More tension than anything, really.
0o0o0o
'God, may the stars come together for us,' Yao muttered. Above him, the ceiling curved and the space outside stretched indefinitely.
Yao was doing his daily work in the observatory, but for the first time, it wasn't as awe-inspiring as usual. His mind kept wandering to scarred necks and scarves. To Kiku, the infuriating, stubborn boy, and back to Ivan again. They would need a lot more than luck to make this alliance work, to make their alliance work. They'd be lucky if Kiku didn't tell anyone, if they were never discovered-if Ivan didn't tell, as if it was even a secret anymore.
'Yao?' a girl called, rousing him from his thoughts.
'Oh, Mei! I didn't see you there,' he said, trying to inject some life into his voice while stifling a yawn. Mei smiled, but her expression was troubled, and Yao frowned.
'What's wrong?'
'Kiku isn't your other ambassador anymore,' she said, worrying with the edge of her shirt. 'I think Trần Chung Liên is?'
Yao groaned. At Mei's look, he shook his head. 'No offense to her. Kiku is just being…' He waved his hand in frustration, and scratched out another figure with a little too much vigour. 'Kiku.'
'He is good at that,' Mei joked, trying to lighten the mood. Yao forced a laugh. It came out strained.
'When's the next meeting?' he interrupted, changing the subject.
Mei checked her device, frowning. 'Tomorrow?'
'Tomorrow? Does nobody warn me about things anymore? Seriously.' Yao tried to smooth down the edges where his pencil had torn the page, but his trembling hands only succeeded in wrinkling it. Mei waited by the door, and Yao distractedly motioned her off.
What should he do, Yao asked himself, crumpling up the paper and throwing it to the floor in defeat. Apologize to Kiku? Would it even do anything? It couldn't hurt to try. And about Ivan…
He shook the thought out of his head. He could worry about Ivan tomorrow. Right now, he had to talk to Kiku.
0o0o0o
Kiku was writing another letter when Yao knocked on the door. For a second, he entertained the possibility of turning him away, but rejected it. Yao was his teacher, and he deserved politeness for that if nothing else.
'I'm sorry, Kiku,' Yao said as soon as the door was open. He looked sleepless and worn, and Kiku felt suddenly ashamed of his words yesterday.
'Come in,' he invited after an awkward pause. Yao sank into a chair.
'About yesterday,' he began, twisting the edge of his sleeve. 'I did tell the truth, you know.'
'I know,' Kiku said, a small weight settling in his stomach. Yao glanced up at him.
'And you're okay with that? Really?'
'I am just worried about the alliance,' Kiku confessed, sitting down across from the older man. 'Will your-will Ivan Braginsky affect the alliance?'
'He's an ambassador, he always has,' Yao said with a quick grin. His face faded back into its weary expression. 'He shouldn't.'
'And if he does?' Kiku prompted. Yao looked away and gritted his teeth.
'I will not let him.'
Kiku wanted to ask how, or in which sense of the words Yao meant, but bit his tongue. 'Good' was all he said. Yao nodded, still picking at his sleeve. He wouldn't meet Kiku's eyes.
'Why do you…' Kiku motioned helplessly. Yao finally looked at him and smiled slightly.
'Have you heard the rumours about his scarf?' the elder man asked. 'How he wears it to cover up the mess of metal that is his neck?'
'I have heard something of the sort,' Kiku said cautiously.
'They're true,' Yao said in a rush. 'He had the coughing virus, but he was cured. The scarf is to cover up the evidence.' His eyes were fever-bright, and his voice was desperate. 'He was born on Earth, Kiku.'
The younger man turned away, the knot of helplessness in his stomach tightening. Yao sat back in defeat.
'So you want Earth from him,' Kiku reaffirmed.
'Yes.'
'Only Earth?'
Yao looked away. 'Yes.'
It was pointless to press him, Kiku knew. Maybe Yao's love of Earth was enough to warrant love for the man who could give that.
'May the stars come together for you,' he said after not knowing what to do. His mentor nodded. 'I...I'll go get some food…' Kiku offered. Yao didn't respond, but he got up regardless.
When he came back, Yao was gone. Kiku sat down in the spot across from his, mind awash with worry for a long time.
0o0o0o
Yao craned his head to look up at the guard.
'I'm here to talk to Ivan Braginsky,' he said. The guard looked distrustful.
'Permit?'
'I'm the Middle fleet leader. I don't need a permit if the alliance is what I thought,' Yao said, praying he could bluff the guard into letting him through. 'I would assume I am allowed to visit my ambassador.'
The guard glanced at his partner, who shook her head. He pressed his lips together. 'You can go through.'
Before he had finished his sentence, Yao was striding past him, trying to figure out which was Ivan's rooms from the identical walls.
'Are you looking for something?' a voice asked. Yao turned and smiled.
'There you are. You're going to tell me about Earth.'
0o0o0o
Ivan's rooms were simple and impersonal, with none of the paperwork Yao's had. Everything in the room was exact, as if nobody lived there. Yao sat down on the pristine bed and gently ran his hands over the crisp folds.
'You want me to tell you about Earth?' Ivan asked again.
'That was the terms of our alliance,' Yao said. Ivan nodded.
'I remember Earth like a dream,' Ivan began. 'I was very young. My first memories were of red.'
