The Blessings of Beginnings

Category: Fanfiction Crossover
Fandom(s): Hetalia | Firefly
Summary: Humanity has begun to get settled into their new galaxy, and so have their respective nations. The appearances of two new personifications have quite cemented that fact, and China's about to meet one for the very first time.

-----

Yao gave an explosive sigh as he collapsed on the plush couch, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. Why, why, why couldn't the parliament seem to agree on anything today? It was only the first day of the joint parliament sessions of the governments of the planets Londinium and Sihnon, held this month on Londinium, and Yao was already ready for it all to be over.

He and Alfred had just returned from the meeting to the large manor where all the surviving Anglo-Saxon nations - plus a couple others from the Western Hemisphere of Earth-That-Was – resided. Alfred had immediately made a beeline for the kitchen (of course), while Yao had started off for his room, a quick nap sounding like heaven right then, since he had arrived late the night before and had a smashing case of jetlag. Unfortunately, since the manor was still quite new and very large, and Yao was rather tired, he was now hopelessly lost.

The nation rubbed his eyes, giving another small sigh, and leaned back. Oh well. The couch was comfortable, and Alfred would mount a rescue operation eventually, once Yao didn't show up for breakfast tomorrow. Now was the perfect time to-

Wait… What was that? Yao opened one eye and arched an eyebrow. It sounded like… footsteps? Turning his head to the side, he was just in time to see a small, brightly colored blur dash behind the couch, rocking it slightly as it disappeared.

Curiosity piqued, Yao carefully got off the sofa, crouched down, and peered behind it. A child stared back at him, and from the instinctive feeling in his gut, Yao knew instantly it was a nation, like him.

The boy, seemingly no more than three years old – though Yao knew for a fact he was no more than three months – clutched a plush turtle in his arms, and as Yao watched, rather speechless, the child leaned forward placed a tiny, grubby finger over Yao's lips.

"Ssssshhhh," he said in an exaggerated whisper. "Be vewy, vewy quiet. I's hiding."

"I can see that, little one," Yao replied, a smile tugging at his mouth as the boy leaned back again. "From what, if I may ask?"

"The Iggy Monster," the child said with utmost gravitas, his eyes earnestly wide. Yao noted in some surprise that the left was a bright, striking green, but the right was a deep purple. "He catch you, he make you eat yucky, icky, disgustamating food." He stuck a little pink tongue out at the thought and then looked back at Yao, who was desperately trying not to laugh.

"Who're you?" he asked curiously, seeming to register that he'd never seen this man before. "You a stwanger? Iggy and Alfwed and evvyboddy say no talk to stwangers. Stwangers unpwedicable," he said sagely, and Yao was taken somewhat aback by the child's vocabulary.

"No, no, I'm not a stranger," Yao reassured him, wanting to make a good first impression. "I'm Wang Yao." The kid seemed to process this information, then his face lit up.

"Oh! You da Grandpa Yao Alfwed talks about all da time?" he asked eagerly. "Alfwed says you're 'most as old as da 'verse! What was it like seein' da dinosaurs? You ever wide one?"

"I think I might have ridden one a couple times," Yao replied as pleasantly as he could, trying to repress a twitch that had developed near his left eye. Alfred would pay dearly for this… However, the look of delight and wonder in the boy's oddly colored eyes mollified the nation somewhat. "Just Yao is fine, though, aru. I'm not a grandpa. And you must be-"

"WINSTON MONTGOMERY!" A loud bellow made them both jump, and the child clapped one hand over his mouth to stifle his startled squeal and strangled his turtle plushie with the other. Yao peeked over the armrest of the sofa and saw a rather peeved looking Arthur Kirkland stomping down the hall.

"You come out here this instant, young man!" The British nation was wearing a singed apron, and had a smear of something dark on his cheek. The sight was enough to strike terror in the hearts of diners everywhere. "It's suppertime, and I didn't work all afternoon just to have you run off. It's ungrateful, that's what it is."

On the one hand, Yao sympathized with Arthur; the man had obviously worked hard, and to have children run in fear from one's cooking probably wasn't a pleasant feeling. On the other hand… it was Arthur's cooking. No child, nay, no being in the 'verse should have to be exposed to the utter horror that was Arthur Kirkland's cooking.

