"You're beautiful."
Ivan tensed and glanced around his room. Where had the voice come from? No-one was here with him, no-one ever was. Yes, his older sister lived in the same house as him, but she kept her distance at nights unless he asked for help with his homework. It couldn't have been Katyusha, anyway. The voice was male, and certainly not one he knew.
"Who's there?" He said quietly, looking underneath his bed just in case. "Where are you, voice?"
"Out here." The voice called, and Ivan was drawn to the window. He slid it up and hooked it, before looking down at the boy in front of him.
He was raggedy, dressed in a black coat and skinny jeans. His long hair seemed unkempt – or in the least, not brushed since he had last slept – and he pointed up at Ivan like his hand was a pistol, clicking his tongue. "You're beautiful."
"Oh," Ivan flushed, tugging his white cardigan over his shoulders as he felt a chill in the air. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"You don't," the boy answered, flashing a smile of pearly whites. "But I know you."
"Okay.." Ivan said cautiously, one hand on either of the window's curtains. "Well, who are you?"
"My name is Wang Yao, and I'm a year twelve at W. Academy. I'm surprised that you haven't seen me, actually." He smiled, tilting his head. "I am head of the student council."
"Oh," gasped Ivan, embarrassed at himself. "Yes, I recognize you now.." He had seen Yao about, but had never had enough courage to get a good look at him.
"I know that you're a tenth year with adorable cheeks and pretty eyes." Yao hummed, putting his hands on his hips.
Ivan's cheeks indeed turned red again, but he glanced down to the windowsill instead of looking to Yao. "Why are you at my window? Couldn't you knock on the door?"
"It's like Romeo and Juliet, except with less dying and suicide." Yao shrugged, and walked up to the wall of the house. "Ivan-o, oh Ivan-o, where art thou Ivan-o."
"What are you doing?" Ivan said with mild alarm, peering over the windowsill as Yao began to scale his wall. He was using the creeper vine as a hand and foot hold, and climbing up with ease.
Yao only spoke when he reached the windowsill, huffing from the effort used to climb. "Would you like to come and spend some time with me, prettyboy?" he asked, curling one arm around the sill and smiling lopsidedly at Ivan. "We can run off to a café or something. Maybe get a bite to eat. Maybe get to know each other."
"Erm.. W-while I appreciate the offer," Ivan stammered. "I can't. My sister put a curfew in place for me, and I'm not allowed out after ten."
"C'mon, break the rules, live a little," Yao whined. "I just climbed all the way out here to talk to you," he huffed, puffing out his cheeks and extending a hand to Ivan. "Take my hand, jump down with me!"
"I cannot!" gasped Ivan, holding tightly onto the front of his cardigan. "M-my sister will be disappointed in me," he frowned. "And I should not be running off into the night with someone I barely know."
"You'll know me more than barely after this little date!" Yao argued, offering his hand still. "Come on, beautiful. You can't waste your life inside."
"I'll be in trouble," Ivan frowned, but hesitantly reached his hand to meet Yao's. "Shouldn't we climb down-"
Ivan let out a squeak as Yao pulled him out of the window, falling and taking Ivan in his arms as he did so. He was clinging to Yao out of fear, although he had not noticed. Yao landed gracefully, as if he had practiced this before. "See? You're fine," Yao smiled, putting him down and seeming relieved to have gotten the heavy weight out of his arms.
"I am scared though," Ivan argued quietly, flushing red and looking up at the sky. "Where are we going to go?"
"A café," Yao answered, smiling like an angel. "We're going to get a bite to eat, and then I'm going to help you home."
Ivan dusted himself off, and when Yao extended his hand, he took it. Caution was still ringing warning sirens in his head, but he ignored them in favour of a pretty face and a charming smile. He took a moment to admire just how pretty and simplistic the streetlights were as they illuminated he and Yao almost running down the street. Yao was quite athletic, and Ivan had to jog to keep up with his pace. The café he was led to was quaint; brown and yellow signs made Ivan feel as if he was seeing a building made of chocolate and banana. The smell of cake from inside aided that imagery, too.