Ivan's words drew Yao into a world of scorched earth and smoke. The air, Ivan explained, seemed more bioweapon than oxygen sometimes, in how even the strongest gasped for breath after the shortest climb. It was a place of hell.
All children know the story of the wars. They know how the rules were broken and the diseases unleashed. They know the names of the scientists who crafted the coughing virus that destroyed their people so utterly there was no alternative other than space.
He speaks of the weapons of war with a sense of grim pride, that he survived the most deadly of them.
'But there was a world before the wars,' Ivan said, 'and that is what people most often forget. I read about that world.'
'Tell me,' Yao begged.
Ivan spoke in a hushed tone about the world before the wars, all pride gone. The way he described the water and the trees made Yao's chest ache even more, but filled his heart to breaking.
When Ivan finished, Yao's blood sang with stories of a world he'd never known, and the weight of the words completed him.
'Thank you, Ivan,' he said, head spinning.
'Of course, I want my information,' Ivan mentioned casually. Yao almost nodded, still caught up in the images, but caught himself.
'Later.'
'Later?' Ivan asked, violet eyes narrowing. Yao stared straight at him.
'Yes, Ivan.'
For a long second, it seemed Ivan would not let him leave without his answers, but something changed in his eyes, and he stood down. Yao held his gaze as he left, and laughed when he was far down the hallway.
0o0o0o
'What do you mean you offered him the only information he wanted and got nothing in return?' his leader growled. 'I gave you explicit instructions.'
'I have my ways. Do not question them,' Ivan said coldly. His leader glared at him.
'You're on your last chance, Braginsky.'
When Ivan left the room, his mind was caught up in planning. When he turned the corner, he was just a half-second too slow to avoid the first blow to his stomach.
0o0o0o
The meeting was long and tedious. Yao seemed distracted again, but at least Ivan was not there. Kiku subtly tried to keep an eye on the doorways to see if he'd come in. His absence was more concerning than his presence.
He didn't appear the whole way through. Kiku was still watching the doorways when Yao started talking to him about Earth.
'Before the wars, there were great stretches of water you could drink without purifying, and things called redwood trees…'
'I'm sorry to interrupt, but where was Ivan?' Kiku asked. Yao paused and frowned.
'I...I don't know.'
0o0o0o
The sparks flew from his chest. He felt like collapsing, but did not sway. He was strong. Strong enough to have himself burned to shreds. Strong enough to have his damaged flesh replaced with metal and plastic. Strong enough to be ripped apart in order to survive.
'Yao.'
'Ivan, there you ar-' The smaller man stopped, unable to hide the look of horror when he saw Ivan's cut-up chest. 'Ivan, what did they do to you?'
'Why do you assume someone did this?' Ivan asked, taking one of Yao's delicate hands in his own.
Yao removed his hands from Ivan's hold and ushered him towards his rooms, determinedly pulling boxes and bottles out of his pockets with a practiced air. 'You are too strong to have been hurt by any but another human' was all he said. Ivan simply hummed in response.
'Toris was the one who rebuilt me if this happened before.'
'No matter-how do I fix you?' Yao asked, mentioning him onto the bed, disinfectant and needle poised.
'My chest is fixed by starting with the red wires,' the pale-haired man instructed. 'Think of me like a machine, yes?'
'You aren't a machine,' Yao said quietly. His hands were cool when he pressed a hand against Ivan's forehead to make him lie down. 'Here. Take these.'
'What are they?'
'Painkillers.'
With a bemused chuckle, Ivan swallowed the painkillers and closed his eyes. Yao's hands gently prodded at the bruised and bloodied flesh. He had a doctor's touch and a warrior's mind, razor-sharp and focused on only what he needed to do. Later, there would be questions. But for now, Ivan let himself float on the painkillers and the cool touch of the nobleman's hands.
'Red wires,' Yao repeated, pulling at the exposed ones with damaged coverings or bent fibres. 'Which one first, Ivan?'
Ivan opened his eyes and pointed to one by his solar plexus. Yao nodded and reached in, barely pulling back. 'Will...will it kill you?'
Ivan shook his head despite not knowing. He'd gambled his life before and won.
The torn coverings were easy enough to replace. The damaged wires almost caused Yao's mask of concentration to break, but as none of them were torn, they simply caused pain instead of anything more serious.
Ivan gritted his teeth as another spike of pain flared through him, and reminded himself that Yao did not know his system like Eduard, who'd programmed it, or Ravis, who'd built it, or Toris. His touch was so much gentler, so much more careful of hurting him.
'I'm almost done,' Yao soothed. 'It'll be over soon.' Ivan reached out blindly and found his hand. Yao smoothed a thumb over his knuckles as he fit the last pieces back into place and stepped back to survey his handiwork.
'Am I fixed?' Ivan asked, opening his eyes. Yao nodded, and his mask disappeared, replaced by fear.
'Who was it?' he demanded, voice shaking.
'People who hate me,' Ivan said, sitting up. 'It has happened before, don't worry.'
'Politically hate you or…' Yao gestured to his chest.
'They look at me and see all the people they loved, coughing out their lungs while I stand unaffected,' Ivan said with a smile. 'They look at me and decide I need to pay for daring to survive.'
0o0o0o
Good for crescendos.
:: Waking up without knowing why too early
