Hey everyone. Look, an update. Why not feed me a review, Huh, Huh? How about it? Why not feed a starving person a little bit of your finger magic food? NICE PEOPLE WOULD DO IT JUST SAYING OKAY? I THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE, BUT... I mean, no one can make you... But, feel free to point out all the perspective and tense changes in all of this. I... I didn't want to fix them because im lazy and wanted to post something right away. :D Have a good one.

I awoke suddenly to the sound of Ivan's voice harshly whispering from the kitchen. The spot on the bed next to me was cold, but at some point Ivan had taken the time to cover me with, yet again, a plethora of blankets. I untangled myself slowly, the weight of my limbs hanging heavy on my groggy bones.

I looked at the pillow next to me for a moment, trying to imagine Ivan's platinum hair spread over it like glowing strands of silk. I reached up to touch it, pretending to stroke imagined Ivan's eyelashes, when a sudden yelling and the slamming of an object sent adrenaline through my veins. I bolted up from the bed, casting my eyes at the kitchen door. I was scared… Unbelievably scared for someone indirectly observing another's anger though a closed door, and suddenly, I remembered the night before.

The kissing, the teasing, the panting and moaning… Perhaps even, the heated pressure of.. Someone's groin? No, that would never happen, right? But what if it had and… Ivan was offended? What if he found the videos and was too overcome by rage to… To keep any of his promises?

I chewed on the tiniest bit of grown my nails had to offer, before silently stepping out of bed. If Ivan was going to kill me, he'd have to work for it. I wasn't going to lay down and beg for life. It wasn't like there was much to live for if it meant being some hot Russian guys fuck bitch anyways. No, my duty as an American is to fight for freedom always, in every way shape or form… Even if it meant avoiding all conflict and slipping out the door undetected… You know, like a fucking American ninja badass renegade survivalist, and NOT as a scared child wishing not to get hurt.

So, I made my two step plan quickly. Step one, Get dressed. Step two, get out the door and run as fast as you can and hope not to die. It was a good plan. A good simple plan that required no prior thinking or, you know, any of the food that was in the kitchen.

I quickly found a suitable pair of pants and tried to dress as silently as possible, before I decided to pull on a second layer of literally everything except my boots. My mother always said, there's safety in numbers. Actually she never said that. There was never a need for her to say that, but…

Another shout from the kitchen sent me scrambling for the shoe rack, pulling out the pair of boots someone managed to pack before kidnapping me. I was in the middle of pulling on one of the boots when I noticed a pair of small, shiny black boots pressed neatly at the side of the door. Another wave of panic washed over me.

Someone else was in the house? I looked back at the kitchen door. Someone else was in the house… With Ivan… Getting yelled at? I looked back the the boots and gave up trying to get mine on. Who was it? Was it that Toris Dude? Was he getting yelled at? For what? Was it because of the call I took before falling asleep? Was Ivan going to kill Toris if… If he couldn't kill me?

The irony was so thick I could almost cry if I wasn't about to panic. Of course I couldn't let Toris die because of me, which meant, I had to die instead. 15 years with a life full of stupid mistakes and nothing good to show for it. Matthew was talented and smart, beautiful and gentle in all the ways that mattered. He was going to leave a lot behind and be remembered by everyone as a saint. He was good, and he mattered. I, on the other hand, already had a record and had to take all sorts of classes to develop any sort of coping skill because punching people in the face is frowned upon.

A lady once told me that I was 'at risk' for 'violent outburst and other behaviours that could easily be exploited' because, at the time, I'd do anything for anyone who said they were my friend. Yea, Mattie was the golden child and I was… Am...Doing him a favor by staying out of his life. I sighed and leaned back a little on one of my arms and used the other to unbutton one of my shirts.

How does one even die with dignity? The people in the movies look like fools. Like, no one will be mad at you if you want to live, unless living makes the people who are worth anything die. Then people can be mad… But is that a dignified death? Making sure that the people who will make the world better live? I think it is, and if staying put makes Toris live, and Matthew thrive, then… Then I guess death is the best thing that I can offer the world.

