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Ivan couldn’t keep his eyes off the handsome stranger sitting at the other end of the bar.
He had been sitting here for half an hour, drowning himself in booze after hearing from his sister that his current boyfriend – or perhaps ex-boyfriend was a better term now – had been screwing around behind his back. Instead of facing his problems he’d just gone straight to the bar, desperate to take his mind off things.
That was when this guy came in. All healthy tan and toothpaste commercial white teeth, flagging the bartender for a glass of whiskey. He nodded pleasantly at Ivan before sitting down, and since then they hadn’t made eye-contact again.
Yet Ivan couldn’t look away from him. There were several chairs between their bodies, but he could still hear the other’s pleasant accent perfectly well as he chatted with the bartender, made jokes about his work as if he were a regular.
Ivan was just intoxicated enough to consider actually going over there and start flirting with this stranger. But he knew he wouldn’t do that. He had never been the one to take the initiative in a relationship. Maybe that was why his ex had decided to go looking for someone more proactive…
He stared miserably at his glass, rolling it around between well-defined fingers. Why did he have to be so goddamn shy? He was broad and tall, intimidating to most. Yet the moment he had to open his mouth, that was where it all went wrong. He wasn’t good with words. Or with feelings, or relationships, or with people in general.
He had so much love to give. But it was so very useless, since he had no idea how to give it.
He sniffed and dragged a hand under his nose, only now noticing the tears prickling dangerously at the corners of his eyes.
Oh no. He couldn’t cry. Not here, not with all these people. He already felt pathetic enough as it is.
“Hey, you okay?”
The voice startled him so badly he jerked back a little, staring at the stranger with wide eyes as he stared right back. He shivered a little when those frighteningly blue eyes looked him over, genuine concern in them.
“Ah, no, I am fine…”
“Bullshit,” the other cut him off. Downing the rest of his whiskey in one go, he hopped off his chair and slid right next to Ivan.
The Russian tensed, heart beating in his throat.
“You can talk to me if you want to. Ah, sorry if I seem a bit rude,” he laughed a bit awkwardly, scratching at his lightly freckled nose, “but you seem too nice to be so down. Of course, it’s none of my business, buuuut…”
Ivan allowed a shaky smile to slip through his defences, before he looked back down at his hands.
“Ah, no, it is okay. But it is really nothing, just some personal problems.”
“Girlfriend dumped ya?” the other asked bluntly, making Ivan wince.
“Oh sorry, that was incredibly rude, I-“
“Nyet,” Ivan whispered. “Boyfriend.”
There. He said it. Ivan closed his eyes shut, waiting anxiously for the other to start calling him names, be disgusted by him, perhaps even angry. When nothing came, he hesitantly glanced back at the stranger.
“Sorry to hear that buddy. He didn’t hurt you too much, did he? I remember my last boyfriend, he was a real bitch in those final weeks before I broke it off. I’m Alfred by the way, haven’t introduced myself yet.”
“Ah- I am Ivan.” A confused pause. “Did you say you were…”
“Gay? Well, that’s basically what it means to have a boyfriend. But enough about me, you’re the one trying to get drunk in some bar.”
“Is it that obvious?” Ivan asked, smiling wryly at his shoes.
“Kinda.”
And then suddenly, Alfred was leaning forward, bringing his mouth to Ivan’s ear. His hot breath tickled as he spoke.
“If I have to go talk some sense into him, just say so. I’m free tonight anyway. And I think you look a lot better with a smile on your face.”
Ivan instantly flushed red, nonsensical words stumbling out of his mouth. When Alfred pulled back, he too was blushing profoundly.
“Ah shit, I guess I drank a lot more than I thought… Please don’t think I’m a creep or something, I just say really cheeky stuff when I get drunk-“
Before Alfred could further embarrass himself, Ivan decided to finally do something brave. Maybe it was the vodka, maybe it was the whirlpool of emotions caused by his heartbreak, but he suddenly found a hint of bravado he didn’t even knew he had in him.
“You- You said you were free tonight?”
Alfred instantly stopped blabbering.
“Yeah?”
His next words came out so fast his tongue had difficulty keeping up with them.
“Do you, do you want to go eat something? Food works best against alcohol…”
Shit, why did he have to say that? Take it back, take it back-
“Y-yeah! Sure!” Alfred yelped, once more flashing that big grin of his.
Ivan couldn’t decide if he was more attractive as the mysterious charmer or the flustered puppy.
What he did know, was that his heart had never felt like it could explode just by someone grabbing his hand, slapping a few bills down on the counter, dragging him out of the bar, and placing a bold kiss on his cheek before heading to their next destination.