Chapter Text
May
Ivan had his driver’s license now, so he was finally able to borrow Katya’s old car when he needed it. He wasn’t so much excited to drive as relieved that she didn’t have to taxi him from place to place as much anymore.
“Are you going to invite Alfred back to the house?” she asked while passing over the car keys.
The question caught Ivan off guard, and he ended up dropping the keys and the pink crochet keychain on the floor with a clatter. He quickly crouched to his knees to get them, and threw an accusing glare in her direction, “Why do you always ask about him so much?”
“He’s your friend,” Katya smiled. “I thought it would be nice since you’re going to the movies so late. Every time you do he rides his bicycle back home in the dark.” She worried her bottom lip. “It’s not really safe, you know?”
“I can try to drop him off this time,” Ivan said. Although he wasn’t sure if that would work. Alfred insisted the theater was very close to his house. Whether it actually was or not, Ivan had no clue.
He sighed and clutched the keys in his palm.
“He can stay in your room. I think we still have an inflatable mattress from our camping trip last year,” Katya mused.
Ivan’s gaze slid to the floor. His chest felt warm, but he didn’t want to think about why. “I’m not sure if I should invite him while mom and dad are away for the weekend. You know how they are…”
“What are you talking about? They love him! And anyway, I’m in charge,” she laughed, waving at the door. “You better get going or else you’ll be late.”
Ivan decided to follow his sister’s advice—he wasn’t worried about being late but he was uncomfortable with the way Katya talked about Alfred.
Ivan pulled on his jacket and scarf and climbed into the old sedan. The short drive over was not enough time for him to put Katya’s playful smile out of his mind. He and Alfred were friends. Just friends. Ivan wasn’t even sure how it happened, but by now he just had to face facts. Alfred was probably the person he spent the most time with outside of his own family.
In a strange twist of fate, Ivan had been in such a hurry to end the conversation that he ended up arriving before anyone else. The four members of the chess club were supposed to meet at the theater to see the new superhero movie, but when Ivan reached the ticket booth he saw no one else.
“Hey, Vanya!”
A hard clap on his shoulder made Ivan turn around. Alfred was standing behind him, rosy-cheeked and slightly out of breath. In the distance, Ivan saw the beat-up red bike already locked up.
“I’m surprised you’re here before anyone else,” Ivan greeted, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Yeah, I am too,” Alfred grinned. “And Gilbert’s always chewing me out for being late. I’m glad to prove him wrong for once.” He took a step back to adjust his shirt jacket and smooth some of his blond locks which were wild from the helmet. One cowlick still sprung up though. When he finished, his blue eyes landed on Ivan again. Bright and eager. “So, you know that coyote I keep seeing? I almost managed to catch it this morning.”
Ivan blinked. “What?”
“Davie! The coyote. That’s what I’m calling him for now,” Alfred explained, settling against the wall beside Ivan. Their shoulders brushed together as he continued talking. “I see him every morning before I go to school—sometimes he comes out at night too. I’ve been trying to get a little closer each time, but he’s still so skittish.”
Alfred’s face twisted into frustration. But Ivan was still staring uncomprehendingly.
He remembered the coyote story. But it had actually been a while since it came up, or maybe he wasn’t paying attention the last time. Alfred had the strangest fascination with wild animals.
“What are you going to do with a coyote?” Ivan asked.
Alfred turned to him and shrugged. “I dunno. Pet him, I guess.”
Of course, Ivan thought.
“Where do you live anyway?” Ivan never saw coyotes by his house. Of course, he lived downtown above the bakery, so it was extremely urban. The only animals he saw were the stray cats Katya fed behind the building.
“Oh, I live on the other side of town. My—house,” Alfred paused on the word. He did that a lot, whenever it involved his home or foster father. “My house is in the middle of an orange grove. It’s one of the last working ones around here, actually.”
“In an orange grove,” Ivan repeated. Their town had a lot of groves actually, but he never knew the families that owned them. “And there are coyotes there?”
“Tons,” Alfred grinned, his whole face lighting up. “There are coyotes and foxes. Raccoons. Skunks. I saw a bobcat once too.”
“It’s hard to believe we live in the same town,” Ivan replied. Curiosity got the better of him, and he added, “I would like to see it sometime.”
Alfred’s gaze was hot on his face. “You do?”
It shouldn’t be a big deal, but for some reason, everything was a big deal with Alfred.
Ivan tried to play it off as casually as he could. “Well, you’ve been to my house many times.”
“Yeah, but—" Alfred bit his lip. “Your house is better. Y’know. With Katya and Nats and everything.”
Sometimes, Ivan had a feeling. But he didn’t always chase it. This time, though, he tried:
“Is your house not as nice?” He asked softly. Ivan almost worried his voice was drowned out by the groups of chattering teenagers that just walked by.
Alfred’s shoulders tensed into a straight line, and suddenly Ivan’s face was the last place he wanted to look at.
“Not as nice as yours…maybe,” he replied slowly, sucking in a breath. “But there’s Davie, I guess.”
Ivan turned away in thought.
“Oh, I think I see Gilbert and Kiku over there.” Alfred shot up from the wall and waved both hands to their friends.
Gilbert was ranting from the moment he approached them. “Jesus Christ, you guys. It is not my fault that I’m late, I swear. I had to wait for the world’s longest train to pass,” he groaned. “I was close to throwing myself out the window.”