I stood up slowly on shaky legs and tossed the extra clothes I was peeling off over the back of the couch. The noise in the kitchen had quited substantially, and I was contemplating crawling back under the covers when the kitchen door opened and Toris stepped out, the left side of his face red and swelling. He looked terrified, but all together alive. He flashed me a strained smile, more of a slight upturn at the lips than an actual smile, and slipped his boots back on, keeping his gaze cast to the floor. I watched him leave, saying a soft "Bye, Toris." as the door closed behind him.

I looked back at the kitchen door and gathered all my courage. If he hit Toris, then I there was no reason for him not to hit me. With a deep breath and slow steps, I cracked open the door.

"Ivan?" I called softly, seeing him standing near the kitchen table.

"Ah, yes, Alfred. Come in. We have much to talk about." He said coldly, pulling a chair out and gesturing for me to sit in it.

I but my lip and clasped my hands together nervously. "Okay…" I said, stepping through the door slowly, my eyes fixed on his face.

He pulled the chair out a bit further and I sat down in it, looking up at him as he walked to the counter and pulled out a bottle of vodka.

"You know what this is about, da?" He asked, more of a bored, uninterested statement than a question.

"I have an Idea…" I said meekly to his back.

He chuckled darkly, setting the bottle and glass down heavily on the counter. "No you don't. You have not idea at all."

I wanted to say that I did, but I held my tongue, not wanting to provoke his anger. I heard the liquid pour into the glass and then he turned my way, pointing at me with the hand that held the glass. "You almost got a lot of people killed last night Alfred. Have you ever gotten anyone killed before?"

"Killed!? What do you mean I almost got people killed with… The phone call?" I was shocked. Getting people killed? Over a phone call? That's the craziest thing ever, and it was also the worst thing ever… Heros don't get people killed.

Ivan stepped forward, a cruel smile on his lips. "Yes Alfred. Lots of people. People who look up to me, who look after me. My family Alfred. What would you do to someone who tried to get your family killed? I know what I would do. I've already done it." He leaned in and hissed into my face. "It's why i'm here. Why you're here, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep bad things from happening to them. Anything." He set the glass down and pulled me from the chair harshly. "Face the wall." He instructed, pushing me forward.

I swallowed audibly and did as he instructed, trying to keep my breath even in the face of death.

"You're not going to bring up the promises right now?"

"I-I figured it doesn't matter much right now…" I spoke softly, not wanting to give my voice a chance to shake.

He hummed softly, taking a step closer. "You'd be right." He said into my ear, before grabbing the back of my neck harshly and thrusting me against the wall. His hand was cold and textured. It crossed my mind quickly that he was wearing the black gloves, and panic hit my stomach hard. I instinctively brought my hands up to push off the wall, but he grabbed my shoulder hard enough to bruise and leaned in.

"Don't. Move." He said harshly, gripping the back of my neck just that much harder. "I won't hurt you unless I have to." He poked my lower back harshly, and aria just to the side of my spine. "This is where your right kidney is located. If I stabbed you here you would bleed to death in fifteen minutes." He reached between my legs and pressed his fingers into the inside of my left knee, and then pressed his way up. "This is your femoral artery." He reached under my armpit and grasped my upper arm harshly, pressing down hard. "This is your Brachial artery and up here, " He said pressing his fingers into my neck "Is your Carotid artery. There's two of everything. One for each side, and that's just the blood that's being delivered. There's a whole different set that takes the blood back to your heart, and I know where every one of them is located. I also know every done in your body, and how to break them." He let go of my neck and stepped back. "I know how to hurt you in ways that you don't know exist, Alfred… But you already know that, so, why do you keep testing me? Why do you keep pushing my buttons and messing everything up!?"

