Rule of Three (boyxboy) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 2 - Sign of Three

[cracks knuckles]

[stretches arms]

All right, let's get this show on the road.

Happy reading!

- Serene

--x

Translation Notes:

брат - brother (Russian)

'wǎnān' // 晚安 - Good night (Mandarin)

huítóu jiàn // 回头见 - See you soon. (Mandarin)

Chapter Two

Ivan was freely floating through a vast, green ocean. The skies above him were wide and blue and lined with puffs of white clouds, like the cotton candy he often bought at fairs. He was drifting through the water. The soft cascade of waves that wrapped itself around his body gently rocked him as he continued to move with no clear destination. And for the first time since entering college, Ivan felt at peace.

A ripple of water touched his left side, and he liked the way it bounced on his skin. A sound from somewhere beyond touched the ocean and it caused another ripple. Ivan frowned, the noise was getting louder and louder, making more ripples to appear in the once steady water. He strained his ears to listen and caught slivers of words echoing into the ocean as though they were raindrops.

''...wake...''

''...need to...''

''...important...''

''...please...''

''...wake up...''

A soft, accented voice resonated in Ivan's dozing mind, causing him to wake just enough to feel the fluffy pillows beneath him and the warmth of a hand carefully nudging his left shoulder. He groaned drowsily, on the edge of consciousness, and reluctantly cracked open an eyelid, only to meet a dim, alien room and the poorly lighted figure of a familiar face.

''Waf ezzet?'' He muttered unintelligibly. ''Lynda, zat yew?''

She nodded.

''Howdya getin?''

Lynda gave a sheepish grin, ''Sergei had an access card to your room. Ah, don't worry though, I'm not here to stab you or anything.''

She took a seat on one edge of the bed. She was wearing an oversized Nirvana T-shirt and striped pyjama bottoms, and Ivan briefly wondered how she could stand the cold temperature of the room while he was bundled up in layers of comforters. He'd have to look for the remote of the air conditioner later.

''Ivan, I'm sorry that I woke you up at such an ungodly hour, but I needed to talk to you about something. Something that's only going to be between you and me.''

'Ungodly hour? What time is it anyway?' Ivan's eyes flickered over to the digital clock on the bedside table. He stared incredulously at the blaring numbers: 2: 36 AM

He fell asleep only two hours ago! He inwardly groaned in irritation and exhaustion. He didn't care if she found the rotting corpse of the doorman in her closet. All he cared about right now was catching some much needed zzzz's.

'But...

''What do you want to talk about?'' He sat up, and stretched a little, willing some of the sleepiness away.

...if she came all the way here at such an early time, it must be pretty important.'

''It's about your brother's bachelor party,' she said, placing a lock of ebony hair behind her ear.