It was surprisingly easy to get used to Alfred's constant presence. It was actually quite charming how he viewed the world around him. Things that Ivan took for granted, viewed as just simple, everyday life, were novelties to him that he'd never seen before. He was like a little kid in that aspect. He sat quietly and paid attention in all of Ivan's classes, as if hoping he would learn something new about the future he'd never seen before. They rarely got onto topics of conversation that dampened the mood, but Alfred was always to quick the subject when they did.
Like that, an entire day passed amicably between them. Back at the apartment, Alfred once again praised Ivan's cooking and fell asleep to the television while Ivan worked on homework. After all, Ivan couldn't afford to risk not being able to finish his homework. Naturally, Freedom Day was out of the question on Sunday to get anything done, and who knew what Alfred would get him to do on Saturday.
Still, Ivan had woken up on Saturday morning feeling fairly relaxed. Even with The Dictator sleeping on his couch, Ivan found himself humming contentedly as he took a shower, got dressed, and started making breakfast once again. He'd managed to take Alfred grocery shopping with him yesterday, so he had plenty to work with. He found himself going…a little overboard, but he didn't mind. He would up making a full breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and some biscuits.
"Damn it smells amazing in here," Alfred said as he stretched on the couch. "You working that hard just to make me breakfast?"
"Most of it is for me," Ivan said with a small smile Alfred couldn't see. "But I guess I could withstand to give you a little."
Alfred snickered. "Jerk." Before long, Alfred wandered inside the kitchen, just as Ivan finished placing the last, slightly cooled biscuit onto one of the many plates he was planning on moving onto the table. "Holy shit, you go all out on weekends, don't you?"
"I was just in a good mood today." Ivan shrugged. "Since you're awake, help me move these to the table."
"I guess," Alfred said with a smile, scooping up two of the four plates. Ivan followed him with the other two and, in no time, they were eating a delicious meal together. Alfred still ate like an animal, but that was to be expected with what he had said about his immortality.
"You know, you never got food like this back in my old time period," Alfred said, leaning back after he had finished eating. "Even if you got lucky and ate like a King, nothing was ever this good."
"Well, thank you for the compliment," Ivan said, blushing just slightly. Alfred was saying his food was better than that of Kings? No matter the time period, that was an amazing compliment.
"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and get ready." Alfred yawned, pushing the chair back. "Since there's no school today, you've gotta give ma tour of the city now!"
"Maybe," Ivan said. He didn't quite mind being left alone to clean up, it was something that helped him calm his mind and think clearly. Alfred just laughed as he went into the bathroom. They would have to go and get him more clothes that actually fit anyway, so it didn't matter if they went out around the city for a while. Ivan definitely wouldn't mind watching Alfred take it all in. People would already be making preparations for Freedom Day, but Alfred could at least look at the center of the city, fountains, maybe even a museum. Ivan laughed as he placed the dishes in the sink and started running the water. Just the idea of Alfred in a museum was impossibly entertaining.
"Wow!" Alfred gasped, smiling brightly as he stared at the fountain. Around them, the sun was beginning to set, which only gave the center of the capital a beautiful light to it. The fountain was just beginning to light up and everyone was still milling around. In fact, more and more people were on their way to either hang out with friends, go to a dinner, whatever they did on Saturday nights. Ivan stood beside him with a smile, some bags on his feet from their shopping earlier today. That, and Alfred had insisted on getting a stuffed animal from the museum gift shop.
"This place is seriously amazing!" Alfred smiled. "From what I can tell, this place isn't far from where I was frozen in the first place, and seeing how much it's expanded and developed is amazing! Before I opened my eyes, this whole place was like a forest. Maybe there was a village or a castle, but, hell, it wasn't a city with skyscrapers and countless business and this kind of technology."
"Well, I'm glad you could see what's become of this world," Ivan offered. "Considering you did make a major impact on it."
"Hell yeah I did!" Alfred shouted. "This place wouldn't even look like this if I didn't exist!"
"Don't get too full of yourself," Ivan said bluntly and Alfred just laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Aren't you at least a little worried?" Ivan decided to ask. "About Gilbert?"
"Worried?" Alfred asked. "No, that's not the word. I'm on guard, but he's not doing anything. Well…more like I can't find him."
"You can't find him?" Ivan asked. With a magic signature like that, it was hard to miss him. Hell, even when Alfred wasn't using Dark Magic, it took effort to hide him.