"Yao?" Arthur had caught sight of the Chinese nation crouched on the other side of the sofa. "What are you doing way out here? Have you seen Winston? The rascal needs to come in for supper, and I think he went this way. Oh right, you've never met him, have you?" Arthur seemed to just remember this last detail.

"Well, you can't miss him; he's the only child in the house. Well, besides Alfred, but Winston actually looks like one." The British gent rolled his eyes, though Yao detected fondness behind the gesture. "What are you doing over there, anyway?"

"Um…" Yao glanced back at Winston, who was wriggling delightedly, trying not to laugh at this new game and give his position away. "I… just dropped my book," he replied in a flash of inspiration. He gave Arthur an exaggerated wink.

"Dropped your… oooh." Understanding dawned on Arthur's face. "Your book. I see." He gestured at the couch with a questioning look.

Yao shook his head quickly, mouthing, I'll do it at the other man. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

You sure? he mouthed back. He can be a handful. Yao waved him away. He hadn't raised most of the Asian nations back on Earth without picking up some childrearing skills along the way.

Go get some rest, he told the other nation wordlessly. Arthur looked rather bushed. After debating internally with himself for a couple seconds, Arthur finally nodded.

"All right, well, make sure your book," with a significant glance at the sofa, "eats all his vegetables. All of them, understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Yao tapped two fingers to his forehead in a sloppy salute. Arthur rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"That git is rubbing off on you, I swear."

"Heaven forbid," Yao chuckled, looking back at the young personification of Londinium, who looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Is Iggy gone?" Winston whispered.

"Yes, child, he's gone," smiled Yao. "You still need to eat, though."

"Nuh-uh! Icky! Icky! Don' wanna!" The boy drew back, looking at Yao reproachfully.

"That is why," Yao explained patiently, "I will cook you something." Winston perked up considerably.

"You make food?" he asked hopefully. "Not Iggy?"

"Indeed."

"Yay!" Yao suddenly found his arms full of warm, wriggling toddler. "I's weally hungry! Let's go, let's go!" Winston bounced up and down on the balls of his feet excitedly, like an eager puppy.

"You're going to have to lead me, little one," Yao told the boy ruefully. "I'm afraid I'm a bit lost."

"'Kay!" Winston replied amiably. He tugged on Yao's hand, and the nation obediently followed the child down the hall. The feeling of a tiny hand held securely in his own sent little surges of protective warmth through the old nation's heart, and he could now see why Alfred was so in love with the little planet. He hadn't thought anyone could be as cute or charming as Akiko, but Winston was rapidly proving him wrong. Not that Londinum's personification was the same as Sihnon's, no, not at all; they were actually very different, but… there was just something about him.

Yao was beginning to recognize where they were now. A few more hallways down, and they'd be at the kitchen.

"Yao!" A tug on his sleeve made him look down to find Winston looking up at his pleadingly, holding his arms up. "Cawwy me, please?" How could Yao resist eyes like that? He immediately scooped the boy up and couldn't resist cuddling him a little, which Winston accepted willingly, soaking up the attention like a dry sponge absorbing water.

"You're so cute, aru!" the Chinese nation declared, continuing to walk down the hall while rubbing his cheek once against the planet's babysoft blonde curls. "Like a little panda."

"What's a panda?" Winston asked, squeezing his turtle.  

"A panda bear," Yao explained. "You know what a bear is?"

"Ummm…" Winston scrunched his face up in thought. "Oh! Like Kuma?" It took Yao a couple seconds to remember that the kid was talking about Matthew's polar bear cub, but then he nodded.

"Exactly! Except pandas are white and black, and they eat bamboo instead of meat. If you want, I could show you a picture of one later," he offered.

"I'd like that," Winston nodded decisively, smiling. Changing the subject, he remarked, "Dis is Don." He held up his turtle for Yao to inspect. "Donnie for short. Alfwed says he's weally, weally smart, jus' like me!"

"Is he now?" Yao asked, smiling. Winston nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh! He helps when I work."

"When you work?" Yao asked curiously.

"Yeah, yeah! I shows you later, 'kay?"

"Alright," Yao agreed amiably.

