Braginsky Apocalypse Home

Chapter 3

Yao woke up to a sweet scent filling his lungs. The air around him was warm, but there was a sound of something outside.' Rain?' he thought to himself as he stirred awake. For a second, Yao swore he was in his own house, that it was just monsoon season, and he would see his own family later on in the day. But no, it was nothing like that. Realization hit him, and Yao unerstood that he was in Russia, and his family was very, very far.

The male stumbled out of bed, and looked around the room. It was painted a calming crimson color, reminding him of his home country once again. He sighed and walked in the bathroom that was connected to his room. Yao looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. He hasn't looked this unhealthy since the 1960's. The male washed his face quickly, and exited the space. The equisite smell from earlier entered his system again, and now he was determined to find it.

He exited his room, and walked downstairs of the elite house, examining the carvings decorating the handrail and spindles. They recalled ancient Slavic designs, and were painted a beautiful sepia color. Yao took time to admire the work put in a house that would only be used once.

As the ebony-haired male walked into the kitchen, which was the source of the delightful smell, he found Ivan sitting on one of the chairs, aimlessly staring out the window, while something sizzled on the stove. Right when Yao stepped in the kitchen, Ivan turned his head to him, a small smile forming on his face.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked and got up making his way to the stove. Yao watched him pick up a spatula and flip over the golden solid.

"I did. The bed is quite nice." The man replied, still eyeing the skillet, "What are you cooking? It smells amazing." He remarked.

"They're blini. Kind of like crêpes. Want to try some?" The blonde turned around with a plate full of thin pancakes, fried to a perfect crisp.

"Of course." Yao was taken aback, but decided to proceed anyway, for he didn't have exactly another choice. Not that he minded. People always talked about how great they are, so it was time for Yao to test that theory.

"You can eat them plain, but I would suggest a topping." Ivan reached in the fridge and pulled out a tinted can rimmed in gold, "if you can't choose one, just have this. It's probably the best thing I've had." He placed it on the table, and Yao opened it carefully. Inside was about a thousand scarlet bubbles. It didn't take long to register that this was caviar, a luxury food even in first world countries.

"You're really making the best out of the situation." The onyx-haired man looked up at Ivan, who was now sitting down, with wide eyes.

"If you can live life to its fullest, you should let yourself do things you don't usually. Because that opportunity won't last forever." The blonde replied, resting his head against the back of the chair.

"You're young, but you think like someone who's been on this planet for rather a while." Yao catiously scooped some of the delicacy and smeared it on the pancake's surface.

"I might be young, but I've seen a lot." The male sighed and picked up one of his own pancakes. But instead of smearing caviar all over it, he rolled it into a small tube and dipped it in condensed milk.

"You just said that we should take advantage of the situation, yet you're eating like a middle-class citizen." The Chinese man commented.

"I'd rather eat like a middle-class citizen that eat what you're eating. It brings back too many memories." A lump formed in his throat, and he resited an urge to let tears out of his eyes. Ivan just smiled, for the sake of his business partner.

Yao instantly felt bad for him. He understood what the other was going through. Losing his family was a thing that has happened to him before many times, but he was over four millenniums. To him, Ivan was rather young.

"Maybe once we finish business, you can take me to your apartment and we can have dinner there with your family? I can help make the food, and you'll introduce me to the people you live with. I've never really met them formally." Yao suggested and placed the pancake in his mouth, the zestful taste of the caviar entered his system, he finally understood why this food was considered a luxury.

"Only if you're willing to deal with everyone. They're what you would call, rather out of the ordinary." Ivan sighed as he remembered about his family back in Moscow. Hell knows how they were doing, and only hoped for the best.

"I've dealt with a crazy family of my own, you know?" Yao smiled, and proceeded to the next pancake, in an attempt not to waste food.

"Then I guess it won't be a problem." The Russian male had no appetite at the moment, and planned on getting work done. "So, after we finish breakfast, do you want to start on the papers? Maybe we can finish before Monday." He suggested.

"If that's what you think is good, then of course." The ebony-haired male gave a small smile.

***

"I was told that the documents were in the study, so I think that's where we should go." Ivan explained as they walked down the hall of the massive house.

"Now if only we could find it." Yao sighed as he looked into the rooms of his side of the hall, "I remember something about it being on the second floor."

"I think you're right. The third door on the left side of the second floor." The blonde recalled, and the two started up the stairs of the house.

The room turned out to be exactly where they thought it was, and they sat down to look over the papers.

"That's a bit too much for us to finish in three days, don't you think?" Yao stated, stunned with the amount of work the officials presented to them. It was nothing serious, though. Just a bunch of topics and government documents, yet they filled a rather large suitcase.

"I guess so, but it's nothing too serious. We'll finish this in no time." Ivan gave a small smile, trying to keep a positive mood. He picked up the first paper in the stack and started to examine it,"Here. This one is about rations and secret stashes of food."

"Are you sure we're supposed to be looking through those papers? They do seem private." The Chinese male made an attempt to stop his partner from reading the papers, but he was late.

"I'm certain that these are the correct files. They have today's date marked on it, so that's my assumption." His partner replied, and showed the date imprinted on the leather.

"I guess so, then. Continue reading."

The two sat down at a table and talked over the paper, making notes on the map in the study, and finding alternate routes from the city to the bunkers with food. It could've been said that they were having fun if one was looking form the side. After they were finished, they moved onto the next paper, and then the next, and so on. This very ritual continued on for almost five hours.

"Wow, look at the time! It's already four in the afternoon." Yao remarked, taking a glance at the clock for the first time since they arrived.

"Seriously? It feels like only an hour has passed." Ivan looked at the clock on his phone for time accuracy, and the clock on the wall tured out correct.

"I can agree." The ebony-haired male looked over the stack of papers on the wooden hickory desk, "Well, we covered twenty three pages today. If we keep working like this, we might actually finish by Sunday."

"That's good news. If we'll be done, I can call the officials and they can take us to Mocsow one day earlier." The other suggested, "And as of now, we can take a walk outside of you want to. The weather is rather nice today, and there's a park nearby."

"Sounds great, let's go." Yao replied, joy filling his words.

As they stepped out of the study, they moved down the hall, chatting happily, each telling an occasional joke, which resulted in laughter. And both understood, that this was the best day they've had in a long time.