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Post by brobrobratan on Mar 31, 2012 5:24:54 GMT -5
He had attained the address of that male he had seen at the party. It was hard, but finally he knew where he lived. He had the address written on the palm of his hand. He would occasionally glance at the address, daze for a few seconds, start to feel a smile tugging the corners of his lips, bite down hard on his lower lip, then duck his head to straighten his expression; this behavior went on a loop every ten minutes, much to his dismay. It wasn't even his real sister that he found, just someone who happened to make him feel the same way he did for his sister. He didn't even get to get a good look at the male, only the side-view of his face. He wondered why he wore that eye-patch, anyway and briefly had the thought that he perhaps had his eye gouged out as well. His temper rose at the mere thought and forced himself to calm down. He was getting ahead of himself, that could have not been the case. He was amused at his rash behavior; it was behavior done only when it involved his siblings. This man had better be worth all his trouble.
He finally made his way to the building where that male lived and wondered how on earth he was going to gain access to get to his room. It's not as if he could break into the hotel-like apartment. With all these high-class people, there was no doubt that there would be an excellent security system. There was also no way he could afford the charges pressed against him if he was caught breaking in, plus to the eyes of the rich, he was only 'dirty Southern Sector scum'. That alone put him in a bad position. He didn't even know the layout of the building, anyway. It was too risky.
He supposed he would have to just wait for him, after all, he had freed up his entire week to meet him. He simply quit the ones that wouldn't allow him this week; he could always look for new jobs. He had gotten the pay for all of his work from the jobs he quit, so he didn't have any ties holding him to the place. From the job that gave him a hard time about it, he simply used force and threats to get them; there was nothing holding him back from meeting him. Well, except for the situation he was in right now. This wasn't his area and he had to behave unless he wanted attention from the high-ranks. That would be troublesome.
He leaned against the area next to the door, keeping a careful eye out for the man he wanted to meet. He hoped that man would appear in front of him soon.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Mar 31, 2012 18:02:31 GMT -5
Ivan had been having to go outside a lot more lately, more than he really wanted to. He'd rather be in his workroom with his notes and tools, or sitting on the couch with his knitting needles and tea. Going outside meant... going outside where there could be unfamiliar people, lots of them at that. He went to Francis' parties out of courtesy to a friend, but if given the choice, Ivan would much rather be inside.
Once in awhile, he'd forced himself to go out for no reason other than to see the sunflowers in the Underground Sector, or... to go oversee operations down at the organization. These days, he didn't have to do that too much, having gotten a few bots programmed with economics simulation models to learn how to make deals with those selling themselves or others. Still, if a particularly difficult case of something being faulty or a particularly odd individual lining up to be cyberized, he would drag himself down there to get behind the screen and voice changer. Despite all of the security measures and regrets, he still didn't want to be found.
Today, though, was no such grand trip. Today, Yong Soo just asked him go buy milk. A normal master would have given the job to their companion bot, in his case: Allison. Ivan, however, was certainly no normal master. He treated Allison rather like a lady, as best as he could given the circumstances of her being... kind of dead and mechanical. It wouldn't be right to ask her to go get the milk when he was perfectly capable of it even if his knees were stiff. Walking itself wasn't too terribly bad and the store wasn't exactly far. As long as he didn't have to take the stairs, it wouldn't be an issue.
Bundled up in grey winter furs with his hat, ever-present scarf, and gloves, Ivan got off the elevator at the ground floor. The cold always made his knee worse, but he was having a really good day for discomfort so he wasn't worried, not by the time he was walking over the front door to the street.
Ivan paused, noticing the glove on his right hand wasn't on quite right. Whoops. He sighed to himself, seemingly happy smile unaltered. He took a moment to tug on the leather to put it back in place, paying attention only to the details in his own little world while being oblivious to everything going on around him. The roar of the busy street was nothing more than background noise, while the world itself just became a blurred backdrop he happened to exist in before setting off down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. He had plenty of time to get there. |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 1:48:46 GMT -5
Apparently the Gods were looking after him because that male made his way out of the apartment, not long after he arrived. But he didn't seem to have noticed him. Without even thinking, he quickly grabbed the back of the male's clothes.
