Title: Inexperience
Pairing: Sergei x Mathilda
Rating: Fluff, hints of more.
Summary: Mathilda is concerned that her inexperience with alcohol will ruin her chances at making new friends at a party, and Sergei offers to watch over her as she tests her alcohol tolerance.
Sergei looks at his girlfriend through his glasses, avoiding his course literature that needs to be read before tomorrow's lecture for a moment. Mathilda is sitting on the floor of his room, seemingly pouting while looking like she's in deep thought. Her own homework long forgotten and spread out on the floor alongside her cute and brightly colored pens and notebooks. She's still wearing the sweater he had lent her when she commented that she was cold, and it reaches her mid-thigh as if it were a mini-dress.
"What is wrong?" He asks, patiently waiting for her to answer him.
Mathilda seems to snap out of her own world, and a pair of big eyes turn to look at the man sitting on the bed not too far away. The young woman can't help but smile at the sight, knowing she's one of the few people who gets to see Sergei relaxed and wearing glasses like this. He looks like a huge huggable nerd. She bites her lower lip a bit as she ponders on how she can explain her worries to the man she has come to love. She chuckles lightly before she let´s Sergei know what´s on her mind.
During Mathilda´s second year at university, they had met at a course on English Literature. Many students had avoided to sit anywhere near the intimidating Russian on the introduction day, but the pink haired woman had been late to class and sat down next to him without much thought. She was more concerned about the teacher, and other people´s gazes on her as she disturbed the class by coming late.
The first thing that had caught Sergei´s attention about the girl was that she had an unique sense of style, dressed in cute clothes in pastel colors, as well that she smelled very sweet, and fresh. Mathilda screamed youth, and had stared at each other for a while once Mathilda had calmed down from her running, and she turned bright red upon meeting his blue eyes. Most turned pale in his presence, but she seemed to grow even more colorful. It had surprised him. The fact that she continued to sit down next to him in class more so.
It started with small chats, questions about the homework, and evolved into them becoming study partners and meeting up outside class. Even when it didn't concern school.
After a few months the pink haired girl confessed she was interested in Sergei and the sturdy Russian was left confused, and taken off balance, since he had been aware of other people, more "fit for her than him" approaching her at campus. After weeks of thinking, and worrying Mathilda with his indifference, he had agreed to try dating. It was also thanks to his close friends who had encouraged him, and given him advice once they found out he had been confessed to. They also got curious about what kind of girl would fall for their friend and were surprised to find out she was a small and cute girl, and not a female version of Sergei.
Although they now have been dating for months, they hasn't done a lot of couple-like things together. Their relationship didn't change much from them being study partners, except Sergei would hold her hand at times and give her an occasional light kiss now and then. Mathilda is a woman who gets embarrassed easily, and that had made it hard for them to get closer, yet, making the Russian come to like her even more. He always feels very content when they made progress, no matter how small it was or how long it took them. He was used to women approach him in a way to try to get closer to his teammates, but Mathilda only blushes bright red around him.
Mathilda looks really bothered as she starts to explain to her boyfriend exactly what's on her mind well aware the man has never laughed or belittled her about her worries in the past. Sergei faces her and listens closely from where he sits on his bed, back against the wall.
"I was invited to a party, but.. I´m worried." She breaks the silence after a while.
Sergei´s steel grey, cold blue, eyes regard her calmly. He's aware Mathilda is worried about her social circle at the university, because her shyness and anxiety has kept her from making friends. Less so, lasting close friendships. She often feels lonely, anxious and isolated when she sees students around her doing things together. She finds it hard to talk about it even with him. Him, who is her safe spot, in all of this.
"Why?" Sergei´s deep voice is heavily accented as he urges her to speak her mind about her concerns even though he already has a deep understanding about it.
He closes and puts away his book to focus on her fully. He has Yuriy, Boris and Ian: three good childhood friends, and has never shared Mathilda´s worries about social circles. Because of his intimidating looks people naturally avoids him or doesn't try to get to know him. The man has always thought that such people weren't worth his time to begin with. Sergei doesn't have the need for a bigger circle of people in his life, and after finding Mattie he has become more content and comfortable with himself.
Mathilda fidgets slightly, as if she thinks what she's about to say is embarrassing. "I haven't drunk much before and what if I get drunk and…urgh..." She looks very concerned.
Sergei is a bit surprised over her worries, since he has never thought about such things himself. After a moment of thought he realizes he as never seen his girlfriend drink before. Mathilda is a skinny, and quite small girl, so alcohol could easily affect her even if she had a tummy full off food. Sergei understands her concern after thinking about it and gets a bit worried himself. It's a party he isn't invited to so he wouldn't be able to look after her. Just keep his phone close, and pick her up when she's ready.
The tall man frowns. "Do you have lectures tomorrow?" He asks, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.
