Kindergarten Blues
Fandom: Hetalia
Title: Kindergarten Blues
Character(s) or Pairing(s): America, Russia
Rating: PG
Warnings: Little kid!Russia, fluff, hamsters
Summary: Six year old Ivan Braginski has a bad day at school when he's bitten by the class hamster. Luckily teacher's aide Alfred F. Jones is there to help cheer him up.
Alfred F. Jones should have expected a disaster. There had been some kind of disaster every single day for the last four months he had worked as a kindergarten teacher's aide at Himaruya Elementary. Not that he didn't love his job! Alfred always had a soft spot for kids, and kids generally liked Alfred back once they realized that he was a ten year old boy hiding in a twenty seven year old man's body.
Much as Alfred enjoyed his work (and hoped to eventually become a real teacher like Mr. Kirkland, not just an aide,) it would have been nice to get through a day without anyone throwing up or breaking anything or eating play-doh or peeing their pants or skinning their knees or trying to cut their own hair with the plastic safety scissors...kindergarten was a real war zone.
The morning was unusually calm, and so Alfred allowed himself to be lulled into a false sense of security, imagining that for once the day would pass without any hiccups...until across the room a boy burst into noisy tears. Alfred whirled around. Ivan Braginski, who had only just celebrated his sixth birthday and stood a few inches taller than the rest of the class, was standing in front of the class' hamster cage, bawling. Alfred sighed and began to make his way over, but stopped in his tracks when he saw something small and furry dart under a table. Of course this would be the day the hamster got out his cage. Of course. Mr. Kirkland had already arrived on the scene and was fussing over Ivan, and so Alfred resisted the urge to roll his eyes and dropped to his knees. This wasn't the first time Nibbles the Hamster had tried to escape, and Alfred knew from experience that the longer he waited, the harder Nibbles would be to find.
Luckily Nibbles hadn't gotten far and was still sitting under the table, apparently under the impression that Alfred couldn't see him if he was perfectly still. With the calm poise of a natural hunter, Alfred crept closer and snatched up the little ball of fur. Nibbles, a born rebel, naturally fought and squirmed in Alfred's hands, scraping his tiny claws against his fleshy cage, but all in vain.
Ivan was still whimpering pitifully by the time Alfred deposited the rogue hamster back in his cage.
“Nibbles bit his finger,” Mr. Kirkland said wearily before Alfred could even ask. “Could you fetch him a band-aid?”
Alfred made a sympathetic noise and gave Ivan a pat on the head. “Don't you worry, little guy! We'll get you patched up in no time! One band-aid, coming up!”
The first aid kit was tucked carefully behind Mr. Kirkland's desk, away from any curious little fingers. There was a tube of Neosporin, some anti-itch cream, a bottle of ultra-strength migraine medicine (for Mr. Kirkland's personal use only,) a box of that powder to sprinkle on the floor when someone puked...but no band-aids. Alfred was still digging into the box when there was a loud crash from behind. One of the sand tables had tipped over and spilled its contents all over the floor. Gilbert and Elizabeta were standing near the scene of the crime, looking guilty. Alfred neatly sidestepped the mess and made his way back over his Mr. Kirkland, who was staring at the latest crisis with barely concealed horror.
“Sorry, boss. We're out of band-aids.”
Mr. Kirkland just closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Of course we are. Murphy's law and all that. Take Ivan to the nurse, would you?”
“You got it, chief!” Alfred said, but Mr. Kirkland was already heading over to the mountain of spilled sand and gave no sign that he had heard. Alfred turned his attention back to Ivan, who was sucking on his wounded finger. He had stopped crying, but his face was still flushed and wet.
“Did you hear Mr. Kirkland?” Alfred asked gently, using his sleeve to dry Ivan's damp cheeks. “We're gonna go to the nurse's office, alright? Wanna go see Mr. Toris and let him fix up your finger?”
Ivan nodded and reached up to grab Alfred's hand as they walked out of the room together, side by side.
