Kiss and Swallow

[das_vedanya]

WHO: Ivan and Alfred
WHEN: Friday July 30th, Evening
WHERE: The Green Palace Tea House
WHAT: One chance might be one too many.

Comments

[das_vedanya]

"I do love to play games," he agreed with a bittersweet smile full of too many teeth, "but yours have always been the oddest of varieties. I know how you work, Alfred F. Jones." Ivan's voice slowed to the opposite tempo of his heartbeat as he brought the cup of still - somehow - steaming tea to his lips (he figured it had something to do with the atmosphere, as it suddenly seemed a few degrees warmer in the tea house.)

He swallowed the last sip of dark-colored water with the same demeanor as he would with a shot glass of vodka, but it burned all the same going down his throat. When he spoke, it was low, just at a volume enough to permeate the murmurs of the other customers. It was seductive, playful, but not without a hint of seriousness and threat - "I am not a pawn on your chessboard, Alfred; I am a king, and I will be treated as such."

[waitforsuperman]

Intertwining his fingers and resting his chin on them, Alfred quirked his head. "You have never been a king Ivan," he said, all pretense of playfulness gone, some his tone simple, cold and quick, his gaze darting around the restaurant, looking for any eavesdroppers, "This is my game and I plan to play it like it's my fucking game."

His voice lowered another octave. "There is only one enemy in this city and that is the mafia and all of their goons. I'd really hate to see you caught in the cross-fire Ivan. You are my queen after all." A pause to sip his tea, "The biggest piece in the game and at the same time the post wanted. I seriously have a hard time believing that I was the only one who saw people outside of our... 'relationship'. Tell me, who have you been screwing since I left?"

[das_vedanya]

"The Queen is easily the most powerful piece - able to move in any direction and at the entire span of the board, ruthlessly taking down those in her way, while the King" - he reached across the table, brushed those cold-as-death fingers across that temperate forehead and felt a thrill rise between them - "has only one move. He can only attack once prompted, and his enemies have to be foolish enough to attack him first, da?"

Ivan found himself adjusting in his seat so he was now sitting on his knee. His elbows, much to the dismay of any rules of table etiquette, pressed firmly against what could arguably be Alfred's side of the table, and he leaned in like a snake preparing to strike until they were a breath's width apart.

"You aren't the hacker you used to be. I would figure that my file would be your first, and not a pesky ex-client of mine. If you had, it would only be minutes until you learned that I slept with Francis Bonnefoy," a slow, sharky grin, "Twice."

[waitforsuperman]

Alfred almost slapped Ivan right then and there. His uncle was low, true, but this? This was... The American forced a smile onto his face, laughing it off and merely shaking his head. "Who hasn't slept with Fran?" he said quickly, eyes sharp, "he's kind of a 'sleeps with everyone' guy."

He found himself also leaning closer. "I figured that I'd know more about you from just our meetings instead of the useless junk in that file of yours. But now... Now I'm tempted Ivan. Here a queen is supposed to stand beside her king, strong, but when she crosses that line and into the battlefield, there's no telling what will happen to her. Is there?"

[das_vedanya]

Ivan quirked his head sideways and studied Alfred with eyes a fraction wider than before. They were close, dangerously, and enough so that Ivan could smell his own breath in the tiny pocket of air between them. "Defense mechanisms don't work on me; you're just rationalizing your point. I can see that look in your eyes.

"And I fail to see why the Queen should stay loyal when her King refuses her the same right. Usually he is the last piece of one's arsenal to be vanquished; when losing the Queen, there are no emotional ties, just a dent in attack strategy. The Queen is just another pawn; if you can move a pawn to the last square on your enemies' chessboard, she in turn, becomes a Queen." There was so little space between them now, their lips were practically brushing at Ivan's every word.

[waitforsuperman]

The American had to kiss him, right then and there. His fingers slid along the jaw, pulling their faces together. He held, just for a few moments, before pulling back completely, swallowing. It took another minute before his mind could catch up.

