Hello, it's me again with another one-shot. This is written for FrozenBrokenSunflower, because it's her birthday today!
It's a headcannon she told me about a few weeks back, and I think she's forgotten all about it now. She was talking about how Ivan would be such a good parent to a kid.
Ivan's a boy, Yao was a girl, and they have a daughter named Eva. (Because many of the other Russian names I looked up on the internet were much too fancy for her... xD)
"We're very sorry, Mr. Braginsky, but school policy dictates that once a student has been assigned a homeroom, she cannot switch without approval from the ministry—"
Boom.
Never did the principal of James Madison Elementary School expect, in her whole career, to be picked up by the neck and shoved against the wall of her own office. She yelped in pain, as her back dug into the fancy picture frame that held a motivation poster of a blasting rocket, captioned by her life's slogan.
"The only limit to your achievements is the sky."
She'd like to revise that a bit to better fit her current situation. Now, it's more like, "Stay still and shut up, or the only limit to how far he'd throw you would be the sky."
Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her mouth, and blood pounded in her ears. If he didn't let go soon, she'd be a goner for sure...
"I'm going to be telling you again, Mrs. Principal," said the man holding her hostage, his deep, guttural voice thick with an unidentifiable foreign accent, "You are switching classroom for my daughter, or your children, and your children's children will—"
"Um, daddy?" A voice of a girl twinkled like a bell, interrupting the principal's funeral oration.
"Yes, Eva?"
The madman loosened his iron grip and the principal dropped to the ground, her face deathly pale. Mr. Braginsky turned to the creature that had been tugging at his sleeve, his daughter, Eva.
"Come on, let's go home. We still have a lot of stuff to do tonight, remember?" She urged, jumping up and down eagerly.
"Yes, but..."
Unable to resist her watery eyes and dear little pout, Ivan gave in. "Very well," he grumbled, and allowed his one pinky, along with the rest of him, to be dragged to the door.
The principal shook her head in disbelief at what just happened. She would have called the cops on him, if this man wasn't who she thought he was. He had the whole town stashed away in his bank, and probably bought out the police department too. Even she had to write a monthly cheque to Ivan Braginsky if she wanted to keep her private school in tact, and to keep those thugs from coming after her.
Eva gave the principal an apologetic smile, and proceeded to skip out of the office with her monster of a father trailing behind.
They got out of the school building in one piece. Teachers looked away, and the students stepped aside when they saw the pair passing by.
They were now walking out onto the front yard. She waved to her friends merrily, but Ivan pulled her hand back and gave her a warning look. Eva shrugged and sighed, not wanting to get onto his bad side today. Ivan gestured for her to follow more closely, which she was happy to obey, her slightly worn mary-jane flats tapping on the pavement behind her father's laden feet.
Ivan and Eva got to their black Lincoln at the end of the parking lot. Eva ran to the back door and tugged at the door handle, but couldn't get it open until Toris, their chauffeur, unlocked it with a click. She collapsed face-first into the cushiony seats.
"Sit straight, Eva." Ivan said quietly after getting in himself, and her spine shot back up. Reaching over, he combed her long black hair with his fingers and patted her purple calico dress clean of dirt. When he saw a noticeable rip in the side seam, he frowned. Ivan wished Eva would learn to take better care of her possessions, even if there was enough money in the bank to buy her another one.
After clicking in their seat belts, Toris began to drive out of school property and onto the streets.
The town they lived in was quaint and old-fashioned, but was just colourful enough to make Eva want to peek out the window fascinatedly every time they went driving, even if they took the same route every day.
They passed through a park, a bridge, and a few corporate buildings, all of which belonged to the Braginsky family, in one way shape or form.
Ivan had worked as a "businessman" for over twenty years, and secretly wanted to retire. However, with the kind of "business" he did, he couldn't quit without some bloody consequences. Ivan sat upon the throne of an international, multi-million-dollar company, and his company needed him more than he needed it.
Besides, it did well to put bread on the table. At least Eva wasn't starving, and had a roof over her head that wasn't about to collapse. Ivan took comfort in that she would never have to suffer like he did as a child, freezing to death in the Siberian winter, begging strangers for mere coins.
Their mansion stood upon a row of rocky cliffs at the edge of town. Their backyard was the lake below with a long streak of sand around its perimeter. It felt nice in the summer, sitting under an umbrella and feeling the cool, gentle breeze. Last year, Eva wanted to invite a group of friends to her house for her birthday, but her dad wouldn't allow it.
However, the house they lived in could use more colour. Though the interior was decorated with crystal chandeliers, antique furniture, and other stuff that probably cost a fortune, the walls were utterly blank, and have been for as long as Eva could remember. No paintings, no photos, nothing.
Ivan hated getting his picture taken, and Eva couldn't figure out why. There were plenty of things about her dad that confused her, but she knew better than to ask.
