Chapter Text
“What are you doing?”
Ivan ignored the voice, continuing to mush his face with his hands as he stared at his reflection in the water.
“I said, what are you doing?”
Ivan pulled too hard and winced. His cheek was still sore after Till punched it a few days ago. He didn’t know why, seeing as all he did was destroy a wreath of cameras that Till presented to him, but that was alright. He kind of liked how it felt.
“Hey!” A brown hand clamped around his wrist and yanked, forcing Ivan to pay attention to its owner. An older girl was frowning at him, her blue eyes (dull, nowhere near as bright as Till’s—) zeroing in on his face. “Are you hurt? Is that why you’re ignoring me?”
Ivan briefly considered resisting before deciding it wasn’t worth the hassle. “…practicing.”
“What?” The girl’s frown deepened. “Can you really not hear me? Should I take you to the nurse?”
“No, thank you,” Ivan replied, monotone. He let his hand dangle in her grasp, unwilling to exert the energy to pull away. “Yes, I can hear you. Yes, I am hurt. No, that’s not why I was ignoring you. And I was practicing my expressions.” He paused. “…does that answer all your questions?”
The girl stared at him. “You’re weird.”
Ivan nodded solemnly. He got that a lot.
The girl barked out a laugh, her face lighting up. “You’re cute! We’re friends now!”
Ivan jolted, his eyes widening. “…friends?”
He’d never had one of those before. Most of the other kids did, but Ivan figured he was too repulsive and weird to befriend. Till certainly seemed to get mad at him a lot.
“Yup!” The girl grinned. “I’m Hyuna! What’s your name?”
“…Ivan.”
“Come with me, Ivan!” Hyuna started tugging him in a random direction. Trapped and mildly curious, Ivan was helpless to do anything but follow. “You have to meet my twin brother! His name’s Hyun-Woo!”
Together, they bounded down the hill where two boys lay on the grass. One had brown hair and skin like Hyuna, the other blond hair and skin so pale it was almost blue.
“Hyun-Woo! Luka!” Hyuna beamed, waving at them. “Come meet my new friend, Ivan! Isn’t he cute?”
The blond boy, presumably Luka, shot up. Almost immediately, his eyes glazed over and he swayed, falling right into the hands of Hyun-Woo, who had also sat up.
“Careful!” Hyun-Woo chided. “You know you get dizzy if you sit up too fast!”
“Cute…” Luka muttered nonsensically. His eyes fluttered, then looked up at Hyuna with a wounded expression. “Him?”
“Yeah!” Hyuna enthused. “Say hi, Ivan!”
“…hello.” Ivan gave a little bow, not missing how Luka zeroed in on his and Hyuna’s entwined hands.
Hyun-Woo groaned. “Sis, another one? We’ve already got one weirdo!”
Ah. Ivan stood there, somewhat numb as Hyuna’s grip slackened and fell. Well, that didn’t last long.
To his surprise, instead of ditching him for her twin, she marched over and smacked Hyun-Woo upside the head.
“Don’t be mean!” Hyuna scolded. She put her hands on her hips, as fierce as can be in plain white cotton wear and a loose ponytail. “Hyun-Woo, say you’re sorry!”
“What?! No wa—!” Hyun-Woo yelped as Hyuna pulled on his hair. “I mean, I’m sorry!! Sorry!!!”
Ivan stared at them, wide-eyed. No one had ever stood up for him before. Or apologized to him, for that matter.
He wondered if it always felt this warm.
Luka sidled up to him with a frown. He circled Ivan like a shark, poking him at random intervals, even lifting his wrist to trace his brand.
Finally, Luka finished his inspection. He leaned closer in what would’ve been a loom if they weren’t so close in height, his pale hand rising like a ghost to prod at Ivan’s snaggletooth. “Ugly.”
Ivan blinked at the offending finger.
“I think it looks interesting!” Hyuna wandered over, evidently finished squabbling with her twin. “It’s memorable, you know?”
Luka frowned harder. “I don’t know him.”
“Hmm, you’re right.” Hyun-Woo joined them, cocking his head as he gave Ivan a once-over. His hair was an absolute mess. “That’s weird; we merged classes days ago. Why haven’t we seen you at mealtimes?”
Indeed, Anakt Garden had temporarily merged some classes together while they did renovations for a new science wing. Ivan had been told that once it was finished, they would pair him with a machine that would fix his smile. It’s why he was practicing it more often: to prepare. Not that it was working.
