Arista
FLD
...
Disclaimer: Negotiations aren't going as planned on the adoption front so Beyblade still doesn't belong to me.
Reminder: Ownerships: Miyami = mine. Arista = Arcada.
Warnings: OC - OOC - AU (high school) - #JustRussianThings - Developing Friendship
Author's Note: Just to put a little perspective on my writing environment. I have my father drinking wine and blasting the television directly below me and my brother day-drinking and playing videogames directly above me. If this oneshot seems a little jumbled, it's because I couldn't concentrate properly with all of the noise. Apologies.
Anyway, how about we check in with the activities over in Moscow, huh? I miss Johnny.
Tari
PS: For those who don't know, Miyami Kinomiya and Arista Belyaev are cousins.
Companion Piece to Shadows & Frost
...
True to his nature, Jonathan McGregor had, in fact, tried to sneak into the private areas of the Kremlin much to Arista's waning nerves. They weren't close. Hell, they couldn't even consider one another friends, but she had been desperately trying to keep him out of trouble on behalf of her cousin.
She was, he realized early on in his trip, putting up with his adrenaline-fueled antics and was edging closer to the end of her tether. Which was something he was now liberally experimenting with just to get a rise out of the girl. Robert had warned him before they parted ways that he should be careful since her family had a lot of influence in Moscow and, push her far enough, she would likely use it in her favor.
Johnny liked Arista. He liked her a lot. A peculiar camaraderie began to develop between them the more time they spent together. He liked to tease her for the sake of seeing her feathers ruffled. She would match his efforts with playful enthusiasm while maintaining her oh-so-Russian composure. Half the time, Johnny had no idea if she was joking or being serious.
For example, yesterday she'd promised to take him to ride a bear (a bear, for Heaven's sake!) and, when he thought there was no way that could be a real possibility, BOOM, there he was, face to face with a grizzly! No riding was done, that stereotype squashed before he could make it a reality, but the trainer did allow him close enough to get a hug. A bear hug.
It had taken all of the reserve he had not to implode from excitement.
Russia would be his new favorite country if he could overcome his unease with the whole not-smiling that he was greeted with everywhere they went.
Despite the fact that people were accommodating, offering directions and information without being rude, the idea of smiling wasn't one associated to interacting with strangers here. According to his new acquaintance, it, simply put, was an inherently American reaction and not the Russian way.
Disconcerting as hell, in his opinion.
Because of that social-standard, Johnny made an interesting game of comparing the stark differences between the Arista he had met in the comfort of her home versus the out-and-about Arista sat next to him now. One was outgoing and boisterous with a low-key sense of humor and wit that took even the burliest of men down a notch. The other was polite to a fault and almost austere in expression. Something he'd marveled at when he'd witnessed her almost 180-degree change in attitude during their first group outing.
Another thing he couldn't get over was the sight of a dog taking up space on the bench-seat across from him while everyone seemed totally fine with it. Like it happened all the time because it did.
"Stray dogs and cats are everywhere," Arista had explained when they'd stepped onto the train. "It's normal."
And, apparently, those same strays knew how to expertly navigate public transport. Again, 'normal', she'd insisted.
At the moment, Arista's head was down, concentration pulled into a novel she'd purchased at a hole-in-the-wall bookstore after lunch. Completely unaware of Johnny's musing over everything slightly wrong with her country. Johnny kept trying to break her focus by 'accidentally' bumping into her too hard when the train jerked or saying something inane that he knew got under her skin because she'd release a huff of air through her nose.
Without looking up, she handed him a newspaper from her bag. Something to keep him occupied – a distraction technique mirroring the ones used by parents on their restless children – until they reached their station. He saw through this however, and made a show of unfolding the paper until it was spread open over both of their laps and, therefore, over her book.
Gaze still fixed where it would have been on the page she'd been reading, Arista calmly stated, "Johnny. Please don't make me leave you here unattended. I don't want to get in trouble for child abandonment."
"C'mon Ari, I'm bored."
"Don't call me that."
"Why not? Miyami calls you that all the time."
