
"Wonderful."
The youngest of the family was digging his face into the meal with enthusiasm, as the rest of the family watched on.
"I have an announcement to make."
Wang Yao stood from his seat, looking slightly worried.
"What is it, older brother?"
"I'm going to the Nutcracker with Ivan Bradinski."
A fork fell to the floor, and Leon started to cough. Ha Eung stabbed the table by mistake, and Ha Yeon whispered something to Mei with worry. Kiku looked horrified.
"You can't go with him!"
"Hurry, someone needs to take nisan to the ward for mental people!"
"You've finally cracked under stress!"
"Children, children!"
Yao sighed, raising his voice. The table fell silent, listening to what the eldest had to say to defend himself.
"He's not an entirely evil person, and I couldn't waste my tickets."
"That's what he wants you to think!"
Ha Eung snarled, and his twin nodded, her face worried.
"Well, I warned you children in advance. If I don't return in time, you know where to look for me."
"Don't forget to take pepper spray and repellant."
"I don't think that would be necessary."
Yao defended the man, knowing that it would be better to keep the information that he himself had already prepared repellant would work even more badly.
"Anyway, gege, I think I'll be staying at home. I don't take Latin class."
The others nodded, Ha Eung looking jealous at these words.
"Can't I say I'm sick and take leave?"
"Lee Ha Eung, you will do no such thing. You will attend the party even if it kills you."
The male twin sighed, pulling the knife and stabbing his duck with refound vigor.
"I hate Latin."
"You're not the only person who hates it."
The Vargas house was noisy, loud, and vividly decorated.
"I told you it was a horrible idea."
Lovino grumbled, hanging a streamer across the room.
"No, it's a wonderful idea!"
Feliciano grinned, pulling out a golden star decoration and hanging it on the top of the gigantic Christmas tree.
"Everyone hates dad. And thanks to dad, they all hate us."
There was a knock on the door, and Feliciano went to get it.
"Luddy!"
Wonderful, potato head was here. Now his older brother would go squealing along with the stuffy German. Sure enough Ludwig Beilschmidt was there, holding a well-wrapped blue gift.
"I see you're still not done with the decorations."
"Whatever."
Lovino climbed down his ladder, he didn't want to see his brother frolicking around with the senior.
"I'll help you."
In his mental ladder of coolness, he moved Ludwig up, from next to anchovies and dung to pizza. Helping hands were always useful. There was a rapping sound on the door, and Lovino knew it was his turn to get the door.
"I'm here."
It was Hercules. The Greek smiled at him, one of his cats in tow.
"Why so early, and why alone?"
"Your dad wanted me to do something for him."
"Oh."
He started to feel sympathy for Hercules, almost immediately. Kiku Honda hadn't seemed happy recently, and his cousin didn't seem to be helping.
There was another knock on the door, and Hercules turned to get it.
"We're here."
It was Vash and Lilli. Vash was one of the punctual people, and this signaled the start of the arriving guests. Lovino tried very hard not to think about the mess which would be made in his house.
"You sure this is the right house?"
"Y-E-S."
Gilbert scratched his head. He had come with Antonio. Alfred had decided to wait for his friend who was a girl-no, girlfriend.
"It's clearly noisy. Won't be surprising if the neighbors call the police."
As they rang the doorbell, there was a commotion, and the door opened.
"Hello, everybody!"
It was a very happy looking Feliciano.
"Who's here?"
"Nearly everyone. Excepting Fred and Yeon, Mei and Kiku. And Mattie."
"Oh, didn't you hear?"
"What?"
Gilbert didn't know how to say this.
"Mattie's sick. Something about a stomach bug or whatever-"
"You can't be seriously believing that."
Antonio gave Gilbert a look that said idiot on it.
"Come on in, we're not standing on the door for the entire time."
As they entered the room, Antonio sprinted to the person standing under the mistletoe.
"Lovino!"
The Spanish boy put an arm around the harrassed Italian who smacked him immediately.
"Get off me! What is wrong with you?"