What the hell was he going to do, now that he's stopped him. He really should have thought of this beforehand. Should he tell him that he's like his sister and therefore he loves him? Maybe that could work... ?
Gripping the cloth tighter, he let out a small exhale to calm his nerves. He was just strangely nervous; maybe it was because his man was the male version of his sister? That was plausible, maybe it was also due to the fact that the sister he so loves has turned male and he could pursue him? There was also the fact that this male was another substitute for his own family, just like Kateryna. The world was getting a bit strange, in his opinion. Allowing him to meet two people who were so much like his older siblings. Perhaps he'll meet himself as a female soon enough. That was an amusing thought. But before his mind gets occupied with that, he might as well just say what he wants to say before this chance flies off.
"I love you," he spoke, still holding onto his clothes. "You're like my sister."
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Apr 1, 2012 2:14:02 GMT -5
Ivan's eyes went wide when suddenly something had him by the back of his furs and turned him around. He gasped, sure for a second that finally a proper assassin had come to make him pay for his creation of abominations, murdering thousands by proxy, only less than a hundred directly. Righteous judgment had found him at last that wasn't Allison accidentally startling him. Maybe if he knelt down, it would quick, but... why would an assassin strike in the middle of the day in the middle of a busy street with witnesses everywher-
Natalya? Ivan blinked again. No. This wasn't his sister that had yanked him from his path, but a young man who looked... disturbingly like his baby sister. "N-n-nata-" He couldn't quite stop himself from babbling stupidly as he tried to understand the situation.
If he thought it couldn't get any weirder....
Hearing those words... someone randomly loved him? Ivan had no idea how to process that. No one loved him in the first place, let alone some stranger that just grabbed his clothes and happened to look like his baby sister. A string of unconnected syllables fell from his mouth before hearing that last part. Like... this young man's sister? What?
For once in his life, Ivan felt that he may have encountered someone stranger than himself. |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 3:27:12 GMT -5
Nikita watched on as the male babbled incoherently. On others he would have found it extremely irritating, but he found it to be rather adorable when this male did it. He even acted like his sister. She too would sometimes babble incoherently when he grabbed the back of her coat and told her that he loved her and would do anything for her. It really was much too adorable.
"Are you going anywhere?" he asked, still not letting go of the male's clothes. "Can I come along?" He didn't want to wait in front of the apartment when he could simply just accompany him to wherever he was going and he also didn't want to leave his side just yet. He liked being around him, the fact that the male version of his sister was near him put him at ease. "I won't be a bother, I promise." He really hoped that this male would allow him to accompany him.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Apr 1, 2012 3:45:38 GMT -5
Ivan felt somewhat like his mind was trying to break itself in wrapping around the concept of this stranger loving him... apparently because he reminded him of his sister. How what he even supposed to respond to that? Was he supposed to tell him that he looked like his own sister too? It was a disturbing coincidence. "Y-you... look like... my sister..." Well, cards on the table, but this situation was too bizarre to potentially be real, wasn't it?
"Who are you?" Ivan wasn't normally one to stutter or get flustered like this, but sometimes... he encountered situations that he just had no knowledge of how to handle. He was like this young man's sister, this young man loved him, and now he wanted to follow him around. Okay. Well... he seemed... harmless enough. Did he just want Ivan's attention for whatever reason? This was getting stranger by the second... |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 4:01:22 GMT -5
He looked like his sister? Maybe his family was the genderbent version of his own family, as strange and mind-fucking as that was. But it was only merely a possibility. There was the chance that this male didn't even have an older sister. There was also the chance that his sister could be older than Ivan. There were lots of uncertainties to the matter. But that aside, he should really introduce himself. He had completely forgotten in doing so due to excitement and nerves.
"I'm Nikita Arlovsky," he stated, finally letting go of the other's clothes. He held out his hand to him, giving a small, awkward smile. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Braginsky."
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Apr 1, 2012 4:26:24 GMT -5
Ivan was a bit surprised to hear his name from the young man. How did he know that? He hadn't introduced himself, but... it seemed... Nikita had been waiting for him. But why? Was it still related to the sister similarity? He blinked a bit and nodded, smile returning as he shook Nikita's hand. He seemed like a nice fellow, even if he was rather strange. Ivan wasn't one to be able to judge what was "strange" at any rate, considering many considered him to be rather eccentric. He kept bots for no real reason and called one his son. He kept his hands off of his companion bot and was essentially a recluse with... two friends that were human.
