chesspolitik | We're communicators after all...

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We're communicators after all...

Four days after acquiring his unexpected yurtguest, Anatoly was settling into a domestic routine of sorts. After so many months alone, it was nice to have someone sharing his living space again, even if it was only until Lex was well again.

"Your tea, your excellency," Anatoly teased, holding Lex's cup out to him. He didn't mind looking after him, constant trips for tea and soup and all, but he couldn't help the need to give him a bit of a hard time about it.

Once the tea was handed over, he finally shrugged off his coat and boats and sat down at the small table next to the bed, and prepared to drink his own tea. "How are you feeling?"

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For someone who wasn't used to living with someone in such close quarters, or even being taken care of, the last four days had been enjoyable for Lex, minus the being sick. Granted, he'd spent much of it sleeping, but when he was awake he was genuinely enjoying the time spent with his friend.

Lex put on his greatest Luthor air to humor Anatoly's teasing. "Took you long enough." He said snobbishly, but the light in his eyes betrayed his demeanor.

He took a long drink of the tea, closing his eyes and giving a soft sigh of relief as the hot liquid soothed his sore throat. The coughing was the worst part, since it kept his throat and lungs burning but otherwise, he was beginning to feel better and he said as much. "It's still this coughing." After another sip, he cocked his head at Anatoly. "I could use something to keep my mind off it. How about another Russian lesson?"

Anatoly just laughed into his tea, not bothered by the cantankerous air. He didn't think Lex was serious, and even if he had been, he'd have been more than happy to remind his friend whose fault it was that he'd become bed-ridden in the first place.

"If you are sure you feel up for it, then yes, by all means." He turned his chair so he could face Lex properly, keeping his cup beside him. "On what topic, today?"

Of course Anatoly was having fun reminding Lex anyway. And it was very few people Lex would tolerate that kind of thing from, but in this case he allowed it. For many reasons, besides the obvious fact Anatoly was right.

Lex took a moment to consider this before he gave Anatoly a sly look. "How does one flirt in Russian?" He watched the Russian over the lip of his mug as he took another long sip to hide his smile.

Edited 2008-12-18 05:44 (UTC)

Anatoly nearly choked on his tea, taken aback by the request. It was a reasonable question, certainly, and it wasn't as if Lex's Russian wasn't up to the task. But how he was going to manage this without embarassing himself, he didn't quite know.

"It all depends on who it is you are talking to, and what you might feel for them," he started off carefully.

Lex had to fight to keep a mild but curious expression on his face. Thankfully, controlling his reactions was one of the first lessons a Luthor learned or else he'd have grinned and given himself away at Anatoly's shocked expression.

"What if it was someone I felt I truly cared about...but didn't quite know how to tell them? What things would you say to them?"

Anatoly stared into his cup, considering. "Ah that, yes. I might use their diminutive when talking to them, that is a key thing. I might say darling or dear, or tell them they are my sun."

There were other terms of endearments, and he shared those as well, wondering all the while, just who it was that Lex was planning on charming in Russian.

Thankful for his expansive memory, Lex filed them all away as he did all the other Russian words that Anatoly taught him. But some he paid special attention too. He quite possibly had a plan for them, though one wouldn't be able to guess he was scheming behind his relaxed expression as he softly repeated some of the words to ensure the correct pronunciation.

"What would your suggestion be for someone who is shy and needs to be drawn out of their shell a bit?" Oblivious, shy same difference. Both worked toward Lex's idea. "I'm thinking my cues are being missed." He says with a small laugh.

"Have you tried dragging them out to public events, whether they want to or not?" Anatoly laughed, trying to hide a pang of jealousy. "And if they get anxious, you can soothe them in Russian, like so."

He carefully spoke the phrases that could be used, as some of the pronunciation were quite tricky to a non-native speaker.

"I'll have to try that." Lex was with a chuckle, not mentioning that perhaps he already was. Perhaps he just meant he'd have to try harder.

But he studious repeated the phrases. If he perhaps practiced them in the soothing tone Anatoly had suggested, he didn't notice.

