A/N: Sorry for the lateness! My only excuse is... school. T.T

The door opened quickly after Yao knocked, revealing a tall girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She had enormous breasts that almost seemed to make noise when she moved.

"Hello. Can I help yo-" She stopped halfway through when she noticed the black eye and the various bruises spread about Yao's body. "Oh my god! What did Ivan do to you? You poor dear!" She began to tear up and hugged Yao tightly. Her grip was firm and it stung Yao's bruises while her breasts were nearly suffocating him.

"Ivan didn't do this-aru." Yao clarified, pushing away from her. "Actually, if it weren't for him, this would have been a lot worse."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry. When I saw you, I assumed the worst… anyways, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could give this to Ivan?" Yao lifted up the meal, which he had placed in a box then wrapped in a silk handkerchief. "I made it as a 'thank you' for Ivan saving me-aru."

"Oh that…" She began to tear up again. "That's so sweet! Oh, you must come in. Get out of the cold!" She grabbed Yao's wrist and pulled him inside. "By the way, my name's Katyusha, what's your name?"

"Uh… I'm Wang Yao." Yao said, distracted by the interior of the house. It was a lot fancier than he had anticipated. He didn't think that Ivan would live in a "nice" neighborhood like this one.

"Okay, Yao. I'll go make us some coffee. Brother should be in his room. It's up the stairs and to the left, three doors down." She pointed to the grand staircase. "I'm sure he'll love your gift." Without another word she headed to the kitchen. Hesitantly, Yao went up the stairs. As he walked he observed the spotless wooden floor and the eerie glow the walls seemed to emit from their shine. It seemed so organized and clean that it was scary. Finally he reached Ivan's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Ivan said. His voice sounded uneasy for some reason. Yao hesitantly opened the door and was nearly blinded. The room was large and all of the walls were painted an eerie white except for the eastern one, which was an enormous window with two white drapes pulled to either side. The room was void of almost any furniture. There was a king-sized bed against one wall with white sheets and pillows, and a small bedside table and dresser beside it. Across the room there was a white desk with a matching chair. The only things in the room that had color was the random textbooks from school that were scattered about his desk, and the ceiling, which was painted to look like a massive sunflower field. Currently, Ivan was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling so intently that he didn't noticed who had come into the room.

"Uh… ni-hao, Ivan…" Yao began cautiously. Ivan bolted upright and smiled at Yao with that annoying, childish grin.

"Hello, Yao-Yao! What are you doing here?" Ivan beamed. "I thought you were… never mind, it's not important."

"Okay. I… decided to give you this as a thanks for helping me-aru." Yao held the package towards Ivan who cradled it in his arms like one might hold a kitten. "It's lo mein and moo goo gaipan."

"You want to eat it together?" Ivan asked, now fumbling with the package in his bulky gloves.

"Eh? No. I made it for you-aru." Yao replied.

"Well you might as well have something you like for dinner, da?"

"What do you mean? I'm not staying that long."

"Not in this weather." Ivan pointed to the window, where thick flakes of snow were rapidly falling from the sky.

"Aiyaaa… how will I get home-aru?"

"Don't worry." Ivan put his hand on Yao's shoulder. "Stay with us."

"No." Yao protested, shrugging the hand off. "I'm sorry, but I can't impose." Ivan grabbed Yao again and stared deeply at him, his eyes lit like purple flames.

"You're not imposing. I insist." Yao finally couldn't take the pressure and nodded.

It turned out there was more than enough food to feed Ivan, Katyusha and Yao. Natalia did not show up for dinner, for reasons unknown. Afterwards, Yao headed towards the large, rectangular guest room with a four-poster bed that had red sheets, a matching dresser beside it and a small desk. There was a small window to the west that framed the bleak, snow-covered landscape outside. Yao looked around cautiously and, as soon as he knew he was alone, called Kiku.

"Moshi-moshi?" Kiku answered, his tone sounded more frantic than usual.

"Ni-hao, Kiku. It's me-aru." Yao replied.

"Yao! Where have you been? I… I assumed the worst."

"You're such a pessimist!" Yao laughed. "I'm fine. It's a blizzard over here, so I'm staying the night-aru." There was a brief pause until Kiku uneasily responded.

"Onii-chan… please be careful." Without another word he hung up, and Yao couldn't help but giggle at his younger brother's response.

"It's been years since he called me "onii-chan". Yao said, a small smile creeping across his face. He tucked himself into bed, reassuring himself that the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner he could leave this dreary place and spend time with his brothers. He flicked off the light and soon fell asleep.

Yao was awoken when he heard a loud clatter and felt a sudden weight on his chest. He flicked on the lamp that was beside him only to find that Natalia was sitting on top of him, holding a knife and above her head and was ready to strike. When she noticed him wake up, she held the knife to his throat and glared.

"Why are you here, and what the hell do you want with my dear brother?" She demanded.

"Huh? Nothing! I wanted to leave, but I couldn't because of the storm-aru!" "That's a lie! I know you're lying! I see the way he looks at you, and no one's going to take my brother from me!" She raised the knife again, and looked ready to kill when it slipped from her hand. She turned in frustration only to find that Ivan had come into the room unnoticed and taken it. "Brother dear!" She gasped.

"Natalia, didn't I tell you to be a good girl, especially when we had guests?" Ivan said, sounding tired.

