ArchivedLogs:Smooth Talking Ivan

Smooth Talking Ivan
Dramatis Personae Ivan, Rasa
In Absentia	2013-04-09 teenagers discuss the nature of their relationship.
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. Classes are over for the day and the sky is starting to ever so slowly darken already. There are a couple of students in the gardens, chatting about something or another as they briskly move through the place. Missing, most likely, the new sprigs of bright green amidst the otherwise still fairly dead-looking foliage. And the purple, yellow and white flowers that have started to dot the area as of late. Life is returning to the area. And so has something else. The swarm of bees that helped in starting a particularly strange rumor some time ago have found their way back to their hive, which stands sandwiched in between two more of roughly the same build, a little distance away from the gardens themselves. Still mostly barren trees loom over them, casting increasingly longer shadows across grassy patches underneath. Also casting a shadow over a person-shape, a fleece blanket over its shoulders and spilling out around him, sitting with his legs folded underneath. Ivan, sitting perfectly still, eyes fixed on the beehives. They stand far enough away for him to only barely be able to hear the bees buzzing as they make their rounds around the garden. One occasionally flies by him, but for the moment... none of them seem to be doing anything but going about their own business, as opposed to the boy's. Rasa wanders out into the gardens when ze has finished enough of hir homework to warrant a break. Ze's a bit behind, after being laid up for a good portion of the previous week. Ze makes hir way down the pathways quietly, pausing to take note of the little flowers and to appreciate their existence. Ze finally spots the lone figure after running hir fingertips over the edge of a particularly purple flower. Ze is still stuck in boyshape, but is compensating with a yellow sundress and baggy hoodie, flip flops scuffing long the surface of the ground. Hir hair is pulled back with a few messy tendrils framing hir face, while a little bit of makeup adds a slightly more feminine look to hir face. Ze draws up behind Ivan, concern tugging at hir brow, given the proximity to the bee hives, but the busy bees seem to be keeping busy, ze approaches, clearing hir throat a little before moving to kneel down beside the bugmaster. "Hey, Ivan." Despite the vicinity to the bees, Ivan's attention is easily drawn toward a new arrival, even if it only manifests in a shifting of his weight beneath the blanket when he first hears someone approach. It's not until he hears Rasa's voice that he looks up, though, a smile pulling at his lips without thought. "Rashka." He straightens a little, shoulders pushing back to allow for slightly better not-zoned-out posture. Beneath the blanket, he's wearing jeans and a simple white dress shirt. Something about hir makes his smile twitch a little wider, before-- oh. He fidgets, moving the blanket further along his shoulders so as to pull one of its corners along the ground for Rasa to sit on if ze so wishes. Only weird bugboys sit in the dirt, pretty Rasa is not allowed. Rasa moves over to settle on the side of the blanket that Ivan offers, smiling a little shyly and looking him over before looking over at the bee hives. "How are you?" ze asks as ze gets settled. "I was looking for you," ze explains before giving him a chance to answer. "Shelby and I were going to have some movie night tonight in our room and I wanted to see if you wanted to come watch something." "I am f--" Ivan starts, looking toward the hives again, but something about the answer unsettles him. He takes a deep breath, and starts over, looking to Rasa this time. "I am observing. I think maybe it is smart to /observe/ the bees for a time. So we can get used to each other." The news of a movie night turns his expression to one of mild curiosity and excitement- though to see a spark of the latter at all on Ivan's face is sort of rare to start with. "Yes please." A heartbeat's worth of pause, before, "I can bring /candy/." So much candy. "Are you okay?" Rasa asks, a little concerned. This time, plenty of time is given for him to respond. There is another shift of weight at the question, his hard-to-read face set on an absent smile as he leans slightly closer. Just close enough for a shoulderbump, through the blanket. "I am getting better." And for what it's worth, there's no sign that he's lying about it, glancing toward the beehives in thought. A moment later, though, and he's staring at Rasa again, brow furrowing as hir face is studied. "Are you?" "I am healthy," Rasa replies. Hir tone is short and uncomfortable. "As well as can be expected." Ze gives him a small smile and bumps his shoulder back, maybe leaning a bit, if that's okay. It is /entirely/ okay. In fact, it is encouraged! His smile returns again at the lean. Even if under the blanket, his fingers weave together, twisting tightly. Almost painfully so. He seems reluctant to break the silence, his smile slowly