(fanfic) APH- Lovely maid Yao- Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Yao was sweeping the floor; waiting patiently for the time to close the café so that he could return home. The rest of the evening was thankfully calm and the only client left was Ivan who was quietly finishing drinking his coffee. In addition, Mathias decided to be kind enough to stay until everything was clean as a way to apologize for the messes he had done.

In a couple of minutes, another (yet rather strange and exhausting) day of work would be finished. At least, it wasn’t as worse than yesterday, but Yao had to admit that a lot of stuff happened…and he still wasn’t certain of what to exactly think of this day…and also his stalker for that matter… 

“Well I finished cleaning the kitchen, there is nothing much left to do. So I’m leaving, okay?” The Dane announced, waving goodbye at the two, as he rushed toward the exit. 

“Sure. Have a good night aru.”The Asian answered, not bothering to stop his work to give a proper goodbye to the other.

“Good night as well to both of you…And don’t stay up too late you two!”Mathias added with a sly grin.

“Thank—!” Yao was about to give the formal answer, but then he actually realised the meaning of this last sentence…And he wasn’t happy!

He gave a quick glare to his co-worker; even after explaining countless of times what exactly happened between Ivan and him earlier, and to explicitly clarify that there was nothing between them, Mathias still didn’t believed him. 

However, it seemed that the waiter was the only one affected by this remark, since Ivan simply gave a small chuckle; the Russian didn’t seem bothered at all.

“H-have a good night.”The Chinese plainly said once again, deciding to ignore the meaning of the last comment. 

Mathias left the café and soon the room was completely silent. On one side of the room, the last customer was finishing drinking his coffee and, on the other, the waiter was finishing cleaning the floor…for some reason none of them wanted to break the silence and, in some way, Yao was truly grateful for that. He liked to end a day of work with a quiet atmosphere; especially when it was a day exhausting like this one.

The only thing left to do was cleaning Ivan’s cup of coffee; however, Yao decided that he would leave this for the employee who will work tomorrow. Therefore, it was the time to close the café and leave.

“Here, Ivan, your shirt is perfectly dry now.”He finally said, giving the Russian his clothes back.

It took a while for the shirt and the scarf to be dried and Ivan definitely didn’t want to return to the employee lounge even after Francis was gone. Since there were no other clients at the café, Yao decided to let him stay here. It would have been something really awkward and complicated to explain if he had the misfortune of receiving a sudden visit from his manager during the evening…although it wasn’t like he could force Ivan to put his not-yet-dried shirt; the blond could had caught a cold.

“Thank you, Yao.”The Russian replied glad to have his shirt and scarf back. Now he could finally be warm again. Though, instead of putting his shirt back, he looked curiously at the waiter. 

“Yao, are you sure you want me to put my shirt back da?”He inquired, with an inquisitive and playful tone. If he remembered correctly, his crush did seem quite interested by looking at his chest earlier that evening…he willingly couldn’t ignore the possibility that Yao might have been impressed.

“What are you talking about?! It’s not like I care or anything.”The Chinese rapidly commented, deciding to look away from his stalker and hoping that the other wouldn’t see his flustered face. 

“So this means that I can stay like this~”Ivan announced, deciding to tease the other.

“Put the shirt now!!”Yao suddenly ordered with a strict tone. 

In the end, it seemed that Yao did care. With a small laugh, Ivan put back his shirt; after all, he didn’t want to distract his little sunflower…anyway, not for the moment…

“Do I have to go outside so that you can close the café?” Ivan wondered, realising that it was already the closing time.

“No, it’s okay. You can stay until I close the door aru. I’m almost finishing anyway.”

Even if he wasn’t allowed to close the café while there was still a client, Yao decided to make an exception for today. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway; the stubborn Russian wouldn’t go home without him. Every day, the Asian couldn’t help to think of how ridiculous this habit of waiting for him was. No matter what, Ivan was persistent of always escorting him home. With the awful day the blond had, Yao would expect him to leave and return home to rest; nonetheless the other was far from agreeing with that.

While the waiter was finishing cleaning what was left, Ivan couldn’t help but to be happy about the fact that his crush let him stay. 

Maybe Yao did have plans on staying after the closing time so that they could continue with the nice moment they had earlier…it was indeed the perfect opportunity since they were all alone. With a smile, he took his wallet to pay for the bill. 

“Ivan, today you don’t have to pay!”The other stopped him.

“What?”

“It’s free on the house. It’s a sort of apology for all the trouble the café caused to you.” And it was a very fair policy according to Yao.

“Wouldn’t they cut that out of your paycheck?”

