Guess who finally got their hands on Paint It White? My sister and I ended up splitting the price and somehow convinced our mom to order it for us.
Anyways, hope you all are having a wonderful day! I don't know how but somehow people started seeing my stories, and I can't begin to explain how thankful I am for that! So thanks to everyone who reads this! :)
"So, Kiku told me you needed some help?" Ivan prompted.
Yao nodded, sighing. "Yeah I..." Yao trailed off. "Did he tell you why I needed you to come over?"
Yao waited a moment for Ivan to respond.
"Nyet, he just told me that you needed help getting to the airport," Ivan responded, voice curious.
Yao frowned. "Well I guess it's gonna be hard not to tell you."
"It would help to know what is wrong, da?" Ivan simply stated.
"Yeah," Yao huffed. "There's a lot of pollution in China. And since my people go through health issues because of it, so do I. I can't die from it, and it's usually nothing more than a cough or blurred vision."
He pointed to his eyes, scowling. "I don't know why, but this time it's gotten so bad that I can't see anything. Just black."
Yao heard Ivan shift to sit down on the bed, and he felt the spot to his left sink as Ivan sat down.
"Your eyes do look cloudy," Ivan said. "Nothing else is wrong?"
Yao shook his head. "No, but we need to get to the airport quick. My flight's gonna leave soon."
Yao stood up, fumbling over to where he knew he'd put his suitcase along the wall. Behind him, he heard Ivan chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Yao asked, turning in the direction he thought he'd heard Ivan's voice.
"You may want to change into normal clothes before we go out," Ivan started. "And... you are speaking to the wall."
Yao gritted his teeth, extending an arm to find that he, indeed, was facing a wall as he spoke. His face flushed and he crossed his arms, turning around so his back was to the wall.
"My clothes are in the drawer beneath the TV," Yao said quickly. "Bring them to me, please."
He listened as Ivan stood, and heard the drawer open and close. Ivan's footsteps made it over to Yao, and Yao felt the small pile of clothes be neatly placed in his open arms.
"Thanks," Yao muttered, feeling along the wall until he got to what he assumed was the bathroom door.
"Do you not need help to dress?" Ivan asked as Yao opened the bathroom door and stepped in.
Yao scoffed. "Of course I don't need help. I may be blind but I can do some things for myself."
He closed the bathroom door, opening it a minute later. Hearing Ivan fail to muffle a laugh, Yao crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"I am sorry," Ivan apologized. "But I believe that you may want some help. Your shirt is on backwards, and your jacket is inside out."
Yao's face was dusted with pink as he looked down. After a second, he peeled off the dark maroon blazer, throwing it to the side, and stomped over to Ivan.
Throwing his arms up in the air, he refused to look up at Ivan, though he knew he wouldn't be able to see his face anyway. He just hoped the other man couldn't see the redness that refused to leave his cheeks and nose.
"Fine, then help me," he grumbled, puffing out his cheeks. Ivan chuckled and took off Yao's shirt, turning it around.
Yao heard Ivan's breath hitch, and figured he must have gotten a look at the many scars that littered his back. Yao wasn't very proud of them.
Though he was thankful that Ivan said nothing, instead just sliding the black shirt back over his head. He heard the Russian step back, and felt him slide the blazer onto his arms.
He then heard the small clinks of zippers as Ivan presumably picked up the suitcase Yao had packed the previous night.
"Is this all that you have?" Ivan asked. Yao nodded, and he heard the man's footsteps go around him and to the door.
"Wait! I can't go out with my hair like this!" Yao almost shrieked, gesturing wildly to his head. Ivan just let out another small chuckle.
"Yao, why are you so sure that your hair does not look good? I think it looks," Ivan trailed off, thinking a moment. "Wonderful."
Yao felt his face flush yet again, and he was sure that if he could actually look into a mirror right now, his face would be the color of his blazer.
"Now come on," Ivan said, reaching out to grab Yao's hand. "Let's get to your flight, da?"
Yao inwardly grimaced as he felt Ivan take his hand. Though he figured it was alright, as to those who didn't take a closer look they looked like a normal couple. What with Yao having his hair down, and already having the thin body that painfully resembled a woman's, he'd pass for a girl any day.
Ivan led Yao outside, and waited for a moment or two as they flagged down another taxi. Ivan helped Yao get inside, though the Chinese man did flail his limbs every time he thought he might hit something or fall.
The driver in the front seat gave the two a questioningly look, to which Yao only seemed to stare back blankly. Ivan laughed a bit at how genuinely creeped out the driver seemed.