"It's Christmas Eve~"
Gilbert could see his older brother talking with the older Italian brother who was smiling. His Spanish friend was getting the telling-off of his life, but was smiling. It felt lonely standing in this room, without a word to anyone.
"What are you doing here?"
A very familiar voice pierced his ear. An Austrian voice that he despised. His used-to-be-girlfriend's new boyfriend stood there, in his tuxedoed glory. Roderich Edelstein who even starched his undies.
"Just standing there. Where's Liz?"
"Eliza's talking to Lilli."
It was awkward, one of his previous best friends turning out to be his archnemesis in the love area. A long silence followed, in which Roderich reached for a juice and Gilbert turned to stare at Liz.
"You two good?"
"...Yes."
Gilbert managed to flash one of his famous grins as he laughed.
"Great, you had better be good or I'll steal your girl."
He'd be the typical loud German they wanted him to be for now.
"Everyone here?"
Mr. Vargas had arrived to check in on them, and had bought twenty kegs of beer along with him.
The seniors and juniors nodded.
"Sir, Mattie's sick."
Alfred blurted out loud, and the Latin teacher gave the junior a look of understanding.
"Yes, I get it. Okay, live your life! YOLO!"
There was a cheer, and the students split up in twos and threes.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Ha Yeon tugged at Alfred's tux. Being shorter than him on heels was a bad thing for her, as he looked down on her.
"Well, we could dance the night through."
"Or?"
"EVERYONE, GATHER ROUND!"
Gilbert Beilschmidt's voice was loud and boisterous.
"What is it now?"
Kiku sounded tired, but most of the students sounded interested.
"We are going to play Truth or Dare. With beer."
"You in?"
"Of course."
The juniors and seniors gathered round in a circle, and Ha Yeon found herself next to-
"You again."
Her dear twin brother, who looked bored out of his wits.
"I can't believe you're in."
"Who cares?"
"All right, let's start this."
The game of the night had begun.
"I'm leaving!"
Yao shouted to Leon as he noticed the familiar car of the Russian waiting for him. He had dressed neatly, as expected of him. Running down the stairs, he saw the car door open and Ivan got out of the car.
"You look wonderful, Yao."
Today, there were no sunflowers, but a bouquet of roses. He politely declined, but then saw the crestfallen look on the face of the Russian. Something made him reach out and take the flowers, cradling them on his lap.
"Thank you for the flowers."
A small smile graced Bradinski's face, and Yao found himself studying the taller man. His silver hair was catching the pale moonlight, almost inhumane. The purple eyes that mostly focused on him for most of the time was now on the road, and Yao felt a tug, as if he was pulled toward the man. What is wrong with you?
"Our fseat is in one of the boxes."
Bradinski explained, both hands on the steering wheel.
"So, why are you watching a ballet?"
The mafia tensed, then smiled wide.
"I always wanted to join the ballet. But my father would have none of it, he wanted me to take his post."
That was something he could surely relate to, and a part of him thought that Ivan would not have turned out like... this had his father been kinder.
"I understand about that. My parents were stern on me too."
There were no words after that, which Yao found as strange. The man was usually talkative, but today he was too quiet. Strange, really.
"Any other things to say?"
"Well, I thought you wouldn't want me to talk to you. I am, after all your stalker."
So he was actually being considerate.
A part of him seemed to warm to the man after that.
"No, you can most certainly talk to me. I don't like silence, it is uncommon."
"I can talk to you?"
Ivan's boyish face brightened with happiness, and practically glowed.
"Yes, you can. You can stop looking like you won the lottery or something."
He was going to regret this for the entire ride, he was sure of it.
"So, that was how I got Leon back!"
"That was impressive! I can't believe Kirkland lost custody of Wang Leon like that!"
Half an hour later, both men were laughing like crazy, as they talked about the past. Snow had started to drift around them, and lights were sparkling in the city. Yao felt like he was talking with an old friend. Bradinski turned out to be more than tolerable. The man reacted the exact when he wanted him to, and understood everything.
