"Are you going to sleep forever?" I opened my eyes slightly, feeling groggy as I tried to sit up. A wave of nausea washed over me, causing me to sway. A sturdy hand grabbed my upper arm in an attempt to stabilize me. I glanced up, my eyes meeting Toris's concerned ones. He licked his lips nervously as he opened his mouth to speak, then closing it as if he thought better of it. My head felt a little clearer as I flashed him a small smile.

"Yes? What is it?" He fidgeted slightly.

"I was just wondering if you needed anything to help with the pain, seeing as the…" He paused for a moment, his face turning red "… the first time…. Is generally harder on a girl… and…um…" I stared at him, attempting to piece together what he was saying.

"….What?" He started waving his hands in front of him, starting to become flustered.

"Forgive me if it seems like prying, I just wanted to make sure everything went well and you weren't uncomfortable or in pain! Of course, what you and Mr. Bragniski do isn't my business but I had a feeling you were in trouble since you haven't come down to eat at all. And I… um…"

"I'm not su-" I stopped, my face becoming hot as the realization dawned upon me. "N-no! I didn't, I mean, Ivan and I did not… no, not at all!" My face darkened a shade at the very thought of taking that step in our relationship. "W-what makes you say that?!" A mixture of embarrassment and confusion play out on his face as he regarded me carefully.

"Well… besides the fact that you are in his bed, Mr. Bragniski had a smug look on his face when he walked out of the house this morning… also last night Raivis said that both he and Mr. Bragniski were hearing strange noises as they worked in the study, so Mr. Bragniski went upstairs to check it out and he never came back down… So today we both came to the conclusion that he was busy in other… activities." I continued to stare at him, though my eyes weren't registering his presence. Instead, my thoughts drifted to last night. What had happened? The trouble was, nothing particular came to mind besides the moment I had with Ivan in the study. I sighed, feeling as though I was forgetting something very important but I couldn't remember it no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't even remember how I got here, besides my promise to Ivan. I shook my head, feeling slightly annoyed.

"We didn't do… anything. All I know is he didn't wake me up..." I frowned. "Though… I remember something… White."

"White?" I nodded. For a brief second I remembered something huge and white leaning over me in a dark room. But from there the memory stopped. I noticed that Toris was still looking worried so I smiled.

"It was probably nothing important."

"…If you say so." He didn't look entirely convinced. Before he could press further, my stomach growled. I let out a shaky giggle.

"I should probably get something to eat." I threw off the covers, surprised to find that I was still in yesterday's clothes. Toris himself was already to the door way. He glanced back and gave me a small smile.

"I'll go heat something up, alright?"

"Thank you."

I placed my spoon in the empty bowl of soup, a content smile on my face as I watched Raivis sweep the floor. It was almost comedic, since the broom seemed way too big for him. I pushed my chair back so I could stand. The chair groaned in complaint as it rubbed against the floor, the sound causing Raivis to jump, his head snapping up. His body relaxed when he saw it was only me. I picked up my bowl and walked over to him. "Good morning Raivis."

"Good morning miss. How did you sleep?"

"I slept well, thank you." He placed his broom on the ground, taking the bowl from my hands.

"I can take this for you." I let him have it, following him to the kitchen. Inside Katyusha was washing dishes. She looked up when she heard the door open, smiled, then went back to her work. Raivis placed the bowl in the small pile of dirty dishes next to the sink, then turned back to me. "Was there something you wanted?" I nodded slightly; surprised that he figured it out.

"I was just wondering where Ivan was." At the mention of Ivan's name, Raivis looked a little unnerved.

"Umm… Mr. Bragniski said there was something he had to do and left…" I nodded slightly, remembering it was a Thursday today. No café.

"Do you think that he will be back any time soon?" Raivis looked away.

"I-I'm not sure. He was acting weir-" Just then a crashed echoed from the other room. All three of us jumped before running to check it out. As the doors opened, Raivis let out a small squeak of terror at the sight. Ivan was on the ground, rubbing his head. Near his feet was the broom. Ivan growled a few curse words before hoisting himself to his feet, shoving off a worried Katyusha. I glanced over at Raivis as Ivan stormed over to us. His eyes were wide as he was trembling violently, in obvious terror. Puzzled, I turned back to Ivan, who had a strange look on his face that I had never seen before. He stopped a foot away from Raivis, glaring down at him.

