[open And we keep waiting to be seen, right?

[nikolaievich]

who: Illya Kuryakin & you
what: just a general catch-all
when: End of April and beginning of May
where: around the city shopping, gym
warnings: will add if needed



1; around

Illya doesn’t get out much.

It’s not being in a strange place, in a strange world full of strange people with futuristic technology. Or… rather, even though he has to admit that’s kind of getting under the skin, it’s not just that. He’s just used to keeping to himself, to doing things on his own and only relying on his boss to give him his orders and trust Illya will know what to do.

In here it’s different. In here he doesn’t have to hide, doesn’t have to keep in the shadows and become a shadow himself. In here he can get out and try to be a normal person. Or at least do his best to look like one, since the most people know about him is a fake name and his claims that he was a rowboat champion before he ended up in this place.

So there’s probably something… calming, in just doing normal things. Grocery shopping, checking out nearby libraries, just stopping at a park and watching the animals go by. It may seem boring to most people, but to Illya is kind of refreshing to be able to do all of this without a weight on his shoulders. He figures it will get boring eventually, but for now he enjoys his newfound freedom.

Enjoying it so much he doesn’t even notice the orange firefly circling him.

2; gym

It does get boring eventually, even with all the shenanigans going around.

Illya is used to physical exertion, to being active and working out as much as he can, as much as he’s healthy. Back home he needed his body to be in peak condition, to be able to fulfill every mission as fast as efficiently as possible. Most of them ended up with him running away or towards something, after all. But in here his job, while more interesting than what he had assumed when it had been assigned to him, doesn’t require much more than a inquisitive mind and knowing where to look, what questions to ask.

He really misses the exertion. So after asking around and getting some advice he’s finally decided to join a nearby gym.

He can be seen running himself ragged on the treadmill, doing weights or basically using every single machine he can find his hands on. Yay technology. Obviously not all on the same day, he’s stubborn but not suicidal… but someone should probably tell him to slow down.

3: OPEN option! Go wild. Poke me on DM or over at crotalus if you want a specific thread!

Comments

[signifies]

It might never be.

[ Clark warns him gently. He knows that his own secret is to protect his family. That Portal might bring through as many enemies as friends.

Clark is beginning to get an inkling of what Illya's concern might be. He won't speculate because Illya doesn't have to tell him. For whatever it might be worth, Clark thinks Illya is an honorable person. ]

[nikolaievich]

It might never be.

[He agrees quickly, glad Clark seems to understand where he’s coming from. He sees no judgment coming from Clark, no resentment and no doubt even though Illya just admitted he has been lying to him since they met and can’t even tell him the truth yet, if ever. Clark really is one of a kind.]

But what I must hide doesn’t change… [He hesitates, unsure on how to word it. Clark’s been better at being honest with this kind of thing so far, Illya kind of… stumble into it.] Doesn’t change that I appreciate you.

And what you do for me.

[signifies]

[ He's not completely okay with it, but he knows enough about Illya to understand there's a good reason. If he finds out that reason, then he can decide if he's upset.

He really hopes it's nothing terrible. ]

You're very kind. Does this mean we should switch to informal language?

[nikolaievich]

[Depends on what you understand by terrible, Clark. But Illya is definitely happy to set that aside, for now. Until he figures out how to talk about it, until he figures out if it’s completely safe.]

If you’d like the practice, absolutely. What would you like to talk about?

[signifies]

[ He knows Illya has a sense of honor that can be appealed to. Clark would find it difficult to face someone who had no compassion, or no sense of fairness. ]

Do you have anything you like to do, other than chess and reading?

[nikolaievich]

I like vodka. [As always, it's hard to tell if Illya is joking or being serious. But the overly dry tone he's using probably makes it easy to tell he's joking, at least a little bit.]

I do enjoy going on my powerboat. And martial arts, particularly sambo and Judo.

[signifies]

[ They can never play a drinking game until he knows Clark's secret. It would be very suspicious for Clark to be able to hold his own against a Russian drinking vodka. ]

Did you learn when you were young?

[nikolaievich]

Pretty young, yes. I’ve always enjoyed fighting.

[He has A Lot of pent up anger and that was a way of letting it go and no one really minded much once he started fighting for his country. Win-win situation, really.]

They also helped me find peace. Or some sort of release I suppose. Do you know any martial arts?

