Blackouts and Black Eyes

[das_vedanya]

WHO: Ivan and Alfred
WHEN: Friday-Saturday, 18-19 of February
WHERE: Liberty's very own IKEA
WHAT: Because Alfred cannot make a quick decision between the price versus quality of plates, the two of them get stuck in the superstore during the blackout with no means to get home until the snowstorm passes.

Comments

[waitforsuperman]

Alfred really loved IKEA. He loved the little rooms they had set up, like glimpses into peoples' lives where he could enter, sit down and pretend to be whomever he wanted. He ignored the looks form the Russian that clearly said 'You're an immature child' and instead just enjoyed himself because, hey, it was a trip to IKEA

[das_vedanya]

Through the murmurs and distant cries of the other patrons Ivan caught himself recalling the events of Monday - smashed plates, everything going black, Alfred's horrified expression looking onto him. As Ivan knelt to the floor, knees brushing against shards of ceramics, he left his phone on the floor between them, fishing through his coat pockets inside and out - reaching forward and pressing a button on his phone to refresh the strength of the backlight - until two objects fell from inside his coat. The unruly one, bent and dented with the backlight against it: a box of cigarettes; the other catching the silvery gleam of the light along its slender body: a lighter, and obviously the only thing he was looking for. For now

[waitforsuperman]

The Russian was calming because that's what had happened last time. Ivan had been there, in the dark, comforting and quiet. But this time was different. Alfred watched with wide blue eyes as the lighter flickered into life and then graced the end of a smoke.

His greedy hands reached up, taking the lighter without waiting and continuously flicking it on and off with this, the darkness couldn't get him. Still, it took him a good five minutes to sit up, leaning against Ivan still, the last anchor in the world and reply to him.

"Yeah."

He looked up at Ivan, watching his face, illuminated by the dark. In this little sphere of light, with just the two of them, Alfred felt... safe. Safe enough to reach down and hold his hand. "Maybe we should go to the front or something..."

[das_vedanya]

"We should think about going home," his hand constricted around Alfred's like a robotic impulse. Ivan inhaled another breath of smoke, eyes getting sore from the flickering lighter in the corner of his eye. During the split second where Alfred had clicked the lighter off, a much brighter floodlight fell upon the two of them like a spotlight. The Russian slipped his fingers from between Alfred's knuckles and blocked the painfully bright light from his vision.

"Are you all right?" the faceless silhouette asked from down the aisle. Ivan nodded, making certain that his verbal confirmation was clear enough as he shifted an inch in front of Alfred to keep his less than heroic expression from the light of the flashlight. The group slowly migrated past their isle, throwing the two into lighter-hindered darkness again.

"Come on Alfred." He reached for the American's wrist this time, sturdily holding it as he made to get up. "We can shop for furniture later. Let's go home."

[waitforsuperman]

The American was still blinking the silhouette of the Russian from his eyes before the light had disappeared and he was being yanked to his feet. Still unsure of what was going on, Alfred stuck close to Ivan, like a child to a parent (that was happening WAY too much lately).

"The power's out. No buses. No walking. Storm's too bad." Alfred pressed his forehead into Ivan's back, trying to nudge him in the direction of the light that had passed, "Just get to main floor. Windows." His words were scrambled, nothing added, just the base of what he needed to explain was getting out.

He didn't care and his free hand was still tight around the lighter, thumb start to burn a little from being too close to the heat, but he didn't care. It was warm and bright, the pain was worth it.

[das_vedanya]

"We should probably find a place to sleep then... and some lighters and blankets. It was already cold enough in here as it is, and now that the power's out, it's about to get much colder and- you're going to give yourself a blister." Fulfilling the fatherly role Alfred bestowed on him without his knowledge, Ivan lifted the lighter from Alfred's fingertips and held it at a formidable enough distance from their huddled forms to reflect across the aisle floors and allow the two to move along.

Ivan nearly tripped over the first stairs had he not grasped the guard railing; after memorizing the distance between steps, he was able to carry on down them without gazing at his feet. It was no surprise that the other patrons were huddled around the bedroom sections of the superstore, claiming bedroom cubicles of their own. Ivan ushered Alfred into one of the more familiar ones that Alfred had taken a liking to before, and abandoned both the American and the lighter on the bed. "I'm going to go find lighters, flashlights, and blankets. You stay

[waitforsuperman]

Kicking off his shoes, Alfred hunkered down in the bed, wrapping the large red sheets around him, clutching a large blue pillow to his chest. He took a shuddering breath, taking the lighter, lighting it but stopping as he noticed that the quiet and soft light from the windows and snow outside. Still clutching the little source of fire to his chest, Alfred nodded at the Russian.

"Ah- you should do that fast." His pride hurt but whatever, at this point, his ego could go to hell. Ivan had seen Alfred at his lowest. "Don't get lost."

