"Jao!" The Russian called out and wrapped his arms protectively around a gigantic bag of seeds.
Yao whirled around with a curved smile and abandoned his pruners. He took the bag from the blond with his gloved hands.
"Let me see aru." He peeked into the plastic bag feverishly and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds. "Looks good to me."
"Da. What are you doing?"
"Trimming." Yao placed the bag on the ground gingerly and tossed the Russian a pair of gloves and a spade. "Well, shall we start aru?"
The two managed to settle in a spacious corner and focused intently on their planting. They splayed the seeds into an enormous pot. Ivan personally didn't think it was arduous work even though he had always heard that gardening required additional patience and vivid interest. He wasn't exactly into this sort of past-times but as long as Yao was beside him, he was always absorbed thoroughly in the activity.
"I look forward to seeing them blossom," Yao grinned, satisfied with his work. He wiped off beads of sweat dripping down his forehead and took off the sullied gloves. He grabbed his bottle from the table and guzzled down the water.
"Da. Thank you so much, Jao," Ivan beamed, still unable to remove his eyes from pot.
"Are you going to keep staring at the soil until the sprouts come out?" Yao chuckled, leaping agilely onto the wooden table.
"Nyet. Is there something else we have to do?"
"Not really. Just remember to water it every day but oh well, I will be here taking care of these plants anyway."
Ivan nodded and flopped down beside the Asian.
"I met an old friend last week," Ivan piped up.
"And?"
"The one I told you about."
"Oh…the one you had a little skirmish with?"
"I have to tell you something, Jao." Ivan took a deep breath and stared at his feet sullenly.
"是?"
"Um…" The Russian fidgeted. The Chinese boy gently patted Ivan's shoulder with an encouraging smile, almost as if he had long predicted the imminent confession.
"Go on."
"I'm not…really who you think I am, Jao…" Ivan sighed.
"Oh, then, who are you?" Yao asked and nestled his head on the other's shoulder.
Ivan scooted closer to the Chinese boy reflexively.
"I...am a creep da? That's what they all call me behind my back," Ivan admitted bluntly. "And…I really am. I did something terrible…something unpardonable in the past. I was very grouchy…very feisty and…tactless…I hurt someone I cared. I drove away a friend because of my selfishness."
"Then did you reconcile with each other?"
"I don't know…I did what you told me. Be generous. Be friendly. Apologize and admit my own faults. He said he forgave me and even invited me to join his club. I guess…it's settled, da?"
"Yes aru. You did excellent!" Yao smiled brightly. "Isn't this a good news then? Perhaps we should celebrate aru."
"Jao, don't you think that I'm a freak?"
"What?"
"Aren't you scared? Sometimes, I'm lost and I lose temper easily and-"
"You've never lost your temper in front of me, which I think is fine. Even if you can't control your outrage, I'm not scared because we are friends, okay? Friends stick to each other till the end. They accept each other's inadequacies. What makes people compatible is the way they complement each other and balance out the other's shortcomings, right?"
"Da…you're right. I just thought that you might actually hate me for that. They think I'm queer."
"Unique is the right vocabulary aru. I'm so done with keeping up my appearance and living up to others' expectations." Yao snorted, "I'll tell you a secret aru, since you're such a good friend."
The Chinese boy rose and whispered into Ivan's ear quietly, "I'm devising a runaway plan aru."
"A-what?"
"This is my last year here. I'll heading for the entrance exams soon," Yao sighed. "Dad wants me to get into a local university, with the top ranking of course. I don't think I really want to do that. The college I wish to get into isn't his muse but I'm thinking of moving out sooner or later anyway. And I won't be inheriting his business at all. I'll just achieve whatever I want to and lead a carefree life."
"What do you want to be?"