fading into nothing as thoughts rumble through his head. He takes another deep breath, yet deeper this time, and-- shifts his weight /again/. This time, however, with a TARGET. Should Rasa be caught off-guard, than ze is now +1 peck on the cheek and one very pale-with-nerves Ivan richer. Rasa blinks and jumps a little. Ze was definitely taken unawares and one kiss was deposited upon hir cheek. Ze looks at Ivan in surprise for a moment, then blushes and bows hir head. A little smile pulls at hir lips as ze finds ze has nothing to say. "... I was supposed to say things first." Ivan's face-- staring straight at Rasa now, grows somehow even PALER. Finger-twisting fidgeting rises to painful levels, shoulders propping up and eyebrows pushing together. "I was-- going to tell you... that." He frowns. "{Oh god oh jesus I did it all in the wrong order this is ridiculous--}." There may be a few extra words on the end of that, which /sort of vaguely sound/ like they might be curse words. When he switches back to English, the words blurted out are in an accent is /even heavier/ with nerves. "I was going to tell you it is okay if you want not-important kisses because I want you to be happy not as well as can be expected and not healthy." A blink. "Okay, healthy too, please. Both? Both." His jaw clenches. Shh, Ivan. Shh. "Oh?" Rasa listens quietly, continuing to lean against Ivan's shoulder, looking down at the ground, over at the bees and looking at Ivan himself, especially when he spouts out Russian without warning. Ze snickers lightly and bites at hir lip a little. "Oh, well, that is good to know. I actually don't know how to determine what an important-kiss was or is or could be, to be honest. I wasn't sure what was going to happen." Ze gives a good nod. "Thank you for telling me." "You do not need permission." Ivan continues, doing his best to try and calm himself. Colour coming back to his face-- and then some. "I just. Maybe. It would be nice if..." He looks downward now, untangling his own fingers from each other with a light wince and a glare as he attempts to focus on making his words come out in a sentence of sorts. It would be nice if I had an answer. For people who ask if we are-- a thing. They keep asking." He says this as though it /saddens/ him a little. There might... just maybe... be an increase in the number of bees in their direct vicinity. Buzzing calmly between grassy patches and wayward little flowers. "I do not need to ask permission for what?" Rasa is confused by this, but continues listening, patiently. "Oh." Ze purses hir lips and thinks about it. "I have been saying 'I don't know' to questions like that. It is not really their business what we are doing, but if you would like an answer, I guess we should pick one we both like." Ze considers this for a moment, playing with the bottom hem of hir skirt. "are we close friends who hold hands? Is there some... selectiveness, or monogamy going on?" "You look pretty." Ivan responds, unhelpfully, voice barely above a mumble, and thoughts once again all out of order. Perhaps he has been spending too much time around Peter and his mind of a thousand directions all at once. As if to leave no room for a reply to that tiny little compliment, he adds immediately afterwards, "I do not like anyone else. But if you do, that would be okay." He finally manages, calming slightly. "Is 'dating' a bad word?" He tries, glancing to Rasa again, shoulders still propped up nervously as though he expects ze might HIT him for the suggestion. "Dating is not a bad word, but I do not know what going on dates would be like. We could simply say we have a relationship. That does not mean that we need to go on dates." Rasa explains a little, but shrugs. "I think you are nice to look at as well." Ze smiles at Ivan. "Did you want me to tell you about other people I like before being with them, or would you like me to never talk about it?" There's a pause. And a bee that flies past Ivan's face and then into it, clinging onto his cheek. Ivan seems to either not notice it, or plain ignore it. It just sits there. The comment about his appearance garners no visible response. Flatly, "I think I would like to not hear it. For now." He relaxes, at that, offering a smile back. "Do you want to go inside?" "Okay." Rasa replies to all of the questions with that and gets up off of Ivan's blanket, allowing him to get up. "Yes, let's go inside. I still have to pick a movie. And maybe invite Peter. Shelby is getting popcorn and stuff. I don't know." There are arrangements to be made. This is a thing. A thing indeed. Ivan's face goes into /planning-mode/. Which involves brow furrowing and concentrated looks at nothing and a bee finally leaving his cheek and also apparently a blanket being shaken from dirt and folded over an arm. He briefly glances to Rasa's shoulders but-- dirt. Better not. He opens his mouth like he's about to say something, but then... doesn't. Instead, his smile brightens just a little, and he extends a hand as he starts slowly moving toward the school building again. Rasa takes Ivan's hand and they both go inside. THE END