Chapter Text
Compared to some of the things you had braved during your travels perhaps you shouldn’t have any complaints now. There had been plenty of times when you had been more than just uncomfortable and had instead feared for your life and now was not one of those times. Although you could see your breath, it wasn’t so cold it was unbearable, and while the wind was harsh it wasn’t cruel. You knew you weren’t in any real danger. You were simply miserable.
Yet as bad as the weather was, your problem wasn’t with the storm but rather how long you had been sitting out in it. You had been out here for hours. With the sky whited out by snow you couldn't say how long you had been here but it was long enough that it was getting dark. In the midst of winter the days were shorter but that still meant it had been at least a few hours since you had stopped here.
But even if it weren't getting dark you would have known how long it has been. You felt it in your bones. If you had been moving the cold wouldn’t have settled in like it had but you had barely moved in hours. Not that you had much of a choice. Somewhere in the forest there was someone patiently waiting for you and they weren’t an amateur. Just a sliver of your coat peeking out from behind a tree would be enough to give you away.
And yet as the day had dragged on you found it increasingly difficult to treat the situation with the severity it deserved. Not a single thing had happened in the past few hours and with each minute that passed you had less faith that anything ever would. The snow had been coming down hard when you had stopped and it had only picked up since then. The trees that lied no more than ten metres ahead of you were now gone, swallowed by the encroaching white. In a few hours you might not be able to see your own outstretched hand.
It was because of the snow that you found yourself growing more and more brave. Instead of sitting perfectly still you let yourself rub your hands together and turn to check on your partner, much to his dismay. He didn’t turn to see what exactly you were doing but he didn’t have to. He kept catching you moving in his peripherals and that in and of itself was a problem. If he could see that someone else might be able to as well. A glare sent in your direction or even just a mumble might have reminded you of the situation but Vasily could do neither. He couldn’t afford to lose focus right now. He thought you should understand that and yet while you eventually grew still you followed up what you had been doing with something even worse.
“Vasily,” you muttered, and though your voice was muffled by the wind you knew he heard you. On edge like he was, even a whisper wouldn’t escape him. “I think we should go.”
“Nothing's going to happen in this weather,” you insisted when a minute passed without an answer or even acknowledgement. Considering the circumstances you would have accepted a slow, conscious blink but you got nothing at all. Vasily kept watching the forest ahead of him as if you weren’t even there.
You wanted to grumble but held it in. You weren’t upset with Vasily but rather the situation. If the weather had been clear, if there had been any chance he could take the shot, you would have waited however many hours or days with him. His opportunity had slipped by and both of you knew it. Accepting it was another matter.
Looking over at him, you tried to put your thoughts into words but you knew it was pointless. This is why the two of you had been traveling. There had been distractions and detours along the way but you had always been chasing after something. After weeks you had caught up to it and yet instead of seeing things through you were about to let it escape into the snow. Thinking about it like that made you feel worse about what you were going to do though, but it didn’t stop you. You had already made up your mind.
Having become accustomed to how you had been next to him, Vasily didn't take what you were doing seriously at first. You had been restless for the past hour and though he didn't appreciate it, it wasn't worth addressing. He trusted that you wouldn’t do anything reckless.
It was with the first crunch of snow that Vasily realized he might have been wrong and it was when the snow continued crunching that he realized he had no choice but to look and see what you were doing. He turned towards slowly and only just enough that he could see you out of the corner of his eye. Or should have been able to see you. When Vasily looked towards where you had been sitting, snow was all he found.
“Let's go,” he heard from behind him and it was those words that got the reaction you would have liked to get earlier. Clutching his rifle, Vasily rolled onto his back and looked up at you. Snow clung onto him, helping to hide him, but not well enough that you didn’t meet his eyes.
