Week 5: Roderich/Ivan

Roderich dialled the number, his foot tapping agitatedly against the wooden floor as he listened to the phone ring. Arthur had recommended that he try this- naturally, he was suspicious, but he had no other choice. He had a show to put on in less than two days, and half of his string section seemed to have disappeared, pleading flu and work commitments and god knows what else. He would take only the best, so either this worked or the show was cancelled completely.

'Come on, pick up...' He'd asked Arthur, in desperation, if he could handle anything besides a guitar; the answer had been 'Er, not all that well, I'm afraid, try Ivan?' in a rather hurried tone (he'd been dashing out of the meeting room at the time, avoiding Francis with every fibre of his being). So here Roderich was, calling Moscow and hoping for the best.

Ivan looked at his phone then back to his game. He had the gnome....to pause it would be a travesty. But what if it was a emergency? What if North Korea had come over for another "boys night out"? Was any of this more important than getting the gnome to the helicopter? He flicked the switch on the Xbox and picked up the phone.

"Zdravstvujtye~ You have reached Russia, if you wish to speak to my president please say 2, If you wish to speak to Putin please say one, if you have any other questions please state your business. Unless you are America. Or North Korea. And I will not marry you Natalya."

'Um.' Roderich was mildly taken aback by the answer, but pressed on regardless. 'Ivan, it's Roderich...I'm sorry to call so unexpectedly but, well, I was going to ask you a favour,' he said quickly, wincing as he did so. Ideally he would have put it in writing, thus minimising the risk of being kolkolkol'd at or some other terror, but there just wasn't time.

He shifted nervously from one foot to the other. 'Arthur said you, ah, you might play some kind of stringed instrument? Possibly?' If it turned out that he played the drums or something Roderich was going to find Arthur and punch him. Or, well, glare at him and imagine punching him, anyway. Maybe play some Bartok at him.

Ivan blinked in mild surprise. It was not often that one was called by Roderich to to help with anything related to music. It muse be a dire situation. "I do actually. I can play the violin, fiddle, cello, and the harp. Why do you ask?" He adjusted his scarf and smoothed his t-shirt. Even talking to the impossibly neat man made him feel dishevelled and under dressed. "oh, and I can play the piano as well, but you already know that, yes?"

[ sorry! I'll try to post more! I'm not used to getting home as late as I am now. *^* ]

Roderich made a strange, happy noise, steadying himself on the phone stand as relief hit him. He mentally took back what he'd thought about Arthur, resolving to send him a cake instead. 'Ivan, you don't know how pleased I am to hear that. You see, the thing is...' He launched into an explanation, telling him about the concert, the drop outs and his severe need for someone talented to pick up the slack.

'So, there you have it- are you able to come over for a few days to learn the parts and perform?' he asked, willing him to say yes. 'I'd obviously owe you a huge favour in return.' He would indeed repay Ivan if he helped, although he was wary of what exactly he might request.

(It's totally fine if you don't have time, don't force yourself ^^)

Ivan was sorely tempted to say no. The concert seemed so important to him. It would just be so amusing to hear his crushed words. But that would be mean. He was trying to do this thing where he didn't trompe on his fellow nations hopes a dreams. Unless they were Georgia. So. He took a deep breath and said "Of course, I will help you. And for a favour, I want tickets to your ballets for every new show." This was a reasonable thing to ask. Not to invasive or political.

'Ballet tickets? That's all you want?' Roderich almost laughed. He'd been expecting...well, something much worse. 'I can certainly manage that. Thank you, I'm extremely grateful. Ah, will you be staying at the house, or would you prefer somewhere else...? I'll make arrangements for you.' Even if all Ivan wanted was ballet tickets, Roderich was still going to stay alert while he was in the country. He wasn't about to become one with anyone, not after last time. Damn that Ludwig.

"Your ballet is quite impressive, not as good as mine but....they can't all be." He leaned back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "As for my housing, I would love to stay with you. I haven't been over since WW2. " WW2...that was embarrassing....his people pulling up pipes to take the running water back home...He hadn't realized how bad it had been back then...

'WW2...yes,' Roderich replied uneasily, tugging at his collar. He had the sudden uncomfortable feeling that Ivan had read his mind; even worse, he suspected he might casually bring it up all the time when he came over, it seemed like the sort of thing he'd do. Still, it couldn't be helped, and Roderich decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he was helping him out. 'I'll have a room prepared for you, then. If you fly over, I'll have my driver pick you up at the airport. Please get here as soon as you can. And is there anything else you need to know?'

"Yes actually, I do..." He paused for a moment "Which instrument do you want me to bring? You did not say so before..." What if he had said? Oh dear...how embarrassing that would be. he couldn't bear to think about it.

Roderich could've kicked himself. 'You're quite right, I didn't specify, sorry. Can you bring a cello? I'll be taking over the most important violin part myself, while still somehow conducting and playing piano-' he grimaced at the thought, massaging his temple- 'and I've managed to fill some of the empty slots with music students, but I really need an experienced cellist.' Of course, he had a houseful of instruments, but he suspected Ivan would rather use his own.

"Of course~ I look forward to seeing you do three things at once~ I am sure it will be quite a sight~" Ivan laughed softly to himself before trying to remember where be put the damn cello. Darling cello. Anyway. "I will need to pack. I will call you before I leave da?" He got up and and moved to the hall closet. "What is your weather like?" He rummaged through the assortment of odds and ends before digging out the suitcase he bought last month. It was shiny plastic and was painted to look like his...previous flag and had looked spectacular next to Alfred 's patriotic garish patriotic one.

'Weather?' Roderich looked out of the window. 'Well, a bit cold at this time of year, it might snow. But, ah, relative to Russia it's pretty warm, I suppose...' He had a sudden vision of Russia sunbathing in his garden or something, and he had to hit himself with the phone. 'Ouch. Anyway, let me know when you're on your way, then, and if you need me just call. If anything happens, I mean.' He prayed nothing would go wrong. All he needed now was some kind of disaster in Russia that prevented Ivan from coming. 'Oh, and is there anything in particular you'd prefer to eat? I'll go shopping...'

Ivan dragged the suitcase to his room while Roderich talked. He almost missed the man's question and it took him a moment to process what he said. "Oh no. Anything you cool will be fine. You can surprise me~" Ivan went through his closet and threw cloths haphazardly into his suitcase. He needed to find his tux..."Oh, do I need to tux? Or is a suit fine?"

'A tuxedo would be better than a suit, but as for me, well, it'll be a conductor's tailcoat...but, honestly, I'm too grateful that you're coming to nitpick over your clothes.' It was true; he wouldn't care much if Ivan turned up to the concert dressed in a purple dinosaur suit providing he could still play the cello in it. Best not to say as much, though, in case he took it literally. 'So, food, clothes, lodging and travel, all sorted, then? Anything else?'

"I vould just love it if you did not tell...my sister." Its not that he didn't love his younger sister. He did but honestly...she came over to often. He closed his suitcase and set it by the door. "I vill leave in about ten minutes. Is that agreeable?"