This is the second installment of the hospital-verse, my interconnecting series. It is not necessary to read the others to understand this, however.

"Do you understand why you're here, Ivan?"

This must have been the fifth time Dr. Matthew Williams had asked that question. How cute. Ivan clasped his hands together in his lap and smiled. He made sure to look into his physiatrist's lovely lavender eyes as he spoke. "I am here because of misunderstanding." It was the truth, and it was the same answer he had given each time he was asked. For whatever reason, Matthew did not seem to understand. That was okay. He seemed young, too young for such a job.

The sweet, fragile Canadian sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Do you remember what happened, exactly?" The way he spoke was so kind and gentle, like a doting mother. This caused Ivan's smile to widen.

"Yes," he said. This was, again, the truth. Ivan could retell the events that lead up to him being walked through the hospital's doors in his sleep. "I was trying to protect my little friends; Raivas, Eduard and Toris." They were such sweet boys. Ivan felt a fond swelling in his chest at the thought of them.

Matthew blinked. "Ivan," he said slowly. "You pulled a knife on them."

Ivan chuckled. It was always so amusing, how people misunderstood. "Is misunderstanding," he said again. "I did this only so they would cooperate. They would not become one with me."

"What does it mean to become one with you, Ivan?"

"Is a saying a use," he said, feeling just slightly embarrassed. Perhaps it was a silly saying, but it had somehow stuck. "It means they allow me to protect them. In return, they do not leave me. Is for the best."

"I see," said Matthew. "But they didn't want this, so you threatened them."

It always baffled Ivan how no one seemed to be able to grasp such a simple concept. His puzzlement was stifled by the cruel accusation that caused his smile to dissipate. "Like I said, misunderstanding." Oh well. All it meant was he needed to explain. It wasn't as if he was not used to it. He tightened his scarf and smiled again. "I did not 'threaten' the boys. I would never hurt them. I only used force so they would listen. Otherwise, they would be in danger."

"I see." Matthew had a habit of saying 'I see' a lot. Silly boy. "I understand you also threatened you own life during this…incident. Do you still feel an urge to harm yourself?"

This truly confused Ivan. He had no idea where such a preposterous idea was coming from. "I never had such an urge. Why would I? I have people I must protect." Then, he realized what was going on. After tightening his scarf again, he explained it to the clueless boy in front of him. "Is misunderstanding."

Minutes later, Matthew dismissed him. Ivan smiled lightly, waved goodbye and started down the hallway towards the room that would soon become his home.

.

Yao had no idea how he had managed to get this lost.

He told his brother Kiku that he would pick him up from the hospital where he worked as a hospice nurse, and he had the brilliant idea to say he would find him inside instead of making Kiku locate him in the giant parking lot. He was really regretting that idea now, since he had been wandering around in this monstrous building for what seemed like about five eternities. This hospital in particular had just about every department one could ever think of, and in turn was about the size of three regular hospitals smashed together.

Damn, why did this place seem deserted? It would be nice to see someone that might be able to help him. Yao had little to no idea regarding where he was in the building, though he was vaguely sure he had passed a sign that said 'psychiatric' not too long ago…

There was a soft, gentle voice from behind him. "Hello."

Finally. Maybe whoever this was could help him. Yao spoke while he was in the midst of turning around. "Oh, finally. I seem to be lost-"

His words died in his throat when he saw the man standing there. His soft voice had certainly been misleading. The man towered over him, his shoulders massive and his posture stiff like a statue. His unblinking, violet eyes focused directly on Yao, who had to strain just to meet those eyes with his own. He wore a thick scarf despite it being the middle of June. Yao took an instinctive step back. Something about this just seemed…off.

A moment passed before this man spoke again. "You are lost, da?" His words were drowning in his thick accent, likely Russian. Yao could not say he was surprised. This particular hospital prided itself on housing and accommodating nearly every nationality under the sun.

"Um…" Yao had forgotten how to speak. It seemed as though it took ages just to form a simple word. "Yes."

"My name is Ivan." He took a step forward, and Yao felt his heart jump to his throat. "What is yours?"

