APH RoChu: Swapped Chapter 3

Yao sighed, going toward the front door of his house. It was pretty late at night, and it had been a pretty long day filled with meetings. He had a World Conference meeting, and had to take a plane out, and then take another plane for an Allied Forces meeting. And now, finally, he was back home. He suddenly stopped in his tracks at the doorstep. "What is this aru...?" he whispered to himself, picking up what was left on the doorstep.

There was a single gorgeous flower sitting there, wrapped with a pretty red ribbon tied into a bow at its stem. It was a golden sunflower! Yao thought it was pretty, and almost smiled, but then his face grew dark as he realized who must have left the flower for him. Yao groaned, any sign of cheer erased from his face.

Yao wondered why he didn't think of it before; sunflowers were the national flower of Russia. He actually didn't want to throw the flower out because it was so pretty, but he knew he had to because of where it came from. He sighed and picked the flower up, cut the stem into pieces so that it would fit into the trash can, and dumped it in, never to be looked at again.

Ivan was watching from behind a large, old tree near some pretty shrubs and plants. He smiled as he watched Yao pick up the sunflower, but then he frowned when he saw Yao cut up the stem. Every cut was like a slice into his heart. And then... he was shocked when he saw Yao throw the sunflower, all shredded up, into the trash can. Ivan felt like he had just been slapped in the face. He knew it probably was not a good idea, but he could not help himself: he suddenly ran out and hugged Yao from behind, lifting the Chinese man up.

"AIYAHHHHHH!" Yao screamed as he was suddenly picked up. He didn't even have to think twice about who was doing it; he could feel the familiar material of Ivan's jacket and scarf against him. He was getting sick of Ivan just coming into his house has he pleased, and he was sick of the Russian harassing him and his family.

"Hello, Yao-Yao--"
"PUT ME DOWN! PUT. ME. DOWN! AND DON'T CALL ME YAO-YAO, ARU!"

Ivan did as he was told, chuckling slightly, as if he were a little kid playing around. Yao paled; did Ivan think this was all a game? Did he honestly think liking someone to the point of obsession was funny?! Yao felt trapped, as if he were under Ivan's gaze all the time. He felt like a puppet only born for Ivan's amusement. And he was tired of it.

"Wow, Yao, you're in a bad mood today, da?" Ivan asked in an innocuous tone, but Yao completely blew it. All of his anger, his frustration, his fear, came out in one big paragraph.

"Stop following me! Stop coming into my house! It's creepy and weird and I hate it, aru! I hate you! You're scaring my brothers and sisters, you're scaring me, and I hate the fact that you're constantly following me and breathing down my neck, aru! Don't send me flowers, don't come into my bed, and stop harassing my siblings! LEAVE. ME. ALONE!"

Ivan was shocked into silence from Yao's outburst. He never expected his little Yao-Yao to have such a loud voice, and to be capable of that huge list of heated words that simply flowed out quickly but clearly. Ivan stared at Yao and gently put him down.  He looked hurt again, like when he saw Yao cut up the sunflower he picked for him. Ivan felt like his heart had just been stabbed once more. "You hate me, da?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Yao noticed that Ivan looked genuinely sad. He sighed, and bit his lip. He knew that even though Ivan was big and intimidating at times, he did have a softer personality very similar to a child's. And this made Ivan rather delicate. Yao sometimes wondered if Ivan's sanity was delicate as well. Sometimes, Yao thought Ivan might suddenly snap. Ivan certainly acted insane at times, what with his KOLKOLKOLing and all. Yao did not know what to say, so he simply turned his back on Ivan, and stood as still as he could, hoping Ivan would go away now. Yao felt himself hold his breath, waiting patiently for Ivan's reaction. He did not need to answer Ivan's question; the silence was an answer in itself.

Ivan stared at Yao's back, not believing what he had just heard. His Yao-Yao couldn't hate him... there was no way. Slowly, but surely, Ivan's sadness had turned into anger, like a child's tantrum. His hands balled into fists, and his whole body seemed to tense. He grabbed Yao by the shirt, and pulled him back, throwing him against the wall. Yao barely even had time to yelp before Ivan's lips were on his, the Russian's body entirely too close.