I stared down at the phone in front of me. The screen had Yao's number at the top, and no other text. I sighed.

I had no clue what to say.

Hi?

Hey ya?

Yo mutha fucker?

Okay not the last one.

I groaned. How the fuck do people do this?

I decided to go with a simple Hi.

I hit the "SEND" button and set the phone next to me on the bed. Immediately, it buzzed. I blinked and picked it up again.

"ONE NEW MESSAGE"

I tapped the message and laughed at the reply.

Who is this aru?

Then I facepalmed at my stupidity. How did I forget to say who it was?

It's Ivan, sorry.

I got another reply.

Oh. U should've said it was u...

I smiled.

Sorry. How are you?

I heard a quiet knock at my door, followed by a soft voice.

"Big brother?"

I put my phone on my nightstand and opened the door. Outside stood Natalia.

"Da, what is it?" I asked. She looked down.

"May I come in?" I nodded and stepped aside to let her in. She walked over to my bed and sat down. I closed the door and locked it and then sat by Natalia on my bed.

"Brother?" I looked at her. She stared down at her clasped hands.

"Do you still love me? Even though you only love men? Does that mean you don't love me?" I sighed and hugged my little sister.

"Of course I love you Natalia. Just because I like men doesn't mean I don' t love my family." I felt her relax and she put her hand on my arm.

"Thank you." Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I jumped up to grab it, but Nat beat me to it.

She picked up my phone and glared at it.

"Who's 'Yao'?" She asked suspiciously. I reached to grab it from her hands put she held it out of my reach.

"He's just a friend. Please give me my phone back, Natalia." She raised an eyebrow.

"'He'?"

I growled.

"He's just a friend." I repeated. She smiled and handed me my phone.

"Okay. Don't get into any more trouble, brother." She winked at me and walked out of my room.

I pouted to myself and looked at the message Yao sent.

I'm fine. Would u like to go out sometime?

I smiled. It's been two days since I ran into Yao. And he's the only thing that's been on my mind since.

Da that sounds great. Where do you wanna go?

I yawned and leaned back onto the pillows. It was about 7:30 PM. My phone buzzed again.

How about the coffee shop around the corner of where we met?

I thought for a minute about the location then nodded to myself.

Yeah I think I know where that is. What time?

There was a long pause before the next reply.

Do u think u could meet me there now?

I raised my eyebrows at the reply.

I don't know. I'd have to ask my sister. Why?

Another long pause.

I need to get away. Plz ask your sister.

Now I was concerned. But I said anyway, Okay. Give me a second.

I sat up and exited the room and headed towards Yekatrina's.

"Kat?" I knocked softly on her door. I heard yelling on the other side of the door.

"I'm not fucking interested in you, you whore! Leave me alone!" I heard a phone slam shut and figured another guy had gotten a hold of Kat's number and wanted in her pants.

I knocked again. "Kat, can I come in please?" I heard some shuffling and then the door opened to reveal a ruffled Kat.

"Sorry some guy got my number. Come in." I walked over to her bed and she sat down beside me.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Worry dotted her eyes and I rushed to erase it.

"No, no I just have a question." She relax a bit.

"A friend asked if I could meet him at a coffee shop." She tilted her head.

"Right now?" I nodded.

"I think it's important. He said he 'needed to get away'." She nodded slowly.

"I suppose so... Promise to be careful?" I nodded vigorously.

"Da. Promise." She smiled a little and stood up.

"Okay. Be back before midnight or text if you want to stay later." She winked and I blushed.

"S-shut up!" She smiled and let me out of her room.

"Be good. See you later." I nodded and pulled out my phone.

Headed out the door now.

I wrapped my scarf around my neck tightly and exited the apartment.

I rounded the corner to see the coffee shop Yao had been talking about. It was a tiny shop, but it attracted many people.

I entered the building and immediately felt a gust of cold air and heard a tingle of a bell over the door. I looked around the shop and saw a tiny-looking Yao huddled in a booth in the corner near the window.

I walked over and touched his shoulder. He jumped, obviously not noticing I was there, but looked at me and calmed.

"Oh. It's you. You're really, quiet, you know." I shrugged and took a seat in front of him.

The shop was mostly empty, except a few employees cleaning the tables or floors. I looked at Yao.

"So what was so bad that I had to come here?" Yao blinked and looked down.