“I got into a fight,” Ivan explained, pointing at the bruise on his cheek. “They’ve been giving me my meals in my room. Tonight’s the first time I’ll be eating with the merged class.”
He didn’t mention that Till wasn’t allowed meals at all, only a feeding tube shoved down his throat while locked into several restraints. Not that those were there anymore, as Ivan had freed him as soon as night fell. He also snuck into Till’s room everyday during lunch to give him his portion. He always skipped lunch, anyway. Plus, it was only fair.
“Woah.” Hyun-Woo looked impressed. “Did you win?”
Ivan tilted his head. “Maybe?” He certainly didn’t lose.
Hyun-Woo nodded seriously. “It must be hard to knock each other out, since you’re babies.”
Ivan gave him a blank look. “I’m seven.”
“Yeah, and I’m twelve.” Hyun-Woo held up two fingers. “Two digits. You only have one digit, which makes you a baby.”
Ivan opened and closed his mouth. Then opened it again. “Infants are aged zero to one. Toddlers, one to three. I am classified as a child, same as you.”
Hyuna burst out laughing.
Hyun-Woo gaped at him. “What the heck?? How do you know all that???”
“It was in my school textbook.” Ivan shrugged, rocking on his feet. For some reason, he felt light. “Why don’t you know that?”
Hyuna laughed harder, falling to her knees.
Luka huffed. “I’m surrounded by children.”
Ivan fell silent, looking him up and down.
“I’m fifteen,” Luka informed him, sounding miffed.
Ivan continued to stare. “…but you’re so short.”
Hyuna wheezed, finally succumbing to her mirth and collapsing on the grass.
“Till,” Ivan whispered, pressing down on the door handle so it would shut quietly behind him. “Lunch.”
Till stirred from where he’d been sprawled on his back, a stray piece of paper stuck to his cheek. He was surrounded by drawings and half-finished compositions, pens and paper being the only items he was allowed in his sterile isolation chamber. Not that it was ‘his,’ per se, but Till was the only one who used it.
“Ivan?” Till rubbed his eyes. He swatted the page to the ground, revealing a bruised split lip. “What day is it?”
“You’ll be released tomorrow,” Ivan answered the implied question. He knelt, setting down a food tray and spoon.
Till snatched it up, now wide awake as he snarfed down today’s meal paste. He made a face. “Sweet again? Do you always get the same thing?”
Ivan’s chest throbbed. “…I didn’t know you had a preference. You should’ve told me.”
“I don’t,” Till grumbled between mouthfuls of food. “Whatever. Don’t worry about it.”
Ivan didn’t know what to say. He liked sweet things which is why he always chose it, but he also didn’t think Till cared about his opinion. “…sorry.”
Till waved him off. “S’your food.”
They fell into silence, only the sounds of clinking and swallowing filling the room. Ivan wondered idly if he should leave, but no. He had to wait for Till to finish so he could take back the tray.
“…thanks.” Till ducked his head, intensely concentrated on the food in his lap. His knuckles were white around the spoon. “I’m still mad at you about the flowers, but…thanks. For the food. And the restraints.” He scowled, vivid teal flashing behind equally vibrant silver as his gaze darted up then back down again. “I seriously don’t get you. Weirdo.”
Ivan tilted his head, absorbing the jab. Did Till not know that the flowers were actually cameras?
…should he tell him?
No, Ivan decided. It doesn’t matter. I’ll just remember not to crush them in front of him anymore.
Till already had so few things he held dear. Ivan had no idea why this fact struck him as particularly relevant to his decision not to explain himself, but looking at the many, many drawings of landscapes and petals littering the floor, he just…couldn’t do it.
Things were quiet again until Till finished his meal. Wordlessly, Ivan took back the tray then stood to leave. He kind of wanted to stay, but he didn’t have a reason to. Also, Till looked tired.
Just as Ivan reached for the door handle, Till spoke again. “That fight was the biggest I’ve ever seen you smile.” Teal burned into black when Ivan looked over his shoulder. “Why?”
“Why?” Ivan echoed. He kept his eyes locked on Till’s, void black consumed by emerald blue. “Because it was…fun?”
Even as he said it, it didn’t sound right. It’s not that Ivan found fighting fun, nor did he particularly enjoy pain. Rather, the reason he smiled was…
“Maybe…because it was you?” Ivan mumbled.