“Wanna take your hand out of your mouth, little guy?” Alfred asked once they were out in the hallway. “Sucking on your booboo isn't gonna make it better.”
“Hurts,” Ivan mumbled around his finger.
“I know, but Mr. Toris is gonna make it all better! Remember how he fixed you up when you fell off the jungle gym?”
Ivan gave a grudging little nod and pulled his finger from his mouth, giving his wound a critical look.
Alfred whistled. “Wow, Nibbles really chomped you, didn't he?”
To his dismay, Ivan's lower lip started to quiver and he promptly put his finger back in his mouth with a sad little sniffle.
“It doesn't hurt that bad, does it?” Alfred asked, but Ivan ignored him. Alfred sighed in defeat. It wasn't like Ivan to get so upset over a little cut. Oh, he'd cry over scrapes and bruises just like any kid, but he always bounced back fast. Maybe Ivan was a little weird and wasn't the best at making friends, but he was a very resilient six year old.
Ivan was still sullenly silent by the time they arrived at the nurse's office. Toris looked up from a pile of paperwork and managed a tired smile for them.
“Hey, Mr. L...Lau...” Alfred tried.
“You can just call me Mr. Toris like the kids do, Alfred,” Toris said patiently.
“Okay, Mr. Toris, do you think we can get a band-aid for Ivan here?”
Toris' face softened in sympathy. “Oh no! Did you get hurt, Ivan?”
“Gotta booboo,” Ivan mumbled thickly.
“Hamster bite,” Alfred added.
“That wasn't very nice of the hamster,” Toris commented, pulling a box of band-aids from his desk. “What's your favorite color, Ivan?”
Ivan finally removed his finger from his mouth to answer. “Red.”
“You're in luck! I've got a red band-aid right here. Can I see your finger for a moment? We need to clean the cut first. This might hurt for a second.”
Ivan took a step back when Toris approached him with a can of anti-septic spray, but went still when Alfred put a hand on his shoulder.
“It won't be that bad, little guy!” he promised with a smile. “And you're pretty brave, aren't you? You can handle this!”
Ivan seemed to take Alfred's vote of confidence very seriously as he held his finger out to Toris, braced his shoulders and screwed his eyes shut. He whined quietly when Toris sprayed the cut, but otherwise stayed still and quiet while the school nurse worked.
“All done!” Toris said at last. Ivan opened one eye just a crack, peering out at his newly bandaged finger before opening his eyes all the way and giving Toris a shy smile.
“Thanks, Mr. T!” Alfred said brightly, failing to notice how Toris winced at the nickname. “Can you say thank you, Ivan?”
“Thank you, Mr. Toris,” Ivan mumbled as Alfred took his hand and began to lead his back to class.
Ivan lapsed into silence again on the way back, and almost tripped twice when he stared at his finger for too long and ignored where his feet were heading.
“What's eating you, little guy?” Alfred asked at last, stopping their trek. “You're looking a little down. Does you finger still hurt?”
Ivan shook his head and picked at the band-aid.
“Then what is it, huh? Are you feeling sick or something? Hungry? Tired?”
Ivan bit his lip and finally whispered, “Nibbles doesn't like me.”
“Oh shoot, Nibbles was just having a bad day! I bet he likes you just fine!”
“No, he doesn't.” Ivan's eyes started to well up again. “I just w-wanted to be his friend! I told him so, b-but he still bit me!”
“Maybe Nibbles doesn't speak English!” Alfred protested, trying in vain to keep Ivan from having a breakdown in the middle of the hallway.
“B-but I was speaking hamster to him!” Ivan wailed.
“You speak hamster? Hey, can you say something for me...” Alfred trailed off lamely as Ivan began to cry in earnest. Distractions weren't going to work now, and he carefully knelt down before Ivan as he tried his next tactic. “Come on, little guy! Don't cry over that dumb old hamster! I bet he'd be a lousy friend. You've already got better friends than him, don't you?”