"Jackie!" Winston suddenly squealed, having caught sight of the former personification of New Zealand. He squirmed out of Yao's arms, ran forward a couple steps, then dashed back to Yao and pushed Don into his hands. "Be wight back," he promised, then he was off again.

"Jackie, Jackie, Jackie!" He tugged on her skirt excitedly. "Yao says he's gonna make me dinner! I don't hafta eat Iggy's stuff!" He hugged her leg and she laughed, bending down to pick him up.

"It's awful nice of you to offer to make something for him," Jackie said, smiling gratefully at Yao. "We normally rotate cooking and babysitting duties on Wednesdays, since that's the one day of the week everyone's occupied or out, but since Kyle's running late today, Arthur insisted on picking up the slack." She shook her head ruefully, smiling as Winston started to contentedly run his small fingers through her short blonde hair. It was the exact color as Winston's, Yao abruptly noticed. "I hope it's no trouble…"

"No, no trouble at all," Yao quickly reassured her. "I look forward to getting to know him a little better, actually."  

"Oh, that's right, you've never met Winnie before, have you?" She shifted her grip on the toddler and handed him back to Yao. "Well, have fun, then." She gave them both a bright smile. "I'll be in the file room with Kathy. Call me if you need any help, Yao, okay?"

"I will do that, Jacqueline, thank you," Yao smiled back as the island nation ruffled Winston's hair playfully. "Should I make dinner just for us two, or for everyone?"

"Oh, you two is fine. We all normally grab whatever we can on days like this, except for the one who's looking after Winston. Speaking of which, see you, munchkin. Be good for Yao, okay?"

"I's always good," Winston retorted, eagerly leaning into the caress.

"Just don't take anything apart that you're not supposed to, okay, baby?" Jackie tweaked the child's nose, making him giggle, then disappeared around a corner, leaving a rather perplexed Yao and a beaming Winston behind.

"Food now?" the boy asked hopefully as Yao pushed open the swinging doors to the well-stocked kitchen.

"In awhile, child," Yao replied, setting him on the floor and going to look in the refrigerator. "I have to make it first." As he passed the stove, he caught sight of a charred mess in a pot and promptly dumped it and everything else on the stove in the trash. Tossing the dirty dishes in the sink, Yao grabbed a rag and scrubbed the counters and stove down.

"Yao, c'n I show you my work?" came Winston's voice from somewhere behind him.

"Of course," he answered distractedly, mentally calculating how much food he should make and sticking his head in the refrigerator. He remembered Arthur saying that Winston should eat his vegetables, so he pulled out some cabbage, a green pepper, a carrot, an onion, and – wonder of wonders – a zucchini. Setting the veggies on the counter, Yao rummaged through the cupboards and came up with a bottle of soy sauce, one of sesame seed oil, a can of chicken, a half-empty jar of cashews, some dried spaghetti noodles, and corn starch. He surveyed the ingredients with a small frown, then shrugged and got out a cutting board and a knife.

Oh well. He'd improvise for now, but he made a mental note to talk to Alfred later and get him to stock the kitchen with better ingredients from then on. If he was to have a hand in raising both planets, which he and Alfred had agreed on from day one, he was going to make certain that the child had the best of both worlds, not just Alfred's. The American nation had already exposed Akiko to baseball, hamburgers, and apple pie on his last visit to Sihnon, so Yao had a lot of catching up to do.

"Lookit, Yao, lookit!" Winston small, piping voice came from somewhere near Yao's left leg, and he looked down to see the boy beaming up at him, Don tucked securely under his arm. An old-fashioned alarm clock was clutched tightly in one little hand, while a basket of child-sized tools was in the other. Yao raised an eyebrow at the odd sight.

"What have you got there, Winston?" the nation asked, starting to peel the carrot.

"My work! See?" The boy scrambled up one of the kitchen chairs, stood on it, and upended his basket of tools on the large table. Choosing a small screwdriver, he systematically started to tear the clock apart, laying all the pieces neatly in front of him on the table. It took him about ten minutes, during which time Yao was busy with the vegetables, though he snuck curious glances at the toddler and his project from time to time. Winston kept up a steady stream of chatter about every subject under the sun in the meantime. Yao had never seen such a curious child.

"An' why," asked the boy, tapping one of the alarm bells against the table and giggling at the clear chime, "do's things make moosic, and other things just go 'thhhpbt-'?" He blew a raspberry, obviously his version of the "kaput" sound.

