Yao stood at the door to Ivan's house, his hands firmly clasped together under the long sleeves of his robe. He glanced nervously over at his companion who seemed to not have a care in the world, his cheerful disposition and happy go lucky charm never seemed to diminish, not even under the most bazaar and extreme circumstances.
He sighed as the seconds ticked by and was just about to knock again when suddenly the door opened and Ivan's large lavender eyes peered out at them as he chuckled a little in Russian. "You made it! Come in come in." he threw open the door so that the two could come inside.
"Thank you aru" Said Yao as he gave a quick bow and then walked inside, followed by Alfred.
Ivan shut the door and latched it before he walked over to Yao and gave him a big hug. "How has my little Yao been hmmm?" he gave a menacing smile over at Alfred.
Yao shuddered a little as he felt the tension in the room grow. "I have been well thank you" he edged out of the large Russians grasp and quickly stood over by American.
A look of hurt briefly passed into Ivan's eyes but vanished as soon as it appeared, he stepped over to a door and opened it "follow me" he motioned with his hand as he lead the way down an old stair case into a darkened basement. Reaching over he flipped a switch and a single bulb flickered to life, casting an eerie glow around the steal grey room.
Yao glanced around, the room was pretty bare, in a corner sat a old stereo system, a wine rack sat next to that with a handful of bottles of Vodka sitting on it. Other than that the only other thing was an old rickety card table that sat in the center of the room directly under the bulb. Around the table where placed three chairs and on the table sat a pistol. "Well, shall we get on with the game Da?" Ivan motioned toward the card table as he stepped over to the stereo and started some very soft (and very creepy) music.
The three walked over to the table and each took a seat at one of the three chairs that were placed around it. They sat quietly for a couple of minutes, each staring at the others, Yao felt his heart race as Ivan's hand picked up the pistol and fondle it gently. His fingers traced the old metal as he began to talk.
"I am sure that you both know how to play this game Da?" his eyes glanced at the American whose cool and steady gaze rested on the gun. "You take the gun, place it to your head and pull the trigger, then pass it to the next person." Ivan placed the gun to his head as he talked and pulled the trigger. A resounding click was heard in the all but deathly silent room. "See, that is all there is to it. We will play until the music stops" He smiled over at Yao as he passed the gun to Alfred.
Yao felt his blood run cold as he watched Alfred place the gun to his head. Every cell in his body seemed to cry out against what he was seeing, his instincts told him to grab the gun away from the American but he restrained himself. He watched as Alfred's finger slipped slowly onto the trigger, his gaze fixated on Ivan. The two seemed to be having a stare down as Alfred pulled the trigger and another click was heard. Yao felt himself relax, if only for a moment. Alfred was safe; but his turn was next.
Alfred set the gun on the table, sliding it carefully over to Yao. Taking the gun into his hand Yao took a moment to look at it. The gun itself was a pretty thing; its chrome body was embellished with a copper plating that depicted a scene of a child playing on a snow covered hill.
"Well…?" Ivan's deep voice pulled Yao out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Are you going to go?" Yao nodded; his hand trembled slightly as he stared at the gun once again, trying to gain enough courage to place it to his head.
Ivan reached over and touched his arm lightly. "You know… sometimes saying a prayer helps." He whispered, the sarcasm dripped off his words. Yao nodded numbly as he took a deep breath and placed the business end of the gun on his head. With all the courage he could muster he touched the trigger and squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled it.
Click.
Yao exhaled as he set the gun on the table and looked over at his friends. Why had he agreed to play this game? He wondered as Ivan took the gun for his turn. Both of them meant so much to him, but they both hated the other with a hate that he had never witnessed before. His lower lip trembled slightly as Ivan pulled the trigger.
Click.
Again Yao watched as Alfred picked up the gun and placed it to his head.
Another resounding click could be heard over the soft music that continued to play.
As Yao picked up the gun for the second time he wondered if perhaps this would be it, maybe he would be the one to take the bullet. Oddly, this though appealed to him. At least both Alfred and Ivan would live. Quickly he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
Click.
It had been a nice thought. He sighed as he handed the gun to Ivan again.
The cycle continued; with each turn that came Yao became increasingly more nervous about his friends and his own life. It had been a long time and the gun had yet to go off… Who would it be?
"Oh when will the song end" he moaned inwardly as he again handed the gun to Ivan who by this time was sticking the gun to his head without a second thought and pulling the trigger like it was the most normal thing in the world to do.
"Ivan…" Yao began.
"Da?"
"Uh… how long… does this song last?"
Ivan looked at the stereo "About another minute."
Ivan's words made Yao feel somewhat better, but he still felt a sickening in his stomach. A lot could happen in a minute.
As he took the gun for the last time he closed his eyes. This could be it, he could die right now and never see his friends again, he would never get to say goodbye. "But it is too late" the thought flashed through his head "It's too late to think about that now, just do it."
With one last deep breath he pulled the trigger. It seemed like the world stopped for a split second as the last strain of the song played and the resounding "Click" of the gun sounded simultaneously.
That was it, the game was over. All of them were still alive, still breathing; they would all see the light of another day. Yao breathed a silent sigh of relief as he set down the gun.
"I will go and warm up the car." Alfred said as he pulled on his bomber jacket and grabbed Yao's keys.
"Ok, aru." Said Yao, his voice was tired and sounded strained but a smile played on his lips as he watched the blond walk out the door.
"Stupid American"
Yao turned to see Ivan standing behind him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"What makes you say that?" asked Yao.
"Because he thinks that he has survived some great feet by living through a game of Russian roulette with the great Ivan." He shook his head and shrugged. "He has accomplished nothing."
"What do you mean?" Yao looked up at the Russian; a slightly confused look came into his eyes.
"The gun wasn't loaded."
"WHAT!" Yao's jaw dropped as his mind tried to grasp what Ivan had just said. "You mean that there wasn't a bullet in the gun the whole time?"
"Da."
"Why not?"
"Because," Ivan smiled as he stepped closer to Yao and then enveloped him in a bear hug "I could not let something happen to my little Yao."