Ivan choked miserably and scrubbed at his eyes with his fists. “I d-don't have any fr-friends.”
“Sure you do! What about...um...Gilbert?”
“Gilbert's a bad boy,” Ivan sniffled.
“Feliks?”
“He got pink paint all over me when we were finger painting. He did it on purpose.”
“Uh...what about...” Alfred wracked his brain for another potential friend of Ivan's.
“No,” Ivan hiccuped. “There's nobody. N-nobody wants to b-be my fr-friend!”
“What about me?” Alfred finally cried in desperation.
Ivan abruptly stopped crying and stared. “You?”
“Sure! I'm your friend, aren't I?”
“You are? Really? You aren't fibbing?” Ivan's face was beginning to light up hopefully.
“I never fib,” Alfred swore. “Scout's honor. You're a great friend, Ivan! One of the best! In fact, I-” The rest of his speech was cut off when Ivan threw his arms around Alfred's neck, squeezing tight.
“Are we really friends?” Ivan asked, surprisingly shy considering he was nearly throttling the teacher's aide with an enthusiastic hug. “Really? Cross your heart?”
“And hope to die,” Alfred wheezed. “Wow, you've got some strong arms.”
Ivan loosened his grip slightly, but didn't pull away. “I don't think I'd ever had a real friend before, except for my sisters.”
“Well, this is a great time to start!” Alfred said cheerfully, giving Ivan a little pat on the back. “Feeling better now?”
Ivan finally let go and pulled back with a grin. “Better. If we're friends, does that mean you'll play with me at recess?”
“Sure thing, little guy.”
“And can I sit on your lap at story time?”
“Yeah, if you want.”
“And can I lie next to you at nap time?”
“Well, I don't do nap time anymore, but if I change my mind about that...”
Ivan beamed and lunged back in for another hug. “You're a much better friend than a hamster.”
Alfred smiled warmly and returned the hug. “Glad to hear it, little guy.”
Title: Kindergarten Blues
Character(s) or Pairing(s): America, Russia
Rating: PG
Warnings: Little kid!Russia, fluff, hamsters
Summary: Six year old Ivan Braginski has a bad day at school when he's bitten by the class hamster. Luckily teacher's aide Alfred F. Jones is there to help cheer him up.
Alfred F. Jones should have expected a disaster. There had been some kind of disaster every single day for the last four months he had worked as a kindergarten teacher's aide at Himaruya Elementary. Not that he didn't love his job! Alfred always had a soft spot for kids, and kids generally liked Alfred back once they realized that he was a ten year old boy hiding in a twenty seven year old man's body.
Much as Alfred enjoyed his work (and hoped to eventually become a real teacher like Mr. Kirkland, not just an aide,) it would have been nice to get through a day without anyone throwing up or breaking anything or eating play-doh or peeing their pants or skinning their knees or trying to cut their own hair with the plastic safety scissors...kindergarten was a real war zone.
The morning was unusually calm, and so Alfred allowed himself to be lulled into a false sense of security, imagining that for once the day would pass without any hiccups...until across the room a boy burst into noisy tears. Alfred whirled around. Ivan Braginski, who had only just celebrated his sixth birthday and stood a few inches taller than the rest of the class, was standing in front of the class' hamster cage, bawling. Alfred sighed and began to make his way over, but stopped in his tracks when he saw something small and furry dart under a table. Of course this would be the day the hamster got out his cage. Of course. Mr. Kirkland had already arrived on the scene and was fussing over Ivan, and so Alfred resisted the urge to roll his eyes and dropped to his knees. This wasn't the first time Nibbles the Hamster had tried to escape, and Alfred knew from experience that the longer he waited, the harder Nibbles would be to find.
