A/N: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! Part of the reason why I made this fic was to vent a bit about some of my working experiences but not on a negative way lol and to use Alfred as a firefighter because it fits him so well :D
Scrolling down memes on his phone, Ivan glanced at the hour, he had spent at least half an hour just looking at his phone, on the back of his head, deep inside, he knew that he was delaying the inevitable.
He typed out a simple 'hello' before erasing it, why was it so hard to start a conversation? Alfred would just send him a random picture and they would talk about it or start a string of random pictures, but now, Ivan found it difficult to send a simple greeting to Yao. What should he say? What if he was busy?
He managed to gather enough words to form a coherent greeting alongside the question of 'What are you up to?'
Dread invaded him instantly after he sent it. Perhaps that was too vague, or too informal. He sighed, setting the phone aside, it was done and he couldn't take the message back, that was better, he'd be overthinking the whole day anyways.
This day, he was less worried about the nonexistent alarm that set off in his mind in the mornings, and more focused on the little pang of guilt that told him that he was wasting his time.
He took a breath, reminding himself that he was on vacation, he had nothing to worry about besides his cat and trying not to be a burden to Katya, whom unlike him, had left earlier to give off her classes.
He played for a while with his cat, the entertainment was short as Boris decided it was better to lie on his side instead of hunting the toy, Ivan poked a bit at the fluffy cat to make him move again but it didn't budge, wiggling its tail.
The day passed rather slowly, Ivan had tried not to go out, not wanting to spend the time by himself in the park again, though the prospect of finding Yao again crossed his mind, he figured the man would be working just as Katya was.
Of course he was, that was probably why he couldn't answer. Ivan sighed, why did he have to keep worrying about it? this was what he hated about being alone, his thoughts would be nagging at him, he had to find something to do or he would be anxious about a message the whole day.
He sighed, focusing on the lonely plant by the window, he searched around the house, finding some paints. It was time to stop delaying his task and deliver that child's project.
The base was fairly easy if he remembered well, the background was mostly blue with some clouds around. What worried him was the boat, as he wasn't used to painting at all, and well, he'd never made a decent boat.
He left the pot aside so the blue paint could dry, perhaps he could ask for help with it later.
Ivan glanced at the clock again, time had passed and Katya would probably arrive soon but he couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at the passiveness of his day.
His phone buzzed, taking him out of his thoughts. The short message displayed made him pause.
"Hi, sorry, I forgot my phone, I've just headed back from work. Do you want to come to my house?"
Ivan had to double check his , to make sure that it was in fact a message coming from Yao, and secondly, to process the question.
Another message appeared.
"Are you busy?"
Ivan smiled, it's not like he had anything better to do and at this point he'd be delighted to busy himself with anything.
Feeling less awkward he replied. "Not really, I was trying to paint the boat on the flower pot but I am failing at it. Anyway, yeah it'd be nice to talk"
"In that case, bring it with you, I'll help. Let's meet at the park, I have to see Arthur there."
Ivan pondered for a moment giving out an affirmative reply, he wrote a note to Katya so she wouldn't worry, grabbed a coat, the flower pot and left.
Once in the park, he went to buy some pastries, it would be mean to present himself empty handed, right? He even got another bottle of wine, to replace the one from yesterday. The cashier handed him everything on a paper bag that he carried quite difficulty.
He sat outside on the same bench, it was indeed a nice place. He could see Arthur and Yao approaching, both of them were wrapped with scarves and heavy coats, the latter was holding two cups of hot coffee.
Yao handed him one of the cups. "I'm so sorry, How long have you been waiting?"
Ivan shrugged, taking the beverage. "Not much."
"For real, you can be as petty as you want, it was Arthur's fault that we were held back."
Arthur, groaned, taking a sip of his own drink. "I only said that they didn't know how to make iced tea, I thought it was obvious."
"The barista didn't ask for your opinion."
"If they want to make iced tea, they have to make tea, let it cool and add the ice. Not use that horrible mix with water." The Englishman frowned, observing his drink. "At least they make good coffee."
"Not really." Yao let off a huff, ushering them to follow. "Anyway, let's go upstairs, it is freezing down here. Aren't you cold, Ivan?"
"I'm a bit used to it, it's more chilly where I live." Ivan paused, the englishman seemed to notice his hesitation, taking the paper bag and allowing him to finish his coffee and carry the plant.
Ivan walked with them, taking short steps. They questioned him about the city, about his work, his coworkers, Ivan had to suppress his frown at the last topic.
Yao's apartment was warm, Arthur stepped in casually, making a beeline to the table while Yao took the flower pot from him so he could take off his coat.
Ivan fumbled a bit with his scarf, leaving it on and approaching the table. There were a few stocks of papers and books scattered on it.
Yao laughed nervously. "Sorry for the mess, I was revising some exams last night."
Arthur rolled his eyes, setting the bag on the table, the Englishman raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "Yao, did you cook Francis' recipe yesterday?"
The brown haired man nodded, placing the plant on the table. "Yeah, it took me some time and I had to buy wine because he would not leave me alone until I did."
"You let the frog get away with his quirks, he drinks wine with everything. I hope the dish was worth the expensive wine."
"It totally was." Ivan said, regretting his words as Arthur's expression changed into amusement.
