Creaking woke you up. The noise was not particularly loud, but it stirred you for some reason.
You sat up and stretched. The weight of your dreams lingered. although you could not start recalling them quite yet. You remembered falling asleep on Ivan's lap, and you were pretty sure that you had not dreamed that.
The groaning on the floor outside continued. Throwing caution to the wind, you got up and went to investigate. You exited the room and went to the source. Ivan was standing in front of a closet, the door open.
"Oh, did I wake you?" he asked, giving a touch of a guilty smile.
You nodded, crossing your arms over your front. "I don't mind. What time is it?"
"It is very early, actually." He pulled a coat out of the closet and began to pull it on. "I like getting up early and going out."
"Going out to do what?" you inquired.
His smile grew a bit. "You should find out for yourself!"
He reached into the closet and pulled out a very fluffy coat. It was one of those winter ones that many sporting stores stocked up with each year, the forest green material promised warmth. You took it and slipped it on over the sweater you were still borrowing. While you were doing that, he took out a pair of his boots, which were obviously far too large for you, and some socks next to that. You donned those too, feeling a bit ridiculous. This meant that the majority of your clothes were in fact his. You had mixed feelings about this.
Ivan had gone to the kitchen and had taken up two of the chairs. With one in each hand, he asked you to open the front door. You obliged, feeling the wave of icy air roll over your face.
There was a thin amount of light outside. Ivan was perfectly fine using this as his only reference and trudged outside. His boots sank into a fair amount of snow, yet he continued on unfazed. You followed, but were not exactly as successful as he was.
He lead you to the side of his house, setting the chairs down facing the open air. So far, all that you could see was a weak line of light at the end of the sky. He sat down and patted the chair next to him when you showed a moment of hesitation. You sat and waited.
The world was silent, and deafeningly so. It felt wrong to even breathe too loudly. Clouds of steam flew out of your nose with each breath. You glanced at Ivan. He was staring into the distance, waiting. You mimicked him.
Not that much later, you saw what he went out for: The sunrise. Clouds that lingered in the sky got colored vibrant pinks, purples, and oranges. As the sun slowly claimed its place in the sky, the sky seemed to turn an icy blue. It was beautiful by any definition.
"Wow," you said, gazing at it in pure wonder. If you tilted your head back enough, you could see some stars retreating from the sky in a last attempt to be seen.
Ivan's stoic expression bloomed into one of pure content. He looked as if he had everything he could ever want, and he was cherishing it for as long as he could. You remained silent, not wanting to disturb such a potent moment.
"Amy?" he spoke suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"When would you like to be leaving to go to into the town?"
"Pretty soon." You added, "As soon as it is good for you, really."
"No, it is no problem. We can be going within an hour."
The next hour or so was essentially just getting ready for going into town. He gave you your original shirt back, but insisted that you kept the sweater he gave you yesterday, as it would keep you plenty warm. The same went for the coat and boots.
"I should just see if my sister has clothing that would better suit you," he said in more of a thought to himself than to you. "But it would be best for you to get your own clothes."
You gave a half-smile. "Really, it is okay. I don't mean to stay here long."
Before you knew it, you were sitting in the car and heading into civilization. Both of you had shoveled some of the snow out of the way of the car, and had turned the heat as high as it could go. You sat in the passenger seat as the car forced its way through pretty easily.
"And you are sure that you know where the road is?" you asked.
"I am pretty sure."
That answer would have to do, apparently.
As it turns out, he did know where the road was. What seemed like moments later, you were on the main road of a town. It seemed to be just like one of those quaint Russian ones that you saw in paintings. Worn buildings, snow kissed and all. It made you smile a bit, actually.
Shopping was a rather normal trip. It felt strange to be lingering around the person you had only met a day before. A few people were not that subtle at looking at the two of you, quickly looking away when you looked at them. Did they think that you were his girlfriend or something? Maybe. Hopefully not.
Why would they even think that? Let's review, shall we. You were hanging around him, for the most part, sticking close. Oh, and you were wearing his clothes. Minor detail, really. That is probably why people thought you were something.
At one point, he handed you a fair chunk of money. Before you could protest or even wonder, he quickly explained.
"You need clothes that are your size, da? There might not be a flight home for awhile, so you should get some of your own clothes."
"But-"
"I have plenty of money to spare." He patted you on the shoulder. "You can go get whatever you like. I am going to go get a new computer."
And that is how you, with a rudimentary understanding of Russian and only knowing a few words of it, set off to go shopping on your own.
Author's Note: I just noticed how poor this chapter is done... I might go back and fix it later. Remember to review! It makes me very happy when you do!