A/N: I apologize for the wait. Have a long chapter. Thank you to all who reviewed chapter three.
Elizaveta was, of course, thrilled ("Thank god; finally you're one base closer to third!"). Even though the shop was closed, she let him in when he knocked on the shop's door and sat him down in the upper level of the shop (her home) with a cup of hot chocolate. After he related his brief encounter with Alfred to her, she proclaimed that she'd always known it would happen eventually and hugged him several times. She tried to get him to take her camera, insisting that he take it along on the date and snap some photos for her, but he not-so-politely refused—he reminded her gently that she was undoubtedly going to follow them either way and could take her own photos. She laughed and didn't deny it.
"But really, Ivan," Elizaveta said. Her expression abruptly became serious. "I'm happy about this; happy for you. This boy will do you good."
"I know," he replied quietly after a moment, eyes on the floor, hands clenching his cup. He knew what she meant. She wouldn't say it out loud for his sake, but he could sense the hidden sentiment in her words and appreciated that she wasn't being specific.
She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, a comforting gesture. He lifted his head up to look at her. Elizaveta was looking down at him with a concerned, motherly expression. Every once in a while, she'd look at him this way, and it made him wonder if it was how his real mother would have looked at him if she were alive. A reserved fondness for him glowed in her eyes as she gazed kindly down at him through her lashes. She looked tired, and he suddenly felt tired himself. The reminder of his yet unresolved issue caused it to weigh heavily on his shoulders like a wet quilt, and he sagged forward, moving to put his head in his hands.
Elizaveta shifted and took his cup from him gently. She walked towards the sink.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" she asked as she turned on the water. She began rinsing his cup and glanced at him. "You look like shit."
Ivan snorted. "That is not surprising. I feel like shit."
"Sorry," she murmured, turning off the water.
"What for?" he asked, hearing her open the dishwasher and put the cup in it.
Elizaveta closed the dishwasher. She straightened and looked at him. He avoided her gaze.
"For bringing it up."
He shook his head. "It is something I need to face. You told me that yourself."
"Don't twist my words around, Ivan," she said, running a hand through her hair. "It's too late for that bullshit. Do you want to stay or not?"
"Yes please," he said, voice cracking. He swallowed thickly, his face clenched.
"Please."
The apartment was quiet. The quiet hum of city life filtered in through the walls, sirens and music and car horns. Elizaveta gave him a long, searching stare. Finally, she turned and walked towards her living room, heels clicking on the tiled floor.
"I'll make up the guest bedroom," she said. She paused in the doorway, hand on the doorframe, and looked back at him. He wouldn't meet her eyes.
She sighed and turned, then vanished into the darkness of the rest of the apartment, leaving Ivan alone.
His hands fisted in his hair. Dark whispers and thoughts hovered on the edge of his consciousness, waiting for an opening, wanting to slip in. He closed his eyes tightly and willed them away, but that had never worked and it didn't work now. His thoughts refused to clear. He could feel them shift slowly, turning—
His phone went off and he jerked in his chair, train of thought broken. He fumbled for his phone, startled and wondering who would be calling him at this hour. He didn't have many contacts. He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen.
One new text message. He swallowed and hoped it wasn't from Natalia—that was the last thing he needed right now.
He flipped his phone open and was once again startled.
The text was from Alfred. He blinked at his phone, then opened the text.
Hi ivan, u doing good since i saw you an hour ago lol?
This gave him pause. He smiled ruefully. Yeah, sure he was. He clicked a few buttons and began typing his reply.
Hello, Alfred. I am doing fine. Is it alright for you to be texting me so late?
He was a rather fast texter, so it only took him a few seconds. He sent it and snapped his phone shut.
His phone went off again less than a minute later. Apparently Alfred was also a fast texter.
Yeah its fine, no class tomorrow
Ivan's eyebrows shot up. Class? He replied quickly.
No class? You attend classes currently?
He waited anxiously for Alfred's reply. His phone rang and he opened it hastily.
Yeah i go to hetalia u, north of the city, american history major
Ivan couldn't believe it. That was his university! He told Alfred so in his reply. Alfred's text arrived almost seconds after Ivan had sent his.
OMG NO WAY ive never seen u on campus!
Yes, I have never seen you so I assumed you were not attending. My major is International Relations.
Not attending is that a nice way of saying u thought i was stupid lol
No, no; not at all! I did not know if you had already graduated or if you were attending another school.
Its fine ivan, u know i think ure the only person ive seen use semicolons in txts
I do not understand; is that strange?
LOL
Ivan stared at his phone, confused. He didn't know how to reply to Alfred's one-word text. He'd heard a word for such texts before. What was it…text killer, maybe?
His phone went off before he could think about it too much.
Ok my roommate iggy is getting really mad cause im laughing so i have to go
That is fine. Goodnight, Alfred.