“No, it doesn’t work like that here. It’s really a gift from the place.” Yao confirmed, however the Russian was still taking his money out.  

“Ivan, what did I just say?”The waiter remarked slightly bothered.

“But this is for you.”The blond stated, offering the usual twenty dollar to Yao.

“Stop it! I don’t need a tip!”

 “Of course you need one! You took good care of me when I was injured. And I really felt some pleasure from that da?”The Russian declared teasingly. It didn’t take long for Yao’s face to be completely red.

“Aiyaa!!! There you are talking about stupid stuff again.”The Chinese complained while looking away embarrassed. Ivan truly wasn’t ashamed to talk about such things which always troubled him. How could he ever convince the stalker to stop saying things like this when this one, in contrary, always thought it was amusing to tease him? 

Once more, in the end, Yao didn’t found the way to let Ivan keep the money, which he thought was very terrible. He worked for a reason; he absolutely didn’t need Ivan to give him that. He promised that he would eventually thought of a way to repay Ivan somehow. 

“Let’s get out. I can’t wait to be at home right now.”The smaller one said, more than ready to leave the place.

“Aww, so we can’t stay here any longer?”Ivan sadly asked. It looked like the other had no plans of staying with him here sadly… 

“What are you taking about aru? I have to close the café. The sooner we are out, the sooner we will be home and the better it will be.”

 

So much for the “sexy time after closing hour” opportunity that Ivan was hoping to have…

“Wait. Before we go, I have to change my clothes.”The waiter murmured to himself as a reminder, unfortunately, his stalker heard this and it was enough for Ivan to regain his enthusiasm once more.

“Ha! Does Yao-Yao need help with getting undress?”He inquired beaming a smile that was way too big for Yao’s liking.

“No, I don’t need any!”Yao quickly answered.

“Are you certain?”The Russian chimed while still having a slightly perverted smile.

“Yes! I absolutely don’t need your help!”The Chinese clearly confirmed, hoping it was enough for Ivan to stop asking those questions.

Yao made sure to lock the door of the room twice before changing. He suspected the other one to stalk him while getting undress; honestly, it was something that wouldn’t surprise him. Although, if he locked the door there was no way Ivan could see him…unluckily for the Russian.

Since the Asian was too shy to accept his assistance, the blond waited patiently for the waiter to finish. He simply didn’t understand why Yao couldn’t walk with his uniform outside. He was incredibly cute in it. Sadly, his crush was against this idea.

After the quick change of outfit and after Yao made sure to perfectly lock the door of the café, the two were at last ready to return home.

 “You know, you don’t need to wait for me every single time. You should have gone home by now aru.”The Chinese mentioned.

“No, I have to make sure you return home safe.”

“Aiyaa, I already told you that I don’t need you to take care of me!”

“But I did a good job today! I saved you from Francis and his perverted schemes da?” Ivan explained with a very proud tone. He seriously felt like he did the best action in the world. He was so glad that those pictures were in his possession and not Francis’.

“Aiyaa, you are overacting again aru! Francis was acting like he always does. He flirts like that with Arthur, girls and well …with almost everyone….” Even if Yao was really annoyed by the French today, he had to admit that it could have been worse…way worse! Unfortunately, it was obvious that Ivan didn’t see it like that.

“kolkolkolkol~ You are defending him again!”He said bitterly.

“I am not defending him aru!”Yao quickly replied. “I am just saying that your actions weren’t necessary. He was about to go away anyway.”He added, hoping it would calm the Russian.

“But he didn’t stop taking pictures of you!” Ivan pointed out, quite perturbed. “Who knows what kind of horrible stuff he could have done with them da?” 

What would happen if Francis had took a picture that was too much revealing? The maid dress was so short; Ivan wasn’t capable of ignoring the possibilities that the French might had the chance of taking a picture that would show Yao’s underwear. That would be absolutely horrible!

Nobody had the right to see Yao’s underwear except from Yao and him! And maybe, maybe he could tolerate Yao’s mother, if she ever does the laundry, but that was the only exception! And the fact that the Chinese seemed fine with this situation was making him jealous and anger. Why wasn’t Yao worried about that?

“Aiyaa! What would he do with those pictures?”The other asked, thinking that Ivan was overacting. Even if Francis had a sometimes doubtful attitude, the French did promise him that he wouldn’t tell anyone about his work. 

“…Hum.”Was the only reply Ivan gave… was Yao truly that innocent? Did Yao really wanted him to honestly tell?