"You aren't that bad."
The Russian next to him suddenly tensed.
"What's wrong?"
"We've arrived."
And as they parked, Bradinski said nothing more, which made Yao feel curious and terrible at the same time. This is not getting to me.
"Thanks. It's really nice of you to be here with me when you could be enjoying your Eve."
Emil shook his head, looking at Leon.
"No, I thought you would feel lonely. I brought games and movies. We could watch the Great Showman, or Along With the Gods, or well-"
"I have the popcorn."
As they sat down in front of the TV, Leon felt warm. Emil reached out for a bowl of popcorn, and promptly put it on his lap. The Great Showman had been their pick, and soon the twosome felt themselves intently watching the movie.
"This is..."
"Wow."
The movie had entered the point where Hugh Jackman was having success, when the phone rang.
"I need you, girl~"
Emil answered Leon's Xiaomi for him, then turned, his face skeptical.
"It's your sister. She doesn't sound very happy."
"Yes."
Leon took the phone, glaring at it. There was loud background noise.
"What's going on?"
"Ya."
"Yes?"
"I got a dare."
"So-"
"One plus one equals guiyomi-"
Leon groaned, then put his hands around his ears for protection. His sister had been dared, no doubt to do the thing the Koreans called aegyo which was disgusting. Eventually, Emil jabbed him on the ribs. Ha Yeon had hung up to his great happiness.
"I hate it when they do that, it's disgusting."
"I think it's kind of cute..."
This had to be a bad joke. Emil wasn't supposed to like cute stuff, which was repulsive. Leon was going to remain the cool kid along with his group of friends. There was no way he'd do something that repulsive.
"I think you'd look really adorable if you did something like that, Leon."
"Never."
"Please, just once?"
"No."
"For me."
Leon gritted his teeth, stuffing his mouth with popcorn. He'd rather die. He'd rather commit hara-kiri.
"Never."
"Leon~"
"Seriously?"
He closed his eyes, then steeled himself. I'll write a Will and Testament. I can do this for Emil.
"You're adorable!"
"There."
Never again.
The atmosphere of the Vargas house was now heating up. For some reason, Feliciano and Ludwig weren't returning from Feliciano's room. So were Lovino and Antonio. So were many other people. The remaining people were now focusing on Truth rather than Dare.
"I'm spinning!"
Ha Eung smiled, and his sisters cringed. The Korean rarely smiled, which meant he had to be plastered.
"You need a break."
Natalia Bradinski actually sounded concerned, and she glared at the plastered teen.
"None of your business."
Ha Eung took the bottle, and spun. It came to a stop in front of-
"-Jones."
Alfred grinned widely. He was less drunk than most, good with his liquor. But he was in a jovial mood, happy enough to smile at Ha Eung.
"Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
It was just then that Ha Eung's eyes narrowed the slightest bit.
"Fire away."
"How many girls did you-"
"Lee Ha Eung, that's a stupid question."
Ha Yeon looked horrified. Of course, she didn't want to hear the answer. As for Jones himself, his gaze was murderous.
"Come on, you can't lie. Just say the truth."
"...I'm sorry."
Alfred spread his fingers. Ten.
"So much for virtue."
The cheerleader shot her brother a glare.
"Shut. Up."
"I'd rather you go out with the other Jones. At least he's celibate!"
Ha Eung smirked, and Mei decided to intervene.
"Leave him be. It's his life."
"I never knew."
Ha Yeon stood from her seat, her face a mask.
"Wait, how about you? You-"
If Gilbert had thought this was going to help Alfred, he was sorely mistaken.
"I'm a fricking virgin!"
A silence fell as the very upset Korean left the living room.
"Alfred-"
The American threw his cup on the corner of the room as he left.
"Continue?"
Mei's voice was timid.
"Sure."
"No more."
Natalia's voice was firm, and Ha Eung gazed blearily up at the girl.
"Why?"
"You're not a drunkard. You're going home, or you're going outside."