"Some things are just more resonant than others," Yao explained patiently, tossing the peeled and diced vegetables in a skillet.  

"Res-o-net?" Winston pronounced the long word carefully. "What's that?"

"Means they carry sound better, Winnie," came a new voice. Matthew strode into the room, smiling, Kumajiro held securely in his arms like an overly large teddy bear. "Wow, something smells good."

"Hi, Mattie!" Winston chirruped brightly, waving from his perch on the chair. "Whatcha dooooin'?"

"Hey, kiddo." Matthew set his bear down on the floor and came over to ruffle the planet's hair. "Feeding Kuma. Bears get hungry, too, you know."

"I knows." Winston nodded. "Will you feed him bamboozles? Like Yao's pandas?"

"Eh?" was the Canadian nation's articulate response. He looked to Yao for help. "Yao, what have you been telling this kid?"

"Just about the dietary habits of pandas," Yao replied innocently. "What? He seemed interested."

"Yao, Winston's interested about everything."

"I noticed. I don't think I've ever seen such an inquisitive child."

"Yeah, that's our Winston, alright. Curious as a monkey." Matthew rummaged around in the freezer, pulling out a medium sized trout and tossing it in a food dish in front of his bear, who immediately started devouring it messily. The Canadian nation leaned against the counter as Kumajiro ate, fixing Yao with an inquiring look.

"So," he began conversationally, "how'd you of all people get stuck with babysitting duty tonight?"

"Found him hiding from Arthur's cooking," Yao replied dryly.

"Oh no," Matthew groaned, hiding his face in his hands for a moment.  "Sorry; I thought we talked with him about this. He's just… he's so happy to have someone to take care of again, you know? We all are, actually. It… helps." Matthew absently rubbed the area of his chest over his heart.

"I know," Yao replied understandingly, feeling the faint, ever-present ache in his own chest, though it had gradually begun to fade with the discovery of the two planets' personifications. Their births truly were a blessing, in more ways than one. This star system was finally starting to feel like home.
"Anyway," he continued, pulling himself back to the conversation, "I told Arthur I'd take over for him and suggested he go get some rest. He looked rather tired."

"Yeah, Parliament sessions are rather stressful on the household for the first couple of days," Matthew explained. "We can handle all the paperwork and such just fine, but having a child added to the mix kinda complicates things. You can't leave him alone for very long unless he's sleeping."

"Why?" Yao asked, confused.

"You see that?" Matthew pointed to the table, where Winston was busily piecing the clock back together like a jigsaw puzzle. "He'll do that with anything he can get his hands on if you don't watch him like a hawk. I'm serious!" he avowed at Yao's incredulous look. "You weren't here when he somehow got into the generator and nearly fried himself and all the appliances in the house. Scared us all half to death, too."

Yao blinked, still trying to wrap his mind around this new development.  "How do you keep him out of trouble, then?"

"Keep him occupied." Matthew picked up his bear, who had come over to sit on his feet and was pawing at his leg. "Let him fiddle with the things he's been told he can fiddle with - like that clock Arthur gave him - read him books, tell him stories, let him ask questions and run around outside, you get the idea. And don't be afraid to correct him, either," he added, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the counter on his way out the door. "He's very eager to please; if you tell him he's doing something wrong, and - this is very important - explain why he shouldn't be doing it, he'll probably remember. Now, I gotta go through the seating plan for tomorrow, since Al said if Senator Olson's group was let anywhere near Senator Warren's, innocent puppies would be kicked and the Parliament building would implode. And God knows we can't let that happen." He rolled his eyes with a sarcastic grin.

"Of course not," agreed Yao, chuckling as he mixed the stir fried vegetables, the noodles, and the marinated chicken together in a pot. "Have a good evening, then."

"Bye, Matt! Bye, Kumajiwo!" called Winston cheerfully, waving.  

"Bye," grinned Matthew, waving back over his shoulder. As the twin departed, Yao transferred the steaming stir fry onto two plates and brought them over to the table. He thought about introducing the kid to chopsticks, but decided against it. This was probably enough for the first day.

