A/N: So, after a million years, I finally updated this story! So now you guys know it was never truly abandoned, and you can look forward to future updates!
I was going to update my stories sooner, but unfortunately, life hasn't been treating me well this past month. It's much worse than the previous things I complained about, and I can only hope that things get better, as there are only small things I can do right now to make my life better later on. Hope you guys are having a better life than I am.
Also, I want to try writing a soulmate AU for RusAme. What do you guys think about this? I personally love soulmate AU RusAme, so I'm excited to write a story about it! I already have an idea for how the story will play out, at least, I know how to start it.
Two months passed since the young lovers confessed their love for each other, and aside from a few, small arguments, which were bound to break out every once in a while, the two were enjoying life in their crowded apartment. They had recently graduated from college, which was relieving for Alfred. He wasn't sure he would be able to make it through another month of non-stop studying. The weeks nearing finals left him with hardly any quality time to spend with his boyfriend. He wanted to do more with the one he was certain he'd be spending the rest of his life with than share a bed with him.
Alfred had also been accepted for the job he'd applied for, and he would be working there the day after graduation. It was full-time, and the starting wage paid more than double what his old job paid. Quitting his old job right after being hired for this new one gave him a sense of satisfaction he was sure would never go away for a long time. It was equivalent to the time he found out he would never have to deal with one of his worst enemies at school ever again, as they had moved to a different city. What was there to miss? How would he ever regret this decisions? He'd been searching for a better job for a couple years, and after all his hard work, had been granted a decent job, which was bound to make his life easier.
Based on his job interview, Alfred's new boss appeared to be appreciative toward what he had to offer, which was a bonus. He hated how his old boss would sometimes act as if he was the worst employee he'd ever dealt with. He didn't let it bother him now, though, as it was the past. If he was as replaceable as his old boss made him believe he was, the company he used to worked for shouldn't have any problem finding a new employee. Though he did have sympathy for whoever the new employee would be, and hoped they would be able to find a better job as soon as possible, or better yet, witness his old boss losing his position.
Ivan didn't have as much luck in his job hunt, but he hadn't been as eager to leave the job he had throughout college as Alfred was, so it didn't bother him much. His boss didn't have any problems with him, and had even given him a promotion at one point. As much as he would love to have more money, so the two of them could move out of the small apartment sooner, he figured being paid less than Alfred would help boost his boyfriend's self-esteem. He understood the fact that this was a weird way to cure someone's ego, as well as how, since they were in love, it was foolish to compete over who made more money, but it was only human nature for one to want to do better than those around them once in a while. Humans are competitive creatures. They don't want to be at the bottom. His lover had believed he was there for the longest time, and now, he had the chance to show off. To prove to others what he was capable of, and Ivan was proud of him.
The two lovers lied in bed; the smaller of the two embraced in a protective fashion against the other's body. Ivan preferred they cuddled this way, though it wasn't as if he believed Alfred was weak. Strength wise, there wasn't much of a difference over who was stronger, despite how much shorter and lighter his boyfriend was. Mentally, they'd both been harmed in different ways. The struggles he went through involved more physical traumas, while Alfred dealt with constant emotional abuse, unappreciative parents, and social rejection.
Some could argue that he had it worse, since it wasn't uncommon for people to put off emotional abuse as nothing. "Words are words" they would claim, "only you can make them hurt you." Ivan had to admit, there was truth to the statement. Essentially, words were sounds, and the only creatures who cared to give them meaning were humans. Alone, words couldn't draw blood. Words were useless, if the one using them had no power. It wasn't what a 'lowly' individual could say that would cause others to care, but instead, it was about whether or not they had a rebellious tone, since others would want to 'put them in their place', out of fear they would rise above them in the cruel game called 'life'.
There was more to it than words, though. Emotional abuse was more than verbal actions. When combined with power, humans could cause harm with words. An example of this would be how one could ruin another's life if they viewed them as a potential threat towards their own success, or because they were jealous or had no better way to deal with internal issues. If they obtained enough power, they could go as far as to convince others their target was a terrible, pathetic human being, and turn everyone against them.