Yao retrieved the books from the table, shaking his head. "Stop staring like that, we met at the store and I invited him."
"Sure… that's why you still have exams to grade, right?" The Englishman taunted, holding out one of the papers.
Yao hummed, fumbling with the papers. "You have delayed exams too."
"True but why did he bring wine?" Arthur smiled, turning his stare at Ivan. "Are you following Francis' advice or something?"
Ivan tensed a bit, at this point everything he'd say would be used by Arthur to tease them. "It is polite to bring a present when you visit someone's house."
"How dare you speak to me about proper manners," Arthur chuckled, collecting papers from the table. "Yao has a good collection of books and I need to complain about it, you will help me out, right?"
"Not my fault that you burnt yours to get a date." Yao retorted, laying some brushes and paints on the table and taking a seat beside Ivan.
Arthur gasped. "If you keep that cocky grin on your face, I will kick you out."
Ivan watched in awe as Yao took a pencil, tracing swiftly the sketch of a small boat on the flower pot. "This is my house, you can't kick me out. What books do you need?"
The Englishman stood up, observing the books displayed on the shelf. He turned around with a serious expression on his face "Ivan, have you read ´Peace and war'?"
"Uh not really, I have a copy laying around but I don't think I ever finished it." Ivan shrugged, toying with a brush.
"What keeps you from reading it? Is it the french parts of it?"
"I am actually fluent in french so..." Ivan saw how Arthur's smile changed into a grimace, had he said something wrong? He quickly added. "I just hadn't taken the time to actually read it."
Arthur grabbed a couple of books, taking a seat. "I remember you once delivered a paper about The great Gatsby, it was very interesting though quite weak at the end."
Ivan glanced at Yao in an attempt to ask for help but the grin the brown haired man held on his face told him that he wouldn't get any. He laughed nervously. "I barely remember what I ate for breakfast, I don't think I will recall something I wrote on highschool."
Yao's laughter filled the room, Ivan couldn't help but stare at him, it was not rare to see the chinese smile, but it was certainly pleasant to hear his laugh, he found himself laughing too, Arthur joining as well.
They shared a glass of wine and devoured the pastries, Ivan painted slowly the small boat and answered more of Arthur's questions, Yao praised his patience every now and then until Arthur left him alone in order to make some tea.
Ivan watched closely as Yao traced details on the little boat skillfully, silence enveloped them as he finished.
Turning back, he could hear Arthur pacing around in the kitchen but he could not see him.
He took a long breath before leaning over the table, just a bit, in order to gain Yao's attention, the brown haired man set aside the brush, arching an eyebrow.
"When you invited me over, I didn't think it would end up like this." Ivan admitted, smiling sheepishly.
Yao tilted his head, a small smirk gracing his face. "Why?"
Ivan fidgeted with his scarf, he didn't know how he was able to hold his gaze, he felt his face almost burning with embarrassment but he had already dug his grave so he might as well just die on it already, he reached out to take Yao's hand, and lowered his voice. "Well… for starters, I didn't think that Arthur would be acompaining us."
Ivan considered the idea of not coming back to the town when Yao retreated his hand and chuckled, this was like highschool all over again but perhaps ten times worse because he had hoped to be on the right track just once, and now, he dreaded his sole existence.
No matter how much he tried to shrink on himself, to hide under his scarf, he would not disappear from the situation.
His train of thought was stopped or more accurately, smacked back to reality by a soft hand caressing his cheek. He could barely register Yao's words. "You are fun to tease."
Ivan nodded slowly, he was doomed, wasn't he? He wanted nothing but melt on this man's hands, he knew he was blushing, but this time, he didn't mind it.
He gathered enough courage to lean forward, barely brushing his lips with the other, Yao's hand moved to the back of his head, pushing him lightly so their lips met.
"Bloody hell!"
They both flinched back, Ivan had forgotten about Arthur's existence, a sense of self awareness flared up in him but it didn't manage to overcome the annoyance he felt. The Englishman was nowhere to be seen.
Yao sighed, peering over to the kitchen, he gasped and hurried inside. "How did you set my teapot on fire?"
Ivan could hear Arthur's alarmed voice and the water tap running. "I don't know."
He approached the kitchen, the smell of smoke was stronger and he found Arthur frowning alongside Yao inspecting the blackened teapot.
The brown haired man huffed, leaving the teapot on the sink. "Stop burning things, Alfred is not around so you can quit gaining his attention."
"It was an accident and I asked for help, neither of you seemed to notice, are you deaf?"
"You are banned from my kitchen, now. Go and commit arson on your boyfriend's house, he can manage the fires quickly."
Ivan let out a laugh. "I am totally going to tell Alfred about this."
Arthur groaned. "From everyone you could have chosen to embarrass me in front of, it has to be with the one person Alfred has a direct line with, you are the best of friends, Yao."
Sending pictures of a burnt teapot to Alfred wasn't the way Ivan thought his night would end but he was delighted by today's happenings.
Not only could he get another kiss from Yao before leaving, he had asked him out on an actual date, much to the Englishman's amusement, the remarks the latter made after they left Yao's house weren't embarrassing anymore.
Ivan had entered a state of sheepish acceptance, if he had to take on Arthur's teasing in order to date Yao, then so be it.