Winston's eyes grew wide at the sight and smell of the strange meal, but he tucked into it willingly enough after he said grace, Yao ordered him to wash his hands, and the Chinese nation found his booster seat (not in that order).

"Dis is good, Yao!" the boy said enthusiastically, smiling at his benefactor around a mouthful of noodles. "What is it?"

"It's called stir fry, Winston. And don't talk with your mouth full." Yao wiped the planet's mouth with a nearby cloth napkin, wondering how in the world the kid could have gotten so much sauce smeared on his face and shirt in such a short time.

"Why?"

"Because," Yao explained patiently, "it's revolting to see all that chewed up food in your mouth, and you could accidentally inhale something and choke."

"Oh." Winston looked down at his partially eaten plate of food before noticing the chopsticks Yao was calmly eating his own food with. "Why're you eatin' with sticks?"

"'Cause he's weird, that's why," came a familiar teasing voice as Alfred strode into the kitchen carrying a load of groceries, closely followed by Kyle.

"You're weird," was the immediate retort. "And where have you been?"

"Helping Kyle with the groceries." Alfred jerked his thumb toward the Australian nation, who grinned apologetically.

"Sorry 'bout the delay, mate," he said apologetically. "That was some of the worst traffic I've ever seen."

"It's quite alright," Yao smiled. "If you hadn't been running late, I wouldn't have gotten to meet little Winston here." He smoothed back some of the boy's shaggy, tangled locks and received a beatific smile in response.

"Oh, that's right, Mattie told me you were playing nursemaid today," Alfred grinned roguishly.

"Nursemai-?!"

"Yao said he wode dinosauws, Alfwed!" Winston declared excitedly, hurriedly swallowing his mouthful of food after he received a stern look from Yao. "Jus' like you said!"

Alfred laughed nervously at Yao's frosty glare. "Uh, kid, little word of advice, sometimes you don't repeat certain stuff people say to you, okay?" Kyle hid his snigger behind a jar of canned peaches while Winston just looked confused.

"Indeed," Yao agreed pleasantly, gathering up the dirty dishes and stalking up to Alfred, who blanched visibly. "Did you know," he began conversationally, "Kiku had his camera last time you visited Sihnon?"

"Kiku always has his camera," Alfred replied, rolling his eyes. "Is this supposed to scare me? 'Cause I'll tell you right now-  woah!" He fumbled the armful of dishes Yao had just thrust at him.

"And did you know," Yao continued as if Alfred hadn't spoken, "That he and I happened to be in the general vicinity when Akiko convinced you to play te-"

"Alright, alright, I get it, no more saying Yao's a dinosaur under pain of eternal humiliation and disgrace, got it," Alfred said hurriedly, cutting Yao off mid-word and depositing the dishes in the sink. "I've learned my lesson, you can be quiet now."

"I could stand to hear about this a little more," Kyle grinned devilishly. "You say Kiku took pictures?"

"They're nothing you wanna see, trust me," Alfred insisted, scooping up a sticky, food-covered Winston, shoving him into Yao's arms and hustling them out of the room with all possible haste.

"We'll talk later, Kyle," Yao said over his shoulder.

"Right, then!" the Australian called back cheerfully.

"You better not!" Alfred warned. "I know where you live. Both of you. And I know where I can get my hands on some fireworks. You wanna set some fireworks off with me in Kyle and Yao's rooms, kiddo?"

"Fiyawuks!" Winston cheered delightedly, clapping his hands together at the mention of the wonderful word. "Fiyawuks, fiyawuks, fiyawuks -!"

"You've corrupted him already, aru," Yao scolded a smug-looking Alfred over the child's joyous chant. "I weep for the future of this 'verse."

"You're just jealous is all," the younger nation replied breezily. "Now, Nanny Yao, since you've saddled yourself with the rugrat for the evening, I suggest getting him in the bathtub as soon as possible. Toodles, ya'll!" He gave Winston a quick peck on the top of his curly head, and turned to go finish unloading the groceries.

"Kyle, I believe the name you'll want to title that photo album is 'Pretty in Pink.' Write that down. And I must warn you, Alfred, Mei hasn't taken the ruination of her favorite dress very well. I'd steer clear of her for the next couple of months, if I were you." There was a short silence, broken only by Winston's babyish chatter, during which time Alfred turned a very fascinating shade of puce.