"Yao," he said and immediately wondered if telling him was a good idea.

The smallest smile played on Ivan's lips. "Yao." He said the name like it was a song; looked out into the distance as if he was remembering. Ivan's gaze finally directed itself back to him. "I think I am glad you are lost, little Yao."

There was definitely something off about this. Yao did not like the way he looked at him. He attempted to straighten his posture and come to his full height, as if he was standing up to a bear. "Look, I should go," he said as sternly as he could.

Before Yao could so much as move, Ivan was directly in front of him, seemingly from nowhere. He grabbed Yao's shoulders before he could dodge his hands. "Nyet." His eyes were wide and voice held an edge of trembling desperation. "Do not go. You are very beautiful."

Yao felt a cold panic begin to creep up his spine, seep into his bloodstream and take over every part of him. This man was stronger than him; he could not get away. The realization hit like a fist: Ivan was a psych patient. He was crazy. "Let me go," he said finally. He tried to twist under Ivan's hold, but his grip only tightened. He tried again in a small voice. "Let me go. I need to find my brother."

"Your brother will be fine." Ivan blinked away his frenzy and looked at him like he was a precious gem, a long lost child. "You stay here with me. You are…like little sunflower."

Yao blinked, his thoughts muddled by a strange mixture of terror and confusion. "Sunflower?" he parroted, both confused and disturbed by the nickname. He felt his heartbeat quicken like a startled hummingbird in a cage. What was wrong with this man? What did he want from him? "You don't know me. Why would I stay here with you?"

He almost expected Ivan to be provoked by these harsh words, but he only tilted his head and smiled. "Very simple. You stay because I love you."

The strange, unexpected words sunk in and Yao could only balk at him. "What?" He tried again, unsuccessfully, to tear away from his hold. Never in his life had he found himself in a situation that managed to be this bizarre and this frightening at the same time. He felt an urge to kick, to scream, but he did not know what kind of response that would evoke in Ivan. Without warning, the strange Russian embraced him in a bone-crushing hug. It was too forceful, too tight, Yao could not breathe, only whisper, "Help…"

"Ivan!" The powerfulness of the relief that set in upon hearing this new voice was almost ridiculous. "Ivan, let him go!"

Without even so much as a word in protest, Ivan released his hold on Yao and turned around. "Hello, Matthew." He was calm, much too calm. He acted as if nothing that had just happened actually occurred. "This is Yao. He is beautiful, da?"

The person who had just arrived- Matthew, apparently- was dressed professionally in a pressed button-down shirt and slacks. Yao was finally able to breathe again. This man was a doctor. His slight figure and soft voice didn't exactly suggest he could take Ivan, but he could do something. Right? Right?

Matthew finally willed away his baffled expression and sighed. "Ivan, please call me Dr. Williams," he said. Then, he directed his attention to Yao. "I'm not sure I recognize you. Do you work here? Only patients and doctors are allowed here without a pass."

Yao saw the window for his escape and took it. He quickly scooted away from the wall, away from Ivan. "No, I apologize," he said. "I'm terribly lost. I need to find my brother, Kiku. He works in hospice and I said I would pick him up."

Matthew smiled. "You certainly are lost. Hospice is in a completely different wing," he said. "I don't have a patient for twenty minutes. I can walk you there."

Ivan, who had been standing in eerie silence, finally spoke again. "I will do it."

Matthew looked up at him, and for a brief moment looked almost as scared as Yao. "Ivan, no. You barely know this building."

"He is my sunflower," said Ivan, his smile falling and his tone slightly confused. As if someone had flipped a switch, his eyes darkened and he took a slow, deliberate step towards Yao. "Do not take him away. He is mine." His voice had flipped from strangely sweet to downright demanding, possibly dropping an octave in the process.

The muscular blonde man walking down the hall might as well have been a guardian angel. Where were all these people five minutes ago? "Ludwig!" said Matthew, much louder than he had been speaking before. "Dr. Beilschmidt, could you walk Ivan back to his room? I'm going to walk Yao to where he needs to be."