“Well, we’re still on time in the end,” Kiku pointed out.
“Yeah, but I like to be first,” Gilbert grumbled. He caught Alfred’s grin and added, “I know, I know. Let’s hear it, I guess.”
“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” Alfred laughed.
They purchased their tickets and entered the theater together, stopping briefly at the concession stand to pick up some popcorn and sodas.
The last time their group went to the movies together Ivan and Alfred were on opposite ends and Ivan spent the entire time listening to Alfred hiss comments to him from over Kiku and Gilbert’s heads.
“You’re sitting next to him this time. I don’t need extra commentary,” Gilbert said. He leaned closer so only Ivan could see his smirk. “He clearly wants your attention anyway.”
Ivan stepped over the toe of Gilbert’s sneaker and smiled. “What did you say?”
“Ow! Nothing, Jesus!” Gilbert snapped. He shuffled away when Ivan removed his shoe.
And although it was meant as a tease, Ivan and Alfred did end up sitting next to each other this time. A bucket of buttery popcorn balanced on the armrest between them. Ivan wasn’t hungry though. For some reason, all of his attention was focused on the little distance that existed between him and Alfred.
He didn’t used to care about these things. Alfred always invaded his personal space somehow.
“Hey, Vanya,” Alfred prompted, turning his head to the side.
“Hm?” Ivan peered over and saw the trailers flashing on the lenses of Alfred’s glasses.
“How tall are you?”
Ivan raised a brow. “I don’t know. Too tall.”
Alfred’s tongue swept over his lips. “Maybe I’ll be taller than you one day, huh?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Ivan said. But it was an amusing thought—at least to him—and he smiled.
Alfred didn’t seem to think so. He settled back into the seat and shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, chewing like it was made of rock.
Then, the movie finally came on and they settled into silence. It was so strange to be quiet with Alfred. Ivan found himself almost too distracted by it to even focus on the film properly.
He shifted in his seat, trying to catch different views of Alfred’s expression. He seemed displeased almost. Or focused, maybe, on the plot. But after a while, his gaze flicked to Ivan’s and they were staring at each other for a moment too long.
Why? Ivan didn’t even know why he was looking. More and more, it felt like all Ivan did was watch Alfred and try to figure him out. That’s when he noticed how fast his heart was beating, and how shallow his breath reached, and decided to turn away.
“Do you want popcorn?” Alfred whispered.
Ivan was lured back by the question. He saw Alfred leaning towards him like the movie wasn’t playing at all. There were so many freckles over his nose. It was probably from playing baseball in the sun all spring.
“Sure,” Ivan said, accepting the bucket into his lap. As he did, Alfred’s fingers drifted over his. It was probably an accident—what else could it even be?—but it made Ivan look anyway.
Alfred was facing the screen again, a hand pressed over his mouth. He might have been blushing too.
The bucket of popcorn remained untouched in Ivan’s lap until eventually Gilbert reached over and confiscated it.
After the movie, Gilbert and Kiku shared a heated discussion about the superhero's fight with the friend-turned-villain. Alfred chipped in there and again, but he was noticeably less interested than he normally was. Not that Ivan could really poke fun at him, because he honestly couldn’t recall a single important moment and was unable to contribute anything at all to the discussion.
Ivan was so focused on Alfred sitting next to him that the dialogue and visuals went over his head. And now he was left feeling strangely off-kilter.
“Well, I guess we’ll be heading out now. Alfred, do you need a ride?” Gilbert asked.
Alfred waved him off. “Nah, I live nearby. I’ll see you guys on Monday!”
Gilbert nodded and shared a look with Ivan. Then, he and Kiku were walking off into the parking lot.
Ivan followed Alfred to the row of locked bicycles.
“Some movie, huh?” Alfred said as he was undoing the chain.
Ivan made a noncommittal noise. The metal key and Katya's crocheted keychain nestled deeper into his palm until finally, he forced out the words: “Alfred…why don’t you spend the night at my house,” he paused, “Rather than riding home.”
Alfred's spine straightened and he looked at Ivan with wide, blue eyes. “Oh, uh, yeah.” He nodded several times until a grin spread across his face. “Yeah, I mean. We’ve never had a sleepover, have we?”
Ivan fought the urge to protest the word sleepover. It reminded him of Natalya when she brought over her elementary school friends and they giggled about their secret crushes. This was just…inviting Alfred to stay over. Because he seemed so lonely, and—
“As long as it’s all right with your father,” Ivan added stiffly.
Alfred’s head swung back and forth emphatically. “Of course, it is! Why wouldn’t it be?” He finished pulling the bike out of the rack and rolled it closer. “Do you—I mean. Should I follow you back on my bike, or…”
Ivan’s lips pulled into a small smile. “I drove Katya’s car. So we’ll find a way to bring your bicycle back again.”
Alfred’s hands clenched over the handles, turning his knuckles white. “Right. I forgot you got your license.” He kept his gaze averted as they made their way to the parked car.
“I feel like I’m falling so behind,” Alfred sighed after a while.
“In school?”
“No, just—behind you,” Alfred said.
Ivan didn’t know what to say to that. He actually thought that Alfred moved faster than anyone. Making friends, trying new hobbies, taking risks—he wasn’t afraid to do any of that. But he didn’t know how to put it into words. The silence continued until the moment was gone. And then they drove home together.