"Me? This is…er…" the Chinese boy blushed and giggled nervously. "I want to be a chef. I want to own my own restaurant and…well…what's else…I just want to live as an independent person and perhaps sometimes I get my leisure from gardening, hair-style or other part-time. It sounds fun and at least, it is much better than getting stuck in an executive office calculating profits and launching tedious business proposals. I don't want to live for anyone else. The life is mine, right?"
"Da. Jao is amazing," Ivan smiled. "I agree with you. I think you should do something you like. Jao will still be my friend after you graduate, da?"
"Of course! I will come back often, Yi-wan. And don't you slack off! I will leave this greenhouse into your care and…I will…" Yao trailed off, staring out of the glass windows.
"What?"
Yao hushed. Ivan followed his glance and immediately knew what had interrupted the Asian's talking.
There, standing outside the greenhouse, was Alfred. The American was crunching his chocolate cracker when he spotted Ivan inside. He stared blankly at the Russian. The two exchanged a rather unpleasant glare but didn't bicker. Ivan watched Alfred frown in utter bemusement before scurrying back to the stairs and vanishing from the rooftop completely.
"I hate him."
"Alfred. F. Jones?"
"You know him?" Ivan gasped and blinked incredulously at Yao.
"The self-claimed hero of the school but is in fact a big bully, haha. Why wouldn't I know him aru? He's the most unbelievable person I've ever seen. To think that he never actually respects any of us sophomores."
"Da. I wish I could crush him into pieces with a pipe."
"Aiyah! That's violent, Yi-wan!"
"Just kidding," Ivan laughed. "I wonder why he looked so scared, da? I didn't even say anything."
"Your demeanor alone drove him away. I told you to be friendly aru."
"I can't be friendly to someone I don't like, da?"
"Well, that makes sense to me. Where were we again?"
"You said you will leave the greenhouse to me and…?"
"Oh that's right! I will wait for you," Yao asserted. "So, don't ever screw up your exams like that stupid Prussian. It's his second year being stuck in grade 11. He's supposed to be with us."
"Da, he has a very little brain. Who can blame him?" Ivan smiled.
"Aiyah, you're giving me that creepy smile again aru!"
"Sorry."
"You can't change, can you?" Yao scoffed, poking the other's cheeks gleefully. "Never mind. You're good the way you are."
"Jao." Ivan paused, clasping the Asian's hands firmly. A moment of silence took the reign before the Chinese boy broke the tranquility with a cough, hinting just how embarrassed he was being stared at so seriously by the other party. "Last time you told me a tale da."
"It was a Chinese legend. Yea, what about it?"
"I was wondering why they couldn't be together," Ivan asked.
"Because the cowherd was a human and the weaving maid was a fairy. Their fates shouldn't have crossed." Yao explained, leaning listlessly against the Russian.
"You know you never finished the story. Did they get to meet each other again after being separated by the Queen of Heaven?"
"Oh right, I didn't tell you the ending, did I?" Yao glimpsed the Russian and realized that he was still waiting for the last part of the tale. "Well…after the the Queen of Heaven discovered their illegitimate marriage, she commanded the weaving maid to return to heaven. They forced her to leave her husband and children. However, despite the atrocious separation, their love for each other remained as strong as ever. They pleaded, of course, to be reunited. The heaven was touched and showed compassion by allowing them to meet each other once a year. They were banished to the opposite ends of the Silver River but every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, flocks of magpies would form a bridge in Milk Way for them to reunite. That's how one of our festivals, 七夕 was born."
"I don't get it da. If they love each other, why can't they be together forever?" Ivan retorted critically.
"Aiyah, this is how the story goes. Because they are not the same species!"
"Still, shouldn't they-"
"Yi-wan, in Chinese, we believe in 緣. It's a similar concept to 'fate'. When 緣 ends, love is gone. It's like searching for the right one among the crowd. At the same time you're searching for that person, they are also looking for you. It all depends on timing and destiny. If you two have 緣分, then you're destined to be together. What I'm trying to say is, Yi-wan, love stories don't always sum up with a 'happily ever after'. It doesn't matter if you sympathize with the characters or not, there're so many factors attributing to the tragic fall of a relationship. Sentiments from us bystanders never work to change anything."