"It's not that hard with Dark Magic." Alfred shrugged. "Call it a defense mechanism, I guess. Our magic signature is insanely high, so we have ways to hide it. If I could use my Dark Magic, though, it would be easy to track him. Kinda like a normal tracking spell, but to find hidden things. For now, he's not worth that time. I'll be able to stop him if he tries anything, but even if I went for a preemptive strike, I wouldn't be able to do much. I'd need a plan to snap him out of it first."
"Earlier this week, you talked about how that would be difficult," Ivan said carefully. "Almost impossible, if I recall correctly."
Alfred huffed. "He's…fine. It's hard to snap someone out of Dark Magic, no matter what. Well, with some it's another story. But that's not something you need to worry about. For now, though, we should focus on how to get Gilbert to snap out of it. Not a lot comes to mind. It took a lot to snap me out of it in the first place."
"Well, you seem to have gotten the hang of it now," Ivan mused.
"Practice makes perfect," Alfred said. "Besides, I…had a lot of help." He smiled faintly as he stared out at the fountain. "You wanna head back? You must be tired after doing this all day."
"And you're not?" Ivan asked amusedly.
"Immortality, remember?" Alfred chimed. Ivan chuckled.
"Fine." Ivan nodded towards where he knew the closest bus stop was. "We'll have to take two buses to get back, but they shouldn't be too busy around this time."
"Tell me, what do people usually do on Saturdays?" Alfred asked, following him while both of them had bags in their hands. "It's the day everyone gets a chance to relax and have free time, right? So what do you do?"
"I guess it depends on the person," Ivan explained. "Some decide to spend the night at parties or clubs with friends, a lot of people decide to hook-up. Some like me usually prefer to stay inside and relax. Normally, I take it as time to read. I've always enjoyed reading, but school normally doesn't give me the time I would like to enjoy it."
"Sometimes I think about what I would do," Alfred said, looking at the sky and watching as it changed colors, slowly getting darker and darker. "You know, if I was born during this time. Or maybe any other time. What I would do on weekends, the friends I would have. Would I have gone to college or just started working? Would I have really known my parents?"
They stopped at the bus stop and Ivan opened his mouth to say something, but Alfred cut him off.
"Me, though, I'm not really one to focus on the 'what-ifs'." He smiled. "If I was, I would have already surrounded myself in self-pity when I started using Dark Magic. I'm proud of my decisions, but sometimes I can't help but wonder."
"I'm sorry about your parents," Ivan said, not really sure what else to say in this situation.
Alfred shrugged. "Where I'm from, it's normal to lose your parents early. I was perfectly fucking average before I decided to make my name known." He laughed. "Then again, it's not like my name is known, anyway."
The night was uneventful, but it was calm. Ivan made a simple dinner, but Alfred still praised it. And Ivan got the idea for them to watch a movie. He let Alfred decide as he made hot cocoa, something he was sure Alfred would enjoy. Ivan hummed to himself, but found himself distracted by the thought of why he was caring so much about what Alfred would think. Alfred would love to watch a movie, most likely something happy, maybe animated. Alfred would like a big breakfast. Alfred would like these clothes. Alfred would like hot cocoa. Ivan blushed, but tried to keep himself from tensing as he stirred the drinks. He was reaching a dangerous place, wasn't he?
He was already so comfortable with him and even Alfred talked about how dangerous that was. But neither of them was pushing away. Then again…Ivan thought back to the times Feliks tried to tease them by calling them a couple. Alfred had been even faster than Ivan to correct him. Alfred, aside from the first day they'd met (which Ivan tried often to forget), never pushed the envelope too far, always only teased. Ivan was the one blushing and blowing it out of proportion.
"Dude, what's taking you so long in there?" Alfred called out and Ivan jumped, spilling just a few drops of one drink. "I decided like, ages ago, jeez!"
"Don't be melodramatic." Ivan sighed, picking up the drinks as he walked back into the living room. Alfred sat on the couch with his feet propped on the table. He eyed Ivan curiously as he sat beside him. Ivan looked at the screen and saw that Alfred had, in fact, put in an animated movie. "Here." Ivan offered the drink to him and Alfred looked at it carefully before taking it and smelling it.
"Damn, this smells amazing!" Alfred said, taking a sip, despite how hot it was. Then again, he couldn't feel the heat, so it wasn't like that mattered anyway. "Holy shit, this is the best thing ever!" Alfred smiled widely, taking a few large gulps of it.
"Don't drink all of it at once, that's all you're getting," Ivan said as he took a small sip of his own before starting the movie. Alfred just laughed and stared at the screen curiously as it started.
