5
Yao knew it was unreasonable to be so stressed over his date with Ivan. He didn't even like the man that much and he still worried about what he was going to wear and how he was going to greet the other man.
The next day at work wasn't so bad. Perhaps the women from the last afternoon had been too embarrassed to share their story, or maybe no one believed that Yao would defend Ivan like he did. But either way the day after was quieter than he had thought it would be, and so he was allowed the time to consider his evening plans.
And that's what he did, right up until his walk home. He was aware that he hadn't given Ivan a time to pick him up so the moment he arrived home mid afternoon Yao found it hard to relax. He muttered to himself as he ran a bath about how he should have never have agreed to this date. He didn't owe Ivan for what he did, saving Abram. The person that owed him was Abram himself.
However, Yao did feel sort of excited.
He put it down to it just having been a while since he was on the dating scene. Ivan physically was his type; Yao had always had a soft spot for large, light haired men... But even though Ivan did fit this, his creepy demeanour and weird stalker-like behaviour put Yao off big time. And he claimed to be in love with Yao! They barely knew one another! Yao just couldn't ignore that.
He ran himself a bath and washed his hair and body before starting to prepare himself. He hoped Ivan had the good sense not to come for at least a few hours after he got off work instead of following him home and insisting on taking him straight back out again. He didn't know with that man. Ivan was unpredictable.
Luckily, as Yao found out, Ivan did have the decency to give Yao the time to prepare himself and so Yao found himself quite relaxed as he combed his hair, he was looking neat and presentable without looking as if he had tried too hard for Ivan. There was a knock on the door just moments after Yao had considered himself ready to go.
He stayed where he was and took a deep breath. It was only dinner. He could surely make it through two or so hours with Ivan.
He answered the door, forcing a smile on his face. He had no idea what the night would lead to, but he couldn't say he was totally against the idea of a free meal.
"Yao!" Ivan exclaimed and immediately Yao found a bouquet of flowers were thrust in this face, "It's time for you to go out with me."
Yao pulled his face away from the mass of colour and pollen, "Oh, flowers..." He reached out to take the bouquet.
Ivan nodded and handed them to Yao, "For you. I chose red because red is a lucky colour in China, da?" He smiled as Yao noticed all the red in the bunch, "And yellow because that is a happy bright colour and you make me feel happy and bright!"
Yao bit his lower lip, blushing lightly. Ivan put some thought into his. Really it was a sweet gesture, "Thank you." He murmured. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed a third colour, "What does the orange mean?"
Ivan reached out and pulled the stem of an orange flower towards him gently, "Those are my favourite! Yellow is how I feel and red is for you so orange is the both of us put together! Aren't they the prettiest?"
Yao looked up at Ivan; he wasn't as freaked out as he felt he should have been hearing something like that, "They're all nice." He didn't want to explicitly agree with the other man, "Let me put them in a vase."
He turned away and looked at the flowers as he made his way into the kitchen. He thought of van picking them, considering the meaning of the colours and trying to make them nice for him and the thought made him unable to suppress a small smile.
He found a long tall vase and filled it with cool water before placing the flowers into it, arranging it perfectly so the colours were evenly spread. He decided he would put them on his bedroom windowsill, that room still needed more colour. He placed his flowers on the table to go upstairs later.
He hurried back to the front room and saw Ivan, still standing by the door, but now he was turned to face outside, leaning casually against the door frame with his hands in his pockets. His broad shoulders relaxed.
He looked really normal...
It struck Yao that he was seeing a different side of Ivan. A side that wasn't a character, but just a normal guy.
"You could have come in and sat down." Yao told him, not dwelling on it too long.
Ivan turned to him; he hadn't heard Yao come back in, "Huh? Did you want me to?"
... Yao shrugged, "Um...Well I don't really care." He just figured Ivan wanted to take a seat.
"It's nice here." Ivan told him, "It's nice being outside."
Yao peered past him, the sun was almost down. As pretty as it was, this is what they saw every night, "Then why don't you come out more often?"
He was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to talk to Ivan.