Luckily Nibbles hadn't gotten far and was still sitting under the table, apparently under the impression that Alfred couldn't see him if he was perfectly still. With the calm poise of a natural hunter, Alfred crept closer and snatched up the little ball of fur. Nibbles, a born rebel, naturally fought and squirmed in Alfred's hands, scraping his tiny claws against his fleshy cage, but all in vain.
Ivan was still whimpering pitifully by the time Alfred deposited the rogue hamster back in his cage.
“Nibbles bit his finger,” Mr. Kirkland said wearily before Alfred could even ask. “Could you fetch him a band-aid?”
Alfred made a sympathetic noise and gave Ivan a pat on the head. “Don't you worry, little guy! We'll get you patched up in no time! One band-aid, coming up!”
The first aid kit was tucked carefully behind Mr. Kirkland's desk, away from any curious little fingers. There was a tube of Neosporin, some anti-itch cream, a bottle of ultra-strength migraine medicine (for Mr. Kirkland's personal use only,) a box of that powder to sprinkle on the floor when someone puked...but no band-aids. Alfred was still digging into the box when there was a loud crash from behind. One of the sand tables had tipped over and spilled its contents all over the floor. Gilbert and Elizabeta were standing near the scene of the crime, looking guilty. Alfred neatly sidestepped the mess and made his way back over his Mr. Kirkland, who was staring at the latest crisis with barely concealed horror.
“Sorry, boss. We're out of band-aids.”
Mr. Kirkland just closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Of course we are. Murphy's law and all that. Take Ivan to the nurse, would you?”
“You got it, chief!” Alfred said, but Mr. Kirkland was already heading over to the mountain of spilled sand and gave no sign that he had heard. Alfred turned his attention back to Ivan, who was sucking on his wounded finger. He had stopped crying, but his face was still flushed and wet.
“Did you hear Mr. Kirkland?” Alfred asked gently, using his sleeve to dry Ivan's damp cheeks. “We're gonna go to the nurse's office, alright? Wanna go see Mr. Toris and let him fix up your finger?”
Ivan nodded and reached up to grab Alfred's hand as they walked out of the room together, side by side.
“Wanna take your hand out of your mouth, little guy?” Alfred asked once they were out in the hallway. “Sucking on your booboo isn't gonna make it better.”
“Hurts,” Ivan mumbled around his finger.
“I know, but Mr. Toris is gonna make it all better! Remember how he fixed you up when you fell off the jungle gym?”
Ivan gave a grudging little nod and pulled his finger from his mouth, giving his wound a critical look.
Alfred whistled. “Wow, Nibbles really chomped you, didn't he?”
To his dismay, Ivan's lower lip started to quiver and he promptly put his finger back in his mouth with a sad little sniffle.
“It doesn't hurt that bad, does it?” Alfred asked, but Ivan ignored him. Alfred sighed in defeat. It wasn't like Ivan to get so upset over a little cut. Oh, he'd cry over scrapes and bruises just like any kid, but he always bounced back fast. Maybe Ivan was a little weird and wasn't the best at making friends, but he was a very resilient six year old.
Ivan was still sullenly silent by the time they arrived at the nurse's office. Toris looked up from a pile of paperwork and managed a tired smile for them.
“Hey, Mr. L...Lau...” Alfred tried.
“You can just call me Mr. Toris like the kids do, Alfred,” Toris said patiently.
“Okay, Mr. Toris, do you think we can get a band-aid for Ivan here?”
Toris' face softened in sympathy. “Oh no! Did you get hurt, Ivan?”
“Gotta booboo,” Ivan mumbled thickly.
“Hamster bite,” Alfred added.
“That wasn't very nice of the hamster,” Toris commented, pulling a box of band-aids from his desk. “What's your favorite color, Ivan?”
Ivan finally removed his finger from his mouth to answer. “Red.”
“You're in luck! I've got a red band-aid right here. Can I see your finger for a moment? We need to clean the cut first. This might hurt for a second.”
Ivan took a step back when Toris approached him with a can of anti-septic spray, but went still when Alfred put a hand on his shoulder.