Ivan couldn't help but watch Alfred over the movie. Alfred's smile refused to leave his face and he laughed at all the stupid jokes meant for kids, and also the hidden ones meant for adults. He was most likely curious about the process of animation and things like that, but he didn't dare talk over the movie. And he almost fell out of his seat when they started singing.
Ivan couldn't help but yawn by the time the curtains started rolling. He was comfortable, warm, and just at ease overall. Alfred glanced over at him for the first time with a slight smirk.
"Aw, tired already?" Alfred teased and Ivan rolled his eyes.
"I could easily tease you for how much you loved a simple children's movie," Ivan scoffed.
"That was art!" Alfred protested. "There's no way you could mock someone for falling in love with such kindhearted princes and princesses! I mean, the real things were nothing like that, but, hey."
"Oh, I thought people were always kind and trusting when you're trying to kill them," Ivan retorted. For a second, he thought he could have gone too far, but Alfred just laughed, tossing his head back.
"Holy shit, no one's made jokes like that with me in this time period!" Alfred held onto his stomach. "You remind me of Allen, I swear!"
"Allen?" Ivan asked curiously. Was that one of his companions? Alfred smiled as he calmed down, looking Ivan in the eye.
"A close buddy from before," Alfred said. "He was…well, he was my first follower, I guess. But, man, that guy's sense of humor was dark as fuck. Not a lot of people are willing to joke about shit that you can't change."
"What about the others?" Ivan asked curiously. This was the most open Alfred had been about his past and Ivan wanted to get as much information as possible.
"Well, I guess, I can't say I knew a lot of them," Alfred mused, but he was still smiling. "I eventually got so many that I didn't even see some of them. But the main guys, my first followers, man were they cool. And they could fight like hell! Except Oliver, but his magic was awesome, and he was great at sneaky missions. And you wouldn't believe how much Francois smoked, you'd swear it was like water to him. James was always such a downer, but he knew how to kick ass, too. He and Allen would always duke it out, it was hilarious!"
"Well, they certainly sound interesting," Ivan said.
"You can't be picky when it comes to followers at the beginning," Alfred said. "I was just happy people wanted to follow me in the first place. I mean, most of it might have been out of respect or fear or something like that because of the Dark Magic, but, hey, I consider them all friends."
"And what about the people now?" Ivan asked curiously. "Any friends you could point out?"
"Just you," Alfred said honestly and Ivan blinked. Alfred laughed. "Don't look at me like that. I mean, the other guards could talk, but most of them were just afraid. And don't even get me started on that stick-in-the-mud Arthur. Francis is…alright, I guess. I just don't talk with him. And Matthew's just…" Alfred leaned back. "Well, let's just say I can definitely tell he's related to me, no matter how distantly. But you're the only one that's actually looked at me like a person, which I'm not entirely sure if I deserve…"
"I think you do," Ivan confessed. "You killed countless, and I'm not discrediting that, but you do deserve some credit. Your mind was in the right place, it was the Dark Magic that made everything go south."
"Dark Magic was my choice." Alfred smirked. "But thanks for the sentiment. And I know that's not just your crush on me." He winked.
Ivan could have sworn that the temperature in the room spiked, but he knew that it definitely was the blush on his face.
"I don't have a crush on you," Ivan said pointedly.
"Oh, yeah?" Alfred smirked, leaning close to him. Ivan immediately leaned away, but it felt like his face was on fire. He wished he still had the drink to blame on that. He could clearly hear the charming music of the main menu playing behind them. "And what happened when I kissed you was absolutely nothing, either?"
"It didn't mean anything to you, either," Ivan said pointedly. "You're the one that keeps teasing."
"And who said it's just teasing?" Alfred asked and Ivan definitely didn't miss his eyes flickering to Ivan's lips. Now Ivan was curious.
"You don't mean that," Ivan shook his head.
"You know…" Alfred said. "For some reason…I think I do." Ivan raised a brow. "You're definitely more than a friend, you're fucking adorable especially when you're blushing, and I have to say I might have enjoyed that first kiss. Let's see if it was just a one time thing." He leaned forward quickly, before Ivan could react.
It was less bold than before, but still a very strong peck on Ivan's lips. Alfred's eyes were closed while Ivan's were wide open, but still, Alfred leaned back, leaving just a small space between their lips. He hovered patiently, waiting for Ivan to make the next move.
Once again, Ivan's curiosity won out and he leaned forward, reconnecting their lips. He wasn't exactly good with meeting people or making friends and, normally, he focused more on school or sometimes work than on people or possible crushes. But now? Well all the blushing and the stomach butterflies made him curious to test this out. And if Alfred was willing?