"I-I Just want to go home-"

"It seems to me that your home is in heaven then." He replied, pulling the chair on the other side of the table out. "How does the saying go? There are a lot of Fires to put out? You know. The one where you have to clean up a lot of stuff that someone else messed up. That's what I will have to be doing now. Try not to cause any more trouble, or else I'll have to force you to stop."

I couldn't see him when he spoke, but his voice was enough to send chills down my back. "O-okay.." I breathed out, hoping to sate the rest of his anger. "I mean, I still have to listen to you anyways. I'm sorry about… About the call. I just... "

I heard the chair move and felt Ivan move up behind me. He leaned down and kissed the back of my neck softly. I felt goosebumps rise up on my skin and it was hard not to tense up. He kissed my neck again, flicking out his tongue before moving to another spot, and smoothed his gloved hands over my arms. I let out a surprised groan and arched away from the tickling sensations, pressing back into his lap as I leaned forward just a bit. How could this be happening now? Who in their right mind fills someone with fear and then… And then trys to seduce them on a whim?

`1"Now I know why you woke me up in the night." He murmured. "You were scared. Who knows what you would have done if you the call never came. We could have woken up to a domestic war."

He touched the skin just above my jeans and slowly slid his hand up my shirt, rubbing slowly around my navel. He ran his nose though my hair, Pressing his cheek against my head as I touched his hand with trembling fingers. "I guess I'll just have to make sure you're too tired to do anything next time." He whispered huskily. "Or maybe I should make it so that you physically can't do anything at all. How do you like the idea of silk, Alfred?" He asked, sliding his hand back down and unbuttoning my jeans.

"No!" I shouted, grabbing his hand and pushing it away. "I'm not ready for that! Any of that!"

"You're not?" He said again, grasping my zipper with unmoving fingers. "You seemed ready yesterday when you teased me! When you pressed your lips against mine and made such lewd sounds that it made my heart beat like a bird that was going to die! You seemed ready then, when you were heating my blood and pressing yourself against me like a dog in heat!" He quickly unzip my pants and pressed his palm against my flaccid penis.

"If you thought I was ready then why did you back off yesterday?!" I screamed, grabbing at his hands and tring to force them away. "You know i'm not willing! You know it so stop!"

A strange sound came from his throat and he slammed me harshly into the wall.

I let out a pained yelp and turned to try and calm him again, but before I could say anything he was was throwing the full glass of vodka at me. I turned slightly and covered my head, screaming as it hit the wall. It shattered and sent pungent liquid and shards of glass everywhere. I looked at him from the corner of my eye, cowering away as he advanced suddenly, screaming in his native tongue and pointing at me. His face was red and the veins in his neck bulged. He backed me into the corner and I tried to slide down the wall but he grabbed my arm and held me up. I didn't look at him as he yelled and put my hand between us as a shield.

He gripped my arm even tighter, trying to turn me around, but I wouldnt budge. His voice was still angry, but it quieted down after another thrust against the wall had me screaming again. His voice was growing more desperate as he went on and somewhere in all of it I heard his name. His pet name, the one his sisters gave him, and I looked up into his glistening eyes slowly.

He quieted a moment, looking into my eyes before he released his hold on my arm. I was still so scared of him. His every movement was unpredictable, and I didn't want to say or do anything that would set him off again.

He stepped forward and zipped my pants back up carefully. "You have to watch what you do because I can't always be held accountable for my actions. Especially when I am full of vodka. You… You need to trust me or else bad things could happen to you Alfred, but you also have to make sure that you know what you are doing before you do them." He stroked my hair a moment before he stepped back and pointed at the shattered glass. "I want that cleaned up before I come back." He gave me a fake smile, turned, and hurriedly stepped out the door.

I watched him as he went, and after a moment I reached down to pick the pieces of the glass off the floor. I threw the biggest pieces in the trash can under the sink, and saw all the wrapping paper inside of it.

The gifts were still in the house, and if the gifts were here then… Then the gun was too, and that could sway things in my favor if I could find it… and use it. Properly… Maybe then it wouldn't be me who had to be careful of the other.