"Uhm...no?" She shakes her head, not understanding why he´d ask that.
"I have vodka and other liquor, if you want to try it with me." Sergei suggests. "I will look after you while you figure out how you react to alcohol."
If he can't follow, and make sure she's alright, he at least wants to offer her a safe place to try alcohol out. To see how quickly she´ll get drunk and what kind of person she is with alcohol in her blood so she can be her own judge on how to drink at the party.
"But you have class..?" Mathilda blinks, but her eyes grow with excitement. She appears calm over the thought of drinking together.
Sergei smiles slightly, the way the other always thinks of him first makes him feel quite treasured. "I am a strong drinker, I will not get sick." But he wishes she thought of herself just as much.
Mathilda nods slowly, considering his offer. She has known Sergei for over a year, they've been dating for a few months already and she´d say she could trust him enough to lose control with him around. Knowing he won't take advantage of the situation and instead look after her: much like he has done in the past. After a while, she nods again.
"Just… promise you won´t stop liking me if I do something… embarrassing.." She looks down, blushes slightly.
Sergei doesn´t understand how she could think his feelings would so easily change, but he assures her he won´t as he knows it´ll make her feel better. "I promise." He says.
Sergei moves from his bed to his small kitchen and fetches a few bottles of liquor. He pours himself a rather big glass, while hesitates when pouring one for his girlfriend. He blends it with fruity soda Mathilda had left in his fridge some days earlier. The one he knows she loves, and makes sure not to make it too strong.
Mathilda takes the glass from him and smiles, tasting it carefully. "It tastes like soda!"
"Be careful, there is alcohol, too." Sergei tells her, enjoying her cheery mood.
The two of them drinks slowly while hanging out. Sergei keeps an eye on Mathilda and notices how her cheeks turns into a reddening blush, a bit different from the one she usually has around him. The one that fades. He rests his cheek into the palm of his hand as he listens to how the quiet girl slowly turns more talkative and chatty.
"You know, there's a really cute girl in my class!" Mathilda smiles "I hope we can become friends…"
He also notices how her nervous stutter becomes less frequent, until she barely stutters at all.
"Is that so?" His voice is low, but attentive.
"Yep!" Mathilda grins, as she abandons the floor and comes to sit with Sergei on his bed. Her on the edge of the bed while he is resting against the wall a bit further back. "She's the one who invited me to the party, so I really… really want to go an have a good time."
Sergei makes room for her, and gets a bit conscious over his big body: making sure not to put weight on Mathilda as she moves closer to sit by his side. He welcomes her warmth however, and can´t fight of the hint of a smile growing more noticeable on the corner of his lips. Seldom Mathilda initiates intimacy, and he makes sure to enjoy those rare moments like this: her arm pressing against his as they sit side by side.
"She likes things I like, and said my style was really nice." Mathilda seems really energetic and positive. "I thought going shopping with her, or talk about fashion and makeup would be a lot of fun."
Mathilda looks up at Sergei and gives him a bright takes her in with his eyes. Short pink hair, a slender neck exposed, pale skin, colored by a blush. Warm body pressed to his fruity fresh fragrance lingering around her. The Russian wraps his arm around her shoulders in an attempt to make both of them more comfortable while being so close and Mathilda doesn´t object. That neck and her ears turn a bit red.
"The one I want to… be the closest with though is Sergei." She confesses.
The stoic and silent man regards her, but the look in his eyes is slightly different from before. A small moment of silence takes place, but Mathilda doesn't seem to be really aware since she's busy drinking and talking about next week´s party: who´ll be there, what food they'll eat and how she's planning to dress for it.
"Can I kiss you, Mathilda?" He asks in a deep voice, he hasn't really listened to what the girl has been murmuring about the past minute.
Mathilda seems to tense up a bit there beside him before she shyly nods, and puts her glass away. The pink haired girl seems to turn a bit shy, but far less so compared to when sober. She pushes some strands of hair behind her ear. Her fingers appear to tremble slightly.
The two of them have kissed before, but it's something they seldom do. Mathilda often finds herself wanting to kiss the much taller man, since she's the more affectionate one out of the two, but is unable to do so because of the quite large height difference. She´s often too shy to ask the Russian to either bend down for her or lift her up so they can kiss, and sometimes when she has gathered the courage to do so, Sergei just doesn't seem to understand what she wants. It often results in a pouting Mathilda and confused Sergei.
A couple so awkward, and out of sync.
Sergei shifts slightly, and cups her cheek in his big hand as he bends down: inching closer to her. Mahilda´s eyelashes flutter close, and she waits. The silence makes her think that the rapid beating of her heart is scaring Sergei off. Soon, however, she feel Sergei´s breath on her lips followed by the feeling of his mouth on hers. Mathilda sighs through her nose, making a content sound, as she feels Sergei´s arm pull her even closer. In a natural turn of events the young woman ends up sitting in Sergei´s lap, sharing short, tender kisses. Sergei´s neck had started to hurt from bending down and this position gives the girl some more height. Mathilda bumps her forehead to his, and chuckles at him.