"I.. am just... goink to buy some milk..." he explained, looking down a bit while retaining the smile. Ivan suddenly felt... boring, like he wasn't worth following around. "Is... nothink too terribly special, Mr. Arlovsky~" Retracting his hand from his new acquaintance, he clasped it and its partner behind his back politely. If Nikita insisted on following him to the store, well then, so be it, but it probably wasn't going to be too interesting for the young man. |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 4:44:49 GMT -5
Nikita watched Ivan retract his hand and put both hands behind his back with a bit of a frown. He then stared at his now empty hand. "That's wrong. There is no reason for it not to be special, Mr. Braginsky," he spoke, still staring at his empty hand. "After all, I'm able to be by your side. That in itself is very special to me." He looked up at Ivan. "I'm quite happy to know that you're allowing me to accompany in your trip for milk. He then stared at his hand again and back at Ivan, before holding out his hand again. "Your hand, please?"
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Apr 1, 2012 5:00:19 GMT -5
Ivan really should have known better. The almost creepy, stalker-like sounding sentences really should have tipped him off that something was potentially wrong. No, though, he didn't get it. His ignorance of the social sphere was going to be his downfall one day. Even his paranoia couldn't save him this time because to him, Nikita seemed perfectly alright, just a little... affectionate right off the bat. Maybe he was like that with everybody and Ivan just conveniently happened to be the person he chose to be his next friend or something.
"That is very sweet off you, Mr. Arlovsky~" he hummed, turning slightly to start his walk back down the sidewalk.
He paused. What? His hand? Why? He needed that still. He couldn't just be expected to cut it off at will and hand it over. Sure, he could get a cybernetic hand easily, but... he would start to be more machine than man before long if he kept replacing body parts. "But I still neet it-" Then he saw the hand extended towards him. Oh... Nikita wanted to hold his hand. Ivan supposed that was okay. It would kind of be like leading Natalya around the house so she didn't get left behind. Ah, memories~ He smiled when reached out and took the offered hand in his own. |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 5:22:04 GMT -5
Need it? It wasn't as if he was asking for him to chop it off and give it to him... unless it was... "Do you have a cybernetic hand, Mr. Braginsky?" he asked, satisfied when Ivan took his hand. He couldn't help but have his heart flutter at that. He really did like holding hands with his siblings; it always made his heart flutter. He gripped it a bit tightly, relishing in it. It's been far too long since he held his sister's hand. Though... since Ivan was male, his hand was bigger than his sister's. Now that he really thought about it, Ivan looked a lot like his older brother. They both wore scarves and... He looked at Ivan's hat. He wondered if he could take that off to see if his hair was the same as his older brother's. Ivan was like the combination of his siblings. He had the personality as his sister's and the body of his brother's. That was one perfect combination, in his opinion.
He supposed he could take a look at his hair at a later time. Right now, he was holding hands with his siblings and off to buy milk. It reminded him of when he was a child. His older siblings would often take him to the corner store to buy food, never ceasing to hold his hand. He had always look forward to the trip when he was younger. He smiled unconsciously, thinking of the past moments with his siblings. He hoped that they were going fine, wherever they were. He exhaled slowly; though he did meet their genderbent selves, they still weren't them. He hoped that one day he would at least catch a glance of his real siblings on the sidewalk or someplace. He managed to meet genderbent versions of his siblings, so his luck couldn't be that bad. He continued to be preoccupied, Ivan's words completely flying over his head.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Apr 1, 2012 5:47:00 GMT -5
Ivan continued to smile as he walked with Nikita down the street. The store hardly far at all, essentially just around the corner. "Oy? Nyet, I do not... haff a cybernetic hant~" Not yet at any rate, and he didn't plan to get one until his hands were too frail to work on the small little circuits anymore, but that a few decades to wait. He was still... young-ish. Almost forty essentially, but he knew he acted far older than he was. Side-effect of being blown up, he supposed.