"Why should I? You're not my girlfriend, are you?"
At this, Natalia pulled out her knife from nowhere.
"You'll come quietly, or you can leave with a missing body part. You're ruining everything, that including your sister's love life."
"At least she has one."
Ha Eung stood, half-leaning on the Belarusian, who nodded her approval.
"Good, you're leaving."
And it was so that another pair had left the room.
"Look, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be."
Ha Yeon glared at nothing in particular, rummaging in the coat room for her black coat. Where was it? It had been perfectly fine until her brother had asked that blasted question. Now the only thing she'd remember every time she saw Alfred would be the number ten. And she had nearly been his eleventh fling.
"They were people before I liked you-"
"Like who. Just spill it."
Finally, she had found her coat. Pulling it on, she turned to Alfred, who was fidgeting.
"Yekaterina."
"That's one person."
"Lilli-"
"Good, Vash will kill you."
"There was this girl called Sakura-"
"Three."
"Natalia."
"I'm surprised you can actually look Toris in the eye."
"It was just a one-nighter!"
"What if I become a one-nighter? The only reason you're still hanging around with me is because I'm too edgy to sleep with you!"
Ha Yeon slammed the front door. Hard. She could tell that Alfred's foot had been caught in the door, but she didn't care. And I thought he had something called virtue.
"Wait up!"
Alfred was now blocking her path, his arms crossed.
"Leave me alone."
"Why are you upset? It's not like you're my girlfriend and I was cheating on you-"
"Maybe I'm upset because I thought you were a decent human being. Maybe it was because I thought you were saving it. Maybe it was because I loved you too much. Maybe it's because I trusted you too much to ask stuff like that. Maybe I don't want to end up as another notch on your belt as eleventh."
She angrily wiped her tears away.
"I can practically hear you. Hey, I finally got it going with Lee to third base. No, she was bad, but at least I was her first."
"Stop it."
Why was he angry at her?
"Why should I?"
"Because I love you, you aristocratic scholar! And I'd kill anyone who said things like that! I'd never forgive myself if I said that rubbish!"
Ha Yeon met him in the eye, the brown accusatory, while the blue furious and true.
"Liar."
"Do you know how angry I get when anyone else calls you Yeon, and when you laugh at anyone else? Do you know how fast my heart goes when I see you? Do you know how sad I am when you cry and I can't do anything for you? No, you don't. Because you're hopeless in love. When I see other people, it's easy to say flirtatious comments because I don't exactly care about them, but I can't say anything to you because I don't want to wreck what I barely made with you. I've never been with anyone since I met you, and I don't know what I can call this feeling if it isn't love."
He'd said it. He'd said everything. It wasn't what he had planned to say. He had planned everything throughly, writing a long speech and memorizing it. He'd practiced everything with Francis, but it had all gone overboard.
"Just don't hate me. Please tell me everything can go back to normal at least. I know you practically want to kill me, or cut my junk up. Or put me in a cell and drown me. But please don't hate me."
The eyes of brown were blank, something he'd never seen.
"I'm sorry."
As he turned back-he needed to get his coat, a hand reached out and slapped him on the face.
"How can I not hate you?"
It was done. Over.
"You go around and sleep with ten people, you always eat burgers, you hate my brothers, you're sloppy, you sleep in the middle of class! You're the worst person I ever knew!"
Lee Ha Yeon's voice was rising in a shocking five degrees.
"And you somehow make me still believe in you! I hate you, because I can't stop loving you! You're troublesome, but you're my troublesome jerk, not anyone else's!"
It happened suddenly. Before he could register, his arms were around her in a tight embrace, and their tongues were in a battle of dominance. They broke apart just as quickly.
"So-"
"I won't forgive you. You deserve to be punished."
"And what is my punishment?"
"You, Alfred F. Jones, are to stay with me for the rest of your life."
The best punishment ever.
And he leaned in, cupping her face.
"Don't you know that's more of a reward than a punishment, cherie?"