"This is nice," Ivan said hesitantly, with Yao leading him inside.
"Certainly," Yao nodded, heading straight up to the counter with Ivan in tow. "That's why I brought you here, beautiful."
"Ah.." Ivan flushed, and glanced downward. Yao made the order for a pair of hot chocolates with whipped cream, and a slice of cake each. He ordered caramel for Ivan, and chocolate for himself. "Oh.. Caramel is my favourite," Ivan smiled a little as the two sat down with their food. "How did you know?"
"I am older than you, and therefore wiser," Yao smirked. "I know everything."
"Everything?" queried Ivan, clearly doubting him. "You can't know everything."
"I know everything." Yao repeated with a cockier grin than before. "Your favourite colour is yellow. It makes you feel warm."
Ivan jumped. "B-but-"
"I'm a mind reader," Yao joked, laughing and sipping his hot chocolate. He managed to do so in a way that left a spot of whipped cream on his nose. "Not really, I can see how gullible you are. Dear little Ivan, I have my sources."
"Do you mean those mean people I see you hanging around sometimes?" Ivan commented meekly.
"Yeah, those guys. Gotta love Alfred and Gilbert, I suppose. Even though they're both insufferable."
"I don't know anything about you, other than your name and grade," Ivan frowned. "T-this feels weird."
"I have many brothers and cousins. Their names are Honda Kiku, Im Yong Soo, Leon-"
"I feel that if you were to list your entire family, I would be here a while."
"Good assumption."
The pair ate their cake and sipped their hot chocolates, with Ivan becoming increasingly worried about his sister finding an empty room.
"Something wrong, prettyboy?" Yao asked, tilting his head. "I asked you a question."
"Huh?" Ivan mumbled, shaking his head a bit to regain his focus. "O-oh, sorry, Yao. What were you asking?"
"I was asking if you had a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or a special friend with a gender inbetween or lack thereof." Yao scoffed quietly. "Well, I phrased it as 'do you have a lover'. But I decided not to use that when I repeated it."
"It is not repeating if you say something different," Ivan pointed out with a coy smile.
"So you're smart and pretty," Yao summarized.
Ivan flushed once again, but turned his head. "No, I do not have anyone like that. I don't have friends, actually," he frowned.
"Really?" Yao huffed, tilting his head. "Well, would you like to be my friend? We'd be totally great as pals."
"Are you sure? I probably won't be a very nice friend," Ivan said weakly.
"You'll become a better friend with practice, 'kay?" Yao hummed. "Now, you were unsettled?"
"Oh!" Ivan cried softly. "Yes, I.. I'm going to get in trouble if I stay out with you too long," he mumbled, standing up and then pushing his chair in. "Thank you very much for the cake and hot chocolate," he bowed his head, and went to scurry off.
"W-wait!" Yao huffed, standing up and hurriedly jogging a few steps to catch up. "I'll walk you home, pal."
"Oh, alright," he said cautiously. "That is a thing that friends do," he nodded, speaking more to himself than Yao at this point. He had seen it on a TV show once, and read it in a novel twice. He let Yao take his hand, and they walked back to his home.
Yao did his best to help the white-clad boy scale the wall, doing his best to aid Ivan back up the creeper vine, and to the windowsill. Ivan finally reached the top, and crawled through the window. He turned, and looked to the mischievous boy resting his elbows on the sill. "Thank you for that, Yao," he said quietly, tilting his head. "I have never had a friend before. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Ivan murmured sweetly, pale cheeks reddened and illuminated by the moonlight. Of course, he was too naïve to even consider that Yao's whole friendship may be some ploy or jest. Yao was afraid that his words and actions would be misinterpreted that way.