Aside from the howling wind, the forest was silent as the two of you did nothing more than stare at each other. You could have pleaded with him to come along and he could have mumbled or gestured for you to sit down but neither of you did anything. You couldn’t say how long the two of you spent like that, minutes or no more than a few seconds, but regardless it was wasted time. Although you trusted the veil of snow, there was no need to linger, especially when there was nothing keeping you here other than your partner’s sheer determination. It seemed that even that had a limit though. All it took was a single step away from him for him to scramble up onto his feet and hurry after you.
Following after you, his first few steps were tentative as he kept close to the ground, but he fell in line next to you after that. If there was going to be a shot it would have been taken already. With the visibility so poor and only getting worse, anyone watching wouldn’t let their target get any further away.
Your goal was no more than a hundred metres away and yet until now it might as well have been a kilometre. A dozen metres might have even been too much to cross. As close as it was, it had simply been out of reach. Stepping out from behind the tree had been out of the question until the snow had picked up. You would have never thought you would be thankful that the weather had turned for the worse and yet as you marched through the forest you were nothing but grateful for it. The vague shape that lied ahead of you was slowly taking form.
At the very southernmost point of Sakhalin, where people were few and far between, it was a surprise to come across even the occasional hunter. The land was unforgiving and had little to offer to those who braved it. Vasily and you had struggled to find enough to eat; you couldn’t fathom how anyone could live out here or why they would even want to. And yet there was no mistaking what you saw. Just a few metres ahead of you now was a cabin.
If your journey south hadn’t been interrupted the two of you would have passed the cabin with barely a thought. You might have let your eyes linger on it, wishing you could hide until the weather passed, but that would be all. You wouldn’t have stopped and you wouldn’t be peering in the window, trying to decide whether you could go in. Circumstance had forced your hand.
“I don’t see anyone,” you said, your breath fogging up the glass. Even pressed right up against the window, your hands shielding your eyes, it was difficult to make out much of anything. You could make out the general layout of the cabin but beyond that you weren’t having much luck. “Ehh, but maybe we should knock.” It would only take a moment and it would be safer than just barging in. You didn’t particularly want to add an understandably upset hunter to the situation if you didn’t have to.
But as the fog faded from the glass, your words left unanswered, something caught your eye. On the other side of the window there was a tall, almost looming silhouette. Anything but still, you wondered how you hadn’t noticed it until now. You squinted and leaned in closer until your nose was almost touching the glass. You had thought it might be your reflection but it wasn’t moving along with you. You were perfectly still and yet the shadow was growing bigger by the second, until eventually it filled your view entirely.
Just as you were about to turn to Vasily and ask him to take a look the shadow moved again. It dropped down suddenly and when it did you found yourself staring into a pair of pale blue eyes. They were gone as suddenly as they had appeared, vanishing behind curtains drawn shut.
“Vasily!” you snapped, and when you turned it confirmed what you already knew. The man that had been standing next to you was gone, leaving only an open door as proof he had even been there at all. Though you grumbled, you followed him into the cabin. As you shut the door behind you, you looked around the cabin. It was a single room but with a fireplace and a bed it had everything you needed for the night. Everything except Vasily, it seemed.
With the cabin seemingly empty, you almost thought you had lost him again but a thumping sound brought your attention towards the floor. Looking down, you found Vasily sitting against the wall. You weren’t surprised you hadn’t noticed him. His tan uniform blended into the stripped wood walls of the cabin a bit too well.
When you didn’t immediately drop down to join him, Vasily patted the floor again with a little more urgency. It wasn’t until you sat down that you realized why he had been so insistent on it though. It was the window. Even though he had drawn the curtains, it was better not to put yourself in more danger than you needed to be. It wasn’t too much of an inconvenience anyway. The window was high enough up that you didn’t have to crouch to hide.
You took off your hat and slipped off your gloves. Resting against the cabin wall wasn’t too much different from the tree from earlier but you found your discomfort melting away like the snow stuck to your clothes. The wind hadn’t felt particularly harsh at the time but now you were indoors you realized how strong it had been.
