Post by England - Arthur Kirkland on Mar 30, 2019 21:16:38 GMT
Arthur remembered quite a bit from this time-frame, along with the pleasant time he’d spent with Ivan. Arthur had been impulsive, fiery, and he enjoyed breaking and bending rules and social expectations. Oftentimes, he would entice Ivan into this behavior with him, if only because it made life rife with duty and political endeavors more enjoyable. Arthur had been young and wild in these years. He wasn’t quite that carefree and reckless now, although it would still occasionally flare up beneath his currently calmer, more mature disposition. He had maintained eye contact with Ivan when he responded to him. The visible difference with this younger Ivan, with the blood and heartache of the present time having not quite yet soaked and saturated into his nature, it gave Arthur a rather sobering comprehension.
There was a startling likeness between them that made Arthur uncomfortable. But it was the truth, and he rarely ever shied away from the truth, no matter how disconcerting. Perhaps they were cut from a similar cloth because of their own nasty beginnings. Perhaps the world created creatures like himself, and like Ivan. They were products of their environments, harsh places to be brought up and nurtured into either the bear or the hunter, or both. ”Not everyone understands or sees the world like that. Perhaps only because they’ve never been forced to be the animal or the killer for self-preservation.” Although Arthur had suspected and deep-down understood this aspect of Ivan, he hadn’t allowed himself to acknowledge it. If anything, this time slip was forcing his eyes on Ivan within the lens of this perspective.
He flushed with the term of endearment that Ivan had been using with him, one that he hadn’t heard in a very long time. ”You may not see me as a monster now. I’m sure you’ll see me as one soon enough. Everyone always does…” He knew that to be the truth, but he shifted the words as if it were simply a guess born from his past experiences. A hint of a smile when he felt the soft touch against his hips and the insistence of Ivan's kisses. As tempting as it was, Arthur knew that he wasn’t going to let it go further than that. His heart was still elsewhere, even when displaced in time. He touched Ivan’s cheek as he leaned up to press a light kiss to his cheek. ”Show me how to put this on. And we can rejoin this grand party of yours.”
tag // Russia - Ivan Braginsky