"I feel sad," Ivan muttered forthrightly. "It doesn't make sense to me…It isn't fair. Your tales are always so depressing."
"Life is never fair to begin with." Yao shrugged indifferently and laid his head down on Ivan's lap. "I can tell you more if you like."
"Is this one going to be happier?"
"I don't know, maybe."
"Let me hear it."
"There was once a beautiful hare that possessed magical powers. He had never seen the outside world, for he was always locked and sheltered inside a cage. Its existence served the sole purpose of appeasing the royalty. He was a prince's dearest pet." Yao recited, "One day, the prince went on a voyage and brought the hare with him. As they passed the woods, the cage was forgotten by the servants. For the first time in his life, the hare was able to see something extremely different from the palace. It was the forest; the place he ought to belong to. As the prince discovered his pet missing, he started looking everywhere for him. The hare panicked and at this time, a creature appeared. It was a wolf that had been targeting the magical hare for a while, prowling cautiously inside the bushes and observing his chance. He knew the hare had never been exposed to the outside world so he approached him. The hare's instincts warned him that the wolf was spiteful and yet he was his only savior. And so, the wolf asked if he yearned to be set free from the cage. The hare wavered for a moment, not certain of the wolf's intention. Either he got stuck inside the cage for the rest of his life, living merely as pet for the prince or he broke free from the constraints and lived as a wild animal once. He chose the latter. The wolf destroyed the cage and saved him. The hare was beyond grateful. Instead of devouring his prey, however, the wolf decided to befriend him and earned his trust. The hare followed the wolf into the woods and saw lots of amazing things he had always only be able to see in his dreams. Believe it or not, the hare fell irreversibly in love with the wolf. He didn't realize that the wolf was in fact his predator and that he was saving him for a particular reason. The hare soon grew bigger and it looked ever so delicious to the wolf. Then, there came one day it was surrounded by a pack of wolves. It turned out that the wolf had brought along his companions to share the meal. Once they ate the hare up, they would be granted immortality and could live forever without the threat of being hunted. The hare didn't flee, for he couldn't. He didn't loathe the wolf either, even if he felt wholly misled. He thanked the wolf for saving him and for giving him an opportunity to live like a real hare in wildlife."
Ivan shifted uncomfortably in his seat and ogled the Asian, a disturbed expression plastered all over his face as he struggled to register Yao's speech.
"Well, this is."
"Wait, this is even worse than the previous one da? Jao must be joking, eh?"
"What? The story is real aru."
"Nyet. You made that up." Ivan pinpointed straightforwardly, causing the other boy to pout in annoyance. "There must be something missing."
"Alright. I will tell you, that the wolf did love the hare. He didn't want to kill him but it was a task he had to fulfill for his companions. He had no choice but to gobble the hare up along with the others."
"This is absurd. Again, if they love each other, why would they hurt each other?"
"There are times we're left with no choice, Yi-wan. That's the point. Even a moment of temporary bliss is hypnotizing enough and also because nature has its own rules. Wolves predate. Hares are preyed."
"If you're talking about hierarchy, I think everyone should just become one da? And also, I do not accept the ending. So, I'm going to say, as the hare was surrounded by the wolves, a bear suddenly appeared. He fought away the wolves and rescued the hare. When the hare asked why he saved him, the bear answered 'because I've always been in love with you.'"
Yao frowned and spun up from Ivan's lap. "Are you serious aru?"
"Da, sounds better? And so, the hare and the bear live happily ever after. The end."
"Wait-Yi-wan, this is not how it's supposed to-"
"No objection? Nyet," Ivan chirped cheerfully and clapped his hands. "From then on, the bear would always protect the hare and no one would dare prey on him again."
