Alfred looked from his brother to Ivan, then back again. It was only then when he was able to realize how awkward the situation was. Whatever position he was in with Ivan—it had to be something at least somewhat suggestive. Suggestive enough for Matthew to notice and point out, anyway.

Alfred couldn't quite place Ivan's facial expression. It was unreadable. Filled to the brink with some emotion, no doubt, but emotion that was far too muddied for anyone to make sense of.

"I.. uh…" Alfred felt a dull aching in his wrists. Ivan had been pressing down on them. "We weren't—this wasn't—"

Matthew chuckled quietly. "Yeah, I could tell. Accidents happen." His lavender eyes flickered over to meet Ivan's, laced with warning. "Unless this wasn't an accident."

A drop of sweat slid down the back of Alfred's neck. He had seen Matthew's vicious side before—he had first witnessed it after a rather intense Hockey match. But he would never even dream that his shy, kind, twin brother could ever direct animosity to another person.

He doesn't trust Ivan. Alfred was practically drowning in Ivan's deep, violet, pools. In the midst of his strange haze, he saw a glint of lust pass through the Russian's unwavering gaze, but it was gone as soon as it came.

Yet somehow—there was a feeling that he just couldn't seem to shake. A feeling of… vulnerability? Alfred felt like he was nothing more than a prey, at the hands of Ivan's mercy. A feeling that Tolys had described to him many times before, a feeling that he was never able to understand.

Alfred grew even more wary with every passing moment. Something was poking at his left leg, and it didn't take a genius to realize what that was.

"Hey.. dude… can you get off me now?" Alfred shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like being vulnerable. He didn't like being trapped.

"Mm." Ivan removed his hands from Alfred's wrists and stood, not looking even the slightest bit embarrassed. The bulge was impossible to hide.

Matthew noticed, too. He raised one inquisitive eyebrow, but said nothing about the subject. "I got the flashlight." He held up a large, plastic, device and switched it on. The dim flashlight on Ivan's phone paled in comparison to the new light's glow.

Alfred's face was immediately bathed in pale light. He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and cried out. "Dude! You're blinding me!"

Matthew grimaced and angled the flashlight towards the ground. "Sorry," he said before sparing another glance towards the window. The lightning and thunder had died down since, but the rain was still coming down fast. "Looks like we're going to have to wait this out."

Alfred nodded. A sick feeling clawed its way through his stomach. He didn't like the idea of having to sit in the darkness with a creepy, somewhat delusional, Russian. While Ivan didn't seem like he was ready to snap Alfred's neck, the possibility still hung in the air. Combined with the added tension or arousal or whatever had happened earlier, being in the same room as Ivan felt wrong. "Matt… how long is the power gonna be out?"

Alfred's words came out much more high-pitched and worried than he would've liked them to. He would have been embarrassed if it wasn't for the fear within him ready to overflow.

Matthew tapped his chin in thought. "Blackout's gonna last till at least around 4 o'clock, give or take." Noticing Alfred's facial expression contorted with worry, Matthew smiled sympathetically. "Al, you don't have to worry. I'm here."

Alfred nodded and mumbled a half-coherent "yeah" in response. Yet, he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that Ivan would be staying at his place. Matthew would probably just make him sleep on the couch, but still. He could probably sense Ivan's looming presence from about a mile away. Not like Alfred was scared, or anything. He was just… slightly unnerved.

"Дерьмо. My car is still out in the middle of nowhere." Ivan briefly regretted his decision to accept help from Alfred. Now, his older sister's precious Lexus was doomed to a night of harsh weather and neglect. Katyusha would be upset, but she wouldn't have the heart to mention it.

Matthew sighed. "Well, that's life. You can pick it up tomorrow." Alfred almost missed the sharp edge of bitterness in his brother's usually sweet voice.

Ivan nodded but said nothing more.

Alfred felt like he was suffocating on the tension.

I don't want to do this right now. I have to find some excuse to leave.

"Matt, I need the light." He got up from his spot on the couch and held his hand out. "Don't wanna take a shower in complete darkness."

Matthew tossed Alfred the flashlight, only a little hesitantly. "That's the only one I could find. Try not to waste the battery life."

Alfred flashed Matthew an exaggerated grin and thumbs-up before leaving the living room in a hurry.