Sometimes, Eva also wondered whether it had always been just the two of them. Surely, she must have had a mother some point in time, from whom she had gotten her long black hair. But, Eva had never seen a picture of her, since Ivan never hung any family photos on the wall.
Eva remembered asking about her mother one day. She received no answer but a silent, chilling glare, and eventually, Ivan walked out of the room. He disappeared for the rest of the day, and came back at around bedtime to lull her to sleep. She could tell that it had upset him, and Eva never mentioned her in conversation again.
Having grown up with Ivan, the most important thing she had learned was knowing when to keep quiet. Curiosity could kill, especially under the Braginsky household. The dozens of disobedient servants that Ivan had fired, whose corpses now buried in their backyard, could attest to that fact.
There were days when Ivan came home from work with blood splattered all over his coat. He would just toss it into the laundry basket, and come upstairs to make dinner as if nothing had happened.
Some days, Ivan would stumble into the house while clutching his head, his eyes horribly bloodshot. He would crawl up to his bedroom, lock the door, and have a frenzied fit. Eva hid behind one of the pillars in the hall, crying softly into her fist, because the sound of shattering glass and her dad's beastly roars scared her.
She wouldn't dare to knock, nor did she ask him about it the morning after. Instead, Eva always left a glass of water, a wet towel, and some Tylenol at the foot of his door.
But, aside from those things, Eva enjoyed living with Ivan. Then again, life with him was all she had ever known.
Sometimes, she told herself to not worry too much. There were so many little things Ivan did for Eva that made her very happy, like tonight, he was going to make her favourite food for dinner, mac n' cheese.
"I do not know why you like eating this, it is not good for health."
Ivan set his oven mitts aside, untied his apron with a little difficulty, and joined her at the table.
"Well, I like it, okay?" Eva protested. She begrudgingly stabbed her fork into the food and tossed some onto her plate.
They ate in silence. Though Eva had wanted to tell Ivan about how well she did on that English essay, he didn't look to be in that kind of a mood. Oh well.
Instead, Eva resorted to staring blankly at the bottle of vodka sitting next to Ivan's elbow, without really realizing what she was doing. Ivan looked at her, perplexed, and took a swig before tilting it towards her. "Um, do you want some?" He asked awkwardly, swishing the clear liquid inside.
She fell out of her daydream and shook her head. "Oh, no, daddy," she said, almost too quickly, "Drinking is not good. It makes you really scary and angry. I don't wanna try it..."
Ivan stared at her for a long time without responding. He didn't look scary nor angry, but a little sad. Eva bit her lips, and realized that she had said something wrong.
Ivan drooped his head and murmured into the scarf around his neck, "That's why I go hide in room, Eva. So that you don't get hurt..."
Ivan did cheer up eventually, when Eva offered to help clean the plates. The rest of the evening was spent on the couch, watching random shows on Cartoon Network. She giggled at the funny bits, yelled at the screen when she got upset, and tried to give commentary. Ivan sat as still as a slab of marble, his pitch-black pupils fixed upon the colourful pictures flashing before him.
When bedtime rolled around, Eva was already half-dead from exhaustion. Ivan gingerly scooped her into his arms, careful to not crush any of her bones with his own enormous strength, and carried her upstairs. When her head hit the pillow, her pair violet eyes opened again, meeting Ivan's own.
Blinking innocently, Eva grabbed his gloved hand and held it against her face. "Daddy... do you really have to go tomorrow?" She asked weakly, trying to swallow a sob that was caught in her throat.
"Yes I do," Ivan replied.
"But Mr. Toris told me he's driving you away at seven in the morning, can't you just leave then?"
"Well..." He paused for a moment, and said, "If I stay here until morning, you would not go to sleep, right?"
Eva sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."
Frosty moonlight shone through the opened curtains, donning enough light so that Eva could discern the stark outline of her dad's face. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept much for days. There were more wrinkles on his face now than a week ago.
Her lips tilted into a sad smile. "Can you take me with you, daddy?" She asked, though already knew the answer.
"No," he said firmly, his thick eyebrows furrowing, "Too dangerous. You stay where it is safe."
Shaking his head, Ivan picked her up and placed her in his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair, combing out each and every knot. Sometimes, Ivan wished that Eva didn't have black hair. That way, she'd look more like himself, and not like...
He stopped, because his heart had begun aching again.
He let a single tear run down his cheek, despite how hard he squeezed his eyelids shut to stop it. Ivan held her tighter, that he could feel her stomach rise and fall with every breath. Yes, at least their daughter was still alive...
Ivan hated leaving her alone in their house, but he didn't have a choice. The world was a scary place beyond their little town, and he wanted to protect her for as long as he could. There was always enough food in the fridge, and he trusted that she would get her homework done without his supervision.