"No... Emotional ties," he murmured, staring at the table, "Right. But we all know that losing the first Queen almost cripples the other player until they are desperately clinging to pawns, trying to find one that can replace the original."

[das_vedanya]

Something seized and lurched in his stomach the moment their lips mutually met. No movement, just the sound of both of them inhaling deeply through their noses, until he felt the American fall back. Ivan's fingers knotted in the tablecloth to keep from falling flat onto the table. The disorientation had only seconds to wear off before he, too, fell back onto his side of the table, not letting so much as his feet to cross the invisible borderline beneath the table.

But at Alfred's words, he smiled again - one that didn't require so many facial muscles, just loose and biding without stressing or retracting from the point. "And have you been desperately clinging to pawns?"

[waitforsuperman]

Alfred found he could only lift a hand, chewing on a knuckle. He hadn't done that since trying to think up an excuse as to why he had punched that one kid and had a bleeding palm. Was he already this nervous again? Did the truth really mean that much? Hell, was he even clinging to pawns or was he still just playing some goddamn game?

"I don't actually know." He said honestly, sighing, attempting to put his hand back into his lap and ignore the pounding of his heart. "It feels so real when I'm with them, but then I'm here with you and I just-" He took a nervous sip of his tea.

[das_vedanya]

The Russian let his eyes fall from Alfred's downcast ones to the hand where his nervous habit lay. Before he could claim another tally under his name, he registered his own twirling about the fabric of his own scarf in his own form of nervous habit.

"You don't know, or you're trying to forget?" he pursued while idly letting his fingers dance across the rounded rim of his own teacup.

[waitforsuperman]

Blinking, Alfred shifted in his seat, feeling his shirt shit and winkle in an entire new manner against the faux-leather. "Not trying to forget, how could I?" he laughed, but it was a quiet and completely pathetic laugh.

"I think I'm just trying to find out if what we had was the best I'll ever have."

[das_vedanya]

Ivan exhaled almost in the form of a sigh. The raw red flats of his fingers pressed hard against the lip of the empty porcelain cup. As the American's words drawled out, he applied more pressure to the teacup, until it gave way and collapsed on its side. The cup pivoted until halting at the touch of Ivan's forefinger.

Checkmate.

"And... what is your verdict thus far?"

[waitforsuperman]

Alfred took a moment to study his breathing while under the table his thumb was running over the scar on his palm so hard he melt like the marred skin was simply going to melt away and leave fresh and undamaged skin.

"What we had was pretty damn good, y'know?" he murmured this, watching the hands in his lap fidget, "At the same time... It feels like nothing."

[das_vedanya]

Ivan shifted in his seat again, crossed his legs and laced his fingers together in his lap. He suddenly felt as if the table was too close, Alfred was too far, and the restaurant was too quiet. There was no more tea or water to wash down the pride stuck in his throat, and no reason to occupy his fingers with the shape of his teacup, so he could only let his fist fit the form of his bunched together scarf.

"And how does that make you feel?"

[waitforsuperman]

Alfred stared at him and felt part of that feeling bit in his chest crumple a little. Ivan was treating him like a patient. That was all he was, a doctor with a patient, having a little chat outside of the dark and dank office.

He had to close his eyes and his fingers twisted themselves into his pants. "I should be going." he said quietly, "You're not my doctor and I'm not here for a free goddamn trail."

[das_vedanya]

"Alfred, please..." his voice dropped in volume, "I am not your therapist... I need to know what you're thinking. Unless you want us to follow the same path as before, we need to communicate. If you walk out that door, then nothing will be fixed. The only thing you will accomplish is wasting your Friday night... and my time."

His head slipped between his hiking shoulders. Where was that waitress with his teapot?

[waitforsuperman]

Alfred watched his head bow slightly and then gave his own curt nod in reply. "I think... That I had a really awesome time with Juan... But I also know that if... We decided to take this further, I'd probably pick you over him." he shook his head, sighing, "I think. I don't really know, I like him, and I'm just sure how... I feel about you Ivan."

He smiled weakly. "I never really know what you're thinking."