Reaching in your bag, you found the box of matches by touch alone and pulled them out. The stack of logs next to the fireplace was too tempting. You knew it might not be the best idea to start a fire, lest the smoke alert the other sniper, but it was a risk you were willing to take. As night fell so would the temperature and that sniper would have to do something about it. He would be too preoccupied with starting a fire himself to concern himself with yours.
You thought that Vasily would agree with that, even if only begrudgingly, and so you were taken aback when he grabbed your shoulder. You stared at him, waiting for him to explain, but were met by only an outstretched hand. When you didn’t react, Vasily flexed his fingers but you didn’t budge.
“It’s cold,” you grumbled, and as you did you shuffled just a bit closer towards the fireplace. You wouldn’t light it if he was insistent but you wanted to make your position on it clear. Vasily shook his head and brought his hand to his chest before pointing towards the fireplace. It took a repetition of the action for you to understand.
“Oh, it’s alright,” you told him, “but thank you.” With the wood already gathered, it wouldn’t take much to get the fire going. It was collecting the wood and kindling that you found so tedious. You did appreciate the offer though and gave him a smile before you continued on to the fireplace.
Only once the fire was going and you were confident it wouldn’t suddenly putter out did you take off your coat. Although you considered hanging it up to dry, you spread it out on the floor next to you, though not before slipping your pistol out of your pocket. You didn’t want to bother Vasily by standing up and it would dry faster next to the fire anyway. Looking over at Vasily, you hoped he might follow your lead but he didn’t move at all. He merely stared at you. Yet while his expression was hidden by his bashlyk you felt you knew what you would see underneath.
“We’ll go back out when it dies down,” you assured him. Looking out the window behind him you saw nothing but pure white but it would pass eventually. More likely than not the two of you would wake up to a clear sky. Or so you hoped for your partner’s sake. You didn’t know how long he could tolerate waiting for the weather to pass.
“Where’s he going to go anyway?” you asked. Although you were trying to make him feel better about the situation, you weren’t wrong. No one would be getting anywhere in this weather. As unfortunate as it was, sitting tight was the best option. The lack of any grumbling from your partner told you he agreed. Nevertheless, you didn’t like seeing him like this.
“I’m not going to apologize for not letting you freeze to death,” you told him. You let the thought hang as you left the fire to rejoin him. With the cabin as small as it was, Vasily wasn’t left waiting long.
“Vasya,” you murmured when you reached him. “Aren’t you warm yet?” You brought up a hand and set it on his chest. Slowly, your hand drifted inwards, only stopping when you reached a button. Although it would all be coming off, you would have liked to reach up to his face first but you knew better. You had to ease into that.
It was only when Vasily nodded that you undid the first button and began working your way down his coat. You took your time with it, pausing between each one, however briefly. But while you were enjoying drawing it out you weren’t teasing him. You wouldn’t make him urge you to keep going.
With his coat unbuttoned Vasily shrugged it off, letting it fall onto the floor. If you had given him the chance he would have gotten up and set it next to yours by the fire to dry but it seemed you had overestimated your own patience. It had completely run out. You had spent enough of the day waiting. Before Vasily had even gotten both his arms out of the coat you were already climbing onto him. You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him in. The bashlyk could wait just a little longer.
“If you need an apology then you’ll have to force it out of me,” you told him. There was no need for you to be quiet in here and yet your voice was nothing more than a murmur. Vasily had no trouble hearing you though, and replied by setting his hand on your side. When you didn’t react except to lean into it, he squeezed you lightly.
“And what does that mean?” It was too hard to keep yourself from smiling and so you didn’t bother. He was going to have to try harder than that. “Why don’t you go ahead and show–”
Both of you froze. Burning steadily, there was the occasional pop or snap from the fire but whatever you had heard wasn’t that. It had been distinct enough for both of you to catch it.
Slowly, Vasily slid his hand down your side until it left you. At first you thought he wanted to get up to look for the source of the sound but when you glanced down you understood. He was reaching for the rifle leaning against the wall next to him. Following his eyes, you looked towards the door. It wasn’t open but it wasn’t shut either. There was a sliver of light slipping through between the door and the frame, barely enough to be seen even with the curtains drawn.