Throughout someone's childhood, a parent is more powerful than the ones they care for. In most cases, they are also more intelligent. A parent should use this as a way to try and help their children grow into healthy, mature adults. Not rip at every imperfection their child had. Parents weren't supposed to live through their children. They were supposed to guide them, love them, and try and make them the best people they could possibly be.
Much to Alfred's misfortune, he'd ended up with parents who wanted a 'perfect' child. Instead of being shown love, he was told time and time again that he wasn't good enough. That he was an embarrassment. The worst part of it was his inability to escape the situation when he was younger. There were no marks on his skin, he was well-fed, and he yield no other signs of physical abuse, so he wouldn't be able to leave his parents until adulthood. They were the ones who fed him and provided him with a roof over his head, so he had to deal with them. Only being a child at the time, Alfred couldn't help but care for what his parents said to him. Most children wanted to meet their parent's expectations, and to constantly be told he was failing miserably in doing so was enough to cause depression and anxiety.
The poor treatment Alfred had to endure from his parents was what stuck with Ivan the most, when his boyfriend explained to him the reasons why he was miserable. He understood how horrible having parents who had never shown any love toward him was. His father wasn't too fond of him and hadn't been afraid to express his negative opinion through... rash actions.
Ivan shuddered at the memories and tried his best to ignore them before he ended up having an emotional break down. He wanted everything to go well during Alfred's first day at his new job. Crying at four-thirty in the morning was a terrible way to go about this.
He focused all his attention on his sleeping roommate. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable he was. Alfred's face was nuzzled into his chest, and once in a while, he would mumble nonsense in his sleep. The dark blue light of the night filtered through the window, making Ivan's lover's golden blonde hair appear ashen and his face a shade of white, despite how dark it was in the room. Though such dark, grayish lighting would normally make the scenery engulfed in it have a depressing and dull appearance, his boyfriend managed to make bland colors more interesting. Alfred's natural beauty and peaceful attitude made Ivan imagine, with the colors surrounding him, a calm ocean on a cloudless, starry night; instead of a dark forest littered with bare, black trees and an endless dark grey sky, which was what dull colors would usually bring to his mind.
Even if it was true, what lover said about people putting him off as ugly, during his emotional outburst, Ivan would always appreciate the beauty his eyes swore was Alfred. Perhaps it was his personality that made him appear so attractive to him. Though Ivan had always believed his boyfriend was more on the attractive side, even when they first met, he hadn't paid it much attention in the beginning. He'd never bothered to take the time to examine his appearance. However, as time passed on, and while their friendship developed, it wasn't long before he viewed him as charming.
Ivan lied there for a couple more hours. He contemplated everything he and his roommate had been through. He smiled at the fond memories and allowed his smile to falter at the rare moments there was tension between them. Sure, every time he had done something to accidentally anger Alfred, it wasn't over anything huge. Most of the time, their arguments were over small annoyances, and they would never result in anyone yelling, breaking objects, or crying. The longest argument they had only lasted for ten minutes. The two lovers always considered the other side during an argument and would eventually come up with a compromise for every problem between them. Still, this didn't stop Ivan from worrying about the possibility of hurting his lover one day on accident. He didn't want to be a cause of distress for Alfred. Especially when the other could've been suffering from anxiety.
Ivan was brought back into reality when his boyfriend stirred. He glanced over at the clock to find that it was time for the other to wake up anyway. Alfred would have one and a half hours to prepare himself for work. Considering the fact that his boyfriend was going to make breakfast for him, so it wouldn't be a burden to him, this would be plenty of time for him to get ready.
Ivan hadn't been aware of his surroundings the entire time he was lying in bed. He was comfortable snuggling with Alfred while he contemplated life. He was shocked to find so much time had passed by while he lied on his bed. He didn't regret wasting all this time, though. He didn't have to go to work that day and he believed any time spent with his boyfriend could never be wasted.