Night ivan
Ivan closed his phone and sat back in his chair. His head lolled back and he looked at the ceiling with a sigh. Thoughts of Alfred ran through his head rapidly. He could think of nothing else.
He didn't hear Elizaveta come in, but suddenly she was in front of him. He looked at her and smiled. She raised an eyebrow at him, a slow, crafty grin spreading across her face.
"You talked to him, didn't you?" she purred. He stood and began walking to the guest room.
"No, just a little texting."
Elizaveta's excited shriek ("What kind of texting? Ivan!") came just as he closed the door. He kept a few sets of clothes at Elizaveta's house—this kind of thing happened often enough; she kept some clothes at his apartment, too. Ivan was silently grateful for this as he stripped off his shirt and jeans—his coat was in the kitchen with his bag—and pulled on a pair of pajama pants. He brushed his teeth in the attached bathroom and splashed some water on his face. Ivan padded back into the guest bedroom and practically fell onto the bed. He exhaled loudly and crawled under the covers. What a day!
Arguing voices came hazily through the door. Ivan groaned. He turned over and buried his face in his pillow, trying to go back to sleep.
It was futile. The voices increased in volume until Ivan couldn't stand it anymore. He opened his eyes angrily and threw the covers off. He rolled out of the bed and onto his feet. Who the hell was here at—he glanced at the clock: past midnight, before five—goddammit o' clock in the morning? He trudged over to the door and opened it harshly, rubbing his eyes.
"боже мой, what the hell is going on out here?" he rumbled. It was too early for him to put on his polite, happy face. He glared blearily at the figure standing next to Elizaveta, both of them frozen and silent now that they realized they'd woken him up.
"Who's this?" the man asked Elizaveta. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair exasperatedly.
"This…is Ivan Braginski," she told him, gesturing at him. "You were asking about him; well, here he is."
"Asking about me?" Ivan said. He made a frustrated noise and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. He did not have any patience for this. "Elizaveta, what is going on, it is too early for—"
"I'm Arthur Kirkland," the man said, cutting him off. He straightened and held out his hand. "I'm sorry I woke you."
Ivan gave Arthur a hard look before taking the offered hand. He stepped back after that with a sigh, one hand on his hip and the other in his hair. "Mr. Kirkland, what—?"
"Arthur, please," Arthur said. He paused, eyes running up and down Ivan. A little voice in Ivan's head reminded him he wasn't wearing a shirt, but Ivan didn't care. He waited for Arthur to continue as said man cleared his throat.
"I'm Alfred's roommate," Arthur said. Ivan was awake now. He became visibly more alert, straightening and blinking. "My…well, my—"
"Oh for God's sakes, Arthur; he's gay, you can tell him," Elizaveta interrupted. Arthur reddened.
"Yes, well," he said, beginning again. "My, er, boyfriend, Francis, mentioned you worked here, and since I wanted to learn a bit more about you, I…"
Ivan held up a hand, eyes closed, and Arthur trailed off. Ivan opened his eyes.
"Two things, Arthur," Ivan said. "The first is that you should not take this the wrong way: I am not romantically involved with Elizaveta." Arthur began to interrupt him, but Ivan cut him off. "And do not tell me that you did not think I was—I know you did. The second thing is that I am tired and frankly rather pissed off. If you want to know more about me, please ask Alfred after our relationship has progressed further. Спокойной ночи."
He turned on his heel and walked back into the guest room before Arthur could say anything, closing the door behind him. He collapsed into bed and breathed deeply. He hoped distantly that he hadn't offended Arthur, then fell back to sleep.
Elizaveta woke him the next day with pancakes, coffee, and a few offhand remarks about "that dick of an Englishman." Ivan ate quickly and took a fast shower. He grabbed his coat and bag, ran down the stairs, and was almost out the door before Elizaveta called out to him.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Class at seven!" he called back, panicking. He pulled the flower shop door open. He was going to be late! Suddenly, Elizaveta's hand was fisted in his coat. She was laughing. He looked wildly back at her.
"Let go, I have to hurry to catch the bus!"
"Ivan!" she said, still laughing. "Did you forget? Winter break starts today."
Oh.
That's right. He was supposed to turn his paper in online, too. He flushed red and stepped back into the shop, muttering about how he'd forgotten. Elizaveta giggled a bit and let go of his coat. He turned to face her and smiled sheepishly.
"Thank you. I would probably have gotten all the way to the campus before I realized it."
She waved a hand at him. "It's nothing. Somebody's got to watch your ass."
A grin curled across her face then. "So, speaking of ass…"
"Thank you for letting me stay the night, Elizaveta," he said hastily. He gave her a brief hug. "I must be going now."
He took off down the street, blushing and leaving Elizaveta laughing behind him.