"Very good," Anatoly nodded in approval. Lex really was coming along well with the language. It was encouraging to see that he wasn't completely inept at teaching. "You are doing very well".

Edited 2008-12-20 01:23 (UTC)

"I have a very good teacher." Lex replied with a smile before he had to turn his head to cough, which he followed by drinking some of his tea. The liquid was cooling but it still felt good on scratchy throat.

Once he could speak again without rasping, he said offhandedly, "With the holiday season upon us and the island's love of parties, I'll have many opportunities to practice."

"Between that and your intention to drag me out to those parties, you'll become a master yet," Anatoly said with a lightness he didn't quite feel. "Whoever it is will surely fall at your feet in a moment."

He took another sip of tea in an attempt to banish his thoughts. Lex was his friend, he'd not had any indication that he might think otherwise, and truly, it was better in the long run if he just let this be.

Lex had to bite the inside of his lip so as not to laugh at what Anatoly had no doubt unintentionally said. It wouldn't work for him to reveal his intentions yet, even if the other accidentally hit on them. As it was, he couldn't help a bright smile. "That's my hope. Wish me luck?"

"Of course, my friend." He raised his cup in a salute of sorts to his friend. "All the luck in the world."

"And you as well." Lex replied as he matched his salute.

He took another sip as he considered his next question. "What about you Anatoly? Is there anyone you will be demonstrating on?"

"I am not sure how well they might respond should I try," he answered honestly, though he was careful to keep his eyes away from Lex. "It has been a long time since I've done that sort of thing."

Women were one thing to flirt with, but men? Something else entirely, and even now, as he was starting to accept just how badly he was attracted to Lex, he was not sure he could go down that road.

Taking note of the down turned eyes, Lex took advantage to smile like he wanted to for just a moment. It was a bit Luthorish...if a Luthor had ever felt as light hearted as Lex did in that moment before.

"You'll never know if you don't try." He chided softly, retaking up a more smooth demeanor.

"If I try and fail, I might lose something more than my dignity," Anatoly answered carefully. "The loss of that would be a terrible thing. It might be better to say nothing at all."

Well. That was interesting. Lex had been mostly teasing through out the entire lesson but it appears Anatoly was having more serious thoughts. Still...if everything went to plan...this would be worth it. Lex just needed a little more time.

"Well, if you do make the attempt...I wish you all the luck in the world, my friend." He said, solemnly, meaning every word.

"So," He asked, his mood switching back to what it was before. "Tell me how you celebrated the holidays at home."

Grateful for the subject change, Anatoly looked up, smiling. "By staying out of the way, mostly, or looking after the children so Svetlana could cook in peace. We would have a big dinner, hand out the presents, seperate the cousins from each other and then finally, after the tears were dried and the scrapes mended, ring in the New Year."

The number of times the Sergievsky family was a happy one could be counted on one's fingers, but the New Year holiday was one of them.

Lex sat back as he tried to imagine what that would be like. His holidays as a child had been spent reading in the coat closet of the penthouse as his father threw some grand party for his business guests, when he wasn't being trotted around as the Luthor heir. As a teenager, he'd spent many a holiday drunk and/or high to embarrass his father as much as possible. The holidays in Smallville had been spent alone, in the castle, wondering what festive thing Clark was up to.

"It sounds wonderful." He says smoothly, though a bit of emotion trickled into his voice. He blamed it on the sickness, playing with his head.

Anatoly glanced over at Lex, curiously. He had the sense that his friend's own holidays had not nearly been as happy as his. "It was, as long as we were too busy to dwell on other things."

Cautiously, he leaned forward and asked, "What did you do?"

Lex considered what he said very carefully, since he didn't want to go into the details. He gave Anatoly a half-hearted smile. "Nothing like that. My holidays were more about business then family." And he left it at that, Lionel's phantom whispers in his ear aside.

"We'll have to make our own tradition then," Anatoly said, attempting to lighten the mood. "Since we just have each other here."

Sighing softly, Lex let all the tension caused by thinking about his father slip away and he smiled much easier at Anatoly. "I'd like that."

And he already had some in mind.

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We're communicators after all...

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