A/N: I am not late. No. Who said that?
Seriously, a lot of things have been happening recently and I haven't had the time to write as much as I would have liked to. Thus, I didn't update, although I do have a few chapters in advance~ On another note, my American friend is here so we spent time together, and school is starting again tomorrow for me. Uh. Third and final year of high school. I don't wanna Q_Q

Another also tells you that plotbunnies have been running in my head and seem to like it up there, for they have already have a lot of little plotbunnies and my brain's kind of running out of space now. Another AU, more Asian-centric, in a parallel universe. nothing is written so far, I'm only planning for now. And having fun.

I enjoyed writing these four together. Have a mass introduction chapter~! Also, thanks to the amazing frayedshoelace on LiveJournal for actually beta-reading this (also LJ seemed not to like me when I sent her the story per pm, so she only beta'd the first part)! Enjoy a pretty chapter now :D

Сбор всей семьи - "Family reunion" (Russian)

Word count : 1472

It was cold around this time of the year. Very cold. Cold enough to remind him of the country where he was born. The streets were empty, almost nobody dared to come out of their house, so why would they be walking through the city? He didn't particularly mind, because most humans were a nuisance anyway.

He put his hand against the glass surface of the door, pushed it open although the sign clearly read 'closed', and walked in. It was warm, typical of his sister not to let the flowers whither. Someone else walked into the room.

"Excuse me, but the shop is not open..." The speakertrailed off. The shop was closed, but that didn't mean that family wasn't allowed to enter.

"Toris, it has been a very long time."

The man gulped.

"I have come to see my sister, I hope you don't mind getting her for me?" he smiled.

"Yes... I mean, no, of course not... I mean, I'm going to–"

"Please, Toris, no need to be so formal. We know each other for long enough, yes?"

Toris hurried away into the back shop without further comment, leaving the man alone, smiling. He turned around and looked at the array of flowers. She did always take care of them and make them beautiful and perfect; it was of great importance to her. He reached out to touch a sunflower, but before his fingers could brush against the large petals, he drew back as ifthey had hurt him. They were fragile and so warm...

"Brother?" asked someone softly from behind him. He turned around to face her, and his smile turned into a frown.

"Where's Kai?"

"Right here, man." Another man said, coming into the room just at that moment. "Thought I wouldn't have to stay right next to her, since you're here."

The man kept on frowning, his eyes getting a little darker. "How could you have known it was going to be me if you didn't see me before? You have been very careless, Kai. Protect my sister. That is all that I have ever demanded you do."

"Y'know, when Toris comes down all trembling it's usually you. He never reacts like that with anyone else, even your other sister. And shit if she's not a lot scarier than you are."

"Natalya is a good person, Kai. Please, I think Ivan wanted to tell me something..." His sister hardly ever interrupted a conversation, but if the way she was looking at him was anything to go by, it was more of a 'leave as long as you have the time to' than a 'go away, you're annoying'. Iryna was not like that, but always caring and gentle.

"Gotcha, I'll stay downstairs, with Toris. Maybe he'll agree to have a game of poker with me this time... though he'll probably lose!" Kai walked away, down the stairs, laughing loudly. The two remaining people in the room waited for him to be out of range of sight and hearing, before the taller of the two finally spoke up, "His boss sure has been rubbing off on him, don't you think, sister?"

Iryna chuckled. "Gilbert has always been particular, but he is nice." She looked at her brother for a few moments, then extended her arms and pressed him closer to herself. "It's been a long time, Ivan. I missed you so much..."

"I missed you too." He held her tightly, but she barely noticed, already used to his tight embraces. "But unfortunately, I have come bearing bad news. I wish I didn't have to come to see you just for these announcements." He stared at her, expression grave and eyes serious. "Iryna, do you feel safe?"

She smiled. "With Kai here I have nothing to fear."

"But he can't protect you at all times!" Ivan looked slightly panicked, she noticed. "I don't want anything to happen to you. What would I do otherwise? There aren't enough of us, and we don't really know them. We can't face them now!"

"Ivan." She used her 'I'm your big sister and I won't lie to you, okay?', voice. It always worked with him. "I told you... I will be all right."

He looked away, mumbling something.

"Ivan, please. The more you will try to protect me-"

"The more they'll notice you. I know…"

"You worry too much, Ivan," she whispered, smiling warmly at him. She rubbed her face against his shoulder, then looked up again. "Especially about me." Blue eyes locked with worried dark purple; then she pinched his nose. "Stop thinking I can't take care of myself. After all, I did raise you and Natalya pretty much by myself, didn't I?"

