Work Text:
1997 Georgia, Sighnaghi
It has been exactly 4 years and 6 month since the apocalypse. There is a beautiful frozen lake outside, the dark green forest creating an atmospheric background for it. Snow flakes fall from the grey winter sky, coating the fir-trees branches. In the middle stands a two story wooden house, a line of smog leading to a red bricked chimney. Outside of the house two young girls giggle and play, the older one throwing a snowball at the other.
“Catch!”
“Heyy! That’s not fair..”
Lyala, the younger girl, wipes off her goggles, swatting the snow down at the ground.
“It’s mine turn now!”
She picks up a handful of snow, but before she could throw it, a pair of hands close her eyes.
“Huh? Anya let go off me you..”
“Blf what?”
Turning around, Lyala looks up to see a man dressed in a purple winter coat, a blue scarf wrapped around his head and neck. A few loose strands of violet hair peeking out of the cloth.
“Mama, I already told you to stop do-“
Another snowball hits the back of the little girl’s head.
“Anya..Stop bullying your little hrhgvi!”
“Fine! And I wasn’t like..bullying her or anything..”
“Oh you kids-“
Davit is hit in the face, the scarf falling off of his head, revealing his curly locks.
“Anya!”
“It wasn’t me this time!”
“Then who was it?”
A series of deep chuckles come from behind the older sister, she turns around, her long coily ginger hair swaying back. She makes a step towards the forest, but before she can make another one, she is hit in the face with a piece of snow. Giggling, an older man steps out from behind a tree.
Holding in laughter, he asks, “Sorry honey.. did that- pfft- hit your ey- eye?”
“ASSHOLE! You are not getting away with this you old man!”
“Language!”
“Shut up mam!”
Davit wipes the snow off of Lyala’s face, pouting and shushing her.
“Shh shh my love, does it sting?”
“N-no..”
“Alrighty.. Mikhail!”
…
“Mikhail?.. Honey!?”
The “homeowner” lays on the ground, his grey knitted hat resting in the snow two feet away, Anya shoves snow in his face.
“Did it hit your eyes? Did it?”
Mikhail laughs, pushing her away. He apologetically looks at her and picks up a handful of snow, rubbing it in his face.
“We’re even now, right?”
He mumbles, spewing out some snow that got in his mouth. After a moment of silence Anya breaks out into a warm laugh, before throwing some more snow at him.
“Now, we are!”
“Alright, that’s enough guys, you are both as red as lobsters! A few more seconds outside and you will freeze to death! Now go on, go inside!”
Davit pushes the two inside the wooden cabin, while Anya whines and insists on staying. Once inside, he covers the girls in a blanket and puts a kettle on the stove.
“Me and your father are going to get groceries, once the water boils make some cocoa for yourselves. And don’t burn yourself, Lyala, let the cocoa cool down first.”
The little girl scoffs, looking to the side, while the other looks over at her, grinning.
⋆❆˚｡₊⊹❅⋆
A jazzy song plays on the radio, the man sitting in the passenger seat hums the melody, while the one driving moves to the rhythm, tapping his finger against the steering wheel.
“Time after time, I tell myself that I'm
So lucky to be loving you
So lucky to be
The one you run to see
In the evening, when the day is through”
Gazing at his lover, Davit sings along to the lyrics. Mikhail glances over to the other man, a blush creeping up his cheeks.
“You do know that I don’t know english, honey.”
“I know, me neither, I’m just.. how do you say it? ..Improvising!”
The older man, after a brief pause, starts singing along in broken english. Davit chuckles and continues on with the song.
“I only know what I know
The passing years will show
You've kept my love so young, so new
And time after time
You'll hear me say that I'm
So lucky to be loving you”
⋆❆˚｡₊⊹❅⋆
At the supermarket, Davit guides Mikhail by the hand, while simultaneously grabbing a shopping cart.
“I’ve been living here for 2 years, I know my way around here by now, Davit.”
“Shush! I don’t want you getting lost again.”
Looking through the endless piles of food, Mikhail can’t help but remember. Suddenly, he’s back in his house, in Russia, sitting in the kitchen drinking old crappy beer from a barely working refrigerator. A shiver runs down his spine, as he snaps back to reality. Davit stands in front of him, holding both of his hands.
“Is it..”
“Yeah, sorry, let’s.. let’s go.”
Standing by the baked goods, Davit picks out bread, smushing and testing the softness of each one. Mikhail looks over at the refrigerators, through the glass, there a plenty of sausages and some kolbasa. He walks over to them, picking out a few, as well as grabbing some children’s sausages and plopping them inside the cart.