When they'd finally made it to the airport, Ivan helped Yao out and into the large lobby.
He led Yao through the crowds, still holding the suitcase and his hand. As they waited in the lines to board the planes, Ivan felt Yao's hand tighten a bit around his own, and looked to see the Chinese man seemingly in a cold sweat.
And to be honest, Yao was kind of freaking out. All the noise around him, and the constant brush of shoulders as people pressed by him, all while not being able to see was a bit overwhelming.
The whole situation was overwhelming now that he put everything together. He wakes up one morning, can't see anything, calls Kiku for help to find that there is no one left to help him, and then gets stuck with none other than Ivan Braginski to help get him home.
"Yao, are you okay?" Ivan asked quietly. Yao did his best to collect himself for a second before responding.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Yao replied curtly. Ivan frowned.
"No you are not. You are squeezing your eyes shut, and I think my hand has lost circulation."
Yao grimaced and immediately let go of Ivan's hand, looking the other way of Ivan. Which happened to make it look like he was death-staring the small wall full of maps and brochures for flights and traveling destinations.
"If you knew I was freaking out then why did you ask?" He snapped. Ivan gently took hold of Yao's hand again and squeezed softly a bit.
Yao felt his face heat up tremendously again. Oh lords, why did Ivan have to do this to him?
"I do not know. But why are you so afraid? Haven't you dealt with airports before?" Ivan asked politely.
"Yes but," Yao trailed off, trying to think of some lie to make his situation seem just a bit less pathetic. Eventually he gave up and just told Ivan the truth.
"I can't see anything, and with all this noise I'm starting to freak out."
Yao stiffened as he felt Ivan pull him closer, so they were standing shoulder to shoulder. "We will not have to deal with this much longer. Just... listen to me speak, da? Do not focus on the other noise."
Yao blinked in confusion, listening as Ivan began to mindlessly drone about the weather, or how the sunflowers were supposed to bloom around his house anytime now.
Yao found it helpful, and was eternally grateful and impressed with Ivan's ability to handle this situation so smoothly. Focusing on what Ivan was speaking about, Yao found it easier to not worry about the noise around him, even as they moved away from the crowds to board a different plane.
It was only when Ivan stopped talking that Yao noticed the dead silence of the plane that they were on.
"Uhm, Ivan?" Yao asked slowly. He began to hold his hands out, feeling the soft plush seat that he sat next to Ivan on. "We are on the plane, right?"
"Of course we are," Ivan said, and Yao heard him shifting to place the suitcase to the side of the seat.
"So why is it so quiet?"
"Oh, that is because we are on my private jet," Ivan said casually. Yao almost choked on his spit.
"Private jet?" He asked inquisitively.
"Yes," Ivan replied, not sounding at all annoyed by Yao's constant questioning. "It is what I use to get to World Conferences. Makes coming and going a lot easier, da?"
Yao nodded. "Yeah I guess so."
"The flight back to China will be quite long," Ivan said after a moment. "Get situated."
Yao nodded, preparing himself for the long flight. It was bad enough when he could see, and could read or watch something on his phone. But not being able to see a thing, there was seemingly nothing to possibly do.
He heard the engines of the jet fire up, slowly becoming louder. He sighed, sitting back in his seat.
The plane took off, and Yao twiddled his thumbs as he thought aimlessly about the days to come. When would this blindness go away? Was he stuck blind forever? How was he supposed to live if he was blind? How was he supposed to be a nation?
And he was ripped from his train of thoughts as he felt a hand run softly through his hair. The hand froze a moment, before continuing.
"You're hair is so soft," Ivan breathed, twirling a strand around his finger.
"Y-Yeah, I try my best to keep it as... best as it can be," Yao replied saltily.
"It is long flight, why don't you sleep?" Ivan asked. Yao frowned.
"I don't know," his heart almost leaped from his chest when he felt a hand guide his head to a sturdy shoulder.
"Nothing is changing," Ivan continued to fiddle with Yao's hair, that flowed down just past his shoulders like a brown waterfall.
And as much as Yao would deny it, he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.
"I guess," Yao muttered, slowly relaxing against Ivan's shoulder.
As the Russian played with his hair, Yao found it surprisingly easy to nod off. As he felt his eyelids begin to flutter shut, Yao heard the roar of the jet's engines fade into nothing but a dull buzz.
And as Yao dozed off, Ivan simply smiled happily down at the small man leaning on him.
He was going through his own dilemma, trying to figure out what this strange warmth in his chest was. What these butterflies in his stomach were so worked up about.
How much he found himself wanting to stay by Yao's side.