"Why is your broom on the ground?" Though his voice sounded cheerful, there was a darker growl hidden within.

"I-I was j-ust h-helpin-"

"How does placing a broom on the ground help anyone?"

"N-no, I was h-helping w-with di-" It happened faster than I could comprehend. There was a loud smack as Raivis took a few shaky steps back, a hand to his now red cheek. Katyusha let out a loud gasp, hands over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes. Everything stilled for a moment, letting the sound echo in the big room. What started out as a small smile slowly turned into a murderous grin as Ivan watched Raivis, his hand still raised in the position it settled in. Amusement danced in his eyes as he took a threatening step forward, the small form in front of him pressed against the wall, cowering.

"You do as you're told without complaint, da?" His voice had now lost all of its usual softness. When Raivis didn't make any move, Ivan's cheek twitched as he let out a small chuckle. "You speak when spoken to, da?" Biting my bottom lip, I felt my muscles tense up as he raised his hand again. Just as his hand came down, I slid in between them, blocking Raivis from Ivan's view. Instead of closing my eyes in preparation for the blow, I glared up at Ivan's. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance as his hand stopped just before hitting my arm. "What are you doing?" It came out in a growl. I continued to stare into his eyes.

"Ivan, this isn't right. You need to stop." I held my breath, waiting for his retaliation. There was a hint of confusion in his eyes as he searched my face. After what seemed like minutes he smiled, though it was still menacing.

"Fine. Have it your way Sunflower~" I frowned slightly, detecting a mock in his voice. Before I could question, he turned around and walked out of the room, ignoring the shivering Katyusha. As the door slammed behind him, silence descended upon us once again.

"Ivan hit him?" Toris had disbelief written all over his face as Eduard gave me a questioning glance from his fussing over Raivis. Both Raivis and I had hid in Raivis's room after the incident. Well, more like Raivis hid and I came after to make sure he was alright. Personally, Ivan's unusual behavior left a bad taste in my mouth. That and I was nervous to see his reaction to my own behavior. I was snapped out of my thoughts as Raivis let out a sharp yelp in pain. Eduard pursed his lips, withdrawing his hands from the bruise that was left on Raivis's cheek. It was mostly red, signaling that the impact from Ivan's hand was hard enough to break blood vessels. Raivis was still trembling violently, presumably from shock from the event. Toris placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned in, whispering to me. "So what exactly happened?"

"Well, Raivis helped carry my plate away, leaving his broom on the ground… then we heard a crash and found Ivan on the ground. Then it all went downhill from there. I don't know why but Ivan seemed angry… yet he wasn't." Toris waited patiently for me as I collected my thoughts. "I don't know… it was like he was doing it on purpose and didn't care what he did." Toris pulled back, staring down at the ground. After a moment, Eduard turned to us.

"Do we need to talk to him?" I glanced at both of them, confused.

"What do you mean?" Toris sighed slightly.

"Ivan has been known to play around with Raivis, the worst he ever did was whap him in the face. But this is the first time he has ever been… violent. Usually when he is upset he only threatens to hit someone. Unless of course the person is causing trouble or Mr-"

"Alfred." Toris smiled a touch at Eduard's injection before frowning again. Eduard himself had taken off his glasses and was cleaning them with his shirt. I cocked my head to the side, only then realizing that Toris wasn't currently addressing Ivan formally. Did that mean…?

"Are you guys thinking of quitting?" I had a hard time keeping the panic out of my voice. Both of them turned to me, surprised. Toris shook his head, though there was clear conflict in his eyes. They both stayed quiet for a moment before Eduard spoke up.

"For sure Ivan has been acting odd today. To quit would be jumping the boat. We shall see what he decides to do next. If he calms down, then everything will be fine. If not…"

"If he calms down? So you aren't looking for an apology? At least to Raivis?" Raivis was watching our conversation for a while. When I said his name, we all subconsciously glanced at him, causing him to look away. Eduard hesitated in answering, so Toris beat him to it.

"Ivan isn't one to do an outright apology. He will find some way to do it symbolically at some point, but he is too stubborn to say it."