"Because people don't want me to go out." Ivan replied quickly. There was a moment of silence as Yao contemplated this, "The cab is here!"
Ivan stepped out onto the snow and turned around to beckon Yao, "Let's go Yao! I chose a lovely restaurant just for you!"
Yao followed him out, shutting the door behind him. Ivan was hurrying over to the cab... He wasn't so bad.
Yao fully planned on questioning Ivan about his strange behaviour and his vast knowledge about Yao's personal life but... Maybe he'd have a little fun as he did it.
.oO0Oo.
The cab ride was in silence. It surprised Yao how little they spoke in the twenty minutes it took to drive to the next town, especially given he was starting to feel like Ivan and him were sort of hitting it off just a few minutes ago. He just watched out of the window as they drew into the larger town, there was so much more light here and people walked the streets without greeting one another. He watched as they passed casinos, 24 hour stores and brand names that he could never imagine seeing at home.
The cab came to a halt outside a large restaurant. The building looked French and there was a fountain outside, below the huge sign that said the name of the eatery, all in yellow lights. This placed seemed glamorous.
"Aha!" Ivan exclaimed next to him, reviving his chatty spark as soon as the vehicle stopped, "Yao, this is it!" He quickly unbuckled himself and jumped out of the car, hurrying around so that he could do the honours of holding Yao's door open for him.
"Here?" Yao peered up at the tall building; it looked so fancy and Ritz-like, "Ivan this looks expensive..." He warned. Maybe Ivan didn't get out enough to know what affordable was.
Ivan took his hand and helped Yao out of the car, letting the petite man gaze up at the white stone building with concern as Ivan discreetly leaned in to the cab and paid the driver.
He patted Yao on the back as the cab rolled off, "Do not worry, sunflower! I will pay."
Yao turned to Ivan, "What did you call me?" He didn't think he was ready for a pet name.
Ivan laughed and lightly tapped one of Yao's ears, "You have to listen, and I called you a little sunflower!"
Yao tutted, foolish of him to expect Ivan to pick up on his threatening tone. He decided to drop it and deal with it if Ivan called him a sunflower again, "We don't have to go here." Yao told him. He had no idea how Ivan expected to afford this.
Ivan just laughed, patted Yao's head and started to lead the way to the glass doors, which upon their arrival to them were opened quickly by two well dressed door men. Yao looked around nervously... He felt very under dressed.
"Good evening, Mr. Braginski." Another man, a waiter, Yao assumed, walked over to them and started to speak in a professional tone, "Will this young gentleman be accompanying you tonight?" He eyed Yao. Yao pursed his lips sourly, 'young gentleman'. He wasn't a teenager!
Yao looked between Ivan and the waiter. It struck him suddenly that the staff knew Ivan by name... He looked at Ivan, was he here often?
Next thing he knew, Ivan's big hand was on his shoulder, "Yes!" He told the waiter, "This is Yao, he's my date!"
Yao blushed and looked down embarrassed before he even got to gage the waiter's reaction, He remembered that them being both men and here on a date was frowned upon on this country... Even illegal. He felt even worse.
He expected to be asked to leave. He was under dressed and here with another man in a place that was bound to have an excellent reputation. He sent a glance up to Ivan but the other man seemed totally fine with telling the restaurant that Yao was his date.
"Right this way." Yao flinched when the waiter spoke but slowly realised that he wasn't sending them away but had turned around and was walking deeper into the building, expecting the two of them to follow.
Yao blinked as Ivan started to walk behind the waiter and it took him a second before it hit him that he was supposed to move too. He hurried over to join the waiter and Ivan. He looked around at the beautiful furnishes and fittings inside the restaurant with amazement. He couldn't believe how Ivan could act so calmly in here... He found it almost ironic that the man he was doing anything to avoid just the other day was the one he was now following like a baby chick.
Ivan and Yao were shown a table and even more members of staff waited there. Yao felt a little uncomfortable as his chair was pulled out for him, his coat taken from his shoulders and chair put under him as he sat down and his napkin was laid down on his lap as someone else filled a small glass with water. The operation was smooth and made it so that Yao felt like he was ready to look at a menu in just five seconds.