[signifies]

No, not really my area of interest.

[ He tries to avoid fights, seeing as he can crush a car without thinking about it. For a long time, that had been enough. Clark had never imagined meeting anyone as strong as him.

He's been thinking about learning here. ]

[nikolaievich]

[Illya nods because, fair. At least he doesn't offer to spar with him because he can't take a no for an answer and Clark doesn't seem interested.]

What is your area of interest, then?

[signifies]

[ While Illya is one of the few people Clark's met who are taller than him, and better trained, Clark would never want to fight him. There's no contest between a human and a Kryptonian. ]

I was always very good at science. [ He was interested in how the world around him worked. It's the only world he has. ] I can pick up a lot of others. I like to read.

[nikolaievich]

[Science... not what he would have thought, but also somehow not really surprising. Clark seems like a smart guy, and he picks up on thing really quickly, and the basis for that is still being curious about the world around you.]

Is that how you got involved with Tony Stark? He's... a very brilliant man, I'm told.

[signifies]

I've heard the same. I didn't know him before I came here. I thought this is a good ice-breaker.

[ The man had admitted to manufacturing weapons on an open network. ]

[nikolaievich]

I didn't know about him before, either. But I met him in this place- right after I came, actually. He played chess with me.

[There's a long, embarrassed pause.] He... beat me.

[signifies]

[ Clark looks at Illya curiously. He already knew Illya liked being good at what he did. It's about pride for him. ]

How?

[ He's not a chess person, but he can tell Illya is very good. He practices every day and has a lot of games memorised. ]

[nikolaievich]

Not something I want to relieve, really.

[He doesn’t even tell Clark how Tony was completely drunk during the match while Illya was sober. He’s pretty sure if Tony had been sober it would have been even harder to beat him, and his defeat all the more embarrassing.]

I don’t lose at chess often. I suppose any other version of Tony Stark will also be smart like that?

[signifies]

I don't know. It's hard to say what will be the same across all the universes.

[ Besides their geography. ]

[nikolaievich]

[Illya shrugs.] I suppose helping him is one way to figure it out. But from what people who come from worlds with alternate universes have told me, usually there are some things that are similar across universes.

[signifies]

I've noticed it too, but a lot is different.

[ He's not sure how he's so similar to another him that his own son doesn't make a distinction, and neither does Dick. Clark's grateful for their acceptance. He wasn't expecting it, though. ]

[nikolaievich]

[Illya glances at Clark. He’s considered it before, but he never really a chance to ask without stepping into a topic that may be uncomfortable for Clark to talk about. The man is kind and gentle with Illya, but he’s also surprisingly reserved for someone who’s managed to befriend someone like Illya.]

Does it feel weird to know people have known a different version of you?

[signifies]

I think it's weirder that I don't seem to be too different from the others. [ Dick and Jon wasted no time. While they're both friendly, accepting people, Clark doesn't think he'd have earned their trust so quickly if he was really a different person. ] Jon has no problem listening to me and respecting me, and I'm a long way from being his father.

[nikolaievich]

[Illya takes a moment to reply because he isn’t sure if he’s overstepping. Clark may be a friend, but he’s a new friend and he may not be comfortable talking about certain things. And it’s not like Illya has a lot of experience. ...Neither with family nor with this multiverse kind of thing. But he decides to just test the waters.

In Russian once again, because for some reason he finds it easier to talk about his feelings in that language.]

For what it’s worth, you may not be his father, technically speaking but I think you’re really playing the part very well. [He shrugs.] Bucky told me it’s not likely I will meet another me in this place. I think that’s a relief.

[signifies]

[ Clark frowns. The Bucky he knows doesn't go by that name. This must be the other one.

He decides not to comment on the compliment. ]

Do we know for sure? There could be variations on your world like there are in ours.

[nikolaievich]

[He shakes his head.]

Not for sure. [He’d known many things for sure, before he was dragged into this place. Now he’s met people from the future, people from the past, aliens and faes and people with powers beyond what he’d ever thought possible. He’s still reluctant to say he doesn’t know something, but he’s getting used to it.]

But worlds without magic or powers of any kind, like mine are less likely to be repeated.

[signifies]

That's a good point. [ The incidence of magic more so, but neither of them would know if Illya's world had that. ] Through here, we're almost to the first site.