The entire walk, Ivan was ignorant of Nikita looking him over especially because he himself remained quiet as he lead the younger man to the store. What a nice trip~ He didn't have to go to the store alone, what luck! He was still smiling as he opening the door to the store once they rounded the corner.
Ivan still could hardly believe how much Nikita was like his dear baby sister. Their names even started with the same letter! That couldn't be a coincidence. They both had the same kind of pouting face and yet were still so pleasing to look at. The only difference was that Natalya reminded him of a girl's doll, while Nikita made him think of a toy soldier. How cute! |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 6:09:53 GMT -5
Nikita was, no doubt, surprised when they arrived at the store because when did that happen. He really should have had his head on straight; he hoped that Ivan hadn't noticed his absentmindedness. Also, the markets here were a lot different than he was used to. For one thing, everything was in order and super clean and he was sure that no one stole from the markets. Sometimes he found it ridiculous of how different things were between the rich and the poor.
Suddenly self-conscious, he pulled his hand away from Ivan's. He didn't want Ivan to be whispered about because of him. That would be the worst. He didn't realize until now just how out-of-place he must be. With his habits, he would most definitely be appalled by the prices of the products in the store and there was no doubt that he would not recognize most of the produce in the market. It looked like the selection here was vast. "I'll wait outside for you, Mr. Braginsky," he stated, before walking out of the store.
As much as he wanted to stay by his side, he would never forgive himself if he were to cause him any problems. He had to remember: Ivan had no relations to him. He was just some random person who happened to look like his brother and have the personality of his sister. With that thought in mind, he wondered even why Ivan allowed him to tag along. He leaned against the wall beside the doors, waiting patiently. Why did he agree to letting him follow? He would have to ask him once he came out. He was, no doubt, happy about being able to follow, but he wanted to know the reason behind why he was allowed to in the first place. He could easily be an assassin or something of the sort.
He pressed the back of his hand against his mouth to hide a smile. He really was like his sister. His older sister would have probably let someone follow along too. She did like people, after all. They were similar to the point of amusement.
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Post by Ivan Braginsky on Apr 1, 2012 16:00:51 GMT -5
Ivan paused at the door when Nikita pulled his hand away. Why did he suddenly not want contact now? He kept his hand extended towards Nikita, assuming that if he just left it there, it would be a sturdy clue to take hold of it once more. He wasn't going to let his little sister's clone stay out here where he could get lost... or kidnapped. Though, to be honest, those who trolled the streets looking for perfect, or not-so-perfect candidates for cyberization rarely ever ventured into the Western and Northern Sectors. Those sectors tended to be where only those who could afford bots and were oblivious to their origins resided. In fact, Ivan was pretty sure he was the only one of his peers that actually knew where the "wonder machines" came from.
He was certainly confused as to why Nikita wanted to wait outside. It was just grocery store. It wasn't like it was some high-security facility of some sort, much like... the organization that he didn't want to bring up. If Nikita was worried about being allowed inside, he certainly was! It was only a grocery store. Sure the prices were more disgusting, something Ivan hated having to deal with for the sake of convenience due to where he lived, but it wasn't like security was going to come out of nowhere and tackle the poor toy soldier. Ivan wouldn't let that happen.
Still... he just met Nikita, with his confession of love of some sort, and yet for some reason he felt rather protective of him. Maybe it was because he was just so much like Natalya. "You do not haff to do that~" he said, almost as though he were correcting a wrong behavior. Ivan reached out and took the younger man's hand in his own again. "Come on, is nothink to worry about~" His smile bolstered itself at the contact.
"No neet to be afrait off grocery stores~" It wasn't like the eggs were suddenly going to leap up with little toothpick spears and attack. That would just be silly. |
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Post by brobrobratan on Apr 1, 2012 22:23:07 GMT -5
So much like his sister. Ivan simply followed him out, took his hand again, and brought him back inside while saying how there was nothing to be worried about... and how he didn't need to be afraid of grocery stores. Him, afraid of grocery stores, Ivan certainly was amusing. He found it cute of him to get that assumption.
"Then I leave myself in your care, Mr. Braginsky," he stated, looking around the store. He was definitely appalled by the prices on the products in the store. It really was a sham, how could the prices be so high. "Do you shop here often? Everything seems to be quite expensive. Is the product worth the cost?"
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