The sun was far from Andrei Smirnov. He couldn't use his hands to mold the sky into something he saw through right now. He could only watch Yoonjae. The boy's face shimmered brighter than it. The sun had a million lights in it, a fire in its orb, but the tiny, iridescent hair-having boy possessed stars. His purple-y eyes glimmered as his neck craned up to speak to the taller man. Two, fat, large but diamond teeth bit over his lip like a delicate rabbit. His skin was cleaner than the porcelain Andrei forced around.
Those lips closed and opened softly. Plump and red. As if he bitten them raw. Yet, no. They were as sweet as a cherry and Andrei wanted to chew through them till he saw white. Till he saw that glowing skin underneath. The clean terra cotta.
Andrei stood with his palms on his belt. He silently hoped the brick in his pants wasn't visible. His mind went to the fluid roar of Yoonjae's lithe body. Elegance flew through him and got stuck somewhere in the digestive track because he's full of it. His heart bursted from his chest, beating ever so softly. Andrei knew the boy wasn't attracted to him. That powerful organ hung usually. Calm and gentle. Steady.
Andrei fought his own demons. He faced the boy as their conversation fell slow. Maybe it was his mouth doing those things again.
"A-ah..."
A dark blonde brow corked. "Did I say too much?" Andrei didn't question himself in real life. Just in his art. But now, a pink-haired shorty has him swallowing his own thoughts.
Yoonjae's lashes fluttered. "Wh-what? N-no, hihi! You served for your country...that's so cool."
"Not really."
"What-what do you mean?" His voice was as soft as butter. It soothed every char in Andrei's burnt body.
The Russian man tilted his head. "I went here...in America." He cleared his throat. "Sh...do you want to know why?"
"I hope it's not bad, hihi!"
Andrei crushed his knuckles. "It was more like jail than the military. I was a bad kid so my dad sent me there with my brother."
"Was your brother li-like you?"
"No."
An audible gulp filled the box. It hung on top of them. Heavier than a wave, lighter than a promise. Andrei stared at his toes. "He-I-well, I can't say. It's not my business and he gets crazy when it's spoken about. So." He glanced at Yoonjae. Unexpectedly, the smaller boy was staring, eyes wide and innocent like a deer. Sweet.
"How about you? Any crazy lore?"
Yoonjae blinked. His mouth formed a soft O. Andrei clutched his belt tighter, knuckles white.
"Hmm. I guess? M-my sister was i-in jail a few years for uhm...shoplifting and she came back a lesbian."
Something in that sentence, maybe the way the small boy whispered is gently, or the way his lips slipped down slightly, but it made the stoic Russian man huff a laugh. "A lesbian?" He gasped.
Yoonjae just nodded, a small frown on that pretty face.
"I'm sorry. It must've been bad, hm? Were you guys close?"
"No...she didn't like me...she called me a twin-a slur a lot."
Andrei hummed. The word almost slipped out and Andrei caught it. A twink.
Before he could ask another silly question when all he wanted to do was see Yoonjae bare, the elevator jerked. A thrusting mechanical strain. The wee box thumped up. Andrei stood straight, tattered to the wall. Yoonjae stumbled.
Hard.
His stance against the wall, knee up, faltered as the box clumped and clashed against the wiring. Andrei sucked in a breath. "I'll fix it-"
The words died on his lips.
Yoonjae fell straight into him. His hands found the belt holding back Andrei's person. Those tiny, chubby fingers gripped like there would be no tomorrow. A shriek echoed and the scent of vanilla twisted.
"I fucking hate elevators! I should've taken the stairs!" The boy yelped. His throat sounded sore and raw despite the lack of use. His eyes snapped shut and his jaw tightened.
Andrei bit back a smile. He slowly placed his palms over Yoonjae. Holding up his waist and hips with opposite hands, he whispered, "you're okay. I'm going to fix it now, just sit down and stay calm. It's stopping, okay?" The dropping soothed with a loud bang. The doors didn't open. The number LED blew out.
"You have to let me go, doll. I need to fix it so we can get out of here." Yoonjae clutched him harder at that. Enough to pull it down. His jaw strung so tight, Andrei wondered how long it would take to replicate that.
"Sorry! So-sorry! I-I know I probably...shouldn't touch y-you...I-i mean we-we're strangers but I'm really scared of these things. I went on tower of terror at Disney like six times and it's genuinely terrifying."
"Yup...it's pretty scary," Andrei snickered.
"D-don't m-make fun of me.."
"I'm not, I swear. It's just cute."
"Fuck off."
"You didn't seem like you cursed." The man muttered softly, as though an afterthought. His hold on the boy shifted. His fingers let go without a trace and Yoonjae released his belt. The pink haired boy straightened out shakily. Yoonjae kept Andrei grounded, literally.
"I-I d-don't! I never do..."
"Mhm?"
"Mhm! Th...that just slipped out." Yoonjae whispered, fighting his lip while his bunny-like teeth poked out. Andrei nodded. A small smile forged its way over his face. "Hm. I'll fix it, don't worry."
The blonde turned around, his steps echoed off of the wall. His fingers fondled behind him, searching for the butterfly knife. It's metallic and not as sharp as a trailing point. He pulled it out of the dress pant pocket and out came a lollipop with it.
The small sphere with rainbow packaging clattered to the floor. Andrei glanced, Yoonjae shivered.
"Why...why do you have a kn-knife a-and a l-lollipop in y-your...po-pocket?"
The shimmering blade shifted apart at the force of Andrei's index finger. He swirled it. "Don't worry, I'm giving it to someone. She'll be in the lobby in like twenty minutes." A long exhale before he knelt. "The lollipop is for me. Can't smoke inside the building. Too many kids."
Another breath. Andrei slid the blade between the small nails grippers. He turned slowly. "You want it, Yunya?"