"But brother, dear! She's trying to take you from me! I'm just doing what's best for both of us!" Ivan wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the bed, causing her to blush. He set her down and she remained silent from the shock.

"Go to bed, Natalia. We'll talk about this later. It's almost two a.m." Ivan said calmly.

"Fine, but only for you brother. I'm still going to kill that girl!" She stormed out of the room and down the hall until they heard a door shut. Both Ivan and Yao let out a sigh of relief.

"What was that all about-aru?" Yao saked.

"That's… well, I doted upon Natalia too much as a kid, and now she wants to marry me… basically."

"Okay then." Yao replied awkwardly. "Well thanks for the help." He rolled over in bed and waited for Ivan to leave, but heard no sound. "Aren't you going back to bed-aru?"

"No. The moment I leave, she'll come back and slit your throat." Ivan said rather cheerfully. "So I'll just stay here, da?" Yao shivered though he was warm under the sheets. The last thing he wanted was this creeper watching him sleep. But that's better than getting your throat slit by an incestuous, homicidal little sister. Yao curled up under the sheets so that his head barley poked out, and he glanced at Ivan. His violet eyes glowed in the dark, but in a way that slowly lulled Yao to sleep.

The bright sun reflecting off of the snow woke Yao early the next day. Too lazy to get up, he rolled over, and was shocked to find Ivan asleep beside him. Yao quickly covered his mouth so Ivan wouldn't hear his gasp and wake up.

Aiyaa! What is he doing here? Yao thought frantically. Yao eventually calmed down, but didn't move in fear of waking Ivan. He eventually focused his eyes on Ivan's face. He was dead asleep; his face pale-white and his silver hair was draped messily over his eyes. That's when Yao noticed a small bruise on his left cheek. Alfred must have done that, Yao assumed. I'd hit him too if I were about to be beaten with a water pipe. He looked at his own bruises, which were ever so slightly beginning to fade. I hope Alfred is alright.

Yao's gaze eventually landed on the soft and fuzzy fabric of the Russian's scarf. How can he sleep with that thing on, Yao wondered. He tugged quietly on the scarf and Ivan's eyes shot open, and he quickly knocked Yao's hand away.

"Don't touch my scarf." Ivan gave Yao a stern look, his eyes glowing menacingly.

"Sorry. I thought you looked uncomfor- wait, why are you sleeping in my bed-aru?"

"Because the desk chair isn't that comfortable." Yao glared and got up.

"It stopped snowing. I should go now." Yao attempted to get off the bed, but was pulled down by Ivan.

"Aww, why so soon?" He pouted.

"I have homework to do! Leggo!" Yao protested.

"But I won't see you for awhile…" Ivan complained.

"Huh? Why not?" Yao felt Ivan's arms slowly release him, so he sat up.

"I've been suspended for three weeks."

"Three? Why so long?" Yao questioned. "Alfred was only suspended for two. Besides, you're the one that saved me-aru!"

"They don't trust me." Ivan shrugged. "This wasn't the first time I beat someone up with a pipe."

"Okay then…" Yao hesitated. He really didn't want to know anything more. "I really need to go-aru."

"…Fine. I'll miss you, da?"

"Why?"

"Because you're my only friend." Yao noticed the Russian's face looked sad and serious for once and he was overcome with pity. What would a girl do in this situation? Nervously, he crawled to where Ivan sat on the bed and hugged him cautiously.

"Thanks for helping me out-aru." Yao mumbled half-heartedly. Yao tried to le go, but Ivan quickly grabbed his waist and squeezed tight, beaming.

"Yao-Yao likes me! Yao-Yao likes me!" Ivan chanted.

"Quit calling me that-aru!" Yao eventually squirmed out of his grip and headed out the door. "See you in three weeks."

"Da! Bye!" Ivan replied cheerfully.

When Yao headed out, he was greeted by Katyusha who made him coffee and toast. Much to his relief, Natalia didn't seem to be around.

"Well, I hope to see you again sometime." Katyusha said, tearing up yet again. "Sorry, I'm terrible with goodbyes!" She engulfed Yao into another life-threatening hug.

"Yeah, see you later." Yao said, pushing away for gasps of air. Just as he was about to leave, the front door swung open, revealing a tall man in a gray overcoat. He had black hair that was slowly graying, a thick mustache and beady, dark eyes. He glared down at Katyusha and Yao, his presence even more unsettling than Ivan's.

"Who the hell is this?" His accent was heavy, and Yao had a hard time understanding him.

"Father," Katyusha began. "This is Yao Wang. She's one of Ivan's friends at school."

"Hello, sir." Yao bowed, not wanting to make any direct contact with this man. "

"Huh. So that boy actually made a friend?" He chuckled menacingly then walked down the hall.

"Sorry… Like I said, see you later!" Katyusha pushed Yao outside hastily and shut the door behind her.

"What was that all about-aru?" Yao wondered out loud. Maybe it's best I don't know…

A/N: I WANT COFFEE AND TOAST! 10 Awesome points to whoever actually got that reference. As usual, I would like to thank everyone for all of the favorites and reviews. What people write is amusing, da? (^J^) Anyways, sorry about the lateness. This week was just as busy as hell, and it's not even finals time yet! Summer, please hurry up! ...Enough ranting. I'll give you a sneak peak for the next chapter: Guess who like totally like makes like another appearance! It's exactly who you think it is.