"Francis?" Ivan said desperately into his receiver.
He heard the shuffle of Francis sitting up, "Yes, it's me. Ivan, what's wrong?"
Ivan took a breath and looked over to where Alfred was still out cold on the bench, "…Alfred and I are in class. He's… fainted."
Francis paused on the other end before a great, tired sigh escaped him, "Oh, no."
"What is it? What's going on?"
"Ivan," the other man started carefully, "I'm not at leisure to discuss Alfred's issues with you, that's policy. But I can tell you that if I were his mother he would be eating much better than he is now." He paused again, then added, "Actually, if I were his mother he'd be in a lot better shape over all."
Ivan frowned, "Lizzy said that he was either dehydrated or anemic."
There was a noise of surprise on the other end, "Ah, well. It's most likely both. He might not have eaten today, it sometimes happens. When he wakes up, make him eat something, no matter how much he may protest."
Leaning against the wall of the studio, Ivan sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face, "…So he'll be alright?"
"As alright as he can be after something like that, yes. This has happened to him before, though I'll admit I don't recall it ever happening in class. Check his breathing and heart rates, and if all else fails get smelling salts if you have to, but wake him up and get food in him, otherwise he'll probably have to go to a hospital."
"…Okay," Ivan managed, still a bit shell-shocked, "Thank you, Francis."
"Of course, cher. Now, Ivan, listen carefully to me right now," he continued, and Ivan paid close attention when he said, "This is not your fault. It is no one's fault. The issues Alfred sees me for are to blame for this, and I have no doubt he'll be terribly embarrassed by the whole ordeal, which doesn't help. He and I will talk about it, but before then, I want you to discuss it with him. It will make the both of you feel better. Do you understand?"
Slowly, Ivan took a breath and nodded, though Francis couldn't see it, "…I understand. I'll… try that. Thank you."
"And call me if anything else happens, or if either of you need me."
"As always."
"Good luck, Ivan," Francis said, care in his voice before he hung up.
Ivan closed his eyes and pocketed his phone again before walking back over to where Alfred was. Three faces looked at him questioningly.
"Well?" Elizaveta asked.
"I've been told that he'll be alright. When he wakes up, he just needs food and drink," Ivan relayed, and the group exhaled their relief. "Thank God," Gilbert murmured, and Mathias clapped him on the shoulder in agreement.
Clearing his throat a little, Ivan shifted to sit on the bench near Alfred's head, taking the water bottle Elizaveta had brought between his hands, "For now, I think it would be best if everyone continued until the end of the hour- for Alfred's sake. He's most likely to be embarrassed by this, I think."
Elizaveta looked at him, then nodded her head slowly, "…Yes, you're probably right. Well, then, in that case." She stood up and turned towards the rest of the class, "Alfred will be alright. For now, we keep on like nothing's happened, you hear?"
When she received responses in the positive, Elizaveta nodded and turned to Ivan again, "Look after him for us."
He nodded, and Mathias and Gilbert each gave him pats of thanks and comfort as they joined the group again with Elizaveta.
With them gone, Ivan noticed his hands shaking slightly around the water bottle, and he closed his eyes to calm down for a moment before looking at Alfred again.
The face that normally seemed so happy looked almost odd with the sickly pallor that covered it now, and not quite peaceful in whatever kind of rest he was getting. It made Ivan sad to see him like that, and he exhaled before running his fingertips gently along Alfred's forehead.
His skin was warm to the touch, but not hot, like Elizaveta had said, and there was some remaining condensation from where she had pressed the bottle to Alfred's face. Ivan hummed and wiped it away with the edges of the towel, careful not to move Alfred much as he did so.
After a few more minutes, just a about ten minutes before class ended, Alfred woke up, groaning and pressing a hand to his face.
"Alfred?" Ivan asked quietly, and he saw the man stiffen where he lay.
"…Ivan. Um." He let out a harsh exhale and covered his face with his fists, "Crap. Did I, uh…" He swallowed, "Did I pass out?"
Patting his shoulder, Ivan nodded and offered him the water bottle, "I'm afraid so, yes. Elizaveta claims it was because you are dehydrated, or anemic."
With another exhale, Alfred removed his hands from his face and took the offered water bottle as he carefully tried to sit up, "Well, she's not wrong."
Once he was seated properly and leaning back against the wall, he opened the water and took a hearty sip while Ivan said, "I talked to Francis."
Alfred didn't seem very surprised, and replaced the cap on the water bottle with a shake of his head, "I expected as much." He wiped his lips and sighed, "…What did he tell you?"
"Not very much," Ivan admitted, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, "Just that this has happened before, and your eating habits could use work."
The man next to him snorted, "That's an understatement, but okay. Good." He nodded to the class, "I see you guys kept them on track, thanks for that. What do they know?"
Shrugging his shoulder, Ivan made a non-committal noise, "Elizaveta assured them that you would be alright, and since none of us really know the cause of your fainting, they don't either."
Though he looked a bit pained, Alfred nodded and shut his eyes, running a hand through his hair and sighing again, "…I suppose that's the best I could hope for, all things considered." After a moment, he lifted his head and gave Ivan a weak smile, "You probably want an explanation, right?"