Ivan looked down, and saw that Eva was wearing a part of his scarf. Smiling a little, he decided she might as well have the rest of it. He pulled it down, exposing his bare neck to the chilly night air, and wrapped it around her.
"Okay, I leave soon. You be good?" Ivan asked. He trembled a little at his own voice. For the first time in his life, he realized just how frightening it was, especially when comforting a little girl.
Ivan looked down to his daughter, who had fallen asleep, and was snoring a little.
"I promise I will come back," he continued, though she had already drifted off and couldn't hear, "I get Natalia to come visit next week, and she will take you shopping... You like your aunt, right?"
He wished he could stay here and watch her sleep, but Ivan knew his time was up. His ride was going to pick him up soon, and due to the urgency of this particular mission, every second counted. Taking a deep breath, Ivan rose and began walking to the door, careful to not let his heavy footsteps awaken her.
Placing his hand upon the handle, he looked back at Eva one last time to make sure she was indeed safe and sound in her bed. He walked out after his paranoia was relieved, and shut the door with a click.
Eva opened her eyes and laid in her bed for what felt like an hour, staring dazedly at the posters on the ceiling. Her favourite movie stars looked spooky under the bluish moonlight.
Rising out of her bed, Eva decided to take a midnight stroll.
A "V" of cranes flew across the marble-paved sky, their dry, grating cackles cutting through the air. Ivan took his first step upon the frosty grass, glittering under the sun. He walked onwards, his boots crunching through the unmarred surface. Clutched in his hand was a bouquet of sunflowers that he had picked on his way, and Ivan took extra care to not let those delicate stems snap between his own rough fingertips.
He stopped within a snug little forest of bushes and dwarf trees. Tired, his knees gave in, and he fell down in front of a headstone. The tree leaves rustled against the brisk, early autumn breeze, and a few fluttered into his lap.
"Hey Yao, I brought flowers," he said to the misty air, and leaned over to place the bouquet at the foot of his late wife's grave. But when he saw that some sunflowers were already placed there, he retracted his hand and frowned slightly.
The other flowers weren't dry nor wilted. In fact, they looked like they had been picked a few hours before his arrival. A few shards of ice dusted the golden petals.
"Looks like our daughter has your wit, da?" He asked no one in particular, placing his bouquet beside the other one, "Sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good."
He was met with silence, save for another breath of wind.
Yao was ignoring him.
Ivan laughed bitterly.
"I know you are angry with me, Yao, because I have not been visiting..." he continued, absently running his fingertips upon the carved letters, "But work is busy, and I don't even have time to play with Eva any more..."
He bit his lip.
"I know you made me promise to take good care of her before you left... I'm sorry I made you mad." Ivan mumbled, hanging his head dejectedly like a child being scolded.
In response, he felt a slight brush of warmth upon his left cheek, as gentle as a kiss.
"So you forgive me?" Ivan asked hopefully, looking up.
A gush of wind ruffled his silvery blond hair, as an answer. Relieved, Ivan shuffled beside the grave and leaned his head against it, pretending the cold marble surface was actually Yao's shoulder.
"You know, God is demanding more and more from me, and I don't know how much more I can take... Sometimes, I don't sleep for days, just thinking about power, money..."
He reached over and grabbed what he would like to believe was Yao's hand, and intertwined their fingers together lovingly. "Sometimes, I think about what would happen if we ran away. Then, you would not have died to protect me, and we would still be happy..."
The angry clouds in the sky had begun to absolve. Across the horizon, a lone, wailing crane flew towards the rising sun.
"I have come to say goodbye, Yao. I can not come visit for many weeks, maybe months... But this job is very important. The people who killed you will die. I will bring their heads to you... Don't worry, I will..."
Ivan reached a shaking hand to brush away the tears that were falling from his wife's cheeks. It pained him to see Yao cry, more than anything else in the world. "You are lonely... I know, I am sorry. We only have to wait for few more years, until Eva grows up, and she does not need me any more."
"So, you will leave a place in heaven for me?"
Yao nodded, and and kissed Ivan one last time, before dissipating into thin air. Ivan's eyes widened, and his hand dropped limply onto his lap.
Perhaps, he had been touching thin air all along...
He buried his face in his hands while muttering broken Russian words through his aching throat. He stayed there for awhile, trembling, trying his hardest to not break down in tears. The sun was beating down on his black trench coat, burning his back. But, he still felt so cold.
It took all of his strength to heave himself up from the ground. Giving the headstone one last look, he turned and walked away. A gust of wind tumbled across the expanse, and from behind a tree, what looked like the hem of a purple calico dress caught Ivan's eye. He smiled and continued his stride, having decided that some things were better left unspoken.
So yeah, please review, and with her a happy birthday when you get the chance!