Alfred's lips started moving first and Ivan just went along for the ride. Alfred moved his hands to the hem of Ivan's shirt, warm hands tracing up Ivan's skin, feeling like strings of fire. Ivan thought only briefly at the awkward sucking, slurping sound they made as Alfred continued moving, starting exploring Ivan's mouth with his own tongue. It was a familiar feeling, certainly, but this still felt different from last time. This felt…comfortable, happy…
But just when Ivan started pushing back…
Alfred froze.
He panted as he slowly separated them, his hands shaking as he retracted them. Ivan opened his eyes quickly to try to find out what was wrong while Alfred opened his eyes slowly, looking at Ivan with almost sadness, like he'd just done something bad…
"Oh, God, I'm sorry," Alfred muttered, leaning back even further. He buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, God, that was stupid. I'm so stupid!"
"I…I don't understand," Ivan said carefully. That had seemed to be going so well…
"I…I…" Alfred shook his head, looking up at Ivan carefully. "I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't lead you on, God, I'm sorry."
"Alfred, tell me what's wrong," Ivan stated.
"She's been dead for a thousand years but to me I only saw her a few weeks ago," Alfred said, his voice breaking halfway through. Her…Was he talking about Amelia? "This sounds so stupid, but I…"
"Is this about Amelia?" Ivan asked, his voice carefully quiet.
Alfred nodded carefully, drawing his knees close to him and holding them there. "I hate to sound over-sentimental, but I…she…I loved her. I keep talking about how I had help, how it took something to snap me out of Dark Magic. It was her. She was…she was selfless and amazing and perfect and…God, she was pregnant," his voice was just a whisper now. "And I care so much about you, too. And I know she's dead but I…" Alfred squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face in his knees.
"You don't have to explain yourself," Ivan shook his head. He wanted to reach out to him, to let him know that Ivan understood, but he wasn't sure if that was the best course of action.
"I don't want you to think I'm comparing you guys," Alfred said, looking up at him. "I'm not…I really…God, it's hard to explain."
"You don't need to," Ivan shook his head.
"I should." Alfred pouted and let out a sigh. "I…Amelia was the first person to look at me as more than my Dark Magic. And I guess in that aspect you guys are alike. But…I don't know. I know I feel something for you and it feels sort of like how I feel about her, but…for different reasons. And I care about you a lot but…God, I left her alone for…for who knows how long. No one knows shit about her. They could have killed her after they got me for all I know. But as far as I'm concerned, I blinked and she was gone. When I looked inside of your head and learned the date I…everyone I knew was dead. And she was dead. But I had seen her just a few minutes before. I promised her to come back!" Alfred stopped when tears formed in his eyes and he shook his head violently.
"You don't have to continue," Ivan said delicately. "How about this?" Ivan glanced at the clock, noticing that they were just a few minutes away from when Alfred normally went to sleep. "Sleep on my bed, I won't mind it if you don't."
"Sure." Alfred nodded slowly. They both got up, Ivan turned off the TV and put their cups in the sink, and soon they were both in Ivan's bedroom. Alfred was slow and hesitant to climb into the bed, but eventually he curled into the covers with a soft smile on his face. "You beat the kings again with a bed like this, dude."
"Glad you're comfortable," Ivan smiled and climbed in beside him. Alfred yawned on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
"I don't take back the kiss, figured you should know," Alfred said. "I just…gimme a little time. This feels a little too much like a fallback kind of thing, you know?"
"I understand." Ivan smiled, thankful for the darkness around him. Alfred really did like him a lot, maybe even the same way Ivan did. Ivan thought a lot about Alfred, the way he smiled, how his bare chest looked and most likely felt, how to make him happy and how to make him smile. Maybe Alfred thought about him like that, too. And that made Ivan feel almost…fuzzy inside. He felt warm, happy, more so than any other time Alfred had affected his emotions.
By the time Ivan looked back over at him, Alfred was fast asleep. Ivan smiled faintly, but turned on his side and tried to go to sleep. Today had been pretty eventful, after all.
Hey, look at that a…sort of confession? Hell, at least you guys got a kiss. And a lot of backstory on Alfred came out all of a sudden. And some of his followers. I relied on 2p!s mostly because I really don't want to put OCs in here. But yeah, 2p!America, Canada, England, and France were Alfred's first followers. How cool, man. And, I mean, Alfred means the best. But let's be honest, you come to terms with loving one person, find out they're dead, and then you're falling for another person? It's a little confusing and hard to figure out. But Alfred's got this. Other than that, hope you enjoyed!
See you next time!