Menus were placed in front of each of them and before he could register it the members of staff were gone leaving Yao and his date alone.
Yao watched Ivan as he smiled over at Yao and opened the menu and looked through it, "Mmm..." He hummed, "Pick something good!"
Yao blinked and turned his attention to the small printed text on the menu... This was nothing like the restaurant menus at home. He didn't even understand what half of the components of each dish were. He sighed and placed the menu back down. He had a few questions for Ivan before he got into the date.
Ivan noticed as Yao looked up at him, "Don't you know what to choose?" Ivan asked cheerfully.
Yao bypassed the question, "Ivan... Why do you know all that stuff about me? How do you know all that stuff."
Ivan didn't seem affected by Yao's probing, "I looked it up." He answered simply.
Yao cleared his throat, that wasn't going to cut it, "You can't have just looked it up!" He spoke more urgently but kept his voice soft, not wanting to make a scene, "Some of that stuff isn't the kind of thing you just find! ... Why did you even try to find it?"
Ivan put down his menu too, keeping calm, "When I first saw you, Yao it was when you first came to see the house! I saw you from my window and I thought you were very beautiful. I fell in love with you! I wanted to know everything about you Yao. So I researched you lots and lots! I called lots of different people until I knew plenty so that I could make you nice and happy when you fall in love with me too."
Yao shifted in his seat, "Okay..." He took a moment to pause. Ivan really did seem to think he was in love with him... And now apparently Yao was going to fall for him too. "How did you find it all?!"
Ivan shrugged, "Lots of ways! I used social media a lot!"
Yao looked down. Really that's all there was to it. Ivan was a stalker. And Yao was on a date with him.
He picked up the menu again, "You can't do that..." He said, "That's why I wanted you away from me, Ivan. You can't do that."
There was no reply. Yao decided to move the conversation on, "What are you getting?" He pushed up the cheeriness in his voice, "Ai yah... I really can't choose."
Ivan lit up at Yao consulting him, "The duck! I recommend it!"
Yao took this opportunity to question Ivan on another query he had, "Do you come here often... They seem to know you."
Ivan nodded quickly, "Almost every month. This place is my favourite."
Deciding he would go with Ivan's recommendations, Yao leaned forward on his elbow, "How can you afford it?"
Ivan put down his menu too, having made his decision so he and Yao could have a real conversation, "I have lots of money, Yao, so I come here a lot."
"But you don't have a job..." Yao pointed out, "Or do you?" He suddenly wondered if Ivan had some top secret big job that no one else knew anything about.
Ivan laughed and shook his head, "My parents died long ago and gave me their money- they were rich you see and I was... Their child." He moved a little closer to Yao.
It was then the waiter came and Ivan ordered for them both, skipping starters and going straight to the main meal and getting a bottle of wine to share.
"So why don't you have a job..?" Yao eyed Ivan across the table as he tasted the wine that had come for them before okay-ing it and letting the waiter pour them a glass each.
Ivan took a sip from his glass, "I doubt that I could find work there..." Ivan smiled softly, "I have enough money! You don't have to worry!"
Yao shrugged his shoulders and sipped his own wine, surprised at how beautifully rich it was. Honestly he wasn't worrying about Ivan having a job until this small talk; it had never crossed his mind. But now he was starting to wonder why Ivan stayed here. He was a young, rich man, and was obviously aware of the negativity that he received.
"Ivan..." Yao narrowed his eyes, "Why do you stay there?" He drummed his fingers on the table, "I don't get it."
Ivan leaned back in his chair, "Who knows," He smiled, looking more charismatic than he usually did, "I like it there."
Yao tilted his head, interested, "But everyone..." He didn't want to use the word 'hate'. That was too much, "No one's nice to you... You know what they call you, right?" Even if Ivan wasn't aware, he deserved to be.
"I know." Ivan said quickly, "But it's true! I am tall and I am a man." He explained.
Yao sighed as sipped his wine again, "But you could go somewhere else!" He reminded Ivan, "You have money, you..." He sighed, "I don't get it."