Alfred opened his bright blue eyes and was delighted to find himself having his hair stroked by his love. He snuggled closer to Ivan and spoke in a sleepy voice, "Good morning."
"Good morning, Alfred," Ivan replied, and tilted his boyfriend's head up so he could place a quick kiss on his lips before continuing, "You should start getting ready for work soon. It's six thirty right now. I'll make us some cinnamon rolls while you're in the shower, okay?"
A faint blush appeared on Alfred's cheeks after receiving another kiss. This time, on his forehead. He replied, "Alright, that sounds great."
After staying in bed for five more minutes, Alfred left the comfort of his lover's embrace, and set off to gather clean clothes for work. Ivan made sure to use the restroom before his boyfriend entered said room, as he didn't want to wait any longer to use the bathroom. He appreciated the fact that he didn't need to go until half an hour before his roommate awoke. It would've been torturous, but he believed he would've been too comfortable to leave his bed and go to the restroom. He wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with some sort of health problem doing this over and over again. He needed to resist the temptation of being lazy with his partner as often as possible, and go to the restroom when he needed to.
Ivan set off to work on the cinnamon rolls, after taking care of his restroom business. It didn't take long for Alfred to shower in the morning, so he wasn't worried about his breakfast being cold, by the time he was out of the bathroom. He figured the other should be out by the time he was finished icing the cinnamon rolls.
Once Alfred was finished taking a shower and dressing up for the day, he made his way toward the kitchen, and was delighted to find the cinnamon rolls finished. He sat at the table and was handed a plate with three cinnamon rolls on it. It wasn't long until he'd devoured them, and was even willing to eat a couple more (there were still plenty for his boyfriend to eat).
Delighted by the fact that Alfred was enjoying his breakfast (but also worried for his health, since five cinnamon rolls contained an unhealthy amount of sugar to be consuming in one meal), Ivan asked, "Are you excited about your new job?"
"Of course I am," Alfred replied, after swallowing his food, "Why wouldn't I be? My last job was horrible!"
After the two lovers were finished with their meal, Ivan cleaned the dirty dishes, and strode toward Alfred at the door that would lead him out of their apartment. While there, he made sure his boyfriend's outfit was presentable, by ridding it of any wrinkles. All while stating, "I'm so happy you finally found a job you wanted. There are many people out there these days who have a hard time getting the job of their dreams, no matter how hard they work for it. You deserve to have this job after everything you've been through. Hopefully, things can continue to change for the better in our lives."
"Yeah, I hope so to," Alfred said, "but I think things are good enough as they are now. I'm not going to have to worry about college anymore, at least."
"Yeah, college did get pretty stressful at times."
There was a moment of silence, before Alfred spoke, "I want to take you out on a date after my first pay check. We haven't really done anything, other than hang out in our apartment and go to the store together. I want to do more with you. Especially since you've been my boyfriend for a while now. It's too bad we couldn't do much in the beginning of our relationship, since money was an issue."
"That's so sweet of you, Alfred," Ivan replied, appreciation obvious in his tone, "You don't have to do anything special for me, though. I'm just happy to have you in my life at all."
"Well, I still want to take you out on a date, so if you have any suggestions on what we should do, don't be afraid to tell me! As long as it doesn't cost thousands of dollars, I should be able to do it for you."
Ivan gave Alfred a kiss on the forehead, "Okay, I'll think about it. I hope you have a great time at work!"
"Thanks. I hope you have a good day too!"
Ivan watched after Alfred as he walked out the door. His heart fluttered with pride toward his boyfriend's achievements. I'm glad things are finally getting better for him. Ivan mused Though, I can't help but worry that he'll somehow regress to his previous, stressful self. Is this something I should worry about, or am I being paranoid? I don't expect him to be perfectly happy all the time, but I don't want him to be miserable either.