Dr. Beilschmidt nodded shortly, walked across the hall and took Ivan by the arm. He may have had Ivan beat in terms of muscle, but definitely not in terms of height. "Come on, Ivan. Leave the man alone." His voice was deep and firm.

Initiated by a rather violent yank of Ivan's arm, they started off in the other direction. Ivan looked back as he walked, then smiled again. "Goodbye, little Yao. I will see you again soon."

The words sounded much more definite than statements like that usually did. Yao felt a sudden chill shoot through his entire body, and he quickly looked away. That was, without a doubt, equally the weirdest and most terrifying thing he had experienced in his entire life. He stood perfectly still for a long moment, and could only whisper. "That was…" He grasped for an appropriate reaction, but found almost nothing suitable. "…unpleasant." Yes, that was the best and only way to describe it.

"My God, I do apologize!" exclaimed Matthew. "I doubt Ivan would have actually done anything to harm you, but this is kind of the reason why this is a private wing."

Maybe they should up their security. Yao shook his head as if to clear it. "No, that's quite alright. My fault." He made a mental note to either get a map of this place or have Kiku meet him outside next time. The last thing he needed was a repeat of- well, whatever that had been.

He followed Matthew's lead down the path he supposedly should have taken, and the shock he had been feeling grew less apparent with every step. After about two minutes, Yao finally spoke again. "Can I ask what's…well, wrong with that man?" He knew the question was intrusive, but somehow, he did not care. He just wanted to know.

Matthew turned his head towards him and blinked a few times. "I'm afraid that's confidential." He said it in a way that suggested he had repeated the same words on many occasions, and they had become almost instinctual. He paused for a moment and finally sighed. "To tell you the truth, he just checked in today. We aren't sure. That's really all I should say."

Yao nodded, blinking a few times in an attempt to clear the encounter from his mind. Well, at least he would have a story to tell. "I see." That was the last thing he said. The rest of the walk passed in silence.

Minutes later, they finally passed a sign that said 'hospice.' The front desk sat nearby, and Kiku was standing next to it. Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, after all of that nonsense, he managed to accomplish his original goal. Matthew turned on his heel and waved goodbye. "Sorry again, Yao. I'm glad we could get you here."

Yao shook his head. He had mostly forgotten about the strange Russian man, to the point where the incident was nothing more than a strange, slightly muddled blur in his memory. "No harm done," he said honestly. Matthew continued to walk away, and Yao made his way over to the desk. "Next time, you're meeting me outside," he said to Kiku, an edge of impatience in his voice.

Kiku tilted his head in confusion. "You took a long time." His brow furrowed for a moment, then his eyes shot open as if to understand. "Did something happen? You look a bit frazzled."

"You would not believe what I had to go through to get here," said Yao. Even though he was mostly over what happened, the events played over again in his mind as he explained. "First, I got lost. I took about fifty wrong turns, and I somehow ended up in the psychiatric unit." He still could not believe he had managed to get himself that lost. He felt almost silly. "Anyway, I ran into one of the psych patients. He was about ten feet tall, he kept calling me his sunflower, and then he actually hugged me! I thought I was going to suffocate. It was horrifying."

A shocked silence fell over Kiku. He reeled back, his expression blank as if he could hardly belief it. "Wow," he said finally. "That is…wow. I apologize, Yao. Are you alright?"

Yao almost smiled. Kiku had never managed to break that habit of apologizing for absolutely everything. "Yeah. It wasn't your fault," he said. "But you guys need better security. Or maps."

Kiku nodded. "It is quite a large building," he said. "Thank you for picking me up, by the way."

"No problem," Yao said. "We're going to get dinner still, yes?"

Kiku nodded. "Yes, that sounds great."

With that, they exited the hospital. Although, through the entire car ride and the dinner during which Kiku told him about a patient named Heracles, Yao could not seem to eradicate the Russian's sentimental words from his memory. Yes, it was obvious there was no way he could have meant what he said and the whole situation was strange and disturbing, but one more adjective stubbornly clung to the description.

Exciting.

To be continued...