"Yi-wan! You completely changed the story aru! Aiyahhhh…" Yao growled but couldn't help bursting into laughter afterwards.
"I cannot tolerate any more depressing tales, Jao. They always make me feel so sad." Ivan sighed and took the other's hand gently. He rolled up Yao's sleeve and traced his fingers along a series of faded scars. Yao flinched abruptly but Ivan clasped his wrist firmly. "Sometimes, you make me sad too, Jao."
"What?"
"You always smile. But I always feel that there's something sad behind those smiles. You always look as if you're regretting something and you've never told me your past…I told you mine though."
"Aiyah…this…"
"Would you tell me something about yourself? What happened to you before? Why did you carve these wounds on yourself?"
"Yi-wan…"
"I'll show you mine. Fair, da?" Ivan smiled and showed his own scars to Yao. The scars had long healed. Ever since he had met Yao, he hadn't been feeling the need to inflict any pain on himself.
The Russian lifted the small, slender wrist to his lips and kissed the scars tenderly.
"Aiyah…don't do that." Yao withdrew his hand instantly and blushed.
"If I kiss the wound, the pain will go away, da? That's what sister always says."
"Yi-wan…" Yao murmured, looking down at the space between them. "There's some pain which could never vanish…and which could never be forgotten or kissed away…just so you know."
"Jao, you said we were the same. We were made for each other. I trust you with my past and secrets. Even if you don't wish to tell me any of yours, I just want to say that I really like you. On second thought, I think I might even…um…love you?"
"Um…that is a bit…"
"It's…my frist time feeling this way with anyone, but…I don't want to make things difficult for Jao. So, we can always stay friends, da?" Ivan smiled, placing his hands on Yao's shoulders.
"I guess….aru…" Yao turned away with flushed cheeks and whispered. "It is…okay…"
"I like being with Jao-Jao. And I wish I could always be with Jao-Jao."
"S-Same here," Yao smiled vaguely. "I like being with Yi-wan too."
But the sadness behind the tender smile never faded.
Ivan scanned around the boisterous canteen, his eyes adamantly searching for a vacant seat. He had a tray of steamed barbecue pork buns and some traditional Chinese dim sum. Normally, he wouldn't even bother with the food at school but since he had coincidentally forgotten his lunchbox, he was recommended by Yao to give it a shot. The Asian of course advised him to order some Chinese cuisine, which in Ivan's opinion, looked decent and sumptuous enough. The Chinese boy, however, refused to tag along because he had council business to attend to.
"It'll be okay aru," Yao had reassured, knowing well Ivan's major concern. "If you feel uncomfortable in the crowd, just bring your lunch up here on the rooftop."
Ivan was inclined to follow that advice, seeing that everywhere was flooded with people. As he was about to retreat, a voice hailed him in thick accent. "Hey, you over there." A certain Prussian yelled out at him. "There's an empty seat here, bud."
Gilbert patted the seat next to him rather eagerly, stunning the Russian to an extent of frowning.
Ivan contemplated for a moment and measured the potential consequences of responding to the infamous school thug. However, before he could open his mouth to object, he was pulled down to the seat by the silver-haired male.
"Oh come on, don't just stand there." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Ivan, correct?"
"Da." Ivan tried to ignore him and concentrated on his meal.
Geez, he had forgotten to ask Yao how to use chopsticks!
"I'm Gilbert, but they call me the awesome Gil because well, I'm awesome!"
"Ugh," Ivan nodded, not showing the slightest bit of interest.
"Hey, you don't talk much, do you?" The Prussian nudged Ivan's elbow lightly.
"Stop annoying others, Gil!" a gruff voice broke in. Ivan recognized the speaker as one of the Italian twins.
"What? Oh hey, Lovino, where's Antonio? Did he lose you in the corridor by accident again?"
"Shut up, bastard. I don't give a fuck where he is and for all I care, he should just die and stop bugging me. You too, drop dead and eat your freaking lunch!" the boy that went by the name of Lovino hollered, just as his twin brother emerged from behind with his German companion.