He smiled again. "You did."

They stood there in silence, until Iryna broke it. "So. You came with bad news? I wish I could associate your visits for something else than deaths and tragedies. You deserve better than that, Ivan."

He remained silent. How would he tell her without hurting her or making her cry? His sister had been a crybaby back in those years, but she'd managed to get it under control recently and he hated to see her cry. Mostly because Iryna hadn't done anything to deserve anything worth crying over.

"They are getting ready. History is going to repeat itself."

"You mean..." Oh no, she was close to tears. He could hear it.

"Yes. The heat wave is getting closer and closer."

She sniffed, her embrace around him tightening as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. He whispered his last words. "And it will be very violent..."

(- -)

"Sorry, Toris." Kai laid his cards out. "Full house! Too bad for you!"

Toris smiled. "I seem not to be able to get used to this..."

"To what, losing?" Toris laughed.

"No, no, I mean to poker. When I play a game with my friend, I usually am the one who loses."

"Feliks, huh? Well, he's got a strange way of winning, too, you gotta admit that. Maybe if you had more self-confidence, you'd win more often?"

"I don't think assurance has anything to do with that."

"I think you underestimate yourself terribly, little guy." He wondered why he was always called little, young or small, though technically, they were the same age and almost the same hight. "Look at Gilbert, he's never doubted his abilities and look what he's become!"

"Gilbert is a special case," the Lithuanian answered, smiling calmly. "I don't think you can use him as a reference for something like this."

Kai laughed loudly. "Maybe, but he's made something out of his life, at least. You should also think about that, Toris." he winked at him. "I mean, that Ivan's sister, didn't you think she was cute a few years back? You should really think about getting laid, man. I'm sure the ladies would all be swooning over you!"

If only he knew, Toris thought, blushing. "Natalya does not have any interest in me." He replied, his voice just the slightest bit nervous, but the Dane seemed not to notice it.

"Oh, she told you off?" She had threatened him with a knife and he had ended up bruised at places he didn't remember her touching, so she had been quite persuasive, yes.

"Kind of..." He took the cards sprawled all over the table and started to tuck them into the box.

"Oh, come on, Toris! There has to be someone you're having your eye on, right?"

Maybe there was. Actually, Toris didn't really know himself. There was Svenja, that very pretty and sweet girl with the overprotective brother he had gotten to talk to a few times ; Erzsébet, the rose with thorns, as some liked to call her ; Serena, the always happy island girl ; Iryna, and of course, Natalya...

And, uh, yes. Feliks too.

Feliks, who'd helped him out when he had nowhere to go.

Feliks, who'd almost been killed on their first encounter.

It really was a strange thing that fate had decided to throw him into that day. He still had no idea why he had helped him out, in the end... Not like it mattered. It was over ; their lives had changed.

"So?" The voice startled him. "What about it? Any cute girls in sight?"

"What? No! … I mean, why would you care? Don't... I could, I just don't, at the moment, feel like-"

"I get it, you don't want to talk about it. Geez, you should really think about finding someone, though : you're getting old."

"… We are the same age."

"So what? I would have no difficulties finding anyone, if I wanted to- Hey! What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." Toris said, smiling, and hiding his straight flush in the box with the other cards.

Mass introductions :

Ivan Braginski [26] is a very over-protective little brother, whom I'd like to keep a bit secret for the moment since it would reveal too much of the plot at once otherwise :)

Iryna Braginskaya [27] owns a flower shop in Burchee where she has two 1/2 employees : Toris, Kai, and sometimes Yong Soo when he's not being too busy. She's kind and wants to help people out whenever she can, which causes her brother to worry a lot about her.

Toris Lorinaitis [28] Is a man whose past isn't known by anyone but Feliks, Ivan, and Natalya, who he's (been?) in love with. He works at Iryna's flower shop because it's one of the only places where he actually did find a job.

Kai Petersen [28] is my fan-made name for Denmark (I tend not to take the fannon names because it makes me think the names I chose are more unique). Kai was born in Denmark and encountered some troubles with the law. Ivan got him out of this, brought him to Burchee, helped him to find a job, all this on the condition of protecting his elder sister. He's one of the only ones Ivan remotely trusts.

Also, please forgive me for I know nothing about poker except for 1 : you play with cards and, 2 : you have to, somehow, win. Yeah, I suck. But if I trust my researches, a straight flush wins over a full house. If it's even possible to have those two in one single party. Again, I know nothing about it.