Ivan looked at his apartment door. He cautiously checked the door handle.
Locked. Good. Maybe Toris was remembering for once—either that or he still wasn't back. He took out his key and unlocked the door.
He opened the door and stepped into the apartment.
"Toris?" he called. "Are you back?"
He walked into the living room and froze. Yes, Toris was back: but so was Felix, his boyfriend. They were both on the couch, Felix straddling Toris and Toris looking absolutely mortified. Felix was in his boxers, and had obviously been working on getting Toris's pants off. Ivan closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and looked at the ceiling.
"I am going to go get a cup of coffee," Ivan told them. "I will be back in an hour and a half."
"Oh my god, Liet, I thought you said he wouldn't be back until later," Ivan heard Felix hiss as he walked out of the room.
"I said I didn't know when he'd be back!" Ivan heard Toris whisper. "I said I didn't know!"
Ivan rolled his eyes and closed the door to the apartment behind him. He walked to the elevator and returned to the ground floor of the apartment building. The doorman greeted him and he nodded in reply before heading back out onto the street.
He'd already had coffee at Elizaveta's house, he mused, but another cup wouldn't hurt him.
A bell tinkled as he opened the door to the café. He made his way to his chair and settled in it with a happy sigh. His scarf slipped up over his mouth as he sat down and his breath quickly warmed it. The smooth smell of the café drifted around him. He had slept restlessly after Arthur's visit the night before and felt himself drifting off.
A few minutes later, Ivan woke up. Something smelled like cinnamon. He blinked sleepily. He realized there was someone in the chair across from him. Abruptly, Ivan pushed himself up farther in his chair and pulled his scarf down under his chin. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. Amused chuckles came from the figure across from him, and Ivan knew who it was.
"Hello, Alfred," Ivan said with a smile. Alfred half-smiled, half-grinned back at him.
"Morning sunshine," he greeted Ivan. "Long night?"
Ivan nodded. "Your roommate, Arthur, woke me very early in the morning."
Alfred frowned. "Arthur? He said he only went to Elizaveta's place. Sorry about that, by the way—he can't keep out of my business."
Ivan raised his eyebrows and blinked. "He did not tell you? I was there."
"At Elizaveta's?" Alfred said slowly. Ivan nodded, now fully awake. "Uh, why?"
"We are very good friends," he said with a smile. "She and I are very close, like siblings. I…well…"
"Well what?" Alfred asked, obviously curious. Ivan flushed red.
"I wanted to tell her about…well." Ivan gestured vaguely, embarrassed. Alfred laughed.
"Yeah, I told Arthur when I saw him at the bar—that's where I was going last night, by the way."
Ivan nodded. "I had figured that you were late for something, with the way you ran off." He shifted in his chair. "So your roommates are Francis and Arthur, then?"
"Yup," Alfred said with a grin. "I saw it coming with them. They fight all the time, but the chemistry is there, y'know?"
Ivan smiled. "Da. I know."
Ivan's cell phone rang. Surprised, he pulled it out of his pocket. It was Yetakerinya. His eyes widened and he made a soft sound of surprise.
"Who is it?" Alfred asked.
"My sister," Ivan said. He opened his phone and brought it to his ear.
"Hello?" he said in Russian.
"Vanya!" his sister said on the other line, sounding relieved. "It's good to hear your voice."
"Yes, the same to you," he replied, a bit puzzled. "Why have you called?"
"It is about Natalia," his sister admitted nervously. "She called me to ask about you. Is something going on?"
The color drained from Ivan's face. Alfred looked alarmed at this. "What…what did she ask about?" he said. Alfred asked him if he was alright, and he nodded.
"She…" He could hear her hesitate. "She wanted to know about your love life."
"Oh dear god," Ivan whispered. "She knows."
"Knows what?"
"I'm…dating someone."
There was a long silence on the end of the line.
"Oh, Vanya, that's great news! I'm so happy for you!"
"Yes, sister, great news," he said hurriedly. "But what about Natalia?"
"Oh, do not worry about her," his sister replied, sounding more determined than he'd ever heard her. "I will throw her off the scent. I told her I was going to call you and get back to her, but I will keep this from her, definitely. You… Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Alright, sister, I will," he murmured, smiling. "And thank you."
"Oh, it is no trouble Ivan, believe me," she replied. "Someone needs to keep that girl reigned in."
"Either way, thank you again. I will talk to you another time, da?"
"Yes, Ivan. Goodbye."
"Bye."
Ivan snapped his phone shut. Alfred looked at him expectantly.
"Well? What was that about?"
Ivan smiled. "Nothing. We thought there was a problem with my younger sister—it was my older who called—but it is fine."
As Alfred's expression relaxed, he hoped for both of their sakes that it was. He really hoped it was.
Translation
боже мой – My God
Спокойной ночи – Goodnight