Ivan laughed, "I don't know! But it must be fate!" He lowered his voice, "Because I met you."
Yao rolled his eyes and looked at Ivan, "You don't need a house like that anyway."
"I do." Ivan replied, "It's okay."
.oO0Oo.
Yao had no idea that the date would go like this, one hour later he was still sitting there his dinner with Ivan finished, but not wanting to go home quite yet. By now he was glad to look Ivan in the eye and to an extent, hold his hand across the table. He never thought that he would be attracted to Ivan like this... He still though Ivan was a creep... But he was also kinda nice and sweet.
As the wine levels in the bottle decreased and Yao and Ivan ordered one more glass each to see them off for the night things certainly felt less tense. Yao laughed a little louder and felt a little less conscious of the class of the restaurant he was in,
"You're kidding!" He exclaimed as he laughed at Ivan's encounter with the village children when they used to knock on his door and run away.
Ivan grinned mischievously, "Yao, it's true, they were playing a game and I joined in!"
Yao rolled his eyes playfully, "Harassment. They were harassing you."
"Oh, Yao." Ivan rested his chin on his hands, "They are far too cute to do anything like that."
Yao gave a short, loud laugh, "Ha! Cute!" He thought for a moment, "They are sweet at first, but so rowdy..." He rubbed his temple, "I must be an old man. They give me so many headaches."
It was Ivan's turn to laugh, "Headaches!"
Yao nodded, "I'll never understand why you still so friendly with them. Abram said you smiled at him and he was scared for days."
Ivan gave Yao a soft look, "It isn't their fault they've become afraid."
"Then who's is it?" It wasn't Ivan's.
"It's mine." Ivan replied.
Yao frowned. That wasn't right! But they had known him longer than Yao did...
Yao cleared his throat, "Why are they scared?"
Ivan suddenly looked distant, his face clouded over, "Because I am the only one. Suddenly I was the only one there... Without warning." He was looking at a napkin, staring at intensely, "But they don't understand."
Yao waited for him to go on but realised nothing was coming, "What do you mean? What-"
"Aha!" Ivan was quickly back to his jolly happy state, "Here is the bill."
"But what-" Yao tried to continue but was interrupted; "I will pay quickly, Yao." He announced and brought out his wallet. Yao sat back and sighed as he fiddled with the table cloth, leaving Ivan to it.
Minutes later they were back out of the restaurant. Yao was shocked by the sudden chill. He immediately wrapped his arms around himself. He felt something soft on his shoulders and looked up to see Ivan placing his scarf on him.
"Ivan!" Yao exclaimed, the larger man never took off that pink scarf.
Ivan just patted Yao on the head, "It is cold tonight."
"But this is your scarf!" He didn't want to make Ivan uncomfortable by making him take his scarf for Yao's sake.
"Don't worry. I am fine. Let's go and find a cab."
Yao sighed. He was actually disappointed that the evening was over. Really disappointed.
Ivan started to lead them down the street to where the taxi rank must have been. Yao stopped.
"Hey..." He called out, looking over his shoulder to the lights of the restaurant and the other buildings that lined each side of the road, "Wanna catch a late movie?"
Ivan blinked, "Now?"
Suddenly it felt like a silly suggestion, Yao nodded, "It might be fun... And I don't know if I want to go home yet."
Ivan smiled broadly, "You want to go with me? Of course! I would love to go with you!"
Yao smiled slightly at Ivan's rather charming excitement, "Lead the way."
So Ivan did, and half an hour later they found themselves watching what had started as a promising indie film but had become insignificant when Ivan made the move to peck Yao's cheek and Yao took it as a good opportunity to press their lips together.
Yao didn't usually kiss on the first date... In fact, he, like most Chinese was often very reserved but there was something about Ivan that he must have not noticed before that had him giving up on the movie and cupping Ivan's face as they tried to keep the wet sounds of kissing to a minimum.
One thing was clear to Yao, he had misjudged Ivan. He actually was a great guy when given a chance and when he wasn't being a creep.
Yao let Ivan claim his lips again and again and knew for sure he wouldn't say no to a second date.