"Have you ever had a kiss?" Yao asked, smiling rather confidently at his object of affection. Ivan seemed to go red in every part of his face, and shook his head. As a fan of soppy rom-coms, Ivan certainly knew about kisses. They looked very nice, although he had never had the chance to experience one. "Really!" Yao gasped. "You must try one, then!" he declared loudly.
"What!" Ivan whimpered, taking a frightened step back. "How would I do that!"
Yao tilted his head, and made a 'come here' gesture with his index finger. Ivan hesitantly followed it, and forced himself to move closer to the windowsill. With the risk of falling from the window, Yao took hold of Ivan's collar and pulled him closer, bringing their lips together rather softly. He pulled back after a second, awkwardly fixing his posture so that he was sitting up on the sill instead of simply holding onto it and leaving his feet by the creeper vine. "So?"
Ivan squeaked and held his hands in front of his mouth, the words bubbling away in his throat each time he tried to speak. "I-.. Y-.."
"Goodnight, white cat," Yao hummed, giving Ivan a charming wink, before returning to the creeper vine and climbing down. Ivan, shocked, blushing, and confused, simply closed the window, stumbled over to his bed, and fell upon it. Until he fell asleep, he spent his time staring up at the ceiling and just thinking about Yao. His pretty hair, his soft, soft lips.. Ivan believed that this was, as one of his favourite rom-coms would state, 'the start of infatuation', more commonly known as a 'crush'.
Yao showed up again the next evening, but Ivan did not open the window when he called. He dismissed it as Ivan being asleep. He returned the next evening after that, and the next after that, but the response didn't differ. He had caught glimpses of Ivan at school, but when he went to talk to him, Ivan had already disappeared into the crowds. A little disgruntled, Yao returned to Ivan's window on that fourth night, frowning. "Ivan!" he called up, pouting. "You're beautiful!" And this was the routine.
There was no opening of windows, no fluttering of curtains. Yao sighed and turned to leave, but faltered in his tread. Well, fuck it. He scaled the creeper vine and shuffled over to the windowsill, pushing lamely at the window. He could not see inside due to the curtains, but there was a gasp heard, and the sound of a few footsteps. The window was opened for him. Ivan stood there, trembling and looking like he was going to cry.
"Is everything okay?" Yao asked, casually hopping through the window and into Ivan's room. "I got these for you two days ago, so they're probably starting to wilt," he frowned, handing over a small bouquet of flowers. "You didn't answer." Ivan bit his lip and took the flowers, frowning and staring down at the ground. "Ivan?" He flinched at the mention of his name. "Uhm, do you want a hug?" Yao asked, lost on ideas to soothe Ivan's anxieties.
"I can't," Ivan whimpered. "I've been in so much trouble for sneaking out," he murmured, putting the wilting bouquet on his bed and then sitting down beside it. Yao tottered after him. "My sister was so upset and disappointed with me," he mumbled weakly.
"Oh," Yao said a little dejectedly, tottering towards him. "May I sit?" Ivan nodded.
"It's better if you just go, my sister says you're a troublemaker and not good for me. It makes her so upset if I misbehave.. And she's such a sweet girl, I never want to hurt her," Ivan mumbled softly, hiding his face in his hands, most probably to shy his tears. He was rather weak-willed, and seemed to have inherited the crybaby trait from his sister.
"Is that what you think, too?" Yao asked with a frown, looking to the crying boy beside him.
"W-well, no, I-"
"Your sister knows best?"
"Yeah, I just-"
Yao cut him off with a 'tut tut', and sighed. "If you don't think that, then it should be totally okay for us to hang out. We can go to the park tonight, maybe watch stars for a bit."
"I can't go out!" Ivan huffed quickly, looking up to Yao with puffy eyes and wet cheeks. "I really like you, Ivan," Yao frowned. "And I've been trying to talk to you, but it's like you're avoiding me at school!"
"I'm terrified," Ivan admitted in a whisper, rubbing his eyes and turning away, facing the bouquet instead of Yao. "I've never loved someone before."