Till’s mouth fell open. Ivan observed the reaction, memorizing it. Till had never made this expression before and he found it…fascinating.
“I don’t get it,” Till croaked. He sounded frustrated, borderline miserable. Ivan tucked that away, too. “Do you like me or hate me?”
Ivan blinked, heavy and slow. For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
Then without a word, Ivan turned and left, the door behind him falling silently shut.
Ivan was walking to singing practice when he was accosted by twin blurs of copper. He dangled uselessly in the air, swinging violently back and forth as Hyuna and Hyun-Woo carted him off to who-knows-where by his underarms.
“I have vocal training,” Ivan informed them. Not that he cared about missing it, but Unsha might find out if he did. Right now they were okay, but Ivan knew not to take their current working relationship for granted. Less favor meant less privileges, which meant less books and less opportunity to sneak out. “I only have thirty minutes before they mark me late.”
“Thirty minutes is plenty!” Hyuna whooped. “Come on, come on!”
Ivan didn’t know how he could ‘come on’ when they were already carrying him, but resigned himself to his fate. Soon, they crested the small hill, a large tree rising into view. Under that tree was Luka, who was…
Huh.
Ivan felt himself being lowered onto the grass while Luka looked up at him placidly. Up, because he was currently sitting down with his legs sticking straight out from either side of his waist. In other words—
“He’s doing the splits!” Hyun-Woo crowed, ruffling Luka’s hair. “Isn’t that cool?”
Ivan looked at Luka. Then Hyun-Woo. Then Luka again. “Is it?”
Luka’s face darkened.
Hyuna guffawed, slapping Ivan on the back. It was painful, but for some reason he didn’t mind.
“You laugh a lot,” Ivan told her. He didn’t normally volunteer words, but her consistently positive reception of them made him almost want to.
Predictably, Hyuna beamed. “Thanks!”
“Watch it,” Luka growled. He quickly flipped back to an angelic smile when Hyuna frowned at him.
Ivan watched them quietly. These people were unlike any he had ever met, but he thought he was starting to understand them. There was a strong undercurrent of affection to all their interactions, from Hyuna to Hyun-Woo to Luka to—
Oh.
“Oh,” Ivan said aloud. “You like her.”
He was almost proud of himself for figuring it out. Perhaps watching Till watch Mizi and Sua made it easier to realize. Regardless, it was satisfying pinpointing an emotion as nebulous as ‘like.’
Luka raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Duh.”
They both ignored Hyun-Woo’s enraged, “What?!”
Beside them, Hyuna made a squeaking sound. A glance revealed that her whole face was ignited in a furious blush.
Well, that wouldn’t do.
“Don’t like him back,” Ivan advised. “You deserve better.”
Hyuna’s mouth opened and closed. She buried her face in her hands, looking torn between laughter and self-immolation. “…thanks, Ivan.”
Luka’s expression was thunderous. “You little brat.” His eyes glinted, his legs sliding closed with a snap. If Ivan thought he looked malicious before, now he looked downright murderous. “Come here!”
Ivan booked it, instinct taking over as he rocketed back to the learning area. It wasn't far; he could make it. Once there were teachers around, he’d be safe.
There was a cacophony of yells behind him, a terrible honking wheeze, then more yelling. Ivan never looked back, single-minded in his goal. With one glaring exception, he’d always been good at running away.
He made it to the learning area, gave himself two whole minutes to catch his breath, then resumed his original trek to singing practice. No one followed him.
Ivan wondered why he wished they did.
“Hey. Brat.” Luka cut in line to tower over Ivan, pinching his ear between two fingers. Ivan let him, seeing as Luka’s scant inches over him and feeble grasp were hardly threats. “Don’t run away.”
Ivan wasn’t listening, too focused on the way Luka’s fingers felt on his ear. It was an intimate place people didn’t touch often, a new sensation. Although, Luka’s fingers were kind of cold. And shaking. Did he really exert that much energy trying to chase after him?
“You’re really weak,” Ivan observed.
Luka glared at him with utter contempt. “I’ll kill you. The rocks here are pretty hard, you know.”
Ivan nodded seriously. Luka shouldn’t have told him; now he knew what to watch out for. “Okay.”
They were interrupted by the dispenser squirting blobs of meal paste onto their trays. Looking down, Ivan noticed that Luka’s tray already had two other servings of paste on it, making this one his third.
“You eat that much and are still this short?” Ivan wondered aloud. He couldn’t help it—the more aggressive Luka acted, the more interested he became in his reactions. “Are you defective?”
