Because not all characters have their own name, I've given them names. Look at my niceness!

Xiao Mei = Taiwan

Leon = Hong Kong

Yekaterina = Ukraine

I get these kind of ideas from talking to my friends and family… That worries me sometimes.

Hospitality

Yao and his siblings, save for Yong Soo, are all quite polite, sometimes to a degree when it's almost ridiculous. Because of that, the basement in Yao's house is overflowing with strangely coloured candies and cakes Kiku, his brother, has been gifted by Alfred. Only God knows exactly what's in those treats, but they have kept fresh several decades now. Leon is the only of them who'd actually consider eating any of them, easily explained by him being Alfred's half-brother. So, of course, he had to inherit the bad taste. This politeness also means that they have to treat any visitor with good manners and hospitality. Even Russians. Including Ivan Braginski. Especially Ivan Braginski. Yao is, quite obviously, not at all pleased with this. But orders are orders, and he's not going to give up just like that. If he's, as in this case, ordered to be friendly towards Ivan, then he'll be friendly, no matter what.

"Your home is really nice, Yao." Ivan chirps with one of his usual cheerful smiles. "And it's warmer than my place, too. I bet I could even grow sunflowers here."

"What's the point, aru? Eventually, you will have to go home again. Then you will miss your flowers, aru." the much smaller man asks him while rummaging cupboards for something he can make into food. "Is that not a waste, aru?"

"Da. But it would be a reason for me to return here."

"I don't understand what it is you find so great about my home, aru. It's always so crowded with my siblings. Surely, your place must offer much more room for thinking."

Ivan's home in Moscow is, no doubt, a much more quiet place, especially since his sisters and subordinates were taken away from him. He misses them all, even Natalia, even though perhaps not as much as he misses Yekaterina. Sure, they are nut jobs, both of them, but even that is better than being left all alone. All of his life, Ivan has been more or less alone. Growing up, his only friend was a yak, so he enjoy the nuisances of Yao's house.

"I do not mind them. I like hearing you all fight with each other, it makes me feel like part of a family."

"Why my family? I think, if you like the family fighting, Opium's family is actually worse than my own." a loud thump from the living room marked his words. "After all, Francis is part of it, aru." chuckling to himself, Yao began mincing vegetables for the dumplings he was making. "His food is worse, though." If it was someone Yao wouldn't hesitate to be rude to, it was Arthur, mostly due to the Opium Wars. So he took every opportunity to express his dislike for his former ally.

"True. And I do not think I would like his family as much as I like yours, because you're not part of it." Ivan beams at the suddenly blushing man across the room.

"D-don't be so s-silly, aru." he stutters, stubbornly staring at the vegetables and knife, They have already been cut enough by far, but Yao just keeps on cutting them, just to have a reason not to look at Ivan.

"You don't like me, Yao?" judging by his tone, Ivan is growing angry.

"I-I… Um… Well, I-" feebly trying to create a full sentence, Yao allows himself to look up and, sure enough, there is a purple aura pulsing around Ivan. "I mean I- Aiyaah!" a thin white line appears in the palm of his hand, quickly filling up with red blood.

"What happened?" Ivan is brutally pulled back into his happy, smiling self again.

"I cut my hand, aru. Now the food will be ruined." Yao knows very well how foolish he is, worrying about the food now. It is slowly gaining interesting red colours from his blood dripping down in a increasingly rate.

"Oh. Let me fix it." because of his tendency to get violent when he's upset, Ivan has made sure he always has band-aids with him. But this cut will have to be cleansed, and that's something he doesn't have. Hopefully, vodka will do just as well. "Sit down."

"But-"

"Sit!" Ivan uses his hand to force Yao to sit down on the floor. "This is going to sting a little."

"Be careful, aru." Yao glares as Ivan, kneeling in front of him, daubs some vodka on the cut. "Aiyaa! That hurts! I told you to be careful with that!"

"I'm sorry, sunflower."

"Look out, Kiku!" Mei's warning is just a tad too late, as Yong Soo, laughing like crazy attack his older brother from behind.

