You stepped out of the bathroom while Ivan was wiping away some tea that had been spilled on the ground. He was making a pile of broken porcelain in his hand.

"Oh, you are done. Good," he said once you came out. "I can start the clothes now."

He took the soiled shirt from your hand and walked back to the closet. Without any note beforehand, he simply took off his shirt. What could you do but stare? For a second, you tried to look away, but the way his muscles moved was just too hypnotizing. You were not of strong will at times. Either that or you simply did not want to put will behind looking away.

Either he didn't notice or didn't care that you were looking, because he didn't react. He simply put on another shirt and continued on like nothing had happened. He brushed past you in the hall. Trying to rid yourself of any blush that might have formed, you followed after him.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," you admitted.

"I can get some breakfast ready once I have the clothes in the washing."

You nodded. He gave you a beaming smile and went off. Now alone, you tried not to break anything. Rather, you simply touched things carefully. If you broke anything, you intended to make it look right. That way if somebody else came along and touched it, they would think that they broke it.

A little while later, you were sitting at the breakfast table. Your plate was stacked with a bit of bacon, a bliney, which was somehow different than a crepe, and a stack of oladyi. Two of those things, you had no idea existed before they were set in front of you. Normally, you didn't have much of an appetite, but whatever was in that cupcake really made you crave food in general.

It felt somewhat awkward to sit there, not saying anything. The food was plenty good, so that was no problem to the situation. A ravenous hunger was slowly being satisfied. He ate, glancing at you occasionally. You could tell he was a bit uncomfortable too.

He broke the silence. "So, do how do you think got all the way out here?"

You looked at the oladyi in your hand before you looked back up at him. "Honestly, I have no idea. I was back at home, then I was here with what I think is the world's worst hang over."

He chuckled. "I have had some bad ones myself."

You both returned to a painful silence. There were a ton of things you wanted to ask, but most of them seemed to fall onto the world's shoulders, and not his. Like he would know anything about it any way.

Suddenly, an idea struck you. "Hey, do you have a computer I can use? I can email my friend and tell her that I am okay, or something like that."

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, you see, I had a computer. And it did not go along with my plans of fixing. I was going to go into the city and get a new one, because the shop is not open today."

"A whole entire new computer?"

"Ya. The other one now has a big dent in it." Note to self: Do not let him fix anything. "You can come with me tomorrow and you can try to find some answers, da?"

You nodded, smiling. It sounded like a brilliant plan! Although you would have to wait a day. But that was worth it, considering.

"Today, you can try to get over this hang over of yours," he continued on. "Then tomorrow, you feel better and can go home, maybe."

Your smile faltered for a second, a somber thought prickling at the back of your mind. The hunger that you were feeling a little bit before quickly evaporated. Much to your chagrin, he noticed.

"What is the matter?"

"Nothing, really. Just a sad thought."

He did not seem happy with this answer, but he seemed to accept it regardless. "Well I will be doing some things around the house today. Because you are a guest and not feeling well, you should go rest."

Sitting up, you shook your head. "No, no, I couldn't let you do that. I should help."

"It is mostly just manual labor that will take up time. It is no big deal."

"Well if I help out, then it can get done faster," you exclaimed. "And, I might be able to distract myself from bad thoughts that might come up!"

Ivan's smile returned. It was such a warming smile. "I like your way of thinking. I think like that too!"

He got up and took his plate to the sink. "If you are still going to be eating, you should try to eat it before it gets cold. Things get cold here very fast."

Quickly, you crammed down the rest of the food. It would have been rude not to do so. Also, you figured you might need the energy for later.

The rest of the day seemed to pass by in a moderate pace. Ivan and you did many things around, mainly fixing broken things. He would talk to you as he did something that required a lot of strength, and you could dart in and get smaller things that he couldn't. It was a good day. You hardly even thought about your friends.

Once, he was working on some of the piping in the basement, and you had set off around the house to find tools and such that had been forgotten. Rather than finding a wrench, you found a very sturdy pipe. You went back down and set it next to him.

"I don't know why that was in the study, but here is a very large pipe."

"Oh, thank you." He gave a simpering smile. "This is the last thing I have to do for today, then I can give you a room to sleep in."

You sat down on a box nearby. "Take your time."


Author's Note: So, as I stated before, this is part of an exchange with my friend Amy! She is posting the story I am getting in return for this! Look up Accident Prone by Confessions of a Yandere if you want to check it out! And remember to review (for both stories, preferably)!