Unexpectedly, Luka’s expression shuttered. His hand fell away from Ivan’s ear, taking the icy coldness with it. Mechanically, he marched off toward an empty table, set down his tray, then buried his head in his arms.
Huh.
Ivan hesitated. Should he follow him? Till was surely around here somewhere, though he probably didn’t want him around after yesterday.
Cautiously, Ivan moved toward Luka’s slumped figure. He set his tray down across from him, staring idly at his golden curls as he picked up his spoon and began to eat.
They spent several minutes in mutual silence before pale yellow eyes peeked at him. Luka made an unintelligible grumbling sound before leaning heavily to one side, peering at him upside-down. “Hyuna likes me too, you know.”
Ivan glanced at him, then back to his food. He knew. Despite his warning, her reaction was unmistakable.
“I was gonna kiss her so we could finally get together,” Luka continued. He sounded oddly neutral, bored even, as though the subject matter didn’t concern him at all. “But maybe it’s better this way. Hyun-Woo was pretty mad when he found out. Though he’s the one who carried me to the nurse after, so we’re probably alright.”
Ivan hummed. So that confirmed his suspicions about Luka’s physical weakness. Cold hands and stunted height aside, needing medical attention after trying to outrun someone half your age was not normal for human teenagers. His books indicated that much.
If anything, the only thing he didn’t know was… “What’s a kiss?”
“Huh? A kiss?” Luka blinked rapidly, his pupils oddly dilated. He flipped upright, picking his spoon up for the first time. “It’s when you press your lips against someone else’s. Or other places. You only do it when you really, really like each other though, like Providers and their Creations. Or me and Hyuna.”
Ivan blinked, surprised that Luka had actually answered. Also, that he was talking so much. “So it’s only for family and lovers? Not friends?”
“Hmm? Oh, you can do it with friends, too. Probably,” Luka said between bites. He was already done with his first meal paste. Fascinated, Ivan watched as he only seemed to pick up speed for his second. “But you might want to ask first, since you don’t know how much they like you back.”
So I’d have to ask Till, Ivan thought. Then he shook his head. Why would he ask Till? You had to like someone to kiss them, which Ivan wasn’t capable of, making it a moot point.
(Also, the rebellion would succeed in beating the aliens before Till liked him.)
“There you guys are!” Hyuna arrived in a flurry of movement, setting her tray down beside Ivan’s. She peeked at Luka then blushed, looking away. “I’m glad you’re sitting with us, Ivan. We missed you during breakfast. And lunch.”
Ivan didn’t know what to say to that. “My breakfast is prepared specially. And I don’t eat lunch.”
“Specially? Your owner likes you that much?” Hyuna’s expression turned wistful. “Must be nice.”
“Sis!” Hyun-Woo came crashing into their table, almost knocking Luka to the ground in his haste. There was no hesitation in his decision to sit next to the blond, nor any tension or glares, so Ivan figured they really must’ve worked things out. Either that, or Hyun-Woo had already forgotten the whole thing. “Stop running off! If you weren’t so loud, I wouldn’t have been able to find you!” He turned to Luka. “And you! Start telling us it’s dinner time instead of just leaving!”
“But food,” Luka complained, rubbing his battered arm. “Today’s my cheat day. Those only happen once a month.”
To Ivan’s shock, he then plopped his head onto Hyun-Woo’s shoulder, rubbing up against him like a cat.
“Uh oh.” Hyun-Woo frowned, reaching up to pet Luka’s hair. “You okay? What happened?”
A grunt, then Luka lifted his long white sleeve and pointed at Ivan.
Hyuna sighed. “Really, Luka? Ivan’s just a kid.”
“He called me defective,” Luka whined, his hands coming up to clutch Hyun-Woo’s shirt. He turned his face up to look at Hyuna tearfully, the perfect victim. “He’s mean.”
“I asked if you were defective,” Ivan corrected. “You didn’t answer.” Not that he needed to. It was pretty obvious Luka had something wrong with him, after all.
For the first time, Hyuna frowned at him. “Ivan, that’s not very nice. Say you’re sorry.”
Ivan blinked at her, bewildered. “Why? It’s just a question. I’m defective, too.” Then he realized he was being difficult and stiffened, turning to bow at Luka. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, Luka.”
Luka ignored him, pushing his head further into Hyun-Woo’s chest.