"Oh…" I frowned slightly; wondering if that made me a touch special since there were times when he did outright apologize to me. A small blush dusted across my face at the very idea. Maybe he acted with a little more authority around these three. I just realized that there attention was away from me and back to Raivis, trying to apply some type of gel to his bruise. With a small smile, I opened the door and slipped out, knowing I would be no hope to anyone. I glanced back one last time before I left, noticing that Raivis was watching me. Despite his attempt at a neutral expression, his eyes betrayed him with all the worry they held. For my sake or his, I could not tell.

Closing the door quietly, I leaned against it and sighed.

"They are making quite a ruckus over him, aren't they?" I flinched, snapping my head in the direction of the voice. Ivan leaned against the wall opposite to me, a few feet down the hall. His arms were crossed over his chest as he wore a bored expression. Though it lit up a touch when he saw me. I glanced away.

"You did hit him through…" He stayed silent for a moment or so. When I peeked over at him, he was watching me curiously. Finally he sighed deeply.

"I was in the wrong. I shouldn't have let my feelings get ahead of me… I'm sorry." Swallowing down my nervousness, I smiled at him and walked over to where he stood, placing my hands on my hips.

"Well, people make mistakes I suppose. Besides, I'm still mad that you didn't wake me up last night when you came to bed." A puzzled smile crossed his face.

"I was supposed to?" I frowned.

"You said you would if I fell asleep." He shook his head slightly.

"I don't remember th-" For some reason he paused, looking annoyed. Then he slipped back into a relax smile. "Da, da, I remember now. Sorry, I must have been exhausted from…"

"Work?"

"Da, work." He continued to smile at me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, stuff happens I guess." He nodded. He looked a little relieved as he slipped a hand onto my waist.

"We could make it up now you know." I felt a blush creep across my face.

"You mean right here right no-" He grabbed my wrists with both hands and switched our placements, pushing me against the wall. He smirked at my puzzled expression as he leaned his face close to mine.

"You are so cute when you are clueless~" I huffed and opened my mouth to protest, but he cut it off by pressing his mouth against mine, slipping right into a deep kiss. Right away I could tell something was off. Generally Ivan acted slowly when we kissed, then become increasingly passionate as it went on. But for once, he hungry attacked my lips, his grip tightening on my wrists that were on either side of me. Startled, I tried to move my head to the side but he pressed his body against mine, pinning me in place. A weak moan escaped my lips, causing him to smirk more as he continued to dominate over me. The movement of his tongue was slightly unnerving, the way it moved quickly unlike his usual thoroughness. He roughly pressed against me, causing my lips to hurt from the pressure. I hated it. I tried to push him away, signaling to him that I didn't want this. In response he became rougher. He used his hip to hold me in place as he moved my hands behind my back despite my squirming. His one hand held them in place as the other went to the small of my back, holding me to him. I blushed as I sensed the heat that came off of him. I squeezed my eyes shut, clenching my hands into fists. I bite down on his tongue. I had expected swearing or some form of violence but he only sighed before pulling back when I let him go. He looked a touch annoyed, pouting slightly before leaning his face close to mine. "You are quite the tiger, aren't you?" Not waiting for a reply, he brushed his lips on my cheek, moving down my neck to my collar bone where he bit down. I squeaked as he started teasing my skin, sucking on it. His free hand moved around onto my ribs and snaked upwards. A shudder ran down my spine, which in turn became an involuntary shake that swept throughout my body.

"Ivan… please… don't."

"But this is what you wanted, da~?"

"Big brother, stop." We both froze. Ivan lifted his head and looked over at the owner of the voice, growling.

"Natalia." She had her arms folded across her chest as she glared at him.

"Let her go brother." He huffed slightly.

"And why should I?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"She isn't worth your time right now." If it had been at any other moment, I probably would have been insulted. But I was still scared stiff and could only weakly watch the two glared at each other, holding my breath. Ivan sighed then turned to me. He smirked and kissed me one last time, making sure he left a mark before letting me go. Without his grasp on me, I fell onto my knees, my arms instinctively wrapping around myself as I looked up at Ivan nervously. He grinned, seeming pleased at my new state of emotion before turning back towards Natalia. Without another word, he started walking down the hall, past her. Before he full disappeared, he glanced over his shoulder.

"See you later Sunflower~"