"Ve~ Stop being so cranky. I'm sure Antonio didn't leave you halfway on purpose." Feliciano plopped down next to his brother. "Maybe he just forgot you were walking with him, right, Luddie?"
"I told you not to call me that," Ludwig sighed and settled down beside the awfully airheaded Italian.
"Bruder!" The Prussian exclaimed. "It's so rare for you to have lunch with us! No council work?"
"Actually, there is but Feliciano insisted on dragging me here."
"Ve~ You can't strain yourself too much, right? That council room is too stuffy anyway. It's almost suffocating! We should have a meal together once in a while."
"By the way, is this your friend?" Ludwig asked, glimpsing the silent Russian. Ivan didn't return the glance. He was too occupied trying to master the use of chopsticks.
"Hell yeah! His name is Ivan. He's in my class!"
"Ve~Gil, didn't you call him a creep earlier on?"
"Feli!" Gilbert gasped. "No! I was-"
Ivan turned slowly to stare at Gilbert.
"That isn't very nice, bruder," Ludwig remarked.
"Hey, you didn't talk much before. It was only natural we thought you were a freak. But well, I don't think you're that much of a creep after we've talked." Gilbert explained in denfense, hoping that his words sound convincing enough to the Russian.
"Da." Ivan merely nodded, his face still devoid of any expressions. Honestly, he didn't really care how others thought of him now that he had Yao. He didn't exactly like the idea of befriending the Prussian either, not to mention that his stoic brother Ludwig and their hyperactive buddy Feliciano were all too eccentric for Ivan's taste.
He abandoned the chopsticks eventually and decided to use the fork instead.
"Dudes, you have a thing for Chinese food?"
The person he probably loathed the most at school squeezed in between him and Gilbert. Still as obnoxious and inconsiderate as could be, Alfred pulled a random chair from another table and settled himself with the rest of the group, dragging the British blond behind him, of course.
"Alfred! We don't have much space here! Sit somewhere else!" Gilbert complained.
"Dude, don't be so miserly. We're totally gonna dine here, right, Artie?"
Arthur only rolled his eyes and joined in begrudgingly, too exhausted to move to another table.
"Maybe I should go and leave you more space da. It seems you need some." Ivan quipped and stood up. Alfred shot him a glare and hauled down.
"Oh man, I'm totally fine. Sit and I needa talk to you."
"I don't have anything to talk to you about though." Ivan declined promptly, causing the others to frown as they sensed the spiking tension.
"Dude, that isn't very nice, huh?"
"Alfred, just eat your burgers!" Arthur urged, but was snubbed by the hot-tempered American.
"So, I was on the rooftop this morning and guess what I saw?" Alfred turned around to everyone at the table. He paused for a minute before snickering. "Ivan was talking to the flowers!"
Perhaps the others didn't really find the joke hilarious. They all remained somewhat dumbfounded and unfazed. The American continued laughing though.
"Dude, are you alright? Like, you aren't really that psychotic, are you?" Alfred scoffed at the Russian. "Seriously, I've never seen someone talk to himself and play with the flowers. So your hobby now is gardening? LOL. So manly."
"SHUT UP!" Ivan growled and stood up, slapping his hands on the table furiously. The room went silent as everyone turned their head towards his direction.
"I wasn't talking to myself." He glared at Alfred.
"Really, as if."
Ivan gripped his fork with his trembling hand. A part of him was luring him to stab the cutlery right into Alfred's face, probably gouging his eye out if the chance allowed. A part of him, nonetheless, was keeping him sane and exhorting him to leave.
Third step to establishing a proper image in front of the others- control yourself, take a deep breath to soothe your rage; never let your previous effort go down the drain by embarrassing yourself in the public aru.
Yao's voice rumbled in his ears. Dumping the fork immediately, Ivan gritted his teeth and started taking deep breaths to alleviate his fury.