"I'm sorry to trouble you. It's just..." His eyes welled up with tears and he brought his legs to his chest and put his head in his knees and sobbed into them. My eyes widened and I quickly got up and sat beside him and put my hand on his back.

"What... What happened, Yao?" He didn't look up, but he said into his knees,

"It's my mom.. she's... dead." I tensed up.

"She's... dead?" Another round of sobbing. I hugged him fiercely and I felt him relax a little. He put his arm around my back and put his face in my chest.

"She just died." He said into my shirt. I nodded, urging him on.

"She had cancer." He croaked.

"How long?" I asked softly. He choked up again, but forced it down.

"Two years." I rubbed his back, trying to soothe him.

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a waitress. She bit her lip and said quietly, "U-um, would you l-like something to d-drink, sir?" I sighed.

"Da. Black coffee please. And do you have any chocolate?" She glanced at Yao and nodded.

"Then some chocolate too. Thank you." She scribbled some things down and nodded and walked away.

"I don' t need anything..." Yao said softly.

"Too bad. Now continue." Yao pouted a little but continued.

"She'd been in the hospital for a month or so. I was at home, watching anime, when Kiku walked in and..." Tears formed in his eyes, but forced himself to continue.

"He told me that Mom had just died... And... and I can't-" He sobbed and clutched my shirt, pulling me close.

I'd just heard probably the worst thing that's ever happened to Yao. Why me?

I put my chin on top of his head and wrapped my long arms around him.

"Why'd you text me of all people?" I asked abruptly.

Yao hiccuped, "Bec-cause I thought y-you'd unders-stand."

I froze. I did understand. My mom had also died when I was really young. But how'd he know that?

"How'd you figure that?" I asked hesitantly.

The waitress then showed up with my coffee and Yao's chocolate.

"Here you go, sir." She put down the plastic tray and then looked at Yao with sympathy.

"It's on the house." She walked away before I could protest.

I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. Yao took a bar of chocolate and opened it carefully. He began nibbling on it and answered my question.

"When you were talking about your dad. If your mom had been there, she wouldn't let your father treat you like that." Wow. He's right. He continued.

"So I just took the chance that your mom had died, rather than walked out. I guess I was right."

He broke off a chunk of his chocolate and handed it to me. I hesitantly took it and put it in my mouth. Yao then cuddled into my chest again.

"I'm sorry if I seem clingy or weird. I promise I don't usually do this." I smiled.

"That's okay." I wrapped my arms around Yao.

"Can you tell me something about yourself?" Yao asked into my shirt.

I frowned. I suppose I had to, since he told me the worst thing that's ever happened to him. I nodded.

"I have two sisters and a jackass I still call my father." Yao giggled but I continued.

"My older sister, Yekatrina, keeps us alive, basically. She is constantly working and she is the boss, really. She is more powerful than my dad, even. Me, I'm just the one who is in school and managing to keep good grades. My youngest sister, Natalia, is too young to really do anything. She's only in grade school."

I paused.

"My mom... She died when I was seven. She had tuberculosis. My dad still gets overly drunk trying to forget her." I looked away. Yao scrunched up his eyebrows.

"What?" I sighed.

"I supposed I have to tell you something really important too. Do you want to know why I always keep this scarf on?"

Yao bit his lip. "You don't have to tell me if you aren't comfortable." I nodded.

"...Okay." Yao pulled away from my shirt.

"Thank you for coming. It really means a lot." I nodded.

"Of course." He hugged me suddenly. I slowly put my hand on the back of his head. He pulled away and looked at me curiously.

I frowned. "What?" He shook his head.

"Nothing. Just curious about you." I frowned deeper but stood up to let Yao out.

The waitress came over at that moment.

"Would you like that coffee to go, sir?" She asked me. I nodded. I wasn't going to sleep well that night anyway.

She grabbed my mug and went behind the counter to put the drink into a different container.

As we walked out, Yao tugged on my sleeve.

"Hmm?" I looked down at him. I swore I saw a blush creep over is face before he turned away.

"C-can you walk me home, aru?" He asked. I smiled and nodded. He smiled back and turned towards his apartment.

I walked beside him the whole time.

When we arrived at his apartment, Yao turned and looked at me.

"Thank you." He said quietly and disappeared behind the door.