“Whatcha’ got there?” Davit asks, peering inside the cart.
“Just some meat. A little for Anya and Lyala too.”
“Honey, what has gotten into you?”
Mikhail stares in the other man’s eyes, before pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around him. Burying his face a little under Davit’s shoulder, his shoulders slump.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Misha.”
Brushing the older man’s hair, Davit rubs his lover’s back.
“Ahem!”
The two quickly pull away, looking in different directions, red blush blooming on their faces.
“Uzttlgh! Vzg hsrg blf hlwlnrgvh! Tl slnv zmw szev zmzo hvc gsviv mlg rm kfyorx! Wrhtfhgrmt zmrnzoh!”
An older man’s spews out profanities, spit flying out of his mouth. While he yells, the “homeowner” grabs Davit’s hand and bolts out of the store, leaving the cart behind.
The car ride back home was quiet, the radio only played the news, the reporter’s voice being the only thing filling the silence.
“Hey, Misha?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“..I love you too, Davi.”
“And you’re not mad?”
“At what?”
“At me?”
“For what? You didn’t do anything. It was that old bag of shit and bones that I’m mad at.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes honey, I’m sure.”
“Alright.”
They decided to stop at a gas station. There wasn’t much to choose from, as there are only snacks and some sweets laying around. Sighing, Mikhail picks a few for the girls back home and some for himself and Davit. After paying, and getting in the car, they stopped at a nearby fast food restaurant.
Standing outside the restaurant, leaning against the wall, the two eat Chinese takeout. Mikhail struggles to hold the noodles with the sticks, after a few unsuccessful attempts, he drops them down on the floor.
“Shit.”
The older man looks down on the floor, before some noodle make their way towards his mouth.
“Come on, eat!”
Davit hold out his sticks, waiting. Mikhail looks off to the side before obliging and taking a bite.
“This is actually pretty nice..”
“Me feeding you or the noodles?”
“The noodles, obviously!”
“I see, you don’t appreciate my help at all, huh?” the “foreigner” playfully looks away, pouting his lips.
“I would never!” laughing, he takes another bite. The younger man picks up some more noodles and moves hit chopsticks towards the other, but before Mikhail could eat Davit moves them away, putting it in his own mouth.
“Hey!”
With his mouth full, the younger man snickers while the other puts his hands on Davit’s shoulder and presses their lips together. The “foreigner”’s eyes were open wide, his hands dropping the chopsticks. Moving away, Mikhail wipes his mouth and swallows, while the other man realises what he had done.
“You kissed me just to eat my noodles? Eww, Misha what the hell?”
“Yes exactly, I hate you and the only reason I kissed you is because I’m starving.”
“I hate you too then!” cackling, they both throw the remaining Chinese takeout into the trash as it already went cold. Holding each other’s hands they made their way towards the car. The sky was turning into a deep shade of purple, only a tiny glimmer of the sun peeking from under the horizon.
⋆❆˚｡₊⊹❅⋆
The lights in the house were turned off and on the sofa there lay two little girls, cuddling under a blanket. In front of the couch there is a tv, with a cartoon still playing on it. Mikhail walked up to them on his tippy toes and turns off the tv. Kneeling down, he brushes Lyala’s long black hair behind her ear and kisses her forehead. Not wanting to wake up the girls, he pulls the blanket over their shoulders, and kisses Anya’s cheek, whispering them a goodnight.
On the stairs, there stands Davit, folding his arms on top of the handle, waiting for his husband. Mikhail looks up at him, giving him a kind tired smile. Walking up the staircase, the “homeowner” embraces his lover, placing his hands on his thighs. The younger man meets the gesture, but briefly moves away enough to take a look at Mikhail’s face, until he moves in and kisses him. The taste of bean paste and chilli lingers on their tongues, before they pull away, a singular line of saliva connecting their lips.
Lying in bed, the two hug under the covers, Davit burrowing his face in Mikhail’s chest, while the other wraps his legs around the younger man’s waist.
“Hey honey?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
“Mmm”
“And you don’t love me back?”
“Mm-mm”
“So you hate me then?”
“Mhm”
Jabbing his shoulder into Mikhail’s under arm, he giggles and says “I hate you too then.”
“Mm!”
“Don’t like that, huh?”
“Mm I love you too, Dato.. Now let’s just sleep..”
“Goodnight Misha”
“Goodnight love”