Yao tapped his feet, as he gazed at the ballet dancers. They were in perfect syncronization, beautiful in their glory on the stage. Their body was one with the music, and Yao could feel the admiration of all the people heating up the place.
"They are remarkable."
Ivan spoke, his voice lowered. The man's voice was a bit scratchy, as if his throat was clogged. Yao tapped him on the shoulder, and saw something that disturbed him. The man was crying, tears clinging to his lashes.
The only thing he could do in the present situation was to pat the man on the back, just as he did to his brothers and sisters. Ivan continued to sniffle, and Yao continued to rub the taller man's back in circles.
"There, there. It's all right."
He couldn't do anything to stem the tears, which made it worse. Ivan was now leaning on him, crying softly.
"It's okay to be sad. Natural."
People were starting to stare at them, and Yao gave them an evil look that told them to shut up, or else.
"It's all right. It's Christmas Eve, isn't it?"
Ivan just continued to cry, leaving Yao to feel hopeless. He decided to do another thing he would normally never do. He took Ivan's hand which was obviously bigger than his-with both of his hands-and squeezed tight.
"You've done a good job this year. It's all right. Next year will be a better year, won't it? And the sun will come up in the-"
"BE QUIET FOR THE QUEEN'S SAKE!"
A voice he'd gotten used to over the years yelled at him, and Yao turned, eyes widened.
"Kirkland?"
The Englishman was ready to faint, and so was the Chinese CEO.
"Vat is Kirkland doing here?"
Ivan also turned, his eyes still teary.
"Why, that's toi ennemi(your enemy), Monsieur Wang!"
Francis Bonnefoy was also present, next to Kirkland, who now had fainted.
"I'm sorry."
They had decided to take leave during Intermission, and Ivan and Yao were in a coffee shop.
"It's okay to cry sometimes. You probably needed that. Everyone needs a little release."
Ivan's eyes were rimmed red, and Yao felt the dire need to tell him to stop crying.
"But you're crying too much. Your eyes won't look pretty if you cry for two hours straight."
The Mafia blinked, his eyes now filled with surprise.
"W...What?"
"If you cry too much your eyes will hurt. And-"
I am not telling him that he looks better smiling instead of crying. That sounds like one of the lines from Kiku's animes.
"Thank you for comforting me."
Ivan had calmed down, and there was a ghost of a smile on his pale face.
"I was... having a flashback about how much I wanted to dance."
"I'm sure you were a good dancer."
"Yes, Nat takes after me, she is in the school cheer team with Katya."
Now he sounded slightly proud, which lead Yao to speak another known fact.
"Of which my sister is captain."
"You have done such a good job with your siblings, I'm sometimes jealous."
"Jealous of me? My siblings are well, a mess. Kiku is addicted in cartoons. Mei has a crush on Kiku, since they're not biological family, and Ha Eung is mentally unstable. Ha Yeon has too many friends, and Leon is addicted with fireworks."
As Yao laughed, Ivan just sighed.
"Katya has a warm heart, but she is too soft to take the family business. Nat is... Nat. I fear I haven't done a good job with Natty."
It was a good thing that Ha Eung had brought the girl home a couple of times.
"Actually, I've seen your sister some times, and I think she has a lot of good in her. It's just hard to spot it."
"You really think so?"
And the man's face lit up in a way that warmed a part of Yao's heart.
"Yes, I really think so."
"Спасибо.(Thank you)"
Ivan took Yao's hand over the cup of coffee, and their stares locked.
"There you are!"
Both turned, and Yao immediately snatched his hand away.
"What-"
A very harrassed looking Arthur Kirkland with a mildly amused Francis Bonnefoy had now entered the shop.
"We've been searching high and low for you."
"And for what?"
"Today is the only day we can be free of our siblings and enjoy our freedom! So, why don't we go downtown and party like the 2000's?"
"That sounds-"
"-Wonderful."
The four adults left the coffee shop, for a crazy 'Adults Only' night of their own.
"Where-"
Ha Eung groaned. His head was splitting in two.
"You've gotten to your senses. Finally."