And with Ivan’s brief comment and expression, just at that moment, the Chinese embarrassedly realised what might be an answer…

“…F-forget about what I asked aru…”Yao replied fully flustered. As a reply, the blond let a small chuckle which made the other’s cheeks to turn red very rapidly.

“…W-well, I would have found a way to stop him…”The smaller one commented, realising that Ivan didn’t do something bad…In the end, his stalker was actually helping him again. He had to admit to himself that Ivan was indeed a kind person and until now Yao didn’t do much to show him his gratitude. In fact, he should probably stop calling him a stalker, even if the Russian still did show signs of being one. Their relationship was closer than being simple acquaintances...as much as this was making him strangely nervous. 

“A-anyway, thanks for your help Ivan…Even though I didn’t need it...”He added with a more certain voice.

“You are welcome Yao. You also helped me a lot when I got hurt.” Ivan had to confess that his cute maid certainly knew how to cure him.

“S-so you promise to delete those pictures?”Yao inquired.

“Don’t worry about this Yao-Yao. I promise I will. Nobody will ever see them!” He will surely delete these pictures. Of course, before doing that, first he will have to find a way to make a copy of those and put it on his computer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to print pictures of beautiful Yao and put it on the walls of his room?

Thankfully for Ivan, his crush decided to trust him without a doubt.

“Are your shoulders still hurting?”The Chinese suddenly questioned, noticing that it’s been a while he didn’t ask about the other’s injury.

“No, it’s a lot better and it doesn’t hurt much anymore.”Ivan answered, somehow taken back by the question.

“Be sure to put the lotion more than once a day! And if it burns too much, you can put a cold wet towel on it aru. It helps a lot. Also…”

Before continuing with his suggestions, Yao realised that he was yet again acting too much brotherly...

He was always been used to take care of his younger siblings and cousins; sometimes it was like a habit for him to act like this toward others too. He rarely spent much time with people who weren’t family members, so when he acted like this toward his friends, he felt strange and embarrassed. Nobody liked to hang out with someone who acted like an “annoying mother”; a definition that his little sister used more often than she should to describe him.   

“W-well, keep putting the lotion more than once and you should be fine aru.”The Asian finally muttered, realising that he might sound annoying with his suggestions.

“Thanks Yao, I’m really happy that you helped me! Yao-Yao is the best!”The Russian expressed with such optimism.

However, as much as Yao was glad to not sound annoying and be a help, he actually didn’t felt that he deserved all the praise and thanks he got from Ivan. The other was always complimenting him for his actions, although, he had to admit that he didn’t understood where Ivan got all this from, because he never did much for him.

Maybe he could think of some way to show his honest gratitude to him… they already arrived to his home; perhaps it was the moment to show him his appreciation. 

“I think you deserve a recompense for your effort today…”Yao proposed. Even if the Chinese spoke quietly, surprisingly, Ivan heard this like if it was something that the other openly shouted.

“A recompense?!”He exclaimed with a very big and joyful smile. He looked like a child who just learnt that he would receive a gift.

“Aiyaa! Don’t get any extreme ideas aru! I am not going to do anything inappropriate.”Yao quickly snapped, shocked to see the other with such a zealous expression. 

“Aww…”

 “’Awww’?!!”Yao repeated, not reassured by this expression. He should have expected Ivan to have such ideas rapidly…

“But what will be my recompense da? I want to know!”He asked with the big smile he had before. A gift from Yao that wasn’t inappropriate was a gift nonetheless. Obviously, the Chinese had a different definition of “inappropriate” than him; therefore, he was still eagerly curious about his recompense. What could Yao want to offer to him?

“I just came up with it aru. Don’t raise your expectations too much, you might be disappointed.”The Asian announced, suddenly feeling like he did a bad choice. 

“I will never be disappointed by the things you will give me!”Ivan assured. Apparently the Russian was positive about that, which made Yao ponder if he would regret his decision.

“Okay, but you have been warned…”Yao sighed.

“Hmm?”

Ivan fervently looked as Yao slowly tempted to come closer to him. The smaller one tried the best he could to look at the other in the eyes; nonetheless, ultimately, he wasn’t capable. The fact that Ivan was there, having his big smile and cheerful expression, made him uncomfortable and somehow nervous.

“C-close your eyes…”He ordered. Even if the blond was a little surprised, he didn’t argue with Yao’s orders. Not to mention that this definitely raised Ivan’s expectation for the kiss he wanted for a long time.

On the other hand, since there was no more eye contact to make him nervous, Yao gradually came closer to the other’s face. Unfortunately, right at the moment that he was mere inches away from Ivan…he completely froze wondering what in the world he was exactly about to do. 