"Wan an," Yao said cordially, and turned to go, just as Kyle burst out laughing and dashed from the room.

"Jackie! Matt! Kathy! C'mere, you won't believe this!"

"Kyle, my hand to God, if you say one word-!" Alfred was close on his heels. Yao chuckled evilly as he walked down the hall, Winston still babbling happily about fireworks. Payback was indeed sweet.

-

About twenty minutes later, after wrestling Winston out of the bathtub and into his pajamas, getting half the bathroom soaked in the process, and enduring another round of such questions like "Why can't I bweathe water like fishies?" and "Why do's your name sound like what Alfwed yells when he hurts hisself?", Yao was seated in front of the viewscreen in the planet's disaster zone of a room - Winston held securely on his lap – flipping through the computer's sizable database for pictures of panda bears.

The young planet was currently occupied with playing with Yao's ponytail, flopping it from side to side. "Why you has long hair, Yao?" the boy asked inquisitively, running his fingers through the soft brown strands. "Boys no gots long hair."

"They can where I'm from," Yao replied patiently, finally coming up on a gallery of panda photos. "It's a cultural thing, aru. That means," he added before Winston could even open his mouth, "it's what a certain group of people does, as opposed to another group of people. Like my eating with, as you put it, sticks instead of a fork." Yao deftly rescued his ponytail from imminent slobbery doom in Winston's mouth and resettled the planet on his lap so that he was facing the screen.

"Bear!" the toddler exclaimed in surprise, pointing at a black and white cub contentedly napping on a sun baked rock.

"Indeed, child," the nation chuckled. Inspiration struck, and he added, "His name is Li, and he's waiting for his mother to come home, you see?" Winston nodded, eyes wide as saucers. Yao flipped to the next picture, this one of a bear sitting in the middle of a bamboo grove, contentedly gnawing on a stick. "And this is his mother-"

"Ooo, ooo, eatin' bamboozles?" Winston asked, pointing again.

"Bamboo, child." Yao changed the picture again. "And this…" Yao continued to tell the boy the story, using the pictures as visual aids. About fifteen minutes in, he heard a faint snore and looked down to find the tiny planet had curled up on his lap, his head pillowed on the old nation's arm. He was fast asleep.

Yao barely suppressed an undignified squee as he absently wondered whether that was an insult or a complement to his storytelling abilities. He carefully cradled the boy in his arms so he could move him to his bed. However, as he stood up, Winston's eyes flew open and filled with tears. He buried his face in Yao's shirt and started to wail. Taken aback, Yao quickly settled himself in a handy nearby rocking chair and hugged the toddler reassuringly.

"What's the matter, little one?" he asked gently, tipping Winston's chin up to meet his watery eyes.

"Had a bad dweam," the boy sniffled, lower lip quivering. "Big scawy panda monster gonna eat me!"

"No, nothing's going to eat you," Yao declared, tucking a stray curl behind Winston's ear. "I won't let it. I promise, nothing will ever hurt you while I'm around, Winston."

"You pinkie swear pwomise?" The planet held up his hand, his tiny pinkie finger extended.

"I pinkie swear promise." Yao solemnly hooked his own pinkie finger with Winston's. The boy seemed to brighten up and relax considerably after the deed was done, yawning sleepily.

"Love you, Yao." He gave the rather surprised nation a tight hug around the neck and a large, unabashed kiss on the nose before plopping down on Yao's lap, curling up like a kitten, and snuggling into the crook of his arm. "Night-night."

Yao's heart melted completely. "I love you, too, Winston." He leaned down and kissed the drowsy boy on the cheek. "Good night." He started rocking the chair back and forth, humming a nondescript little tune, and the planet was asleep within minutes. Yao continued rocking, though, wanting to make sure Winston was well and truly asleep before attempting to move him again.  

"Awww, ain't that just the cutest thing ever?" Yao looked up and glared daggers at the tallish figure leaning up against the doorframe, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"If you wake him up, I will hurt you later," he threatened in a low voice, only half kidding. Alfred raised his hands in submission.

"And you have full permission to feed me my own arm if that happens, believe me," the American nation replied, beginning the hazardous trek across the minefield that was Winston's bedroom floor. "The kid could sleep through a tactical nuclear strike, though. So I wouldn't worry." Yao relaxed just a little.