Natalia's voice was icy, and Ha Eung blinked a couple more times. The room he was in was dark. Natalia was sitting on a chair, her face cool.
"What happened?"
"You got drunk, and ruined your sister's love life, by asking her boyfriend how many girls he had slept with."
Oh, no.
"And-"
"Ten girls. Your sister left, and Jones followed soon after. That's true love."
Ha Eung sighed, wanting badly to vanish.
"He never did that when I was around."
Natalia's voice was soft, and accusatory. It took time for Ha Eung to understand what she had said.
"So-"
"I was included in that list."
It made sense. Natalia Bradinski was a pretty girl, and Jones-stupid as he was-was handsome.
"And what does it have to do with me?"
"You're not jealous?"
"Why do I have to be jealous of Jones because he slept around?"
Ha Eung stood, then stumbled-the stupid beer.
"Don't you have eyes?"
Why was she upset with him? Girls were difficult.
"I have Mongolian eyesight."
"Tell me what you think of me, honestly."
"You're cool. You understand me better than most. You're pretty, but you're prettier when you smile."
That was it. Nothing more. He studied his reflection in the mirror, straightening his tie.
"Anything else?"
"What more do you want to hear? You deserve to meet a handsome jock like Jones or a nice person like Toris, go to a good university and live happily ever after."
Natalia gave him a look of cool dismissal.
"I'm giving you the chance to be honest. Be honest, it's now or never."
"And why are you giving me the chance?"
He was starting to get the gist of what she was telling him.
"Because you deserve one."
"No, I don't. I'm a mentally unstable person who likes watching Hannibal."
Ha Eung's hand was on the doorknob, turning to go.
"безумный идиот!(Freaking idiot!)"
"Я могу понять русский.(I can understand Russian)"
And with that he left. Bradinski deserved someone good. Not someone like him, who would scratch and hurt her.
"Lee?"
It was Toris Laurinaitis, a senior who was known for being kind and gentle. He was also known for having a crush on Bradinski.
"She's in there."
He turned sharply, inhaling. As he reentered the living room, he saw Mei sitting alone on a chair, a smile playing on her face.
"Where's Honda?"
"I sent him to talk to Karpusi."
"But-"
"I can see him happy. At least he'll be happy."
"Let's go home."
"Yes."
Ha Eung put a hand on his sister's shoulder. They somehow understood each other, despite their differences.
"I'm hungry."
"I'll cook you ramen."
Love wasn't going to solve their problems, siblings could solve them.
"So, I saw you came with Mei."
Hercules stared at the floor, not quite looking Kiku in the eye.
"Yes, I did."
"Then why are you not with her?"
"Because she wanted me to talk to you about something?"
"And what-"
"Why didn't you ask me to come with you to the party?"
Hercules smiled at this.
"Well, Uncle Vargas wanted me to help him with something."
The teen held up a small bag.
"What-"
"It was for each of his students, a Christmas Present. He couldn't do all of this by himself, so I was doing this with him for the entire time. But it seems that most of them won't get this..."
Kiku took the bag, and stared at it for a long time. There were freshly-baked cookies tied up neatly, along with a handwritten note.
"This is..."
"I made yours seperately."
It was a blue bag, with choco-chip cookies.
"It has green-tea flavor. I'm sorry if it's not delicious, I've never tried baking before-"
"This is really sweet of you."
"You like it?"
"Of course."
Kiku blushed, hugging the bag.
"Actually, I have something to tell you."
"And what is it?"
"I-"
There was a commotion from the front door.
"Still here?"
It was Mr. Vargas, a lopsided grin on his face.
"Yes, Uncle. Most of them left, due to various reasons, or retired early."
"Ah, well, then I guess we have to clean up this mess."
Kiku stared at the celing with its balloons, then at the floor which was littered with beer, cigarettes, and food.
"This is going to take forever."
"The floor isn't going to clean itself, right?"