"Da, and Miyami is my sestra. You … are a thorn in my side."
"Ouch."
He eyed her sideways, knowing there was no venom behind her words, that they were meant in jest, and once again fell into comfortable silence. Johnny refolded the newspaper and tried to make sense of the foreign alphabet, pretending to read something that looked important based on what he saw in the photo. How Kai could sit and read an entire tome of that shit was baffling.
It was nearing six o'clock PM when they reached their destination. Arista still hadn't told him where they were going. Since he wasn't allowed to be alone, she was his best option for a good time. After Kai had outright refused to be his tour guide, and Tala and Bryan were hard people to enjoy being around, Johnny had harangued the pixie into showing him something awesome.
Only, being a local made it challenging for Arista to come up with something for them to do that they would both enjoy. Having returned to Moscow at the same time that Kai and his friends did, she was a little out-of-sorts. Her re-assimilation being interrupted by the rowdy Scotsman and his ack-balls-to-the-wall way of approaching everything pretty much distracted her from meeting with school friends and revisiting her favorite hotspots.
She couldn't even be sure she'd seen her grandfather since arriving back which the man would take as a slight considering they were actually close. Unlike the strained and icy relationship he shared with Kai, Voltaire doted on her. She was his malen'kaya printsessa. He admired the passion she threw behind everything she believed in, her clever and resourceful approach to solving problems. Good grades and a blossoming sense of business set Arista apart in his eyes.
That wasn't to say she was going to follow in his footsteps and run his industrial empire when he retired. That was Kai's ever-looming reality to deal with. Whatever she wanted to do, Arista knew Voltaire would support wholeheartedly. The way a man does to spite another man. She hated that her grandfather often compared them as a means to make Kai feel inferior. But, what could she do? He was head of the family and she was raised to respect her elders.
As was Miyami and her sister Katya, who were also treated like priceless gems when they came to see their grandfather. It was how things were.
"So which way, captain?" Johnny asked when they reached street level.
"Straight." Arista nodded forward, guiding him by the elbow.
The air was cooler than it had been earlier and he was thankful that he'd had the foresight to bring his leather jacket. One thing he adored about Russia (aside from access to "bearback riding") was that the evenings were crisp and a little chilly. Johnny wasn't a big fan of sweltering summer heat and had hated his time in Bermuda during spring break with Always-the-Flirt Enrique Giancarlo. Hated.
It ranked as his new number-one least favorite experience, knocking out the trip to Australia with his rugby team which had involved so much 'nope' he was afraid to leave the hotel room. He supposed the research he'd done contributed to his sense of paranoia regarding giant spiders and that is the size of a country snakes.
"Are you going to tell me what I should be looking out for or do I have to keep guessing?"
"You never started guessing."
Johnny smirked, "Well, I'll start now, then. Is it a museum?"
"Exercise patience … please, for the love of everything, try to exercise patience."
"No promises, Ari."
"I will kill you."
"I bet you will."
Notes: Oh Johnny, what are you doing? I still love him to pieces though and so, Ari, I have no intention of allowing Miyami to quit pursuing him! Not that she minds, of course. I don't know why but I absolutely adore their dynamic and had to post this even though, like Shadows & Frost, it was meant to be a chapter in Because. Camping. Oh Well!
Hope you enjoyed (:
Tari
"I'm sorry, what was that?":
Bear Riding – I cannot stop laughing at this completely asinine Russian stereotype, fueled by images of Vladimir Putin riding a Russian Bear. I had to do something with it. Don't forget, this is an anime. I wouldn't be shocked if Johnny did actually manage to ride the damn bear
Voltaire and his Granddaughters – Don't ask me where the idea came from; I think it's been mulling around in my brain for awhile now. It's my hands-to-God, honest opinion that the Iron Wolf himself would be incredibly nice to the girls because of his relationship with Kai. He treats Kaz and Miyami's other brothers about the same as he does our sweet Hiwatari since they're male heirs to his company but the girls are very much the apples of his eye
Malen'kaya Printsessa – little princess
Sestra – cousin [in this context]