“What the…?” Hyun-Woo gave Ivan a weird look, like he didn’t currently have a whole teenager he was giving head scratches to. “Sis, where do you find these guys?”
Hyuna didn’t answer, too busy frowning at Ivan. But it was a different frown than before, more sad than angry. He didn’t know how to feel about it.
“Hi, Ivan!”
Ivan relaxed his posture a split second before Mizi collided with him, rocking forward to absorb her weight. “Hello, Mizi.”
“Oh! Hey, Hyuna!” Ivan felt Mizi’s head turn on his back, bending further so she could see better. “I didn’t know you two knew each other!”
“Mizi!” Hyuna grinned, her demeanor flipping in an instant. “Hiya! Where’s your other half?”
“Sua’s here!” Mizi chirped. “Sua! Look, it’s Ivan! And Hyuna!”
The crowd shifted to reveal Sua holding two empty trays. Presumably, she and Mizi had finished their dinner and were going to deposit them in the cleanup stack.
“Hello,” Sua greeted warily. She set the trays down on the table, then plucked Mizi’s arms from Ivan's shoulders and wrapped them around herself. She shot him a nasty glare, which he accepted gracefully.
“No way you’re all friends,” Hyun-Woo said, squinting at the younger crew. “You’re both too normal to get along with this guy.”
Sua nodded sagely. Mizi laughed, leaning in to press her lips to her cheek.
Ah, Ivan noted. That’s a kiss. So they like each other, too.
Not that he didn’t know that. It was stupidly obvious to anyone who watched the pair for more than five seconds. But there was a difference between two people liking each other and two people who knew the other person liked them.
Luka groaned again, sliding down Hyun-Woo’s chest and onto his lap. Ivan was pretty sure he was drooling.
”Is he okay?” Mizi asked, looking concerned.
“He’s fine. This happens pretty often,” Hyuna dismissed. “More importantly, are you getting seconds? Don’t let us keep you!”
Ivan wondered if all older kids ate this much. The twins seemed pretty active, but Luka didn’t and he’d already eaten more than everyone else combined.
“Oh no, we’re done!” Mizi giggled. “But I think Sua’s tired, so we’re going to go find somewhere quiet to lay down.” She patted her—friend? Lover?— before picking up their discarded trays, departing with a smile and wave. “Bye-bye!”
There was a chorus of goodbyes and see-you-laters, Hyun-Woo briefly stopping in his petting of Luka to wave back. Ivan observed it all, musing at their familiarity after mere days of knowing each other, if that.
Then again, it wasn’t like he was any different. Maybe it was the Hyuna Effect.
“Ivan, you didn’t tell me you were friends with Mizi!” Hyuna’s smile remained even after the two girls had left. It appeared it didn’t take much to put her in a good mood.
“I’m not,” Ivan replied honestly. “Mizi’s like that with everyone.”
Happy. Bright. Too bright, really; Ivan wasn’t used to such natural friendliness, so interacting with Mizi was always a bit unsettling. He felt similarly about Hyuna, but she’d told him they were friends. So.
“I bet she’d call you her friend if I asked,” Hyuna countered, oddly serious.
Ivan tilted his head. “Even if she did, like I said, she’s like that with everyone. She doesn’t actually mean it.”
Not like Hyuna did. Hyuna, who at their first meeting had introduced him to her brother and crush, then actively continued to seek him out. Nothing like Mizi, who only greeted him when he was nearby and kept Sua’s presence hidden unless directly asked. While Ivan respected Mizi’s protective instincts and general charm, he doubted she liked anything about him. Ergo, what she felt toward him wasn’t friendship, but polite indifference.
“You’re really emo for a little kid,” Hyun-Woo complained. “If someone says you’re friends, then you’re friends. Nothing more to it. Right, Luka?”
“The only person I like is Hyuna,” Luka mumbled. “I tolerate you at best.”
Hyun-Woo pulled on his hair. Luka yelped, shooting out of his lap and hunkering over his food tray, whimpering like he’d been hit.
“Play nice,” Hyuna said mildly. Surprisingly, she didn’t look too flustered by Luka’s declaration. Ivan wondered if it had anything to do with how weirdly childish he was acting. “Anyway, Hyun-Woo’s right. You’re too young to worry about that stuff. Don’t overthink it and just have fun with everyone, okay? No one starts off as friends—just saying so is how you start working toward it.”
Ivan gave her a dubious look. “That’s how it works?”
“That’s how it works.”