This comment caught Yao off-guard, and he had to stop and make himself sure of what Ivan had said. "Wait, what?"
"I don't know how it works, I've only seen it on TV and in novels," he murmured. "And so I don't know if what I'm saying is in any way correct."
"Wait, so you love-"
"I think so."
Yao stared down at the floor. Well, this was a shocking development. He thought that love was a little premature just yet. "If you love me, why won't you come out on a date with me?"
"My sister-"
"What's your opinion?!" Yao huffed quickly, cutting in before Ivan could state his sister's idea over his own.
Ivan flinched and lifted his hands in defense, before trying to calm himself down by tugging at the sleeves of his white jacket. "I just.. I'm sorry, I-"
Yao puffed, and frowned. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. Please, tell me." Ivan swallowed and looked down.
"I would like to date you."
Yao turned his head, still pouting at Ivan. "Then we should go to the park. Perhaps we could kiss again?"
"Kiss?-.. Yao, it's l-late, past curfew; my sister-" Ivan stammered. "She says you're so much of a troublemaker-"
"Fine," Yao said in defeat, throwing his hands up. "Fine. I'll just leave. Enjoy your flowers," he huffed softly, and returned to the window. "I won't bother you again, since you obviously don't care for me." He put his legs out over the sill, sitting on it a moment before shuffling over to the vine.
When Ivan could no longer see Yao, he panicked, and hurried up to the window. "Y-Yao, wait!" he cried softly, reaching out to him on the vine.
"What's this?" Yao huffed, although he took Ivan's hand and was hoisted back up to the windowsill. He kicked his feet childishly, and put his free hand in the pocket of his black coat. "Have you changed your mind, white cat?"
Ivan inwardly questioned the nickname Yao had used a few times now, but shook it off as a term of endearment. "I do care for you," he affirmed, nodding his head and looking down to where he still held Yao's hand. "I just cannot leave my room."
"I was lying about not coming back," Yao frowned. "I've admired you from afar for much too long. I will still continue to come here, beautiful. Someday I'll get you to come out with me."
"About that, Yao," he paused, and squeezed the small hand within his own larger one. "I think.. I'll talk to Katyusha about it. S-she doesn't want us talking at school, either.. I will try to convince her you're a good person! Until then, or until I can actually come out with you at least," he said softly, trying to state each syllable clearly as not to make a fool of himself. "I'd like it if.. You could come here. You can come up to my room to visit, just knock on my window."
Yao's eyes widened. "Really? I would like that," Yao smiled. "But, for tonight, I'm afraid I should get going." He pulled himself up a little, and leant in, capturing Ivan's lips for a mere second before offering a cheesy smile.
Ivan went to open his mouth, stuttered, and then quickly closed it. "I-.. One more?" he stammered, cheeks going scarlet. Yao agreed with a nod, and leant in, angling his head in a way that their lips would meet neatly and concisely. He had not been very focused before, but now that he paid attention, Yao noted that Ivan's lips were warm and a little dry, and a little chapped at the top. Each time Yao went to pull away, Ivan would ask for one more, and one more, and ten one mores after that. By the time that either of them noticed that they had both been lingering and kissing at the window, Ivan was a little out of breath, and his lips were numb.
"I should probably go for real," Yao laughed softly, moving his hand from where he'd been cupping Ivan's cheek. "No 'one more's!"
"One final?" Ivan tried in a soft laugh, resting a little against the windowsill and simply letting his eyes relax upon the beautiful boy in front of him. Yao's eyes rolled and he kissed Ivan one more time, a little peck to his lips.
Yao scoffed. "One final. Really, I have to go."
"Goodbye, black cat," Ivan smiled dazedly, watching Yao swing around to the creeper vine and give him a cute smile. "I'll see you tomorrow night."
i'm slowly getting my writing muse back! 3k words like yEAHHH! please rate and review and whatnot if you would like uwu
if you didn't guess, this fic is based off ah it's a wonderful cat's life sung by kagamine len and megpoid gumi.