"Hm…?" Sergei stays close to her.
Mahilda smiles so big, she´s squinting at him. "I like you so so much, Sergei." She tells him.
The honesty and directness from tipsy Mathilda is new to Sergei and it makes his heart skip a has confessed once before, and tells him she appreciates him when she's happy and content. The first few times he didn't trust her words because he couldn´t understand how someone like her could like someone like him. They´re so different. He always thought she deserves someone better, and less damaged. However, dating her has made Sergei understand the sincerity behind her words. He has slowly come to trust her after days, weeks, and months passing without her leaving his side. It all started with a need to look over her, protect her even, and it wasn´t until his friend Yuriy commented that it is as if he liked her that he realized that that was what had happened. He cared for her and the thought of someone else becoming close to her with anything but friendship in their minds bothered him. That he needed to tell her yes, he likes her too.
Sergei smiles slightly. "I know." He says, closing the distance between them again as he kisses her.
A surprised noise leaves the girl as this second kiss turns a bit more heated than the last, yet she doesn´t reject Sergei as he asks for permission to deepen it by sucking at her lower lip. Her fingers move over his chest, fingers feeling his muscles, until she reaches his neck and loops her arms around it. Presses her chest to his. She shyly opens her mouth for him and her whole body shivers as their tongues meet for the first 's not sure if it's the alcohol in her blood, or the fact that she´s so close to Sergei, or even both, that makes her temperature rise so quickly. Her chest and stomach is invaded by butterflies and she's losing control. Sergei´s hold on her loosens and he breaks the kiss, letting Mathilda catch her breath. He is silent as he watches her face, a bit taken back by the expression she's making and how out of breath the two of them are.
"...Can we...stop here?" Mathilda says, completely red in the face, as she lets him know this is her limit.
"... " Sergei pauses, then kisses her forehead."..Of course." He murmurs, thinking about the nervousness in her voice after they tried deep kissing, probably thinking about what it could lead to. "...You are drunk." Sergei comments after a moment of silence. His voice is gentle and kind.. "I think we should continue this some other day."
The slight tension in Mathilda fades at Sergei´s reply and she silently relaxes into his lap, and his embrace.
"Can we stay like this… a bit longer?" She asks.
He silently holds her closer.
Mathilda wakes up as her head is pounding. She groans, and squirms at this new and unfamiliar pain. That's when she realizes she's not in her own bed. The scent is different, and the sheets are less soft than what she´s used too. Her cheeks turn red as she feels the warmth of Sergei all around her, as he´s spooning her, an arm wrapped around her waist. She's so very small in his arms. For a small moment she wonders what happened, but the fact that she's wearing clothes calms her down. Sergei would never do anything against her will or when she can't answer properly. Her heart beats loudly in her chest: so loud she´s worried it´d wake the other up.
"... How are you feeling?" His deep voice breaks the silence.
It seems as if he was awake and that somehow makes the girl even more embarrassed. She shifts slightly, not sure what to say.
"My head.. it hurts." She admits, guessing she's a bit hungover.
The arm resting around her seems to squeeze her against the chest behind her, before the man shifts as well. Sergei moves, careful not to hurt her. His dark blonde hair is a bit messy, and he's wearing a simple t-shirt and a pair of dark boxers. Without looking, you can see the great shape he´s in and it makes Mathilda a bit nervous. He returns with a glass of water and a pill. Mathilda sits up, having a blanket wrapped around herself.
"Thank you.."
"You are not sick, are you?" Sergei sits down next to her, concerned eyes on her blushing face.
Mathilda simply shakes her head and takes the pill. Waking up next to Sergei isn't bad. She likes it, and is secretly happy over how this made their relationship progress. She chuckles to herself. Mathilda blinks and looks up at the man as he leans towards her, and wraps an arm around her shoulders. His light eyes are fixed on her, and he looks a bit serious.
"That party…" Sergei murmurs after a while of silence, his voice deep and hoarse. "Do not let any other man see you that cute."
Pink eyes widen, and she shyly averts her eyes. "...Y-yes…" Mathilda murmurs back, face red, but with a smile on her face.
Sergei leans down and gives her a small kiss. "I am going to class. Rest. We can eat lunch together when I am back."
"Okay.."
Mathilda smiles at Sergei as he moves away from the bed to get ready. She sips at the water while watching how the man gets dressed, drinks some coffee, and moves around in the apartment. To her, it's all new and he looks so very handsome to her. Sergei gives her a slight smile before he leaves and locks the door behind him. Mahtilda lays back in Sergei´s bed as he leaves, and she sighs happily.