"Why are you here, then?" he asked suspiciously.

"The gang's gathering for our weekly game night, and wanted to know if you felt like joining. And I'm returning Donnie." Alfred held up the stuffed turtle. "He normally can't get to sleep without 'im. He must really like you. The kid, not the turtle," he added as an afterthought. Yao's face softened as he glanced down at the slumbering child.

"The feeling is mutual, I think," he murmured quietly, shifting his grip on Winston just a little. "He is… an extraordinary child, to be sure."

"Told ya." Alfred sounded smug, but when he crouched down and twined one of Winston's pale curls around his finger, Yao saw nothing but tenderness on his face as he looked at the boy. "You get what I mean, now? 'Kiko and Winnie may be a little different…" he trailed off, thought for a moment, and then amended himself, "Okay, very different, but they both represent us and this new galaxy equally. And they're both equally cute," he added, with a sly look at Yao. "Just in different ways."

"No argument there, my friend," Yao chuckled, shaking his head. "I can only imagine what Akiko would do if she saw Winston's table manners. Or clothing for that matter."

"Faint, most likely," Alfred chuckled himself. "Or attack him with a scrub brush." They both laughed quietly at the mental image. "Seriously, though," Alfred said after they had composed themselves sufficiently. "We should really let these two meet one of these days. Despite their differences… I actually think they'd get along rather well."

Yao considered this, and then nodded slowly. "It would be good for them to socialize with another child of our kind," he said thoughtfully. "I'll broach the subject with the others. They might take a little convincing, though. They never want to let her out of their sight, even for a moment."

"Same here," Alfred sighed good-humoredly. "It's like we've all become doting, overprotective parents overnight, huh? Grandparent, in your case."

"Don't push me, young man," Yao warned. "I still have those photos Kiku took."

"Those will be hanging over my head 'til I find Kiku's stash and destroy them, won't they?"

"Yes. Yes, they most certainly will," Yao replied smugly.

"Well, what was I supposed to do when she asked me to play dress up with her?" Alfred chucked the stuffed animal onto Winston's unmade bed. "You've seen her puppy dog eyes; they're worse than Winston's for crying out loud! And that's saying something."

"I'll take your word for it," Yao smiled, carefully shifting the child's head to rest on his shoulder so he could carry him to his bed more comfortably. The little planet made a little sleepy sniffling sound as he was moved, but quickly settled back down again, gripping a fistful of Yao's shirt instinctively in his hand as the nation got to his feet in one smooth, fluid motion. Yao deftly maneuvered around a pile of wooden blocks and walked the rest of the few paces to Winston's bed without incident.

He settled himself on the edge of the bed and delicately laid the boy down on the soft mattress, quickly placing Don in Winston's arms as the toddler started to stir. Winston reflexively squeezed the toy tight and rolled over, curling up on his side in a tight little ball, giving a content little sigh as he did so. Yao pulled the quilt up and tucked it snugly around the child's shoulders, his movements sure and gentle from countless years of practice. Taking one last moment to smooth Winston's hair back with one hand and stroke his cheek with the back of his finger, Yao reluctantly stood up to find Alfred grinning at him. And not his usual I-am-the-heroic-happy-go-lucky-idiot-be-blinded-by-my-awesomeness grin, either.

"What?" asked Yao, somewhat taken aback.

"Oh, nothing," Alfred replied, still smiling. "Just thinking about how great it is to have a chance to start over. Maybe this time… we can finally get it right, you know?" Yao gave a grin of his own. He made his way over to his friend's side, and the two picked their way over to the door.

"Who knows?" the Chinese nation replied softly. "Maybe we will." The nations stopped and turned at the door, Alfred taking hold of the knob and quietly closing the door to let the sleeping child rest in peace until morning.

"Also," Alfred added as the door clicked shut, "you make a totally awesome mom."

SMACK!

"OW! God, Yao, what was that for?!" Alfred rubbed the back of his smarting head gingerly.

"You're hopeless, aru." Yao rolled his eyes but a small grin quirked his lips, betraying his amusement with the situation.

"Right back at ya, old man. Right back at ya." Alfred draped an arm over the smaller man's shoulders and led him off down the hall. "Now, about game night…"


THE END