They decided to split up, and Kiku was now supposed to clean the living room. He smiled as he found a picture of himself, Ludwig and Feliciano hanging on the wall. There were three other pictures, one of Mr. Vargas and the boys, then one of Ludwig and Feliciano, and the last one of Lovino and Antonio. Something caught his attention, and Kiku frowned.
"Looking for something?"
"Mr. Vargas.."
The Latin teacher nodded, solemnly.
"That was for Hercules, so that he could hang his picture of his lover on the wall. It's been empty-as you can see-because he couldn't find the time to take a photo with you."
He could feel the heat getting to his face.
"Mr. Vargas, we're not-"
"My nephew's a good boy. Remember, good boys aren't there forever."
Romulus left Kiku stuttering and red, and the poor Japanese boy stumbled, falling face-flat on the floor.
"That was one great movie."
"Incredible."
Leon yawned, as he pulled the DVD out of the player. The night had been extremely short, when he was with Emil. The Nordic knew how to make things go fast, and among the things, Leon's heart was also included.
"So, when do you think the others will be back?"
"I don't know, I don't have any idea. Ha Yeon could pull an all-nighter. Ha Eung was normally back fast, but he's not coming-Yao, I thought he'd be back soon enough. It's already eleven."
"Don't fret."
Emil's words were comforting, and Leon muttered his thanks.
"What about your family?"
"Oh, them? They went shopping. They don't exactly mind how long I've been missing, I'm practically invisible."
That was a lie, for Emil's brothers were strongly protective of him, and had text-messaged him every thirty minutes.
"Liar."
"Well, not exactly."
The front door opened with a gust of air, and soon enough, Mei stood in the living room with Ha Eung, both of them red-cheeked and slightly shivering.
"Your sister's not home?"
Ha Eung sounded worried.
"No, she's not."
"Oh, great."
For some reason, the male twin grimaced, his face turning pale in the light.
"Don't fret, I'm sure she can protect herself."
Mei comforted him, and Ha Eung nodded, taking off his scarf along with his coat.
"I promised you ramen, didn't I."
"Ramen?"
Emil's eyes grew round.
"Please tell me you kids at least ate dinner."
There was a growling sound that told the twosome otherwise.
"Oh, great. Fine. Everybody's having ramen."
The seventeen year olds left for the kitchen, and Emil sat there with Leon, alone again.
"I...I have something to tell you."
Leon's eyelids fluttered at the words.
"And?"
"I..."
The front door opened, once more, and Ha Yeon entered the living room this time.
"Well, kiddos, did you enjoy your time?"
"Um, yes."
Emil nodded for sheer politeness, and Leon could see his sister was pleased, as she ruffled Leon's hair playfully.
"Merry Christmas, Emil, Leon-ah."
"The psycho was asking for you."
"He's here?"
Ha Yeon somehow looked shocked, but she too left for the kitchen.
"So, what was it you've been trying to tell me?"
Leon leaned in, curious, anticipating.
"I've known you for forever."
The Nordic sounded serious for once, and again-"I'll make these good girls go bad~"-the door opened, revealing an extremely plastered Yao, leaning on an equally drunk Ivan.
"What the-"
"Bye, Yao-yao!"
The Russian disappeared, and his highly giddy cousin-brother stumbled up the stairs. They could hear him bumping into furniture.
"Okay, that was weird."
"What was the thing you've been wanting to say?"
"I... I really l-"
The door opened yet again, and this time, Kiku, with snow covering his clothes, came shivering in, his ears tinted red.
"Well, Emil-kun, it's late! And it's snowing, you better be off on your way."
"Oh. Thank you, Kiku."
A crestfallen Emil stood from his seat, took his coat, and waved at Leon as he left. Leon glared at Kiku, who looked slightly stunned.
"What was going on in here?"
"You ruined everything!"
Ah, well. It wasn't like he couldn't wait or anything. He'd wait as long as he had to. He was patient. He could wait. And it was Christmas.
Author's Note: This was an awfully late Christmas Update. WOW. My grades are out, and I'm dead. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Thanks for all of you.