On Thursday evening, Ivan found himself sitting on his laptop, a cup of tea and a sketchbook opened to a blank page on his nightstand, when something caught his eye. A news headline boasted that a meteor shower was supposed to be occurring on Saturday, and the prime viewing time was nine.

I should go watch, Ivan thought. It was sure to be beautiful, and even if he didn't have a great view of anything, it would still be nice to get out of the house. After debating for a minute, he stood up, walked over to his bureau, and grabbed his wallet. Inside was the slip of paper Alfred had given him, tucked behind a receipt from the grocery store and a list of art supplies he needed.

Ivan bit his lip and dialed the number into his phone, collapsing back on his bed. He knew Alfred would love that sort of thing; in fact, he was almost positive Alfred was probably already informed about it. It rang twice before a cheerful, "Hello?" punctuated the silence.

"Hi, Alfred, this is Ivan."

Shuffling. "Oh—oh! Hey, hi! What's up? How are you?"

"I am good," Ivan said, amused by Alfred's antics. "And yourself?"

Alfred exhaled loudly. "Studying for finals. And AP exams. And everything, really. Running on coffee."

"Red Bull?"

Alfred laughed. "That too. Loads of it."

"What a pain high school is. I am sure you are very busy, then? Too busy to see the meteor shower on Saturday with me?"

"Aw, shit." Alfred faltered. "I'm sorry, Ivan. I'm already going to record and study it with my astronomy club."

"No, no, that's fine!" Ivan said quickly. "I know you are probably already in the loop about all those kinds of things. I was just wondering."

"Well, I appreciate it, really. Hey! Why don't we go stargazing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Ivan fiddled with the edge of his comforter. Why was his heart beating so fast? "Sure. What time?"

"Uh... eight? Does eight work?"

"Yeah, eight works."

"Great." Ivan could hear the smile in Alfred's voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, then!"

Ivan could not stop the grin that traced his lips. "Yes. Goodbye."

Mathias Køhler asked Ivan out for coffee the next day, and Ivan left his apartment just before noon, shoving his wallet into his pocket and locking the door behind him. The weather reports were predicting a half-chance of rain later that day, but it was impossible to tell at that moment. The sun shone softly and a light breeze rustled the trees around Ivan, the pleasant scent of summer air filling his lungs.

He raked a hand through his ash-colored hair, breathing deeply and grabbing his car keys. Ivan had met Mathias in college; coincidentally, they ended up moving only a few minutes away from each other. Mathias was very enthusiastic about art and often commissioned Ivan for paintings, and a casual friendship had formed between them over the years. Though Mathias was two years older, they were very close in age maturity-wise, and generally had a nice time together.

Ivan got to the coffeehouse first. He ordered a drink and sat down, pulling out his phone to kill time before the Dane arrived. The door opened and Ivan didn't look up, but he smiled when he heard Mathias' familiar voice ordering his usual: hazelnut, no sugar, extra cream. Mathias was a coffee fanatic and was very excited when Ivan had mentioned that his older sister co-owned a coffeeshop.

"Morning, Braginsky!" Mathias singsonged as he sat down across from Ivan, sunlight catching in his blue eyes and turning them to ice. "How have you been?"

"Same as usual," Ivan said. "No better, no worse—and yourself?"

"I, my friend, am exceptional." Mathias took a huge gulp of his coffee and leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowing. "You, however, are something else today. You got yourself a girlfriend, hmm?"

Ivan laughed. "What? No."

Mathias tapped the apple of cheek. "No, no, no. Braginsky, see, that lie doesn't work with me! You've got this slight red tint to your face right here; y'know, I've never seen that on you before."

"You sure seem lively this morning. Do you really need to add caffeine to that?" Ivan said, tipping his head at the cup in Mathias' hands.

"Okay, okay, fine. But really! You've got to tell me who's got you like this."

An image of Alfred flashed through Ivan's mind, but he pushed it away. "Must be the warm weather. I don't know. How's Lukas?" Lukas Bondevik was Mathias' boyfriend, also older than Ivan, same age as Mathias. Apparently Mathias and Lukas had been together since high school and now lived in an apartment together. Ivan had met Lukas once, briefly, and the guy had been very quiet and very cold, cold enough that Ivan found it odd Mathias managed to draw his attentions. Opposites attract?

They chatted for another hour. One of the reasons Ivan enjoyed hanging around Mathias so much was because Mathias knew about Ivan's illness and did not go awkwardly out of the way to avoid talking about it, instead simply approached it in a casual manner when necessary. He inquired about Ivan's health from time to time, always with an encouraging, dazzling smile; the Dane was always ready with a joke or a sympathetic hug. Ivan liked that.

He and Mathias parted ways. Ivan poked around a family-run store selling trinkets and knickknacks and stopped to have a word with the shopkeeper—Ivan was a frequent customer and the owners were familiar with him—before grabbing a few things from the grocery store and heading back home.

He still had a while before eight. He worked on a few commissions, read from his copy of Anna Karenina, and spent a while on the phone with Natalya. He managed to talk her out of burning her ex's dorm down, but he hung up wondering what might happen to that poor boy. Oh well.

All day, the sky was steadily darkening with rain clouds. Maybe the weather forecasts had been right.

At seven-fifty, despite the ominous clouds lurking on the horizon, Ivan decided to drive to the spot. He threw a few blankets into his car and rode off. He was about to pull off to the side of the road and park so he could walk the rest of the distance to the meadow when he saw someone picking their way along the edge of the road. Ivan sighed. Damn pedestrians getting in the way... wait. Was that...