“It won't be that bad, little guy!” he promised with a smile. “And you're pretty brave, aren't you? You can handle this!”
Ivan seemed to take Alfred's vote of confidence very seriously as he held his finger out to Toris, braced his shoulders and screwed his eyes shut. He whined quietly when Toris sprayed the cut, but otherwise stayed still and quiet while the school nurse worked.
“All done!” Toris said at last. Ivan opened one eye just a crack, peering out at his newly bandaged finger before opening his eyes all the way and giving Toris a shy smile.
“Thanks, Mr. T!” Alfred said brightly, failing to notice how Toris winced at the nickname. “Can you say thank you, Ivan?”
“Thank you, Mr. Toris,” Ivan mumbled as Alfred took his hand and began to lead his back to class.
Ivan lapsed into silence again on the way back, and almost tripped twice when he stared at his finger for too long and ignored where his feet were heading.
“What's eating you, little guy?” Alfred asked at last, stopping their trek. “You're looking a little down. Does you finger still hurt?”
Ivan shook his head and picked at the band-aid.
“Then what is it, huh? Are you feeling sick or something? Hungry? Tired?”
Ivan bit his lip and finally whispered, “Nibbles doesn't like me.”
“Oh shoot, Nibbles was just having a bad day! I bet he likes you just fine!”
“No, he doesn't.” Ivan's eyes started to well up again. “I just w-wanted to be his friend! I told him so, b-but he still bit me!”
“Maybe Nibbles doesn't speak English!” Alfred protested, trying in vain to keep Ivan from having a breakdown in the middle of the hallway.
“B-but I was speaking hamster to him!” Ivan wailed.
“You speak hamster? Hey, can you say something for me...” Alfred trailed off lamely as Ivan began to cry in earnest. Distractions weren't going to work now, and he carefully knelt down before Ivan as he tried his next tactic. “Come on, little guy! Don't cry over that dumb old hamster! I bet he'd be a lousy friend. You've already got better friends than him, don't you?”
Ivan choked miserably and scrubbed at his eyes with his fists. “I d-don't have any fr-friends.”
“Sure you do! What about...um...Gilbert?”
“Gilbert's a bad boy,” Ivan sniffled.
“Feliks?”
“He got pink paint all over me when we were finger painting. He did it on purpose.”
“Uh...what about...” Alfred wracked his brain for another potential friend of Ivan's.
“No,” Ivan hiccuped. “There's nobody. N-nobody wants to b-be my fr-friend!”
“What about me?” Alfred finally cried in desperation.
Ivan abruptly stopped crying and stared. “You?”
“Sure! I'm your friend, aren't I?”
“You are? Really? You aren't fibbing?” Ivan's face was beginning to light up hopefully.
“I never fib,” Alfred swore. “Scout's honor. You're a great friend, Ivan! One of the best! In fact, I-” The rest of his speech was cut off when Ivan threw his arms around Alfred's neck, squeezing tight.
“Are we really friends?” Ivan asked, surprisingly shy considering he was nearly throttling the teacher's aide with an enthusiastic hug. “Really? Cross your heart?”
“And hope to die,” Alfred wheezed. “Wow, you've got some strong arms.”
Ivan loosened his grip slightly, but didn't pull away. “I don't think I'd ever had a real friend before, except for my sisters.”
“Well, this is a great time to start!” Alfred said cheerfully, giving Ivan a little pat on the back. “Feeling better now?”
Ivan finally let go and pulled back with a grin. “Better. If we're friends, does that mean you'll play with me at recess?”
“Sure thing, little guy.”
“And can I sit on your lap at story time?”
“Yeah, if you want.”
“And can I lie next to you at nap time?”
“Well, I don't do nap time anymore, but if I change my mind about that...”
Ivan beamed and lunged back in for another hug. “You're a much better friend than a hamster.”
Alfred smiled warmly and returned the hug. “Glad to hear it, little guy.”