He entered the bathroom and closed the door (although 'slammed' might be a better description.) Alfred placed the flashlight on its end so the beam lit up most of the space. He then proceeded to undress, leaving his clothes strewn around the floor rather haphazardly.

A feeling washed over him. The same one that he had experienced back in the living room with Ivan on top of him. The cold claws of anxiety began to grasp at his sanity, threatening to push him over the edge.

Fortunately enough, Alfred was able to place the exact source of this fear.

It was the dark. Again.

It filled the cracks and crevices of the bathroom that weren't as close in proximity to the flashlight. Alfred couldn't imagine what sorts of creatures that could be lurking around in those unlit spaces.

He had never really believed in ghosts and spirits; that was Arthur's thing. However, after watching that one horror movie Kiku had provided him… the idea of paranormal existence didn't seem so mythical anymore.

Nevertheless, Alfred wasn't planning on spending more time than he really needed to. He really didn't want Matthew to get on his case about wasting his cherished battery life.

He slid open the shower curtain and stepped inside. The curtain was opaque, blocking out practically all of the light from the flashlight.

Alfred cranked the knob and felt lukewarm water spray down onto him from above. It wasn't quite as hot as he preferred, but he didn't have the liberty of waiting for it to heat up.

It's just the dark. Just the dark, right? All those weird evil spirits and monsters and ghosts… they don't exist.

But even so, they still scare the absolute shit out of me.

This is pathetic. Ridiculously pathetic. I'm the goddamn hero! I'm not scared of anything!

Alfred groped at the wall to his right to find the shower caddy. After a few seconds of searching, his fingers grazed a plastic bottle.

He grabbed it and flipped the cap, squeezing the life out of the bottle he assumed to be soap. Nothing came out.

A groan of disdain escaped Alfred's mouth, echoing through the small bathroom.

Fabulous. Just fabulous.

He reached his hand back to the shelf, his fingers grazing a slick surface.

Despite the almost-darkness and his lack of glasses, Alfred was able to tell that what he was touching was indeed, a bar of soap.

As he fought to keep the bar from slipping from his hands, Alfred couldn't help but wonder what was happening back in the living room with Matthew and Ivan.

Hopefully they aren't arguing or anything. I mean, I hate Ivan's guts, but I really don't wanna unleash an angry Matt on him.

Alfred cringed at the thought.

That wouldn't end well.

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Ivan could see perfectly fine, even without the flashlight. His vision was always top-notch, and his pupils had already dilated to adjust to the darkness. Plus, the full moon positioned conveniently in front of the window was nothing if not helpful.

"So. How do you plan on getting back?" Matthew folded his hands in his lap, still painting the image of politeness. An image that was effortless to maintain in front of everybody else—even for people like Francis or Gilbert. But for some reason, the Canadian had a problem with Ivan in particular.

Ivan cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "At this point, I believe getting back would be out of the question," he responded, gesturing towards the scattered raindrops painting the window.

Matthew pulled his lips into a tight smile. "I figured as much. But," His hands left his lap, folding together in a rather threatening way. He cracked his knuckles. "I do hope you don't have any…" His stare fell from Ivan's face, most likely directing itself to what can only be described as Ivan's vital regions. Vital regions that seemed oddly prominent, at the moment. "Ulterior motives."

Ivan felt his muscles tense. "And whatever could that mean, comrade?"

The façade dropped. Matthew's face twisted into a scowl, and he leaned in closer. Intimidation radiated from his pale lavender eyes. Politeness and civility be screwed—he had a point to make. "We are not comrades," Matthew growled. "I know what you do. You hurt people. With that damned metal pipe of yours, correct?" His voice was low and serious, dripping with venom and accusation. 90% of the population would have pissed their pants by then, with the other 10% having already done so minutes earlier. Despite the statistical inconsistencies, Ivan did not fall into either category.

Ivan chuckled humourlessly. He took out the metal pipe in question, the moon's light reflecting its silver surface perfectly. "Ah, it seems as though you are already acquainted with my metal pipe. Splendid." He ran a finger along its surface, the cold metal seeming to inject excitement right into his nerves. "And you are correct, comrade. I do hurt people with this pipe."

Matthew looked absolutely disgusted. "Give me one good reason why you think that hurting people like that is okay."