"Woah, easy dude. It was a joke. A joke, okay?" Alfred justified in a fleeting moment. "Just…calm down."
Slowly, Ivan sat back down and averted his gaze to the ground until everyone else started minding their own business again.
"I wasn't talking to myself," Ivan reiterated. "I was chatting with a friend."
"Ve~ It's alright, Ivan. Maybe Alfred didn't see him right there with all those shadows." Feliciano smiled.
"Wait, isn't access to the rooftop, like, forbidden?" Lovino asked but quickly hushed as he realized that everyone else was immersed in total silence. He exchanged a dubious glance with his twin.
"How did you two get in?" Ludwig interrogated, staring seriously at Alfred and Ivan.
"What? The door wasn't locked?" Alfred shrugged obliviously. "What's going on? What's the big deal all of a sudden? I was just trying to get some sunshine there. Didn't expect to meet this creep."
"Ahem." Arthur coughed and glared at his impetuous friend.
"Well, let me make this clear as the student council president." Ludwig cleared his throat and said, "Alfred, I don't believe you haven't been told. You're obviously breaking the rule on purpose. Ivan, you've only come here this semester so I accept the fact that you might be ignorant. But well, the rooftop is a prohibited school area. No students are to enter there unless given official permission. You two have practically violated the school regulations by trespassing the greenhouse and wandering on the rooftop without teachers' consent. I don't care how the lock got busted but you two shouldn't go there again, understand?"
"Dude, stop speaking like a boss," Alfred pouted. "Okay, okay! I won't go there again anyway since this guy's been there."
"Da. It's not like I wish to see your hideous face either."
"What did you just say?"
"For God's sake, stop quarrelling!" Ludwig bawled, silencing everyone yet again.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ivan smiled cherubically at the German. "I've been going there every single day to see Jao. You apparently made up those rules by yourself, da? No one has told me that it is off limits. Plus, I'm having club activities there. If you'd excuse me, I'll be going now."
Ivan stood up and took his tray with him.
"And I so not want to sit next to this idiot again," the Russian snorted before eyeing Alfred one last time.
"What the fuck is wrong with him? What a creep!" The American snarled in dissatisfaction as he latched onto his cheese burger.
"Good grief, finally found you, tomato face~"
Lovino squealed as the brown-haired Spanish suddenly embraced him from behind.
"Honhonhon~So you're all here waiting for big brother, non?" Francis appeared alongside Antonio. After a moment of gazing around and assessing the awkward silence, both senior boys frowned in bewilderment.
"What's the matter?" Antonio was the first to ask.
Gilbert, Arthur and Ludwig were all in some sort of trance as if they had been swept away into their own fanciful realms.
Alfred continued galloping his burgers and fries noisily.
The Italian twins remained as impervious to the atmosphere as ever.
"Is something wrong?" Francis asked, pinching the British intentionally to elicit some response from him.
"Ivan…you know Ivan Braginski?" Ludwig muttered.
"Ivan who?" Afonso joined in, leaning against Antonio with crossed arms.
"The weird Russian guy from my class," Gilbert said, his brows creased together in an agonized complexion.
"So?" Antonio shrugged impassively and continued fondling his Italian boyfriend's curl. "What about him?"
"He said he's been to the rooftop recently."
"And he's been visiting the greenhouse every day." Arthur took a sip of his black tea anxiously.
"And I thought he just mentioned the name 'Yao'." Ludwig added.
"Ve~who's Yao?" Feliciano queried ignorantly, raising his hand with an engrossed face.
As the word "Yao" lingered in the air, everyone was plunged back into silence once more.
"Dudes, these burgers are totally awesome! I'm gonna buy some more. Be right back!" Alfred suddenly exclaimed and bounced up.
"Oh and, I forgot to say," the boy yelled to his friends as he was dashing off to the cashier, "that Ivan dude is a total freak!"