Nate returned the woman's stare with one of granite. No child should have been able to put up a defense like that, to be capable of completely looking through a person as though they didn't exist. Children are famed for their perception, their unique insights into the complications of life.

Nate didn't care.

This Nona person was refusing to give him his toy back. She pushed the paper across the table firmly, returning his stare with one just as solid. The crayons rolled across the table, some even to the floor, and Nate regarded the blank sheet like a snake waiting to bite him. His large, dark eyes flicked between the small Hispanic woman and the crayons again.

"Draw something."

His lip curled in a slight sneer, something that he wasn't aware he could do. His finger wrapped itself into his hair again, tugging continuously, mimicking the tight string of irritation that those big brown eyes inspired.

"If you want Optimus Prime back, you will draw something."

He sighed…huffed rather, turning his eyes to the window, and tried to ignore the head of his action figure that was just visible over the table's edge. This Nona lady took no prisoners…the toy was clutched firmly in her lap. The plastic stare was almost accusing. She'd come in without a word and swept her arm over the small table, sending his toys to the floor. Before he could move to defend it, she'd taken his favorite, his Transformer, and plucked it from his small hands like a grape from the vine.

Nate's mouth had actually fallen open in surprise.

The paper and crayons hit the table with a rattle, and she pulled up the chair across from him. Optimus Prime settled into her lap and fist like a prisoner of war, and so the battle of wills had begun.

And that had been three hours ago.

Every fifteen minutes or so, she'd prompt him to draw something…specifically anything he'd dreamed about recently. A ball of white yarn came to mind immediately, but that was ridiculous. Why would he dream about yarn?

And anyway, it was white yarn…one could not draw white yarn on white paper. He'd need black construction paper or something of that sort.

"Near, draw something."

She hadn't actually threatened Nate, or his toy even…but something about the request didn't sit well with him. Something about it made him want to leave, and never mind Optimus and the war they'd been waging on the X-men. Her voice grated on his nerves, her soft Spanish accent digging in beneath his skin and giving him the urge to squirm in his seat. He didn't however, just returned that hard stare with his own.

The clock ticked on.

"Draw something."

Nate contented himself to musing over their differences, and how it could be indicative of their place of birth. It wasn't anything scientific, or even overly advanced…just something that his child's mind would think on. The way he was white, like the colder place that he lived in…and she was brown. Dark brown hair and eyes…even her skin was darker than his, the color of wood. She was middle aged, and he was a child, but he knew even then that he'd outgrow her…he'd be tall and lanky, and she'd always be small and stout.

"Near, you have to draw something."

He really wished she would stop talking. The tug at his temple became sharper every word. His eyes often strayed…in fact, it was quite gratifying to listen to her sigh when he ignored her. His slight sneer stayed in place, though he was completely unaware of it. Optimus Prime stared back at him, his shiny face plate glinting in the sunlight. He was the leader of a fierce robot army, of course, and so Nate was very proud to have this particular action figure in his armada.

"You can have him back if you draw something."

Nate didn't even glance at her, just moved his eyes from the shiny toy back to the wall. He rested his chin on his knee and stared off into space.

Hours crawl when one has someone insistent to share them with. Really, it was ridiculous how slowly time passed. Seven hours and counting had gone between the two of them, Optimus, and that blank sheet of paper. The sun had long set in the window, and Nate thought that if she asked him to draw something one more time, he'd rip the hair from his head.

She opened her mouth, and he cut her off with a raised hand, still staring out the window. She cocked her head to the side, a smile beginning in one corner of her mouth. Nate turned his eyes back to hers slowly, his lips carving that sneer out the ice of his expression.

She waited.

He made her wait.

Finally, with a last glance at Optimus, his hand strayed from his hair to the crayon box. His small fingers selected a single stick of colored wax, the black one, and he regarded the paper for another moment.

His eyes met hers again, and she nodded…likely to encourage him. Seven hours will wear on one's patience however, and he was anything but obliged. He sighed through his nose and drew the paper across the table to rest in front of him. He set the crayon stick to the page, and she leaned forward.

He cut his eyes at her and she pulled back again, pursing her lips. Optimus cursed him over the expanse of table-top.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and then let the pen move. He didn't look at the page as he drew, and instead pinned Nona's eyes defiantly. He refused to let her look at the paper, the tiny, distasteful sneer still pulling at his lips.

Three seconds later, he stood abruptly, snatching the page up before she could glance at it and holding it to his chest, concealing his work.

She waited.

He made her wait longer.

The crayon stick fell to the table and rolled against the box when he tossed it down. His face still nearly unreadable, his eyes still deathly cold, he turned the page around in one smooth movement, his fingers at the top. He gave her five seconds to acknowledge the tiny scribble in the heart of the white paper.

A small black smiley face.

Five seconds exactly, and then he ripped it smoothly in two. The halves were still drifting to the table when the door slammed behind him.

Nona sat there for another minute, trembling. The action figure clacked hard against the table as she slammed it down and rested her head in her hands.

"Shit."