A/N: More Canako! Squee! Ehem... I don't know what it is, but she's so adorable! And so is Yong-Soo... I wish he could have made an anime appearance... "Offensive" my ass... He's cute. -3- You don't see us Americans complaining that our personification is a complete moron! Anyways~

Settin in New York for Himaruya~

I hope you like it~

Even though the temperature was well into the eighties, Matilda Williams was shivering like the last leaf before winter.

"Calm down, Mattie," the boy next to her said. He rubbed her shoulder to warm her up and offered his jacket. The blonde girl snuggled into it and scooted closer to him.

"Th-Thanks, Ismael. I don't really know why I'm shivering." Matilda gave a shy laugh.

"It's alright, sweetie, no need to explain yourself." Ismael wrapped his arm around her.

The two were sitting on a bench in the middle of Central Park. The night air was still more than warm from the sweltering day, but there was a slight and pleasant breeze. It was a regular sight to see; the two of them sitting on the same bench most nights.

Matilda's long blonde hair swayed in the wind, her one gravity-defying curl bouncing in front of her eyes. Ismael's own dark dreadlocks, tied into a ponytail, were swishing. This night, Matilda was holding a new stuffed bear that Ismael had won her at the arcade. It was fairly large and stared at you with a blank expression that made you question your own identity.

"Tonight was nice, thank you." Matilda smiled at her boyfriend. "I do wish Alfred and Yong-Soo would hurry up though…"

That's right, Ismael though. The two were waiting for Matilda's twin brother and his boyfriend to get back from their own date.

It's not like Ismael had anything against the other blonde, it was just that he could be so overbearing sometimes. And not to mention his boyfriend, Im Yong-Soo, had a habit of randomly grabbing at someone's chest and exclaiming, "Breasts belong to Korea, da ze!" Though that did warrant a couple laughs every now and again… As long as they weren't Matilda's.

"They should be here soon." Ismael glanced at his watch. It was almost ten.

And speaking of the devil, the two troublemakers were practically running down the dirt path towards Matilda and her date.

"Mattie!" Alfred shouted, causing some far off bugs to freeze for a moment before picking up their buzz again.

"H-Hi, Alfred." Matilda stood up and the twins hugged. They really were close, noted Ismael for the umpteenth time since he had met the two.

Yong-Soo announced himself, "Where's my hug?" He had his arms spread out, but Ismael stopped him before his prying hands could touch Matilda.

The girl giggled softly. "Hi, Yong-Soo. So are we going to all go out now?"

"I don't know. Does that Commie-Bastard promise to keep his hands off you while we're here?" Alfred glared at Ismael. Matilda turned a deep red.

"S-Shut up, Al." She slapped Alfred's shoulder and started walking down the path the two boys had just come from. "Anyways, did you guys get dinner yet?"

"Nah. We were actually hoping for some of your pancakes~" Yong-Soo nodded, not even trying to claim the breakfast item as originating from his homeland. Yeah, they were that good.

"You know I don't want to cook right now, Al. That's why we're out on the town." Matilda gave him a shrug. "We could visit Yao at his restaurant. He's always wanting more customers."

Yong-Soo shouted with joy. "We get to see big brother!" He then started running ahead of the group, arms spread like a plane. Where the South Korean ever got the energy was a mystery to them all.

"I thought you were going to burn off some energy in the city," Matilda thought aloud. "That doesn't look like burnt energy." She pointed to the hyper Korean.

"Hey. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean I don't. Besides, there's nothing to do in the city," Alfred whined. "Plus, there are some other ways to burn off energy." He said this with a waggle of his brow.

"S-Shut up, Al. I don't want to hear that." Matilda covered her ears. It's not like she had anything against her brother's sexuality, it's just… she didn't want to hear about what he did behind closed doors… or opened ones, unfortunately.

"Whatever you say, sis." Alfred ran up to Yong-Soo and the two ran around like little children.

"I don't want kids like those two," Ismael said absentmindedly. Matilda looked at him.

"You want kids?"

Ismael backtracked and blushed furiously. "I-I-I mean I wouldn't want to deal with someone like those two."

Matilda giggled. "It's okay. I know what you meant." Then she added with a whisper, "I still want children."

Ismael's blush returned full-force. "It's every girls dream, silly." Matilda laughed at him.