"Oh, dear God," Ivan muttered, inching his car forward. Alfred. He honked, causing the American teen to jump and turn around. Alfred looked like he was about to let loose a volley of curse words, but Ivan waved and rolled down the window. Alfred hurried over, a grin on his face.

"Hi," Ivan said. "Looks like it is going to rain."

"Already is." Alfred pointed at Ivan's windshield. A few rain droplets had already splattered on the glass.

"Why did you walk?"

"Exercise," Alfred laughed. Ivan decided he really did like Alfred's laugh. It kind of reminded him of Mathias', or Katyusha's.

"Get in the car."

"The clearing is, like, a minute away."

"It is going to rain, Alfred. Would you like to stargaze in the rain?" Ivan said sarcastically.

Alfred sighed and opened the passenger door. "Are you going to drive me home?"

"Would you like me to?" Ivan's eyes flickered over at Alfred as he began to drive. "You are welcome to come over to my house if you like. Have you eaten?"

"No," Alfred said. "Are you sure that's okay? And you're not some serial killer, are you?"

Ivan rolled his eyes and began driving back to the apartment. "It is no trouble at all—and no, I am fairly certain I am not a serial killer. My little sister may be, though." Ivan told Alfred about the phone call with Natalya earlier that day, and Alfred laughed again.

The rain picked up once they reached the complex's parking lot, and both Ivan and Alfred hurried up the stairwell to Ivan's apartment.

"You live alone?" Alfred asked.

Ivan unlocked the door. "Yes."

Alfred's eyes widened as he stepped into the apartment. Ivan frowned. It was fairly clean. What was wrong?

"This is amazing," Alfred exclaimed. Ivan realized Alfred was looking at one of his canvases. His commission for Mathias. He'd left it to dry on his easel by the couch, his paintbrushes still lying clean by the sink and newspapers spread out to protect the coffee table.

"Thank you," Ivan said, startled.

Alfred took his shoes off by the door and walked over to the canvas to examine it. "Wow, Ivan, this is really awesome. Seriously. Can I buy this?"

Ivan smiled. "I am sorry, but it is a commission for a friend."

The painting was the well-known waterfront Copenhagen, the multicolored European-style houses still unfinished and half-dry. Alfred smiled. Really smiled. "This is so pretty."

"Thank you." Ivan was slightly flustered. He walked over to the kitchen area, opening up the fridge. "Let me see now. I already ate, but I could heat up some of my leftovers for you. Or I could make you spaghetti or—"

"Ivan?" Alfred interrupted, his face reddening. "Um, please don't be mad at me..."

The Russian shut the fridge and looked over at Alfred. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I lied. I already ate dinner. I just wanted to spend time with you. Sorry, is that weird?"

Ivan blinked. "N-no. No, that is all right. Uh, well, would you like anything to drink?"

"Water, if that's not too much."

Ivan filled a glass. "You can sit down, you know." He chuckled at how awkward Alfred looked and headed back into the living area, handing Alfred a glass of water. They both sat on the couch.

Thunder rumbled outside, and Ivan turned to Alfred, his eyebrows raised. "I told you it is good we did not stay outside."

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred grumbled. He paused, looking around. "Don't you get lonely, living alone?"

"No, it is okay. My sister visits me sometimes. I am fine with it."

"Yeah? You're really introverted, you know. That's cool."

Ivan grunted. "Well, you are very extroverted. You seem like the kind of person who does not ever shut up."

That made Alfred laugh. "Sometimes I get headaches from talking too much."

"Headaches?" Ivan reached over and pressed his index finger against Alfred's forehead. "I have heard that if you press right here, it can cure headaches."

Alfred's eyes widened. "Oh—um—y-yeah—"

Ivan pulled his hand away. "What is the matter?"

Alfred turned red. "Nothing!"

"You are very odd." Ivan stood up and walked over to the television stand. "Would you like to watch a movie? I could make popcorn."

"Yeah! Do you have anything American?"

"I have Captain America."

"Wonderful," Alfred said. "We should watch that. It's a yes from me."

The storm outside raged. Ivan and Alfred turned off all the lights and hunkered down on the couch with a giant bowl of popcorn. Alfred had clearly seen the movie many times before but still got excited whenever any kind of commotion happened, and Ivan found himself thoroughly enjoying watching Alfred's reactions.

By eleven, the bowl of popcorn was empty and the movie credits were rolling. "I should get you home," Ivan said. For some reason, he felt something that was almost disappointment. It seemed Alfred felt it, too, because he said, "I guess," and stood up rather hesitantly. "Thank you so much for letting me come over."

"It was fun," Ivan said. "Come on. I'll drive you back. Give me directions."

Alfred still seemed hesitant. "Well, okay. This is very awkward, but I have never been in this neighborhood before. I don't know where I am. I tried to pull up directions on Google, but my service is out because of the storm." He looked mortified and buried his head in his hands. "Ugh. This is so embarrassing. I'm sorry."

Ivan picked up his own phone off the coffee table. "Shit. My service is out, too."

Alfred looked at Ivan helplessly. "I guess I could figure it out if we drove around a bit—"

"I don't know. The rain is so heavy now, it does not seem very effective to wander around." Ivan bit his lip in frustration and sighed. "You could stay here, but I do not want to make you uncomfortable."

"No, I can't inconvenience you like that."

"It is okay. You are my friend." Ivan plopped back down on the couch. "Would your family worry about you?"

"Don't worry. I sent my mom a text the instant I got in your car." Alfred smiled. "Are you sure me staying here wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"It is fine, Alfred. Here, I'll show you the guest room."

"Ah, Ivan?"

"What?"

Alfred's mouth slammed shut. "N-no. Nothing, never mind. Thank you for letting me stay here..."