At the beginning, his first thought was to give Ivan the kiss he asked for so long…though, now that he realised that he couldn’t do something that foolish! It wasn’t like there was something between them?! Why would he kiss him?! Why did he think about this in the first place?! It was like his brain was only doing stupid things today! He should definitely just go home! However, he couldn’t leave Ivan there, especially not after he promised to offer him something.

Then, the most important question came to Yao’s mind; what was he going to give to Ivan? Because he seriously didn’t know what to do; he was seriously cursing himself for all this nonsense. Then again, he could simply give him the damn kiss and finish with that. A part of him was mysterious not against it… but at the same time, another part of him, wasn’t capable of doing it…

Meanwhile, Ivan, who still stood there with his eyes closed, was completely wondering what was going on. It’s been almost thirty seconds that he was waiting for Yao to give him his reward, yet nothing happened. Actually, a sad thought came to him as he wondered if Yao didn’t just left him there alone and dumped him. Though, from all the people he knew, Ivan faithfully believed that his crush would be the last person to do this to him. Maybe the gift was a thing instead of a kiss? 

Nonetheless, if it was the case, wouldn’t the Asian say something instead of waiting for him to open his eyes? All this didn’t make sense at all!

A little tired of waiting, Ivan decided to open one of his eyes to see what was happening. The first thing he saw, surprisingly, was Yao being a few inches away from his lips.

At the same time that the Russian opened his other eye because he was shocked, Yao instinctively decided to change the plans at the last second and went to give Ivan a quick kiss on his cheek instead.

 “Ha?”

Ivan had to be honest; he wasn’t certain of what exactly happened. One second Yao was very close to his lips, the following second, the Chinese was kissing his cheek…Did he just missed his chance of having his so long expecting kiss because he opened his eyes too soon? Ivan rapidly put his hand on his cheek to feel that it was actually warm.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Yao completely felt that he looked like an idiot; he hoped that it would be yet another scene that would be soon forgot. For the moment, he only had to take the courage and face the other, even if it was reluctantly.

He was seriously expecting Ivan to be saddened or disappointed; however, the other was still looking at him bewildered with a rather innocent look.

“Aiyaa…I-I told you to not expect anything aru.”The Asian finally muttered. He knew that his gift wasn’t the best, but Ivan didn’t need to be that astonished…

“I-I am not disappointed da?”Ivan confirmed, not taking his hand out of the cheek Yao kissed. He honestly wanted something else, although, it was a start…somehow. He was sincerely cursing himself for opening his eyes sooner. 

 Yao raised one eyebrow, not believing the other. The blond definitely didn’t look like someone who wasn’t at least a little bit disappointed. If he knew Ivan well, the Russian probably had a lot of strange ideas, before the kiss. 

“Yao-Yao’s lips are so soft da? It’s so warm. Thanks Yao.” Ivan chimed. Even if he received a simple kiss on the cheek, he was still happy to feel the sensation of Yao’s lips. He was definitely not going to clean his cheek for a while.

Yao had to admit that the small, yet pleased, smile on Ivan’s face was making him so adorable… A little bit taken aback by Ivan’s happiness and by his own thoughts, he turned around, blushing. 

 “Don’t say such foolishness aru!”The Chinese stuttered which made Ivan giggle; it was Yao’s typical answer.

No matter what, Yao couldn’t understand why he was suddenly finding Ivan’s comportment so cute…

“I-I really have to go home aru…” He said quietly. He truly needed to go home; he was feeling so strange at the moment.

“Have a nice evening Yao! See you tomorrow!” The blond wished to the other, very high spirited. The Chinese walked away bewildered by what he did and what he had the intention to do. He could feel his heart racing and it was so odd!

At last, Yao was home and he didn’t take long to go to his apartment once he was certain that the Russian walked away. When he arrived he noticed his cousins who were watching television. 

“Good evening.” He greeted them, still a little perplexed about earlier event between him and his stalker.

“Good evening. How was your day?”

“It was long and strange aru.”

“Aniki, is it warm outside?”Yong asked out of the blue, which confused the older one.

“N-no, not really aru. It’s a little windy…”He answered truly not understanding the reason of this sudden question. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing! It’s just that your face is really red so I thought it was because of the heat, da-zee!”The Korean pointed out casually.

“…”

Shocked to hear that, the Asian turned around to look in the mirror that was on the living room and to see that he was indeed completely blushing.

“Aiya!”He shouted, before quickly going to his room, leaving his cousins completely puzzled by this strange behaviour. 

(TBC)