"Your manboobs belong to me, da ze!" he cheers happily. "Right, hyung?"

"Stop touching Kiku, you bastard!" Mei snaps at him, glaring poisonously.

"Um… Yong Soo? I do not recall giving my chest to you. Why would you even want to touch another man's chest?" flustered and blushing violently, Kiku tries to pry his nii-san away from his chest, eagerly assisted by an upset Mei.

Meanwhile, Leon keeps doodling things that would have to be blurred out later, accompanied by a large-scale drawing of Shinatty-chan bothering Yao. "At least keep the table still. I'm trying to draw here."

"Drawing originated in me, da ze!"

"Oh, shut it Y.S! And let go of Kiku already!"

Thump! The three land in a mess of tangled limbs on the floor, Yong Soo miraculously still hanging on to Kiku.

"Please, let go of me Yong Soo." Kiku begs, wincing as he tries to move his left hand. It appears to have gotten hurt in the fall.

Immediately loosing his strange urge to claim breasts of any sort, Yong Soo snaps to being a worried younger brother. "It's not going to fall off, is it? We should go ask aniki."

"Hai. Although, I am sure it's just sprained." Kiku's words are partially drenched by a loud `Aiyaa!´ from the kitchen. "Yao!"

"Isn't Ivan with him?" without looking up from the paper, which now has a long black line over it, Leon states what they all know.

"Come on now, Lee! We have to do something. Even if Yao's a bastard, I don't want him to be hurt by that Russian." quite roughly, Mei grabs hold of Leon's wrist, pulling her along with him. Had it been anyone else, Leon would be upset with being pulled away without being asked, but since it's Mei, he's fine with it. He is less fine, however, with Yong Soo dragging him by the other hand.

"Seriously, Mei." Leon rips away from Yong Soo's long fingers. "Do we really need four of us to stop one of Ivan?"

"We'd need more than that." pale-faced, Kiku has just realised this. "He is so much stronger than us. But we will do our best, hai?"

Before anyone of them can answer, Yao's voice comes soaring through the semi-open door to the kitchen. "Be careful, aru." he whimpers. "Aiyaa! That hurts! I told you to be careful!"

"I'm sorry, sunflower." Ivan purrs.

"Don't even think about it, Kiku." knowing her brother, Mei doesn't even have to look to know he's pulling out one of his many cameras.

"It's not for me!" he blushes. "It's for Elizaveta."

"Oh. Fine, then. In that case, you should hurry up."

So they hurry inside the kitchen; Yong Soo loudly complaining about how Yao originated in him, and that this was as though Ivan was invading his vital regions, as well as Yao's. He grows silent, however, when he sees the pale Yao sitting dumb-stricken on the floor with Ivan kneeling in front of him, holding on to his hand.

"See? We didn't have to go here." Leon complains, quickly returning to where he came from, hiding his embarrassed expression.

"Xiao Mei. Go apologize to your brother, right away." somehow, Yao manages to keep a straight face despite the awkward situation. "Kiku and Yong Soo, too."

"I didn't do anything." Mei tries to get away from apologizing. A death-glare from her oldest brother stops her, however.

"Apologies originated in me, so I don't have to do it, da ze!"

"If I have to do it, so do you. Come on Kiku, I'll look to your hand."

As soon as they've left, Yao smiles up at Ivan. "T-thank you, aru. For binding my hand, I mean. How can I show how grateful I am?"

"You could kiss me, da?"

Yao turns scarlet red. "W-why would you- Fine, aru. But only once, no more." Slowly, hesitantly, Yao leans forward to let his lips connect with Ivan's. He's able to think that it's not as bad as he'd thought before he feels a pair of arms sneaking around his small form, and a tongue that taste of vodka snake into his mouth.

"This is not part of the deal, aru!" he tries to pull away, but is much too weak.

Ivan chuckles merrily. "Oh, Yao. There are no such services in Russia."

"Aiyaa!"

Admit it. You were expecting something else when you clicked this.