Ivan looked at him silently for a few seconds, then shook his head and looked back to the class, "Not if you don't want to tell me, no."
Alfred's barely-there smile fell, and he considered that for a bit, something in him doing a happy flip at the possibility of choice, and Ivan's understanding. It was strange, he thought, that Ivan seemed so calm- when he'd fainted at other jobs before (once in the coffee shop, twice at his job in the restaurant), everyone had freaked out and demanded to know exactly what was wrong and why and how and what medication he was on and if it would happen again. Even though they were kind about it and they made some changes to accommodate him (bless them), they always forced the information out of him, which always made him feel terrible and like he was being such a burden for having problems.
But Ivan seemed to get it. Maybe it was because he saw Francis, too, but he respected Alfred's wishes more than other people did. He understood that he might not always want to talk about it and that he would be ashamed about it.
It was… really refreshing. Even though he'd just fainted, it kind of made him feel better to have that choice and know that there was someone nearby who understood.
He sat back and toyed with the bottle in his hands for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of telling him or keeping it to himself, but before he'd reached a conclusion, Ivan spoke up.
"I'd like to take you to dinner, if that is alright with you."
Surprised, Alfred cocked his head at him and tried not to get too hopeful, "Um, you're a bit early there, man. You've got a class or two before-"
"Forget the bet," Ivan said quietly, "We can change the wager, if you really want to keep that going, but right now…" He shook his head, "Right now I'd like it if we could share a meal and talk. About anything," he added with a shrug of one shoulder.
Now Alfred was trying to keep from blushing, though part of him remembered Ivan was probably doing this so that he had food in his system, and he gave a little smile at the idea.
He shifted his weight to lean against Ivan's shoulder and sigh dramatically, "Well, if you insist. It's been a while since I've had a proper date." He fluttered his lashes at Ivan, who couldn't help but return his smile.
"It's the same for me."
Alfred was about to make some playful retort when Elizaveta cleared her throat from the other side of the room, "Ahem! Alfred!"
He and Ivan looked over at her, and Alfred chirped, "Yes, dear?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, though he could see the worry behind her expression, "You doing okay over there?"
Smiling, Alfred gave her two thumbs up, "It's all good in the hood, Lizzy. I'll be fine, just need to get some food in my system." He pat his stomach, then tapped a hand to Ivan's chest, "Big guy over here's takin' care of me, I'll be right as rain in no time."
When she saw Alfred's smile and Ivan's nod of agreement, Elizaveta nodded and turned to the class, "Well, there you have it, everyone. He's fine. Hour's up, though, so got any homework for us, Alfie?"
"Just keep working on the routine- sharpen up stuff, get on point, and if you do find that you're still having partner issues, you can work on it next class." Alfred said, putting on his teacher voice, "Other than that, I want you guys to spend at least 30 minutes or so just kind of grooving along to some songs- we've been hitting the blocks real hard, so unwind a little and get loosey-goosey before next class, okay?"
Everyone made noises of agreement, and it was good to see that the atmosphere of the class didn't change despite what had happened.
As everyone packed up, Alfred and Ivan stood, and Alfred (after happily finding that he didn't have a head rush) nudged Ivan, "So. Where exactly are we headed, fella?"
Ivan hummed as he grabbed both his bag and Alfred's, "Just a little place nearby, if that's fine."
"Yeah, that's cool," Alfred nodded and put his hands in his pockets a little nervously, "We taking a car, or?"
"Yes, I'm parked outside. Did you drive here?"
With a little exhale, Alfred shook his head, "No, I took the subway. I usually either do that, catch a cab, or ride my bike here. So no worries about leaving anything."
"Well, that's good," Ivan agreed, leading him out to where he was parked, "You live nearby, then?"
Alfred shrugged, "Close enough, yeah. Got a place a couple stops over. You?"
"It's a ten or fifteen minute drive, maybe."
They walked along the curb outside of the building for a ways until Ivan pointed out his sleek black car where it sat along the street. Alfred whistled his appreciation and reached for it reverently, "Wow, sweet ride, man. You must be making some kind of green to have a car like this."
Smiling slightly, Ivan unlocked it and put their bags in the backseat, "You could say that, I suppose. It's an office job, but it pays well enough, so."
"Yeah, no kidding." Alfred murmured, looking around at the inside once he was in and buckled. He kicked his feet in the space availible, "The room in here is excellent, too. And these seats! They've probably got that wicked awesome warming feature to them, don't they? I bet they do. Man. Hey, what's the mileage on this thing?" He paused as he noticed Ivan giving him a look, and seemed to remember himself, "Ah. Sorry, I'm a bit of a car fan, even if I don't have one."
He didn't mention that he rambled when he was nervous, though from the little smile on Ivan's face, he seemed to get it.
Ivan shook his head as he started the car, "It's fine, I don't mind at all."
Though he said that, Alfred felt just the slightest bit self-conscious, and he slouched in the comfy seat a bit as Ivan pulled away from the building.
'Please,' he thought to himself like a command, 'don't make this awkward.'