"Y-Yeah."

Yao Wang was from China and owned a very respectable Chinese restaurant on the quieter side of New York City. It was smushed between a family-owned clothing retail shop and a book store. The employees were all relatives of him, from Yong-Soo, his exuberant cousin, to Kiku Honda, his step-brother.

"Yao~!" Yong-Soo called as soon as he set foot into the small building. It was painted red, like the Chinese flag Yao loved so dearly, with yellow trimmings. Various Asian countries were highlighted at each table, from China it's self to Korea and even Taiwan.

"What?" A loud voice called from within the kitchen. The people dining throughout the establishment didn't seem bothered by the shouting. "I thought you were supposed to be working, aru!"

A tall, thin Chinese man pushed the swing-doors of the kitchen open. He was taking off a stained apron that once was a pristine white. His hair was tied into a long ponytail that fell to the small of his back.

Yong-Soo smiled at his favourite cousin. "You said I could take the week off." Not really, but it was worth a shot.

"Aiyaa. Whatever. Just tell Mei-Mei that she's going to fill your place when you get home."

"Will do. But first, we came to eat!" Yong-Soo jumped up.

Yao brightened up at that. "Why didn't you say so, aru? Go sit down and Kiku will be right with you." Yao practically scrambled back into the kitchen yelling for Kiku to go take orders.

A short, Japanese teenager quietly made his way towards their little group with a notepad and pen in hand.

"Hey, Kiku," Alfred greeted. Yong-Soo and Kiku weren't really on speaking terms right now. "How's it going?"

"It's going fine. What could I get you all to drink?" He turned his attention first to Matilda.

"J-Just a water, would be fine. Thank you, Kiku."

Kiku jotted down their drink orders and came back not five minutes later. "Are you ready to order?"

Yong-Soo spoke up, this time. "Have Hong make us something special." Kiku nodded (begrudgingly) and made his way back to the kitchen.

Matilda giggled. "He's such a sweetie."

"Too bad he's not straight, Mattie~" Alfred joked. Matilda blushed.

"Shut up, Al. I'm not getting rid of Ismael."

"I'm here to stay. Deal with it, Capitalist-Pig." Ismael returned the earlier Communist knock.

Alfred grumbled into his drink. After he got over himself (a miracle in its self), Alfred indulged himself in a heated discussion over how blankets with kitten prints were the cutest thing on Earth while Yong-Soo tried to convince him that they originated in Korea.

Matilda watched them for a few seconds until Ismael leant down and kissed her cheek. She turned a dark red, but returned the kiss.

She really didn't know what to do with herself. Ismael was too good.

Kiku returned with a steaming platter of various foods a few minutes later. He set each plate down at random. They thanked him and he told them to call when they were ready to pay.

Matilda looked at her own plate. It had a small red crab, a mix of garden vegetables and shredded duck. It smelled amazing. She would have to thank Hong later. He always knew what she liked, even though they had never officially met. She looked to see Ismael already eating some sort of warm noodle that had a brown-ish sauce poured over them.

Yong-Soo told Yao to put it on his tab. They didn't keep tabs. That ended up with Yao giving an earful to Yong-Soo and everyone paying for their own food.

Back on the cooling streets of New York, the group started walking in a random direction, letting the empty streets lead them where they may.

Alfred and Yong-Soo were walking behind Ismael and Matilda, hands entwined. Alfred was whispering something to the Asian who had a slight blush and squirmed every few seconds. They shared a few kisses.

Matilda leaned onto Ismael as they walked, their own hands entwined. She breathed in his scent; a combination of banana flavoured ice cream and men's body wash. The familiar smell always filled her with warmth.

"Tonight was really nice," she said again in a quiet voice, just meant for Ismael. The large teenager nodded. In her free hand, she held onto the stuffed bear from earlier. Its soft fur was warm and made her fairly sleepy. She stifled a yawn.

Ismael chuckled. "I'm guessing today was a bit eventful. I guess, with those two…" He pointed behind him where the two boys were currently making out while trying not to fall over as they walked. Matilda nodded with another yawn.

"I think our apartment is up ahead," she said sleepily. She nuzzled her blonde head against Ismael's arm. "Thanks for tonight."

"It's no problem," Ismael said, trying not to yawn himself. "You're definitely worth it." He leant down and kissed her.