Ivan grinned. "Of course. There is one more thing you should know." He placed the pipe in his lap carefully. "I do not hurt people unless I have a motive." Cold, violet, eyes met with lavender ones, possessing the same amount of resolve. "And you are giving me a damn good motive right now."

If Matthew was even the slightest bit intimidated by the threat, he did an excellent job of hiding it. "You know Tolys Laurinaitis, right?"

Diverting the topic. Smart kid. "Yes. Although I don't see how any of that is any of your business."

Matthew adjusted his glasses that had since begun to slip down his nose and held up a finger. "I was getting to that part. Al talks about Tolys a lot. And I mean, a lot," he said. "And I'm pretty sure that my brother is in love with the kid."

Ivan raised one eyebrow. "And what are you getting at, here?"

"Good question. So, Ivan. Or, as Al likes to address you, commie,"

Ivan wanted to add that Alfred had never used the nickname as of recent, but kept his mouth shut.

"You want Tolys too," Matthew added.

"You have first-grade level deduction skills. How impressive."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "I know how you treat him. Remember Al's Halloween party last year?"

Ivan's blood turned into ice. He remembered. All too well. He didn't even need to ask the Canadian how the event had anything to do with Tolys. He knew.

"Yes."

"So I would assume you also remember what you did to poor little Tolys, then."

Ivan's silence was all the affirmation that Matthew needed.

"Now, tell me, what makes you think that it's healthy for Tolys to engage in a relationship with you? The exact person who physically, mentally, and not to mention sexually—"

Rage burned through Ivan's veins. His blood was no longer ice. It was steaming hot, about to boil over. "I was intoxicated that night. You and I both know that."

Matthew clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Now, tell me, why do you think being under the influence of alcohol makes you free of any responsibility?"

Ivan narrowed his eyes into violet slits. "Whatever happened between Tolys and I is nothing of your concern."

Matthew looked like he could laugh out loud. "Nothing of my concern? Here's something else I feel you should know." This time, he really did laugh. It was nothing like those normal soft, quiet little giggles of his. The laugh was cold, bitter, and more than a little captious. "It's Alfred's business. And when it's Alfred's business, you can bet your ass and a million bucks that it's my business too."

For once in his life, Ivan didn't know what he could say. What was he supposed to say, in that situation?

"I refuse to confirm or deny any of those allegations of yours," Ivan barely managed to counter.

Matthew smirked. "Pleading the Fifth? Weak move. If we were in court, the jury would probably laugh in your face."

"Interesting analogy of yours."

Matthew scoffed. "Mhmm. Remember Career day? Last week of 8th grade?"

He did remember. The day all the students were required to speak to the class about what profession they planned to partake in when they were older.

Amongst the string of doctors and engineers and nurses, was one boy who said he wanted to be a lawyer. A good one, or so he specified.

Ivan nodded.

"Interesting. Because nobody else remembered what I said. Nobody even knows who I am." Matthew crossed his arms in a smooth manner. "Al likes playing the hero. Beating up bad guys, saving the world, all that. And he's right. Stopping the bad guys is important. And do you know where it can be done?" He drummed his fingers on the armrest, then waited a few moments before continuing. "A courtroom."

But Ivan and Matthew weren't in a courtroom. There was no judge, there was no attorney.

But there was an audience.

Alfred. Standing near the hallway entrance, with a towel hastily wrapped around his waist and water dripping from his body.

NOTES:

- Heh, so, I may have been watching too many legal dramas. So, a lot of this chapter may have seen a little dramatic for a conversation between two highschool boys. I couldn't help it, though!

- Canada may seem very out of character here. But I think he's a lot more interesting with another side to his personality, no?

- The horror movie that Kiku gave Alfred is a reference to an episode of the series where America watches a horror movie and gets kind of traumatized.

- The Fifth Amendment mentioned in the last part of the story is an amendment part of the U.S. Bill of Rights that allows the right to not testify against themselves in a Court of Law. Pleading the Fifth is basically just declining to answer any incriminating questions.

- You should probably know what "vital regions" means. If you don't, then you either are incredibly innocent or a little too young to be reading this.

This chapter came a little late. Sorry about that. Like I said in my earlier note, I was super busy and unable to write a decently good chapter to post. I hope nobody thought I was gonna abandon this work, as the odds of that are pretty low. I already have this arc planned out, and giving up now would be stupid.

Thanks for reading! Reviews/Favorites are appreciated!