[das_vedanya]

"As fast as I can, Alfred. It might take me a while since navigating this store is already difficult enough with the lights still on." He tried to offer Alfred a smile, but could only imagine how sinister it looked with the lighter throwing shadows across his face. It was difficult, really, knowing that he usually took such pleasure out of seeing people in a miserable state as this, but Alfred just made it impossible. He was someone who valued his pride more than anything, and now he was wearing his heart on his sleeve and subjected to the demeanor of a child. "Ten minutes at the most." And with that, he was gone

[waitforsuperman]

In the semi-darkness, Alfred held the lighter to his chest while flicking it on and off became as easy as breathing. He glanced around into the other rooms and saw parents with their children, telling stories, or an older couple cuddling together while a gaggle of girls had their faces illuminated by their phones as they texted parents. Alfred hunkered lower in his blankets, taking out his own phone and sending a worried text to Matthew before sinking lower into the sheets and closing his eyes.

There was suddenly heaviness on his shoulders and he opened his eyes just in time to see Ivan's back sink in front of him. Putting the lighter aside, he let his face rest against the broad back, nuzzling his nose into the rough material of the coat. Staying like that for a moment, the American reached up and tangled a hand into the long scarf.

"Yeah, I'll try." Sinking into the sheets, Alfred kept a firm hold on the scarf, curling up and closing his eyes, shivering lightly.

[das_vedanya]

At the tug of his scarf, Ivan had no choice but to turn around and find the American's face burrowed in the small of his back. Ivan's eyes flickered over the bedroom cubicles to the other patrons to check for their wandering eyes before he too sank into the bed and beneath the covers. His head did not stay on the pillow for long; aware of Alfred's paranoia for public appearances, Ivan submersed himself completely in the sheets until his face was parallel with the last rib on Alfred's ribcage. Before the American could protest, Ivan's arms were around the boy's waist, face buried into his shirt, and his breath stilled with the intentions of slipping into unconsciousness.

He could still feel the tug of Alfred's hold on the tail of his scarf. "The snow will stop soon, and then we'll be able to go home..."

[waitforsuperman]

Flushing a little as Ivan went lower and the words 'Are you serious!? Here and now!?' on his tongue, Alfred swallowed them away as he came to stop near his belly. Sighing in relief, his arms slunk around head, bending awkwardly to kiss the top of his head before surfacing into the cool air. Usually he'd be bothered by Ivan's coolness but right now he was just happy to have someone to hold onto.

"That'd be nice..." He mumbled, threading his fingers into the soft hair, and sinking into the pillow, passing out almost immediately.

[das_vedanya]

Ivan could not remember how much time it took for him to fall asleep, but when he came to the next morning, Alfred's steady rising and falling chest pressed against the Russian's cheek meant that he was still sleeping. It took three barely-there kisses to his stomach to coax Alfred awake. The American stirred for several minutes, Ivan's arms tight around his waist to keep him slightly stilled until Alfred had adjusted to the light. For Ivan it took slightly longer to get used to the light, having been under the covers for so long.

Unknown to Ivan more than what time sleep came over him the night before was how the two of them ended up in the dishware isle minutes later. "For our little apartment," Alfred explains, "I could... get used to it."

"To what exactly?"

"The two of us... living together."

Ivan scoffed as he examined his reflection in one of the steak knives. "That is never going to happen, Alfred... the two of us just bought... houses and apartments. And neither of us are willing to abandon those places for the sake of the

[waitforsuperman]

The American stopped, hand resting in a pile of spoons, carefully pulling out and turning to look at Ivan. His temper which had been put out much like the power, started to bubble in his chest. But this wasn't a time to fight but then again, Ivan always offered a good fight.

"You know," he said, quietly, thinking around the words which felt strange because usually he'd just say what was on his mind, "you always say stuff about us, and about me..."

He reached out, hand curling around the Russian's elbow, twisting the coat under his fingers, forcing him to turn. "Did you ever think for, like ONE second, that I might give that up for you?"

[das_vedanya]

"Da, I do," the Russian replied automatically as he closely examined the sharpest edge of the knife with a sweet caress of his finger. His mind trailed off to Natalia and Ion and Giorgi, and he wondered as his gaze fixed on the reflection of his own lavender eyes if they were faring well in the wrath of the storm, and if they were treating his house in accordance with his guidelines and not using Tolstoy for firewood.

And just before Ivan had a chance to place the knife back in it's holder, he felt a tug at his sleeve and then found his gaze now drowning in blue. The knife clattered loudly as it hit the floor near his feet. "I don't need to think on it for even half a second, Alfred. I know how much you treasure your material things and there is no reason for you to abandon them for me."

[waitforsuperman]

Bristling, Alfred let go of the coat, bending over and picking up the knife, growling lightly. "There is a very big reason I would leave my house for you." Nudging the knife against the part of Ivan's chest where the heart lay, Alfred looked at him, sighing lightly. "I came here for Matthew didn't I? I care about people Ivan- not everyone but some people more than others."

His arm pulled back lightly, swinging down to rest at his side, no longer a threat, but the fight was still burning in his eyes. "I think you're the one scared."

[das_vedanya]

Quite frankly anyone would be at least the slightest bit scared when a man had a knife pointing to your chest, and although he felt his heart palpitate beneath the blade, his expression stayed the same. He was cold, calculating, and mentally kicking himself for forgetting how Alfred can get in the state of fear.

"I'm not afraid of you, Alfred." Ivan remarked bitterly. "There is no part of you to fear."