Although he had found his rifle, Vasily didn’t know what to do with it. With you resting on him he couldn’t take aim but getting you off him would only waste more time. Without any other option, Vasily decided to lower the rifle down to rest across your legs. From this range he wouldn’t have to be too precise. Just tilting the rifle upwards should guarantee it would hit.
With a gust of wind the door swung open, slamming against the wall loudly, and while Vasily dropped the rifle onto your lap it was too late. The intruder threw himself into the cabin and pivoted on the spot, his rifle raised. If Vasily had been prepared he would have fired before the other man had even turned but he was lagging. Instead of twisting his hand around the barrel of the gun, Vasily hooked the trigger with his thumb. It felt almost disrespectful to a weapon that had served him so well but it would only have to tolerate one shot like this.
There was only a single shot and even though you knew it was coming you couldn’t help but flinch. In such a small room, the sound was louder than it should have been, almost deafening. Your ears were ringing but you didn’t realize it. That wasn’t what you were concerned with. Looking up at the man who had come into the cabin, you didn’t see any sign he had been shot. Without turning away, you glanced towards Vasily.
It wasn’t until you realized that smoke was trailing up from both rifles that you understood what had happened. Both of them had fired and neither of them had hit their target. Fired so close together, the two gunshots had blended into one.
No one moved. Either of the men could have gone to reload their weapon or you could have made a dive for the pistol you had left next to your coat but no one moved. There had always been hundreds of metres between the two men. For the distance to suddenly be erased left them both at a loss.
Slowly, the intruder lowered his rifle. He knew moving too quickly or in the wrong manner might be taken as intent to do something and so he didn’t commit to taking a step and instead leaned towards the door. As he did he watched Vasily’s hand, searching for any sign he might reach for the bolt and found none. It seemed there was some sort of mutual understanding.
Ogata glanced out into the forest through the open door and saw nothing but the snow he had come into the cabin to escape. He hadn’t wanted to but it was that or freeze. Any logs or branches he might find under the blanket of snow would be too wet to light. If he went back out he would die and he couldn't die quite yet.
And so when Ogata took a step it wasn’t towards the door but away from it. Holding his lowered rifle in his right hand, he reached out for the door and pushed it shut. The door clicked as it shut, snapping you out of the daze you had fallen into. You were closer to your pistol than the other man was and he didn’t even know it was there. If you made a leap for it you would get to before he could reload.
But before you could start to move Vasily touched your side, just enough to get your attention. Once he had it he shook his head, though he didn’t take his attention off the other man.
“Vasily,” you said under your breath, and though he didn’t turn he looked at you out of the corner of his eyes. With that you understood. It had never been about killing the other man, at least not the act. There was too much resting in the how. Neither killing him in his cabin nor sending him out into the storm would give him the resolution he was after. You didn’t agree with it but you understood.
Understanding didn’t stop you from complaining though. “Watch him,” you grumbled at him as you got up. Vasily nodded, though only to reassure you. He hadn’t planned on taking his eyes off him, even for a second. He might as well have been out in the forest again.
It was that scrutiny that prevented Ogata from sitting down, at least thoughtlessly. He couldn’t just sit down; he needed the other man to understand what he was doing before he did it. They had reached an agreement but all it would take was a single misunderstanding for it to dissolve. Cautiously, he bent his knees, and when that didn’t get a reaction he continued. Carrying his rifle in his right hand, he raised the other, keeping it far from the bolt of his rifle. Once he reached the floor, Ogata set the rifle on the floor next to him. He rested his hand over it but not around it, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Vasily. It hardly mattered though. It would take less than a second to grab it and hit the bolt.
Although your attention should have been on what you were doing, it was impossible to stop stealing glances at the two men. Neither of them was even doing anything and yet that made it worse. You felt you could blink and miss the two of them breaking into a fight. It was only because you trusted Vasily so much that you were able to look away at all, but even then you wouldn’t be doing so without a purpose.
You were starving.