Chapter Text
Oct 16 1995
Mikhail
Flipping through channels one evening, Levani somehow discovered the sole Russian-speaking channel in the whole of Georgia. You did not particularly care to watch old re-runs of shows you did not find funny the first time, but Levani liked them for some inexplicable reason.
He was still insistent on learning Russian, despite your best efforts to convince him there was no reason for him to do so. You were okay never speaking Russian again, but you found his efforts sweet nonetheless.
Tonight, you dozed on the couch next to Levani as he intently watched some old soap long past its prime. Your nap was intermittently interrupted by Levani’s attempts to clarify plot points that he had missed. The dialogue was usually simple enough to explain, and Levani was more than happy to gloss over the finer points of Russian culture.
Levani started rubbing your back absentmindedly, and that was liable to put you the rest of the way to sleep. That was until he asked a question you would actually have to open your eyes to answer.
“What do you think of that guy?”
Levani had asked you this plenty of times before. The very first time, you had been utterly baffled by the question. You never personally knew whichever guy he was indicating, and therefore had no reason to have an opinion. Over time you grew to understand the kind of response he was looking for.
“Very sexy.”
“You really think... hey! You didn’t even look!”
It was true, your eyes were still closed. You did not mind playing this game with Levani, but he already knew what you really thought. As you had previously attempted to explain to him, you found it very hard to care about the appearance of strangers. You could technically gauge physical attractiveness, sure, but you never found yourself sexually attracted to people you did not know. It was probably why you thought you were straight for so long.
Levani found this very hard to comprehend. He even sometimes pointed out women to test you, but your stance never really changed. The game did sometimes inspire a slight spark of possessiveness in you, which Levani definitely knew how to take advantage of. Not that you were complaining.
“Look!”
You begrudgingly opened your eyes to look at whatever man was stealing Levani’s attention away from you. He was giving a boring monologue, but you immediately understood what caught his eye. His chest and arms were covered in tattoos. He looked like the kind of guy that would have face tattoos, but you guessed having face tattoos would make getting work as an actor difficult. Getting any kind of work, probably.
“Would you ever get a tattoo, Misha?”
You don’t know the word offhand, but it is impossible not to guess.
“Sure, I will get a… big cat. Cover all my chest. What is big cat called? With the hair?”
Before you started learning another language, you never appreciated just how many words there really were. Or whatever the opposite of appreciate was.
Levani bites his lip for a moment. His eyes widen in amusement and understanding when you gesture around your face.
“A lion?!”
You shrug in noncommittal agreement. You keep a straight face to really sell the bit.
Levani splutters a bit. “You can’t just get something random! Tattoos have to be meaningful!”
You tilt your head slightly.
“Uh… meaningful, significant… important!”
“Hm…” You close your eyes for a moment, thinking. “Ah.”
You pull your wallet from your pocket. You open it to retrieve a small piece of paper you stashed inside.
You rest the piece of paper on your chest and lean back into the couch so that it will stay there. You feel a satisfied smile creep onto your face.
Levani leans closer to you, squinting at the piece of paper now adorning your chest.
He gasps in genuine surprise when he recognizes his own drawing, the smiling duck he gifted you a lifetime ago.
“You… you still have that?”
Oh, shit. His voice took on that low, sentimental tone that made you squirm. You averted your gaze.
You do not catch the soft smile on Levani’s face as he rests his head on your shoulder for a moment. Your face feels a little warm.
Levani straightens up and clears his throat.
“50 lari says you won’t.”
His voice is loud and teasing again. Your body relaxes.
“I’ll take that on.”
You see Levani roll his eyes out of the corner of your eye.
---
Levani
Misha told you he’d be working late tonight. You planned to wait up for him, but found yourself dozing on the couch after dinner.
You gave up around 9 PM.
As you crawl into bed, you wonder how you became so domesticated. Your nights used to start at 9 PM! You’re somewhat surprised to find you don’t miss the excitement of the clubs. The only thing you miss right now is the warmth of Misha lying next to you.
You must have fallen asleep anyway, though, because when you look at the clock again it’s almost 11. Misha was trying his hardest not to wake you, as he always did when he got in this late. He was quite practiced at moving quietly, but he was still no match for perhaps the lightest sleeper in all of Georgia: you.
You switch the table lamp on as Misha shuffled around the apartment getting ready for bed. You used to lay still and pretend to still be asleep, but Misha somehow always knew. You liked getting your goodnight kisses anyway.
Eventually, Misha came into the bedroom. There was an expression on his face that your half-asleep mind could not quite discern. He leaned over and kissed you on the forehead.
He switched the lamp back off before stripping down in sliding into bed next to you. It wasn’t long at all before his presence lulled you back to sleep.
In the morning, you wake to sun rays shining across the room. You appreciate the glittering dust motes briefly before closing the gap in the curtains. The sun can stay outside where it belongs. Just in case.
You don’t have to look to know Misha is still in bed with you. The lack of blaring alarm clock tells you he has the day off. You roll over to snuggle up for a lazy morning in bed.
You rest your head on Misha’s chest, and even in his sleep, he throws one arm around you and pulls you closer. You rub across his chest with your free hand and feel… bandages?
You raise your head slightly to look, and sure enough, there is a white bandage covering a small spot above his left pec. Huh.
You lay back down, and continue rubbing his chest, avoiding that one particular spot. He hums in quiet appreciation.
“You owe me… 50 lari.”
Misha whispers so quietly that at first you think he is sleep talking. You raise your head again to look at his face. He is definitely awake, looking right at you. You would never say this, but you think he looks so pretty in the mornings.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
You don’t think you’ve ever given him money before. Not for lack of trying, of course, but he says he likes taking care of you. Oh well, maybe your time as a stay-at-home boyfriend has come to an end.
“Look.”
He reaches up and pulls back the bandage on his chest to reveal… oh my god.
You sit the rest of the way up and lean closer, making sure your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you.
“You got my duck tattooed?!”
Misha laughs, like he has somehow pranked you. Your mouth hangs open in disbelief.
“You… you’re kidding. That’s fake.”
“It’s real, I swear!”
He finally stops laughing long enough to look at your shocked face. His voice softens.
“Now you are a part of me forever.”
You finally manage to close your mouth. You try not to let tears well up in your eyes.
“Does this… does this mean I have to get your smiley tattooed?”
Misha starts chuckling again. You can’t get enough of that sound, and feel very proud of being the one to make him happy.
Damn. You guess you had to scrounge up 50 lari.